Chapter five-
Spike looked across the room to where he had thrown Angel with the last of his strength and collapsed. Angel looked right back. The two vampires were exhausted and in serious pain. Spike touched the side of his head, which was bleeding profusely. He heard Angel groan in pain as he took out a broken piece of a chair leg that was lodged in his abdomen. Spike let out a similar groan as his fingers touched the giant wound Angel gave him on his shoulder.
" You Bastard!" He had said after Angel's teeth dislodged themselves from his shoulder. At that instant Spike had given Angel a swift upper cut followed by a kick to the chest. That had sent Angel flying back into the front desk, breaking a couple ribs.
The red-hot fury that had kept them going not too long ago was gone. Now, they were only numb and in pain from each other's beatings.
" I'm still gonna kill ya, ya know that right?" Angel said with difficulty. Spike had re-broken his jaw.
" Yeah, but not before I kill you, you poncy bugger." They threatened back and forth but neither of them made a move towards each other. Spike tried to move his left hand, but pain shot up his arm. His fingers were stiff and slightly charred. Angel had tried to throw Spike into the morning light, but he was only successful in getting a hand out the door. Spike couldn't remember how he managed to get out of that one. Blows were thrown and met, kicks were landed, and bites were exchanged.
Somewhere in the back of Spike's painful head, he knew he should be laughing. – Must remember to NOT head-butt the wall. – He thought comically. He was in too much pain to move, let alone laugh.
" Spike?" Angel muttered.
" Ah! It looks like I finally beat some sense into you!"
" I'm going to get you for all this," He waved a broken hand, implying the room. Spike made an uncaring sound. He was too busy trying to find things. He knew he had a knife in him somewhere. He was right. He found it sticking halfway into his side. What was really unfortunate about the fight was that neither of them was mortally wounded. Time was all that was needed to heal the wounds.
"What were we fighting about?" Spikes asked out loud.
" Buffy," Angel answered.
" Oh, yeah." Spike wished to settle back on the wall or lean on his unhurt arm, but the fact was that he didn't have an unhurt place on his body. Memory suddenly struck Spike.
" This reminds me of the fight we once had in Venice over that girl. Remember that?" Angel gave a half laugh half groan in return.
" We nearly burned down the city. I remember." Angel said, trying to put his jaw back in place. They fell silent for a few minutes.
" I don't have a chance in Hell with her, I know that." Spike admitted.
"
" You aren't mad?" For some reason he desperately wanted his grandsire to be on his side of things.
" No, well, not *as* mad as I was before. But I'm still going to kick your ass."
" Why?"
" Because, I can and I want to."
" Hmph, try me." Spike shot back. But they didn't move. Exhaustion was heavy on them. It was very easy for them to fall into a deep sleep. They didn't sleep for very long, both hunger and pain woke them.
" Angel?" Spike said. " You awake?" Angel groaned in response. " Have any blood?"
"
"
" With age or with a soul?" Spike immediately said without thinking.
" Either." Angel offered his hand and Spike took it. Angel smiled as best he could. " As host, may I offer you a drink?" Spike smiled, but stopped. The tear along his cheek made it hard. He nodded. Angel slowly went to the kitchen and retrieved two packets of human blood. He threw one to Spike upon return.
" Human, O neg.? Damn, you really are livin' the high life style." Spike said, then whistled.
" Have a problem with that?"
" Hell no! Beats pigs blood any day!" Spike ripped a corner open and drank deeply. Angel did the same, not caring if it was cold.
Buffy woke slowly, the warmth of the sun making her wish to sleep more.
- Sun? – She thought. – Shit! I have to call Giles!! Where the Hell am I? - She looked around and recognized the room Angel gave her for the night. She remembered screaming, and Spike, then nothing else. – Hm, - She thought. – Must have been a dream, thank God! I really don't want to deal with Spike. Stupid, arrogant, sarcastic bleached vampire. He's such a pig. And all that bullshit he pulled last night! ARGH! God! I just want to… to… hurt him -
She was beginning to annoy herself with her thoughts of Spike so she sat up. Her shift in gravity made blood rush out of her head. Her headache worsened when she stood up.
" Grr. Water." She mumbled as she made her way out of her room. She stopped dead in her tracks when she reached the stairs. The lobby was literally torn apart. The word destroyed seemed to sum it all up. She knew Spike and Angel hadn't made *that* much damage last night. She forgot about her headache and saw who caused the mess.
Spike and Angel were standing next to each other enjoying a bag of blood. She could see even from her distance why the lobby looked the way it did. They looked the same. She came rushing down the stairs.
" Angel? Are you okay?" She came over and started fussing with his wounds. She spun to Spike. Both men had their 'gamefaces' on, but she didn't care.
" Spike?!" she yelled. " What did you do?!"
" Whoa! Slayer!" he said surprised by her attack. " What? What did I do?"
" What happened? I demand to know."
" Don't I get the good treatment too?" Spike pouted as well as he could.
" When you earn it." She snapped back. She hadn't meant to say it. It just slipped out. But it stung Spike.
" What happened?" She demanded of Angel.
" We had a… disagreement." Angel said. Spike started laughing, breaking open the healing wound on the side of his face. He stopped laughing from pain of it. Buffy didn't like the explanation. It was just as before when she asked him in the alley.
" Fine. Whatever." She said. " Where's you first aid kit?"
" Why ya have a boo-boo?" Spike said.
" It's for you jackass, stop talking or you'll bleed everywhere." She ordered. She looked at his face. " That has to be painful."
" Nothing I can't handle." Spike said. Angel pointed the way and she went to get it.
" With the noise we made, I thought she would have been up sooner. " Spike said to Angel.
" She would have," he replied. " But,"
" But what?"
" I gave her something to help her sleep." Angel whispered. Spike was shocked, especially since it was coming from Angel.
" You drugged her?"
" She had a lot of things on her mind. I could see she wasn't getting enough sleep. So, I gave something to help."
" If she found out, she'd-"
" I'd do what?" Buffy cut in. Spike placed a smirk on his face and Angel had his usual unreadable expression. Buffy was curious but didn't wish to know what they were talking about. The main thing right now was to patch her two vampires up.
" Strip," she said.
" What?" the men asked at the same time.
" Strip." She answered. They painfully started to slowly take off their shirts. Buffy had to cut Spike's off because he could barely move his arm or torso. Angel wouldn't give her that pleasure; he prized his now ruined silk shirt. Angel stood and let his pants fall to a puddle around his ankles. He stood with only his boxers on. Black, of course. Spike made no movement.
" What's wrong?" Buffy asked. " Do I have to cut these off too?"
" Not bloody likely!" He seemed embarrassed. If he had enough blood and was alive he'd have been deep red.
" Come on, off with 'em." (We, Spike fans, should now be going "Take 'em off BABY!!! YEAH!!) Buffy ordered. Spike took forever and a day to take off his pants. Angel laughed immediately after they hit the floor. Buffy bit her lip to keep from laughing.
" Angel," she tried, but started laughing. " Stop it, you'll hurt his feelings. HA!!" Scowling, Spike sat down. He didn't think his 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' boxers were that funny.
" Where did you find those?" Angel asked.
" Hot Topic," Spike growled. Buffy had subsided in her laughter and turned to the first aid kit. With gauze, tape, and a sewing kit in her hands she went to Angel first.
They sat and let Buffy move them and doctor them. Angel would at least move his arm or leg for her, but Spike didn't move at all. Except when she came at him with a needle and sutures.
" Whoa, Slayer don't come near me with that!" he said. She was heading straight for his face. He tried to block her with his hands.
" Spike, if you want to talk like a drunk for the rest of your life fine by me," she said. " but if not, then move your hands!"
" You're sure you know how to use that thing?" She impatiently nodded 'yes' and proceeded to sew up his face. He once again became immobile, more from pain then tact. She had to reach around him to bandage his chest, and lift his leg for him to sew it up and bandage it. He was savoring every moment of it. Her hair brushed his chest when she reached around his chest. He unconsciously expanded it.
Buffy had to seriously concentrate on unrolling the gauze she had in her hands. She was trying to keep her unwanted, dark thoughts at bay as her warm skin grazed his cool flesh. She could feel Spike staring at the top of her head. She wouldn't look up. She could just see in her mind's eye the playful, teasing glint in his blue eyes. She did not want to see the real thing. It would make her mind do things she didn't want it to do. Frustrated, she jerked the gauze in her hand.
Spike yelped with pain. But it was worth it to have Buffy look up with surprise and concern. Instantly he decided to milk it. He moaned and leaned away from her. This made her lean forward more to look at what she thought she did. Spike caught Angel's eye over her head. He sent a warning to Spike, whether he heeded it or not was up to him, but Angel's message was quite clear. "I'm still here, and if you touch her I'll kick your ass"
Spike didn't need to touch her. Just being so near her filled him with the warmest pleasure. He was going to be in trouble if she kept touching him. He pushed her away.
" Get off Slayer," he grabbed the gauze and finished it himself, very painfully.
" Fine. Whatever." Buffy said anger flaring suddenly. ::If he doesn't want me to help him fine.:: She thought. :: He can do himself.(pause in thoughts) That sounded totally wrong even in your head.:: She directed her concentration to Angel's injuries. He had just about the same number as Spike and she did the major ones already. She knew the smaller cuts would be healed by nightfall, but she had to make sure they were clean. She looked at both of the wounded men.
" All right," she said resigned. " Let's get down to business. Spike." Spike looked up from the spot on the floor he was trying so hard to concentrate on instead of Buffy.
" What?" Buffy could have growled at his response. Instead she glared at him. " Oh, yeah,"
" Well?"
" You," he said directing it to Angel. " are going to have a run in with Darla and Dru and probably not survive it."
" What?" Angel said, not comprehending.
" He had a dream" Buffy started. "that Darla was turned by Drusilla and then they got together and killed you." It was as if she was speaking another language that Angel didn't understand.
" Darla? Impossible." He said. " I dusted her years ago. You were there, Buffy." He wasn't about to state that he had been having wild dreams lately starring Darla.
" It's what I saw, " Spike snapped. " But try tellin' Prophesy Girl here that it's 'just a dream'!" Buffy rolled her eyes and Angel looked confused.
" You know how visual our dreams are," He said, almost pleading with Angel to agree with him.
" Yes, our dreams are very different from yours Buffy. More imaginative at times." He muttered, thinking of his last Darla-dream. In this dream they were in a convent, torturing and making love alternately. It was guiltily delicious for him.
" Yeah, Darla, Dru, now Dawn." Spike mumbled.
" What?" Buffy was shocked. " What about Dawn?"
" Don't tell me you forgot! Christ, Slayer it was only a few hours ago!" Spike yelled at her. He looked at Angel with an annoyed glare. " This is what you did."
" What? Did what with who? And what about Dawn?"
" Bloody hell Slayer, I'm NOT going to tell you. Figure it out for your bloody sel-" he suddenly broke off, grasping the bandages on his cheek. He almost tore his skin open again. It gave him a reason to be silent for a while.
" You will tell me Spike, or else I will use my profession on you." Meaning that she'd kill him. " This is my sister. What happened?" Spike wasn't ready to speak, pain masked his features. Buffy wasn't about to wait for him to speak. If something was wrong with Dawn she needed to get back. She was wasting valuable time just by standing there and waiting for Spike to speak.
" I'm calling Giles." She stated plainly. She stomped off toward Angel's office.
" Dawn, Key, Xander, Bad" Spike shouted before gripping his cheek again. Buffy stopped in her tracks, her face clouded with dread. Angel was confused.
" Who's Dawn?" he asked. Buffy turned and stared at him.
" You don't know Dawn?" Angel shook his head, but stopped. Memories came flooding into his mind. Taking Dawn to the carousel, waiting with her for Buffy to come home, her face when she found out he was a vampire, Dawn holding Buffy as she cried over him. It all came to him. Angel was dumbstruck. He knew he didn't have these memories before, but now he couldn't shake them away, or remember what it was like without Dawn in his memories.
"What just happened?" Angel was holding a hand to his head as he looked to Buffy. She knew she had to tell them.
" Dawn isn't real." She stated. Angel and Spike looked at her blankly. " She is energy made from some monks who needed to protect her from Glory, this hell bitch that it trying to get Dawn. So they sent her to me, with memories and stuff so I don't have any reason not to protect her." She paused for a breath.
" I love my sister. And that's what she is, my sister. Not some energy that I have to protect. I love her. She's family. I remember when they brought her home for the first time. I remember the pain I went through when I had to leave LA for Sunnydale. I don't want that again. Spike, tell me what happened." She was near tears.
" Dawn told me she wasn't real, then took off saying someone was after her. That must be that Glory bird. Then I saw a woman go into Xanders mind, then get Dawn and chain her up. Then I died again." Most of his words were muffled from his cheek, but he said all he had to. Buffy turned and went into Angel's office, dialing Giles' number. He picked up.
" The Magick Shoppe, we put the Hocus to your Pocus. Mr. Giles speaking, how may I help you?" Buffy smiled into the reciever.
" You have to say that all day?" she said.
" Buffy? Hello, where have you been?"
" LA with Angel and Spike. I need to know if Dawn is okay. Like right now." Her voice was urgent.
" Why? Has something happened there?"
" It's just a bad feeling. Can you check on her at school?"
" Sure Buffy, but when will you be home?"
" As soon as possible. Thanks Giles. Bye." She let him say his salutations then hung up. As soon as possible. That was exactly what she planned to do.
A/N: Sorry about the long wait. I don't know how to finish this or where to go with it. I'll write more if I can find some thing to write abut in it. If you have your own Ideas on how this should go then please write your own chapter. You can put it up as a spin off of this one, or a continuation of this by you instead of me. Or, you can send it to me via e-mail and I can post it on this story and I'll send you all the reviews and credit you completely. For that chapter that is. Again. Sorry for the wait, and I have to end this series, because I have no more ideas left in my brain. Thank you for reading.
Love,
Isabelle Montgomery