Part 5
Spike held Buffy's head in his lap. The heat was lessening to a bearable temperature and the milky black sky was full of stars. It reminded him of a charcoal drawing he had done. He had laid the charcoal thick and had gotten lungfuls of icky dust in return. But the picture was hanging up somewhere in a gallery in Europe so it had been worth it.
He held handfuls of water over Buffy's mouth and let drops fall. He knew that if he gave her to much at once it would make her sicker. Without meaning to he had picked up tricks during WWII when he was hunting Slayers in Europe. The waterfall was a little ways back. He had feared the sound would make her headache worse, but it was peaceful here.
"You can't go hunting tomorrow. I won't let you Slayer. It's to dangerous." Spike said as he bathed her burning forehead with the refreshing water.
"Then we'll never leave." She said hoarsely. "I have to do all I can." Spike pulled one of the wet blankets over her. He was glad to hell they had discovered the stuff they did.
"I'll not let you die here. You hear me?"
"Why? What does it matter. If we all don't make it home then there's nobody to make it home too."
"How can you say that? There's other things in this soddin' world. How do you think I survived all alone with no one to care for?"
"Name one."
"You got the sun Slayer. You got the world."
"Do you know how tired I am of the world?" She pushed away his hand with the water. Her slayer healing powers already kicking in. "All I do is fight for the people in this world. No one knows and no one cares. I've been hurt and I've died and all I want is peace." He rocked her a little now, she was exhausted and he could tell. She was fighting to stay awake and argue with him.
"I want that too. You'll never know how much." The moon gradually moved across the sky and still Spike stayed with the blind Slayer.
She awoke at intervals and he helped her drink and changed the blankets that grew warm on her overheated body. In his whole existence he would never have thought this would happen to him. Yet here he was. And he felt wonderful, yet worried. It was as if bits of his soul were flying back to him, creating a picture of the man he was meant to be and Buffy filled in the missing pieces.
Buffy awoke fully for a few minutes sometime in the early morning. Spike knew he would have to move her to his shelter to take care of her but he didn't want to part with the night quite yet. Her eyes gazed up unseeing, a gray sky with clouds drifting by. Her fingers reached up and caressed his stubbly face.
"Right here Slayer."
"Spike."
"Yeah?"
"I had a dream."
"Of what love?"
"Us."
"Yeah?"
"Do you believe in past lives?"
"Well I don't know. Maybe I guess. Why does William count for me?"
"No. I mean, I had this past life with Angel that I know of but I think I had one even before then."
"How much before?"
"A couple thousand years. We were hunters in some time long ago. My name was Ayla. You were Jondular. (Note: I took these characters from Jane M Auel's Earth Children Series.)
"Wow. You and me."
"Spike, do you love me?"
"Course I do. Why have I almost gotten myself killed over and over. For my own pleasure?"
"Do you think I could love you."
"That's not a question I can answer pet."
"Well I think I can. In a different time."
"Don't do this Slayer."
"I'm not going to survive Spike. I'm a helpless Slayer and we're stuck in the middle of nowhere."
"Don't say that."
"I have too." She quieted and refused to talk again. Spike felt a sadness in him he had never known.
Spike held Buffy's head in his lap. The heat was lessening to a bearable temperature and the milky black sky was full of stars. It reminded him of a charcoal drawing he had done. He had laid the charcoal thick and had gotten lungfuls of icky dust in return. But the picture was hanging up somewhere in a gallery in Europe so it had been worth it.
He held handfuls of water over Buffy's mouth and let drops fall. He knew that if he gave her to much at once it would make her sicker. Without meaning to he had picked up tricks during WWII when he was hunting Slayers in Europe. The waterfall was a little ways back. He had feared the sound would make her headache worse, but it was peaceful here.
"You can't go hunting tomorrow. I won't let you Slayer. It's to dangerous." Spike said as he bathed her burning forehead with the refreshing water.
"Then we'll never leave." She said hoarsely. "I have to do all I can." Spike pulled one of the wet blankets over her. He was glad to hell they had discovered the stuff they did.
"I'll not let you die here. You hear me?"
"Why? What does it matter. If we all don't make it home then there's nobody to make it home too."
"How can you say that? There's other things in this soddin' world. How do you think I survived all alone with no one to care for?"
"Name one."
"You got the sun Slayer. You got the world."
"Do you know how tired I am of the world?" She pushed away his hand with the water. Her slayer healing powers already kicking in. "All I do is fight for the people in this world. No one knows and no one cares. I've been hurt and I've died and all I want is peace." He rocked her a little now, she was exhausted and he could tell. She was fighting to stay awake and argue with him.
"I want that too. You'll never know how much." The moon gradually moved across the sky and still Spike stayed with the blind Slayer.
She awoke at intervals and he helped her drink and changed the blankets that grew warm on her overheated body. In his whole existence he would never have thought this would happen to him. Yet here he was. And he felt wonderful, yet worried. It was as if bits of his soul were flying back to him, creating a picture of the man he was meant to be and Buffy filled in the missing pieces.
Buffy awoke fully for a few minutes sometime in the early morning. Spike knew he would have to move her to his shelter to take care of her but he didn't want to part with the night quite yet. Her eyes gazed up unseeing, a gray sky with clouds drifting by. Her fingers reached up and caressed his stubbly face.
"Right here Slayer."
"Spike."
"Yeah?"
"I had a dream."
"Of what love?"
"Us."
"Yeah?"
"Do you believe in past lives?"
"Well I don't know. Maybe I guess. Why does William count for me?"
"No. I mean, I had this past life with Angel that I know of but I think I had one even before then."
"How much before?"
"A couple thousand years. We were hunters in some time long ago. My name was Ayla. You were Jondular. (Note: I took these characters from Jane M Auel's Earth Children Series.)
"Wow. You and me."
"Spike, do you love me?"
"Course I do. Why have I almost gotten myself killed over and over. For my own pleasure?"
"Do you think I could love you."
"That's not a question I can answer pet."
"Well I think I can. In a different time."
"Don't do this Slayer."
"I'm not going to survive Spike. I'm a helpless Slayer and we're stuck in the middle of nowhere."
"Don't say that."
"I have too." She quieted and refused to talk again. Spike felt a sadness in him he had never known.