We only chose to borrow these characters for a bit to do what we enjoy doing. All that we own is our lovely plot! No
copyright infrigment is intended in any way shape or form.
With that out of the way...
Title: Imitor Vita Pro Amor (Imitating Life For Love)
Authors: Peroxide Pest and Nocturne Wytche, AKA Celeste and Debbie
Spoilers: All Seasons
Dedications: Well, I'd like to say thanks to all those wonderful S/B
writers out there that have inspired me and my sister to come
outta our shells and see what y'all think of our lil fics. We'd
probably like to thank each other for putting up with each other and
the sort, and of course for being so good at writing together, you
can barely tell where one of us begins and one ends. Also, to
our sister, Keren, who still loves Angel, we forgive you :P Lea,
thanks for all the help and support, blessed be sister.
Summary: A few unsuspected visitors come back to good ol' SunnyD and
cause some more havoc in our favorite slayer's life.
She must also decide where her feelings for Spike lay. A run
in with a demon changes things for Spike. S/B
Rated: R just to be safe
Note: songs come into a lot of play in the next few chapters, just to
let you all know. Sorry if it becomes a nuisance, but hey
its the music of our character's hearts :P Or something to that
affect... Plus, it leads to plenty of s/b romantic tension, which
we
all love! Also, no copyright infringement intended on these beautiful
songs, that are the backgrounds to the soul of this story :)
P.S.: We've also come to notice that Spike purring...is a GREAT thing
:P *EG*
P.S.S Due to 2 mentions we've fixed the format so its easier
for you all to read and enjoy, and we're such sticklers to please our fans;
its fixed :P enjoy!
Without further blabbings:
Imitor Vita Pro Amor
Part 13
Buffy stood in the training room; book in hand. She walked lazily
in circles as she read, because she couldn't stand to sit any longer. In
the hours of research that they'd done, they'd turned nothing up on any
type of demon that could harness electricity, let alone one made OF it.
"Hey..." Willow's voice echoed in the quiet room as she joined
Buffy inside.
"Hey," Buffy greeted back, looked up. "Find something? Anything?"
"Nope," Willow shook her head. She stared at her friend,
wondering what to say.
"What is it, Wills?" Buffy asked, setting down the book.
"Well... I was wondering...what's bothering you?"
Willow questioned, deciding to just get to the point. Like Spike always
said to. Cuz, she had this habit of rambling, and over the summer, she'd
done a lot of it, and Spike had always been the one tell her to get to
the point and stuff, so she figured she'd try it and see if it worked and…
oh wait.
"Nothing at all..." Buffy lied, eyes darting away.
"C'mon, Buffy. I know something is bothering you..." Willow
pressed her friend gently. Buffy bit her lip, wanting to share with Will,
but not knowing where to start. How could she tell her friend that what
was really bothering her was that dream about Spike? It was driving her
to complete distraction! She couldn't stop thinking about it. And then
there was Spike in general, for that matter... Than she'd have to
admit there was feelings there for her to be bothered by in the first place.
She faked another smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.
"I'm fine, really..."
"Ok, yeah, and I'm straight," Willow snorted. She
gripped her friend's wrist gently, trying to ease her into conversation.
"C'mon Buffy, you've been acting strange all day..."
"I have? How?" Buffy argued.
"Researching? Actually reading the stuff? Instead of skimming
pictures? Sooo not the Buffy I know..." Willow pointed out.
"I miss school.." Buffy lied lamely. "The whole college thing."
Willow's eyes widened. "Okay, now I KNOW something's wrong.
Very wrong." She tugged her friend down onto the small couch to the
side of the room. "It is Riley?"
Buffy didn't answer.
"Or Spike?"
Her head shot down, eyeing the floor. Willow smiled (or frowned,
she wasn't quite sure) to herself. Bingo.
Dawn smiled at the dentist with relief, three hours later.
She'd had no cavities so there was no need to see him again until it was
time for another cleaning. A definite ray of sunshine amidst all
the clouds today. Now she had to head home and do her homework.
Joy.
"Are you sure you don't need a ride, Miss Summers? It
is dark out now..." the dentist, Doctor James, asked.
"Oh, no thanks Doctor James. I'll be fine, my house isn't too
far from here..." Dawn responded.
"I'm surprised your sister isn't here to pick you up..." the
dentist frowned, disapprovingly.
*Me too*... Dawn thought, growing slightly worried. Maybe Buffy
had run into trouble? Of the slimy, green, scaly, fangy, oozy type?
She forced the thoughts from her head. "Um, she was...uh…food shopping…so
since home isn't too far, she figured 'd be ok. I'm a big girl."
The dentist smiled. "Yes, you are. Just be safe."
"I will," Dawn nodded, grabbing her backpack. "Goodnight..."
"Good night, Dawn," the dentist called as she left the offices.
She stepped out into the cool night air, straightening the straps
of her 50 lb. backpack as she did. She sighed, a bit frightened at
the completely bare, silent street that greeted her. The smarter residents
of Sunnydale were inside locked doors at this point, she surmised. She
suddenly wished Spike was around. Well, she had been wishing he was around
all day, but she wished he was here even more than before right now.
He had always been there to protect her, when Buffy wasn't.
And with that, she began wondering just where the in the bloody
hell Buffy was, and if her sister was okay... She started down the block,
her fears relenting slightly. At least it wasn't a long walk to home.
Once she was home, she'd call Giles to ask him if he knew where the slayer
was.
Riley strolled into the magic shop, ringing the little
bell on the door as he did. The members of the gang all looked up, half
expecting to see William the Bloody waltzing into their mists after realizing
that he had become an integral part of the group and couldn't just LEAVE
like he had.
"Hey Spike we found…" Xander trailed off as he realized who
it was. "Oh. Hey Riley!"
Ignoring the younger boy's slip and giving him points
for the cheery greeting, Riley smiled smally. "Hey everyone. Um… so, is
Buffy…"
"Training room," Giles responded, not taking his eyes off of
the fascinating book he was looking at. Riley wasn't someone he worried
about often. As long as he wasn't terrorizing Buffy, everything was fine.
Though, the watcher wondered if the boy wasn't the reason Spike had left
recently.
Riley nodded and headed back towards the training room, straightening
his shoulders and setting his jaw. He ignored the offhanded way the Scoobies
had dealt with him. To them, he was just harmless, old Riley. Good old,
dependable Riley. Well, he needed to be different from here on out. Fiercer,
more passionate, more tumultuous. He could do that. He really could.
The ex-commando creaked the door open, revealing the training
room, where Buffy and Willow sat, talking deeply about something or another.
The girls looked up at the sound of his footfalls on the tile,
and abruptly ceased their conversation; bathing the room in silence, save
for his footsteps and their breathing. He pretended not to notice how silent
they had gotten upon his arrival. "Buffy." He tried to put force behind
his voice. "We're going to talk."
"Um…I'll go," Willow stated quietly, looking from her best friend
to her ex, then back again. Buffy nodded, and with that small motion of
consent, the witch quickly made her way out of the room, smiling awkwardly
at Riley as she passed. He smiled back just as awkwardly, and she hurried
out the door, closing it behind her. She had research to do, anyway.
"Hi, Riley," Buffy greeted, regarding him curiously.
He tried not to do anything awkward, like run his hand through
his hair or fidget. He tried to exude confidence, ferocity. If that was
what she wanted, that was what she'd get.
She was puzzled now, not seeing any of his usual foibles. He
didn't rub his neck with his hand or fidget with his arms or hair. You
know, those little things that made him Riley to her. "What's up?" she
asked, slightly worried.
He didn't respond at first, completely blanking on what he had
planned to say to her. He only knew it had been something passionate, a
declaration of love more heated than anything he'd ever been known to do.
But it had suddenly left him in her presence, and his throat momentarily
went dry. Noting the look she was giving him, he decided it would be best
to say SOMETHING. Anything.
"I can be what you want me to be," he blurted before he could
stop himself. He mentally smacked himself the second he said it, noting
her immediate, bewildered reaction. Whatever happened to cool aloofness
to sudden passion, to nothing again? That had been his plan, in any case.
She looked surprise. "What?"
He decided to be straightforward. "You want some monster? You
want an up and down ride? Heat? Passion? Hate? Love? I can give it to you.
Just give me the word. And it's yours."
Buffy realized Riley was sounding desperate, and it sort of
scared her. Good old, reliable Riley wasn't so good or reliable right now.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "I mean, I know what I said last night must
have been weird…but… it didn't DO anything to you, did it?"
He looked at her. "What do you mean? It did EVERYTHING! I know
what you want now. You want someone who drives you nuts and up and down
and all over the place. You want something unpredictable and crazy."
His words stunned her. She didn't want that… did she? Inwardly,
she sighed. What did she know? She never knew what she wanted. Or she wouldn't
admit to herself what she wanted. In ether case, his words hit something.
Pushing that little twang of panic and shock back, she tried to face him
with reason. "What are you talking about, Riley? That's not what I want."
He was immensely frustrated right about now, and he couldn't
help but run both hands through his hair simultaneously, emitting a high-pitched
sound of frustration as he did. "Fine. Fine, let's say for a second, that
ISN'T what you want. What DO you want, then?"
Dawn walked briskly, trying to remember that Spike had said
if she needed him, he'd be there. It sort of gave her comfort, even though
she knew he wasn't here, right now. But the mantra gave her enough confidence
to continue her solitary walk down the street, backpack bouncing noisily
behind her as she did. She pictured anything out there that would even
dare touch her being ripped apart by her guardian vampire, then spit upon
and made fun of as it died a horrible, pain filled death. The thought of
him tearing into anything and anyone that wanted to hurt her eased her
internal worry. She strode with a little more confidence after a while,
as she neared the Magic Shop. She was soooooo going to kill Buffy for this
once she got there. That's what she told herself, anyway. She knew her
sister was preoccupied with Spike and Riley issues, but still, Dawn figured
this little situation was good enough to get her some 'get out of jail
free' cards when it came to Buffy. If she played her cards right, anyway.
She smirked a smirk reminiscent of Spike's at the thought.
"Hey Dawn!!! Dawn Summers!!! Hellooo!!"
Dawn jumped visibly at the sudden sound in the previously dead
silent night. Obviously, she hadn't been as calm as she first assumed.
Taking a deep breath to quell the sudden tremors racking her body, she
turned around to see who had called her. She saw her friend Lisa and a
group of others walking on the opposite side of the street, back in the
direction of town. "Um…hey guys!" she called, smiling and waving at them.
"Where're you all going at 8 o'clock at night?"
Lisa waved her over so they wouldn't have to shout across the
street. "We thought we'd go study at the Bronze, you know, for that HUGE
English test we have tomorrow over Great Expectations? Most of us need
to do some major cramming for Mister Wilson's exam. I hear it's going to
be a killer."
Dawn blanched. "Oh my God, I forgot completely..."
The group looked at her, incredulous. "How could you FORGET?"
Jasmine asked her friend, disbelieving. "It's like, the biggest grade of
the six weeks!"
"God, I've just been busy," Dawn sighed. "Hey, can I come with
you guys to study? I mean, if you don't mind or anything."
Lisa nodded. "Sure D. There's live band tonight at the Bronze,
so we thought we'd check it out amidst all the studying," the girl explained,
grabbing onto Dawn's arm and marching them back in the direction from which
she had first come, towards the club. Dawn just hoped Buffy didn't kill
her for this. She needed to study, anyway. It was important. Plus the whole
live band at the Bronze? Definitely something to go see. Buffy would understand.
Spike polished off the rest of his blooming onion and pushed
the plate away from him at the Bronze. The band blew, the sound a mix between
alternative and folk, and he had been asked to dance by so many Goth chicks
tonight he really was tempted to take one out and kill her just because
it was wearing on him. But then he thought about Buffy, and about beating
the odds and breaking the rules, and all he could do was politely decline
each offer they made him.
He sipped his Guinness and sighed. Here he was, again. Good
old Sunnyhell. The one place that drew him like a moth to a flame. He toasted
it with his bottle and grinned ironically to himself. So… now what? He
was here… and after numerous tests to just make sure he hadn't been hallucinating,
he could hurt humans. If the man he'd slugged was any indication, anyway.
But that man had been a ponce, and as far as Spike was concerned, had deserved
the broken jaw for the way he had been treating his girlfriend.
He set his drink aside and watched the evening crowd gyrating
to the terrible music. What the hell were they all doing here anyway? It
was a weeknight. They should be at home, studying, like his Nibblet was.
No question that Buffy'd be helping little sis for that big Great Expectations
test coming up tomorrow. He had been the one to help her with summer school
after Buffy had died, studied with the Bit and all that school stuff she'd
been forced into. They'd done good together, she and him. He wondered what
she was doing right now. He missed her. Her and big sis.
You're lost little girl
You're lost little girl
You're lost
Tell me who
Are you?
As if some higher power was out to play with his mind, Spike saw Dawn walk into the Bronze, surrounded by a group of her mates. He gaped, frozen for a second, surprised to see her here on a school night, without anyone to watch out for her, on top of that? The vampire grew annoyed. Was that it, then? Was Spike the only one who had time to keep an eye on Platelet? He growled low in his throat and left his table by the bar, fading back into the shadows of the dimly lit club. He'd watch out for her, like always, but she didn't need to know he was here. One thing good about being a vampire, he mused, was that he could fade in and out of the dark with little effort. Before long he was sidled up not 10 feet from her and her little buddies who were gathered around some of the old couches, books on the table and soda money in hand.
I think that you know what to do
Impossible? Yes, but it's true
I think that you know what to do, yeah
I'm sure that you know what to do
He watched them from behind, and studied Nibblet. She looked
tired. A little frazzled. Spike realized he must have forgotten to study
for the bloody test. And didn't she have a dentist appointment this week?
Where the hell was Buffy? She hadn't ditched Bit to run off with Cap'n
Styrofoam, had she? Worry gnawed at him. Dawn looked slightly disturbed,
like something was weighing on her.
You're lost little girl
You're lost little girl
You're lost
Tell me who
Are you?
Then one of her fella friends put his book down and asked her to dance, being all goofy about it and making her laugh a little, but it was mostly forced. That whelp of a boy with his hand on Dawn reminded Spike a lot of Xander, and he swore that he'd die before he saw Dawn get picked up by the likes of that. The two headed for the dance floor and Dawn looked around, in the group of writhing people, looking somewhat uncomfortable. He wondered why.
You're lost little girl
You're lost little girl
You're lost
Dawn let Ronald lead her out on the dance floor just because
she didn't really know how to say no to him without hurting his feelings.
All she really wanted to do was study for her test. Normally, Spike would
have helped her, and she would have been safe and sound at home, but things
hand changed drastically between then and now.
She was sort of afraid here, knowing that no one knew where
she was, or was looking out for her. She realized she should have called
Buffy to let her know where she was. If her sister had figured things out
buy now, she would be worried sick.
She danced with Ronald for a little bit, so as not to insult
him, but halfway through excused herself and headed towards the bar, where
she knew she could borrow a phone to call Buffy.
Dawn walked up to the bar and coughed, alerting the bartender
to her presence. He frowned at looked at her. "Look kid, there's no way
in hell you're old enough to…"
"I don't want alcohol," she responded hastily. "I was just wondering
if I could borrow your phone."
"Uh, yeah," the man agreed, pushing a tan phone towards her.
"Local calls only."
She nodded. "Yeah. Just a local call…"
She waited, the sound of the phone ringing at her house on Revello
drive. She patted her fingers on the countertop while she waited for an
answer, noting a bunch of guys wearing UC Sunnydale shirts screwing around
and grinning as they strolled up the bar. One of them looked right at her
and she turned away, just waiting for Buffy to pick up. Then, a meaty hand
suddenly pushed down the button on the phone and all she heard was the
dial tone. "Hey!" she protested, glaring at the college boy.
"Hey yourself girlie," he responded, leering.
Buffy turned her eyes and walked away from him. She sighed, looking heavenward. Is this what she came back to life for? To be tortured to death until she made a decision about her romantic life?! Especially considering how every decision she's made in the past has been a bad one. She groaned, turning on her heel to face him, a few feet away now. "Riley, why can't you just settle for being really important to me right now?" Buffy asked, almost pleaded.
He frowned slightly at her statement.
"I don't know what I want, okay? I told you a thousand
times over. I just DON'T know!" She exclaimed, before calming
herself with a deep breath that inevitably turned into a long-suffering
sigh. "Can't we just take this slow? Why do we have to rush into
decisions?"
"I don't wanna be strung along like a lapdog, Buffy. It
may work with Spike, but it doesn't work with me," Riley shook his head.
"I don't think you'll ever decide if we just keep putting the issues on
the back burner."
"I don't string along anyone, Riley," Buffy snapped back, lips
pressing into a thoughtful frown. Did she? She bit her lip,
unsure of herself. Why did he have to tear all her resolve apart?!
"If you can't give it time Riley, than just go on and walk out of my life
again. Except, this time, don't come back!"
"You know that's not what I want, Buffy. I don't know
if that's what you want, but all I'm saying is, how much longer can you
keep putting it off?"
Riley stepped closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm a good man Buffy. I try, I really do. But it never seems enough. If you need more than I'll try to give you more. If you want a little bad boy in your man... I...I... could try..."
Buffy shivered in his embrace. She turned her eyes.
"Riley, you can't change who you are to make me happy. Just like
I can't change who I am to please anyone, I've tried. I'm the slayer,
and no one seems to get that. They're never satisfied.
They want more Buffy, or more of the slayer. When will anyone be
satisfied with just me?!" She pulled away, uncomfortable in his embrace.
"I don't want a bad boy Riley, or a good boy or whatever it is you've gotten
into your head. How can you possibly know what I need, if I don't?!"
"Buffy, I'm a human being. I can do all the things you
need and want. To walk in the sunlight, to get a job, take care of
you, give you a family..." Riley pleaded, trying to dig his way out of
the hole she buried him in. "Spike can't do that. He
can't give you children; he can't walk in the sunlight. He's a killer!
A soulless demon! He's an evil monster, who's nothing but a killer!"
"He's not a killer!" Buffy defended. "Not anymore!"
"All because of some extra hardware in his brain!" Riley tried
to rationalize. "Can't you see he's a killer! He's soulless."
Buffy glared. "I know plenty of killers with souls!"
She couldn't believe the lengths she was going to defend Spike.
"What if he turns on you??! What if you wake up one day
and he kills you, or your friends?! Or Dawn?! How can you risk
that? Look what happened with Angel! And he had a soul!"
Riley argued. "There's no remorse in Spike. No love.
Just evil."
"Stop it!" Buffy wanted to pull her hair out in frustration.
"Spike wouldn't hurt Dawn!! I know it! In my gut! In my heart!
In my head! It's all bubbling around inside! Can't you see
it?! Spike's changed!"
"Changed for how long? I'm the closest you get to perfect
Buffy. I love you so much, can't YOU see that?" Riley was losing
badly.
She stared at him like he was made of glass. Her jaw dropped.
"What? What did I say?" he asked.
"Oh God... Dawn...." Buffy mumbled. She broke her transfixed
gaze. "I forgot Dawn! I forgot!" her eyes welled up with guilty
tears and she ran from the room.
"Buffy!! Wait!!!" Riley called.
"I can't! Dawn's all alone!" she burst into the other
room.
"What's wrong?" Giles asked.
"Dawnie... we need to find her..." Buffy rushed out the
store, not bothering to explain anymore than that. She ran towards the
school first, and if she wasn't still there she'd check the dentist.
Riley looked at the stunned group. "I'll go check home
and the cemetery," he stated, a bit meekly. Tara and Willow offered to
check their place and school.
Xander took Anya's hand and led her towards the door. "Anya and I will check the streets and hospital."
Giles nodded. "I'll wait here incase she decides to come
by."
"I'm using the phone, you'll just have to wait your turn," Dawn
pulled the phone
towards her and started dialing again., sparing an annoyed look at
Frat boy.
The older, bigger boy ripped the phone from her hands. "Screw
you, little girl. I'll use the damn phone whenever the hell I want
to." He picked up the receiver.
Dawn growled angrily and glared at him. "Yeah, piss off,"
she muttered, unconsciously uttering one of Spike's favorite phrases.
The college boy stopped dialing and turned his head to her.
"What did you say to me!?"
"Wow, Frat boys really are dumber than your average dumb person..."
Dawn snorted. "I said… piss off!" She grabbed the receiver
away from him.
His friends laughed at him. "You gonna let a high school
brat overpower you, Terry?"
"Easy now..." the bartender warned. One of his friends laughed
drunkenly and socked the guy right in the face, knocking him out.
Dawn swallowed hard, her heart pounding in fear as she regarded the expressions
of her oppressors. She'd gone too far. She just couldn't stand
bullies, never had been able to stomach them. So as her principles
dictated, she stood toe-to-toe bravely with the taller, muscular, football
type guy. She stared hard, hoping her fear wasn't showing in her
eyes.
"You're a dead little bitch..." the one called Terry grabbed
Dawn's arm forcefully.
"Ow!" she grunted. "Lemme go, you jerk!!!" She squirmed,
and smacked at the offensive appendage holding her in his grip, but it
was too tight. She was going to pass out soon, from fear.
Oh God... what had she gotten herself into?!
Dawn had always thought a vampire, or demon, or something dark and ugly living inside of Sunnydale would eventually kill her. She, for the most part, had forgotten that there were human monsters out there as well. And sometimes, they were far worse than any demon she could ever have met. Dawn tried to get the bully to leave her alone, but he just laughed and shoved her into a group of his friends on the far side of the bar, near the wall at the back of the club. She could smell the alcohol on their breath as she stumbled into two of them, and she scrunched up her nose in disgust. "Leave me alone!" she protested, when one of them smacked her rump and grinned. "Don't touch me!"
Spike stuck to the shadows, noticing Dawn had made her way off
the dance floor. He took the long way around the club to keep from being
seen, following the familiar smell and feel of her. He didn't want to alert
her to his presence, just yet. Technically, he was supposed to be gone.
Slinking around towards the bar, his brow furrowed when he didn't see her
right away. He had been sure this was where she was headed…
"Ow! Stop it!!!"
The sound of her voice caught his attention, and he immediately
stood straight up, hearing the distress and the pain there. He growled
low in his throat, and had to hold him self back physically for a moment
so he wouldn't vamp out right then and there. Forgetting his carefully
laid plans, he charged forward, shoving his way through a necking couple
and a group of kids smoking and laughing by the stairs. And when he came
into full view of the bar, the tenuous hold he had on his calm severed
completely. Three lugs in UC Sunnydale sweaters were laughing and grabbing
at his Platelet like stray dogs nipping over a king's meal. He could see
their slightly dilated pupils and smell the beer on them from a mile away.
The vampire frowned. This just wouldn't do, now would it? There were certain
things in his life that he would not watch, would not allow. One of them
was daytime talk shows. Another of them was seeing Dawn that bloody terrified.
So terrified that she was shaking, that her voice floundered and she looked
absolutely hopeless. He had seen her wear that expression only once before,
back at the tower with Doc, and by the life and un-life of him, he bloody
well refused to stand by and see it again. Fail her again. This time, this
time, he could handle it. He strode forward purposefully and shoved the
one kid with his back to him out of the way, intercepting Dawn as she was
shoved in his direction and pulling her behind him.
"Spike!!!" Dawn exclaimed in surprise, relief flooding her immediately,
though he noted her voice still shook slightly. "What are you…"
"I told you I'd be here if you ever needed me, didn't I, Nibblet?"
he asked, letting go of some of his anger to look at her reassuringly.
His eyes were so much softer when he looked at her. Her and Buffy.
Dawn took in the warmth of his fondness in his expression and
relaxed a little, though she was still terrified. "You always have been,"
she stated quietly.
He smiled at the irony of the statement, recalling the tower
again briefly, before dropping it for another brood time, another brood
place. He turned back to the three college blokes, who looked quite indignant,
now that their fun had been stopped. "Hey, who the hell do you think you
are, you 80's punk reject?" a blonde one asked, crooked nose turned up
at the smaller, more wiry Spike. The vampire growled.
"I think, I'm the one that's going to take the lady home. And
I think, I'm the one that's going to make you apologize to her. What do
you think, if you do at all?" Spike asked conversationally. But Dawn could
hear his fury bubbling just below the surface. Whenever he got like that
his voice was flat and cold. It meant he was pissed. It meant that he needed
a decent spot of violence, and that if anyone touched her again and scared
her like that, he would rip them apart, human or not. He had always been
like that for her. She realized it was because they needed each other.
They had needed each other to convince the other that Buffy's death hadn't
been either of their faults. And over the months, they had clung to that
need rather than separate when Buffy had returned. He was her best friend.
Every time she had been remotely hurt, Spike had been there
for her. Whether it had been something as terrifying as reliving nightmares
of Buffy's death at night or something as trivial as scraping her knee.
He protected her. Not just because he had promised to, but also because
he loved her.
"I think you're stupid, cuz there's three of us and one of you,"
one of the jocks responded, a decidedly stereotypical sneer in his voice.
"That's what I think."
Dawn stepped back a bit from Spike, knowing he'd need room to
maneuver. He wouldn't be able to hit the humans without setting his chip
off, but she knew he'd do it anyway. He was just that way.
"I'm impressed. You counted past one," Spike responded. Hearing
Dawn step back, he turned slightly to look at her out of the corner of
his eye. "Bit, get ready, we're leaving."
"Yeah, in a body bag," the college boy with the surfer accent
scoffed. The one next to him, the brunette with the spiked hair, grinned
and nodded like an idiot.
"Both of them," he agreed.
Spike was incensed. He would let them threaten him because he
was an equal match for them, whether they knew it or not. But threatening
to kill Dawn just made him see red all around. He wanted to snap their
necks between his hands, or drain them dry and laugh as the life faded
out of them slowly and painfully. He wanted to kill them for even thinking
that he'd let them hurt his Nibblet. But a voice in the back of his head
told him that doing that WOULD lose for him, one of the most precious things
in his life right now. Killing them would estrange him from Dawn. She would
fear him, would loathe him. Be disgusted and call him murderer. He didn't
think he could take that, not from her.
Hearing one of the jocks sneaking up on him, Spike made a decision,
right then and there. He worked around his fury. So instead of spinning
around like he had wanted to so he would end up behind his attacker to
be in a good position to rip the kid's jugular out, the vamp he simply
ducked the punch from the side easily, having heard the clumsy git move
to draw his arm back in preparation for an attack. Spike hated sucker punchers.
The jock, completely off balance from missing Spike, lurched forward, and
the vampire caught his extended arm, pushing it downward and breaking it
across his knee. The sound of shattering bone was pleasant, a sensation
he had sort of missed since the insertion of the chip. The boy cried out
in horror, seeing the jagged end of bone extending through the meat of
his arm. Spike brought up his elbow and clocked his opponent in the face,
knocking him backwards into the bar hard and rendering him unconscious.
He knew Dawn wouldn't have liked to see the bone breaking, but Spike REALLY
hated sucker punchers.
The other two jocks, still standing stock still from utter surprise,
looked at each other, the heap on the floor that was their friend, then
back at Spike. They charged forward at the same time, intent on driving
the bleached blond man in the black duster back into the edge of the bar
and winding him. The vampire leapt over them in a graceful arc, executing
a perfect flip over them at the last second. Imagine their surprise when
he clanked their heads together harshly from behind and shoved them into
the bar, to land other friend, who was already unconscious and twitching
on the floor. Both of them slid bonelessly to the ground, completely blacked
out. They would probably be like that for a long while.
Taking a moment to admire his handiwork, Spike smirked at the three unconscious lugs, who all reminded him in one way or another, of Captain Cardboard. Then, he remembered that this little altercation hadn't been a simple bar brawl to satiate a little bit of blood lust. Dawn was still here. Spike stiffened and turned around slowly, so he could look at her.
The girl stood behind him with her mouth open slightly, eyes big and bewildered. She stared at the pile of College boys for a minute, as if coming to terms, and then forced her gaze back to William. Her brow furrowed, and she moistened her lips, speaking slowly to keep her voice from shaking.
"What…what kind of demons were they?" she asked softly, though
she already knew the answer.
"You and I both know you know the answer to that one, pet,"
Spike responded gently. He almost expected her to draw back in fear, try
to hide away from him, now that he could hurt humans. He waited for a reaction,
braced himself for it by closing his eyes. He could see her reaction in
his mind's eye. She was recoiled in absolute horror in his mental image,
and putting a stool between herself and him as if it would afford a meek
means of protection from the bloodthirsty monster. Her lips would be trembling
slightly and her eyes would be huge and liquid. He heard the mental image
of his girl whimper a quiet, 'don't hurt me, please' in that shaky way
her voice got when she was scared. He saw her eyes well up with tears,
saw her look at him a moment before turning around and running as fast
as she could, in the opposite direction. He was used to that sort of thing
now he supposed, or he should be, anyway. The people he loved running from
him because he wasn't what they wanted him to be. He expected it.
What she did next surprised no one more than him. Maybe it surprised
her a little too. He suddenly found himself arm deep in Platelet, her hands
wrapped tightly around his neck as she sobbed against him. "They were horrible
Spike… I was scared…I didn't think…" she trailed off, crying softly. "They
were monsters."
Spike tightened his arms around her protectively, cooing words
of reassurance in her ears, though he knew that she knew what those boys
would have taken from her if they'd been given the chance. "It's all right
Bit, I've got you." He squeezed her for emphasis. "I've got you."
She nodded against him and tried to stop crying, though he could
still feel her body give the occasional shudder of disgust. "Thank you,
for protecting me," she said quietly, drawing the back of her hand across
her eyes to dislodge the tears there.
"Until the end of the world," he muttered back, petting her
hair gently.
"Spike?" her voice was small.
"Yes, pet?"
"You're more human than any of them. People like that." She
wanted him to know that. He needed to believe it.
"I'm a vampire, luv."
"I know," she responded, hugging him tighter. And she accepted
him. It made his throat catch slightly. Chipless, and violent, and undead,
she accepted him. He was reminded yet again, why he loved this girl.
"Let's get you home, Bit. Big Sis will worry," he murmured,
pulling back slightly and looking at her still tear stained face. He pulled
the cuff of his duster over his hand and wiped the liquid away from her
cheeks gently.
She nodded. "Let's go home."
Riley searched the house on Revello Drive from top to bottom,
but no Dawn. He sighed, wondering if checking the cemetery
was worth it, or if he should look in the parks. Where would a fifteen-year-old
girl want to go in the middle of the night anyway? When he had been that
age he'd been home at 6 every night, doing his homework or playing football
with his brothers. Times sure had changed.
He considered the night he'd found Spike in Buffy's room, and
how protective of Spike, Dawn had been. He wondered if she'd gone
to his crypt. Or… what if Spike had come back and kidnapped Dawn?!
Riley left the house and ran down the block at a dead run. If he
managed to save Dawn, maybe Buffy would realize what a beast Spike really
was.
Minutes after Riley had left the Summer's house, Spike escorted
Dawn through the front door and deposited her unto the threshold rather
gallantly. He had been a Victorian gentleman, after all. Dawn smiled
up at him. "I'm glad you were there tonight, Spike."
"Where's big sis?" Spike asked, scared brow knitting. "She
shouldn't have left you all alone at the Bronze."
Dawn sighed. "I dunno... she was supposed to pick
me up from school and take me to the dentist. She never showed, so
I went by myself, and was on my way home, when I realized I forgot all
about my big test tomorrow."
"Buffy didn't help you?" Spike sighed.
"No...she...uh..." Dawn paused. "Well, she's been kinda..."
"With Cap'n Cardboard, eh?" Spike asked, trying to sound
confident about saying that. It didn't quite play out.
"No, no not at all." Dawn shook her head. "Spike…she's
just been…well, kinda lost since you left."
Spike's eyes widened and if his heart still beat, he was sure
it would've stopped from the absolute shock of his Bit's statement.
"What?"
Dawn tried to suppress a small smile. "We were both pretty
distraught..." She pouted, suddenly looking up at him those huge, luminous
eyes. "How could you leave us?" Dawn asked, smacking him in the chest
furiously.
Spike frowned sadly, wanting to stake himself for the hurt in
Dawn's eyes but caught her hand with his own instead, and held it.
"I'm sorry, Little Bit... I thought it was for the best..." Spike
sighed, squeezing her hand gently. "Your sis... and I...she needed
me to leave..."
"No Spike... she didn't! Don't you see, that's all the
men in her life do… leave..." Dawn explained; her voice filled with sadness.
She didn't want to betray her sister. She'd leave it up to her to
explain the state she was in after he left.
"I'm sorry, Nibblet. I'm here now, an' I promise you
'll never leave you again." Spike pulled her too him and hugged her gently.
"Until Buffy finds out 'm chipless and runs a clothespin through me anyway...."
Dawn gasped and pulled back from his familiar embrace. She couldn't
believe she'd almost forgotten that! "How, how did you get the chip
out? Is that where you went Spike?"
He shook his head. "Nah. Was on my way to LA, when this thing
was attacking someone in the graveyard..." Spike started, awkward to admit
what a sodding hero he was turning out to be. "Some type of electrical
demon..." He paused. "It shocked me, an' when I woke...presto, no
chip buzzing around in my head."
"H..how...did you know?" Dawn was almost afraid to ask.
"I didn't kill anyone..." Spike said defensively, disappointment
in his eyes. She thought he'd gone back to being a killer.
"I know!" Dawn wanted to wash the look in his eyes away.
"I know you'd never hurt someone unless they were bad... I thought you
know, maybe you'd punched someone or something. Not killed anyone!"
"How can you be sure, Nibblet?" Spike found her blind faith
in him surreal.
"Because you love us too much. Love controls every little
thing we do in this world Spike. Love is stronger than anything,
and you're no monster." Dawn explained.
"I wish I could believe you," Spike leaned against the doorframe.
"You can. You've risked so much for us Spike. You
woulda died for us. The night Buffy died is when I realized
how strong love could be. She'd die for me, as you would...for me...or
for her..." Dawn stared at him, daring him to contradict her.
"Right then," he stumbled nervously. "So after I woke,
the girl I tried to..." he couldn't say it. "She came back and I
well... I was a bit disoriented 'n whatnot, sorta knocked her down. Funny
thing was, it didn't hurt. My instinct told me to keep on with the
plan and leave SunnyD. I went to LA... killed a few demons...punched
a guy harassing his woman and that's when I knew for sure the soddin' chip
had been short-circuited..."
"Well, I guess that's a good thing for you, right? No
more neutered vampire..." Dawn smiled.
"How is it, you trust me so, Nibblet?" Spike asked, even uncertain
of himself.
"Cuz I love you..." Dawn shrugged. It was that easy, as far
as she was concerned.
Spike groaned to mask his intense pleasure at her comment.
"I've turned into a soddin' poof I 'ave..."
"You have not!" Dawn shook her head. "You're still all
bad... look at the hair… well not that you can… But you got the leather,
and the hair and the attitude...the accent... and the nail polish. Well,
not so much the nail polish. But you're bad… you're one big bad ass!"
Spike raised his scarred brow. "Easy there on the language."
He stopped when he realized what he'd said and groaned internally. "See!"
He rested his head on the doorframe. "I'm a bleeding nancy boy..."
"You are not! You kicked major...butt... tonight!" Dawn
chose her words carefully this time, though her eyes gleamed playfully
at her protector.
He grinned in response, despite himself. "I did, didn't
I?"
"Yes, you did!" Dawn giggled. "So… why did you come
back?"
"Someone told me I was needed here..." Spike was honest.
He'd leave out the karaoke bit; she'd never stop rubbing it in his face
if he told her. " Plus…well...I couldn't stay away any longer.
Bloody missed you two, pet. So, I'm risking my undead life in hopes of
helping big sis, and her not staking me."
"I won't tell her!" Dawn promised. "I swear Spike."
"Thanks Bit... but if I don't, she'll never trust me again,
if she ever did find out," Spike sighed. "She may just stake me...I
don't know... but I gotta tell 'er."
"Well… maybe if you tell her, and be honest, she'll believe
nothing's changed," Dawn offered. "I know you're not gonna turn all
bad..."
"I wish I did," he mumbled under his breath.
"Spike... You'd never hurt us. That chip didn't make you
who you are. It may have guided you, but you decided who you are.
A wonderful man I trust and love." Dawn smiled reassuringly.
"Who just happens to be a vampire," Spike added.
She shrugged. "Who happens to be a vampire."
"Will you be all right?" Spike asked, changing the subject.
"I'm fine. Going to look for Buffy?" she asked.
"Yup, if I come back fitting in a lil urn, don't let her flush
me down the toilet eh, Bite Size?" he reached up and rubbed her face with
the back of his palm gently.
She giggled. "No problem." she leaned up on her toes to
kiss his cheek. "Be careful. Don't get staked."
He grumbled about mushy stuff and rubbed his cheek where she'd
come in contact with him, turning to leave. After a minute, he looked back.
"If she comes back here, don't tell her 'bout the chip, kay, Platelet?
I want her to hear it from me..."
"Promise," Dawn flashed what she hoped was a passable imitation
of the girl scout's honor sign as she watched him jog down the steps and
down the block.
She shut the door, and for the first time in days, she smiled.
TBC...
