Chapter 10-Tarzan and Jane
The Geminus demon popped out unceremoniously, breaking Spike's hold on Buffy's neck and forcibly extracting him from the heat of her body. Spike bolted upright and blinked a few times, trying to regain his senses and understand what he was seeing. Glowing red eyes glared up at him and it was making strange hissing sounds as it vibrated beneath him. Recognition set in first, immediately followed by a blinding fury as he realized the creature was laughing at him.
"YOU FUCKING BITCH!!" He tore off its right arm, causing it to shriek in agony.
"YOU BONY," off came the left arm. "MOTHER," he turned and twisted off the demon's left leg. "FUCKING," and the right leg. The thing was hissing with pain. "BASTARD!!" Spike yanked its head out and watched the red glow fade from its eye sockets before it all vanished into oblivion. He was sitting on top of Buffy alone now. His thunderous rage passed and turned to despair when he saw her. She was naked and out cold.
"What have I done?" he worried out loud as he touched the still bleeding wounds on her neck. To his great relief he could feel her pulse still beating strong. Spike found his jeans and slipped them on, then tried to wake up Buffy. He couldn't very well leave her there like that for her friends to find. Not that he gave a damn what they thought, but the Slayer did. He wondered why they hadn't all rushed into the room by now, what with all the racket he'd been making. He clumsily tried to redress her in the outfit she was wearing, succeeding only in getting her undergarments back on. Spike abandoned his original idea, settling for a nice, slip on dress he found hanging in her closet instead.
"Buffy?" He tried rousing her again, as he tenderly daubed his bite marks with a soft cloth.
Something had been gnawing at the back of his mind and now, seeing her injury, he knew what it was. The chip had not gone off. He could have killed her. His mind was racing, his emotions raw and he was still woozy with Slayer's blood.
"I've got to get out of here," he mumbled to himself as he grabbed his shirt and put on his boots.
Spike donned his shirt as he stomped to the door and flung it open. He attempted to walk out but an invisible barrier knocked him back.
"Willow!" he called out, but his voice also could not pass through the barrier. "'splains why no one heard anythin'."
All of a sudden, the Scoobies were in front of him and Willow was mouthing Latin to break the spell.
"Sorry Spike, we couldn't hear you, but we were waiting in the other room for the door to open. Is Buffy okay?" Willow questioned him anxiously.
"She's unconscious, but she's alright," he answered her quietly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to leave," he grumbled and pushed through, not waiting for them to move.
Spike's rudeness was the least of their concerns, however. They found Buffy lying on her back in bed, her hands resting on her stomach. The wounds on her neck were already starting to heal. Everyone noticed she was dressed differently, but no one--not even Anya--said a word.
Buffy started to stir, her mouth turned a crooked smile and she bit her lip. A low moan escaped her lips as she tilted back her head. Buffy's hands traveled down the length of her thighs and back up to her stomach. She was moving her hips in a slow, circular motion as she opened her eyes and saw five stunned faces looking at her.
"Hey, Buff," Xander greeted her, trying to forget what he just witnessed.
Buffy sat up, making her frowny confused face. "W-What am I…I mean what are you? Where's Spike?"
"Everything's okay Buffy, you're fine. Spike left and now we're here," Willow tried to explain.
"He left? Did he say anything?"
"Just that you were unconscious, and okay. He was in a big hurry to go, though," Anya chimed in.
"Oh." Buffy hugged herself and noticed what she was wearing. She hoped no one would ask for an explanation.
Dawn sat down next to her on the bed. "So, you are okay, right?"
"Yeah, I'm good…just really, really tired."
"We should get out of your hair then and let you rest," replied Willow sympathetically.
Dawn's eyes lit up. "Can we go to the mall? I need to buy presents."
"We could do that," Xander answered her request, taking Anya's hand.
Willow nodded. "Sounds like a plan…Tara?"
"I'm in…do you need anything, Buffy? I mean, before we go?"
Buffy smiled and shook her head. "Just about nine thousand hours of sleep, other than that, no. Go…have fun and buy me lots of presents!"
They said their good-byes and at last left Buffy to rest.
"Finally!" she grouched as she threw herself back on her pillow. She was tired, but not sleepy, so it wasn't a total lie. A group of concerned and well-meaning people was not what she needed right now. What she needed and wanted, was Spike.
How could he leave me like that, after what we just did? Sort of sweet of him to dress me, though, but I think he put my underwear on backwards.
She pulled up her dress to check and laughed as she put them back on correctly. Her mirth was short-lived though, because soon she was back to wallowing in misery. Her stomach was growling, too, having not eaten anything since the bagel that morning. No sense in being hungry and miserable she reasoned as she got up and headed downstairs.
Buffy drifted into the kitchen and turned on the light. Right there on the counter was Spike's blanket and coat, two things she knew he'd never leave without, especially at 3:30 in the afternoon. She scanned the kitchen, trying to figure out where he might be hiding, then padded over towards the basement door.
Spike was sitting in the middle of the basement stairs, turning around only briefly when she opened the door. He didn't say anything, just turned back around and looked off into nowhere.
"Watcha doin'?" She asked him as she descended the stairs.
"Nothing…avoidin' the sun and…you."
Buffy pouted and sat down next to him. "Oh…Am I gonna hate the answer to my next question, then? 'Cause I gotta know why, now."
Spike looked down at his hands and pursed his lips into his own version of a pout. "Yeah, maybe…I don't know. Needed to clear my head a bit, mostly. Doin' a piss poor job, though."
"Okay…that was enlightening. Feeling so much better now."
He gave her a sideways glance, but didn't respond to the sarcastic prod.
Frustrated, she took a deep breath and tried again. "Don't make me pull fangs here. Talk to me, please? What's wrong?"
Spike brought his hands to his face and rubbed his brows with his palms, struggling with how to answer her. He ran both hands through his hair, clutched it from the roots and pulled. Then he stretched his arms in the air and dropped them back in his lap with breathy sigh.
"It's a mix of things, pet," he slowly began to explain, formulating the words as he spoke. "Suppose I need to tell you something…uh, about the chip…it didn't work. I almost killed you. If it hadn't been for that demon…" He couldn't bear to complete the thought.
They sat in silence as Buffy let his words sink in. "Uh-huh. Is there anything else?"
Spike gave her an incredulous stare. "Isn't that enough?"
"You said it was a mix of things," she reminded him.
"But the chip…"
"Didn't work," she finished for him. "I got that. It's either broken, which I doubt, since it worked fine right before you bit me…or it didn't go off 'cause you weren't hurting me at all. I'm leaning towards the latter."
"You can't know that, Slayer."
"Sure I can. Let's test my theory. Try hurting me."
He looked at her and shook his head.
"Pretend I'm someone else, like Angel," she suggested, knowing how much he hated her ex.
Spike raised his brow then closed his eyes. Suddenly, he grabbed her arm and violently hurled her off the step with an agonizing howl. The chip was working fine but Buffy was more than a little ticked.
"I said 'try' to hurt me, you goon!" she scolded him sharply, rubbing the place on her leg that was injured.
Spike ran down to help her up. "Sorry," he apologized sheepishly.
Buffy grimaced as she stood up. "I'm okay. Maybe using Angel wasn't the best idea I ever had. But still, proved my point, right?"
"Not entirely. Still not sure I wouldn't have just drained you, since the demon interrupted."
Buffy folded her arms and quirked her mouth to one side. "Do you want me dead? Or turned?" she asked him straightforwardly.
"No! Course not. You're…you know what you are to me and I wouldn't want you any other way. But I wasn't quite myself."
"And neither was I, but I remember everything, do you?"
"Yeah, I remember," Spike replied softly, feeling ashamed.
Buffy took a step closer and reached for his hand. She looked down at their interlocking hands then back into his eyes. "It was pretty amazing."
"But, but…I was a beast, a monster."
Buffy smiled widely at him, "I was sort of on the beasty side myself, if you didn't notice."
"I noticed, but it's not the same," Spike protested sadly.
"No, not the same, but equal. I'm the Slayer and you're a vampire, a very special vampire."
"Me Tarzan, you Jane," he grunted.
Buffy chuckled. "Something like that, yeah."
She put her arms around his waist and rested her head against his chest. Cautiously, Spike brought his arms her shoulders and held her gratefully.
"I've been running away from this for months now, Spike," Buffy began, feeling snug and safe in his arms. "I'm not running anymore. I figured something out today. I trust you. I trust your love. That's how I know you wouldn't kill me. Even when you were like a wild animal in heat, I knew you loved me. I felt it. Granted, it was a wee bit primitive…"
"Oh, just a wee bit, right," he overrode her with a scoff.
Buffy smacked him playfully on his chest and continued. "But I still felt it and my own cave woman can take whatever monstrous, beastly dirty deeds you throw at her."
"Yes, she certainly can," Spike agreed, grinding his hips against her.
"Down, boy! I'm not finished here." He stilled his hips and smiled at her warmly. "Anyway, I'm okay with the whole idea of us being an 'us' now. I'm not afraid of who or what you are. And I don't care if you're a monster or a man…'cause I love you."
Spike froze, not quite sure he'd actually heard those words coming from her lips. No. She did say it. I'm certain she said it.
"Well, its about bloody time you admitted it," he groused, deciding to play it cool.
Buffy kicked his shin and glared at him.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You're supposed to say something sweet to me now!"
Spike rolled his eyes, clearly enjoying their newest round of banter. "That's a lovely dress you have on, Slayer."
Buffy gave him her 'be real' look.
"You look better with it off, though."
"You're hopeless." She shook her head and let her arms fall to her side.
He took her arms and wrapped them around his neck. "Yeah, I am. Hopelessly in love," he confessed before he gave her a searing kiss.
"Mmmm. See? You can be nice! Was that so hard?"
"No. It wasn't hard." He took one of her hands and placed it on his groin. "But this is."
Buffy pulled back her hand and folded her arms. "I take it back, you aren't nice, you're a pig."
"Stop," he told her seriously, taking her shoulders in his hands. "Listen to me. I can be down right genteel when I want. But if you're lookin' for Mr. Nice Guy, you shouldn't have picked me. But since you did, if you meant what you said, I promise you it'll never be boring."
"I meant it." She leaned into him again and he gave her a welcoming squeeze. "You just know how to piss me off so well. But hey! Already over it."
"That's not all I can to do well to you, baby."
Buffy gave him another one of her looks.
"Oh, come on! You left yourself wide open for that."
"I did not! You're turning everything I say into something sexual!"
Spike started to stroke her hair. "It's called foreplay."
"Oh! Is that what this is?" She grinned at him. "What do you call this, then?" Buffy asked as her hands began to roam and explore the hard planes of his body. She gently bit his nipple through his shirt, teasing it with her teeth as she unzipped his pants. Spike let forth a low growl as her hand found its way inside his jeans and proceeded to caress his most sensitive flesh.
Her touch made him quake throughout his being, filling him indescribable bliss.
Spike closed his eyes as he brought his lips to her ear and whispered, "That, I call a miracle."
THE END
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