Chapter Five: Seven Months Ago
May, 2001
The silence was the first thing Spike became aware of as he floated back to consciousness. The sudden quiet blanketed the battle scene like a physical force. He stood slowly. His shoulder felt as though it were on fire. His hands were torn and bloodied. He hardly noticed as he limped up to the small crowd semi circled around the smoking pile of metal. He took a headcount. Xander cradled Anya in his arms. Giles was standing near Dawn. Tara held onto Willow, supporting her. The only one missing was Buffy. Spike noticed a new sound in the air. Desperate gulps of air choked by emotion. The tears flowed freely down the faces of the remaining players.
He spied the prone body of the slayer, no longer animated by the life force within her. Her blond hair spread out behind her, a small smile on her peaceful face. Not a mark on her body, she could have been sleeping. But she was still. So terribly, terribly still.
Spike collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face. The waves of grief crashing over him until he thought he would be crushed under the weight.
"No," Dawn said softly, breaking the silence. She slowly walked over to Buffy's body and knelt down. No one stopped her. She reached out a hand and brushed back a lock of hair from Buffy's face. She turned and offered a watery smile to her friends. "It was her gift. I understand now," she said quietly before she passed out over the body of her sister.
Spike reached her first, lifting Dawn's slight weight easily in his strong arms.
"Spike," Willow said softly.
Spike turned to the small redhead and tightened his grip on Dawn. "I'll take her home and watch over her. Sun'll be up soon."
Giles removed his glasses and stepped forward. "We'll deal with things, here." He said simply. "Call the police-"
"No!" Anya argued. Xander let her down and placed the ex-demon on her feet. "Giles, think about it. We can't let people know she's dead. If it got out on the vampire grapevine that Sunnydale is suddenly slayerless, it'll be an all you can eat buffet."
"But, won't another Slayer be called?" Xander asked. "I mean, we had Kendra, and Faith-" he trailed off.
"No, not in this case," Giles replaced his glasses and turned to face Xander and Anya. "Buffy already had her replacement. That was Kendra. There will be no other slayer called until Faith dies."
"Because Faith was Kendra's replacement." Xander finished.
Giles nodded. Willow and Tara approached. "Anya's right. We can't let this get out. Not just because of vampires and demons - but because of Dawn. We're the only family she has left now, but not legally. Legally, she could be taken away from us."
"Over my dead body," Spike spat out menacingly. "No bloody social services is going to take her from us. I promised Buffy I'd look after Dawn. I'd make sure nothing happened to her." He looked down at Dawn's bloodied dress. "I failed once. I won't fail again."
No one said anything for a moment. Finally, Giles stepped forward and put a hand on Spike's shoulder. "Take her home. We'll take care of Buffy. We'll meet back at the house later." He said with tears in his eyes. Xander turned his back.
Spike nodded at the weary watcher and walked off, carrying his cargo as though it were the most precious thing in the world.
Dawn woke up after they arrived home. She didn't speak, just stared off into space. Spike cleaned and dressed Dawn's wounds as best he could and helped her into her bed. He watched her the rest of the night, leaving her side only to close the blinds and curtains in all the windows. He watched as the room slowly changed from a dusty black to a rosy pink. It was going to be a beautiful day in Sunnydale.
The front door opened a little after ten. Spike waited at the top of the stairs while the Scoobies filed in and made their way to the living room.
"She's asleep," Spike said as they sat down. He perched on the edge of the couch, sitting next to Tara.
"Good," Tara said warmly, reaching out to place a reassuring hand on Spike's knee. The gesture of comfort was unexpected, but Spike appreciated the sentiment behind it.
"Does that mean you'll be cleaning out your crypt tonight? Go hook up with Drusilla or something?" Xander asked spitefully. "After all, the reason you stuck around so long is now gone. No need for you to stay behind."
"I promised the Slayer I would protect Dawn."
"Yeah, heck of a protector you were. Got knifed by the really old guy while Dawn was sliced open." Xander spat.
Spike lunged for the younger man, gameface on. He grabbed Xander by the lapels and slammed him against the wall. Spike's chip sent out a massive jolt, but he held onto the taller man. "You think I wanted this?" he seethed, his face inches from Xander's. "I oughta kill you where you stand."
"Sing a different tune, Spike." Xander said quietly.
"I failed, alright?" he seethed, suddenly releasing Xander and changing back into his human visage. He turned and faced the group, arms spread wide. "William the Bloody failed. Again. The one time when it really meant something, and I bloody blew it." He sank to his knees and buried his head in his hands.
Xander looked down at his fallen enemy, lost for words.
Willow walked over to Spike and knelt down beside him. "We all failed, Spike." She said quietly, putting her arms around him and forcing him to look at her. "But we're going to continue her work. Fight the good fight. Keep our family safe." Spike looked at her in desperation. "You're part of our family, Spike. Buffy trusted you to look after the most precious thing in the world to her. If that doesn't make you family, I don't know what does." Overcome by the shared grief, Willow held Spike in her arms and they silently held onto each other.
Giles stood. "We'll fill him in later. Right now, we all need some rest. We'll meet back here at six tonight." He said as he shrugged into his coat.
Xander and Anya stood and followed Giles out the door, leaving Tara, Willow and Spike in the living room.
***
"So that's how Willow and Tara accepted me," Spike finished. He reached over and took a sip of the tepid tea leftover from earlier in the evening. "I slept on the floor in Dawn's room that day. I don't think I really slept at all. I just listened to her breathing and concentrated on that. We decided to bury you deep in the woods. Even had a nice evening service so I could pay my respects. Giles bought the headstone and casket. It was, well," Spike cleared his throat. "It was a nice funeral." He said quietly.
Buffy sat back against the couch. "Oh," she said quietly. "I had no idea." She sat quietly for a moment, absorbing this information. She knew they had missed her, obviously, since they brought her back. She knew they were devastated, but seeing the naked pain on Spike's face as he retold the story affected her more than she thought it would.
She never bothered to really ask how they dealt with her passing, she was too busy being angry with them. "What did Giles mean when he said he'd fill you in later?" she asked.
"They brought up the idea of using the bot as a stand in for you for Dawn's school events. You were her legal guardian, and no one knew you had died. If they had, your father would have taken Dawn away from us and we wouldn't be able to keep her safe." Spike explained.
Buffy was slightly stunned. "I thought you guys kept the robot around while you worked out a way to bring me back. I never thought that it was to keep Dawn here in Sunnydale."
"That was the original intention," Spike agreed. "But, this is the hellmouth, and the local nasties were still out in their usual numbers. It was Willow who thought of using the bot for patrol. We all had our hands full, and we weren't exactly a crack fighting unit." Spike stood and reached for Buffy's hand. "Let's go sit outside so I can have a fag."
Buffy allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. She followed Spike outside and sat down on the steps as he lit his cigarette. "I thought it was a bloody joke at first, but it made sense. If the local baddies were going to think you were still around, they had to see you once in a while." He took a drag on his cigarette and continued the story.
June, 2001
"What the bloody hell is that thing doing here?" Spike seethed as he entered the magic shop.
"Spikey!" the BuffyBot said brightly. She tried to stand up but was held in place by Willow's firm grip.
"Sit." Willow commended the bot as she worked on the circuitry in the abdomen.
"We-we," Tara stammered, looking at Willow.
"We need help on patrol, Spike." Anya informed him as she closed out the cash register. "I mean, there's only so much we can do by ourselves. Willow and Tara are researching spells, and the ones that don't backfire aren't powerful enough. Giles is too old to run after them, Xander can't shoot straight and all I can seem to do is scream and shout 'Look out behind you' every time we get in over our heads. You're the only one who can really fight these things, and even you get outnumbered most of the time. We need help."
Giles made a face. "I can chase the vampires down just fine."
"And you get all winded and they throw you around. I mean, really, Giles. You're the brains of the operation. We need you doing brainy stuff, not getting them bashed against walls."
"Anya," Xander cut in. "we get it. We suck."
"We were planning to use the BuffyBot as a stand in for Dawn's school activities, and figured we might as well configure her for combat as well." Tara explained.
Spike looked down at the blonde robot. She stared at him with adoration. "Makes sense," he grudgingly agreed.
"If Spike likes it, I like it, too." The Buffybot declared brightly, turning a sunny smile on the stunned vampire.
"Willow, can you stop her from doing that? Gives me the willies." Spike said as he sat down heavily in one of the chairs surrounding the research table.
"Already working on it. I'm replacing some of her personality protocols with fighting techniques, and I'm tweaking her vocabulary a bit.
"Willow doodled a nice tweak in the spice racks." Buffybot explained.
"As I said, still tweaking. I've erased the directories containing her, uh, original purpose. She'll be a lean, mean fighting machine in no time." Willow snapped the encasement shut and pulled the bot's green knit top back into place. "That's about all I can do. This robot is designed to learn by experience. Pretty fancy design, actually." She said with a hint of admiration. "The best way to have her learn is to take her on patrol."
Spike scowled at the robot. She was sitting there with an empty, vacant grin on her face, waiting to be addressed. He wondered how on earth he could ever have tried to use her to replace Buffy. She wasn't in the same league. Not even by half.
***
"That first patrol was a disaster." Spike laughed softly, gazing off into the distance. A car passed by, briefly lighting the pair sitting on the porch steps. "You know how they say that laughter can be cathartic in times of emotional stress? I think we all did some healing that night." Spike took another puff of his cigarette and dropped it to the ground, watching it slowly burn out. "So that night we set off on our first patrol with the bot."
To be continued.
May, 2001
The silence was the first thing Spike became aware of as he floated back to consciousness. The sudden quiet blanketed the battle scene like a physical force. He stood slowly. His shoulder felt as though it were on fire. His hands were torn and bloodied. He hardly noticed as he limped up to the small crowd semi circled around the smoking pile of metal. He took a headcount. Xander cradled Anya in his arms. Giles was standing near Dawn. Tara held onto Willow, supporting her. The only one missing was Buffy. Spike noticed a new sound in the air. Desperate gulps of air choked by emotion. The tears flowed freely down the faces of the remaining players.
He spied the prone body of the slayer, no longer animated by the life force within her. Her blond hair spread out behind her, a small smile on her peaceful face. Not a mark on her body, she could have been sleeping. But she was still. So terribly, terribly still.
Spike collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down his face. The waves of grief crashing over him until he thought he would be crushed under the weight.
"No," Dawn said softly, breaking the silence. She slowly walked over to Buffy's body and knelt down. No one stopped her. She reached out a hand and brushed back a lock of hair from Buffy's face. She turned and offered a watery smile to her friends. "It was her gift. I understand now," she said quietly before she passed out over the body of her sister.
Spike reached her first, lifting Dawn's slight weight easily in his strong arms.
"Spike," Willow said softly.
Spike turned to the small redhead and tightened his grip on Dawn. "I'll take her home and watch over her. Sun'll be up soon."
Giles removed his glasses and stepped forward. "We'll deal with things, here." He said simply. "Call the police-"
"No!" Anya argued. Xander let her down and placed the ex-demon on her feet. "Giles, think about it. We can't let people know she's dead. If it got out on the vampire grapevine that Sunnydale is suddenly slayerless, it'll be an all you can eat buffet."
"But, won't another Slayer be called?" Xander asked. "I mean, we had Kendra, and Faith-" he trailed off.
"No, not in this case," Giles replaced his glasses and turned to face Xander and Anya. "Buffy already had her replacement. That was Kendra. There will be no other slayer called until Faith dies."
"Because Faith was Kendra's replacement." Xander finished.
Giles nodded. Willow and Tara approached. "Anya's right. We can't let this get out. Not just because of vampires and demons - but because of Dawn. We're the only family she has left now, but not legally. Legally, she could be taken away from us."
"Over my dead body," Spike spat out menacingly. "No bloody social services is going to take her from us. I promised Buffy I'd look after Dawn. I'd make sure nothing happened to her." He looked down at Dawn's bloodied dress. "I failed once. I won't fail again."
No one said anything for a moment. Finally, Giles stepped forward and put a hand on Spike's shoulder. "Take her home. We'll take care of Buffy. We'll meet back at the house later." He said with tears in his eyes. Xander turned his back.
Spike nodded at the weary watcher and walked off, carrying his cargo as though it were the most precious thing in the world.
Dawn woke up after they arrived home. She didn't speak, just stared off into space. Spike cleaned and dressed Dawn's wounds as best he could and helped her into her bed. He watched her the rest of the night, leaving her side only to close the blinds and curtains in all the windows. He watched as the room slowly changed from a dusty black to a rosy pink. It was going to be a beautiful day in Sunnydale.
The front door opened a little after ten. Spike waited at the top of the stairs while the Scoobies filed in and made their way to the living room.
"She's asleep," Spike said as they sat down. He perched on the edge of the couch, sitting next to Tara.
"Good," Tara said warmly, reaching out to place a reassuring hand on Spike's knee. The gesture of comfort was unexpected, but Spike appreciated the sentiment behind it.
"Does that mean you'll be cleaning out your crypt tonight? Go hook up with Drusilla or something?" Xander asked spitefully. "After all, the reason you stuck around so long is now gone. No need for you to stay behind."
"I promised the Slayer I would protect Dawn."
"Yeah, heck of a protector you were. Got knifed by the really old guy while Dawn was sliced open." Xander spat.
Spike lunged for the younger man, gameface on. He grabbed Xander by the lapels and slammed him against the wall. Spike's chip sent out a massive jolt, but he held onto the taller man. "You think I wanted this?" he seethed, his face inches from Xander's. "I oughta kill you where you stand."
"Sing a different tune, Spike." Xander said quietly.
"I failed, alright?" he seethed, suddenly releasing Xander and changing back into his human visage. He turned and faced the group, arms spread wide. "William the Bloody failed. Again. The one time when it really meant something, and I bloody blew it." He sank to his knees and buried his head in his hands.
Xander looked down at his fallen enemy, lost for words.
Willow walked over to Spike and knelt down beside him. "We all failed, Spike." She said quietly, putting her arms around him and forcing him to look at her. "But we're going to continue her work. Fight the good fight. Keep our family safe." Spike looked at her in desperation. "You're part of our family, Spike. Buffy trusted you to look after the most precious thing in the world to her. If that doesn't make you family, I don't know what does." Overcome by the shared grief, Willow held Spike in her arms and they silently held onto each other.
Giles stood. "We'll fill him in later. Right now, we all need some rest. We'll meet back here at six tonight." He said as he shrugged into his coat.
Xander and Anya stood and followed Giles out the door, leaving Tara, Willow and Spike in the living room.
***
"So that's how Willow and Tara accepted me," Spike finished. He reached over and took a sip of the tepid tea leftover from earlier in the evening. "I slept on the floor in Dawn's room that day. I don't think I really slept at all. I just listened to her breathing and concentrated on that. We decided to bury you deep in the woods. Even had a nice evening service so I could pay my respects. Giles bought the headstone and casket. It was, well," Spike cleared his throat. "It was a nice funeral." He said quietly.
Buffy sat back against the couch. "Oh," she said quietly. "I had no idea." She sat quietly for a moment, absorbing this information. She knew they had missed her, obviously, since they brought her back. She knew they were devastated, but seeing the naked pain on Spike's face as he retold the story affected her more than she thought it would.
She never bothered to really ask how they dealt with her passing, she was too busy being angry with them. "What did Giles mean when he said he'd fill you in later?" she asked.
"They brought up the idea of using the bot as a stand in for you for Dawn's school events. You were her legal guardian, and no one knew you had died. If they had, your father would have taken Dawn away from us and we wouldn't be able to keep her safe." Spike explained.
Buffy was slightly stunned. "I thought you guys kept the robot around while you worked out a way to bring me back. I never thought that it was to keep Dawn here in Sunnydale."
"That was the original intention," Spike agreed. "But, this is the hellmouth, and the local nasties were still out in their usual numbers. It was Willow who thought of using the bot for patrol. We all had our hands full, and we weren't exactly a crack fighting unit." Spike stood and reached for Buffy's hand. "Let's go sit outside so I can have a fag."
Buffy allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. She followed Spike outside and sat down on the steps as he lit his cigarette. "I thought it was a bloody joke at first, but it made sense. If the local baddies were going to think you were still around, they had to see you once in a while." He took a drag on his cigarette and continued the story.
June, 2001
"What the bloody hell is that thing doing here?" Spike seethed as he entered the magic shop.
"Spikey!" the BuffyBot said brightly. She tried to stand up but was held in place by Willow's firm grip.
"Sit." Willow commended the bot as she worked on the circuitry in the abdomen.
"We-we," Tara stammered, looking at Willow.
"We need help on patrol, Spike." Anya informed him as she closed out the cash register. "I mean, there's only so much we can do by ourselves. Willow and Tara are researching spells, and the ones that don't backfire aren't powerful enough. Giles is too old to run after them, Xander can't shoot straight and all I can seem to do is scream and shout 'Look out behind you' every time we get in over our heads. You're the only one who can really fight these things, and even you get outnumbered most of the time. We need help."
Giles made a face. "I can chase the vampires down just fine."
"And you get all winded and they throw you around. I mean, really, Giles. You're the brains of the operation. We need you doing brainy stuff, not getting them bashed against walls."
"Anya," Xander cut in. "we get it. We suck."
"We were planning to use the BuffyBot as a stand in for Dawn's school activities, and figured we might as well configure her for combat as well." Tara explained.
Spike looked down at the blonde robot. She stared at him with adoration. "Makes sense," he grudgingly agreed.
"If Spike likes it, I like it, too." The Buffybot declared brightly, turning a sunny smile on the stunned vampire.
"Willow, can you stop her from doing that? Gives me the willies." Spike said as he sat down heavily in one of the chairs surrounding the research table.
"Already working on it. I'm replacing some of her personality protocols with fighting techniques, and I'm tweaking her vocabulary a bit.
"Willow doodled a nice tweak in the spice racks." Buffybot explained.
"As I said, still tweaking. I've erased the directories containing her, uh, original purpose. She'll be a lean, mean fighting machine in no time." Willow snapped the encasement shut and pulled the bot's green knit top back into place. "That's about all I can do. This robot is designed to learn by experience. Pretty fancy design, actually." She said with a hint of admiration. "The best way to have her learn is to take her on patrol."
Spike scowled at the robot. She was sitting there with an empty, vacant grin on her face, waiting to be addressed. He wondered how on earth he could ever have tried to use her to replace Buffy. She wasn't in the same league. Not even by half.
***
"That first patrol was a disaster." Spike laughed softly, gazing off into the distance. A car passed by, briefly lighting the pair sitting on the porch steps. "You know how they say that laughter can be cathartic in times of emotional stress? I think we all did some healing that night." Spike took another puff of his cigarette and dropped it to the ground, watching it slowly burn out. "So that night we set off on our first patrol with the bot."
To be continued.
