Part 4
"I can't feel my legs. Why can't I feel my legs?" Spike
asked desperately.
Buffy looked at the others, begging for help. No one knew
what to tell him.
"Spike, it'll be okay," Will said in what she hoped was a
comforting manner.
But Spike was panicking. He didn't like to feel so weak and
vulnerable. He hated it.
"No, it's not okay. Why can't I feel my bloody legs?!"
Buffy half-carried, half-dragged him to the sofa, where she
laid him down. He looked at her with frightened eyes. As
calmly as she could, she took his head in her hands and looked
into his fear-filled eyes.
"Spike. We don't know why you can't feel your legs. But I
promise you, I will do everything in my power to get to the
bottom of this. Okay?"
He nodded.
"Good. Now rest."
He acquiesced and obediently shut his eyes and fell asleep.
"Why is the chip doing that to him?" Dawn asked, tears
streaking her face.
It was morning now. The Scoobies were all meeting at Buffy's
house to discuss the situation with Spike. As each member
came, Buffy told them to go to the dining room, in the hopes
as to not disturb Spike and his much needed sleep.
"Did Dawn get off to school okay?" Xander asked.
"Uh, yeah. She didn't want to. Wanted to stay here and help
Spike but I managed to talk her into it," Buffy replied.
"How is Spike doing?" Giles asked.
"He's paralyzed from the waist down," Buffy said bluntly.
"Dear Lord. How did this happen?"
"He had another attack last night and then suddenly he couldn't
move his legs," she looked at her Watcher, "Giles, I've never
seen him so terrified in my life."
"Why did the chip doing this? I mean, why hurt and kill him
because it's malfunctioning?" Anya asked.
Giles took his glasses off and cleaned them, clearing his
throat, "Well, we know the chip was created by the government
as a method of controlling him." The Scoobies nodded; they
knew this. Giles continued, "We should have been prepared for
this. Technology isn't built to last forever. Sooner or later,
it's going to malfunction. Especially *this *technology. I
don't think it was built for this kind of long term use. It
only makes sense that since the chip was made for controlling
Spike, when it malfunctions, it destroys him in the process."
"But, why kill him slowly? Why not immediately?" Will asked.
Giles shrugged, "I have no answer to that."
"So, before the chips kills him, it has to make him weak and
vulnerable. Make him feel like his victims must have felt,"
Buffy said quietly to herself. She wasn't talking to anyone.
Just trying to formulate ideas and opinions to herself. She
didn't realize she said anything out loud.
"That's a good a guess as any," Giles told her.
"How can anyone be so cruel?" she continued to say to herself.
She looked at the Scoobies, "So, we can expect this to get
worse, right?"
"Yes, I believe so," Giles said.
Buffy nodded and got up, "Well, I guess the only thing we
can do is make him as comfortable as we can."
She left the dining room for the kitchen. She opened a blood
pack she got out of the refrigerator and poured it into a
clean mug. She placed it in the microwave and set the timer.
This was a process she was getting strangely use to and familiar
with.
"How are you doing?" Giles asked behind her.
She turned around, startled.
"Sorry," Giles said.
"It's okay. How am I doing? Fine. Just great."
"Buffy-" Giles saw straight through her lie.
She sighed, "Honestly? I never thought I'd say this in a
million years, but I don't want him to die. I like having
him around. And he helps me a lot with the patrolling. And
he helps me protect Dawn. And no one deserves to die like
that. Doesn't matter how much evil he's done in the past."
"You love him, don't you?"
Buffy tried to look disgusted, "What?! No! God, no! I'm
just saying he's been a great help and I even like to consider
him a friend. But that's all." Her disgusted look failed to
last and she found herself admitting the truth to her Watcher,
"Alright. I love him. Okay?"
Giles nodded, not pushing any further. "We'll figure out a
way to save him. We'll fight this."
"Thank you," she said sincerely. Suddenly she remembered
something. "Riley's back."
Giles looked genuinely surprised. "When did he get back?"
"Yesterday."
"Did he say why he was back?"
"Something about seeing to some 'old business.' But he
wouldn't tell me anything else. You know the drill, anything
government, it's classified."
"His appearance seems to be a little convenient, doesn't it?"
Giles asked.
"You don't think it has to anything to do with Spike's chip,
do you?" Buffy replied.
"It's worth looking into, don't you think?"
Buffy nodded, "I'll try to get weasel it outta him."
The microwave went off. Buffy took the blood an went into
the living room. She eased herself onto the couch beside
Spike's sleeping form.
"Time to wake up, Spike," she said quietly, knowing he would
hear her, because, after all, he was a vampire and therefore
had excellent hearing.
His eyes opened and he smiled when he saw his angel before
him. But, quickly, all too quickly, everything came rushing
back. This chip, his migraines, his sudden paralysis. He
couldn't move. He was an invalid. Memories or the time
when he was wheelchair bound four years ago came back. He
was on the verge of panic.
"Buffy?" he asked, quietly, his questions and fears as plain
as day on his face.
"Shh. Eat first, then we'll talk," she said, helping him sit
up and giving him his blood.
He agreed without argument only because he was starving. The
chip was zapping everything away.
Once he was done, Buffy spoke, "Giles suggested that your
chip and Riley's sudden reappearance are more than just
coincidence. That Riley's here because of your chip. I'll
figure it out."
Spike nodded, not saying anything. His silence worried Buffy.
"Spike, say something."
"I want to be alone," he said, not looking at her.
She knew it was ridiculous and he probably didn't mean
anything by it, but he words hurt. Stung.
"O-okay," she whispered as she left the room with his empty
mug in hand.
Once alone, Spike let his tears fall. He didn't want anyone,
her especially, to see him weak. He wasn't suppose to cry.
No him. Not the Big Bad. He hated feeling this way. He
spent a century living a life with nothing to fear. And
now... Now he was afraid of what? A chip. Nothing more
than a piece of plastic and wires no bigger than a penny.
He knew what the other vampires would do if they saw him now.
They'd laugh menacingly before staking him.
He felt ashamed. He was Spike, Master Vampire, Slayer of
Slayers. He wasn't suppose to go out like this. Like a
coward. A weak coward. He was suppose to go out fighting.
Before, it was suppose to be the Slayer who was to take him
out. Before he fell in love with her, that is. Now...now
he was to go out fighting *for * the Slayer, instead of
against her. He accepted this. Planned this. He wasn't
suppose to be this sodding chip. Not this. Never this...
Buffy entered the kitchen to see that Will, Tara, and Xander
moved there. She assumed Anya and Giles left to tend to the
magic shop. Buffy was the mug in the sink before the blood
had a chance to dry.
"How's he taking it?" Tara asked.
"I don't know. He wouldn't talk to me; wanted to be alone,"
Buffy said, looking at her friends. "He's not handling this
well, obviously."
"You're going to have to give Spike some time and space to
deal," Xander said, "He spent a century dishing out the pain
and suffering. Now, suddenly, he's on the other side of the
spectrum. It's a lot to deal with. Combine that with the
chance that he might not survive this... But if you ask me,
he's handling it a lot better than I expected he would.
Better than I would."
"I think he's trying to put on an act. You know, be the Big
Bad. I believe he's going to break soon," Buffy paused, "I
just have to make sure I keep Riley away from him."
"Riley?"
"Oh, God. I can't believe I forgot to tell you guys."
Buffy took a breath, ready to continue when there was a
knock on the back door. She looked at the door, confused as
to why someone would be at her back door instead of the front
door like everyone else. She shrugged and went to answer it.
A look of shock crossed her face when she saw who the knocker
was.
"What are you doing here, Riley?"
End Part 4
"I can't feel my legs. Why can't I feel my legs?" Spike
asked desperately.
Buffy looked at the others, begging for help. No one knew
what to tell him.
"Spike, it'll be okay," Will said in what she hoped was a
comforting manner.
But Spike was panicking. He didn't like to feel so weak and
vulnerable. He hated it.
"No, it's not okay. Why can't I feel my bloody legs?!"
Buffy half-carried, half-dragged him to the sofa, where she
laid him down. He looked at her with frightened eyes. As
calmly as she could, she took his head in her hands and looked
into his fear-filled eyes.
"Spike. We don't know why you can't feel your legs. But I
promise you, I will do everything in my power to get to the
bottom of this. Okay?"
He nodded.
"Good. Now rest."
He acquiesced and obediently shut his eyes and fell asleep.
"Why is the chip doing that to him?" Dawn asked, tears
streaking her face.
It was morning now. The Scoobies were all meeting at Buffy's
house to discuss the situation with Spike. As each member
came, Buffy told them to go to the dining room, in the hopes
as to not disturb Spike and his much needed sleep.
"Did Dawn get off to school okay?" Xander asked.
"Uh, yeah. She didn't want to. Wanted to stay here and help
Spike but I managed to talk her into it," Buffy replied.
"How is Spike doing?" Giles asked.
"He's paralyzed from the waist down," Buffy said bluntly.
"Dear Lord. How did this happen?"
"He had another attack last night and then suddenly he couldn't
move his legs," she looked at her Watcher, "Giles, I've never
seen him so terrified in my life."
"Why did the chip doing this? I mean, why hurt and kill him
because it's malfunctioning?" Anya asked.
Giles took his glasses off and cleaned them, clearing his
throat, "Well, we know the chip was created by the government
as a method of controlling him." The Scoobies nodded; they
knew this. Giles continued, "We should have been prepared for
this. Technology isn't built to last forever. Sooner or later,
it's going to malfunction. Especially *this *technology. I
don't think it was built for this kind of long term use. It
only makes sense that since the chip was made for controlling
Spike, when it malfunctions, it destroys him in the process."
"But, why kill him slowly? Why not immediately?" Will asked.
Giles shrugged, "I have no answer to that."
"So, before the chips kills him, it has to make him weak and
vulnerable. Make him feel like his victims must have felt,"
Buffy said quietly to herself. She wasn't talking to anyone.
Just trying to formulate ideas and opinions to herself. She
didn't realize she said anything out loud.
"That's a good a guess as any," Giles told her.
"How can anyone be so cruel?" she continued to say to herself.
She looked at the Scoobies, "So, we can expect this to get
worse, right?"
"Yes, I believe so," Giles said.
Buffy nodded and got up, "Well, I guess the only thing we
can do is make him as comfortable as we can."
She left the dining room for the kitchen. She opened a blood
pack she got out of the refrigerator and poured it into a
clean mug. She placed it in the microwave and set the timer.
This was a process she was getting strangely use to and familiar
with.
"How are you doing?" Giles asked behind her.
She turned around, startled.
"Sorry," Giles said.
"It's okay. How am I doing? Fine. Just great."
"Buffy-" Giles saw straight through her lie.
She sighed, "Honestly? I never thought I'd say this in a
million years, but I don't want him to die. I like having
him around. And he helps me a lot with the patrolling. And
he helps me protect Dawn. And no one deserves to die like
that. Doesn't matter how much evil he's done in the past."
"You love him, don't you?"
Buffy tried to look disgusted, "What?! No! God, no! I'm
just saying he's been a great help and I even like to consider
him a friend. But that's all." Her disgusted look failed to
last and she found herself admitting the truth to her Watcher,
"Alright. I love him. Okay?"
Giles nodded, not pushing any further. "We'll figure out a
way to save him. We'll fight this."
"Thank you," she said sincerely. Suddenly she remembered
something. "Riley's back."
Giles looked genuinely surprised. "When did he get back?"
"Yesterday."
"Did he say why he was back?"
"Something about seeing to some 'old business.' But he
wouldn't tell me anything else. You know the drill, anything
government, it's classified."
"His appearance seems to be a little convenient, doesn't it?"
Giles asked.
"You don't think it has to anything to do with Spike's chip,
do you?" Buffy replied.
"It's worth looking into, don't you think?"
Buffy nodded, "I'll try to get weasel it outta him."
The microwave went off. Buffy took the blood an went into
the living room. She eased herself onto the couch beside
Spike's sleeping form.
"Time to wake up, Spike," she said quietly, knowing he would
hear her, because, after all, he was a vampire and therefore
had excellent hearing.
His eyes opened and he smiled when he saw his angel before
him. But, quickly, all too quickly, everything came rushing
back. This chip, his migraines, his sudden paralysis. He
couldn't move. He was an invalid. Memories or the time
when he was wheelchair bound four years ago came back. He
was on the verge of panic.
"Buffy?" he asked, quietly, his questions and fears as plain
as day on his face.
"Shh. Eat first, then we'll talk," she said, helping him sit
up and giving him his blood.
He agreed without argument only because he was starving. The
chip was zapping everything away.
Once he was done, Buffy spoke, "Giles suggested that your
chip and Riley's sudden reappearance are more than just
coincidence. That Riley's here because of your chip. I'll
figure it out."
Spike nodded, not saying anything. His silence worried Buffy.
"Spike, say something."
"I want to be alone," he said, not looking at her.
She knew it was ridiculous and he probably didn't mean
anything by it, but he words hurt. Stung.
"O-okay," she whispered as she left the room with his empty
mug in hand.
Once alone, Spike let his tears fall. He didn't want anyone,
her especially, to see him weak. He wasn't suppose to cry.
No him. Not the Big Bad. He hated feeling this way. He
spent a century living a life with nothing to fear. And
now... Now he was afraid of what? A chip. Nothing more
than a piece of plastic and wires no bigger than a penny.
He knew what the other vampires would do if they saw him now.
They'd laugh menacingly before staking him.
He felt ashamed. He was Spike, Master Vampire, Slayer of
Slayers. He wasn't suppose to go out like this. Like a
coward. A weak coward. He was suppose to go out fighting.
Before, it was suppose to be the Slayer who was to take him
out. Before he fell in love with her, that is. Now...now
he was to go out fighting *for * the Slayer, instead of
against her. He accepted this. Planned this. He wasn't
suppose to be this sodding chip. Not this. Never this...
Buffy entered the kitchen to see that Will, Tara, and Xander
moved there. She assumed Anya and Giles left to tend to the
magic shop. Buffy was the mug in the sink before the blood
had a chance to dry.
"How's he taking it?" Tara asked.
"I don't know. He wouldn't talk to me; wanted to be alone,"
Buffy said, looking at her friends. "He's not handling this
well, obviously."
"You're going to have to give Spike some time and space to
deal," Xander said, "He spent a century dishing out the pain
and suffering. Now, suddenly, he's on the other side of the
spectrum. It's a lot to deal with. Combine that with the
chance that he might not survive this... But if you ask me,
he's handling it a lot better than I expected he would.
Better than I would."
"I think he's trying to put on an act. You know, be the Big
Bad. I believe he's going to break soon," Buffy paused, "I
just have to make sure I keep Riley away from him."
"Riley?"
"Oh, God. I can't believe I forgot to tell you guys."
Buffy took a breath, ready to continue when there was a
knock on the back door. She looked at the door, confused as
to why someone would be at her back door instead of the front
door like everyone else. She shrugged and went to answer it.
A look of shock crossed her face when she saw who the knocker
was.
"What are you doing here, Riley?"
End Part 4
