Spike hurried along the sidewalk to where Jacynth had made her dwelling in
a modest house, not far from where Buffy lived. he hadn't seen her since
she'd performed the spell that had brought Buffy back from the dead. it had
physically weakened her, and so joyous was everyone upon the spells
success, especially Spike, that they had not noticed when she'd dissolved
into vapor and transported herself home to rest. It was only after all the
commotion that Spike noticed that she wasn't there, and left in search of
her.
Spike felt somewhat guilty. he'd been spending the last few days in his crypt with Jacynth, watching her prepare for this spell before they'd gone to the magic shop to ask for the help of the Scoobies. there was some confusion as to who Jacynth was, and how she could bring Buffy back. but after the spell had been completed, so enamoured was he that he'd just pushed past her to get to Buffy.
He still couldn't believe that she'd pulled it off. He recounted the events of the past two days in his head as he walked towards Jacynth's house.
After Jacynth had told him that she could bring Buffy back, he spent alot of time in quiet thinking. she sat there, equally quiet, untill the sun came up. then he noticed that she'd fallen asleep on his couch, sitting up. even immortal things like herself needed sleep, he thought. he walked over to her, quietly, and picked her up gently and moved her to his bed, then he went over and laid on top of the coffin that he most often slept on, and fell into a deep sleep.
the next night he awoke to find her still asleep. he went to the fridge to get some blood... and then turned to find her looking at him. and then he'd asked her to explain the spell and what she needed for it. and she'd told him that she'd need the help of the Witches, Willow especially, because she was more powerful. she needed the presence of all Buffy's friends and most importantly, Dawn. she needed Dawn's blood for the spell. Spike had angrily disagreed, but when Jacynth explained the spell to him in depth, and found out that she needed only a small drop, he relented.
the hardest part was going to the magick shop and telling the Scoobies. He'd brought Jacynth with him, and it was hard to explain who she was. She let him do all the talking, which was even harder. Xander was the first to grill him.
"Who is she?" he asked. "and why does she think she can bring Buffy back?"
"she's.... well her name's Jacynth. and she's a.... well, she's not a witch. she's not a demon, she's something else."
"how do you know her?" Xander pressed.
Spike blushed, which is hard for vampires to do. "She's...ah.. well.. she was supposed to be my wife, way back before i was a vampire."
Xander stopped, mid insult. then Jacynth stepped in.
"listen, there's no time for that now, i'll tell you all someday. but yes, i was supposed to be Will... I mean, Spike's wife way back in the old days. but right now i need to know if you'll help me or not with this spell. i can definitely bring back your friend. and she's waiting for this to happen."
Willow had listened carefully to the plan to bring Buffy back, and nodded in intense agreement. "She can do this," she told the rest of the Scoobies. "and i've read about what she is, but i thought it was a myth."
and so they'd agreed to perform the spell the following night. and it was a success, with Jacynth putting all of herself in to the spell, with help from Willow. and then the joy of having Buffy returned to them. and then after all the commotion died down, and Jacynth had disappeared, Spike said goodbye and went in search of her.
He found himself in front of her house, and could see light flickering from the windows. the curtains were drawn, but with his eyesight he could see the candles burning.
he entered the house through the kitchen door, and looked around. sure enough, candles were burning in every single room, alighting the house in a kind of gloom. on the kitchen counter, and empty bottle of wine sat on it's side.
"Jacynth?" he called. he stepped into the living room, where he saw Jacynth laying on her couch, glass in hand. he could smell the alcohol on her, and guessed that she was on her third bottle of wine.
"oh, William." she smiled. "errr. sorry SPIKE. how nice of you to come visit me." she slurred.
He stood in the doorway, looking at her. "Pet, what are you doing?"
She sat up unsteadily. she giggled. "immortal beings can drink, you know. yes you do know. you like to do it too."
she moved to the end of the couch. "im just tired, and i needed a drink." she finished what was left in her glass and rose from the couch and walked unsteadily towards her kitchen. "you want a glass, love?"
Spike frowned. "No, im good."
"suit yourself!" she giggled, and tripped as she walked past him. he caught her before she hit the ground, and she laughed again, and pulled herself out of his grasp, and headed towards the fridge, opened it, and pulled out the bottle of wine that was chilling.
"Pet, what are you doing?" Spike asked again. "Are you alright?"
She smiled. "Yes, I'm fineee!" she squealed, pouring wine into a glass.
"No. you aren't fine. what's the matter??!" Spike asked, walking towards her and grabbing her by the shoulders.
"hey! Watch the hands, mister! im fine. Completely and totally fine."
"Jacynth!" he said louder.
She suddenly stopped giggling and pulled herself from his grasp. "Hey! let me alone, eh? bloody hell! i brought back your Slayer, what more do you want from me!"
Spike took a step back from her, in shock.
"what are you talking about?" he fumed.
Jacynth giggled drunkenly. "I brought back your precious slayer. What else could you possibly need from me now? Why have you come? To say goodbye?" she slumped against the counter, drinking more wine.
"Say goodbye? Now tell me, pet, why would I do that?"
"Because you don't need me anymore. I brought back the slayer. That's what I told you that I could do. And I did it. So now you've come to say good bye to me, because you won't be coming around anymore."
Spike sat down across the counter from where Jacynth was slumped. He looked into her cloudy eyes, and tried to read what she was thinking. She wasn't guarded, so he drifted into her thoughts quite easily.
Inside her mind he saw them dancing, way back in the old days, at the masquerade that he'd taken her to, early on in their courting. she was wearing emerald green and her hair was up with ringlets spilling down her neck. She laughed and whispered something in his ear.
He saw her reading a poem that he'd written for her, a small smile on her lips, and then her walking, turning the poem over and over in her small hands.
And then he saw, astonishingly, the first and last time they'd ever shared their bodies, in the meadow by the small pond. It was nighttime and the water sparkled with the stars reflections. It was that night that he'd asked her to marry him in the square.
After that Drusilla had killed Jacynth, and turned Spike into her pet. Jacynth was resurrected, and given her current immortal powers.
Spike pulled out of her mind and looked at the small girl, staring drunkenly off into space. And he knew why she thought he would say goodbye. Buffy.
"yes. Buffy." Jacynth murmured, apparently reading Spike's mind. "You love her, Spike. I know. That's why you've come to say good bye." She whispered before slumping down onto the kitchen floor.
He went around the counter and knelt beside her, where he saw small tears in her eyes.
"Did you think, dearest William, that I would just show up and not still love you?" she asked quietly. "I've followed you all these years. I've seen the things you've done, however ghastly. I kept hoping that you weren't just the full on killer that you seemed to be, that maybe some part of you had still remained after she" -Jacynth spat out Drusilla's name like it was bad to the taste - "turned you into what you are? For years and years, I followed and almost lost that hope. And then you got that chip in your head, and I saw the William I loved resurface, through your love for the Slayer."
She looked at him. He was looking at the floor, playing with his fingernails. She turned her gaze back to the carpet.
"But now I realize that you love her, and I can't hope for what we had to be remembered or even reliquished. So that's why you've come to say goodbye."
"Pet." he said quietly, then stopped.
"I love you, so much, William. That's what kept me going. Although the fact that I don't think I can die or what will kill me also keeps me alive, but I could have lost hope in you, and gone into isolation.."
Spike put a finger to her lips.
"Jacynth. " he muttered, then leaned over and tipped her chin up, making her tears fall down her cheeks, and kissed her.
Shocks passed through his mind, images of them, long long ago rushing back into his mind, memories long forgotten or suppressed. He thought she might be casting a spell on him, but it wouldn't have mattered. He remembered now the feel of her body, every single thing that he'd so precariously memorized back in the old days, about this woman that he'd loved. Drusilla he'd never loved like this. And that love had been tainted, and Dru was long gone now. Buffy didn't return his love, and he had no hope that she would ever. But this being, this creature that he'd loved so long ago, loved him. She loved him. The thought made him accidentally drive his teeth into her tongue that had passed into his mouth. She squealed a little and pulled back.
Her hand was pressed against her mouth. He reached out and touched her cheek.
"Pet, im sorry.. I didn't mean to." she was wiping the tears away from her face.
Then he noticed that he didn't get the blinding pain that came when the chip shocked him for hurting something other than demon. He sat back and stared at her.
Her eyes were wide. She was reading him. "Yes, William. Of course you wont get those shocks with me, because I am other than human. Although I bleed like one. I still have blood. " She stuck out her tongue and showed him the wound, bleeding fiercely though the wound was on the mend.
The blood glistened like rubies, beckoing him to taste it. He wanted to. It was the taste of her that he wanted.
Quickly he crushed her mouth with his and started to suck on her tongue. She wrapped her arms around his neck and seemed to encourage him to take more blood. He heard her voice in his head - it wont hurt me, it wont kill me - and he took the blood from her.
Blood had never tasted like this. Magickal, mystickal, and she was swirling around him. Stars spun with her swaying in between them in his mind. It tasted better than any blood he'd ever taken. It was as if he'd never tasted blood before, and he knew he couldn't ever take any blood after this.
After a long while she pushed him away, and was breathless. Blood trickled from her mouth and she smiled. She casually wiped it away and snapped her fingers, and the blood was gone from her hand.
Still reeling from the blood, Spike picked up Jacynth and set her on the counter, where she was sitting facing him.
"How?" he asked, breathing hard. "How did you do that?"
"How did I do it?" she asked. "Its my blood. It's not human blood."
"so you just, like, have an endless supply then?"
"I think so. Im not quite sure. I've never been completely sure about what I am."
She giggled. "SO that's what it feels like. I've always wondered what a victim feels like when you feed on them. If it was painful, or if it was pleasurable. Although, I suppose, this isn't the normal feeding."
Spike looked up at her. "It's better than pigs blood, I can tell you."
"Oh, yes, I know. How horrid, drinking the blood of animals. How long since you had had real blood, William?"
"A long time, pet. This damned chip.." he touched his head.
She reached out and touched the place he had just touched. "I can see it in there. Its what gave you back to me, William. Its not evil unless you are."
Spike felt somewhat guilty. he'd been spending the last few days in his crypt with Jacynth, watching her prepare for this spell before they'd gone to the magic shop to ask for the help of the Scoobies. there was some confusion as to who Jacynth was, and how she could bring Buffy back. but after the spell had been completed, so enamoured was he that he'd just pushed past her to get to Buffy.
He still couldn't believe that she'd pulled it off. He recounted the events of the past two days in his head as he walked towards Jacynth's house.
After Jacynth had told him that she could bring Buffy back, he spent alot of time in quiet thinking. she sat there, equally quiet, untill the sun came up. then he noticed that she'd fallen asleep on his couch, sitting up. even immortal things like herself needed sleep, he thought. he walked over to her, quietly, and picked her up gently and moved her to his bed, then he went over and laid on top of the coffin that he most often slept on, and fell into a deep sleep.
the next night he awoke to find her still asleep. he went to the fridge to get some blood... and then turned to find her looking at him. and then he'd asked her to explain the spell and what she needed for it. and she'd told him that she'd need the help of the Witches, Willow especially, because she was more powerful. she needed the presence of all Buffy's friends and most importantly, Dawn. she needed Dawn's blood for the spell. Spike had angrily disagreed, but when Jacynth explained the spell to him in depth, and found out that she needed only a small drop, he relented.
the hardest part was going to the magick shop and telling the Scoobies. He'd brought Jacynth with him, and it was hard to explain who she was. She let him do all the talking, which was even harder. Xander was the first to grill him.
"Who is she?" he asked. "and why does she think she can bring Buffy back?"
"she's.... well her name's Jacynth. and she's a.... well, she's not a witch. she's not a demon, she's something else."
"how do you know her?" Xander pressed.
Spike blushed, which is hard for vampires to do. "She's...ah.. well.. she was supposed to be my wife, way back before i was a vampire."
Xander stopped, mid insult. then Jacynth stepped in.
"listen, there's no time for that now, i'll tell you all someday. but yes, i was supposed to be Will... I mean, Spike's wife way back in the old days. but right now i need to know if you'll help me or not with this spell. i can definitely bring back your friend. and she's waiting for this to happen."
Willow had listened carefully to the plan to bring Buffy back, and nodded in intense agreement. "She can do this," she told the rest of the Scoobies. "and i've read about what she is, but i thought it was a myth."
and so they'd agreed to perform the spell the following night. and it was a success, with Jacynth putting all of herself in to the spell, with help from Willow. and then the joy of having Buffy returned to them. and then after all the commotion died down, and Jacynth had disappeared, Spike said goodbye and went in search of her.
He found himself in front of her house, and could see light flickering from the windows. the curtains were drawn, but with his eyesight he could see the candles burning.
he entered the house through the kitchen door, and looked around. sure enough, candles were burning in every single room, alighting the house in a kind of gloom. on the kitchen counter, and empty bottle of wine sat on it's side.
"Jacynth?" he called. he stepped into the living room, where he saw Jacynth laying on her couch, glass in hand. he could smell the alcohol on her, and guessed that she was on her third bottle of wine.
"oh, William." she smiled. "errr. sorry SPIKE. how nice of you to come visit me." she slurred.
He stood in the doorway, looking at her. "Pet, what are you doing?"
She sat up unsteadily. she giggled. "immortal beings can drink, you know. yes you do know. you like to do it too."
she moved to the end of the couch. "im just tired, and i needed a drink." she finished what was left in her glass and rose from the couch and walked unsteadily towards her kitchen. "you want a glass, love?"
Spike frowned. "No, im good."
"suit yourself!" she giggled, and tripped as she walked past him. he caught her before she hit the ground, and she laughed again, and pulled herself out of his grasp, and headed towards the fridge, opened it, and pulled out the bottle of wine that was chilling.
"Pet, what are you doing?" Spike asked again. "Are you alright?"
She smiled. "Yes, I'm fineee!" she squealed, pouring wine into a glass.
"No. you aren't fine. what's the matter??!" Spike asked, walking towards her and grabbing her by the shoulders.
"hey! Watch the hands, mister! im fine. Completely and totally fine."
"Jacynth!" he said louder.
She suddenly stopped giggling and pulled herself from his grasp. "Hey! let me alone, eh? bloody hell! i brought back your Slayer, what more do you want from me!"
Spike took a step back from her, in shock.
"what are you talking about?" he fumed.
Jacynth giggled drunkenly. "I brought back your precious slayer. What else could you possibly need from me now? Why have you come? To say goodbye?" she slumped against the counter, drinking more wine.
"Say goodbye? Now tell me, pet, why would I do that?"
"Because you don't need me anymore. I brought back the slayer. That's what I told you that I could do. And I did it. So now you've come to say good bye to me, because you won't be coming around anymore."
Spike sat down across the counter from where Jacynth was slumped. He looked into her cloudy eyes, and tried to read what she was thinking. She wasn't guarded, so he drifted into her thoughts quite easily.
Inside her mind he saw them dancing, way back in the old days, at the masquerade that he'd taken her to, early on in their courting. she was wearing emerald green and her hair was up with ringlets spilling down her neck. She laughed and whispered something in his ear.
He saw her reading a poem that he'd written for her, a small smile on her lips, and then her walking, turning the poem over and over in her small hands.
And then he saw, astonishingly, the first and last time they'd ever shared their bodies, in the meadow by the small pond. It was nighttime and the water sparkled with the stars reflections. It was that night that he'd asked her to marry him in the square.
After that Drusilla had killed Jacynth, and turned Spike into her pet. Jacynth was resurrected, and given her current immortal powers.
Spike pulled out of her mind and looked at the small girl, staring drunkenly off into space. And he knew why she thought he would say goodbye. Buffy.
"yes. Buffy." Jacynth murmured, apparently reading Spike's mind. "You love her, Spike. I know. That's why you've come to say good bye." She whispered before slumping down onto the kitchen floor.
He went around the counter and knelt beside her, where he saw small tears in her eyes.
"Did you think, dearest William, that I would just show up and not still love you?" she asked quietly. "I've followed you all these years. I've seen the things you've done, however ghastly. I kept hoping that you weren't just the full on killer that you seemed to be, that maybe some part of you had still remained after she" -Jacynth spat out Drusilla's name like it was bad to the taste - "turned you into what you are? For years and years, I followed and almost lost that hope. And then you got that chip in your head, and I saw the William I loved resurface, through your love for the Slayer."
She looked at him. He was looking at the floor, playing with his fingernails. She turned her gaze back to the carpet.
"But now I realize that you love her, and I can't hope for what we had to be remembered or even reliquished. So that's why you've come to say goodbye."
"Pet." he said quietly, then stopped.
"I love you, so much, William. That's what kept me going. Although the fact that I don't think I can die or what will kill me also keeps me alive, but I could have lost hope in you, and gone into isolation.."
Spike put a finger to her lips.
"Jacynth. " he muttered, then leaned over and tipped her chin up, making her tears fall down her cheeks, and kissed her.
Shocks passed through his mind, images of them, long long ago rushing back into his mind, memories long forgotten or suppressed. He thought she might be casting a spell on him, but it wouldn't have mattered. He remembered now the feel of her body, every single thing that he'd so precariously memorized back in the old days, about this woman that he'd loved. Drusilla he'd never loved like this. And that love had been tainted, and Dru was long gone now. Buffy didn't return his love, and he had no hope that she would ever. But this being, this creature that he'd loved so long ago, loved him. She loved him. The thought made him accidentally drive his teeth into her tongue that had passed into his mouth. She squealed a little and pulled back.
Her hand was pressed against her mouth. He reached out and touched her cheek.
"Pet, im sorry.. I didn't mean to." she was wiping the tears away from her face.
Then he noticed that he didn't get the blinding pain that came when the chip shocked him for hurting something other than demon. He sat back and stared at her.
Her eyes were wide. She was reading him. "Yes, William. Of course you wont get those shocks with me, because I am other than human. Although I bleed like one. I still have blood. " She stuck out her tongue and showed him the wound, bleeding fiercely though the wound was on the mend.
The blood glistened like rubies, beckoing him to taste it. He wanted to. It was the taste of her that he wanted.
Quickly he crushed her mouth with his and started to suck on her tongue. She wrapped her arms around his neck and seemed to encourage him to take more blood. He heard her voice in his head - it wont hurt me, it wont kill me - and he took the blood from her.
Blood had never tasted like this. Magickal, mystickal, and she was swirling around him. Stars spun with her swaying in between them in his mind. It tasted better than any blood he'd ever taken. It was as if he'd never tasted blood before, and he knew he couldn't ever take any blood after this.
After a long while she pushed him away, and was breathless. Blood trickled from her mouth and she smiled. She casually wiped it away and snapped her fingers, and the blood was gone from her hand.
Still reeling from the blood, Spike picked up Jacynth and set her on the counter, where she was sitting facing him.
"How?" he asked, breathing hard. "How did you do that?"
"How did I do it?" she asked. "Its my blood. It's not human blood."
"so you just, like, have an endless supply then?"
"I think so. Im not quite sure. I've never been completely sure about what I am."
She giggled. "SO that's what it feels like. I've always wondered what a victim feels like when you feed on them. If it was painful, or if it was pleasurable. Although, I suppose, this isn't the normal feeding."
Spike looked up at her. "It's better than pigs blood, I can tell you."
"Oh, yes, I know. How horrid, drinking the blood of animals. How long since you had had real blood, William?"
"A long time, pet. This damned chip.." he touched his head.
She reached out and touched the place he had just touched. "I can see it in there. Its what gave you back to me, William. Its not evil unless you are."
