Title: Blood
Author: Joy
Email: SleepingBeauty2@ziplip.com
Spike led Dawn into the conference room to sit down and rest. "I'm going to get the first aid kit, sweets…I'll be right back," he said calmly.
"What's wrong with me?" she asked as he was about out the door.
"I'm not sure Nibblet… Let me get you cleaned up."
Angel made a beeline to where Spike was walking. "Spike… She shouldn't have that kind of strength," the older vampire informed him.
"I bloody well know that… The slayer blood must actually be kicking in or something. I'm going to get her cleaned up and home as soon as possible," he whispered to Angel.
"Stay here… I'll send Cordelia to tend to Dawn. You talk to Lorn. He saw something…find out what it was," Angel said emphatically.
"Hey Dawnie," Cordelia said as she entered the conference room. "I'm going to take a look at your arms and neck, okay?"
"Where's Spike?" she asked nervously.
"He was going to do this himself but Lorn needed to talk to him… We didn't think you'd want to wait while you're bleeding all over your clothes and the floor," Cordy replied.
"What are they talking about?"
"Probably what just happened."
"Why can't I hear?" Dawn said in a shaky voice.
Cordelia looked her in the eye, "Sweetheart, part of letting Spike be your parent is trusting him to do things he thinks are for your own good… From what I've seen of your relationship, Spike is very trustworthy."
Dawn nodded and let Cordelia clean and bandage her arms.
"All right host," Spike addressed Lorn, "I want to check on my girl so tell me what you saw."
Lorn looked at him with his big red eyes and said, "I saw a lot of death."
Spike closed his eyes and sighed. "Is she going to be called?"
"That remains to be seen."
"Well tell me something," Spike yelled at the man in front of him.
"Fine…In true fairytale form here goes: Before this day is done, you will be gone from your girls. They will have to depend on one another."
"I'm getting dusty today," the blond swallowed.
"I didn't say that. I just said today you will be gone," Lorn responded.
"I would never voluntarily leave Dawn," Spike insisted.
"And again I never said that was the case." Spike sat in the lobby stunned. "When you sang I could see your commitment to these women. I also saw the sacrifice you were willing to make for them. Today your girls have to learn to depend on each other again."
"What do I tell her?" the blond vamp barely spoke.
"Nothing," Lorn answered. "Things will proceed as they are predestined to. Go comfort Dawn, sooth her mind, call Buffy and tell her that you love her, and then wait. You'll know the moment when it arrives."
"I thought the big moments in life you aren't supposed to see coming?" Spike asked.
"They won't… This is their big moment, not yours," the green man said. "Trust me: Hold onto the belief that you will see your girls again and you will. If you lose faith…you might as well be dust."
Cordelia laid her hand on the vampire's back. "Dawn is asking for you." Spike nodded and went to his Nibblet.
The wild-eyed teen cast herself on the only father figure she had. "Tell me it's going to be okay… Please…" she begged through tears.
Spike sat them down and pulled her into his chest. "It's going to be okay sweetheart. We're going to be fine."
"What's wrong with me?" she whimpered.
"Nothing LilBit… You're just growing into your blood," he said smoothly.
"What?" she said lifting her head off of his chest.
Spike smirked, "You've got the slayer's blood Nibblet. You know 'strength and skill to hunt the vampire' and rot like that."
"I'm gonna be a slayer? Does that mean Buffy's going to die again?" Dawn babbled.
"No Bit… I don't know if you'll be called, but I do know that fifteen-year-old girls can't slam a door hard enough to shatter the glass on accident. Buffy's not going anywhere," he kissed her forehead. "How bout we call your sis and you talk to her some about what just happened, okay?" Dawn nodded. "I love you bit."
"I love you too."
Spike moved to the phone and dialed the Magic Box. "Hello, this is the Magic Box. How may we help you?" Buffy's voice sang across the line.
Spike hurt to hear it. He wasn't going to be hearing it for a while he figured. "Hello luv," he responded shakily.
Buffy looked at Anya. She pointed at the phone and mouthed, 'It's Spike.' Anya shooed her into the back room while Willow looked on with a smile. "Happy Buffy seems to be making an appearance today," she giggled.
"It's Spike, the man she wants to have lots of orgasms with. Of course she's happy," Anya said plainly.
"An… I know you think it's repressed but the word orgasm in conjunction with any of our friends or really any other person in a normal conversation should be avoided. It's just what human's consider good taste," Will tried to say delicately.
"I'm too blunt," Anya sighed.
"A little in private but a lot in public," she agreed with her friend. "But you've gotten so much better. In the past you would have said that about Buffy and Spike in front of a customer and wonder why they left."
"Yeah," Anya smiled. "Do you think they're going to have phone sex?"
"Anya!"
Buffy got herself situated in the training room with the phone. "Hey there… Got any other big news you want to drop on me. You bought Dawn a car?"
"No luv, though you might ask Hank," he scoffed. Buffy giggled. "Uh, Buff… I'll talk to you in a bit but Dawn needs to talk to you now."
Buffy panicked, "She hasn't decided to stay has she?"
"No sweetness, she hasn't. Just let her tell you."
Buffy heard the changing of the phone and prepared for whatever her sister was going to throw at her now. "Hi Buffy."
"Hi Dawn…What's up?"
"Buffy… When did you realize you were stronger then normal?" the teen asked.
"I'm not sure. I did gymnastics and was a cheerleader so I was supposed to be strong… Why are you asking?"
Dawn bit her lip and closed her eyes, "I… Today I got really mad… I slammed the front door of Angel's place. It's all glass… Now it's all broken glass… I shattered it when I slammed the door."
Buffy blinked a few times trying to comprehend what her sister was saying. "Did you get hurt?"
"A little… I got glass imbedded in my arms. Cordelia cleaned the cuts for me," Dawn whimpered through tears.
"I don't know what to say Dawnie… I'm glad you weren't hurt badly and we'll get dad to pay for the doors. I know you're freaked out so I'm glad you trusted me enough to call… I guess…I guess when you get home we'll see about training…if you want to of course. Uh…" Buffy rambled. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Dawn asked quietly.
"For the fact that our blood is that similar that you have the slayer stuff too."
Dawn swallowed. "Tell me about when you found out…"
Spike slipped out of the office allowing the sisters to talk and bond. Lorn came and sat next to him as he stared into the room where his lovely was talking on the phone. "She's a strong one… She'll be fine… They'll be fine."
"Yeah," Spike swallowed sorrowfully.
"Why so down?"
"You've got to be bloody kidding me?" Spike said irate. "Be basically tell me I'm going to be taken from everything I love in this god forsaken world, and I'm supposed to be what? Happy?"
"No… I said you had to keep faith that you would see them again," Lorn said with authority. "Don't forget that…or you won't see them again." The green man stood up and walked away.
"Spike," Dawn whispered waving him over. "Buffy wants to talk to you." He got up and trudged into the conference room. "I'll be outside," the teen said and left Spike for all intensive purposes alone with Buffy.
"Hello Sweetness."
"Have I told you how much I like hearing that?" Buffy almost purred.
Spike closed his eyes and pictured her with him. "Not recently," he muttered in a husky voice.
"I love to hear you call me Sweetness, luv, pet and even slayer."
"How bout when I tell you how much I love you, how I'll always love, and I'll always be with you even when I'm not around?" Spike whispered.
"I love to hear that too… In fact I would love to hear it right now," she pled in a breathy tone.
"I love you Buffy. That will never change. I will always love you," he said and let silent tears fall down his face. "You and Bit mean everything to me. You are all I have in the world and all I love in the world."
"Spike…Come home…Tonight…Please… I need you… I love you… I'll keep my distance I promise. I just need to have you here, as near to me as you're comfortable with…" she pled. "I need to look in your eyes when you say you love me."
Spike cleared his throat. "I'll see… It depends on a few things here." He cursed under his breath, "Buffy… You don't need to see my eyes to know I love you. Just think back to that first night home, when I saw you walk down the stairs. Just think about the way I looked at you then, the way I held your hands, the way I spoke to you. That's how I want things to be between us. I treat you like you're the sun and the moon and you let me love you. You let me hold you gently. You let me hold your hands."
Buffy cried softly on her end of the phone, "I messed up so badly Spike. I'm so sorry."
"Hush pet. Now is what matters… The way you're trying to make things better for Bit, that's what matters."
"I love you Spike."
"I love you too Buffy. If we leave tonight, I'll call you."
"Thank you."
"Your welcome."
Spike hung up the phone and stared at it. In his gut he knew that was the last time he would hear Buffy's voice. She said she loved him and needed him. He really couldn't ask for more then that. He sighed and prepared for whatever was to come.
TBC…