Walt Disney Was Right





"Well, Walt Disney was right," Spike said as they pulled into a rest station in New Jersey. "It is a small world after all."

Buffy ignored him. "Dawn, you and I are going to have to have a very, very, very…very long talk."

Spike was a bit taken by how old her voice sounded. He never had really hung around mortals for long periods of time and he now realized why it wasn't a common practice. Watching them get old was depressing.

Nell made a sound like a second grader teasing a classmate for getting in trouble. Dawn stuck her tongue out at her.

Great, she thought. Buffy was gonna tear her a new asshole and it was all Spike's fault. He convinced her to call her. How was she supposed to know she was going to be walking from the subway station at the exact moment they were fleeing authorities in a 1985 station wagon? They parked in front of a TCBY and slowly got out of the car.

"That…was some cool shit," Davis remarked.

"Is this like, business as usual or was tonight fucked up by even slayer standards?" Ryan asked Buffy.

"Well, I only caught the tail end of this particular incident and it was some of the most screwed up stuff I have even seen. I can only imagine what went on before then. Especially since Jackass is involved," she indicated to Spike.

Spike scratched his nose with his middle finger and then lit a cigarette.

"Dawn, what is going on?" Buffy asked. "I haven't had any idea where you were for months and then out of nowhere I get a phone call that you're living with Spike…then there was that whole bit back there. What is this? And I swear to God, I find out you and Spike have been…been…."

"God, no!" Spike screamed at the same time Dawn shrieked in disgust. "Jesus, Slayer. What kind of a sicko do you take me for?"

Buffy shot him a look. "Well, it's not as if she's 14 anymore."

"Well, obviously but still…I mean…bollucks! Why did you even have to get that image in my head? You've been here for less than an hour and already you're giving me nightmares."

"All right!" Dawn stepped in between them. "Last thing I need right now is to ref you two, OK?" Dawn was slightly amazed at the two of them. They haven't spoken in almost a decade and it was like they didn't miss a beat. "We can explain later."

"Yeah, right now we gotta ditch this car," Roman piped up, his head already brimming with questions but deciding to hold off until later. "Or at least switch the plates."

Davis retrieved a toolbox from under the back seat. "Can do," he saluted.

Roman nodded, indicating for him to get busy.



The rest of the night proved equally strange. After some very odd dinner conversation at the Burger King, where Davis proceeded to point out all of the homoerotic implications that exist in Star Wars, ("Not the new one mind you, that one's practically a Pride Parade. I'm talking the original Holy Trinity") they piled into their stolen vehicle, drove to the Hudson where they pushed the thing into the water, and then took the subway back to their apartment. It was only then that anyone attempted to explain anything.

"They tried to have me killed. Several times," Buffy said matter of factly, referring to the Watcher's council. "They had never called the next Slayer while the old one was still breathing. But I refused to continue. And seeing as I was the first in history to make it till 25," she said as Ryan suddenly got very pale. "They decided to give up. They'll never admit to taking a contract out on my life, but I know they did. I suffered several demon attacks that seemed way too….personal."

Roman whistled. "Jesus, Spike," he said softly. "You run with a tough crowd."

Spike nodded. "This one is by far the toughest."

"Well, what of this blood business?" Nell chimed in anxiously. "Dawn, you said you knew someone who could test it."

Buffy shot her a questioning look. "I was thinking Willow, actually," Dawn said softly. "Do you think she'd help us?"

"I think she would be thrilled to hear from you. And yes. I think she would help you."

"And what about you?" Dawn asked, now speaking in a quasi-whisper.

Buffy sighed. "Dawn, I came here because I was worried sick about you. As for the Initiative…" she nodded at Ryan. "I passed that baton."

"I don't want it," Ryan said. "I didn't ask for it."

"We never do."

"Then don't leave me!"

Buffy sighed and closed her eyes, tears threatening to spill out of them. Ryan rubbed her own dark eyes self-consciously, not wanting to show her soft underbelly to this particular audience. "I would think of all people you would have the most compassion for my situation. I don't have this huge, surrogate family to turn to. I just have my stupid Watcher, who I hate. And who I'm pretty sure hates me. You can't just go out to pasture now. I'm not ready and you're still breathing."

"I had a huge surrogate family," Buffy nearly snapped. "But I lost them. I don't want to be held responsible for you too."

"Why don't we all get some rest?" Roman cut in. Dawn shot him an appreciative look. "Seriously. OK? We all just had one of the most bizarre nights of our lives. Spike was almost made into a Fox reality special, we pushed a car into the Hudson, we hit a woman with said car and then ate dinner with her at Burger King….we need to sleep on this."

"Here, here," Davis agreed.

"And first thing tomorrow we see if this Willow person can check out this blood thing?" Nell asked.

"Yes, yes," Dawn promised. "First thing."

And one by one, the house drifted off to sleep. Everyone of course, except Spike. He had offered Buffy his old room, and after much arguing, she accepted. His room was at least closed off. He didn't need to look at her in his early morning wandering if he didn't want to. He didn't think he could handle it. Even so, he was disturbed from his cup of Earl Gray at about 5 in the afternoon by the last person he wanted to see.

"You're up already?" Buffy asked through a yawn.

"No. I'm sleep walking."

Buffy gave him a "ha-ha" look and apprehensively began to eat a Pop Tart from the box she found in the pantry. "Tea, huh? Still an English boy at heart."

"I suppose." Dammit. She was still beautiful. She had her hair cut short in a very contemporary bob, and she was beginning to get tiny little laugh lines at the corner of her eyes and mouth. Her hair was darker too, and he wondered if she had dyed it that way or stopped dying it.

They sat in very awkward silence for awhile. They had left on horrible terms. Not that their relationship always went swimmingly but their last argument was particularly ugly. He had stupidly confessed he wasn't over her after claiming he was for several months. Both parties threw around hurtful words and some of them cut too deep to be soon forgotten. It was at that moment, during that fight, that Spike decided that staying in that town was a slow bleeding to death for him. He couldn't take it. So he left. Dawn had gone to his crypt one day and he was just gone. No note or anything.

"Was it coincidence that my sister found you?" Buffy asked suddenly.

"As opposed to what? Fate?" he snapped back.

"Well, I actually hadn't even thought of that. What I meant is did either of you know the other one was here?"

"No. In fact, I told her it was a bad idea for her to stay. But she was in a rough patch. And she always behaves like an idiot when she's in a rough patch."

Buffy opened her mouth to shoot back some rude remark but found she didn't have the strength anymore. It was no use fighting someone's nature. He was a vampire. She couldn't change that any more now than she could 8 years ago. She already wasted so much time holding him up to human standards and getting aggravated when he continually fell short. She realized in that very moment how stupid that was. "You know, Spike…"

"Guys," Roman suddenly appeared in the doorway. His voice was strained and he looked as though he might topple over. "It's Nell."