Title: In the Spider's Web
Author: AriellaGiselle
Rating: PG
Distribution: my usual haunts
Fandom: BtVS/Smallville
Pairings: Dawn/Spike, Clark/Lex
Author's Notes: AU -- Futurefic -- This section is told in a first-person, present tense narrative, Dawn's POV.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. No Dawn, no Spike, no Lex, no Clark. I'm making no money off of this.
Thanks to: Kel, who provided the awesome beta on this, and to Taz, who cheered me on, as always!
*****
He's watching me again. His steely grey eyes and for all his money, he can't figure me out. He can't understand why I would stand by the only man who has stayed in my life for more than nine years and hasn't run away with some buxom blonde. Spike would never do that to me. My father, my boyfriends, my daughter's father; they all ran, but Spike's always been there.
My sweet Divine. I wonder what she's doing now. She'd better be getting ready for bed, but Xander and Anya probably let her stay up to play with Jakob.
And he's still watching me. Still and quiet as a mouse and he's just playing with me. We sit in this silence; it's not comfortable, by any definition of the word, but it's not overly awkward, either. It's just silence.
Spike should be waking soon. It's nearly dark. Oh, Spike, how are we ever going to get out of here? Are we getting out? This man has so many resources and so many men that run around in terror for their lives, as if they feared his money, his weak hands, his eyes.
His eyes are deep; they are oceans unto themselves. Storm clouds gather at the edges and fade into the waters, and I can't help but feel like I am drowning in them.
"So," he begins, "are you and the vampire...friends?"
I tilt my head to one side and try to decide if this is a game or something more. "Yes, we are."
"For how long?"
I have to think. Spike's just always been there. "Eleven years," I finally answer him. I've known him longer than that, but eleven's as good a number as any.
His eyebrows shoot up as his eyes train on me again. "Eleven, that's quite awhile," he says simply. I have to wonder where he's going with this line of questioning. Maybe he'll let me in on his private little war of words.
"Yes, it is." My response is short, clipped, and he smiles at me.
"Would you like to know the name of the only friend I ever had? He's dead now. I killed him."
Killed your friend, huh? Well, there goes any hope I might've had. "Sure."
"His name was Kal-El. But when I met him, he was plain old Clark Kent. We were close, to be sure, but he had too many secrets. We couldn't keep our relationship going with so many lies hanging in the air between us." His hands fold and rest against his abdomen as he leans back in his chair. "He was a great man. Helped many people in his life."
"So, why did you kill him?" is my bold question.
He laughs softly. "Because he lied to me. Hid who he really was from the world and I was no exception to the rule. He said he loved me, and then he lied to me, like I meant nothing. Betrayal; it's the only true action in this world. Everything leaves, and you are left to pick up the pieces and move on. Well, I moved on."
"He loved you? Did you love him?"
"Completely." Confident, self-assured. He knows the answer like he knows his own face. "But that was so many years ago. I was a foolish young man. My father died soon after Clark, and I ruled the world. And I wasn't even thirty years old yet."
"Impressive," I say sarcastically. "But I have another question."
"Is it on topic?" Damn.
"No, it has to do with Spike and myself."
"Oh, well, then, ask away, Dawn."
"Why have you taken us? Normally, kidnappers tend to abuse their kidnapped, and believe me, I know, but you've gone out of your way to be generous with your home and food. Why?"
"Are you the Key?"
My eyes widen, and I feel like I've been slapped in the face. "How do you know about that?" I growl.
"I know more than just the name. But answer the question."
"Yeah, I'm the Key. What about it?"
"Well, the Key is not just mystical energy as your Rupert Giles once believed. It is kryptonite personified. That's why it appears green, dear girl. If you are the Key, as you have just told me, you could very well be the one woman in the world that could destroy what I've worked so hard for."
"And what is that?"
"Ridding the earth of kryptonite." His words hang in the air like fog on the docks in New York. They are smoky and stifling, frozen and desolate.
"Ridding the earth..."
"Of kryptonite. Or Kryptonian influence to be more exact."
"So, you want to kill me? And what is kryptonite and Kryptonian?"
"No, I don't want to kill you. Not right now, at least. Kryptonite is a fragment of the meteor rocks that came down in Smallville, Kansas 21 years ago, in simplest terms. A Kryptonian is someone from the planet Krypton."
"Krypton? An alien? And they still let you out at night by yourself?"
He laughs again, but this time there's a little lunacy that's crept in and made itself at home. "Yes, Dawnie, they do."
"Don't call me Dawnie."
"My apologies, Dawn. It won't happen again."
"Good."
And the silence is back. There's something strange this time, though. It's more familiar. Has my conversing with this man, our kidnapper, made me feel something besides complete loathing for him? I hope not. Damn, I'll be glad when Spike's awake and back by my side.
"Now, I believe it is time for dinner. I'll have Spike brought to your dining room, seeing as I cannot join you tonight."
Well, that's good. We've only gotten to use "our" dining room a couple of times in the weeks we've been here, and it's by far my favorite room in what I've seen of this man's house.
Spike, I miss my Divine. We have to get home. We just have to understand our captor a little more, and we're home free. Can't we last just a little while longer?
*****
The blood is always fresh, and just the right temperature. Spike stares hungrily at the goblet and looks beseechingly at me. After all these years, he still looks at me that way, as if he's asking for permission. I smile at him, and he gulps down the red liquid.
Turning back to my own plate, I pick carefully at the perfectly prepared steak and I wonder. Why does this man spend so much to make us comfortable?
I voice this question to Spike and only receive a confused look.
"Well, maybe he doesn't see the point in abuse." His response is soft and almost unsure.
"Maybe." More to say, but how do I say it? "Spike?"
"Yeah, pet?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too, Nibblet."
"No, not just as your 'Nibblet,' Spike. I *love* you."
His blue eyes flash and they seem to hold some sort of unbalanced hope, yet a fear of rejection, as if he were the one revealling secrets. "Are you ready for that, Dawn?"
"Loving you? I don't know, but I want to know. Divine needs some sort of male figure in her life, and if Giles isn't going to return anytime soon, I can't think of anyone else I want in that role."
"I'm not exactly a role model, pet."
"I know that, but if she sees a good man standing by her mother...I mean, think of it. She'll know what to look for when she grows up."
"So this would all be for her sake, then." It should be a question, but it's not. He's sure of the fact that I only love him as a role model for my daughter.
"No, I love you, completely. Even if Divine didn't exist, I think I would still love you, Spike."
"Good. I love you, too, Dawn."
I stand, grab my plate, and move down to Spike's end of the table. He gets up to pull out my chair for me, and I thank him.
He clasps his hand in mine and squeezes tightly. "I'll always do right," he whispers. It's the only pledge I could ever ask from him, and I lean forward to kiss him.
Divine, we'll be home soon. Mommy's coming home.
*****
tbc...
Author: AriellaGiselle
Rating: PG
Distribution: my usual haunts
Fandom: BtVS/Smallville
Pairings: Dawn/Spike, Clark/Lex
Author's Notes: AU -- Futurefic -- This section is told in a first-person, present tense narrative, Dawn's POV.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. No Dawn, no Spike, no Lex, no Clark. I'm making no money off of this.
Thanks to: Kel, who provided the awesome beta on this, and to Taz, who cheered me on, as always!
*****
He's watching me again. His steely grey eyes and for all his money, he can't figure me out. He can't understand why I would stand by the only man who has stayed in my life for more than nine years and hasn't run away with some buxom blonde. Spike would never do that to me. My father, my boyfriends, my daughter's father; they all ran, but Spike's always been there.
My sweet Divine. I wonder what she's doing now. She'd better be getting ready for bed, but Xander and Anya probably let her stay up to play with Jakob.
And he's still watching me. Still and quiet as a mouse and he's just playing with me. We sit in this silence; it's not comfortable, by any definition of the word, but it's not overly awkward, either. It's just silence.
Spike should be waking soon. It's nearly dark. Oh, Spike, how are we ever going to get out of here? Are we getting out? This man has so many resources and so many men that run around in terror for their lives, as if they feared his money, his weak hands, his eyes.
His eyes are deep; they are oceans unto themselves. Storm clouds gather at the edges and fade into the waters, and I can't help but feel like I am drowning in them.
"So," he begins, "are you and the vampire...friends?"
I tilt my head to one side and try to decide if this is a game or something more. "Yes, we are."
"For how long?"
I have to think. Spike's just always been there. "Eleven years," I finally answer him. I've known him longer than that, but eleven's as good a number as any.
His eyebrows shoot up as his eyes train on me again. "Eleven, that's quite awhile," he says simply. I have to wonder where he's going with this line of questioning. Maybe he'll let me in on his private little war of words.
"Yes, it is." My response is short, clipped, and he smiles at me.
"Would you like to know the name of the only friend I ever had? He's dead now. I killed him."
Killed your friend, huh? Well, there goes any hope I might've had. "Sure."
"His name was Kal-El. But when I met him, he was plain old Clark Kent. We were close, to be sure, but he had too many secrets. We couldn't keep our relationship going with so many lies hanging in the air between us." His hands fold and rest against his abdomen as he leans back in his chair. "He was a great man. Helped many people in his life."
"So, why did you kill him?" is my bold question.
He laughs softly. "Because he lied to me. Hid who he really was from the world and I was no exception to the rule. He said he loved me, and then he lied to me, like I meant nothing. Betrayal; it's the only true action in this world. Everything leaves, and you are left to pick up the pieces and move on. Well, I moved on."
"He loved you? Did you love him?"
"Completely." Confident, self-assured. He knows the answer like he knows his own face. "But that was so many years ago. I was a foolish young man. My father died soon after Clark, and I ruled the world. And I wasn't even thirty years old yet."
"Impressive," I say sarcastically. "But I have another question."
"Is it on topic?" Damn.
"No, it has to do with Spike and myself."
"Oh, well, then, ask away, Dawn."
"Why have you taken us? Normally, kidnappers tend to abuse their kidnapped, and believe me, I know, but you've gone out of your way to be generous with your home and food. Why?"
"Are you the Key?"
My eyes widen, and I feel like I've been slapped in the face. "How do you know about that?" I growl.
"I know more than just the name. But answer the question."
"Yeah, I'm the Key. What about it?"
"Well, the Key is not just mystical energy as your Rupert Giles once believed. It is kryptonite personified. That's why it appears green, dear girl. If you are the Key, as you have just told me, you could very well be the one woman in the world that could destroy what I've worked so hard for."
"And what is that?"
"Ridding the earth of kryptonite." His words hang in the air like fog on the docks in New York. They are smoky and stifling, frozen and desolate.
"Ridding the earth..."
"Of kryptonite. Or Kryptonian influence to be more exact."
"So, you want to kill me? And what is kryptonite and Kryptonian?"
"No, I don't want to kill you. Not right now, at least. Kryptonite is a fragment of the meteor rocks that came down in Smallville, Kansas 21 years ago, in simplest terms. A Kryptonian is someone from the planet Krypton."
"Krypton? An alien? And they still let you out at night by yourself?"
He laughs again, but this time there's a little lunacy that's crept in and made itself at home. "Yes, Dawnie, they do."
"Don't call me Dawnie."
"My apologies, Dawn. It won't happen again."
"Good."
And the silence is back. There's something strange this time, though. It's more familiar. Has my conversing with this man, our kidnapper, made me feel something besides complete loathing for him? I hope not. Damn, I'll be glad when Spike's awake and back by my side.
"Now, I believe it is time for dinner. I'll have Spike brought to your dining room, seeing as I cannot join you tonight."
Well, that's good. We've only gotten to use "our" dining room a couple of times in the weeks we've been here, and it's by far my favorite room in what I've seen of this man's house.
Spike, I miss my Divine. We have to get home. We just have to understand our captor a little more, and we're home free. Can't we last just a little while longer?
*****
The blood is always fresh, and just the right temperature. Spike stares hungrily at the goblet and looks beseechingly at me. After all these years, he still looks at me that way, as if he's asking for permission. I smile at him, and he gulps down the red liquid.
Turning back to my own plate, I pick carefully at the perfectly prepared steak and I wonder. Why does this man spend so much to make us comfortable?
I voice this question to Spike and only receive a confused look.
"Well, maybe he doesn't see the point in abuse." His response is soft and almost unsure.
"Maybe." More to say, but how do I say it? "Spike?"
"Yeah, pet?"
"I love you."
"I love you, too, Nibblet."
"No, not just as your 'Nibblet,' Spike. I *love* you."
His blue eyes flash and they seem to hold some sort of unbalanced hope, yet a fear of rejection, as if he were the one revealling secrets. "Are you ready for that, Dawn?"
"Loving you? I don't know, but I want to know. Divine needs some sort of male figure in her life, and if Giles isn't going to return anytime soon, I can't think of anyone else I want in that role."
"I'm not exactly a role model, pet."
"I know that, but if she sees a good man standing by her mother...I mean, think of it. She'll know what to look for when she grows up."
"So this would all be for her sake, then." It should be a question, but it's not. He's sure of the fact that I only love him as a role model for my daughter.
"No, I love you, completely. Even if Divine didn't exist, I think I would still love you, Spike."
"Good. I love you, too, Dawn."
I stand, grab my plate, and move down to Spike's end of the table. He gets up to pull out my chair for me, and I thank him.
He clasps his hand in mine and squeezes tightly. "I'll always do right," he whispers. It's the only pledge I could ever ask from him, and I lean forward to kiss him.
Divine, we'll be home soon. Mommy's coming home.
*****
tbc...