"That is so cool!" Tabitha exclaimed. She lay on her stomach across the foot of Spike's bed, and now she rolled on her side to face him. "Angelus is the most famous guy!!! Everybody's heard of him!" She shook her head in amazement. "So how long did you guys hang out?"
He tilted his head back against the headboard. "Almost a century." He thought hard. "I don't remember exactly …bloke went and left us after he got all bloody cursed." She looked at him sadly as he spoke. "When we found him again, he had joined the Slayer's team. That was a joke." It made him angry to remember, so he changed the subject quickly. "So you don't remember your sire?"
Tabitha looked down for a moment, then met his eyes. "I… I never met 'em." She paused. "I was so messed up, the only thing I remember is waking up a few days later …being very hungry …and confused…"
"They didn't stick around to make sure you made it alright?" He looked incredulous. "You laid around for …maybe a few days, and they didn't bother to make sure-"
"They just …left me there," she finally interrupted. "Whoever it was…" She gave him a fake smile, then looked down again. "Well, they did take me in some tent, so at least the sun wouldn't get me before I could even wake up. And… and it's not like anybody else was in any condition to help me. It was Woodstock."
Spike startled, then caught himself. No, he thought to himself, no! There were hundreds of vampires at Woodstock. Yes, it could have been anyone. He realized she was staring at him.
"Spike!" she was staring at him now. "What it is?"
He thought fast. "That's terrible!" She looked down, and he continued. "I… I mean, a sire should teach you, guide you, make sure you know the ropes. Right?"
She thought about that. "I guess that's kinda what I did for Annabel." She smiled faintly for a moment, then thought again about her own sire. "Maybe there was something they had to go do. Or maybe they were in trouble. Or…" he watched her carefully as she rambled, trying to justify this person she had never met. He thought back to when he had first seen her at the Bronze. Her dancing had caught his attention, her long hair had drawn him in, and her eyes held him. Maybe the reason he felt like he knew her was, well, because he knew her. His childe. The thought overwhelmed him; he had never contemplated being anyone's sire! He didn't even remember turning her. Or maybe he did. If he thought hard, he could almost imagine Dru holding the girl's head in her lap. She would be stroking the girl's forehead, waiting for her to awaken, looking up at him like a child with a new toy: "Can we keep her? I'll dress her up, and curl her hair -we'll have such fun!"
Maybe he was just trying too hard. He couldn't explain what drew him to this girl, so he had grabbed the first explanation. And he didn't want to take blame for abandoning her if it had been some other thoughtless bloke that was probably already dust.
Spike shook his head and brought his attention back to Tabitha. She had finished speaking, and now she rested her head against his leg, staring off into nowhere.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Despite the yellow police tape decorating the interior of the Bronze, the Scooby gang worked hard to prepare for the upcoming battle during daylight hours. Xander and Riley were on the balcony making a mess with wrenches and small containers of holy water. Giles, covered with protective padding, helped Buffy perfect her battle moves. Tara and Willow sat cross-legged on a table they had pulled to the center of the room, working on a spell to protect them all when they were fighting.
Giles decided it was a good time to take a break from training, and they sat down and watched the girls working on the spell. Riley came down the stairs, leaving Xander desperately yanking on a pipe with his wrench.
"You're all ready for tomorrow?" he asked as he sat down next to Buffy.
She smiled at him. "As ready as I'll ever be."
He rubbed her back reassuringly. "You'll do fine, don't you always?"
"Yeah. But I'm not regretting that the Bronze has been closed this week. Lets us be more prepared," she said, gazing around the room at her friends. Riley nodded in agreement. Buffy brought her gaze back to Riley and Giles. "Whatever it is."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The vampires' second party at the Bronze was even wilder than the first. There were humans chained to tables and walls, not dead but just there in case someone wanted a snack. Everyone was dancing wildly to the hard rock music.
Tabitha and Spike danced close to each other, although it was hard to tell in the packed-tight room. Annabel came over looking confused. Tabitha leaned towards her and shouted to her about the din, "What's wrong? Where's your man?"
Annabel bit her lip and looked around again, confused. "I don't know," she yelled back, "He went to get us drinks…"
Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by a loud crash from the stage at other end of the room, followed by a few screams. The three turned, along with everyone, to see what was going on. Everyone grew quiet for a moment when they saw Buffy standing on the stage with a torch in her hand. "Party's over," she said coolly, and lit a large pile of wood beside her. From that moment everything went crazy.
The fire caused the sprinkler system to go off. The holy water that they had mixed into the sprinklers caused every vampire's skin to sizzle, and everyone panicked. Buffy jumped down off the stage and began killing vampires systematically. Her friends came out of nowhere and began to even the odds before the holy water ran out.
"Bloody hell!" Spike covered his head with his coat, grabbed Tabitha the arm, and headed towards the door. She pulled free and turned back to grab Annabel so they could escape together, and Spike had no choice but to follow. Tabitha finally reached her friend and grabbed both of her hands. At the same instant, Riley stepped up behind Annabel and shoved his stake in her back. Tabitha jumped backwards, running into Spike, but when she watched her dearest friend crumbled into nothing, she began screaming hysterically. She clawed pathetically at what was now just a small pile of ashes, oblivious to the still-armed Riley. Spike snatched her off the floor and pushed her behind him, then grabbed the back of someone's shirt shoved them into Riley. Tabitha tried to push past Spike, and screamed uncontrollably when he picked her up and turned toward the door again. He clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her, kicking and screaming, out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike ran hard down the street of Sunnydale, with Tabitha blindly in tow. When they were many blocks away from the Bronze, he headed into an alley and turned to face her.
She stared at him with wide, terrified eyes. He took her trembling hands in his, not knowing what to say. He knew what it was like to lose a dear friend; he remembered how he and Drusilla had felt when they found out that Angelus had gone soft. But this… there was not even a comparison. Her eyes were wide, but she wasn't seeing him. It was no mystery what she did see. He pulled her close to his chest and wrapped his arms around her gently. After a moment he pulled back to look at her face again. She looked up at him, her cheeks wet with tears. "Ann…" she whispered, shaking her head. More tears ran down her face, and Spike wiped them away with his thumbs as she tried again to speak. "I… why did…." she sobbed.
"Shhh," Spike tried to comfort her, but she was crying too hard now. Suddenly she wobbled, and weakly grabbed at his coat. He was prepared, and caught her as she fainted. Her head dropped against his arm, and he gazed at her sadly for a moment. He picked her up then, and headed in the direction of what he called his home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the darkness of the alley outside the Bronze, the demon in the dark cloak stood, watching Spike carry Tabitha away. It frowned, then glanced back at the Bronze. It seemed torn as to whether it should follow Spike or stay where it was. Finally it shook it's head and headed up the stairs that led to the backstage entrance of the Bronze.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the Bronze, Buffy and the gang were making a serious turnover in the human to vampire ratio. The floor was covered, in most places, by a thin layer of dust. The sprinkler system had long run out, but the majority of the vampires still ran around in a blind panic. Buffy had a long sword, and she was clearly enjoying beheading the vampires one by one.
Riley looked upset that Spike had gotten away with Tabitha, but that didn't slow down his progress. The rest of the gang worked there way from the edges of the room, and very few vampires got past any of them to make it out the door.
He tilted his head back against the headboard. "Almost a century." He thought hard. "I don't remember exactly …bloke went and left us after he got all bloody cursed." She looked at him sadly as he spoke. "When we found him again, he had joined the Slayer's team. That was a joke." It made him angry to remember, so he changed the subject quickly. "So you don't remember your sire?"
Tabitha looked down for a moment, then met his eyes. "I… I never met 'em." She paused. "I was so messed up, the only thing I remember is waking up a few days later …being very hungry …and confused…"
"They didn't stick around to make sure you made it alright?" He looked incredulous. "You laid around for …maybe a few days, and they didn't bother to make sure-"
"They just …left me there," she finally interrupted. "Whoever it was…" She gave him a fake smile, then looked down again. "Well, they did take me in some tent, so at least the sun wouldn't get me before I could even wake up. And… and it's not like anybody else was in any condition to help me. It was Woodstock."
Spike startled, then caught himself. No, he thought to himself, no! There were hundreds of vampires at Woodstock. Yes, it could have been anyone. He realized she was staring at him.
"Spike!" she was staring at him now. "What it is?"
He thought fast. "That's terrible!" She looked down, and he continued. "I… I mean, a sire should teach you, guide you, make sure you know the ropes. Right?"
She thought about that. "I guess that's kinda what I did for Annabel." She smiled faintly for a moment, then thought again about her own sire. "Maybe there was something they had to go do. Or maybe they were in trouble. Or…" he watched her carefully as she rambled, trying to justify this person she had never met. He thought back to when he had first seen her at the Bronze. Her dancing had caught his attention, her long hair had drawn him in, and her eyes held him. Maybe the reason he felt like he knew her was, well, because he knew her. His childe. The thought overwhelmed him; he had never contemplated being anyone's sire! He didn't even remember turning her. Or maybe he did. If he thought hard, he could almost imagine Dru holding the girl's head in her lap. She would be stroking the girl's forehead, waiting for her to awaken, looking up at him like a child with a new toy: "Can we keep her? I'll dress her up, and curl her hair -we'll have such fun!"
Maybe he was just trying too hard. He couldn't explain what drew him to this girl, so he had grabbed the first explanation. And he didn't want to take blame for abandoning her if it had been some other thoughtless bloke that was probably already dust.
Spike shook his head and brought his attention back to Tabitha. She had finished speaking, and now she rested her head against his leg, staring off into nowhere.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Despite the yellow police tape decorating the interior of the Bronze, the Scooby gang worked hard to prepare for the upcoming battle during daylight hours. Xander and Riley were on the balcony making a mess with wrenches and small containers of holy water. Giles, covered with protective padding, helped Buffy perfect her battle moves. Tara and Willow sat cross-legged on a table they had pulled to the center of the room, working on a spell to protect them all when they were fighting.
Giles decided it was a good time to take a break from training, and they sat down and watched the girls working on the spell. Riley came down the stairs, leaving Xander desperately yanking on a pipe with his wrench.
"You're all ready for tomorrow?" he asked as he sat down next to Buffy.
She smiled at him. "As ready as I'll ever be."
He rubbed her back reassuringly. "You'll do fine, don't you always?"
"Yeah. But I'm not regretting that the Bronze has been closed this week. Lets us be more prepared," she said, gazing around the room at her friends. Riley nodded in agreement. Buffy brought her gaze back to Riley and Giles. "Whatever it is."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The vampires' second party at the Bronze was even wilder than the first. There were humans chained to tables and walls, not dead but just there in case someone wanted a snack. Everyone was dancing wildly to the hard rock music.
Tabitha and Spike danced close to each other, although it was hard to tell in the packed-tight room. Annabel came over looking confused. Tabitha leaned towards her and shouted to her about the din, "What's wrong? Where's your man?"
Annabel bit her lip and looked around again, confused. "I don't know," she yelled back, "He went to get us drinks…"
Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by a loud crash from the stage at other end of the room, followed by a few screams. The three turned, along with everyone, to see what was going on. Everyone grew quiet for a moment when they saw Buffy standing on the stage with a torch in her hand. "Party's over," she said coolly, and lit a large pile of wood beside her. From that moment everything went crazy.
The fire caused the sprinkler system to go off. The holy water that they had mixed into the sprinklers caused every vampire's skin to sizzle, and everyone panicked. Buffy jumped down off the stage and began killing vampires systematically. Her friends came out of nowhere and began to even the odds before the holy water ran out.
"Bloody hell!" Spike covered his head with his coat, grabbed Tabitha the arm, and headed towards the door. She pulled free and turned back to grab Annabel so they could escape together, and Spike had no choice but to follow. Tabitha finally reached her friend and grabbed both of her hands. At the same instant, Riley stepped up behind Annabel and shoved his stake in her back. Tabitha jumped backwards, running into Spike, but when she watched her dearest friend crumbled into nothing, she began screaming hysterically. She clawed pathetically at what was now just a small pile of ashes, oblivious to the still-armed Riley. Spike snatched her off the floor and pushed her behind him, then grabbed the back of someone's shirt shoved them into Riley. Tabitha tried to push past Spike, and screamed uncontrollably when he picked her up and turned toward the door again. He clamped a hand over her mouth and dragged her, kicking and screaming, out the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike ran hard down the street of Sunnydale, with Tabitha blindly in tow. When they were many blocks away from the Bronze, he headed into an alley and turned to face her.
She stared at him with wide, terrified eyes. He took her trembling hands in his, not knowing what to say. He knew what it was like to lose a dear friend; he remembered how he and Drusilla had felt when they found out that Angelus had gone soft. But this… there was not even a comparison. Her eyes were wide, but she wasn't seeing him. It was no mystery what she did see. He pulled her close to his chest and wrapped his arms around her gently. After a moment he pulled back to look at her face again. She looked up at him, her cheeks wet with tears. "Ann…" she whispered, shaking her head. More tears ran down her face, and Spike wiped them away with his thumbs as she tried again to speak. "I… why did…." she sobbed.
"Shhh," Spike tried to comfort her, but she was crying too hard now. Suddenly she wobbled, and weakly grabbed at his coat. He was prepared, and caught her as she fainted. Her head dropped against his arm, and he gazed at her sadly for a moment. He picked her up then, and headed in the direction of what he called his home.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the darkness of the alley outside the Bronze, the demon in the dark cloak stood, watching Spike carry Tabitha away. It frowned, then glanced back at the Bronze. It seemed torn as to whether it should follow Spike or stay where it was. Finally it shook it's head and headed up the stairs that led to the backstage entrance of the Bronze.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inside the Bronze, Buffy and the gang were making a serious turnover in the human to vampire ratio. The floor was covered, in most places, by a thin layer of dust. The sprinkler system had long run out, but the majority of the vampires still ran around in a blind panic. Buffy had a long sword, and she was clearly enjoying beheading the vampires one by one.
Riley looked upset that Spike had gotten away with Tabitha, but that didn't slow down his progress. The rest of the gang worked there way from the edges of the room, and very few vampires got past any of them to make it out the door.