Email: tenik42@yahoo.com
Rating: PG I think
Status: Unfinished
Setting: 15 years after IWRY, with some flash back memories.
Summary: This is an answer to challenge #11 on Sunlight and Shadow (http://ficgoddess.com/sunlightshadow). It's the year 2014 and Spike's in Los Angeles where he sees a very familiar looking girl. If you want to know more about the story you could read the challenge details but it might give away some of the story plot.
Feedback: Big thanks to the people who wrote reviews. This part is dedicated to them because if it wasn't for their feedback then who knows how long I would have procrastinated before writing some more.
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer applies once again. I still don't own anything.
Spike lounged on his couch watching the flickering television in the corner but not paying any attention to what was on the screen. He could hear the dull rush of water through the walls, indicating that Sam was still taking a shower. Spike's mind was full of thoughts spinning around like heated particles. Sometimes they would crash. *Why the bloody hell am I being so nice to this chit? I didn't have to offer her a place to stay...I'm sure she would have found that teen shelter in the end. I shouldn't care if she gets murdered in some dark alley. I'm Evil!* He reassured himself by explaining his actions away as curiosity. A whole dam lot of curiosity. *Who is she? Why does this girl look so much like Buffy? What's she doing in LA? Is she some distant relative of Buffy's? A cousin maybe?*
His thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the sound of a stifled laugh from behind him. He had been so wrapped up that he hadn't noticed that the shower had stopped minutes ago.
"You're watching sesame street?" the voice from behind questioned while trying not to burst out laughing.
"I am bloody not" Spike retorted as his eyes focussed on the television only to find with horror that the blue furry thing on the television was in fact the cookie monster. He rushed forward to turn the set off and turned to glare at the grinning girl. Spike's glaring was starting to make Sam feel uncomfortable. After deciding that she couldn't win a staring contest with him she broke the silence by changing the subject.
"So,...do you live here alone?" Sam asked indicating to the small but well furnished apartment.
"Yep, ever since I moved here about a year ago", Spike answered returning to his seat on the couch.
"So what do you do?"
"Do?" Spike questioned, unsure what she had meant.
Sam elaborated "Do as in job".
Vampire's are rarely asked what they do for a living (no pun intended) and Spike's mind went blank. He only knew of one vampire with a job.
"I'm a Private Investigator."
"Cool, that sounds like an interesting job."
Spike had answered enough questions about himself, he wanted answers.
"How about you? What are you doing in LA?"
Sam looked uncomfortable. "Well, I know it sounds immature but I ran away from home."
Spike had already guessed that much. Walking around the streets of LA alone at night equals runaway. Spike put on a concerned face, he wanted to know more. "Where are you from?"
"Who care's"
"I do."
Sam's voice turned cold. "Yeah so you can send me home, I don't think so."
"Your parents are probably worried about you."
"I don't have any parents."
"Everyone must have had parents at some point."
"I never met my father. My mum died when I was six."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's not your problem."
Spike thought he could see a tear forming in the girl's eye before she quickly turned around to face his kitchen. "Um, I'm hungry" she said obviously changing the subject. "Can I raid your fridge?"
"No!" Spike said jumping up and blocking her path. "Uh there's nothing in there" he added trying to explain his strange actions. "I haven't been shopping yet, but you can order pizza if you're hungry, the phone's in there" he said pointing to the hallway. "Thanks" Sam said disappearing into the hallway.
Spike looked towards the refrigerator standing innocently between the sink and oven. He had been lying when he had said there was nothing in there. His fridge was in fact filled with packets of blood. Spike didn't want Sam to find out he was a vampire, she would most likely panic and leave and then he would never find out who she was.
As Spike settled back in the comfort of his fairly new furniture he marvelled at how much this young girl reminded him of Buffy. The girl that he blamed all his misfortune on. He remembered the last time he had seen Buffy, just before he had left Sunnydale for good. It had been bloody hard to do. For some reason he was drawn to Sunnydale and that was the reason he'd kept returning. But Sunnydale came with bad luck. His bad luck.
Spike stood in Xander's basement grinning like an idiot. He had just discovered he could hurt demons. No longer was he totally helpless, his life had meaning again, he wanted enough violence to make up for the weeks of humiliation being tied up in the Watcher's bathtub and then living in Xander's basement.
"I say we go out there and kick a little Demon ass. What? Can't go without your Buffy? Is that it, too chicken? Let's find her, she is the chosen one after all. Come on, vampires, grrr nasty. Let's annihilate them for justice, and for the safety of puppies, Christmas, right. Let's fight that evil, let's kill something!"
Xander and Willow were unaffected by his rousing speech, so Spike had left the basement heading for one of Sunnydale's cemeteries planning to find something to fight on his own. Instead of locating an unlucky demon or vampire he ran into the Slayer on her nightly patrol. Buffy didn't look happy to see him.
"Spike! What are you doing here?" she asked sounding annoyed.
"Same thing you are, I guess" he answered with a smug look on his face. "Unless of course your lurking around graveyards for some other reason."
"Huh?"
"Fighting evil", he answered with a grin and thought, *nothing can ruin my mood tonight*.
"Buffy?" an enquiring voice called out from the bushes. Buffy turned towards the new voice and smiled as Riley appeared through the shrubs.
"Riley, fancy seeing you here"
"You too", Riley replied grinning back at her with a goofy smile.
"Bloody Hell!" Spike muttered to himself. It was then that Riley realised that he and Buffy weren't alone.
"What's Xander's friend doing here?"
Spike's previous good mood disappeared as fast as ice in a desert. He realised that if he stuck around in Sunnydale then sooner or later he'd run into more trouble, probably involving the Initiative or maybe even with the Slayer. He'd had enough.
"Sod this! I've had enough of this cursed place. I start feeling a bit better and what happens? Buffy's idiot commando friend turns up and they begin making googly eyes at each other..."
Buffy and Riley just watched him in shock, neither of them able to interrupt his rant.
"...I'm leaving. And for good this time! Sunnydale is just full of bad luck out to get me."
Spike paused before his last comment. "I hope never to see any of your Scoobies or you Slayer, ever again!"
After the last word had been said he quickly turned around and stalked off into the night, leaving Sunnydale behind him for good.
Riley turned to Buffy, wearing a confused expression.
"What happened to Xander's friend's accent?"
Since that day Spike had thought about returning to Sunnydale many times. He was proud that he hadn't given in, although he did wonder what would have happened if he had stayed. Of course he could never really know. *That's the past and this is now* Spike thought, *...and for some reason the now includes some one who looks just like the past*.