In the Name of Love
By Tales of Spike
Disclaimer: All the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN and lots of other people who aren't me. "As You Were" was written by Douglas Petrie. He's not me either.
Thank you again to Joan the English chick and www.psyche.kn-bremen.de for transcripts since as I write this "As You Were" still hadn't reached the UK.
A/N: I've rated this chapter as R. If anyone wants to take issue with that then I would be grateful if they could contact me and I'll take immediate steps to remedy the situation, rather than reporting me and getting all my stuff wiped off.
I waited three days, and no kiddies came forward to say they were reading this, so if their parental controls are locking them out now, tough. Hope all you adults enjoy it.
Thanks again for all the reviews. When I originally posted this, some people thought I'd been unduly harsh to Riley, but it was never my intention to give a totally unbiased representation of his character. Any exaggerations and outright libels in regard to the tin soldier are done a) for comic relief and b) as a means to vent my frustration at having to put up with him for about a series and a half. To those who were quite happy with the Riley bashing, I expect there will be some more to come.
Chapter 4
Buffy rolled over, so that she was lying with her back against Spike's chest, wiggling her hips as she did so to couch herself snugly against Spike's lower body. Spike immediately felt his body react.
"Buffy, if you're just trying to get into a comfy sleeping position, you should know that wrigglin' about like a terrier down a rabbit hole when you've got that cute little bum of yours up against me is not going to lead to any sleep for either of us."
He smoothed away the hair at the back of her neck, and placed a trail of feather-light kisses down from her hairline to the base of her neck and then along her collarbone.
Buffy gave a small gasp at the contact with her sensitive skin. "Then it is so of the good that slayers only need a couple of hours sleep." She again adjusted the position of her hips, this time deliberately rubbing in small circles against Spike's abdomen and rapidly growing erection.
"Is that a challenge, Slayer? I think you'll find vampire stamina at least a match for your staying power." His arm draped itself across her body, his fingers gently circling around the flesh at the inside of her opposite elbow, alternately caressing with his fingertips and lightly scratching with his nails. Despite Buffy's apparent eagerness, he had no intention of being rushed.
She rolled over once more to face him. "Prove it," she murmured, before she prevented any further discussion with a kiss.
* * * * *
Given the stubbornness of the couple involved, it's perhaps surprising that they got any sleep at all, but eventually Spike's gentle stroking began to have a calming effect rather than a sensual one.
Buffy drifted off to sleep feeling cherished and protected. For several long minutes Spike lay and watched her sleeping form, still marvelling at the new level of intimacy they had shared. Then his eyes also drifted shut and he slept.
* * * * *
Of the two, Spike was the first to come back to his senses when his crypt door was slammed open once more. "Well looky here." Spike propped himself up on his elbows to get a better view of his adversary. His grin was wolfish, predatory and inordinately smug all at the same time. Soldier-boy was in town. Judging by the matching outfits, she'd seen him before she came here, but she'd still chosen to spend the night with him. And it hadn't just been about sex either. Nope, Spike had good reason to believe that Buffy was "his" now, and boy was the kid going to know about it. Anyway, if she wasn't prepared to tell Dawn or the Scoobies she couldn't complain if he took his fun where he could, could she? After all, he had warned her. He was "Mr Passive Aggressive Guy"
"I don't normally use the word delicious but I've gotta wager this little tableau must sting a bit, eh? Me and your former? Must kill. What can I say? Girl needs a little monster in her man."
Spike thought he was being quite good. He hadn't even mentioned that fact that if someone felt they needed a gun that big they must be trying to compensate for something. He was a bit less happy when he noticed that Buffy was looking upset. He'd been expecting pissed, he knew she'd tear a strip off him after, but hey, it's a guy thing. What had her upset?
"Not why I'm here… Doctor."
'What the fuck did he just call me? He'll have her thinking everything that happened last night was just to fob her off. Oh hell, she's off again, there she goes grabbing clothes, five minutes and she'll be out the bloody door, and this time it's his fault not mine'
"Here I thought we'd run you out of town, mate. Last time I saw you, if memory serves, you were getting the juice sucked out of you by some undead ladies of very questionable reputation." Spike's eyes were hard. If the hall monitor wanted to make him look bad in front of Buffy then he sure as hell wasn't going to come out of it looking like her knight in shining armour.
Spike sat up and since Buffy had departed with the blanket Riley got to see rather more than he wanted to. Spike smirked again, confident than Riley would currently be experiencing some feelings of inadequacy.
"Now be a good tin soldier and, uh…" He waved his hand at Riley as if to urge the soldier to run along like a good little boy. If only he could get rid of the git before Buffy finished getting dressed, then he might get her to listen to some sort of explanation, but damned if he'd say anything in front of her ex.
"Where are they… Doctor?"
"Where are what, and why do you keep calling me that?"
This guy was really getting on his tits. Still if he was going to have to physically throw him out he'd better out some clothes on. He had his jeans half way on when he wondered whether just shoving him out the door would make the chip go off. Nah, couldn't, could it?
"Glad to be back in Sunnydale. The locals all speak English, and I know who to beat for information. It's all brought me here."
He really believes that, doesn't he? Up until he started getting suck jobs he spent a year and a half turning every non-human resident of Sunnydale he met into over-sized lab-rats. Now he thinks they're going to spill their secrets to him. Wanker. Either that or he'd got to Willy and Willy was covering his own ass, but with the eggs downstairs Spike could hardly argue his innocence. Time for diversionary tactics.
"Look, crew cut." Spike finished fastening the buckle on his belt and treated Riley to one of his better glares. "She's not your bint anymore. And if I can speak frankly, she always had a little thing for me, even when she was shagging you."
"Nice. That's very distracting." Now that Spike had covered up Riley was able to slightly overcome his feelings of inadequacy and he moved closer to better brandish his over-sized gun. "Now tell me, before I get unprofessional… where are the eggs, Spike?"
Shit, deny it, deny everything… you smoked but you didn't inhale, no that only works if you're the president.
"Eggs? Phht… You're off your nut. It must be those drugs they were keeping you on. I did warn you."
"Okay. We can do this the hard way, or we can do this the fatal way."
'Bring it on,' thought Spike. 'I've been tortured by a Hell god and he thinks he can get me to talk.'
Riley punched Spike in the face hard enough to knock him back slightly. "Where are the eggs?"
Buffy emerged from her hiding place, now fully dressed. She got in between the two men. "Look, the Doctor, it can't be Spike."
'Great! Now she's making me look like some wimp. Maybe I can't hit the pillock back, but if I can take a hiding off of Buffy I can sure as hell take anything he can deal out.' No sooner did the thought go through his mind than the words came from his mouth. "No need to defend me, love." 'Wait a minute. Is she saying she thinks I'm innocent?' Further ruminations along this line were interrupted as Buffy punched him. Nevertheless, inside his head Spike did a little dance for joy. She trusted him.
"Look, i-it can't be, okay? He-he's too incompetent." The little guy in Spike's head suddenly stopped dancing, smacked himself on the forehead, and fell over backwards. Spike glared at Buffy, dumbstruck that after all he'd done for her and all he'd been through, that this was how she thought of him.
"Right." Riley replied. "Deadly… amoral…opportunistic." 'Yeah he'd been teaching Buffy lots of amoral little activities every opportunity he got.' Spike couldn't help it the smirk came back. "Or have you forgotten?"
Buffy glared at her former boyfriend, but with Spike apparently agreeing with every word of the description how could she argue. Beaten, she turned away.
"I'm taking this place apart until I find that nest."
"Over my dead body." No way was this guy going to come into his home and start ordering him around.
"I've seen enough of your dead body for one night, thanks."
Riley used the barrel of his shotgun to push Spike to one-side. He went to walk past but Spike grabbed his shoulder to turn him round ready for a punch.
"Well, you're not gonna…" Spike was prevented from completing his quip as Riley pushed him back again and he stumbled against one of the pillars. Riley descended the ladder into the lower room. Then his voice called back up from below. "You coming?"
Buffy looked up, looking into Spike's face. Spike stared back willing her to have some faith in him. Riley was making her choose between the two of them and to Spike if she went with Riley then it meant that she didn't believe that he'd changed. Either way Riley would find the eggs, but if she had enough faith in him to stay here with him maybe she would believe the truth. He held her gaze for what seemed the longest time.
She looked away and followed Riley. A part of him knew that he'd lost her.
* * * * *
In his pain, he lashed out desperately. "Oh this is… unconstitutional, is what it is! Here! There's nothing to see down there!" As he continued what he knew was a pointless rant he grabbed his shirt up off the floor and shoved his arms into the sleeves.
For a few seconds he listened as Buffy tried to defend him, and it hurt all over again when she used the incompetent defence. When he heard her pleading stop in mid sentence he knew they'd found them. The Big Bad wanted to leave before he had to look in her eyes, but the Fool, he had to rush to her and try to get her to understand. Spike pelted down the stairs and ran into the room.
"I can explain…"
He was cut off by Riley. "We're gonna need more weapons. Spike screwed up. You didn't keep them frozen, did you… Doctor?" He appeared as far as Spike could tell to be doing his best to make the situation seem worse. The things weren't going anywhere for a good few days yet, or so he'd been told. Either soldier-boy was exaggerating or this whole thing was a set up.
"You can stop calling me that anytime." He turned towards Buffy his tone softening considerably. "If I may: the thing of it is, I'm holding these for a friend…" (or three) he added mentally, "who-."
Spike's nose exploded under Buffy's fist, spraying blood across his face. He hardly noticed that the blow had also knocked him over.
"No more games, Spike."
Pure, unadulterated rage filled Spike from head to toe. After months his frustration at her insensitive, manipulative and outright abusive treatment of him flowed out.
"Well, that's bloody funny coming from you! No more games?"
Buffy rolled her eyes at him, only incensing him further.
"That's all you've ever done is play me, and keep playing with the rules you make up as you like! You know what I am – you've always known and you come to me all the same!"
"Can you shut him up?" The enormous git couldn't even have the decency to speak to him as if he were a person when he interrupted. Instead he spoke to Buffy as if he was her dog, that she should muzzle.
"Not so far." Buffy replied.
Spike turned and stormed out the crypt pausing only to grab his duster and his keys. He was barely out the door, when he heard them start shooting up the place. He couldn't bring himself to go back. There was nothing he could do about Iowa-boy, and he didn't trust himself around Buffy when he was this mad. It was only stuff.
He was half way to the road when he heard the blast of the first grenade, and he turned in time to see light from the second blast through the crypt doorway as the rest of the belt went up.
"What a fuckin' bitch!"
His eyes welled up and he tried to hold on to the anger he felt inside, because if he didn't he would be lying there crying his eyes out when she came out.
* * * * *
He got onto the motorbike and headed for a local off-licence. He didn't want to go to the Bronze or the demon bar where he played kitten-poker or anywhere where he might see anyone he knew or where he'd been with her. He even thought about heading for the garage where he had the de Soto and leaving town. She hadn't actually dumped him but blowing up his home pretty much said it all. He didn't notice the first few tears as they rolled diagonally down his cheeks. He told himself it was just the wind in his eyes and he kept telling himself that until he got off the bike at the liquor store. After that he just decided to ignore them, and hell help the teller if he said anything. He went through and picked up a bottle of Glenmorangie. Tonight was for slow drinking. He had to let his troubles go, not drown them. He had a sudden inspiration.
He reached for a bottle of vodka and took both bottles to the counter. He threw a bundle of notes at the teller and walked back to the bike. He had to go see someone.
He unscrewed the top of the vodka bottle, and poured a drink for his companion.
"Always thought that was a stupid idea, you know. Waste of good booze. Who made it up anyway, was it the Irish or was it you yanks? Well, right now it seems better than drinking alone."
He made sure to avoid the wet patch over the grave when he sat down.
"So how are you, Joyce, how's things up in heaven? Things aren't goin' that great down here, not for anyone, well 'cept Harris. He's getting' wed next week to his little ex-demon…" So Spike told Joyce what was happening in Sunnydale. How Dawn had been having problems, but that he'd be there to help her. How he wanted to help Buffy, but now she wouldn't ever trust him. How he'd lost that trust, trying to save her and now he thought she was going to get back with Riley. He wondered whether Joyce had ever thought Captain Cardboard would make Buffy happy. He told her how he hoped Joyce would have been happy for him and Buffy. How he would have looked after her. How much he missed Joyce herself. He told her about what had happened on Passions… and everything else that was on his mind. He sat all night talking and it was nearly dawn when he sought refuge in the sewer system.
End of Chapter 4 Next chapter: The break up (all official like)The eggs are gone and Spike has no way of knowing if he's done enough to save the women in his life. Before he can set off to do anything about it, he has to say his goodbyes to the people he's leaving behind, especially Dawn.