Title: Twisted Perspectives
Chapter: 7/?
Author: SpikesPet
E-mail: spikes_pet@ameritech.net
Author Archive: http://spikespet.tvheaven.com
Feedback: Fuels the writing machine.
Distribution: No big, just let me know where.
Notes: Many thanks to my betas: Mezzibelle, Wisconsin Square and Barbara Steele. A
very special thanks to Kathy…without her insistence this chapter may have been stalled a
lot longer.
Notes2: I don't know exactly how much of this story will be able to be posted to this site.
It all depends on the turns the story takes. Should the rating go above what is
allowed…contact me and I can tell you how to receive updates.
******************************************************************
Buffy stepped onto her porch just as the first few rays of the sun began to peek over the
horizon. She stood outside pondering what would be on the other side of the door.
Pulling out her last cigarette and lighting it, the various possible scenarios played through
her head. She made a decision; if everyone had waited up to finish the lecture, she was
heading back to Spike's. She walked to the edge of the window and peered in. No one
was in the living room. With a sigh of relief, she tossed her smoke into the yard and
unlocked the door.
She opened the door slowly, hoping to avoid any squeaks. Once inside, she closed it in a
similar fashion. Ignoring her growling stomach, she tiptoed up the stairs and into her
room. She undressed and crawled into bed.
Buffy stared at the ceiling, an ear-to-ear smile plastered on her face. 'Really made
progress tonight,' she thought, reliving her evening with Spike. There had been no
fighting, no sarcastic comments. They just talked. "Soon…soon," she murmured into
her pillow, before drifting off.
******************************************************************
Spike woke up feeling exhausted. He'd only slept a couple of hours after the slayer had
left. He remained in bed, allowing his head to clear a bit.
He soon realized that was his mistake. The conflict that seemed to plague his thoughts
returned. The slayer. The bane of his existence. His mortal enemy. Yet, the feelings of
hate that went along with the titles had vanished. He'd spent the majority of the previous
night seeking refuge in her company. It was so beyond wrong.
Yet, she was the only one who just accepted him. She listened without spurting some
kind of misguided advice. She didn't try to force him to be happy. She understood. In
her presence, he felt alive.
Spike closed his eyes, his mind briefly wandering to the source of his conflict. He
pictured her, as she sat next to him the previous night. His eyes shot open, quickly
shoving the inappropriate images from his mind. It was wrong to be having what
bordered on 'fuzzy feelings.'
He got out of bed and padded to the diverted water pipe that served as his shower.
******************************************************************
Buffy made sure she was out of the house before 2 p.m., knowing that would be just
before Willow got out of class. She decided to meet Dawn at school so she could talk to
her alone.
'Bit's likely to be my sole ally after last night,' she reasoned. 'Sod the lot of 'em. Her
opinion's the only on that matters.'
Buffy left the house quickly and hopped into the car. She slid her new CD into the
player, and cranking the volume to max, she squealed out of the driveway.
******************************************************************
Xander joined Anya and Giles at the Magic Box. Within a few minutes, Tara and Willow
walked in. The group gathered around the table in the back of the store.
"Are you sure that Buffy isn't gonna come in? 'Cause, you know, finding us talking
about her…" Willow said, brow furrowed with concern.
"After the events of last night," Giles said, glaring at Xander, "I highly doubt she's going
to be seeking any of us out."
"What?" Xander said, raising his hands.
"Sweetie, I think he's talking about how you yelled at Buffy and Spike. He's just being
polite by not saying your name specifically," Anya explained.
"Thank you, Anya," Giles said with a sigh.
"S-so what do we do now?" Tara asked, trying to focus the group.
"We need to figure out what Spike did to Buffy and fix it so she stakes his sorry ass,"
Xander declared.
"That is quite enough," Giles reprimanded. "Your jumping to conclusions is fruitless and
annoying. It is glaringly obvious that whatever has effected Buffy has also done
something to Spike, making it highly unlikely that he is involved."
"But, it's doing something different to each of them," Willow pointed out.
"I can't believe this," Anya said, rolling her eyes.
"Huh?" Xander asked.
"Anya? Do continue…if you have something useful to add," Giles urged.
"Its clearly some kind of spell." She looked around at the group. "You mean you haven't
noticed that Spike is acting like Buffy and Buffy is acting like Spike?" She took in all of
the confused looks. With a snort she added, "And you all say I'm self absorbed."
"Yes, that does seem to explain the situation," Giles said, removing his glasses.
"Yeah, it does," Willow added. "But who? And why?"
"Spike," Xander said through clenched teeth.
"Why would he want to do that?" his fiancé asked.
"Because he's evil and to get into the Buffster's pants."
"That doesn't make sense. Spike was pushing Buffy away when I walked into the
kitchen," Tara said, the memory causing her to blush.
"Well, he probably…"
"Xander, I think we can safely assume Spike didn't do this. Giles is right, we need to
find out who did and undo it," Willow said, sounding determined. "Tara and I will do a
spell to see if they are under the influence of magic."
"Yeah…we need to get something from each of them…but I think Dawn still has that
ring Spike left at the house last summer. It was on her dresser. And we really should
check in with her; she'll be home soon," Tara added.
"Fine. The rest of us shall begin to research," Giles said, already scanning the volumes.
******************************************************************
Buffy stood in front of the school, leaned up against the car, waiting. She knew her
attempt to avoid Willow and Tara would make her early, so she wasn't surprised by the
wait; she was surprised at how unbelievably hard the wait had been. Still pondering her
lack of patience, she glanced down at the pile of cigarette butts she'd accumulated. Not
wanting to upset Dawn, she kicked them under the car. Deciding to cover all of the
bases, she fumbled in her pocket for some gum. When she looked back up, Dawn was
walking towards her with a confused look.
"What are you doing here?" Dawn asked.
"Thought maybe we could have a talk," Buffy explained.
"Uh…what did I do wrong now?"
Buffy smiled reassuringly and said, "Nothing. Just get in." Dawn walked around to the
passenger side and hesitated a moment, sizing up the situation. Buffy was already
starting the engine. Dawn shrugged to herself, and got in.
"So, where are we going?" Dawn asked.
"Well, hadn't really thought that far ahead. How 'bout the Espresso Pump? I'll treat you
to a hot chocolate or coffee."
"What happened to all that 'coffee stunts your growth' stuff?" Dawn questioned with a
grin.
"I think you're plenty tall now."
Both girls smiled. Looking out the window, Dawn was deep in thought. She was in the
car with Buffy. Buffy was in a good, maybe even great, mood. They were going to have
a talk over coffee. Dawn realized that this was the first time her sister was treating her
like an adult.
"Buffy, what's this all about? Picking me up…offers of caffeine…" Dawn asked
cautiously.
"Well, after last night I just needed to know that you don't hate me," she replied, matter
of fact.
"Of course not. And yeah, last night was full of badness. But they don't hate you.
Everyone's just worried, I guess. Xander was a jerk, but you know…"
"Harris is a whelp. I don't care what he thinks or any of them really. Just you." Dawn,
despite trying to stifle it, began to giggle. "What's so funny?"
"Whelp. I've never heard anyone but Spike say that," she explained. "Whelp." The
word felt funny as she said it. "I don't know what it means, but…whelp."
"What? Whelp is a perfectly good word and it fits too. Don't suggest you go 'round
using it though. Start a whole new inquisition, that would,"
"Yeah probably." Deciding that wasn't so bad, Dawn got ready to ask another question.
"You do seem to be acting um…less Buffyish." Ok, it wasn't a question, but an
observation that she hoped Buffy would respond to.
"Yeah, it may seem that way. Just loosening up a bit. Having some fun, 'sall. Nothing
to worry about."
"I get that. With the uh…dying and all…makes sense you'd want to live it up a little."
"Can I ask you something? Promise not to get all defensive on me?"
"Sure go ahead." Secretly, Buffy wondered if it was a good idea or not. 'Too late now,'
she thought.
Dawn took a deep breath. "Are you two…um…you and Spike together as in like a
couple?"
Buffy sighed, longing for a smoke. "No, we're not."
"But you want to be? Then why aren't you? I know he was all in love with you."
"Was, being the operative word there."
"Huh?" Dawn asked.
"Well, he said that a vampire and a slayer don't belong together. And I guess he's
right…but…" Buffy's voice trailed off as she was unsure exactly how far into this she
was willing to go with Dawn.
"You love him." It was a statement, not a question.
Buffy parked the car outside of the coffee shop. She turned the engine off and started to
get out. "It's complicated, bit. Come on, let's get you some coffee."
******************************************************************
"Well, Anya was right," Willow announced, walking back into the shop. "It's some kind
of spell." Anya gave her a proud smile.
"Yes, well then. So far we've come across a list of possibilities." Giles pushed the list
across the table to Willow and Tara. "I propose we do a spell to counteract the magic
working on them. Shouldn't be too complicated. If it doesn't work, we can assume there
is some kind of talisman in play."
"We're going to need to get Buffy and Spike together so we can do the spell," Willow
said, scanning the list of possibilities. Xander groaned at the idea.
Suddenly, Willow's breath caught in her throat. A knot formed in her stomach, as she
realized that the spell she'd tried a few nights earlier was on the list. She slid down n her
chair, wishing she could keep sliding right down into the Earth.
"Wil? Something wrong?" Xander asked.
She quickly straightened back up. "Uh, no. Just thinking about how hard it's gonna be to
get them to agree to do this," she lied.
******************************************************************
After dropping Dawn off at home, Buffy decided to head out for patrol. It was still early,
but she was hoping to have a talk with Spike before they headed out. On the way, she
worked out a speech in her head.
Buffy looked up, realizing that she'd walked the entire way without thinking about it.
She paused outside his door, preparing to knock. Before she could, the door swung open.
"Ready to patrol, slayer?" Spike asked. She nodded; her speech and plans of talking
would have to wait. The vampire already had his coat on, obviously raring to go. Buffy
turned around, hoping to hide her disappointment.
She heard him close the door and step up next to her. "So, where to tonight, Spike?"
"How 'bout downtown a bit? Maybe hit the docks."
"Ok, you lead the way," she said.
******************************************************************
Willow and Tara unlocked the door and walked in. Dawn was sitting at the dining room
table, dividing her attention between homework and pizza. She looked up and said, "Hey
guys."
"Hey Dawnie. Where's Buffy?" Willow asked, glancing around the house.
"Patrolling, I think."
"Already?" Tara asked.
"Yep. She left a little early cause she was going to talk to S..someone," Dawn said,
catching herself.
"Oh well. We'll have to talk to her later, when she gets home," Tara said to Willow.
"Yeah, if she comes home," the red head muttered.
******************************************************************
"So I took Dawn out for some coffee after school…"
"Coffee?" Spike asked. "That's no good for a girl her age."
"A little java never hurt anyone. 'Sides she put so much sugar and cream into it, I doubt
it could really be deemed coffee anyways." Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Sugar? Slayer, she's probably bouncing off the walls by now."
Spike suddenly stopped walking. He tilted his head, listening. Then, without warning he
took off running. Buffy followed, but was more than a few steps behind him.
With his enhanced vision, he could see a large figure attacking a young girl down a dark
alley. He ran up to them undetected. Wordlessly, he put a hand on the attacker's
shoulder, spinning him away from the girl.
Buffy arrived in time to see Spike throw an impressive right cross. The big man hit the
ground and remained there motionless. Spike cried out in pain, clutching his skull before
falling into a heap. Buffy quickly asked the victim if she was all right. The girl nodded
and stumbled back out of the alley. She leaned over the fallen man, assessing his
condition. She felt a pulse and noted he was breathing.
Buffy knelt down next to Spike, unsure how to help him. She'd never seen the chip
knock him out before. 'Musta been one hellva punch,' she reasoned. She raised him into
a sitting position, talking to him. He wasn't responding. Calling on all her strength, she
lifted him into a standing position. Still nothing. Bending, he slumped over her shoulder
and she picked him up. Buffy slowing began to head for home.
The jostling must have roused Spike. He attempted to open his eyes, to discern where he
was. He couldn't, the pain was too great. "Put me down," he mumbled.
Buffy stopped and propped him up against a wall. "Spike? Spike did you say
something?"
"What happened?"
"You don't remember? That girl was being…"
Suddenly, it all came back to him. He glanced down the dark alley; he could a figured
on the ground. "Human," he whispered.
"Yeah, I guess. Stay here. You're in no condition for a fight," Buffy said, holding him
steady.
"The girl?"
"She's fine. Ran off towards home," Buffy answered.
"Need to make sure she gets there. You should go follow her. I need to check on the
guy," Spike directed. He attempted to struggle to his feet. Buffy placed a hand on his
shoulder, stopping him.
"She's long gone. And I already checked on the guy," she explained.
"No, I gotta go see if…" he couldn't bring himself to finish.
"He's alive. Broken jaw, probably a concussion, but he'll live," she said.
"I have to get him to a hospital…call an ambulance," Spike said frantically.
"Who cares? He'll get himself there when he comes 'round. You start that and the cops
will come. Drag you off to jail," she reasoned.
"Damn it Buffy! I could have killed him. I have to fix this," he yelled.
"You're not thinking clearly," she started dragging him back towards home. He pushed
her and stumbled back. Leaning on the wall, he made his way to the hurt man. He could
hear that the man's heartbeat was steady. Buffy just stood behind him watching,
unbelieving.
"Slayer, help me get him to the hospital," Spike demanded.
"Fine, but we are just dropping him off. I'll not have you arrested." She helped Spike
lift the man. "I don't understand this. I mean, it was a mistake and he's clearly a bad
guy. What is the big deal?"
"I kill demons, not humans. They are dealt with by the police," Spike responded.
"Yeah, but even if he had died, what's one life in comparison to all those you've saved?
It doesn't even begin to shift the balance."
"Life isn't a great big scale, slayer. Even so, I'm already damned with all the death and
destruction I've caused. But, there is no excuse to take a human life—good, bad or
otherwise. I don't suppose you'd understand that," Spike growled.
"No. No I don't," Buffy said quietly.
******************************************************************
To Be Continued…
Chapter: 7/?
Author: SpikesPet
E-mail: spikes_pet@ameritech.net
Author Archive: http://spikespet.tvheaven.com
Feedback: Fuels the writing machine.
Distribution: No big, just let me know where.
Notes: Many thanks to my betas: Mezzibelle, Wisconsin Square and Barbara Steele. A
very special thanks to Kathy…without her insistence this chapter may have been stalled a
lot longer.
Notes2: I don't know exactly how much of this story will be able to be posted to this site.
It all depends on the turns the story takes. Should the rating go above what is
allowed…contact me and I can tell you how to receive updates.
******************************************************************
Buffy stepped onto her porch just as the first few rays of the sun began to peek over the
horizon. She stood outside pondering what would be on the other side of the door.
Pulling out her last cigarette and lighting it, the various possible scenarios played through
her head. She made a decision; if everyone had waited up to finish the lecture, she was
heading back to Spike's. She walked to the edge of the window and peered in. No one
was in the living room. With a sigh of relief, she tossed her smoke into the yard and
unlocked the door.
She opened the door slowly, hoping to avoid any squeaks. Once inside, she closed it in a
similar fashion. Ignoring her growling stomach, she tiptoed up the stairs and into her
room. She undressed and crawled into bed.
Buffy stared at the ceiling, an ear-to-ear smile plastered on her face. 'Really made
progress tonight,' she thought, reliving her evening with Spike. There had been no
fighting, no sarcastic comments. They just talked. "Soon…soon," she murmured into
her pillow, before drifting off.
******************************************************************
Spike woke up feeling exhausted. He'd only slept a couple of hours after the slayer had
left. He remained in bed, allowing his head to clear a bit.
He soon realized that was his mistake. The conflict that seemed to plague his thoughts
returned. The slayer. The bane of his existence. His mortal enemy. Yet, the feelings of
hate that went along with the titles had vanished. He'd spent the majority of the previous
night seeking refuge in her company. It was so beyond wrong.
Yet, she was the only one who just accepted him. She listened without spurting some
kind of misguided advice. She didn't try to force him to be happy. She understood. In
her presence, he felt alive.
Spike closed his eyes, his mind briefly wandering to the source of his conflict. He
pictured her, as she sat next to him the previous night. His eyes shot open, quickly
shoving the inappropriate images from his mind. It was wrong to be having what
bordered on 'fuzzy feelings.'
He got out of bed and padded to the diverted water pipe that served as his shower.
******************************************************************
Buffy made sure she was out of the house before 2 p.m., knowing that would be just
before Willow got out of class. She decided to meet Dawn at school so she could talk to
her alone.
'Bit's likely to be my sole ally after last night,' she reasoned. 'Sod the lot of 'em. Her
opinion's the only on that matters.'
Buffy left the house quickly and hopped into the car. She slid her new CD into the
player, and cranking the volume to max, she squealed out of the driveway.
******************************************************************
Xander joined Anya and Giles at the Magic Box. Within a few minutes, Tara and Willow
walked in. The group gathered around the table in the back of the store.
"Are you sure that Buffy isn't gonna come in? 'Cause, you know, finding us talking
about her…" Willow said, brow furrowed with concern.
"After the events of last night," Giles said, glaring at Xander, "I highly doubt she's going
to be seeking any of us out."
"What?" Xander said, raising his hands.
"Sweetie, I think he's talking about how you yelled at Buffy and Spike. He's just being
polite by not saying your name specifically," Anya explained.
"Thank you, Anya," Giles said with a sigh.
"S-so what do we do now?" Tara asked, trying to focus the group.
"We need to figure out what Spike did to Buffy and fix it so she stakes his sorry ass,"
Xander declared.
"That is quite enough," Giles reprimanded. "Your jumping to conclusions is fruitless and
annoying. It is glaringly obvious that whatever has effected Buffy has also done
something to Spike, making it highly unlikely that he is involved."
"But, it's doing something different to each of them," Willow pointed out.
"I can't believe this," Anya said, rolling her eyes.
"Huh?" Xander asked.
"Anya? Do continue…if you have something useful to add," Giles urged.
"Its clearly some kind of spell." She looked around at the group. "You mean you haven't
noticed that Spike is acting like Buffy and Buffy is acting like Spike?" She took in all of
the confused looks. With a snort she added, "And you all say I'm self absorbed."
"Yes, that does seem to explain the situation," Giles said, removing his glasses.
"Yeah, it does," Willow added. "But who? And why?"
"Spike," Xander said through clenched teeth.
"Why would he want to do that?" his fiancé asked.
"Because he's evil and to get into the Buffster's pants."
"That doesn't make sense. Spike was pushing Buffy away when I walked into the
kitchen," Tara said, the memory causing her to blush.
"Well, he probably…"
"Xander, I think we can safely assume Spike didn't do this. Giles is right, we need to
find out who did and undo it," Willow said, sounding determined. "Tara and I will do a
spell to see if they are under the influence of magic."
"Yeah…we need to get something from each of them…but I think Dawn still has that
ring Spike left at the house last summer. It was on her dresser. And we really should
check in with her; she'll be home soon," Tara added.
"Fine. The rest of us shall begin to research," Giles said, already scanning the volumes.
******************************************************************
Buffy stood in front of the school, leaned up against the car, waiting. She knew her
attempt to avoid Willow and Tara would make her early, so she wasn't surprised by the
wait; she was surprised at how unbelievably hard the wait had been. Still pondering her
lack of patience, she glanced down at the pile of cigarette butts she'd accumulated. Not
wanting to upset Dawn, she kicked them under the car. Deciding to cover all of the
bases, she fumbled in her pocket for some gum. When she looked back up, Dawn was
walking towards her with a confused look.
"What are you doing here?" Dawn asked.
"Thought maybe we could have a talk," Buffy explained.
"Uh…what did I do wrong now?"
Buffy smiled reassuringly and said, "Nothing. Just get in." Dawn walked around to the
passenger side and hesitated a moment, sizing up the situation. Buffy was already
starting the engine. Dawn shrugged to herself, and got in.
"So, where are we going?" Dawn asked.
"Well, hadn't really thought that far ahead. How 'bout the Espresso Pump? I'll treat you
to a hot chocolate or coffee."
"What happened to all that 'coffee stunts your growth' stuff?" Dawn questioned with a
grin.
"I think you're plenty tall now."
Both girls smiled. Looking out the window, Dawn was deep in thought. She was in the
car with Buffy. Buffy was in a good, maybe even great, mood. They were going to have
a talk over coffee. Dawn realized that this was the first time her sister was treating her
like an adult.
"Buffy, what's this all about? Picking me up…offers of caffeine…" Dawn asked
cautiously.
"Well, after last night I just needed to know that you don't hate me," she replied, matter
of fact.
"Of course not. And yeah, last night was full of badness. But they don't hate you.
Everyone's just worried, I guess. Xander was a jerk, but you know…"
"Harris is a whelp. I don't care what he thinks or any of them really. Just you." Dawn,
despite trying to stifle it, began to giggle. "What's so funny?"
"Whelp. I've never heard anyone but Spike say that," she explained. "Whelp." The
word felt funny as she said it. "I don't know what it means, but…whelp."
"What? Whelp is a perfectly good word and it fits too. Don't suggest you go 'round
using it though. Start a whole new inquisition, that would,"
"Yeah probably." Deciding that wasn't so bad, Dawn got ready to ask another question.
"You do seem to be acting um…less Buffyish." Ok, it wasn't a question, but an
observation that she hoped Buffy would respond to.
"Yeah, it may seem that way. Just loosening up a bit. Having some fun, 'sall. Nothing
to worry about."
"I get that. With the uh…dying and all…makes sense you'd want to live it up a little."
"Can I ask you something? Promise not to get all defensive on me?"
"Sure go ahead." Secretly, Buffy wondered if it was a good idea or not. 'Too late now,'
she thought.
Dawn took a deep breath. "Are you two…um…you and Spike together as in like a
couple?"
Buffy sighed, longing for a smoke. "No, we're not."
"But you want to be? Then why aren't you? I know he was all in love with you."
"Was, being the operative word there."
"Huh?" Dawn asked.
"Well, he said that a vampire and a slayer don't belong together. And I guess he's
right…but…" Buffy's voice trailed off as she was unsure exactly how far into this she
was willing to go with Dawn.
"You love him." It was a statement, not a question.
Buffy parked the car outside of the coffee shop. She turned the engine off and started to
get out. "It's complicated, bit. Come on, let's get you some coffee."
******************************************************************
"Well, Anya was right," Willow announced, walking back into the shop. "It's some kind
of spell." Anya gave her a proud smile.
"Yes, well then. So far we've come across a list of possibilities." Giles pushed the list
across the table to Willow and Tara. "I propose we do a spell to counteract the magic
working on them. Shouldn't be too complicated. If it doesn't work, we can assume there
is some kind of talisman in play."
"We're going to need to get Buffy and Spike together so we can do the spell," Willow
said, scanning the list of possibilities. Xander groaned at the idea.
Suddenly, Willow's breath caught in her throat. A knot formed in her stomach, as she
realized that the spell she'd tried a few nights earlier was on the list. She slid down n her
chair, wishing she could keep sliding right down into the Earth.
"Wil? Something wrong?" Xander asked.
She quickly straightened back up. "Uh, no. Just thinking about how hard it's gonna be to
get them to agree to do this," she lied.
******************************************************************
After dropping Dawn off at home, Buffy decided to head out for patrol. It was still early,
but she was hoping to have a talk with Spike before they headed out. On the way, she
worked out a speech in her head.
Buffy looked up, realizing that she'd walked the entire way without thinking about it.
She paused outside his door, preparing to knock. Before she could, the door swung open.
"Ready to patrol, slayer?" Spike asked. She nodded; her speech and plans of talking
would have to wait. The vampire already had his coat on, obviously raring to go. Buffy
turned around, hoping to hide her disappointment.
She heard him close the door and step up next to her. "So, where to tonight, Spike?"
"How 'bout downtown a bit? Maybe hit the docks."
"Ok, you lead the way," she said.
******************************************************************
Willow and Tara unlocked the door and walked in. Dawn was sitting at the dining room
table, dividing her attention between homework and pizza. She looked up and said, "Hey
guys."
"Hey Dawnie. Where's Buffy?" Willow asked, glancing around the house.
"Patrolling, I think."
"Already?" Tara asked.
"Yep. She left a little early cause she was going to talk to S..someone," Dawn said,
catching herself.
"Oh well. We'll have to talk to her later, when she gets home," Tara said to Willow.
"Yeah, if she comes home," the red head muttered.
******************************************************************
"So I took Dawn out for some coffee after school…"
"Coffee?" Spike asked. "That's no good for a girl her age."
"A little java never hurt anyone. 'Sides she put so much sugar and cream into it, I doubt
it could really be deemed coffee anyways." Buffy rolled her eyes.
"Sugar? Slayer, she's probably bouncing off the walls by now."
Spike suddenly stopped walking. He tilted his head, listening. Then, without warning he
took off running. Buffy followed, but was more than a few steps behind him.
With his enhanced vision, he could see a large figure attacking a young girl down a dark
alley. He ran up to them undetected. Wordlessly, he put a hand on the attacker's
shoulder, spinning him away from the girl.
Buffy arrived in time to see Spike throw an impressive right cross. The big man hit the
ground and remained there motionless. Spike cried out in pain, clutching his skull before
falling into a heap. Buffy quickly asked the victim if she was all right. The girl nodded
and stumbled back out of the alley. She leaned over the fallen man, assessing his
condition. She felt a pulse and noted he was breathing.
Buffy knelt down next to Spike, unsure how to help him. She'd never seen the chip
knock him out before. 'Musta been one hellva punch,' she reasoned. She raised him into
a sitting position, talking to him. He wasn't responding. Calling on all her strength, she
lifted him into a standing position. Still nothing. Bending, he slumped over her shoulder
and she picked him up. Buffy slowing began to head for home.
The jostling must have roused Spike. He attempted to open his eyes, to discern where he
was. He couldn't, the pain was too great. "Put me down," he mumbled.
Buffy stopped and propped him up against a wall. "Spike? Spike did you say
something?"
"What happened?"
"You don't remember? That girl was being…"
Suddenly, it all came back to him. He glanced down the dark alley; he could a figured
on the ground. "Human," he whispered.
"Yeah, I guess. Stay here. You're in no condition for a fight," Buffy said, holding him
steady.
"The girl?"
"She's fine. Ran off towards home," Buffy answered.
"Need to make sure she gets there. You should go follow her. I need to check on the
guy," Spike directed. He attempted to struggle to his feet. Buffy placed a hand on his
shoulder, stopping him.
"She's long gone. And I already checked on the guy," she explained.
"No, I gotta go see if…" he couldn't bring himself to finish.
"He's alive. Broken jaw, probably a concussion, but he'll live," she said.
"I have to get him to a hospital…call an ambulance," Spike said frantically.
"Who cares? He'll get himself there when he comes 'round. You start that and the cops
will come. Drag you off to jail," she reasoned.
"Damn it Buffy! I could have killed him. I have to fix this," he yelled.
"You're not thinking clearly," she started dragging him back towards home. He pushed
her and stumbled back. Leaning on the wall, he made his way to the hurt man. He could
hear that the man's heartbeat was steady. Buffy just stood behind him watching,
unbelieving.
"Slayer, help me get him to the hospital," Spike demanded.
"Fine, but we are just dropping him off. I'll not have you arrested." She helped Spike
lift the man. "I don't understand this. I mean, it was a mistake and he's clearly a bad
guy. What is the big deal?"
"I kill demons, not humans. They are dealt with by the police," Spike responded.
"Yeah, but even if he had died, what's one life in comparison to all those you've saved?
It doesn't even begin to shift the balance."
"Life isn't a great big scale, slayer. Even so, I'm already damned with all the death and
destruction I've caused. But, there is no excuse to take a human life—good, bad or
otherwise. I don't suppose you'd understand that," Spike growled.
"No. No I don't," Buffy said quietly.
******************************************************************
To Be Continued…