New Horizons: Chapter Fifty
The Continuance
By Annie
06-07-2002
She was running, the moon painting the ground at her feet with strange shadows entangled with its cold light. Everything was blue and gray and black or something in between and she could hardly breathe as she started the climb of a steep hill.
The dirt underneath her feet was dry and crumbled when she dug her toes into it for balance, but she hardly noticed it; she was too focused on reaching the top.
She reached up a hand and her fingers grasped moist moss as she pulled herself up over the edge and dragged herself away from it, huffing before drawing a breath and looking up, finding herself in a small clearing.
She frowned, looking around.
It was the clearing where she and Spike had fought in England, the clearing on the lord's grounds. The clearing where she had come close to killing him, and even though she knew she wouldn't have been able to, had push come to shove, the memory of it still hurt inside of her.
The pain he must have been in. The pain she had put in his chest.
Now she slowly got to her feet, her eyes wandering over the tree trunks dark in the shadows of night and her ears listening sharply for any other sound than the gentle breeze rattling the leaves above her head.
Suddenly something moved in the darkness and she squinted, her eyes growing slightly as the shape of someone she knew well and had missed stepped around a thick trunk, a smile immediately gracing her lips as her eyes fell on the Slayer.
Buffy swallowed, staring at her before asking:
'You're not Sarah, are you?'
The smile grew a little and the lady shook her head slowly.
'But great things are to be expected,' she said slowly, just as Spike's English had been American, so was hers, and Buffy frowned a little.
'From what?' she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 'Just, please, tell me from what?'
Sarah paused for a moment, observing the Slayer intensely, and then nodded.
'Destiny,' she answered and Buffy's eyes enlarged slightly at that.
'What does that mean?' she asked and Sarah smiled a little again.
'What is to be shall be, but great things are to be expected,' she answered solemnly, the smile still gentle on her lips.
'WHAT is to be? WHAT is to come of it?!' Buffy exclaimed, feeling tears of confusion rise in her eyes.
'Don't turn from it, you mustn't be frightened by it. What is to be shall be.'
Then she turned around and slowly disappeared back where she had come from, the shadows closing around her and Buffy stared at the spot for an eternity before she felt a hand softly on her shoulder and she turned around.
She opened her eyes and met Spike's concerned gaze and she couldn't help it, she started crying, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face against his shoulder she cried in loud sobs and he carefully held her, the worry growing inside of him.
"What did you dream this time?" he asked, one hand gliding comfortingly over her back and she drew a breath, still sniffling but calmer as she pulled back.
"I remember it," she said. "And it was the SAME as last time.almost. God, Spike, I'm scared. Please, hold me."
He furrowed his brow slightly, but did what she asked and held her close again, lying back and reaching up a hand to gently let it slide through her hair.
She smiled a little at the familiar gesture, feeling better already.
"Was it a Slayer dream?" he asked and she sighed.
"I'm not sure," she mumbled, closing her eyes and relaxing into his embrace. "It felt like it, but then it kind of didn't," she added and he huffed thoughtfully.
"I went out after the whole 'seeing vamps' thing tonight, to check up on some stuff," he now said and she moved her head a little to look up at him.
"What 'stuff'?" she asked and he met her gaze.
"Torah," he answered and she raised her eyebrows a little.
"Why would you do that?" she now asked and he frowned slightly.
"I don't know, I just have this feeling that's telling me there's more to it than we know, more to HER than we know," he grumbled and she smiled teasingly.
"Oh, that good old vamp intuition kicking in, eh?" she asked and he smiled a little as well. "So, what'd you find out?"
He sighed.
"Nothing. I mean, at all. Thing is none of my vamp resources had heard of any strangers being turned, only locals.Which I suppose isn't BETTER but usually the fledglings are gossiped about 'cause everybody's betting on who'll get dusted first and so if there's one that isn't even familiar with the bloody town, then you usually can't make a good amount of money on them and so everybody who's familiar with the game just KNOWS if a fledgling like that is moving around," he said and her eyebrows had been rising, now being as far up as they could go she stared at him.
"I can't believe I'm actually WITH you," she said, shaking her head. "Kitten poker, dusting fledglings betting, what's next?"
He smirked.
"Ten water-proof ways to get a Slayer into the sa-.?"
She interrupted him by pulling up to give him a tender kiss.
"Don't even go there," she warned and he smiled wider before returning her kiss.
"I wouldn't," he mumbled, and she smiled as well.
"I know," she stated with a small shove in his side with one hand and he grinned.
"Right, she loves AND trusts me now," he murmured and she laughed at that, pulling up and putting her arms around him she kissed him deeply.
When she slowly pulled away she sighed a little with hazy pleasure before putting her head on his shoulder, a position it usually found for itself when she was in his arms.
"Torah's harmless," she said now and he huffed a little at that. "Really Spike. I mean, she's just lost someone she loves, I can't even imagine how I would feel if I actually KNEW you were gone," she mumbled and his grip tightened a little. "What I'm saying is that maybe we should give her a break, I mean, I trust you so we'll keep an eye on her, but seriously, I don't think she can really beat the two of us in a fight if it comes to that, do you?"
He sighed a little, shaking his head.
"There's just something important that we're missing here," he grumbled and she kissed his chest before placing her head back where it had been.
"Nothing we can do about it now," she stated and he squeezed her shoulder a little.
They were silent for a while.
"You sleeping?" he asked and she mhm-ed a little. "What do you think this thing is with Giles? The prophecy.?" he asked and at that he felt her eyelashes flutter against his skin as she opened her eyes again.
"I don't know," she answered quietly. "But he said I shouldn't worry about it," she added and Spike thought of how the Watcher had looked earlier out in the hallway, so hesitant and serious.
"No," the vamp now whispered. "I'm sure you don't have to, and we'll find out tomorrow," he then grumbled, holding her closer and feeling more protective of her than ever.
***
Torah stared at the strange substance in front of her on the plate. Something that had to do with pans, but that was all she had snapped up from the eager babbling mouth of the young mortal who had made breakfast.
"Uh, I hate food," she grumbled and Dawn turned to her, questioning.
"What?" she asked and Torah looked up, smiling and shaking her head.
"Looks great, dude," she then answered and Dawn smiled a little back at that.
"Thanks," she said. "I don't make breakfast THAT often, but I thought I'd give it a try. I really love cooking. Actually, I've been thinking about being one when I get older. A cook, I mean. Of course, now I don't know what my life will look like since I'm starting training. Maybe Buffy will insist on me joining the gang and like, patrol and help her save the day." she trailed off when she remembered about the guy, Tom. "I-I'm sorry," she said hastily, turning to Torah who held a knife in a tight grasp and was carefully sticking the edge of it into the pancake on her plate. "I-I didn't mean.to. Are you okay?" Dawn now asked and Torah looked up again.
"Hmh?" she asked and Dawn smiled hesitantly, gesturing to her plate and Torah looked down on the mangled pancake before looking up again.
"Oh," she said, putting her knife down and nodding. "I thought it moved," she then added. "Nasty little buggers, aren't they? Can't beat them dead with a pan then what can you kill them with, eh?"
Dawn now full out stared at her before frowning slightly.
"Eh." she started just as Willow walked into the kitchen with a sunny smile.
"Good morning everybody," she greeted and frowned a little at the sight of the pancake. "Yikes, did it try to attack you or something?" she added and Torah stared at her in sudden awe.
"They ATTACK?" she asked and now Dawn furrowed her brow, actually starting to grow worried about the woman's mental health still being intact.
Willow just smiled.
"Oh yeah," she answered, bringing out her favorite cup out of a cupboard and walking over to the teapot that Dawn had prepared. "They shoot sprouts and grow arms and legs and start to crawl around on their plate," she now added and Dawn swallowed, wanting to stop her in fear of it only encouraging Torah's obviously delusional state of mind, wanting to inform the Wicca that the woman wasn't joking, but before she had a chance Willow finished: "What you REALLY need to watch out for is when their eyes pop out. If you have it on its back on the plate it's most of the time all right, but if its lying on its stomach and SEES you.Well, let me just tell you, it isn't pretty."
Torah was beginning to reluctantly grow slightly fascinated with the evolved adventuress mind of the Homo Sapiens when it came to foods. This was completely new to her.
"It isn't pretty?" she now echoed Willow, and the redhead, filling her cup with steaming hot water, shook her head.
"No, dough EVERYWHERE," she stated and Torah's eyes widened slightly.
"Is that its blood?" she asked, looking down on the cold and presumably stone-dead 'creature' on her plate.
"Blood, intestines, you name it," Willow confirmed, taking the tea bag that Dawn handed her, the younger one trying to give Willow a silent look to stop, but it went unnoticed.
"Wow," Torah murmured, slowly raising a hand and poking the pancake with her index finger.
It truly was cold and she sighed a little.
"I would have liked to see that," she grumbled. "Do you eat this often?" she then asked hopefully and Willow raised her eyebrows.
"Only like every morning or so," she answered and Torah raised her eyebrows as well.
"They come in that large quantity, you're not scared of them becoming extinct?" she asked, a little surprised; after what she had learned since she had been brought out of her prison the world had changed considerably and now there were causes and groups to save, protect and preserve every living organism on the planet.
Made her sick to her stomach to think of it and the fact that maybe there was still hope made her feel a little better.
"Well, you just whip them up," Willow answered, now frowning slightly as well and exchanging a glance with Dawn who's eyes enlarged meaningfully.
"You MAKE them?" Torah asked and now Willow straightened her back a little, looking at Dawn again who threw her hands out with a nod at Torah.
Torah could sense the sudden tension immediately and she swallowed. Something wasn't right.
She bit her tongue, trying to think, and then she smiled brightly at the two young women.
"Got ya," she said, hoping that they would fall for it and feeling actual relief when both of them immediately relaxed, smiling back.
Dawn giggled, shaking her head.
"I thought you'd lost it there for a moment," she said and Torah smiled.
"Yeah?" she asked, adding under her breath: "Me too."
***
Spike went down the stairs, sighing.
He couldn't believe he was actually bloody doing this, but he was and so he had decided he was doing it the whole blooming nine yards.
He walked up to the phone in the kitchen, glaring at the list in his hand and dialing the first number.
"Tony's Lumber, how may I help you?" a nasal woman's voice asked him sharply and he frowned, hesitating a moment before answering:
"Yeah, my name's Sp-. William, and I'm calling about the position advertised in the paper."
There was a short silence and then a ringing tone again.
He grumbled to himself, stopping when a deep man's voice asked:
"Yeah?"
He clenched his jaws together, and then drew a breath. This was for Buffy. She needed the money and he couldn't just sit around doing bloody nothing when she was working her damn ass off at that stupid burger joint.
"Eh, hi.My name's William and I'm calling about the position."
"How much you weigh?"
"I dunno, maybe around."
"All right, how much you press?"
Twenty, maybe thirty vampires in one sodding sweep, you wanker! he thought, annoyed, and then repeated to himself that it was for Buffy!
"More than 's necessary for this job you got," he answered and there was a short silence before a hissing sound that Spike couldn't take for anything but laughter.
"You got balls, kid," the voice now said. "I like that. You gotta have that to move up in the world, that's why I got myself a pair."
Spike made a slightly disgusted face at that disclosure and then the voice asked:
"Finally, you willing to work nights?"
Spike smiled a little at that.
"All I wanna work," he answered and there was the hiss again.
"What are you? Allergic to the God damn sun?" the man asked and Spike huffed a little.
"Something like that, yeah," he answered.
Silence once more and some scuffling with papers.
"All right, I'll give you a trial time of three nights. THREE nights, got it? Screw up on the job during those three nights I don't wanna hear you complaining when I kick your ass off my property, got it?"
Spike's eyes were growing slightly at that, he hadn't expected anyone to actually hire him, especially over the bloody phone.
"Eh, yeah," he grumbled then couldn't help but add: "And what happens after those THREE nights if I screw up?"
The hiss again.
"I don't give a damn, kid. You last three nights without cutting your God damn hand off or getting caught with a leg in one of the grinders I'll God damn make you employee of the week, how's that?" the voice asked and Spike grinned.
He was starting to like the man, against his better judgment.
"Sounds like a bloody deal," Spike answered and the hiss was followed by a low cough and then the voice:
"Wonderful, kid, wonderful. The pay depends on how well you work and all that. When can you start?"
"Tonight," Spike answered and there was a slight clicking of a pencil in the background.
"All right. How late?"
"Around." he mentally went through what time Buffy usually wanted to go patrolling and when they usually called it a night. "One," he then answered the man.
"Okay, you'll be on the heavy shift. That's usually when we get in the new damn shipments from hell knows where and it's a lot of work, kid; you sure you're up for it?"
Spike smiled a small smile at that question.
"Yeah," he then answered.
"All right. I'll put you up on the one o'clock shift.it ends at six, by the way."
"Sounds bloody perfect," Spike said.
"Hey, you have an accent, where you from? Like, Portugal or something."
Spike was silent for a moment, slightly stunned before slowly replying:
"England."
"Oh, right, right, Manchester United and all that crap. Love the fish and chips though," the man said and Spike furrowed his brow slightly, not able to hold back a grin at the sincerity in the man's voice.
"All right, you're up there on the hot diggity board now, so no damn turning back, Will."
Spike drew a breath at that, nodding before stating:
"Good."
"Okay, well, I won't be here, the foreman will, I just like to handle all the interviews myself. My names James, everybody calls me Hal, don't ask me the hell why, I don't know, and the foreman's Chuck, but he's called Chick most of the time 'cause he God damn walks like one."
Spike found himself laughing at that, and growing absolutely filled with relief that this might not have been the worst idea he had ever had after all.
"Chick, okay, I'll remember that," Spike said. "And.thank you," he added.
"No need, kid. If I like someone over the damn phone I'm pretty damn sure to like them face-to-face," Hal said. "Just don't screw up 'cause then it doesn't matter how much you crack me up, your ass IS off my property faster than you can clean the dirt out of your hair and the blood from your demolished hand off of your shoes," he then added and Spike laughed again as they both hung up.
He shook his head a little as he crumbled the list with the rest of the phone numbers he had planned to call up in one hand and went up to the trash to throw it away.
"Hi there," Torah's voice sounded from behind his back and he couldn't help but stiffen slightly as he closed the door to the trash and then turned to her.
"Hey," he said, meeting her gaze looking for any kind of clue as to what her intentions were, but she looked completely.normal.
Well then, neutral.
"So, what are you doing?" she now asked and he shrugged a little.
"Nothing much," he answered, walking around the breakfast table to continue into the living room. "Not much to bloody do around here this time of day," he added as he heard her slowly follow him. "Except for this," he finished, sinking down on the couch and grabbing the remote.
Ah, yes, the wonderful era of technology, Torah thought, swaying her hips seductively as she walked up to the couch.
His eyes were on the TV though, and he didn't seem to take any notice.
She ground her teeth and then smiled a little as she stopped by the piece of furniture, looking down at him and raising her eyebrows innocently she asked:
"May I sit?"
Spike nodded, his favorite soap being on the tele he didn't really care if she stood on her head and sang the national anthem.
Torah kept the small smile on her lips as she sunk down beside him, her eyes going to the TV and she stared at it for a moment.
"Is that a jail show?" she asked and he squinted a little, still not taking his eyes off the screen as it seemed Cara was finally about to admit that she was the one who had killed Chrissy, her own long lost daughter, who had had sex with her own father since Cara had been too scared to tell him, but not too scared to tell Chrissy and because of that Chrissy had gone stock raving mad and tried to kill everybody including her secret lover who really was her step-brother but she didn't know that, but that was almost a year ago now, Cara had been wringing her hands outside Thorne's door ever since, indecisive of WHAT to DO!
"A what show?" Spike now asked at Torah's question.
"Well, it must obviously be a way of punishment, locking people up in tiny little boxes and making them wear way too much make up and colorful clothing." she grumbled thoughtfully, immediately remembering who she was supposed to be, a HUMAN who hadn't been gone for a thousand frigging years. "I mean, boy, it must be hell to be on that show," she added quickly.
"Schhh," was all she got out of the vamp as he straightened his back and leaned forward a little.
'Thorne!'
'Cara. Did you sign the divorce papers?'
'No! No, I couldn't!'
'You should. You really, really should.'
'But I love you.'
'Ever since last year, when Chrissy died and I mourned her openly, you have been acting strange. What is up with that?'
'Oh, Thorne! I-I have something I have to tell you.'
Spike stared at the screen, completely engulfed.
"Go on, tell the wanker what he did with his own bleedin' kid," he growled in anticipation and Torah stared at him, slightly shaken by his conversation with the people in the box.
'Well, then tell me, spit it out, on with it, and then leave. Leave.forever.'
'Thorne, no!'
Cut to commercial.
"Aw, bloody hell!" Spike exclaimed, shaking his head and sinking back, sighing.
Torah stared at the box, wishing she could use magic and see what the hell it was supposed to be, but she couldn't, of course, and so she had to rely on the information she had already obtained before entering the house. Unfortunately she had checked more information on clothing and social life than such trivial matters as food and weird little torture chambers.
"They didn't listen, huh?" she asked and he turned to her, quizzically. "The people," she mumbled. "I mean, she didn't tell him like you told her to..."
Now he furrowed his brow and she smiled a little.
"When do they EVER, right?" she tried and he shrugged, nodding.
"Bloody right," he said and she relaxed.
"So," she now said slowly. "What do you look for in a woman? Someone who's timid and shy or who cuts right to the chase?"
Spike turned his head her way eyeing her and she stared at him for a moment before giggling:
"I guess both," she now stated, "I mean, I haven't known Buffy that long but she's so nice and then she goes out stabbing creatures of the dark in her spare time. It's amazing, really."
He huffed a little.
"Bloody right it is," he said, looking down at his hands and his heart almost swelling with pride over the fact the he held her love, that she loved HIM. "SHE is," he added and Torah tried not to look too annoyed and too impatient as she nodded slowly.
"I've noticed," she said and he looked up at her again with a small smile that made her insides twirl with triumph, he was warming up!
"Hard not to," he stated and she nodded again, putting on a very agreeing face. "And it's not in her spare time," he then added and she raised her eyebrows slightly. "She's a Slayer first and foremost.well, except for being a sis, she's that before she's anything else but the Slayer side in her. It's amazing," he grumbled, his head suddenly filling with vivid memories of fighting her, of the fight resulting in their first night together, of the fight in England.
"You look sad now," Torah said gently, reaching out a hand and carefully placing it on his.
He didn't really react to her touch, but at least he didn't pull away; that was always something.
"No, not sad," he said. "Memories are powerful like that though." he grumbled and she frowned slightly, questioning. "They make you remember all the good, but you have to remember all the bad stuff too, and sometimes it's just hard telling them apart. I mean, I could tell you, and bloody honestly at that, that every moment, EVERY last moment I've spent with that woman has been the best moments of my whole damn un-life. Even when we almost sodding killed each other we did it with the same passion that we have now. And I don't think I'd wanna let any of it go, if I had the choice. I would WANT to remember all the fights, all the bickering, all the.hatred. It's what forged us together, I s'pose. What makes what we have so bloody strong," he mumbled thoughtfully and Torah stared at him as she removed her hand.
Damn, she grumbled in her head. This is going to take even longer than I thought.
"It sounds like a match made in Heaven," she mumured, trying to keep the friendly smile from growing stale.
"I'm not so sure about THAT," he disagreed with a small smile back. "But the sodding romantic in me would say that we were destined to live together just as much as we are destined to die by each others side."
Torah nodded a little at that.
"Destined, huh?" she asked. "You actually believe in destiny?"
Spike frowned slightly and then he smiled.
"Not 'til I met her," he answered.
The Continuance
By Annie
06-07-2002
She was running, the moon painting the ground at her feet with strange shadows entangled with its cold light. Everything was blue and gray and black or something in between and she could hardly breathe as she started the climb of a steep hill.
The dirt underneath her feet was dry and crumbled when she dug her toes into it for balance, but she hardly noticed it; she was too focused on reaching the top.
She reached up a hand and her fingers grasped moist moss as she pulled herself up over the edge and dragged herself away from it, huffing before drawing a breath and looking up, finding herself in a small clearing.
She frowned, looking around.
It was the clearing where she and Spike had fought in England, the clearing on the lord's grounds. The clearing where she had come close to killing him, and even though she knew she wouldn't have been able to, had push come to shove, the memory of it still hurt inside of her.
The pain he must have been in. The pain she had put in his chest.
Now she slowly got to her feet, her eyes wandering over the tree trunks dark in the shadows of night and her ears listening sharply for any other sound than the gentle breeze rattling the leaves above her head.
Suddenly something moved in the darkness and she squinted, her eyes growing slightly as the shape of someone she knew well and had missed stepped around a thick trunk, a smile immediately gracing her lips as her eyes fell on the Slayer.
Buffy swallowed, staring at her before asking:
'You're not Sarah, are you?'
The smile grew a little and the lady shook her head slowly.
'But great things are to be expected,' she said slowly, just as Spike's English had been American, so was hers, and Buffy frowned a little.
'From what?' she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. 'Just, please, tell me from what?'
Sarah paused for a moment, observing the Slayer intensely, and then nodded.
'Destiny,' she answered and Buffy's eyes enlarged slightly at that.
'What does that mean?' she asked and Sarah smiled a little again.
'What is to be shall be, but great things are to be expected,' she answered solemnly, the smile still gentle on her lips.
'WHAT is to be? WHAT is to come of it?!' Buffy exclaimed, feeling tears of confusion rise in her eyes.
'Don't turn from it, you mustn't be frightened by it. What is to be shall be.'
Then she turned around and slowly disappeared back where she had come from, the shadows closing around her and Buffy stared at the spot for an eternity before she felt a hand softly on her shoulder and she turned around.
She opened her eyes and met Spike's concerned gaze and she couldn't help it, she started crying, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face against his shoulder she cried in loud sobs and he carefully held her, the worry growing inside of him.
"What did you dream this time?" he asked, one hand gliding comfortingly over her back and she drew a breath, still sniffling but calmer as she pulled back.
"I remember it," she said. "And it was the SAME as last time.almost. God, Spike, I'm scared. Please, hold me."
He furrowed his brow slightly, but did what she asked and held her close again, lying back and reaching up a hand to gently let it slide through her hair.
She smiled a little at the familiar gesture, feeling better already.
"Was it a Slayer dream?" he asked and she sighed.
"I'm not sure," she mumbled, closing her eyes and relaxing into his embrace. "It felt like it, but then it kind of didn't," she added and he huffed thoughtfully.
"I went out after the whole 'seeing vamps' thing tonight, to check up on some stuff," he now said and she moved her head a little to look up at him.
"What 'stuff'?" she asked and he met her gaze.
"Torah," he answered and she raised her eyebrows a little.
"Why would you do that?" she now asked and he frowned slightly.
"I don't know, I just have this feeling that's telling me there's more to it than we know, more to HER than we know," he grumbled and she smiled teasingly.
"Oh, that good old vamp intuition kicking in, eh?" she asked and he smiled a little as well. "So, what'd you find out?"
He sighed.
"Nothing. I mean, at all. Thing is none of my vamp resources had heard of any strangers being turned, only locals.Which I suppose isn't BETTER but usually the fledglings are gossiped about 'cause everybody's betting on who'll get dusted first and so if there's one that isn't even familiar with the bloody town, then you usually can't make a good amount of money on them and so everybody who's familiar with the game just KNOWS if a fledgling like that is moving around," he said and her eyebrows had been rising, now being as far up as they could go she stared at him.
"I can't believe I'm actually WITH you," she said, shaking her head. "Kitten poker, dusting fledglings betting, what's next?"
He smirked.
"Ten water-proof ways to get a Slayer into the sa-.?"
She interrupted him by pulling up to give him a tender kiss.
"Don't even go there," she warned and he smiled wider before returning her kiss.
"I wouldn't," he mumbled, and she smiled as well.
"I know," she stated with a small shove in his side with one hand and he grinned.
"Right, she loves AND trusts me now," he murmured and she laughed at that, pulling up and putting her arms around him she kissed him deeply.
When she slowly pulled away she sighed a little with hazy pleasure before putting her head on his shoulder, a position it usually found for itself when she was in his arms.
"Torah's harmless," she said now and he huffed a little at that. "Really Spike. I mean, she's just lost someone she loves, I can't even imagine how I would feel if I actually KNEW you were gone," she mumbled and his grip tightened a little. "What I'm saying is that maybe we should give her a break, I mean, I trust you so we'll keep an eye on her, but seriously, I don't think she can really beat the two of us in a fight if it comes to that, do you?"
He sighed a little, shaking his head.
"There's just something important that we're missing here," he grumbled and she kissed his chest before placing her head back where it had been.
"Nothing we can do about it now," she stated and he squeezed her shoulder a little.
They were silent for a while.
"You sleeping?" he asked and she mhm-ed a little. "What do you think this thing is with Giles? The prophecy.?" he asked and at that he felt her eyelashes flutter against his skin as she opened her eyes again.
"I don't know," she answered quietly. "But he said I shouldn't worry about it," she added and Spike thought of how the Watcher had looked earlier out in the hallway, so hesitant and serious.
"No," the vamp now whispered. "I'm sure you don't have to, and we'll find out tomorrow," he then grumbled, holding her closer and feeling more protective of her than ever.
***
Torah stared at the strange substance in front of her on the plate. Something that had to do with pans, but that was all she had snapped up from the eager babbling mouth of the young mortal who had made breakfast.
"Uh, I hate food," she grumbled and Dawn turned to her, questioning.
"What?" she asked and Torah looked up, smiling and shaking her head.
"Looks great, dude," she then answered and Dawn smiled a little back at that.
"Thanks," she said. "I don't make breakfast THAT often, but I thought I'd give it a try. I really love cooking. Actually, I've been thinking about being one when I get older. A cook, I mean. Of course, now I don't know what my life will look like since I'm starting training. Maybe Buffy will insist on me joining the gang and like, patrol and help her save the day." she trailed off when she remembered about the guy, Tom. "I-I'm sorry," she said hastily, turning to Torah who held a knife in a tight grasp and was carefully sticking the edge of it into the pancake on her plate. "I-I didn't mean.to. Are you okay?" Dawn now asked and Torah looked up again.
"Hmh?" she asked and Dawn smiled hesitantly, gesturing to her plate and Torah looked down on the mangled pancake before looking up again.
"Oh," she said, putting her knife down and nodding. "I thought it moved," she then added. "Nasty little buggers, aren't they? Can't beat them dead with a pan then what can you kill them with, eh?"
Dawn now full out stared at her before frowning slightly.
"Eh." she started just as Willow walked into the kitchen with a sunny smile.
"Good morning everybody," she greeted and frowned a little at the sight of the pancake. "Yikes, did it try to attack you or something?" she added and Torah stared at her in sudden awe.
"They ATTACK?" she asked and now Dawn furrowed her brow, actually starting to grow worried about the woman's mental health still being intact.
Willow just smiled.
"Oh yeah," she answered, bringing out her favorite cup out of a cupboard and walking over to the teapot that Dawn had prepared. "They shoot sprouts and grow arms and legs and start to crawl around on their plate," she now added and Dawn swallowed, wanting to stop her in fear of it only encouraging Torah's obviously delusional state of mind, wanting to inform the Wicca that the woman wasn't joking, but before she had a chance Willow finished: "What you REALLY need to watch out for is when their eyes pop out. If you have it on its back on the plate it's most of the time all right, but if its lying on its stomach and SEES you.Well, let me just tell you, it isn't pretty."
Torah was beginning to reluctantly grow slightly fascinated with the evolved adventuress mind of the Homo Sapiens when it came to foods. This was completely new to her.
"It isn't pretty?" she now echoed Willow, and the redhead, filling her cup with steaming hot water, shook her head.
"No, dough EVERYWHERE," she stated and Torah's eyes widened slightly.
"Is that its blood?" she asked, looking down on the cold and presumably stone-dead 'creature' on her plate.
"Blood, intestines, you name it," Willow confirmed, taking the tea bag that Dawn handed her, the younger one trying to give Willow a silent look to stop, but it went unnoticed.
"Wow," Torah murmured, slowly raising a hand and poking the pancake with her index finger.
It truly was cold and she sighed a little.
"I would have liked to see that," she grumbled. "Do you eat this often?" she then asked hopefully and Willow raised her eyebrows.
"Only like every morning or so," she answered and Torah raised her eyebrows as well.
"They come in that large quantity, you're not scared of them becoming extinct?" she asked, a little surprised; after what she had learned since she had been brought out of her prison the world had changed considerably and now there were causes and groups to save, protect and preserve every living organism on the planet.
Made her sick to her stomach to think of it and the fact that maybe there was still hope made her feel a little better.
"Well, you just whip them up," Willow answered, now frowning slightly as well and exchanging a glance with Dawn who's eyes enlarged meaningfully.
"You MAKE them?" Torah asked and now Willow straightened her back a little, looking at Dawn again who threw her hands out with a nod at Torah.
Torah could sense the sudden tension immediately and she swallowed. Something wasn't right.
She bit her tongue, trying to think, and then she smiled brightly at the two young women.
"Got ya," she said, hoping that they would fall for it and feeling actual relief when both of them immediately relaxed, smiling back.
Dawn giggled, shaking her head.
"I thought you'd lost it there for a moment," she said and Torah smiled.
"Yeah?" she asked, adding under her breath: "Me too."
***
Spike went down the stairs, sighing.
He couldn't believe he was actually bloody doing this, but he was and so he had decided he was doing it the whole blooming nine yards.
He walked up to the phone in the kitchen, glaring at the list in his hand and dialing the first number.
"Tony's Lumber, how may I help you?" a nasal woman's voice asked him sharply and he frowned, hesitating a moment before answering:
"Yeah, my name's Sp-. William, and I'm calling about the position advertised in the paper."
There was a short silence and then a ringing tone again.
He grumbled to himself, stopping when a deep man's voice asked:
"Yeah?"
He clenched his jaws together, and then drew a breath. This was for Buffy. She needed the money and he couldn't just sit around doing bloody nothing when she was working her damn ass off at that stupid burger joint.
"Eh, hi.My name's William and I'm calling about the position."
"How much you weigh?"
"I dunno, maybe around."
"All right, how much you press?"
Twenty, maybe thirty vampires in one sodding sweep, you wanker! he thought, annoyed, and then repeated to himself that it was for Buffy!
"More than 's necessary for this job you got," he answered and there was a short silence before a hissing sound that Spike couldn't take for anything but laughter.
"You got balls, kid," the voice now said. "I like that. You gotta have that to move up in the world, that's why I got myself a pair."
Spike made a slightly disgusted face at that disclosure and then the voice asked:
"Finally, you willing to work nights?"
Spike smiled a little at that.
"All I wanna work," he answered and there was the hiss again.
"What are you? Allergic to the God damn sun?" the man asked and Spike huffed a little.
"Something like that, yeah," he answered.
Silence once more and some scuffling with papers.
"All right, I'll give you a trial time of three nights. THREE nights, got it? Screw up on the job during those three nights I don't wanna hear you complaining when I kick your ass off my property, got it?"
Spike's eyes were growing slightly at that, he hadn't expected anyone to actually hire him, especially over the bloody phone.
"Eh, yeah," he grumbled then couldn't help but add: "And what happens after those THREE nights if I screw up?"
The hiss again.
"I don't give a damn, kid. You last three nights without cutting your God damn hand off or getting caught with a leg in one of the grinders I'll God damn make you employee of the week, how's that?" the voice asked and Spike grinned.
He was starting to like the man, against his better judgment.
"Sounds like a bloody deal," Spike answered and the hiss was followed by a low cough and then the voice:
"Wonderful, kid, wonderful. The pay depends on how well you work and all that. When can you start?"
"Tonight," Spike answered and there was a slight clicking of a pencil in the background.
"All right. How late?"
"Around." he mentally went through what time Buffy usually wanted to go patrolling and when they usually called it a night. "One," he then answered the man.
"Okay, you'll be on the heavy shift. That's usually when we get in the new damn shipments from hell knows where and it's a lot of work, kid; you sure you're up for it?"
Spike smiled a small smile at that question.
"Yeah," he then answered.
"All right. I'll put you up on the one o'clock shift.it ends at six, by the way."
"Sounds bloody perfect," Spike said.
"Hey, you have an accent, where you from? Like, Portugal or something."
Spike was silent for a moment, slightly stunned before slowly replying:
"England."
"Oh, right, right, Manchester United and all that crap. Love the fish and chips though," the man said and Spike furrowed his brow slightly, not able to hold back a grin at the sincerity in the man's voice.
"All right, you're up there on the hot diggity board now, so no damn turning back, Will."
Spike drew a breath at that, nodding before stating:
"Good."
"Okay, well, I won't be here, the foreman will, I just like to handle all the interviews myself. My names James, everybody calls me Hal, don't ask me the hell why, I don't know, and the foreman's Chuck, but he's called Chick most of the time 'cause he God damn walks like one."
Spike found himself laughing at that, and growing absolutely filled with relief that this might not have been the worst idea he had ever had after all.
"Chick, okay, I'll remember that," Spike said. "And.thank you," he added.
"No need, kid. If I like someone over the damn phone I'm pretty damn sure to like them face-to-face," Hal said. "Just don't screw up 'cause then it doesn't matter how much you crack me up, your ass IS off my property faster than you can clean the dirt out of your hair and the blood from your demolished hand off of your shoes," he then added and Spike laughed again as they both hung up.
He shook his head a little as he crumbled the list with the rest of the phone numbers he had planned to call up in one hand and went up to the trash to throw it away.
"Hi there," Torah's voice sounded from behind his back and he couldn't help but stiffen slightly as he closed the door to the trash and then turned to her.
"Hey," he said, meeting her gaze looking for any kind of clue as to what her intentions were, but she looked completely.normal.
Well then, neutral.
"So, what are you doing?" she now asked and he shrugged a little.
"Nothing much," he answered, walking around the breakfast table to continue into the living room. "Not much to bloody do around here this time of day," he added as he heard her slowly follow him. "Except for this," he finished, sinking down on the couch and grabbing the remote.
Ah, yes, the wonderful era of technology, Torah thought, swaying her hips seductively as she walked up to the couch.
His eyes were on the TV though, and he didn't seem to take any notice.
She ground her teeth and then smiled a little as she stopped by the piece of furniture, looking down at him and raising her eyebrows innocently she asked:
"May I sit?"
Spike nodded, his favorite soap being on the tele he didn't really care if she stood on her head and sang the national anthem.
Torah kept the small smile on her lips as she sunk down beside him, her eyes going to the TV and she stared at it for a moment.
"Is that a jail show?" she asked and he squinted a little, still not taking his eyes off the screen as it seemed Cara was finally about to admit that she was the one who had killed Chrissy, her own long lost daughter, who had had sex with her own father since Cara had been too scared to tell him, but not too scared to tell Chrissy and because of that Chrissy had gone stock raving mad and tried to kill everybody including her secret lover who really was her step-brother but she didn't know that, but that was almost a year ago now, Cara had been wringing her hands outside Thorne's door ever since, indecisive of WHAT to DO!
"A what show?" Spike now asked at Torah's question.
"Well, it must obviously be a way of punishment, locking people up in tiny little boxes and making them wear way too much make up and colorful clothing." she grumbled thoughtfully, immediately remembering who she was supposed to be, a HUMAN who hadn't been gone for a thousand frigging years. "I mean, boy, it must be hell to be on that show," she added quickly.
"Schhh," was all she got out of the vamp as he straightened his back and leaned forward a little.
'Thorne!'
'Cara. Did you sign the divorce papers?'
'No! No, I couldn't!'
'You should. You really, really should.'
'But I love you.'
'Ever since last year, when Chrissy died and I mourned her openly, you have been acting strange. What is up with that?'
'Oh, Thorne! I-I have something I have to tell you.'
Spike stared at the screen, completely engulfed.
"Go on, tell the wanker what he did with his own bleedin' kid," he growled in anticipation and Torah stared at him, slightly shaken by his conversation with the people in the box.
'Well, then tell me, spit it out, on with it, and then leave. Leave.forever.'
'Thorne, no!'
Cut to commercial.
"Aw, bloody hell!" Spike exclaimed, shaking his head and sinking back, sighing.
Torah stared at the box, wishing she could use magic and see what the hell it was supposed to be, but she couldn't, of course, and so she had to rely on the information she had already obtained before entering the house. Unfortunately she had checked more information on clothing and social life than such trivial matters as food and weird little torture chambers.
"They didn't listen, huh?" she asked and he turned to her, quizzically. "The people," she mumbled. "I mean, she didn't tell him like you told her to..."
Now he furrowed his brow and she smiled a little.
"When do they EVER, right?" she tried and he shrugged, nodding.
"Bloody right," he said and she relaxed.
"So," she now said slowly. "What do you look for in a woman? Someone who's timid and shy or who cuts right to the chase?"
Spike turned his head her way eyeing her and she stared at him for a moment before giggling:
"I guess both," she now stated, "I mean, I haven't known Buffy that long but she's so nice and then she goes out stabbing creatures of the dark in her spare time. It's amazing, really."
He huffed a little.
"Bloody right it is," he said, looking down at his hands and his heart almost swelling with pride over the fact the he held her love, that she loved HIM. "SHE is," he added and Torah tried not to look too annoyed and too impatient as she nodded slowly.
"I've noticed," she said and he looked up at her again with a small smile that made her insides twirl with triumph, he was warming up!
"Hard not to," he stated and she nodded again, putting on a very agreeing face. "And it's not in her spare time," he then added and she raised her eyebrows slightly. "She's a Slayer first and foremost.well, except for being a sis, she's that before she's anything else but the Slayer side in her. It's amazing," he grumbled, his head suddenly filling with vivid memories of fighting her, of the fight resulting in their first night together, of the fight in England.
"You look sad now," Torah said gently, reaching out a hand and carefully placing it on his.
He didn't really react to her touch, but at least he didn't pull away; that was always something.
"No, not sad," he said. "Memories are powerful like that though." he grumbled and she frowned slightly, questioning. "They make you remember all the good, but you have to remember all the bad stuff too, and sometimes it's just hard telling them apart. I mean, I could tell you, and bloody honestly at that, that every moment, EVERY last moment I've spent with that woman has been the best moments of my whole damn un-life. Even when we almost sodding killed each other we did it with the same passion that we have now. And I don't think I'd wanna let any of it go, if I had the choice. I would WANT to remember all the fights, all the bickering, all the.hatred. It's what forged us together, I s'pose. What makes what we have so bloody strong," he mumbled thoughtfully and Torah stared at him as she removed her hand.
Damn, she grumbled in her head. This is going to take even longer than I thought.
"It sounds like a match made in Heaven," she mumured, trying to keep the friendly smile from growing stale.
"I'm not so sure about THAT," he disagreed with a small smile back. "But the sodding romantic in me would say that we were destined to live together just as much as we are destined to die by each others side."
Torah nodded a little at that.
"Destined, huh?" she asked. "You actually believe in destiny?"
Spike frowned slightly and then he smiled.
"Not 'til I met her," he answered.