CHAPTER FIFTEEN: SLAYERS

Buffy walked quickly through the streets of Sunnydale, not particularly feeling in the mood for a fight.  Her conversation with Willow had taken a lot out of her, and all she wanted was to curl up into a ball and have Giles hold her.

She cut across Restfield cemetery, knowing all the shortcuts to her house, and even though she was hoping for no vamp action, the cemetery route was the quickest way home.

She stopped as she heard something in front of her, the sounds of a woman sobbing quietly.  She raced towards the sound and stopped in her tracks when she saw Spike comforting Erika, both of them kneeling on the ground, the young Slayer clinging to the vampire.

Spike looked up, nodding his greeting to Buffy who knelt down behind them, gently touching Erika's back.

The brunette Slayer looked up, a little startled.  She hadn't heard Buffy coming up behind her.  Buffy grabbed a tissue from her pocket and set about wiping the blood off Erika's face, moving down to the two small puncture wounds on the girls neck.

She looked at Spike worriedly, hoping for an explanation.

Spike didn't say anything, though he gently brought Erika to her feet, transferring the young girls arms from around his neck to around Buffy's.  Buffy gave the girl a tight hug, which Erika returned with ardour.

"Best take her back to your place Slayer," Spike said softly.  "S'been a rough night."

Buffy nodded thankfully and coaxed Erika into taking the first steps back to the Summers household.  Spike tailed them, making sure that the two Slayers weren't attacked by any vamps trying to get a two-for-one deal.  Erika was in no condition to fight, and Buffy looked too exhausted to even think about rasing her stake.

Spike stopped when the Slayers got to the front door of Buffy's house.  He gave a grin as they stepped inside and he went to walk off.

"Spike," Buffy said, stopping the vampire in his tracks.

He turned and looked at her.

"Thank you."

He nodded and continued on, wondering how he had become so attached to either of the Slayers that he had helped to protect.  He shrugged and stuck his hands into his pockets, heading back to his home.

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Buffy helped Erika onto the couch, sitting herself on the new coffee table that Giles had helped her pick out after M'Fashnik's spontaneous demolition of her house.  She took Erika's hands in her own, the taller Slayer looking up with tear sin her eyes.

Buffy felt a slight sense of déjà vu run through her, remembering the gentle way Spike had dealt with her the night she had been brought back to life.  She shook it off after making a note to thank him for that.

"You wanna tell me what happened?" Buffy asked quietly.

Erika sniffed back tears and closed her eyes, her hands still shaking, even though the other Slayer was trying her best to hold them steady.  She looked up to see the concerned look on the blonde girls face, a little startled to see compassion and understanding in the depth of the girls eyes.

She looked down, and cleared her throat.

"Ryan's dust," she admitted quietly.

Buffy fought back the urge to gasp and just nodded, giving Erika's hands a gentle and comforting squeeze.

"You wanna talk about it?" she offered.

The younger girl hesitated, but found that once she started, she had trouble stopping.

"He attacked, and…for a second I couldn't think, couldn't even move.  He got too close, and I finally got it together.  We fought, and…god, I couldn't win.  He knew every move, knew exactly what I was going to do.  Ryan trained me, and…the demon was using it against me," Erika explained.

Buffy could sympathise with her there.  Angelus had used Angel's memories of her, intimate memories to play with her head, to torture her slowly.  She knew what it was like to have a stalking vampire foe.

"He was just…yelling and then he had me, and I couldn't even move."  Her hands came up to touch her neck gingerly.  "He bit me, but…Spike…he…he saved me.  Ryan was about to dust him, but…I couldn't let anyone die because of me.  So…I killed him."

"You did the right thing," Buffy said quietly.

Erika just nodded and let the tears fall down her cheeks.  Buffy let go of the younger girls hands and stood up.

"I'm just gonna get some antiseptic for your cuts, okay?  I'll be back in a second."

Buffy quickly headed up the stairs, bypassing her room where she found Giles lying on her bed, the sound of his even breathing filling the room.  She smiled and continued on to the bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit that she had used so many times before.

She headed back down the stairs and sat herself down next to Erika, gently wiping antiseptic over the cut to her temple.  There were bruises on her wrists, and three crescent-shaped finger nail scars on her left cheek that looked painful.

Erika tried not to wince too much as the cream was applied to her skin, and the blood gently washed off her face.  She would be lucky that only half of the scars would show up in the morning.

"Do you wanna stay here the night?" Buffy offered.  "I can only offer you the couch, but…I'm told it's pretty comfy."

Erika smiled and nodded, softly whispering 'thanks' to her fellow Slayer.  Buffy stood up, and grabbed the guest sheets that she and Giles had stumbled across the other day, and she quickly went about making the couch into something resembling a bed.

"We'll talk a bit more tomorrow if you're up to it, okay?" Buffy asked quietly as Erika slipped her shoes and socks off.

The brunette Slayer nodded quietly and turned the lamp next to the couch off.

"I'll get Giles to buy us a major supply of ice cream.  We'll share our sob stories."

Erika managed to smile at that and Buffy turned off the main light, whispering 'good night' to the younger girl.