Chapter Nineteen: Patrolling

Five minutes later, Spike came down the stairs into the living room, duster on, a stake in his left hand. "So, you ready to go?" he asked Buffy.

She looked up at him from her seat on the couch. "Go where?"

"Patrolling," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh. Sure. Okay." Buffy moved the pile of books off her lap and got up. "You guys be okay without me?" she asked, turning toward the group.

"Oh sure," Xander said. "So we've got one less pair of eyes to get numbly glazed over. We'll be fine. You crazy kids go out and have fun."

Spike scowled at him.

Buffy grabbed her coat and headed toward the door.

Less than fifteen minutes later, they were walking through one of the many cemeteries of Sunnydale, waiting for some action.

"So?" Buffy said. "Why patrolling? Why now?"

"Just thought you could use the exercise, that's all," he said absently.

"Uh huh?"

They walked a little more in silence. Then Buffy sensed something lurking behind a nearby tree.

Before she had a chance to sneak up on it, the vamp bolted and Buffy rushed after it. With lightning fast speed, she closed the distance and dusted the vamp, staking it right through the back. "Not quite the challenge I was looking for," she said, as she took a second to wipe the dust from her clothes. "Oh well, I'm sure there'll be others."

"You got that right."

Buffy turned toward Spike to see him surrounded by a semi-circle of seven vamps.

"Oh just great," she said. "There's been no action for like what? Two weeks now? And suddenly tonight it's open season on Buffy? How terribly original."

Now that she had seen them, the vamps split up, four of them making for Buffy, three making for Spike. A small shock of terror coursed through Buffy as she realized that three vamps might be more than human Spike could handle. He had always been a great warrior, but now he was vulnerable. He didn't have the strength of a supernatural being anymore, and he could be killed just like any other human. More than anything, Buffy wanted to protect him. But she couldn't. She was facing her own wave of bloodsucking fiends, and she had to defeat them first.

Driven by instinct, she struck out at the closest vamp, kicking him in the stomach and sending him flying. The next one came rushing at her from behind. Buffy swiftly turned around and delivered a debilitating blow to his face. Then, before he could recover, she drew back her stake and drove it through his heart. The other two vamps came at her in unison, and she simultaneously engaged them both in hand to hand combat.

Spike was a little shaky on his feet. Somehow, knowing that he was human was weighing him down, zapping his confidence. He took in a long, hard breath and steadied himself. He was a fighter and, human or not, he was going to win.

With a guttural roar, he threw himself at the first vamp. So, he didn't have strength? He still had his cunning.

With practiced agility, he took a swing at the demon. The punch landed solidly in the vamp's face, but it barely phased him. Determined not to be discouraged, Spike pounded him again, this time delivering a series of rhythmic blows that threw the vamp off balance. As the vamp stumbled backwards, Spike lifted up his stake and drove it soundly through the bloodsucker's heart.

The vamp fell to the ground and exploded into a cloud of dust.

Spike stood there, admiring his own handiwork. He shrugged confidently. Apparently, he hadn't lost it. "That'll teach you to mess with human . . ."

He didn't get to finish. Before he knew what hit him, one of the other vamps came up behind him and kicked him in the back. Spike instantly hit the ground in front of him, coming to rest on his hands and knees. "Oh great, now everyone wants in on the action."

Pushing himself up, he tried to stand, but was stopped, as the other vamp delivered a kick to his face. It sent Spike flying across the graveyard, his flight finally halted by a nearby tree. He hit the ground hard, stunned but still conscious.

"All right," he said, pushing himself up, forcing his mind to stay focused. "That's enough. There's only one person who gets to play 'Kick the Spike,' and it's not either one of you." He steadied himself up against the trunk of the tree and tightened his grip on the stake. Xander had been fighting by Buffy's side for years. If the pathetic Whelp could do it, so could he.

The two vamps were closing in on him. Relying on willpower and adrenaline, he rushed at one, offering a quick sidesweeping kick to the other as he ran past, catching the vamp off guard and knocking him to the ground. Momentarily distracted, the fist vamp didn't see the stake until it was too late. It was already halfway through his unbeating heart by the time he noticed it. Spike withdrew the stake and the vamp instantly disappeared in a mist of ashes.

"Spike!"

Spike heard Buffy's voice. Instantly, he swung around and found the other vamp, fully recovered, coming at him. But it was too late. Catching Spike off guard, the vampire sucker punched him, knocking him off his feet.

Spike saw Buffy stealthily approaching his assailant. The monster quickly turned around and attacked her.

"Buffy!" he screamed.

Knowing that she was wholly capable of destroying the vamp, but still terrified for her, Spike forced himself off the ground and made for her attacker.

Buffy was fighting admirably, delivering blow after blow, kick after kick. When she saw Spike approach, she swung the vamp around and offered him to Spike.

A sly smile pulling at his lips, Spike drove into the last remaining demon with his fists. It felt good to be in control. To know that they were safe and still get to satisfy some of the bloodlust. This is what he had been missing. This is what he needed.

Working the vamp over, Spike reveled in the sensation of his own blood coursing through his veins. The sweet rush of adrenaline clouding his senses and making him feel invincible. Maybe he wasn't so weak and feeble after all.

After one more good punch, he pulled back the stake and finished the vamp off. He stood there watching the dust clear, a self-satisfied smirk on his face.

"You know, you didn't have to beat him senseless," Buffy said. "Talk about your gratuitous violence."

"What do you care?" Spike asked, looking up at her. "He was an evil, bloodsucking fiend. I was just doing my job."

"I know," she said with a smile. Buffy came up beside him and wrapped her arm around his. They began walking toward the entrance of the cemetery. "So, you going to tell me who it is who gets to play 'Kick the Spike?'"

Spike snickered. "As if you didn't know."

Buffy stopped and turned to look at him. "Thank you."

"For what?" he asked, his eyes watching her curiously.

"For tonight. For fighting by my side. For believing in yourself. It means everything to me Spike. Really it does."

He rolled his eyes at her and continued walking, taking her with him. "No need to get sappy and sentimental on me Slayer. I did what I had to do. That's all."

"Right. What you had to do."

"Yeah?" He offered her a sidelong glance.

"Whatever you say Spike. Whatever you say."