Buffy moved forward on unsteady legs, the forward momentum being the only
thing keeping her knees from folding out from under her completely. The
burns were ghastly, and the hair was SO wrong (Light brown and curls?), but
there was no mistaking who that was lying on the bed. She moved to the side
of the bed opposite the nurse, and gently brushed a trembling hand across
his forehead, as if she were afraid he'd vanish like a popped soap bubble
if she touched more firmly.
"Spike?" she whispered, as the nurse finished and moved on with her duties.
"Nnnn, stop that, bloody tickles, it does."
Spike opened his eyes, still not used to seeing things in daytime (bloody well adjusted better when I had the gem of Amarra), and didn't quite believe it when his eyesight cleared. He was dreaming. He had to be; there was no other explanation why the Slayer's face could possibly be hovering over him, eyes crystal-bright with what looked to be unshed tears. (What are these bloody meds they're pumping into me? Whatever they are, wonder if I can snag some on the black market when I get the soddin' heck out of here. The hallucinations are pretty nice, I must say.)
Two pairs of eyes widened when both parties realized the other was awake, aware, and really and truly there. Buffy grabbed one hand, then the other, peering with intensity down at them, then she looked out the window at the daylight streaming into the room, then two fingers went to the side of Spike's neck, feeling for the artery there.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
"You're ALIVE!" Buffy screamed as she dove down and wrapped herself around the confused Brit.
"Buffy.air.breathing.can't!" Spike twitched in the Slayer's grip, trying to wave arms around in desperation, but only making jerking movements as they painfully pulled at burns.
"Ah, Buffy, please, you might consider not strangling my son here, seeing as you spent so much time worrying about him." Giles gently reminded her, both of the need to ease off with her slayer-strength and of the pretense they used to gain access to see Spike. The last of the Watchers only had to look at his surrogate daughter's face to confirm his, well, not fears, per se, but reservations concerning her feelings towards the suddenly very much alive William the Bloody. Tears were openly running down the slayer's face as she held onto Spike as if he might fade away.
"Oh, god, I thought I'd lost you forever, Spike, never, NEVER do anything like that again! I LOVE you, don't you get that? I lost you twice already, I can't go through that AGAIN!" Buffy sobbed into the injured punker's shoulder.
"You died on me, guess I just had to return the favor." Buffy just clenched him harder at that. Oops. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, in the flesh, but what's with all the waterworks? These can't be for the Big Bad?" He tried again.
"You.you JERK!" She said suddenly, sitting ramrod-straight and smacking him on the back of the head.
"OW!"
"I know I'm stuck-up, and a bitch, but you are the most ANNOYING boyfriend I've EVER HAD! Didn't you hear me? I said I LOVE you! In front of Giles, and everything! And no Willow spells miss-firing in the background to blame it on, either!"
"You can't be serious, pet." He said, one eyebrow arching up in wary confusion.
"I told you." Buffy looked on the verge of falling into a crying jag again. "Back in the cavern, I told you. I love you. And no, not because of the soul (though that gave you huge bonus points, mister), but because even before, you were always there. You cared, and you were there, no matter what." A pausing breath, then, "No matter what I did. I'm SO sorry, Spike. Sorry that I couldn't say it, that I couldn't let myself admit it, before that."
"Toldja so!" Dawn yelled out from the doorway.
(Nibblet's here, too?) Spike wondered. (And why isn't Rupert going all Ripper on me and trying to bash in my skull with a bedpan?)
"You love me." Disbelief evident in his voice.
"Yes."
"You LOVE me? Love-love, not big-brother type love, like with Xander?"
"Ye-ess, Spike, I finally quit being Queen of Denial; I love you."
"Well. 'Bout time, Pet." Spike said, giving his best 'smug bastard' look.
That earned him another whack to the head.
"Hey! Enough with the sodding violence, I NEED that head!" He glared at Buffy until he noticed both her and the Watcher were giving him the most aghast looks. "What?"
"Spike, you're all 'game-face'. " Buffy replied, rather pale and shocky looking. She reached down and felt his neck again, but his pulse was still going all thump-a-bump-y.
"Oh." A pause, then he shook off the yellow eyes and lumpy angles. "Didn't know if I could still do that, being all living and soul-ish, and all. Anya said my demon had earned redemption just as much as William did, though. Oh, by the way, Buff, your mum said hi, along with Glinda, I mean Tara, and someone named Jenny said to tell you hello, too, Rupert."
"A-Anya? And mom?"
"Jenny?" Giles whispered, to himself. Spike realized he'd just stuck his foot into it, as the watcher turned away, bringing his hand to his face.
"Bugger, knew I should've waited till later for that."
Giles dabbed at his eyes under the pretense of cleaning his glasses, then turned back to the two figures on the bed.
"Well, Spike, you wouldn't happen to have any idea exactly how or why you've returned to the living, albeit with vampiric demon intact, would you?"
"All demon-girl said was the Powers that be could give me a choice of rewards, either Heaven right then, or return to life as a champion (with the option of Heaven afterwards, depending on if I bugger it all up as usual), because of some prophesy about Moo-shu Pork, or something like that."
Giles perked up at that, intrigued by mystic prophecies and the potential disasters they usually foretold.
"That wouldn't happen to be the Sanshu Prophesy, would it?"
"Sanshu, Mushu, something of the soddin' sort. No idea, me self, but at least they didn't just plunk me down onto the firmament once again without my vampiric strength and healing capabilities. Good thing too, that damned sign was bloody sharp!"
Buffy quirked an eye. "Sign? Not the Welcome."
"To bloody Sunny-hell, , that's the one, pet. How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess!" Buffy chuckled.
"So," Spike said, "You love me, eh?"
"Really, kinda, yeah."
"Any chance that the cookie dough is done baking yet?"
"You know, Spike, that's the great thing about chocolate-chip cookie- dough." Buffy said with a smile. "It tastes just as good even if you don't put it in the oven." She leaned down and captured the ex-vampire's lips with her own.
"Hey, guys, Giles is still in the room!" Dawn yelled from the doorway again. "And he's turning a weird kinda purple."
"Spike?" she whispered, as the nurse finished and moved on with her duties.
"Nnnn, stop that, bloody tickles, it does."
Spike opened his eyes, still not used to seeing things in daytime (bloody well adjusted better when I had the gem of Amarra), and didn't quite believe it when his eyesight cleared. He was dreaming. He had to be; there was no other explanation why the Slayer's face could possibly be hovering over him, eyes crystal-bright with what looked to be unshed tears. (What are these bloody meds they're pumping into me? Whatever they are, wonder if I can snag some on the black market when I get the soddin' heck out of here. The hallucinations are pretty nice, I must say.)
Two pairs of eyes widened when both parties realized the other was awake, aware, and really and truly there. Buffy grabbed one hand, then the other, peering with intensity down at them, then she looked out the window at the daylight streaming into the room, then two fingers went to the side of Spike's neck, feeling for the artery there.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
"You're ALIVE!" Buffy screamed as she dove down and wrapped herself around the confused Brit.
"Buffy.air.breathing.can't!" Spike twitched in the Slayer's grip, trying to wave arms around in desperation, but only making jerking movements as they painfully pulled at burns.
"Ah, Buffy, please, you might consider not strangling my son here, seeing as you spent so much time worrying about him." Giles gently reminded her, both of the need to ease off with her slayer-strength and of the pretense they used to gain access to see Spike. The last of the Watchers only had to look at his surrogate daughter's face to confirm his, well, not fears, per se, but reservations concerning her feelings towards the suddenly very much alive William the Bloody. Tears were openly running down the slayer's face as she held onto Spike as if he might fade away.
"Oh, god, I thought I'd lost you forever, Spike, never, NEVER do anything like that again! I LOVE you, don't you get that? I lost you twice already, I can't go through that AGAIN!" Buffy sobbed into the injured punker's shoulder.
"You died on me, guess I just had to return the favor." Buffy just clenched him harder at that. Oops. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, in the flesh, but what's with all the waterworks? These can't be for the Big Bad?" He tried again.
"You.you JERK!" She said suddenly, sitting ramrod-straight and smacking him on the back of the head.
"OW!"
"I know I'm stuck-up, and a bitch, but you are the most ANNOYING boyfriend I've EVER HAD! Didn't you hear me? I said I LOVE you! In front of Giles, and everything! And no Willow spells miss-firing in the background to blame it on, either!"
"You can't be serious, pet." He said, one eyebrow arching up in wary confusion.
"I told you." Buffy looked on the verge of falling into a crying jag again. "Back in the cavern, I told you. I love you. And no, not because of the soul (though that gave you huge bonus points, mister), but because even before, you were always there. You cared, and you were there, no matter what." A pausing breath, then, "No matter what I did. I'm SO sorry, Spike. Sorry that I couldn't say it, that I couldn't let myself admit it, before that."
"Toldja so!" Dawn yelled out from the doorway.
(Nibblet's here, too?) Spike wondered. (And why isn't Rupert going all Ripper on me and trying to bash in my skull with a bedpan?)
"You love me." Disbelief evident in his voice.
"Yes."
"You LOVE me? Love-love, not big-brother type love, like with Xander?"
"Ye-ess, Spike, I finally quit being Queen of Denial; I love you."
"Well. 'Bout time, Pet." Spike said, giving his best 'smug bastard' look.
That earned him another whack to the head.
"Hey! Enough with the sodding violence, I NEED that head!" He glared at Buffy until he noticed both her and the Watcher were giving him the most aghast looks. "What?"
"Spike, you're all 'game-face'. " Buffy replied, rather pale and shocky looking. She reached down and felt his neck again, but his pulse was still going all thump-a-bump-y.
"Oh." A pause, then he shook off the yellow eyes and lumpy angles. "Didn't know if I could still do that, being all living and soul-ish, and all. Anya said my demon had earned redemption just as much as William did, though. Oh, by the way, Buff, your mum said hi, along with Glinda, I mean Tara, and someone named Jenny said to tell you hello, too, Rupert."
"A-Anya? And mom?"
"Jenny?" Giles whispered, to himself. Spike realized he'd just stuck his foot into it, as the watcher turned away, bringing his hand to his face.
"Bugger, knew I should've waited till later for that."
Giles dabbed at his eyes under the pretense of cleaning his glasses, then turned back to the two figures on the bed.
"Well, Spike, you wouldn't happen to have any idea exactly how or why you've returned to the living, albeit with vampiric demon intact, would you?"
"All demon-girl said was the Powers that be could give me a choice of rewards, either Heaven right then, or return to life as a champion (with the option of Heaven afterwards, depending on if I bugger it all up as usual), because of some prophesy about Moo-shu Pork, or something like that."
Giles perked up at that, intrigued by mystic prophecies and the potential disasters they usually foretold.
"That wouldn't happen to be the Sanshu Prophesy, would it?"
"Sanshu, Mushu, something of the soddin' sort. No idea, me self, but at least they didn't just plunk me down onto the firmament once again without my vampiric strength and healing capabilities. Good thing too, that damned sign was bloody sharp!"
Buffy quirked an eye. "Sign? Not the Welcome."
"To bloody Sunny-hell, , that's the one, pet. How'd you know?"
"Lucky guess!" Buffy chuckled.
"So," Spike said, "You love me, eh?"
"Really, kinda, yeah."
"Any chance that the cookie dough is done baking yet?"
"You know, Spike, that's the great thing about chocolate-chip cookie- dough." Buffy said with a smile. "It tastes just as good even if you don't put it in the oven." She leaned down and captured the ex-vampire's lips with her own.
"Hey, guys, Giles is still in the room!" Dawn yelled from the doorway again. "And he's turning a weird kinda purple."