Prophecy

Chapter 7

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Buffy and Spike sat together under a large, shady tree that stood in front of Spike's crypt. Buffy was leaning back against Spike's chest, with his arm around her shoulder. Spike had just finished telling her everything that had happened to him in the past three months since he left.

"Why would you do that?" Buffy asked softly.

"Because I hurt you," Spike said. "I had to make sure that would never happen again. I did it for you."

"All this was for me?" Buffy asked incredulously. "All because you hurt me just once?"

"Everything I've ever done in the past three years has been for you. You just didn't want to see it that way."

Buffy sighed. "I still can't believe you would do that for me," she said softly.

"I love you, Buffy. I would do anything for you."

They sat silently for a few minutes, thinking over everything. Buffy couldn't believe it. He had gone to all that trouble to get his soul back, just so he wouldn't hurt her again. An evil, soulless vampire had actually made the choice to get his soul. And now he was human. It was all too confusing.

Spike couldn't believe that Buffy was here with him, in his arms again. This was the last thing he had expected from her. Finally he broke the silence.

"I want to start again," he told her.

"What?" Buffy asked, looking up at him.

"I want to start again. With you. I want to put everything that happened behind us."

Buffy leaned back against him again, as she thought about it. It would be nice to start again, but how could they just forget everything.

But she didn't want to hide anything from him anymore. She was tired of hiding her feelings from him and herself and being afraid of them. And she did want to just forget how she had treated him.

She had never considered his feelings at all. She had been too focused on the bad to even notice the things he did that were good. And then she remembered Willow. Sweet, loveable Willow. She had gotten so addicted to magic that it had taken over her. She had killed people and had nearly killed them.

Everyone had darkness in them, even her, and she now realized that it was what you did with it that counted the most.

She couldn't use the past against him anymore and she couldn't accuse him of being an evil, soulless thing, because he wasn't.

"I think I'd like that," she said finally.

Spike looked at her in surprise. "You would?"

"Yeah," Buffy said smiling at him. "I can't focus on the past anymore. I have to move on now."

"It's about time you realized that," Spike said playfully.

"Hey," Buffy said indignantly, hitting his arm. She sighed. "I should probably get back to the shop," she said regretfully.

"Big evil?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, sort of. Giles was sent a prophecy by the Council. He's been trying to find out what it means, for the past few days."

They both stood up, looking at each other nervously.

"So…" Buffy started

"Yeah…"

"You wanna come with?" Buffy asked suddenly. "I mean, if you want to, that is."

"What about the others?" Spike asked. "I don't think they'd be happy to see me."

"Well, Xander already knows, so I don't think he'd be much trouble. And I don't thing Giles even knows about…everything. I mean, he knows we were involved, but he doesn't know about…you know."

"Count me in then," Spike said smiling at her, as they headed for the gates.

***

The bell at the front of the store rang and three heads looked up from their books to see Buffy and Spike walk in together.

"Hey, guys," Buffy said. "Sorry I just ran out on you, but there was something I had to do."

"Spike?" Giles said in disbelief. He hadn't been expecting to see him back here. It had been three months since he had left and he honestly thought that he was gone for good.

"Yeah," Spike said nervously. "Just couldn't stay away from this place."

"Giles, we need to talk," Buffy said, looking at him.

"O-of course," Giles said, finally finding his voice.

They headed to the training room together. Buffy shut the door behind them and turned to him.

"Before you say anything, I need you to just hear me out," Buffy said. "There's something I need to tell you about what happened between Spike and I before he left."

Giles sat down on the couch against the wall, knowing by the look on Buffy's face that whatever she was going to tell him wasn't good.

"After I was brought back, I felt so alone. Everyone else had their own lives, and didn't seem to notice the pain I was going through. Spike was the only one who understood. I felt comfortable with him. I could tell him everything and be myself.

I made the mistake of kissing him once…after that whole musical thing was over. He made me feel so alive. Then Willow did that spell to make us all forget who we were. I was happy then…well, happier than I was before. I had forgotten everything that had happened to me. But then it all came rushing back. And again, Spike was there.

He was always around…always saying what I needed to hear. I hated that he was always right. He always saw through me. One night we met in an alley. We had a huge fight and I found out that he could hurt me without the chip going off."

"T-the chip stopped working?" Giles asked in surprise.

"No, it still worked…just not on me. He said I came back wrong…that I wasn't human. I was so angry with him. I finally snapped…I gave in to him. I slept with him." Buffy lowered her head in embarrassment. She couldn't believe that she was telling Giles all this. But she had to tell him.

"I felt so dirty afterwards. I didn't want to admit what I had done. I tried to stay away from him, but I couldn't. He made me feel so alive. But I was using him. Then Riley came back. He made me realize that I couldn't keep relying on Spike for comfort. I told Spike that I couldn't love him and that I was just using him. I told him that I couldn't keep doing this to him and to myself, so I ended it.

But he didn't just go away like I hoped he would. He was still always around. I told him that he had to leave me alone, but he didn't listen. He told me that I wasn't letting myself be happy, because I was addicted to the misery. He said that if I didn't tell everyone about us, he would.

Buffy paused, wondering how she was going to tell him the rest.

"He showed up one night at my house. I had just come back from patrol and was getting ready for a bath. He came in and we shouted at each other, like usual. I think that after all I had done to him, he just snapped." Buffy stopped, as she remembered what had happened. "H-he tried to rape me."

Giles stood up suddenly. "He what?!" he shouted angrily.

"Giles!" Buffy yelled, as he started towards the door. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. "Let me finish."

"Buffy, you can't just let him get away with that," Giles said angrily. Buffy was the closest thing he had to a daughter and he wasn't about to let Spike get away with this.

"Giles, he tried, but I stopped him. He could've easily tried again, but he didn't."

"So, why is he back now?" Giles asked. "Is he trying to get you back?"

"No," Buffy answered. "He left because he knew that he had hurt me in the worst possible way. I think that he just proved to himself that he was nothing but a soulless, evil vampire. After everything that he had done to try to prove otherwise, to me and to himself.

He went to Africa to see a demon. The demon put him through some trials and if he passed he would be granted a wish. He went there to get his soul back…for me."

Giles just stood there in shock. "Giles? Are you okay?" Buffy asked, worried.

Giles went back over to the couch and sat down. "Yes, I fine," he said. "That's just a lot to take in."

"Tell me about it," Buffy said. "I couldn't believe it either, when he first told me." She sighed, and started to tell him the rest.

"After he passed the trials he traveled around the world, trying to put off coming back here," she said, repeating what Spike had told her outside his crypt. "He knew he would have to come back though. Then Xander found out what happened to him. Spike made him promise not to tell me, but you know Xander. He was never any good at keeping secrets. He didn't tell me what he knew exactly, but I knew something was going on, so I went to see Spike.

He knew that he would have to tell me, so he pulled me outside with him. Into the sunlight. He told me that he had asked the demon in Africa make him what he was, so he could give me what I deserved. He thought he would just get his soul back, but he was made human."

"Good lord," Giles said softly. "He's a human?"

"Yeah," Buffy said.

"And he has a soul?"

Buffy nodded. She sat down on the couch next to him. They stayed silent for a while, as they thought over everything.

They jumped suddenly when Anya opened the door and peeked in. "Giles, there's a letter for you," she said, coming in and handing it to him.

Giles looked at the letter curiously, then opened it. He read, it then looked up at them. "It's from Willow," he said. "She's coming home."

***

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