Chapter Ten: Just Move On

(Thanks for all the reviews. Please keep them coming.)


Spike could hear them all talking. They woke him up. He held his hands over his ears, the voices were starting to get all garbled. "Bloody hell, shut up!" He yelled. But the people around him ignored him. "Hey! I'm talking to you!" He grabbed at a passerby's arm, but his hand went right through. "What the...?" He looked around the room. The people were doctors, they were all looking over this person on a gurney. His morbid curiosity made him peer over their shoulder, even though he knew who was on that bed. He stared into his own face. His knees weakened.

"It's a trip isn't it?" Spike spun around to see Faith leaning up against a wall.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"You know, I dunno. Last time I was unconscious I ended up in Angel's warped mind," Faith replied lighting a cigarette. She took a long drag. "Hmm, I guess I'm going to have to stop this." She eyed her cigarette.

"Where are we?" Spike asked.

Faith laughed. "Somewhere between, dead guy."

Spike's eyes widened, "Where? Wait, dead guy?"

Faith nodded as she took another puff. "That's what I hear. You hear a lot when you're unconscious."

"How can I be dead?"

"Don't you remember? You saved the day, you used that amulet Buffy gave you and it killed all the uber-vamps. You too," Faith said.

Spike needed to sit down. That actually happened? "I thought it was a dream," Spike's hand started to shake.

"Well, it wasn't."

Spike rocked back and forth on his heels. Flashes came to him. A white room, Angel's face, a bright light, complete peace, laughing, Buffy's hand, Buffy's eyes, Buffy's voice.

"Hey, you should get that checked," Faith was lighting up another cigarette.

Spike looked down at his chest. "Oh God!" His shirt was being burned away from the inside out. Spike saw the flames and touched them, expecting to be scalded, but they were cool.

"Why aren't I burning up?"

"Because you're dead, Spike." She said matter-of-factly. "Your ashes are scattered somewhere across the Sunnydale crater."

"You all made it out of there?"

Faith smiled. "Yep, all thanks to you."

Spike rubbed his temples, "Okay, so then why am I not in heaven?"

"Because, you're in between. Something's holding you back. Three guesses what."

"I only need one," he grumbled sarcastically. She was always tormenting him, she never let him rest in peace. "Then how can I get back?"

Faith stepped in front of him. "Do you want to go back?"

"Yes, no, I don't know." He wasn't sure what'd happen if he did go back. All he knew is he had to see her again. "I need to see her, if only for a moment, just to see her would be enough."

Faith grinned. "Let's see," she blew smoke into his face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Spike found himself in a new room. His clothes had changed, but the burn on his chest was still there. Faith had also changed. She had on a pretty, figure fitting, flower print dress. She threw him a Look.

"Not a word," she warned Spike. "It's her mind." Spike looked over and saw a little, blond girl with green eyes sitting there, picking petals off a flower.

"I love him, I love him not, I love him, I love him not," she said with each pluck. She looked up at Faith and handed her a flower. Faith took it. The room turned into a meadow. She sat beside Buffy who smiled at her. Together they picked the petals off their flowers.
"When's he coming back?" The little girl sweet voice.

Faith petted the girl's soft hair. "I don't think he is."

The little girl threw her flower down, stood up and stomped on it. "I want him back, Faith!" She cried.

Faith tried to pull the girl back down to the grassy ground. "Come on, sit with me."

"No!" The girl shrieked. She jumped up and down. "I want him back! I want him back! I want him back! I want him back! I want him back!" The little girl screeched.

"He can't come back! He's dead!" Faith shouted. The little girl stopped her tantrum and stood there bottom lip quivering. Then she opened her mouth and screamed bloody murder. Spike covered his ears and shut his eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


"Hey! Hey!" Faith shook him. "What are you doing?"

Spike opened his eyes. "The little girl, she was screaming. Where are we?"

"Still here. God, we must all be out hard," Faith replied. She changed again. Back into clothes Spike recognized on her.

"Listen, I don't know what's goin' on. I just want to get back," Spike said leaving Faith.

"Get back to what?" Faith called out after him.

Spike stopped. If he really was dead, well, dead dead, Buffy may have already moved on. Angel would be waiting in the wings for sure. But he had to see her, to smell, her, touch her, hear her, taste her, even for the last time. Spike turned around. "I just have to get back," He called running.

all of a sudden, Spike found himself in Buffy's house. He looked around. Everything looked normal, but it wasn't real, he knew Sunnydale was gone. "Faith!" He barked. He ran through the house. No one was there. He picked up a picture frame from the floor. It was the one of Willow, Xander and Buffy. He ran his thumb over Buffy's face. He had to get back to her, he had to tell her...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Buffy and Faith held the clean, white sheet over Buffy's bed. They tucked in the sides and smiled at each other. "There," Faith said. "It's perfect."

"Why are we always making the bed?" Buffy asked.

"Got me," Faith said. "But the sheets smell good." Buffy nodded, she watched as light flickered across the bed, the sun set and it was night, then it was morning. "C'mon, Buffy!" Faith tugged at her sleeve. "We have to go."

"Okay," Buffy said and they held hand as they walked down the stairs and into the park. "It's nice outside." Buffy commented.

"Yeah, the sun feels good," Spike said. He was holding her other hand.

She looked him over. "You're burning," she said simply. He held up their hands.

"So I am," he said. They watched as his hand burst into flame, but she held on. "You'd better go love," he said tilting his head to the side. "Or you'll die."

"But... I love you," she said.

"No, you don't. You can't," He said and he disintegrated into ashes.

"NO!" Buffy screamed. The hand she had been holding, didn't turn to dust. She held it close to her as she bent down to scoop up his ashes.

"What are you doing?"

Buffy looked up to see Cordelia standing there, hands on her hips and a bored look on her face. She looked down at her hands, now she was holding a dust pan and a broom. The pan had a pile of dirt in it. "I'm cleaning."

Cordelia sighed. "C'mon Buffy." She lead her to a white room.

The walls changed, and what looked like a movie started playing on them. Buffy recognized it as parts of her life. Jumping from Glory's tower, saving Willow, meeting Xander, running from the Mayor, ripping Adam's power source out, staking vamps over and over again, training with Giles, dancing as smoke rose from her feet, dressed in a frilly dress and hiding behind Soldier-Xander, meeting Dracula, walking with Willow, walking with Xander, walking with Dawn, fighting Faith, dancing with Faith, kissing Riley, kissing Angel, kissing Spike, laughing with her friends. She could remember all of this. "Cordelia, what are we doing here?"

Cordelia raised her eyebrows, "You tell me, I'm in your mind." She pointed to a door and walked away from Buffy. Buffy watched her lie down on a soft bed. She looked back at the door and started towards it. She walked past Faith, who was sitting on a giant egg, spinning crochet needles in her hands. She waved at Buffy. She reached the door. A sign read 'Knock Twice, then Enter', so she did. She walked into a dark room, she flipped on a light switch and saw Spike kneeling in front of a gravestone.

"Spike?" She was afraid he'd disintegrate again.

"Hello pet," he stood up. "Fancy meeting you 'ere. Can't say I'm surprised, I know you'd be visitin', soon enough."

She looked at the headstone. "William 'Spike', 1868-2003," she read. Her eyes filled with tears. "So, you're really gone, aren't you?"

Spike shrugged. "I dunno. I think I am. Wish I wasn't."

"Why not?"

"Well, because you love me," he smirked. "You said it, you were lying, but you said it."

"I wasn't lying Spike," she sniffled.

He rolled his eyes. "Right then."

"I wasn't!" She pushed him. "Damnit Spike! Why you do it?" She collapsed next to his grave, sobbing.

He bent down and put his hands on her shaking shoulders. "Because I had to. I did it for you, for Dawn, for your li'l Scooby gang. I did it to save the world. And I did it for me, Buffy. To prove to myself that I could be the man I knew you needed."

She looked up at him. "I need you now, Spike."

"Shh, I know," he held her against him until her sobs turned to whimpers. She pressed her face against his soft leather coat. That comforting smell. He looked into her eyes and smiled. He caressed her drying, tear-stained cheek. "Buffy..." She closed her eyes as he ran his fingers through her hair. "Buffy, wake up," he said in Angel's voice. She looked up at him, startled. "Is she all right?" he asked in Dawn's voice. "Get a doctor!" he yelled in Xander's voice.

"Buffy!" she opened her eyes and saw her friends standing over her. Willow and Angel were at her side. "Angel, help her up," Willow said. Angel got her to her feet.

"Are you okay?" Angel asked.

"Yeah," Buffy said rubbed the back of her head. A bump was already forming but it'd be gone by the night.

"Are you sure, Buffy? Maybe you should sit down," Willow said.

"No, I'm fine," she snapped. ^Sorry,^ she mouthed to Willow when she saw her hurt expression. She turned to Angel, "Where is he?" She demanded.

"Buffy, listen..."

She looked at him eyes ablaze. "Do not. Talk to me right now. Where is he?"

"Buffy, we're all in a state of shock..." Giles started.

"You knew about this," she said to him.

"Well, uh," Giles said flustered.

"Right," Buffy threw the door to Spike's room open. There he was, a tube coming out of his mouth, a wires hooked up to him, machines surrounded him. She wanted to go to him, but she couldn't move, her feet frozen to the floor. She just looked at him.

Spike observed his love standing watching him on the bed. He circled her, she wasn't crying, she was just staring disbelieving what she saw. He sat next to himself, concentrating. "C'mon you dote," he urged. "Wake up. She's right there, waiting for you to bloody wake up."

She moved, finally, took one step and let out a shudder. She swallowed. He coughed and moved. He groped at his mouth, the tube. She rushed over and pulled it out. He coughed uncontrollably. "Buffy..." he mumbled.

She breathed, "I'm here, Spike, oh my God."

"Buffy... I wanted to (cough) ask you..."

"Spike, I'm so..."

"Bloody hell, woman, (cough cough) let me speak..." he said. She quieted and he chuckled weakly. "do you... still... (cough cough cough)" he took a deep breath. "Do you.. still love me?"

She nodded profusely. "Yes, yes I do."

He smiled, "That's all I wanted to know." His eyelids fluttered and an alarm went off from one of the machines, then another and another. She watched in horror as doctors flooded the room pushing her aside.

"Spike," she whispered hoarsely.

Spike looked down at his chest, the burn wasn't there any more. He looked at her, she just stood there, letting the doctors and nurses push her around. A door opened behind him, a bright glow radiated from it. He started towards it. Before entering he cast one long glance at her and took a deep breath. He got his answer, but he couldn't leave. Not yet. He took one step forward. He had to leave. He had to let her go, and so did she. They had to move on.


(What do you think? Should I have made it different? I wasn't too sure of this chapter, it was a hard chapter to write. Let me know, seriously, I'm a little exposed right now, so review it please. Por Favor! Oh yeah, and more will happen with the Scoobies and the AI team, I just wanted to get all the crap with Buffy and Angel and Spike out, It'll come back later, have no fear. And can anyone tell me what's going to happen to Cordelia? I hear Charisma Carpenter's not coming back next season as a full cast member.)