The Confrontation - March 2009
Chapter Thirty-One
Angel and company plus the Scoobies were assembled in the main lobby. They all looked at one another nervously. They had all made some pretty strange revelations to themselves over the last sixteen hours and they knew that now it was share time.
"I think we should let Dawn tell us exactly what happened last night. We all know that Spike has been turned, but we need to know how to go about handling the situation." Angel began.
Dawn then went into her tale about how she had unwittingly let Spike in the house. She conveniently left out the part about the heavy petting session of the evening. She told them about the tortured look on his face when he momentarily got a grip on the demon. She told them of how he started screaming and peeling his skin off. By the time she was done with her tale, she had felt like she had lived through all of it all over again.
"But why didn't you have your shirt on Dawn?" Anya asked innocently enough.
"Did her force himself on you Dawn? I swear to God if he attempted to rape you I really would stake him this time." Xander backed up Anya angrily.
Dawn stared at them. She knew they would eventually figure it out.
"He didn't have to force himself on me." Dawn said quietly.
"What do you mean he didn't *have* to force himself, oh." Xander responded and immediately shut up when he realized what she meant.
Cordelia walked over and held the younger woman's hand in support. She had a feeling this conversation was going to get very ugly, very quickly.
"You were going to sleep with him weren't you? You didn't even care that he was a vamp again did you?" Buffy began in an accusatory voice.
Dawn just stared at her sister with bright eyes. She knew this had been coming. This blow up had been on the verge of happening for over five years now.
"I didn't know that he was, well I didn't know that he had been turned. He told me he wanted me, he made it sound like he finally realized he loved me. What did you want me to do Buffy? Sit around and wait for you to make up your fucking mind?" Dawn spat.
The group shifted uncomfortably. They were all being privy to a very private conversation, a conversation that none of them wanted to be a part of.
"Yeah, whatever Dawn. It's all your fault. You're the one that's been trying to break me and Spike up for years. None of this would have ever happened if you would have given him that fucking letter. So fuck you. I had made up my mind. You knew I loved him, you knew I wanted him back. You knew but you moved in with him anyway, you made him feel as if I still hated him. I held back because you were my sister and I loved you, but all bets are off you little whore." Buffy shouted furiously at her sister.
Dawn let a brief flash of fresh guilt wash over her, but it was almost immediately replaced with anger.
"I'm sorry your highness. I didn't know that you had done me such a favor by letting me keep him as a pet for a little bit. It never mattered though. He always loved you, always wanted you. I spent two years of my life with him, and we never once had sex. Not a single time. He could never let you go. It's always been you. So are you happy now?"
"Yeah, I'm supposed to believe that the entire time you two dated you never had sex. I know I'm a little daft at times, but I'm not retarded. It's not my fault that he never moved passed me."
"You never moved passed him either. Don't blame this shit on me, again. You've used me as an excuse to push him away for years. I'm sick and tired of it Buffy. I just don't understand how you could have so easily given up what I had wanted for years."
Buffy looked at her sister, she was still furious with her, but now was not the time to get into this. They had already made enough of a scene.
"We *will* talk about this later little girl." Buffy told her sister.
The tension in the room was so thick that it most likely would have broken a chain saw if it would have tried to cut through it. Dawn rolled her eyes at Buffy and sunk back in her chair. Connor sat next to Dawn and protectively put his arm around his friend.
"The fun never stops." Xander said uneasily. Anything was better than the silence.
"For once, Buffy is right. This is a private matter between them. We should move on to why Spike is so violent now." Giles said, desperately wanting to change the subject.
Wes then told everyone what they had uncovered that morning in the archives room. Understanding washed over everyone in the room, especially Angel - having been privy to being trapped in a hell dimension for a couple hundred years.
"Great, as if Spike hadn't been evil enough pre-chip, now we have uber evil Spike wandering around. And I wonder who he probably has it in for." Xander said while staring at Buffy.
"Yeah, Spike doesn't have his chip anymore. I remember him telling me the shaman removed it when he gave him his humanity." Willow added.
"Well guys, how are we going to handle this?" Gunn wondered aloud.
"Obviously Spike has some amount of humanity left in him or else he most likely would have finished what he started with Dawn last night." Wesley spoke frankly.
"I think it's unanimous that no one here wants to dust Spike unless it's the last resort, but what do we do? It's obvious he's off his bird as he would have said." Anya exclaimed.
"I guess we should attempt to detain him and then go from there. We have no clue if he has demons under him though." Angel spoke.
"I just thought of something though. Who the hell in the demon world even knew that Spike had been human though? The people in this room are the only one's that knew he had been turned into a human." Cordelia spoke.
"That is strange. It's really unlikely that a random vamp got lucky enough to stumble upon Spike for dinner and decided to turn him instead of just doing the eat and run thing." Fred added.
"The only thing that I know, is when I find the vamp that turned Spike, I'm going to beat the living shit out of it, then I'm going to kill it. We are going to save Spike, no matter what. We all owe him at least that much." Buffy said with conviction.
The others looked at Buffy. It was the first time she had been that assertive since Spike had ended up missing a couple days ago.
"Well, there's about a dozen vamps and a few sun friendly demons hanging out around the hotel. I'm sure they're waiting for us to slip up. If nothing else, the new really pissed off Spike is slightly more patient. I guess that doesn't really play in our favor though." Willow added.
"There's not much we can do until night fall. None of us are to leave until I say so. Anya and Giles have to remain here anyway to hold up the barrier, and we need people here to protect them. Me, Gunn, and Buffy are the only ones to leave. And I only want Buffy to leave if one of us is with her. I have a dark feeling that Spike is simply out for some good old fashioned vengeance, Buffy. I don't think it has anything to do with how you treated him though. I think it has more to do with the fact that you made him feel again. His demon too." Angel finished softly.
Buffy knew he was right, but she couldn't help but feel that they were all prisoners here because of her. She just wished she had the last decade or so to do over again. But then she wouldn't have Jules.
"I have some favors I can call in. Have some of my demon buddies hit the underground and find out what's going on. I'm afraid that we might have to wait for Spike to strike first though. Kids, I think we're at a bit of a stale mate at the moment though." Lorne added.
The group decided it probably was for the best to be on the defensive, rather than the offensive. The meeting broke up and the gang went to into research mode, trying to find some way of detaining Spike without killing him. It was agreed that the only way any of them were going to stake Spike would be if it came down to them or him. They all hoped that it didn't come to that though.
*******************************
Buffy went up to Dawn's room and lightly tapped on the door. When there was no response she decided to go ahead and walk in. Dawn was laying on her bed staring at the ceiling.
"Hi Dawn." Buffy began.
Dawn studiously ignored her and continued to count the ceiling tiles while Buffy took a seat in the chair next to Dawn's bed.
"Dawn, we need to talk. Really talk. We can't let this build up again. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I didn't mean it. I love you. God, why is this so hard." Buffy said, practically choking on her words, attempting not to let the flood gates open up once more.
"Aren't we past the point of talking Buffy? You made it obvious that you don't trust me, and that you blame me for what happened between you and Spike."
"Dawn, I admit it, for a long time I did blame you. I know it wasn't your fault. I don't know what I would have done in your situation. You probably thought you were doing the right thing at the time, not giving him that letter. I know how you feel about Spike, you never for a moment denied it."
"You're right, unlike you, I never did deny it. Do you know how I felt when he said he wanted me? He told me 'it's always been you.' I know I shouldn't have believed him, but I couldn't help it. I thought that maybe he had gotten over you. I shouldn't have been so stupid."
"Dawn, you are many things, but stupid is not one of them. You followed your heart. I get that, I really do. And if Spike would have said that he loved you, I would have accepted it. And I wish you didn't love him so much, it's tearing you up inside."
"I know. Angel and I talked about it this morning. I know I need to move on, and after last night, I honestly think that I am. I just can't figure out how things became so strained between us Buffy. I mean we've barely been on speaking terms for years because of a guy. Granted he's a very sexy, very charming, very British guy, but we're sisters."
"I love you Dawny. I've missed you so much. I want us to be friends again, like we used to be."
With that Buffy crawled up on the bed with her sister and laid with her. Buffy's arm draping over Dawn's waste. The two laid like that for at least an hour, both silently realizing how much they really had missed one another.
"One question, and please don't hit me." Buffy stated.
"What?" Dawn asked.
"You really, never once slept with Spike?"
"I really, never once slept with anyone Buffy." Dawn replied.
"So what, you guys slept in the same bed together for over seven hundred nights and you guys just talked or something?"
"We never had intercourse Buffy, I never said we never did anything."
"So it's the Bill Clinton version of not having sex then?"
"God Buffy, do want a detailed diagram of every time he went down on me or something?"
"So you ever return the favor?" Buffy asked. She knew this should have bothered her, but she was so glad to have her sister with her that she didn't care.
"No, he never would let me, and it wasn't for a lack of trying. I think he enjoyed the guilt and frustration that came with dating me or something. Honestly, last night was the first time I ever saw his uh, you know." Dawn finished, blushing.
"After all of this is over, you are getting laid. By someone, I don't care who."
"Like your one to talk, you old maid. Spike was the last guy you were even with."
Buffy laughed at Dawn's comment, realizing she was right. The Summer's women were a might tuckered and decided to take a nap. There wasn't much else they could even do for the evening.
Angel and company plus the Scoobies were assembled in the main lobby. They all looked at one another nervously. They had all made some pretty strange revelations to themselves over the last sixteen hours and they knew that now it was share time.
"I think we should let Dawn tell us exactly what happened last night. We all know that Spike has been turned, but we need to know how to go about handling the situation." Angel began.
Dawn then went into her tale about how she had unwittingly let Spike in the house. She conveniently left out the part about the heavy petting session of the evening. She told them about the tortured look on his face when he momentarily got a grip on the demon. She told them of how he started screaming and peeling his skin off. By the time she was done with her tale, she had felt like she had lived through all of it all over again.
"But why didn't you have your shirt on Dawn?" Anya asked innocently enough.
"Did her force himself on you Dawn? I swear to God if he attempted to rape you I really would stake him this time." Xander backed up Anya angrily.
Dawn stared at them. She knew they would eventually figure it out.
"He didn't have to force himself on me." Dawn said quietly.
"What do you mean he didn't *have* to force himself, oh." Xander responded and immediately shut up when he realized what she meant.
Cordelia walked over and held the younger woman's hand in support. She had a feeling this conversation was going to get very ugly, very quickly.
"You were going to sleep with him weren't you? You didn't even care that he was a vamp again did you?" Buffy began in an accusatory voice.
Dawn just stared at her sister with bright eyes. She knew this had been coming. This blow up had been on the verge of happening for over five years now.
"I didn't know that he was, well I didn't know that he had been turned. He told me he wanted me, he made it sound like he finally realized he loved me. What did you want me to do Buffy? Sit around and wait for you to make up your fucking mind?" Dawn spat.
The group shifted uncomfortably. They were all being privy to a very private conversation, a conversation that none of them wanted to be a part of.
"Yeah, whatever Dawn. It's all your fault. You're the one that's been trying to break me and Spike up for years. None of this would have ever happened if you would have given him that fucking letter. So fuck you. I had made up my mind. You knew I loved him, you knew I wanted him back. You knew but you moved in with him anyway, you made him feel as if I still hated him. I held back because you were my sister and I loved you, but all bets are off you little whore." Buffy shouted furiously at her sister.
Dawn let a brief flash of fresh guilt wash over her, but it was almost immediately replaced with anger.
"I'm sorry your highness. I didn't know that you had done me such a favor by letting me keep him as a pet for a little bit. It never mattered though. He always loved you, always wanted you. I spent two years of my life with him, and we never once had sex. Not a single time. He could never let you go. It's always been you. So are you happy now?"
"Yeah, I'm supposed to believe that the entire time you two dated you never had sex. I know I'm a little daft at times, but I'm not retarded. It's not my fault that he never moved passed me."
"You never moved passed him either. Don't blame this shit on me, again. You've used me as an excuse to push him away for years. I'm sick and tired of it Buffy. I just don't understand how you could have so easily given up what I had wanted for years."
Buffy looked at her sister, she was still furious with her, but now was not the time to get into this. They had already made enough of a scene.
"We *will* talk about this later little girl." Buffy told her sister.
The tension in the room was so thick that it most likely would have broken a chain saw if it would have tried to cut through it. Dawn rolled her eyes at Buffy and sunk back in her chair. Connor sat next to Dawn and protectively put his arm around his friend.
"The fun never stops." Xander said uneasily. Anything was better than the silence.
"For once, Buffy is right. This is a private matter between them. We should move on to why Spike is so violent now." Giles said, desperately wanting to change the subject.
Wes then told everyone what they had uncovered that morning in the archives room. Understanding washed over everyone in the room, especially Angel - having been privy to being trapped in a hell dimension for a couple hundred years.
"Great, as if Spike hadn't been evil enough pre-chip, now we have uber evil Spike wandering around. And I wonder who he probably has it in for." Xander said while staring at Buffy.
"Yeah, Spike doesn't have his chip anymore. I remember him telling me the shaman removed it when he gave him his humanity." Willow added.
"Well guys, how are we going to handle this?" Gunn wondered aloud.
"Obviously Spike has some amount of humanity left in him or else he most likely would have finished what he started with Dawn last night." Wesley spoke frankly.
"I think it's unanimous that no one here wants to dust Spike unless it's the last resort, but what do we do? It's obvious he's off his bird as he would have said." Anya exclaimed.
"I guess we should attempt to detain him and then go from there. We have no clue if he has demons under him though." Angel spoke.
"I just thought of something though. Who the hell in the demon world even knew that Spike had been human though? The people in this room are the only one's that knew he had been turned into a human." Cordelia spoke.
"That is strange. It's really unlikely that a random vamp got lucky enough to stumble upon Spike for dinner and decided to turn him instead of just doing the eat and run thing." Fred added.
"The only thing that I know, is when I find the vamp that turned Spike, I'm going to beat the living shit out of it, then I'm going to kill it. We are going to save Spike, no matter what. We all owe him at least that much." Buffy said with conviction.
The others looked at Buffy. It was the first time she had been that assertive since Spike had ended up missing a couple days ago.
"Well, there's about a dozen vamps and a few sun friendly demons hanging out around the hotel. I'm sure they're waiting for us to slip up. If nothing else, the new really pissed off Spike is slightly more patient. I guess that doesn't really play in our favor though." Willow added.
"There's not much we can do until night fall. None of us are to leave until I say so. Anya and Giles have to remain here anyway to hold up the barrier, and we need people here to protect them. Me, Gunn, and Buffy are the only ones to leave. And I only want Buffy to leave if one of us is with her. I have a dark feeling that Spike is simply out for some good old fashioned vengeance, Buffy. I don't think it has anything to do with how you treated him though. I think it has more to do with the fact that you made him feel again. His demon too." Angel finished softly.
Buffy knew he was right, but she couldn't help but feel that they were all prisoners here because of her. She just wished she had the last decade or so to do over again. But then she wouldn't have Jules.
"I have some favors I can call in. Have some of my demon buddies hit the underground and find out what's going on. I'm afraid that we might have to wait for Spike to strike first though. Kids, I think we're at a bit of a stale mate at the moment though." Lorne added.
The group decided it probably was for the best to be on the defensive, rather than the offensive. The meeting broke up and the gang went to into research mode, trying to find some way of detaining Spike without killing him. It was agreed that the only way any of them were going to stake Spike would be if it came down to them or him. They all hoped that it didn't come to that though.
*******************************
Buffy went up to Dawn's room and lightly tapped on the door. When there was no response she decided to go ahead and walk in. Dawn was laying on her bed staring at the ceiling.
"Hi Dawn." Buffy began.
Dawn studiously ignored her and continued to count the ceiling tiles while Buffy took a seat in the chair next to Dawn's bed.
"Dawn, we need to talk. Really talk. We can't let this build up again. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I didn't mean it. I love you. God, why is this so hard." Buffy said, practically choking on her words, attempting not to let the flood gates open up once more.
"Aren't we past the point of talking Buffy? You made it obvious that you don't trust me, and that you blame me for what happened between you and Spike."
"Dawn, I admit it, for a long time I did blame you. I know it wasn't your fault. I don't know what I would have done in your situation. You probably thought you were doing the right thing at the time, not giving him that letter. I know how you feel about Spike, you never for a moment denied it."
"You're right, unlike you, I never did deny it. Do you know how I felt when he said he wanted me? He told me 'it's always been you.' I know I shouldn't have believed him, but I couldn't help it. I thought that maybe he had gotten over you. I shouldn't have been so stupid."
"Dawn, you are many things, but stupid is not one of them. You followed your heart. I get that, I really do. And if Spike would have said that he loved you, I would have accepted it. And I wish you didn't love him so much, it's tearing you up inside."
"I know. Angel and I talked about it this morning. I know I need to move on, and after last night, I honestly think that I am. I just can't figure out how things became so strained between us Buffy. I mean we've barely been on speaking terms for years because of a guy. Granted he's a very sexy, very charming, very British guy, but we're sisters."
"I love you Dawny. I've missed you so much. I want us to be friends again, like we used to be."
With that Buffy crawled up on the bed with her sister and laid with her. Buffy's arm draping over Dawn's waste. The two laid like that for at least an hour, both silently realizing how much they really had missed one another.
"One question, and please don't hit me." Buffy stated.
"What?" Dawn asked.
"You really, never once slept with Spike?"
"I really, never once slept with anyone Buffy." Dawn replied.
"So what, you guys slept in the same bed together for over seven hundred nights and you guys just talked or something?"
"We never had intercourse Buffy, I never said we never did anything."
"So it's the Bill Clinton version of not having sex then?"
"God Buffy, do want a detailed diagram of every time he went down on me or something?"
"So you ever return the favor?" Buffy asked. She knew this should have bothered her, but she was so glad to have her sister with her that she didn't care.
"No, he never would let me, and it wasn't for a lack of trying. I think he enjoyed the guilt and frustration that came with dating me or something. Honestly, last night was the first time I ever saw his uh, you know." Dawn finished, blushing.
"After all of this is over, you are getting laid. By someone, I don't care who."
"Like your one to talk, you old maid. Spike was the last guy you were even with."
Buffy laughed at Dawn's comment, realizing she was right. The Summer's women were a might tuckered and decided to take a nap. There wasn't much else they could even do for the evening.