DISCLAIMER: I own nothing in this fic except the plot. The characters and such belong to Joss Whedon (aka God), so if you've got a problem, take it up with him, okay?
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: Buffy/Spike fanfic set after 'Chosen'. After defeating the First, Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang are Cleveland-bound and ready to start a new chapter in their lives, and they're not the only ones…
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first attempt at a Spuffy fic, and I hope you all enjoy it. I'll update as soon as possible! Please read and review.
CHAPTER ONE: Crashin' In L.A.
A school bus roared through Los Angeles, causing a chain reaction of people that began to come out of their houses, alarmed by the skidding and sliding sounds it was making. On the bus was Buffy Summers, the Chosen One. The Vampire Slayer… only that wasn't really the case anymore, was it? Not now. A few hours before she and Faith had been the only Slayers. And now… hundreds… maybe thousands of Slayers were awakening all over the world. Despite everything that had happened, Buffy smiled for what seemed like the millionth time that night.
She sat towards the front of the bus, arms folded across her chest, watching as Robin Wood, the most recent principal of the now destroyed Sunnydale High School who had surprisingly not been eaten yet, directed the vehicle through the streets. The second they all had set of again, they being herself, Willow, Xander, Andrew, Wood, Faith, Dawn, Giles, Kennedy and many other newly called Slayers, nobody had really talked much. She sighed. Something was missing. Someone.
Anya was gone, and even if she hadn't been the most reliable person at times, it still made Buffy feel so sad and regretful that she hadn't been able to save her. Anya had saved Andrew, cared about someone other than herself and Xander for once, and Buffy respected that. She could only imagine the pain Xander was feeling right now… she had gone through something similar five years back. 'Was it only that long ago?' she thought. Five years seemed like five months to her now… everything just went by so fast. It suddenly occurred to her that she had met him five years back.
Spike… 'No. No crying…' she thought, closing her eyes in an attempt to blink back her tears. He was gone and there was nothing she could do about it.
She really was cookie dough. Angel… Riley… Spike… she had loved Angel so much. With her heart and soul, as sappy as that sounded. She knew they were meant for each other… but at the same time she had her doubts. If they were meant for one another, wouldn't they be together now?
Shaking off the thoughts, her mind shifted to the subject of Riley Finn. She had realized her feelings for him too late. To this day, she still had regrets for not paying enough attention to him, but she figured it had all worked out in the end. And then there was Spike.
It was too ironic for her, caring about someone so much that she used to be mortal enemies with. She knew whatever she had been and still was feeling for Spike wasn't the same burning love she had with Angel. But it was close enough to it, and who knew? Maybe, if he hadn't… died, they could have made into something more. She didn't love Spike the way she loved Angel, and he had known that. And that was why he said what he said. Taking a deep breath, Buffy tried remembering their last moment together.
She had told him she loved him, because in truth, she did, but not in the way he had loved her. She wished he hadn't known that though. Spike deserved to die happy, in her eyes. After getting that soul for her… trusting her… loving her… and now he was gone…
"B? You okay over there? Lookin' a little pale," Faith said, coming up and taking a seat next to her. Buffy blinked and sat straighter. "I'm fine. Tired, I guess," she rasped. Her voice was surprisingly hoarse. For a moment, Faith was silent.
"Did you see it," she asked her. Buffy looked up at Faith, confused. But the look she received cleared up the confusion instantly. Buffy sighed. "No. He… he told me to go. So I did," she answered, a hint of remorse in her voice. Faith furrowed her brows. She was about to ask Buffy the inevitable question that was on the tips of all of her friends tongues, and she needed to gain a little more composure.
"I don't… know if you really want to talk about it right now but… did you love him? Tell me the truth or don't tell me anything," she asked in a straight-forward tone, looking Buffy in the eye, demanding a solid answer.
Buffy seemed to be deep in thought for a few moments, then, she answered. "Yeah, I did." Faith nodded, taking in the information with an almost grin. 'I knew it,' she thought to herself. It had been an easy thing to figure out, the jealousy Buffy had shown when she caught Faith talking to Spike, the way her eyes lit up when his name was mentioned, how she was so… dependant on him, all were dead giveaways. Buffy gave Faith a, "This is between us," look, and Faith nodded in turn, getting up from the seat so she could make her way back to one of the potentials she had been tending too.
Soon, Faith knew, she would be going back to jail. First, there would be an Angel reunion thing going on, then jail, then she figured Buffy and the rest of the Scoobs were Cleveland-bound. Hooray for them.
"So, Faith, how long do you have before you get outta jail?" Xander asked, like he had read her mind. She raised her eyebrow and shrugged, because truthfully, she had no idea. It was a long time coming, though. "Why do you care?" she retorted, only not in her usual bitchy tone. She wasn't in the mood to mess with people today, especially those who had lost people they loved.
"Well, gee, I dunno. I figure I'm free now so-" Stopping himself at the, "Are you nuts?" glance he got from Faith, Xander finished, "So I better stop making jokes in times of after peril." Faith rolled her eyes. That was what Xander did best. Tried to keep the mood light when things were grim. She knew this time that if he didn't busy himself with cracking jokes he would probably burst into tears. And of course he couldn't let something like that hurt his manly pride.
Glancing around, Faith noticed that most of the people were tired, including herself. Andrew still sat by himself, bewildered and asking why he was still alive, she'd bet. Kennedy and Willow were both asleep, cuddled together in the back of the bus. Giles was deep in thought, as usual, Wood was driving the bus, despite his injury, Dawn was snoring in the seat behind her, and the rest of the potentials, wait, no, Slayers, were either asleep or nodding off.
Suddenly, the school bus came to a screeching halt outside a large hotel that Faith knew was the one Angel and company had been in when she had made her little appearance not long back. "We're here," Wood choked out. Concern showed clearly on Faith's face for the condition of her potential future guy. Which sounded all too weird right then. She'd never had a guy before… that lasted longer than a week. She had completely given up after dating all the squares she had. But Wood wasn't a square. He was… a circle. The relationships she had had in the past fell off the edge of the square, but with Wood it would keep going in a circle. She hoped. 'And can I get any more analogies in that thought,' Faith mused.
The sudden way the bus had stopped had woken everybody up, so now there were a few very moody people sitting in a very cramped bus, wanting to get out of there badly.
After a few minutes of dawdling, everyone began piling out of the bus and onto the sidewalk outside of the hotel. "Who wants to do the honors?" Xander asked. Buffy stepped forward. "I will. He's my ex, remember?" Bowing and pointing towards the front door, Xander smiled up at Buffy as she past him and knocked. An unfamiliar green face answered the door. "Hi!" the man-demon said in an unusually cheerful voice.
"Uhh… hi. Is by any chance Angel here? I'm Buffy," she said, extending her hand. His eyes lit up. "You're Buffy? Wow, it's so great to finally meet you! I'm Lorne. Angel is tending to Cordelia right now, he'll be down in a minute. I take it you need a place to crash?" he asked. Nodding, Buffy turned to the people on the street. Lorne looked past her. "We have enough room for them, don't worry," he said kindly. "Please, come in." Buffy, followed by her friends and the rest of the Slayers, entered the apartment. The Slayers were given rooms while Buffy, Faith, Xander, Willow, Kennedy, Giles, Dawn, Andrew, and Wood stayed behind.
"I have a feeling mild uncomfortableness is in the near future," Xander said. Nudging him, Willow shook her head slightly. They didn't need to be reminded of anything that had happened as of late, or in the past. They were all aware of how much Xander disliked Angel.
Willow rubbed her eyes, still sleepy, but happy too. They had lost some Slayers and friends, but in spite of it all, they had won. And she had played a big part in that. She felt somebody squeeze her hand, and knew it was Kennedy. She was no Tara but she was still nice to have around.
After a few minutes, Angel came down the stairs to find the lobby filled with some familiar and unfamiliar faces. "Angel," Buffy breathed, walking up to him. Angel looked pleased. "I'm guessing there's no second front needed, seen as how you're all alive and well," he said.
"Not all of us," Faith said. "Faith," he said, greeting her. "That's my name, don't wear it out." Turning back to Buffy, Angel asked, "How many dead, Scooby wise?"
Cringing, Buffy opened her mouth to answer. "Two bit the dust. One of them quite literally with the dust biting and all," Xander said, speaking for her. Angel instantly knew who he meant. "Spike," he said. The second he spoke the name, a wave of silence suddenly swept over everyone, until Willow spoke up. "And Anya."
Lowering his head for a moment, Angel sighed. He couldn't help feeling a little… irked that Buffy looked so sad at the death of his grandcild that she had once hated so much. "The amulet? Did it-" "Work? Oh hell yeah. You shoulda seen the light come out of that thing. Dusted all the Ubers in like, ten seconds," Faith told him. Angel nodded again, closing his eyes. He seemed to be taking in everything he was being told. "The First?"
"The First is gone," Buffy said. "As in dead. No more First to torment us. Now let's get ready for the next big evil." Angel smiled, placing his hand on Buffy's shoulder. "I think you guys need some rest." "I wouldn't say no to a good sleep right now, actually," Giles said, speaking for the first time in a while. "Me neither," Andrew agreed. "I third that," Dawn said.
"So that's it? We all sleep, then mourn some more, then be happy we won, then get on with our lives and have more people die again some other day and go through the same thing over and over again? Is that how you people live?" Kennedy asked. After a few seconds, everyone nodded in response. "Yippie," she mumbled in the most non-enthusiastic way possible.
**********
Somewhere in the crater of rubble that was once Sunnydale, a pale hand rose above the debris in the blinding sunlight. After a few minutes of digging, someone lifted out of a hole type thing, and fell to the ground around it.
Coughing, Spike looked up at the sun and knew this wasn't Heaven or Hell. He was back on Earth. And the fact that he had a shadow, a beating heart, and wasn't bursting into flame, he was apparently human as well.
RATING: PG-13
SUMMARY: Buffy/Spike fanfic set after 'Chosen'. After defeating the First, Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang are Cleveland-bound and ready to start a new chapter in their lives, and they're not the only ones…
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my first attempt at a Spuffy fic, and I hope you all enjoy it. I'll update as soon as possible! Please read and review.
CHAPTER ONE: Crashin' In L.A.
A school bus roared through Los Angeles, causing a chain reaction of people that began to come out of their houses, alarmed by the skidding and sliding sounds it was making. On the bus was Buffy Summers, the Chosen One. The Vampire Slayer… only that wasn't really the case anymore, was it? Not now. A few hours before she and Faith had been the only Slayers. And now… hundreds… maybe thousands of Slayers were awakening all over the world. Despite everything that had happened, Buffy smiled for what seemed like the millionth time that night.
She sat towards the front of the bus, arms folded across her chest, watching as Robin Wood, the most recent principal of the now destroyed Sunnydale High School who had surprisingly not been eaten yet, directed the vehicle through the streets. The second they all had set of again, they being herself, Willow, Xander, Andrew, Wood, Faith, Dawn, Giles, Kennedy and many other newly called Slayers, nobody had really talked much. She sighed. Something was missing. Someone.
Anya was gone, and even if she hadn't been the most reliable person at times, it still made Buffy feel so sad and regretful that she hadn't been able to save her. Anya had saved Andrew, cared about someone other than herself and Xander for once, and Buffy respected that. She could only imagine the pain Xander was feeling right now… she had gone through something similar five years back. 'Was it only that long ago?' she thought. Five years seemed like five months to her now… everything just went by so fast. It suddenly occurred to her that she had met him five years back.
Spike… 'No. No crying…' she thought, closing her eyes in an attempt to blink back her tears. He was gone and there was nothing she could do about it.
She really was cookie dough. Angel… Riley… Spike… she had loved Angel so much. With her heart and soul, as sappy as that sounded. She knew they were meant for each other… but at the same time she had her doubts. If they were meant for one another, wouldn't they be together now?
Shaking off the thoughts, her mind shifted to the subject of Riley Finn. She had realized her feelings for him too late. To this day, she still had regrets for not paying enough attention to him, but she figured it had all worked out in the end. And then there was Spike.
It was too ironic for her, caring about someone so much that she used to be mortal enemies with. She knew whatever she had been and still was feeling for Spike wasn't the same burning love she had with Angel. But it was close enough to it, and who knew? Maybe, if he hadn't… died, they could have made into something more. She didn't love Spike the way she loved Angel, and he had known that. And that was why he said what he said. Taking a deep breath, Buffy tried remembering their last moment together.
She had told him she loved him, because in truth, she did, but not in the way he had loved her. She wished he hadn't known that though. Spike deserved to die happy, in her eyes. After getting that soul for her… trusting her… loving her… and now he was gone…
"B? You okay over there? Lookin' a little pale," Faith said, coming up and taking a seat next to her. Buffy blinked and sat straighter. "I'm fine. Tired, I guess," she rasped. Her voice was surprisingly hoarse. For a moment, Faith was silent.
"Did you see it," she asked her. Buffy looked up at Faith, confused. But the look she received cleared up the confusion instantly. Buffy sighed. "No. He… he told me to go. So I did," she answered, a hint of remorse in her voice. Faith furrowed her brows. She was about to ask Buffy the inevitable question that was on the tips of all of her friends tongues, and she needed to gain a little more composure.
"I don't… know if you really want to talk about it right now but… did you love him? Tell me the truth or don't tell me anything," she asked in a straight-forward tone, looking Buffy in the eye, demanding a solid answer.
Buffy seemed to be deep in thought for a few moments, then, she answered. "Yeah, I did." Faith nodded, taking in the information with an almost grin. 'I knew it,' she thought to herself. It had been an easy thing to figure out, the jealousy Buffy had shown when she caught Faith talking to Spike, the way her eyes lit up when his name was mentioned, how she was so… dependant on him, all were dead giveaways. Buffy gave Faith a, "This is between us," look, and Faith nodded in turn, getting up from the seat so she could make her way back to one of the potentials she had been tending too.
Soon, Faith knew, she would be going back to jail. First, there would be an Angel reunion thing going on, then jail, then she figured Buffy and the rest of the Scoobs were Cleveland-bound. Hooray for them.
"So, Faith, how long do you have before you get outta jail?" Xander asked, like he had read her mind. She raised her eyebrow and shrugged, because truthfully, she had no idea. It was a long time coming, though. "Why do you care?" she retorted, only not in her usual bitchy tone. She wasn't in the mood to mess with people today, especially those who had lost people they loved.
"Well, gee, I dunno. I figure I'm free now so-" Stopping himself at the, "Are you nuts?" glance he got from Faith, Xander finished, "So I better stop making jokes in times of after peril." Faith rolled her eyes. That was what Xander did best. Tried to keep the mood light when things were grim. She knew this time that if he didn't busy himself with cracking jokes he would probably burst into tears. And of course he couldn't let something like that hurt his manly pride.
Glancing around, Faith noticed that most of the people were tired, including herself. Andrew still sat by himself, bewildered and asking why he was still alive, she'd bet. Kennedy and Willow were both asleep, cuddled together in the back of the bus. Giles was deep in thought, as usual, Wood was driving the bus, despite his injury, Dawn was snoring in the seat behind her, and the rest of the potentials, wait, no, Slayers, were either asleep or nodding off.
Suddenly, the school bus came to a screeching halt outside a large hotel that Faith knew was the one Angel and company had been in when she had made her little appearance not long back. "We're here," Wood choked out. Concern showed clearly on Faith's face for the condition of her potential future guy. Which sounded all too weird right then. She'd never had a guy before… that lasted longer than a week. She had completely given up after dating all the squares she had. But Wood wasn't a square. He was… a circle. The relationships she had had in the past fell off the edge of the square, but with Wood it would keep going in a circle. She hoped. 'And can I get any more analogies in that thought,' Faith mused.
The sudden way the bus had stopped had woken everybody up, so now there were a few very moody people sitting in a very cramped bus, wanting to get out of there badly.
After a few minutes of dawdling, everyone began piling out of the bus and onto the sidewalk outside of the hotel. "Who wants to do the honors?" Xander asked. Buffy stepped forward. "I will. He's my ex, remember?" Bowing and pointing towards the front door, Xander smiled up at Buffy as she past him and knocked. An unfamiliar green face answered the door. "Hi!" the man-demon said in an unusually cheerful voice.
"Uhh… hi. Is by any chance Angel here? I'm Buffy," she said, extending her hand. His eyes lit up. "You're Buffy? Wow, it's so great to finally meet you! I'm Lorne. Angel is tending to Cordelia right now, he'll be down in a minute. I take it you need a place to crash?" he asked. Nodding, Buffy turned to the people on the street. Lorne looked past her. "We have enough room for them, don't worry," he said kindly. "Please, come in." Buffy, followed by her friends and the rest of the Slayers, entered the apartment. The Slayers were given rooms while Buffy, Faith, Xander, Willow, Kennedy, Giles, Dawn, Andrew, and Wood stayed behind.
"I have a feeling mild uncomfortableness is in the near future," Xander said. Nudging him, Willow shook her head slightly. They didn't need to be reminded of anything that had happened as of late, or in the past. They were all aware of how much Xander disliked Angel.
Willow rubbed her eyes, still sleepy, but happy too. They had lost some Slayers and friends, but in spite of it all, they had won. And she had played a big part in that. She felt somebody squeeze her hand, and knew it was Kennedy. She was no Tara but she was still nice to have around.
After a few minutes, Angel came down the stairs to find the lobby filled with some familiar and unfamiliar faces. "Angel," Buffy breathed, walking up to him. Angel looked pleased. "I'm guessing there's no second front needed, seen as how you're all alive and well," he said.
"Not all of us," Faith said. "Faith," he said, greeting her. "That's my name, don't wear it out." Turning back to Buffy, Angel asked, "How many dead, Scooby wise?"
Cringing, Buffy opened her mouth to answer. "Two bit the dust. One of them quite literally with the dust biting and all," Xander said, speaking for her. Angel instantly knew who he meant. "Spike," he said. The second he spoke the name, a wave of silence suddenly swept over everyone, until Willow spoke up. "And Anya."
Lowering his head for a moment, Angel sighed. He couldn't help feeling a little… irked that Buffy looked so sad at the death of his grandcild that she had once hated so much. "The amulet? Did it-" "Work? Oh hell yeah. You shoulda seen the light come out of that thing. Dusted all the Ubers in like, ten seconds," Faith told him. Angel nodded again, closing his eyes. He seemed to be taking in everything he was being told. "The First?"
"The First is gone," Buffy said. "As in dead. No more First to torment us. Now let's get ready for the next big evil." Angel smiled, placing his hand on Buffy's shoulder. "I think you guys need some rest." "I wouldn't say no to a good sleep right now, actually," Giles said, speaking for the first time in a while. "Me neither," Andrew agreed. "I third that," Dawn said.
"So that's it? We all sleep, then mourn some more, then be happy we won, then get on with our lives and have more people die again some other day and go through the same thing over and over again? Is that how you people live?" Kennedy asked. After a few seconds, everyone nodded in response. "Yippie," she mumbled in the most non-enthusiastic way possible.
**********
Somewhere in the crater of rubble that was once Sunnydale, a pale hand rose above the debris in the blinding sunlight. After a few minutes of digging, someone lifted out of a hole type thing, and fell to the ground around it.
Coughing, Spike looked up at the sun and knew this wasn't Heaven or Hell. He was back on Earth. And the fact that he had a shadow, a beating heart, and wasn't bursting into flame, he was apparently human as well.
