ON A DARK & STORMY NIGHT
Alrighty, this takes place post season 5. Glory was defeated but neither Dawn nor Buffy died. Thanks to Spike. Now Buffy and he are somewhere at a deserted house on a mission to find something dangerous. I wrote this in answer to a challenge of my lovely wife.
BTW this will not be as long as my last story;-)
Disclaimer: Joss owns all. If *I* owned all, you think I'd be posting on here??
CHAPTER 1: ENTER FREELY...
** * *
"So this is the place? You sure?"
"Yeah, this is it." Buffy switched on her flashlight and pointed it inside the dark house. She and Spike were standing on the doorstep while in the background the rain poured down, lit up by an occasional lightning bolt.
"I can't hear or smell anyone inside. And even if there is someone, I'd prefer fighting for my life inside where it's dry over just standing here in the rain," Spike grumbled.
Buffy gave a playful little scoff. "Oh now the Big Bad is scared of few drops of water?"
Spike gave her a look. "Not. Scared. Bloody annoyed, more like. We've been out in the rain all night. Let's get on with it. Can't be much in there the both of us together can't handle."
"Famous last words," Buffy said softly. "But I agree, we can't just stand here. Lighting a dark hallway with my flashlight is not going to STAY this interesting." She opened the door wider and stepped inside the house, Spike following right behind her.
They walked through the dark, deserted house, glancing into rooms as they passed doors and closets. They found a kitchen in the back, just as old, dirty and abandoned as the rest of the place. There was a door leading to the outside again, wooden debris blocking it. They turned around and went into the largest room they had passed earlier. It had a large fireplace.
They looked at it, then at each other as they remembered the wooden debris. Spike shrugged. "Should work."
They filled the fireplace with a good pile of dry wood. Then Spike used his lighter to set fire to some old newspapers lying around. He stuck that into the wood pile in the fireplace and blew as the flames started to grow. The room turned brighter at the light, which immediately gave it a whole different atmosphere. Some warmth slowly crept into the air and they both held their hands in front of the flames, rubbing them to absorb the warmth quicker.
Buffy looked around. "Wow, still old, dusty and fungy but you can tell better now this used to be real nice." Spike nodded as he followed her eyes. "Yeah, fancy place. Or used to be anyway. If only the same could be said for the buggers who used to live here."
Buffy's thoughts turned to the history of the place. "Well, they were fancy, if fancy means richer than god."
"So, we found the place. Now how much time we got?"
Buffy checked her watch. "About an hour. Well, at least we can get dry first. And take a breather." She yawned and stretched. Then she stood up and took off her long red-brown leather coat. Underneath it she wore a black sweater and light brown leather pants. Spike watched her from the corners of his eyes. Trying not to be too obvious how such simple movements as removing a coat or stretching took his breath away. Or it would, if he had any.
She hung her coat on the corners of one of the tall old chairs in front of the fireplace and checked it out. "Oy, I pick several leather clothes, and of course it starts raining so hard we could have used a boat to come up here! This stuff wasn't cheap you know."
"Still looks fine to me," Spike muttered looking at her leather pants. Okay it was impossible not to be a little obvious about it. She turned a little and gave him a 'tsk' look and a little headshake. But it was almost playful by now. They'd come a long way. Good deeds do get rewarded.
It seemed a lifetime ago they were battling Glory, trying to rescue Dawn. Oh, and preventing Armageddon while they were at it. Who knew there'd be a moment, a split second, when it would all hang on him?
The Scoobies had fought to a standstill, Buffy had her hands full with a weakened Glory, and he had spotted Dawn wasn't alone at the top of the tower. And as soon as her blood would have started to flow.... Thanks to Willow and a good little magic shockwave, he'd made his wave through the crowd defending the tower and then all the way to the top, where he saw Doc, ready to cut Dawn.
His anger was all the greater when he remembered actually introducing Dawn to the old bastard, when she was trying to resurrect Joyce. It wouldn't have made any difference if he hadn't but it still stung. The scrawny old demon served Glory. Spike didn't know until almost too late.
So he came to the top, ready to scrap, but he wasn't at his best. Hadn't fed in a few days with all the road tripping with the Scoobies. And he was so anxious. No fight had mattered as much as this one in...well, forever. Dawn could die, the little bit..Buffy's little sis. He really had some strange connection to the Summers women. Joyce's death had saddened him too. Buffy he was crazy about...and the nibblet almost felt like his own little sister sometimes. Plus, he'd sooner die himself than face Buffy after failing to save her sister.
So he'd been anxious. Too anxious. Something he wasn't all that used to anymore in a fight. Fights had usually been for fun.
And the weak-looking Doc had been much more formidable than he thought. And far, far faster than he could have guessed. He felt the knife enter his back before he knew it. Couldn't kill him, but sure as hell hurt like the Dickens. So they had fought and dodged and a wrong move had made him lose his balance. The old bastard had held on to him, holding him right on the edge, keeping him from falling for a moment, just to taunt him before he'd toss him off. Spike had locked eyes with Dawn, saw the fear in her eyes, for both him and herself, as she realized her savior was about to take a tumble.
But the old coot's gloating had been his mistake. As he gave the last shove that would start Spike's fall, at the last split second, Spike had managed to grab the arm that pushed him, pulling the small demon figure with him off the tower.
He remembers the wind rushing past them as they struggled in mid-air. Just before the hit the ground he'd managed to get on top, completely crushing Doc's body on impact. Of course the blow had been so hard he himself had been out for the count for a few minutes, but that didn't matter. The bones would heal. Dawn was safe. No blood had flown, no portal opened.
Apparently Buffy had managed to beat Glory to the ground, after weakening her in several ways, before going blow for blow with that troll hammer. Glory'd turned into Ben, and Buffy had left him after a stern speech. She was good at stern speeches but this was not the brightest move she'd ever made. Of course, Spike'd seen the Watcher around that area where Ben was lying just when he came to. And he had a feeling ole Rupert had made sure that this story had a more definite ending. Well, good for him.
When Buffy had freed Dawn, she'd heard how Spike had basically saved the day. If Doc had managed to start Dawn's bleeding, everything would have been for nothing. So when he was trying to get up, he found himself suddenly surrounded by a worried Dawn, a grateful Buffy and a couple of Scoobies who wanted to know if he was alright.
Quite a new thing.
Of course it actually helped that he defeated Doc with this dramatic moment of taking him with him in that big scary fall. Sounded all heroic and stuff. In his own mind he still nearly lost an important fight because he got clumsy and stupid..a fight he should have won easily, but hey.. The look in Buffy's eyes had wiped all that away. Like the look she'd given him before, when she learned he'd not betrayed Dawn to Glory....like that, except a lot more. He'd definitely earned his keep now.
And in the following months he'd been more accepted than ever. He was Dawn's hero for a good long while. The Wiccas treated him like he was part of the group, and had surprised him with a gift one night in his crypt. When he asked why, he expected them to say it was because he'd saved Dawn, but to his surprise she'd said it was because of what happened in the camper. Tara, still gaga then, had opened the blinds letting the light in, burning Spike's hand. When everyone reacted Tara had started to cry and he'd try to soothe her, by saying it was alright, that she could play with the light any time.
Willow had remembered that little gesture and it had apparently made a bit of an impression. And they'd given him a plant pot that Willow'd put a spell on, so now he had a ongoing supply of burba weed. When they saw his surprised face, they just smiled. Well, this kind of treatment from the Scoobies beat the 'what are you doing here, you vampire monster' of old, but then the birds had always been kind of decent to him. Still...even though part of him protested and felt this is no way for a feared vampire to be around people...there was a another part that liked it. And the part that really liked to have his burba weed in his mug of blood as he sat down to watch some TV.
The whelp still didn't like him one bit, but there had been slightly more...respect in him after all this. They still bounced insults off each other but hey, that was fine with him. And the Watcher was still weary of him, and as long as he was a soulless vampire, that would probably never change. But even though Spike could tell Giles kept his eyes wide open, he had generally accepted his presence, going on patrol with Buffy and things like that.
And then there was Buffy herself. He watched her now, in the house, falling into one of the big chairs, coughing at the dust that stirred up, but then making cutesy remarks with the words 'comfy' in it. She had changed towards him too. Granted, her utter contempt of him had already disappeared after he'd protected Dawn with his silence under Glory's torture. After that, she had brought Dawn to him when she wanted to put her somewhere safe, she had pulled him into her plans as much as the rest of them, and despite their protests, she'd basically..accepted him. Of course being a strong vampire fighter helped there too, especially in a fight against Glory. But even still, she had accepted him. Accepted that his feelings were real.
And now, after he'd saved Dawn at the top of the tower, it had been like all doubts had been lifted. She'd come to him often later, to see if he would patrol with her. He could tell she enjoyed fighting vamps with someone she didn't have to worry about. It was a thing none of the Scoobies could really share with her like he could. So he'd become her regular 'patrol-buddy'.
Of course he still loved her. And it still wasn't easy. But he was with her in a way and she let him. And he could tell as the months had gone, he'd become a steady thing in her life. She'd sometimes come to him just to vent, or complain about things. Apparently he was the kind of 'ear' that she didn't have in her other friends. She didn't have to worry about him being shocked by her and she didn't have to pretend she was fine when she wasn't. Especially when the financial trouble had started, and the job hunting. She could unwind with him and he had taken to that role like a drowning man clings to a piece of floating wood. Trying not to show his burning love and desire too often, worried it would scare her off. But even when he did, she reacted amicably.
Hey, it was a far cry from "you evil monster, get out of my town"! He thought back to his stupid act with chaining up both Dru and Buffy. Not his brightest moment. Guess that can happen when soulless vamps fall in love with noble champions. They go a little nuts.
The fire was burning brightly now. He tossed in another bit of wood and reflected that his life was actually a lot better now than it had been in the last few years. He was with her, part of her life, she enjoyed his company on several levels and she trusted him when push came to shove. Oh, and she didn't seem to 'mind' that he loved her. He smiled wryly to himself. Well, still better than the past 2-3 years put together...
"Helloooo," he heard her say. "Boy, where are you? Somewhere on Mars? Earth to William the Bloody!"
He looked up. "Sorry, luv. What? You say something?"
She raised her eyebrows. "Uh, yeah. I said I think that fire can live without you now. Let's get practicing on the chanting."
"Oh, right." He got up and sat down in the other chair. "Still not quite sure watcher boy is on the mark here. You know we could just have spent all night out in the rain just to find some empty old house where bugger all is going to happen."
Buffy shook her head as she read the documents on her lap. "I've seen some stuff scribbled on the fireplace that matches this. No, that amulet is supposed to appear here tonight, at zee stroke of 2 o'clock. Or at least it could. There are a few other locations as well. But if we do it right we'll see it appear in this luxurious dump."
"Which it does every year."
"That's the story," she nodded. "And whoever is here or in one of the other places and chants the right chant, can take it, or 'claim' it before it disappears again. And if it's true that some of the wrong type of people are looking for it..."
"Then that's bad news. Right, so we come here, get the trinket, knock out any possible opposition and bring it back to Rupert."
Buffy smiled. "You know he hates it when you call him that."
Spike smiled wider. "Yeah, he really does, doesn't he?"
She looked at him. "And you just love getting under people's skin. Or mostly other guys' skins. You're much nicer to Dawn or me or Tara and Willow..But with Xander or Giles it's all head-butting. Why is that anyway? Vampires still produce such large quantities of testosterone?"
Spike shrugged. "What can I tell you, luv..."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. You've 'always been bad'. I think I speak for all of womanhood when I say I'm just SO impressed."
Spike winked at her. "Hey luv, hard to keep a bad man down. And who's badder than the Big Bad?"
"Indeed," a voice said from behind both of them. They both instantly jumped to their feet, expecting an attack. What they saw made Buffy frown in surprise, and Spike's eyes nearly pop out of his head. He tried to speak but it resulted in him standing there with his mouth open.
In the room stood a man in his early twenties, dressed in a Victorian suit, with sideburns to match. His hair was dark blond and a bit messy. He wore small spectacles and had an air of a man fully aware of his finer manners. He looked at Spike and said, "Do tell me of your 'badness', then." Spike could still only gawk.
Buffy frowned even deeper as her eyes confirmed what she thought she saw when she had jumped up. It was hard to tell for a second, but now that she saw it, it was actually impossible to miss. He had Spike's face.
She looked at Spike and back at the Victorian young man who nodded politely to her. Then she looked back at Spike again.
"Spike....is that....YOU??" she said.
** **
TBC!
Alrighty, this takes place post season 5. Glory was defeated but neither Dawn nor Buffy died. Thanks to Spike. Now Buffy and he are somewhere at a deserted house on a mission to find something dangerous. I wrote this in answer to a challenge of my lovely wife.
BTW this will not be as long as my last story;-)
Disclaimer: Joss owns all. If *I* owned all, you think I'd be posting on here??
CHAPTER 1: ENTER FREELY...
** * *
"So this is the place? You sure?"
"Yeah, this is it." Buffy switched on her flashlight and pointed it inside the dark house. She and Spike were standing on the doorstep while in the background the rain poured down, lit up by an occasional lightning bolt.
"I can't hear or smell anyone inside. And even if there is someone, I'd prefer fighting for my life inside where it's dry over just standing here in the rain," Spike grumbled.
Buffy gave a playful little scoff. "Oh now the Big Bad is scared of few drops of water?"
Spike gave her a look. "Not. Scared. Bloody annoyed, more like. We've been out in the rain all night. Let's get on with it. Can't be much in there the both of us together can't handle."
"Famous last words," Buffy said softly. "But I agree, we can't just stand here. Lighting a dark hallway with my flashlight is not going to STAY this interesting." She opened the door wider and stepped inside the house, Spike following right behind her.
They walked through the dark, deserted house, glancing into rooms as they passed doors and closets. They found a kitchen in the back, just as old, dirty and abandoned as the rest of the place. There was a door leading to the outside again, wooden debris blocking it. They turned around and went into the largest room they had passed earlier. It had a large fireplace.
They looked at it, then at each other as they remembered the wooden debris. Spike shrugged. "Should work."
They filled the fireplace with a good pile of dry wood. Then Spike used his lighter to set fire to some old newspapers lying around. He stuck that into the wood pile in the fireplace and blew as the flames started to grow. The room turned brighter at the light, which immediately gave it a whole different atmosphere. Some warmth slowly crept into the air and they both held their hands in front of the flames, rubbing them to absorb the warmth quicker.
Buffy looked around. "Wow, still old, dusty and fungy but you can tell better now this used to be real nice." Spike nodded as he followed her eyes. "Yeah, fancy place. Or used to be anyway. If only the same could be said for the buggers who used to live here."
Buffy's thoughts turned to the history of the place. "Well, they were fancy, if fancy means richer than god."
"So, we found the place. Now how much time we got?"
Buffy checked her watch. "About an hour. Well, at least we can get dry first. And take a breather." She yawned and stretched. Then she stood up and took off her long red-brown leather coat. Underneath it she wore a black sweater and light brown leather pants. Spike watched her from the corners of his eyes. Trying not to be too obvious how such simple movements as removing a coat or stretching took his breath away. Or it would, if he had any.
She hung her coat on the corners of one of the tall old chairs in front of the fireplace and checked it out. "Oy, I pick several leather clothes, and of course it starts raining so hard we could have used a boat to come up here! This stuff wasn't cheap you know."
"Still looks fine to me," Spike muttered looking at her leather pants. Okay it was impossible not to be a little obvious about it. She turned a little and gave him a 'tsk' look and a little headshake. But it was almost playful by now. They'd come a long way. Good deeds do get rewarded.
It seemed a lifetime ago they were battling Glory, trying to rescue Dawn. Oh, and preventing Armageddon while they were at it. Who knew there'd be a moment, a split second, when it would all hang on him?
The Scoobies had fought to a standstill, Buffy had her hands full with a weakened Glory, and he had spotted Dawn wasn't alone at the top of the tower. And as soon as her blood would have started to flow.... Thanks to Willow and a good little magic shockwave, he'd made his wave through the crowd defending the tower and then all the way to the top, where he saw Doc, ready to cut Dawn.
His anger was all the greater when he remembered actually introducing Dawn to the old bastard, when she was trying to resurrect Joyce. It wouldn't have made any difference if he hadn't but it still stung. The scrawny old demon served Glory. Spike didn't know until almost too late.
So he came to the top, ready to scrap, but he wasn't at his best. Hadn't fed in a few days with all the road tripping with the Scoobies. And he was so anxious. No fight had mattered as much as this one in...well, forever. Dawn could die, the little bit..Buffy's little sis. He really had some strange connection to the Summers women. Joyce's death had saddened him too. Buffy he was crazy about...and the nibblet almost felt like his own little sister sometimes. Plus, he'd sooner die himself than face Buffy after failing to save her sister.
So he'd been anxious. Too anxious. Something he wasn't all that used to anymore in a fight. Fights had usually been for fun.
And the weak-looking Doc had been much more formidable than he thought. And far, far faster than he could have guessed. He felt the knife enter his back before he knew it. Couldn't kill him, but sure as hell hurt like the Dickens. So they had fought and dodged and a wrong move had made him lose his balance. The old bastard had held on to him, holding him right on the edge, keeping him from falling for a moment, just to taunt him before he'd toss him off. Spike had locked eyes with Dawn, saw the fear in her eyes, for both him and herself, as she realized her savior was about to take a tumble.
But the old coot's gloating had been his mistake. As he gave the last shove that would start Spike's fall, at the last split second, Spike had managed to grab the arm that pushed him, pulling the small demon figure with him off the tower.
He remembers the wind rushing past them as they struggled in mid-air. Just before the hit the ground he'd managed to get on top, completely crushing Doc's body on impact. Of course the blow had been so hard he himself had been out for the count for a few minutes, but that didn't matter. The bones would heal. Dawn was safe. No blood had flown, no portal opened.
Apparently Buffy had managed to beat Glory to the ground, after weakening her in several ways, before going blow for blow with that troll hammer. Glory'd turned into Ben, and Buffy had left him after a stern speech. She was good at stern speeches but this was not the brightest move she'd ever made. Of course, Spike'd seen the Watcher around that area where Ben was lying just when he came to. And he had a feeling ole Rupert had made sure that this story had a more definite ending. Well, good for him.
When Buffy had freed Dawn, she'd heard how Spike had basically saved the day. If Doc had managed to start Dawn's bleeding, everything would have been for nothing. So when he was trying to get up, he found himself suddenly surrounded by a worried Dawn, a grateful Buffy and a couple of Scoobies who wanted to know if he was alright.
Quite a new thing.
Of course it actually helped that he defeated Doc with this dramatic moment of taking him with him in that big scary fall. Sounded all heroic and stuff. In his own mind he still nearly lost an important fight because he got clumsy and stupid..a fight he should have won easily, but hey.. The look in Buffy's eyes had wiped all that away. Like the look she'd given him before, when she learned he'd not betrayed Dawn to Glory....like that, except a lot more. He'd definitely earned his keep now.
And in the following months he'd been more accepted than ever. He was Dawn's hero for a good long while. The Wiccas treated him like he was part of the group, and had surprised him with a gift one night in his crypt. When he asked why, he expected them to say it was because he'd saved Dawn, but to his surprise she'd said it was because of what happened in the camper. Tara, still gaga then, had opened the blinds letting the light in, burning Spike's hand. When everyone reacted Tara had started to cry and he'd try to soothe her, by saying it was alright, that she could play with the light any time.
Willow had remembered that little gesture and it had apparently made a bit of an impression. And they'd given him a plant pot that Willow'd put a spell on, so now he had a ongoing supply of burba weed. When they saw his surprised face, they just smiled. Well, this kind of treatment from the Scoobies beat the 'what are you doing here, you vampire monster' of old, but then the birds had always been kind of decent to him. Still...even though part of him protested and felt this is no way for a feared vampire to be around people...there was a another part that liked it. And the part that really liked to have his burba weed in his mug of blood as he sat down to watch some TV.
The whelp still didn't like him one bit, but there had been slightly more...respect in him after all this. They still bounced insults off each other but hey, that was fine with him. And the Watcher was still weary of him, and as long as he was a soulless vampire, that would probably never change. But even though Spike could tell Giles kept his eyes wide open, he had generally accepted his presence, going on patrol with Buffy and things like that.
And then there was Buffy herself. He watched her now, in the house, falling into one of the big chairs, coughing at the dust that stirred up, but then making cutesy remarks with the words 'comfy' in it. She had changed towards him too. Granted, her utter contempt of him had already disappeared after he'd protected Dawn with his silence under Glory's torture. After that, she had brought Dawn to him when she wanted to put her somewhere safe, she had pulled him into her plans as much as the rest of them, and despite their protests, she'd basically..accepted him. Of course being a strong vampire fighter helped there too, especially in a fight against Glory. But even still, she had accepted him. Accepted that his feelings were real.
And now, after he'd saved Dawn at the top of the tower, it had been like all doubts had been lifted. She'd come to him often later, to see if he would patrol with her. He could tell she enjoyed fighting vamps with someone she didn't have to worry about. It was a thing none of the Scoobies could really share with her like he could. So he'd become her regular 'patrol-buddy'.
Of course he still loved her. And it still wasn't easy. But he was with her in a way and she let him. And he could tell as the months had gone, he'd become a steady thing in her life. She'd sometimes come to him just to vent, or complain about things. Apparently he was the kind of 'ear' that she didn't have in her other friends. She didn't have to worry about him being shocked by her and she didn't have to pretend she was fine when she wasn't. Especially when the financial trouble had started, and the job hunting. She could unwind with him and he had taken to that role like a drowning man clings to a piece of floating wood. Trying not to show his burning love and desire too often, worried it would scare her off. But even when he did, she reacted amicably.
Hey, it was a far cry from "you evil monster, get out of my town"! He thought back to his stupid act with chaining up both Dru and Buffy. Not his brightest moment. Guess that can happen when soulless vamps fall in love with noble champions. They go a little nuts.
The fire was burning brightly now. He tossed in another bit of wood and reflected that his life was actually a lot better now than it had been in the last few years. He was with her, part of her life, she enjoyed his company on several levels and she trusted him when push came to shove. Oh, and she didn't seem to 'mind' that he loved her. He smiled wryly to himself. Well, still better than the past 2-3 years put together...
"Helloooo," he heard her say. "Boy, where are you? Somewhere on Mars? Earth to William the Bloody!"
He looked up. "Sorry, luv. What? You say something?"
She raised her eyebrows. "Uh, yeah. I said I think that fire can live without you now. Let's get practicing on the chanting."
"Oh, right." He got up and sat down in the other chair. "Still not quite sure watcher boy is on the mark here. You know we could just have spent all night out in the rain just to find some empty old house where bugger all is going to happen."
Buffy shook her head as she read the documents on her lap. "I've seen some stuff scribbled on the fireplace that matches this. No, that amulet is supposed to appear here tonight, at zee stroke of 2 o'clock. Or at least it could. There are a few other locations as well. But if we do it right we'll see it appear in this luxurious dump."
"Which it does every year."
"That's the story," she nodded. "And whoever is here or in one of the other places and chants the right chant, can take it, or 'claim' it before it disappears again. And if it's true that some of the wrong type of people are looking for it..."
"Then that's bad news. Right, so we come here, get the trinket, knock out any possible opposition and bring it back to Rupert."
Buffy smiled. "You know he hates it when you call him that."
Spike smiled wider. "Yeah, he really does, doesn't he?"
She looked at him. "And you just love getting under people's skin. Or mostly other guys' skins. You're much nicer to Dawn or me or Tara and Willow..But with Xander or Giles it's all head-butting. Why is that anyway? Vampires still produce such large quantities of testosterone?"
Spike shrugged. "What can I tell you, luv..."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. You've 'always been bad'. I think I speak for all of womanhood when I say I'm just SO impressed."
Spike winked at her. "Hey luv, hard to keep a bad man down. And who's badder than the Big Bad?"
"Indeed," a voice said from behind both of them. They both instantly jumped to their feet, expecting an attack. What they saw made Buffy frown in surprise, and Spike's eyes nearly pop out of his head. He tried to speak but it resulted in him standing there with his mouth open.
In the room stood a man in his early twenties, dressed in a Victorian suit, with sideburns to match. His hair was dark blond and a bit messy. He wore small spectacles and had an air of a man fully aware of his finer manners. He looked at Spike and said, "Do tell me of your 'badness', then." Spike could still only gawk.
Buffy frowned even deeper as her eyes confirmed what she thought she saw when she had jumped up. It was hard to tell for a second, but now that she saw it, it was actually impossible to miss. He had Spike's face.
She looked at Spike and back at the Victorian young man who nodded politely to her. Then she looked back at Spike again.
"Spike....is that....YOU??" she said.
** **
TBC!