Still Bound, chapter 10
"Gone"my way. Anya comes to a decision. The Summers girls act up.
Thanks to Zyrya as always for checking and critiquing my work. Lines of dialogue lifted directly from the show must be credited to BtVS writers, Fury & Espenson; also you may recognize an e.e. cummings phrase.
She might not be the proverbial 'big as a house' but looking down at the little round mound that used to be her beautiful flat belly, which she had loved to flaunt in crop tops and bikinis, Buffy was sure she was at least as big as a small tool shed. If Riley could only see her now! And there was a reminder she didn't need right now. Yes it was true she was busy, very busy, but she knew in her heart she didn't really want to make time to track down her baby's father. She hadn't made any effort at all up to now.
As usual when she didn't want to dig too far into the truth, Buffy turned her attention to a more solvable puzzle than her own twisted psyche. The mystery that was currently stumping the Scoobies was the attack at the museum. A frost monster or some kind of ice spewing demon had stolen a huge diamond, leaving a security guard encased in a thin layer of ice. The man had been thawed out and was in intensive care, hooked up to life support unable to answer questions about what he had seen before getting zapped.
Their research had turned up nothing, no creature that lived on diamonds or came from a frozen climate, with the unlikely exception of the Abominable Snowman. In all of her years of watching 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' at Christmas, Buffy had never dreamed she would be considering the furry, white, jagged toothed Abominable as the possible perpetrator of a diamond heist. If her life hadn't been ludicrous before this took it to a new level.
Buffy entered Continental Hair Design and took a seat in the lobby, paging through stylebooks. She may have a new, unlovely figure, but that was all the more reason to give her spirits a boost with a makeover. Anya was throwing her a baby shower and the guest of honor intended to show up in a snappy maternity dress with a brand new hairdo and a much-needed manicure.
Buffy's feelings toward Anya had warmed considerably over the past two months. Ever since Buffy had announced her pregnancy, Anya had been fascinated and concerned. Never one for subtlety, the Anya had made it obvious that she herself fiercely desired a child. Since Xander wouldn't oblige her with marriage and children, she was living the motherhood fantasy through Buffy. She devoured parenting magazines then marked the most pertinent articles for Buffy to read. She enquired about Buffy's diet, making sure it was adequate and that she was getting enough rest. And she often bought baby clothes and toys and presented them to Buffy with the admonishment that it was never too early to start decorating the nursery and had she thought about her theme yet.
Although overwhelming and annoying, it was also quite touching, especially since Buffy was in emotional overload these days and missed the pampering she would have received from her mother.
"You sure you want to do this, honey?" the beautician was asking as she began pinning up sections of hair in preparation for the cut. "'Cause it'll take a while to grow back."
"Cut away," Buffy commanded. "Create a whole new me."
The woman grinned and patted her on the shoulder. "All right. A bob it is. And I'm sure you'll look cute as a pixie in it."
Buffy's smile faltered. She had actually slain a devilish pixie before and found it as wrinkled and ugly as a week old banana peel.
********
Buffy shook her head as she left the shop, enjoying the light feel of her new shoulder length hair. She looked down at her shiny nails and ran her thumb over their smoothness. She vowed to keep them unchipped for at least a week, even if she had to wear gloves while slaying.
A sudden jolt of electricity went through her and she was tossed to the ground.
"What the fu...?"
She slowly raised herself from the sidewalk, palms scraping on the rough surface. Looking down to check on the state of her poor fingernails, Buffy saw ... nothing. No hands where hands should be.
"Urgh!" She let out an unintelligible squawk. "What now?"
*********
Anya's silence today was ominous Xander thought. His balls shriveled when she got all icy polite like this because he knew it was just a matter of time before she exploded.
"Well, you must be pretty happy finally being in charge." He ventured a toe into the pool of non-conversation. "I mean, Giles didn't even leave you with a checklist this time and he's going to be in England for at least a month."
"Yes. He trusts my judgment, as well he should since I'm an extremely competent businesswoman," Anya replied, not looking up from the Magicks for Daily Living catalog. She checked the price on a lovely stone pestle, shook her head and deleted it from her list.
"That's great and you are," Xander praised enthusiastically. Maybe her renewed interest in being Super Businesswoman would distract her from the motherhood kick she'd been on lately. Anya's biological clock had kicked in with a vengeance, no pun intended.
"As a matter of fact, I'm thinking of opening a retail shop of my own," she added. "Heaven knows real estate is cheap enough in this town. There's always a vacant storefront in a prime location."
"Really?" This was the first Xander had heard of the idea. "What would you sell?"
"Magic supplies, of course. A town like this can use more than one magic shop and mine would be geared toward a different clientele. Demons need to buy things too, you know." She paused, then added, "And I thought I'd have a nice aromatherapy section."
"A magic shop! You'd compete against Giles?"
"Why not?" Anya shrugged. "Capitalism is founded on the basis of healthy financial competition."
"An, are you sure you know what you're getting into?" Xander said hesitantly.
"Oh, here we go." Anya slammed the catalog shut. "Go ahead, Xander, list my inadequacies! Give me reason one hundred and one that Anya can't function as a proper human being."
"I'm not...." He placatingly held up his hands and counted to ten before speaking in a quieter tone. "I'm not saying you couldn't do it. I'm sure you could do a great job of managing a business. I just wondered if you'd considered the ... the ethics of undermining the man who gave you your start, and of selling merchandise to the beings we kill on a daily basis."
"Well I have to do something with my time and since devoting myself to home and family seems to be out of the question...." Anya grabbed a feather duster and began flicking furiously away at the candle display.
"Anya, we've been over this. I told you my reservations about marriage. Hell, I even sang them to you and then, if you recall, I proposed. So if you want to get married, let's get married!" Xander's voice was steadily rising and Anya was dusting faster and faster.
"Not when you ask that way! With a negative attitude like that you're likely to ... to stand me up at the altar or something. No. When you ask me to marry you, I want you to mean it with all your heart."
"I do," he protested, growing more exasperated by the second. He started toward her.
"No you don't." Anya slapped the duster down on the counter and whirled to face him. After one sorrowful look she lowered her voice and repeated. "No. You don't. And that's why I think.... I think it's best if we had some time apart."
"Time apart? You're giving me an ultimatum?"
"Not an ultimatum. I'm telling you I've already rented an apartment. I've been thinking about this for some time."
"Wh-what?" He shook his head, not believing what he'd heard.
Anya crossed the room and clutched his arm. "We can still date. I'm not breaking up with you. I just think some distance...."
"Distance?" He backed away from her beseeching hands.
"Some time to think," she explained. "To prioritize. Maybe we should even try dating some other people."
"You are. You're breaking up with me. My god."
The front door bell jangled and they broke their freeze frame to look up. No one entered the shop.
"Hey guys!" A familiar voice came from nowhere. "Guess what happened to me today."
********
Buffy was exhilarated. Once the initial shock of finding herself invisible wore off she began to feel like she was on a vacation. She dumped the research and problem solving into Xander, Anya and Willow's hands and went off to explore Sunnydale unseen. It was a real kick to observe people who had no idea you were there.
She decided to visit the social worker who'd been giving her a hard time about Dawn's school attendance. How could anyone explain pulling a child from school because she was in danger from a hell god? Buffy had gone with an explanation of mono and now the woman wanted proof from a doctor's office. She had had the audacity to tell Buffy she found her parenting 'suspect' and that she would be 'keeping a close eye' on her.
When Invisible Girl was done playing, Doris was no longer the pompous little bureaucrat who had invaded Buffy's home and threatened her family. She was a nervous wreck who doubted her sanity and was likely to be fired from her job. Feeling justice was served, Buffy went whistling off to her next adventure.
After wandering around the mall, watching people and being severely tempted to take a few things just because it would be so easy, Buffy was getting bored. Here she was practically omnipotent and yet unable to break any rules because she was too moral. Surely there was something she could do that was fun, wouldn't hurt anyone, and could only be done while invisible.
She somehow found herself at the door of Spike's crypt, a place she'd avoided like the plague ever since ... always. Although she'd come by for his help once in a while since, the only time she'd spent any time here was That Night, the one that marked the end of their short-lived marriage. Most of the time Spike was the one to seek her out on patrol, at the Magic Box or at Revello Drive.
Buffy didn't knock. She slipped into Spike's home as quietly as the fog on little cat feet.
He was sprawled in his one and only armchair in front of a flickering TV, watching some black and white horror movie. Despite her silence his head turned to the creaking door and he stood up from the chair frowning.
"I know you're there. Whatever beastie you are, I know you're there. And I hurt beasties."
She circled him, padding like a stalking leopard.
"A ghost is it? Go haunt the living."
She pounced, throwing him against the wall and tearing open his shirt in two swift moves.
His nostrils flared as he caught her scent. "Buffy?" He twitched as she licked up his chest, his throat, the side of his face all the way to his ear.
"No," she whispered. "Guess again."
"Uh, J-joan?" he stuttered, half choking on lust.
"Bingo!" She seized his lips with her own and bore down on him like a wild thing, grappling with his shirt, tearing it off his shoulders, then going to work on his jeans.
**********
He gasped at the unexpectedness of her warm hands, unseen but everywhere at once, touching, stroking, scratching, probing, pulling his clothes away until he stood naked before her. He felt an unconscious urge to shield himself from her eyes. It was too strange to be examined and not be able to see in return. Not registering every flicker of emotion, every subtle change in her face meant not knowing how to respond. What did she want from him other than the obvious? How should he be? Teasing or serious? Sexy or tender? Aggressive or passive?
Well, the last question was answered quickly as she grabbed his arm and spun him toward the ladder to the basement level.
"You have a bed now, right?" she asked, breathlessly. Even her voice sounded different, husky and rough. He wondered if she were under a spell which conferred more than invisibility.
"Yeah," his voice broke on the word like a pubescent choirboy. He led the way downstairs.
When he reached the bottom rung of the ladder, Spike waited until he could feel her warmth sweep past him. Then he stood, not sure of where she was until he heard the rustle of clothes over by the bed. He gulped and his whole body tightened at the awareness that Naked Buffy was within a yard of him and that he would be allowed to touch her in a matter of seconds.
The bed creaked, the covers were thrown back and suddenly there was a depression on the pillow and the mattress. He stared, paralyzed.
"What are you waiting for?" she asked petulantly.
"Engraved invitation," he answered, attempting humor.
"Don't be a such a goof, Spike. Get over here," she commanded.
He obeyed, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed and sliding his hand along the sheet until it reached warm, human skin. His dead heart must have been jumpstarted because his head was suddenly suffused with blood, his ears rang and he thought he might faint. He swallowed again, hard.
"Isn't this what you wanted?" she taunted, wiggling a little under his seeking hand.
"Uh, not if you're going to kill me tomorrow because I took advantage of you while you were out of your head."
"Relax. I'm invisible, not insane or enchanted." She suddenly became gentler and he felt fingers encircle his wrist and draw him down onto the bed. "Come on," she breathed. "Hold me."
"All right," he said inanely and crawled up the bed until his body could envelop hers.
**********
He kept up a stream of words the whole time, pouring over her in waves as if sounding her presence, verifying that it wasn't just a fantasy in his bed.
When they were finished and lying quietly together, he stroked her invisible arm over and over. "What are you thinking, Buffy?" he whispered.
"That you have very sharp bones." He could feel her head moving into a more comfortable position on his chest. Her hair brushing across his skin sent shivers through him and his cock began to harden again.
"Already?" Buffy exclaimed. And suddenly her hand was on him, tugging playfully.
"It's you," he said. "Just being near you does this to me all the time. I'm in constant pain around you, woman."
"Then maybe you shouldn't be around me," was her flip answer.
"I could no more leave your presence than the moon could stop revolving around the earth."
"Oh, please!" He could hear the patented Buffy eye roll in her voice. "Spare me the poetry. You just wanted to get laid and now you have."
"You think that's all this is about? Getting you into bed? I told you I'm mad about you. Would do anything for you. I worship the bloody ground, et cetera."
"And if that chip failed tomorrow, you'd happily take a big chomp out of my neck," Buffy said drily.
"You don't believe that," was his outraged reply. "At one time, yes, but now I wouldn't dream.... A man can change, Buffy."
"But you're not a man," she answered softly. "I'm sorry Spike, but you're not. You're a monster. I could never ... love you." She sounded sad, almost apologetic.
"You loved Angel," he protested bitterly. "A creature, a demon, no different from me. Just another animated corpse."
"He has a soul. That makes him different," she explained as patiently as if speaking to a slow child.
"So if I had one you would look at me with something other than contempt? Would you allow yourself to come to me some time when you're not under an enchantment?"
"We don't need to talk about this." He felt her stretch and shift against him. "Can't we just enjoy today? Not pull it apart and examine it? I'd like to relax for once without having to worry about consequences."
Spike suddenly felt as if he were holding air, and the odd thought struck him that if they looked in the mirror right now there would be nothing there at all. 'So this is where we leave it,' he thought, 'I can't see her and she refuses to see me.'
"All right," he answered. "Whatever you want, Buffy." He reached a hand down and began to tickle her ghostly flesh. "We'll keep it light."
**********
Dawn entered the dark kitchen as quietly as she could, opening and closing the door carefully. Thank god Slayers only had super strength, not super hearing. She really wanted to get upstairs before Buffy knew she was home. She began to tiptoe across the floor, hefting her school bag on one shoulder and a shopping bag in the other hand.
Dawn now had a system. Janice had advised her on it. The trick to getting really nice stuff was to buy at least one little thing at the store you were targeting. A salesperson was much less likely to suspect you if you took the time to purchase a necklace or belt. They never dreamed a second blouse was under the shirt you were wearing, if you were clever, if you were relaxed and chatty.
She felt like a secret agent on a mission when she went 'shopping' with Janice. Dawn had graduated from cheap jewelry and trinkets and was now outfitting herself in a new wardrobe. It was important not to introduce too many new clothes at once so Buffy wouldn't notice and question her. Most days Dawn wore one top and packed another to change into at school. Life was getting so complicated - but exciting.
Who needed to be a superhero or a mystical key when you could live fast and dangerous in the regular world. Dawn pictured herself as an antihero, living outside the law only not doing anything too evil. Kinda like Spike.
Although the light was on in the living room, the house was silent and it appeared Buffy wasn't home. Dawn relaxed ... then the refrigerator door suddenly swung open and she shrieked and jumped back, tripping over her own feet.
"You're home kinda late," Buffy's voice said and Dawn watched in amazement as the milk jug floated out of the fridge. "Want some supper? We have flying pizza." A pizza box lifted off the counter and also began moving through the air.
"Buffy? Wha...what's going on? What happened to you? I can't see you!"
"Yeah, funny about that. One moment I was there and the next ... poof. Willow, Xander and Anya are working on it." The milk settled on the counter and the pizza box lid flew open. A slice of ham 'n' pineapple levitated from it.
Dawn took a step forward, her voice rising in panic. "What about you? Shouldn't you be researching too? Why are you being all jokey about this? It's not funny!"
"Sorry. You're right. It's very serious. But look at the cool things I can do with the food." A pair of apples lifted from the fruit bowl and began flying through the air as Buffy juggled them.
"Stop it!" Dawn screeched. "You're freaking me out."
Buffy dropped the apples on the floor and they went rolling away. "Okay!" she said, laughing. "Sorry. I'm just a little giddy."
The phone rang.
After Xander explained that she might melt into puddinglike goo if she didn't get fixed fast, Buffy sobered right up. He told her that Willow was searching for the owners of the black van and would check in soon. Buffy had no sooner hung up than the phone rang again.
"Slayer, we have your friend. If you want to see her again...." Buffy's heart sank at the words. She listened to the kidnappers' instructions and agreed to meet at the arcade, hoping to exchange herself for Willow.
The rest of the evening passed quickly. First her opponents were invisible then they were revealed as a trio of loser geeks with delusions of being Lex Luthor. Then they were gone. It wasn't often that Buffy was forced to fight humans and it made her very uncomfortable not knowing how hard she dare hit without killing them. Sitting on the sidewalk with Willow afterward, she still couldn't believe that she had let the little rats slip away. They just seemed so pathetic she didn't have the heart to pursue them.
"Thanks, Will. If it wasn't for you and your super sleuthing I could've been mousse before we figured out who was behind it. The diamond heist is explained and the invisibility gun is destroyed all in one night because of you. And we know where their lair is, though I don't imagine they'll be hanging out there now."
"The question is how are you going to deal with them, Buffy?" Willow had on concern face. "You can't just kill them, and I don't know if tipping off the police would do any good."
Buffy shook her head. "You're right. I'll scope out their hideout tomorrow. Maybe that'll give a clue on Warren's ultimate plan. He's the leader, don't you think?"
"Definitely. This doesn't have the mark of Jonathan on it, and as for that other guy, he didn't seem bright enough to spell 'heist' let alone plan one."
"Well, at least we know who we're dealing with now but doesn't it seem kind of ... lame? I mean to go from battling a hell god with all kinds of super powers to having a spat with some weak human nerds?"
"Speaking as a reformed nerd," Willow said with slightly forced jollity. "I resent that. However ... yes."
************
As Buffy walked home, she looked down at her feet moving rhythmically over the pavement. She patted her little round belly as she had that morning, 'Hi, baby! How you doing?' She examined her manicure and found that it was still intact. She pinched her arm for the marvel of watching it turn white then pink. And then she saw another mark farther up her arm, a thumb shaped bruise delicately shaded purple. She stroked her hand over it and thought about how it had gotten there.
Sex with Spike was nothing like it had been with Riley ... or that jerk Parker ... or her one special night with Angel. It was hard and wild and kind of violent ... just the way she secretly liked it. And then it had been fun and teasing and silly, which she found she liked, too. But there was also the long and slow and deep, which had totally blown her away with its intensity.
Then stupid Spike, always with the talking, talking, talking mouth had to go and ask her 'What are you thinking?'
How could she answer that? How dare she put into words the knowledge that had begun to stir deep inside her? How could she say, "What I'm thinking is, if you weren't the evil creature that you are I could be falling in love with you."
To be continued....
"Gone"my way. Anya comes to a decision. The Summers girls act up.
Thanks to Zyrya as always for checking and critiquing my work. Lines of dialogue lifted directly from the show must be credited to BtVS writers, Fury & Espenson; also you may recognize an e.e. cummings phrase.
She might not be the proverbial 'big as a house' but looking down at the little round mound that used to be her beautiful flat belly, which she had loved to flaunt in crop tops and bikinis, Buffy was sure she was at least as big as a small tool shed. If Riley could only see her now! And there was a reminder she didn't need right now. Yes it was true she was busy, very busy, but she knew in her heart she didn't really want to make time to track down her baby's father. She hadn't made any effort at all up to now.
As usual when she didn't want to dig too far into the truth, Buffy turned her attention to a more solvable puzzle than her own twisted psyche. The mystery that was currently stumping the Scoobies was the attack at the museum. A frost monster or some kind of ice spewing demon had stolen a huge diamond, leaving a security guard encased in a thin layer of ice. The man had been thawed out and was in intensive care, hooked up to life support unable to answer questions about what he had seen before getting zapped.
Their research had turned up nothing, no creature that lived on diamonds or came from a frozen climate, with the unlikely exception of the Abominable Snowman. In all of her years of watching 'Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer' at Christmas, Buffy had never dreamed she would be considering the furry, white, jagged toothed Abominable as the possible perpetrator of a diamond heist. If her life hadn't been ludicrous before this took it to a new level.
Buffy entered Continental Hair Design and took a seat in the lobby, paging through stylebooks. She may have a new, unlovely figure, but that was all the more reason to give her spirits a boost with a makeover. Anya was throwing her a baby shower and the guest of honor intended to show up in a snappy maternity dress with a brand new hairdo and a much-needed manicure.
Buffy's feelings toward Anya had warmed considerably over the past two months. Ever since Buffy had announced her pregnancy, Anya had been fascinated and concerned. Never one for subtlety, the Anya had made it obvious that she herself fiercely desired a child. Since Xander wouldn't oblige her with marriage and children, she was living the motherhood fantasy through Buffy. She devoured parenting magazines then marked the most pertinent articles for Buffy to read. She enquired about Buffy's diet, making sure it was adequate and that she was getting enough rest. And she often bought baby clothes and toys and presented them to Buffy with the admonishment that it was never too early to start decorating the nursery and had she thought about her theme yet.
Although overwhelming and annoying, it was also quite touching, especially since Buffy was in emotional overload these days and missed the pampering she would have received from her mother.
"You sure you want to do this, honey?" the beautician was asking as she began pinning up sections of hair in preparation for the cut. "'Cause it'll take a while to grow back."
"Cut away," Buffy commanded. "Create a whole new me."
The woman grinned and patted her on the shoulder. "All right. A bob it is. And I'm sure you'll look cute as a pixie in it."
Buffy's smile faltered. She had actually slain a devilish pixie before and found it as wrinkled and ugly as a week old banana peel.
********
Buffy shook her head as she left the shop, enjoying the light feel of her new shoulder length hair. She looked down at her shiny nails and ran her thumb over their smoothness. She vowed to keep them unchipped for at least a week, even if she had to wear gloves while slaying.
A sudden jolt of electricity went through her and she was tossed to the ground.
"What the fu...?"
She slowly raised herself from the sidewalk, palms scraping on the rough surface. Looking down to check on the state of her poor fingernails, Buffy saw ... nothing. No hands where hands should be.
"Urgh!" She let out an unintelligible squawk. "What now?"
*********
Anya's silence today was ominous Xander thought. His balls shriveled when she got all icy polite like this because he knew it was just a matter of time before she exploded.
"Well, you must be pretty happy finally being in charge." He ventured a toe into the pool of non-conversation. "I mean, Giles didn't even leave you with a checklist this time and he's going to be in England for at least a month."
"Yes. He trusts my judgment, as well he should since I'm an extremely competent businesswoman," Anya replied, not looking up from the Magicks for Daily Living catalog. She checked the price on a lovely stone pestle, shook her head and deleted it from her list.
"That's great and you are," Xander praised enthusiastically. Maybe her renewed interest in being Super Businesswoman would distract her from the motherhood kick she'd been on lately. Anya's biological clock had kicked in with a vengeance, no pun intended.
"As a matter of fact, I'm thinking of opening a retail shop of my own," she added. "Heaven knows real estate is cheap enough in this town. There's always a vacant storefront in a prime location."
"Really?" This was the first Xander had heard of the idea. "What would you sell?"
"Magic supplies, of course. A town like this can use more than one magic shop and mine would be geared toward a different clientele. Demons need to buy things too, you know." She paused, then added, "And I thought I'd have a nice aromatherapy section."
"A magic shop! You'd compete against Giles?"
"Why not?" Anya shrugged. "Capitalism is founded on the basis of healthy financial competition."
"An, are you sure you know what you're getting into?" Xander said hesitantly.
"Oh, here we go." Anya slammed the catalog shut. "Go ahead, Xander, list my inadequacies! Give me reason one hundred and one that Anya can't function as a proper human being."
"I'm not...." He placatingly held up his hands and counted to ten before speaking in a quieter tone. "I'm not saying you couldn't do it. I'm sure you could do a great job of managing a business. I just wondered if you'd considered the ... the ethics of undermining the man who gave you your start, and of selling merchandise to the beings we kill on a daily basis."
"Well I have to do something with my time and since devoting myself to home and family seems to be out of the question...." Anya grabbed a feather duster and began flicking furiously away at the candle display.
"Anya, we've been over this. I told you my reservations about marriage. Hell, I even sang them to you and then, if you recall, I proposed. So if you want to get married, let's get married!" Xander's voice was steadily rising and Anya was dusting faster and faster.
"Not when you ask that way! With a negative attitude like that you're likely to ... to stand me up at the altar or something. No. When you ask me to marry you, I want you to mean it with all your heart."
"I do," he protested, growing more exasperated by the second. He started toward her.
"No you don't." Anya slapped the duster down on the counter and whirled to face him. After one sorrowful look she lowered her voice and repeated. "No. You don't. And that's why I think.... I think it's best if we had some time apart."
"Time apart? You're giving me an ultimatum?"
"Not an ultimatum. I'm telling you I've already rented an apartment. I've been thinking about this for some time."
"Wh-what?" He shook his head, not believing what he'd heard.
Anya crossed the room and clutched his arm. "We can still date. I'm not breaking up with you. I just think some distance...."
"Distance?" He backed away from her beseeching hands.
"Some time to think," she explained. "To prioritize. Maybe we should even try dating some other people."
"You are. You're breaking up with me. My god."
The front door bell jangled and they broke their freeze frame to look up. No one entered the shop.
"Hey guys!" A familiar voice came from nowhere. "Guess what happened to me today."
********
Buffy was exhilarated. Once the initial shock of finding herself invisible wore off she began to feel like she was on a vacation. She dumped the research and problem solving into Xander, Anya and Willow's hands and went off to explore Sunnydale unseen. It was a real kick to observe people who had no idea you were there.
She decided to visit the social worker who'd been giving her a hard time about Dawn's school attendance. How could anyone explain pulling a child from school because she was in danger from a hell god? Buffy had gone with an explanation of mono and now the woman wanted proof from a doctor's office. She had had the audacity to tell Buffy she found her parenting 'suspect' and that she would be 'keeping a close eye' on her.
When Invisible Girl was done playing, Doris was no longer the pompous little bureaucrat who had invaded Buffy's home and threatened her family. She was a nervous wreck who doubted her sanity and was likely to be fired from her job. Feeling justice was served, Buffy went whistling off to her next adventure.
After wandering around the mall, watching people and being severely tempted to take a few things just because it would be so easy, Buffy was getting bored. Here she was practically omnipotent and yet unable to break any rules because she was too moral. Surely there was something she could do that was fun, wouldn't hurt anyone, and could only be done while invisible.
She somehow found herself at the door of Spike's crypt, a place she'd avoided like the plague ever since ... always. Although she'd come by for his help once in a while since, the only time she'd spent any time here was That Night, the one that marked the end of their short-lived marriage. Most of the time Spike was the one to seek her out on patrol, at the Magic Box or at Revello Drive.
Buffy didn't knock. She slipped into Spike's home as quietly as the fog on little cat feet.
He was sprawled in his one and only armchair in front of a flickering TV, watching some black and white horror movie. Despite her silence his head turned to the creaking door and he stood up from the chair frowning.
"I know you're there. Whatever beastie you are, I know you're there. And I hurt beasties."
She circled him, padding like a stalking leopard.
"A ghost is it? Go haunt the living."
She pounced, throwing him against the wall and tearing open his shirt in two swift moves.
His nostrils flared as he caught her scent. "Buffy?" He twitched as she licked up his chest, his throat, the side of his face all the way to his ear.
"No," she whispered. "Guess again."
"Uh, J-joan?" he stuttered, half choking on lust.
"Bingo!" She seized his lips with her own and bore down on him like a wild thing, grappling with his shirt, tearing it off his shoulders, then going to work on his jeans.
**********
He gasped at the unexpectedness of her warm hands, unseen but everywhere at once, touching, stroking, scratching, probing, pulling his clothes away until he stood naked before her. He felt an unconscious urge to shield himself from her eyes. It was too strange to be examined and not be able to see in return. Not registering every flicker of emotion, every subtle change in her face meant not knowing how to respond. What did she want from him other than the obvious? How should he be? Teasing or serious? Sexy or tender? Aggressive or passive?
Well, the last question was answered quickly as she grabbed his arm and spun him toward the ladder to the basement level.
"You have a bed now, right?" she asked, breathlessly. Even her voice sounded different, husky and rough. He wondered if she were under a spell which conferred more than invisibility.
"Yeah," his voice broke on the word like a pubescent choirboy. He led the way downstairs.
When he reached the bottom rung of the ladder, Spike waited until he could feel her warmth sweep past him. Then he stood, not sure of where she was until he heard the rustle of clothes over by the bed. He gulped and his whole body tightened at the awareness that Naked Buffy was within a yard of him and that he would be allowed to touch her in a matter of seconds.
The bed creaked, the covers were thrown back and suddenly there was a depression on the pillow and the mattress. He stared, paralyzed.
"What are you waiting for?" she asked petulantly.
"Engraved invitation," he answered, attempting humor.
"Don't be a such a goof, Spike. Get over here," she commanded.
He obeyed, sitting gingerly on the edge of the bed and sliding his hand along the sheet until it reached warm, human skin. His dead heart must have been jumpstarted because his head was suddenly suffused with blood, his ears rang and he thought he might faint. He swallowed again, hard.
"Isn't this what you wanted?" she taunted, wiggling a little under his seeking hand.
"Uh, not if you're going to kill me tomorrow because I took advantage of you while you were out of your head."
"Relax. I'm invisible, not insane or enchanted." She suddenly became gentler and he felt fingers encircle his wrist and draw him down onto the bed. "Come on," she breathed. "Hold me."
"All right," he said inanely and crawled up the bed until his body could envelop hers.
**********
He kept up a stream of words the whole time, pouring over her in waves as if sounding her presence, verifying that it wasn't just a fantasy in his bed.
When they were finished and lying quietly together, he stroked her invisible arm over and over. "What are you thinking, Buffy?" he whispered.
"That you have very sharp bones." He could feel her head moving into a more comfortable position on his chest. Her hair brushing across his skin sent shivers through him and his cock began to harden again.
"Already?" Buffy exclaimed. And suddenly her hand was on him, tugging playfully.
"It's you," he said. "Just being near you does this to me all the time. I'm in constant pain around you, woman."
"Then maybe you shouldn't be around me," was her flip answer.
"I could no more leave your presence than the moon could stop revolving around the earth."
"Oh, please!" He could hear the patented Buffy eye roll in her voice. "Spare me the poetry. You just wanted to get laid and now you have."
"You think that's all this is about? Getting you into bed? I told you I'm mad about you. Would do anything for you. I worship the bloody ground, et cetera."
"And if that chip failed tomorrow, you'd happily take a big chomp out of my neck," Buffy said drily.
"You don't believe that," was his outraged reply. "At one time, yes, but now I wouldn't dream.... A man can change, Buffy."
"But you're not a man," she answered softly. "I'm sorry Spike, but you're not. You're a monster. I could never ... love you." She sounded sad, almost apologetic.
"You loved Angel," he protested bitterly. "A creature, a demon, no different from me. Just another animated corpse."
"He has a soul. That makes him different," she explained as patiently as if speaking to a slow child.
"So if I had one you would look at me with something other than contempt? Would you allow yourself to come to me some time when you're not under an enchantment?"
"We don't need to talk about this." He felt her stretch and shift against him. "Can't we just enjoy today? Not pull it apart and examine it? I'd like to relax for once without having to worry about consequences."
Spike suddenly felt as if he were holding air, and the odd thought struck him that if they looked in the mirror right now there would be nothing there at all. 'So this is where we leave it,' he thought, 'I can't see her and she refuses to see me.'
"All right," he answered. "Whatever you want, Buffy." He reached a hand down and began to tickle her ghostly flesh. "We'll keep it light."
**********
Dawn entered the dark kitchen as quietly as she could, opening and closing the door carefully. Thank god Slayers only had super strength, not super hearing. She really wanted to get upstairs before Buffy knew she was home. She began to tiptoe across the floor, hefting her school bag on one shoulder and a shopping bag in the other hand.
Dawn now had a system. Janice had advised her on it. The trick to getting really nice stuff was to buy at least one little thing at the store you were targeting. A salesperson was much less likely to suspect you if you took the time to purchase a necklace or belt. They never dreamed a second blouse was under the shirt you were wearing, if you were clever, if you were relaxed and chatty.
She felt like a secret agent on a mission when she went 'shopping' with Janice. Dawn had graduated from cheap jewelry and trinkets and was now outfitting herself in a new wardrobe. It was important not to introduce too many new clothes at once so Buffy wouldn't notice and question her. Most days Dawn wore one top and packed another to change into at school. Life was getting so complicated - but exciting.
Who needed to be a superhero or a mystical key when you could live fast and dangerous in the regular world. Dawn pictured herself as an antihero, living outside the law only not doing anything too evil. Kinda like Spike.
Although the light was on in the living room, the house was silent and it appeared Buffy wasn't home. Dawn relaxed ... then the refrigerator door suddenly swung open and she shrieked and jumped back, tripping over her own feet.
"You're home kinda late," Buffy's voice said and Dawn watched in amazement as the milk jug floated out of the fridge. "Want some supper? We have flying pizza." A pizza box lifted off the counter and also began moving through the air.
"Buffy? Wha...what's going on? What happened to you? I can't see you!"
"Yeah, funny about that. One moment I was there and the next ... poof. Willow, Xander and Anya are working on it." The milk settled on the counter and the pizza box lid flew open. A slice of ham 'n' pineapple levitated from it.
Dawn took a step forward, her voice rising in panic. "What about you? Shouldn't you be researching too? Why are you being all jokey about this? It's not funny!"
"Sorry. You're right. It's very serious. But look at the cool things I can do with the food." A pair of apples lifted from the fruit bowl and began flying through the air as Buffy juggled them.
"Stop it!" Dawn screeched. "You're freaking me out."
Buffy dropped the apples on the floor and they went rolling away. "Okay!" she said, laughing. "Sorry. I'm just a little giddy."
The phone rang.
After Xander explained that she might melt into puddinglike goo if she didn't get fixed fast, Buffy sobered right up. He told her that Willow was searching for the owners of the black van and would check in soon. Buffy had no sooner hung up than the phone rang again.
"Slayer, we have your friend. If you want to see her again...." Buffy's heart sank at the words. She listened to the kidnappers' instructions and agreed to meet at the arcade, hoping to exchange herself for Willow.
The rest of the evening passed quickly. First her opponents were invisible then they were revealed as a trio of loser geeks with delusions of being Lex Luthor. Then they were gone. It wasn't often that Buffy was forced to fight humans and it made her very uncomfortable not knowing how hard she dare hit without killing them. Sitting on the sidewalk with Willow afterward, she still couldn't believe that she had let the little rats slip away. They just seemed so pathetic she didn't have the heart to pursue them.
"Thanks, Will. If it wasn't for you and your super sleuthing I could've been mousse before we figured out who was behind it. The diamond heist is explained and the invisibility gun is destroyed all in one night because of you. And we know where their lair is, though I don't imagine they'll be hanging out there now."
"The question is how are you going to deal with them, Buffy?" Willow had on concern face. "You can't just kill them, and I don't know if tipping off the police would do any good."
Buffy shook her head. "You're right. I'll scope out their hideout tomorrow. Maybe that'll give a clue on Warren's ultimate plan. He's the leader, don't you think?"
"Definitely. This doesn't have the mark of Jonathan on it, and as for that other guy, he didn't seem bright enough to spell 'heist' let alone plan one."
"Well, at least we know who we're dealing with now but doesn't it seem kind of ... lame? I mean to go from battling a hell god with all kinds of super powers to having a spat with some weak human nerds?"
"Speaking as a reformed nerd," Willow said with slightly forced jollity. "I resent that. However ... yes."
************
As Buffy walked home, she looked down at her feet moving rhythmically over the pavement. She patted her little round belly as she had that morning, 'Hi, baby! How you doing?' She examined her manicure and found that it was still intact. She pinched her arm for the marvel of watching it turn white then pink. And then she saw another mark farther up her arm, a thumb shaped bruise delicately shaded purple. She stroked her hand over it and thought about how it had gotten there.
Sex with Spike was nothing like it had been with Riley ... or that jerk Parker ... or her one special night with Angel. It was hard and wild and kind of violent ... just the way she secretly liked it. And then it had been fun and teasing and silly, which she found she liked, too. But there was also the long and slow and deep, which had totally blown her away with its intensity.
Then stupid Spike, always with the talking, talking, talking mouth had to go and ask her 'What are you thinking?'
How could she answer that? How dare she put into words the knowledge that had begun to stir deep inside her? How could she say, "What I'm thinking is, if you weren't the evil creature that you are I could be falling in love with you."
To be continued....