Here we go again.. Unfortunately, I still don't own these characters, I
only own the messed up things they all do in this fic. Side note- FINALLY
saw the last ep of Buffy two days ago. Does anyone else think that it was
the most hell-it funny episode since early season 4 (Something Blue)?????
Shrug, I just thought it was hilarious at times is all. All hail King
Joss. And I guess I'd better send a shout out to King Tolkien while I'm at
it..
Right then, on with the show, as always, looking forward to your reviews.
~Anoron.
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CHAPTER FIVE- BLOOD TIES
She moved down into the kitchen, where the three women were gathered with Xander and Spike. The mortals were having breakfast. Dawn forced a smile on her face, but the smile failed to reach her eyes.
"Morning, everyone," she called as she walked into the room.
Everyone looked up and greeted her with too much enthusiasm. "Morning Dawny!" Willow, Xander and Buffy all chimed in simultaneously.
"G-good morning," Tara stammered half a second later.
She sat on a stool, ignoring the lameness of their greeting. She purposely did not look at Spike. "So what's going on today?" she asked.
Buffy looked a little surprised at Dawn's forthrightness. Before, Dawn had always sat back and waited for someone else to ask questions and make plans. Dawn had always just been told what to do, and she had done it. Well, mostly she had just done it. She was a teenager, after all. Buffy smiled to cover up her startled reaction. "Well, we were all going to take the day off, spend some time with you. We thought after breakfast we'd take you to the Magic Box to see Giles. Would you like that? Does that sound good?"
The Princess and the warrior in Dawn was furious with the patronising tone her sister took with her, but she forced herself to remain calm and calculating. She had to keep her head to win this battle. She shook her head.
"No. You guys have responsibilities to keep. I'd never forgive myself if anyone got fired, or missed something important on my behalf. And Giles will be busy with the shop all day. We can go tonight, after you've all finished work."
"Dawny I'm not leaving you here alone!" Buffy replied immediately.
Dawn smiled again. She wondered if anyone could actually see how empty her smiles were. How dead she knew her green eyes had become. "Won't be alone, Buffy," she said, indicating Spike without looking at him. "Spike will be here, in case I need anyone. Which I won't. I'm kinda just looking forward to a quiet day, after everything that's gone on."
Spike thought he caught a distinctly bitter tone creeping into her voice as she spoke her next words. "Besides, we have all the time in the world now."
Buffy studied her a minute. "Ok, if you're sure. We'll go to Giles tonight."
Within five minutes, the house had virtually emptied, leaving Dawn alone with Spike. She cringed inwardly. That part of the plan hadn't been thought through too well, she admonished herself. She didn't think she could handle having someone so like her husband so close to her, and with no escape. She hoped he'd head back downstairs to the basement soon and leave her alone.
She started clearing up the others' breakfast things, trying to act as normal as possible. She moved around the kitchen, deliberately avoiding looking at Spike, and refusing to meet his eyes whenever her own eyes happened to fall on him.
Spike watched her, sensing her disquiet, and debated whether or not to speak. Finally, he said in a low voice, "I'm sorry I didn't save you."
The bowl Dawn had been holding clattered to the bench. An image of Legolas flashed before her mind, and she whispered the words, "Save me."
To Spike it was an echo of his own words, but to Dawn, it was a desperate plea, one she knew would never be answered. Spike stared as Dawn clutched at a strange silver ring on her finger, one he had never seen before. It was beautiful and intricately engraved, and appeared to be a symbol of some description. He wondered why nobody had noticed it last night.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Nothing," Dawn replied, a little too quickly. But her face blanched as she said it, and her eyes filled with pain at her own lie. She felt like she had just betrayed Legolas. The ring was everything to her, it was all she had left of Middle-Earth, of him. She bit her lip and composed her face into an expressionless mask, but it was too late. Spike had already seen.
"Don't lie to me," Spike said softly.
She looked at the band. Her voice was flat. "It's my wedding ring."
Spike almost laughed. "Pfft- you aren't married, Nibblet," he scoffed at her.
Dawn looked up and glared into his eyes with contempt. As he met her gaze, her eyes told him how clueless he was. An insignificant, stupid vampire who had no idea what was going on in front of his very eyes, even. Dawn exuded the air of a Princess with such force that Spike almost took a step back.
Spike was silent for a minute, contemplating the look Dawn had given him. He was beginning to sense that something was seriously amiss in the Scooby Gang's logic in their plan to resurrect Dawn. Finally, he demanded, "Where were you, Dawn?"
Dawn took a deep breath and began to speak. There was something about Spike that made her want to confide in him. Probably that he was her best friend in this world, before she'd died, and that he was so like Legolas. And she'd already gathered from the snatches of conversation she'd bothered listening to last night that he was not pro-resurrection. Her voice was flat and emotionless. "I was in Middle-Earth. Mirkwood, to be exact. I'm immortal- key power- and I spent the last century married to an Elf Prince... Legolas," she whispered the name.
"You love him?" Spike asked, although from the way she clasped at her wedding ring, he already knew the answer.
Dawn met his eyes squarely. "With all my heart. After I jumped from the tower, I went through the portal, was sent to Middle-Earth by the PTB to keep 'fighting the good fight', as we do, and I joined the Fellowship, which Legolas was a part of. Long story short, we went to war against evil, we fought and we won. Then we got married in front of all our friends and I was an unbelievably happy Princess every day after that."
"Princess, huh?" Spike tried to keep his voice even, but his heart was breaking. Since the day he'd sworn to protect her, and even before, since she'd been 'the Key', Dawn had been his Little Bit. Her safety meant everything, and somewhere along the way, that had grown to include her happiness. He hated himself for his weakness, agreeing to the plan to resurrect Dawn because he couldn't let go of his guilt at failing to protect her.
He opened his mouth to apologise, but changed his mind. He knew as well as she did that being sorry now would do them no good. There was never any point to apoligies between the two of them, it was always something better left unsaid. He stared at her, unsure of what to do.
Dawn touched his hand lightly. "Promise me something Spike? Swear to me, right now, that you won't tell the others what I just said to you."
Spike looked apprehensive for a minute, and Dawn was worried, though no emotion showed. If he refused, and told the others what they'd done, they'd cling to her in their guilt. And as much as Dawn sadistically enjoyed the idea of them tormenting themselves so, she knew she'd never be able to find her way home with them hovering over her every second. And every second away from Legolas counted.
"It would kill them to know. Buffy would never forgive herself," she said softly, knowing it was emotional blackmail of Spike's love for her sister, but not really caring. She was still at war, here.
Spike wrestled with the decision a minute while Dawn watched with an unfaltering gaze. Finally, the vampire gave her a lopsided grin. "Your wish is my command, my Princess."
Dawn smirked. "I'll hold you to that, y'know," she said dryly. Spike knew she wasn't kidding, but he didn't mind. He hadn't entirely been joking himself: he would do anything for Dawn, now that he knew what she was going through, and he wasn't too upset with the idea of not having to hurt Buffy with his knowledge, either.
"You look so much like him," Dawn whispered out of the blue, startling them both.
Spike looked at her and frowned. She refused to meet his eyes, staring steadfastly at the far wall until he averted his gaze. Then his nose wrinkled in confusion. Was that blood he was smelling?
Dawn curtly walked out of the room when she realised what was happening with Spike's vampire senses. He was about to discover her miscarriage, just another thing she couldn't seem to keep hidden from him.
Sensing there was something else very wrong with Dawn, Spike followed her even pace up the stairs and into her room. Without even thinking about it, she moved over and drew the curtains closed so Spike could enter. His nose, always susceptible to the rich scent of blood, led him straight to the bed.
Meeting the vampire's eyes squarely, Dawn reached over and with one sharp pull, relieved the bed of its covers.
Spike stared down at the pool of blood soaked deep into the sheets. A look of complete horror crept over his face. "What is this, Bit?" his raspy voice whispered.
Dawn stared down at the crimson stains blankly. "Was my baby... Legolas'... our baby. Not anymore though. They took that away, they killed it." Hatred and anger coloured her tones, though none of her vehemence registered in her face, which was once so bright and expressive it used to make Spike want to laugh with just a look.
Dawn drifted over to curl up in a chair by the window, staring at nothing, lost in her thoughts. It had been so easy to let Spike in, so natural. Or was she just too weak to resist? Was she too terrified to be alone? More importantly, could she let him in on her plan? Would he help her? She wasn't quite game enough to take that last chance on him yet.
"Well then, guess you'll need a hand with clearing this lot up, huh Princess?" Spike finally said, moving to rip the sheets from the mattress.
"Tarien," she corrected absently.
"What now?"
"Tarien. That's my title in Mirkwood. The Elvish word for Princess is Tarien."
"All right- Tarien it is."
A few minutes later Spike had rid the bed of its soiled bedclothes and replaced them with fresh sheets found in Dawn's closet. There was a small bloodstain on the mattress, but there was nothing Spike could do about it, so he had covered it over as best he could. He gathered the bloodied linen in a bundle.
"I'll, uh, take care of this for you if you like."
"Hannon lle," came the soft response.
"Now I know what that's gotta mean. And you're welcome, Tarien. If there's anything I can do... Well, you know the rest, Bit."
Spike turned and left before she could respond. "Yeah, there is. I wanna go home," she told the empty room.
* * * * * . . . . PS- Thanks to all of you who have faith in me telling this story. I know it's disturbing, and it's only gonna get worse, but I'm glad you all seem to be willing to wait and see how it goes before you vomit all over it. ~Anoron.
CHAPTER FIVE- BLOOD TIES
She moved down into the kitchen, where the three women were gathered with Xander and Spike. The mortals were having breakfast. Dawn forced a smile on her face, but the smile failed to reach her eyes.
"Morning, everyone," she called as she walked into the room.
Everyone looked up and greeted her with too much enthusiasm. "Morning Dawny!" Willow, Xander and Buffy all chimed in simultaneously.
"G-good morning," Tara stammered half a second later.
She sat on a stool, ignoring the lameness of their greeting. She purposely did not look at Spike. "So what's going on today?" she asked.
Buffy looked a little surprised at Dawn's forthrightness. Before, Dawn had always sat back and waited for someone else to ask questions and make plans. Dawn had always just been told what to do, and she had done it. Well, mostly she had just done it. She was a teenager, after all. Buffy smiled to cover up her startled reaction. "Well, we were all going to take the day off, spend some time with you. We thought after breakfast we'd take you to the Magic Box to see Giles. Would you like that? Does that sound good?"
The Princess and the warrior in Dawn was furious with the patronising tone her sister took with her, but she forced herself to remain calm and calculating. She had to keep her head to win this battle. She shook her head.
"No. You guys have responsibilities to keep. I'd never forgive myself if anyone got fired, or missed something important on my behalf. And Giles will be busy with the shop all day. We can go tonight, after you've all finished work."
"Dawny I'm not leaving you here alone!" Buffy replied immediately.
Dawn smiled again. She wondered if anyone could actually see how empty her smiles were. How dead she knew her green eyes had become. "Won't be alone, Buffy," she said, indicating Spike without looking at him. "Spike will be here, in case I need anyone. Which I won't. I'm kinda just looking forward to a quiet day, after everything that's gone on."
Spike thought he caught a distinctly bitter tone creeping into her voice as she spoke her next words. "Besides, we have all the time in the world now."
Buffy studied her a minute. "Ok, if you're sure. We'll go to Giles tonight."
Within five minutes, the house had virtually emptied, leaving Dawn alone with Spike. She cringed inwardly. That part of the plan hadn't been thought through too well, she admonished herself. She didn't think she could handle having someone so like her husband so close to her, and with no escape. She hoped he'd head back downstairs to the basement soon and leave her alone.
She started clearing up the others' breakfast things, trying to act as normal as possible. She moved around the kitchen, deliberately avoiding looking at Spike, and refusing to meet his eyes whenever her own eyes happened to fall on him.
Spike watched her, sensing her disquiet, and debated whether or not to speak. Finally, he said in a low voice, "I'm sorry I didn't save you."
The bowl Dawn had been holding clattered to the bench. An image of Legolas flashed before her mind, and she whispered the words, "Save me."
To Spike it was an echo of his own words, but to Dawn, it was a desperate plea, one she knew would never be answered. Spike stared as Dawn clutched at a strange silver ring on her finger, one he had never seen before. It was beautiful and intricately engraved, and appeared to be a symbol of some description. He wondered why nobody had noticed it last night.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Nothing," Dawn replied, a little too quickly. But her face blanched as she said it, and her eyes filled with pain at her own lie. She felt like she had just betrayed Legolas. The ring was everything to her, it was all she had left of Middle-Earth, of him. She bit her lip and composed her face into an expressionless mask, but it was too late. Spike had already seen.
"Don't lie to me," Spike said softly.
She looked at the band. Her voice was flat. "It's my wedding ring."
Spike almost laughed. "Pfft- you aren't married, Nibblet," he scoffed at her.
Dawn looked up and glared into his eyes with contempt. As he met her gaze, her eyes told him how clueless he was. An insignificant, stupid vampire who had no idea what was going on in front of his very eyes, even. Dawn exuded the air of a Princess with such force that Spike almost took a step back.
Spike was silent for a minute, contemplating the look Dawn had given him. He was beginning to sense that something was seriously amiss in the Scooby Gang's logic in their plan to resurrect Dawn. Finally, he demanded, "Where were you, Dawn?"
Dawn took a deep breath and began to speak. There was something about Spike that made her want to confide in him. Probably that he was her best friend in this world, before she'd died, and that he was so like Legolas. And she'd already gathered from the snatches of conversation she'd bothered listening to last night that he was not pro-resurrection. Her voice was flat and emotionless. "I was in Middle-Earth. Mirkwood, to be exact. I'm immortal- key power- and I spent the last century married to an Elf Prince... Legolas," she whispered the name.
"You love him?" Spike asked, although from the way she clasped at her wedding ring, he already knew the answer.
Dawn met his eyes squarely. "With all my heart. After I jumped from the tower, I went through the portal, was sent to Middle-Earth by the PTB to keep 'fighting the good fight', as we do, and I joined the Fellowship, which Legolas was a part of. Long story short, we went to war against evil, we fought and we won. Then we got married in front of all our friends and I was an unbelievably happy Princess every day after that."
"Princess, huh?" Spike tried to keep his voice even, but his heart was breaking. Since the day he'd sworn to protect her, and even before, since she'd been 'the Key', Dawn had been his Little Bit. Her safety meant everything, and somewhere along the way, that had grown to include her happiness. He hated himself for his weakness, agreeing to the plan to resurrect Dawn because he couldn't let go of his guilt at failing to protect her.
He opened his mouth to apologise, but changed his mind. He knew as well as she did that being sorry now would do them no good. There was never any point to apoligies between the two of them, it was always something better left unsaid. He stared at her, unsure of what to do.
Dawn touched his hand lightly. "Promise me something Spike? Swear to me, right now, that you won't tell the others what I just said to you."
Spike looked apprehensive for a minute, and Dawn was worried, though no emotion showed. If he refused, and told the others what they'd done, they'd cling to her in their guilt. And as much as Dawn sadistically enjoyed the idea of them tormenting themselves so, she knew she'd never be able to find her way home with them hovering over her every second. And every second away from Legolas counted.
"It would kill them to know. Buffy would never forgive herself," she said softly, knowing it was emotional blackmail of Spike's love for her sister, but not really caring. She was still at war, here.
Spike wrestled with the decision a minute while Dawn watched with an unfaltering gaze. Finally, the vampire gave her a lopsided grin. "Your wish is my command, my Princess."
Dawn smirked. "I'll hold you to that, y'know," she said dryly. Spike knew she wasn't kidding, but he didn't mind. He hadn't entirely been joking himself: he would do anything for Dawn, now that he knew what she was going through, and he wasn't too upset with the idea of not having to hurt Buffy with his knowledge, either.
"You look so much like him," Dawn whispered out of the blue, startling them both.
Spike looked at her and frowned. She refused to meet his eyes, staring steadfastly at the far wall until he averted his gaze. Then his nose wrinkled in confusion. Was that blood he was smelling?
Dawn curtly walked out of the room when she realised what was happening with Spike's vampire senses. He was about to discover her miscarriage, just another thing she couldn't seem to keep hidden from him.
Sensing there was something else very wrong with Dawn, Spike followed her even pace up the stairs and into her room. Without even thinking about it, she moved over and drew the curtains closed so Spike could enter. His nose, always susceptible to the rich scent of blood, led him straight to the bed.
Meeting the vampire's eyes squarely, Dawn reached over and with one sharp pull, relieved the bed of its covers.
Spike stared down at the pool of blood soaked deep into the sheets. A look of complete horror crept over his face. "What is this, Bit?" his raspy voice whispered.
Dawn stared down at the crimson stains blankly. "Was my baby... Legolas'... our baby. Not anymore though. They took that away, they killed it." Hatred and anger coloured her tones, though none of her vehemence registered in her face, which was once so bright and expressive it used to make Spike want to laugh with just a look.
Dawn drifted over to curl up in a chair by the window, staring at nothing, lost in her thoughts. It had been so easy to let Spike in, so natural. Or was she just too weak to resist? Was she too terrified to be alone? More importantly, could she let him in on her plan? Would he help her? She wasn't quite game enough to take that last chance on him yet.
"Well then, guess you'll need a hand with clearing this lot up, huh Princess?" Spike finally said, moving to rip the sheets from the mattress.
"Tarien," she corrected absently.
"What now?"
"Tarien. That's my title in Mirkwood. The Elvish word for Princess is Tarien."
"All right- Tarien it is."
A few minutes later Spike had rid the bed of its soiled bedclothes and replaced them with fresh sheets found in Dawn's closet. There was a small bloodstain on the mattress, but there was nothing Spike could do about it, so he had covered it over as best he could. He gathered the bloodied linen in a bundle.
"I'll, uh, take care of this for you if you like."
"Hannon lle," came the soft response.
"Now I know what that's gotta mean. And you're welcome, Tarien. If there's anything I can do... Well, you know the rest, Bit."
Spike turned and left before she could respond. "Yeah, there is. I wanna go home," she told the empty room.
* * * * * . . . . PS- Thanks to all of you who have faith in me telling this story. I know it's disturbing, and it's only gonna get worse, but I'm glad you all seem to be willing to wait and see how it goes before you vomit all over it. ~Anoron.