A/N: Wow, I didn't know that people can throw tomatoes such long distances *dodges another tomato* okay, okay, I get the hint…things will be better soon…I promise!

Chapter 23: Questions and Answers

Buffy stared dully at the pristine white bandage that swathed her entire hand.  The doctor had raised his eyebrows about suturing a cut in the shape of a heart, but said nothing.  This was probably nothing new to him, or maybe he had already seen everything there was to see, and a heart shaped cut didn't rate high on his list of abnormal.  Whatever the case, Buffy was grateful for the lack of interrogation.  She didn't think that she could handle another one.

The police had come and gone, and, despite Buffy's protests, Willow had called Joyce.  Now her mom was waiting for her turn to question her daughter, and Buffy wasn't sure she was up for it.  Bad enough to have to tell the police that she had been attacked yet saw nothing, now her mom was probably going to want to know why the hell she left in the first place.  Yeah, mom, I thought it would be a good idea to go on a drive with my insane ex-boyfriend.  Oh yeah, by the way, saw Spike or William,  whatever the hell is name is, kissing on some chick, broke my heart, again, nothing big though, who needs a heart anyway?

"Christ almighty, I need to move," Buffy said under her breath.  She stood up and walked around the little room.  A nurse was supposed to give her some painkillers and discharge her but had yet to show, so Buffy prowled around, looking for a magazine to ease the boredom and take her mind off Spike.

It wasn't working.

Buffy berated herself over the entire incident.  How stupid could she be?  Not only was she completely clueless about Spike, but her psycho ex-boyfriend had to be the one to open her eyes.  Damn humiliating.  How could she not recognize William Giles?  His family was only the most prestigious family in town.  Her mother was working for his uncle…wait a minute; did Spike have something to do with that?  No, Joyce was more than qualified for her position, and Rupert Giles interviewed her and everything.  Still, if she ever decided to talk to Spike again, that would be the first question she would ask.  Well, maybe after WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING YOU BIG, BIG DUMBASS! 

"I hate men," she muttered. 

Buffy turned to sit down on the bed again when the door opened and a pretty, young, nurse walked in.  Her brown hair was pulled into a small bun at the nape of her neck, and her brown eyes were soft and kind.  "Hi there, my name is Katherine.  Dr. Mitchell asked me to discharge you and give you some painkillers."  Katherine efficiently pulled a small package from the pocket of her coat and gave it to Buffy.  "Take one of these for the pain; I've given you enough for a week or so.  Make sure to take it with food or you're going to experience some Olympic retching." 

Buffy grimaced at the thought.  "Sounds like a blast.  Can I leave now?"

Katherine nodded and laughed.  "Yes, you can go now.  Be sure to check for infection and change your bandage periodically.  I can't think of anything else, so just call if you have questions about anything."

Buffy nodded her head.  "Yep, sure, gotcha.  Responsible girl, that's me." 

Katherine left and Buffy gathered her things.  She heard the door open and close again and wondered if Katherine forgot to tell her something.  "Did you forget something…" Buffy trailed off as she turned and saw Spike standing in the doorway.   "I have nothing to say to you.  Leave me alone.  Bastard."

Spike nodded his head and put his hand up in a sign of surrender.  "Right about that, luv.  I behaved like a right bastard.  I shouldn't have lied to you about who I was…"

Buffy interrupted him, absolutely livid.  "You're damn right you shouldn't have lied to me.  You should have been honest from the start.  Bad enough to hear about it from Liam fucking Angelus of all people, but then I catch you playing tonsil hockey with some girl in your office…"

Spike interrupted her.  "Drusilla," he said.

Buffy stopped her rant and looked at him.  "Drusilla? The one that you told me about?" she asked. 

Spike nodded his head.  "The very same."

Buffy rolled her eyes and gave a harsh laugh.  "Fucking perfect.  That's just great.  Hells bells, I'm nothing but a stripper, right?  Just some plaything, something to get out of your system before you settle down with Miss. Perfect Drusilla.  Raise perfect fucking children and have a perfect fucking family.  Well, guess what Spike, fuck you and your lies.  I should have known better than to get involved.  Listen to your heart she said, take a chance she said… bullshit.  Taking a chance is tantamount to heartbreak.  I knew that, but I let myself be swayed by you.  Not anymore.  I want you out of my life, Spike.  Shouldn't be too hard, as you've just entered it.  Go back to your snotty friends and family, and I'll go back to just being a stripper."

Buffy attempted to push past him, but Spike wasn't about to let her go that easily.  When in doubt, always take the offensive.  He grabbed her arm and, before she could do anything, pinned her against the door of the room.  "Now listen here, pet, I admit that I was a stupid git.  I let Drusilla and Liam set me up perfectly to take a fall in front of you.  So what, big deal, she kissed me, whoop-de-fucking-do.  I screwed up and I know it, and I'm begging you for forgiveness.  Because, apparently, this thing between us means a lot more to me than it does to you.  I don't know what Liam told you, but I do know that I am not about to let you slip though my fingers, Elizabeth Anne Summers, no way, no how.  I love you.  Fuck me, I fell in love with you over the course of a bloody week.  How often can someone say that?  So don't think that you can pull this ice-queen routine and send me running, because I am if nothing else, persistent."

Buffy narrowed her eyes and shoved him back.  "Oh, so now you're gonna try and bully me?  Not happening, buster.  Don't think that for one minute you can fast-talk or bully you're way out of this one.  You fucked up royally, and now its time to pay."  Buffy felt tears sting her eyes, though she was getting damn tired of crying.  "You hurt me, Spike.  Hurt me like no one has before.  Do you even know what it felt like to have Liam and Drusilla give me their 'I'm so superior' smirk when I saw the two of you?  Do you?  No, you don't.  Well, it felt awful, like I was some poor fool who needed pity.  Poor little Buffy, she gets played by all her men."

A soft sob broke through and the sound tore at Spike's heart.  He wanted nothing more than to gather her in his arms and make it all go away.  Slowly, he stepped closer and closer to her until he could safely pull her into his arms, slightly fearing that she would maim him.  She went without a protest, crying in earnest.  "Shhh, baby, don't cry.  Ahh, hell, Buffy, I bollixed this up, for sure.  I'm sorry, Buffy, I'm so bloody sorry.  Please, luv, don't cry.  I don't know what to do when you cry."   Spike rubbed her back and crooned soft sounds in Buffy's ear until her tears subsided into soft hiccups. 

"Spike," she said her voice rough from tears.

"Yeah, luv," he replied. 

"Why did you lie to me?" she asked softly, lifting her head to meet his eyes.   

Spike met her gave and thought for a moment.  "I suppose I wanted you to know me as me, not as some arrogant, pompous attorney."

Buffy gave a little laugh.  "But you are an arrogant, pompous attorney."

Spike smiled.  "Not when I'm around you, luv."

Buffy considered this for a minute, and then repeated her question.  "Then why lie?"

Spike shrugged.  "Dunno, luv.  It just popped out and I liked how it sounded.  I was just a regular guy, no annoying family, no stupid obligations to 'act like a Giles'.  I was just a guy who met an amazing woman, and she seemed to like the guy I pretended to be.  So, I kept up the pretense.  I started to tell you half a dozen times, but somehow, it just never came out.  I am truly sorry, luv."  His hand caressed her back and his hold tightened. 

Buffy nodded and snuggled deeper into his embrace.  "What happens now?"

She felt Spike shrug his shoulders.  "I don't know, luv.  Can you forgive me?"

Buffy considered his question and leaned back to look deep into those sapphire eyes that she loved so much.  "Yeah, Spike, I forgive you, but for future reference, your lips belong to me."

Spike laughed and felt a weight lift from his chest.  "Gotcha, pet, my lips are yours.  Any other part you want as well?"

Buffy met his eyes, and pointedly looked down, then back up and smiled.  "Hmm, hafta think about that."

Spike smirked.  "Well, just let me know." And he gathered her up for another hug. 

They stood like that for a moment, breathing in sync and just enjoying the comfort of being held. 

Buffy felt warm lips press against her neck, her ear, her jaw, cheek and finally, Spike claimed her mouth with his.  It was a shy kiss, one reserved for first dates and inexperienced lovers, not the sort of kiss that Buffy and Spike had often shared.  It seemed appropriate as the two torn lovers became whole once again. 

When the kiss ended, Buffy sighed and pulled out of Spike's arms.  "Now, it's time to go in front of the firing squad."

Spike looked her with a perplexed expression.  "Firing squad?  Something you want to tell me?"

Buffy let out another sigh.  "My mom, Willow and probably my brother.  Then, after them, Liam.  He knows something, Spike, he told me.  It was one of the reasons I agreed to go with him."

Spike nodded.  "Yeah, he said something to me too, something about you having a fan club and how they found the 'right one'."

Buffy gathered her stuff once again.  "Who found the right one?"

They stepped out into the corridor.  "Huh?" Spike asked.

Buffy stopped.  "You said they found the right one.  Who are they?" 

Spike ducked his head and avoided her eyes.  Buffy immediately went into attack mode.  "You know who sent this guy after us, don't you?  Tell my why Spike, or I swear to god I will take a scalpel to a sensitive area."

Spike looked up at her in amazement.  "You know, at first I thought you were this shy, sweet and innocent girl.  Now, my opinion of you is rapidly changing."

Buffy just arched an eyebrow.  "Answer the question."

Spike saw her resolve face come to the forefront and knew there was no way out of this conversation.  "A bloke I defended awhile ago, he has major connections to the mob.  Like his dad is the high man on the totem poll.  So, this flaming git has already gotten off on some prior charges, and this time, no matter what, he's going down.  I wouldn't play dirty to get him off, and I resigned as his council.  He new lawyer came into the picture, and suddenly the only witness against him decided not to testify.  He's off and out, and I didn't really think of him until Angel, I mean Liam, brought him up."

Buffy looked at him incredulously.  "So you're telling me that there is some crazed lunatic chasing us because you did a morally decent thing?

Spike cleared his throat.  "Actually, luv, turns out they set him on you.  It was supposed to be a warning to me, and convince me to return to the family's way of thinking.  Yeah, what can I say, my family is bleedin' insane.  Anyway, somewhere along the way, they lost control of this guy and now he's a loose cannon with a major Calypso fixation."

Buffy took this in and processed it.  "Okay, this is probably not the best news in the world.  What the hell do we do now?"

Spike felt infinitely grateful that she automatically included him.  "We go to the police, tell them what Liam told us.  Then, you lay low until they catch him."

Buffy rolled her eyes.  "Yeah, except for the fact that they police around here put the word incompetence to shame."

Spike gave her a light shove and they began walking again.  "Well, what do you want to do?"

Buffy shrugged.  "I don't know."

Spike raised an eyebrow.  "Yes, that sounds effective."

Buffy punched him in the shoulder.  She was about to let loose with a scathing comment or two, but Joyce appeared out of nowhere and enveloped Buffy in a hug.  "Oh, Buffy, I was so worried."

Buffy hugged her mother back tightly.  "I'm fine, mom.  I'm sorry I didn't tell you I was leaving."

Joyce gave one last squeeze and stepped away from her daughter.  "Honey, what's going on?  I asked Willow, but she told me to ask you."

Buffy scanned the little waiting room.  "Where is Willow?"

"She said to tell you that she was sorry for not waiting, but she had to leave for work," Joyce said.

Buffy felt a flash of panic shoot through her stomach.  "She left for work?"

Joyce nodded.  "Yeah, said that she couldn't afford to miss another day if she wanted to pay bills this month."

Buffy met Spike's eyes and he gave an almost imperceptible nod.  Joyce saw the communication between the two blonde's and pulled both of them to a stop.  "What is going on here?" she demanded

Buffy pulled her mother toward the door.  "Nothing, mom.  It's just, I don't think the club is all that safe, and I don't know if Willow should be working there right now, that's all."

"Why isn't the club safe?  What's happening?  Is there a gang war going on?" Joyce asked her daughter with a worried expression. 

Buffy rolled her eyes, where did her mom come up with this stuff?  "No, mom, not a gang war.  Don't worry about it, Spike and I are going to go get Willow.  We'll meet you at home, okay?"

Joyce nodded.  "Okay, but when you get home, we are having a major conversation about all this."

Joyce walked toward her car and Buffy and Spike walked toward his. 

"Your mom is taking all of this pretty well," Spike observed.

Buffy raised an eyebrow.  "Just wait until we get home."

They got in Spike's car and headed toward the Lounge.  When they arrived, police cars hampered their drive, and an ambulance was sitting in the parking lot.  Buffy looked at Spike and they both bailed from the car and ran to the club. 

Jake, the owner, was sitting on the front stoop smoking a cigarette.  His hands were shaking, and were coated with smears of dried blood. 

Buffy knelt down next to him.  "Jake," she said softly, "What happened here?"

Jake shook his head back and forth.  "Holy shit, Buffy, I don't know.  One minute, Willow's up onstage dancing, the next, someone starts shooting."

Buffy's blood turned to ice.  "What happened to Willow?  Who started shooting?"

Jake shrugged.  "I didn't see anyone, but Willow.  Holy Christ, Buffy, Willow was shot." 

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A/N: Until next time, my pretties.