A/N: Ugg, I haven't updated in forever, huh? I'm so sorry, for those who've
been waiting. I've just been really busy, but expect more soon and don't
give up on my story just yet!!
Chapter 3
"So, exactly why were you in that alley, anyway?" Buffy inquired Trina, munching on a banana muffin. The two slayers sat in the cafeteria, where other lawyers and employees chatted happily amongst themselves, staying for a late dinner. Trina gulped down the last bit of her 7-Up, clearing her throat.
"I was...running away from home," she admitted softly, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. Buffy frowned at the response, feeling her student counseling experience rise up.
"But why? Is there something wrong at your home?" Trina shook her head.
"It's just me, I guess. A couple of months ago, I started freaking out. I was moodier, stronger, and I was having these trippy dreams about demons and stuff. I went to the counselor at my school, and she said I was maturing like everyone other woman does."
"But you weren't," Buffy added in whisper. "It's when you got your slayers powers, wasn't it?" Months? It had only been that long? Months ago she had saved the world with her friends, months ago Sunnydale had collapsed. All her memories, of high school and her mother were buried in that crater.
"Yeah," Trina replied, nodding. "My parents knew that it wasn't puberty, though. They wanted me to stay home...to see a therapist. I was in a lot of fights...they didn't like it."
"So you ran away," Buffy finished, wiping the crumbs from her muffin off the table and into her napkin. "Luckily Spike found you."
"Spike," echoed Trina. "What's his deal?" At Buffy's flush, she added, "You two were an item?"
"If it were only that simple," the blonde slayer responded exasperatedly. "Just to clear it up, though, he's a vampire. And so is Angel." Trina tilted her head.
"Don't we kill them though?"
"Not those two, at least. As impossible as they are, the guys are okay." Most of the time anyway, she thought to herself wryly. Both looked up in unison as Spike approached the table, his face slightly flustered. The woman waited for the vampire to speak, and he cleared his throat clumsily.
"Can, I uhh, speak with you?" Spike inquired Buffy uneasily, with a pointed glance at Trina, "Alone." Before the slayer could open her mouth to respond, Trina stood up.
"Hey, I totally get it. I'll just...walk around or something." The firm was an interesting place to begin with; she most certainly wouldn't be bored.
"You shouldn't, though," Buffy protested, "It's really not safe for you at the moment, and I don't want to let you wander."
"Sure, pet, scare the girl stiff," Spike commented, shaking his head. "She'll be fine. Now, can I please talk with you?" Grudgingly, Buffy agreed.
"Alright. But if you need anything, just come find me." Trina nodded absently and was immediately heading for the exit, and Spike turned back to Buffy with an incredulous look.
"Honestly, you're not the girl's mother. If she's going to be a slayer, she needs to learn how to fend for herself." The bleach-blonde sat in the vacant chair beside her, heaving an awkward sigh. "Where to begin..." he pondered to himself distantly, his wandering gray eyes locking with her turbulent green irises. Buffy regarded him wordlessly for a moment, ignoring the horrifying memory that exploded into her mind. And she watched, helpless, as the man who loved her was slowly engulfed into flame...
"You're alive," she murmured, as if it was a sudden realization.
"Yeah, I am," Spike stated matter-of-factly. "You don't look too bad either."
"But how?" she asked desperately, shaking her head. "I saw you die." She averted those emerald green eyes elsewhere, refusing to looks at him.
"Not entirely sure how," he admitted, and Buffy detected a hint of sadness as he continued, "That amulet entrapped my soul...and it somehow ended up here. For the longest time I wasn't even real, just this nothing that drifted in between life...and hell." The slayer's eyes widened.
"Hell?" she echoed forlornly, now turning to study him.
"It literally was hell. Everything...everyone I had ever killed haunted me there, trying to pull me down to their fire and brimstone nightclub. Of course it isn't fire and brimstone, that's really over exaggerated." At her troubled expression, he grinned. "Come now love, don't beat yourself over it."
"How long has it been?" she asked, cradling her chin in one hand.
"About six months now," Spike replied thoughtfully, "Well, to go on with my miraculous recovery, one day I got this package. I opened it, and I was human again. Well, as human as a vampire can possibly be."
"Just like that?" Buffy tilted her head, her eyebrows knitted with doubt.
"Basically, yes," he said, leaning back into his chair. He studied her intently for a reaction, his booted foot propped up against the table.
"W-we...we should go....see if Wesley has found anything," she started weakly, rising to her feet. Spike paused a moment before he too had risen, laughing slightly to himself.
"You know, Buff, I really did miss you. Nothing has been the same since-"he paused and looked up, seeing that the slayer was no longer there. Heaving a sigh, the vampire stood up and trudged out of the cafeteria.
Chapter 3
"So, exactly why were you in that alley, anyway?" Buffy inquired Trina, munching on a banana muffin. The two slayers sat in the cafeteria, where other lawyers and employees chatted happily amongst themselves, staying for a late dinner. Trina gulped down the last bit of her 7-Up, clearing her throat.
"I was...running away from home," she admitted softly, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. Buffy frowned at the response, feeling her student counseling experience rise up.
"But why? Is there something wrong at your home?" Trina shook her head.
"It's just me, I guess. A couple of months ago, I started freaking out. I was moodier, stronger, and I was having these trippy dreams about demons and stuff. I went to the counselor at my school, and she said I was maturing like everyone other woman does."
"But you weren't," Buffy added in whisper. "It's when you got your slayers powers, wasn't it?" Months? It had only been that long? Months ago she had saved the world with her friends, months ago Sunnydale had collapsed. All her memories, of high school and her mother were buried in that crater.
"Yeah," Trina replied, nodding. "My parents knew that it wasn't puberty, though. They wanted me to stay home...to see a therapist. I was in a lot of fights...they didn't like it."
"So you ran away," Buffy finished, wiping the crumbs from her muffin off the table and into her napkin. "Luckily Spike found you."
"Spike," echoed Trina. "What's his deal?" At Buffy's flush, she added, "You two were an item?"
"If it were only that simple," the blonde slayer responded exasperatedly. "Just to clear it up, though, he's a vampire. And so is Angel." Trina tilted her head.
"Don't we kill them though?"
"Not those two, at least. As impossible as they are, the guys are okay." Most of the time anyway, she thought to herself wryly. Both looked up in unison as Spike approached the table, his face slightly flustered. The woman waited for the vampire to speak, and he cleared his throat clumsily.
"Can, I uhh, speak with you?" Spike inquired Buffy uneasily, with a pointed glance at Trina, "Alone." Before the slayer could open her mouth to respond, Trina stood up.
"Hey, I totally get it. I'll just...walk around or something." The firm was an interesting place to begin with; she most certainly wouldn't be bored.
"You shouldn't, though," Buffy protested, "It's really not safe for you at the moment, and I don't want to let you wander."
"Sure, pet, scare the girl stiff," Spike commented, shaking his head. "She'll be fine. Now, can I please talk with you?" Grudgingly, Buffy agreed.
"Alright. But if you need anything, just come find me." Trina nodded absently and was immediately heading for the exit, and Spike turned back to Buffy with an incredulous look.
"Honestly, you're not the girl's mother. If she's going to be a slayer, she needs to learn how to fend for herself." The bleach-blonde sat in the vacant chair beside her, heaving an awkward sigh. "Where to begin..." he pondered to himself distantly, his wandering gray eyes locking with her turbulent green irises. Buffy regarded him wordlessly for a moment, ignoring the horrifying memory that exploded into her mind. And she watched, helpless, as the man who loved her was slowly engulfed into flame...
"You're alive," she murmured, as if it was a sudden realization.
"Yeah, I am," Spike stated matter-of-factly. "You don't look too bad either."
"But how?" she asked desperately, shaking her head. "I saw you die." She averted those emerald green eyes elsewhere, refusing to looks at him.
"Not entirely sure how," he admitted, and Buffy detected a hint of sadness as he continued, "That amulet entrapped my soul...and it somehow ended up here. For the longest time I wasn't even real, just this nothing that drifted in between life...and hell." The slayer's eyes widened.
"Hell?" she echoed forlornly, now turning to study him.
"It literally was hell. Everything...everyone I had ever killed haunted me there, trying to pull me down to their fire and brimstone nightclub. Of course it isn't fire and brimstone, that's really over exaggerated." At her troubled expression, he grinned. "Come now love, don't beat yourself over it."
"How long has it been?" she asked, cradling her chin in one hand.
"About six months now," Spike replied thoughtfully, "Well, to go on with my miraculous recovery, one day I got this package. I opened it, and I was human again. Well, as human as a vampire can possibly be."
"Just like that?" Buffy tilted her head, her eyebrows knitted with doubt.
"Basically, yes," he said, leaning back into his chair. He studied her intently for a reaction, his booted foot propped up against the table.
"W-we...we should go....see if Wesley has found anything," she started weakly, rising to her feet. Spike paused a moment before he too had risen, laughing slightly to himself.
"You know, Buff, I really did miss you. Nothing has been the same since-"he paused and looked up, seeing that the slayer was no longer there. Heaving a sigh, the vampire stood up and trudged out of the cafeteria.