Ch.4
Willow was very confused when she came to. One minute she had been talking to Buffy, and then a blow to the head. What had her best friend done? More importantly what was she going to do? Willow had no doubt that Buffy was dangerous in her current frame of mind. Dangerous to others, and herself. Willow's first priority would be to meet up with the gang, they had to do something to help Buffy. She gathered her things, and headed to the Magic Box. Together they would figure out something to fix her.
"I don't know Xander. I'm really be...be...gining to worry about her. Wi..Willow is never late." Tara felt that something wasn't right. Willow hadn't even called, which was not like her girlfriend. They were supposed to meet at the Magic Box to discuss some new demon that was plaguing the town, and Williow might be a lot of things, but irresponsible was not usually one of them.
"Don't worry Tara she is only twenty minutes late. I'm sure she'll be here any minute." Xander replied, as the bell over the door rang, and Willow stepped into the store, looking a little worse for wear.
Tara rushed to her side, her profound relief evident. "Honey I was so worried! Where have you been?" Tara reached up to run her fingers through her lover's hair. Pulling her hand away, she took note of the moisture on her fingertips, crimson in color. A bit frantically, Tara stuttered, "Willow you're bl....ble...bleeding."
All eyes turned to them. Giles decided now was time for concern. "What happened Willow?"
Willow sat down at the table, and began, "It was Buffy. She hit me with her ballerina statue." The room was hushed. There was confusion evident, but with the way things had been going, this was to be expected. "Guys we have to help her! She's losing it. If we don't do something..."
Giles stepped in, "I'm not sure if there is anything that we can do for her. "
Willow bounced up from her seat. Her voice was full of excitement. "Oh! Maybe there's a spell!" No one looked happy with her suggestion.
Anya looked at the witch with disgust. "Spells are what got us in this mess in the first place. You can't go all hocus pocus every time things don't go your way. That's your problem Willow! You have no respect for magic!" With her piece of mind given, Anya returned to her position behind the register. Everyone was at a loss for words.
In Spike's crypt, Buffy slowly surfaced to consciousness, her memory hazy. "What the hell happened!" She looked around the room. What had thrown her? She remembered pounding on Spike, nothing new there, and her sister crying for her to stop. Then something touched her, followed by...heat? And green? Green what? "Maybe that guy with the green eyes showed up at the crypt. Yeah, I bet that's who threw me. He didn't want me to hurt Spike. Bastard. Yeah, I bet that was who it was.", she muttered bitterly to herself, "Because it sure wasn't the Incredible Hulk."
Looking around.Buffy surmised that Dawn and Spike were gone, since she found herself alone in the crypt. Well, they couldn't have gone too far.
Heading to the door, She wandered out into the night. She was so tired... She just wanted the voices to stop..... She just wanted to rest..... She could find Spike tomorrow...and she would kill him.
The voices were getting louder again..... Buffy grabbed fists full of her hair, and started pulling.....The pain was so excruciating. The voices were too loud......."Stop! Stop! Stop!" She screamed like a mad woman. A hush fell over her. A voice so beautiful and so familiar began to sing to her. Buffy was swaying side to side. She was in a beautiful meadow full of wildflowers.
"Mommy is that you?" Joyce was standing in front of her daughter a loving expression in place. "Yes, honey it's me." Buffy picked herself up to run into her mother's loving arms. "Honey, you won't be able to touch me. I'm only here in spirit Buffy." Buffy was shaking her head frantically, "No...I need you Mommy. Make it better Mommy. I want to be back there with you." Buffy was sobbing, she wanted her mommy, needed her. "Fix it Mommy, fix it. I know you can fix it."
"Now Buffy, this is something that only you can fix. It was their love for you that brought you back. Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, Giles, Dawn, and Spike they all missed you so much. That is why you are here. They are why you can't come back." Joyce finished her stern explanation as she watched Buffy crumple back to her knees, tears streaming down her face. More lucid now, Buffy turned to her celestial mother for guidance, "But Mom, what do I do? I can kill Spike, that's easy. But, I can't kill all of them....I can't kill....I can't kill Dawn."
Lightening flashed in the sky, the earth turned dark. Buffy was back in the dark, dirty street standing in front of Angel. She looked around for her mother in confusion. "Angel, what are you doing here? Where did my mother go?"
A sinister grin graced the vampire's features as he spoke, "Well, Joyce decided you needed a little convincing. Killing all of them is the only way, Buffy. Starting with Spike! I know my girl can do it. Can'tcha baby?"
Buffy looked up at Angel with a smile on her face. Resolution shining fiercely in her eyes, as she watched Angel fade from view.
"Sure Angel, I can kill them, but first, I think I need a little back up." Buffy announced with a maniacal grin, and ran off into the night.
Spike was fighting with all of his might to stay conscious as Dawn spun out of the brush, and onto the street, fighting the steering wheel for control. He couldn't let her do this on her own, she shouldn't have to. The stupid insensitive git that he was had already put her through so much. He was just too blind to see it before. Why she was still by his side, he would never understand, but he was so thankful that she was. All his blood loss was catching up to him, he could feel his strength seeping out of every wound. He knew it was only a matter of time before he passed out, no matter how hard he fought it. With his eyelids closing unbidden, Spike whispered desperately, "Dawn."
Dawn's palms were moist with sweat, and her arms ached from her death grip on the wheel. This really wasn't how she had expected her first driving lesson to be, but then nothing ever was how she expected it. She'd learned that the hard way. She heard Spike mutter something, then when she turned to see what he wanted he was zonked out, either asleep or unconscious. She figured it didn't really matter which, either one was a relief. It made what she was about to do a bit easier.
She pulled the car over at Willie's Bar, and swallowed the lump in her throat. Quietly she removed herself from the car, carefully shutting the door so as not to wake the sleeping vamp in the back. Spike would have her ass if he ever found what she was about to do. Bravely she walked into the bar. Strangely enough it wasn't too busy for this time of night. Dawn felt a few of the demons watching her as she walked up to the bar. She cleared her throat to get Willie's attention. "Well, what's a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?" Willie finished with wink. Ewww much? Just ignore it, and finish what you came here to do. Dawn thought to herself.
"Are you Willie?" She demanded, putting her hands on her hips in what she hoped was an intimidating stance.
"Who wants to know?" Came the suspicious reply.
She could sense a change in his demeanor. He was getting nervous. Good get nervous Willie, flashed through her mind. She had to keep her cool here, if any of the demons smelled her fear, she figured her chances of getting out of this unscathed were pretty low. "Spike, he sent me to pick up some blood for him."
Willie started scrambling for things under the bar. If he wasn't nervous before, he definitely was now. "Spike. Sure, sure. How much does he need?" She really hadn't thought that far ahead, she was quite frankly surprised she had got this far.
"Fifteen, and a cooler."
Willie started counting out the bags. "A cooler too. Sure anything for Spike." Dawn rolled her eyes. She wanted to stop talking so she could get the hell out of there. "Here I'll walk you to the door. You aren't safe here."
Dawn looked up at Willie with a 'No duh' look, but then recognized the gesture for what it was. She allowed him to escort her to the door, where she proceeded to flat out run for the car. Two male vamps were headed after her when Willie called out to them, "I wouldn't do that. She belongs to Spike" The two vamps disappointedly sat back down. Willie returned to his place behind the bar, feeling quite smug with himself. He hoped that Spike would someday repay his favor of keeping his girl safe. Never hurt to have demons owe him favors. He had learned that the hard way over the years."There I did my good deed for the day."
Dawn tossed the cooler beside her in the front seat. She could still feel eyes on her, so she started the car, and headed east. Her take off was easier this time, but she still had problems with the navigation thing. She took out a few trash cans just leaving Willie's. All the noise, and turbulence woke Spike up. "You ok Nibblet?What was that?" He didn't know how long he had been out, but his first waking thought had been about her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a demon trash can attacking." She said with a nervous giggle.
"How long was I out?" Spike raised himself up so he could see out. Dawn looked over her shoulder to see Spike propped up against the front seat.
"Only like thirty minutes." Spike looked out the window to see where they were. "We're still in town? What the bloody hell were you doing for that long? Driving in fucking circles?" He didn't mean for it to sound like he was agitated. He watched Dawn's face as it fell, and tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Ahhhh.. Come on now Bit I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I'm just not a chipper person when I wake up. You bloody well know that." He moved closer to her, hoping maybe he could undo some of the mental damage he had inflicted. Dawn was starting to hiccup sobs in earnest now. She knew what he was like when he woke. He really hadn't hurt her feelings. She realized she was just so tired.
"I got you some blood." She said meekly handing a package to him over the seat.
Now he really felt like an asshole. "Oh, baby I'm sorry, I didn't.." Dawn didn't let him finish. She waved for him to stop.
"No Spike it's ok. I guess it's just the stress making me cry." Spike put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It'll be ok, luv. You'll see." He wasn't really sure that it would be, but he knew she needed reassurance.
Spike ripped open the blood bag, and drank it down furiously. Dawn looked back as his demon came forth. She was smiling. He never thought a human could smile at him while he was drinking the life giving liquid. But his Dawn could.
"What?" He asked her. She turned back around to face the road. "What? What are laughing at?" He asked again. "Nothing, can't I look at you?"
She handed him another blood pack, as she gave him her best teenage eye roll. Spike observed the package of blood. Then eyed Dawn with suspicion. "Where did you get these anyway?"
"Ummmm.." Dawn really didn't feel like having this lecture right now. "Ummm..I found them?" It was more of a question than a statement.
Spike shook his head, "Found them where Dawn?"
He was almost positive he knew where they were from. He could smell Willie all over them. "You stopped at Willie's didn't you?" He didn't give her time to answer. "You know very well that you could've gotten yourself killed pulling a stunt like that! What the bloody hell is wrong with you girl?" It grated his nerves that she had been taking too many chances today. He had to get healed, and straighten her out. She was bound to make a mistake that would lead to her death. What pissed him off the most was that it was all for him. Dawn just sat quietly, letting Spike continue with his lecture. She knew he would do this, he was so predictable.He was worse than her mother had been at times.
"You had better explain yourself young lady!" She knew from last summer's experience that when he ended a sentence with "young lady" it was her turn. She also knew damn well that she had better make it good.
"You were passed out. I didn't know how long you'd be zonked for. You were going to need blood. The hospital was on the other side of town. And I didn't know where we were going, or if there would be anywhere else to get it! Damn it Spike! I didn't go through all the trouble of dragging your ass out of there to have you starve to death!" She found herself panting for air by the end of her little speech due to the intensity of her emotions. She took a moment to catch her breath. "Besides Willie got me out of there safely. No harm done. See?"
She looked over her shoulder again. He was still angry with her she could tell. It radiated off of him in intense waves, even if his tightly clenched jaw wasn't a dead giveaway. She just turned back around and focused solely on the road.
He was just thankful that she hadn't been hurt. Without him there to protect her he honestly had no idea what he would do if he lost her. She was all he had left in this world. "You still could've been killed." was his only acknowledgement of her rash actions.
A long silence followed that comment, as both vampire and key were lost in their own thoughts, and worries.
"Did the witches teach you a nifty trick to allow you super human strength?" Spike suddenly broke the comfortable silence. Dawn glanced back At him for a second before directing her eyes back to the road.
. "No they didn't. It wasn't a spell. I'm not sure what it was, to be honest. I just knew that I was angry at Buffy. One second I was screaming, and pulling, and she wouldn't budge. Then I got this surge of heat that went through me. Next she was flying into the wall." Dawn just shrugged it off, not wanting to dwell on the significance of what had occurred. She had too much to think about right now as it was.
Spike wasn't sure what to think. If it wasn't a spell then maybe the watcher was wrong. Maybe his Nibblet wasn't a normal girl after all. She quite possibly had some left over mystical power. It was all very interesting, and intrigued him immensely.
It had been two hours since they left Sunnydale and Dawn was getting drowsy. It had been a long day and night. The monotonous driving, and grumbling vampire hadn't helped matters much either. Spike was growing increasingly annoyed with his lack of healing, and they hadn't seen a house for miles.
"Hey Spike, where are we going?" Dawn called down to Spike from her position in the drivers seat. He leaned forward, and smoothed Dawn's hair behind her ear, as she leaned into his gentle touch.
"Hadn't really gave it much thought luv." His hand drifted down, and rested on her shoulder. "We'll have to find a place to rest soon." Dawn added as she placed her hand over his. The sun would be up in a few hours, and Spike was bloody exhausted.
"Spike? Something's in the road ahead. I think it's an animal." Dawn was becoming increasingly frantic as she realized the animal wasn't moving. That it was blocking the road. "What am I suppose to do?" Dawn cried in panic!
"Slow down, and pull over." Spike said calmly, trying to soothe her. It was large, and white that's all Spike could see, even with his enhanced vampiric vision.
Dawn slowed to a stop close enough to get a look. Putting her hand on the horn, she pressed her hand down relentlessly, enough to blast the eardrums out of the stupid thing. But it just cast it's bored eyes in her direction, then looked away. Not budging an inch just sitting there taking up the whole damn road, like it had every right to be there.
Muttering about stupid farm animals, and the stupid farmers who let their livestock wander the roads, Spike stepped out of the car, painfully. He was so agitated by the interruption that he failed to notice that it was not an ordinary cow. He was too busy hurling curse words at it, which were totally ignored, of course. If he had paid closer attention, he would have taken note of the shimmery beauty of the thing. Which sounded strange when talking about a cow, but for this magestic beauty, it fit. Instead of a usual dull lackluster hide, it practically gleamed as the moonlight shimmered off it's smooth shiny coat. It was almost like an ebony statue, with sleek lines, giving off an almost bioluminescent glow. . Spike slowly limped around the car. When he was at Dawn's door he opened it for her, as Dawn focused her eyes on the creature. That thing was a cow?
"Spike why is there a cow in the road?" Whispered Dawn, not able to take her eyes off it.
"Don't know Bit. Maybe it's just out for a stroll." He replied softly, finally giving it a good perusal. "Something seems off about it."
"Maybe it's got Mad Cow Disease." Dawn joked, glad she was able to find humor in the situation. But there was just something about that cow...The more she stared at it, the more that something pulled at her.
The cow turned it's massive head toward them, pinning them with it's stare. Spike saw the eyes of the beast glow emerald in shade, like Dawn's had earlier. He glanced over to Dawn, who appeared to have gone in some sort of a trance. All of this was very confusing.
"Mirnoc" Dawn slowly called. Startled by Dawn's behavior, Spike turned back toward the creature as it started to move slowly down a dirt road to the right of them. It didn't move in the lumbering clumsiness of a typical cow. This one was all grace and poise, more like a gazelle than a cow. Dawn was still in her daze as she repeated "Mirnoc" quietly.
Spike was starting to get worried. He put his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. "Nibblet, snap out of it. Can you hear me? Dawn?"
Dawn blinked, then looked into the eyes of the frantic vampire in front of her. "Spike? Well, duh, of course I hear you."
His face betrayed his confusion as he stared at her for a moment, before asking, "Bit, do you remember you remember what you said ? What is Mirnoc?"
Dawn took her eyes off of Spike, and looked back to the dirt road, eyes trailing after the cow. It reminded her of something. Something familiar niggling in the back of her head, but it remained elusive."I don't know. I don't know what it is. I think I need to follow it through." Extending her arm, she pointed in the direction the cow had gone.
Spike dropped his hands to his side, and leaned against the car. "No. Uh-uh. No bloody way am I going to let you go chasing that bloody creature." Dawn fought the urge to stomp her foot in frustration at him, she was so going to handle this maturely. Grasping his forearm, she looked him intently in the eye. Her piercing gaze spoke of her seriousness as she told him. "Spike, I need to do this. I haven't told you this, but I think something is happening to me. No, wait, I know something is happening to me. I can feel these changes in my body."
Spike rolled his eyes at her, trying not to let on how unnerved she was making him. "It's called hormones Bit." But he knew that wasn't what she was talking about, but he feared the implications of her being the Key. Best to pretend she never exsisted as a big ball of energy, easier on the nerves.
Dawn lightly slapped at Spike's arm, exclaiming. "No, not that, you idiot! I just don't know how to explain it." She studied the ground beneath them. It was true she couldn't explain how her bones felt like they were changing, or how she felt like her blood was on fire. Sometimes it felt like raw energy was pumping through her body, and she had to admit that the implications of that scared the daylights out of her.
Spike surveyed the once frail girl before him. He knew she was right. He had sensed the changes back at his crypt, he just didn't want to see it. He knew if she become stronger, he would run a greater risk of losing her. She would take more chances, become more careless. He knew all of this, and that is why his answer was still, "No bloody fucking way Bit! That was not your ordinary cow! It obviously was some kind of demon! It's eyes glowed, for God's sake! Dawn listen to me! When things glow, it's not usually a sign that they want to be your chum Nibblet! It usually means they are hungry!"
Dawn should've known the mature route wasn't going to work on the king of immaturity. On to plan B, she thought to herself, as she started to stomp her feet and beg him, "Please! Please! Please Spike! I never ask you for anything. Ok maybe twice I have, but that was more like a "if you wanna come" thing. Which you did only to score points from my sister, so you owe me Spike! Come to think of it you owe me big pal!"
"Wait one bloody minute Dawn. May I remind that the first time you ended up playing connect the dots on your arm with a knife. The second time you nearly got eaten by a demon, and brought back zombie Mum! Do you see a pattern here luv? And I didn't score points with the slayer. I got my ass kicked the first time, and she never found out about the last. So it wasn't about big sis. I did it for you. I couldn't let you get hurt. Look, I can't lose you. So I'm not taking any chances."
"This is very important to me Spike. I hope you'll understand.Demonic cow or no demonic cow, I'm going." Dawn spun on her heel and started down the dirt road.
"Bloody hell Nibblet!" He had hoped his speech would've worked. Now he was limping behind the Bit. This wasn't going to work. With his injuries he couldn't keep up. Dawn might get herself killed walking so far ahead, with her sodding stubbornness. "Dawn, wait! Fine you win, but let's get the car. It'll be safer."
Dawn stopped and turned on her heel, a big smile plastered from ear to ear. She really hadn't wanted to go by herself. Poor Spike just looked defeated. Dawn walked over to him, and tucked herself under his arm. Together they walked back to the car, and got in.
They had been traveling down the the deserted road for some time. They hadn't seen any sign of the demon cow. As they neared the end of the road ,an old farm house appeared. There were no lights illuminating the house, but the property appeared to be well taken care of, so they could only assume that someone was living here. Dawn got out of the car, and went to help Spike out. He had already managed to haul himself out and was leaning heavily against the side of the car. "I don't sense any humans. Let's hide the car, and see if we can get in." With the car safely secured in the brush, the pair started up the lawn.
"I'm glad you decided to try and walk on your own. My back would be broken by now if I still had to be your crutch." Dawn teased, grinning at Spike, who returned it with one of his own. The two of them made their way to the front door becoming increasingly alarmed when they noted the door was wide open. The aroma of human blood engulfed the blonde vamp, calling to Spike's demon. With ease, he overrode his demon's basic instinct, and switched into his demon visage just for the sole purpose of taking advantage of his enhanced senses. He tucked Dawn behind him as they entered the house, knowing now that they were alone. He heard no heartbeats, and he didn't sense any demon presence. If not for that reassurance, he wouldn't have let his Dawn step foot in here.
They walked through the living room to the kitchen, which they found in complete shambles. Blood painted the walls, broken glass covered the floor, and furniture looked as if it had been thrown in a frenzy. Spike was almost positive that no one had survived whatever had happened. He wasn't about to take any chances though with Dawn there beside him. He'd almost got them killed once today. Well, twice, if you counted her sad excuse for driving, and that was more than enough for him. They made sure the rest of the house was secure before heading up the stairs. The final room was at the top of the stairs, and they walked into it with trepidation. It appeared to be a girls room. She might have been just a little younger than Dawn from the appearance of it, with boy band posters covering the walls, dolls and stuffed animals were strewn over the purple carpet. Blood was everywhere. Young innocent blood. Spike could still smell the fear, and pain. That scent always took a while to disappear. Again his demon became aroused at this incredible aroma of young blood, but Spike pushed it away with disgust.
It occurred to Spike that the girl who had died here was probably someone else's Dawn, and the sadness that flooded him took him by surprise. Dawn looked up at him as he was trying to discreetly wipe a tear out of his eye, an understanding look crossing her troubled features."Do you think it's safe here?" Dawn asked him softly. She always asked him. She was the one person that looked up to him, even after the many times he let her down.
He choked on his words, trying to get them out, "Yeah baby, we will be safe. They aren't coming back." He wrapped an arm around Dawn, and brought her close to him, taking comfort in the knowledge that it wasn't his Dawn that had been killed, or turned, or worse.
Dawn looked at her surroundings, as she asked, "Where are the bodies?" He looked at her innocent expression. She really shouldn't have to know about things that go bump in the night, but then again, her sister was the slayer. Her being here with a vampire was proof she hadn't been sheltered from the evil in life.
"They were more than likely turned, or carted off for midnight snacks." Spike admitted, an involuntary shiver running through his body. Death had never bothered him before. He was once the dark prince of death, and what not. But he now found himself with a desperate need to get out of that room. Grabbing Dawn's hand, he pulled her from the room.
They walked down the stairs together, her warm hand firmly encased in his cool one, completely trusting of him, even though he stood next to her in his true vampire face. Spike found himself in desperate need of a smoke, and some air. The heady mixture of blood, and Dawn was starting to get to him, not to mention the other brutalities he had suffered in the last twenty-four hours. Dawn sat down in the swing on the front porch, as Spike leaned against the porch rail, and lit his cigarette. For a few minutes they quietly gazed up at the night sky before Dawn broke the silence. "Do you love her Spike?"
He wasn't shocked by the question. He knew she was going to ask sooner or later. "Did..before.." He looked down at her. Dawn knew he meant before Buffy died. She hadn't taken her eyes off the stars.
"If you don't now...then why.."
He didn't let her finish. Didn't want her mind traveling down that dark road. "S'pose it's like this." He motioned to the burning cigarette in his hand. She looked at his face, then to his hand. "It's an addiction... A habit.... Part of you likes the way it feels in your hand..... and in your mouth....." His voice was rough as he drew out his sentences. It was so important to him that his Nibblet understood why he had done the things he did when Buffy was around. "The part that doesn't care about the way it feels.....it craves the poison.....It needs the poison surging through the blood. Buffy became my poison. It's not something that I wanted. I didn't want to be Buffy's bitch. It will all change now." He looked to his young companion for understanding, and to gauge her reaction.
She smiled at him. He knew her too well. She was about to smart off. "So how do we cure your addiction Spike? There isn't a Buffy Anonymous that I am aware of. I guess you and Angel could start one." She was bent over laughing before she could get all the words out.
He fought the smile that had almost appeared, and put on his nastiest glare. He should of known it wouldn't work with her. She just laughed even harder. He put his cigarette out, and started for inside. He looked over his shoulder, and called out, "When you get serious about a cure luv, come find me." With slightly leering grin in place, he disappeared into the house. Dawn stayed outside for a little longer calming her giggles. Damn! She loved that Vampire.
Author's Note: This is just to say thank you to all that reviewed. A special thanks to Stacy for all your help. Without you I would've jumped off a cliff in frustration.
Willow was very confused when she came to. One minute she had been talking to Buffy, and then a blow to the head. What had her best friend done? More importantly what was she going to do? Willow had no doubt that Buffy was dangerous in her current frame of mind. Dangerous to others, and herself. Willow's first priority would be to meet up with the gang, they had to do something to help Buffy. She gathered her things, and headed to the Magic Box. Together they would figure out something to fix her.
"I don't know Xander. I'm really be...be...gining to worry about her. Wi..Willow is never late." Tara felt that something wasn't right. Willow hadn't even called, which was not like her girlfriend. They were supposed to meet at the Magic Box to discuss some new demon that was plaguing the town, and Williow might be a lot of things, but irresponsible was not usually one of them.
"Don't worry Tara she is only twenty minutes late. I'm sure she'll be here any minute." Xander replied, as the bell over the door rang, and Willow stepped into the store, looking a little worse for wear.
Tara rushed to her side, her profound relief evident. "Honey I was so worried! Where have you been?" Tara reached up to run her fingers through her lover's hair. Pulling her hand away, she took note of the moisture on her fingertips, crimson in color. A bit frantically, Tara stuttered, "Willow you're bl....ble...bleeding."
All eyes turned to them. Giles decided now was time for concern. "What happened Willow?"
Willow sat down at the table, and began, "It was Buffy. She hit me with her ballerina statue." The room was hushed. There was confusion evident, but with the way things had been going, this was to be expected. "Guys we have to help her! She's losing it. If we don't do something..."
Giles stepped in, "I'm not sure if there is anything that we can do for her. "
Willow bounced up from her seat. Her voice was full of excitement. "Oh! Maybe there's a spell!" No one looked happy with her suggestion.
Anya looked at the witch with disgust. "Spells are what got us in this mess in the first place. You can't go all hocus pocus every time things don't go your way. That's your problem Willow! You have no respect for magic!" With her piece of mind given, Anya returned to her position behind the register. Everyone was at a loss for words.
In Spike's crypt, Buffy slowly surfaced to consciousness, her memory hazy. "What the hell happened!" She looked around the room. What had thrown her? She remembered pounding on Spike, nothing new there, and her sister crying for her to stop. Then something touched her, followed by...heat? And green? Green what? "Maybe that guy with the green eyes showed up at the crypt. Yeah, I bet that's who threw me. He didn't want me to hurt Spike. Bastard. Yeah, I bet that was who it was.", she muttered bitterly to herself, "Because it sure wasn't the Incredible Hulk."
Looking around.Buffy surmised that Dawn and Spike were gone, since she found herself alone in the crypt. Well, they couldn't have gone too far.
Heading to the door, She wandered out into the night. She was so tired... She just wanted the voices to stop..... She just wanted to rest..... She could find Spike tomorrow...and she would kill him.
The voices were getting louder again..... Buffy grabbed fists full of her hair, and started pulling.....The pain was so excruciating. The voices were too loud......."Stop! Stop! Stop!" She screamed like a mad woman. A hush fell over her. A voice so beautiful and so familiar began to sing to her. Buffy was swaying side to side. She was in a beautiful meadow full of wildflowers.
"Mommy is that you?" Joyce was standing in front of her daughter a loving expression in place. "Yes, honey it's me." Buffy picked herself up to run into her mother's loving arms. "Honey, you won't be able to touch me. I'm only here in spirit Buffy." Buffy was shaking her head frantically, "No...I need you Mommy. Make it better Mommy. I want to be back there with you." Buffy was sobbing, she wanted her mommy, needed her. "Fix it Mommy, fix it. I know you can fix it."
"Now Buffy, this is something that only you can fix. It was their love for you that brought you back. Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, Giles, Dawn, and Spike they all missed you so much. That is why you are here. They are why you can't come back." Joyce finished her stern explanation as she watched Buffy crumple back to her knees, tears streaming down her face. More lucid now, Buffy turned to her celestial mother for guidance, "But Mom, what do I do? I can kill Spike, that's easy. But, I can't kill all of them....I can't kill....I can't kill Dawn."
Lightening flashed in the sky, the earth turned dark. Buffy was back in the dark, dirty street standing in front of Angel. She looked around for her mother in confusion. "Angel, what are you doing here? Where did my mother go?"
A sinister grin graced the vampire's features as he spoke, "Well, Joyce decided you needed a little convincing. Killing all of them is the only way, Buffy. Starting with Spike! I know my girl can do it. Can'tcha baby?"
Buffy looked up at Angel with a smile on her face. Resolution shining fiercely in her eyes, as she watched Angel fade from view.
"Sure Angel, I can kill them, but first, I think I need a little back up." Buffy announced with a maniacal grin, and ran off into the night.
Spike was fighting with all of his might to stay conscious as Dawn spun out of the brush, and onto the street, fighting the steering wheel for control. He couldn't let her do this on her own, she shouldn't have to. The stupid insensitive git that he was had already put her through so much. He was just too blind to see it before. Why she was still by his side, he would never understand, but he was so thankful that she was. All his blood loss was catching up to him, he could feel his strength seeping out of every wound. He knew it was only a matter of time before he passed out, no matter how hard he fought it. With his eyelids closing unbidden, Spike whispered desperately, "Dawn."
Dawn's palms were moist with sweat, and her arms ached from her death grip on the wheel. This really wasn't how she had expected her first driving lesson to be, but then nothing ever was how she expected it. She'd learned that the hard way. She heard Spike mutter something, then when she turned to see what he wanted he was zonked out, either asleep or unconscious. She figured it didn't really matter which, either one was a relief. It made what she was about to do a bit easier.
She pulled the car over at Willie's Bar, and swallowed the lump in her throat. Quietly she removed herself from the car, carefully shutting the door so as not to wake the sleeping vamp in the back. Spike would have her ass if he ever found what she was about to do. Bravely she walked into the bar. Strangely enough it wasn't too busy for this time of night. Dawn felt a few of the demons watching her as she walked up to the bar. She cleared her throat to get Willie's attention. "Well, what's a pretty little thing like you doing in a place like this?" Willie finished with wink. Ewww much? Just ignore it, and finish what you came here to do. Dawn thought to herself.
"Are you Willie?" She demanded, putting her hands on her hips in what she hoped was an intimidating stance.
"Who wants to know?" Came the suspicious reply.
She could sense a change in his demeanor. He was getting nervous. Good get nervous Willie, flashed through her mind. She had to keep her cool here, if any of the demons smelled her fear, she figured her chances of getting out of this unscathed were pretty low. "Spike, he sent me to pick up some blood for him."
Willie started scrambling for things under the bar. If he wasn't nervous before, he definitely was now. "Spike. Sure, sure. How much does he need?" She really hadn't thought that far ahead, she was quite frankly surprised she had got this far.
"Fifteen, and a cooler."
Willie started counting out the bags. "A cooler too. Sure anything for Spike." Dawn rolled her eyes. She wanted to stop talking so she could get the hell out of there. "Here I'll walk you to the door. You aren't safe here."
Dawn looked up at Willie with a 'No duh' look, but then recognized the gesture for what it was. She allowed him to escort her to the door, where she proceeded to flat out run for the car. Two male vamps were headed after her when Willie called out to them, "I wouldn't do that. She belongs to Spike" The two vamps disappointedly sat back down. Willie returned to his place behind the bar, feeling quite smug with himself. He hoped that Spike would someday repay his favor of keeping his girl safe. Never hurt to have demons owe him favors. He had learned that the hard way over the years."There I did my good deed for the day."
Dawn tossed the cooler beside her in the front seat. She could still feel eyes on her, so she started the car, and headed east. Her take off was easier this time, but she still had problems with the navigation thing. She took out a few trash cans just leaving Willie's. All the noise, and turbulence woke Spike up. "You ok Nibblet?What was that?" He didn't know how long he had been out, but his first waking thought had been about her.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a demon trash can attacking." She said with a nervous giggle.
"How long was I out?" Spike raised himself up so he could see out. Dawn looked over her shoulder to see Spike propped up against the front seat.
"Only like thirty minutes." Spike looked out the window to see where they were. "We're still in town? What the bloody hell were you doing for that long? Driving in fucking circles?" He didn't mean for it to sound like he was agitated. He watched Dawn's face as it fell, and tears began to well up in her eyes.
"Ahhhh.. Come on now Bit I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way. I'm just not a chipper person when I wake up. You bloody well know that." He moved closer to her, hoping maybe he could undo some of the mental damage he had inflicted. Dawn was starting to hiccup sobs in earnest now. She knew what he was like when he woke. He really hadn't hurt her feelings. She realized she was just so tired.
"I got you some blood." She said meekly handing a package to him over the seat.
Now he really felt like an asshole. "Oh, baby I'm sorry, I didn't.." Dawn didn't let him finish. She waved for him to stop.
"No Spike it's ok. I guess it's just the stress making me cry." Spike put a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"It'll be ok, luv. You'll see." He wasn't really sure that it would be, but he knew she needed reassurance.
Spike ripped open the blood bag, and drank it down furiously. Dawn looked back as his demon came forth. She was smiling. He never thought a human could smile at him while he was drinking the life giving liquid. But his Dawn could.
"What?" He asked her. She turned back around to face the road. "What? What are laughing at?" He asked again. "Nothing, can't I look at you?"
She handed him another blood pack, as she gave him her best teenage eye roll. Spike observed the package of blood. Then eyed Dawn with suspicion. "Where did you get these anyway?"
"Ummmm.." Dawn really didn't feel like having this lecture right now. "Ummm..I found them?" It was more of a question than a statement.
Spike shook his head, "Found them where Dawn?"
He was almost positive he knew where they were from. He could smell Willie all over them. "You stopped at Willie's didn't you?" He didn't give her time to answer. "You know very well that you could've gotten yourself killed pulling a stunt like that! What the bloody hell is wrong with you girl?" It grated his nerves that she had been taking too many chances today. He had to get healed, and straighten her out. She was bound to make a mistake that would lead to her death. What pissed him off the most was that it was all for him. Dawn just sat quietly, letting Spike continue with his lecture. She knew he would do this, he was so predictable.He was worse than her mother had been at times.
"You had better explain yourself young lady!" She knew from last summer's experience that when he ended a sentence with "young lady" it was her turn. She also knew damn well that she had better make it good.
"You were passed out. I didn't know how long you'd be zonked for. You were going to need blood. The hospital was on the other side of town. And I didn't know where we were going, or if there would be anywhere else to get it! Damn it Spike! I didn't go through all the trouble of dragging your ass out of there to have you starve to death!" She found herself panting for air by the end of her little speech due to the intensity of her emotions. She took a moment to catch her breath. "Besides Willie got me out of there safely. No harm done. See?"
She looked over her shoulder again. He was still angry with her she could tell. It radiated off of him in intense waves, even if his tightly clenched jaw wasn't a dead giveaway. She just turned back around and focused solely on the road.
He was just thankful that she hadn't been hurt. Without him there to protect her he honestly had no idea what he would do if he lost her. She was all he had left in this world. "You still could've been killed." was his only acknowledgement of her rash actions.
A long silence followed that comment, as both vampire and key were lost in their own thoughts, and worries.
"Did the witches teach you a nifty trick to allow you super human strength?" Spike suddenly broke the comfortable silence. Dawn glanced back At him for a second before directing her eyes back to the road.
. "No they didn't. It wasn't a spell. I'm not sure what it was, to be honest. I just knew that I was angry at Buffy. One second I was screaming, and pulling, and she wouldn't budge. Then I got this surge of heat that went through me. Next she was flying into the wall." Dawn just shrugged it off, not wanting to dwell on the significance of what had occurred. She had too much to think about right now as it was.
Spike wasn't sure what to think. If it wasn't a spell then maybe the watcher was wrong. Maybe his Nibblet wasn't a normal girl after all. She quite possibly had some left over mystical power. It was all very interesting, and intrigued him immensely.
It had been two hours since they left Sunnydale and Dawn was getting drowsy. It had been a long day and night. The monotonous driving, and grumbling vampire hadn't helped matters much either. Spike was growing increasingly annoyed with his lack of healing, and they hadn't seen a house for miles.
"Hey Spike, where are we going?" Dawn called down to Spike from her position in the drivers seat. He leaned forward, and smoothed Dawn's hair behind her ear, as she leaned into his gentle touch.
"Hadn't really gave it much thought luv." His hand drifted down, and rested on her shoulder. "We'll have to find a place to rest soon." Dawn added as she placed her hand over his. The sun would be up in a few hours, and Spike was bloody exhausted.
"Spike? Something's in the road ahead. I think it's an animal." Dawn was becoming increasingly frantic as she realized the animal wasn't moving. That it was blocking the road. "What am I suppose to do?" Dawn cried in panic!
"Slow down, and pull over." Spike said calmly, trying to soothe her. It was large, and white that's all Spike could see, even with his enhanced vampiric vision.
Dawn slowed to a stop close enough to get a look. Putting her hand on the horn, she pressed her hand down relentlessly, enough to blast the eardrums out of the stupid thing. But it just cast it's bored eyes in her direction, then looked away. Not budging an inch just sitting there taking up the whole damn road, like it had every right to be there.
Muttering about stupid farm animals, and the stupid farmers who let their livestock wander the roads, Spike stepped out of the car, painfully. He was so agitated by the interruption that he failed to notice that it was not an ordinary cow. He was too busy hurling curse words at it, which were totally ignored, of course. If he had paid closer attention, he would have taken note of the shimmery beauty of the thing. Which sounded strange when talking about a cow, but for this magestic beauty, it fit. Instead of a usual dull lackluster hide, it practically gleamed as the moonlight shimmered off it's smooth shiny coat. It was almost like an ebony statue, with sleek lines, giving off an almost bioluminescent glow. . Spike slowly limped around the car. When he was at Dawn's door he opened it for her, as Dawn focused her eyes on the creature. That thing was a cow?
"Spike why is there a cow in the road?" Whispered Dawn, not able to take her eyes off it.
"Don't know Bit. Maybe it's just out for a stroll." He replied softly, finally giving it a good perusal. "Something seems off about it."
"Maybe it's got Mad Cow Disease." Dawn joked, glad she was able to find humor in the situation. But there was just something about that cow...The more she stared at it, the more that something pulled at her.
The cow turned it's massive head toward them, pinning them with it's stare. Spike saw the eyes of the beast glow emerald in shade, like Dawn's had earlier. He glanced over to Dawn, who appeared to have gone in some sort of a trance. All of this was very confusing.
"Mirnoc" Dawn slowly called. Startled by Dawn's behavior, Spike turned back toward the creature as it started to move slowly down a dirt road to the right of them. It didn't move in the lumbering clumsiness of a typical cow. This one was all grace and poise, more like a gazelle than a cow. Dawn was still in her daze as she repeated "Mirnoc" quietly.
Spike was starting to get worried. He put his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. "Nibblet, snap out of it. Can you hear me? Dawn?"
Dawn blinked, then looked into the eyes of the frantic vampire in front of her. "Spike? Well, duh, of course I hear you."
His face betrayed his confusion as he stared at her for a moment, before asking, "Bit, do you remember you remember what you said ? What is Mirnoc?"
Dawn took her eyes off of Spike, and looked back to the dirt road, eyes trailing after the cow. It reminded her of something. Something familiar niggling in the back of her head, but it remained elusive."I don't know. I don't know what it is. I think I need to follow it through." Extending her arm, she pointed in the direction the cow had gone.
Spike dropped his hands to his side, and leaned against the car. "No. Uh-uh. No bloody way am I going to let you go chasing that bloody creature." Dawn fought the urge to stomp her foot in frustration at him, she was so going to handle this maturely. Grasping his forearm, she looked him intently in the eye. Her piercing gaze spoke of her seriousness as she told him. "Spike, I need to do this. I haven't told you this, but I think something is happening to me. No, wait, I know something is happening to me. I can feel these changes in my body."
Spike rolled his eyes at her, trying not to let on how unnerved she was making him. "It's called hormones Bit." But he knew that wasn't what she was talking about, but he feared the implications of her being the Key. Best to pretend she never exsisted as a big ball of energy, easier on the nerves.
Dawn lightly slapped at Spike's arm, exclaiming. "No, not that, you idiot! I just don't know how to explain it." She studied the ground beneath them. It was true she couldn't explain how her bones felt like they were changing, or how she felt like her blood was on fire. Sometimes it felt like raw energy was pumping through her body, and she had to admit that the implications of that scared the daylights out of her.
Spike surveyed the once frail girl before him. He knew she was right. He had sensed the changes back at his crypt, he just didn't want to see it. He knew if she become stronger, he would run a greater risk of losing her. She would take more chances, become more careless. He knew all of this, and that is why his answer was still, "No bloody fucking way Bit! That was not your ordinary cow! It obviously was some kind of demon! It's eyes glowed, for God's sake! Dawn listen to me! When things glow, it's not usually a sign that they want to be your chum Nibblet! It usually means they are hungry!"
Dawn should've known the mature route wasn't going to work on the king of immaturity. On to plan B, she thought to herself, as she started to stomp her feet and beg him, "Please! Please! Please Spike! I never ask you for anything. Ok maybe twice I have, but that was more like a "if you wanna come" thing. Which you did only to score points from my sister, so you owe me Spike! Come to think of it you owe me big pal!"
"Wait one bloody minute Dawn. May I remind that the first time you ended up playing connect the dots on your arm with a knife. The second time you nearly got eaten by a demon, and brought back zombie Mum! Do you see a pattern here luv? And I didn't score points with the slayer. I got my ass kicked the first time, and she never found out about the last. So it wasn't about big sis. I did it for you. I couldn't let you get hurt. Look, I can't lose you. So I'm not taking any chances."
"This is very important to me Spike. I hope you'll understand.Demonic cow or no demonic cow, I'm going." Dawn spun on her heel and started down the dirt road.
"Bloody hell Nibblet!" He had hoped his speech would've worked. Now he was limping behind the Bit. This wasn't going to work. With his injuries he couldn't keep up. Dawn might get herself killed walking so far ahead, with her sodding stubbornness. "Dawn, wait! Fine you win, but let's get the car. It'll be safer."
Dawn stopped and turned on her heel, a big smile plastered from ear to ear. She really hadn't wanted to go by herself. Poor Spike just looked defeated. Dawn walked over to him, and tucked herself under his arm. Together they walked back to the car, and got in.
They had been traveling down the the deserted road for some time. They hadn't seen any sign of the demon cow. As they neared the end of the road ,an old farm house appeared. There were no lights illuminating the house, but the property appeared to be well taken care of, so they could only assume that someone was living here. Dawn got out of the car, and went to help Spike out. He had already managed to haul himself out and was leaning heavily against the side of the car. "I don't sense any humans. Let's hide the car, and see if we can get in." With the car safely secured in the brush, the pair started up the lawn.
"I'm glad you decided to try and walk on your own. My back would be broken by now if I still had to be your crutch." Dawn teased, grinning at Spike, who returned it with one of his own. The two of them made their way to the front door becoming increasingly alarmed when they noted the door was wide open. The aroma of human blood engulfed the blonde vamp, calling to Spike's demon. With ease, he overrode his demon's basic instinct, and switched into his demon visage just for the sole purpose of taking advantage of his enhanced senses. He tucked Dawn behind him as they entered the house, knowing now that they were alone. He heard no heartbeats, and he didn't sense any demon presence. If not for that reassurance, he wouldn't have let his Dawn step foot in here.
They walked through the living room to the kitchen, which they found in complete shambles. Blood painted the walls, broken glass covered the floor, and furniture looked as if it had been thrown in a frenzy. Spike was almost positive that no one had survived whatever had happened. He wasn't about to take any chances though with Dawn there beside him. He'd almost got them killed once today. Well, twice, if you counted her sad excuse for driving, and that was more than enough for him. They made sure the rest of the house was secure before heading up the stairs. The final room was at the top of the stairs, and they walked into it with trepidation. It appeared to be a girls room. She might have been just a little younger than Dawn from the appearance of it, with boy band posters covering the walls, dolls and stuffed animals were strewn over the purple carpet. Blood was everywhere. Young innocent blood. Spike could still smell the fear, and pain. That scent always took a while to disappear. Again his demon became aroused at this incredible aroma of young blood, but Spike pushed it away with disgust.
It occurred to Spike that the girl who had died here was probably someone else's Dawn, and the sadness that flooded him took him by surprise. Dawn looked up at him as he was trying to discreetly wipe a tear out of his eye, an understanding look crossing her troubled features."Do you think it's safe here?" Dawn asked him softly. She always asked him. She was the one person that looked up to him, even after the many times he let her down.
He choked on his words, trying to get them out, "Yeah baby, we will be safe. They aren't coming back." He wrapped an arm around Dawn, and brought her close to him, taking comfort in the knowledge that it wasn't his Dawn that had been killed, or turned, or worse.
Dawn looked at her surroundings, as she asked, "Where are the bodies?" He looked at her innocent expression. She really shouldn't have to know about things that go bump in the night, but then again, her sister was the slayer. Her being here with a vampire was proof she hadn't been sheltered from the evil in life.
"They were more than likely turned, or carted off for midnight snacks." Spike admitted, an involuntary shiver running through his body. Death had never bothered him before. He was once the dark prince of death, and what not. But he now found himself with a desperate need to get out of that room. Grabbing Dawn's hand, he pulled her from the room.
They walked down the stairs together, her warm hand firmly encased in his cool one, completely trusting of him, even though he stood next to her in his true vampire face. Spike found himself in desperate need of a smoke, and some air. The heady mixture of blood, and Dawn was starting to get to him, not to mention the other brutalities he had suffered in the last twenty-four hours. Dawn sat down in the swing on the front porch, as Spike leaned against the porch rail, and lit his cigarette. For a few minutes they quietly gazed up at the night sky before Dawn broke the silence. "Do you love her Spike?"
He wasn't shocked by the question. He knew she was going to ask sooner or later. "Did..before.." He looked down at her. Dawn knew he meant before Buffy died. She hadn't taken her eyes off the stars.
"If you don't now...then why.."
He didn't let her finish. Didn't want her mind traveling down that dark road. "S'pose it's like this." He motioned to the burning cigarette in his hand. She looked at his face, then to his hand. "It's an addiction... A habit.... Part of you likes the way it feels in your hand..... and in your mouth....." His voice was rough as he drew out his sentences. It was so important to him that his Nibblet understood why he had done the things he did when Buffy was around. "The part that doesn't care about the way it feels.....it craves the poison.....It needs the poison surging through the blood. Buffy became my poison. It's not something that I wanted. I didn't want to be Buffy's bitch. It will all change now." He looked to his young companion for understanding, and to gauge her reaction.
She smiled at him. He knew her too well. She was about to smart off. "So how do we cure your addiction Spike? There isn't a Buffy Anonymous that I am aware of. I guess you and Angel could start one." She was bent over laughing before she could get all the words out.
He fought the smile that had almost appeared, and put on his nastiest glare. He should of known it wouldn't work with her. She just laughed even harder. He put his cigarette out, and started for inside. He looked over his shoulder, and called out, "When you get serious about a cure luv, come find me." With slightly leering grin in place, he disappeared into the house. Dawn stayed outside for a little longer calming her giggles. Damn! She loved that Vampire.
Author's Note: This is just to say thank you to all that reviewed. A special thanks to Stacy for all your help. Without you I would've jumped off a cliff in frustration.