Author's Note: I've had some emails asking me why Angel and Cordelia are
missing. Timeline wise this is set at the beginning of Buffy S7, hence why
Willow is back and Spike has his soul (although I've fiddled with canon
slightly by bringing Giles back early and making no mention of The First).
This puts it at the beginning of Angel S4 hence why Cordelia and Angel are
missing – Cordelia having "ascended" and Angel stuck in a box under the
sea.
"So tell me again, how does this work?" Spike asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice. He was lying on his side on a bed in the infirmary staring up at Janet Fraiser. She was standing over him with her clipboard, scribbling notes. He fascinated her as much as he fascinated Daniel. There was no pulse, no heart beat and yet he breathed, he ate, he smoked, he drank. There was brain activity, his eyes reacted to her famous eye exam and although he was stronger, faster and more resistant to pain, apart from the fact his body should have decomposed years ago, he was fine.
"Selmak will move from Jacob to you orally. It's best to stay as relaxed as possible and just to let Selmac do all the hard work." Janet frowned at the piece of paper she was looking at and turned to Anise who was standing over Jacob Carter.
"Is this going to hurt?" he asked and Anise turned to him.
"The blending process is only momentarily painful. You should not feel pain for more than a few seconds."
"Are we ready?" Fraiser asked and Anise nodded. Spike watched Anise from his prone position, admiring her figure in the tight fitting clothing she was wearing.
"Are you ready Spike?" Frasier asked and he nodded resigned.
Buffy and Riley stood close by, out of the way of the nurses, watching. Buffy was still unsure about this but having not been able to get hold of Angel, this looked the only way.
She watched as Jacob rolled on to his side, close enough to Spike for their noses to touch. Spike, unusually nervous at the Tok'ra's proximity looked suddenly nervous.
"You might want to close your eyes for the transition" Jacob advised and Spike did so.
"Open your mouth" he said and Spike did. Jacob leaned in and there was a blur of movment as Selmak leapt from Jacob to Spike. Jacob rolled onto his back and lay there, eyes closed, breathing shallowly.
Spike flung his head back and howled loudly. Dr Frasier and the two nurses who had been standing by the bed leapt back in surprise and Anise leaned forward in concern.
"Selmak?" she called. "Try and take control if you can. You must calm the demon."
The vampire's body tensed in a painful position, all muscles taut, the blue eyes open, wide and staring.
"What's happening?" Buffy accused. "You said it wouldn't hurt."
"I think that the symbiote and the demon are fighting for control" Riley said. "Spike or Selmak need to gain control over the demon within him."
"I thought the chip controlled the demon" Buffy said and Riley shrugged before turning his attention back to the room.
Dr Frasier had hold of Spike's hand, not doctorly at all, and was talking rapidly to try and comfort him. She gave Buffy a harried, pleading glance and the Slayer stepped forward, pushing Anise out of the way to take his other hand. She babbled away about anything and everything until the agony on Spike's face began to dissipate. Fraiser and Anise turned their attention of Jacob Carter who was lying on his back now, having rolled away from Spike. He was breathing heavily but a quick look at the monitors reassured her. Sam Carter was standing next to her father's bed, her hands holding his firmly, keeping an eye on him until Frasier had finished with Spike.
"I thought you said it was Jacob who would need the Doctor" Buffy glared at Anise.
"This outcome could not have been foreseen" the Tok'ra said. "I did not believe that the demon and the symbiote might wrestle for control of the host."
Buffy was incredulous. "You did not believe? What the hell did you think would happen?" She turned back to Spike who was now relaxing on the bed, the dreadful rictus gone from his body. She swallowed hard as the bright glow emanated from his eyes but forced herself to keep hold of his hand.
"Spike?" she asked nervously. "You OK?"
"This body has been severely abused" the hard edged tone of the symbiote came through. "I will need to rest in order to restore the damage."
"You can do that? What kind of damage is there?" Buffy stroked Spike's hand, reassurance that she was still there.
"Too numerous to count." Spike closed his eyes and then opened them again, the blue gaze instead of the glow bringing relief. "Godamn it, where is that woman? I'm going to wring her bloody neck. Only hurt a little, my lily white arse!"
Buffy grinned at Frasier. "That's our Spike. Nothing wrong with him."
"How are you feeling Spike?" Anise asked and flinched when he glared at her.
"What a bloody stupid question. How the hell do you think I am? I've got something in my head that isn't me."
"Your feelings are quite normal" pronounced Anise. She examined the machine she had hooked him up to. "All your signs are normal. We must wait to see if the blending has been successful."
Spike managed another glare at the Tok'ra before allowing Frasier to lie him back on the bed. His eyes closed tiredly as his outburst on to of the blending had sapped all his strength.
"I'll come back and see you later" promised Buffy but he gave no sign that he heard her. Frasier nodded to Buffy, promising to call her as soon as he had awoken.
She somehow managed to find her way back to the quarters that had been assigned to them and found Dawn, Anya, Xander, Colonel O'Neill and Daniel in the room that she and Dawn were sharing.
"How's Spike?" Dawn asked.
"Same old Spike. Selmak said something about there being a lot of damage to the body so they'll need to rest for a bit before we can try anything. I can't imagine she'll like him smoking." Buffy said.
O'Neill grinned. "Jacob doesn't smoke."
"He doesn't drink blood either but Selmak will have to let Spike take control for those things I think otherwise Spike will just waste away."
"Like that would be a bad thing" Riley said, who had followed Buffy out of the Infirmary. She shot him a searing glance.
"I told you – he's different now. He has a soul."
Her words echoed in Daniel's mind. You sound just like her Spike had said. As if having a soul made up for the years of bloody mayhem he had wreaked upon the word.
"Whatever," Riley mumbled.
"Let's not get into this OK. I'm not the one who....."
Riley held his hand up "OK. I get where you're going with this. No Spike bashing."
Buffy folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "If you've got a problem you might as well spit it out."
"No problem" Riley gritted out. "I need to go and find my team." He turned on his heel and his footsteps echoed loudly down the corridor as he stalked away.
"What was that about?" O'Neill asked as Buffy took a seat next to her sister.
"Just old history. Riley and Spike don't get on well. Which isn't surprising when you think Riley is partly to blame for the whole chip in the head business."
"I'm not even going to ask" O'Neill said.
"It won't affect anything. Riley is a focused guy and Spike will have Selmak to hold him back."
"How is Major Carter's Dad?" asked Dawn.
"He's fine. Tired I think." Buffy leaned back. "Must be weird, having someone else in your head like that." She looked at Daniel and O'Neill. "Ever tried it?"
"I would never have a snake in my head voluntarily" O'Neill said. "Frankly, I'd rather cut my arm off." Daniel nodded his agreement with this.
"What about Major Carter?" asked Dawn and Daniel and O'Neill exchanged glances.
"Carter's been possessed by a Tok'ra. Not voluntarily but apparently," O'Neill's voice was heavy on the sarcasm, "apparently it was an emergency. She was doing mouth to mouth resus on some guy on a planet and the snake leapt from the guy to Carter."
Dawn shuddered. "What happened?"
"Jolinar gave up her life so that Sam could live" Daniel said. At Dawn's questioning look he clarified. "Jolinar was the name of the Tok'ra symbiote. She was the first contact we had with the Tok'ra."
"Yeah, and life's been a bed of roses since" mumbled O'Neill.
"I'm sensing some pent up anger here" Xander noted and O'Neill grinned at the boy. He was getting to like him.
"They're not the most reliable folks you'll ever meet. Have a tendency to say one thing and mean or do something completely different. They've got their own agenda and don't like sharing too much."
Silence fell at this, all of them considering briefly what they were getting into.
The more Xander heard about this, the less he wanted to be involved. The slave clothes that Jacob Carter had shown him were less than modest although Anya's eyes had glowed in remembrance when she saw him in the tightly fitted pants and close cut tunic. It seemed to reveal more than it hid, a bit like the girl's costumes.
Buffy was incredibly glad she had stopped Dawn from coming. No-one under the age of 18 should be dressed in the clothing she and Anya would be wearing. The tiny mini skirt did not even reach mid thigh length and the cropped top left nothing at all to the imagination.
Jacob Carter had looked mildly apologetic when he laid the clothes out but reminded them that he would have to wear them as well and that they needed to be believable. He was going on information from the Tok'ra operative who was in Ahmose' service. This was how his slaves were dressed, hence why they would be dressed similarly. Jacob had explained that Ahmose placed the same importance on beauty as he did on power.
"Which is to say he likes having beautiful things around him. People, objects, planets, whatever." The assessing look he had given everyone did not fool them. "You all qualify. Even you Colonel" as O'Neill had been about to open his mouth with some smart ass comment.
"Why Jacob, I didn't know you cared."
Jacob Carter rolled his eyes and carried on with the briefing, how to conduct themselves, how to hold themselves, what would be expected of them.
"Do we need to be marked for this?" Buffy asked and Jacob was silent for a moment and then Selmak had taken over.
"Marked?"
Buffy lifted her hair away from her neck and showed the scar Angel had left on her neck. Selmak had stroked an exploratory finger over it and then stepped away.
"I do not believe so. Slave collars will be provided for you. I don't think that Spike will need to mark anyone."
"I don't get this marking business" Daniel said and Buffy showed him her scar.
"I've been bitten. Twice. Once by Dracula and once by Angel."
"You've been bitten by Dracula?" O'Neill breathed. "Cool."
"You mean we would all have to be bitten?" Daniel said, distaste clear on his face and Buffy shook her head.
"No. Selmak has just said she doesn't think we need to be. Anyway," a frown crossed Buffy's face, "I'm not sure Spike would be able to. The only person he can cause any physical harm to is me."
"Really? Is that some Slayer-Vampire thing?" Daniel asked.
"Nope, it's a long complicated thing which I don't want to get into right now" Buffy had said shortly, making it obvious that her relationship with Spike was not up for conversation now or at any time.
An uncomfortable silence had fallen, broken seconds later by O'Neill.
"So Dracula? What's he like?"
"So tell me again, how does this work?" Spike asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice. He was lying on his side on a bed in the infirmary staring up at Janet Fraiser. She was standing over him with her clipboard, scribbling notes. He fascinated her as much as he fascinated Daniel. There was no pulse, no heart beat and yet he breathed, he ate, he smoked, he drank. There was brain activity, his eyes reacted to her famous eye exam and although he was stronger, faster and more resistant to pain, apart from the fact his body should have decomposed years ago, he was fine.
"Selmak will move from Jacob to you orally. It's best to stay as relaxed as possible and just to let Selmac do all the hard work." Janet frowned at the piece of paper she was looking at and turned to Anise who was standing over Jacob Carter.
"Is this going to hurt?" he asked and Anise turned to him.
"The blending process is only momentarily painful. You should not feel pain for more than a few seconds."
"Are we ready?" Fraiser asked and Anise nodded. Spike watched Anise from his prone position, admiring her figure in the tight fitting clothing she was wearing.
"Are you ready Spike?" Frasier asked and he nodded resigned.
Buffy and Riley stood close by, out of the way of the nurses, watching. Buffy was still unsure about this but having not been able to get hold of Angel, this looked the only way.
She watched as Jacob rolled on to his side, close enough to Spike for their noses to touch. Spike, unusually nervous at the Tok'ra's proximity looked suddenly nervous.
"You might want to close your eyes for the transition" Jacob advised and Spike did so.
"Open your mouth" he said and Spike did. Jacob leaned in and there was a blur of movment as Selmak leapt from Jacob to Spike. Jacob rolled onto his back and lay there, eyes closed, breathing shallowly.
Spike flung his head back and howled loudly. Dr Frasier and the two nurses who had been standing by the bed leapt back in surprise and Anise leaned forward in concern.
"Selmak?" she called. "Try and take control if you can. You must calm the demon."
The vampire's body tensed in a painful position, all muscles taut, the blue eyes open, wide and staring.
"What's happening?" Buffy accused. "You said it wouldn't hurt."
"I think that the symbiote and the demon are fighting for control" Riley said. "Spike or Selmak need to gain control over the demon within him."
"I thought the chip controlled the demon" Buffy said and Riley shrugged before turning his attention back to the room.
Dr Frasier had hold of Spike's hand, not doctorly at all, and was talking rapidly to try and comfort him. She gave Buffy a harried, pleading glance and the Slayer stepped forward, pushing Anise out of the way to take his other hand. She babbled away about anything and everything until the agony on Spike's face began to dissipate. Fraiser and Anise turned their attention of Jacob Carter who was lying on his back now, having rolled away from Spike. He was breathing heavily but a quick look at the monitors reassured her. Sam Carter was standing next to her father's bed, her hands holding his firmly, keeping an eye on him until Frasier had finished with Spike.
"I thought you said it was Jacob who would need the Doctor" Buffy glared at Anise.
"This outcome could not have been foreseen" the Tok'ra said. "I did not believe that the demon and the symbiote might wrestle for control of the host."
Buffy was incredulous. "You did not believe? What the hell did you think would happen?" She turned back to Spike who was now relaxing on the bed, the dreadful rictus gone from his body. She swallowed hard as the bright glow emanated from his eyes but forced herself to keep hold of his hand.
"Spike?" she asked nervously. "You OK?"
"This body has been severely abused" the hard edged tone of the symbiote came through. "I will need to rest in order to restore the damage."
"You can do that? What kind of damage is there?" Buffy stroked Spike's hand, reassurance that she was still there.
"Too numerous to count." Spike closed his eyes and then opened them again, the blue gaze instead of the glow bringing relief. "Godamn it, where is that woman? I'm going to wring her bloody neck. Only hurt a little, my lily white arse!"
Buffy grinned at Frasier. "That's our Spike. Nothing wrong with him."
"How are you feeling Spike?" Anise asked and flinched when he glared at her.
"What a bloody stupid question. How the hell do you think I am? I've got something in my head that isn't me."
"Your feelings are quite normal" pronounced Anise. She examined the machine she had hooked him up to. "All your signs are normal. We must wait to see if the blending has been successful."
Spike managed another glare at the Tok'ra before allowing Frasier to lie him back on the bed. His eyes closed tiredly as his outburst on to of the blending had sapped all his strength.
"I'll come back and see you later" promised Buffy but he gave no sign that he heard her. Frasier nodded to Buffy, promising to call her as soon as he had awoken.
She somehow managed to find her way back to the quarters that had been assigned to them and found Dawn, Anya, Xander, Colonel O'Neill and Daniel in the room that she and Dawn were sharing.
"How's Spike?" Dawn asked.
"Same old Spike. Selmak said something about there being a lot of damage to the body so they'll need to rest for a bit before we can try anything. I can't imagine she'll like him smoking." Buffy said.
O'Neill grinned. "Jacob doesn't smoke."
"He doesn't drink blood either but Selmak will have to let Spike take control for those things I think otherwise Spike will just waste away."
"Like that would be a bad thing" Riley said, who had followed Buffy out of the Infirmary. She shot him a searing glance.
"I told you – he's different now. He has a soul."
Her words echoed in Daniel's mind. You sound just like her Spike had said. As if having a soul made up for the years of bloody mayhem he had wreaked upon the word.
"Whatever," Riley mumbled.
"Let's not get into this OK. I'm not the one who....."
Riley held his hand up "OK. I get where you're going with this. No Spike bashing."
Buffy folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "If you've got a problem you might as well spit it out."
"No problem" Riley gritted out. "I need to go and find my team." He turned on his heel and his footsteps echoed loudly down the corridor as he stalked away.
"What was that about?" O'Neill asked as Buffy took a seat next to her sister.
"Just old history. Riley and Spike don't get on well. Which isn't surprising when you think Riley is partly to blame for the whole chip in the head business."
"I'm not even going to ask" O'Neill said.
"It won't affect anything. Riley is a focused guy and Spike will have Selmak to hold him back."
"How is Major Carter's Dad?" asked Dawn.
"He's fine. Tired I think." Buffy leaned back. "Must be weird, having someone else in your head like that." She looked at Daniel and O'Neill. "Ever tried it?"
"I would never have a snake in my head voluntarily" O'Neill said. "Frankly, I'd rather cut my arm off." Daniel nodded his agreement with this.
"What about Major Carter?" asked Dawn and Daniel and O'Neill exchanged glances.
"Carter's been possessed by a Tok'ra. Not voluntarily but apparently," O'Neill's voice was heavy on the sarcasm, "apparently it was an emergency. She was doing mouth to mouth resus on some guy on a planet and the snake leapt from the guy to Carter."
Dawn shuddered. "What happened?"
"Jolinar gave up her life so that Sam could live" Daniel said. At Dawn's questioning look he clarified. "Jolinar was the name of the Tok'ra symbiote. She was the first contact we had with the Tok'ra."
"Yeah, and life's been a bed of roses since" mumbled O'Neill.
"I'm sensing some pent up anger here" Xander noted and O'Neill grinned at the boy. He was getting to like him.
"They're not the most reliable folks you'll ever meet. Have a tendency to say one thing and mean or do something completely different. They've got their own agenda and don't like sharing too much."
Silence fell at this, all of them considering briefly what they were getting into.
The more Xander heard about this, the less he wanted to be involved. The slave clothes that Jacob Carter had shown him were less than modest although Anya's eyes had glowed in remembrance when she saw him in the tightly fitted pants and close cut tunic. It seemed to reveal more than it hid, a bit like the girl's costumes.
Buffy was incredibly glad she had stopped Dawn from coming. No-one under the age of 18 should be dressed in the clothing she and Anya would be wearing. The tiny mini skirt did not even reach mid thigh length and the cropped top left nothing at all to the imagination.
Jacob Carter had looked mildly apologetic when he laid the clothes out but reminded them that he would have to wear them as well and that they needed to be believable. He was going on information from the Tok'ra operative who was in Ahmose' service. This was how his slaves were dressed, hence why they would be dressed similarly. Jacob had explained that Ahmose placed the same importance on beauty as he did on power.
"Which is to say he likes having beautiful things around him. People, objects, planets, whatever." The assessing look he had given everyone did not fool them. "You all qualify. Even you Colonel" as O'Neill had been about to open his mouth with some smart ass comment.
"Why Jacob, I didn't know you cared."
Jacob Carter rolled his eyes and carried on with the briefing, how to conduct themselves, how to hold themselves, what would be expected of them.
"Do we need to be marked for this?" Buffy asked and Jacob was silent for a moment and then Selmak had taken over.
"Marked?"
Buffy lifted her hair away from her neck and showed the scar Angel had left on her neck. Selmak had stroked an exploratory finger over it and then stepped away.
"I do not believe so. Slave collars will be provided for you. I don't think that Spike will need to mark anyone."
"I don't get this marking business" Daniel said and Buffy showed him her scar.
"I've been bitten. Twice. Once by Dracula and once by Angel."
"You've been bitten by Dracula?" O'Neill breathed. "Cool."
"You mean we would all have to be bitten?" Daniel said, distaste clear on his face and Buffy shook her head.
"No. Selmak has just said she doesn't think we need to be. Anyway," a frown crossed Buffy's face, "I'm not sure Spike would be able to. The only person he can cause any physical harm to is me."
"Really? Is that some Slayer-Vampire thing?" Daniel asked.
"Nope, it's a long complicated thing which I don't want to get into right now" Buffy had said shortly, making it obvious that her relationship with Spike was not up for conversation now or at any time.
An uncomfortable silence had fallen, broken seconds later by O'Neill.
"So Dracula? What's he like?"