A/N: Poor injured Spikey. I do hope someone takes pity on him…
Spike stood very slowly, wincing as daggers of pain racked his whole body. Trust Angelus to get him all shot up just for the hell of it. He slumped against the wall and gritted his teeth, keeping a brave face on. Sure, it wouldn't kill him but that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.
Buffy appeared next to him suddenly. She placed a hand on his forearm "You okay?"
Spike looked at her, tried to stand up straight but just ended up falling back into the wall "Well, apart from the small fact of my guts being full of metal, I'll do fine"
Angel and his team of medics were standing in the cell with the Kraal who was lying face down on the floor. The SWAT guys stood close by ready to shoot if the demon somehow miraculously got up again and lunged for their employer.
The doctors said something in a hushed voice to the dark-haired vampire. He nodded.
Angel turned to Buffy and Spike "The Kraal's alive"
"Really? 'Cos it looks kinda dead" Buffy replied.
"Seems half a dozen bullets isn't enough to kill it," He replied "We're gonna take it up to the hospital wing, in one of the high security rooms"
"Better luck with it this time, mate" Spike spat, narrowed eyes.
Angel sighed, shook his head "I didn't think he would really try and tear your head off. And, anyway, stop being such a baby about it. You've been shot before. We both have"
"Oh, so that's alright then?" Spike stood upright slowly, trying to keep balance "I don't expect a supposed good guy to order his mates to shoot me like I'm a clay bloody pigeon"
Angel's jaw tightened but he turned away back to his medics and his toy soldiers. Spike slumped back against the wall, half bent over almost. He needed some painkillers, not that they would be real effective on his dead body. He racked up a cough. A glob of blood fell onto the floor in a splatter by Buffy's foot.
She moved her hand up from his arm to place on his back. There she rubbed her hand gently in circles in a soothing way that you might use if your best friend was tossing cookies all over your carpet.
"I think we need to get those bullets out of you," Buffy said gently, leaning down so that her face was level with his "The ones that didn't go all the way through, I mean"
Spike turned his blue eyes to her "You volunteering for nurse duty?"
"Yeah, you think I'd look good in the uniform?" She asked, striking a pose.
He laughed, then clutched his side as pain shook him "Oh, yeah. I need to see that before I die"
"If you're lucky," Buffy replied, "Come on, let's go and play doctor. I've been told I'm a pro"
Spike grinned again and shook his head slightly. How the Slayer could go from completely hating his guts to something close to flirting he couldn't quite understand. Still when she lifted his arm and placed it over her shoulder for support he really didn't care.
She motioned with her head the way for them to go. Spike leaned on her and hobbled away out of the holding cell room and down the corridor. They reached a room. It was a lab. Buffy checked it and found it empty. Walking inside they started to close the door when they heard Angel.
"You don't want to wait for the Kraal to wake up?" Angel asked as he appeared at the doorway, looking at Buffy.
She moved away from Spike and walked further into the room, standing by a gurney "Is he coming round anytime soon?"
"Well, I don't know, uh, maybe…"
"Then I think I've got time to tend to Spike's war wounds" Buffy arched an eyebrow "Right?"
Angel looked from Buffy to Spike and back again "Well, I can get a medic on that –"
"No, s'quite alright, mate" Spike grabbed both of the doors "Slayer's on the case. See you…a lot later"
Spike winked before he closed the door on Angel's scowling face.
He turned back around and found Buffy standing there, shaking her head but with a small smiled on her face.
"I see you two are still best friends" She remarked.
Spike shrugged "It's so easy to piss him off it would be a crime not to"
"Sure," Buffy patted the gurney "Up here, target guy"
He hobbled over, grateful to finally have some real alone time with the Slayer and since she wasn't beating him up this encounter may be more productive. Not that their little spats weren't. In fact, fighting was usually how they worked out their issues and got past them. Odd, that.
Spike shrugged off his duster, throwing it on a near-by chair before he slid onto the gurney.
"Shirt" She said.
"What about it?" He replied, wryly.
"Off" Buffy instructed "And don't give me any more lip"
"Check; no lips" Spike smirked as he slipped his T-shirt off with great difficulty and much pain.
Buffy let out a small sound of sympathy. He looked down at himself and saw at least seven bullet entry wounds; he didn't know how many exit wounds there would be. Chances were a few of them were stuck in him.
She walked around to stand behind him. Spike listened carefully, hearing the pounding of her blood as it rushed around her body. He smiled. She was so alive, so warm, so…not like him. He sighed, looked down at his boots as he scuffed them against one another.
He was jolted out of his momentary depression when her hand touched lightly against his shoulder blades. Spike turned rigid at the surprise contact then instantly eased into a relaxed, content posture. Buffy ran her hand down his back, he closed his eyes. Her heated skin felt good against his cool back.
Spike smiled again as he heard her heartbeat pick up, just slightly, but it was enough to please him. Seemed things weren't one way, like he had feared.
"I only see four exit wounds on this side," Buffy said finally "Meaning there's gotta be three still stuck inside you"
"Oh, joy" Spike breathed.
The Slayer moved around in front of him and Spike mourned the loss of her skin on his. She looked around the lab, making a sort of 'ah ha!' sound. Buffy turned back to him brandishing long, painful looking tweezers.
"Careful with them, Slayer," He watched her as she approached "You could take someone's eye out with them"
Buffy arched one perfect eyebrow "Amongst other things"
Spike pursed his lips and looked at her, laughter glittering in his eyes. She smiled, slightly, and only for a moment but it made his un-beating heart almost thump. Buffy came to stand in front of him and then she leaned down.
"I'd keep still," She advised "This is gonna hurt"
"Yeah, you don't say"
Buffy leaned one hand on his shoulder to steady herself, then taking a breath, plunged the tweezers into one of the bullet holes. Spike bit down on his lip but a deep groan escaped followed by a wince. The metal implements ripped through his already ragged skin, poking and prodding.
Then, they were out.
Buffy held up the bloody bullet in her instrument of torture, she looked at it then past it to his eyes.
"Sorry" She whispered "I guess I'm not exactly Dr. Quinn"
"Better than the last time I got shot up like this"
"Oh?"
"Yeah, me and Angelus had to take on a mob of mightily pissed off cowboy-types"
She leaned in to him again, to take out another bullet "And what did you do to them?"
"Well, Angel had it off with one of their daughter's, didn't he?" Spike winced as she started to operation all over again.
"Why do I get the feeling there's more to this story?"
"Also he killed the girl"
"Ah, of course"
"So, then we were out drinking in the local pub and all these John Wayne wannabes started tearing up the place, got real trigger-happy" Spike gritted his teeth through the pain "'Course that left Angel and me hiding out in some dingy rat-infested house, digging out the bullets with broken bottle bits"
Buffy looked up at him wide-eyed "Ow. Hope you had something to dull the pain. Actually, no I don't, you were both evil then. Pain is good"
"Sometimes it is, pet" Spike gave her a smirk "But the broken bottles? Well, they had been filled with whiskey. We had to drink it all to give us some pain relief. Didn't bloody work too well"
She yanked out another bullet "Well, I have to say you deserved it that time"
"And this time?"
"This time…" Buffy blew out a breath, paused, "This time no. You're a good man. Even if you are still way too pushy. Also, you punched me"
"You punched me too" Spike responded "It's what we do. That and shag"
Buffy shook her head, but she wore a smile on her face "So, that's what we boil down to, is it? Violence and sex"
"Two of my favourite things," He chuckled "Yours too, if you're honest"
The Slayer let out a non-committal sound and leaned down to him for the last time. Then she would be off, running and fighting, kicking evil's ass and he would be left behind. So, best to make the most of these moments. Spike looked down at the back of her head, which was right under his nose. He could smell her shampoo, her perfume, just her. He took in a deep lungful of it and sighed.
Spike was aware of the hand she had on his shoulder to keep her balanced as she set about her makeshift operation. The blood pulsing through her hand seemed to penetrate his skin. He could feel her pulse within him and for a moment it felt as if maybe it was his pulse.
Spike felt his hand lift in mid-air. He was thinking about touching her, about seeing if she would allow him to. His hand wavered. She had missed him. She had said it, not even half an hour ago. If she really meant that, then in what way had she missed him? In a friendly way? Something more? He would take whatever he could get. Of course, that didn't mean he wouldn't still prefer the latter option.
There was really only one way to find out. As Buffy pulled the last bullet from him, he knew it was now or never.
Spike lifted his hand and placed it on the side of her face, brushing her hair back behind her ear. Buffy lifted her head slowly and their faces were level. She was expressionless. He fought to keep his face just as blank.
Spike's thumb slid around slowly, carefully, to brush against her lips. They were so soft, so ripe. As if they were just waiting to be kissed. He flickered his gaze from those lips back up to her eyes. She was watching him. Not stopping him, but not falling into his arms either.
He tilted his head, regarded her. Buffy blinked, and just when he thought that was going to be it; just this vacant look, he saw slight movement. Spike could have sworn that she had almost taken a step forward into him but she was fighting to make it look like she hadn't moved an inch.
It was time to be bold.
Spike leaned forward, slow, giving her enough time to punch him in the nose and run back to Rome. She didn't. She did not stop him.
He closed his eyes as he neared her. Could smell her sweet scented breath, the make-up on her face, the perfume dabbed around her slender throat…
He kissed Buffy Summers.
Pressing his lips to hers, the softness of it all was like coming home and Spike hadn't had a home for a long time. He sighed blissfully.
Buffy's hands were on his shoulders, sliding around his neck. He buried his hand underneath her hair against the back of her neck. Bringing her closer, more urgent.
There was a knock at the door.
Spike was all for ignoring it. Unfortunately Buffy jolted and jumped back. He let out a groan and slumped down onto the gurney in defeat. Still, a kiss. He was soon grinning again.
The door opened and Gunn's voice said "Sorry to bust the party. Kraal's awake. One of the lab techs shot him with some kind of adrenaline stuff for demons"
Spike sat up slowly.
"Right, good" Buffy nodded, running her hands through her hair "Demons. Right. Uh. Okay"
She turned and strode out of the door.
Gunn turned and looked at Spike, raising his eyebrows. Spike just smiled like the cat that got the cream.
A/N: Well, I did promise you more Spuffy. Surely, that will tide you over for, oh, at least five minutes?