Cravings

Chapter Three

Note: Thanks for your kind reviews, I was really thrilled when I read them. I'm not yet used to people praising my work. Sorry it took me so long to update, I hope you guys did not die because of the terrible cliffhanger I left you with. I'll try to post the next chapters more regulary but I can't promise because there is nothing more written yet. Therefore I'm very open to any kind of suggestion about what parts from the original series I should take into my little story or any other suggestions you may have.

So here's the next part, I hope you like it.

Oh, and in case I don't say it as much as I should: Many thanks to my big sis Chris! Without her I would never have known Buffy or Spike and I would certainly nerver have started to write! Thank you!


"Oh god, Spike!"

Buffy looked down at the obviously unconscious vampire that lay sprawled at her feet. If it hadn't been for the conspicuous bleached hair and the trademark duster she never would've recognised him.

Spike's face, or what was left of it, was one blood-spattered mask. Both eyes were completely swollen shut, his nose was broken and his lips were split open and bleeding.

But what had caught her attention mostly was the big gash running from one side of his face to the other. It looked as if something huge had torn its very sharp claws through Spike's face leaving four deep red blood-stained marks behind. Starting at the vampire's right temple they went over the prominent cheekbone and mouth down towards the left side of his throat where they ended next to his Adam's apple.

Buffy let out another gasp and her eyes travelled down Spike's body. She noticed his black t-shirt had been torn in several places and blood was seeping through it. But the wounds she could glimpse across his chest and abdomen didn't seem to be deep; they didn't look as severe as the ones in his face. Just a couple of bruises and shallow cuts. It also looked as if no bones were broken at all. And, miraculously, Spike's beloved duster seemed to have come out of it whole and undamaged.

The demon (or whatever it had been that had done this to Spike) had obviously concentrated its attack on Spike's handsome features. And it had done its job thoroughly.

But apart from the bad state of his face Buffy wouldn't have thought the injuries to be enough to take a vampire out cold. And Spike was a master vampire. So why was he still lying at her feet unaware and death-like?

Buffy felt a sudden wave of nausea hitting her stomach and she had to swallow forcefully to make it pass. She was used to seeing blood and open wounds and such, benefit of a life as slayer, but somehow seeing Spike in this state caught her off guard.

Spike the master vampire had been beaten to a bloody pulp and was now lying unconsciously at her feet.

One hundred and twenty-something years of fighting-experience plus besting two Slayers and still…

Buffy swallowed and tried to pull herself together.

All thoughts of why she had come here in the first place had left her mind. She had forgotten all about her plan to make sure their little porch scene stayed a secret between them. And of cause to make sure something like that would never happen again.

But the sight of Spike like this…weak and broken…it had suddenly turned all of Buffy's resolve into something different…something like…care.

Oh god, how did this happen? How could she happen to care for him?

One look down into Spike's blood-covered face and…how could she not care?

Buffy kneeled down beside the blond vampire and tried to shake him awake.

"Spike?" she asked, "Spike, can you hear me?"

Spike's head lolled to the side but other than that there was no reaction, not even a groan like the one she had heard before.

'Can vampires get a concussion?' Buffy wondered while her eyes moved around to look for something she could put on the wounds to stop the bleeding. A first aid kit would come in handy but she doubted Spike would have one.

Her eyes fell on the big bed next to her. He would be more comfortable up there and it would also be easier for her to take care of his injuries if she didn't have to crawl around him on the cold floor all the time. But how should she get him up there?

Buffy sighed, stood up and moved to his other side. Then she bent down, pushed her right arm behind his neck and pulled him into a sitting position. Spike's limp body threatened to fall forward so Buffy moved in to steady it with her shoulder. When the bloodstained head rested in the crook of her neck Buffy put her other arm under Spike's legs and hauled him up against her slim body. She carried him the few feet to the bed and let him down with a groan.

Spike's dead weight plopped onto the mattress with a thud and his arms fell limp to his sides. His head lolled to the right and then his eyes fluttered briefly as if he was about to wake up. Buffy didn't notice.

After a reassuring glance that he lay as comfortable as possible she moved away to look for a first aid kit or something comparable. But in the dim light of the single burning candle she wasn't able to find anything. She had to light more candles and nearly burned her hand in the process. Buffy and fire…two unmixable things.

"Stupid candles!" she cursed under her breath.

Buffy knew that Spike had tapped into the power line to make the small fridge and TV in the upper level run. So why couldn't he have electricity down here?

"Like 'em!"

"Huh?"

Buffy spun around to face the vampire behind her. Spike hadn't moved and the eyes were still closed (well, they were too swollen to open, right?), but she was sure she'd heard him murmur something. So she went over to the bed and sat down beside him.

"Spike?" she asked and shook his shoulder softly, "are you awake?"

"Sort of!" came his whispered reply.

The words were slurred due to his cracked lips but he was awake. Thank god!

"Spike, what happened to you?" Buffy asked after she'd let out her breath in relief. "Are you in pain? Do you need anything? Can I get you something? Blood? Do you need some blood?"

Buffy kept rambling till she was interrupted by a low chuckle from Spike that turned immediately into a cough. Spike tried to sit up but was stopped by the searing pain running through his head. So he fell back onto the bed and turned his head instead slightly to spit out some blood.

"Eww!" Buffy squealed and scooted a few inches down the bed to get away from the now blood-covered sheet. Then she looked around for something to clean the mess. On the shelf near the headboard she found something that looked disturbingly like a handkerchief. Did vampires use handkerchiefs? Did Spike use a handkerchief?

Buffy grabbed it and bent over the still coughing vampire to wipe off his mouth cautiously. Then she tried to tend to his other facial injuries but Spike turned his head away quickly and scoffed:

"Stop fussing over me, Slayer! I'm not the bloody English patient!"

"Oh yeah, like you're somewhere near as hot as Ralph Fiennes is! But these wounds need to be cleaned! Don't be an idiot, Spike!"

The vampire tried to throw a piercing glance at the blond girl but without being able to open one's eyes that was kind of difficult. So he went for a frown instead. The pain was breathtaking; thank god he didn't need to breathe after all!

"What's with the sudden concern, Slayer?" Spike inquired when the ache had somewhat subsided, "A proper amount of blood and a good rest for one or two days and William the Bloody will be right as rain!"

"Yeah, sure!" Buffy mocked, "Did you happen to look at your face? Looks like something turned you into William the bloody faceless!"

"That bad, eh?" Spike tried to open his eyes but they were too swollen. He winced again at the pain.

"Stop moving your face! You only make it hurt more!" Buffy said determined. And after a second she added softly: "And I don't want you to be hurt!"

"What was that?" Spike frowned. 'Did she really say what I think she said?'

"Spike! Stop moving!" Buffy yelled suddenly annoyed.

"Okay, Slayer. Calm down, I'll be good now! Not gonna move a muscle!" Spike assured quickly and then he lay still while Buffy tried to free his face from all the blood without saying anything else.

The vampire wondered if he had heard her right. Buffy didn't want him to be hurt? Why's that? Did she suddenly care about him?

And why did she suddenly appear all tense and annoyed? What had bugged her all of a sudden? Something he had said? Could be as he happened to put his foot into his mouth from time to time.

Or had it been the fact that he had heard her say what she'd said?

More likely.

Spike was determined to find out for sure.

But for now he simply tried to block out the pain that was crashing down on him by Buffy cleaning his face not too tenderly.

When the small cotton handkerchief-like towel was nearly seeping in Spike's blood and the vampire's face didn't look much better yet Buffy decided she needed something better, something stronger. She glanced around and her eyes fell on the bottle of whiskey lying half empty near the place she'd found Spike earlier.

Buffy grabbed it, poured some of the contents onto the towel and rubbed the alcohol into the wounds.

"Ow, bloody hell, Slayer!" he suddenly yelped, "Ever heard of something called gentleness?"

Buffy stared down at the vampire and mumbled irritated: "Sorry! I thought it would disinfect the wounds!"

"Yeah, well! Feels like you're rubbing the fucking skin off my fucking bones!"

Buffy suddenly threw the towel away and glared at Spike. Then she jumped up and yelled:

"First of all: There's not much skin left at your face anyway! And I'm just trying to help, you stupid ass! But it seems that you don't want me to help, you don't want me to care about you! Perhaps the thought of me actually caring for you freaks you out! I know it does. I know you think it's gross and…and icky! And it's wrong and it can't happen and…

...you know what? You're right! It can't happen and it won't happen!"

And with that the slayer stormed off up the ladder and gone she was!

"What the hell was that?" Spike wondered.

"Seems like someone got her thoughts a bit in a twist, right? Well, well Slayer! Look who's falling for the Big Bad after all!"


TBC

...and please review and make me happy!