The Road to Nowhere, Leads to Me

Chp.7

She's Got the Look

I could tell you what I do own, but that would take a while, so I'll tell you what I don't own. This, it belongs to the usual suspects.

Spike stands in awe, his head cocked slightly to the side, hands stuffed firmly in the deep pockets of his duster, as he observes the softness reflected at him in Buffy's green eyes. The look in the ghostly slayer's eyes rattles him on the inside, but he shows no signs of it on the outside. He'd gotten a similar expression from her on many occasions in the last year of Sunnydale. But only after she'd learned that he'd gone to Africa to get a lousy poets soul for her. He'd always thought that it was a look of pity, or empathy showing so brightly on her countenance. But now that he'd assessed the look, his eyes linger in hers, searching. Something had changed dramatically in her gaze, there's something there that hadn't been there until those last few moments, she'd given him that look only the once, and there wasn't time to analyze what he'd seen. It is only a small glint of something other than what she'd been showing him.

The Hellmouth: Six months ago

Their hands burst into a blazing flame. as she clasps his firmly in her tiny one. She draws in a deep, breath. Neither of them feeling the heat of their burning hands, as his incredulous gaze looks into her own pained one. "I Love You." It had been there in those few moments, that little glint of something else, it had only been a flash, but he could remember it like it had just happened yesterday.

That had been the first and only time that it was turned on him. Now she stands in front of him her own eyes gazing into his, that same glint in the shining pools. He doesn't have any clue as to what to make of it. But god he can only hope that he isn't reading her wrong. The last time she'd said she loved him, and if his heart could jump it would.

"Spike?" He hears her melodic voice break into his thoughts. He steps back in surprise, and straight through the wall behind him. The people in the conference room glance over at him, then back down to the papers in front of them, as if this were an everyday occurence.

"Oh, bloody hell," he retorts, as a hand comes through the wall, and grabs his duster to pull him back into the other room.

Buffy stands in front of him, her little hand placed firmly on his chest, as she smiles a bright smile up at him. It's the first time in a long time that he'd seen that kind of smile on her face, and it takes the breath he doesn't have away from him. His hand comes up to firmly lay against her cheek.

"That was pretty neat," she says, as she places her free hand on the one on her cheek.

He shakes his head in wonderment, as she stands there with the most open look that he's ever seen. He can read everything in her eyes. His only reaction is a smile of his own.

"Maybe, this being a phantom thingy, isn't going to be so bad after all." She pats his chest, the smile never leaving her eyes. "But." She turns from him to the only other person that may be able to give her some answers.

Wesley looks startled as Buffy turns her gaze on him. Spike can just see the look in her eye. The glint of steel that he knows so well, the one that demands answers and soon. He ought to know it'd been directed at him so many times that he had it memorized, just like the one that she'd only given twice in his unlife. Ghostly life couldn't get any better. Well it could, but that could wait 'til later. Right now there's more pressing issues.

"I'd like to know why I'm here in this form." Spike can see by the look on Wes' face that Buffy's eyes are saying more than what her words meant. She wasn't asking him, she was demanding the request from him.

Slayer General Buffy is back in command, and again he is her second. He knows this because the steely glance is turned on him, now. Oh yeah, this could be completely fun. He smiles ruefully, he can't wait to see what she'd do next. Even as a ghostly entity she's going to be a formidable opponent, he can tell this just by the way she'd started bossing Angel's crew around, already.

Poor Percy looked as if he were about to piss his pants, Angel looked as if he were going to sit and brood the rest of the day, Gunn seemed to be looking admiringly at Buffy. Spike gives pause, a look of dismay on his face as he studies the black mans expression.

Gunn looks up from Buffy to see his feral gaze on him, and turns away. Spike smirks in satisfaction, taking in the rest of the crew. Fred looks at him gauging his reactions, and smiles sweetly. She seems happy for him, and he gives her patented sly smirk in thanks. Fred blushes and turns away from him. Lorne seems to be intent on Buffy, not in the I'd like to shag her way. But in an analytical kind of way. Spike places a hand on his slayers shoulder, and the green guy draws in a surprised gasp of breath. A scarred eyebrow raises at the reaction, he'd have to ask Lorne about that later. Wonder what he saw? Flits through his mind, but is completely forgotten when Buffy's eyes turn back into his, and that same glint is still there, making his heart want to jump start, again. He sighs. Yeah ghostly unlife, couldn't get much better than that look.

"I love you."

Okay, it could.

He could swear that he felt the long dead muscle in his chest had skipped a beat, but it hadn't. Ghostly unlife had just gotten a whole lot better. He pushes an errant piece of hair from her forehead, and breathes in a deep breath smiling like the cheshire cat, and places a gentle kiss on her cheek. "Yeah, I know, Luv."

She smiles her most brilliant smile, and raises up on her tiptoes, placing a gentle kiss over his ghostly lips.

"That's good to hear. Since the last..." She trails off in a whisper.

"Wanted to believe you then too, but..."

She just smiles, and grabs his hand in hers. "Yeah, I had a lot of time to lay in bed at night, and think about that. No harm, no foul."

Their attention is drawn away from each other, by the sound of Wes clearing his throat. Turning to the man, they give him identical, evil glares.

Spike had wanted to explain, and understand her strange answer. "Spit it out, Percy. We haven't got all day."

Wes gives an evil glare of his own. "I was just going to suggest that maybe we should start researching." His eyebrows rise in a questioning manner.

Spike gives a nod of acceptance. "You go do that." He looks down on the blonde head of the girl standing in front of him. "We're going to talk." He tugs Buffy around after grabbing her by the wrist, dragging her back through the wall behind him, and leaving the others in the room to do whatever they are supposed to be doing.

(I'd like to thank Placid Turmoil for betaing this for me. If it weren't for her, you probably wouldn't be reading this. Thanks girl, you rock. Also, thank you to everyone whose reviewed so far, it keeps me writing this. Although, I'm also trying to write two other fics along with this. I'll try and have another chapter up sometime next week.)