Chapter Thirty-One: Suddenly, Uncontrolled Something is Taking Hold
"Morning," Willow said to Buffy as she came downstairs. "How are you?"
Buffy shrugged, "I've been better but I've been worse too." She sat down at the island and looked at the herbs spread around. "Is it going to be ready soon?"
"It won't be long," Tara said. "We just have a few more ingredients we need to add and then it should be ready."
"How's Spike?" Willow asked.
"No change," Buffy said. "But I can tell the poison is working. There are burns on his skin that came from the inside."
"Once he gets this he'll be okay," Willow assured her. "He'll be back to his old self before we know it."
"I can't believe I'm wishing for Spike to be himself again," Buffy said, pouring herself a glass of juice.
"Hey guys," Cordelia said, coming into the kitchen, a bottle in one hand and Connor in her arms. "Can I use the microwave? Connor likes his bottle warmed up."
"Sure," Buffy said. She sighed, "Him and Spike. Spike always wants his blood warmed up to the right temperature or he won't drink it."
"Connor's the same way, aren't you?" Cordelia said, bouncing the baby in her arms.
Buffy looked at the baby Cordelia was holding and hesitantly asked, "Can I hold him?"
"Sure," Cordelia said. "If he'll let you. He's being really shy right now about letting strangers hold him." She gently passed Connor over to Buffy.
Surprisingly Connor didn't protest at being held by strange arms. He just looked up at Buffy and studied her face. Buffy returned his stare, studying ever feature. She could see traces of both Angel and Darla in this baby. He didn't look like the child of two people who had terrorized Europe for centuries. Instead he looked like any ordinary baby. Buffy looked up at Cordelia, with tears in her eyes, "He's beautiful."
"Are you okay?" Cordelia asked, concerned. She knew what was going on with Buffy and Spike. Angel had told her everything the night before when he'd come to check on Connor.
"I'm fine," Buffy said, blinking back tears. "Really, it's just hormones. I get emotional around babies. I can't even watch a diaper commercial without crying." She handed the baby back to Cordelia.
Cordelia sat down at the island and put the bottle in Connor's mouth, "So anything new around here?"
"The usual," Buffy said. "I died, came back and now I'm pregnant by a vampire. How about you?"
"Usual," Cordelia said in the same casual tone. "I have visions now and I'm part demon. Plus I'm helping a vampire raise a child."
"The Class of '99 is certainly outdoing itself," Willow said, stirring her potion.
There was a knock at the kitchen door and two tanned figures stumbled through the door. Everyone looked up in surprise. Buffy was the first to recover.
"What are you two doing back?" She asked, hugging first Anya and Xander. "We didn't expect you back until tomorrow."
"We caught an earlier flight," Xander explained.
"How was the Caribbean?" Willow asked.
"Our cruise was wonderful," Anya said. "Of course we didn't see much of the outside of our cabin since we spent most of our time inside having mind blowing sex."
"You must be Anya," Cordelia said, sarcastically.
Anya studied Cordelia for a minute and then her eyes narrowed, "And you must be Cordelia. I've heard a lot about you. You can't have him back. He's mine now."
"You can have him," Cordelia said.
"Cordy," Xander said, trying to defuse the situation. "When did you have a baby? Who's the father?"
"He's mine," Angel said, coming into the kitchen. He looked over at Buffy, "Is that going to be ready soon? I just checked on Spike and I don't know how much longer he can hang on."
"We're almost done," Willow said. "Just a few more minutes."
"What's going on here?" Xander asked, confused. "Angel and Cordelia have a son. Willow and Tara are doing magic in Buffy's kitchen. Angel's concerned about Spike." Xander looked at Anya, "Honey, we discussed this. We were not going to any alternate dimensions for our honeymoon. So can you transport us back to reality?'
Anya shook her head, "Don't look at me. This is real, strange but real."
Xander looked around, "Okay, did you all lose your minds while we were gone?"
"No one's lost their minds," Buffy said impatiently. "A lot's happened while you were gone and we didn't want to ruin your honeymoon so we didn't call you because there was nothing you could do."
"Thanks," Anya said. "Because we were having the best sex ever and I didn't want it to end."
"Is she for real?" Cordelia asked. She looked down at Connor, "Come on, Connor. Let's go upstairs. This conversation is a little too mature for you." She took the baby and headed upstairs.
"How did you and Cordy manage to have a baby?" Xander asked. "Vampires aren't supposed to have kids."
"Connor's not Cordelia's son," Angel said. "He's mine and Darla's."
"Isn't she dead?" Xander asked.
"Yes," Angel said, shortly.
"We're ready," Tara broke in, holding up a smoking goblet. "He just has to drink this."
"Who has to drink what?" Xander asked.
"Spike," Buffy said, taking the goblet from Tara. She hurried upstairs, everyone following her, and into her room. Dawn was sitting in her place by Spike. She looked up at the sudden intrusion.
"Is that it?" She asked.
"Yeah," Buffy said.
"Whoa," Xander said, at the sight of Spike. Spike's bruises and burns had gotten even worse. He looked worse than the times Buffy and Glory had beaten him up. He had stopped making any kind of sound hours ago, the damage was to great for him to even moan. "What happened to him?"
"Drusilla," Angel said, looking sympathetically at his injured childe/grandchilde.
"Okay," Willow said, taking charge of the situation. "We don't know how he's going to react to this so Xander and Angel, hold him down. I'll pour it down his throat."
"I'll do it," Buffy said.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Willow said. "He might resist and accidentally hurt you."
"Alright," Buffy said, handing Willow the goblet. She didn't like being so helpless but Willow had a point. Besides Spike was going through all this right now because he had wanted to protect her and the baby. She wasn't going to make his suffering be in vain.
"Okay guys," Willow said. "Ready?" Angel held onto Spike's upper body and Xander onto his legs. Willow took a deep breath and slowly poured the mixture down Spike's throat. Once she was done they all stood back and waited.
"What happens now?" Dawn asked.
"We wait," Tara said, putting her arms around Dawn.
Their wait wasn't long. First there was just a slight twitch of Spike's arm, then his leg and before they had all realized what was happening Spike's while body was convulsing.
"What's happening?" Buffy asked, panicked.
"I don't know," Willow said. "The book didn't talk about this part."
Suddenly Spike started screaming in pain, his body convulsing the whole time.
"Spike," Dawn cried. She started to run to him but Buffy grabbed her and thrust her back into Tara's arms.
"Get her out of here," Buffy said.
"Come on, honey," Tara said, dragging a sobbing Dawn out the door.
"No! No! Stop it, leave me alone," Spike began to say. Buffy hurried to his side.
"Spike, it's okay," She tried to soothe. "Nothing's going to hurt you. You're safe."
"No, please, stop it. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." His voice had taken on the tone and quality of a child. "I'll do better next time, Uncle, I promise."
"What's he talking about?" Xander asked.
Buffy looked up at Angel, "He thinks he's a child again, that his uncle is beating him."
Suddenly the expression on Spike's face changed, from terror to rage, "What are you doing? Leave her alone! You're hurting her! Stop it!"
"Oh no," Buffy said. Spike had gone from reliving his uncle's beatings to his uncle molesting his sister. She grabbed onto his shoulders and tried to hold him down, "Spike, Spike, listen to me. It's over. That was years ago. Charlotte's safe now. You saved her. You're safe now too. You have Dawn, me and our baby and we all care about you." She looked up at Angel and Willow, "Do something."
" We just have to wait it out," Willow said. "This is very old and complicated magic. There aren't any real details."
"Why didn't you say that before?" Buffy yelled.
"Because he would have died otherwise," Willow said.
"So we just have to watch him suffer?" Buffy asked, tears coming to her eyes.
"It's the only way to get the poison out of his system," Willow said.
Buffy turned back to Spike. His cries of pain had ceased but the convulsions continued. Suddenly he reached out and latched on to her hand. Startled she tried to pull back but he held fast. For a brief moment his eyes opened and met hers. His cracked and bruised lips slowly managed the word, "Buffy," before he was captured again by the battle between the poison in his system and its cure.
"Morning," Willow said to Buffy as she came downstairs. "How are you?"
Buffy shrugged, "I've been better but I've been worse too." She sat down at the island and looked at the herbs spread around. "Is it going to be ready soon?"
"It won't be long," Tara said. "We just have a few more ingredients we need to add and then it should be ready."
"How's Spike?" Willow asked.
"No change," Buffy said. "But I can tell the poison is working. There are burns on his skin that came from the inside."
"Once he gets this he'll be okay," Willow assured her. "He'll be back to his old self before we know it."
"I can't believe I'm wishing for Spike to be himself again," Buffy said, pouring herself a glass of juice.
"Hey guys," Cordelia said, coming into the kitchen, a bottle in one hand and Connor in her arms. "Can I use the microwave? Connor likes his bottle warmed up."
"Sure," Buffy said. She sighed, "Him and Spike. Spike always wants his blood warmed up to the right temperature or he won't drink it."
"Connor's the same way, aren't you?" Cordelia said, bouncing the baby in her arms.
Buffy looked at the baby Cordelia was holding and hesitantly asked, "Can I hold him?"
"Sure," Cordelia said. "If he'll let you. He's being really shy right now about letting strangers hold him." She gently passed Connor over to Buffy.
Surprisingly Connor didn't protest at being held by strange arms. He just looked up at Buffy and studied her face. Buffy returned his stare, studying ever feature. She could see traces of both Angel and Darla in this baby. He didn't look like the child of two people who had terrorized Europe for centuries. Instead he looked like any ordinary baby. Buffy looked up at Cordelia, with tears in her eyes, "He's beautiful."
"Are you okay?" Cordelia asked, concerned. She knew what was going on with Buffy and Spike. Angel had told her everything the night before when he'd come to check on Connor.
"I'm fine," Buffy said, blinking back tears. "Really, it's just hormones. I get emotional around babies. I can't even watch a diaper commercial without crying." She handed the baby back to Cordelia.
Cordelia sat down at the island and put the bottle in Connor's mouth, "So anything new around here?"
"The usual," Buffy said. "I died, came back and now I'm pregnant by a vampire. How about you?"
"Usual," Cordelia said in the same casual tone. "I have visions now and I'm part demon. Plus I'm helping a vampire raise a child."
"The Class of '99 is certainly outdoing itself," Willow said, stirring her potion.
There was a knock at the kitchen door and two tanned figures stumbled through the door. Everyone looked up in surprise. Buffy was the first to recover.
"What are you two doing back?" She asked, hugging first Anya and Xander. "We didn't expect you back until tomorrow."
"We caught an earlier flight," Xander explained.
"How was the Caribbean?" Willow asked.
"Our cruise was wonderful," Anya said. "Of course we didn't see much of the outside of our cabin since we spent most of our time inside having mind blowing sex."
"You must be Anya," Cordelia said, sarcastically.
Anya studied Cordelia for a minute and then her eyes narrowed, "And you must be Cordelia. I've heard a lot about you. You can't have him back. He's mine now."
"You can have him," Cordelia said.
"Cordy," Xander said, trying to defuse the situation. "When did you have a baby? Who's the father?"
"He's mine," Angel said, coming into the kitchen. He looked over at Buffy, "Is that going to be ready soon? I just checked on Spike and I don't know how much longer he can hang on."
"We're almost done," Willow said. "Just a few more minutes."
"What's going on here?" Xander asked, confused. "Angel and Cordelia have a son. Willow and Tara are doing magic in Buffy's kitchen. Angel's concerned about Spike." Xander looked at Anya, "Honey, we discussed this. We were not going to any alternate dimensions for our honeymoon. So can you transport us back to reality?'
Anya shook her head, "Don't look at me. This is real, strange but real."
Xander looked around, "Okay, did you all lose your minds while we were gone?"
"No one's lost their minds," Buffy said impatiently. "A lot's happened while you were gone and we didn't want to ruin your honeymoon so we didn't call you because there was nothing you could do."
"Thanks," Anya said. "Because we were having the best sex ever and I didn't want it to end."
"Is she for real?" Cordelia asked. She looked down at Connor, "Come on, Connor. Let's go upstairs. This conversation is a little too mature for you." She took the baby and headed upstairs.
"How did you and Cordy manage to have a baby?" Xander asked. "Vampires aren't supposed to have kids."
"Connor's not Cordelia's son," Angel said. "He's mine and Darla's."
"Isn't she dead?" Xander asked.
"Yes," Angel said, shortly.
"We're ready," Tara broke in, holding up a smoking goblet. "He just has to drink this."
"Who has to drink what?" Xander asked.
"Spike," Buffy said, taking the goblet from Tara. She hurried upstairs, everyone following her, and into her room. Dawn was sitting in her place by Spike. She looked up at the sudden intrusion.
"Is that it?" She asked.
"Yeah," Buffy said.
"Whoa," Xander said, at the sight of Spike. Spike's bruises and burns had gotten even worse. He looked worse than the times Buffy and Glory had beaten him up. He had stopped making any kind of sound hours ago, the damage was to great for him to even moan. "What happened to him?"
"Drusilla," Angel said, looking sympathetically at his injured childe/grandchilde.
"Okay," Willow said, taking charge of the situation. "We don't know how he's going to react to this so Xander and Angel, hold him down. I'll pour it down his throat."
"I'll do it," Buffy said.
"I don't think that's a good idea," Willow said. "He might resist and accidentally hurt you."
"Alright," Buffy said, handing Willow the goblet. She didn't like being so helpless but Willow had a point. Besides Spike was going through all this right now because he had wanted to protect her and the baby. She wasn't going to make his suffering be in vain.
"Okay guys," Willow said. "Ready?" Angel held onto Spike's upper body and Xander onto his legs. Willow took a deep breath and slowly poured the mixture down Spike's throat. Once she was done they all stood back and waited.
"What happens now?" Dawn asked.
"We wait," Tara said, putting her arms around Dawn.
Their wait wasn't long. First there was just a slight twitch of Spike's arm, then his leg and before they had all realized what was happening Spike's while body was convulsing.
"What's happening?" Buffy asked, panicked.
"I don't know," Willow said. "The book didn't talk about this part."
Suddenly Spike started screaming in pain, his body convulsing the whole time.
"Spike," Dawn cried. She started to run to him but Buffy grabbed her and thrust her back into Tara's arms.
"Get her out of here," Buffy said.
"Come on, honey," Tara said, dragging a sobbing Dawn out the door.
"No! No! Stop it, leave me alone," Spike began to say. Buffy hurried to his side.
"Spike, it's okay," She tried to soothe. "Nothing's going to hurt you. You're safe."
"No, please, stop it. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." His voice had taken on the tone and quality of a child. "I'll do better next time, Uncle, I promise."
"What's he talking about?" Xander asked.
Buffy looked up at Angel, "He thinks he's a child again, that his uncle is beating him."
Suddenly the expression on Spike's face changed, from terror to rage, "What are you doing? Leave her alone! You're hurting her! Stop it!"
"Oh no," Buffy said. Spike had gone from reliving his uncle's beatings to his uncle molesting his sister. She grabbed onto his shoulders and tried to hold him down, "Spike, Spike, listen to me. It's over. That was years ago. Charlotte's safe now. You saved her. You're safe now too. You have Dawn, me and our baby and we all care about you." She looked up at Angel and Willow, "Do something."
" We just have to wait it out," Willow said. "This is very old and complicated magic. There aren't any real details."
"Why didn't you say that before?" Buffy yelled.
"Because he would have died otherwise," Willow said.
"So we just have to watch him suffer?" Buffy asked, tears coming to her eyes.
"It's the only way to get the poison out of his system," Willow said.
Buffy turned back to Spike. His cries of pain had ceased but the convulsions continued. Suddenly he reached out and latched on to her hand. Startled she tried to pull back but he held fast. For a brief moment his eyes opened and met hers. His cracked and bruised lips slowly managed the word, "Buffy," before he was captured again by the battle between the poison in his system and its cure.