First, might I add again, this takes place two years later. Everything that Spike had thought would happen didn't. Buffy didn't get over him. She has not gone on a date for the whole two years. She has turned down so many guys. Her excuse? "I'm taken". She hasn't even gone to the Bronze.
The Scooby's now patrol for her. She hasn't even touched a stake since the time she was caught by the minion and sent to Scarlett. She didn't even care about it. To her it was no use, they would just keep coming back.
She even stopped seeing her friends on a daily bases. Willow and Oz had gone to Sunnydale University. Cordelia had gone to LA, and Xander had stayed home. From what she heard, Giles had been taking care of most of her duties.
Spike was acting the same way, he missed her and he regretted the decision to leave her. But he was happy she finally had the chance at a normal life, Define normal... he had said to himself on the train ride to the ocean, Does it mean average? What if average is not normal. The hell mouth is never normal than. But then if it's not normal and stuff happens all the time than it's normal for something to happen. Normal can be anything. So if it can be anything then it could mean him...
He had gotten a letter from Giles, Buffy's watcher that said Giles suspected that the Watchers council was going to kill her because she wasn't doing her duties. Spike was scared to death for her.
" Buffy, could you go to the corner store and get some eggs?" Joyce asked Buffy. Buffy looked up from her sappy love novel and yawned, " I'm going to make scrambled eggs tomorrow."
" Yes, mom." She stood up, grabbed her coat off of the coat rack and walked to her mom, " Just a dozen?"
" Yeah, Here's two dollars, That should be enough." Joyce pulled two dollars out of her pocket and handed them to Buffy.
" Be back in a minute." Buffy stepped out of the house and pulled her coat on over her body. She snuggled into it's warmth, shielding her face from the cold, night winds. Something caught her eye on the sidewalk on the other side of the road. It was a group of teenagers, Buffy could tell that the two guys were vampires and the three girls were human. But she didn't know what to do. She hadn't even touched a stake in a year. And that was just when Xander needed something to keep his tent/fort thing on the grass. She felt her pockets for something, but there was nothing in them, Buffy shook her head wildly and turned away. She then heard the girls scream. Before she could think, she turned and ran at the group. Buffy had tore a mailbox post from the ground, the two guys didn't even stand a chance, The three girls went off running quickly not even caring about Buffy's safety. Buffy had stood there a moment and sucked in a deep and shaky breath. Then she turned off to the store.
" Spike?" Scarlett asked, she walked to him and put her hand on his cheek, " are you OK?"
" I'm OK." Spike said.
" No your not."
" I'm fine." Spike said through his teeth.
" No, your not."
" Scarlett... What do you want me to say? That I'm not OK?"
" You still love her. ... Buffy." She spat Buffy's name out like it left a disease on her tongue.
" Yes." Spike said, " I do."
" What made you bring this up? After two whole years?" She asked.
" I got a note." Spike said handing her a note. She read it aloud.
" 'Spike, This is Giles. Buffy hasn't been acting the same since you left. She has not done any of her slaying duties, she is constantly sulking and she needs you. The watcher council is going to do something about this. I know them. I think there going to kill her. Please Spike, Buffy needs you'. That sounds like rubbish."
" Scarlett." Spike yelled grabbing the note from her.
" Why do you even care about her? She's a slayer. She kills your kind."
" I love her." Spike said.
" So?" She asked, " You love me now, remember?"
" She always cared about me." Spike said, " She could have killed me numerous times, but she didn't."
" she didn't kill Angel." Scarlett said, she turned away and looked out the window.
" Angel had a soul." Spike said.
" So?" Scarlett asked. asked.
" I didn't, was that enough of a reason to kill me."
" I just don't understand. She's out alone, able to date whoever she wants. You wanted her to be happy, now she can."
" I wanted her to be happy, but now I'm not."
" God Spike, do you ever want me?" Scarlett asked, a tear was sliding down her cheek.
" I did, once upon a time ago."
" Right." Scarlett said sarcastically.
" I let you go. I let you go be free, and I suffered." Spike said.
" You loved me then?"
" Yeah, you weren't like the others."
" I had a soul."
" You still do."
" So?"
" You weren't like the others. You weren't insane or out of my reach. I only knew three girls: You, Darla, and Drusilla. The only reason I liked you was because out of all the girls, the three of them, you were the one who I could even get a chance to be with. The only one that was good, I had nothing to compare you to. Your were different, not because you had a soul, the soul doesn't matter. But because you were the only one I really knew."
" You don't love me anymore?" She asked, walking backwards.
" No, but I'll stay with you." Spike said.
" No, go back to her." Scarlett said, " It's the least you could do for her."
" Scarlett?" Spike said.
" She heard it." She said, " Everything you said that day when we first left. She was in the room under us. She could hear us, every word you said about loving her and leaving her so she could live a normal life."
" That's how she knew to come to the train station? She knew that we had left."
" Yeah." Scarlett said, " Go back to her."
" Here." Buffy said to her mom as she stepped through the door.
" Hey." Joyce said as Buffy walked threw the front door. Buffy handed her the eggs and started to walk out again, " Where are you going." she asked. Buffy turned to her and smiled.
" I'm going to patrol." Buffy said as Joyce also smiled.
" Have fun." Joyce said. Buffy nodded as she walked out of the house and down to a cemetery.
He watched in the distance, trying to decide of he should talk to her or not. He didn't know how she would react. It's been so long. He chuckled when she killed the first vampire. He was big-boned, but he was slow. He slowly crept out of the shade of the tree and followed the slayer till she stopped, sensing someone's presence behind her. She turned around, but didn't see anyone.
" Alright, I know you're here." She said, " come out."
" Alright Pet." A dark figure said coming out from the back of a tree, " Here I am."
" Spike." Buffy asked confused, then she smiled and ran to him. She jumped onto him in a big embrace and he fell back onto the ground.
" Hey, Slayer." Spike smiled, " If I'da known you were going to be this happy to see me, I would have come sooner."
" You should have." Buffy said getting off of him, allowing him to get up, " Why'd you leave in the first place?" she asked harshly.
" Didn't you hear?" Spike said, " Didn't you hear it through the sky roof?"
" Every word of it." Buffy said.
" Then you know why I did it." Spike said.
" I understand that, but what made you think that?"
" I had a talk with Joyce."
" Mom?" Buffy asked, " what did she say?"
" Oh, nothing, except that I could never give you what you need." Spike said, " I left so that you could have a good long life."
" News flash, I'm a slayer. Our 'good long life' is actually shortened by a good long 50-60 years."
" Buffy." Spike said annoyed, " Do you want me to leave?" he started to turn and walk away, Buffy leaped out and grabbed his shoulder.
" No, no, no, no. Did I say leave? No, please don't leave again." Buffy begged.
" OK, then I'll stay. Thank God." Spike said. She smiled, which made him smile.
" Want to go out for coffee?" Buffy asked.
" Is the Café still open at this hour?"
" Maybe." Buffy shrugged, " I guess well find out."
" Yes, the plan is finally in action." he said into his cell phone.
" she and the vampire are together?" the guy on the other line asked.
" Yeah." he said, " There going out for coffee."
" OK, thank you Agent Finn."
Uh oh. What's going to happen next? Is it Riley? Or is there another guy out there with the same last name? (Gee, I hope not because more than one Riley? EWW gag me). And what about the note? Who knows?