Jenny was dimly aware of Buffy running beside her in the night. "This is all my fault, God, I will never forgive myself if something happens to him." As they turned the corner into the alley Jenny's Slayer senses kicked in and the vampire is dusted in a matter of seconds. "Eddie," she gasped as she took a long breathe not just because of the run, but to give herself time to process the situation without making it worse. With a hunted look in his eyes, Eddie bolted out of the alley. Jenny could tell Buffy and Spike were ready to chase Eddie down and scream at him. "No, I think I have to handle this one alone. Please, just give me half an hour. If he's not home by then you can send out the search party."
"Are you crazy there's no way…" Buffy started ranting.
"Luv, she's right. All the screaming from us won't change what's going on inside his head." Spike silenced his wife. "Maybe she can give him a better talk yeah."
"We'll be back as soon as possible." Jenny agreed as she ran after Eddie.
"How did you know to trust her?" Buffy asked leaning into her husband after the pure exhaustion of the evening.
"Because you're the only one who could ever get through to me." Spike smiled as he kissed her and they started walking home.
&&&
When Jenny did catch up with Eddie, he was sobbing in a mausoleum that must have been Spike's at one time. "Go away." Eddie screamed
"I can't. Like it or not. We are going to have to deal with our relationship sooner or later and judging by tonight it had better be sooner."
"You wouldn't understand."
"What about the person you care about keeping a big, huge secret and it blowing up in their face and then there's a whole group of trust issues. Yeah I would. I know I screwed up by not telling you about Conception sooner, but what we had was so new that I didn't want to test whether or not you'd still like me. Stupid I know, but there it is. I fell in love with a dark mysterious stranger that helped keep me alive my first year as a Slayer. We worked really closely together and he had the older man vibe going for him. But I never loved him as a vampire. I mourn for who he was, but it's over. So turning yourself into a vampire won't impress me and will probably destroy your family. Did you even think about them before you made your big decision to get turned?"
"Is he dust?"
"What?"
"Did the Vampire Conception get destroyed?"
"No, Violet and Willow restored his soul. We all agreed that having a Watcher with super strength around would be a good idea."
"And we'll have your ex hanging over our shoulders for the rest of our lives. I'm getting out of here."
"Eddie wait,"
"No, I can't deal with this."
"I just want to make things better."
"Then kill him,"
"Don't ask me to have him die again."
"Then I'll die,"
"Eddie,"
"No, I'm not stupid. I've been around enough Slayers, Vampires, Watchers, and Mortals to figure out who stays together in the end."
"I am not letting you out that door until you listen to me. I am not Buffy or Faith. I have no idea where our relationship is going or how badly throwing Conception into the mix will affect us. Hell, I don't even know how I feel about having to deal with my dead ex-boyfriend. I'm trying to avoid thinking about that at the moment, but what I do know is that you can't destroy who you are to try to make things better. I love you for who you are. Yes, I'm impressed by the fact that you know more about demons than me. I also look forward to seeing you, because you make me smile, something I haven't done since I was called. It's really scary having the only two people who know your secret die painfully and know that it's your fault, that if you'd been smarter, quicker, something you could have saved them. That's how I felt before I came here. Now, I have mentors and friends that can help me deal with my problems. As hard as it is going to be to walk into your house tonight and face my ex. I know I can do it because I have people who care about me helping me. Don't get turned because of me. You get turned and everyone blames me, I blame me and I become rogue Slayer running around the country hunted and alone, not trusting anyone because I could get them killed. Please give me the power to save you. I love you."
Eddie shocked takes a step back, "That's the first time you've ever said that to me."
"I didn't want to get hurt again, but you are worth the risk." And with those final words that collapse into each other's embrace feeling the waves of love and comfort washing over them. "Now, I need to get you home before everyone starts freaking out, but quiet date tomorrow night after training?"
"Absolutely" Eddie smiled as he helped Jenny up and they walked home arm in arm, both afraid of loosing the other.
