Alex groaned, and rolled over, tossing her arm over the lump beside her. Yawning, she opened her eyes…and leapt off the bed. Her blanket hung over the corner of the bed, slowly slipping. The lump muttered something, and rolled over to face her. She sighed, her hand over her heart, when she realized it was Spike. Shaking her head, she left the room, moving into the kitchen. Buffy looked up from the sink.
"Hey, Alex…Thanks for doing the dishes last night, you didn't have to."
"Oh…No problem," she said slowly, glancing behind her.
"What?"
"Spike just scared the hell out of me…I woke up and found him asleep next to me." Buffy chuckled, and turned her head, shutting off the faucet. "Uh…where's your bowls?" Buffy nodded, downing a bit of water, and lowered the cup.
"Bowls, plates, glasses, cereal, soups, and canned goods," she said, pointing out each cupboard. "Then, pots and pans down there, and silverware over there." Alex nodded.
"Thanks, Buffy…You sure you don't mind me…and Spike…staying here?" she asked, looking over as she pulled out a bowl and a spoon.
"Course not. Alex, you're my friend…one of my best…" She scoffed.
"Quite the best friend I've become, running away from everyone and everything I held dear…" Buffy shook her head.
"Alex, you did it because you had to. We all understood that. And you didn't leave us empty-handed. Remember, you were the one to first start teaching me what I now know…" Alex smiled.
"Yeah…I guess your right. But still, I guess the whole thought of me just running away from you guys still haunts me." Buffy looked over at her.
"Alex, it shouldn't. We weren't upset, we completely understood why you did it." She smiled faintly as she jammed a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. All she could do was nod.
Alex pulled her legs up underneath her as she sat on the couch, watching a movie. Spike walked in, glancing at the opened curtains behind her. The sun had set about an hour ago, and Buffy had taken Dawn and Willow to see a movie.
"Thought you would have gone with Buffy," Spike said, dropping onto the couch beside her. Alex shrugged.
"Didn't feel like it…Would rather watch this." He glanced at the TV.
"What is it?"
"'Scent of a Woman.'" Spike nodded, his hands crossed over his chest. Alex's arms were crossed over her chest, too, but her eyelids kept drooping. They managed to sit in utter silence, save for the movie, for roughly an hour. Finally, Alex yawned, and her head drooped, and fell onto his shoulder. Spike looked down at her sleeping form, resting against him on the couch. Carefully, he took hold of her shoulders, and rolled her so she leaned against the arm of the couch. She laid that way for about fifteen minutes before rolling back against him. Grumbling beneath his breath, Spike picked her up, and carried her into her room, where he laid her down, clicked on her fan, shut off her light, and walked out, closing the door behind him.
Alex wandered, slowly, down the sidewalk, and found herself at the cemetery, without realizing that that was where she had gone. Looking around her, making sure no one was there, she continued on between the gravestones, seeing a building in the middle of the cemetery. She continued thru, hearing the wind blowing thru the trees, and the whistle of a bird as it flew away.
Alex could recall when she was very little, no more than five or six, wandering thru here with her mother to go visit her great-grandmother's grave. The sun had been shining down, there was a cooling breeze, and birds and butterflies fluttered about overhead, making the entire cemetery look beautiful. At that time, Alex didn't fear death, or dying, or the pain she knew came from it.
Then there was the day she was there, when she was roughly fifteen. Her mother had taken her there, and Alex's first vampire experience happened. The creature erupted from a grave, grabbing her mother around the waist and pulling her back down. In a fury, Alex dove at the creature, a stick in her hand. She drove it through its heart, but it was too late. It had already bitten her mother, and, to make sure she didn't change, Alex was forced to stab her mother, too. Her mother was exploded into dust, like the vampire, and Alex fell back, crying, eyes wide with fear.
Alex shook away the sad, sad memory of her mother's death as she continued thru that cemetery. She heard a groan, and glanced behind her. Nothing. Slowly, she turned and faced forward, seeing still nothing. Shrugging it off as a sound in her head, she moved closer and closer to the tomb. Carefully, she pushed open a door, finding nothing inside but a few candlesticks, and a casket against the opposite wall. As she looked around, she heard a creaking sound, and turned to find the casket wide open, and the candles lit. Wide-eyed, she looked around her, and began to turn upon the creature that had come from the casket, with its skin slowly peeling off its hand, and its teeth so sharp, and so white, they were reflecting the candlelight…
Alex screamed as she leapt off her bed. She stared blankly at the wall opposite her, barely hearing the doors open, and the feet racing, and her door slam open. Buffy slid beside her, with Willow, Spike, Dawn, Xander, Anya, and Kennedy (the last three had stayed the night) still in the doorway, Willow clicking the light on. Buffy took hold of her shoulders.
"Alex? Alex, what happened?" She didn't answer: her eyes were still wide, non-blinking, while her hands and bottom lip trembled. Buffy shook her gently. "Alex, say something…" She gasped, and leapt back, away from Buffy, falling onto her bed.
"What…when did you get here?" she asked, looking up at her. Buffy's hands were out, spread, her face twisted in complete confusion.
"Just now…You screamed…woke us all up," she said, motioning to the door. Alex looked over at the three in the doorway.
"Oh…so…sorry, guys…I didn't realize…I screamed…" she said, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes.
"It's okay, Alex," Dawn said softly. "Are you alright?"
"I…I think so…"
"Alright. If you need anything, you know where we are," Willow said, smiling kindly. She nodded.
"Thanks, guys…" Buffy, Dawn, and Willow left the room, but Spike rested his arms on the doorframe. Alex sighed, rubbing her hands over her face, and shook her head again. Running his nails over his bare chest to scratch an itch, Spike cleared his throat.
"You aren't alright, are you, Alex?" he asked. She jumped, and looked at him.
"I thought you went back and laid down…"
"You screamed pretty loudly…You aren't alright, are you, Alex?" he repeated. She sighed.
"No…well…Yes…No, I don't know! Shouldn't you be sleeping somewhere?" she snapped, looking over at him. Spike pushed the door closed as he walked into the room, kneeling on the bed beside her.
"Don't yell at a vampire who could kill you if he wanted…"
"Don't lecture a chick who could kill you if she wanted," she retorted, looking back down at the bed, her head in her hands. Spike moved closer, running his hands over hers, and lifting her chin. She looked at him, and a few tears fell down her cheeks.
"What happened that made you scream?" he asked. She sighed, and pushed his hands away, crossing over to her window. She parted the curtains and shoved it open, letting the cool night air rush over her face.
"I don't know…A cemetery…some creature I only saw for a second or so…a tomb…I thought, for a second, I saw…her…" Spike glanced at her, slightly confused.
"Who?"
"My mother…" He sighed, and stood up, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Alex, your not in a tomb in a cemetery somewhere with a creature, and a brief vision of your mother. Your in a bedroom at Buffy Summers' house, in Sunnydale…with me." She turned around, and smiled.
"I know…but it was so…real. The fear, the pain, the confusion. Like it'd happened before or something…" He shrugged.
"Don't know, but its not real. C'mon, lay down, would you?" He took her arm, and moved her back over to the bed. She laid down, sighing, shaking her head. He reached down, clicking her lamp off, and crawled over her to lay beside her. "I'll stay till you fall asleep."
"Thanks, Spike…" She sighed, and rolled away from him, then closed her eyes, resting her head on the pillow again. Spike lay beside her, watching her lay still for a while. After a few minutes, she grumbled, and rolled towards him. He watched her move one arm beneath her head, and just toss the other one carelessly over his waist. He sighed, but didn't move it. Didn't wanna wake her, her being so close to falling asleep now.
Spike felt his own eyes begin to grow heavy, though he fought against it. She sighed in her sleep, and moved her body closer to his. He shook his head, and carefully moved her arm, standing up. Alex's arm hit the bed, and she whined a little bit. Spike paused at the door, turning to look at her.
"Mom…no…I'm sorry…" she whispered, squeezing her eyes closed. He sighed, placing his hands on the doorframe, and turned back towards her. After a second of watching her in the dark, he laid back down beside her, pushing her hair off her face.
"Shhh…" Alex squeezed her hand into a fist, then relaxed it, and sighed.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered again. He shook his head, but laid there, letting her sleep. Not too long after he laid down, he, too, fell asleep.
Alex's eyes twitched as she felt the sheet brush over her face. Swatting her hand at it, she rolled over. Opening her eyes, she sighed. Her window was still open, and her fan was on, and her lights were off. Thinking maybe that she'd just been dreaming most of the night before, she rolled over, and found herself staring directly into the back of Spike's head. She groaned, and sat up, looking down at him. His face was buried in the pillow, so she couldn't see if he was asleep or faking.
"Whatever…" she muttered, and climbed out of the bed, tugging at her shorts so they'd straighten out, and walked into the kitchen.
She set her now empty bowl in the sink, and filled it with warm water, letting it just sit there. Alex heard a door open, and turned her head a little. Spike walked out of her room, yawning, and scratching the back of his head.
"Mornin', Spike." He looked up.
"Oh, hi, Alex. G'morning," he replied.
"Thanks, again, Spike, for staying with me."
"No problem…In fact, my pleasure. I went to get a drink at one point, and you looked like you could start crying in your sleep…" She bit her lip, lightly chuckling.
"Yeah, well, I couldn't get the image of my mother's death out of my…" She trailed off as she turned to see Spike. Her eyes slightly widened.
"What?"
"Spike, you said you went to get a drink…did you ever get up after that?"
"I don't know…might have…why?"
"Because…" She reached behind her, tugging a paper towel off the roll, and stepped up to him. Lifting it, she wiped it roughly against his lip. Holding it out to him, she sighed. "This is why…" On the paper towel was a big blotch of somewhat dried blood, that she had wiped off his lip.