Chapter Eight

Buffy returned to the mausoleum and found Angel pacing just as restlessly as Steve had been. "Angel?"

"He's got the Gem of Amarra; that's how he was able to withstand the sunlight," Angel said grimly. "As long as he's wearing it, he's unkillable. It's been lost for centuries; I don't know where - or how - he found it."

"Angel, who is he?"

"His name is Spike. He's either killing for fun, or draining his victims with some kind of device so he can take the blood back to his girlfriend. She's a vamp, too, but she's been weakening lately, and Spike thinks the blood is making her stronger."

"How do we stop him?"

"Get the ring off his finger. As long as he's wearing it, he's virtually invincible."

"An indestructible vamp? Sounds like fun - bring it on!"

------

"Did you talk to Buffy? What did she say?" Jaime demanded the next morning.

"Wow - you're definitely sounding a lot perkier this morning," Steve noted.

"The power of a good night's rest. How soon can I get outta here?" She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.

"Whoa! You've been retired with honors from vampire slaying. Rudy says you have to stay put."

"But -"

"Buffy and Angel can handle it; it seems they know who did it. They'll find him."

"Even more of a reason to help."

"No, Jaime." Steve swung her legs back onto the bed for her. "Bed rest means bed rest."

"Steve, I need to talk to you about...something else. Last night I said something to you, right before I fell asleep..."

"You were pretty out of it, between the pain and the meds. I understand that -"

"No, you don't understand; I meant it. I love you, Steve."

They were interrupted by a nurse's knock on the door. "Excuse me - Colonel Austin? You've got a phone call."

Steve eyes met Jaime's. "I love you, too," he said, kissing her softly before getting up to follow the nurse.

------

At the same time that Steve was on the phone, Buffy stood, hands on her hips, shouting in the graveyard. "Spike! I know you're here; I can feel you! Have the guts to show yourself, you wimp!" She'd never met or even seen him, but Angel's description was vivid. She'd know him when she saw him. "You're a coward, Spike!"

In one split-second, Buffy's head was wrenched violently backward, her neck stretched and vulnerable, her body held in a vice-grip. A voice dripping with malice crooned in her ear: "Hello, Slayer."

"I was starting to think you wouldn't show up."

"And turn down a personal invitation to party with the one-and-only Slayer? Why, that would be rude! My lady love gets stronger with every human I drain for her. A slayer's blood just might cure her for good."

"Sorry - not this slayer!" With a twist, an elbow and a powerful kick, Buffy pulled herself away from Spike. She grabbed his hand to remove the ring but he used her outstretched arm as a lever to flip her to the ground. He was bending over to finish her off when she swung her legs up, kicked him solidly in the chest and landed on her feet.

"Pretty impressive," he sneered. "Almost a shame to deprive the world of such talent. But I'll deal with the guilt somehow." He grabbed Buffy around her waist and threw her, headfirst, into the iron fence. She slid to the ground, momentarily stunned. Spike advanced, prepared to deliver the death blow, when he was jerked off his own feet and thrown through the air.

Buffy looked up to see the identity of her saviour. "Jaime?"

"I snuck out," Jaime explained as she helped Buffy to her feet. "Let's get this creep, once and for all."

"We have to get the ring off his finger," Buffy said quickly. Spike had been thrown a good distance, but he was getting up. She lowered her voice. "Once we do that, he'll hopefully run into the mausoleum to get out of the sun, and Angel will take it from there."

"The ring, huh?" Jaime was weak, and hurting considerably from her injuries, but her anger and determination were stronger than her pain. Gathering all the strength she could muster, she jumped up and over Spike as he came toward them. Her right arm snaked around him from behind, pinning his arms to his sides. "Ok, Buffy," she said, wincing in pain, "get the ring."

Buffy pulled the ring from Spike's hand just as Jaime lost her grip. Spike lunged at Buffy, and their brief struggle ended with the ring flying over the fence and rolling right down a sewer drain.

As they'd hoped, Spike headed for the closest possible cover: the mausoleum. Jaime and Buffy followed, but Jaime was stopped by a gentle hand on her shoulder. Steve had found her.

"The rough stuff is over, I promise," she pleaded. "Just let me see how this all ends." Together, with Jaime leaning on Steve for support, they entered the stone building.

Angel, in his full vamp-mode, was forcing Spike toward a blood-red, swirling mass of smoke and light. "Maybe they'll have room for you in Hell," Angel taunted. "There's no place for you here." Spike screamed as he disappeared into the glowing mass. When he'd been completely swallowed up into the portal to Hell, the mass faded and then was gone, taking Spike with it.

"Steve, I'm sorry," Jaime said softly, "but I knew they were gonna need help..."

"I'm just glad everyone's ok," Steve told her, "and that it's finally over. Let's get you back to the hospital." They said their goodbyes and walked out into the sunshine.

"So the killer - who just happened to be a vampire, by the way - was stopped by throwing him into a portal to Hell," Steve summarized with irony in his voice. "It's all over, mission complete, but no one gets put behind bars. You know what, Sweetheart? I think I know the perfect penance for you."

"And what's that?" Jaime asked, kissing him.

"Well," he stole an extra kiss before going on, "I'm gonna let you be the one to sum this all up, write the report and explain it to Oscar."

END