Mortal Allies Series

Episode 5

War and Roses

By: Passion4Spike

Chapter 25: Confessions of Drusilla

Chapter Notes:

I'm falling behind on responding to comments, but I LOVE them all and will carve out some time this weekend to get caught back up. Huge thank you to all of you wonderful readers and commenters. I'm so grateful for this amazing, supportive community!

Thanks also to MissLuci for betaing this chapter. All mistakes are mine cos I've been fiddling again.

At the end, there are a couple of reminder scenes from previous stories.

-x-

Buffy stretched languidly, elongating her lithe body like a cat, feeling the luxurious sheets caress her bare skin like a lover. A slow smile curved her lips as she drifted up from dreams into memories, particularly of her cat-like lover. The whole weekend had been incredible, from the mix tapes on the drive up, to the burgers beneath the bridge, to the fine French dining, to the Broadway show, to the night cap and limo ride, to several cherries that Spike had made sure were well and truly popped.

Her smile deepened as the memory of Jerry subtly announcing their arrival at what Spike had clearly pre-arranged as an 'after show' destination, by blinking all the interior lights of the limo a couple of times. Spike helped her get her boobs back into her dress and she helped get his cock back into his pants, before they tumbled out of the limo into the cool night air, looking only slightly debauched.

Jerry had parked in a gravel lot only feet from a rocky barrier that separated them from the softly lapping waves of the Bay. The first thing Buffy saw as she emerged from the limo was a panoramic view of the sparkling skyline of San Francisco framed against a dark sky, with the glittering lights of the Bay Bridge off to one side. Every building seemed to be lit by a thousand stars, and they were mirrored back in the glistening water of the Bay. It was breathtaking.

"Oh, Spike..." she'd breathed, taking in the view as she reached for his hand. "This is amazing."

Spike lifted the back of her hand to his lips and touched a gentle kiss to her warm skin. "Like it, pet?"

Her wide eyes turned to him, her smile as radiant as the lights of the city. "Saying that I 'like it' would put it in the running for the 'Understatement of the Century Award'. It's absolutely beautiful," she gushed, taking another step closer to the water, tugging Spike along with her as she turned back to look at the cityscape.

Spike stepped up behind her and wrapped one arm around her shoulders and the other over her waist, tilting his head to lean against hers as they both soaked in the view. They stood in silence for some minutes, just being, their bodies pressed together, their hearts full.

Buffy broke the comfortable silence, unable to stop herself from wondering aloud, "Is this another place Dru wanted to come? What lives here, unicorns?"

Spike huffed a laugh. "Actually, Jerry, suggested it. Said was the best view o' the city with the fewest crowds." He looked around at the empty parking area. "Reckon he was right on both counts."

"What's it called?"

"Treasure Island."

"Like the book?"

He shrugged against her. "Apparently, the Army built the island in the thirties. There was an urban myth that told tales of millions of dollars of gold dust being dredged up from the Bay to create the island, and that's where they came up with the name."

"I'm guessing we aren't standing on millions of dollars of gold dust," Buffy speculated.

"Think the view is the only treasure here, pet."

"Not the only one," she contended, turning in Spike's arms. "You're pretty treasure-y," she continued, running a hand through his hair, making parts of it stand up while other bits curled. "With the platinum hair, and the sapphire eyes, and the pearly skin."

"Don't forget my diamond of a dick," he teased, those sapphires glittering in the lights of the city.

Buffy laughed, running her hand over the wet spot that stained the front of his pants and pressing tantalizingly against his cock. "I could never forget that."

"Ever been fucked on Treasure Island?" he rumbled, cupping her breasts with both hands and trailing his thumbs over the silky fabric covering her nipples.

Buffy looked around, gnawing her lip nervously. "It's, um... kind of lacking in the privacy department."

"Don't think Jerry'll mind," he replied, kneading her tits temptingly. "Bend you over that boulder, lift your pretty skirt up, slide those soaked panties down. I'll want t' lick that pretty cunny of yours, but don't want to get Jerry too worked up, eh? I'll just slide my cock inside you, fill you up. Like it when I fill you up, dontcha, luv? Then I'll fuck you hard and deep. Pound that pussy of yours 'til you scream, and that hot, tight cunt of yours milks the cum from my balls. Hear you on Lombard Street, they will."

Buffy's heart skittered and skipped as she looked at the round, smooth rocks piled along the water's edge, then back at the limo where Jerry was waiting.

"Know you want it, pet," he breathed, his cock growing to promised diamond-hardness beneath her hand. "Know I'll make it good for you."

The Slayer swallowed with an effort as nerves constricted her throat. "I... um..." She swallowed again and slid her hand around to rest on Spike's hip, and off his bulging crotch. "I'm not sure I'm quite ready for that level of PDA-ness."

To her surprise, Spike didn't look disappointed. His hands feathered slowly down from her breasts to rest on the curve of her hips. "But ya had t' think about it. Turns you on, yeah?"

She couldn't deny that it did. It was daring and dangerous and... something else that probably started with a 'd', and it had her body thrumming with need, but her brain couldn't quite get past the taboo-ness of it. Also, Jerry was literally right there, just feet away. Of course, he'd been even closer when she'd had her limo-cherry broken, but there had been that privacy screen between them. Out here, if Jerry just turned his head, there would be no doubt what he'd see... which was both exciting and terrifying.

Buffy gave him a shy smile and a nod. "Definitely had to think very long and very hard," she whispered as her hand pressed lightly against his erection before slipping around to the small of his back and resting the heel of her hand in the indentation at the base of his spine, just above the curve of his ass.

He grinned, pulled her body tightly against his, and leaned down to kiss her, the aforementioned 'long and hard' pressing into her belly and making her gasp, the cool bay breeze lifting the edge of her skirt and tickling her thighs with a spectral promise of things to come when her lover's fingers and tongue replaced the wind's caress.

Coming back to the present, she sighed in satisfaction, remembering all the things that had come after their comparatively chaste kiss. Yes, kissing Spike in public, no matter how decadent he made it, was acceptable. She was perfectly comfortable with that level of PDA and knew that at some point she would be willing to go much further and pop yet another cherry on the list. Just not yet.

Still smiling from the memory, Buffy reached across the soft sheets for her daring, dangerous, damned-hot lover, but her hand met something soft and furry instead of the expected hard, smoothness of her vampire. She blinked sleepy eyes open, noticing that it was still dark outside; the bedside clock informed her that it was still a couple of hours before dawn. She pulled her furry bedmate over into the dim light of the clock and realized it was her Rum Tum Tugger cuddle toy.

"You're not the bad boy I was looking for," she rasped in a sleep-roughened voice as she set him up on her pillow, then swung her legs out of the bed and headed for the bathroom. After taking care of things there, she grabbed one of Spike's discarded t-shirts that was draped over a wing-backed chair, and slipped it over her head as she went to look for her favorite cuddle toy.

When she opened the bedroom door, she found the living room area of the suite to also be dark, apart from small spots of light coming from electronics and a low glow of light from the city below. She stopped in the doorway, letting her Slayer senses guide her eyes out to the balcony, where she caught a flare of orange light—the tip of Spike's cigarette as he inhaled. She turned back and grabbed a blanket off the bed, then made her way across the room toward him, carefully avoiding cracking her shins on anything.

Nearer the windows, she stopped, her heart melting into a puddle of love and desire as she took him in. He was standing with his back to her, looking out over the city lights. The bare skin covering the exquisite musculature of his back shone as if made of moonbeams. As he moved, leaning his elbows on the glass railing, she could see his muscles ripple, creating ghostly shadows beneath the soft, silvery radiance of his skin. She could see now that he had jeans on, but they were slung low on his hips, barely clinging to his svelte body. She would bet that they weren't even buttoned. Somehow, that was even sexier than if he'd been naked out there. When he exhaled, a halo of smoke hovered around his platinum crown of sleep-mussed hair, making him look almost angelic in the moonlight. That made Buffy smile... he certainly knew how to take her to heaven, but that was more of a devilish talent than angelic.

Though she knew he heard—and sensed—her approach, Spike didn't turn around as she slipped up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, pressing herself against his chilly body. The night air was on the frosty side, especially up this high, and she was glad she'd thought to bring the blanket, which she'd wrapped around her shoulders, and which now cocooned them both.

"A penny for your thoughts," she murmured against his shoulder blade, her breath like a summer breeze against his skin.

He chuckled, though it came out nervous and forced to Buffy's ear. "Be overpaying, you would."

She began peppering the silky skin of his back with kisses as she kept them both wrapped as well as she could in the blanket. "Doesn't mean I don't want to hear them. What does a vampire think about at four a.m.?"

"Warned ya before t' not ask questions you don't want answers to, pet."

Buffy's brows furrowed as she stopped her ministrations and moved over to stand next to him at the rail, crossing her arms to shield her front from the chilly air. He wouldn't look at her, but seemed to be studiously studying the flickering lights of the city below, as if there'd be a test later. "Are you hungry... are you... I mean... do you wish you could, you know, go hunting?"

She looked down at the nearly empty streets below them. A few cars and people moved around, people that must look like easy meals to a vampire. She turned her gaze back on him. "Maybe there's a troll or something we could slay to take the edge off," she suggested.

Spike huffed out a bitter laugh, took one last, long drag on his fag, and flicked the butt out into the air, watching it tumble down several stories before it disappeared from view. "Nothing that innocent."

Her forehead knit into a mask of worry as she gathered the ends of the blanket in one fist and reached for his hand with the other. "Tell me," she insisted. "This isn't going to work if we don't make with the sharing of candidness."

He looked at her a moment, worry creasing his beautiful face, then turned back to the open air, speaking to the non-existent wind. "Was thinking 'bout Dru," he admitted. "Was her birthday too. Did ya know? January 19th? Know that's long past now, but just... lots o' things brought it to mind tonight. Know I shouldn't care... shouldn't worry about her... shouldn't even think about her, but..." He shrugged, but didn't look back at Buffy.

She gave him a sympathetic smile. "You were together a really long time... like... really long. I mean, Angel and I were nothing compared to you and Dru, and it still took me a long time to... well, I won't say I stopped caring, because I don't think I'll ever totally stop caring, but stop having him pop into my mind all the time. You've only been broken up, what, a couple of months?"

As she spoke the words, the absolute truth hit Buffy in the face. He'd only been single for a couple of months after being with Dru for over a century. A century! Oh, God! Did that mean she was the rebound girl? She didn't know a lot about love, but she knew you should totally be the 'bound' girl, never the rebound girl! Or something like that.

That demon voice that she thought she'd banished reared its ugly head. 'I told you so,' it taunted in that nasty, Angel-but-not-Angel, sing-song voice, the words ringing in her mind like a death knell.

Spike clearly sensed her sudden turmoil. He turned and took her by the shoulders, shaking her slightly and snapping her out of the dark paths her mind had started down. When she focused her worried eyes on him, he swore emphatically, "I love you. Don't ever think I don't love you with every fiber o' my being, Buffy Summers, the Slayer from Sunnydale. Dru's... she's literally part o' me, inside o' me, in my bones, in my... my fucking blood. I can't forget her, can't stop worrying about her, but I don't want to be with her, don't want anyone but you. Forever. You're the one, Buffy, the only one I want at my side, in my heart. If I could banish her, I would, I swear it. But I... I just dunno how."

Buffy forced a deep breath into her constricted lungs and nodded jerkily. "Okay."

"Tell me you believe me, Buffy. I... fucking hell, I love you so bloody much. Never want to hurt you, luv."

She gathered herself, swallowing her emotions and exiling the taunting voice from her thoughts, pressing it back behind the walls that Spike's love had helped her build around it. "I believe you," she assured him. "I also am with the getting of it... Dru, sire, blood, century together, many bridges crossed with trolls. I just... I get scared, terrified even."

"Of what, pet?"

"Of not being enough," Buffy whispered.

"You are everything I'll ever need, want, or desire. Dunno how to prove it to you other than staying by your side 'til we both turn to dust. Which is exactly my plan."

"Your plans aren't always stellar."

"My plans are bloody brilliant long as one certain Slayer doesn't go tossing spanners into them. You intending to muck up my perfectly good plan o' loving you forever?"

Buffy's lips twisted into a small smile. "It wasn't on my 'to do' list."

"Right, then. Got that settled, don't we?" Spike pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her, tucking her head beneath his chin, and holding her tight. "I love you, Buffy."

"I love you, too," she breathed against his chest. "I'm sorry I'm insecure-girl sometimes."

"Think it's another o' those faults we share, pet. Reckon there's nothing to do for it but let time heal the wounds, eh?"

"How long do you think that'll take?"

He shrugged against her. "One or two decades should do it."

She huffed out an almost pained laugh, but her frightened heart had begun melting again beneath the sparkling warmth of his words. "I have a confession to make... about Dru," she said finally. "I—I should've told you earlier, but... I don't know, it just never seemed like the right time."

Spike furrowed his brows and pressed her back so he could look into her eyes. He was sure Dru hadn't followed him to Sunnydale, and he was sure she wasn't dust, so he couldn't fathom what this confession could be.

Buffy cleared her throat and shifted her gaze up to meet his. "Dru's... well, she's in my blood too. Apparently, we're, um, sisters or something?"

"What're you on about, pet?"

"You remember on the road trip, you came into the room and thought Dru had attacked me, when my hand was bleeding?"

"Vividly."

"Well... the thing is, she... I mean, I didn't know it at the time, but she asked me to take an oath, swear on my soul and... and do this blood vow thing, swearing to keep Spike safe."

Spike's brows shot up. "You made a blood oath with Dru?"

"Well, yeah, I guess. I didn't know it at the time. I mean, I knew, but I didn't know what it meant in a sense of really knowing. And all she was asking me to swear to was to keep Spike safe, it wasn't anything I wouldn't do anyway, ya know? And I thought it would keep her from trying to steal him... she said I could keep him as long as I kept him safe, so..." Buffy shrugged. "She wanted it sealed in blood, to swear on my soul, so... I did that. Apparently, that forged some kind of connection between me and Dru... like... weird, dream-sharing sisters or something."

"Christ, Slayer!" Spike swore, releasing her and taking a step back. He ran a hand through his hair and began to pace along the railing. "Didn't your bloody Watcher teach you anything? Ya don't go about making vows on your fucking soul with a vampire!"

Buffy cringed, tugging her blanket around her shoulders more tightly. "I just wanted her to stop trying to take Spike away."

"I would've stopped her taking the fucking mutt! Ya should've trusted me."

"Well, excuse me for not realizing you could control her! Oh, wait, you can't!" Buffy shot back angrily. "Anyway, nothing bad's happened. She tried to warn me about Giles... she came in a dream and told me in her bat-shit-crazy talk that it was Giles and the Council poisoning Spike and me. Of course, she can't just say, 'It's Giles', she has to talk about chameleons with a god-complex hiding in the rafters, so it was mucho with the unhelpfulness. Then I think she tried to warn me about the Council goons and their guns in another dream... not sure if that was her or not... it wasn't as clear."

Spike stopped pacing and turned to look at her. "Exactly what did you promise her?"

"Just to take care of Spike! She never said anything about this other stuff, about us being bonded with the blood, until that dream about Giles. Then she said... she said we were both Spike's mom... and... and the bond wouldn't break until death do us part. So... I guess Dru and I are, like, married or something?"

"Bloody hell," Spike breathed, dropping his head back and looking up at the stars, his hands planted on his hips.

"I don't think it's that dire... I mean, warnings about death, not seeing the bad here. Even if they're lacking a translation from Dru to some actual Earth language, it's still a warning we might not otherwise get."

Spike huffed out a breath and returned his gaze to Buffy. "Just exactly what words did she use for this vow?"

Buffy rolled her eyes and began to pace, a mirror of Spike's earlier reaction. "It was months ago, and it was all in Dru-speak."

"Which is why it's important t' remember it! If ya haven't figured it out yet, Dru's a bloody master at the double entendre. So, what the fuck did you swear to?" Spike forced himself not to grab Buffy by the shoulders and shake her until her teeth rattled. Bloody barmy, both of 'em. Slayer makin' a blood oath with a sodding vamp not even knowin' what the fuck Dru was on about in the first bloody place.

The Slayer kept pacing on her side of the balcony, thinking. "She said that he was hers from the start, that she found him in the street, lost and alone and... whimpering. But that she would let him go if I promised to take care of him. That I was the only one who could hurt him, and the only one who could save him..."

As her words filled his ears, Spike grew very still. He'd had over a century trying to suss out meaning in his sire's ramblings. This one was perfectly clear. "Buffy..."

The sense of gravitas in that one word made her stop pacing and look at him.

"She didn't find the mutt in the street, she stole him from the bloody gypsy, right outta the van he was driving."

Buffy shrugged. "So, what difference—"

"She found me in the sodding street, lost and alone... and... and fucking whimpering."

Buffy blinked at him, not comprehending for a moment. "But... but she said we were both his mommy..."

Spike rolled his eyes. "She is my bloody mum... second mum. Gave me life... err, unlife."

"That's not creepy at all," she muttered. "What does that make me, your aunt?"

"Don't be daft. This is sodding serious. What else did she say?"

Buffy rolled her eyes, thinking. "'Our boy will touch the sunshine but never burn.'" It was barely louder than a thought.

"What's that?"

She refocused on him. "That's what she said... 'our boy will touch the sunshine.' Oh my God... Spike could always touch the sunshine... but you... you call me 'Sunshine'... and you'd burn in sunshine, but not my sunshine, cos not actually sunshine, but wouldn't that be cool if I could be sunshine and just dust vampires by touching them? Only, not good, 'cos there's one vampire who I really like touching and don't want to be dusty in the sunshine..." Her eyes were wide by the time her ramble fizzled out, staring at Spike. "She meant you. The whole time I thought she meant Spike, she meant you. My vow... it was to keep you safe. She knew... she knew we would be together, way back then."

Spike sighed and ran his hand through his hair again. "'Course she did," he mumbled. "Sodding Dru." He shook his head, digging into the pocket of his jeans for his fags and lighter. "Need t' find a way to break this bond," he insisted around the cigarette between his lips. He lit it and took a deep drag, trying to calm his racing mind.

"Why? The vow still stands. I'll protect you—"

"No!" Spike barked, whirling on her. "Not gonna have you risking your skin... your fucking soul, t' protect me! Anyway, I can bloody well take care of myself." He exhaled slowly, a long plume of white smoke curling up into the sky as he stared into the city lights.

"Spike, it's not about if you can take care of yourself. I know you can, but that doesn't mean I won't do everything in my power to keep you safe just like I know you would for me."

"I'm not a sodding milksop needing seeing after!"

"I know that!" Buffy retorted hotly. "But, as Forrest Gump so wisely observed, shit happens! And sometimes we need help getting out of the shit. I'm telling you that my vow stands, for you and Spike. I'll be there to pull you out of the shit. I'll have your back. I'll keep you safe."

"And what if you can't? What if something goes wrong, eh?" he demanded, waving his arms out dramatically, creating a streak of orange light in the dark with the glowing end of his fag. "Then what happens to your soul with this blood bond? Ya lose it? Does it get whisked off t' hell? What if it's tied to Dru and she dusts somewhere in the wilds of the Australian outback 'cos her pixies forgot t' get her undercover before dawn? No, Buffy! Won't let ya do it!"

Buffy shook her head, her chin quivering, eyes brimming with tears as she took a step toward him. "She showed me my soul if something happened to you... it turns grey and bleak, and all shattered and twisted. Vow or not, that's exactly what will happen to it if I lose you. I need you... I love you."

"Oh, Buffy, luv," Spike breathed, dropping the cigarette over the railing as he took a long stride forward and engulfed her in a fierce hug. "Not gonna lose me. Harder t' get rid of than a bad penny, I am."

"I don't know what that means," she blubbered against his cool, bare chest, her tears leaving salty streaks on his pearlescent skin. "I wish you'd speak English."

His chuckle was rich and warm, and the sound drizzled over her heart and body like thick, hot fudge, comforting her. "Gotta stick around to find out how long a Slayer's arteries can stand up t' daily cheese overdoses and chocolate benders."

She choked out a half-laugh, half-sob, unpinning her arms from between them and snaking them around his waist. "I love you."

Spike pressed a kiss onto the top of her head. "Love you too, Sunshine."

They stood there wrapped in each other's arms for several silent moments. There was a low hum coming from the city, despite how deserted it appeared from their perch so high above it. Buffy tried to remember all the things that Dru had said she should keep Spike safe from, other than the sunshine. Something about the Tin Man? And shackles... and glitter? Argh! Dru was so annoying with her double entrails and insaneness.

Despite the blanket wrapped around her, Buffy shivered from the cool night air as her fears turned to frustration with her crazy vampire blood sister.

Spike scooped her up into his arms and carried her back inside, easily navigating the dark suite as he made his way back to the bedroom. Next to the bed, Spike set her back on her feet. Wordlessly, he unwrapped her from the blanket and slowly lifted his t-shirt over her head, revealing her soft, supple body to his adoring eyes. Buffy slid his un-zippered jeans down his legs and off his feet, letting her hands dance over the hills and valleys of hard muscle as she stood back up. Moving as one, they sank onto the soft mattress, hands roaming, lips caressing, bodies entwining in a slow, gentle dance.

Whispered words of love and devotion flowed over them, heartfelt vows of forever, and murmurs of admiration and awe flickered warmly, like candleflames in the dark. Their eyes met and held in the low light as Buffy cradled him between her thighs, opening herself to her lover, her love. They both sighed in pleasure as Spike slipped inside her, sheathing himself in her welcoming heat.

"Spike..."

"Buffy..."

The heartfelt timbre of their voices conveyed everything in that moment. Every promise. Every pledge. Every drop of love, every grain of loyalty, every bead of devotion.

They wrapped each other in a strong embrace, holding tight—soft molded to hard, cool sinking into warmth—joined as intimately as two people could be, their reverent words dappling the other's skin like moonbeams.

Time lost all meaning as they kissed and stroked and made love. They moved together languidly, drowning in the sensations of passion and pleasure that swept over them like warm breezes from a tropical ocean. There were no screams or growls; there were only gasps and moans, whispers and sighs that feathered over tingling skin like love poems in the dark. Hands roamed. Tongues tasted. Teeth nibbled. Lips caressed. And through it all, they glided together and apart, again, and again, and again, rising higher and higher on soaring wings of love, until the world fell away, and they were left floating in the heavens between the glittering stars. Together. Always together.

-X-

Buffy strolled down the bustling Parisian sidewalk, the aroma of fresh-baked bread filled the crisp, clean air. Baskets, overflowing with impatiens and petunias in soft shades of pink and lilac, hung from brackets on every streetlamp and spilled from window boxes. On either side of the street were quaint cafes and bistros, the tables filled with faceless people, chattering away gaily, though she couldn't make out what they were saying. The city was painted in muted tones, like watercolors diluted with raindrops. The sky was a watery blue, the buildings pastel shades of yellow, peach, and tan. The red brick streets were dusty rose, and shimmered slightly, as if flowing with rainwater.

Despite the changes, she recognized the street—she'd been here before in her dreams. It was the place Drusilla had shown up to warn her about Giles; it was, according to Drusilla, Buffy's soul. She was happy to see that the dreary, grey world that had been here, the one filled with fire and destruction and literal bleeding hearts, was gone. This street was peaceful and contented and... "Shit."

"Is that a proper greeting for your sweet sister, little goblin?"

Buffy sighed, stopping in front of a round, cast iron table, the scrollwork of the top nearly obscured by platters of fancy breads and jars of jam. "Dru," she drawled dryly, crossing her arms, and glaring at the other woman, who was slathering clotted cream onto a scone.

At the sound of her voice, a huge, coppery shadow detached itself from the pavement near Drusilla and bounded at the Slayer, leaping on her, and knocking her back onto the bricks, which were oddly soft. "Spike!" she exclaimed, laughing as she tried to turn her face to avoid his slobbery kisses. "I missed you too, boy," she assured him, finally getting hold of his jowls and shaking him playfully, while holding his lolling tongue at a safe distance.

"Woof!" he agreed joyfully, his tail wagging his whole body as he stood above her, panting, his mouth turned up in a doggie-grin.

"Deadly boys love their mummies," Dru cooed, holding the scone out toward the big dog.

Spike faltered then, torn between the jubilation of seeing his hooman and the tasty treat.

"Go on," Buffy sighed, pushing him gently, encouraging him to go grab the scone.

He bounded over to Dru and gently took the morsel from her delicate fingers before chomping down on it mercilessly. The scone turned into a huge bone, slathered in blood-red jam with clotted cream for marrow. Spike took it a couple of feet away and laid down to gnaw at it gleefully.

Buffy rolled up to her feet. "You lied to me," she accused Dru, walking over to the table piled with baked goods.

"Never fibbed."

"You purposely made me think I was vowing to protect Spike ... the dog, not the vampire! He's pretty pissed off with you about it, by the way... the vampire, not the dog." She glanced at the dog, who was crunching his way through the sconey-bone.

"Piffle." Dru tossed her head imperiously and began spreading cream on another scone.

"Would you speak English?" Buffy demanded, gripping the back of the bistro chair across from Dru.

The vampire blinked her big blue eyes up at the Slayer. "Is all I speak, little goblin. Can't help it if you twist my words, can I?"

"Me twist your words? Your words are twisted when they come out of your mouth! You could make twisty bread-tie thingies out of them!" Buffy contended, flinging her arms out as she turned and began to pace in a tight circle. "You said we were both his mom!"

"No porkies in the pie."

Buffy growled, like, really growled, her teeth clenched as she whirled back to face Dru. "I am not Spike's... William's mother! That's gross and... and extremely disturbing!"

"Destiny calls our dark knight; he is born and un-born and star-born. Has many mummies, he does. First mummy forged his heart of toffee pudding—soft and squishy and stalwart. Second mummy filled all the yearning, empty bits with moonbeams and viscera—powerful and proud. Third mummy changes it all again, unravelling the streamers and songs with her sacred sunshine. So, mummies we are, and shall always be."

Dru smiled sweetly and took a bite of the scone. Blood gushed from the pastry and coated her mouth in ruby-red liquid as she chewed, licking the glistening drops from her lips.

The Slayer huffed dramatically. "You know, you didn't have to trick me into that whole blood vow thing—I'll protect Spike—both of them. If you can see so much, you should've known that."

The vampire dabbed at her lips delicately leaving red stains on the pristine white cloth napkin. "Pixies are all a quiver. Too many paths to wind. Hills and valleys shrouded in sunshine only show glimpses. Fists and fangs, blood and ashes, all whirling and writhing beneath the blinding beams. White rats scurry in the cellar, slicing and dicing, leashes and lightning. Two-faced gods carving out hearts and minds, unlatching doors that mustn't be left ajar. Cavernous mouths shuddering and shaking, devouring, destroying. Had to keep my sweet William safe as might be 'fore letting him play in the sunbeams."

"Why? You don't even love him."

Dru looked up at Buffy, mouth drawn into a pout, her eyes shimmering in the diffused light of the hazy, yellow sun. "Loved him best I could. Didn't squash his squishy bits."

"No, you just locked them away in the dark, alone and afraid. All he wanted was for you to see him, to put him first once in a while, to occasionally not be a big ho-bag, and you couldn't even do that!"

The vampire whined so pitifully Spike left his bone to come over and comfort her. Dru dropped her face into his thick mane, sinking her fingers into the soft fur along his flanks, as her shoulders shook with sobs.

The Slayer sighed. She'd made an insane vampire cry. That was unsettling. "Alright, fine. You... you did the best you could. Spike's dealing. We're... we're fixing it."

Drusilla sat up immediately, her eyes dry, a knowing smile curving her lips.

Buffy rolled her eyes, pulling out the chair opposite her blood-sister and plopping down in it heavily. She snapped her fingers under the table and held her hand out to the dog, who quickly obeyed, moving over to her, and pressing his big head into her lap for ear scratches.

"Tell me about these lab rats and two-faced gods and... what was the other thing?"

"Not time for those, golden goblin. Plenty of perils knocking on the doorstep."

Buffy's brows drew together. "I don't think you knock on doorsteps—"

Drusilla leaned over and banged her knuckles on the bricks beneath them, making the entire street shake, then the air shimmer around them. A moment later, the muted colors of the flowers and tables and faceless people began to swirl and then coalesce into a new scene, flickering and grainy like an old movie.

Spike growled, his hackles rising, as he turned to face the vision. Buffy kept a hand on his back, not letting him jump into the tableau as she studied it.

There was a monster that looked vaguely familiar to Buffy... three heads... maybe four—they were waving around so much and everything was a bit blurry—all on long, snake-like necks, with grasping tentacles, like an octopus. All the heads held gaping mouths full of sharp teeth, the tentacles writhed and slithered out, searching for victims. She squinted, forcing the vision into better focus, and realized the monster was in the school library, coming out of the floor.

"That thing from the Hellmouth—the thing that almost got out when I killed the Master," she breathed, standing up and taking a step nearer to the scene. Spike came with her, his whole body vibrating with barely restrained fury.

"Hellspawn..." Drusilla provided, her body swaying slightly as if powering the hologram with the gentle rocking.

Buffy watched as she alone took on the monster from the Hellmouth and was struck down almost immediately, the numerous tentacles wrapping around her like seaweed, holding her as the heads all descended. She closed her eyes and turned away before the blood splattered. Spike whined piteously.

Something about the light changed and she looked back, seeing a different scenario. She and her best furry friend were taking on the beast. This time they did damage, but it still wasn't enough. She once again had to look away, unable to watch their destruction.

The next scene was her, her boyfriend, and her dog attacking the leviathan. Spike roared, hefting a heavy battleax; the dog growled, his eyes streaked with blue-white light, his fangs bared. They both picked a head and charged while Buffy ran up into the stacks with a spear and began jabbing down, frantically trying to find the heart or some other vital organ.

Spike's axe sliced cleanly through the reptilian hide of the beast, lodging in the flesh beneath, spewing putrid green blood over its attackers and the floor, making footing tenuous. The monster shrieked in pain from one of its toothy jaws, but didn't die or even falter. The long neck thrashed wildly, lifting Spike off the floor, and whipping him in the air like a flag as he tried to extricate the blade from the thing's spine.

Meanwhile, Spike-the-dog clamped his powerful jaws down on one of the flailing necks, just below the snapping jaws, intent on ripping out the throat. His eyes danced with demonic power and his fur crackled with white and blue sparks as he called on all his inborn strength to kill the beast. The dog's mouth filled with acidic blood, which sizzled against his gums and muzzle. Even through the ethereal lightshow, Buffy could see smoke rising as her baby was burned.

Even so, he kept fighting, growling and snarling, whipping his head murderously, trying to kill the monster, but it wasn't enough. He, like his namesake, was lifted off the floor. The dog was flung away as the monster snapped its neck like a whip, the Guardian's teeth ripping flesh from the beast's throat as he was dislodged. He flew out the library doors and thudded sickeningly against the wall at the end of the hallway.

Still trying to get his weapon out of one of the monster's necks, his flank unguarded, the vampire was engulfed by two of the snapping maws of teeth. He screamed in torturous agony as he was ripped in two. Bright red blood spewed horrifically he was wrenched in half at the waist. Intestines uncoiled like snakes, swinging beneath his torso. His liver and kidneys plopped onto the floor and began sizzling in the puddle of green blood. As he continued screeching in agony, his lungs and heart slid from his ribcage, catching momentarily on his dangling spinal cord, before joining his other organs on the blood-stained tiles. He watched with wild eyes as his legs were devoured by one of the heads.

As Buffy watched, her heart in her throat, her knees on the verge of collapse, the Buffy in the battle screamed in horror and turned for the stairs, intent on... on doing something. Distracted, trying to figure out what in God's name she could do, one of the long tentacles slammed into her. She was knocked down from the second level, and fell directly into the Hellmouth, tumbling down into the abyss.

The image flashed and shimmered, then started again, with a different group of heroes standing before the Hellmouth monster.

"STOP! JUST STOP!" Buffy demanded, turning away from the tableau to face the vampiress, who was now calmly sipping tea from a delicate China cup, little pinky extended properly.

"WOOF!" Spike agreed, eyeing the dark-haired woman angrily.

Drusilla set the cup down, then waved a hand and the street returned to normal, flowers and faceless, chatting people, who never seemed to say anything.

"What was all that? When does it happen?" Buffy asked, waving a hand at the peaceful street behind her. "Do you have anything helpful to show me? Something that doesn't involve us all dying?"

"Rrrr-whoof!" Spike added, bouncing on his front feet with the power of the admonition.

Calmly, the vampire picked up her napkin and daintily patted her lips, making Buffy huff in frustration. Dru primly settled the napkin back in her lap, then finally said, "Told you, paths diverge, wandering hither and tither through the sunbeams, dunno where the new mummy will lead my sweet William."

"I'm not leading him there!" Buffy insisted, pointing behind her. "If you want to help me, then show me something that will work, and tell me when this is happening."

"Sunbeams grow dark, shadows and scowls, perfectly delicious in the haunting hours."

"SPEAK. ENGLISH!" Buffy screamed, advancing on the mad vampire and her unhelpful pixie riddles, hands curled into fists. Her dog joined her, fangs bared in a warning snarl.

"I'M TRYING!" Dru screeched back, yanking at her hair, pulling out handfuls of her long, silky locks as she screamed her frustration.

Buffy grabbed her hands and stopped her self-inflicted punishment. "Stop it! That's not helping," she insisted, holding Dru's trembling hands between her own.

"Trying... trying... mummy tries... mummy always tries... never good enough... pixies natter in rhymes, sing their songs, dancing in the dark alone. Sweet William won't come... doesn't come to mummy. New mummy holds him now—has his heart, she does. Unlocked all the secret boxes, looked inside, cuddled all the squishy bits, romped and wrestled with the passionate bits. Found his match. Loves her now, he does, but danger lurks in her world o' sunbeams. Mummy tries to keep him safe."

The Slayer sighed again, and dropped to on knee in front of the ranting woman. "Dru, it's okay... just calm down. Tell me again... when is this happening?"

Dru blinked tears from her eyes this time, they spilled down her cheeks. Buffy released her hands, pulled the napkin from her lap, and gave it to her. The vampire took it, sniffing and wiping her eyes a few moments before she said, "Happens on the day the sunbeams turn to shadows. Moon swallows up the sun... chomp, chomp, chomp."

The wall hanging that Spike had given her flashed in Buffy's mind—the moon swallowing the sun. She took a breath and nodded. "Like an eclipse?"

Dru's shimmering blue eyes met Buffy's and she shrugged. Buffy didn't look away, even knowing what Drusilla could do with those eyes. In for a penny, in for a pounding.

"Okay... do you have one of those holograms where we actually win?" the Slayer asked.

The vampire began to sway, her eyes closing, her hands waving gently, making the air shimmer. Another tableau materialized on the street. Buffy watched as she, Faith, Angel, Giles, and Willow battled the creature from the Hellmouth. Where were her Spikes? Not there. Out of the fray. Safe. Buffy was tossed out of the library doors, but was on her feet in a flash, charging back into the battle. Everyone was madly chopping at the heads and tentacles—everyone except Angel who was fighting some other threat—blue skinned demons with long, black dreadlocks who seemed way too fit. Angel had just dispatched one of the other demons when the Hellspawn slammed him into the wall, knocking him unconscious. Buffy held her breath, waiting for the blood, but Giles was there with his axe, slamming it into the monster's teeth, distracting it long enough for Angel to regain his senses. Then Buffy found a weak spot, beneath the snapping jaws and decapitated one of the heads. She screamed new instructions to the others and finally the beast lay inert, severed heads and sizzling blood littering the library floor.

They'd won.

She turned back to Dru. "When is this eclipse? Soon?"

Dru was still swaying, though now it looked more like the air was moving her, rather than her moving the air—she was the one shimmering and fading. "Mummies do what they can..." she muttered before the whole world went black.

-X-

In case you want to remember what Buffy can't quite...

From the story, 'Spike is a Good Boi', chapter 16, 'The Vow', (Scene in Buffy's hotel room. Only she and Dru are in the room):

"The stars whisper and sing. Destinies are callin', but good mummies shan't set their babies adrift in the sunshine without a thought. He's my sweet, deadly boy. Plucked him from the street, wanderin' and lost. All alone, he was, whimperin' in the dark. Need t' know ya won't burn him, ash and embers … couldn't bear it, I couldn't."

A vision of Spike as the little puppy she'd first met after sending Angel to hell popped into Buffy's mind. She could see him wandering the dark streets, lost and alone, looking for his home, for his family, whimpering and afraid, completely helpless and confused. So helpless that he let Dru take him away from his real family, his real home. Buffy's heart ached for the sweet little puppy, for how frightened he must've been. She hated the thought of him ever having been scared or feeling lost. "I'll keep him safe. He'll always have a place at my side. I'd never let anything happen to him," she assured Dru.

"The shiny hobgoblin speaks in riddles and doesn't even know the rhyme," Dru mused to herself, tilting her head as she studied Buffy.

Buffy sighed. "Look, he's not yours, anyway," she reminded the vampire.

Dru smiled, but it was more feral than friendly. "Mine from the start, he was, but the stars cry by the end … dust and ash, blood and light."

Buffy clenched her jaw. "Less with the cryptic, Dru. If you know something's coming after him, you need to tell me."

"You," Dru revealed. "You are the only one who can harm him … only one who can save him."

Buffy huffed out an exasperated breath. "I'm not gonna hurt him! Have you not been listening? Didn't I just say I won't let anything happen to him? What more do you want?" the Slayer demanded.

"Your vow … a promise in blood – a promise from your soul. No tin soldiers' bits and bobs, no shackles holdin' the boy back, making him less than he is. No glittering jewels that shift and dazzle, burning to embers in the Valley of the Sun."

"You want my blood?" Buffy scoffed, picking out the only thing she could understand from that. "Yeah, that's never gonna happen."

"It's the only way I'll unravel the bindings and turn away," Dru informed her.

"You know, I can still dust you," Buffy threatened, reaching for one of the wooden chairs at the table, prepared to break it into handy, stake-sized bits.

"You'll lose him forever if mummy is stolen," Dru warned.

Buffy hesitated. Dru could be right. If Buffy dusted the crazy bitch, then the truce would be over between her and Spike. If he got to the dog before she could stop him, he'd kill her boy out of revenge. The Guardian was strong and smart, but he'd never really faced a master vampire like Spike in a straight-up fight – especially one like Spike in a murderous rage.

Dru stood up and slipped slowly around the end of the bed toward the Slayer. Her fangs extended, her big, blue eyes morphing to gold. Buffy took a step back, bringing the chair with her – she may have no choice but to dust the loony bitch.

Dru slashed a long cut across her palm with a fang, letting thick, ruby blood well up along the length of it. Her visage slipped back into human form as she extended her hand to Buffy. "Vow your soul with your blood – our boy may touch the sunshine, but never burn. The damsel will save the knight."

Buffy's face contorted in thought, still unsure if this was a trick, but Dru wasn't moving any closer, she was just waiting there, her blood dripping in crimson splotches on the grey carpet. The Slayer stepped cautiously to her overnight bag that she'd left on the table and pulled out a knife. Holding it poised over her palm she said, "If I do this, then Spike's mine – forever. You won't try anything ever again."

Dru gave her a sad smile. "His destiny will be borne on sunbeams," she agreed with a nod.

Buffy took a deep breath and nodded, then sliced a line across her palm, matching Dru's. Dru's demon surged to the surface, a low growl rumbling in her throat, but she remained perfectly still, hand still outstretched.

"I promise on my soul to do everything in my power to protect Spike," Buffy vowed, clasping the vampiress' hand in a crushing grip. Their blood joined, Slayer and vampire, and Buffy's entire body tingled with the power of the oath.

-X-

And scene from the story My Turn, chapter 5, 'Jiggery-pokery' when Dru tells Buffy about the bond between them in the dreamscape of her destroyed soul:

Drusilla blinked her eyes open, their normal bright blue the color of London fog, still smiling placidly. "Sisters, we are, golden goblin – blood shared, bonded. Capricorn on the cusp of Aquarius. Two mummies for our deadly boy, day and night, stars and sun."

"What are you talking about?!" the blonde demanded, even as realization dawned. "I never… that's not…" she gasped. "I'm not okay with bonding! I'm the absolute opposite of okay! There is no okay in this! You never said anything about any bonding!" Buffy protested.

Dru's smile grew devilishly satisfied. "Didn't ask."

Buffy gawped at her, then huffed out a frustrated breath and whirled away from the vampiress, her arms thrown out in exasperation. "If I had asked, you would've said something about fucking goats eating shiny periwinkles in the age of Aquarius!" she protested, turning back to face the brunette, her hands planted on her hips.

Dru shrugged, still smiling like the cat that ate all the canaries and then had the finches for dessert.

"Undo it!" the Slayer demanded, stalking back toward the vampire.

"Ties that bind life and death with ruby drops shan't unravel 'til blood turns to ash and we are no more."

-X-

Chapter End Notes:

In case it's not clear... because it is impossible to get any clear pictures of any of the monsters Dru was warning about, the ones our heroes will be dealing with next, we're heading into The Zeppo. There was not an eclipse mentioned in The Zeppo, but there actually was one IRL and I just thought it would be fun to incorporate it.