A soft moan escaped from cold lips as Drusilla shifted once more from her inadequate little nest near the cavern wall. She rested on the make-shift pallet that her lover created for her with his button shirt and leather coat. Lacking even a pillow, her head lay on his jean clad leg. Her dark eyes fluttered open and she attempted to find a more comfortable position. Unable to secure one from her place on the rocky floor, she whined softly.
"Spike, I don't like it here. I'm cold, my bed is hard, and I can't hear Miss Edith."
Still tired from the poor sleep wrought from his own uncomfortable position sitting against the wall, William the Bloody gently trailed his fingers through Drusilla's long dark tresses.
"You're sleeping on the ground, Luv. Tha's why its cold and hard and Miss Edith is still in the sodding car. T'is most likely too far for her voice to reach you through all the ground. I'm sure you'll hear her once we go up to eat."
Dru crawled onto Spike lap and rested her head against his neck.
"Wanna bed, My Spike," she whimpered.
Although tempted to rant to his lover that they were stuck sleeping in this awful cave because of her crazy pilgrimage to see their Grandfather, the blond vampire remained silent. He patted her back softly and encouraged Dru to go back to sleep. He quietly promised her a bed when they next slept. Spike promised soft sheets and fluffy pillows and a special place for Miss Edith. He even promised to find some new friends for her precious dolly since all her previous friends had been left behind in Italy.
"Remember, you promised me sunshine," the dark haired vampire reminded at the end of his litany of new promises. She cooed as she snuggled tighter against her lover's chest. Drusilla was confident that her William would do everything in his power to provide each and every one of his promises. Her Spike was many things and a keeper of his word was one of them. If needed, her lover would move heaven and earth to provide her deepest wishes.
"Still a bit allergic," Spike whispered into her tangled hair while inhaling the scent of his precious companion. For a moment, they snuggled in peace.
"Spike, I'm hungry," Dru suddenly stated as she shifted from her languid draping across his lap and body to an upright position. Her human features shifted. Her tongue wiped across her newly descended fangs.
"I want Italian," she stated with an unwavering certainty.
Spike slid open his eyes and gazed at his lover through his lashes.
"Not in Italy anymore, Luv," he reminded.
Dru's lip quivered and her yellow eyes pleaded silently. Spike decided that even with the ridges and fangs that his Drusilla could easily manipulate with her childish pout that seemed quite alien on the features of a killer.
"But I want Italian," she whined.
"How 'bout an Italian restaurant?" he countered.
"Ooooh-kaaay," his companion grudgingly agreed.
"Hmm, I think I would like Italian too," interrupted a gruff voice from across the chamber. Its intrusion shattered the couples supposed privacy.
In a synchronicity born from the more than a century together, the two British vampires turned their attention towards their elder. Both stood while The Master continued his uninvited rambling. Dru wavered on her feet. A fine tremble coursed over her body brought on by her ongoing illness and self imposed lack of sustenance. Spike offered her a steadying support with his arm around her waist although he did not feel particularly great himself. He was going to need some blood soon or he would find himself in the same condition as his weakened lover.
"Yes, Italian sounds marvelous. Something buxom. Possibly childbearing age? Late twenties, I think. A sophisticated blend of hormones. A more acquired taste than the rush of youth but a pleasure all its own," the spell bound vampire was rumbling from his prison. The Master then ordered some of his minions to accompany his visiting family around the town and elicited a quick promise that they would return with his requested dinner. Spike and Dru watched with barely disguised disgust as the minions grovels shamelessly in response to the request.
"Well then, we're off," Spike called to The Master as he pulled Dru towards the exit. He was already tired of hearing the crabby Aurelean head's voice.
"Bring me a bottle of wine too," demanded the Master as an afterthought. "Something light and crisp. Perhaps a Friulano?"
"Sure," grumbled Spike as he stomped from the sunken sanctuary and into the darkened tunnel.
"Oh and make sure supper hasn't been eating garlic. It gives me indigestion," The Master called after the retreating figures.
Spike snorted at the demand as he vowed to ensure that whatever meal his great-grandsire consumed tonight that she had been gorging on garlic bread. He would make sure it happened if he had to shove the garlicky substance down her throat himself. It might not make up for his poor nights sleep and general hatred of this entire situation but it would make him feel just a tiny bit better.
"Well, that was a bit intense," Oz commented casually after he shut the passenger door of Antonio's Mustang, and the teens watched the detective pull from the curb. Silently, the two friends followed the progress of the red and white muscle car as it traveled down the main street of town. While they watched, the short redhead decided against commenting on the obviously mortified expression on his companion's face. Instead, he mentally dismissed the emotional baggage and headed towards the entrance of Piastra Completa. Utterly horrified at the intrusive behavior of both her parents, Buffy stammered a flustered apology to her new friend as she followed in his wake into the casual Italian restaurant on one of the corners of Maple Avenue.
"They' re not always that bad," Buffy attempted to appease as she hurried to enter the restaurant before the door swung closed. "Normally they completely ignore my friends... just like normal parents. They usually live in that whole clueless parent place where puppies and kittens frolic and the music lacks dance-ability and is way uncool. I think the whole dead-comeback-coma thing has them feeling overly protective."
"Understandable," Oz replied as he glanced at the hostess station with its sign that instructed patrons to find their own seat. Oz tried to share the amusement to be found in the recently strange meeting. "Although the armed officer providing transportation to dinner... that might have been a bit of overkill."
Buffy smiled tightly as she followed her companion towards the back of the restaurant where they slid into a large round booth that should easily fit the musician's band-mates and their guests. The younger teen was still uncomfortable over her mom's and dad's intrusive behavior when Oz arrived at her house to ask her to come and meet his band mates over pizza. The Slayer was not sure how to handle the inquisition that her parents had mounted against Oz when he arrived at Revello Drive. Her father had questioned him extensively on his background and interests while her mother had fussed over his intentions towards Buffy. Although she understood their reason for their sudden over-protective attitude, the blond did no appreciate the obnoxious rapid-fire questions. She had barely resisted screaming in frustration at their sudden overcompensation in parental concern. She had been close to storming to her room in a fit of angst-ridden attitude when the situation was saved yet again by Joyce's friendly guest.
Strangely enough, Detective Ricci seemed to have read the situation and diffused the building tension by offering the two teens a ride downtown. It had been a perfect distraction tactic and both Oz and Buffy greatly appreciated his timely save. Idly, Buffy wondered if the perceptive officer realized how uncomfortable the questions about their inferred relationship made the pretty teen. She was not ready to face any type of male-female romantic feelings at this point and had been avoiding anything related to the subject all summer. She offered silent thanks to the older man as she smiled absently at the casually dressed waitress who greeted them when she approached their table. The Slayer ordered a Diet Coke while her companion requested the full octane option. Oz informed the college-aged server that they would be waiting for the rest of their party before they would be ordering. She nodded and wandered away to wait on one of the other tables. Feeling more comfortable with the now less cramped silence, the duo sat quietly until the drinks arrived.
"So you finally gonna share what your hottie grandpa really told you?" Oz inquired before sliding a straw into his soda that had just been plopped onto the table in front of him.
Buffy covered her blush by focusing on the slightly scratched tabletop and Oz hid his teasing smile behind his straw as he took a drink. Nervously rolling her straw around on the table, the pretty teen finally lifted her slightly flaming face.
"I never said hottie," she squirmed before hastily adding "And he has gotta be way ancient. Like older than Giles old. Older than my parent's old... maybe even older than Gile's parent's old."
Oz stopped hiding his smirk.
"Mr. Giles the school librarian?" he clarified. "Hmm, he is British. Maybe they are related?"
Oz frowned as he wondered why the self proclaimed procrastinator on all things school connected would immediately mention the reclusive-seeming librarian. It was not the first time over the summer that his companion had mentioned the teacher either.
"You spend a lot of time in the library?" the older teen queried before teasing softly. "Or do you just have a thing for older British guys?"
Buffy's eyes flew open as she voiced her horror at the though of crushing on her stiff and so way too old Watcher. Behind the shiver, a tiny thought occurred to her. Angel was way older than her too old Watcher. She clamped down on the unwelcome thought. She crushed it just like all the other ones that had sneaked into her mind over the summer; she couldn't face romantic attachments at this point in her psyche. The Slayer decided on another uncomfortable subject. At least this one was the one she had planned on sharing with Oz tonight.
"I don't have a thing for Giles," she offered as she returned to rolling her straw. The tabletop once more captured her fascination. The Slayer took a fortifying breath. "Remember how I said that The Entity promised to return me to the world, more or less the same as I left it?"
Buffy peeked at her companion. She continued when he offered her the slightest nod to show that he remembered the information dropped casually into the pink-inked summer letter he received between the green and purple inked ones.
"I think the less is kinda why I know Giles so well. Or maybe it is the more. Do you think it is more since I had the more already and the less is the extra stuff the Entity offered? It was less than I got before... sort of. But then, the less could be considered more and more was really what she gave me so I just can't be sure."
The blond teen glanced beseechingly at her companion as if he could clear up the problem for her.
"I follow the logic but I have no clue since I don't yet understand the starting point," Oz admitted with a shrug. The musician resisted the urge to smile at Buffy's disjointed rambling but he artfully avoided prodding at the subject any deeper. Through their summer correspondences and phone conversations, the older teen had gleaned that the cute blond might have her own way of expressing herself but that she would eventually get to the point. As long as she had an uninterrupted opportunity and the inclination, the girl would share her observations. Oz just realized that he needed his Cali-girl to musician translator at times. He smirked as the thought sparked a lyric idea which he expertly tucked into his memory while still paying attention to Buffy's reply.
Buffy was now meandering around the topic of Sunnydale and how utterly un-normal things seemed to be the norm in the little city. Once again, Oz nodded in agreement when appropriate although Buffy had still failed to mention anything specific. The Slayer had finally reached the meat of her rambling and his interest grew.
"You may not believe it but there are really concrete explanations for all the weird stuff," Buffy explained. "Giles is kinda the guru of all things weird and wig-worthy."
"Oh god!" exclaimed a shrill voice that interrupted just as Buffy was about to admit her relationship with the weird too.
"I did not agree to weird and wiggy," Cordelia Chase charged as she turned snapping eyes towards her clueless date. Her voice practically hissed. "You promised me a nice time not a freak show."
"Uh... nothing freaky here," Devon replied as he actually glanced around the ordinary looking room. He didn't notice anything strange so he frowned in confusion. "Just pizza with the Dingos. Well, with Oz and his g... um... with Oz and Buffy. Everyone else must be a bit late but nothing weird in that."
Devon glanced at Oz and the pretty underclassman that he was meeting for the first time. His eyes pleaded for assistance and his friend took pity on him.
"Nothing weird or wig-worthy here," Oz offered as he summoned a welcoming smile to aid his promise of normality. Although it was an expression he used sparingly, the smile was sincere in its welcome and teasing warmth.
"Yeah, right," Cordy huffed as she slid into the rounded bench seat beside Oz. She sighed so heavily that it sounded like someone had just asked the brunette to walk to school ten miles uphill in a blizzard with nothing to keep her warm besides her stylish sandals, short skirt and flattering summer sweater. She continued moving along the bench which forced Oz to slide around until he, in turn, forced Buffy towards the outer left edge of the booth. Settling into what she considered the safest position in the booth, Cordelia turned to her fellow classmate.
"Heard you died," she stated clearly. "Glad you're back. I really wasn't looking forward to being vamp-chow this year."
"Vamp-chow?" Oz repeated while Devon frowned yet again in confusion.
"Well, duh, vampire-chow. You know. Vampires... demons... the sucking of blood and ruining of dates thing..."
Cordelia stared in disbelief at Oz before turning a glare on the Slayer.
"You didn't tell him?" she accused.
"Was working on it when Hurricane Chase hit the table," Buffy muttered tightly. "It's not the easiest subject to cover."
Cordy shook her head at the blond's obviously lacking effort. Instead of allowing the Slayer to continue her tale, the cheerleader dismissively plowed into her own much shorter explanation of events.
"It's not hard," she stated with perfect confidence. She leveled her steady gaze on the shorter male who was sipping on his soda. "Vampires are real. They kill people. Buffy kills them. It's her whole sacred thing since she is the Slayer and all. She's got superpowers and pointy sticks and a stuffy know it all Watcher and everything. She kills them and we don't die. If they kill her, a new Slayer is called somewhere else and we end up Vamp-chow."
Cordelia turned from addressing Oz and pinned Buffy with her intense gaze.
"Do not die again," she ordered the blond.
"Didn't intend it the first time," Buffy replied evenly.
"Well, just be more careful. At least until we graduate. I desperately want out of this town and I don't want it to be sans tan and seriously anemic. You alive helps ensure my timely post-graduation escape."
"I'll do my best," Buffy offered as she resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose to help with the irritating headache that dealing with Cordelia was birthing.
"Good," the cheerleader intoned regally as she turned her attention back to Oz and Devon. "See, not so hard."
Oz glanced at Buffy who was cringing ever so slightly as she waited for his response. Instead of saying anything, the musician just offered her a slight nod to share his understanding. He wasn't going to freak over Cordelia's surprising revelation. After all, the knowledge that vampires and demons were real answered quite a few of the burning questions he always harbored about their hometown. When Buffy finally asked him if he had any questions, Oz offered her a soft smile.
"Guess the superpowers where the more, huh?"
The Slayer nodded once before turning to the confused senior who completed their foursome.
"You have any questions, Devon?" she prompted. Since the blond did not know Oz's friend, she lacked the insight that absence of total understanding was a relatively continuous state for the Dingo's lead singer. He wasn't about to throw a fit because of being surprised by her news.
Devon frowned for just a few more moments before the confusion wrinkles smoothed from his forehead. "You were dead?" he finally asked after shifting through all the supernatural strangeness that everyone else seemed to have accepted at face value.
"But she got better," quipped Oz in a half-decent British accent before Buffy could answer with more than a nod. When the other three just stared at him with identical expressions of incomprehension, Oz barely contained the urge to roll his eyes. He wondered if the school librarian would have appreciated his reference.
The thought was forced from his mind though by the noisy arrival of their remaining band-mates. The three final arrivals clamored into the booth and instantly shattered the slightly somber mood. Devon dove into introductions of the two additional band members. When he named the drummer, Jordan, the sandy-haired percussionist loudly rambled an apology for their late arrival. His poorly maintained hunk of junk, as he harshly referred to his car, had refused to start. The Dingo's singer waved off the explanation before introducing the bassist, Sam, to Cordy and Buffy.
"I'd introduce you to the lovely lady attached to Sam's arm but I have no clue who she is," Devon admitted when eyes turned to the final person at the table.
The smartly dressed brunette smiled sweetly and offered her hand across the table towards Buffy first.
"Anya Emerson," she offered with enthusiasm. "I'm Sam's new squeeze."
An unexpected shiver sparked up the Slayer's arm at the contact with Anya's warm touch. She started slightly.
"Oops... sorry," offered the perky new addition as she pulled her hand away and slid into the booth beside her date. "Rotten static electricity. These are my favorite shoes but they seem to fill me with a zippy charge every time I wear them. So sorry."
"That's okay," Buffy replied absently as she glanced along the edge of the table to see the offending footwear that Anya was waving in the aisle in confirmation of her theory. She frowned slightly as she wiped her still tingling hand against her pant leg.
"Way nice though even with the sparks," the Slayer added in admiration at the very stylish and obviously expensive designer boots gracing the new girl's feet.
"Thanks," gushed Anya as she offered yet another winning smile towards the blond. "You have an appreciation for fine footwear. I think we are gonna be best friends in no time."
Buffy forced an answering smile onto her lips at the confident and definitely over-whelming interest that Sam's new girlfriend was radiating at her. The attention made her feel a bit dizzy. She swallowed nervously as she realized that she might not be quite ready for full force socialization yet. Oz noticed his friend's stiffened posture and slight withdraw from the happy new additions. Smoothly, he tried to direct the focus off Buffy and onto ordering. Efficiently, he motioned their waitress back to their now crowded booth and the uncomfortable moment passed.
From that point, the evening progress more smoothly. Buffy sat back and watched as the rest of the booth of teens caroused happily. Although Anya attempted to engage her a number of times, her reluctance to join in the boisterous fun was not too noticeable by anyone at the table. Since the Dingos did not really know the Slayer, they just figured that she was a naturally sedate person. That she was in the company of their own strong silent type only supported the idea. The only one who stood a chance of noticing a change in attitude was Cordelia. In typical Queen C manner though, she was more interested in her own good time than in drawing attention to the pretty blond Slayer sitting quietly at the edge of the table.
Sam and Jordan were arguing over who got the last piece of extra cheese and mushroom pizza when the fun was disrupted. Buffy stiffened as creeping disquiet crawled up the nape of her neck. Her hand fell from the table to rest against the small of her back as her eyes scanned the half filled restaurant. Her gaze settled on the front entrance as the door slid open. A bleached blond encased in an impressive black leather coat strutted into the eatery with a willowy woman hanging desperately onto his waist. Buffy's eyes narrowed and she rose from her seat. She took a couple calming breaths as she inventoried the additional four vampires that followed the original couple into the restaurant.
"Oh god, I knew I should have left as soon as I saw her," complained Cordelia loudly as the Slayer glided gracefully from her protective spot in front of their booth.
Plans of attack cycled through Buffy's mind even as her feet where moving her in the direction of her first target. Her intended first opponent had just grabbed his intended victim when she reached him. The undead's face shifted. The woman in his grasp drew breath and screamed. Before the sharp cry cut across the dining room and galvanized the patrons into panic, the Slayer was already arcing her right arm towards the turned back of the vampire. Buffy's stake slid easily into place. Dust flew and the screaming woman dropped to the floor. Sobbing hysterically, the intended victim scrambled under the nearest table.
Before the screamer reached the protection of her table hideout, her savior had already engaged her next target. This one's brown eyes widened and she screamed an echo of panic as the suddenly frightened Aurelian recognized the blond death sweeping towards her. Her disbelief and cry that her approaching doom was dead did nothing to stop the snapping jab of Buffy's arm that forced her wooden weapon quickly into the crying demon's chest.
Buffy engaged a third vampire. This one presented a bit more challenge and actually blocked her first swipe of her stake. All around her, patrons continued to cry and panic over the sudden intrusion of the mutilated attackers. Some ran screaming towards the kitchen. Others started towards the front door but after the first one to reach it had his neck snapped by the leather clad blond, the obvious exit no longer held any interest for the panicking diners. They scrambled backwards and towards the kitchen too. Behind the Slayer, Cordelia was yelling at the Dingos to stop staring and do something useful like escaping. Instead of following the sage advice, the four band members just stared in amazement at the deadly moves and confident grace their previously quiet companion was exhibiting.
"Wow," mumbled Devon as Buffy ducked a vicious punch and followed with her own snap kick that caught her opponent under his chin. While the stunned vampire stumbled backwards, the bossy brunette sighed at her companion's stupidity. Noticing the approach of the forth minion who made a wide arc around the Slayer's position, Codelia dug into her purse and pulled a large and ornately carved cross from its interior. She shoved the artifact into Oz's hand and ordered him to make himself useful. Although surprised to have the cross shoved into his hand, the small musician mimicked every vampire movie he remembered watching and shoved the holy relic in the face of the approaching undead. It hissed when the cross touched it's raised hand. The vampire wheeled away from the musician and made a passing grab for Anya as it tried to escape.
"Let me go!" Anya screamed harshly as the vampire followed the now escaped patron's plan and followed them towards the kitchen. The demon dragged the yelling new girl through the swinging doors before anyone could do anything about it.
"Buffy!" yelled Cordy as she pushed at Oz to exit the booth.
"Extra. Stake. Purse." Buffy yelled over her shoulder as she again blocked a punch from her current opponent. While Cordelia dumped the Slayer's purse in frenzied search of the extra weapon, the lithe blond followed her current block with a roundhouse kick that sent the stunned vampire flying into a table. Shattered plates and partially eaten food scattered in a wave around his impacting body and the table collapsed under the demon's substantial weight. In the split moment when the large vampire was down, Buffy surveyed the restaurant again. She noted the willowy female vampire slowly draining the victim whose neck was broken by the bleached blond in the cool coat. In turn, the killer was standing protectively over the female and watching every move Buffy made. His steady yet narrowed gaze sent another shiver up her spine.
The brute that she just kicked roared as he rose from the shattered table. He grabbed one of the broken metal table legs as he stood and swung it at the Slayer's head. Buffy danced to the side and attempted to sweep the make-shift metal club from the vampire's grip.
"Man, you made me break a nail," the Slayer huffed as the club glanced off the tips of her fingers. She snapped her smarting hand a couple times to help force away the startling pain of the torn fingernail.
As the vamp's vicious baseball swing turned him sideways, Buffy crossly informed him that she would now need to break something of his. Before her opponent could respond, the Slayer stomped her foot down on the side of his exposed knee. Undead tendons snapped and bone crushed as she delivered on her threat by breaking the demon's leg and shattering his knee joint. The vampire collapsed to the floor with an anguished scream of pain. Buffy kicked him in the head which forced the much larger demon onto his back and gave her an easier target to hit his heart.
She shifted to stake the laid out vampire when the vampire that had previously dragged Anya into the kitchen staggered backwards through the swinging doors and stumbled against her.
"Stay away! Stay away! Stay away!" screamed an irate Anya who was wildly welding a large skillet in both her hands. She had obviously driven the attacking vampire off her body with the heavy iron cookware and the vampire was bleeding from a wound on the side of his head and another on opposite side of his jaw. In the split second of their return, Buffy was impressed with the new girl's cunning escape.
Smoothly adapting to the unexpected vamp reappearance, Buffy slammed her stake into the chest of the stumbling demon as it tripped over her. Unfortunately, the falling vampire's momentum tore the wooden weapon from her hand. Anya's attacker hit the ground as dust but took Buffy's stake with him. She grumbled about the loss before calling for Cordy to toss her second stake to her that the cheerleader was currently holding in her shaking grasp. The wood sailed through the air and the Slayer easily caught the projectile.
"Spike! Help me," cried the large, incapacitated vampire sprawled at her feet. With an efficiency of movement, Buffy sunk her new stake passed his ribs and into his heart. The demon followed his dusty companion into oblivion and the Slayer turned to her remaining opponents. She took a single step towards the dark clothed vampire that her last opponent called Spike.
"Time to go, Drusilla," the blond nudged as he attempted to pull his sire away from her almost empty victim. Spike still had not eaten and he doubted he could safely take the approaching blond at the moment. Although his blood sung at the promise of a good brawl, he could not endanger Dru's unlife on the chance the petite warrior staked him.
"Not done," whined his dark princess as she clutched her dead victim more tightly. She refused to stand despite the prodding.
"Dru..." William tried to plead in warning but she again ignored him. With a sigh, the weakened and hungry vampire turned to face the approaching warrior.
"Guess I couldn't interest you in a rain check, huh, Pet?" he offered to the pretty blond. He followed the suggestion with a hopeful smile that might have played havoc on Buffy's hormones if she didn't know the handsome male was actually a demon in disguise.
Buffy stopped about six feet from the bleach blond vampire who shifted from his human guise to his demon face.
"Not a cloud in the sky," she replied as she shifted her weight to the balls of her feet and positioned them in an open stance that would allow her to move quickly into either defensive or offensive strikes. She raised her hands slightly so that they were away from her body and she bent her elbows so that they too where poised for movement. The Slayer's fingers shifted her grip slightly on her stake as she took a cautious step forward. Buffy could feel the strength radiating off the two remaining vampires and she wasn't about to underestimate them. When the Slayer shifted slightly to the side, her opponent shifted also. He kept his body interposed between the deadly teen and his still kneeling lover. Noting the protective gesture, Buffy shifted the other way and watched the bleached blond move yet again to keep guard over his companion.
"About done, Luv?" Spike questioned Dru as his eyes followed the minute shifts of muscles in Buffy's torso. He knew the first warning of attack would come from her core and not from her hands or feet. The demon resisted the urge to glance at his opponents face. The eyes could lie in a fight but the thicker muscles at the center of the body were next to impossible to conceal their true intentions. When Drusilla replied in the negative, Spike noticed the slightest shift. The muscles across his opponents collar tightened just a hint and her forward shoulder dropped a hair just before she struck. His own arm swept away the quick left jab as the Slayer pulled her right arm towards her body to block the vamp's return strike. With practiced ease, her stake angled safely in a position parallel to her body so that even if the blow pushed through her defense then the weapon would not impale her.
Behind the shifting fighters, Oz approached with the cross held out at arms length. From over his shoulder, Cordelia pushed him gently forward. The teens shifted closer and Anya joined them with her frying pan still gripped tightly in her trembling hands. Still frozen in their booth, Devon, Sam, and Jordan just watched in awe as a flurry of attacks and blocks flew between the vampire and the Slayer. They figured Buffy was more fun to watch than a kung fu movie.
"Thought you were in Italy, Slayer" Spike grumbled after one of Buffy's left hooks slipped past his defense and connected with his jaw. He brushed his aching chin against the collar of his coat and rolled his head in a full neck stretch before tossing another series of punches and kicks at his compact opponent.
"Nope," Buffy answered with a heavy accent on the p. "Never been."
"But I'm betting you wished you were," she replied as she again slipped past a block. This time, she landed a snap kick into his ribs which lifted Spike off the floor. He flew a couple feet and landed on his backside. The downed vampire groaned but still flipped back to his feet with a smooth move that made Buffy smile.
"Nice," she complimented as she once more shifted stance. "Too bad I'm just gonna knock you on your butt again."
Spike grinned in return.
"I've a nice ass," he replied with a smirk, a wink, and a light caress of his self complimented bottom as he once more maneuvered himself between Drusilla and the Slayer. "You should treat it with respect."
Buffy's eyes followed his hands as the swung away the edge of his coat to rub on his bruised rear. She swallowed at the obvious sexual content but did not allow the tingling panic in the back of her mind to interfere with her fight. She forced down the uncomfortable reaction that had haunted her all summer any time she was faced with any situation, gesture or words that reminded her of the attack in the spring. She refused to think about anything sexual in nature. Avoidance was better and helped her avoid the panic inducing hallucinations that often followed these kinds of thoughts.
Spike's eyes narrowed as he noticed the tiny flinch his words caused but he was not sure how he had finally nicked a tiny chink in the formidable warrior's armor. If he survived, he would need the information for later to help defeat this powerful new enemy.
"Dru, I know you're done with that corpse," he tossed angrily over his shoulder as he once more was forced to block a series of vicious blows. His muscles ached and the cocky undead knew he was reaching the end of his stamina.
Near the door, Drusilla stood and pulled the dead man against her body like a protective shield from the battle raging in front of her an the brave cross wielding trio approaching her from the side.
"Drusilla, GO!" Spike desperately ordered as he took yet another punch. He desperately hoped that his sire listened to him for once. The Slayer's latest punch caught him under his extended arm and he felt at least one of his ribs crack from the power of the blow. The vampire growled viciously and threw himself at the tiny woman in a last ditch effort to ensure that his lover survived even if he did not.
Buffy evaded the vampires claws and slipped inside his charge to grab the lapels of his sturdy coat. In a smooth movement, she used the vampires own momentum against him. She stepped back and seemed to collapse under the assault at the same time that she brought one of her feet up to drive into the demon's gut. Buffy curled herself into the sacrifice position as her bottom hit the floor and she attempted to catapult her opponent over her head in a classic Tomoe-nage judo toss. As Spike sailed over her head and crashed soundly into the floor, Buffy followed the rolling movement and ended the attack in a position of power with her hands still gripping his coat and her body poised over his abdomen. Each knee rested on the ground on either side of his lower torso.
The punishing blow of the floor striking his back and head momentarily stunned the vampire. As Buffy's right hand released her finger grip on his coat, she shifted her high palm placement of her stake until is was in position to for a proper strike. She raised her arm as her opponent's ridges and fangs receded. A scream issued from behind the two warriors as Drusilla finally realized the impending death of her protector. Drusilla tossed the dead body at the three teens blocking her path. The cross and the frying pan were no help in protecting the trio from the flying corpse. They fell beneath the assault in a clumsy pile.
Buffy watched her opponent's demon slip below the surface and dazed blue eyes opened to watch the inevitable arc of her stake as is arrowed towards his chest. Spike shifted his eyes from the weapon to meet the determined gaze of the Slayer who bested him. Buffy gasped and her strike froze with the wooden tip sunk into the soft tissue of his chest but not near deep enough to penetrate his heart.
"You're you," she accused in a mirrored response to the moment when she met Oz. Confusion clouded her mind momentarily as she looked beyond his distinctive and expressive eyes to notice the rest of his face. Unconsciously, her left hand raised to touch the side of Spike's face. Her fingertips brushed hesitantly over the span of his nose where his glasses once perched. Before they could travel to his cheek, strong hands grabbed the Slayers shoulders and flung her off the defeated vampire. Buffy's blood-tipped stake dropped to the floor as she slid on her bottom a few feet from the two vampires.
"My William!" screamed Drusilla as she roughly grabbed her dazed lover and dragged him to his feet.
"STILL MINE!" the irate vampire screeched as she glared angrily at the startled and confused Slayer.
Buffy sat on the floor of the destroyed restaurant and watched as the dark haired female manhandled her previous opponent out the door and into the dark. She watched as the exhausted and badly beaten vamp tried to brush off Drusilla's assistance but ended up needing her only limited strength to stagger away in humiliated retreat.
As the vampire couple escaped, Buffy barely heard the male vampire cuss at his lover for leading him unsuspectingly to a sodding slayer. They were too far away for Buffy to hear Drusilla's hissed reply that she was not the Slayer but the Daughter. Instead of following the vampires escape, she instead found herself the focus of a pair of intense green eyes. She quickly glanced away. While Cordelia complained loudly to anyone who would listen about the weirdness that surrounded Buffy Summers like a biblical plague, the Slayer took the offered hand from her new friend. Oz gently pulled the blond to her feet. She swayed slightly as her adrenaline rush subsided and exhaustion set into its place.
"You okay?" the musician whispered softly.
Buffy nodded absently as she shifted her muscles in her shoulders, arms and neck in a slow stretch to relieve some of her sore spots. When Oz realized that his companion was not fully with them, he gently touched her arm. Buffy finally met his gaze.
"So, the hottie isn't an ancient grandpa, huh?" Oz tried to tease since he had recognized the stammered words the Slayer had uttered when she finally realized who she was about to dust. He had remembered the same words and the same awed expression when the pretty teen had first met him too. Buffy sighed and her shoulders slumped in defeat.
"Nope," she whispered with a pang of sadness in her tone. "Not a grandpa at all. Just a really old vampire."
The quiet exchange was crushed under the excited arrival of Oz's friends as the other three Dingos clamored to rave about her impressive fighting skills. She cringed from their loud voices and shied from the touches but Buffy still allowed herself to be passively swept along in the crazed chaos. In a surprising display of humanity, Cordelia offered to take Oz and Buffy home in her car despite repeated complaints on the subject. It wasn't until she was safely tucked into her bed in the silence and safety of her house that the Slayer once more considered Oz's parting words.
"The entity had us meet for a reason, Buffy," Oz reminded her as they approached her front door. "Potential. It's gotta be there, right?"
Buffy had turned sad and haunted eyes to her new friend. He just didn't understand.
"He's a vampire. I'm the Slayer. There can't be any potential. I have to kill him. It's kinda the job description."
Not knowing any better since today had been his first foray into the world of vampires, Oz had delivered one more thought and it was this one that pricked at Buffy's mind as she tried to find sleep.
"The potential was there for a reason," Oz stressed. "Maybe that was the less the Entity was offering you. Maybe the more was your Slayer skills but the less was the strict adherence to the job description. Why else show you the potential in the first place?"
Buffy stared at the shadows from the trees making shifting patterns on her ceiling.
"Why does he have potential?" she whispered into the darkness. The vampire she faced tonight had been powerful and a more than competent fighter. He had seemed a bit physically weak compared to the tingles he gave her. The inconsistency only further confused the resting Slayer. Unfortunately, the Entity offered no answer to her questions.
"Figures," Buffy grumbled as she twisted onto her side and pulled one of her pillows against her body and she curled around its softness. "Guess I will have to go to my own answer man," she muttered into the fluffy support. Even if she wasn't ready yet, it was time for her to seek what answers from the sources she had. Tomorrow, she would have to find her Watcher and ask for his help.