"I hate to interrupt the reunion, but I think it's time for you to go," Lorne said, stepping between the Slayer and the vampire and pushing the latter towards the door.
Spike's face, contorted with emotion, twisted further with annoyance. "But--"
"No buts, mister," the Empath demon said. "Bigger things are at stake right now, and chances are you'll be on the receiving end of one soon if you don't skedaddle."
Behind them, Buffy gave a friendly smile to a blue haired woman switching shifts with the young man behind the bar. "Hi, can I have three shots of tequila? It's been a really, really, really long day. Wait, that's the one without the worm, right?"
She chuckled. No worms in that one, honey.
Buffy blinked. "Or maybe I should stop with the drinky."
You're Buffy, aren't you? The Slayer. Willow gave me a heads-up and told me you were coming here. I'm Crystal, by the way. Sorry for the whole getting-in-your head thing, but what I have to say to you might not fit on your little whiteboard. Crystal thrust her thumb behind her. Get back here and lemme check your ears out.
"Okay," Buffy acquiesced, sliding off her stool and coming around the bar. "I've been having really bad headaches and I get dizzy and then there's the whole wanting to throw up part that I don't really like--"
That's probably from damaging your ear drums, Crystal said, tucking Buffy's hair behind her ear.
"They said they were almost sure that they're completely damaged," she said softly. "And then they wanted to see if I was eligible for hearing aids or cochlear implants, but then they said that the starting price for the implant thingies were like forty thousand--"
Shh, Crystal murmured into her mind, squeezing Buffy's hand as tears sprang to the Slayer's eyes. I need you to calm down, okay? I know how disorienting this is, losing just one of your senses. But I'm going to help you any way I can.
Buffy sniffled. "A-And I think I'm hallucinating and seeing my dead boyfriend--"
Spike gaped, pointing his thumb at her. "Did she just call me what I think she called me?"
Lorne rolled his eyes. "May I remind you that I have pretty much mainlined alcohol into her?"
Crystal smiled wryly. Buffy, I'm a witch, not a psychologist.
She blushed. "Oh, right. Sorry. And I think I'm kinda drunk."
Figured as much, Crystal laughed. Tilt your head back for me. I just want to get a good mental visual of your ear.
Buffy nodded and tilted her head away from Crystal. "Mental visual? Kinda like a witchy x-ray?"
Something like that, Crystal said. She cupped her hand to Buffy's ear and closed her eyes. She murmured a short incantation and an image projected into her mind. Buffy, I have good news, and not so good news but it isn't necessarily bad.
She took in a wavering breath. "What is it?"
You're healing. It's slow -- really slow. I think the reason for that is because it was ruptured due to pressures that were not of the natural. The not so good news is that I have no exact time frame pertaining to your healing time. I can do a bit of research and bring your case up to the coven and see if we could find anything to amplify the healing process or at least a treatment that will help your body patch itself up. A mystical homeopathic drug, if you will.
"So this isn't permanent," Buffy whispered, her shoulders sagging in relief.
Crystal offered a gentle smile. This isn't permanent. But you need some downtime, alright? You should give me your contact number, just in case I find out anything.
The Slayer nodded. "Yeah. Thanks… Thank you so much."
The witch hugged her. It's my pleasure, Buffy. I've heard nothing but good things about you.
Buffy returned the hug tightly, tears of relief streaming down her cheeks.
Crystal giggled. Still want that tequila?
"No, but I could use some of your witchy insight." She turned around and pointed at the bleach blond standing behind the counter, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. "Can you see him?"
The rest of your senses are working well, Buffy, Crystal said with an amused smile. I can definitely see that bleach blond cutie.
Spike gave an impatient huff and lifted the whiteboard up, where he'd written, Can we please talk?
"Spike, there's this small but significant problem that I'm sure you're aware of," Buffy snapped. "I can't hear you. At all. I can't even hear me. I don't even know if I'm pronouncing half of the things I say correctly."
Buffy, I could help you a bit in that department, Crystal said sympathetically. I could magickally implement a motor skill. It isn't big or anything. We've done it before during multicultural Wiccan conferences. It's just a matter of teaching the mind a skill it is unfamiliar with.
Buffy blinked. "What are you saying?"
Lip reading is a language skill among what you can call the oral deaf, Crystal explained. And I can teach it to you.
"Magickally," she said.
The bartender nodded. Magickally.
She frowned. "Kinda like an express express course?"
Crystal grinned. I'm certain there are more 'expresses' following the first two.
"Magick kind of makes me nervous," Buffy said, wringing her hands. "I mean, there are side effects and stuff…"
Slayer, I'm pretty sure you've noticed that all Wiccan spells' side effects have more to do with karma than anything else, Crystal said wryly. And the karma would be on me.
"Oh. And… And this is a good deed, right?"
Yep. But we need to hurry up now. Happy Hour starts in fifteen.
Buffy nodded. "Okay," she consented. "What do I have to do?"
Crystal clapped her hands and then fanned them out, lifting them skywards. Perceptum! she 'uttered' meaningfully. She smiled at Buffy, and when she spoke to her again, her lips moved. 'Understand, Slayer?'
Buffy grinned, relief and exhaustion flooding her. "Yes, thank you."
Spike touched her shoulder to get her attention. 'Buffy…'
She wagged her half finished girly drink at him, her eyes flashing angrily. "Spike, you have a lot of explaining to do!"
He lowered his eyes. 'Yeah, love, I know.'
She raised her eyebrows and finished her drink. "Well?"
He scratched behind his ear. 'Can we go somewhere more private?'
"By 'private,' do you mean 'your place,' and by 'your place,' does that mean 'in close proximity with people I had no intention of seeing but will run into anyway?'"
Spike made a facial expression that Buffy belatedly recognized as him snorting derisively. 'Buffy, 'private' means 'my place,' which means 'very, very, very far away from Peaches as I can physically get.''
Lorne touched her shoulder. She glanced at him. 'And what he means by 'very, very, very far away as he can physically get,' he means the last room on the third floor's left wing of the Hyperion.'
The bleach blond vampire gave her a sheepish look.
Buffy sighed. "Alright." At Spike's grin, she added with a glare, "But no funny stuff!"
He gave a brisk nod. 'Right. Ixnay on the unnyfay.'
Buffy blinked. "Huh. Apparently my lip reading skills delve into a bit of Pig Latin."
'Later, Lorne,' Spike said with a wave, taking Buffy by the elbow and practically dragging her from behind the bar.
'Later, sweet cheeks. Plural,' Lorne said with a grin and a wave, returning back to the stage.
--
"So where's Angel?" Buffy asked, looking down at a pair of delectable Spike lips. She blinked. Delectable Spike lips... She was definitely of the tipsy.
'Working,' Spike replied.
She wrinkled her nose in realization. "You guys are still making friendly with Wolfram & Hart?"
'Hey, I do not make with the friendly,' Spike said, looking insulted. 'I test run Angel's vehicles, sprinkle copious amounts of Valerian Root in his O neg, and call his voicemail and leave obscene messages at least two to three times a day.'
Buffy raised her eyebrows at him, smiling wryly. "So you're the corporate pest."
'It's a hard job!' Spike said with an answering smile, unlocking the door to a Jaguar convertible and holding it open for her.
"So this is one of Angel's vehicles?" Buffy asked. "How's it run?" she said teasingly as she took a seat.
He closed the door behind her, smirking. 'Dunno. Not done evaluating it yet. I'll give it a couple more days.'
It was a quiet drive to the Hyperion, literally and… literally. Spike parked in front of the Hyperion, killing the engine and practically leaping out of the driver's seat to open Buffy's door for her.
"Thank you," Buffy said almost shyly.
He looked into her face as he closed the door. 'You're welcome, love.'
Spike led her into the hotel and up the stairs to his room. She took off her sweater and sat at the edge of his neatly made king size bed. He closed the door and divested of his duster, hanging it on a hook on his door before sitting beside Buffy, less than a foot of space between them.
"So…" Buffy murmured, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.
'So…' Spike said, meeting her sideways gaze. He smiled. 'Wish you could hear me. I have a right sexy voice, as you may recall.'
Buffy snorted out a laugh, rolling her eyes. "Trust me, my brain is filling in the gaps."
'Hope it's doing a good job of that. Gotta get the size and characterization all right,' he said with a playful smirk.
"The size?" Buffy giggled. "You mean the size of your ego's grown since I've last seen you?"
'Well, yeah,' he replied, all sauciness and bravado. 'I'm a champion now.'
Buffy's smile faltered a little, but her eye contact didn't waver. She reached out in between them and Spike followed suit, her fingers threading through his. "Spike," she said softly, "I missed you."
He lifted his other hand to tuck a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear and cup her cheek. 'I missed you too, love.'