Demonically Selective Amnesia
020508
Disclaimer: At the risk of repeating myself… I own nothing. Nothing I say! Well… maybe Mike.
Summary: Just how many of Spike's memories are missing in action? He and Mike get a little better acquainted.
Reviews: Yes please. Readers Rock but Reviewers RULE!
A/N: Psssssst… don't tell but this is the second update in two months. Could it be that my muse is back? We'll know for sure if I get any farther on Resurrected! Contrary to appearances Resurrected has NOT been abandoned. I just suck at fight scenes. The last chapter has been started and I take a peek at it almost daily. Work on it… no. Peek at it… yes.
This chapter is mostly unbeta'd. Thank you so much, WayWard Childe for your much missed and highly valued opinions, ideas and assistance.
I know this chapter is rather short but it stopped in a good place… Just don't stake me, ok?
Communication grid:
"xx" – spoken aloud
'xx' – thoughts
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Rupert frowned as Spike's exclamation echoed through the kitchen. He opened his mouth to demand an explanation but Buffy shoved the swinging door open before the words could form.
"Did I hear Spike yell?" She asked, shoving one hand through her long blonde hair with exhausted exasperation. She'd just gotten home and was tired. Her green gaze settled on the vampire sitting at the table. "What is he doing up here?" The question was accompanied by a stake appearing in her hand from a pocket.
Mike rose from his chair and placed himself between the slayer and his uncle. "What do you figure to do with that thing?" He asked with quiet menace.
"My job if it comes to it." The petite blonde frowned at the former soldier.
"Buffy, we agreed that we would not be staking Spike." Giles reminded her wearily. "Now, may we please continue our conversation in peace?"
Spike clutched at his empty cup and tried to ignore the slayer and the scent that she carried. He could tell when she'd been with the soldier they called Riley. He hunched his shoulders and shrank into himself a bit as the odor of that place wafted over him. An involuntary shudder shook his thin frame.
Joyce, whose attention was invariably focused on the blond vampire whenever they were in the same room, noticed the shudder. She moved towards her older daughter. "Buffy, let's go in the living room and let them talk." She suggested gently.
"Why is he out of the basement?" Buffy asked again as she refused to move.
Joyce gave up after a second failed shove. "Don't cause trouble. I've got to go make sure Dawn is doing her homework." She pointed a finger at Mike. "You play nice." She commanded, well aware that the former soldier loved to wind up her eldest daughter. Mike inclined his head in acknowledgment of the directive.
"I will if she will." He promised solemnly as Joyce left the room. She would have stayed if she'd seen the evil gleam that lit his eyes.
"It's cold in down there and I wanted a hot drink." Giles told Buffy calmly as he returned the conversation to the Slayer's question.
"Then get a space heater. I don't like him being up here." Buffy retorted but she put the stake back into her pocket.
"Too bad." Mike crossed his arms over his chest. His arm muscles bulged with the movement and his blue/gray eyes narrowed at her renewed hostile attitude towards the helpless vampire. He'd gone from relaxed to intimidating in seconds.
"Why do you care again?" The Slayer's green gaze swept over Mike's resolute stance.
"And that would be none of your business." He leaned towards her and lowered his voice so it wouldn't carry into the next room. "Why don't you go take a shower? Even I can smell that cheap aftershave that Finn likes." Mike grinned evilly as the Slayer blushed. 'Buffy Baiting' had become Mike's favorite game over the past few days and he indulged in it as often as he could. "Been playing soldier again, Buffy? You'd never get through basic." His grin widened as she glared at him. "Or were you only playing with the soldier?"
"Have I mentioned today that I really don't like you?" Buffy hissed as she turned to stomp out of the room.
"Nope, but now that you have my day is complete." Mike's laughing response followed her through the doorway. Her growl of frustration floated back through the opening. He jumped back with a snicker as the door predictably swung backwards violently.
Giles sighed as he got up to pour himself some fresh coffee. "My boy, I don't know anyone that makes her mad faster than you."
Mike bowed slightly before reseating himself next to Spike. "Thank you, kind sir. It is truly a gift bestowed upon me by my distant ancestors." In an undertone only Spike could hear, he continued. "As well as the not so distant ones." He merely grinned wider at the startled look he earned from the blond. He noticed the death grip his uncle had on his empty mug. "Do you want more?" He asked gently.
Rupert turned towards the table when he heard the softly spoken question. As he noted the vampire's hesitant nod, he moved back to the refrigerator to get out another bag of blood to heat. Mike pried the cup from Spike's tight grasp and held it up for the Watcher to take. Soon all three males were seated at the table sipping warm beverages.
Giles cleared his throat. Spike tensed at the sound. The older man noticed the involuntary reaction. "What did you mean earlier?" Rupert asked quietly.
"I don't know what you're talkin' about." The vampire stated defensively. 'Damn it. Damn it. Damn it!' He wanted to pound something as frustration began to build. Why couldn't he keep his damned mouth shut?
"Yes, you do." The human was adamant. "Downstairs earlier you mentioned the time Angelus tortured me. You asked if this was payback for watching him do it. If you remember that how is it that you don't remember saving my life?"
Spike searched his splotchy memories. He clearly recalled watching his grand-sire torturing the Watcher, could hear the frustration that had driven the insane version of Angelus ever crazier as he fumed over his inability to uncover what he wanted to know but… He frowned. That's where the memory stopped. What had happened next? His hand began to shake, rattling his cup against the table. He let go of the mug abruptly and wrapped both his arms around his slender waist.
All of Mike's good humor over riling the Slayer vanished when his uncle's distress intensified. "Spike? Are you all right?" He kept his voice low and soothing.
Giles pressed on. "You struck a deal with Buffy to stop Angelus from opening Acathla." He paused when the vampire began to shake his head in denial. "Yes, you did." He continued determinedly. "Angelus wanted to use a chainsaw on me. You stopped him." Mike's head jerked around sharply as his attention was yanked away from Spike. He stared at Giles, wide-eyed. Despite all their recent conversations, this was new information.
"No." The vampire muttered. "I don't remember that. I wouldn't do that. A deal with the Slayer? Are you daft?" His voice grew more agitated with each sentence. "Do you know what Angelus would do to someone who stopped him from doing what he wanted? Bad enough I was stuck in that sodding chair. No." He stopped talking and began to shake his head vehemently in denial. 'This is all her fault.' He thought bitterly. 'Her and her sodding little soldier boys.' The scowl on his face deepened and his demon screamed to the surface.
Mike turned his attention back to the trembling vampire. "Spike?" He blinked when the blond shoved his chair away from the table in a sharp, violent motion. Golden eyes glared with hatred at the former soldier.
"You're one of them." The accusation was hissed through fangs. 'Want to kill them all.' The murderous thought caused a warning twinge from his chip but that only fueled his anger.
Mike shook his head. "No. Not any more." He denied softly. 'What the hell?' Mike's own thoughts were confused.
"Do you know what she did?" Spike growled out the question as he stood up to pace. 'He has to know… doesn't he?' His certainty wavered for a bare second.
"Not all of it." Mike admitted as he stood as well, making sure he faced his uncle at all times. "They took me off all containment duty. They kept me out of the labs." He added silently, 'Kept me away from you.'
"You were there!" The troubled vampire insisted. "You know!"
"No!" Mike's voice rose as he struggled to stay patient. "I don't. As soon as I realized what they were doing… Before I figured out…." He caught himself before he said too much, heaved a sigh and continued. "I asked for a transfer but then I was glad they turned me down."
Spike growled. "You wanted to leave me there." The irrational accusation stung the younger man and he shook his head. "Who are you?" His voice rose until he was nearly shouting at the human.
Giles' interest perked up at this unexpected turn of events. He sat forward and tightened his fingers on his still warm coffee cup. 'Now maybe I can find out just how Michael is related to William the Bloody.' He mused to himself.
"I told you the other day." Mike prevaricated, still aware of their audience although he was certain his uncle had forgotten. 'Come on Uncle Will. Not now.' His silent appeal went unanswered.
Spike stopped in front of Michael. His golden eyes bored into stormy blue/gray ones. "Tell me" He growled. 'I need to know now.' He didn't voice the entreaty.
Mike stubbornly shook his head. "What else don't you remember?" He asked instead.
It was all Giles could do to keep from groaning aloud. He desperately wanted to know what Michael's connection to Spike was.
The sound of the raised voices drew the Slayer back into the room. Spike snarled at her, fangs flashing, before fleeing to the safety of the basement. Mike glared at her for a half a second before chasing after the unstable vampire.
Rupert removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, that couldn't have gone better." He commented sardonically.
"What did?" Buffy asked as she removed a soda from the refrigerator.
The Watcher sighed as more shouting could be heard through the slightly open door. "I was trying to explain to Spike why I'm helping him."
The blonde grimaced. "Why did that cause all the noise?"
"Because he doesn't remember doing it." Giles replaced his glasses as he answered her. "It appears that there may be gaps in his memory."
Buffy sat down in sudden exhaustion. "I miss the good old days when I could just slay the damned vampires and be done with them. Now we're worrying about the ones with souls, the tortured ones with chips and the semi-sane ones who just want to help. What kind of demon are we gonna start baby sitting next?"
"Well, there is a small demon that is considered cute by some cultures. Whether or not you'd want it as a pet would depend on how much you value your shoes as they are inordinately fond of snacking on expensive ladies footwear. It looks rather like a cross between a terrier and a guinea pig." The snark came from nowhere and was spoken in such a completely serious tone of voice that it took several seconds for it to sink into the slayer's brain. Her jaw dropped and she gaped foolishly at her Watcher.
Joyce swept into the room so she could prevent her dinner from burning. "Close your mouth dear, you'll catch flies." She told her daughter calmly. Her hazel gaze scanned the room. "Where are the boys?"
Buffy obediently closed her mouth… for all of two seconds. She turned towards Giles and silently asked, "The boys?" He could only shrug. All of them winced when the volume of the argument beneath them intensified.
Joyce removed the chicken from the oven and placed the pan of biscuits in to bake. "Ah, there they are, in the basement. Why are they arguing?" The question had just been uttered when the shouting abruptly ceased.
In the basement…..
As Mike descended the stairs at breakneck speed he wondered what in Hell he was going to say to his dangerously unstable ancestor. He paused at the base of the stairs and watched Spike pace agitatedly for a minute. He blinked when the vampire appeared directly in front of him.
"Who in bloody hell are you?" The question was close to being shouted. 'Tell me. Not knowing is driving me crazier than I already am.' The thought scared him.
"I told you already! Did you forget?" Mike pressed forward into the room causing Spike to back up. "What else are you forgetting?" His tone nearly matched the vampire's. Somewhere in the back of his brain he was thanking all the Gods that the redheaded witch had cast a silencing spell on the basement. He didn't notice that the door at the top of the stairs had failed to close completely.
"Nothing! Ok? I haven't forgotten anything! Leave me alone." The vampire crossed his arms around his waist defensively and paced away from the human. 'If you're not gonna tell me, just go away.'
"I can't leave you alone!" Mike shouted. "I promised myself that I'd do everything I could to make you better." He ground his teeth in frustration. 'God damn it! Don't make me do this now!'
"Why?" There was audible anguish in the single word. 'Please, please.' His mind refused to process past that plea.
"Because it's what she would have wanted." Mike tried but couldn't seem to lower his voice. His frustration with his hard-headed uncle was making him rash.
Spike got right back up in Mike's face. "Who would have wanted? Huh? Tell me! Who is this mysterious 'she' you're doing this for? Dru?" His respect for the human reluctantly growing at Mike's refusal to back down.
Mike grasped Spike's upper arms and shoved the vampire away but didn't release him right away. "No, not Dru. I didn't want to tell you yet. I wanted to wait. Mr. Giles wants to know just a little too much for my taste."
Spike knocked his nephew's hands off his biceps before once again invading the younger man's personal space. "And just how long were you willing to wait? Until I'm even loonier than I am now? I know I've gone around the twist. You were there. You know what she did to me. It would make anyone bug shagging crazy." His voice rose again into a full blown shout.
"I don't know everything she did. Most of what I know is what I overheard from the other guys. I'm sorry, Uncle Will….." Mike broke off when Spike's golden eyes widened and he backed away from the human. 'Oh fuck.'
"Don't call me that!" The vampire yelled desperately as he increased the distance between them. 'It's not true. It can't be true. Don't build up my hopes like that. Please.'
"Why not? It's who you are!" Mike countered with his own yell, frustration making him incautious.
"It's not possible! No one lived! Angelus made sure of it. He killed everyone I loved." Spike dropped his game-face and bent forward at the waist slightly as if in pain, his arms once more wrapped tightly around his thin waist. 'They're all gone. They were murdered over a century ago.' Long remembered anguish returned with the memory and tears welled in his blue eyes.
"No, he didn't! Uncle Will, Emily lived!" As his last shout died away, Mike's blinked as his eyes filled with his own emotions. He stood tensed; his hands clenched at his sides, every instinct screaming for him to reach out to his long lost relative but stopped by the instability of the vampire's emotional state.
Spike's head snapped up at Mike's shouted revelation. Sudden silence fell over the spacious basement as damp blue/gray eyes collided tear filled sapphire ones.
TBC