Ring on her Finger

By Nickeltaffy

Disclaimer: I would like to thank Joss for the use of his characters. They are still his and will never be mine. (heavy sigh).

Synopsis: Anyone ever notice that Buffy never returned Spike's ring from when they were engaged? What if Willow's reversal of the Will Be Done spell from the Something Blue episode was not exactly 100% effective? What if Buffy was still under a spell and still considered herself engaged to a horrified Spike?

…

Chapter 17

"I need a drink! Watcher, you said you had some brandy. Where is it?"

Spike startled the room with his declaration. Buffy was puzzled by the sudden change in her love's demeanor and pulled back slightly. Spike took that opportunity to move quickly around her and look for the alcohol that he had seen once sitting on the breakfast bar. Buffy followed his motion about with a dazed expression at his outburst.

"Spike. What's going on?" Giles asked looking up shocked at the vampire's fit of agitation.

"Grrrmmm" Spike grumbled as he threw an arm down in dismissal at the watcher and continued in his quest for a drink. Buffy moved towards him, but she froze where she stood when she saw the look of warning in Spike's eyes. Finding no spirits, he turned abruptly back toward the watcher with a sound of disgust.

"Can't a vampire get a bleedin drink without receiving the third degree? Now, where is it?" Spike loudly announced. Ducking his head around to see if there was any liquor sequestered away anywhere near the bar, he let out a hiss of frustration as his search was coming up with nothing.

"I believe there's some brandy in the kitchen, leftover from Thanksgiving." Giles called over.

With that bit of information, Spike determinedly marched around a stunned Buffy and into the kitchen. Opening up the cupboards, he found the bottle of brandy left over from Thanksgiving and grabbed the bottle as if it was a lifesaver and he was drowning man. Spike quickly opened the bottle and smelled the brandy. As he relished the smell of the brandy, a huge smile broke over his face. He reached into the dish rack and grabbed a glass while the bottle was clumsily clutched in his other hand. With his hand covering the top of the glass, he poured a good amount of brandy through the open area between his index finger and his thumb. Barely moving his hand to bring the glass up to his face, he slung the brandy into the back of his mouth and swallowed. He immediately poured another inch of the brandy into the glass and repeated the same process. He, then paused for a moment, and leaned against the counter to stare over at Buffy where he stood. Spike's eyes went first to the ring on Buffy's hand and then up to her face and then back again. Shaking his head and backing away from the counter, he appeared to be muttering a denial to some internal accusation. Spike turned the bottle of brandy over one more time, filling his glass with the remainder and throwing the bottle into the sink. He continued to mutter to himself, as he paced back and forth in the kitchen as he gulped the last of the brandy.

".. doesn't count. No, no…can't be held to it…."

Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies were dumbstruck as they watched the little scene going on in the kitchen. Buffy looked over to Willow with a heart-stricken look. Spike was obviously very disturbed about something. Her heart ached as she saw him struggling with an internal dilemma but she didn't know what to do. Willow, who was still struggling with her own heartbreak regarding Oz's recent departure, recognized the pain in Buffy's eyes.

"Giles! What else do you have that is decent to drink around here?" Spike yelled as he was opening cabinets again. "You have got to have some gin or whisky around here somewhere. Hell! Where's the cooking sherry?"

"Spike, this isn't a bar. I didn't prepare to be able to provide cocktails tonight."

"Watcher, if I don't …." Spike took a breath and calmed himself. Then in a measured yet tense tone. "Giles, I would like to thank you for your hospitality, but being that I have gone through a rather tumultuous number of days recently, I don't think it is shocking that I want to get pissed!"

Xander began to stand up from the table and seeing that the vampire was nearing the end of his rope.

"Say, Giles don't you have that scotch in the green bottle over there on the bookcase?" Xander said as an off-hand remark.

"That's a boy!" Spike quickly stepped over to the cabinet at the other side of the living room. It was an almost full bottle of scotch that Spike held in his hand triumphantly. He looked at it as he carried it in front of him like an old friend who had come to visit as he walked back to the kitchen. Giles made a sound of discontent as he watched the vampire make off with his scotch.

"Great work on adding gas to the flame, Xander.. Just what we need a tipsy, emotionally distraught vampire around us." Giles said to Xander.

"Oh yeah, didn't think of it that way." Xander replied sheepishly and yelled. "Hey, Spike why don't you lay off the booze? It is not going to help the situation."

"Go to hell, Whelp." Spike replied angrily as he began to open the scotch.

"Buffy, you don't think Spike is developing a problem, do you?" Xander turned toward Buffy. "I think someone should address the problem before it gets out of hand.

"Are we going to have an intervention?" Anya leaned over and whispered to Giles

In the kitchen, Spike's vampire hearing picked up Anya's whisper. Spike's head snapped up and his eyes lit up with hope of possible escape from his current predicament.

"That's right! That's right!" Spike yelled triumphantly as he pointed at the others across the bar. Spike continued as he marched out of the kitchen into the living room "I love drinking! It's all I do every day when I am not out doing evil. Every afternoon, I drink so much that I am as marinated as a brisket for Passover by the time the sun sets!"

"Uh oh, I think he's going all inebriated Hollywood starlet on us." Willow gasped as her eyes darted toward Giles.

Spike marched up to an unearthly calm Buffy and stood in front of her with his chest out and swaggering a bit in front of her.

"No one is going to get me to stop drinking. I'll drink so much that you'll have to claim JD as dependent on your taxes. I am going to lose all sense of ambition, become fiscally irresponsible and develop a gut that would put Xander's in the minor leagues."

"Hey! I just don't happen to have any sharp edges!" Xander replied in defense, looking around the room at the other Scoobies.

"I like you cuddly, Xander honey. We don't need as many pillows, less laundry. Win-win." Anya said affectionately, as she nodded toward Xander.

"Well, what do you have to say about that, Slayer? You want to call the whole thing off? Just give me back that ring and we'll pretend the engagement never happened." Spike said with a huge amount of bravado.

Buffy stood there with an unreadable expression in her eyes. She had not spoken or reacted to Spike since he had come out of the kitchen. As Spike looked at her, her other worldly calm began to fill him with discomfort. He was counting on her reaction to be swift like a hawk descending on its' prey, but she was just standing there as if in a meditative state. He cleared his throat and looked a little uneasy from the direct serene gaze coming from her eyes. In desperation, Spike thought he might try to sell it a little harder and turned slightly away from Buffy. Looking down at the floor, he said. "It's for the best, you know. It would have never have worked. It will tear me up, but I'll get over it."

Spike felt a small hand on his shoulder and then felt another one on the side of his face away from the Slayer. Without saying a word, Buffy leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. Spike was surprised by the unexpected kind gesture and pulled his head back with a small look of astonishment. As much as he would like to deny it, Spike always responded to affection. This simple act coming from the Slayer who he had long ago written off as an enemy seemed to crumble the defenses that he had worked so hard at constructing as Spike. Buffy's kiss had gone beyond those defenses straight to William. William, the oversensitive mama's boy, in Spike's opinion, would have better have been a memory better left forgotten. Blinking his eyes several times, Spike straightened up, rallied his most defient forces and turned back to the Slayer. He, then, discovered the battle was already over and it was obvious who the victor was. As much as he told himself that he did, Spike couldn't bring himself to hurt Buffy. He knew that he had to get her to see reason.

"Buffy, you don't want to do this." Spike looked into Buffy's eyes.

"Don't start telling me what to do. I get enough of that from the other men in my life" Buffy softly smiled at him

"I'm evil, pet. Remember…vampire." Spike looked into her eyes with honesty.

"I remember. You don't think I see?"

"See what?"

"You"

Unable to let himself believe her, Spike tried to warn Buffy about the situation.

"Buffy, you're under a spell."

"I could have told you that the first time I saw you in the alley outside the Bronze." Buffy said with a small chuckle.

"You know this isn't right, luv." Spike whispered to her as if it was a great secret.

"What's so great about being right?" she asked as she tilted her head and leaned toward him.

Spike and Buffy moved a little closer to one another. Spike put up his hand to stroke her hair as suddenly the sound of someone clearing their throat cut through the room. Spike staggered back a little, looking very discomfited as he glanced around at the Scoobies that were staring back at him. Sniffing a bit, Spike tilted his head in an air of denial and said "What?"

Giles moved slowly over toward Spike and Buffy scrutinizing the pair as he came closer. He stopped a few feet away. Xander and Anya moved together as one as stopped behind Giles. Willow was frozen at the table behind her laptop with her mouth open.

"Spike, did you happen to notice anything a few minutes ago?" Giles broke the silence.

"What do you mean, Watcher?" Spike asked as he thought about attempting to increase the distance between Buffy and him, but couldn't seem to get motivated to really try.

"I see. Did you feel or see anything out of the ordinary just then?" Giles continued his questioning

"Get to the point!" Spike snapped at the watcher.

"Spike, you weren't aware of it?" an astonished Xander jumped in.

"Aware of what?" Spike said rolling his eyes and running out of patience.

"You and Buffy…When you were talking together…there was a red light surrounding you. You didn't feel anything?"

"No, I felt…." Spike stopped and gave himself a little shake. "It doesn't matter what I felt. What were you expecting a burning sensation?"

Anya leaned over to Buffy.

"Buffy, how are you? Are you alright?" Anya asked.

"Wonderful." Buffy said looking at Spike. Spike looked over at Buffy when she said it. He blushed a little bit and then catching himself, he shook himself out of his reverie.

Spike turned toward Giles and urgently asked

"All of you actually saw the red light surround Buffy and me?"

All of the Scoobies nodded their heads and Spike groaned. He thought back over the few minutes of conversation he had had with Buffy. The connection he had felt with her had been amazing and glorious. Spike abruptly put those thoughts behind him. It wasn't real. It was just a stupid spell..just a stupid spell, he told himself over and over.

"Do you think this spell is spreading over to me?" Spike asked suddenly.

Spike's eyes bounced around the room and looked at the Scoobies. None of them were looking at him. Finally, Willow looked up from her laptop and nodded slowly.

Pressing his lips together in a fine line, Spike set his shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Well, there's one thing that can be done about it." he announced. "I'm leaving!"