AU from Primeval, the story so far: As Buffy faces off with Adam, the spell is performed but the demons break through. Buffy gets distracted and tries to save her friends, but fails. Spike gets her out and they escape, parting ways. Years later they meet again, and travel together on their way to fight Adam in Washington and end the worldwide tyranny of the cyborgs. They meet a young couple who aide them in the fight and have an Oz travelling with them too. Having taken a few days rest, they moved on and have just bumped into Giles. Spike was caught out concealing a wound and Buffy was a bit pissed about it.
DISCLAIMER: All BTVS characters belong to Joss, I'm just borrowing them. Couple of OC's in there that are mine.
I-E-H
Spike was sleeping. She'd nearly lost him. Well, he wouldn't have dusted but the fact that he had been so badly hurt terrified her. She'd lost too many. She couldn't lose him.
She wished she could figure out what that meant.
Her vampire was sleeping and she was trying to locate some food and her Watcher. The food was the easy part. She didn't particularly enjoy the military rations but she was so hungry she didn't care if it tasted like dog poop.
That was a lie. She really did.
Giles was a bit more difficult to find but she spotted him emerging from the living quarters with a determined stride. It took about three seconds to catch up and stop him in his tracks. He smiled brightly, and she returned the affection with gusto, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him. He looked taken aback and stared at her questioningly as she pulled away, a sheepish look on her face.
'Sorry. Just missed you.' Now if only Willow and Xander could reappear. Her heart broke a little at the thought. If Giles had made it out, it was one miracle and they didn't often come her way. Giles smiled down at her, not sensing her sudden deflation, and then put his arm around her, continuing his walk and guiding her with him.
'We have a meeting with the general. I usually audit due to my extensive knowledge of demons and behaviour patterns. Not that anyone has a clue what these machines are up to. They're planning to move closer to DC. You're probably best off joining us so you know what is going on. I believe the general wanted some input from the Slayer herself.' He dropped his arm as Buffy nodded in agreement.
'So the final assault is getting closer?' She asked, watching soldiers walk past them with cages full of weapons and tanks of petrol for the vehicles. Giles nodded and they continued the walk in silence. Buffy couldn't keep quiet. 'I know you don't approve of this thing between me and Spike. Hell, it's understandable. Two years ago I'd be shouting at myself. But somehow, since he came back….I've found an anchor in him. He's giving me something to fight for again. I want to be happy and if he is the only thing that makes me happy in this messed up world, can you let it lie? He's not a weakness. He's an asset. And he's changed. Mom told you he had. And she's a good judge of character. She hated Angel, case in point.' Giles smiled at her and stopped walking. Buffy braked suddenly and turned to face him.
'Buffy, I have no place to berate you. You believed you had lost almost everything but you carried on. You have fought all the way, and not allowed yourself to wallow in your losses. You are an immensely gifted warrior. But….' Buffy took a breath. 'You are also a woman, a young girl in the prime of her life. You need that emotional connection. Spike may not be my first choice but at this point he is the best. He is strong, a good fighter, he's got your back and I know he has the unique ability to care for others unlike other vampires. He has always been an enigma. He earned a book of his own in the Watcher's Library for that very reason. I won't give you my blessing, because to be quite honest my dear, you don't need it. You don't need anyone's approval after everything that has occurred.'
Tears were shining in her eyes but before she could respond Giles held up a hand.
'Let's go and get this war meeting over with, yes?' She nodded and followed him through the encampment, suddenly more at ease than she had been since she'd arrived.
I-E-H
'We're about five clicks from where the John F Kennedy Memorial Highway crosses the Lower Susquehanna River.' The colonel pointed to the map. Buffy watched his finger with avid interest. They'd been stood here for about fifteen minutes, staring at a map with little markers and most of it was Danish to her. She wish they would just point her at the bad guys and let her loose with some heavy artillery. And she had no idea what a "click" was. Wish Xander was here to translate.
The colonel continued. 'We known there's a hybrid outpost and patrols near Baltimore. We're about eighty miles out from Washington DC and we need to get through Baltimore soon. We've had a message from the camp just outside DC and they want to move soon. The plan is to mount up and head out at dawn tomorrow. These bastards are mostly nocturnal but we will still meet heavy resistance. I want to keep our casualties to a minimum. Chances are that the enemy in DC will be alerted by the presence of us so close, but I'll be damned if they don't know already.'
Buffy cleared her throat. 'They probably do know we're coming. This isn't going to be easy.'
'Which is why I'm glad you turned up when you did. We need stronger fighters, gun don't always work. I've been reliably informed that the…vampire' The word seemed to leave a nasty taste in his mouth as he said it, 'that you travelled here with is quite adept at taking out the robots. I've had reports of his aid from all over the country. I don't know about the other two you brought but they've been sparring with some of my officers. I am assuming they can take care of themselves.' He looked her square in the eye. 'I've had reports about you too. Colonel Lucas Stevens spoke particularly highly of you. I'm fully confident that with you on our side we can do this.'
Buffy gulped. That was a lot of pressure. She nodded, a bit overwhelmed by his words.
The general looked around at his seconds in command. 'So that's it. We haul ass at dawn. No stopping until Baltimore. Everyone is armed.'
The men started to file out. Buffy followed Giles, a lump in her throat.
'They've got a lot of faith in me.' She whispered.
'You have become legend, Buffy.' Giles replied.
'But this whole thing was my fault.'
Giles stopped pulled her round, his only hand gripping her shoulder almost painfully. He looked angry. 'Now you listen to me. None of this is your fault.' She made to protest. 'NO. I will not hear it. You were faced with an enemy too great to defeat alone. But you haven't stopped. This problem was created by a maniac woman with access to powers beyond her understanding. This is not and never will be, your fault.' He stopped and breathed deeply.
'I'm sorry.' He said, releasing her shoulder. 'I just hate it when you berate yourself so.' He smiled and brushed hair away from her eyes, his finger lingering on her scar. 'Go to Spike. Make sure he is healed for the morning. We have a hard road ahead of us.'
The Slayer smiled gratefully and turned away, heading for the medical bay.
I-E-H
Spike was missing. Well, he wasn't missing. He was playing beat the soldier down in the training barrack. Buffy had spent forty five minutes looking for him before she located him tossing a soldier across a room into training mats. The guy wasn't hurt but he wasn't smiling either. She frowned and folded her arms as she glared at the grinning vamped out mischief maker. He devamped and held his arms out in a gesture as if to say "What?".
'What are you playing at?' She growled. 'You're injured.'
'Na-uh.' He lifted his shirt up, revealing pale alabaster skin with no marks. A couple of female soldiers watching from the side swooned a little, until Buffy's scathing glare landed on them. 'Soldier boys wanted to spar. Wanted to fight a real demon. So I obliged.'
'They wanted to fight a real demon?' She scoffed. 'Come on then demon. Show me what you've got.'
She slipped off her jacket, revealing her tank top and muscular figure underneath. Spike stuck his tongue out between his fangs and grinned. Some of the soldiers whistled and a few jeered on as if at a boxing match. The vampire and slayer circled each other, it was unclear who was the hunted in this game.
In the blink of an eye the two fighters clashed and fists and fangs became a blur. Neither were fighting to kill, just to prove a point and the soldiers looked on in awe at the perfectly matched pair. Buffy landed a kick squarely in Spike's midsection and he flew backwards with a grunt, hitting the wall. Concrete showered down around him but he got back to his feet quickly and rushed Buffy, picking her up off the floor and landing on top of her, throwing a punch to her face which she easily blocked. She flipped them over and brought her fist down sidewards onto his chest, "staking" him.
'I win' she announced triumphantly and the soldiers cheered. Spike lost the game face and propped himself up on his elbows, looking her in the eyes.
'No pet. I won.' He smiled gently and she lent down and kissed her vampire firmly. A few uniforms shifted uncomfortably and coughed, causing the two to separate. They looked at each other and in a flash were gone from sight, retreating to the relative privacy of their bunk and a night of reaffirming themselves for the battle ahead.
I-E-H
Spike awoke before Buffy did. Her breathing was soft and even with the scar down her face, she was so angelic it made his dead heart ache. He watched her for a while, aware that the sun would be rising in the next hour and they would have to get up soon. But he had to memorise her, in case the worst happen. He traced her face lightly, smiling when she wrinkled her nose. He loved that she did that. He loved the way she was a compact little weapon and yet so innocent. When they made love, she was so….there weren't words. He was never very good at articulating, no matter how hard he tried. He wasn't going to try now. He didn't want to ruin this new feeling by being a prat.
The slayer stirred and the noises of preparation from around them began to increase. Time was flying away from him. He had to wake her and get them both ready for what was coming.
He shook her gently and was greeted by foggy hazel eyes and a sweet smile.
'Hey you.' She whispered. He smiled and ran a hand down her arm. 'Is it time to go to war?' She asked, unwilling to tear her eyes away from him.
'I'm afraid so.'
Buffy sat up, and he followed suit, wishing they hadn't had to sleep in clothes. But there was little privacy here and they'd had to be quieter and gentle with each other.
There would be plenty of time for other such things afterwards.
After they won.
Yes, they would win.
His slayer turned to him and smiled again, taking his hand.
'Lets go kill things.'
A/N: This is a short one, or feels like it. But I wanted to get another chapter out. I will have this story finished soon hopefully as I've got a lot of holiday booked off work and I've got another story pushing it's way out of my brain that wants to be written. But for now, it's 0625am and I should really go to bed. Night all, reviews are always welcome