-No uh, that's bleeding impossible, mate,- Spike protested, pacing back and forth, his mind was racing, trying to grasp everything that was happening.
-Normally I'd agree, but I've seen my fair share of strange things, - Damon countered, shrugging, he didn't want to admit it, but it was definitely odd. He was still pondering the next course of action, when Elena interrupted his thoughts.
-Damon? What happened? - She asked, eyeing Spike warily. She didn't get the full scoop on who this guy was, or how he met Damon, but she knew he was a vampire. A different type of vampire. Not a hybrid, not an Original, but a complete different kind. Damon had promised to explain it later.
Damon and Spike exchanged a brief glance, and the blond vampire shrugged. Damon took the cue.
-Something is happening to Spike, and we cannot understand why.- Damon replied, and proceeded to explain to her what Spike had mentioned earlier, and the little experiment with the vervain. -We could ask Bonnie, maybe she can enlighten us,- he added.
-No, she can't, - Elena shook her head, and added, -at least not now.
Damon frowned, and then realized what she meant, - witchy is busy with little Gilbert,- he chimed, smiling at Elena.
-Damon!- she chided him, but she also read the subtext. She definitely wanted what Damon was thinking of.
-Fine, we'll have to wait for tomorrow, - Damon said, it definitely sounded like a plan. There wasn't much they could do regarding Spike's situation until Bonnie was available. Besides, he had other things in mind. He glanced at Elena and lifted an eyebrow sexily. She smiled in return, also raising her eyebrow, mirroring Damon.
Damon showed Spike into one of the many guest rooms the Boarding House had. Spike thanked the other vampire, and once he was gone, Spike lied down on the big bed, thinking, trying to understand whatever was happening to him. He felt different, he had been feeling different for months, but he thought he was just feeling homesick. He hated to even admit that to himself, but it was more than just feeling homesick, Spike could tell that. Not to mention, discovering that the previously harmless vervain could actually harm him now.
Spike was smoking, while still processing all the information; the storm outside growing in intensity. He got up and walked to one of the windows and silently stared into the distance and into the storm itself. Every thunder and every lightning triggering images and sounds. The sounds of a fight that now Spike wished it had been something else. Fighting that Slayer had been exhilarating and arousing, she had been a challenge Spike couldn't conquer. She had had the precise strikes of Xin Rong, sans the enchanted sword, the Slayer he offed in the 1900s during the Boxer Rebellion, and the raw brutality of Nikki Wood, the one he killed in 1977. But this one had also had something more: passion and ferocity, and an undeniable fire in her eyes. Spike remembered those green eyes, glaring at him with confidence and euphoria. She hadn't been afraid of him at all. Ultimately, she had severely injured him, and as much as Spike had wanted to push the pain away and keep fighting until victory, he had known it was too dangerous, so he had ran away. It had been in 1986, in Los Angeles, under a violent storm, yet Spike could remember her scent, and her name. Rose.
Spike shook his head in disbelief, trying to understand why he was thinking of a long-dead Slayer. He spotted a bottle of bourbon on the nightstand and raised an eyebrow in amusement. Thank you, mate, he thought. Damon had left it there, knowing that the blond vampire would need it. Spike poured himself some whisky and drank deep, then placed the glass on the nightstand, right next to the ashtray where he had just butted out his cigarette. He closed every curtain shut, so he wouldn't have to worry about sunlight in the morning, and once he undressed, he got in bed, hoping he could sleep. Spike had a feeling he would have trouble sleeping.
The next morning, or rather, noon, he woke up with the still fresh memories of his dream. He had dreamed of that fight, again. After freshening up, Spike cautiously emerged from the large bedroom, trying to avoid every shaft of sunlight that entered through the many windows in the large mansion.
-Bloody hell, could this place have even more bloody sunlight? -, he muttered to himself. When he reached the living room, he noticed there was a small gathering, and all four pairs of eyes instantly turned to him. Spike felt slightly uncomfortable.
-Spike, - Damon greeted him, and added, -I was explaining to them what is happening to you.
Elena rose from the couch and approached Spike, - Hello, I believe we haven't been officially introduced, - she turned and threw a scolding glance at Damon, who merely shrugged. She continued, - my name is Elena, that's my brother Jeremy, and this is my friend Bonnie.
Spike nodded a greet at all three of them. Damon resumed talking, - Bonnie is a witch, and might be able to help, or at least find an explanation to whatever is happening to you.
Spike's eyes lit and shifted his stare at Bonnie, - a witch, eh? - he said with interested in his tone.
- What? Is there any problem? - Bonnie asked defensively.
Spike shook his head, - no, not at all. It just reminded me of someone I knew. A witch, as well, and an incredibly powerful one. Red could be frightening at times, - he replied, almost chuckling. He noticed curiosity in Bonnie's eyes.
- Red? - Bonnie couldn't hide her curiosity.
- Bird's a redhead, her name's Willow, but I like calling her Red, - Spike replied, not hiding the fondness in his tone. He missed Willow, last time he had heard from her it had been weeks before his arrival here.
Bonnie smiled at Spike and grabbed her grimoire, flipping through the pages, trying to find anything, but judging by her grim expression, she wasn't finding anything.
- I'm sorry,- she said apologetically, and continued, - let's try this, - she grabbed Spike's arms, trying to read him. After a brief moment, Bonnie snapped her eyes open, full in shock.
- Bonnie, what happened? - Jeremy asked, slowly getting close to her, but she ignored any addressing at her.
- What happened to you? - Bonnie continued, - you burnt in sunlight, you died, how come you are still here?
Damon's eyes shifted from the witch to the blond vampire. Spike had left that part out of the tale.
- It's not important, - Spike replied, hoping they would let go. Spike didn't like to brag about that. Well, except when it came to Angel, they always used to compare their feats. And silently, he admitted he missed his grandsire, after all, Angel had been the only one to truly understand him, since he also had a soul, they both had been outcasts. Spike shook the thoughts.
Bonnie excuse herself and left, mentioning he was going to call her mother and see if she could explain the phenomenon. Jeremy trailed after her.
Spike could feel both Damon's and Elena's piercing stare, they wanted to know what had happened. And after taking a deep breath, Spike briefly explained how he closed the Hellmouth. Damon was now sure that Spike wouldn't pose a threat at all, and felt relieved.
When Bonnie returned, she explained that Abbie told her that nature always finds a way of adjusting and balancing things. And since Spike was a mirror species of an already existing species, change was inevitable. Nature was shaping him slowly to the dogma of this plane.
-How come that didn't happen to me when I was in his dimension? - Damon asked confused, and Bonnie glanced at him inquiringly, Damon shook his head, - don't ask, long story.
Bonnie threw an annoyed look at him, - well, Damon, it would help understand. How long you were in that place?
-Two months, give or take, - Damon replied casually.
-That's why nothing happened to you, Spike's been here for a whole year, right? And he still hasn't fully changed. It takes time. A long time. - Bonnie explained, then she addressed Elena, - can we talk for a sec?
Elena nodded and both girls left the room. Spike poured some bourbon, and sat on the couch, staring absently into his glass. He didn't notice Damon leaving the room, so when he returned and tossed a blood bag at Spike, the blond vampire startled.
- Bloody hell, - Spike protested, then poured some blood in his glass.
- How come you didn't try to go back to your dimension? - asked Damon. He had been wondering this since yesterday.
- Don't think I didn't bleeding try. As you already know, I popped in the Mother Country, tried finding a witch to help me get some bloody answers, but I didn't even know where the hell to even look. Or who to trust. After a couple of months, I gave up looking there, so I sneaked in a cargo ship back to America. Bloody thing made port in Florida, of all places, and when I started noticing the changes, and saw the vampires, that's when I decided to come to Virginia, because I remembered you mentioned it, but I couldn't remember the name of this bloody town. Took me months to remember, and months to be get here. Unlike you, I was completely penniless, - Spike explained after drinking the blood.
- Mhm, - Damon was pensive, and added, - not that I'm trying to kick you out, but probably we could try New York again, visit the place where it happened to me.
- He can't, - Bonnie interrupted, she and Elena were just entering the room. Damon frowned, and Bonnie replied to the unspoken question, - because he's already changing. We don't know what could happen to him.
Spike's heart sank. He was stuck here, forever, by the looks of it.