Chapter Thirteen- Awake

Spike blinked his eyes open then slowly sat up, looking around in confusion. He was in Buffy's bed but she wasn't with him. He shook his head, trying to remember how he'd gotten here, but everything was fuzzy. He'd been staying downstairs with the boys, he was sure of that, so why was he up here now? He vaguely remembered some sort of problem the scourge was trying to sort out and the worry and fear on her face every time she'd looked at him, but what was the problem? He reached behind him and felt along his back, wondering why he couldn't feel the lash marks anymore. From his punishment. But why had he been punished? A dark-haired man flashed in his mind. Angelus! He'd disobeyed Mistress when Angelus came to the mansion. That's why he'd been punished and why he was staying with the boys. They were trying to find the rest of his scourge.

Spike looked around again. Had they done it? Was it over? Was that why he was up here now? Why couldn't he remember? Had he been injured? He closed his eyes and tried to pull up images of the servant's quarters, since staying with the boys was the last clear thing he could remember. The crowded bed popped up and he smiled then his smile froze as an image of the three of them sitting on the bed fully clothed flashed briefly. He remembered the alarm going off and the panicked running down the street and then… His eyes popped open wide and he gasped, "Xander! She got Xander!" The memories crashed into him and he fell back on the pillow, writhing as it all played across his mind.

They'd been running down the street and Xander had screamed. They'd turned to see a vampire at his neck, tearing at his flesh. He'd dropped his stake and had been clawing at her head. She'd said something about him not being what he was supposed to be then she'd dragged him up into someone's yard and stuffed him under a bush. She'd taken a few steps toward them, scenting the air, then had given them a little wave before disappearing back the way they'd come. They'd rushed to Xander's side and were starting to pull him from under the bush when Andrew was suddenly jerked to his feet with a scream. Spike had bolted to his feet then had been driven right back to his knees when the vampire's claws had sunk into his upper arm, slicing through his leather jacket like it was paper.

He'd been jerked to his feet and then they'd been dragged through the back yard. They'd both struggled against the grips on their arms, but their struggles had been futile, only causing the vampire's claws to sink further into their flesh. Spike didn't know if she'd gotten tired of dragging them both along or had decided that she only needed one of them, but she'd stopped in front of another person's house then had dragged them up to the garage. She'd slid her claws out of Andrew's arm then had pulled him to her fangs. She'd said the same thing about him not being what he was supposed to be before sliding her hand down to his forearm and viciously squeezing until it snapped. Andrew had shrieked and then she'd lifted him by his neck and tossed him into a nearby bin.

She'd dragged Spike close to the bin then had made him lean over it so Andrew could see him before darting her fangs toward his neck. She hadn't bitten that time, though. She'd sliced through his collar, letting it drop into the bin with Andrew, and then she'd bitten, tearing his claiming mark out of his neck in a large chunk. Blood had sprayed out over Andrew and he was dragged away. The memories were getting fuzzy again and Spike absently brought his hand to his neck, feeling for his mark, but there was only smooth skin. His hand dropped as more fuzzy memories flashed across his mind. Stumbling along… his shirt wet with blood… some stairs… a priest kneeling beside him… another shriek then a snapping noise… a church? Mistress… She's crying… Why is she crying? Someone is shouting… he can taste blood. Her blood. Blackness.

Spike opened his eyes and sat up again then threw the covers back and started to slide toward the edge of the bed. A loud clattering noise and a tug on his ankle brought him up short. He flipped the covers to the other side of the bed and looked down at the manacle around his ankle then followed the chain attached to it until it ended at a bolt in the floor at the foot of the bed. He slid off the bed above the bolt and stood then walked the four or five feet the chain would allow, but he couldn't reach the door. He couldn't reach anything but the bed, and not even all the bed. Just the middle.

Why was he chained? Was he being punished for something? What had he done? How was he going to use the toilet?

He sat on the bed and flopped back, guessing he'd just have to wait until someone came to check on him. He hoped it would be soon because he was starving.

XXXX

Buffy dropped the unconscious body onto the mattress then locked the manacle around his ankle. She stood and looked over the basement with a small smile. The larder was full again.

She went upstairs and into the kitchen then knocked on the door to the servant's quarters. Xander shouted, "Fuck's sake! Just come in already, Miss Buffy!"

Buffy opened the door and stepped in with a frown. "I didn't want you to invite me in, Xander."

He waved a hand. "I don't care. I'm so freaking tired of getting up to answer the door every fifteen damn minutes because nobody will leave us alone."

"How did you know it was me?"

"You're the only one who hasn't been here yet today. The rest of them have been invited in and I told them to just open the door and walk in from now on, no matter what we're doing in here. Not like they haven't seen it all anyway. Hell, it'd probably be easier to just leave the damn door open." He glanced at her then dropped his eyes. "Well, everyone's been invited except Spike. Is he awake yet?"

"I don't know. I was hunting food, but I'm done, so I'm going to go check on him."

Andrew asked quietly, "Have you seen him since you took him up to your room?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. I've been busy getting you two taken care of, figuring out what to do with the terrified humans Dickhead's scourge left behind, restocking the food, cleaning up all the vamp dust…"

Andrew interrupted, "All things that could have been done by someone else. Go see him, Miss. Putting it off won't change the outcome, whatever it is."

Buffy sighed. "No, it won't, but if I don't know for sure that he's wrong, then I won't have to get somebody to dust him."

"If you leave him up there by himself for much longer, he's gonna starve to death… if vampires can do that."

"They can, it just takes a lot longer."

Xander spoke up, "Go see him, Miss. We both want to know how he turned out, and if you don't go up, we will, and if he's Angelus 2.0, then he'll probably kill us."

"And you'll be out the two thralls who keep this place running. So go see him."

"You both got bossy, didn't you?"

Xander smirked. "Almost getting dead will do that."

"Fine. I'll go see him." She turned and stalked out the door, muttering under her breath, "Bossy damn thralls."

She silently opened the door and slipped into her room. He was asleep, but he'd apparently woken at some point because the covers were piled on one side of the bed and he wasn't where she'd left him. He'd discovered the chain, too. She inspected the bolt and the floor around it, but it didn't seem like he'd tried to tear it out. His ankle was likewise unmarked, so he hadn't tried to wrest the manacle off. She hadn't left enough play in the chain to even let him get to his nightstand to grab a book and it looked like he'd just accepted the situation then had gotten bored and fallen asleep.

She stayed back by the door, where the chain couldn't reach, and spoke loudly, "William. Wake up, William."

He twitched then reached up and rubbed his eyes before sitting up. He looked over at her and smiled, then appeared to remember something and dropped his gaze. "Hello, Mistress." He swallowed. "May I ask why I'm being punished? I don't remember disobeying you, and I don't know why I'm chained."

Buffy moved to the chair and sat down. "What do you remember?"

He clasped his hands in his lap and spoke quietly. "I was staying with the boys while you hunted down the other scourge. They attacked the mansion and we ran, but one of them got Xander and then Andrew and then me, I guess. I remember a church and shouting and blood, but nothing after that. Are Xan and Andy okay?"

"Andrew has a broken arm and some knarly gouges in his bicep and they both lost some blood, Xander more than Andrew, but they're fine. They both also have wicked scars on their necks. They're both healed except for Andrew's arm. The charms helped, but he'll still have to wear a cast for a week or so until his bones have completely knitted back together."

He lifted his arm and looked at his bicep. His smooth, unblemished bicep. "I should have the same gouges. She was holding us the same way." He reached up to his neck again, although he already knew what he'd feel. "And my claiming mark is gone. She bit it out, but I don't even have an injury from that."

"Feel the other side."

He trailed his fingertips to the other side of his neck and felt a large bite scar, larger than his claiming mark had been. "I don't remember her biting that side, unless she did it after I passed out."

"She didn't bite you there. I did. That's your siring mark."

"My siring…" He jumped to his feet, rattling the chain in the bolt. "I'm a vampire?"

"Yes, you are."

He sat down again then flopped back. "I'm a vampire."

"If you concentrate, you should be able to bring your demon forward. Try it."

Buffy watched as he closed his eyes and furrowed his brow then his lumpies popped and she could see the tips of his fangs poking out below his lip. He sat up then looked over at her with amber eyes. "Did I do it?"

Buffy chuckled, "Yeah, you did. Can you see better? What can you hear? What can you smell?"

He drew in a deep breath through his nose. "Someone's cooking bacon and making coffee, and…" He cocked his head then smiled. "Miss Anya is shagging Travis."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "When isn't she?"

"How did I not know I was a vampire, Mistress? Every movie or show I've seen has vampires waking up angry and almost immediately going on a murder spree. They spring out of the ground with fangs bared and start killing everyone they see."

Buffy shrugged. "I guess it has something to do with where you wake up. If you woke in a coffin and had to dig your way out, you'd probably be pissed, too. I woke in my sire's bed. So did Faith. We've never buried anyone we've sired and none of them woke up angry, although they knew they were vampires when they did because they were willing participants in their siring. You were almost completely bled out and drifting in and out of consciousness, so I didn't really have time to explain things."

"Did Angelus wake up angry?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there when he woke because he woke up earlier than I expected him to. Faith and I were out hunting and he'd already slaughtered half the damn village by the time we got back. Are you hungry?"

"Yes, Mistress. Starving."

"You don't have to call me Mistress anymore or call any of the others Miss. You're family now, so you can just call us by our names." She got up and walked over to the bed, sitting down next to him. "Your first meal as a family member is sire's blood. You won't have to take much and then I'll take you downstairs to teach you how to feed on a human."

"Okay. Do you slice your wrist or something or do you want me to bite?"

Buffy looked at his fangs and licked her lips. "I want you to bite." She tapped her neck opposite her own siring mark. "Right here. And I want to be riding your cock when you do."

"Are you going to claim me as a pet again?"

"Um, no. I can't claim you as a pet because you're not human, also, you're family."

"Then are you going to do a mating claim?"

Buffy blinked. "We need to talk about it first. A mating claim has to be mutual and there are a few things you need to know about it before you can commit to it."

"I know it's a permanent bond and will only break if one of us dusts. What else do I need to know?"

"Um, that's the main thing, but a mating claim won't take if…" She stopped and dropped her eyes.

He reached out and hooked a finger under her chin, raising her gaze to his. "If what, luv?"

Buffy smiled at the endearment, not sure he even realized he'd used it. "Um… we have to be in love with each other. Not just in lust with each other, but actual love."

"Oh." He dropped his eyes this time. "So I'm guessing it won't take because you don't love me, you just love my cock." He looked up at her again. "Then why did you sire me? I thought you didn't sire males into the family because of Angelus and how he turned out. Why would you take the risk if you don't love me?"

Buffy wiped a tear off her cheek and choked out, "You were dying. Bleeding out. She'd torn a huge hole in your neck and I… I wasn't going to do it. It was going to kill me, but I was going to let you die because the last time I sired someone I loved they came back wrong, and I couldn't do that again. I knew that even if you were wrong, I wouldn't be able to dust you… and then Faith… she opened my wrist and pressed it to your mouth and yelled at me that you weren't Angelus and you wouldn't come back wrong because you love me and he didn't."

He blinked. "You love me?" Buffy nodded, unable to speak through the lump in her throat. "Think I need to hear you actually say it, Buffy."

Buffy croaked out, "You first. Do you love me?"

He pulled her into his lap then wrapped his arms around her and kissed her fiercely. "Yes, Buffy. I love you. I'm in love with you. I don't know how much of a human carries over into a vampire, but for me, that part carried over."

Buffy croaked through the lump in her throat, "Almost everything carries over. The demon just amplifies what was already there."

"So I love you more as a vampire than I did as a human. Your turn."

Buffy cupped his face and feathered kisses across his lips then pressed her forehead to his. "I love you, William."

He smiled around his fangs. "I love hearing you say that but why are you calling me William?"

Buffy sat back with a shrug. "Spike is your pet name. Didn't know if you'd still want to use it."

He thought about it for a few minutes then nodded. "Yeah, I still want to use it. That's how I think of myself now and William doesn't sound much like a vampire name."

Buffy laughed. "And Buffy does? Fearsome vampire Buffy! Watch out!"

"You were born in the 1700s, right? Was Buffy a common name?"

Buffy answered, still laughing, "No. My birth name is Dorothea, but my older sister by two years couldn't really say 'd' sounds or 'th' sounds and she had trouble with all the syllables, so she called me Borfee and it just eventually evolved into Buffy. When I learned to talk, I thought my name was Buffy. Didn't find out untiI I was fifteen or sixteen what my name actually was."

"How'd you find out?"

"I was reading the family bible where they list all the births and deaths and marriages and asked my mom who Dorothea was with my birthday."

"Yeah, Dorothea doesn't really sound like a vampire name, either."

Buffy smirked. "Anything can be a vampire name if that person is a vampire."

"How old were you when you were sired?"

"Twenty. How old are you? I know you're under eighteen because of what your dad said, but how much under?"

"Turned seventeen the week before you found me." He leaned in and kissed her then feathered kisses to her ear and whispered, "Always did like older women."

"And I like them young and now you'll be seventeen forever. Guess it worked out."

"Guess it did." He nipped and licked down her neck, scraping his new fangs lightly across her skin. They were exquisitely sensitive and he shivered as the pleasurable sensations washed through him. His cock hardened and pressed into Buffy's leg as she moaned. He slid his hand up her leg and frowned at the jeans. "You have too many clothes on, pet."

Buffy leaned back and looked at him. "Pet?"

Spike smirked. "I'm English, pet. Luv. Kitten. Pidgeon. Poodle. Some others I can't think of just now because I don't currently have any blood in my brain. Now that I don't have to call you Mistress, I'm gonna use all the little pet names I've been wanting to use."

Buffy smiled and climbed off his lap. "I could probably get used to that." She stripped out of her jeans and shirt then straddled him, reaching down to grasp his cock. She held it as she sank down onto him and let her demon come forward as he filled her up. She hadn't fucked another vampire in an age… well, a male one, at any rate. Spike pulled her down into a blistering kiss, tongues and fangs clashing as he rolled his hips. She moved with him, arching back slightly and he dipped his head, scraping his tongue piercing then his fang across her nipple before drawing it into his mouth and sucking hard. She grasped his head and pulled his mouth to her neck. "Feed, Spike."

He sank his fangs in carefully and the bolt of pleasure that shot through him when they penetrated her skin made his eyes roll back in his head. He moaned loudly into her flesh then took a pull of blood, thrusting hard up into her as he did. He pulled twice more, thrusting up each time, and on the fourth pull, he exploded inside her. He threw his head back and shouted then stiffened and shouted again when Buffy's fangs sank into his neck. She tightened around him with a muffled scream then took one pull of his blood and collapsed against him, her fangs still in his flesh.

She pulled her fangs out and sealed the bite then guided his mouth back to her neck. "Seal your bite, Spike."

"How do I do that?"

"Just lick it and apply light pressure with your tongue until I stop bleeding. It won't take long on me, but some humans are bleeders and it takes more pressure and time."

He followed her instructions then sat back. "Does it feel that good every time you bite? Thought I was gonna come just from my fangs sliding into you."

"Yeah, it feels like that during sex, when you're already aroused, but if you just walked up and bit somebody, it would still feel good, just not orgasmic good. You ready to try it out on the food?"

Spike nodded then rattled his chain. "Need to let me loose, first, luv. Why'd you chain me, anyway?"

Buffy climbed off him to mutual moans then fetched the manacle key from her closet. "Wasn't sure what you'd be like when you woke up and I didn't want a repeat of Angelus slaughtering pretty much everybody within a five-mile radius and then trying to top it off by setting me on fire."

Spike gaped. "He what?"

"Lit me right the fuck up. Only thing that saved me was a horse trough and Faith running him down with the horse it belonged to. Once the flames were out, I jumped out of the water and picked up the trough and beat him like a rented mule with it. Then Faith pulled me up on the horse and we got the hell out of Dodge. Spent the next few months moving from abandoned barn to abandoned shack to empty cave feeding on whoever she could scrounge up while I healed. Sire's blood would've healed me a lot faster, but our sire had been dust for nearly thirty years by then." She knelt and unlocked the manacle then dropped it to the floor next to the bolt and stood up. "Let's go teach you to feed."

They stepped into the basement and Buffy led him over to the largest man they had. "We'll start with him. He hasn't been fed on yet, so you'll have a little more room for mistakes if you take more than you should. If you want to leave him breathing and able to recover, you can only take about twenty percent of his total blood volume."

"How will I know when I've hit the threshold?"

"For me, that's the amount it takes for me to feel comfortably full. I don't feel overfull or still hungry. We'll have to play around a little to find out where that falls on you. You've just fed from me, so you won't need to take much from him. Go ahead and feed. If I feel like you're taking too much, I'll let you know."

Spike nodded and motioned for the man to stand up. The man just sat there staring at Spike with a glare on his face. Buffy chuckled. "He's new, so he doesn't know the drill yet. We can force him to his feet or you can just kneel next to him. Whichever way works best for you."

"I'll just kneel." He knelt next to the man, still bearing the brunt of the man's glare, and lifted his arm. "Hold still, mate. I'm new at this myself, so if you thrash about, I'll end up damaging you." The man didn't respond so Spike shrugged and sank his fangs gently into the man's bicep and started pulling blood. The man moaned and his eyes fluttered shut as his cock hardened against his belly. Spike pulled several mouthfuls then slid his fangs out and sealed the bite. He stood and looked down at the man. The glare was back, but this time Spike thought it was because he hadn't fed long enough to bring the man off. "Take care of it yourself, mate. You've got a hand, don't you?"

Buffy smirked. "Do you feel full?"

Spike nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay. Feel like going to see Xander and Andrew? They were worried about you."

"Yeah. I was a bit worried about them as well." They started for the stairs and he asked as they walked up. "Did you feed me before going to see them so I wouldn't snack on them?"

"Sort of. When you're new, it's hard to control your urges and when you're hungry it's even harder. A hangry vampire is not a fun thing for humans to deal with. Do you want to put your demon away or let them see it?"

Spike laughed quietly. "Forgot it was out, pet, but I'll show it to 'em. How do I put it away after?"

"Same way you brought it out. Just think about it."

"Okay. I'm still allowed to shag them, right? Because I know we just did, but I already feel like another shag."

"Yeah. You can 'shag' whoever you want to, but I doubt either one of them would be up for it right now. Also, if you're getting fucked by guys, you don't need to prep anymore. You're done with digestive plumbing. You can stretch yourself unless you like the pain, but with your vampire constitution, it won't really be that painful."

They stepped into the kitchen and Buffy opened the servant's quarters door and walked in. Xander and Andrew were both asleep and she turned to Spike just in time to see him bounce off the barrier and land on his ass on the kitchen floor. "Bloody hell! Forgot about the bleedin' barrier."

The noise had woken Andrew and he sat up then laughed when he realized what had happened. He poked Xander. "Xan. Spike just bounced off the barrier and fell on his ass."

Xander sat up, blinking sleepily, then smiled when he caught sight of Spike sitting on the kitchen floor. Xander looked over at Buffy. "He gonna eat us if we invite him in?"

Spike stood up and walked close to the door, but not close enough to activate the barrier. "He will if you don't stop laughin' at him."

Andrew suppressed a giggle and said, "Come in, Spike."

Spike stepped across the threshold and sat down on the foot of the bed. "How's your arm, Andy?"

Andrew held up his cast. "Hurts and I have to wear this for another week-ish, but it's better than being dead." He blushed and looked down at his knees. "Which you are. Um. I'm sorry, Mister Spike."

"Hey, look at me." Andrew looked up shyly. "I'm dead, mate, but I'm not upset about it. And you don't need to call me Mister. Just Spike is fine. I'm the same bloke I was a few days ago. I just have a few new accessories and a sudden allergy to sunlight."

Andrew looked at Buffy and she shrugged. "Technically, you should call him Mister since he's family and not a minion, but if he doesn't want you to, then you don't have to."

Spike turned to Xander with a smirk. "You can call me Mister, though."

Xander reached out and lightly shoved Spike with a laugh. "As if, dork."

Spike motioned to Xander's neck. "Bloody hell, she tore you up right proper. Did you have any blood left in you?"

"Just enough to get me back here for Miss Willow's healing charms." He looked at Buffy. "Miss Faith told me you sealed the bite most of the way. Probably saved my life. Thank you, Miss. Sorry I yelled at you earlier."

Buffy smiled. "I'm not upset about it. You've been through a lot the past week or so. Are you satisfied that Spike's okay?"

Xander nodded. "Are you?"

Buffy smirked. "Yeah."

Andrew glanced at Spike's demon face and shivered slightly then asked quietly, "Um, Miss? Are we still allowed to… you know… with Spike?"

"Fuck him? Yeah."

"What about after you're mated?"

Spike turned and looked up at Buffy, interested to know the answer to that one as well. Buffy nodded. "Yeah, we can both fuck whoever we want, we just can't claim anyone, so we can't make thralls or pets. Faith will have to make any future thralls, and if she gets mated, then it falls to the next oldest in the scourge, and so on."

Spike turned around with a grin. "So just let me know when you're up to it and I'll shag you right into the ground."