Service Unit
Chapter Forty-Three – Beach
The fire they'd built was crackling merrily. Spike and Buffy were sitting cross-legged side by side on a blanket with the binder open across Spike's lap. He was methodically tearing pages from the binder and scanning them before balling them in his fist and tossing them into the flames. Once he'd ripped, balled, and tossed the final page, he chucked the binder into the flames then leaned back on his hands, watching it slowly melt. Each page going up in flames had made him feel lighter and lighter, and he curled his fingers slightly into the blanket, digging them into the sand beneath it to hold himself to the earth.
Buffy slid her arm around his and leaned into him. "You okay?"
He nodded then sat up and wrapped his arm around her. "Yeah, I think I am."
"Okay enough to take your collar off?"
He reached up with his other hand and ran a fingertip along his necklace. "I could probably take it off, yeah… or I could leave it on, not as a symbol of my slavery, or because I still feel like I'm not allowed to be without it, but because you put it there. This says that I'm yours, just like my mark says that you're mine."
"It's up to you, Spike, but if you want to have something like that, maybe instead of that necklace, we could get a different one. Pick one out together."
"We could, although I don't know that a new one would have the same impact or meaning. You claimed me with this one, pet, bonded with me while I was wearin' it, and while we could do another collar change for a new one, I don't…"
Buffy sat up, shaking her head. "I don't want to do that again. For one, I don't 'own' you, not like that. You're mine and I'm yours. We belong to each other. And for two, we're running out of furniture, and I don't want to have to burn another chair."
Spike smirked. "I just don't think a new one would feel the same to me, even if we followed the 'procedure', since I've mostly exited that headspace and don't consider myself to be your property any longer. I do have an idea that would erase the slave collar aspect of the necklace and instead make it into only a symbol of our blood bond. Just takes a bit of magic."
Buffy nodded eagerly. "Okay. Erasing the slave part is good. Is it complicated magic? What does Willow have to do? Do I have to do anything? Do we need a full moon or weird ingredients or anything?"
Spike shook his head. "It's not complicated and Red doesn't need to do a thing. I'll need to bleed you, and then myself, to soak the necklace in our blood. Then, the two of us say an incantation that essentially seals the blood into the necklace. Humans won't notice a difference, but demons will immediately know I'm bonded to you, the same way they know you're bonded to me by sensing the magic in my mark."
Buffy reached up and trailed her fingers across the bite on her neck. "There's magic in this?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah. You know how you can sense when a vampire's near? It's sort of like that. Other demons can sense my… essence, I suppose, mixed with yours."
"Could they sense Angel's essence from when he bit me?"
Spike scowled. "No, because it wasn't a bonding mark. It was just a feeding bite that didn't heal properly even with your Slayer healing because Angel was a wanker who tore you up when he didn't have to and didn't bother to seal the bite after he'd nearly drained you. If it'd been me, you wouldn't have even had a scar. Feedin' bites are supposed to heal, you know, if the person is still alive after being fed upon. The only bites that are meant to scar are siring bites, claiming bites, and bonding bites, because they show the connection to the vampire who did the biting."
"What's a claiming bite?"
"The same thing as a bonding bite, but between two vampires who want to be mated. When vampires do a blood bond, it's called a mating claim and there's a lot more involved in it. It's quite a procedure involving a ceremony led by a witch, incantations, herbs, sigils drawn in blood, half a dozen human sacrifices, and some other things I can't recall just now… which is why most vampires don't bother with it. I've only known one pair of vampires who mated, and it took nearly a week just for the ceremony."
"So just feeding off each other then biting each other while having sex won't work?"
Spike laughed. "No. If it did, nearly every vampire on the planet would be mated to several other vampires. After that orgy back around 1910, I'd personally be mated to nearly two dozen other…" Spike's voice trailed off at the look on Buffy's face.
"Orgy?"
He shrugged. "Well, yeah. Dru had buggered off somewhere, so I was just wanderin' about and came across a large nest. They'd just slaughtered a village and were all full and… vampires get bored easily, and the only thing they like more than feedin' and fightin' is shaggin' so…"
"Orgy."
"Yeah."
"Is it weird that I kind of want to know all about it, and I don't want to hear about it ever again at the same time?"
Spike chuckled. "Not weird at all, pet."
"So back to the necklace… sealing our blood into it is like putting my mark on you?"
"Yeah."
"And I couldn't just bite you back?"
Spike grinned and shook his head. "While I don't mind a bit of bitin' while shaggin', your bites would heal without scarring 'cause you don't have fangs."
"Which are magical scar makers, apparently."
"I didn't make the rules, pet."
"Okay, so how do we do the bloody necklace thing? Do we need a special dagger to draw the blood? A special cup to hold it?"
"No. Anything that'll hold blood will do, and I'll use my fangs instead of a dagger."
"How long do we have to soak the necklace?"
"Soaking probably wasn't the proper term. It's not like soaking a shirt to get a stain out. We just have to cover the necklace in the blood, rubbing it on with our fingers will suffice, then we say the incantation three times while holding hands and that's it."
"What's the incantation? Can you say it out loud or do you have to write it down?"
"It was originally written in Gaelic, and if we used that version, we'd only have to say it once, but the translated to English version will work as well. I should probably write it down so you can practice it a few times in your head before we start, although the English version isn't terribly hard to remember. The Gaelic version takes forever to get the pronunciation right."
"You just burned up all the paper we brought with us, and I don't have a pen or anything."
Spike waved a hand. "The entire beach is our paper, pet. I'll write it out for you while you find something to collect the blood."
Buffy nodded then got up and walked toward an outcropping of rock a little further down the beach. Spike moved toward a section of sand that hadn't been disturbed, snagging a small stick on his way. He knelt and stretched forward then began dragging the stick through the sand. Buffy walked up and stood quietly while he finished then read what he'd written.
We are bound one to another with a tie impossible to break.
Heart to heart and hand to hand.
That the two shall be one, forevermore.
She knelt beside him and said quietly, "It sounds like wedding vows."
Spike nodded. "It does a bit, I suppose."
"So we're getting married? Do I have to change all my stuff to Buffy the Bloody? Because that's gonna look really weird on my passport."
Spike laughed. "No, luv. This binds us under supernatural law, not human law, so you won't need to update any legal documents. Not that you could, anyway. I've been dead since 1880, so I don't exist in any legal sense."
"What is your actual name? You've never told me."
"William Henry Pratt. Why?"
She shrugged. "Figure I should know the name of the man I'm about to marry." She held up a flat piece of rock that had a small indentation in the center. "Will this work for the blood?"
Spike nodded and took it from her, then slid over just enough to put it on the ground between them. "Kneel facing me on the other side of our bowl." They both turned and faced each other, sitting on their feet with their knees just touching the piece of rock. "All right, where do you want me to bite?"
"Don't you need to take the necklace off?"
He shook his head. "No. It can stay on."
"What if there's fire or something when the spell kicks in?"
"There shouldn't be. Might be a bit of heat, but no flames."
Buffy looked over her shoulder, calculating the distance to the water, then she turned back to Spike. "You can bite my arm, and if you catch fire, I'll just toss you into the ocean. Okay?"
Spike nodded with a chuckle as he stripped his t-shirt off. "All right, pet. Once the blood is in the bowl, dip your fingers into it and mix it together then wipe the blood on the necklace. You take the front and I'll take the back. When the necklace is covered, take my hands and we'll say the incantation."
"Okay." Buffy held up her arm and Spike gently sank his fangs into her flesh. He withdrew without sealing the bite and Buffy moved her arm over the bowl, letting the blood drip into it. When the indentation was half full, Spike lifted her arm and licked up the blood then sealed the bite before turning his fangs on his own arm.
They dipped their fingers into the blood and swirled it around then Buffy leaned forward and they started rubbing the blood onto the necklace. She wiped up a drip that was headed toward Spike's belly button and asked, "Won't the spell seal our blood into you, too, since it's all over you?"
"No. It only works on inanimate objects, and although I'm dead, I'm still animated."
She nodded and they kept coating the necklace until the bowl was empty. Spike reached for her hands and asked, "You have it memorized?"
Buffy looked at the words written in the sand for several seconds then looked at Spike and nodded. "Yep. Ready?"
Spike nodded and took a deep breath. Buffy took a breath and they started reciting the incantation. Spike grimaced slightly when the necklace started feeling warm but continued with the recitation. Buffy's eyes widened a little when smoke started rising from the stones in the necklace, but Spike squeezed her hands and nodded at her as they started the second recitation. By the start of the third, the necklace was burning hot, but the smoke had mostly dissipated as the blood sank into the stones and wire. Spike could feel his skin charring and then there was a bright flash of light immediately after they said the last word.
Spike yelped and pulled his hands from Buffy's then started patting at the flames crackling along the necklace and the drips of blood on his skin. Buffy jumped to her feet and hooked her arm under his, yanking him up. She propelled him toward the water and they splashed into it. When it reached halfway to her knees, she kicked his legs out from under him and he fell into an approaching wave with a large splash, pulling her down with him.
He sat up, still patting at the necklace as Buffy sat up beside him. She pushed her wet hair out of her face then pulled his hands away. "It's out, Spike, but you're burned. It's a good thing you don't have much hair, or it probably would have gone up, too. I thought you said there wouldn't be any flames!"
He wiped the water from his eyes then gingerly prodded at the burns on his neck. "I didn't think there would be. This is a spell used by vampires who want to bond without going through all the rigamarole of a mating claim, so why would it set them on fire? I know of several pairs of vamps who've used this on rings and bracelets and necklaces and what all, and none of them caught fire."
Buffy smirked at him. "Were they wearing the rings or necklaces or whatever when they did the spell?"
Spike looked over at her wearing a sheepish expression. "Well… no."
Buffy got to her feet then leaned down and took his hands, pulling him to his feet with a laugh. "You're a dope, Spike." She turned and started for the fire. "I'll call Jason to come pick us up so I can treat your burns."
"I've your blood still in me, so you probably won't have to." Spike snagged his t-shirt and pulled it carefully over his head on the way to the fire and they sat down on the blanket.
Buffy dried her hands with an edge of the blanket then fished her phone out of her bag and called Jason. When she'd hung up, she threw a few pieces of wood on the fire and said, "He said he'd be here in about half an hour." She nodded at the necklace. "Did the spell work?"
Spike nodded. "Yeah. I can feel it. You probably could, too, if you concentrate a bit."
Buffy shivered slightly in the chill of the evening and said, "I'll try after we get home and we're warm and dry."
"All right." He wrapped his arm around Buffy when she scooted closer and they sat quietly staring at the flames for several minutes before Spike asked quietly, "Do you think the bloody lawyers'll be able to bring Angel back?"
Buffy sat up and pulled her phone out of her bag again. She dialed a number then put the phone on speaker and waited for the call to be answered. Wesley said, "Hello, Buffy."
"Hey, Wes. Wanted to get an update on the whole Angel situation."
"Our seers have been unable to locate the dimension he was taken to, so I don't have an update."
Spike said, "Might as well give it up, Percy. I'd never seen the species of demon that took him, so you're probably never going to find him. Guess we'll just have to wait to see if they bring him back when they're done with him."
Buffy said, "Or see if the Powers pull him back like they did when I sent him to hell or wherever."
A sad chuckle drifted out of the phone. "The Powers have no interest in Angel any longer. Apparently, he's lost his soul one too many times and they've shifted their focus to a different souled vampire Champion. One whose soul is firmly attached and who would remain basically the same even if he were to somehow lose it."
Spike groaned. "Bloody fabulous." He leaned a little closer to the phone and snarled, "I am not gonna run your soddin' law firm, mate."
"I don't expect you to, and neither do the Senior Partners. With Angel gone, the prophecy about him playing a pivotal role in the Apocalypse has been voided. They've moved on and are currently searching for Angel's replacement, fully aware that it won't be you."
"Sounds like now would be a bloody good time to get the hell out of Dodge, Wes."
"We are considering it. I'll inform you once we've made our decision. You are aware that The Powers will be keeping tabs on you, and if you're needed, they'll contact you."
Spike sighed, "And I'll likely tell 'em to pound sand 'fore I go do whatever it is they need me to do, 'cause I'm apparently a bloody Champion."
"You're the only one left, unless they start resouling vampires, trying to replicate you."
Buffy asked, "Is that something you think they're going to do?"
Spike shook his head, "I doubt they'd manage it. I fought for my soul, and I don't know of many vampires who'd be motivated to endure the trials only to be saddled with a boatload of guilt. And if they just start cramming souls into vampires, they'd likely end up with another Angelus, cursed with a soul that can be blown away by a stiff breeze."
"I don't think it's something they're considering, mostly for the reasons you've stated, but we're not in the inner circle anymore, so any information we can glean about the plans of the Senior Partners is sketchy at best."
"Again with the get the hell out of Dodge, mate."
"It's likely we will. I'll let you know."
"You do that. Say hello to everyone for me."
"I will."
They all said their goodbyes and Buffy ended the call. "Looks like they don't know he was brought back to this dimension or that he's dust."
Spike leaned back and fished the crystal out of his pocket then held it on his palm. "Which means I can release her." He pulled one of the stones circling the fire pit onto the blanket and set the crystal on top of it then picked up another stone. He looked over at Buffy as he held the stone above the crystal. "Should I say something?"
"I don't know what you would say. Just let her go, Spike. Set her free."
Spike nodded then brought the stone down sharply, shattering the crystal. Rainbow colored streaks of light burst from between the stones and coalesced above them, hovering in front of Spike and Buffy.
Spike said quietly, "I'm sorry for what happened to you, pet. Go on, now. Find your mum." The light bobbed twice as if in acknowledgement then streaked skyward. They watched until it disappeared then Spike whispered, "Do you think she'll be all right?"
"I don't know, but I hope so. She didn't deserve what happened to her…" She nudged Spike, "…and neither did you."
Spike chuckled somewhat bitterly, "I can think of few people who would disagree with that sentiment, luv. I remember you tellin' my trainer 'bout how none of your mates were on board with you and me. I'm a bit surprised they haven't been constantly ringin' to harangue you."
"You haven't seen all the messages waiting to be listened to on my answering machine. I'm sure most of them are about you being no good for me, vampire, evil, yadda yadda blah blah biddy blah, but they can bitch all they want. It's not going to change anything. You're mine and I'm yours. Period. End of."
"And if they turn up to stage some sort of intervention?"
"Let them. I'm an adult and I'm the only one who gets to choose who I'm with." She giggled quietly, "I was gonna say that I had my big-girl panties on and everything, but… still haven't done laundry, so…"
Spike wrapped his arm around Buffy and pulled her close. She laid her head on his shoulder, and they sat staring at the fire for several minutes before he asked quietly, "So, what do we do now, luv?"
"Wait for Jason then go home, take a hot shower, and go to bed." She lifted her head and looked at him. "And I'm thinking that's not what you meant."
He shook his head with a small smile. "No."
Buffy shrugged then slid her arm around him and laid her head on his shoulder again. "We eat and sleep and do laundry and train slayers and wait for the next apocalypse. We live our lives, Spike."
He dropped a kiss on her head and said quietly, "You make it sound like it'll be easy. Just livin' our lives in spite of the fact that we'll be dealin' with my issues for some time."
"It probably won't be easy, but whatever happens – your issues, another apocalypse, some sort of Scooby intervention, the microwave blowing up – whatever life throws at us, we'll handle it together."
Spike squeezed her and whispered, "Together."
Buffy squeezed him back and whispered, "Always."
THE END
