Chapter 31: Lover's Walk
November 23, 1998 – Monday
Sunnydale High School
Willow and Xander trudged across the school lawn, slowly making their way to the school entrance, the crisp morning air adding a pink tinge to their cheeks. Clutched in their hands were the results of their SATs, neither of them overly happy with the scores they had received.
"This is a nightmare," Willow bemoaned. "This is…my world is spinning," she cried in disappointment.
"It's not that bad Willow, really," Xander said reassuringly.
"740? Verbal?! I'm, I'm…" Willow stuttered as she searched her mind for a word that felt appropriate. "Pathetic! Illiterate! I'm Cletus the slack jawed yokel."
Xander shrugged, and gave a small nod. "That's right. And the fact your 740 verbal closely resembles my combined score in no way compromises your position as the village idiot," he quipped, glancing down at his score sheet, before folding it up.
Willow folded up hers and gave a deep heartfelt sigh as they approached a bench. "I just…" She sat down on the bench allowing herself the luxury of slouching in her misery. "Where did I go wrong?"
Xander sat down next to Willow unable to resist the temptation of putting his arm around her in comfort. "You did amazing Willow, as usual," Xander murmured, stroking her hair gently. He was about to turn his face toward her to sniff her hair when Cordelia's voice broke the moment.
"You guys get your scores?" Cordelia asked from behind them as Oz walked beside her, both of them carrying their score cards.
Xander instantly let go of Willow and hopped to his feet and rushed over to the cheerleader. "Cordelia!" He pointed behind him at Willow. "Willow was very sad by her academic failure," he explained, without being asked for an explanation, making Cordelia give him a look. "How'd you do?" he asked before snagging her score sheet from her hand, and unfolding it. Looking down at it he blinked in surprise. "This is not good," he groaned.
"What's not good?" Cordelia asked giving Xander a look, waiting for him to answer as he still stared at her scores.
Oz sat on the bench beside Willow giving her hair a reassuring stroke. She sighed sadly and quietly handed over her test results.
Xander looked at Cordelia. "Well I'm just worried it may hurt my standing as campus stud when people find out I'm dating a brain," he quipped, a small smile on his lips.
Cordelia snatched her scores back and gave him a look. "Please. I have some experience in covering these things up." She smiled at him.
Oz looked back up at Willow. "Well I can see why you'd be upset," Oz said as Willow gave him a hurt look and took her scores back. She directed her gaze at her feet as she frowned. "That was my sarcastic voice," he said trying to comfort Willow who was looking more depressed by the minute.
"You know it sounds a lot like your regular voice," Xander commented looking over at Oz.
"I've been told that," Oz conceded, before looking back at Willow who still looked thoroughly depressed. "But we should celebrate, do something," he continued trying his hand at being upbeat, feeling rather uncomfortable doing so.
"Like the four of us?" Cordelia asked slowly a frown on her face. She turned her gaze to Xander and gave him a pointed look as she shook her head, mouthing the word 'no' clearly, so that no misunderstanding could occur.
Xander pointedly ignored her. "A double date! It could have potential." It was then that they noticed Buffy walking toward them. "Or we could do triple date," he suggested.
Willow brightened up upon seeing Buffy as she walked toward them. Standing up from the bench she gave Buffy an excited expectant look. "Buffy! Hey! Did you get your SAT scores?"
Buffy looked at Willow and gave a weak nod, still not sure what to make of it all, especially her mom and Faith's reactions.
"By the look on your face, I'm guessing you and I are going to be manning the drive through window side by side," Xander quipped, feeling a little hopeful that someone may have done as badly as him.
Buffy looked up uncomfortable, her eyes glancing around the group. "They're just test scores, right?" she asked handing hers reluctantly to Willow. "What do they really mean anyway?"
Willow unfolded the sheet Buffy had given her, her eyes quickly scanning through the page. "1430! Buffy you kicked ass!" Willow cried excitedly before anyone else could answer Buffy.
Buffy raised her eyebrows at her friend's overly ecstatic reaction while Cordelia's eyes went wide with surprise at the news, hardly able to believe that Buffy got such a high score.
"Okay," Willow said more calmly as she folded the scores back up. "So academic achievement gets me a little excited," she said as she handed Buffy back her scores.
Buffy handed her scores over to Xander who was holding out his hand for them wanting to see how she went for each individual part of the test.
"Buff that's amazing," Xander complemented as he received the scores. Before he could even unfold them, Cordelia snatched them from his hands.
"Let me see that," Cordelia demanded wanting to see the proof for herself.
Oz nodded from his position on the bench. "Yeah with scores like that, you can apply pretty much anywhere you want,"
Buffy nodded she'd been hearing that all morning from her mother. And as a result, Faith was worried that with scores like that, that Buffy would leave her behind. She had tried to explain to her mother and Faith that she wasn't leaving.
"Buffy this could like, change your whole future," Willow exclaimed practically bouncing up and down in her excitement for Buffy.
Buffy shifted a small frown on her face that Willow didn't notice. "The thought had occurred to me," she mumbled.
"Then why the sour puss?" Xander asked surprised that Buffy wasn't more excited.
Cordelia grinned ecstatically before Buffy had a chance to answer. "Well I think this is great! Now you can leave and never come back!" She looked around her to see the odd looks she was getting and decided to clarify. "Well I mean that in a positive way," she assured them. "Get out of Sunnydale. That's a good thing. What kind of moron would want to come back here?"
"Mom agrees with you, Cordy. She's like I can go away to college, get away from the Hellmouth," Buffy admitted. "Go somewhere, where no one knows I used to be known as Rutherford Summers. Faith is worried that I will do as Mom suggests and leave her behind."
"And you don't want to leave her behind," Willow said in understanding since Faith was a high school dropout.
"No," Buffy agreed. "It might be different if she had her GED so we could go away to college together. But she doesn't."
Streets of Sunnydale
Just a few hours after the sun had set an old beat up classic 1958 Dodge Desoto FireFlite careened into a park crashing into the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign making it fall over. The car screeched to a halt the sign caught under the wheels of the car. The door was thrown open by an arm clad in leather and a nearly empty liquor bottle fell to the ground smashing on the pavement with a tinker.
The platinum blond headed vampire known as Spike fell out of his seat hitting the ground hard on his back over the smashed glass of what had once been a whiskey bottle. Spike lifted his head unsteadily, his eyes unfocused for the most part. He tried to lift himself up on his elbows. "Home, sweet…" he chuckled drunkenly, "…home."
Summers Home
Buffy lay spread out on top of her sheets her night shirt up around her waist revealing her underwear. Faith lay next to Buffy watching her girlfriend sleep. Since they started dating, Buffy had been insistent that Faith move out of the motel and in with her, Joyce and Dawn. When Joyce heard that vampires could enter motel rooms uninvited, she readily agreed that Faith should move in with them.
Faith ran her hand across Buffy's body softly, trying not to wake her girlfriend. She had a burning need to see her girlfriend naked, but they had agreed given what had happened with Angel to wait at least till after Buffy's eighteenth birthday in two months.
The Factory
Spike strolled through the old burnt out factory. He moved past the old great table it was surprisingly still intact except for being decidedly scorched. He easily stepped over the strewn chairs, drunkenly breaking into the song he had last been listening to in his car. "And more. Much more than this. I did it my way," he sang as he slowly made his way down to the basement.
He merrily hopped down the burnt stairs and into the burnt-out bedroom. "Drusilla! I'm home!" he greeted to the empty room. When he reached the end of the stairs and set foot in the room, he burst out into a pathetic drunken giggle which turned into heartfelt sobs. He sniffled pathetically wiping his nose on the sleeve of his old leather jacket. His eyes landed on the burnt bed and he helplessly stepped toward it. Despairingly he tossed the whiskey bottle he had in his hand onto the bed. He saw the few members of Drusilla's doll collection that hadn't survived Giles vengeful fire piled on top of her older dresser all badly singed beyond repair.
He reached for one of the dolls and picked it up carefully, and brought it closer to him inspecting the doll's face. He ran a hand lovingly over the doll's melted head imagining that it was his Drusilla. "Why did you do it baby? Why did you leave me? We were happy here," he breathed softly still petting the head of the doll.
Spike chocked back a sob that half escaped his mouth. Shaking it off he felt a sudden flash of rage and betrayal his game face slipping into place with a snarl, roaring furiously at the doll throwing it down to the concrete floor. Spinning around he grabbed a large iron candleholder.
He raised it high over his shoulder he brought it down. "YOU…" The candleholder slammed into the doll, and he swung the makeshift weapon back up over his shoulder to bring it down again. "STUPID…" Spike swung at the doll again. "WORTHLESS…" He hit the doll again, putting all his strength behind his angry, pained blows. "BITCH!"
Spike calmed slightly. "Look what you've done to me," he mumbled brokenly. He couldn't help staring at his precious Drusilla's doll all broken from his assault. He dropped the candleholder on top of the broken doll, turning his eyes away. He looked around other parts of the room that held such sweet, painful memories for him.
November 24, 1998 – Tuesday
Sunnydale High School
Giles looked at Buffy's SAT scores in the comfort of his library, his expression impressed. Buffy played with a contraption from his huge pile of camping gear, and clothes that were laid out on the big library table. "Buffy. This is, this is remarkable," he said softly pride shining out of his eyes as he looked up from the card and over at one of his two Slayers.
"So is this," Buffy said holding up the contraption for Giles to see before placing it back down on the table. "Where is this retreat thingy, the Yukon?" she asked.
"It's quite nearby actually," Giles clarified, just as Buffy found his compass and picked it up. "It's um, it's the clearing at the top of Breaker's woods."
Buffy finished observing the outside of the compass and flicked it open looking at the round dial and the small arrow.
"It's the sight of some fascinating druidic rituals," Giles elaborated his enthusiasm.
Buffy closed the compass with a soft click. "Ok, but you're just going for a few days, right?" she asked as Giles took the compass from her. "I mean you're not going to settle there and grow crops or anything?"
Giles gave her a confused look. "What? Oh, my gear. No, no, this is, this is basic necessities."
Buffy arched a brow. "Giles, you pack like me," she exclaimed looking over the large table full of Giles going away gear.
Giles gave her a nod. "Here," he muttered handing her scores back. "I suspect your mother will want to uh, put it on the refrigerator."
Buffy packed her score card away. "Yeah. She saw these scores and her head spun around and exploded," she joked.
Giles gave her a concerned look taking off his glasses. "I've been on the Hellmouth too long. That was metaphorical, yes?" he asked hopefully.
Buffy nodded. "Yes, she was happy," she confirmed. 'Though that seems like an understatement if there ever was one.' she thought.
Giles smiled in relief letting out a breath as he turned and walked over to the cage.
"She started with all the talk about me going to college, maybe…some place…else," Buffy said. In the cage Giles paused as he pulled down a book.
"She may be right," Giles stated as he walked back out of the cage, book in hand. "With scores like these, Buffy. You could have a first-rate education. I'm not suggesting that you… ignore your calling, but um…you need to look to your future," he said a little nervous about what he was saying, knowing that The Council would never approve. He placed the book down on the table.
Buffy frowned giving Giles a bewildered look, she thought he would want her to stay knowing what Faith meant to her. "I can't," she said sadly. "I don't want to confirm Faith's fears."
"Faith's fears?" Giles said packing the book in a bag.
"She's worried I will take listen to mom and go away to college," Buffy admitted. "She's lost everyone who mattered to her. And she's worried she is going to lose me if I go away to college."
"Maybe you, Faith and I should sit down and discuss it when I get back," Giles suggested. "In the meantime, um, I'd like you to continue training with Dawn while I'm gone."
Summers Home
Buffy stood in front of the microwave in her kitchen watching as the bag of popcorn went round and round, popping noises sounding from inside the bag. Behind her at the kitchen island Dawn sat looking at the college brochures that Joyce gotten for her.
"Carnegie Mellon has a wonderful design curriculum," Joyce said to Buffy who closed her eyes for a moment seeking patience. "Oh, and Brown University's history program is…you like history, right?" she cut off wanting to make sure.
Buffy sighed silently. "Could we talk about this another time?" she asked walking to a cupboard to grab a large bowl for her popcorn. "All day it's been like 'Congratulations,'" she said. "'Go away,'" she muttered as she walked to the island with her bowl, sitting next to Dawn.
"That's not it," Joyce paused getting her thoughts together. "It's just, you belong at a good old-fashioned college with, with keg parties and…boys or girls. Not here with Hellmouths and vampires," she explained, wanting her eldest daughter far away from the Hellmouth she had moved them to. Wanting Buffy to be at a college where she would be safe from all that.
"I don't want to leave!" Buffy told her mother as the microwave beeped that the popcorn was ready. She made her way over to get her bag of popcorn. She took the bag out and turned back to her sister, who till now had remained silent, and her mother.
Joyce frowned. "You know, you're always talking about how you wish you could lead a normal life. Well, this is your chance!" she exclaimed not understanding why her daughter wasn't jumping at the chance to get away from all this to go somewhere where no one knew her as Rutherford Summers.
"Mom," Dawn said speaking up for the first time. "Buffy's not going to leave. And it's not just the responsibilities. It's Faith."
"I know, I know," Joyce said dismissively. "But I spoke with Mr. Giles and he said…"
Buffy cut her mother off. "Dawn's right, Mom. I'm not leaving Faith. Do you know what that would do to her?" she said as she opened the bag and poured the popcorn into her bowl. "Faith told me about her parents, abusive isn't the start of it. Then there is Diana, her Watcher and surrogate mother who Kakistos killed. It wasn't easy for Faith to open up to me. Do you know what my leaving her here, would do?"
Joyce looked at her daughter and slowly nodded, she had a small inkling of what Buffy's leaving might do to someone like Faith. "I see your point, Buffy," she admitted sadly. "Maybe you can talk her into going with you."
"I could try," Buffy admitted. "But she may not want to. And if she doesn't. It's not like I don't have options. I can go to U.C. Sunnydale. I can still have as much of a normal life right here in Sunnydale. Yes, I'm a Slayer and yes, I'm transgender. Having Faith at my side will give me as much of a normal life as possible. In fact, I was thinking of trying to persuade Faith into getting her GED so we can go to college together."
Angel's Mansion
Spike let out a drunken huff letting the curtain slip into place. "Yeah, you. You think I'm afraid of you?!" he drunkenly slurred at the curtain pretending that it was Angel. He stepped unsteadily away from the curtain swaying uncontrollably. "We were happy! You brainwashed her. I could just…" He looked at his bottle, before tilting it back and taking a long drink, steadily drinking the rest of the whiskey that remained in the bottle. When he started sucking air from the bottle, he pulled it away from his lips tossing it aside in disgust. "Yeah. I'll show you who's the cool guy." He turned on unsteady feet to leave. "You're goin' down."
Spike tripped over his unsteady feet and onto a flowerbed, promptly passing out as his body demanded time to recuperate just a little from the steady flow of alcohol that it had consumed since Drusilla's departure.
November 25, 1998 – Wednesday
Angel's Mansion
The sun shone into the atrium where Spike still lay unconscious, mostly covered by shadows, but his left hand was bathed in sunlight. His hand began to smoke, and was soon set aflame which woke Spike. It took a moment for his groggy mind to understand what was happening.
"Whoa!" Spike yelped leaping to his feet and running over to the fountain screaming in pain. He heldhis hand under the fountain. Sadly, there was only a trickle escaping the fountain which did nothing for his burning hand.
Noticing the pool of water at the base of the fountain he quickly bent down sunk his hand into the cool water putting out the flame. Breathing a sigh of relief Spike relaxed only to realize that he may be shaded but he was still exposed to direct sunlight and he was beginning to smoke elsewhere. With a curse he pulled his leather coat over his head, doing his best to shade his face as he scrambled up the stairs out of the atrium.
Making it to his car Spike threw open his back door and threw himself in slamming the door closed behind him. Reaching over he grabbed an unopened bottle from his front seat. He pulled the cork out with his teeth and poured a generous amount over his burnt hand, grunting in pain as the alcohol washed over the fresh burn.
Taking a good drink, he relaxed and settled back quietly content to drink away his wows whilst the sun was up. "This is just too much," Spike muttered before taking another swig.
Sunnydale High School
Faith sat for over an hour in this nightmare of a room, until, finally, the testing began, and they called the applicants back to the inner room, one at a time. If not for Buffy she would never have decided to actually go ahead and do this.
"Faith Lehane," someone called when Faith's turn finally rolled around.
Faith stood and followed her bored-looking guide back to the inner room. She was led to a desk where she sat down moments before a test booklet was placed before her. "No backing out now," she whispered to herself. "It's time to get my GED."
The Magic Box
The shopkeeper looked behind her as she heard her back door close and walked around to the door to investigate. She came to a stop when she saw a platinum blond male looking through one of her books. "Did you come in through the back?" she enquired kindly.
"Yeah. I need a curse," Spike informed her looking up at her hopefully.
"A what?" she asked shocked. She was never one to encourage curses.
Spike gave her an exasperated look. "A curse! Y'know something nasty. Boils. I want to give him boils all over his face. You know, dripping pustules. Let's really go for the gusto here," he said coming up with what he wanted as he talked.
The shopkeeper gave him a small frown, taking a small step back. "I'm hearing a lot of negative energy and I bet…" She was cut off as an even better idea formed in Spike's mind.
"Leprosy! Alright a spell that makes his parts fall off. That sounds proper." Spike said excitedly resisting the urge to rub his hands together in glee.
"We don't carry…leprosy," she said turning to look behind her when she heard the front door open and saw Willow. "Would you excuse me a moment," she said to Spike rather glad to be leaving the curse obsessed customer. "Blessed be. Anything in particular I can help you find?" she asked kindly.
Willow nodded. "Yeah." She looked around the shop not wanting anyone to hear what she was getting, not wanting to seem suspicious to anyone that may know Oz or even Cordelia. Holding up her notepad for the shopkeeper to see. "It's all here on the list." She turned the list toward the shopkeeper. "Skink root, essence of rose thorn, canary feathers…"
"Aha," the shopkeeper exclaimed recognizing the ingredients. "A love spell. Want that old lover to come back to you?"
Spike suddenly looked up from his perusal of the books in front of him suddenly more interested in the redhead, or rather the spell she was planning on whipping up.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing hon?" the shopkeeper asked knowing just how wrong love spells could go.
Willow flushed. "No. uh, I mean, yes! I know how to do a love spell, but this is more of an anti-love spell. Yeah. Uh, kind of a de-lusting. The supplies are basically the same, right?" she asked flustered looking around herself anxiously again.
The shopkeeper smiled at Willow. "Basically," she agreed turning to gather the ingredients needed to perform the spell Willow was after. "Although raven feathers tend to breed a little more discontent than canary. Let me just get some things…" She bustled around gathering a few bags of herbs and a raven feather and jars of root powders and few other things before coming back to the counter.
Spike watched intently from behind his bookcase, being careful to remain unseen by the redhead who he recognized as Buffy's friend.
"Ok. Mm-hmm," the shopkeeper as she added up the cost of ingredients she had gathered. "That'll be $15.80 for the lot," she said with a smile beginning to bag everything as Willow pulled out her purse and handing over the correct amount of money.
"Thanks," Willow beamed gratefully taking the bag and heading out of the shop, a pleased smile on her face.
After watching Willow leave the shop, the shopkeeper turned around and headed back to the bookcase where she had left Spike amongst the books. She smiled brightly at him. "So, did you find a spell book?"
Spike jumped out from around the bookcase his vampiric visage showing. He grabbed the shopkeeper and then remembered his deal with Buffy. He let her go. "Forget the book," he said. "I've got a better idea," he murmured looking out the door Willow had just disappeared through.
Summers Home
Faith and Buffy sat on the couch in the living room a bunch of the pamphlets laid out in front of them. Buffy had explained to Faith her mother's suggestion of maybe Faith could go with her if she went away to college.
"Where do you want to go, B?" Faith wondered. She had yet to tell Buffy about taking her GED test or the results.
"It really depends greatly on where you want," Buffy admitted as she laid a hand on Faith's leg.
"And if I said I wanted to stay here?" Faith wondered.
"Then we'll stay here," Buffy answered as she leaned over and kissed Faith.
"Someone does need to stay," Faith admitted. "One or the other of us does have a responsibility to guard this place."
"Okay," Buffy agreed as she smiled at Faith. "I am not going without you, Faith. If you stay, I'm staying."
Faith nodded as she looked toward the dining room. "Why don't you two come out," she said. "I have something I want to say."
Joyce and Dawn exited the dining room and sat down in the chairs opposite Buffy and Faith.
Faith reached down into her bag and pulled out a piece of paper. She handed it to Buffy.
"What's this?" Buffy asked as she unfolded the paper. She read it and her eyes went wide.
"What?" Dawn said seeing her sister's reaction.
Buffy held out the piece of paper to her mother who took it and looked it over. "You took your GED?" Joyce said looking up at Faith who nodded.
"And I passed," Faith said as she smiled at the surprised looks on each of the Summers women's faces. She looked at Buffy. "One of us still needs to be here. But I think once I take my SATs, maybe we can go to UC Sunnydale, together?"
Buffy smiled as she leaned over again and gave Faith a passionate kiss before turning to face her mother and sister. "What do you think, mom?"
Joyce looked at her eldest daughter for a long moment and then nodded. "If that is what you both want," she said. "Then I will stand beside it." She smiled. "I was just, since you came out as transgender, Buffy. All I've wanted for you to be is happy in a world that doesn't understand."
"I know, Mom," Buffy admitted. She then looked at Dawn. "What do you think?"
Dawn smiled. "I'm happy for you, Buffy. Truly happy. All your dreams are coming true. Only one thing left remains."
"What's that?" Joyce wondered.
"Buffy promised me a while back that some day we would get dressed up pretty dresses and have a girls night," Dawn admitted.
"I think," Buffy said as she smiled. "How about in two months, for my birthday?"
Dawn smiled as she moved over next to her sister and hugged Buffy. "I'd like that."
Sunnydale High School
In a dark science room, Willow grinded the ingredients for the de-lusting spell she was attempting in a ceramic bowl while she waited for Xander to show up.
Xander walked into the room looking around curiously, before heading over to Willow. "Whoa! It smells like church in here." He sniffed. "No wait…evil church," he corrected with a small nod.
"It's just chemistry stuff. An experiment," Willow recited having practiced a few times in a mirror, knowing how bad she was at lying.
"So, you said when you called. Why do I have to be here?"
"It'll help on the exam. You're way behind."
Xander gave her an innocent look. "But that's why you love me right?" He nodded. "Academically dangerous?"
Willow determinedly ignored his comment. "Here," she muttered handing him the raven's feather he had to hold for the spell to work on the right person. "Hold this."
"A feather?" Xander smiled charmingly. "And who will I be tickling?" he asked mischievously unable to help himself as he ran it along Willow's cheek.
For a moment Willow allowed herself to enjoy it, knowing that it would be the last time that she would. She gave a small giggle before pulling away, nudging his hand aside. "Shush," she demanded warningly.
Xander pouted, but accepted Willow's decision knowing that it was the right one.
Willow looked over her spell book. "Ok bring mixture to the boil…" She lighted the Bunsen burner below a flask of liquid that was her de-lusting spell.
"I assume this isn't going to make us late for our evening of bowling magic?" Xander asked.
Willow jerked surprised and slightly flustered. "There's no magic!" she denied before realizing what he had actually asked. "I mean bowling yeah. Cordelia and Oz are going to meet us here later," she divulged having called everyone earlier.
Xander looked around the darkened room hardly able to see. "Can we turn these lights on?" His eyes fell on the book Willow was working from and noticed something familiar about it. "Is that a spell book?"
Willow placed her hand over it trying to obscure it from Xander's view. "No, no, no! Chemistry book," she lied her heart rate increasing.
Xander looked closer his eyes narrowing suddenly recognizing the book from last year when he had tried to make Cordelia fall in love with him. "Wait a minute. This is love spell stuff! You're doing a love spell?"
"No! Of course not! This is purely scientific…" Willow trailed off when Xander reached over and plucked the book from the table and showed her its title. 'Witchcraft'. "…de-lusting spell… for us. I thought it would go better if you didn't know," she explained sheepishly.
Xander raised his voice in slight panic. "Are you nuts, or have you forgotten that I tend to have bad luck with these sorts of spells?"
Willow raised hers in frustration. "But you said you wished that these feelings could just go away."
"Yeah I wish for a lot of things! I told you I wished I was a fireman when we were in sixth grade, but you didn't follow through on that!"
"I can't do this anymore Xander! I mean this whole us thing is… bleagh!" Willow bemoaned.
"So, do you really need to resort to the black arts to keep our hormones in check?" Xander asked a lot more calmly.
Willow sighed and gave him a small smile. "At this point, I'm thinking no."
Xander nodded relieved. "I'm going to hit the lights." He walked to the switch. "Clean this place up before they get here." He flicked the switch and the lights flickered on. "And start asking questions.
At that moment Spike barged into the room with all the confidence in the world, walking up behind Xander and grabbing him by the neck.
"Xander!" Willow cried surprised, and fearful.
Spike tightened his hold around Xander's neck making the boy choke for air. "I need to borrow the little girl. You don't mind, do you?"
Xander kicked out with his legs, pushing them against the wall managing to shove Spike and himself across the room and into a metal shelf. Spike wasn't fazed by the weak attack and threw him to the floor in disgust. He tried to get up to protect Willow but Spike punched him hard. Willow nervous as hell, picked up a heavy microscope and came at Spike from behind.
Spike stopped her mid-swing. "Threatening me? That's not nice," he said as Xander managed to pick himself up from the floor. "We're all going to be very best friends," he as he yanked the microscope from Willow's weak grip and swung it into Xander's temple making the boy fall to the floor out cold.
"Xander!" Willow cried again. Worried and scared for her best friend.
The Factory
Xander lay unconscious on what was left of Drusilla's bed. Willow sat on the edge nervously fidgeting with her hands as she looked at Spike wondering what he wanted, when he had gotten back into town, and if it had something to do with Buffy since the vampire had been sending Buffy postcards.
Spike dumped a box full of supplies on the bed next to Xander making Willow jump in fright. "A spell. For me. You're going to do a spell for me," he told Willow.
"Uh…what kind of spell?" Willow asked nervously, looking at the box in curiosity.
"A love spell! Are you brain dead?" Spike snarled as if she should know about his break up with Drusilla, as he walked over to the dresser. "I'm going to get back what's mine," he muttered grabbing a bottle. "What's mine," he muttered again as he uncorked it. "Teach her to walk out on me." He took several long swallows, before looking back over at Willow to see her eyes on him. "What are you staring at?"
Willow quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to rile the drunken, heartbroken vampire. "Nothing."
"You can do it right?" Spike asked his voice suddenly sounding vulnerable making Willow look up at him again. He walked toward her slowly. "You can make Dru love me again? Make her crawl!" he growled the last bit his anger at Drusilla's betrayal rising.
Willow gulped shifting nervously. "I can try."
Spike grabbed her by the neck, his cold hand squeezing threateningly, but not cutting off any of her air… yet. "What are you talking about, trying? You'll do it!" he demanded his eyes flashing drunkenly.
"Yes! I'll do it!" Willow squeezed terror flashing through her, her mind drifting to Buffy for a moment. She breathed a sigh of relief, only to flinch back in fright as Spike broke his liquor bottle.
Spike grasped the neck of the bottle still and he shoved the broken jagged edges close to her face, his hand once again around her neck, preventing her from moving away. "You lie to me and I'll shove through your face! You want that?" he yelled drunkenly.
"No…" Willow whimpered terrified, her heart racing in her chest.
"Right through your brain!" Spike snarled.
"No, please, no…" Willow whimpered trying to lean away from the sharp glass that was dangerously close to her face.
Spike shoved Willow aside leaning against the bedpost, calming himself down. "She wouldn't even kill me," he muttered brokenly. Dropping the broken bottle, walking around the redhead and sitting down next to her. "She just left. She didn't even care enough to cut off my head, or set me on fire." He sniffled. "I mean is that too much to ask? You know? Some little sign that she cared?" he wailed.
Spike paused doing his best to pull himself together. "It was that truce with Buffy that did it. Dru said I'd gone soft. Wasn't demon enough for the likes of her, and I told her it didn't mean anything, I was thinking of her the whole time, but she didn't care."
"What was with sending Buffy the postcards if…" Willow started.
"I don't know," Spike admitted. "I just felt like she deserved to know what was going on. Anyways, Dru and I got to Brazil and was…she was just different. I gave her everything. Beautiful jewels, beautiful dresses with beautiful girls in them, but nothing made her happy. And she would flirt!" he said with a pathetic sniffle. "I caught her on a park bench making out with a chaos demon! Have you ever seen a chaos demon?" Willow shook her head. "They're all slime and antlers. They're disgusting."
Spike looked at Willow's face, he reached over and stroked her hair. "She only did it to hurt me," he told her taking his hand off her silky hair. "So, I said. 'I'm not putting up with this anymore.' And she said. "Fine!' And I said. 'Yeah, I've got an un-life you know!' And then she said…we could still be friends," he wailed. He leaned over and sobbed into Willow's shoulder. "God I'm so unhappy!"
Willow hesitantly reached over and patted his knee sympathetically. "There, there," she said awkwardly, wishing he'd get off her shoulder. It was a little too close to her neck for her comfort.
"I mean friends! How could she be so cruel?" Spike whined, raising his head his attention diverted as he looked at her neck. "Mmm. That smell… your neck…" he murmured. He leaned in closer taking a deep breath, before leaning back the hard ridges of the demon in place. "I haven't had a woman in weeks," he purred looking at Willow, his eyes drifting up and down her body, before coming to rest on her neck again.
Willow sat still shocked for a moment, before jumping up in fright, backing away from the bed a couple of steps. "Whoa! No! Hold it!" she cried frantically, holding out a hand to ward him off. She panted with fright as she was pulled up against him, she could feel the hard ridge of his desire against her stomach. "Now, now hold on! I'll do your spell for you. And, and I'll get you Drusilla back, but, but there will be no bottle in face, and there will be no 'having' of any kind with me. Alright?" she said trying to sound firm, and not like she was terrified.
Spike raised his scarred eyebrow at her, before grabbing her around the neck for the third time that night and turned her around bending her over the bed, his face inches away from hers. He searched her face for a moment, before his face reverted back into the soft smooth plains of the human. Standing them back up he pushed her away. "Alright. Get started," he demanded.
Willow stepped around the bed toward the box that Spike had dumped in the bed. "Now I'm not a real witch you know. I don't know if this is going to work right away," she said softly, nervously, wanting a loophole should she not succeed the first time.
"Well, if at first, you don't succeed, I'll kill him and you try again," Spike sing-song indicating Xander with a nod of his head.
Willow didn't believe him given the postcards he had sent Buffy, she was sure he would do nothing to hurt her friend. Still, she decided it wasn't worth the risk to find out if she was wrong. She turned and looked through the supplies. "This isn't enough," she told the vampire behind her.
"What?" Spike demanded stepping towards her.
Willow fluttered her hands nervously. "Well, there are other ingredients and a book. I need a spell book. This isn't it," she explained.
"You've got one though, at home?"
"Not at home. I left it…somewhere," Willow said hopelessly, hoping that by the time he found it, Buffy would have by some miracle found them.
Spike leaned closer to her, getting in her face. "Where?"
Sunnydale High School
In the school library, Faith watched as Buffy and Dawn sparred. They had told Joyce that training Dawn worked better at the library because of the weapons and protective gear that Giles had available. The door opened causing the sisters and Faith to turn and see Oz and Cordelia walk quickly into the library looking frantic. The three of them went over to meet them.
"Thank God you are here," Cordelia breathed.
Faith, Dawn, and Buffy all raised an eyebrow, never expecting to hear those words come from Cordelia.
"Something's up," Oz said seriously wanting to find his girlfriend as quickly as possible, worry eating at him.
Buffy motioned for them to lead the way, hers, Dawn's, and Faith's minds focused on what Oz and Cordelia were telling them as they winded through the school halls. They ended up in one of the science rooms and looked around at the mess with calculating eyes reading the signs of struggle.
"We were supposed to meet in here. I don't know what could have happened," Cordelia said as she observed the mess with worry about Xander, hoping desperately that he was ok.
Buffy walked further into the room, while Faith remained next to Dawn, coming up to the table where Willow's botched experiment lay cold and unsuccessful. "What is all this stuff?" She scrunched her nose at the faint smell that was still coming from it. "I'm thinking weird science."
Cordelia's attention was caught as she felt angry at the redhead for putting Xander in danger with one of her experiments. "Was Willow messing with her magic tricks again? Maybe they disappeared. Maybe she turned Xander into something fishy!" she rambled her mind going a hundred miles per minute as she imagined more, and more terrible scenarios.
Faith looked around the room. "Whatever happened, there was a fight."
"I don't see any blood," Oz said with a frown looking around the room carefully.
"Yeah," Dawn agreed. "Either they were taken, or they ran, or maybe…"
Cordelia frantically cut off Dawn. "You're having too many ors!" she said pointing at the younger Summers sister. "Pick one!" She demanded.
"I don't know," Dawn admitted sheepishly.
"Cordelia, Oz, I need you guys to find Giles ok? I'm going to take Dawn home. Faith go look for them, maybe they didn't get far. As soon as mom gets home, assuming she's not already home, I will come find you," she said giving out instructions.
"Where is Giles?" Cordelia asked her arms crossed under her chest to try and ease the worry she was feeling.
"Uh, he's at a retreat in the clearing in Beaker's Woods," Buffy informed them.
Oz nodded. "Yeah I know the spot, but it's like a forty-five-minute drive."
"So, motor!" Buffy demanded.
Faith chuckled as Cordelia and Oz rushed out the door. "Picking up on my slang are you, B?"
"Well it is cute when you say it," Buffy said as she, Dawn, and Faith made their way quickly back to the library.
As they entered the library Faith and Buffy headed straight for the book cage, their minds running through the weapons in the cabinet. Faith reached into the cabinet just as the phone rang.
Dawn who stood beside the counter picked up the phone. "Giles?" She asked hopefully.
"Hi, Dawn. Are you and Buffy still working out?" Joyce asked through the phone.
"Uh, no Mom actually…" Dawn started with a glance at Buffy
Joyce cut her daughter off. "I was hoping that Buffy, Faith, and I could schedule a time to talk about UC Sunnydale since they both are adamant about going. After all, I am probably going to be paying for both of them on top of the money needed for Buffy's transition."
"I'll ask Buffy and Faith, Mom on the way home," Dawn said. "But Buffy and Faith are going to have to patrol tonight, Willow and Xander are…" She paused and her eyes widened when she heard Spike's voice in the background.
"Hello, Joyce."
"Buffy," Dawn cried hanging up the phone. "Spike's in town and at the house!"
Buffy and Faith looked at each other. "I'll go find Red and Xan," Faith offered. "You go make sure your mom is safe."
Buffy and Dawn ran out of the library and race through the night desperate to get to their mother before Spike could hurt her. Every second felt like an hour as they ran.
Summers Home
Joyce picked up the tea kettle from her kitchen stove and brought it back over to the kitchen island where she poured the hot chocolate into a cup for Spike as they waited for Buffy and Dawn to get home.
"So, I'm strolling through the park, looking for a meal, and I happen to walk by, and she's making out with the chaos demon! And so, I said 'You know I don't have to put up with this.' And she said. "Fine!' so, I said 'Fine do whatever you like!' I mean I thought we were going to make up, you know," Spike explained distraughtly.
Joyce sat down across from him. "Well she sounds very unreasonable," she said sympathetically.
"She is. She's out of her mind," Spike sniffed. "That's what I miss most about her," he said with a tender smile.
"Well Spike," Joyce said slowly. "Sometimes even when two people seem right for each other, their lives just take different paths. When Buffy's father and I…"
Spike interrupted her with a confident look. "No, this is different. Our love was eternal. Literally." He calmed himself and gave Joyce a hopeful, pathetically sad look. "You got any of those little marshmallows?"
Joyce thought for a moment unsure. "Well, let me look," she said getting up to look through her cupboards.
At that moment Buffy and Dawn came racing in through the door running into the kitchen where they could hear their mother bustling. "Spike?" Buffy said, squinting. "What are you doing here?" He turned toward her and grinned, no malice in his eyes.
Joyce whirled around at the sudden noise relieved to find that it was only her daughters. "He's just visiting," she said, smiling at Buffy and Dawn. "We're having hot cocoa; do you two want some?"
Buffy looked at Spike again and thought about his postcards. 'Hope your mother is well,' one of them had said. She nodded. "Yeah, sure. You got bored of Brazil?"
"Only so much forest a man can take," Spike said as Joyce handed Buffy and Dawn both a cup of cocoa. "Thought I'd come to check on the homestead. And see my favorite human." He winked at Joyce.
"You better not kill anybody while you're here," Buffy said. "Drusilla either."
"Dru and I aren't together anymore," Spike admitted sadly.
Buffy saw the sadness in his eyes and nodded. "Truce is still in effect, I take it?"
"Until you say otherwise," Spike said. "Can't have mum getting mad at me for killing her d—kid."
"It's okay," Joyce said looking at Spike, having noticed he had corrected himself. "I know Buffy is transgender."
"So, you told her," Spike said as Buffy nodded.
"About two months ago," Buffy said. "Happiest day of my life."
Spike nodded at Buffy. "Got any plans, luv?"
"Was just about to go find, Willow and Xander," Buffy admitted.
"The witch and the boy are at the factory," he told her. "I took them since Willow is a witch."
Joyce gave the three of them puzzled looks. "Willow's a witch?"
"Yes, Mom," Dawn said.
"I was hoping Red could do a spell for me to get Dru back," Spike admitted. "But talking to your mum here…well…I think now it might be better…"
Buffy nodded in understanding. "Why don't I get changed and you can take me there," she informed him as she drained the last of her drink before heading upstairs.
Streets of Sunnydale
Oz sped along the road that led to Beaker's Woods. "What if they were kidnapped by a Columbian drug lord? They could be cutting off Xander's ear right now! Or other parts," Cordelia said worriedly her imagination still in overdrive.
Oz turned a deaf ear to the statement his worries were enough to deal with, without adding Cordelia's impossible scenarios into the mix. He sniffed the air suddenly a familiar scent reaching his nose. He stopped the van suddenly.
"Hello?" Cordelia muttered wondering what had gotten into him.
"It's Willow. She's nearby," Oz said still sniffing the air.
"What? You can smell her? She doesn't even wear perfume."
"She's afraid," Oz muttered with a concerned frown. He threw the van into reverse and backed up a bit.
"Oh, my God. Is this some sort of residual werewolf thing? This is very disturbing," Cordelia muttered giving him a look.
"I agree," Oz muttered a little concerned that he could scent Willow with ease when it wasn't even close to being a full moon. He put the van in drive and drove down the side street he had backed up to.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Spike spoke about his time in Brazil as they walked, and Buffy half-listened and half-kept an eye out, as she always did, for threats. "So, are you staying then? And if so, how long are you going to be in town?" she asked.
"Dunno," Spike admitted. "Now that I'm not going to try and get Dru back, maybe a couple of weeks. Just kind of getting my bearings, you know. Figure out a new goal, now that Slayer-hunting is behind me. For the time being."
"There's always Faith." Seeing his questioning look, she said, "New Slayer. Naked wrestles alligators for fun." He noticed the blush on her cheeks as she said that. "I wouldn't mind if you killed her a little bit. That's a joke since I am deeply in love with her."
"Figured that out," Spike said. "Could see in your eyes as well as the blush in your cheeks as you talked about her."
The Alibi Room
"Slayer," Willy called as Faith entered the demon bar. "What can I get you?"
"Need some information," Faith informed him. "A couple of friends were taken. Need to find them."
Willy looked around the bar glad that no one was there for a change. "I heard something about a vampire needing a spell done. Supposedly took a witch and her friend to cast the spell for him. He's supposedly holding them hostage to force the witch into casting the spell at the old factory that Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla once called home."
"The one that Giles torched in payback for Angelus killing his girlfriend," Faith said in understanding as she remembered the story, she had been told about Ms. Calendar's death one night as she and Buffy patrolled past the old burned-out factory.
The Factory
Willow rammed her shoulder against the locked door of the factory basement grunting with the effort. She turned when she heard Xander groan from the bed, hopeful that he was about to wake up. As she moved down the stairs, she looked at him with hopeful eyes. Coming to a stop beside the burnt-out bed, she saw that his head was covered in dried blood. The look of it worried her, but she was determined to think positively. "Xander?" she asked as she sat down on the side of the bed beside him. "Are you ok?" she asked anxiously.
He tried to sit up with a groan. "Dizzy." Xander winced. "Kind of nauseous too. Do I remember fighting with Spike?" he asked as he remembered being thrown to the floor and a microscope coming down on his head.
"You do," Willow confirmed with a small nod.
Xander reached up and felt his throbbing head, his hand coming in contact with the dried blood. "I won right? Kicked his ass?"
"You were brave," Willow evaded. "Do you need to barf?"
"No, I'll be ok." Xander looked around for the first time. "Where are we?"
"The factory. We're locked in the basement.
Xander gave her a look. "That burnt-out place in the middle of nowhere?" he asked as Willow nodded. "So where pretty much in a scream-all-you-want scenario," he sighed.
"Pretty much."
"Why didn't he just kill us?" Xander asked with a confused expression wincing as he tried to frown.
"I can think of two reasons," Willow admitted. "The first is he made that deal with Buffy when he helped her with Angel. The other is that he wants me to do a love spell."
"What?" Xander asked surprised at Spike wanting such a thing.
Willow shrugged. "Drusilla broke up with him."
"Gee, and we had all hoped those crazy kids would make it work," Xander mocked.
"He's out of control," Willow admitted. "I mean not that he was Joe Restraint in the old days."
Xander tried to sit up again and winched. He decided it would be better to lay back down instead. "So, what are our options?"
"Well, I figure either…I refuse to do the spell and he kills us, or I do the spell and he kills us."
Xander gave her a look. "Give me a third option."
"We hope he honors the deal with Buffy and shows her where we are," Willow said. "Either that or he's so drunk he forgets about us and we starve to death."
"Will, we're not going to die," Xander said trying to sit up again. "We can't hope he honors the deal…so…if he's so drunk, he'll get sloppy, and then I'll make my move." Despite Willow trying to help him sit up, he wound up falling back on the bed. "As long as my move doesn't involve standing up, or using my limbs, we'll be ok," he grimaced as he looked at Willow, feeling the urge to kiss her.
"We're not supposed to," Willow murmured having the same urge. She ached to feel his lips pressing against her, all thoughts of Oz floating away.
"Exemption for impending death situation," Xander murmured as Willow nodded. She was pleased with the excuse as leaned in closer to one another. He leaned back wrapping an arm around Willow's back his eyes closing in pleasure while Willow reached up and put an arm on his shoulder to hold him close.
Behind them, Oz and Cordelia hurried down the stairs followed by Faith who had met them just as they pulled up. Oz and Cordelia stopped short in surprise and hurt upon seeing their respective partners kissing heatedly.
"Oh, God!" Cordelia cried, her body screaming in pained betrayal at seeing Xander kissing Willow.
Willow immediately scrambled away from Xander; guilt plastered all over her face as her eyes met Oz's.
Faith looked at the two couples in complete surprise. "Dang," she muttered.
"Oh, God." Xander echoed his girlfriend's words.
"Oh, God, Oz," Willow pleaded with her voice and her eyes.
Oz lowered his gaze not being able to look at the redhead he had fallen in love with, pain tearing at him from the inside. "We have to get out of here," he said in his usual monotone, for once glad that his voice didn't echo what he was feeling.
Cordelia couldn't stand to be in the room any longer her pain and humiliation eating at her. She turned and brushed past Faith as she fled up the stairs.
Xander managed to stand up. "Cordy I …"
Cordelia didn't pause in her run, but when she made it just past the halfway mark the step crumpled beneath her feet, making her fall through with a small scream of surprise as gravity pulled her down.
Xander scrambled to his feet, completely forgetting his pain as he raced up the stairs. "Cordelia!" he cried as Willow, Faith, and Oz followed hoping Cordelia was okay. They peered anxiously through the hole in the stairs to find Cordelia lying on the ground below. "Cordelia!" he frantically called.
Cordelia managed to move her head barely to look up at them her body in shock from her sudden fall and the long piece of rusted iron rebar protruding from her left side just under her ribcage. "I fell…" she whispered.
Faith turned toward Oz and slapped his arm. "Get help," she instructed and the werewolf nodded as he ran around the hole in the stairs and out of the building.
"Cordy? Don't move! Oz went for help!" Xander called down to this girlfriend. "Oh, God…"
"Don't move! Don't even talk…" Willow added.
"Xander?" Cordelia called out weakly.
"No! That's talking! DON'T talk!" Willow pleaded.
"I'm going down there," Faith informed them.
Xander put his arm on Faith, stopping her. "No, I am," he said.
"It's too unstable, Xander!" Willow countered looking at her friend.
"Will, she needs someone with her," Xander informed her. "Despite Faith being the better person for the job. It needs to be me, because…" he left the sentence unfinished as he looked at Willow for her approval. Against her better judgment, Willow nodded.
Faith slowly lowered Xander down into the gaping hole. "Be careful," Willow said, worry eating at her, along with nausea and guilt.
"I am," Faith answered.
"Don't move Cordy! Oz went to get help." Willow called down to the semi-conscious cheerleader. Tears welled in her eyes as she thought of how Oz had refused to even look at her before going to get help.
"Xan," Faith said. "That's as far as I can lower you without falling in myself.
"I'm close enough to jump down," Xander replied as Faith nodded. She let him go and he fell the rest of the way, landing on the concrete with a soft thud. Cordelia moaned softly as he hunched down next to her. "Cordy…" he said trying to keep his voice calm, and not reflect the near panic he was feeling. "Please hold on," he said stroking her hair lovingly, wishing that Cordelia hadn't had to see what she had.
"Xander?" Cordelia said weakly, looking around. "I can't see you…" Shea let her head roll to the side and exhaled.
Xander's expression was horrified as he looked at her still form. "Cordy!" he yelled helplessly.
Faith and Willow peered down seeing Cordelia's still body.
November 26, 1998 – Thursday
Restfield Cemetery
"So, your friend is she okay," Spike asked as he, Faith, and Buffy made their way through the cemetery, he had come upon them as they patrolled.
"Yeah," Buffy admitted. "She lost a lot of blood, but no vital stuff got punctured."
"Has she talked to Xan?" Faith wondered.
Buffy shook her head. "She couldn't have visitors at first," she admitted. "He was going to go after school today."
"What about Wolfy?" Faith wondered.
"Oz isn't speaking to Willow," Buffy sadly admitted. "I told her to give it some time and that she might need to grovel."
Spike looked around the graveyard. "Pretty dead out here," he admitted before looking at the two Slayers. "Would you two like to spar?"
Buffy and Faith glanced at each other. "Got nothing better to do since it's kind of slow tonight," Faith admitted.
"Sure," Buffy said looking at Spike. "Be nice to get in some training I guess."
"No killing though," Faith added.
"I still have a deal with your girl," Spike reminded the brunette Slayer.
The three of them fell into a rhythm. Hit, back, hit, dodge. Buffy and Faith were just starting to work up a sweat when a roar came from behind them, and Spike went down. It took a few seconds for the Slayers to realize what was happening.
"Angel!" Buffy shouted. "Cut it out! We were just sparring!"
Angel quit struggling, but he didn't let go of Spike go.
"My girl is right," Faith informed him as she wrapped an arm around Buffy.
"Angel, let him go," Buffy insisted. "We weren't fighting."
"You just say that because I was winning," Spike said as he stood up and dusted leaves off his coat.
Faith snorted. "Keep telling yourself that, maybe it'll be true. On a cold day in hell," she said as Spike grinned.
Angel looked back and forth between Faith, Buffy, and Spike, confused. "Am I missing something?" he asked.
"We had a truce, remember?" Buffy reminded Angel. "Have a truce. Spike's not looking for trouble. Faith and I just ran into him at my house and we wanted to blow off some steam," she lied. She didn't think Angel needed to know about why Spike had originally come back or the fact he had been writing her.
Angel blinked. "I'm confused."
"We were sparring," Faith informed her girlfriend's ex-lover.
"He's friends with my mom," Buffy added. "I guess getting hit on the head with an axe is a bonding experience for vampires," he admitted as she noticed that Spike had a pleased look. "Look, I'm not saying we're friends. But I'm not going to say no to a helping hand on patrol. Loosen up, Angel."
"He's dangerous," Angel said worriedly.
"Yeah, no shit," Faith said. "But he's no threat to us."
"Even if we didn't have a truce," Buffy added. "Two Slayers against one vampire…"
"Wouldn't want to piss off Slayer's mum," Spike said. "Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be to get dusted by a human? Here lies Spike. He shouldn't have brassed off a mother."
"Okay," Angel said. "Okay, then. I'm just going to…go."
"And, Angel," Buffy said as he turned to leave. "I'm not coming by anymore. It's obvious you've healed enough to take care of yourself."
Angel looked at Buffy for a long moment and nodded his acceptance sadly as he walked away.
"Bye, Peaches," Spike called after Angel as he waved at his grandsire. He looked back at Faith and Buffy with a grin. "Same positions?" he asked and both Slayers nodded, and the fight continued.
