The Scooby Gang - minus Buffy who got stabbed the night prior - were patrolling with Riley – well, more like they were standing behind him casually whilst examining his weird movements. He was patrolling like it was a military operation, rolling around on the ground, crouching behind bushes, and making hand signals that no one understood. It was all very weird and the gang found it somewhat entertaining as they munched on snacks they brought with them for the long night.
Eris on the other hand walked behind the group with her hands in her pockets. She usually traded jokes and light teases with Buffy when they went out patrolling, so she was bored. Riley was being too serious, and the trio were too distracted. Her mind wandered to other things besides the business of slaying, it moved towards bleach blonde hair and icy blue eyes. Spike. He was an anomaly she wanted to crack; he was suave, confident and deadly on the exterior but on the inside he was so much more. She considered herself slightly skilled in the study of body language and while she could not interpret what his mind was thinking she could tell he hides many things behind a veil of confidence, there was a softer side that he never wanted to reveal for fear of it being used again him. Perhaps it was against a vampire's code to be soft, that all vampires were supposed to be evil and deadly. She felt a small amount of pride and specialness when she was with Spike, he was still aloof and confident but his edges softened around her. He allowed himself to share his thoughts, that and she may be the only person on earth that knows he watches Passions, that must mean he is a romantic at heart.
She used to have long conversation about vampires with her underworld friends when she lived in LA, and though they felt uncomfortable talking about vampiric romance ideals they still shared them with her. A vampire can love stronger than many humans, as they had no soul to occupy their heart with morals. It was easy for a vampire to fall in love, yet they were still wise in their choosing of said person. She wondered if Spike had managed to fall in love with someone else besides his precious Drusilla, a woman he still held affection for despite her horrible actions towards him.
For some strange reason, she was drawn to him, like a moth to a flame. Sure she always had an attraction to bad boys but he was…evil and dark, and she had always been obsessed with the dark. She was addicted to chaos and he was always there when she wanted her fix. They had gone out hunting multiple times and it always made her feel so alive and free, to be able to let go comepletely and have someone right there with you enjoying was amazing. And even more so was when they had sex, it was unlike anything she ever experienced and it made her crave it every time she was around him.
She was broken out of her deep thoughts by Riley, who held up a hand to silence the chatting. She knelt beside him as he pointed to an 80s-looking rock vampire, "there, that's the guy that hurt Buffy."
"Let's go," Eris whispered, urging the group to move. They hurried across the cemetery; footsteps light yet rushed as they followed each other in a singular line. They followed the vampire to where his base of operations was, and listened to the cheer that sounded inside the crypt as he entered.
"Sounds like a party in there," Xander commented dryly, he could hear them boast about defeating the Slayer.
Riley shook his head, "forget about crashing, there's too many in there, we'll come back at daybreak when they're asleep and we're better armed. It's ok, we'll get 'em, they'll be just as dead in the morning."
"Then we need to move before they smell us," the group nodded and quickly rushed off before the vamps caught their scent.
Spike was livid, beneath her, she said. How in the world did the Slayer know about his feelings for Eris!? They were talking/fighting, which was innocent enough, then when the talking ended, she suddenly turned the conversation to Eris. BENEATH HER!? He bloody well was not!
It was the same all over again, women trampling all over him, just like they did when he was human! He became a vampire to rise above everyone, and now the bloody Slayer has thrown that out the window. He was going to kill her this time, screw getting a massive headache, one double barrel to the head and the Slayer would be dead, he'd be in pain for hours, but it would be worth it.
With murder planted firmly in his mind he headed of to the Summer's home, determined to end the stupid little bint before his rational mind came back. Instead, as he made it to the back yard all the anger rushed away when he saw Eris vault over the fence and run down the street like a mad woman.
He had never seen her act like that before, she looked to be in completely emotional agony, like there was no thoughts in her head but the need to escape what she was running from. Worry began to take over his anger so instead of going to kill Buffy he changed direction and raced after Eris, "hey! What are you doing?" he asked her once he caught up.
"None of your business!" she shouted back and kept running, her voice sounded like she was closed to tears.
Realising she was not in a good state mentally, he ran up to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop, "enough, calm down, talk to me."
"Joyce has gone to the hospital, she's sick and and I can't….I can't lose her!" she snatched her arm away from Spike and clenched her fist, all her emotions began bubbling to the surface like boiling water, and if it became any hotter it would explode, "I can't lose her Spike, I can't even fucking protect her!"
Before Spike could react, she had thrown a punch into the tree beside her as hard as she could, "Don't do that!" he rushed to her side and pulled her hand back from the tree before she could throw another punch. She had cut up her knuckles enough for them to bleed and he was sure they would bruise up aswell. With quick thinking he took off his jacket and used it to press against her hand as she started to cry.
"I don't know what to do…"
Spike was in uncharted territory but he felt the sudden urge to comfort the woman. With slow movements, he pulled her into his chest and cradled her against him. She sniffled and laid her head on his chest, letting all the tears and cries come out. Neither of them spoke, deciding to simply take comfort in each other.
Neither were beneath each other, as of right now, they were equals.
It was quiet, too quiet. The siblings were not arguing, Joyce was not scolding and Eris was not cracking jokes. Instead they were waiting at the hospital whilst Joyce got her cat scan, Buffy was comforting Dawn and Eris was comforting them both. They've never lost someone before, neither have they had the fear of losing someone, Eris on the other hand, has. She lost a friend in LA, that may be why she was so tense when Tara's family was talking about her demon blood being disgusting, her lost friend was a half demon and was a gift to the world.
They were all impatient, wanting to know the answer right away. Time passed so slowly in their mind and yet when they heard the results they all wished that they had more time before finding out. Joyce was suffering from a brain tumour, which could cause her to lose her eyesight, her appetite could lessen and her memories could be completely gone. Nearly 1 out of 3 patients can survive, and while they were greatful for their Doctors reassure it did little to give much hope to the girls. It was a horrible punishment for such a wonderful woman. She was a pure gem in a horrible, dark world. She didn't deserve to be burdened with such a terrible thing, and yet the Powers that Be thought otherwise.
Buffy was completely beside herself in grief and could only think of fixing her mom in any way she could, and that meant performing magic. She had quickly told her idea to Eris and dragged her to the Magic Shop despite her cousin's protests. They older cousin didn't agree with the idea at all but Buffy refused to listen to anything she said, perhaps Giles and the others might know something to help Joyce that wasn't supernatural or dangerous.
When they arrived they quickly explained the plan to everyone and were met with wary looks, spells and medicine tended to end badly and they wouldn't wish Joyce to suffer more than she already was, "Besides we've already gotten ourselves into enough trouble already?" Anya commented with a roll of her eyes.
"What?" Buffy asked in a serious tone.
"Ah nothing, Anya…Broke a bibbity Bobboty thingy, don't worry about it," Xander lied.
"I did not, I di-"
Giles cut off Anya, saying, "they don't need to hear about your…clumsiness right now."
"What happened," Buffy demanded.
"Nothing to concern you."
"It is if you guys are lying so hard that it makes it look incredibly obvious," Eris shot back, "we're not stupid guys, tell us what happened."
Giles hesitated before speaking, "the uh, the demon woman was here, the one who attacked you," Buffy and Eris' eyes widened.
"It's no biggy," Willow said quickly, "she just got an amulet and a blood stone."
"That can create a monster."
"Ok, biggy."
"Oh God a-are you guys ok though? I mean, no one got hurt right?" Buffy looked over each member at the table, checking for any injuries.
"No no, thankfully no violence to speak of," Giles went on to explain that he was the one who sold the objects to the demon woman. Of course it was not truly his fault, he had no idea what the woman looked like.
After asking for an explanation of what the objects can do, Anya explained that 1000 years ago, in Egypt, there was a cult who stayed in the temple of Sobek, a reptile demon, and the Sobekai were worshipers of said demon. Their high priest Coal had powerful mystic powers, and with it he forged an amulet that had a transmogrifying stone which could change a living thing into something different. The demon woman was going to transmogrify a cobra into a monster as was done many years ago.
Buffy panicked and rushed out of the Magic Shop, determined to defeat this woman once and for all.
Eris found herself in front of Spike's door, not really having a reason as to why she went there. He had comforted her last night and had managed to calmed her better than anyone else could. Wanting that comfort again she knocked on the door and waited for him, hoping to the Powers that Be that he was there and not out stalking the cemetary, "What's up pe-" she cut him off by wrapping her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could, "what's wrong?"
"I just…" she took in a ragged breath and pressed her face into his chest whilst Spike brought a hand up to stroke her messy hair, "I need you right now…sorry I-"
"Shh, no need to say anything," he pulled her into his crypt and closed the door behind them, giving her all the privacy she needed, "let it all out," he picked her up and brought over to the couch so he could place her in his lap. As she cried, he remained silent, content to hold her in his arms like he had longed for. His obsession was overwhelming, just earlier today he braved the harsh sunlight that could roast him alive just so he could sneak into her room and take in her addictive scent. He would watch her from her back yard, see her silhouette as she changed, sometimes he would sneak up to her window and watch her sleep until just before the sun rose.
She was like a drug, whenever he couldn't have his fix, all he could think about was how he could get it. She overwhelmed his desire for blood, that which all vampires crave. As quietly as he could he breathed in her scent, a mix of buttermilk and honey, a sweet scent that made it hard to not breathe in deeper than he already was.
He stayed perfectly still, even after she fell asleep. He'll stay until sunrise, he'll let her sleep. It's all for her, though in his mind he knew it was all for him.