Might Have Been: The Initiative
“When was the last time you ate?”
“Are you sure you really want to know?”
Joyce frowned at Spike and passed him a mug of cocoa.
He was seated on the couch, resting his head on top of Dawn’s who was curled
up next to him.
Spike shrank slightly under Joyce’s steady gaze. “Sorry.
A while I reckon. A week, maybe longer.”
“You look ill.”
“Mom!”
“Well he does. Why haven’t you been eating?”
Spike glanced nervously between the two women. Joyce
was implacable, seemingly determined to discover the truth, while Dawn stared
up at him, her wide eyes confessing her fear for him. He dropped his gaze. “I’d
rather not say.”
“Well,” Joyce said, standing and moving to fetch her
coat, “I’m going to get you some blood. The butcher’s is late closing on Thursday;
I’ll get you a couple of pints of pig’s blood. That’s ok isn’t it?”
“Joyce, you don’t have to go to all that trouble for
me, I’ll…”
“Nonsense,” Joyce overrode him firmly. “I won’t be
long.”
As the door closed Spike let his head fall back against
the couch. “What am I doing?”
“Moping,” Dawn answered as she jumped up, pulling her
friend up with her. “Come help me do the dishes.
Spike hung his head as he followed the young girl into
the kitchen. “Dawn, do you know how many times I’ve done dishes before in my
life?”
“How many?” Dawn asked as she turned on the faucet
to fill the sink.
Spike thought for a moment. “None. None at all Dawn.
I really don’t want to start now.”
“I’ll wash, you dry… You know Buffy’s very keen on
people sharing the housework. As long as the housework is divided up between
me and mom, cause Heaven forbid she should exert herself around the house. You
should see the state of her dorm room.”
“Maybe later.”
Dawn sighed as she passed him a plate. “Is this Kill
Buffy Attempt Number 936? Why do you bother? You know you’re not going to kill
her. Why not ask her out for coffee or something first?”
Spike snorted. “I’m sure she’d be really impressed
by that Nibblet. And she’d probably get you to sweep up the dust afterwards,
so I wouldn’t be campaigning too hard for that one if I were you.”
"It's not funny!" she shouted, angrily splashing
some of the dishwater at him.
"Hey!" he shouted when the water hit him
in the face. Immediately forgetting the source of her anger, Dawn giggled. Spike's
eyes narrowed dangerously and he pounced on her tickling her mercilessly. “Stop!
Spike, please!” Dawn shrieked through her laughter as the vampire continued
his torture. When he ignored her, she reached into the sink for the dishcloth.
In one smooth motion she swirled it in the water and then threw it at his face.
Spike froze. He watched Dawn inch away from him, trying
to control her near hysterical laughter. “Spike, I’m sorry. I’m really, really
sorry,” she rambled, just a little bit scared by the look in his eye. “You know
I didn’t mean it. I…” The dishcloth hit her in the face, leaving her with a
mouthful of soapy water.
“Bastard!”
“Now, now love. It’s not nice to swear.”
“Says the evil vampire.”
“Even I have a moral code.”
“You swear all the time! Bloody, damn, hell, bollocks…
although I still don’t know what that one means.”
“I should think not,” Spike said, scandalised. “It’s
not becoming for a lady to talk like that.”
“Spike this isn’t 1900.”
“I don’t care. Don’t say those things.”
Dawn’s mouth quirked into a smile when she saw how
uncomfortable her friend looked. “Alright.”
“Good.” They stood for a moment watching each other.
“I missed you again,” Dawn announced suddenly and then
blushed, turning back to the dishes.
Spike stared at her back, allowing the affection he
had for her to show in his eyes now she couldn’t see him. “I know. I missed
you.”
“Why do you have to keep going away?”
“I think the real question is why do I keep coming
back.”
“But we all know the answer to that one.”
He moved back to his original position next to her
and picked up the towel. “Yeah. You.”
Dawn turned and beamed up at him. They worked in comfortable
silence for a few moments. “So where’ve you been this time? You couldn’t have
been with Angel this long. Unless you killed him.” She perked up again at the
thought. “Did you kill him?”
“No.”
“Oh.”
“Did you get the ring?”
“No.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“You gonna kill Buffy?”
“No.”
“Ah-ha!”
“Hey! You tricked me!”
“That’s ‘cause I’m smarter than you.”
“Oh I very much doubt that pigeon.”
They
finished the dishes and moved back into the living room. “Mom’ll be home soon.”
Dawn said, curling herself up in Spike’s lap. The vampire grimaced when she
sat down, but relaxed after a moment and proceeded to stroke her long dark hair.
“Does
she leave you alone often?” Spike asked, suddenly worried for Dawn’s safety.
“Not
often. Not ever. Mom and Buffy are so overprotective.”
“They
just want to keep you safe.”
The
young girl nodded sleepily against his chest. “Spike?”
“Princess?”
“Will
you keep me safe?”
Spike
stared down at the top of Dawn’s head and felt his chest tighten. All he wanted
to do right then was take her away somewhere safe, where nothing could ever
hurt her. He tightened his hold on her. “’Til the end of the world.”
She
smiled lazily and Spike realised she was almost asleep. He lifted her gently
in his arms and carried her upstairs. He placed her carefully on the bed and
covered her with the crocheted quilt. “Sleep tight Nibblet,” he murmured, impulsively
leaning down to kiss her forehead.
He
straightened and turned out the light, pulling the door closed behind him. The
last thing he heard was her whispered “I love you.”