Your Love 3

Giles was at his desk, trying to sort through the piles of demon books and vampire lore that were scattered over it. Xander had left soon after Anya to try and apologise for his comments, and Willow and Tara were now sitting snuggled on the couch, reading through one of their spell books. The brusque knock at the door jarred them all from their pursuits.

As soon as Giles had opened the door Beth ran in shaking with suppressed fury. Willow and Tara jumped up from where they sat, each brandishing crosses. Beth was staring at them, trying to regain her composure when Willow spoke.

“Um, I just realised that you got in here without being invited, and vampires can’t do that, so Giles, do you wanna tell us how she did that?”

“How do you know I’m a vampire?” Beth asked the redhead. This must be Willow the Witch.

“Well, apart from Buffy’s startlingly accurate description… there’s a picture in that book over there.” Willow nodded towards the desk. Beth looked across at Giles and raised her eyebrows enquiringly.

The thought of seeing her face for the first time in 120 years momentarily pushed the thoughts of Spike and the attack out of her mind. She found the page quickly and stared at the photograph amazed. She’d forgotten a lot about herself. She shut the book, determined not to feel a loss at not being able to see her face reflected at any time, and turned back to Willow.

“Well, you know who I am, and I know who you are, so there’s no need for the niceties is there.” She turned to Giles, “Someone attacked Spike!”

“A human. I don’t know who he was. About 6’2”, muscular, in some kind of combat outfit, blonde hair…” Beth didn’t really know what else to add. Apart from the obvious stuff, the guy was pretty non-descript.

“And he attacked Spike?” Giles had a fairly good idea of the identity of the man, but if he told Beth, would her vow not to kill humans stand up to the pressure?

“That sounds like Riley,” Willow interrupted. “But why would Riley… well apart from the fact that he hates Spike?”

“Riley? Buffy’s boyfriend Riley?” Beth was now smiling at Willow. If this was true she was going to be able to kill two birds with one stone. ‘Or more precisely, solve two problems by killing one man.’ Things were looking up.

Giles knew exactly what Beth was thinking. “Now we don’t know for sure it was Riley. Why don’t you let us talk to him Beth? Find out if it was he, before sending someone to… I mean, before you hurt him unnecessarily.”

Beth could see Giles was not going to let her kill the human. Still there were other problems to be faced. “Um, there’s some more bad news I’m afraid. Drusilla’s here. She said something about having the world.” Giles and Willow shared a look. “But that’s not the worst. She uh, mentioned Angelus, so I rang the office in LA, but the nice girl on the telephone said that he was missing. So I asked her if Dru had been there and she said that both Dru and Darla had been in LA but had left about two weeks ago. Giles, I think they’ve turned Angel.”

Buffy sat in the graveyard where Dru had left her over an hour ago. She had barley moved in that time, merely sinking to the ground once Dru was out of sight, after she had dropped her bombshell. There was no way it could be true? Could it?

‘Of course not, she’s messing with your mind! It’s all she truly knows. And she’s always blamed you for her break-up with Spike, even though it was all her fault, crazy ho!’

‘Mmm, yes Spike. Remember? Spike hair, Spike hands, Spike shoulders, Spike arms, Spike lips!’

"Buffy?” She was startled from her reverie by the arrival of a very flustered Giles and the vampire she now knew to be Spike’s sister.

“Giles? What’s wrong? What’s she doing here?” He had told her to stay away from the woman. What was he doing bringing her on patrol?

“Calm down Slayer,” the beautiful redhead spoke derisively, “I’m here to help.”

Giles thought it was best to concentrate on the problem at hand and leave the explanations until later. ‘When you’ve had a chance to think up an excuse.’

“Yes I’ve just seen her. She’s getting worse, Giles!” Buffy turned to Beth, determined to regain her control around one of these vampires. “Last night? You took your time in telling us didn’t you?”

Beth was certainly not in the mood to be insulted by this chit of a girl. “Well Miss Summers, I had more important things on my mind, once your boy-toy had finished attacking my brother.”

“Beth,” Giles said warningly. This really wasn’t the time to get into that. Damn Riley!

“Riley? He attacked Spike?” Buffy was stunned. He had said time and time again that he didn’t like Spike, that he should be killed like the rest of the vampires they fought, but she had never really expected him to do anything to hurt Spike. Not as she had explained her reasons for keeping him around.

“It seems pretty likely.” Beth was not to be put off. She really wanted to be the one to tell Buffy about her perfect boyfriend. “So, are you going to tell him off for beating and drugging my brother? Or are you just going to shake your head and forget all about it, ‘cause Riley’s the good guy and Spike’s the bad guy? Which automatically means that Spike was in the wrong, doesn’t it?”

“No of course not.” Buffy spoke quietly, her mind racing. “Is he ok? Spike I mean?”

Before Beth could answer, Giles interrupted quickly. “Beth. Isn’t there something else you want to share with Buffy?”

Beth sighed Giles was right. There were more important things to deal with. “Angel,” Beth said simply, “He’s missing.”

Buffy’s eyes widened. “Missing? What do you mean missing? How can he be missing?”

Angelus paced up and down the burnt out shell of the room that had once been the main congregational area of the factory, where Spike and Drusilla had lived when they first arrived in Sunnydale. He was restless, annoyed and anxious to get on with the plan Drusilla and Darla had so carefully laid out.

They had performed the soul-revoking spell in LA before bringing Angelus and their human insurance to Sunnydale. Angelus smiled cruelly. His girls really had thought of everything. There was really no way it could fail. He knew better than anyone that Buffy would never knowingly put defenceless humans in danger.

Not that the two chained to what was left of the wall were defenceless, far from it. But at that moment there was no way for them to escape, and when the time came, Angelus knew that Buffy wouldn’t take the chance. She’d just have to sit back and wait for an opening. There wasn’t going to be an opening.

As Angelus approached the two battered figures at the far side of the room, the two humans tried to stand a little straighter, unwilling to give in and show weakness to this tyrant. He moved up in front of the girl and pulled her head back so that she was looking up at him.

“You know, I think it’ll give me the greatest pleasure of my unlife to kill you, my sweet.” The girl flinched as he kissed her hard; angrily, lustfully, with no trace of compassion or love. But she refused to cry.

“I hate you!” She spoke determinedly, dredging up every last drop of anger and frustration and resentment that had been building within her for almost 19 years.

“Ah, but you see, I know you don’t baby. I know that you want me, even now, even like this. And tonight, before I kill you, I’m going to make you admit it.” He lent down and bit into her neck, drawing the blood that tasted sweetest of all. The blood of a Slayer.

Faith did not cry out at the pain; would not let the tears which had been threatening, fall. She was not going to give in. Not to this. Not ever.

Buffy, Giles, Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya sat in Giles’ small living room trying to piece together what had happened from the facts, as they knew them. And as they didn’t know all that much, the meeting rapidly turned into a fight; their fear and confusion putting everyone on edge.

Willow had actually started it by asking Tara to go to the magic shop for supplies for the restoration spell. Xander had said something about finally killing Angel once and for all, so that this wouldn’t keep happening, which had caused Buffy, whose mind was raging furiously at the events of the last few days and her own confused feelings, to lose control of her temper.

The argument between the two friends became decidedly worse when Anya, who was still smarting from Xander’s earlier comments, took Buffy’s side. Willow and Tara sat uncomfortably throughout, while Giles tried his best to ignore the whole proceeding by fixing himself a stiff drink. Finally however, he couldn’t take it any longer.

“Look! Could the three of you, please, just shut up! We have serious problems to deal with here and all this squabbling isn’t going to get us anywhere. Now, we don’t know for certain about Angel and until we do I think it would be best for all of us if we stayed calm. Right, I think it would be wise if we all…” He trailed off and glanced around the room. “Where’s Riley?”

Willow whimpered slightly. “The locator spell didn’t work. It was as though something was stopping him from being found.”

Giles rubbed a hand over his face. “Well, if it is true about Angel, it may be best if he weren’t here. They didn’t exactly hit it off the last time.”

“Understatement!” Anya inserted. “If Angelus is returned he’ll very likely hit Riley’s head off a few walls. You know, before killing him.”

Cordelia and Wesley moved into the apartment as soon as Giles opened the door. They both looked agitated and tired, as if they hadn’t slept for a week.

“We’re sure ok?” Cordelia interrupted. “He rang us a couple of hours ago. He said he’s here in Sunnydale and that we should be quick if we wanted to say goodbye to our friends. Now Willow, do the spell, then we’ll find Angel and go home. Ok? Hurry. Why aren’t you hurrying?”

“He’s here?” Buffy wasn’t looking forward to this. Maybe the spell was their best option. “Is that all he said?”

“He said we should go to the Bronze, so I’m thinking he’s got something special planned.”

“The Bronze?” Buffy was already rummaging through Giles’ weapons chest. “Let’s go!”

Buffy and Willow sat at a table in the Bronze waiting for something to happen. This was the part that was always hardest. Fighting came naturally to Buffy. Waiting didn’t. Patience had never been one of her virtues. To take her mind off the impending confrontation with Angel… Angelus… Buffy had decided to talk to Willow about her trouble with Spike. She especially wanted to know what her best friend thought of Drusilla’s disclosure about Spike’s feelings for her.

She looked at her friend. Willow looked scared. She had a tight grin plastered on her face, but her eyes betrayed her fear. She was trying to be strong for Buffy. Which meant that Buffy could tell Willow anything. She took a deep breath.

“We were in the graveyard and she said that Spike was in hell and it was all my fault ‘cause he loves me. Do you think that’s true?”

“Come on Buffy. Anyone with half a brain can feel how charged the air gets around you two. And yes, a lot of that time it’s been because you wanted to kill each other, but I’ve been starting to wonder recently… you’ve both been acting so strange…”

“That’s just it Will, we’ve been acting strange. Ever since he had that thing put in we haven’t been able to take out our frustration out on each other, which just leads to more complications. At least when he was trying to kill me I knew where I stood, now…”

“Recently. It’s too long a story to explain it all now, but he did something that made me look at him in a new light, you know? And ever since I’ve been having like these, these…”

Buffy frowned at her friend. “No not.. Well yeah fantasies, but they’re not all sexy stuff.” Buffy defended herself. “Sometimes we’re just talking, or we go for a walk and he holds my hand, or one time, we were dancing, so slowly, we were barely moving, just holding one another.”

“Wow!” Willow breathed. “So this is why you’ve been weird. What about Riley?”

“Riley! Oh God. I feel so guilty sometimes, ‘cause I never feel half the things with Riley that I feel when I’m with Spike. And I know I haven’t been paying much attention to him recently, which makes it all worse. God Will, what am I going to do?”

Willow lent over and took Buffy’s hand. “First you’re going to get through tonight. Then you’re going to tell Riley that you think you should break up, and then you’re gonna go talk to Spike. And no matter what happens, no matter what you decide, I’ll be right with you all the way.”

Beth and Spike hurried down the alley to the Bronze. Beth had returned to the crypt after filling Buffy in on the Angel/Drusilla situation, to find her brother up and about. He still wasn’t at full strength, but when she had explained the problem with Angel, he had been determined to help Buffy. Beth had known better than to argue with Spike on the subject of the Slayer. She didn’t know exactly why they were headed to the Bronze, but Spike seemed determined that that was where Angelus, Drusilla and Darla were going to be.

They slipped in unobtrusively at the back and made their way up to the first floor gantry where they would have a good view of the whole ground floor area. Spike located Buffy instantly, sitting at a table by the dance floor with Willow, Xander, Anya, Tara, Cordelia, an uncomfortable looking Giles and a blonde man with glasses he didn’t recognize. He heard Beth gasp beside him and turned sharply to look at her. She was staring at the same table, her eyes wide with shock. ‘Wesley,’ he thought, reminding himself to have a good long talk with the man later

He scanned the rest of the room, separating the vampires from the humans as he went. It was going to be a hard fight. “Well, bring it on mate.” Spike whispered into the crowd. At least he could fight Angelus. Riley was another matter. He thought again about Buffy’s boyfriend. Spike had never really trusted him. He’d always seemed too good to be true. Now he knew that he was right. But how could he make Buffy see it? She’d never believe anything he had to say about Riley, and even if she did it was going to hurt her terribly.

‘But isn’t it better that she finds out now, instead of later?’ he asked himself. ‘What if she really starts to fall for him and then finds out that Captain Cardboard is really King of Creeps? Won’t she feel a thousand times worse?’ Spike stared at Buffy and saw her smile across at her friends. His un-beating heart felt like it was being squeezed by a vice. He’d talk to her later.

The door to the Bronze was thrown violently open and the three master vampires entered slowly. They walked to the stage, commanding authority and forcing everyone there to turn and watch. The music had stopped. The young adults were expecting trouble. This was Sunnydale. Weird things happened. You accepted it or you went insane. For the few members of the town who neither accepted it nor went insane, this was the moment they had been waiting for the entire night.

Buffy looked across at the demon that looked like her former love, and took a deep breath. No backing down. If Angelus wanted a fight he’d get one. And a quick round with Mr. Pointy too. She reached behind her for her trusted stake. She’d have to pick her moment, but this was the last time this was ever going to happen. They couldn’t keep putting people in danger like this.

Angelus saw her movement and laughed. “I wouldn’t bother if I were you lover. There’s no way you’ll be using that on me tonight.” He seemed so confident.

Spike looked at Beth puzzled, needing to know what ace Angelus felt he had up his sleeve.

Buffy looked at Darla, Drusilla and then back at Angelus. They all looked as though this was going to be the final battle, and that Buffy was not to be the victor. She waited. Something was wrong.

Angelus raised his hand and four vampires emerged from the back of the back of the room, dragging two unconscious human figures.

“Oh my God! Oz!” Willow cried out as the Scooby gang stared in shock at the scene being played out before them. “Faith!” Buffy whispered, as she looked dazed at the battered body of the second Slayer. All of the anger and pain she had carried with her about Faith’s past actions disappeared as she looked at the girl. No one deserved this. Buffy directed all of her anger at the three vampires holding her friends hostage. They were not going to survive this night, even if she died in the process.

Spike saw the look of shock on Buffy’s face and the pain she hid by turning her eyes away. Once he would have taken pleasure in her hurt, the demon rejoicing at the thought of her misery. But it had been a long time since he had been able to watch her like this. His anger at his former friends, his former love, grew. Drusilla had planned this on purpose. She wanted to hurt as many people as possible for the supposed wrongs done to her. She was punishing Beth, Buffy and him. Spike had no doubt that Dru planned to kill Buffy herself. ‘Well, there’s no way I’m letting that happen pet,’ he vowed silently to the woman he had worshipped for 100 years. ‘I’ll kill you first!’

“You see Buffs,” Angelus was speaking again, “this place is surrounded. If you or any of you little Scoobies attack, they die. It’s really quite simple.”

"Much like you mate,” Spike had had enough of waiting and was making his way slowly down the spiral staircase and across the floor to the three vampires.

“Dru,” he nodded at the beautiful vampiress who would always hold a place in his heart, “couldn’t you come up with anything more original? I mean hostages, please! You know what that means. It means that you know the Slayer and her little friends can beat the crap out of you all. Now me… I never take hostages. That makes it harder. More exciting. More fun. But from what I can remember, put the three of you together and you inevitably come up with the easiest and most completely useless plan on this good Earth. I mean look at this.”

He reached down and pulled the other Slayer to her feet. “Why would Buff be interested in her? From what I remember she hates her guts. Lesson one when choosing hostages: make sure the person you’re threatening gives a damn!” He pushed Faith in Beth’s direction, reaching inside his duster for a stake.

“And Dog-boy here. He’s old news mate. Sabrina got herself a brand new girlfriend. Tch, these modern girls eh? So unpredictable.” He stepped over Oz, putting himself between the enemy and Buffy and her friends. “Wanna fight someone? Fight me!” Spike ducked under his Sire’s fist, kicking his legs out from under him and sending the elder vampire crashing to the ground.

As Spike and Angelus fought, Beth attacked Darla, while Buffy turned her attention to Drusilla. The other vampires made their presence known, preparing to do battle to protect their masters. The Scooby gang leapt into action, trying to fight of as many residual vampires as possible. Eventually it was three against three and the scoobies emptied the Bronze of its few remaining patrons.

The fight was fast and furious, each pair quite evenly matched. Darla, however, had never been the best fighter, preferring to let the others do the work and Beth quickly had the advantage, her fighting skills learnt from her brother and honed over the years. As Darla foundered under the force of the attack, Beth pulled the stake quickly from her duster and forced it through her heart.

Angelus had thought that this would be over quickly, his extra strength making him more than a match for Spike. But he had underestimated Spike’s skill and hadn’t considered the anger that coursed through his Childe. It didn’t matter to Spike anymore whether it was Angel or Angelus standing before him. He hated them both. Angel was the love of Buffy’s life; Angelus had taken Dru, and was, quite frankly, a bastard.

As Darla disintegrated, Angelus roared with fury. His concentration was taken from the fight and Spike found an opening. The stake was millimetres from his heart when Spike stopped. His own fury at being unable to kill his Sire after all that he had done to him was immense and he unleashed it in a swift series of kicks and blows. Angelus fell, to the ground.

Buffy had the upper hand over Drusilla, the vampiress weakening under the force of the Slayer. Dru would have to do something miraculous to survive this.

Buffy stopped. “What have you done to him?” Buffy’s voice was low and menacing. Drusilla remained silent. “I said, what have you done to him?” Buffy was panicking.

“My Spike,” she purred turning to him, “I’ll tell you, if you promise me something.”

Spike narrowed his eyes, wondering what trick Dru had planned. He looked quickly at the Slayer, her eyes were begging him to co-operate. ‘God she does love him. And this is a trap, and I can’t do anything without hurting her.’ He sighed. “Que sera, sera,” he whispered. “I promise.”

Drusilla smiled brightly. Spike always kept his promises. “You and Beth, stay here with me. If Buffy goes she goes alone. And you have to promise not to try and follow.”

Spike looked at Buffy, trying to memorise every inch of her face, as if he didn’t know it all by heart anyway. If he was sending her to her death, he’d never forgive himself. But there seemed to be no other way. “I promise,” he repeated, his eyes remaining fixed on Buffy.

Drusilla smiled again. “Well, he’s at home. Tucked up all safe and sound.”

“The mansion,” Spike clarified. Dru’s happy home with Angelus. ‘What a bitch!’

Buffy approached the mansion on Crawford Street and wondered why this was the setting for so many of the most awful experiences of her short life. In fact, apart from being killed by the Master, she couldn’t think of one that hadn’t happened here. And she had no doubt that tonight would add another memorable incident to that list. She hadn’t had time to talk about it with Willow before the others arrived, but the episode between Spike and Riley last night had left her on edge. Spike seemed fine now, but from what Beth had said he had been hurt pretty bad. There was something off about this whole situation. Drusilla had seemed far to eager to send her here. Buffy knew it was a trap.

As the Slayer’s friends restrained Drusilla and Angelus, Spike paced the small dance floor of the Bronze, rapidly working his way through not only his cigarettes, but Beth’s as well. Drusilla looked smug. Spike cursed himself, and her, over and over. Sometimes he thought things might have been better if he had never brought Dru here in the first place. If they’d stayed in Europe or gone to South America, how different might life have been?

‘Well Dru would still be ill for one thing, mate,’ his demon reminded him. That after all had been their only reason for visiting Sunnyhell. ‘And would that have been so bad?’ he argued back. ‘She needed you, relied on you…’

‘Used you, you daft sod. She may have even been dead by now. In the never to return sense of the word.’ Spike winced. No matter how angry he was at Dru, he’d never wanted her dead. But he knew if she hurt Buffy, he’d kill her himself and the last vestiges of love would be gone forever. Buffy. Another good reason for coming to Sunnydale. She made him feel alive. She had made this hellhole his home. He smiled sadly. Home is where the heart is.

Beth stood in the alley behind the Bronze trying to think of a solution to the problems they were facing, but her mind kept drifting back to the young Watcher inside. She hadn’t spoken to him, but she knew he had seen her. She had forgotten the rush of emotion she felt when she looked at him.

Wesley stopped at the open door and stared at the beautiful vampiress who was leaning against the wall, slowly smoking the single cigarette left in her possession. It had been 2 and a half years since their un-amicable break-up and Wesley had almost forgotten the affect she had on him. He wished, not for the first time, that he had never said those things to hurt her. Had simply held onto her as tight as he could for as long as was possible. But he couldn’t change the past. Just the future.

“I’m sorry,” he said simply as he stepped out into the alley. She turned her head and looked at him. Her eyes burning with love and fear, even after all the time they had spent apart. “Beth I don’t know what to say. Maybe there’s nothing I can say to make to right. I didn’t mean any of it, and I meant to apologise but then I got here, and things were so strange, and the time just seemed to pass faster and faster, which made it harder to call and…”

Beth rushed at him, not caring for excuses or needing explanations. If he wanted her, that was all that mattered. “It’s alright,” she soothed as he hugged her close. “We can start again, slower this time. You already know my darkest secret. I have nothing to hide anymore.” She smiled up at him, and he wondered what he had ever done to deserve her.

“I think my prejudice has passed,” he said quietly, owning up to the cause of the problems between them. “Working for Angel… well, it was a long time before I forgave him for what he did to you… but now I know you were right… about all vampires not being the same, and I…”

He never got to finish as Beth pulled his head down to hers, and kissed him passionately.

Willow, Tara and Giles recited the restoration spell around one of the small tables near the stage. Angelus was trying desperately to pull free of his restraints, growling low in his throat as the Witches and Watcher completed the spell. Xander was taking great pleasure in thumping him over the back of the head every time he struggled, which merely made Angelus grow more determined.

“There’s a better spell, you know, luv.” Dru murmured quietly to Spike as he passed by.

“There’s a better spell of restoration. One which cannot be removed, ever.” Drusilla spoke calmly, letting the significance of her disclosure seep into him. If Angel had a soul which could not be removed, then he could be with Buffy, forever.

Eventually Angel’s eyes flashed as his soul was once again restored to him. He stopped struggling and looked around confused. “Angel?” Willow asked as she and Giles slowly approached the others gathered round the table. He nodded slowly, and tried to remember what had happened. Why was he tied up like th..?

‘Oh, God! Please no,’ he thought as he took in the fearful faces of his friends.

Giles carefully removed the gag from Angel’s mouth and stepped back. “Giles?” Angel asked hoarsely. “What happened? What did I do?”

“Darla and Drusilla performed a spell to take your soul. You were going to try and open the hellmouth.” Giles told him matter-of-factly.

Angel closed his eyes tightly and willed back the pain that short statement had induced. He had lost her again. Truthfully he had lost her weeks ago, to Drusilla, and more truthfully, he should have killed them both then. But she was his Sire. And even though he had killed her once, for Buffy, he hadn’t wanted to live through it again.

“And, Deadboy, there are a couple of people I think you owe apologies too.” Xander was still angry. They always did this. Angel always got let off the hook, because of that soul thing. When was he truly going to pay?

Xander nodded across to the stage where Tara, Anya and Cordy were tending to an unconscious Oz and a badly beaten Faith. “My God!” Angel whispered.

"He won’t help you this time, my friend.” Xander said quietly, leaning over Angel’s shoulder. “You know you’re going to hell right? Again.”

Drusilla looked up at Spike and smiled coquettishly. She’d soon have him back as her own. The Slayer would be dead, and then she’d have no problem killing all of Buffy’s little friends. Drusilla knew she had acted badly where Spike was concerned. But she did love him in her own way. And hopefully they’d be able to start again, and put everything right.

Spike saw the look. After 100 years with her, he knew exactly what she was thinking. She wanted Buffy dead and whatever was going to happen at the mansion was a means to that end. “What have you got planned Dru?” he asked stopping in front of her and staring into her eyes. “How many vamps and demons have you called in favours from? Who’s there waiting for her?” His voice was cold, menacing. Drusilla was scared. She had seen him like this before, but never with her. It usually came right before he rammed a railroad spike through some poor unfortunate’s head. Drusilla knew better than to lie.

“But Riley’s working for you isn’t he luv.” Spike stated loudly as a few things became clear.

“What?” Giles questioned in a shout, as the others turned their attention to the former lovers’ conversation.

Spike paused, Dru’s question taking him back three years. They had been standing in the factory, Spike just returned from his first battle with the Slayer. He had laid his head on Dru’s shoulder and she had told him he’d kill the Slayer in the end. He never had. Dru had lied to him.

As that irrational thought surfaced, he realised that Dru had lied to him, over and over, using him because of his devotion to her. And here he was keeping his promises to a woman who only wanted him when it suited her. He turned quickly and marched toward the exit. He had to find Buffy. Had to help her.

“She doesn’t love you. She never will.” Dru called to him, as she realised she no longer had any power over him.

Spike stopped and turned in the doorway. The truth would hurt Dru more than any physical violence ever could.

ther die for her.”

****

The rapid healing powers of the Slayer meant that Faith was almost back to normal by the time Spike ran out of the Bronze. She sat quietly on the edge of the stage, refusing to look at anyone. She knew they hated her, knew that she had done nothing, for them to forgive her for her betrayals.

She glanced quickly across at Angel. There was one of only two people in the world she had ever trusted. Faith flinched. Now she knew how Buffy had felt when she had lied to Giles about killing the mayor’s aide; when she had joined the mayor and helped him ascend, against her calling, against people who wanted to be her friends; when she had held Willow at knifepoint; when she had slept with Buffy’s boyfriend.

"How could B endure this kind of pain?’ Faith asked herself. How could she keep enduring it, every time Faith had hurt her? Well she hadn’t had she. Eventually she’d stopped giving second chances. Faith didn’t blame her now. Buffy had been her one true friend. ‘And I messed it up, ‘cause I was scared.’

Well she was going to make it up to her, just as she knew Angel was going to try and put right what he had done. She walked slowly across to the table where Angel still sat, even though his bonds had been removed. She faced him determinedly, refusing to give up, as he had refused to give up on her.

“It’s ok,” she said as he started to speak. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” She leaned over and kissed his cheek. Why did everything have to be so hard? “I love you,” she whispered and turned to Giles. She was going to help the other person she trusted with her life.

“Weapons?”

****

Buffy stood on the exact spot where she had sent Angel to Hell two and a half years ago, and slowly turned in a circle, her eyes checking every part of the room. She reached out with her Slayer senses, but could not feel the presence of any vampires. That alone made her even more uneasy. If this was a trap, where were the vampires?

“Buffy?”

She heard Riley’s voice behind her, and turned to see him standing in the doorway to the conservatory. She was about to run over to him, to make sure he was alright, when her feeling of apprehension grew. He was the trap.

“Buffy, I’m so glad you came. The vampire, the woman, she brought me here and…”

“Drusilla, I know.” Buffy wanted to see how involved Riley was in this whole thing. “It’s ok though. I killed her.” Riley flinched. Buffy couldn’t believe it. Her staid, reliable boyfriend had betrayed her… with Drusilla. What was it about that woman that drew all the men in Buffy’s life to her?

Buffy thought that this might be the prefect time to tell Riley about her feelings for Spike.

“It hurts being here you know. This place. I killed Angel here.” Riley began to walk slowly across the floor towards her. “I don’t think I could do it again. Kill the man I love, I mean.”

“You’ll never have to worry about that Buffy. I’ll never…”

“What? Oh God Riley. No. I… I mean, I’m sorry, but… Look it’s not you ok, it’s just that Spike is….”

“Spike?! Are you crazy? Did Willow cast another spell?” Riley was furious.

“No of course she didn’t. This has nothing to do with spells, or Willow, or Angel, or the fact that you seem to have been shagging Dru…” Buffy’s innate honesty was surfacing along with her anger, and she didn’t realise that she was slipping Spike’s phrases into her speech. She meant every word she said. “I just realised, with the help of one sexy English vampire and an incident with a shotgun, that Spike and me… we’re like two halves of the same whole, you know. He’s knows me better than anyone, better than I know myself, and even though it scares me that I could fall in love with another vampire, I have to see if this thing between us is something more than sex and violence. And that means I can’t be with you anymore Riley. You’re not the one for me. You deserve someone who loves you the way you love them, and if you don’t mind me saying so, I think don’t think that’s Dru. It seems to me that she’s been using you more than…”

“You?” Riley was incensed.

“Riley that’s harsh. I thought in time I could come to love you but, even if I didn’t have these feelings for Spike, the fact that you’ve been screwing the person I hate most in all the world, would probably have torn us apart eventually.” Buffy mocked. She had never realised just how self-righteous Riley was until that moment.

He hit her. Full force, strength gained from one of Dru’s spells, and she fell to the ground, dazed.

****

Spike arrived in time to hear Buffy’s protestations about being under the influence of a spell, and hid in the shadows of the great hall while he listened to her speak. Had she actually said all of that, or was it just wishful thinking on his part? His smile grew as she turned and he saw the truth in her eyes. Maybe this wasn’t going to be such a bad year after all.

Then Riley hit her. When he raised his arm, Spike scoffed at the fool. Surely he knew he couldn’t hurt her. When she fell, Spike’s shock was momentary. His demon emerged, enraged that the human had dared to hurt his Slayer, and he charged at Riley. The two fell to the ground; the battle longer and more bloody than their previous one, but Spike was still weak, and Riley’s power, enhanced.

As Riley produced the stake, Buffy jumped up from her stunned position on the ground, and pushed Spike out of the way to fight Riley herself. She didn’t hold back, as she had always done previously and for a moment Riley was shocked at the force. But Dru’s spell made him as strong as his opponent and he fought back furiously.

Spike lay on the ground, barely able to move. He needed to help her. When he saw the flash of silver he shouted in terror as it raced towards the Slayer’s body.

****

Faith stumbled down the conservatory steps and raced into the great hall to see Buffy battling with Riley. For a split-second Faith paused as she remembered her last encounter with him, and shuddered. Then she saw the knife, heard Spike’s cry. Using every ounce of her enhanced Slayer speed, she raced across the room in time to push Buffy out of the path of the knife.

Then she fell.

The room was silent as its four members took in what had happened. Riley ran.

Buffy moved quickly to Faith’s side, shifting the younger Slayer’s body into a more comfortable position. She glanced quickly at Spike who had managed to pull himself to his feet and spoke hurriedly, her voice shaking. “Call 911, she needs an ambulance!”

She looked down at Faith, whose face was still bruised from the damage Angelus had inflicted, and ran a comforting hand over her head. “You’re going to be ok, we’re gonna get you to the hospital and you’re gonna be fine.” Buffy said softly through her silent tears.

Faith stared up into Buffy’s eyes and then reached for her hand. She knew she wasn’t going to be fine. She knew she would die here. She wasn’t going to die without telling Buffy…

"Look B, you don’t have to kid me ok. We all die, Slayers younger than most, and if one us had to go, I’m glad it was me.”

Buffy began to cry in earnest. “Don’t talk like that,” she said through clenched teeth. “Don’t say those things. You are not going to die. I won’t let you.”

Faith smiled. “You can’t stop it. Sometime it’s just gotta beat you.”

Buffy shook her head. This couldn’t be happening.

“I’m glad I came here. I’m glad I met you.” Faith couldn’t feel her body, couldn’t see anything except Buffy’s eyes. She had to finish. “I’m sorry.” She whispered, and Buffy hugged her close. “I love you, please, you have to know that. You were like my sister. I’m so sorry I hurt you.”

“I love you too,” Buffy whispered close to Faith’s ear. “You don’t have to be sorry anymore. You’re my sister and I love you.”

Faith smiled up at Buffy. She finally felt free. The guilt and resentment she had felt for 19 years left her as her heroine forgave her. “Tell the other’s I’m sorry.” Faith began to convulse as violent coughs wracked her body. Buffy held her the whole time, trying to soothe and settle her. Faith felt at peace. “And tell Angel thank you, please.”

“I promise.” Buffy was praying for the ambulance. She knew there wasn’t much time left.

“Buffy…” Faith whispered, and Buffy slowly lowered her head and softly kissed the other Slayer’s lips as Faith breathed her last breath.

****

Buffy knelt crying, as she had on this spot two and a half years ago; once again mourning the loss of someone she loved. She silently rocked Faith’s limp body back and forth as memories began to flood into her mind.

She felt the soft touch on her shoulder and leaned back against the solid body. Spike turned her gently in his arms and held her as the tears coursed from her body.

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