Your Love
Chapter Eleven
Buffy
rolled her eyes as her former mortal enemy tucked her up with a blanket on the
living room couch, and proceeded to fetch her snacks, drinks and sundry other
items that she could possibly want, all the while reprimanding her if she moved
so much as an inch.
“You’ve
had a long, hard, emotionally trying night Slayer, and you need rest.”
“God,
you sound like Giles.”
Spike
frowned at her at the statement and raised his fingers to her lips. “Enough.
No more talk. Listen to Faith.”
He
turned to the other Slayer, his feelings of shock well under control. As much
as he hated to agree with the boy, Xander had been right. You really couldn’t
be shocked by anything in this town anymore. ‘Well what’s more shocking than
falling in love with your mortal enemy?’ he asked himself.
Faith
grimaced, not liking the attention she was suddenly being paid. “Gee thanks
Spike.” He smiled devilishly at her and she looked away. As she had earlier
with Riley, she thought back to the last encounter she and Spike had had. She
would bet anything he still didn’t know it had been her inside Buffy’s body.
‘He wouldn’t be smiling at me if he did. He’d probably have tried to kill
me himself’, she thought. ‘At least that means B doesn’t know what I
did. Doubt she’d forgive me for that one.’ Faith had seen the chemistry
between the two, had felt the unacknowledged bond between them. She remembered
how Spike had reacted to her teasing – to ‘Buffy’s’ teasing – a year
ago. The way his body had reacted as she had rubbed up against him. Faith closed
her eyes in horror. ‘Please God, if you love me at all, please never let
them find out.’
“Faith?”
Buffy was talking to her. “Earth to Faith. Literally.”
“What?
Sorry. Lost in the past. What d’ y’ wanna know? I really don’t know that much
myself.”
“Why
don’t you start at the beginning? You died… then what?” Buffy winced. There
had to have been a better way to put that.
Faith
laughed. “Well this guy came up to me, and he’s all like, ‘This is your destiny
Faith’, and I’m like, ‘I’ve completed my destiny pal’. Then he says,
‘No you’ve been chosen,’ so I ask ‘Chosen for what?’ you know?
So he says, ‘You’re Buffy’s Guardian and you must help her through this difficult
time’ and I say ‘What?’, and he tells me that every flesh and blood
thing on Earth has a Guardian to guide them through the tough spots, right,
even vampires, and that I’m yours.”
Buffy
stared at Faith. “You’re what?”
“Well
I said I hadn’t done a very good job so far, but he said that I did in the end.
You see something has to trigger the Guardian, and they thought it was gonna
be Kendra ‘cause of what was goin’ on with Angel, but it seems that something
worse is gonna happen and your gonna have to make some choices and I’m here
to help.”
Buffy
was still staring, confused. “What?”
“Look
I know it’s not easy to take in B, but I don’t fully understand it myself. Maybe
you should ask Giles.”
“Right,
ask Giles. I’ll do that,” Buffy said, starting to get up off the couch.
“Not
so fast Slayer.” Spike pushed Buffy back down and pulled the blanket back around
her. “Giles can come ‘ere for a change. You’re not going anywhere,” he insisted
as Buffy opened her mouth to protest. “Willow, why don’t you ring Giles and
ask him to come round. You Whelp, can make yourself useful for once and put
the kettle on. And you miss,” he said turning back to Buffy as the others automatically
did as he requested, “Can stop worrying your pretty little head about everything,
and rest. If something extra bad is coming to Sunnyhell, we don’t want a half
charged Slayer do we?”
Buffy
tried her best not to smile at his concern. He really seemed to want to look
after her. Buffy snuggled down into the couch. Well she’d let him. But not without
the token protest he’d be expecting.
“You’re
no fun,” she pouted.
“Wanna
bet?” he shot back.
****
“Giles?
Giles!” Anya shook the Watcher roughly trying to wake him. “He’s coming around
now,” she told Willow who was fretfully waiting on the other end of the phone
Anya held balanced between her ear and shoulder. “Drusilla must have hurt him
pretty bad. He’s been unconscious a good five minutes.”
“Please,”
Cordelia snorted. “That’s his thing. He gets knocked out. It’s like having a
catchphrase. Except it probably hurts more.” She helped a shaky Giles out of
the bath and raised a cultured eyebrow at him. “What she do?”
“Uh,
um, I can’t remember,” Giles was incredibly embarresed. He’d just been telling
himself to be careful and he still let her get to him. And hearing Cordelia
say getting knocked out was ‘his thing’ made him groan in shame. Determindly
he turned to Anya. “Who is that?”
“Willow.
She says they need you over at Buffy’s.” She held the phone out to Giles.
“Willow?
What’s wrong? Is Buffy ok?” Giles asked hurriedly.
“She’s
fine Giles. Spike stayed with her; made sure she slept and he’s got her tucked
up on the couch now,” Giles chuckled at the picture Willow was painting. “But
uh, we do need you over here. Can’t really explain over the phone.”
‘Not
that we can explain when you get here,’ Willow added silently.
“Right,
I’ll be right there Willow. Bye.” He handed the phone back to Anya and turned
to go and change his clothes. “I’m coming,” Anya said as she followed him through
the house. Giles nodded absently and then scowled at Drusilla who once more
chained to a chair in the living room.
“Uh,
Tara, can you stay here with Oz. Beth can you make sure she stays put,” he gestured
at Dru, “Anya and I shouldn’t be long, but you never know.” He ran quickly upstairs
to his bedroom.
****
Giles
knocked and entered the Summers’ house, Anya directly behind him. “Hello?”
“Giles,”
Buffy exclaimed from her position on the couch, “Thank God.”
Giles
smiled widely at the girl he thought of as a daughter and entered the living
room. Anya immediately ran to Xander and sat down firmly on his lap, hugging
him tightly.
“How
are you?” Giles asked Buffy, concerned. She looked incredibly comfortable and
pampered, wrapped up tight in a blanket, with her favourite stuffed toy, Mr.
Gordo. But Giles knew that inside Buffy must be suffering terribly after the
events of last night.
“I’m
great Giles. I’d be even better if William would only stop fussing.” She smiled
sweetly across at the vampire who growled back at her. “Careful Slayer, your
not too old to be put over my knee you know.”
“No,
but you are sooo incapable of doing it,” Buffy replied sticking her tongue out
at him. Willow and Xander started to laugh quietly, while Giles looked back
and forth between the two blondes. They seemed to be getting on better; even
if the previous night had been nothing but sheer horror, he was glad they were
getting along. He looked past Spike to the girl sitting by the kitchen door.
“Jes’…!”
Giles stumbled backwards in shock.
“Yeah
mate,” Spike agreed.
“Giles,
Faith, Faith, Giles,” Buffy joked as she took in the look of amazement on her
Watcher’s face. “Oh and Faith, this is Anya,” she pointed to the former demon
and reached down for her cup. “Oh, ‘s
cold,” she pouted and looked across at Spike through her lowered lashes.
He
stared at her, unwilling to further give the impression that she only had to
ask and he would obey. She continued to look, raising her eyebrows slightly
as he continued to stay seated. Eventually he couldn’t take it any longer and
jumped up, cursing Buffy, Drusilla and Angel, the people he felt most contributed
to his feeling this way. Everyone in the room was staring at him. If he could
have blushed he would have been scarlet with embarrassment. He glared at her
as he took the cup and turned towards the kitchen.
“You’re
the one who said I had to stay wrapped up here. If we’d gone to Giles’ you wouldn’t
have had to lift a finger,” she reminded his retreating back. As he disappeared
through the door she smiled brightly across at Willow who’s eyes twinkled back
at her in silent glee.
“So
Giles, we all want to know why Faith’s here. If she tells you her story, do
you think maybe you could come up with some answers?” Buffy asked becoming serious.
Faith had mentioned a bigger problem than the Angel situation and Buffy definitely
wanted to be prepared.
“Well
I can try,” Giles replied, sinking slowly down into the chair Spike had vacated.
“Uh, why don’t you start at the beginning.”
****
“What
were you trying to do anyway? You should know better than to come here again,
after everything that happened before.” Angel stared down at Drusilla, his arms
holding either side of the chair on which she was sitting. “Even I can’t be
here anymore,” he added quietly.
“That’s
‘cause you love ‘er. My Angel loves the Slayer; I knew that. But when my Spike
fell in love with the Slayer. Well that’s different.” Drusilla closed her eyes
and rolled her head around in lazy circles.
“Dru,
you left Spike. He didn’t even feel this way then. Dru!” He shook her gently,
forcing her to open her eyes.
“Yes
he did love. He loved ‘er right from the start, right from that first night.”
“At
the school?”
“At
the Bronze. ‘E came home very happy that night. We made love for hours.” Dru
half closed her eyes again, informing the souled vampire that she was lost in
the past, remembering the happy times she and Spike had shared. Angel frowned.
He didn’t like the thought that his Childe had been in love with Buffy all this
time. He understood, albeit reluctantly, that being at such close quarters to
the Slayer, as Spike was these days, he had had no alternative but to give in
to a force that was purely Buffy. Angel had done that himself. However, Dru’s
revelations changed everything in his mind. All of Spike’s past actions had
to be called into question. It set a few things straight at least and he smiled
slightly when he thought of how much Spike must have hated it.
Dru’s
eyes were open again, staring into his, trying to read what was in his mind.
“That’s why I left him. Because of her.”
“And
now you want revenge on Buffy because you think she took him away from you.”
Drusilla
frowned slightly. “I love my Spike. He was corrupted by that wh…”
“Dru.”
Angel growled threateningly.
“I
had a dream about them. Riley was supposed to kill the Slayer, and then Spike
would kill Riley.”
“And
then you and Spike would live happily ever after,” Angel completed as Drusilla
nodded happily.
“But
it went wrong, and now I don’t know what to do,” Drusilla began to cry. Like
a child, Drusilla cried easily and she used it to her advantage. Spike had been
unable to see her cry, always allaying the situation before the tears began
to fall. Angelus however, had loved it. He loved having the power to hurt this
beautiful creature.
Angel
sighed and wrapped his arms around her. Whatever she had done, she was his and
he didn’t really want her to die at Buffy’s hands. He was sure that wasn’t what
Spike would want either. “Would you leave? Would you go and never come back.
You’d have to promise me Dru. I can arrange it if you promise me.” Drusilla
gazed up at him, unsure. “For Spike,” Angel urged.
“Alright.
I promise.”
Chapter
Twelve
Cordelia
slowly circled the fountain in the courtyard outside Giles’ home. She’d had
a weird few days, a weird few weeks all said and done. She hated witnessing
Angel as Angelus. He was her best friend, though she’d never admit that to anyone.
She hated seeing him so changed.
And
Faith. There was something she didn’t want to think about. Cordelia had been
hurt least of anyone when Faith had awakened from her coma, intent on revenge,
but she had seen the pain Faith had inflicted on Wesley, heard about her treatment
of Buffy and the gang, and Cordelia had refused to have anything to do with
the girl. But the idea that she would never see Faith again was strange to her.
As she had said earlier, Faith always seemed so full of life. The night’s events
had brought home to Cordelia once again, just how dangerous the job she was
doing was. And it scared her. It scared her so much she was afraid to tell anyone,
afraid they would think badly of her.
She
sat down on the edge of the fountain, wondering when her life had got so complicated.
And then the pain came. The excruciating hurt that accompanied a vision from
the Powers That Be. She clutched her head, screaming as the ache overtook her
in waves.
Dark,
Spike, chained to a wall, caves, oh God the pain, no screaming, Riley, laughing,
dust, dark.
Wesley
and Angel looked briefly at each other when the screaming started, and then
hurtled out into the courtyard. Angel’s body began to smoke under the harsh
light of the sun, and Wesley quickly pushed him back indoors before racing to
Cordy. She had fallen backwards into the water, not noticing her surroundings
once the pain of the vision had suffused her body.
Wesley
scooped her out the water and carried her inside. She choked on the water which
she had swallowed and coughed violently. Oz hopped of the couch, Tara moving
with him to ease him into the armchair, and Wesley laid Cordelia down gently.
“Cor?”
Angel was beside her in a second. “Cor? Are you ok?”
“I
hate those things. I hate the stupid visions, I hate the immense pain, and I
hate almost drowning just ‘cause Doyle was in love with me! And there isn’t
enough money in the world to justify having to suffer them.” Cordelia glared
at Angel. “I hope you realise what I do for you.”
“I
know,” Angel smiled as he gently brushed her wet hair back from her face. “Don’t
think I don’t appreciate it.” He kissed her forehead. “Wanna tell me about the
vision?”
“Oh
God, Angel,” Cordy exclaimed, sitting up agitatedly as she remembered. “Riley,
he had Spike, in some caves.” She started to shiver and Wesley placed the blanket
from the back of the couch around her shoulders.
“Spike?
Riley had Spike?”
“Yeah,
and Spike, God he was in so much pain. Riley was torturing him, but he wouldn’t
scream or shout. He just took it. And then Riley killed him. Poof.” Cordy looked
nervously at her boss. “Angel?”
Angel
was considering how his soul would react to him committing cold-blooded murder
for the first time in two and a half years. He had always hated Riley; from
the very first second he had seen the boy talking to Buffy outside the coffee
shop last year. When he had finally had an encounter with him, Angel realised
that it wasn’t just the fact he was dating Buffy that made him want to shove
red-hot pokers through his chest.
He
had hurt Buffy, killed Faith, and now Riley was going to kill Spike. Yes Angel
was definitely going to kill him.
Granted
things hadn’t been right between Sire and Childe since they had met up again
a few years previously. Angel’s soul, Angel losing his soul, Angelus sleeping
with Dru… ‘So maybe it was all your fault.’
Spike
betraying him and then trying to kill him. Twice. ‘Maybe not.’ But Spike
was Angel’s favourite Childe. They’d been friends and brothers for years, before
Angel’s restored soul had broken their happy family apart.
There
was no way he was going to allow Riley to take one more person he loved. His
face changed, his true form emerging as his anger built. “Where is he Dru?”
****
Spike
leant against the kitchen counter his hands braced either side of him. Xander
had thoughtfully drawn the kitchen blinds so the blonde vampire could move freely
from room to room, without fear of messing up Joyce’s clean floors. Ash, Spike
had learnt through time, was hell to shift.
He
didn’t really understand what was going on, but then he hadn’t been able to
grasp anything much in the last few months. His perfect existence had been ruined,
by one small behavioural correction chip, and one small Vampire Slayer. He couldn’t
even blame Angel anymore. ‘Bloody poof.’ Insulting him always made him
feel better though.
He
switched off the boiling kettle and poured Buffy’s drink. ‘If someone had
told you this time last year, that you’d be doing errands for the Slayer, willingly
doing errands for her, you’d have laughed in their face. Now look at you. Moping
around, making sure she’d all tucked up safe. What’s the matter with you? You’re
getting as bad as Daddy.’
“You
love her, huh?”
Spike
looked up. Anya. He smiled. Another of the Scoobies he could stand. In fact
he liked Anya as much as he liked Willow. At least she understood how he felt.
Her experiences as a demon certainly made her better company than… well truthfully
he didn’t have any company to compare her to. Except Harmony. Spike snorted.
He’d rather have Xander for company.
“Who?”
No need to make it too easy.
“Buffy.”
“No.”
“Liar.”
“Please
tell me it’s not that obvious.” Spike requested sardonically.
“Well
I think Willow knows. But that’s all,” Anya reassured him. “And Giles I think.
But no one else.” Spike sighed. Well as long as Buffy didn’t know. And the Whelp.
“Oh
God no, Xander knows nothing,” Anya supplied hastily, correctly interpreting
the look of horror which had formed on Spike’s face at the thought.
“Can’t
disagree with that one luv,” Spike laughed. “Don’t know what you see in the
wanker.”
“What
do you love about Buffy?” Anya teased.
“Oh
lets not play that game. I really don’t want Buffy to know that I…”
“Oh,
right. And of course, Buffy knows,” Anya supplied, happy that she had remembered
the final person who knew Spike’s secret.
“What?”
“Spike
I’ve had a lot of experience in the area of men and women. Not exactly enough
to have an easy relationship with a teenage mortal man, but enough to know that
you’ve got it really bad for out favourite Slayer, and that she’s got it bad
for you.”
Spike
looked at her sharply and his eyes lit up. “Really? You think she…?”
“Definitely.
She just doesn’t know it yet.” There, Anya had done it. She’d made her friend
feel better. Who said this mortal stuff was hard? Piece of cake. “As long as
nothing happens with Angel, you’ll be fine.”
****
“Well,
uh, it seems to me that…” Giles trailed off as the four youngsters stared at
him expectantly. “I’m sorry, I really have no idea.”
Buffy
slumped back down onto the couch, while Faith stood and started pacing the room.
“Do we really need further explanation?” Willow asked, “I mean Faith’s Buffy’s
Guardian, she’s here to help, what more do we need?”
Xander
nodded emphatically in agreement. “Right, shouldn’t we be researching the big
evil that’s on its way here? Then we’ll know what Faith’s purpose is.”
Giles
removed his glasses. “Yes, I think that might be best Xander. If the people
who sent Faith back couldn’t explain it all properly, I doubt there’s much information
about it. I’ve never heard of such a phenomenon, so I think we should just take
it as it stands.”
As
Spike and Anya re-entered from the kitchen with a tray of drinks, the phone
rang and Xander went to answer it. “Summers’ residence. Buffy is unavailable
to take your call right now, as she’s being mollycoddled by her mortal enemy.
Can I take a message?”
“Xander.
Stop messing around. I need to speak to Buffy, it’s important.”
“Well,
Angel, what a nice surprise.”
“Xander!”
Angel snarled warningly.
“Yeah,
ok. Buff it’s for you.” He tossed her the phone and looked worriedly at her.
Angel had sounded deadly serious.
“Angel,
what? Spike? No, he’s here. What? Why? Cordy what? I’m sorry? Angel, we have
to do something, we have to find him. No. No I’ll go now. What? Don’t be ridiculous.
We’ll all look. You, Beth and Oz stay there with Dru. Anya can wait here with
Spike, unless you think we should bring him there first. No, ok, you’re probably
right. Yes. Well of course. I am hurrying.”
Buffy
hung up the phone and tossed it back to Xander, while extracting herself from
the clutches of the blanket.
“Buffy
what’s going on?” Spike demanded. The Slayerettes had sat silently throughout
the conversation, trying to establish what was happening. “What did Angel say?”
Buffy
avoided Spike’s gaze, looking around the room at everyone else. “Will, Xand,
Giles, Faith I want you guys to go look for Riley. It’s very important. Cordelia
had a vision. He’s going to do something…” She trailed off. “Please. Find him
quickly.”
“We
will Buffy,” Willow assured her friend as she pushed Xander out of the room
ahead of her, pulling on the sleeve of Giles’ coat as she passed him. Giles
looked down and saw the fear in Buffy’s eyes. He turned immediately and followed
Willow and Xander.
“Why
can’t I go?” Anya demanded.
“’Cause
I need you to stay here and look after Spike while I’m out searching.” Buffy
started to walk towards the stairs. “Spike.” She gestured for him to follow
her.
****
Buffy
closed the door to her bedroom and turned to find Spike directly behind her,
gazing at her intently.
“What
is going on Slayer?”
Buffy
swallowed audibly. “Cordelia’s vision was about you.”
“Me?”
Buffy
nodded. “Riley torturing you and then kill…” She couldn’t finish. The idea made
her feel sick.
Spike
grasped Buffy by her upper arms and pulled her close to him. “Buffy’s he’s not
going to…”
“No
you’re right, he’s not,” Buffy agreed pulling out of his grip, “I’m not going
to let him.” She started to pack her Slayer bag. Riley may not be a vampire
or a demon, but he was a threat. She had failed to protect Faith. She was not
going to let him hurt Spike.
“You
stay here. No one comes in, no one goes out. Do you understand me?”
“Buffy…”
“Do
you understand me?” Buffy repeated, staring Spike down authoritatively.
“Yes.”
“Good.”
She walked past him and opened the door.
“Buffy?”
Spike caught her wrist and pulled her to him. He stared down at her, longing
to kiss her beautiful lips. But there was a time and a place for everything,
and this certainly wasn’t it. “Take care,” he said softly and kissed her forehead.
Chapter
Thirteen
Wesley
didn’t know what they were doing. He, Cordelia and Tara were searching for a
20 year old, former military agent, who had gone totally off the rails and was
now trying to brutally kill whoever he could lay his hands on. Not good.
Cordelia
sighed. She was angry. Fear and pain. They made her angry. So her new perspective
on death, her experiences with ‘evil Angel’ and the torment inflicted on her
in the form of visions, had all combined to make Cordy Sunnydale’s angriest
citizen. When they found this Riley guy, she was going to kill him herself.
Sure she didn’t have fluffy bunny feelings for Spike, but at least you knew
where you stood with the guy. God save them from good guys gone bad. “God save
us from Buffy’s psycho boyfriends,” she muttered unfairly.
Tara
wasn’t sure they were doing this right. She was the only one of them who had
ever seen Riley in real life, so they were rather depending on her to lead them.
And Tara didn’t like being in charge. It made her nervous. She didn’t even know
what they were supposed to do if they found Riley. She was hoping that her group
leadership would end when she pointed him out to the veteran Scoobies.
****
“What
happened to Riley to make him do this?” Willow asked Xander as they searched
the ruins of the high school. “Why’d he go all mean all of a sudden?”
“He
thinks Buffy doesn’t love him,” Xander informed the redhead, turning automatically
toward the library and the hellmouth.
“Well
she sure won’t after this,” Willow replied, throwing the potion and illuminating
the crumbling building.
“Cool,”
Xander said, impressed. “But uh, don’t you think that maybe Riley wasn’t entirely
to blame for this one?” he asked getting back to the topic at hand.
“Xander
how can you ask that?” Willow stopped and turned to her best friend. “Since
when do you stand up for people who betray us?”
“No,
Will… I’m just saying if Buffy…”
“If
Buffy what? If she wasn’t the Slayer? If her mom wasn’t sick? If she could only
get over the love of her life? Xander she’s trying, ok? And it’s hard for her.
But we have to be on her side. No matter what. Riley should have trusted her
or at least talked to her about it. She’s got a lot on her mind at the moment.
I don’t think she had time to deal with Riley’s insecurities too. Especially
if he didn’t tell her about them. This is bad. He made the choice. There are
a hundred things he could have done. He did this. Not Buffy. Don’t defend him.”
Willow turned away. Did Xander really think this was Buffy’s fault?
“Hey.
Hey look I’m sorry ok? You’re right. It’s not her fault. He didn’t have to do
this. Hey,” he turned her around and was shocked to see her crying. “Willow?”
He smoothed the hair back from her face, and moved her head so that she was
looking up at him. “It’s alright. Shh.” He leant down, pulled by an uncontrollable
force and gently kissed her lips.
****
Faith
was trying her best not to panic. Twenty-four hours ago she’d been chained to
the factory wall, being systematically tortured by the man who’d spent the last
year trying to save her soul. Since then she’d settled her problems with Buffy,
died, been informed that she wasn’t meant to be a Vampire Slayer, she was in
fact meant to help the girl who’s life she’d tried to ruin, and then she’d been
sent back to Earth without another word. Now she was patrolling Sunnydale with
Giles looking for Buffy’s beau, ‘cause he was going to do something… well something.
“Hasn’t
the guy done enough?” Faith muttered, unconsciously feeling the stab wound Riley
had inflicted on her.
Giles
looked across at her, worried about how she was coping. She hadn’t really had
time to get to grips with this yet. None of them had. Once again he cursed Riley
for the torment he had put them all through. He stopped and turned to Faith,
placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright Faith? I know this
must be difficult for you. If you want to go back I can carry on al…”
Faith
shook her head determinedly. “No. It’s ok Giles. I’m here to help B you know.
And if she wants Riley found I’m happy to oblige. Just as long as she doesn’t
want him back in one piece.”
****
Oz
was trying his best to distinguish between Angel and Angelus. The tyrant who
had chained him up and beaten him unconscious was a world away from the quiet,
brooding man who was searching through Giles’ kitchen cupboards for some coffee.
Angel was attempting to make things right. Oz was going to let him try. He had
seen the anger and fear that had overcome Angel when Cordelia had told him about
her vision. Angel was a good guy. He had to remember that.
Angel
banged the cupboard doors shut angrily. He needed to be out there looking for
Riley. He wished he had let Buffy bring Spike to Giles’ house. At least then
Angel would have been able to keep an eye on the younger vampire. Make sure
Riley couldn’t get near enough to harm him. He looked across at Dru. If possible
she looked even paler than usual. She was frightened. She wasn’t the only one.
Beth
was in shock. She couldn’t feel anything. She had sat on the bottom stair since
she had heard Cordelia’s vision, her only movement the raising of the cigarette
she was smoking, to her lips. She couldn’t move anymore, knew that if she did
she’d run out to find Riley, stop him from hurting her brother. She glanced
across at Dru who was sitting with her head bent and her eyes closed. Seeing
her looking so distressed pushed Beth over the edge.
“It’s
all your fault, you evil bitch!” she screamed, hauling Drusilla out the chair,
the ropes ineffective against Beth’s vampiric strength. “You did this, if you’d
stayed away none of this would have happened. He’s going to die and it’s all…
it’s all…” Beth started to weep uncontrollably, unable to finish what she had
been saying. She sank to her knees before a stunned Drusilla, who was already
torturing herself with the knowledge that she had ultimately been the one to
hurt Spike.
Angel
had run to Beth, trying to prevent the girl from harming Dru. It wouldn’t really
make her feel any better and there had been enough torture and death in the
past few days. He caught her as she fell to the floor and held her, feeling
the pain that ran through her.
“I
can’t just sit here Angel. I can’t just wait until she rings and tells me he’s
dead. I need to find Riley.”
“Buffy’ll
find him,” Angel assured her, with more confidence than he felt. Riley’s training
and Dru’s spells would make him a formidable force. Buffy needed all the help
she could get.
****
Buffy
searched the Initiative caves, trying to find some clue that Riley was, or had
been, there. He’d come here last time, and Cordelia’s vision had specified caves.
Buffy wished she knew why Riley was doing this. She knew he hadn’t trusted her
and maybe that was justified when you considered her feelings for Spike but
still… She had never imagined that Riley would go so far. Would purposely do
so much to hurt her and her loved ones. No she would not blame herself. Not
loving him was no excuse for murder and betrayal.
****
“Look
I’m just saying…”
“Well
don’t.”
“I’m
allowed to have an opinion, and frankly I think they’re overrated.”
“Please!”
“Overpaid
poseurs.”
“I
agree. But as they’re the most successful football team…”
“Soccer,”
Anya interrupted. Spike stared at her irritated. “What? Xander says I have to
call it soccer. To distinguish it from American Football.”
“Well
don’t. And American Football is rugby… for wimps.”
“Can
we talk about something else? I don’t like sports all that much.”
Anya
was curled up at one end of the couch; Spike was sitting cross-legged on the
floor, facing her across the coffee table. Their conversation had covered history,
or at least the part that they have both lived through, before moving on to
more everyday things. Music, literature, art… They’d seen and heard, read and
lived so much. There were few people either one of them could talk to about
such things, even if they tended to argue more often than they agreed.
They
were stopped from any further conversation by the canister, which was thrown
through the window at that moment. The curtains moved with the force, and streaks
of light found their way into the living room. Spike yelped and moved quickly
out of the way.
Anya
felt light-headed. Something was making her tired and she couldn’t breathe as
well as she needed. She closed her eyes as the gas filled the room.
Spike
heard the faint hiss coming from behind the couch and looked across to see Anya
lying unconscious, her head falling over the arm of the seat. Gas. Briefly the
thought entered his mind that if Riley expected this to affect him, he was an
even bigger fool than Spike had given him credit for.
He
lifted Anya into his arms and carried her up to Buffy’s bedroom. He laid her
on the bed, firmly closing the door behind them. Wrapping one of Buffy’s shirts
around his arm, he carefully opened the window to let some fresh air in. He
turned back to the bed, hoping that Anya would soon be ok. They really needed
to get out of there. They needed to warn the others.
Pulling
his mobile out the back pocket of his black jeans, he quickly dialled his sister’s
number. Angel and Beth were pretty much their only hope with the Slayer and
her chums gone.
“Hello?” Beth answered on the first ring. “Hello? Spike? Spike, are you there?”