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Prologue:
She was nervous. The lights bounced of the hacienda as the car pulled into the driveway.
She opened the car door and fixed her dress. Why was she worried about this? Everything
had happen so fast. Her world had been turned upside down. He led the way to the door,
turned and gave her a reassuring smile then opened the door.
"Princess, we're home!" He tossed the keys on the table next to the door.
Drusilla made her way down the stairs. Buffy was amazed that she kept herself alive all
this time without help. Well, maybe she did have minions to help. Buffy shrugged at the
thought.
"Come here, Child, let me look at you." Dru motioned to her
Spike waited for Dru to strike out at his childe, but instead she just made her turn
around and eyed her appreciatively. A knock at the door made Spike and Buffy startle but
Dru just announced with glee "Daddy's here too!"
Spike opened the door and Angel slammed him against the nearest wall. "I trusted you
with her! What went on in your bleached head? Were you even thinking? Where is she? She
must be devastated."
Spike just raised a hand and pointed behind Angel.
Angel turned and saw a very upset Buffy vamped out who quietly said "Get your hands
off my sire or I'll rip your throat out.."a gleam sparkled in her eye "with my
teeth."
Angel let Spike go, forgotten as a pit formed in his stomach. "Oh, no, Buffy please
tell me you are still in there."
"I am here. I don't think I have a soul though." She tilted her head as if she
were trying to detect it. "But I can control my demon, I still slay vampires and
demons,humans are too easy, no fun in the chase.Boring." The last word was said by
Spike and Buffy in unison. "So don't worry, you can go back to playing house with
Cordelia."
"How did it happen?"
Spike talked really slow. "I bit her right here." He pointed out the scar on
Buffy's wrist. "Then I fed her my blood." He smirked. "Are you so bloody
old you don't remember how?"
"Very funny. Ok then, why?"
Buffy sighed. "It's a long story, do you have time?"
Dru, who had calmly watched the whole scene unfold in front of her, clapped her hands.
"It story time." She led them into the sitting room, where they settled for
Buffy's tale.
Buffy's 25th Birthday
She rolled over and snuggled against his neck. A smile spread across his face, but he
didn't open his eyes. "Morning, Luv. Sleep Well?"
"So very tired this morning, Spike. I feel weak, out of sorts." She sighed
"It almost feels like when I was 18 and had to do that test thingy." She sat up
with a start.."You don't think?"
"Now, Pet, Maybe your just getting a cold or something. You can't blame the watcher's
for that." He rolled to the edge of the bed and placed his feet on the floor.
"Why don't you call Giles? Or you can wait for him to call you, it is your birthday.
Happy birthday, Love." As he walked down past her toward the door, he leaned over and
kissed her on top of her head.
She watched him leave. Going to have his cigarette on the porch. She pushed the covers off
and headed for the bathroom for a shower hoping to help her feel better.
As she came out towelling her hair, the phone rang and she ran to answer it. Spike was
walking in from the porch and reached the phone first. She tried to push him away, but it
was like pushing the wall. She just looked at her hands in disbelief.
Spike watched her as he listened to Rupert on the other end. "You could have bloody
told her this before hand. You gonna tell her or should I? Right then, just like you
wankers to 'forget' about this." He slammed the phone down cutting off Giles'
apologies.
"Buffy? Pet. Love. I need you to sit down." He gestured to the living room.
Buffy looked up from trying to open the unopened jar of pickles she found in the
refrigerator. She couldn't do it. Why? Her mind was racing. Another test? She should start
skipping her birthdays entirely.
She found that she had complied with Spike's invitation to sit. She stared at him, trying
to focus on the words he said. "Buffy, that was Giles on the phone. He's flying in
tonight, actually he's in New York now on layover time."He noticed Buffy's stare. He
grabbed her shoulders and shook her a little. "Buffy, wake up! This is important! You
are not the slayer anymore!"
That woke her up. "What?!!"
"Apparently, because of the early death of most slayers, this little tidbit got lost.
All slayers retire at 25."
Shock set in. "Retire?"
"More like they become normal. No more Vamp sense. No more Super strength. No more
slaying." He sat down next to her and took her hand in his.
"Will you leave now?" The tears glistened in her eyes when she looked up and
searched his for the answer.
"Buffy, I just told you you are no longer the slayer, that you're a normal girl and
your first question is if your vampire lover is going to leave?" He pursed his lips
and then smiled. "Now, not even you can make me." He pulled her close into an
embrace as she started crying. "It is who I am Spike, I am the slayer."
"Yes, pet, I know, but you're not the only slayer. And you're not anymore."
She was confused for a second then "Faith. But she is only a year younger than
me..she will loose her powers in a year too, then what?"
Giles knows the rest,Pet.
One Year 5 months Later, the night before Faith's birthday...
"So I'm not going to be able to do this anymore?" she tossed the demon into the
air and watched him slam into the far wall.
Buffy steadied the crossbow and shot a vamp that was coming up behind Faith. "Nope.
You'll become a full fledged scooby like the rest of us.
"That sucks. You think Bernadette is ready to become the only slayer?" Faith got
behind the demon and twisted his head until the spine snapped in two at the neck.
"She won't be alone. She'll have us and we're better than the whole council combined.
Real life experience and all that." She finished reloading and aimed for a second
vamp in her sights. Just as she was about to fire he disappeared into dust and Spike stood
in his place. She lowered the weapon. "You finish those guys out back?"
He nodded and lit his smoke. A girl in a long black ponytail walked in behind him. "I
think we've cleared the lot. Shall we head home ladies?"
"Hey, I live there too." Spike chimed in.
Buffy giggled "And he is most certainly not a lady, 'dette"
Fatih joined the group "Yeah, more like a tramp."
Spike rolled his eyes. They were impossible after a decent spot of violence.
Three years later...
"Spike? Spike!" Buffy called up the stairs. After she heard an acknowledgment
from him she continued. "Faith and Gunn want to come over this weekend. you got
plans?"
"No, Pet. Tell'em it's ok. Haven't seen them in months." He finished descending
the stairs and grabbed his duster off the rack.
"Where you going?" She asked.
"Gotta go take care of some business, love. Shouldn't be too long. Don't call out the
big dogs if I'm not back by sunrise..I'll crash at the crypt if I need to."
"What are you up to Spike?" the last time he spent the night away from her, he
came home with two baskets of kittens. It took her a month to find good homes for them
all.
"Do you trust me?"
"Never." She smiled as she watched him leave. If he came home with more kittens
at least she'll know no ones eating them or what ever the other guys do with them. She
went to call Faith back.
Two days later....
Spike had still not returned. This was scary. She called 'dette and she said she hadn't
seen anything unusual on patrol, but she'd keep an eye out. She had already been to the
crypt and it looked as though Spike had never made it there.
She slowly walked back to the empty house. Once her sister and her mom lived here, but
Joyce was gone and Dawn was away at college, last year in fact. Willow moved in with Tara
after they finally patched things up. Spike moved in not too shortly there after. After
her 'retirement', Faith and Bernadette moved in. Now Faith lived in LA with Gunn, and
'dette had her own place. The house was empty, and it had never been empty before.
She noticed something on the doorstep as she got closer. She picked up the plastic bag and
turned it over in her hands. Something glistened in the sunlight as the contents shifted
inside the bag. Her knees buckled. Inside the bag was a tiny computer chip in dust. She
cradled the bag to her chest and cried. It was night before she was able to find the
strength to enter the house.
When Faith and Cordelia showed up, they found Buffy sitting on the floor of the living
room holding a ziploc baggie. Cordelia rushed to her. "It's ok Buffy, it's not
Spike."
Buffy looked at her, she was numb, the words didn't quite penetrate. Cordelia tried to get
the bag away from her, but Buffy held tight.
Faith crouched down in front of her. "B, listen, Cordelia had a vision, this is not
Spike, but you'll be able to put him in something similar if we don't find him
quick."
"What? But..But..there's a chip in there." She held out the bag for them to see.
"Shoulda been your first clue, B." Faith took the opportunity to get the bag
away from Buffy. "Everything would have been dust. Remember you always said if he was
going to die, he better take his coat off first so you could have it? Why would the chip
still be there?"
"I don't know maybe the initiative...."
"What? Left a signature of there tech behind, I don't think so." Cordelia helped
Buffy to the couch.
"What do we do? Where is he? What happened?" Buffy's anger was pushing through
the numbness.
"I had a vision, which was really strange, cause this time my skin turned blue, but
that's beside the point. He is in a cage, in the complete dark, starving. It smells like
old meat in there, so nasty. That's all I got."
"Do you think we need to pull 'dette in on this one?" Buffy asked Faith who now
had the chip in her hand. "First of all, B, we need to figure out who knows about the
chip."
*Hmmm..good question.* "Ok, There's the gang and Giles. I don't think any of them
would hurt Spike, if only not to hurt me." She was thinking of Xander. "The
Intiative, of course. Dawn. Me. You guys. Drusilla, this isn't Dru's work." She
paused and thought "Oh and Warren, Andrew and Jonathan."
"Out of the list the three geeks are the most suspect." Gunn sat in the chair
across from the couch, Spike's chair.
Buffy shook her head. "Not really, Jonathan turned them in for a deal in the death of
Katrina. He only got a year and six years probation for not being directly involved. He
couldn't actually explain his involvement to the police in trying to pin it on me. Andrew
got ten for Aiding and Abetting, while good old Warren got life. Katrina's parents lawyer
pushed for it. I don't think Andrew is capable of hurting Spike and Jonathan's a Scooby
for 'dette now. So who else does that leave?"
"Warren" Gunn held up the paper the headline read. "Murder Escapes
Prison."
"Crap! What date is that paper?"
Gunn looked "Three days ago."
"Why that little, if he's not dead by the time I find him, I'll dust him
myself!" Everyone looked shocked at the out burst. "Don't you see? That's the
business he had to do. Find Warren before he hurt me or messed with my head again. There
were lots of threats as he was escorted out of the court room."
12 hours later....
"We have searched every warehouse in town and the meat packing plant. Where else
would there be old meat?" Buffy's frustration was evident. "Cordelia, what
exactly did you see?"
"Well, first I saw you on the porch, holding that bag. then I saw Spike in the dark,
pacing a cage. The smell was awful. He was hungry. That was it." Cordelia stopped and
seemed to grasping at a memory. "What if it is a grocery store? Abandoned of course,
but there would be meat there. My dad knew this guy that ran the exclusive grocers off of
Main, it was closed down after the IRS cleaned out my father. It seems that they went
after him next."
"Ok then, we'll try there." Buffy got up and headed for the door, the others
followed reluctantly. prefering to rest a little before heading back out, but they also
knew they couldn't stop her.
They came to the front of the building and saw some lights inside. Even if Spike wsn't
here, this being Sunnydale, something was up. They opened the door and crept inside
and..set off a very loud alarm.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"So much for the silent approach." Buffy yelled over the noise. It stopped as
suddenly as it started. A voice came over the intercom. "Ahhh..Slayer. I see you
brought some friends. I have decided to turn one of your own on you. Just like that
traitor Jonathan. I have been waiting, I almost thought you fell for the chip in the dust.
I thought I might have to send you a hint to get you moving. But here you are. I nullified
your boyfriend's hardware and ooops, I think I just accidently unlocked his cage. I don't
think I have to tell YOU how dangerous a starving vampire is. It has been almost four days
Slayer. What are going to do?"
Buffy turned to the others. "Get him, I'll handle Spike."
"But he'll kill you, B. You can't stop him anymore."
"I trust him to do what is necessary, Faith. I'll be fine. Go, put that 'Evil Genius'
back where he belongs."
After she was sure the others were safe, she began wandering the aisles.
He watched them all leave. She smelled so good. He could hear the beating of her heart, it
was like a song calling to him. He watched from his perch atop the aisle. He knew it was
wrong, he knew he should not have her, but she was calling him. Her blood was calling him
to her. As she neared he steadied himself and dropped in front of her.
Buffy inhaled sharply as Spike descended upon her. "S-S-Spike." His eyes shone
gold in the minimal light that was available. "Please hold on, we'll get you some
blood."
"No."
"What?"
"No. I will have yours" He grabbed her arm. She hit him with the crossbow she
had been holding. He lost his vamp face. "Buffy, run, I can't hold out much
longer."
"Spike you are in no condition to get out on your own."
"I love you, Buffy, now Run!"
She turned to leave then thought better of it. She went to him and bared her neck.
"Buffy." Was all he managed to say before the allure of the blood took over
again. He went for her neck and saw the mark of his grandsire upon her. He could just
cover it with his own, but no. He lifted her hand as if to kiss it then turned her hand
over and bit her wrist. She gasped at the pain but did not flinch and soon the numbness
came and the cold. Everything was so cold. After he was done eating Spike sat down beside
her body. What had he just done? Why didn't she leave when she asked him to? Even though
it was her worst fear, he opened his own wrist and placed it against her lips. She gagged
and pulled away, but he made her drink. She resisted longer than most, but gave in soon
enough. Although she was no longer the active slayer, her blood still held the Slayer
signature. She had given it, and now he was returning it. He told himself he would stake
her if she was not the same, if she became a thing. Afterwards, when she 'died' he picked
her up and carried her home, she would not be digging her way out this time, once was
enough for his Pet.
The others stared at him as he carried her to their room. He laid her down gently and
covered her up. He then laid down next to her and pulled her close. The chip did not work
anymore, but it wasn't the chip that made him love her. He hoped she would still love him
when she awoke.
.................
Buffy rolled over and snuggled against Spike. He lifted his head and looked into her eyes.
he looked troubled. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
Everything came rushing back and she hugged him tight as she remembered she thought he was
dead. "Ow, Buff, not so tight."
"Don't be silly, it's not like I can hurt you anymore." Then she remembered
offering herself to the starving Spike. "Or can I?"
"Yes,pet, I did it. I couldn't bear the thought of being without you. I know you did
it willingly, but..."
"Spike, I knew you would. I had thought I had lost you, forever. You fit in a little
baggie. My whole life fit in that baggie. If I had left you there, I would have lost you
forever, for real this time. I couldn't go through that knowing I could have done
something." She sat up and looked at him eagerly. "So show me how to make the
face."
He laughed. Everything was going to be ok.
....................
"Did you kill anyone Buffy?" Angel was trying to get Drusilla off of him. she
had decided the best place to sit was in his lap.
"Angel, I was a vampire. Yes, every looked like happy meals with legs to me. So yeah
we hunted, but it got boring real quick. We stuck with the rapists and murders at first,
then the half breed demony types. But then, since we both love the violence, more than the
blood even, we stopped and now fight only things that can fight back. Pure animal blood
for us now." Spike's look was one of pride. She had overcome her demon so quickly.
She said it wasn't much different than being the slayer. She could just hear and smell
things better.
"I feel like dancing." Drusilla went to the cd player. "Dance with me
Daddy."
Angel gave in to keep Dru happy.
Buffy stood and took Spike's hand. They pulled close and she rested her head on his
shoulder.
It's you that I adore
You'll always be my whore
You'll be a mother to my child
And a child to my heart
*When did Dru start listening to Smashing Pumpkins?* Spike thought, *Probably one of her
minions.*
We must never be apart
We must never be apart
Lovely girl, you're the beauty in my world
Without you, there aren't reasons left to find
He kissed Buffy's hair. *Not a bad tune.*
And you'll pull your crooked teeth
You'll be perfect just like me
You'll be a lover in my bed
And a gun to my head
*More like a stake to my heart.*
We must never be apart
We must never be apart
Lovely girl, you're the murder in my world
Dressing coffins for the souls I've left to die
Drinking mercury to the mystery
Of all that you should ever seek to find
In time
She looked at him and smiled. He couldn't resist and crushed his mouth to hers, they
kissed and danced through the rest of the song.
In you I see dirty
In you I count stars
In you I feel so pretty
In you I taste God
In you I feel so hungry
In you I crash cars
We must never be apart
Drinking mercury to the mystery
Of all that you should ever seek to find
Lovely girl, you're the murder in my world
Dressing coffins for the souls I've left behind
In time
We must never be apart
And you'll always be my whore
'Cause you're the one that I adore
And you'll pull your crooked teeth
You'll be perfect just like me
In you I feel so dirty
In you I crash cars
In you I feel so pretty
In you I taste God
We must never be apart
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