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Chapter Twenty-three

Life quickly fell into a routine for Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies. Xander would go to work at his construction job until quitting time, then grab some take-out and meet Anya at the Magic Box where she was helping Giles inventory and sort the supplies. The ex-Watcher was delighted to find that Anya was quite knowledgeable about the various herbs and potions needed for spells and also had a good sense for which items would be the best sellers and needed to be re-stocked frequently.

After the first week of her willing assistance, he offered her a job working in the Magic Box with him. The ex-demon was delighted to have something responsible to do and quickly showed an affinity for making money. It didn’t seem to matter to her whether she was personally making the money or the shop was. She just enjoyed creating profits.

Giles was delighted at this new aspect of Anya’s personality, and found he thoroughly enjoyed their time together. When things were slow in the shop, they would sit at the table, sipping freshly brewed tea and exchanging demon lore. Everyone except Xander could sense a developing sexual tension growing between the forty-something ex Watcher and the thousand-year old ex vengeance demon as they spent more and more time together and found more things they had in common.

To Willow’s delight, Tara had quickly become a welcome member of the group; her knowledge of earth magic more than compensating for her unwillingness to speak out and draw attention to herself. In spite of her reticence, her quiet common sense and gentle disposition were soon noticed and appreciated by all of them.

If anyone other than Giles and Anya suspected Tara’s relationship with Willow was more than platonic, they didn’t say anything. After dealing with Willow’s lengthy relationship with Oz, and her devastation at its ending, the idea that she might have moved on to another relationship already was beyond Buffy and Xander’s ability to comprehend. That the relationship might be with another girl was not even on their radar.

Buffy and Spike had slipped into a comfortable sense of belonging to each other that showed no signs of going away. Throughout the day, as she went to classes, shopped, visited at home, patrolled and joined her friends at the shop that was rapidly becoming their second home, she could always feel him lightly on the edge of her awareness and she knew he could do the same.

When, after a particularly grueling night of slaying, she slipped while fighting a vamp that appeared older and more experienced than the usual run of fledgling’s and found herself on the ground, she felt the marks on her neck pulsing when the vamp’s teeth reached for her throat. She could sense Spike’s fear and frustration as he recognized her danger and knew he was powerless to do anything about it.

The vamp’s surprised reaction to finding a master vampire’s mark on the Slayer’s neck gave her just the split second she needed to bring her stake around and drive it through his back and into his heart. Aided by Spike’s panicky order to dust the “bloody wanker that dares to touch my mate!” she drove the stake so hard she almost stabbed herself through the dust cloud that was all that was left of the would-be Slayer killer.

Coughing and waving away the dust floating in her face, she quickly reassured him that she was fine and no, it was not necessary that he jump in his car and dash back to Sunnydale.

(I’m fine, Spike. Really, I am. It’s just been a long night. With the Initiative gone, the vamp and demon population has picked back up and I’ve been pretty busy every night. Guess I could use some rest. I’m getting careless.)

His growl came through loud and clear. (Where the hell are the Scoobies? Aren’t they supposed to be watching your back while I’m not there?)

(They all have lives, Spike. You know that. I’ve kept you up to date on what’s going on. Willow has a new Wicca friend and they spend all their time practicing spells; Xander and Anya spend all their time…well you know what they spend their time doing…and Giles is busy with his new shop. The Slayer works alone. That’s just the way it is.)

(Not this Slayer! Not while I’m alive…er…undead.)

She didn’t reply, just allowed him to feel her gratitude for his loving concern as she basked in the possessive protectiveness she felt flowing from him.

(I wish you could come home.) she said suddenly. (I really miss you.)

(Me too, love. But as long as the claim’s this strong, we know it’s not going away.)

(What if it never goes away?) He could fell the panic in her voice and responded with his own jolt of fear.

(It will, pet. It has to. If it doesn’t…well, .we’ll deal with it. I’m not staying away forever. Patience is not one of my virtues, you know.)

Her giggle was immediate. (I didn’t know vampires HAD virtues.)

(You know what I mean, you sassy bint. I’m getting tired of waiting.)

While they carried on their internal dialogue, Buffy was walking toward the dorm and as she entered her room, she yawned again and said, (I’m going to take a shower and go to bed. I have late classes tomorrow, so I can sleep in.) There was a pause and the vampire could feel her indecision and worry.

(What’s the matter, pet?)

(No-nothing. I’m just really tired and I…not that I don’t want to…but I’m really sleepy and would you mind…if you do, it’s okay…but…)

It took him no time to figure out what she was trying to ask. In the time he’d been gone, they’d formed the habit of ending each night with their version of long-distance sex; sending each other mental images of that night’s fantasy. Buffy found herself with an intimate knowledge of the erotic arts courtesy of Spike’s one hundred plus years of experience and his vivid imagination.

(Bloody hell, pet. You think I can’t love you if I’m not shagging you silly?)

She felt the trace of hurt he was feeling and hastened to reassure him.

(No, of course not. It’s just that we always do…and I was afraid if we didn’t you’d think I don’t…that I stopped loving you. That it would mean I didn’t want you any more.)

(‘M that insecure, am I?)

(Uh… Sometimes?…I don’t know. Maybe I’m that insecure. I’m sorry. I’m too tired to make sense.)

She felt the warmth flowing through the claim and allowed it to soothe her until she was almost asleep on her feet. Forgetting about the shower, she dropped her clothes as she moved toward the bed and collapsed on top of it.

(Pull the covers up, sweetheart. Don’t want you to get cold.)

(‘K, Good-night, Spike. I love you.)

(Love you, too, Buffy. Always.)


When Buffy awoke the next morning, she felt completely refreshed and immediately stretched her mind out, waiting to get up until she knew Spike was there. As soon as she felt his sleepy response, she sent him a mental kiss and told him to go back to sleep.

(What the bloody hell did you wake me up for, if you were jus’ gonna tell me to go back to sleep?)

(Note to self – the sleepy vampire is grumpy in the daytime.) She didn’t try to hide her amusement, but quickly and sincerely followed it with (I just wanted to be sure you were there.)

(‘M always here, love. Always will be.) With that comforting message, he fell back into the deep sleep that daylight evoked in vampires.

Buffy sighed with as much contentment as she could muster when they were still miles apart physically, and got up to head for the showers. She was in the midst of enjoying her hot shower and shampooing her hair when it became obvious that the sleeping vampire was having an erotic dream that involved her.

Grateful that there was no one else in the communal bathroom at that time of day, she slumped against the wall and allowed Spike’s dream and the sensations it created to flow over her. She leaned against the wall, shuddering with him as he came in his sleep, locking her knees so that she wouldn’t collapse into the soapy water near the drain.

(Damn horny vampire) she grumbled as she straightened up and began to rinse her hair. A sleepy chuckle drifted through her head and was gone before she could think of an appropriate response.

Later that night, after they were all gathered at the Magic Box and speculating on why there was such a sudden increase in the vampire and demon population, Buffy suddenly became silent and her eyes unfocused as she felt Spike’s agitation and anger.

Her friends watched her curiously as she concentrated on what she was hearing and seeing through the vampire’s eyes, then they jumped as she snarled and reached for the phone. She punched in a number with so much force Giles cringed for his newly purchased business phone. He shook his head at Xander as it appeared the boy was planning to interrupt her to ask what was going on.

Tara stared at Buffy, watching her normally bright aura turning dark and angry as the Slayer waited impatiently for the phone to be answered. No one, except possibly the oblivious Xander, doubted that something was happening to or with Spike. Something that had sent Buffy totally into Slayer mode.

Miles away, in the city of Los Angeles, two vampires faced each other angrily. The larger of the two had a face like a thundercloud as he bellowed in disbelief, “You did what?”

Spike, who was being held in place by humans wielding large crosses and squirt guns of holy water, snarled back at his grandsire furiously.

“I told you, it was a bloody spell done by the witch. Had us thinking we were getting married.”

“A spell made you think you were getting married? WILLOW did a spell that made Buffy think she wanted to marry you. Tell me another one, Spike. What did you do to Buffy? How did you get her to let you close enough to bite her?”

With another snarl, Spike pulled back the collar of his leather coat and exposed the still-visible marks of Buffy’s human teeth on his neck.

“We bit each other, you stupid wanker! Have you got hair gel in your ears? The witch did a spell, we thought we were getting married, the demon bit his mate and the Slayer bit me back. I’m here to give the claim a chance to fade away, so the soddin’ council doesn’t come after Buffy.”

“Because you care so much about what happens to her, right?” Angel’s voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“Bloody right, I do,” Spike mumbled. “If I didn’t, I would never have left Sunnyhell. Would have just kept—“ Spike’s brain abruptly caught up with his mouth and swallowed the rest of what he was going to say. It wasn’t quite fast enough to avoid suspicion from his Grandsire, though.

“Would have just kept doing what, Spike?” The older vampire’s voice was soft and dangerous. “What is it that you were doing that you didn’t want to leave?”

As Angel spoke, he was moving toward his grand childe, fist clenched at his sides and eyes flaring yellow.

(Bollocks!)

Before the larger vampire could follow up on his clearly lethal intentions, the phone in his pocket played the first chords of “Mandy” over and over. He hesitated, torn between wanting to rip Spike’s heart out and wondering who was calling him. A glance at the phone showed him whose number it was and he sighed and picked it up.

“Yes, Giles,” he snapped. “What is it? I’m a little busy here.”

“Touch him and you’re dust.” The Slayer’s voice held no trace of the young girl who had made him the center of her existence for three years. It was pure menace.

“Bu—Buffy? How did you…?” He shot a horrified look at the now smirking vampire opposite him.

“You can hear us? You and Spike…No, that’s not possible. That kind of connection only happens when two…No.” His voice held complete conviction.

“Who called you, Buffy? How did you know Spike was here? And,” his voice took on a note of uncertainty, “why do you care what I do to him? If he’s telling the truth and he’s here to break a claim, then I would think you’d be happy to have me dust him for you.”

There was genuine bewilderment in Angel’s voice as he looked over at Spike who was lighting a cigarette in defiance of Cordelia’s scowl.

“I know he’s there because I can hear everything you’re saying, and I can feel everything he’s feeling –and tell him I said to stop being so smug! –“

Spike’s guilty start as she apparently sent him the same message told Angel, better than any words could have, that he was seeing the impossible. A claim between a vampire and a human that had resulted in such a mutually powerful connection that it allowed them to sense each other and to communicate telepathically. The kind of thing that was supposed to happen only between two very powerful vampires who were in love and intending to stay together for eternity.

“But…but you’re human! The claim would only make you subservient to him; not an equal partner. And, you’d have to be in lo--” He stopped, refusing to finish the thought aloud.

“Maybe Slayers aren’t as human as we’d like to think we are, Angel,” Buffy sighed as she heard the pain in his voice. “I don’t know why it’s like it is. I just know it is and I don’t want anything to happen to him. He wouldn’t have left here if we weren’t worried about the Council and their reaction to it.”

“They’ll try to kill you both,” Angel said absently, as he gestured to his friends that they could put away their weapons. Angel was an older vamp and had been sired by the Master’s favorite. He knew more lore than Spike did and he was well aware of what happened to Slayers that allowed themselves, willingly or not, to be claimed by vampires.

“We’re hoping they won’t learn about it and we can pretend Spike is my…just another Scoobie.”

“So he’s here until, what? You tell him he can come back?”

“Until we can’t…until we know the claim has broken. Giles thinks that since Spike is unable to hurt humans…” It hurt Buffy to lie to Angel, but the fewer people who knew about the loss of the chip, the better off they’d be. “Since he can’t hurt humans, and he’s been helping me, that maybe they won’t care as long as there’s no claim for them to worry about. I mean, they didn’t mind that you were helping me.”

“I have a soul,” he said with a decided pout. “I was special.”

Buffy gave an exasperated sigh. “Yes, you were. You still are. Very special.”

Angel swelled up visibly and sent his glowering grandchilde a triumphant look.

“But Spike is special too. And he did it without a soul. Just because he…he loves me. And…I love him, Angel,” she added softly. “I need for him to be safe until he can come home.”

Angel winced internally at her words; the idea that she knew she was “home” to Spike somehow more telling than her whispered, “I love him.” He put on his best solemn face and said, “All right, Buffy. I won’t hurt him. And he can stay here--” he paused to soothe his surprised and disbelieving employees—“until it’s time for him to go back to Sunnydale.”

He responded to her grateful “thank you” with a mumbled, “wouldn’t do this for anybody but you,” and flipped the phone shut. He glared at his cheerful grandchilde and growled, “You can stay here, but keep away from me. I’m only doing this for Buffy.”

He turned to go into his office, then stopped and faced the other vampire again. “If you hurt her, Will, so help me…”

“Won’t. Wouldn’t. Couldn’t. Love her too much.”

Spike’s bright blue eyes were guileless and Angel nodded briefly. As much as the younger vamp irritated him, he was more than aware of Spike’s capacity for love and the lengths to which he would go for it.





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