Author's Chapter Notes:
I'm a bit peckish at the moment and decided to start this fiction.
My present chapter of All Manner of Monsters is giving me a headache and I want to work the kinks out of it.
Thanks, spuf
REDEMPTION


Summary and Prologue:


Disclaimer: I do not own Spike or Buffy. I am in no way affiliated with Mutant Enemy; Joss Whedon or BTVS/ATS. Oh…..that I were!


Summary:

Redemption is a mythological place supposedly located in Nebraska, USA, circa 1878. I’m choosing this name for the town, because it is a metaphor for the plot line involving Spike and Buffy later on.

Buffy Summers is the daughter of Hank and Joyce Summers, farmers, located near Redemption, Nebraska. Aged seventeen, Buffy is the oldest Summers’ child. She has a younger sister, Dawn, who is twelve at this time. There is a young brother, Hank Jr., who is seven years of age.

Hank and Joyce Summers are well respected, beloved members of the community and their daughter, Buffy, is betrothed to their neighboring farmer friend, Caleb Montgomery.

Although Caleb Montgomery is a well respected community member also, the man has a deep twisted inner personality. Buffy, her family and the naïve members of Redemption, NE, have no idea how dark and evil Caleb’s inner thoughts and fantasies really are.

At a local Church Social, in Redemption, one Sunday evening, Buffy’s world is totally turned upside down. Unknown to her, some strangers attending the ‘social’ will change her life, for reasons of their own, and make her see the world in a different light.

Spike and Angel are ‘outlaws’ so I guess you could say they are the villains in this story. Then again, maybe not really. Maybe the real villain is the debauched Caleb Montgomery?

Angel Crawford is Spike’s older American cousin and has his reasons for being the leader of an outlaw gang. Spike’s father, Rupert Giles is an outlaw in this one also, part of his nephew Angel’s gang of train and bank robbers. Rupert and Spike also have their reasons for becoming outlaws in America. Revenge is the motive for all three of these men. Xander, Riley, Graham and even Gunn belong to the Crawford Gang, along with various other characters from the TV shows.

I am issuing a few warnings right off on this one:

1. This is a period piece, circa late 1870’s.

2. At first, it will be Buffy/Other, but for a very short time. This is 1876, so, nothing about Caleb and Buffy’s engagement relationship will be sexually graphic. (Except in maybe the twisted thoughts of Caleb’s debauched mind).

3. Spike and Angel could definitely be perceived as bad guys in this one. However, we do really love our boys as ‘big bads’ now don’t we?


Prologue: ‘The Sunday Social’


Elizabeth, or Buffy as her family had nick named her, stood in the 1st Baptist Church of Redemption’s social hall. Buffy was trying her best to look interested in what her fiancé, Caleb Montgomery, was blathering on about. To the Reverend Snyder himself, no less. She was trying very hard; Buffy was, not to yawn visibly, right in the face of either man when her best friend, Willow Osbourne caught her eye.

Buffy rolled her lovely green eyes, behind her hand, of course and mouthed to Willow ‘so hum drum.’ Willow responded with a blush and a giggle as she scurried up to ‘rescue’ her best friend from the boring conversation between Caleb and the reverend.

“Can I steal away your lovely fiancé, Caleb?” Willow asked coyly as she grasped Buffy’s slim right arm tightly. “Mama wants to check with your bride-to-be and make sure she has the dress measurements written down right.”

Caleb gave both Willow and Buffy a raised brow, but then broke into his famous ‘aw shucks’ smile. “Sure Willow,” the big man chuckled. “Anything to speed up the wedding to my beautiful Elizabeth.” Montgomery never, ever called Buffy by her nickname for some reason.

Eliza Rosenberg, Willow’s mother, waited patiently for the two young women to join her by the refreshment tables. When both Buffy and Willow reached the older woman, Mrs. Rosenberg broke into laughter.

“I see my plan to rescue you from those two worked, eh Buffy?” Eliza asked the little blond, her mouth in an affectionate grin.

“Yes, thank you so much, Mrs. Rosenberg,” Buffy sighed. “I know Caleb Montgomery is a good catch and that I should marry him, come this September, but…”

“He’s boring?” Willow offered mischievously.

“Yes,” Buffy continued with another sad sigh. “However, he is the one Daddy wants me to marry and let’s face it. He is the most eligible, financially set bachelor in these parts. The other available young men around here are either poor; wild cowboys or ranch hands, or downright unattractive. At least Caleb is rich, stable and very handsome, really.”

“True,” Willow hummed in response, eyeing the groom across the room. “I’m afraid I snatched up the only other really appropriate male around here,” the red head giggled happily.

As if on cue, Daniel Osbourne, Willow’s young husband appeared out of no where. Daniel was the town of Redemption’s main bank teller and very well thought of in the community. The day the young, elfins Mr. Osbourne appeared in Redemption, he captured the heart of Willow Rosenberg, and visa versa. They had only recently married, but Willow was already nearly two months pregnant with the Osbourne child.

Buffy watched, wistfully, as Daniel placed a warm, loving kiss on his wife’s pale cheek.

‘I wish Caleb was as affectionate as that,’ Buffy sighed to herself in frustration. ‘I know we’re not yet married but it would be nice to actually feel some kind of…’

Suddenly, Buffy felt a strange prickly kind of tingling at the back of her neck. She was experiencing the undeniable feeling of someone’s eyes on her. This was not so strange, really, since she was and her fiancé were the latest ‘wonder couple’ of Redemption. It was natural for all kinds of folks around to watch the couple’s courtship and take note of both Caleb and Buffy. However, this tingle down Buffy’s neck and spine did not denote ‘that’ kind of perception of a casual observer. Trying very hard not to be too obvious, Buffy slowly turned her head to seek out the face of the person causing this sensation in her.

When she caught sight of the young man, against the far side of the social hall’s wall, Buffy was stunned. She had never seen this stranger anywhere around Redemption before, and she certainly had never seen a shock of platinum blond hair such as he had.

‘His eyes,’ Buffy actually strained to see the true color of them. Those magnetic blue eyes that were definitely trained only on her. They seemed to be the sources that were causing these wonderful, new and very strange sensations. These marvelous, alien tingles that were coursing through her tiny body.
‘Oh, dear Lord. His eyes look the color of indigo blue violets,’ she gasped slightly.

“Buffy, you okay?” Willow asked abruptly, breaking Buffy’s stunned reverie. “You look as white as a ghost, honey,” Willow noted with a concerned tone.

“Fine,” Buffy rasped a little too quickly in response. “Willow,” she whispered as she nodded at the strange man leaning against the wall. “Do you know him?”

Willow glanced over at the strange man and shrugged, “no. Perhaps Daniel knows him? Danny, who’s that,” Willow asked her husband, tactfully.

Daniel Osbourne gave his wife a raised brow of his own and scanned the room. When he saw who his Willow was speaking of, he smiled, slightly.

“His name’s William Galvaston,” Daniel offered, trying to sound indifferent. “The tall, dark haired man with him is Liam O’Connor, Galvaston's cousin. They just arrived in Redemption, a few days ago. The only reason I know this is that they opened a rather nice sized account, at the bank, yesterday. I handled the transactions,” Daniel finished proudly.

“Why?” Daniel asked Willow suspiciously. Caleb Montgomery was one of Daniel Osbourne’s best friends and he felt a little disloyal answering Buffy’s obvious questions.

“No reason,” Buffy shrugged as she looked away from the handsome stranger. She could not hide the bright red blush on her pretty face however.

‘He looks at me as if he wants to know what’s underneath my proper little pink dress,’ Buffy thought pleasantly. Although the very idea was really quite wicked and naughty on her part. ‘Lord, I am an immoral girl, though!’

“Who’s that?” William ‘Spike’ Giles asked his older, larger cousin, Angel Crawford, of the beautiful honey blond girl across the room. The platinum blond man could not help but stare at this tiny, golden vision just out of his reach.

“Beats the hell out of me,” Angel chuckled as he followed his younger cousin’s line of vision. “She is a beauty though,” he sighed.

“Back off,” Spike hissed at Angel, “you’ve got Darla. Besides, I saw this little gem first and…”

“Christ Spike,” Angel laughed heartily, “you know I’d never go after another girl. Not with my Darla waitin’ for me. Besides, you’d best remember we’re here, in Redemption to case the local bank vault, not the local ladies.”

“I can look can’t I?” Spike asked rather harshly. “Damn, she’s beautiful,” he whispered, still staring at the small, lovely girl. “That bloke, Osbourne was it? From the bank? He seems to know her well, eh? Let’s go over and…”

“Spike,” Angel grunted, “like I said. We won’t be in Redemption after Saturday. How you gonna’ court a pretty little local like that? Especially with the long arm of the law after all of us?”

“Don’t know,” Spike replied dreamily, “but I’m going to try at least.”


A/N: Well, there it is the first stage of my new fiction. Hope it flies here!

Thanks for reading, please review. Spufette





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