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Author's Chapter Notes:
Anyone wanting to give some feedback on whether or not to continue this one, please get back to me. RL is getting busy again. Thanks! Jenn
Chapter 8

“So, according to the Brumfield files, we have deduced that we have no idea whether or not we’ve avoided the prophecy coming true or not, because she still ingested the serum through her skin?” Giles pinched the skin between his eyebrows, his eyes squeezed shut.

Willow turned to the page she was at previously. “Well, we haven’t stopped it, but I think we’ve slowed it down. I mean, the key principle of the whole thing means that Buffy would have to fall in love with another vampire—“

“Which I will not do!” Buffy interjected. “Been there, done that, have the scars to prove it. So, Will, does it say anything in there about the end being averted at all? I mean, can I do some lames ass dance over the grave of a big old guy and get the job done?”

Willow’s face crumpled as she skimmed a few pages. “Nope.” She shook her head sadly. “I can’t find any references to ending it.”

Xander shot up off the couch. “Stop! If there weren’t any vampires to fall in love with, then it couldn’t go through, right? So—end the problem by killing all the vamps with a blood borne holy water virus!” He grinned.

Anya tugged at his shirt hem. “Not helping, you big geek.”

He sat back down.

The group once more poured over their own books, searching. Food was brought in, trash was taken out, and bathroom breaks were given. It all was flowing smoothly until the call.

Giles answered, “Hello? Oh, yes, Joyce. She’s sitting right here. Of course, thank you.” He handed the phone to Buffy.

“Hi, Mom. The tests came back, good…. they said what?” She started shaking and a tear fell down one cheek. “Alright, no, I’ll be home in a few minutes. Love you.” She stood up and walked to the door grabbing her satchel off the coat rack.

“Buffy?” Willow asked apprehensively.

Without turning around she spoke calmly and rationally. “They found a tumor. On the side of her brain.” She turned quickly, boring holes into each and every one of them. “Find out why I saw what I saw! Apparently, my mother had a tumor that no one knew about, and who knows what’s wrong with the rest of the god damned world!” She walked out, slamming the door behind her.


Riley was sitting on the couch, waiting with Joyce when Buffy came through the front door. “Hey.”

Riley walked over to her. “You okay?”

Buffy gave him an unsure smile. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Where you been?” She hadn’t thought about him since the poisoning. Not at all. It was strange, but she didn’t even feel anything at all when he held her hands, stroking them in reassurance.

“Well, we had a debriefing about the debriefing we had after they closed down the Initiative. Kind of pointless, but this is the government. I was actually going to come over and tell you that I was going to visit my parents, when Joyce told me the news.” He looked down at their joined hands. “I’ll be here Buffy. For you, your mom, and everyone that needs me. I promise.”

She shook her head, going through the motions, and let go of his hands. Walking over to her mother, Buffy grabbed the afghan off the back of the comfy chair and covered him mom’s lap with it. “There. Snug as a bug in a rug.”

The smile she got from her mom was both gracious and terrified. “Thank you honey. I’m fine. I just have to go to the hospital tomorrow to have a few more tests run and then we can come home and gorge ourselves on chocolate and peanut butter.”

“I’ve got you, Mom. I’ll be here to take care of you.” But instead, she laid her head on Joyce’s lap, seeking comfort.

“I don’t know if you can slay this one, Buffy.” Came her mother’s choked reply.



Spike came on time. But what he didn’t expect was to find the Slayer sitting on her bed, writing in the journal he gave her the night before. “Hey.”

“Hello, yourself. What’s the occasion?” He gestured to the book lying in front of her.

“Mom has a tumor. I felt kinda weepy, and since I’ve cried myself out, I thought writing may take more of the edge off.” He sat down on the bed next to her.

“Wow.”

“Yeah, I figure this way, I can get it all out for a while. You know? Oh! And guess who was over here when I came home? Riley! He said he’d protect us, blah, blah, blah. I can’t stand him anymore. I don’t know if it was because of what I saw or what, but I think he’s so full of shit, you know?” She closed the book and sat back. “Wanna talk?”

He stood to do his ceremonial ‘take off the duster’ and sat down next to her. She leaned into him, her head on his chest. He held his arms out, looking down at her golden colored hair, not sure where to place them. “Hold me, can you? I need major comforting right now, and you’re the closest thing I have to a best friend right now, so you get the job.” His cool arms enveloped her, tightly to reassure her.

“Am I wrong?” she whispered.

“No, I think sometimes you’re completely off your rocker and you need someone to pull you back down to where you need to be, but no, you’re not wrong.” He stopped. “Are we speaking metaphorically?”

“Either.”

“Oh, no.”

“I want to know what it was that triggered this whole doom and gloom prophesy we have going on. I hate not knowing. Especially now.”

He thought for a moment and considered this. “It’ll come out alright, you’ll see Sl—Buffy. She’s a nice lady who deserves better than the due you’re giving her.”

She leaned back farther into his chest and lifted her eyes to look into his. “Do you ever think about me when we’re not together? I mean, like when you’re alone in your crypt?”

He closed his eyes. Should he tell her, or should he make her wait? After all, his feelings may be fleeting, and she didn’t need that as well, not at this time of her life. He chose another route. “I think about you all the time, pet. I think about how strong you are, how you’ve kicked my ass more times than I can count, and about how no one seems to get the best of you, no matter how hard they try. And you know why? Because you’re Buffy.”

“Wow. A simple yes or no would have been fine there, Spike.” She looked back down. “I think about you all the time anymore. I don’t know why, and I know it’s wrong, but I can’t seem to make it work. Not right anyway. You come into my head at the crappiest times.”

He opened his eyes and clenched his jaw. “You are something of an enigma, Summers.” He laughed a little. “You’re not supposed to think about me at all. You need to find a friend that can go in the sunlight. That would be mush healthier in the brain department.”

She contemplated that. “Too bad Angel destroyed the Gem of Amara, huh?”

He sighed, “Yeah, too bad at that.”

A long silence passed. “I can’t be in love with a vampire”

An even longer silence passed. “I can’t ever love a slayer.”

“Glad to know we have common goals, with us calling a truce and all.”

“Yeah, pet, it is.” He could feel her heartbeat slow. “’M gonna head out.” He started to move, slowly, as though not to wake her.

“Hold me, Spike. At least till I’m all the way asleep. Then you can leave if you want.” She yawned.

His answer was very quiet as he settled back underneath her. “Bugger.”





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