Chapter 3: Reunion
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Right now, Buffy hated mornings. It wasn’t bad enough that she’d woken up with what threatened to become a migraine, she’d also misplaced her weapons bag, and being without it made her feel ever-so-slightly vulnerable. Of course, she was the Slayer, but hefting a large axe in her hand always made her feel more comfortable. Not to mention that Riley was missing. Plus, she’d torn one of her favourite shirts when she’d stumbled out of Adam’s cave.
And she, Willow, Xander, and Giles still weren’t talking. The last thing she needed was a blond, bleached vampire to stumble up to her doorway, smoking from the sunlight.
“What in the Hellmouth are you doing here?” she hissed.
“Let me in!” Spike tried frantically to get past her. “Hello, I’m burning up here!”
Buffy pretended to ponder it. “And I should care… why? Mortal enemies, remember?”
“I’m here to help you,” the vampire exclaimed, stressing on the word ‘help’. Irritated by the dagger-like glare that she was giving him and her frosty attitude, he scowled. “Got that? I’m trying to help you!”
Buffy relented, but only because she knew that they were making a scene that she wouldn’t be able to explain to the neighbours. She threw him inside and then slammed the door behind her.
“As if I’d need your help,” Buffy replied coldly. “As if I’d ever need the help of an evil, soulless demon.”
Spike wanted to scream in frustration. A manly scream, of course. “Bloody hell, Slayer! I’ve helped you before, and if it hadn’t been for me, you’d be dead. Now will you bloody get off your high horse and listen to me? I’ve got the inside scoop on Adam.”
Buffy had been contemplating throwing him out into the sunlight for good until the word ‘Adam’ hit her. Quickly, without even thinking about it, she grabbed him by the collar and threw him into the living room, making him land neatly on the sofa, but still with his unneeded breath knocked out of him. Luckily for him, the curtains were still drawn. She stalked after the sailing vampire, glared at him, and then studied him, her arms crossed.
“Talk. Now.”
Spike groaned and sat up, sure that his back would become a massive bruise later. “Easy, Slayer. I haven’t eaten for three days now, you know. Had to come up with a bit of a plan before I came to you. A couple of excuses as well. For Adam.”
Buffy was about to remind him that he was an evil, soulless demon, or say something about him getting food later after he spilled, when she noticed his exaggerated cadaverous appearance. His eyes were sunken in their sockets, and his highly defined, delicate cheekbones seemed to almost sag in exhaustion. Surprising herself, she nodded curtly.
“I’ll get you some blood.”
Without waiting for a reply, she walked out to the kitchen to heat up some blood that her mother had insisted they store since the last time Spike had come around for a visit.
Spike stared in astonishment after the Slayer as she vanished. He hadn’t actually expected her to fetch him some food. All he’d wanted was some leeway before he started talking. He hadn’t been lying. After overhearing his fellow brethren’s conversation, he’d been shocked. Then he’d mentally berated himself. Then he’d cooped himself inside his crypt, furiously working out a plan. His first instinct, as hot-headed as he was, was simply to march to the Slayer and tell her everything. Then he remembered that there would be nothing to stop her from staking him after he admitted his allegiance with Adam unless he proved that he was serious. Thus, he used his moderate hacking skills to break into the Initiative. He wished that Red could have done it, but it would have defeated the purpose. Halfway through his research, he’d been startled by another of Adam’s minions, and had to concoct some rather implausible excuses to throw the demon hybrid off his trail.
The minute he finally thought he’d covered everything, he’d raced to Number 1630 on Revello Drive under cover of his usual blanket. It had only been when Buffy had thrown him onto the couch that he realized his exhaustion.
Now, he gave into it. Slumping down and finally relaxing, his eyes closed before he knew it.
Buffy almost dropped the mug of blood when she saw him asleep on the sofa. She quickly placed it on the coffee table before she did lose her grip on it, and then turned around. She violently pushed back the urge to shake him and demand answers, surprising herself yet again. Instead she leaned back and once more studied him.
His rumpled platinum blonde hair curled slightly as he lay, curled up in a loose foetal position. The roots were starting to show, as he’d not been able to tend to them while in his planning craze. His exhausted features were now somewhat at peace as he lay there. Lying there, a trusting expression on his face, he looked like an angel.
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“Buffy?”
Buffy almost cursed as she heard her mother descending the stairs. But Joyce was down before the Slayer could do anything about the vampire on the couch.
“Buffy, what’s…?” Joyce quickly stopped talking as she registered the scene before her. Surprise widened in her eyes. “Spike? Spike’s back in town?” she gasped.
“Talk about it,” Buffy muttered. “Being a pain in my…”
The look of surprise turned into one of injury. “But… he didn’t ring me!”
“What…?”
Buffy sat down in one of the armchairs, feeling her headache throb once again as she attempted to register the myriad of new information that had assaulted her so quickly in the last ten minutes. “What? Mum… did you say…?”
Joyce coloured. “What? I am allowed to keep my own acquaintances, Buffy. He’s a nice man, too.”
“He’s not a man, mum! He’s a vampire! You know… evil bloodsucking soulless demon?!”
“Now stop that,” Joyce scolded her daughter, who was gesticulating wildly. “You’ll wake him. Now get him his blanket, tuck him in, and then we should have a talk. In the kitchen.”
Almost sullenly, Buffy picked up the discarded blanket and walked over to the couch. Joyce watched with interest as she threw it haphazardly over him. It fluttered down to cover his face and leave his still-booted feet in the air. Despite herself, Buffy relented, dragging the blanket down and tucking the edge gently under his chin.
“Good,” Joyce muttered satisfactorily. “Now, we need to talk.”
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Buffy looked rather ungraciously at the swirling cocoa she held in her hand. She watched her mother walk around the kitchen, smiling, half-talking to herself. “I’m glad I stocked up on the marshmallows.”
“Marshmallows?” Buffy asked, confused.
“The mini-marshmallows. Spike loves them.”
Buffy slammed her mug down, the remaining liquid sloshing over the rim and burning her. But she ignored it. “Okay, that does it! I want him out of my life, out of this town…”
“Buffy! Stop it! Honestly, you’re acting like a child.”
Joyce couldn’t help laughing over the incredibly sulky look Buffy gave her. “You are, you know.”
“Mum, he’s an evil, soulless demon!” she repeated again.
“And he also hasn’t hurt you lately, has he? Otherwise I would be hearing rants about how you were going to finally stake him.”
Buffy scowled. “The only reason he hasn’t is because of the chip.”
She sighed as she saw the questioning look on her mother’s face. Something in her wanted to keep her mother protected from all of this. But she knew now that Joyce was entitled to at least hear about her… contact. Buffy couldn’t bear to think of her mother and her ex-arch-nemesis as… friends. Quickly, she outlined all that had happened. Including, grudgingly, the times when Spike had helped them. Joyce listened patiently throughout, until she finished. Just before she was about to launch into a rant about Spike, she was stopped by the look in her mother’s eyes. Pity.
“So, what are you planning to do?”
“What am I planning to do? I’m planning to punch him until he wakes up, choke the information out of him, and then throw him out into the sunlight to burn.”
“Buffy!” Joyce gasped shocked.
Buffy grinned. “Don’t worry, Mum. I was joking.”
Joyce gave her ‘the look’.
“Fine,” Buffy admitted. “Maybe I’m not joking. I mean, the first two are perfectly reasonable, right? And the third one’s tempting…”
“Buffy, there will be no punching, choking, or throwing of guests out into the sunlight to burn in this house. Now you look tired, you should go back to sleep.”
“Oh, he’s a guest now? And you expect me to go back to sleep with him in the house? You’ve got to be kidding me! Besides, there’s a lot I have to do.”
“You only have afternoon classes today, though, don’t you?” Joyce asked, perplexed.
“Yes, I know,” Buffy sighed, frustrated. “But I have to meet up with Giles, Willow and Xander.”
“Oh, very well then.”
“Wait! I can’t leave you alone with him!”
“Buffy, I need to go to the gallery today, anyway.”
“Well I’m not leaving him in the house alone! He might trash it or something.”
Joyce was going to argue, but she could see her daughter was in full stubborn-Buffy mode. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she instead thought of a solution. “Fine then,” she sighed. “We’ll compromise. Why don’t you ring them and tell them to come here?”
“Okay,” she decided, her eyes clouding slightly as she remembered the reason behind their meeting, and the nagging feeling she’d had that had led to her calling it.
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There was a stony silence as the four of them surveyed each other. Buffy had closed the doors to the living-room, not wanting her friends to see the still sleeping vampire. As they stood in the dining room, discomfort hanging palpable in the air, Buffy broke the silence. She wished that someone else could have. That someone else could have just come to her and said that all was forgiven, and they could work together. But as always, it had to be her. She had to start somehow…
“Where’s Anya?” the words left her mouth before she could stop them.
Xander looked at her, coldness still in his gaze. “Despite all the fun we had last night, Anya decided not to show up.”
“And… and Tara didn’t feel welcome.”
Buffy had to stop herself from trying to flinch. It was time for her to get this over and done with. No more stalling. She addressed Willow first. It was almost automatic.
“Willow, who told you specifically that we were talking behind your back about you, Tara, and your magic?”
“Well it was horrible that you did,” Willow replied angrily. “I mean, I can do what I…”
“Willow!” Buffy tried desperately. “Please! Just tell me. Who told you?”
Willow grudgingly acquiesced, her nose crinkling slightly as she tried to remember. Her eyes remained stony when she finally replied. “Well, Spike, specifically.”
Buffy nodded grimly. It was just as she’d expected. Next, she turned to Xander.
“And you? Who told you that we thought you were useless and better off joining the army?”
“Well I knew you were thinking it,” Xander lashed back defensively. “You were all thinking it. Stupid Xander, who doesn’t go to college and can’t hold a job…”
“Xander! Just tell me! Who told you?”
Xander, too, had to stop and think. “Well, those weren’t exactly the words he said.”
Buffy could almost feel that slight tingle in her gut when she knew she had solved something. She felt a strange trickle of pride that was ridiculously out of place.
“And you? Giles? Who told you…?”
Buffy didn’t have to finish her question. Giles had caught on. “Well… I’m very stupid.”
“He’s been playing us,” Buffy explained. “He wanted to split us up.”
“So… that’s where all the stuff we said last night came from, right?”
“Of course,” Xander looked at them uncomfortably.
“I get it… but why?”
“You know, what I don’t get is that you actually listened to him,” Buffy commented, still irritated.
“Spike can be… quite convincing when he wants to be,” Giles tried lamely.
Willow almost immediately switched to apologizing mode. “Oh god, I’m sorry for the stuff I said last night, Buffy. I didn’t mean it, but I thought…”
“I think we all owe each other an apology,” Buffy grimaced. “We all said some pretty horrible things. And, I’m sorry. I hate that things have been strained between all of us.”
“It’s not your fault. Spike stirred up trouble. And I shouldn’t have listened to him. I mean Spike, of all people…”
“He’s not a person, he’s a thing,” Xander looked angry. “But yeah, I’m with you, Willow. We shouldn’t have believed him.”
“I guess I’ve got my own apologies to add,” Giles looked embarrassed.
Buffy shook her head. “It’s not your fault.”
“But he stirred up trouble so easily. It’s terrible that we all turned on you just because he said a few things.”
“I think that he stirred trouble up so easily because there was trouble to be stirred. We’ve all seemed to drift apart this year, guys. But I just want it to be like when we were in High School. You know… a tight group.”
“But you know, first year in college. It’s hard to keep the High School gig,” Willow tried to comfort her.
“But I want us to be close again. A tight group. I miss you, Will. And you, and you. I’m been so wrapped up in my own stuff this year, I’ve been a bad friend.”
“You’re the Slayer, Buffy. Your stuff is pretty crucial,” Xander laughed.
“No, I mean Riley,” Buffy blushed. “ And… Riley, mostly.”
“Well, I’ve been hiding stuff as well,” Willow confessed. “Keeping secrets.”
“Will, that’s not your fault. You were going through something huge.”
“I wanted to tell you, but I was scared,” Willow whispered contritely.
Buffy looked at her in horror. “Will, you can tell me anything!” she exclaimed with conviction. “I love you. You’re my best friend.”
“Me too, I love you too,” Willow smiled, finally, and they hugged each other. Before Xander or Giles had time to react, they were all being choked as an impromptu group hug took place.
Buffy grinned, headache and previous worries forgotten. “Let’s promise to never not talk again.”
“I promise,” they all echoed.
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When they all broke out of their embrace rather reluctantly, Willow looked thoughtful.. “Why would Spike go to the trouble of doing that, though?”
“He’s all dressed up with no one to bite,” Xander reasoned. “He’s got to get his yah-yahs somehow.”
“No. I think… no. I know that Spike’s working for Adam.”
“Spike’s working for Adam?” Xander exclaimed. “After all that we’ve done… nah. I can’t even act surprised!”
“Adam?” Giles asked, startled. “What makes you think that?”
“I found him wandering around in the caves below the Initiative. He kicked up a big fuss when I told him Adam was using them. Too big a fuss. And now this. Adam must be trying to split us up. We’re easier to take down that way. ”
“Well, why would Spike be working for Adam?”
“ ‘Cause he’s evil,” Xander groaned. “Come on, how many times did I tell you to just stake him?”
“Xander’s got a point, you know, Buffy. I know that you didn’t feel the need to stake him now that he’s been rendered, ah, harmless. But he’s shown now that he really isn’t.”
“I know what you mean, Giles. I probably should have, when I got the many chances to. Hell, I wish I had. We probably wouldn’t be in the trouble we are now,” she said bitterly.
“But?” Giles prompted, knowing there was always a ‘but’.
Buffy sighed for the umpteenth time that day. “He came to me today with some information. Important information. Made my headache worse by just being there.”
“Hang on a second, he came to you?! With some information? And now that we know he’s working for Adam, are you telling me he’s still breathing?”
Before anyone could correct him, he sighed. “Yeah, yeah, I know he doesn’t have to breathe. But you know what I mean!”
“Actually, he came saying that he had the inside scoop on Adam. With his information, we might be able to form a plan to defeat whatever he’s cooking up for us.”
“Already done, love.”
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(Thank you to everyone that's reviewed! :) )
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Author's Chapter Notes:
A/N Heh, I’ve included some of the original script for Primeval for diehard Buffy fans. : ) I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)