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Chapter Seventeen

When the sun was sinking below the western horizon, Buffy helped Spike put his extra clothes and some books into boxes to carry to her mother’s house. He insisted she was not driving his “baby”, and over her objections went to retrieve his car from it’s parking place behind the caretaker’s house.

She breathed a sigh of relief when he roared up to the door and threw it open with a flourish.

“Okay, show-off. Let’s get this stuff loaded,” she grumbled. “I want to get to Mom’s in time for dinner.”

When the car was loaded, they carefully covered the entrance to the lower part of the crypt so that, hopefully, any unwanted visitors would not know there was another level full of things worth stealing. Leaving the crypt looking as though Spike had just gone out for the evening, they got in the car and drove to Revello Drive.

“Leave your stuff in the car until I explain everything,” Buffy instructed as they pulled into the driveway. “We’ll bring it in after Mom says you can stay.”

Still grumbling about being babied, Spike followed his mate into her mother’s house.

Joyce was surprised, but delighted to see them and immediately insisted they stay for dinner. Buffy, who hadn’t eaten since that morning in the school cafeteria, smiled triumphantly at Spike and agreed enthusiastically.

“I, uh, I don’t think I have any blood, Spike,” Joyce said apologetically. “But the roast beef is very rare.”

“Roast beef is fine, Joyce. I’ll get some blood later.”

When dinner was over, and they were sitting quietly at the table, Joyce looked at the two supernatural blonds in front of her and asked firmly, “So, what’s this all about?”

“I can’t come by my mother’s house for dinner without an ulterior motive?” Buffy did her best to look offended while Spike rolled his eyes.

“Buffy, you only moved back into the dorm yesterday. And I haven’t seen Spike since right after I came home – I haven’t even seen any of his dirty laundry,” she said, shooting a teasing look at the embarrassed vampire. “Now, here you both are, having dinner with me as though you do this every week.”

“Told you your mom wasn’t stupid, love,” Spike said, smiling at Joyce.

“Okay, mom. Here’s the sitch. Riley is kinda...bent out of shape...over Spike and me spending so much time together this summer, and then Giles said some stuff about Spike being all chosen to help me by the Powers That Be and being my warrior or something, and Riley got really mad and said it was all mumbo jumbo, and he stomped out and I’m afraid he’s gonna hurt Spike.”

She stopped to gasp for breath and looked at her mother to see how much of what she’d said how actually been understandable. Joyce looked from her daughter to the vampire she’d come to like so much and asked mildly, “And does Riley have any reason to be upset about this summer?”

Buffy looked at Spike with her deer-in-the-headlights stare and began to breathe rapidly.

“Easy there, pet,” he soothed. “You’re going to hyperventilate.”

‘Buffy?” her mother prodded, although the look on her daughter’s face confirmed what she’d suspected since her surprise early arrival home.

Spike looked at Buffy with an inscrutable expression as he waited to hear what she as going to tell her mother about them. He could feel her nervousness and excitement, but decided not to send any emotions back until he heard her answer.

Taking a deep, calming breath, Buffy stood up and walked over to stand behind Spike, resting her hands lightly on his shoulders.

“I suppose he does, in the whole I-didn’t-tell-him-I-was-seeing-somebody-else kinda way. But I thought we, Spike and I, were just friends having a little summer fling.” She felt the vampire’s shoulders tense and could feel the anger he was feeling. Giving his shoulders a little squeeze and at the same time trying to send him reassuring thoughts, she looked her mother in the eye and continued, “But it looks like it’s not...not just a fling. We’re together now and Riley—“

“Soldier boy wants to put a piece of pointy wood through my unbeatin’ heart,” Spike growled for her. “And with this soddin’ chip, I can’t really do much to defend myself against humans.”

Joyce studied the two anxious young people in front of her and realized with a start that they were more or less asking for her blessing. Since Buffy had never bothered to even let her mother know when she started dating anyone else, Joyce was taken back at what that indicated about the seriousness of the relationship. She made a quick decision and stood up abruptly.

“Well, if Spike’s going to stay here, we’ll have to set up the cot in the basement. That way I won’t have to worry about him spontaneously combusting while I’m gone if he falls asleep watching Passions in front of the picture window.”

Buffy jumped out from behind Spike and hugged her mother.

“Thank you, Mom,” she whispered. “I love you.”

Smiling to herself, Joyce went to get clean linens from the closet. While she was doing that, Spike and Buffy got his things out of the car and carried them to the basement. By the time Joyce got there with the clean sheets, they had set up the cot and arranged Spike’s books on a makeshift shelf. They put his duffle bags of clothes on the floor at the foot of the bed.

She handed the clean sheets to her daughter and said, “Buffy, please make up the bed. Spike, I’d like to talk to you upstairs, please.”

The vampire followed the Slayer’s mother up the stairs, feeling more like a twelve year old than his actual 150 plus years of existence. When they reached the kitchen, Joyce gestured to him to sit on a stool as she faced him with her hands on her hips.

“Do you think you could be a little more specific with me than just, ‘It’s more than a summer fling?’ What exactly is between you and my daughter?”

“Not my place to tell you what she’s feelin’. But I can tell you I love her more than my unlife. I’ll never hurt her, and I’m gonna do my bloody best to see that nothin’ else does either.”

Joyce nodded her head and sighed heavily, “I guess my illusions about her having a normal life and giving me grandchildren to play with are just that – illusions.”

“I can’t give you grandchildren, Joyce,” he said softly, “and the Slayer’s life was never gonna be normal. But I’ll do my best to give her as close to it as I can. That’s all I can promise you. That, and I’ll never leave her,” he added.

Just then Buffy appeared at the top of the stairs looking suspiciously from her mother to the vampire.

“Is everything okay up here?”

“Everything’s fine, love. We just need to get my car moved to somewhere else and do a quick patrol while your mum gets to bed.”

Joyce reached into a drawer and pulled out a key on a ribbon. She handed it to Spike with a casual “I’ll probably be asleep when you come in. This works on both the back and front door.”

The vampire stared in awe at the small piece of metal in his hand.

“Thank you, Joyce,” he said softly as they exchanged a look that said much more than their words.

After moving Spike’s old Desoto to a rented garage, Spike and Buffy did a quick patrol of the cemeteries before heading back to her dorm. He walked her up to her room, making a note of where it was and what was below the windows.

“I don’t want you walking back to my house by yourself,” she pouted, bringing his attention onto her lips. He nipped at the plump lower one that she was sticking out and said, “I’ll be alright, love. And if anything happens, you’ll know as soon as I do.”

“That’s right! I forgot. I”ll know that you’re okay...or not.”

He put on a mock angry face. “We get mated for life, and you ‘forgot’ already? Guess that honeymoon’s over, huh, pet?” he teased.

“Honeymoons are for married people, Spike. They follow weddings, with flowers and...flowers and cake, and...stuff. Not—“

He cocked his head at her and asked seriously, “You know, to a vampire, this is a marriage. You did understand that part of it, didn’t you, Buffy?” He looked at her anxiously, wondering if she was having second thoughts about the claiming.

She nodded her head and moved into his arms, holding up her face for a goodnight kiss.

“I know. I didn’t mean anything by it. I’m just tired and cranky. Sleepy Buffy isn’t a very nice person sometimes.”

“Sometimes?” He raised his eyebrow and laughed when she thumped him on the chest.

“Alright, love. You go get some sleep and I’ll go back to hide in your mum’s basement. Good night, sweetheart.”

“Nite, Spike. Be careful.”

“Got a lot to be careful for now, pet. Don’t worry.”

With another long lingering kiss, he slipped out the door and out of the dorm.

Buffy watch him crossing the quad until she couldn’t see him anymore, then turned away and got undressed for bed. She turned off the light and tried to sleep, but worry over Spike kept her tossing and turning until she felt him sending her reassurance and comfort. Smiling at the knowledge that he was now safely ensconced in her mother’s basement, she tried to project her contentment back to him as she closed her eyes and slept.


Chapter Eighteen

It took a surprisingly short amount of time for Joyce to get accustomed to having a vampire living in her basement. When she got up in the morning, the door would be shut and there would be no sign of Spike’s presence except the washed cup in which he drank his blood sitting upside down in the dish drainer.

When she got home in the evening, he would be on the couch watching the TV, ready to tell her all about the happenings on Passions if she felt she didn’t have time to watch the episodes he’d taped for her. She also found that whatever dishes she had left in the sink from her breakfast were washed and put away.

While Joyce fixed and ate her dinner, he would join her, sipping from his cup of blood, for conversation about the gallery and artists. She found, to her surprise, that he was quite knowledgeable about art, and their conversations were interesting and stimulating. She even found that he knew of local Sunnydale artists whose work not only deserved to be shown, but would compliment the other things in her gallery.

Most nights, Buffy would arrive shortly after dinner and, after a quick visit with her mother, she and Spike would leave for a night of patrolling. They were both frustrated by their inability to spend the night together. Spike could not stay in Buffy’s dorm room, as that would mean he was either walking back to Revello Drive alone or that he was stuck there all day waiting for the sun to go down. And, while Buffy was sure her mother knew that they were lovers in the full sense of the word, she wasn’t comfortable sleeping with him in her mother’s basement and sneaking out before dawn.

Nor would Spike hear of her doing such a thing.

“I’m not havin’ you come to shag me and then walk yourself back home like some...some...”

When Buffy raised an angry eyebrow, daring him to complete his sentence, he backpedaled quickly.

“’M sorry, pet. It’s the Victorian man in me. You leavin’ my bed to take yourself home unescorted just sends poncey old William into a frenzy. Know you can take care of yourself, but...bloody hell! It’s just not right!” he finished with an exasperated puff, glaring at her very poor attempt to smother her laughter.

When she finally gave up and rolled on the floor in hysterics, he drew himself up with an offended snort.

“Laugh it up, Slayer. Not my fault you’ve never had a gentleman before!”

As soon as she realized he was genuinely offended by her laughter, Buffy stopped and walked over to him. Touching his chin to make him look at her, she kissed the pout on his face and whispered, “You’re right. I haven’t ever had a gentleman. You’re going to have to show me how to be a proper lady, William.”

Unable to resist her pulling on his lower lip with her teeth, he began to kiss her back, mumbling a face-saving, “Not a miracle worker, y’know, love.”

They settled for ending each patrol at his crypt, making love for a couple of hours on his luxurious four poster, before parting sadly to go back to their respective single beds. Buffy couldn’t decide if the claim was making that better or worse.

On the one hand, she could feel the love and reassurance that he sent her every night before she went to sleep and she found it a very pleasant way to nod off. On the other, she ached for the physical contact that was so enhanced by the claim. Falling asleep lying skin to skin next to the vampire was at once the most erotic and the most comforting experience she’d ever had. Not since she was very young, and her mother’s loving arms and warm kiss could make anything better, had contact with another person made her feel so safe and secure.

If it weren’t for her very real concerns about Riley’s less than understanding reaction to her attempts to break up with him, she would have allowed Spike to move back into his crypt just so they would have a place to stay together all night.

But the ex-commando was not receiving the message she was sending. Or, she was coming to believe, he was deliberately misunderstanding it.

When she told him she would be patrolling with Spike every night, he insisted he would be accompanying her just in case Spike “scampered off when things got hairy.” She finally allowed him to come with them one time, frantically sending Spike soothing thoughts when she felt the rage surge in him at the soldier’s swaggering approach.

“Just trust me,” she hissed too low for anything but vampiric hearing as they all headed for the first of Sunnydale’s many cemeteries.

She broke into an effortless jog, noting with satisfaction that both men were keeping up with her. Riley, of course, insisted on being slightly in front, as though to meet anything evil they encountered before she could. Buffy rolled her eyes at Spike, but allowed the big man to stay in front until a look from Spike and her own vampire sensing tingles told her there was something ahead.

Lacking their superior senses, Riley was obliviously jogging straight ahead, looking around for possible “hostiles” and wishing he still had all his infrared gear.

Suddenly, with a burst of speed that he couldn’t begin to match, Buffy flew past him and off to the left where she sensed the newly risen vamp. When Spike blew past in a swirl of black leather, Riley broke into a sprint that still left him arriving at the scene in time to watch Buffy brushing off the dust.

“Nicely done, pet,” he heard the smiling vampire say as he nodded to their right. “But you’re not done yet.”

Buffy whirled and caught the attacking vampire on the point of her stake. She could see several confused minions milling around near the empty grave, clearly unsure what to do with their lord and master turned into dust by a small blonde girl.

Ignoring Riley’s hesitant, “Buffy, I think there might be too man-“, she rolled her shoulders and with a joyful “You take the ugly ones” to Spike, she did two handsprings to land behind the startled group.

By the time Riley got his stake out and approached the melee, Spike had dusted two very large and very ugly vamps, while Buffy played with the last of the three she had chosen. Leaving Riley to attempt to stake the lone female in the group, a thin brunette who seemed more interested in running away than fighting.

Buffy threw her remaining vamp at Spike, who caught it on the point of his stake with a flourish. They both turned to watch Riley stake his vamp, only to see her crying on the ground as he loomed over her.

“Riley, it’s me! Please don’t stake me. I wasn’t hurting anybody. You know I wou—“ Her pleas were cut off when he plunged the stake into her chest and stood over the spot breathing hard.

He looked up to see Buffy looking at him with puzzled eyes and glanced away quickly, only to meet the eyes of the vampire, which were not puzzled, but cold and filled with complete understanding.

“Riley? Why did she know your name? Did you know her before she was turned?”

With great relief, he agreed immediately. “Yes, yes, I did. I think she used to work for the initiative,” he said firmly. “That’s where I know her from.”

Buffy accepted his answer without question, but the vampire just snorted and turned away.

“Yeah, well, good job there, Capt’n Cardboard. Staking your vamp, I mean.”

“Yes, that was very good, Riley,” Buffy said cheerily. She looked around at the loose dust and shrugged. “Guess we’re done here. Time to head for the next stop.”

She made eye contact with Spike and flicked her eyes toward the next cemetery.

“Last one there’s demon meat!” she trilled and took off at a speed she knew Riley couldn’t hope to match. She could feel Spike right behind her and put on another burst of speed, joying in the physical release provided by the run as well as the pleasure she got from playing with her mate.

Again, Riley arrived panting and late to watch Buffy and Spike tag teaming a large, hairy demon that seemed more than willing to take on both vampire and slayer. Riley’s one attempt to join them was met with a backhand swipe of a paw that knocked him to the ground and from there he watched as the two lithe blonds whirled and kicked, ducked and punched almost in unison. He had to admit, as he watched them take the occasional hit, that they were much more suited to fighting something as large and strong as this particular type of demon than he was.

And when they were done, and the demon’s head had been wrested from its body by the snarling vampire, their comfortable kidding about each other’s missed opportunities and potential mistakes gave him some insight into how poorly a human man, even a chemically enhanced one, fit in to Buffy’s usual nocturnal activities. And, he had to admit that if she expended as much energy every night as he had seen tonight, she had a right to be “too tired” to want to see him after.

However, when she sent him back to his apartment again, while she stayed with the vampire, his brow darkened and he glared hard at the smirking blond before striding off toward the campus.

The next day, when he showed up outside her class to walk her to the cafeteria, he admitted grudgingly that Spike might be a better choice for a fighting companion.

“It’s okay, Buffy. You made your point last night. I can’t match what the two of you can do together. I think I get it. I would slow you down. Especially now, with the drugs working their way out of my system, I’m losing what little extra strength I had. I can see why you’d want to patrol with someone you didn’t care about losing rather than worry about protecting a human.”

Buffy stared at him with dismay.

“Riley,” she started, not quite sure what she was going to say, but knowing he still wasn’t getting the picture. “Riley, I like you a lot. You know that, right?”

The frown on his face told her he wasn’t hearing what he wanted to hear.

“But?” he asked bluntly.

She took a deep breath and blew it out hard before replying.

“This is really hard for me. I’m usually on the other end of these conversations.”

“Waiting for the ‘but’, Buffy.” He gave her no sign he wasn’t going to make her say what they both knew she was going to say.

“But I don’t think this is working out as well as I...we...hoped it would when we started dating. There is just too much you don’t understand about my life, my calling, my...friends.”

“Are you including Spike in that?” he asked coldly.

“Yes, Riley. I am including Spike in that. We have become very...close in the past few months. He is a part of my life. An important part,” she added quietly.

“Exactly how important is he, Buffy?” He glared at her fiercely. “Is he important enough to get a pass on staking when that chip goes? Is this another vampire that gets to walk the earth forever because he’s ‘important’ to the Slayer?”

The venom in Riley’s usually gentle voice startled her and she couldn’t reply for a minute.

“Sp...Spike’s not feeding,” she finally said uncertainly. “And..and you met Angel. You know he has his soul. He doesn’t kill either.”

“That you know of,” he said cryptically. “And I’ve heard all about how stable the soul is. Both of these vampires that seem to be so important to you are only safe because something is keeping them from killing. What would you do if and when one of them lost those safeguards, Buffy? What would you do then?”

Buffy stood up, her face as hard and cold as he had ever seen it, “I would do the same thing I did the last time, Riley. My job. I would send him to hell.”

The big man was taken back at both her expression and her words, “The last time?”

“Oh, did you miss that part of the story? Yes, when Angel lost his soul, I ran a sword through his chest and sent him into a hell dimension to save the world. I was seventeen and loved him with everything I had. I had no idea the Powers That Be would send him back after he’d suffered long enough. I thought he was gone forever. I did it then, and I would do it again if I had to. It’s what I do.” She stared hard at her now ex-boyfriend. “But I will NOT do anything to either of them unless or until they give me a reason to. Is that clear, Riley?”

“Perfectly,” he said coldly. “If a vampire gets between the Slayer’s legs –“ At Buffy’s start of surprise, he grinned thinly. “Oh, yeah. I’m not as dumb as you two think I am, Buffy. As I was saying, if a vampire makes it into your pants, he gets a free pass no matter what he’s done in the past.”

“This conversation is over,” she ground out as she whirled and left the cafeteria.

Anger and guilt fueled her body and she got to the magic shop in record time. Bursting through the door, she went straight for the training room to begin pounding on the heavy bag.

After fifteen minutes of unrelenting pounding, her watcher timidly put his face in the door to inquire, “Would you like to talk about it?”

Buffy dropped her arms and let out a weary sigh.

“I just had the break-up conversation with Riley and it got a little nasty. I figured it was better for me to take it out on the bag than on his face.”

Staring at the still-swinging bag, the older man said wryly, “And I’m quite confident that his face thanks you for that consideration.”

She laughed softly and managed to look ashamed and angry at the same time. She sat down on the mats and put her head in her hands.

“He thinks I should stake Spike and Angel,” she said quietly. “I know he thinks he’s saying it because they’re vampires...”

“But?”

“But I think he’s just jealous. He said...he said something really ugly about why I haven’t staked them.”

“Well, I can quite imagine what he had to say about Angel; but, Spike? Surely he doesn’t think you and Spike....” His voice trailed off when she raised her head to look at him.

“Oh, dear Lord,” he murmured almost to himself. “I had no idea you would take my rambling about the Powers and Spike being chosen so seriously. Oh dear!”

“Relax, Giles,” she grinned at his distress, “You had nothing to do with it. We were way ahead of you.”

“You were...oh! Oh, my.”

The watcher began polishing his glasses vigorously and blushing a deep red color. When his color had dropped to a rosy pink, and the glasses were spotless, he put them back on and looked up at his Slayer.

“Who knows about this...change...in your relationship?”

“Just my mom – oh, well, and apparently Riley; and I don’t even want to know how that happened.”

“You do realize this places Spike in even more danger, do you not?”

“Yeah. I know. I’ll warn him tonight to be extra careful. I think he’s safe at my mom’s though. I don’t think Riley knows he’s there, and even if he did, surely he wouldn’t do anything in my mom’s house....”

“I certainly hope, for your sake as well as Spike’s, that you are correct, Buffy. Please do not forget that this is a man who hid information from you for quite some time last year. You do not really know what he may be capable of if he is sufficiently angry.”





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