Chapter Twenty
The walk out of the labyrinth that was the old Initiative complex was quiet and uncomfortable for both Buffy and Riley. She tried very hard to get him to release her hand without actually yanking it away and he tried very hard to ignore her lack of response when he laced his large fingers through her tiny ones. When he had to use both hands to open the door to the outside, she moved quickly away far enough that he couldn’t pick her hand back up easily.
Before he could do or say anything, Buffy turned to face the rest of the group and went into complete Slayer mode.
“Okay, here’s the sitch. We don’t know if Anglelus is back yet or if it’s still just a possibility. But we do know that Darla is back and that Dru is with her, so nobody goes anywhere unarmed or alone. Holy water, crosses, stakes, the whole enchilada. Spike and I will walk everybody in tonight and check the house before we leave you there. Willow will do a dis-invite anywhere Angel has been. Any questions?”
“Why Spike?” Riley asked quietly. His unspoken, “Why not me?” lingered in the air.
Still in Slayer mode, Buffy didn’t concern herself with his feelings as she snapped, “Because they’re his family. He’ll feel them if they’re anywhere around. Probably before I do. And because he’s got a better shot at standing up to them than anyone else besides me. Or have you forgotten that he’s almost as strong as I am? If my dreams are right, this is our fight – you aren’t a part of it. None of you are,” she added almost apologetically as she included her watcher and friends. “The most important thing to me is just to see that you are all safe somewhere before we go looking for Angel and his bloodthirsty harem.”
“To which we sincerely hope he will not be adding you,” Giles said dryly.
“Exactly!” Buffy said at the same time as Spike growled, “Not going to happen. I’ll dust first.”
“Whoa! Wait. Did I miss something while I was helping Riley collect new and awesomely manly toys? What’s this about adding Buffy to a harem?”
She rolled her eyes at her watcher before saying calmly, “In the dreams, Angelus is trying to...to rape, drain and turn me. Not a fun experience. Spike is trying to save me, but he’s always chained or unconscious or something and I’m all pathetic, scared girl who doesn’t fight back. Now you know as much about the situation as we do, can we go now?”
Angry at having revealed so much of her dreams in front of Riley, she turned and began stamping toward the parking lot where she could see Giles’ car and Riley’s SUV.
“So, Big Bad, you’re more of a rescuee than a rescuer, huh?” Xander snarked. He flinched when Spike turned amber eyes at him. Eyes that managed to look dangerous and devastated at the same time. He said nothing, just glared at the young man for a second, then turned away, his shoulders hunched.
Buffy had already reached the cars and waited impatiently for everyone else to get there. It was obvious that they could not all fit into Giles’ small car and she reluctantly asked Riley, “Do you think you could give us a ride to my house? I want Willow to do the dis-invite there first, and I need to warn my mom. Once we’ve done that and Giles has dropped Willow and Tara off at the dorm, we can ride with him and you can go home.”
“Where are you going?” he asked suspiciously.
“Oh,” she waved her hand airily, “I’ll probably go back to my mom’s after Giles calls Wesley and we find out what’s going on in LA. But we...I can walk from there home, so you don’t need to—“
Spike touched her arm lightly. “Tell you what, pet. Why don’t I get to your house under my own power? Give you and Captain Cardboard here a chance to catch up?” His message was unmistakable – he was giving her an opportunity to tell Riley it was over between them before things could become really awkward.
“Sounds like a good idea,” Riley agreed quickly, opening the door for Buffy. With a little luck, he figured they would be there and done before the vampire showed up.
Buffy met Spike’s eyes and smiled softly. “Okay,” she said as she got into the big vehicle, “I’ll see you at my house.”
The vampire had vanished into the shadows before Riley even noticed he was leaving. “Well, that was easier than I thought it would be,” he said in a puzzled tone. “I thought we’d have a hard time getting rid of him.”
He pulled the car out after Giles; then passed the smaller vehicle to head for Revello Drive. Buffy put a tentative hand on his arm. “Riley, the idea is to stay with them so that I know they’re ok.”
“Oh,” he said, slowing down and checking the rear view mirror. “But aren’t you worried about your mother too?”
“Spike will take care of Mom,” she said dismissively. “That’s why he went on foot.”
“Oh,” the ex-commando said again. “I should have known he wasn’t really giving me some time alone with you.”
“Actually, he was doing that too...” She took a deep breath and with an apology inherent in her voice, she began, “There’s something I have to tell you.”
“Is this where you tell me you want to stay friends? Cause, I’ve got to tell you, I prefer my friends not sneak around behind my back.”
She blinked, realizing that, just like everyone else, Riley had also seen the feelings building between the Slayer and the vampire. She sighed heavily.
“I really like you, Riley. And I’m very sorry if I’ve hurt you. I never intended to do that. And I did NOT sneak anywhere,” she said indignantly. “We fell into one of your old bosses’ secret weapons. We’ve been stuck in the past with nobody to depend on but each other. We just had the time and...opportunity...to realize what everybody, except us apparently, already knew.”
“And that would be?” She was a little surprised by the nastiness in his voice, but attributed it to the pain she was causing him.
“That we love each other,” she said simply. “I’m sorry, Riley. I truly am, but—“
“But all that stuff about not feeling any differently about me when I was a normal man was just a crock,” he said bitterly. “As soon as I couldn’t keep up with you, you ran off to fuck another vampire.”
Buffy smothered the hurt and anger she was feeling, and replied sadly, “Riley, this has nothing to do with how strong you are. It has to do with how Spike and I feel about each other. I’m sorry that I’m hurting you, but—“
“Spare me,” he snarled as he swung into the driveway. “And get the hell out of my car.”
“I’m sorry,” she repeated softly as she got down. “Be careful. Angelus knows who you are too.”
“I’m touched by your concern, but I’ll be fine.”
She opened her mouth to apologize again, but shut it without saying anything as Giles pulled up beside the car. As soon as she was out the door and had closed it carefully behind her, Riley threw the big vehicle into reverse and backed into the street, leaving black streaks as he accelerated away from the home in which he’d never really felt welcomed.
Obviously Xander had been filled in on Spike and Buffy’s new relationship, as his only comment on the abrupt departure was, “Good to know he’s taking it so well.”
Buffy sighed and walked toward the porch. “I hope he doesn’t do anything stupid – like go looking for Angelus or something like that. The funny thing is, he wasn’t surprised – just mad.”
When she pushed the door open, Buffy wasn’t surprised to find Spike in the kitchen already, watching her mother make hot chocolate for him. Joyce glanced up at the people crowding into her kitchen and went to the refrigerator for more milk. She also got out her teapot and put water on to boil for Giles, earning herself a grateful smile from the ex-watcher.
Willow and Tara went immediately to work on the dis-invite spell, while Buffy and Spike double checked the house to be sure Angelus wasn’t already in there. Satisfied that he wasn’t, and confident that he could no longer get in without an invitation, they relaxed for a few minutes over their hot chocolate.
The diamonds Buffy had forgotten to take off yet caught Joyce’s eye and pointing to the rings she said playfully, “Is there something you want to tell me, Buffy?”
“Uh, I thought we already did. Angel lost his soul, don’t let him in. Don’t go out after dark without me, don’t invite any blond or brunette women you don’t know in—“ Then she realized what her mother was looking at, and blushed.
“Oh! I forgot to take these off. I...we were...I had to...Spike gave...his mother...they’re not...” Taking pity on her babbling, the vampire interrupted.
“We explained Buffy’s presence by saying she was my American wife and I gave her those to wear to a party so she’d look like a proper Victorian matron.”
“So, you WERE in the past, then,” Giles said as he walked into the room. “We had assumed so, but...”
Buffy gave a shortened version of where they were, promising to fill in the details when the current crisis was over. Spike leaned over and whispered into her ear, “Gonna give them ALL the details, pet?” causing her to blush and smack him on the chest.
“No!” she hissed, “and if you try to, they’re going to hear all about your poetry.”
“You wouldn’t!” he said out loud.
“Watch me,” she replied smugly.
Drinks consumed and wards up, Buffy reluctantly hugged her mother, repeated her instructions to be careful, and followed Spike out the door to meet Giles and the witches at the dorm. A quick check of the room indicated no sign of Angel and she left them to create their own protective barrier. With space in the car, they joined Giles and Xander as they dropped him off at his house.
In spite of his insistence that “Deadboy” had never been to his house, let alone allowed in, Buffy and Spike gave it a quick once over before saying good-night. As Buffy went to join Giles in the car, Xander stopped Spike with a hand on his arm.
“Is it safe to assume you aren’t going to lose your soul and go all evil on her like her last undead boyfriend?” he asked, only half joking.
“Already evil,” Spike folded down one finger. “Don’t have a soul to lose.” he folded down another finger, “And would never do anything to hurt her.” He folded down the last finger, leaving only one sticking up in the boy’s face.
“All right, all right, sheesh! No sense of humor at all...” he grumbled, batting away the obscene gesture in front of him. “I was just saying...”
“You were saying you care about what happens to her. I get that, Whelp.” He turned to go, then said over his shoulder, “Your parents. They need to know not to—“
“My parents were born and raised in Sunnydale. They’re drunks, but they aren’t stupid. Nobody gets invited in here unless they’re standing in full sun and basking.”
The vampire nodded and ran to get in the small car. The trip to Giles’ apartment was very quick and in a few minutes they were walking toward the door, only to find it standing open. The watcher’s skin crawled as he remembered coming home another time when Angelus was loose, finding the woman he loved laid out on his bed with a broken neck. He closed his eyes in pain as he flashed back to the horrifying scene.
Spike went into game face, snarling as he caught the scent of his grandsire. He ran toward the open door as Buffy pulled a stake from her waistband and, ordering Giles to stay close, followed the vampire through the doorway.
A quick check showed that the older vampire had been there and gone. Buffy felt no trace of the tell-tale tingle that indicated the presence of a powerful vampire, and Spike could only find a scent that was hours old. With much trepidation, the three crept up the stairs and hesitantly approached Giles bedroom.
“I’ll look,” Spike said abruptly, having smelled blood and wishing to spare Giles and Buffy a repeat of the horror of several years ago. He looked into the room and shook his head in disgust. Lying on the ex-watcher’s bed was the body of pretty, dark haired woman. She didn’t really look a great deal like Jenny Calendar, but at a quick glance the scene was close enough to have provided Giles with an unpleasant shock.
Spike held up his hand to stop the two humans behind him, saying, “I’ll get this. You go back downstairs and start the dis-invite.”
Buffy turned Giles around, pushing his unwilling body until he shook himself and started down the stairs on his own. He quickly gathered his materials and began his own version of a vampire dis-invite spell.
Upstairs, the vampire quickly rolled the body up in the bedspread and put it over his shoulder. He took a slow look around the room to be sure he wasn’t missing some other nasty surprise left by his grandsire, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. He carried the body down the stairs and out the door, taking it far enough way that it wouldn’t be connected to the apartment complex before setting it down gently in a parking lot.
He carefully unrolled the ruined bedspread and took it with him to the nearest dumpster, correctly assuming that Giles would not want it back on his bed. There were no worries that the Sunnydale police were going to be investigating the latest murder all that carefully that they would be checking dumpsters for evidence.
By the time he returned, the dis-invite had been done and Giles had to ask him in again; a necessary task that the older man did immediately. Spike wondered if the man would be as accommodating if he knew about the chip’s malfunction.
“I presume that bundle you carried out the door was not my dirty linen,” the ex-watcher said wryly. He walked to a cupboard and took out a bottle of scotch. While he waited for Spike to answer, he got out two glasses and poured a substantial amount of the amber liquid in each one.
He held one out to the vampire, holding on to it and waiting for his answer.
Spike shrugged and said quietly, “No, wasn’t your dirty laundry. It was, without a doubt, Angelus’ work.” He took the drink with a nod of thanks and sprawled in the big chair. Buffy walked over and sat on his lap, sniffing his glass curiously and making a face that brought a smile to the faces of both men.
“What did he leave me this time?” Giles’ weary voice was evidence of how little he expected to hear anything encouraging.
“It’s gone. Don’t worry about it.” Spike said gruffly. “Nothing any of us could have done.”
Giles closed his eyes and tilted his head back, swallowing his drink and setting down the glass. “Let me guess,” he said flatly. “You found a young, beautiful woman, possibly Hispanic or...or gypsy heritage, lying on my bed with her neck broken.”
“I’m sorry, Rupert,” the vampire said quietly, astonishing the other man with the sincerity of his reply.
Giles waved his hand dismissively.
“Thank you for sparing me that sight. Once in a lifetime is more than enough.”
Her watcher fixed a distressed-looking Buffy with a hard eye as he said, “I expect you to rid the world of that scourge at the first opportunity. Is that clear?”
“But, Giles...if Willow can do the spe—“
Her watcher threw his glass across the room, shattering it against the wall. “Forget the bloody spell! Clearly the soul is unstable and you need to do your duty this time.”
The implication brought tears to Buffy’s eyes and she jumped off Spike’s lap and ran out of the room. They heard the door to the bathroom slam shut with enough force to crack the wall nearby and both men flinched at the sound.
“That was uncalled for, Watcher,” the vampire said mildly, but Giles could see the amber flashes in his eyes and knew that his words to Buffy were both unfair and dangerous. He nodded his head in recognition of the truth of Spike’s words and sighed heavily.
“You are quite right, Spike. It was wrong of me to speak to her like that, or to suggest that Jenny’s death was in any way her fault. But the thought of that monster being back among us has—“
“Right there with you, mate,” Spike growled. “If she doesn’t dust the bloody wanker, I will. If it’s the last thing I do.”
“I suspect you will have your own problems to worry about for awhile. From the way her former boyfriend left tonight, I would assume she told him about the change in your relationship?”
“Dunno what she told him,” he said with a glance toward the bathroom. “But with Angelus about, neither one of us needs to waste time worrying about him. I hope he just accepts it and leaves her alone.”
“And if he doesn’t?” The older man looked at him intently.
Spike shrugged and decided now was as good a time as any for the conversation he’d been avoiding.
“I’m not quite the pushover I was when we left,” he said obliquely.
“Which would, I presume, have something to do with this?” As he spoke, Giles pulled his hand from his pocket and held it out toward the vampire. Lying in his palm was a small piece of plastic and metal.
Spike’s hand went to his head automatically, feeling the scar left by the chip’s insertion.
“You knew?”
Giles nodded. “I found it on the floor of the room when you were gone. Willow recognized it immediately as a computer chip and...well, let’s just say we were all very grateful that you no longer seemed interested in Buffy’s death.”
“I love her, Rupert. Wouldn’t hurt her, or anyone she cares about.”
The ex-watcher stared at the quiet vampire for several minutes, then shook his head as he muttered to himself.
“Another vampire in love with a slayer. And this one with no soul. They just never covered anything like this in Watcher training.”
Spike’s faced had darkened at the reminder of Angel’s relationship with Buffy.
“I don’t need a bloody soul to love her. And neither would Angelus if he wasn’t such a sick, sadistic bastard. She deserves better than that. She’s too good for either one of us.”
“And don’t you forget it,” Giles said in his best Ripper voice. “I want you to understand completely that, while I am accepting this...relationship, I am in no way happy about it. Nor,” he added, with a hard look, “am I happy about the new marks on my slayer’s neck.”
Meeting the other man’s stare, hard eye to hard eye, he answered, “Not concerned with your happiness, Rupert. As long as Buffy’s okay with it, that’s all that matters to me.”
“And is she? All right with it?”
The vampire tilted his head to one side, exposing the mouth-shaped bruise on the side of his own throat.
“Seems to be,” he said mildly, waiting for a response.
Giles blanched slightly and reached for his scotch bottle. He shook his head and sat down again.
“I don’t understand...” he muttered. “I’ve not taught her anything about vampire mating habits. Why would she...”
“Some things you don’t have to be taught, Watcher. Buffy didn’t. She knew what she wanted to do and the demon responded. Not saying she expected it the first time, but she didn’t stake me for it either. The next time was all her idea.”
“You drank from my slayer.”
“Get over it. This wasn’t about feeding and you bloody well know it. And it was more than mutual. If it bothers you, I suggest you look into what the Council of Wankers’ predecessors used to create these teen-age killers they’re so fond of ordering around.”
Leaving that unsettling thought for another day, the suddenly old-feeling man got up and walked to the bathroom. He knocked lightly on the door and when there was no response, he sighed and said sadly, “Buffy, please come out so that I can make my apology in person.”
Very slowly, the door opened and Buffy edged out into the hall, keeping her distance from her surrogate father. She gave him a hurt, angry look and walked back to the living room and Spike’s lap. Giles followed her and knelt down on one knee in front of her.
“I am truly sorry, Buffy. The evening has brought some very unpleasant memories to the surface, and in my sadness and frustration I said something I didn’t mean. I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth. Please believe me that I do not in any way hold you responsible for Jenny’s death. And I am very aware that you did send Angelus – Angel to hell when you had to do so in order to save the world. Please accept my apology and forgive my thoughtless words.”
The sincerity of his words was clear, in spite of their pompousness, and Buffy softened her look and nodded her forgiveness as she snuggled back into her new vampire’s embrace. All three were silent for several minutes, each lost in his/her own thoughts about the return of Angelus and what it might mean for the future.
Riley sped away from Revello Drive, jealousy and anger churning his gut as he contemplated Buffy’s words. He guided the large vehicle to the warehouse district, pulling up behind an apparently empty building with an unusual number of cars near it. A quick knock on the door, a muttered word, and he was admitted to the place that had become his refuge before he left for Iowa.
A thin brunette stood up from her place on the couch and moved toward him slowly, smiling warmly.
“You’re back. I thought you might have decided you didn’t like it as much as you seemed to.”
“Let’s go,” he answered abruptly, pulling her by the hand toward the stairs.
To his surprise, she shook her head and said, “Why don’t we go somewhere more private instead? I have my own place now. We could be alone there...”
Too angry at Buffy to exert his usual caution, he nodded and allowed her to lead him out the door and into the alley. When she started walking instead of getting in his car, he hurried to catch up. Without even the smallest hint of suspicion, asking, “How far is it? Shouldn’t we drive?”
“It’s not far,” she said lightly. “I fixed myself a couple of rooms in a building right over there.” She gestured down the darkened alley and kept walking. When he didn’t immediately follow her, she paused and asked, “You’re not afraid of me, are you? You know I won’t hurt you. No more than you want me to,” she added, licking her lips.
“I’m not afraid on any bloodsucker on earth,” he blustered, hurrying to catch up with her. “Least of all a $10.00 whore.”
He missed the angry hurt on her face as he marched beside her, anxious to get some relief for his damaged self-esteem and aching cock. He followed her into a dilapidated building that was surprisingly well furnished on the inside. She guided him into a small apartment and led him straight into the bedroom where he immediately stripped off his shirt and unzipped his pants in preparation for the exchange of services about to take place.
The skinny vampire dropped her skirt and underwear on the floor, letting her demon out as she walked toward the waiting man with swaying hips. Just as he reached for her to pull her on to the bed with him, she exploded in his hands, her dust floating around his puzzled face.
When he had stopped coughing and could see again, he was surprised to find himself looking at not one, but two beautiful women – both looking at him as though he was something good to eat.
He grabbed his pants, attempting to pull them closed as he stared at the two giggling women. Before he could do anything, the blonde was beside him, her cool hand on his cock as she cooed, “Oh, don’t put that away big boy. We can still have some fun with it.”
The brunette was moving toward him, humming to herself as she got behind him on the bed and sniffed at his neck.
“Do you think Daddy will be angry if we take a little taste?” she asked in a childish voice, running her tongue up the suddenly frightened man’s neck.
“Y...you...wouldn’t want to make your daddy mad,” Riley gasped out as the two vampires forced him down onto the bed.
“It’s all right. I don’t care what they do to you, as long as they leave you alive for awhile.”
The deep, amused voice was vaguely familiar and sent a cold shiver through his body as he attempted to raise his head and look toward the door.
“Bad boy to try to look at Daddy,” Drusilla purred, effortlessly holding his hands over his head while Darla pulled his pants and shoes off. “He says we can have you to play with so you need to look at us.”
Obediently he looked at the two beautiful women holding him down without any apparent effort. He shuddered as their faces slipped from human to demon and they lay down beside him, one on each side. Darla ran a sharp nail down his torso, following the bloody trail left there with her tongue, while Dru sank her fangs into his wrist, pulling several deep draughts of his blood into her mouth.
Suddenly there was a large man standing over him and looking on with satisfaction. Recognition hit and Riley gasped, “I know you. You’re Angel.”
“You don’t know me at all, boy,” Angelus said with a toothy smile. “But you’re going to before I’m done. You’re going to know me very well.” He began to unbuckle his pants and Riley’s eyes got big as he began to struggle in earnest against the two powerful vampires holding him down.
He’d known about that strange connection between pleasure and pain from his increasingly frequent visits to vamp whores. But now he learned more. Not all vampires were the same. Not all of them offered more than pain.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry for the mix-up. Chapter Nineteen is now where it should be - before this one. :)