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Only one or two more chapters to go - hand in there!
Chapter Twenty-three

Back in Giles’s apartment, the vampire stopped the worried pacing he’d been doing almost since she left and froze in place. He had no sooner felt Buffy’s anxiety levels go up when she suddenly vanished and his demon let out an anguished roar, startling the watcher out of his doze on the couch.

Giles opened his eyes to find a fully vamped out Spike ripping a blanket off the bed in preparation for going outside. As he yanked the door open, Willow stumbled in, her hand still on the knob she’d been about to turn.

“Spike!” she yelped. “What the—“

“Get out of the way, Red. I’ve got to leave.”

“Spike.” The watcher’s quiet voice stopped his rush out the door into the sunshine and he paused to turn and look at him with devastated eyes.

“I can’t feel her anymore, Rupert. She was scared…and then she was gone.”

“G…gone?” Willow stammered. “You mean like…dead? Buffy’s dead?”

“Not dead. I’d know if she was dead. But unconscious. And hurt. Could feel the pain before I lost her.”

“Spike,” the watcher spoke again, the sympathy and fear in his own voice stalling the vampire’s dash into the still deadly sunlight. “Let Willow do a locating spell so we know where to go. By that time the sun will be down far enough for you to be safe out there. If you burn yourself to a crisp looking for her, Buffy won’t be happy with any of us.”

Calming down and realizing the logic in the man’s words, he turned around and pulled the door shut behind him.

“Make it damn quick, Witch,” he growled, sliding back into his human features.

Hands shaking with fear and nerves, Willow and Tara quickly set up the things they needed for a locating spell and Spike gave them Buffy’s nightgown to use as a conduit. His eyes dared any of them to say anything as he handed the voluminous, heavy gown to Tara. In spite of the seriousness of the situation, the watcher smothered a smile at the sight of the Victorian nightwear.

Spike watched anxiously as the two witches muttered the appropriate words over the nightgown and studied the map in front of them. By the time the locator light had settled on the warehouse district, Spike was already at the door again. He threw the blanket over his head as protection from the waning sunlight and left the building, shouting over his shoulder, “She’s waking up. I’m going on foot. You can bring the back up in the car.”

The instant the sun dropped below the horizon, the vampire dropped the smoking blanket on the sidewalk and continued running. He was using every bit of the vampiric speed he usually saved for fights, passing people so fast they weren’t sure they had actually seen anybody. He could feel Buffy’s fear building and tried to send her reassurance as he struggled to get there before his vampire family could turn the fear into something more fatal.

Giles threw several crossbows, holy water guns, and stakes into the car before joining the witches and following the vampire as quickly as he could. Fear for the slayer he loved like a daughter gripped his bowels and he vowed to kill Angelus himself if Buffy was so much as scratched.

********

Buffy woke up to find herself living out one of her worst nightmares. She was lying on a filthy mattress, her arms and legs tied with ordinary rope to various poles or pieces of machinery about the room. As if to make her worst fears come true, the terror that filled her at being in the same situation as in her last Slayer dream froze her in place and she didn’t even try to test the ropes that held her. She just moaned and shrank back as Angelus stood over her, smiling his pleasure at having her spread before him even if she did still have her clothes on. He planned to take care of that little problem very soon.

“Hello there, lover,” he crooned. “You know your heart is going so fast I can’t even count the beats. Is that because you’re so excited to see me? Or, wait, is it because you know what I’m going to do to you?”

Even as Buffy’s heart rate increased again for fear of the look in his eyes and the plan she knew he had for her, she sensed Spike’s arrival and realized he was coming to save her. She had no sooner begun to relax when she recalled that in her dreams he was not able to help her – that in fact he needed her help and she was unable to give it. Immediately her heart sped up again and she quailed against the mattress when she saw Riley standing in the doorway, stake and cross in hand.

She wondered briefly what Angelus had done to Riley to cause the vampire-hating, ex-commando to become an apparently willing accomplice in her entrapment. Then she decided it didn’t matter – the important thing is that he was currently standing between her and rescue, threatening her mate with dusting.

Telling herself that Spike would have no trouble with the obviously weakened and over-confident ex-commando, she looked around the room for Darla and Drusilla, trembling when she saw them go into vamp face as they felt Spike’s arrival. She frantically tried to send him a message to go away, to leave her to her fate, knowing that he wouldn’t listen but willing him to keep away.

Tears poured down her cheeks as she fought the paralyzing fear that she was going to see her mate torn to pieces and be unable to stop it. She didn’t even notice the feral grin on Angelus as he misunderstood her tears to be about her own fate.

*************

The car slid to a stop at the entrance to the alley just in time for them to see Spike’s duster disappearing into the open doorway. Tucking the stakes into his pockets and leaving one crossbow and the holy water for the witches, Giles grabbed the other crossbow and prepared to follow the vampire into the building. He ordered the girls to remain in the locked car and begin the soul restoration spell that he was sincerely hoping would not work in time to prevent the death of Buffy’s first love.

Inside the building, Spike was striding toward the area where his senses all told him Buffy was waiting for him. He could feel the terror pouring through the claim, and the relief when she sensed him in the building. When he felt the fear turn to sheer terror, he increased his speed and flew toward the area in which he could sense his mate. He made no attempt to hide his approach, knowing his “family” would have already sensed him.

Spike reached the entrance to the room, only to find a bloodied Riley blocking his way with a large cross in one hand and a stake in the other. Behind him, Spike could see Buffy lying on a dirty mattress, her arms and legs outstretched. He frowned when he saw that she was not fighting against the less than substantial looking ropes holding her. Her eyes were fixed on him and he understood the increase in fear he’d felt. She was no longer afraid for herself, she was afraid for him.

Even as his heart was warmed by her fear for his safety.--fear that he could feel radiating from her--he frowned at the way it was contributing to her inability to fight back. He looked back toward her, willing her to fight the fear and show them what kind of slayer she was.



“Ah, Will, you’re just in time to watch me take the Slayer before I drain her and make her a member of our little family. Maybe, when I’ve punished you enough for joining forces with her little band of do-gooders, I’ll let you play with her sometimes. After I tire of her myself, of course.”

Angelus just smiled in response to Spike’s outraged snarl and gestured for Darla and Dru to join Riley in seeing that the younger vampire could not get into the room. While they blocked Spike’s way, Angelus stalked toward the Slayer, unbuckling his pants as he did so. Buffy’s eyes widened as the former love of her life prepared to bring her nightmares to life by damaging her in the worst possible ways.

Ignoring the large man waving a cross in his face, and snarling at Darla so fiercely that she flinched back from her great grandchilde, Spike focused on Buffy and the obvious fear holding her to be mattress. Her eyes sought his and he could see her confusion when he didn’t just break the ex-commando’s neck and rush to her side.

As desperately as he wanted to tear Angelus’ head off and feed it to his blond whore of a sire, he waited for Buffy to understand that she could and should be handling this herself. He had no intention of letting any actual harm come to her if he could prevent it, but the sight of his strong, resourceful mate paralyzed by fear made him ill.


The disappointment and confusion on her face when he didn’t rush to her side made his stomach hurt, but he continued to pretend to be afraid of the foolish man in front of him. He waited to see what Buffy was going to do, startled when he heard her watcher behind him snarling, “What the hell are you waiting for?”

Without taking his eyes off the scene in front of him, Spike growled back, ”I’m waiting for her to remember she’s the Slayer. If I go in there now, she’ll doubt herself from now on. And that will get her killed.”

“As opposed to what’s about to happen now?” came the sarcastic rejoinder, but Giles acknowledged the truth of Spike’s remarks and waited, holding his cocked crossbow in front of him.

Spike sucked in a totally unnecessary breath as he watched his grandsire fall onto the body of his mate and reach for her neck with his fangs. The furious roar as he threw himself to the side and sprang to his feet was all Spike needed to know the claim had done its job.

“You dared!” he snarled. “That is the last time you will disrespect me, William.” He turned yellow eyes to his waiting women and his human minion.


“Kill him,” he ordered flatly and turned back to the now feebly struggling Slayer. “You might as well learn now how I deal with disobedience,” he said to her, placing a foot on her chest to hold her still. “As soon as he’s gone, you’ll be mine. It will be a lesson well-learned.”

At his words, Riley had rushed Spike with his upraised stake, confident that the vampire was helpless against him. He had no time to register his surprise as Spike backhanded him away into the advancing Drusilla who promptly bit him, holding his large body easily until she had drained him completely. She dropped his body to the floor and watched as her grandmother attacked her childe with teeth and nails.

“What the hell are you doing, Dru?” Angelus roar was even angrier. “I told you to kill him. You can make yourself another toy later.”

The brunette vampire shook her head, whimpering as she looked from where Darla and Spike where tearing at each other to where Angelus glared at her from beside the Slayer. She held her head in her hands, pulling on her hair as she wailed and cried, “Not mine. Not mine to kill.”

“I’ll do it myself, you crazy bitch,” he snarled, leaving Buffy to rush across the room. He grabbed Drusilla and shook her before flinging her away from him.

“You’ll pay for this later,” he promised, turning away and joining Darla in her attack on his errant grandchilde. He ignored the “Noooo!” from the now hysterical slayer as he grimly went about helping his sire dust their most irritating family member.

Giles watched Dru helplessly as the insane vampire crept closer to his slayer. He cautiously stepped into the room, taking care not to turn his back on the battling vampires as he tried to get close enough to get a good shot at Drusilla’s heart. He saw her lean over Buffy and groaned, picturing her fangs ripping out his slayer’s throat.

However, to his amazement, she appeared to be whispering to Buffy rather than biting her, and then she astonished him by using her talons to slice through the ropes holding the slayer down.

Buffy rubbed her wrists gingerly, staring at the carnage in front of her and moaning. Suddenly the vampire slapped her across the face and she whirled to glare at her, pulling her fist back to punch her in the face.

“Ah, there’s the Slayer,” Dru crowed as she picked herself up. “There’s the sunshine that my William loves. He needs you, sunshine. Save my William.”

Buffy whirled to see Spike going down under Darla and Angelus and without a thought she crossed the room in three bounds, pulling the larger vampire off her mate and flinging him into the wall. Freed of the weight of both vamps, Spike staggered to his feet and kicked Darla away from him. Blood was pouring from numerous wounds and he swayed slightly as he waited for her to attack again.

Her angry leap back at the injured vampire never happened as Giles’ crossbow bolt went through her back and into her unbeating heart. He watched in satisfaction as the dust drifted to the warehouse floor and Spike sank back down in relief, resting against the wall.

Buffy was kicking Angelus up and down the room, inhuman growls coming from her throat as she punctuated her kicks and hits with muttered oaths.

“You miserable, arrogant, bloodsucking son of a bitch,” she hissed as she kicked him against the wall. She walked over and grabbed the dazed vampire by his shirt, throwing him back into the middle of the room. “What makes you think I would ever let you touch me? With your teeth or with any other part of your anatomy?” She held his shirtfront in one hand while she punched him with the other. “Did you think I would ever want you again, now that I’ve had a real man? Er, vampire?

“And, news flash, ‘Peaches’, never, NEVER try to kill a Slayer’s mate.” With a final punch, she drove the unconscious vampire to the floor and looked around for her stake. She picked it up, pausing to acknowledge Spike’s weary applause with a tight smile before turning to the body of her former lover. She was just raising the stake when Angelus shook all over, his body almost rising off the floor and a scream tearing from his throat as he clutched his chest.

When he slumped back down, he took two gasping breaths and Angel was looking up at Buffy with tears in his eyes.

“Oh my god, Buffy. I am so sorry. I never meant to…” He glanced at Riley’s body and cringed before looking back into her still-cold eyes. “I don’t know what to say. I am more sorry than you can imagine. Can you ever forgive me?”

“I’ll let you know,” she replied, already turning away to rush to Spike’s side. She helped him to his feet, taking his weight on her small shoulders and helping him walk toward the door. Suddenly she was propelled forward as something heavy crashed into Spike, tearing him from her grip.

“You dared!” Angel roared, sounding very much like his soulless alter ego. “You claimed Buffy. Did you think I wouldn’t remember it?” While Buffy watched helplessly, her furious ex boyfriend brought the stake he’d picked up over his head and prepared to drive it into Spike’s heart.

“Angel!” Buffy’s horrified scream did nothing to change his mind, but it did distract him long enough for her to throw her own body over Spike’s.

“Get out of the way, Buffy,” he said more calmly. “I’ll take care of this. As soon as he’s gone you’ll be free and this urge to protect him will go away.”

“I don’t WANT to be ‘free’, Angel. I did this willingly, with my eyes open.”

“But why?” Her heart softened at the bewilderment on his face, but she kept her voice firm as she replied.

“Because I love him Angel. And he loves me. We did this now to protect me from Angelus.” She bit her lip as he grimaced in remembered pain at what Angelus had intended to do to her.

“He’s gone now, Buffy. You don’t need to be protected from me.”

His pleading voice made it harder to speak calmly, but she struggled to get the words out.

“You didn’t let me finish, Angel,” she replied quietly. “We did it now to save me from you.” He flinched at her use of the pronoun, but remained quiet. “But we would have done it eventually anyway. We belong to each other. And we always will. I’m sorry, Angel, but this is the man I intend to spend the rest of my life with. He completes me.”

‘He’s not a man. He’s a vampire.” Angel’s voice was anything but understanding, and Buffy was grateful for Spike’s supportive hand on her back.

“He’s MY vampire, Angel. Please try to accept that.”

She stared into his anguished brown eyes sorrowfully, then stood and bent to help Spike back to his feet. She never even felt the rush of air as the stake once again arced toward her mate’s back, but she saw the dust drifting past and whirled to see Giles slowly lowering the cross bow.

“I’m sorry, Buffy,” he said in a voice that held only a hint of sincerity, “It was Angel or Spike. I made a choice.”

Buffy looked sadly at the dust on the floor and the stake lying nearby and shook her head tearfully.

“It’s all right, Giles. At least it wasn’t me who did it this time.” She leaned lightly against Spike until she felt him tremble and remembered that she was supposed to be holding him up, not looking for sympathy because her ex was dead. “And hey, you killed Darla too, so bonus points all around.” She did her best to look perky as she helped Spike out of the building and into the car.

As the humans left the building, a figure floated out of the shadows and knelt sadly beside the pile of dust on the floor. She slowly picked up the stake lying beside all that was left of her sire and turned it over and over in her hands.
She looked further into the room and saw the dust that was her grandsire and thought about the words from her childe’s chosen mate.

She closed her eyes and swayed, listening to voices no one else could have heard. Then she nodded her head and put the stake down gently.

“Even strong slayers don’t live forever, my William. I can wait for you to come back to your dark princess. Someday you will need me again and I will find you. Your princess will find you. Someday.”

She brushed the dust of her sire and grandsire into one small pile and placed it in an empty jar she found in one of the back rooms. Humming to herself, she carefully put the lid on the jar and slid out the door into the welcoming darkness.





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