Chapter 15
Buffy recognized that stormy look on Spike’s face. Uh-oh…did I put that there? she wondered. Deciding that ‘friends ask each other what’s wrong’, she approached the vampire as he came down the steps into the hotel.
“Did you and the Bit decide where you wanted to go?” he barked.
“Yeah, but…”
“Good. Get your butts out to the car.” He continued up to his room without another word or glance.
Buffy chewed on her lip, weighing which option to take. Buffy the Girl just wanted to appease her friend/ex. Buffy the Slayer wanted to demand why he was being so rude. In the end, Dawn rolled her eyes and made the decision for her, heading up the stairs.
“Want to tell me why you just bit our heads off down there?” she asked, leaning against his doorframe.
“Anyone ever tell you to mind your business, Bit?” he retorted, not turning around. Spike was rummaging in the closet for God-knows-what.
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I took their advice. Come on, Spike…best friends, here. What crawled up your butt between this afternoon and now?”
He sighed, and came out of the closet. “I went to see Charlotte. It didn’t go so well,” he mumbled.
“What happened? Did you interrupt a date?”
“No, she was alone – and there’s more to life than boys, Dawn – but she was just…” Spike shook his head, dismissing the thought. “Know what? Doesn’t matter. Bad timing, is all. Let’s go have our bit of fun, yeah?”
“You sure?” she asked, concerned.
Spike slipped on his coat and checked that his pack of smokes was in the pocket. “Yeah. Come on, pet. Your sister is bound to be getting antsy by now.”
Dawn studied him for a moment, then shrugged and moved back in the hall so he could shut the door.
Buffy arched a brow in question to her sister, to which Dawn gave a slight shake of her head.
“Dinner sound like a good start for you two?” Spike asked cordially. He was in ‘good host’ mode, now, so the subject was clearly closed.
“Uh, yeah, I could eat,” Buffy replied. He was already holding the door for them, so the sisters just decided to follow along with the plan for now. Spike would eventually spill, if it was bugging him that much.
~+~
Monday
“Buffy, could I speak with you for a moment?”
“Sure, Angel,” she replied, following him into his office. “What’s up?”
“I know you’re considering moving here, so I wanted to give you a list of apartment buildings Wolfram and Hart don’t have their hands in. It took me a few days to confirm the list.” He handed her a file folder.
“Thanks, Angel. I’ll feel better knowing my money is going to regular ol’ human commerce. How are things with you and Nina? Have you groveled enough?” Buffy couldn’t resist getting in a dig about his preoccupation with her life in Rome.
The dark-haired vampire rolled his eyes. “Yeah, we’re good. She’s back at her sister’s right now. Helps take care of her niece.”
“That’s nice. Was there anything else?”
“Well…Buffy, what are you doing out there?” he wondered.
Her brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t understand…”
“I get that you want to come to L.A. if Dawn is here, but what’s all this with Spike? You guys have been all…buddy-buddy. It’s kind of…weird,” he explained uncomfortably.
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Look, I told you back in Sunnydale that Spike is in my heart, okay? That hasn’t changed…”
“But, what does that even mean?”
“We’re friends…and we’ve been through a lot. A lot together. And Dawn considers him family. I…I don’t have to justify this to you, alright? We’ve both been living our lives for years,” she sputtered.
His expression darkened. “I’m just trying to reconcile what you said to me in Sunnydale, with what I’ve seen since you’ve been here. You’re so insistent that we be adults, here, Buffy. Why don’t you tell me what’s really been going on inside your head?”
“I can’t even believe you’re bringing that up now! When you have a girlfriend! Look, that time was overwhelming for me. I was facing the hardest battle of my life, my friends barely trusted me, the Potentials were questioning everything, and so if I confused you, well, it was because I was confused, too! It was a year ago, Angel. Things change. People grow…”
“So, you’re…baked?” God, that was a stupid analogy, but he had to ask.
Buffy shook her head. “Not yet, but I’m closer, and I’ve just been trying to catch up on the life I missed when I was stuck on the Hellmouth. You’ve had hundreds of years to know who you are. I’ve just been figuring it out in the last year. And I’m still working on it. I might even go back to school, I don’t know. But, I’m living, and that’s saying a lot for a girl who should be a corpse in the ground.”
He nodded, getting what she was saying. “But with Spike…?” Angel prompted.
“We’re friends. He loved me once, but…well, that’s a long story. If you’re going to start extolling his faults, save it. I’m pretty sure I know Recent Spike a lot better than you do,” she said assuredly.
“Well, I did spend the past year with the pain-in-the-ass. And he’s family. Family is everything to me, Buffy.” There was a threat underlying that last statement.
Her brow arched as she caught his tone. “That so…” she said evenly. “Okay.” ‘Never thought Angel would threaten me over Spike’s well-being.’ “Is that everything you wanted to know?”
He sighed. “It’s enough. In case I don’t see you tomorrow…”
“Thanks. I’ll always care about you, Angel, but I think we’ve said all we can.”
He nodded. “Have a good trip, Buffy.”
She nodded, smiling, and went to find Dawn before she left with Charlotte.
~+~
Charlotte was at the Hyperion by 3:30. She smiled at Dawn as she came in, embracing the teen.
“Ready to go?”
“Yep. Did you want to say hi to Spike before we leave?”
Charlotte shook her head. “We don’t need to wake him. Plenty of time for that when we get back. Where do you feel like eating?”
“Johnny Rockets?” the teen proposed hopefully.
“Hey, it’s your show. I’m just the driver,” Charlotte teased.
She drove while Dawn babbled about all they’d done the past week. The teen had finally gotten through her stories by the time the waitress had taken their orders.
“So, what were you busy with yesterday, when I called?” Dawn asked curiously.
“Hmm? Oh, I was at lunch with a friend. Didn’t mean to sound rude. I was just distracted. The call interrupted a point he was making,” she replied.
“A ‘he’, huh? Was it a date? Is he handsome?” the teen prodded.
“It wasn’t a date, and yes, he’s good-looking. Nicholae is just a fellow appreciator of the arts.”
“Spike mentioned you had a date to the opera Friday night. Was that with the same guy?”
Charlotte rolled her eyes at the teen’s enthusiasm for gossip. “It wasn’t a date, just an evening out. His mother became ill and couldn’t go, so I filled in.”
“Right. His ‘mom’ got sick just in time to take you instead? Even I know that was a ploy to get you to say yes! He wants you,” Dawn said confidently.
“Please! We have nothing in common, besides music. There’s nothing for him to be interested in,” Charlotte scoffed.
“Duh! Except that you’re beautiful?! Face it, girl. You’re boneable,” Dawn said assuredly.
“Dawn! Where do you pick up this kind of talk?”
“I have a big brother that doesn’t think I hear as much as I do, and hello, I went to high school. So, do you think this guy is hot?”
“I am not discussing my possible sex life with you!” Charlotte exclaimed, appalled.
“Why not? Nobody’s been candid with me since Anya died. It sucks,” she pouted.
“You’re seventeen, for one, and besides, it’s personal. Let’s just say that I don’t have designs on anyone, okay?”
“Fine,” Dawn sulked. That only lasted as long as it took for her burger to come, and then she was cheerful again, chowing down on ground beef and fries.
Charlotte was grateful to move on to other topics. It was just too disturbing to get into a love life discussion with a girl the same age as her students.
~+~
Spike was up when they got back. He looked wary to talk to Charlotte, which she didn’t understand. She walked over and hugged him.
“Hi. Did you have a good weekend?”
“It was alright. You’re in a better mood than yesterday,” he said carefully, studying her.
“Yesterday? I talked to you Friday night. You’re getting your days mixed up,” she said teasingly.
“Must have…are you going to stick around tonight? Girls ship out in the morning.” Inside, he was confused as hell that she didn’t seem to remember seeing him the day before.
“Not for long. I, um, thought you’d want that time to yourself…since Rome is so far away,” Charlotte replied.
“You sure, luv? The Bit won’t mind, certainly…”
“I’m sure.” She leaned in to whisper, “I think Buffy would prefer it that way, anyway.”
Angel was offering to spring for dinner, and since that was such a rare occurrence, the girls didn’t dare say no. Charlotte wished them well and made her excuses, knowing that she’d just be the fifth wheel. It was alright…history was history.
~+~
Charlotte dreamed the same nightmare she’d been having since she’d been bitten, only the monster’s face she saw just before her death was Spike’s. She woke up gasping for breath, then groaned, burying her face in her pillow. What was the stupid point of this stupid dream, anyway? It meant nothing to her real life…
~+~
Tuesday…
They stood in the hangar for the small Council jet, the attendants loading Buffy and Dawn’s luggage on the plane.
“I’m going to miss you!” Dawn exclaimed, throwing her arms around Spike. He reciprocated, taking in her scent.
“Nah…soon, you’ll be exploring Europe and way too busy to think of ol’ Spike. I’ll see you in January.”
“Why am I going away for 6 months, again? This plan is stupid,” Dawn cried.
Buffy nudged her sister. “You’re just having a bit of cold feet, Dawnie. You should take this opportunity while you have it, and you know it. I’m the one who has to think about the responsible stuff. Like where to live once you get accepted into a college!”
“You think I’ll get in on short notice?” she asked worriedly.
Spike hastened to reassure her. “Of course they’ll want you, Niblet. You’re a prime candidate for the studious life. On board with you, now. Don’t want to mess up the pilot’s schedule.”
“Okay,” she sniffed, and hugged him again. “I love you, Spike.”
“Love you, too, Bit. Send me a postcard,” he said gruffly, his throat tightening with emotion. Dawn went into the jet, leaving the ex-lovers alone.
“Guess this is it,” Buffy started, toeing the ground with her shoe.
“Yep. Back to Rome and the Immortal git.”
“Right, Rome. Thanks…for putting up with us here so long. And driving us all over L.A. It probably wasn’t cheap…” she replied, fidgeting.
“I don’t care about the money, Slayer. All I cared about was making both of you smile. Warms my unbeating heart to see my girls happy. You have any trouble with the boy when you get back, just put ‘im on the phone. He’ll get in line.”
She smiled at that. “Yeah, you’ll have no problem intimidating Andrew. Then again, he’s afraid of Dawn, too.”
“With good reason, I’m sure,” he said fondly.
“You have no idea. Well…” she gestured back to the plane.
“Right. I should let you be off…bit bright for my liking…”
Buffy nodded and picked up her carry-on bag. She started for the plane steps, then stopped at the base. “Spike…”
“Yeah, luv?”
“I will be back. The time we spent, the last few weeks…well, it was special. Thank you.”
“Safe travels, Buffy,” Spike replied. She granted him a brilliant smile, then stepped into the jet.
The door closed, and then both girls could be seen waving at the window. He waved back, chuckling at their goofiness. Dawn moved away, leaving Buffy at the window. He was just about to turn around to walk to the Viper, when she blew a kiss to him, and disappeared. The jet started rolling out of the hangar, but Spike stood in shock, until a wide grin finally broke across his face. He crossed the hangar to his car with a spring in his step, his mood buoyant. The vampire hoped the months would fly by.
~+~
“Andrew, what the hell have you done to my home?!” Buffy bellowed, upon walking into her living room. There were sci-fi posters tacked to the walls!
“H-hi, Boss Lady! This is j-just some temporary, uh, decorating for when I was, uh…entertaining. Completely removable!” the little man babbled nervously.
“See that that happens. We’ve had a long flight. We’re going to bed. There aren’t any more surprises in the other rooms, are there?”
“No! No, just in here…promise. Sweet dreams! Oh, and there’s a message from Giles!”
“I’ll get it in the morning!”
‘So much for freedom,’ Andrew thought, grimacing.
~+~
A happy vampire showed up at Charlotte’s that evening.
“You’re looking chipper today. I thought you’d be sad to see them go?” she greeted him at the door.
Spike stepped inside. “I’m both, if that makes any bloody sense. I guess it’s just…saying goodbye today didn’t feel like an ending, you know?”
“I get what you’re saying. It’s the difference between saying goodnight, and watching someone die. Or how ‘aloha’ means both hello and goodbye. So, what are your plans now that it’s just you and Angel in the hotel?” They sat on the sofa to chat.
He tilted his head, considering. “Don’t know. Have to keep myself in blood and smokes, somehow, and gas in the car. Bloody beast sucks down petrol like Harris eats donuts. He’s starting his detective agency up again, but working for Peaches? It was bad enough when I was just haunting him. Outside of battlefield strategy, I can’t see myself stomaching orders from the great git. Did I ever mention I don’t like L.A.?”
She giggled. “Once or twice. Do they have demon bounty hunters? You could still kill bad guys, but get paid for it?”
Spike winced. “Bit of a risky business, pet, and you’re not always asked to kill ‘bad guys’. Plenty of demons would pay to get rid of a Slayer, for instance.”
“Oh. That’s not so good,” Charlotte replied with a frown. “Well, you’re a smart guy, Spike. I’m sure you’ll think of something.”
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