Spike struggled to sit up, giving his supposedly dead cousin a suspicious look. “What the bloody hell’s going on? You a vampire?” William opened his mouth to say something, but Spike beat him to it; “Right, a Slayer can’t be turned. Forgot about that. A ghost then?” Just my luck, he thought.
William seemed to be offended by that. “I most certainly am not! Ghosts are bloody stupid. They spend an eternity hanging on to what’s lost and refuse to move on.” He got a thoughtful look on his face. “Although, haunting the locals could be fun sometimes, I suppose. But that’s not the point. I’m not a ghost.”
“Right.” Spike nodded. “So, this is a dream then? One of those soddin’ Slayer dreams?”
“I guess you could call it that.” William shrugged. “Not entirely true, though. Actually, what you refer to as Slayer dreams are in fact not really dreams at all. But since you mortals need to have a logical explanation for everything, let’s just go with that.”
Spike gave him a confused look. “If they’re not dreams, what are they?”
“Some would call them visions.” William grimaced. “Not me, though. Sounds way too poncy. I prefer to call them messages. After all, that’s what it really is. Messages from the higher realms. We just happen to receive them while we’re sleeping. Don’t ask me why.”
“Okay…” Spike was still confused, but decided to let it go. “So, why’re you here? Come to warn me ‘bout some Big Bad I have to face in order to save the world? You know, for Christmas and puppies and all that rot?”
William got an amused look on his face. “Nothing quite so dramatic, I’m afraid.” He paused. “I’ve been watching you for a while now… since you got called, actually.”
“You, what?!” Spike’s eyes widened. “Ever heard of bloody privacy?!”
“Dead here, Spike.” William gave him a patient look. “I should be entitled to have some fun, don’t you think?”
“Sure.” Spike glared at him. “Just not at my expense.”
“Whatever.” William rolled his eyes and started towards the door. “Come with me, I want you to see something.”
Spike stared at him. “In case you hadn’t noticed, mate, I’m in the bloody hospital! I can’t just get up and leave.” Then he realized that since this was really just a dream - it was, right? - he could probably do whatever he wanted. However, he wasn’t sure he really wanted to see whatever it was William wanted to show him.
“Sure you can.” William raised a brow, a challenging look on his face. “But if you’re too afraid…” He left the rest of the sentence hanging.
“Oh bloody hell! Fine!” Letting out an annoyed sigh, Spike got up from the bed and grabbed his duster from a nearby chair. “Lead the way, then.” He followed William through the door, then stopped abruptly on the other side. “Whoa! Not that I actually remember much of this place, being unconscious and all, but why do I get the feeling we’re not in the hospital anymore?” He paused. “That, or they’ve done some serious redecorating.”
“Really, luv. Thought you’d be a lot more difficult to take down.”
Spike was suddenly standing in the training room at the Magic Box, staring at himself, who was straddling Buffy on the floor. Blushing, he glanced at William who had appeared behind him. He couldn’t understand why they had to come here of all places. The couple on the floor just stared at each other for a moment, then they started kissing.
William cleared his throat. “She looks happy, eh?”
Spike turned to look at him. “Yeah, ‘cause she secretly wished she was making out with you.” He could still remember the pain he had felt when Buffy had called him William’s name.
“Right, that…” William couldn’t help but smirk, then became serious. “Really, she was just… confused.” Rolling his eyes, Spike turned his attention back to the blonde couple. William chuckled. “Seriously, don’t tell me you’re still upset about that?”
“Wouldn’t you be?!” Spike glared at him. “And why are we watching this? Brought me here to gloat, is that it? Wanna show me how stupid I was, thinking I could ever compete with you?”
“It’s not a bloody competition.” William sighed. “You don’t get it, do you? Look at her.” Reluctantly, Spike obeyed.
“If you’ve ever cared about me at all…”
“I do! Spike, I…”
“…then you’ll let me go.”
He watched as the other Spike left the room, leaving Buffy sobbing on the floor. Feeling a pang in his chest at the sight of her tears, he glanced at William again. “Why are you showing me this?”
“’Cause you’re being a stupid git, that’s why.” William crossed his arms over his chest. “You love her, she loves you, and you’re ready to let your bleedin’ pride get in the way. Face it, mate, she’s the best thing that ever happened to you.”
“All right, first of all? Get the hell out of my head!” Spike took a step away from his cousin, giving him a wary look. “You don’t know me. And stop talking like me!”
“Of course I know you.” William smirked again. “And has it ever occurred to you that maybe you’re the one talking like me? After all, I’m older.”
Spike opened his mouth to object, then closed it again. He sighed. “So, this is all about Buffy?”
“No, it’s about you.” William frowned. “Well, technically it’s about you and Buffy. You’re perfect together, you know that? I’ve never met two more stubborn people in my life. Would’ve been funny if it wasn’t so bloody pathetic.”
“Hey!” Spike’s eyes narrowed. “Who’re you calling pathetic?”
William just chuckled. “Come on.” He headed for the door, not waiting to see if Spike would follow.
Sighing, Spike hurried after, and found himself at the Restfield Cemetery. “Oh balls!” Cursing loudly, he looked down at his bare feet, all covered with mud, and stepped out of the puddle. He glared at William. “You could’ve told me to bring my soddin’ boots!”
“I suppose.” William looked amused. “Wouldn’t have been half as fun, though.”
Spike was just about to come up with some snarky remark, when the sound of fighting caught his attention. He turned around, just in time to see himself shove a wooden stake into the heart of a growling vampire. With a pleased look on his face, he looked at his cousin. “Hey, I’m good!” William didn’t say anything, just raised a brow. Spike turned back to the scene, and rolled his eyes at the sight of Wesley, nervously looking over his shoulder. “Bloody nancy-boy…”
“That ‘nancy-boy’ probably saved your life.” William chuckled at the shocked expression on Spike’s face. “But that’s not why we’re here.” He gestured towards some trees, about fifty feet away. Frowning, Spike started towards where he was pointing.
Buffy was standing behind the trees, a wide smile on her lips. She didn’t take her eyes off the blonde man, who had just dusted three vampires in a row. It was now Spike’s turn to smirk. “Yeah, I’d be turned on by me, too.”
William rolled his eyes. “Show-off!”
The grin on Spike’s face grew wider. “What can I say? I’ve always…” He stopped as he noticed the dark figure, who had just appeared behind Buffy. The blonde girl seemed to sense a presence behind her, but when she spun around, the dark-haired vampire was already gone. He swallowed. “Drusilla.”
Nodding grimly, William started walking again. “Let’s go, mate. Things are just about to get interesting.”
TBC
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you so much for all your supportive reviews and comments after last chapter, I really appreciate every single one!