Spike threw open the door to Willy’s Bar so hard, it practically came flying off of its hinges. Buffy quirked a brow at him disapprovingly.
“You always have to go for the dramatic entrance, don’t you.”
Spike, as usual, smirked. “Kinda comes with the coat and the hair, pet.”
“Right. So are we going to stand here and discuss it some more, or are we going to go inside?” Buffy asked, when Spike made no move to enter the bar.
“Good point.”
The pair approached Willy, who looked more than slightly uneasy at the sight of them.
“What can I do for ya tonight?” he asked, trying for nonchalance and ending up with very conspicuous.
Spike immediately went for his throat, grabbing it tightly. “Wanna know where Red is. You know, slayer’s mate, about yay high, powerful witch an’ all that rot?”
Willy could barely reply. He looked to Buffy innocently. “Your friend’s missing?” He managed to gasp out.
Buffy narrowed her eyes at him threateningly. “Yes she is. So now you’re gonna tell me - ‘cos I know you’ve always got an ear to the ground, you know of the comings and goings of all things demony - who are the new players and where have they taken my friend?”
“I swear, I got no idea what you’re talking about! There ain’t no new guys in town, least not as far as I know. Ask anyone! Believe me or not, it’s the truth!”
Spike snarled, tightening his grip on the weasel’s throat. “Well, here’s a surprise for ya Willy, we think you’re lyin’ to us. So why don’ you be a good little bartender and tell Buffy here who the newbies of Sunny D are, an’ we’ll just be on our way.”
Buffy sighed, irritably. “Spike, truth spell, remember? He can’t lie.”
Spike frowned thoughtfully. Then his features melted into a smile of realisation and he reached his spare hand into the pockets of Willy’s jacket, coming up empty on the first two, then yanking a small bottle out of the third one in triumph. “What’s this then, Willy, huh?”
“What is that?” Buffy questioned, surveying the small phial of silvery greenish liquid with curiosity.
“If my gut serves me right - an’ it usually does - it’s some kinda elixir of lies.”
Buffy bit her lip frowning. It didn’t make any sense. “How would he even get something like that, Spike?”
They were talking as if Willy wasn’t even present anymore. Spike suddenly realised that he still held the short man’s neck in an iron grip. “Right, out the back. Time we had a chat in private,” he stated firmly, emphasising the last word as he noticed that all eyes were on them. With Buffy following close behind, he dragged Willy out to the stock room and threw him roughly into the wall.
“You better start talkin’ if you value your life at all, you bloody weasel. And it’d better be good, or you can consider your life a thing of the past, got it?”
Willy eyed the vampire disdainfully, regaining some courage now that he had some distance between them. “Yeah, right. Everyone knows about you. You got that chip in your head. You haven’t been able to hurt a human for two years.”
“That might be the case, mate, but I think I could get through the pain of electric shockwaves if it meant I got to finish you off, you pathetic git. ‘Sides, what are you, blind to the bloody slayer standing here?” Spike retorted, smirking at the fear that was edging it’s way back into Willy’s expression.
“S-she won’t kill me. She doesn’t hurt humans.”
“Oh, I think I could make an exception for you, Willy.”
“Ok! Ok. There are new players. They’re some kinda spider demon things, from another dimension, they said. They came in a couple of days ago, asking about your friend, where to find her. I had to tell them, they were gonna kill me!” Willy protested, when he saw the look of outraged disgust on Buffy’s face.
“Keep talking,” Buffy seethed, through clenched teeth.
“T-they kept going on about your witch friend, said she was the answer to the problems in their own dimension or something.”
“And?” Spike probed impatiently.
Willy gulped. “And then they morphed into giant spiders and threatened my life, so I had to tell them where she could be found. Then they gave me that liquid stuff and told me it would protect me if I had three drops each day until everything blew over. Didn’t really tell me what it did exactly, but I kinda figured when you two came in and I managed to lie to ya.”
“What did they want with Willow?” Buffy demanded.
“I told you, they said something about her being the solution to their problems, that’s all they said about it.”
Buffy pushed him back against the wall, her arm across his throat. “Where did they take her?”
“They said something about a cave in the forest and that’s it, I swear!”
Buffy pushed the snivelling bartender to the ground roughly, bending down over him menacingly. “If you’re wrong, about any of this, if you’re telling us one single lie, I swear to god, I will kill you. Slowly and painfully. And I’ll enjoy it.”
She marched out of the dingy room without looking back, Spike hot on her heels.
“Wouldn’t wanna be him if I ever came up against you again, Slayer,” he muttered, as they emerged from the bar, onto the deserted street.
“Good, hopefully it was enough to make him tell us the truth.”
They were marching at a fast pace, in the direction of the forest.
“So what’s the plan? Considerin’ that we got no weapons and don’ know where this cave is an’ all?” Spike asked.
Buffy stopped in her tracks. She sighed. “Ok, you’re right. We need to get back to the house to pick up some weapons of the sharp, shiny and pointy kind. And to pick up Tara and Giles.”
“Why would we be pickin’ up Glinda and the Watcher? Wouldn’t it be safer to leave them at home?”
“Probably. But something tells me we’re gonna need some magic to back us up.”
“Right.”
* * *
“The freeze. It’s already broken,” Dawn said, turning to Tara with fear in her eyes.
Tara took the girl’s arm reassuringly. “I know Dawnie, I held it for as long as I could, but it’s ok, people seem pretty calm.”
Dawn looked around her and had to agree. On the street, people were moving slowly, dreamily. They all shared the same sedate smile. But that didn’t slow down the witch and the teenager, as they locked up the Magic Box and loaded their supplies into the car. Tara was still tense and edgy on the way back to Buffy’s, her hands gripping the steering wheel. The sense of urgency she felt to find Willow was steadily increasing and the amount of time everything was taking was frustrating her, no end.
‘Hang on Wil,’ she said silently. ‘I’m coming.’
* * *
“Buffy. Buffy. Buffy, slow down!” Spike growled, grabbing her arm. She yanked it free, striding on ahead of him.
“I can’t. We’re running out of time. We have to get to Willow.”
“Pffft, yeah, and a lot of good it’s gonna do her if you arrive all exhausted from runnin’ round like a ditzy bint and can’t put up a decent fight for her.”
“I am so not a ditzy bint and I’m not going to get ‘exhausted’ from walking, Spike.”
Spike sighed in irritation. “I’m not sayin’ you are a ditzy bint, Buffy, just to stop acting like one, yeah?”
“You might not wanna piss me off right now ‘cause I don’t have time to argue with you. My best friend is missing; I need to focus on getting her home safe, ok,” Buffy stated matter-of-factly.
Spike slung an arm around in her waist in response. Buffy stopped in her tracks, but didn’t shy away from his touch. She opened her mouth to protest the whole “time and place” issue again, but Spike silenced her by bringing a finger to her lips.
“Before you go and open that pretty little mouth of yours, listen to me. You need to calm down. Focus on finding Red, but don’ bloody panic. Won’t do her any good, Buffy. And by the way, I do happen to have my arm around your waist and no, I’m not gonna move it. Just comfortin’ you is all. Let’s go.”
Spike pulled her back into a walk before she could say anything in protest. And within a few minutes, her body was leaning into his, her head resting on shoulder as they walked towards her house. Another few minutes later, Buffy’s right hand covered his on her waist, her left hand reaching for his, their fingers intertwining. Neither said a word, both knowing that the moment was too delicate. One word from either of them was likely to shatter it into a thousand pieces. But Buffy did feel the tension in her body melt away and had she looked up at Spike, she would have seen the small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
When they reached the front door of the Summers residence, Buffy went to open it, but Spike pulled her back, so that her face was only inches from his in the darkness. His hand reached up to tuck a lose strand of hair behind her ear. His fingertips followed her jaw line and she couldn’t help but close her eyes, as her skin tingled with his touch. When Spike’s lips met hers softly, she kissed him back, giving in to the fiery sweet sensation that she was coming to associate with his kisses.
"I'm yours," she whispered, barely comprehending what she was saying. "I'm tired of fighting."
Blue met green as Spike pulled back to meet her gaze. "I won't let you down, Buffy. Not gonna mess this up. Need you."
He pulled her closer, her body melding with his, her hands now on his face as he rubbed the small of her back, beneath her shirt. They were lost in the moment, their tongues massaging each other softly at first, but becoming more urgent as their kisses heated up to an almost bruising force. A loud crash from inside brought the pair back to earth, making them both jump and break apart guiltily.
Buffy threw open the door, dreading what the sound could’ve been, hoping that everyone was unharmed.
She came face to face with Dawn, who was standing in the living room, the classic look of guilt at being caught doing something she shouldn’t have been doing, playing across her pretty features.
“Hi Buffy!” She squeaked, trying unsuccessfully to cover up the broken lamp on the floor.
“What happened to the lamp?” Buffy fired at her, going straight for the gullet.
Dawn frowned. “I accidentally knocked it over.”
“And how’d you do that?”
“Well, you know, I was swinging this crystal bally thingo around, trying to imagine what it would be like to be Hermoine Granger - you know from Harry Potter, she has this, like, total disregard for divination (that’s a class they take at Hogwarts - which is their school, where they learn to be wizards and witches and stuff) and I was just, you know, pretending to be her when she walked out on her class. Except, she didn’t really swing the crystal ball around, but that was for added effect and I guess the lamp paid the price. Funny huh?”
Spike looked dizzy from Dawn’s ramble, but Buffy retained her expression of unamused annoyance.
“Not really, no.”
“Well… I guess you have to have read the books to understand… Sorry.”
“It’s ok, just… don’t break another lamp, I can’t afford to be replacing this stuff, Dawnie. Be careful, ok?”
Dawn looked down, embarrassed. “Ok. I’ll just clean up.”
Buffy nodded. “Where are the others?”
“In the kitchen, brewing up a storm.”
“For the revealing spell?”
“Yup.”
Buffy gestured at Spike to follow her as she turned on her heel to head for the kitchen. But something stopped her in her tracks. Something wasn’t right. She turned back to Dawn, looking down at the young girl’s foot attire. “Are those go-go boots?”
“Huh?” Dawn looked up, then down at her shoes as she realised what Buffy had said. Her face flushed a deep red. “Oh, yeah.” She made a point of squatting down to pick up the shards of broken lamp, hiding her face from her sister.
Buffy quirked her brow. “With a mini-skirt?”
Dawn shrugged from her place on the floor. “So?”
“So? So, it looks skanky Dawn, you’d put Paris Hilton to shame. I wouldn’t even wear that and you’re fifteen!”
“It looks hot, Buffy. I like them.”
“Well, you can like them in your closet, ‘cause you are not going out like that.”
“You can’t tell me what to wear, I’m not a kid!” Dawn protested.
“As my younger sister, who I have guardianship over, I am telling you you’re not wearing that outfit beyond the four walls of this house. Go upstairs and get changed. Now.”
Dawn scowled. “No.”
Buffy clenched her jaw, determined not to lose her temper. Where had Dawn gotten go-go boots from anyway? A pair of boots like that were at least a few hundred dollars. Where did Dawn get the money from?
“Where did you get them from, anyways?” Buffy voiced her thoughts.
Suddenly Dawn was stricken by pure fear. She tried to turn away, but the words were out before she could save her last shreds of dignity (like it wasn’t bad enough that Buffy had ragged on her outfit in front of Spike). “I stole them.”
Buffy gasped. “You what?!”
Dawn cringed. She felt her world unraveling. Her big secret was coming out and there was no way she could protect everyone, least of all herself, from it.
“I stole them,” she repeated softly, shame laced with each word.
“From where?” Buffy whispered, astonished. Since when had her sister been a klepto?
“The mall.”
“When?”
“On Wednesday.”
“Have you… taken anything else?”
“Yes.”
“What?”
Tears leaked from Dawn’s eyes as she saw the intense disappointment on her sister’s face. Spike looked on, uncomfortably. This was not a scene he wished to witness, but he wanted to support Buffy. So he stayed.
“Stuff. Jewellery, clothes, nail polishes, stuff. Just stuff…”
“God Dawnie, why?” Buffy moaned, sinking down onto the couch, her head falling into her hands.
Dawn swiped angrily at her tears. “Because no one knows I’m alive. You’re all so busy trying to be grown-ups, with your responsibilities and your secrets. No one ever wants to spend any time with me! I don’t know how to get your attention, you’re never here, it’s like you just don’t care anymore! And this was something of my own. My own secret.”
Buffy looked up at her sister, seeing for the first time how miserable she was. And coming to the realisation that a large part of Dawn’s misery was a direct result of her own. She couldn’t imagine having been through the loss that Dawn had at the age of fifteen. And Buffy knew she’d barely given her any attention since being back. She’d been so involved in her own problems, she hadn’t been there for Dawn at all. She’d let her down. She didn’t even notice her tears, until one dripped off of her chin, landing on the back of her hand. She reached for Dawn and pulled her down on the couch beside her, wrapping her in a warm hug.
“I’m so sorry, Dawnie, I’m so sorry,” she whispered into the girl’s hair. “I’ve been an awful sister, I’ve been terrible! My God, I can’t believe I had no idea, I - you’re in major trouble, by the way. You’re going to return everything you stole, and I mean everything - but I’m so sorry.”
“It’s ok,” Dawn sniffled, pulling back from her sister, to look her in the face.
Buffy shook her head. “No, it’s not.”
“I’m sorry too, it was so dumb. I will take everything back, Buffy, I promise.”
Buffy gave a watery smile, reaching out to run a hand through Dawn’s long hair. “I know. We’ll be ok. I’m gonna make this up to you.”
Spike, who had done nothing but observe until this point, took a seat on the coffee table, across from the teary sisters, who were now embracing again. He caught Dawn’s eye and nodded. “If there’s anything I’ve learnt after a hundred years of screwin’ up, Bit, it’s that atonin’ for the wrongs you’ve done goes a long way. You’ll be right, yeah?”
Dawn smiled at his gruffness, the way he was trying to speak tough to her. She knew he was a big softie underneath the facade and she responded by pulling him into a hug.
Spike was surprised and a little unnerved by her affections, but he returned the embrace, patting her awkwardly on the head.
Buffy tried not to laugh at how uncomfortable Spike obviously was with the situation; it was so cute, it was ridiculous. He gave her a half smile and a nod over Dawn’s head, letting her know that she should check in on the others and that her sister would be fine with him. She went into the kitchen, and was overcome by a strong stench that was wafting out from the mortar and pestle that Tara was using to grind some unidentified ingredients. “Hey,” she said wearily, announcing her entrance with as much exhaustion as she felt.
Tara looked up from the bowl infront of her. “Hey, Buffy.”
“How’d the freeze go?”
Tara nodded, but Xander cut in before she could speak. “Freezetastic! Tara managed to get the whole town under the spell, it was awesome.”
“Well, it d-didn’t last very long,” Tara protested, trying not to blush at Xander’s praise.
“Oh, so what? You got the job done and it worked,” Anya argued, waving a hand dismissively in the air. “The population of this pathetic town are all walking around like they’re stoned. It’s blissfully quiet.”
Giles removed his glasses, polishing the lenses with the hem of his shirt. “Yes, as I said before, you’ve done exceptionally well, Tara.”
Buffy smiled at the blushing witch and gave her a pat on the back.
“S-so, what was going on with Dawn in there?” Tara asked, trying to change the subject.
Buffy looked at her in surprise, which made Tara defensive.
“Sorry, we couldn’t h-help but overhear. Is everything ok?”
Buffy smiled again, revelling in the feeling of the umpteenth genuine smile she’d worn that day. Before now, since she’d been back, every smile had been to mask her pain. But now it was different. Despite how worried she was about Willow, she just had this sudden, overwhelming feeling, like everything was going to be ok. Was this what kissing Spike did to her? She wondered absently.
“Not really. But it will be,” came her reply, full of conviction.
Xander looked sympathetically at his best friend. “Wanna talk about it, Buffster?”
Buffy shook her head ‘no’. “Not now, but maybe after we find Willow.”
He nodded understandingly.
“Ok, I think we’re ready,” Tara interjected. Her timing could not have been more perfect.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry this update is a little delayed, I was hoping the last chapter would get a few more reviews, but it's here now =).