Feeling like he had been driving for days instead of just a couple of hours, Spike crashed right through the familiar ‘Welcome to Sunnydale’ sign, beyond relieved of finally being back in Sunnydale. Instead of slowing down, he kept stepping on the gas, so hard he almost expected the pedal to break right through the floor.
The relief he had felt only a moment ago, quickly got replaced with fear. Fear of being too late. Finally spotting the house that was now his home – his and Billy’s – he pulled up on the driveway and stepped on the break, the car screeching to a halt and he jumped out, not bothering to turn off the engine.
He hadn’t missed the police car on the street, parked right outside the house, and although the fact that they had obviously made it here before him was a relief, he wasn’t about to relax until he had seen with his very own eyes that Billy and Buffy were safe.
It was still raining hard, puddles of muddy water covering the lawn, and the first thing he saw was a police officer, about to handcuff a dark-haired man who was sitting on the grass. Spike immediately recognized him as the man who had claimed to be a doctor at the hospital, back in LA. Of course, now he knew it had all been a lie.
Then he spotted a familiar face, standing in the middle of the backyard and facing away from him, and he nearly wept. “Buffy!” He rushed over to her, his eyes searching wildly for his son. “Where’s...?”
“Spike!” Buffy spun around at the sound of his voice, and threw herself in his arms, sobbing hard. “Thank God you’re back!”
Hugging her close, barely noticing that she was soaked from having been standing in the rain, Spike then pulled back a little as one of the policemen walked up to them, giving him a questioning look. “You live here, sir?”
Spike nodded, still looking around trying to find Billy. But all he saw was the other officer, rushing past them and heading towards the back door. “I’m the one who called you. Where’s my son?” He turned back to look at Buffy, his heart nearly stopping when he noticed the look of despair on her pale face. “Buffy? He all right? Did Dru...?” He hesitated, suddenly terrified of what her answer would be.
Buffy swallowed. Unable to speak, she just raised her arm and pointed up on the roof. At first, he didn’t understand. Then he spotted, not just one, but two dark figures on top of the roof, none of them moving for the moment. He paled, understanding finally starting to hit him, and he failed to hold back a gasp. “Bloody hell!”
“Don’t come any closer, okay? I’m coming.” Billy took a deep breath; not exactly sure of what he was trying to do, just desperate to keep the distance between them. For a moment, he was almost certain that he hadn’t heard her correctly – because surely, she couldn’t be serious about the two of them jumping off the roof. Right?
Of course, he wasn’t stupid enough to want to stick around and find out. The truth was, he had never been more scared before in his life. He tried to be brave, to come up with a plan that would get him out of this mess, but right now, it seemed rather impossible.
Billy realized that he needed to find a way to distract his mother somehow, so he would be able to reach the other side of the roof and start climbing down. Then he would be safe. Thinking fast, he glanced at Drusilla, who had been watching him in silence. “Where-where do you want us to jump? If you go there and wait for me...”
Drusilla interrupted him, letting out a cold laugh. “My sweet Billy... Do not attempt to deceive me. I know the truth.”
“And what’s that?” Billy figured that if he could get her to keep talking, maybe she wouldn’t pay as much attention to him. It was worth a shot.
“It’s simple.” Drusilla raised her hand, watching it with a somewhat absent look on her face. “You have no intention to obey me. Because the stars don’t speak to you.”
Billy frowned, wondering what she was talking about, but tried not to let his confusion show. Instead he hurried to object; “Yes, they do. They talk to me all the time.”
Suddenly she looked uncertain, like she wasn’t sure what to think. “Is that so? Really?”
“Yeah!” Billy nodded, eagerly. A moment ago, he thought he heard the sound of the back door slamming, and realized that someone had to be on their way upstairs. But he didn’t dare to wait for whoever it was. He just had to get as far away from his mother as possible, before she would catch him. Because he was starting to get the feeling that her plans for him wouldn’t just result in a broken arm this time.
“Billy! Hold on, I’m coming!” Spike rushed towards the house with one single thought in mind; to get to his son before Drusilla did. He didn’t know how Billy had managed to get up on the roof, not that he really cared at the moment. All that mattered was to get him down safely – the questions would have to wait until later.
Realizing that the roof had to be wet and slippery from the rain, which could make a single hasty move fatal, Spike ran over to the large maple tree and started climbing as fast as he could. He was in good shape after years of working out and lifting weights, and his physical strength combined with an extreme adrenaline rush made him reach the top in no time.
Hauling himself up on the roof, Spike’s eyes widened in shock at the sight that met him. It was obvious that none of them had spotted him yet. Drusilla was now standing dangerously close to the edge of the roof, reaching out her hand in a welcoming gesture. And Billy was slowly making his way over to her.
As he heard his father calling out for him, Billy’s eyes went wide, and it took him just about everything he had to keep from crying out in relief. Forcing himself to keep his focus on his mother – who was luckily lost in her own world and didn’t seem to react – he pushed any thoughts of his dad and the safety on the ground to the back of his mind.
Drusilla let out a soft giggle, suddenly sounding almost like an excited child. “What are they telling you?”
Frowning again, Billy then remembered his mother’s strange ramblings about the stars, and knew he had to play along, if only to win some time. He thought quickly. “Um, they’re telling me to do as you say.”
“Yes!” She seemed delighted, so he figured it had been the right thing to say. “That’s right. You must do as I say. We will be together forever, just you and me, like a family.”
Billy nodded, although her words made his skin crawl, and he just wanted to cry and beg her to leave him alone. “I-I want that, too.” His voice was trembling, but she didn’t seem to notice.
“I know you do.” Drusilla smiled that creepy smile again. “The stars never lie. Get over here.” She reached out her hand towards him. “We will do it together.”
“Okay...” Billy swallowed hard and slowly started crawling towards his mother. To say that he was scared would be a huge understatement. He was way past that state by now.
As if she had read his mind, Drusilla tilted her head to the side. “You’re still afraid.”
He shook his head in denial. “No, I’m not, s’just...” Billy hesitated. “A long way down.”
“It’s really not.” She sounded almost pleading. Or just very eager to convince him. “Look at all the stars.” Drusilla raised her eyes to the night sky, a dreamy expression on her face. “That is far away. But down there...” She cast a brief glance at the ground before turning her attention back upwards. “It will only take a moment. Then it will all be over. Believe me.” Once again, she was lost.
“All right. I’ll do it.” Every fibre in his body was screaming at him to act; to back away, scream for help, anything. But he remained where he was, paralyzed by fear. All he could think of was to make his mother think he would obey her. Because so far, that was the only thing that seemed to be working. The problem was, he didn’t think he could carry on much further.
That was when he felt a presence behind him, and he nearly jumped. Then he heard his father’s voice next to his ear; “Don’t move. I’ve got you.”
At that moment, Drusilla seemed to snap out of it and spun around. Her eyes darkened when she realized that she and Billy weren’t alone on the roof anymore. “No!” Her face twisted into an angry grimace. “You can’t take him away from me again! He is mine! We belong together!”
Spike snorted. “You belong in the soddin’ nut house, Dru. Only this time, I’ll make sure they’ll lock you up for good. And you’ll never get to see my son again. As far as I’m concerned, he has no mother.” He reached out a shaky hand towards Billy and pulled him up against him. Although the fear was starting to submit into fury, he struggled to stay calm. After all, they were still up on the roof.
“Billy, darling...” Drusilla’s shoulders slumped, and all anger seemed to instantly leave her body. Suddenly she just looked devastated. “You promised you would come with me. The stars...?” Her face was a mixture of doubt and uncertainty.
“Yeah, well... Guess what?” Billy cast one last look at his mother before turning his face away, clinging to his father. “I lied.”
Silence. Drusilla watched them for a moment, understanding finally dawning on her. Then, before either of them got the chance to react, she turned around and quickly took the final step towards the edge of the roof. Without making a single sound, she dived into the air without hesitation. And she was gone.
TBC