Riley and Sam are talking when Buffy exits the crypt and places the last egg in the trunk of Riley’s SUV. She closes the back hatch just as Spike walks out of his crypt to meet everyone outside. He notices Buffy glance at him and for the first time that night feels like she’s let her guard down a little, maybe his compliment earlier actually meant something to her. Then Spike looks to the Finn’s and allows smug features to creep across his face once again, any sign of sweetness is now erased as Spike see’s Riley’s all business attitude.
“While it was a real great time seeing you again… oh wait, it wasn’t, guess you have to be getting on your way then,” Spike says taking a few steps toward Riley.
“Not until after you take us to the doctor,” Riley replies.
“Forget it white bread, you got your eggs now get gone… thought you were good at that?”
“The doctor poses a serious threat to all of our safety, he’s dealing dangerous items into the black market… we have to stop him,” Sam says.
“Spike, who is he?” Buffy asks returning to her ‘lets get this done’ tone.
“You can all forget it, giving up those eggs is one thing, means I’m still out thirty kittens, I give up the doc and I can forget about ever playing poker again,” Spike explains and then watches as his statement obviously pisses off Buffy.
“This demon is selling off eggs that could be used as some twisted from of demon warfare to knock out entire populations and you’re worried about your poker game?”
Spike knows instantly that he’s in hot water, Buffy has that ‘what are you thinking’ tone to her voice. He tilts his head as he turns to look at her while Riley and Sam look on at the two of them. Buffy’s head is cocked to the side and her arms are crossed as she stares Spike down. There’s no arguing his way out of this one. Spike takes a deep unneeded breath.
“Fine,” he says unhappily and gives Buffy a ‘there are you happy now’ glare.
--
Again Buffy and Spike find themselves sitting uncomfortably in the back of Riley’s SUV. They are on their way to the demon bar where Spike plays kitten poker. At the moment Buffy is letting her mind wander away from her slayer related duties. She finds herself thinking about Dawn, things at home are tough for her at the moment. Everything just seems hard, relationships are strained, money is short and there always seems to be things she’s forgetting. Jelly. From that line of thought Buffy remembers that she was supposed to stop at the grocery store after work and get, among other things, grape jelly for Dawn’s lunches.
“Shit,” Buffy says commenting out loud on her random thoughts.
“What is it?” Riley asks.
“Is something wrong?” Sam adds in.
“What… no, no nothing’s wrong, I just remembered we’re out of grape jelly.”
“Did I miss something?” Riley asks.
“Dawn, I try and make her lunches for school and she won’t eat plain peanut butter sandwiches, I was supposed to pick her up some jelly, but then with the demon… I just forgot.”
“Do you have bananas?” Spike asks directing his question to Buffy.
“Huh? Uh, yeah… What does that have…”
“She likes peanut butter and banana sandwiches… you should toast the bread a bit first so they don’t get soggy, and cut the bananas the long way, she said they don’t fall out then.”
“Oh… how do you know that?”
“The bit and I spent a lot of time together while you were… gone… I know a lot more then you think, love.”
Buffy’s a little surprised. She forgets sometimes that while she was dead everyone else was here moving on, everyone else was still living. She forgets just how long she was gone and that while she was away Spike stayed. Even without Buffy there to make him do the right thing he helped out. He looked after Dawn. He kept his promise.
Buffy isn’t the only one surprised by Spike’s comments, Riley also now has a slightly perplexed look across his face and Sam glances at her a little confused herself. Although Sam at least finds herself feeling a little sympathetic, Riley can’t wrap his brain around Spike’s actions what so ever.
--
The SUV pulls to a stop outside the demon bar. They’re in the bad part of town now, sure that only consists of about two blocks of town, but it’s vastly different from the good part of town. With the exception of the bronze the bad part of town is the location of some pretty seedy places and many evilly run establishments. As Riley turns off the engine a demon with scaly green skin is thrown out the door of the bar and lands with a thump on the sidewalk. Those in the SUV watch as the creature stumbles around drunkenly and wanders off into the night. The sound of drunken demons and bar fights resounds down the street and the smell of yak urine and coagulated blood floats through the air.
“Where are we?” Sam asks looking around.
“Just one of Sunnydale’s finer demon run establishments,” Riley explains to his wife.
“This goes on… right out in the open?”
“One of the many perks to living on a hellmouth,” Buffy explains.
“Well, let’s get going,” Riley says.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea mate… if the doc sees me walk in there with the likes of you he’ll disappear faster then you can say crew cut… Buffy and I can go in and find him; I suggest you and the misses wait here,” Spike says with a bit of spite directed at Riley.
“Spike has a point… people in places like this notice when something’s out of place,” Buffy agrees
“Should you really be going in then, I mean wouldn’t the slayer in a demon bar raise suspicion?” Sam asks.
“Oh, I’ve been here before. It’s no big.”
Both Riley and Sam look back at Buffy with confused faces that ask the question ‘why were you here’, and Spike glances over at Buffy with a smirk creeping across his face remembering the drunken night they spent together. Quickly panic sets across Buffy’s features as she thinks about the questions that could be forming in Riley and Sam’s minds. She worries that they’ll suspect something going on between her and Spike.
“Strictly on slayer business of course,” Buffy says fumbling over her words as she offers her excuse. Buffy’s eyes move back and forth in their sockets as if looking for a sign that tells her they bought her reasoning.
“Right… well, shall we go then?” Spike asks breaking the tension between Buffy and her thoughts.
“Yeah… we’ll be right back, keep an eye out on the street for anything suspicious.”
--
Spike walks into the bar with a swagger in his step making his leather coat sway as he moves. Buffy follows behind him and notices that as they enter all faces turn to stare at them. They receive a few evil glares but no one starts anything. All Buffy has to do is look in the direction of one of the demons and they instantly avert their glares and pretend like they’re extremely interested in something else. Without a word they make their way to the back of the bar and vanish into the back room.
They enter the storage room, turned makeshift poker room, to find a round table with three demons sitting around it playing cards. Buffy recognizes Clem, but not the other two. One has grey skin that looks slippery like that of an octopus or some other sea creature. He also has large black eyes that give Buffy a slight case of the wiggens. The other poker playing demon is a bright yellow color with spiny like things coming off its head, Buffy looks back and forth between them wondering which one is the doctor.
“Hey Spike, Buffy… You guys want in?” Clem says glancing up at Spike and Buffy from him cards.
“Not this game mate… Were looking for the Doc,” Spike responds.
“He’s not here,” the demon with octopus skin says.
“Yeah, I can see that… where is he?”
“How should we know?” the yellow demon asks rudely.
--
Riley waits restlessly in the SUV with his wife beside him. His eyes are glued to the entrance of the demon bar. Within the vehicle there is a stale silence that overcomes this couple. A stale silence that sits so thick in the air that not even Sam’s glaring eyes can penetrate through to Riley.
“To the casual observer one would think you’re being overly protective over her,” Sam says and finally Riley turns to face her.
“Sorry… it’s just Spike, I don’t trust him.”
“Buffy seems to trust him enough; I think she knows what she’s doing.”
“Right, working beside a cold-blooded killer, yeah she knows what she’s doing.”
“Is there something you’re not telling me about?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, but ever since we ran into this Spike guy you’ve been… I don’t know, off.”
“It’s just… do you see… never mind.”
“What? The way he looks at her, how he flirts with her the way a boy does in grade school by teasing, or how she acts annoyed but then gives him glances when you’re not looking…”
“She gives him glances?”
“Are you jealous?”
“What, no.”
“Whatever it is Finn, get over it.”
“Right, you’re right… I’m sorry, I’ve been…”
“What’s that?” Sam says effectively ending the current conversation.
“What?”
Riley turns to look out the window where Sam is staring into the night. He turns just in time to get a glimpse of something moving past his vision and jump down into the electrical tunnel.
“Come on,” Riley says as he exits the SUV, Riley closes his door behind him just as Sam exits the vehicle. Together they cautiously yet quickly walk toward the sewer like entrance to the electrical tunnel.
--
Spike has the yellow demon pinned up against the wall. His leather clad arm is choking the creature as he stares him down with a menacing glare.
“I can smell that he was here, so now would be the time when you tell me where he went.” Spike says.
The demon attempts to choke out an answer and Spike loosens his grip slightly as he’s unable to make out the demon’s words.
“He left… said he was taking the tunnels out of town,” The yellow demon says with a raspy voice. Spike give an evil smile and then punches the demon in the stomach before turning to leave.
“Thanks mate,” he says as he walks out the door following Buffy.
When the two of them get back into the main bar area Spike grabs Buffy’s arm and pushes her up against the wall, he looks down at her with lust in his eyes and runs his tong over his teeth. Buffy looks up at him annoyed.
“What are you doing,” she says.
“I know where the Doc is headed love, figured we had a minuet for ourselves,” Spike responds.
Buffy looks over his shoulder at the bar full of demons behind him.
“What don’t fancy kissing me in front of a crowd… trust me they won’t mind.”
Buffy knows he’s trying to push her, trying to pull their relationship out into the open. She fights her will as hard as she can to walk away from him, but he’s looking down at her with those deep blue eyes. He nears her tilting his head as he does. Buffy offers up one more moment of resistance, but he’s persistent as always and she gives in.
--
Buffy and Spike exit the bar just in time to see Riley and Sam running into the alley and opening up the sewer like entrance to the electrical tunnel. Instantly they pick up their pace following after them.
“Buffy, over here,” Sam yells as she sees the blonde duo exit the bar. Buffy looks back to glance at Spike and then keeps moving, she makes it to the electrical entrance just after Sam jumps in. Buffy doesn’t even hesitate to follow after and Spike is right behind her.
“He went this way,” Riley yells as he runs down the tunnel followed by his wife, Buffy, and Spike. They travel down the electrical tunnel, the sound of their feet hitting the cement reverberates through the air; then they come to a four way intersection. Riley stops unsure of what way to go and everyone following him comes to a stop as well.
“Which way?” Sam asks.
“I don’t know,” Riley replies with defeat in his voice.
“Doesn’t matter, you’re not going anywhere,” A voice says from behind them.
All four spin around to see that they’ve been followed by a group of demons; Buffy and Spike recognize them from the bar. “We’re here to protect our investment, the Doctor’s got some work to do for us,” the demon says in a low coarse voice. He has small horns extending from his head and rough dark skin. While this one is large and built in stature his followers vary in size. The one thing they all have in common, however, is the ripped and worn leather attire. The demon swings at Spike since he’s nearest to him and then everything turns into a full on brawl.
They’re out numbered and while all four of them are experienced fighters Buffy and Spike are they only ones with the strength to really compete. For a while it seems that they may be overcome by the enemy, but they keep fighting. Buffy snaps the neck of the demon she’s battling while Spike is still going at it with their leader. Already Buffy is being attacked by another lackey and soon she has two demons to fight at once. Riley and Sam seem to be holding up for the moment each battling a demon and working off each other to fight effectively. Spike manages to take out their leader and spits at his body as it falls to the ground. One of the lackeys that Buffy is fighting runs away as she kills the other and Riley and Sam manage to take out their fair share of demons as well. Now they stand alone in the tunnel once more. Riley and Sam take a few panting breaths while Spike wipes blood from a split lip, and Buffy looks over all of them.
“Great, now what do we do?” Sam says reminding everyone that they’ve lost the Doctor’s trail.
“Spilt up, each take a tunnel,” Riley says speaking with authority in his voice.
“Better idea. I know where he’s headed, follow me,” Spike says then turns from the group before him to walk down the tunnel.
[Reviews - 6]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 3032 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +