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Chapter 69: Sleepless

Spike woke around three in the morning to find the bed empty on his wife’s side. He blinked a few times, peering through the darkness to see Buffy’s pregnant form bathed in moonlight by the window.

“Come back to bed, luv,” he murmured, voice gravely and strangled from exhaustion.

“Can’t sleep,” she murmured, cradling her belly in her arms. “Not with what’s coming. Not with…”

Spike pulled himself from the bed and padded across the room to place his hands on her shoulders.

“S’gonna be alright, pet. Travers is coming, and we’re going to stop him.”

“But Dana’s still out there. She’s confused. She could hurt someone.” She looked away. “I should have helped her.”

“You tried, luv.”

“I didn’t do enough. They captured her, shot her full of that stuff. Willow still isn’t really sure how it all works. I just…I shouldn’t let her go back to the Council.”

“Had a lot on your mind, luv. It’s not your fault they got her.”

“She won’t be the same again.”

“Maybe not,” Spike said quietly. “But you can’t save everyone.” Buffy pulled away from Spike.

“Dana’s not just anyone, Spike. She’s a Slayer. Now she’s a confused Slayer with no clue as to who she can trust and who she can’t. She blew past Faith like…”

“Hey,” Spike assured her, bringing her back into his hold. “Don’t worry, luv. Whatever happens, I’m not gonna let her hurt you or our baby.” Buffy started to speak, but he cut her off. “Before you go on about how you don’t need protecting, I don’t want to hear it, pet. Not right now. You’re the target, and that means I’m gonna do whatever the bloody hell I have to to keep you safe. I know you’ll be doing your own part, but you have to trust me when I say that I’ll never let her harm you or our baby. I’ll kill her first.”

“Spike…”

“I know. Won’t be happy about it,” he murmured. “But if I have to kill to save you? To save our family?”

“I won’t let you kill her, Spike,” Buffy whispered. “You don’t need that on your conscience.”

“And you do? Nobody’s gonna kill her, ok? Travers might, but he’s…”

“He’s the one we’re gonna have to kill.” Buffy searched his eyes in the moonlight, and she saw his jaw tense. He shook his head.

“You’re not gonna do it. You haven’t taken a human life, and I won’t…”

“You won’t let me?”

“I’ve done it before.”

“But you have a soul now.”

“And so do you,” he murmured, gently cupping her cheek in his hand. “And I won’t let you carry the weight of that on your shoulders. You’re a Slayer. You kill demons, vampires, evil things. But not humans. Not even evil ones.”

“It’s scary,” Buffy murmured, moving to sit down on the bed. She placed her hands on her stomach, and Spike slowly sat down next to her.

“What’s that, pet?”

“This feeling. It’s…I know it’s wrong, Spike, to kill humans. It’s something I’ve prevented demons from doing for years. But the thought of someone hurting our family?” She shook her head and looked down. “I’d throw it all away just to keep her safe.” Spike swallowed hard and nodded his head, placing his hand over hers.

“I know what you mean, luv.”

***

An hour later, Buffy was finally asleep. Spike knew she wasn’t sleeping well, but she was sleeping, and that was enough for now.

His own nerves were getting to him, however, and he decided to go outside from some fresh air.

When he snuck past the living room, where Mr. Summers was sleeping on the couch, he opened the front door and was surprised to find Faith sitting on the porch step with a cigarette in one hand and a stake in the other.

“Fancy meeting you here,” he murmured. Faith didn’t look over her shoulder.

“Couldn’t exactly sleep tonight. Knowing there’s a crazed Slayer out there that’s not me? Kind of new territory for me.”

“Yeah,” Spike muttered. He sat down next to Faith on the step. He glanced at her, and she glanced at him.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He looked at her cigarette and then out at the street.

“Want one?”

“Buffy wants me to quit. I’ve been good. Not too good, but I’ve cut back.”

“Yeah, well, a crazy old man is coming after your wife and child. I think it’s safe to say she’d forgive you for one tiny smoke, considering you’re scared shitless.”

“Who says I’m scared?”

“I’m a Slayer, Spike. I know when vampires are afraid.” She looked away and pulled a cigarette out of her jacket pocket. She lit it and handed it to him. “Go on. I won’t tell.”

Spike took the offering and took a long drag. When he exhaled, he closed his eyes and hung his head, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

“Buffy thinks she might have to kill Dana.”

“What?” Faith glanced at him sharply. “Why?”

“If Dana decides she can’t trust us. If she tries to go along with the council.”

“No,” Faith said quietly. “B. isn’t a murderer. Long time ago, maybe I woulda liked the idea of her loosening up her morals a bit, but no, I don’t think she could do it. Sure, she’s got what it takes, but she shouldn’t have to go there.” Faith took a drag on her cigarette. “If it comes down to it, I’ll do it.”

“Why you?”

“I’m already a killer, Spike. Except this time, I’d be killing for the right reasons. Whatever those are.” She looked away and shivered a little.

“Cold?”

“Nah. Restless. I’m gonna go out for a quick patrol.”

“At this time of morning?”

“Why not? Might tire me out.” She frowned, stood up, and then she was off. Spike sighed and focused on finishing his cigarette. His last one for a long while, he expected.

Just as he was standing to go back in, he heard the scraping of boots on the pavement. Looking up, expecting to see Faith coming back, he murmured, “forget something?”

“Heart...and head. Stab the heart, cut off the head. Only way to be sure. Keep cutting ‘til you see dust.” Spike’s eyes widened at the site of Dana coming up the sidewalk. Stake in one hand, crossbow in the other.

“Dana? Dana, you…you don’t remember me?”

“William the Bloody.”

“Yeah…uh, well, no. Not anymore. Spike. Buffy’s husband. You know. Vampire with a soul and all that?”

“Vampire,” she murmured.

“You’re a little confused, luv. Just a little…” Dana lunged at him, and he ducked out of her way, “out of focus!”

“They all want to hurt me. Stick me with needles.”

“I don’t want to hurt you, Dana,” Spike murmured, moving down the sidewalk, away from the Slayer.

“Evil. Vampire!”

“Yes. Yes, I’m a vampire, but…”

“The eyes. Yellow eyes. Yours are blue.”

“Dana, slow down.” Dana was advancing on him. She lived her crossbow and shot the arrow, narrowly missing his shoulder. “Alright, apparently, using our words isn’t going to cut it this time.” He lunged at her, kicking the crossbow from her hand and pinning her down onto the ground. She swung her other arm at him, but he grabbed her wrist before she could stake him.

“Show me yellow eyes.”

“You’re close to brining them out, luv. Keep pushing my buttons, and you’ll wish you hadn’t.” Dana kneed him in the gut, and he groaned, moving off of her. She struggled to stand, and he came at her again. But she jumped up, kicking him hard in the head, sending him spinning back.

Spike landed, dazed, on his back, and before he had a chance to blink, Dana was kicking him in the face. He groaned in pain, as her other boot collided with his ribcage. He heard a couple of cracks, and he felt blood trickling out of his mouth.

“What’s wrong, pet? That all you’ve got?” he managed to smirk, as blood rushed from his nose and into the grass.

“Show me!” she screamed! Spike growled and stood slowly, partly hunched over, grabbing his side. But his face shifted, and those yellow eyes glared at the Slayer. The demon inside him tasted the blood that now filled his mouth, and he found it harder and harder to maintain control.

She came at him again, stake ripping through the air, and he knocked her back. But she bounced back in an instant, pinning him against the tree in the yard.

“You don’t wanna do that, Dana,” Spike growled through sharp, gritted teeth.

“I’m a Slayer. I kill your kind.”

“And I bite yours,” he pointed out. “Doesn’t mean I want to bite you.” He thought for a moment, tightening his grip on her wrist to keep her from slamming the sharp piece of wood through his heart. “The harder you push, the more I think about it though. I’m not your enemy.”

“Yes,” he panted, shoving the stake into his chest, “you are.” Spike screamed out, but when he didn’t turn to dust, he looked down to see the stake coated with blood sticking out of his chest. She’d narrowly missed his heart. Not only was she a bad shot, but she was a bad stake too.

Dana’s eyes widened with surprise when she watched Spike’s face turn back to human, and he slumped over, toppling to the ground. She started to reach down to finish the job, but before she could move, she felt a fist connecting with her face, and she went flying back against the tree. She hit her head, and everything grew black.

Spike watched, dazed, as the Slayer lay still on the ground. Then he felt gentle hands turning him over, and he looked up into big, green eyes that were filled with tears.

“Oh God,” she cried. “I thought…I saw…and I couldn’t get here…I was running so fast,” she cried. “Oh God.”

“S’alright, luv,” he whispered, as her hand closed around the stake. “Looks like she’s off her game tonight.”

“What the hell happened?” Faith asked, rushing down the street and into the yard. She looked at a staked but non-dusty Spike, glanced at Dana, and then looked at Buffy with questions filling her eyes.

“Dana decided to hunt my husband,” Buffy grimaced, yanking the stake from Spike’s chest.

“Jesus,” Faith murmured. “Can I do something?”

“Yeah,” Buffy muttered, placing her hand over Spike’s wound, pressing down firmly to stop the bleeding. “Call the police.”

“The cops?” Faith asked. “Isn’t this a…”

“What? A case for the Council? At this point, all they’d do is patch her up and send her back to us for another round.” She shook her head. “And we can’t keep her here. We already tried that.” She looked at Dana’s unconscious form. “Right now, this is all we can do.”


Chapter End Notes:
I know I've been away, but I'm back and ready to finish this story!



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