Song by 3 Doors Down, It’s Not My Time.
Spike woke up feeling Buffy moaning and thrashing around on the opposite side of the bed. He sat up and saw that with all her moving around, the wound on her stomach had opened. He frowned and tried to calm her down in order to stop the bleeding. He figured her fever was creating nightmares so he pulled her close rocking her gently as he used to do with Drusilla when she was sick after the mob in Prague.
Buffy whispered, “Spike?”
Spike placed a kiss on her forehead realizing she was still really hot and continued to rock her gently, “Easy Buffy, you have a fever. I’ll be right back.”
Spike went upstairs and grabbed some ice from his freezer bringing it downstairs. She laid her head against his cool chest and placed the ice on the back of her neck just as she always likes.
Buffy whispered, “My mom used to sing to me when I was sick.”
Spike growled, “I’m not singing to you silly bint.”
She pouted opening her eyes slightly and Spike could tell her eyes were glossy from the fever. He whispered, “Wait here. I’ll be back. You need water.”
She didn’t say anything only whined in protest when he put her head back on the pillow and rushed upstairs to get her cool water. He returned bringing with him a tall glass of water and helped her to sit up as he whispered against her ear, “Drink this. It will help you feel cooler.”
She dutifully listened drinking the whole glass of water before laying back down on Spike’s lap. She whispered, “I still don’t feel good. Won’t you please sing to me?”
Spike let out a deep breath as he shut his eyes hoping word never got out he was singing to the bloody slayer. He laid back on the bed getting comfortable pulling her into his lap. She bent her legs towards him as he wrapped his arm around her allowing her to rest on his cool chest again as he resigned to do as she asked, “What do you want me to sing luv?”
Buffy shrugged as she adjusted her body to be more comfortable and closer to Spike. Spike sighed starting to sing:
Looking back at the beginning of this/And how life was/Just you and me and love and all of our friends/Living life like an ocean/Now the currents slowly pulling me down/It’s getting harder to breath/It wont be too long and I’ll be going under/Can you save me from this/It’s not my time/I’m not going/There’s a fear in me/It’s not showing/This could be the end of me/And everything I know/Oh I won’t go/I look ahead to all the plans that we made/And the dreams that we had/I’m in a world that tries to take them away/All this time I’ve just been too blind to understand/What should matter to me/My friend, this life we live/Is now what we have, it’s what we believe/It’s not my time/I’m not going/There’s a fear in me/It’s not showing/This could be the end of me/And everything I know/Oh I won’t go
He stopped singing as he realized Buffy was fast asleep. It hadn’t been a love song by any means nor peaceful but apparently it had done the trick to put the poor slayer to sleep. Spike sighed tucking the blankets around them letting her slow and steady heartbeat relax him enough to fall asleep.
Spike awoke to the sound of Xander slamming the crypt door open shouting, “Spike I know you’re in here. Have you seen Buffy?”
Spike sighed easing Buffy into the sheets and frowned as he heard her whimper as her cooling pack had left her but he kissed her forehead promising her he’d be back knowing she was probably still sleeping and didn’t even hear him. He pulled on a pair of pants as he grabbed a shirt climbing the ladder. He hopped up to the top level pulling a shirt over his head realizing his hair was probably a mess based on the way the whelp, Anya and Willow were looking at him.
Spike run a hand through his hair, “Something I can help you with whelp?”
Xander rolled his eyes, “Buffy’s gone missing and I’m wondering if you have seen her or know where she might be.”
Spike chuckled, “Ever notice a trend? Buffy goes missing and you guys show up at my crypt probably on your first stop in search of her and expect that I know where she is.”
Xander frowned turning to the group, “He’s right, come on. This is a big waste of time. He hasn’t seen her.”
Just then, a weak sounding Buffy yelled upstairs, “Spike what’s all that noise? My head still hurts. Can I have more water?”
Xander ran to the opening to downstairs as he called out, “Buffy you down there?”
He started to climb down the ladder as Spike jumped down beating him to the ground and whispered, “Buffy luv, your friends are here.”
Buffy ran behind Spike realizing she was naked and weak. Spike picked up his bloody duster and wrapped it around Buffy hiding her from Xander’s view and Xander yelled, “Why is she naked in your bed and why are you able to cover her and what is going on here?”
Willow climbed down the ladder followed by the rest of the gang that had been waiting upstairs and outside but had heard the yelling.
Willow stuttered, “Buffy, why are you here?”
Buffy fidgeted with Spike’s duster almost managing to open it as Spike pulled it tighter around her tying a random string around it that had had found on the floor as he explained, “She got hurt last night on patrol because she was out patrolling when she had a fever. You bastards weren’t around so I saved her just as she was about to become a vampire feast. I killed the four vampires that were on her, protected her from a few other beasties along the way and brought her here to clean her up and fixed her up.”
Xander glared quite angry as he moved over slamming Spike against the wall knowing with his chip there was nothing he could do about it as he demanded, “And what right do you have to make Buffy naked and clean her up? That’s a job for her friends to do.”
Spike glared at Xander shaking off his hold, “And how many times have you seen the girl naked before?”
Xander stuttered with no answer as Willow spoke up, “Well we are here to take care of her.”
Spike glared at Willow, “So how many people in this room have seen her naked? Let’s see a show of hands? How many have seen her with headaches or sick? How many have seen her period in the last few months?”
Buffy felt weak and grabbed onto Spike for support and he sighed as he said, “Bugger off and go upstairs. I need to get her back into bed.”
Xander put his hands on his hips, “She’s not staying here with you.”
Spike picked her up into his arms, “She has a fever of over 102. She’s not able to even stand she’s so weak and you want to drag her outside through the rain to what make her better? I think not.”
Buffy put her arms tightly around Spike not wanting to be taken away and Xander saw the gesture and frowned.
Buffy whispered softly so only Xander could hear her, “Let me stay. Spike always takes good care of me.”
Xander frowned as Anya put a hand on his shoulder leading him back upstairs. Xander yelled, “We aren’t leaving so tuck her in and we will meet you upstairs.”
Spike sighed unwrapping the duster from around her body and frowned as he saw her reopened wound. He whispered, “Buffy luv you should have stayed in bed. I have to redress this. It might hurt.”
He removed the bandages as careful as he could and let out a deep breath he had been holding unable to resist taking his tongue over the wound to seal it better than the bandages had.
Buffy moaned in response and threaded her hand through his hair and he shook his head removing her hands whispering, “Now isn’t the time love. Perhaps when you are feeling better and we are alone.”
He carefully wrapped a bandage around her wound and sighed noticing he was going to have to do a better job as it appeared a few of her ribs were bruised if not broken. He made a mental promise that he would check on them later as he wrapped the blankets around her and went upstairs to deal with her friends.