Buffy was surprised that it didn’t hurt more. She had felt a brief sting when Spike’s sharp teeth penetrated her skin, but the pain had merely lasted for a second. It was strange; she knew he was feeding from her, could feel him sucking at her neck and hungrily taking deep swallows of her blood, but somehow, she was still perfectly relaxed.
If anything, the sensation of Spike’s cold lips pressed against her throat, his fangs buried in her neck, made her feel all warm, tingly – and aroused. It was only the fact that he was still hurt that kept her from jumping his bones. There would be time for that later, she decided. Right now, he needed to focus on getting better.
When he suddenly pulled back, she felt strangely disappointed, holding on to him to keep him from moving away from her. “You don’t have to stop,” she mumbled. “It’s okay.”
Gently closing the two small puncture wounds at the side of her neck with his tongue, making sure the bleeding stopped, Spike shook his head. “’S enough.”
“But you barely took anything,” Buffy protested, frowning when she noticed that she was slurring a little. She also felt slightly light-headed, but decided to keep that to herself. The last thing she wanted was for Spike to feel guilty, worried about taking too much. Besides, dizziness aside, she had never felt better in her life.
“Took more than I should’ve,” he muttered, running his fingers softly down her cheek. “How’re you feelin’?”
“Great.” Buffy giggled. “Little woozy, but in a good way.” She failed to hold back a yawn. “Tired, though. You?”
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry ‘bout me.” There was a hint of alarm in his voice, and she knew that his first concern would always be with her.
She sighed, slid back down against the pillow and pulled him with her so they were both lying on their side, facing each other. “Spike, I’m okay. You didn’t hurt me. In fact, just give me a few hours rest, and I’ll be ready for another go. I mean it.”
He opened his mouth to object, then seemed to decide against it. “You’re bloody amazing, luv.”
Buffy’s cheeks turned slightly red. “I’m not that special. Seriously, Spike, the only thing that matters to me right now is that you’re okay. I want you to keep drinking from me until you start feeling better.”
Spike shook his head. “You don’t have to-“
“I know,” she interrupted him, a firm note in her voice. “But I want to. Stop being so damn stubborn and just accept that I care about you.”
Spike couldn’t help but enjoy how she kept fussing over him. Of course, he would never admit it out loud. He had some pride, after all. So he let out an exaggerated sigh. “Fine.” Missing how Buffy rolled her eyes, he slid his arm around her waist. “Could sleep for a while, you know. ‘M not going anywhere.”
“You’ve better not,” Buffy told him, smiling a little as she snuggled up against him. “I just got you back. Don’t expect me to let you out of my sight anytime soon. In fact, from now on, you’re staying right here with me so I can keep an eye on you.” She kept her voice light, although Spike got the feeling she was only half joking. Then again, he supposed he could live with that.
~ ~ ~
“Where’s Angel?” Rowan asked, leaning back against the bed. “Still around, or did he go back to the office?”
Fred nodded, hesitating a little before sitting down next to him on the floor. “He had to go to a meeting. Charles called, by the way. He and Wesley are still looking for a stronger binding spell to keep Morou out of your head.”
“No luck so far, huh?” Rowan grimaced. “I’m not saying I don’t deserve the pain, but it’ll be hard for me to kill that bastard as long as I feel like my head’s about to explode.” He got a thoughtful look on his face. “Since he’s obviously not immortal, Morou must have some weakness. You think he knows what it is?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.” Fred frowned. “Does it matter?”
Rowan shrugged. “It’s just that I’ve noticed he likes to talk. Naturally, Morou would never reveal anything to the one person he knows can take him out. But what if he’s been talking to the other demons? You know, bragging a little before finishing them off. After all, it’s not like they would ever get the chance to tell anyone.”
“I’d say, that’s a pretty long shot.” Fred worried her bottom lip between her teeth. “Besides, even if he did, we’ll never find out. He killed all the demons, remember? It’s not like we can ask them if...” She stopped, her eyes meeting Rowan’s.
“There’s one demon Morou didn’t kill,” Rowan pointed out, scrambling to his feet. The chain rattled. “Fred, I need the key. It should be somewhere on the floor.”
“Rowan, wait.” Fred stood up as well. “What if Morou...?”
Rowan interrupted her, an impatient note in his voice, “I haven’t felt any pain for at least five minutes. With any luck, he’s resting. He does that sometimes. Which means I have to work fast.”
“I don’t know...” Fred sighed. “Look, I seriously doubt Spike wants to talk to you right now. He’s been through a lot. Why don’t you-“
“Oh, I know he doesn’t wanna talk to me,” Rowan cut her off. “And I’m sure Buffy will kick my ass if I show up again, but I’m still going. Don’t you see, Fred? I can’t just sit here and wait for someone else to tell me what to do. This is my fight. I have to make things right.”
Fred shook her head. “I don’t think Spike knows anything. You’d probably just be wasting your time.”
“Maybe.” Rowan’s eyes ran over the floor in search for the key to unlock his chain. “But at least I’d be doing something.”
~ ~ ~
When Spike woke up again, he was surprised – yet relieved – to notice that he was able to move his fingers a little, for the first time since the demon had crushed his left hand. There was still some pain, but not nearly as bad as it had been. His ribs didn’t ache as much as before, either.
He had always known the blood of a slayer would be even more powerful to a vampire than Sire’s blood, but he had still not expected it to work so fast. Although he had tasted Slayer blood before, his body hadn’t been so badly damaged the last time.
Much to his disappointment, even though the swelling of his eyes had eased enough for him to manage to open them, at least a crack, he was still blind. His face was itching and burning, but he knew it was just the result of his skin healing. In a day or so, most of the blisters and wounds caused by the holy water would be gone as well.
Buffy stirred next to him and he tensed up, not wanting to wake her. After all, she needed her rest. He knew she had barely left his side since he got back to the hotel and suspected that she had forced herself to stay awake most of the time, just in case he would need anything.
And she said she wanted him to drink from her again. Although he didn’t like the idea of using her like that; like she was just some sort of food supply, he couldn’t deny the fact that the thought filled him with a thrilling sensation. Because he could no longer doubt that her feelings for him were real. How could he, after what she had just done to prove it to him?
“Hey.”
Spike nearly jumped when Buffy spoke, having been too lost in his thoughts to notice that the sound of her breathing had changed and that she was now awake. “Hey. You all right, luv?”
Carefully slipping out of his embrace, Buffy stretched her arms over her head. “I feel great. Why? You’re up for another round of Buffy-on-tap?” She said the last part with a teasing note in her voice. Before he got the chance to respond, her mind finally registered the improvement of his appearance and her smile widened. “Wow, you look so much better already. My blood did all that in just a couple of hours?”
She sounded so proud of herself, he couldn’t help but chuckle. “Powerful stuff, your blood. Bet I’ll be up and running in no time.” To prove his point, he struggled to sit up.
“Yeah...” Buffy watched him in silence for a moment. “You still can’t see, though, can you?”
He sighed. “No.”
She gave him a sad smile, which of course was lost on him. As nice as it was to see his blue eyes finally open, she hated the way he seemed to be looking right through her, like she wasn’t really there. “It’ll probably just take some more time.”
“Right.” He didn’t quite manage to keep the frustration out of his voice. “Another bloody year or so. Buffy, what if I never-“
Buffy cut him off by pressing her lips against his, her arms finding their way around his neck. She was relieved when he – after a brief moment’s hesitation – returned the kiss. When the lack of air started to become an issue, she reluctantly pulled back. “Not gonna happen.”
“What’s that?” He sounded confused, and more than a little dazed.
She smiled, pleased with the effect she had on him, and clarified, “You were gonna say, ‘what if I never get my sight back?’ I said, not going to happen.” When he remained silent, she let out a sigh, her smile fading. “Look, Spike, I’m not going to pretend that I know what you’re going through. I can’t imagine what it must be like, not being able to see a thing. But it’s going to get better. You have to believe that.”
Spike wasn’t as convinced, but didn’t fancy getting into a fight with her. So instead of answering, he pulled her back into his arms and kissed her again, almost fiercely. If his actions surprised her, she didn’t let it show. A happy moan escaped her throat, and for a moment, Spike almost believed that everything would be okay after all.
TBC
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Betad by Mabel Marsters - thank you! Also like to say thanks to PhotographyNut, Kirsty, guest, cordykitten and IamGhost for reviewing last chapter! :)