Buffy woke up and looked around her noticing she felt horrible. She glanced down and realized she was in her own bed but her head was killing her as was her stomach. She saw that Spike was beside her either passed out or sleeping. She lifted the covers and her nightshirt to see her stomach area wrapped up tightly with gauze and bandages. She stood up but collapsed within seconds and heard Dawn’s voice yelling at her, “Don’t get up. Buffy you were almost killed. You can’t possibly want to get up when you have Spike passed out beside you. We did that despite Xander and Giles’s protest.” She glanced around to look for Dawn but didn’t see her and so she laid back in bed checking out Spike’s wounds. He had a bandage on his forehead, his right shoulder, and his stomach was wrapped up tightly too. He looked deathly pale and sickly as Dawn entered the room carrying a mug of blood and juice. She handed Buffy the juice and set the mug beside the bed on Spike’s side.
Buffy drank her juice and whispered, “What’s wrong with him?” Dawn blinked unable to believe what she was hearing, “He saved your life after taking two large gashes to the stomach. His arm was dislocated and had a huge cut on it. There was also a hole on his forehead that we could only guess was from a run in with a stake. We were thinking the hole in his shoulder near his heart was one too. He carried you injured like this to the car, then drove like this here only to carry you again into the green room. There he laid you down on the couch and passed out. He hasn’t been awake since but it’s only been 12 hours.”
Buffy frowned as Dawn fussed over both of them carrying the juice from the room, “Want some soup? I’ll bring you some only if you promise not to move out of bed.” Buffy nodded, “I don’t think I could stand if I wanted to…besides I’m afraid for Spike.” Dawn seemed content with the answer because she left Buffy alone with Spike. Buffy kissed Spike on the lips whispering, “I woke up. Now it’s your turn to wake up. Wake up. I can’t make it in this world without you.” There was still no answer from Spike so Buffy got an idea. She held the warm blood under his nose and then spread it across his lips. His tongue darted out but nothing happened. He still wouldn’t drink. She frowned then had another idea. She glanced around noticing no one was in the room and lifted her injured wrist to Spike’s mouth. She picked off the scab knowing it was a little cut since it was healing already but the smell might be enough. She held the mug against his mouth and put the wrist under his nose and he vamped out taking a sip of the mug, after which he opened his eyes knocking the mug aside. He flipped Buffy over so he was under her and licked her neck only to gently bite into it.
She moaned out and felt Spike massaging her breasts as he gently fed from her neck. She realized she wasn’t scared and instead just accepted his feeding until he licked the wound closed roaring out, “Mine.” Buffy’s slayer replied with a simple, “Yours.” Within minutes Spike blinked twice then looked down at Buffy horrified at what he had just done. He whispered backing off her, “God Buffy, I’m so sorry. Bloody Hell I’m dangerous. I never should have…Buffy luv I’m so sorry.” He tried to get out of bed, grimacing at the pain, and she pulled him back down next to her.
She rolled over so her head and leg was over him making it a little harder for him to leave her, “It’s ok. I let it happen. I could have stopped it. You needed blood and I was playing a game. I was trying to trick your body into smelling my blood and drinking pig’s blood which obviously didn’t work so well.” Spike looked horrified as he put his face into his hands shaking his head whispering over and over again, “I hurt you again. I hurt you again.” Buffy sat up, moaning in pain, but determined to fix this. She brought her hands up to his arms and lowered them so she could see his eyes. She used the hand with the scar to join together with his and whispered, “Spike, I’m ok. Look at me. Those vampires and demons did way worse to me. I’m really ok.”
Spike glanced down at her body noticing the damage the demon did to her stomach area and arm but noticed her neck was already starting to heal. He frowned, “I claimed you. I wasn’t even aware I was doing it.” Buffy shrugged, “I was going to ask you to do so anyway someday.” Spike looked at her skeptically, “You were?” Buffy nodded as she pushed him back against the bed laying her head on his chest but still looking up at him. She was frustrated by the fact he didn’t hold her and she wrapped his lax arms around her waist. Spike chuckled slightly but then looked horrified as he stared at the mark on her neck. The side that no one had touched before now had a mark that would never really heal. He couldn’t see the other side of her neck but he knew if they ever completed the claim, those marks would disappear as well.
He let out a deep breath as Buffy finally started talking, “When you died last summer, I dreamt over and over again about you claiming me and me you so that we would be together in the afterlife. I wanted us to be together and hated myself for never letting you do so. I made a vow that if we ever found ourselves together again, I would have you claim me and I would return it therefore binding us together. Obviously your demon agrees even if you don’t.”
Spike frowned, “It’s not that I don’t agree luv. It’s just…Bloody hell, I bit you. I bit you and I didn’t even know I was doing it. I hurt you again pet. Don’t you know what this means?” Buffy looked deeply into his eyes admitting, “Actually, you didn’t hurt me. It felt kind of good and you were touching me while you were doing it distracting me from any pain I might feel.” Spike gave her a look of not believing her as he stated, “That was the demon Buffy. He wanted to kill you.”
Buffy this time laughed, “Um if he wanted to kill me, then why was he busy touching my chest and claiming me? I mean what demon claims someone before he drains her dry and why did he seal the wound on my neck.” Spike lift his fingertips to rub over her neck causing her to shudder with pleasure, “I don’t know luv. I really don’t know.” She snuggled down against him and whispered, “I know why and I think you do too. Because every little bit of you loves me and more importantly recognizes me as their mate. The demon could have drained me. I would have probably fought if I felt threatened but for once, a vampire was at my throat and I didn’t have to hit him over the head in hopes to save myself. I didn’t see some evil thing that I was unable to stop. It was peaceful and felt right, just like the claiming. A part of me somewhere deep inside knew exactly how to respond and wanted to. If I was threatened or scared or worried, the slayer part would not have answered the claim. Think about that Spike.” Spike grew quiet and the door opened to show Dawn walking in holding a tray of two bowls of soup.
Dawn cheered as she carried the soup carefully to place it over Spike’s lap as Buffy sat up in bed. She straightened her nightshirt and held the tray as Spike sat up grimacing at the pain. Dawn grinned, “You guys have matching wounds although Spike definitely had more of them….um Buffy. What happened to your neck?” Spike looked guilty again as Buffy admitted, “I think Spike and I have decided to claim each other. Know what that means?” Dawn nodded her head up and down, “I’m studying vampires and to be an assistant. Of course I know what that means. That means you guys are mates. They are lovers, and protect each other until you, err...you can’t dust. I guess you both die, right?” Spike nodded, “It means Nibblet, when your big sis here dies, I’ll die with her and if I dust, she’ll die with me. Is that ok with you? I won’t be around to watch you die probably.” Dawn shrugged, “I don’t care as long as you both are happy and as long as I never have to watch the mating part. Some things I don’t want to see and that’s one of them.” Spike chuckled then his face contorted into pain. “Sorry, Spike. Didn’t mean to make you be in pain.”
Spike leaned over careful of his injures as he ran his fingers through her hair, “It’s ok Nibblet. Hey whoa! Where did the big television come from?” Dawn laughed, “It took you that long to notice it? Xander brought the furniture back from the raid you both did. You guys got a love seat now too in your living room. Since it was black like the other two leather chairs you had in there, the black loveseat was added. The smaller television was moved into the living room since you are sitting closer to it but we can switch it if you want.” Spike smiled, “And the pool table and stereo?” Dawn grinned, “Well Willow was going to give you the stereo but the girls were already using it for practice in the training room downstairs so you will have to fight them for it when you get better if you want it. The pool table was added to the game room upstairs. Xander said on his next trip he will be expecting you to play a game with him.”
Spike chuckled again as he grimaced and he glanced down at the quickly cooling soup, “Buffy needs to eat up.” Dawn agreed, “You too. Unless you are full from eating my sister. Err. God I so did not mean that.” She raced out of the room holding her eyes and Buffy could see her embarrassment at her statement. Both Buffy and Spike laughed but Buffy carefully scooted over to take a sip of her soup. She took a few more bites enjoying the heat running down her throat. It was her favorite, Chicken and Stars soup. She glanced at Spike who was not eating and she asked, “Did you get enough blood?” Spike nodded, “Slayer blood goes a long way. I’m just thinking.”
Buffy leaned her head against his chest and whispered, “Bout what?” Spike whispered with a slight sigh, “Say I hurt you?” Buffy rolled her eyes annoyed at this track of thought yet again, “I’m fine. You take care of me and protect me and you and your demon know when to stop. It’s not a big deal Spike. I will know better next time and even if I mess up again, you won’t kill your mate or you will kill yourself. You don’t think your demon knew what he was doing when he did that? If you had done it fighting against your nature, I would have been concerned but this means every part of you agrees with me. I kind of like that.” She smiled slightly looking happy as she whispered, “It means we are meant to be together? Don’t you feel it too?” At Spike’s nod Buffy turned her smile into grin, “Good eat up before it gets too cold to enjoy.” Spike started to eat as Buffy did as well.