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Author's Chapter Notes:
The story as a whole is betad by dawnofme who also did the banner, but this chapter is unbetad - so I apologise for its rough state.



The cameras stopped rolling and Spike thrashed in the chair.

“Get me out of this fucking thing!”

“I don’t think so,” said Carl, who beckoned to someone to step forward.

Out of the shadow a pair of police officers appeared.

“You’re coming with us, until such time that the government decides what to do with your kind,” said the taller of the two.

“Carl! You can’t do this!” Henry ran forward and put himself between Spike and the officers.

“Henry, you’re being unreasonable. You heard him threaten to kill a human being. How can he be allowed to remain free after that? He goes on a killing spree and who knows how many will die.”

“That’s ridiculous and you know it.”

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Willow approaching. A slight twist of his head revealed Mark sliding open the buckles on the straps holding Spike in the chair. Unfortunately he wasn’t the only one who saw it.

Pushing Henry violently to one side, the shorter, stockier officer strode towards the chair.

“Step away from the prisoner.”

Mark ignored him and redoubled his efforts to get Spike free.

“I repeat. Step away.”

The final strap undone, Spike leapt free from the chair. The officer pulled out a tazer gun and fired. Mark threw himself at the vampire, the charge hitting him in the back just as he pushed Spike away. Willow grabbed Spike’s hand and with a burst of static that blew out a couple of light bulbs, and a sudden gust of wind, the pair disappeared.

Everyone in the studio froze for maybe half a minute then a cacophony of voices filled the air.

“Where the hell did they go?”

“What the f…?”

“My bloody camera’s knackered!”

Mark rolled on the floor groaning. The police simply stood and stared.

“Someone tell me that was caught on camera, please!” Carl’s voice rang out loudest of all.

He grabbed Henry’s arm. “Where have they gone? How could they do that?”

“Get your hand off me!” Henry pulled himself free. “I’ll never tell you anything again, Carl. You betrayed my trust.”

“Your trust?” Carl sneered. “I was simply taking sensible precautions. Ones you should have thought of when you began to side with those freakish demons! They’re a liability. They’d kill us all but for the chips in their heads. This one…Spike…should be re-chipped immediately.”

“Didn’t you listen to anything that’s been said?”

“I listened and do you know something? I don’t care! They’re not human. They are clearly full of hate for us. Stake them or use them – either way is fine by me. As long as they’re not roaming about stalking us as if we were prey.”

“What about him?” Henry pointed to Mark, who was being helped to his feet, by one of the crew. “He’s human. Don’t you believe him either?”

“He’s probably just after some compensation. Injury like that – it’s going to mess with a bloke’s head.”

Henry pulled back his right fist and then smashed it into Carl’s face, grunting with satisfaction when the man fell down.

“Assault!” Carl’s words were muffled as his hands covered his rapidly bleeding nose.

Henry found himself wrestled to the ground by the two police officers as they read him his rights and arrested him for causing actual bodily harm.

Mark and Henry caught each other’s eyes and nodded. Whatever happened to them, Willow had gotten Spike out safely.

*~*~*~*

Their feet touched down to the accompaniment of the blare of a car horn as an SUV passed just inches from where they stood.

They stared at each other for a second, both taking in what the consequences could have been, before Willow’s legs gave out and but for Spike’s reflexes she would have collapsed to the ground.

“Red! Are you okay?”

Spike rolled his eye at the stupid question, and put his fingertips to her throat. The pulse was steady, if a little weak. Satisfied that Willow had merely fainted, Spike glanced around the area, wishing that he could still enhance his sight by vamping out. With his eye just turned on for normal vision, his night sight was as poor as a human’s.

“Where the hell did you bring us?”

From the shapes that loomed in the darkness, it was clear that they were near a cemetery, but which one? He scooped her up into his arms, struggled to get over the stone wall without dropping her, and carried her up the hill towards what looked to be a row of mausoleums. An old wooden door was no match for a stressed out vampire’s kick, and coughing at the dust stirred up inside, Spike entered.

After gently lying Willow down, Spike pushed the door closed, pleased to see that it stayed in place despite the lock being snapped off. Returning to Willow, he patted at her jeans pockets searching for the cell phone he knew she carried. With a curse, he realised that she didn’t have her jacket and could guess that the missing phone was safely stashed in one of its pockets back at the studio. With no other options available, Spike hunkered down beside Willow and waited for her to come around.

*~*~*~*

“What do you mean, they’ve gone?” Buffy’s strident tones rang out through the whole house. “What the hell has happened?”

She ran a hand over her face as Mark described the events at the studio. “The bastard!”

“I couldn’t agree more. I thought she’d done that teleport thing and brought them home,” he said.

“No. They’re not here.”

“How long does it take, ‘cause it was only about forty minutes ago?”

“It’s more or less instant. If they were coming here, they’d be here by now.”

“Er…well…I guess I’ll stay in a hotel here for the night. Henry’s lawyer should have gotten him out by the morning.”

“Okay. Thanks for letting me know. And, Mark… thanks for saving Spike.”

“Yeah, well, figured it was the least I could do after all I—”

“You’re trying to make things right now. That’s all that matters.”

Buffy knew she’d never forgive the man for the injuries he’d inflicted on Cameron, let alone his cruelty to Spike, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

“Let me know if you hear from Spike or Willow,” said Mark before hanging up.

Buffy hung up the phone and turned to find all the residents of the safehouse, apart from Gunn, gathered around her.

“What’s up, Mom?” Craig said.

“The interview backfired on us.” Buffy sighed and sat in one of the chairs. “Dora? I think this calls for tea…lots and lots of tea.”

“I’ll put the kettle on, love, but where are Willow and Spike?”

“I don’t know. Seems Spike lost his temper and Carl already had police there to take him into custody until the investigation into the Initiative is complete. Mark got tazered as he made sure that Willow could teleport Spike away.”

“So why haven’t they called?” Cam was leaning against the door frame.

“I don’t know, sweetie. I guess we’ll just have to wait for them to get in touch.”

Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose as she could feel the beginnings of a migraine. Would their lives ever get back to normal?

*~*~*~*

The sun was almost up before Willow stirred. Spike had been increasingly tempted to go to try to find a telephone to call for help, but with his eyes as they were, he could no longer hope to pass as human.

His eyes.

The unwelcome images of the footage he’d seen flitted into his mind.

Hideous.

That was the only way he could think to describe himself. But Buffy loved him. He wasn’t quite sure how she could bring herself to do it, but he finally had no doubt that she did.

“Spike?” Willow’s voice barely carried to him.

“I’m here, pet.” He stroked the hair back from her face. “Not quite sure exactly where here is, though it looks a bit familiar.”

Smiling weakly, Willow sat up with Spike’s aid and leaned back against the stone wall. “We’re in Highgate Cemetery – or should be.” She frowned. “Were we on the wrong side of the perimeter?”

“Yeah, but no harm done. The car missed us by…ooh, at least six inches.” He grinned at her, relieved that the woman appeared okay. “Why did you bring us here? Why not just back to the safehouse?”

“Because, I’m not sure that they won’t eventually find us. Even if they can’t actually see the house because of the wards, if they know roughly where it is, I think they might just blow it up.”

“Christ! We’ve got to warn them! They’re bloody sitting ducks.”

“My cell…haven’t you already called them?”

Spike shook his head. “It’s not there – you must have left it back at the studio. I couldn’t go out to find a booth, looking like this, could I? Plus my face has been plastered all over the media by now.”

With a glance at her watch, Willow got to her feet. “I need to go to tell them.”

She swayed and Spike reached out to steady them. “Are you sure you’re okay to teleport? You look exhausted and if you don’t concentrate and you get the coordinates wrong…”

“I am too pooped to use magics just now. I’ll just have to find a telephone. Will you be alright here, until I come back?”

Spike glanced around the tomb. “Yeah, looks a bit like one I lived in for a while in Prague. Just hurry, yeah? Don’t let anything else happen to them, because of me.”

“I won’t. Try not to worry. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Spike helped her open the door, careful of the rays of light breaking through the clouds and then pushed it back and leaned on its surface. He hated being unable to help his family and knew the day was going to seem interminable.

*~*~*~*

Buffy snatched up the phone almost before it had time to ring.

“Spike?”

“Willow. He’s safe though, so don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry? We’ve being going half out of our minds.”

“Sorry. I got a bit wiped out when I teleported Spike out of the studio.”

“Why didn’t you come here?”

“I don’t think it’s safe. That presenter, Carl, he had police in the studio, like they were always planning on taking Spike back. I think we need to move on, before they start blowing up areas of forest that look like clearings from the air.”

“We’ve got a bit of a problem.”

“What is it?” The strain evident in Willow’s voice.

“It’s Gunn, your sleeping spell wore off and he freaked out for a while, but now it looks like he might have slipped into a coma. He needs the drugs they had him on, I don’t think he’ll live otherwise.”

After a pause, Willow said, “In that case we’re going to have to give him back.”

“We can’t! He’s proof that the Initiative is evil!”

“He’s also a victim, Buffy. A human. If we can’t give him the help he needs, we have to take him back, or his death is on our hands, not hers.”

Buffy squeezed her eyes shut, knowing her friend was right, but feeling that everything was slipping away.

“So what do we do?”

“Get the others out by car. Drive north. Leave a cell phone for me and I’ll call you as soon as Gunn is seen to. Then we can work out where to stay.”

“Be careful, Willow. The Initiative would like to get hold of a bonafide witch, just as much as it would a Slayer.”

“I know. And I will. But I can’t have someone’s death on my conscience.”

“What about Spike? Can you take me to him? Craig, Riley and Maurice can share the driving. Five will fit in the car better too.”

“Okay. I’m coming to you now. Make sure that there is a cup of very sweet tea waiting for me.”

“Thank you, Willow,” Buffy said, but she’s already hung up.

Willow arrived in the garden some hundred yards from the house. It took a huge effort just to walk to the door. She’d been using more magics of late than she had done for years, plus, she hated to admit, she was no longer a teen, her stamina wasn’t what it was.

Craig opened the door when she was still some twenty feet away and hurried out to help her inside. In the kitchen, Buffy had a cup of tea with milk and four spoons of sugar waiting for her, along with some Cadbury’s chocolate mini rolls that Dora had bought on their last shopping trip.

Falling on the food like a vulture on carrion, Willow began to eat as Buffy waited impatiently for more news of Spike.

“Are you strong enough to take me to him?”

Cramming a mini roll in her mouth Willow nodded. “Should be in a few minutes,” she said, spraying crumbs over the table. “These are the food of the gods!”

Her hand snaked out and snagged another one, unwrapping its foil overcoat before taking half of it into her mouth with one bite. The cup of tea was followed by another, and with colour returning to her pale face, Willow sat back and met Buffy’s eyes.

“Have you told the others?”

Nodding, Buffy said that she had. Riley pulled the rental car round to the front of the house and stood back as the others hugged.

“Go at least four hours away from here,” Willow said. “Maurice, I’ll need you to give me good coordinates for wherever you stop.”

“I’ll do my best. Now, you be careful.” Maurice gave her another hug and then helped Cam into the rear seat of the vehicle.

Riley took the wheel, with Craig in the passenger seat and the Carmichaeals in the back with Cam. Both women blinked back tears as the car drove away.

“Will,” said Buffy softly. “Are we doing the right thing in handing him back to the Initiative?

“I don’t plan on giving him to them directly. I’m going to take him to a large hospital and then it’s up to them to liaise with the Initiative for his treatment. I doubt they’ll let him out of their care once they’ve seen him.”

“You’re amazing. You’ve thought of everything. My mind’s just a blank. I can’t seem to be able to think clearly anymore.”

Willow squeezed her hand. “That’s because it’s your boys and Spike who are hurting. Now, let’s take you to Spike. I’ll come and get you after dark. It’ll take that long for me to get my strength back up.” The wink she gave, let Buffy know that that wasn’t quite true. She was merely giving the couple some time alone. “Ready?”

Buffy nodded. A whoosh and the feeling of your stomach flipping over and they were in the crypt, facing Spike who was tensed ready to attack. He visibly relaxed as he saw Buffy, and he didn’t have time to speak before Willow disappeared again.

“Hey, you,” said Buffy, smiling at him.

“Come here!”

He swooped forward, put a hand behind her head and pulled her into a kiss. Buffy’s hands scrabbled at his chest trying to undo the buttons on his shirt, before she broke the kiss to yell and tear the shirt open.

In the movies, couples shed their clothes and manage to look elegant and glamorous as they fall on each other with passion. In reality, it wasn’t quite like that. Grunts when hair was pulled, a muffled groan as a knee impacted in just the wrong place as it tried to shed the jeans covering it, and finally a yelp as a truly enormous spider landed on Buffy’s shoulder, just as Spike pulled off her blouse.

The sex was just the same though. Fast, hard, staying just the right side of violence. Afterwards, both breathing heavily and lying on their sides so they could stare at each other, Buffy and Spike didn’t need to vocalise their love. They’d underlined it, by elevating the sexual act into something else entirely. As in the old movie clichés they’d worshipped each other’s body.

For the next few hours, it seemed that only they existed. They gave themselves to each other body and soul. Not noticing the hardness of the floor beneath them, forgetting the troubles they’d overcome and those they had yet to face. By the time a tentative knock came at the door of the crypt, Buffy was asleep in Spike’s arms.

Spike sniffed the air like the former tracker that he was, and grinned. “Come in, Red.”

The door creaked open and Willow stepped inside, keeping her eyes averted.

“It’s okay, we’re decent,” Spike added with a chuckle.

His shirt had been the only victim of their frantic undressing, though Buffy’s blouse was missing a couple of buttons and they’d been inexplicably unable to find one of her socks.

“Ready to go then?” Willow said smiling as Buffy tried to smooth her sex ruffled hair.

“Yup! We’re good to go.”

Buffy stood up and offered her hand to Spike, who took it and let her help him to his feet.

“So where are we going?” he asked.

“We’ve got a family room in a Travelodge just south of Manchester. It’s a bit of a squeeze but we didn’t want to rent two rooms.”

“Has it got a shower?” said Buffy, wiping some dust off her jeans, with her free hand.

“Yes.”

“Then it sounds great.”

Spike leered at Buffy. “I need a shower too.”

“Hey!” Willow put her hands up. “There will be no sharing of showers while all there is between you and the rest of us is one stud wall!”

“Shame,” muttered Spike.

“Another word, Mister,” Willow said with a grin, “and I’ll leave you here until she’s washed.”

“I’ll be good. I promise.” He kissed Buffy. “You can go first, but don’t use all the hot water.”

“I won’t.” Buffy could hardly bring herself to let go of his hand. “I love you, Spike.”

“I love you, t—”

“Oh sweet goddess! You won’t be apart for more than a minute!” Willow pulled their hands apart and disappeared with Buffy.

“A minute’s too long,” said Spike into the empty air.

*~*~*~*

Later, they all sat on the three beds watching the footage of the interview with Spike and Mark. As they thought; it was a disaster. The news programme that followed put public opinion firmly back in favour of the Initiative, despite still waiting for the findings of the inquiry into the allegations of cruelty.

While the others slept, Spike and Buffy sat on the grubby carpet, her back leaning against his chest, as he wrapped his arms around her.

“We need to be prepared for the Initiative to be cleared, pet.”

Buffy tried to twist round, but he held her tight, his lips brushing her ear.

“Shh… don’t wake them.”

“Well, don’t say things like that,” Buffy hissed.

“I’m just saying we need to have another plan. If Walsh escapes prison – I’m afraid of what it will do to me. You saw how I reacted the other day. I can’t live like that.”

Again, Buffy tried to turn, but he increased his grip until she stilled once more.

“I’m not saying that I’m gonna fall on a stake, love. Just that we need a Plan B.”

“Have you any idea what this Plan B might be?” Buffy stroked the back of his hand.

“I have, but you might not like it.”



Chapter End Notes:
The tale is almost over...



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