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Chapter 18 – Waiting it Out


Buffy was on pins and needles for the next twenty-four hours. She had refrained from calling Wesley or Spike’s friends because she was terrified. She was scared that he wouldn’t wake up, but she was also scared that he would. Angel told her it was ridiculous to be worried, that he wouldn’t be mad at her for doing what she felt should be done, but Buffy was still anxious. She had been pacing the room for hours. The time that Spike should have woken up had come and gone, and Buffy chewed on her thumbnail as she stared out the window, into the night.

“Buffy?”

Spinning around to face the bed at the sound of the weak voice, a tumultuous feeling of emotions overwhelmed her. “Spike?” Rushing over to the bed, she practically threw herself at him. “Oh God, I was so worried,” she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Pulling her away to look into her eyes, Spike frowned when he noticed how puffy and red they were. Tilting his head to the side, one hand stretched up and tenderly traced the dark shadows that tinted the delicate skin under her eyes. “What happened?”

Sniffling as she looked at him, Buffy let more tears spill over, clutching at him. Spike stared at her, realizing she looked about fifteen years old with the fresh tears flowing. “You’re okay,” she whispered, gently touching him to make sure he wasn’t a figment of her imagination.

“I’m okay, pet. What happened?”

Watching as Buffy got a panicked look on her face and jumped off the bed to begin pacing the room again, Spike groggily sat up and swung his legs over the edge, trying to stand. He soon found that he was too weak, falling back to the mattress with a soft thump.

“I thought I lost you,” she whispered as she stared out the window. “You were gone and…and it was all my fault. I should have been quicker, I should have warned you to get out of there…but I didn’t.”

“What are you on about?”

Turning to face him, the distress was evident all over her features. “I did what I had to do…what I thought I had to do, anyway.” Buffy paused, contemplating her next words. “I turned you, Spike.”

Staring at her in shock for a full minute while Buffy nervously fidgeted under his gaze, he gasped for unneeded air.

Misinterpreting his reaction, she began pacing again. “I’m sorry,” she cried as the tears started all over again before the babbling began. “I shouldn’t have done it! I-I just didn’t have time to think, and now you probably hate me, and I think maybe you should. I didn’t know what else to do, and the only thing I thought of was the fact that I couldn’t lose you, not yet, not like that. But I know you won’t want to be near me any-”

Buffy was cut off by the weakened Slayer, summoning all his energy to press his lips against hers. Pulling away, Spike looked deep into her eyes. “Love, do us a favor and shut up, okay?” Buffy saw the smile playing on his lips and began to relax a little.

“I didn’t know what else to do, Spike.”

“I know,” he said as he sat down in a nearby chair. “I’m not mad…just need a few minutes before I get used to it.”

“Blood!” she practically yelled.

“What?”

“Blood. You need blood to get your energy back. I’ll be right back.”

Smiling when Buffy nearly flew from the room, Spike he leaned back in the chair, shutting his eyes. ‘Well,’ he thought. ‘You got your wish, mate. Now you have to pull it together before she gets back or she’ll think she did something wrong.’

Taking a few deep, unneeded breaths to calm down his jumbled emotions, he looked up to see Buffy entering the room with a mug in her hands.

“It might seem a little strange at first, but you get used to it.”

Watching Buffy pace the room again as he drained the contents of the mug, he pulled back to look at it with a thoughtful expression. It really wasn’t that bad- even if he preferred something a little stronger. The dizziness and disorientation were gone, letting him stand up and make his way over to Buffy while her back was to him. Slowly wrapping his arms around her waist, he rested his head on her shoulder as they stared out the window in silence.

“Do you hate me?” she asked quietly.

Spike wasn’t surprised by the question, but he still wasn’t happy that she could think he would hate her.

“No, baby,” he said soothingly. “I get to be with you forever. I could never hate you.”

Feeling relief wash over her at his softly spoken words, she closed her eyes, leaning against him.

“Was it Cassidy?” he asked.

“You don’t remember?”

“I remember feeling like a two by four crashed into my skull. After that, everything’s a little bit hazy.”

“Yeah…it was her. I tried to get to you, but I was too weak to get away. Cordy managed to help me while Angel held off the rest, and Cassidy was already gone by the time I got to you.”

“So we find her,” he said as he burrowed more into her shoulder, feeling desire and hunger race through him when she subtly tilted her neck.

“That’s the plan. Angel and Cordy are planning to come to Sunnydale with us for a few days. I doubt Cassidy’s the type to just walk away. Knowing that she left at least three of us standing has to be bugging her.”

“Strength in numbers then. Did you call Wes?”

Staying quiet for a minute, Buffy swallowed hard. “No, um, I couldn’t…I didn’t know what to tell him…I wasn’t sure it had worked.”

“You thought I died,” Spike commented casually as she snapped around to look at him.

“Don’t sound so disappointed that you’re standing here, Spike!”

“Oh, come on, don’t act like this. I didn’t mean it like that and you know it. I was just saying what I knew you were trying to say.”

“Well, you’re acting like you would have rather died in that alley and not…”

Trailing off, Buffy gasped when she felt Spike’s fangs sink into her neck, taking deep pulls of blood. Twining her hands through his hair for a moment, she knew he needed the connection that she was giving him. She was his sire and he needed the bond that he was forging.

They both did.

Kicking off her pants, Buffy eagerly reached between them, working on his belt buckle and freeing his erection. Hearing Spike’s appreciative growl against her neck, she gasped when he picked her up, slamming her against the wall- his fangs still imbedded in her neck, his cock thrust inside of her.

No longer taking any blood, he merely took pleasure in being close to her, ramming into her willing body, causing the walls to shake as she writhed and cried out in his arms. Pulling away from her neck, he looked into her eyes, never stopping his movements. “Am I hurting you?”

“No,” she whimpered, feeling the loss of him against her neck. “God, no.”

Slamming his hips against hers, Spike lowered his head, sinking his fangs into her breast, wanting to mark her wherever he could. Pulling on her blood, he groaned when her muscles clamped around him, signaling her climax, seconds before she arched her back and screamed out her release, panting when Spike thrust into her once more, spilling himself inside her welcoming body.

Calming down after a moment, Spike gently tilted her chin up to look into his eyes. “I’m sorry, pet…didn’t mean to get so carried away.”

“Feel free to get carried away anytime,” she said with a smile.

“Do you love me?” he asked after a moment, watching as she widened her eyes in disbelief.

“How can you ask me that? Of course I love you. I’ve never loved anyone like this.”

“Just wanted to hear you say it, pet,” he said with a smile as his lips descended to hers, brushing against them softly. “I love you, too,” he whispered before deepening the kiss. Buffy wrapped her arms around Spike’s neck, relaxing for the first time in hours. She felt the tension leave her body as he proceeded to reassure her with his gently probing kisses that she had done the right thing.

* * * * *

A few hours later, Buffy and Spike left the room and made their way down to the lobby of the hotel. Angel and Cordy sat behind the reception area, going through files as they came into view.

“So, he’s up,” Cordy said, hiding her smile when she noticed the turtleneck that Buffy was wearing and the long-sleeved shirt that Spike had on. Obviously they had been up for awhile. “How are you feeling, Spike?”

“Like my blood was drained and I was hit by a truck.”

“That about sums it up,” Angel said, never looking up.

“What are you two working on?” Buffy asked, walking over and hopping up on the counter as they worked.

“I called Giles and told him what happened,” Angel said. “He was able to get some older files about Cassidy from some contacts at the Watcher's Council.”

“Anything useful?” Spike asked, leaning next to Buffy, idly rubbing her thigh.

“Not really. She was captured about forty years ago and kept in a controlled area for experimental purposes.”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Testing her strengths,” Cordy said. “Her reflexes. Up until about twenty years ago, she was used to train all the potential Slayers. They would have crossbows trained on her while she was fighting the potentials.”

“Explains why she has such a hatred for Slayers,” Spike replied.

“More like the Council,” Buffy mumbled, picking up a file.

“You don’t think she’d go back to England, do you?” Angel asked her.

“Not yet. I think that she considers us to be unfinished business. She’s probably somewhere regrouping before she comes after us again.”

“Yeah, she didn’t seem to be much for the fighting,” Cordy commented.

“Nope, she likes to sit by and watch everyone else do the work. It’s more fun if she can work her mind control and get what she wants,” Buffy said. “So we catch up to her before she can find some more lackeys to do the work for her.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Spike asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Bait,” she replied, looking him in the eye.

“I know you’re not talking about yourself!” he exclaimed.

“Who else? She hates me, she knows I’m still standing, and she wants me to suffer. I don’t see many other options, do you?”

“Buffy, I’m not risking you getting staked because some psycho Council experiment has it in her head to come after you!”

“You really don’t have a choice, Spike.”

“I bloody well do!”

“Buffy’s right,” Angel spoke up, watching the pair argue. “Cassidy will want to come after her, and chances are she’s got some reserve vampires waiting in the wings to take her out. All we have to do is build our own reserves.”

“Like who, Angel?” Cordy asked.

“We could find the new Slayer.”

“That could take weeks,” Spike said.

“No…I’ve got it!” Buffy said excitedly. “Spike, call Wesley, explain everything that’s going on…but don’t be dramatic about it. We don’t want to give him a heart attack. Tell him to call Gunn and Fred and give them a vague description of what’s going on. We’ll get back to them later,” she said as she jogged up the stairs. “You three work out some of the details- I’ll be back down in an hour.”

The three remaining looked at each other before each giving a shrug and returning to their work. With a heavy sigh, Spike picked up the phone and dialed his Watcher’s number.





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