A/N In response to everyone who is wondering, Connor is supposed to be a couple of months younger than Buffy. No kidnapping/Hell dimensions happened in this fic. It’s my fault for not mentioning it. I originally had an author’s note that this story had spoilers through “The Gift” and “Lullaby” but I must have deleted it. This makes Connor – 17 and Dawn – around 32/33, so there’s no plans for them to become a couple in this fic. Don’t worry, the Connor storyline is wrapped up in this chapter. Sorry for the confusion!
Chapter 16
Spike turned Buffy to face him as he looked at her questioningly.
“What do you need to do, luv?”
“I have to go see Dawnie.”
Spike stood up, pulling Buffy to her feet as he led her out of the training
room. “You sure you don’t want to wait until all of this is over?”
“Spike, I might not be here when it’s over.”
“Don’t say that,” he replied through gritted teeth.
“Why not?” Buffy asked, shaking her head slightly. “You know it’s true.
The Powers or whoever brought me back haven’t exactly given me the longest
life span in the past.”
Buffy tried to smile, wanting to lighten the mood, but failed miserably.
“You still don’t know that it will be the same this time around.”
“I’m going to be going up against the thing that managed to kill me the
first time around.”
“No,” Spike said, shaking his head. “You said it yourself- YOU called the
shots. It wasn’t Glory, it was you that decided when it was over.”
Buffy sighed, looking at the floor. “You’re right.”
“Damn straight, I’m right,” Spike replied, pacing in front of her. “You
beat this chit once, you can do it again.”
“How?” Buffy asked skeptically.
“That’s what your friends are working on.”
“I have to see her, Spike,” Buffy said quietly, causing Spike to halt in
front of her, tilting his head to study her. "I have to see my sister."
“You do know she’ll want to fight in this, don’t you?”
“I know,” Buffy murmured. “But she has a family. She has a life, and I
won’t let her throw all that away.”
“Since when do Summers women listen to anyone?” Spike said with a scoff.
“I’m going,” Buffy said more forcefully this time as she turned to walk
down the hallway. “Whether you come with me or not is up to you.”
Spike closed his eyes for a split second before catching up to her.
Buffy jumped slightly when she felt a hand on her arm, expecting Spike to go
patrolling and work off his aggression, not to follow her. She turned
around, keeping her eyes downcast as he gently tilted her chin up to face
him.
“Look at me, luv,” he whispered, feeling his heart wrench when she raised her
watery eyes to his. “You know I’ll go with you,” he said softly, tucking a
strand of hair behind her ear.
“You will?” she asked timidly.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight longer than I have to. Just let me
call the Niblet and give her a heads up, alright?”
Buffy threw herself into Spike’s arms, letting a few tears fall as he held
her. “I love you so much.”
Spike felt tears come to his own eyes as he tightened his grip. “I know,
luv.”
Buffy pulled back, her eyes widening, causing Spike to turn and see what she
was staring at. He suppressed a sigh when he saw Connor standing behind
them before the boy turned and ran down the hallway.
“Go after him,” Spike said softly.
“You’re sure?”
Spike seemed to hesitate before he nodded. “I’ll go call Dawn, you
straighten out this mess.”
Buffy stood on her tiptoes, pressing her lips to Spike’s in a soft kiss
before pulling back, tracing her hand along his cheek. “I’ll be up in a
minute.”
Spike took her hand, leaving a delicate kiss on her palm, before they both
turned to go their separate ways.
* * * * *
“Connor?” Buffy called quietly as she opened the door to his room. She
could see him sitting in a darkened corner, flipping through a magazine that
she was sure he wasn’t reading. “Hi,” she said softly, stepping into the
room, making sure to leave the door open.
“What do you want?” he asked in the sulking tone that only teenagers could
manage.
“I wanted to check on you.”
“Oh, please,” he replied with a sneer. “You don’t care about me. You’re too
interested in your undead friend upstairs.”
“His name is Spike,” she said, using the same tone that she had used when correcting
Xander all those years ago, whenever he called Angel ‘Deadboy.’
“Whatever,” Connor said, tossing the magazine aside.
“Connor, who are you really mad at?”
“Why him?!” he yelled.
Buffy would have felt slightly intimidated as he advanced on her if she
hadn’t just wiped the floor with him and three other men who were each twice
her size.
“Because I love him.”
“This is new,” he said mockingly.
“Yes and no,” Buffy replied. “We went on one date, Connor, and it wasn’t
even really a date.”
“It was to me.”
“After I got my memories back, it never would have worked out between us,
even if I wasn’t in love with Spike.”
“Why not?”
“Because my first love was your father!” Buffy cried, losing her temper as
well. “Do you know how weird that would be?” Connor glared at her as she
continued. “I loved him, Connor. With everything I had, I loved Angel.
You were born three years after we broke up. Can you comprehend how weird
that is for me? I’m the same age as Cordelia…as your surrogate mom.”
“So why not go back to my dad?” he asked mockingly.
“Because I’m not in love with him anymore. He’s happy…not perfectly happy,
which is a very good thing, but he’s still happy. And so am I. I love
Spike…that’s not going to change.”
Connor sat down on his bed with a huff. “I like you.”
“I know,” Buffy replied, making sure to not offer any comfort. She
definitely didn’t want it to be taken the wrong way. “I’m sorry.”
* * * * *
“It was for your own good, Dawn!”
Buffy smiled as she walked into the room to see a red-faced Spike yelling
into the phone in exasperation.
“You didn’t need to know she was back, she-“
He growled as Dawn interrupted him.
“She wouldn’t have known who you were, even if you had been here! She
didn’t even know me or Cordelia or the Poofter.”
“Angel,” Buffy corrected with a smile as she leaned against the doorway,
causing Spike to turn and face her.
“She’s right here. Do you want to talk to your sister or yell at me some
more?”
Buffy smiled as she eagerly ran over to Spike when he held out the phone.
“Dawnie?”
“BUFFY!”
“Easy, Dawn, I kind of like my eardrums.”
“It’s you. It’s really you, I can’t believe it!”
“It’s me,” Buffy agreed with a smile.
“When are you coming to visit? I can’t wait!”
Buffy bit her lip before looking at Spike. “We’re not coming.”
Spike felt his stomach knot up as he looked at her before taking the phone
away. Never breaking eye contact with Buffy, he spoke into the receiver.
“Niblet? She meant we’re not coming until tomorrow night…yeah…we’ll see you
then.”
Spike hung up the phone as he pulled Buffy into a comforting hug. “Thank
you,” she whispered against his shirt.
“No need to thank me, luv.”
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