Chapter 3 – Who Are You?
Spike and Buffy walked into the lobby of the Hyperion, only to come face to
face with an outraged Angel and a compassionate Cordelia. Spike merely
smirked at the look on his grandsire’s face before gesturing to the girl
standing next to him. When Angel made eye contact with her, he froze.
Shaking off his shock, he mumbled a quick ‘hello’ before grabbing Spike by
the arm and dragging him across the lobby.
“It’s her?”
Spike sighed. “I don’t know who she is. She obviously has no memory of
either one of us, so I’m guessing she’s not.”
“But her name’s Buffy.”
“Coincidence,” Spike said with a shrug. “I don’t think it’s her, Angel.”
“Spike, you were the one who was convinced she was,” he replied. “You can’t ignore the facts.”
“What facts, Peaches? Her name is Elizabeth Winters. Weird, yes, but when
has it ever not been weird around here?”
“We should have Lorne read her.”
“Yeah? And when you tell the green demon to come downstairs and have the
teenage girl sing, let me know, cause I don’t think I’d want to be here to
see her reaction.”
“Spike, you met her by dusting a vamp in front of her.”
“And she hasn’t mentioned it since,” Spike hissed. “I don’t think she’d
take to having a demon introduced to her on her first night here.” He
glanced over as Cordy led Buffy upstairs to a spare room. He caught the
look that Buffy sent his way, and Spike immediately began walking toward her.
“We’re not finished here, Spike,” Angel said angrily.
“We are for now. I’m the only one she knows, Liam,” Spike said, practically
spitting out his true name. “I’m not going to let her be scared by being in
a new place.”
“What if it’s her, Spike?” Angel called after him as Spike climbed the
stairs.
“It’s not!” Spike said with more conviction than Angel expected.
* * * * *
Spike made it to Buffy’s room as Cordelia was leaving.
“What’s the verdict?” he asked as Cordy came into the hall. She glanced at
Spike and saw the nervous way he was hugging his arms around his chest.
“I really can’t say,” Cordy whispered as she looked back into the room where
Buffy was unpacking. “If it’s her, wouldn’t she have our Buffy’s memories?
I mean, if she was sent back for a purpose, wouldn’t it make sense to know
that she was once the Slayer? And if it’s not her, why would the Powers of
whoever give her nearly the same identity?”
“I don’t know,” Spike muttered.
“There’s more, Spike,” Cordelia said as she took another glance in the room.
“Did you happen to ask her when her birthday is?”
“No, but by the look on your face, I’m guessing it’s the same as Buffy’s.”
“No,” Cordy said, shaking her head. “She was born the day Buffy died.”
“What?” Spike asked, looking at her in disbelief as Cordelia nodded.
“May twenty-second. Almost seventeen years ago.”
“Someone’s trying to toy with us.”
“Are you sure?” Cordy asked. “What if it’s her?”
“It’s not,” Spike said through gritted teeth.
“Spike, you were the one who thought it was her in the first place.”
“Yeah, that was before common sense won out. It’s not her.”
“If you say so.”
Spike stayed quiet for a moment. “Angel wants Lorne to read her.”
“That would be good, except you’re going to have to explain-“
“I know.”
“Good luck,” Cordy said as she walked away.
Spike took a deep, unneeded breath before gently knocking on the open door.
Buffy’s head appeared from around a corner. “Come in,” she said with a
smile.
Spike walked through the door and watched as she walked back into the room.
He knew that Cordy and Angel had reason to believe this was Buffy, but he
wasn’t about to get his hopes up. Besides, even if it was her, she’d
probably kick him in the head once she realized who he was.
“Can I talk to you for a minute, luv?”
“Sure,” she said with a bright smile. “I wanted to talk to you, too.”
“Oh, um, alright, you first.”
Buffy sat down on the end of the bed, patting the space next to her. Spike
apprehensively walked over to her and sat down, making sure to keep a safe
distance between them.
“I wanted to thank you,” Buffy said quietly. “You didn’t have to help me
tonight, and then you give me a place to live, and it’s just…”
Buffy trailed off as tears came to her eyes.
“Buffy,” Spike said softly. “I couldn’t let you stay there.”
“But you don’t even know me,” she said quietly.
“I know. That’s what we do here, luv. We help people.”
“I don’t know why I feel so safe with you, but I do.”
Spike looked down, trying to hide the emotions on his face. If only the
real Buffy had said that.
“What did you want to talk to me about?” she asked softly.
Spike tried to get his thoughts in order as he looked into her intense green
eyes. “The other night, when you were in the alley…do you remember what
happened after I fought the man who attacked you?”
“He turned to dust,” she said as if it was the most natural thing in the
world.
“And you don’t think that’s just a little bit strange?”
“Well, yeah,” she said with a smile. “I know there are things that go bump
in the night, I’ve just never seen a vampire before.”
“You know about vampires?” Spike asked incredulously.
Buffy shrugged. “I lived in Cleveland- there was a lot of strange things
going on. I kind of figured it was something along those lines.”
Spike’s mouth hung open as he stared at the girl in front of him.
“Did I say something wrong?” she asked nervously.
“No,” Spike said, shaking his head. “It’s just…a lot of people tend to
rationalize what they can’t explain.”
“Seems pretty explainable to me,” Buffy said with a shrug. “Vampires are
real.”
“Okay,” Spike said, looking down at the floor, clasping his hands together.
“Well, that makes what I have to say next a little easier.” He looked up
and made eye contact with her. “We have a demon that lives in the hotel.”
When he saw her tense slightly, he hurriedly added, “He’s a good one. He
helps people…and we were wanting him to help you.”
“How?” she asked with uncertainty in her voice.
“Well,” Spike smiled slightly. “You have to sing for him.”
“Sing?”
“He can…read your aura…almost like a fortune teller, but he can see a lot
more. Do you think you could do that?”
Buffy looked at him nervously. “You’ll be there with me?”
“If you want me to,” Spike said with a nod.
“Why do you need to know about me?”
“We just…want to make sure you stay safe.”
‘Not the entire truth, but not a lie either,’ Spike thought.
“Okay,” Buffy said quietly. “I’ll do it.”
* * * * *
Two hours later, Buffy stood nervously in the lobby of the hotel. She’d met
everyone except for Lorne, and she was getting more nervous, shuffling closer
to Spike. She didn’t know any of these people, but she knew she felt a
connection with the blonde man, and that was enough for her.
Buffy turned when she heard the door open behind her and apprehensively
looked at the green demon in the bright red suit.
“Alright,” Lorne said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s get this show on
the road, kiddies. Where’s the lucky girl?”
Spike gently pulled Buffy from behind him and stood next to her in silent
support.
“Well, cupcake,” Lorne said with a smile. “Aren’t you just the darlingest
thing I ever did see? Care to rattle off a few notes for me, sugar?”
Buffy took a deep breath. “You're only misleading the sunshine I'm needing.
Ain't that a shame? It's so hard to keep up with troubles that creep up
from out of nowhere…"
Angel and Lorne exchanged a look at the familiarity that washed over both of
them. Not only was it a song that was written long before she was born, it
was also the same song that the human Darla sang when Angel took her to
Caritas all those years ago.
“Thanks, sweetie pie. I’m just going to steal these two lovely men from
your graces for just a minute,” Lorne said, grabbing both Angel and Spike
by the arms and leading them away from the group.
“I know you didn’t just call me ‘lovely,’ mate,” Spike said when they were
further away.
“Shut up, Spike,” Angel said. “What did you find out?”
Lorne gave Buffy another glance before turning back to the men. “It’s her.”
[Reviews - 190]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 4666 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +