" Buffy ? Do you hear me ?"
" She opens her eyes !"
" Make room, guys. She still needs to breathe."
Buffy's eyelids fluttered open. She was lying on the sofa in her living room.
What was happening ?
Dawn and Willow were surrounding her. They smiled at her when they saw she was awake. But she could see Dawn looked concerned. And Spike too.
Wait a minute…Spike ?
The vampire was kneeling beside her, and very close, brushing her hair with a caressing hand and a tender gaze. In front of everyone. Not that anyone seemed to mind.
" Are you ok, luv ?"
" Spike ?"
" Yes, baby, I'm right here."
" What…what happened ?"
" You don't remember ?" Willow asked.
" No"
" You got attacked by a very heavy book"
" What ?"
" We were cleaning the bookshelf and you received a very heavy book on your head. You were knocked off for a few
minutes."
" Can I get you something ?" Spike asked.
Buffy watched him then her friends. How come no one reacted to the fact he was all soft and tender towards her ? Not that she complained, but still…
" Yeah…a glass of water would be fine."
He stood up and went to the kitchen. Buffy turned to her sister and Willow.
" What is Spike doing here ?" She whispered.
Willow and Dawn looked at each other then at her.
" What do you mean ? He lives here. With us."
A look of clear shock appeared on Buffy's face.
" He…Here ? With us ? But…when…I mean, what happened to his crypt ?"
Willow frowned.
" His crypt ? It must be at least two years since he got back there. Buffy, are you alright ? You look, uh…confused."
Confused ? That was the understatement of the year. Then Willow's words sunk in.
" Two years ?"
" Yeah…I think. Well, since you and him got married."
Buffy started to laugh.
" Ok, I get it. It's a dream. I'm having a dream."
She pinched herself very hard.
" Ouch !"
Spike came back with her drink and handled it to her. She glared at him.
" You and I…We are married ?
" Well…yeah."
He frowned.
" You don't remember ?"
She put her glass on the table, getting scared now. She looked at Willow, Dawn and Spike. The worry was back on their faces.
" No…I don't remember anything."
" Oh my God ! Dawn said. She's suffering from amnesia !"
" Come on, let's not jump to conclusions" Spike said." Maybe the memories will come back in a few minutes…Just give her time."
He took her in his arms, and she didn't protest. In fact, she realized how much she had missed him. Missed his touch, his embrace, the way his hands were caressing her back soothingly. He kissed her forehead and she sighed with pleasure.
That's when she heard it.
A heartbeat.
Not hers.
Spike's.
" Oh my God !"
She stepped back, watched him as he had suddenly two heads.
" You're human!"
Spike smiled.
" Yes. You don't remember that either ?"
" No! How ?"
" Told you ! Dawn exclaimed. Amnesia. Shouldn't we take her to a doctor ?"
" Dawn, I'm right here so please talk to me directly. And I don't need a doctor. I'm fine. I just don't remember what happened to me during two years. No reason to panic", she said in a sarcastic voice.
Spike raised a hand.
" Alright, everyone, calm down. Buffy, you're sure you don't remember anything ? Anything at all ?"
" No!" she said in a desperate voice. I'm sorry…we are married, you're human…this is just a little bit too much."
He caressed her cheek.
" Don't worry, we'll sort this out. I'm going to tell you what happened then maybe you'll remember. But first I'll go check on Emma.
" Ok."
He left the room. There was a short silence then Buffy asked:
" Who's Emma ?"
A few minutes later, Buffy was sitting back in the couch, holding a miracle.
Emma. Her daughter.
Her daughter with Spike.
" I can't believe I don't remember her, she said, tears in her eyes. She's so incredibly cute…"
" Yes, just like her mum" Spike said, not even trying to hide how proud he was.
A rush of loving feelings for the tiny baby suddenly overwhelmed Buffy. Her own flesh and blood. And Spike's. She turned to him.
" Tell me."
Dawn stood up.
" Well, as I know the story already, I'll go. I have to meet Bryan."
" Tell the bloke to bring you back by midnight ! Not like last time, ok ? Or I will have a little conversation with him."
Dawn gave Spike an exasperated look but smiled nonetheless. She kissed him, Buffy and the baby.
" Bye, everyone."
" I'll go with you" Willow said "I have to meet Tara at the Magic Box. See you later, you three. But Buffy, if you still don't remember anything by tomorrow, maybe we should really go to the hospital."
" Yes, we'll see about that. First I want to spent some time with my little miss here."
" Ok. See you."
" Bye, Red."
The two girls left and Spike and Buffy were finally alone. He had put a protective arm on her shoulder and was watching the little Emma with a love she had never seen on his face before. Not even for her.
" So" he said" where do I start ?"
She looked at him, then at Emma. She had no clue how all that happened and in fact she didn't really care right now.
" First, I want you to kiss me."
He grinned. That oh-so-sexy devilish grin she loved so much. He kissed her and she lost herself in him. Why had she broken with him already ? She couldn't remember the reasons, thought it had happened a few days ago…or was it really two years ?
Reluctantly, she broke the kiss.
" Now you can tell me"
" What's the last thing you remember ?"
She concentrated.
" I remember having those delusions about that mental institution and trying to kill my friends. And also being really mean to you."
" You got that right. Well, after that I understood you and me could never be together unless I got rid of the chip. So that's what I did."
" How ?"
" It's kind of a long story. So let's keep that for another time. The important thing is that it worked. When I came back -I had left Sunnydale for that- it was total chaos. You remember Warren ? He had shot Tara, and Willow had gone completely mad about it. She thought Tara was dead. So she kidnapped Warren and tortured him. You and Xander went after her but she couldn't listen to reason. By all her spell she accidentally summoned a nasty Demon who almost killed Dawn and Xander. Anya and you saved Xander, and I saved Dawn. Then we finally succeeded to stop Willow before she killed the guy. Fortunately, Tara was not dead. Very badly wounded, but she survived.
It took some time to make things up. Willow was feeling so guilty that she had a depression. Tara helped her to cope…we all helped her. She hasn't touch magic stuff since."
" Wow…and Xander and Anya ?"
" Anya had been offered to get back to vengeance, but she finally refused. They talked and worked out their problems. They got married a little bit later. Without the family, this time. Just the Scoobies."
Buffy stayed silent for some time.
" What about us ?" she finally asked.
" Well, after all that happened, I had decided to leave for good. Start a new life somewhere else. Seeing you everyday, knowing you would never love me back…It was too hard. I came to say goodbye. You burst into tears and asked me not to leave. Told me you loved me. Then kissed me. And I stayed."
He was smiling and Buffy couldn't help but smiling too. She wished she remembered what seemed one of the happiest moments of their lives.
" Then it happened. The Powers-That-Be had an eye on me. They told me I had proven myself and deserved to be given back my humanity. Said something about a redemption…anyway, I became human again. We got married. Emma was born. End of story. For now."
Buffy shook her head, amazed.
" I hope I'll remember this soon," she said. "Oh, do we have picture of our wedding ?"
" I'll show them to you. But later. First, this little lady needs to go to sleep."
" Oh, right. I'll put her to bed."
" I'll wait for you here."
Spike took Emma in his arms, kissed her head and cheek.
" Goodnight, cutie. Have sweet dreams."
Buffy went upstairs. Dawn's room had been change into a nursery. Apparently, Dawn had taken Buffy's old room and Spike and herself were sleeping into her mom's room. She felt a shiver along her spine. She could picture Spike and her in that room, making love…real love, not the meaningless sex they had had at the beginning. She took care of her daughter, sang her a little lullaby. Then she hurried downstairs, suddenly impatient to see him. Touch him. Taste him again.
He was in the kitchen, cleaning some stuff.
" She's asleep ?"
" Yes…like the baby she is"
She watched him. He hadn't changed in those supposed two years. His hair was still bleached. He had caught a little tan, though. Which suited him just fine. And…
" We've been married for two years, and you're still wearing the same outfit?"
He laughed, looking down on his black t-shirt and jeans.
" Not really the fashion victim, am I ? You tried, though. But you failed on that one."
She came closer, put her hand on his arm.
" I hope I didn't failed you on anything else."
He smiled seductively.
" No, don't worry. You are still the bloody amazing girl I love. In and out of bed."
" Talking about bed…"
She slipped into his arms and they start kissing.
" I thought you wanted to see our wedding pictures ?"
" We'll have plenty of time tomorrow. Now, I want to make love to my husband" she added in a husky voice, savoring the words.
After all, she had two years to make up for. She still didn't know how all this happened. Maybe she was in an alternate universe, like that time with the mental institution. Only that was a really bad one.
But this, with Spike being her husband and doing all these naughty things to her…definitely a very, very good one.
When she woke up, she was pressed again her husband's firm chest. She smiled, turning her head in his neck. He was sleeping peacefully. She drifted back to sleep.
When she woke up the second time, she was alone. No Spike. No bed. Just a white, empty room. And she was standing in the middle of it, fully dressed.
Two persons appeared in front of her. A man and a woman, dressed like antique Romans.
Buffy sighed.
" Ok…What's happening now ?"
" Don't be afraid. We are the messengers for the Powers-That-Be. We could feel your distress and confusion the last few weeks…so we decided to show you a glimpse of the future. You are the Slayer. You need to be strong. Now you know there is still hope. A reason to live and fight. One day, you'll be rewarded for all that you've done."
" So that's why I didn't remember anything ? Because nothing had happened yet ?"
" Yes. And we showed you an example of what will be. Not the exact future. Because if you knew, that could be dangerous for you and your loved ones."
" Oh…then…my marriage…and my baby…"
The woman smiled knowingly.
" Don't worry, that will happen. We know this is one of your deepest desire."
" Oh really ? How…? I mean, * I * didn't know…until now."
" We know things that are beyond your imagination, child. Now you can come back to your own time. Use what you learned wisely."
They both disappeared. Buffy stayed alone.
" Hey, wait ! How do I get out of here ?"
She heard something like "oops, sorry" then everything went black.
" Buffy ? Do you hear me ?"
" She opens her eyes !"
" Make room, guys. She still needs to breathe."
Buffy slowly came back to consciousness.
" Emma ?" she said, before realizing she was back in her own time. Dawn and Willow were there. Spike too. Only this time he was staying at a respectable distance. But the concern on his face was the same. Buffy sat, grimacing. She
could feel a bump on her forehead.
" What happened ?" she asked, for the zillion times it seemed.
" You fell down the stairs. You were unconscious for a few minutes."
" Oh…it's that stupid ? Falling down the stairs, huh ?
" Uh, Slayer…"
She turned to Spike and was shocked by the contrast. Moments ago she had seen a happy Spike, who loved his girl and baby daughter and was loved and cherished in return. This one…looked hard. There was sadness in his eyes. Like life had been particularly unfair to him. Which was the case, she remembered. And she had played a bad role in that unfairness.
She suddenly felt like crying.
" Spike ?"
" Yeah…I had come to see if you wanted to do some patrol…but I guess that's off the menu now, so…I'll just go."
Since when had he become so insecure ? Probably since she had beaten him senseless…or treated him like crap every time she saw him.
" No, please…Stay."
She could almost feel his surprise. He shrugged in a false casual way.
" Ok."
Dawn got up.
" If you're feeling better, then I'll go to bed. Just call me, if…"
" Don't worry, Nibblet. I'll stay with her."
Dawn smiled, relieved, and left.
" Buffy, I have to meet Tara but if you want me to stay…"
Buffy shook her head.
" No, Willow,go. I'll be fine.
" Ok. See you guys later."
" Bye Red."
That sounded like déjà-vu. Buffy smiled to Spike. If only he knew.
He frowned.
" Stop smiling at me like that. You're scaring me."
" I'm sorry."
He took a chair, sat down in front of her.
" When you woke up…you said a name" he told her.
She feigned ignorance.
" I did ?"
" Yeah…you said 'Emma'. Why ?"
" I don't know" she lied. "No idea where that came from."
She couldn't really tell him what had happened. But she couldn't wait to see his face when it would happen…to finally be a part of all those memories she had thought she had forgotten.
Seeing a weird look on his face, she said :
" Why do you ask ?"
He shrugged.
" No reason."
" You lie. There has to be a reason. Tell me. I want to know."
There has to be a signification, of course. Considering that's how they had named their daughter…no, how they 'will'
name their daughter.
He hesitated, then said:
" Emma was my younger sister. She died very young. From pneumonia."
" I'm sorry" she said softly.
She hadn't expected that. Nor the fact that he still looked affected by it, more than hundred years later.
" Anyway…I told myself by then that if I had a daughter one day…I would call her Emma."
He made a dismissive gesture.
" I guess it doesn't matter now."
" Don't say that. You don't know what could happen."
He had a sarcastic laugh.
" Buffy ? Hello ? Still vampire here."
" Yes, I know. I'm just saying…"
She didn't know how to tell him without actually 'telling' him. To give him some hope like the PTB had done for her. She could tell him she loved him…but at this time, there were still anger and hurt between them, too much things unresolved. It was too soon. But somehow, she had to tell him something.
She got up, came closer to him. She sat down on the table in front of him. Like he had done after discovering she was back. When he had count the days. And probably the minutes too.
" What I mean…we live on the Hellmouth, Spike. We never know what will happen tomorrow, or next week. I just don't want you to give up."
" Well, Slayer, it's not like I have great achievement to…"
" You have. Believe me. You have."
He looked at her suspiciously.
" Is there something you know that I don't ?"
She shook her head.
" It's not that. I just want you to trust me."
He gave her an ironic glance and she felt hurt. But she deserved it, didn't she ?
Boldly, she put her hands on his chiseled cheeks.
" Please, Spike…Don't give up on life…but most of all…Don't give up on me."
He stood frozen, conflict on his face.
" Slayer…Buffy. Is this another of your bloody cold/hot shower game ?"
" It's not. I swear."
He nodded.
" Ok then. Because I don't think I can take it anymore. I told you what I want. You're telling me not to give up on life, but that's all you've ever done so far…since you came back."
" I know that. And I thought about what you said. You are right. You always were. I just need you to give me some time. I know it's a lot to ask…but please give me time."
He sighed. When she was looking at him like that, with promises in her eyes, there was nothing on this earth he could refuse her. Reluctantly, he agreed.
" Alright."
She smiled. Impulsively, she kissed him. A gentle kiss, full of tenderness.
" I think…I think Emma is a very lovely name" she whispered softly. "I love it."
He put his forehead against hers and smiled. His first smile in a long time.
" Well, just remember it, then. Just in case."
She smiled back.
" Yeah…Just in case…"
FIN
[Reviews - 4]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 3306 times
- Text Size +
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +