‘You’ve changed my life Miss Summers...’

‘…thank you for granting me this honor…’

‘…I’ve never felt more alive than when I became a Slayer…’

It was that last line that made Buffy laugh out loud at her glowing laptop screen from inside her hotel bedroom. She was all snuggled up under the covers, and her own pillow she brought from home was propped up underneath her head. Three other flat Holiday Inn pillows were stacked beneath it.

“More alive?” Buffy couldn’t resist snorting at the comment. “Giles needs to mail Natalie Wilson of…” she scrolled down to the bottom of the email and read, “… Raleigh, North Carolina some monster flashcards ASAP.”

Any girl with more than a month of field time knew that ‘alive’ wasn’t the proper way of phrasing what a Slayer made you feel like. ‘What about lonely, Natalie? What about…’I’ve been never been more afraid in my life’ to end that paragraph?’

Some girls really didn’t want to accept the reality of their destiny and Buffy knew that from the get go. She understood that some girls would get their lucky nine lives and some were born for self destruction on their very first night of patrol. It became the main drawback to Willow’s spell back in Sunnydale a few years ago---there was no ‘Slayer Team Tryouts’ held inside a gym, and who was Chosen stayed that way until they died. There were no exceptions, no cut list, no trade-ins.

With a single click, Natalie’s email was closed and forgotten. Buffy scrolled down the subject column to see if anything looked important for her to address before she drifted off to sleep, her eyes were starting to feel heavy and get a bit blurry. She still wasn’t that use to reading computer screens for long amounts of time, so her eyes had been hurting more often lately.

Buffy was instantly shaken from her dreary state when she received a pop up through instant messenger asking if she would accept a message from someone named ‘Slayer24’

‘Slayer24?’

The screen name didn’t leave any clues to help Buffy break the code of who the mystery night time converser was, only that it had to be one of the thousands of slayers.

With a yawn and click on the ‘accept’ button; Buffy was now connected.

Slayer24: Buffy?

LeaderSquad1: Yes. Who is this?

Giles had devised the whole ‘squad’ thing after they had established the Slayer school in Scotland four years ago. As of now, there were 43 squads. Each team had there own leader and there own co-leader; only the best were recognized and given these jobs. Buffy had handpicked the first 10 squad leaders herself, and it was pretty much a given that she was the very first leader of the first squad made.

Slayer24: I’m Lia. I live in Queens. I just got a text alert that says there is trouble down around your area.

Buffy groaned, her sheets were starting to get warm and she had just started to feel comfortable enough to forget that she was about to sleep in a yucky hotel bed.

LeaderSquad1: How many? What kind? Address? Weapons provided?

Slayer24: About two dozen. Glorobro demon and vamps. Around 6th Ave and Bryant Park. Just need a stake.

Buffy got up and traded in her flannel pajamas for her sweatshirt, jeans, and coat. She grabbed her hotel swippy card thing and quickly typed one last message on her computer.

LeaderSquad1: I’ll be there.

********

Somewhere else in NYC…

“Of all the dives in the world, I had to stroll into the only one that had fighting Fyarl demons.” Spike grumbled as he limped down the sidewalk with an axe clenched in his left hand.

The last demon had knocked a barstool into back of his knee before he fell over onto the piss smelling floor and died with Spike's axe sticking out of his back.

“You move funny.” Illyria announced as she observed the bleach blonde limp his way through the darkness of downtown.

“Ya…” Spike groaned, “Getting hit in the back of the leg will do that to you.”

“Your fighting stance was weak and pathetic....and sloppy.”

“Well excuse me for being taken off guard!” Spike had to stop, the aching pain in his leg was too much, he had to sit. He glanced around and found an old homeless man sleeping on a bench nearby. Guess not there.

“Go find Mel…I’m just going to rest against this building for a few moments.” Spike said as limped closer to the wall an old apartment building and leaned on it. He waved Illyria off, gesturing for her leave his pathetic beaten sight.

“I will depart because you’re embarrassed, not because you demanded me.”

Spike didn’t have a witty come back for the blue haired smurf. ‘I’ll get her back with an insult tomorrow’ he made the mental note to himself.

He pressed his back further into the building, closed his eyes, and let out a painful roar, “Should have stolen the whisky before leaving the bar.” ‘Stupid Spike, stupid’

“…lets go…go!”

Spike slowly popped one eye open to look across the street. Even thought it was late at night and he was in a busy city, Spike thought it was a bit strange to hear the sound of a young girl, possibly in her late teens or early 20s outside at this time of night and in this neighborhood. Only criminals, drunks, crazy people, and homeless people were venturing the surrounding area.

A few moments later the bleached blonde watched three girls exit a dark alleyway running. ‘Seem to be a bit flustered…’ Spike noted as he watched one girl bump into a trashcan and an old homeless man as she attempted to run away. The three girls scattered in different directions and the only description he could get out of one was that the trashcan tipper was wearing red shoes. ‘Might be Slayers…’ he noted.

Deciding not to deal with the matter at the moment, Spike started to straighten up and head back to his apartment.

He only got three steps out when he smelled blood.

******

The alley was dark and long, the only light provided for the narrow passage was coming from the tiny street lamps from outside the alleyway. The smell of that rich metallic red stuff was stronger than ever.

Spike limped forward. His big black boots shuffled across a dusting of snow that had fallen not an hour ago. He looked down to see many footprints etched in the white flakes as he ventured further.

“Hello?” he called out as he slowly made his way deeper into the alley. When he felt like his knee was about to give out he grabbed a hold of the bricks on the side of the building. Spike growled and let out a gasp in pain. ‘More painful than when my arms were sawed off by that crazy Slayer, Dana' he thought to himself, ‘…least the bird gave me drugs while she was doing it.’

Spike stopped panting when he took another sniff of the winter air. He knew he was close, if not right on top of the spot where he thought the source of the blood was coming from. He limped a few more feet down and looked behind a large dumpster.

Her face was cut up and her hands were bruised. With the layering of clothing still on her body, Spike couldn’t tell if there was any other damage. He didn’t even wince when he dropped down onto his knees to get a better look.

“Buffy?”

*****

Spike decided that he really didn’t like hospitals. It was where people asked too many questions. It was where restrictions were placed on souled vampires about seeing their badly hurt friend…ummm old lover? Silent supporter/a little bit more than a friend that you haven’t seen in a while? Well, whatever Buffy was to him after four long years of not hearing a peep from her, he still wasn't allowed to see her at the moment.

The bleached blonde grumbled to himself when he made the wrong call of saying he wasn’t a relative of Buffy, and Nurse I-Follow-The-Rules-And-Feel-I-Have-All-The-Power was not going to make any exceptions for letting him go to her.

After forty minutes of nearly going crazy with worry and rage, Spike whipped out his cell phone and decided he needed some help.

*****

“Hey Spike…” the bleached blonde’s head shot up as a girl with long brown hair walked into the waiting room, she was followed by Illyria in her ‘Fred’ mask.

The old evil blue smurf didn’t look too keen at portraying the young Texas girl at the moment, but Spike had explained to her before that it was the only way she could go out in public. ‘You are no longer my pet, you are the goo on the bottom of everyone’s shoe’ she said after the first time he asked her to switch her face.

“Hey Mel.” Spike greeted the brown haired girl and got up out of the waiting room chair. When Mel saw he was in pain, she moved forward and tried to hold him upright.

“You’re in a hospital and you didn’t even think to have them look at your disfigured leg?” Mel whispered while shaking her head in disbelief.

“It’s fine. I need you to go over to Ms. Nurse Bitch and say you’re Buffy’s sister.” Spike whispered.

“But she is not.” Illyria tilted her head and looked a bit confused; she obviously was not familiar with the concept of lying to get what you want.

“No kidding.” Spike growled and then turned to Mel, “You have to do this Melanie…I have no idea how she is and they’re telling me nada information. I have no clue if she’s alive or…” ‘No…no.’ Spike instantly thought when he considered the worse case scenario, ‘…not like this. Not today.’

‘This girl must be ‘it’ to have him asking a favor from me.’ Melanie thought.

“Alright.” She whispered and told him to sit back down.

Spike watched Melanie tap on the glass of the front desk and speak quietly with the nurse. Then, after a few moments of the nurse making phone calls, Melanie, who was now ‘Ms. Dawn Summers’, was being directed down the hall and toward intensive care.


************

Even though Buffy was badly bruised, had a huge gash on her cheek, and was unconscious, Melanie felt a little intimidated.

“So you’re Buffy…” Melanie said in the quiet private room. The nurse had already left, allowing the girl to spend a few moments with her ‘sister’. “…the Slayer…the original one.”

Beep

Beep

The heart monitor echoed throughout the white room.

“Guess I have you to thank for me being a Slayer…” Melanie smiled, “…I’ll thank you again when you wake up…you know, so you’ll remember.”


******

Illyria and Spike rose from their seats as soon as they spotted a nervous Melanie come rushing towards them.

“I hate hospitals…” the Slayer shuttered and wrapped her wool coat closer to her body.

“Well?” Spike got straight down to business.

“Broken hand, deep cut to the right cheek, badly bruised legs, and concussion.” Melanie said, listing out all of Buffy’s injuries.

“She awake?”

Melanie shook her head, “They gave her a bunch of pain pills…she should be out for the rest of the night. Nurse Bitch, as you call her, said to come back around ten in the morning.”

“You two go…I’m staying.” Spike said.

“You’re going to wait seven hours?”

Obviously Melanie didn’t know Spike as well as she thought she did.

“Listen, I’ve waited four years to see her again. Just try and stop me from leaving.”

*******

Spike had a plan. He wasn’t just going to sit around in the waiting room and read month old magazines and listen to doctors get paged all over the hospital on the intercom. No, he knew that these waiting room nurses weren’t always at their post, and as soon as Ms. Bitch left, Spike made his move.

Now, Spike had prepared himself to see a vulnerable Slayer when he walked through Buffy’s hospital room. One that was all bloody and beaten up, unconscious and pale. Helpless. Well, wasn’t he a bit surprised when he saw just an empty bed and no beeping monitors?

It was nearly six in the morning and Spike had waited three hours to sneak into her room. ‘She can’t be fully recovered and walking about…can she?’

He took a few steps forward before he felt a rough tug behind him.

“Buffy?!” his voice was loud enough to alert someone outside in the halls, but thankfully no one was passing.

Spike instantly saw that she was upset. He glanced down below at her bandaged hand and saw a surgeon knife in her hand; she was clenching it in her defense.

“…Buffy?” he whispered this time.

“Spike…?” her voice was rough and scratchy, like she was loosing her voice or hadn’t talked in days.

“Ya…it’s me.” He grabbed her arms gently, keeping her from following through if she decided to attack him again.

“Spike…?”

“What are you doing out of bed? You need to rest and lay down.”

“No…” she shook her head fiercely, “No, I need to stand guard. There was a girl in here earlier…the nurse said she was my sister.”

“That was Melanie.”

“Huh?”

“Melanie, I-I guess you can say she is a friend of mine.” He explained as he placed his hand on her back and started to shuffle her towards her bed. “Sent her in here to check on you, make sure you’re alright. They wouldn’t let me in and so—“

“You found me?” Buffy interrupted.

There was a pause and Spike pushed Buffy back down on her pillow, “Ya…I did. Didn’t catch the buggers that did this, but give me a day or so and I’ll make sure they receive all the torture they deserve.”

“The girls—“

“Ya…saw those girls.” Buffy eyed Spike suspiciously, but he didn’t notice and continued, “Ran off like death was on their heels. Were they Slayers?”

Buffy gave a tiny nod, not breaking her eye contact with him. “Ya.”

“Sorry excuse of heroes if you ask me. They—“

“They did it.”

Spike narrowed his eyes, he really didn’t understand.

“They did this to me.”




TBC….

Chapter 2:


Of all the monsters that roamed the world, Spike never thought he’d label a Slayer as one of them.

Buffy laid her head down back on her pillow and stared up at the ceiling. “When the nurse said your friend came by earlier…appearing to be Dawn, I thought it was one of the Slayers coming after me. I mean, I knew it couldn’t be Dawn.” Buffy shook her head slowly.

“How so?”

Buffy turned her head and looked at Spike; she almost sneaked out a small smile when she realized she knew something he didn’t. ‘Because she couldn’t fit through the door being 5 stories high’ the words were on the tip of her tongue, but she didn’t have the energy to go through the long tale of how Dawn plus sex equaled Godzilla girl.

“I…I just knew it wasn’t her.” Buffy muttered and looked away from him and towards the door. Her poor sister has been in the state of bigness ever since the winter after Sunnydale collapsed, and instead of desperately helping her she always ran off to another country to attend to some other matter.

Through the tiny rectangular window she saw nurses and doctors passing by. ‘I’ll tell him later’ Buffy told herself.

“Why would your own team attack you?”

Buffy turned to him and saw that he was thinking really hard to find the right answer.

“It’s not that crazy…” Spike raised his head up and looked at her as if she was crazy. “Every since Sunnydale turned into a big crater in the ground I haven’t exactly been looked at like a hero. The United States government is thinking I’m a terrorist.”

“For saving the world?”

“For destroying a town.”

“Not to have any disrespect to your hometown love, but I don’t think it’s a huge loss.”

Buffy gave him a loving smile and looked at him a little bit more closely. He hadn’t changed much since the last time she saw him, but she didn’t really expect him to being a vampire an all.

‘I love you…’

‘No you don’t, but thanks for saying it’

Those words seemed so far away now, nearly almost forgotten. Sure, months after the Hellmouth was destroyed she often thought of those last moments with him. Late at night when she all alone in her bed, and couldn’t find sleep, or heard someone say ‘I love you’ to someone else, she often thought of Spike’s response to her confession. She thought about all the things she wanted him say back inside of denying her.

“What else have I missed?” he asked her.

‘Hmm…well lets see there’s Mega Dawn, Faith betraying me…again, Giles betraying me…again, my trip back in time, my trip in the future…’

“Nothing much…saw Dracula again. Quit the charmer he is.”

Spike snorted, “Take away the thrall and he’s got nothing love.”

“What about you? See you have new little group...new friends…” Buffy recalled the mention of a girl named Melanie.

“Illyria is not really a friend, more of a…well…an acquaints. And Mel…well I guess she’s like a friend.” Spike shrugged.

‘Friend you slept with?’ the question was on the tip of her tongue but she didn’t dare ask it. She didn’t have the right to anymore…who was she kidding, she never did have the right to even back in Sunnydale.

Spike did as he pleased. It has been four years and he needed to find his pleasures.

“I think you’ll like her.” Spike said.

‘I think not.’

“She’s a Slayer, so you already got something in common.”

‘What is it with this guy and Slayers, huh?’

“She’s young…only 18.”

‘Perfect…just great…’

“And no I didn’t sleep with her.”

‘Oh and that’s—huh?’

“Huh?!” Buffy froze and turned to look at him.

“I didn’t sleep with her if that’s what you’re wondering…I don’t have a thing for Slayers, Buffy.”

“I never said—“

“You were thinking it. Admit it, you were curious if I did.”

‘Man knows me better than I know myself…he could have been useful these last few years when I felt like I had no clue where I was going or what I was doing.’

“You don’t have to answer to me Spike…you’re entitled to whatever you want, whoever you want, whenever you want.” She looked down at the hospital comforter as she babbled on.

Spike narrowed his eyes at her and paused before saying, “You don’t always have to put on a brave face…”

She peeked up at him and watched as he got up from his seat and left the room.


******

A few hours later Buffy was surprised that Spike did not come back to see her. No, not even a note or message from a nurse or anything…but he did send Melanie in for him. She explained to Buffy that Spike had to go out for a little bit and would return at nighttime. ‘He said I should keep you company’ Melanie shrugged with a smile and sat down by Buffy’s bed.

‘How nice of him to suggest this’, Buffy thought with sarcasm.

The two girls sat in silence for several minutes before Melanie decided to speak up.

“So....how would you like to be remembered by?” Melanie asked.

Buffy turned to the brunette and was speechless, ‘Kind of random question there?’

“Just making chit chat” Melanie said off of Buffy’s confused look.

“You writing a college essay or something?” Buffy raised an eyebrow. No one really asked questions like that unless it was for some sort of writing assignment or if someone just died. And since no one recently died...that she knew of…

“Just a thought that popped it my head.”

Guess Melanie didn’t need a reason to ask.

“I don’t know…it’s pretty much already published what people will remember me as.” Buffy shrugged.

“How so?”

“Well there is Watcher Diaries and my friends…people who knew me long after I’m gone.”

“Watcher Diaries?”

“Ya…umm…you, you don’t have a Watcher do you?”

“Am I suppose to?”

“Well…that’s the thing with this new ‘Potentials are Slayers now’ business. Not enough Watchers for individual Slayer’s.” Buffy explained, “Giles, umm he’s my old Watcher, he had the bright idea of having four or five Slayers per Watcher…kind of like a group thing.”

Melanie shrugged, “Sounds okay.”

Buffy shook her head, “I don’t know…I kind of liked it the way it was—one Watcher to one Slayer. Now it’s more like a fight to see which girl gets more attention, who is the favorite. It’s all very middle school cliquey.”

“Why did you do it?”

“Huh?”

“Make us Slayers…”

“Spike didn’t tell you?”

“Not really…I mean, I never asked. After I became a Slayer I sort of just learned as I went along. I knew I had power that other girls didn’t have, but I never knew how or why.”

Buffy felt so ashamed of herself. She was suppose to be a leader, suppose to make slaying better for these girls—better than what she went through. When she started out at least she had Giles, Melanie had no one.

“I’m sorry.” Buffy whispered, “I’m sorry you had to do it alone.”

“I’m not blaming you.”

“You should, it wasn’t suppose to be that way for you.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself Buffy. You gave a great gift to girls everywhere.”

“Did I? I mean look at me, beat up by my own. Left for dead because of what I did to them. Those girls didn’t treat their power like a gift; they treated it like a curse.” Buffy shook her head, thinking about how naïve she was to think Willow’s spell could solve everything.

“Things don’t turn out the way you thought they would.” Melanie said.

“All I wanted to do was win that war against the First…I was out of options, out of ideas, nearly out of hope. Hell, Spike saved the world that day more than the spell that turned Potentials into Slayers.”

“He what?!” Melanie’s eyes grew wide.

Buffy smiled and let out a little giggle, “He didn’t say?”

“Noooo!” the young Slayer shook her head.

“Huh, thought he would brag about it ever chance he got.”

******

“Oww!” Spike held his arm in pain when he received a punch by Melanie, “What was that for?” ‘She spends one hour with Buffy and she’s already learning the game of ‘Kick the Spike’”

“How come you never told me you saved the world jackass?” she hit him again in the arm.

“Ow…” he muttered again. “….and that’s the thanks I get?”

“Sorry…”

“Buffy tell you that?” he asked.

“No, Nurse Bitch did. Of course she told me…among other stuff.” She crossed her arms and smirked at him.

‘Uh-oh…’ Spike thought when he saw her evil smile, ‘What stuff? Buffy-Bot? Church organ? Randy Giles? When I was a bloody ghost? When puppet boy beat me up in an elevator? Wait…those last two were things Buffy never heard about…I think. I hope.’

“What stuff?”

Melanie waved her hand and let out a giggle, “Nothing bad. I was just messing with your mind thinking I knew something.”

Spike rolled his eyes and relaxed.

“She did say you got a soul for her.”

“Oh well…” Spike muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets and started to look around the hospital hallways, anywhere but at her. It was a private matter and even though he was glad Buffy was proud of him for doing it, he kind of wished she didn’t tell everyone she meets about it.

“Knew you had heart, but never thought you to be romantic.” Melanie smiled.

“Well how did you think I got it?”

“I don’t know…won it at the carnival.” She shrugged.

Melanie squealed as he grabbed her and gave her a noogy.



TBC....

Chapter 3:

Melanie stood on the opposite side of Spike’s poorly lit basement apartment as she continued to watch with interest as the souled vampire carefully made his way down the stairs with Buffy holding onto him. She thought the way he gently whispered, ‘Okay, take another step’ and ‘We’re nearly there’ sounded so strange coming from him. Melanie guessed that if Spike had a bedroom voice that this would be what he would use.

“Where should I put her bag?”

Melanie hesitated at first before she asked the question, she felt a little bit guilty every time she interrupted any type of moment between the two of them.

“Next to the bed will be fine Mel.” Spike said as he briefly looked up at the young Slayer before focusing his attention back on Buffy’s slow moving feet traveling down the stairs.

“I have a bag?” Buffy asked quietly, her voice was hoarse from sleep and the drugs.

“We went back to your hotel and collected your things love.”

“How did you know where I was staying?”

“Nurse found your key card in your back pocket when they brought you in.” he explained as they hit the last step down and turned into the living room.

“You didn’t have to do that, I-I could have—“

“I know, I know.” Spike interrupted, “You could done it yourself and take care of yourself …there you go, pet, being all brave and noble again.”

“Give me 24 hours, let the drugs wear off and the bones set, and I’ll be kicking ass in no time.” Buffy argued.

“Is she always this stubborn?” Melanie asked as she turned over the covers of Spike’s bed and clicked on the night table lamp.

“You’re catching her on a good day I think…can’t tell…” Spike answered.

“Hey! I resent that!”

“Of course you do love, you always do. Now let’s get you tucked away.” Spike started to maneuver her towards the bed, Buffy didn’t fight him despite his teasing.

“I’m choosing to ignore the fact that you’re treating me like a baby.”

“Probably for the best…” Spike smiled as he directed her to lie down.

Melanie watched as Spike carefully slipped Buffy’s shoes off and then her socks. She was started to get that uncomfortable feeling again, so she went to fetch Buffy some water across the room in the kitchen sink. As she filled the glass full she glanced behind her shoulder to see Spike rubbing Buffy’s shins and talking to her quietly.

“Do you want me to call Dawn?” Spike asked as he glanced up at the bandage on Buffy’s forehead and down at her damaged limbs.

Buffy paused and briefly thought about how Dawn would physically handle a phone in her Jolly Green Giant hands. She almost laughed out loud at the image of Xander handing Dawn the phone, it seemed that the situation would be something she would watch on a comedy sketch on Saturday Night Live or something.

“Umm…that’s okay…I don’t feel like explaining the whole thing to her just yet…” Buffy used her tired state to her advantage to avoiding telling Spike the long story about Dawn’s fiasco again.

“Alright…” he muttered and looked back to see Melanie come over and sit Buffy a glass of water on the nightstand.

“Doctor wanted her to take painkillers again in another 4 hours.” Melanie explained.

“More drugs?” Buffy whined and thrashed her head back and forth on her pillow in disapproval. Spike smirked down at her, for a girl that didn’t want to be treated like a child she sure was acting like one.

“What’s the matter with drugs? I’m sure some of the guys around the block wouldn’t mind getting there hands on this stuff they gave you.” Melanie shrugged as she picked up Buffy’s small prescription bottle and examined it.

“She just doesn’t like being weak.” Spike explained, “She likes being in control of everything…right love?”

“Will you quit it with the teasing…” Buffy whined and shot him a glare.

“Well I’m off…” Melanie announced, the more time she spend with these duo the more she felt like she was the third wheel. “I’ll be doing her job…” Mel nodded to Buffy, “While you’re on a league of absence.”

Melanie had her hand on the door knob when Buffy nudge Spike to stop her.

“Mel, wait!”

“Ya?”

The young Slayer turned around and watched Spike limp quickly over to her and Buffy sit up in bed. If she didn’t know any better, it looked like Buffy too was going to chase after her.

“No slaying…not here, not in this city with those crazy Slayers lurking about.” Spike ordered.

Melanie looked back at Buffy in bed and saw that she too was anxious for her to not patrol.

“Okay…so what do you want me to do?”

*~*~*~*~*~

After Melanie left with a Spike’s money to get Buffy some food at the store, the blonde duo were alone once again.

“You in much pain?” Spike asked when he came back from the bathroom after putting a few of Buffy’s things away for her.

“Spike, you don’t have to rearrange everything for me to stay…I told you, I’m not going to be here for long.”

“And I told you before that it’s smart to stay here for the time being…” he argued, “Now…the pain?”

“Pain is pain…” she rolled her eyes, “Doesn’t matter what degree of pain I’m in because the fact is that I still have pain.”

“Nice analogy there…” Spike stepped up and stood at the foot of his bed to look down at her, “I know you hate this love—being weak and helpless, relying on someone else for a change, but can you just try to be a little accepting of someone’s help?”

Buffy looked down at her brace on her wrist before meeting his blue eyes, she let out a sigh and muttered, “I don’t have any pain…”

“Good.” He muttered and limped over to the chair he had placed by her bedside.

Buffy watched him struggle to find comfort with his sore leg, “Seems you too are having not such a good day.”

Spike glanced at her before looking at his knee, “It will heal…”

“Want some of my painkillers? I’ll give you the discount price.” Buffy smiled.

“No…” he shook his head with a smile, “You need those much more than I do…”

Once their smiles faded and silence fell upon them, they thought to themselves what should be talked about next. Four years, almost half a decade, went by in a flash and they each were leading different lives…but at the same time they had the same life. They still fought evil; they still liked the rush of a good fight. Sure, Buffy was able to get a few more resources, a few more helping hands with all the other Slayers around the world, but even that had ts setbacks.

“I like your place…” Buffy muttered as her eyes drifted the one room apartment with a small bathroom. It wasn’t decorated or anything but she didn’t expect it to be, her room back in Scotland lacked the personal touch too. “Reminds me of my basement in Sunnydale”

“Ya, thought that too when I moved in.” Spike sighed as he too looked around his place, “The bed is a little less of being a cot than yours, that’s a plus.”

“Mmm…” Buffy nodded and shifted slowly so she was on her side looking at him, having one hand between her head and the pillow. She caught a whiff of some sort of soap that she wasn’t familiar with on the sheets, “It’s not as luscious as your crypt bed…”

Spike gave her a funny glance, “When did you ever sleep in that bed?”

Buffy thought about it for a second and recalled their sexual adventures, “Oh…right…”

She forgot how that bed was not ever used for sleep, well, not for her anyway.

“Well, if you’re comfortable love, I think I’m just going to get some shut eye.” Spike rose to his feet with a grimace and walked over to his couch a few feet away.

“You don’t need to take the couch…you can—“

“I don’t think us in the same bed will work…” he shook his head, interrupting her before she got the invite out.

“Oh…” she sounded a bit disappointed, “It’s not like we haven’t done it before…” she reminded him of their last few nights in Sunnydale.

“I know…but I’ll just take the couch.”

Buffy watched as he sat down to lay back on the dark brown couch, propping one small pillow under his head and closing his eyes. Buffy knew that he knew that she was staring at him from her side of the room, but he didn’t stir or pop an eye open. She too rested back down on her pillow, but with a frown on her face as she closed her eyes, sleep didn’t come quickly.



TBC…

Chapter 4:



Melanie glanced cautiously to the right and then to her left before putting the spoon full of cereal in her mouth and chewing. The tension was too thick, so thick that the young Slayer felt like she was being choked as she sat between the two old warriors.

When she arrived early in the morning at Spike’s place, Melanie noticed that Buffy was up and actively about. She was able to dress herself, make her own bed, and fix herself some cereal without pain. Something that should have been seen as joyous and encouraging didn’t seem so by Spike. The vampire’s mood wasn’t hard to read, he was on the edge of losing his temper. However, Melanie wasn’t exactly sure why until Spike spoke.

“You forgot to take your painkillers when you woke up.”

Melanie’s eyes darted back and forth between Buffy and Spike before resting in the middle of the table. She thought no eye contact with either of them would be a good thing right now.

“I didn’t forget…I’m fine, I don’t need them.”

“Docs orders were to take them ever four hours.”

“Doc doesn’t know I’m the Slayer.” Buffy muttered as she slowly got up from her seat, wincing in the process as she felt a shock of pain on her side.

“You’re in pain…you can’t fool us.”

‘Us?’ Melanie panicked and shifted in her seat, ‘Why did he have to involve me?’

“Well excuse me for knowing my own body and what it can withstand.”

“I know what your body can withstand too…your doing too much too soon.”

Melanie wasn’t sure if she should be hearing this. ‘Was that a comment in reference to their coupling…did he really know what her body can take?’

“Too much is standing up to brush my own hair?” Buffy raised an eyebrow.

“Too much is getting out of bed at all…you were nearly beaten to death.”

“Ya…been there, done that…multiple times…” Buffy turned her back to him so she put her bowl in the sink to wash off.

“Stubborn bloody chit…” Spike muttered to himself in frustration and slammed his left fist down on the table. He rattled the dishes, which in turn rattled Melanie.

The girl jumped to her feet with her bowl and spoon in hand, and walked over to the sink where Buffy stood. She was able to get a good look at the older Slayer’s face as she placed her silverware in the tub. Buffy’s eyes were closed—almost like she sleeping standing up or meditating.

Melanie placed a hand on Buffy’s shoulder to shake her out of her daze before Spike noticed, “You know what I think we should do?”

Buffy whipped her head around to meet Melanie’s hopeful eyes, “Get you some new clothes.”

“Mel, she has clothes.” Spike argued, “Besides—“

“Pshhh…you mean the ones she got beat up in?”

Melanie knew that Spike was about to argue that idea of shopping at time like this was crazy and nonsensical, but she didn’t care. The mood needed to be lightened for all their sake.

“Melanie…I’m not staying long…my clothes now are fine for the time being.”

“What do you mean you’re not staying long?” Spike interrupted.

And once again, Melanie wished she was invisible.

*~*~*~*~

Buffy and Spike’s fight was not as dramatic as Melanie thought it would be. It was a brief argument, one that didn’t need a lot of words. The two were straightforward with each other, telling one another that the other was wrong and not budging by what they believed. In the end, Spike grabbed his leather duster and left—deciding to go for a walk and a smoke.

“Are you really going to leave so soon?” Melanie asked
Buffy, who was checking on her bandages wrapped around her midsection while seated on the couch.

“I can’t stay here forever…my friends need me and will be looking for me.”

“Spike’s your friend, right?”

Buffy stopped repositioning her bandages and looked up at Melanie.

“He was.”

“You don’t consider him a friend anymore?”

“We hardly know each other anymore…you probably know him more than I do.”

“Hardly…” Melanie rolled her eyes, “Spike changes very little over the years…take note of the black attire…”

Buffy smiled and looked down at her lap, the girl had her there.

“He’s not as layered as you think…you can read him like a book…and if you haven’t read his latest entry, it says ‘Buffy please don’t go…please let me help you’.”

“This is not his problem to deal with.” Buffy confessed.

“Any problem concerning you I think is his problem.” Melanie argued as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“I don’t want him to do this again okay…he’s done this before…sacrificed it all for me and in the end he died…”

“He’s a vampire…being dead is his thing.”

“No, I mean dead dead…deader than dead.”

“And yet he’s still here…walking, talking…being stubborn as you in fact.”

Buffy sighed and shook her head, “It would be best for Spike if—“

“Why don’t I decide what’s best for Spike…”

Buffy and Melanie jumped when they saw the man of the hour stand near the door with a rather annoyed expression on his face.


TBC…

Chapter 5:


“Well I’m off…” Melanie announced loudly as she got up off the couch. She shot Buffy a sympathetic look and whispered, “Good luck Buffy…you’re going to need it.”

“Mel—” Spike started, trying to stop her.

“I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Melanie said, determined to get away from them. With her hand resting on the doorknob she continued, “Or you know...in a few days or something…I’ll be careful. Bye.”

And with that the blonde duo were left alone.

Spike sighed as he stared at the door, “That girl is going to be the death of me.”

“A mini Dawn she is.” Buffy mumbled as she looked down at her lap.

Spike glanced back at Buffy sitting alone and uncomfortable on his couch. He noted the clean bandages and medicine lying on the couch next to her. “You need help with that.”

Buffy looked up at Spike then looked down at her bandage wraps and shook her head, “It’s fine…I—“

“Let me help you.” Spike said harshly.

Buffy met his hard stare, “Fine.”

Spike sat down on the other side of the couch with a sigh, “You always do this…” he muttered to himself, “…so I don’t know why I’m surprised every time you do this…it just makes me…” he let out another frustrated sigh.

As he kept up his complaining, Buffy watched with interest while he dressed her wounds.

“…however I guess it’s my own fault for caring about a bloody Slayer...life of the Chosen One…one being the key word there…it will never change.” Spike rolled his eyes as he fixed a piece of tape to her stomach.

“Sorry I didn’t meet up to your expectations.”

“That’s not an expectation…just stating fact.”

Buffy shifted and got to her feet, “Well if all I do is make things hard for you and aggravate you, then maybe I should go back to Europe.”

Spike narrowed his eyes at her, “And do what…forget that this whole thing with the other Slayers didn’t happen?”

“Of course not…I’ll take care of it…I’ll just do it back in England.”

“Back safe and secure right?”

“What are you getting at?” Buffy asked.

“I’m getting at that your running away…the problem is here and you’re running away from it. Doesn’t seem like the Buffy I know. She wouldn’t be calling the shots from thousands of miles away…she’d in the thick of it…in the fire.”

“Well excuse me if I want to do things my way…isn’t that the Buffy you know? The stubborn Slayer that doesn’t take shit from others.”

“Ya, but there’s a big difference… she never avoided a problem like this…one that was this personal. If she did, Angelus would be roaming around town with Glory doing high fives.”

Buffy paused for a brief moment, “What do you suppose I do?”

“I don’t know...not at the moment.”

“Great…that’s a wonderful plan of action.” Buffy mumbled sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

“This is not my fight Buffy…it’s yours…”

“You’re not going to help? At least if I go to England Willow—“

“I’ll help you…don’t be daft, you know I’ll help you…I’ll give you as much muscle as you need but I’m not going to do it all for you.”

“So you want me to struggle?”

Spike chuckled and shook his head, “You sound like you never done that before…”

“Not of late.”

Spike lifted his hand and pointed at her, “And that’s the point I’m trying to get you to admit to yourself. You’re disconnected from being the Slayer…when was the last time you went on patrol alone?”

“The other night….”

“The night you got beat up? Not counting that…you were lured in by another Slayer…you were expecting a team of Slayers helping. I’m talking alone… no other girls…no Willow…no resources…just you and a stake.”

“It’s been a while…I’ll admit it. I’m trying to create an army of Slayers here.”

“An army…an army of drafted Slayers…girls that don’t have a choice…”

“I didn’t have a choice…”

“But the difference between you and them is the universe…the Powers that Be chose you…for them, YOU…Buffy Summers chose them.”

Chapter 6:

Looking at things from someone else’s perspective was sometimes considered enlightening…groundbreaking even. The most lost soul was given a path to follow that would lead them home. Questions that had no answers were gifted with detailed explanations. However, it wasn’t always something that everyone needed to see so suddenly. For the tired beaten Slayer that just feed a dose of reality, all it gave her was a headache.

“You alright love?”

Spike’s voice hovered over Buffy’s head from the couch she was laying down on. Her right hand was pinching the bridge of her nose, hoping that the sudden pounding in her head would stop.

“No”

“Drink this.”

Buffy didn’t care what Spike shoved in her hand, she downed in one big gulp. A few seconds later she sat up coughing.

“What was that?” she asked while still choking.

“Bourbon.”

“What happen to go old fashion water?” she said after finally get her throat cleared.

“Seemed like you needed something stronger” he shrugged.

“Next time warn a girl will ya?” she muttered as she lay back down and let out a sigh.

“Want more pain killers?”

Buffy rolled her eyes over to watch Spike sit on the coffee table beside her.

“What is it with you and popping me pills?”

“Doctors orders…”

“When were you to follow orders?”

“When it comes to the help of the ones I care about…I follow them quit well.”

“Mmmm…” Buffy mumbled, accepting his answer and looked up at the ceiling.

“You want to call it quits for the day? I’ll leave you be…let you get some rest.”

Buffy shook her head, “Why bother sleeping…problem will still be there when I wake. You say I’m such an avoider…I should stop procrastinating and just get it over with.”

“Sorry to say this love but don’t think this problem will be solved in a day.”

Buffy agreed, it would take more time and energy than she was willing to give anytime soon.

“Got to start somewhere.”

*~*~*~*~*~

They both didn’t really know where to start. Four years was too large of gap to just start at near the end, so Buffy decided to avoid the shortcuts and start where they left off.

“After the Hellmouth was gone…after you were gone…everything moved so fast…vacation seemed like out of the question…” Buffy muttered as she gazed off into the openness of the room. “Willow was getting word of Slayers all over the world daily through the Coven and other sources…we really didn’t know what to do with that information at first…I thought we were just going to let the girls be…maybe send them a little pamphlet about Slaying 101…the dos and don’ts of being a supergirl…”

“Think they needed a little bit more info than that Pet.”

Buffy smiled, “I know…but at the time I was tired…I was not thinking of what they needed I was thinking about what I needed…I wanted to go to the beach…I wanted to shop…get shoes…lots and lots of shoes.”

“I’m guessing someone dropped the shoe too early and told you to get to work?”

“Giles suggested seeking out the girls and starting some sort of basic training course…which is still going on as of now…that I know of.”

Up until now Buffy forgot that she hadn’t contacted her friends or Giles since the incident in the alley. For all they knew she’s dead and they all around searching around New York looking for her.

“A little school for Slayers…” Spike chuckled and shook his head, “How did I not hear about this in the underground.”

“We’re cloaked…” Buffy whispered, “If we go there…you’ll see nothing…just a vacant lot. Willow and other witches hide it with magic. It’s a whole new level of Hogwarts…”

“Hog what?”

“Sorry…forgot your lack of knowledge about anything after 1985.”

“Oh and like you’re any better…bet you don’t know what a record player is…” Spike muttered as he got up and left her side to go into the kitchen.

“Those are those big Frisbee spinning things right?” she asked as she watched his backside.

“Something like that…keep talking…I’m listening…”

“Well…anyway…we started the school and started training the girls…however our student to teacher ratio was bit insane…”

“What, Harris didn’t like giving order to 50 girls at once?”

“Okay…he was okay with it…enjoying the authority figure very much…too much maybe. Me however…I suck at teaching.”

“I know about that love…you were good with the girls back in Sunnydale…”

‘Because I had help…I had you…’ she thought to herself.

Spike walked back from the kitchen with Buffy’s glass of water that she needed earlier and 2 pain pills. He pressed the capsules onto her stomach and muttered, “Take them and no argument…”

“Yes, Dr. Spike.” She said in a voice that sounded a little bit like Harmony.

“It’s nurse Spike at the moment…if we were playing doctor you know you’d be a little bit more lacking in clothes than this.”

“Knew this selfless worried Spike act was just for show…” Buffy joked as she gulped the water and took the pills.

Spike shrugged, “Soul or no soul…same old vampire…”

Buffy remembered that was similar to what Melanie said earlier to her.

“Ya guess so…”

“That bad thing? Ya disappointed?”

“No… not disappointed. It’s a good thing...” Buffy turned to meet his eyes, “It’s a comforting thing.”

TBC…