"NO!" he watched as she slowly began to sink to her knees. The fledgling behind her began to swing the board at her and Spike let loose a deep growl throwing himself at the vamp. He made a grab for its head and wrenched fountains of anger fueling his strength. Its head came clean off and it exploded into dust.
Turning he saw her still on her knees breaths coming irregular and shallow. He felt his heart twist as one of her small hands curled around the handle of the ax and gave it a good yank. She sent it flying into the night letting out a painful groan. He was there at her side dropping to his own knees, hands going around her shoulders. He could see the blood gushing from the open wound.
"Buffy." her name came out as tortured whisper.
She raised her head and looked into his eyes. Raising a hand she began to gently stroke his cheek.
"We've got to get you to the hospital love."
"No" she said strength behind her weak sounding voice.
"Slayer if we don't get you there now your gonna bleed to death." His voice was desperate. Spike was feeling something near hysteria clawing its way through his body.
"Spike no. No hospitals." She moved her legs so she could sit fully on the grass underneath her. She looked down at the wound in her midsection noticing as the blood pooled onto her jeans and was spreading on the ground near her.
"Buffy." His voice was rising to alarming levels. His hands tightened on her shoulders and he began to pull her up.
Her hand clamped onto his wrist the strength in her grasp causing him to stop his movement.
"Don't." She saw the terror in his eyes felt his panic in the air around her. She knew she was going to have to tell him no use holding back now. She wanted to hold him, comfort him, and reassure him that everything was okay. Trying to get her breathing under control she gritted her teeth from the pain. Glancing behind her she saw a marker that was behind her. Pushing herself backwards with her hands she came close enough to lean against it. She closed her eyes briefly trying to gather her thoughts.
The scent of her blood was filling the air all around them the strong smell of it pounded into his head. He knew that there wasn't much time left. Spike had spent years perfecting technique knowing how much blood a human body could lose before the person began to shut down. He realized he was breathing heavily he was fighting the panic coursing through his body. Every muscle and fiber screaming for him to move get her out of here make her safe. What was he supposed to do he didn't know couldn't think and get a clear thought in. He just knew he couldn't lose her, not like this, not ever again.
"Spike..." her voice was quiet and he moved closer to her. "It’s okay."
" 'S not okay. You aren't going to die on me. We're going now." His voice was rougher the panic edging it painfully.
"No." she said it again her hand reinforcing her word with a squeeze. "Not gonna die."
"Pe..."
"Not gonna die. Can't." She bit the words out. She was starting to feel dizzy from the blood loss and she hoped she could fight it off long enough to get through this. "Spike gotta..." she took a ragged breath. "Trust me."
"Buffy your bleedin' out let me help you." His eyes sunk into hers dark with fear and pain.
"Trust me." She said it louder. Her eyes clear and open to him. "Things I need to tell you." She shifted her weight a little and gasped from the pain. "Fuck." She let out a breath slowly trying to get a handle on the agony that was burning in her belly. "Gonna be okay just need time."
He opened his mouth to protest.
"Spike look." she gestured to the wound with her hand.
He could see her shirt glistening from the blood that had stained it red. But before where he could see the blood spilling out of her now it seemed to be slow like sap running from a tree. He focused himself listening to her breathing painful but clear. He listened for her heart and heard a steady strong beat. It hadn't weakened from the loss of blood at all. Confused he looked back into her eyes. He didn't know how she could be so calm how she could be so sure.
"I'll explain soon just let me..." another slow breath "need some time." They heard a loud groan from the vamp Spike had left beaten a few yards away. Both turned their heads to the sound. "Go. Get answers." He turned back to her. "Be fine. Not going to go anywhere."
He didn't want to. He wanted to stay right where he was. What the hell would it matter why they had attacked if she was gone. Her words should have reassured him but they weren't even close to doing that. He only felt like he could walk away after hearing the beat of her heart. Still strong still humming with life.
Standing over the male vamp he took in his black hair. He would have noticed his face except now it was just a map of where his fists had been bloodied bruised puffy. If the guy had his eyes open Spike couldn't tell they were so swollen. He reached down and grabbed him by the collar pulling him into a sitting position.
"Talk." he growled.
"Unhhh." was all the beaten thing managed.
"Talk now." Spike pressed his stake against his chest.
"Wha... what do you want to know?" he forced out.
"Who sent you?"
"Don't know."
He pressed harder with the stake breaking the skin.
"Don't know who he is. Others sent us for him. Just know they call him master."
"Why?"
"Planning something big need the slayer out of the way."
"What?"
"Don't know they didn't tell me."
"Where do I find the guys that sent you?"
"Outside of town demon bar they met me there."
Finished Spike thrust the stake in and watched the guy dust. Standing he made his way back to Buffy watching her chest rise and fall. Her eyes were closed head resting against the stone behind her.
Hearing his return she opened her eyes slowly. She was glad that the dizziness had passed and the pain was now becoming a dull ache. Glancing at him she held out her hand to him. He took it and she pulled him down to her. He kneeled close to her side facing her, her hand clasped tightly in his.
She took a deep breath. It came easier the muscles not pulling on the wound as strongly as before. Better. She could talk a little more comfortably now.
"Find anything out?" she asked lightly.
He shook his head. "Not important."
"It is."
"No your the only bloody important thing going on here!" he yelled he didn't mean to but he couldn't control it. His emotions were raging inside him.
"I'm alright Spike."
"How can you say that? You've lost a lot of blood and that ax had to have hit something vital! You can't bloody be alright!"
She touched his face with her fingers.
Her warm touch felt calming to him. He could feel a wave of comfort wash over his form quelling the panic inside.
She moved her hands away and unbuttoned the lower half of the blouse she was wearing showing him the wound on her body. It was almost totally closed now crusted with blood stretching all the way across the front of her. Only one corner was slowly weeping blood.
He stared. He'd watched the ax bury itself deep inside her and knew that this wasn't what he should have been seeing so soon after. Confusion clouded his eyes.
"How?"
She sighed. "Something I found out the hard way. About four months ago I was in Canada fighting with a demon, Giles told me it was a Kronith demon. It was strong and maybe I was a little distracted anyway it got the better of me. Beat the hell out of me worse than anything before it. Bones I didn't even know I had were broken internal bleeding tearing you name it this guy managed to do. Some guy had stumbled over me and took me to the hospital. I overheard the doctors and they were shocked that I had made it to the emergency room alive. They were positive I was gonna die." She shuddered at the memory. "They hadn't even had time to get me to surgery something about some test. Anyway they hooked me to all those machines beeping and such, and before I knew it a huge group was in the room staring at the monitors. I managed to ask the nearest one what they were staring at. He told me all signs showed the bleeding had stopped on its own. They rushed me to take new x-rays and a cat scan everything they had diagnosed as life threatening was gone."
He stared at her not knowing where she was going.
"There were a few times before when I thought something might be different. A couple of fights where looking back I shouldn't have maybe recovered from. The first fight with the Turok Han I know you weren't there but really bad. Then there was the fight in the hellmouth. Had a sword shoved right through me and I managed to get up and keep fighting. I didn't have a second thought about it until I ended up in that hospital in Canada." She shifted again this time starting to feel really gross from the blood drying on her clothing. "I was able to check out the next day. Bones took a little longer to heal but nowhere as long as it used to take for me. At first I just thought the Slayer healing was working a little faster. Maybe I was just extremely lucky and the doctors were wrong." She shrugged her shoulders.
"But you don't believe that now?"
She smiled gently at him. "The more I thought about it the more confused I was. So I started doing my own research. The others didn't know what happened with the hospital and I felt better not telling them. When we were in Rome I ran into the Immortal and out of curiosity I struck up a conversation with him."
Spike flinched at the name.
"He and I just talked. But the guy has connections and I needed answers. After a while I explained everything about my past to him and he did his own research."
"Buffy you know the guy is only interested in one thing."
"He told me. More than once in fact. I wasn't interested and I made that more than clear to him." She smirked at him. "In fact he even told me he knew you and Angelus from way back." Spike groaned. She let a little laugh out. "I know all about it all right. But that's beside the point. After he did his research he told me some really interesting and depressing stuff. Sometimes wish I didn't know."
"What did he tell you luv?"
"You know that when I died, the first time with the Master, well I broke the Slayer line. That's why Kendra was called and then Faith when she died. That's why when I died again no one was called. When I came back and was still a Slayer one of two, it made things go really wonky. That was why the First was able to attack the way he had. It was the weakness in the protections the supposed powers had set up to control it. Boy if Willow found that out.... Talk about guilt." She shuddered again. "The last piece of the puzzle was when Willow used the scythe to make all the potentials into Slayers. Instead of drawing on just the power in the scythe it drew from me as well since I was the one to claim it. Should have known that things were going to go fishy. The woman, the one that was supposed to be the protectors of the slayers? Well before Caleb killed her she told me I was the hellmouths last guardian. When you managed to suck Sunnydale into that crater with you I thought she had been right I was its last guardian cause now it’s closed no need to guard it anymore." She chuckled wryly. "Didn't know she meant plural."
"I don't understand pet. What does this have to do with...?” he gestured towards her stomach.
"Getting to that. See in order for me to be the last guardian of all the hellmouths, and there are a few we've found out..." she trailed off.
Spike stood up suddenly frightening realization striking right through him. Oh no she couldn't mean what he was thinking. It wasn't possible. But it made perfect sense if what she had found out had any truth to it.
"Do the others know?"
"No and I don't intend to tell them right now. I'm still getting used to it myself." She looked up at his shaking form. "Do you understand?" She asked the question gently not wanting to push him.
He took a deep breath and nodded slowly.
"You're immortal."
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks for all the reviews I'm glad that everyone seems to be enjoying this so far. Believe it or not my reposting has even got the old writer's block to budge for this one and I'm actually making progress on it. Shocking I know. Anyway thanks to everyone for continuing to read and let me know what you think.