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Yes, Spike has decided he needs to turn over a new leaf and become who Buffy deserves
Chapter 9
The next day was spent in quiet reflection as the two occupants of the apartment tried to forget the previous two days. The doctor that Spike had arranged to make visits insisted on bed rest for a couple days for Buffy. Buffy wasn’t happy when the doctor told her she would not be able to put on her skates for at least a month, probably longer. Buffy’s injuries seemed pretty superficial, no bones totally broken and the bruises and cuts on her face already started to heal. Her ribs were tender and when she tried to move, they hurt, so she couldn’t really argue about the bed rest. The doctor also set up a home rehabilitation schedule for Buffy. Spike left for a short time after the doctor’s visit to grab some things to make it easier for Buffy. Buffy sat in the bedroom, filled with his furniture, fuming that she was stuck. It hurt too much to move off the bed and walk around. But, it also hurt to lay in the bed... his bed. Buffy sighed; Spike really was sweet yesterday when she got hurt. He stood by her the whole way, making sure she had everything she needed. One thing was for sure he was a possessive man. Between the sweet words and kisses and the rampage of jealousy that resulted with him raping her, Buffy didn’t know who Spike really was. She lay there, wondering who the real Spike was.



Spike came back a few minutes after he left, carrying a bag from the local pharmacy. He came into the bedroom, intruding on Buffy’s private thoughts. Setting down the bag, he showed her a pager that would allow him to move around the apartment and even the neighborhood, but still be in contact with her if she needed something. He also bought a grab bar to help her get into the bathtub, in which Buffy vehemently declined the use of and told him to take it back. Complying with her wishes, he took the bar away. He attended to her, like a new mother fussing over a newborn baby. She shooed him out of the room a couple times, only to have him trot back in a few minutes later baring some sort of peace prize either hot food, trinkets, or most importantly chocolate.



Glancing at the clock, Buffy noticed it was getting late. Her back was hurting, once again, and she picked up the pager. Buffy hadn’t used it yet, since he bought it, Spike was always hovering around the room, not giving her chance to want anything. After dinner, she made Spike leave the room so she could have some peace. Buffy assumed he was working on his computer when she heard little clicks of the keyboard. She pressed the button and heard a commotion as Spike flew through the door, looking at the room. “What’s wrong?”



The look on his face almost made Buffy laugh. His cheeks were red and his brows furrowed with worry. He crouched down a little, looking like he was going to tackle a burglar. She looked at him, realizing he might be the most attractive man that ever came into her life, and the ugliest, too. She stifled a giggle, trying not to jar her sore abdomen. “Did that thing shock you?”



Spike stood up straight, trying to calm himself down when he realized she wasn’t hurt or in danger. “Uh, no, pet. Just… are you alright?”



Buffy nodded, “Could you get me my pain pills.” Spike nodded and went into the bathroom. A minute later he came out with a glass of water and her pills. He helped her sit up and waited until she finished swallowing the pills down. He went back into the bathroom and came back with a new glass of water and her pills.



“Getting late, pet. Time to put you to bed.” Spike helped Buffy lay back down. He went back out into the living room and shut down the computer. Coming back, he had a paperback novel in his hands and started to get ready for bed, too. Buffy was amazed at the lack of shyness Spike had. He stripped down naked and put on his silk pants. Buffy tried not to star at the chiseled form, but she couldn’t help it. His butt looked like it was chiseled marble, smooth and muscular. Glancing away when he turned in her direction, her face flushed and lips pursed. He saw her looking at him through the mirror, Spike knew she would deny it if he called her out on it. He couldn’t help but chuckle inside.



Spike climbed in between the cool sheet, propped up by his pillow. He noticed after a few minutes that Buffy hadn’t fallen asleep yet. She laid flat on her back, staring at the ceiling, listening to him turn the pages of his novel. “What’s wrong, pet?” Spike was staring down at her when she turned her gaze over to him.



Her eyebrows rose in surprise, “Oh, well… someone made me stay in bed all day with nothing to do… kind of not sleepy.”



Spike’s whole body shook in a chuckle. It was true he made her stay flat on the bed all day, hoping to heal her ribs a bit faster. “Want me to read to you?”



Buffy’s eyes widened with shook, she remembered Joyce reading to her when she was a child. With some consideration, Buffy raised her head to look at the book jacket, “What are you reading?”



Spike smiled and showed her the worn book. “Count of Monte Cristos, one of my favorites.”



“What’s it about? I hope not some philandering Victorian Count deflowering into young maidens.” Her eyes rolled when she thought of all those romance novels Joyce read about a strong man saving the virgin and then plundering her himself. Buffy smiled innocently and almost laughed at Spike’s reaction. She didn’t mean for her comment to mirror them.



If Spike’s eye sockets could have gotten wider, his eyeballs would have popped out of his head. “No, it’s about a man falsely accused of a crime and sent off to prison. While in prison the people who set him up become rich. His life falls apart. When he escapes, he wants revenge.”



“Does he get it?” Buffy scooted, as much as her injuries would allow.



“Here… let me start from the beginning,” Spike turned to the beginning of the book and scotted closer to Buffy, letter her rest her head on his stomach. “‘On February 24, 1815, the watchtower at Marseilles Signaled the arrival of the three-master Pharaon, coming from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples….’”



Buffy stayed awake long enough for Edmond Dantes to escape from the Château d’If. Spike put a book mark into the book at the start of the new chapter and carefully placed Buffy back onto her back. Turning off the light, Spike settled down next to Buffy, lightly clasping her warm hand into his.



A/N: The Count of Monte Cristos by Alexander Dumas is TRULY one of the best novels I have ever read over and over and encourage everyone to read it.





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