Seven Months Later
“SURPRISE!!!”
The stake clattered to the floor, and her mouth dropped. The cheery air filled the room, drowning out the underlying fear and worry. “Um…thanks,” was all she could utter to their expectant faces.
“Happy birthday Buffy,” Willow squealed and rushed forward to hug her. There was a cough, and Spike and Robin stepped out from behind Buffy. Buffy’s eyes narrowed, and she turned to glare at Spike.
“You knew about this?”
“Oh yeah!” Dawn piped up. “He was supposed to keep you away, you know distract you!”
Spike’s tongue peeked out between his teeth and he raised an eyebrow, but the snarky comment never came. Smiling, she nodded at him understandingly and turned back to the group.
“Is there cake?”
She went through the motions; smiling and laughing, but she couldn’t keep her gaze from wandering back to Spike. He lounged against a doorway, a small grin on his face as he watched the proceedings. Every now and then she caught a glimpse of the old Spike, like tonight, with the look and the tongue….
*Stop it perv*
It had been months since she had found him cowering in his crypt, going all crazy, with his soul. She would love to say everything had gotten better from there, but it hadn’t. The First has reappeared with a vengeance; dampening the already dim mood that had lingered. Needless to say the last thing Spike needed after getting his soul was to be jerked around by the First Evil. He’d started killing again, not by choice of course, but killing nonetheless.
For a brief second, Buffy had thought she would have to stake him, and it just about broke her heart. He’d made so much progress; he’d stopped talking to the voices in his head, and stopped acting like a loon. Although he wasn’t his old nasty self, he had begun socializing and helping her patrol again.
The First hadn’t triggered Spike since that night, but it was always on her mind. She cared for Spike, and it seemed easier to admit now that she had a soul. She didn’t hide it anymore, with the casual touches and the soft comments, but it hadn’t gone any further than that. Giles had noticed, and removing Spike’s chip had sent him into overdrive. He seemed to trust Spike less now, than when they had suspected him of killing.
But it wasn’t about trusting Spike, it was about trusting Buffy to be able to do what she might have to if the time came. She had brought Spike into the house of potentials, and it was her responsibility to be there if it happened again.
He caught her staring, and lifted an eyebrow in question. She blushed, cursed herself mentally, and looked away. She was acting like a school girl, it was just Spike.
*That’s the problem you dork*
She couldn’t deny that she liked seeing his softer side, and maybe she had just been too blind to see it before. Nothing had happened between them physically. She didn’t know if it was because she wasn’t ready, or he wasn’t. They hadn’t talked about it, and it didn’t look like they were going to, it wasn’t time yet.
Willow had called, ill-timed of course to tell them of Spike’s soul. They had given Spike the option of having it removed. She remembered it vividly. They had been on speaker phone with Giles and Willow, and he had looked at her. He had really looked at her, and she could see it in his eyes. Hope, love, and he had shaken his head.
He hadn’t said it, but she knew, he’d done it for her. He hadn’t spoken the words to her, since before Willow had gone all evil, but she knew. She saw it in his eyes every time he looked at her. He loved her.
***
“Do we really need to do this now?”
Xander mumbled something, and then stood having fastened the manacles securely around Spike’s wrists.
“Buffy,” Giles sighed exasperated. “This isn’t a chore that can be putt off, this is life or death.”
“Already dead Rupes.”
He didn’t miss the look that Giles shot Robin who was standing idly in the corner.
“What are you doing here? You came to see the show?”
“I thought you might need support.” The stared at each other, the tension was sizzling.
“Enough.” Buffy turned to face Giles. “What is this going to do to him? Is it safe?” Giles assessed Buffy, and her worried tone.
“The Prokaryote stone will move within his mind to reveal the root of the trigger's power. Can unleash ideas, images, memories... Hopefully, once he understands what it is that's setting him off, you can break its hold on him.”
Spike glanced at the stone realizing where it was intended to go. “Oh bugger.”
***
“Spike's a liability, Buffy. He refuses to see it, and so do you. Angel left here because he realized how harmful your relationship with him was. Spike, on the other hand, lacks such self-awareness.”
Buffy let her fist fly and sent the vampire flying into a headstone. “Is that what you think?” she yelled back at Giles. “That he chose to stay?” she began laughing hysterically as she beat the crap out of the vampire. “I asked him to stay, he wanted to go.”
“Well I obviously didn’t give him enough credit and you too much.” Giles mumbled.
“What?” she turned and the vampire tackled her.
“You want Spike here even after what he's done to you in the past?”
“He’s different Giles, he has a soul.”
*I’m different*
“And the First is exploiting that to his advantage.”
Buffy staked the vampire, and whirled to face Giles.
“Oh, my God. You're stalling me. You're keeping me away-“
“It's time to stop playing the role of general, and start being one. This is the way wars are won.”
She stared at him. What had happened to him, to all of them. “You bastard,” she gasped and took off running.
***
The tears were dried from the night air, but she had been sobbing. She could picture it, Spike dissolving into a cloud of dust, and she couldn’t hold back. The betrayal of her Watcher stung; he’d taken the stake out of her hands, and made the decision for her.
Then he was there, shutting the door to the building behind him and shrugging on his duster.
“Oh God, Spike, what happened?”
He looked at her, his eyes hard. “I gave him a pass. Let him live. On account of the fact I killed his mother. But that's all he gets. He even so much as looks at me funny again, I'll kill him.”
She glanced at Robin sagged against the wall and back at Spike as he began stalking away. “Wait!” she called out desperately.
She sprinted to him, and grabbed his arm and he stared down at her with tired eyes. “I didn’t know, Giles…stalling…” she was rambling.
“Not your fault luv.” He turned again, shaking her hand off his arm.
“Then why are you walking away?”
He swiveled. Her tear stained face watching his every movement anxiously.
“Figured you’d need to patch up the wanker, and have a go at the Watcher.”
“Spike…”
“Just go Slayer, M’ fine, gonna take more than that to get me.”
“No.” She stood resilient.
“No?” he took a menacing step forward. “No?”
“Why would I want to help the man that just tried to kill you? And Giles…I have nothing to say to him, not anymore.”
“S’ what does that mean?”
The tears started again, and she wiped them away absently. “I thought you were gone, I thought he’d done it.”
“Yeah well one less thing to muck up your life then.”
“Stop it!” she yelled at him. “Stop treating me like I don’t care, like I’m that girl. I’m not, I haven’t been since…” she stopped herself, wasn’t going to help bringing up her dreams. He wouldn’t understand. “I care, about you.”
He moved closer, no longer trying to be intimidating. His cold fingers grazed her cheek as he wiped the tears away. “I know.”
Her tears soaked eyes regarded him curiously. “You know?”
“You’ve always cared, couldn’t help yourself. Doesn’t mean you liked it, but it was always there. ‘V just been waiting you to admit it to yourself.”
“Didn’t know you were so deep,” she mocked through her tears.
He smiled softly at her. “I’m glad you care pet.”
“You’re always right you know? God, never thought I’d say it, but you are. Damn it Spike, why do you always have to be right?”
“Just lucky I guess; comes with the good looks, and great hair.”
She smirked, her tears drying. “Will you take me home now?”
The grin slid off his face, and he gazed down at her soberly. “Home, yeah I’ll take you back to the house.”
“Home,” she whispered grabbing his hand.
A/N: Dialogue taken from S7 "Lies My Parents Told"