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Author's Chapter Notes:
I know you're sick of hearing me say it, but...I am working on some new fics (two for Spuffy Haven's 'Art Before Fic' Challenge and then some others as well)...I'm really sorry it's been so long without a new story :(
Chapter 28

“Don’t do that to him!” Buffy had pulled Dawn aside once she, Spike, and Anya were sure everything was ready for their ‘meeting’.

“Do what?” Dawn asked with faux innocence.

“You know what! Seriously Dawn if you remind him too many times that I’m…he’s going to realize it’s not worth sticking around and—I can’t take him leaving right now okay?”

All traces of humor left the younger Summers’ face, “You honestly think that?”

“I know it. He’s helping so much with Mom and he’s making sure I don’t do too much and with you—“

“I meant about him leaving, Buffy.”

“He’s going to remember at some point that before this week I’d hardly admit to not hating him. I…I know it’s kind of a quick change from how I was but…I’ve just realized that past couple of days that it’s really not worth screwing around and not doing what you want just because someone else says it’s wrong…but there’s a lot of…he has a lot of reason to leave already, don’t remind him of another one.”

Without any more than a weak smile, Dawn walked around Buffy to leave and Buffy was ready to get on her for just leaving until she saw the reason for her sister’s departure.

“Do you hear like everything?”

“Gotta go with the Niblet on this one,” he ignored her question. “Do you really think all that Buffy?”

“Well…yeah.”

“Buffy I’ll admit that this has been a fast turnaround for you—“

“Spike, I…my mom might die and who knows what’s wrong with me and I just….I realized…I realized that living my life just so that Giles, Willow, and Xander would be happy with me…that kinda sucks. Because well…they don’t have the same views on stuff as me and they….well they….”

“They’re not you, luv.”

“Yeah…so living my life how they’d live it…after they got so disappointed in me with Angel and that crashed and burned I thought maybe, you now, that they could see things better than I could.”

“If what they saw was Captain Cardboard we’re going to have to get them some glasses, pet.”

“I can’t promise I’m not going to screw up and do something the way I would have before, but…it’ll just be a reactionary thing so…can you please try to put up with me for at least a little while? I’ve had a lot of time to think—stuck at home and all—so I’m sure about this and all but….I haven’t had a lot of practice, so…”

“You seem to keep forgetting that ‘I’m not going anywhere’ bit of the deal. Wouldn’t even if you started dating the whelp….Okay,” he said after a second, “so I might leave for a day or two to recover my sanity, but then I’d be back.”

Wishing that she didn’t know that kissing him would actually be bad, Buffy settled for hugging him. She’d expected it to be just a quick hug of thanks, but soon he’d wrapped his arms around her and was holding her to him.

“You do know I’d never—like ever—really date him, don’t you?”

“Pretty sure.”

“Pretty sure?” she asked incredulously. “I’m going to have to take that as an insult.” She smiled against his shirt, “And here I was, all ready to thank you for not having gotten sick of me yet.”

He pulled back from her, keeping his hands on her upper arms—which he noticed sadly, were thinner and less muscular than before. “I love you Buffy,” he said, enunciating and separating each word, saying it with as much feeling as he could. “That means all of you. Not just when you make sense or have it all together, but when you have no idea what the hell you’re doing, too; when it’s all gone to Hell and you don’t know how you’re going to get out of it. All the time. There’s nothing—aside from running off with the poof maybe—that would ever make me love you any less than I do right now.”

“But I haven’t given you any reason to.”

“You’ve given me plenty; but if you want to think like you haven’t, well then just think of how great it’ll be when you do.”

“So I hear that you’re a bad poet, but…there’s no way on Earth that that’s possible.”

“Oh believe me,” he laughed darkly, “it’s incredibly possible.”

“Write me a poem sometime to prove it then?”

“We’ll see. Now let’s get back before Anyanka gives the Bit any more to tell me about sex,” he glared at Buffy s she left the room laughing. “It’s not bloody funny.”



“We just thought that you should know that in case in made anything you’d come across in your research make sense,” Buffy said twenty minutes into the doomed meeting having just explained, with Spike, what had transpired that night with the witch.

“So we are just supposed to believe Spike? Believe that he didn’t ask her to do something to you, something that is making you sick?”

“I told you,” Spike tersely answered Giles, “I don’t know exactly what she said.”

“Oh, so you might be killing Buffy, but you’re not sure. I feel so much better now,” Willow said.

“Gee thanks for having decided I’m a goner already,” Buffy said sarcastically but Spike and Dawn could tell that it really hurt her.

“Well, Buffy, it’s not exactly like you’re getting any better—“ Xander tried to explain.

“Yeah because you lot won’t do a sodding thing to help!”

“We have done as much as is possible,” Giles replied.

“Yeah? So you read every book you’ve got at home and everywhere else? You talked to the Council to get them to work on it? You had Red look into Internet stuff? You called hospitals and spoke with neurologists, cardiologists, infectious disease docs, and internists? You put everything else aside to find out what’s happening to her? You had Anyanka and I ask around with the demons that we knew it’d stay safe with? You’ve done all that? Really?” Spike actually had asked Anya just a few minutes before the meeting if she would mind asking Halfrek and De’Hofryn and anyone else if they knew anything about the witch.

“We can’t possibly be expected to entirely put our lives aside to—“

“Yeah, that’s what we figured,” Dawn spoke up for the first time and her tone let them all know how disappointed she was. “See, you can’t set your life aside for a few weeks to figure out what’s wrong with my sister even though she’s put her life aside whenever you’ve asked for the last five years just to save your sorry asses.”

“She is the Slayer,” Giles began.

“Right,” Anya interrupted, “and even if you don’t care at all about Buffy—which has me very disappointed because she is a very wonderful person—you should be trying to save your Slayer.

She’s already died so you’ve already gotten your new Slayer; if she dies again, you’re stuck with Faith. How do you think you’re going to keep the Hellmouth, the world for that matter, safe without Buffy?”

“We’ve been doing very well for the past several weeks,” Giles really was irritating Anya tonight.

“You really are a stupid man Rupert for being as educated as you claim to be. You all honestly believe that it’s been the three of you—and me before—taking care of things every night?”

“We’ve been out there killing the vamps, Ahn. And Will knows the spells to do for the demons.”

“I’m ashamed to say I dated you for so long Xander Harris.”

“What are you insinuating Anya?” Willow asked; she never had liked her.

“Okay, who wants to tell them?”

“I think Spike should get to,” Dawn spoke up and Buffy quickly agreed.

“Yeah?” Spike asked, “Alright then. You’re not dead because I’ve been taking care of the vamps that can fight worth a damn and the ones—demons too—that I know could get word out that the Slayer’s been out of commission for a bit.”

“You expect us to believe that?” Giles scoffed.

“Rupert, how many demons have you heard about knowing about what’s happened to Buffy?” Anya asked.

“We told you,” Willow objected, “we’re taking care of it.”

“Yeah, you know, I’d say that I’d stop for a week to prove it to you, but then everyone, everywhere would find out about Buffy and much as I don’t care what happens to you all, I’m going to protect them,” he indicated the girls on his side of the room.

“Oh please!” Xander rolled his eyes, “Anya’s going to go tell everyone up in wherever the Hell she’s from and you’re probably just biding your time until you can turn her somehow.”

“Okay, last point of the night,” Buffy said quickly, “then you three are out of here and not coming back—oh and you can’t visit my mother either.”

“Buffy I don’t think you are in a position to make choices like that for Joyce,” Giles tried.

“Maybe, maybe not, but she told me to tell you. And while she’s in surgery and until she’s fully awake and everything again, Spike’s in a place to tell you that.”

“Spike can’t tell us any—“

“He’s her medical proxy so I wouldn’t try anything at the hospital,” Dawn said.

“Has your mother gone insane? He’s doing something to you Buffy and now he’s after your mother—“

“Shut up Giles,” Dawn said and Giles actually did so when he saw Buffy wasn’t going to say anything to her about it.

“Last point is that Spike’s moving in here so don’t go to his crypt to try anything.”

“Oh, Buffy, please! Dawn, surely you can make your sister see reason. I can understand how her mental capacity,” Giles didn’t notice Buffy holding Spike’s arm to keep him in his chair, “has been diminished and your mother’s as well; and Anya…she’s both a demon and out for revenge, so…But surely you can make her see reason.”

“I’ve got it Spike,” Dawn stopped him from answering, wanting to do this one herself.

“You know, I still thought….I was still going to be willing to forgive you for being such horrible friends to my sister if she wanted me to, but now…I don’t care what the hell you three have to say from now on. Giles’ you’re supposed to be her Watcher—she’s the Slayer and you’re supposed to take care of her, but who’s been the one here making sure she’s okay, who’s the one making sure she eats some and gets enough sleep? I was…and now Spike is. Not you, but Spike. Spike who is supposed to be evil and incapable of loving someone loves my sister more than the three of you combined.”

“Dawn—“

“Fine, even saying you don’t think he loves her; why weren’t you here Giles? You weren’t here for Buffy and none of you thought about me!” her voice broke a little, “Spike knew I couldn’t—I couldn’t keep being the one doing it all-and neither could Buffy. We needed someone and you weren’t here. At all; ever. The three of you have…I don’t know what’s happened to you and from this point on I don’t care.

“I’ll be perfectly happy if I never see any one of you ever again.”

She started to leave the room, but Spike stood up and followed her before anyone could say anything. “You got this covered, luv? Think I need to check on Niblet.”

Buffy knew he was leaving for more reasons than that, “Yeah, Anya and I’ve got it. They’re just about to leave anyway.”

“Until I say otherwise, don’t talk to or attempt to see me, my sister, my mother, or Spike. And if Anya wants you to leave her alone, you’d better do that too because despite what you all have decided, I am not going to die and if you do any of those things, I’ll kick your ass as soon as I’m able.

“Now leave please.”

“And yes, leave me alone, too, please,” Anya said politely.

“I guess this is goodbye then,” Willow said sadly.

“I guess so,” Buffy didn’t get up, allowing them to see themselves out.



TBC......


Huge amounts of 'thank you's to everyone who is still reading this fic..or to those who aren't that will still read my new fics when they show up finally ;)





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