Spike stayed in an upright position as long as he could before he collapsed in the hallway, causing Buffy to stumble.
“Come on Spike, we gotta get out of here!” Buffy panicked. “She could be calling for reinforcements, and you’re too weak to fight.” She hooked one of his arms over her shoulder and dragged him to a semi standing position and started walking as fast as she could.
“Lepidopterophobia is a morbid fear of butterflies,” Spike muttered in a spacey voice as he tried to help drag himself with Buffy’s help.
“Uh huh, keep talking to me Spike, stay with me,” she coaxed trying to keep him conscious. If he passed out completely she was screwed.
“You can absorb 300 mg of caffeine at a time, which is about 4 cups of coffee- anything else goes right through you,” he said, giggling in the end.
They reached the doorway that would lead them outside and Buffy paused. What if they were waiting for them on the other side of the archway? An uneasy feeling crept up her spine again and she knew better than to ignore it. She shook Spike a little and hoped he was lucid enough to understand her question.
“Is there another way out of here, Spike? I think if we leave that way they’ll follow us,” Buffy asked as she lightly slapped his cheeks to get him to wake up fully.
She couldn’t get him to respond so she withdrew from the door and headed in a different direction. Barely comprehending what was going on around him, Spike started mumbling in rhyme again and knowing Spike, she hoped it wasn’t a dirty limerick.
“Can't even shout
Can't even cry
The gentlemen are coming by
Looking in windows
Knocking on doors
They need to take seven
And they might take yours
Can't call to mom
Can’t say a word
You're gonna die screaming but you won't be heard.”
Buffy frowned in confusion at his words but didn’t have time to dwell on it when she heard voices as she rounded a corner.
“We come together as daughters of Gaia and sisters to the moon. We walk with the darkness with the wolf at our side through the waterfall of power to the blackest heart of eternity,” a solemn female voice intoned.
“Spike wait here,” Buffy pleaded as she let the vampire sink to the floor in exhaustion. She peeked around the corner, and to her immense relief, saw Willow sitting amongst a group of girls with a rather dubious look on her face.
She was listening to a girl that was leading a discussion on fund raising for a dance recital with a bored expression, her mind and eyes wandering. In her wanderings, Buffy discreetly caught her attention and motioned her around the corner. Willow quietly excused herself and followed Buffy.
As she rounded the corner, Willow stopped with a gasp. Spike had blood oozing from his nose and his ear, dripping down his collar. His pallor was deathly white and his lips were tinged with blue. Assuming Buffy had roughed him up again, Willow turned a hard glare in her direction.
“I didn’t do this, Wills, I swear!” she whimpered. “I can’t get the bleeding to stop!”
Willow approach Spike and cupped his face in her hands. He opened his eyes a fraction and grinned at her like an insane mental patient. “The original Guinness Brewery in Dublin, Ireland has a 6,000 year lease,” he mumbled.
Willow quirked a grin and let her thumbs caress his eyes closed as she chanted something that she hoped would help. “Subsisto cruor.”
A little green monster started inching its way up Buffy’s neck and she scowled at how easy Willow was with Spike. Spike that had threatened her and Xander, Spike that had tried to kill them all numerous times. Yet here she was, like she was his old pal, and he felt safe enough in her presence to let his guard down. Not that he was given much of a choice at this point, being practically unconscious and all. But still, that twinge of jealousy was enough to make Buffy clear her throat so that Willow would move away from him.
“That should stop the bleeding Buffy, but he needs blood. When’s the last time he fed?” Willow asked as she watched Buffy try to pull him to a standing position.
“Night before last? I’m not sure, he’s not exactly with it to answer the question,” Buffy huffed as she hefted Spike’s dead weight against her shoulders. “I need to get out of here, the campus is crawling with Commandos.”
“Commandos? What are they doing here? Oh my god…Riley!” Willow said, as her eyes got big.
“You knew about Riley?” Buffy accused harshly.
“Spike told me…last night. I would have told you, but you didn’t come back to the dorm and then I forgot about it this morning,” Willow said hesitantly.
“Spike told you?” Buffy said, hurt evident in her voice. “But why didn’t he tell me?”
“Wouldn’t have believed me pet,” Spike slurred against the crook of neck. “Barely believed me when it was staring ya in the face.” He stumbled and giggled as the three made their way down the hall in search of a hidden way out.
“Willow?” came a shy voice from behind them.
“Oh, Tara! I’m sorry we’re really in a hurry…and my friend is hurt…can I catch up with you another time?” Willow said to the timid girl standing in the hallway clutching her books to her chest like a protective shield.
“It…it’s ok. I was j-just going to say there’s room a-a-at my dorm…if-if you want,” Tara stuttered. “I kinda overheard what you were t-talking about. I know a-a way out, through the fa-faculty tunnels.”
“Can we trust her?” Buffy whispered to Willow, her shoulder getting tired from Spike’s weight.
“Tara? I don’t know, she’s always so quiet in Wicca group. My first instinct though, is yes,” Willow whispered back and Buffy grabbed at the chance of a swift and secret exit.
Willow hooked Spike’s other arm over her shoulder as he sagged completely and they dragged him as they followed Tara towards an unknown area of the campus hall. A heavy steel door with a punch lock stood in a darkened corner and they all stopped.
“Liberatio,” Tara whispered as she laid her hand on the punch lock. They heard a series of numbers punched into the lock and then the locking mechanism released, opening the door.
“You’re a real witch!” Willow whispered fervently as they drug Spike through the door and headed down the long corridor.
Tara said nothing and ducked her head, unused to the attention. They passed through a narrow pathway with steam pipes running the length of the ceiling, small passageways branching off in different directions. Tara directed them to turn left after about a quarter mile’s worth of walking and brought them to what looked like a dead end with stacks of boxes.
She started moving the boxes away to reveal a plywood door with a padlock on it. Once again, she said, “Liberatio,” and the padlock unlocked itself and fell to the cement floor. “This way,” she motioned to them and they followed her into a small alcove with a ladder leading to a floor above them.
“This is the basement of my d-d-dorm building. No one knows this is d-down here so we have to be qu-quiet,” she murmured nervously. “I f-f-found this by accident one day.”
“It’s okay, we won’t say anything…will we Spike?” Buffy assured the skittish girl and tried to get Spike to agree, just so she could hear his snark…or anything at all.
“You’re Glinda the good witch!” Spike sniggered softly with a smile plastered on his face.
Buffy rolled her eyes. “Yeah, he won’t say anything. Come on Spike, even like this your ass is too heavy for me to carry up the ladder.”
“Bossy bint, do it myself,” he said as he tried to stand on his own. He wobbled a little but after a moment or two, he was able to stand without much dizziness. “Right as rain, I am.”
“I highly doubt that will ever happen, but I’ll go up first to check everything’s safe and clear,” Buffy said sarcastically as she started up the ladder.
Spike ignored her and turned to Tara, smile still plastered to his face. “Oi Glenda! Did you know that Botulism bacteria are so toxic that one pound could kill every human on Earth?” he said with a frenzied look.
Tara slowly backed up, unsure if this person was a threat to her or not when Willow started laughing softly. “Don’t pay any attention to him, he’s one card shy of a full deck at the moment…but it’s true what he said, just he’s a little stressed…oh never mind.”
“Oi Red! You said that within hearing distance, might rude if you ask me!” he huffed indignantly.
Willow shook her head and headed up the ladder when she heard the all clear from Buffy up top. “Come on.”
“Rude bint. S’all I need…bossy bint and rude bint getting together and creating megabeast bitch to haunt me the rest of my pathetic unlife,” Spike groused as he watched Tara head up the ladder after Willow.
“Spike? What are you doing? Get your ass up here!” Buffy whispered loudly down the ladder to him.
“I’m out for a walk…bint! What do you think I’m doing? Wanted to make sure the “lady” of the group got up safe, didn’t I? Miserable, bossy, rude…” Spike continued to grumble as he head up the ladder after Tara had made it to the top.
“For someone undead you sure complain a lot,” Buffy chuckled.
“Sod off, my head’s killin me,” he groused as clutched his head, a wave of pain coursing through his skull.
“Grump. Which way Tara?” Buffy asked as they took in the dimly lit basement area.
“The elevator will take us up to the third floor, it’s not far from there,” she said as she pointed to a service elevator near a set of stairs.
“Right, come on.”
They rode the elevator in silence, Buffy occasionally casting glances at Spike, who was grimacing every now and then and closing his eyes. ‘You gonna make it?’ Buffy thought to him.
‘Can we ease up on the telepathy for a bit, luv? My mind’s a bit worse for wear,’ he pleaded.
Buffy silently nodded as they reached the designated floor. When the doors opened, she could hear voices at one end of the hall and she tensed.
“It’s that door there,” Tara said as she pointed to a door near the elevator. “No one will see us.” She quietly let them inside and quickly shut the door.
Spike collapsed on the first chair he got to and laid his head gingerly on the desk in front of it. “Wake me up next year,” he mumbled.
The girls just smiled and they sat in different areas of the room. Buffy perched herself near Spike as Tara and Willow sat on the bed.
“He l-l-looks pretty beat up, does he need medical care?” Tara asked, looking at a softly dozing Spike.
“No!” Willow and Buffy said quickly in unison. They exchanged worried looks and finally Buffy shrugged.
“Um, Tara, do you believe in demons or anything of that nature?” Willow hesitated.
A deeply sad look overcame Tara and she nodded mutely. “I have first hand experience with them.”
Willow and Buffy frowned at that explanation but Willow continued. “Spike is…well, he’s…all with the fang having…”
“He’s a vamp,” Buffy supplied when it was apparent Willow was having trouble explaining who their guest was.
Tara frowned as she looked outside at the daylight and then back to the vamp, who had several rays hitting his back. Then she looked at the door…the door she had invited them all through and she cringed.
“No! Spike’s not like that, really!” Buffy rushed to assure her. “He’s good now. And as for the non-allergy to sunlight…it’s a really, really, really long story.”
“Is-is he hungry?” Tara squeaked.
“Bloody famished,” he muttered. “And still evil.”
“Oh, so you are awake. Come on, let’s get you cleaned up, you’re a mess,” Buffy said as she looked into a pair of blue eyes that silently gazed at her from above where she sat.
“Um, Tara and I will, uh, leave so you can…well, you know. We’ll go get some blood for him,” Willow flustered as she noticed the looks Spike was giving Buffy.
Tara handed her a washcloth and showed her the mini sink so that she might clean the blood off Spike’s face. “You’ll be okay here, by yourself with him?” she asked concerned.
“Slayer and I go way back. Not gonna off each other…it’s a thing,” Spike reassured her as he ran the cloth under the warm water.
Buffy laughed and shooed the girls out of the room and turned back to Spike. “Still evil…HA!” she chuckled.
“You’re ruining my image Slayer,” he said as he wiped the blood from his face. “Did I get it all?”
“You’ve got some on your neck and ear,” she pointed out and took the washcloth from him. She gently wiped his ear and then moved aside the collar of the hoodie so she could wipe away the rest that had dripped onto his collarbone.
Doing this while he was seated brought the Slayer’s neck to eye level and Spike audibly gulped. He watched her pulse flutter as she moved and then heard it increase when she stopped. He quickly looked away, ashamed at having been caught ogling her neck like a feast fit for a king. A soft touch turned him back around.
“I know you’re hungry…and Slayer blood is powerful, right? I guess it couldn’t hurt to have a ‘nip’ as you say,” Buffy said softly as she caressed his sharply hollow cheek.
Panic grabbed hold of Spike and he quickly stood to move away from her. “Mighty generous of you pet, but not doing it. I can wait for the chits to get back from the butchers.”
Buffy frowned and followed him to where he sat on the bed, sitting between his legs, arms on his thighs. “I want to do this. You need help, I can give it to you…please?”
Spike looked down at her and cringed. Offering up her neck on a platter was NOT a good idea in his book, and an even worse idea in the Slayer book. ‘I’m afraid I’ll hurt her and then she won’t ever look at me the same,’ his thought escaped.
“It’s okay, Spike. You won’t hurt me,” she murmured as she pulled her hair away from her neck…the side that had Angel’s bite on it.
Spike grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her to him. “Bloody poofter won’t like that I’ve been having a sip of his woman,” he ground out against her cheek.
“I’m not his woman and he can kiss my ass,” she whispered as she pressed her lips to his cheek. Since when was she not Angel’s woman? Since Spike. Since he showed up and taunted her, fought her, taught her what it was to be a better Slayer. And she greatly feared she was falling in ‘like’ with him…which led to bigger things, like love. And she was afraid she didn’t want to stop.
Spike clenched his fist in her hair and leaned his forehead against hers. “You sure pet? Once I get a taste, not letting you go. Gonna be able to live with that?”
“You’ve been a pain in my ass for years Spike. For me, forever isn’t that long,” she said as she kissed his nose.
At that point, Spike gave up fighting the feeling that was threatening to make a ponce out of him and he pulled her closer, nuzzling her neck. Her blood sang to him in the most delicious ways and he laved her jugular. “So very sweet,” he husked.
Buffy’s eyes rolled back into her head at the sensation of Spike’s lips nipping at her neck and she didn’t even feel the ridges of his face as his demon came forth. Itching to touch him, she ran her fingers through his blonde curls and lightly pulled at them causing him to groan in contentment. His nips became more forceful and she knew to expect the pain soon.
But the pain never came. Instead brilliant bright lights shone behind her eyes as fangs pierced her soft flesh. This never happened with Angel she mused. She felt him pull the blood from her body and it shot straight to her abdomen and she gasped, “Oh god Spike.” A moment later, an intense orgasm ripped through her body and she almost buckled.
Spike heard her whimpers and pulled harder, trying to ingest as much as he could before he had to let her go. Her blood was sweet and spicy and it warmed him to the bone. There was also a subtle hint of some other emotion imbued in her blood but for now, decided to ignore it in favor of feeling her skin against his lips. When he’d taken enough to sate his hunger, he licked the puncture holes until they stopped bleeding and closed on their own.
Buffy had a glazed over look on her face and a stupid grin. “That was phenomi…phenomomonn…”
“Phenomenal pet?” Spike chuckled against her neck as he continued to kiss and nip as he couldn’t help himself.
“Yeah, whatever you said,” she said thickly. Her voice was weary and he pulled back to look at her.
“We need some kip, luv…both of us. We’re both knackered, and I for one, could use the sleep. Think Glinda would mind if we used the bed?” he asked as he eyed the pillows with longing.
“Probably not,” she yawned as she shucked off her shoes and crawled underneath the covers, Spike joining her on the other side.
Without thought, Spike pulled her back to his front and spooned her, his hand lightly resting on her stomach, his nose firmly pressed against her neck and hair. Both fell asleep rather quickly, having been exhausted from the past few days’ events.
Spike’s last conscious thought was, ‘I think I love her,’ and he fell into the darkness of sleep.
Buffy smiled tremulously and fell with him.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
**yawn, it's way too early for me, but here I am. This is what happens when a fic gets to you so much that you wake up at 4 am because it's yammering at you to finish the chapter. UGH. Thanks to Zoe and Sotia, you gals rock! Thanks also to Vara, Cordy, and Mary - you guys are my constant. *yawn* Some dialouge taken from "Hush."