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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thanks to Carol and dawnofme for their beta work :)
Chapter Nineteen

Smells Good

Buffy told her mom about the attempted break-in over breakfast. The two of them were sitting at the table in the kitchen. Buffy loved this room; it was always so bright. Light flooded in from several windows on two sides of the room. Joyce, understandably, was upset at her home being breached and immediately called Rupert on his cell phone.

“Buffy, will you please take me over there?” asked Joyce. “I know the police say nothing was taken, but I need to see it for myself.”

“Sure I will,” replied Buffy. “It’s this sort of thing that Spike is worried about. This is why he wants to buy you a house similar to this, or at least one in a gated community.”

“I will not be leaving my home, Buffy,” said Joyce sternly. “I love that house and so does Rupert. I’m sure the break-in had nothing to do with Spike’s fame. Houses do get broken into by ordinary thieves, you know. They don’t have to have a particular reason to do it.”

“I know, Mom,” said Buffy, knowing it was an argument that she wouldn’t win.

“If we had been there, it might not have happened. It was probably because it was empty.”

Buffy sighed. “Great, so this is all my fault. Thanks, Mom.” “Shall we go to take a look then?”

“Thank you,” said Joyce, getting hold of her crutch.

Fortunately, the hospital had put a ‘walking’ cast on her ankle as she was unable to use two crutches because of her injured wrist. She was now pretty adept at getting about.

They made their way out to the garage, and Buffy opened the door to her sports car for Joyce. Once her mom was safely inside, she got behind the wheel and drove over to Revello Drive. They pulled up onto the driveway, and Buffy helped her mom out of the car. They went to the front door and found a note pinned on it by the locksmith, stating that the keys to the new lock on the back door were lodged with the local police station and for them to get in touch, should they decide to have the others changed as a precaution.

Buffy pulled the note off the door, put her key in the lock and walked in. Joyce followed her, anxiously looking round for signs of disturbance. They walked through the rooms and were relieved to find that nothing had been taken. In fact, apart from the fact that the kitchen window had a crack in the glass, it looked like nothing had even been touched.

“Looks like the alarm and quick response from the police did stop them from getting in,” Buffy said as they sat on the couch in the living room.

“Yes, thank goodness. I didn’t like the idea of an uninvited stranger being in my home.”

“I can understand that,” replied Buffy with a bit of a shudder. She hated the thought, too. Just way creepy.

“I’m staying here tonight,” said Joyce.

“OK. I’ll stay, too. I got most of the things done that I needed to anyway. I’ll do the last couple of things in a few days when Rupert gets back.”

Joyce smiled at her daughter. She knew how much she was missing Spike. She felt guilty that Buffy had missed the tour for the first time ever and all because of her.

“You’ll be able to do them tomorrow evening if you want to.”

“What? I’m not leaving you alone, Mom.”

“I won’t be alone. Rupert is catching the first flight back. He’s just about spent the budget we set anyway, so there is no real reason for him to stay away any longer.”

“You know that he’s just coming back because he’s worried about you, don’t you?” said Buffy, returning her mom’s smile. “The budget thing is probably a fib.”

Joyce reached out and tapped Buffy’s arm. “That’s my husband that you’re calling a liar. But you’re probably right! Mind you, I think he’s had enough of the travelling, and I’m sure that if I’d said a light bulb needed changing he’d have still come home.”

Both laughed at the idea.

“So, why don’t you call the airline and see if you can change your flight to one a couple of days earlier? I know that you’re dying to get out there.”

Buffy’s face lit up, but she didn’t want to leave her mom alone. “I’ll call them when I know when Rupert will be back. No way am I leaving you alone.”

Joyce’s cell phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket to answer it.

“It’s Rupert,” she said before pressing the button. “Hello, honey.”

“No, nothing’s been touched. We’re here now.”

“That’s great. I can’t wait to see you.”

“I love you, too, darling.”

Joyce hung up the phone and filled in the part of the conversation that Buffy hadn’t been able to hear.

“He’s just about to get on a plane. He managed to get a stand-by ticket. He’ll be home in a day. So why don’t you book your flight?”

“That sounds like a great idea. But are you sure that you don’t need my help at the gallery? Rupert will be tired after his trip.”

“We’ll be fine. Just call that man of yours and put him out of his misery. I know how much he’ll have been missing you.”

Buffy grinned cheekily at her mom. “I’m not going to tell him. I’ll let it be a surprise. If I can get there for the first of the London gigs, he’ll be staying at Rupert’s house. With a bit of luck, I’ll get there before him and- -”

“Whoa! Stop right there! I’m your mother, remember? There are some things a daughter should never share with her mom!”

Buffy blushed. “Mom!” she protested. “As if I would say anything like that. I was going to say that I’ll love to see his face when he sees that I’m waiting for him.”

“Of course you were,” said Joyce, winking at her daughter and laughing at her deepening blush.

00000000

Spike was in a good mood. He’d really enjoyed the telephone ‘conversation’ he’d had with Buffy, and by the time Rich and Tara surfaced, looking somewhat dishevelled, from the bedroom, he was showered, dressed and not a little bored.

“Morning,” he said.

“Morning, Spike,” said Tara, disappearing into the bathroom.

Rich sat down on the couch next to Spike. “All right, mate?”

“Yeah, I am. I feel good today. Called Buffy and she’s OK. It won’t be much longer before she gets here. I can’t wait.”

“I bet,” replied Rich with a grin. “She better not tire you out before the last concert.”

Spike smirked at him. “Don’t bet on it.”

Rich was pleased to see his friend was looking more at ease and positive, but part of him did worry about what had brought this about. Last night he’d seemed depressed and now…?

Tara emerged from the bathroom and went into the bedroom to get dressed.

“Did Tara find anything out?” asked Spike.

“I think so, but to be honest I was falling asleep by the time she logged off the computer, and then this morning…erm…I got a bit preoccupied.”

Spike gave Rich a bit of a shove. “You old devil, you.” He grinned.

“She’s bloody amazing, Spike. I can’t believe my luck in finding her.”

“Go and get a shower,” prompted Spike. His eyes changed and he suddenly realised that he could smell the sweat and…the sex…on his friend.

“Okay.”

Spike had felt his eyes change and he thought about the new found olfactory ability. More developments. His heart plummeted. He hoped that Tara had some news for him. Although he was feeling great physically, he was still afraid of what might happen in the future. He longed for Buffy to be by his side. He got up and walked restlessly around the suite until Tara walked back into the lounge.

“Spike, do you want to sit down with me? I’ve got a bit of news for you,” she said from behind him.

Spike turned around to face her, his anxiety keeping his eyes vampiric. Tara stepped back a half pace when she saw them. Rich had told her about this happening, but she hadn’t realised how strange he would look with his expressive blue eyes a harsh yellow colour.

Spike saw her reaction and took several deep breaths, trying to calm enough so that his eyes would return to normal. “Sorry, pet. They just do that sometimes. I can’t really help it,” he said as they changed back.

“Th…that’s okay. Rich had told me, but it still took me by surprise.”

“I bet,” said Spike quietly. He walked over to her, took her hand in his and led her to the couch where they sat down. “So what have you got to tell me then, love?”

“Jessica has detected another vampire that has passed into our dimension.”

“I thought that unless they knew the vampire’s name they couldn’t find them. Isn’t that why they couldn’t find Drusilla until I’d been able to remember her name?” asked Spike. Feeling puzzled, he released his hold on her hand and ran his hand through his hair.

“That’s true, but apparently this one is from the same line and so was picked up.”

“Same line?”

“As I understand it,” said Tara, “a vampire is connected – related if you like – to the ones that they sire. If their ‘offspring’ or ‘childer’, as they are known, go on and sire their own, the link continues back in the direct sire’s line. So if we had been in their dimension and Dru had sired you, then you would be related to her sire and the sire before that and so on.”

“Oh, okay,” replied Spike. “So it was one of these related vampires that arrived over here?”

Tara nodded. “That’s right.”

“Shite, so I could have another one coming after me to finish the job?”

Spike eyes flashed to amber as he spoke. Tara made sure that her discomfort at seeing that didn’t show in her face. Spike tilted his head to one side as a new scent hit his sensitive nostrils. What was it? He looked deep into her eyes and recoiled as he realised that it was apprehension that he was smelling. He dropped eye contact and willed his eyes to turn back but they wouldn’t respond. He knew that the more frustrated by it he was, the less chance he had of them changing to blue.

“Sorry about the eyes, Tara. I just can’t control it. I don’t mean to frighten you.” He glanced at her and smiled, not knowing that that made it look even weirder.

“It’s all right, Spike. I’m not afraid.”

“You are, love. I can smell it.”

“You can smell it?” repeated Tara, eyes wide.

“Yeah, when my eyes are like this, my senses all seem to be heightened. It’s bloody strange.”

Tara reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. “Let’s just concentrate on what Jessica thinks we can do, shall we? Whatever your nostrils are telling you, I know that you won’t hurt me. It was just a bit of a shock seeing it, that’s all.”

Spike stared at her, hearing the sincerity of her words, his eyes fading to blue. “Is there still hope then, or was me killing Drusilla sealing my fate?” His voice broke a little.

“She seems pretty sure that if we can locate this vampire then we should still be able to reverse what’s been done. The link between the two vampires ought to enable the ritual to be viable.”

“Ritual?” Spike wasn’t sure that he liked the sound of that.

“Yes. Don’t worry though. It’s nothing too bad; just need some blood letting and a few enchantments.”

Spike shook his head. He still couldn’t get over how matter of fact Tara was when she spoke of the arcane. “So, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it, shall we?”

“Yes,” agreed Tara. No need to tell him, just yet, that he was going to have to drink some of the vampire’s blood.

“Have they got any idea on how to find this relation?”

“They’re working on it now. But they don’t think that it crossed to the same place that Drusilla did.”

Spike slumped forward, resting his head in his hands. “It could be like looking for a needle in a haystack then? The sodding thing could be anywhere.”

“The feeling of the coven is that it will try to find you.”

“Oh,” replied Spike weakly. “I suppose that’s a good thing.”

Rich had tiptoed past them after his shower so that he could get dressed, and now he joined them in the lounge area. He flopped down in the chair nearest to Tara.

“So wot’s the plan then, Tee?” he asked.

“I was just telling Spike that another vampire passed through to this dimension. It’s related to the one that attacked Spike.”

“Related?”

“I’ll tell you later,” said Tara. “The important thing is that once we’ve found it we should be able to perform the same ritual as we would have done with Drusilla.”

Rich grimaced. He remembered her telling him about this just before he went to sleep. “Oh, yeah, I remember. He’s got to drink the vampire’s blood, hasn’t he? Yuck!”

“I’ve got to sodding what?” exclaimed Spike.

Tara sighed, “Thanks, Rich.”

“Wot? Oh, yer weren’t going to tell him just yet?” He glanced at Spike’s face which had paled a little. “Sorry for blurting it out.”

“’S okay. Got to know it some time, I suppose,” replied Spike. He didn’t dare tell them that a part of him found the thought appetising. He didn’t dare admit it to himself, though he felt his eyes change as he thought of it.

Rich glanced at his watch. “Let’s get some breakfast sent up and then we’ll be on the move to Cardiff, ready for tonight’s gig.” He got up and went to pick up the bag that he used for his laptop computer. He dug in to the front pocket of it and pulled out a small box. “Here, I think you’d better use these.”

He tossed it to Spike, who caught it cleanly with his left hand and looked at it. He opened it. Inside was a pair of sunglasses, the lenses of which were mirrored. He smiled at Rich. With these on no one would be able to tell if his eyes changed colour; the reflective lenses hiding his eyes from view. He put them on.

“What do you reckon? Do they suit me?”

“They look fine,” said Tara.

Rich grinned. “Looks more like a proper rock star, hiding behind them. Bono, eat your heart out.”

“Hey!” protested Spike. “You always tell us off if we leave our shades on in public. You say--what’s the phrase…? Oh, yeah, ‘it makes yer look like a right bunch of ‘wankers’.”

Tara burst out laughing at Spike mimicking Rich’s voice so accurately.

“Um…yeah…well, the public likes to see your faces. Makes for much better PR,” said Rich sheepishly. “Anyway, it’s the exception that proves the rule.”

tbc


Chapter End Notes:
Was a bit disappointed not to get to 200 with the phone call!! LOL! Here's hoping we make it this time :) Thanks for reading!



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