Chapter Twenty-Nine
Where’s Spike?
Buffy woke up slowly. She stretched her hand out to touch Spike and then came fully alert in an instant as she felt only cold sheets and not her lover. It all came crashing back. She put a hand to her neck and winced. The bite mark was still very sore. She didn’t know when she had fallen asleep. She had stayed there quietly crying for what had seemed like hours. Buffy had desperately needed to go to Spike for her own comfort, but she knew that if she did it would make him back off. She cursed him for being such a complex character; not that it was his fault. His family life had left scars that would never fully heal. Spike was fiercely opposed to any form of violence towards women after seeing how his mother had been abused by his alcoholic father. And now here he was, guilty of it himself even if it wasn’t of his own making.
Buffy wearily rubbed her hands over her face. She’d heard him go downstairs soon after leaving their bedroom, but she must have fallen asleep before he came back up. She had hoped that he would have returned to their bed, but obviously he had not. Buffy climbed out of bed and had a quick shower before getting dressed. She rummaged through a few drawers before she found a silk scarf, which she tied around her neck. The last thing that Spike needed to see was the multicoloured bruise that his, mercifully still human, teeth had made.
She opened the door and walked out onto the landing. As she passed the smallest guest room, she tapped lightly on the door before pushing it open. The bed looked as if it had not been slept in. Spike could never make a bed as tidily as this one was. She wasn’t surprised. Spike barely set foot in the room if he could help it. He had lived as James for a time and still felt guilty that James had been cremated in Spike’s true name of William Pratt. He hadn’t recovered his memory by then and so he wasn’t to blame, but it still haunted him. Buffy pulled the door closed with a sigh and walked downstairs.
She peered into the lounge room as she passed but it was empty, and so continued on her way to the kitchen. Enticing smells greeted her so she knew that someone was in there. Her heart fell when she saw that it was only Rich and Tara.
“Mornin’, babe,” said Rich as he saw her, before turning his attention back to the frying pan. “Spike still asleep? Lazy git! Just teaching Tee the fine art of the perfect English fry up! Hash browns! She thought hash browns were traditional, for God’s sake!” He grinned at Tee, waving a spatula. “You will learn, my girl, you will learn!”
Buffy smiled weakly. “Um…so you haven't seen Spike?” Her voice wavered a little.
Rich was at her side in an instant, turning off the heat from under the frying pan. “What’s the matter? We haven’t seen him since last night.”
Tara went to her too. “Has something happened?”
Buffy tried to be strong, she really did, but collapsed into tears regardless. “I’m so worried about him. He got really upset about something last night. Where is he? He should be here with us!”
“What upset him, Buffy?” asked Tara gently, glancing at Rich with worried eyes.
Buffy pulled out of Rich’s embrace and untied the scarf from her neck.
“Shite! Buffy, did he do that to you?” Rich was horrified.
Buffy nodded miserably. “But it wasn’t his fault, we were…we were making love and he bit me as we…er…” She glanced at them and was relieved to see that she needn’t explain further.
“Did he just take off afterwards?” asked Rich.
“No, I managed to get him to talk about it a bit, but it really freaked him out and to be honest, it scared me. I asked what he was feeling when he did it and he said that it was to make me his. That he hadn’t wanted to kill me, just taste me.” She shuddered at the memory.
“A claim,” whispered Tara.
Buffy and Rich turned to look at her.
“A wot?” asked Rich.
“It’s what vampires do when they want to be connected forever. They say a few words and then taste the blood of the one that they are claiming.”
“Shit,” breathed Rich.
“So, it’s like a good thing really? Not aggressive?” said Buffy.
“From what I know, it’s like a marriage, only more permanent,” replied Tara.
“Keep telling him that it’s about time that he made an honest woman of you,” said Rich with a smile. “Looks like he’s finally taken my advice.”
“Oh, Rich,” said Buffy, not sure whether to laugh or cry.
“But where is he?” asked Tara. “Has he just gone for a walk to clear his head? He’ll soon be home.”
“I don’t know, Tara. I heard him come downstairs last night. The bed in the guest room hasn’t been slept in. I’m really worried for him. Things seem to be changing faster than ever.”
“He’ll ‘ave slept on the couch, Buffy. You know what he’s like about that room. Come on, let’s get our breakfast and I’m sure he’ll be back by the time we’re finished.”
“You’re probably right, Rich,” agreed Buffy.
“Aren’t I always?” This comment earned Rich a slap on his arm from both Buffy and Tara.
Rich went back to his ‘perfect English breakfast’, but both women opted for the less calorific option of cereal. Buffy pushed hers around with the spoon, eating only a few mouthfuls. She was seriously worried about Spike, and couldn’t help looking at the clock on the kitchen wall every few minutes. When they had cleared up the breakfast things, they all walked through into the lounge room. Buffy sank with a deep sigh into an armchair, its cushions enveloping her small frame. Rich plonked himself down on the sofa and Tara went to sit at the table where she’d left her laptop.
“Um…Buffy,” said Tara hesitantly.
Buffy’s head whipped up, alarmed at the tone of Tara’s voice. “What is it?” she asked when she saw Tara holding a piece of paper in her right hand.
“It’s a n…note from Spike.”
Buffy leapt to her feet and snatched the scrap of paper from her, not caring about good manners.
I’m sorry. I just have to be alone for a while. I’ll be back tomorrow.
It was in Spike’s familiar scrawl. Buffy’s heart clenched as she noticed that he used neither her name nor his own. No term of endearment – just the statement that he was going, not even any indication of where. Buffy felt tears prick at her eyes. Why would he go away overnight? He’d never done that. Okay, so he’d never been turning into a vampire before either, but she hated the thought of him trying to cope alone.
“Buffy?” Rich’s voice was soft as he touched her arm. “What does it say?”
Wordlessly, Buffy passed him the paper. Once he’d read it, she spoke. “He’s never gone away overnight before, Rich. I’m really worried that he might do something stupid.”
“Stupid?” repeated Rich. “Like hurt himself, stupid? He wouldn’t do that, would he?”
“I don’t know, Rich. I really don’t know. I should have stayed awake. I shouldn’t have let him leave the room.”
“It’s not your fault, Buffy,” said Tara firmly. “He’s a grown man, not a child that you are responsible for.”
“But…”
“No, Buffy, Tee’s right. Don’t go blaming yourself for him taking off. He’ll be okay and he’ll be back tomorrow with his head a bit clearer. He loves you, Buffy – you’re his bloody world – he’d never leave you.”
“He’s terrified of hurting me - hurting all of us. I think that he just wants to be away from us so that he won’t succumb to the temptations that he’s starting to feel.” Buffy felt more tears run down her face as she spoke.
“Shh,” soothed Rich as he wrapped his arms around her. “He’ll be back, and maybe Tara’s colleagues will have some news for us.”
He looked at Tara over the top of Buffy’s head. Tara smiled at him. It amused her to hear her fellow witches referred to as colleagues, but that was what they were, she guessed.
“I’ll have a look at my e-mails.” She turned back to the computer. “Oh, sweet Goddess, they’ve found the vampire!”
“What?” asked Rich, letting go of Buffy and moving to look at the screen over Tara’s shoulder.
“Where is it?” asked Buffy, doing the same as Rich.
“It’s in Sunnydale. How odd is that?” said Tara.
“Sunnydale?” gasped Buffy. “Do you think that it knows Spike is from there?”
“It’d be a very strange coincidence if not,” replied Tara.
“Well, at least we know that Spike is safe from it since he’s over here,” said Rich.
“Hm,” said Buffy, not convinced. “I just wish that I knew where, exactly, that he is over here.”
“He’ll be okay, Buff, I’m sure of it,” said Rich, although inwardly worrying just as much as Buffy was.
Buffy took out her cell phone and tried to call Spike, but it was turned off. She toyed with the idea of sending a text and then decided against it. She’d rather talk to him.
000000000
As the day went on, Buffy felt like she was going insane. She picked up her cell at regular intervals, but there was never anything from Spike. Rich and Tara did their best to keep her spirits up but as time went on, they all got more worried.
Suddenly, Buffy’s cell phone beeped. A message. Buffy’s hands were shaking as she pushed the buttons to read the text.
GONE SCOTLAND – NEED SPACE – BACK TOMORROW. LOVE YOU X
“At least yer know where he is now,” said Rich after she’d read it out.
“He’s not in freaking Scotland,” snapped Buffy. “The stupid son of a bitch!”
“Wot?” Rich was astonished at her outburst.
“He’s not in Scotland,” repeated Buffy, a little more calmly.
Rich looked at Buffy and then glanced over to Tara, who shrugged.
“Um…not sure that I followed you around that corner, Buff. He sent you a text saying that he’s in Scotland. Why don’t you believe him?”
“He used capitals.”
“Capitals?” asked Tara, a puzzled frown on her face.
“Yes, he wrote it in capitals; he never does that since I told him that it was like shouting at someone,” explained Buffy.
Tara and Rich exchanged glances.
“Need a bit more than that to get wot yer mean,” replied Rich.
“Something is wrong. He isn’t himself if he is using capitals,” said Buffy impatiently.
“He must be feeling stressed, Buffy, that’s why he left,” said Tara.
Buffy shook her head. “I’m sure there’s more to it.” She slapped her forehead. “I’m an idiot! We all are!”
“Hey, speak for yourself!” protested Rich.
Buffy turned to Tara. “Is there any way that Spike could have seen the e-mail from Jessica? Does he know the password on your computer?”
“I left it on last night. I got a little…er…sidetracked.” Tara’s eyes widened. “Oh, Goddess, you’re right. I left it on the e-mail page because I was hoping it would come through before I went to bed.”
“Spike knows,” said Rich, suddenly understanding what Buffy was getting at. “He knows and – ”
“He’s going to find it!” finished Buffy.
“Shite! We’ve wasted all this time!” Rich took his cell phone out of his back pocket and dialled a number.
“Who are you calling?” asked Tara, putting a hand on his arm.
“I’m calling in a few favours. If he’s left the country, I’ll find out. Fuck! I should have done this earlier! I can’t believe that I’ve been so thick,” said Rich. “Oh, hello…”
The girls sat down on the couch and anxiously listened as Rich pulled a few strings to find out if Spike had left the country. Tara reached out and squeezed Buffy’s hand, who held on to it gratefully, drawing strength from her.
Several phone calls later and Rich hung up for the last time. He took a deep breath and faced the girls.
“He caught a flight to LAX in the early hours of the morning. He also booked a flight to Scotland as a red herring.”
Buffy, stood up. “I’ll kill him,” she announced. “When I find him, I swear I’ll kill him. What was he thinking?”
“I’m going. Rich, can you book me on a flight as soon as possible?”
“Book for all of us,” added Tara firmly.
Buffy hugged Tara. “Thank you so much for saying that. I really need your help.”
“We’ll find him and keep him safe, Buffy. Then we can concentrate on being able to do the ritual to put an end to all of this,” said Tara.
“Oh God, Tee, I bleedin’ well ‘ope so,” Rich said.
“Let’s get our bags and get to the airport,” said Buffy.
The girls hurried up the stairs to get ready, as Rich used his cell one more time to secure them seats on the first available flight.
Tbc
[Reviews - 359]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | 
Chapter or Story
Has been viewed 1500 times
- Text Size +
Banner by dawnofme
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Chapter or Story |
Chapter or Story | Chapter or Story - Text Size +
Banner by dawnofmeAuthor's Chapter Notes:
Apologies for the delay - been away at Writerconuk's midimeet.
Thanks as always to Carol and dawnofme.
Thanks as always to Carol and dawnofme.
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks again for your patience!