Black Knight by jamies

Buffy hurt. Every muscle and joint felt like it had been hit with a meat hammer. Her legs could hardly bear her weight and her arms felt like someone had pulled them out of their sockets, twisted them around and slammed them back into joint. It didn't help that the demon presently beating her up looked as fresh as if he'd just walked out from a shower.

'Bloody Vampire,' Buffy cursed as she moved back into position. She leapt at the laughing vampire, aiming a high kick straight for his head, hoping to hit the blond straight in the face - but he ducked out the way and she missed completely, falling onto her butt, again.

'Come on pet, you can do better than that... lift your leg a little higher and really mean to kick me,' Spike told her as he bounced around the spot where she sat on the floor.

'I did mean to kick you, and I will!' Buffy stammered as she gasped for her next breath. She lashed out with her foot, her temper beginning to get the better of her.

Spike grinned. 'Just think what you could do if you got your hands on my tight body,' the annoying vampire tormented her as he bounced around again.

'Thinking what I could do with my hands on a nice WOODEN stake more likely,' Buffy grumbled, her hand gripping the plastic practise one harder as she leapt back onto her feet to attack again.

After more than a two-hour work out Spike finally let her rest. Buffy was almost wheezing as she managed to flop down onto the sofa next to Xander and Jesse. She wanted to hit Xander for his comments about how out of breath the vampire made her, but she simply didn't have the energy. She was exhausted, but happy. She had finally managed to 'stab' William the Bloody with her stake. Agreed it was in the leg and not the chest, but she'd got him.

Buffy looked over at Jesse. He still seemed a little under the weather and had fallen asleep, the bite marks from a vampire still fresh on his neck. Buffy gratefully accepted the bottle of water Spike threw at her and closed her eyes as she rested her head on the cushion behind her, waiting for her heart to slow down enough for her to catch her breath. She didn't want to close her eyes, because every time she did she had the vision of last night's nightmare flash before her again. She tried not to remember the sight of a female vampire with her fangs in Jesse's throat. Derla or Dera or something Spike had called her, before twisting her head right off in one smooth movement. She and Spike had been patrolling through Restfield Cemetery when they had come across the scene that she had always dreaded. Jesse had said he was OK to walk home alone, but he hadn't been. A vampiress had cornered him by one of the mausoleums. Buffy and Spike ran towards the screams as fast as they could, the vampire using his preternatural speed to try and save whatever human was being attacked. Buffy was just a few seconds behind him and had almost frozen when she had seen blood run down Jesse's neck. Almost.

In fact she had moved swiftly. Taking her place at Spike's right side, they worked as an amazing pair. Spike loved the feel of a fight, the almost poetic movements as foe matched foe and this was no different. Darla had been taken by surprise as her Great Grand Childe attacked. It turned into a short and bloody battle with Spike easily controlling the situation. Darla stood no chance at all. A master vampire with a century's worth of crawling to the insane bitch just bottled up inside of him let rip. It was blood and fangs all the way. Spike looked joyful as he literally tore the female limb from limb before whispering 'Goodbye Darla,' as he twisted off her head. Jesse had been lucky to survive. But it had frightened them all to the core. Even Willow was determined to learn more self defence.

The thing that had changed Xander and Giles' minds about working with a vampire was that although both Jesse and Buffy had been bleeding, Spike had been more worried about getting help for the human boy and making sure Buffy wasn't too freaked, than on snacking on the available feast. He'd taken off his own shirt to use as a dressing on the bleeding neck, before checking Buffy over, sniffing the air to see where she was bleeding from.

'I'd better be getting home, Spike,' Buffy said as she emptied her water bottle, shaking off the memories.

'You want to take a shower first, pet?' The vampire asked, pointing up the stairs of the mansion to the bedrooms above.

'No, I'll just tell Mom that cheerleading went on late and grab one at home. She worries about me being out late at night here.' Buffy stood slowly, feeling the workout she'd had in every muscle and joint.

Spike stopped putting the weapons away and turned slowly towards the young woman. Kate couldn't quite believe what she was hearing either. Both started talking at once.

'Doesn't she know what you are, Buffy?' Spike was asking as Kate was speaking over the top of him.

'She needs to know what you do!' the woman exclaimed.

'Giles and the council told me not to tell her, and I don't want to end up back in hospital...' Buffy's voice sounded small and scared as she faced the two adults.

Spike stood up slowly. 'Then tonight is show and tell at your house. She won't be able to deny the existence this time: I'll slip into game face and talk with her.' There was something decidedly evil about his smirk.

'No eating Buffy's mom, Spike,' Xander grinned at the Vampire.

'I promise, scouts honour.' Spike told him, but he was facing Buffy at the time. 'No eating the family.'

'You were a scout? Really?' Buffy had to smile at the look on her tutor's face. He was trying not to grin at them all.

'Well I ate one once, does that count?' He asked, and ducked with a shout of 'hey!' as cushions aimed for his head.

It was late and Buffy was quiet as they made their slow way through town towards Revello Drive and home. There were lights coming on and houses were being locked up against the night. Buffy seemed over-quiet to Spike: yes it had only been a short time since they'd met, but he was a trained psychologist and knew there was something wrong with his charge.

'Penny for your thoughts, pet,' he offered, trying to make her smile.

'Not worth that much Spike, just thinking about school and friends... how am I going to do it all?' Buffy sounded completely despondent, almost broken. 'That's why Slayers die young, isn't it, because they run out of strength to keep fighting. Jesse nearly died because I wasn't good enough and I don't know how to get good enough. School is hard, even with Willow's help: I'm struggling, and hiding it all!' Buffy let all the fears she'd been bottling up come tumbling out, followed closely by tears and sobs.

Spike looked around the neighbourhood, trying to find somewhere Buffy would feel safe. She was in no state to be taken home just yet. He spotted the ideal place and guided his sobbing slayer to a children's playpark. Sitting her on a swing, he rubbed her back gently and let her cry herself free of the pain inside. Spike slipped off his leather jacket and pulled it around her shoulders. He had been born a Victorian Gentleman after all. Buffy felt safe, here in a vampire's arms, late at night she felt safe and loved.

'We'll tackle all these things one at a time. Tonight we tell your Mom everything. Tomorrow we sort out your tutoring schedule. You are not alone Buffy: you will never be alone. Like Guinevere before you, you will have your knights around you, protecting you from the world as you protect the world from the evil that exists in the night,' her knight in shining leather told her, meaning every word.

Buffy sniffed and gave a watery smile to her protector. 'Safe,' she whispered.

'Safe,' he repeated and they sat and allowed the motion of the swing to soothe her some more.