Spike woke up to Drusilla singing love songs to Todd and wanted to stake himself, “Bloody Hell, Dru! I’m trying to sleep here.”
Dru grinned as Spike came down the stairs and she leaned towards him and whispered, “Time to catch the sunshine.”
Spike replied, “Bleeding hell women, are you trying to get dusted?”
He looked outside then and noticed night had fallen. Apparently the ‘sunshine’ was referring to Buffy again and he looked towards Todd, “You coming?”
Todd nodded and Dru smiled and spun around using Todd’s hand as a pole as she leaned her head against his chest. Spike mumbled to himself, “I hope this is fast. I don’t think I can take much more of this.”
Todd looked at Spike and asked, “Need weapons?”
Spike shook his head, “Nah they are humans more than likely that have her. If not we can regroup and I’ll take you up on your offer.”
Todd nodded and took a gun from the back of his car just in case. Drusilla stared up at the stars all dreamy eyed but didn’t say anything. They followed Ted’s directions to where he said the underground offices were in the sewers. Drusilla whispered, “The walls remind me of Sunnydale. They whisper to me that the Slayer is still safe.”
Spike smiled back at Drusilla and she smiled back as Spike led the way. They stopped at a corner as Spike peered around it seeing two guards standing near the door. Spike without a second thought, walked up to them, vamped out. He had one killed while Drusilla played with the other. He shrugged leaving it with Dru as he continued inside.
It was quiet inside, too quiet so he kept walking as he sensed his Slayer was near. He roared in excitement as he heard some scurrying behind one of the doors. He came face to face with a demon hunter who held a gun cocked at Spike. Spike growled declaring, “That won’t kill me mate.”
The man grinned, “No, but it will hurt,” and with that he shot Spike in the leg. Spike roared again and grabbed the gun from the man’s hands and threw it aside and kicked the man back into the door only to break his neck leaving the body there as he stepped over him to open the door he was blocking.
Inside was a man standing and talking to Buffy saying he didn’t plan to let her go since he didn’t know what she was. He shook his head and demanded loudly, “Get out of my way.”
The man refused and took a shot at Spike but missed. Spike took the gun and rammed it into the man’s head killing him in an instant. He then roared glancing towards Buffy, “Let’s pull on these together. Ready? Now!”
Together Buffy and Spike yanked on the left chain breaking that one then did the same to the right and she was free. She fell but before she could hit the ground, Spike had scooped her up into his arms and was jumping over the bodies. He reached the door and Buffy turned her head to the side as Drusilla finished licking her fingers clean and was kissing Todd. Buffy wiggled in his arms, “Put me down Spike. Why is Drusilla here and who did she eat and why isn’t she dead?”
Spike held her tighter and replied, “She helped. She’s eating your captives, pet. The ones who chained you up and were leaving you for dead. Want me to let them kill you next time, love?”
Buffy shook her head but was shaking now with confusion. Drusilla leaned over squishing Buffy to place a gentle kiss on Spike’s lips whispering, “Bye bye dark prince until we meet again.”
Then she leaned over to Buffy and whispered softly, “Take good care of my Spike, dear.” And with that Todd swept her off her feet and was out of sight.
Buffy turned to Spike and asked tentatively, “Where are they going?”
Spike shrugged but still offered, “My guess? Brazil or somewhere else.”
Buffy nodded but said nothing as he carried her home.
Buffy sat in the living room with Ted’s wife, Cara. She was very pregnant and Buffy and her were told to sit in the living room while Spike made dinner. Ted hung out with Spike to have guy-bonding time. This was what Buffy was hoping for. She really wanted to know what love was and figured someone in love could tell her. She was still confused about how she felt about the fact Spike killed the men who were holding her. She turned to Cara and asked curiously, “How long have you been with Ted?”
Cara smiled, she enjoyed talking about her husband a great deal and noticed how confused Buffy looked so she wanted to help this young couple in love, “Three years but we met five years ago at a dance club in New York. He was there with some friends but we mostly hung out in crowds off and on for the first two years. I had a girlfriend who was dating a friend of Ted’s. He was too shy to say anything and I didn’t feel confident enough to say anything. Want to know what brought us together?” Buffy nodded watching as Cara’s eyes sparkled and she placed a hand on her stomach. Cara continued, “Well one day, Ted’s friend proposed to my friend, Sara finally and they were so excited. They went home early leaving us alone. He looked over at me with a sexy smile and asked, ‘Want to still go to the movie?’ I of course readily agreed and next thing I knew, we were a couple. One day, we were sitting and having dinner and I looked over at him and I knew I didn’t want my life to go on without him. He was smart and always there and took great care of me. I just knew that my life wasn’t complete without him in it. He was my soul mate and made the world a brighter place. When he held me…” She sighed and looked dreamily towards the kitchen as she continued, “When he held me…all was right with the world. I knew at that moment, I loved him more than anything. When you can’t imagine the person not in your life and your life is just complete when they are there, then you have to take the leap.”
Cara then looked at Buffy with her eyes shining and whispered, “How do you feel about Spike?”
Buffy sighed, “It’s complicated.”
Spike yelled into the living room and then popped his head in to look at Cara then Buffy, “Ten minutes until dinner.”
Spike’s face lit up when he saw Buffy sitting there just talking happily with Cara. He was so thankful she was safe and sound in their house. Buffy smiled at Spike and her eyes sparkled with happiness and gratefulness to be here with Spike. Cara saw the interaction and already knew her answer but waiting patiently to see how Buffy would describe it.
Spike blew a kiss at Buffy and then went back into the kitchen. Buffy turned to Cara and sighed as she admitted, “It’s complicated. See we are from two different worlds. I’m the slayer and I’m supposed to kill his kind because he’s a vampire. He feeds on people like me and in fact has killed three slayers before I was even born. He has killed thousands probably millions of people and it makes things complicated.”
Cara took Buffy’s hands in hers and looked at her saying, “Buffy, everyone has a past. There are hundreds of teenagers who kill or steal or runaway from their families. They of course grow up, change, and become great people. How many times have you heard speeches made by people saying, ‘I used to be this, but now I’m this?’ Spike is changing right before your very eyes and you just have to recognize it.”
Buffy didn’t even question how Cara knew this when she barely knew both of them but she thought about how much she has changed since she ran away. She looked at Cara and nodded, “You have a point.”
Cara smiled gently, “How do you really feel about him? Forget for a moment his past, forget for a moment your origins and what you are told to do. How do you feel about him, Buffy?”
Buffy thought for a moment and whispered, “He has saved me. He has helped me get through things I never thought I could. I’m stronger when I’m around him. He can be so sweet sometimes and it makes me melt. I don’t want to go home because I don’t want to leave him behind. When I was taken, all I wanted was Spike’s arms holding me tight. I didn’t wish I was home, didn’t regret running away, but instead I only wished that Spike was there. Think that’s love?”
Cara smiled and nodded, “If it’s not, then it’s close.”
Buffy sighed, “Think he feels the same way?”
Cara laughed holding her stomach, “Oh yeah I do. He was pissed when you were taken. He even called up Ted trying to find you and was quite insistent. He loves you but I can’t promise he knows it yet but he probably does.”
Buffy smiled gently remembering the night he said it to her right as they fell asleep and admitted, “He said it once when we were going to sleep. I didn’t reply and didn’t admit I heard it.”
Just then Ted came into the room helping Cara to her feet as he whispered to her, “Come on Cara, dinner is served. He made a wonderful salad and Eggplant Parmesan. It smells divine.”
Then Spike came out and offered his hand to Buffy, “Hey there, cutie. Just wait until you try this!”
Buffy giggled and walked hand-in-hand with Spike to enjoy their dinner.