Chapter 20
Dawn was paranoid, that’s all there was to it.
Her father called to tell her that Buffy revealed the truth about her former boss, and that she should be extra careful since he was still out there. She didn’t understand why he’d be after her, but Spike was concerned since Ben threatened her, even though Dawn told him that he had nothing to worry about. Now, she kept getting the strange feeling that she was being watched. Dawn shook her head, mentally kicking herself for her paranoia. She was too distracted to watch where she was going, until she collided with another body, a male body. “God, I’m so sorry,” Dawn claimed, bending down to pick up her fallen books, noticing that he dropped some papers as well. “I wasn’t paying attention.”
He chuckled. “That’s okay; I should have been doing the same. Why are you out so late?”
Dawn looked up at him. He was attractive, with dark hair that wasn’t too long or too short, and brown eyes that seemed a bit haunted. She gave a small smile, feeling nervous under his intense gaze. “I was hanging with some friends on the other side of campus, lost track of time. Do you go to school here?”
He shook his head. “Not exactly.”
Dawn helped him with his papers, placing her books down and taking notice of a card on the ground. She picked it up, paling with fear when she saw it was a Bronze card, the name on front being Benjamin Walker. Perhaps she wasn’t paranoid, after all. Dawn stood up slowly, handing over his things. “I should probably get inside now.”
He grinned. “What’s the hurry? We’re just getting to know each other.”
Dawn backed away from him. “I have an early class tomorrow.” She turned and started heading back to the dorms, when her jacket was suddenly grabbed from behind and pulled back, forcing her against a strong chest.
“You’ll hurt my feelings if you leave so soon.”
She stomped on his foot, using the distraction to rid herself of her jacket that he still had a tight grip on, then ran all the way to Stevenson Hall.
“Get back here, you little bitch!”
Dawn didn’t stop until she got inside the building, yelling when her foot was grabbed as she fell, hitting her chin against the floor of the hallway.
Some students came out of their room to see what was going on.
A blond man ran over to them, kicking the brunet away from her and pulling the girl up. “You okay, Dawn?”
She nodded, once the dizziness faded. “Thanks, RJ.”
Ben took off after that, not looking back once.
Dawn sighed in relief and rested her head against RJ’s shoulder, who then put his arm around her.
Her dad was so going to freak.
* * * * *
“Fuck, I’m going to rip his bloody head off!”
Dawn cringed, hating that he had to get so graphic. “Dad, chill, I’m fine. I only banged my chin, so I was pretty lucky.”
Spike tried to control his temper, taking a seat next to his daughter on the couch as he inspected her chin. “Are you sure you’re all right, sweetheart?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but this guy is seriously crazy. He tried to abduct me right in front of the school, where anyone could have seen us. I know it was late, but that didn’t mean Campus Security couldn’t be around. What did he want with me, anyway?”
Spike hugged her to him, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.
“It’s all my fault,” Buffy said, having just entered the living room. “He knows I went to the police, and now he’s trying to get to Dawn because of me.”
Spike shook his head, pulling her down to the couch and holding her as well. “This is no one’s fault. He’s a very sick man, but he will be stopped. I swear it.”
Buffy wasn’t as convinced, but something had to be done about this guy. She had one idea, but knew there was no chance Spike would ever go for it.
* * * * *
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”
Buffy took his hands in hers, stopping him from pacing the room again. “It’s going to work out, Spike. None of us are safe with that bastard still out there. Ben got careless; he talked a lot before he attacked me. I didn’t know it at the time, but he wanted me to trust him. I know where we can find him; you have to let me do this. It’s the only way.”
Spike knew she was right, but he hated to put her in even more danger.
She smiled. “When this is all over, we can take a vacation. Go somewhere far away, just the two of us.”
He sat down next to her on their bed, giving her hand a squeeze, taking a deep breath before saying what he needed to. “Do you think when all this is over, you might consider marrying me?”
Her eyes widened, that being the last thing she expected to hear. “Are you serious?”
Spike nodded, caressing her cheek softly. “I know you’re still really young, but I’ve thought a lot about this. I want it all with you, Buffy. I want to marry you, have children with you, grow old with you. Or in my case, older,” he continued with a small smile. “I love you so much, baby. I honestly didn’t think it was possible to love someone this much, but you completely took me by surprise.”
Buffy kissed him then, not needing to hear anymore. She pulled away after a few seconds, touching her forehead to his. “Yes, I’ll marry you.”
He smiled, kissing her again, and turning it more passionate.
They still had one more obstacle to get through, but once that was done, they would be able to take on anything.
* * * * *
Buffy walked along the shore, the wind whipping her hair around as she gazed out at the ocean. The beach was surprisingly empty for a Saturday afternoon, which she was very grateful for. Strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her against a hard chest, a husky voice in her ear.
“I knew you would come back to me.”
Buffy pulled away, sending the dark haired man a glare. “I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”
Ben laughed. “That’s real cute, Buffy. What’s a little girl gonna do to me?”
She shrugged, gracing him with a smile. “I’m not going to do anything.”
In that second, police officers surrounded them, guns raised in Ben’s direction.
“You’re under arrest! Get your hands in the air!”
Ben scowled at all of the officers, giving Buffy a look that could kill. “You set me up, you fucking whore!” He charged at her, but didn’t get very far as he was tackled from behind by another body, one that was hitting him repeatedly in the face.
Buffy placed a calming hand on her boyfriend’s arm. “He’s had enough; let the cops handle him now.”
Spike stood by her side, knowing that it wouldn’t look good if he killed the man, but wanting to do just that more than anything else.
Two officers picked Ben up, one tried to cuff him, but the man wasn’t having it.
He kicked them away from him, pulling out a knife and aiming it at Buffy. Ben only made two steps toward her when a shot rang out, hitting him in the chest, two more following after it. He glanced down at the blood now coating his shirt, looking back up at Buffy before he collapsed to the ground.
Buffy buried her head against Spike’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her.
It was finally over.
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