Buffy waited as patiently as possible for Spike to come home. She occupied herself by hugging Fuzzball to her chest, which had fallen asleep while she petted him earlier.
After she had spoken with Dawn, she went for a swim to try and get her mind off of Spike. She could sense through the claim that he was fighting very vigorously and getting badly hurt so she needed a distraction. After she was done in the pool and headed to her room, she got a sense that he was coming closer. That sense was a sign that he would be almost done for the day, she hoped.
When the feeling of his closeness became stronger, she placed her pet on her pillow before going into the bathroom. There, she drew a warm bath for her mate. Just as the tub filled with water to the brim, Spike entered the room.
He was badly bruised, blood covered his face, and his lip was swollen. She slowly stripped off her robe and sat at the edge of the tub, waiting for him to make a move.
The vampire groaned when he saw Buffy sitting on the tub. He limped to her side, stripping himself of his clothing.
He brushed a gently kiss over her lips, even though it gave him a shot of pain, and he whispered, “The bath for me?”
Buffy’s smile turned into a frown when she got a good look at the damage the fighting had done. She attempted to open the claim, hoping to know exactly what had caused the wounds.
Spike shook his head. “No luv, I’m in too much pain for you to have that open,” he stepped into the tub. “Come bathe with me.”
The Slayer followed her mate into the tub, letting him wrap his arms around her waist as she leaned against his chest. She was careful not to put too much pressure on his body because of the broken ribs she could feel. It felt like his left shoulder had slipped out of the socket, but he wasn’t complaining. He was simply resting his head back and had his swollen eyes closed.
Buffy tried her best to stay calm, but she desperately wanted to open the claim to feel the closeness to him again. She listened to his wishes, though.
She didn’t need Spike holding back because of her. She wanted to heal his wounds, but knew this wasn’t the time either.
Buffy Summers had never felt so helpless.
“Relax, baby. I can feel all of your emotions buzzing through me. Your concern for me is helping with the pain, but I can’t relax if you won’t,” he lightly rubbed the back of her neck. “Relax for me, please? I need you to relax.”
Buffy nodded and rubbed her hand gently over his bruised one and sighed as he kissed her hair gently. As she relaxed, she realized she could sense more of Spike. She could sense a tiny bit of his pain but mostly a calm about him. She let out a deep breath and closed her eyes allowing his calm to calm her, as well.
“Good girl,” he said with a smile.
He tightened his grip around her waist and kept his eyes closed, trying to forget everything that happened today and just focus on being home with Buffy who loved him.
A few minutes had passed and Buffy had become so relaxed that she had fallen asleep. He was thankful that she had, but at the same time needed to readjust his aching shoulder. When Spike went to move, she woke up and let out a groan as his pain filtered into her through the claim.
He quickly closed it up and whispered, “Sorry, luv.”
She gave him a curt nod and stood to get out of the tub. When her mate came out behind her, she watched as he favored one leg, which was black and blue from a beating.
“Can I, please, see what happened to you?“
Spike shook his head. “No, but you can help bandage me up if you’d like.”
She let him lean on her arm as she helped guide him to the table and chair. After he sat down, she carefully inspected his leg. She was thankful to find out that it wasn’t broken, just badly bruised.
Buffy tried to imagine how his leg could have gotten so badly bruised, but she didn’t ask. Spike had made it clear that he didn’t want her to know what happened, at least for now.
After she had wrapped a gash across his thigh, she inspected his broken ribs. Several of them were broken so she bandaged those, as well. She wanted to wrap them tight, hoping to help them set faster. Unfortunately, the tightness caused him to groan in pain. A sharp pain went through her side, causing her to cringe. Just as quickly has the pain had come, it vanished.
She sighed and wondered how much pain one person could endure as she carefully bandaged up the huge gash on his shoulder.
When she felt the shoulder, her suspicion was confirmed; Spike had a dislocated shoulder.
“I need to pop this back in,” she whispered.
Spike nodded. “I tried to but I was too weak.”
Buffy pulled on it, ignoring the sharp pain she felt knowing it was Spike's pain not hers. She closed her ears to his groaning as she shoved it with all her might back into place. He cried out and clutched the chair arms but then relaxed when she was done. She wrapped the shoulder to help keep it in place and make it hurt less.
After using glue to close two gashes on the back of his head, she sighed in slight disappointment as she looked over her mending. The Slayer wished she could make all of his bruising and pain go away, but that was the best she could do for tonight.
“Need to feed?” she said more of a statement then a question.
Spike frowned. “Buffy, I can’t make love to you tonight. God, I’m in so much pain, I don’t think I could. I have bones that need mending, among other things.”
Buffy nodded and kissed him gently. “Just bite, I’ll be fine.”
Spike guided them to the bed, setting her gently on his lap. He began to massage her breasts, preparing her the best he could. When she was relaxed enough, he bit into her neck and took a few pulls of her blood. After he extracted his fangs, he lovingly licked the puncture holes closed.
“Tiny pricks, not bad at all,” Buffy breathed.
Spike smiled and lay back as she settled behind him with only her chest against his good shoulder.
“Sleep now. Tomorrow will be better,” she kissed him lightly on the forehead.
Spike was so exhausted that he fell asleep only a few short moments later. Buffy pried into the claim when he fell asleep. Her heart ached when she felt the true mass of his pain, but it also swelled with devotion and love.
She carefully closed the claim as she snuggled in closer to whisper, “You are too good to me. I don’t deserve you. I love you so much."
Buffy closed her eyes to join her mate in sleep.
Spike awoke, feeling like he had been killed all over again. Every part of his body ached and he knew he had two days to get better before he had to do it again.
He noticed Buffy was at the table eating some breakfast and she smiled when she noticed he was awake.
“Want some?” she held her plate out.
Spike nodded and she brought over a tray that she sat next to him and together they ate hot eggs, some meat and some kind of fruit.
When they were both done, she curled up in his lap.
“Okay, now for really feeding. You need more blood to make you better in two days.”
Spike shook his head but knew deep down she was right. He wanted to make love to her, knowing it might be one of the last times, but he would have to wait until tonight so that he wouldn’t injure himself again. Instead, he slipped a hand between her nightgown and made his way to her wetness. Buffy opened her legs, giving him better access. Spike slipped a single finger inside and started pumping her to an orgasm. After he added a second finger, Buffy cried her release. The vampire bit into her neck when her orgasm started, only stopping when her heart beat slowed and he had his fill.
They curled up and drifted into a deep slumber.
The two lovers woke up at almost the same time later in the evening. The sun was ready to set and Buffy jumped out of bed.
“Can you come out to the garden and watch the sunset with me? I loved the way we used to do that almost every night.”
Spike nodded and pulled on some pants and a shirt that had been placed for him, being careful about his still sore ribs and shoulder. He was feeling much better and the pain was down to a dull roar, making it easier to manage.
He took her hand, taking the time to notice she was wearing a simple wrap around leather skirt and white blouse that clung to her skin as she walked by his side.
When they reached the garden the sun was starting to seep behind the horizon. Buffy rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her and together they sat in silence, watching as the sun turned to its many shades of color and dipped over the edge.
He longed to be able to do that with Buffy forever. He wanted to be able to watch the sunset, walk with her in the sun, make babies with her and have a real family, including marriage. He wanted to be human so much but he wanted his strength as well.
He glanced at Buffy, who looked surprised by his thoughts. He realized then that he hadn’t closed the bond before thinking.
Buffy whispered against his ear, “I’d love that too but I’m just happy enough that I at least get you.”
Spike smiled feeling a tiny bit better but not much as he realized he really wanted this. He closed the bond before thinking about it some more. For one of the first times in his life since he was turned, he found himself wanting to be able to be with Buffy as a human. Perhaps he was just tired of living forever but all he knew was that he wanted to be able to grow old with her. She deserved someone who could experience life with her to its fullest instead of being limited to the darkness. Spike hadn't realized how much he missed sunlight. Buffy had a point when she said what Spike was offering her wasn't enough. As much as he wanted to tell Buffy everything would work out when they got back home, he knew it would change. He still couldn't go out in the daylight with her. There would be no beach trips, no shopping adventures, no picnics in the sun and above all no real future. He was going to have to watch her grow old while he didn't. She deserved to have someone who could stand by her even when the sun was beating down. He let out a sigh as his thoughts turned back to the slayer by his side.
Together they watched as the three moons appeared in the sky and let out a deep breath as Buffy whispered, “I’m hungry. Let’s go find out what’s for dinner.”
Spike nodded, letting her lead him back inside. He reopened the claim as they entered their room to see what the maid had brought for dinner.