Chapter 11
During breakfast, their conversation turned to what each had been doing in the intervening years. He told her what the different hell dimensions were like and she told him about the slayer training academy in Rome, Dawn getting into Cambridge to study history and eventually becoming a Watcher, and the worldwide distribution of all of the other Slayers. When she told him about the wish she had been granted, he was pleased she hadn't wasted it on him. Tara had been a vital member of the group and an even more vital member of Buffy's little family. She deserved to be resurrected; he hadn't. When he asked her what had happened between Kennedy and Willow, Buffy bristled.
"Kennedy was hurt, but not surprised. She took off. I think she's somewhere in Brazil. I haven't heard from her for awhile. It's probably better that way."
When she grew quiet, he reached for her hands. She looked down at his hands grasping hers and she looked up into his eyes. He looked at her quizzically.
"What's wrong love?" he asked. She thought for a few moments, looking down at his hands and then back to his questioning blue eyes.
"I want to see it." He cocked his head and looked at her again.
"See what, love?" She looked down at his hands again and spoke softly.
"I want to go see the crater. See what's left. Pay my respects to those who didn't make it out. Toss a coin in the fountain. I don't know." He looked down at their joined hands and could feel her grip tightening. He spoke just as softly.
"OK, then. When do you want to leave?" She looked up at him and smiled slightly.
He paid the bill and they left the restaurant. As the motorcycle roared to life, she wrapped her arms around him and inhaled the smell of his cologne. She mindlessly watched as the scenery changed around them. She closed her eyes and let the wind whip past her face. After awhile, she felt the motorcycle decelerate. She opened her eyes and began to recognize the landscape, although the military blockade was a new sight. The motorcycle slowed and then came to a stop. William put the kickstand down and nodded to the guard. The guard glared at the two of them and leveled his weapon at them.
"Hands in the air and state your business," he barked. Buffy hopped off the motorcycle and slowly put her hands in the air. She started walking up to the guard, who ordered her to stop before he opened fire. She glared at him.
"Tell your boss that Buffy Summers is here and wants to take a look at her home, or what's left of it." The guard continued to glare at her. She glared right back.
"Well? I'm waiting. Listen, if Agent Riley Finn is anywhere within range, tell him I'm here and that I want to go into the destruction zone." The young guard spoke in hushed tones into his communication unit. Within moments, a black Humvee pulled up next to the barricade. A slim figure clad in black stepped out of the vehicle. She took off her sunglasses to look at the intruders. Sam Finn chuckled as she saw who was waiting for her.
"I never thought I'd see you again, Buffy. How are ya?"
Buffy stared at her, mouth agape. Sam grinned as she walked toward the couple. She extended her hand to William.
"Sam Finn. And you are?" Sam didn't recognize him now that he was human. He wasn't sure if he should be flattered or offended. He thought he had been memorable enough as a vampire for anyone to recognize him, no matter the hair color or slightly tanned skin. He shook the proffered hand anyway.
"William Preston-Hughes," he said, internally chuckling at his poncey sounding name. As she shook his hand, she cocked her head, vaguely recognizing the voice and features of the man standing in front of her. Slowly, her eyebrows went up and her eyes went wide in recognition.
"No way! It can't be! You're a vampire! You're Spike!" Buffy finally awoke from her shock and grasped his hand.
"Yup, the one and only. Although, he is recently human, so he's going by a less conspicuous name now." Sam took a minute to process the fact that Spike was human, got over it, and asked the couple how she could help.
"I want to see the crater. Say goodbye once and for all." She wasn't sure how Sam was going to react. It sounded crazy, even she knew that. She had barely escaped with her life so what would make a person want to come back to this place six years later? Sam pursed her lips and shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Buffy, but there's nothing left. I can't let you in." Buffy was taken aback at the denial of entry to her former home.
"I know there's nothing left, but I still want to go back in for one last look." Sam shook her head again.
"You don't get it. There's no crater anymore. Our team has been stationed here for the last six years moving earth and pretty much remaking the coastline. We've been getting rid of any evidence Sunnydale was ever here." Buffy deflated at the news that the remains of her home were now underwater. She thanked Sam and had turned around to walk back to the motorcycle when Sam called out to her.
"Should I tell Riley you said hi?" Buffy turned around and yelled back.
"Sure, that'd be nice. Oh, and tell him that I'm engaged to Spike and that it's not a joke this time around." Sam looked slightly confused, but smiled and waved before climbing into the waiting SUV.
"So, soldier boy knew about our previous engagement, did he?" William chuckled, remembering the spell Willow had inadvertently unleashed on them. Buffy laughed lightly and grinned.
"Yeah, he does. He caught me window shopping at the bridal store that was near the magic shop. I had to play quick cover-up the next day at school. He knew I had to be joking. Engaged to a guy named Spike? It sounded totally fake." He looked at her and glared. She decided to play innocent.
"What? Well at the time it did." They climbed onto the motorcycle.
"I could just leave you here, ya know?" he said as the motorcycle roared to life. She pouted. "You wouldn't." He grinned. He couldn't, but he wanted her to believe he could.
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They returned to the hotel a couple of hours later, exhausted from the trip. They began ascending the stairs, hand in hand, when the phone at the desk began ringing. They were going to let the machine pick it up when she heard her sister's voice. Buffy ran down the stairs and picked up the receiver before her sister hung up.
Dawn had wanted to plan an engagement party for them, but would need some time to get everything together. The party was set for the next month in the Hyperion's expansive ballroom. Making the ballroom suitable for people would take a few weeks, and Buffy knew they had their work cut out for them. But she was certain they could do it; as long as they could keep their hands off of each other long enough to clean.
He had perched himself on the counter while she was talking to Dawn. As he listened to the excited planning, he was suddenly struck with an idea. He headed into Angel's office to use the other line. He was hoping Lorne would be at his club because he had a sudden need to get published. The line rang several times before the chirpy voice of the green demon answered.
"Salus! How may I help you?" Lorne asked cherrily.
"Lorne, how are ya, mate?" William asked, smiling. He missed the jolly green demon.
"Well, bless my biscuits! Spike? I thought you were still raining a heck full of, well, heck on the underworld. What are you doing top-side?" Lorne asked his friend.
"You didn't hear? Gunn and I ran into some Mohra demons a couple months back and lost. I guess lost isn't the right word, is it? Anyway, me and him are human now," William explained.
"I keep my horns out of anything even slightly icky and fight related. And of course I didn't hear anything. I have spoken to An-," Lorne stopped himself. "I haven't talked to him for six years and I'm fine and dandy keeping it that way. But I have a feeling you didn't call just to tell me about your newfound cure to your sun allergy. What's shakin'?"
William explained to his friend about his desire to be a published author and promised to send off a copy in the morning. Lorne promised he would call a few of his contacts in the publishing world. It made it much easier now that he was in New York, hub of all things book related. Lorne ended the call by promising he would call after he spoke to his contacts.
"Oh, and there's one more thing I should probably tell you Lorne," William interjected before they hung up.
"What's that kitten?" Lorne asked, intrigued.
"Do you remember Buffy?" William asked slowly.
Lorne started at the name. She was the infamous ex-girlfriend of both Angel and Spike. Hard girl for anyone to ever forget."Of course I remember Buffy. What's up, lollipop?"
William smiled, noticing he had an audience. Buffy was standing in the doorway, arms crossed in front of her, grinning broadly. He grinned back at her.
"Well she and I are getting married. I just thought you should know," William said happily. He had to hold the receiver away from his ear as his friend hooped and hollered at the good news. Buffy giggled.
"Let me know if you two crazy kids need help. I am a whiz with the party planning. Oh! You could get married out here and you could have the reception at the club! I can just picture it! Lots of twinkly lights and -," William cut Lorne off mid-planning.
"If you could make it out for the engagement party, we might have a better idea of what we want then, alright?" William told him he'd call when he knew more about the details, explaining that he had to check with the little woman and his future sister-in-law about all the particulars. They hung up and William sat for a moment with his hand on the receiver, grinning and shaking his head.
"So what was that all about?" Buffy asked, amused. She started walking toward the desk and he swung his chair around to face her. He patted his knee and she hopped on his lap, snaking her arms around his neck.
"I called Lorne to see if he still had some contacts in the publishing world. He's gonna call me tomorrow after he's talked to a few people. So hopefully by the time we get hitched, I'll have fixed my cash flow problem." He grinned at her, obviously pleased with himself for having thought of calling Lorne now. She beamed at him, happy that he was being proactive about his career. She kissed him lovingly.
"I am so proud of you. Look at you! Future famous author in the making! Ooh, are you gonna have groupies? Do authors even have groupies?" she asked excitedly.
He chuckled at her. God, he had missed her. The way her eyes sparkled when she was excited, the way she smelled, everything about her. He gazed into her eyes and the overwhelming urge to kiss her took over his entire being. He started kissing her deeply; his arms enveloped her as his hands roamed over her back. She twisted herself around so she was no longer on his knee but straddling him. She could feel he was already hard and she let out a small moan. Her moan broke his concentration on kissing her. He placed her on the desk and ran to shut the door and close the blinds to the office. She looked at him quizzically.
"Honey, I think we're the only ones here," she explained to him. He grinned at her devilishly.
"No, love, we're not. Big Blue is floating about here somewhere and the last thing I want is for her to witness us using Sir Broods-a-lot's desk for a bit of mid-day hanky-panky." He closed the last blind and quickly made his way back to the desk and his waiting fiancée.
"Now, where was I?" he asked saucily, devilish grin returning to his face. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him closer to her.
"I think we were right about here -," she said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him on top of her.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
"Salus" means safety in Latin. Figured since "Caritas" had already been used once, Lorne would want to name a new club something else. And another thing, how could I not add Lorne? Consider this a small, but loving tribute to the great Andy Hallett who will be forever missed.