Ding....Dong.
”Just one moment. I’m coming.” Giles pulled the door open, using an index finger to save his place in the book he held. ”Yes?” he asked the poorly dressed man at the door.
”I’m Whistler. I represent the Powers That Be.”
Giles removed the glasses that had been sliding down his nose. ”I’m familiar with your name. Angel explained to me how he came to be recruited as a Champion for the Powers. What can I do for you?” He opened his book enough to remove his finger, and closed it with a snap.
”I’m here to see the Slayer.”
”We have several Slayers in residence here. Could you, perhaps, be a bit more specific? Do you know the name of the girl you seek?”
”THE Slayer...Buffy Summers.”
”Buffy? Oh...yes...well...I...I don’t know...if that will be possible,” Giles stuttered. ”Perhaps you’d best...” He opened the door wider, and gestured for Whistler to step into the home.
”I’m not alone,” Whistler told Giles, before passing over the threshold. ”He insisted on coming with me.” The demon nodded towards a car with darkened windows, parked as close to the front stairs as possible.
Angel was sitting in the car, fuming, and peering out through an inch of open window. He didn’t attempt to travel the few steps to the front door because he’d never been given an invite to this house. Though the sun had been hiding behind clouds for the past week, it was shining brightly today, and Angel didn’t want to risk being trapped in its deadly light.
Giles sighed. ”I believe your presence is foolhardy at best, but it’s your unlife. Come in, Angel.”
Angel rushed in, holding a smoking blanket over his head. Once inside, he threw it on the floor and began to stamp out the small flames, while using both hands to ensure that his hair was in place.
”Where is Miss Summers?” Whistler wanted to get the visit back on track.
”I expect she is in her bedroom, where she spends most of her days. If you would please take a seat in the library, I will go ask her to join us.”
***********************************
Oblivious to the guests in the home, Buffy Summers was sitting on her balcony, lost in a bittersweet blend of dreams and memories. It had taken her a while to realize it, but eventually she’d come to accept and treasure the love she received from her vampire. She knew she’d made mistakes, more than just a few, but by the time the fight with the First was upon them, it was too late to repair many bridges. Spike had burned, and she blamed herself for the fact that he didn’t believe her last minute declaration of love.
Things had changed though, when the Liz Taylor medallion had cast the blonde vampire back into the world. She could have changed things then. She could have gone to him, begged his forgiveness, and been happy for the rest of her life. She’d been given a second chance, but it was snatched from her by Angel.
Angel had known that Spike was in her heart, but the brooding vampire’s black heart was twisted with jealousy, and he went out of his way to ensure that Spike’s return remained a secret from Buffy. He even went so far as to cut off all connection with the Scoobies as well, fearing that they would be tempted to tell Buffy about Spike’s not-so-dusty status.
It was a year ago, today, that Spike, her vampire, had died his last death in a pointless battle behind Angel’s hotel. Buffy had heard about the fight in LA at the last minute and had rushed there, arriving just in time to see Spike dust before her eyes. She had collected his ashes in a water bottle, broken Angel’s nose, and then threatened to break the rest of the bones in his body if he didn’t tell her everything about Spike’s return. The so-called Champion had ignored her at first, started to bluster and make excuses after she broke his wrist, and then gave up and sang like a canary when she grew tired of his stalling and broke his leg.
It broke the Slayer’s heart to hear that Spike believed himself unloved, and thought that she had moved on to the Immortal. Once Angel explained what the vampires had seen when they’d briefly visited Rome, it was easy to understand how Spike might have thought that, but his assumption had been wrong. The Immortal was only a job...an attempt to return to life as a Slayer...a life she’d abandoned for months after Spike’s death in the Hellmouth. The experiment had been a huge failure though, and she had retreated to her bedroom after only a few weeks on the job.
Hearing of Spike’s final death had killed something inside the senior Slayer, and no one had been able to comfort her. The Scoobies had tried, even going so far as to attempt a spell that would remove her memories of Spike and end her grieving. When it didn’t work, they got together and did a bit more research, discovering that there was no way to remove someone’s memories of their soulmate. Buffy had found her true love, and he would remain with her forever.
Lost in her thoughts, Buffy jumped when she heard the soft knock on her door. It must be important. Nobody disturbed her anymore, having given up on quenching the tears that were never far from her eyes.
”Yes?” she asked in a tired voice.
”It’s Giles, my dear. We have visitors.”
”I don’t want to see anyone.”
”I doubt they will leave without seeing you.” Giles opened the door a crack, just enough to allow him to better hear her response.
”I really hope this is important,” she sighed. ”Give me five minutes to clean up, and I’ll be down.”
Giles closed the door silently and went to rejoin their guests.
********************************'
Ten minutes later, Buffy stepped into the library and saw the emissary for the Powers across the room. ”Whistler, what do you want?” she spat out. Before she could approach him and let loose her anger, she felt Angel standing behind her. Turning, she made a fist and pulled her arm back. A second later, Angel was sprawled out on the floor, half covered in fallen books. ”I told you I never wanted to see you again,” the enraged Slayer growled.
Angel didn’t answer. He was too busy trying to stem the blood flowing from his broken nose.
There was a rush of footsteps from down the hall. ”What’s happening? Did you fall, Giles?” The Scoobies came to a stumbling halt, just inside the door.
Buffy sent them a look that clearly warned there was a very pissed off Slayer in the room. Her friends backed off immediately, and stayed huddled in the doorway, waiting to see what would happen next.
Turning to Giles, Buffy demanded, ”What is he doing here?”
”He followed me, Slayer.” Whistler had raised his hand, as if asking for permission to speak, not wanting to set her off again. She’s scary when she’s mad. ”I tried to get him to stay in LA, but he wouldn’t listen to me.”
”Fine then. Why are you here?” Before the demon could answer, the Slayer’s attention shifted again. ”Any closer, Angelus, and I’ll knock you unconscious.” She stared at him for a few seconds, while he backed up against a bookcase, trying hard not to stumble over the books on the floor.
”Believe me, Slayer. I’m not here voluntarily. It’s just part of the gig...if the PTB tell me to jump, I just ask ’em how high.” Whistler gulped. ”They want to reward you.”
”Huh?” Buffy appeared stunned.
”Yeah...call it a retirement gift, if you want. They’re offering you a single wish, no strings attached.” Whistler shot a nervous look at the Slayer. ”Anything you want.”
”That’s why I knew I needed to come here with Whistler. He asked me for your address, and told me about the reward.” Angel looked at Buffy with what he thought was an irresistible expression. ”You can wish for my soul to be anchored, and then we can finally be together.”
Buffy turned away from Angel with contempt, not even bothering to answer him. ”The Powers can’t give me what I want. I have no use for their wish,” she spat at Whistler.
”Hey now, you don’t know that until you ask, right?” he responded.
”Come on, Buffy. You can be with Deadboy over there. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?” Xander couldn’t help but add.
”Oh, yes...your first love!” Willow added in agreement.
”Buffy, you could be happy again,” Dawn begged.
Shaking her head, the Slayer just pushed past the group at the door and headed back to her room. They just don’t get it. How could they be that stupid?
******************************
Buffy was sobbing into her pillow when there was yet another knock on her door. ”Go away.”
Instead of leaving, Whistler took a deep breath, and let himself into the Slayer’s bedroom. ”I’m sorry, but the Powers won’t let me leave until you make your wish.” He stood at the end of her bed.
Buffy rolled to her back and jacknifed into a sitting position. ”They can’t give me what I want,” she snarled at the intruder in her room, and appeared ready to attack.
”Please don’t kill me, Miss Summers. If you do, they’ll just send me back again.” Whistler appeared resigned to his fate. ”Please, why don’t you just tell me what it is that you want, and we’ll see what we can do.”
”I want the man that I love. I want Spike,” she responded.
”He’s dead,” Whistler replied.
”ARG...Do you think I don’t know that? Why do you think I said that the Powers couldn’t fulfill my wish?” Buffy got up from her bed and walked into her bathroom to splash cold water on her face.
”Hey now...I didn’t say it was impossible. It’s just going to take a bit more work. We need to take this wish to a higher being,” Whistler informed her.
Buffy’s head appeared in the doorway, water running down her face. ”What...What did you say? Do you mean...is it possible?” She grabbed a towel and quickly approached Whistler.
The rumpled little man flinched at her quick approach, but then smiled. ”Let’s consult with one of those higher beings...then we’ll know.”
There was a sudden flash of light in the center of the room. Buffy’s Slayer reflexes kicked in, and she threw the towel at the light as she dove for her bedside table and the stake she had stashed there. Stake in hand, she turned to the new threat, only to discover a familiar form in her room. ”Cordelia? How did you get here? What’s going on?” The stress was getting to be too much for the Slayer, and she sank down onto her bed. She stared at Cordelia, not believing her eyes.
”I’m here to help you with your wish.” Cordelia walked over to Buffy and sat down beside her on the bed.
Suspecting a trick from the First, Buffy immediately pulled away. ”You’re dead.”
”Yeah, that happens when they make you a Higher Being. It sucks. The Powers have no concept of designer lables, and I have to wear this same dress all the time. They won’t even let me change the colour. You have no idea what I go through...it’s like being trapped in Fashion Hell.” Cordelia ranted for a few more seconds, stopping suddenly when Buffy hugged her.
”How are you Cordelia? Aside from the whole clothing disaster thing, I mean.”
The former cheerleader smiled at the petite blonde. ”I’m fine. I’m more interested in how you’re doing. The Powers said that they were trying to give you a reward, but that Whistler couldn’t provide you with what you had asked for. Why don’t you fill me in and I’ll see what I can do for you?” Cordelia was holding Buffy’s hand in hers, and doing her best to be supportive and encouraging to the emotionally overwhelmed Slayer.
Recognizing that things were under control, Whistler decided to step out onto Buffy’s balcony and give the women a bit of privacy.
”There’s only one thing that would make my life complete, and that’s Spike. You remember him, right Cordy? My vampire...the man I love. The monster who earned his soul so he could be worthy of me.” Tears pooled in Buffy’s eyes once again. ”It was a year ago today, that he died for the third and final time.”
”You know his soul would have returned to heaven when he died, right?” Cordelia just had to make sure that Buffy understood what she was asking for.
”I know,” the distraught Slayer wailed. ”That’s why I know that my wish can’t be granted. I would never pull him out of heaven. He’s earned his place there and he deserves peace.” Buffy was now sobbing into her hands, but seemed somehow happier at the same time. ”You don’t know how badly I wished he’d be allowed into heaven, and I can’t tell you what it means to me to know that he made it for sure. Thank you, Cordelia.” Buffy hugged the startled brunette once more.
”Maybe you can still...” Cordelia had an idea, a way to manipulate a technicality, that might see the Slayer’s wish come true in the end.
Buffy interrupted her. ”No! I won’t do it. It doesn’t matter how lost I feel without him. I’d never pull him out of heaven.” The Slayer leapt from the bed and began pacing across the room.
”Will you please let me explain before you go all damage-bound on me?” Cordelia quirked one elegant brow at the woman pacing around the room, and waited for Buffy’s hesitant nod before she continued. ”Spike’s, or rather, William’s soul is in heaven where it belongs. However, the demon, Spike, is stuck in limbo. The Powers can’t send him to hell because he willingly sought his soul, and your Champion refuses to go to heaven without you. I believe he told the Powers that anywhere without you would be hell.”
Buffy stared at Cordelia, eyes wide. ”Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” she asked, her voice filled with hope.
”I’m saying, I understand why you don’t want to pull William out of heaven, and I respect that, but there’s no reason why you couldn’t wish for Spike without his soul.”
”I miss him so much, Cordelia, but I don’t know if he’d even want to return to me. Did you know that he was alive after Sunnydale? He was back, and helping Angel, and he didn’t even bother to call and let me know he was alive. I wish there was a way to ask him what he wants. I don’t want him tied to me if he doesn’t love me anymore.” Buffy looked heartbroken at the thought that Spike might have moved on to someone new.
”Ask and ye shal receive,” Cordelia exclaimed. ”I can make a window to the plane he’s on, and you can ask him yourself. That way, you’ll know for sure what he wants.”
Buffy swallowed. ”You can do that? I could actually talk to him?”
”Sure, and I’m thinking that now is just as good a time as any to give it a try.” Cordelia got up from the bed and faced the far side of the room. She snapped her fingers, and a golden frame appeared to float in mid-air, the air within its borders a swirling, misty grey.
Watching closely, Buffy could see something moving in the fog, and quickly moved closer to the frame. After only a few seconds, the Slayer recognized Spike in his black duster, moving closer to her.
”Spike,” Buffy sobbed.
”Buffy,” the vampire’s eyes were shining. ”How are you, Luv?”
The Slayer couldn’t stop crying. ”I miss you so much.” She reached her hands out, trying to touch him through the golden frame, but was stopped by what felt like a sheet of glass between them.
”Don’t cry, my love. Please don’t cry.” The vampire’s voice was soothing. ”I miss you too, Pet. So very much.”
”I meant it, Spike, and I need you to know that I still mean it today. I love you,” Buffy confessed.
”I love you too, Buffy. More than you will ever know. I’m sorry that I didn’t come for you when I was resurrected. I was scared, and I couldn’t stand the thought that you might not have meant what you said down in the Hellmouth. Please forgive me, Luv.” Even through the mist and the mystical barrier, it was easy to see the silvery tears that ran down Spike’s cheeks.
”I understand. I really do. You didn’t have any reason to believe me then, but I need you to believe me now.” Buffy didn’t want to dwell in the past any longer, but she had to make sure that Spike knew her cookies were done baking.
Cordelia cleared her throat. The longing between Slayer and vampire was almost too painful for her to watch. Deciding that the couple needed to be brought back on task, she brisquely encouraged them. ”We don’t have much time left here people. Get on with it.” She tapped her foot impatiently to emphasize her need for speed.
Buffy turned her attention back to Spike. ”Spike, I need you to listen carefully. The Powers have decided to give me one wish, as a reward for services rendered. The only thing I want to wish for is you, but I don’t want to bring you back if you don’t want to be here. Do you? Could you be happy here, on Earth, with me?”
Spike closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were filled with sadness and regret. ”I don’t have my soul anymore, Luv. It’s in heaven and all that’s left is the demon.”
”I know, Spike, and I won’t do anything to pull your soul out of heaven. I promise. What I asking is...I mean, Cordelia said that I could...” Buffy stopped for a moment, before taking a deep breath and rushing on. ”Cordelia said that I could wish for you, without your soul, if you want to be with me. Do you? Want to be with me, I mean?” Her green eyes were still sparkling with tears, but there was hope in her voice once more.
”Oh Luv, there’s nothing I could ever want more, but you don’t deserve that kind of disruption and discord in your life again. Your friends and family all hate me, and I don’t want to come between you and them again. They’ll never trust me, especially without a soul. I know how important they are to you, how they make you strong, and I don’t want to do anything to destroy those supports for you.” Spike and Buffy were both crying now.
”For crying out loud...would you two stop it? I can only stand the martyred-for-love thing for so long and then it just gets old. Especially when there’s an easy solution to your problem.” Cordelia interrupted the lovers again. ”All you have to do is claim each other. If you do that, you share everything, and your problems are over.”
Both the bottle blondes immediately turned their attention to the smug brunette in the shapeless robe.
Buffy was the first to speak. ”All I know is that a claim is like a marriage, right?”
Cordelia sighed. ”Hasn’t Giles taught you anything? You really should pay more attention when he’s lecturing you, Buffy.” She shook her head in dismay. ”A claim is like a vampire marriage, but it’s also so much more. For one thing, there’s no chance of divorce. If you claim each other, you’re together until you die, and when one of you goes, the other will quickly follow. It’s unheard of for a mate to survive without their partner.” Cordelia wanted to make sure that Buffy and Spike both understood the seriousness of a claim. ”When you share a claim, you share everything, including Buffy’s soul.”
Buffy turned to Cordelia, almost bouncing with excitement. ”He would share my soul? That’s perfect! When can we do it?” Suddenly, she seemed to deflate a little. ”Oh. I mean, if you want to, Spike. I know it wouldn’t be your own soul, but do you think you would mind sharing mine?”
Spike was about to speak when he was interrupted by Cordelia.
”Wait a second. I’m not done yet. It’s not all sunshine and daisies here, Buffy. Spike will share in your soul, but you’ll share his immortality. You’ll be a lot harder to kill, and you won’t age. You’ll have to be prepared to watch everyone you know and love grow old and leave this world...” Cordelia continued with her warnings, but Spike and Buffy were lost in each other’s eyes and tuned her out. After everything they’d been through, after all their pain and suffering, they might just finally have a chance at happiness.
”Hey!” Cordelia got their attention again. ”Have you guys listened to a single word I’ve said?”
”Bossy bint,” Spike exclaimed.
”Yes, yes...we heard you. Claim is like a marriage. No divorce possible. Soul for Spike, harder to kill and immortality for me. One dies, the other one follows. Got it.” Buffy rushed through the list, and then asked eagerly. ”How do we do it?”
”Hmm.” Cordelia was a bit suspicious of the couple’s instant agreement, and wasn’t convinced they really understood what they were getting in to. ”The ritual itself is so simple, even Harmony could do it. All you have to do is get groiny, and then, when the moment seems right, you bite each other and take three large glups of blood. Once that’s done, you say ’mine’ to each other, and then reply with ’yours’. After that, you can toss the bouquet, put an announcement in the paper, and get matching rings because you’ll be officially hitched. Oh, and you don’t have to put any money out for a hall or bridesmaid’s dresses.”
Buffy turned to smile at Spike, but immediately frowned when she saw that he was looking at his feet instead of her.
Spike was scared. He loved his Slayer so much, and would give almost anything to be with her. Anything but her future happiness. He just wasn’t sure that he could trust Buffy’s sudden change of heart. She’d never allowed biting to be part of their relationship in the past, and she’d only just finally admitted that she really loved him. He was so afraid that bloodplay would be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back when it came to their relationship, and he couldn’t handle the thought of rejection when all he’d ever wanted was so close.
”Spike.”
He slowly raised his head, and looked at the woman he loved with all his heart.
Buffy met his worried gaze without flinching. ”I love you, Spike. There will never be another for me. Will you do me the honour of becoming my mate?” She looked at him with such love that he could no longer question her feelings.
”You know, if we do this, it might be a bloody long time before you make it back to heaven, Luv.” It was easy to see the regret in his brilliant blue eyes.
”No. You’ve got it all wrong, Spike. I’ll be in heaven whenever I’m in your arms,” Buffy needed her vampire to understand just how much he meant to her, and she smiled when she saw understanding finally dawn in his eyes.
”Then I shall become yours forever, if you will consent to be mine?” Spike’s voice had changed, the brash Cockney accent gone, and his tones cultured and smooth like Buffy would have expected from Giles.
”Yes. Oh, Spike. Yes. There’s nothing on this Earth that I want more than to be yours.” At her response, both of them started to cry tears of joy and relief.
It was only a moment before Spike turned to Cordelia. ”Oi, Cheerleader, what now?”
Cordelia smiled at the two blondes. ”Now, all Buffy has to do is speak her wish.”
With a brilliant smile, Buffy turned back to her love, keeping eye contact with him as she spoke. ”I wish for Spike, William the Bloody, Slayer of Slayers, to join me in this world.”
There was a blinding flash, and when Buffy could see again, she was staring straight into Spike’s blue eyes and the golden frame and silver mist were gone. She slowly raised her hand to his cheek, and he leaned in and covered her hand with his own.
They were too absorbed in each other to even notice the flash that signalled Cordelia’s departure. They also missed Whistler, as the rumpled emissary for the Powers snuck past them and out of the room. After so long apart, they were lost in each other and nothing would distract them.
”I love you, Buffy.”
”I love you too, Spike. So very much.”
Those were the only words said before their lips met in a gentle kiss. Buffy’s free hand crept around Spike’s shoulders, and into his hair, holding his head so she could deepen their kiss.
Spike placed his arms around Buffy’s waist and pulled her closer. Nipping at her lips, he tangled a hand in her hair, using it to hold her head still.
The hand that was on Spike’s cheek found a place of its own on his leather-clad shoulder, taking a firm hold of his duster. They were lost in the taste and feel of each other when Buffy’s hand pushed Spike’s jacket off his shoulders. The vampire didn’t want to let his Slayer go, even for the few moments it would take for his coat to drop to the floor, so he eventually let it fall off one arm at a time. Once the encumbrance of the heavy leather was gone, Spike pulled her as close as he could.
Buffy could feel his erection pressing into her stomach. She moaned into his mouth and tightened her hold on him, unable to resist running her hands up and down his well-muscled back. The lust she was feeling was driving her crazy, and she just wanted to get closer to her vampire. ”Please, Spike...I need you.”
He bent down to lift her up in his arms, moving her quickly to the bed. Pausing for only a moment to remove his shirt, Spike was quickly hovering over Buffy. ”Are you sure about this, Luv? We’ll have to bite each other if we want to do the claim.”
Without any hesitation, Buffy’s hand came to rest on Spike’s jaw for a moment, before she ran it through his hair, carefully loosening his curls from the restrictive gel he’d applied. ”I want it, Spike. I want you. I want us. I love you so much. Please make me yours forever,” she said with a gentle smile.
”With pleasure.”
*************************************'
Giles was standing at the bottom of the stairs when Whistler came down. ”Were you able to speak with her?”
Giving the aging Watcher a secretive smile, the rumpled little man responded, ”Yup. Everything has been taken care of. Your Slayer is busy...um...thinking...about what we discussed. I’m sure she’ll fill you in before too long though. Just give her a bit of time. ”
With that, Whistler walked out the front door, and out of their lives, knowing that the Slayer had finally received her reward.
The End
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