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Author's Chapter Notes:
Hey guys!! Hope you haven't all forgotten about me 0:) Sorry about the delay, this weekend was a little crazy and I didn't have a chance to just sit and write. But here we are! I hope you all enjoy because I was hit by a little writer's block on this one. Please please please review!!!

The song is Broken Strings by James Morrison, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26PAgklYYvo
The next morning, Buffy woke up in Spike’s arms. For a moment, she lingered in bed watching his boyish expression as he slept. He looked so adorable that she had to kiss him. Without opening his eyes, he kissed her back lightly.

“Good morning, pet,” he said roughly trying to clear his throat. He wiped at his eyes and found her staring at him thoughtfully.

“Morning,” she spoke softly.

Spike yawned and stretched his arms above him. Buffy watched his muscles ripple down his arms and shoulders; she unconsciously licked her lips.

“What time is it?” he croaked, looking around the room for a clock. Buffy crawled on top of him to reach the watch on her night table. Spike held her hips in place playfully, eliciting a giggle from the girl.

“About noon,” she replied between laughs. She looked so beautiful straddling him like that, the sun brightening her skin.

“I like making you laugh,” he said honestly. Buffy smiled down at him. He looked so young and innocent beneath her, like a little boy with a prized toy on his lap. She was about to kiss him again when she paled.

“Noon?! Oh my- oh my god! You have to leave!” she exclaimed as she jumped off the bed.

“Wha-? Why?” he responded, somewhat confounded by her change in temperament.

“My parents are coming back at 12:30 on the dot! You have to go, right now.”

“Buffy, calm down, I’m heading out. See?” he motioned to the pants he was putting on. “We still have half an hour and I live across the street. Not exactly a trek, luv,” he said calmly as he put his clothes back on. Buffy seemed to relax a little, but she anxiously paced the room anyway. He couldn’t help the sudden flare of insecurity that rose as he realized she was ashamed of him. Of course she would be; he was her teacher. He meant nothing more to her than any of the others.

But she let him stay the night, which he hadn’t seen her do for them. They usually left around five minutes post coitus. This gave him a little hope.

When both of them were finally dressed, Spike kissed her on the forehead and headed out. Hundreds of thoughts and concerns battled in his head for dominance, but Spike pushed them aside. He refused to be bothered today.

As he walked up the front steps of his house, he noticed something was different. Spike opened the door and heard nothing: no banging, no yelling or talking, just silence. Closing the door, he called for Dru through the house. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but something was definitely wrong.

“Dru? Drusilla, are you up there?” he yelled up the stairs. Bounding up the stairs, he prayed that Dru hadn’t done something stupid after their fight. Just as he reached the top, he heard a slight crunch and looked down. A small, crumpled piece of paper and a CD case lay on the top stair. Spike’s stomach dropped.

With shaking hands, Spike opened the crinkled note and read:

I lied about the baby. It is time for me to leave. You won’t see me again. Please listen.
~Love always, Drusilla

Spike rushed to their bedroom and searched through her drawers, but found nothing. Empty. His guilt for the night resurfaced at full force. Spike forced himself back down the stairs.

With an odd numbness, Spike put the CD into the player in the living room. For once, he would listen to her.

Let me hold you for the last time
It's the last chance to feel again
But you broke me now I can't feel anything
When I love you, it's so untrue
I can't even convince myself
When I'm speaking, it's the voice of someone else

Oh it tears me up
I try to hold on, but it hurts too much
I try to forgive, but it's not enough to make it all okay

You can't play on broken strings
You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel
I can't tell you something that ain't real
Oh the truth hurts and lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before

He didn’t realize Dru had felt the same that he did. If only she had been coherent to tell him… She was trying to tell him the whole time and he was so focused on his own problems that he’d refused to listen. He blamed and blamed her, but this was his fault. He stuck by her, and while it felt like the right thing to do, he’d made her worse.

Oh what are we doing we are turning into dust
Playing house in the ruins of us
Running back through the fire
When there's nothing left to save
It's like chasing the very last train when it's too late
Oh it tears me up
I try to hold on, but it hurts too much
I try to forgive, but it's not enough to make it all okay

You can't play on broken strings
You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel
I can't tell something that ain't real
Well the truth hurts, and lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before

Dru was giving him the life he wanted by leaving. It was selfless of her: certainly a first. He still hadn’t expected her to actually leave. The song continued and throbbed in his chest. He felt every word.

But we're running through the fire
When there's nothing left to save
It's like chasing the very last train
When we both know it's too late (too late)

You can't play on broken strings
You can't feel anything that your heart don't want to feel
I cant tell you something that ain't real
Well truth hurts, and lies worse
How can I give anymore
When I love you a little less than before

Let me hold you for the last time
It's the last chance to feel again…

As the last words rang through the echoing house, the heavy, stifling pressure inside him disappeared. He felt light and relieved, but somewhat empty where the darkness had been. Spike shook it off and sighed. He should have felt worse; after all, his wife just picked up and left him, presumably never to be seen again. Part of him was sad, not because she was gone, but rather because he felt responsible for her downfall. Had he not driven her to it?

Spike wiped the tears from his eyes. He had to talk to Buffy. He stood up and ran out the door to her house. Hastily, Spike rang the bell several times itching to speak with her.

He was about to bang wildly on the door when he heard the latch and it opened a bit. A woman he recognized as Buffy’s mother stood on the other side. He had totally forgotten Buffy’s parents were back. His mouth opened and closed like a fish.

“Mr. Giles? Can I… can I help you?” she said worriedly. He must have looked like absolute arse to receive that level of concern from someone he knew very little.

“Joyce… hi, I um… I was looking for…”

“For?”

“My… dog. It’s missing and I was wondering if you had… seen it?” Spike wanted to bang his head against a wall for his lame excuse for... well, an excuse.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” she said, genuinely concerned for the dogs’ well-being. “I didn’t know you had a dog,” she mentioned more to herself than to Spike.

“New dog… so have you seen it?”

“Well, what does it look like?” she said, fishing for details. Spike was flustered and couldn’t focus; his emotional energy was scattered.

“Uh, brown?”

“I don’t believe I’ve seen a brown dog, but I’ve only just gotten back from a trip. Perhaps my daughter Buffy has seen it. Hold on, Buffy?!” she yelled. “Buffy! Come down for a bit.”

“I’m coming, I’m-“ she saw him standing in her doorway just as wide-eyed as she was. “Sp- um, Mr. Giles? Can I help you?”

“I was… I was looking for my d-dog…”

“You have a dog?” she asked incredulously.

“Sorry, I’ll just… go,” he said as he practically jumped off their front steps. He needed to be with Buffy or alone and since she was preoccupied, it was time to be alone.

“I’ll be on the lookout!” Joyce yelled at his back hopefully. “That is a strange man,” she admonished as she closed the door.

“Yeah…” Buffy responded in a daze, “Strange.”

She knew there was more to the story and she was going to find out.


Chapter End Notes:
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