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Author's Chapter Notes:
This chapter is shorter than my usual, I'll try to make future ones lengthier :)

Banner by xoChantelly
Spike ran back to his car and jumped inside, slamming the door closed behind him. He looked back the way he'd come, checking to see if he was being pursued. But, luckily, no one was following him.

"Bloody rich bastards and their guard dogs... Have to get a packet of hotdogs before goin' to the next house," he muttered. A few Dobermans had objected strongly to Spike sneaking around their masters' property and peering in windows.

His search of mansions hadn't turned up anything but ordinary humans (and some very brassed off dogs) so far. This neighborhood was clean as far as vampire activity was concerned. Time to move on to search the next area. And it was a good idea to make himself scarce around here, just in case one of the mansion owners noticed him lurking or the dogs barking and called the cops. There weren't too many mansions in town, but there were large houses that might qualify as mansions, thus, Spike had expanded his search to include those, as well. It was going to take a few days to check out all of them unless he got lucky and stumbled across the right one. His gut told him that Clem's info about the vamp/vamps being holed up in a mansion was correct, so he'd keep at it.

Spike started up the DeSoto and headed to his next destination. A small detour to the market to nick some hotdogs really would be a wise move before he continued his search.

He glanced at the big, fancy houses as he drove by them. An evil smirk curled up on his lips as he imagined himself coming back some night and robbing the rich wankers blind. But then his smile faded as he imagined what Buffy would say and do if she found out he'd robbed people's houses... She would be very displeased, to say the least. Well, there was also the little detail that he'd have to be invited into a home first before he could loot it. He couldn't just waltz into any house at random; the limitations that went along with being a vampire really sucked sometimes.

Nevertheless, robbing (even rich people, who had so much money that they could wipe their asses with it) was the sort of bad instinct Spike had to try curbing if he wanted to stay on Buffy's good side. He wanted to change, to be the kind of man the Slayer would...

Spike sighed, gripping the steering wheel tighter for a moment. The kind of man the Slayer would... what? Did he really think, in his wildest dreams, that Buffy would ever consider him a... Well, just consider him. No, Spike didn't really believe he could ever have a shot at being with Buffy. But, if he continued trying to better himself, helped protect the non-Slayer members of the Summers clan, and be there for Buffy when she needed him for anything... Then maybe they could have something. The odds of them ever being lovers were a million-to-one, but maybe a friendship based on mutual respect would be...

Spike grimaced and growled softly, hating the thought of having to settle for being 'talking buddies'. But... if that's all they could ever be... he'd take it. It would be wonderful (as well as a bloody miracle) if Buffy craved him as much as he craved her, but getting some respect and a smile now and then would be alright. Anything would be preferable to the woman he loved treating him like a leper. She always looked so annoyed when she saw him... Well, of course she's annoyed -- Buffy had wanted him gone from Sunnydale for ages.

"Things are gonna change," Spike said to himself as he drove. "I'll prove to her she can count on me. I'm not an ass, I'm an asset."





Buffy groaned as she came to. For a few moments she couldn't remember why she felt so sick and shaky. Then it came back to her, Drusilla had shocked her with a cattle prod. Her eyes snapped open and she looked around.

She appeared to be in the mansion on Crawford Street. The same place Angelus, Spike and Drusilla had once called home, and where Angel had made a much warmer, cozier home after he'd come back from Hell. There were lots of good and bad times spent in the mansion over the last few years.

Buffy quickly discovered that her wrists and ankles were shackled, she was chained in an archway facing the main room in which Acathla once stood.

"Oh goody, you're awake!" Dru said, coming into the room. "No more waiting."

"Let me go!" Buffy seethed.

"Oh, no, Slayer. You're just the way I want you."

"Did... Spike help you do this? Is he here?" Buffy didn't know why she should feel such... disappointment (and even hurt) that Spike could be involved in capturing her. She shouldn't be surprised that he'd try to kill her again once he had the means. Buffy had started thinking of him as being on her side, but maybe that had been a mistake. She'd begun to rely on him more lately to help protect Dawn, and she took for granted that he'd be available to lend a hand, should she need any additional help. She'd thought he genuinely cared about her family, at least a little. It seemed that Dawn was dead wrong about him being in love with her.

"Would it trouble you if Spike helped do this to you?" Dru asked, the corner of her mouth twitching into an almost smile.

"Where is he?" Buffy thought she had a better chance of reasoning with Spike than Dru. "Spike! Where are you?!" she called, looking to the doorways and hoping to see him emerge.

Drusilla laughed. "Don't waste your breath, he's not here, Slayer. Spike doesn't know about this yet, it's a surprise." She put a finger to her lips and said, "Shhh! Don't tell! He doesn't even know I'm back in Sunnydale yet. I'll go to him soon. I've got business with you first... So nice when we can combine business and pleasure, innit?"

Buffy was relieved that Spike wasn't involved in this. But that also meant that she had to deal with the insane and evil Drusilla alone. "Zapping me and chaining me up was all your idea, huh? I'm impressed, I thought all you could do on your own was dress your creepy dolls."

Dru looked at her with an evil glint in her eye. "I did in that other Slayer, didn't I? Did it all on my own, too. She didn't even fight once I got her under my spell, then it was so easy to slit her throat like the pig that she was. I do regret that I didn't have time to sink my teeth in and drain her dry." Dru sighed dramatically. "But I was on a tight schedule; Angel was very insistent that I make quick work of her and your other friends while he kept you busy."

Buffy rattled her chains, giving Dru a murderous glare. "Shut up, bitch!" Bringing up Angel's name and his role in that ugliness added insult to injury; Buffy hated even thinking about it.

"I'm going to kill you, Slayer. I'm going to finish what me and Spike started all those years ago. Put an end to you and your wicked ways. Spike was gonna kill you for me... but it all went wrong... there was gonna be a party with streamers and songs... he promised..." Dru looked up at the ceiling with a faraway look in her eyes.

Buffy thought that if Dru just wanted to kill her, she would have done so already. There was more to it; Dru wanted something from her. The mention of Kendra's murder had gotten to Buffy for a minute, but she couldn't let Dru get her flustered, she had to stay calm. "You've both tried to kill me several times and you haven't succeeded yet. What makes you think this time will be any different?"

"This time you won't be able to wiggle out of the trap, the metal teeth have bitten down on your leg and will hold you tight." Dru spread her fingers on both hands, put the base of her palms together, and then clamped them together quickly, mimicking a bear trap snapping shut.

"The visual aids really help, thanks," Buffy said dryly.

"Fitting it should end here, don't you think?" Drusilla spread her arms out to encompass the room. "This is where you made your plans."

"My plans? What plans?" Buffy's brows knit. She didn't know if she should be trying to make sense out of everything Drusilla said or not. Maybe it was all just crazy-talk and would end up making her crazy too if she listened to enough of it.

"First you wormed your way into Angel's heart, but that wasn't enough for you. Oh no, not nearly enough. You made your fiendish plans to take my Spike from me. You seduced him to do your will."

"Hey, I didn't seduce anybody! Spike came to me with a basic plan to stop Angelus, not the other way around. Both of us wanted to stop Angelus for our own reasons, that's all it was -- a sort of... business arrangement. One of his conditions was that I wouldn't stake you while I was at it... I'm totally regretting agreeing to that part right about now."

"You took my boys away. So quiet, so lonely without my big, strong, deadly men." Dru muttered something unintelligible, whining pitifully.

Buffy stayed quiet for the moment, subtly testing her chains and thinking, 'The chains must be magically strengthened -- I can't break them. How am I going to get away from this loony? Please let someone have noticed I'm missing...' She had no idea how much time had passed since she'd gone to Spike's place, but she hoped the Scooby cavalry would come riding to her rescue, and the sooner the better.

"Angel... and then my beautiful Spike. You stole them from me -- stole my family away, you did." Drusilla closed her eyes and swayed on her feet, lost momentarily in a memory. "They would sing pretty songs and love me from sundown 'til sunup." She stopped swaying abruptly, her eyes were golden when she opened them again. She snarled, her upper lip twitched over her fangs. "You ruined everything. The music hadn't stopped, but you took my chair away."

"I... didn't do anything. I don't even like Spike!"

Drusilla rushed her and slapped her across the face fiercely, making sure to slice Buffy's cheek with her razor-sharp, painted nails. "Liar!"

"Back off, you crazy bitch! I'm so going to dust your skinny ass when I get free!" Buffy yanked hard on her chains; but they weren't going to break. Buffy tried kicking Dru, but there wasn't enough slack in the chain.

"Aww, were you tryin' to kick me just then?" Dru pouted in mock-sympathy. "Poor Slayer, you have no way to defend yourself, do you? So sad and distressing... for you. But it's wonderful from where I stand, to see you like this, all chained and helpless..." Dru shuddered with pleasure.

“Run and catch, run and catch, the lamb is caught in the blackberry patch,” Dru suddenly started singing, closing her eyes and twirling in place.

Buffy regarded her with a mixture of revulsion, hatred, and fear. Buffy tried keeping the panic and fear at bay, she knew how vamps got off on it when their prey felt fear, but it wasn't easy to stay frosty in her current predicament.

Dru opened her eyes again and smiled, her fangs glistening in the light. "Hmm, now what were we talkin' about? I got lost in the lovely pictures... Oh yes, now I remember! You want Spike, you lust for him... you love him," Drusilla accused, pointing a finger at Buffy's chest.

"That couldn't be less true!" Buffy insisted. She was taken aback that Drusilla could actually think she loved Spike. "You can have him all to yourself, I don't give a shit! I'll put you both in the same ashtray! I'm sure you'll be very happy together!"

"You know I have the gift of second sight, Slayer. There's no use makin' up stories. I can see through you..." She wriggled her fingers at Buffy's face. "I can see your guts and goblins, blood and wishes. Your thoughts are like an open book to me… it’s quite a sad story, really... poor Slayer – in love with a vampire, but you’ll never have him now. I love stories that end tragically, don’t you?"

Buffy ignored Dru’s ramblings and tried to convince her again that she had no interest in Spike. "I'm not lying! I have no interest in Spike, whatsoever! Your second sight needs to make an appointment with the optometrist -- you couldn't be more wrong."

Dru shook her head slowly and clucked her tongue. "Didn' your mummy teach you s'not nice to tell tales... s'not smart, either. You're only making me very cross with you."

Buffy groaned, squeezing her eyes shut for a moment. "I'm not lying," she told her emphatically.

Dru hissed and slapped Buffy's other cheek, scratching it as she'd done the other.

Buffy grit her teeth and glowered at the crazy vampiress, blood was now trickling down both sides of her face. "It doesn't matter how much you smack me around and claw me, my answer isn't going to change."

Dru looked at Buffy and tilted her head. "You're denyin' it..."

"Hell yes, I'm denying it! I don't love or lust or feel anything but annoyance for Spike. I wish he'd just go away!"

"No, you're denying it to yourself. Just like he did. I told him I knew he loved you... I saw you hoverin', floating all around him and fogging his mind like a poisonous cloud."

"S-Spike doesn't love me! If he wasn't chipped he would've kept coming after me until one of us was dead!" She thought, 'Oh God, now *Drusilla* is saying Spike's in love with me?! What is this, a damn conspiracy?!'

Drusilla ignored her. "You made my delicious William taste like ashes. He said no, no, no, denied, denied, denied. But you can't hide from me, Slayer. You can't lie to those who see. You can't want them without the shiny, crinkly soul, can you? Can't let yourself see it, can't permit yourself to feel it. Because it's wrong." She grinned and giggled. "Such a sad, joyless little life you lead. You should be grateful to me for puttin' an end to it."

"I know this is stating the obvious, but you're completely nuts."

"I know the truth..." Dru touched a finger to Buffy's forehead, making the blonde flinch. "It's in your head. Buzz, buzz... buzz, buzz, the fireflies say. Shall I open up your head and scoop it out? I'll let all the humming fireflies out and they can tell you themselves. Such a festive candy dish your skull will make."

"What do you want from me?" Buffy didn't know how long she could stand to listen to Drusilla's insane ramblings and threats.

Dru straightened up, looking more lucidly menacing. It was in these moments when Buffy thought Dru was the most frightening, when the crazy was combined with a Hannibal Lector-like intelligence and poise. "I want you to die. I want to make your body cold and lifeless. I want to remove your vile presence from this world. You should be moldering in your grave by now, with the maggots and worms makin' snug homes in your entrails." Dru started humming a song.

"Yeah? Look who's talking. At least I should've only been dead for a few years by now, thanks to The Master, but you're more than a hundred past your expiration date."

Dru startled Buffy by breaking into song, dancing and twirling:

"The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, The worms play pinochle on your snout; They eat your eyes, they eat your nose, They eat the jelly between your toes"

Buffy just watched Drusilla sing and spin around the room. 'Holy shit... I think she's gotten even more mental than she was last time she was in town...' Buffy remembered that rhyme from when she was a kid, but having it performed by an evil, insane bitch, added a whole new layer of creepy.

Dru finally stopped, laughing and wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. "Oh, what a fun little song that is! You want to sing it with me, Slayer? I can start another verse."

"No thanks, I'll pass. You go on though, sing your heart out." Buffy figured that if Dru was busy singing and dancing, she wouldn't be hurting her. So, as unsettling as it was to see mental illness on parade, it was better than being abused and it bought Buffy a little more time.

Dru strolled back toward Buffy. "Rest assured, you will die before the merry-go-round stops tonight, but I also want you to suffer -- suffer for all the pain you've caused. How much you suffer will depend on how nice you play. You know what I want most of all, Slayer?"

"No, but if I begged you, would you tell me?" Buffy said with extreme sarcasm.

Drusilla ignored Buffy's quip. "I want what you stole from me. My beautiful boys."

"They're not mine to give. But why don't you go ahead and find them... have a tea party or whatever the hell it is you did back in the bad old days."

Drusilla giggled. "You want to know what we did together back then, when everything was warm and blossoming?"

Buffy shook her head. "No. No, I definitely do not want to know."

Drusilla smiled dreamily, swaying again, with her hands over her heart. "The boys would fight over me, not wanting to share their meal. Makes a girl feel so special. Their teeth and bodies bared, growling and biting, glowing an' glistening. I let them tussle and wrestle for a bit, watching them and getting so wet. Such lovely muscles they have... and great big cocks dangling between their thighs. All for their dark princess. I'd say, 'You mustn't fight so, my handsome, hungry loves. Dru has more than one warm, wet hole for both of you to fill again and again'."

Buffy's face was screwed up in disgust. "I believe I said I DIDN'T want to know!"

Dru was in her own little world, not acknowledging Buffy's protest. "And they would, again and again." She closed her eyes and ran her hands slowly down her body, moaning, and getting lost in the beautiful memory as she talked. "One at my mouth and one in my cunt. One in my cunt and another in my ass. They'd hunch and grunt and sweat, shoving me onto the other with hard, brutal thrusts. And sometimes Grandmummy would join us and we'd take turns being --"

Buffy shouted, "Shut up! Eugh! God, I don't want to hear this disgusting shit! Why don't you just go get laid and leave me alone!"

Picturing a wild threesome featuring Dru, Angel and Spike made Buffy sick. However... if she were the meat in that hot vampire sandwich... She had to shake the images out of her head, getting turned on, even a little, wasn't smart right now. Buffy had never thought about having sex with more than one man at a time -- until now. Spike was light and slim, Angel was dark and broad, both of them so beautiful in their own ways. And then Angel was cut out of the picture. It was just her and Spike. Spike with those sharp cheekbones, and azure eyes that seemed as though they could see right through any walls she put up around herself. The seemingly effortless ways he oozed sex appeal: a slow blink of his eyes, a pursing of his lips, a poking of his tongue, a head tilt, the way he smiled, the way he strutted into a room like he owned the place, full of swagger and bursting with sexuality. He was the kind of man that women saw and began immediately picturing what their panties would look like discarded on his bedroom floor. He really was a sexy undead bastard...

'Whoa, whoa, whoa! I was doing it again! Thinking of Spike in sexy ways... is bad. So bad.' It had to be lingering memories and feelings from the time they'd been 'engaged'. They'd done a lot of smooching and touching... and though she'd never admit it, he was a fantastic kisser... and his hands had felt so good on her body. Under the effects of the spell, Buffy had wanted him so bad, she'd loved him so much and wanted nothing more than to consummate their love on their wedding night... And now she couldn't stop the thought from forming, 'I bet he's very passionate in bed... insatiable...'

Dru stopped dancing and leveled a gaze at her. "You'll never have it so good, dear Slayer. Never. I'll make sure of that. I see you dancing with him in your head. You want to play with my Spike's lovely cock."

Buffy spluttered. "I-I do NOT!" Her face flushed even more than it usually would at such an accusation, because her thoughts had been naughty.

Dru wagged a finger at her. "Yes, you do. Now, no more porkies, Slayer, or you'll have no cakes and pomegranates."

"I don't want to play with his co-- with anything of his! If I pictured anything, it was involuntary, because you keep talking about it!" Buffy assumed 'porkies' was British slang for 'lies' (and didn't refer to the teenage sex romp movies of the 1980s), but she was too flustered to ask for a definition. Why couldn't English people just speak English?

"My Angelus is lost to me... that wretched bloody soul won't let him play anymore. Though, that may change soon, with Darla and Spike's help." Dru held up her hands and crossed her fingers.

Buffy frowned, not knowing what Dru was talking about. 'Darla? She's been dead-dead for years now, Angel staked her, I saw it...' Was it just more of Dru's crazy-talk? By the sounds of it, Dru had some kind of evil plan involving Angel too; Buffy had to warn him. She had to escape with her own life first, in order to do that, though... Buffy started to ask, "What do you --"

Drusilla talked over her. "Angelus can be my Daddy again, but Spike... he'll always be my love, my heart. My childe, my lover, my all. My sweet, pretty Spike. I chose him that night, I could've had any man I wanted, but I chose him as my mate. And I can have him back -- back in my life, back at my side, back in my bed. And he can do all those naughty, delicious things to me like only he can." She hugged herself, smiling at the thought of being with Spike again. "It can be the way it used to be... before you mucked everything up."

"Yeah, good, stop trying to make me puke and go find him." It would be a very good thing if Dru left her alone, she could try escaping in earnest. It would also be a good thing (she hoped) if Dru brought Spike back with her. Maybe he really did care and would stop Dru from hurting her, going against his Sire, the woman he'd loved for over a hundred years, for Buffy: the woman whom he (allegedly) had just fallen in love with, the woman who consistently treated him like crap and punched him with very little provocation... Buffy was feeling less encouraged now that she thought about it that way.

"He'll be so happy to see me. I can almost see his bright smile at seeing me again. He can prove his everlasting love for me by helping me chop you into messes."

"I thought you said he was in love with me? Now you're saying he loves you? Which is it?" Buffy hoped to throw Drusilla off by pointing out flaws. She didn't know if it would work or not, but at least it would feel good to confuse the crazy bitch.

Drusilla shook her head with a sigh. "It's possible to love more than one person at the same time, you miserable little creature. I loved both Spike and Angel. But Spike's the one I want. Spike has such a spacious heart, so much room for love. He still loves his black goddess."

"You think he's just gonna run into your arms, huh?" Buffy asked, raising her brows skeptically. "Do you have any idea, or even care, how broken he was when you dumped him? You hurt him real bad, Drusilla. I think you'll have to do some intense groveling." Buffy wasn't sure if that was true. Spike was hung up on Dru, he might just take her back with no questions asked. Love's Bitch, that's what he'd called himself once.

"Sweet William will know how much I love him when he sees what I'm going to do to you for him, for us. You'll be bowed and bleeding, strung up like a funny marionette. In the end, there won't be anything left of you for him to be in love with. And then I'll sink to my knees, rip open his trousers, and swallow his massive cock, taking it in deep, just the way he likes. He'll see how much I still love him."

"I think that last part would do it -- you don't even need to do anything to me."

"Oh, your agonizing death is the grand centerpiece on the table. Forks go on the left, spoons and knives on the right. And then we'll dance and dance and dance." Dru started twirling around the room again with a maniac's smile on her face. "My Spike will sweep me off my feet and we'll spin and twirl. If only Angelus and Grandmummy could join us, we'd be a whole, happy, perfect family again."

"You don't have a chance in hell of getting Angel to join you. And I don't think Spike will want you back either. Face it, no one wants your crazy ass." After Buffy said that, she thought it wasn't the smartest thing to say. She wanted to push Dru into making some kind of mistake, but enraging her probably wasn't a good idea, at least not while Buffy was still chained and defenseless.

"You took Angel and Spike's hearts." She grinned that insane, scary grin. "So I'll take yours. Tit for tat. It's poetic, my William will enjoy that. Such a sweet poet, always talking of love, destiny, and eternity. Your heart will still be hot and quivering when I feast on it. I'll eat it like a hand fruit and let the juices dribble down my chin. And I'll share it with Spike. Our bond will be renewed over your ripped and torn body."

Dru reached a finger out, wiped at the blood running down Buffy’s cheek and moaned with delight as she sucked it into her mouth. “When your Slayer blood flows in rivers down his throat … only then will he be able to stop loving you – only then will I have my deadly boy back."

Buffy swallowed nervously. "Look, I don't know what you're talking about. Spike does not love me, and I sure as hell don't love him."

Buffy flinched back when Dru growled and snapped her jaws at her.

"Bad doggie is still telling tales. I did warn you about that..." She hummed and went to a table that Buffy only now noticed had several shiny knives and other nasty looking implements laid out on its surface. Dru kept humming and waving her hand slowly above the table. "The right tool will speak to me. The one meant to cut you into pretty, red ribbons will tell me."

Buffy tried thinking fast to distract Dru and delay her long enough for some kind of escape or rescue plan to take shape. "You know that Spike was chipped, don't you? Do you know what that means? He won't be able to hunt or kill or even hurt a human. He's not the same Spike anymore -- he can never be your deadly boy again." And she realized that that was true now that she'd said it out loud. Spike had changed because of the chip, it had forced him to change his ways. Not just the big changes (such as not killing humans), but very subtle changes (such as Spike seeming honestly concerned about her sister's safety). Maybe being in love with Buffy was helping him change for the better...? Or maybe all that was just an act to make her think he'd changed so he could catch her off-guard? Buffy didn't know what to think anymore. Spike didn't have a soul... he wasn't capable of love, right?

To Buffy's relief, Dru did forget her current task of selecting a cutting tool. She looked at Buffy, pouting. "Yes, I know what the bad soldiers did to my Spike. I saw it, I felt his anguish and pain from across the ocean. I shall be very cross with the soldiers if I ever meet one. Putting a leash on a magnificent, primal beast is so cruel."

"You want him back, you want it to be like the old days, right? How do you plan to do that when he can't kill people? And that includes me. Spike won't be able to cause me any harm, so he can't join in the fun with you."

"Oh, don't worry 'bout that, Slayer." She smiled wide. "There are ways 'round that."

Buffy wondered why Drusilla seemed so confident about that. "If there were ways around it, Spike would've found them."

"He didn't have his black goddess to light the way. The chip is nothing, just bits of plastic and metal. I can make my Spike feel like he's floating on a cloud, no pain, no shocks." As she'd talked, Dru had started swaying and waved her hand under her eyes.

Buffy thought she understood now: Dru was saying she could hypnotize Spike into not feeling the pain from the chip -- and it chilled Buffy to think she might be right.

"You know, you've mentioned Angel a lot. Maybe you should decide which one of them you really want before you try getting Spike back. He was pissed off at how you kept throwing yourself at Angel like a giant ho."

"I have made my decision. It's Spike, it was always Spike. Angelus made me part of his family, but I chose my William. He's mine, forever and always. He'll take me back, just you wait an' see."

"I don't care! You can have him... if he'll have you, that is."

"Enough talk. The only thing I want to hear coming out of your mouth are screams of agony." Dru went back to waving her hand over the table of sharp instruments. "You're in for a treat, Slayer. I learned at the right hand of Angelus: a true master in the art of torture. Did he ever tell you what he did to my mum?"

"You... don't want to do this, Drusilla." Buffy was getting more afraid, she didn't know how to continue to stall or stop Dru from doing horrible things to her.

She looked at Buffy and tilted her head, looking genuinely puzzled. "I don't? Why on earth not?"

"Because... Because if Spike really is in love with me, he'll be angry that you hurt me."

Dru smiled and shrugged. "He'll get over it." She picked up a scalpel, turned to Buffy and grinned. "You won't. Let's get started, shall we?"


Chapter End Notes:
I know (in season 5 of AtS) that it was said the Fanged Four never had concurrent relations with each other, but I don't buy that lol I believe three or four of them had some very wild times together, concurrently, and that's what I'm going with *thumbs nose at canon* :P



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