Chapter Two
“So, this is our way in?” Faith stared dubiously at the three-foot-in-diameter circle swirling in front of them.
“That’s the best we can do. You’ll just have to bend way down to get through it.”
Jeannie smiled at them. “On the plus side, we’ve been able to locate the general area that the vampires seem to disappear into, and we can set this up to open in that area. If we get lucky, someone will be able to watch through the scrying bowl so you know what to expect on the other side. It’s going to take both Molly and me to keep the portal open for you.”
“So we won’t be able to get back out?” Buffy frowned and exchanged looks with Faith.
“We can keep the scry bowl open pretty much full-time, and follow you in that. Give us a signal when you need or want to come out, and we’ll open the portal again.”
“Or if we want reinforcements?”
“Or that. You’re not taking everyone then?”
“Not this time. We need to find out what’s going on, who the bad guys are, how to find them… stuff like that. We’ll take just enough girls with us to make it a bad idea for anything nasty to try to interfere. When we want the rest of the squads, we’ll give you a signal.”
“What kind of signal?”
Buffy and Faith snickered and at the same time said, “Help!” They were still giggling as they went to pick a squad to take with them.
“I guess we should come up with something more senior slayerish than ‘help’,” Buffy said with a sigh.
“Yeah. We need something we can do without sound, and probably more than one. One for ‘Get us out of here!’, a different one for ‘Send more slayers’.”
“And one that means ‘It’s on. Send everybody,” Buffy said. “Too bad none of us speak sign language.”
“Abby does. She’s the deaf girl, remember?”
“Former deaf girl. Can’t she hear now?”
“Yeah. When she got her powers, she got her ears back too. But she knows sign language. She can teach everybody a few simple signs to use.”
“Great idea. Let’s talk to her before we tell everybody what’s going on.”
XXXXXXXXX
“So, that’s the sitch. The portal is small and it can’t stay open, so Faith and I will take a few girls through with us and try to find out what’s going on and what or who we need to kill. The scry bowl will stay focused on us as much as possible, so you will know what we find.” Buffy gestured to the embarrassed girl standing next to Faith.
“Abby here is going to teach us all enough sign language to be able to communicate if we need to. Please pay attention – write it down if you need to.”
Buffy pulled Abby up beside her. “You’re on, Abs.”
Blushing and nodding, Abby took a deep breath and began to speak, signing as she did so. “I hope you can all understand me,” she said as clearly as she could. “I still don’t speak very clearly, but I’m getting better.”
Murmurs of “You’re fine. I can understand you.” came from the group of slayers watching her. Only one girl said, “What did she say?” and she was quickly shushed by her neighbors.
Abby held up her hands. “If you see anybody in the scry bowl doing this” – she made a very understandable gesture with both hands – “it means they need to come out. Tell Jeannie or Molly right away.”
“If they do this” – she made an “okay” gesture with one hand – “It means they’re fine and you should just keep watching. This” -- she made another very easy to duplicate gesture holding up fingers – “means we need to send more slayers, as many as fingers held up. And this—” she threw both hands in the air “—means send everybody and bring the weapons.”
She looked around the room. “Does everybody get that? I’m not trying to teach you sign language tonight, just give you some easy to use signs so that no matter who is watching, or who is communicating, everybody knows what is being said.”
Buffy stepped back up beside her. “Thanks, Abby. Does anybody have any questions? I suggest you practice among yourselves for a while. We’ll be going in soon and we’re taking Suzie’s squad with us. Angela, your squad is on scry bowl duty. Somebody should be monitoring it at all times. The rest of you, make sure the weapons are ready to go, and that you’re fed and rested when we send for you.”
XXXXXXXX
Buffy and Faith stood watching the portal grow from a tiny hole in the air to the much larger one they’d seen before.
“Okay, ladies. With a little luck, we’re going to be stepping out into a relatively safe area, but keep your eyes open. You’ve all been briefed on what the two vampires we’re looking for look like. Anything that doesn’t look like either one of them is dustable. The dragon’s an unknown factor. It seemed to be helping them out before, so we’ll treat it as neutral or friendly until we know otherwise. Let’s go.”
Buffy bent down and pushed herself through the portal, hitting the ground on the other side and rolling away as another girl came through right behind her. Faith came through last and they all watched as the portal winked out of sight.
“Make a note where it was,” Faith said, pointing to the now empty space. “What else is here, and how close.”
“Do we have to be here to go back?”
“Probably not. But if they can’t open it where we are for some reason… like a horde of demons waiting to go through… then this might be the safest place. We hope not. But if they see us with a group of humans, they’ll probably try to open it right there so we can send them all out. But we don’t know.”
The well-trained slayers formed a circle and surveyed their situation. To the left of the spot they’d come through the portal was a dumpster, overflowing with trash. To the right, was the burnt-out hulk of a car. One look inside had them retreating from it.
“Gross! There’s a burned up body in there.”
“Probably won’t be the worst thing we see here. Just keep together and lets see if we can find where Spike and Angel hide when they aren’t rescuing people.”
“There, maybe?”
One of the girls pointed at an old building that a first glance seemed deserted. A closer look showed footsteps in the dust of the loading dock facing the alley they were in. Buffy frowned at the familiar looking building, but Faith headed right for it.
“It’s the Hyperion. I’d recognize this old loading dock anywhere. Makes sense they’d be holed up in here.” She jumped up onto the loading dock, only to bounce off an invisible barrier. “What the fuck?”
“It’s got magical protection? That doesn’t sound like Spike or Angel.”
While they stared at the building, searching for some sign that it might contain vampires, they saw the doors begin to open. All eight slayers fell into fighting stances, stakes or swords at the ready, and waited to see what would emerge from the seemingly empty building.
Spike stood there, frozen, staring at Buffy, then shook himself and turned to yell back over his shoulder. “It’s nothing. Just Slayers one and two come to call. And they brought a few friends.”
He was shoved aside as Angel opened the door the rest of the way. “What the hell are you—” He halted, staring from Buffy to Faith and back again.
“Surprise,” Buffy said cheerfully. “Are we going to be invited in?”
“Uh, yeah, of course. You’ll have to be… “ Spike still stood by the door, only his mouth moving. Angel had yet to say anything, blinking slowly as if just waking up.
Faith rolled her eyes and walked as close as she could get to the barrier. “Well, is one of you two assholes going to invite us in? We’re feeling a little exposed out here.”
“Oh… sorry. Of course, of course.” Angel stepped back and said, “Come in, Buffy, Faith, umm… other slayers.”
Faith leaped onto the loading dock and shook her head. “Suzie, Amy, Sam, Julie, Annie, Grace. Repeat it, idiot.”
When Angel had stumbled through all the girls’ names and they had all joined Faith on the platform, Buffy took a last look around, made an OK gesture toward where the portal had been and then jumped up herself.
“Ok, lets get inside,” Angel said. “And then you can explain how you got here.”
Angel held the door while Faith led the squad inside and waited for Buffy to join them. When she didn’t follow immediately, Faith shrugged and mouthed “good luck” at Spike as she stepped inside, leaving the door ajar.
Buffy was staring at Spike with a combination of disbelief, longing, and fury. He took a deep breath and said, “I can explain—”
“If I let you live that long,” Buffy said, whirling to follow her slayers into the building.
“Right. If you let me live that long.” Spike sighed and followed her in, closing the doors behind him and putting a bar across them.
“What’s that for if you have a barrier?”
“It’s kind of a reverse barrier. Keeps demons and humans out, but a vamp could walk right through it. We learned that the hard way.”
They faced each other again, staring into each other’s eyes until they reached some sort of mutually acceptable conclusion. Buffy’s lips twitched as Spike’s expression faded into one of the soft smiles he used to give her when no one else was around. Without giving away how affected she was at seeing his emotions so clearly, she turned away, saying, “As soon as we’ve kicked whatever butts need kicking to get this city free, your ass is the next one in line.”
“Looking forward to it,” he said, risking a light touch on her back. “I missed you too.”
“Hmph!” Buffy twitched, then leaned back into his hand just enough to keep him from pulling away. “That’s kinda what I meant.”
“Was hoping it was,” he said, moving close enough to whisper in her ear. “Didn’t think you’d be that brassed off at me if it wasn’t.”
She whirled to stare at him, not backing away when that put them face to face, but instead moving closer to hiss at him, “FYI, you asshole, even if I’d been lying when I said I loved you – which I wasn’t, by the way – I still would have grieved for you, just like I did for Anya and all the girls we lost in there. In what universe would it have been okay for you to let me think you were dead too?”
He stared into her suddenly damp eyes as long as he could, then dropped his head, saying, almost too softly, “None.” He looked down between them for seconds, waiting for her to move away; when she didn’t move, he pulled his gaze back up.
“I… I wish I could find a way to tell you how sorry I am, Buffy. I wish I had some excuse that isn’t going to sound like a load of bollocks. But I don’t. I was stupid, and a world-class wanker, and in no way do I deserve your forgiveness or your… affection. I know that.”
Before she could respond, Faith called out, “Hey, can you two make googly-eyes later. You know, like after we figure out what we’re doing here?”
With a guilty start, Buffy turned around. “This isn’t over,” she growled, once more the general. Spike remained uncharacteristically silent as he followed her into the hotel kitchen where everyone was standing around.
“Sorry, everybody,” she said. “Letting personal stuff get in the way. It won’t happen again.” She felt Spike’s rumbled growl behind her, but ignored it. “So, Angel, what’s the sitch?”
Shooting a glare at Spike, he said, “Faith tells me you have a portal that we can send people through.”
“We do. Can’t leave it open, but we can open it when we need it. And we have more slayers waiting on the other side.”
He nodded. “Right now, the best thing you can do for us is open the portal so we can send all the people we’ve managed to rescue back through it. It’s getting really crowded in here, and it’s hard to keep this many people fed.”
“How many people?”
Angel looked at Spike who shrugged.
“Last time I counted, we had almost 200. That doesn’t include the ones we brought in yesterday, though.”
“Whoa! Okay, we’re going to need more than just sign language to set that up. One of you girls is going to have to go back and tell them what’s going on. We need to know the portal will be ready before we take anybody outside, and that it can stay open long enough to get them all through.”
Julie raised her hand. “I’ll go. Should I bring more girls back with me?”
Buffy shook her head. “Let’s get the people out of here first, and figure out where we need to fight. Maybe bring back some big sheets of paper and some markers so we can communicate a little better? Rather than sending somebody back and forth all the time? Ask Jeannie if she can keep the scrying bowl focused on that loading dock unless we ask her to follow us somewhere. That way, we can leave messages without getting outside the barrier.”
“Sounds good, B. I’m going to take Julie back outside. Don’t lock the door on me.”
“I’ve got it,” Spike surprised her by saying. He followed Faith and Julie out of the kitchen without looking at Buffy again.
Chapter Three
“Okay. So what do we need to know, who do we need to beat up or slay, and what the hell was that dragon doing?” Buffy stared at Angel, who sighed and stood up straighter.
“Buffy… about Spike—”
She held up her hand. “No personal stuff. Not till we’ve accomplished our mission. Then we will have that conversation – trust me.” She let her disappointment and anger show just long enough to make him nod and lower his head, then she continued, “But right now I want to know the whole situation.”
“Pretty simple, really. The Senior Partners – which are sort of the evil version of the Powers That Be – were pretty pissed of at us for taking down the Circle of Black Thorn. Thanks to Ilyria, Spike and I somehow survived the demon army they threw at us, but when she opened a portal and took most of the army with her to… who the hell knows… we still had a lot of demons left behind. Somebody, probably the Senior Partners, but we don’t know for sure, slammed a glamour on the city and cut it off from the rest of the world. The demons left behind are still squabbling with the ones already living here, the vampires are mad because the demons are running things, and the humans have to worry about being swept up by demon slavers.
“We’ve been saving as many as we can get to – with help from the dragon - but we’re outnumbered. So without Cordy’s help—”
“Cordelia Chase is a dragon?”
Angel gave Buffy a sad glare that showed her how much they were no longer in each other’s lives.
“Cordy is dead,” he said flatly. “The dragon seems to have some of her… essence… and it helps us when it can.”
Sam nudged the girl next to her. “Does anybody else feel like we’ve stepped into somebody else’s soap opera?”
Matching glares from Buffy and Angel had her stepping behind her companion and drawing an imaginary zipper across her mouth.
“You’ll get used to it, Sam,” Faith said as she re-entered the room. When Buffy raised a questioning eyebrow, she continued, “Your honey is watching for the portal to reopen so Julie doesn’t have to worry about what might be waiting for her when she comes back.” Faith smiled at Angel. “I take it not all the vamps know you keep the door locked.”
He shrugged. “The demons have mostly learned they can’t get in, but the vampires know we have people in here, so every once in a while one thinks he’s going to get in and help himself and we have to teach him a lesson.”
“And who usually hands out that lesson?”
“Spike does. He likes that kind of stuff.” Angel shrugged. “I’d just as soon pick them off with a crossbow and be done with it, but—”
“But he’s more a hands-on kinda guy. Yeah. I guess I should have remembered that from Sunnydale.” She rubbed her jaw. “Packs a mean wallop when he’s pissed off.”
“You fought with Spike?” Angel looked back and forth between Faith and Buffy. “Why? I thought you were all together against the First.”
“There was a… misunderstanding… about B here, and he was defending her honor, or something.” Faith looked uncomfortable for a few seconds, but Buffy said nothing about having been kicked out of her own home and the moment passed. “It was no big deal. Everybody kissed and made up, and Blondie used that gaudy jewelry to close the hellmouth and be a hero. Win – win.”
“That’s why he came out of the amulet,” Angel mused. “We wondered.”
“He didn’t tell you? That he wore it and burned up closing the hellmouth?” Buffy stared at Angel in shock.
“He said he died a hero, and on fire. I didn’t know you’d given him that amulet to wear, and he never mentioned it, so I didn’t make the connection. I figured he was just exaggerating what happened to him. I’m surprised Wes or Fred didn’t pick up on it though….”
“He was my champion,” Buffy said softly, ignoring the way Angel visibly flinched at that quiet declaration. “And then he… died… and I didn’t know—” She shook herself, noticing that Angel had flinched again but opting not to pursue it in front of the girls. “So, where are these people we need to get back into the real world?”
“They’re downstairs in the basement. It’s safer down there if anything gets in and goes looking for them. They’ve got weapons and they can defend themselves when there’s only one way in.”
“Okay, well, somebody needs to tell them we’re here and that they can leave as soon as we know when the portal will be available.”
“I’ll go give them a heads-up,” Angel said, seeming relieved to have a reason to get out of the room.
XXXXXXXXX
The slayers had wandered off to explore the hotel and its rooms, promising to keep an eye on their communicators in case they were needed. Faith shrugged and asked Buffy, “You want to take this break to go settle things with William-the-in-deep-shit-Bloody? I can stay here till Angel gets back.”
Buffy sighed. “I guess we need to talk. At least enough to be sure we aren’t going to screw up something important by getting into a fight at the wrong time.” She smiled at Faith. “Thanks.”
“Hey, it’s in everybody’s best interest to have you two working together and not walking on eggshells around each other. No biggie.”
“Your version of self-defense, huh?” Buffy snorted.
“You got it. If you get mad at each other, at least maybe you’ll be able to take it out on something evil.”
“Relationship advice from you,” Buffy said, shaking her head but giving Faith a grateful smile. “We really are in an alternate dimension.”
“Up yours, B. Just self-preservation.”
Buffy lifted her hand in a wave and walked toward the loading dock.
XXXXXXXXXX
She squared her shoulders when she got to the door, taking a deep breath and reaching for the handle. “I can do this,” she muttered to herself. “We can have a conversation without yelling.”
“You sure about that, Slayer?”
She jumped when she heard Spike’s voice, having forgotten about his keen hearing. He was leaning against the wall of the building, smoking a cigarette and seemingly relaxed. But she could see the tension in his shoulders and she forced herself to remain calm.
“Well, I know why I want to yell at you… or maybe beat you to a bloody pulp,” she said, taking an equally casual stance against the opposite wall. “But I don’t know why you should yell at me. I’m not the one who left somebody who loved me to grieve for over a year because she thought I was dead!”
In spite of her resolve, Buffy’s voice had risen as she spoke. By the time she finished speaking, she was standing up straight and glaring at him with damp eyes. She blinked rapidly to hold back the tears that had caught her by surprise, and slumped back against the wall, keeping her glare on Spike’s face as his expression went back and forth between anguish and anger. It settled on anger.
“I already said I’m sorry about that, Slayer,” he said, his voice low and controlled. “I figured Andrew would have told you, or someone from the Council of Wankers would have heard about it. And when you didn’t show up… and then wouldn’t help us when we asked—”
“When you asked? When did you ask us for help? And it’s the Council of Slayers and Wank—Watchers, thank you very much. “You didn’t even try to tell us about this!” Buffy waved her hand around to indicate the situation. “We had to learn about it from rumors.”
Spike straightened up and growled. “You wouldn’t trust us to take care of Dana – sent a squad of slayers with the idiot to pick her up. You wouldn’t let Red help out when sweet little Fred was being kicked out of her own body so an Old One could set up housekeeping in there…. Even if we’d been able to contact anybody outside, why would we expect you to help us? You didn’t trust us before, why would you now?”
“We didn’t trust Angel! I didn’t even know you were here until last week.” She lowered her voice, which had started to rise again. “Why didn’t I know, Spike? Even if you didn’t love me anymore, you could have at least let me know you were alive.”
Before he could respond, she continued, her voice firmer, “And anyway, I’ll tell you the same thing I told Giles when he said you and Angel might both be dead by now – this city is full of innocent human beings who are trapped here because of something you and Angel did. Even if you were both dust, I’d want to save the city I was born in. We’re slayers. It’s what we do.”
She faced him, chin high and gaze firm, watching as he shut his eyes as if in pain.
“Buf—“ He sighed and flicked his cigarette into the alley. Standing up straight again, he walked toward her, never taking his eyes off her proud gaze. Ignoring her flinch, he put his hands on her shoulders and rested his forehead against hers. “Thought we’d already said what needed saying. I still love you. How could you doubt it? Was brassed off to think you weren’t willing to help us, but just thought I’d had my time with you and you’d moved on. If I’d had any idea you were grieving, or even missing me….” He raised his head and shook it slowly. “I love you, and it sounds like you—like you still care about me. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all that matters. Can grovel some more, if it would help, but I can’t change anything. All I can do is whatever I can to help fix this mess.”
“I don’t want to fight,” she said. “I mean, I want to kick your ass for being such an idiot, but not right now. Right now, I just want to be happy you’re alive, and here.”
“I am here, love. Never doubt it.” He lowered his head again to brush his lips over hers. “And I’ll be happy to prove it to you as soon as we are someplace private.”
Buffy’s giggle broke off as a sound behind them brought them both whirling to face the now-open portal and a smirking Julie.
“Did I interrupt something?” she asked, trying to appear innocent. She paid no attention to Spike’s growl, waving the supplies she’d brought back with her. “Got a dry erase board and markers so we can leave messages. And if they have something complicated to tell us, they’ll make a small portal and just shove a note through it.” She looked dubious for a second. “I guess that means somebody’s going to have to be here all the time so a message doesn’t just blow away—”
“Or get picked up by the wrong person or thing,” Spike added. “This alley stays pretty clear, but it’s not demon or vamp proof.”
“All right, we’ll work that out. What did they say about getting the rescued people out?”
“Jeannie said they can do it. She said to give them about a hour to get set up, and then have the people ready to go as soon as the portal opens.”
“Okay. That’s it, then. Let’s start lining them up so we can hustle them out as soon as it opens. Julie, just leave the board and markers here inside the barrier and come with me to help me explain.” Buffy turned to go back inside, pausing when Spike put a hand on her arm.
“Are we good, then?”
Buffy shrugged and put a hand on his cheek. “As could as we can be right now. We’ll be better.”
He leaned into her hand, turning his head to kiss her palm. “Lookin’ forward to it, love.” He followed the two girls into the hotel, stopping to replace the bar when the door was safely closed.
Faith looked up with quirked eyebrow when she saw them. “So, you went for kiss him first and then kill him?”
Buffy flushed and Spike laughed. “So, that was the decision to make? Kiss me or kill me?”
“More or less,” Buffy muttered. “Just keep in mind, I haven’t done either one yet, so my options are still open.”
“Duly noted, pet,” he said, his grin showing how unconcerned he was.
Behind Buffy’s back, Faith gave him a thumbs up, earning herself a growl from Angel as he entered the kitchen.
“I know you didn’t just growl at me, asshole,” Faith said, narrowing her eyes at him. “Just so you know, B and I divided up the vampire ass-kicking duties, and I got you. Neither one of us is forgetting that you could have hollered for help and maybe prevented this mess.”
“The only time we asked for help, your boss turned us down,” Angel said with a snarl. “He said you didn’t trust us.” He turned he glare on Buffy.
“I’ve already had this conversation with Spike. I didn’t trust you,” Buffy said. “I would have trusted Spike if he called. But I never turned down a request for help. I don’t know who you talked to, but it wasn’t me, it wasn’t Faith, and it wasn’t Willow, and we don’t have a ‘boss’.”
“Well, Giles seems to think he’s still running things,” Angel said. “Wes called him and begged for Willow or somebody with magic skills to come help us save Fred. He got turned down flat. Giles made it sound as if they were your orders.”
Buffy and Faith exchanged identical furious looks. Faith smacked one hand into the other. “That wasn’t his decision to make. Just like not sending us here to help you fight the Senior Partners wasn’t his decision to make.” She smacked her hands together again. “I hope he wasn’t planning to live to a ripe old age. I don’t think he’s got that in his future…”
There was a long silence in the room as Buffy, Faith, Angel, and Spike dealt with knowledge that things could have gone so differently for everyone. The other slayers stared at them, shocked to hear Faith threaten the life of the man who as far as they knew, was the head of the Watcher side of the Council.
Finally, after several minutes of reflection, Angel sighed. “Much as I would like to see Giles suffer, I think we all have to take some responsibility here. I could have told you Spike was here,” he said to Buffy, before turning to Faith. “And I could have told you both what I was doing at Wolfram and Hart, and that it could go wrong in so many ways.” He shifted his gaze to Spike. “And you, you coward, you could have ignored me and just gone to her as soon as you could leave LA. Or at least called her and told her you were here and what was going down.”
Spike nodded, not meeting Buffy’s eyes.
Buffy started to speak, but Angel cut her off. “And you could have kept in touch. You could have told me…. I wouldn’t have tried to keep him here if I’d known you were hurting. I really thought you’d moved on and….” He shook his head.
“So, am I the only one who hasn’t done something to apologize for? Hey, that’s a first. I’m the good girl.” Faith looked very pleased with herself. “If everybody’s through taking the blame here, can we get started fixing it?”
“Right.” Spike spoke first. “We need to get our guests upstairs and ready to dive through when that portal opens. Then we can talk about Big Bads and how to get to them.”
Chapter Four
By the time the portal flickered back into existence, the anxious humans, some of whom had been living in the hotel basement for weeks, were all pushing and shoving to be the first ones out. It took the snarling vampires showing their true faces and the slayers convincing several big men that they were going to be last now that they’d made asses of themselves, to turn the mob into a semi-orderly line. Children first, then the elderly, and then the adults who hadn’t tried to be first. All in all, it took almost an hour due to both the size of the portal and the need for everyone to get out of the way on the other side.
When the last one was gone, Buffy bent down, stepped through, and made sure they knew that was everyone. She spent a few minutes talking about using the message board and receiving information from them.
“We should know more later tonight,” she said. “Angel and Spike are going to take us with them when they go out. And we’re going to meet the dragon.” She waved and disappeared from the compound the slayers had taken over, reappearing in the alley just in time to see Faith and Spike attacked by the first of what appeared to be at least a dozen demons.
“Can I play too?” she asked, wishing her sword was still on her back rather than resting with her scythe, just out of reach on the loading dock. It was pretty obvious the demons were focused on the portal, and she was afraid to move away from it until it was safely closed. She used her fists and feet to keep them from diving through, and as soon as the portal disappeared, she dove for her weapon, with which she removed the nearest demon’s head.
By then, Angel had emerged from the hotel with his own sword and an axe, followed by the slayer squad with their own swords. None of the demons survived to carry word of the portal out of the alley.
“What the hell was that?”
Angel shook his head. “I don’t know. I’d like to think it was just coincidence that a gang of demons walked through here just as the portal was open, but….” He gestured to the building. “Let’s get inside. At least we can be safe while we worry about it.”
Everyone trooped inside, at the last second, Buffy grabbed the dry erase board and markers and set them just inside the door. “Just in case,” she mumbled when Spike raised an eyebrow at her. He shrugged and locked the door.
“Wasn’t objecting to it, love. Prob’ly a good idea. No sense leaving any more information out there than we have to. Now that we have more demon-killers here, we can just post a watch when we have something to communicate.”
“We?”
He sighed and rolled his eyes. “Right. If you have something to communicate. Forgot my place there for a minute.”
Buffy glared at him, glanced around to see they were alone in the hallway, and grabbed him by the belt, yanking him close to her. “Your place is right here,” she said, losing the glare when his face softened into a smile. “But the slayers are my responsibility – mine and Faith’s. You and Angel don’t get to make decisions about them. ‘K?”
“Whatever you say, love. If you keep those fingers where they are, you can get me to agree to pretty much anything…”
Realizing that her hand was resting next to the bare skin of his stomach with her fingers inside his jeans and just brushing his lower abdomen, she flushed and pulled it away. She tugged his shirt down to cover the exposed skin. “I didn’t mean to do that,” she mumbled.
“I know,” he said with a grin. “But it felt good anyway.”
“Pig!”
“Oink, love. That’ll never change.”
“I guess we can’t expect a soul to fix everything,” she said, her snort of laughter taking any sting out of her words.
“It might’ve penned that piggy up at first, but I got over it.” His expression turned serious. “I’m not quite the wimp I was when I first got it. I hope that’s not going to be a problem…”
Buffy shrugged. “Wimpy Spike was sweet… but he wasn’t very sexy.” She walked away quickly before he could continue the conversation, entering the kitchen with a cheerful, “So, where are we going tonight? And when do we get to meet the dragon?”
Angel looked back and forth between her smirking smile and Spike’s stunned expression, then shook his head. Forcing his gaze back to the rest of the people in the room, he said, “She usually finds us. I don’t know how, but so far she’s shown up when we need her. As far as tonight goes, we’re going to hit a factory on the other side of town where they’re using humans as slave labor.” He paused and looked around the room. “The plan was just to try to sneak them out of the dorm, but with all this extra help, we might be able to close them down completely. If we can take out the bosses….”
“The bosses being?”
“One of the minor demon lords. And his minions, which are mostly lesser demons, but I think he uses some vampires as security.”
“Sounds like a plan. When do we leave?” Faith stood up and glanced around at the eager slayers.
“We’ll leave in another hour. It’s going to take two vehicles – I’ll drive the van and Spike can drive the bus. I’ll take the girls with me… and Faith.” He sighed. “And Buffy can go with Spike.”
“Where do we get a bus?”
Spike nodded toward the door to the basement. “We’ve got an underground parking garage,” he said. “Got the entrance hidden pretty well – although we do have occasional vamps thinking they can make a lair of it – so far it’s worked. The barrier contains a glamour that makes it hard to see the entrance to the garage and of course, the demons can’t get in anyway.”
“Okay. Weapon up girls. Who knows what we’ll need. Stakes for sure, but probably swords or axes for the demons.”
“We have a pretty good armory,” Angel said. “Faith, you know where it is. Do you want to take the girls to pick out whatever they want or need?”
“Got it. Let’s go, slayers. Free weapons!”
XXXXXXX
Angel, Spike and Buffy watched the slayers follow Faith to the weapons storage area, leaving the three of them refusing to make eye contact.
“Don’t you want to pick something out, Buffy?” Angel said.
“I’ve got my scythe, and my stakes. I’m good.”
There was another uncomfortable silence, with both vampires sneaking looks at Buffy.
“What?” she finally exploded. “What’s wrong with you two?”
“Nothing,” Angel said stiffly. “Nothing at all. I guess you and Spike are… you and Spike. And that’s… well, it’s not fine, exactly, but I can live with it. As long as you’re sure, Buffy….”
“As long as I’m sure? As long as I’m sure? As long as I’m sure?” Her voice had risen with each repetition. “What the hell, Angel?” She glared at him. “I hope you aren’t under the impression that my love life is anything you’re entitled to have an opinion about. Because that would just be—”
Spike’s growling was a steady background sound as Buffy and Angel glared at each other.
“Be quite, Spike. I’ve got this.” She placed one hand on Spike’s arm, then faced Angel again.
“I am not a possession for you and Spike to argue over, or a prize for you to compete for. And I sure as hell don’t need to know if you’re ‘fine’ with my choices. I. Don’t. Care. What. You. Think. You left me. I cried. I got better. You got better. You had girlfriends. I fell in love with somebody else. Somebody who stayed, even when I was just a body in a grave. Somebody who proved himself over and over. Somebody you don’t approve of. Get over it.”
She stopped, breathing heavily as she realized what she’d said while Spike was listening. She cringed, waiting for him to crow about it, but he was uncharacteristically silent, only moving closer to her and putting a hand on her lower back. “I think he got the picture, love. Let it go.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with Spike?” she muttered, turning to face him.
“Empathy,” he said. “Comes with the soul package, apparently.”
“Huh,” was the most intelligent thing she could think of in response.
They were all saved from further embarrassment by Faith’s return, followed by the slayers, now armed to the teeth.
“Did you leave anything there?” Angel asked, obviously more to give himself something to do besides stare wistfully at Buffy and Spike.
“There’s some stuff there for you and Blondie to look through.” Faith walked to the big refrigerator and peered in. “The girls and I need to eat before we go off demon-slaying. Whatcha got in here?”
“Just the basics – mostly for the kids. Bread, milk, eggs, peanut butter….”
While Faith rolled her eyes, the other girls immediately began grabbing things to make sandwiches.
“Note to self. Rob a demon-owned grocery store tomorrow.”
XXXXXXXXX
Almost as if the past year hadn’t happened, Buffy and Spike walked to the hallway and sat down side-by-side, backs against the wall and legs stretched out in front. Their shoulders were just touching. Not enough to give anyone a reason to say anything about inappropriate behavior, but close enough that there was no doubt they were together.
XXXXXXXX
“Come on, big guy,” Faith said as Angel stared at them talking softly with their heads close together. “If Cordy could see you belly-aching over B and her honey, she’d smack you upside the head.”
His only response was a growl, but he turned away and sat on a stool facing another direction.
“That’s better.” Faith cocked her head at him. “Just so you know? Between what I saw when I was in Sunnydale, and what I’ve heard and seen from Buffy all year… they’re the real deal. You might have been her first big crush—” She frowned when he growled again. “I was there. I know how she was about you when she was a teenager. But those two have history neither one of us knows anything about. Some good, some bad. She’s a grown woman now and she moved on. And so have you,” she added. “Give them a break.”
Angel sighed and nodded. “Taking relationship advice from you… I must be losing it.” He glanced into the hallway again. “You know, the worst part of it is… I love them both.” He glared at Faith. “You tell Spike I said that, I’ll rip your heart out.”
She just laughed at him and said, “Bring it, old man.” Her expression softened. “So, you’re gonna be okay with it?”
“Hell no, I’m not okay with it! She’s… she’s Buffy. And he’s… Spike, for God’s sake.” He shook his head. “But if I’m being honest with myself, I can see that they’ve got a lot more in common than Buffy and I ever did. I don’t need to know their history together to know that.”
“Okay. Well if that’s settled, how about you tell me what we’re going to be looking at later tonight? Should I give the real world a heads up that we might have more refugees?”
He shook his head. “No, whoever we rescue tonight can stay here and rest until we’re ready to send them through. If it goes well, we might be coming back with 50 or 60 people.”
“So, tell me about this demon lord and his minions. What are we looking at?”
They spent the rest of the hour talking about the layout of the compound, where sentries were likely to be found, and how hard it would be to get to the big boss. The other girls listened and chimed in with questions, giving Angel a good idea what an excellent job Buffy and Faith had done training the new slayers.
XXXXXX
When it was approaching time to leave, Spike and Buffy joined the group being quickly brought up to speed on the tentative plans that had been made. Buffy offered a quiet suggestion or two, and Spike added to the information about the compound, and then Angel indicated they should get ready to go.
The all followed Spike down to the basement, and out through the heavily locked door into the underground garage. The slayers fanned out, their senses telling them there were more than two vampires about. With a grin, Spike grabbed Angel’s arm and kept him back.
“Let the girls have a little fun first. Get their juices flowing. The vamps aren’t going to know what they are, they’ll probably—yep, here they come now. Like lambs to the slaughter.”
The small gang of vampires that had taken refuge in the seemingly deserted garage were delighted to find what looked like meals walking toward them and jostled each other to get to them first. When the potential meals didn’t run and scream, but instead grinned and pulled stakes and crossbows out, the vamps frowned and slowed their approach.
“What the hell…?”
“Slayers. They’re slayers!” said one of the older vampires. “I don’t know how they got in here, but that’s what they are.”
He turned to run, only to burst into a cloud of dust from a crossbow bolt to his back. It quickly turned into an execution, as Buffy and Faith stood in the garage exit, blocking them from escaping that way. The slayers methodically staked every vampire they caught, then spread out through the garage to look for stragglers. They located one, hiding under the bus they were planning to use, and pulled him out to meet his dusty ending.
All the girls extended their senses, exchanging nods as they agreed there were no other vampires present besides the two waiting by the door.
“Okay, let’s load up and go,” Buffy said. “Faith and Angel have the squad, Spike and I will have the bus for the rescuees. We’ll pull it right up to the door closest to the dorm, and then join the fight?” She finished with a question in her voice and looked at Spike for verification.
“That should work. If we can get them out and onto the bus first, we can leave someone to protect the bus and move in to clear out the compound.”
Angel spoke up. “I think we should take out all the sentries we can before you go in. Let us open the gate and clear the way.”
Buffy shrugged. “Sounds like a plan. But how will you get in?”
“We’ll think of somethin’,” Faith said with a grin. “Won’t we girls?”
“Damn, I think I want to go with them,” Spike said as the chattering slayers piled into the van talking about how they could take out the sentries with their crossbows, then climb the walls and take care of the guards at the gate from the inside.
“Excuse me?”
“Oh don’t get all huffy on me, Slayer. You know you’re wishing you could do something more exciting than ride in on a bus.”
“Hmmph!” She tossed her head and pushed open the door to climb into the old city transit bus.
Chapter Five
As Faith had suggested, they parked some distance away and let the girls make their slow way to the compound. Giving each other boosts to the top of the wall, the slayers quickly and quietly dusted the vampire guards, giving the victory sign when they were sure the walls were clear. As the slayers converged on the gate and dropped down on the guards there, Angel and Spike brought the vehicles up and through the opening.
There was no alarm raised as the demon lord depended on his vampire employees to keep watch during the night hours. Even though night was a relative term in the always-dim light of LA, old habits died hard and nighttime belonged to the vampires who were still assimilating.
Spike pulled the bus up to the entrance to the factory/dormitory and opened the door.
“After you, love,” he said, gesturing for Buffy to precede him down the steps.
“What’s that?” She peered over her shoulder at the box he was carrying.
“Bit of insurance that the factory won’t be open for business tomorrow,” he said as he set the box down outside the door of the building. “Let’s get those people out of here.”
They ran to the dormitory and began waking people up. Spike let Buffy go first, fearing that the sight of him might frighten them into screaming. She whispered to each group that they were there to rescue them, and that Spike was on their side. He led the dubious people to the door and pointed at the bus, holding a finger to his lips for silence.
“What about the guards?” one man asked, casting a worried eye at the wall.
“Not a problem.” Spike pointed to one of the slayers who waved back as she used her crossbow to pick off a vampire walking toward them. Reassured, they all got on the bus, where they were quickly joined by the next group of rescuees.
“Is that everybody?” Buffy ran through the dorm area, checking beds and shower and toilet areas. She crept to the door of the factory, but could hear or see no one in the pitch-dark building and the door appeared to be locked.
“They shut it down at night,” one girl explained. “We’re locked in here, so we can’t go in and sabotage anything.”
“Okay, lets go then.” They ran out to where Spike already had the bus engine running.
“Time to go, Slayer. The natives are getting restless.” As he spoke, some minor demons and a few more vampires came out of the main building, shouting for the guards.
“You go. Take these people to the Hyperion. I’m going to stay here.”
His growl had everyone in the bus cringing, but he ignored them. “I’m not leaving you here to fight alone.”
“Spike. I have Faith and six other slayers with me. Plus Angel. Just get them to safety and come back.”
“We’re gonna be discussing this later,” he growled. “It could get loud….”
Buffy just waved and went to intercept the vampires heading for the bus. Faith was already at the gate, making sure it remained open while Spike squeezed the bus through it and gunned the engine. He drove several blocks in the direction of the hotel, then stopped and stood up.
“Anybody here know how to drive a bus?”
One man raised his hand. “I was a bus driver until the… event.”
“Good. Take over here and go to the alley behind the Hyperion hotel. There’s an entrance to our garage. It’s hidden, but you should be able to find it. Just sit tight there till we get back. Demons probably won’t see it, but vamps can if they stumble across it, so stay alert.” He showed them where the extra weapons were stored.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m not about to miss a fight playing bus driver – no offense. I’m going back to help out and then I’m going to blow the place up. Should be fun.” He gave a toothy grin and jumped down the steps. “Off you go.”
He waited until the bus was speeding toward the Hyperion’s neighborhood, then turned and ran toward the compound, from which he could hear sounds of battle. He arrived just in time to decapitate a demon trying to escape through the still –open gate.
“Bout damn time,” Faith said, grunting as she ran her sword through another fleeing demon. “These guys would rather run than fight.”
“Thought most of them probably would. Not all demons are all about ruling the world and what not. Most of ‘em would just as soon be left alone.”
With both Spike and Faith guarding the gate, the lessor demons began milling around in the middle of the compound, not sure where to go or how to get there.
“What d’ya, think? Let ‘em go and join the fun, or stay here playing clean up?”
“You can do whatever you want, pet. I’m gonna join the party.”
Spike whacked his way through the milling demons, not really caring if he hit anyone or not. They quickly got out of his way; dodging Faith as well as she followed him toward the sounds of battle. As soon as they realized the gate was undefended, they began to trample each other trying to get out.
Spike and Faith quickly moved into the open courtyard of the main house, where the slayers were decimating the remaining vampire and demon guards. Buffy was working her way toward Angel, standing by a locked door, behind which they assumed the demon lord was hiding. Skipping the remaining guards, which the slayers were having no trouble eliminating, Spike joined Angel at the door and sized it up.
“Pretty big.”
“Brilliant observation, Spike.”
“Thick, too.”
Angel rolled his eyes, then swore as Spike pulled out a slender piece of metal and began working on the lock, which responded in a satisfyingly short period of time. The door still didn’t open, indicating there was a barrier of some sort on the other side. “Bloody hell. Okay, we do it the fun way, then.”
“Fun?” Buffy joined them.
“Yeah. I’ll be right back.” Spike took off at top speed and was back almost before Buffy and Angel could ask each other what he was doing. “Okay, get out of the way.” He knelt down and packed something between the doors at the top and bottom, using a tool to push it in as far as he could. He stood up and gave Angel a shove, pulling Buffy with him.
“Wasn’t kidding about getting out of the way,” he said. “Mind your ears.” As he spoke, he was covering his own ears with his hands, just in time to protect them from the small explosions that knocked the doors open.
“Shall we?”
“Show off,” Angel muttered as he followed Spike and Buffy through the doors. Faith and most of the slayers crowded behind them as they all moved into a big room where a huge, mostly fat, green creature was sitting, surrounded by smaller versions of himself, all armed.
“Look,” Faith said. “It’s Jabba the Hutt and all the little Hutts.”
“You’ve been hanging out with Xander, haven’t you?” Buffy said as she began slashing through the crowd toward the quivering mound of green skin.
“Hey, even poor kids got to see Star Wars,” Faith said indignantly. “I saw all of them. Who doesn’t know who Jabba the Hut is?”
“I’m guessing this guy doesn’t, or he’d know that Jabba got his ass kicked by a little girl with a chain.” Spike stopped in admiration to watch Buffy start chopping away pieces of the demon’s anatomy until she could reach his head and cut it off. Which proved difficult until Angel joined her and started sawing on it from the other side. Eventually, with a loud sigh and the expulsion of disgusting smelling slime, the head came off and rolled down the big body to the floor.
The remaining members of his offspring set up a collective moan and began falling on their own swords. In very little time, the room was empty of anyone but the small group of rescuers.
“Our work is done here,” Angel said. Let’s go home.”
“Almost done,” Spike said. “I’ll catch up.”
Remembering the box Spike had brought in, Buffy smiled. “I’ll wait with Spike. We’ll walk back.”
“Be careful,” was all Angel said as he led Faith and the slayer squad back to the van which had somehow remained mostly unharmed throughout the battles.
Buffy and Spike stood at the still-open gate and watched them drive away.
“You’re going to blow it up, aren’t you?”
“You know me too well, love.”
“Xander will be sorry he missed this.”
“I’ll blow up something with him some other time. He’s the one what taught me how to use explosives, you know. But we didn’t have any of this fancy stuff back in Sunnydale.”
“Why do you have it here?” Buffy asked as she trailed him to the box he’d left near the dormitory.
“Nicked it from Wolfram and Hart before it all went down. Took whatever we could move easily and stashed it in the hotel.”
He began taking packets of the same stuff he’d used to blow the doors and handing them to Buffy.
“Here, let’s get these put out.”
“Where?”
“Anywhere you want, love. We just need enough of them to bring the factory down. If we have leftovers, we’ll throw some into the house.”
Buffy eyed the packets with suspicion. “They aren’t going to blow up in my hands are they?”
“Nope. I’ll set them off when we’re ready to get out of here.”
They separated and Buffy put a packet anywhere it looked like an explosion would have a destructive effect on the building. She met Spike back in front of the gate.
“Okay, this is the tricky part. I have to be far enough away not to get blown up, but close enough to set them off.”
Buffy looked up. “How about from the top of the wall? We can jump down and run away before it falls down.”
“I knew there was a reason I loved you,” he said, planting a kiss on her cheek. “Let’s do it.”
They scampered up the narrow stairway to the wall’s walkway. “Ready, love?”
Buffy nodded and Spike did something with the device in his hand, set it down, and nodded to the ground. Buffy jumped out into space, landing easily in a crouch. Spike landed beside her, even more lightly. “Damn vampire flying crap” she snorted as she stood up and took the hand he was holding out. Behind them a dull rumble was building and the ground began to shake.
“Time to go, Slayer.” He kept hold of her hand as they sped away from the compound that was now crumbling with a louder and louder noise of things breaking and falling, as well as occasionally bursting into the air, only to fall back.
They ran with speed no one but another vampire or slayer could have hoped to match, not stopping until they were within a few blocks of the hotel. Buffy slowed to a walk, still holding on to Spike’s hand as they continued their return. Rather than going in the door, Spike led her down to the garage where Angel was just explaining to the bewildered former slaves that they were soon going to be out of the city.
“You mean the whole world isn’t like this? It didn’t end?”
“Nah,” Faith spoke up. “Most of it’s still there. And when we get through here, maybe LA will be dragged back into it. Don’t know though, so you need to get through the portal when it opens and find yourself some relatives or something to stay with until you can come home.”
“Hell, I was at work when it happened. I live outside the city.”
“Good for you. Looks like you might have house guests…” Laughing at the look on the man’s face, Faith walked up to Buffy and Spike. “So. Did it all go boom?”
“Um, more like rumble, rumble, crash, but yeah. No more factory.”
A cheer went up from the humans and Spike took a bow, causing Buffy to push him hard enough to make him stumble. “Jackass,” she muttered, but she was smiling.
XXXXXXXXXX
After Jeannie had been messaged, a time fixed for the portal to open, and the rescued humans shoved through it, everyone adjourned to the kitchen, where Faith once again complained about the lack of food.
“Who’s up for stealing from demons?” she asked, looking around the room and focusing on Spike. Buffy shook her head, poking Spike when he seemed about to volunteer. He pouted, but shook his head and settled back on his stool.
*cough*whipped*cough* Faith stage-whispered as she turned back to the girls, all of whom were holding up their hands. “All right! Let’s go.” She turned to Angel. “Where’s the nearest demon-owned store?”
“They’re all demon-owned. Take your pick. The closest one is probably about two blocks from here.” He looked at Spike and growled. “Spike wouldn’t have done you any good there… he’s not allowed in that store anymore. They caught him stealing too many times.”
“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Faith said while Buffy rolled her eyes. “I doubt they’re gonna want any slayers in there after this either, but it won’t matter if we can shut this place down. Angel, you need to follow us with the van. I don’t plan to leave much behind.”
Grumbling about slayers coming into his city and acting like they owned it, Angel went down to the garage to get the van. Faith and her slayers left by the loading dock door, which Spike locked behind them.
“How are they going to get back in?” Buffy frowned as he put the bar in place.
“Angel has a key to the door in the garage.” He seemed unconcerned, so Buffy reluctantly followed him back to the kitchen. She gave a yawn, which reminded her that she’d been awake for almost twenty-four hours.
“Sorry,” she said. “It seems like we’ve been here forever, but I know it’s only been a day.”
“Time feels like that here sometimes,” he said. “But we’ve all been up for a long time. I could do with a nap myself. Care to join me?” He wriggled his eyebrows at her.
“Seriously? We haven’t seen each other in over a year, and we haven’t even….. We’re in the middle of a demon city, and I’m still deciding if I want to kill you, for cripes sake!”
He looked abashed but nodded. “I’m sorry, love. You’re right, of course. Time and place.” He touched her cheek. “I’m just so glad to see you… it went right to my—”
“I know exactly where it went. Get over it! We have work to do.” In spite of her words, she blushed and leaned into his hand just a little. “That body part has no conscience and no sense of duty.”
“Not when you’re around it doesn’t. Never has. Even when I hated you… or thought I did.” He caressed her cheek, rubbing his thumb over her lower lip. “But you may as well take advantage of having some down time to take a nap. This is a hotel, you know. Lots of rooms and beds in it that aren’t mine. Let’s find you one, yeah?”
Buffy rested her hand on his for a moment, then shook her head. “Let’s figure out where everybody else is going to sleep, so when they get back with the food, they can eat and get some rest. I’m no more tired than anybody else.”
“And there’s my sweet girl, always putting others first. Alright, love, come with me.”
“They probably won’t all sleep at the same time, anyway,” Buffy said as they looked for reasonably clean rooms with made beds. “We still need to keep an eye on the portal, in case they have messages for us.”
XXXXXXX
By the time Angel and Faith got back with a van full of food, Buffy and Spike had identified several first-floor rooms that would work fine for the squad to use to get some rest. And he’d shown her where he slept and offered her the room with no strings attached.
With all of them helping, the day’s haul of groceries were soon in the hotel refrigerators and freezers, or the huge pantry off the kitchen. After a quick meal, the yawns indicated the hours spent in LA were catching up to everyone, and Buffy showed them to the rooms – allowing the girls to work out who would be sharing with whom.
“So,” Faith said, cocking an eyebrow at Buffy. “Are we roomies, or do you have somewhere else in mind?”
Buffy glared at her, then sighed. “Okay, yes, I’m sleeping it Spike’s room. But he’s going to be watching for the portal, so….”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, B,” Faith said with a laugh. “I’ll be here if you need me.” She entered the last room and closed the door, still laughing.
She went back into the kitchen in time to see Angel and Spike glaring at each other.
“Did I miss something?”
“Why aren’t you sleeping like everyone else?” Angel demanded.
Buffy’s eyes narrowed. “You mean, why am I not sharing with Faith?”
“You need to rest.”
“We know that, you git,” Spike said. “She’s gonna use my bed and I’m gonna be outside watching the portal. Not that it’s any of your business,” he added with a snarl.
“I’ve still got this,” Buffy said, patting him on the arm. “Go watch for any messages from the other side. Jeannie said they were working on undoing the spell or glamour or whatever the hell it is keeping everything in here. Wake me up if you get anything.”
“Yes sir, ma’am,” he muttered, shooting another glare at Angel before leaving the room.
Buffy sighed and shook her head, gazing at Angel with a mixture of anger and affection.
“Look, we have a job to do here. And we need your help. Yours and Spike’s. You’re the experts on what’s going on. But if I have to waste a lot of energy keeping you two from fighting….”
Angel rolled his eyes and shrugged. “I doubt the Powers themselves could keep us from arguing. We’ve been doing it for over a century – any time we’re in the same place together. It doesn’t affect our ability to battle real enemies, and it doesn’t mean we don’t have each other’s backs.” He met her dubious expression with sad eyes. “Having you here makes a difference. I can’t pretend it doesn’t. But you’ve made it pretty clear who you’re here for, and I accept that. I do, really. I just don’t want to have to hear…. I don’t want to be in the same position Angelus put Spike in years ago. And I know he’s got every right to do that to me if he wants to.”
Buffy’s expression softened. “I love you, Angel. I do. I always will. But it’s the remains of a sixteen-year-old’s crush that has mellowed into friendship. What Spike and I have – twisted as it has been from time to time – is different. And more.” She sighed when he flinched. “Neither one of us is out to hurt you, no matter what Spike says or does when you’re listening. And we’ve got some issues to thrash out before we start ripping off each other’s clothes, so even if we end up sharing that bedroom sometimes, it’s going to be because we love each other and because together on a bed is where we were the last time we were together. It’s where we’re at peace.”
She got off the stool she’d been occupying during the uncomfortable conversation. “And just so you know?” she added as she walked towards the room Spike had shown her, “I’m here to save my city. You and Spike are just… what’s the word for collateral save-age?”
“Beneficiaries,” Angel muttered.
“Beneficiaries,” she repeated. “That works.” She went down the hall to Spike’s room and shut the door behind her. She briefly considered taking a shower, then shrugged and fell face down on the bed.
CHAPTER SIX
She was dreaming. Dreaming that she and Spike were back in her basement, stretched out together on his cot, arms around each other. In spite of the looming battle against the First, she felt secure and safe in his arms – odd, considering that she was expecting to take the brunt of the fighting herself.
“But he’ll have my back,” she mumbled, snuggling back against him. She blinked her eyes against a light much too bright to be her basement in Sunnydale. And yet, she would swear Spike was— “What are you doing?”
“Watching your back, according to you. Did you know you talk in your sleep?”
She turned over and looked up at his amused expression. “I do not.”
“Do too,” he said, rubbing his nose against hers before standing up. She noted that he was completely dressed, including his boots, whereas she had lost her boots and was now under a light blanket.
“How long have you been here?”
“Long enough to see how tired you were and to keep everybody out until you woke up on your own. But if you mean, how long was I cuddled up to your back – I don’t know. Wasn’t planning to fall asleep with you, just rest for a bit, but I guess I did. We should probably see what’s going on now. One of the girls took over watching the portal for me when she caught me dozing off.”
Buffy nodded and sat up, happy to see that her boots were the only things missing from her wardrobe. She stretched, smiling when she caught him watching her. “See anything you like?” she teased, using one of his favorite questions when he’d catch her watching him get dressed.
“You know I do, you minx. Now get yourself out of that bed before I lock the door and say ‘to hell with saving the city’.”
“Okay, okay. I’m up.”
“Not the only thing that’s up,” he muttered, adjusting himself. “Not fair, Slayer. Here I am trying to be all responsible and patient, and—”
“Sorry.” She surprised them both. “Will it help if I tell you that you interrupted a dream I was having about sleeping – I mean actual sleeping, with snoring – with you before we took on the First and his army?”
“Maybe. Which one of us was snoring?”
“I’m not telling,” she said as she walked to the door. “We—” She broke off as she almost ran into Faith raising her hand to knock.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Half way through - next post will be the last half of the story.