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Chapter 16


“Who was she?” Buffy asked, testing the waters as she crossed her arms over
her chest, staring at Spike.

“What do you know?” Spike retaliated.

“Why should that matter?” Buffy asked. “Are you planning on lying to me
again?”

“Damn it, Slayer, you weren’t supposed to find out about her!”

Buffy set her mouth in a hard line before turning away from him to stare
out the window. “That was made crystal clear,” she muttered under her
breath.

Spike heard the quiet statement and sighed. “There was never a good time to
tell you,” he said softly, moving to wrap his arms around her waist. Buffy
swatted his hands away, whirling around to face him with fire in her eyes.

“How about the time I asked you if you’d ever been in love?”

Spike clenched his jaw, taking a step forward. Buffy suddenly sensed the
power he exuded as she took a step back. “You’re treating me like I’m one
of your soddin’ boyfriends, Slayer,” he growled. “I’m not human. I don’t
give a shit about your feelings…or you, for that matter.”

“Is that a fact?” Buffy replied, getting more enraged as she took a step
toward him. “Then I guess it won’t bother you if I go to one of my ‘soddin’
boyfriends’ to fill the needs you won’t be meeting.”

“Tread lightly, little girl,” Spike replied in a menacing whisper.

“Why should I start now? You don’t care about me, why should I care about
you?”

Spike grabbed Buffy’s arm in a bruising grip as she tried to walk past him.
She immediately shrugged him off, only to have him grab her shoulders.
Buffy didn’t hesitate as she struck out at him, landing a solid hit to his nose,
sending him reeling backward, only to be met with a powerful high kick to his
head. She ran downstairs and out the front door, slamming it behind her.

“Keep the damn house for all I care,” Buffy grumbled, wishing that she could
run into a demon so she could work off some of her aggression.

She broke into a run, wanting to put as much distance between herself and
the bleached vampire as possible. She stopped when she felt a powerful
sensation wash over her. Before she had a chance to react, Buffy was
practically jerked off her feet when she felt two hands wrap around her neck
in a choking grip.

* * * * *

Spike followed Buffy’s scent to a nearby park, breaking into a run when he
caught the scent of her blood. He felt his heart seize in his chest when he
saw Buffy in Angelus’ arms, his fangs deep in her neck.

“NO!”

Angelus looked up as Spike approached. “Any closer and I snap her neck.”

Spike gulped as he listened, catching the faint heartbeat and saw her eyes
open. She was pale with the blood loss, and Spike felt his demon howl at the
fact that Angelus had reopened the wounds he’d left on her neck mere days
ago, covering Spike’s bite with his own.

Buffy struggled to stand up straighter, fighting for her strength to return
as Angelus laughed at her.

“What the hell do you want, Angelus?”

“I thought that would be obvious, Willie. I want her.”

“No,” Spike growled.

“Fall in line, Spike,” Angelus hissed at him. “What’s yours is mine.
Haven’t you figured that out by now?”

“Funny thing about ‘the line’, Gramps,” Spike replied. “It only matters if
you give a damn about it…she’s mine!”

Spike kept a careful eye on Buffy as his grandsire’s hold tightened around
her small form.

“And besides,” Spike continued. “What will Darla say?”

“Who do you think brings me my playthings? You lived with us for decades
and you don’t remember? She brought you quite a few toys of your own, if I
remember correctly.”

Spike saw Buffy shudder at Angelus’ words. “Let her go,” he said in a low
tone.

“Don’t worry. I’ll let you have one last go before I finish her off. I’m
sure she’s just full of stamina.”

Buffy’s eyes widened slightly, sending Spike a silent message, before
throwing her head back to connect with Angelus’ nose. He quickly stumbled
backward, howling in pain as Buffy collapsed. Spike felt torn for a brief
second but immediately leapt on his grandsire, pummeling the older vampire
while he was still throbbing from the previous hit.

Buffy gasped for air, trying to overcompensate for her blood loss as she
watched Angelus flip Spike over his head and regain the upper-hand. Spike
jumped to his feet, both circling the area, keeping a close eye on each
other as their demons snarled.

Buffy tried to search her pockets, hoping for a stake, when she remembered
she wasn’t wearing the same clothes she had on earlier. She could see a
small sign sticking out of the ground, but it was at least twenty feet away.
Praying that the sign was attached to something wooden, Buffy painfully
pushed herself to her feet, trying to make her way to the potential weapon.

Spike glanced at Buffy, his eyes widening slightly before Angelus turned
toward her as well. Spike felt his heart clench when his grandsire rushed
at her with a snarl. He quickly looked in the direction Buffy was heading
and felt his body flood with relief when she reached for the small sign in
the ground, before her small form was thrown to the ground.

Spike ran as fast as he could, snatching the sign out of the ground and
thrusting it into Angelus’ back, piercing the unbeating heart, before his
fangs were able to sink into her jugular for a second time. He felt a tiny
pull when he watched his grandsire explode into dust but quickly pushed the
feeling away when he saw the weakened Slayer.

“Buffy,” he said softly, falling to his knees in the soft grass. “Stay with
me, luv.”

“Spike,” Buffy said weakly. “Am I dying?”

Spike clenched his jaw, listening to her heartbeat and noting that it was
stronger than he would have expected.

“No,” Spike said gently, running his hands through her hair before hoisting
her into his arms. “You’re the Slayer,” he continued with a reassuring
smile as she rested her head against his chest. “It takes a lot more than a
little bite to take you down.”

“Where are we going?” she whispered.

“I’m going to get you some help, luv.”

“I thought you didn’t care about me.”

Spike took a deep, unneeded breath. “I lied.”



A/N I was going to have Angelus stick around a little longer, but this story was ultimately about Spike changing and I wanted to keep the focus there. Please review!





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