The Protectors
By Heather Martin
Rated – R
Summary- The monks gave Buffy and Spike one night of fake memories. That would have been enough to change their lives. But when you add a glowing key in the form of an unborn baby, well . . . things wouldn’t just change, they would be turned completely upside-down
Disclaimer- Joss Whedon owns Spike’s eyebrow scar, his bleached hair, his crystal blue eyes, his manly arms, his muscular chest, his tight . . . *cough* Too bad isn’t it? But a girl can dream, right?
Spoilers- Starts during Out of My Mind. The entire Season 5, although I changed it tremendously to suit my own purpose
Chapter 10
Damn bitch! Spike stormed into his crypt and slammed the door. He kicked it in frustration. Then he ventured further into his dwelling, set on collecting all the booze he possessed.
There was a slight creak behind him. He spun just in time to see a feminine shadow emerge. He narrowed his eyes.
“Who’s there?”
The form neared. “A happy memory, pretty Spike.”
The vampire froze. His nostrils flared.
Drusilla neared. Her long white gown flowed, making it appear as if she floated. She carried a deep red rose. He noticed blood drip from her fingers as they dug into the thorns.
“I’ve come to make everything right again. I want us to be a family again, my William.” She brushed the rose petals down her cheek.
Spike stared in astonishment. Drusilla leaned forward. She whispered into his ear.
“Come back with me to Los Angeles.”
He pulled back. “Don’t think so, pet. I've done the whole L.A. scene, Dru. Didn't agree with me. Besides. . .” He swept his hand across their darkened surroundings. “Got myself a sweet setup here in SunnyD. Decent digs. . . and not to mention all the local townies I can eat.”
She wagged a finger at him. “Naughty. Shh. No need to make up stories for mommy. I already know why you’re not coming. Poor boy. Tin soldiers put funny little knick-knacks in your brain.” She flinched. “Can't hunt! Can't hurt! Can't kill!”
Frowning, Spike said, “Right. So you’ve heard. Poor Spike's become a cautionary tale for vampires, right? ‘You better be good, kiddies, or else they might wire you up someday!’ ” Disgust dripped from his voice.
“I don’t believe in science,” she said. “All those bits and molecules no one's ever seen. I trust eyes and heart alone. And do you know what mine is singing out right now?”
She gently took his hand. She spread his palm against her dead heart. He closed his eyes, trying to shut out the flash of placing that very hand over Buffy’s belly. Her baby, alive and kicking.
“You're a killer. Born to slash ... and bash ... and...” Dru gasped in pleasure. “Bleed like beautiful poetry.”
Spike opened his eyes. He became transfixed by her dark gaze. In her eyes he saw the night open up to him and wrap him in its embrace.
* * *
“Honey!” Joyce called as soon as Buffy entered the house.
The slayer followed her mother’s voice into the kitchen. Joyce finished putting a stack of plates away. She shut the dishwasher and turned to face her daughter.
“Did you find the bad guys?”
Buffy shook her head, distracted. She took in a deep breath. “No. He uh . . . Mom, he confessed to loving me. Can you believe it? Spike! I mean, he’s tried to kill me how many times.”
“How long ago was the last attempt?” Joyce softly asked.
That caught Buffy off guard. She had to think for a moment. A year? Longer maybe.
“He can’t because of the chip,” Buffy said reasonably.
“That doesn’t stop him from hiring someone else.”
Buffy gaped. “Are you on his side!?”
“I’m not on anyone’s side. But have you considered the fact that possibly his feelings are genuine?”
Horror spread over Buffy. She clutched the yellow island. “He’s a vampire. He has no soul. It’s impossible.”
“Just as it is for one to impregnate my daughter?”
Buffy gasped and covered her mouth.
“I accidentally saw a passage in your book while putting clothes away. Buffy, why didn’t you tell me?” Joyce went on.
Moisture accumulated in Buffy’s eyes. She looked away.
“I think you should tell him the truth. Every father deserves that.”
“He’s a monster,” Buffy countered.
“Maybe physically,” Joyce said.
“Oh my God, Mom! Just because he sits here and talks to you about Passions doesn’t mean he’s civilized!”
“I’m not saying you should marry him,” Joyce added. “I’m simply saying that he has a right to know his child. That’s all.”
Buffy blinked back her tears. “I’ll- I’ll think about it.”
* * *
They moved together slowly to the gothic beat. Her lithe form slid against him sensually. It was like old times. Before the slayer. Before the Chaos demon in South America. All there was was his dark princess. She was his entire world again, inside and out.
Drusilla turned so that her back was to him. Her head lifted. Spike wrapped his arms around her thin waist. She leaned against him and signaled up to the balcony with her eyes. He followed them to a couple. They boy and girl kissed passionately, oblivious to everyone else. An evil smirk came to Spike’s face.
Dru took his hand. She led him up the stairs toward the young pair of humans. When they reached the top she let go and headed for them. She fluidly took the girl and snapped her neck. Her body was shoved into Spike’s arms. Then she went for the boy’s neck.
Spike stared down at the limp female he held. Her head lulled back invitingly. He felt his facial bones shift. And then he heard it. A tiny fluttering. Soft, frantic, trying to keep going. It quickly died. Spike dropped the girl as if he had been burned. That hadn’t been the girl’s heart.
Drusilla watched him as she fed. Her golden eyes were harsh with confusion. Red trickled from the side of her mouth. He glanced back at his fallen prey. Realization flickered into his brain. She had been pregnant. The slight flutter he had heard had been the baby. Fading into nothing.
Spike stumbled back.
* * *
No one was apparently home. Buffy had knocked and then finally kicked her way in. She took a look around. So this is where Spike lived. She pressed a hand to her stomach, praying for the nausea to subside. The place smelled rotten.
See, Mom, Buffy thought. This is why I haven’t told him. He lives amongst the ruins of the deceased. He ‘is’ deceased. I want to offer my daughter life, not death.
She stepped forward. There wasn’t much there. She recognized the sarcophagus. She had often walked in to find him sitting or lying on top of it. Cobwebs drooped down from every corner. The television and green chair were the only hint of domestication. But even she could tell they had been snatched from the junkyard.
She spotted a ladder and made her way to it. She lowered into what looked like a cavern. She jumped at the sight of a pile of human skulls near the bottom of the ladder.
“Ew!” she shrieked.
A torch burned on the wall. She grabbed it. She surveyed the room. There were three partially open caskets. A spider crawled over the side of one and scurried across the stone floor.
On the wall hung a black sheet. What was that? Curiously she went over to investigate. She tugged on it and it fell. She gasped at what she found.
Pictures. They made up a gigantic collage. Some were snapshots, while others were drawings. Bile rose up in her throat. This was a shrine devoted to herself. She backed away.
Oh god! Oh God! Sicko! He’s as bad as Angeles.
A certain portion of the wall suddenly stuck out. These had tacked up drawings clearly not drawn from life. One showed her with a bulging belly about ready to burst. Her face was lit up with glee. Another just displayed her stomach. Inside had been sketched a curled up baby. Light glowed around it. Was that how he saw her daughter? Magical? Holy? She gasped at a picture of her holding the baby . . . with Spike. They both gazed down with pride, as if they were new parents.
He’s obsessed and clouded with illusions. He’s ‘worse’ than Angeles.
Buffy spun and made for the ladder. She climbed back up to the surface. She stopped when she felt a tingle. Spike!
“See anything interesting?”
Buffy got to her feet. He stood before her with harsh eyes. He carried the still form of Drusilla lovingly.
“Spike, I . . . uh . . . what happened?” she asked.
He tightened his grip on the vampiress. “You remember my ex, don’t you? Came back she did.” He snickered. “Couldn’t live without me.”
Buffy stared in silence.
“Come with me,” he demanded. “I want to show you something.”
For some reason that she couldn’t decipher she did. He led her back down into the underground cave. He went further than she had. A pillar came into view.
“Be a luv and grab that rope over there, will you, slayer?”
Buffy handed him the rope. She watched as he tied the unconscious Drusilla to the pillar.
“What is this?” she asked and crossed her arms.
“I’m going to prove something to you.” Spike faced Buffy. “I – Love- You.”
Buffy’s face twisted into revulsion.
“You’re all I bloody think about, dream about. You’re in my gut. I’m drowning in you, Summers, I’m drowning in you.”
Buffy shook her head. “I’ve seen your little shrine, Spike. You call that love? That’s nothing but obsession.”
His jaw twitched. “I had to get my feelings out somewhere.” He took a step toward her. “Buffy-?”
She jumped backward.
“I know it is more. Today I was ready to do what is best for both of us. I was going to go off with Dru here and leave you alone. Because this with you is wrong. I know it. I’m not a complete idiot.” He paused. “She took me out hunting.”
Her eyes flared with alarm. She drew out the stake hidden in her waistband. Spike seemed unaffected by it.
“She caught a meal for me. But I couldn’t go through with the actual feeding. And do you know why?”
“She smelled funny?” Buffy guessed.
He wasn’t amused. “You. I had a full chance at returning to the monster I’m supposed to be, and all I could think about was ‘you’ and that bitty you’ve got tucked away.”
Laughter abruptly echoed throughout the room. They turned to find Dru awake.
“I knew it before you did. I knew you loved the slayer. The pixies in my head whispered it to me,” Drusilla said.
“You want proof that I love you?” Spike inquired. He grabbed a sharp piece of wood that lay on the ground. “I’m going to kill Drusilla for you.”
Buffy shrugged. “That doesn’t prove anything. I’m happy to do it myself.” Buffy raised her stake.
Spike growled. “What does it take!?”
“Spike you never had a chance and you never will!”
His eyes darkened. “So what was that little wrestle we had almost five months ago, huh?”
There was a span of silence. “That was a one time deal that meant ‘nothing’.”
Drusilla clucked her tongue. “Naughty, naughty slayer, it isn’t nice to lie. Especially to our William.” Her expression became dreamy. “I can see her dancing between you both. Glowing bright like a green star. There’s no hope for my Spike. A part of his effulgence swirls within the shimmer.”
Shut up! Buffy silently begged.
Spike cocked his head to study Buffy. His eyes were accusing. “What’s she talking about?”
“She’s crazy, Spike. She doesn’t know what she is talking about.” Please believe me. Please.
“I beg to differ, luv. You think I’d stand by Dru’s side for a century without picking up on her riddles?”
Buffy’s heart pounded wildly. She lifted her weapon with a trembling hand. He easily knocked it aside and snatched her wrist.
“Don’t you dare lie to me, girl!” He pushed her against the wall. Her head smacked against the hard surface.
Buffy’s eyes widened as she spotted movement behind him. “Spike!” she warned.
It wasn’t soon enough. Drusilla had somehow managed to escape her bindings. She picked up a discarded 2x4 piece of wood. She swung it at Spike. He went flying.
Drusilla’s attention fell on Buffy. “Did you know I’m a mommy now too?” Buffy dodged a kick.
“Spike is going to be a daddy, but not to yours,” Dru went on. “So lost, but I can bring him back into the darkness. When you are gone there will be nothing blocking who he is. We’ll have a party for him with streamers and presents when I’m through.”
Drusilla grabbed Buffy’s throat. She squeezed tightly. Spike picked himself up. He quickly took up the fallen stake. He rushed at Dru. He flung her aside and then shoved the weapon into her heart. She looked shocked before bursting into dust.
Buffy gasped for air. Spike reached out and touched her cheek. “Are you all right?”
She jerked her head away. She moved past him and hurried for the exit. She was too aware of him trailing behind.
“You can’t walk away like nothing happened!” he called.
She ignored him.
“That’s my baby inside you, isn’t it? Not the white bread’s.”
She forced herself not to turn around.
“I have a responsibility to you and our kid.”
She angrily looked back. “This changes nothing! You are a vampire. Vampires do not go to parent teacher meetings. I want you to stay away from my baby after it’s born!”
“No, it isn’t that easy! We have something. We created something that night together.”
“That night never happened!” she shouted.
“Oh, so you’re going to play amnesia trip now!”
They came to Revello Drive. Buffy practically ran to her door. She thrust it open.
“Like it or not I’m in her life. You can’t shut me out!”
Buffy stepped inside her home. Spike bounced back from an invisible barrier. He stared in shock. When realization dawned his face crumpled. Buffy slammed the door, not able to take the sight of him. He pounded on the door.
“Buffy! Buffy, please!” he yelled. “She’s mine too. I’ve never-“ His voice broke. “I’ve always been a killer not a creator. Buffy! Give me a chance. Buffy!”
Buffy began to cry. She could hear the vampire on the other side join her. She pressed her hand against the door.
“I’m not leaving until you let me in,” Spike vowed.
A battle rose up in Buffy’s belly. She’d never felt the baby kick so fiercely. She hugged her stomach and went upstairs to bed. She tried to sleep but the baby wouldn’t let her.
She could feel him the entire night. When the sky outside her window lightened Buffy sat up. He was still there. She got up, ready to yank the vampire to safety. Just as she made it to the door she sensed him leave. She let out a sigh of relief.
She sucked in a breath when the baby jabbed her hard in the ribs. Buffy closed her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
_________________________________________________
If someone didn’t know what Dru meant by ‘I’m a mommy now too’, she meant Darla. In Angel, Darla was vamped again by Drusilla.
And so Spike knows now. I hope you aren’t too mad at me for Buffy’s behavior.
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