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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 14

It is well known that vampires have excellent hearing. Spike had better ears than many of his kind, and that was how he could hear Willow and Buffy far before he reached the room. He was originally going to go back to the cemetery but stopped halfway down the sewer system. He knew that he couldn’t stand leaving Buffy in that place. What if Glory suddenly showed up again? No, he had to stay nearby.

“Why didn’t you do some Jedi mind-trick on her!?” Spike smiled as the slayer’s voice filtered into the air. He loved her voice even when she was fiery hot with anger.

“I can’t just mess with people’s minds.” Willow, Spike recognized.

“When my baby is concerned YES you can!”

Huh? Wait a tic. Spike increased his pace. Vampires also have great speed.

“I have to get back to Xander,” Willow said.

“And I’m coming with you,” Buffy insisted. “Screw the damn nurses and their hawk-like watchery-ness.”

Spike burst in. “What the bloody hell is going on?” He pointed to the door. “I caught a snippet of things down the hall. What do you mean you’re leaving?”

His jaw set as Buffy got out of bed. She steadily stood up. “See, I’m good to go. Xander’s going to try and change our daughter back into a bright green ball,” Buffy said.

“Actually, no. He said he’d change it into something pretty,” Willow corrected.

“What could he possibly. . . ? I’m not going to have her transform into a bouquet of flowers, Will!”

Without saying a word, Spike scooped Buffy up. She gave a squeak of surprise and then clung to his neck tightly. He carried her out into the vacant hallway. Willow followed.

“I can walk, you know,” Buffy said with a pout. Oh, how he wanted to get that lip. How cute she was in her little hospital gown too. He took in a deep breath to calm himself as she wriggled in his arms.

They almost got to the doors. Almost. But then the receptionist got up from her desk.

“Excuse me . . .” That was as far as the woman got.

The vampire spun around. He let his face shift into the hideous features of a monster. The stunning blue of his eyes became gold. He felt his teeth elongate and he displayed them proudly to the pest standing in their way. She didn’t scream or run away. Instead she just stood there, frozen, gaze straight ahead. The group sneaked out the electronic doors.

“I hope you didn’t break her,” Buffy commented.

They traveled quickly through town toward the Sunnydale University dorms. Spike would have gone faster if Willow hadn’t been with them. She actually had good endurance for a human. Finally the three arrived. Willow swung the door open and peeked in at the unoccupied space.

“Uh oh,” Willow said.

Buffy laid her head back against Spike and closed her eyes. “Why is it, Will, that I see you use your magic all the time when it isn’t needed? But now that it is without a shadow of a doubt, you hold back? Huh?”

Willow was at a loss for words.

Spike tightened his hold on the slayer in his arms. His demon raged within, begging to leash out upon the world. The whelp better reconsider his plan or he would be very sorry. There were ways around the chip that the scoobies hadn’t thought of.

+ + +

“Exc-cuse me? Could you repeat that? I’m not sure I heard you correctly?”

Giles’s head throbbed. He never wanted to put his glasses back on and face the world. He wished he could fall into a hole somewhere and never have to come out.

“I’ve said it three times. You heard it the first time. Buffy is having Spike’s-“

Giles held up a hand. “Dear lord, all right! That’s bloody enough!”

“And so you know what we must do. We have to get rid of it. She can’t do it the medical way so we have to take magical action,” Xander reasoned.

“You do not understand the repercussions . . . The child is a manifestation of the key.”

A great part of Giles wanted to give into Xander’s plan. The thought of the vary thing they fought against growing inside his slayer was sickening. But he knew that the key was an important energy and the fate of the world depended on its safety. Giles would do anything, allow anything, or sacrifice anything for the greater good. He had been ingrained to do so as a watcher.

Xander became excited. Giles frowned. This was no trifle matter, and the boy acted like he had come up with a way to earn ten million dollars.

“See, that’s where the brilliance of my plan comes in. We transform it into something else. No harm can come from that.”

“And what would you suggest? We change it into a center piece? A great work of art perhaps?” Giles’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“How about a shiny skeleton key? Glory would never look for an actual key,” Xander said, grinning.

Giles stood up. He thrust his glasses back onto his face. He opened his mouth to decline Xander’s ‘brilliant’ plan. But then he suddenly reconsidered. The idea actually was a good one. Glory wouldn’t come searching for an actual key. If worse came to worse, they could always change its form once again, throwing her off.

“Xander, grab the Book of Mutations and Glamour. I’ll check the Ancient Alterations,” Giles found himself saying.

The expression on Xander resembled that of someone who had one first place in a competition.

The two men were into over a half hour of research when Giles came across something helpful. He scanned the passage. It was exactly what they needed.
He began to read more thoroughly.

Spell of Metamorphism

Ingredients-

Butterfly wings
Blood of the vampire
An item or picture to replicate
Ashes
Black candles

Uses-

To transform an object into an exact duplication of an item (or illustration of such item). All aspects of the original item will be vanquished.

Giles never read on to the actual spell incantation. He lifted his head. Xander was completely engrossed in his own text.

“Stop right now!” Giles demanded.

Xander glanced up, confused.

“I can’t allow this.”

“But-“

Giles slammed the Ancient Alterations shut. “I can’t believe I was going to go through with this. Xander, think for a minute what this would mean. This child would no longer be anything that it is now.”

“Isn’t that the point?” Xander asked. “To eliminate another bleached one from running rampant upon the land of good?”

“Do you love Buffy?”

Xander’s brown eyes widened. “Of course. That’s why I’m doing this.”

“I’m assuming that you have learned how children are created. Buffy is the key’s mother.”

“Yeah. And Spike is the father.” Xander apparently still didn’t get it. He stared at the older man blankly.

“If we were to obliterate everything this key is now, yes the Spike part would disappear, but we would be doing away with a part of Buffy as well. Could you live with yourself after that?”

It took a moment for that to sink in. His face went white, as if the life had drained out of him. “I-I hadn’t-“

“You didn’t think of that? Of course not. Neither did I at first. We let our loathing of Spike get in the way. “

Just then the bell for the Magic Box tinkled. Buffy flew into the store. She halted dead in the middle of the floor. She surveyed the scene of books fearfully.

“You didn’t . . .? Please tell me you didn’t?” Buffy questioned. It was directed at Giles. He knew it meant ‘Please tell me you weren’t going to agree with Xander’.

Giles got to his feet and faced her. He took in the woman he had come to love like a daughter. She was radiant, hospital gown, unkempt locks and all. How could he have even contemplated preventing a piece of her to spread? This child could only bring goodness and light.

“No,” he softly confirmed.

Buffy sagged with relief. “You-You stopped him?”

There was no way he could confess to almost going through with it. Yet he couldn’t lie. Luckily Xander spoke instead.

Xander stepped forward. “I’m sorry. Giles helped me understand what I was doing. As much as I hate Spike I couldn’t kill anything that is part of you. I love you, Buff.”

Buffy’s gaze fell on Xander. His words did nothing to soften her.

Spike burst in then, followed by Willow. The witch fought to catch her breath.

“Phew, I need to join the gym or something if this keeps up,” Willow remarked. “Oh, are we in time!? Please tell me we are in time?”

Spike began to come at Xander with a vengeance. Buffy held out her hand to stop the vampire. She shook her head.

“It’s over,” Buffy said. “It’s over.” The last part was a whisper.

“Buffy-“ Xander began.

“ ‘It’s over’,” Buffy repeated. She turned toward Spike. She glanced down at her half-nakedness. “Take me home so I can change.”

_________________________________________________________


Evil Xander, but I think he learned his lesson.





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