Chapter 35: “In Too Deep”
Giles had taken it upon himself to exit the den where Angel and Buffy were still having their chat so he could check on Spike. Despite his distaste for the wounded vampire he still felt the need to make sure he was alright. He was after all the father to his slayer’s baby, the very girl that was like a daughter to him. He was worried for her as well. Angel had been right in his assessment that something was changing between Spike and Buffy. Buffy was becoming careless in her actions and her duty as a slayer was being buried away in the process.
Giles stepped into the bedroom just as Spike was coming to from his spot on the floor. Both men locked eyes before glancing in a different direction and busying themselves.
“Buffy will be alright you didn’t hurt her,” Giles told him while he watched the injured vamp get up off the floor.
Spike once again locked eyes with Giles and scoffed, “Don’t rightly remember asking if she was okay. Don’t rightly care.”
“She came over as soon as she heard something happened to you last night,” Giles went on, pretending not to have heard Spike’s comment. “She seems to feel that your accident last night was her fault. Why she feels this way I’m not sure, but she does. I think it would make her feel better to know that you will heal.”
“Would you stop you’re yakking already,” Spike pleaded finally getting himself back over to the bed. “Did you not just hear me say I could care less what the Slayer wants? Her bloody poof of a boyfriend did this to me. Let her deal with that.”
In two strides Giles was pinning Spike down on the bed by the neck, his other hand placed gently over the fresh wound in the vampires chest. He pushed on the wound with one finger bringing forth a look of intense pain from Spike, who was gripping at the wrist of the hand wrapped tightly around his neck.
“Don’t you dare mock her distress,” Giles spat out, pressing on the wound a little bit more. “Angel may have missed but I can assure you that I won’t.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“He’s not controlling me,” Buffy whispered over the lip of her tea cup.
Angel had stopped talking after they both realized Giles was no longer in the room. For some reason his lack of presence made them both feel vulnerable, open. They both needed that third body to prevent them from admitting the truth to each other, the truth that was nagging both of them since Spike had become a big part of her life. The truth that both of them had drifted apart, that they were no more.
“What did you say?” Angel asked drawing his attention away from the empty hallway he had been glancing down.
“I don’t know what is going on between me and Spike, but I do know that I still have some control over my actions,” Buffy spoke up a little more clearly. “He isn’t going to kill me. I won’t let him.”
“How can you be so sure Buffy,” Angel argued, wanting so badly to believe in her own confidence. But, his distrust for Spike was leading him in a different direction. “He has killed a Slayer before.”
“Why don’t you believe me? Why are you turning your back on me now when I need you most? I still don’t have all the answers; I am not sure why this is happening or how to fix things.”
“Maybe you aren’t supposed to know,” Angel reasoned.
“I know that my life is different,” Buffy stated. “I have known this since I was told my destiny of being a Slayer. But, I want to know about this,” she pointed to her belly. “I want to know what is to become of this, what this baby means. I think I have earned that much.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Giles tossed the old, bloody bandage into the waste basket. His aggressive behavior had caused Spike’s wound to reopen and the bleeding to start anew. When the vampire had passed out from all the pain Giles positioned him back onto the bed and changed his dressing. He was just about done watching his hands in the bathroom when he heard Spike stirring on the bed.
Giles came back into the room carrying a towel with him as he dried off his hands. He studied Spike for a moment before removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes with his palm.
“You are to stay away from her,” Giles instructed to Spike still rubbing at his eyes. He really didn’t get a wink of sleep last night and already he was feeling its effects.
“She doesn’t need any of your tricks right now,” he added. “None of us do.”
Spike groaned a little as he tried to sit up in the bed. This was not an easy thing to do seeing as how his left side felt completely numb from all the blood he had lost.
“W-why,” Spike managed to cough out through the dizziness he was feeling. “Why don’t you tell her all this, Ripper? Seems to me that she keeps coming back for more, she keeps bloody begging for it. Bloody pathetic if you ask me.”
Giles gently set down the towel he still held in his hands on the nightstand. He replaced his glasses back on the bridge of his nose and softly cleared his throat.
Spike grunted when he felt Giles push him back down against the bed, all the pressure on his left shoulder where most of his pain could be felt.
“You forget that we are in a room alone,” Giles reminded him. “I will stake you despite the risk I take knowing Buffy will hate me. I am willing to do it because I know that over time she will forgive me.”
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Johnny stared, enthralled by the tiny object he held in his hand. Apparently Dru had found it in one of the abandoned rooms of the mansion. He had caught her playing with it, shaking it in front of Miss Edith. Now the damn thing was in his possession and he couldn’t seem to let it go now.
“Hey. Johnny?”
Johnny growled at the unwelcome intrusion. “What is it?”
The minion cleared his throat quickly.
The minion stepped further into the room and made his way to the sofa chair Johnny managed to occupy most of these days. He caught sight of the rattle twirling on Johnny’s finger and laughed without even thinking.
“What the hell do you want?!” Johnny growled a second time, glaring at the lowly minion whose name he could not remember. Not that it mattered much anyway, gave him more of a reason to kill the bastard without consequence to his plan.
“You asked me to tell you when Dru was in one of her trances.”
“Yes?” Johnny sighed impatiently, waiting for the minion to get to the point.
“She’s been running in and out of all the rooms looking for something.” The minion spoke. “It’s starting to bother some of us.”
“Have you even bothered to listen to what she might be saying?”
“You know how it is Johnny. Half the things she says when she isn’t in a trance never make sense anyway.”
Johnny threw the rattle against the wall causing it to crack and fall with thud onto the floor. He whirled around on the minion and lifted him up by his shirt collar.
“I didn’t come all the way to Sunnydale so you idiots could have a vacation. Dru is trying to tell me something, something big that is happening with the Slayer.”
“I understand Johnny.” The minion choked out, trying hard not to show how scared he was.
“Do you?” Johnny wondered. “Do you really? I think maybe I need to use you as an example to the others about how serious I am taking this.”
“What do you mean Johnny?”
Johnny curled his lip and chuckled. “Let me show you what I mean.” He finally replied pulling the minion with him out of the room.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Why does this have to be happening?” Buffy moaned, running a hand through her hair. “I am so tired of all the questions everyone keeps throwing at me and yet no one has answered a one of mine.”
“It will take time Buffy,” Angel offered.
Buffy laughed. “Like I have all the time in the world Angel.” She set down the cup she still held in her hand and glanced down at her stomach. “I’m not even showing you know.”
Angel watched her as she smoothed her shirt over her stomach, showing how flat it still was. “How far along are you supposed to be?”
“Four months.” She looked up at him. “Don’t women start showing a little at four months?”
“You’re asking the wrong person.”
“I really want this Angel,” She confessed to him, softly laughing at how silly she sounded even to herself. “As insane as that sounds but it makes me feel more normal than I have ever felt in a long time.”
Angel made his way around the couch that he had been standing by to get closer to her. “You are normal Buffy. You are the all-American girl living in California.”
She smiled and nodded. “With a baby on the way. I guess I do fall into the larger percentage of teenage girl statistics with that one.”
“I don’t bloody well care what you think watcher.” Both Angel and Buffy heard Spike yell before appearing from the hallway in front of them.
Spike saw Buffy and growled low in his throat. Angel heard this and positioned his body between the two of them to stop Spike in case he tried to do anything.
“Are we back to making googily eyes at each other then?” Spike scoffed leaning his body against the wall for support. He was still feeling a little weak from the loss of blood the night before and the beating he just got from Giles. As bad as he hurt though he was not willing to stick it out at the watchers house just so he could get better faster. “Pathetic.”
“Where are you going Spike?” Buffy questioned, walking around Angel and closer to Spike. She ignored the snarls that came from him as she got closer and closer.
“Away from the lot of you like I had been planning last night until the poofter over here decided to interfere.”
“You aren’t going anywhere Spike.” Giles commented from behind him. “Considering your state right now and the fact that it is light outside you wouldn’t make it more then 10 feet before collapsing or burning.”
Spike rolled his eyes before pushing himself off the wall he had been leaning on and started to walk towards the door. He stopped in his tracks when Buffy placed herself square in front of him. He tried to walk around her the other way but she stopped him again.
“Don’t make me hurt you Slayer.” He warned.
“I’d like to see you try.” She challenged before remembering what he had done in the bedroom earlier and adding. “Again.”
“Why don’t you give your Slayer the same advice you gave me,” Spike suggested to Giles over his shoulder.
“Buffy I think it would be best if you left right now,” Giles commented placing his hands in his pocket before looking up at her and finishing what he had to say. “You’re being around Spike right now is not helping the situation that he is in.”
Buffy started to argue with Giles but was interrupted by the door swinging open and slamming into the wall. Xander rushed in with Cordelia slowly walking in the door behind him, a look of annoyance on her face.
Xander opened his mouth to speak but halted when he saw the state that Spike was in. “Not that I really care about him but what the hell happened to Spike?”
“Angelus tried to kill me last night.”
Xander swung his attention to Angel and held his hands out beside him. “Come on Angel, where was my invite? I thought we were both on the same boat when it came to Spike.”
“Xander!” Cordelia yelled rolling her eyes. “Will you please just tell them about the thing that Willow found.”
“Right,” Xander said getting his thoughts back on track. “But it would be better if I show you. Willow is waiting at your house right now.”
“Can Willow not just come over here?” Buffy asked.
“She could but then we would have to lug all the books again and….”
“And I am not breaking another nail for you.” Cordelia piped in.
“Fine.” Buffy finally relented. “How are we going to get Spike over there? Its light outside.”
“Never said I wanted to go.” Spike mumbled under his shallow breath.
“I will stay here with Spike,” Angel offered. “Giles can go with you and come back here to let us know what you guys found out.”
Buffy nodded her head. Giles got together some of his notes and they all filed out the door leaving Spike and Angel standing in the den both watching the door as it closed shut.
“Along again. How about another go at trying to kill me?”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
I apologize for any mistakes....