[Reviews - 135]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Microsoft Word Chapter or Story | ePub eBook Chapter or Story | Printer Chapter or Story

Has been viewed 2127 times

- Text Size +




STAKE YOUR CLAIM


Chapter 17: ‘We Are All So Very Glad’


Spike and Buffy, astride Demon, cantered slowly down to the bluff’s edge and into the encampment. Buffy gasped when she saw all of the familiar, loving male faces look up to greet her and welcome her back to safety. Before anyone else could, Spike slid from Demon and reached up to pull her from the horse, gently, in his strong arms.

“There we are, Princess,” he whispered tenderly in her ear, “all safe and sound, my girl is now.”

Rupert Giles hurried up to her, throwing his equally strong arms about Buffy and hugging her tightly to him. She swore she heard his weeping softly against her head, “oh Buffy, dear,” he whispered, “we are all so very glad you are all right.”

She pulled away and smiled softly at Rupert Giles, “thank you,” she rasped with emotion, “thank you for the ransom money. For William, for everything.”

Daniel Osbourne, Xander Harris, along with Connor and Angel joined Buffy to welcome her back.

“Where’s Willow, Anya and the babies?” Buffy asked anxiously.

“Wills is at her Uncle Saul’s,” Daniel smiled affectionately, “with baby Daniel.”

Xander nodded, “Anya and little Beth are up at the Ranch house, waitin’ on you to come home Buffy.”

Connor shyly slipped in between his Father and Buffy to welcome her back with a timid hug.

“Dawnie’s there too, at the Ranch I mean, Miss Summers. Dad made sure we took her out there, so she could greet you when you got home.”

Buffy fought the urge to begin crying in front of all these wonderful people, spying Ethan Rayne and the Mr. Jenkins, along with so many other of the townsmen.

‘They came, to save me. But it was Spike, he’s the one that risked his own life to fetch me down from that awful place,’ she sniffed to herself, hoping that none of them saw or heard her weakness.

“Buffy!” came Riley Finn’s loud voice, startling her from her near tears.

“Thank the Lord you’re safe, honey,” Riley hurried over to try and take Buffy in his arms. Buffy cringed when Riley attempted to pull her from Connor’s and Spike.

“Dear God, I hope you are all right,” Riley began sternly, “tell me that monster, Holden Webster, nor any of those other thugs touched or ‘bothered’ you in ‘that way’ why I’d…”

Buffy froze in shocked horror that this idiot, Riley Finn, would even mention such a thing, in front of Spike, his family, the other townsmen and ranch hands who stood about. Before Buffy could open her mouth to chastise Riley, she heard the loud crunch of Spike’s left fist as it connected to the Deputy’s right jaw.

Buffy looked just in time to see Riley fly backwards and end up on his backside, a look of stunned indignation on his full face.

“Finn,” Spike growled beside Buffy, enraged heat radiating from his taut body, “you truly are a bloody moron, that’s for sure.”

Buffy didn’t even hesitate to thank Spike or yell at Riley, she took off for the nearest large rock to hide behind. Her body shaking from anger and shame at Riley’s stupidity and lack of tact.

“Buffy,” Spike murmered as he joined her behind the rather large boulder that she had run and hidden behind. He took her little hand, again amazed at how right it felt connected to his. “He’s an idiot, you know that, right?”

Spike felt like going back and kicking that fool Finn, even if he was still down on his arse in the middle of twenty onlookers. She nodded, but said nothing, just squeezed his hand tightly and leaned into him.

“Buffy,” Spike whispered, gazing at her, lovingly, “it’s all right, everything is going to be fine and…”

She glanced up at him, her green eyes burned with fire. “He tried, you know,” she stammered, “Holden, he tried to ‘hurt’ me. But Darla, his sister, the boy’s Mother, she stopped him. Him and stopped that bitch Faith from harming me.”

Spike pulled Buffy close to him, “I’m glad Darla was there, Buffy dear,” he whispered to her softly, “I’ll make sure that she, the boy, are not harmed when we…”

Buffy stared at Spike in shock, “Will,” she hissed, “you can’t mean that you, them,” she nodded back at the men in the encampment, “you are all going to go after Holden, his men?”

Spike looked away from her for a moment, his fine mouth in a hard, even line. “We have to, luv,” he said softly, but firmly, “if we don’t stop them, we let them get away. Well, Princess, they’ll just pull this again. Next time, it might not be someone as strong as you sweetheart. It might be someone like the Bit, or even the Osbourne or Harris children. The most vulnerable ones of all. If they don’t do it here, Holden, his gang, then it’ll be in the next Territory, or State. We created them, this Territory, this place, those monsters up there. It’s up to us to stop them.”

Buffy leaned in further to Spike and simply nodded her understanding.

“Princess,” Spike snuggled her up against him, “I’m going to bring Xander, take you back to the Ranch. Dawn, Jennifer and Anya are there, waiting for you to come to them. Once I’ve seen you there, safe and sound, I’m leaving Xander with you all, coming back here to meet up with Dad and the others. We ‘are’ going to round up the whole bunch of them, Holden, Tucker and the other trash involved in this. Do you feel up to going back to the Ranch now, luv?”

Buffy buried her blonde head into his chest and nodded, “please, Will,” she murmered wearily, “take me home, to your Ranch.”

When the couple rejoined the other men in the encampment, Riley hovered about them, head hung down in humiliation, “Buffy,” he stuttered out quietly. She turned and glared at the tall dark-haired man. “I’m sorry, Buffy,” Riley began timidly, “I…”

Buffy leaned closer into Spike’s arms, “forget it, Riley,” she said gruffly. “Oh,” she added as Spike lifted her gently up onto his horse, Demon, “I have a message for you, Riley. Faith says ‘hi’ and sends her best.”

Spike chuckled behind her as he slid onto Demon and spurred the horse onto his Ranch, followed by the loyal and good friend, Xander Harris.

Once Buffy and Spike, along with Xander had reached the Gile’s Ranch, Harris rode on ahead to alert the family and his wife that they were home, safe and sound. At least for now. Buffy and Spike sat, still mounted on Demon, she snuggled back against him, securely.

“I’m leaving Xander here, with you all,” Spike whispered in her ear as he stroked her hair lovingly.

“Wish you weren’t going back at all,” Buffy sighed as she turned, carefully to face him. “Wish you’d stay here, with us, with me, Will.”

He smiled at her wistfully, “I can’t,” he shook his head, “Webster, those bastards with him, they took my girl from me. And scared her,” he finished harshly, nuzzling his forehead to hers.

Buffy tried to fight back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes, “I am your girl,” she confirmed, running her tiny hand down his chiseled cheekbone.

“I know,” he purred as he leaned in to kiss her luscious little mouth.



“Buffy!” the couple jumped when they heard Dawnie cry from the front porch. Dawn, along with Anya, Jennifer and Xander scurried down the the short path to where Buffy and Spike sat astride Demon, fused together.

“I’ll be back before you know it, Princess,” Spike whispered longlingly to Buffy, kissing the tip of her funny little nose.

“You better be, Will,” Buffy mumbled back to him, realizing at that moment that she would never call him anything but William or Will again. Spike hugged her tightly, then lifted her up gently and handed her down to Xander who waited next to his wife.

“Oh, Buffy!” she heard Dawnie cry again, then felt her taller, younger sister grab her and squeeze her tightly. “Oh, Buffy,” Dawn sobbed again, “I’m so sorry, it’s all my fault.”

Buffy held her sister tightly, as if she might never get the chance again, “it’s okay, Dawnie,” she whispered as she looked over the girl’s shoulder and watched Will ride off on Demon. Back to the encampment and to their male revenge.

William turned and stared longingly at Buffy, ‘I love you,’ he mouthed to her, then turned and spurred Demon across the still light prairie back to the bluff. He didn’t see the response that Buffy whispered back to him.


A/N: Okay, short, somewhat, chappie! Next chapter is when Buffy will get her surprise and we’ll find out just what happened back at the bluff. Oh, and well, there will be just the teensiest-weensiest Spuffy in the next few chapters! (Okay, so I lied, there’ll be a lot of it! Yeah!) Thanks for reading, please review. Reviews make the next chapters come so much faster! Luv, Spuf





You must login (register) to review.