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A/N Long note alert :-) After such an angsty chapter, I thought I owed everyone another one, since there’s been so many wonderful reviews. As a side note- I’ve been told that this story has some vague similarities to a B/A story by an author named Tango. Since I’ve never read any B/A fics, I was unaware of this and was given the link. I read through a portion of the story and there was one chapter that is similar to one that I have in store, but other than that, I feel they each have their own unique spin on an abusive perspective. Her story is called Abused and I’ve tried to e-mail the author to see if she would like to read the chapter before I post it in a few days, but I haven’t gotten a response yet. I just wanted to say that any similarities in any part of my story are entirely unintentional and even though I have no interest in reading B/A, I know that there are some people who read both pairings and she is an impressive author if anyone is looking for a good writer in that fandom. Thanks to everyone for all of the lovely reviews- it might be a few days before the next update, because I really need to focus on Daughter of Prophecy for a couple of days, but I should have another update this weekend.




Chapter 11 - Broken


Riley saw Spike run through the front door and immediately he began looking around in a panic. Catching him by the shoulders before he ran upstairs, Riley turned him around.

“It’s not good, Spike,” he said in a serious tone.

“What do you mean ‘not good’?” he asked through gritted teeth. “Where is she?”

“Up in Angel’s room,” Riley replied, tightening his hold when Spike tried to break away. “Spike! She’s banged up pretty bad. Angel got in a few minutes ago and he went to check on her and Faith…he said that you might want to wait until he comes out before you go in.”

Growling low in his throat, Spike squeezed his eyes shut, knowing that if Angel had seen Buffy, he would only say what was in her best interest. “Fine,” he muttered, more frustrated than he’d ever been in his life.

Slowly climbing the stairs, a thought occurred to Spike as he turned around and looked at Riley. “You better go check on her roommate, Finn.”

“Willow?”

“Yeah,” Spike said, his brows knit together as he nodded. “Something tells me Abrams is going to be looking for Buffy, and I don’t want Red to get caught in the crossfire.”

* * * * *

“How is she?” Spike asked a few minutes later, nervously pacing in front of Angel’s door and inhaling sharply on a cigarette.

Angel quietly shut the door behind him before leaning against the wall. “Not good,” he said solemnly. “She stayed in the bedroom the entire time I was in there, and I’ve only caught a glimpse of her…she was practically trying to crawl out the window to get away from me. She doesn’t want anyone in the room except Faith. Now that it’s sunk in and the pain is fresh, it looks like she thinks every man is a potential threat, not just Abrams.”

Spike’s hands were trembling as he took another long drag, desperately wishing he could hold her in his arms. “Should she go to the hospital?” he asked, blowing the smoke out of his nose.

“If she’s not showing improvement in a couple of hours, I’d say yes. But let’s wait and see what Faith thinks.”

Spike nodded, realizing that Angel was watching him closely. “What?”

“You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?”

“Define stupid,” Spike muttered, crushing the cigarette under his heel, uncaring that he was smashing it into the hall floor.

“Spike,” Angel said quietly. “You’re the best friend I have, which is why I’m telling you this-”

“If you tell me not to go after Abrams, I’ll beat the shit out of you first.”

“Spike, I love that girl in there as if she was my sister. I would take out Abrams myself, if I could, but you have to think of all the possibilities.”

“Such as?” Spike asked skeptically.

“Buffy needs you here. She needs you in one piece, and I don’t think it would do her any good to be worrying about you.”

“I can handle myself, Peaches,” Spike replied in a deadly tone. “That little ponce might be able to intimidate women half his size, but he’s got another thing coming if he thinks he can get away with it.”

Angel opened his mouth to respond when the door opened behind him.

“Spike,” Faith said quietly. “She’s asking for you.”

Spike practically bolted to the door but was quickly shoved away by the smaller girl.

“Listen up, Blondie. B has had a traumatic night and she doesn’t need you to go barging into her room, scaring her anymore. Keep an eye on her. Pay attention to what she doesn’t feel comfortable with, and make sure she’s the one to approach you. Got it?”

Spike nodded as Faith stepped out of the way. He slowly walked through the small sitting room and knocked lightly on the door of the bedroom. His jaw clenched when the door opened and Buffy stood cowering in front of him. Wearing a pair of loose cotton pants that belonged to Faith and one of Angel’s oversized, button-down shirts, she looked so…weak. The light in the room was dim, but he could easily make out the damage on her face.

A deep gash ran along her left temple, framed by a dark bruise. Her lower lip was split on the right side and another cut ran underneath her right eye. A nasty looking bruise darkened the skin of her jaw and spread along her neck, making Spike wonder just how many injuries layered the clothed parts of her body. He could see a bruise beginning to form underneath her left eye and had to repress the urge to look away.

Staring at him with glassy eyes that showed no emotion, Buffy seemed to be looking right through him. Spike took a small step forward, cringing when she flew across the room and huddled near the wall.

“Buffy,” he whispered soothingly. “It’s me, luv. It’s Spike.” He saw her shoulders slump when she recognized his voice, but the look of terror was still in her eyes. “Faith said you asked for me,” he continued, making sure to stay frozen in place as he spoke. “I’ll leave if you want me to…is that what you want?” He saw a tiny, almost imperceptible, shake of her head and felt himself relax a little bit. “Is it okay if I come closer?”

An eternity seemed to pass before Buffy nodded, her arms wrapped firmly around her body. Spike hesitantly entered the room, leaving the door open, knowing that she would feel trapped if he closed it.

He looked around the room, seeing only a bed and a chair and decided his best option was going to be the chair. “I’m going to sit down, okay?”

Buffy nodded and Spike watched as she slowly got to her feet when he was seated in the chair.

“You know I’m not going to hurt you,” Spike whispered.

Taking a deep breath before crossing the room, Buffy didn’t hesitate as she sat on Spike’s lap and immediately curled into his body. Spike cradled her as if he was cradling a baby, rocking her back and forth and murmuring soothing sounds into her ear. He felt her slowly relax as the tears began.

“Buffy,” he whispered after a few minutes, waiting until she pulled back to look at him. “I want to take you to the hospital, luv.” She automatically tensed in his arms, and Spike caressed her back to relax her. “I think it’s for the best…you know that, right?”

“I don’t want to go,” she finally spoke, her voice coming out in a hoarse whisper as she desperately clutched at his shirt. “He’ll find me, Spike. He’ll…he’s going to try and hurt me again.”

“But he’s not going to get to you,” he reassured her, pulling her closer to him. “Did you take a shower yet?”

Buffy shook her head, pressing her body closer to his. “Faith just helped me clean up some of the blood,” she whispered. “She told me that I probably shouldn’t do anything, except change clothes.”

“Good,” Spike whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to her temple. “We can take Angel and Faith with us. And Riley went to pick up Willow. What do you say?”

“You won’t leave me?” she asked, tucking her head under his chin and linking one of her hands with his.

“Not unless you want me to.”

“Even if they examine me?” she asked, a tremor of fear in her voice.

“I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

“How’s forever?” Buffy murmured. “Does forever work for you?”

“No,” Spike whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “Forever’s not long enough.”





Thanks so much to: melissa, Caatje, Brunettepet, Seraiza, spuffette, PK, gypsy_jin, Amanda, Franchesca, alexandrea, TammyAsh666, spikeztruluv, Alicia, Amanda, stace, daisy, Caitie, willowmouse, jenny, Kerrylee, jessiesaly, Jessica, blondiebear & Lala for reviewing!!





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