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A/N Well, I was able to make some of your wishes come true in this chapter. So, anyone who e-mailed me or reviewed about…a certain occurrence, this chapter is for you :-)




Chapter 12 – Never Leave Me


Walking out of the library, Willow frowned as she looked up when she ran into something solid. Letting her eyes adjust to the darkness, they immediately widened when she saw Parker standing in front of her.

“Where is she?” he growled, looking around before settling his eyes on Willow.

“I don’t know,” she replied, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the so-called man. “What did you do to her this time?”

“Nothing she didn’t deserve,” he replied, looking around as if Buffy would materialize out of thin air at any moment.

“Maybe she’ll finally wise up and dump your sorry ass,” Willow said with a raised eyebrow, not showing how much he intimidated her as he closed the distance between them.

“What did you say?” Parker asked, his eyes narrowed.

“You heard me,” she countered, raising her chin defiantly.

“You little bitches are all the same,” Parker said in a low voice.

“What did you do to my friend?” Willow asked again, never taking a step back. She refused to be intimidated by this coward.

“I taught her a lesson.”

“Meaning?”

“What do you think it means?” he replied, nearing his breaking point.

“I know what it means,” Willow whispered, her jaw set in anger. “Guys who beat their girlfriends because they’re too weak to be real men deserve lessons, too.”

Not letting him have a chance to figure out what she meant, Willow kicked Parker in the groin, making sure that the pointed toe of her boot made direct contact with his crotch. Satisfied when he doubled over, screaming in agony, she allowed a brief smile to cross her face before running down the path. Feeling herself crashing into something solid for the second time, she looked up to see that she was in Riley’s arms.

“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly.

“I’m fine,” she whispered, breathing a sigh of relief that she was safe in his embrace.

“Is it Parker?” Riley asked, already walking around the redhead and pushing the door open.

“He’s a little incapacitated for the moment. Be careful,” she called after him, wringing her hands together as he took off at a run.

Standing still for a tense few moments, Willow was about to go after him when she saw him hurrying back to her.

“Come on,” he said softly, taking her hand and leading her toward the parking lot.

“What about-”

“We’ll have to finish with him later,” he said, pocketing his cell phone. “Angel called and said that we need to get to the hospital.”

“Hospital? Is Buffy okay?” she asked frantically.

“She’s…she needs support right now,” Riley said gently.

“B-but she’s gonna be okay, right?”

“Spike’s with her,” he replied softly, trying to avoid the question as best as he could.

* * * * *

Spike held Buffy’s hand as she flinched in pain, closing her eyes and unconsciously leaning toward him as they continued the pelvic exam. Leaning over her and running his hand over her forehead, Spike gave her a gentle smile, trying to silently let her know that she would be okay.

“Alright, Miss Summers,” the doctor said, sitting back and handing some things to the nurse. “We’re finished- you can get dressed now. I’ll come back in a minute and we can talk.”

Buffy nodded as the woman excused herself from the room. Sitting up and grimacing in pain, Spike let go of her hand and stepped toward the door.

“Where are you going?” she asked, her voice panicked as she stared at him wide-eyed.

“I was going to step outside while you got dressed, luv,” he said gently.

“Please don’t leave,” she whispered, biting her bottom lip as she looked at him. It had been hard enough to be alone for the few minutes that it took her to get into the gown- Buffy didn’t know if she could handle him walking out right now.

“I think you’ll be more comfortable-”

“Please,” she whispered, looking at him with a pleading gaze.

“Alright then,” he said softly, giving her a small smile, before turning around to give her a modicum of privacy.

Buffy tried to push any disturbing thoughts out of her mind. She knew Spike was a gentleman and didn’t want to make her uncomfortable, but another thought was making itself known.

‘Of course he wouldn’t want to look at you. You’re practically broken. He can do better than some charity case.’

Quickly dressing in the pants that Faith had given her, Buffy was grateful for the large shirt of Angel’s that seemed to swallow her figure, hiding the worst of the damage.

“All done,” she murmured, gingerly pushing herself back up to sit on the table as Spike turned around.

A soft smile graced his features as he looked at her. “Remind me to give you one of my shirts when we get home. You could get lost in that one.”

Buffy offered him a tiny smile, immediately relaxing when he walked over and held her hand. “Thank you for being here,” she whispered, feeling his finger hook under her chin and tilt her head up to look at him.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Hearing a soft knock on the door, both turned to see the tall brunette walk in. “Am I okay, Dr. Burkle?” Buffy asked softly, practically retreating into herself as she leaned into Spike.

“I think you’ll be fine,” the young woman began in a gentle voice. “Maybe we should discuss this in private.”

Spike was sure that he was going to have some broken bones in his hand as her hold tightened on it. “I want him here,” she whispered, looking at Spike to make sure he was okay with staying and relaxing slightly when she saw him smile at her reassuringly.

“If that’s what you want, Buffy,” she said softly, causing Spike’s blood to run cold at the informal mention of her name. He knew that this wouldn’t be good, considering the doctor was obviously trying to relax her.

“It is,” Buffy replied, leaning into Spike’s touch as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“You said that it was your boyfriend who did this to you?” Dr. Burkle asked, looking hesitantly at Spike.

“Yes,” she replied before seeing the other woman’s look. “But Spike’s not my boyfriend. He’s, um…he’s…”

“Her friend,” he said with a smile, feeling Buffy relax even more.

“How long has the abuse been going on?” Dr. Burkle asked softly.

Spike felt Buffy tense up at the unfamiliar term. “A while,” she murmured, unable to make eye contact with either person in the room.

“I’ve turned the results of the preliminary tests over to the police at your earlier request, but I think you may need to see a counselor, Buffy.”

“No,” she whispered, biting her lip and looking at Spike for support, shying away from him when she saw that he obviously agreed with the other woman.

“I know that it doesn’t feel very comfortable, but dealing with something as physically and psychologically damaging as rape-”

The doctor cut herself off when she visibly noticed the man in front of her tense up and look at Buffy.

“Rape?” he asked in disbelief.

“I’ll leave you two alone for a few minutes,” Dr. Burkle said, excusing herself from the room.

“He…”

“It’s not like that, Spike,” Buffy answered, feeling the need to defend herself. She felt filthy and used and seeing the judgment in his eyes made her want to sob in anguish. In her mind, the judgment was for her and not Parker.

“Then what’s it like, Buffy?” he asked, trying to keep the accusing tone out of his voice, since it wasn’t meant for her.

“It’s…th-that’s just…that’s the way it is.”

“What?” he asked, looking at her as if she’d lost her mind and immediately regretting it when he saw her shrink away from him.

“I-It’s supposed to be this way,” she answered timidly, wiping the tears away that were frantically spilling over. “It’s always been this way and I don’t…”

“Buffy,” Spike whispered, his heart breaking for the young woman as he wrapped his arms around her. “That’s not the way relationships work, luv. Not when…”

He trailed off, unable to finish the sentence as his voice became choked with emotion. Feeling her tears seep into his shirt, he held her closer to him, careful not to hurt her anymore.

Hearing the doctor walk in, Spike slowly pulled away, leaving a tender kiss on her forehead before taking a step back. “I’ll be back soon,” he whispered.

“Wh-where are you going?” Buffy asked, her terrified voice nearly sending him right back to her, but he knew that if he did that, he’d never leave.

“I’ll be back,” he said with a smile for her benefit. “I promise.”

“You’re going to find him, aren’t you?” she asked, looking after him with sad eyes- silently willing him to stay with her.

“I’m going to keep you safe.”

“I’m safer with you here,” she whispered, silently pleading with him to turn around.

“You’ll be safer after I take care of him.”


A/N Aaah, Willow kicks Parker in the balls and Spike is confronting him in the next chapter. See? I listen to your reviews- it just takes me a while to get there (believably).

Thanks so much to: pj, Renee, melissa, Kar, Caitie, Reciprocity, Franchesca, Amanda, SpuffyLovingJess, stace, spufette, Anne, Mockerfab4, blondiebear, daisy, Caatje, gypsy_jin, Seraiza, Maddie Mae, Alicia, beverly, Crystal Pegasus, melissa, Spikes Sweety, BuffyRat, ForeversEnough, Amanda, Jenn & phantomwriter for reviewing!





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