Buffy Summers awoke to the creaking sound of the heavy wooden door to her room opening. She lay quietly in her bunk refusing to accept that anything had happened which could possibly be important enough to pull her from her sleep. As a counselor for Holiday Hills it was her responsibility to be ready and willing to go no matter what the time.
She looked over at her alarm clock.) The red digital numbers read 1:15.
Jeez, she thought. What in the world could be going on at 1:15 in the morning???
Slowly Buffy swung her feet over the edge of the bed and placed them on the wooden floor. The coldness of the wood sent tiny shivers through her body and she had to wrap her arms around her self to keep warm.
“Willow, please tell me why you are up at 1:15 in the morning”? she sighed heavily.
“Buffy! Get up! Didn’t you hear me? I said that Xander went into the woods. You know he isn’t supposed to do that!!! I’m scared Buffy, you know how he is about that lake!” Willow stood in the doorway nibbling her lower lip and trembling all over with worry.
“Calm down Willow. Don’t worry.” Buffy knelt before the little girl, holding her shoulders gently in her hands, and offering Willow a comforting smile. “I’ll get your brother out of the woods and back to the camp, ok?”
The little girl nodded after a moment of hesitation. Quickly Buffy shooed Willow out of the room and proceeded to throw on a pair of jeans and her Camp Holiday Hills T-Shirt. Finally she threw on a pair of dingy brown hiking boots, grabbed her flashlight and ran out the door.
Spike Anderson lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling above him. Like most of the nights at Holiday Hills he couldn’t sleep. Yet again, he was thinking about her. It seemed that more times than not he was thinking about her. Buffy Summers. Even saying her name gave him the chills. She wasn’t anything special when you really thought about it, just another girl. I mean blond hair and blue eyes weren’t all that great. He could try and deny to himself what he thought about her but in his heart he knew he wanted her. And not just in the primeval wanting way but in the sense that he wanted to get to know her, and find out just what made her tick.
Unfortunately it had become painfully obvious to Spike that Buffy wanted nothing to do with him. She had practically ignored him the whole summer.
Since he couldn’t really get to sleep he finally decided to go for a walk. forget about her once and for all, and he could get some sleep.
Buffy ran to the edge of the woods and spied Willow just standing there.
“Willow, did you find him?”
“No, but Andrew said he went in that way.”
“I’ll get him, you STAY here, I don’t need another person getting in harms way.”
Buffy ran into the woods flashlight at the ready, calling out Xander’s name and trying not to trip over any branches.
Spike took a drag of his cigarette and let it hang loosely from his lips. He stared out into the distance through the trees and listened to the quiet of night. Finally he decided to head back to his cabin; it would be time to wake the kiddies up soon anyway.
As he neared the edge of the forest he thought he saw two campers sitting on a log and chatting.
“Hey, you two!! You know, you are not supposed to be out here this late at night.”
“But, Spike we are…”
“I don’t want to hear it. There is NO good excuse for being out past curfew!”
“Spike!! Listen!” Willow demanded. “Xander went into the woods alone to hang out by the lake. I was worried about him, so I went and woke Buffy up.”
“Buffy”? Spike raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, Buffy. So, she is out there now looking for him.”
“Got ya. Ok, you two go on back to your cabins and I’ll go help Buffy.” Now I can finally show her that I’m worth having around, he thought silently to himself.
As Buffy neared the lake she started to worry that maybe something had happened to Xander. She sure hoped nothing had. She really didn’t think she could handle another camper getting hurt. It was bad enough that at the beginning of the summer, Dawn McCallister had gotten hurt all because of Buffy.
Buffy had told her not to go swimming without a lifeguard, but the little girl hadn’t listened. If it hadn’t been for Spike calling her name she never would have even realized that Dawn was drowning. She still couldn’t believe that she had been so busy flirting with Angel that she had almost let a young girl drown. Well, this time nothing was going to distract her from her mission at hand.
Xander placed one foot in front of the other and slowly crossed the log. He had been dared earlier in the week to cross the log with his eyes closed and he had been too chicken to do it. It had scared him to think about closing his eyes while walking over the babbling river far below. Unfortunately for him, not crossing the river had caused the worst week of his life. Everyone knew that he had been too chicken to do it and his week had been full of teasing and practical jokes.
This is going to stop now! He thought.
Practice makes perfect, and what better time to practice than when there are no counselors around to tell you to stop. He would practice walking the log all night until he could do it perfectly enough to show the boys from Bunk 5 that he wasn’t a chicken.
“One foot in front of the other,” he whispered quietly to himself. “This is easy. Yes I can do this. I’ll show those boys…”
His last thought was ripped from his mind as his foot slipped from the log and he lost his balance. He landed into the icy water and quickly tried to swim to the surface.
Buffy rounded the corner just as the “plop” of Xander falling into the water could be heard. She raced to the edge and frantically began to search
for Xander in the water.
Spike raced into the woods and quickly headed for the river which he knew very well. He had spent many nights by the river when the campers were in bed. He had imagined that Buffy would come to him and that they would talk and get to know one another. He had also fantasized of other things. Thoughts of laying her down on the soft grass with nothing between them but skin on skin had made his heart race with silent pleasure. He shook those thoughts from his head and raced to the edge of the river focused on why he was there. He stopped short, there she was, his angel. She was racing around the edge of the river calling for Xander and looking scared.
Buffy decided the only thing to do was to jump into the water and try to find him that way. She dove into the water and the icy chill caused her to shiver. Desperately she swam underneath the water and tried to find Xander.
Spike stood there, frozen as she made her decision to jump in the water. He wanted to stop her, to tell her he would help her, but he knew how she was. She wouldn’t want someone doing it for her. She was a take charge kind of girl, especially after the incident with Dawn at the beginning of the summer. Now that he thought about it, that incident was when Buffy first started to ignore him.
Maybe, he thought, she still feels guilty that I saved Dawn because she was too busy talking to Angel, the ponce?
Without hesitation, he made his decision and quickly dove in after them.
Buffy broke the surface of the water and gulped in a lungful of air. She couldn’t find Xander and her nerves were getting the best of her. Suddenly she spotted another body nearby.
It must be Xander! she thought.
Quickly, she swam toward the body but was disappointed when she was graced with the face of Spike.
“What are you doing here Spike?”
“What does it look like? I am trying to help you save Xander.”
“I don’t need your help to save him, Spike. I have it all under control.”
“Ah yes, I see you do. Where is he then?”
“He’s in the water…somewhere.”
“Just shut up and let me help you. We are wasting precious time while you float here arguing with me.”
“Fine, just stay away from me” Buffy stated.
“No problem.”
Damn, he thought. Every time we talk it ends up in a fight! Why does she hate me so much?
Argh, she thought. Every time he talks to me I just wanna wring his neck. Who does he think he is? Mr. Gorgeous, yes. But, I don’t need help! Why does he always try to be the knight in shining armor?
She dove under the water once more and finally spied Xander extremely far down the river spitting and flailing about. At least he’s alive, she thought. Now to go get him and get out of this cold water.
She moved to kick her foot in order to move down the river, but it wouldn’t budge. She pulled harder still but nothing happened. Desperately she pushed up with all her might and felt a tree branch slice into her thigh.
Great, she thought, now I’m stuck!
Spike eventually spied Xander too at the far end of the river and quickly swam toward him. He dove under the water and saw that the boy’s foot was caught on a branch. Gently Spike untangled him and proceeded to pull the boy (take him) back to the bank.
“Thanks” sputtered Xander, as his body rested on the bank of the river.
“What were you doing out here?”
“I-I-I just wanted to practice walking across the log, so that the other guys wouldn’t call me chicken anymore!”
“Xander, do you know how foolish that sounds? Those boys are stupid if they want to pick on you for something like that. I know that you are a great guy and you shouldn’t worry about what they think of you. You have Andrew and Willow right?
“Yes.”
“See, a guy only needs a few close friends, rather than a group of fake ones.”
“Thanks Spike, that really made me feel better.”
“I’m glad. What say we go back to the cabin and you get warmed up?”
“That sounds good, but what about Buffy?”
“What about her?”
“She’s still out in the river.”
“What do you mean?” Spike asked. Turning from Xander he looked back into the river to see Buffy still out there.
“Eh, Pet? I found Xander and saved him from death by river. We can go in now.”
“I can’t Spike,” she hollered.
“Why not?” he yelled back.
She didn’t respond.
“Buffy! I’m going to take Xander back to his cabin you can just take your sweet time and get out whenever you feel like it.”
“Spike!!!!” she yelled. “I am stuck! Get your ass out here and help me.”
“Can I get a please?” Spike goaded.
“Damn it! Please!” she growled between clenched teeth.
He smirked a sly grin and waded into the water to get her. He whistled as he went and could tell by the look on her face that she was not a happy camper.
“Sure took your sweet time didn’t you?”
“Now Buffy, is that anyway to talk to the man who is going to rescue you?”
“Oh shut up Spike. My leg is stuck on this damn branch.”
“Let me have a look, luv.”
Spike felt underneath the water until he came in contact with her leg. She moved quickly and sucked in a breath.
“Did that hurt?”
“Yes, I think it’s stuck in my leg as well.”
“Shit!” He ran his hands through his wet hair. “This is gonna hurt. I am gonna yank the branch and try to dislodge it from your leg.”
“Fine.”
“Here hold onto my shoulders and as I pull it out I’ll pull you up, maybe we can dislodge it that way.”
She placed her hands on his shoulders and braced herself for the pain. Spike pulled hard on the branch and ever so slowly it began to release from Buffy’s leg. At the last moment he pulled hard on the branch and lifted Buffy out of the water. Her leg throbbed and she quickly wrapped it around his waist. Spike felt the presence of her leg wrapped around his waist but thought better not to say anything. She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders and he swiftly carried her through the water and back to the bank. He carefully set her beside Xander and flopped down on the bank beside her.
“I’m ready to go back to bed now,” Xander cheerily grinned and stood up.
“Yes, I bet you are.” Spike stood up beside Xander. “Buffy, do you think you can move”?
She was still unable to move any of her body parts. It wasn’t the cold water that was making her shiver, although that was part of it. It was the secure and comforting feeling she had had while in his arms. Why was she having feelings like this?? She didn’t like Spike.
“Buffy??? Luv did you hear me. We are ready to go”
“Uh yeah, I’m fine let’s go.” Buffy tried to stand up but her leg wobbled and she fell into Spike’s arms. “Thanks,” she mumbled.
“Anytime. Let’s get Xander back to his cabin and then I’m gonna take you to the infirmary.”
Buffy’s mind filled with thoughts of her and Spike, alone in the infirmary, wet clothes, warm blankets. No, that was NOT going to happen.
“No, Spike. I’ll be fine just walk me to my cabin and I’ll fix myself up.”
“Buffy, you are so stubborn you can hardly walk. I will take you to infirmary and bandage up that cut on your leg. I won’t take no for an answer.”
“Fine,” she grumbled.
“Spike, I can get myself to the cabin you go ahead and fix Buffy up,” Xander winked.
“Are you sure you can actually make it there?”
“Yes, I can do it.”
“Well all right then. I will come and make sure that you got back safely after I fix Buffy up.”
“Sounds good,” Xander hollered back as he ran away from the counselors and back to the edge of the woods.
“Okay luv, lean on me and I’ll get you to the infirmary. Get you fixed up nice and good and then you can go have a nice sleep.”
Spike searched his pocket for the keys to the infirmary and managed to open the door without having Buffy loose her footing. He helped her through the door and down the hall to one of the care rooms.
“You stay here I am going to go get some supplies to fix you up.”
Buffy sat in the room and looked at the check-up table. I am not lying on that thing, she thought. He will not get me up there. I will not take my clothes off. This is going to be quick and then I can get outta here and stop thinking about wet, naked Spike. Jeez where did that come from?!
“Okay luv, you need to get out of those clothes before you catch a chill.”
“Spike, I am not taking my clothes off for you.”
“As much as I would like that Buffy, that is not what I meant. Hmmm,” he walked over to the storage closet. “Here is a long T-shirt. You can put this on till your clothes get warm”. He placed the T-shirt in her hand and promptly left the room.
She started to peel her jeans from her body but the stinging pain of the wound caused her to stop. “Spike?” she called.
“Yes?” He poked his head back into the room.
“I can’t get my jeans off.”
“Why not?”
“The cut on my leg; it hurts too much.”
“Well, I guess we can cut off your pants.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Buffy look, I know this situation is not the most comfortable for either of us. I promise not to be all ‘typical male’ if you promise not to get all ‘girly’ when I have to see a piece of flesh or if I just happen to see your under things. Do you think you could do that?” He turned his head so he didn’t have to look into her eyes and waited for her response.
“Yeah Spike. I can do that”
“All right then, first things first. We need to cut off those wet jeans.” He snatched a pair of scissors from a nearby table. “I need you to lie down on this table. That would probably be the easiest thing.”
She silently moved to the table and proceeded to lie down.
“Are you comfortable?” he laughed.
“Yeah,” she laughed too.
He efficiently cut up the leg of her pants careful not to hit her skin in the process. As each piece of skin was revealed to him he forced himself to think of nonsexual things. He didn’t want Buffy to get freaked out, especially not now that he had gotten her to trust him just a little bit.
He removed the leg of her pants and took a look at the nasty cut. “Ouch, that has to hurt.”
“Yeah, it does.”
The blood had started to clot on the gash that ran about 2 inches down her thigh. He cleaned the cut with alcohol and Buffy jumped. He set to work cleaning the area, smoothing on the ointment and placing the gauze over the cut. After he was done he looked over at Buffy and saw she was becoming pale.
“Buffy? Are you okay?”
“I’m not sure…I feel really cold. And my feet and hands are kinda dumb.”
“I told you I didn’t want you to catch a chill. Take off your shirt. We have to get you outta those wet clothes. I’m gonna go get you a blanket or two.”
At this point Buffy could no longer say no. She stripped off her shirt and cut off the rest of her jeans. When Spike came back into the room she was in her bra and panties, a matching shade of emerald green.
He was stunned as he looked at her. Her hair was wet and laid softly on her shoulders. Her nipples were hard and pressed just a tiny bit against the soft satin of her bra. He tried hard to tear his eyes away but he knew she had noticed when she let out a tiny shiver.
“So umm still cold here.”
“Sorry, luv. It’s just. Pardon me for saying, but you are so beautiful.”
She felt a blush creep into her cheeks and looked away from him.
He immediately placed the blanket around her shoulders and she held it tightly to her chest.
“Is that better?”
“Much, thanks Spike.”
“Your welcome Buffy.”
A tiny shiver ran through his body and Buffy noticed it.
“Spike, you should probably get out of your clothes too. I mean you did jump in the icy water not once, but twice.”
He stared agape as her words registered in his head.
“Ah yeah your probably right love.”
He placed his hands at the edge of his shirt and slowly peeled the wet cloth from his sticky skin. He placed a blanket over his shoulders.
“Come and sit next to me,” Buffy said.
“Sure,” Spike mumbled.
They sat on the table both covered in a blanket neither of them moving.
“I’m still cold,” said Buffy.
“Yeah, me too,” said Spike.
“Hey I have an idea.”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Well I have always heard the body heat helps so if you wanted to we could get under one blanket and use our heat to help warm up,” Buffy shyly stated.
“Yes. We could do that. Would you be comfortable though?”
“Uh huh, I think I can do it.”
Spike slid closer to Buffy and placed the blankets around both of them.
“There, how is that?”
“Wonderful,” Buffy sighed.
Buffy laid her head on Spike’s shoulder and closed her eyes. She listened to the beating of his heart and the quickening of this breath. They sat in silence listening to each other and thinking about the events of the past hour.
“Spike?”
“Yeah Buffy.”
“I just wanted to say thank you. You know for helping me with Xander. I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to him.”
“You would have got him Buffy, I have no doubt. And don’t worry about thanking me, it’s not a big deal.”
“Yes it is,” she lifted her head from his shoulder and moved away from him. “I should have been the one to get him. I shouldn’t have gotten caught on that branch.”
“Buffy, listen to yourself! It is not your fault that you got caught on the tree branch.”
“Yes it is! It’s just like last time with Dawn. I mean I was such an idiot.”
“Buffy luv, what are you talking about?”
“You know, where you had to jump in and save Dawn because I was too busy flirting with Angel.”
“Buffy that wasn’t your fault either.”
“But, if you hadn’t been there then she might have drowned and I just can’t think about that because it would have been my fault. You saved my ass don’t you understand. I would have been kicked out if you had said something to Giles. I can’t understand why you didn’t just turn me in”
“Buffy, why would I want to turn you in? What would that help? You were flirting with Angel that’s not a crime. Yes, your timing could have been better but still, everything turned out fine. You shouldn’t blame yourself.”
“I have a confession to make.”
“Oh really, what is that?”
“I’ve been hostile to you all summer because I was embarrassed that you had to save my ass.
“That’s why you’ve been so bitchy to me?”
“Yes I figured if I was mean to you, you would tell Giles what happened and then I would be kicked out and I could get over my guilt. I was never properly punished for not paying attention that day. “
“Buffy. I thought you were just mean to me because you didn’t like me.”
“No, Spike I like you just fine.
“Do you?”
“Yeah, you’re really sweet”
“Buffy?”
“Yeah.”
“I have a confession to make.”
“Oh really, do tell.”
He took a deep sigh and she slid closer to him. “I’ve had a crush on you since the first day of summer. “ He stated quickly and then turned his head away.
“Me? Spike, don’t have a crush on me. I am not crush worthy.” she quickly looked away from his eyes and stared at the floor.
He placed his hand on her chin and tilted her face back to his. “Why do you say that?”
“Angel told me I wasn’t worth loving. I was bitchy and a tease and I would never find a man that wanted me.”
“That jackass!”
“Yeah.”
“Buffy, you are beautiful on the inside and the outside. I can see the real you not just the perky blonde but the kind and caring teacher, the one who cares about the campers and wants to be a role model for them. If Angel can’t see all that then he is blind. I can see it. I’ve always been able to see it.”
She stared into his eyes and said “That was the nicest thing anybody has ever said to me.”
He started to look away but she stopped him with her hand on his face. “Don’t look away.”
Ever so slowly their faces inched closer and closer together. She tilted her head to the side and anticipated his lips on hers. She felt the cool pressure of his lips as they collided with hers. The kiss was slow and tender full of sweet desire and affection. He was the one to break the kiss.
“Wow,” she said.
“Yeah,” he laughed.
He stared into her eyes and suddenly her lips were on his. This time the kiss was harder with a hint of passion making its way through. He sucked on her lower lip and slowly begged entrance with his tongue. She opened her mouth to gasp and his tongue entered her mouth. Their tongues dueled in her mouth and the fires burned deep within both of them.
A sound of a throat being cleared caused them to pull away from each other. Xander stood there with a smile on his face.
“Umm you never came to check on the bunk and I just wanted to make sure everything was okay with Buffy. But, I can see you are busy so I’ll come back later.”
“No Xander, that’s okay I’ll walk you back to your cabin. Can you wait in the hallway a minute?” Spike asked Xander.
The door closed behind Xander, and Buffy and Spike just stared at each other. “That was…,” they both said at the same time. They laughed and Spike placed his hand on her shoulder.
“Let’s get dressed, and I’ll walk you back to your cabin.”
“That would be nice.”
Spike put back on his barely damp clothes and Buffy found a pair of shorts in the storage closet and pulled them on along with the T-shirt Spike had given her earlier.
“You ready?” he asked.
“Let’s go,” she said.
After they dropped Xander off at his cabin and checked that the other boys were asleep they headed for Buffy’s cabin. When they got to the door they stopped.
“You can come in if you want,” Buffy quietly stated.
“Umm, I better not. We have to be up in a few hours.”
“Oh, okay.” She looked down at her shoes.
He placed his hand under her chin. “Would you like to go out with me sometime?”
“I would love to,” she smiled brightly. “When?”
“Well, since tomorrow is the last day of summer camp for this session, why don’t we go out after closing session tomorrow night?”
“That sounds great. I can’t wait!”
“Me neither Buffy, me neither.” He leaned down and pressed his cool lips against hers for a nerve shattering kiss. “I’ll see you in about three hours, luv.”
“Good night, Spike.”
“Good night, Buffy. Sweet dreams.”
As she watched him walk away from her cabin she knew that her dreams would definitely be sweet tonight.
The End.
A/N:This is my first finished fic. Please be gentle. :)
