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Disclaimer: I don't own anything, please don't sue me, I have no money. Some of the dialog is from Buffy episode Fool For Love written by Doug Petrie.
Chapter 13: Mortality
She almost didn't feel the pain through the shock, almost. Buffy looked at the stake that was embedded deep into the flesh of her stomach. This couldn't be it. Not by some smelly terminally stuck to the eighties ordinary vamp. A million thoughts ran through her head. She couldn't leave Angel, they just got a chance to be together without fear, it wasn't enough time, and how could he deal with it after such short time from loosing Doyle. What about her friends, her mother and Dawn, how would she survive the demon that was after her? And Faith, she would be the only slayer, would she be ready to deal with the responsibility, could she handle being the only one, not to mention that she was in prison.
Through the shock she managed to pull the stake out of herself and she sprinted into run, her legs were working on pure adrenaline and fear. She managed to outrun the vampire and she sighed in relief as she got inside. She glanced around herself despite the fact that she knew Dawn was staying at a friend and her mother was sleeping with the power of strong sleeping pills. Slowly she climbed the stairs, the pain was shooting through her and she was starting to feel weak. She took a emergency kit from the bathroom and clumsily tried to patch the wound. What had happened was starting to sink in and she fought against the tears that threatened to surface.
She sniffed and grabbed the phone, quickly glancing at the clock before dialing the number she knew by heart. “Angel. I need you”, she whispered into the phone and slowly laid down to the bed. She was tired, all energy was drained out of her and she couldn't find the strength to bandage herself, she only pressed a thick cloth against the wound and closed her eyes.
Angel rushed through the front door of the Summers house and he was assaulted with the lingering smell of blood. Buffy's blood. He had driven like a madman to Sunnydale after getting the phone call, he had been worried but now he felt the paralyzing fear settle inside him. He ran the steps three at a time and made a straight way to Buffy's bedroom. Once again he was enveloped with the smell of her blood and his eyes landed on Buffy who was trying to patch herself up. She lifted gaze from the task and their eyes met.
“Buffy”, he whispered painfully, his face showing his relief that she was alive. She whispered his name like a prayer and quickly he made his way to her, sitting next to her on the bed. Gently he took the large piece of gauze she was holding against her side and inspected the wound, it had stopped bleeding.
“It needs stitches, maybe I should take you to hospital”, he said lifting his eyes to hers.
“No hospitals. You know how I hate them and then there's the fact that mom would freak. I don't want to worry her”, she shot down the idea and he nodded in understanding. He looked through the box and carefully started doing the stitches. She gritted her teeth at the pain but didn't let out a peep, she just watched him work.
“I didn't know you could do that”, she stated and he seized, looking up to her.
“I can do a lot of things. One of the few perks of a long life”, he answered, then turned his concentration back to the wound. After he had managed to close the wound, he took a piece of gauze and with care covered the wound, making sure he didn't hurt her. He pressed a soft kiss to her stomach and gently wrapped his arms around her.
“What happened?” he asked the question that had been bothering him as long as he had been in the room.
“A vamp. With my own stake”, she muttered almost ashamed of what had happened.
“What did he look like?” he asked managing to keep the rage out of his voice, he wanted to find the demon and rip him into pieces.
“Like a reject from a eighties heavy band. But I don't want to think about it.” She leaned against him, closing he eyes and letting herself find comfort in his presence. He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and laid down on the bed with her in his arms.
He waited until she was asleep before he carefully got off the bed, making sure that she didn't wake up. With a grim, determined look on his face, he left the house and followed Buffy's scent to the cemetery. He could smell the drops of blood on the ground and it wasn't too hard to find the vampire she had faced. He grimaced at the smell, he wasn't sure if the vamp had taken a bath since he was turned. He neared the mausoleum and looked inside. The sight of the vampire showing three others Buffy's stake and laughing he had killed the Slayer, made Angel's blood boil. With a feral growl he kicked down the door and stepped inside.
“What's your problem, asshole!” the vampire yelled still clueless of the dangerous situation. Angel jumped at him, with a swift move breaking the vamps arm holding Buffy's stake. He grabbed the stake and effortlessly dusted the three other vampires, they didn't even have time to react. Before the dust had settled, Angel spun around and stalked to the remaining vampire. The vampire jumped to his feet and attacked Angel but was easily thrown across the room with a force that cracked the wall. Angel followed him and pulled him up, dangling him in the air by the throat.
“I'm not gonna kill you. Yet. You tried to kill my mate and you'll be punished for it”, he ground out through his canines. He could smell the fear pouring out of the vampire and it only fueled his bloodlust.
“I haven't”, the vampire tried to choke out but it was barely audible because of the tight hold Angel had around his throat.
“The slayer!” Angel yelled and struck the vampires head against the wall, making him loose consciousness. He dragged the unconscious vampire and drove him to the mansion, chaining him to the basement. After making sure the chains would hold, he went to the large wooden chest on the corner. Just looking at it brought bad memories but he pushed them aside and opened the lid, revealing Angelus' tools. He hadn't been in the basement after coming back from Hell, he had intended to get rid of all the things there but couldn't make himself go down the stairs. He pulled the chest closer to the vampire hanging from the chains. He glanced at his watch irritably and grabbed a bottle from the chest before splashing some of it to the vampire's face. The vampire woke up with a painful scream as the holy water burned his face.
“You know, I have a girlfriend waiting for me in bed so I don't have all night. Which hand did you use to stab her with?” Angel asked calmly, playing with the bottle in his hands.
“Are you crazy?! I'll fucking kill you!” the vampire yelled and tried to pull the chains with little luck.
“Am I crazy? People have had many opinions on that one”, Angel said in a casual tone looking like he was truly pondering it. “Maybe I get a little crazy when someone tries to kill my mate!” he yelled and again threw some of the holy water to the vampire's face. He screamed in pain but Angel ignored it.
“Which hand?!” he demanded wrapping his hand firmly around the demons throat nearly crushing it.
“Left”, the vampire choked figuring he would get off more easily. Angel let go of his throat and turned around, walking almost casually to the chest and picking up a rusty hand saw. He ran his finger along the edge before turning to look at his captive.
“Too bad you can't get blood poisoning from the rust. But then again, I wouldn't have the time to wait either”, he mused to himself.
Angel returned to Buffy's room before dawn. He had left the screaming vampire dripping blood to the mansion's basement. He was just glad he had change clothes there since the vampire had been bleeding more than he had expected and his clothes were bathed with his blood. Then again, what had he expected from using a chainsaw. He still had trouble keeping his demon in control and he felt ashamed but he also had to resist the urge to go back to the mansion and torture the fiend till he begged for release that he wouldn't grant.
Angel shed his clothes off and carefully not to wake Buffy, he climbed into bed. Buffy opened her eyes and looked at him. “Where were you?” she asked sleepily and snuggled into his arms.
“Just out. Go back to sleep”, he said with a hushed tone, not meeting her eyes.
“Angel?” She was getting worried that something was wrong, he almost looked ashamed and wouldn't look her in the eyes.
“Shh... Just go back to sleep”, he said and wrapped his arms around her more tightly, avoiding the wound on her side, and eased them more comfortably under the covers. Her body relaxed against his and soon she was asleep. But he couldn't even close his eyes, he watched her sleep, listening to her steady heartbeat and breathing. He had almost lost her, just like Doyle. If he would loose her, he didn't know what would happen, he had already been too close to Angelus for his liking, torturing another being and enjoying it, sure it was a soulless demon but the fact that he had taken pleasure out of the vampire's screams of agony, scared him.
Angel woke up before anyone else in the house and he made his way to the kitchen, making breakfast for everyone. He knew he wasn't Joyce's favorite person, he could still remember vividly the day she had come to him and asked him to let her daughter go. Then he had seriously considered it, even going to leave her but fate had stepped in. A smile rose to his lips as he remembered the old gypsy's words, that his soul was his to keep, that there wouldn't be fear of releasing Angelus. He knew he wasn't the ideal son-in-law, the soldier boy Riley Finn would have probably been more suitable for her in Joyce's mind, just the thought of Buffy's former TA made his jealousy surface. He was glad he hadn't left, just the thought of the possibility that Buffy might have started dating the man, made him want to break something.
He pushed down the jealous feelings and continued setting the table. He turned to look at the door as he heard footsteps, he had been so involved in his glum thoughts that he hadn't even noticed that everyone in the house had wakened and Dawn had come home.
“That smells delicious”, Joyce stated from the door.
“Morning, Mrs Summers”, Angel greeted politely and offered her a smile from the compliment.
“Please, call me Joyce”, she said and walked further into the kitchen, sitting to the table.
“Alright, Joyce.” Angel returned to the stove, Joyce's presence was making him slightly nervous.
”Look Angel”, Joyce started and Angel turned to face her. “We both know I don't approve your and Buffy's relationship, I believe she should be with someone her own age. But... I also know how much she cares about you and I know how much you love her. Your relationship is something I have to except no matter what my feelings are. I'd like to try to... have a more close relationship with you two, because I know that my feelings towards you have driven Buffy further away from me. So I'd like to fix it.”
Angel nodded in understanding. “I know our relationship is unconventional at least. But I love her, during the long years I've existed I've only loved one woman and that is Buffy. Your opinion means a great deal to her so I'm glad that you are willing to take a fresh start. You just want to protect your daughter but I would never hurt her.”
Joyce gave him a warm appreciative smile and nodded in understanding. She wasn't willing to forgive and forget yet but she was ready to give him a chance. Angel gathered a plateful of breakfast and set it in front of Joyce before starting to gather another one.
“Thank you”, Joyce said politely and carefully tasted the food. “Mmm... This tastes even more delicious than it smells. Buffy was right, you are an excellent cook”, she complimented.
“Thank you”, Angel answered and set another plate across the table from her. “Dawn should be coming down soon. I'll take this to Buffy”, Angel explained and took the tray from the tabletop. He headed upstairs, meeting Dawn at the stairs.
“Morning, lass. There's breakfast for you in the kitchen.”
Dawn playfully rolled her eyes at him for calling her lass and smiled. “You made it?” she asked and stole a piece of bacon from the tray.
“Yes. Now go eat your own food before it gets cold.”
Dawn skipped down the stairs and Angel continued his journey to Buffy's room. He knocked on the door before entering and finding her already awake, sitting in bed.
“Morning”, he greeted with a smile and closed the door behind him. She offered him a bright smile after seeing the tray in his hands.
“Morning. Breakfast in bed. That's so sweet”, she said and pulled him into a quick kiss before concentrating solely on the food. It didn't take her long to polish off the plate and down the cup of coffee and orange juice.
“Thank you. I think the cook deserves a kiss”, she said with a mischievous smile and leaned into a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, wincing at the pain shooting through her at the movement, but she didn't let him pull away. She threaded her fingers in his hair and deepened the kiss.
After a while he pulled back reluctantly and looked down to her stomach. “The bandage needs changing”, he stated and pulled her shirt up.
“You're just using that as a excuse to see me shirtless, aren't you?” she teased.
“You got it”, he said but turned very professional as he pulled her shirt up and removed the piece of gauze, there was small amount of blood that had seeped through the stitches as she had stretched out to kiss him. He frowned and grabbed the emergency kit from the floor. He took a cotton ball and dipped it in alcohol before starting to clean the wound. She winced but didn't say anything. Carefully he put a clean bandage on the wound and pulled down her shirt.
“Good as new”, she said with a smile and pulled him into a gentle kiss. He shifted closer so she wouldn't have to move but they were interrupted when Dawn burst in to the room.
“Dawn!” Buffy yelped irritated. Angel shifted away from her and quickly hid the emergency kit under the bed.
“Sorry to interrupt the sexcapades. But I just wanted to tell you mom is coming”, she explained her presence.
Moments later Joyce walked to the doorway. “Morning, honey”, Joyce greeted with a warm smile.
“Morning, mom. How you feeling?” Buffy asked keeping the frown away from her face.
“I'm fine, bordering on chipper and tomorrow planning on being obnoxious.”
“Sounds like a plan”, Buffy said with a fake cheerfulness.
“Buffy, when you have a minute I'd like to go over the grocery list for next week.”
“Sure”, Buffy agreed with a nod. Joyce smiled but then her eyes landed on the small alcohol bottle on the night table.
“Are you disinfecting something?” she questioned with a puzzled expression.
“Huh? Uh...” Buffy tried to find something to say but Dawn beat her to it.
“Mine! Some nail polish experiments are doomed before they even begin”, she said with enthusiasm and grabbed the bottle.
“But you keep pushing the envelope, honey”, Joyce stated with another smile and left.
“Did I just pull a Slayer related mom cover up thing? Come on, who's the man?” Dawn questioned not loosing her chipper attitude.
“You are. A very short, annoying man”, Buffy conceded and the smile faded from Dawn's face. Buffy felt bad about spoiling her good mood, she sighed and turned to her sister. “Dawn, if I show you something, you promise you won't tell mom?” Dawn crossed her heart and at that Buffy lifted her shirt enough to reveal the bandage.
“Cool!” Dawn yelped and noticing the strange looks she was getting, changed her answer. “I mean, gross!”
“Mom can't know, okay? You'll help me with the household stuff?”
Dawn sighed. “Oh sure. I save your butt and you dump all your chores on me”, she said petulantly, receiving a annoyed look from Buffy. “I got it, you're covered. You're just lucky it's not bikini season.”
Buffy smiled and smoothed back her hair. “Thanks”, she whispered.
“I'll patrol tonight. You need to heal”, Angel stated. Buffy smiled at him and playfully patted his cheek.
“Aren't I a lucky girl”, she cooed and Dawn rolled her eyes. She got up to her feet and started towards the door.
“Okay, I'm going”, she said and left the room, for once closing the door behind her. Buffy glanced at the door before turning back to Angel, her expression more serious.
“Could you look after Dawn today while I go talk to Giles?”
“Of course”, he agreed knowing why she wanted to see Giles but he didn't want to think about it.
“Don't let her boss you around, okay. She can tire you out faster than you'd think”, she warned him.
“Yes, we all know that's Buffy. But she never buys anything. Are you here to buy anything?” Anya stepped in turning to look at Buffy expectantly.
“Nope, just business-y stuff”, Buffy answered and walked in further.
“Then I don't care”, Anya stated waving her off and going back to stocking the shelves.
“Umm... Not that it is not good to see you, but what are you doing here?” Giles asked. Buffy looked around herself, looking pointedly at Giles, then glancing at the costumers. “Perhaps we should talk in private”, he stated understanding her meaning and led her to the backroom. He closed the door behind them and turned to look at her expectantly.
“I... Well... Last night”, she tried to find a way to tell him but finally sighed in frustration. “Guess it's just easier that I show you”, she stated and opened her jacket before pulling her shirt high enough to show the bandage.
“Dear Lord. What happened?” he breathed out staring at the bandage.
“A vamp staked me with my own stake. Before you freak out, none of the important organs got kebabed and Angel stitched me up. But it got me thinking. I need to find out more about being a slayer and more about the ones before me. It wasn't even more than the ordinary vamp and he almost got me. I'm in better shape than ever before and still I got almost beat by a regular vamp.”
Giles removed his glasses not knowing what to do or say, this was the moment he had been afraid of for years only he got away with scare this time, she was still alive.
“Umm... I believe I have some books”, he said and quickly walked out of the room not even bothering to put his glasses back on. He made a straight way to his books and leaned against the bookshelf, taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself.
“Giles? You okay? You forgot the British cool for a second there”, Anya's voice shook him back to reality.
“Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, Anya”, he answered and put his glasses back on before starting to look for the books.
Giles walked to the back room holding another book. “Here's another one. Early 18th Century Slayer”, he stated making Buffy lift her gaze from the book she had been reading. She slammed the book close with a sigh and put it on the pile next to her.
“Let's hope she'll be more helpful than this last one”, she stated..
“Why? What does it say?” Giles questioned taking the book from the pile and quickly skimming through it.
“Same as all the others. Slayer called... blah blah... great protector... blah blah... scary battles... blah blah... Oops! She's dead. Where are the details?”
“Details? Well, it says this Slayer forged her own weapons”, Giles stated helpfully and handed the book to her.
“Gotta love a gal with an anvil. But where are the details of the Slayer's last battle? You know, what made that fight special? Why did she lose?” she said in frustration and put the book down.
“You didn't lose last night, Buffy. You just...” Giles started but Buffy interrupted him.
“Got really close. I slipped up, Giles. I've been training harder than ever and still I... And there's nothing in any of these books to help me understand why. I mean... look, I realize that every Slayer comes with an expiration mark on the package. But I want mine to be a long time from now. If there were just a few good descriptions of what took out the other Slayers, maybe it would help me to understand my mistake. To keep it from happening again.”
“Yes. Well, the problem is after a final battle, it's difficult to get any... well, the Slayer's not... she's rather...” Giles desperately tried to get the words out, it was hard to even think about.
“It's okay to use the D-word, Giles.”
“Dead. And hence not very forthcoming”, he finished.
“Why didn't the Watchers keep fuller accounts of it? The journals just stop.”
“Well, I suppose if they're anything like me, they just find the whole subject too...” he started to explain but was again interrupted by Buffy.
“Unseemly? Damn. Love ya but you Watchers are such prigs sometimes.”
“Painful... I was going to say”, Giles finished and their eyes met. He had excepted that the day would come but he didn't want to think about it, like he said, it was painful. “But you're right. Accounts of the final battles would be very helpful. But there's no one left to tell the tales”, he continued shaking himself off the glum thoughts. He noticed the look of revelation on her face.
“What?” he asked puzzled, even more so when a small smile tucked her lips.
“Except we know one. I gotta go”, she said and grabbed her jacket, heading towards the door.
“Where are you going?” Giles asked hurrying after her.
“To talk to Spike”, she answered and left the shop.
She quickly made her way to the cemetery, finding Spike's crypt and bursting inside. “Don't you ever knock like a normal person?” Spike questioned with pure bravado and stalked closer to her. Buffy grabbed him and pushed him face first against the wall.
“Ow!” he protested but then seemed to notice something. “Wait, not ow. You feeling alright, slayer? This stuff usually hurts”, Spike stated puzzled. Buffy spun him around and gave him a stern look.
“Don't even start, Spike. Cause I can make it hurt.”
“What do you want?” he demanded.
“Slayers. You killed two of them.”
“I did”, he answered still not understanding what was going on.
“You're gonna show me how”, Buffy stated and Spike looked at her like she had lost her mind.
“Excuse me?! Really, are you feeling alright?”
“Shut up. Tell me how you killed the slayers, I'll even pay”, she said, she was not in the mood to play his games. He chuckled gleefully but lost the smirk as he noticed he was one step away from being thrown through the wall.
“Well, buy me a beer and I'll consider it.” She rolled her eyes and stalked out of the crypt.
“Was that a yes?” he yelled after her.
Buffy went to the Bronze with Spike following and reluctantly bought him a beer that he was greedily drinking down across the table. “You know, there quite a few American beers that are highly underrated. This unfortunately is not one of them”, he stated and Buffy gave him a impatient look.
“We're not here to discuss the fine choice of hops. It's about two Slayers, one in China during the Boxer Rebellion, one in New York”, she reminded him and pulled out a roll of cash, holding it in front of him but yanking it back when he tried to take it. “Both got killed by you. Tell the tale, you get the cash.”
“You wanna learn all about how I bested the Slayers and you want to learn fast. Right, then. We fought. I won. The end. Pay up”, he said but again Buffy pulled back the money.
“That's not what I...” she started to protest but was interrupted by Spike.
“What did you want, eh? A quick demo? A blow for blow description you can map out and memorize? It's not about the moves, love. And since I agreed to your little proposition, we can do this my way. Wings.”
Buffy looked at him confused. “What?”
“Spicy buffalo wings. Order me up a plate. I'm feelin' peckish”, he explained and she sighed in frustration.
“Excuse me...” she signaled to the waiter but as she moved, the pain from her side ran through her, making her wince.
“As I thought. Some nasty thing got a taste of you”, he stated gleefully and she shot him an irritated look.
“Don't get all excited. I'm fine”, she shot him down.
“Oh, right. Stuck in a dark corner with a creature you loathe, diggin' up past uglies, cause you're fine.”
“Just tell me what I want to know”, Buffy demanded, she was loosing patience with the vampire.
“I told you. No one's narrating on an empty stomach here.”
Buffy shook her head in frustration and sighed. “Were you born this big a pain in the ass?” she questioned narrowing her eyes to glare at him.
“What can I tell you, baby? I've always been bad”, he boasted making her roll her eyes. She turned, this time not wincing despite the pain, and ordered him the wings.
As he was munching the wings, making her wince at the sight, he told the tale how he was turned, of course leaving out the gory details how he was humiliated in front of the party group with his bad poetry, just stating how Cecily broke his heart, making him flee to the streets.
“Pool?” he asked all of the sudden in the middle of his narration of Drusilla meeting him in the stables.
“Huh?” she asked confused of the sudden question. He didn't wait for her answer as he threw the last chicken bone to the plate and walked to the pool table, grabbing a cue stick. Buffy listened to him describe in details how Drusilla sired him, she didn't want know or was all that interested in it, she was hoping he would get into the important parts already.
“So you traded up on the food chain. So?”
“Don't make it sound like something you'd flip past on the Discovery Channel. Becoming a vampire is a profound and powerful experience. I could feel this new strength coursing through me. Getting killed made me feel alive for the very first time. I was through living by society's rules. Decided to make a few of my own. Of course, in order to do that... I had to get myself a gang”, he said a little offended and continued the tale. Buffy resisted the need to roll her eyes as she realized that Spike was referring Angelus, Drusilla and Darla as his gang, that was a laugh. It turned out that he heard about the slayer from Angelus, why wasn't she surprised.
“After that, I was obsessed. I mean, to most vampires, the Slayer was the subject of cold sweat and frightened whispers. But I never hid. Hell, I sought her out. I mean, if you're looking for fun, there's death, there's glory and sod all else, right? I was young”, he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
“So how'd you kill her?” she went back to business.
“Funny you should ask”, he said and slowly moved behind her, soundlessly. Suddenly he grabbed her by the neck, at the same time she grabbed the cue, reacting on instinct, ready to stake him if necessary.
“Lesson one, a slayer must always reach for her weapon”, he stated, his face shifting to his demon visage. “I've already got mine.” He shook his head, shaking the demon form away, and released her throat taking the pool stick from her.
“A good thing, too. Become a vampire, you've got nothing to fear. Nothing but one girl. That's you, honey. Back then... it was her”, he stopped dramatically and concentrated on the game for two shots before continuing.
“That girl had some serious moves, all finesse and precision. Had a bloody big sword too, nearly cut me head off more than once. The bitch.”
He described the fight reveling on the memories, smiling as he thought about them. After he was done with the fight, getting past how he killed the slayer, he described his celebration with Drusilla in details Buffy really didn't want to hear. She looked at him with disgust.
“That was the best night of my life”, he finished the tale. “And I've had some sweet ones”, he added then noticing the intensive stare she had him under. “What are you looking at?”
“You got off on it”, Buffy stated disgust clear in her voice.
“Well, yeah. I suppose you're telling me you don't? How many of my kind reckon you've done? And I'm not talking about the way you do the Poofter.”
“Not enough”, she stated, her disgust against Spike growing the more he spoke.
“And we just keep coming. But you can kill a hundred, a thousand, a thousand thousand and the enemies of Hell besides and all we need is for one of us. Just one. Sooner or later to have the thing we're all hoping for.”
“And that would be what?” she questioned, her voice hard. Spike stepped closer, her fingers automatically tightening around the cue she was holding.
“One. Good. Day”, he whispered into her ear, pronouncing every word slowly. She pushed him violently away from her and turned to look at his laughing face. Her want to stake him just grew up a notch.
“You asked and I'm tellin'. The problem with you, Summers, is you've gotten so good, you're starting to think you're immortal.”
“Not really. I just know I can handle myself”, she stated.
“Oh? Then how do you explain this?” he asked and punched her to her side, to the spot where her wound was. She cried out in pain, not noticing him yelling in agony as the chip hurt him. She glared at him, wanting to pound him into bloody mass but couldn't with the audience staring at them.
“So that's it? Lesson over?”
“Not even close. Come on”, Spike answered and lead her outside, still holding his pool cue.
“We're here. Start talking”, she said sternly as they got to the alley. Spike tried to kick and hit her but she managed to duck his every move before grabbing him by the throat and backing him against a chain fence. He gave her one of his short laughs.
“What?” she demanded.
“Lesson two, ask the right questions. You want to know how I beat 'em?” he said and she released her hold on him. “The question isn't How'd I win? The question is Why'd they lose?” he answered his own question.
“What's the difference?” she asked getting tired of playing around with him. He attacked her with the cue aimed to her throat but he stopped before making contact with her skin. She just stared at him, not moving or showing much of a reaction.
“There's a big difference, love”, he stated and Buffy kicked the stick out of his hands.
“How'd you kill the second one?” she demanded.
“Hmm? A bit like this”, he answered and attacked her, throwing punches her way but she ducked them with little effort.
“That didn't hurt”, she stated as he stopped.
“I knew I couldn't touch you. If there's no intent to hurt you, then that chip they shoved up my brain never activates. If, on the other hand...” he explained and started attacking her with full vamp face but he was stopped by the numbing pain in his head. He yelled in pain, holding his head before turning to look at her. “See, now that hurt”, he stated.
“Yeah? This hurt too?” she questioned and punched him in the stomach before hitting him in the face hard enough to make him fall to the ground.
“Definite pain there”, he stated.
“How'd you kill 'em, Spike?” she once again demanded to know. He jumped to his feet and started to attack her but she flipped him to the ground and pulled out a stake. He grabbed her wrist and said, “You're not ready to know.”
“I'm ready”, she stated putting more pressure on her hand, the stake closing on the target dangerously.
“Okay, then. Went like this”, he said flippantly and threw her off of him.
“The first one was all business but the second, she had touch of your style. She was cunning, resourceful... Oh, did I mention? Hot. I could have danced all night with that one”, he said while trading blows with her, mimicking the moves of the past's slayer without her knowledge.
“You think we're dancing?” she asked incredulously, they had stopped fighting for a moment.
“That's all we've ever done”, he answered matter of factly before attacking her again, but she grabbed him and threw him to the ground. He grabbed the pool stick and spun it around making a big show out of it.
“And the thing about the dance is, you never get to stop... Every day you wake up, it's the same bloody question that haunts you: is today the day I die?” he said and tried to strike her with the cue but she stopped it and stuck him with the balm of her hand.
“Death is on your heels, baby, and sooner or later it's gonna catch you. And part of you wants it... not only to stop the fear and uncertainty, but because you're just a little bit in love with it”, he continued rising from the ground. She closed in on him slowly before punching him hard enough to make him stumble to the ground.
“Death is your art. You make it with your hands, day after day. That final gasp. That look of peace. Part of you is desperate to know, What's it like? Where does it lead you? And now you see, that's the secret. Not the punch you didn't throw or the kicks you didn't land. Every Slayer... has a death wish. Even you”, Spike said and stood up.
“The only reason you've lasted as long as you have is you've got ties to the world... the big poof, your mum, your brat kid sister, the Scoobies. They all tie you here but you're just putting off the inevitable. Sooner or later, you're gonna want it. And the second”, he clapped his hands together in front of her eyes but she didn't even flinch. “...the second, that happens... You know I'll be there. I'll slip in... have myself a real good day”, he said punctuating every sentence. He took a step back.
“Here endeth the lesson. I just wonder if you'll like it as much as she did.”
“Get out of my sight. Now!” Buffy gritted through her teeth, barely keeping hold of her anger.
“Oh, did I scare ya? You're the Slayer. Do something about it. Hit me. Come on. One good swing. You know you want to”, he baited her, already pouncing on his feet ready for a fight.
“I mean it”, she ground out, not sure would she care if he was defenseless or not.
“So do I. Give it me good, Buffy. Do it!”
She had to use every ounce of control she had not to grab the pool stick and shove it through his heart. But the rage was replaced with complete disbelief and horror as he leaned closer to her, frighteningly looking like he was about to kiss her.
“What the hell are you doing?!” she demanded. He grabbed her arms, stopping her from stepping back.
“Come on. I can feel it, Slayer. You know you want to dance”, he said almost breathlessly and she shoved him off of her, making him fall to the ground.
“You disgust me! Even if I would want to 'dance', it will never be you”, she said with venom and threw the money at him before stomping off.
Buffy walked through the front door looking around herself. “Angel? Mom? Dawn?” she asked to the seemingly empty house.
“Mom's resting”, came Dawn's voice from the living room. She was sitting on the couch in dim light reading a book. Buffy walked into the room, shedding her coat and putting the table light on.
“You're gonna ruin your eyes reading in the dark”, she stated and sat to the edge of the table. “Thanks mom”, Dawn muttered and turned her concentration back to the book.
“Where's Angel?” Buffy asked and with a sigh Dawn set down the book, turning her attention to her big sister.
“Still patrolling. Went after mom got home. I really didn't need a babysitter. And when do I get to patrol?”
“Not until... Never!” Buffy shot back. Dawn didn't look happy from the answer, she grabbed her book and started reading ignoring Buffy.
“I'm gonna go take a bath”, Buffy stated and got up to her feet. Dawn didn't say anything back as she walked past her and made her way upstairs. Buffy put the shower running and quickly shed her clothes off before stepping under the spray. She scrubbed her skin, trying to get the smell out of her, even if she couldn't actually smell it, she could feel it clinging to her skin. She looked down at the wound and slowly ran her finger across it. It was still tender and ugly but it was healing at good rate. She hissed as the pain shot through her. She pulled her hand away and quickly washed her hair before shutting out the water and toweling herself dry. She put on her robe and went to her room to wait for Angel. Spike was wrong, she didn't have a death wish, she wasn't willing to give up on the darkest hour of her life when she thought Angel was gone forever and there certainly wasn't any chance she was going to surrender now that she had him.
The vampire screamed in agony as Angel forcefully pulled out the dagger out of him. He could smell burnt flesh where he had buried the object dipped in holy water. “Please”, the vampire whimpered choking blood. There wasn't much left of him, hours of torture and blood lost had done its deed, he was merely hanging from one arm on the chains.
“She is marked!” Angel growled at the vampire and backhanded him, there wasn't even enough blood for it to splatter from his deformed face. He let out a angry growl as his cellphone started ringing, why had he let Buffy and Cordelia convince him to get one. He wiped his bloody hands in his trousers and went to his jacket, pulling out the phone. His anger disappeared as he saw Buffy's caller ID blinking on the screen.
“Buffy”, he breathed into the phone. She repeated his name breathily but seemed to shake herself out of the stubborn.
”Busy night?” she asked.
“Yeah”, he agreed looking down to the floor in shame as if she could see what was left of the vampire he had been torturing. It was just starting to sink in what he had been doing and it scared him.
“When are you coming home?” her voice shook him out of his thoughts.
“I'll come soon”, he answered.
“Okay. I'll be waiting. I love you.”
“I love you too”, he said back and hung up. He placed the phone back to his jacket pocket and turned to look at the vampire who was trying to smirk, a task that was very difficult with a broken jaw. Angel grabbed Buffy's stake from the table and stalked to the vampire, unceremoniously staking him. He didn't even watch the dust settle down as he made his way upstairs and into the shower.
In twenty minutes he was in the Summers house, making his way to Buffy's room. He found her already in bed as he stepped into the room. “Hey”, he whispered and started shedding his clothes off.
“Tough day at the office?” she asked not expecting an answer, she just pulled the cover back on his side. He got into the bed and pulled her into his arms, pressing a soft kiss to her head. They molded against each other, finding comfort in knowing the other was there and clinging like it all could disappear at any minute.
She sat in a uncomfortable plastic chair facing the empty chair on the other side of the glass. The door opened and Faith was escorted into the room. Her expression showed her surprise even though she tried to cover it. Lazily she sat to the chair and picked up the phone, Buffy mimicking her move.
“Well, well, well, what do I owe this pleasure?” Faith said to the phone and Buffy let out a tired sigh.
“I can leave”, she stated ready to get off the chair.
“Don't. I just... Don't go, okay. Why did you come?” Faith stopped her quickly. Buffy relaxed in her seat, or as much as you could on the hard plastic.
“Near death experience. A vamp almost got lucky. So, how are you?”
“You know me, B, always stirring up some trouble”, Faith answered flippantly even though she could feel the weight of her sister slayer's revelation. Buffy gave her a chiding look and she rolled her eyes, always the big sister. “Nothing major, just some bitch tried to build her rep. I didn't kill her if that's what you were afraid of.”
“I wasn't... I didn't think...” Buffy tried to explain but stopped as Faith shook her head assuringly.
“I know. But I really wanted to slap her. She just kept on coming like a fucking boomerang even though she couldn't even touch me. But other than that, it's all nice and cozy in here, except the food's crap, but then again, I've had worse.”
There was a long silence as both tried to find a way how to say what they wanted. “Look, B... Buffy... I'm sor...” Faith broke the silence but Buffy raised her hand stopping her from continuing.
“Don't. I'm not ready for that”, Buffy said with pain clear in her voice. She took a deep breath before changing the topic. “Have you talked to your lawyer?”
“Yeah. I talked to him. They say he's qualified, he went to law school and everything”, Faith answered and Buffy let out a soft chuckle.
They continued talking, avoiding the subject of Angel, till the visiting hour had passed. The buzzer sounded and the guard stepped into the room. Faith glanced at the burly man before turning back to Buffy.
“I guess our time's up. Tell Angel I said hi”, she said and hung up the phone before Buffy could say anything. She wanted to ask if she'd be coming again but she couldn't, so she just walked away. Buffy got off the chair, looking after her sister slayer, not leaving till she was on the other side of the steel door.
With a weary sigh she left the building and stepped into Angel's car. “She sends hi”, she stated not looking at him, just closing her eyes.
“How was it?” Angel asked tentatively.
“Painful. So nothing new there”, she answered opening her eyes and finally turning to look at him. He took a hold of her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to her knuckles before starting the car and driving off.
A/N: I know Angel is a little extreme in this, but remember how he tortured the lawyer after baby Connor was kidnapped, well I'm using that as my excuse.
