Fic: Tainted By Death (2/2) (Spike/Buffy)
Jun. 12th, 2007 07:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fandomcornerTitle: Tainted by Death
Author: Hils
Rating: R
Pairings: S/D, S/B, D/Aus
Summary: My twisted take on Season 2. Buffy is a vampire and Angel is doing what he does in LA only in Sunnydale with the help of Giles and the Scoobies.
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any of these characters. If I did, I'd be very rich.
Please note I wrote this fic in March 20001 when I was very new to writing. It has not had a beta
"How did this happen?" Asked Dru with delight.
Angelus kept his eyes locked on Buffy the whole time, even though it was Dru he was talking to.
"Well, it seems the ritual had some interesting side effects. One minute I was trapped, then all of a sudden it was goodbye soul-boy," he grinned. "The funny thing was, if Giles and his crew hadn't gotten me out of there I'd have been dust. They didn't realise I was free until it was too late."
"You killed them?" Buffy asked incredulously.
He sighed deeply. "Nothing is more satisfying than the sound of a human neck snapping. They tasted good too."
Then he shrugged. "None of that really matters anyway. Why don't we go and get something to eat? It's been a good half hour since I tasted human blood and I'm making up for lost time here."
Dru clapped her hands with glee. "Oh goody, we can go hunting as a family."
Buffy stared at her in disbelief. "What about Spike?"
Angelus looked around. "Where is the bleached one anyway? I really should thank him for setting me free."
Dru gave a small whimper and took Angelus' hand, pulling him into the bedroom. Buffy followed closely behind them. Spike hadn't moved from the position Dru had left him in. It chilled Buffy seeing him like this. He was normally so animated and active, now he just looked like the corpse he was.
"Hmmm," frowned Angelus. Then he smirked. "Well, it looks like Spikey boy won't be joining us tonight. Shall we go, ladies?"
He wrapped one arm around Dru and made to put his other around Buffy, she moved away.
Angelus' face expressed a mixture of annoyance and surprise; he wasn't used to women resisting him.
"Come on, Buff, the souled-one is well and truly gone. I'm not going to go all mushy on you."
Buffy said nothing, merely glanced back at Spike. Dru leant up and whispered something in Angelus' ear.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed. "You're a Slayer-turned-vampire, Buff, you can have your choice of any creature you like, and you want him?"
Buffy scowled, she wasn't used to being told what to do, least of all by her former lover. "At least he hasn't been soul-whipped for the last 80 years." she snapped.
Angelus grinned. "Still got that fire, I see. I always liked that about you."
He reached out his hand to caress her cheek and she slapped it away, growling. Angelus growled back.
"You should learn your place little girl. I may not have been sired directly by the Master, but his blood still flows in my veins. I've walked this earth for over two centuries and you'd do well to show some respect."
"Respect? You killed the Master and you killed your own Sire. I ought to return the favour right now."
Angelus walked over to Buffy so that he was stood mere inches away from her.
"Yes, I killed the Master," he said softly. "You don't tow the line and the same thing might happen to you."
His voice resumed its normal tone.
"Well, if you want to stay here and play nursemaid, then that's just fine. Dru and I will go alone, right, baby?"
Drusilla made no reply, just snuggled closer to Angel. Her actions speaking volumes. Buffy was disgusted; vampire or not she couldn't believe that Dru was just willing to drop Spike now that her bastard of a Sire had returned. It was evident however, that Dru had no qualms about doing just that.
When she and Angel had left, Buffy sank down on the edge of the bed next to Spike. This was not the way she had imagined things going. After a minute, she turned her attention back to the injured vampire, since no one else was going to do anything she may as well sort him out.
******
An hour or so later she'd managed to get Spike cleaned up and into some new clothes. He'd remained unconscious the whole time, which had saved any embarrassment on either side. Looking down at him she realised that he was going to need to feed in order to start recovering. Angelus and Drusilla still weren't back and Buffy was pretty sure they wouldn't have brought anything for him anyway. She'd just have to go and get something herself.
Stepping outside, she grabbed the first human she came across, a night watchman who had been patrolling the area around the factory. Buffy quickly immobilised him with a blow to the back of the head before dragging him inside and into the bedroom. This was where things got awkward. Spike was still unconscious and Buffy had no idea how she was going to get him to feed. Finally she had an idea.
Chaining the man to the wall, she retrieved a mug from one of the other rooms before taking his arm and biting into his wrist. Holding the wound over the cup she allowed the blood to flow until it was full. She then bound the man's wrist, she had no idea how long Spike was going to be like this and the longer she could keep the man alive the better.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she lifted Spike's head and held the mug to his lips. Instinct kicked in and he began to drink, quickly draining the cup of its contents. When he'd finished, she set his head back on the pillows and spent a few minutes just watching him. How Dru was willing to give him up for Angelus was completely beyond her. He began to stir, his eyes flickering beneath his lids but not opening.
"Dru?" he croaked, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper.
Buffy opened her mouth to respond but then closed it again. Somehow she couldn't bring herself to tell him that Dru was off, cavorting with their former enemy. Instead, she reached out her hand and lightly brushed her fingers down the unburned side of his face. A small smile played at the corner of his lips and shortly after that, he seemed to drift back to sleep.
A few minutes later she heard the door bang open and she walked out into the main hall to see Angelus swagger in, his arm wrapped around Drusilla's waist. Even from where she stood, Buffy could smell the blood; they had obviously fed well.
"How's the invalid?" Angelus asked coolly, still angry about his earlier rejection.
"He's asleep." Buffy replied with an equal lack of emotion.
"Can I go and see him?" Dru asked quietly.
Angelus pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Go on then."
Dru scurried into the bedroom leaving Buffy and Angelus alone. Buffy scowled at him.
"I see you've got Dru eating out of your hand already."
Angelus shrugged. "She's just a crazy girl. Come on, Buffy, I don't know why you're fighting this. Both of our souled counterparts are gone; there's no reason why we can't pick up where they left off. "
Buffy said nothing, which just enraged Angelus further.
"There's no point saving yourself for Spike," he snapped. "There's only ever been one woman in his life: Dru. And there'll only ever be one woman in his life: Dru. You may as well just accept that now and take what's on offer. I promise you'll never lack anything with me; I always make sure my women live like queens. You can have anything you want, just say you'll be mine."
Buffy stared at him for a moment. He honestly expected her to come crawling just because he said so. She'd never been one for following orders when she'd been alive and she was damned if she was going to start now. Flicking her hair over her shoulder she walked into her room, slamming the door behind her.
Angelus stared at the closed door for a moment. He'd have her eventually, he always got what he wanted one way or another. In the meantime he have to make do with second best.
"DRU!" he roared.
******
Buffy spent the next couple of weeks doing her best do avoid Angelus. It wasn't actually as much of a problem as she'd had thought. He was busy keeping himself amused with Dru, and Buffy spent most of her time watching over Spike, who had still not regained consciousness after the ordeal with the ritual. Dru would come in and sit with him occasionally but more often than not, she was occupied with Angelus. After the first couple of days, Buffy practically moved into Spike's room. Dru spent the days with Angelus and Buffy hated the idea of Spike waking up alone.
She made sure that Spike fed regularly, using the same methods she'd used on the first night. She found that she could make a human last two or three days as long as she bound the wound after she'd bled them. That way she only had to leave when she wanted to feed herself, or when the latest 'blood on tap' ran dry.
After feeding Spike and herself, she settled down on the bed next to Spike, flicking through a magazine she'd found on the girl she'd just killed. There was nothing really worth reading but it passed the time. She was just getting bored of the fashion tips when she felt Spike stir next to her. A moment later he moaned.
"Spike?" she called softly.
His eyes half opened and he looked up at her.
"Buffy?" he whispered weakly.
"Yeah, it's me. How are you feeling?"
"Like someone dropped a bloody organ on my head." His eyes opened fully and he began to take in his surroundings. He was back at the factory, in his room. But he had no idea how he'd gotten there. The last thing he remembered was trying to carry Dru out of the church before the damn librarian dusted him. Dru. He lifted his head a little and looked around the room.
"Is Dru…?" his words trailed off, not able to bring himself to say it.
"She's fine," Buffy answered absently. "The ritual worked and she's back to normal…well, as normal as she can be anyway."
"Where is she?"
What was Buffy meant to say? 'She's having sex with Angelus who you managed to bring back and has now stolen your girlfriend'?
"She might be out hunting." she replied vaguely.
Spike's face fell a little and he tried to sit up, getting halfway before a look of shock and horror crossed his face. Buffy noticed this.
"What is it?" she asked with concern.
"My legs, I can't move my bloody legs." he gasped, falling back on the bed and doing his best to blink back the tears he could feel stinging his eyes.
For once Buffy didn't know what to say. It was more than likely that his paralysis would only be temporary, he was a vampire after all, but what if it wasn't? He'd taken a lot of damage; more than she'd ever known a vampire had taken before.
"You'll heal, you just need some time." she said as convincingly as possible.
Spike wasn't listening, he'd never been like this before; he was useless. What if his legs never healed? He'd be stuck like this for the rest of eternity, or at least until someone took advantage of his weakened state and dusted him.
He barely noticed as Buffy got up from the bed and returned a few minutes later with a mug full of blood. This was what he had been reduced to, taking handouts because he was too useless to hunt for himself. He glared at the mug in his hands before draining it of its contents and then hurling is across the room where it shattered.
"Just leave me alone." he said quietly, closing his eyes. There was silence for a moment. Then he felt the bed shift and heard the door close. He wasn't sure how long he lay there for, just contemplating his new state of life, but he must have drifted off because the next thing he was aware of was a muffled cry coming from within the room.
Opening his eyes, the first thing he noticed was a wheelchair next to the bed. For a moment he'd thought that his paralysis had been some sort of horrible nightmare, but the chair was a glaring reminder that this wasn't the case. Still, reminder or not, anything beat lying around on the bed like a piece of useless meat. Even if he couldn't walk, at least he'd be mobile.
Sitting up, he noticed the source of the cry that had woken him; a hospital orderly, chained to the wall and gagged. Just hearing the moans made Spike realise how hungry he was. Levering himself off the bed, he lowered himself into the chair and wheeled himself over to the orderly. He was a young man, in his mid-twenties and healthy. Just right, Spike thought as his bit into the man's wrist and drank deeply. He drank until there was no more blood to flow, and then wheeled himself into the main room, wondering where everyone was.
Buffy looked up at the sound of the bedroom door opening and smiled when she saw Spike wheel in. She really hadn't been sure how he was going to react to the wheelchair, but she'd guessed that he'd want to be out of bed and moving around again. She could also smell the blood on him, indicating that he'd fed off the man she'd left for him too.
"Hey," she greeted. "Good to see you up and about."
"Thanks, pet," Spike replied. "The chair your idea?"
Buffy nodded and Spike wheeled over so that he was just in front of her.
"Tell me exactly what happened. The last thing I remember is being in the church."
Buffy took a deep breath and told him. Everything. She didn't even leave out the details of Dru and Angelus, figuring he was better off knowing the truth straight away. He stared at her in disbelief; she was seriously telling him that the woman that he'd loved for over a century was now sleeping with her Sire. He'd always known that Dru had had a fixation with Angelus; when he'd disappeared after losing his soul she'd insisted that they search for him, never willing to accept that he was gone.
As if on cue, the doors opened and Angelus and Dru emerged, their hair and clothes rumpled. It didn't take a genius to work out what they'd been doing.
"Spike!" Dru exclaimed, but made no move to approach him. Angelus kept his arm wrapped around her.
"Good to see you mobile again," he glanced at the wheelchair and smirked. "So to speak. As you can see I've been taking care of Dru for you while you've been resting."
Spike's entire body stiffened with rage. Buffy squeezed his hand reassuringly and he relaxed a little, continuing to glare at Angelus. Releasing his grip on Dru she walked over and placed a kiss on Spike's cheek.
"You can't blame a girl, Spike. I have certain needs."
"I was in a bloody coma, Dru!" Spike yelled. "You'll have to forgive me for not tending to your 'needs'."
"Come on, Spike, look at you," chipped in Angelus. "You're not much good to anyone like this. You may as well let a real man do the job for you."
Dru smiled. "My Angel's been looking after me," she cooed dreamily. "Besides, you've had the little Slayer sitting at your bedside. My Angel needed someone."
"No, Dru, he didn't," snapped Buffy. "You're just too much of a ho to give a damn about anyone but yourself."
"Watch your mouth, little girl," Dru growled. "I may have to teach you a lesson about stealing one of my boys."
"Your boys?" Buffy laughed. "What's the matter Dru? Scared of the competition?"
With a snarl Dru hurled herself at Buffy who easily dodged the attack, sending the dark-haired vampiress sprawling across the room. Dru quickly recovered herself, ran at Buffy and tackled her to the floor. As the two women wrestled, Angelus watched on, partially annoyed and partially amused to see the two women fighting; but it should have been over him and not Spike.
As he watched her fight, Angelus felt himself wanting Buffy more than he ever had before. She was an amazing fighter, his equal in every way. He would have her; he was going to make sure of it.
Buffy finally managed to pin Dru to the floor, snapping off a chair leg ready for the kill.
"Bloody hell, Peaches!" Spike yelled. "Do something."
Rolling his eyes, Angelus walked over to the two women and hoisted Buffy away from Dru, pulling the stake out of her hands at the same time.
"Now, we'll have none of that." he chided, not releasing his grip on Buffy's waist, enjoying having her this close to him and savouring her scent. Buffy glared and pushed him away.
"That wasn't your fight," she snapped as Angelus helped Dru to her feet. "From now on you stay out of my business."
Dru buried her face in Angel's chest, sniffling quietly. "Can we go out?" she murmured.
"Alright." Angelus agreed and he led her outside, knowing that a good hunt would probably make Dru forget all about it.
Silence descended in the room for a few minutes. Buffy was still infused with rage and Spike was trying to digest everything that had just happened.
"What the bloody hell was that all about? You were going to kill her!"
Buffy shrugged. "You're telling me you didn't want her dusted, even though she's screwing around with Angelus?"
"No! This thing with Angelus is just a mistake; she'll come around. Just stay away from her."
Spike wheeled himself into his bedroom and slammed the door. With a dejected sigh Buffy sat down. That hadn't gone as planned at all.
******
"I say we get out of this dump and move somewhere decent." said Angelus.
It had been a couple of days since Buffy and Dru had fought, and no one had mentioned it since. Dru continued to share a bed with Angelus and occasionally with Spike when Angelus wasn't in the mood. Buffy pretty much kept herself to herself, going out only to feed and to bring something back for Spike. She always made sure they were alive and just threw them into the room, leaving him to take it from there. He hadn't spoken to her since she'd tried to dust Dru and it bothered her more than she'd liked to admit. This was the first time all four of them had been in the same room together.
"What's wrong with this place?" asked Spike with a sigh. He'd hoped that Dru would have come back to him now that he was starting to recover, but this hadn't been the case.
"What's right with it?" Angelus retorted. "It's got no class, no finesse. This isn't the sort of place we should be living. It almost as bad as that mine shaft you had us hauled up in that time."
"Look, Angelus, we're vampires. This place serves its purpose, we don't need to move."
"I'd like a new house," said Dru. "Full of pretty things and whispering secrets. This house has nothing to say."
"Well, that settles it then," Angelus replied, ignoring Spike's earlier protests and not bothering to ask Buffy her opinion. "I have the perfect place."
******
"Oh, Angel, it's beautiful," gasped Dru in awe as she looked around the main room of the Crawford Street Mansion. "It's fit for a princess."
"Well, that's what you are, my sweet." Angelus replied with a grin.
Buffy and Spike looked slightly less impressed.
"We're going to fry," Buffy stated. "Look at all these windows."
"As I said before," Spike agreed. "There's nothing wrong with our old place."
"Look," Angelus snapped. "If you two don't like it, you're more than welcome to go back to the factory. Me and Dru, we're staying right here."
Buffy and Spike fell silent at this, Spike had no intention of leaving Dru and Buffy had no intention of leaving Spike. Seeing that they'd given in, Angelus grinned.
"Right then, let's get moved in."
******
Buffy found that she adjusted to life in the mansion quite well. She had a large room to herself and the house was so big, that it was quite easy for her to avoid Angelus and Drusilla altogether. She continued to bring people back for Spike, since the other two seemed to more or less have forgotten he was even there. It was just the same as it had been in the factory, she'd throw whoever she'd caught into the room and leave Spike to it. She'd then go back in while he was asleep and get rid of the bodies.
The sun was just setting as she went in to retrieve the body of Spike's latest victim. As usual he was lying on the bed sound asleep and the drained corpse lay in a crumpled heap in the corner of the room. She walked over, hoisted the body over her shoulder and was almost at the door when she stopped.
"Buffy?" Spike called. She turned back and saw him sitting up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"The sun hasn't set yet," she said quietly. "Go back to sleep."
"Wait," he said. "Don't leave."
Dropping the body by the door, she walked back over and sat on the edge of the bed.
"What?"
"Dru, that mistake I thought she was going to come around from, looks like she isn't," he sighed. "Not that I can blame her, I'm not a lot of use to anyone while I'm like this. Anyway, I guess I just wanted to thank you, for bringing me food and stuff. I might as well be dust as far and Dru and the bloody pouf are concerned."
"Yeah, well, what can you expect from a lunatic and the guy that made her that way." Buffy replied with a small smile, happy that she at least had someone to talk to again.
"True," Spike replied. "You know, pet, I was thinking. When I can walk again, what's say we get out of here? Leave Dru and Peaches to get on with it, and we'll go someplace new. I'm fed up of Sunnyhell; nothing good comes out of this damned town."
"I think that's why they call it a Hellmouth," Buffy grinned. "But yeah, I'd like that."
"Good," Spike smiled. "It's settled then."
"I should go," Buffy said, standing up. "I'll bring you something to eat a little later."
"Alright, pet." Spike said, settling himself down to get another couple of hours sleep.
Buffy quietly left. Having some time to kill before the sun completely set Buffy sat on one of the couches in the main room and flicked through one of Angelus' many books. She wasn't much of a reader herself, but it passed the time.
She was just flicking through the pages, not really paying attention to the words, when suddenly someone grabbed hold of her hair and yanked her backwards over the back of the couch. She found herself facing Angelus but barely had time to cry out before he buried his fangs in her throat and began to drink deeply. By the time her self-preservation instinct kicked in, she was too weak to fend him off. Everything around her began to fade and dim until, finally, she was aware of nothing.
Angelus continued to drink until he felt Buffy go limp in his grip. He lifted her up and dumped her unceremoniously on the couch. A lesson needed to be learned here. He still couldn't believe that he'd overheard her and Spike planning on leaving. No one left him unless he gave them permission or threw them out. He certainly wasn't about to let Buffy leave. Hearing her moan he looked down to see her eyes open. She'd come to a lot faster than he'd expected, but he'd drained her enough that she wouldn't be going anywhere in a hurry.
Buffy awoke to find herself lying back on the couch. As her blurred vision began to clear she saw Angelus leering down at her. Her first instinct was to run, fight, anything, but she couldn't move. Blinking back the tears she realised with grim irony that this must be how Spike felt all the time.
Seeing the look of fear in her eyes only made Angelus smile.
"So. Buff, you and Spikey were thinking of leaving us were you? I'm afraid I can't allow that to happen. You see, Dru wants us to be a family, and what Dru wants, Dru gets."
He leaned down and began to lick the blood from the wound he'd inflicted on her. When it was gone, he sat back up.
"You know, I always told myself I was going to have you one way or another. I was kind of hoping that you'd come around and offer yourself to me."
He sighed deeply.
"But I can see now that that's never going to happen. It looks like this is the only way."
Stretching out his hand, he traced his fingers down her cheek and then continued to move his hand down her body until it came to rest on her thigh. With a small smile he began to slide it up the skirt she was wearing.
"Hey, what's all this?"
Angelus whipped his head around and saw that Spike had just wheeled into the room.
"Stay out of this, roller-boy," he hissed. "It's no concern of yours."
Buffy gazed at Spike pleadingly, begging him to help her with her eyes. Angelus' hand remained just under her skirt but he made no attempt to move it any further.
"Yeah, well I'm making it my concern." Spike rolled closer. "I mean, what is it with you Angelus? Dru not enough for you?"
Angelus smirked.
"So that's what this is all about. Don't like the fact that I'm taking all your women away from you?"
"I hardly call forcing yourself on her taking her away from me."
"It depends on how you look at it. She might decide she likes it."
Spike raised his voice a little. "Yeah, and she might not."
"Well, there's only one way to find out. Now, if you don't mind, you're interrupting my fun here."
Angelus turned his attention back to Buffy and Spike pulled out a wrench, which he'd been hiding under his coat. He cracked Angelus over the back of the head, knocking him out and sending him sprawling to the floor.
"Fun's over, mate."
Spike gently lifted Buffy from the couch and pulled her into his lap. She looked up at him and gave a small smile before her eyes closed and she slipped back into unconsciousness. Spike wheeled them both into his bedroom, locked the door and placed Buffy on the bed. Wheeling round to the other side, he pushed himself up so that he was sitting beside her.
This was a problem. Buffy needed blood to recover from being drained, but neither of them was in any state to go hunting. Clearly there was only one solution. Shifting close to her he bit into his wrist and held the wound to her lips. For a moment there was no response.
"Come on, pet," he urged. "This will help you get strong again."
After a moment, he felt her begin to suck on his wrist and he relaxed a little, allowing her to drink until he began to feel quite weak himself. Finally he detached his wrist and looked down to see that Buffy was sleeping. Realising he was quite tired himself, he lay down and allowed himself to fall into an exhausted slumber.
******
Buffy wasn't sure how long she'd slept for, but the first thing she became aware of when she woke was that she was nestled in Spike's arms. Glancing across, she saw that he was still sleeping peacefully, his arms around her waist and his head resting on her shoulder. For a while she just lay there, enjoying the feeling until she felt him begin to stir. His eyes opened and his smiled up at her.
"How are you feeling, pet?"
Spike's words brought the memories of the previous night crashing down on her. Reaching up her hand, she felt her neck to find the wound nearly healed.
"I'm going to kill him." she said, her voice full of venom.
Spike was immediately awake.
"Don't be so bloody stupid!" he exclaimed. "You won't stand a chance against both him and Dru."
"Fine," she replied calmly. "You can help me."
"I'm not going to be much use while I'm like this, pet."
"I don't care!" she yelled. "I'm not going to let him get away with what he tried to do to me."
"Alright, pet," Spike said gently. "But you're not going to achieve anything but just rushing out there and getting yourself dusted. Angelus is going to be expecting us to make some sort of move, so for now I suggest we focus on getting out of here so that we can come up with a plan."
After a moment, Buffy allowed her tense body to relax and she nodded.
"Alright, but when the time comes, you let me kill him; no interfering."
"Fine by me, pet."
"So, what's the plan?"
"I'd say our first concern is getting out of here. Can you drive?"
"Not well, but yeah."
"Right, my car's in the garage. Fully sheltered and the windows are blacked out. We wait until Dru and the pouf are asleep, take the car and get out of here. We'll find a motel or something and stay there until we come up with a plan."
"It sounds like you've been planning this for a while." Buffy smiled ruefully.
"I might have been." Spike replied.
Buffy took Spike's hand and looked down at the watch on his wrist. It was 3am, a good few hours until sunrise.
"What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
"I guess we just wait."
And for the next few hours that's what they did, they lay in each other's arms and waited.
******
"Come on." Buffy whispered harshly as they made their way through the mansion towards the garage. Sure enough Spike's car was there waiting for them, the keys in the ignition. Buffy helped Spike into the passenger seat, folded up his wheelchair, and put it in the back. She then started the engine and a few minutes later they were on the road.
Once they were a reasonable distance away from the mansion, Buffy found a side lane and pulled the car over. It wasn't safe for them to book into a motel while the sun was out, they'd have to sleep in the car until nightfall.
"Do you think Angelus will come looking for us?" she asked Spike.
"Maybe." he replied.
"Well, I'll be ready for him." she murmured sleepily.
"Too right." Spike yawned. They were both asleep before they could utter another sentence.
Awaking just after sunset, Buffy drove them to the nearest motel and booked them in. She then helped Spike out of the car and the two of them settled down to focus their energy on bringing down the vampire who had made both of their unlives miserable.
******
Angelus hadn't been surprised to wake up that evening to find Buffy and Spike gone. He seriously doubted that they'd gone far. They'd make their move soon enough, all he had to do was be ready for them. In the meantime he had other things with which to occupy himself.
******
"Pet, come out here for a second, will you?" Spike called.
Buffy poked her head around the bathroom floor where she had been washing her hair. Vampire or not she still liked to make sure she looked good. What she saw made her jaw drop. Spike was stood up. He was stood up unaided and his wheelchair was sitting behind him uselessly.
"Spike!" she gasped.
"Felt a little twinge in my legs, thought I'd try it out and presto." he grinned.
"Have you tried walking?" she asked with a smile.
Spike looked down at his feet and then back at Buffy. Finally, he lifted his foot and took a shaky step, then another. He was in the process of taking a third when his legs buckled. Buffy was at his side in an instant, catching him before he fell.
"Well, that was a start at least." she smiled, before becoming aware that her lips were just inches away from his. Without thinking she leaned up and kissed him. Spike responded immediately and they fell back onto the bed where they made love with a passion and fire that neither of them had felt in a long time.
That evening, Buffy managed to lure two teenage boys back to the motel, which made an easy meal for her and Spike. They spent the rest of the night walking up and down the motel room, Spike leaning on Buffy when he was too tired to walk unaided. He could feel the strength returning to his legs slowly. It wouldn't be long now. As long as he fed regularly, he was pretty sure that his vampiric healing would do the rest.
******
Sure enough, a week later, and after regular 'training' sessions with Buffy, Spike was back to full strength.
"So what's the plan?" Buffy asked one night after an exhilarating hunt with Spike. It was good that they were finally able to hunt together again, she knew how frustrated he'd been while he'd been stuck in the chair.
"Simple, really," he replied. "We walk in. You kill Angel. I kill Dru. We leave."
Buffy raised and eyebrow in surprise. "You're going to kill Dru?"
"Bloody right I am! You think I owe her anything after the way the crazy bitch has treated me?"
"Fine, when do we leave?"
"No time like the present, pet. Sunset tomorrow."
Buffy nodded grimly. It was time to finish this once and for all.
******
"What the hell is that?" whispered Buffy to Spike as they crept into the mansion. It was about an hour after sunset and although there was no sign of Dru or Angelus, there was a large statue in the centre of the main room, a sword sticking out of its chest.
"That, my friends, is Acathla," said a voice from behind them. They both spun around to find themselves facing Angelus, who was smirking. "You picked the perfect time for our little reunion. We're about to unleash hell on Earth."
Spike rolled his eyes.
"I hear Hell's not all it's cracked up to be, mate."
"Shhhh," a voiced cooed from behind them. Buffy kept her eyes on Angelus while Spike turned around to find himself facing Dru. "Naughty Spike," she chided. "It wasn't nice of you to go away and leave our little family. I am very cross, and you shall have to be punished."
"Yes indeed, and he's not the only one who needs punishing." Angelus added, and with that he punched Buffy, sending her flying back. Dru seized that moment to launch an attack at Spike, hurling herself at him with such force that she knocked him to the floor.
Buffy and Angelus continued to fight, both of them easily matched and able to block whatever the other one dealt. Neither of them seemed to be gaining the upper hand and they continued to fight.
Spike managed to buck Dru off him and they too were more or less evenly matched as they fought. Finally after a few minutes Dru seized her chance. Dodging a punch, which Spike threw, she kneed him in the groin. Before he could recover she grabbed one of Angelus' precious Ching Dynasty statues and brought it crashing down on Spike's skull. He slumped to the floor, out cold.
Angelus, however, wasn't faring as well. Buffy now had him on the defensive, raining kicks and punches down on him which he could barely deflect. Finally, she pulled a stake out of her pocket. He couldn't help but grin.
"Still a little bit of the Slayer in you I see, Buff."
This only enraged her further and raised the sliver of wood, ready for the kill. At that point, Dru grabbed her and spun her around so that they were facing each other, making sure their eyes locked.
"Be…in…me." she droned, wafting her fingers in front of Buffy's face. Buffy's eyes glazed over and she began to sway in time to Dru's movements. Her arms fell loosely to her sides and the stake she'd been holding clattered to the floor.
"Impressive," commented Angelus. "I never get tired of watching you do that."
Dru smiled but kept her eyes locked on Buffy's. Angelus' eyes flicked over to Spike who was still out for the count. No danger in that area. He then looked down at Buffy's stake but quickly dismissed the idea. Although there was a certain amount of irony in an ex-Slayer getting staked, he wanted her to die in style. Finally his eyes came to rest on the sword protruding from Acathla's chest and his face lit up. What a way to kill two birds with one stone, Buffy's death - again - would also see the opening of the portal to Hell. Plus, he couldn't remember the last time he'd decapitated anyone.
With three large strides, he was at the statue and he pulled the sword out, having uttered the incantation shortly before Buffy and Spike had arrived. He turned to walk back and noticed that Spike was on his feet. Before he could utter a warning, Spike had brought the same statue that she had used on him down on Dru's head, rendering her unconscious.
Buffy put her hand to her head as the fog that had been holding her lifted. Her eyes focused and came to rest on Spike was stood in front of her, he was bleeding from a head wound but other than that he seemed ok. Her gaze drifted past him and came to rest on Angelus who was stood a little further back, sword in hand. She moved Spike to one side, indicating that she didn't want him to interfere. Spike stepped back.
"Come on, Angel," Buffy coaxed. "Let's get this over with."
With a snarl he lunged at her, Buffy dodged his attack easily, grabbed his arm and sent the sword spinning across the floor. She then punched him twice in the face before he finally managed to free himself from her grip.
He gripped her forearms violently before she could take another swing at him and lifted her off the ground slightly so that she was on her toes, looking deep into her eyes and saw a hint of something. Was it lust? Her chest heaved taking in much uneeded breaths and the parts of her skin, which were exposed, were coated in a thin sheen of sweat.
Angelus smiled at her wickedly as he brought his head to kiss her. She gazed up at him, smiling slightly, waiting for him to bring his head down closer. When the timing and placing were right, she head butted him. He howled in pain and Buffy took the advantage. Stepping back, she gave him a scissor kick that made him do a 360, and then continued with two shots to the breastplate.
Angelus staggered back with each blow and the next thing he knew he had his back against Acathla, with nowhere else to go. Buffy smiled, knowing that victory was just a small step away. She looked around for a weapon to finish the job.
"Buffy!" called Spike, tossing her the sword. Buffy caught it and turned back to face her foe. What she wasn't expecting to see was the mouth of the statue open and a whirlpool type vortex start to form. Angelus seemed oblivious to this.
"Come on then, Buff, finish me off," he panted, exerted from the fight. "Still, at least I got a taste of you, I told you I would."
"Taste this!" she spat and rammed the sword into his chest. Angelus hadn't expected this, he thought she was just going to take his head off and have done with it. As it was, the pain was excruciating, and he realised that she'd intended this to be as painful as possible.
Spike watched the scene unfold with fascination, only to be distracted by a moan coming from the floor. Looking down he saw that Dru was beginning to stir. Not sure if he should knock her out again or not, he readied himself just in case. Her attention was on other things though. Seeing Angelus pinned to the statue and seeing the vortex forming behind him, she let out a loud cry and ran over to him. As she began to tug at the sword, Angelus peered over his shoulder and saw why she was making a fuss. Now he was starting to panic.
"Come on, Dru, pull it out!" he yelled.
"I'm trying." she whimpered, continuing to pull.
Buffy was about to step in and stop her when a white light resonated throughout the mansion. She shielded her eyes and when the light faded Dru and Angelus were gone, the sword back in the statue's chest.
"What the bloody hell happened there?" asked Spike who had walked over to join her, and was now voicing her own question.
"I have no idea," Buffy replied. "I guess they got sucked into that vortex thing."
"You mean they're in Hell?"
"I guess."
Spike shrugged. "Best place for them I suppose. Well, there's nothing left for us here. You still want to go someplace?"
Buffy nodded and wrapped her arm around his waist. Spike in turn put his arm around her and they walked towards the door.
"I hear Brazil's nice at this time of year."
Author: Hils
Rating: R
Pairings: S/D, S/B, D/Aus
Summary: My twisted take on Season 2. Buffy is a vampire and Angel is doing what he does in LA only in Sunnydale with the help of Giles and the Scoobies.
Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any of these characters. If I did, I'd be very rich.
Please note I wrote this fic in March 20001 when I was very new to writing. It has not had a beta
"How did this happen?" Asked Dru with delight.
Angelus kept his eyes locked on Buffy the whole time, even though it was Dru he was talking to.
"Well, it seems the ritual had some interesting side effects. One minute I was trapped, then all of a sudden it was goodbye soul-boy," he grinned. "The funny thing was, if Giles and his crew hadn't gotten me out of there I'd have been dust. They didn't realise I was free until it was too late."
"You killed them?" Buffy asked incredulously.
He sighed deeply. "Nothing is more satisfying than the sound of a human neck snapping. They tasted good too."
Then he shrugged. "None of that really matters anyway. Why don't we go and get something to eat? It's been a good half hour since I tasted human blood and I'm making up for lost time here."
Dru clapped her hands with glee. "Oh goody, we can go hunting as a family."
Buffy stared at her in disbelief. "What about Spike?"
Angelus looked around. "Where is the bleached one anyway? I really should thank him for setting me free."
Dru gave a small whimper and took Angelus' hand, pulling him into the bedroom. Buffy followed closely behind them. Spike hadn't moved from the position Dru had left him in. It chilled Buffy seeing him like this. He was normally so animated and active, now he just looked like the corpse he was.
"Hmmm," frowned Angelus. Then he smirked. "Well, it looks like Spikey boy won't be joining us tonight. Shall we go, ladies?"
He wrapped one arm around Dru and made to put his other around Buffy, she moved away.
Angelus' face expressed a mixture of annoyance and surprise; he wasn't used to women resisting him.
"Come on, Buff, the souled-one is well and truly gone. I'm not going to go all mushy on you."
Buffy said nothing, merely glanced back at Spike. Dru leant up and whispered something in Angelus' ear.
"You've got to be kidding me!" he exclaimed. "You're a Slayer-turned-vampire, Buff, you can have your choice of any creature you like, and you want him?"
Buffy scowled, she wasn't used to being told what to do, least of all by her former lover. "At least he hasn't been soul-whipped for the last 80 years." she snapped.
Angelus grinned. "Still got that fire, I see. I always liked that about you."
He reached out his hand to caress her cheek and she slapped it away, growling. Angelus growled back.
"You should learn your place little girl. I may not have been sired directly by the Master, but his blood still flows in my veins. I've walked this earth for over two centuries and you'd do well to show some respect."
"Respect? You killed the Master and you killed your own Sire. I ought to return the favour right now."
Angelus walked over to Buffy so that he was stood mere inches away from her.
"Yes, I killed the Master," he said softly. "You don't tow the line and the same thing might happen to you."
His voice resumed its normal tone.
"Well, if you want to stay here and play nursemaid, then that's just fine. Dru and I will go alone, right, baby?"
Drusilla made no reply, just snuggled closer to Angel. Her actions speaking volumes. Buffy was disgusted; vampire or not she couldn't believe that Dru was just willing to drop Spike now that her bastard of a Sire had returned. It was evident however, that Dru had no qualms about doing just that.
When she and Angel had left, Buffy sank down on the edge of the bed next to Spike. This was not the way she had imagined things going. After a minute, she turned her attention back to the injured vampire, since no one else was going to do anything she may as well sort him out.
******
An hour or so later she'd managed to get Spike cleaned up and into some new clothes. He'd remained unconscious the whole time, which had saved any embarrassment on either side. Looking down at him she realised that he was going to need to feed in order to start recovering. Angelus and Drusilla still weren't back and Buffy was pretty sure they wouldn't have brought anything for him anyway. She'd just have to go and get something herself.
Stepping outside, she grabbed the first human she came across, a night watchman who had been patrolling the area around the factory. Buffy quickly immobilised him with a blow to the back of the head before dragging him inside and into the bedroom. This was where things got awkward. Spike was still unconscious and Buffy had no idea how she was going to get him to feed. Finally she had an idea.
Chaining the man to the wall, she retrieved a mug from one of the other rooms before taking his arm and biting into his wrist. Holding the wound over the cup she allowed the blood to flow until it was full. She then bound the man's wrist, she had no idea how long Spike was going to be like this and the longer she could keep the man alive the better.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, she lifted Spike's head and held the mug to his lips. Instinct kicked in and he began to drink, quickly draining the cup of its contents. When he'd finished, she set his head back on the pillows and spent a few minutes just watching him. How Dru was willing to give him up for Angelus was completely beyond her. He began to stir, his eyes flickering beneath his lids but not opening.
"Dru?" he croaked, his voice barely above a hoarse whisper.
Buffy opened her mouth to respond but then closed it again. Somehow she couldn't bring herself to tell him that Dru was off, cavorting with their former enemy. Instead, she reached out her hand and lightly brushed her fingers down the unburned side of his face. A small smile played at the corner of his lips and shortly after that, he seemed to drift back to sleep.
A few minutes later she heard the door bang open and she walked out into the main hall to see Angelus swagger in, his arm wrapped around Drusilla's waist. Even from where she stood, Buffy could smell the blood; they had obviously fed well.
"How's the invalid?" Angelus asked coolly, still angry about his earlier rejection.
"He's asleep." Buffy replied with an equal lack of emotion.
"Can I go and see him?" Dru asked quietly.
Angelus pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Go on then."
Dru scurried into the bedroom leaving Buffy and Angelus alone. Buffy scowled at him.
"I see you've got Dru eating out of your hand already."
Angelus shrugged. "She's just a crazy girl. Come on, Buffy, I don't know why you're fighting this. Both of our souled counterparts are gone; there's no reason why we can't pick up where they left off. "
Buffy said nothing, which just enraged Angelus further.
"There's no point saving yourself for Spike," he snapped. "There's only ever been one woman in his life: Dru. And there'll only ever be one woman in his life: Dru. You may as well just accept that now and take what's on offer. I promise you'll never lack anything with me; I always make sure my women live like queens. You can have anything you want, just say you'll be mine."
Buffy stared at him for a moment. He honestly expected her to come crawling just because he said so. She'd never been one for following orders when she'd been alive and she was damned if she was going to start now. Flicking her hair over her shoulder she walked into her room, slamming the door behind her.
Angelus stared at the closed door for a moment. He'd have her eventually, he always got what he wanted one way or another. In the meantime he have to make do with second best.
"DRU!" he roared.
******
Buffy spent the next couple of weeks doing her best do avoid Angelus. It wasn't actually as much of a problem as she'd had thought. He was busy keeping himself amused with Dru, and Buffy spent most of her time watching over Spike, who had still not regained consciousness after the ordeal with the ritual. Dru would come in and sit with him occasionally but more often than not, she was occupied with Angelus. After the first couple of days, Buffy practically moved into Spike's room. Dru spent the days with Angelus and Buffy hated the idea of Spike waking up alone.
She made sure that Spike fed regularly, using the same methods she'd used on the first night. She found that she could make a human last two or three days as long as she bound the wound after she'd bled them. That way she only had to leave when she wanted to feed herself, or when the latest 'blood on tap' ran dry.
After feeding Spike and herself, she settled down on the bed next to Spike, flicking through a magazine she'd found on the girl she'd just killed. There was nothing really worth reading but it passed the time. She was just getting bored of the fashion tips when she felt Spike stir next to her. A moment later he moaned.
"Spike?" she called softly.
His eyes half opened and he looked up at her.
"Buffy?" he whispered weakly.
"Yeah, it's me. How are you feeling?"
"Like someone dropped a bloody organ on my head." His eyes opened fully and he began to take in his surroundings. He was back at the factory, in his room. But he had no idea how he'd gotten there. The last thing he remembered was trying to carry Dru out of the church before the damn librarian dusted him. Dru. He lifted his head a little and looked around the room.
"Is Dru…?" his words trailed off, not able to bring himself to say it.
"She's fine," Buffy answered absently. "The ritual worked and she's back to normal…well, as normal as she can be anyway."
"Where is she?"
What was Buffy meant to say? 'She's having sex with Angelus who you managed to bring back and has now stolen your girlfriend'?
"She might be out hunting." she replied vaguely.
Spike's face fell a little and he tried to sit up, getting halfway before a look of shock and horror crossed his face. Buffy noticed this.
"What is it?" she asked with concern.
"My legs, I can't move my bloody legs." he gasped, falling back on the bed and doing his best to blink back the tears he could feel stinging his eyes.
For once Buffy didn't know what to say. It was more than likely that his paralysis would only be temporary, he was a vampire after all, but what if it wasn't? He'd taken a lot of damage; more than she'd ever known a vampire had taken before.
"You'll heal, you just need some time." she said as convincingly as possible.
Spike wasn't listening, he'd never been like this before; he was useless. What if his legs never healed? He'd be stuck like this for the rest of eternity, or at least until someone took advantage of his weakened state and dusted him.
He barely noticed as Buffy got up from the bed and returned a few minutes later with a mug full of blood. This was what he had been reduced to, taking handouts because he was too useless to hunt for himself. He glared at the mug in his hands before draining it of its contents and then hurling is across the room where it shattered.
"Just leave me alone." he said quietly, closing his eyes. There was silence for a moment. Then he felt the bed shift and heard the door close. He wasn't sure how long he lay there for, just contemplating his new state of life, but he must have drifted off because the next thing he was aware of was a muffled cry coming from within the room.
Opening his eyes, the first thing he noticed was a wheelchair next to the bed. For a moment he'd thought that his paralysis had been some sort of horrible nightmare, but the chair was a glaring reminder that this wasn't the case. Still, reminder or not, anything beat lying around on the bed like a piece of useless meat. Even if he couldn't walk, at least he'd be mobile.
Sitting up, he noticed the source of the cry that had woken him; a hospital orderly, chained to the wall and gagged. Just hearing the moans made Spike realise how hungry he was. Levering himself off the bed, he lowered himself into the chair and wheeled himself over to the orderly. He was a young man, in his mid-twenties and healthy. Just right, Spike thought as his bit into the man's wrist and drank deeply. He drank until there was no more blood to flow, and then wheeled himself into the main room, wondering where everyone was.
Buffy looked up at the sound of the bedroom door opening and smiled when she saw Spike wheel in. She really hadn't been sure how he was going to react to the wheelchair, but she'd guessed that he'd want to be out of bed and moving around again. She could also smell the blood on him, indicating that he'd fed off the man she'd left for him too.
"Hey," she greeted. "Good to see you up and about."
"Thanks, pet," Spike replied. "The chair your idea?"
Buffy nodded and Spike wheeled over so that he was just in front of her.
"Tell me exactly what happened. The last thing I remember is being in the church."
Buffy took a deep breath and told him. Everything. She didn't even leave out the details of Dru and Angelus, figuring he was better off knowing the truth straight away. He stared at her in disbelief; she was seriously telling him that the woman that he'd loved for over a century was now sleeping with her Sire. He'd always known that Dru had had a fixation with Angelus; when he'd disappeared after losing his soul she'd insisted that they search for him, never willing to accept that he was gone.
As if on cue, the doors opened and Angelus and Dru emerged, their hair and clothes rumpled. It didn't take a genius to work out what they'd been doing.
"Spike!" Dru exclaimed, but made no move to approach him. Angelus kept his arm wrapped around her.
"Good to see you mobile again," he glanced at the wheelchair and smirked. "So to speak. As you can see I've been taking care of Dru for you while you've been resting."
Spike's entire body stiffened with rage. Buffy squeezed his hand reassuringly and he relaxed a little, continuing to glare at Angelus. Releasing his grip on Dru she walked over and placed a kiss on Spike's cheek.
"You can't blame a girl, Spike. I have certain needs."
"I was in a bloody coma, Dru!" Spike yelled. "You'll have to forgive me for not tending to your 'needs'."
"Come on, Spike, look at you," chipped in Angelus. "You're not much good to anyone like this. You may as well let a real man do the job for you."
Dru smiled. "My Angel's been looking after me," she cooed dreamily. "Besides, you've had the little Slayer sitting at your bedside. My Angel needed someone."
"No, Dru, he didn't," snapped Buffy. "You're just too much of a ho to give a damn about anyone but yourself."
"Watch your mouth, little girl," Dru growled. "I may have to teach you a lesson about stealing one of my boys."
"Your boys?" Buffy laughed. "What's the matter Dru? Scared of the competition?"
With a snarl Dru hurled herself at Buffy who easily dodged the attack, sending the dark-haired vampiress sprawling across the room. Dru quickly recovered herself, ran at Buffy and tackled her to the floor. As the two women wrestled, Angelus watched on, partially annoyed and partially amused to see the two women fighting; but it should have been over him and not Spike.
As he watched her fight, Angelus felt himself wanting Buffy more than he ever had before. She was an amazing fighter, his equal in every way. He would have her; he was going to make sure of it.
Buffy finally managed to pin Dru to the floor, snapping off a chair leg ready for the kill.
"Bloody hell, Peaches!" Spike yelled. "Do something."
Rolling his eyes, Angelus walked over to the two women and hoisted Buffy away from Dru, pulling the stake out of her hands at the same time.
"Now, we'll have none of that." he chided, not releasing his grip on Buffy's waist, enjoying having her this close to him and savouring her scent. Buffy glared and pushed him away.
"That wasn't your fight," she snapped as Angelus helped Dru to her feet. "From now on you stay out of my business."
Dru buried her face in Angel's chest, sniffling quietly. "Can we go out?" she murmured.
"Alright." Angelus agreed and he led her outside, knowing that a good hunt would probably make Dru forget all about it.
Silence descended in the room for a few minutes. Buffy was still infused with rage and Spike was trying to digest everything that had just happened.
"What the bloody hell was that all about? You were going to kill her!"
Buffy shrugged. "You're telling me you didn't want her dusted, even though she's screwing around with Angelus?"
"No! This thing with Angelus is just a mistake; she'll come around. Just stay away from her."
Spike wheeled himself into his bedroom and slammed the door. With a dejected sigh Buffy sat down. That hadn't gone as planned at all.
******
"I say we get out of this dump and move somewhere decent." said Angelus.
It had been a couple of days since Buffy and Dru had fought, and no one had mentioned it since. Dru continued to share a bed with Angelus and occasionally with Spike when Angelus wasn't in the mood. Buffy pretty much kept herself to herself, going out only to feed and to bring something back for Spike. She always made sure they were alive and just threw them into the room, leaving him to take it from there. He hadn't spoken to her since she'd tried to dust Dru and it bothered her more than she'd liked to admit. This was the first time all four of them had been in the same room together.
"What's wrong with this place?" asked Spike with a sigh. He'd hoped that Dru would have come back to him now that he was starting to recover, but this hadn't been the case.
"What's right with it?" Angelus retorted. "It's got no class, no finesse. This isn't the sort of place we should be living. It almost as bad as that mine shaft you had us hauled up in that time."
"Look, Angelus, we're vampires. This place serves its purpose, we don't need to move."
"I'd like a new house," said Dru. "Full of pretty things and whispering secrets. This house has nothing to say."
"Well, that settles it then," Angelus replied, ignoring Spike's earlier protests and not bothering to ask Buffy her opinion. "I have the perfect place."
******
"Oh, Angel, it's beautiful," gasped Dru in awe as she looked around the main room of the Crawford Street Mansion. "It's fit for a princess."
"Well, that's what you are, my sweet." Angelus replied with a grin.
Buffy and Spike looked slightly less impressed.
"We're going to fry," Buffy stated. "Look at all these windows."
"As I said before," Spike agreed. "There's nothing wrong with our old place."
"Look," Angelus snapped. "If you two don't like it, you're more than welcome to go back to the factory. Me and Dru, we're staying right here."
Buffy and Spike fell silent at this, Spike had no intention of leaving Dru and Buffy had no intention of leaving Spike. Seeing that they'd given in, Angelus grinned.
"Right then, let's get moved in."
******
Buffy found that she adjusted to life in the mansion quite well. She had a large room to herself and the house was so big, that it was quite easy for her to avoid Angelus and Drusilla altogether. She continued to bring people back for Spike, since the other two seemed to more or less have forgotten he was even there. It was just the same as it had been in the factory, she'd throw whoever she'd caught into the room and leave Spike to it. She'd then go back in while he was asleep and get rid of the bodies.
The sun was just setting as she went in to retrieve the body of Spike's latest victim. As usual he was lying on the bed sound asleep and the drained corpse lay in a crumpled heap in the corner of the room. She walked over, hoisted the body over her shoulder and was almost at the door when she stopped.
"Buffy?" Spike called. She turned back and saw him sitting up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"The sun hasn't set yet," she said quietly. "Go back to sleep."
"Wait," he said. "Don't leave."
Dropping the body by the door, she walked back over and sat on the edge of the bed.
"What?"
"Dru, that mistake I thought she was going to come around from, looks like she isn't," he sighed. "Not that I can blame her, I'm not a lot of use to anyone while I'm like this. Anyway, I guess I just wanted to thank you, for bringing me food and stuff. I might as well be dust as far and Dru and the bloody pouf are concerned."
"Yeah, well, what can you expect from a lunatic and the guy that made her that way." Buffy replied with a small smile, happy that she at least had someone to talk to again.
"True," Spike replied. "You know, pet, I was thinking. When I can walk again, what's say we get out of here? Leave Dru and Peaches to get on with it, and we'll go someplace new. I'm fed up of Sunnyhell; nothing good comes out of this damned town."
"I think that's why they call it a Hellmouth," Buffy grinned. "But yeah, I'd like that."
"Good," Spike smiled. "It's settled then."
"I should go," Buffy said, standing up. "I'll bring you something to eat a little later."
"Alright, pet." Spike said, settling himself down to get another couple of hours sleep.
Buffy quietly left. Having some time to kill before the sun completely set Buffy sat on one of the couches in the main room and flicked through one of Angelus' many books. She wasn't much of a reader herself, but it passed the time.
She was just flicking through the pages, not really paying attention to the words, when suddenly someone grabbed hold of her hair and yanked her backwards over the back of the couch. She found herself facing Angelus but barely had time to cry out before he buried his fangs in her throat and began to drink deeply. By the time her self-preservation instinct kicked in, she was too weak to fend him off. Everything around her began to fade and dim until, finally, she was aware of nothing.
Angelus continued to drink until he felt Buffy go limp in his grip. He lifted her up and dumped her unceremoniously on the couch. A lesson needed to be learned here. He still couldn't believe that he'd overheard her and Spike planning on leaving. No one left him unless he gave them permission or threw them out. He certainly wasn't about to let Buffy leave. Hearing her moan he looked down to see her eyes open. She'd come to a lot faster than he'd expected, but he'd drained her enough that she wouldn't be going anywhere in a hurry.
Buffy awoke to find herself lying back on the couch. As her blurred vision began to clear she saw Angelus leering down at her. Her first instinct was to run, fight, anything, but she couldn't move. Blinking back the tears she realised with grim irony that this must be how Spike felt all the time.
Seeing the look of fear in her eyes only made Angelus smile.
"So. Buff, you and Spikey were thinking of leaving us were you? I'm afraid I can't allow that to happen. You see, Dru wants us to be a family, and what Dru wants, Dru gets."
He leaned down and began to lick the blood from the wound he'd inflicted on her. When it was gone, he sat back up.
"You know, I always told myself I was going to have you one way or another. I was kind of hoping that you'd come around and offer yourself to me."
He sighed deeply.
"But I can see now that that's never going to happen. It looks like this is the only way."
Stretching out his hand, he traced his fingers down her cheek and then continued to move his hand down her body until it came to rest on her thigh. With a small smile he began to slide it up the skirt she was wearing.
"Hey, what's all this?"
Angelus whipped his head around and saw that Spike had just wheeled into the room.
"Stay out of this, roller-boy," he hissed. "It's no concern of yours."
Buffy gazed at Spike pleadingly, begging him to help her with her eyes. Angelus' hand remained just under her skirt but he made no attempt to move it any further.
"Yeah, well I'm making it my concern." Spike rolled closer. "I mean, what is it with you Angelus? Dru not enough for you?"
Angelus smirked.
"So that's what this is all about. Don't like the fact that I'm taking all your women away from you?"
"I hardly call forcing yourself on her taking her away from me."
"It depends on how you look at it. She might decide she likes it."
Spike raised his voice a little. "Yeah, and she might not."
"Well, there's only one way to find out. Now, if you don't mind, you're interrupting my fun here."
Angelus turned his attention back to Buffy and Spike pulled out a wrench, which he'd been hiding under his coat. He cracked Angelus over the back of the head, knocking him out and sending him sprawling to the floor.
"Fun's over, mate."
Spike gently lifted Buffy from the couch and pulled her into his lap. She looked up at him and gave a small smile before her eyes closed and she slipped back into unconsciousness. Spike wheeled them both into his bedroom, locked the door and placed Buffy on the bed. Wheeling round to the other side, he pushed himself up so that he was sitting beside her.
This was a problem. Buffy needed blood to recover from being drained, but neither of them was in any state to go hunting. Clearly there was only one solution. Shifting close to her he bit into his wrist and held the wound to her lips. For a moment there was no response.
"Come on, pet," he urged. "This will help you get strong again."
After a moment, he felt her begin to suck on his wrist and he relaxed a little, allowing her to drink until he began to feel quite weak himself. Finally he detached his wrist and looked down to see that Buffy was sleeping. Realising he was quite tired himself, he lay down and allowed himself to fall into an exhausted slumber.
******
Buffy wasn't sure how long she'd slept for, but the first thing she became aware of when she woke was that she was nestled in Spike's arms. Glancing across, she saw that he was still sleeping peacefully, his arms around her waist and his head resting on her shoulder. For a while she just lay there, enjoying the feeling until she felt him begin to stir. His eyes opened and his smiled up at her.
"How are you feeling, pet?"
Spike's words brought the memories of the previous night crashing down on her. Reaching up her hand, she felt her neck to find the wound nearly healed.
"I'm going to kill him." she said, her voice full of venom.
Spike was immediately awake.
"Don't be so bloody stupid!" he exclaimed. "You won't stand a chance against both him and Dru."
"Fine," she replied calmly. "You can help me."
"I'm not going to be much use while I'm like this, pet."
"I don't care!" she yelled. "I'm not going to let him get away with what he tried to do to me."
"Alright, pet," Spike said gently. "But you're not going to achieve anything but just rushing out there and getting yourself dusted. Angelus is going to be expecting us to make some sort of move, so for now I suggest we focus on getting out of here so that we can come up with a plan."
After a moment, Buffy allowed her tense body to relax and she nodded.
"Alright, but when the time comes, you let me kill him; no interfering."
"Fine by me, pet."
"So, what's the plan?"
"I'd say our first concern is getting out of here. Can you drive?"
"Not well, but yeah."
"Right, my car's in the garage. Fully sheltered and the windows are blacked out. We wait until Dru and the pouf are asleep, take the car and get out of here. We'll find a motel or something and stay there until we come up with a plan."
"It sounds like you've been planning this for a while." Buffy smiled ruefully.
"I might have been." Spike replied.
Buffy took Spike's hand and looked down at the watch on his wrist. It was 3am, a good few hours until sunrise.
"What are we supposed to do in the meantime?"
"I guess we just wait."
And for the next few hours that's what they did, they lay in each other's arms and waited.
******
"Come on." Buffy whispered harshly as they made their way through the mansion towards the garage. Sure enough Spike's car was there waiting for them, the keys in the ignition. Buffy helped Spike into the passenger seat, folded up his wheelchair, and put it in the back. She then started the engine and a few minutes later they were on the road.
Once they were a reasonable distance away from the mansion, Buffy found a side lane and pulled the car over. It wasn't safe for them to book into a motel while the sun was out, they'd have to sleep in the car until nightfall.
"Do you think Angelus will come looking for us?" she asked Spike.
"Maybe." he replied.
"Well, I'll be ready for him." she murmured sleepily.
"Too right." Spike yawned. They were both asleep before they could utter another sentence.
Awaking just after sunset, Buffy drove them to the nearest motel and booked them in. She then helped Spike out of the car and the two of them settled down to focus their energy on bringing down the vampire who had made both of their unlives miserable.
******
Angelus hadn't been surprised to wake up that evening to find Buffy and Spike gone. He seriously doubted that they'd gone far. They'd make their move soon enough, all he had to do was be ready for them. In the meantime he had other things with which to occupy himself.
******
"Pet, come out here for a second, will you?" Spike called.
Buffy poked her head around the bathroom floor where she had been washing her hair. Vampire or not she still liked to make sure she looked good. What she saw made her jaw drop. Spike was stood up. He was stood up unaided and his wheelchair was sitting behind him uselessly.
"Spike!" she gasped.
"Felt a little twinge in my legs, thought I'd try it out and presto." he grinned.
"Have you tried walking?" she asked with a smile.
Spike looked down at his feet and then back at Buffy. Finally, he lifted his foot and took a shaky step, then another. He was in the process of taking a third when his legs buckled. Buffy was at his side in an instant, catching him before he fell.
"Well, that was a start at least." she smiled, before becoming aware that her lips were just inches away from his. Without thinking she leaned up and kissed him. Spike responded immediately and they fell back onto the bed where they made love with a passion and fire that neither of them had felt in a long time.
That evening, Buffy managed to lure two teenage boys back to the motel, which made an easy meal for her and Spike. They spent the rest of the night walking up and down the motel room, Spike leaning on Buffy when he was too tired to walk unaided. He could feel the strength returning to his legs slowly. It wouldn't be long now. As long as he fed regularly, he was pretty sure that his vampiric healing would do the rest.
******
Sure enough, a week later, and after regular 'training' sessions with Buffy, Spike was back to full strength.
"So what's the plan?" Buffy asked one night after an exhilarating hunt with Spike. It was good that they were finally able to hunt together again, she knew how frustrated he'd been while he'd been stuck in the chair.
"Simple, really," he replied. "We walk in. You kill Angel. I kill Dru. We leave."
Buffy raised and eyebrow in surprise. "You're going to kill Dru?"
"Bloody right I am! You think I owe her anything after the way the crazy bitch has treated me?"
"Fine, when do we leave?"
"No time like the present, pet. Sunset tomorrow."
Buffy nodded grimly. It was time to finish this once and for all.
******
"What the hell is that?" whispered Buffy to Spike as they crept into the mansion. It was about an hour after sunset and although there was no sign of Dru or Angelus, there was a large statue in the centre of the main room, a sword sticking out of its chest.
"That, my friends, is Acathla," said a voice from behind them. They both spun around to find themselves facing Angelus, who was smirking. "You picked the perfect time for our little reunion. We're about to unleash hell on Earth."
Spike rolled his eyes.
"I hear Hell's not all it's cracked up to be, mate."
"Shhhh," a voiced cooed from behind them. Buffy kept her eyes on Angelus while Spike turned around to find himself facing Dru. "Naughty Spike," she chided. "It wasn't nice of you to go away and leave our little family. I am very cross, and you shall have to be punished."
"Yes indeed, and he's not the only one who needs punishing." Angelus added, and with that he punched Buffy, sending her flying back. Dru seized that moment to launch an attack at Spike, hurling herself at him with such force that she knocked him to the floor.
Buffy and Angelus continued to fight, both of them easily matched and able to block whatever the other one dealt. Neither of them seemed to be gaining the upper hand and they continued to fight.
Spike managed to buck Dru off him and they too were more or less evenly matched as they fought. Finally after a few minutes Dru seized her chance. Dodging a punch, which Spike threw, she kneed him in the groin. Before he could recover she grabbed one of Angelus' precious Ching Dynasty statues and brought it crashing down on Spike's skull. He slumped to the floor, out cold.
Angelus, however, wasn't faring as well. Buffy now had him on the defensive, raining kicks and punches down on him which he could barely deflect. Finally, she pulled a stake out of her pocket. He couldn't help but grin.
"Still a little bit of the Slayer in you I see, Buff."
This only enraged her further and raised the sliver of wood, ready for the kill. At that point, Dru grabbed her and spun her around so that they were facing each other, making sure their eyes locked.
"Be…in…me." she droned, wafting her fingers in front of Buffy's face. Buffy's eyes glazed over and she began to sway in time to Dru's movements. Her arms fell loosely to her sides and the stake she'd been holding clattered to the floor.
"Impressive," commented Angelus. "I never get tired of watching you do that."
Dru smiled but kept her eyes locked on Buffy's. Angelus' eyes flicked over to Spike who was still out for the count. No danger in that area. He then looked down at Buffy's stake but quickly dismissed the idea. Although there was a certain amount of irony in an ex-Slayer getting staked, he wanted her to die in style. Finally his eyes came to rest on the sword protruding from Acathla's chest and his face lit up. What a way to kill two birds with one stone, Buffy's death - again - would also see the opening of the portal to Hell. Plus, he couldn't remember the last time he'd decapitated anyone.
With three large strides, he was at the statue and he pulled the sword out, having uttered the incantation shortly before Buffy and Spike had arrived. He turned to walk back and noticed that Spike was on his feet. Before he could utter a warning, Spike had brought the same statue that she had used on him down on Dru's head, rendering her unconscious.
Buffy put her hand to her head as the fog that had been holding her lifted. Her eyes focused and came to rest on Spike was stood in front of her, he was bleeding from a head wound but other than that he seemed ok. Her gaze drifted past him and came to rest on Angelus who was stood a little further back, sword in hand. She moved Spike to one side, indicating that she didn't want him to interfere. Spike stepped back.
"Come on, Angel," Buffy coaxed. "Let's get this over with."
With a snarl he lunged at her, Buffy dodged his attack easily, grabbed his arm and sent the sword spinning across the floor. She then punched him twice in the face before he finally managed to free himself from her grip.
He gripped her forearms violently before she could take another swing at him and lifted her off the ground slightly so that she was on her toes, looking deep into her eyes and saw a hint of something. Was it lust? Her chest heaved taking in much uneeded breaths and the parts of her skin, which were exposed, were coated in a thin sheen of sweat.
Angelus smiled at her wickedly as he brought his head to kiss her. She gazed up at him, smiling slightly, waiting for him to bring his head down closer. When the timing and placing were right, she head butted him. He howled in pain and Buffy took the advantage. Stepping back, she gave him a scissor kick that made him do a 360, and then continued with two shots to the breastplate.
Angelus staggered back with each blow and the next thing he knew he had his back against Acathla, with nowhere else to go. Buffy smiled, knowing that victory was just a small step away. She looked around for a weapon to finish the job.
"Buffy!" called Spike, tossing her the sword. Buffy caught it and turned back to face her foe. What she wasn't expecting to see was the mouth of the statue open and a whirlpool type vortex start to form. Angelus seemed oblivious to this.
"Come on then, Buff, finish me off," he panted, exerted from the fight. "Still, at least I got a taste of you, I told you I would."
"Taste this!" she spat and rammed the sword into his chest. Angelus hadn't expected this, he thought she was just going to take his head off and have done with it. As it was, the pain was excruciating, and he realised that she'd intended this to be as painful as possible.
Spike watched the scene unfold with fascination, only to be distracted by a moan coming from the floor. Looking down he saw that Dru was beginning to stir. Not sure if he should knock her out again or not, he readied himself just in case. Her attention was on other things though. Seeing Angelus pinned to the statue and seeing the vortex forming behind him, she let out a loud cry and ran over to him. As she began to tug at the sword, Angelus peered over his shoulder and saw why she was making a fuss. Now he was starting to panic.
"Come on, Dru, pull it out!" he yelled.
"I'm trying." she whimpered, continuing to pull.
Buffy was about to step in and stop her when a white light resonated throughout the mansion. She shielded her eyes and when the light faded Dru and Angelus were gone, the sword back in the statue's chest.
"What the bloody hell happened there?" asked Spike who had walked over to join her, and was now voicing her own question.
"I have no idea," Buffy replied. "I guess they got sucked into that vortex thing."
"You mean they're in Hell?"
"I guess."
Spike shrugged. "Best place for them I suppose. Well, there's nothing left for us here. You still want to go someplace?"
Buffy nodded and wrapped her arm around his waist. Spike in turn put his arm around her and they walked towards the door.
"I hear Brazil's nice at this time of year."
