Till the end of the world part 3

The past couple of days had been boring, the day after she came back form hospital everyone had been stepping on eggshells around her, they never left her alone and she was starting to hate company. She tried sneaking out to go patrolling alone but it was like they had surveillance cameras and were watching her every move. She even found herself missing Spike; she hadn’t seen him for five days now. She wondered if he was ok. Willow and Tara were still staying in her mother’s old room. God she missed her mother.

Buffy was sitting on her bed thinking when Willow came it,

“Hi Buffy, how are you?”

Buffy didn’t feel like talking,

“Fine.”

Willow knew something was wrong with Buffy and she just wished Buffy would talk to her about it.

“Want to talk about any thing?”

Buffy just wanted to be alone,

“No, nothing, I’m just tired, I think I’m gonna go to bed early.”

Willow nodded,

“Well good night.”

Willow walked out and closed the door, why was Buffy pushing her away?

Buffy missed Spike so much, she just wanted to talk to him, and tell him everything, well maybe not everything. He always knew just what to say to make her feel better. She needed him.

She had made up her mind; she was going to Spike’s.

Buffy opened her window and looked at the tree that hung just by her window, she grabbed her jacket and put it on. Then she climbed out of her window and hung to the tree branch. Finally she let go and landed on her feet with a thud.

She scanned the street and ran across. She walked along the grass until she made it to the cemetery. She wove in and out of the tombstones until she came to his door. She pushed it open.

“Spike?”

It was silent. She walked along the cold floor until she heard a clang of bottles from down stairs. She followed the noise and climbed down the ladder, there sitting on a chair sat Spike. He was fast asleep and half a bottle of Bourbon lay spilling out onto the floor. His face was beautifully sculpted, and his features amazing. She kneeled down in front of him and shook him gently,

“Spike…Spike wake up it’s me Buffy.”

Slowly his eyes opened and he looked at her, suddenly he jumped up and yelled,

“God slayer, you gave me a heart attack.”

Buffy rolled her eyes at him.

He smirked,

“Haven’t seen you around lately, miss me?”

Buffy smiled he was so cute.

“Always.” She said quietly.

Spike was surprised by this answer,

“Oh I see, this is Spike humiliation day.”

Buffy turned away form him sheepishly,

“No, I did miss you, I mean who am I gonna talk to, everyone else is all ‘Buffy must be protected, can’t go any where by herself’.”

Spike smiled, she counted on him.

“Well what, are the Scoobies hanging around outside?”

Buffy looked at him sweetly,

“No, I sneaked out of the window.”

“Ok, let me get this straight, you sneaked out of your window to come and see me, Spike.”

Buffy laughed, was it so hard to realize that she thought of him as her friend,

“Well, you are the only one who understands what I’m going through, you treat me like Buffy.”

He felt himself shake with excitement, he was her friend.

Spike motioned for her to sit down,

“Well…what is it that you were so desperate to talk to me about?”

Buffy sat down next to him, she could feel his body next to hers, and she got that feeling again,

“All they ever do is follow me around and treat me like I’m a porcelain doll, I’ve tried to sneak away, but they caught me, I leave the house and there they are, even when I’m asleep they’re around afraid that I’m gonna break. I can’t take it anymore.”

She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder, it was so nice to have someone to talk to.

Spike put his arm around her and stroked her hair; her hair was so soft,

“They are just so glad that you’re back that they just don’t want to loose you again. Talk to them, not me, not that I don’t like talking to you, you get the idea. Tell them how you feel, they’ll understand and back off. If not you know I’m always here.”

Buffy grabbed his hand and held it tightly,

“I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Spike felt like he was going to explode, first she had her head on his shoulder, now she was holding her hand. WOW.

They sat there for a while in silence, just enjoying each other’s company, suddenly she looked up at him and smiled,

“Can I stay here tonight?”
Spike smiled really bursting inside,

“Of course, stay as long as you like.”

She got up and walked to the bed,

“I’ll sleep here, and you can sleep on the couch.”

“I don’t need to sleep right now, I’m not tired.”

He tried to restrain himself; it was a dream come true, Buffy in his bed! Well he wasn’t there so it wasn’t exactly like he planned but he didn’t mind.

She got up and crawled into his bed, she lay her head on the pillow and closed her eyes,

‘It smelt like him, and it was a wonderful smell’

Willow walked into Buffy’s room; to see if she was all right, she didn’t want to loose her again so treated her the best she could. A feeling of panic washed over her. Buffy wasn’t there; she wasn’t in her bed. Willow saw the open window; maybe something had taken her, tried to kill her. Willow ran out to go and call Xander, he’d know what to do.

Buffy was in a long corridor, and in front of her was a door. She turned the knob and walked inside. There were hundreds of Vampires and monsters inside that she seemed to recognize. The Master stood in front of her,

“Ah Buffy, so nice to see you again.”

They all turned to look at her,

The Master began to speak again,

“We have decided that you have killed enough of our kind, pay back time.”

All the vampires and monsters ran at her at once, she kicked and fought with all her mite, but there were too many and they piled on top of her. She could feel the bites, the scratches and the pain they implied. Then she saw Glory, she stood holding her mother in one hand and her sister, Dawn in the other. Buffy watched in horror as they were thrown into a pit of fire. Buffy screamed out, and Angel grabbed her mouth to silence her,

“It’s okay Buffy, no bodies gonna hurt ya.” He smiled as he bit into her neck.

Buffy woke up with a start to see Spike looking down at her. She sat up and grabbed her in an embrace; her face teemed with tears as he held her face in his hands,

“You’re alright, I’m hear, you’re safe.”

She started to cry again and he held her tightly.

“Don’t let me go Spike, never let me go.”

Spike smiled at her,

“I’ll never let you go, unless you ask really nicely.”

She laughed quietly at him.

“I don’t want to go back to sleep.”

Spike held her hand and helped her to sit up,

“We can watch TV.”

She nodded silently.

She stood up and walked to the couch, he sat down and she sat down next to him. He inched up closer and curled up next to him with her head on his chest, she felt warm and secure.

He wrapped his arms around her and entwined his fingers in her hair; he felt so close to her. Soon they had fallen fast asleep.

Xander, Anya, Tara, Dawn and Willow rode around in Xander’s car, searching the streets. They searched down alleys and in the park. Then they moved to the cemetery. It was the last place, and probably the most obvious. They got out the car and walked around in and out of the tombstones. Finally the decided to go to Spike’s, maybe he would have some idea where she was. They walked in and noticed him lying on the couch,

“Spike, wake up.”

Spike stirred and turned to look at them, he grimaced,

“What you lot doin’ here, and would you mind keeping your voices down?”

They looked at him in utter confusion,

“Why should we, I mean who we gonna wake up, the bats or the spiders?”

They all walked up to Spike and noticed somebody asleep, leaning on him.

Dawn walked up to him and smiled, it was Buffy,

“What is she doing here?”

Xander gasped and Willow looked at Tara even more confused,

“She came here to talk to me.”

Xander could feel the anger building inside of him,

“What have you done to her, kidnapped her I suppose?”
Buffy stirred and sat up looking up at her friends in confusion,

“What are you doing here?”

Xander looked angry,

“We could ask you the same thing.”

Dawn walked up to her and hugged her,

“We were so worried about you, we thought some one had kidnapped you or killed you.”

Buffy groaned and put her head back down onto Spike’s chest; this was what she was talking about.

“Why are you always so worried? I can take care of myself; I came here to get away, to talk to Spike. He’s the only one who understands. Can’t you understand that?”

“Sure we understand, he’s the only one that wants to get into your pants, he’ll do anything to get on your good side.”

Buffy stood up and walked up to Xander’s face,

“He at least cares for me, all you want to do is keep me locked up, like a little porcelain doll, why can’t you all just back off.”

Xander was really angry,

“We are the ones who care about you, we just want what’s best for you.”

“Well let me make my own decisions, let me live my own life, you were the ones that brought me back from the dead, so let me live.”

This took them all by surprise,

Dawn looked up at Buffy and nodded,

“I’m so sorry Buffy, I had no idea you felt this way, forgive me?”

Buffy hugged her sister,

“Of course Dawnie.”

Spike smiled, at least his two favorite girls had made up.

Dawn then turned to Spike, who was sitting up straight on the couch,

“Thank you, for being there for her, for looking after her. Just like you looked after me.”

Dawn hugged Spike who was now even more special to her.

“It’s what I do best, lil’ Bit.”

Xander thought he was going to kill Spike, why was he being thanked?

Xander lunged forward onto Spike and threw him to the floor.

Xander started punching Spike, but of course Spike just took it, what else could he do?

Buffy then lunged at Xander and threw him off Spike.

“Are you all right?”

Spike smiled,

“Of course.”

Buffy went to where Xander lay and lifted him up,

“What’s wrong with you, are you insane.”

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? Spike is a killer, a murderer never mind a vampire, or has he got you so fooled into thinking he was a nice guy.”

Buffy clenched her fists,

“Are you that pathetic, Spike is my friend, just as much as you. He has always been there for me, even when I didn’t want him to be. He makes me feel safe and secure. I trusted him the most important thing in my life, Dawn. And she’s all right isn’t she. I trust him with my life, it’s time you started to do the same ‘cause he’s gonna be here for a long time.”

Xander held up his hands in surrender, he couldn’t win this.

A small smirk played over Spike’s lips, she was so sexy when she was angry.

Dawn walked over and stood next to Spike, she grabbed hold of his hand and leaned against him, Spike was surprised at his own emotions. He had never loved anyone as much as Dawn, but it wasn’t the same way as he loved Buffy. Dawn was like a little sister or even daughter; she was so special to him that he would die all over again for her.

Xander hated the fact that Dawn liked Spike more than him, he said it once and he’ll say it again, he was big funny Xander, she had a crush on him not Spike.

Xander would never understand why Spike and Dawn were so close; nobody understood what these two meant to each other.

Dawn looked up and smiled at spike, she loved him so much. He was her best friend, confidant, brother and even a father figure. ‘Life would be so hard without him’

When Buffy came back she was afraid of loosing him but that hadn’t happened.

Buffy turned and looked at them, she smiled to herself, ‘God he amazes me more and more every day. Dawn really looked up to him, which means that he is special.’

They all walked out of his crypt and headed home, nobody spoke but Dawn sneaked Buffy a small grin every now and again. She knew Buffy cared about Spike, she just knew it.

And Buffy knew it too; she couldn’t help it anymore. Every time she saw him her heart began to beat faster, and she began to get sweaty palms.

No one had ever had that effect on her, not even Angel.

Spike was left alone in his crypt, he smiled. He loved to see Xander get into trouble. Out of all her friends he was the only one that hadn’t excepted him, and that bothered him.

Suddenly Spike’s chip sent the little blue shocks all over his body. H screamed at the pain and felt as if he was going to explode. He fell to the floor and clutched his head tightly, yelling and beating his fists on the floor.

Suddenly it stopped. He looked up and gazed at the ceiling. He let out a sigh of relief.

‘What is going on in my head?’ he thought to himself. Something was different, he was different. Something was wrong, he got that feeling again. He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. He was going to find out what had happened. But then remembered the whole, burst into flame thing and decided to wait until nightfall.

He waited alone in his crypt all day and finally the sun went down. He walked out and strolled down the street, looking around at all the people still roaming around. He didn’t know why but he felt a strange bond to these people, they were his people. He rounded a corner and walked into the ally. There was an old man lying on the ground in a pile of rubbish. The man smelt of liquor and looked as if he hadn’t bathed in months. Spike walked up to him, he knew for a fact that this man was human, he could smell it. Spike smiled evilly and kicked the man in the side. The man woke with a start and glared at Spike,

“What the hell do you think you are doing?”

Spike grinned,

“Sorry mate, didn’t see you there.” Spike walked away with a smile on his face.

He had felt no pain, the chip didn’t work. Suddenly a feeling of dread crept over him, ‘What about Buffy, what about Dawn? They could never trust him now’

He walked along with his head down, deep in thought.

He didn’t know what to do, would he go back to being evil? He didn’t think he ever could, what had Buffy done to him?

Spike walked around aimlessly, through the cemetery and through the streets. He was thinking long and hard. What if he suddenly went berserk and tried to kill Buffy or Dawn. He couldn’t live with that. He had to leave, go and see Dr. Mason, maybe he could fix this, and he had always helped in the past. Spike made up his mind, he was leaving for a few months, and if the Dr. couldn’t help him, maybe forever. He couldn’t take a chance, he could never hurt Niblit, and he just didn’t trust himself.

Spike packed up a few things, he wouldn’t be gone long, he hoped.

Dawn sat on her bed reading a magazine, suddenly Spike appeared in front of her, and she smiled up at him,

“Hey Spike, what’s up?”

Spike shifted uncomfortably, this was just too hard for him,

“Uh, Niblit, I um…”

He just didn’t know how to start,

“Come on out with it.”

She said with a smile.

“I’m leaving for a while, I uh, have to clear my head.”

She stared at him,

“How long will you be gone?”

Spike scratched his head,

“I don’t know, a few months maybe.”

She could feel the tears build in her eye’s.

“Y-you can’t leave, I need you, please don’t go.”

Spike wiped a tear away from his eye, this was too much for him,

“Oh Niblit, It really is for the best. I have a lot of things going on and I need help.”

Dawn burst into tears and ran to hug him,

“No, please, let me help you. We can get through this together, we did before.”

Spike tried to smile,

“That was different, Buffy’s back now and she needs you.”

Dawn shook her head,

“No she doesn’t, take me with you.”

She begged him,

“Please don’t make this harder for me, I’m doing this for your safety. Buffy needs you, they all do. Look after them. I’ll be back, I promise.”

Dawn refused to let go of him,

“I won’t let you go, if you do I’ll kill myself.”

That was the last straw, Spike broke down into sobs,

“I love you Niblit, I always will. Tell Buffy that I will always love her, look after her.”

He kissed her on the head, and laid an envelope on her bed.

He walked out as fast as he could leaving a sobbing Dawn in her bedroom.

Buffy came home an hour later and walked inside,

“Dawnie, I’m back”

There was no answer, she slowly walked up the stairs and into her room.

Dawn was lying on her bed crying.

Buffy sat down and put her arm around her sister,

“Dawnie what’s wrong?”

Dawn looked up at her and hugged her tightly,

“He’s gone,”

She managed to say through her tears,

“Who’s gone?”

Dawn pointed to an open letter on her bed, Buffy reached for it and began to read,