Title: Just love me... ch 7/? “And the show begins…”

Rating: R and NC-17

Disclaimer: All characters of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Fox. I just borrow them, blah blah blah...

Category: Angst/Romance/Drama.

Time: Middle of season 6.

Pairing: B/S (Spuffy, of course)

Feedback: Yes, please!

Summary: A new evil power invades Sunnydale and takes Spike with him.

“Love? What’s love without passion, tears and devotion? Drama, action, romance and adventure, mix up in this fantastic story. Would you choose between them? She won’t choose one. She’ll do everything, to save the man she fell in love with.”

~ Much thanks to my beta, Patricia, who beta’d this despite having four finals and an internship interview this week :p ~

He was alone. It was cold… dark… full of death. No passion, no dreams… no redemption. Just death… and hate… and cold. Dark shadows… empty bodies with no souls. He was one of them… yet still all alone. He'd stopped believing… she would never come for him.

*

Buffy felt the cold liquid she had swallowed run through her body.

*

She opened her eyes and saw only darkness… felt the coldness… shivered in the wind…. Wind?!

She opened her eyes, and saw her feet come into focus…then the image of a town, which was getting bigger and bigger...

“Oh crap…”

A cloth tarp forming the roof of a farmer’s market stall momentarily broke her fall before ripping under her weight. She fell through and crashed onto a table full of fresh vegetables and fruit.

“Ouch…” she said, rubbing her bottom and getting up. She looked around, waiting to see a giant monster. No monster… there was only a man with a white apron, probably the owner of the demolished stall, yelling and staring at her. “What the hell…?” she mumbled.

She realized what the place she had landed in looked like with surprised. It resembled an English street, or at least a mid-nineteenth century English street. There were coaches with horses, quaintly dressed people buying produce from the market stalls, little children… some of them quite filthy and some stealing. Overall she it was a picture of a poor, English city from the past.

Buffy began to walk, trying to figure out where she should go… where she could find Spike. She couldn’t stay here too long, Giles had warned her, and so she had to hurry.

Twice she thought she’d seen the blond vampire’s familiar head, but it was only a youth with the same hair. Feeling frustrated, she was shocked when she finally did spot him. He was in an alley, drinking from a blonde woman. He threw the body away when he finished, licked his lips and walked towards the crowd of people on the street.

She hurried to follow him, walking quickly so she wouldn’t lose sight of him. But she’d only taken a few steps when someone hit her from behind… she fell down, landing in a puddle… no, a lake!

She tried to swim, but when she’d almost reached the edge something pulled her down. She caught her breath as she sank into the deep water. She tried to get her foot released, but it became apparent that was going to be impossible. Whatever was taking her down to the bottom was very strong… and cold.

When the bottom suddenly touched her feet everything turned solid… there was no more water. All of sudden she was flying across the roof of a house and then falling towards… the floor?!

“Again… ouch,” she said, not moving. She looked around… she was in a store. It was illuminated and the door was open for customers to walk in, but there was nobody behind the counter to serve them. She saw some books lying on a table and then more books on shelves further back in the store. Walking towards the door, she went out, stepping onto another street made of cobblestones. Carriages were speeding past. The people were happier than those she’d seen on the other street: children weren’t stealing, but playing; young ladies were talking and laughing…. But suddenly, everything turned to dust…

Houses began to disintegrate... crumbling onto themselves and forming dusty piles.

Buffy tried to run, but the floor opened underneath her… everything became pitch black until the darkness finally swallowed her…

*

“Do you think she’s ok?” Xander asked Giles.

“Well, her body hasn’t made any physical reactions… that’s good, isn’t it, Giles?” Willow hesitantly asked.

Giles, hand on his chin, concentrated… but he found it really hard to imagine what it would be like wherever the potion had sent her…

*

She opened her eyes when her feet touched a musty floor. A few sunbeams crossed over her face as she lifted it up, warming her skin. When she opened her eyes she could barely move… she didn’t know if it was the beauty that paralyzed her, or the shock at seeing something she couldn’t even have imagined …

She was in an indoor garden… a huge, thick tree rose grandly in front of her. The room wasn’t very big; it was like the room of a church… it looked like a church… she didn’t know why…

The sun entered through narrow windows that had no glass… they were so high, that even a bird would have difficulty flying high enough to reach them. Still, the sun entered through them and illumined the whole room… lighting up the dust motes that were dancing on the walls…

Buffy looked at the big tree in front of her: branches without leaves, huge… like no other tree…

Suddenly, she heard a scream. It was Spike… The scream came from a little cave under the tree… a cave she hadn’t noticed until now.

She kneeled, and crawled through the hole in the tree that led to the cave. Once inside she noticed that she was now in a dark dwelling, which starkly contrasted with the brightness outside. There was a black bed in the room with black ashes and black roses on it…

Buffy walked towards the bed. A tiny sunbeam tried to enter through a curtained window, but the darkness swallowed it up. She went to pick up one of the black roses when a voice spoke from behind her…

“Don’t touch… they are poisoned,” Spike said. She turned around to look at him. At least he hadn’t changed… He appeared physically unharmed.

“Spike!” she said, walking closer towards him… but he walked backwards, eluding her. She tried again. “Spike, we need to get out of here!”

“Why…?” he asked. He looked puzzled.

“Why?! Because this is hell!! That’s why!!” she shouted.

“But… I’m ok here…” he said. He smiled, walking towards the bed and sat down. “See? Comfy. I have my bed, my house… and my girl…” He grabbed her hands. “Would you stay here with me?”

“Spike we can’t...”

“Would you marry me?”

She gaped at him, not saying a word.

He hugged her waist and kissed her stomach. “Would you…?”

“I… yes, I’ll marry you.” She had never seen him so happy. He let go of her hands, rose from the bed and walked around the room.

“You know, we could live here,” he said, looking around. Then grabbed her hands once more and said, “You’ll get used to it…” He was so happy, smiling at her…

She was starting to like the idea, but then she remembered where *here* was and reacted. “Spike, we need to get out of here,” she said, pulling on his hand and guiding him out of the room.

“Why…?” he asked, suspecting something. Then his voice turned accusatory and uncertain. “You don’t like it… you don’t like me… she was right…”

“No… Spike, listen to me…” She grasped his face gently between her hands.

“No…” He removed her hands from his face. “You’re lying…”

“Spike…”

“No…” He turned around and began pacing. “You’re using me… you were always using me…” He walked over to the other room and disappeared inside.

“Spike, no… damn!” she said, leaning her forehead against the wall. She followed him to the other room. It was with shock that she realized this room wasn’t different… it was almost exactly the same as the one she had just left. The only difference was that the window was now on the other side of the room, just in front of Spike.

The curtains were opened this time and some sunbeams entered the gloomy room. Spike held his hands out in the sunlight that entered… smoke started to come from them.

“Spike!!” Buffy yelled, running towards him and grabbing his hands. “Are you insane??” He looked at her, tears in his eyes.

“You were never here,” he said.

“What…?” she asked, not really listening, as she bandaged the wounds on his hands with her outer shirt.

“But she is…” he said, looking around.

Buffy looked at him, and then at the walls and the window… they were being covered by a black shadow…

“Oh God… Spike, we need to get out of here!” she screamed, pulling him up.

“We can’t… I can’t find the way…” he said.

“I know how,” she said. He looked at her trustingly and grabbed her hand. Buffy exited the room, pulling Spike behind her. She let go of his hand and rested her hands on the wall for one second… the paint started melting… “We have to move on…” she said.

They left that room too, exiting through the hole in the tree. As she glanced back she saw that everything was becoming black… the tree was rotting… the shadow had encroached upon everything…

‘Damn… now what??’ she thought.

“Oh… look…” Spike said. “The little flowers are dead…” He was pointing to some flowers that had been fully blooming roses and tulips before; now they were black and putrid.

“Great, fucking great…” she whispered, walking away from the decaying plants. Suddenly she stepped on straw lying on the floor and another big hole opened under Spike and her.

They fell into cold water and swam together towards the edge of the street. Getting out of the water, they walked towards the place Buffy had fallen in the first time.

“Ok Spike, this is your mind… what should we do??” she asked, shivering.

“Hummmm… scream and ask for help?” he said, raising his eyebrows.

“Well… we have nothing to lose…”

*

Xander got up off the floor. “Ok, too much time inside of a killer’s mind. AnY suggestions?” he asked.

“Anya?” Giles asked.

“You know that only they can get themselves out,” she said, looking at Giles.

“Maybe we could do some kind of spell…” Willow suggested.

“Risk ourselves and the rest of the world, damned to suffer the eternal darkness??? I don’t think so…” Anya said.

“Ok… I was just suggesting…” Willow defended herself.

“I think the spell is the only-” …but Giles didn’t finished his sentence because he heard something. Someone was screaming his name…

*

“GILES!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME???!!!” Buffy yelled at the sky. “I think this is useless” she told Spike, turning around to see him.

“Well, I think it at least got us some attention…” he said, looking around. All the people on the street had stopped what they were doing to watch her scream at the sky. “Now they think you’re crazy… how sweet.”

“Well… hun… if you think you can do better, go ahead,” she said, glaring at him and smiling thinly.

“Oh no, hunny. I won’t start screaming at the sky in the middle of a street full of people just because-” …but he stopped teasing her when he heard something. “Shhh!” he ordered.

“Oh now what…?” she asked.

“SHHHH!” he repeated, making shushing movements.

Buffy ceased talking when she heard a voice… someone yelling her name…

*

“BUFFY!!! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!?” Giles yelled at Buffy’s body.

“Giles! You’re going to make her deaf!!” Dawn screamed at him.

“Giles!! It’s useless!!” Anya said, covering her ears with her hands. Giles stopped shouting.

“Thank God…” Tara said.

And then they heard it: “GILES!!! WE NEED HELP IN HERE!!” Buffy’s voice screamed.

Her voice filled the room but it had no exact origin, so Giles kept yelling at her body.

“THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN GET OUT IS TO FIND A WAY FROM INSIDE!!” he screamed.

*

“Damn… did you hear that?” Buffy asked Spike, but she didn’t hear him answer. “Spike?” she asked, turning around. She was just as shocked as Spike when she saw a huge column of water that was emerging from the lake. “Oh shit…”

“I agree with you on that point…” Spike said, pointing at her with his finger.

The water column headed towards them, hitting them with a force that crashed them into the wall behind them. They went through the wall and landed in the Magic Box.

The only problem was…

“Why our bodies are still separated from us??” Buffy asked.

TBC…

He he, I’m so mean. : P

Val.-

“Just love me… Epilogue"

“GILES!!!” Buffy shouted for tenth time.

“He won’t hear you!! Stop shouting!! And where the hell are we??” Spike
asked, looking around.

Buffy realized they were in the Magic Box… a weird Magic Box. It was
abandoned: wallpaper ripped off, chairs on top of the table and a thick
layer of dust coating the books.

“We are in the Magic Box” Buffy replied, walking and looking around.

“You got to be kidding me,” Spike said.

Buffy walked towards the door, and noticed that the windows were
boarded up. She tried to kick the door open.

“Here, let me help you,” Spike said as he walked towards her. He kicked
open the door with ease. Sunlight burst into the room. “BLOODY…-

Notably, he wasn’t in flames.

“…hell.”

“Hummm… interesting,” Buffy said, smiling at his confusion.

“Yeah right, ha, ha very funny.”

“It is,” she said, laughing.

“Yeah, I don’t know what the hell this means, but I don’t like it…”

“Oh please. You’re going to tell me that after 200 years of darkness,
you don’t thank the gods for a bit of sunshine??” she asked, walking out
into the bright street.

“Well, yeah, but not in this way!” he said. “Besides, I feel funny…
weird,” he added, feeling his jacket for his smokes. Grabbing a Malboro,
he nervously looked for his lighter.

“What do you mean, ‘weird?’” she asked, looking at him as they headed
toward the sidewalk.

“I dunno…” He lit his cigarette and breathed in the smoke, then
suddenly began to cough like mad.

“Spike?! Are you okay??” she asked, slapping his back.

“Yeah, I’m fine. What the hell…?” He looked askance at the cigarette
and threw it away. “Ack, I hate this!”

“But, I don’t understand… wait a minute,” she said. Then she touched
his neck. “Hummm… pulse?”

“What?? Hell no!”

“Well… hummmm… you have pulse. Damn Spike! You’re human!!”

“No, no, no, no. This isn’t true. This CAN’T be true,” he answered.

“Well, I’m sorry to disappoint you Mr. ‘I’m-already-dead-don’t-dare-you-to-bring-me-to-life-again,’ but you have a pulse… and you even reacted as a normal human when you smoked!!” she pointed out. He stared at her, still not believing it. “Oh, and by the way,” she added, pointing at the glass window of a store “…you have a reflection”.

He turned around and stared at himself in the glass, unable to believe
what he was looking at. “Jesus, is that me??”

“Yeah, I think you’ll agree with me that that radioactive color of your
hair is not…. –“

“I love it!!” he said, touching it.

Buffy turned around muttering, “Vampires!”


TBC…

Title: “Just love me… ch 8/? Forgotten”

~

“Great, so now what??” he asked his reflection on the store window.

Buffy didn’t hear his question. She was walking down the street, distracted by her thoughts… something wasn’t right with their current surroundings. There was no one else on the street and the stores were deserted. “Something weird is going on here…” she said.

“Well luv, that’s the most intelligent thing you have said the whole day,” he responded, walking over to her side.

‘Wait,’ she thought, ‘the most intelligent thing??!’

“Spike?” she asked him.

“Hmmm?” he said, looking around.

“Do you remember anything that happened yesterday?” she asked.

“Yesterday?” He stopped and thought about it. He couldn’t remember anything. “Wow luv, now that you mention it, I don’t.”

“But when we were inside of the Magic Box you were talking about it!” she exclaimed, looking at him.

“What are you talking about?” he asked, looking at her like she was crazy. “The last thing I remember was last night, when you were crying on the porch and I… held you.”

“What?! Spike… is that really the last thing you remember??” she asked. Spike’s memory loss stunned her so much that she was unable to stand. She quickly sat down in a chair by the store entrance.

“Buffy, are you ok? You look a bit pale,” he said, kneeling at her side.

“Yeah, I’m fine… I think…”

He had forgotten everything: how they loved each other, when they had made love, when they had kissed… when she had told him she would marry him…

A tear rolled over her cheek but she stood up quickly so he couldn’t see her crying. She fought to hold back further tears.

“Buffy…” he said, suspecting that something was wrong. “What…?”

He wanted to know what she was hiding from him. What had happened to her? What had he forgotten?

“We… we have to leave… we have to find the others,” she said. And holding back the tears, she got up and started walking back down the street, leaving a very confused Vampire behind her.

TBC…

Title: “Just love me… ch 9/? A New World”

~

“Buffy…” Spike said, standing up.

“We have to go, c’mon,” Buffy said as she walked towards the street, avoiding him. “We have to find the others.”

“Bloody hell…” he whispered, staring down at his feet.

~

I thought it was a dream,

But you’re still here

I just want you to love me,

But first, would you remember me?

~

“Giles!” Buffy yelled, knocking at her Watcher’s door. “Are you in there?”

“Ok, move luv,” Spike said, pushing her out of the way a bit. He promptly kicked the door in the door. “Giles!!” he yelled, entering the house. “Are you here??”

“Damn… Spike, look at this” Buffy said, kicking a bottle of whisky lying on the floor.

“I didn’t know Giles drank.”

“He doesn’t,…” she said, looking around for a sign of recent life. “But something’s wrong…”

“Oh really” Spike replied, glancing around at the mess. There were at least six bottles of whisky on the floor. “I hadn’t realized that. I thought this was just Giles idea of interior design.”

Buffy tried not to look at Spike. She didn’t want to break down in front of him. It was too hard for her that he had forgotten everything.Trying to regain control over her feelings, she changed the subject. “We have to look for the others…”

“Yeah…” Spike replied, staring at Buffy while she walked over to the door. “Right,” he added, throwing part of the bottle he’d picked up that had broken into pieces.

~“I want you to tell me what I forgot

Please remind me… about our love.

Tell me the times we were together

Make me remember what you saw in me…” ~

“Okay, that’s it,” Spike said, grabbing her arm.

“Spike! What…?”

“Tell me… what happened after I left you on the porch that night?” he asked, staring at her.

“Leave me alone!” she said. “Let go of me!”

“Buffy!”

“Just… leave me alone,” she said, walking towards Willy’s bar to see if they could get more information. Buffy entered first, followed by Spike, who didn’t want a “no” for an answer.

“Buffy… I…” but he stopped when he noticed someone seated at the bar.

“No way…” Buffy said, approaching the man sitting at the bar. “Giles?”

Buffy and Spike could see that he was talking to Willy about something.

“… can you believe it?? She jumped!! From that platform because she thought she could save the world!!!” he laughed, “…and I lost my slayer…” he said, crying now.

“Giles?” Buffy said, touching his shoulder.

“Leave me alone…” he said, not raising his head.

“Giles!” She pushed him.

Giles lifted his head to see who was calling him. “What…” He stared at her in amazement. “Buffy?” He tried to touch her face. “BUFFY!!!” He jumped into her arms and cried on her shoulder. “Oh for Gods Sake, Buffy!!!”

And then he fainted.

“Hummm Spike, would you mind?” she asked, weighed down by the unconscious body of her Watcher.

“Oh sure.”Spike responded, lending his strength to help her right away.

They carried him outside.

“Wanna try your home?” Spike asked.

“Well, let’s see if my house exists in this alternate universe…”

~

I cannot believe this

Stop avoiding me

I want to know the truth

About what happened before

~

“Wow, it still exists…” Buffy said, looking at her home. They walked towards the entrance and knocked at the door.

“Just a minute…” Xander’s voice answered. He opened the door, fainting when he saw them.

“Oh Bloody Hell, not another one!” Spike grumbled.

“Xander!! Are you…” Willow appeared at the door. “Oh My God…” she exclaimed when she saw them. “Buffy!!!” She hugged her friend and started crying… “God, Buffy, we missed you so much…” Then she hugged Spike. “Both of you.”

“Hummm okay…” Spike said, returning her hug. “What do you mean by ‘both of you’, Red?”

Willow stepped away.

“Well, you both died… remember?”

“Yeah… I do,” Buffy answered.

“Hummm… no, I don’t think I remember,” Spike said.

“What do you mean? Spike, you…”

“Buffy!!” Anya appeared and hugged her friend. “Are you okay?”

“Hey Anya.” Buffy smiled.

“Spike!” Anya hugged him too.

“O…k… Red, could you help me with Giles?”

“Oh, yeah sure. We’re used to this.”

“What happened to Giles?” Buffy asked, lifting up Xander’s unconscious, forgotten body and carrying him to the couch.

“Well, Giles couldn’t handle it… you know,” Willow said, looking at Buffy. “Losing his “daughter”, the reason he lived for…”

Buffy stared down at her feet.

“Yeah, it was pretty hard to…”

“Buffy!” Xander yelled, suddenly waking up and hugging her. “Oh God, are you okay??”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She smiled hugged him back.

“Spike!” Xander exclaimed.

“’Lo there” Xander said. He shook his hand.

“Okay… what the bloody hell’s going on??”

“Follow me,” Xander told him. They walked towards the kitchen.

“Ok… what’s going on Xander?” Spike asked him. “And why did Red say that I died?”

“You don’t remember?”

“No! what?”

“Well, after Buffy jumped from that platform and she… well you know… died… you couldn’t handle it.”

“What??” he said, looking at Xander in confusion. “What do you mean I couldn’t handle it?”

“Spike, I know you always said you loved her and…”

“Of course I do…”

“Yeah, but I never… really believed you, you know? Until, well…”

“Until what? Xander, what happened after she died?? What did I do??”

“You went to her grave, laid down there and waited to the sun to come up.”

~

Could this be true?

Have I died for you?

Is this a fantasy, is this the reality?

I just want to love you…

~

“Willow, I don’t get it. We both died? He really did that?” Buffy asked, a little astonished.

“Yeah, that was the moment we realized how much he loved you.”

“God…”

“Yeah, I know, and you were really brave Buffy. Jumping into the portal that Glory had made you open…”

“Me? What are you talking about?”

“Well, yeah Buffy,” Willow said. “You were the key. Don’t you remember?”

“What?! Willow, where’s Dawn??”

“Who?”

TBC…

Title: “Just love me… ch 10/?”

~

In any story,

In any galaxy,

In any time,

They’ll love each other

~

“What do you mean “who”?” Buffy asked standing up.

“Who’s Dawn?” Willow said, looking a bit worried. “Is some kind of daemon that we need to…”

“No, no… don’t you remember Dawn? She’s my sister!”

“Your sister? But Buffy…”

“We have to wake up Giles, he’ll know what to do…”

Giles was stretching in the couch, when Anya started slapping his face.

“Wake up! Wake up!”

“Okay, okay! Jesus, I was having the best dream…” he said while putting his glasses on. “I was dreaming that Buffy and Spike were alive and…” he stopped when he saw Buffy. “Oh my god… Buffy!!” he exclaimed throwing himself again in her arms.

“Yeah Giles, I’m glad to see you too” she smiled. “But you have to help us”

Giles moved apart from her and looked at her. “Yeah, sure…”

“We need to come back home”

“Yeah sure, I… what?”

“Listen, this is some kind of dimension and…”

“Buffy, are you feeling okay?” Willow asked her, really worried this time.

“Willow, I’m fine, listen, I… Spike can tell you” she said. “Spike!”

“Yeah luv?” the blond vampire said, appearing in the living room.

“Tell them about what happened.”

“Well, I dunno luv, the last thing I remember was I left you in the porch. Remember? I don’t know anything else but…” he suddenly stopped. A flash crossed his mind. It was an image, like a memory.

“Spike…” Willow said “Are you okay?”

“Hummm yeah, sure Red, I’m fine. I just felt something”.

“Well Giles!” Bufy said “I don’t know how this happened and I don’t know either why my sister is not here!”

“Hummm your sister, Buffy?”

“She keeps saying that” Willow whispered to Giles “I think she’s under a spell…”

“I’m not under a spell, Willow!! Spike!! Say something!!!”

“Hummm what?” he said, massaging his head.

“About Dawn!”

“What about her?”

Buffy rolled her eyes.

“See? Willow whispered to Giles again. “He’s under a spell too”.

“What spell?” Spike asked, walking towards her. “Don’t you remember Dawn? The key? The one who the monks made? Remember Glory?”

“Sure we remember Glory, Spike” Xander explained “But we don’t know that Dawn, we don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Buffy sat on the couch and started telling the story, all from the beginning; from the other night when they came back to the “Magic Box”, of course omitting the parts about her and Spike. She would never talk about that, not with him, not with anybody else. If he didn’t remember it, she would never tell anything about the love they had for the other.

After finishing the story, she said:

“K, that’s it, and we have to go back to our… Dimension or I don’t know where the hell we are”.

“o…kay” Xander said. Everybody was a bit astonished.

“Buffy, are you sure all this happened?” Giles asked her.

“Well, unless I have an amazing imagination with special effects…. No, I lived it… we, lived it.” She added, glancing at Spike. He smiled. And suddenly, another flash crossed his mind. He rubbed his head.

“Ouch”

“What’s wrong?” Buffy asked.

“I don’t know, another flash… a memory or something. The weirdest thing is that they can’t be memories, ‘cause I never liv…” he cut the sentence, when he suddenly thought about something.

“What??” Buffy said, hoping he had remembered something about them.

“Xander, how exactly did I commit suicide when Buffy died?” he asked.

“Well, after we picked Buffy’s body and carried it, you left, I suppose that you went to your crypt.”

“And then I went to her grave and waited for the sunrise…”

“Yeah, I think it was something like that…”

Spike stood up, opened the door, and walked outside.

“What’s wrong with him?” Xander asked to the others.

“I don’t know, I’m gonna talk to him” Buffy replied. She stood up and followed him, closing the door.

“Hey” she said walking towards him.

“Hey” he smiled, then stared at the darkness of the night.

“What’s wrong?”

“I just… I’m having these weird memories, all mixed… I remember walking to your grave and lay there…”

“But you never did that” Buffy told him.

“No… but then I remember waking up from a nightmare in my crypt, and you laying by my side…”

“Oh”. She said, staring at one point in the grass. “So, you remember something?”

“I don’t know, all the memories are mixed. The memories I supposedly had in this dimension… all I did after you died: I remember going to my crypt, drinking a lot, crying until I fell asleep, and then walking towards your grave and lay there… and then fire and pain. But all that is mixed with other memories that are not very clear… I remember darkness, and love, and… you.”

Buffy smiled. He picked her hand.

“Buffy” he said, caressing her cheek. “Tell me what really happened between us”.

TBC…

Title: “Just Love Me" Ch. 11/?

~~~~~~~~~

“I…”

“Buffy, Spike” Xander said, suddenly appearing at the door. “I think you should come and see this”.

He entered the house, Buffy and Spike following him.

On the other side of the street, a woman dressed in black and caressing a black cat said, "He’ll be mine again, and that bitch will die.” She turned around to leave, whispering in the cat’s ear "And then we’ll be a family again. He’ll come back with his mommy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

“So, what’s up?” Buffy asked, sitting on the couch next to Spike.

He caressed her back. One of these days he was going to tell her again how much he loved her, even if she broke his nose for it.

“Buffy, I think I’ve found something” Giles told her, biting one of the whiskers of his glasses. “Tell me something first; what are the differences between this dimension and the one you were living in before?”

“Well… first I was the key there, instead of Dawn; second, you never brought me back; and third, Spike died. Oh, and by the way, he’s human now. And then you could see the consequences. You were a drunk and the Magic Box is no longer… well, magic.”

“Anything else?”

“Nah, I don’t… wait, what about Spike’s flashes, the memories he’s having?”

“Memories?”

“I'm receiving some kind of images," Spike said. "I remember what I did and what I used to be in my dimension, but I’m also starting to have memories from THIS life. The life I had here.”

“That’s weird… isn’t it?” Xander asked.

~~~~~~~~~~~

“This is so fun!” Buffy said, staking a vampire in the heart and turning it into dust.

“And look! I can change my face!!” Spike exclaimed, changing his face from human to vampire.

“Oh! There you are!” Giles said when he arrived, running up to them, suddenly stopping next to a crypt. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!”

A second later, Xander, Willow, Anya and Dawn joined them.

“Jeez, finally!” Xander yelled, taking a breath. He stared at the kids. “Come on boys, we have to take you home”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh God, I’m so tired” Buffy said, lying on her bed. She looked around. “Look at my room! It’s all changed. I miss the other one”

Spike locked the door. “Well, you’ll return to it soon, luv” he smiled, walking towards her. He climbed onto the bed and caressed her gently.

“No,” she said, moving his hand off of her and turning to the window.

“What?” He put an arm around her waist. “What is it?”

“I just … I don’t want to do this without you remembering anything. I want you to know everything that we’ve gone through the last few days before we...."

“I understand, babe, it’s all right.” He kissed her cheek softly and lay his head on the pillow. “I love you,” he said, before falling asleep.

“I know."

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh, but this is NOT fun!!” the childish Buffy exclaimed as she was tied to a chair.

“Hey! You told us we were gonna play!” Spike yelled, trying to free

himself.

“Well, we ARE playing” Xander said, smiling. “The only difference is that you’re tied so we can work”

“Yes, we can’t be following you every time just because you want to do nasty things” Anya said.

“Nasty things.” Spike grinned.

“Great, Anya.”

“Oh, well.”

“Don’t they seem a bit different?” Dawn suddenly said, inspecting them carefully. “Younger, maybe? Shorter? Spike with less wrinkles?”

“Hey!”

“Yeeees…” Giles said, looking at them closer. “They do”

“Uh oh” Xander said. “That can’t be good, can it?”

“In the Hellmouth?” Dawn sneered. “I don’t think so”.

“Well” Giles said, picking up his glasses. “We'll do some research about it tomorrow. I think it would be best if we got some sleep now.”

“What if we stay here?” Willow asked.

“I think that's a good idea” Xander said.

“Yeah! We‘re gonna have fun after all!” Buffy exclaimed. They just stared at her. “Or maybe not…”

~~~~~~~~~~~

The following morning, Buffy stretched in the bed next to Spike.

“Hey, you,” she smiled.

“Hey.” He moved a lock of hair from her forehead, noticing something when he touched her. “You’re cold. Why?”

“I don’t know.” She touched his arm. “Oh. my God! Spike!” Her hand moved to his forehead. "You have a fever! What the hell...?"

They went downstairs to talk to the others.

“GILES!!!”

~~~~~~~~~~

Xander moved closer to Anya on the bed.

“Good morning."

She smiled. “What a quiet morning. It's been a long time since I’ve had a quiet...."

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH,” Dawn yelled from the stairs.

“DAWN!!!”

Giles, Willow, Anya, and Xander all came running. “WHAT???”

“LOOK!” Dawn said, pointing towards two blond children struggling

over a stake.

“OH, MY GOD…”

TBC…

Title: “Just love me… ch 12/?”

Rating: R and NC-17

Disclaimer: All characters of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy and Fox. I just borrow them, blah blah blah...

Category: Romance/Fluff/Adventure/a bit drama-

Time: Middle of season 6.

Pairing: B/S (Spuffy, of course)

Feedback: Yes, please!

Summary: Spike lost his memory and doesn’t remember anything that he and Buffy went through. Will Buffy be able to help him remember the love

they had for each other?

~~~~~~~~~

“Bloody hell!” Childish Spike yelled at Buffy Jr., while trying to snatch the stake. “Give it to me, it’s mine!"

“NO!” Buffy started crying when Spike bit her arm. “GILES! He bit me!"

“Okay, Spike” Xander said, grabbing the boy by the collar of his shirt.

“NOW you’ll be punished!”

“Let me go you… carpenter!”

“Wow, great insult,” Xander replied, sitting him on the couch.

Willow approached Buffy. “Hey you” she said. “Want a cookie?”

Buffy Jr. smiled and nodded, and Willow took her to the kitchen.

“Hey! I want a cookie, too!” Spike Jr. yelped.

“No, mister. You’re being punished, remember? No more games, or stakes." Xander grabbed the weapon Spike held in his hand. "And no more bi…”

“SILENCE!” Giles suddenly ordered. “Now, Spike, you are going to stay there...quiet...while we do some research about what’s going on right

now”.

Spike crossed his arms and put on his best _expression of caprice and anger.

“Good. Now, Dawn and Anya, you go to the Magic Box to see what you can find about… hummm”

“We don’t even know what we're looking for here,” Anya said, staring at Spike.

“Anya is right,” Dawn replied, sitting on the couch next to Spike. This one looked at her dangerously. “What should we look for? 'From Vampires

to Children? Everything you need to know in case your slayer comes back as a child after going to hell'? Yeah, that would be great”

Giles sighed as Willow reappeared in the living room, holding Buffy Jr. by the hand that was now clutching a large chocolate cookie.

“How do we know if THEY...are THEM?" she asked.

“What?"

“Well, what if they aren't the real Buffy or Spike, and the real ones are trapped in another dimension?”

“Oh, please,” Anya said. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Hey, I don’t hear YOU suggesting anything!”

“You two are setting a bad example for the kiddies,” Xander warned, glancing at the children who were listening to the dispute, looking very

amused.

“Well, I just don’t think they're in another dimension. I mean, two Buffys and two Spikes? Great…” Anya interjected.

While the girls were arguing, Giles stood up and headed for a stack of books on the table. What if it was true? What if his slayer had stayed

in another dimension and these children weren’t the real ones?

And WHY were they becoming younger by the minute?

~~~~~~~~~

“GILES!” Buffy and Spike yelled, running downstairs.

“What?" he asked, putting his glasses on.

“I think you should come and see this”

The whole team sat on the couch in the living room.

“What’s going on?” Xander asked Giles, after Buffy and Spike had told hem everything.

“Spike, those flashes you’re having…”

“They're stronger each time I have them, and they're becoming more real by the minute."

"All right, then," Giles said. "Spike died in this dimension after Buffy…” He suddenly sat down. “Oh God, this can’t be true."

“What?”

“Buffy died because of a mystic force when she opened the portal as a key," Giles explained. "Spike died while waiting for the sun to come up

and burn him. Buffy, right now, is cold as ice...and Spike has a very high fever…”

“So, this means that…”

“I’m not feeling very good,” Buffy said, resting in the chair. “I’m tired…”

“Jesus, Giles, she’s freezing!” Xander said, touching her arm.

Blisters suddenly appeared on Spike’s arm from the heat, and he started sweating.

“GILES! We need to do something!” Willow said frantically.

~~~~~~~~~

"Giles! We need to do something!" Willow said frantically.

“And what exactly should we do, Willow?” Anya said, staring at the kids who were at least a year younger now.

“I don’t know… a spell! Giles, what about a spell?”

“Yes.” Giles tried to stay calm. “Anya and Willow, go to the Magic Box to see what you can find. Dawn, you start searching the computer for

information about alternate universes or dimensions, consequences of hell…”

“Giles…” Xander interrupted. “Remember when you told Buffy that she couldn’t stay too long in hell looking for Spike, because she’d risk being

trapped there?"

“Oh, I remember that.” little Buffy said, playing with a doll. “It was so funny!"

As one, they all turned and stared at her.

TBC…

Title: “Just love me… ch 13/?”

~~~~~~~~

“What do you mean?” Xander asked Buffy, Jr.

“After going to hell, she started looking for Spike.”

“She…?” Dawn asked.

“That woman.”

“You mean Buffy?” Dawn sat next to the girl.

“And there was a biiiiig tree in a huge place… remember, Spike?”

All eyes turned to the blonde boy.

“Yeah, I do. And then it was all dark. I remember...."

“What?” Willow knelt in front of him. “Tell me what you remember”

“Pain… it hurt. He cried…and…and then Buffy appeared”

“I remember roses…”

Willow looked at Buffy who was still playing with the dolls.

“On the bed," the child added. "There were petals. And then she found him” She picked another doll, male this time, and her female doll. “And they were in love…” She brought both dolls closer. “And she told him to marry her…”

Xander scratched his chin nervously.

“And then they ran…” Spike continued. “They were scared. I mean she was scared. He wanted to stay there. He liked it there."

“And then… I remember water… a lot of water… like an ocean”

Both children were so young now, probably 3 years old, no more than that.

“And then… something big… I can’t remember.”

“White… big…” Both of them yawned.

“No…” Giles approached them. “Children, now, don’t go to sleep. We need to know.”

“What do you need to know?” Spike asked, nodding off.

“Where? How?"

Buffy yawned and closed her eyes. “Magic… Box,” she said, her last conscious thought.

“The Magic Box!” Willow stood up, and picked up Buffy, who was now a baby, no more than a year old. “C’mon Giles!”

Xander picked up Spike and they ran out of the house.

~~~~~~~~

Willow covered Buffy with the sixth blanket. She looked whiter by the minute, and Spike was in serious pain.

“Giles, we have to do SOMETHING!”

“Buffy” he said, “you never died in your dimension?”

“I-I did,” she whispered, trembling. “After Dawn opened...the portal,

I....I jumped...."

“And then you brought her back,” Spike said. Suddenly his arm burst into flame. “SHIT!”

Xander reacted quickly, snatching one of the blankets off Buffy and smothering the fire engulfing Spike's arm.

When the fire was out, they all calmed down and started thinking again.

“God, we don’t even know what to do!” Willow said, rubbing her head.

She was frightened and beginning to panic. Her friend was dying and she was just standing there without doing anything. No, she wasn’t going to let Buffy go, not again. “In her dimension we brought her back and in this one they both died! What the hell do we need to do?”

Buffy was falling asleep.

“Buffy! Don’t fall asleep or I’ll slap you!” Willow warned her.

“WILLOW!” Xander grabbed her arm. “What the hell are you doing?"

“XANDER! DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT WE DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS?" she screamed. "WE DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT’S GOING ON! I WON’T STAY HERE WITHOUT DOING ANYTHING WHILE THEY ARE BOTH DYING!"

“And what should we do, Willow? Go back to the place where they started?"

All of them stared at him.

“Buffy…” Giles touched her arm. Her heart beat was slowing

down. "Buffy, tell us where?”

“Magic… Box”

“That’s it!” Xander said “C’mon”

“And how do you propose we take Spike?" Anya asked. "He’s liable to catch on fire again."

“Oh, this is not another musical, right?” Spike mumbled, half asleep. “Walking through the fire….no, I don’t wanna sing anymore”.

“Giles, he’s delirious!” Willow said, glancing at Spike.

“Well…” Giles said, "We can't pick him up...but perhaps we can push the armchair to the Magic Box. It's on wheels, isn't it?"

“And we'd better hurry…” Xander said, watching Spike's skin turn nearly purple from the heat and pain.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Giles! Are you sure this is going to work?” Willow yelled, running next to him with Buffy in her arms, who was now a very young baby.

“No, I’m not, but we're out of options!"

When they arrived at the Magic Box, Giles opened the door of the shop and they entered.

“OH, MY GOD, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?” Willow exclaimed.

~~~~~~~~~

“Giles! This armchair weighs a ton!” Xander complained, pushing it, with Anya’s help.

“Just keep pushing!” Giles yelled, running faster with the freezing Buffy in his arms, who was almost dead.

“He seems like he’s gonna catch on fire any minute!” Willow shouted. helping to push it, too.

“That’s why we need to hurry!”

They arrived at the Magic Box. Xander kicked open the door and they entered.

“OH MY GOD, WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?” Willow and Anya exclaimed.

“It looks like some sort of...portal!” Giles yelled.

There was a dense green cloud spreading through the Magic Box. The wind was strong, and Giles had to hold his glasses to keep them from flying off.

“LOOK!” Willow said, peering through the green fog. She could see another Willow on the other side of the portal. “Is this some kind of mirror?”

“I don’t think so, Will” Xander said. “Hey! There's another me!”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Who are they?” Willow from the present asked Giles.

“They appear to be...us. Probably from the other time/space dimension,” Giles said. He looked at Buffy and Spike who were now little more than newborns.

“What should we do?” Xander asked. “Throw them to the other side?”

~~~~~~~~~~

“Giles, tell us what to do!” Willow cried. “Buffy’s almost dead."

“Yeah, Giles, what do we...oh God, look at Spike!”

Little by little, Spike was turning to dust. First his hands, then his wrists.

Giles approached the portal and, without taking his eyes from his other self, he handed over Buffy’s body.

When Giles from the present received her body, Buffy woke up, taking a large breath.

“Oh, God…” She looked around. “Where’s Spike?”

Spike’s arms had almost disappeared, but when he passed through the portal, he was whole again.

“Oh...ow!" he muttered, rubbing his head.

They gave them the babies, who were now so small they could fit in the palm of one hand, and the portal disappeared.

“Wow. That was...."

“Unbelievable?"

“Yeah…”

TBC…