Once Upon a Bloody Time

Thanks to a Druid portal ("building a Henge are we?"), Buffy and Spike get to dally in the English countryside while Buffy decides whether she should kill Drusilla before she sires Spike.

Spoilers: This entire story takes place during the opening teaser for Tabula Rasa, Buffy, S6
Rating/Pairing: PG-13, Spike/Buffy
Thanks: To Alto for the beta.
Disclaimer: They ain't mine y'all. But the sitch is.

**********************************************************************

“What the hell just happened?” Buffy asked no one in particular. She remembered walking through the graveyard with Spike, but not much else. She looked around, but it was pitch dark. She couldn’t even see street lights. She’d never seen the sky so clear. It glistened with stars.

She felt someone grab her wrist and turned with lightning speed.

“Hold it, luv. Just me.” Spike said as he caught her fist.

“What happened?”

“Bugger if I know. Last I remember, we were walking near my crypt. We’re not there anymore, that much I know.”

“Yeah, no headstones. Not that I can see anything really. I’ve never been anywhere this dark. The sky is amazing though.”

Spike looked up. Something wasn’t right. “We’re not in Sunnydale.”

“What do you mean? Of course we are.”

“No, pet, we’re not. I know the night sky. The stars. They aren’t aligned right.”

“Oh, are you suddenly Miss Cleo?”

“That’s astrology. I’m talking about astronomy. Where the stars appear in the sky is relative to where you are on the earth. The sky looks different.”

“When did you get all science-y?”

“I’ve spent my entire existence in the night for over 150 years, it’s hardly brain surgery. As a lad, astronomy was part of my schoolin’. T’was the only science we really studied.” He got very quiet and stared intently at the sky. She could just barely make out his features, but he was very serious.

“Ok, so the sky is different. That doesn’t explain why it’s so inky.”

“We aren’t near a city.” He was talking more to himself than to her.

“Great, stuck in the middle of nowhere with Spike. This is gonna be fun.”

“We’re not nowhere.” He was still staring at the sky.

“What is it? Getting messages from Lucy? Spike? Spike!”

His eyes met hers. “I know exactly where we are.”

“Great! Just bloodhound us back home then.”

“Not that easy, pet. We’re in England.”

“What do you mean? Like Giles-England? Queen-England? How do we ‘poof’ end up on a whole other continent?”

“What do I look like? A bloody information booth? Bugger all if I know how we got here, but I am positive of where we are.”

“And you got this revelation by staring at stars?”

“Yup, studying stars was what we did. We learned it along with math and grammar. I spent my childhood looking at the sky. This sky. I even know that is summer because of where the damn things are in the sky.”

“Ok, I’m just not used to you having, y’know, brains.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.”

“I just mean, you’ve never talked about this before.”

“Never had a need. C’mon. Let’s see if we can find a road. We can then try to head for the nearest town.”

They walked along in silence for a long while. Finally, Spike stopped. “You kissed me.”

“I told you I didn’t want to talk about it.”

“But it’s what we were talking about before. Before this happened. I remember now. You were on patrol and I was following you.”

“That’s right. I knocked you down and we woke up here.”

“Yeah. Why’d you do that?”

“What? Knock you down? I’m not sure.”

“You still kissed me.”

“Uggh. Can we please not talk about this?”

“How ‘bout NO? Granted, that all-singing, all-dancing demon fest was a fright, but no, you kissed me of your own free will.”

She sighed. “I never said I was under a spell; just that I didn’t want to talk about it.”

He stopped walking and turned to face her. She wished she could see more of his face. She could feel him standing just inches from her.

“Well, I am under a spell. Yours. I’ve thought of us kissing, touching…” he bumped his waist into hers. She shuddered and he smiled wickedly.

She shoved him hard. “No. It was a mistake. A lapse. I was feeling…”

“What, pet?” He stepped closer to her again.

“Nothing. It was nothing. Let’s get moving. The sun will be up in a few hours and we don’t have any shelter for you.”

He blocked her path for a beat more and then stepped aside. “Nice to know you care.”

“I don’t,” she lied.

They had found a road, but it wasn’t paved. The sky was lightening and they both knew they didn’t have much time.

“We must be in a pretty rural area.” Spike surmised. “Let’s try to find a barn or outbuilding.”

They walked along the road for about forty-five more minutes before they saw a building off to the left. They got inside just as dawn was breaking.

“I am beyond tired.” Buffy yawned as they looked around the building. It looked like someone’s shop. There were old-fashioned tools on one wall, with a wooden workbench along it. On the opposite side were racks that housed more wood. In the back, there was a small loft with stacks of burlap and bales of wire stored in neat piles.

“Let’s go up.” Spike nodded to the ladder leading to the loft.

“As if.” Buffy glared.

“Look, we’re both tired and we stand a better chance of hiding up there. I don’t relish someone swinging open those huge doors while I’m resting and making me all flambé.”

“All right, but I get the side with burlap.”

“Whatever you say.”

The loft was narrower than it looked from below. It really was just there for storage. They moved the wire bales to the edge, giving them a bit of a fence, and laid out the burlap on the wooden beams. Now that the morning sun was hitting the roof of the shed, it was getting very warm. Spike took off his shirt and rolled it up like a pillow. He laid down on his back and stretched out languidly. Buffy just stared at him. Why couldn’t he be flabby and hairy? No, he had to be chiseled. She let her eyes wander down his chest and over the rippled abdomen, down to his…

“Fancy a better look, luv?”

“What? No.” She scoffed and turned away. She busied herself with arranging piles of burlap as far away from him as she could. She knew he was grinning at her but she refused to look at him again as she laid down with her back to him. She heard his soft chuckle as she drifted off to sleep.
**********************************************************************

She awoke with a start as Spike slipped his hand over her mouth. “Shh, Buffy. Someone’s coming.”

They crept closer to the edge, kneeling behind the wire bales. Spike had put his shirt back on, she noticed. Not that it mattered. His form was now etched in her brain. Stupid brain.

“The Mistress and Master William will be heading to Addams Estate to dine tomorrow evening, so we need have the carriage fixed today.”

“Why the rush, Jer? They’ve never really gone anywhere in 3 years. Master William finds some reason not to go at the last moment. This will be no different.”

“There is a difference. I overheard the Mistress tell Nancy that she’d spied someone special for Master William. Someone she’s very keen on him to meet.”
Spike felt a chill. These voices were familiar, but he didn’t know how.

“She’s just wishful thinking if she believes she will ever get him off her apron strings. Never seen such a sop in all my days.”

“Hush now, that’s the Master you’re talkin’ about. Serve you good to keep your tongue still.”

Just then the two men entered the shed. Spike froze. “No,” he thought. It couldn’t be. They had to be dead. They were dead. He’d killed them both.

Buffy watched as the men gathered up some supplies. They were dressed in plain brown pants, brown leather boots and white work shirts. Clearly, they were servants of some kind. She glanced at Spike. He didn’t look well.

As the men left, she touched his shoulder. “Earth to Spike.”

“Ahhh!” he jumped.

“What the hell is wrong with you?”

“I know those men. I … I knew those men.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I killed them.”

“Well, clearly not very well, since they seem quite mobile.”

“Buffy, I’m not sure, but I don’t think we just transported across an ocean.”

“Will you stop with the mystery and just tell me what’s got you all spookin’?”

He shook his head. This couldn’t be true. But there was no other explanation for the dark, the stars, the road and now Jeremy and Robert.

“Buffy, we are in England, on my estate.”

“Surely it’s been sold off by now. You left here a century ago.”

“No. I’m still here. This isn’t just a where. It’s a when.”

“A when? Please, speak some kind of English.”

“We are in the 1880’s. I know those men because they were on my staff. I haven’t been turned yet. We went back in time.”

“Holy crap!” Buffy rocked back and sat on her heels. “Maybe those aren’t who you think. Maybe it’s their great-great grandsons?”

“No. It’s them. Plus, look around. There’s no power tools, no lights. Not even a torch.”

Buffy looked around her. Everything was old, but wasn’t. Now that she looked, the tools looked like ones she remembered from school trips to history museums, but they were actually new. Not rusted and ancient.

“You’re Master William?”

“’Fraid so, pet.”

“Well, we can’t do much until the sun goes down, so let’s think about how we got here.”

“We must have gone through a portal. The Druids have ‘em all over the place. They were fond of putting them near stone tablets.”

“Great! Where is the nearest portal? We’ll just go there and pop back through.”

“Not that easy. The portals only open on certain days at certain times. We must have just been lucky. You pushed us through when we were in the graveyard.”

“Oh, so now this is my fault.”

“I didn’t say that. Don’t go gettin’ your knickers in a bunch.”

Buffy sat up again. “Hey, can I see you? I wanna see what you were like.”

“No! Not even an option. Bad enough you know me with the bleedin’ chip in my head, I’m not gonna have you witness the fussied-up nancy boy I used to be.”

“Tied to your momma’s apron strings huh? This should be really great.”

Spike sat back on a pile of burlap and pulled her down in his lap. “Forget about soddin’ William. I’m more than enough man for you.”

She squirmed to try and get off him but he held her firm. Finally, she relaxed and looked at him intently.

“Why are you so ashamed of who you were?”

“Because he put the namby in pamby. Becoming a vamp was the best thing that ever happened to me. Gave me a bleedin’ backbone it did. He was all wilty and soft with his love poems and schoolbooks. Mother said fine young ladies appreciated a kind mind, but all they really want is a man who will command them.” Spike moved his fingers in small circles on her thigh. She ignored them for the moment.

“Women don’t like to be commanded. They like to be respected.”

“Yeah? Well, they sure as hell don’t like mealy-mouthed wimps. That’s what I was. That’s what I left behind and I have no desire to see him back.” He started stroking the inside of her thigh.

“Stop that.” She said in a voice that didn’t even convince herself.

“No.” He moved his face closer to hers, holding her eyes.

“Yes!” she commanded as she rolled off and kicked him hard in the chest. Spike fell back and she stood over him.

“Ah yes luv. I like that.” He grabbed her ankle and pulled her leg out, dragging her down. He sprang over her, pinning her shoulders to the floor. He leaned down and kissed her passionately. She resisted for a moment and then gave into it, grabbing a fist full of his hair, holding him close. His hands were all over her now. He reached up her shirt and pinched her nipple hard.

“Oww, damn it!” she cried and pushed up with such force he hit the ceiling of the loft and came crashing down on a bale of wire.

“Oh please, sweetheart. You can’t tell me you’re hurt by a little rough shaggin’.”

“Stay off me! This isn’t what we are.” She scrambled down the ladder and out of the shed because she knew he couldn’t follow her.
************************************************************************

England was beautiful. She’d never been here before and it was not like anything she’d seen in pictures. The hills rolled gently and were covered by grasses and heather. She walked along a small stream and sat under a large oak. Why did she let him entice her? Was she really that desperate for a man’s touch? Or was it that he could make her forget he was an evil demon? He wasn’t like Angel. He had no redemption, just a piece of silicon holding his monstrosity at bay. She watched the stream trickle along when she heard a voice.

“Oh, hark what dost thou do to sparkle and shine? Thy eyes are like pebbles. No, no. Thy eyes are like drops of rain… No not that either.”

Buffy got up and wandered nearer to the voice. She peered around a laurel hedge and saw him standing there. He was practicing. Every now and then he would pause and write something down. She couldn’t believe it. He looked so…pathetic. She was overcome with an urge to mother him. He looked very different. His thin body stood limply, his hair a dirty blonde. And eyeglasses? If it wasn’t for his voice, she would never believe it was him.

“Thy eyes are like…honey buckets”

“Honey buckets?” she said with more distain than she meant to come across.

He jumped and flung his papers everywhere. “Good gracious me! Wh-ho? I mean to say, where? Oh my!” he suddenly realized his precious papers were lying in the dirt and started to gather them fussily.

“William, right?”

“Y-y-yes. I am.” He stood up, clutching his papers to his chest and looked at her for the first time. She dressed like a man, in leather breeches and jacket. Her hair was pulled back into a thong. But her face was lovely. “Wh-ho are you?”

“Who am I?” Crap. She hadn’t thought about this part. “Buffy” wasn’t a common name in her time, let alone his. “I’m Anne. I heard you speaking and wanted to introduce myself.”

“Uh, Miss… Anne? No, sorry, that’s just not proper. What is your surname?”

“My what-name?”

“Your surname? Your family name?” Was she daft?

“Oh, that. Uh, Summers. Anne Summers,” she stuck out her hand for him to shake. He just stared at it. “What? It’s a hand. For you to shake.”

His eyes got wide and he looked at her. “I shouldn’t do that. We hardly know one another. I must go.” And he scampered off like a frightened bunny.

“Wow, he is skittish,” Buffy thought. She followed after him, but kept her distance. She didn’t want to completely freak him out, but she was desperate to see more of him. As she got closer to the house, she was struck by the largeness of it. It was 3 stories tall, made of brick and mortar. There were large windows along the front and a grand entrance arch. She walked around the back and saw three women doing laundry. They were dressed in heavy cotton dresses with soft deerskin bodices. Their hair was piled under cotton kerchiefs. As she watched them work, it occurred to her what an odd sight she must have been to him in her tight leather pants, silk blouse and jacket. She realized she would have to get some clothes for herself and Spike if they were going to be moving about the countryside. Good thing it’s laundry day.

“Mabel!” called an elderly woman as she came to the doorway.

“Yes, Mistress.”

“Please lay out William’s brown suit and cravat for this evening. He looks so fetching in it.”

“Yes, mum.” Mabel answered with a quick curtsey.

“This is the night. I feel it. He will find the one tonight.”

“Of course, mum.” But Buffy saw her cover a snicker.

“Oh, I am so happy for him. My sweet –,” Spike’s mother collapsed against the wall in a fit of coughing.
“Are you all right, mum?” Mabel said as all the servant girls rushed over to her.

“Yes, yes, I’m fine. Thank you. My, my.” She continued to cough and sputter for a few more moments as the girls looked on, concerned.

“Here’s some water, mum.”

“Oh, thank you Polly. Really, such a fuss. No, we must tend to William. This night is very important. We must find him a wife, soon.”

“Mistress, you needn’t worry so. The staff will always look after Master William, even after…” her voice trailed off.

“Oh, dearest Mabel. I know you would. But it isn’t the same. And without me to prod him into society, I fear he’d never venture out to make a match on his own. No, no, tonight will be the night. Please, help me up.” All the girls reached out to help her stand. Buffy was impressed with what a strong woman Spike’s mother was. Clearly she was ill, but the fire in her eyes demonstrated the love of her son. Buffy felt a wave of horror for her. She hoped she died never knowing what her son had become and what he had done.

Just then, she realized she had her chance. She leaped over the short stone fence into the kitchen yard. She went through the piles of laundry and grabbed some bloomers, a corset, a dress and shawl. She also grabbed a plain white shirt and pants for Spike. She had no idea if any of it would fit, but they would work that out later. She bundled them all up in a large blanket that was hanging on a line and headed back to the workshop.
************************************************************************

“Spike. Spike!” she whispered as she shook him. He’d gone back to sleep after she left and now it was like waking the dead-literally.

Suddenly his hand shot up and he grabbed her by the throat. She brought her hand up in a sweeping blow and knocked his arm away, nearly falling off the ladder she was standing on. He sat up and looked at her.

”Sorry, babe. I didn’t know it was you.”

“Like hell.” She said as she threw the clothes at him. “Get dressed. We’ve got some snoopin’ to do”

“Crap. I hated these clothes.”

“Just put them on. Hopefully they fit.”

“They should. They’re mine.” She nodded. Of course they were.

“Good,” and she backed down the ladder.

Now to figure out how to get dressed herself. The shift was easy, if thin. She felt very exposed with just a thin piece of cotton covering her. The corset was presenting a problem. She had loosened it enough to get it over her head and shoulders, but now, how was she to tighten the damn thing back up? The laces were in the back. She tried turning it around but it was so stiff and hard that it didn’t work.

“You need some help.”

She jumped a bit and covered the top of her chest. It was funny. She was more covered up than she was with most of her normal outfits, but she felt practically naked. She looked at Spike. He looked much like William had, except that his hair was bleached and muscles now strained against the fabric of his shirt. His pants also seemed to stretch over him.

“I don’t know how this works.” She offered lamely.

“That’s ‘cause it takes two people. In my day, women never dressed alone. Someone had to lace ‘em up. Turn around.” He walked up to her and began to straighten the corset around.

“You need to lift your tits into the cups or it won’t lace properly.”

“Are you insane? I tried that and they nearly fell out the top.”

Spike struggled for control. “That’s the fashion, luv. That’s the point of this whole contraption.”

“Fine.” She kept facing away from him as she adjusted herself.

She glanced back at him. “Ok, fix it now.”

He pulled on the cords, making them tighter. With each pull she felt herself gasping.
“What the hell are you doing?”

Spike sighed. “You really will fall out if it isn’t very snug. I don’t blame you. I could never understand how women could stand these things. There, done.”

She turned around and he was dumbstruck. To see her lovely flesh pressed over the top of her corset took his breath away. Now he remembered why corsets were such wonderful things.

“Yo, eyes up this way leech-boy.”

“What? Oh, sorry.” He took a step towards her. “No, that’s a lie. I’m not sorry. You’re beautiful.” He placed his hands on her now even narrower hips and pulled her to him.

“And you’re not going to do this again. I told you.” She leaned away but did not break his grasp. He eyed her hungrily and she could feel the fire starting to smolder inside her. She had to do something.

“I saw William.” She spoke directly, locking his eyes.

“Oh bloody hell, Slayer!” he yelled, pushing her away. “I told you to stay away from him.”

“And you’re the boss of me how? I also saw your mom.”

Spike stopped cold. “Mother? Did you speak to her?”

“No. I just watched her. She seemed ill.”

Oh no. Spike had hoped they had come earlier. If she was showing signs of consumption, she didn’t have much time left. Spike turned away from Buffy and sat on a bench. That would also mean…

“What is happening tonight? Did you hear?”

“Just that she’s taking you to some party where she hopes you will find a wife.”

Spike closed his eyes to the memory. The humiliation of it. “You are beneath me,” she would say. He looked at Buffy. That wasn’t the last time he would hear those words either.

“What? Why are you looking at me like I just ran over your puppy with a tractor?”

“No reason. Look, pet. We need to get out of here. We need to get back to our time. We don’t belong here.”

“Of course. We will. I was thinking that we should go to the council. They could probably help.”

“The Watcher’s Council?”

“Sure. They exist now as they have for all of eternity. And they’ve seen enough that time travelers aren’t going to be a big thing.”

“They also aren’t going to be real thrilled with a vamp waltzing into their little establishment. Besides, what will they give us? We don’t even know how we got here.”

“That’s why we need them. If we were home, I’d have Giles and the Scoobies doing research. You and I, not big with the research. They will be able to figure out how we got here and how to get us home.”

“Alright. But we wait until dusk and you don’t let on who I am.”

“Spike, you aren’t a vamp yet in their world. They will have no idea who William the Bloody is. You’re perfectly safe.”

“Right, then. But until then, I’m going to just sit here and admire the view.” He sat down on the steps and just stared unabashedly at her cleavage.

“You are so impossible.” Buffy snarked as she turned away and sat on a stool facing the wall.
************************************************************************

Buffy had never been to the Council’s Headquarters and she was glad. It was as stuffy as a really old library and smelled like Giles’ apartment. Spike was clearly nervous. What was his deal? He’d been acting all freaky since she mentioned the party. Maybe that was it. Had he not found his bride and become a huge disappointment to his mom? Wait, his mom! What if she was going to die soon? Maybe she died the night of the party. Poor Spike. Huh? Poor Spike? William was going to be devastated, but Spike? Angel had killed his whole family after becoming a vampire. Had Spike done the same thing? She tried to ask him about it during the 3-hour carriage ride into London, but he just ignored all her attempts to bring it up.

“Miss Summers?” a very matronly lady asked from a doorway.

“Yes.” Buffy stood up and swooned slightly. This damn corset was making her woozy. Spike steadied her elbow, which she jerked out of his hand.

“Mr. Davenport will see you now.”

“Great.” And she started to follow the lady. Spike stood where he was. She turned to him and waved at him to follow.

“’s alright luv. I’ll just wait right here.” He wasn’t going to put himself in a small room with a Watcher.

“OK, ‘Fraidy Cat, sheesh.”

Buffy entered the small office and was struck by how Watchers must all be the same. There were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled to capacity with leather-bound books. On the occasional open wall space hung swords and knives. Man, would Giles love this room.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Miss Summers,” said a voice behind her. She turned to see a man in tweed who looked kind of familiar.

“That’s OK. I’m sorry to wake you in the middle of the night. Yeah, ok, this isn’t going to make a whole lot of sense, but here goes. I’m a Slayer from the year 2002. Somehow I ended up here and I would very much like to get back.”

“I see.” Mr. Davenport removed his glasses and put one of the ear-poles into his mouth, studying her.

“Shit, do you all do that?”

“I hardly think vulgarities are called for. What am I doing that shocks you so?”

“Chew on your glasses like that. Giles does it all the time. Is it some freaky Watcher signal or something?”

“Your Watcher is a Giles? Magnificent. They are one of our best families. Nice to know they last into the next millennium.”

Suddenly, she knew who he looked like. “You’re a Pryce aren’t you?”

“I should say not! My mother was a Wyndam! The Wyndams and the Pryces do not get along.”

“Well, maybe that will change. I am relieved that you believe me. I’m not at all sure I believe me. But I guess you’ve probably seen it all and more huh?”

He chuckled. “Well, I don’t claim to have seen ‘it all’ but you are not the first person to fall through a Druid portal. Bloody things are all over the place.”

Buffy smiled. “That’s just what Spike said.”

“Spike? Oh, the vampire waiting outside?”

Buffy got suddenly very concerned. “You know what he is? He won’t hurt anyone.” Why was she so concerned? She tried to kill him on a regular basis.

“I’m not a man who assumes, Miss Summers. For a vampire even to walk in here is bold beyond comprehension. I felt an amazing curiosity as to why.”

“So no one will harm him?”

“Do you wish that to be so?”

“Spike’s kind of complicated. But let’s just say he won’t hurt humans. I can give you my word on that.”

“Then no more shall be said of it. In point of fact, your presence here is so timely that I have to wonder at it. Our current Slayer is in Quebec, Canada but here in London we are suffering from a particularly brutal family of vampires. We could very much use your services at the moment.”

“You got it. Who or what am I looking for?”

“The one we are certain of goes by the name of Drusilla.”
************************************************************************

“I could stop her!”

“Why?” he asked her calmly. He’d known all night this was coming, but he’d avoided it so she would sleep near him. Now that it was mid-morning, there was no way around it.

“Stopping 200 years of death, for one thing. Besides being insane, she killed Kendra, forced me to kill Angel. She’s an entire psycho-ward in one demon. Name one thing that wouldn’t be better with her gone?”

“She hasn’t sired me yet.” He waited for it to sink in, hoping it would have the effect he meant.

She looked at him for a long time. “I know. That’s the best reason of all. I would be saving you from that fate.”

“Oh, sod off!” he yelled. “You don’t give a damn about me. Don’t try to be all noble about it.”

“The two of you created nothing but death and destruction when you were together. Why shouldn’t I want to avoid that?”

“That isn’t it. You do this and poof, I don’t exist anymore. I die 100 years before you were born. Pretty convenient way to end a relationship.”

“We don’t have a relationship. We never have. The only reason you stopped trying to kill me is because of the chip. This isn’t you. I know that. I fool myself, but now that I have seen who you were, I am even more horrified by what you have done. William was a sweet, simple—

“He was damned pooftah!”

“—loving man.” she continued. “If he knew what was done in his name he’d be horrified!”

“I doubt it. He couldn’t see beyond the end of his mommy’s skirts”

“See, that’s my point. He isn’t you. You have the same face, same eyes, same speech pattern, but you, Spike, are a demon. William is not. You are just housed in his shell.”

“There is more of him in me than you know. More than you will admit. I am a demon, luv. That is nothing I’ve ever denied. So is soddin’ Angel. You make like you don’t truck with the Big Bad, but in truth, you crave the monster. William is a wimp. He’s nothing worth saving.”

“I save those who can’t save themselves. That’s my job. I have a chance to take out Drusilla and I am going to. If that means you die an old man, that we never meet, I’m perfectly fine with that.”

She turned and marched out of the shop. He watched her, marveling at how voluptuous she could look, even under yards of muslin and silk. He wanted to see her back in minis and leather. He had to stop her, or he would never see her, know her or touch her again.

She sat down on a low rock wall. She sighed and put her face in her hands. He was partly right. Spike had just always been there, like a corn on her toe. And now …

He was the first one she’d told about heaven. He was the one she turned to time and again to help her and he’d never refused. She trusted him and she was attracted to him, although it killed her to admit it. It would be hard to lose him, but surely the thousands of innocent victims he would kill, not to mention those Drusilla hadn’t killed yet, had to be considered more important.

“Miss, uh Miss Summers?”

“Oh, hello William.” He was so mild, and he just begged for mothering. She felt so sorry for him.

“I was wondering, uh, that is, if it isn’t to much, uh, well, could you, mayhap, no uh, I suppose not.”

She smiled. “Really, William. Am I so scary you can’t complete a sentence?”

“Uh, no. You are quite lovely, actually.” He didn’t meet her eyes. “Where did you, uh, go?”

“I went for a walk.”

“I, uh, I see. I hoped, rather I wondered, why are you here? I have never espied you afore yet you seem to be wandering the grounds of my home. I don’t wish to be forward, but …” He looked so damn nervous. She was a stranger rattling around in his yard. Doesn’t he believe he’s got a right to know who she is?

“My cousin is staying with the Addams’. I’m just exploring. I don’t like to be inside much.”

“I see,” he said with great relief and almost collapsed onto the wall next to her shoulders sagging.

“Are you looking forward to the party tonight?” She was finding his weakness to be frustrating. Why didn’t he sit up straight? Because he’s not Spike, a voice inside her head said.

“I am hoping, er, well, Mother is hoping I will finally ask the woman I love to marry me.”

“Alright! Go you.” Buffy smiled.

“Go where?” William looked around, befuddled.

“No, it’s just an expression. I mean, good luck.”

“Ahh, I am not familiar with the idiom. But yes, I shall need the luck.”

At that moment a bell rang from the house.

“Pardon me, I must go. We shall depart within the hour. And perhaps you must go as well?”

“Right. I’ve got to go put my face on.”

“Excuse me!”

“Nothing. Forget it. I’ll see you at the party.”

He bowed slightly, “Until later then.” And he headed back towards the house.
************************************************************************

“You were in LOOOOVVVE” Buffy teased as she walked back into the barn.

Spike sat at the workbench carving a piece of wood.

“Oh bollocks! Did you go talk to him again? Can’t you please just stay away?”

“So, who was she? Some wallflower who melted at your ‘poetry’ or a tawdry scullery maid? This is the goods. C’mon spill.”

“Her name was Cecily Addams. And obviously never got hitched, so why do you care? Hmm?” He put down his wood but not his knife. He swaggered over to her with all the bravado that William lacked. He kept backing her up until she hit the wall. “Jealous?” and he stabbed the knife into the wall centimeters from her ear as he pressed his body against hers. “Green isn’t a color that becomes you, pet.”

“I am so not jealous.” She replied waveringly.

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

“I’m just sorry he never got to live out his life happily.” She wiggled against him but he laid into her hard. He wasn’t trying to turn her on. He was forcing her to stay.

“You should feel sorry for that poof. Everyone despised him, and with good reason. He never amounted to anything until a fair maiden named Drusilla came along.”

Buffy’s eyes bored into him. “Not if I can help it.” And with all her Slayer strength she shoved him across the barn. Spike rolled back and cut his lip on a large rock in the dirt floor.

“Shit, luv. If you are so eager to save him, how about saving him from the humiliation and broken heart he’s about to experience at that party tonight? Have you ever thought that he might have given himself over willingly? That maybe he had nothing left here to care about?”

Buffy shoulders softened. “She rejected your proposal.”

“In a manner of speaking. Look, come nightfall, I know I can find the portal back. Let’s just go home and forget all of this.”

“I can’t.”

“Angelus is with them.”

“What did you say?”

“I said, Angelus is with them. Are you ready to kill him as well?”

Buffy just stared at him.

“Yeah. Thought not. Your mission is all bloody well and good when it comes to ending my life, but bring up tall, dark and broody and suddenly things change. So much for your noble cause, Slayer.” And he started to climb the ladder to the loft.

“You don’t know me at all.” And she walked out of the barn.
************************************************************************

She hoped she wasn’t too obvious creeping through the shadows. She had changed back into the clothes she had on when this whole time-trip started and was lurking outside the parlor windows of the Addams estate. She could see William inside. He was even more awkward in a group than in person and she could tell by his demeanor that the people around him were making fun of him.

“C’mon! Kick their ass.” She whispered to herself. The more she watched she began to feel what Spike meant. In many ways, he was better now. ‘Cept for the whole being evil thing.

“Oh shit!” she gulped as she ducked lower into the bushes. William was walking to the window. That’s when she noticed a woman sitting off to the right.

She couldn’t hear what was being said, but she watched William’s face. That woman was ripping out his soul in front of her in a way she was sure Drusilla never had. He turned abruptly and ran from the room. Moments later he was running down the lane ripping up small pieces of paper.

Then she saw them. Angel, Darla and Drusilla. William bumped into Drusilla as he ran past, not even pausing to acknowledge her. Drusilla turned and watched him for a long time. Then she began to follow him.

“Seen ‘nuff?” She might have jumped but she knew he’d be joining her. He was like that.

“I’m so sorry.” She kept watching Drusilla walk away.

“I’m not. And I know what you want to do. I’ve never asked you for anything Buffy. Please. Let Dru go.”

“What would Giles say? What would any of them say? I let her go and all those deaths are now mine.”

Spike just looked at her. “Please.”

“Don’t make me regret this. And don’t speak to anyone of it ever.” She turned away from him and started to walk back to the shed they’d spent so many days in.

“Done.” Spike said lightly. “Look, I’ve found some stones. They’re probably a portal, and we can go back.” He put her hand on her shoulder. She turned to him.

“In many ways you are better. But you are still a demon. I can’t just forget that.”

“I’ve never asked you to.”

“Sharks!”

“What the fuck?”

“That’s what I pushed you down for back at the cemetery. I just remembered.”

“Ahh, ok, then, let’s go get us some sharks.”

Posted by Posted by Zandra on 07:04 PM