June 18, 2007 12:22 AM
“Is she doing any better?” Giles asked as soon as Willow stepped
into the living room. Buffy had disappeared upstairs almost two hours ago with
Willow and Dawn behind her. Since that time the rest of them had been waiting.
“She’s bad. Like Angel leaving her bad.” Willow said.
“It’s worse than Angel leaving her bad because she didn’t puke her guts up for over an hour then.” Dawn added as she followed Willow into the room.
“Didn’t she do that when she was in Dallas? When she found about the shootings.” Anya asked.
“Well, it’s nice to know that Spike does bring out the best in our Buffster.” Xander quipped hoping to break some of the tension in the room. They had all been lost in guilt as they had listened to the sounds of Buffy crying and vomiting upstairs. Kate had been ready to leave to get a tranquilizer for her when Willow had come back downstairs.
“Where is she now?” Giles asked.
“She’s getting cleaned up then she will be down.” Dawn informed them.
“Did you all get a chance to mention the Max part of the plan?” Giles asked.
“What plan with Max?” Buffy slipped into the room still shaking from nerves with her arms crossed in front of her. Her eyes were swollen from crying appearing huge in her pale face.
Buffy spotted Kate nursing Benjamin and went to sit next to her needing the warmth of the scene. Curling up beside them she leaned her head on Kate’s shoulder as she absently played with the baby’s foot.
“What about Max?” Buffy asked again as the others only stared at her. It had turned out to be one of the worst nights of her life and if there was more she wanted to be told now.
Her family looked from one to the other trying to nonverbally decide who would tell Buffy her side of the plan. Finally Dawn sighed and walked over to her sister taking a seat on the table in front of the couch.
“Since Max was with Donna on this trip we need to know if he is involved too. And if he’s not then find out if he can help us at all.” She explained to Buffy hoping that this part of things wouldn’t send Buffy over the edge.
“Okay, so what’s the big deal and why wasn’t this brought up when Spike was still here?” She asked looking over Dawn’s shoulder to Giles.
He sighed knowing that he wasn’t going to escape responsibility for this.
“We want you to call him on the pretext of meeting him for a…rendezvous.” Giles said carefully pulling his glasses off in a flurry of trying not to see her response.
“Excuse me. You want me to what?” Buffy said a little too loudly making Benjamin squawk in protest. “Sorry, sweetie.” She said to the infant kissing the bottom of his foot.
“You know..call him all distraught about Spike leaving you for Donna. Imply that you want to get a little revenge and you know.” Willow tried to explain but was more flustered than helpful.
“And why do you think he would even want to with me?” Buffy asked
“Buffy, come on, the guy would have to be an idiot to turn you down.” Xander offered helpfully only to receive an elbow in his side from his wife. “Owww, not that I wouldn’t…I mean I would” He backtracked.
“Like Spike.” Buffy said softly.
“Honey, he’s just going through something. You know he’s loved you forever. He’ll come around.” Tara offered.
“I hope so. Okay, so I get Max to meet me, then I am supposed to…” Buffy asked trying to clarify the plan.
“Question him and try to get information about Donna, about the Soldiers. Try to find out what side he is on.” Dawn clarified.
“I hope none of you go into couple counseling because there wouldn’t be a surviving couple in your practice. Somebody hand me the phone.” Buffy gave into her family’s ridiculous plan stamping down the small feeling of hope that this would make Spike jealous.
Once Buffy had the phone she flipped through the address book on the table to find Max’s cell phone number. She reached out for Dawn’s hand as she dialed the number and waited for someone to answer.
“Hello.” A rich baritone came through the line making Buffy want to hang up like a teenage girl scared because she was calling a boy for the first time.
“Max?” Buffy asked softly the tears coming again. Max had seemed so supportive when she had met him and maybe he could make her understand.
“Yeah, who is this?”
“It’s Buffy.”
“Buffy, hey, how are you? Are the kids all right?” Max’s voice filled with concern as he thought of the children.
Then Buffy lost it again as the tears turned into sobs.
“Oh, God, I’m sorry for calling you so late. The kids are fine. It’s Spike. He left me for Donna.” She managed to get out between the tears.
“What? What possessed him to do something so stupid?”
His voice was so kind and caring that Buffy just started speaking more truth than plan.
“I don’t know he’s always had a thing for her. And she just seemed to be all flirty and everything that night. He can smell it, you know. When a woman gets turned on. Well, apparently she was all odorous that night because it got him all revved up.”
“Buffy, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?” Max asked.
“I don’t know where to turn. Can we meet? To talk or something?” Buffy was at the point of hiccupping through her words.
There was a stunned silence on the other side of the phone and Buffy tried to fill it.
“I’m sorry. My family is blaming it on me and they won’t listen. And I just need to be with someone who is nice and understands. Oh, God, I just want someone to hold me and I don’t know where to turn. Please don’t make me beg.”
“Okay. Okay. Is this afternoon soon enough?” Max asked.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Where?”
“There’s a hotel up the coast from Sunnydale called the Melody
Motel. I’ll meet you there about
1:00 and I’ll call your cell phone to give you the room number as soon
as I get there. Okay?”
“That’s fine. Thank you. I’ll see you then.”
“Alright. And Buffy don’t worry it’s going to be okay.” Max tried to reassure her before they hung up.
Buffy clicked the phone off and laid it on the table then started to wipe her tears away.
“It’s done. I meet him at one.”
She stood and looked around at her family.
“I’m going to go to bed now. Figure out who will stay with Raven and Elijah, please.”
Then Buffy walked out of the room leaving her family staring at her retreating figure.
June 18, 2007 12:22 AM
The Edge was loud and noisy filled with its usual clientele of humans and demons.
Spike sat at the bar about to take another shot of his old buddy Jack when her
face came between him and the glass. Buffy with her eyes wide and passion filled
after tackling him in the closet had turned him on more than he had been in
a long time. The only thing he had wanted was to push her to the floor and take
her roughly. To have her scream in his ear as he made her cum but he couldn’t.
Now, he was sitting here trying to get enough liquid fortitude in him to make
the next step.
He picked the glass up, raised it to his vision of Buffy, and then drank it down in one swallow. With a raised hand he signaled Arnie over.
“Hey, man, I am out of here. Sell me a bottle. ‘kay?” He asked while pulling money out of his wallet.
“Spike, ya know I can’t sell ya a bottle. Go on home and make up with Buffy. She’s probably crying her eyes out all alone.” Arnie tried giving him some friendly advice not liking the fact that Spike was here instead of at home.
The image Arnie gave him made Spike want to run home even more but he couldn’t. He laughed as he thought that yesterday all he wanted to do was get away now he just wanted to go back.
“Come on; just sell me a bloody bottle. Leave it out and I’ll steal it.” Spike said throwing extra money on the bar.
Arnie gave him a funny look but took the money and left a new bottle for him. Spike nodded, grabbed the bottle and walked out the door. He walked around the side of the building to where he had left his bike. Reaching into the pocket of his jacket he pulled out his cell phone and slowly dialed her number.
“Hello?” A sleepy feminine voice answered.
“Donna, sorry for waking you. I want to see you.” Spike said putting more of a drunken slur into his voice than was necessary.
“Spike? It’s almost one in the morning. What’s going on?” Donna sounded a little bit more awake.
“Buffy kicked me out. Said I wasn’t good enough for her anymore.”
“Come over.” Donna said softly and quickly gave him directions. She was only about an hour away staying in an extended stay apartment.
“Well, that really helps keep the bad guys from finding my children. Stay close by so they can find you.” Spike thought to himself as he poured half the bottle out so it would appear that he had already drunk it. As he watched the amber liquid soak into the ground he realized he had thought of Raven and Elijah as his children and he knew in his heart that he had to keep them safe. With renewed determination to make this plan work he started on his way to Donna’s house.
June 18, 2007 1:25 AM
No matter which way Buffy turned she couldn’t get comfortable. Even holding
his pillow didn’t help. There was no cool body to wrap herself around.
No arm around her waist and no hard body to cushion her bottom against. She
missed him and her mind kept imagining him with Donna causing anger and hurt
to well up in her again.
“Damn it,” she exclaimed as she threw his pillow, which was the last one on the bed, onto the floor hating the fact she was so dependent on him that she couldn’t even sleep without him there.
A giggle by the door caused her to sit up to see who was there. Raven was watching as she leaned against the door jamb. Buffy let a giggle slip out realizing she probably did look ridiculous as she lay there with her arms and legs askew. All the pillows were on the floor and the covers kicked to the end of the bed.
“Hey, I can’t sleep.” She told Raven softly.
“Me neither,” the girl told her. The look in her eyes was so lonely that Buffy extended her hand to the young girl. Raven came to her slowly picking up pillows on the way. She looked so forlorn yet tried to be so proud that Buffy smiled in sympathy. Buffy reached out and took the pillows from the girl arranging them on the head of the bed then reached down to pull the comforters over her leaving a corner up so Raven could slip in.
“Thanks.” Raven whispered afraid of speaking. Although she knew about the plan, Spike leaving had hurt and angered her so much. It wasn’t right that he should leave them alone and that Buffy should be so hurt from it. If it was just a game than why was Buffy so upset?
“It’s going to be okay.” Buffy whispered back. It was like when Willow would spend the night and they would whisper so her mom wouldn’t come in and yell at them to go to sleep. Not that Joyce ever really yelled about anything.
“Is it?”
“Yeah, it will be. Spike never breaks a promise.” Buffy knew this. He would never have broken his promise to her no matter how much he hated keeping it or ended up hating her because of it. Promises were meant to be kept.
“Me too?” Elijah asked standing at the door with his thumb in his mouth.
As soon as Buffy invited him he took off running then made a leap into the bed making the occupants bounce from the impact. Buffy and Raven laughed as they pulled him up between them. Once he was settled under the covers they snuggled up against him. To anyone watching they would appear to be one large lump in the middle of the bed but to them it was comforting. It took a few minutes of giggles and tickles before they started to settle down. First Elijah then Raven drifted off as Buffy watched them smiling.
“Well, if Spike isn’t here to keep me company at least I have our children.” She thought startling herself with the realization that they were really becoming their children. And a tear drifted down her face as she thought that this plan needed to work for them.
June 18, 2007 1:45 AM
Spike pulled up to the door that had the number that Donna gave him on it. He
cut the motor of the bike as he pulled the bottle out of his pocket. He took
the lid and threw it into the bushes then grabbed his duffel bag off the back
of the bike. Fear twined through his belly as the reality of facing his fantasy
was coming true.
“Think Big Bad,” he told himself as he approached the door. After taking a long swig of the whiskey he knocked, leaning on the door jamb trying to appear nonchalant and cool.
The door opened slowly to reveal Donna standing there. His eyes traced the lines of the green satin robe she wore over a nightgown of the same color both ending around her ankles. Spike unconsciously licked his lips when he noticed her nipples straining against the material. He forced his eyes up to meet her hazel ones that gazed at him with mirth.
“Well, hello, Spike, so nice to see you again,” she told him before stepping back to give him room to enter.
He purposely stumbled into the room taking another drink from the bottle. After tossing his bag into a corner he flopped onto the couch.
“Come here,” he told her with a smirk and held his hand out to her. While she walked toward him he deliberately ran his eyes over her body again as she sat next to him on the couch. She curled her body so that she was facing him so he turned toward her.
“So, what happened between you and Buffy?” She asked while her eyes watched his hand slowly go to her knee.
“She found out about us.” Spike said softly his fingers tracing the inside of her knee slowly gathering the material up so that her leg was revealed.
“Oh, is there an us?” Donna asked swatting his hand away from her.
“Yeah. We all know it. We just haven’t consummated it yet,” Spike replied as he slowly brought his eyes to meet hers as his hand resumed his previous venture.
“So, you came to consummate us?” Donna asked him as she laughed huskily.
“It was a thought.” His hand continued its ministrations but knowing he had to slow things down he pulled away from her. He took another long swig from the bottle then afterwards he gave a loud belch and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Well, I don’t think anything is going to happen tonight in your condition.” She told him standing rather abruptly with a small look of disgust in her eyes.
“Nothing wrong with my condition, pet.” Spike leered at her while grabbing his crotch.
Donna rolled her eyes and wandered off coming back a few moments later with a pillow and a blanket for him.
“You can sleep out here,” she told him putting them down on the couch but Spike was pretending to be half passed out. “Oh, Good God, you show up on my door and then pass out. How nice of you.” Donna muttered as she knelt to pull his boots off.
Spike opened his eyes to look down at her. Her robe was gaping open giving him an ample view of her breasts straining against the bodice of her gown. He froze as he stared down at her when suddenly she looked up into his eyes. Everything he had fantasized about was there for him and he suddenly didn’t want to wait anymore. Leaning down he moved his hand into her hair so he could pull her to him. Their lips met slowly as he tasted her. Before lust dulled his senses, he remembered Buffy, the children and the Soldiers and reluctantly he pulled back from her knowing he had to wait. Knowing this was wrong.
“Sorry.” He whispered to her not liking the feelings he was having or the hurt in her eyes.
“Go to sleep, Spike. We’ll talk tomorrow,” she told him shoving him back onto the couch. Then she stood and left him lying there alone turning the light out on her way out.
