War with yourself
Makes you feel better
Caught behind the lines
Troubles child
Faith finds a cure
It makes you feel better
You know you can shine
Troubled child
Voices echo, from the past
Decisions made for you
Trials they made
To touch your heart
Never found their way
Journey
I really hadn't meant to stay away as long as I did. But there wasn't much choice.
Dru had gotten into trouble and called for me. What could I say? She was my
sire and had been my lover for a hundred years of evil bliss. So, I went. Got
her out of her trouble with the vampire she was involved with. Took her to Europe
and left her there. With relief.
There was only thing on my mind. A pair of green eyes. Green eyes looking into mine right before she kissed me. That one kiss had sustained me through six months of walking through the hell that had been my life before I met her. And if Drusilla hadn't called there would have been more kisses. That night we had lost our memories. After the spell had been broken she had left hints for me. A candy trail for the Big Bad to follow to his little Red Riding Hood. Where there would have been goodies for both of us. But now I could only hope that there was some chance to start things going again.
There was something different. I could feel it even before I opened the door. Moving slowly I entered my crypt. Yeah, someone had been here while I was gone. There were fast food wrappers and soda cans on the table and floor next to the couch. Anger coursed through me as I thought about someone just helping themselves to my shit. Which was actually kinda funny because that's how I had gotten most of the stuff myself. By stealing it.
I threw my bag down on the ground and kicked at a pile of clothes by the entrance. Then it hit me. Her scent. It was everywhere. That unique scent of musky spices that was always clinging to her. Like shadows did to night. Picking up the clothes I saw that they were hers.
"Buffy, you here?" I called out to her.
But there was only silence. I made my way downstairs to the bedroom thinking she might be down there and just hadn't heard me. Her clothes were scattered around the room, makeup covered the top of the dresser and her comforter was spread across the bed. Walking over to the bed to see what pictures she had left propped on the nightstand. They were of Dawn and Joyce. Smiling I ran a finger over their faces. Something about those Summers' women that got to me. All of them.
One of my t-shirts was lying on the floor I bent over to pick it up. Bringing it to my face I could smell her on it. A groan made it's way from my throat and my body responded to the image of her wearing my clothes. It was a groan of passion and possessiveness. Of wanting to take it off her again. I quickly shook my head to clear my thoughts. There were other things to think about. Like why she was living here and where she was now. What had happened to Dawn?
"Well, there is only one way to find out." I muttered to myself before leaving the crypt again.
Her house was all lit up. She may not live there but someone did. When no one answered my knock I opened the door and started to walk in. And I hit a barrier. Someone had uninvited me.
"Buffy, Dawn, are you here?" I hollered into the house. At first there was silence then the sound of pounding feet on the upstairs hallway. Soon Dawn was running down the stairs. It seemed like she almost leapt from the middle of the staircase into my arms. Her arms wrapped around me in a vise like grip. It surprised me at first then it felt good to be welcomed. I put my arms around her and hugged her back.
"You came back. You came back." She whispered over and over into my ear. Her tears hitting my neck where her face was buried.
"Yeah, Niblet, I'm back. What's going on?"
"Dawn, come back in the house." It was Giles. He was standing in the doorway holding onto the door.
Dawn wouldn't let go though. Finally Giles reached out and grabbed her shoulder. She tried to shrug him off.
"Dawn, now! In the house!"
Finally she let go and backed up into the house.
"Giles, why can't Dawn see me?" I know that I wasn't a favored son or anything but they had never kept her away from me before.
"Dawn, go upstairs. I need to talk to Spike."
Giles turned to look at Dawn while she gave me one last pleading look before she turned upstairs. After she had disappeared back up the stairs Giles looked back at me.
"Dawn is in my custody now. And part of that responsibility is making sure she stays away from Buffy and her influence."
I couldn't believe my ears. Buffy and her influence?
"What do you mean?" I kinda said it in a half laugh. This was ridiculous.
"They were going to put Dawn in a foster home. Buffy couldn't handle it anymore. She signed her guardianship over to me."
Giles looked at me with sadness in his eyes. It had to be killing him for Buffy to have not been able to handle everything.
"Spike, stay away from Dawn." Then he closed the door in my face. Just like that I was dismissed with still a thousand questions.
I lit a cigarette as I made my back to my bike. Then I heard a window opening upstairs.
"Spike!"
Dawn was hanging out the window of Buffy's old room.
"The Edge of Paradise. She's there."
Then she was gone. The Edge of Paradise was a bar at the edge of town. It's
clientele not the best. Working men, bikers and a little bit of demon thrown
in the mix. The thought of Buffy there made my stomach curl. There was only
one type of woman that visited there or worked there. And if she was that sort
of woman now somebody was going to be seriously hurt.
