Chapter 54 – When the
Night Comes
Hold on
I’ll be back for you
It won’t be long
But for now there’s
something else
That’s calling me
So take me down a
lonesome road
Point me east and let
me go
That suitcase weighs
me down with memories
Joe Cocker
It had been nothing but an unending series of clinical and impassionate details. Details that in the end didn’t make a fucking bit of difference. Dylan was still dead. Zipped up in a black, plastic bag as if he was nothing but rubbish. The cops didn’t care how he’d felt watching someone he loved being carted away like that. They’d just peeled his fingers away, and taken the shell away. They acted as if he was a freak because he couldn’t stop crying. And they wouldn’t stop asking questions, and the criminals who’d taken Dylan away from him were gone.
Spike didn’t think the police would be bothered enough to do
a through search for those responsible either.
It would just be another unsolved case until no one would even remember
it happened. Except for him. Maybe the other guys at the Matrix wouldn’t
forget either, but when it was all said and done, Dylan didn’t have anyone who
gave a damn. What a bloody, fucking
shame to die, and have less than ten people even care. Spike shook his head, driving onward through
Once the cops had let him go, he’d thrown the bloody clothes away, taken a hot shower before packing up their few possessions and leaving the hotel. The damn truck smelled like Dylan. Almost as if he was in the seat next to him. It made Spike hate his heightened senses. Thankfully, he was almost to Angel’s and he could get away from it.
The house was dark when he pulled into the driveway. Only the floodlights illuminated the driveway. Maybe everyone was asleep. Of course, it was the middle of the night. Not bothering with grabbing anything, including his cell phone, he made his way inside. There was a murmur of voices in the living, so Spike headed that way. He froze when he saw Max and Angel sitting on the couch…beside each other.
It was then that he realized that Cordelia was gone. He couldn’t feel her anywhere, and it almost brought him to his knees.
“Spike…?” Angel stood, coming to his side and wrapping an arm around Spike’s middle. “Are you all right?”
“It’s not me,” Spike moaned. “She’s gone, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, she is,” Angel answered, directing Spike to the couch, where he plopped him down in the middle. Sitting next to Spike, Angel picked his glass of whiskey back up. “She died a few hours ago.”
“How can you be so calm?” Spike reached over to grab the bottle. After taking a long drink, he looked between the two men.
“I got my chance to say goodbye to her,” Angel answered, rubbing his brow. “She came to me.”
“Oh,” Spike didn’t need him to explain any further. It seemed he wasn’t the only one who’d been visited tonight. He turned to Max. “So, what happened to you tonight?”
“Almost got sacrificed to the Black Thorn,” Max replied with a sardonic laugh. “First time for everything.” The laughter didn’t last long. He stared into his glass, and asked with an edge. Almost as if he already knew. “Have you heard from Faith? No one knows where she went to after she dropped the kids off at the Hyperion.”
Spike wrapped his hand around his friend’s arm with a grip that made sure Max knew he wasn’t alone. “She was never really here, mate. Faith was sent back from Heaven to help us out. Tonight she came to me…” He stopped, biting back the pain as he saw the tears well in Max’s eyes. “She said to let you know she would have stayed if she could.”
Max turned his head away. Surprisingly, Angel reached over to add his hand to Spikes. “Looks like we both lost someone tonight.”
“Nope, make that all three.” Spike said. “Dylan died…shot in some stupid fight.”
“Holy fuck…,” Max muttered, laying his head on the back of the couch. “Just rip everyone’s heart out at the same time.”
“At least we have each other,” Spike said, raising the bottle. “Here’s to what’s left.”
“Shit…Buffy,” Angel said. “Have you talked to her in the last couple of hours?”
“No.” Spike shook his head before taking another long drink. “I just couldn’t bear to hear the relief in her voice when she hears the news about Dylan. So, all of her calls have been ignored.”
Angel grabbed the phone off the side table and threw it at Spike. “Call your fucking wife…something is up with Raven, and Buffy hightailed it for home.”
“Is she…?” Fear clutched Spike’s heart like fingers ripping it from his chest. It had been a night of changes and loss. He’d never figured his daughter would be involved or even worse, hurt in this fight. “Oh, holy Jesus…” He quickly dialed the number for home even as he was jumping up to head back out the door.
~~~~~~
Buffy glanced in the rearview mirror to make sure that Journey and Elijah were all right. They were leaning against one another while they slept in an exhausted slumber. This night had been too much for her children. Even as strong or as gifted as they were, it wasn’t fair for either of them to take on the world’s problems. She sighed, returning her eyes to the road. Only a few more miles and they would be home.
Justin’s words kept racing through her mind, faster with each spin until they were screaming at her in a bewildering kaleidoscope of words. She knew that nothing was going to be the same after tonight. Cordelia was gone. Faith was missing, and Spike refused to call her back. It hurt, but she was refusing to fall apart, imagining every worst case scenario possible. He was alive, and as long as he was alive, then there was hope. They’d survived worse. Somehow, they would survive this night.
“Together or apart,” she muttered. Her phone rang, making her jump from the unexpected noise in the silent night. She fumbled for it on the console, even while she looked back to see if it woke the children. Elijah blinked his eyes, but Joy slept on. “Hello,” she said, not even bothering to check the Caller ID.
“Is Raven all right?” Spike rushed out in what seemed to be one word glued together by his fear and pain.
“Yes, she’s fine…she’s fine,” Buffy reassured him. “She’s fine. Something happened though, she had to make some choice, but Connor said she was good.” She paused for a second. Her heart was rising with its own hope, despite the fact she was going to ask him for Raven’s sake. “Are you coming home?”
“I’m on my way.”
“See you soon.” They both disconnected. No automatic, ‘I love you’ or any form of endearment, but she wouldn’t beg. She knew that there were more dire problems than her own battered heart. There would be time later on to figure out what she and Spike had left.
“Are we almost there?” Elijah asked. He was sitting up, but his arm was around his little sister. “I have to go.”
“Yeah, baby, two more blocks. Can you wait?”
“Yeah.”
Buffy latched on to the practical need of her son. It was something she could focus on, and take care of. She chuckled. Something so simple and she felt in charge. She guessed she had to start somewhere.
~~~~~
If she hadn’t been in love before, Raven certainly was now. Connor had stood beside her when she was falling apart, when she came together, and now through the most momentous change of her life. No longer was there any doubt that he loved her, too. She smiled, not even needing to look in the mirror to know that even the twist of her lips was different. There was very little girl left inside of her.
“Well,” Connor said, turning around as he hung up the phone. “Essie is sending a van to pick us up since…”
“We can’t figure out how the hell to get the wings to go down?”
“Yeah,” he laughed. “Then she’ll have a plane ready to go when we get there.” He sighed. “Are you okay with this?”
“It’s kind of late for that isn’t it? You’re not…look, you don’t have to go with me.”
It was all it took. Connor was there, wrapping his arms around her, and kissing her with all the love he had. “I love you, Raven. You’re not going anywhere without me. So, don’t even suggest it. Okay?”
“Yes.” She smiled. “So, is it different kissing a girl who’s glowing in rainbow colors and has wings that keep flapping?”
“I just can’t wait to see…”
“Pig,” Raven joked, slapping his backside. She waggled her brows. “Actually I can’t wait either. Wonder how long until someone gets here.”
“Not long enough. I suspect the mechanics are going to be a bit different.”
“Hey, everything still feels like it’s in the same place.”
They grinned. Connor slid his hand down her hip, then around to cup her front. “Still feels the same to me.”
“Me, too,” she whispered in a husky voice. Her wings rippled with the pleasure he was bringing to her body. The heat racing through her made her glow a little brighter. “Hey look, we might be able to send up a signal by doing this.”
“Or light up
They both froze when they heard a car pull into the yard and stop in front of the house. Raven knew it had to be Buffy with her siblings. It was the moment she was dreading. Buffy always wanted normality in a life that was anything but normal. Now, she would have to deal with a daughter who would never be ordinary again. What if her mum didn’t love her anymore? She feared Buffy’s reaction more than her father’s. Spike’s love was so much more solid since he’d wanted her in his life from the first moment he’d met her and Elijah.
“Whoa,” Elijah said with a whistle as he stopped in the doorway. Journey stood beside him with her hands over her mouth and her eyes wide in wonder. They were going to be fine with this, and she raised her eyes to see Buffy’s reaction.
“Hey, mum.”
“Oh, Raven,” Buffy said, walking slowly toward Raven. She was crying. Whether it was from joy or disappointment stymied Raven. Then there was the smile that lit up her mother’s face and Raven relaxed. “You’re beautiful…more beautiful than before…oh, damn, I’m not saying this right.”
“It’s fine. I’m just glad you don’t hate me for this.”
“Never, princess,” Buffy use of Spike’s endearment making Raven’s heartstrings reverberate a little more. She raised her arms to hug Raven, but neither was sure where to put their arms. Finally, they awkwardly hugged. “Are they heavy?” Buffy asked, stepping back while she looked Raven over.
“No more than your arms feel.” Raven said honestly. “They just feel like a part of me. I just don’t know how to control them or anything. Titania said that one day I’ll be able to morph back and forth from this to human and back.”
“Titania?”
“The fairy queen,” Raven explained. “She’s the one who came to me.”
“It seems that we all got a visit tonight.” Buffy said, crossing her arms.
“Mum…where’s your rings?” Raven grabbed her mother’s hand, rubbing the white line where the wedding rings once lay. “What happened? Is Dad okay?”
“He’s fine,” Buffy said. “He’s on his way. It was my choice…” She wiped at the tears on her face. “It was give him up and let things happen or lose more than I could ever bear to lose.”
Neither said anything, but Raven knew that it had to be Elijah and Journey. Nothing could be worse for Buffy than something happening to them. She nodded so her mother would know she understood. There was no way Raven was going to give up on her parents staying together. They had too much together to let it slip away.
“Mum, I have to go away.” Raven took Buffy’s hands in hers. “To Lankasha. There are others there that can teach me how to work these things. I feel bad...”
“No, don’t.” Buffy cupped Raven’s face. “It’s your turn. Just don’t look back. Promise me?”
“I’ll be back, Mum.” Raven lost everything else she wanted to say in a sob. “I have to be here. I’ll learn as fast as I can...I promise.”
“Raven, you leaving us?” Joy was tucking on Raven’s hand. “Don’t go away.”
“I have to, baby. Just for a little while.”
Elijah was standing just on the fringe of their family, and Raven could see how frightened he was about her going away. She knelt on the ground, holding her arms out to them. Unafraid of her appearance, they cuddled close to her warmth. Something happened. The wings moved forward, wrapping around her brother and sister in a cocoon of love. It was too much. All three were sobbing.
Then there was the sound of a helicopter outside in the field. It had to be their father. The school kept one at the Hyperion to help shuttle everyone back together when someone needed to be transferred quickly. Raven stood back up, keeping her hands on her siblings as she waited for Spike. Buffy had backed away, sitting in a chair as she too waited. Connor as always, was not far away at her side.
Spike didn’t say anything as he walked into the house. He was openly crying as he stared at her, circling as he took in the changes. Even Joy and Eli stared up at him in apprehension as they waited for him to say something.
“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen on this earth.”
And Raven knew that everyone and everything was all going to be okay. It just had to be.
