Chapter 40 – Almost Home
Spike concentrated on
wrapping his fingers around the Styrofoam cup. Quickly he glanced to see what
Buffy and Angel were doing but they were still staring at the television. He
had his hand wrapped around it, now all he had to do was pick it up and bring
it to his mouth. He wanted to scream in frustration at having to think about
doing something that he used to take for granted.
Never again,
he vowed as his hand shook from the effort of holding the drink.
Buffy grabbed the slice of
pizza that was in his other hand. Their
eyes met for a moment as she set it back on his plate. Apparently while
concentrating on getting a drink his other hand was letting go. She didn’t make
a big deal or rush to help him with the drink, just returned to watching the
movie and nibbling on her own veggie pizza.
The straw went up his nose
and then it jabbed him in the cheek. He gave up.
“Pet, the straw,” Spike
said, softly. And just as he knew she would, she reached over and directed the
tip into his mouth. The icy cola tasted wonderful. He had been overjoyed when
Angel had shown up with pizza and sodas in hand. The hospital food was okay but
it couldn’t compare to this. It was the nectar of the gods as far as he was
concerned.
With Buffy’s help, he
managed to switch out the soda for the pizza again. She was sitting beside him
on the bed, leaning against him. It felt good. He turned to her because he
needed more. He needed their connection. Their eyes met and her lips turned up
with that special smile she had just for him. It told of their secret pleasure
they had shared a few days ago. It let him know that he had made her happy. For
the first time making someone else happy was becoming his main concern.
Buffy leaned forward,
pressing her lips to his, and it was perfect. Their tongues tangled quickly
before they separated. Unable to let her go just yet, he tugged on her lower
lip with his teeth before releasing her.
He was hoping that tomorrow
they would release him and he could go home. Someplace where he could make love
to Buffy over and over again. Tell her all the things she wanted to hear and he
was ready to say.
“Love you, pet,” Spike
mouthed, watched her flush with delight then turned back to reality.
Angel was steadfastly
ignoring them as he munched on another slice of their pepperoni pizza.
“So,
“Yeah, they’ll be here,”
Angel said.
Spike nodded. After their
lunch, Angel was returning to Sunnydale and his job. The Darla was finally sailing the next day after an additional layover
for repairs and the hiring of new crew. Neither of them wanted Buffy dealing
alone so they had asked
Everything seemed to be slowly
working out for them.
Angel had only one more run
on the Darla then he would be
transferred to a ship that sailed out of
And Spike had an appointment
with the INS the next week to see if he could get the necessary paperwork to
stay in the
If he was turned down then
Spike had decided to ask Buffy to go to England with him. Nothing was going to
make him let go of her. Not again.
“Well, well, for a dying man
you seem to have taken the grand prize for an angel,” someone said from the
doorway.
Spike looked up. It was the
men who had rescued him, Lindsey and Lorne. He grinned as they came into the
room.
“Hey there,” Spike said. “I
was wondering if I was ever going to see the two of you again.”
“Not going to get rid of us
that easily, sweet cheeks,” Lorne said. “Introduce us to your friends.” He
waved his hand. “Not that you need to tell us who this sweet young thing is.
You have got to be Buffy.”
“Yep, that’s me,” Buffy said,
standing to shake Lorne’s hand. “And you are?”
“I’m Lorne and this here is
Lindsey. He’s the owner of that wonderful little boat we were on that got
stranded.”
“Hey, I got a raw deal,”
Lindsey said. “Nice to meet you,” he said to Buffy. “Spike did nothing but call
for you the whole two days we were floating out there.”
“He’s a bit of a baby,”
Angel said, with a grin. “He needed his Buffy to take care of him.”
Spike quickly did proper
introductions for everyone. He was glad that the two men had come to see him.
If it wasn’t for them fishing him out of the water and performing CPR on him
then he would have most certainly died. He owed them a lot and wanted the
chance to repay them.
“So, you doing okay?”
Lindsey asked.
“Yeah, pretty much,” Spike
said. “My coordination is shot to hell at the moment but they’re telling me
that with time it should clear up. Either it’s going to heal or the rest of my
brain is going to take over.”
“What’s this stuff for?”
Lorne asked, running a finger over the IV tube.
“Antibiotics,” Buffy said.
“He still has a bit of a lung infection.”
“He should with the crap he
was coughing up,” Lindsey said. “The first time that I have to perform CPR, I
draw the jackpot. First off I get a man and then he throws up sea water in my mouth.”
“Best luck you’ve had in a
while,” Spike said, laughing along with the others. “How do you think I felt?
Thought I’d gone to hell. That’s why I kept screaming for Buffy to come rescue
me.”
“Woohoo,” Lorne said,
grabbing Buffy’s hand. “You didn’t tell us you were engaged to her. Nice ring.”
“It’s pretty recent,” Spike
said, softly. He looked up at Buffy who was trying not to make a big deal about
it. Neither one had brought up the subject of the ring that was still on her
finger. But as far as he was concerned it wasn’t coming off. “A man comes face
to face with death and he realizes what is important in life.”
“Yes,” Buffy said, glancing
over at him. “I think we both learned what’s important. Thank you both so much
for bringing him home to me.”
“It wasn’t a problem at
all,” Lindsey said. “It was my good deed for the day.”
The five of them talked for
awhile longer ending with promises of getting together in the near future.
Spike knew they would do it too. Those two days on the boat he had shared so
much of his soul in his fever induced ramblings. They had listened to him and
taken care of him. Somehow he knew it was the beginning of a long friendship.
~~~~~~~
“Are you sure you have
everything?” Buffy asked, looking around the room.
“Yes, I’m sure,” Spike said,
reaching for her. “Quit worrying so much. This is the first day of the rest of
our lives.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and squeezed then he kissed
the top of her head. “It’s going to be okay.”
“I know,” Buffy said,
running her hands along his arms. “It’s just…” She sighed. “Please don’t take
this the wrong way but it’s a little overwhelming that we’re going to be
together all the time.”
Thankfully he laughed. “No
more breaks, Buffy. It’s now or never. You going to take me home or send me out
on my own?”
Buffy turned around and
pulled him to her. “You are going home with me. No where else.” She cupped his
face. “I’d rather be mad that you’re under my feet than be missing you.”
“Good,” Spike whispered
against her lips. “There’s no place I’d rather be than under you, uh, preferably
somewhere else than your feet but I’ll take what I can get.”
It was still there, the
excitement, the wonder, when he kissed her. She felt like she was sixteen again
when his tongue darted in her mouth. He loved her. He wanted her and she wanted
to shout it from the rooftops. Her arms found their way around his neck as they
tangled and played in a promise of what was to come.
“Oh, goodness,”
“It’s cute,”
Reluctantly they broke apart
but Spike kept her in his arms as they turned to face their friends.
“We ready to go?” Spike
asked.
“Yep, we’re all checked out
of the hotel,” Willow said. “The bill was already taken care of courtesy of
Masters Shipping. They’re really taking care of you, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are,” Buffy
answered, beaming up at Spike. “He’s their hero as well as mine.”
“I ain’t no bloody hero,”
Spike said, looking down at his feet. “I was just a bloke doing what needed to
be done.”
“And that’s a hero, mister,”
“Yes, ma’am,” Spike smiled
bashfully. “Can we go home now?”
“Not until you get in,”
Sheila interrupted as she brought a wheelchair in. “No arguing. I’m using my
break to make sure that you are out of this hospital. The nurses on both floors
are having a party to celebrate your departure.”
“I won the worst patient
award, didn’t I?” Spike asked, walking over to hug the nurse who had helped him
out. “I want you to know that I appreciate everything you did for me. Tell them
all that I’m sorry for being an ass.”
Shelia actually looked
surprised when Spike thanked her. Buffy couldn’t have been prouder of him. His
emotions since the accident had been a lot freer. It was a good and a bad thing
but times like this it made the anger a little easier to accept.
Spike sat in the wheelchair like
a good boy for the ride out of the hospital. His unwillingness to be weak did show
up when Buffy tried to carry the bags. He insisted they be put on his lap which
Buffy did gratefully. It was a small compromise that was worth it. He waved at
the nurses as they went past the station accepting their applause with good
humor. And the closer to the entrance they got the more he looked like a little
boy being taken somewhere special. Buffy felt the same way. Spike was coming
home with her.
~~~~~~~
Buffy was in his arms.
They were scrunched together
in the back seat of
It was almost unbearable to
accept how much she had been hurt by what had happened. He knew he hadn’t made
it any easier with his attitude but he had every intention of making it up to
her.
Her happiness that they were
going home together was evident in the grip of her hand in his, her fingertips
fluttering across his face and lips; the pressing of her mouth to his, the fear
in her eyes that she would find it was just a dream. Spike did everything he
could to reassure her but he knew that only time could heal what had happened
to them.
“I love you,” Buffy
whispered, nuzzling his cheek. “I’m so glad we’re almost home.”
“Me too, baby, me too.”
Spike shifted just enough so
that he could capture her mouth. The softness of her lips clung to his as his
fingers slipped into her hair to keep her close. Fevered, quick kisses were all
they could manage as their bodies shifted closer together. He was leaning
against the side of the car while Buffy melted into him. Her nipples were
poking through her t-shirt to tease him with her arousal. Her hands slipped
behind his neck keeping him close to her. A whimper was all she gave as he
leaned her back and slid his tongue between her lips. He could taste the hunger
of the woman as his tongue explored the warm recesses of her mouth. Buffy
opened wider when he circled her tongue with his but he barely touched it,
skirting along the inside of her cheeks. The teasing became more intense as she
played tag with him. Their tongues darted, teased, and chased from one to the
other until Spike closed his teeth gently over her tongue.
Buffy giggled when he
flicked the tip of hers with his. The vibration added to the sensations that
were overloading him from just being this close to her. Her leg shifted just a
bit until it was resting against where his erection was straining against the
confines of his jeans. The line between reason and drowning was close as his
thumb brushed against the side of her breast. They were back to the hungry play
of their tongues, shifting until she was practically on his lap.
The world had slipped away
from them until the sound of a car honking broke them apart. Spike glanced
toward the front of the car but neither of the girls was paying attention or at
least being obvious about it if they were. Their own hands were entwined while
the CD player played something light and romantic.
Spike pulled Buffy close to
give them time to cool off. Making love to her had been the only thing he had
been thinking about for the last couple of days. He forced himself to accept
that Buffy might need some time to adjust to being home before he seduced her.
It would be hard but for her he’d wait. She shifted in his arms, pulling his
head toward her.
“I can’t wait to get home,”
Buffy whispered, nuzzling his ear. “Because all I can think about is getting
you naked.”
Surprised he looked into her
eyes and saw his own hunger mirrored in their depths. He grinned because if he
hadn’t been in love before he was now.
“Oh, yeah…,” Spike whispered
before he lowered his head to kiss her again.
It was only a matter of
time.
To be continued…
