Chapter Fourteen



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She woke to the sound of a badly muffled cry and started up, spotting Spike at a distance, his head cradled in his hands.

“Spike?”

He turned to her and smiled weakly as she jumped to her feet, moving to his side and laying her hand on her arm.

“Is it getting worse?”

“I’m fine,” he reassured her, but she wasn’t that easily fooled and she frowned, reaching up to stroke her fingers over his temple.

“I’m going to fix this, I promise.”

He ran his hand over her shoulder and stepped closer, pressing a light kiss to her lips. She leaned into him, her hand resting at the back of his neck and holding him close.

Their moment was soon broken though as he winced, pulling away from her with a sharp intake of breath. This attack seemed tamer than usual, but it still caused a determined look to settle on her face.

“We’re going to sort this,” she said firmly.

He went to protest but she cut him off, pressing her hand to his chest.

“Now.”

He frowned but as she turned to the stairs, he fell in behind her, following her up into the kitchen and through the living room. She crept past a few sleeping girls and retrieved the phone, retreating to the empty kitchen.



“Love, what are you doing?” Spike asked, leaning against the counter beside her as she rifled through a drawer in search of a certain piece of paper. She finally found it and pulled it out with a triumphant cry. She typed in the numbers on the slip of paper and raised her eyes to Spike's.

“Fixing this the only way I know how.”

He frowned but before he could say anything, a voice picked up at the other end.

“Hi, I’m looking for Riley Finn.”

The woman on the other end seemed to have no idea what she was talking about and she frowned.

“Look, I need to talk to Riley. Agent Finn.”

The woman once again repeated that she did not know a Riley Finn and Buffy clenched her hand into a tight fist.

“Look, is this just a cover-up thing, because it’s really getting on my nerves. I need Riley.”

When the woman continued to be useless, she had to clench her jaw from becoming overly rude. Her nails were digging into the palm of her hand and she took a deep calming breath.

“I don’t know what’s going on here, but just… just tell Riley Buffy was looking for him.”

She hung up and placed the phone down with a despondent sigh. Spike laid a hand against her back and she turned to him with a weak smile.

“I don’t know what else to do. Either that flower shop was just some big government conspiracy or… I don’t know.”

Spike smiled and stepped closer, leaning down to press a kiss to her temple.

“We’ll find something,” he reassured her, his voice turning cold as he continued in a murmur, “Don’t need Soldier Boy’s help.”



She laughed and pulled back a little to look at him.

“Jealous, huh?”

He narrowed his eyes at her and she smiled coyly, leaning into him. She leaned right in close, her lips hovering just shy of his earlobe.

“You don’t need to be jealous,” she whispered, “Not anymore.”

“That a fact?” he asked, his voice husky and soft.

She smiled but before she could reply, the sound of rousing potentials and approaching voices parted them, just in time for her friends to enter the kitchen.

“Morning, morning,” Xander greeted cheerfully, “Are we researching already?”

He looked between her and Spike and she smiled crookedly.

“I just tried to contact Riley.”

“And?” Willow asked curiously.

“No luck… I think. Unless he’s become a florist lately.”

She frowned at her own suggestion and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I’m stuck. Any suggestions?”

“Buffy-“

She cut Spike off with a pointed look before he could even begin to protest and he rolled his eyes, relenting. Xander made a whip noise and she giggled, quickly falling silent when – midway through a frown in her direction – Spike groaned in pain. She hovered by him anxiously – feeling the pain of helplessness in her chest – waiting for the pain to pass.

When it did, she cast a worried look over him, even as he put on a nonchalant expression for the others watching him. She had to find a way to fix this, had to think of someone, anyone, who would know what to do. But only the Initiative knew exactly what they had done and –



She paused mid-thought and raised wide eyes to Spikes, causing him to raise an eyebrow in question.

“We’re going to the Initiative,” she remarked, surprising him.

“Hate to be the one to break it to you, but it’s long gone, love.”

“The people, yes,” she agreed, half-tempted to give him a slap round the head for his teasing, “But not the paperwork, the files. There must be something, anything, that we can use.”

No-one said anything for a moment and she turned to her friends, her gaze flicking over their faces.

“It could be worth a try,” Willow suggested with a shrug.

“Good,” she concluded with a nod, “We try it then.”

She glanced at the window then and frowned impatiently.

“Just as soon as the sun sets.”

She sighed and brushed her hair back from her face.

“Damn.”

A long silence spread over the group, broken several minutes later by Xander.

“We could take my car,” he suggested with a shrug, as if he wasn’t quite sure he liked what he was suggesting, “It’s not entirely sun-proof, but better than nothing, huh?”

She looked to Spike and he shrugged just as nonchalantly. She rolled her eyes and turned to her friend.

“Go get your car.”



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“I’m not sure this was a good idea,” Dawn whispered, trailing just behind her as they made their way through the dark corridors of the abandoned Initiative. Willow and Xander were just behind Dawn and Spike was in front of her, his hand just touching hers, unseen in the low light. With his much better eyesight and knowledge of the Initiative’s maze of rooms, he was leading the way.

She felt him wince and his hand grabbed hers as he fought the pain stubbornly, hardly faltering in his step. She linked her fingers through his and squeezed back, wishing she could just take away his pain. After all, she had caused enough of it in the past.

“Steps,” Spike called, jolting her out of her daze and back to the present.

She followed him carefully down the stairs and through another maze of corridors, before they suddenly came out into the large main room that she soon recognised as being the place where she had watched demons destroy the Initiative.

“The experiment rooms were near here someone, I’m sure,” Spike commented, pausing for a moment, his eyes scanning the darkness.

“Will, anything you can do to help here?”

She could almost feel her friend’s uncertainty but a moment later, a ball of light appeared in her hand, growing until they could see some of the room a little clearer. It was mess – weapons and equipment scattered all over the place. She would have thought the Initiative would have erased any trace of itself, but it seems they may have been in a rush to leave.



They fanned out a little, everyone trying to figure out where to look.

“Maybe we should try over -“

Dawn’s voice was cut off by her girly squeal as the lights suddenly flew on, revealing a line of soldiers not twenty metres away. They all spun to face the armed soldiers and she held her hands out slightly, hoping they would ask first, shoot later. Or not shoot at all, ideally.

“Are you Buffy Summers?”

The leader had been addressing Dawn but when she heard her name, Buffy stepped forward.

“That’s me.”

“I understand you were trying to contact Riley Finn earlier today.”

“Guilty,” she answered, still wary of how the soldiers might react.

The leader straightened and smiled ever so slightly.

“He said we’re to help with whatever you need.”

She was shocked into momentary silence but then she smiled brightly.

“Well… good. How are you with behavioural chips?”

The soldiers shared a look and then the leader nodded.

“Right this way.”