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The Past Never Forgets by 3988Akasha
 
Dangerous Ground
 
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Dangerous Ground

“Giles?” Buffy said into the phone, “Call Xander and Oz. We need to meet. Angel’s on his way, not in a good way either. He knows about the claim, he is the only one who can revoke it.”
She hung up the phone and faced the room. It was a weird sensation. They were her family.
“Buffy, Faith?” Joyce Summers called from the kitchen.
“Uh, hi mom. We’re in the living room,” Buffy called.
Everyone in the room could feel Buffy’s nervousness. Willow was the first one to react. She embraced her friend tightly. “It’ll be ok, Buffy. We’ll help you out. She’ll understand.”
Buffy smiled down at her friend and squeezed her hand gently.
“Hi Willow, Cordellia, and…” Joyce stopped as she looked at the man standing in her living room entirely too close to her daughter, “Who in the hell are you?”
The look the woman was giving him made Spike feel intimidated on levels he cared not to acknowledge.
“Mom, this is Spike,” Buffy said, “There is a lot I need to tell you. You might even want to sit down for most of it.”
Joyce eyed her daughter for a few moments before she sat down on the couch, “Well?”
“You know that Faith is a Slayer like me, and well, Spike is a vampire, but he won’t hurt you. He doesn’t have a soul, and so he’s not like Angel, who is on his way to here because of what has happened here recently,” Buffy began in a hurry.
“He won’t hurt me, but he’s not a good vampire?” Joyce asked.
“Right. You’re family, my family…he won’t hurt anyone in my family. It’s about the blood. Really gross, I know,” Buffy said, “I need Giles. He’s way better at the explaining of things.”
“I’ll call him,” Willow offered.
“Wait, weren’t the guys meeting us at the library?” Faith asked.
“That’s right. Mom, you should come with us. Giles will explain everything,” Buffy said.
Joyce nodded, “You and I are going to talk later, young lady. I don’t like the idea of you having guys over to the house while I’m away. Even if they are vampires.”
A bright blush graced Buffy’s features. If her mom knew half of what had taken place in her house while she was gone…she would know. Giles would need to offer that as part of the explanation. “She can’t take him away from me!”
“”M not going anywhere, luv,” Spike whispered in her ear. He wrapped his arms around his girl. He didn’t really care if it upset Joyce. His girl needed comfort; he wasn’t going to neglect any of her needs.
“I didn’t know I said that out loud,” Buffy mumbled. She was slightly embarrassed that Spike heard her.
“You didn’t,” Spike said cryptically.
Before she could question him further, Joyce was herding the group out into the night. She insisted on driving the group to the library. Since they were one seat short, Buffy sat on Spike’s lap. This action did not go unnoticed by Joyce. Buffy curled up into Spike’s embrace and took what comfort she could from him. The path before them was not going to be easy. It was bad enough to deal with the Council, but to deal with her mother and Angel, it was too much.
“I’ll take care of you, pet. Peaches won’t do anything stupid,” Spike whispered.
“You’re a terrible liar, but thanks,” Buffy replied. She smiled against his chest.
The group was greeted by very pensive looking males. Giles, Xander, Oz and…Angel. Angel looked as if he was barely containing his rage. Buffy could feel it boiling beneath the surface. From the looks on the other males’ faces, Angel had been telling them all about Spike and claims.
“You’re alive!” Xander exclaimed.
“Well, duh!” Cordy exclaimed, “Not like Buffy was going to kill us!”
“Mr. Giles, what is going on?” Joyce asked.
“Ah, Mrs. Summers,” Giles began, “Perhaps we should all sit down. There are many things we need to discuss.”
The next three hours were spent explaining things. Intense was not a strong enough word to describe the tension in the room. Luckily, Angel and Spike had refrained from any physical violence. Her mother’s response had been completely unexpected. She had been supportive. It was weird to Buffy. Her mom hated Angel, and now that she was eternally bound to Spike, another vampire, and her mom couldn’t be happier. To make things even more weird, when Joyce had been informed about the sister claim she had become ecstatic, yammering on about how nice it would be to have more girls to take care of and play mother to. Overall, things were working out smoothly.
“Are you all insane?” Angel asked.
All eyes turned to him.
“Vampire, an evil, soulless one has claimed Buffy. Not only that, but he is now connected to Faith, Willow, Cordellia, and even you, Joyce,” Angel continued.
“How exactly is that, Angel?” Joyce asked her voice laced with malice.
“You’re blood. It’s the same as Buffy’s. Claims work on blood. If Buffy had any siblings, they’d be connected to Spike as well. That’s why the girls had to do the blood exchange with Buffy. He could turn on you at any moment, and there is nothing you could do to stop him,” Angel said.
“You of course being the expert on turning colors,” Giles said bitterly. The death of Jenny Calendar was still very fresh in his mind.
If Angel could have blushed he would have. He knew exactly what Giles thought of him. Not that the Watcher had ever really liked him, but before Angelus decided to make a guest appearance, he at least had a chance.
“You all seem to accept Spike a bit too quickly,” Angel stated.
“Blondie didn’t go all torture happy on us,” Faith said. She’d never had any contact with Angel, but from the stories…she didn’t like him.
“He’ll turn on you. Buffy, there are ways out of the claim,” Angel said in a soft, calming voice.
“I know. An elder of his line can challenge the claim. I don’t want you to Angel. I’ve made my decision. I want Spike,” Buffy said. She moved closer to said vampire who wrapped his arms protectively around his girl.
“Buffy, he can’t love you. He doesn’t have a soul. Let me take care of this for you,” Angel pleaded.
That was the last straw. She had tried to be reasonable; she’d tried to handle things in a mature fashion…now she just wanted to hit him, a lot. The other’s, connected to her though the claim, instinctively backed away from her. They wanted to give her a wide berth to reek whatever violence she needed. Even Spike stepped back a bit. He wanted to let his girl handle this.
“Take care of it for me?” Buffy ground out, “How dare you! You show up here after leaving me and you want to tell me how to live my life? Sorry, Angel, you lost the right to me the night you decided to leave me!”
“Buffy,” Angel said softly, “I left to protect you. It wouldn’t have been safe to stay with you. I left because I love you.”
“That sounds really noble Angel, but the point is that you left me! If you loved me, you would have stayed, you would have listened to me, worried about what I wanted, what I needed. God, Angel, you don’t get it. I loved you so much it hurt. I loved you so much I couldn’t kill you until it was almost too late. In the end it didn’t make a damn bit of difference,” Buffy ranted.
She didn’t notice the tears that were falling, but Spike sure as hell did. The only reason he hadn’t pushed a stake through Angel’s undead heart was because of Willow’s hand on his arm. It couldn’t really stop him, but he understood her message.
“Buffy, you’re not thinking rationally. You wouldn’t normally act like this. The Council being here added pressure and made you act irrationally…” Angel trailed off as Buffy advanced on him.
“Irrational? That’s great coming from you, Angel. You come here, get involved in my life…which you took yourself out of, and dare to call me irrational. I want you to leave Angel. I don’t want you to interfere with what I have. I’m happy, and if you truly love me, you’ll be happy for me. You don’t have to like it or accept it, but you will deal with it,” Buffy said.
“Buffy…” Angel began.
“She said leave, mate,” Spike said.
Angel vamped out and lunged at Spike. He wasn’t about to let Buffy stay here with Spike. He hit Spike square in the jaw and sent the younger vampire spiraling into the book cage. As Spike regained his footing, he also vamped out. The girls in the room could feel the rage pouring off of the two testosterone driven vampires in the room.
Faith looked on with amusement. “Why bother killin’ them if they do it for us.”
Cordellia stood close to Xander and held onto his arm tightly. She wasn’t scared for her, she was just scared. The feelings coursing through her body were very new and very raw. She would have to have a long talk with Buffy and Spike about what all the claim changed about her.
“Separate!” Willow yelled.
Just as Angel was about to bit into Spike’s flesh, the two vampires were thrown away from each other. Angel landed in a heap on the floor by the table while Spike had been thrown into the hallway.
Buffy was out of the door before anyone could react. She had only one thought on her mind: mate. She found him clutching his head.
“Are you ok?”
“’M fine, pet. Red’s little spell knocked the piss out of me, but I’ll be fine,” Spike said with a chuckle. He’d have to remember to thank the witch for that little trick of hers. “Let’s get back in there. Gotta make sure Peaches leaves this time.”
Buffy nodded and helped Spike to his feet.
“Get out,” Buffy commanded.
Angel hung his head. The tongue lashing he’d received from the other occupants of the room had left not doubts in his mind…he wasn’t wanted. But, to hear Buffy tell him to leave with such a cold voice, it hurt.
“If you come back here and start any trouble with Spike, I’ll run a stake through your heart,” Buffy said.
The dark haired vampire merely nodded his head as he continued out of the library.
“Anyone else way scared by that?” Cordy asked as she looked at Willow.
“Totally felt wicked power from you, girlfriend,” Faith said.
“I-I panicked,” Willow squeaked, “I-I didn’t mean t-to hurt them.”
Spike smiled at the Witch, “Didn’t hurt me, Red. Peaches, well, can’t say I’d be upset if you hurt him.”
“What was he going to do to you, Spike?” Buffy asked.
Spike ran a hand through his hair, “He was goin’ to bite me. His bite would be one to dominate; it would move the claim from me to him.”
“Just like that? No say from the claimees?” Buffy ranted.
“Sorry luv. Vamps are very territorial. Angel sees you as his even though he never placed a claim on you,” Spike explained.
Buffy walked over to Spike and wrapped her arms around him. The thought of Angel having anything with her that resembled what she had with Spike made her sick to her stomach. She’d never been happier to see Willow use magic in her entire life. “Have to ask her about that later.”
Spike held Buffy tightly to him. There were no words to describe the relief that he felt. No only that Angel had not been able to bite him, but that Buffy had chosen him. The claim did not give him the right to control her, she could have chosen Angel if she had wanted to.
“I’ve been thinking about the Council and what they might have in store for me and Faith,” Buffy began as she pulled slightly away from Spike, “I want to give Spike the Gem.”
“The what?” Xander asked.
“The Gem of Amara. I want to give it back to him. I don’t want the Council to be able to stake him, or worse…” Buffy allowed her voice to trail off.
“Thought you broke it, pet,” Spike said as he rubbed her back soothingly.
Buffy blushed and found the ground extremely entertaining. “I didn’t exactly brake it. I kinda kept it.”
“Buffy!” Giles exclaimed, “I can not stress how foolish that was of you. If someone were to learn that you possessed the Gem you would be in grave danger.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow at Giles in a Spike-like manner, “Slayer here. Danger’s kinda what I do.”
“Yes, but there is no need to escalate it,” Giles stated.
“I have to agree with the Watcher on this one, pet. Why’d you keep it?” Spike asked gently.
“Needed to. Felt like it was a good idea. Either way, I want you to have it,” Buffy said.
“That makes him unstakable!” Xander exclaimed, “I don’t want an unstakable vampire!”
“He’s not unstakable,” Oz said.
“What? If he had the Gem he’d be immune to all the vamp kryptonites!” Xander practically yelled.
“Buffy took the Gem from him once,” Oz stated, “Figured she’d be able to do it again if she had to.”
“Yes, but would she still be able to take it from him with the claim in place?” Giles asked.
“Yeah. Look, I’ve got no control over the Slayer, either of ‘em, or the Witch or the Cheerleader. I just feel them, know their emotions and such. Can’t make ‘em do anythin’ they don’t want to,” Spike said.
“I suppose it would be beneficial if you were immune to things the Council could use against you,” Giles said.
“Yeah, it’s not like he could save us if he was a pile of dust,” Cordy said flippantly.
“It’s settled then. I’ll give the Gem to Spike. Now, Mr. Vampire, explain why you can hear my thoughts and what other side effects this claim has,” Buffy said.
“Bossy little chit!”
“Am not!” Buffy cried indignantly.
“Uh, Buff, he didn’t say anything,” Xander said.
“I heard him! He called me bossy,” Buffy pouted.
“You are, you know,” Cordy said.
Giles removed his glasses and began to polish them, “That really isn’t the point. You heard Spike say this?”
“Yes! God, why don’t you believe me?” Buffy asked.
“Maybe cuz you’re the only one hearing vampire voices?” Xander offered.
“I’m NOT hearing things,” Buffy protested.
“Actually, you are, luv. Part of the claim.”
“That is just wrong! Get out of my head, Spike,” Buffy demanded.
“Extraordinary,” Giles mused out loud, “You and Spike can communicate telepathically.”
“Now that is cool,” Faith said.
“No, not cool. Very much lacking in the cool! Thoughts are supposed to be private and not shared with others,” Buffy ranted as she paced in front of Spike.
“You look so sexy when you’re all ruffled, Slayer.”
Buffy turned on him and pinned him with a steady glare. “So, not funny, Spike!”
“’S’not. Said it was sexy.” Spike smirked. He loved to see the fire of indignation and righteousness flair up in his girl’s eyes.
“I like being alone in my head. It’s crowded enough then. Don’t need stupid, blond vampires in there, too!”
“Don’t worry, luv. Won’t take up to much room.”
“Giles!” Buffy whined, “Make him stop!”
The Watcher couldn’t hold in his chuckle, “Buffy, you insisted that you partake in the claim. I fear there is nothing I can do for you.”
Buffy looked around the room for support, only find the amused faces of her friends.
“Stupid vampire,” she mumbled.
“Come ‘ere luv,” Spike purred as he pulled Buffy into the hall.
Buffy pouted up at him. She wasn’t really upset, just shocked. She’d never be able to have any private thoughts, Spike would know all her darkest fantasies and secrets. Buffy grinned wickedly up at her Mate.
“That’s not fair, kitten,” Spike said.
“What’s the matter, Spike? Don’t you want to take me right her in the hallway? Hear me scream your name as I go into oblivion…or you afraid you aren’t up to the job?”
“I’ll show you up to the job, little girl.” Spike grabbed her roughly by the hips and pressed her against the lockers. He began an assault on her neck. He smiled against her as he heard her mewl of delight. He made his way down the column of her neck, leaving a trail of nips and kisses behind.
Buffy wrapped her arms around him. She couldn’t get enough of her vampire lover. She was a freak, she knew it. She should want a normal guy, a guy with a pulse, but she knew they would never be able to satisfy her. Not one to be outdone, Buffy began her own assault of Spike’s flesh. She took his earlobe in her mouth and suck on it greedily. She moved her hands inside his duster and un-tucked his shirt.
Spike growled in her ear. She wasn’t playing fair. He had no problem taking her right here in the school hallway with her mum and little friends on the other side of the wall, but he knew she wouldn’t feel the same way. Her hot breathy moan fell across his neck as he cupped one of her bra clad breasts. “Gonna be the death of me, kitten.”
“Mmm, already dead, Spike.” Buffy reached down and pinched his ass. It wasn’t exactly gentle, but it wouldn’t hurt him. She giggled as Spike roughly pushed her further into the lockers. Unable to resist anymore, Buffy moved his face to his and captured his eager lips in a searing kiss.
“Want you, Buffy. God, want you so much.” Spike moved his hands down her body. He lifted her legs and wrapped them around his back as he sensually ground his erection into her mound.
Just as Buffy was about to give in and find the janitor’s closet, she heard someone clearing their throat.
“Hot ‘n heavy already. Damn girl, gotta check into the whole vamp love thing,” Faith said casually. She really wasn’t put off by the display.
“Copycat,” Buffy teased.
“Just following a good idea. Giles wants to discuss plans for the Council’s possible tests,” Faith explained.
“I should get mom home, too. This has been info overload night for her. It is weird to feel her, like more than normal. She’s tired and way wigged,” Buffy said.
“Let’s get her home then, pet,” Spike said as he lowered the girl to the ground.
“Yeah. Home,” Buffy said. She winked at Spike.
 
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