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Every Time You Say Good-bye by slaymesoftly
 
Eight
 
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Chapter Eight

“I can’t tonight.” Buffy cut Julie off before she could say anything. “I’m still dealing with last night’s problems.”

“Maybe I could help,” Julie said, smirking at Buffy and waving her stake.

“Maybe you should decide if you want to be a slayer or not,” Buffy snapped. “If you do, you need to go to school for it. And if you don’t, then you need to stay out of my way when I have slayer business to take care of.”

“Fine! If you don’t want my help, just forget it!”

Buffy sighed heavily and stared at the girl’s hurt face, reminding herself it was one of her decisions that had put Julie in her present situation.  She shook her head and tried to explain.

“Julie, look. We… there’s an old, crazy, but very strong vamp out there somewhere.  If I take you with me while I hunt for her, I’m just going to be distracted by worrying about you… and that could get us both killed.”

“I could help,” Julie repeated stubbornly. “You don’t know that I couldn’t.”

“Yeah, I kinda do, actually. The last time a slayer I knew went up against Drusilla, she died. Without even getting her stake out. And she was trained. She’d spent her whole life practicing to be a slayer, and then….” Buffy shook her head. “Drusilla is going to be all I can handle. You—”

Julie frowned, then her face lit up.  “This ‘Drusilla’, is she kinda weird and old-fashioned, with dark hair?”

“Weird, no fashion sense, bat-shit crazy—Why?”

“I think I saw her….” Julie looked momentarily confused.  “I think she talked to me, but I don’t remember what she said… It was last night and I….” She raised frightened eyes to Buffy’s. “I don’t remember. Why don’t I remember?”

“She thralled you,” Buffy said, grabbing Julie and wrenching the scarf off her neck. “She wanted Slayer blood.”  Julie’s hand followed Buffy’s gaze to the holes on her throat.

“She bit me?”

“She did. And she didn’t kill you, so I’m guessing she’s gonna want to come back for more.”  Buffy sighed.  “All right, I guess you’d better come with me. I can’t put you back out there to be Dru’s personal blood bank. Already got one of those on my hands.”

Without explanation, Buffy grabbed her jacket and walked out, gesturing for Julie to follow her into the setting sun.  She showed no mercy as she began to walk at a pace faster than most people could run, only making impatient “come on” gestures whenever Julie fell too far behind.

“Slow down! I can’t do this!”

“Yes, you can,” Buffy replied. “I’m not using any physical abilities you don’t already have. You just aren’t used to having to, you know, usethem. Everything seems easy to you, doesn’t it? Being faster, stronger, more coordinated than everyone else?  But guess what? The only way to develop those abilities into what they need to be, is to work at them. Slayers need to be fit, not just strong…. and oh my God, I’m turning into Giles!”  Buffy groaned and slowed down just enough to shake her head at Julie and give a small snort of amusement. “Sorry about that. Sometimes I channel the man who trained me. It’s scary. And kind of disturbing….”

“Could he maybe train me? Does he live around here?”

Buffy’s amusement vanished. “He’s dead. So that would be a no.”

She pulled ahead again and jogged the rest of the way to the hospital, listening carefully to be sure Julie wasn’t falling too far behind.  She was beginning to have a grudging respect for the girl, who didn’t quit, in spite of being obviously out of shape.  They reached the hospital just as the sun vanished and dusk made the surrounding area a mixture of shadows and deceiving shapes that seemed visible, but sometimes weren’t.

Taking pity on Julie, who was uncomplaining but still trying to catch her breath, Buffy headed for the elevators.  The ride to Bobby’s floor was quick, and they were soon entering the room where he glanced up in surprise from the dinner he was picking at.

“Where’s Spike?” he demanded, trying to see past her and ignoring Julie who was staring at the rather large bandage on his neck.

“Why, yes, thank you. I did have a good day. It’s nice to see you again too,” Buffy said, rolling her eyes.  “He’ll be here as soon as it’s dark enough.”  She went to the windows and the still-open blinds, staring out into the darkness and wondering if Dru was staring back at her.  With a mental shake, she turned back to the two younger people in the room, to find them eying each other with mutual curiosity and suspicion.

“Who’s he?”

“Who’s she?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “You two have something in common – the ho-bag wants both of you.  It’s going to be easier to keep you away from her… and alive… if you’re in the same place. Introduce yourselves.” She moved away from the window and took up a position near the door, stiffening when she heard heavy footsteps.  She relaxed when the heavy tread revealed itself to be the sound of Spike’s boots approaching.

“Hi,” she said as he entered the room.

“Slayer,” he replied, his eyes going to Julie and widening in surprise. He raised an inquiring eyebrow at Buffy and she shrugged, gesturing for Julie to move her scarf.  Bobby gasped when he saw the marks on Julie’s neck, straining to see better without knocking over his tray. Spike stepped closer to her, asking silently if he could touch the marks.  Julie gave a hesitant nod, muffling a shriek as he touched them with his cooler than normal fingers. He shook his head in what, to Buffy, appeared way too much like admiration.

“Leave it to Dru to find herself a source of the good stuff,” he muttered, not noticing Julie’s widening eyes as her undeveloped slayer sense brought crashing home exactly what Buffy’s mysterious “hottie” was. With a whimper, she brought out her stake and raised it. 

Spike caught her arm without seeming to even look at her, squeezing gently until the stake fell from her numb fingers, then releasing her with a smile. “Good instincts, pet,” he said, bending to retrieve the stake and hand it back to her. “But don’t waste your energy on me. I’m on your side.”

“But… but… I’m a slayer. You should want to kill me. Aren’t you afraid of me?” Julie looked from Spike to the stake now back in her hand.  “You should be afraid of me!” She looked seriously offended, growing even more so when Buffy and Spike both laughed.

Still chuckling, Spike snatched the stake from her with such speed it could have been telekinesis.  “No, luv,” he said, handing it back for the second time. “I’m not afraid of you. I love fighting slayers… and there’s only one’s ever given me any reason to doubt the outcome.” His eyes slid to Buffy, then back to Julie, who managed to look annoyed and awed at the same time.

He took his attention off Julie. “So, what’s the situation, Slayer?  Was Bobby a good little bite victim?”

Buffy shook her head.  “We just got here,” she said. “I haven’t had a chance to ask anybody about him, but now that you’re here….” She moved past him and out the door. “I’ll be right back after I find out when he can go ho—when he can leave.”

 

Spike watched, his lips twitching in amusement as Julie and Bobby stared at each other with suspicion. Finally, Julie approached the bed.

“So, how’d she get you?” she asked, pointing to the big bandage on his neck.

“I belong to her,” he said stiffly, with a sideways glance at Spike who snorted in disgust.  “It was freely given.”

Julie stared at him, her eyes wide and scornful. “You gave it to her?  What’s wrong with you?”

“He was in thrall,” Buffy said, coming back into the room. “Just like you were when you gave it up.”

With a glare at Buffy, Julie sniffed and walked over to the chair, sitting down and studiously ignoring Bobby’s triumphant smirk. 

“So, what’s the deal, Slayer?” Spike’s question brought everyone’s attention back to the matter at hand.

“She said we can probably take him out in the morning. He didn’t have any ID on him, so they can’t be sure how old he is. I guess there’s some question of where he can go if he’s underage.”  She turned her attention to Bobby. “How old are you? And don’t lie!”

“Seventeen,” he mumbled.  “But I can look older.”

“Good. So, when they ask you about it, tell them you’re eighteen and that whoever did this to you took your wallet so you can’t prove it. Maybe they’ll believe you and let you walk out.”

“What if they don’t? What if they want to put me in the Shelter or a foster home?”

Faith strolled into the room just in time to hear his question. “No prob, munchkin.” She stopped to laugh at her own joke. “I’m the expert at breaking out of youth shelters and running away from homes that aren’t. We’d have you back in no time.”

She noticed Julie and raised an eyebrow at her. “And you are…?”

“Not-a-slayer, apparently,” Julie muttered. “Who the hell are you?”

Faith took in the girl’s defiant expression and the awkward way she was clutching her stake.  Instead of the reaction Buffy had been expecting, Faith just shrugged and walked over to her.  “Another blood donor?”

Buffy nodded. “Dru found her last night and had dessert at Julie’s expense. We figured we’d better keep these guys together for a while. It’ll be easier than if we spread ourselves too thin.”

Faith nodded and glanced back at Julie. “What does she mean, she’s not a slayer?”

“She’s one of those stupid bints thinks Buffy ruined her life,” Spike said. “Was all anti-slayer until the other night when a vamp tried to have her for dinner and she got to watch a real slayer in action. Now she thinks she’s gone from meal to avenging angel in one short lesson.”  He smiled at Faith’s rolled eyes. “Already met Dru and found out the hard way what a thrall is.”

Julie stared at Faith, at the relaxed way she joked with Spike, the way she moved around the room so effortlessly, and the stake just visible in the waistband of her jeans.  “You’re one too!” she blurted. “Why did you join them?”

Faith laughed out loud while Spike and Buffy snorted their amusement. “Was already there and wearing the tee-shirt,” she said, giving Julie her cockiest smirk. “After Buffy, I’m the oldest Slayer on the planet.  All the rest of you are newbies.” She turned away to let Julie chew on that information and walked over to the bed. She shoved the remains of Bobby’s meal out of the way and bent down to stare at him.  He blushed and squirmed as she ran her eyes all over his face and body.

Glancing over at Spike, Faith grinned.  “Got to say, she did a good job of picking out her new bitch.  He looks just like you – if you were young, good-looking, innocent… and alive.” She laughed when Spike growled.

“I am good-looking,” he said.  “And I’ll be young a lot bloody longer than you will.”

“Touchy about that, are you?” Faith continued to bait Spike, really getting into it when she saw Julie and Bobby staring at her with wide eyes. “I think you’re a little past your prime, Billy Boy.  Want to go a few rounds?”

Instead of leaping to take her up on the offer of a fight, Spike said quietly, “You don’t have any idea what my prime is.” He put his hands in his pockets and went to stare out the window into the night.  Faith frowned and looked at Buffy for clarification, but she was staring at Spike’s profile, remembering his speed, the claws, his sunburned hand, and his comments about not being able to walk “that far” in the daylight.  She walked over to him and got close enough to speak without being overheard.

“Is there something you need to share with me?”

He met her eyes steadily. “Could share? Yes. Need to? I don’t know. Do I?”

Trying for a light tone, she said, “I’m just wondering if maybe I don’t know as much about my resources as I should.”

 “Later.” He glanced at the other people in the room, all staring at them with various amounts of curiosity. “I’ll tell you later.”

Buffy studied him for a few seconds, then nodded and turned back to the others. She gave Faith a shrug, and said,  “Okay then, where were we?”

“It looks like we’re sitting here like bumps on a log, while her royal nuttiness is out and about.  This is way too much inactivity for me.  How about if I do a quick patrol of the grounds and parking lot? Maybe cruise through the lobby?”

Buffy frowned. “I don’t like sending anybody out alone.  I know she can’t take all three of us, but….”

Faith ‘s face darkened. “You aren’t ‘sending me’ anywhere. I’m telling you what I think I should be doing.” There was a brief staring contest, broken when Spike said quietly, “I’ll go with her. Between the two of us, it shouldn’t take long to make sure there aren’t any vamps lurking.”

Buffy’s eyes went back and forth between Spike’s expressionless face and Faith’s suddenly more interested one. She kept her own expression painfully neutral as she said, “Sounds like a plan. Just don’t be gone too long.”

“Only as long as it takes,” Faith said with a wink, her good humor back. “Come on, blondie.”

Spike glanced at Buffy, opened his mouth to say something, then snapped it shut. He followed Faith to the door, pausing only long enough to say, “We’ll be back in a bit.”

            Bobby’s wistful gaze followed them out the door.  He fell back on his pillows, shutting his eyes briefly. When his body stiffened, and his eyes flew open, Buffy and Julie were too caught up in their conversation to notice.

 

 

 
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