A/N: Credit to Ashlee for a line I took from her review of chapter 14* :)


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(Previously: Everyone leaves to go find Drusilla, but Buffy wants to confront Spike first.)


“Spike, wait!” Buffy cried, both in desperation and annoyance that he fell for Leanna’s obvious scheme.


Spike ignored her and kept striding forward.


“What the hell is wrong with you!?” Buffy screamed as she stopped running after him.


He halted in his steps and turned around. “What!? What’s wrong with ME??” Spike yelled incredulously.


“Yea, you! Do you actually believe Leanna??” Buffy’s expression showed her anger and disbelief.


“How else could she have known?” Spike asked with calm malice.


Buffy took a deep breath before she started to reply.


“I don’t know, ok? But I didn’t tell her! What? Did you just think we all of a sudden became best gal pals and shared our deepest, darkest secrets while braiding each other’s hair??*” Buffy asked in an exasperated tone.


Spike clenched his jaw in frustration, but said nothing to that.


Buffy waited for a response, but nothing came. She was furious that he didn’t even give her a chance in there. Mostly, she was hurt. This felt like a stab in the back when she thought about all they had gone through together recently. And she hated that she cared. Suddenly, it dawned on her.


Her eyes lit up with anger. “You’re mad because you’re a wuss.”


Spike’s eyes widened indignantly. “Are you bloody daft? What are you talking about?”


Buffy stuck out her chin and stepped forward challengingly. “The way I see it, there’s two possibilities. One, you’re being a jerk because then you don’t have to deal with what happened,” she gestured between the two of them, “or two, you’re being a jerk because you know you were wrong to let her go and keep it a secret, and you know I wouldn’t tell Leanna, of all people, but it’s just sooooo much easier blaming it on Buffy, huh? So which is it, Spike? Or is it both?”


He hated when she was right about something. Deep down, beneath this sudden rage, he knew she didn’t tell Leanna a damn thing. But this flashback to his past was overwhelming. He took a look at her smug expression and went into stubborn mode.


“Look, you’re bloody daft. I’m not a wuss. I’m not avoiding anything,” Spike replied defensively.


“Right,” Buffy nodded, “because there’s nothing to avoid, right?” She gave him a hurt look. “Just mutual hate.”


Spike winced at hearing his own stupid words repeated back to him. He didn’t mean it, but it sounded awful anyway. “Buffy, you know I didn’t mean it,” Spike said in a slightly softer tone.


“What I know, is that we got drunk and had sex, and now I realize you were using me,” Buffy managed to get out in an angry and trembling voice.


Spike opened his mouth, but Buffy cut him off.


“Save it.,” she mimicked hatefully. She glared at him and added, “You told me that you trusted me to keep a secret. And guess what? I actually did. But I also trusted you to believe me. I’m the one that should be pissed off at YOU.”


He saw that she was absolutely furious, and he moved forward to try and reassure her, but she jerked back and looked at him with murderous eyes. He felt a stab in his gut at her move, but he needed to get back to business and find Dru – he couldn’t spend more time arguing what seemed to be an endless fight.


“Look Buffy, I don’t have time for this right now. I have to go find Dru,” Spike said with apologetic eyes.


“Yea, I understand,” Buffy said in a genuine tone. But then she added sarcastically, “Don’t worry, the other night will be our new little secret.” Without looking at him in the eyes, she turned and stormed off. Her anger resulted in brimming tears and she furiously wiped them away with the back of her hands.


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“I don’t see any crazies out here,” Xander commented to the others.


“Xander,” Willow gave him the stern face, “Spike could hear you.”


“What?? He’s not even with us,” Xander cried defensively. “And am I wrong?”


“No, honey. You’re just being a big jackass,” Anya replied.


“Ok, he’s the one that kept a secret from us for all these years. Why am I the jackass?” Xander said defensively.


“Look, Xander. I’m not saying that Spike was right to do that, or that I’m not hurt by it, but your comments – reeeeally not helping right now,” Willow finished.


“How about you people finish your quarrel later?” Giles inquired sternly. “We have a dangerous human to look for.”


“Your right, Giles,” Tara nodded.


“Sorry,” both Xander and Willow replied meekly.


“Let’s keep looking,” Giles said.


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Leanna was humming as she strolled down the street. Things were going perfectly.


She was passing Spike’s house and she stopped. She smelled blood. Curiously, she walked up to the door. Opening the door without knocking, she stepped inside and peered around. Everything seemed quiet.


Suddenly, Dawn jumped out of nowhere with a pot in her hand and yelled, “Stay back!” Realizing, it wasn’t Drusilla, Dawn relaxed. “Oh, it’s just you.”


“Who are you trying to scare with a pot?” Leanna raised an eyebrow in question, unfazed by the ambush. She paused when she saw Dawn’s cheek. “Where did you get that?”


“Drusilla randomly dropped by and then she went all crazy and creepy on me and slashed me with her nails and I tried to call Spike and the others, but no one was picking up at the Magic Box, and-,” Dawn tried to say in one breath.


“Whoa!” Leanna interjected. “Stop.” She put her hand over Dawn’s mouth. She was highly annoyed by Dawn’s continuous rambling, but then she realized this was a good opportunity for her.


She mentally briefed herself, and then turned on the act. “Oh I’m just so glad you’re ok!” she said with concern. She pulled Dawn into a hug and awkwardly patted her back while rolling her eyes. Dawn stood frozen in this really creepy moment.


Leanna pulled Dawn back by the shoulders and held her at arms length. “Do you want me to take care of your cut?” she said in a patronizing voice.


“Um…no, that’s ok,” Dawn replied slowly. “Is there something wrong with you? You’re acting very weird.”


“Oh, I’m just upset that Drusilla got to you before we could find her! But I’m here now, you’ll be safe,” Leanna smiled widely.


Dawn looked confused, but she managed to catch what Leanna said. “Wait, you know she’s back?”


“Yea, I just told the rest of them. That’s why they didn’t pick up the phone. They’re all out looking for her,” Leanna replied quickly, her expression turning into one of disinterest.


Leanna clapped her hands together once. “Ok! You stay up in your room and lock the door – I will go and tell Spike what happened. Got it, little Dawn?”


Dawn was going to protest against Leanna’s patronizing tone, but the thought of staying in her room with the doors locked was rather appealing at the moment. So she just nodded and started to walk up the stairs. Turning around, she looked at Leanna, who gave her a shooing motion to keep going up. When she got to her room, she heard the door slam downstairs. ‘That is so bizarre.’ She shuddered.


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Spike had searched all over the area around the Bronze and nothing. He didn’t even catch her scent at all. He was making his way over to the cemetery, when he saw his friends were about to do the same thing.


“Hey Spike, did you see anything?” Willow asked.


He sighed. “No, nothing,” Spike said. He looked very troubled. Tara figured it was the Drusilla issue, but then she noticed something.


“Where’s Buffy?” Tara asked.


“Oh…uh,” Spike began, “I dunno. Let’s keep looking.”


They noticed the weird mood, but no one commented – they just looked at him peculiarly.


They were about to head as a group to search the cemetery, but they were stopped by Leanna’s sudden appearance. She looked rather frantic.


“Spike!” Leanna cried.


“What?? What happened?” Spike asked with concern.


“It’s Dawn,” she said dramatically as she put on a troubled face. “Drusilla got to her and slashed her across the face!”


Spike’s eyes widened in panic. “Is she ok??”


“Oh no,” both of the Wiccas whispered. Everyone was horrified that they hadn’t thought to protect Dawn first. Actually, they didn’t even think Dawn mattered to Drusilla.


“Yea, I made sure she was ok,” Leanna gave a winning smile before turning serious, “you guys should head on over in that direction. I told Dawn to stay in her room and lock the door, but Drusilla was probably there not too long ago.”


She didn’t need to tell them twice – they started running in that direction. Leanna smiled to herself. She had perfect timing. Now they would be out of the way and Buffy would be on her own. She really hoped that Drusilla would succeed in killing her.


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By the time she got to her crypt, she was completely distraught. She wanted to leave and go home already. All of the emotions she had here felt so real – especially the helplessness. She wasn’t in control here – she couldn’t defend herself, she couldn’t wipe that smug look off Leanna’s face, and she couldn’t just punch Spike away from her life. Not only that, but everything she had was his: her family, her friends, her power.


And somehow, she was letting herself care. Back home, she didn’t even give Spike the time of day. Now, it was like everything came down to him. ‘How??’ she thought to herself desperately as she plopped down on her bed face forward. She realized that she depended on him and trusted him, more so than was possible back home. It was like he was a completely different person here, yet somehow the same. ‘Is it because it’s ok to care here? Because he’s good?’ Buffy shook off the thoughts quickly, ‘None of it is real anyway. I’m only fooling myself…’


She banged her head repeatedly against her pillow in frustration. All she ever thought about since that day was the way he felt, they way they felt together. At first, it was just consuming passion, then somewhere along the line, it changed. But between ‘the morning after’ and today’s ordeal, she hated how vulnerable she had become. ‘They always leave me,’ Buffy thought to herself as she closed her eyes at the memories. Her anger rose – she felt like she was, once again, a one night stand. It was bad enough that he went out with Leanna, but now he was running back to that crazy psycho. ‘Why should I care about that vapid ho??’ She had a distressed pout – being insanely jealous of Drusilla was pissing her off.


She froze when she heard a clang upstairs. A part of her hoped it was Spike, but she knew he was out looking for Drusilla. A happy thought came to her, ‘Maybe it’s Clem!’ From the impression she got last time, he was the perfect person to talk to, about anything. And apparently, she told him everything. Buffy figured he was her only real friend here.


Getting up quickly, she wiped at her tear-stained face and walked toward the ladder. When she reached the top of the ladder, she called out, “Clem? Is that you?”


Bringing herself to her feet, she looked around, but no Clem. The crypt door was open. She slowly walked around the crypt, trying to sense someone. All she saw was a knocked over candlestick. Looking toward the open door, she stepped forward suspiciously.


Stepping out into the cold night air, she cautiously scanned the area for danger. She remained silent, listening for any movements. All of a sudden, an arm came around her neck, choking her firmly from behind.


She gasped for air as her hands gripped the arm in front of her. Then the assailant whispered into her ear, “Someone tells me you’ve been stealing my dolls.”


Buffy recognized the voice and quickly jabbed her elbow backwards, hitting Drusilla in the gut and effectively releasing the hold. She stepped a few feet away and turned to face Drusilla. Anger bubbled up inside her as she gasped for breath and shot Drusilla a murderous look.


“What the hell do you think you’re doing!?” Buffy demanded. ‘I can so kick her ass! She’s not a vampire here.’


“I’ve come back to take what’s mine,” Drusilla said with piercing eyes.


“What the hell are you blabbering about?” Buffy yelled. “Your-,” she cut herself off when she realized that Drusilla meant Spike.


“My Spike has been veryyyy bad,” Drusilla said. “And YOU!,” Drusilla jabbed two fingers in the air in a catlike manner, “have crashed my tea party.”


Buffy looked at her like she was insane because, well, she was. “Riiiiight,” Buffy said with her arms crossed. “Why don’t you just go find Spike then? I’m sure you guys can live happily ever after in a mental ward,” she added bitterly.


“No, not yet,” Drusilla started as she stepped toward Buffy, “Mommy wants to play.”


Buffy pretended to think about it really hard. “Hmmm try to convince you to leave, or wipe the floor with you?” She stopped and looked at Drusilla with a smile. “My pent up frustration tells me to kick your ass.”


She ran forward and jumped into the air, kicking Drusilla in the head before her feet touched the ground. Drusilla’s head jerked back from the blow, and she growled in anger. She lunged forward and backhanded Buffy across the face, making her stumble.


Buffy quickly regained her footing and threw a hard uppercut to Drusilla’s jaw, followed by a punch to the stomach. As Drusilla keeled over, Buffy grabbed her and threw her forward into a tombstone. Taking a breath, she said, “You messed with me on the wrong day.”


She ran forward as Drusilla was getting up to her feet, leaped onto a tombstone and smashed her fist into Drusilla’s face as she came flying down. Feeling the adrenaline pumping through her body at finally getting some violence in, Buffy did a spinning kick that had Drusilla reeling.


“Oh, it’s good to be back,” Buffy commented happily. She moved forward, but Drusilla quickly got up and lunged at her, scratching her face with her nails.


“Ow!” Buffy yelled as she clutched her face. Fury didn’t begin to describe it. She moved forward and did a roundhouse kick before saying, “DON’T mess with the face!”


She let out a series of punches, still in control of the fight. Drusilla could do very little to stand the slayer’s blows, except the occasional backhand. As Buffy gave her one last hard punch to the face, Drusilla fell to the floor in pain.


Drusilla clutched her stomach as she moaned crazily. Before Buffy knew it, Drusilla whipped out her leg and sent Buffy off her feet, onto the ground on her back. Wincing at the pain of her head hitting the ground, Buffy remained immobile for a mere second, giving Drusilla the chance to straddle her hips and choke her with one hand.


Buffy was about to force Drusilla off of her, but in a flash of a second, Drusilla reached behind her back, pulled out a knive, and stabbed Buffy in the gut.


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Worriedly, Spike and the others had raced to the Revello house.


“Dawn!!” Spike yelled as he barged into the house, followed by the others. “Dawn!! Where are you!??”


Dawn appeared and ran down the stairs, flinging herself into Spike’s arms. She pulled back from the tight hug to exclaim, “Look at my face!” she pointed at her slashed cheek.


Spike clenched his jaw in anger at the sight. “Why the hell did you invite her in!?”


Dawn looked confused. “What?? How the heck was I supposed to know she was crazy??”


Spike’s anger melted as he realized she couldn’t have known. He hadn’t told any of them. ‘It’s all my bloody fault,’ he thought guiltily. The others looked at him accusingly.


“I’m sorry, Nibblet,” Spike said with a sigh as he pulled her in for another tight hug. “I should’ve warned you…”


“I’m ok, Spike,” Dawn assured him as they pulled back.


“I’m glad you’re ok, Dawnie. We’re sorry we didn’t come sooner,” Willow said.


“Yea, I didn’t even think she would come here,” Spike commented as he ran his hands through his hair. “I mean, of all the people she would go after-,” he cut himself off. Eyes widening, he looked up at the rest of the gang, who had puzzled looks.


He turned to Dawn. “Dawn, tell me what Drusilla said to you.”


Dawn looked confused at his urgency, but obliged anyway. “Well, she said she was hungry and she wanted to wait for you. I’m not sure I remember everything, but she said weird things like how ‘you’ve been naughty’,” Dawn said with a raised brow.


Spike’s eyes widened and darted around, seeing the gang give him a questionable look.


Dawn rolled her eyes and kept the smirk to herself. She continued, “She said stuff about how she came to ‘make everything right again’ and something about Buffy ruining her tea party. All of a sudden, she got all psycho and dark on me and then she slashed me. Do you know what she wanted?”


Dru was always a little psychic. She must have sensed something had happened between him and Buffy, which meant that Buffy was in trouble.


Spike felt a panic jolt through his body. “Dawn, go back to your room. Everyone else, let’s head to the cemetery.”


No one had to ask. They knew why they were going there.


When they finally got there, it was too late.


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Buffy’s breath caught in her throat, as an overwhelming pain shot through her entire body. With shocked eyes, she looked down at the knife stuck in her stomach. Drusilla yanked out the knife, causing Buffy to cry out in the second wave of pain.


“A little birdie told me this would be useful,” Drusilla whispered as she leaned forward towards Buffy’s head.


As Drusilla was about to plunge the bloody knife down again, Buffy caught her hand and flung Drusilla off of her. The knife dropped to the ground, and Buffy clutched her painfully bleeding wound. She struggled to get up, the pain almost unbearable. Crying out as her movements increased the burning sensation, she got to her feet.


Drusilla advanced for the knife, but Buffy quickly kicked her back, bending over from the pain afterwards. Her hand was covered in blood and she was beginning to feel lightheaded.


Drusilla looked upset and gave a little growl. “I think now I shall torture you before I kill you.”


“Buffy!!” Spike yelled frantically as he saw them.


Buffy shot her head up at the sound of his voice, and Drusilla took this moment of distraction to charge towards her, hoping to grab the knife that was near Buffy. But Buffy turned back around to see Drusilla rushing her, quickly grabbed the knife on the ground, and plunged it into Drusilla’s chest with her last bit of strength.


Both of them widened their eyes in shock. Drusilla starred down at the knife in her chest, as Buffy realized what she had just done.


Spike froze.


Drusilla collapsed and Buffy fell to the ground in shock. She felt lightheaded, but still felt remorse for killing Dru, who was human. Even though it was Dru, the act of driving a knife into human flesh was sickening.


Spike and the others ran to them, and he halted a few feet away from both women as he starred at all the blood. As she clutched her stomach in pain, Buffy looked up at his blurry form. Before she fell into unconsciousness, she managed to whisper softly, “I’m sorry…”


Tara and Willow ran to Buffy’s side to check on her. Xander, who was kneeling down and checking Drusilla, said, “Spike, Drusilla’s dead.”


His expression was unreadable, as he turned to look down at his former lover’s form. They waited for his next move – waiting for the anger and sorrow at Drusilla’s death.


He turned to Willow and Tara in question. Tara replied, “She’s alive. Her heart beat is weak though, and she’s still bleeding a lot.”


Without hesitating, he stepped over to Buffy’s unconscious body and kneeled down. Tara and Willow gave him space. Worry was written all over his face as he took in her bloody wound. Gingerly snaking his hand under her neck and hooking her legs, he picked up her body. Holding her close to his chest, he was about to walk away.


“What are you doing?” Xander asked, confused.


“What the hell does it look like I’m doing??” Spike asked with anger.


“But-,” Xander stopped himself when he saw the glare Spike gave him.


“Not a bloody word, Harris,” Spike gritted out.


When Spike was satisfied that Xander kept his mouth shut, he turned to Giles and demanded, “Call Wesley for me. Tell him to get his ass over to my house now, or I’ll come and rip out his throat.” Turning back to Buffy’s limp body in his arms, his angered expression melted into worry again. Then, he held her closer and walked away, leaving them all a little stunned.

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A/N: Dru is out because I hate writing her – therefore, Leanna is staying (and I don’t fancy a ‘square’ love affair – wasn’t my intention).