CHAPTER TWO

A/N: Again thanks to my fabulous beta, the RevDorothyL, for her awesome help in making this a better fic.

Buffy felt more exhausted than she ever had in her life. All she wanted was to lie down and never get up again.

“Spike, I’m so tired.”

“Oh, sweetling, I’m so sorry, let’s get you somewhere so I can get you cleaned up and you can rest.”

Spike wasn’t sure where to take her. The Revello Drive house had been sold not long after Hank Summers had come to take Dawn away with him. The Wiccas had moved back on campus and the Xander and Anya’s apartment was too far to walk. His crypt wasn’t far, and though he was loath to take her there, he saw little choice. If he thought about it was the best first stop, because he had quite a few of her clothes there, which he’d taken at the height of his obsession with her before her death. ‘Crypt it is. Jus’ get her a few things and take her to a hotel,’ he thought to himself.

“Buffy, let’s go by my crypt so I can get a few things for you, and then I’ll take you to a hotel so you can clean up.”

Buffy was confused, “Why do we need a hotel? Can’t you take me home?”

‘Damn, shoulda known I couldn’t avoid the topic.’ Aloud he responded, “Pet, yer Dad sold the house when he came for Dawn. So I can’t take you there.”

“Oh that’s right. Mom told me he was coming. I’d forgotten.”

“Yer mum?”

At Spike’s question tears began to well in Buffy’s eyes.

“Oh, pet. ‘M sorry, jus ignore me. ‘M a stupid git upsettin you.”

“Oh Spike, I was with her, and now she’s gone. What am I going to do?” Buffy sobbed out.

Spike drew her into his arms again and turned her toward his crypt. “I don’ know, luv, but I’ll help you as much as I can.”

The two began to walk toward his crypt. Buffy leaned heavily against Spike, struggling with each step. Her body felt weak from disuse.

Spike noticed her struggles and, quickly making a decision, swept her into his arms and carried her rapidly toward their destination.

Buffy sighed deeply. She hadn’t wanted to ask him to carry her, but when he picked her up she felt an overwhelming sense of relief. She relaxed against him and for the first time since she’d dug herself out of her grave she felt safe.

When they arrived at the crypt Spike kicked open the door, strode directly to his club chair and gently placed Buffy in it.

“Pet, ‘m gonna get a few things, and then we’ll go. Yeah?”

“Mkay. Spike, do you have anything to drink? Some water?”

Spike felt like an idiot. He’d been so busy trying to absorb her presence that he hadn’t even thought of what she might need. Quickly, he turned and rummaged around in his mini-fridge, pulling out a bottle of water and opening it.

Turning back to Buffy he was again overwhelmed by the fact she was even here. She amazed him. After her death and Dawn’s leaving it had been almost more than he could handle to go through the motions of living and not meet the sunrise. The only thing that had kept him going was continuing her fight to protect the hellmouth. He’d never considered himself a white hat, but for her he would go against his very nature.

Spike knelt before her and handed her the bottle of water. Buffy brought the bottle to her lips and took a long drink, feeling the cool liquid trail down her dry throat. As she took a second long swallow she looked into the deep blue eyes of the vampire kneeling before her. She was amazed by the love reflected in his gaze.

Before her death she hadn’t wanted to believe that he loved her. In fact up until the night of her death she’d fought against it every step of the way. It had been the last words spoken by him when they’d been at her house that had finally opened her eyes to the depth of his feelings. She’d finally realized that he cared for her, but she’d still been unwilling to call it love.

Now, faced with the truth of his love, she found herself drowning in his eyes and wanting to stay lost in them forever.

Buffy lifted her hand and caressed his cheek. His skin felt soft and cool to her touch. Spike turned into her touch and lifted his hand to hold hers to his face, not wanting to break the contact. For a long moment they sat staring into each other’s eyes, lost in what they saw there.

After several moments Spike gently stroked Buffy’s hand, causing her to flinch in realization of the torn skin off her fingers. He drew her hand away and looked at her fingers.

“Oh luv, I can’t seem to do right by you tonight. Let me get something to clean these up and then we’ll go.”

Spike stood, walked to a small cabinet next to his mini-fridge and pulled out a first aid kit. He then reached back into the refrigerator and pulled out another bottle of water to use in cleaning Buffy’s wounded hands.

He walked back over to Buffy, knelt in front of her and set down the first aid kit. After removing a clean cloth from the kit he took one of her hands in his and began to clean, disinfect and bandage the wounds. Several minutes later he’d treated both hands. As he finished bandaging her hands he gently kissed the palms of each and placed them in her lap.

“I’ll be right back. ‘M jus going to pack a bag, and we’ll get outta here.”

“Okay,” Buffy softly replied, watching him stand and go toward the trapdoor leading to the lower level of his crypt.

Buffy leaned back into the chair in exhaustion to wait for him. Several moments had passed when she heard loud voices outside the door of the crypt. Buffy sat up in fear. She knew that whoever was outside the door was human, but she sensed strong magics coming off of them. Magic that felt very close to what she’d experienced at her gravesite. As the door began to open, Buffy’s heart rate skyrocketed and her breathing became erratic.

In the lower level of the crypt Spike packed a bag with clothes for himself and Buffy. Suddenly he felt fear coming from the girl waiting in the upper level of his crypt. Her heartbeat and breathing increased dramatically. Spike leapt up the ladder and threw back the trapdoor just as the Scoobies burst into his crypt.

As the Scoobies burst through the door Xander called out, “Spike! Are you here?”

Buffy whimpered, as the feel of dark magic overwhelmed her, drawing everyone’s attention toward her. Suddenly Xander and Willow converged on her with Tara and Anya hanging back.

“Oh, goddess! Buffy! It worked,” Willow rambled as she rushed up to Buffy.

Buffy flinched away from the red-headed witch, trying to avoid her touch.

“Woah! Buffy, it’s okay. It’s me, Xander, and your other bestest bud Willow,” Xander said, confused about Buffy’s reaction to Willow’s touch.

Buffy felt panicked. These were the people who’d cast the spell to bring her back. She could feel the black magic rolling off of them, particularly Willow. She shrank further back into the chair, trying to get away from the people crowding her.

Willow and Xander were firing questions at her, causing her panic to escalate rapidly. Finally having had enough, she screamed for the one person in the room that made her feel safe, “Spike!”

Spike hearing her cry pushed Xander and Willow out of the way and took Buffy in his arms.

“I’m here, sweetheart,” he said, pulling the shaking woman into his arms. Buffy collapsed into the safety of his embrace and began sobbing again.

“Spike, take me out of here,” she sobbed into his shoulder.

“Anything you want,” he replied, and then turned to the four people who’d just invaded his crypt. “Shut up, you gits. Yer scaring her.”

“You shut up, bleach boy! Let her go. We’ll take her with us. She’s doesn’t want to be with you,” Xander said snidely.

Buffy clutched Spike even tighter, fearful that she’d be ripped out of his arms. Spike instinctively responded to her fear by rubbing his hands in soothing circles on her back and sides.

“Shut up, whelp. The slayer wants to stay with me. ‘M not forcing her to go with me, and you lot are sure as hell not forcing her to go with you.”

A sneer crossed Xander’s face, “How are you going to stop us? That chip shoved in your brain makes you pretty damn defenseless against humans, and last I checked we’re all humans.”

A low, deadly growl erupted from Spike’s chest. “I might have this chip, boy, but I can assure you that a little pain isn’t going to stop me from hurtin’ you. Listen to me and listen good.”

Then Spike spoke slowly and distinctly, as if speaking to an extremely stupid child “Buffy. Does. Not. Want. To. Go. With. You.”

During the confrontation Buffy continued to clutch Spike’s shirt, holding him close to her. From across the room Tara observed her fear of them and her absolute trust in Spike. She knew instinctively that this would end in blows unless someone sane, or at least without too much of an historic or testosterone-laden ax to grind, took control of the situation. Xander hated Spike, despite everything he’d done for them, and Tara knew there was no way the younger man would let Buffy go with the bleach blonde vampire unless someone forced him to see that was what Buffy herself wanted.

“Stop,” Tara said in a firm voice that caught everyone’s attention. The shy Wicca usually stuttered and stammered, so when she spoke in such a sure manner, even Xander was caught off guard.

She smiled and suggested softly, “Why don’t we ask Buffy what she wants? If she wants to come with us or stay with Spike.”

Spike was glad for Tara’s presence. He’d known that of everyone present she would be willing to listen to what Buffy wanted and convince the others to listen. Tara might be one of the shiest and quietest people he’d every met, but she also had an inner strength that radiated from her.

“Thanks, Glinda.”

Tara slowly approached Buffy, trying not to startle the obviously traumatized young woman Spike held in his arms. As soon as Tara came near enough to touch Buffy she knelt down next to Spike and reached out to softly stroke her the Slayer’s honey gold hair.

Buffy knew that Tara had been involved with the spell to bring her back, but for some reason the girl’s touch -- unlike that of Willow or Xander -- soothed rather than frightened her. Tara exuded peace, and Buffy knew that her participation in the spell had not been for selfish purposes. She wondered to herself at the feelings the people in the room were capable of arousing in her. It felt almost as if she could sense their auras. This was something she’d never been able to do before her death, and she filed it under the long list of unanswered questions since her resurrection.

‘God,’ she thought to herself, ‘it’s like I got this huge welcome home gift but no one bothered to leave an instruction manual.’

While Buffy was lost in her own thoughts the room once more exploded into a heated debate on what should happen to her. Slowly Buffy stiffened and sat up, “Everyone just stop it! You are all acting like a pack of dogs and I’m the only bone. I want to go with Spike. I’m the one that just got brought back from the dead without so much as a ‘by your leave’ so I’m the one that gets to decide what I want. I want Spike, and I don’t really care what the rest of you think about it. So just shut up!”

Xander sputtered, “Buffy! He’s the evil undead. You can’t go with him; there’s no telling what he’ll do to you.”

Spike wisely stayed silent at Xander’s outburst when he saw the cold determined gleam in Buffy’s eyes.

“Xander Harris! Did you not hear a word I said? I want to go with Spike. I am going with Spike. I didn’t ask for nor do I need your permission. Now, I’m tired, achy and dirty so Spike is going to take me somewhere to get clean and sleep. All of you are going home. I don’t want to talk to you anymore tonight.”

“But, Buffy,” Willow whined, wringing her hands.

“I’m done talking, Willow. Everyone who is not Spike – Leave. I can tell that you won’t just let this go, so tomorrow after sunset Spike and I will meet you at the Magic Box. But until then just leave me alone!”

At Buffy’s outburst Tara stood and began herding the other Scoobies toward the door of Spike’s crypt. As they neared the exit Anya turned and gave Buffy a long, hard look. She’d quietly watched everything since she’d entered the crypt and was very disturbed at what she’d seen. She made eye contact with Tara, and both girls shared a knowing look. They’d made a mistake in helping to resurrect Buffy. Neither knew the consequences of what they’d done, but they both realized there would be consequences.

Quietly Anya spoke, “Buffy, I’m sorry.”

Buffy looked at the ex-vengeance demon and knew the girl spoke the truth. Of all the people in the room, other than Tara, Anya alone was sorry for what she’d done to Buffy this night.

Buffy’s response was simple and heartfelt, “Thank you.”