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The Subtle Notes In-Between by Schehrezade
 
Chapter Two
 
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Spike kept his eyes shut and sniffed the air. It was a mixture of hospital smells and burnt hair. He reached up and checked his head-- his hair was there but his eyebrows were gone!

"It's still there and looking a bit curly," a deep male voice announced, causing Spike to reluctantly open his eyes.

"YOU!" Spike bellowed and tried to get up.

"Me," The Immortal replied with a grin. He leant forward and cupped his chin in his hands and watched as the vampire tried to crawl up the wall and away from him.

"YOU?" Spike realised that the nit was probably the reason he was here and alive. "Bugger me." Spike slumped back against the pillows and glared petulantly at the smirking man.

"Lovely offer and if it weren't for the Slayer, I would take you up on it!" Paolo replied ambiguously. Unable to resist teasing the vampire a bit for all the sorrow he had put his friend through, not to mention the foolishness of taking on the Black Thorn and pulling them all into the battle.

Spike lurched forward and grabbed Paolo around the throat, trying to throttle him.

"Spike! You're awake!" An excited and very familiar female voice trilled from the doorway. "Why are you doing that? You know Paolo's immortal, right? He can’t die, doofus!"

The ridges on Spike's face shifted and azure chased amber out of his eyes-- unknowingly in his anger Spike had vamped. He let go and turned to face his goddess. "Buffy? What happened to your hair?"

Her hand shot up to the back of her head and she blushed bright red. Her usually long hair was now cut about an inch long all over and was rumpled from her running her fingers through it, while she had sat by his side and worried at least ten years off her life. Her lower lip jutted out miserably.

"Cara Mia, don't fret. You look so beautiful, it's so chic!" Paolo leapt gallantly to his feet and managed to forestall another bout of tears and hysterics. It had been hard enough cutting her hair and trying to style it; there was barely anything for him to work with once they had managed to put the flames out. But the two of them had managed to salvage as much of her hair as possible, and in his opinion, she looked just like Mia Farrow with her famous urchin haircut In other words, androgenous and stunning!

"Goldilocks." Spike stared at Buffy in shock. She looked so small without her crowning glory. But the git was right and that really chaffed his willy. The Immortal pain in his arse was right, she looked gorgeous.

"That's all you have to say?" Buffy stomped over and kicked the hospital bed hard and glared at the now penitent vampire. "No, I missed you? Sorry I didn't come and find you or at the very least call you! Or hey, even better, what about saying thanks for saving my skinny white ass AGAIN!" Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, unconsciously pushing her breasts up.

Spike stared at the succulent mounds and tried very hard not to whimper.

"Are you staring at my breasts?" Buffy's voice rose to a higher pitch.

"Cara, I think he is not what you say? Functioning on all cylinders?" Paolo sauntered up and placed a calming hand on his friend's tense shoulder. He knew that her emotions were getting the better of her and he had to help. All those nights they had spent curled around each other on her couch talking about Spike and what she had lost were going to result in nothing if she staked Spike.

"Firing," Buffy supplied absently as she glared at Spike. "And Spike FYI, the new do is because I was saving you and Angel."

"Did Peaches make it?" Spike surprised himself by asking.

"Sorta." Buffy walked over and pulled back the curtain next to Spike's bed to reveal what was left of Angel.

Spike's eyes widened at the sight of his one-armed Grandsire who was covered in burns and missing large patches of his much treasured hair. He looked like he had mange and had been dipped in cooking oil and set fire to. Spike stared at the mess and then frowned. "Hang about!"

"Yeah, he's alive." Buffy gestured at the bleeping machines and the ventilator that was helping Angel to breath. The expression on her face was neutral, unreadable.

"Alive?" Spike echoed glumly. "Right." He sank back into the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The bastard had Shanshued and despite the makeover from hell, he'd get Buffy and they could live happily ever after. Well as long as Buffy did the opening of jars and stuff. He slammed his eyes shut. Damned if he was going to break down and cry like a baby in front of the Immortal or Peaches. Buffy, yes he could cry in front of her...but not two of his greatest competitors. The humiliation would be too much-- worse than anything Angelus could have ever dreamt up in the past.

He rubbed his face with his hands, and then froze. "What bloody soddin hell happened to my eyebrows?" He ran his fingers over and over and found nothing but the indent where his scar was. The one branded on him by the Chinese Slayer.

"Umm, they got burned off," Buffy supplied hesitantly. Her soft gaze was riveted on his face, in her opinion-- despite the missing eyebrows—he was still very handsome, albeit a bit pink from the bridge of his nose upwards.

"Wot did you do? Shave em off when I was out for the count?" Not hearing her quiet confession, Spike jabbed an angry finger at Paolo, who by know was giggling loudly at Spike's antics.

"Hey." Buffy stomped her foot and smacked Spike's feet, "Paolo wouldn't do that! It's my fault...I...I'm too short! I couldn't cover all of you!" She glared at Spike, "don't you dare laugh!"

Spike deflated in front of them, guilt coloured his eyes and his soul shone through brightly. "Oh luv, m'sorry." He stared at her with wide eyes and mentally berated himself for acting like a petulant child. She had risked life, limb and hair for him and all he could do was pout over his eyebrows.

Buffy flew to the bedside and tentatively ran her fingers over his face, tracing the familiar lines of it and recommitting them to memory. She ran her fingertips over the place where his black brows should've been and let her index finger repeatedly trace the lines of his scar. Her own eyebrows were knitted with concentration and her tongue peeked out of the corner of her mouth. Spike tried to suppress a purr of contentment and failed miserably.

'Oh god, her fingers are on my face, I never thought I would feel them again.' Spike pressed his face into her hands and groaned softly.

The Immortal watched the tender moment between the star-crossed lovers with a broad smile on his handsome face. He sighed with relief. He knew it would be all right now that Spike was back, he could save Buffy from her melancholy. Now, if only he knew what to do with the newly humanised vampire.

He didn't want him to come between the two lovers.

 
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