Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

Chp.10

Mommy Dearest

I know lots of useless stuff, but if that's not what you want it's in chp.1
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Spike hadn't noticed the person standing in Buffy's room as he takes his arm from around her shoulder, and gently places a hand on her the same shoulder. He whispers, "You sure you don't wanna feel the pleasure a real man can give you the first time 'round?" Into her ear.

Buffy paid no attention to the hand on her shoulder or even
noticed that Spike had removed his arm from around her, and probably would've slapped him silly if she'd been paying any attention to his lewd comment.

She stands in the doorway, stock still as she stares at the back of the person standing in her room. "Mommy?" She remembered that her mother had been here when she found herself here the first time. But the shock of actuallyseeing the woman, alive, and in her new reality had just hit her hard.

Her knees gave way under her, and she feels Spikes hand tighten on her shoulder to keep her steady.

As his hand tightens, Spike looks at her. She looks as if the
first and only word she'd spoken is the only one she could form.
"Buffy, Luv." He whispers up against her ear. "I's real, go and see your mum." He encourages her. Slightly pushing her on the shoulder.

While he talked, the woman had turned around, found the two
standing in the open doorway, and is staring at them.

She takes a few steps toward them, "Oh, Buffy." She sighs,
looking her daughter over as she walks ever closer to her. "Your
doctor called this morning, and told me you had awoken last night. I came as soon as I could." She notices the man standing behind her only
daughter.

"Who is this man, Buffy?"Joyce asks, concern evident in her
tone.

Reaching behind her, Buffy searches for his hand, and he placesit in hers. "This is Spike, Mom. He's a friend, the only real one Ihave here." She explains. Squeezing the hand in hers, making the man hiss, slightly at the pressure she inflicts on it.

He had started to protest, but her hand squeezing his, shut him up. All is right with his world, even if the pain in his hand is quite prominent at the moment. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. Summers."
He says cordially, after the pain starts to ebb a bit. He smiles
amicably at the one lady he respects above all others, and tightly squeezes Buffy's hand.

Taking a glancing look over her shoulder, Buffy smiles into the
deep, bottomless pools of his bright, blue eyes.

Noticing the way they trust and act with each other. Joyce
clears her throat, knowing there's more than just friendship there,
but doesn't voice her suspicions. "Spike, is it?"

The couple is still gazing deeply, into each other. Buffy was
just going to give him an appreciative smile, but her eyes met his and she couldn't tear herself away. She stood there drowning. Joyce's words brought them back from whatever world they'd seen in each other's eyes, and back to this reality.

Shaking his head slightly, bringing him out of the daze he'd
fell into, Spike smiles over Buffy's shoulder at the lady that had addressed him. "Yeah, well actually it's William, but everyone calls me Spike." He answers, his head cocking slightly, and staring adamantly at Joyce.

Joyce notices the roll of Buffy's eyes at the young mans explanation, and smiles at her. "Well, Spike. You can call me Joyce. All of Buffy's friends used to. I suppose since you're supposedly only her only friend, then you can call me by the name everyone else calls me." She quirks an eyebrow, trying to be funny, but her little joke falls flat.

Spike nods his head in agreement, "Joyce it is then." He
states, then looks to the back of Buffy's head. "Luv?"

Turning completely around, Buffy faces her 'friend'.

Looking her over, before he speaks, "I'll just have me a little
kip, in my own room. It's right down the hall, just turn left, and
it's right in front of the nurses station." He leans in and places a
quick, chaste, little peck on her fore head." You can catch up with
your mum, and when you're finished we'll go down and get some of what
they call food in the commissary." He finishes; squeezing her hand
lightly, letting it drop, slowly back down to her side.

Giggling at the description of the food, she looks up at his
glistening eyes, "alright, go and 'kip'. She makes air quotations with her fingers. "I'll come get you when I'm finished here." She smiles, ducking her head slightly, her hair falling over her face in the process.

His fingers brush the hair back over her shoulder as she looks
back up at him; he nods his head curtly, smirks at her, and leans
forward to place another kiss on her forehead. "You gonna be okay?" He asks, standing back up and smiling.

"It's just my mom, Spike. I think I can handle it."

" I know you can, Pet. If you need me. . ." He trails off.

"Yeah, yeah, I know where you'll be." She says, flippantly.
Tossing her hair back over her shoulder.

"Still readin' my mind, Luv?" He smirks, "can you read what
I'm thinking now?" He rolls his tongue behind his teeth, and sucks his lip in behind them.

Giving him a scowl, as she looks at him. "Like it's not obvious, you know."

Chuckling, he leans in and places a kiss on her cheek, "I love
you." He growls lowly into her ear, and stands back, taking a few
steps away from her.

"I know, me too."

He stops in his retreat, turns back to face her, cocks his
head, and scrunches his eyebrows together. "What? What did you just
say?" He asks, his heart skipping beats as he walks back to her, and
his eyes reflecting the question.

"Oh that's right. You didn't believe me the first time I told
you. So why would you believe me now." She's angry, and he knows it.

His arms now cross over his chest, and he glares at her intently. "I was trying to get you out of the damned hellmouth, Luv.
Told you that so you'd get your arse out of there. No other reason."

His eyes flash dangerously at her. "Now do you care to repeat what youjust said?" He smirks the dangerous glare still in place.

Walking the few feet between them, she places her forefinger
on his chest, "I. Said. I. Love. You. Too." She punctuates each word,with a hard jab of her finger into his chest. "Did that get through your thick skull, or do I have to beat it into you?"

"Well, that depends on your meaning." He abruptly turns, with
an extra little spring in his step, and a straitening of his whole body. She's sure if she could see his face, there'd be a satisfiedsmile across it. "See ya, later, Goldilocks." He throws over his shoulder as he makes the left turn to his room, to take a 'kip'
whatever that means.

She turns as slowly as she possibly can, as she faces her
mother. Afraid of what her mother will say about Spike, and her.

When she finally faces the other woman in the room, she slightly smiles, and her mother takes the few steps separating them.
Embracing her in a tight and warm hug. "Buffy, they told me that you'd never come out of the coma. That you'd stay there for the rest of your natural life, but I knew my little girl was stronger than they thought. You proved them wrong. Thank god."

This wasn't the kind of reaction she was expecting, Buffy
started shaking in her mothers embrace, she didn't know if the tears running down her face are happy or grief. All she knows is that it feels good to be able to hold and hug her mommy, again.

"Honey, it's alright." Joyce says, patting her shaking daughter on the back, consoling her. "We'll have you home in no time, I promise." She declares, sternly, believing every word.

Buffy lifts her head from the chest it is resting on, and
looks up questioningly at her mother. "Home?"

"Yes, sweetie. Home. The place you haven't been in over seven
very long years."

"But, what about Spike?" She asks, new tears forming, and running down her face with the ones that were left from when she was lying on her mother's chest.

"You just met the man. Why do you care so much for him? I do have to say that he seems like a very nice young man, Buffy, but he shouldn't take precedence over you getting well, and being able to come home. He is in a mental hospital, Buffy. That couldn't be good for you." Being a mother looking out for her sick child, she didn't notice the scowl forming on her daughters face.

"God, this crap again!" She shouts, backing away from the
safety of her momma's arms and to the doorway of the room. "They all
said he wasn't good enough for me, I even said he was beneath me. You
know what he did? He went and got a soul for ME! That's what he did.
Not because he wanted it, but because he thought he needed it to be worthy of me." She rants. "Then it drove him stark, ravin', mad! He
died to save the world and me, and yet he's still not good enough.
WHAT DOES THE POOR MAN HAVE TO DO?" She shouts, "Die again?" Her eyes grow wide, and tears come back into them. "I know he'd do it in a second, but I can't watch it happen, not again."

"Buffy, honey? Please calm down. I don't understand. What are you talking about? You're not making any sense." She pleads with her
daughter, as she tries to bring her back into the so-called safety of her embrace.

"Of course I'm not making any sense to you, but Spike would
understand. I was in a delusional state of being for seven years, mom. He was there with me. Right there standing by my side,watching as all the horrible things in those delusions happened, and he couldn't do anything about it." Her bravado fades, as she explains.

Spike had heard her screaming, bringing back the memories of
last night. He jumps up from a very nice dream, and rushes out the
door to her room. Rushing into it, he looks from one woman to the
other. "Buffy? Luv, are you alright?" He reaches out and turns her to face him, noticing the tear tracks on her face. He places a hand on her cheek. "I could hear you screaming all the way down the hall." He says quietly, seeing that she's alright he adds, " you woke me from a bloody, great dream." and smiles smugly.

As he turns her from her glare at the woman standing in front
of her, she looks up into the concerned eyes of her man. Her
expression softens, immediately. Reaching out a hand to him with a
mischievous glint in her eyes.

He grabs her hand and tugs her closer to him, and gets a slap
on the arm for the effort. "You're still annoying." She states,
raising her eyebrow at him.

"Hey now that stung. I'm glad the slayer strength didn't come
along with." He quips, staring at the woman in front of him.

"How do you know it didn't, Spikey? Just because I haven't
used it doesn't mean that it isn't there." She quips back, placing
that little seed of doubt in his mind with what she'd just said. "So, don't piss me off, or we might just find out if it did."

Chuckling nervously, Spike still holds one of her hands, "Well
if you would've tried it out, I'd have been knocked clear across the
hall, with just that one little slap." He pulls her into a hug,
jerking her to his chest and wrapping her in his embrace.

Having watched the whole scene silently, Joyce comes to the
conclusion that maybe this Spike person could do her pride and joy
well. She wouldn't say another negative thing about the young man, if he kept making Buffy smile the way she is at this moment.

She politely clears her throat, catching the attention of the
other two people, whom had apparently forgotten all about her. They turn from each other, and look in her direction. She notices that her daughter doesn't step away from the young man; actually his arms are still folded comfortingly on Buffy's stomach, lightly rubbing circles though the rough fabric of the hospital garb. She also notices that the girl is smiling like she used to before the delusions, and mental instability.

"I brought you some clothing, I don't know if they'll fit, but
you can try them and see."

Buffy looks at her with a smile of gratitude. "Anything is better than what they give us to wear." She explains, passing a hand
over the drab gray garb that the hospital had dressed her in.

Joyce chuckles along with Spike. "First thing she said when
the nurse come in this morning was about food and clothing." He
explains. Joyce had given him a questioning look as he chuckled.

"She always was one for shopping, at least that hasn't changed." Joyce retorts, smiling back at him. "I really do need to get
going, sweetie." She directs this at Buffy. "The gallery can't run
itself, I asked Anya if she'd watch it while I'm here."Anya worked at the hospital most days, but on her days off she came in and helped Joyce in the gallery. "She shouldn't be trying to run it on her own."

"Anya?" The couple at the door asks in unison.

"I'd forgotten that you hadn't met her. She comes in on her off days and helps around the gallery. She's really a sweet young woman, even if she is quite blunt, and descriptive of some things." She smiles. "I'm sure that you'll see her around here sometime." She
finishes, shaking her curly hair around her head as she moves it back and forth on her shoulders.

Spike steps back as Joyce approaches her daughter, letting his embrace fall to his sides.

Grabbing Buffy into another hug, she places a motherly kiss on
the top of her head. "I'm so happy that you came back to me. I have to
go, but I'll come back later, I promise." She looks over to the young man standing against the door facing. "It was nice to meet you Spike, take care of my baby, or you'll wish you hsd."

Spike doesn't take the request lightly, replying instantly. "
'Til the end of the world." He smiles, straightening his slumped
shoulders. He remembered the buisness end of that ax hitting him in the head, when they'd first met in the delusions. He probably wouldn't fair so well if the lady were to do that again.

They all bid each other farewell, and the Summers' matron
walks out of the door.

(Man, that was the longest chapter so far, my fingers and wrists hurt. OWW! Sorry for the formating, it was okay when I wrote the last chappy, don't know what the heck happened between yesterday and today. I straightened it out as best I could though.)