Chapter 25 – I’m Not Leaving


“Wait outside, Private Harris,” Buffy said. She marched into the cell and the glass wall slid closed behind her.

“Buffy,” Angel whispered, “Thank God you came. I’ve been a prisoner here for months.” Angel sniffed the air and listened for her heartbeat. Buffy smelled moist and delicious, slightly different than in the past, more milky. She looked different – plumper, her skin was rosy and glowing.

There was something wrong with Buffy’s heart, though. It sounded muffled or racing or something. Probably from running to break him out.

He struggled to keep his vamp face under wraps. It wasn’t so easy after a steady human diet, but he didn’t want to tip her off to his prison activities and how very little control he had over his demon these days.

Buffy examined her former lover. For a dead person, he looked positively robust.

“You look good for a prisoner, Hostile 31. In fact, you looked flushed with blood. Can vampires get fat? Cause, I’m thinking you need some Sweating with the Extremely Oldies.”

“Damn it, Buffy. You don’t know what I’ve been going through.” He hissed to emphasize the unpleasantness of being an Initiative captive.

“Let’s see, hot, fresh meals delivered right to your door? No messy clean up? Just drink and turn? Sounds like Vampire Heaven on Earth.”

Okay, Buffy found out about the drinking and turning thing and she was moderately pissed off. She’d get over it if he came up with a good explanation and sounded sufficiently penitent. He wrapped his fingers around her arm.

“Buffy. It wasn’t my fault. I wish I could undo what I’ve done, but I can’t. They starved me. Then, they threw fresh humans in here, and they broke me.”

Buffy peeled his fingers off her arm and snapped his fingers backwards until the bones snapped. “Sure, Angel. It’s never your fault. Keep your hands off me and shut up.”

“Owww! Buffy that hurt!”

“It hurts when you bite people in the neck, too. I should know.”

Angel stopping talking, and now that he wasn’t talking, he was able to hear. There was nothing wrong with her heartbeat. There were two heartbeats. One beat was a slow and deep thud, the other heartbeat pattered light and racing. Her milky scent. The extra heartbeat. That bastard Spike had been telling the truth. Buffy was pregnant.

Buffy approached the prisoner who was lying on the floor of the cell. It was Spike. She wanted to scream her heart out when she saw him. He was pitifully thin, his face little more than a skull, his arm muscles emaciated and stringy. His skin had faded to transparent white and she could see his finger bones moving through his skin as he stretched his hands.

She knelt beside him and spoke in a low voice. He looked so brittle, she was afraid to touch him. “Spike. I’m here.”

With agonizing effort, he opened his eyes. “I didn’t...”

“Hush.” She placed her fingers over his mouth. “I know.”

Spike’s condition told her the whole story.

Angel glutted on humans fed to him by the Initiative and turned them into evil creatures of the night. Evil creatures like himself. Creatures that might try to kill her. Creatures that she might end up being forced to kill some day.

While Angel was stuffing himself, Spike starved. It would have been easy enough for him to feed. He could have fed and lied to her and told her that they gave him bags of blood. But, he didn’t. Spike starved himself to the verge of dusting so she wouldn’t be disappointed. So she wouldn’t have to kill him.

He did it because he loved her. He starved himself, he forced aside his demon nature to live up to her standards.

“We need to get out of here. Can you get up?”

He could barely move. He couldn’t even lift his hand to touch hers. It was too late. His bones were scorching. In moments, he would burst into flames and disappear. He had to make her leave before that happened and she was forced to witness his death.

“Leave,” he said. “Leave before they catch you. I can’t make it.”

There was no way she was going to leave him. If she had to carry him or drag him and fight every soldier in this place, Spike was coming home with her tonight.

“Yes, you can,” she said. She pulled up her pants leg and unstrapped her K-bar knife from its hidden holster on her leg. She sliced a cut in her hand and held the ribbon of blood to his mouth. “Drink.”

“No. Our baby needs your blood. Can’t let the nibbles go hungry.”

“He’ll be fine. Drink enough to get out of here. I’m not leaving without you.”

Spike didn’t answer. He turned his head away. If only she’d leave, so he could combust in peace and she wouldn’t see him die. He didn’t think he could hold back the consuming fire for another minute.

Baby Spike gave Buffy a kick. Buffy took Spike’s emaciated hand and placed it on her belly. “I need you, William. Our baby boy needs you, too.”

The baby cooperated by delivering another kick. Spike smiled and pressed his hand against her belly so he could feel the tiny foot flutter against his mother’s belly.

Buffy made another cut in her hand. This time, Spike sucked at the wound.

A slight flush of pink appeared in his face and hands. The blood streamed through his body, sucked into his dust bones, reviving his dried flesh. His skin soaked up liquid and his brain cleared. His bones cooled and his cramped muscles relaxed. Slayer’s blood. The best blood in the world.

With Buffy’s help, he was able to stand up. “Damn it, Slayer, your blood gave me a hard-on.”

Buffy tapped on the glass. “Open the door, Doctor, and give me the keys for the chains. I’m taking this one with me. Private Harris, hand the doctor the orders releasing this hostile to my custody.”

Xander handed the doctor the set of orders that would free Spike.

Dr. Ekl examined the orders and he didn’t like what he read in the orders. Many vampires came into the Fuego facility, many more vampires were created here, but none had ever come out before.

“Captain, it’s highly unusual to take out a vampire that’s been captured. This one’s implant has been burned out. He’s extremely dangerous. Let me replace the implant before you take him out.”

Xander stared wide-eyed at Buffy.

She could feel Xander getting ready to blurt out something that she was going to make him regret. She paused as if she was considering replacing Spike’s chip, while she racked her brain for an excuse that would satisfy the Initiative doctor and keep Xander from talking.

“Walsh wants to do some more experiments on this vampire before the implant gets replaced. He’s in no condition to do any damage anyway.” She glared at Xander.

The doctor accepted Buffy’s answer and countersigned the order. “Okay, but it’s on your head if he escapes.”

He opened the cell and handed Buffy the keys and gave her the magic word to open Spike’s chains. Buffy whispered the word, unlocked the chains and she and helped Spike walk out. The glass wall slid shut behind them, leaving Angel imprisoned.

“What are you doing?” Angel shouted. “Take me with you!”

“I brought some orders for Hostile 31, too, Doctor Ekl,” Buffy said.

Buffy took the next set of orders from Xander and pretended to review them. Reviewing the orders was not necessary, since she wrote them herself, but she wanted to put on a good show for Dr. Ekl.

She faced Angel. “You’ve outlived your usefulness, Hostile 31. Dr. Walsh has ordered you to be … neutered.”

Angel leaped after Buffy and lunged against his chains. “Buffy!” he howled.

“Hostile 31 seems to know you, Captain,” the doctor said.

“Vampire trick. Part of their thralling ability. They pretend to know their victims so they can get something out of them. Blood, sex, whatever. Works really well on teenage girls.” Buffy paused to glower at Angel. “Dr. Walsh wants him fixed as soon as possible. He’s dangerous. After you’re done, you can drop him back where you captured him. Walsh has no further need for him.”

Neither do I.

“He’s a clever one,” Doctor Ekl said. “Claims he has a soul.”

“Hasn’t helped him much.”

The doctor pressed a switch on the cell’s control box. A bag of blood dropped into the cell. Angel grabbed the bag, ripped it open and squirted the blood down his throat. The drugs in the blood acted quickly. Angel crashed to the floor, and began to snore.