Chapter 15

“Spike, slow down, what’s going on?”

He stopped, turning to face her. “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting to see Dru here.”

She nodded. “I noticed, that’s not exactly how I thought things would go if she ever came back.”

“How did you think it would go?”

Buffy shrugged, avoiding his gaze. “Well, you were together for over a hundred years. I guess I always assumed that if she ever came back, you would realize that you still love her and forget about me.”

Spike couldn’t believe she thought that. “You really think I would leave you for her?”

“I don’t know what to think.”

“Then let me clarify that for you.” He took her hand, giving it a light squeeze and forcing her eyes back on his. “Loving you is like nothing I’ve ever known before, Buffy. I may have loved Drusilla at one point, but for the most part, she made me bloody miserable. Believe me; I never plan on going back to her. There is no going back after being with you.”

Buffy sighed in relief, but was still confused about something. “What did she say to freak you out so much?”

He ran his fingers through his hair, nodding after a moment. “That wasn’t exactly how I wanted you to find out, but I guess it’s time. Let’s go back to my crypt; we have a lot to talk about.”

Buffy remained silent as she followed after him, worried about what he wanted to tell her.


* * * * *


“When I realized I loved you, yeah, it took me by surprise. I was still with Drusilla at the time, hell, she practically knew before I did. We had a long talk about it, and she said that she had to let me go. That my heart would always belong to you, surprisingly; we left things on pretty good terms, which is saying a lot for her. After that, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to come back here right away, but I knew you would never accept me. Not after the last time I was here, so I heard of this demon bloke in Africa. You go through a bunch of pretty gruesome trials and if you survive in the end, he grants you a wish. I won, and he gave me what I wanted, my soul back.”

Buffy gasped, trying to take in everything he just told her. “So, all this time, you’ve had your soul?”

Spike nodded as he continued. “I wasn’t sure how to tell you. I guess I wanted to wait until you loved me first, so I could be sure that it wasn’t just the soul that made you love me.”

“I can’t believe you went through all of that for me, Spike. How did you even know that I would let you in my life? You could have gone through all that for nothing.”

He shrugged. “I wouldn’t say for nothing, but I think I was very determined to show you how much I’ve changed. I wasn’t about to take no for an answer.”

She smiled at him. “Wow, you’re pretty amazing, you know that? I don’t know of anyone else that would willingly get a soul. Angelus never would have.”

“Bloody wanker, shouldn’t have needed the sodding soul to love you, but his loss is my gain. And then the demon told me about the Gem of Amara, the soul couldn’t give me the sunlight, so I knew I had to look for that when I got here, once I found out it actually existed. While I still can’t give you everything, I figured it was a start.”

She pressed her lips to his tenderly, resting her head against his chest, right over where his heart should be.

Spike wrapped his arms around her. “I wish it could beat for you.”

Buffy glanced up at him. “It does,” she responded, kissing him once again.


* * * * *


“Wow, that's just, wow.”

Buffy agreed. “I know, how amazing is that? Not that I think Spike needed a soul, but just the thought that he got one for me, when we were supposed to be enemies at the time, I still don't know what to think.”

Willow nodded. “It's pretty huge, but look on the bright side. Now Xander and Giles can't throw that whole 'he doesn't have a soul thing’ out there anymore.”

“True, but they've both been a bit better about him lately. I'm surprised by how much Xander is trying.”

“I'm not; you're one of his best friends. He just wants you to be happy,” Willow commented.

“I don't know what to do about Drusilla, though. Spike thinks she's in town for a reason, and it's not to get him back. At least he doesn't think so, but it makes me wonder what she's really after.”

Willow thought about it. “I don't know, maybe she just wants to give him her blessing or something.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows. “This is Drusilla we're talking about. Somehow I really doubt that.”


* * * * *


A few weeks went by and there was still no sign of Drusilla, Buffy figured that maybe she just left town, but Spike sensed that she was still around.

“Do you really think she'll hurt me?” Buffy wondered later that night.

“There's no telling what she might do. I'm worried that she hasn't made a move yet, which means she's planning something.”

Buffy sighed. “You can't know that for sure. I thought you said that things were left on good terms between you two?”

Spike nodded. “Even so, I don't trust her for a second. No woman handles rejection well, and knowing that I left her for the Slayer? Not to mention getting a soul in the process? No, she's planning something.”

They headed back to UC Sunnydale in silence, noticing a commotion coming from the college.

Buffy gasped in shock once they got there, seeing police and fire fighters everywhere, and disgruntled students waiting around until they were allowed back inside. There was a fire, which luckily didn't seem to be spreading throughout the rest of the campus. Buffy saw Riley in the distance and ran over to him. “What happened?”

He gave her a look that could only be described as lost. “The demons got loose somehow, a lot of my men were killed, including Professor Walsh. They destroyed everything, only a few of us got out alive. I didn't know what else to do, so I set the place on fire. That was the only way I could think of to get rid of them.”

Buffy couldn't believe that. While she was happy to know the Initiative was no more, that wasn't how she wanted it to happen, not at the cost of people's lives. She left his side to return to Spike, letting him know what happened.

“How do you think the demons escaped?”

She shook her head. “I don't know, but I'm going to find out.”