Chapter 16

“So, Riley and the remaining soldiers skipped town. They decided to join up with the military in Belize, or wherever. Riley said they weren’t needed here anymore, that this town already has a pretty good protector,” Buffy finished with some pride in her voice.

Spike smiled and wrapped his arms around her. “That it does, it’s kind of hard to hate the bloke after that, but at least he’s out of the picture now. It seems there’s a new player in town, someone that was able to set loose all of those demons. They must have been inside for that to happen.”

She shrugged. “Maybe it was someone that worked in the Initiative, an inside job.”

“Or, it was a pissed off demon. One could have gotten loose, then freed all the others.”

Buffy thought about that. “Possibly, or it was a pissed off demon from the outside, someone with a lot of connections.” Her eyes widened at the same time Spike’s did. “You don’t think it was Drusilla, do you?”

He nodded after some consideration. “I wouldn’t put it past her, but it doesn’t make sense. Why would she bother? Dru doesn’t exactly care for the wellbeing of other demons, unless she was captured and managed to find a way to escape, then set the others free for revenge. That would explain why we haven’t heard much from her in the last few weeks.”

“I guess that makes sense. Now I’m even more worried about her showing up, if she was able to do that.”

His hold on her tightened. “I won’t let her hurt you.”

Buffy was touched by his concern, but shook it off. “I can take care of myself.”

“I’m well aware of that, but you don’t know what she’s capable of. She’s bloody insane, and I mean that literally. I want you to be extra careful when you’re out on patrol, at least until I can manage to find her.”

Buffy knew there was no sense in arguing with him, so she just agreed and rested her head against his chest, deciding that it was time to get some sleep. She would worry about Drusilla tomorrow.


* * * * *


“Where are we going?”

He chuckled. “I told you, it’s a surprise.”

She let out a sigh. “And I told you that I hate surprises. Why do I need a blindfold? Is the surprise something kinky?”

Spike stopped to look at her. “You know, I’m trying to do something romantic here, and you’re just ruining the mood.”

“Sorry, I won’t say anything else about it,” she commented.

“Thank you, and since you’re so bloody impatient, you can remove the blindfold now. We’re here.”

Buffy did just that, taking in her surroundings to see that they were on the beach, a picnic for two prepared. “Spike, what is all this? My birthday’s not for another week.”

He took her hand, lowering her down to the blanket that he set there for them. “That would be the surprise part. I know your mates are throwing a party for you, but I wanted us to have our own little private celebration.”

“I like this idea a lot more. I don’t know why they insist on giving me a party. Buffy and birthdays tend to be unmixy, whether my boyfriend loses his soul, or I lose my strength, it’s all full of badness.”

Spike smiled, showing her the chocolate covered strawberries that he brought, knowing it was her favorite. “Well, you won’t have to worry about this boyfriend losing his soul. You never know, this year could be different.”

Buffy shrugged. “I guess last year wasn’t so bad. No major disasters, anyway.”

“See, there you go. Now, eat up.” He fed her a strawberry, feeling himself harden just from seeing her wrap her lips around the juicy fruit and suck it into her mouth. “Bloody temptress, no one should make eating fruit that erotic.”

She grinned. “I can tie a cherry stem with my tongue, too.”

He groaned. “Oh, I would pay to see that.”

“Well, since you’re my boyfriend, you get a discount.”

Spike moved closer, kissing her sweet lips. “Aren’t I a lucky bloke, then?”

She blushed at the look in his eyes, finishing up the strawberries and the rest of the goodies he brought, patting her stomach. “God, I don’t think I can eat anything else.”

“I’ll say, where do you manage to put it all?”

She flashed him another grin. “I’m a woman of many secrets.”

“Of that I have no doubts,” he responded, taking a black box out of his coat pocket. “Here, a little pre-birthday gift. You’ll get the other on your actual birthday.”

She squealed, taking the box from him and opening it up to reveal an elegant, diamond ring, her eyes widening. “Is this a proposal?”

Spike laughed, shaking his head as he placed the ring on her finger. “It’s more like a promise ring. It was my mother’s, she gave it to me as I got older, told me to give it to the woman who would steal my heart one day.”

Tears formed in her eyes at the sweet gesture. “Oh, Spike, I love it. Thank you,” she said, pressing a firm kiss to his lips.

“Only the best for my girl,” he mumbled into her hair, holding her close to him.

Buffy could already tell that this was going to be her best birthday yet.


* * * * *


It took a lot of convincing for Spike to let her patrol by herself the next night. She wasn’t going to let Drusilla intimidate her, and he had to realize that she was the Slayer. It would take a lot more than one vampire to get the best of her, but apparently, one big demon was enough as Buffy was attacked from behind, her head colliding with a tombstone. She shook away the dizziness, getting a good look at her attacker to see a huge, green demon, horns sticking out of its head, and very sharp claws.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you that it’s not nice to sneak up on people?”

His answer was a loud growl as he swiped at her.

Buffy dodged his blow, trying not to let his claws touch her; she didn’t like the look of them.

“Can’t we talk about this?”

Talking wasn’t what the demon had in mind, though.

He kicked her legs out from under her, causing her to fall to the ground. Normally that would be nothing, Buffy could get up easily, but for some reason, she was finding it hard to move as the dizziness came back with a vengeance. She was suddenly aware of a fight going on around her, and then the cracking of what sounded like a neck.

“Poor girl, the bad demon won’t hurt my Spike’s sunshine.”

Buffy gazed up at the familiar voice. She saw a pale form standing over her with long, dark hair. Then, everything went black.