Drusilla was standing over Spike, a stake in her hand. Spike was sitting up, his eyes closed, with a small, almost serene, smile on his face. His head was tilted up as if waiting and welcoming the blow that was to come.
 
It took a second for Buffy's sleep addled mind to comprehend the sight before her. She shook her head and blinked away the confusion and, as her brain cleared, panic struck.
 
"No!" she cried, scrambling to her feet and slipping slightly on the blanket under her.
 
Once she was up, Buffy ran straight for Drusilla. She tackled the vamp just as the stake was mere inches from Spike's chest. Buffy watched in relief as the weapon was knocked out of Drusilla's hand and skittered across the floor.
 
"Nnnoo!" Drusilla howled, and began writhing underneath Buffy for freedom. "I need that," she told the Slayer desperately."I have to help him."
 
"Help him?" Buffy sputtered incredulously, tightening her grip on the other woman's wrist. "You were going to kill him!"
 
Drusilla slowly moved her head from side to side. "I was trying to free him," she whispered, closing her eyes as tears slipped from them.
 
Buffy's brow knitted in confusion."Free him?"
 
Drusilla nodded. "From the hell I've trapped him in," she elaborated. "Poor, pretty William." She looked at the man with profound sorrow.
 
Dumbfounded, Buffy loosened her hold on Drusilla – who wasn't fighting back anymore anyway – and sat back, trying to figure this out.
 
Now that Buffy wasn't holding her down anymore, Drusilla rolled over and pushed herself up on
all fours, and crawled over to Spike.
 
Buffy stiffened, ready to jump in should Drusilla try anything. She took some comfort from the fact that Drusilla's discarded stake was relatively far away. Still, Buffy insisted on being cautious and inched closer towards the pair.
 
"So, beautiful," Dru murmured, touching a hand to his cheek. Spike closed his eyes and turned into the familiar caress. "He was the most beautiful thing I ever saw and I had to have him. Wasn't just his face," She stroked his cheek gently, watching as Spike's eyes opened and bore into hers. "It was what was in here," Drusilla placed her other hand on his chest. "Never had I felt such a heart, burning with such passion, such love, just waiting to give it to someone."
 
Drusilla looked away from him and down to the floor, as if not able to face him anymore.
 
"And now it's filled with sorrow," she went on quietly. "His pretty head that used to be swirling with words and poetry, now only has terrible memories. And it's all my fault."
 
Spike wrapped his fingers around the hand on his chest and squeezed gently. Drusilla brought her eyes back up to him in surprise.
 
"I don't blame you," he told her, his voice low and fierce. "It wasn't your fault."
 
Drusilla let out a whimper and crumbled onto Spike's chest. He wrapped his arms around her body, chains rattling with the movement, and bent his head to rest on top of hers. "I don't blame you," he whispered again.
 
Tears welled up in Buffy's eyes as she looked upon the couple. Despite the fact that she had been told that vampires were incapable of such emotions, Buffy had always–however grudgingly– acknowledged the two shared a deep affection for one another. But before all she had seen was a twisted kind of love, never noting the beauty of the couple, until now. The sight of them made her heart ache for her own lost love.
 
Buffy's eyes swept across the room to the now dormant statue of Acathla. The vision of her driving the sword into Angel's chest still much too fresh in her mind. She fought back the tears brimming in her eyes, she had to hold them in right now. If she let them fall they might never stop. She didn't have time to have a breakdown, yet.
 
She looked back to the couple; it seemed wrong for Buffy to be there, witnessing such an intimate moment. She felt as though she should give them privacy, but considering that it hadn't even been five minutes since Drusilla had tried to stake Spike, she wasn't so sure that that was a good idea.
 
Which reminded her, she was going to have to find some way of restraining the woman because, clearly, Drusilla was a danger to others, as well as herself.
 
With some hesitation, Buffy left the pair alone and went to search the bedrooms for another set of chains or maybe some rope. To the Slayer's dismay, there were no chains and there was no rope. Instead, Buffy had to resort to ripping up bed sheets in order to tie Drusilla to a chair. The thought of doing that to the clearly traumatized woman made Buffy's stomach clench. Yet, for the time being, she didn't really see any other option.
 
Buffy waited a little while, intentionally giving Spike and Drusilla more time alone, before going back into the room with her makeshift binds.
 
Drusilla appeared to have fallen asleep in Spike's arms while Spike's head rested against the wall, his eyes closed.
 
Buffy felt a pang of guilt, really not wanting to interrupt the resting couple. But being the Slayer had given her plenty of experience in doing things that she didn't want to do. So, steeling herself, Buffy strode over to them.
 
As she crouched down and reached out towards Drusilla, Spike's head snapped up and his eyes opened.
 
Buffy gasped in surprise, before quickly shaking it off.
 
Spike's gaze drifted to the strips of ripped up sheets in her hand.
 
"I have to," Buffy told him firmly, afraid he was going to argue.
 
Spike gave a nod. "I know," he whispered plaintively.
 
Buffy softened."I'm sorry," she said and carefully took the sleeping vampire from his arms. Deciding not to tie her to a chair after all, Buffy bound Drusilla's wrists and ankles before laying her back down on the pallet next to Spike.
 
When she finished, she looked at Spike. The vampire stared back at her with his unsettlingly beautiful, sad eyes. She wanted to say something to him but found that all her words had caught in her throat. They were probably all inadequate anyway.
 
So Buffy just turned away instead and went back to her own makeshift bed, laying down with her back to him.
 
After what seemed like ages of just lying awake, Buffy was just starting to feel sleep tugging her under when a sudden thought struck her.
 
Blood! They're going to need blood.The realization shook sleep away. She sat up and looked over to the vampires, now both sleeping.
 
Buffy could see light filtering in through a window from another room. Realizing that it was morning, she rubbed her hands over her face and got to her feet.
 
She didn't wear a watch and there weren't any clocks that she could see, but Buffy knew that the butcher's opened rather early. And, worst case scenario, she could always wake up Willy. Even though Buffy didn't like the idea of leaving the vampires just now, she knew they would probably need to feed when they woke up and wasn't like she could take them along. So, she figured, now was as good a time as any to go out.
 
With that in mind, Buffy took a breath and left, vowing to get back as soon as possible.
 
                                        ~*~*~*~
 
The sign on the butcher's shop window said that its hours were 6:30 to 10:00. It was now 5:45. So Buffy had 45 minutes to kill, which was good as she could use the time to take care of some more practical needs.
 
She snuck into her house and stuffed some of her belongings into a duffel bag. As Buffy got some other essentials from the bathroom –a toothbrush, a hairbrush, and the like–  she could hear the shower calling to her. She really needed one, she was grimy, not to mention bloody, but Buffy didn't want to risk waking her mother. She settled for cleaning herself up as well as she could with a washcloth over the sink and changed out of her stained clothes.
 
Before leaving, Buffy wrote her mother a note goodbye then headed back to the butcher's shop. She got there just as the door was being unlocked.
 
                                                                ~*~*~*~   
 
A whisper of fingertips brushing against his cheek, pulled Spike out of sleep. Drusilla had often woken him this way when she was eager to tell him something, though it was usually accompanied by the sharp scrap of her nails. He opened his eyes and saw  Drusilla peering back at him lovingly, a small smile playing on her lips.
 
"Mornin' love," Spike croaked. "Did you have a nice dream?" he asked her.
 
Drusilla's smile broadened, revealing her pearly white teeth. "I had the most wonderful vision." she told him.
 
"Is that so?" he responded out of habitual curiosity. Drusilla's visions had always been of particular interest to him. A thought wiggled its way into his sleep-addled mind and he remembered that Buffy had tied Drusilla up last night.
 
Spike looked around the room. The Slayer was nowhere to be seen.
 
"Where's the girl?" he wondered.
 
"She left a little while ago," Drusilla informed. "I waited until she was gone to free myself, she didn't tie me tight enough, took pity on me, she did."
 
Spike's brow furrowed. He was surprised by Buffy's departure, though he didn't know why he should be. Why should she stick around and look after them? They weren't her responsibility. She had done more than she needed to already. The Slayer had shown them a kindness by not staking them both on the spot. She had more than enough reason to after all they'd done to her. Still, it bothered Spike that she was gone.
 
"Don't you want to know about my vision?" Drusilla prodded, breaking into his thoughts.
 
"'Course I do, pet," he assured her, smiling indulgently, "go on and tell us, then."
 
Drusilla bit her lip in consideration. "Well, I don't know if I should. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise."
 
"It's not nice to tease a fella, Dru," Spike responded playfully, now fully intrigued. "Come on love, tell me all about it."
 
She took his face in her hands and looked at him with excitement-filled eyes. "I'll tell you this, my heart," she began. "She'll save you. If you let her, she'll save you. And you can save her too. You'll save each other. I've seen it." She ran her hand across his forehead and down his cheek. "You'll be all right, everything will be all right now, love. I've seen it. And that's how I know I can go now."
 
"Go?" he wondered, brow furrowing. "Go where, pet?"
 
She leaned down and pressed her lips to his. It was the sweetest kiss they had ever shared in all of their time together. Spike could feel the goodbye in that kiss and at once he knew what she was planning.
 
His eyes were wide with horror when she pulled away from him."Dru, no!" he cried.
 
"Goodbye, my beautiful boy," she whispered as she stood. Drusilla turned from him and began to walk away.
 
"No!" he screamed, thrashing with all his strength against his chains. The shackles dug into his wrist, breaking the skin. But Spike ignored the pain and fought harder. Bits of mortar started to chip from the wall.
 
Just a little more...
 
"Dru!" he called watching her walk on, she was close to the sunlight now. He pulled harder. "Drusilla!"
 
Drusilla looked back at him and smiled. "Remember what I told you," she said. "You can save each other; you just have to be opened to it."
 
Spike stilled, feeling hopeless. "Please no," he whispered. Then the woman he loved for over a century stepped into the light and turned to dust.
 
                                                                        ~*~*~*~
 
Buffy trudged up Crawford Street, on her way back to the mansion. She had her duffel bag slung on her shoulder bumping against her leg with every step. Her arms were filled with two large paper bags; one full of blood and another with some regular food for herself. She wanted to limit her trips out, not wanting to leave Spike and Drusilla alone too much until they started to act more stable.
 
Buffy laughed lightly; there wasn't particularly much mirth in the sound.
 
Look at me, she thought. Yesterday I was, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and here I am today, Buffy the Vampire Sitter.
 
To onlookers, the tiny girl looked rather awkward juggling all her bags and she had had several offers for a ride from passing motorists – mostly from middle-aged men.
 
Try lugging demon carcasses over your shoulder, she thought. Now that's awkward.
 
Buffy was relieved when she found herself nearing the mansion, knowing she was soon going to be able to lay down her burdens.
 
I hope I got enough blood for a while,she fretted. She wanted to have at least a week's supply for them each. You would think she would know better about how much blood a vampire needed after her relationship with one.
 
Buffy paused at the entrance to the mansion. She closed her eyes and took a readying breath.
 
Here we go.
 
Spike had screamed and sobbed for as long as his throat could take. It was a good thing that people didn't use Crawford Street that often or someone surely would have called the police about the man being tortured.
 
That's why Angelus had chosen it, for its secluded area.
 
When his voice gave out, he slumped against wall, drained, defeated. And soon after that, he became numb.
 
That was the state he was in when Buffy came bumbling back in. You could hardly recognise the girl from all the stuff in her hands; it swallowed her up. But not being able to see her didn't matter with Spike, he could tell her by her scent and when he did a flicker a life came back to him, he was surprised.
 
"You're back," he remarked hoarsely. He hadn't imagined she would come back. He'd thought that he was going to be left alone here chained up until he finally starved to death.
 
It would've be fitting for me,he thought.
 
"I had to get some blood." Buffy's voice filtered into to his muddled brain. "And clothes, and food," she added. A moment later, when she noticed that she and Spike were alone in the room ,her eyes went wide. "Where's Drusilla?" Her voice denoting her panic.
 
"She's gone," Spike whispered.
 
"Gone? Gone where?"
 
Spike closed his eyes and a tear slipped down, he shook his head, Hadn't thought I had any of those left.
 
Buffy could see the answer written all over the vampire.
 
"No," she said, shaking her head back and forth in denial. She dropped the bags in her hand with a loud thud. "No!" She whipped around and ran from the room.
 
"Drusilla!" Buffy called. "Drusilla are you here? It's Buffy. Dru-" she stopped short when she came to the window and saw the pile of ashes laying there.
 
"No," she whispered and dropped to her knees. "No!"
 
She scooped up a handful of the ashes, they slipped through her fingertips. A raw sob escaped from her throat. Tears started flowing from her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she repeated over and over again, until her crying became so fierce her words were mangled. It was the first time she had allowed herself to really cry since she killed Angel. She had held the tears back as best she could and now that they had been freed, they wouldn't stop. Angel had been her first love. She had loved him more than her own life. And she had killed him. She would have gladly died in his place. She wished that she could have. But she couldn't. Angel was dead and she was here, she was alive. So she had to go on with the memory of killing him. "Oh god, I'm sorry!" She cried again, but not for Drusilla. Her whole body racked with the intensity of her sobs. "I'm so so sorry."
 
Spike could hear her cries from the other room. The sound sent a stab into his chest. He wanted to go to her, to put his arms around her, to hold her. He wanted to give her comfort. But the chains she had put him in wouldn't allow it.
 
'You can save each other...'Drusilla's voice echoed in his mind. Is this what she had meant? He couldn't really think of better explanation. Dru had meant he and Buffy; that they could be each other's salvation. The idea of it seemed to give the woman who had spent over a century locked in the muddled hell of her own mind peace at last.
 
It was what she had wanted for Spike. The last thing she had wanted.
 
That realization gave Spike renewed strength. He yanked on his chains, groaning loudly from the effort. It was worth it, he decided, because finally the hinge on the wall gave way. His wrists were still manacled, but he was no longer tethered.
 
Spike collapsed in his sudden freedom and he took a second to collect himself before getting to his feet.
 
He found Buffy down on the ground, right in front of the window, right in the sunlight.
 
Spike crept to her carefully and dropped to his knees, just under the cover of the shadows. Ignoring the burning rays of light, he reached his arms out to her and took her up in them.
 
Buffy didn't resist or react, just let herself fall against him.
 
Spike didn't shush her the way most people did when comforting a weeping mess; silencing her wasn't his objective. He just wanted to offer her something to hold onto. And to have a solid hold on something in this world for himself.
 
She clutched at his back and continued to cry in that loud, unimpeded way that small children do. He stroked her hair and wept with her.
 
Their tears, each for their own lost loves, mingled together as Spike's slipped down his chin onto her cheek.
 
Buffy's body was mostly shielding Spike's from the glare of the sun, but his arms had no protection from its beams. They started to smoke and sizzle. Buffy didn't seem to notice and Spike didn't flinch as his skin sizzled and smoldered. He just gritted his teeth and welcomed the pain.
 
It was the least he deserved.
 
 
TBC…