Chapter Two

That the Ascension entailed the Mayor’s turning into a giant snake caught everyone a bit by surprise, but with the use of Faith’s knife as bait, Buffy was able to tempt the now-demonized Mayor into chasing her into the building. Visions of Principal Snyder being swallowed whole lent wings to her feet and she burst out of the gym doors just ahead of the giant mouth that was reaching for her.

“Now, Giles!” she screamed as she dove behind a dumpster.

The ensuing explosion blew the large trash receptacle over onto its side, effectively pinning the shell-shocked Slayer beneath it. Within seconds, Giles and Spike were beside it, frantically calling her name. With no heartbeat to listen for, the vampire was forced to rely on the fact that he would have felt it if she had been dusted by the explosion or the heavy dumpster.

“She’s under there,” he gasped, grabbing one edge of the huge metal container and preparing to lift it. While the Watcher lent his own insignificant human strength to the task, Spike let out a groan and raised the bin far enough for a barely conscious Buffy to crawl out and roll away before both human and vampire strength gave out and the heavy box crashed to the asphalt surface.

Buffy opened her eyes to find herself being held tightly by her sire, his face a study in relief and fear. She was surprised to see tears glistening in his eyes as he held her and whispered into her ear how worried he’d been and how glad he was to see her. The knowledge that she was completely safe in the strong arms that held her allowed her to relax into unconsciousness, a small smile on her face.

She awoke to the gentle rocking sensation of Spike’s long strides as he carried her away from the school. When he felt her stirring, he paused and looked down into her battered face.

“Where are we going?” she asked softly.

“Where I can get you cleaned up and make sure nothing’s broken,” he growled. “Where do you think?”

“I think I need to go back to the school and help with the clean-up,” she said firmly, squirming around until he set her feet on the ground. “I can’t just run off and be pampered while everyone else is fighting!”

“You did your bit,” he growled. He had allowed her to stand up, but kept his arms around her lightly until he was sure she could stand by herself.

“Come on, Spike,” she growled back at him. “You know better than that. My ‘bit‘ isn’t over until we know we’ve defeating all the minions and everyone is safe.”

With a resigned sigh, he dropped his encircling arms and nodded. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Chosen One, sacred duty, blah, blah. Let’s go then.” He turned around and began striding back towards the burning building and screaming students.

“You’re going with me?” The surprise in her voice stopped him in his tracks.

“You didn’t think I would?” The hurt was evident on his face and Buffy stammered as she tried to explain.

“Well, I only asked you to protect Giles until he got the explosives set. I didn’t really expect you to fight other vampires with me. I mean, that’s what Angel do—“

A blood-curdling snarl cut her off in mid-sentence. He whirled to face her, fury and pain exposed in equal measure.

“You are my childe,” he managed to get out around his fangs. “I would never send you into battle by yourself. I’ll be by your side until this mess is cleaned up and I don’t feel like I need to watch your back anymore. When it’s done, I’m going to be gone. Your precious Angel can help you protect the Hellmouth.”

“You…you’re leaving?”

“You don’t need me. You don’t even want me, truth be told. Every time there’s a problem, you go running to your precious ‘Angel’ for help. It’s time I moved on. I never intended to stay this long anyway. I’d just popped in to visit your mum when your boyfriend decided his life was more important than yours.”

He whirled and began striding towards the burning school, ignoring the sound of her feet as she ran to catch up. He was already regretting the words his anger had pulled from his subconscious, knowing he would now be forced to either admit he didn’t want to go, or to leave the childe for whom he was beginning to feel more than just a sire’s responsibility. Cursing his impulsive mouth, he waded into the battle, taking out his frustration and anger on the remaining minions who were quick to figure out that neither one of the two old vampires on the scene was on their side.

~~~~~~~~~

When the emergency teams had arrived, the fire was almost out and the injured had been taken away in ambulances, a small group gathered on the far side of the road, taking care to stay out of the way of the still busy firemen. Giles, Willow and Xander slumped with exhaustion – too tired to enjoy the taste of victory.

The watcher looked at the three almost as weary-looking vampires and said, “I believe we’ve done all we can here tonight. I am going to take Willow and Xander home and then fall into my bed. I suggest you do the same.”

“Fall into your bed?” Spike’s remark evoked only a minor groan from the slayer, who poked him with a tired arm.

“Perhaps, when I am less exhausted, I will find that remark amusing,” the man said stiffly. “As it is…” He trudged toward his car, gesturing for the two teenagers to follow him.

“See you tomorrow, Buffy! “ Willow waved before joining Giles in the walk to his car.

Xander cast a disgusted eye at Buffy’s companions, then muttered his “Good night” and followed the other humans into the night.