Disclaimer: The pixies tell me that some guy owns BTVS. I’m not a guy, I guess I don’t qualify.

Author’s note: Much huggles to BTL for the betaing. This is the second last chapter of this fic!
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Chapter 56: Gift Wrap

Spike was finally in her arms again, Dawn and Liz were both alive and well, and her pendant was around her neck, all was right with the world.

Well, the Immortal was still alive, but that was secondary to her happiness at the moment.

Somehow, Spike and Buffy had managed to travel up the flights of stairs, shedding Spike’s clothing as they went. Now the two demons lay exhausted, spent, but happy in each other’s arms.

“I thought I’d lost you forever,” he whispered into her blond hair.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” she noted happily, leaning back against him as he held her.

Buffy’s eyes took in the room that they were lying in. The decorations were simple, and very clearly not updated since the turn of the last century. The portrait that hung over the mantel in this particular room was of a dark haired woman, bearing a striking resemblance to the other woman in her life.

On closer inspection the picture wasn’t of Drusilla, but clearly a relative.

“Why are you living in Drusilla’s house?” she asked suddenly, as she had put all the pieces together.

He exhaled a breath, as if he had been anticipating the question.

“Didn’t want the blighter to find us, love,” he responded. “Seemed like a good place to hide. Dru’s got a connection to me, not you.”

Buffy nodded her head, understanding, but not exactly okay with it. It did seem like a nice kind of revenge to have had sex with her lover in Dru’s house though.

“I wonder what the crazed nun would say if she knew that we’d had sex on her father’s bed?” asked Buffy, looking around to observe his response.

When he didn’t respond in any way, she thought that it was better to drop the subject entirely.

“It was a good idea to hide here. Thanks for leaving the clues to find you though. It was helpful,” she continued, changing the subject.

“What clues?” he asked, the tone of his voice raised a little.

Buffy turned right around, letting the sheet that was draped over her naked body fall to the wayside.

“You didn’t leave the clipping on the refrigerator door? The doll on Christopher’s grave?”

Spike shook his head.

“Then who did?”
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Buffy was sitting in the kitchen, fully clothed, when Dawn ventured downstairs. The two girls were silent until Dawn sat down on the chair beside Buffy.

“Is it weird that we live in Drusilla’s house?” asked Dawn timidly.

“Yep, lots. No big deal though. Now that I’ve found you, you’ve got to move,” Buffy responded.

“Can we move to Italy? I really want to see Liz. It’s been eons. Okay, not eons, but something close. Please?” Dawn batted her long eyelashes at her great, great, great grandmother.

“Not Italy, Nib,” noted Spike with a finality as he entered the room. “Bloody Immortal lives there.”

“The Immortal that Liz is currently dating,” added Buffy with a sad tone.

The vengeance demon waited for her mate to respond to this piece of news. Suddenly the doorknob that Spike had been holding onto broke loose from the door. Spike let the knob drop to the floor.

“She knows what he did you to you and she’s gallivanting with that prick?” he finally seethed.

“She didn’t know it was the Immortal when she started seeing him!” Dawn defended her sister. “All she knew was that he was an Italian guy, a really rich Italian guy.” Dawn looked down at the table she was sitting at and tried hard not to notice the anger in the vampire’s eyes.

“You knew!” he barked.

“Spike!” Buffy warned her mate. It did no good to take this out on Dawn. “Liz makes her own decisions. It’s her life, she’s a slayer. You’ve done a good job keeping Dawn safe. We have to think about where we are going to hide her next though.”

“She probably bloody safe as houses with Liz givin’ it up to the bastard that raped you,” he explained, hurt.

Dawn let out a little gasp at Spike’s words. No one had ever really explained to her what the immortal had done to Buffy. Now she knew.

“If I’m safe now that the immortal has Liz, why can’t we move to Italy? I wanna see Liz before he uses her as some sort of sacrifice,” observed Dawn.

“And if the pillock decides it’s easier to use you?” queried the vampire.

“Liz is a bigger bragging point. Besides you owe me. Both of you.”
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In the end, Dawn got her way. The little family left Drusilla’s house, and England, in search of Liz, all the while Spike grumbled about the whole situation being really unsafe.

Buffy just smiled at his protestations. He was more of a parent than he’d like to admit.

They took the train; Dawn wanted to see Europe. She hadn’t had the chance to explore these last three months. The teenager looked attentively out the window and at the passing scenery while Spike continued to grumble. He didn’t like the fact that they were going or the fact that he had to hide under a blanket for the entire trip. For her own part, the train ride gave Buffy the time to contemplate a few things.

Just who had left those clues behind?

Were they even clues?

Buffy shook her head. Of course they were clues. There was no way that Spike would have kept the newspaper article describing how Noël died on his fridge. And the doll at Christopher’s grave? Drusilla was safely in LA, kept in a padded room under lock and key, unless she had escaped. No way could she get to England without anyone noticing.

The only conclusion was that there was someone out there who had been leaving things for her to find.

Buffy looked over at her mate and squeezed his hand as he complained at about their situation: being on a train travelling towards the one person they had avoided for so many years.

She might have been expecting a bit of a warmer reception from her mate when she walked into the house, sure, but Buffy had been long under the maxim that you had to take what you could get.

It didn’t take much to realise that he was just a tad bit stressed by his role of guardian to Dawn. Given the chance, he’d probably rant and rave at the hell Dawn had put him through. She knew he loved Dawn though. That was why it was so hard to accept where they were going.
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They left the train, and found a taxi to take them to Liz’s apartment. The dark Italian night did nothing to calm the teenager’s exuberance. Dawn called out the address to the cab driver, barely able to contain her excitement at seeing her sister again.

Buffy wondered just how much Liz would be excited to see them all though. Liz was free of taking care of her sister and could live her life as a free and young adult for the first time. Buffy just hoped that Dawn wouldn’t be too crushed when Liz told them to go back to England. They arrived in front of the building where Liz resided, and led by Dawn, who was practically dragging Spike, the little family entered the building in anticipation of meeting up with Liz.

Dawn banged loudly on the apartment’s door. There was scuffling on the other side of the door, followed by grumbling and general snarkyness. Eventually, a very bleary eyed Vi opened the door and glared at the trio standing on the doorstep.

“What?” the former potential barked, not realising just who it was, just that it was midnight and she had spent the entire day training new slayers.

“Vi?” questioned Dawn, her eyebrows raised. “Why are you in Liz’s apartment?”

A flash of recognition passed over the slayer’s face. Vi looked from Dawn to Spike and then to Buffy. “Hey, I thought you were dead.”

“I get that a lot and you know what? Haven’t died once,” Buffy responded.

Vi continued with perplexed face and turned back to Dawn. “I thought you knew I lived here too.”

Dawn shook her head. “Is Liz home?”

It was Vi’s turn to shake her head. “She’s off with her boyfriend at some club.”

“Great,” muttered Dawn. “I travel all the way from merry old England to have Liz not even here when I show up.”

“Did you call ahead?” asked Vi, leaning against the doorframe.

“No,” noted Dawn looking down.

“Look, can we bloody come in? I’m sure the neighbours are right annoyed with us chatting in the corridor,” asked Spike.

Vi shook her head again. “I can’t invite you in, the lease is in Liz’s name.”

“Bloody hell,” the vampire muttered under his breath. Clearly he wasn’t having a good trip. He took a few calming breaths before he spoke again, looking over at Buffy. “You and the Bit can crash here, I’ll find you in the morning.” ,” he said annoyed.

He made as if to leave them there in the hallway. Buffy reached out her hand and stilled his departure. “If you think I’m letting you out of my sight you are sorely mistaken,” Buffy responded.

“Dawn can stay here,” offered Vi, moving aside, making room for the teen to pass her into the apartment.

“Oh no,” interjected Spike. “Bit’s staying with us. You could be one of his bloody agents for all I know.”

“Spike!” Dawn hissed.

“He’s right,” Buffy added in defence of her mate. She hadn’t gotten to know many of the potentials when she had been in Liz’s house, this one only slightly better than the others. That still made leaving Dawn with her a no go in Buffy’s books.

Buffy looked at her mate for a moment as they both contemplated what they were going to do for the night. Neither of the demons had a problem staying up the whole night, but Dawn needed a bed before she crashed.

“Hotel?” suggested Buffy.

“No!” Dawn practically shouted. “I came here to stay with Liz and I’m going to stay with Liz. No hotels, no former lover’s houses. Here with my sister!”

“I guess we are off to find the Slayer then,” noted Spike.
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The music outside the club Vi had directed them to was blaring, making it seem like the sound system was actually outside the building instead of inside.

“You stay here,” Spike ordered, pointing at the two girls.

“You never let me do anything fun,” whined Dawn petulantly.

“You are not leaving my sight,” countered Buffy stubbornly.

“Bloody Underwood women,” Spike muttered, looking to the sky for strength.

“Fairchilde women,” Dawn sassed back.

“You do realise that we are delivering Dawn into poncy's clutches?” he tried again to reason with his mate.

“And yet, we are still going in,” Buffy responded, not budging.

Spike gave a resigned sigh and walked into the bar, curiously lacking a doorman at the entrance. The door swung violently against the force he exacted upon it only to reveal an empty club, the music still blaring and the lights flashing to the beat. Buffy paused beside her mate, a worried look on her face.

The loud music made it difficult to speak and to be understood. Dawn’s mouth was moving, but Buffy didn’t hear a thing.

I feel her here, Spike responded to her unasked question through their link.

Buffy nodded her head and let him lead them towards Liz. They ascended a flight of stairs and into a private room. As Spike pushed the door open into the blessedly soundproof room, Buffy noted the blood that coated the floor.

“Ewwww,” articulated Dawn as she passed over the threshold.

The vampire, the demon, and the key stood framed by the doorway and stared at the room’s only living occupant. Standing in the middle of the room, covered in blood, Liz stood, holding the Immortal’s severed head in her hands.

“I’m thinking gift wrap,” noted Liz, looking at Spike, who had been first through the door.

“Who’d want the Immortal’s head gift wrapped?” asked Dawn, cringing.

Buffy raised her hand, a huge smile gracing her face.
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tbc..