A/N: Thanks to slaymesoftly for betaing this chapter and for her encouragement.

Chapter 4: Fall from Grace

Spike clung tightly to Buffy as the tower started to shake around them, the sound of rickety metal swaying in the wind filling his ears. Buffy was holding him with all of her slayer strength. Her arms wrapped securely around his neck and her face buried against his chest, as if it was a burrow and she was attempting to hide away from the world.

He whispered loving words to her when her heart rate picked up and he slowly walked backwards toward the metal stairs. He put one arm behind Buffy’s back and the other under her knees and picked her up, then turned to head down the stairs. After a few steps, the tower made a threatening creak in the silent night and dust began to fall around him. He knew the tower would fall at any moment and even his supernatural speed might not be enough to save them.

He looked down at the girl in his arms, clinging to him like a lost child. She had changed from dangerous and wild to scared and lost in a matter of hours. It worried him. Another loud creak brought Spike out of his thoughts and back to the current dilemma. He was far from the ground, yes, but closer to it than the last time he was on the tower. Spike made a quick decision. “It’s time to fly, pet”

He leaped off the shaky metal and turned in the air so he would land on his back and take most of the impact. He took a deep breath to prepare himself for the inevitable pain that would follow his jump. He winced as he met the ground and then glanced back at the tower. It was swaying violently now and pieces of metal were falling to the ground. With a loud crash, it made its way to the pavement below, ending in a heap of dust and metal.

After a few moments of lying on the ground, Spike slowly sat up. He looked down at the Slayer in his lap. She was staring wide-eyed at the mess of metal on the ground. She seemed transfixed with it.

What’s happened to you, Slayer?

Spike pondered regretfully. He was angry with her friends for tampering with such powerful magic, but he understood their need to save Buffy. He couldn’t imagine what she had gone through after her fall from the tower and he couldn’t blame them for wanting to save her. Of course, Spike would never admit that to any of them. And he still believed it was wrong and irresponsible of them to leave him, Dawn and the Watcher uninformed.

“Come on, Slayer, let’s get you home.” He gently nudged her to stand up and followed after. His back ached from his fall and he could tell a few ribs had broken, but he’d been worse.

Buffy grabbed his arm when he stood up. She seemed to be more trusting of him now and didn’t want to be away from him. In another circumstance, he would have been ecstatic over her need for him, but not in this moment. He missed the fire in her eyes, the spirit in her soul. The person with him now was a shadow of that girl. It shattered his undead heart to see Buffy so broken.

He climbed up onto the motorcycle and this time Buffy did not fight him when he pulled her on his lap. She just curled up and buried her face against his chest again. He revved up the engine and headed back down the road to Buffy’s house.

***

Dawn was pacing back and forth in the foyer waiting for Spike to return. Xander and Anya had come back without her sister, leaving Spike as her only hope. She knew he wouldn’t give up looking for Buffy very easily, and she prayed that his determination would lead him to the Slayer in the end.

When a motorcycle engine roared to a stop in front of the Summers’ residence, Dawn jumped up with a yelp and made her way out the front door. The other Scoobies who had remained seated in the family room rose to their feet and ran to the doorway, hoping to find their friend with the vampire.

Buffy had clung to Spike the entire ride home and she seemed to be tightening her grip as he stopped the bike in front of her house. He attempted to force her off his lap, but she refused to budge and made a whining sound under her breath. With a sigh, Spike wrapped an arm under her legs and one around her waist and lifted her off the bike with him as he stood up. She laid her head against his shoulder.

Dawn ran to him, her eyes shined with unshed tears, “You found her! Thank you, Spike!” She wrapped her thin arms around both blondes in a tight hug.

Spike winced when her arms touched his injured back. “Oh, Spike, are you okay?” The younger Summers asked.

“Just had a fall. ‘S nothin’. I’ll mend.” He tried to shrug, but the action caused him more pain and the weight of the Slayer in his arms only exacerbated it.

He came through the door with Dawn on his heels and walked past the group in the foyer. Xander opened his mouth to make a comment, only to be stopped by Willow’s finger on his lips and a firm shake of her head.

“Where was she?” Tara asked after Spike had settled on the couch with Dawn next to him

“She was on that soddin’ tower the nut jobs built. ‘Bout to jump off.” He shook his head at the thought.

Willow put a shocked hand to her mouth, “She what? A-are you sure?” Her voice raised an octave.

“Positive,” Spike glared at the redhead, “I had to climb up there to get her down, and then the bleedin’ thing collapsed.”

The group crowded around the couple on the couch and Buffy let out a soft, yet menacing growl, causing them to step back.

“Buffy?” Willow’s face revealed her hurt feelings as she whispered the name.

“What’s wrong with her?! What did you do, Spike?!” Xander yelled at the vampire.

“I didn’t do a fuckin’ thing, you nit! Don’t blame this on me. I didn’t bring her back from the bloody grave!” He glared at the other man.

“Oh, so this is my fault, Lover Boy? I’m sure you’re overjoyed that Buffy’s back cause now you can start up your little obsession all over again.”

Spike growled at that, yellow flashed in his eyes as he tried to keep his demon at bay.

“Xander, shut up.” Dawn yelled with a ferocity that had never before been in her voice. She looked back at Buffy nestled protectively in Spike’s lap and gave her a gentle smile, “Hey, Buffy. It’s Dawn, your sister. Remember?”

The Slayer seemed to stare at her for a long moment, trying to determine whether she was a threat or not. Finally, she reached out her hand and cupped Dawn’s cheek. Dawn smiled at the act of recognition from her sister.

Willow took a tentative step forward and leaned over so she was eye level with Buffy. “Hey, Buffy,” she gave a little wave. Buffy only hissed in response. Willow jumped back and a look of hurt crossed her face, “Buffy, it’s okay. You’re safe now. We brought you back.”

“And look what it did.” Spike hissed.

Willow resembled an injured puppy as she tried to defend herself, “I-it was an accident. I didn’t mean to.”

Spike sighed as he laid his head on the back of the couch, then closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers.

Tara noticed the tension in the room: Xander’s mixture of clenching fists and angry glares, Willow’s hurt and helpless demeanor, Spike’s protective, yet exhausted, disposition as her tried to control his demon. Lastly, she noticed Dawn. All of the girl’s attention was focused on her sister.

“M-maybe we should leave,” Tara spoke up from the corner of the room, “Let B-Buffy get some rest. Giles will be here tomorrow. We can figure out what to do then.”

Willow took a long glance a Buffy before nodding her head to agree with her girlfriend, “That’s probably a good idea.”

Tara gave a gentle smile to the three on the couch and then headed towards the door followed by Willow. Xander protested their departure, “Huh? We’re just gonna leave her here with Fang Boy?”

“Yes, Xander. Spike is the only one that Buffy seems to trust right now. Until Giles gets here, there’s nothing more we can do. Let it go,” Willow answered with her famous resolve face.

Xander sputtered, opening and closing his mouth in disbelief, “But-”

Anya slapped him on the arm, “Ah, Xander, grow up.” Then she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the doorway. With one last glance at the remaining residents of the house, Xander reluctantly followed the others out the door.