Chapter Two

With a few long strides, he was beside her, and they moved quietly and swiftly through the night - unafraid to face their new peril. Said lack of fear lasted only as long as it took for Buffy to back out of her driveway, at which time Spike ordered her into the passenger seat until they were “somewhere very open and flat”.

“We’re going to practice driving in the desert?” she pouted.

“If we have to,” he muttered, expertly piloting the big SUV in the direction of the remains of Sunnydale High School. He drove around the parking lot until he was satisfied that there was nothing there that Buffy could hit and that the space was big enough. Then he stopped the car and put it in park.

“Alright, Slayer, now here’s what you need to know – that’s the gas pedal, it makes you go faster. That’s the brake – it makes the car stop. This lever is what you use to change gears – D means drive, R means reverse and N is neutral. Got it?”

“I already know all this stuff,” she grumbled as she slid over behind the wheel. “I did take the Drivers Ed course, you know.” She waited for him to walk around the vehicle and climb into the passenger seat. “And failed it miserably,” he replied, fastening his seat belt. Buffy glared at him, then pulled the car into drive and stepped on the gas. The resultant leap forward brought a muffled sound from the vampire and she stepped on the brakes, bringing the car to a shuddering halt.

“Did you just scream?”

“Of course not! I’m a bloody master vampire – I don’t scream.”

“I think you screamed,” she said, her lower lip coming out into another pout. “You think I’m such a bad driver that you’re afraid.”

Taking a deep breath, he blew it out and then unfastened the seat belt so that he could move closer to her.

“I’m not afraid for myself, love,” he said gently. “I’m just a bit worried that you aren’t takin’ this as seriously as you should. Slayer healing’s all well and good, but a bad accident could kill you just as dead as any other breakable human.”

“Oh.”

There was silence for a minute until Spike realized that the car, now that Buffy’s foot was no longer on the brake, was slowly rolling toward the flimsy barriers designed to keep people away from the wrecked school. Moving quickly, he grabbed the steering wheel and pulled it towards himself, turning the big car in a large arc back into the open area of the parking lot. With a guilty start, Buffy slammed her foot back onto the brake, throwing Spike into the dashboard. From his position on the floor, the snarling vampire moved the gearshift into park and then pulled himself back up onto the seat.

“Oops?” Buffy’s apologetic smile did nothing to quell the bloodcurdling snarls coming from the chipped vampire and she cringed slightly from his amber-flecked glare. She could see the bruise forming on the side of his face where it had struck the radio, and she winced sympathetically. Tentatively reaching toward him, she barely brushed his cheek with her fingers. “I hurt you.”

“Not the first time, Slayer. Prob’ly won’t be the last.”

“Well, yeah,” she said indignantly. “But this time it wasn’t on purpose. There’s just no sense apologizing to you, is there?”

“Didn’t exactly hear an apology there,” he grumbled, even as he wished she would touch his face again. “You might want to work on that skill a mite.”

Instead of snarking back at him, she dropped her head against the back of her seat and sighed, shutting her eyes tightly.

“I’m just no good at this,” she said dully. “Buffy and mechanical things are not mixy. We might as well give up and go home. I’m too stupid to learn.”

“Hey,” he countered. “Is this the same woman who took out the Judge with a bazooka? The same girl who foiled my best evil schemes? You’re not stupid, Slayer; and we’re going to make this happen. Now put the seat back and move forward,” he growled, waiting for her to follow his instructions before sliding into the seat behind her.

When he was firmly in place with a nervous slayer sitting on his lap and clutching the steering wheel with white knuckles, he said, “Alright, here’s how this is goin’ to work. We’ll break it down into one skill at a time. When you can steer without losing track of where you’re goin’, we’ll add the gear shift. When you’ve got those two working together, we’ll add the pedals; and when I think you’ve got it all, I’ll move your delectable little arse back onto the driver’s seat and we’ll go from there. Alright?”

She nodded dumbly, pretending she hadn’t heard him refer to the body part currently perched on his upper thighs as her ‘delectable little arse’.

“Here we go, Slayer. Nice and slow – all you have to do is to steer wherever you want to go.”

He slid the car into drive and applied just enough pressure to begin moving it forward slowly. Biting her lower lip, Buffy concentrated on making large figure eights, then smaller maneuvers until she eventually worked her way up to driving around the perimeter of the parking lot – perilously close to the gaping hole in the ground and its flimsy barricades. In spite of keeping his foot ready to hit the brake if needed, Spike kept up an encouraging litany of praise as she mastered each step in steering the large vehicle around. When she had circled the big parking lot several times, and then, at his instructions, criss-crossed it several more, he stopped the vehicle and put it into “park”. Buffy looked at him with apprehension, asking, “Was I doing something wrong?”

“No, pet. You did fine. I just want to make it a bit more interestin’. “ He opened the door and gently slid her forward so that he could slide out from under her. Smothering a groan at the missing warmth he’d grown accustomed to feeling on his legs, he quickly stepped out of the car and began setting up an obstacle course.

When he had positioned trash barrels, yellow sawhorses and whatever other large objects he could find around the lot, he got back into the driver’s seat and pulled Buffy back on to his lap. He almost sighed aloud when she settled her firm bottom on him again.

“Here we go, pet. You just steer where and when I tell you to, yeah?”

“Okay,” she said with just a trace of nervousness.

With only one minor mishap with a trash barrel – which Spike assured her was his fault for not telling her to turn in time – he declared her ready to run the makeshift course by herself. She nodded firmly and he started the car forward, biting his tongue as she maneuvered around the objects several times. Without warning her that he was going to do it, he gradually increased the car’s speed until Buffy was actually having to look ahead to what was coming next in order to be ready to make her turns. When he finally slowed the car to a stop, he was grinning and she was almost bouncing on his lap.

“I did it! I did it all by myself.”

“That you did, Slayer.”

“Don’t think I didn’t notice that you made us go faster, Mr. Sneakypants.”

“Mr Sneakypants?”

“Don’t change the subject,” she grumbled. “I might’ve wrecked.”

“No you wouldn’t have. You were doing great – and I was careful. I didn’t give you anything you couldn’t handle.” Ignoring her “humph!” he said carefully, “Are you ready for the next part?”

“Which is?”

“Backin’ up.”

“Like out of the driveway?”

“Well, I’m goin’ more for learning to do it in a straight line and at a reasonable speed, but, yeah, that’s the idea.”

“Do you think I’m ready for that?” Buffy bit her lip and scrunched her face up dubiously.

“Absolutely, Slayer. Piece of cake. Now here’s what I want you to do...”

Putting his foot on the brake, he moved the gearshift into reverse and coached, “Okay, before we start movin’, check your mirrors. Make sure that you can see on both sides and behind you, then, nice and slow, we’re going to start movin’ backwards. All you have to do is remember that you’re going to want to steer in the direction you want the car to go. Alright? Ready?”

“Okay...” She dutifully looked into both mirrors, spotting the cones stretching back on either side. As the large vehicle began to move slowly backwards, she jiggled the steering wheel anxiously, trying to keep it going straight. When it began to swerve slightly to the left, she completely forgot about Spike’s directions and yanked the wheel to the left, sending the car over the cone and into the wooden barrier behind it. Her “ohhhh” of disappointment accompanied the car’s halt and she automatically turned around to try to see what she’d run over.

Which put her face, mouth still rounded into an “O”, right in front of the vampire’s. “I...I messed up,” she whispered, staring at his mouth and trying not to remember how soft his lips were. Her tongue came out to lick at her own lips; with her eyes riveted on his mouth, she didn’t notice the expression of sheer anguish in his eyes.

His “Bloody hell, Buffy” was barely whispered as his own eyes dropped to the mouth so tantalizingly close to his. “This is really not fair, Slayer,” he groaned, unable to summon the willpower to push her away.

“I know,” she whispered back. “I’m sorry, I just...” She stopped talking long enough to brush his lips with her own. “I don’t want to – I really don’t – I just can’t help—“

The brief touch of her warm mouth on his destroyed Spike’s last vestige of self-control and he devoured it like a man starving. Carefully keeping his hands away from her body, he moved nothing but his mouth as he poured himself into the kiss that he was sure was going to get him punched any second. When instead of recoiling, she began to kiss him back, his tongue slid out to trace a path around her lips and then slipped in to caress hers as it tentatively reached out to meet him.

The only sounds coming from the still vehicle were Buffy’s gasping breaths and Spike’s soft growls as they remained in their awkward position -- Buffy unwilling to admit how much she wanted to be kissing the vampire and knowing that to turn herself all the way around to face him would make it impossible to deny; and Spike afraid to touch her for fear he would lose all self control completely.

With a final whimper, Buffy pulled her mouth away and slumped back against his chest, the hair on the back of her head just tickling his nose. She remained like that for long minutes, struggling to control her erratic breathing and wondering how she was going to get out of the situation she had just created.

Spike spoke first.

“What the hell was that, Slayer?”

“I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I seem to be saying that a lot tonight, don’t I? But I am...sorry that is. I didn’t mean to…”

“Let’s be clear here, pet. Exactly what are you sorry about? Are you sorry you kissed me, because you didn’t mean it? Or sorry that you wanted to kiss me and couldn’t resist it? Or sorry that you gave your ‘I just want to be friends’ speech before you figured out that you wanted to kiss me? Or just sorry that you backed over one of my carefully-placed obstacles? What are you sorry about, this time?”

His words came from between teeth that were tightly clenched as he fought equally strong urges to pull her closer or to push her out the door. He felt her stiffen at his tone, and he dropped his head back against the head restraint, shut his eyes and sighed. Buffy remained on his lap, sitting up primly and clutching the steering wheel.

“I’m sorry, pet,” he said finally, when she remained silent, only the angry flare of her nostrils indicating her state of mind. “But I don’t know what you want from me. I’m not made of stone, love. I’m doin’ my best to keep my promise, but...”

“I think I’m ready to try it by myself,” she whispered, carefully avoiding answering any of his questions or turning around to meet his eyes.

“Right then, off you go.” His tone was flat as he opened the door and allowed her to get off his lap. As soon as she was on the ground, he slid out and held the door while she climbed back into the large vehicle. Without a word, he closed the door gently and walked around to the passenger side –pausing to right the wooden sawhorse on his way. He got into the passenger seat and leaned over to see if her feet were reaching the pedals.

“Pull your seat up a bit, Slayer,” he said quietly, waiting while she followed his instructions. “Alright,” he said in the same quiet tone, “now put your foot on the brake, shift into drive and then move your foot to the gas and very slowly move the car forward.”

Biting her lip, as much from dismay at his disinterested tone as in concentration, she did as he instructed and managed to guide the car back onto the course he had set up.

“Alright, that was good,” he said. “Now drive to the end and try to turn around so that we’re facing back in.”

With only a slight hesitation when confronted with the open space between the car and the burned out school, she was able to do as he instructed and get the car back at the beginning of the course. In the same dispassionate tone, he said, “That’s good, pet. Now go through it jus’ like you did before, only this time, you’re in charge of how fast we go. If you feel like it’s too fast, just ease up on the gas or touch the brake pedal.”

Buffy followed instructions as well as she could, gaining confidence with each trip across the parking lot, until she was finally weaving her way through and around the obstacles at a reasonable speed and with a growing sense of accomplishment. When he finally told her to stop, saying, “That’ enough for tonight, Slayer. Good job.” she was so excited that she temporarily forgot that he was mad at her, and she turned to him with a dazzling smile.

“I did it! I can drive now!”

“So it would seem,” he responded in the same even voice he’d been using since the kiss ended. “Think you’re up for tryin’ to drive it home?”

“On the street?” Her wide eyes and frightened jump in heart rate brought a reluctant smile to his lips.

“The street would be my first choice,” he said dryly. “less you’re planning to get there by drivin’ over lawns.”

“Not funny, Spike,” she grumbled. “There are cars on the streets – with people in them!”

“It’s the middle of the night, Slayer. I’ll be surprised if we see more than two or three other cars – and they’ll probably be driven by vamps or demons, so if you run them down, you can just view it as a new way of slaying.”

“Do you really think I’m ready?”

“Guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” he responded, leaning back in his seat with more confidence than he actually felt. “Jus’ don’t get going so fast that you can’t stop if you need to. There isn’t going to be any traffic to worry about tonight.”

Nodding dubiously, Buffy guided the big car to the exit from the parking lot, stopping and carefully looking both ways before pulling out into the street and turning towards Revello Drive. They had gone several blocks in relative safety before Spike said, abruptly, “Turn right at the next corner.”

“Why?”

“Just do it.”

Buffy negotiated the turn, successfully passing a line of parked cars without brushing too close or swerving into the other lane. He watched closely as her knuckles whitened when head lights approached, but she maintained her speed and remained on her path, resisting the urge to move too close to the parked cars.

“Well done, Slayer,” he praised quietly when she exhaled a visible sigh of relief once the car was past them.

Following Spike’s quiet directions, Buffy made left turns, stopped at red lights, and pulled into a parking place in an almost empty grocery store parking lot before the vampire nodded and told her to “see if you can get yourself home from here.”

Within a very short period of time, she was making the tight turn into her driveway, wincing when she saw what she’d done to the mailbox on her way out earlier in the evening. She pulled smoothly into the parking area, stopped the car and set the brake before turning it off with a triumphant “Hah!”

“Good job, Slayer. You did it.”

She studied his impassive face for a minute, then said softly, “We did it, Spike. You did it.”

He shook his head, as much to hide the jolt of pleasure her acknowledgement gave him as to negate what she was saying. “You did it, Buffy. All you needed was some time to gain your confidence and some practice.”

“So, when do you think I’ll be ready to get my license?” she asked brightly. When he just gaped at her, clearly incapable of even answering, her lip began to creep out and her eyes narrowed. “ You do think I’m going to be able to get my license, don’t you?”

Recovering himself quickly, he soothed, “Yes, Slayer. Of course you will. But I don’t think a bit more practice would be out of order before you go in to take the test, yeah?”

“I suppose you’re right,” she said, losing some of her enthusiasm as she remembered that there had only been one other moving vehicle on the road with her that evening and that it had frightened her more than the average demon. “So, same time tomorrow, then?”

He nodded silently, opening his door and stepping out onto the paved driveway.

“Alright, Slayer,” he agreed. “I’ll be by after you patrol.”

He turned to leave when her voice called him back.

“Spike?” she said softly.

He stopped, but didn’t look at her.

“I...I’m sor—“

“Don’t,” he growled. “Just don’t.”

For the second time in two days, she realized how often and how blatantly she took advantage of the vampire’s feelings for her. As she turned to go into her house, her shoulders slumped in resignation, and she wondered briefly if she would know when she had finally pushed him over his limit; or if he would just disappear from her life one night – leaving her to wonder if she’d driven him away or if he’d dusted.