Not Beneath Me - Chapter 17 (Dreams Revisited)
By Tasha

Chapter Summary: Dawn was brought into the protective familial claim with a bite. Joyce and Giles witnessed the event, and they felt a little bit of a closer bond between the five of them since they were touching the others involved in the claiming. After a vision warning from Cordelia, Angel headed to Sunnydale to find out what was going on. Everyone is mad at Xander right now. Buffy, Joyce, and Xander are all in the hospital right now.

Author's Note: I'm sorry that it has been so long since the last update for this story. I worked more on Revenge For Love for a while there, and I've also had quite a few RL issues that have gotten in the way of my writing as a whole. Hopefully I can get more regular updates of this story out to you all again.

(Disclaimer and Distribution notes are listed in the Prologue of this story. Thank you ahead of time for reading and accepting or abiding by them.)

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

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Angel fidgeted behind the wheel of Wesley's car. Morning was quickly approaching. He arrived at the Sunnydale city limits with only a couple hours to spare. He needed to find out what was going on. Cordelia and Wesley had a few more things to tie up before they would head down later in the day.

Cordelia's vision had been vague as usual. She only caught glimpses of Spike, Buffy and Dru fighting. She wasn't clear who was fighting who, but if Spike and Dru were involved the situation wasn't good in his mind. "If he harms one hair on Buffy's head, I'll stake him."

Angel still felt guilty for not staking Spike the last time he saw him. He was never quite clear as to why Spike was tied to a chair in Giles' apartment over a year ago. Several weeks before that Spike had tortured him over the Gem of Amara. He should have staked Spike last Thanksgiving when he saw him at Giles' place.

Angel stopped in front of Buffy's house. 'Strange that the house is all dark. Mrs. Summers should be getting ready for work.' He knew that Joyce Summers was an early riser. She always spent time with her morning coffee and paper before heading in to the gallery. He stepped out of the car, strode up to the porch, and knocked. After knocking again several times he climbed up the tree to Buffy's bedroom. He opened the window. He was surprised to find Buffy's bedroom empty too.

Angel grew more concerned over the mixture of scents as they merged around him. He noticed Buffy and Spike's scents the strongest. At almost the same level was the scent of sex in the air. Although that scent confused him, the traces of Buffy's blood scent brought Angel's demon to the foreground.

Vamped out, Angel scoured the room for any sign of a struggle. The only evidence of a tousle was on Buffy's bed. Spike and Buffy's scents were the strongest there too. He growled in irritation and possessiveness.

Angel growled even louder while he traipsed through the house. Joyce's scent was so light that he knew she hadn't been home in days. His golden eyes flared at the chaos in the dining room. Furniture lay in disarray amongst pieces of broken wood and glass. The scent of Buffy's blood assaulted his senses. "What the hell is going on here?"

Angel hustled back into Wesley's car. He sped towards Giles' place in the hopes that the Watcher knew what was going on. When he was met again with an empty house he was completely frustrated and worried. What took out Buffy? Was it Spike? 'His scent was everywhere; even her bedroom.' His brain refused to reconcile all the reasons Spike might have been in Buffy's bedroom.

The approaching dawn forced Angel to wait out the day at the mansion. He was no closer to the answers behind Cordy's vision and the strange familial sensations than when he left Los Angeles.

Angel spent most of the day packing back and forth in the mansion's living room. He had too much running through his mind to sleep. Several times he tried to reach out to Dru and Spike through familial and Sire bonds. He was either met with a wall that blocked him or various emotions that confused him.

Angel detected new presences through the familial bond. With a sigh, Angel vowed to dust the new presences under the assumption that all of them were new Childer Spike or Dru made. Now that he was closer to the sources, Angel was able to differentiate between which of his Childer the new bonds belonged to. He was surprised to find out that two of the bonds seemed to be tied to Spike.

'He was never interested in making a Childe before. Why would he make two now?' That question floated through Angel's mind throughout the afternoon and evening. He waited impatiently for the sun to go down while sending out his "feelers" through the bonds to attempt to locate where they were coming from.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Dawn shot up in bed next to Buffy at the hospital. Her eyes were wide. "What is that? It's getting really annoying." She shivered at the echoed remnants of the icy grip on her thoughts.

Giles, Dawn and Spike stayed all night at the hospital and all day. Joyce stayed down with Buffy for a few hours off and on all day and night. Willow, Tara, and Anya made the rounds between Buffy, Joyce and Xander. No one went into Xander's room, but they did check with the nurse's station from time to time.

Currently Spike and Dawn were in Buffy's room. Giles was up in Joyce's room. Willow, Tara and Anya had left to get some sleep and a bite to eat before they meant to return later in the evening.

Spike, Buffy and Dawn were all curled tightly together on Buffy's bed. Although there was nowhere near enough room for them all on the bed, the three seemed to need the comfort of the other's closeness. So they squished themselves together to catch little cat naps here and there.

Spike lifted his head up off of Buffy's shoulder. "What's wrong, Nibblet?" He had a good idea what was bothering the teenager. He felt Angel's many attempts to locate him all day long. He was thankful for dealing with Dru's ways for all those years. He'd learned to be able to put up blocks to keep other's out of his head. He still knew when they were searching. They just weren't able to get anything from his thoughts.

"That is just so creepy." Dawn visibly shook. "I can feel this dark hand reaching out to me. It is almost like it's trying to pull me back to it or at least my mind."

Buffy sighed. Her eyes were closed, but she was far from asleep. She never had the connection with Angel that she did with Spike, but somehow she knew the tendrils searching for her were coming from Angel. "I swear I am going to slap him when I see him."

Spike tilted his head in curious wonder. "You know he's here?"

"Who?" Dawn questioned.

Buffy opened her eyes. "Yes, I can tell it's him. Very freaky to feel him in my head though."

"Who?" Dawn asked again, a bit more eagerly.

"I should have known that the bonds would bring him here." Spike frowned. "I had hoped that he'd be far enough away to just ignore the sensations." He shook his head back and forth. "Since Dru made at least one Childe while she's been here, probably didn't help."

"Will someone tell me who the hell you are talking about?" Dawn slapped the arm rail of the hospital bed to emphasize her frustration over the whole situation.

"Dawn!" Buffy scolded.

"Watch the mouth there, Bit." Spike waggled a disapproving finger at the young girl that he loved as much as his own sister. "Don't want you upsetting your delicate sensibilities." He teased.

Dawn crossed her arms in front of her. She scowled at both of them. "I want to know who's rummaging around in my head. It's wigging me out big time."

"That would be the big brooding poofter," Spike answered first.

"Angel?" Dawn questioned for clarification. "He can do that?"

"Apparently he can." Buffy frowned. She glanced over at Spike for his agreement.

"He is the elder of our vampiric line. He is also in direct line of Sirehood." Spike started to explain some of the intricacies of blood relations. "He is able to call to or search out those of his lineage, but I didn't expect that it would work on you two. You're human, not vampire."

Buffy nodded in understanding. "The blood exchange must have been enough to link us in that way too." She pondered the possibilities. "It makes sense since he would have to feel our presence in his family that would keep us protected."

"I didn't think about that." Spike's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry, Buffy. Perhaps I can find him later to get him to stop. If he finds the answers he's seeking, he might leave."

"No!" Buffy sat up abruptly in bed. "You aren't going after him alone. He'll stake you for sure."

Spike huffed in disgust. "Have you no faith in my abilities?"

Buffy settled her hand on Spike's arms. "I know you can handle yourself, but I don't want the two of you two fight if it can be avoided." She tried to soothe his wounded ego. "Besides we could use his help with Dru, if he's willing to give it. He is her Sire."

"And when Mister Broodypants finds out about us?" Spike evened his gaze on Buffy. "Do you think he's just going to say good for you and walk away?"

Buffy sighed. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there, Spike. Nothing Angel can say to me will change my mind about you and I." She reassured her newest boyfriend and lover. "I went into this knowing exactly the kind of vampire you were and are. He was the one who hid his past from me."

Dawn reached over Buffy to hug Spike. "Mom always liked you more than Angel, and we know that he isn't a favorite on Giles' list either. He'd have to go through a lot of people to get you away from us." Her voice bounced with a slight hint of worry, but the majority of her voice echoed her inner confidence and protectiveness.

Spike ruffled Dawn's hair. "Just great," he teased, "I need a big bad teenager to protect me." He winked.

"Anything for you Spike." Dawn answered good-naturedly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Drusilla trailed a clawed finger down Riley's arm. The sunset was not too far off. She had plans for her new Childe tonight. The pixies told her that tonight was the night for revenge. All of the player's were in place. She only needed to wait for the sunset to begin. She set a hypodermic needle next to a vial on top of a stone monument.

Riley barely stirred from his sleep. Being a fledgling, his body refused to wake up until the sun was completely gone from the sky. His dreams were covered with thoughts of ripping Spike and Buffy apart and bathing in their blood with his Sire. A sadistic grin curled his lips in his sleep.

"Good boy." Drusilla cooed as if she saw Riley's dreams. "She won't laugh at you any longer. You'll be laughing at her." She clapped her hands in delight.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Giles and Joyce sat eating from their separate dinner trays. "I think we've been here quite long enough when they bring me a dinner tray with yours."

Joyce laughed. "Thankfully Dr. Kriegel is letting me go home tomorrow. I don't know how much longer I could stand hospital food."

"Joyce you aren't going to be able to spend a lot of time on your feet to start with. You heard what the doctor said." Giles spoke with great concern in his voice. "Unless Buffy's cooking skills have improved since Thanksgiving last year, you are going to be doing a lot of eating out or ordering in."

Joyce smiled. "Buffy is a good Slayer, but she is definitely no Suzy Homemaker. She's more comfortable with a stake or a sword than she is with a vacuum or a spatula." She gazed away from Giles thoughtfully. "How do you think they are doing down there? Dawn hasn't been up in a while."

"I don't know, Joyce. I do not fear for their safety here in the hospital with Spike at their side. He will protect them with his unlife. Their emotional well being is another matter."

"I know he would do anything for either of them, Rupert." Joyce responded in a confident and fervent tone. "He is much more of a man than you all have ever given him credit for being."

Giles set his fork down. "I am realizing that more and more every day, Joyce." He picked up his cup of tea to take a sip from it. "He is turning out to be a remarkable young man. Well, old man if you look at his actual years on this earth."

"That he is." Joyce smiled. Ever since Spike's return after being jilted from Drusilla in Brazil the first time, Joyce had grown closer to the old Victorian born vampire. After a while the more cultured and refined aspects of his personality shown through. "I'm glad that you are finally being able to see some of the man I've known for the last couple years." She sat down her can of clear pop. "He is a very smart man. I think you two could learn or share a lot between you."

"I told him before that he had a chance to use his chipped state as a means to begin a redemption for himself by helping us." Giles remembered the conversation he had with Spike after Ethan turned Giles into a Fyarl demon. "He practically laughed in my face during the whole conversation."

"He always tries to maintain his bad boy image in from of most of you. I've learned to look past that entire gruff exterior to see the man he is inside. Did you see how guilty he looked about Buffy's injury?"

Giles nodded. "Yes, I did notice he seemed a bit more reclusive and withdrawn over the whole incident."

"I don't blame Spike at all for it. I just want to slap that darn Xander Harris boy. I don't know what he was thinking." Joyce shook her head back and forth. "He's been around Buffy for 5 years, and he doesn't realize Buffy will do anything to protect those she cares for?"

"I believe Xander refuses to acknowledge that Buffy could truly care for Spike." Giles sat back in his chair. "That is part of the problem."

Joyce nodded her head in agreement. "What is going to happen now? Spike promised Buffy he wouldn't kill, but I know he wants to kill Xander for sure?"

"Strange as it is to say this, I think Spike will stick to his promise. If he breaks it, he would lose Buffy." Giles thought the matter over carefully. "When Angel lost his soul, he was already wreaking havoc on us from the moment it was gone. Spike has already showed more restraint when he didn't kill Xander especially since he had a good reason to kill him."

"Thought I told you never to compare me to the brooding poofter." Spike drawled from the entryway of Joyce's hospital room.

"My apologies, Spike. I was merely using an example." Giles looked thoughtfully at the vampire. He knew Spike was teasing with him. How things had changed in the last week.

"S'all right. I knew what you meant." Spike pushed off the door frame and walked fully into the room. "Dawn is downstairs with Buffy."

"How is she?" Joyce queried.

"They're both doing all right." Spike turned to Giles. "Angel is in town. He's been sending out feelers through our blood link. The Bit and Buffy are a bit concerned because they've felt him searching too."

"He can do that?" Giles was amazed at what he didn't know about vampires even after all of his years training to be a Watcher and being a Watcher.

"Yes, but I don't think he's pinpointed anything yet. Promised Buffy I wouldn't go out looking for him, but I am going to go patrol and look for Dru."

"Should you be going out by yourself, Spike?" Joyce was concerned about Spike. He'd taken care of her family so well already. She didn't want to lose her hot chocolate buddy and friend.

"It is safer for me to find her alone. She'd only use anyone that came with me as a hostage." Spike tried to reassure Joyce. "Rupert, the docs say that Buffy can probably go home tonight. Do you think you could take her home later? I'd say take her when she's ready, but you know she's already ready. She hates hospitals."

Giles nodded. "I can drive her home later." He patted Joyce's hand before locking his fingers with hers. "She'll be safe."

"Good. I should be at the house by the time you get there." Spike dug around in the pockets of his duster. "Most of the nightly creepy crawlies haven't been lurking about with this Glory chick around."

"That is a small reprieve."

"Ya, except that when something is bad enough to send the other demons into hiding ..." Spike let the sentence trail off for both of them to think about themselves.

Giles sighed. "Hopefully we can find a way to stop her soon."

"Once I get this mess with Dru sussed out, I'll go back on the hunt for the skanky bitch." Spike promised. "No one touches my girls."

Joyce smiled proudly at Spike. She reached up to hug him.

Spike huffed in mock disgust. He wasn't fooling anyone in the room though. They knew he cared for Joyce, and his little huff and puff was all show. "I'm out of here. See you later, Watcher. Get some rest, Joyce." With that Spike disappeared in a blur of black and white.

"We must find out how Xander knew about the chip's malfunction. If it was even a malfunction to begin with." Giles returned to their previous conversation before Spike's interruption.

"You think the chip was deactivated or removed on purpose?" Joyce questioned.

"That makes the most sense to me right now." Giles shook his head back and forth. He didn't want to believe that Xander could be a part of such a conspiracy, but all of the current evidence was pointing in that direction. "He would have to be working with someone though to have it deactivated or removed."

"Spike has been with us or Buffy for the last week on a fairly constant basis." Joyce added in her thoughts to Giles' mental notations. "I don't see how he could have had the chip removed by any surgical means without us all knowing Spike was missing."

"We were never able to fully investigate the Initiative's purpose for having chipped vampires in the first place. The electronic hardware in his brain would cost a fortune. It would be counter productive to chip vampires as a whole." Giles explained some things about the Initiative that had been on his mind ever since the fall of Adam. "Much easier to kill them instead. There must have been some way they wished to control the vampire's they chipped."

Joyce listened intently to every word. "Like an on and off switch?"

Giles pondered all that he knew of the Initiative. "That would be my guess. If they could send a pulse to the chip somehow, then I am sure they could deactivate it as well."

Joyce shivered. "That group was more of a monster than the beings they tried to kill and torture. They were the inhumane ones. Spike told me about some of the harmless demons that the soldiers ran the experiments on. It makes me sick."

"I quite agree. In the beginning I thought they could be useful in our cause." Giles chastised himself for not voicing his doubts and concerns to Buffy more strongly. "The more I learned about the organization, the more I felt their means were detrimental to handling demons."

"I'm glad they're gone."

"With this latest development, I'm afraid they might not really be gone. It would seem they are just out of our line of vision."

"I'd wager my money on Riley being involved." Joyce spoke adamantly and sure of her conclusions. "I know he wouldn't have been happy to have Buffy break up with him. If he knew about Spike them I'm sure he would have tried to kill Spike." She ran through several different scenarios in her head. "Xander is naïve enough to play into any plan Riley would have to kill Spike. Their own little demon bad fan club."

"I am inclined to agree with you, Joyce." Giles concurred. "The hard part will be proving our suspicions. I spoke with Anya, Tara, and Willow earlier. Xander is not being forthcoming in any capacity about his knowledge of Spike's chip. Anya feels that it is the result of something Riley and Xander planned based on what occurred a couple of days ago."

"This has got to stop, Rupert." Joyce looked worried. "Buffy has enough things out trying to kill her. She doesn't need to be worrying about those who are supposed to be on her side. We also have to make sure that this Initiative can't reactivate Spike's chip again. It seems that Spike needs to be able to defend Buffy against human attacks as well as demon ones."

"We'll do what we can, Joyce. We'll do what we can." Giles squeezed Joyce's hand in comfort.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Spike patrolled the usual and unusual places throughout Sunnydale. He wanted to be as thorough as possible in his search for Dru. A couple times he felt he was close to her location, but the feelings disappeared rapidly. Only once had he needed to back track and side step to avoid Angel.

Spike rounded a line of tombstones in the Restfield cemetery. He was on his second run through the various cemeteries of Sunnydale. Some force drew him towards a particular crypt deep within the property.

Spike felt a strong pull of family the closer he got to the crypt. "Dru?" He called out a few feet from the crypt.

A light girlish giggle echoed from the crypt's entryway.

"Come out, Dru." Spikes voice was soft but stern. "I know you've been a bad girl lately. Come out and talk to me."

"Why would she have anything to say to you?" A deep voice from behind Spike carried over the grounds to the crypt. "You're beneath her."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy slipped her arms into the soiled top she was wearing the day before. Although a large bloodstained hole ruined the shirt, it was still wearable enough to get her home. She looked up when Giles entered the room.

Dawn stomped over to Giles in a huff. "Please take her home. She's driving me crazy!"

Giles half chuckled. "The doctor informed your mother and I that I may take Buffy home." He turned to Buffy. "Joyce would like you to rest, Buffy. Spike is out patrolling, and she hopes you will take this one night off."

Buffy sighed. "I've been stuck in this hospital all day with nothing to do. Now, you are telling me that I can't even go kick something's ass to help me feel better?"

Giles sighed. He knew better than anyone how stubborn Buffy could be. "Spike can take care of it, Buffy. Maybe you can do a second patrol in the wee hours of the morning if you are still feeling up to it."

Buffy crossed her arms in front of herself. She tapped her left foot in agitation. "Fine, but if anything gets in my way before then, I'm so kicking its butt."

Giles hid the mirth of laughter behind a hand covering his mouth. "Yes, Buffy. I'm sure you will." He hugged Dawn briefly. "Dawn, your mother is waiting for you upstairs. I'll be back later to pick you up too."

"Thanks, Giles. With all of this Angel wiggage, I need some motherly comfort." Dawn made a yuck face. "I don't know how vampires stand having someone else being able to get into their head. I know I don't like it one bit."

"They learn to be able to block things." Giles led both females out of the hospital room.

"Spike said he would teach us some meditation type techniques to help keep our minds clear." Dawn spoke up and pushed the elevator button.

"That sounds like a fine idea. Meditation is good for many purposes." Giles was glad that Spike was trying to take care of every aspect of the familial claim and link.

Buffy and Dawn hugged when the elevator dinged to announce its arrival. "I'll see ya soon sis," Dawn quipped.

Buffy ruffled Dawn's hair a little bit. "I love you, Dawn. Thank you for being so cool about this."

Dawn shrugged. "We're blood remember." She winked. "No matter what, we are sisters in every way that counts." She added with a maturity in her voice beyond her earthly years.

Buffy smiled. "You have the Summers' spunk. That's for sure." Giles and Buffy waved goodbye to Dawn and headed for the parking garage.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Captain Cardboard?" Spike turned around to fully face Riley. "Fancy meeting you here. What are you doing here?"

"Oh just hanging around." Riley stretched out his arms behind himself. "I'm more surprised to see you."

"Why is that?" Spike asked. He moved a few feet away from the crypt. He wanted to keep an eye on the entrance.

"I figured you'd be a pile of dust on Buffy's floor by now." Riley's tone was even and smooth. It held only a hint of agitation and no remorse.

"It seems you miscalculated then White Bread." Spike circled Riley. Something was off about him. A familiar connection tugged on his psyche towards Riley. He hated the soldier. So why did he feel a kinship with him.

The answer came slinking out of the crypt in the form of the dark Vampiress Drusilla. She wrapped her arm around Riley's waist then nibbled on his neck. Riley pulled Dru tighter to his body and kissed her deeply.

"Dru, what have you done?" Spike groaned in frustration. He surmised that Riley would be a problem for his relationship with Buffy but not this kind of a problem.

"The golden doll took my glowing little boy from me. So, I took her tin soldier."

"She doesn't love him, Dru. She isn't going to care that you turned him." Spike knew that was a lie. Buffy would care, and there was no way he was going to leave Riley's dusting for Buffy to do. He'd heard the cliff notes version of how she sent Angelus to Hell. He wasn't going to leave this burden up to her. He'd spare her that.

"You took my fun away, Spike." Dru mock sniffled. "You removed the golden doll from the toy box. Only you can play with her, and that's not fair."

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow in question. One hundred years with her, and a lot of patience, allowed him to see beyond the crazed yammerings to their true meanings. "None of our family can harm her now, Dru. She's family ... protected."

"I found others who can help me." Drusilla pointed to a group of 5 vampires that emerged from the crypt. "Not our blood, not our line. I will have my revenge." She prodded Riley in the side. "Have fun my sweet. Kill Spike."

"With pleasure," Riley sneered. "I've waited a long time for this."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(To Be Continued)