Love In Vein: Book Two - Chapter 42

Now leaving Sunnydale.

Buffy read the sign as it whizzed past and then clung desperately to the car door as Spike swerved across two lanes.

“Bloody learn to drive, you idiot.” Giles shouted from the back as he struggled to peel himself off the seat.

Spike just smirked and continued to hum the tune that was playing on his mind.

Lydia clutched her satchel even closer to her chest and Buffy couldn’t miss the petrified look in both hers and Giles’ eyes when she looked over the seat at them.

“He’s doing it on purpose, don’t encourage him.” She said flatly and ignored the way Spike arched a brow at her. She smiled sweetly.

“How much further?” Lydia asked as she tried to hold down this morning’s hurried breakfast.

“Not far now, kiddies.” Spike grinned as he swerved in between two lorries--it was fun scaring the living hell out of the newly appointed Head of the Council and Lydia.

Buffy noticed Spike’s wide smile and just rolled her eyes as she double-checked her seatbelt. She knew better than to stop him when he was having fun and she supposed that if she let him continue to drive at the breakneck speed he was attempting to go then they would be at the airport in good time.

“Any sign of the others?” She asked Giles and saw him look out the back of the car. He shook his head in the negative when he turned back to face her.

Her mother was driving Willow, Xander and Anya to the airport so they could all say their goodbyes to Giles together. She sighed as she thought about being without her father figure. It felt as though this wasn’t temporary, that once he was back in England and heading up the Council it would be a long time before she saw him again.

Staring out of the window, she smiled internally as Spike’s hand came to rest on her knee, offering her all the reassurance she needed as she thought about the upcoming fight.


Watching her friends as they each said their goodbyes to Giles, Buffy hung back slightly and held back the tears that wanted to fill her eyes. She had told herself a million times that this was what was necessary, that she had made the right decision, but it still didn’t lessen the pain of parting.

As Giles looked over at her, she stepped towards him, quickly closing the gap and throwing her arms around his neck. She shut her eyes tight as she struggled against the overwhelming desire to cry, and bit her lip as she listened to Giles.

“I’ll be back before you know it, and like you said, bloody pillocks couldn’t find their arse with both hands unless someone showed them. You made the right choice, Buffy. Now, you do your job, and I’ll do mine.” Giles held her tightly, surprised when he found Spike smiling approvingly at him and realising that it probably had something to do with the pep talk he’d just given to Buffy.

Buffy just swallowed noisily, unable to find her voice or make light of the situation like Giles was trying to.

As she heard their flight announced over the PA system, Buffy let Giles go and put on her best brave face. She smiled through the hurt that was constricting her throat and realised that this was the reason Spike had offered to drive them to the airport, because he knew how upset she was going to get and he knew she wouldn’t cry in front of her friends.

And right now, she needed a good cry.

“Take care, Rupes. Give them what for if the little buggers step out of line, just…” Spike trailed off as he felt like a million eyes were boring into him and he tried to ignore the looks of disbelief on the scoobies faces.

“Be careful.” Giles offered him and smiled when Spike nodded.

Spike wrapped his arm about Buffy as he moved to stand behind her. He sighed as she leaned into his embrace and he could feel her whole body trembling with pent up emotion. Pressing a kiss to the tip of her ear, he watched with the rest of them as Giles and Lydia disappeared.

He just hoped that Giles did what he said he would and got them some information to help them defeat the First.

Offering a warm smile to Joyce as she led the other three back to the car, he took hold of Buffy’s hand and lingered for a moment, putting space between them and the others.

Buffy leaned into his touch as he cupped her cheek, and she nuzzled it gently, seeking the comfort she needed from it. She closed her eyes and sighed as she heard the final boarding call for Giles’ flight.

“I know what you could use.” Spike smiled as she looked up at him.

“And that would be?” She asked, a frown of curiosity creasing her brows.

“A good fight.”

“And who am I going to fight?” She smiled coyly as she pretended not to know.

“That would be me.” He smiled and put his arm around her shoulder, leading her back to his car.

Buffy couldn’t deny he had her pinned, she could really use a good fight--not only to work out her tension, but to get her ready for the battle against the First--and there was always the bonus of it being a sparring session against her favourite foe, Spike.


Spike growled low as he recoiled from her punch only to find another fist flying square at his nose. He felt the crunch go straight to his stomach and threw a warning look in Buffy’s direction. When he’d said that he’d spar with her, he had expected her to put up as much fight as she had last time.

Instead, she was trying to wipe the floor with him.

Angel’s presence in the room might have had something to do with it.

“Bloody hell, woman, not the sodding nose, all right?” He wiped the hurt appendage against the back of his hand and then licked the blood off it, not missing the slightly fascinated look that had surfaced in Buffy’s eyes when she’d caught sight of the crimson liquid.

“Sorry.” Buffy shrugged and continued to limber up. So far, she’d beaten Spike three times in a row and sure, part of her ferocity may have had something to do with Angel watching them, but the rest of it was coming from nowhere.

She felt different.

Stronger.

Maybe it was something to do with her acceptance of her Slayer side and the way her and Spike had been gradually honing her skills when on patrol.

Or maybe it was something else.

Spike smirked as he felt his bones rapidly heal and then looked down at the ring. He’d decided against taking it off the moment Angel had entered the equation--he couldn’t quite bring himself to trust his grandsire around the array of pointy weapons that were present.

Angel just continued to lean against the back table, his arms folded across his chest as he watched the two sparring. There was definitely something different about Buffy and it wasn’t just the technique she was using. She seemed stronger, faster and more precise. She also seemed to be able to take a hard landed punch without feeling as much impact as he expected her to.

Buffy smiled at Spike as she watched him heal, the blood disappearing from his nose.

“I mean, you’re kinda indestructible…it’s not like I’m going to do any permanent damage.” She bounced on her heels and received an incredulous look from Spike.

“It still sodding hurts.” Spike whined at her and then stood a little straighter. “Not that I can’t take it, just thought that you would go a little easier on me, with you being in love with me and all.”

Buffy mock gasped. “Thought we said no hitting below the belt?”

“Sue me.” Spike sneered.

“Are you going to stand there all day? Or will you be making a move sometime this century?”

“Maybe I’m waiting for you.” He returned and pretended to pick at his nails, an expression of boredom settling on his face.

As he closed his eyes, Buffy moved quickly toward him, hoping to catch him off guard. She let her fist sail through the air and the whole world went into slow motion as Spike’s hand caught her across the chest and slammed her down onto the concrete.

Buffy felt the wind knocked from her and she just stared open mouthed at Spike as he knelt beside her, his hand still pressed against her chest.

“Ow!” She shot the words straight into his head as she frowned, her voice refusing to work until she found the ability to breathe again.

“Oops.” Spike shrugged, mimicking her move when she’d broken his nose not minutes before.

Buffy coughed and took hold of his hand as he offered it to her. She struggled to sit up and pulled in long slow breaths as her lungs began to work again.

“Sorry.” Spike rubbed her back, partly soothing the hurt and partly getting rid of the concrete dust that was coating her.

“Nice move, idiot.”

Buffy turned and frowned at Angel at the same time Spike did. She looked into Spike’s eyes and silently pleaded with him to ignore the comment and help her up instead. When he pulled her up off the concrete, she kissed his cheek as a thank you.

“Really have to install some mats.” Buffy moaned as she stretched her back and frowned when her bones clicked and cracked. She winced as Spike brushed his fingers against her arm and it stung.

Twisting her arm around, she pouted at the cut on her elbow.

Spike moved immediately, slipping into game face and dipping his head toward the cut. He growled as he felt someone push him backwards and then clenched his fists when he looked up to see Angel by Buffy’s side.

“You’re a monster.” Angel spat at him and watched as he slid out of his vampire guise.

“You’d know all about that now wouldn’t you, mate?” Spike retorted with a sneer.

Buffy got the feeling that the temporary truce between the two had just been shattered. She felt confused as she looked from Spike to Angel, seeking an answer to the questions buzzing in her head but finding neither of them were going to look at her.

This was all about them.

About history.

“What are you two talking about?” She frowned at them both, unsure of the reason for Angel’s outburst when Spike hadn’t shown himself to be a monster, at least not around her.

“Come on, Buffy, he got his name torturing people.” Angel reasoned with her and her stomach squirmed a little as she remembered what she’d read about Spike all those years ago.

“It wasn’t my idea.” Spike spat at him, anger over his past rising up quicker than his anger over the way Angel was obviously attempting to turn Buffy against him. “I was doing what it took to be a good childe to a murderous, sadistic, bastard.”

Buffy looked over at Angel, expecting him to retaliate but found him speechless as he kept his eyes locked with Spike’s. She waited for him to deny Spike’s words, waited for him to explain that it wasn’t what had happened but he didn’t.

He just stood there.

Mute.

Unable to defend himself against the allegation Spike had laid at his feet.

She could see that Spike had been telling the truth, that everything the First had taunted her with about Spike, everything she’d feared about him, was true but it had been Angel who’d made him do it. She remembered what Spike had told her in her bedroom the night the First appeared to her.

He was young, foolish, led on by another when he was trying to be a good childe.

A good childe to Angelus?

“You made me into a monster, so you could have someone else in the world that was as sick and twisted as you were, but it was never me. I’m not like that, I’ll never be like you.” Spike growled and held his gaze, showing Angel that he wasn’t going to back down this time or any other time after this.

Angel looked down at Buffy. “It’s his word against mine.”

She felt sick to the stomach when she realised he was pushing her into choosing between them, that she was being forced to make a decision when she didn’t want to. Both of them couldn’t be right, one of them had to be lying, but why would Spike have mentioned it all those days ago if it wasn’t true--why would he lie to her then, it wasn’t like he had known Angel was coming to Sunnydale to help.

Not wanting to break the eerie silence that had descended in the room, she looked from one vampire to the other and then took a step towards Spike.

Spike smiled down at her as she came to a halt by his side. Buffy closed her eyes as she heard Angel mutter something about air and the door that led into the shop slammed shut.

She heaved a sigh, enjoying the way the heavy atmosphere that had been pressing down on her had lifted but at the same time regretting making a choice when she should have tried to remain neutral for the sake of the fight.

Spike nudged her slightly and nodded toward her elbow. She brought it up and he pulled a face that had ‘poor baby’ written all over it. Buffy smiled as he licked the wound once and pressed a kiss to it.

Rolling her shoulders as he released her arm, she stretched and limbered up again, showing Spike that their sparring match was far from over.

Spike grinned and waited for her to make the first move.


Willow stifled a yawn as she closed her book and pushed it to one side, pulling another one across to her to take its place. She didn’t know what she was looking for, she’d found spells that would make ghosts corporeal but she didn’t think that the First was a ghost--it was just incorporeal. She glanced over at Tara and smiled as her girlfriend tried to smile back, they’d been researching solidly since Giles had left this morning and it was nearing three in the afternoon now.

Xander smiled at Willow as she looked at him, he could see the tiredness in her eyes. Trying to shut out the sound of Anya complaining that Giles wouldn’t like the Magic Shop to be closed, he walked over to the training room door and was about to knock when it opened.

Xander smiled at Spike.

Spike arched a brow.

“I was going to get some things from the Espresso Pump, wanted to know if you guys wanted anything.” Xander kept his smile steady as Spike looked at Buffy.

“Coffee. Ooh, and one of those little bagel things they do.” She smiled wide and caught hold of Spike’s hand as she walked past him.

“Coffee.” Willow looked hopeful and for a moment, she thought Xander was going to remark about her and caffeine but he just smiled and nodded.

“Tea, please.” Tara smiled and Xander raised his brows at the way her hand was brushing against Willow’s where it rested on the large tome they were researching from.

Buffy watched him as he gathered the rest of the orders and headed out of the shop. She looked over at Angel as she heard a quiet giggle and frowned on finding Cordelia and him sitting in the corner. From where she was standing, it looked as though they were forming a conspiracy but she shrugged it off as Spike heaved a sigh next to her.

She could tell he was restless; she didn’t even need to use the claim to see that. Their sparring session had given her the release she needed but he seemed to need something more. Squeezing his hand, she smiled as he looked down at her and searched her brain for something that he could do.

“The thing at the school…you think the First might be up to something?” Buffy looked to Spike for the answer but found Willow was the one who spoke.

“The school?” Willow felt more than a little curious over Buffy’s mention of it.

“The First was there, or at least the Bringers were and when the First came to visit me it was more than a little cranky about our having been there.” Buffy led Spike over to the table and sat down across from Willow.

“You think it’s up to something?”

“Was looking for something, that’s for sure and this feeling in my stomach isn’t going away.” Spike answered her question and then arched a brow at Angel as he came to see what they were talking about.

“I think it’s getting worse, more pronounced. I’m thinking we should go see what it’s up to, see what it has hidden there. It could be something it will use against us, something bad. That place is right over the Hellmouth, and nothing good ever came from that.” Buffy tapped her fingers impatiently against the tabletop as she tried to figure out what the First was up to.

“But you said there were Bringers.” Angel interjected and she turned her frown on him.

“And there were, lots of them, like an army of ants all swarming around the place.” Buffy kept her face impassive, showing him that the Bringers didn’t bother her in the least.

“So what’s the plan?” Willow asked as she caught Buffy’s attention and drew it away from Angel.

“We go in, or at least one of us does.” She said quietly as she slid her eyes to rest on Spike.

His lips curved into a smile as he took the hint.

“Guess I’ll be toddling off then, clear up the Bringer infestation and see what’s drawing all the nasties to that spot.” Spike stood slowly, his eyes briefly meeting Angel’s before he settled them on Buffy. “Won’t be long, baby. I’ll let you know if I find something.”

Buffy caught hold of his hand. “Wait!”

Walking over to the counter, she slipped behind it and rummaged through the weapons chest that Giles kept there for emergencies. She appeared with an axe and handed it to Spike, then watched as he weighed it up.

“I know I’m not the only one who likes the axes.” Buffy smiled as he spun it in a lazy arc by his side and grinned at her.

She walked with him to the front of the shop and glanced back at her friends, making sure they were all at least pretending not to be watching her and Spike. Holding onto his hand tightly, she briefly kissed him and then gave him a serious look.

“No hero antics, just get in, see what’s happening and get out.” She kept her eyes locked with his and saw from the way they narrowed slightly that he was smiling at her.

“No hero antics.” He assured her. “Just keep your ears open.”

Buffy nodded and closed her eyes as he dipped his head and kissed her cheek. She felt oddly uneasy as she watched him walk out the door and into the sunshine.

It felt as though she wasn’t going to see him again, or that something bad was going to happen.

She could feel it growing closer, like the sands of time were fast running out for them and any second now it would all begin and she’d be swept away in the tide of battle. Wrapping her arms around herself, she let a small sigh escape her and silently hoped that she was wrong.

Because they were nowhere near ready to face the First.

One thing was certain--they needed a plan.

And she got the feeling they needed it fast.

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