Love In Vein: Book Three - Chapter 17

Buffy smiled down at the sight of Spike’s fingers firmly interlocked with hers. She let out a small sigh and then looked up into his face, taking a moment to bask in the way he was looking at her.

Walking down the corridor with him, she recounted another boring day of research with Giles and told him all about what they had found out.

Nothing.

She caught the fearful glances at Spike that came from a group of young Watchers as they passed them by. She didn’t care what they thought; she could control Spike and he was showing good signs of getting back to normal. She looked over at him and smiled at how good he looked in his leather duster.

He smiled back at her, giving her a toothy grin that reminded her that she hadn’t fed him in a couple of days.

Looking up, her smile turned into a grin as she saw who was walking toward them.

This was too good.

Spike nuzzled Buffy’s neck, planting little kisses to it as they walked. He could see Lydia out the corner of his eye and knew she’d be watching them. Pulling Buffy to a halt, he kissed her hard, stealing her breath away and holding her so flush against him that there wasn’t even room for air between them.

Buffy smiled lazily as he broke the kiss and then looked over at Lydia.

She looked mortified.

Spike grinned and slipped his hand back into his mate’s as they started to walk again. He had a hazy memory of Lydia coming onto him and could remember what Buffy had accused her of the time that she had brought Giles down to see them sleeping together.

Only he hadn’t been sleeping.

He’d been watching his girl as she slumbered, her little nose twitching as she dreamed good dreams for once.

She was beautiful.

Looking down at her as she beamed at every passing person, he heaved a sigh, knowing that he was the reason she looked so happy. He still had moments where he couldn’t deal with the things he’d done, times where everything came back to haunt him and it hurt so much that he just wanted to curl up and cry the soul out of him, but they were getting fewer and further between now.

She saw to that.

Forcing her to stop again, he made her face him and let his look turn tender as he ghosted his hand over her hair. She made it all worthwhile. He’d suffer a million deaths if she would give him one smile, one look that let him know how much she loved him.

He’d do anything for her. He’d do anything to ensure that she lived, and if his soul could do that, then it was worth it.

It was all worth it.

Buffy frowned slightly as he just looked at her, his eyes expressing so much love that she felt she was drowning in it. It was so good to have him back, to be by his side again and to sleep in his embrace.

“We’ll be late.” She said it idly, not actually caring about whether they would be late or not, and wanting nothing more than to remain lost in his eyes and his smile.

It was so good to have him back.

“Come on then, love. Wouldn’t want to disappoint.” He tugged on her hand and began to move again, heading toward the lounge and the impending research session.

He couldn’t help wondering if she’d told Giles about his soul. Part of him hoped that she hadn’t. After his outburst earlier in the year, he’d feel like a complete idiot if everyone knew he’d gone and got his soul.

Joyce had been right. He wasn’t destined to be cursed like Angel. He wasn’t destined to be anything like his grandsire. He was more than he could ever be. He had fought for his soul and endured endless pain and suffering to win it back for the sake of Buffy.

Would Angel do that?

Would any other vampire do that?

He hadn’t even thought about it when the time had come. The second he had been told he needed a soul in order to save her, he’d gone straight out and went about getting his back. He didn’t even care that it hurt like hell and that he was having to learn to deal with every single person he’d killed.

All he cared about was her, and saving her.

He’d thought he’d loved her with intensity before the soul, but now he realised that it was a shadow of the affection he held for her. He loved her more than his own life, more than anything, more than everything.

More than he could express.

He’d never felt anything so keenly in his whole existence and his life before that.

No wonder the bond between them was a strong one.

Following her into the lounge, he watched Giles’ face go from one of pleasure to one of pain.

“Is it wise…” Giles started.

“Don’t start with the ‘is it wise’ stuff, Giles.” Buffy warned him and walked straight over to the research table. She noticed that Giles had found at least a dozen more books to sift through since she left him only an hour ago.

It was going to be a long night, but at least she had Spike with her now.

She smiled as he let go of her hand and arched a brow at the books.

Buffy watched him as he stuck his hands in his duster pockets and produced a packet of cigarettes and his Zippo. Her eyes followed his every move as he withdrew a cigarette from the pack and balanced it on his bottom lip, his left hand flicking the lighter open and bringing it up to the tip of it.

She was so absorbed in watching him that she almost inhaled at the same time as he did.

A smile teased her lips as a sensation of pleasure flooded her system and she knew it was him feeling it.

Giles shot him a dirty look.

“Oh, don’t give me that look.” Spike said in a disapproving tone.

Giles looked a little shocked to hear him speaking. He hadn’t expected him to be so coherent. It had only been a few days since Spike had moved into Buffy’s room, but she seemed to have affected such a change in him.

He wondered how.

Spike got the feeling he was being scrutinised and turned his back on Giles only to come face to face with a painting of angels and demons. He stared at it, the conversation between Buffy and Giles fading into the background as his eyes scanned over the canvas.

Buffy stopped talking when she felt a sudden sickness inside her, a mixture of deep, painful emotions that made her stomach turn. Glancing over at Spike, she found him staring at the creepy painting she’d always avoided.

He looked scared.

She frowned as he turned his back on the painting, seemingly shunning it, but Buffy got the feeling that he was trying to hide from it. Her suspicion was confirmed when he walked to the other end of the room and sat in the chair by the fire, his back to the painting and himself hidden from it by the armchair.

She watched him with concern for a few moments more and then realised Giles was saying something to her. Her eyes moved back to the painting and she stared at it, trying to see what had upset Spike so much. All she could see were angels fighting against demons, heaven and hell, the usual subject choice of old works of art.

“Huh?” Buffy said as Giles finally caught her attention again but she couldn’t stop her eyes from wandering to rest on the armchair that Spike was now occupying. “Hang on a sec.”

Giles look dumbfounded as she walked straight past him, ignoring everything he said as she went to see Spike.

Buffy slowly rounded the chair and quietly sat down on the coffee table opposite him. He was staring into the fireplace, smoking his cigarette and seemingly absorbed in his thoughts.

Her eyes dropped to rest on his hands.

They were shaking as he brought the cigarette up to his lips.

What had he seen in the painting?

Catching hold of the hand that was tapping nervously against his knee, she stroked it gently as she waited for him to come out of his thoughts and back to her.

Spike shifted his eyes to rest on hers, offering her a weak smile as he found her hand gently caressing his and her expression so full of tender concern.

“You okay?” Buffy realised that now Spike was back with her they could resume telepathic communication.

“Will be.” He replied with a slight smirk that made him look more hurt than confident.

“Sure?” She couldn’t help questioning him. His eyes moved back to the empty fire grate and she squeezed his hand to bring him back to her. “What’s wrong? What did you see?”

“Nothing good…nothing bad…just can’t bear them looking at me. I’m…it’s wrong for them to see me.”

Buffy frowned for a moment before realising that he was talking about the angels in the painting and the little cherubs that were floating around the clouds.

“Oh…Spike…it’s not wrong. You’ve done such good in your existence…and I have it on good authority that he doesn’t think you’re undeserving.”

It was Spike’s turn to frown this time. “He?”

Buffy nodded. “I told you I met an angel, right? It showed me how you got your soul and everything that had happened to you so I could help you. Well, it seems that it wasn’t sent because I was a good girl, it was sent because of you…apparently you register on God’s radar, on his little list of those in need of divine assistance.”

Spike wondered if he looked as stunned as he felt. He registered on God’s radar? He’d always known he existed. Humans spend their lives questioning the existence of higher powers, but demons know of the reality that is heaven and hell, they know that the Devil and God both exist. He’d thought Buffy would know too, being the Slayer and the one chosen to fight the powers of evil for the side of good, but she seemed a little taken aback still about the presence of higher powers.

He registered on God’s radar.

Spike looked up and smiled at the ceiling. He just hoped that God was willing to lend him a hand when the time came to save Buffy, because he felt sure that he was going to need it.

Buffy smiled as Spike’s feelings settled and became calm again. The tranquillity he was experiencing seemed to flow into her and soothe her feelings too, until she was feeling so relaxed that she didn’t even care about the mountain of research they were about to do.

“You okay?” She asked as he looked at her and then over his shoulder at the painting.

“Yeah…I’m good.”

Buffy wondered if he meant that emotionally or literally.

“Research time.” She stated with a sarcastic smile.

“Hadn’t missed this.” Spike remarked as she stood up and he followed her lead.


Buffy stretched and yawned as she pushed another book away from her. She was feeling so tired and drained, her eyes sore from staring at a million old pages in the tatty tomes that Giles had found. Looking across the table, she noticed that she wasn’t the only person feeling a little exhausted.

Spike looked about ready to fall asleep on the book he was reading. He was making a valiant effort to look as though he was interested in the text, but she could feel in him that his thoughts were all over the place. In fact, they seemed to be every place but on his work.

She smiled as he met her eyes and pulled a face that was designed to tell her that it was time to call it quits for the night.

He wasn’t wrong. The sun would be rising shortly and with it would come another long day without Spike. She’d sleep with him for a while, until the early afternoon, and then she’d have to go back into research mode with Giles.

Maybe tomorrow night they could do something different. Maybe it was time that she took Spike out for a patrol of the local cemeteries. She didn’t enjoy the prospect of running into the demonic angel again, but she couldn’t remain cooped up inside the Council headquarters the whole time she was in England.

At some point, she had to go out, and she couldn’t think of a better companion than Spike.

Her eyes fell to rest on the ring that was still sitting safely on her finger. She would have to let him have it back tonight. She couldn’t patrol with him if she knew that he was vulnerable. Presumably, the ring would protect him from the angel if they met it again and, in turn, he would be able to protect her.

Just like he was destined to.

She didn’t like thinking about that. The idea that something bad was going to happen and she would require Spike to save her made her stomach feel light and airy, full of nerves from the knowledge that she could die.

She knew it was on the cards at some point, no Slayer lived forever, but she wanted it to be a long time from now, hopefully after her and Spike had finally spent some time together without apocalypses getting in the way. She sighed into her book and then realised that Spike was watching her. She could feel the concern in him, could sense that he was wondering what she was thinking and that he wanted to comfort her.

She gave him a little reassuring smile and he held her gaze for a moment before going back to his book.

After a few more minutes, Buffy called it quits.

Pushing the book as far away from her as possible, she stood up and held her hand out to Spike. There was no point in trying to continue researching when they were so tired; they would only end up missing something important. Besides, Spike really did look about ready to pass out.

“Sleep.” Buffy said to Giles.

He knew it wasn’t a statement of intent, it was an order directed at him. He nodded, grateful for her concern and that she had actually let him see it.

“I will. You too…get some rest.”

“Night.” Buffy smiled and tugged on Spike’s hand, encouraging him to get up off his chair.

“Night, Rupes.” Spike smirked in his direction and Giles just rolled his eyes.

“Goodnight, Spike.” He replied as he watched them go, Buffy chatting aimlessly while Spike wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

There was something different about him.

Something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

But he’d figure it out soon enough.

Review This Story/Chapter!

It only takes a minute to send me feedback, but it makes my whole day. Simply fill in the form below: