Love On The Hellmouth

The next morning the Summers residence was peaceful. All the girls more jazzed about training. Everyone was calm going through their routines. That lunch Buffy sat the group down to talk about Caleb. “I’ve been thinking about Caleb this morning and I realized something. We’ve been worried about the Seal of Danzalthar, but Caleb isn’t guarding it. So I thought, why doesn't he have someone there protecting it? Why is he camped out at the vineyard? The bad guys always go where the power is. If the Seal were so important to Caleb and The First, they'd be there right now. They're trying to shake us off the trail, it's a mislead. They're protecting the vineyard. They're protecting something at the vineyard. I say it's their power. And I say it's time we go take it away from them.” The group looks at each other then back to Buffy freaked. “By we though I really mean me. I’m going on my own. When Spike gets back I’ll go in.” Kennedy walks to Buffy, “No way am I letting you go back there. He nearly killed you last time.” “I know. That’s why I’m going on my own. You need to protect the others. Promise me you wont leave this house.” Kennedy promised, all be it grudgingly. While the others went back to the usual routine Buffy went to the basement and worked out. While she showed confidence she was in reality scared.

That night Spike arrived to find the house nervous. Kennedy went straight to him, “She’s downstairs.” Spike nodded and went straight to the basement, no one followed. Spike walked to Buffy who was sitting on his cot. “Caleb is protecting something from you. And I think you were spot on all the way; I think it's at the vineyard. You were right Buffy.” Buffy looks to him and he can see she’s scared. “Buffy, what’s the matter?” “Have you noticed that I’ve cut myself off?” “All Slayers cut themselves off. It’s how they survive. How you survive. Although I think if it weren’t for Kennedy you may have done more so this time round.” “Being the slayer made me different, but it's my fault I stayed that way. People try to connect to me but I just... I slip away, every time. I don’t let people get close. You should know.” “I seem to recall a certain amount of connecting. Kennedy is connecting.” “Please, Spike. We never got close. That's why you wanted me…'cause I was unattainable. As for Kenn, I don’t know. I don’t think I can beat this.” “You're insufferable.” “Thank you. That helped.” “I'm not trying to cheer you up!” “Well what are you trying to say?” “I don't know! I'll know when I'm done saying it. Something pissed me off and I just... Unattainable! That's it! You listen to me. I've been alive a bit longer than you, and dead a lot longer than that. I've seen things you couldn't imagine, and done things I'd prefer you didn't. I don't exactly have a reputation for being a thinker; I follow my blood, which does not always rush in the direction of my head. So I've made a lot of mistakes. A lot of wrong bloody calls. A hundred plus years, only one thing I've ever been sure of. You. I'm not asking you for anything. When I tell you that I love you, it's not because I want you, or 'cause I can't have you… it has nothing to do with me. I love what you are, what you do, how you try... I've seen your strength, and your kindness, I've seen the best and the worst of you and I understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You are a hell of a woman. You're the one, Buffy.” They look at each other with understanding. “So are Kennedy and I coming with?” “No. If I’m going to do this I need to do it on my own. It’s the only way I can survive right?” They smile at each other and head upstairs.

Buffy arrived at the vineyard in the early morning. She makes her way through the vineyard till she hears Caleb. Buffy thinks he’s talking to someone but can’t hear another person. As she’s about to go in she is attacked by a Bringer. She fights it and quickly kills it. Buffy throws the Bringer against the down and it goes crashing down the stairs, it stops at Caleb’s feet. Buffy looks down, “Hey.” Caleb and The First, whom Buffy can’t see, look up and see Buffy. “I hear you’ve got something of mine.” Buffy comes down the stairs and faces off with Caleb again. Caleb is calm, “Well, if it ain’t the prodigal Slayer…” Buffy starts looking around trying to find her weapon, “So, where’s it at? I’m gonna find it sooner or later.” Caleb walks closer to her, “No you’re not. I lay a hand on you and you’re just a dead little girl.” “So lay a hand on me. If you can.” Caleb goes to hit her with a punch that previously sent her flying, but as it approaches, Buffy leans back limbo style and his fist goes right over her head. Buffy moves out of the way as Caleb staggers forward from the momentum of the punch. He swings again and she ducks. Caleb is becoming angry as he charges at her indenting to hit her in the gut, but she just jumps out of his reach to a barrel. She runs along a row of barrels still looking for a weapon. Caleb dives at her ankles but misses and barrels come crashing down on him. Caleb looks for Buffy and finally spots her standing behind him. He tries to crash tackle her but misses, hitting the ground hard. He spots The First and still in Buffy’s form is hardly impressed, “Caleb, this is getting embarrassing.” Caleb is becoming confused and asks The First to leave. Caleb continues to try to hit Buffy but she continues to dodge every hit. Caleb is looking pitiful, angry and worn, “You whore.” Buffy has yet to work up a sweat, “Y’know, you should really watch your language. Someone who didn’t know you might think you were a woman hating prick.” Caleb picks up a barrel revealing a trap door. Buffy seeing this runs to it. She reaches it and dives head first into it.

Buffy tumbles down the ladder, landing in a heap. She looks around and she finds what she is looking for. Buried up to its hilt in stone is a scythe. She stands and looks at it in awe. Buffy walks to it and just as she goes to touch it Caleb drops down behind her. She turns to face him as he approaches. “So? You found it. Not impressed. Because the question now, girly girl is: can you pry that out of solid rock before…” Buffy grips the scythe’s handle and easily pulls it from the rock. The scythe has a large blade at one end and a stake at the other. Caleb stops walking, “Darn.” Buffy looks at the scythe then up to Caleb who is blocking her way out. Caleb looks at her a little nervously, “Now, before you go hurting yourself, why don’t you do yourself a courtesy and hand it over.” “Yeah? You want it?” Buffy flips the scythe over in her hands. She points it at Caleb’s throat. “In the head or the gut” “You don’t even know what you’ve got there.” “I know you’re backing away.” Buffy walks forward and Caleb backs away. Buffy watches Caleb, as he seems to have a conversation with himself. She sees he’s not going to attack so she just leaves.