My Immortal

Chapter Thirteen

Buffy finally sunk into her bed. She pulled the covers around her and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath and yawned. Angel sat in the chair near her bed and smiled. She looked angelic as she slept. He looked around the room and finally found his gaze stopping on her again. He stretched out his long legs and put his arms behind his head. He closed his eyes and soon, he was asleep.

Spike watched from the ledge outside her window . He took the small box out of his pocket and stared at it. He slid the window open and stepped inside, being careful not to wake them. He stood beside the bed and smiled . He bent and kissed her gently, leaving the box on her bedside table. He looked back once more before leaving in a swirl of leather and smoke.

Buffy stirred and felt a pain grip her. She clutched at her neck and her chest. She staggered to the bathroom and stood over the sink. Blood dripped from the bite mark that Spike had inflicted on her. Tears fell into the sink and mixed with the blood droplets. Buffy opened the cabinet and took out the first aid box, She applied one of the dressings to the bite and wiped away her tears. Once she felt a little better she went back to her room. Angel sat on the edge of her bed and pointed to the dressing. Buffy slid back under the covers and saw the box. She picked it up and looked at Angel.

"This from you?"

"No, was it there earlier?"

"No"

Curious, Buffy opened the box and saw an ornate silver cross. Buffy took it out and felt the smoothness of the silver. She knew who it was from. She turned it over in her hands and saw that he'd had it engraved.

'I'll keep you safe even in my absence, always yours Slayer , W '

Buffy slid it on over her head and enjoyed the coolness of the metal against her chest. A smile graced her lips briefly before the tears came back. Angel knew who had left her the cross. She must have granted him an invitation , that angered Angel but he forced it down , after all, he had left Sunnydale. He watched as Buffy fell asleep again. he closed his eyes again and was also asleep again in no time.

The black car that sat idled opposite the Summers home looked suspicious. Spike stood in the shadows watching it. From what he could see , there was only one occupant, so, he shrugged and walked over. He flicked his fag at the car and tapped on the window. The electric window wound down. Spike blew his last puff of smoke into the face of the man inside and sniffed.

"Watchers ponce if I'm not mistaken, what you doin' here?"

"Uh... business now move along Sir"

Spike sniggered

"Right, so sittin' outside a sixteen year old girls house at two am is business eh?"

Wesley suddenly felt like a creep .

"Right, so you know that I'm a Council employee , so nothing sinister here, move along ,there's a good fellow"

"Bloody hell! Your a bloody green one aint you? What the fuck are they thinking?"

"Who may you be ?"

Spike couldn't resist it now. He morphed and growled.

"I'm William the Bloody mate, heard of me? I'm guessing by the look on your face and the fact that you just pissed your pants, you have. Now I'm telling you, go back to the mother country and tell 'em that the Slayers fine, no problems... or else"

Spike opened his mouth and dragged Wesley half way out the car before releasing him. Wesley put his foot hard on the gas and wheel spun out of sight. Spike lit another fag and laughed. He looked back up at Buffys window and huffed. He'd done his last part in keeping her safe. The rest was down to her Watcher and the Poof, that was why he had been sent to her anyway.

He got into the DeSoto and turned on his radio, he silently said his goodbyes and pulled away from the curb.

Angel woke up and noted the vast amounts of sun that cascaded through her windows. He was trapped there until nightfall. Buffy stretched and yawned and then looked over at Angel. He smiled at her and then pointed to the window.

It seems I'm stuck here til sundown"

"Don't worry , my Mum usually goes into work early, so you can come downstairs , unless you like hanging out in girls bedrooms, and shut me up now"

Angel laughed

"It's okay, You go check if your Mums home and then I'll come downstairs if the coast is clear"

"Okay"

Buffy ran downstairs to find the house empty but a note pinned to the fridge. Joyce had not been happy to come home and find the broken dishes. Buffy shrugged , the rest of the note was just as she expected , had to work , see you later , blah blah blah. Buffy screwed it up and threw it at the bin. Angel stood and watched as Buffy held back more tears.This girl sure had it rough.He took Buffy in his arms and held her til she felt a little better. He brushed her hair out of her face and wiped her tears away. Buffy tilted her head to look into his eyes , both caught in the moment, found themselves kissing.

Buffy pulled away first, embarrassed she ran upstairs and shut her bedroom door. Angel looked up at the ceiling and cursed himself for letting it happen. True, he had feelings for the girl, but he knew that now was not the time to attempt to have a relationship with her. Her Father had left two months ago, she had a Mother who threw herself into work and didn't have time for her daughter, and Spike. He didn't even know where to start there. She must have felt the same as she was now shut in her room . Angel sighed and headed upstairs. He tapped on her door.

"Buffy, Buff? Open the door , I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking"

He heard shuffling from behind the door and then a muffled answer.

"It wasn't just you, I'm sorry too"

The door opened and Buffy stood in front of him. Face set with regret and her arms folded, as if she was guarding her heart.

"C'mon, lets get you some breakfast, I might not eat food, but I've been told my omelette's are to die for"

He winked at her and took her hand, half dragging her back downstairs and into the kitchen. She sat on a stool at the island and watched as Angel cooked for her. She smiled and thought to herself. What is it with him and Spike, both seemed to cook, only Spike did eat food, weird.

"There you go, I want a clean plate, then we'll go to Giles' and see if there's anything happening"

Buffy simply nodded as she swallowed her first mouthful of her breakfast.

"This is good"

"Told you"

Angel smiled and then poured her some juice. She drank it down in one and gasped breathlessly.

Giles stood in his kitchen and turned to the Wesley.

"And you say that the vampire threatened you if you approached Buffy? How odd"

Wesley shuffled on his feet and could see that Giles obviously knew more than he was letting on. It was known that Giles and Buffy were working with Angelus, and that Angelus had his soul. The Council ,whilst not liking the situation, saw the benefit of having another strong and able fighter working for their cause. The only worry for them was the way in which Angelus had his soul, and the frailty that surrounded it. It was a curse and so , could be lost if the trigger was pulled.

"This vampire called himself William the Bloody, what I want to know is, why this highly dangerous vampire wasn't killed and why he was protecting Buffy. I saw him exit her room last night before he attacked me. I thought the vampire sent to protect Buffy was the one known as Angelus"

"It is, Spike, William the Bloody was a , shall we say, an unexpected figure. His involvement in the Masters downfall was quite monumental and without him Buffy would have died. We would not have beaten the Master without him."

"Your telling me that instead of taking the life of a Slayer, which he is known for, he saved it?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying"

Giles was getting short tempered . This man was unbelievable. He was young and had obviously just passed the Councils tests. How could the Council be so stupid? Sending someone as inexperienced as he to the Hellmouth was just asking for trouble. Giles bought the tea through and handed Wesley a cup. Giles reclined in his chair. The door opened and Angel ran on, smoke rising from him, Buffy walked in behind him. They both frowned and stared at Wesley, who stood up to greet them.

"New Watcher?"

"New Watcher"

Giles smiled at the look on Buffys face. Wesley extended his hand and Buffy ignored it. Angel shook it .

"Cold hands"

Buffy sniggered

"Kinda happens when you don't have circulation. Boy, he's dumber than I was at first and he's a Watcher"

Angel smiled and Giles hid his , he turned to Buffy and mouthed 'play nice'.She shrugged again and mouthed back 'okay, if I have to'.

"Ms Summers, I am here on official Council business, we would like to have a full account of how you defeated the Master and his minions. Also we would like to know if the Masters childer, Darla and Drusilla perished"

Buffy yawned and looked up at Wesley.

"You can borrow notes from Giles, I take it they don't make your grades down if you copy, Dru is dust,so is Darla,that huge vamp with the funny looking face got away though."

"Right , Mr Giles, your notes please"

Giles handed over the thick file on the event, Wesley flipped through the first few pages and raised his brows. He sat down and started to read through them. Buffy rolled her eyes at Wesley and then looked over at Angel, who was looking at the nik naks that Giles had in a cabinet beside his music system.

Spike pulled into the L.A hotel car park and covered himself in the ragged blanket and ran for the stairs. He ran into his room and threw the smoldering blanket down, stamping down the flames that had erupted from it. He slammed the door and tossed the brown bag onto the bed before he sat down next to it. He took out the bagged blood and bit into it.

He had no soul like that Poof Angel, so why the hell was he on this pigs swill? Her, all her bloody fault, she had crept under his skin and crawled through his veins and into his heart. Bloody annoying bint!

Spike turned the television on and sat back on the bed, trying to block out the sense of loss. He could still feel her, could still smell her scent on him, could still taste her. He was going crazy sat in the room. His tension needed a vent, come nightfall he would find one. He took his fags out and lit one, tossing the pack onto the bedside table. He found a sports channel and settled down to watch Man U vs Arsenal, should be good for a couple of hours , just hope the boys thrash Arsenal.

Buffy stared out of the window , she listened to the conversation between Giles, Wesley and Angel as they went over the Masters rise and consequent death. Giles bought the bag of bones in and they then discussed the best way to discard of the Masters remains. Buffy shivered and got up from her place at the window.Angel watched as Buffy made her way to the front door, she seemed to be in a world of her own and in a state of depression. He figured that she was coming down from the high that beating the Master and Darla had put her on. Giles watched her leave and frowned, he glanced at Angel ,who just shrugged and followed her to the door. The sunlight beat him back and he slammed the door in temper. Never before had he felt so helpless and cursed at being a vampire.

Buffy made it back to her house and ran up to her bedroom. She packed a bag and raided her Mums savings that she had kept on top of her wardrobe. One last look into her room and Buffy stormed out of the house, tears flooding her face.Her Father had left because of her, her Mother couldn't stand being around her and had thrown herself into work, deeming it more important than Buffy.Her own Mother hadn't even noticed the injuries she had or the blood on her clothes . She hated Sunnydale and the path of life she had been chosen for. Well , the Powers that Be had another Slayer now, let her have the responsibility of guarding the Hellmouth.Buffy made her way to the bus station and sat in the rear seat of the bus. The bus pulled away and she watched as Sunnydale blurred past the window. She relaxed when she saw the ' Now Leaving Sunnydale ' Sign . She rested her head on her bag and closed her eyes. She pictured blue eyes and platinum hair and the arms that made her feel safe. Sleep claimed her and she at last, could smile.She knew she would find him.