With a Little Help

Chapter 17: Dinner Anyone?


Spike was forcibly spun around. Instead of still looking into the Ripper’s face, he was now nose to nose with a furious, red faced brick layer. “Get away from Buffy. Slime like you doesn’t get to touch her, let alone kiss her. You shouldn’t even be in the same room as her.”

Still holding the vampire’s arm across his own chest, Xander backed the blonde until he was against the wall next to Buffy’s bed. While Spike stood still, momentarily stunned by Xander’s new found strength and balls, Buffy climbed out of her bed. Spike jerked his arm free just as Buffy reached for the other balled up fist. Knowing the chip no longer served as his jailor and that she was too weak to stop him, Buffy hoped her touch would encourage Spike to think twice and hopefully use restraint. She could tell that during this confrontation, his demon was raging to be set free. Restraint. Ok, long shot with Spike, but she had to try. Feeling her touch, the vampire looked back into Buffy’s pleading eyes, and Spike gave her the very slightest of nods, agreeing to control himself. His eyes, ice blue with specks of yellow, told her that he didn’t want to, but he would keep his demon side in check but just for her.

Xander noted the exchange, and the intimacy between them only fueled his mental fire even more. “What is it, FUCKED fang face? Here to steal a few pints of blood for dinner after you finish Buffy off?”

‘Well, that is true about the few pints and Bit’s probably smirking,’ Spike thought. “Be smart for once, Harris. I’m here to look after the slayer. She almost died, and all you can think about in that little excuse of a brain of yours is that I touched her and kissed her. You should have joined this party a little sooner to shut up and listen to the explanation portion of this little melodrama. As it is, you’re not exactly helping here. So why don’t you tuck your tail between your legs and run on home, pup. I’m sure Anya can keep you busy or your right hand will be with you to keep you company.” Spike could hear Buffy’s groan at the last antagonistic remarks, and haginagined that if he could listen real hard, he could hear Buffy rolling her eyes. But he just couldn’t pass up making a jab like that at the whelp.

And the jab hit the spot. “Me leave? Me? That’s rich. You’re the outsider, always an outsider, and will never belong, you freak. You’re the one who needs to leave.” Still not letting up his pressure on Spike against the wall, Xander turned towards Buffy. “Tell him, Buffy. Send the cover girl for Clairol here packing.”

Giving Xander the barest of shrugs, Buffy wanted so much to tell Xander what he wanted to hear that Spike wasn’t in her love life, but just like she told the others, she was done hiding her relationship with the vampire. “Actually that was part of the explanation you missed, Xander. I want Spike here. He stays. So you need to chill below zero.” hakihaking with fury, Xander swung back around towards Spike, pushing harder against his chest. “You’re s…s…scum.” Through his fury, he couldn’t find a word loathsome enough for Spike. “Buffy should have staked you the first time you drove that piece of shit car of yours into town, dragging your crazy bitch of a girlfriend.”

Shaking off Xander’s words, Spike tried to lighten things up. “She tried to stake me many times, just never seemed to take. Right, love?” Then four words made it possible for him to brush aside the verbal attacks. Buffy’s eyes were trained on Xander. “I want Spike here.” Those words from Buffy’s mouth made anything possible. Not to mention the slayer would be mightily pissed if he killed off one of her mates. She couldn’t fight him now, but he had no doubt she would go after him later. Spike would just make sure a bed was around for the aftermath.

Xander ignored Spike’s and Buffy’s words and continued. “You’ve been nothing but trouble ever since we saw that bleach blonde hair and heard that stupid British accent. You’re even a exc excuse for a vampire. De-fanged. Neutered. Pitiful. Swilling pig’s blood or drunk off your ass, whining that you existence is so pathetic with that chip, or whoring yourself out to fight your own kind to earn money for your cigarettes.”

For Buffy’s sake, Spike still stayed uncharacteristically calm, but the others in the room had varying reactions. Giles, Willow, and Tara were all impressed that Spike hadn’t slammed Xander through a wall yet. Anya, being an ex-vengeance demon, was impressed by Xander’s insults and was waiting to see what was going to happen next. Dawn was both impressed and pissed. Impressed just as Giles, Willow, and Tara were, but pissed that buffy had yet to end the confrontation. If her sister wasn’t going to do anything about the attack soon, Dawn was prepared to somehow find a way herself. As for her sister, Buffy was fuming. Spike may be a lot of things and some of those not very nice, but Xander had stepped over the line with several comments and the physical attack. Whining, pathetic, whoring, among others, were not Spike and the hateful words shouldn’t have been said. So Buffy was ready to put a fist in Xander’s mouth if Spike didn’t.

Oblivious to anything around him, Xander was so furious that he was spitting in Spike’s face. “You should be dust for making Buffy a vamp toy…”

Spike never let him finish his rant. His demon came forward as hand shot up around Xander’s throat. With a crushing grip, Spike spun him around and pinned Xander against the wall that he had been against two seconds before. “DON’T even finish that blatant drivel. DON’T even think that about Buffy. Insult me but NEVER her.”

“Spike, please. I am sure he didn’t mean it. Let him breathe.” As she said it, she knew that the vampire, no, her boyfriend, wouldn’t be held back any longer. They had been on borrowed time anyway.

“He had better not have meant it, or I am pulling out his intestines and stuffing down his throat so he can’t talk any more.” When Spike loosened up his grip, Xander immediately slapped Spike’s hand away, and since Spike hadn’t intended to let Xander go, Spike was again surprised by his strength.

“You…You. It’s your fault that Buffy’s hurt. That arrow should have dusted you.” Xander became the aggressor again and shoved Spike across the room. “What are you? Some fucking cat with nine lives? You survived burning and the holy water and…”

With a snarl probably heard all over the hospital, Spike’s fist crashed into Xander’s jaw, knocking him to the floor. Since Xander had just arrived, he could have know about the burning and holy water. Spike followed him down, pinning and choking him again. “You almost killed her. You better wish me gone if you every hurt her again.”

Anya looked down at the pair, shaking her head and shrugging. “What’s the big deal? Xander tried to kill Spike. No dust, no foul.”

“Anya!” Dawn turned her head to briefly look at Xander’s girlfriend. “You were a vengeance demon. Xander hurt Buffy so Spike is hurting Xander. Get it?”

“Got it. Vengeance over a hurt mate. Yes, very serious vengeance.” Anya raised her voice so she could be heard by the vampire. “Spike, just don’t hurt him too bad. No racking him in the penis. As strong as you are, no telling how long it would take him to recover.”

This time when Spike held Xander by the throat, Buffy did little to hold Spike back. “Spike, I’m not asking you to let him go, but at least let him talk. And I do think you need to lose the lumpies and teeth before a nurse or doctor comes in and wants to treat you for some disease.” Buffy nodded her thanks when Spike changed back to his human face and released his hold, but only long enough to let Xander take a breath. Spike spared a glance at Dawn and then tilted his head towards the door. ‘Smart bint the Nibblet is,’ Spike thought as Dawn followed his unspoken command and closed the door to the room.

With her heart breaking, Buffy looked down at her best friend. “Xander, what have you done?” Oh, God, she so didn’t want to confirmation that one of her closest friends was behind her near fatal injury. Denial was calling her name, but she knew the answer to her question that she had asked. Buffy looked over at Willow, who had her hand over her mouth, slowly shaking her head. Willow’s eyes told Buffy that she too wanted to slip away into denial.

But the flight to denial was quickly canceled. “Buffy, you weren’t supposed to be hurt let alone fatally injured.” Xander laughed up into the vampire’s face. “You, Spike, that arrow was meant for you, and then poof. Dust. I can tell by your shirt that I would have gotten it right if Buffy hadn’t been in the way.”

“But she was, you stupid git, and you were the one to hurt her.” Spike pulled him up to his feet. Spike’s fist crashed down into his face again, knocking Xander against the far wall. In his vampiric face again, Spike held him pinned to the wall.

Most in the room missed Spike’s harsh flow curse words directed at Xander. Most had had another jolt to their systems. “The chip.” Willow’s eyes were argearge as saucers. “Buffy, Spike’s chip isn’t working anymore.”

Buffy waved her off. “Oh, that hasn’t worked in awhile. Q and A session later.”

Before Willow could say anything else, Xander managed to throw Spike off of him and the fight began in earnest with Spike in game face and Xander’s face contorted in rage.

Buffy couldn’t believe what she was seeing. So far holding his own against the enraged vampire, Xander was throwing and actually getting in some blows. She was too weak to physically separate the pair. “Giles, turn on the shower.”

Anya yelled over the sounds of the fight, “What does being clean have to do with saving Xander?”

“I don’t think Xander needs to be saved,” Dawn shouted over the clamor of the fight.

Giles caught on quickly and disappeared into the bathroom. He reappeared just as fast. “Shower’s on. Cold water should do it.”

“Buffy, we’ve got Xander.” Willow and Tara maneuvered to the right angle for their shove. All assumed that Giles would be taking Spike.

With everyone in position, Buffy waited for the right opportunity and shoved the two combatants toward the bathroom. “Now!” Willow and Tara sent Xander in first. He landed in the bathtub just before Spike stumbled in. Buffy crossed her fingers, crossed her arms, crossed anything and hoped for the best in a very simple plan, at least it worked for drunks. Maybe not with a vampire and a berserker, but still simple. What could go wrong? The first “what” was that the stopper was in the tub so the water wasn’t draining, and the second “what” was that the water was hot instead of cold.

Giles rolled his eyes and looked over at Buffy who was growling over the failure of her plan. On top, Spike gained the advantage and dunked Xander’s head down under the water. As the water flowing around the combatants, it was turning red from the blood on Spikes shirt. The vampire pulled Xander’s head up and wrenched it to the side so that he was looking at the water. “You soddin’ bastard, the red in the water is from what you did to Buffy. It’s from her nearly bleeding to death in my arms.” Spike forcibly shoved his head back down.

Gathering all her strength for one more try, Buffy pulled back Spike’s arm enough that Xander was able to gulp for air, but then Buffy’s hold slipped and Spike pushed Xander back down. At this point, Buffy resorted to pleading. “Spike, please don’t kill him. This just isn’t like Xander. Let’s see what’s going on first. Please.” She relaxed her weak muscles when Spike let Xander’s head back up for the second time.

Xander came up gulping for air. When he did open his mouth for a third gulp, he choked and then something shot out of Xander’s mouth, thumped against Spike’s chest, and slid down. Out of reflex, Spike caught the projectile in his hands. “What the bloody hell is that?” In he hands he held an iridescent, translucent pink, slimey demon with six legs, small black eyes, and a sucker for a mouth. Still sitting on Xander in the tub, Spike looked up into Buffy’s face, over to Giles, before looking back down at the demon. It moved slightly then stilled altogether. “The whelp’s orally given birth to a demon. Sorta looks like him in an ugly kinda way.” As the vampire climbed out of the tub, he dropped it down onto Xander’s stomach. If it all hadn’t been so shocking, Buffy would have been laughing at how fast Xander made it out of the tub and away from his “child.”

Spike forgot about any demon, any tubs or any Xanders when he looked over and saw an exhausted slayer sitting on the lid of the toilet. His game face immediately melted away. “Come on, slayer, it’s off to bed with you. Enough excitement for you today.” Swooping Buffy up in his arms, he shouldered his way out of the bathroom. Dawn followed with a towel for the dripping vampire.

“What? What? What’s going on in there?” Anya was jumping up and down, trying to see around Giles, Willow and Tara. “And who is pregnant?”


TBC

Hi!! I need some opinions. I have got a few reviews, and don't get me wrong, I am very thankful for them, but I have been busting my butt to finish this story, and I'm not really sure who's out there reading anymore. I will finish, but I am taking a lot of time away from Memory Redux and am wondering if that is the way to go. So drop me a review and let me know how you like this story.

Thanks
Dana