Memory Redux

Chapter 22: Life

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Changing into game face, bringing his demon forward to use his enhanced senses, Spike started searching the loft for an intruder. He threw Buffy a look, and his sarcasm told her exactly what the look meant. “Don’t help or anything, slayer.”

“Ok. Why should I? You’re my hero.” That earned her a growl.

Spike could hear the steady beat so close, very close. He tossed the entertainment room, including looking behind the television. Next he was in the library, looking high and low, including opening his refrigerator and searching inside. It had to be a demon that had snuck in, and that demon could be any size. Bloody hell, it could even be a human for all he knew. To make things worse, he couldn’t even smell the blighter. Spike more than suspected that this whoever was connected to Buffy’s return, and if it was hiding, that was never good.

Spike moved onto the kitchen and the guest bath off of the kitchen. No cabinet door was left unopened so he had to duck all the upper doors as he moved around. Amused, Buffy watched as he headed for his bedroom, and she followed, settling herself to stand in the doorway.

Spike talked to her without even looking up. “He’s close. I can hear it beating faster. Scaring the sneaky bugger.”

Buffy tilted her head so she could better enjoy the view of his ass up in the air as he looked under the bed. “Yum…uh…How close?”

Spike checked the bed from all three sides that were exposed and then pulled the headboard forwardhe che could see behind. “Close. My ears are ringing with the thumping. Tha thump, tha thump. And with one good thump, and I am gonna get the tosser.”

Bed done, drawers in the dresser done, and closets done. All that was left in the bedroom was Spike’s frustration. Buffy raised her eyebrows when Spike rushed past into the bathroom. She wanted to laugh when he checked the shower. The all clear glass shower. As with the other rooms, he began with the cabinets, behind every towel.

The final cabinet he checked was below the sink. Still checking everything possible and ridiculous, he looked behind the mirror mounted on the wall before crouching down to open the cabinet…then shot straight back up. What he saw had him doing a one-eighty. Finding nothing there, he turned back to the mirror again and then looked behind him again.

She had never seen him so rattled. Buffy finally took pity on him by grabbing hold of his shoulders and holding him still, facing the mirror. “Spike meet…well…uh…meet Spike.”

Once his shoulders were released, he moved to the right and watched the vampire in the move the same way. He faced back forward and so did the image.

“Hey, dazed guy. I said Spike meet Spike.”

“It can’t be me. This must be some sick joke. Vampires don’t have a reflection. You had better not be behind this daft prank, Summers.” Then it sunk in that even if there were a vampire in his bathroom, he wouldn’t see him in the mirror.

When she saw his face shift from disbelief to wonder, which is hard to tell when he was in game face, she thought he was ready to move on. “Ok, let’s try this. Lose the game face.” Spike’s demonic face melted away. “Ok, Spike meet William.” Buffy looked between the reflection and the real man. “Thought you two might need to be reintroduced.”

She gave Spike a minute to explore his reflection. Game face. Human. Game face. Human. Buffy took in his confusion. “What’s wrong? I like you better without the game face, don’t you?” When he didn’t answer, the light bulb in her head turned on, “You don’t recognize yourself, do you?”

Spike didn’t reply, but he did recognize his reflection with blue eyes, angular face, and sharp cheekbones. And the hair. It had been brown the last time he had seen it over a hundred years ago, but it was the face of William. Buffy smiled when she saw him inspecting his hair. “Don’t ever tease me about dying my hair, mega bleach blonde.”

After changing his face back and forth several more times, he looked over to her. “I haven’t seen myself for well over a century, and never in game face.” He shifted again and brought his hand up to feel the wrinkles and fangs, seeing them for the first time. “I guess I would get the wiggins, too, if it were my first time to see this.”

“Got the whole reflection gig down?” With his eyebrows meeting from the tone of her voice, Spike looked at her suspiciously. She just smiled and laid her hand on his chest above his heart. “Haven’t you figured out where the second heart beat is coming from? Let me give you a hint. We are the only two in this apartment…”

Now Spike could hear its location, which was in his chest under Buffy’s hand. The steady beat. His blood rushing in his veins. How had he missed it earlier.

She laughed. “The Powers That Be said that it would take awhile for you to shift over to human. Sorry, I didn’t get a chance to tell you before your heart started. This is sorta like what happened with Angel, that Shansu thingy, but with a twist I thought you would like. You’re still immortal but human now. I thought you might want some humanity to go with that soul of yours. But you still keep the plusses of the vampire such as enhanced strength, enhanced hearing, enhanced site, blah, blah, blah, but none of the negatives like needing to drink blood and frying in the sun.”

“Wha…What? How? What?” Spike couldn’t take his eyes off of the mirror.

“That is the last part of the deal I made with the Powers That Be. Like I said earlier, they want you to fight for the good side, infinitely. So I insisted that you be turned human.” Buffy was a little unsure here. “Sorry. Wasn’t like I could ask you first. Hope that was ok with you.” Buffy shrugged. “So how did I do for my first contract negotiation?”

He turned his head and just stared for a moment before grabbing her hand, pulled her along behind him, detouring to grab a pen and finally stopping at the sofa. Picking up the papers, he signed both copies beneath Buffy’s signature, and one suddenly disappeared leaving only their copy.

Smiling, Buffy stepped up and hugged him around the waist. “So what do you want to do first? Shag or sunshine?”

“You’re always my first choice.” He placed his hands on either side of her neck and pulled her into a kiss. “But all this is a bit much. I think I need to sit down first.” Which he did. Not bothering to find a seat, Spike sank to the floor with a thud and put up with her laughter at his expense.

*****

As they had many months ago, the pair sat in the cemetery next to the mortuary enjoying the day and being with each other. Unlike when they had their first kiss as William and Beth, this time Buffy and Spike lay in the grass. Beth lay on her side and Spike lay on his back, working on his tan. The NASA’s robots on Mars could probably see the light reflecting off of his white skin.

Buffy’s fingers were busy meticulously freeing every little hair, every curl on Spike’s head from the restraining mousse. “You know I love you, don’t you?”

Spike smiled. “I love you, too.”

“Have I told you enough yet?”

“No.”

Buffy gave a stage sigh. “When *is* enough?”

“Six years, eight months and fourteen days of you saying you love me.” He reached over and patted her leg. “And then you start over, pet. That’s when it’s enough.”

“Oh….I love you.” Her voice conveyed obedience along with laughter, and she then enjoyed his chuckle. With a mischievous grin, she now worked at the curls standing up as much as possible. Spike should “love” that. Contrary to her playfulness, she had a more serious talk of love in mind. “You thought I would stop loving you if I got my memories back, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t think; I knew you would…Ow!” Spike reached up and grabbed his scalp, massaging the poorly used roots.

“That makes me mad, but I don’t know if I should be mad because you didn’t believe in me or that I was so shallow before in Sunnydale to make you think that way?” Buffy paused while still playing with his blonde locks. “I think it is “yes” in both cases.”

Pleased by her insight, Spike was hesitant to ask and ruin this time of tranquility, but his curiosity won out. Surely nothing he would ask or she could say could spoil this chance at a future together. Knock on wood. Damn, he couldn’t reach a tree. “Do you regret how we came to be at this point, Buffy?”

Alarm bells went off in her head at the use of her name instead of one of Spike’s various nicknames. Definitely not Spike like. However, no need for him to worry. “No, actually I’m happy to have fought the First Evil and then was granted a new life, one where everyone important to me is alive again. Dawn is back, Willow got Tara back, Xander and Anya are happy again, and if they get as far as a ceremony, we are nailing Xander to his spot in front of the preacher. And most of all for me, I got mom back.” Buffy squirmed around until they were nose to nose. “I thought my new life would be like I had always dreamed it would be. A Barbie and Ken type dream life, but when I got my memories back, this life turned out way better. Barbie can hit the bricks. Before in Sunnydale, I had gotten wrapped up in being the Chosen One and forgot to live. Beth helped me find the love for life again.” Buffy stroked his cheek. “Another bonus was that I got to learn to love you without any bias or labels. Just William and Beth. Goodness all around.” She leaned and gave him a soft kiss on his lips. “What about you? How do you like this life?”

“Me? Seeing your mum and Dawn again was one of the happiest moments in my unlife, even if the Bit scared me into a second death.”

Buffy jerked herself up into a sitting position. “Wait. What about seeing me again? Remember me here!”

“You bloody well weren’t a good sight. More like a waking nightmare. As much as I wanted you back, you seeing me was like you seeing your past, which meant you would lose your wish, and that was something I never wanted.”

“Well, my wish is still intact just with a little fixy here and there. But this way? More better.”

“So, slayer, what next?”

“Ya know, one of the things I look forward to is training the slayer trainees. I want to lengthen their life spans. And crazy me, I look forward to some slayage.” DoesDoesn’t surprise me, slayer. And you know me, I look forward to a spot of violence myself, but you, missy, remember that you take this big bad with you. According to the Powers That Be contract, we get to choose the when, and we choose the where. And I do mean “we.” All I want is to be wherever you are.”

“Good because that’s where you will be for eternity if I can help it.”

“We’ll make it happen, luv.” He gathered her up in his arms with one hand cupping the back of her head. When their lips met, his tongue swept into her mouth. This time Spike was just as out of breathe as she was when they finally pulled back.

Buffy settled back down against him. “Do you enjoy your job? I mean being a skip tracer.”

“Actually, it has been a great gig.” Spike didn’t know what to make of her change of the conversation.

“Good. I think I will, too. This whole skip tracing sounds like something I would like. Wow, I could get paid for using all these slayery skills.” She rolled him so that she had him pinned to the ground. “Would you be interested in a partner?”

“What are you going on about, you daft bint? Don’t think that e ise is much call for bounty hunters in Sunnydale unless a demon skips bail.”

“No, I meant here in Sacramento. Your home is my home sort of thing. I meant that I want to be your partner wherever you are. So do you want a partner?” She didn’t even bother letting him answer. She knew him so well now that she could see the answer in the face. “Of course, you do. Now, next question. Wonder where my car is?”

*****

Two Days Later

Everyone was at the beach, and Spike didn’t think life, not unlife, but life couldn’t get any better. Buffy had picked the beach for the Scoobie meeting so that Spike could enjoy the waves and sand in the light of the sun instead of the light of the moon. He had mentioned that he hadn’t even been to the beach back before he had been turned. So Buffy deemed him beach deprived and made this location a must. Besides basking in the sun, Spike was happy with his company. More importantly, the company was happy with him. The Scoobies finally accepted him. Life was good

One of the other parts of the day for Buffy and Spike was hearing what everyone had to say about now having two sets of memories and/or how the new reality had turned out.

When Dawn had pulled back from hugging Spike, she said, “You’re all warm. You’re still a freak.” All was said with a smile for a dear friend. Life was good.

Giles had Jenny with him. Buffy smiled when she noticed that Giles never let go of her hand. When she said something about it, he shoos hes head. “This is all so very hard to understand. She was killed, I saw her body, but now she was not killed. I lost her, but she is here. Whatever happened or will happen, I’m not letting go.” He turned to kiss Jenny and then looked back at Buffy. “Another problem is how in the world to write these alternate realities in my watcher’s journal.”

“Can’t help you there, Giles. Buffy and long writing are so not mixy.” Buffy wasn’t sure they even heard her since they were lip locked again. Life was good.

Xander had immediately come up to Spike and made him promise that he could go out on some more of Spike’s jobs. Spike readily agreed and was relieved that none of the animosity between them had returned with the old memories. Life was good.

As usual, Anya was outspoken. “You, Xander Harris, are not going to leave me at the alter this time. I am going to have Buffy *and* Spike hold you in place in front to the preacher until you say “I do” and even then…” Life was good.

Willow and Tara were much like Giles and Jenny in that they kept physical contact at all times. They now both remembered Tara being shot by Warren, but now she was alive. After they thanked Buffy for her wish that had made it possible for Tara to come back, they were too choked up to talk. Instead, they walked off and waded in the surf. Life was good.

Last was Joyce. Since the problem of handling both sets of memories was proving difficult for her, Buffy had talked to her in private. Joyce had been hit hard by the guilt of dieing and leaving her daughters in the first reality. With Buffy’s prodding, they worked through her guilt and into the joy that she was with her daughters now. Many tears were shed, but then many hugs of joy were shared. When Joyce left Buffy, she went straight over to Dawn and hugged her. She gave a teary eyed laugh when Dawn started complaining. “Oh, mom. There’re guys around…” Life was good.

Buffy went over to Spike and sat down with him in the sand. “See, the wish and the loss of the wish still worked out for the best. Emotions galore, but they’re so happy.”

“And so are we, pet.” Spike wrapped his arm around his love, and Buffy tucked her head against his shoulder. “Can I really hold the whelp to the spot for his wedding? I have this hold in mind where you put your arm around his neck…”

“Ha, ha. You didn’t see how devastated Anya was that day, so as far as I’m concerned, yep, hold him and I’ll help you, just no choke holds.” She paused before continuing. “We’re partners, aren’t we?”

His arm tightened around her shoulders. “That we are, kitten.”

“Actually I think I like the idea of a permanent partnership. Sounds better.” Buffy wiggled to find the exactly right spot against his side.

Spike smiled as he kissed the top of her head. “Me. You. Permanently together sounds like the heavenly choir singing.”

“In fact, Dawn had the best idea.” Holding her breath, Buffy waited to see if he would catch on, and if so, what he would say.

With his heart pounding, Spike turned her so that he could see her face. “If you mean permanent partners as in marriage, I wanted to tell you yes that night in the car when you brought it up. So it’s yes now. Just tell me when and where, and I’ll be early and stay late. No whelp here, luv.”

“I thought that was what you would say.” Tears were swimming in her eyes.

Spike caught one with his finger that escaped down her cheek. “You know, Nibblet is going to claim the credit.”

Her nod sent more tears coursing down her cheeks. “That’s ok. In a way, she should have credit. She did mention it first.”

“No need for tears, luv. I love you. I will always love you and will always be with you.”

“I love you, too.” Buffy wiped the rest of her tears away and gave him a watery smile. “One more thing.”

Spike kissed both of her eye lids. “Anything.”

“Since you’re all warm and humanly now…”

“Yes?” His lips were slowly making their way down her face, heading for her lips.

Her question came out a whisper. “How do you feel about babies?”

Spike’s eyes couldn’t get any wider. “Maybe my heart shouldn’t pound so hard.”

Life was good.

THE END


That’s it, folks, for Memory Redux, and I sincerely hope that you enjoyed it. If so, please drop me a line and let me know what you thought.

As for future stories, I have two coming your way. One is the sequal to Future Written in Blood. I have had numerous requests for that one and wanted to let you know to look for it. The second is called Cretian Escape, and is a post Chosen story.

If you want to be on my update list so that you will know when these stories start, just email me at madrog@sunnydale-tales.com. I’ll add you to my list.

Thanks so much for reading and supporting the story.
Dana