Remember Me

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Joss owns it all damn him!

Sorry so short. Hopefully a new chapter by this weekend.
***

Chapter 24 - Confessions

"Luv, it's not what you think." Spike began.

"I think you lied to me."

Spike bowed his head. "You're right, Buffy. I'm sorry. I only wanted
to protect you."

"Protect me?" The words came out whisper. "What have you done,
Spike?"

"Nothing, luv! Not that! Just meant I lied to protect you, didn't want to
scare or worry you, 's all." Spike explained. "I rented a bike, just like
I told you, luv. I drove for a bit, trying to clear my head. I stopped at
a quiet spot; there was a sign for a waterfall or so some such. I
followed the trail and..."

"And what Spike?" Wesley prompted.

"I stayed there for awhile, just thinking, yeah?" Spike looked up fear
and nerves showing throw his face. "There was a noise, and when I
turned it was him. *He* followed me. He was angry, and shouting,
couldn't even make out the words. He came at me. I only defended
myself, luv, that's all." Spike looked at Buffy with pleading eyes.

"Did you kill him, Spike?" Buffy couldn't get her voice above a
whisper. She tried but it was so dry it hurt to even speak.

"No, luv, no. He was alive when I left. I only gave him some bruises.
'S all."

"And the accident?" Xander asked.

"I *did* have an accident. I was shaken from the fight. And I was in a
hurry to get back to Buffy. And it *was* beginning to rain. Lost
control, but it wasn't as bad as it seemed. Most of the cuts and
bruises were from the fight, not the fall."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Buffy asked a wounded look on her face.

"You were already so worried. And then afterwards I was glad I
hadn't told you. You told me that was one of your biggest fears that
he would come after me. You were *crying*, luv. How was I
supposed to tell you then?" Spike asked.

They were all silent for a moment, taking in Spike's confession. Then
Spike stood and strode over to Buffy, still standing in the entranceway
of their suite. "Do you believe me, luv?" He took her hand in his and
begged with his eyes.

"Of course I believe you, Will." Buffy responded automatically. Spike
might have lied to her, but he wasn't a killer. Buffy knew that. "I just
wish you'd been honest with me."

"I know, Buffy. I'm so sorry, kitten. But that's all. That's everything. I
promise." They kissed briefly before Buffy looked up at the rest of the
gang.

"Okay, so what are we going to do about this? The fact that Will was
there will just make him look even guiltier. He's the one who actually
beat Angel up. What we have to do is find the guy with the gun. You
guys didn't find anything else while you were there?" Buffy asked
hopefully.

"No, sorry. The police had already been through, and not much was
left. Luckily Spike's lighter was, at least." Wesley answered.

"We need to concentrate on Angel's background check. Obviously
the killer knew him. They didn't take his wallet, or anything, so it
wasn't a robbery, right?" Buffy asked. "So it's got to be someone he
knows."

"Okay, so we're concentrating on ex-girlfriends, employees, debt
collectors, that sort of thing." Xander wrote everything down in hilittlittle notebook as he spoke. "We're already on it. The guys at the
office have been working 24/7. I'll get a progress report from them
tonight."

"Someone needs to go get Giles. He needs to know what happened."
Buffy prompted. She felt Spike wincing beside her and squeezed his
arm. "You know it's for the best."

"He'll be so disappointed in me, luv." Spike said forlornly.

Buffy knew that Spike saw Giles as a sort of father figure. His own
dad had been gone for a long while before Giles had entered the
picture. But when he had the two had formed a very close father/son
relationship. "He'll understand." She reassured him.

They waited, holding each other close, until Giles appeared.

***

"Well, I do wish you'd told me this when I first arrived, Will." Giles
admonished. "There's nothing for it now, but to go to the police and
explain."

"What? Why should we tell them if they don't already know?" Buffy
was worried.

"It will look better if we go and explain that Will just wanted to wait to
consult with me before he told them about the encounter. If we
continue to hide it and they do find out, it will just make you look all
the more guilty." Giles explained.

"I'm sorry, Giles." Spike muttered, not looking his old friend in the
eye.

Giles leaned down and placed a warm hand on Spike's knee, making
the young man look up. "Will, I know you. You don't have to hide
things from me, you know I'd never believe you capable of such acts.
I *am* disappointed. But only because you felt you couldn't trust me."

"I *do* trust you, Giles. I just didn't want to disappoint you. Guess I
buggered the whole thing up, yeah?" Spike looked away sheepishly.

"Don't worry, Will. It will all work out. I won't let them send you to
prison." Giles assured him.

Spike took com in in Giles' words. The man had always been a
strong source of support in his life, and he leaned on him now.
Wanting to believe. Wanting to lose himself in dreams of a future; a
future with Buffy, away from this place, and all thoughts of a jealousy
and anger and the bleakness of a life without his love.

***

Buffy watched as Will's chest rose and fell in sleep. She turned
spreading her hand in front of her, studying the shining jewel on her
finger. Had it only been days ago that she'd been so incredibly
happy? That Will had proposed and her life had begun to take on the
hue and color of the dreams she'd had for so long?

Tears formed in her eyes while she studied the object on her finger.
What was going to happen now? Tomorrow morning Spike and Giles
were going back down to the police station. They were going to
confess that Spike had seen Angel that night and that they had even
fought. Would they arrest him right there and then? Would he even
be able to come back to the hotel?

She wished she could go with him. Just in case. But she had other
things to do. Other things that might help clear Will's name. She had
called Harmony and she and the girls were meeting her for breakfast
in the lobby. They were going to pick her brain. See if there was
anyone or anything she remembered that may help to figure out who
exactly it was that killed Angel. The police had already questioned
her, but Buffy had a bit more incentive to dig for the truth. While the
guys began to track down leads from the background check, Buffy
and the girls would be doing their own investigation.

Buffy looked down once more watching Will's lashes flutter against
his pale cheeks. He was so beautiful sometimes that it took Buffy's
breath away, though he stammered denials whenever she said it
aloud. Leaning down she kissed him gently on the lips, waiting until
his eyes fluttered open and stared into her own.

"Hey, lover." Buffy whispered. Then she kissed him again, letting her
lips linger and her hands wander. She felt the lean muscles of his
abdomen ripple beneath her touch, his body arching to meet the
warmth of her fingers.

They didn't speak, not needing words to express the way they felt.
The love, the desperation, the desire that coursed through them at
the uncertainty of what was to follow. Buffy slipped out of her
nightshirt, naked now, her nipples hard and rubbing against Spike's
own. Buffy sighed as Spike pushed into her, their bodies connecting,
making them one.

They made love slowly, soft murmurs and sweet sighs echoing
through the room. Buffy lost herself in him, wanting to keep this night,
this moment forever. She couldn't pinpoint the moment but in an
instant they went from slow and lazy to hard and fast. She felt it as
her body quickened and tightened, crying out his name when she
came. Two or three breaths later and Spike was murmuring his love
and spilling himself inside her.

They drifted off to sleep, Buffy holding on to the moment. Not willing
to let it go. Wanting to dream of Will and love and togetherness
rather than the awful what if of tomorrow.