My Immortal

Chapter 27



Buffy woke to a heavy feeling on the bed next to her. She yawned and opened sleepy eyes. She rubbed at them and smacked her lips together.



"Spikes back in town, I gather you knew, so I'm going to ask you, why didn't you tell me?"



"What time is it Angel?"



"Don't try and avoid the question, just answer it Buffy"



"I only found out last night okay.



"You went to see him?"



Angel fumed , the re-appearance of Spike was the last thing they needed, that Buffy needed . She had just started to 'live' again, and had been making progress slowly over the past couple of months.



"Yes but it was kinda accidental.I was patrolling in Restfield and heard something in a crypt and thought it was a vamp or demon , and well it was him."



"I'll go over tonight and see what the hell he's doing here, although I guess that's obvious"



"Look I can deal, and he is here for me, he's changed Angel, just let me see him and I'll deal with him"



"Can't let you do it alone, if you spend time with him the bond and claim will reassert itself Buffy, you don't want that , do you?"



"No, I don't know. If what he told me last night is true then maybe"



"Buffy?"



She sighed and rubbed at her temples. She said that she would tell Giles and Angel, but now she felt that they would head straight over to his crypt and the possibility of them staking him , was a high one.



"He has a soul Angel"



Angel sat down on the bed again and looked up with suspicious eyes.



"And you believe him?"



"I felt something, he's different, I felt it, but it felt different to you, to yours"



"So you think he's lying?"



"No!"



"I think we should go over there as soon as it's dark enough. I need to see him for myself"



"Sure you do"



"What's that supposed to mean?"



"Can we not get into this right now?"



"You bought it up Buffy"



"Actually you did, I woke up , you were on my bed telling me he was here"



"Which you neglected to tell us , and you've seen him"



Angel shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. Giles should be informed and they should work out how they were going to deal with Spike.



"I'm going over to see him , I need to talk to him. I'll come over to Giles' after , who knows, maybe he'll come with "



"Do you think that's a good idea?"



"Well, you and Giles won't be satisfied until you both know and can see him yourselves"



"Just be careful"



Buffy nodded and headed off to the bathroom. The hot shower was doing nothing to ease the tension that had set in her shoulders. She hung her head under the spray and moaned at the feeling of water running over her body. It bought back the memory of her and Spike in the lake and their short time together. She smiled inwardly and swept her wet hair off of her face.A warm sensation flooded her senses and she knew it was Spike. He'd obviously felt her while she was reminiscing. It filled her with a sense of calm and a sense of belonging, something she still didn't feel here in Sunnydale. She wrapped the towel around herself and sat on her bed drying her hair with a towel. Would he still feel the same way about her? After the way she had treated him, Buffy doubted it.Looking back now, was what he had done really that bad? True , he had fed her a human, but he had only done that out of fear of losing her. So why did he feed a girl to Angel? He had always said that he hated him, had more than once said that he would stake the ' git' without blinking.



Her thought process was causing her to stir up old emotions, to open the door to the part of her heart that she had locked and padlocked away so she couldn't, wouldn't be hurt again.Buffy dropped the towels and pulled an outfit from her wardrobe. After getting dressed she wandered downstairs to see Faith and Angel discussing the situation with Giles. The conversation died away as she walked into the room.



"Don't let me stop you guys from talking about me or my sire"



They all sat wide eyed at her bluntness. Angel stood and walked to the fireplace before addressing her.



"As the Master of the clan of which you are a part of, I forbid you from going to see him"



Buffy raised her brows in surprise. Angel had never used his authority over her, and she wasn't about to let him start now.



"Excuse me? "



"You heard me, do not go near Spike ,Buffy"



"And your going to stop me?"



Giles cleared his throat and looked up at his Slayer.



"We don't think it wise that you have anything to do with him until we are sure that he is in fact, telling us the truth."



"I'm not a child and I won't let you treat me like one! I'll go and see him as and when I want to, nothing you can say or do will stop me"



Anger swelled within her , she'd never felt this angered before ,Buffy hadn't even noticed that she had vamped. Giles backed away and Angel stood firm before her. He morphed and growled at her ,trying to get her to back down. It wasn't working, Angel smirked.



"I can tell your his childe, your just as stubborn and unruly as he was. William always pushed my patience to it's limit"



"So he said, he also said that you would punish him severely, tell me Angelus, are you planning on doing the same to me?"



"That's enough Buffy!"



"What's up? Don't you want the humans to know how vampires punish their childer? Ashamed of your past? Wonder why that is?"



"I said shut up!"



Angel slapped her face with the back of his hand. Faith knelt beside Buffy as she lay on the floor clutching her face. Faith looked up at him, her brow furrowed.



"What the hell d'you do that for?"



Buffy stood, even more intent on going to see Spike. Her jaw set and she growled.



"I may not have your age but I'm not just a fledgling either. I won't take orders from you and I won't take you lashing out at me. Next time you try I will retaliate and I doubt you'll like the consequences"



She walked out of the Mansion and headed for Restfield cemetery. She only hoped that Spike would be there still.



Giles removed his glasses and looked at the furious Angel. Faith sat quietly watching the vampire as the myriad of emotions played on his face.Finally, Giles broke the awkward silence.



"She has a point , she is not a normal vampire. She still seems to have the heart of a Slayer. We have to trust that she knows what she is doing. If Spike has a soul then we cannot rightfully kill him. We also have an obligation to help him, regardless of his past. You know better than anyone Angel, how it feels and what he must be going through"



Angel knew that Giles and Buffy were right.He sat and huffed out his frustration.



"Okay, we'll let her go to him, trust that she knows what she is doing and hope that he comes here with her . I'll help him, for her. He so much as puts a foot wrong and I'll stake his pathetic ass"



Buffy opened the door to the crypt and looked in before finally walking in and closing the door. She could hear him singing in the lower level and she jumped down, landing silently. Spike remained caught up in his song and whatever it was that he was doing in the tunnel that led from the room she was in.



"I can tell your there pet"



"Uh.. hi.. thought I'd come and see how you are"



He came out of the tunnel wrapped in just a towel, water still dripping from his hair and body.Buffy couldn't help but stare, Spike smirked .Buffy caught his gaze and looked away , ashamed at being caught .



"I'll um.. just go back upstairs til your uh dressed."



" 'preciate that "



Buffy noted the still pink scars that marred his otherwise flawless pale skin on his back. She paused on the ladder and watched as he took the towel off and slung it on the bed. Spike looked over his shoulder at her and raised a brow. Remembering what she had said, Buffy climbed the rest of the way up to the upper level and waited for Spike to come up.



He finally came up and lit a cigarette as he stood nervously waiting for Buffy to say something when he noticed the bruise that was forming on her face. Spike walked to her and gently caress her cheek where the blue mark was.



"Take it Angelus wasn't too taken with the fact that I was back"



"No, should have known, but he tried to stop me by asserting his authority on me and I challenged him. He said I was like you, a disobedient childe"



"He said that?"



"More or less"



"Take it as a compliment pet, better than being like him"



Buffy smiled and leant into his touch, that she had missed for so long. She looked up into his blue eyes and felt the sting of tears.



"Shh ... don't pet, I know you regret it so no need to say a thing. Can feel you in here still, can hear you too"



Spike placed their hands over his heart and drew her to him. He held her for what seemed to Buffy like forever, yet his arms left her all too soon. He stood back and smiled.



"We need to talk"



She nodded and sat up on the sarcophagus, waiting for him to start the 'talk'.



" I know what I did was wrong, but, it was for your own good , and his. I was desperate, I didn't want to lose you.I knew Angel was important to you and the bloody cause ,so couldn't let him die.I traveled in search of someone that could help me. At first I was angry, bitter and twisted. I wanted someone to take away the bloody hold you had on me, so I could kill you. What I found was someone that gave me what I needed to be with you again. I had to endure the trials, I won and the demon gave me my soul.



I stayed in Africa , too injured to do anything else. Then I went a little crazy, saw things, heard things, was haunted by all the people I had killed. The Sharman helped me, taught me meditation and it helped. Once I was better , I made my way back. Took months cos of the sunlight issue .Once I was back in America, I came here"



"Are you sure, I mean it's not a spell or anything and is it permanent?"



"Soddin well should be!"



Buffy smiled at his outburst and he couldn't help but lighten his mood because of it. He stood with his against the sarcophagus and looked over at her.



"How were things here when you got back pet?"



"A whole world of bad. Mum was a state, her drinking had spiraled, still had her job though. Giles was nervous and didn't trust me. Faith tried to stake me at first. The only person that understood me or was there for me , was Angel. That's how I ended up living at the Mansion with him.I still see Mum , just not so much. It took a while but patrolling with Faith helped them all get over their issues. Now it's like I never left. Giles studied me, researched and everything , but there either hasn't been another Slayer turned or it was kept a secret. Giles thinks it's something to do with the demon the prehistoric men used to create the first slayer, but I'm definitely unique"



"I could have told you that pet"



"Sweet , but really,I have this amazing power."



"So , what happens now?"



She sighed and looked over at him, unsure if he would come to the Mansion and talk to Giles and Angel.



"What do you want to happen? You came back for a reason, so what was it?"



"You"



"Even though I threatened to stake you?"



Spike shrugged



"Was worth the risk , and I was right, you haven't staked me yet"



"I doubt I could, but there's still Angel and the others"



"Would you let them pet?"



"No"



He took her in his arms and kissed her hair. Both felt the connection re-establish itself and for the first time in over a year, they felt peace.