My Immortal

Chapter Three


Buffy ran into the house, dropping her bag by the door and made it to the bathroom before Joyce could see the state of her and her clothes. She locked the door and hesitantly looked in the mirror. The bite was already healing but it was raised and red. Spike had bitten her high on her neck so it would be clearly visible.

"Thanks a bunch asshole"

She looked a mess, the sea had chilled her and the blood loss hadn't helped, her lips were blue and she had dark circles under her eyes. Her hair was ratty and clung to her head and neck. She sneered at her reflection and then turned the shower on to hot. She stripped and got under the powerful spray.She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and noticed the bruising that covered her whole body.

"Thank god for Slayer healing "

Most of the bruising would be gone by the morning, that was true but the bite and the deeper bruising would still be there. She ducked her head under the hot spray and flashed back to the fight. She had held him to her neck and asked him for it. She groaned. Had she really wanted him to take her life? At that moment the truth was, she had. It would have been so easy. No more heartbreak, no more Fathers that have affairs and blame you, no more school that sucks, no more slayage. But what of her Mother? Isn't she going through enough at the moment? Wouldn't she need you more than ever? The answer was yes and now she felt worse than ever. Buffy sunk to her knees in the shower and cried harder than she thought possible.


* * * *


Spike drained three more girls with blonde hair and still he could smell her, could still see her whenever he closed his eyes and worst still ,he could still taste her. It was intoxicating and he wanted more. But the thought of the Slayer dead filled him with something he hadn't felt since he was that poof William, dread and guilt.

He knew that spending time and learning about her, comforting her was a bad move and this just proved it. The fight had exhilarated him true enough, but during the fight he had felt they were kindred, a perfect match. God he was such a tosser!

He sat at the end of the bar, in the shadows, trying desperately to get drunk. Get drunk, get home and pass out and to not dream of the bloody Slayer.

The Amstrori demon sat beside him and snorted . The bar tender gave the Amstrori his drink and backed off. Spike ,now clearly under the influence, raised a brow at his neighbour and sneered.

"You know you reek of the Slayer, not very bright coming into a demon bar stinking of the bitch"
"Ya well, that's cos I fought her earlier "
" And your alive to tell the tale? Don't give me that shit vampire"
"Got my fangs buried in her an all"
"So you off'ed her then, hmmm , so how is it that word on the grapevine is that she's out for blood and killing us all as per usual"

Spike perked up, but then he didn't have an answer that wouldn't get his head ripped from his shoulders. Amstrori demons were notorious for hating vamps and also Slayers. Tough buggers too!

"I let her go ... all part of my plan, drain the bint a bit then torment her til she goes as nutty as a squirrels sack mate"
"Not a good idea is it though, aggravate the bitch and she's more likely to pound your ass until sunrise"
"Makes it all the more delicious, trust me, killed m'self loads of Slayers and the potentials, killed Watchers too, not advisable to drink them though, taste like shit"

The demon laughed , drawing attention from the rest of the patrons. He started to calm down and turned to Spike.He grabbed him by the lapels and drew him into his hairy, bear like chest.

"Not a wise idea to bullshit me. Only one vampire has the reputation of killing that many"
"Oi! Watch the soddin leather you git an yeah, that's me William the Bloody"
"Got a fucking death wish?"

The bar went quiet except for a few chairs that scrapped across the tiled floor , demons left the bar quickly , not looking back in to see who stayed. Spike caught a flash of blonde over the Amstrori's shoulder. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.This is gonna hurt he thought.

"So, I asked myself earlier, what's a girl gotta do for fun around here? "

Buffy stood beside the huge beast that still held Spike to his body, his fangs now dripped a mucus . It truly was disgusting.

"Looks like I found myself some"

Without hesitation Buffy hit the demon in the face with an ashtray and then slit his throat with the hunting knife that she had concealed in her jacket. Spike slid to the floor as the demon toppled off his stool.

"What the hell are you doing! You could have gotten killed you stupid bloody bint!"
"What the hell do you care"

Buffy walked out , taking three more demons out on her way to the exit. Spike brushed himself down, rearranged his clothes and pulled on the cuffs of his coat. He noticed that she had left and ran out into the street. She had fled.
Spike took in a deep sniff and followed her scent back to the harbour.

"Buffy, wait..... stop !"

Buffy stopped but kept her back to him.

"I'm not in the mood, I just want to kill as many demons as I can and go back to bed. This will be my last night here and I just want to be alone"
"Just wait will you, god your annoying"
"Sorry! I didn't realise that I should charm you into killing me , or try to"
"Look , I deserve that, I get why your angry but it wasn't anything personal pet"

She tensed

"Don't call me that and how the hell can it not be personal, my necks on my person , kinda makes it personal"

Spike looked down at the floor and when he looked up, she had gone. He turned and walked back to his basement flat and passed out.


* * * *


The morning had come when Joyce and Buffy had to leave. Not that Buffy cared now. It really had been the holiday from hell. Her Dad hadn't tried to contact her , her friends had ditched her and the one person she had put her trust in, turned out to be a vampire. Buffy stopped packing and went to the mirror and looked at the scar. The bite had totally healed and wasn't red any more. Giles would see it and he'd panic, no doubt getting out dozens of dusty old books that smelt of mothballs and had weird signs all over them. So long as he didn't give her the huge one with gold braiding , the one that had Vampyr on the front, she'd be cool.

Joyce hadn't seen it yet. Buffy had worn scarves and high necked tops to cover it. So far she had been lucky. She thought that Spike might have tried coming to the villa seeing as he knew where it was and all. But he had been absent since the bar incident. She didn't know how she felt about that.No point dwelling on it, she told herself, he's gonna be here and your going home. Your hardly going to see him again.

Joyce interrupted her train of thought by coming into the room to get her suitcases. She took them out to the cab and returned to let Buffy know it was time to go. Buffy stood and surveyed the room. Taking a deep breath, she closed the door to the room and left.

Their cab drove through the streets slowly, weaving through the streets and the market place. Buffy stared out the window, focusing on nothing in particular. The flash of bleached hair made her look back over her shoulder and out the rear screen. The bite on her neck started to tingle. Her hand instinctively went to it and she looked back again. He had gone and the bite settled again. She needed to talk to Giles without alerting him to the fact that she had been bitten and that it was Spike.

The cab arrived in front of the airport and Joyce got the trolley , the driver put their baggage on it and then drove off. The three hour wait was going to drive her crazy and the only relief from it would be the duty free shopping. Joyce sat reading a book with a Styrofoam cup of coffee, guaranteed to taste the same as the bottom of her boots, so Buffy went off to window shop and to maybe get some last minute bargains.

Bags hung from her hands,making it virtually impossible to navigate through the now busy terminal and to open doors. Buffy made it back to her Mum and she plopped herself down next to her. She let out a sigh and looked at Joyce. Joyce hadn't looked up or even noticed the fact that she had returned. Buffy shook her head. She looked at the books title and shrugged. Art in the nineteenth century, how boring. wasn't it all hunting pictures or women in dresses that pinch in they're waists and made they're boobs fall out over the tops? Oh well, now Buffy watched people as they walked around the terminal. She rummaged in a bag and got out her bag of skittles and started eating them according to colour, that was how bored she was. Okay reds down orange next .

The flight was called and Joyce looked up at the large board, squinting. Buffy wondered why adults did that. The person had called the flight number, said which terminal it was in and the gate number it was leaving from, yet they still have to look at the board, and get confused by the three flights that all go to the same place. Just when they think they have it sorted, the letters all do that flippy thing and change.

"Come on Mum, I know it , you'll just get confused by the board again"

Joyce nodded and packed the book back in her hold all. Buffy gathered up the one hundred and one bags that she had and raced after her.

Settling into a flight that was full to capacity and god, only economy was sheer hell. Not to mention the fact that Buffy had someone the size of the Amstrori demon sat behind her. His knees dug into her back and every time he moved she lurched forwards. Four hours until they touch down in London. How could she keep herself from staking him ? There wasn't even a movie for gods sake! Joyce smiled at her and went back to her boring art book, Buffy peered over the top of the book and yep! There was the hunting picture, some stuck up man stood in a flouncy shirt and three quarter length trousers, beside a horse that was taller than him.

Being jostled around wasn't that bad, the stuffiness wasn't that bad, but the smell, that wasn't good. He shifted the three suitcases and smirked as he found the one he was after. He opened the case and saw what he was after. The stuffed pig. That was what he had seen her cuddle up to the night he'd watched her through the villa window.
Spike ripped the pig across its fluffy pink neck and then replaced it. He zipped up the suitcase and then put it all back. Sinking back into the shadows of the hold. The noisy hydraulics screeched and the plane seem to hitch in the air. They were nearing London . Now he just had the flight to California to look forward to.


* * * *


Arriving in LAX airport after the two weeks she had had was like a weight had been lifted. The cab home was quiet. Pulling up outside the house had been even worse. The piles of mail that had accumulated on the mat made it hard to open the door. Guess Dad has moved out of here already then.

Joyce went straight into the kitchen and started sorting out the mail. Buffy opened the fridge and quickly shut it after retrieving the bottle of juice .

"Serious need to clean out the fridge, Dads left it stocked and I swear there was a new life form partying in the tuna salad"

Joyce smiled and then went back to opening the mail. She threw away most of the letters and neatly put the important ones in the drawer , she started up the coffee maker and went through into the lounge. The photo's of them as a family had been laid down and faced the mantle, so Dad couldn't even look at the happier family photographs. The tears swelled up and her stomach knotted.

Buffy took her suitcase up to her room and began unpacking. Mr Gordo laid on the top and .... what the hell ?! He had been fine when she had put him in their. Who in hell would do that to a stuffed pig? Oh god no!!

She raced downstairs and ran into Joyces back, she thrust her stuffed pig into her face , causing Joyce to step back and crane her neck to focus on the object that had been thrust in her face.

"What happened to him ?"
"He was fine when I put him in my case, must have been done when it was going onto the plane"
"I doubt it honey, I'll repair him for you, give him to me and I'll have Mr Gordo as good as new in no time"

Buffy handed over the stuffed pig and watched as Joyce put him beside her chair in the lounge. It appeared she wasn't going to be doing the repairs any time soon. Buffy stomped back to her room and fell back on her bed . She was glad to be home despite her parents splitting up . Just to be back somewhere she could defend and at least there wasn't a schizophrenic vampire here. She sighed, Spike . Of course! He must have done it as a warning. Shit!! That means, oh god no. It means he was on the aeroplane. Buffy rushed out of the bedroom and out the front door without a thought of anything else.


* * * *


Buffy arrived at Giles' flat in under ten minutes. She bent over panting from the exertions and reached up with one hand to knock. He finally answered the door in his usual smart attire but minus the blazer.

"Buffy! I wasn't expecting you home until school restarted, is everything Okay?"

Buffy shook her head. What is it? Some British thing, of course things aren't fine!

"Things aren't fine Giles, far from it. In two weeks my life has gone from typical suburbia to down town slums."

His look was enough to make her growl with frustration.

"Okay first my Dad leaves my Mum and says he wants a divorce cos of me, even though Mum said he had been having an affair with his ho of a secretary for months, again , my fault apparently. Then I have social leprosy or something and then I meet a guy that listens to me and understands me and I totally start to trust him and he turns out to be a vampire. Not just any vamp, oh no, Buffy strikes again and it was Spike, William the Bloody"

"Are you sure?"

"Um... "
"He's a notorious vampire Buffy , how on earth did you survive?"

Like she was going to tell him!

"Luck I guess , that and my ingenious fighting skills, I don't know really"
"His past time has, is, killing Slayers , he's known as the Slayer of Slayers in certain circles"

Oh crap no! He's got that book out. Giles dropped the heavy Vampyr book onto the desk and flipped to the page regarding the vampire that they were discussing.Buffy stared at the face. Okay the hair was different, but this picture had been drawn god knows how many years ago. He actually looked cuter in the picture than he did now and that was... woah! Since when did she think of him as cute?

"That's him, but he's bleached his hair to oblivion and wears leather and all black"
"Exactly how he has been parading for the last thirty years or so"
"So now what Giles? He was on the plane , he's followed me back here"
"How do you know that ?"
"He um... tore the throat out of my stuffed pig"
"Highly unusual"

Giles started to pace. He did that whenever he was deep in thought or he had a serious case of the wiggins. Buffy had an idea that tonight it was both. Hadn't she been wigged out by it, as soon as she realised she ran from the house and came here. She still had to tell him about the bite , his head might explode when she told him.Best to stand a few feet back then.

"He almost won the fight, Giles"

He stopped his pacing. Thank you , Buffy thought, It had started to get annoying.

" But he didn't obviously, unless he turned you"

Giles picked up a crucifix and held it against her outstretched hand and satisfied, he put it back down.

"He did bite me though, I didn't think he would stop but he was spooked and he ran off"

She uncovered the bite and Giles inspected it. He um'ed and ahh'ed a few times and then took his glasses off and took to polishing them whilst staring at her neck.

"Does it itch or burn at times? "
"Once, we were driving through town before we left Spain, I saw him in the shadows , as soon as he left it stopped"
"Just as I thought"
"Giles spill already! Am I like a homing beacon for him now? Am I going to turn into some freaky walking blood bank for him?"
"He will have a connection with you and you will feel when he is close, but you will not be under any type of thrall, don't worry Buffy. Now that you are home you have resources at your disposal and you will be able to defeat him and eradicate his threat."


* * * *


The car sped past the city limits sign and he put his foot down hard on the accelerator. The car bounced over the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign and stopped on the green behind it. Spike got out of the car with a swagger and lit a cig. He smirked in game face and blew out the smoke.

"Home sweet Home"


* * * *


Buffy was sat reading the book on Vampires, one in particular actually. His past was amazing. He had travelled the globe and had certainly lived a full and colourful life. Buffy almost felt envious. What type of life would she have now that she was the Slayer? Not a very long one and definitely a dull one. Unless you died prematurely by a severe neck trauma or apocalypses.

She yawned and propped her head up on her hand, she wondered where the rest of the group of vampires that he had hung out with were. The warm feeling that radiated from the bite didn't register with her until it started to really burn and tingle. Buffy shot out of the chair and held her hand over the bite mark. Giles looked up from his research and frowned.

"Is it the bite? Is he here already?"

Buffy nodded, and winced from the pain.

"I had hoped that he wasn't going to be here so soon, this just means that his connection with you is stronger than anticipated"
"No shit Sherlock"

She grimaced

"Sorry just kinda burns like hell"
"It will, until you connect with him"
"Huh?"
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you the whole story, you may want to sit down dear"

Buffy sat down and Giles placed yet another book down. As Buffy started to read he told her what it said more or less word for word.

"A vampire doesn't just bite to feed, it can bite for pleasure during couplings, it can bite to mark someone as a potential mate, or to make the person their mate, it can bite to make a possessive claim, which means that no other vampire can touch the person without meeting a deadly end . It would appear that Spike intended to turn you and that the ritual was interrupted, hence the strong connection. This is very disturbing and also fascinating. William the Bloody has never been known to turn anyone before. And a Slayer no less, simply fascinating"

"I'm so glad my almost death has given you a happy Giles but hello! How can you stop this and you mentioned connecting with him, how?"
"You would have to fight him, beat him and then put your own claim on him. All the time you wear his mark, he will have some control over you and he will be able to find you"
"Ewww , I'm not going to go all Elvira on him and drink his blood"

Buffy continued to read the book. Each new paragraph made her eyes bulge even more. Domination in the vampire world was common, even down to the heirachy thing. And ewww, the males that were dominant would have to... oh that is just wrong on so many levels. Buffy slammed the book shut and decided it was best that she went home. Giles warned her about patrolling and suggested that she didn't go alone. He would accompany her until she had dusted Spike. She agreed, smiled at him and then ran off in the direction of home.