The Death Of Me

Chapter Three

Buffy felt the pull of the portal lessen and fell to her knees. The sensation hadn't been pleasant and her body rebelled against it, emptying her stomach contents and gasping for breath. She glanced over to where Spike lay unconscious. When her head stopped swimming , Buffy got to her feet , albeit weak and unsteady, and went to his side. She patted his shoulder and called to him . Spike didn't stir . Buffy looked around at their surroundings. It was dark and they appeared to be alone. Grateful that she wouldn't have to hurry him out of sunlight by carrying him , she took a slow walk around to make sure they would be safe until Spike came to.

It appeared that they were in a wooded area , no lights shone in the distance and Buffy assumed that there wasn't a town anywhere within walking distance. With no watches and no other way to tell how close dawn was , panic began to set in. If only Spike would wake up.He'd be able to tell how close dawn was and then......
No.. I'm the slayer, Except I'm not, I'm just Buffy here and he's.... William.

Buffy laid a hand on his cheek and pulled it back when he groaned.His skin was warm and now that she looked, properly looked, he wasn't as pale and his cheeks had a slight pinkness to them.She slowly placed her hand back and smiled as his head turned into her palm .Even in his sleep he still responded to her. Her eyes fell to his chest and she watched the rise and fall of his chest.He used to breathe before even though he didn't need to , but for some reason, , it mesmerized her, to think that he actually needed to now.

She thought about her years as slayer, how she had thought that being the slayer was a chore, something that interrupted her life , that it would mean never having a normal life. She used to think of it as a job ,a fight here a world save-age there, thrust ,kick stake and her job was done for the night and then she could hang with her friends at the Bronze and be a ' normal ' girl. So when had she come to accept that slaying wasn't just a part time gig ? Buffy shrugged, who knew. She glanced back down at Spike and smiled again. He had taught her that there was more to being a slayer ,that it wasn't what she was, it was who she was.

She looked up at the sky and sighed ,now they were both going to get a taste of what it was to be normal. No super human strength, no demons to kill, and no sunlight issues to worry them, well him, now. The sky was growing light ,morning was coming ,and with it came their first day as regular joes. A moan from beside her pulled Buffy from her thoughts. Spike turned on his side and yawned .Something so simple had made her smile again.It was such a human thing, yawning ,not something she had ever witnessed a vamp doing.

He's human. We need food and shelter .....

Spike turned over and yawned, his consciousness returning to him slowly. A breeze gently caressed him and he knew that he was outside.He stomach growled , letting him know that he hadn't eaten in hours? days? His eyes opened slowly and fell on Buffy .Spike sat up , his movement caught her eyes and she sat looking at him.

"How do you feel?" she asked
"Human , and achy ,also, bloody hungry.Feel like I've been starved for a century"

Buffy rolled her eyes . "Do you want to rest up for a while before we explore and find something to eat?"

Spike got to his knees and pushed himself up , his legs wobbled a little but he maintained his balance. He stretched his arms and back before looking at their surroundings. " They couldn't have sent us somewhere a little less ...."
"Woodsy?" Buffy added. He nodded and strolled off into the wood. "Hey! Where are you going?" she asked

"I'm going to take a leak, want to come and hold it for me slayer?"
Buffy wrinkled her nose and shook her head "Ewww , gross Spike " she called after his retreating form. "Don't know why I thought that you being all human now would change you" she added.

He returned a short time later , to find Buffy up on a raised piece of the clearing. The breeze was blowing her hair out behind her and he'd found himself liking her to that of a queen surveying her lands .

"Found or seen anything interesting pet" he said as he made his way to her side.
"Can't see anything except tree's , tree's oh and more tree's"
"Maybe we should go look over that way a bit" Spike pointed east " Something tells me we should go that-a-way"
Buffy snorted but made her way down in the direction that Spike had suggested.He followed her down and walked beside her in silence. Neither wanted to really hold any conversation ,both trying to ignore the fact that they were both dead,back home at least.

Spike soon grew bored and patted the pockets of his duster,his eyes showing his gratefulness at finding a packet of smokes.He shook one out and peered inside to find that he only had six left "Bugger".
Buffy cast a brief look and noticed the now lit cigarette hanging from his mouth "Those can kill you now"

"Only got six left and I only got this heart beat for six months, I doubt I'll be struck by anything in that time, do you?"
"One a month, lucky you!"

Spike took the cig from his lips and looked at it, shrugged and popped it back to sit upon his lip. "Maybe there is some sort of civilization here, we're just not looking in the right place slayer"
"I'm not the slayer here so quit saying that, I'm just Buffy here.I don't call you vamp ,so do me the same courtesy"
Spike smirked and saluted her as she walked on "Yes Ma'am!"
Buffy rolled her eyes and ignored him, as best she could anyway.


It felt as if they had walked for miles and still all they saw was woodland. Buffy was about to give up and let Spike know when she found he wasn't behind her. She sighed deeply and called out to him.

"I'm up here sl.... Buffy ."
She raised her face and covered her eyes from the sun. There he was , sitting on a branch at the top of a tall tree.He waved and shouted back "I can see some smoke not too far off towards the north.Must be village or something"
"Might just be a forest fire" she yelled back , not wanting her hopes to be raised
"This isn't sunny California and I'm bloody sure it aint Australia love.Plus it was only a small plume ,not a wall of smoke you get from a forest fire"

Put in her place, Buffy shrugged and walked in the direction he had pointed. " I hope it's a house, one with a shower and a fridge full of food and a huge comfy bed"
"I'll take all those and raise you a telly too "

They smiled, both enthused enough by their hopes ,to walk towards their goal with renewed speed .


The tree's thinned out until the only thing that hindered their progress was shrubbery.Finally breaking through,Buffy stood and stared at the property before her. Spike looked over her head and went to move out into the clearing ,Buffy reached out and held him back by his arm.

The house was small with a thatched roof.Small wood framed windows were scattered here and there, just enough to provide light .The log and mud walls had been bleached by the sun and the doorway was overhung by a porch covered in ivy.


"We don't know if it's safe , could be a trap"
Spike almost laughed at her, but then had to remind himself that he was no longer a vampire and therefore ,at risk . "I might not be a vampire now love but I think I can still put up a bloody good fight.You're not exactly little miss like to fight yourself now"

The glare she shot him told him all he needed to know.Buffy hated not having her slayer skills . With as much stealth as they had, they crept up to the window on the south side and peered in. The house seemed empty , Spike edged round to the front of the house, keeping to the shadows and went to the front door. Spike looked down at Buffy who nodded her approval.He knocked three times and stood back, both tense in case they were attacked.
Nothing. No-one answered .

Again seeking her approval, Spike tried the door and found that it opened easily. He hung back, a force of habit stopped him from stepping over the threshold.Buffy tutted and dragged him in behind her.

As soon as they were inside ,with light behind them from the open door, they noticed that the house was cool. After walking for so long they had become hot and sticky from sweat. The cool air was welcomed even though it caused them to shiver slightly. Looking around, it seemed that the door opened up into the kitchen and lounge area. It was basic, a rustic old table stood before a fire that had an old metal cauldron on a frame. The chairs that were at the table looked as though they had been made from logs. The couch was more or less the same but it had over stuffed cushions scattered on it. Buffy looked up at Spike who shrugged his shoulders and advanced further into the house.Buffy closed the door and followed him. He walked through an arch into the bedroom.The bed was cast iron framed with a large over stuffed mattress that was very much like the scatter cushions on the couch.

"There's no bathroom" Buffy said quietly "Where does the person who lives here go ... "
"Probably in a chamberpot of sorts ,or outside maybe..... didn't always have indoor plumbing pet"

Buffy snorted , there was no way she was doing her business behind a bush or in a potty . Spike knew exactly what she was thinking ."Prude. Back when I was alive, we only had a basic loo, nothing like what you have back home.We had to fill a bucket with water and that's how we flushed.Only the elite had toilets with a cistern on it, the poorer folk still had to use chamberpots or a hole in the back garden."
Buffy wrinkled up her nose "Thanks for the history lesson , now can we get back to exploring?"
"Sure, after you love"

Buffy had just started to nose around in the kitchen when the door opened and in walked an old lady. She smiled at them and laid a couple of rabbits on the table.

"Took your time didn't you?" she croaked
Buffy and Spike shared a look ,he raised a brow.
"Don't just stand there boy, fetch the logs on the porch,or we'll not have a fire to cook these on"

Spike went to the front door and picked up an armful of the logs and put them on the hearth.

"I suppose you two are wondering how I know you ,expected you ,hmmm?"

They nodded

"Sit , sit" she said indicating the two dining chairs.They sat and waited for the old woman to tell them how and why she knew to expect them.

"The Oracles ,the beings you saw before you came here , they are my bosses.They knew that you would need a guide,so for now, I am that guide."

"A guide? But why, I mean if this world is just one huge forest and we're the only ones here, it's hardly going to be difficult to survive the next six months here" Buffy replied.
The old woman smiled "Child, did the Oracles not tell you that all memories from your life before ,will fade and that this world can be whatever you want it to be?"
Buffy shook her head, Spike frowned.

"So, we can make this the world into our own perfect world?"
"Not the world as such , but the dimension ,certainly.If you decided that you wanted a world made completely of chocolate, then so be it.I wouldn't advise that though, we had one unfortunate woman who did and it melted .Poor lass was never seen again, although we think she melted into the Obsidian cortex. Oh well."

Buffy was now looking over at Spike and circling her finger at her temple, he frowned back and shook his head for her to stop.

"I assume that you both wish for all the creature comforts of home? Maybe even for this dimension to be Sunnydale, am I right?"

Buffy nodded without hesitation. "My dear sweet girl, we can do that , make this dimension Sunnydale, but," she paused " All your family and friends won't be there.We can and will provide people to run shops ,restaurants and to live in the houses , even create your family home, but everything linked to your friends and to your mother and sister will be absent.We won't make it a hellmouth either. The other stipulation is that you both remain together.If either of you tries to leave the other or the dimension, then you will go back to the Oracles to remain there for eternity"

"What if we want different things from the dimension? Buffy might want it to be another Sunnydale, what if I want it to be London, where I grew up?"

Buffy shot him a look, the hurt evident on her face.Spike almost felt guilty .

"Then if you both could not agree then you would return either here or to the Oracles. I think you have some thinking to do and maybe some more questions, yes?"
They both nodded "Then why don't you go down to the lake and think and discuss this all. I will come for you when supper is ready"

Like two children being dismissed , they filed out of the door and headed instinctively towards the lake. There was a lot to talk over and a lot of questions they both needed to ask. Behind the door, the old lady smiled.Things would definitely be interesting, very interesting in deed.