With a Little Help

Thanks as usual to Isis for beta-ing but also for the naughty comments about Buffy and Spike that get my mind going. However, she says I can’t make too steamy until her husband gets home. We’ll see…

Thanks so much for all the reviews. I was so flattered (blushing here), and not to mention, they were a kick in the ass for me to work harder on this chapter. I mean that in a good way, of course. : ) Enjoy!


Chapter 4, The Crawl


“Spike, you’d better be ready. We’re headed your way and moving fast,” Buffy called. The Eloquaw demon that she was chasing disappeared behind a tomb from her view. When Buffyaredared the corner, she saw the demon flying back in her direction, or more accurately, back from Spike’s fist. “Punching the demon is of the good,” Buffy called out from underneath the felled Eloquaw, “but the demon then knocking me on my ass isinitinitely of the bad, Spike.” Luckily the demon lay stunned.

“Come on, Slayer, quit lying about on the job.” Not hurried, Spike casually adjusted his coat.

Buffy harshly shoved the demon off of her, but before she could roll out of the way, the demon turned on her with its tongue shooting out to strike her thigh.

With her leg starting to go numb, Buffy desperately tried to rise to her feet but fell back down to the ground. As she struggled, she could see the demon positioning for another strike. Since Buffy didn’t think going into cardiac arrest would be in her best interest, pre prepared to block the impending strike with her arm in an effort to block a hit to the chest. As if in slow motion, she watched the creature’s tongue come out of its mouth toward her, but unexpectedly the strike fell short. Fell on the ground to be exact. Greatly relieved, Buffy watched as Spike buried his hand axe in the demon’s head.

“Not so tough with your bloody tongue cut off, are you, mate? No match for a big bad.” Spike stood back, twirling the small axe expertly in his hand.

“Hey, big bad braggart, you could have cut his tongue off before he decided to see how I tasted.” Punctuating the criti, Bu, Buffy tried to stand again, but failed.

“So how tasty are you, Slayer?” Spike taunted her. He put the axe into the pocket of his duster and pulled out his cigarettes as he mentally finished his commentary in his head, ‘And can I have a lick or two, or three, or four…’ He lit his cigarette and took a drag as he enjoyed the mental image. He was looking at the slayer through her curls, past her ripe breasts and up to her face in the throws of passion. He watched her for a moment before lowering his head to continue teasing her clit with his tongue. Then Buffy clamped her legs closed, causing him pain. The silly bint used too much of that Slayer strength, hurting his ear …but only one ear. That’s not right, both ears should smart. And now that he thought about it, flights of fancy were not supposed to hurt.
Spike looked over to see dirt and grass on the shoulder of his duster. Funny, he didn’t remember rolling about on the ground to get dirty. “Ow!” Spike’s ear was now throbbing. And he didn’t need three tries to guess who was tossing the dirt clods.

Buffy looked up at Spike when he turned his attention back to her and glared. Her smile was deceptively sweet, but she still held the next, grassy projectile, ready to fly. “Spike. Need a little help here.”
“Love to help you, pet, because of your sparkling personality and treatment of someone that has done nothing but help you.” Spike continued smo his his cigarette, while not taking one step in the slayer’s direction.

“My personality sparkles, just not when I am annoyed with smoke stacks that disguise themselves as vampires.”
Before Spike could even think of a proper comeback, his “inner” voice chose to speak up. ‘Shut your mouth, and you may get to help her home. You know, help her walk, be close to her, touch her...’ Multok worked to keep his voice even, but what he really wanted to do was slap the vampire on the side of his head.

Taking the not so subtle advice, Spike kept his mouth closed and helped the slayer to her feet. “Can you walk?”

“No, totally walk deprived. The paralysis spread up into my hip, also.”

“Here, pet, put your arm across my shoulders, and we’ll get you home, all safe and snug.” As Buffy draped her arm around Spike’s shoulder, he slid his arm around her waist. He helped her out of the cemetery and headed toward her house.

“How’s your leg, luv. Getting that tingling sensation yet?”

Spike’s invisible companion nearly fell off his shoulder. ‘What, are you nuts? Wouldn’t know a great opportunity unless it bit you on the ass,’ Multok hissed in the vampire’s ear. Then Spike felt a thump on the side of his head.

Thinking about his question, he had to agree that it was a tactical error. Spike could have kicked himself for asking. ‘Say no, say no. I shouldn’t have even asked. In the past, I only got this close to her to either punch her or get punched by her,’ Spike thought, ‘but this is different, besides the no pain involved part. My arm fits so nicely around her waist, especially when it jostles up to bump the bottom of her breast.’

Buffy shook her head. “Uh, no, no feeling yet. All still numb, hip to foot.” Yes, the tingle started a while back and had already started to dissipate. Regardless, she had no desire to let go. “And thanks for helping me walk home. I guess you’ve done me a favor tonight. So what’s it going to be?

‘You in my bed, naked skin sliding across satin sheets…’ Spike felt another thump behind his ear, jolting him back to reality. “What?”

“The favor. We killed enough of those Elo guys so that I owe you another favor. So what’s it going to be this time?”

Arriving at Buffy’s house, they walked up to the back porch, and Spike helped her to sit on the steps, while desperately trying to think of an answer to her question. He liked being with her like this, no fighting and no Scoobies. She seemed to be more relaxed with him and not pissed the whole time. So he searched his brain for some favor that she would do and he could be with her like this, away from their job titles of vampire slayer and evil vampire. Then the solution popped into his head, ‘a pub crawl.’ But no, he told that little voice. Buffy would never go for that with him. ‘Yes, she would. Just ask her.’ No, that would blow all the head way I have made tonight. ‘Ask her. What are you chicken?’ His inner voice had really become a cheeky bastard. Ok, I’ll give it a go, but I’ll be prepared to duck her swing.

“A pub crawl.”

Buffy looked shocked and none too happy. “I am *not* crawling in public.”

“You need to get out of cemeteries more often, Slayer. Assuming that you had a clue, a pub crawl is what you would call bar hopping.”

Buffy relaxed instead of taking his verbal jab seriously, “What’s the favor?”

“You go with me as a designated driver. And since you will already be with me, you can keep the other birds from pestering me.” Bloody brilliant, that had to rank up as one of the lamest things he had ever said. He stood there bracing himself for her punch, hoping she would miss his nose.

“So, let me make sure I get this right. You want me to be a driver and bodyguard. First, let’s first agree to ignore that whole bodyguard part. You realize that I mostly drive by Braille, which is running over the reflective bumps in the center of the road and bumping curbs.”

All Spike could do was nod while picturing his beloved DeSoto being used as if a sign was on the side reading, “Beware. Student driver.”

“Ok.” Buffy knew he was expecting her to say no. She should have said no, but the shocked look on Spike’s face had been priceless. “But the Bronze is off the list of pubs to crawl to, past or through.”

As Buffy turned to enter her house, she could have sworn she heard clapping, but wrote the noise off to her imagination.

However, when both Buffy and Spike were well out of sight, Multok and Shel became visible.

Shel shook her head and worried, “It doesn’t sounded like Buffy can’t drive very well. Isn’t that dangerous?”

“Well, we will be there to help, won’t we? Now, let’s get some rest. Unless I miss my guess, tomorrow will be a busy day.” Multok flew out of the Summer’s yard with Shel following.

“But, Multok, I can’t believe you kicked Spike. Twice!”

“Sometimes, Shel, a more direct approach is called for when dealing with very hard-headed vampires.”

*****

The next day, Buffy stepped into the kitchen just as the phone started to ribut but ignoring it, she kept walking toward the refrigerator. Most likely, the call was for her sister. Since Dawn is a teenager, that meant many hours with the phone stuck to the side of her head. If the call was for her mom, Dawn would take the message. Leaving the last possibility which was…

“Buffyyyy! It’s your soldier boy, so talk fast. I’m hoping this guy, Todd, from school will call. He’s really buff.”

‘I wouldn’t dare get in the way of you and your imaginary love life,’ Buffy thought as she picked up the kitchen extension. “Hey, Riley.”

“Hi, Stranger. You’re a hard person to get a hold of the last few days. Are we still on for tonight?”

Thankful that her boyfriend couldn’t see her face, Buffy wondered how she could have forgotten that she was supposed to see Riley that night? Yet another good example that nothing was ever easy when dealing with Spike. ‘Think fast, Buffy. Telling him that you are going out with Spike is so not an option.’ So she opened her mouth and hoped for the best. “I’m so sorry, Riley. I am going with Giles to do some in the field training tonight. Slayer training. *Alone* slayer training.”

“That’s funny. I talked to Giles when I called the Magic Box. I mentioned we were getting together later, and his only comment was to take you somewhere nice.”

or bor bust.’ Buffy cringed. “Uh, did I say “with” Giles? I meant “for” Giles. Yeah, I just hung up with him before you called. He has an assignment thingy that must be done tonight. Something about the moon, phases, or something, and it has to be tonight.” Buffy held her breath as she waited to see if Riley swallowed that super sized fib. She wondered if he wanted a drink to wash it down.

“But, Buff, I haven’t seen you for days.”

Expecting Riley to sound suspicious, Buffy was surprised that he only sounded stunned. Guess he didn’t need that drink after all. “I know. Tell you what, how about lunch tomorrow?”

After they worked out the where and when, Buffy quickly got off the phone. Feeling pretty cocky, Buffy thought she had succeeded with her fabrication until she turned around, which brought her face to face with Dawn.
Her sister had the classic “your hiding something” expression on her face. She may have beble ble to fool Riley, but Buffy had great respect for her sister’s ability to ferret out secrets, especially if she thought you were hiding something juicy. Nonetheless, Buffy still tried the innocent, perky approach. “Hi, Dawnie. How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough to hear your pathetic excuse for lying.”

Well, the perky innocent approach was a total flop. So, Buffy, switch to the direct approach. “Ok, let’s cut to the chase, Dawn. What do you kn…think you know?”

Dawn folded her arms and lifted an eyebrow to add a little more drama to the bust. “I *know* you are not doing training, or anything else for Giles tonight, because I heard him telling Anya that you both had the night off. That he was going out to some stuffy café with some friend from out of town.”

“So, what do you have in mind?”

Knowing that Buffy was caving in, Dawn tried not to gloat, yet. “Janice gets to sleep over tomorrow night, and you buy the pizza.”

“You know, extortion is a crime.”


*****

Pulling into a parking rid riddled with pot holes, Spike parked the DeSoto next to a Ford truck that Buffy suspected was as old as the DeSoto. However, the truck’s condition looked far worse, if that was possible.

“Hop out, Slayer. This is our first stop tonight.”

“This bar better be better than this parking lot.” Buffy got out of the car and approached the free-standing building. However, free-standing was a pretty generous description. She suspected that the next earthquake would provide the building a merciful end. Buffy stopped before she had walked five feet from the car. “I am so not going in that dump.”

“I prefer ‘dive’.”

Buffy wanted to smile but wasn’t giving in yet. “It’s a dump. Oh, listen. I think I hear the garbage truck pulling up now, dumping a load instead of taking one. So we need to get out of its way by leaving.”

“It’s a dive, which has a whole different nuance. Much more posh.” Spike continued toward the door.

“There is nothing new about this place, and you *so* did this on purpose.”

“Of course.” Spike smiled and held the door open for her. Buffy threw an elbow into his ribs as she passed through the door. His smile never wavered for two reasons. First, she was out on the town with him for the evening. Since he didn’t have a death wish, he wouldn’t make the mistake of calling the outing a date. Second, she hadn’t hit him near as hard as he knew she could. In other words, no broken ribs.

As Spike guided Buffy to a table, he was greeted warmly by the bartender and several patrons waved a hello.

A red-headed waitress quickly appeared at Spike’s elbow, never sparing a glance for Buffy. “Hi, Spike. The usual?”

Hearing the sexual innuendo in the waitress’ voice, Buffy had no doubt that the red-head would crawl into Spike’s lap if he would let her, and looking at her shirt, Buffy suspected that her nipples would pop out if it were cut any lower. However, when Spike turned on his charm, Buffy wanted to kick him in the shins.

“The usual sounds great, Alysa, and the lady will have a coke. This is Buffy, my designated driver for the night.”

The waitress leaned over to put coasters on their table, giving Spike an eye full of her double D’s. Now Buffy wanted to kick Alysa.

“I would be happy to drive you, anytime. Or you can drive me,” Alysa said with a wink for Spike.

“Now, pet, I never have trouble driving, but no one should drink and drive. ‘Safety first,’ that’s my motto

“Maybe you got that motto off your box of condoms, Spike,” Alysa laughed. “I’ll bring your drinks right over.”

When Alysa headed toward the bar, Buffy rounded on Spike. “Flirt much?”

Spike turned back to Buffy, giving her a look through half-hooded eyes. “As often as possible, luv. And just for the record,” Spike paused to light his cigarette, “I don’t use rubbers.”

Buffy saw instant images from her dream the other night. Spike thrusting into her, and her screaming in ecstasy. No, she didn’t think Spike used condoms. Even if Spike wasn’t a vampire, a condom would never be included in the sex she had dreamed about. And with that thought, a change in conversation was overdue. “Why do you come here instead of Willy’s?”

Spike’s usual cocky expression faded. “Do you mean what do these humans accept me into their midst? What do you think, Slayer, that I wear a name tag that saysi. i. My name is Spike, and I’m a vampire. Grr Arg.”

“No, I actually meant why don’t you go to demon bars, so you can order blood or something?”

“I wore out my welcome at places like Willy’s. But these stupid blokes were happy enough to take me in, or was it take my money in and leave me out. I forget which.” Spike’s cocky grin reappeared, and Buffy was happy to she his smile.

“Now I can think of many reasons to get rid of you, Spike, but why would other demons not want you around?”

“Because of this bad influence I’ve been hanging about lately. She’s short, blonde, and let’s her mouth overload her brain.”

“Huh?“

“My point exactly. She also wears these bloody ridiculous foot ware when she fights.”

“There’s nothing wrong with my mouth, brain, or the shoes that I slay in.”

“If you say so, Slayer, but you could improve you spin kick if you wore more appropriate shoes.”

Buffy ignored Spike’s typical bait, preferring to concentrate in a different direction. Buffy had never thought of Spike’s situation from any angle other than the obvious. To Buffy, Spike had first been a mortal enemy, next a reluctant ally, then a lovesick drunk, and later back to a mortal enemy. If someone had asked in the last year, Buffy would have answered as she had already done many times that Spike was just a neutered vamp. But now as she thought about it, she realized she now thought of him as a formable fighter and as a helpful ally. If truth be told from that list, she would add that he was a good lover. But after thinking about the whole situation, Buffy realized that she understood the vampire’s dilemma.

Buffy looked over at Spike, successfully holding his gaze. “You are living between worlds: you’re outside the demon world and outside the human world.”

“In a nutshell, luv.” Spike wasn’t sure if she was mocking him or not.

Sensing Spike’s uneasiness, Buffy held his gaze. “I can understand because I live between those two worlds also.” Why,Why, Slayer, don’t tell me we have something in common.”

“If you quote me, I’ll stake you.” Her answering smile softened the threat.

Spike raised an eyebrow. “You can try, luv.”

“You can’t fight back.” Buffy countered, happy that they were back to their usual banter

“I’ll thank you to *not* remind me. However, you’re right that I can’t hit you, luv, but I can run. Do you want to have a go at a spot of hide and seek?”

To Spike’s surprise, Buffy actually considered the idea. A cemetery would be a perfect location. “I’m in, but you’re it first.”

While Buffy and Spike shared a laugh, Shel and Multok looked on, also smiling. Shel smiled because Buffy and Spike weren’t fighting. Rubbing his hands together, Multok smiled because the proverbial ice was broken, opening up the way for the next step in his plan.


TBC


This crawl is certainly not over yet. ; ) Oh, and who is Harmony’s mysterious boy toy? We’ll get back to that in the next chapter, also. Lots of fun to come.

MadRog
www.sunnydale-tales.com
madrog@ev1.net