This Kind of Lonely

Disclaimer

I own NOTHING (except for the plot*smile*)! Anything in this story that falls under existing copyrights belongs to their respective owners.

A/N
I am such a bad person! Sorry but only just today got to answer most of the reviews. Thank you again, I love them all. I will reveal Buffy’s business and the reasons for her hating Spike in this chapter. I hope you like it as much as the other chapters before. If or if not tell me. I’ll try to answer the comments sooner this time. Now go on enjoy it!
Hugs to all!

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Previously on “This Kind of Lonely”:

Buffy decides against better advice to take care of herself and lets herself be taken home by the hospital staff. Spike and Xander wake after a drunken night and Xander tells Spike to keep on trying. So he goes out to visit her and finds her injured in her flat and takes her home with him.

This Kind of Lonely


Chapter 4: Home Sweet Home

They were still driving through the streets of New York City. It was night by now and the tension inside the car was definitely strong enough to be cut by a not so sharp knife. Buffy switched between staring outside the side window and staring at her scalded left arm. She touched the outside area of her injury and ever hissed so slightly when she touched a particular hurt area.

“Stop touching it. It won’t get better by you putting pressure on it with your not disinfected fingers” Spike said in a flat voice void of emotion.

Buffy just exhaled loudly and turned her head to the side window again. She didn’t want to talk to him. No, he wouldn’t take her from her home against her will and get out of it unpunished. No, now it was time for stubborn Buffy to come out and play. He definitely would be in for quite a handful.

“Can you even tell why you hate me that much that you won’t even talk to me?” Spike once again tried to make some conversation, to get her to open up a little. But Buffy would have nothing of it and so she just kept on staring out the window.

Spike realized that he wouldn’t succeed in any kind of conversation right now and so he pulled out his cell phone to take care of other matters. Buffy saw him dialling a number on the small piece of electronic and wondered just whom he would be calling at such an ungodly hour.

“Cordy?” Spike asked into the phone.

“Yeah…yeah…stop yelling at me” he yelled himself “I know how late it is and I don’t care. I need you to go to my house and prepare the bedroom next to mine. I will have a guest for some time from now and I also need you to stay until we arrive.”

Spike had to take the phone from his ear for the next minute to prevent some serious damage to his inner ear functions as the person at the other end of the line didn’t seem to be too pleased with Spike’s request.

Buffy had to stifle a laugh as she heard the other person ranting on about inflicting damage to parts that would not grow again. She had a hard time breathing but she didn’t want to lose her cold façade.

“Listen” Spike had the phone back to his ear “you can yell and rant as much as you want. Be there” and disconnected the call.

“Bloody women” Spike muttered under his breath and Buffy again tried as good as possible to masquerade her amusement. She wanted to meet the woman that would show this guy the limits and she was sure, when the telephone call did say anything, that she would soon enough.

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They arrived at Spike’s house about twenty minutes later. Spike parked the car at the front entrance and left the driver’s side. Buffy looked outside and found a castle. At least the house seemed to be as huge as one. She knew he was rich but she didn’t know he had so much taste. The house itself was kept in Victorian style on the outside surrounded by a huge garden with all kinds of flowers. If she wouldn’t have been in such a foul mood about her situation and her actual disliking of one British male she would have admired the realty even more.

Spike meanwhile had opened the car’s trunk and fetched Buffy’s wheelchair. He placed it next to the passenger’s door and opened it to get Buffy out of her seat. He once again lifted her in his arms like he did before and carried her to her metal companion. As much as she tried to, she couldn’t deny that his arms felt good around her. She tried to channel all her hate but the feeling somehow remained. Not that she would have shown any sign of her inner turmoil but still it was there.

He placed her in the wheelchair and went to her back to roll her to the front door. Any given possibility she would punish him with disrespect by simple not looking at him. Not that it would have done anything to change anything in her situation but she felt right. After all he had put her in her state and even more kidnapped her from her home. And he was a moron. Definitely a moron, and infuriating, although she still couldn’t decide if the word was even strong enough.

They reached the front door and Spike rang the bell to his own home. Seconds later a brunette woman opened the door, a death glare for Spike in her eyes. She instantly liked her and wondered what a woman with her obvious qualities would do for a living if she had to be there whenever Spike called. She saw the expression in the woman’s eyes change when they fell on herself and Buffy instantly felt pitied.

“Hi I’m Cordelia and you must be the blonde moron’s guest for some time” she stretched her hand out and Buffy shook it. If it was possible she liked Cordelia even more than before her statement about Spike.

“Hi I’m Mr. Wellings new hood ornament” Buffy smiled at the beautiful brunette.

“You brought her in the wheelchair?” Cordelia queried looking at Spike again now.

Spike just shrugged and entered the house. His blood boiled. She wouldn’t talk a single bloody word to him all the time but chats with Cordy like nothing ever happened. He was so infuriated with her that he needed to calm down before he did something he would surely regret later. So he went for his bedroom and in directly into the shower. He didn’t even bother to turn on the hot water. He jumped under the freezing spray and stood there until his teeth began to chatter.

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Meanwhile in the kitchen

“Oh my god, Buffy, what happened to your arm?” Cordelia exclaimed when she saw the burn on Buffy’s left arm.

“Take this advice from me” Buffy answered grimacing “never try to fix pasta while sitting in a wheelchair.”

“We have to put on moisture lotion and bandage it or it will hurt like a bitch” Cordelia said and marched off to find said utensils.

Buffy sat alone in the spacious kitchen. She let her view wander over the inventory and the kitchen itself and she had to admit that she liked it. At least Spike had some sense of interior decoration. She liked the spartan look and wondered what the rest of the house would look like.

Cordelia returned with the bandages and the lotion and immediately started to take care of Buffy’s injury. Whenever Cordelia made contact with the wound Buffy would hiss between her teeth and Cordelia would apologize. Spike returned from his anti-aggression therapy when Cordelia finished the bandage on Buffy’s arm.

“Everything alright with you birds” he asked while he went to the fridge and fetched a bottle of water from it.

“Except for Buffy being slightly immobile due to you not being able to drive and her burn on her arm we’re fine. Oh stop, I forgot, if you call me again at such an ungodly hour I will kill you” Cordelia smiled at Spike. When he saw the smile he shuddered slightly and Buffy once again loved this woman for being her authoritative self.

“Can I get you something? Food, something to drink?” Spike tried to safe himself from Cordelia’s vengeance. She looked at Buffy who shook her head and denied Spike’s offer with another death glare.

“I think I am tired” Buffy told Cordelia, sparing Spike not even one glance during the whole conversation in the kitchen.

“Okay Buffy let’s get you to bed” Cordelia smiled a sincere smile again at the injured blonde woman in front of her. Spike felt ignored when the ladies left the kitchen without as much as a goodnight.

He went into the living room and turned on the TV. He had to concentrate on something else than the stubborn and bloody irritating blonde girl that was now his housemate or he would surely go insane.

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An hour later

Spike had shut off the TV after ten minutes not able to concentrate enough to enjoy the program. So he had gone to his study to at least look through some files. But even this activity couldn’t take his mind away from Buffy. Somehow her stubborn and disregarding attitude got to him. He felt a fire burn inside him that he hadn’t felt in ages. He couldn’t quite name the feeling yet but he definitely knew that the perky little blonde had lit it spark somewhere inside.

Cordelia suddenly entered the study without knocking or any sign of arriving at all. Spike looked up from his work and glared at the brunette.

“It’s called knocking, pet” he muttered while his view returned to the papers in front of him.

“Don’t you dare reprimand me Mr.” authority, thy name is Cordelia Chase “you call me late at night to help you out with a situation you obviously can’t handle yourself and than you try to tell me what to do” she fumed.

“I’m sorry, okay, it’s just all too much right now” Spike was tired of arguing. He didn’t want to fight anymore. Enough that Buffy wouldn’t speak a word to him, he didn’t need Cordelia’s wrath right now.

“If you wouldn’t push so much perhaps she wouldn’t be so angry with you” Cordelia answered in a calm voice. He sometimes really wondered how fast she could go from bitchy to understanding.

“I don’t know what to do, she won’t even talk to me” Spike laid his head in his hands. The mother of all headaches started to creep up from deep within his skull.

“Perhaps you should just give her some time, then she will eventually come around” Cordelia still tried to be the voice of reason.

“Maybe” he answered.

“Look, let her sleep it over, show her that you want to take care of her and that her well-being really matters to you. Perhaps tomorrow the sky won’t be so grey” she finished.

Spike stood up from his chair and walked over to where Cordelia was standing. He gave her a kiss to the cheek and smiled at her.

“What would I do without you Cordy?”

“Probably go insane and die” she laughed at him “I will leave now Spike, I will be back in the morning to see if everything’s alright.”

“Thank you” he told her for goodbye.

“Next time you talk to Xander, tell him to call me. We haven’t heard from each other in such a long time” Cordelia laughed at Spike before she vanished into the hallway.

Spike internally laughed his ass off. He could imagine Xander’s reaction when he told him to call Cordy. The thing between the two of them had always been on and off and on and off but he somehow knew they would make a good couple if they could someday work out their differences. But that wasn’t his playing ground so he kept out of their business. He walked into the hallway over to Buffy’s room and suddenly stopped before knocking. He thought a moment about this being the right decision before he went on.


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Buffy heard a slight knock on the door and thought it would be Cordelia again.

“Come in” she said.

Spike entered and Buffy immediately tensed.

“What do you want” she asked in a flat voice.

“I…I just wanted to tell you that if you need anything during the night just call for me, I’m in the next room” Spike said, his voice somehow sounded shy.

“Thanks but no, I think I will be fine, goodnight Mr. Wellings” Buffy answered annoyed. She hoped he understood that the conversation was over.

“Alright” Spike sounded disappointed and left Buffy’s room. Buffy exhaled loudly after he had closed the door behind him. He didn’t even recognize her. She couldn’t believe it, after what he had done to her in the past. Son of a bitch!

Spike entered his study again and poured himself a glass of scotch. He badly needed that drink and he swallowed it in one swig. He contemplated drinking more but remembered his last hangover and replaced the bottle in the mini bar. He felt tired, stressed out and emotionally exhausted. He decided that the bed would be his best bet now and so he went for the master bedroom. He stripped his clothes and crawled underneath the satin sheets. He immediately fell into a restless sleep. Dreams of one blonde girl haunting him.

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Three hours later

Buffy woke to the uneasy feeling of needing to go to the bathroom. She contemplated her options. One she could try to get there by herself, two she could try to hold it until Cordelia returned in the morning, and three she could call for Spike. Number one didn’t seem too appealing after the kitchen incident earlier that day, number two – no way in hell am I able to do that. So the only option really was to call for Spike. Although she hated it as much as the devil himself she knew she would surely die if she wouldn’t get to the bathroom soon.

So she called for him. Two times, three times – nothing. She inhaled deeply to call a fourth time, but before she could call him again the door flung open and he was standing by her bedside.

“What’s up?” he asked in a sleepy voice.

“I need to go to the bathroom” she tried to sound annoyed but couldn’t hide her embarrassment.

Spike didn’t say anything, just helped her out of the bed and into the wheelchair. Again, when he lifted her in his arms, the feeling from when she arrived here with him returned. Only this time much stronger. But the urgent need to release herself from some pressure helped her to push away her thoughts. Spike started to roll her to the bathroom once she was settled in the wheelchair.

She lifted her hand when they had reached the door as a sign for him to stop.

“I can do the rest myself from here” she told him no sign of nothing in her voice.

“I’ll wait here” he answered leaning on the doorframe.

Buffy let the door fall close behind her and lifted herself from the wheelchair onto the toilet. Somehow suddenly the thought that she might treat him too bad entered her mind. She tried to push it away but it just wouldn’t go away. Her conscience kept nagging in the back of her head.

“I lost everything because of you” the words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

“What did you say?” Spike asked through the closed door.

“Why I hate you so much” Buffy said.

“I beg your pardon, I don’t understand. Care to explain?” Spike was seriously confused right now.

“Do you remember your marketing and public relations agency in Los Angeles?” she asked.

“Yeah” Spike tried to keep her talking. Everything was better than what they had so far.

“Well I had one too, until yours decided that it wanted to be the only one. So they started a campaign against mine and I lost everything. My job, my life, my friends. That’s why I hate you so much. The accident, well it was just an accident, but I hate you for what you did in L.A.” Buffy finished.

“I remember, and I am sorry. I have you to know that it wasn’t me who led that campaign, it was Lindsey, the C.E.O. of the L.A. offices” Spike replied.

Buffy finished in the bathroom and opened the door to roll out in the bedroom after washing her hands. Spike lifted her from the chair and tucked her back in. She stared at him for a moment.

“Don’t you own those five firms?” Buffy asked her voice sounded bitter.

“Yeah I do…” Spike started to answer.

“Then it is also your fault, goodnight Mr. Wellings” Buffy turned her head. She wanted him to leave before the tears could spill. Tears shed over a life she didn’t have anymore. It had been a long time since then, but the pain still hurt as much as the first day.

“I told you to call me Spike” he answered angrily and started to leave. He knew he had lost again and he was seriously pissed. How dare she make him responsible for something he didn’t decide.

“Home Sweet Home” was the last thing she heard him mutter before he closed the door.


Upcoming: Chapter 5: The hard way