Chapter 20
Giles gaped openly at Willow for a moment before somewhat desperately snatching the glasses from his face. He didn’t even bother with the act of cleaning them; he merely looked at them for a moment before pushing them back on top of his nose. “You’re quite certain.”
Willow nodded. “Pretty much. It makes sense right?”
“Well…yes, I see why you would come to…but Spike.” He gave her a pained expression.
“That’s what I’m thinkin’.”
“Even given the circumstances, I am not convinced it’s possible. In all the time that there has been a Watcher’s council there has never been…” Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose, thinking that it was probably good that he’d never had children of his own; the ones he’d collected seemed to be driving him to an early grave quite well on their own.
Willow interrupted him with a laugh. “Giles we’re talking about the vampire who fell in love with a slayer, won back his soul and just came back as human. Not so sure precedent really applies here.”
“He does manage to surprise, that I’ll grant you, but…”
“If you heard about a girl somewhere experiencing the same things…” Willow trailed off and looked at him with wisdom beyond her years filling her eyes.
Giles nodded and reached on to the shelf for the final ingredient they needed. “It would seem that we are about to change the world again.”
“It’s what we do.” Willow grinned.
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Buffy was awoken by the sound of the door downstairs. She stretched groggily; somewhat surprised to discover that her now-human lover still had the ability to leave her with sore muscles that she normally didn’t even know she had. She hadn’t really had much experience with humans, but up until a few days ago she had been pretty certain they simply didn’t have the stamina that a vampire did. She smiled, it turned out that she’d been giving the demon too much credit; the man was still more than able to hold his own.
Although, she thought after turning slightly to watch him sleep, it certainly appeared that she had finally worn him out. Even asleep he looked exhausted, Buffy realized with a small frown before vowing to take better care of herself so that he would follow suite. It hadn’t escaped her notice that he was basically only sleeping and eating when she did and she knew that she didn’t really do enough of either. Just because her slayer constitution could survive while being run ragged it didn’t really mean that she should and it definitely didn’t mean that he should. She nodded to herself. From now on, she thought regular sleep and at least two actual non-chip meals everyday. Buffy frowned again hoping that Spike could cook.
Buffy scanned the room for her clothes while wondering if she would be able to slip away without waking him up. He looked so tired that she was worried. It was, she realized, a surprisingly comfortable thing for her to do, the worrying about him. She’d never really considered herself the maternal care-giver type. Sure she’d taken care of Dawn after their mother had died, but she’d done that as a sister and given the current unease in their relationship she wasn’t sure she’d done that very well. She really hadn’t ever been very gentle with the men in her life. Maybe a little bit with Riley when he was sick, she amended, but even that had felt awkward, like a role she thought she should play. She certainly hadn’t been gentle with Spike during their first go around, although she could admit now, to herself, that he’d probably tempted her to be just as much then as now and she’d only punished them both the more for that. No she hadn’t started giving in to that desire at all before he had a soul; she couldn’t though she knew others had. Her mother had known exactly what he was and she’d still been drawn to comfort him like he was some lost little boy. It had been awkward for her at first, still in Sunnydale surrounded by her friends and the potential slayers, but she’d started giving in anyway. There’d been little moments and unprocessed actions meant to console or heal. Now it seemed easy, natural even, and she wondered whether it was because he was human now or if the important change was really her own.
Buffy had finally realized that there were things much scarier then loving him. Sitting there now, watching him sleep, she could almost laugh at how hard she had fought it. It seemed silly now that she had thought denying it would make it less real, that she had thought it would somehow not hurt that way. It still had, it had still hurt them both and probably more so. She pushed the thought away, there was really no point in dwelling on it; she’d fucked up but that was over now. It wasn’t that she thought everything would be easy from now on out, she really didn’t ever expect things to be easy anymore. She just knew that being with him couldn’t be harder than being without him.
She leaned over and pressed a soft kiss on his cheek and whispered that she was just going downstairs and that he should stay sleeping. Sliding carefully off the bed so as not to wake him, Buffy quickly tugged on her clothes and headed downstairs.
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She didn’t know what it was, but she knew it would kill her. She knew how even, though she still couldn’t believe it. It was close now and she ran. She ran faster than she ever had before, faster than she had ever thought someone could. It had happened yesterday; she had suddenly felt stronger and faster then before. She hadn’t understood it, but for a brief time she thought it was a blessing. Then all her nightmares came true. She was cursed, she knew that now and she ran. She ran knowing that it ran faster.
Spike woke with a start and shook his head. He really didn’t need another image of death haunting him. Her fear had been his own, as had her confusion. He could name the monster chasing her, but it hadn’t helped her understand.
Stretching, he got out of bed and pulled on his jeans and tee shirt. He quickly followed Buffy downstairs.
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Buffy frowned when she found her friends arguing in the kitchen.
“You cannot expect it turn out well if you use that…that…” Giles gestured disgusted toward the counter.
“Is there a problem with the magic stuff for the claim?” Buffy interrupted anxiously.
Willow smiled and shook her head. “No Buff, we got all the supplies; everything should be fine.”
“Then what?”
The redhead gave her an impish grin. “It turns out my tea making gives Giles indigestion.”
“Preparing a good cuppa is an art form. It is essential that the tea steep for the optimum length of time in water that has risen to the proper temperature.” Giles took in the amused expressions on the girl’s faces and shook his head in frustration.
Spike joined the conversation as he entered the room. “It’s true; over-brewed stew is just rubbish.”
Buffy smiled at the sight of him barefoot and rumpled before giving him a concerned look. “I thought you would sleep for a bit.”
He shrugged.
Buffy frowned for a second before mirroring his movement. “Well I guess we can do the claim thingy now then” she turned towards Willow “yeah? I think I’ll feel better when it’s done.”
“Buffy this is not something…” Giles started.
“To be taken lightly. I know; I’m not. I just think I will feel better when I’m not worried about that Malach guy showing up and making Spike disappear or something. I’m not rushing. I’ve…we’ve made up our minds.” She turned back to Spike to confirm her words. He nodded and she turned back to Willow. “So what do we have to do?”