You Only Un-Live Twice: Ch 16
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Chapter 16

 

 

She fell to her knees, she thought quickly, and grabbed the fabric that held the dust of Dracula. She quickly mopped up all she could, and put it in her pocket.

 

She ran outside, slipping and sliding, got to his car, and sobbing hysterically, she got inside, put the fabric, although not the stake as she was supposed to, inside the box and closed it.

 

She phoned Giles. She was shaking so much, blinded by tears.

 

Giles couldn’t make out what she was saying at first, then he realised that she was saying Spike was gone.

 

Two hours later, Buffy, her eye’s red and swollen from crying, was in Giles’s flat.

 

“Buffy, I have to send the box, unopened to the watchers council, there they will reanimate Dracula, do their experiments and then finish him for good.”

 

“Bring him back to kill him, how stupid is that? – I want Spike back, I don’t care what it takes, I want him back.”

 

“I’m sorry Buffy, there’s nothing I can…”

 

“DON’T LIE TO ME, IT’S NOT THAT YOU CAN’T, IT’S THAT YOU WON’T, WELL, IF YOU WON’T, I WILL!”

 

She screamed at Giles, and snatched up the box, ran out.

 

“Buffy, Buffy, come back, Buffy you mustn’t open the…oh dear lord…” Giles took off his glasses, and rubbed his forehead.

 

 

Ten minutes later, Giles put the phone down on an incandescent with rage Quentin Travers, whose last words were,

 

“She’ll be the death of ALL of us will that one, YOU FIND HER, AND YOU GET THAT BOX BACK TO ME, DO YOU HEAR ME?”

 

Giles just put the phone down. He’d heard him all right.

 

Buffy ran carrying the box; she didn’t know where she was going, or what she was going to do when she got there…

 

Giles found her an hour later at Spike’s crypt, she was hugging the box, crying.

 

She heard the crypt door open.

 

“Buffy, there you are, I’ve been so worried, you um, you haven’t opened the box, have you?”

 

Buffy sniffed, shook her head once, but didn’t look at him. Giles heaved a sigh of relief, and closed his eyes.

 

“Good. That’s, good.”

 

“Why, what will happen?”

 

“I um, I don’t know, but Quentin said it was imperative that I get the box back to him, unopened…”

 

“Ok then, come on, let’s go,” Buffy said.

 

“What, what do you mean?” Giles asked, puzzled.

 

“Let’s go, now, take this box to the watchers.” Buffy said.

 

“I um, well, I think…”

 

“No, don’t Giles, don’t think, when you think, it turns you into a watcher moron, the watchers can have their precious box, and Dracula, all I want is Spike back, pure and simple, and I’m NOT, REPEAT, NOT, letting this box out of my sight until I get him back, is that clear?”

 

She shook it at Giles, and then frowned, bit her lip.

 

“Sorry baby” she said to the box as though talking to Spike, she cradled the box again, and glared at Giles.

 

“Very well, come on then…”

 

 

 

********

 

 

Three Hours Later at the Watcher’s Council, Quentin Travers office;

 

“Now, never mind WHAT you say, this is how it’s going to be; Buffy said, matter-of-factly,

1). This box doesn’t leave my sight.

2). You can have your box, Dracula, anything, I just want my Spike back”

 

“Your spike?” Quentin frowned interrupting, thinking she meant some kind of stake.

 

“Yes, Spike, the vampire who helped me do this, this fiasco of yours, he’s in that cloth with Dracula, I want him back.”

 

“But why?”

 

“Never mind why, I just do”

 

“Well, I don’t think it’ll be possible, Miss Summers, for one, the stake that’s in the box there with them has probably turned them into goo by now…”

 

“You mean this?” Buffy pulled out the special pen stake from out of her bra.

 

“What!! - That should be…” Travers clenched his fists, and hissed at her through gritted teeth.

 

“Do you EVER do as you are told, do you, huh, THAT was supposed to be put in the box with the cloth, we made it quite clear!”

 

Buffy got right up close and personal to Travers, and hissed back at him,

 

“I thought it might hurt him, so I didn’t put it in, now I know you were going to re-animate Dracula to experiment on him, so just GET IT OPEN AND GET ME MY SPIKE BACK!”

 

“Do you know who you’re talking to?”

 

“Do you REALLY want me to tell you? - Yes, I DO know who I’m talking to - a murderer, in all intense and purposes, a assessory before during and after the fact, a toss pot who seems to get off on seeing young girls killed before they are twenty five, you rob us of our lives, no home life, no proper family, no chance of a happy time or children or a normal relationship, instead of worrying over what outfit I should wear on a date, I worry if what I wear is suitable for vaulting over gravestones, I have to whittle stakes, not paint my nails…ever thought about that, and don’t prattle on about ‘sacred duty’

 

I’ve died for you lot twice, and still got no thanks, so, for once your gonna do something for me”

 

Travers sat there speechless, he pressed his intercom button and said,

 

“Miss Lawrence, bring Professor Evans here, will you please?”

 

“I’ll take that, if I may” Travers held his hand out for the pen stake.

 

Buffy went to hand it over, then realised she might have to use it as bargaining power.

 

“No, you won’t, give me Spike, you can have it, no Spike, no stake” She saw his fists clench again, and saw Giles smile faintly.

 

Travers went out. Buffy still held the box.

“Soon have you out, baby…I hope” she said into the box

 

“Well done” Giles said, looking at Buffy and smiling.

 

“Well done…, I thought you were on their side?” Buffy frowned.

 

“Good lord, no. They needed telling…I couldn’t have put it more eloquently myself…a toss pot, hmm…”

 

They both looked up as Travers came back into the room, with the professor.

 

“I’m afraid what your asking is impossible, Miss Summers, we will not be able to bring back your…um, friend…”

 

“Why not, you were going to bring back Dracula weren’t you…though the Gods alone know why after all the trouble he’s caused…”

 

“Be that as it may Miss Summers, we haven’t got the resources to…”

 

“TRY” Buffy said through gritted teeth.

 

“I’m…sorry” the professor looked pained at her then Travers.

 

Tears stung her eyes again, but she was determined not to cry in front of the watchers.

 

“So am I, I’m sorry too, sorry that I ever got my friend into this, sorry I got him killed, and for what, a bunch of ungrateful wankers like you…”

 

She picked up the box, she’d put the stake back in her bra.

 

“Er, where are you going with that?”

 

“Why, it’s no good to you, you can’t or won’t help me, so…”

 

Travers went to stop her, and Buffy said very angrily and quietly,

 

“You better get out of my way NOW, else I’ll show you how I can kill umpteen strong vampires without even breaking a sweat, except I’ll be using you for the demonstration, ok?” she walked round him, wrenched the door open.

 

“Wait! – wait Miss Summers…” Travers said, he looked at the professor. Sighing, he said,

 

“I won’t pretend that I’m happy about this, because I’m not, but…you have demonstrated a certain……… skill, and as you said, you have died twice for the cause, (he turned to the professor) See what you can do”

 

The professor nodded held his hand out for the box.

 

“Oh, no, I don’t think so! Do you think that I was born yesterday? -  I trust you lot about as much as I trust politicians…this doesn’t leave my sight”

 

“Very well” Travers sighed, thinking not for the first time, that he was getting way too old for this game.

 

 

******

 

 

Wearing gowns and masks, like a proper operating theatre, Buffy watched the professor open the box, and take out the cloth with tweezers. Outside the room were Giles and Travers.

 

“She has…spirit, I’ll give her that” Travers said.

 

“She has power, spirit and so much more, you did the very first thing you shouldn’t have done, and that was back her into a corner, you should know by now, she’d come out at you like a tigress protecting her cub.” Giles said quietly.

 

They watched as the professor did some chemical sprinkling, and said an incantation, and two thin streams of mist rose from the cloth, slowly, Buffy and the professor stood back…the thin streams got thicker and thicker, till there was two human shapes began to form, the swirling into shape, and then suddenly, sitting facing one another, two solid human shapes sat cross legged.

 

Buffy pulled down her facemask.

 

“Spike?” she asked tremulously, her eyes filling with tears.

 

“Buffy? – Buffy!” he jumped down from the table, hugged her.

 

Buffy held him so tight, squeezed her eyes shut forcing out the tears. Giles looked at Travers.

 

“What is it about that girl and Vampires, he’s not the first one she’s…” he heaved a sigh, ‘youth’ he thought.

 

For a full minute, Buffy couldn’t speak, she just held onto Spike as though her life depended on it, gulping and hugging him.

 

Eventually she calmed enough to gasp out,

 

“Spike, I thought I’d lost you…”

 

“Baby, oh Gods, what happened?” he whispered in her ear.

 

“Let’s get home, oh, hold on, there’s something I must do…” She quickly turned, taking the pen stake out of her bra, staked Dracula again, his dust fell onto the cloth, she grabbed it and dropped it, and the stake into the box, doing things properly this time.

 

“There, mission accomplished!” She grinned, put her arm around Spike and left, walking passed Travers and Giles without a word.

 

 

 

********

 

 

“Bastard caught me straight in the back, by surprise, I was worried for you, I was trying to hold them off so you could get away…what did you do?”

 

“I ran to the announcer’s stand and switched off the music and screamed it was a trap, the slayer was there, all hell broke loose for the exits, and of course the fire began to take hold.

 

Buffy said, holding onto Spike tightly.

 

“I remember him stabbing me, and I staggered down the hall to find you, then I saw you…did I say anything?”

 

“You said I………(tears welled up) said I did great…and, oh Spike!” She sniffed and held him tight.

 

“Shh, it’s ok baby, I’m here…”

 

Eventually she told him everything. Spike was grinning.

 

“I really, really HATE that Travers bloke.” Buffy pouted.

 

“Don’t baby, don’t hate him, he isn’t worth the effort, let it go” Spike gently rubbed her back, soothing her. Buffy cuddled him up.

 

“So, what happened for you?”

 

“Well, one minute I’m in that corridor, and my only thought was to get you out of danger, then the next minute, nothing…I’m sort of floating…weird”

 

“You wasn’t in hell, or anything” Buffy smoothed the hair out of his eyes.

 

“Anywhere without you is hell…” Kissing her so passionately, Buffy pulled him down on top of her, still fully clothed.

 

The doorbell rang, and cussing like crazy, Spike sat up.

 

“That’ll be Giles, I bet” Buffy said.

 

She opened the bedroom window. To her surprise, it was Angel.

 

“It’s Angel” She frowned.

 

“What the hell does HE want at this hour…?”

 

“Angel?”

 

He looked up.

 

“Buffy, are you all right?”

 

“Um, yeah, why?”

 

“Only I…um[E1] [E1]

 

“Only you what?”

 

“I felt like, well, it felt…is Spike there?”

 

“Angel, will you go away, I’m tired, I’ve had an awful, awful night”

 

“He IS gone then…I thought that you’d be…”

 

“What are you going on about?” Buffy asked irritably.

 

“Spike, he’s gone, dusted, hasn’t he”

 

Spike had had enough of this, and poked his head out of the window.

 

“Sorry to disappoint you Peaches, but as someone else once said, the stories as to my demise have been greatly exaggerated, now, if you don’t mind, we’re very tired, sod off, and that’s the polite version”

 

He slammed down the window, pulled the thick curtain across. His angry look melted away when he looked at his beloved Buffy.

 

Angel frowned…he could have sworn he’d felt his child’s demise…

 

“How the hell would he know…?” Buffy frowned and turned to face Spike.

 

“Instinct, I suppose…who cares anyway – come here you!”

 

“I love you, baby” Spike whispered. Buffy beamed,

 

“Love you too, you’re MY big gorgeous vampire…come here…” Spike didn’t need asking twice, and they tumbled to the bed kissing.

 

 

**********

 

Angel went over to Giles’ house. He was pleased to see the light on; Giles had just got home from the Watcher’s council.

 

He knocked on the door. Frowning, Giles wondered who it could be at this hour, and squinted through the peep- hole.

 

“Angel, what………………………………………”

 

“…………………..I thought, that is, I felt that Spike had died………but I was wrong”

 

“Actually, no Angel, you were right, only Buffy’s dogged determination got him back, she had one almighty row with Quentin Travers, you should have seen her, she was magnificent, I was SO proud of her!”

 

Giles said with a smile. He ‘d been reluctant to ask him in, but had no option really; Angel had bought his car back.

 

“What would she have done with the casket and stake do you think, if they hadn’t have relented?”

 

“Kept the box, and the special stake, I’ve no doubt, read up what she could, even go to England to see if Willow could have helped…she wouldn’t have given up, of that I’m certain.”

 

“She truly does love him, then”

 

“I think she must do, yes…”

 

Angel nodded sadly. He resigned himself to the fact that they did love one another.

 

“So, what happened?” Angel asked. Over a couple of large Scotches, Giles told him the story that Buffy told him.

 

“Spike made sure he drew all the other vampires away from her, held them off so she could get herself to safety.

 

So, you see, he was telling the truth when he said that his first and last thought was for her, he was trying to get her out of danger, when the bodyguard caught him in the back with the candlestick He slid down the wall, and that finally pressed if further into his heart”

 

“So, Dracula’s truly gone?”

 

“Well, just before we left, after the professor had re-animated them, Buffy did what she was supposed to do in the first place, stake him and then put the cloth WITH the stake, something she omitted to do at first, in case it hurt Spike, then she dropped the lot into the lead lined box”

 

“And you’re sure that they are still both madly in love”

 

“You said yourself that Spike stuck his head out of her bedroom window, I’m sure if things had gone back to where the way they used to be, I doubt if Spike would have been in her bedroom” Giles said. Angel nodded.

 

“Um, if you’ve bought my car back, how are you going to get home?”

 

“Oh, er Gunn’s in Kennedy Heights, do you know it, it’s about three miles out, by the”

 

“Airport, I know” Giles said nodding.

 

“He’s gone to see someone, he’ll pick me up, he’s going to phone when he’s done” Angel explained. As if on cue, his mobile rang.

 

“Hello, yes, I’m ready…no, they’re fine…yeah, both of them, ok…oh, I’m at Giles’ house…er…ok, look to make things easier, I’ll wait outside the Magic Box…twenty minutes, ok” Angel ended the call.

 

“Easier than to try and tell him where you live” Angel explained.

Giles nodded.

 

“If you ever find out…you know, why they fell in love…” Angel said Giles looked at him.

 

“Would it make any difference, what would you do…reverse it, what ever it was?” Giles asked.

 

Angel stood in the doorway, holding the door open. He didn’t have an answer to that, not now.

 

Not now he knew that Spike was as good as his word, and kept Buffy out of harm, even ceasing to exist to keep her safe.

 

“See you” He left.

 

Giles poured himself another Scotch…he was curious himself as to the deep feelings of their relationship still, but knew that together, they’d be practically invincible, he wondered if they could be persuaded to carry on.

 

                                                *************

 

Deep in the mists of time, where the Powers That Be reigned supreme, the goddess of love, Aphrodite smiled.

 

She’d heard the plea from the Watcher, and made it so that it would be so good for the Vampire and the slayer, they’d never want to be apart…they had been each others destiny anyway, all Giles had done, was to nudge things on a little quicker, that’s all. Things would get a tad rocky sometimes…but she thought that in about two years time, she’d send them a little ‘gift’, that would ensure that they never parted forever…

 

 

 

                                                THE END (for now!)

 

                        Labour’s of Love Trilogy

 

                        1st Story You Only Un-Live twice.

                        2nd Story, A Gift from the Gods

                        3rd Story, The Legend of Amun Rah

 

 

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