Part 2 of Mary's prezzie
Catch A Fallin Star And Put In Your Pocket
Spike watched with satisfaction as Colin went up in flames then proceeded in getting rid of most of the minions. It wasn’t like his wicked ripe plum needed them when she had him and Spike didn’t see any use in keeping around a bunch of idiots who had trouble ceding to his authority. Good help was just so hard to find.
A shiver of yearning ran through him as he felt Drusilla enter the room, Spike whispered her name as a prayer as he moved closer to her; her actions with her own sire already forgiven.
Drusilla stamped her dainty foot and hissed at him. “It’s daddy’s sleepy time and you’re being a bad doggy making all this noise. Little children should know their place, my William. Sticks and stones and whips are all bad boys deserve. Begone with you now. Daddy doesn’t like to share his baby girl and mummy will be very cranky if you stay. You mustn’t come back here, unless daddy calls for you.”
Spike stood open mouthed as his dark beauty glided away from him. He could almost feel his heart shattering with his pain.
~*~*~
Joyce’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as she got her first glimpse of the bleached blond who had knocked on her door, but one look in his pain filled eyes and her compassionate heart went into overdrive. “Can I help you?” she asked gently, her caring nature on clear display.
“Is, um, Buffy here?”
“Yes, of course, why don’t you come…”
“No!” he interrupted quickly. “Thank you, but I’ll just wait out here.” He gave her a sad smile and moved back to the steps leading up to the front porch where he gracefully sat down to wait.
Joyce felt torn between the need to mother the clearly hurting young man and the desire to get him the help he had requested. She hated leaving him and was completely relieved when her daughter came down the stairs from her room.
“Oh! Buffy.” Joyce smiled in relief. “Your friend came to call,” she said, indicating their visitor before lowering her voice to a whisper. “He looks really upset, sweetie, and he refused to let me invite him in.”
Buffy glanced past her mom to the seated figure and flew to his side. “Spike? What’s wrong?”
Spike took and unneeded breath in an effort to control his overwhelming emotions. “Just, um, thought you should know, you don’t need to worry about the annoying one and his minions anymore, luv.” He tried valiantly to blink back the tears that threatened to overflow by talking about a subject that had nothing to do with his distress.
“Thank you,” she whispered softly. “Now tell me what’s happened…is it…Dru?”
With her gentle questioning his flood gates opened.
Between Buffy and her mother they managed to gently urge the distraught male into the house. Joyce barely noticed Buffy’s whispered invitation and, as soon as they had him seated on the couch, she slipped off to the kitchen to make them all some hot chocolate.
In the living room the Slayer held a weeping vampire in her arms.
From the bits and pieces that Joyce was able to pick up she surmised that Buffy’s sweet friend William, who apparently had the rather fitting nickname of Spike, had not only been dumped by his cheating girlfriend but he had also been kicked out of his home. She was outraged that anybody would treat the clearly soft hearted young man in such a fashion. “You’ll stay here until you get back on your feet, William,” Joyce stated in a firm voice that brooked no arguments.
“Much as I appreciate the sentiment, Joyce, I won’t hold you to it, what with you not knowin’ I’m a vampire and all.”
“A vampire?” Joyce questioned with a disbelieving chuckle.
With his eyes fixed firmly on Joyce, Spike failed to see Buffy’s features pale and her eyes widen in alarm. Pointing to his face he morphed into game face and then back again. “See…vampire, not that I’d ever hurt you lot, but I’ll understand if you don’t want me sharin’ your roof.”
Memories flashed before Joyce’s eyes; accusations; screaming arguments; sterile white clinic walls; and stern faced psychologists. “Oh, my sweet Buffy, what did we do to you?” Joyce cried out in anguish, her guilt almost too much to bear.
“Mom…mom, it’s okay,” Buffy assured her devastated mother as she rushed to her side. “You didn’t know. If I didn’t know I would have thought I was crazy too.”
“Bloody hell, I’m sorry, pet, I forgot that your mum didn’t know,” Spike rushed to apologize for his accidental gaff.
Buffy chuckled. “Can we give the guiltage a rest and get on to the sharing part of the evening?”
Joyce wiped her eyes and regained her composure. “Why don’t you start by telling me everything that you tried to tell me last time, Sweetheart?”
Between them Buffy and Spike filled Joyce in on everything there was to know about slayers and the creatures they fought. Buffy was surprised by some of the knowledge that Spike had been able to add; information that Giles have never told her and, if the blond was right and the Cruciamentum was an actual event then it was safe to say that Buffy and her watcher were going to be having words…and none of them would be pretty.
Buffy then went on to explain her relationship with Angel and what had happened that had allowed the friendship between her and Spike to blossom.
Joyce turned to Spike. “The invitation not only stands but I insist that you accept. I may not know much about all this soul business but I trust my ability to judge an individual’s character accurately, and I think there is a lot more to you, William, than even you realise. You and Buffy are going through something and I plan on supporting you both as best I can. I Failed Buffy once - I will NOT do that again.”
Spike blinked back his tears. ‘Bloody hell, they’re gonna turn me back into the ponce!’ He grinned in acceptance.
~*~*~
Angelus was pissed.
Drusilla had started twittering around the factory, whimpering about ‘weasels in the hen house’ and ‘a magical pagan that liked to play with little bits of wire and plastic that write in naughts and ones’. If he had been any other person, Angelus would have been pulling his hair out in frustration; agitation; anxiety. But he wasn’t anyone else. “Dru, if you don’t shut up it will be another century before I touch you.” He knew damn well that any and all threats of torture would just encourage her. If she would just stop spouting her rubbish about stars and pixies and dolls and gypsies he might be able to think; to plan. He had important decisions to make and the non-stop ramblings of the insane vampiress was not conducive to rational thought.
Drusilla was beside herself, she couldn’t make her daddy understand no matter how hard she tried. He’d forbidden her to go out without him and refused to listen to any of her warnings. She couldn’t understand why he wasn’t racing to the school to take care of the horrid gypsy; why he didn’t seem to understand the importance of her message. Spike would have understood; why didn’t daddy?
Angelus rolled his eyes at the whimpers and mewls that continued to come from his childe. It was all Spike’s fault he decided. If the bleached moron hadn’t run out on them - Angelus conveniently managed to forget that he’d ordered Drusilla to get rid of her pet - then Spike could take care of the whining brunette and Angelus could focus on more important matters. For the unlife of him, he couldn’t imagine why he had ever kept the useless pair around.
In a fit of irritation fuelled the incessant noise Angelus came up with an idea that, in his mind, would not only grant him the silence he needed in order to formulate his plans but it would also teach his grandchilde what happened when you pissed Angelus off.
The large brunette smiled evilly as his plan formed. He dismissed Drusilla, ordering her to stay in while he ventured out to set things in motion.
By sunset the next day everything was in place. As soon as he knew the time was right Angelus instructed Drusilla to help herself to the meal he’d brought back with him in the early hours of the morning.
Drusilla hastened to follow her daddy’s bidding. He’d not allowed her to feed the day before and she was hungry.
Spike hesitantly reached for the handle of the factory door, he couldn’t work out what Angelus’ game was. The message that his grandsire had left for him at Willy’s hadn’t given any reason for the summoning. He’d discussed the matter with Buffy and her watcher and they’d all agreed, if they could keep Angelus distracted until the gypsy could re-do the curse then more people would live.
Spike pulled open the door and entered, his eyes unconsciously drawn to his sire. His heart ached at the sight of her. She shone to him, like a beacon on a foggy night.
Drusilla felt her childe’s presence just as the strange warming sensation that the blood had given her started to heat further. A scream was wrenched from her body as the heat became unbearable.
Spike watched in horror as his screaming sire began smoking and writhing in agony.
As Drusilla dusted Spike turned his haunted gaze to his hysterically laughing grandsire. He shook his head in denial and started backing away.
“Don’t take it too hard, Spikey, I didn’t want her anymore and she would never have been happy with you.”
Spike turned and ran, the echo of his grandsire’s laughter followed, taunting him. He needed his friend. He needed Buffy.
Angelus watched and smiled in delight, he loved it when he could break someone’s spirit; it started his day off just right.
The tuneful whistle that echoed through the factory was cut off with an agonized scream.
Angel collapsed with the pain of his returning soul. Throughout the night he wept for himself and his childe. He thanked the Powers that his relationship with Buffy hadn’t been harmed; Angelus had not managed to get that far in his plans. There was no way for his love to even know Angelus had made an appearance.
He vowed to go and visit Buffy as soon as the sun set and, with a sense of relief Angel slept for the final time in Drusilla’s bed.
~*~*~
“How is he?” Giles asked solicitously. The Watcher’s acceptance of the blond vampire had been far easier than his initial reaction to Angel. In his mind Spike had been straight forward and forthcoming with help as well as helpful information while Angel had hidden his true nature and offered them cryptic warnings at best. The fact that, in life, William had been a distant relative didn’t hurt either. His concern for the emotionally wounded vampire was genuine.
Buffy shrugged slightly. “It’s gonna take time, Giles. He’s devastated. I just wish there was more I could do for him. At least tell me Miss Calender was successful?” she asked hopefully.
“Jenny has assured me the spell worked, my dear. She also managed to change the wording slightly so that the curse can never be broken again without Angelus automatically dusting.”
Buffy gave a relieved sigh at her watcher’s words.
Buffy looked up towards the stacks when her slayer senses went off. She froze when Angel stepped into the light. The sight of the vampire that had caused her new friend so much anguish had her seething. The pain he had brought to Spike owned more of her rage than any betrayal by infidelity that could be considered against her.
“You don’t need to worry about Drusilla any more Buffy. I dusted her.” Angel offered with a smile while he anticipated her gleeful reaction.
“Yes, I believe you utilized the knowledge of Father O’Brien’s Ritual of the Blessing of the Blood to feed Drusilla poisoned blood. Might I suggest that, as part of your atonement, you be the one to inform the Reverend exactly how you allowed your demon to murder one of his beloved flock.” Giles responded, his voice dripping with disdain.
“I had no control over that, Giles. If you know that you should also know that it wasn’t me it was Angelus.” Angel was quick to protest.
“The soul only aids you in your ability to control your demon, Angel. The fact that you are unable to retain control without the soul begs the question - is your demon that strong or are you that weak?”
Angel shifted his gaze to the tiny blonde when she snorted derisively at her watcher’s question. “I’m gonna go with he’s that weak, ‘cause he managed to cheat on me before the soul went walkies. Didn’t ya, Angel?”
The large brunette’s eyes widened comically when he realised that they seemed to know everything. He didn’t know what to say; how to fix things; who to blame.
“I…”
Buffy lifted her hand to stop him from speaking at all.
“No really looking for a response there, Angel. Seriously. There is nothing you could say to me that I want to hear. Not even goodbye.” Buffy turned her back on the man she had thought she loved, said goodnight to Giles and left the library.
“For the sake of your longevity, I would suggest that you leave Sunnydale, Angel.” Giles offered mildly before turning his back on the vampire and returning to his research in his office.
Angel felt like he was drowning in his guilt, he needed forgiveness, his mind searched out for any one that could offer it too him as he, too, left the library.
~*~*~
Father Paddy O’Brien watched the dust settle on his rectory floor. “Now, I forgive you,” he said with a satisfied air.
~*~*~
With the help of Buffy, Joyce, and Giles, Spike eventually got over his grief and discovered that there was love after Drusilla.
But that’s a tale for another time.