(Untitled)

[sired1880spike]

I woke up with an hour to go before sunrise. Dawn's back was towards me, her knees pulled in to her chest, and underneath the cheap satin sheets she looked small and frail. Almost childlike. I ran a finger softly down the curve of her spine. She shifted slightly but didn't wake. There was a stain on the sheet from where I'd bitten her, and I

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[sired1880spike]

I hear Dawn landing on the floor. It's like a soft sighing - not the kind of sound a girl would normally make when she jumps through a window. Makes me think that Dawn has had to be stealthy quite a bit. The thought makes me sad, and also, inappropriately given the near-death situation, arouses me a bit.

I can see her in the shadows now, a slim figure in tall boots. She's beautiful and defiant and I'm furious with her.

"Yeah, and the chains are gonna untie themselves? Do you have any fucking idea what time it is?"

"I'm not stupid, pet," I say coldly, my voice barely audible, but I know she can hear me. She's attuned to me, now. "It's nearly sunup. But what do you reckon they'll do if they find you here?"

She doesn't budge. She's probably rolling her eyes at me, but even my vampire sight isn't great at picking out such details in a thick gloom.

"Alright," I sigh. "The chain's padlocked. One of the blokes out there has the key. Short arse shark with a blue suit. Since I'm not strong enough to break these chains, I doubt you are, so it's key or dust."

[lockless_key]

"Key or dust. Of course. It can never be easy, can it? I cross my arms over my chest and glance over at the broken window that I climbed through. Sunrise in less than an hour, I think. Doesn't look like I'll be making it to school today. Which is okay because I've been really good about going lately. Spike's good influence or something, I don't know. It doesn't matter.

I have a stake in my purse and a dagger in my boot. Earlier, I was angry at myself for carrying knives, for needing to - what kind of girl does that, seriously? - but it's more useful than it is irritating, at least in most cases. But a stake isn't gonna do shit against a shark demon, and a dagger won't do much more. I have to think fast.

"Right, okay," I mutter. Spike isn't very grateful that I'm here to save his ass. I thought he'd at least be a little happy about a chance to not die. It's probably some masculine ego thing. Whatever. I turn on my heel and climb some crates back out the window.

Outside, I press against the wall and try to figure out where the demons are. One at the front door, one at the back, but luckily nobody here by the window. And the demon that Spike was talking about is right in front of the door. And it's not like I can attack him. I have to trick him. I bite my lip and a plan slowly comes together in my head. It's stupid, but it might work.

Five minutes later, I'm running down the street from the opposite direction, out of breath, my hair tangled and completely fucked up, my mascara running. I had to rip a hole in my tights but I don't care, I can always get another pair. I can't get another Spike. I run towards the warehouse, looking back often, like I'm being chased. Which isn't too unlikely. And I'm looking back, my hair in my eyes, when I run straight into the shark demon.

"Oh my god, please, help, he's-" I shriek, turning to look at the demon I bumped into, trying to clear my hair out of my eyes, but then I get a good look at him and scream. Practically leaping away from him, I scream again and keep running. A girl running from one demon to crash into another.

But I have the key in my hand. It wasn't that hard to pick it out of his jacket pocket, and he was too surprised by the collision to think about it. But I have to move really fast now 'cause they're not too bright, but you never know. Better safe than dead.

I run down the street, then double back and climb back through the window, pushing back my hair, which is a total mess right now. Quietly, I creep towards where I remember Spike being, and of course, he's there. Bet he didn't expect to see me succeed.

"Key," I whisper, running my fingers over the chains, following their path to the lock.

[sired1880spike]

Dawn climbs out of the window without a glance back, and for a brief moment I wonder if she's leaving me here. But I know that's not true.

I am worried, though. Worried? That doesn't even sodding cut it. I don't know the words for how I feel. I just know she can't die. Not her, too.

I hear a commotion outside. Screams. They sound like Dawn. Every hair on my arms is standing on end and I strain at my chains. And then, just as suddenly, the noise is gone. Is she -

No.

A footfall on the floor near the window. I can smell her. Fresh sweat, not unpleasant. Her blood is running high; I can almost hear her heartbeat. I can smell the blood.

And then she's at my side, her fingers fiddling with the chains, and the lock is sprung. She looks up at me, her mascara running and her hair tangled. I lift her hand to my mouth. Her palm smells faintly of the sea and I work out what she did. I kiss the palm and then I stand.

"We have to leave quickly," I say, my voice a hurried whisper. "There's not much time."

And then the time we have left gets shorter when the door opens and there's the shadowy silhouette of fins in the doorway.

"Bloody great," I say, grinding my teeth together, and then they rush at us.

[lockless_key]

My heart jumps as Spike kisses the palm of my hand and I think maybe, maybe this weird thing we have will be okay. Maybe we won't fuck each other up too much after all. But there isn't enough time to think because the door slams open and there's someone running at us, growling.

"Fuck," I breathe, taking a step back and ducking down to get the dagger out of my boots. It's not much but hey, it's better than my fists. "Well, I never said anything about what happens afterwards." My job was to get the key. Now running away it our job.

We can't make it out of the window, at least, probably not. We'll have to fight, because if we don't, they'll probably come after Spike again, and me, too, because I'm like his partner in crime or whatever. And if they managed to kick his ass once already, how much help am I gonna be?

Dammit, Dawn. Stop being so fucking negative. As the nearest shark-demon launches himself at me, I spin away in a roundhouse kick, which would've been more effective in heavier shoes, but does its job well enough. While he's momentarily disoriented, I half-finish the turn and stab him in the chest - because how the fuck do I know where a shark-demon's heart is - with the dagger.

[sired1880spike]

The shark men are on us and I react quickly. For a man who's been tied up for three hours I think I move pretty well. It doesn't seem too hard to kick their arses. I dunno why I let them catch me. They caught me off guard; I'm getting soft.

I take a moment to admire the way Dawn stabs one of them in the chest, and then my fists are flying and my fangs are out and I'm lost in the beautiful thing that is violence, until I hear a soft cry.

Dawn's on the floor. She looks down at her side in surprise, and I see blood blossom there. All at once I can hear the ocean in my ears.

One of the fish faces is crawling towards me, his chest bleeding. I stamp on his head unceremoniously, and then I grab at Dawn, pulling her into my arms. I look at the sky through the window; it's ominously grey. No time to pause.

I run through town, holding Dawn to my chest and trying not to jolt her, and I can't remember having ever moved this fast. The world almost blurs around me and all I'm aware of is the smell of her blood and the thump of my feet against the pavement.

Her house is too far away and I don't reckon I'd make it to the hospital. Shit. Fucking hell. My crypt will have to do. I've got bandages there, and if needs be I know how to thread stitches together. I can feel that my shirt is getting wet from her blood, and I glance down at Dawn's face and see that she is the colour of chalk in the pre-dawn light.

In my crypt I lie her on my bed. The side of her shirt is deeply stained. For a moment I just stand by her, my hands pressed to the side of my head, paralysed. Then I grab the few medical supplies I have kneel by the bed before pulling away her shirt.

"Sorry, pet," I say. "Got to have a look."

I probe the wound, knowing that it hurts her, and the relief that hits me is like a shot of strong vodka. I can feel it burn in my belly. It's just a flesh wound - pretty messy, but nothing too serious. Just spilled a lot of blood.

"You're alright," I say. "It'll heal well enough."

I clean it up and bandage it, and then rock back on my heels, looking at her white face. It's times like this I miss having a heart that beat; I feel like it should be racing in my chest now. I realise I'm trembling. From relief or fear or what I don't know, but I'm shaking like some old alcoholic.

Without even really thinking about it, I pull back my hand and slap her face with it.

"Don't you ever nearly fucking die on me again," I say in a tight voice, and then I bury my face in my hands.

[lockless_key]

I don't know how it happened. I had stabbed one, but another came at me and I guess I turned wrong, didn't expect his actions and before I knew it, there was a sharp pain in my side and the floor was out from under my feet. I looked up at Spike, and I guess I was more surprised than scared, because I didn't see it coming. I guess nobody ever does.

Then everything started swimming. I barely felt Spike pick me up. I felt like I was floating, light as air, and really weak. I could barely get my fingers to curl around his jacket, and I wanted to hold on to him. Was I dying? I couldn't think. What do people think about when they die? My head fell back and the sharp pain receded to a distant burn. I felt cold.

I barely register where I am, on a bed somewhere, the light is dim or is it just me? I can barely move and I just shiver. There's another sharp pain in my side, and I see Spike next to me, his movements so fast they're almost blurry. I clench my teeth against the pain and try not to make a sound. I don't want to die. Everything was okay, for a while. I have to see if it'll get better. I have to.

I fade in and out as Spike bandages my side, imagining that I can smell the blood. I don't know what it does to him. It feels like I lost a lot of blood, because I'm light-headed and tired. My first major injury on the job, and it's rescuing Spike. I'm too tired to appreciate the irony.

I hear him talking, but I can't really make out what he's saying. Then I feel a sting on my cheek and pain blossoms like fire. It shocks me into consciousness. I raise my hand to my face and it's hot. Spike's hands are covering his face and I can imagine how he must have felt. Something like how I felt when I knew he wasn't coming home.

"You were about to fucking die first, you idiot," I say weakly. Now we know how it would feel to lose one another.

[sired1880spike]

"You were about to fucking die first, you idiot," says Dawn, and my laugh surprises me.

"Guess we're even, then," I say, raising my head from my hands, and I realise my face is wet. I look away and rub at my face and then look back at her. I'm still shaking, but it's better now. I take out a cigarette and do my best to light it noncholantly. "You're a bloody amazing woman, you realise that?" I say, and I climb up onto the bed next to her. My head rests on the pillow next to hers and I lie on my back smoking, and after a while I find my hand reaching out and taking hers, fingers clinging together. Like something real, not just sex and weird guilt and all the bloody baggage we're both carrying around. Like... I dunno, love or something.

Not sure I can say it yet, though. But I realise a lot of the reasons I didn't want to seem to have slipped away. Still a lot of them, mind... But not quite as many. But for now I just hold her hand and look at her from the corner of my eye and smoke my cigarette, and find myself oddly happy considering we were both near death not long ago.

[lockless_key]

It's weird, how you can be freaking out one minute, then so close to death the next, and then everything is okay again. Better than okay. Better than it had started, that's for sure. I wrap my fingers around Spike's hand, and I feel warmer, even though I know he's not really giving off any heat. It doesn't matter. We save each other.

"You're a bloody amazing woman, you realise that?"

At that, I laugh quietly, gazing up at the smoke curling around us. He'll give me lung cancer soon enough, but I don't care. Carefully, I shift my weight on the bed, wincing because dammit, it hurts. I don't have Slayer healing powers. This is gonna take me out for a while and it'll probably scar. Despite the pain, I turn on my side, still holding Spike's hand, and curl up next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. "Liar."

This is the first time we've really cuddled, and it feels nice. A little weird, like we're not supposed to have this normal thing, but nice anyway. Like everything will be okay, although I don't believe that it will be. But okay for now.

[sired1880spike]

Wincing, Dawn shuffles over on the bed and rests her head on my shoulder. It feels strangely nice, if a bt odd. I mean, we're not meant to have calm, peaceful times, are we? It won't last. Never does. I don't know if either of us have it in us any more to be happy for very long. But I decide not to ruin this moment by thinking about it too much. So I stare at the ceiling, enjoying the weight of her head on my shoulder, smoking my cigarette and watching the blue smoke curl upwards.

Once I've smoked it to the butt I sit up and chuck it into my ashtray. I lean across Dawn and shake a couple of Percodan out of a bottle in my med kit.

"Take those if you're feeling sore," I say. "You might need stitches but that bandage will hold for now. I'll take you to the hospital if you want when the sky is less dust-inducing."

I lie back down onto the bed. The adrenalin has worn off and suddenly I'm exhausted.

"You realise that this is the first day in a couple of weeks we haven't shagged?" I say, flashing a grin at her. "Best make sure your side heals up right quick." I take off my blood stained shirt and kick my shoes off and shut my eyes. Sleep, blissfully blank and empty of dreams, follows shortly.

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