Older and Far Away

Buffy, Xander and Anya are getting ready for her birthday party. Tara shows up, asks Buffy how she's doing. She also asks if Spike is coming. Buffy says no, he may be a chiphead, but he still doesn't play well with others.

After a very awkward conversation with Willow, Tara goes into the kitchen with Buffy. Someone knocks on the door; it's Spike, with beer.

Spike says that Willow mentioned the shindig. "We're all part of the team," he says, "I figured I'd swing by." At this point, Clem, the floppy-skinned demon from the poker game, comes in. Buffy looks surprised, and wants to know what kind of team. Clem reminds her that they've met before, and introduces himself to Tara. Just then Xander brings in Richard, the very bland guy that he and Anya have invited to "get to know" Buffy. Xander says she'll show Richard where to park his car, and they go out. Spike lifts an eyebrow at her as they leave.

"Stupid git," spike says, rolling his eyes as he closes the kitchen door. He sounds very disgusted with Richard.

"I don't know," Tara says, "He seemed cute. W...was he cute? I mean, I'm not a very good judge, but I think he seemed cute." Spike looks at her like she's suddenly grown another head.

Clem thinks a second. "I think he seemed cute, yeah," he says, and Spike give him the same look he gave Tara.

TOP

Later, Buffy comes down the stairs. Spike is waiting for her. He pulls her aside. "You want to slip away for a minute, love?" he says. Low, his voice a little rough.

"What?" she says, not believing he's suggesting this with a house full of people.

He grins at her. "I'll let you blow out my candles..."

She raises her eyebrows. "Here. Now? I don't think so."

"What, are you worried about Richard?" he says, trying not to laugh. "You don't want to make your new boyfriend jealous, eh?"

"Shut up," she says, smiling at him, seeing through him. "He's sweet."

" 'Shut up, he's sweet,' " Spike says, mocking her. Smiling--they're teasing each other now.

"Maybe he's not the jealous one," she says archly, and, giving him a wicked smile, walks away.

"You think he'll take you out on his ten-speed, Pet?" Spike calls after her. "Or maybe he'll...let you ride in that little basket up front," he mutters. To himself, because she's already gone. "Jealous my ass," he says, very self-conscious, and then looks a little peeved with himself.

TOP

Spike watches Buffy open her presents, hanging back, leaning against the wall, not really participating.

Later, after Halfrek has granted Dawn's wish, Richard finds Buffy in the foyer. He asks her if he can get her a drink. Spike comes in, lounging by the stairs. Buffy sees him, and tells Richard that she's good, and that she's going back in to the party in a sec. He says he'll look for her, and goes back into the living room.

Spike gives her a big, teasing grin. "Oooo-oooh," he says, mocking Richard, "Buf-fy, can I get you a soda pop? I think I'm in loooooove." He walks up to her, into her space, and takes her hands. She jerks them away.

"Stop it," she whispers, "Someone's gonna see." She starts to walk away, but he's faster, and stops her by planting his hand on the wall, across her path.

"Mmm, mmm," he says, looking down at her. Oozing sex. He strokes down her arm, reaches down between them, but this time, instead of touching her, he takes her hand and pulls it toward his crotch. Unfortunately, Tara walks up just at that moment. Buffy snatches her hands away and stalks off. Tara is trying hard not to smile. Spike knows she's has seen what they were doing, but he's going to try to bluff his way out of it.

"I had, er, a muscle cramp," Spike says, going for sincere. "Buffy was...helping."

Tara's lips twitch. "A muscle cramp? In your..." she looks away, "pants?"

Spike looks a little peeved that he hasn't convinced her. "What?" he says, defensive. "It's a thing...!"

"Riiiight," she says, giving him a big grin, and walks away. He stares after her.

TOP

In the wee hours of the morning, Buffy, Anya, Dawn and Richard are playing Monopoly. Buffy's ready to quit, but Richard tries to talk her out of it. He mentions how late it is, and Dawn, all bouncy, suggests that they have a slumber party. Buffy says, well, as long as everybody's staying up anyway...

Spike, playing poker with Xander, Tara and Clem, barely looks up from his cards. "Must be some late-night activity that'll keep us busy til morning," he says, and glances up at Buffy, eyebrow slightly raised. She just gives him a Look.

"How's that cramp, Spike?" Tara says, giving Spike the same kind of Look. "Still bothering you?"

"What?" he says. Where the hell did that come from? "Er, yeah."

Tara gives him a sweet smile. "Maybe you, uh, wanna put some ice on it." She goes back to her cards, and Spike looks a little puzzled.

TOP

After the sun comes up, Willow and Buffy's friend from work are asleep on the sofa, Xander, Dawn and Clem are watching cartoons, and Buffy and Spike are sitting together, in the foreground. Buffy is dealing cards. Richard comes in and tells Xander that they have to get to work.

"You should definitely go," Spike says. "Let's find your coat and get you on your merry way."

"Spike," Buffy says quietly, reproving.

"I don't know why I'm not leaving," Richard says.

"Me either," Spike says. There is a deep undertone of snark in his voice. "Besides, Richie, you can't skip breakfast, growing boy like you." He smiles, that dangerous, predator smile. "Me, I used to love breakfast. In the old days, I probably would have eaten by now." Richard doesn't see the threat, but Buffy does.

"Of course," she says, her tone a warning, "With that new diet of yours, you want to be careful what you try putting in your mouth now, -Spikey-." She gives him a pointed look, which, of course, he ignores.

"Yeah?" he says. "Dunno. My tummy's making all sorts of gurglies. Maybe I ought to just feed on whatever's around. Even if it doesn't go down well." He gives Richard an appraising look. "You work out?"

"Oooohkey-dokey," Buffy says brightly, and hauls Spike out into the foyer.

TOP

"Hey, Mr. Passive-Agressive guy," she says, "Seriously, wanna take it down a notch or two in there?" She's ticked, but not quite to pissed yet.

"What," Spike says, scoffing, "Poor dainty Richard can't take a joke?"

Her eyes widen. "We do not joke about eating people in this house," she says.

"What are you gonna do," he says, "beat me up again?" Clearly, he's not as okay with that beating as he wants to be. Or he's trying to make her feel guilty. Doesn't work.

"I should have thrown you out the second you got here," she says. "I was insane to =ever= think that you could hang out with my friends."

"And I was insane to think..." he begins, bitterly, but breaks off. "No, wait. You were right. You're insane."

"I think it's time for you to go," Buffy says, and now she is pissed.

"Yeah, well, can't," Spike snaps back, getting pissed himself. "Daylight."

"Then I'll go," Buffy says.

"And I'll get the door."

"Fine."

"Fine."

A pause. "I'm actually trying to move right now," Buffy says.

"Yeah, me too," Spike says, looking worried.

TOP

Buffy has gathered everyone together in the living room, and they're trying to figure things out. They've worked out that they can't leave the house, and everyone is saying that they have to be somewhere, they have things to do.

Dawn pitches a snit, saying that it would just be so awful to be stuck in there with =her=, and runs up the stairs.

Buffy, Tara, Willow, Xander and Spike go up after her, trying to find out what's going on. Spike hangs in the background, but he's there, worried about the Bit. They're asking if Dawn did something to cause the problem, and she denies it. She screams at them to get out of her room.

Downstairs, the six of them are worrying about Dawn. They decide on magic. Tara says she'll do it, but needs supplies. Willow confesses that she's kept one or two things, just in case.

Tara does the spell, calling for "Release," and the spell lets the demon out of the sword. She tells them to try the door. Spike strains to go and open it, but he can't move, and then the demon is on them. Richard gets slashed across the stomach, the demon knocks Buffy across the room. Spike catches her. The demon melts into the floor. Buffy promises to have them out soon.

TOP

It's after dark, and "soon" hasn't happened. Spike asks Buffy if she's ever thought about -not- celebrating her birthday, you know, just to try it out?

Buffy says she's going to check upstairs, and asks Spike to keep an eye on things. No snarkiness, just the general, delegating important responsibilities to her second.

Anya is freaking out. Xander goes to get her a glass of water, but the demon appears and grabs him. He screams. Spike hears, looks worried, muffles a swear word, dashes in and tries to pull the demon off Xander, punching it in the side. The demon flings Spike back. Buffy comes down and joins the fight. In the melee, Xander gets slashed on the arm. Buffy calls to Spike to try to get the demon's sword, and he tries, but the demon flings him off again, and he's out for a second. Buffy knocks the demon into the wall, where it vanishes. She sees Xander's hurt, and asks to see, but just then Anya comes in, and Xander gets himself up, ignoring the pain, to reassure her.

TOP

Spike and the rest of the Scoobies are in the dining room. Anya is freaked out, and points out that they've got a very powerful witch right there who isn't doing anything to help. Willow says she can't, and anyway,she doesn't know if there's anything she could do. Anya has a big problem with that, and makes a very snarky reply. Spike steps forward from where he's been holding up the wall. "Look," he says, ready to defend Willow, but Willow tells Anya that it's dangerous. Xander breaks in, siding with Anya, for once. He tells Willow they'll help her if it gets bad again. Spike, listening, just shakes his head; Xander so doesn't get it. Willow still won't do it; she might not be able to stop.

"And whose fault is =that=?" Anya says, getting up and in Willow's face. "If you hadn't gotten so much of it in your system in the first place..."

"Hey!" Tara steps between Anya and Willow. "You're going to back off," she says to Anya, and there's no trace of hesitation or shyness or stuttering, just fierce determination to protect Willow. "She said no, and you're not going to make her do anything she doesn't want to. and if you try," she crosses her arms over her chest, "you're gonna have to go through me. Understood?"

"Fine," Anya says, and says that if nobody is going to do anything, she'll do it herself.

TOP

After they figure out that Dawn has made a wish to a Vengeance Demon, Anya calls for Halfrek, who is the only one who can break the spell. Spike stands on the stairs watching as Hallie materializes. The demon pops up behind her, and impales her with the sword. She falls.

Big fight, with Buffy and Spike fighting as a team against the demon. Spike manages to knock the sword out of its hand, and Buffy picks it up, but the demon fades into the wall. Buffy plunges the sword into the wall where he vanished, and he's absorbed into the sword, which she then breaks.

Anya wants to get Hallie's pendant, but Hallie sits up, throws her back onto the sofa with Xander. "There will be no touching of the pendant," she says.

Anya wants to know why she did this. Hallie says she'd told Anya that she was going to take care of some business while she was in town, and she just goes...

She breaks off when Spike comes into the room, and stares at him, shocked. "William?" she says softly, not quite believing her eyes.

Spike draws back. "Hey, wait a minute..."

"You guys know each other?" Buffy says, and the others gather around, waiting for the answer.

Hallie hesitates a moment before answering. "Uh, no," she says, "No." She turns away, primping her hair.

"Er, no, not really," Spike says, but he looks puzzled. He knows her, but I don't think he's quite got it figured out yet.

TOP

Tara says that she thought vengeance demons took care of men who wronged women, and Hallie explains that that was just Anya's =raison d'etre=; the rest of them like to be more...well-rounded. Anya calls her on that; apparently, Hallie is into taking care of abusive parents/guardians.

Hallie tells them that Dawn was in pain, and none of them heard. Now they'll have nothing but time, and each other. She makes a dramatic gesture, but nothing happens. She tries again, and still nothing. Anya points out that she's trapped in her own spell, and she pouts and releases everybody, then vanishes.

Xander and Anya help Richard downstairs; they're going to take him to the ER. Spike goes and tries the door; it opens, and the Scoobies all go outside. Even Spike. (for some reason, the Spike we see leaving isn't James, it's the stunt double.) Dawn and Buffy are left alone in the house.

--

Dori

TOP