Joss and the WB own all that you know and love. I merely provided a plot and a playmate for them.
Author's Note: Happens after Becoming. And in between my stories, Evening in Los Angeles and Not Too Late.
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Part Four
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It was still dark as she watched the devastaion of the earthquake go by, Buffy started praying. < I promise to never make her crazy again. I will never balk at her hugging me or telling me to clean my room. Just please God, let her be o.k. Please don't take her away from me. She's my mom. I still need my mom. >
"I think that this is as far as we can go-"the driver said as he stopped. He turned around to speak to his passengers, but Buffy shot out of the car first, and ran straight towards the police line. She was about to vault over the barriers when her arm was caught by Giles. She glared up at him.
"What?"Buffy said defiantly."My mom might be in there. Alive. In that-that mess."
Giles grabbed his Slayer's arms, holding her still. "We don't know that. Nor do we know if she IS in that mess. And getting ourselves killed while trying to look for her there will do us no good either. We must know what has happened so far, then we must act accordingly in order to find her. I know that you are worried about her, but we must be cautious,Buffy."
"I agree with Giles, Buffy. We can't help your mom if we get hurt or killed,"Willow said consolingly.
"But she may be hurt. In there. Or she maybe,"Buffy's voice grew hoarse and she choked on the lump in her throat."She maybe dead,"
"No!"Giles said so firmly that he caused Buffy to look at him."Don't think that! Don't ever think that! She is not dead. She is alive."
"But how do you know? How do we know if she is? How do I know if she's still alive,"Buffy persisted. Buffy's lip trembled violently as she looked over Giles's shoulder into the rubble. It all looked so hopeless in the dark. Giles shook his head.
"She is not dead, Buffy, because I know. And so do you,"Giles declared feverently. He looked at the friends that were around him.
"She is not dead because of your dreams, Buffy. You dreamed that there were two monsters fighting over her. So she still has to be alive, and is waiting for you to save her. Beleive me Buffy, when I say that this dream of yours may have been a portent of what will happen to your mother soon,"Giles reasoned. Xander stared at Giles's reasoning and then looked at Buffy. She seemed unsure of his line of thought.
"Yeah,Buff,"Xander said quickly."She may be ready to become the boogey man's next meal later, but she's not now. She won't be a meal until you get there."
"And by then, you'll be able to save her,"Willow added as she put her arm around Buffy's shoulders."Come on, let's ask the police man what's going on. Giles and Xander? try to secure us some lodgings for the interm. Cordy and I will start questioning the police men about the damage that the quake has done, and the rescue facilities."
* * *
As she leaned against the tunnel wall, Joyce shook her head to clear out the fog that was in it, but that was a mistake. It increased the little man with a sledgehammer in her head. His using it on her head was causing her heart to pound harder, and for some reason, she kept on hearing screaming everywhere. Joyce opened her eyes, and started to walk in the opposite direction of the screaming. She was careful to step over the debris covered with seaweed. She waded through some of the black murky water, and then stepped into the drier parts of the tunnel. And then there was blessed silence.
Walking for five? ten? twenty? minutes, Joyce noticed that she counted at least ten bodies, and alot of sediment all over her. It wasn't easy to try and see if these people were awake, and then finding that their throats had been, well, gnawed on.
"Ohhh...."moaned a voice beneath a pile of rubble. Joyce quickly turned to see who moaned it. She saw nothing but a huge pile of debris around her. Perhaps she was imagining it. She leaned against the wall, careful of her right arm. She wanted to rest some before she started to walk again.
"Whoa..."Joyce heard again.Joyce peered through the darkness of the tunnel to the huge pile of debris she had just passed."Bloody Christ, am I still alive?"
She knew that voice. She walked closer to the debris."Spike? Is that you down there?"
She heard nothing for a minute."Spike?"
"Joyce? Joyce, is that you?"Spike asked as he looked up into the darkness."Is that really you? What are you doing here?"
"I'm here visiting the wonderful gallery convention, until this equally wonderful earthquake hit decided to give me a personal tour of the sewer system. And you?"Joyce said as she peered down to where Spike was. Feeling woozy, she sat on top of a pile of rocks. Spike looked up at her from where he was.
"Oh, I'm here chasing after Dru. Her trail led me here, and the earthquake interrupted me getting something to eat,"Spike replied."I see that now that you're here, would you mind doing me a favor?"
Joyce sighed."I think that I'm out of favors. God saved my life in the past few hours and I think this is his last one that He's going to give me for the next ten years. But I'll see what I can do, what? Dig you out of this pile of rocks?"
Soike looked at the Slayer's Mother's dirty face, and smiled derisively at himself."You can do what your daughter's been trying to do for the last year. You can kill me."
"Exscuse me? I thought that I just heard you say that you wanted me to kill you,"Joyce said as she slightly shook her head. Big mistake, the little man in her head started using his sledgehammer even harder.
Spike laughed derisively."Yeah, you did."
"Not to sound so stupid, Spike, but may I ask why?"Joyce asked politely. Spike glared at her through the darkness, though it was a lost cause. She couldn't see his lethal glare.
"Why? You're the Slayer's Mother, Christsake! Why are you asking me why? Because I'm a bloody vampire at your mercy!"
Joyce shook her head gently."That's not the reason. You don't hit me as the suicidal sort, Spike. Homicidal, yes, but suicidal, not on your undead life. So I ask again, why?"
Spike remained stubbornly silent. Joyce simply waited for him to speak. He glared at her again."I could kill you you know, and the Slayer wouldn't know."
"First, you'd have to catch me, and I doubt it when you're under this pile of rocks, and second, Buffy would find out and she'd hunt you to Hell and back to find you,"Joyce replied calmly. What kind of conversation was she having right now? Joyce shook her head to clear it."So out with it."
"I can't feel my legs."
"You can't what?"Joyce was not following. Spike repeated this statement tonelessly to her."I can't feel my legs."
Then he shouted,"I refuse to be a bloody cripple again! I refuse! I'd rather die than stay in a damn wheelchair! Can you bloody well understand that? Can you? So why don't you take something and bloody well kill me now?"
Joyce sighed for a moment, and closed her eyes. She saw the dead bodies that littered the tunnel. The gnawed throats. The over amount of dust. The seaweed and murky water.Then she opened them and looked at Spike through the darkness.
"Well?"demanded Spike."Are you going to kill me now?"
Joyce looked at the pile of debris, then started moving it off of Spike with her left arm.
"What are you doing?"Spike asked, incredulous.
"What does it look like? I'm trying to dig you out of here,"muttered Joyce. She winced when she moved her arm the wrong way.
"Are you insane? I'm a vampire! You're supposed to kill me! Mortal enemies and all that jazz!"
"Yaeh, well, figure this out. Either I'm insane or I'm trying to save my own life here,"Joyce said amiacably. She continued to speak, ignoring his insults."I'm tired of seeing all the death in this tunnel, so killing you will not make me any happier than it will make you. Or you can beleive that I'm really not doing you a favor, but for selfish reasons of my own."
"And what reasons would that be? To save you from a monster in this sewer tunnel?"Spike spoke sarcastically.
"Yes, that's the reason."Joyce moved another rock off of Spike's chest. She then looked at the top of the pile, and started there.
"Come that by me again, there's a what in this tunnel?"
Joyce looked down."I saw at least ten bodies down here, all with their throats gnawed upon. I also saw a lot of vampire dust. So there's something down here hunting both humans and vampires. And since I only have one good arm right now, I figure that I could use some help defending myself from this creature."
"That's a selfish reason,"Spike muttered. He started to move his arm out of the pile of rocks. She had loosened it enough to let it out, so he started to dig.
"No more than wanting to die simply because you can't feel your legs,"Joyce replied tiredly. Spike glared at her.
"There's nothing simple about it. I refuse to be helpless again. Makes me feel like I was a child again. I refuse to feel that way, I'd rather die a bad death than be helpless,"Spike growled as her threw a rock away. Joyce sat, her head was getting woozy. She looked at him.
"Want to tell me about it?"
"Why?"
"Simply because I need a rest. And it would pass the damn time away in this smelly place."
"No."
"Fine. I'll just sit here and-ouch!"Joyce slumped over the pile of debris. Spike looked at the still figure. "Joyce? Joyce!"
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