Part 2 - Prologue
“I thought we were friends.”
“We are.”
“I really hate you.”
“Not for long.”
“Did you get what you wanted?”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“I really hate you.”
“I know.”
~~~~
Chapter 5
Two weeks earlier…
Things were looking up. After only a few days of rest, Miss Calendar was back teaching classes. She told Xander that as long as he stayed after school with her a couple days a week so she could make sure he understood at least the concept of the technology, then he would be getting a passing grade in computer science, no homework required. Little hero perk. Who knew?
The explanation to Giles as to why he knew what Angel was going to do was a little tricky. It had been the day after 'the incident' and the librarian had asked Xander to meet him before the others arrived. Xander had been going over in his mind what he was going to say, and when the time came, he still didn't know. The truth was always an option, but the possible verbal whipping he would get from that revelation was a little more than Xander was prepared to take. He settled for a sampling of the truth.
Xander told Giles that he was walking to Buffy's after he heard about Angel's visit to her house that night and came across Spike near a cemetery. He said that Spike never saw him, but was instead mumbling to himself and Xand was able to make out snippets of the one-sided conversation. He deciphered that the vampire was upset about some kind of plans Angel and Drusilla had made without him and that was when Spike said something like, 'after they kill the teacher tonight.' Xander filled in the blanks.
Giles mulled over that story, but Buffy, Willow, and Oz came into the library before he was able to ask any questions. After a few days of avoiding Giles anytime he got that inquisitive look in his eye, the 'overhearing Spike' story was generally accepted as what happened and everyone left it alone.
Buffy avoided being alone with Xander for several days. He wasn't at all sure if it was because she was mad him or if it was something else. Four days after 'the incident,' Xander walked into the library and stumbled across Buffy and Miss Calendar in a tight hug. When they pulled away from each other, he could tell they had both been crying. He shuffled his feet and made an attempt to back out the doors without being noticed, but Buffy looked over and saw him before he could escape. She walked over to him, eyes still glimmering with tears, and gently took his hand in hers.
"I'm sorry that it was you," she said quietly. "It should have been me." She stood on her toes and kissed him on the cheek. With a quick squeeze of his hand, she released it and walked out of the library. Xander couldn't hold back his own tears, and quickly moved past Miss Calendar into the stacks at the back of the library to have a good cry.
Things seem to be getting back to normal.
~~~~
Xander stood outside the factory. Every nerve ending in his body was telling him that it was a bad idea. What with Angel gone, he was sure that Spike and Drusilla had gotten back into their old habits. That was obviously the reason why Spike hadn't been at the cemetery this past week. He got his crazy vampire back.
But there was a part of him that needed to know. He needed to know that Spike was alright. And that was even scarier than standing this close to a vampire's lair with God knows how many vamps inside who would drain him in an instant. Xander told his feet to move, and he cautiously walked over to a window. It took him several tries to find a window whose glass wasn’t completely obstructed with black paint. He finally found one off a small dark alley that wasn't painted quite as well. Peering through a layer of dirt and grime, he was able to get a fairly decent view of a large room with a long rectangular table surrounded by tall high-backed chairs. And, oddly enough, that was it. There were no vampires anywhere. Xander looked as close as he could at all the dark corners, but, even though it was at eleven o'clock at night, there was no activity.
Well, maybe they left town. Or found a new place to hide out or something. Then there he was. Spike came out of a room to Xander's left and rolled his wheelchair slowly past the large table toward a doorway on the other side of the room. Xand only saw Spike's back, but there was something odd about the way the vampire was moving. It was too slow, and not quite in a straight line. One hand kept slipping off the wheel of the chair, causing him to turn abruptly to one side or the other before he was able to readjust and go forward again. Almost like he was swaggering. And not in a cool John-Wayne-in-True-Grit kind of swagger, but more like a dad-are-you-sure-you-need-to-finish-the-entire-six-pack kind of swagger.
Xander backed away from the window and leaned against the opposite wall. He really wished that he hadn't thought about his father. His father. Who had switched from a six-pack a day to a fifth a day a long time ago. His dad. Who Xander knew was the reason his mother spent too much time at bridge clubs and garden clubs and book clubs. Dad. Who left bruises that were easier to explain away now that Xander was fighting demons from time to time. Dad. Who Xander had given up on. Who was hopeless. Who was beyond…help. Help.
With a new purpose, Xander walked around to the front of the building and found a large sliding door. The lock must have been pretty flimsy because he was able to get it open with only three strong pulls on the handle. Stepping into the vast cold space gave Xander an ominous and empty feeling. Dead things live here, his mind told him sharply. He ignored the voice and followed the sound of banging coming from his right.
He found Spike in a large industrial kitchen. All the cabinet doors were open, and the vampire was leaning down with his head inside a lower one pulling out giant pots and flinging them behind him.
"Spike!" Xander shouted over the clanging of cookware. Spike jumped, but his head was still in the cupboard which caused him to hit the back of his head on the opening's ledge. He grunted something Xander couldn't make out, backed out of the cabinet, and turned to look at him.
This time it was Xander's turn to be startled. Spike looked awful. More than awful. He looked…dead.
~~~~
The world was spinning. He didn't even have to open his eyes to see it. He could feel it. For just a moment he wished that he was human so he could vomit. Getting up wasn't an option. Hell, opening his eyes wasn't even an option. If he just laid perfectly still, then maybe he could pass out again. Wait. When did he pass out? How did I get on the bed?
Harris. The memory was there but a tad muddled. He remembered most of the last few days. But, really there wasn't much to remember. And how long had it been, anyway? He knew that he had fallen asleep and woken up several times, but he couldn't hone his senses to place the time of day right now. And Harris was there at some point. Did they have a conversation?
Spike didn’t like this quiet. It wasn’t right. He could only hear the old noises that a decrepit building makes and it just wasn’t enough. No wind, no animals, no distant cars, no heartbeat. He tried to remember the conversation he had with Harris last night (was it last night?) so he could grasp the memory of the heartbeat, but nothing came to him. Exactly how long did I stay drunk? And why am I sobering up now? Oh, yeah. That part he remembered. He had run out of alcohol.
Then it really all came flooding back to him. The why he was drinking in the first place. Dru was gone. And he wanted to forget again.
He heard the factory door open in the next room and instantly smelled chocolate and blood. There’s my boy. My heartbeat.
~~~~
Xander stood next to the bed and gazed down at the still body. He had seen some disturbing things here on the Hellmouth, but this creature in front of him was truly grotesque. So still and so thin. Too thin. A lesser body would surely be dead after what this being had put it through. Already sharp facial features grown too sallow and sunken to look like a normal face. Rib bones sticking up so high over a nonexistent stomach that Xander could count each one even through the t-shirt. Normally tight jeans that hung off the man like a pair of Xand’s own sweatpants. A skeleton with flesh. But not even really flesh. Skin that clung to bones in an almost translucent state that revealed thin blue veins. Veins as thin as thread and as dark blue as the sky at dusk. But not dead. Not the right kind of dead. Vampires were living dead. Spike deserved more.
As he stared down at Spike, Xander began to feel a sense of dread that perhaps he was too late. Was it even possible to bring a vampire back to its normal virile self when the body looked like this? And more importantly, why did he even want to? During the few times that they talked, Spike had revealed himself to be a man of profound emotion. Xand discovered that a vampire, well, this vampire at least, could feel and laugh and love. And change perhaps? Was Xander willing to take the chance of restoring this demon killer if he was just going to go back to trying to kill his friends?
Spike’s eyes opened, causing Xander to jump back just a tad. They looked at each other for a beat before he was able to relax and smile a little.
“Brought you some blood,” Xander told the corpse and shivered as Spike let a slow grin spread across his face that reinforced the skeleton motif by adding a skull to the top of the body.
“You brought me somebody to eat?” The skull asked.
“No! And eww!” Xander set down a brown paper bag on the table next the bed. “Pig’s blood. From the butcher. And can I just say again - eww.”
Spike let the smile fade away and made an attempt to push himself to a seated position on the bed. His arms started to shake a little under his own insignificant weight, and Xander instinctively put his hands under Spike’s arms to steady him. Spike growled at him, so he backed off with his hands in the air. He looked around the room and settled down into a large black leather chair in a corner.
The vampire was able to get himself adjusted against the headboard. He reached over to the bedside table and took one of the two containers of blood out of the bag. Xander watched in disgust as the blood dripped down Spike’s chin as he drank half of it down in one gulp.
Then Spike’s body did the most beautiful thing. In the darkened room, Xander was able to see the veins under the vampire’s skin start to glow a bright blue. The sky blue color pulsated a few times and the lines seemed to grow thicker with each beat. The brightness faded after a moment and the veins contracted to their previous state.
Wow. Vampire restoration in action. Spike was staring down at the container of blood in his hands. He smiled slightly and let out a small laugh.
“What?” Xander asked. Spike looked up at him.
“Isn’t this a pretty sight? I’m achy all over and drinking pig’s blood. Just give me an excessive amount of hair gel and a Slayer to shag, and I’m bloody Angel.”
Xander laughed with him. “Well, can’t do anything about the Slayer part, but here-” He removed a plastic tube from his jacket pocket and tossed it into the vampire’s lap. Spike picked it up and read the label. Vital Sassoon Sleek Straightening Balm. He looked back at Xander with a raised eyebrow.
“Don’t know if it’s your brand, but…well, you’re hair’s a mess.”
To be continued...
Short chapter, I know. Hang in there for me - two more chapters to go. Thanks for reading! Please review!
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