Author: Kay Tee maybeshedoes@yahoo.com
Distribution: Take it, but tell me where so I can visit.
Rated: Mild R, for nudity and boredom.
Category: Series
Original Character Warning
Spoilers: Surprise, you know what. (And if you don't, that means you shouldn't be reading this.)
Disclaimer: In my dreams I'm Joss, but during the day I have to face the cold hard truth-- I'm a hack who steals characters. But I'm not giving them back! Or I am, just don't sue me, all I have are speeding tickets and student loans.
Summary: Spike can't take care of Druscilla all by himself, so he gets himself a slave to help. The Judge rises while Eve sits in her room.
***
After everything for the party was set up, and the first guests began to trickle into the factory, Spike led Eve upstairs to her room. He drank some blood, smiled, and left.
That was two days ago, and Eve had not left her room in all that time. The bathroom was attached to her office, and all the food she would need for a month was in the fridge.
She knew the factory was slowly filling with master vampires. An hour ago, music had started playing downstairs, so she guessed that the party was finally getting into full swing.
But really, Eve had no idea what was going on. She was so detached from reality by that point; the creature that Druscilla was building could have destroyed the world, and Eve wouldn't know.
She lay on her back in bed and held her hands as far away from her face as they would go. She stared at them disinterestedly and let her mind drift. It occurred to her briefly that another Thanksgiving and New Year's had passed. They were always her favorite holidays. Somewhere in between had been Christmas, which she had never liked and didn't miss.
To clear her mind, Eve did a headstand in bed. She rested her legs against the wall, and sat like that for a while. Boredom could be an evil thing.
She wondered vaguely if Spike was eating. She knew that his entire blood supply was in her room; only if Druscilla was hunting for him could Spike be eating, since he hadn't visited in two days.
That would be nice-- if Druscilla took care of the crippled vampire. Eve worried that they weren't getting along very well. The way Spike had described their romance, she had assumed they had the healthiest relationship of all time. That is, if killing and maiming together is a bonding tool.
Eve dropped her legs down off the wall and sprawled out on her bed. The one thing she liked about California was that it was dry, but that night the humidity was heavy in the air, and Eve thought she would lose her mind if she didn't get out of her room soon.
She had finished all her cigarettes a day ago, and was going absolutely insane from the nicotine cravings alone.
She tried to think about what the world would be like after The Judge killed all the people. Failing that, she pictured the slayer coming and killing all the vampires downstairs. Maybe Spike and Druscilla would get away, but they'd have to leave fast, and Eve would just be left locked in the attic, wasting away.
She considered making some dinner, just to have something to do, but didn't feel like getting out of bed. There was a large stack of styrofoam cups with ramen noodles in them, but Eve had learned to despise microwavable food. Somehow, if she didn't pull her dinner from the ground herself, it didn't feel real.
She rolled over in bed, and missed vegetables with a greater intensity than she had ever missed her family or her home.
She knew she was trapped in here for her own protection; if The Judge didn't sizzle her, one of the vampire guests might have her for a snack. Spike was being particularly over-protective because he was weak and couldn't defend her, or Druscilla, or himself.
Eve couldn't understand why her vampires hadn't waited until they were both well before having a party. But she knew-- Druscilla wanted a party, and Spike would never say no to his mistress.
Eve also had to wonder why they were still in Sunnydale at all. The slayer and her group of vampire hunters were bound to eventually find out that Spike and Druscilla were still alive-- or undead-- and then they would all be in danger.
She closed her eyes and willed herself to fall asleep. If she had to be so bored, the least she could do was be unconscious. But Eve had slept through most of the day, and hadn't bothered to get out of bed when she woke up.
Fine. She couldn't sleep, then she would wake up. Eve stood and took her clothes off, stumbling into the bathroom.
***
She emerged wrapped in her towel. She felt like her head was clear for the first time in a week.
The past five days had been chaotic. Even before she was locked in her room, there had been preparations for Druscilla's party, and for the rising of The Judge. When a body part was due to arrive during the day, Eve was sent to get it, and some of the creatures she had met were truly repulsive. Also, dragging parts of a dead demon through Sunnydale made her uneasy.
And she kept remembering the kick to her jaw from the lifeless boot. She was always tense, waiting for the other parts to jump out at her and do something worse.
With so much work to do, Eve hadn't been able to visit Angel all week, and she knew Spike was annoyed that the 'goody good guys' weren't coming to destroy Druscilla's latest toy.
Spike wouldn't even look at her as she stretched and tested his legs. He scowled when she spoke, and treated her more like a servant than a slave: regarding her with cold respect, letting her choose how to spend her time, and offer advice as to how a chore might be done. It was strange, but this change in her master's demeanor was more hurtful than anything else Spike had ever done to Eve.
She missed the friend he had been before Sunnydale. She missed herself-- the still lighthearted person she had been before coming to the Hellmouth. She really hated this town, and what it had done to her little family.
Eve ran her fingers through her hair and waited for it to dry.
The room had become hers so quickly. The gray walls, the fake wood furniture, the blacked-out windows, they were all familiar and calming. Like a home.
Eve closed her eyes. This was not her home. She refused to become attached to anything in this godforsaken town. She chuckled at that thought, recognizing it immediately as ridiculous. She had made friends here, for chrissakes.
Opening her eyes, Eve glanced around the room. There was a certain finality to this place, to this town, like it was the inevitable last stop on her trip to hell.
***
In her room, she sat with no knowledge of what was happening outside her door. She knew nothing-- about the present, about the future, and (she could pretend) about the past.
All that existed was this small room, and all its contents. Eve was just an item. There was a bed, a table, a mini-fridge with a microwave on top, a chair, and a slave.
Eve sat in the chair and turned herself upside-down. Her head and shoulders hung off the edge where a businessman's legs once were, and her legs dangled off the top of the chair. She was naked, but had been alone so long that she no longer worried about being seen.
So naturally her door opened at just that moment.
Spike rolled into the room and stared at Eve strangely. She smiled at him and somersaulted clumsily to her feet. The vampire snorted and turned to go.
"Spike?" He paused at the plaintive tone in Eve's voice. "Sit with me a little while?" Spike glanced at the girl, still dripping from her recent shower. He willed away his smile unsuccessfully.
Eve grinned and rushed to the fridge. "You have been eating, right?" She turned to catch the guilty look in Spike's eyes. It was an unusual and unnatural expression for him to wear, and it answered her question.
Eve popped two blood packets into the microwave. "Not that I care or anything, but it'll make you heal faster."
Spike smiled gently, unable to prevent his gaze from traveling up and down Eve's body. She blushed and reached for her towel. Spike opened his mouth to tell her to leave it off, but decided to let her do what she wanted instead. He was still aching from Eve's decision to leave his bed a week ago. He was starting to care about her, and she wanted nothing to do with him. Locking her away had been a good idea, because he could concentrate more fully on Druscilla, but it hadn't worked; he still longed for his slave's affection.
Eve pushed the desk chair over to where Spike sat. She straddled it backwards and draped the towel loosely across herself. "How's the party going?" She asked conversationally, smiling at the ridiculous situation; they were sitting in her cell and she was naked, and engaging Spike in conversation as if they were two little old ladies.
Spike did something that sounded suspiciously like giggling. "Gettin' a little stir crazy then, are you?"
Eve's smile did not falter as she rolled her eyes. She tilted the chair forward, leaning close to Spike. "Come on, share gossip with me." Her smile slipped away as she realized that what she had said sounded like a command.
Spike noted her apologetic face, but smelled no fear coming from Eve. He frowned and opened his mouth to reprimand her for her carelessness when the microwave beeped. Eve didn't move, though she obviously wanted to. "You going to get that, pet?" Spike asked.
Eve's smile was grateful as she rose to retrieve the blood packets.
After Spike had downed them both-- he had been very hungry-- he asked, "Anyone been in to visit you?"
Eve shook her head. "The door's locked."
Spike shrugged, meeting Eve's eyes. "Anyone could get in, the lock's to keep you from getting out."
"Oh," Eve did not break eye contact as she rested her hand tentatively on Spike's knee. "I wasn't trying to get out."
He covered her hand with his own and conceded, "I know, but Angel and the Slayer stopped by..."
Eve's brow shot up with an unasked question.
"You know Dru throws bloody fantastic parties, those two just couldn't stand to be left out." He smiled insincerely, and Eve ran her thumb back and forth on his thigh soothingly.
"They're fine, in case you were wondering," Spike added.
Eve's brow furrowed. "Actually, I wasn't wondering, I was mostly just hoping you were okay." Without pausing, she changed the subject. "Can you feel this?"
"What you're doing with your thumb?" Spike asked, and then inhaled sharply. His hand wasn't covering Eve's thumb, but he could feel her caress on his thigh. Spike stared at his lap in surprise.
Eve squeezed his thigh excitedly and Spike's eyes flew to meet hers. "Yeah, I can feel that," he whispered.
In her excitement, Eve nearly jumped in Spike's lap, but he had been very cold to her lately, so she held herself back, moving slowly.
Eve leaned towards Spike cautiously. When their lips were less than half a centimeter apart, she paused, waiting for Spike to remind her that she wasn't allowed to kiss him without permission. She had broken the rule before, but Spike had been cranky lately, and she didn't want to piss him off.
Spike inhaled slowly, as if he could draw Eve's lips closer with the air he sucked needlessly into himself.
After a long moment, Eve closed the distance between them, and they kissed gently, almost virginally. Eve tentatively ran her fingers along Spike's jaw. When he didn't pull away, she let her hand go to the back of his head and pull him deeper into the kiss.
The back of the desk chair was still between them, and Eve reluctantly pulled away and stood up. Spike watched her walk to the bed naked. One look from Eve, and Spike rolled after her. He drew her into his arms, taking control. She smiled up at him as he lowered his lips to hers.
"Spike, we lost them," a very rude, and very soon-to-be-dust minion said, popping his head in the doorway.
Spike growled low in his throat and released Eve. "I'll be back. Stay here," he instructed before wheeling after the minion.
Eve closed the door behind them and lay back down on her bed.
Spike was healing, and obviously wasn't mad at her.
She felt good.
She felt claustrophobic too, but that was okay.
It began to rain, and the water splattered loudly on the tin roof just above Eve's head. She smiled, thinking that the factory was like one giant umbrella, built just for her.
She knew with absolute certainty that everything was going to be okay.
She understood suddenly that the world existed in a series of moments, and all she could count on was the present. Any minute, something terrible could happen; the future was uncertain. The guilt which had been weighing heavily on her dissipated into the atmosphere; the past was over.
With no future and no past, Eve had only her tiny room, and the contentment that inexplicably filled her. On a hot Sunnydale night in January, Eve experienced a nearly perfect moment of happiness.
***
A few hours later, Angel lay in bed with Buffy sleeping at his side. His thoughts echoed Eve's. There were always going to be terrible things happening that he couldn't control. But in the darkness of his apartment, he felt no guilt about his past, and no trepidation about his future; only perfect happiness as he held his true love in his arms.