Author: Hilary
Title: Unexpected
Part: #3
Disclaimer: The characters from the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer are not mine, they are the creation of Joss Whedon's genius and Mutant Enemy.If you plan on posting this on your web site please include my name and the disclaimer, and notify me.
Rating: PG
[Unexpected (3)]
Quickly Buffy dragged Spike's limp body through to the bedroom and lay him down on the bed, trying to arrange his limbs so that he was as comfortable as possible before going back out into the main room. Angel had always kept a stash of medical supplies and Buffy prayed that there was still some stuff here. Sure enough there was a small first aid kit in one of the cupboards. She picked it up and went back into where Spike was lying in the same position that she'd left him in. Sitting beside him she realised that he probably wasn't going to wake up any time soon so she set about cleaning the cuts on his face. As she worked she looked at his face and it struck her that she'd never really looked closely at him before. He was actually quite handsome, in a weird kind of way. He didn't have the conventional good looks of Riley or Angel but there was definitely something attractive about him. What are you thinking! Buffy shook her head as if that action would banish the thoughts she was having. She quickly finished cleaning Spike, then went back into the main hall and flopped down on the couch. So much had happened tonight. Leon was tough, a lot more than she'd expected, and her arrogance had nearly gotten her killed. Not only her but Riley and Spike too. In fact if Spike hadn't turned up...she shuddered to think of what might have happened. Buffy never thought she would find herself being glad that Spike had been around, he was normally so infuriating. She got up and walked back into the bedroom to see if there was any change in his condition. He was still unconscious. Buffy pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down. It was still dark and there was a slim chance that Leon might come back. She couldn't leave Spike defenceless like this. Curling up in the chair Buffy closed her eyes, she was a light sleeper and would wake up if there was any sort of intrusion. Exhausted from the fight she was asleep in no time.
Buffy awoke to the sound of a soft moan coming from the bed. Her eyes snapped open and fell on Spike. He appeared to be waking up. His eyes fluttered open and focused on Buffy. Where the bloody hell am I? And what's she doing here?
"Hey." She said softly.
His mind began to clear as he recalled the events of the night before. The fight...and Buffy. He remembered the concern in her eyes, a look that was there again now. He was also aware of a dull ache running through his whole body. He would heal quickly, but until then he was going to hurt a lot.
"Hi. Thought you'd be gone by now." A hint of sadness in his voice.
"I wasn't about to leave you to get killed, not after....Spike, why did you come after me?" She couldn't let her intrigue rest any longer. It had been bugging her all night. Spike didn't strike her as being the 'throw yourself to the wolves' type. In fact he always looked out for himself, helping others if and when it suited him.
"I couldn't stay at home and let you have all the fun" he chuckled. He laugh quickly turned into a wince and he pressed his hand against his side. The pain had turned from dull to intense and he guessed that a few of his ribs were cracked if not broken.
Buffy had been about to ask him how he was feeling but the look of pain on his face answered her question. She stood up and looked at her watch, it was well into the morning now.
"Spike, try and get some rest, you'll be safe here while it's daylight. I have to go and check in with Giles but I'll bring you some blood later on."
Spike nodded, already looking as if he was about to fall asleep again. He closed his eyes and when Buffy was sure that he was sleeping she left.
~~~
Riley practically jumped on Buffy when she walked through the door of Giles' apartment. He grabbed her and began to cover her with kisses.
"Buffy, are you alright? I was so worried. I wanted to come back for you but..." He stopped as Buffy gently pulled herself out of his tight embrace.
"I'm fine." She reassured "Is Giles here?"
"Yes he is" Said Giles as he stepped out from the kitchen. "I'm glad to see that you're alright. What happened?"
Buffy looked at the floor, suddenly feeling uncomfortable with telling him that she'd spent the night watching over Spike.
"Leon took off, left Spike in a pretty bad way."
Giles took off his glasses and began to clean them
"Is he alright?"
"I left him sleeping in the mansion. He's hurt pretty bad. I'm going to take him to my house tonight, Mom's away for the week and Spike needs somewhere safe to rest until his wounds have healed."
Riley stared at her. She couldn't possibly be thinking of letting that vampire stay in her house. He walked over and put his arm around her.
"Buffy, are sure that's a good idea. I know Spike can't hurt people but maybe he would be better off staying here. Giles?"
Giles shook his head. He wasn't happy about Spike staying with Buffy either but there was no other way.
"I'm sorry Riley, but I have a guest coming over tonight. If Spike is injured then he poses no real threat. I don't see the harm in him staying with Buffy."
Riley desperately wanted to say that he'd seen the way Spike looks at Buffy, that it was glaringly obvious that the vampire had some sort of crush on her. He remained silent.
"Who's coming to visit?" asked Buffy. "Olivia?"
Giles sighed. He'd been dreading this moment.
"Actually no. Buffy, maybe you should sit down."
Buffy slowly sat down on Giles' couch, not liking the tone in his voice at all. Riley sat beside her and took her hand. He sensed a bombshell coming. Giles sat down opposite them.
"I called Angel last night and told him about Leon. He sounded very concerned and said that you would need help fighting him. To cut a long story short he's coming back to Sunnydale...tonight."
Buffy and Riley stared at him in shock. Then Buffy jumped her feet.
"Giles why? Why is he coming? I can handle things here. He doesn't need to go all overprotective."
"He's only trying to help Buffy. Angel will be able to give you useful information on how to fight Leon. He's obviously stronger than we'd anticipated if he was able to beat you and Spike. I know this is difficult for you but I think we need him."
Buffy sighed, knowing that her Watcher was right. He had no idea how hard and painful it was every time she saw Angel. Suddenly she wanted to be anywhere but there. She was also aware that Riley had tensed up, Angel's return wasn't going to be easy on him either. He knew that Angel had a part of Buffy which he could never reach.
"Look, I'd better go. I didn't get much sleep last night and I said I'd get Spike some blood."
She walked towards the door and Riley followed her. He took her arm and spun her back round to face him.
"Buffy, I'd really like to talk about what's going on."
She shook her head, she had so many emotions churning around inside her that she didn't know what she felt. She couldn't talk to Riley until her thoughts were a bit clearer. She pulled her arm out of his hand.
"Riley, I can't. We'll talk later."
Without waiting for his response she walked out of the door and closed it behind her.
~~~
As Buffy walked she tried to digest everything that was going on in her head. She hadn't seen Angel since his confrontation with Riley last year, she'd told him that she loved Riley. Everything was so confusing, she knew that she didn't love Riley but it had nothing to do with Angel. Actually, maybe it did. Deep in her heart she knew that the reason she didn't love Riley was because he didn't give her what Angel had. But at the same time she knew that she didn't want to go through all the pain that she had with Angel either. It would be so much easier if she could just disappear, or sit quietly in a corner and wait for all her problems to go away. She'd been through too much to know that hiding wasn't the solution, she'd learnt that when she'd run away after killing Angel. Problems don't just go away, they follow you wherever you go.
Buffy went to the butchers and picked up some pigs blood. She found herself actually looking forward to seeing Spike. There was something comfortably constant about his attitude with her. As much as he annoyed her he very rarely surprised her. He was just Spike.
Buffy walked into the mansion and peered into the
bedroom. Spike was still asleep. It figured, she'd only been gone a couple of hours. She sat back down beside the bed and put the blood on the table. Looking at Spike she noticed that he'd discarded his duster and shirt, his now bare chest was covered in ugly looking purple bruises. One of his arms was draped down the side of the bed, his fingers lightly touching the stone floor. Buffy lifted his arm and placed it by his side. She inwardly winced when she saw the bruises. Leon had gotten some really powerful kicks in. Instinctively she reached out and lightly ran her fingers over the swollen skin, Spike flinched in his sleep and she quickly withdrew her hand. She felt her face flush red, what was she doing? Deciding it would be better to leave and come back after dark Buffy stood up and walked out towards the main door. She was just opening it when she heard Spike call her name. Sighing she turned around and walked back in.
Spike had drained the tub of blood she had brought him and left the container next to the bed. Buffy sat back down and he gestured to the pot with his eyes.
"Thanks." He murmured.
"That's okay." She replied quietly. They sat in silence for a couple of minutes until Buffy spoke.
"Spike, I want you to come and stay with me for a couple of days until you get your strength back. I don't want to put you down or anything but you're a sitting target while you're like this."
Spike sighed, ignoring the pain it caused him. He hated feeling like this, weak and helpless. It reminded him of when he'd been confined to a wheelchair a couple of years ago. He wanted more than anything just to get up and lash out at the first demon he came across. Then he thought about what Buffy had just said. She wanted him to stay...with her...in her house...alone. He closed his eyes for a moment trying not to imagine the numerous intimate situations that could arise from this. Then he thought about why she was doing this, probably just to relive herself of a guilty conscience, after all, he'd gotten into this mess saving her ass.
"Listen Slayer, I don't need your pity. I can take care of myself." Spike tried to keep the pain and exhaustion out of his voice.
"Pity? Spike this has nothing to do with pity. I know better than anyone that you can hold your own, I just don't want to see you getting yourself killed that's all."
"What do you care?" He muttered.
"You think I don't care? Look, I know we've never really gotten on but I've known you too long not to care now. You're arrogant, annoying and selfish but I still care." Buffy suddenly frowned. She had no idea where that had come from, all she knew was that she did care about him, despite herself.
Spike tried hard not to start grinning, she cared about him.
"Alright, if it'll make you happy I'll camp out at your place for a bit. It won't take me long to heal and then I'll be out of your way. Pass me my shirt will you."
Buffy stood up and tossed the shirt to him. Spike gritted his teeth through the pain as he put it on, sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. She noticed his pain and offered him her arm to help in stand up. Ignoring her Spike climbed shakily to his feet.
"I don't need a bloody nurse." He growled. Suddenly a wave of dizziness hit him, his vision fading almost completely. He closed his eyes trying to beat it and he instinctively reached out and grabbed Buffy to steady himself. She wrapped her arm around his waist and held onto him while he waited for it to pass. Opening his eyes Spike found himself staring into a pair of beautiful green ones, his face was merely inches away from Buffy's.
"Slayer." He breathed before leaning down and kissing her. Buffy froze for a second when she felt Spike's lips upon hers. Suddenly she found herself kissing him back, and it wasn't unpleasant. The soft kiss became more intense and passionate as Spike wrapped his arms around Buffy's waist and she slipped hers around his back. Buffy was overwhelmed by how good it felt when it suddenly hit her what she was doing. She was kissing Spike, her enemy, a vampire. What about Riley? What about Angel? Part of her didn't care, she felt so safe in his arms. But she had to stop. She pulled away, leaving him still gazing lovingly at her.
"Spike....I can't do this."