A Friend in Need – 1

Title: A Friend in Need
author: Slaymesoftly
Summary: A sequel to a short (6200+) off-canon Season Four fic – Even Demons Need Friends, but I don’t think you need to have read that STORY (although it’s kinda fun…). All you need to know is that this is a non-canon Season 5 in which Glory is there searching for her Key, Joyce is sick, Spike is unchipped and living in another city. At the end of the previous story, he’d asked Buffy to call him if she needed help.
They don’t have a relationship yet; they weren’t even much more than canon Season Four semi-enemies, with an unrecognized and unacknowledged sexual attraction, when Ethan’s spell to turn Giles into a Fyral demon wrought some important changes in a very short period of time. But not changes sufficient to make it likely that a slayer, with a human boyfriend and a firm belief in what’s right and acceptable, and an old vampire, who has just regained his ability to hunt and feed, are likely to see any kind of a future for them. In spite of some surprising revelations about how they may feel about each other.
You can assume that the rest of Season Four and some of Season Five have proceeded pretty much as in canon, but without Spike’s presence. That absence, and the reason for it, has changed things enough that I think it’s fair to call this an AU Season Five. Some things will be familiar, some things obviously will not, so don’t go looking for an identical timeline or identical events.

A Friend in Need (Prologue through Chapter Three)

PROLOGUE

As Buffy picked herself up and shook her head to clear it, she wondered what had just happened. Surely that skanky woman in the too tight red dress hadn’t just thrown her through a wall? A brick wall?

“Owie.”

Apparently she had. As Buffy limped away, she was muttering to herself about being caught off guard and kicking skanky butt the next time.

~~~~~~~

The next time came along much too soon to suit Buffy, especially considering that she now knew Dawn was the mysterious “Key” that Glory kept screeching about. An unfamiliar feeling of helplessness began to worm its way into Buffy’s psyche.

This bitch is stronger than me. Not all that bright, and she’s got lousy fashion sense, but still….

There was a period of respite from the strange demon after she got flattened by a semi, and after several Glory-less weeks, Buffy was seriously hoping that was the end of the problem, so she could concentrate on her mother’s health and quit worrying. She tried to ignore the nagging little voice in her head that insisted it was never that easy, but of course, it turned out the little voice was right…

 

CHAPTER ONE

Seeking a safe place to stash Dawn and her mother temporarily, if and when it became necessary Just until I find a way to get rid of that bitch, Buffy ventured into Restfield, searching for the crypt that Spike had moved into sometime before he left Sunnydale. When she entered the open doors, she startled an unfamiliar demon, who had been sitting on the couch eating Doritos. Said demon gave an unmanly shriek when he saw her, leaping to his feet and spilling chips all over the floor.

“Slayer!”

Buffy put her hand on her stake, wishing she’d thought to bring a sword with her before realizing she was looking at one of many harmless demons that lived in and around Sunnydale. She remembered Giles and Spike assuring her that demons that looked like this incredibly wrinkled one were harmless to humans, and usually actually friendly and helpful. She shook her head at that idea, but relaxed and spoke to him anyway.

“What are you doing here?” She did her best to intimidate him with her presence, hoping he would leave the crypt and not return. Her fierce look seemed to be working as he edged his way toward the door.

“I’m just keeping an eye on it for Spi—a friend. He has some stuff stashed here and—“

“Spike? You know where he is?” Buffy stopped her advance into the crypt and got between him and the door to safety.

The demon squirmed uncomfortably, but didn’t answer. His expression was one of abject fear mixed with stubborn determination.

“Oh stop acting so antsy,” she snapped. “I know what kind of demon you are. I’m not going to slay you… unless you don’t tell me where Spike is…”

“He’s my friend,” the demon said. “You’re the Slayer.” He stared at her as if he’d just explained everything.

Buffy sighed and allowed herself to visibly relax. “He’s my friend too,” she said quietly. “At least I think he is—was—wants to be…” She shook herself and gave him one of her best smiles. “Let’s start all over. Hi! I’m Buffy, the vampire slayer. I’m a… a friend of Spike’s. I was hoping to borrow his crypt for awhile.”

“I’m Clement – Clem for short,” the demon said, returning her smile. “And if you’re Buffy, then I’m sure Spike wouldn’t mind—” He goggled at her. “Buffy is the Slayer? You’re Buffy? Spike’s Buffy?”

Buffy blushed and cleared her throat. “Well, I’m Buffy. And I’m the Slayer. I don’t think I’m— I mean, Spike is just—“ She paused and frowned. “Why do you know my name if you didn’t know I’m the Slayer?”

“Well… I guess, now that I think about, I should have figured it out. It’s just— whenever he talked about you, he always just said ‘Buffy.’ You know, like ‘Buffy is really pretty’, or ‘I like the way she kiss—‘ Uh, nevermind. He just didn’t talk about Buffy and the Slayer at the same time, and I never figured you…. Dumb, I guess, now that I think about it. Of course you’re you. That explains a whole lot, actually.”

“Spike talked about me?” She did her best to sound casual, telling herself it was only natural that he talked about the Slayer to his friends.

“He did. Well, sometimes he was talking about you… you know–Buffy… but when he talked abut the Slayer—”

Changing the subject before he could share what Spike had to say about her when he was talking about the Slayer, she said, “So, Clem. You’re saying you know where he is?”

“I can get hold of him if I need to,” he answered, refusing to meet her eyes.

“Not what I asked,” she growled, watching him flinch. “I can get hold of him if I need to…. I think,” she added. “I want to know where he is.”

“I don’t know, Slayer. Honest. I don’t. I just know he’s still somewhere here on the west coast. Maybe in Portland or Seattle or some place like that? Where it’s rainy all the time?”

There was silence while Buffy absorbed that news and began to walk around the crypt. She’d only been in it a few times before Spike left, but she thought she remembered it being pretty big and solidly built. She went back to the entrance and examined the double doors there.

“I think this will work,” she mused.

“Slayer?” Clem seemed to be frowning, but it was really hard to tell, what with all the wrinkles already there.

Buffy smiled at him. “I need a place to… hide—put… my family sometimes. I was kind of hoping Spike would be around to help me protect them, but I guess just keeping them here will work. It’s not like the bitch is going to be looking for them in a cemetery,” she muttered.

“Bitch? You mean that crazy woman who keeps asking for her key? That bitch?”
Clem’s immediate guess as to who the bitch might be was as startling as the fact that he’d overheard what she’d thought was a private grumble to herself. She whirled on him.

“What do you know about her?” she demanded.

He held up his hands in supplication. “Probably less than you do, Sla—Buffy. She’s looking for some kind of key to something or other, and she’s getting right testy about not being able to find it. Got some scabby little creatures out helping her, but she’s the dangerous one. I saw her deck a Fyral demon with a flick of her wrist. She’s really strong.”

“Ya think?” Buffy snorted, and turned back to the room.

“Do… do you want me to call Spike? I’m sure he’d come back to help you out with her if you wanted.”

Buffy narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re sure? How can you be sure about that? I’m not even sure, and I’m the one who—I’m not even sure. He’s probably forgotten all about telling me to call him if I need him.”

“I don’t think so….” Clem shrugged. “But hey, I’m sure you know him better than I do.”

“Me?”

“Well, yeah. With the being engaged and all. I mean, I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you kids, but I’m sure—”

“That was a spell! A stupid spell that said I should marry Spike. That’s all it was! And it only lasted one night!”

“Must’ve been one hell of a night,” Clem mumbled as he turned away.

“What? What did you say? What did he tell you?” Buffy struggled to keep her voice down below the range of dogs-only-hearing.

“Nothing, Slayer. Nothing. He didn’t tell me anything. Just that you were engaged for a while and that he couldn’t remember the last time he was that happy.” He met her eyes briefly. “That’s saying a lot when you’re as old as he is.”

“Oh.” Buffy flushed and bit her lip. “Well, we were pretty happy, I guess. I mean, we thought we were in love, and that made us happy, and…. And this has nothing to do with nothing. The point is, it was just a spell, it was a long time ago, and he’s been gone for almost a year. I don’t have any reason to think he’d help me with anything – never mind some kind of over-dressed ho-bag with more superpowers than I have.”

“It’s up to you, Slayer. I’m just saying, I think he’d come back if you asked him.” Clem walked to the door and glanced back over his shoulder. “He always asks me if I know how you’re doing when I talk to him. Of course, I don’t usually have much to tell him, because we don’t hang out, and I didn’t know the Slayer was the same person as….”

“Let it go, Clem. I’ll handle it myself. But do me a favor, huh?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Just… my mom and sister might be here a lot and they… it might be better if they didn’t see you.”

Clem’s face fell, but he nodded. “Sure, Slayer. I get it. I’m not the prettiest demon on the hellmouth.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean… it’s just that they aren’t used to seeing any demons, and they might be scared of you. If it turns out they’re here a lot, I’ll introduce you as a friend of Spike’s. Okay? They both like Spike. And then it would be okay for you to show up once in a while.”

“Okay, well, I’ve got to get going. Nice meeting you, Buffy.”

“Yeah, you too, Clem. See ya.”

Using the light coming in the open door, and the candles Clem had left burning, Buffy put down her unused flashlight and finished exploring the crypt. She cringed at the filthy couch and chair have to bring in some old sheets or something to cover those disgusting things, but nodded at the sturdy table toward the back of the crypt. She frowned over the jumble of wires leading to an old fridge and from there to a beat-up TV, then decided that stone probably wouldn’t burn anyway if the wires did catch fire.

“At least Mom and Dawn will have something to do all day.” She stared around some more and began making a mental list of things she’d have to provide for them. “Candles, flashlights, maybe some lanterns and batteries… an old sheet to cover that couch…” She stopped and sighed, realizing that neither Joyce nor Dawn was going to be happy about being stashed in a damp crypt while she was out searching for Glory.

“If we have to use it, they’ll just have to suck it up,” she said aloud as she closed both the interior and exterior doors. “I can’t go looking for her or fight her if I’m worried about them. If we’re lucky, she’ll go away and look for her key somewhere else, and I’ll never have to bring them here…”

 

CHAPTER TWO

“Look, Mom, it’s just until your appointment this afternoon. Okay? Dawn will be okay at school, but since that creepy bitch knows where we live… I just can’t leave you there alone.”

“You say this place is a crypt? You want me to spend the day in a grave?”

“It’s not that bad. Spike was fixing it up before he… left. The furniture’s still there, there’s a TV that Clem says works okay—“

“Spike? Clem?”

“Clem is a friend of Spike’s. He’s a demon, but a nice one. I’ll introduce you if I get a chance. The point is, he’s been keeping the place clean and unoccupied while Spike’s gone, so it’s a nice safe place to spend the day while I go looking for Glory. And I already took a bunch of stuff there so you guys will have lights and… stuff.”

“I still don’t understand what she wants with Dawn.”

“I’m not sure I get it either; all I know is those monks sent Dawn to us so I could protect her from Glory, so that’s what I’m gonna do. Giles is talking to the Council, asking them what they might know about Glory. If we can figure out what kind of demon she is, I’ll know how to kill her.”

“You do know how disturbing it is to hear my daughter talking so casually about killing someone who seems perfectly human… if a bit destructive.”

“Trust me, Mom. Whatever Glory is, human isn’t it. And if I wasn’t who and what I am, she’d have probably killed me several times over already. If she ever finds out Dawn is….”

“All right, Buffy. I’m trusting you on this. How does Spike feel about us using his crypt?”

Buffy coughed and mumbled, “I’m sure he’ll be fine with it…”

“You haven’t asked him.” Joyce’s voice was disappointed and tired. “I raised you better than that, Buffy.”

“Spike likes you, Mom. I know he’d be okay with this. I… I can’t ask him.”

“Why not?”

Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling, as though a good answer might be hiding there. “Because I haven’t talked to him since he left. And if I tell him I need to hide you and Dawn from some skank that can beat me up, he’ll just think….”

“That the only reason you called him was because you need him for something.” The disappointment in Joyce’s voice was still there, but her eyes were more understanding. She sighed and stood up, shaking her head when Buffy immediately grabbed her overnight bag, but not commenting.

“I know you’re all grown up now, and your business is your business, but if you ever want to tell me what happened last year that sent Spike off to Seat—” She caught herself, but not soon enough.

“Seattle? He’s in Seattle? All this time, you’ve known where he is and you never told me?”

It was Joyce’s turn to sigh. “He made me promise. He said you were better off not knowing where he was. That you knew how to get hold of him—“

She raised an eyebrow at Buffy, who mumbled, “He sent me a cell number.” Remembering that she was the injured party here, Buffy went on the attack.
“But how could you know where he is?”

As they got into the car, Joyce held out her hand for the keys, saying firmly, “I’m not crippled, Buffy.”

Buffy handed them over, relief evident on her face. While she had managed to get her license, thanks to many hours of Riley’s patient instruction and practice, driving was still not her favorite thing to do. She went back to her question. “How come you know where he is?”

Joyce concentrated on backing out of the driveway, then answered Buffy’s question. “He came by the gallery to say good-bye before he left. He told me he was worried about you and the Initiative—not a bad guess, as it turned out,” she added with a sideways glance. “Anyway, he called me when he was settled, gave me a number and told me where he was….” She hesitated for a second, then decided Buffy deserved the truth. “I’ve spoken to him a couple of time since then. He always asks me how you are and if everything’s okay here.”

Buffy was too busy trying to process the information that her mother had more of a relationship with Spike than she did and that he apparently still felt something for her, to notice Joyce’s flinch as a random pain shot through her head. By the time Buffy looked up, the car was once again going in a straight line and her mother was looking ahead, her face relaxed and calm.

They left the car in the small parking lot near the entrance to Restfield, smiling kindly at a family laying flowers on a new grave as they worked their way toward the back where the older graves and mausoleums were located. It was only a few minutes walk to Spike’s crypt, although Buffy watched Joyce carefully for any signs of fatigue.

“Here we are. Home sweet home,” she trilled as she opened the two heavy doors. She left them open long enough to light some candles and turn on one of the battery-powered lanterns she’d stashed there earlier. As soon as she was sure Joyce would be all right by herself, watching her settle on the couch and turn on Passions, Buffy turned to leave. “I’m going to go look for Glory again, Mom. I’ll be back in time to go with you to the doctor this afternoon, but if I’m not…”

“If you’re not, I’m perfectly capable of walking back to my car and driving myself to hospital. They’re just doing some more tests today. It’s no biggie.”

I’ll be back,” Buffy said, closing only the relatively easy to open and close metal gate behind her.

~~~~~~~~~

“A tumor?”

“It’s going to be all right, Buffy. He says he can get me in right away for surgery.”

“Surgery?”

“First thing in the morning.”

“Surgery?” Buffy repeated, unable to form a more coherent thought. “Brain surgery?”

“It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”

~~~~~~~~~

“I need you.” Buffy held her breath. She hadn’t even identified herself when Spike answered his phone on the second ring. Common sense was telling her that she was crazy to be calling a former enemy/brief ally/and even briefer spell-induced lover, but her fingers had dialed anyway. She waited for him to ask who was calling, or laugh an evil laugh as he reminded her that she’d told him he couldn’t stay in Sunnydale without the chip. She was already preparing her arguments: “You like my mom, and she’s sick, and you like the way Dawn hero-worships you, and—” when Spike interrupted her mental practice speech.

“I’ll be there sometime tomorrow night, luv. Or, by morning, anyway. Is that soon enough?”

Left with unused arguments, Buffy filled the silence with them anyway. “I know I’ve got no right… but you said I could… and Mom is really sick and Dawn is a pain and Glory is stronger than—”

“I said I was on my way, Buffy.” She could hear the smile in his voice as he gently interrupted her.

“I know,” she sighed. “It’s just… I had all these arguments ready to use when you laughed at me, and…. I don’t know. I guess I just thought I should use them.”

He did laugh then, but with a trace of fondness rather than the derision she’d been expecting.

“Well, I’ll listen if you want me to, but think my time might be better spent packing up and getting ready to hit the road as soon as it’s near enough to dark. It’ll take me the better part of tonight and tomorrow night to get there. If it’s close to morning, I’ll probably head straight for my crypt. Do you remember where it is?”

“Uh… yes… I, uh, actually, I might have… borrowed… it a couple of times. Just to stash Mom and Dawn somewhere safe. I didn’t mean to… but Clem said you wouldn’t mind, and—”

“You know you’re perfectly welcome there anytime, Slayer. And your mum and sis too.”

“Thank you,” she almost whispered.

“You’re welcome, luv. I’ll see you another day or two, alright?”

“All right. If… if you don’t see me around, I might be at the hospital, with Mom and Dawn. But I’ll check your crypt before I go home and before I go back to the hospital…”

“Hospital?”

“Mom’s having surgery tomorrow morning. She has a brain tumor. But it’s going to be okay. She told me it would.”

There was silence for some time before Spike said, “I’m sure she will, love. You go spend time with your mum. I’ll find you. Don’t worry about it. Give her my best, yeah? Tell her I’ll… well, just give her my best.”

“’K. See you soon, then?”

“Soon as I can make it. I promise.”

“… well…. bye then.”

“Later, Buffy.”

She stared at the now-silent phone and wondered what she’d just done.

“Riley’s going to go apeshit over this,” she muttered to herself as she put the receiver down.

CHAPTER THREE

The small waiting room was crowded with Buffy, Dawn, Riley, Giles, Willow, Tara, Xander and Anya occupying all the available seats. When the surgeon came in, followed closely by the young doctor who had been observing and assisting him, Buffy jumped to her feet, giving Riley an apologetic shrug as she almost knocked him off the bench.

“Miss Summers?” The surgeon looked around the room until the younger doctor touched his arm and pointed to Buffy. “Ah, yes, there you are. Well, things went very well. The tumor was easily isolated and removed, and we see no signs of it having spread. Of course, we will test the tissues for malignant cells, but I suspect it was more benign than we originally feared. Baring any complications, your mother should be fine and back to normal within a few weeks.”

“Oh, Doctor. Thank you! Thank you!” Buffy’s first instinct to hug the man until his ribs cracked was fortunately interrupted by Giles’s warning hand on her arm.

“That’s wonderful news, Doctor. Thank you so much.”

The man peered suspiciously at Giles and the eager Scoobies gathering around Buffy, but didn’t bother to question who all these non-family people might be. He just gestured at his intern and nodded. “Ben here can give you all the details as to how long she’ll be in recovery, when she’ll be able to leave the hospital, and her home care. She’s a very fortunate woman.”

The surgeon made his escape, leaving Ben to answer all the questions being thrown at him.

~~~~~~~~~

Buffy refused to leave the hospital until she had spoken with Joyce, sending Dawn home with Willow and Tara.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” Riley asked quietly, as the others were leaving. “I’m free tonight.” Buffy winced at the resigned tone of his voice. Riley had been at loose ends since getting his heart fixed. He still patrolled with her, not realizing that his presence was often more of a danger than help. Now that he was just a normal man – if a big, strapping, extremely fit one – he just didn’t have the speed and strength that he’d had before.

“No, that’s okay, Riley. I’m just going to sit by Mom’s bed until I’m sure she’s going to be all right. Then, I think I’ll go home and catch some sleep. It might be really, really late. Maybe morning. I’ll call you tomorrow when I know what’s going on. Okay?”

“Sure. That’s fine. If you don’t need me—” He shrugged. “But you don’t usually need me anymore, do you? All that talk about how losing my enhancements wasn’t going to make a difference was just that, wasn’t it? Just talk.”

Buffy made no attempt to hide her sigh. “Riley, I’ve got a mother who just had brain surgery, a sister who—” She paused, having not shared with Riley that Dawn was the mysterious “key” that Glory was searching for so vigorously. “A hormone bomb of a sister, a fashion-challenged demon of some sort, who’s stronger than I am and who keeps trying to kill me because she thinks I have her precious key…. I just don’t really have the time or energy to worry about your ego right now.”

She shook her head and gave him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. That was—I didn’t really mean that.”

“I think you did,” he said stiffly. “Is that what you think this is about? My ego?”

“Well, no. I mean… I know you want to help me, but right now all I need is for you to… to be there for me when I need you.”

“That’s the point, Buffy. You don’t seem to need me. For anything.”

“I need you! I’m very needy! I’m totally needy girl… I just… I just don’t need you the way you—for the things you think I should need you for.”

“Then what do you need me for?”

“I just need to know that… I need you to be my… my boyfriend. It’s just, when you’re the slayer, that’s kinda a… different… position. Not like what you’re used to probably.” Buffy raised her eyes to his. “But I don’t know how to do it any other way. The world has to come first. That’s what—who I am, Riley. I have to save the world sometimes… usually on a Tuesday—okay, that’s irrelevant—but at least once a year. I don’t know if Glory is going to be this year’s Big Bad, but she might be. It’s a little early, but she’s—”

“She’s just some sort of human-looking demon that’s trying to kill you. Why don’t you let the Army handle it? They still have a presence in Sunnydale. Let her catch a couple of grenades in the chest and—“

Buffy shook her head. “Riley, she probably could catch the grenades and throw them back before you could duck. Or maybe just squeeze them into powder, I don’t know. But I’m pretty sure your Army buddies aren’t going to want to go after a woman – no matter how stupid she dresses – until she’s killed several of them just to prove she can…”

“But you think you can take her on… alone.”

Buffy bit her lip and visibly debated with herself for a moment before she mumbled, “I’m not planning to do it alone. And that’s all I’m saying about that right now.”

“Fine,” he said stiffly. “Keep your secrets. Apparently letting me in on your strategy isn’t one of your ‘needs’.”

“I can’t do this right now.” Buffy sighed and shook her head again. “I’ll call you later.” She went up on her toes to give him a kiss, but he just glared at her, then spun around and left without saying good-bye. She gave another sigh and headed in the direction Ben had shown her was where she could find her mother.

~~~~~~~~~

Joyce smiled at Buffy and Dawn as she pushed her dinner tray away. “Why don’t you girls go home and get some sleep?”

“I said I wasn’t leaving until I was sure you were all right,” Buffy insisted. Dawn nodded.

“I don’t need to go to school tomorrow. I already told my teachers that I might miss more than one day while you were in the hospital.” She beamed at Joyce and Buffy.

“Well, as much as I appreciate all this concern…” Joyce gave Dawn an “I’m your mother and I see right through you” look. “… I’d really like nothing more than to get some sleep. And there’s no reason for you to sit there watching me sleep. You’ve been here all day. And, Buffy, you’ve been here for almost twenty-four hours. You can come back tomorrow, after they’ve done all their tests in the morning, and we can talk about when I’ll be coming home. Go on. Get a good night’s sleep. You both look tired.”

“All right,” Buffy agreed with a sigh. “We’ll see you tomorrow. Do everything the doctors tell you,” she added, giving her mother a stern look.

Joyce laughed softly, wincing when it jostled her newly-patched up head. “This, from the girl who kept me running to the principal’s office every other week?”

“That’s not fair! I was busy with slayer stuff… usually…”

“I’m just kidding you, honey. I’ll be good. I promise. I want to live to watch my two beautiful girls grow up and get—” She paused as she remembered how dangerous Buffy’s night job was, and that they really didn’t know what Dawn’s being a “Key” might mean. “Anyway, I’ll be good,” she finished with another smile.

“And we promise to grow up, get married and give you fat grandchildren,” Buffy said, rolling her eyes. “Do you really think we don’t know what you wanted to say?”

Wishing their mother a goodnight, Buffy and Dawn kissed her and left the room. As the walked down the hall, Dawn said, “She’s going to be all right, isn’t she?”

“That’s what the doctors said. We just have to trust—oh, speaking of… Hi!” Buffy smiled up at the tall, good-looking intern who had made it his business to see that they were informed.

“Hi,” he said back, shuffling his feet as if embarrassed. “I’m glad to see your mother doing so well. I guess she talked you into going home tonight, huh?”

“Yeah. She’s pretty much back to being ‘I’m the mom and I say so’ mode.” Buffy smiled at him again. “I guess it’ll be up to you to keep an eye on her.”

“Happy to,” he said just as his face fell and he began to shake. “Oh no! Not now!” He stared at them. “Run!”

Without another word, he whirled and ran into a nearby linen closet, slamming the door shut behind him.

“What did he mean, ‘Run’?” Dawn frowned at Buffy, only to see that she was equally confused. Torn between a slayer’s instincts to run toward the danger, and a sister’s instincts to protect Dawn, Buffy wavered until they heard a woman’s angry voice shrieking from the closet. Something in the voice was only too familiar, and Buffy grabbed Dawn’s hand.

“He meant RUN!” she said, pulling Dawn at almost Slayer speed down the hall and to the nearest staircase. They half-ran, half tumbled down the two floors to the ground level, bursting out the emergency door and running to the parking lot. By the time they reached the car, Dawn was gasping and wheezing, only Buffy’s firm grip on her hand keeping her going.

Once in the car and safely away, they paused to regain their breath enough to talk.

“What the hell was that?”

“I don’t know – and watch your language – but that was Glory’s voice coming from that closet and somehow Ben knew she was around. The question is, how did he know we shouldn’t be there when she appeared? And why did he go into the closet?

“Maybe he’s afraid of her and was trying to hide? Or maybe he was being a hero and trying to distract her?”

“And we’re right back to how did he know she would be after us?”

“Well, since she doesn’t know who/what I am, technically, she would have been after you,” Dawn pointed out.

“Beside the point. Somehow, Ben, who barely knows us, knew that Glory was not somebody I would want to be around. And that she was going to be there any second – or that she was hiding in the closet, but that’s….” Buffy sighed. “That’s something we can figure out later, I guess. Meanwhile we need to find someplace safe for you to spend the night.”

“Are we doing back to Spike’s crypt?” Dawn sounded almost pleased at the thought of spending the night in a vampire’s damp crypt.

“I suppose so. We need to run by the house first and get some things. Maybe an air mattress and some clean clothes? Stuff like that. It’s going to be different, staying in the crypt all night. Not like just hanging out there for a couple of hours in the daytime.”

“I’m not going to be there by myself, am I?” Dawn suddenly sounded much less enthusiastic about spending the night in a large grave.

“No. I’m going to stay there too. I’ll do a quick patrol while you get settled in, but then I’ll spend the night there too.” She paused. “Just so you know… I mean, I’ll be back long before… but – Spike’s coming back tonight,” she finished in a rush. “So he’ll be there too.”

“Cool!” Dawn was completely undismayed that they might be sharing the crypt with its undead owner. “I haven’t seen Spike in forever!”

As she pulled into the driveway, Buffy bit her lip, her knowledge of what Dawn was and when she’d appeared in their lives conflicting with memories of catching her peering down from the stairs when Spike had first come in to talk to her about taking down Angelus. And the hero-worship/crush Dawn had developed the previous year when she thought a harmless Spike was going to become her brother-in-law.

“No,” she settled for saying quietly. “None of us have seen him in a while. But Mom and Clem have talked to him on the phone.”

“Is that why you know he’s coming back? Did one of them tell you?”

“I called him,” Buffy said in a tone that requested no more questions. A tone that Dawn blithely ignored.

“You did? That’s awesome! Are you guys going to get back together?”

“No! What’s wrong with you? You know that was one of Willow’s spells that went wonky. We never were together. I have a boy friend, remember?”

“He’s boring. Spike is totally cool and sexy.”

“Dawn!”

“Oh, like you haven’t noticed. Puleeeze!”

“This conversation is over. Finished. Kaput. Done. Dead and buried – like Spike… except not so much with the buried, I guess…” Buffy stomped onto the porch and opened the door, pointing inside. “Go pack your stuff. I want to get out of here.”

““““`

While Dawn went to pack an overnight bag, Buffy threw a few things into a duffle bag and changed her clothes. Telling herself she was not putting on tight black jeans and a red sweater because she knew Spike liked the colors, she brushed her hair and teeth (no water in the crypt she assumed) and grabbed a jacket from her closet. She stared into the closet for a second, then reached in and took down Spike’s leather duster, which had been hanging there since sometime the previous year.

If Giles had wondered why she wanted it, he hadn’t asked, he’d just handed it over with a somewhat aggrieved, “Who knows if we’ll ever see him again?”

Buffy hadn’t bothered to share with anyone the reason for Spike’s departure, and she was surprised at the reactions when she told them he’d left town. She would have sworn Giles was disappointed, and even Xander seemed to miss his irritating presence from time to time. But they’d become used to his absence, just as they’d become used to his presence, and his name was rarely mentioned by the time Glory began to show up.

By the time Buffy had parked the car, wrestled the heavy, if compact, air mattress and all the other things she’d decided they needed from there into the crypt, it was well past full dark and she wondered how safe it really was to leave Dawn on her own. Finally, settling Dawn at the table with her homework and a water pistol full of holy water, she collected her stakes and went out to do a quick patrol of Restfield.

She muttered to herself as she went, dusting a newly-risen vamp every now and then, complaining about how her slaying duties were being affected by Glory and the scuzzy minions that were now running around Sunnydale searching for the “Key”. Which they now knew to be what Glory – a hellgod, according to the less-than-useless Council – needed in order to return to her own dimension. Which would have been fine with Buffy, except for the little problem with the Key being her sister…. And that opening the way to the hell dimension would allow all sorts of nasty things through, as it was unlikely to close itself behind Glory when she left….

An unpleasant situation all around, and time was apparently getting short and Glory was getting more impatient. Giles seemed to think that if she hadn’t found the key and opened the portal by sometime in the spring, the opportunity would be gone for another thousand years. Not that Buffy was looking forward to having Glory around for that much longer, but if they could just hold her off until the date passed, she’d stop looking for the Key and Buffy could concentrate on slaying her when she could.

Next chapters

Originally posted at https://seasonal-spuffy.dreamwidth.org/813087.html