Chapter 25 – Evil
is as Evil Does
Buffy handed Spike the plate
she’d just washed. She thought it was cute that he’d had a family dinner with
her mom and Dawn and was now helping her clean up. He didn’t.
“It’s ridiculous Slayer,”
Spike groused, rinsing the plate, “Me, a vampire, with dish pan hands. I’d be
the laughing stock of the demon world if they ever found out.”
“Oh, please,” Buffy giggled.
“If you didn’t scare them away with your bite then you could by showing them
your hands.”
“That’s right. Make fun of
the person going to be sharing your bed tonight. See if you get to keep the
covers.”
“Oooh, I’m going to cry
now.”
“You should,” Spike teased,
leaning down to kiss her. “Get those feet all cold with no way to warm them.”
“Ha, doesn’t work, your feet
are always cold.”
Spike wrapped his arm around
her waist, pulling her closer, for a kiss that was intended to make her forget
everything but him. He maneuvered them until she was pressed between him and
the counter giving him the control he craved. He growled softly in his throat
when Buffy pressed closer to him. It
seemed forever to him since they’d made love in Angel’s office only earlier
that day. They’d been too tired when they’d returned to Sunnydale to do
anything but crawl into bed and sleep. By the time he’d woken up Buffy was
already dressed and checking in with everyone by phone.
The afternoon had been spent
in catching up on the things they’d neglected in the last few days of dealing
with Faith and the situation concerning their other mate. They’d spent some
time at the Magic Box for a Scooby meeting and reviewing messages and mail at
his office. From there they’d come here to have dinner with Joyce and Dawn.
Now, all they had to do was
finish the dishes, make their goodnights and they could go home and while away
the rest of the night until Angel came home to join them. His hand cupped
Buffy’s bottom, pulling her further up his body so he could rub his erection against
the juncture of her thighs. She gave a small hiccup of desire and the air
around them was flooded with the scent of her arousal.
“Buffy, Spike,” Joyce
called, running down the stairs.
“Bloody hell,” Spike
muttered, releasing Buffy and pulling his t-shirt down as he leaned against the
counter. He smiled at Buffy’s cheeks that burned red with embarrassment. Her
discomfiture at being caught once today and almost caught in her mother’s house
showed the innocence she had somehow retained even in her uninhibited response
to her mates.
Joyce skidded into the
kitchen panic clearly visible on her countenance. Spike’s annoyance at being
interrupted quickly vanished as it was replaced with concern. He stepped closer
to Joyce even as Buffy rushed to her side.
“Mom, what’s wrong?”
“It’s Dawn. She’s gone,”
Joyce said, looking around the room as if her youngest daughter would appear.
“I think she may have climbed out of the window.”
“Don’t worry we’ll find
her,” Buffy said, hugging her mother.
Spike could see that his
mate was trying to put on a confident front for her mother but he could see the
panic and guilt in her eyes.
“Let me go and look for her,”
Spike said.
Two pairs of Summers’ eyes
turned to him, both filled with hope that he would make everything better.
Pride surged through Spike as he saw their trust in him and he hoped that his
suspicions were correct.
“Do you know where she
went?” Joyce asked.
“I think I may,” Spike said.
“But I can track her if my hunch isn’t right. Why don’t you two start calling
the others and her friends to see if she’s with any of them? Call me if you
find her and I’ll call as soon as I know anything.”
“Go, Spike,” Buffy said,
wrapping her hand in his shirt. “Please if anything…”
“It won’t if I have anything
to do with it.”
Spike kissed Buffy quickly,
pecked Joyce’s cheek and headed for the front hall. He wanted to double check
his suspicions before leaving and as he searched Buffy’s purse he knew he was
right. Dawn had snitched Buffy’s keys which included the key for his office.
Access to his office would give her entry to the Magic Box and all of Giles’
notes on Glory. They should have been more suspicious when the teenager had
refused to back down when they tried to thwart her endless questions on the
demon.
All of his own demon speed
was used to reach his destination. If Glory or her horde found Dawn the
situation would be disastrous and if Dawn found the truth then that, too, would
be disastrous. He only hoped that he wasn’t too late. The shop was quiet but he
could hear the soft rustling from inside as he made his way through the upstairs.
A single candle lit the corner that she was curled into reading what he knew
was Giles’ notes. Spike didn’t make a sound as he approached her from behind.
She was intently reading and never knew he was there until he placed his hand
on her shoulder.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh,” Dawn
screamed, jumping up to run.
Spike wrapped his arm around
her waist, hauling her back against him.
He could feel her heart pounding against his chest. The blood was
rushing through her system and fear filled the air with its intoxicating aroma.
“So, what’s a tasty little
treat like you doing all by yourself?” He whispered into her ear.
“You asshole,” Dawn yelled
as she recognized his voice and turned with a fist raised. “Why the hell did
you scare me like that?”
“Because I could,” Spike
said, smiling as he gnashed his fangs at her and easily encircled her wrist
with his hand. She tried to kick him next and he jumped back out of the way,
laughing at her attempt. “Oh please, Niblet, like you
could take on the Big Bad and win.”
“Big Bad, my ass,” Dawn
joked, smiling now that she knew she was safe. “You are the biggest pussy cat
that ever was.”
“Eh, now, not true only for
you Summers’ women,” Spike said, shaking his head to
return to his human coutneance.
“And
“Blimey, can’t a bloke enjoy
indulging his womenfolk without getting all accused of being soft because of
it?”
Suddenly Dawn burst into
tears and threw herself into his arms. Startled, it took him a second before he
wrapped his arms around her. Except for Buffy and his own Mum no human woman
had ever sought comfort in his embrace. Coupled with the trust that Buffy and
Joyce freely gave him, Spike felt another part of his heart give to the side of
good. Tears soaked through his shirt as Dawn burrowed closer to him. Her slim
body shook with the force of her sobs and he could hear her trying to speak
around her tears.
“Shh, pet,” Spike whispered,
squeezing her tight. “Whatever it is, isn’t that bad, now is it?”
“She…” Dawn hiccupped.
“Glory, it’s me she wants. It says so in Giles book. I’m the human form that
Buffy is supposed to protect.”
“Yeah,” Spike said, knowing
that there wasn’t any way that Dawn could be protected from the truth now. “And
not only Buffy, but me and Angel and everyone else are going to protect you.
Don’t let that freak bother you. You’re safe.”
“But if she wants me then
I’m evil, right?”
“Not if you don’t wanna be.”
“Spike,” Dawn wailed,
stepping back to turn beseeching eyes to his. “How can I not be evil if I was
made to be evil?”
“Uh, bit, vampire here,
remember?” Spike asked. “It’s a choice but it’s going to be much easier for you
since you were made human anyway.”
Dawn sighed dramatically and
flopped back onto the floor. She started to gather the books she’d been reading
back into a pile. “Do you ever regret becoming good?” She looked up at him
before returning to fiddle with the books in front of her. “I mean, if you
could be either or…”
Spike sat beside her
mimicking her pose. He lit a cigarette as he tried to figure out how to answer
her. It was one that often played in the back of his mind. The urging of his
demon to be let loose again and now that his chip was going to be removed it
was more of a choice than it ever had been before.
“Loving your big sis’ has
changed a lot of things for me,” Spike said, answering as honestly as he could.
“And as long as her heart is mine I know which side I’m fighting on.”
“Cop out,” Dawn declared.
“What if she stops loving you? What if you two break up or something?”
“Not going to happen,” Spike
said, smiling gently at the girl next to him. “Buffy needs to be loved to be
grounded, a better fighter and happy and no
“Do they really love me?”
“Who?”
Spike forgot his own
discomfort as the small question tore through the air with the impact of a
bullet into his heart. Another tear was winding its way down Dawn’s cheek and
after a moment of indecision he placed an arm around her shoulder.
“I’m not really Mom’s
daughter or Buffy’s sister. Why would they want me around? Wouldn’t it be
easier just to…?”
“No, don’t even think that.
Monks were really smart and gave us all these memories of you. I even remember
you that time when I first came to town and was following Drusilla on one of
her mad schemes. Was watching your house one night and I saw you running down
the stairs in your little footie pajamas, knew you were a special one then just
like Buffy. And with those memories came the feelings that went with it.”
“So I’m not just another
sacred duty that Buffy has to protect?”
“Buffy loves you and so does
your mother. Matter of fact they’re at home all worried about you while you’re
here playing twenty questions.”
“Oh,” Dawn said, standing
again. “Guess we need to be going, huh?”
“Guess so,” Spike said,
laughing. “Let’s get this place cleaned up before Giles finds out and has a
hissy fit.”
“Wouldn’t want that,” Dawn
said, gathering up the books.
The reunion a short while
later was enough to let Dawn know that she was very much loved and needed. The
three women gathered on the couch under a blanket reaffirming their bonds to
one another. Spike served them hot cocoa filled sparingly with the little
marshmallows having saved the majority for himself.
It was a good day after all
as he tuned out the chatter, sipped his cocoa, and indulged in daydreams of his
former days on the killing fields…
to be continued…
