Chapter 39 – Dancing
Sometimes only a few words
could change everything. Ten minutes ago he only had one thought, one goal, to
focus on to keep his world intact. Now, he felt sucker punched, lost to the
possible devastation that was seen in one man’s gift.
Buffy was going to die.
Angel had no need to breathe
but he still felt suffocated as he listened to Doyle relay what the vision had revealed.
Despite all their plans, their desperate attempts to keep Dawn safe, and their
willingness to die themselves, it was Buffy that would pay the price to keep
them safe.
A hand was placed on his
back and he looked up to see Spike there. His Childe had heard. The fear in the
cerulean depths seemed to echo the fear that was twisting in Angel’s bowels. He
heard the silence behind him and wanted to run but there was no where to go.
They were, all, trapped in this house while a monster plotted their demise.
There didn’t seem to be many
choices and it flickered through his mind that Giles’ earlier solution seemed
like it might be the only way.
Kill Dawn, save Buffy. But
Buffy would hate him and she would never forgive him. She would be alive
though. And as much as he hated to admit it, that was the most important thing
to him.
“Thanks, Doyle,” Angel said.
“I’ll call you about our plans later.”
Dreading the next few
minutes, hating the responsibility on his shoulders, Angel turned to face the
others. They were all waiting even
Together they would find a
way.
Hopefully, they would all
survive.
“We failed,” Angel said,
softly as he caught Buffy’s eye. “The way the future stands now…Buffy dies.”
There was a brief flicker of
terror in Buffy’s eyes but it quickly faded to determination. She didn’t need
to say it. If the only way she could save Dawn was by dying then she would. Her
chin rose a notch as she stared at him and he only nodded. He would accept her
decision but he would fight for her and…their future with everything he had
including his own life. His gaze drifted to where her hand covered her belly
before turning back to the others.
“Then we change it,” Xander
declared, jumping to his feet to stand beside his friend.
“Then we change it,” Angel
agreed, smiling at Xander in honest admiration for the stalwart friend with no
powers who was ready to fight…and die for his friends.
“Okay, people,” Anya said. “We
need ideas. Let’s go.”
They all gathered around the
table. Buffy came to sit between her mates, the slight trembling of her body,
discernable only to them. Angel watched as Spike’s hand slipped between her own
shaking ones. There was too much at stake to lose anyone at this point. He
shook his head and returned to the conversation around them.
“Okay, we need the troll
hammer and the Dagon sphere from the Magic Box,” Jenny said, writing a list.
“I can get those,” Angel
said. “I think we need to return to Anya’s earlier idea of getting Dawn out of
town. And at this point Buffy goes too.”
“Agreed,” Giles said.
“No,” Buffy said. “I am
the…” She hung her head for a second then looked up at them with fortitude
written on her features again. “I appreciate the gesture to keep me safe but
this is my fight…my sister…I need to be here. I have to see it through…to know
that I did everything I could instead of hiding like a coward. I want to see
the finish.”
“But what about…,”Spike
started to say but was stopped by her fingertips across his mouth.
“No,” Buffy said, softly.
Tears filled her eyes but she blinked them away. “Now is not the time.”
“Bloody hell it isn’t,”
Spike said, pulling his hand back.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Angel said, making
a decision before too much was revealed. “Nothing…Buffy stays here. Spike is
going to accompany Dawn.” He looked up into the angry blue eyes of his mate.
“Spike, she’s right. We both know it. We have to solve this before we can even
express the future.”
The younger vampire stomped
toward the stairs. Angel stood to follow but Buffy’s hand curled around his arm
to stop him.
“Spike, don’t please,” Buffy
said. “I need you to go with Dawn.” Spike had stopped to listen. “She trusts
you…completely. She’ll listen to you…,” she laughed, “way more than she will
with me or…even Angel. The connection is stronger between the two of you…”
“The connection?” Giles
asked. His hand holding his glasses was waved at them. “You mean what’s going
on with the three of you…”
“Eeew,” Anya said.
“Not like that,” Buffy
smiled. “We’ve been able to connect to Dawn. It’s like we can hear...feel her
energy.”
Spike had returned to stand
on the edge of the group.
“Maybe it’s because she was
made from Buffy’s DNA,”
“Or maybe because she was
made from all three of you,” Jenny said, quietly. “She’s not a carbon copy of
Buffy. If you look at her, you can find traces of all three of you.”
It was a revelation that
rocked through Angel. It was reflected in Buffy and Spike when he glanced at
them. It was more than he could accept at the moment. Right now he could only
think of keeping his family safe. All of them.
“Spike, are you going to go
with her?”
The younger vampire could
only nod. The moment had moved beyond words for Spike and he was overwhelmed by
all that was going on. Angel had faith that he would still come through when
needed. The subject wasn’t explored anymore. Maybe one day when it was over
they would take the time to find out. It gave an explanation to much of what
was going on lately. The closer it came time for the key to be activated the
stronger the vibrations between the four became.
“I’ll go,” Spike agreed.
“I think it’s a good idea,”
Angel said, nodding. “That not everybody knows the plan for getting Dawn out of
town.”
“If we don’t know then it
can’t be tortured out of us,” Xander said, flippantly.
It was the truth though and
no one said anything. The others started to slip away to catch a few hours of
sleep before they would prepare for the final siege against Glory. Giles stayed
behind and so did Buffy.
“Go Buffy,” Angel said.
“No, I’m…”
“Luv, it’s time to decide,”
Spike said. “Do you trust us or not?”
Her eyes widened in the
strength of his question. It was something that had floundered for weeks as she
lived in the aftermath of what they had done. A war waged in those emerald seas
before finally she gave a slight nod.
“I’ll wait for you
upstairs,” Buffy said. “In her room.”
The three men waited until
she was gone before they returned to sit at the table again. It was time to
prepare for what would be the single most important moment of their lives. If
they screwed this up then their lives would never be the same. Giles put the
phone on speaker and dialed LA.
~~~~~~~~
Love,
trust, honor. They were all small
words that sang their own tune inside Buffy’s mind. She did to a point with
Spike and Angel but could anyone be trusted completely? Beyond her own scope
was a vast expanse of blackness that terrified her. It was there that she was falling.
Her arms were tied tightly to her sides. All she had to do was break through
the binds and fly.
I want to believe…I want to believe,” Buffy told herself over and over. She snuggled
closer to her sister as she accepted the truths that were just now unfolding
before her in blinding prisms of light. Dawn was made from all three of them.
Champions chosen to protect one innocent, precious life that could destroy all
of humanity. In some men’s foolish arrogance their lives had been irretrievably
altered forever. When this was over, neither vampire would ever willingly let
go of what was a part of them.
Buffy was forever tied to
them. By Dawn…by…
“Come here, Luv,” Spike
whispering growl pulled her from her meanderings even as he picked her up.
Instinctively, Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck as they made their way
downstairs. They wanted her with them. In these last few hours before morning.
She had no doubts. She wanted to be with them, too.
“Put me down,” Buffy said
when they had crossed into their room. Spike obeyed. Once she was on her feet
and the door was closed, Buffy disrobed. She wanted to walk to them. She wanted
the control back and they were going to give it to her. She knew that. This
time there would be no demon to hide behind or to control as she lay with her
vampires again. There was a touch of uneasiness in the air as she crawled onto
the bed and settled in the middle.
“Make love to me,” Buffy
said, as she looked from Angel to Spike and back again. “Please, I need to feel
you.”
There was no hesitation, no
wasted movements as their own clothes were discarded and they joined her on the
bed. She sighed as Angel kissed her first. His lips teasing hers apart before
dipping his tongue in as hands smoothed over her flesh. Spike was there,
nudging Angel aside, to take his turn in kissing her. It was almost magical as
they played, and darted, from one mouth to the other while Angel suckled at her
breast. She entwined her fingers through his hair, holding him to her, and
struggled to bring her other hand out from between Spike and her body. But
there would be no urgency this night.
Her legs opened for Angel as
his head dipped between her thighs. She brought her free hand over her head to
hold Spike near. Two tongues teased at her and she smiled at the differences.
Their unique personalities were evident even here in their oral worshiping of
her body. Spike was action and movement; a dance that was filled with the wild
beats of rock and roll while Angel was more of a slow waltz. It was night and
day but all joy because their love shown through in each flick.
The tongue in her mouth
teased hers in a game of chase that never ended. And the tongue between her
legs was moving in a lazy stroll that didn’t miss a spot. Her heart beat faster
beneath Spike’s caressing fingers at her breast and she felt the heat radiating
from her center as her body willingly gave its fluids to the questing mouth of
her lover.
Buffy could feel herself
moving through that dark space that was just beyond her human limits. It was a
free fall that gave her only a quiver of doubt before she exploded through to
the light. Her body bowed under the intense pleasure that was rocking her soul.
Here in this place was only the warmth of the love that was hers and she gave
herself totally to it.
Tears ran unchecked across
her face as she was cradled between them. And when she started to feel the
solidity of their bodies and the bed beneath her, she knew it was time to offer
her total trust again.
“I want both of you inside
me,” Buffy whispered.
“Are you sure?” Angel asked.
“Yes,” Buffy said, looking
into the unsure eyes of Spike. “I want you.”
It was Angel that prepared
her and guided Spike to her. She lay on her side feeling the strength of Spike
entering her and she yielded to his control. He murmured over and over his love
for her. There was only a brief second when she wanted to scream for them to
stop but she quickly pushed it aside. They needed to heal.
Angel came to lie in front
of her, draping her leg, over his hip. His hand was on her side. His touch
gentle and his entry slow. Cushioned between their larger bodies, Buffy felt
safe. She felt loved. Their thrusts were almost a caress. Hands continued to
soothe her as they moved together. The ecstasy was hers again as she felt them
overcome by this ultimate truce.
They were truly together in
this moment.
~~~~~~~~
The sun was still hidden by
the forces of night. Buffy held Dawn’s hand as she led her downstairs. Everyone
besides the two of them and her vampires were asleep. Spike and Dawn were
leaving. Buffy still didn’t know where or how they were going. Only that this
might be the last time she saw either of them again. They joined the other two
in the living room.
“You listen to Spike,” Buffy
said, brushing back Dawn’s hair. She wiped the tears from the girl’s face. “Be
brave and don’t ever forget that I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Dawn
said,
They broke apart and Dawn
went to Spike’s side. Buffy and he had already said everything they could say.
They had already given the last touches and he turned away with her sister.
Spike stopped.
“Buffy, you have always made
me feel like a man,” Spike said over his shoulder. “Not like the monster that I
am. For that I will do what I have to do. I’ll protect her until the end of the
world.”
With that the teenager and
the vampire walked away.
to be continued…
