Title:                 Finding Home Part 5

Email:               tirel@pcnuthut.com

Author:             Velvet Crypt

Disclaimer:        Joss is God. I own nothing.

Spoilers:           Season 4.

Summary:         An encounter of the vampy kind.

 

 

Jessica couldn’t remember a time she enjoyed shopping more. Spike had a story about every item in the store, most amusing, some horribly disgusting…some quite kinky. She giggled at the idea of listening to a male vampire tell her the merits of the ice cream aisle, but she found herself listening avidly anyway.

 

Several hours, and two full shopping carts later, they called it quits and headed to the checkout line. Spike told her to head out to the car, he’d bring the groceries. She knew for a fact he just didn’t want her to see the total, but she humored him anyway. She had the trunk open and was shifting it’s contents around to fit the food when she felt something bump her leg.

 

“Just a second, William. I’m almost done.” She called out, head deep in the recesses of the trunk.

 

“Is William as tasty looking as you, sugar?” A silky voice asked as a hand ran over her ass. She jerked upright and panicked. Three men stood in front of her, leering.

 

“What do you want?” She squeaked past a suddenly tight throat. The three grinned at each other, and when they turned back, their faces were…distorted, bumpy. Their eyes had turned yellow and their teeth had elongated. Jessica felt her heart speed up to a frantic pace.

 

“We’re just here, shopping around for a bit of a snack, sugar.” The first one smirked, causing the other two to grin, further showing their fangs.

 

“Store’s closed, wanker.”

 

Jessica nearly wept in relief at the appearance of her own vampire. The two grinning vampires turned to Spike; the first one grabbed her arm in a vice-like grip that had her whimpering in pain. “Aw, lookey here, boys. We have a hero.”

 

Spike snorted and sent the carts careening into the side of the beat up sedan. Between one breath and another, his face morphed and he stood with a disgusted look. “Please tell me you’re just risen. I can’t stand the humiliation that you’ve been around this long and I haven’t staked you yet.”

 

The fledges looked confused for a moment, then the face of the one holding Jessica lit up like a Christmas tree. “You’re Spike! You’re the traitor that kills your own kind!”

 

Spike sighed. “Traitor here, monster there…really beginning to think no one appreciates my true talents.” He launched himself at the nearest fledge, going from his relaxed stance to a lethal weapon instantly. The younger vamp slammed into a red Honda Celica, leaving a body sized dent before sliding down to the pavement.

 

His brother fledge charged Spike with a battle cry. Spike rolled his eyes and stiff-armed him. The vamp went down choking on air he didn’t need anymore. The third vamp tossed Jessica aside like a child, knocking her into one of her grocery carts. She watched in horror as this one proved to be a much better fighter than the other two.

 

Spike and the vamp traded blows. It was obvious Spike was still the better fighter, but the other vamp distracted him long enough for the first two to get back to their feet. Jessica stared, wide-eyed as all three converged on Spike. She began pawing through her bags, hoping to find something to help the blonde vamp. Garlic? Chopsticks? Something?!? Her hand closed on a cool metal canister and she held it up like the Holy Grail.

 

With a determined set to her lips, she stepped up to one of the vamps and punched him in the shoulder. He turned around, irritated and began to howl as Jessica let fly with the aerosol can of hair spray Spike made her splurge on. The vamp stumbled around, bumping into his brother vamp. That one, too, turned in irritation and went down howling as well.

 

Spike finally beat the first vamp down, slamming his boot into the fledge’s head. He took in the two vamps writhing on the ground and Jessica standing shell shocked over them, holding a pink canister, and his lips twitched. He stepped over the pile and palmed his lighter. With gentle hands, he took the can from her hands and depressed the nozzle. An evil grin came over his face and he flicked the lighter on, holding it into the mist.

 

The vamps turned into howling balls of flame almost instantly. Spike pocketed his lighter and tossed the can back into the grocery bag before leading Jessica to the passenger side of the car. He gently placed the woman in her seat and belted her in. He then moved to the back of the car and piled the grocery bags into the trunk. The screams abruptly cut off as the vamps dusted in the flames and Spike climbed into the drivers seat without a backwards glance.

_______________________________________________

 

Jessica sat staring out the window for most of the drive home. She was just attacked by vampires. Vampires! She hadn’t even believed in vampires two days ago! Now she was calmly pulling a MacGyver in the Safeway parking lot and blow torching them into dust? She began to smile at the absurdity. Then grin. Then giggle. Then she was laughing and crying and she didn’t really know which.

 

Spike pulled over and turned the car off. He sat quietly as she laughed and sobbed and laughed and sobbed. When she’d come down enough to be coherent, he offered her a bandana. She nodded her thanks and dried her eyes. “You alright, luv?” He asked quietly. She rasped out another laugh, but nodded. “Good. No injuries? Did they hurt you?”

 

She shook her head, playing with the bandana in her lap. “What the bloody hell did you think you were doing, then?” the vampire demanded in a harsh voice. Jessica looked over at him, stunned. “Why didn’t you run, you daft bint! Those were killers! Undead killers! You had no call to jump in the middle of that!”

 

Jessica’s emotions were fluxuating from her laughing/crying jag and her surprise turned just as quickly into anger. “No call to jump in the middle of what, William? You, getting your already injured ass kicked?” She snapped, poking him hard in the gut where he was still healing. He grunted in pain, but she ignored it. “They would have ganged up on you and taken you down. You’re not exactly in tiptop shape. Then when you went down, they would have chased me and killed me anyway, right?”

 

Spike just glared at her. She poked him in the gut again. “Right?”

 

He winced away from her. “I suppose.” He replied grudgingly.

 

“You suppose. Well isn’t that nice. You agree with me.” She turned back to face the front of the car and crossed her arms. “I would like to go home now, thank you.” She said coldly.

 

Spike stared at her for a moment longer then, growling, started the car and slammed it into drive. They drove the rest of the way home in silence.

_____________________________________________

 

Xander came up out of the basement when he heard the back door open. “What took you guys so long?” He called out. “See, Spike? I told you shopping with her was horrible.” He laughed. He stopped laughing when his mother brushed past him, her face set in anger. She took her coat off and hung it and her purse in the hall closet without saying a word.

 

Spike slammed in the door a second later, carrying bags of groceries, his expression infuriated. He glared once at Xander, once at Jessica’s back and stomped out for a second armful of bags. Xander watched his mom begin to unpack the food, fury in every jerky move, every slammed cabinet door. Spike came in two more times before kicking the door shut behind him.

 

He joined Jessica in unpacking, the same fury in his movements. Xander cleared his throat carefully. “Umm, Mom? Spike? What’s wrong?”

 

“Why don’t you ask William? He knows best after all.” Jessica snapped, flinging the cereal cabinet open.

 

“Ummm, okay. Spike? What’s going on?” He asked obediently.

 

“No, I think you should ask your mum. After all, I’m just the walking wounded.” Xander nervously turned back to his mother, seeing Spike’s blue irises ringed in gold.

 

“I don’t care who tells me, but I really think I need to know why mom is slamming the knobs off of the cupboards and Spike is about ready to vamp out.”

 

“William decided that I’m too fragile to be allowed to pull my weight.” Jessica bit out.

 

“Your mum decided that I couldn’t handle three fledges by myself.” Spike retaliated.

 

“He yelled at me for saving his undead ass.”

 

“She waded into a vamp fight armed with a bloody can of hair spray!”

 

“He was weak and hurt already and they were ganging up on him!”

 

“She put herself in danger when she should have run!”

 

Xander watched, fascinated, as they continued to scream statements to him as they faced off over the kitchen counter, almost in each other’s faces.

 

“He called me a daft bint!”

 

“She poked me in my gut! Twice!”

 

“I was making a point!”

 

“So was I!”

 

“Well your point sounded an awful like an insult.”

 

“I was angry! I was scared. What if you’d been hurt?” His voice dropped an octave and guilt and fear radiated off of him in waves.

 

“But I wasn’t hurt. I was terrified, yes. But not just for me. I couldn’t just run away and let them kill you.” Jessica took a step towards him and held out her hand absently.

 

With a growl, Spike grabbed it and tugged her into his arms. “Don’t you ever do that again, mum.” He whispered fiercely, clutching her to his chest.

 

“Yes, William,” she lied, smiling against his chest and sliding her hands around his waist.

 

They stood, reveling in the fact that neither of them were hurt until a tentative touch on both their shoulders caused them to look up. Xander stood, looking miserable. Each opened up an arm and pulled him into the embrace. Long moments later, they broke apart, shyly smiling at each other.

 

Xander joined them in putting groceries away and then sat at the table watching his mom and his vamp happily as they bantered over dinner preparation. ~Don’t know exactly what’s going on with us. But I think I like it.~