Fix You by Enigmaticblue

Summary: Desperate times call for desperate measures where the First is involved. In order to prevent the end of the world, Buffy asks Willow to do a spell that's supposed to fix everything, and Spike goes along for the ride.

Chapter 19: Narrow Escapes

Spike was bored. Really bored. There had been no sign of the Vahrall demon at the crypt, and he was beginning to think that it was going to be a quiet night. He lit another cigarette and took a long drag, feeling the smoke fill up his undead lungs.

At least he and Buffy were actually talking again. Granted, things could have been better, but they could have been worse, too. She could have cut him off completely, or broken off the relationship. She'd done it before.

Spike flicked his ash into the grass at his feet, and then froze. Someone was nearby, and he didn't recognize the scent. With a practiced motion, he got rid of his cigarette, then began to stroll through the cemetery, away from the crypt he was supposed to be watching.

Although the soldiers couldn't hurt him as long as he had the ring, Spike wasn't going to be a sitting duck—and he wasn't about to let the next batch off with only a few bruises. He had a feeling that if he sent enough of them to the hospital without killing them, they might leave him alone.

And if not, Spike knew he could always start sending the soldiers to the morgue.

"Spike!"

He froze. Spike could still sense the presence of an unfamiliar human, but Xander was running towards him at full speed. "Somethin' wrong, Harris?"

"It's Buffy," Xander gasped. "Willow called me from the hospital and told me where you'd be."

"What happened?"

"She was attacked at the school by a bunch of guys. Willow said she thought they were soldiers, but—"

Spike cut him off. He didn't know who was lingering in the darkness, but there was no point in spilling all their secrets. "Let's go. The car isn't too far away."

Xander stuck close to his side, throwing furtive glances at him. "What's wrong?" he finally asked in a whisper.

"Think we're bein' followed," Spike murmured.

He was a little surprised at Xander's almost-friendly demeanor. It might simply be because he was worried about Buffy, enough to set aside their differences, but Spike sensed that there was more to it.

If he wasn't mistaken, however, Spike thought that the boy might have been softening towards him at the end, before Willow had done the spell to send them back in time. After all, Harris had given him a place to stay, and while Spike couldn't say that he'd been kind, he had been civil.

Once they were inside the car, and on the way to the hospital, Spike asked, "What did Red say?"

"They were at the party, and they found the guy that the demon was supposed to kill. I guess Buffy interrupted it in the act and tossed it out the window. She followed it, and was immediately surrounded by the soldiers." Xander took a deep breath. "Will said she doesn't know exactly what happened, but after she'd called 911, she looked out the window to see the soldiers standing over Buffy."

"And?" Spike asked impatiently. "What did she do?"

"Will said she yelled at them, then did some kind of quick light spell that blinded them. By then, Willow heard the ambulance arriving, and she shouted attempted rape from the window. The soldiers took off, and the paramedics took both Buffy and the kid to the hospital." Xander was just now getting his breath back. "She said to get you."

Spike stifled his rage. He had no idea why the soldiers would attack Buffy, who appeared to be as human as anyone, but he planned on finding out.

For the first time, he felt real regret over Riley's death—not because he'd taken a life, but because the man might have been persuaded to help them from the inside. The last time Riley's feelings for Buffy had led to his decision, but he might have done the same thing for the right reasons.

Pulling up in front of the hospital, Spike cut the engine and climbed out, Xander at his heels. "Did Red say where they were?" he called over his shoulder.

"Just that they'd brought her here," Xander replied.

Spike strode through the automatic doors, looking around for any sign of the Slayer.

"Spike!" Willow stood in the waiting room, having hopped up from the stiff plastic chair.

"Where is she?"

The witch shook her head mutely. "I don't know. They said something about a stun gun, and that her arm was hurt, but—"

Spike held up a hand, stopping the flow of words. He could just catch Buffy's voice, and she sounded seriously pissed off. "Be right back," he promised.

Following the sound of Buffy's voice, Spike moved down the hallway, finding her in a room, surrounded by a doctor, a police officer, and a nurse. She caught sight of him immediately, and he saw that she had a large bruise on her left cheek, and her right arm was in a cast. "Spike!"

He could hear the relief in her voice. "Harris found me," he said, moving towards the bed, and finding the officer in the way. "What—"

"It's okay," Buffy said. "That's my boyfriend. Please."

"We just need to know what happened, Miss Summers," the officer said, sounding exasperated. "Your friend claimed it was an attempted rape."

With the cop's attention back on Buffy, Spike made his way to her side, reaching immediately for her hand. "I don't know what they wanted," Buffy said, sounding tired. "They just attacked me out of nowhere. They had masks on, and I tried to hold them off, but one of them stunned me."

The officer didn't look happy with her description of events. Spike was ready to light into him for not believing her, but the man's next words pacified him. "I'm sorry, Miss Summers, but there's not a lot to go on. I can speak with campus security and have them increase patrols. That's about it without more information."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said. "I wish I could—"

The man shook his head. "Don't apologize, Miss Summers. This certainly wasn't your fault. Please call us if you remember anything else."

"I want to keep you overnight," the doctor said as soon as the officer had gone.

Buffy shook her head emphatically. "I'm not staying."

"Miss Summers—"

"No." There was steel in her tone, and Spike recognized the expression on her face. It was the one he could never say no to. "I'm okay, and I'm going home."

"I'll take her to her mother's house," Spike inserted smoothly. "She won't be left alone, doctor."

The doctor sighed, looking frustrated. "I can't keep you here, but you're leaving against medical advice."

Buffy gave him a sweet smile. "Thanks."

"I'll get the paperwork," the man muttered.

"What happened?" Spike asked, as soon as they'd been left alone. "Harris said you'd been hurt, an' that the soldiers had attacked you, but—"

Buffy shook her head. "I was chasing the demon, and as soon as I went through the window, they were just there." Her face went blank with memories. "I don't know what they wanted, Spike. They attacked without warning. One of them managed a good hit on my arm, and that distracted me enough that another got me with a taser. If Willow hadn't—"

Spike stopped her words with a kiss, trying to reassure her as best he could. "They couldn't keep you, luv."

Whatever Buffy might have said was cut off by the doctor's re-entrance. She awkwardly signed where he told her to, and then he handed her a script. "For the pain," he said. "You'll need to come back in a couple of weeks to have your arm looked at again."

Buffy gave him a hopeful smile. "You know, I heal really fast, so I could come back before that."

"Two weeks," the doctor replied sternly. "And be sure she rests." The last command was directed at Spike.

"Of course." Spike waited until they were alone again before asking, "You okay?"

"I just want to go home," she replied wearily.

"You got it."

~~~~~

"Are you okay?" Willow asked as soon as Buffy came out into the waiting room.

Buffy nodded. "I'm fine, Will. Thank you." She gave her friend a one-armed hug. "You did great tonight."

"I'm glad you're alright." Her eyes were still worried. "Do you think they'll come after you again?"

"I don't know," Buffy admitted.

Xander frowned. "Are you sure you're going to be alright? Maybe you shouldn't go back to campus right away."

"She's goin' to her mum's house tonight," Spike interrupted. "An' she needs her rest. We'll see you lot tomorrow."

Buffy would have preferred to go back to Spike's apartment, but he was insistent. She had a feeling that he didn't want to risk the soldiers coming after her again. While she hated to worry her mother, Spike was not to be dissuaded.

"You could use some lookin' after," he said stubbornly.

Buffy eyed him. "You're going out looking for them, aren't you? Because otherwise, you could look after me."

"No, I just think your mum could do a better job of it." He pulled up into her driveway and gave her a serious look. "I also want you off campus until we figure out why they attacked you."

"Spike!" Buffy immediately protested. "I have to go to classes."

"An' you will, but I don't want you there alone." He sighed. "Actually, I was goin' to see if I could hunt up those demons. You're in no shape to be doin' it."

She couldn't dispute that. Although the cast might make a good weapon once the bone was healed, but until then, Buffy knew she'd have to be careful. "Okay. Just—"

"Be careful," Spike finished for her. "You'll tell Joyce hello for me?"

"Yep. See you tomorrow?"

"Couldn't keep me away."

Buffy was hoping to sneak inside and into her bed without waking her mom up, but Joyce was waiting for her at the door. "Mom."

"Oh, Buffy." Joyce put an arm around her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Buffy assured her. "Just a little bruised. How'd you know?"

"I heard Spike's car in the driveway. I knew he wouldn't be here unless there was a problem."

Buffy winced. Her mom was right; if she'd been planning on staying the night, she probably would have at least called first. "I just had a run-in with some guys. It's not a big deal."

Joyce tapped her finger on Buffy's new cast. "That does not look like 'it's not a big deal.'"

Buffy decided that telling her that it could be worse, she could be getting experimented on in an Initiative lab, was probably not a good idea. "I'll be fine. I'm really tired, though. The pills the doctor gave me for the pain are making me sleepy."

"You should go to bed," Joyce agreed. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Mom." As Buffy gave her mom a goodnight hug, she reflected that Spike had been right to insist she go home. There was no one you wanted more when you were sick or injured than your mother.

~~~~~

Spike knew that they needed information. For his own peace of mind, he needed to know why the Initiative soldiers had targeted Buffy. Was there something about her that hadn't registered as human on whatever demon-detecting equipment they had been using? Had they mistaken her for a demon since she'd been chasing one? Would they attempt to capture or kill her again?

As far as he knew, there was no way to get the answers to those questions without asking one of the soldiers who had been there. Unfortunately, Spike didn't know who they'd been. He might be able to capture one and get what information he could, but that would open up another can of worms.

Specifically, what he would do with the soldier once he was done questioning him. Spike wouldn't be able to leave him alive, but he didn't think killing him was an option.

He went back to the campus, to the area where Buffy had been attacked. Spike knew that she'd gone to Porter Hall, and he found the building easily enough. There was glass on the ground under the broken window, and he could see where the grass had been trampled by a number of heavy feet.

Spike took a deep breath, trying to catch a distinct scent. There wasn't much to go on, but he thought he could just smell a hint of the Vahrall demon; they had a unique, pungent odor. He followed the faint trace, having little hope that his search would be successful, but not knowing what else to do.

To his pleased surprise, the smell grew stronger, and Spike began to jog, staying as silent as possible. The woods around the campus were thick, but he'd been a predator for a very long time. Keeping quiet came naturally.

Even though it usually bored him to tears.

Spike slowed as he neared a clearing, and he froze as he saw not only his quarry, but the other two demons. He cursed silently. Even with the Gem of Amara, Spike didn't particularly want to take on all three of them at once. Buffy was out of commission for at least the next week, and he knew that this was his best chance at stopping the apocalypse without anyone else getting hurt, however.

After all, he only had to kill one of them.

He hoped.

Spike hadn't survived as long as he had by being overly cautious, however. He'd made it by taking calculated risks that brought big pay offs. If he'd wanted to play it safe, he never would have confronted the Slayers he had, and look where that had brought him.

With a roar that he hoped would startle the demons, Spike leapt into the clearing, attacking the demon closest to him. Unfortunately, the other demons recovered quickly, and they both jumped Spike at the same time. He brought out the demon, ducking under one fist to come up under another, catching it in a very delicate area.

The demon roared, and Spike used its distraction to his advantage, rolling away from the melee. When the demons separated, he kipped to his feet, taking a running start to head butt another demon in the stomach. When it doubled over, Spike grabbed its head and twisted viciously, the extra strength that the ring lent him allowing him to snap its neck.

The other two screamed angrily and attacked him at once. He ran for the nearest tree, leaping for a low-hanging branch. Spike needed a weapon, and wood was the only material available.

Tearing a thick branch from the trunk, Spike swung it like a bat, hitting one of the demons in the head. There was a wet crack, and its body collapsed. Spike didn't know if it was dead, but at least it was down. He could finish it off at his convenience later.

First, he had to take care of the third demon, who didn't seem to be interested in letting him go. Spike grinned maniacally; he hadn't been in a fight this serious since getting the soul, and it felt damn good.

With only one opponent, Spike took his time—fists and fangs, and sod all else. It was a brutal show down, but in the end, there was only one demon standing.

Spike looked down at the ring on his finger, not knowing whether to be thankful he'd had the protection, or disappointed that the fight had been fixed from the start.

He was just getting ready to put the injured demon out of its misery when he heard the crack of a broken branch. Spike didn't hesitate; he didn't know what was coming, but he wanted to get a good look at them before he was seen.

A group of three soldiers came tramping through the brush, stopping cold when they saw the bodies of the three dead demons. "What the hell could have done this?"

"Could have been related to the girl we saw earlier." The soldier pulled his mask off, and Spike recognized him as one of Riley's best mates from before, although he had no idea of the bloke's name. Spike tried to memorize his features—dark skin, tall, shaved head. Buffy might know who he was if he could give her a decent description.

"I still don't think she had anything to do with the demon." A second soldier pulled off his mask. This one had blond hair, and was stocky in build.

"No one flies through a window like that without getting hurt," the third insisted. He had dark hair and hazel eyes. "Even if she's not a demon, she definitely wasn't human."

"You could have gone through the window and been okay," the second said.

"But we're special," said the first. "We should let the professor know what happened. She's not going to be real happy that all we came up with was three dead demons and a mystery."

Spike watched them go, frowning thoughtfully. It appeared as though their attack on Buffy was motivated more by opportunity than anything else. They didn't know whether or not she was human, and given what they'd seen—and what they knew, the soldiers weren't going to take any chances.

Which meant that until the Initiative had been shut down, Buffy needed to ensure that she didn't give them the opportunity.

Spike had a feeling that she wasn't going to like his suggested solution to the problem.

~~~~~

Giles stared at Xander, trying to curb his impatience. Although he had a certain fondness for the boy, he was more often irritated with him than not. "What do you need, Xander? I'm rather busy at the moment."

He shuffled his feet. "I wanted to talk to you. Have you seen Buffy?"

"I went over to her house earlier today. Joyce insisted that she stay home and rest." Giles didn't know how much his Slayer needed the rest, but Buffy seemed to be enjoying her mother's fussing.

Giles had been surprised by that at first, and then he'd remembered that Buffy had lost her mother, and that she was probably in the mood for a little old-fashioned mothering.

"Good." Xander hesitated, then blurted out, "I think we need to do something."

Giles raised his eyebrows. "And what would you suggest that we do, Xander?"

"Can I come in?"

He stepped aside to allow the young man entrance and waited in silence for Xander to speak. The boy fidgeted on the couch. "I just—I think we should help Buffy with changing the future."

"I am helping her," Giles said, unable to soften his tone. He was angry that Xander thought he'd been twiddling his thumbs for the last few months. Giles had been doing as much as he could for Buffy—as much as she'd let him do.

Xander slouched on the couch. "I know, but Buffy can't control a lot of things, including what other people do, right? Well, maybe with more people trying to fix it, we can make more changes."

Giles frowned. "As far as I know, Buffy and Spike have already made significant changes."

"But not where Willow and Oz were concerned," Xander said.

Giles began to understand what Xander was getting at. In the end, from what he understood, Buffy had sacrificed herself for this mysterious sister, and the world, and it had been her friends who had brought her back.

Buffy might be able to change events, but only Xander or Willow could change their reactions to the new events, and they were the same people.

As he was, and Giles knew that he'd made mistakes, although Buffy hadn't been terribly explicit.

"What would you suggest?"

"I don't know," Xander admitted. "I've just been thinking about it. After that soldier was killed, Buffy was pretty broken up about it, though. If we helped..." He trailed off. "It was a stupid idea."

"No, it wasn't," Giles disagreed. "I think you may have a point."

"Really?"

Giles didn't answer; he was too busy sorting through the scattered papers on his desk for the notes he'd taken when Buffy had explained what the future held. While Buffy had given him details on the actual events, she hadn't said much about what his actions—or inaction—had been, and the same was true for Xander and Willow.

He had a feeling that she and Spike had assumed that they would return to the past and take care of things on their own. Had they returned to the point in time that they'd originally intended, that would have made sense. Now, however, there were any number of events that they'd rather not go through again, but they weren't the only players.

"Ah, here they are," Giles announced, half to himself. "I took notes on what Buffy said we might expect. We may need her to provide more detail, but this gives us a good starting point." Giles met Xander's eyes. "What brought this on, Xander?"

The boy shrugged. "Just something Buffy told me. I've got a second chance now, too. I want to do things the right way."

Giles smiled. "I can certainly understand that."

He thought about how many things he might have done differently, if he'd only had the chance.