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 24: Sister Blister

Buffy scowled at her Watcher. “And you couldn’t convince him to stay away?”

“We may need his help,” Giles replied. “And it may present a solution to the problem of what to do with Faith once this thing with Adam is settled. I don’t think she should stay in Sunnydale.”

Buffy sighed, knowing that he was probably right. As long as Faith was around, they were going to be competing with one another, and she no longer minded the thought of Angel with the other Slayer. If he could help Faith, fine. It would be one less problem for her to worry about. “When is he getting here?”

“I’m not sure, but he said it would be soon,” Giles replied.

“Knowing Angel, it’ll be tomorrow night at the latest,” Buffy observed. “He tends to be punctual.”

There was a perfunctory knock on Giles’ door before Spike walked in. “Faith’s gone,” he announced. “An’ I overheard the nurse talkin’ on the phone to one of those Council gits. I don’t think it’ll be too long before they get here.”

“Dammit!” Buffy swore. “Why does everybody have to arrive at once?”

“We got more company coming?” Spike asked, taking a seat next to her on the couch.

Giles grimaced. “Angel called me earlier. Cordelia had a vision, and he’ll be arriving soon, although I’m not sure exactly when that will be.”

“Well, isn’t that just peachy,” Spike muttered.

Buffy knew exactly how he felt. Having Angel and Spike in the same room was likely to give her a very bad headache. “We’ll work with what we’ve got.” She reached for his hand. “A lot has changed.”

He met her eyes, and she could see a faint smile form. “Yeah. We’ll put Peaches to work. What about Faith?”

“She knows we want to talk to her. I’d suggest giving her time, but I don’t want the Council to get to her first.”

Giles nodded in agreement with Buffy’s words. “I agree.”

“You’re forgetting somethin’,” Spike pointed out. “It’s likely that we can expect Adam to make an appearance soon.”

Buffy wrinkled her nose. “Yeah. He came out a lot earlier the last time.”

“Last time the Initiative was well aware of who you were,” Giles reminded her. “This time they have less information. It’s possible that they will have more control.”

“Or not,” Buffy said. She groaned, letting her head flop against the back of the couch. “Why does everything have to be so complicated?”

“Other than the usual reason?” Spike asked with a wry smile.

“What’s that?”

“We live on a Hellmouth.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “Other than that.”

Giles cleared his throat. “I think it might be best to continue with your usual patrols—together, although I probably don’t have to tell you that. Keep a sharp eye out for both Faith and Adam. I’m assuming that Angel will come here first, since he knows where to find me.”

Buffy nodded her agreement. “I guess since we already have some idea of what Faith might do we can afford to wait.” She looked over at Spike. “Just promise me that if I start acting at all weird, you’ll knock me out and find Faith. I do not want her sleeping with my boyfriend this time.”

Spike snorted. “I’m not nearly as clueless as your last boyfriend.”

Buffy felt a pang, remembering that Riley was no longer around. On the other hand, she knew that Spike was right; if ever anyone had known her inside and out, it was him. Of course, Spike had known her in every incarnation: enemy, reluctant ally, even more reluctant protector, friend, abuser, lover—and beloved. What they were to one another—what they had been to one another—couldn’t be described in words.

The lack hadn’t been in Riley, or in her friends. The miracle was Spike.

She said none of this aloud, however. Buffy simply smiled and said, “No. You’re definitely not clueless.”

~~~~~

Faith walked down the street, looking around her in disbelief. She’d been so sure that the Mayor would win the battle and take over Sunnydale, and that she would be at his right hand. Now she was looking at the pedestrians strolling casually down the street, as though it was any other day, as though the world hadn’t come within a hairsbreadth of ending.

They were so clueless, so weak. Seeing them reminded Faith that she had been like that once; she had been unable to protect herself from the people bigger and stronger than her. She’d fallen victim to others too many times to let it happen again.

She saw a police officer coming towards her and quickly ducked into an alley. Faith had no idea if the cops were aware of her involvement with the Mayor, or what she’d done for him. She knew that he’d promised to make sure there was no evidence and no investigation linking her to any crime. Whether he’d made good on that promise was anyone’s guess.

Faith wiped her hands on the legs of her jeans reflexively, remembering the blood.

“Hey, Faith. I’ve got a message for you.”

She turned at the sound of her name to see a demon approaching her. “What?”

“A message from a mutual friend.” The demon was within a few feet of her when Faith was jerked backwards, out of the way.

A bright beam of energy hit the package that the demon was holding, causing it to catch on fire. The demon started backing up, its hands up. “You’d better run, ma’am,” the black-clad man holding the gun said.

For a moment, Faith considered telling him that she could take care of herself, but she didn’t know this guy, and she didn’t know the demon. The package he’d been trying to deliver had already been destroyed, so it wasn’t like he could do anything for her.

“Yeah, sure.” Faith backed off, then took off running. She couldn’t help but wonder what the demon had been trying to give to her, and who their mutual friend was.

Not that it mattered now; she was on her own, as she’d always been.

~~~~~

Angel rolled into town alone, even though he’d offered Cordelia a ride back. Wesley hadn’t wanted to revisit the site of his last humiliation, and Angel was honestly grateful for that. He wasn’t sure that he’d be able to keep his promise to Giles; Spike tended to bring out the worst in him.

Or he had a hundred years ago.

If he had known where to find Spike or Buffy, Angel might have paid them a visit first, but Giles was the only one he knew how to locate right away. He parked in front of the Watcher’s apartment, walking up to the door slowly. He still felt a pang of guilt every time he thought of what he’d done to the man.

No matter how hard he tried to put the past behind him, Angelus was never far away—as he’d recently rediscovered when Rebecca Lowell slipped him a happy pill.

Angel knocked on the door, wondering what kind of reception he was going to receive. Giles hadn’t sounded pleased that he was coming to town, and the Watcher had chased him off quickly when he’d been in Sunnydale over Thanksgiving.

The expression on Giles’ face didn’t allay his nerves. “Angel.”

Angel suppressed a sigh. “Giles. Do you mind if I come in?”

“Will you behave yourself?”

“Yes.” Angel could smell Buffy and another familiar scent that he suspected belonged to Spike.

Giles stepped aside. “Faith’s awake, but we haven’t been able to locate her as of yet.”

Angel could see Buffy sitting next to Spike at the couch. She rose as he entered, her hand on Spike’s shoulder. “Angel.”

He could hear it in her voice. Buffy wasn’t the same girl he’d seen just a few months before, when he’d left Sunnydale. She didn’t look at him the way she had—as though she’d loved him. “What happened?” he asked hoarsely. “Buffy—”

Spike stood and turned to face him, and Angel took a step back. “You—when did you get your soul? Who cursed you?”

“Wasn’t a curse,” Spike growled. “I asked for it.”

“Why?” Angel asked, hardly able to believe it. “What possessed you?”

“He did it for me, Angel.” Buffy’s face softened, and she looked at him compassionately. “Maybe you should sit down. We’ve got a lot to go over.”

Angel listened to Buffy tell her story, hardly able to believe it. He knew she was leaving out a lot of details, but they didn’t have a lot of time. “You came back in time,” he finally said when she fell silent.

“Yeah.”

“To fix things.”

“That’s right,” she said evenly.

Angel fixed Spike with a stare. “And you wanted to come back with her?”

“I had to.”

Angel shook his head, trying to process what was being said. “Do you know what happened to me?”

“As far as I know, you were still in L.A. doing your detective thing,” Buffy replied. “We hadn’t talked in a while when we made the decision to do the spell.”

“And you died?”

“Willow brought me back.” She gave him a sympathetic look. “I know this is a lot to take in, Angel, but it’s all true.” Buffy glanced at Spike, and Angel could see the muscle in his jaw working. He could appreciate the level of control the other vampire was demonstrating. “I know it seems like we saw each other months ago, but it’s been years for me. I’m with Spike now.”

He stared at the floor. What he wanted was to attack the other vampire, to tell him that he wasn’t worthy of Buffy—but was he any worthier than Spike? At this point, Spike’s soul was anchored at least, and she’d told him enough that Angel knew a normal life—the one he’d wanted for her—wasn’t in the cards.

“I don’t know what to say,” he admitted. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“You don’t have to say anything,” Spike muttered, and Angel could hear the defensiveness in his tone. The younger vampire clearly expected an attack, and it was that, more than anything else, that decided him.

“What do you want me to do?” Angel asked Buffy, deciding to ignore Spike for the time being.

Buffy shook her head. “I don’t know. Cordelia was the one who got the vision. Tara saw—”

“Tara?” Angel asked, interrupting her.

“A friend,” Buffy explained.

Giles stepped in. “It’s clear that we’re going to need Faith in our fight against the Initiative and Adam,” he said. “Their interest in both Buffy and Spike is worrisome.”

“I’ll do what I can.” Angel stood. “I should get going. Do you want me to meet you tomorrow night, Buffy? We can start looking for Faith then.”

She nodded. “That would be good.”

Angel left then, unable to be in the same room with her for one moment more. It was clear that the girl he’d known was gone, and the woman in her place was a stranger to him.

Worse than that… “Spike!” Angel muttered to himself as he got into his car. “Why Spike?”

~~~~~

“I wonder where he’s going to stay,” Buffy mused as soon as Angel had left.

“Who cares?” Spike muttered.

“We’re going to need his help, Spike,” Giles said sharply. “You can show a little courtesy.”

Buffy stepped in before a fight could break out. “It’s okay, Giles. We should probably get some rest. We have no way of knowing whether Faith is going to turn up tomorrow on campus.” She gave Spike a look to tell him to behave. “Let’s go.”

Spike followed her docilely enough, but once they were outside, the gloves came off. “So, are you going to tell me I was rude?”

“No, I thought you were pretty civil under the circumstances,” Buffy said mildly. She raised an eyebrow. “Were you trying to be rude?”

Spike shrugged. “If I had tried, you’d know.”

“That’s what I thought.” Buffy reached for his hand. “How many times do I have to tell you that I’m with you, Spike? I was over Angel a long time ago.”

“You still love him.”

“Do you still love Drusilla?”

There was a long moment of silence. “Point.”

“That’s what I thought.” She paused. “Are we going back to your place?”

“Do you want to?”

“I think I’d prefer it.”

“Then that’s where we’ll go.”

They walked along in silence. Buffy was unable to truly enjoy the night since she was on edge, waiting for the soldiers to appear out of nowhere. After what Ethan Rayne had said, she knew that the soldiers who had attacked her hadn’t made a mistake. They’d wanted the Slayer, although how they’d known her identity was anybody’s guess.

Buffy had thought she would be anonymous at college, but it turned out that wasn’t quite true. Then or now.

“You ever—” Spike began, then stopped abruptly. “Never mind.”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Don’t do that,” Buffy said fiercely. “We don’t keep things from each other, Spike. I thought we were past that.”

“You ever wish he’d been the one to get his soul anchored?” Spike asked gruffly.

Buffy knew that he wanted the truth, no matter how much it might hurt. The funny thing was that it wouldn’t hurt; it was probably an answer he didn’t expect. “No,” she said simply.

Spike looked at her sharply as they approached his apartment building. “No?”

“No.” Buffy smiled. “You’re the right one for me, Spike. If you had never come along… Who knows what might have happened? But you’re the right one, right now. You don’t give up, and I need someone with that kind of strength. Everyone else I’ve ever known has given up.”

“Oh.” His voice was very small, and she could see the wonder in his eyes. Buffy suspected that Spike had believed that everything would change once she’d seen Angel.

What Spike didn’t understand—and what Angel would never understand—was that they had already said their goodbyes. Buffy had gone to him after her resurrection in the hope that he would make her feel better. She’d thought that Angel’s presence would bring her the comfort she couldn’t find anywhere else, as he had after her mother’s death.

How could she have known that comfort was so close?

~~~~~

Spike woke slowly, feeling the warmth of Buffy’s skin, her hair tickling his bare chest. She’d fallen asleep with her head resting on his shoulder, her arm across his waist. He felt a sense of wonder.

Here he was with the girl and the Gem of Amara, his soul anchored—Spike had everything he could have wanted, and Angel didn’t.

It was the first time in his life that Spike felt as though he’d come out the unequivocal winner.

“Mmm,” Buffy murmured sleepily. “What time is it?”

He glanced over at the clock. “’Round eight. You have class today.”

“I know.” She sighed. “Drive me?”

“Absolutely.” Spike looked at her, concerned. “You think Faith will come after you on campus today?”

“I don’t know,” Buffy admitted. “I feel like I’ve been saying that a lot lately.”

“Hard to know anythin’,” he agreed.

They lay in comfortable silence, Spike rubbing absent-minded circles on her back. “Are you going to go see Angel today?” Buffy asked.

“Don’t know where he’s staying,” Spike replied. “An’ why would I want to?”

“To rub his face in the fact that you can go out in the sunshine?” she said. Buffy propped herself up on one elbow, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you hadn’t considered that.”

“Was just considering it now.” Spike snorted. “Peaches destroyed the ring the first time around, prob’ly out of some misguided need to be a bloody martyr.”

He could see her trying to suppress a smile, and failing miserably. “How come you don’t feel some ‘misguided need to be a bloody martyr?’”

“Because I’ve got everything I could ever want right here, an’ I paid my dues.” Spike stared into her eyes. “Paid for this soul with sweat and blood, Buffy. Maybe it doesn’t fix everythin’, but there’s no sense in wallowing in guilt for the next hundred years.”

Buffy smiled and smoothed his hair. “I’m glad you decided not to wallow. It’s not a good look for you.”

Spike pulled her head down for a long kiss. “You’d better get cleaned up, luv. I’ll give you a ride over to campus.”

Of course, Spike had no intention of leaving her alone on campus—not with both the Initiative and Faith to worry about.

~~~~~

Faith wanted to find Buffy; she wanted to know if the note that the other Slayer had left was for real. She’d spent the night in an empty house—whether it was abandoned or the owners were simply away for the evening, she hadn’t cared.

It was safe and warm, and that was all she’d wanted.

Now Faith was wandering the college campus. Clearly, Buffy had graduated from high school, and she’d heard through the grapevine that the other Slayer had been planning on going to college. Although she wasn’t sure what she wanted from Buffy, she knew that she had to see the other girl.

There was a part of Faith that wanted to hurt her, to strip everything away as Buffy had done to her. There was another part that was curious about the note, and the insinuations that a lot had gone on. She’d never expected an apology, and that softened her anger—at least a little bit.

Faith figured that she wouldn’t know which part of her would win until she actually saw the other Slayer.

She caught sight of a girl with long, blonde hair walking next to a redhead. Faith sped up to keep pace, wanting to shadow them for a while, to see what Buffy would do, where she would go. It was easy to lose herself in the crowd, to look like one more college freshman, even though she never would be.

This was a foreign world, where she didn’t belong.

Buffy stopped by a bulletin board, and Faith could see her talking with Willow. She edged closer, wanting to get close enough to hear what they were saying. Faith could just make out something about “Spike,” a name she felt she should recognize but didn’t.

Suddenly, Faith felt the tingle that told her a vampire was close, although it seemed impossible. It was broad daylight.

A deep voice came from behind her. “You know, it’s not very nice to eavesdrop.” Faith whirled to see a lean, bleached blond man standing there, wearing all black. He gave her a toothy grin. “Don’t tell me. You’re Faith.”

Faith knew that she was in some serious trouble. Any vampire who could withstand sunlight was unlikely to be fazed by a Slayer. She decided that it was time to run. She’d catch up with Buffy some other time, and in some other way.