Chapter 37
Author's Notes: Wherein Joyce takes an important step, an old friend appears, and Spike and Buffy have that talk.
Chapter 37: Anticipation
Graham took a deep breath, trying to process what he’d just been told. He didn’t believe it; he
couldn’t believe it. Time travel was impossible.
And yet—he didn’t have a better explanation for how they knew as much as they did.
“I know it’s a lot to take in,” Buffy said. “I wish there was something we could do to prove it, but we didn’t know each other all that well.”
Graham shook his head. “But you did know me?”
“Through Riley,” Buffy explained. “We were pretty close the last time around.”
He could understand that, at least. Buffy was exactly the type of girl that Riley would have fallen for. “I see.”
“You don’t have to believe us, mate,” Spike said, his tone sympathetic. “You could just accept that we know more than most an’ leave it at that.”
It was tempting to “leave it at that,” as Spike suggested, but that didn’t explain how they knew as much as they did. On the other hand, accepting the story they’d just told him stretched his credulity to the breaking point. “Let’s say that I do believe you,” he said. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because we know that in a few months there’s going to be a Hellgod and a bunch of idiots with swords running around,” Buffy replied. “We both think that you might be able to give us a hand, and that you should be warned at the very least.”
Graham frowned. “A Hellgod?” He could understand idiots with swords, but not that.
“A really strong demon who wants to destroy the world.” Buffy smiled apologetically. “That’s about the best I can do.”
“Again, assuming I believe you, what happened last time?” Graham asked, wondering what their explanation would be.
They looked at each other, then Spike shrugged. “Buffy died. We’d like to keep that from happening this time.”
It was so preposterous, Graham couldn’t help the laugh that escaped, but he immediately sobered when he saw the look on Buffy’s face. “You’re serious.”
Buffy tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I didn’t really expect you to believe all of this.”
That was just it; Graham
did believe them. Almost. It was the most plausible explanation for how they had known what they had about Adam, and about him. It explained how Spike had known where to find Adam, and any number of other strange little bits of information.
Graham had seen enough since coming to Sunnydale to suspect that time travel and raising someone from the dead weren’t entirely impossible. “It’s not that I don’t believe you,” he hedged.
Spike chuckled. “It’s just that you don’t believe us. It’s alright. We can get on just fine without you completely buyin’ what we’re sayin’.”
“Let’s just say that I’m operating under the assumption you’re telling the truth, and ignoring the fact that I’d have to be crazy to believe you.” Graham took a deep breath. “The men who stayed here are loyal to me, and if you need our help, we’ll do whatever we can.”
Buffy’s face broke out into a relieved grin. “Thanks, Graham. We definitely appreciate it.”
“Let us know, an’ we’ll do the same if we can, Captain,” Spike added.
Graham knew that their alliance was unorthodox at best, but some of the things he’d seen in Sunnydale weren’t in any book he’d ever read. In the end, it was about the mission, and Graham would do whatever it took.
Even if it meant working with a vampire and a girl who wasn’t quite human.
~~~~~
When Giles opened the door for her, Joyce smiled. It had been a long time since she’d been on a date with such a gentleman. “Thank you.”
“It’s my pleasure,” he replied, sliding into the driver’s seat. “I hope you don’t mind, but I made reservations for us at the new restaurant in town.”
“That sounds great,” Joyce said. “I’ve been wanting to try it.”
He smiled. “Let’s hope that it’s as good as advertised.”
“If it’s not, I won’t blame you,” she teased.
They made light conversation as Joyce tried to decide whether or not to talk to him about her doctor’s appointment earlier that afternoon. After she’d called, he had wanted to see her immediately. Although he had hesitated to order tests, when Joyce had lied and said that her father had died from a brain tumor—it had been a heart attack—he’d quickly changed his tune.
She suspected that his decision had as much to do with a desire to reassure her as with a need to rule out a possibility like that early on.
“I’m going in for tests.”
A deep silence fell. “I see. When?”
“Next week.” Joyce sighed. “I had to talk fast to get the doctor to agree. He wanted to wait at first, but when I told him that my father had died from a brain tumor, he agreed to push the tests through the insurance.”
Giles took a deep breath. “There’s that, at least. I’m glad you’re getting it taken care of now.”
“I’m sorry to spoil the evening.” Joyce put her hand over his on the gearshift. “I needed to tell someone, and I didn’t want to worry Buffy right now.”
He frowned. “Is there something going on with Buffy?”
“No more than the usual,” she assured him. “I know that she’s worried about me, and I don’t want to add to it.”
“I don’t think you can keep this from her forever,” Giles said gently.
Joyce shook her head. “Not forever, just long enough to get some answers.”
“You don’t think she’ll find out?”
“I know she will, but I’d like to wait until I have more information.” Joyce wanted to explore more treatment options this time, and she wanted to get a second opinion. If the worst was to happen, she wanted to be able to say that she’d done everything in her power to be there for her children.
Giles’ hand found hers. “Would you like me to go with you?”
“Yes.” She felt a little guilty for leaning on him so heavily, but his offer had lifted a great burden from her shoulders. There were times she missed Hank with an intensity that startled her, given that her love for him had faded a long time before.
“All you had to do was ask,” he said softly.
Joyce glanced over and read the truth in his eyes. She wondered what might have happened if Ethan had never cast his spell over the band candy, if their relationship might have progressed naturally, or if nothing at all would have occurred.
It didn’t matter now, of course. They were moving towards something important, something real, and that’s all she could ask for.
~~~~~
“Thank you so much, Tara,” Buffy said in a low voice. “I wouldn’t ask this, but Mom’s out with Giles, and—”
“Say no more,” Tara assured her. “We don’t mind having Dawn here, and we’ll make sure she gets her homework done.”
She watched as Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks. It’s just—Spike and I need to patrol, and we really need to talk.”
Tara frowned. Buffy sounded as though she was a little freaked out. “Did something happen?”
Buffy lowered her voice even further. “Spike made a comment about marriage today.”
Tara raised her eyebrows. “Is that a problem?”
“No, it was just a surprise. The way he said it—it was so matter-of-fact.”
“And you don’t know what to do about it?”
Buffy shook her head. “Not really. Although, I have to admit that the actual idea doesn’t freak me out nearly as much as I thought it would.”
Tara offered a sympathetic smile. “But telling Spike that freaks you out.”
She laughed ruefully. “Pretty much. Anyway, Mom should be by around ten to pick Dawn up.”
“Be careful tonight,” Tara called as she left, then turned to go back into the house. They had been in the house together for a week now, and it was working out better than she could have hoped. The small, two bedroom house with a finished basement gave all of them enough space, and yet allowed a closeness that was homey.
She didn’t know that it would have been as comfortable if Mairead hadn’t been there with her, but it was perfect as it was.
“What do you want to do tonight, Dawn?” Tara asked. “I was thinking about making cookies, if you’re interested.”
The girl shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. Where’s Willow?”
“She had to study, and Oz had practice. They should be back soon.” Tara began getting out the ingredients for her chocolate chip cookies. Mairead was fond of them, and she thought it would give Dawn something to do.
“Do you know what’s going on with Buffy?” Dawn asked.
Tara frowned. “What are you talking about?”
“She’s being weird.” Dawn rested her chin in her hands, elbows propped on the counter. “She keeps telling me she wants to spend time with me, and she’s being
nice.”
Tara bit back a smile. “Is that so terrible?”
“It’s weird!” Dawn’s eyes were wide and trusting. “Is somebody dying, Tara? Because that’s the only reason I can think of that she’d be acting like this.”
“No one’s dying, sweetie,” Tara promised her. “I know that for a fact.”
She wasn’t really lying. As far as she knew, no one was dying, at least not now. Living on the Hellmouth, though, she had no idea if the same would be true tomorrow.
“Hello, Dawn,” Mairead said as she entered the kitchen. “How are your sister and Spike?”
“Buffy’s totally freaked,” Dawn said with a grin. “Spike made a comment about marrying her today, and she wigged.”
Mairead shared a look with Tara. “Every woman ‘wigs’ when marriage is mentioned for the first time,” she replied. “Even if it’s only on the inside.”
“Are you guys going to get married?” Dawn asked innocently.
Tara blushed. “I think it’s a little early to say.”
The front door opened, and Oz’s voice called out, “Is Willow home yet?”
“Not yet,” Mairead replied.
He wandered into the kitchen, giving Dawn a brief smile. “How did the spell casting go tonight?”
“Good,” Tara said. “I think we’ve got our protections up, and as strong as they’re going to be.”
There was a yelp from outside, then Willow’s voice could be heard, “Get back!”
“Stay here,” Tara ordered Dawn, as she followed Oz and Mairead to the front door.
Willow was backing inside the house, stepping across the threshold just as Harmony tried to run inside. “I don’t know what you think you’re doing, Harmony, but you should probably leave town,” the red head suggested.
“I want the Slayer,” Harmony replied. “No one’s home except for you.”
“Lucky us,” Oz murmured quietly, and Tara had to fight back a giggle.
Willow glared at her. “Buffy’s not going to want to talk to you. She’s got better things to do.”
Harmony tossed her hair back. “Well, I’m calling her out. I’m her nemesis.”
Willow started laughing. “Harmony, you’re going to get yourself killed, but if that’s what you want—” She shrugged. “Goodbye.”
When Willow slammed the door shut, she shuddered. “Did you guys see the big vampire?” she whispered. “He’s huge! I didn’t even have a pencil to levitate.”
“Aren’t you going to kill them?” Dawn asked. “You guys are, like, powerful witches, right?” She glanced at Oz. “And a werewolf.”
“Thanks,” Oz said, looking rather amused.
Willow shook her head. “I think we should let Buffy and Spike handle Harmony and her ‘minions.’”
“Buffy could probably use a laugh,” Oz agreed.
Willow snickered. “Yeah. Harmony having minions—I never thought I’d see the day.”
“Are you certain they’re not dangerous?” Mairead asked. “If one underestimates a problem, it often grows.”
Tara hesitated, then said, “We don’t know if Harmony would be useful in the future. Buffy would know better.”
“Why would Buffy know?” Dawn demanded.
They all looked at one another, and Tara knew the others were as much at a loss for words as she was. “I’m going to call Xander and Anya,” Willow announced. “I’ll bet they’d appreciate coming over. It’ll be like a party.”
“But why would Buffy know?” Dawn asked again, beginning to sound angry and upset. “Why won’t anybody tell me anything? I’m not a kid!”
“No, you’re not, dear one,” Mairead said, putting an arm around Dawn’s shoulders and drawing her close. “But we are not the ones to tell another’s story.”
“Buffy never tells me anything,” Dawn complained as Tara followed them back into the kitchen.
“She wishes to protect you,” Mairead pointed out. “Would you not do the same if you were the older sister?”
Dawn sighed sullenly. “No. I’d tell her the truth.”
“Would you really?” Tara asked. “If Buffy asked you to keep a secret from your mom because she knew it would worry her, or scare her, would you?”
A pout formed. “Yes.”
Tara nodded. “Come on. I need your help measuring.”
She looked at Mairead; the other woman’s blue-green eyes clearly showed her concern. Tara knew the feeling. Although there was a certain amount of comfort in knowing what was coming next, she hoped they could change what had to change.
Otherwise, she wasn’t sure Buffy would survive it.
~~~~~
Patrol had been quiet. Buffy had no idea how to begin this conversation. What was she supposed to say? “So, Spike, were you serious, or were you joking about marriage?” Buffy honestly wasn’t sure what she wanted his answer to be.
“We goin’ back to my place, or do you want me to walk you home?” he finally asked, breaking the silence that hung between them.
She glanced over at him, surprised at his tone. Spike sounded like he was bracing himself for the worst, and she winced. They clearly still had a lot of work to do on their communication skills. “Your place, if that’s okay.”
“Up to you.”
“There are two of us here.”
“You were the one who got shirty earlier.”
“I was
not being ‘shirty,’” Buffy shot back. “I was just surprised. You haven’t mentioned marriage since Willow’s first will be done spell.”
He sighed. “Just forget I said it, okay?”
Buffy frowned. “Why should I? Were you not serious?”
“It’s not about me being serious. I know you’d never—”
She grabbed his arm and turned him around to face her. Buffy loved him, but he could be the most infuriating of men. “How do you know?”
“Huh?”
“How do you know I wouldn’t marry you?” she demanded. “You haven’t even asked. You just made an off-the-cuff remark, and I didn’t know whether or not you were joking.”
The muscle in his jaw ticked, and Spike’s eyes narrowed. “Fine. Would you marry me?”
It wasn’t the most romantic of proposals, and certainly not what Buffy had expected out of him, but at the moment she didn’t particularly care. She was caught up in the heat of the moment, and her answer came as a surprise to both of them.
“Yes.”
Spike’s eyes widened. “You would?”
“Are you going to take it back?” Buffy challenged him.
“No!” He sounded a little panicked, and she felt a bolt of satisfaction. It was about time he started getting how significant this was. “I don’t have a ring.”
“We can work on that,” she replied with a smile.
A smile played around his lips. “I guess we can. When?”
“How about after we take care of Glory?” Buffy suggested. “That way we’ll have time to plan it.”
Spike chuckled. “Guess we could do an outdoor wedding now.”
She took his arm. “We could. Or we could do it at night, too. Whichever.”
“Think this requires a celebration,” Spike said. “My place?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Their good humor lasted until they arrived at Spike’s apartment to discover two messages on his answering machine.
“Hey, guys, it’s Willow. Harmony came by our place tonight. She said she wanted to call the Slayer out. I don’t think it’s a big deal, but one of the vampires with her was huge. We think they’re gone, but we’re keeping a look out for your mom and Giles.”
Buffy sighed. “I was kind of hoping Harmony wouldn’t show up this time.”
“You an’ me both,” Spike muttered. “We’ll have to smoke them out. I don’t want her getting her hands on Dawn this time.”
“I remember where she was hidden,” she replied. “We might be able to go tonight. It’s late, but—”
“Better now than later,” Spike agreed. He pushed play on the next message.
“Spike, it’s Clem. I heard some guys talking tonight, and the vampires in town know you’ve got the Gem. I don’t know how they found out, but they’re talking about coming after you and taking it. I thought you’d want to know.”
Spike was swearing before the message had stopped, and Buffy sank down on his couch. “This is
not good.”
“You’re tellin’ me,” he stated. “Shit.”
Buffy looked up at him miserably. “We can’t risk another vampire getting his hands on it, Spike.”
“I know. Bloody hell, I know.” Spike sat down, putting his head in his hands. “Where I live isn’t that big of a secret, an’ since it’s my place, they won’t even need an invitation.”
She reached for his hand. “Maybe it would be better if you put it in a security deposit box, or left it with Mom or Giles. You could still wear it during the day, when you really needed to. It would be safer.”
Spike stared at the ring adorning his hand. “’ve been wearin’ it so long, feels like a part of me, you know?”
“I know.” She waited for his response, knowing that he would do the right thing, whatever that happened to be. The Gem of Amara kept Spike safe, but they had always known that there was a possibility that it could bring more trouble than it was worth.
He clenched his fist, then took a deep, unneeded breath. “I’ll ask the Watcher if he’s got a safe. Don’t think anyone would expect him to have it. Don’t think I want to keep it in a vault at the bank. Too hard to get to that way.”
“Whatever you want to do.”
Spike met her eyes, then slowly pulled the ring off his finger. “Probably better not risk it tonight. ‘m not worried about Harmony, but Clem wouldn’t have called if the problem wasn’t pressing.”
Buffy nodded. “Where are you going to put it?”
“Should be safe enough here for now. There aren’t that many who know where I live, an’ those who do are fairly trustworthy.”
She put her hand on his arm. “I know this isn’t what you want, Spike, but I’m glad you’re going to keep it safe. I don’t want to lose you.”
Spike nodded. “Yeah. Figure if you could take it from me, an’ Angel could take it from the wanker I hired, it’s probably better not to risk it.” He rose. “I’ll just tuck this away, an’ then we can leave.”
“Where are you going to put it?” Buffy called.
“Got a box for it right now,” he responded. “I’ll take it to the Watcher tomorrow. Won’t have to worry about vampires being out during the day.”
She leaned her head back against the couch and closed her eyes. This turn of events was unexpected, although it probably shouldn’t have been. Spike had been using the Gem of Amara for almost a year now, and it was likely that the only reason word hadn’t gotten out was because he hadn’t had much contact with the demon world. That had all changed over the summer with all the errands he’d been running.
“I’d probably better take the ring an’ clean out as much of that cave as possible,” Spike said when he came back into the living room. “Might need the money soon.”
“For what?”
“Contingencies,” he replied. “Dunno if it’s a good idea for your mum an’ sister to stay in town. Might be better to ship ‘em off some place, an’ that takes money.”
“Money we don’t have,” Buffy agreed. “Yeah, but let me know, okay? I want to see this cave, and it’s probably better if you have company.”
Spike snorted. “I don’t think so. What if one of the tunnels collapses? The ring might save me, but it won’t save you.”
“Spike—”
His expression was grim. “You’re not riskin’ it for the same reason I’m givin’ up wearing the ring full time.”
Buffy sighed, knowing when she was beat. “Fine. Let’s get Harmony and her pack of losers taken care of, and then we can get back to celebrating. We can worry about the rest of it tomorrow.”