In the ARMY Now by Im_Bloody_English

1 :: 2 :: 3 :: 4 :: 5 :: 6 :: 7 :: 8 :: 9 :: 10 :: 11 :: 12 :: 13 :: 14 :: 15 :: 16 :: 17 :: 18 :: 19 :: 20 ::

Chapter 4: To Win the Battle But not the War

Author's Notes: Buffy joins the military and heads off to Basic Training. The Boot Camp experience can be rough enough to endure, but there’s something, or rather someone that will make her time spent becoming a soldier ten times worse - a Drill Sergeant sent straight from the bowels of hell that takes an instant dislike to her mere presence............. Spike. He’s evil, he’s mean, he hates her but even worse... he lusts for her.

Monday of week 7

Spike had been quite successful over the weekend in ridding himself of any Buffy related thoughts... so long as he stuck strictly to watching ‘Asian’ porn. In truth he loved all porn, but this was one of the few he could count on that wouldn’t be starring any blondes to remind him of his inappropriate desire for Buffy. By the time Monday rolled around, he found himself rejuvenated and raring to go back to work, especially after scheming new ways in which to torture his favorite victim with.

He walked straight past the outdoor training that was taking place and into the quiet of his office. Settling behind the desk with a cup of coffee, he waited for everyone to come back inside. As soon as Gunn showed up and they relieved both Oz and Finn, the soldiers would be hitting the showers before heading to chow. There’s nothing he liked better than to interrupt Buffy in the middle of shower time, make her get dressed in under two minutes, then take her outside and roll her in the mud.

The second he thought about that, her body all naked, covered in bubbles as she lathered her breasts had his feet unconsciously carrying him towards the window to find her. Sipping his java, the steam curled around his nose as he narrowed his eyes to find his platoon. There they were. Oz had them in a circle doing sand bag drills. Six out of the twenty soldiers had extremely heavy burlap bags filled with sand they were to hand off to the soldier on their right. Starting with three individuals on each side of the circle, they would hand the sacks off as fast as they could until one person ended up with two, thereby forcing progressively more and more weight to make their arms stronger. It was the only purpose it served, to build muscle.

“What is he doin’?” he asked himself out loud. Riley walked away to go chat with Lilah, leaving Oz to run the drill by himself. No sooner had he done that and Oz was happily blowing away at his whistle, making them reverse direction rapidly while talking and smiling away, telling them something that had everyone laughing like they were having a good time. They weren’t suppose to have fun, they were suppose to be grunting, sweating from the effort, getting so tired that one of the females would inevitably be the first to drop a sandbag, forcing them to start all over again. Usually that female was Summ... wait a minute, where was Buffy?

Taking a visual head count, he found there were only nineteen people present. His eyes quickly scanned the other two groups but she was nowhere to be seen. Hmmm, maybe she got in trouble, earned herself a little corrective trainin’. There was another pleasant thought; that he would be adding to whatever punishment one of the other drills had already given her.

He turned around and walked back to his desk in time to see Gunn walk into the office.

“What’s the word, my brother from another mother? Did you relax this weekend, unloaded the tension from this place with a little fishing? Golf? Skeet shooting perhaps?”

Spike shook his head before taking another sip from his mug. Oh, he unloaded more than a little something this weekend, but the tension he felt was still present... sexual tension that is. Once he’d gotten his fill of making Buffy suffer however, he’d be feeling much better.

“Didn’ do much of anythin’ really. Sat in front of the telly most of the time.” He lied.

“Aside from watching Pooh twice in a row with Lilly, did you catch any good flicks?”

Yup, let’s see, there was ‘Land of the Rising cum’, ‘Crouching Twat Hide my Dragon’, ‘Shanghaied at Noon’ and of course, his personal favorite ‘69, How Two Can Chew’.

“Jus’ catchin’ up on ‘Passions’.” He watched Gunn shake his head and smile. “What?”

“You and soap operas. Who woulda guessed?” He chuckled.

“Oi, `s a good show. Bloody brilliant.”

“If you say so, man. Now a good show you should try watching is...”

The sudden sound of the doors swinging open and feet pounding up the stairs cut Gunn off.

“Put on your game face.”

Gunn hadn’t taken his hat off yet, but since it was resting on the back on his head, he used one finger to tip the brim level with his eyes, speaking in a low serious voice.

“You got it, boss.”

They walked out into the hall to watch everyone file into the common room with Oz and Finn right on their heels.

“Sergeant Osbourne!”

Oz stopped abruptly and did an about-face. Strolling up to his superior he smiled brightly.

“Sergeant?”

“Would you care to tell me WHY I saw you out there makin’ my soldiers laugh when they should be trainin’?”

“We were training. I just thought it would be fun to change it up a bit, make it harder on them by switching directions every few seconds.”

“I see.” Making them work harder was fine, “But why were they laughin’?”

“Oh, I was doing impressions. You know, of famous people?”

“Hmmph. We’re not here to entertain. See that you stick to business from now on.”

Spike walked away, leaving both Oz and Gunn confused by his curt behavior. Sure, he was consistently terse with the soldiers, but the cadre? His friends? Never!

“What’s eating him?” Oz questioned Gunn, who shrugged in response.

“It’s anyone’s guess. He’s probably just itching because he’s gone two days without putting a hurting on Summers.”

“Speaking of, something happened today...”

Spike walked slowly past the common room, peering inside... no Buffy. He stopped by the female lavatory and banged against the door but received no response. At the end of the hall, he fully expected to find her in the ‘house of pain’, but when he got there, the room lay empty. It wasn’t like he was anxious to see her or anything, oh no, if she was still carrying out her punishment somewhere else, maybe with 2nd platoon downstairs that was just fine with him. He convinced himself he merely wanted all his soldiers accounted for before the other drills left for the day. What he overheard Oz telling Gunn as he came back towards them hit him like a ton of bricks.

“How long has Summers been in the ER?”

“About forty minutes now. Lindsey just called about ohhhhh,” Oz glanced at his watch, “Five minutes ago. Apparently the doc wants to keep her there for a while to monitor her, just to make sure.”

They both looked up to see one very pissed off Spike storming in their direction.

“Did I just hear you say Summers is in the emergency room?” Oz nodded. “FINN,” he screamed and turned in his direction when he heard footsteps from behind him. “You,” he pointed at Riley, “And you,” turning back to point at Oz, “In my office... NOW!” He didn’t need the recruits listening in when he opened the verbal can of whoop ass he was about to unleash on both NCO’s. They may be his friends, but knowing they hadn’t told him straight away that Buffy was at the hospital had him fuming.

Gunn muttered under his breath. “Uh-oh,” then went to where the soldiers were and closed that door as well. He knew Spike’s temper and judging from the look on his face, it was going to take two doors between him and everyone else to shut out the screaming. All four men went into the office, jumping when Spike slammed the door shut.

He tried to remain calm, he really did. “Explain.”

“She was goi...” Finn started.

“Wait,” he held up a hand. “First. Answer me this. Why in the BLOODY hell aren’t one of YOU two with her right now?”

Oz stepped in to answer. “McDonald came to work early so Levinson could leave and was there when it happened. He felt responsible since it was his station where she had her accident so he took her himself... said he would stay with her.”

The second Gunn heard the name ‘McDonald’ spoken and saw Spike’s jaw twitch, it didn’t surprise him in the least when Spike picked up a couple of random items off the desk to throw against the door in a fit of rage. He sat down and looked over at a shocked Finn and pitied him. Spike was surely going to rip him a new hole to breathe out of. The only ‘innocent’ here in the room was poor Oz, he was clueless about Lindsey.

“I don’ care if he FEELS responsible. She isn’ his responsibility, she’s yours and yours,” he pointed a finger at each of them in turn. “She’s OUR soldier, NOT his. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED OUT THERE?”

Oz opened his mouth to speak but Spike cut him off again.

“NOT you... you. Explain.” He pointed a finger at Finn. “You had specific orders NEVER to leave him alone with a female soldier so unless you have a good reason, you’re arse is mine.”

“Spike,” Finn started. “I don’t know what the big deal is; he just took her to the hospital. What happened was...”

“Don’t bother.” He stood and grabbed his car keys. “`M goin’ there m`self to have McDonald explain what happened then send him back here. I’ll stay with her.” His first concern was getting Lindsey away from Buffy, then seeing if she was alright. He knew exactly why Finn hadn’t taken her to the hospital himself... he was too busy chatting away with Lilah, thinking with his dick.

“Spike... look man.” Gunn felt the need to intervene for Buffy’s sake. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I mean... you? Barking at her when she first wakes up? Let me go, I’ll stay with her.”

“`S that what you think `m gonna do?” His face filled with surprise. “Bark at her?” He shook his head in disbelief. “I want you to brief Oz here on exactly WHY when I get back, ‘White-bread’ here is going to be castrated.” Opening the door, he walked out before another word was said to piss him off any further. McDonald, of all people, was the one there with her when it should have been Oz or Finn. He could just see Lindsey acting all concerned and use the opportunity to get on Buffy’s good side... then later seduce her. He stepped on the accelerator at the thought of that wanker laying one finger on her, of the possibility that he might choose to scare her later on by using his authority over her to get in her pants or worse, that maybe Buffy would willingly let him. No, she wouldn’t do that, he refused to believe she was that kind of girl. She’d been crushed when she found out that her ‘Angel’ hadn’t been faithful. He knew what that felt like, how it left a person, whether man or woman, feeling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lindsey flashed her his best smile, still holding her hand as he sat at her bedside.

“I told him, no. I’ll take her myself. So I carried you to my car, brought you here and haven’t left your side yet. I was so worried about your conditi...”

“Sergeant McDonald?!?!” The scene he’d walked in on had his blood boiling. Lindsey had no business holding her hand and the way he was talking to Buffy confirmed his suspicions.

Lindsey dropped her hand and stood up. “Spike. Buddy, I was just...”

“Le’s take a walk shall we?”

“Sure thing.” He looked to Buffy and said he’d be right back.

Like hell you will. He took one look at her and cringed at the blood stained bandage on her forehead. There wasn’t much that bothered him, but blood, needles and just plain hospitals in general made him queasy. She looked alright other than that.

Spike listened patiently as Lindsey told him how Buffy had gone through his station on the obstacle course. She fell before reaching the second platform of the four tier tower climb and he made her try again. When she fell a second time, it was from much higher up and she didn’t have time to tuck and roll her body. She’d fallen on her side and hit the ground hard where she went unconscious almost immediately. Apparently there was good size rock beneath a patch of grass and her head had found it, causing a good size gash near her hairline that required five stitches. The neurologist came in to conduct some simple preliminary tests, checking her coordination, sense of feeling, memory, orientation, and concentration, all of which she passed with flying colors. But because she’d been unconscious for a few minutes, the Doc wanted to run a CAT scan and keep her here to continue his observation, testing her at one hour intervals to be absolutely sure before releasing her.

Since they were in a hospital, Spike didn’t dare raise his voice, instead he simply told Lindsey to go back to work, that since she was his soldier he would be the one to stay there with her.

After watching him leave the building he sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. He was going to be here for awhile but that’s not what concerned him. She was hurt, needed to be watched over the course of several hours, hell, maybe even overnight. He walked back to the nurse’s station and asked if he could speak to the attending physician about his soldier’s condition.

The doctor told him exactly what he’d predicted, that he would rather keep her overnight even though her CAT scan came out normal. After that, she was free to go back and finish her training so long as they were careful not to put her into a position where she could receive another blow to the head. They would also need to watch her behavior daily. So long as her vision and mental faculties remained normal, she should be fine.

He was ready to go in and see her but before he did, he walked outside for a quick smoke and to call Gunn on his cell phone to inform him he wouldn’t be back with her until the morning and to have someone bring over a clean PT uniform and some personal effects to make her more comfortable. Snapping the phone shut, he threw his cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his boot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy’s evening seemed to be going pretty well. Okay, setting aside the concussion and some stitches to her head, but she was getting a rare opportunity to rest and Sergeant McDonald had been pleasant company... that is, until, he showed up. By the time Spike came back, she’d been moved into a regular room and told she would most likely stay until the morning.

He walked into her room holding his hat in one hand with his usual cold, expressionless face, beautiful yet deadly blue eyes boring into her like icicles. He looked pissed, great. Like it’s my fault I’m here.

“Summers.” He nodded once in her direction then took a seat at the opposite end of the room.

“Good evening, Sergeant.” God, the man was so annoying. She knew he couldn’t make her do anything while she was here but he still tortured her with his presence. He sat there with his legs spread wide and hooked a thumb through his belt so that his hand rested lightly over his crotch. Her mind flashed back to when he caught her staring at him and she blushed slightly. The nurse had thankfully turned on the television before she left, so she focused her attention on the news and tried to pretend he didn’t exist.

The silence was killing him but he wasn’t ready to talk to her yet. He was still fuming over Lindsey. How could they let him take her here? Was she still unconscious when Lindsey put her in his car? He could have done anything he wanted to her during that time. And then to see her smiling away while he held her hand, ARGHH!

“Summers? When did you wake up?”

“Sergeant?”

“After you hit your head. Where did you wake up?” He had to know. If she didn’t wake up until she got here he was going to interrogate McDonald Nazi style.

“Uhmm, the first thing I remember was Sergeant McDonald carrying me to his car, Sergeant.” He better not even act like he cares about what happened to me.

“And you remained conscious?” She nodded her head. “Good.” His chest visibly relaxed upon exhaling.

The nurse came back in and immediately went to work on changing the bandage to Buffy’s head. Spike tried not to watch but when Buffy hissed from the pain, his eyes instinctively went to her forehead and he grimaced from the sight of her dried blood. He’d had stitches plenty of times too but had a hard time staying calm for the needle of lidocaine to numb the area. The thought of a needle coming anywhere near him had his hand impulsively running over his face.

“Are you okay, Sergeant?” He looked pale, well, more pale than usual.

“`M fine.” He was glad he hadn’t eaten yet as the memory of the stitches to his eyebrow came back to him. Shaking his head, he got up and left for the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. By the time he got back to Buffy’s room, Gunn had arrived and was talking away animatedly to Buffy.

“... your first war scar.”

“It wasn’t exactly war, Sergeant.” She giggled.

Spike felt jealous. Not over Gunn talking to her but that she smiled for him, talked and laughed so easily around him. Her smile was pretty; it lit up her face and made her eyes stand out. Why couldn’t she smile like that around him? Maybe because you live to make her miserable?

“Spike.” Gunn noticed him standing in the doorway. He turned to place Buffy’s bag of personal things on the night table and couldn’t help but notice that her smile instantly fade. “Did you want me to stay for awhile so you can go back to the barracks?” He expected it when Spike said ‘no’ but thought he’d at least try for Buffy’s benefit so she could have a break from dealing with him. “How about dinner? Do you want me to pick something up for you?”

Spike was about to say no when the nurse, who was still there, took hold of Buffy’s arm, prepping her for an IV.

“Can you stay here for a mo’ while I run out and get it m’self?”

“Sure thing.” He turned to Buffy, “Do you want something to eat?” The nurse answered for her saying she wasn’t allowed anything until the doctor said so. “I’ll be here, man, go on.”

Buffy waited until both Spike and the nurse left the room then asked, “Why does he hate me so much, Sergeant?” If anyone knew, it would be Sergeant Gunn.

“What? Spike doesn’t...” He trailed off when he saw the look of frustration on her face. “Buffy is your first name right? Can I call you Buffy?”

“Yes, Sergeant.”

“You can drop the Sergeant crap for now.” He pulled a chair up to her bedside and sat back, pulling his left ankle up to rest over his right knee. “He doesn’t hate you, Buffy. He treats everyone the same.”

“Sure could have fooled me.” She rolled her eyes.

“Look, I know he’s been hard on you at times but he really is a good guy underneath as hard as it is to believe.” She nodded at him and pursed her lips.

“I’m sure he is. I saw how he was with your children, which by the way are very beautiful.”

“Well, thank you.” He beamed. “Spike wasn’t always like this you know. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but because I don’t agree with a lot of the things he’s done to you, I will and maybe it’ll help you to understand.”

Gunn didn’t go into any great detail other than to tell her his past two wives had both been unfaithful and it tainted his overall opinion of women. He also explained that when it came to girls who looked like her, “No offense to your appearance, but you look like a valley girl cheerleader on first impression,” Spike didn’t think they were the kind of soldiers the Army needed and was determined to break them, send them home crying to their mommies.

“I am from the valley and I was a cheerleader but he’s not going to break me.” She set her jaw firmly in place when Gunn began laughing.

“Yeah, I see that and you have my respect, especially after you flattened him with the pugil. You’re one hell of a woman and the first girl he hasn’t been able to break. I think that’s the reason right there why he’s so tough on you. Don’t let it get to you. It’s all just a psychological game here at boot camp. Once you’re through with all your training, the real Army life isn’t like that. It’s like any other job but with a few more demands placed on your time.”

“If you say so. I mean, what if I ever saw him after this? Like two years down the road? Would he still be able to make me do pushups or humiliate me?” She hoped not.

“Technically yes because he’s higher ranking than you but no, he wouldn’t try it. Once you get assigned to your first duty station, you belong to a unit, a company and it’s their duty to watch over you, discipline you if necessary. You answer directly to them and if someone harasses you unnecessarily then you go through your chain of command. I wouldn’t worry about it, Buffy. It’s a small Army but the likelihood of you two ever being assigned to the same place or even bumping into each other is remote. You’re going to be a medic while Spike and I are both Infantry soldiers. We go to places like FT Nag, North Carolina or FT Pukert, Georgia. You’ll probably be assigned to MEDDAC which is the medical side of the Army and could wind up anywhere, even overseas like Germany. We’re on the FORSCOM side, the grunts that spend most of our time in the field. That’s not to say you couldn’t wind up being assigned to a FORSCOM unit, but you’ll almost never have to interact with us. Women aren’t allowed to be infantry.”

“Thank God for miracles.”

They were both chuckling when Spike walked into the room.

“Well, I best be off.” He stood and faced Spike. “Call me if you need a break tonight and oh,” he reached into his pocket to pull out a deck of cards. “I almost forgot. In case you get bored, maybe you and Summers can play some cards.” Spike cocked an eyebrow at him. “You play cards, Summers?”

“I’ve played a few times, yes, Sergeant.”

Spike took the deck after setting his sandwich aside and frowned when she smiled at Gunn.

“Great. Try not to have too much fun, I’m off.”

“Goodbye, Sergeant.” Great, now she was stuck with Sergeant Paleface all night. Hopefully he’d get sick of being here and call Sergeant Gunn to come back.

“I’ll be back in the mornin’, mate.” He waited until Gunn left then turned his attention to Buffy who went back to staring at the television.

For whatever reason he didn’t care to examine, it irritated him that she wouldn’t even look in his direction. Well, he’d make her look at him. He walked up to the TV, shut it off then sat down in the chair next to her. Wheeling the small portable table between them he slammed the cards on top, making her jump.

“What do you play?”

“I, uhmm...”

“Either you know how to play somethin’ or you don’, Summers. There’s no ‘uhmm’ `bout it.”

“Poker?” She offered. She watched him take off his BDU top and had to look away. It was disturbing how handsome he was. Too bad such good looks were wasted on a jerk, a very bitter jerk that should have understood her pain over Angel, not thrown it in her face like he had.

“Right. You know how to play poker?” He asked accusingly while eyeing her as if she were lying. At least she was looking at him now, well, not directly in the eyes. “`S fine, I’ll teach you. Here,” he grabbed the remote to the bed and pressed it until she was sitting upright. Good, now they were eye to eye. “Don’t worry, `m not gonna make you do anythin’ in here. Relax.” He watched her shoulders sag slightly... from relief he guessed.

Picking the deck up, he shuffled it several times while explaining the basic rules of ‘five card stud’. The first two rounds they played, he helped her by looking at her hand, explaining why she would want to get rid of this card or that, telling her the order of what type of hand beats what and so on.

“Le’s play one more but this time I won’ look. Here, you shuffle.” He handed her the deck and reached for his sandwich. As he unwrapped it, he thought about her not being able to eat anything until the doctor said it was alright. He didn’t like the thought of her starving so he broke the sandwich in half and threw it on the table in front of her. “You should eat.”

“But the doctor said...”

“I don’ care what the doc said. You missed chow so you must be hungry, yeah?” She nodded. “So eat it, `m not gonna say anythin’.” When she hesitated, he sighed as if exasperated. “Jus’ eat the bloody thing before I change my mind `bout being nice.”

“Not that I’m not grateful, Sergeant, but... why?” This shocked her. Him. Sergeant Sourpuss. Being nice. On purpose?

“You said you were hungry.”

She shook her head. “No, I mean being nice.”

“As hard as it is for you to believe, `m quite capable of bein’ nice.”

“I never said you...”

“Take it or leave it, `s your choice.”

“Geez, I’ll take it.” She scowled and snatched the sandwich up, taking a huge bite out of it.

“Thought you might.” He couldn’t help himself, wasn’t even aware of it when it happened... he tilted his head to one side and smiled at her. Even if she was purposefully taking advantage of the fact he couldn’t punish her, he was pleased she was eating and the defiant frown she wore was incredibly cute.

Yup, way more handsome when he smiles. She returned his smile with one of her own, glad he hadn’t gotten mad over her impulsive statement. Maybe the evening wouldn’t be so bad after all. She could care less if he actually came to like her, oh no. But if they could come to some kind of middle ground, a truce, something so he’d ease up on her then it would be worth being nice back to him. Hey, she could hope, right?

Spike took care of cleaning up after they finished eating then pointed to the cards she’d dealt and picked up his own. “Le’s see what you’ve learned so far, shall we?” He tried to shake the fact that when she sassed him he’d enjoyed it. She caught him off guard with that beautiful smile, that’s all.

Lord knows she tried to concentrate but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The faint scent of smoke mixed with his cologne and something else filled the air around her. It was strong, heady, uniquely male, intoxicating, distracting, too distracting. She couldn’t remember Angel ever smelling that good and why was she letting his scent get to her anyway? She felt the sudden need for some fresh air so she interrupted him.

“I need to get changed, Sergeant.”

“Oh. Right.” He forgot all about the sack of clothes he had Gunn bring for her. Picking it up, he handed it over.

She looked through the bag to find one item in particular when an evil thought crossed her mind.

“Oh no. No, no, no, no!” She rummaged through the bag some more.

“What?” He sat up to see what she was stressing over.

“There’s no tampons in here,” she cried.

“”What?!?! Oh, oh, BLOODY HELL!!!” He stood up and began pacing the room, running his hand through his hair over and over while babbling. “`M not goin’ to a store for you. No, no. No way, no. This is a hospital, they must have somethin’.” A couple of ‘bloody hells’ later and the sound of her snickering caught his attention.

She held up her box of tampons and shook it back and forth, a huge grin gracing her lips. The expression on his face was priceless. Frustration, shock, relief and irritation all flashed over his features within seconds of each other. Score number two for me.

“Not funny, Summers.” He put his hands on his hips; fully prepared to chastise her some more but couldn’t do it. Her eyes were shining while she giggled over having fooled him... she looked adorable.

“You’re right it wasn’t, it was downright hysterical. You should have seen the look on your face.” She snickered some more while swinging her legs over the side of the bed and stood. “I couldn’t resist... hey!” He scared her when he suddenly rushed toward her.

He ran over and placed his hands against her shoulders. “You don’ wanna pull that out.” He looked down at the IV leading into her arm.

“Oh.” She looked into his eyes, noting how he stared with worry and... that he had yet to remove those amazingly beautiful, strong hands of his from her. It sent an involuntary shiver through her body. “Thanks.” She looked down, telling herself it was just a chill in the air.

She trembled slightly and he retracted his hands as if burnt, realizing he’d never physically touched her until now. He shouldn’t have, he could have just yelled to her not to move. It was the concern over her pulling the IV out that made him react like that. Yes, that was it.

She took the IV stand and wheeled it to the bathroom inside her room and closed the door. Opening her sack, she pulled out her clothes, hairbrush and toothbrush, everything she assumed Willow had packed for her and set to work getting herself cleaned up and changed.

Spike was sitting down again when he heard her call out to him.

“Sergeant Speichart? I need some help.” She had her shirt half on when she realized just what a task it was going to be getting her arm through her sleeve with a bag of fluid connected to her. God this was embarrassing.

“Yeah?” He walked to the bathroom door and waited for her to answer. Instead, she opened it half way to face him with pleading eyes.

“I can’t get my arm through my shirt with the IV bag.”

“I, ahh. Ahem. Right then.” He raised his hands then hesitated. Tilting his head from side to side he nervously reached for her in a different position only to pull back again, trying to decide the best angle in which to help her. “Can you... turn around?” This was an innocent situation, an innocent request. He wouldn’t need to touch her, no big deal... for God sakes, jus’ help the bird.

She opened the door completely and turned her back to him. From the mirror on the far wall, she watched him while wiggling her arm into place beneath the shirt, trying desperately with her free hand to hold it modestly in place so as not to expose herself.

As carefully as possible, he lifted the bag of saline off its hook and told her to take it while he held her top down and away from her body, leaving enough room for her to maneuver it through the arm hole.

“I can’t pull it through with my hand, the sleeve... it’s too small.” She tried but it was proving too much of a struggle and she was fearful of pulling the catheter out in the process. It looked like it was going to take both his hands as well as hers. “Can you maybe... uhmm, hold my shirt with one hand and the bag with the other until I get my hand through, then help shove it through so I can take it?”

He barely choked out a ‘yes’ as she let go of the opposite side of her shirt. He looked up at her in the mirror then quickly back down, taking a shaky breath as his hand went under the thin cotton material. Her nipples were visibly pebbled, she wasn’t wearing a bra... again. That fact gave more than a rise to just his awareness as his pants tented.

It was unavoidable. His knuckles brushed against her skin, making him groan internally at how soft she felt. Keeping his eyes downcast, her shirt inevitably rose up and from her side and he caught a glimpse of the swell of her breast. The more she moved the more contact they made and what he wouldn’t give to shut the bathroom door behind them, bend her over the sink and take her right there. He was grateful when she finally took the bag from him with her free hand because he felt the need to slap himself sober from his lusty thoughts.

She swore she saw him blushing in the mirror while he helped her... which couldn’t be right. He was pale, always pale. But then again, the fact his hand kept touching her side hadn’t escaped her attention either. He must have been embarrassed, because there was no way he was remotely attracted to her. It was too obvious he hated her.

He waited until she came out and got back in bed before sitting down. “Where were we?” He grabbed his cards, trying to will away his erection through focusing on the game. Three hands later and he had a sneaking suspicion she knew more about poker than she let on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later

“I guess that means I win?” She smiled innocently and threw down a royal flush, snickering when he ‘hmphh’ed’ at her. “My deal.” She shuffled and dealt, picking up her hand and immediately decided not to trade any cards out. “How many?”

“You’re gonna keep wha’s in your hand?” She nodded. Silly bint. “You sure?” She nodded again. “You’re goin’ down this time. Gimme three.” He waited until he had his replacement cards in hand. He only had a pair of threes but kept his poker face and bid ten points, hoping she’d fold. He’d only won perhaps three games total since they began playing and when she beat him this time as they both laid their cards down he openly accused her. “Did you jus’ hustle me?”

She smiled coquettishly at him. “Little bit, mm-hmm.” He sat back and glared at her.

“Don’ know how to play poker, my arse.” Oh, ho-ho, she was goooood, real good. “How long you been playin?”

“I don’t know, three, four years maybe. My dad let me watch when his friends started coming to our house every Wednesday to play. After about a year, they let me join in.” She shrugged her shoulders. Big deal, it was an easy game. He shook his head back and forth. “What?”

“I can’ believe I went easy on you, that you let me go through teachin’ you and you knew the whole time.” He narrowed his eyes on her. “`M gonna smoke you for this when you get outta here.” Even so, he had to hand it to her... she worked him over good.

An idea came to mind. “Well, now that you DO know, how about we play for real this time? Up the ante, the stakes?”

“No,” shaking his head back and forth. “No gambling. As soldiers we’re not allowed to gamble for money.”

“Not for money. Let’s play for something... a little more interesting.”

He didn’t know what she had in mind, but he was most definitely curious. “`M listenin’.”

“If I win, you have to stop riding me so hard.” And I can’t believe I just said that. He quirked an eyebrow at her. “I-I. What I meant was... you have to let up on me entirely. No more harassing me.”

He almost choked when she mentioned ‘riding’ but hid any sign of being aware of what she’d said and just raised an eyebrow at her. “Alright. And if I win?” He held his breath.

She thought for a moment. Well, if she was going to ask him to leave her alone completely, then it was only fair to offer him whatever he wanted. “If you win... you can do anything you want to me.”

He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbed slowly in his suddenly more than dry throat. All his sexual fantasies involving her came flooding back despite knowing that’s not what she meant. “Really?” She looked him dead in the eye and spoke with serious conviction.

“Anything... Sergeant.” She saw a hint of hesitation in his eyes. “Unless you’re scared?” That got his attention.

“Oi! `M not scared of a l’il girl. You’re on.” He gathered the cards back up and stared her down as menacingly as possible while shuffling. “You’re gonna regret makin’ that bet, Summers. `M gonna own you after this hand.” She had the nerve to roll her eyes at him.

“I mean no disrespect when I say if you can dish it out, I can take it. Question is... if I win, will you keep your word?” He growled at her as he began dealing the cards out.

A few minutes later, Buffy won. Her triumphant look faded however as he began pouting and complaining like a child.

“Fine. If you’re going to be a sore loser, we can play again.” She laughed when he glared at her. “Best two out of three. Take it or leave it.”

He shoved the deck in her direction. “Deal!” He didn’t like losing, especially not to a girl, even if said girl was starting to slowly earn more and more respect from him.

He won the second hand and openly gloated. “Pressure’s on, Summers. If I win, `s anythin’ I want, right?”

“Anything.” There’s no way he’d win. He was good, but she was better, no two ways about it.

Two minutes later, he proved her wrong.

“HAH!” Even though he’d won, what he really wanted to do to her was completely out of the question. That’s okay, her physical torture would suffice.

Shit! Shit, shit, shit!!! “Okay. You win, fair and square.”

The doctor came back in to check on her and Spike excused himself for a smoke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was sooooo screwed but it was a fair game. Besides, she’d spoke the truth... there wasn’t anything he could dish out that she couldn’t handle. She watched him walk back into the room and remove the table from in front of her.

“Better get some sleep. We’re leavin’ first thing in the mornin’.” He watched her nod and handed her the remote to the bed so she could recline.

“Yes, Sergeant.” Apparently he’d had enough. He’d won, was gloating, plotting her torture and that was that.

During the hourly checkups throughout the night, Spike found himself waking up right alongside Buffy. When the doctor made her sit up, he found himself sitting up too, watching, waiting, praying her answers to his questions were correct, indicating she was indeed alright. He tried telling himself it was just so he could take her back to the barracks and collect his winnings, making her wish she’d never been born, but deep down... he knew better. The tiny blonde was no longer the weak and frightened cheerleader she was when she’d first arrived. His hate and his lust for her already had him doing everything possible to break her spirit yet here she was, telling him ‘if you can dish it out, I can take it’. She could, he knew she would because he’d turned her into that kind of soldier. The kind he could be proud of having in his Army.

3 AM rolled around and he couldn’t get back to sleep. Leaving her room for another smoke, he began to question whether or not it was fair... that he’d won. It wasn’t their original bet. She’d been the bigger person, the one who suggested best two out of three after he whined like a nancy-boy.

On his way back in, the doctor informed him she seemed to be perfectly fine, but he would check on her a couple more times then release her around five. Spike breathed a sigh of relief then tensed as he thought about going back to the barracks. He still had yet to deal with Finn... and deal with him he would. He wanted to physically throttle the stupid farm-boy but decided a change to his work schedule so that it didn’t coincide with Lilah’s and a verbal warning would have to do. He couldn’t afford to get himself in trouble by beating the living daylights out of Riley, not so close to the time he would be leaving this place. He thought about that for a moment... he was finally leaving this place, going back to being just a regular soldier. It filled him with relief. The long hours, the funny brown hat, all of it would be a distant memory soon and in a few short months Gunn would be joining him. They both came down on orders at the same time and were pleased to learn they were to be stationed at the same place and unit. Yes, his life would soon regain some sense of normalcy and he could hardly wait.

He took up his seat again by her side and stared at her sleeping form. She’d removed the elastic band from her hair, letting it down to flow freely around her face like a golden halo. She was beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful and he found himself taking in everything about her. The tantalizing swell of her womanly curves outlined beneath the white blanket, the delicate, fine features of her face, her long lashes, smooth skin... He drank all of her in with his eyes, appreciating everything that made her a woman, committing it to memory. Her pouty lips parted when she suddenly sighed and his pants instantly tightened as he focused on those two luscious lips, imagining them wrapped around his cock. He caught himself before he groaned aloud. He could just picture her on her knees, pleasuring him right before he pulled her onto his lap to lower her lovely bum onto his aching shaft, feeling her heat, her snug walls strangling his manhood tightly as he made her cum hard around him.

She moaned in her sleep and turned on her side to face him, a few strands of hair falling in front of her nose. With a mind of its own, his fingers reached out and took hold of the silky strands to push them gently away. He wasn’t quite aware of the fact he still held her hair between his fingers, rubbing it gently between them to confirm its softness until she moaned again.

That’s when it dawned on him. He’d allowed himself to just look at her. As a man. He was just a man who wanted a woman. This woman. For all her strong will, her sass, her ability to beat him at more than just one kind of game... a very strong willed, tough and perfectly sensual woman. Here it was he’d tried to break her, when in fact it was she that had broken him. Broke him down into acting like nothing more than a lusting schoolboy who went home every night and fucked his hand pretending it was her, coming back the next day to pick on her as if it were her fault. It was in this moment he knew he could no longer be in her presence without wanting her and he didn’t trust himself, couldn’t trust himself not to act on his desires. Oh God! He was no better than Lindsey! There was only one thing he could do. He’d have to leave her alone. She was the rightful winner of their game and he would honor his word and leave her alone, not for his sake, but for hers.

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