The Ultimate
Betrayal
by jamies_lady
Summary:
After the Battle in LA Riley brings news to Buffy which will change
things for ever.
Goes VERY off canon after the Battle of Sunnydale
Chapter 20
Sam was clearing up the kitchen when the pains hit. She
leant on the work surface and grimanced. It was too early.
Baya noticed her sharp intake of breath and turned to see Sam go far
paler than a human should be. She didn’t know what to do, she’d never
been near a sick human before, she knew she couldn’t catch anything but
it was scary and she didn’t want to be blamed for Sam’s apparent
illness. They were safe here and she needed to keep her baby safe.
Baya thought the safest action would be to get Riley, he would know
what to do for his mate, but when the solider arrived he went pale as
well. Perhaps it was highly contagious; whatever it was making the
humans go white and weak. Riley looked worse than Sam: she seemed to be
getting some of her strength back.
Sam managed to finally get some words out. ‘Baby coming, Baya: I
need to get to Martin.’ It suddenly made sense to the poor female
demon: Sam was nesting. She called for Clem to help Riley and she
helped Sam to walk the hundred or so paces to where the medics were.
Johnson thought it typical of the weird week they’d all been having as
a pair of demons helped a very pregnant human get to Martin in the
infirmary. Riley’s inability to even think was typical first time
father behaviour.
Riley paced up and down outside the curtains as Morgana examined his
wife; it seemed she was a fully qualified midwife back in Britain and
had brought a lot of her kit with her. She knew she’d need it.
‘Yes my dear, you are in active labour.’
‘But it’s too early, the baby…’
‘The baby will be fine, it seems he has an adventurous spirit and wants
to join in all the excitement,’ Morgana said with a smile.
Martin had been prepared as well and had set up a small room, it looked
more like a storage cupboard, as a delivery suite just in case. Sam was
in safe hands. Though her shouts could have raised the dead,
unfortunately Spike was still unconscious.
Buffy woke up feeling like she’d slept for hours, in fact from the
position of the shadows in her room she had. She also realised that she
stank: she needed a quick shower before heading down to see Spike. She
wanted to run straight to him, but she wanted to look her best as well.
She showered amazingly quickly and pulled on some low jeans and a
skimpy top. Might as well remind him of what he was missing.
Buffy took the stairs two at a time, the wetness from her hair making
her top damp and clingy. Riley was outside the medical area pacing up
and down. Despite her anxiousness to get to Spike there was something
about the way her ex looked that made her slow down and look at him.
‘Is everything OK?’ She asked quietly.
‘Sam’s in labour, and it’s too soon.’ The way he said the words broke
her heart. Buffy held out her arms and let him hug her: he needed the
comfort and he was a friend.
‘It’ll be OK.’ She said ‘Now aren’t you supposed to be in there holding
her hand and getting yelled at?’ She smiled.
Riley nodded and turned back to the Dining Room. ‘Thanks Buffy.’
‘My pleasure.’
Buffy took a deep breath and made her way into medical.
Anya was sleeping quietly, Xander holding her hand tightly as he sat by
her side. He looked uncomfortable leaning half asleep on the bed. There
was a table at his elbow with the remnants of a meal on it.
‘How is she?’ Buffy was scared by all the drips and drains in her
friend, she looked pale and sickly, her hair all over the place and the
thick pad of a dressing around her stomach.
‘Better: she woke for a minute or so about two hours ago and asked for
water. Martin says she’s going to be OK. Willow keeps coming in every
couple of hours and doing some magic to aid healing on her, says it
will help.’
‘I’m glad, but you should rest as well.’
‘I’m not leaving her,’ Xander said in a harsh whisper.
‘Didn’t think you would.’ Buffy answered, but she pulled a spare bed
over and put it by the side of Anya’s. ‘There, you don’t even have to
let go her hand.’
Xander smiled his thanks and settled down beside his love. He fell
asleep between one breath and the next, not even looking at Buffy.
She’d put it off long enough: no more denial, girl. She went behind he
curtain that hid Spike from the sun: although he was wearing the Gem of
Amara, they didn’t want the vampire panicking when he woke up and felt
sunlight on his skin.
Woke up, that was a joke, he just lay there as if dead, the blood
dripping straight into his mouth from the container hanging above him.
He hadn’t moved in hours, but he wasn’t dust. Martin was just adding
some sort of injection into the blood when Buffy arrived.
‘He should be round soon, we’re lowering the doses of pain relief as he
heals. His legs are the worst, though: he lost the skin and flesh off
of one in the explosion, and…’
‘What explosion?’
‘When he went back the second time: look, I’ll do what’s needed here
and you let Willow fill you in. It was Cordy’s idea before you yell at
anyone.’
A scream from Sam cut the air. ‘And I think I’m needed elsewhere.’
Martin hurried away from the confused looking slayer. Second time?
Explosion…
Willow had already appeared carrying coffee goodness for Buffy. She sat
her down on the chair next to Spike and over coffee and donuts she
filled Buffy in on what had happened in the 28 hours since she’d been
sent to sleep.
Buffy wasn’t happy about that: twenty-eight hours, being sent to sleep
and the choices that had been made while she was out the way, but she
tried to understand. It had been done for the best, and perhaps a full
day of looking at a corpse wouldn’t have done her any good at all.
They sat there in silence looking at Spike. He looked worse than he
ever had, his legs were a mess and his face red and raw from the burns.
‘The Slayer blood is helping.’ Willow said trying to help the situation.
‘What?’ Buffy came round from where she was just looking at the man who
held her heart in his hands, trying to listen to what Willow was
telling her.
‘The slayer blood, all the girls here donated a pint or so, to help him
heal quicker.’
Buffy felt the tears well up. ‘I should have been first to give him
some.’
Spike heard a noise: through all the confusion and pain, he could hear
Buffy crying. Never did like that noise. He could smell fresh slayer
blood as well, in fact he could taste it. He ran his tongue around the
inside of his mouth, catching the next drip as it fell.
His mind worked overtime. He could hear Buffy crying and tasted blood;
where was he, some hospital somewhere where they were experimenting on
him again? He went into game face, growling as he did. She might not be
his but Buffy would always have his and his demon’s loyalty. He
pictured some poor Slayer with her throat cut hanging above him and
bleeding onto him, but he couldn’t smell that much blood. He opened his
eyes carefully to see Buffy hugging onto Willow and still crying.
‘Buffy,’ he tried to say but all that came out was a croak. But Buffy
heard him, or at least her heart felt him speak.
‘Spike…’ she ran over using slayer speed and held onto him tight,
causing him to wince.
‘Buffy, what happened?’
‘You were in an explosion, don’t you remember?’
‘No, nothing. Last thing I remember is Peaches facing down a dragon,
then I woke up here.’
Buffy stroked his beloved face. It was covered in burns still but he
was alive. Spike grabbed her hand when it touched his cheek, looking at
the ring on her finger.
‘Nice sparkly love, where did you get it?’
Buffy, lost in his blue eyes, answered quickly without thinking. ‘Riley
gave it to me.’
She watched as those eyes turned stormy and he pushed her away from
him. She fell on the floor.
‘Riley,’ he spat. ‘And you smell of him as well, pet. Didn’t take you
long to get over the Immortal, did it?’
‘What?’ Buffy realised he’d been talking; she’d just been watching his
precious face.
‘You and Riley. Look, I need to rest. Just piss off will you?’
He turned his back on Buffy, not noticing the blood dripping down onto
his cheek.
Buffy couldn’t understand. ‘What about me and Riley?’ But Spike
wouldn’t answer her. Buffy was furious, the man wouldn’t talk at all.
‘Talk to me, Spike, please!’ she begged, but he feigned sleep and
turned his back each time she walked around the bed.
‘Bitch,’ she heard him whisper.
Buffy looked at the vampire. Lying wounded in the bed, blood dripping
down his face, down his bumps and onto the pillow He didn’t want her:
that much was obvious.
Willow reached across and readjusted it so it dripped into his mouth,
then led the quietly sobbing Buffy out the room.
‘He didn’t want me Willow, that’s why he didn’t contact me that last
year, it was nothing to do with Giles, he just didn’t want me. He even
mentioned the Immortal: I only saw him once, in Rome for a business
meeting, and now he thinks I’m with Riley!’
She was pushed aside by a running Dawn. ‘He’s awake?’ She yelled as she
ran to her friend.
Buffy looked back to see Dawn sitting on the chair by his side, holding
his hand and talking quietly. The tears began to fall again when she
saw him reach up and stroke Dawn’s face. Her heart felt like it was
breaking all over again. Willow led her away, away from the yells from
Sam and away from the sight of Spike’s turned back. Dawn he would talk
to, but he didn’t want her.