Fix You

Author: enigmaticblue

Rating: PG-13

Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own these characters, which is really too bad, since I'm a lot nicer than Joss ever was.

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.

A/N: Written for effulgent_girl, who requested that S7 Buffy and Spike be sent back to S4, which got me to thinking. Always a dangerous thing.

A/N: You'll probably notice that I've took some liberties with the timing in canon. Since I'm running the show, I'm allowed to do that.

Chapter 50: United We Stand

In the end, what they came up with was a locator spell for all the vampires in Sunnydale. Tara had suggested waiting for the sun to rise, then casting it, since it was more likely than not that whichever vampire had ended up with the ring would be the only one out and about. Although that meant possibly waiting until the vampire had done some damage, it seemed the only surefire way to catch it quickly.

Tara stood in the doorway of her bedroom. Both Buffy and Spike were sleeping, and it appeared as though the Slayer’s choice to feed Spike some of her blood had been beneficial. His bruises were fading a little faster than Tara thought they might have otherwise.

Buffy stirred and looked over at Tara. “Did you find him?”

She shook her head. “Not yet. You can sleep a little longer.” Tara didn’t tell her that they weren’t planning on using the Slayer at all during this venture. In a way, it made sense; Buffy and Spike had done so much, and taken so much on themselves. They deserved a break.

Buffy looked at Spike, touching one bruised cheek gently. “He looks better, doesn’t he?”

“A lot better,” Tara agreed. “I’ll wake you when we know something.”

It was a mark of her exhaustion that Buffy did as she was told without argument. Tara went back out to the living room, and found that Xander had returned from the Magic Box with the rest of the supplies they’d needed for the spell. Anya had decided to work that day, and Tara had already called Joyce to let her know that she wouldn’t be in.

“How is Spike?” Joyce had asked, sounding anxious.

“Better.” Tara didn’t know if Buffy had told her about the extent of Spike’s injuries, and so thought that keeping her response generic would be safer. “Once we get the ring back, he’ll be as good as new.”

“Call me when you have it,” Joyce said. “Or if you need anything.”

Tara thought that this was how a real family was supposed to work—helping one another out with no questions asked, taking care of each other, picking up the slack when one member faltered. It was refreshing.

“I think we’re ready,” Mairead announced.

Tara took her place at one point of the triangle, Mairead on her right, and Willow on her left. They had worked magic together often enough, and long enough, that it felt natural and easy, and when the points around the map lit up, it was obvious where their target was.

“That’s the grocery store,” Graham observed, sounding very nonchalant for someone who hadn’t even believed in magic that long ago.

“It makes a certain kind of sense when you think about it,” Oz said.

Willow grimaced. “People go shopping, and so does the vampire. It’s a public location, though.”

“I’m not certain it would care,” Giles pointed out. “The vampire would be invulnerable, at least in theory.”

“We’ll just have to prove that theory wrong,” Xander said. “So, who’s driving?”

“Better take the van,” Oz replied. “I’ll get it started.”

Tara took a deep breath, knowing that this would be the greatest test of their teamwork yet.

~~~~~

Graham had insisted on sticking around for a number of reasons. To a certain extent, he felt as though he owed Buffy and Spike; they had been responsible for taking down Adam, and they were also responsible for keeping Sunnydale safe. He got paid to do the job; they didn’t. It wasn’t a good idea to allow another vampire to hang onto the ring, and making sure they got it back was in his job description.

He also wanted to see how it all turned out, though. Things tended to get interesting around the Slayer and her friends, and Graham wanted to be there for the ending.

When they entered the grocery store, it was clear that finding the lone vampire among all the humans was going to be a difficult task. It seemed that everyone in town was there, which made sense since it was a Saturday morning.

“Now what?” Xander asked. “We can’t go around the store asking everyone if they have a pulse.”

“Here.” Graham produced the heat sensing goggles he’d insisted on picking up on their way to the store. “Look for the person without the normal body heat.”

“Aren’t people going to ask questions?” Willow asked. “I mean, we already stick out.”

Sure enough, they were already getting strange looks from departing patrons who saw the group standing near the door. “Can’t you do a spell to fix that? Make people ignore us?”

There was a moment’s silence after Graham’s suggestion, then Mairead said, “I think we might be able to work something out.”

The girls held a quick conference, and Tara said, “I’ll do it. We only need to shield one person, and when they find the vampire, it’s only going to take one of us to heat the ring.”

“What if he tries running outside?” Oz asked. “Someone is going to need to cut off its escape route.”

“Oz, you and Xander wait outside,” Giles said. “Tara, you and Graham find the vampire. Willow and Mairead follow and do the spell on the ring.”

“What are you going to do?” Xander asked.

Giles smiled. “I’ll be outside with you two.”

Graham had no problem recognizing Giles’ authority. “Sounds good to me.”

They dispersed, and Tara laid a hand on his arm. Graham had never worked with Tara much in the past, but she seemed like a nice girl and an experienced witch.

And he couldn’t even believe he knew of an “experienced witch” with real magical powers.

“Okay,” she said after a few seconds. “They should ignore us now.”

“What did you do?” he asked.

“Just a spell to make people not notice us,” she explained. “It’s pretty simple.”

Graham used the infra-red binoculars to check out the body heat. They were more difficult to use during the day, but then again, they were meant for hunting creatures of the night.

They wandered up and down the aisles, Willow and Mairead trailing behind. “There he is,” Graham said, honing in on a thin, nondescript man bending over a baby carriage. The infant’s mother was eyeing the man with a mixture of discomfort and pride as he admired her child. Graham often thought that the people of Sunnydale didn’t follow their instincts nearly as often as they should.

“Are you sure?” Tara whispered.

“Very. No body heat,” he replied. Then, pulling the binoculars away from his face, he caught the winking of the green gem on the vampire’s finger. “And he’s wearing the ring.”

“We got him,” Willow said. She and Mairead joined hands and stared at the vampire—or the ring. Graham wasn’t sure which they were focused on so intently.

The vampire suddenly shot straight up, looking alarmed. He backed away from the stroller and ran into the meat case. Willow and Mairead backed away out of sight, and the vampire stuck his hand in the cold air of the case.

Graham watched as the witches narrowed their eyes, and the vampire yelped, yanking the ring off his hand, then dropping it into the cooler.

Tara darted out, scooping the ring out of the case. The vampire sprang for her and crumbled into dust in almost the same instant.

Graham looked around, trying to figure out who had staked the vampire. Tara was comforting the baby’s mother, who had begun to cry.

“Mairead got him,” Willow said quietly. “Word of caution—never go after a witch’s girlfriend, or boyfriend.”

“How?” Graham asked.

“She levitated a stake,” Willow explained. “We’re resourceful like that.”

“I guess so.” Graham made a mental note not to piss any of them off. Ever.

~~~~~

Spike woke slowly, his thoughts jumbled, although he could still taste the Slayer’s blood. He could feel her hair spread over his chest, her breath on his shoulder; the swelling had gone down in his face, but he had no desire to open his eyes.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better,” he murmured. “Take it you didn’t get the ring back.”

“Tara said they were going to wake me up when they figured out where it is.”

He felt her rise and heard the door open. “Buffy?”

“I’ll be right back.”

Spike forced the one eye open; the other was still swollen shut. He didn’t think that Glory had done as much damage the first time around, probably because she hadn’t been quite as pissed off at him the last time. “Buffy?”

“They’re not here,” she said, coming back into the room with a puzzled frown on her face.

“They get somethin’ to eat?”

“I don’t know.” She sat on the edge of the bed. “Do you want more blood?”

“Long as it’s not yours.”

“I think they bought some last night. I’ll get it.” She pressed a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll be right back.”

He tried to push himself up into a sitting position and gasped at the pain. “Bloody hell,” he hissed. Gritting his teeth, Spike managed to get himself upright. He eyed the door, wondering if he dared try to walk.

“Don’t even think about it,” Buffy warned him, re-entering the room with a mug. “You can stay put until we get the ring back, and you’re as good as new.”

“Vampires heal fast, luv,” Spike reminded her, taking the mug. “I’ll be fine.”

“Humor me,” she ordered. “This is the second time you got tortured by Glory, and I’m making up for lost time.”

Spike drank the blood down, relieved to find that it was from the butcher’s. Although the idea of drinking from Buffy had appeal, he didn’t want her to donate a pint every time he was hurt.

“She really did a number on you this time, didn’t she?” she asked, curling up next to him on the bed.

“Yeah. She was a bit more brassed off this time.”

“How’s your head?” she asked, sounding a little anxious. “You weren’t real coherent when we arrived.”

Spike shook his head. “Think I’ll be fine. It’s still a bit fuzzy, but it’s been worse.” He met her eyes, and he could see that she knew he was referring to what the First had done to him in the basement of the high school—so very long ago now.

He took a deep, unnecessary breath, and said, “It’s done, Buffy.”

“What?” she asked, with a frown. “I don’t—”

“Glory’s dead, luv, an’ you’re alive. Dawn’s safe, we don’t have to worry about the First Evil showing up, an’ unless you’ve got plans to let the nerds ruin the next year—”

Spike knew when the reality of it all finally sunk in when Buffy took his hand and squeezed it tightly. “We can get married,” she whispered. “Oh, God, Spike. It’s over.”

Ignoring his bruises and the twinges of pain from broken ribs, Spike pulled her in close as she clung to him. Truth be told, he was doing a bit of clinging himself. Although there had always been the possibility of success, he didn’t know that he’d really believed it would happen until that very moment.

Buffy pulled back, kissing him tenderly, mindful of the split lip he had, courtesy of his kidnappers. “This is real,” she breathed.

“Bloody right.”

~~~~~

Mairead knocked on the door softly, feeling a little strange. She’d thought that one of the others would be a better choice to deliver the good news, as they were closer to the Slayer and Spike, and they’d all had just as much to do with the ring’s retrieval. Everyone else had somewhere to be, however; Willow and Oz needed to get to a class, Xander had to work, and Giles was driving Tara by the gallery. Mairead was the only one without classes, or a job, although she still wanted to change that situation.

“Come in,” Buffy called.

She pushed the door open slowly, seeing immediately that Spike was looking better, although she had a feeling that without the ring, he’d be moving slowly for quite some time to come. “I brought something for you,” she said, holding it out.

Buffy’s eyes widened. “You got it? But how?”

Spike was looking at her out of his good eye. “So that’s where you went.”

“We thought you’d done quite enough,” Mairead explained, moving close enough to place it in Buffy’s outstretched hand. “The coven had a locator spell for vampires, and we waited for the sun to rise to cast it. There was only one out and about in an area that vampires don’t usually go during the daylight hours.”

As she explained, Buffy slipped the ring on Spike’s finger, and Mairead paused in her story to watch the transformation. It was really quite remarkable to see the bruises fade to nothing, the swelling go down, and Spike stretch like a cat just waking from a nap.

“How did you get it away from him?” Buffy asked, her eyes still fixed on her fiancé.

Mairead explained the rest, including the roles that everyone had played. “It was very much a team effort, Buffy,” she said. “I was the one to bring it back only because the others had places they had to be.”

“No, it’s okay.” Buffy gave a rueful little laugh. “I guess we have been doing most of the work, huh? Not really letting anyone else help with the big stuff?”

Mairead shrugged. “It makes sense. I do hope you’ll allow us to do more in the future, however.”

Spike grinned. “No fear of that. The future is wide open from here on out. We don’t know any more about it than anyone else does.”

Mairead didn’t think she was imagining the relief in both their faces.

~~~~~

“Have you decided on a date yet, Buffy?” Joyce asked, putting the last serving dish on the table.

Buffy glanced over at Spike, who shrugged. “We were thinking this summer,” she replied. “Maybe in the backyard, if that’s okay.”

Her mother frowned, the wheels in her head clearly turning. “We’ll need to see about flowers and catering right away,” she mused. “And invitations. I know it’ll be mostly just family, but there might be others you’d like to have as well.”

She shrugged. “I haven’t really thought about that part of it yet. It still seems a little surreal that it’s all done with.”

“So Glory really isn’t going to come after me?” Dawn asked.

“She’s dead as a doornail,” Spike assured her. “Won’t have to worry about that.”

“And the Knights of Byzantium?” Giles polished his glasses. “I know we haven’t seen many of them, but—”

“There was one among the dead bodies at Glory’s,” Spike said. “Don’t think he had a chance to tell the others about Dawn. We’d have heard from them by now if he had.”

“Either that, or they know Glory’s dead, and they don’t care about the Key anymore,” Buffy suggested. “I’m happy with that, too, although Graham promised that he and his men would keep a look out for guys in armor for a while.”

Giles pushed his glasses back into place. “Then you both have succeeded in what you set out to do, and rather admirably at that.”

Buffy didn’t reply right away. She was thinking of the things that had changed that hadn’t seemed as though it was for the better—Riley’s death, and her having to kill Ben were two prominent differences. But Giles was right; they had accomplished what they’d set out to do. The world was safe from the First Evil, and she was still around to enjoy it. It didn’t get much better than that.

“I guess we have,” she finally replied, her hand seeking Spike’s under the table.

It struck her as they ate dinner that she didn’t know whether her mom would be alive to see her wedding in the summer. Joyce could still face complications from her surgery; of course, if Buffy had learned anything from this trip back into the past, it was that one tiny change could have unforeseen consequences.

One choice could change everything.

Dawn cornered her later that night. “I don’t want to be a flower girl,” she insisted. “I’m too old for that.”

“I was hoping you’d be my maid of honor,” Buffy replied, knowing that it would take the wind out of her sister’s argument, and that there was no other choice.

“Oh. Okay.” Dawn squealed with delight, throwing her arms around Buffy. “I’m so excited! Can I visit you guys a lot? Even if I’m not in danger?”

“Yeah, of course,” Buffy replied.

Dawn met her eyes. “Thanks, Buffy.”

“For what?”

The younger girl shrugged. “I heard Mom and Giles talking about stuff. I know that it was hard, and that Spike got hurt really badly, and that it was because of me.”

“It wasn’t you, Dawnie,” Buffy said gently. “It was Glory.”

Dawn looked away. “Anyway. Thanks.”

“You’re my sister,” Buffy said. “I have to protect you.”

“Same here.”

Dawn scampered off, leaving her with the last of the dishes, saying something about homework, and a few minutes later, Spike’s strong arms circled her from behind, pulling her close. “Need some help?”

“I’m almost done.” She leaned back against him. “You ready for this?”

“Ready for what?” he asked.

“For the future.” Buffy turned to face him. “The one we don’t know about.”

“As long as you’re there with me,” he replied.

Buffy smiled. “Always.”

Epilogue

“Are you sure I look okay?” Buffy demanded.

“You look lovely,” Joyce soothed.

Willow smothered a grin. “Spike will probably be speechless,” she said.

Buffy frowned. “Really? Because he’s supposed to be able to say his vows and everything.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me? Spike probably won’t be able to get the words out fast enough.” She looked at the clock. “You’d better hurry.”

Buffy took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. She had no idea why she was so nervous; this certainly wasn’t another apocalypse.

Of course, it was only the most important day of her life to date.

“I’m ready.” Buffy picked up the train of her dress as she descended the stairs. Giles was standing at the bottom, waiting for her. Although she could have had more bridesmaids, Buffy had opted for Dawn and Willow, mostly because Spike didn’t have that many groomsmen. In the end, he’d asked Xander and Oz; Angel couldn’t do it because they had decided that a daytime wedding would be safer.

The last thing Buffy needed or wanted were undead party-crashers.

She’d asked Giles to give her away long before her own father had expressed his regrets at not being able to make it, and her mom was fulfilling the mother-of-the-bride role perfectly.

And when the wedding march began, and Buffy followed Dawn and Willow on Giles’ arm, she saw her mother, standing in their backyard, in a pretty dress. They had passed the date of her death by several months, and Buffy believed that she was going to be alright.

Better than, really.

She saw Xander and Anya watching from the sidelines, holding hands, and Tara and Mairead next to them, holding a similar pose. In another area of the yard, Graham stood next to Faith, who had been able to make it in spite of some kind of emergency in Los Angeles. Buffy hadn’t paid much attention to her explanation, since she’d been busy with finals and trying to throw a wedding and reception together.

Giles’ arm was steady under hers, and he released her to Spike with a kiss on the cheek and went to join her mother. Everything was moving too quickly, and too slowly, all at once; she could barely take it in. Buffy wanted this to last forever, and she wanted it to be over, all at the same time.

Spike’s hands closed over hers, and she met his gaze, all nervousness gone now. The moment seemed to slow and stop, until all she saw was the bright afternoon sun shining on his bleached hair, his blue eyes, the black of his jacket and white of his shirt.

He seemed almost to be glowing, and Buffy knew that the same was true of her.

And she knew that everything they’d gone through, every battle, every scar, it was all worth it. Buffy wouldn’t have had it any other way.