Author: enigmaticblue <enigmaticblue@yahoo.com>
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters below, although I wish I'd thought of them first.
Archive: Anywhere that already has my stuff. Anywhere else, just ask.
Summary: A response to Helga Von Nutwimple's Vamp-in-the-Box Challenge. Wolfram & Hart make a slight error, and bring Drusilla back instead of Darla at the end of Ats S1. Drusilla heads straight to Sunnydale and Spike, and in the process throws a monkey wrench into Buffy's thinking. Oh, and Riley left after "Restless."
A/N: I don't particularly want to post the rules right now because
it
will give away too much of the story. Therefore, they will be posted at
the end, and you all can decide for yourselves how well I did answering
my first challenge.
Epilogue
"Gin!" Dawn said triumphantly. "You owe me big time, Spike."
Spike glowered at his traitorous cards. "Bloody hell." He tossed her a bag of M&M's. "I think you're cheatin'."
"If I am, it would only be because I've learned from the best," Dawn replied with a smug grin. She glanced up. "Buffy? Aren't you going to play?"
The Slayer shook her head. "Not right now, Dawnie. Besides, you should be in bed."
Dawn made a face. "I'm not going to be able to sleep," she objected. "I'm too wound up."
"You should try," Buffy said. "The time will go faster if you're sleeping."
The girl opened her mouth to argue some more, but Spike shook his head. "Off to bed now, Bit. Your sister's right. One of you needs your sleep if you're goin' to keep me company on the drive back tomorrow."
Dawn frowned. "You just don't want to lose any more games," she accused.
"'s possible," Spike admitted cheerfully. "I never told you I'd play fair."
To her credit, Dawn went to bed without further complaining
while Spike came to join Buffy by the window.
"Not long," Spike promised. "Few hours at most. Sun comes up, an' we'll be safe, accordin' to Dru. You doin' alright?"
"I'm worried about Mom," Buffy confessed. "If Glory finds them, I won't be able to get there in time."
"The witches are more than capable of takin' care of your mum," Spike reminded her. "An' Rupert will look after the other two. Was better for us to split up."
"I know," Buffy replied. It had only made sense for the two
of them to guard Dawn, while the others went their separate ways. When
Drusilla's warning about the day of reckoning came, there hadn't been much
discussion. The two strongest warriors would be needed to protect the Key, and
they didn't need to risk anyone else.
Spike, as usual, had been a godsend. Even Xander had come around after Glory went after the vampire, guessing correctly that the Slayer's boyfriend would know where Buffy had stashed the Key. What the Hellbitch hadn't realized was how stubborn Spike could be, especially when it concerned one of his girls.
Buffy glanced up into his still face as he looked out into the darkness. He had patrolled with her, he'd comforted her when they'd finally discovered the truth of what Dawn was. Spike had been her shadow, her lieutenant, the person she trusted above all others. By his tender mercies, Spike had proven himself beyond all her expectations.
"I love you."
He seemed to go even more still at her side. "I beg your pardon?"
"I love you." Her voice was stronger, more certain.
Spike turned to stare into her eyes. "Say it again," he demanded.
"I love you, Spike."
"I love you, too," he finally managed, and then his lips descended on hers. He'd loved her, and he'd waited for her to say the words. Through it all, he had waited.
It seemed that patience was a virtue after all.
Vamp In The Box Challenge
Requirements:
Setting: An A/U AtS
Season Two/BtVS Season Five, after "To Shanshu In
Pairing: Spike/Drusilla (temporary), Spike/Buffy
Basic Plot Elements:
When Wolfram & Hart tries to resurrect Darla (AtS 1x22, "To Shanshu In
L.A."), they discover that they have resurrected Drusilla instead.
Still insane (although now having a human potential to recover from her mental
trauma), scared and vulnerable, she flees
He notices her slightly-less-craziness and realizes that if he vamps her again,
he'll do to her what Angelus did -- leave her trapped in insanity
forever. So, he becomes determined to cure her, then vamp her...
only, the more sane Drusilla becomes, the more she turns back into the pious,
innocent girl she had been. See Spike wrestle with ethics!
Wrestle, Spike, wrestle!
When Spike ultimately decides to give up his immortal beloved so that she can
be happy as a human, it causes Buffy to finally see him in a different light.
Extras:
1. Still!Crazy!Dru being able to see that Dawn is the Key
2. Drusilla telling Buffy endearing things about
Spike
3. Drusilla revealing that "Run and catch / Run and catch /
The lamb is caught in the blackberry patch" has always referred to Spike,
the sacrificial lamb (how much Dru reveals about Spike's death in
"Chosen" is up to you) caught up in Buffy (the prickly, painful
'blackberry patch' that wounds him and he can't get away from).
Bonus Points For:
1. Drusilla foreseeing and managing to prevent Joyce's death
2. Cordelia giving Drusilla very Cordelia-style dealing-with-visions advice