Seas Between Us (Broad Have
Roared)
Author: enigmaticblue <enigmaticblue@yahoo.com>
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Do I have to say it? They aren't mine. If they were, I'd be nicer than Joss.
Archive: Anywhere that already has my stuff. Anywhere else just ask.
Summary: Set in an alternate Angel S5, wherein Andrew tells Buffy that Spike's alive after Damage and she does something about it, upsetting the power structure while she's at it.
A/N: This story takes place after Bring Out Your Dead, and may make a little more sense if you read that one first. The thing to notice is that Lindsey does not enter into this story. I didn't want to deal with the boy since I'm mostly ignoring canon. Just so you aren't terribly surprised.
Chapter 2: Little Did
I Know
"Little did I know/that I almost let you go/Until I caught a glimpse of life/without you./ Little did I know/how deep these roots had grown/Until I felt the earth quake here/without you./And this ache is gonna break me love/until you come back home./Right or wrong/there is no home without you..." ~Over the Rhine, "Little Did I Know"
Buffy had decided to postpone the confrontation. It had been late by the time her flight had landed, and the last thing she wanted was to get into a fight.
Not that she planned on fighting with Spike, but there was probably no way to avoid seeing Angel.
Giles had warned her about Wolfram & Hart. They were apparently irredeemably evil, and for Angel to be working there indicated that he'd gone over to the dark side. Buffy honestly didn't have an opinion. Maybe Angel had gone over to the dark side. She wasn't sure she cared, as long as she wasn't the one who had to stop him.
It was harder to care about that sort of thing these days. Deep down, Buffy knew that the battle with the First should have been her last. She should have died. Involvement in the new Council or with the new Slayers, which the others seemed to have embraced with renewed vigor, left Buffy cold.
Not that she was completely apathetic. She and Dawn were not
only getting along these days, but they were bonding. She was keeping in touch
with the others through various means both magical and technological. Buffy had
even been known to troll the streets of
She just didn't much care for the big end of the world stuff anymore. The Slayer felt she'd earned a break from apocalypses.
So here she stood in front of a huge office building after a less-than-restful night at a hotel, her stomach twisting into knots. Buffy very nearly turned and ran in the opposite direction.
Maybe
Buffy set her jaw. She'd come to
Piece of cake.
Right?
~~~~~
Wesley was wishing that he'd stayed home. He had left Spike sleeping on his couch, and he couldn't help but envy the vampire who had no reason to be at Wolfram & Hart unless it was to annoy Angel.
Angel, who was being his typical obtuse self.
Wesley sighed. "I told you, Angel. This is important."
"I have other things to worry about, Wes," Angel growled impatiently. "Do what you have to do to take care of it."
Wesley sighed, rubbing his eyes. It was the same old song. Angel was too busy to listen, too busy to care, even when half the employees were up in arms over a slight that had been made to some rather important demons. Apparently, one of the human employees had told a "your mama" joke to a Tek'lat demon, whose mothers were revered as gods.
The ensuing fight hadn't been pretty.
Lorne had been off with a client, and Gunn had been negotiating contracts, so Wesley had very little help settling things down. (Wesley was avoiding Fred like the plague, so he didn't know if she would have assisted him or not.) He found that he was being asked to settle things like this more often, and he detested it.
Wesley would have much preferred to stick to his books.
He was about to broach the subject of the Hyperion with Angel—without bringing Spike's name into things—when there was a commotion outside the door. Wesley straightened, his eyes brightening with interest. Perhaps if something smacked Angel in the face the vampire would sit up and pay attention.
"The boss is in a meeting! You can't go in there!" The last word ended on a squeak, and Wesley wondered who had managed to get past Harmony. She did try very hard.
He didn't have to wonder for long. The door was flung open and a woman Wesley recognized immediately stalked through. "Where is he, Angel?" she demanded without preamble.
Wesley leaned back in his chair, watching Buffy with
interest. She had stopped in
Wesley wondered what that meant for Spike's theory that Buffy hadn't really cared about him.
"Where's who?" Angel asked, playing dumb. There really was only one person Buffy could be asking him about.
"Spike, Angel. Where is he?"
"Now, Buffy—"
"Don't do that!" she spat out. Buffy had managed to work herself into a frenzy on the elevator ride up, knowing that she'd need the energy to deal with either or both of her exes. In the end, she'd come to only one conclusion. It was all Angel's fault. She had told him of the final battle, he'd watched her cry over Spike, and he'd still said nothing about Spike's return.
Angel should have at least had the decency to call her, especially since he was the one who knew where she was.
"Don't do what?" he asked, looking hurt.
Buffy nearly snarled. "Don't patronize me," she replied. "I know Spike is here somewhere. Andrew told me. So don't go giving me that innocent act, because I know you know where he is."
"Actually, I don't," Angel said, trying to keep his voice calm. He was feeling rather attacked, and for no reason. It wasn't his fault the bleached pest had decided not to contact the Slayer. Or, a Slayer now, but they would both always think of Buffy as the Slayer.
"I do," Wesley said quietly, knowing that Buffy probably hadn't even noticed his presence.
Buffy turned to look at him, raising an eyebrow. She had
caught glimpses of Wesley that summer when they'd passed through
The man had turned out to be a hottie. That was new.
"Wait, you know where Spike is?" Angel asked. "You didn't say anything."
"You didn't ask," Wesley replied easily. Looking back at Buffy, he said, "Spike's staying with me until he fully recovers. I could give you a ride over there if you'd like."
Angel frowned. "Wait a minute. That's all you're going to say, Buffy? You're not even going to give me a hello?"
She rolled her eyes. "I didn't come here to say hello, Angel. I came here to see Spike. And if you'd done me the courtesy of letting me know he was back from the dead, I might think about being more polite. As it is, you're just lucky I'm not kicking your ass right now. Let's go, Wes."
She marched out, obviously expecting Wesley to follow her. He stood slowly, a smile playing around the corners of his lips. Well, that had been refreshing.
"What about this mess with the Tek'lats?" Angel demanded. "Aren't you going to handle it?"
"I'm in charge of archives and research, Angel, not human resources." Wesley smiled. "I think you'll do just fine."
He followed Buffy out, putting a gentlemanly hand at her back to show her to the elevators. "How was your flight?" he asked politely.
"Long," was her reply. "You're looking good, Wes. I like the new look."
"Thank you." He punched the button for the parking garage. "You're not looking too bad yourself."
Neither of them saw a concerned Fred staring after them, or the jealousy in her eyes.
~~~~~
Buffy decided that she wasn't surprised when she saw
Wesley's SUV. It wasn't just Faith's comments—and
How the hell had that happened?
"Is he okay?" Buffy asked as soon as they got into the car.
"Spike?"
"Yeah." She hesitated. "Andrew said he'd been hurt."
"We have some very skilled people at Wolfram & Hart," Wesley commented. "They were able to sew his hands back on. Spike should be good as new in another couple of days."
Buffy was quiet. "How is he otherwise? I mean, he hasn't called."
"You'll have to talk to him about that," Wesley replied quietly. "This hasn't been easy for him."
Buffy wanted to reply that it hadn't been easy for her either—but that wasn't fair. She well remembered the months of disorientation coming back from the dead had caused—and not just the resurrection. It had been hard to come back the first time, and she'd only been gone for a couple of minutes.
She had no idea what Spike had gone through in the last few months, but she knew what had come before, and she knew what had happened in that cavern.
He hadn't believed her after all.
That would change.
"No, it probably hasn't," was all she said. After a few moments, Buffy asked, "Why Wolfram and Hart, Wes? Giles seemed pretty convinced that it couldn't be anything good. Is Spike involved there? I couldn't get a clear answer from Andrew."
Actually, it was more that she hadn't waited for a clear answer from Andrew.
Wesley blinked, trying to sort out the questions from the comments and decide which to answer first. "We took over the law firm because we thought we would be able to accomplish more with the resources at our disposal."
"You don't sound very sure of that right now." Buffy's sharp ears had caught his hesitation.
He sighed. "That's because I'm not, although I honestly don't know what I'm going to do about it right now. As for Spike, he's connected in some way, but not by choice. The amulet I believe he wore to close the Hellmouth was sent to Angel. When he opened the package, Spike appeared. Andrew did tell you he was a ghost for a while, didn't he?"
"I didn't let him get that far," Buffy admitted.
Wesley, knowing Buffy's impatience, merely smiled. "Yes, well, Spike got a box in the mail, something flashed, and he was solid again. We're still not sure how it happened, or what might have been behind it."
"What if he wanted to leave? Would he be able to?"
"There's nothing holding him here, Buffy," Wesley replied, pulling up in front of his apartment building. "At least, nothing such as what you're talking about."
She wanted to ask if he knew why Spike hadn't come to her. Buffy knew that it would have been possible to at least pick up the phone and call. Wesley had been right, however. That was something she would have to ask the vampire.
Wesley handed her a key. "To the apartment," he explained. "There isn't much room, but you are both welcome to stay there."
She shook her head, grateful for his offer. "I don't think so, Wes, but thanks. I've still got my hotel room."
"How long will you stay?" he asked.
Buffy hesitated and then sighed. "As long as it takes, I guess." Although she didn't elaborate, Wesley understood. There were some things that didn't have a timeline.
~~~~~
Spike had given up on the video games after a while. His fingers were mostly working, but he needed to be in tip-top condition to survive in Mortal Kombat. Even Spike could get tired of losing.
There was little else to do in Wesley's apartment besides read, and he couldn't seem to concentrate on any of the available books. Spike wished he'd gone to the office with the ex-Watcher. At least then he would have been able to annoy Angel for a while.
That was about all he was good for these days.
Spike shook his head, angry with himself. He was brooding, and he never brooded. That was Angel's job description, not his. That Slayer, the crazy one, had shaken him up more than a little bit. Spike had gotten a chance to see himself through her eyes, and even though he wasn't the man she'd thought he was, it didn't really matter. As he'd told Angel, he could have been. He had done some truly horrible things.
It didn't do any good to brood, though. Feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to change anything.
The knock on the door surprised him. Spike hadn't thought Wesley received many visitors. He opened the door without looking and stared at what he saw.
"Buffy?"
"Hey."
It was impossible. She wasn't supposed to come to him. Even if Andrew had told her, Spike would have thought she moved on. Wasn't that what she was supposed to do?
"Buffy."
"That would be me." The Slayer had vacillated between being calm, cool and collected and throwing herself into his arms. At the moment, she was still trying to decide because Spike didn't appear to be all that welcoming. Had he gotten over her after all?
"What are you doing here?" he finally asked.
Hurt flashed across Buffy's face. "I'm here to see you."
"Why?" Spike asked, sounding bewildered.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Does the Hellmouth ring a bell, Spike? Big, flame-y vampire? Me saying I loved said vampire?" She tapped her foot impatiently, beginning to think that she needed to be action-girl. "Are you going to invite me in?"
Of course, out of respect to Wesley, they probably needed to take the action back to her hotel.
Spike stood aside, silently asking her to enter. "Did Andrew tell you?"
"Yes, he did," Buffy replied. "It's a good thing too, because I'm beginning to think that I would never have known."
He shrugged. "I didn't know what to say."
"'I'm back' would have worked," Buffy shot back. "What the hell were you thinking?"
Spike scowled, angry that she was already putting him on the defensive. "I was thinkin' that I went out a hero an' then I came back! I didn't know what you'd say!"
Toe-to-toe with him, Buffy got right up in his face, glad that he was barefoot and she was wearing her high-heeled boots. It allowed her to be nearly nose to nose without standing on tip-toe, which would have ruined the whole effect. "I told you I loved you, you big, dumb vampire!"
"Right after you'd been kissin' Peaches!" Spike shot back. "How the bloody hell was I supposed to know you meant it!"
"Because I did!" Buffy wanted to cry at this point. Spike was supposed to be the one who saw right through her down to the heart of things. He was supposed to just look in her eyes and know. "I loved you." Her voice softened. "You weren't supposed to die. We were supposed to have more time."
Spike took a step back. "Buffy—"
"Remember I said 'maybe when?'" she asked. "Well, now is when."
She was close enough to touch. That's what got Spike. He'd dreamed of this moment, of course. It had always ended with them making love, with declarations of undying devotion. He'd dreamed it so often at this point that he wasn't sure this was real. "What are you sayin'?"
Buffy decided the time for words was over. She kissed him. Full-on lips, tongues, hands holding him tightly, fingers tangling in the curls at his neckline. His hair was too slicked back, and so she made sure to muss it up with her questing fingers.
She felt it when he gave in, when Spike relaxed into her embrace. His fingers tightened around her waist, bringing her body flush against his. His lips and tongue forced her to move a little slower, and once Buffy felt him respond, she knew she could take her time.
They would get that time they deserved.
When Buffy finally broke off the kiss to breathe, she leaned back, staring up at him. "I'm saying that I meant every single word in the sense in which I don't want you to go anywhere ever again."
Spike frowned, still not quite able to believe it. His dreams did not come true, and this was feeling a lot like that. "Say it again," he demanded.
"I love you." Buffy raised an eyebrow. "And if you ever tell me I don't again, I will kick your ass six ways from Sunday."