Title: Past Glory Author: Sandy Rating: NC-17 Pairing: Spike/Buffy Spoilers: S5 up to Tough Love, AU after that although elements of S6 will appear throughout the story. Disclaimer: Alas, not mine, I just borrow them occasionally Feedback: Gives me the warm fuzzies A/N: For the purposes of this story, the Knights of Byzamtium, although suspecting that the Slayer is protecting the Key are not aware that Dawn is the Key. Chapter 33 Once again Buffy tucked an injured Spike into her bed. By the time she had his clothes removed and the covers pulled over him, he had returned to his coma-like state. It worried Buffy enough that she considered calling Angel. If Spike showed no signs of improvement soon, she would. Telling Angel that Spike had been injured by a demon removing his chip may not be the best idea however. She needed to give serious consideration as to what she would tell him. But not tonight. She was just too darned tired to even think about it tonight. After getting ready for bed, she slid in beside Spike and soon fell into an exhausted slumber. Sometime later Buffy came to groggy awareness when she thought she heard Spike moan. Opening eyelids heavy with sleep, she turned over, raised herself on one elbow and looked at him. He was still lying in the same position. There was no sign that he had awakened and no sound came from him. She reached out and gently brushed one errant curl from his forehead and then curled tightly up against him with her head on his shoulder. Breathing in his musk, she drifted back into sleep. *** Spike awoke to excruciating pain in his head and a burning hunger in his belly. Sitting up in bed, he looked around the room trying to recall where he was and how he got there. It was obviously a bedroom in a house, but whose house? Did he and Dru take over someone's home? No, wait. Dru had left him for a Chaos Demon, hadn't she? Why couldn't he remember? He became aware of a body lying next to his and turning his head, he was surprised to see blond hair instead of dark. Who was in his bed? Whoever she was, she was lying on her side, her back towards him and her face turned away. A little more clearing of his head and he picked up the heat and scent of a human woman. Who? Another subtle sniff and he had his answer. The Slayer! Why the hell was he in bed with the Slayer? Had he doped her up? Rendered her helpless while he used her for his pleasure before he killed her? He couldn't remember and thinking about it only added to the pain in his head, but he was sure of one thing. He was starving and here was a ripe, succulent plum just waiting for him to sink his fangs into. Releasing his demon, he pulled her hair away from her neck, carefully positioned her head, lowered his mouth and bit deeply. *** Dawn glanced at Buffy's closed bedroom door on her way out of the bathroom. She thought about knocking on it just to check up on Spike, but she figured she'd only end up pissing Buffy off for waking her up. Spike would be okay. He always got better. Always. Taking one more glance at the closed door, she returned to her own bedroom to get dressed for the day. *** He sat in his chair, smoking a cigarette and waiting for the sun to go down so that he could hunt. His head ached horribly and his belly was growling with hunger, burning with it. He looked over in surprise when the crypt door opened and a young, dark-haired girl entered. She sauntered over to the stone sarcophagus, threw her schoolbooks onto it and hopped up. Sitting with legs crossed, she looked at him with a scowl on her face. "I hate school," she said with a pout. "All the kids treat me like I'm weird or something and I'm really tired of it." Who was this girl and why would she walk so casually into a vampire's lair? Not that he was complaining. He'd just been thinking about how hungry he was and here dinner delivered itself. Standing up, he drifted over to her. "So you came here to rid yourself of all your troubles?" The girl snorted. "Yeah, like you could do anything to help me. I just came here to hang out for a little bit. Buffy's in Spring cleaning mode and I don't feel like going home and getting stuck washing down walls." "Buffy?" he asked, halting momentarily in his progress to the girl. "The Slayer?" "Well, duh. You know another Buffy?" the girl asked sarcastically. He didn't know what the Slayer had to do with this girl and he really didn't care. When he finally stood in front of the girl, he was amazed that she showed no signs of fear or unease. This was going to be almost too easy. She was a pretty little thing. If he weren't so soddin' hungry, he'd take the time to play with her awhile, spice up his meal a bit, make her cry. It was always much more fun when they cried. But he was starving, almost weak with hunger, so he'd use this little bit of a thing as an appetizer. Wasn't enough of her to make a proper meal. "Well, Snackable, I can make it so you never have to go home again," he said to her in a deep growly voice. She looked at him in confusion and before she could do more than say, "What?" he grabbed her head, pulled it to the side and sank his fangs deeply into her neck. *** "It's past noon," Willow said to Tara in concern. "Do you think we should go wake up Buffy?" Tara looked up from the sandwich she was making. "No, sweetie, just let her sleep. She's had a rough couple days." Crinkling her forehead in a worried frown, she added, "I hope Spike's okay soon. It's strange that the taser blast hurt him so badly." Willow nodded. "Yeah, that is strange. I mean I know he was still recovering from that sword wound, but you wouldn't think a taser blast would put a vampire into a coma." "Maybe he hit his head really hard on the ground when he fell?" "Yeah, maybe." Willow finished pouring juice into their glasses and the two girls sat at the kitchen island enjoying their lunch and each other's company. *** Spike slunk back into alley as he watched the two young women amble down the dark street. Once eyebrow rose as he read the intimate body language. So, Red was playing with girls now. That was a bit of a surprise. Not that he cared. His head throbbed with pain and he was ravenous, but a double dose of rich, warm feminine blood should fix him right up. They passed by the alley completely oblivious to his presence. Reaching out as they passed, he grabbed them and slammed them full force against the wall of a building knocking the wind out of both girls. Before she had a chance to recover, he backhanded Willow across the face knocking her out. He wanted to take his time over her, so he saved her for last. Easily subduing the blonde, he quickly drained her and discarded the body without a second glance. Picking up Willow, he gently slapped her face until she regained consciousness. Her girlfriend had taken the edge off his appetite, and so he played a bit with the young witch. The scent of her terror made him hard, but his burning hunger soon returned. Giving into his need, he bit deeply into her neck and supped until her heart faltered and stopped. *** "Ahn, where did you want these again?" "Third case from the left; top shelf." Xander dragged the ladder across the floor to the correct display case and carried the heavy statuette up the rungs with him. After he made sure it was securely placed, he climbed back down the ladder. "I hope that was the last one," he said with a grunt. "'Cause I gotta tell you, those things are heavy." "Fertility goddess," Anya said in a distracted voice. "They always have great heft." Xander looked at the statue nervously. He hoped the fertility didn't rub off on him. He wasn't ready to start a family yet. Maybe in ten years or so. Maybe twenty. Turning his mind to other things he asked, "You talk to Buffy or Willow today?" "No. Why?" "Just wondered how Buffy was doing. And if Spike's out of his coma yet." "You're concerned about Spike?" Xander frowned. "It's not so much concern, Ahn, as confusion. You know a lot about vampires. Is it normal for a vampire to go into a coma?" Anya thought about the questions for several seconds before she shook her head. "No, not really. But then if he sustained brain damage in some way, it would be logical that he go into a coma while he healed." "Doesn't he need blood to heal?" "He would certainly heal faster if he were eating, but he'll still heal, just at a much slower rate." Leaning up against the counter, Xander asked, "But how could he have sustained brain damage? Buffy said she was knocked out after I was so she didn't know what happened to Spike, but I've seen Spike take blows to the head that would have crushed a normal man's skull. You wouldn't think that he'd get brain damage from hitting his head on the ground after getting shot by Warren's taser." Anya shrugged. "He probably tried to bite Warren again when he hurt Buffy and the chip fried his brain." Xander nodded slowly. "Yeah, maybe that was it." Still slightly frowning, he left the counter to put away the ladder. *** He looked through the shop window watching her as she counted out the money from the till. The agonizing pain in his head was making him nauseous, which only added to the discomfort he was already feeling from the gnawing hunger churning his gut. She was a tempting morsel and she was alone in the shop. Easy pickings. Grasping the doorknob, he wrenched the door open and was across the shop and behind the counter before the woman had much chance to react. He felt better as the last rich mouthful slid down his throat. He just finished licking up the last drop when a car pulled up to the curb outside the shop. Slipping out of sight he watched Xander Harris exit the car and head for the shop door. Spike smiled at the look of alarm on Xander's face when he noticed the broken door. He rushed into the shop calling the woman's name. When he found her, he fell to his knees and gathered her to him, sobbing and rocking as he held her limp body tightly in his arms. Well, well, so the Slayer's boy knew the bint. Bonus. Xander didn't even notice Spike until the vampire grabbed him by the hair and hauled him to his feet. The fight was short and violent and the conclusion inevitable. Xander's broken body was thrown down to lie next to the woman's. Spike mopped a small trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth with his thumb and then licked the thumb clean. Taking the money from the cash register, he swaggered from the shop and into the night. tbc...