Family Ties
A Buffy the Vampire Slayer fanfic
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.
A/N Since it’s been so long since my last update a little reminder of where we are is in order: The gang have gone to London to prevent the opening of a new hell mouth and have attended a meeting with Dracula at Highgate cemetery. While Spike was soothing Buffy’s headache with the mental help of Tara Angel saw red and attacked Spike. As the connection between Spike Buffy & Tara broke the wiccan lost consciousness and Willow went into a rage…y’know the black and scary sort. Now please read on…..
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Mentally Spike was torn in different directions. The part of him that was William wanted to go and make sure that Tara was alright while the part of him that was the Demon wanted to do what it always wanted to do…tear Angel limb from limb. Fortunately it was Spike doing the thinking and he aimed his body in the one direction where it could do most good - at Willow. For as frightening as her appearance had become with the black eyes and hair and the sparks shooting from her fingers their link told him that underneath it all she was just a girl scared for the one she loved and wanting revenge for the hurt inflicted on her. Love and revenge were two emotions that Spike had no trouble at all understanding…but for her own good he couldn’t let that happen.
As Mina, Xander and Anya edged their way to Tara’s unconscious form not wanting to attract undue attention from the furious witch while Giles Dracula and Wesley cornered an angry Angel who immediately raised his hands in surrender…he wasn’t stupid enough to argue with two stakes and a sharp set of fangs; Buffy headed toward Willow only to be beaten to her goal by… Spike! She stopped dead as the blond vampire crashed to his knees behind the distraught witch and pulled her in close to his body. What happened next had everyone in the trailer diverting their attention to the centre of the room and the sheer power radiating from the couple kneeling there.
Spike wasn’t sure what was happening to him but something deep inside told him that it was necessary and that all would be well so he gave himself in to the feelings coursing through him and felt his demon come forth. Seeing Spike holding her best friend and going into game face Buffy made to move toward them, a stake in her hand and her heart breaking into a thousand pieces. She had thought, up until now, that sending Angel into hell had been the hardest kill she had ever had to make but this, this was a hundred times worse! Suddenly a cool hand touched her shoulder and she found herself staring into the face of a woman she had, until an hour ago, thought to be fictional. The deep brown eyes held none of the bloodlust or insanity of Drusilla’s but there was something equally as other-worldly about Mina that made her pause. With a hint of panic she realised that if the vampiress possessed thrall she was already lost.
“All will be well Slayer…it is not what you think” Mina smiled at the look on Buffy’s face and purposely cast her eyes down. “I do possess thrall but I would not dishonour you by using it, especially here.”
Buffy noted that for a supposed bunch of evil creatures vampires seemed to set great store by the concept of honour just as she noted the trust that Mina was showing by diverting her gaze from a Slayer with a stake in her hand. That was, however, all she had time to note because in those few seconds of interaction with the Victorian vampire the situation had changed drastically. The men no longer needed to keep an eye on Angel and the group who were checking on a now conscious Tara were following the wiccan’s shocked gaze toward the couple in the middle of the room.
Spike wasn’t sure that he could do this…hell he wasn’t even sure what it was that he was doing. He only knew that Willow, not Tara, was in danger at the moment and he could help so he would no matter what it took. Once the decision was made he gave control over to fate and his demon and felt the young witch’s power begin to flow through him. His demon roared at the influx of darkness and drank it up like the finest slayer blood while his William sent thoughts of calm, snippets of poetry and pure love in the opposite direction.
The onlookers watched in awe as the black leached out of a suddenly calm Willow until both her eyes and hair were a pure white and flowed into the vampire, flooding his amber eyes with inky darkness and turning his platinum hair a shade that rivalled Dracula’s own. Tara desperately wanted to go to them but instinct told her that this was not her battle.
Angel stared in disbelief at the events his actions had triggered. Why wasn’t Buffy staking his pest of a grandchilde?! When had his unlife begun to spiral out of control - even Angelus commanded more respect than this! Angel vowed to himself that William would pay for making a fool of him like this in front of his people, that supercilious bastard Dracula and especially Buffy.
Xander couldn’t believe his eyes. Sure he had listened when Tara and Willow had described how Captain Peroxide had saved Tara’s life but he hadn’t really believed it, had been convinced that he had somehow duped them but seeing was believing and he was seeing this with his own eyes. Spike was draining off whatever dark magic had consumed his oldest friend and no-one had asked him, bribed or threatened him to do it! Damn! Xander sighed and received a sympathetic smile from Wesley. They both knew that their whole world view or at least their demonic world view, had been turned on it’s head tonight. They also knew that being white hats they would have to come to terms with it because it would be an injustice to do anything else. ‘Still’ thought Xander hopefully, ‘Maybe he won’t survive this, whatever it was’ His conscience immediately gave him a kick in the head and he sighed again. Double damn!
Spike’s demon was in demonic heaven. The darkness flowing through him was wonderful. It had been so long since he had felt so much fear pain and anger. Even before the men in coats had put the chip in his brain he had felt the lack of enthusiasm in his host for the kill. This more than made up for that but he resigned himself to making the most of it. He had made a commitment to the Goddess and he was a demon of his word…though maybe if the witch needed a little siphoning of her darkness now and then she might allow him to treat himself!
Spike mentally rolled his eyes at the demon’s glee. He also noticed that the dark energy was dwindling which was a good thing because he was getting a cramp…and not in a good place! William was exhausted, demon was as high as a kite and quite frankly he could do with a nap himself. No sooner had he thought the thought than he collapsed like a puppet with his strings cut and the once more blue eyed peroxide vamp slid to the ground in a manly collapse….most definitely not a swoon or a faint he would later remind anyone foolish enough to utter those terms.
If a situation could possess thrall then that one did and it was several seconds before any of the witnesses could think clearly or move but once the shock wore off the occupants of the room got themselves in gear. Dracula immediately called for restraints to be placed on the older Aurelian, who gave Buffy a look of kicked puppy proportions when she didn’t object while his Mate called for refreshments to be brought in. Tara moved to gather a shocked, confused but once again green eyed and red headed Willow into a happy embrace before they both levitated an unconscious Spike onto the nearest couch. Willow looked up to see Xander offering a cool damp cloth to tend the vampire who was looking a little flushed, not normal for the undead, and as much as he hated being helpful and grateful to the peroxide pest the blindingly happy smile from Willow filled him with a warmth that he knew he owed to the vampire. He caught his breath as he realised that without Spike he would have lost Willow twice over; firstly when Tara would have died at least in spirit if not in body; and secondly this evening. Maybe, just maybe Spike deserved a chance. Xander spared a glance toward the petulant Angel and knew that not all vampires were the same and some had already used up all their chances. He also noted with pleasure that Buffy hadn’t spared her first love as much as a tender glance…just a few well aimed glares. He preferred to ignore the glances she had been giving to the blacked out vamp, denial was a river that took a while to get out of and though he had the funny feeling that it was now inevitable he didn’t see why he had to make it easy.
B*T*V*S
“Shhh”
“But I’m…”
“I said hush…and lay back, you’re still too warm.”
“I will n…”
Buffy slapped a fresh cool cloth over the uncooperative vampire’s face before reaching over to the small antique table to grab a mug of blood. She whipped the cloth off and shoved the warm O-neg under the vampire’s nose.
“Drink” she commanded in her most slayerish fashion…and one might almost imagine that if she had been in a position to do so she might have been tapping an impatient little slayer foot. Several faces, most notably the male ones, in the audience for the Slayer’s little performance wore amused grins as Spike, Slayer of Slayers and self proclaimed Big Bad was well and truly hen-pecked. Of course even Buffy would admit that she didn’t have the nurturing mother hen talents of her mother or Tara but Spike already knew this and so drank the blood down without complaint before she oh so nurturingly broke his nose.
Spike glanced around at those around him so shamelessly enjoying his plight. The evil ones he could understand but weren’t the whitehats meant to defend the weak and the helpless, in other words him. He noted with satisfaction that a glowering Angel was sitting in the ‘naughty corner’ with his shackled hands twisting the chain between the cuffs in frustration…nice to see there was an upside to the whole disaster. Still he couldn’t just lay here all evening having his blond goddess feeding him human blood …‘okay, he thought, I could, but I can’t stand much more of being the prime exhibit in this freak show’ With that thought in mind Spike made a move to sit up only to be forced back down by a rather less than gentle slap to the belly.
“Oof!”
“What did I tell you?” Buffy didn’t know whether it was because she had seen with her own eyes the lengths Spike would go to in order to protect her friends or whether she felt guilty for all the times she had denied his proclamations of devotion to her and instead used him as her own private stress relief/ punching bag but she had the sudden overwhelming urge to look after the weakened vamp…now if only the damned idiot would cooperate and…and…weaken dammit!
Spike could see the determination in Buffy’s eyes but he could also see the shock and…for some odd reason, guilt. He reckoned it was time to get things back to normal, at least as normal as you could get in a room full of heroes and villains, ancient vampires and supposedly fictional women. Buffy needed to get back to doing what she did best…save the world, or at least this small part of London which in the era he had come from would have been pretty much the same thing.
“Pet, much as I would love nothing better than to lay here all night you’ve already made me feel ten times better and I really think that we shouldn’t abuse the Count’s hospitality…”
“Please, don’t concern yourself, take all the time you need dear boy.”
Spike spared a vicious glare at the amused elder vampire and then his whole world reduced to the vision of Buffy coyly twirling a strand of hair round her finger and dipping her head shyly - God that should be made illegal! Good job her hand wasn’t anywhere near his belly region now he thought as he willed his anatomy to behave.
“I really helped?” Buffy was aware that her killing skills far outweighed her nurturing ones to the point where Dawn wouldn’t even allow her to apply band aids without supervision.
“More than you’ll ever know luv.” Spike’s eyes carried the warmth that her tenderness had brought to his unbeating heart. He knew that she would never love him but just allowing him the common courtesies and thoughtfulness that she would give any living man was more than he could ever have asked for.
Buffy’s breath caught in her throat and her eyes misted over. Had she really been so cold towards him that a simple act of kindness could make him react so? And was it really her disconnection from life that had made her so frigid in her emotions or was that Angels’s influence…she really wasn’t sure any more.
Before she could think the thought through any more a discreet cough snapped them both back to reality.
Giles had thought that he had gotten a lucky break when Angel had left Buffy ‘for her own good’ but it looked like history was about to repeat itself, yet this time it felt different…but then they were all different from the people they had been back then. He, himself, had been an innocent abroad as far as demon lore and teenage hormones were concerned and both Buffy and the other youngsters had matured beyond all recognition; he suspected that even Xander was beginning to grow up and Spike was not the vampire that Angel was and is. Besides all this had the suspicious scent of matchmaking about it…a very particular scent of roses. He resisted the urge to smile as he thought he heard a tinkling giggle in the far distance. Still this was hardly the time for romance, his eyes drifted involuntarily to the ex vengeance demon as he coughed to alert Buffy and Spike of their duty.
It didn’t take long before everyone was seated as before though Angel had to give an oath of good behaviour before he was released and his chair was moved away from Buffy and the scoobies and close to their host who was making patterns on the table they sat around with a very pointy stake.
“So before we were so rudely interrupted” all eyes turned to Angel who ducked his head though whether in anger or shame nobody knew or cared. “What, if anything, do you know that might help us stop this new hell mouth from opening?” Buffy felt on more solid ground now; this was like breathing to her.
Dracula put the trappings of his status behind him now, this was too important for posturing. “I’m not sure, from the research we have done whether stopping the hell mouth from opening is actually possible…or even wise.” He waited for the babble around him to fade before continuing. “From excerpts in several reliable texts the last time a hell mouth was denied it’s release it only moved location and gave rise to the biggest and worst outlet of evil in history.” They didn’t need to be told where that was they had been living on it long enough but the name slipped out of Xander’s mouth anyway. The thought of inflicting the life they had been forced to lead over the years on some poor unsuspecting town was not something he thought he could live with.
“Sunnydale.”
“Indeed Mr Harris” replied Dracula who was pleased to see that these young people realised the dangers of rushing in and possibly causing more harm than good.
“I would like to examine these documents” Wesley’s request beat Giles by a split second and made the others smile ‘Watchers!’
“All documents have been parcelled up and are ready for you to take when you leave gentelmen.”
“He’s being too cooperative, it’s some sort of trap!” Angel was used to his warnings being taken seriously so to say that he was surprised by the reaction was an understatement.
“Oh do shut up!” Wesley was getting more than tired of his boss’s tantrums.
“You will show respect to your superiors Wesley otherwise you might find yourself out of a job and out on the streets! ”
“Too late, I quit.”
“And he will always have a place with us” Giles decision was not something he would usually take unilaterally but Angel needed to be shown that it was him that was now the outsider, he felt an absolute imperative to keep the Aurelian away from Buffy. He was relieved, however, to hear the immediate echoes of support from those around him. Wesley suddenly found that it was particularly difficult to breath with your heart lodged in your throat. Angel’s directive hadn’t surprised him and his own response had given him an instant feeling of relief but the support of Giles and his friends…well that was unexpected and very very moving.
“Thank you, thank you all very much. I would be delighted to come and help you in your efforts.” What he actually wanted to do was burst into tears and hug everyone, except Angel of course, but a lifetime of British bred ‘stiff upper lip’ made that impossible. Yet he could see from the smiles that his message had been heard.
“Angelus, it seems that you are rather surplus to requirements here. You are free to leave.” Buffy noted that the eyes of every vamp in the room glowed gold as Dracula spoke his words of dismissal.
“If you think that I am going to leave Buffy alone with you” Angel all but growled, totally ignoring the others that would also be left alone with the vampire and therefore also revealing the lack of interest in their wellbeing, “then you’re even more insane than I took you for.”
Angel had stood to make his comment and towered above the still seated head of the Tepes line. It was supposed to intimidate the other vampire but he was rewarded with little more than a cursory glance.
“It wasn’t a request Angelus Aurelius.” At his dismissive reply which somehow made Angel’s name sound like a deadly insult for all it’s calm delivery two of Dracula’s senior minions flanked the glowering vampire ready to escort him from the meeting…whether he was agreeable or not. Angel turned an imploring glance toward Buffy, she wouldn’t let him down; she couldn’t manage without him to guide her…he’d seen to that!
Buffy’s expression was one of sorrow but her words were businesslike. “Sorry Angel but this is too important to risk screwing it up and you’re not helping. We’ll meet later and fill you in.” She tried not to notice the rage that shimmered behind Angel’s crestfallen expression but she had a strong feeling that something had been irrevocably broken between them tonight and that that was not necessarily a bad thing. But still, it wasn’t something she had wished for and she felt bad for dealing such a blow. As she willed her lip not to tremble a cool hand slipped into her left one and a warm hand into her right. She glanced to see who was giving her their support.
Spike, which should have been surprising but wasn’t and Xander! Xander standing with Spike! She never thought she would see the day and from the gasp of surprise from the vamp neither did he!
Angel took one last look at the girl who had loved him standing between the two who most hated him and with the voice of Angelus in the back of his mind telling him that now was not the time for action he stalked out of the trailer and into the night.
Once the drama was over those remaining got back to business. After some general discussion on the subject of the workings of hell mouths and a reading of the translated prophecy which both Wesley and Giles managed to further make clear leaving no-one in any doubt that London was, indeed, going to give rise to the event feared Dracula offered some information which had both watchers reaching for their handkerchiefs to clean their spectacles…and Wesley wasn’t even wearing any.
“I was recently approached by two gentlemen who seemed more than normally interested in the hell mouth prophecy. Both humans, the academic sort. At first I just assumed that they were after my life story…fame can be such a chore you know”
Spike rolled his eyes in mock exasperation…they could all see the self mocking glint in Dracula's dark eyes. Buffy clapped an embarrassed hand to her mouth as she inelegantly snorted and Tara, to everyone’s surprise, giggled at the vampire’s antics. Dracula, for his part, felt the shock of unexplainable pleasure at making the shy wiccan laugh; a shared glance with Mina confirmed what they had suspected, that the trinity of Tara, Spike and Willow were very special indeed…not that they needed to reveal their knowledge of that particular relationship, not yet anyway.
“Is it usual to find yourself being approached by humans?” Giles had to admit that the thought of the world and his grandmother being aware of vampires true existence was a little alarming. He was at first reassured by Dracula’s reply and then at the revelation of the visitors identity shocked.
“Not in general but there are those for whom ‘Interview with a Vampire’ was more a how to do it book than a fictional creation and now and again an individual will find his or her way to me.”
“What do you do?” Willow was afraid to ask but her curiosity was undimmed by the nights events even if her conscience was troubled by her display of darkness.
“Usually I just put on a bit of a show and sent them on their way. Some I relieved of their memories of the meeting and some left having had an adventure which they will never forget…one cannot underestimate the value of good publicity.”
“The gentlemen?” Giles was realising that it was almost as hard to keep the Count on track as it was their own bleached wonder. Mina's gentle smirk indicated that she was fully aware of the two vamps similarities.
“Ah yes. Well it turns out that the two individuals so interested in the hell mouth were in fact from the Watcher’s Council.”
“Is that so surprising” asked Wesley, curious at the look of something less than pleasant flashing through the dark brown eyes.
“Not as such, no; but when they are eager to learn what you know about opening a hell mouth rather than closing it then yes, I would say that was very surprising…not to mention disturbing.”
“Good Lord!” Giles and Wesley exclaimed together while Spike’s verbal release was a little more profane.
“I don’t understand” admitted Buffy, her query echoed by the nods of her friends.
“Think what the Gypsy boy is trying to say luv, is that Watchers shouldn’t be wanting to open hell mouths, not when they’re supposed to be the good guys.”
“Oh…Ohh!” Buffy’s confusion suddenly cleared. “But why would the Watcher’s Council want to control the hell mouth?”
“Think you hit the nail on the head there pet.”
“I did?” Buffy tried not to sound surprised considering she wasn’t sure just what nail exactly she had hit.
Giles and Wesley had paled considerably and Mina left her seat to fetch the brandy decanter. Pouring two generous glasses of the medicinal liquid Giles thanked her before explaining the circumstances to his Slayer. The girl that the Council were about to betray in the worst way possible.
“I fear that you were correct when you used the word control Buffy. In Sunnydale we endeavour to keep the peace on the hell mouth. To prevent any one demon or cult from taking control or fully opening the gate there. But what if The Council were to get to a new site first. To put themselves in a position where they could do deals with demons for their own benefit. In a location such as London they could name their price.”
“I am sure that at this point in time they have only good intentions but they do not have experience of living that close to that much evil power. It gives the meaning to the saying that ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely’ added Wesley solemnly.
Giles didn’t want to acknowledge his former employers faults before his vampire company but they had gone out of their way to be helpful and it was only right that everyone should know of the ultimate danger in the scenario.
“And Quentin Travers is still head of the council. He is bad enough as it is. If he is corrupted…”
“Maybe he already is” added an unusually serious Spike.
“Then God help us!” Wesley’s involuntary shudder summed up how all the scoobies felt at Travers having control of all that evil.
“There is something else” Dracula added hesitantly and that hesitation was enough to put everyone on guard. “Our sources tell us that you have been watched since your arrival…we believe by the very same Council.”
“Bloody ‘ell! My family!”
TBC
Sorry it took so long but I hope you enjoyed.