Replacement by sus

Author: sus
Summary: They were meant to be. The council thought they knew better than The Powers, as well as her friends. An enemy from the future changes the past.
Author's Note:
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Violence, Adult Language, Sexual Situations


Chapter 32: Replacement

Spike woke up alone. He heard the shower going. Shortly after, Buffy came out of the bathroom dressed in jeans and a white top.

"Morning, Spike." She smiled brightly. "How are you today?"

"Better, I think. I haven’t moved that much." Spike followed her with his eyes as she disappeared into a walk-in-closet, he hadn’t noticed before. It had sliding doors that fell into the wall, you wouldn’t see the door if you didn’t look for it.

Buffy stood in the doorway brushing her hair. "Do your bandages need changing now, or can it wait for later?"

Spike looked down his body, there was no blood to see. "I think it can wait, but I would really appreciate a shower and some clothes."

"You don’t smell bad so no hurry, and I can go to the factory and get your stuff." She disappeared into the closet.

"It's not about smelling. I haven’t had a shower since before Angelus used me to play with," he said a little louder, making sure she heard him.

Buffy came back into the bedroom, closed the door behind her. She looked down. "Hmm, you..I showered you before I wrapped you up." She still didn’t look up at him.

Spike gawked, and then swallowed. That was something he hadn’t expected. "Couldn’t you have gotten that guy to do it? Merrick was it, you called him?"

Buffy looked up pouting. "He was out getting your blood, and I didn’t mind."

"It’s wasn't something you needed to do. You are too young to be alone with a naked man, doesn't matter that he's out cold."

Buffy laughed. "I..I’m not youn...young." she got out before calming down. "Beside it’s not something I haven’t seen before," she said with a smirk.

In the meantime, Spike had pulled the cover all the way up to his chin. "Seen before?" He raised an eyebrow.

She blushed prettily.

"Tell me about it." He patted the bed beside him.

"I will, but I thought you would appreciate some clothes, so you can get up and about. I had to cut your pants off, they were stuck to your back. I couldn’t see if it was a wound or just dried blood that made them stuck to your skin." Buffy smiled apologizing to him. "If it’s okay with you, I’ll go to the factory and bring what clothes of yours, I can find?"

"Sure, pet, as long as you promise me to tell how it comes that you have seen my private parts."

Buffy nodded. "When you are up and about, we’ll sit down and have a nice long chat." She went into her closet for a second, came right back with a hair band. "It’ll be a while before I’m back. Need to go shopping. Should I ask Merrick to bring you some blood?" She tightened the band.

"Sure. See you when you're back."

"That you will." She smiled softly to him.

There was something in her eyes when she looked at him, something he had never seen in looks directed at him. He couldn’t define it. That look kept on running around in his head a long time after she had left.

Some time later there was a knock on the door. Merrick opened the door slightly. "Can I come in? I have blood."

"Come on in, mate." With some pain, Spike pulled his body up to lean against the headboard.

Merrick came into the room carrying a tray, with a teapot, mugs and what else was needed. "I thought you would like a tea after you have eaten."

"That would be good. I haven’t had a decent cuppa for a long time. Do you by any chance have any weetabix?" Spike asked Merrick, with a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Sorry, and I only have the tea because somebody had forgotten it in the kitchen, maybe Clem." Merrick had placed the tray on the floor.

"Clem?" Spike took the mug Merrick offered, and smelled the content.

Merrick bent down to pour a cup of tea. "The one Buffy hired to do the remodeling. Will you have tea now or wait?"

"Now please." When Merrick had poured the cup for Spike, he had already emptied the mug he had. They switched the mugs.

"Do you need more?"

"Not right now, but I would like a mug more in an hour or so, my body needs a bit more than normal, to heal. Where did you get the blood?" Spike asked. "You are aware that it’s human?"

"Yes, I am. Buffy explicit asked me to get human."

"Did she now?"

Merrick smiled. "She told me to rob the blood bank if necessary."

"It’s not right," Spike said with a thoughtful look.

"What’s not right?" Merrick leaned against the poster at the end of the bed, taking care not to spill his tea.

"A slayer feeding a vampire, and on top of that with human blood. I don’t get it." Spike had both of his hands around the mug.

Merrick smiled secretive. "She’s not a slayer."

"I don’t get that either," Spike said frustrated. "And she isn’t even scared of me, the big bad, the slayer of her kind." He shook his head.

"I won't tell you her story, that’s for her to do. However, I can tell you that she has her motives for everything she has done, and to the slayer deal, that’s a reward from The Powers."

"You won’t tell me anything?"

"Sorry, it’s not my story." Merrick leaned forward to get up.

"Then tell me about you."

Merrick leaned back and did as Spike asked. When Buffy returned, they were well on the way of becoming friends.

"Hi." Buffy looked from Merrick to Spike and smiled.

Spike smiled back and nodded.

"Hey, Buffy, you took your time."

"There was somebody who claimed he didn’t know what to buy, and I had to go to the factory." Buffy leaned against the door frame.

"How did that go, pet?" Spike arched a brow.

"Good. There were a few minions. I left them alive." She shrugged a shoulder.

They kept staring at her.

"They didn’t bother me." With a smile she left for a few seconds. "Here." She placed a bag at the end of the bed. "I filled the bag with the clothes from your room."

"How did you know it was my room?" Spike leaned up to look in the bag.

"One second." When she came back, she was wearing Spike’s coat. "I found this on a chair in one of the rooms, and a lot of black clothes."

"Looking good on you, luv."

Buffy smiled brightly at him for his compliment. "It suits you good too."

"Is that right?" Spike asked, as he let the tip of his tongue run over his teethes.

Buffy returned his smile with one of her own, before she threw the coat over the bed. "Let me look at your wounds."

"I’m no child. I can look at them myself," Spike said harshly, he didn’t want to be taken for a sissy. If you were weak you were killed.

Buffy had learned, gotten wiser with time. She knew there was a reason for his reaction. "Are you flexible enough to check your back," she asked softly, as to in another time where she might have gotten upset and had answered in the same tone as his.

He opened his mouth a couple of times without saying anything, didn’t want to admit she was right. "You just want an excuse to look at my tight body." The smirk was firmly in place.

"You wish," Buffy said as she walked closer to the bed.

"Okay, I think I’ll leave you two alone," Merrick said with a smirk of his own. He collected the used mugs on the tray, and closed the door behind him.

Buffy checked the bandages for blood. It had bled through where he had the stake wound, and some places on his back. "Do you still want a shower?"

"I would feel better with a shower. Give me the bag, I’m not running around starker."

"Use the cover. I’ll need to change it anyway." She grabbed the bag and headed to the bathroom.

Spike shouted to be heard over the sound of the running water. "You know we have to talk!"

"I do, but later when you're better."

Spike was standing just inside the bathroom, observing her. She suddenly looked so sad. "Any specific reason for not talking about it now?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

She kept her face hidden behind her hair. "I’m scared, is a part of it, and I want to give you the opportunity to get away from me if you want to. For right now you need somebody to take care of you. If you’ll let me, I’ll like to be that one."

"Is it that bad?" He slowly sat down on the edge of the bath. "Nice bathroom."

"Thank you. Can you lift your arms a bit? That’ll do!" She saw Spike squeeze his eyes hard together when a bandage was stuck. "You can have a shower, but I think you would enjoy a soak in the tub."

"Yeah, it sounds good."

She carefully removed the gaze on his chest. "It doesn't look that bad."

Spike bowed his head as much as possibly to get a look, his chin touching his chest. "A couple of days more will heal it."

Buffy touched the red edge with her fingertips. "Can you get in the tub on your own?"

He tilted his head, lifted a brow and just glared at her.

"Right, you think I'm too young." She laughed wholehearted. "You get into the tub, and I’ll bring you a towel." She left the room, chuckling.

Spike removed the cover, and slowly he turned his torso trying not to jerk his body. The wounds had stopped bleeding. If he didn’t take care they could be ripped open. He sighed when he finally could relax, and lean back in the bobble bath Buffy had prepared for him. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, the soap Buffy had used smelled like her, vanilla.

He was almost asleep when Buffy lightly stroke his cheek. He sat up with a start, bumping his head into Buffy’s, they both yelled out.

They looked at each other robbing their heads, they couldn’t help laughing. Spike reached a hand out to tuck a strand behind her ear, as they smiled shyly to the other.

"I brought you a cup of hot cocoa." She placed a small tray on the edge of the tub.

"And small marshmallows," he said with a tender smile. "You must know me very well."

"I do." She placed her hand on his cheek, while she looked into his eyes.

Spike felt as if she tried to look into his soul, the soul that he didn’t have. "You know I’m an evil soulless monster?"

"I know exactly what you are."

"Do you now? I’m not changing, not getting a soul like peaches." He leaned into her hand like a cat for a second.

"You don’t need one!" She leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Before he could act on it, she stood up. "Drink your cocoa while it’s warm."

Spike’s eyes followed her as she turned and left the room, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. He sank down in the vanilla scented water when she was out of sight.

He sat in the tub drinking cocoa, and wondered about his life or unlife to be correct, what was happening with it? His life seemed to turn upside down if he wanted to let it, she had shown him that by kissing him.

He licked his lips, her flavor was still on them, he groaned. He tipped his head back, closed his eyes in frustration. The taste of her made him hard, hell just the thought of her made him want to jerk of.