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Chapter 13

Buffy made her way upstairs after her call with Giles. She hadn’t bothered to tell him about the confrontation the night before. ‘No need to add to his stress,’ she thought. And she sure didn’t tell him about the slayer dream from last night either. He would have been on the first plane to see her to make sure that she was alright, and she didn’t want to have to explain her latest battle scar. She needed him to concentrate on the prophecy he received from Wolfram & Hart. A slight shudder went through her at the thought.

‘Can’t believe Angel thinks he’s accomplishing something in that evil place. I hope he knows what he’s doing.’

Giles had finished translating the text, and came up with a near exact translation that Wesley had. Like Wesley, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of it either. He was going to do some further research to see if he could get a better understanding of what it all meant. As of now, though, he didn’t think it had anything to do with Buffy, so she could relax a bit.

Buffy went into her bedroom, careful not to disturb the sleeping vampire sprawled out on her bed. She wanted to see how bad her wound looked, and her bathroom was the only one with a full-length mirror. 

‘Man, I look a mess,’ she thought, having gotten a good look at herself.

She almost hesitated cutting the bandage away. Resolve stiffened her spine, though, and she grabbed the scissors out of the drawer and made quick work of cutting through the bandages wrapped around her stomach.

Buffy kept her eyes averted until the last possible moment. Grimaced slightly when she got a clear view of her abdomen. Thirty stitches held the edges of her skin together... thankfully. For a moment there, she'd thought it had opened. Her stomach was littered with various bruises of green, purple, and yellow. The worst was the one surrounding the actual wound. It was more blue than purple, its shape almost symmetrical to the cut.

‘Weird.’

Since she wasn't training with the slayers, she had plenty of time on her hand until either Spike woke, or her sister came home from school. Her body was telling her to join Spike in bed and take a nap; she was tired, surprisingly, even though she'd slept fairly well the night before. Instead, she retreated to the chair after retrieving her journal.

I had a slayer dream last night, and it scares me. Although, it wasn’t really a dream, so much as a vision I had long ago. I dare not tell anyone about it. Everyone would worry, and I can’t take that right now.

I’m not being honest. And I said I would always be honest here. I’m not scared, I’m angry.

Haven’t I done enough? I’m not alone in my fight anymore. There are girls like me all over the world now. I’m not ready to die! I want to see Dawn graduate from high school, then go on to college. I want to be there when she gets married. I want to hold my little nieces and nephews. Dammit, I just got Spike back. I want time with him. Time to make up for that horrible year when I was brought back. Time to tell him, show him, how much I love him.

It’s just not fair!

Tears slipped unchecked down her face as she continued to write, pouring her heart and soul into her journal. When her grief, anger, and frustration were spent, she stopped writing and closed her journal and put it back in her chest. Quickly washed her face in the bathroom and then escaped the bedroom after leaving a note for Spike.

~*~*~*~*~

Spike awoke to a quiet room. He found the Slayer's note when he sat up in bed.

Spike,

I told Dawn we would have a movie night since I’m not allowed to patrol. I’ve gone out to get a few movies and to put in an order for some pizzas at the local pizzeria. I shouldn’t be gone more than a couple of hours. Can you do me a favor and work with the girls today?

Buffy

Spike grinned as he read the first line. He could just picture her pouting as she wrote that. He groaned when he read the second line. He perked up a bit when he realized he could cuddle with the Slayer while she watched the flick. He scrambled out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Leaving the room, he climbed the stairs to the third floor, listening to the noise coming from the training room. As he got close, the noise stopped. All he heard was the accelerated heartbeats of the slayers.

He opened the door and noticed everyone was facing him, weapon at the ready. A devilish smile transformed his features.

“Felt me coming, didja?” A few nods. “Good!”

“Now, get ready for some real fun. Lose the weapons. We’re gonna work on a little hand-to-hand today.” The girls replaced their weapons and formed a circle around him. Spike took up a fighting stance. The girls followed his lead.

“Now, attack!” Without any further prompting, ten girls rushed him.

~*~*~*~*~

Buffy walked into the house with a small stack of movies under one arm and a delivery receipt for pizza in the other hand. She placed the receipt and keys on the desk and walked into the living room to deposit the movies for viewing later. It was early yet, so she made her way to the third floor to check on Spike and the girls. Various grunts, groans, and crashes filtered out of the room. When she got to the top of the stairs, she could make out some of Spike’s snarky comments directed at some of the less agile girls. A smile crossed her lips.

‘Just like old times.’

Suddenly, a thud, louder than the others, resounded through the room. A yelled, “Bloody Hell!” and a “Dammit, Slayer!” quickly followed. Buffy stood at the door leaning against the doorjamb, taking in the scene. Her hand covered her mouth, barely stifling her giggles. Spike lay in an upside down heap against the far wall. Her girls formed a semi-circle around him, positioned in a defensive pose, waiting for him to get up. He kicked his feet over so he could sit on his butt. His eyes locked with Buffy’s. She dropped the hand that was covering her face and sucked her lips into her mouth to hide her smile. Her eyes still twinkled with mirth, however.

“Do you give up, Spike?” Buffy asked, laughingly.

“Bloody hell, woman. It’s your damn fault ‘m slumped ass over end here.”

“Me? All I did was walk up the stairs. Not my fault, me showing up here distracted you. You’re the master vampire, right?”

“’An don’t you forget it!” he blustered, mock-sternly.

Buffy spoke to the girls saying, “Good job, guys. Why don’t you hit the showers then get ready for your lessons. I know it’s a bit early, but since you knocked Spike on his butt, you deserve a little break. Oh, by the way, tonight’s movie night, no patrolling. Attire is pj’s and bring a pillow and some blankets.” A few girls cheered at this pronouncement. They filed out, leaving Buffy alone with Spike.

“Feelin’ better, luv?” Spike asked as he stood and walked towards her.

“Yeah. I need you to pull my stitches out for me. The wound has closed over. Got one hell of a bruise, though.” They were halfway down the hall when she added, “Oh, and did I mention that it itches?”

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