No, don’t think about that. Don’t think about Giles lying in there, telling you how proud he is of you in what sounded way too much like a farewell speech.
Yeah, I’ve done a lot to be proud of. Somebody give me a medal.
Breathe. In. Out. Calm.
I have to find a way out of this. I have to think. But not about everybody waiting for me to get them home safe. Not about Tara, wailing and crying. Not about how she got that way. “Supplies are ok.”
Buffy glanced over her shoulder and saw Spike standing in the doorway
“Good," she said automatically.
He crossed to where she stood and leaned back against the cabinet, his eyes on her. She went on staring blankly at the dull wooden wall.
Could we get out the back? No. Tthe general isn’t willing to deal. Is there a way to find out really fast who Glory’s male host body is? Not that I can see.
“Probably do you some good to eat, yourself,” he pointed out after a moment of silence.
Her stomach heaved. “Maybe later. What about you? You’ve been burned and lost blood.” One more thing to worry about. She couldn’t afford to lose Spike now, for several reasons.
Funny how she’d known, instinctively, to turn to him when she needed help with the getaway car. She’d been turning to Spike a lot lately. Buffy knew any and all of her friends would follow her through the gates of Hell, and she loved them for it, but she also knew that Spike would be the one who could find the sneaky escape route.
“You volunteering to be a snack, Slayer? Don’t worry,” he added more seriously when she didn’t smile. “I fed earlier. I can go awhile.”
“How is your hand, anyway?” she asked, memory clear in her mind of him grabbing the sword.
“I’m fine, Buffy,” Spike said emphatically. “Look, take me off the worry list, all right?”
She smiled mirthlessly. “That’s one down. Gee, only 47 million to go.”
“We’ll get out of this,” he said with a confidence that almost made her believe him.
Before Buffy realized what he was doing, Spike was standing behind her, his uninjured hand digging into the knotted muscle at the base of her neck. She jumped, startled, then hissed in mingled pain and pleasure despite herself and arched her back slightly into the touch.
“We will?” she managed, bracing against the table as Spike worked methodically down her spine, strong fingers persuading the tight cords and tendons to loosen.
“Um-hmm. We’ll deal with the armor boys, get your Watcher some help, figure out a way to kick SuperBitch’s ass, put Tara’s mind back together, and be back home in time for Little Sis to fail her test.”
“I’m glad that’s settled. Got any ideas on how, exactly, all that gets done?”
She heard the smile in his voice as he responded to her mild sarcasm. “Not just yet. Give me time.”
She drew a breath to thank him, both for his words and for his actions over the past few days, but before she could speak, Spike shifted closer and his touch changed from soothingly impersonal to a caress, his palm stroking slowly from her shoulders to her waist.
“And after we’re all safely back in Sunnydale,” he whispered into her ear. “I’ll have you.”
Buffy jerked upright, her head almost hitting Spike in the nose, all relaxed feelings vanished. “You’ll what?” she demanded in disbelief.
He laughed softly. “You heard me.” A shudder ran through her both at his tone and at the touch of his lips on her ear. “I’ll have you, Slayer. Under me. Over me. All the ways that we can think of and for as long as we can manage.”
“Spike….” She had no idea what she was going to say as the part of her brain that handled language had apparently stopped working. The part that handled other stuff was in peak condition, however, tightening the muscles in her lower belly and making her breathe hard, even with all that was happening.
A second kiss brushed the back of her neck, as his hand slid around to her front and up to rest just beneath her breasts. “And I can manage a very long time,” Spike whispered, then moved away as they both caught the sound of steps outside the door.
“Giles is asking for you,” Xander said, with a suspicious look at the vampire.
“Yeah. I’ll be right there,” Buffy said blankly. Her worries settled back around her like a familiar garment as she moved hastily toward the door. Still, she managed a last look at Spike before they entered the main room. He smiled at her slightly and nodded in calm and confident promise.
And after a tiny, endless moment, she nodded back.