| TITLE: Growing Up on the Hellmouth pt 5/? AUTHOR: Faery FEEDBACK: Glowing responses and * Constructive* criticism will be cherished like chocolate. Flames will be fed to Angelus to tear up. DISTRIBUTION: I would be honoured, just let me know first. PAIRING: Spike/Dawn RATING: PG-13 for this part DISCLAIMER: Joss owns all. Joss rules all. But if he ever wants to give up Spike I'd be more than happy to play with him for a while. AUTHOR'S NOTE: Random note�I'm having fun writing this! also, this piece isn't beta'd so forgive any mistakes. SUMMARY: What if Dawn had run back into the night after finding out that she is the key? " Spike," Dawn hissed, poking him in the chest. "Spike, wake up!" When poking didn't seem to work, Dawn began to shake him. Spike sat up with a start and slammed Dawn into the back of the couch, a death grip on her throat. His golden eyes were filled with murderous rage for a brief moment before he howled in pain and clutched his head. "Hell, luv! Is that any way to wake a fellow up. Show some respect for the dead." Dawn stared at Spike in mute silence, still clutching her throat. Bruises were rapidly forming where Spike's fingers had been just moments before. She coughed and took a few gasping breaths before croaking out, "I'm sorry Spike." "Aw hell, I'm sorry kitten. I didn't mean to hurt you. It's just we vampires have a strong self-preservation instinct, even in our sleep. Must come from bloody vampire slayers hunting us down during the day, while we're unconscious. Even minions will lash out in their sleep if something wakes them suddenly. Keeps us from meeting the wrong end of a stake, if you get the picture. What time is it anyway?" Dawn looked shyly down at her lap, still a bit shaken up. "I don't know the time exactly. I forgot my watch, but I think it's morning� the sun is up." "You do realize, pet, that we vampires are nocturnal creatures. The up all night and sleep all day sorts. What on Earth would possess you to get up this early? After last night, I thought you'd need your rest. Maybe I didn't tire you out that much after all. I'll have to try harder next time," he said with a lascivious grin. Dawn blushed and looked down at her lap again. "I'm still tired Spike, but�" "C'mon nibblet, blurt it out. What's got you all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed at this ungodly hour?" "I have to pee Spike. Really bad. Like in, if I don't pee soon I'll wet my pants sort of bad." "Oh...OH! Sorry, luv. Don't normally have to worry about that. Why don't you just go outside and take a leak in the bushes?" "First of all, eww. That's just gross. Second of all, someone thought it would be a bright idea to stack large cement slabs in front of the only door. I can't get out." "She'll spend the night in a crypt in the arms of a vampire, yet peeing in the shrubbery she finds disgusting. I don't get it," Spike muttered under his breath as he got up. With an effort, he moved the slabs back to their original places over top of the coffins. "There you go pet. I still think it'd be easier to just go for the bushes right outside, but if you want to be all girly, there's a visitor's center at the gates. Should be a loo there, I'd gather." "Thanks Spike!" Dawn yelled as she ran out the door. Spike lay back down on the couch to wait for Dawn to come back. His natural inclination to be dead asleep while the sun was still high caused him to drift back to sleep nearly the moment his head hit the cushion. Dawn quickly found the visitor's center. She raced inside and frantically exclaimed, "Bathroom?!" to the attendant. She scurried in the direction he pointed and nearly dove into the restroom. Once she sat down on the toilet, Dawn released all her fluids with an audible sigh. She had spent all night and who knows how much of the day in the crypt without the use of a bathroom. She hadn't known her body could hold that much liquid. Once she was finished, Dawn tried to wash up as best she could. She washed her hands and attempted to run her fingers through her hair. Then she took a paper towel and rubbed the fuzz off her teeth. She still didn't look her best, but she didn't look quite so haggard as before. With a final glance in the mirror, Dawn headed back towards the crypt. For the second time that morning Spike had a rude awakening. He woke to find himself staring at an angry pair of blue eyes, the stake pressed hard into his chest keeping him from lashing out. "Where is she Spike?" was the menacing question that came from the petite woman peering down at him. "Why if it isn't the Slayer. What a ...pleasant...surprise. Come to confess your undying love have you? I knew you couldn't stay away forever." Buffy punched Spike hard in the nose and slammed her stake into the right half of his chest. Spike screamed in pain, then gaspingly quiped, "you missed." "I know," Buffy says, a steely calm in her voice. "If you don't answer me, and answer me now I promise the next time I won't. My mom has a tumor in her brain, I just found out that I have to battle a psychobitch god to save the world *again*... not a demon mind you, but a god... my sister is cutting herself and now she's gone missing. I am on my last nerve, and I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR YOUR SHIT!" Buffy punctuated her last statement by twisting the stake in Spike's chest before pulling it out and holding it over his heart. Spike was spared the ordeal of replying when Dawn walked in the door. "Get away from him!" she screamed as she began to wildly beat against Buffy's back. "What do you think you are doing?" she asked as she pushed Buffy away and placed herself between Spike and the Slayer. "Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing. Where have you been? Do you even know how worried mom and I were. I looked everywhere for you." Buffy dropped her stake and flung her arms around her sister. "Please promise me you'll never do that again." Dawn pushed away from Buffy. "I'm not promising you anything. Blobs of energy in human form don't have to make promises." Dawn unconsciously edged closer to Spike for emotional support as she verbally attacked her sister. "Dawn, I am so sorry for how you found out about this. I should have told you sooner. But no matter what you may think you are, you will always be my sister. You are in here," she said, tapping her head, "and in here," placing her hand over her heart. "Nothing will change that." Dawn trembled a bit, taking a step towards Buffy. Then she heard Spike groan behind her. "That's all fine and good, but it doesn't change the fact that my friend now has a whole in his chest because of you." "Friend?...FRIEND? He is not your friend. Don't tell me you spent the night here." Buffy began walking towards her sister, ready to drag her home, when she finally noticed the marks on Dawn. Bruises covered her throat, and when Buffy gently pushed Dawn's hair back, a bite mark was clearly evident. She turned her rage towards Spike. "What did you do to her?" Before Buffy could attack him again, he pushed himself into a sitting position and began to explain. "Take a look at her arm Slayer. See the nice, white bandages? You think they just magically appeared? Hell no, that was courtesy of the Big Bad himself. And think about this...what do you think is going to happen when a little morsel like that goes running into the night, her arm all bleedin'? It's like hangin' an "EAT ME" sign round your neck. I did the girl a good turn. If you were really looking all that hard outside, you might notice a dozen or so piles of dust. I worked my tail off to keep little sis safe. Not my fault I couldn't fight them all off before one got to her." Spike let the lie at the end roll off his tongue as easy as all the truths. Buffy stood there in shocked silence. While Dawn still looked edgy, she wasn't denying any of it. Before Buffy could formulate a response, Giles burst into the crypt. He too had come to pump the blonde vampire for information. Upon seeing Dawn, he immediately ran up to her and gave her a bear hug. Stroking her hair back, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh Dawn, you had us all so very worried. Are you alright dear?" "Yeah, I'm fine Giles. As fine as anyone who just found out she's some mystical energy source can be. I got attacked, but Spike saved me." "Sp�Spike?" Giles looked dubious. "Well then, I suppose we owe him a debt of gratitude. He does seem to look a bit worse for the wear." "No thanks to Buffy," Dawn muttered. "Perhaps we should go home and discuss this after you've had the chance to clean up and rest a bit," Giles said, trying to alleviate the tension in the room. "But what about Spike? He's hurt! We can't just leave him like this." Spike stood up and slowly peeled his shirt off, rubbing his chest with it before throwing it into a corner. Giles coughed politely, and Buffy just looked disgusted, but Dawn watched intently, her eyes opening wide. "Wow," she whispered softly, barely audible to even Spike. "See look at that. Almost like new." Spike was right, once he had rubbed the blood away with his shirt, there was only a small pink circle left on his chest where a hole the size of a stake had been only minutes earlier. "Really, pet. You should go home and rest. Don't worry about good ol' Spike...no one else does." "C'mon Dawn," Buffy said gently. "Let me take you home." Dawn glanced at Spike again before finally acquiescing. With a nod of her head, everyone began to file towards the door, Buffy and Giles first, followed by Dawn and Spike. Since their backs were turned, Buffy and Giles couldn't see the two behind them. Spike leaned down and licked Dawn's ear. She turned around and glared at him, barely stifling a giggle. He whispered into her ear, "Dream about me, luv. All sorts of naughty things," then gave her butt a firm squeeze. "Eep!" Dawn exclaimed, not able to contain herself. Immediately two pairs of worried eyes were focused on her. "Are you alright Dawn?" Buffy asked, concern in her voice. "I'm fine Buffy, really. I just saw a spider�a big one. But�but I think it's gone now." Buffy linked arms with Dawn and said, "let's get you out of this nasty old crypt." Dawn gave a small wave to Spike, and then the two sisters walked out the door. Giles hung back to say a few words to Spike. "Spike, what you did last night was truly admirable, hence it begs the question...what is your price? Blood, cash...what do you want?" "I can always use a spot of cash Watcher, but I didn't do it for the money...I did it for *her*." Despite Spike's protestation, Giles shoved several bills into his hand. Green eyes met blue in an intense gaze. "No matter what you do, she will never love you. I hope you realize that." "Sound like someone's talking from experience." Giles stiffened and backed away. "Sod off," he said through clenched teeth before turning and leaving. Spike pondered what the Watcher had said, trying to sort out his feelings. "She will never love you," kept running through his mind. Spike settled back down on the couch to finally finish his sleep. He mumbled one last thing before drifting off again: "I guess that entirely depends upon which she you are referring to, mate." Faery |