Part Five

"Well, well, well. It seems that tonight, little girl, will be your last. I have seen no sign of the Order of Aurelius, and your dear sister isn't here to protect you this time. What a tasty morsel you'll be." The hideous black demon ran one boil-covered finger down the Key's face.

Ashrok's head jerked up at the sound of a minion's head hitting the floor next to him. "Her sister may not be here, but I am," came a decidedly feminine voice from the shadows.

The lord of the Tybar demons was confused for a second, before asking, "And who, pray tell are you?"

The figure in black leather stepped out of the shadows, running one hand through her brown curls. Her shiny, rouged lips curled up in a smile, flashing white teeth, before she replied. "I'm Faith, the vampire slayer."

"Two slayers? How is that possible?" The black demon was thoroughly confused at this point, when another, male voice, with a cocky, North London accent, answered his question.

"Actually, mate, there are three." Two blondes stepped out of the shadows behind the brunette. "Nice to see you again, Faith. Although the last time I saw you, I believe you were in a different body."

"You remembered? How sweet. I got let out a few weeks ago for good behavior," she said, smashing her fist into a Tybar that had crept up upon her from behind. "B, behind you!"

Buffy looked behind her suddenly, then slashed a Tybar in half. The screams of the dying demons attracted more from their clan, until the three slayers were outnumbered, fifty to one. A feral roar from up above drew Ashrok's attention, as Angel swung down into the fray, enchanted sword in hand. Willow stood in the doorway, chanting softly.

When she was sure that the white hats were thoroughly protected against the sulfuric acid, she gave Gunn, Wesley, Drusilla, and Darla the signal to release the gallons of acid that she had "borrowed" from the UC Sunnydale chemistry department.

Things were looking up for the side of good. Ashrok gave a frustrated roar and said to himself, "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." He drew a crossbow from behind a machine and fired into the rafters. "Darla! Watch out!" Buffy shouted to the blond vampiress up above her, but it was too late. The bolt lodged itself into her heart, and her ashes filtered down upon the group.

Angel stood, his mouth agape, eyes wide with shock. Faith ran to him and punched him, bringing him, at least temporarily, back to his senses. "Fight now, Soulboy, brood later." She ran her enchanted sword through the gut of a Tybar that had approached Angel with intent to attack.

Cordelia ran into the room, clasping Willow's shoulder. "Do something! The Tybar is going to kill Angel!"

"Not if I have anything to do with it." The calm voice came from above. There stood Xander, dressed in military fatigues, holding a rocket launcher.

Buffy was surrounded. All the remaining Tybars apparently wanted a piece of her. Ashrok's voice boomed through the factory. "Kill all you want, but the blond slayer is mine!"

"That's a lovely sentiment, mate, but you're going to have to go through me." The cold, British voice came from directly behind him.

"And me." An equally cold voice, which he knew as that of Angelus, came from up above.

"Ah, Angelus. Just the bastard I've been meaning to kill." He shot an arrow up into the rafters, but missed the dark-haired vampire as he leapt to the floor.

"Don't forget� me." Ashrok looked up to see a dark-haired man with an apparent Rambo complex standing on an overhang, a rocket launcher held comfortably in his hands. "Angel, Spike, get Dawn out of the way! Now!"

The dark vampire raced over to the Key and tore off her restraints, hoisted her over his shoulder, and ran. Spike dove away from the area where the black demon was standing just as Xander fired. The blond, former vampire rolled to his feet and ran to his love's side, where she was battling seven Tybars� and tiring quickly.

He entered the fray with a roar that was lost over the sound of Ashrok exploding. "Nobody," he said, slicing one of the demons' heads off, "messes," he stabbed another through the ribs, then ripped his sword viciously out of its body, "with my," eviscerating one of the few remaining Tybars, "GIRLFRIEND!" He screamed this last word as he jammed his sword into the stomach of a Tybar.

"Bleach boy! Behind you!" Faith's voice carried over the din. Spike turned and found himself face to face with by far the largest Tybar left among the group. It wielded a nasty-looking axe, which it swung dangerously close to the former vampire's head. Spike deflected the blow with his sword, then came back with a counterattack. Drusilla shrieked as she fell from the rafters, an arrow embedded in her stomach. Buffy caught her and, as gently as she could, tossed her into a corner. Angel, having locked Dawn in his car, re-entered the room.

Spike howled in pain, falling to the ground and clutching his arm as the Tybar's axe slashed his bicep. He struggled to hold onto his sword, his hand shaking violently. The Tybar brought its axe down and narrowly missed Spike, who rolled out of its way. Angel heard his boy's cry of agony and vamped, pouncing on the large demon. He pummeled it until it was nearly unrecognizable. It took the strength of Faith and Buffy combined to pull its vicious attacker from the demon. Faith ran her sword through its heart, putting it out of its misery. Buffy scanned the area to check for any remaining demons. Satisfied that there were none left alive, or well enough to fight, she rushed over to Spike's side.

Spike was moaning in pain as he clutched his arm. The tiny blond girl crouched by his side and gently pulled his hand away from his arm, then gasped at the cut. It was deep, nearly to the bone. "Angel! Hurry, we need to get Spike to the hospital. He's losing blood� fast."

Faith stood. "I'll stay here and clean up. Do we want this vamp over here alive?" The brunette slayer motioned to Drusilla.

Angel looked over at Willow, asking the wiccan, "How much time do we have before Dru's soul runs out?"

Willow looked up. "It won't. All I did with the spell was to change the names around. So, barring any moments of true happiness�" she shrugged again.

"Fine. Faith, get her back to my hotel. I'm taking Buffy and Spike to the hospital. Have everyone who can, get back to the Hyperion ASAP."

"What do you want me to do about the bodies?" She surveyed the carnage.

Xander spoke up. "I say we torch the place."

Angel scooped Spike up in his arms and ran out of the factory, Buffy close behind. He lay his former grandchilde in the backseat of his convertible, and motioned for his love to sit by him, handing her his shredded, button-down shirt to press to the wound in Spike's biceps.

They made it to the hospital in record time. The entire ride, Buffy had held the shirt tightly to Spike's arm, stroking his hair and whispering softly to him. The trio entered the hospital quickly, Buffy shouting, "We need help!" while Angel carried his unconscious former childe.

A crowd of EMTs quickly surrounded them, and Spike was rolled into a trauma room on a stretcher. Buffy stood in the waiting room with tear-filled eyes, staring at the doors he had gone through. "He's going to be alright, you know that." Angel's voice came from her left. She turned to him and buried her face in his dark blue wife beater and allowed herself to be held. After a few minutes, Angel somewhat reluctantly extracted himself from her embrace. "I� I have to go. Sun's almost up. I need to get back to check on Dru."

"I understand." She smiled tearfully, her red-rimmed eyes looking up at him.

"Spike's real name is William Bradford. That's what he'll be listed under here. It's what's on his driver's license." Angel murmured it to her and turned, leaving her standing alone in the hospital.

She walked to the receptionist's desk, and asked the spectacled woman sitting at the computer, "Could you tell me where William Bradford's room is?"

"I'm sorry, but it says family only."

Buffy's eyes widened momentarily before she thought of something. "He's my fiance."

The woman looked up at her scrutinously for a moment before replying. "Room 314."

"Thank you." Buffy smiled genuinely at her before walking swiftly toward the elevators. As she arrived in his ward, she glanced at each room number, before walking directly into a nurse.

"Can I help you?" The nurse smiled slightly at her.

A bit flustered, Buffy replied, "I'm looking for room 314. William Bradford."

"Oh, you must be Buffy. William has been asking for you. Follow me." The nurse motioned for her to walk with her as she turned in the opposite direction. She stopped at one of the rooms, then knocked softly before entering. "William? There's someone here to see you."

Spike lay in the hospital bed, a large bandage covering his upper arm. An I.V. needle was imbedded in the skin of his hand and he scratched at it absently. Looking up, he saw his golden goddess staring at him with genuine concern on her face. He grinned broadly as she approached.

"You're okay?" she asked tentatively.

"The docs say two weeks and I can get the stitches out." He winced as he moved his arm slightly.

"Three days." She moved closer to his bed and sat down in a chair next to him. Reaching over and rubbing his uninjured arm, she smiled. "Slayer healing, remember? You'll be up and fighting baddies within a week."

A look of realization, then shock crossed Spike's face as he realized that what had happened tonight was a regular occurrence in his Slayer's life. He reached up with his uninjured arm and stroked his thumb across her jaw gently. "This is what you do every day," he mumbled. "This is what you do every day, and it hasn't broken you yet."

"You get used to it. Fighting the good fight, night after night� it takes something out of you. But you get used to it. It's hard to remember life before being the Slayer." She smiled forcedly. "Before I was called� I was Cordelia, pre-graduation. Only ten times worse. I had a klepto problem� just little things, lipstick, rhinestone earrings� but that all went out the window when I met Merrick."

Spike frowned, raising an eyebrow. He opened his mouth to speak, but Buffy continued. "Giles wasn't my first Watcher. Merrick� he was killed. I burned down the gym at Hemery, moved to Sunnydale, and the rest is history."

"You've gone through so much. And I was the cause of--" she shushed him with her fingers.

"Spike, if you had never shown up in Sunnydale, a major part of my life would be missing. Sure, I hated you at first, but I think even in the alley behind the Bronze on that first night when I met you, I was attracted to you." She grinned.

"Same here, pet."

"Meow."

He chuckled, raising his scarred eyebrow. "If you don't want me to call you pet, Slayer, then what should I call you?"

"Well, don't call me Slayer, for starters. It's my job, not who I am, and now it's your job and it's Faith's job again too� things could get very, very confusing." She leaned over and dropped a soft kiss on his lips. "How about Buffy?"

"Hmm� nah. I think I'll stick with luv. Because it's true." He grinned. "Now do you think you can get the nurses to spring me?"

An hour later Buffy and Spike were in a taxi on their way back to the Hyperion. They couldn't keep their eyes off each other. Each marveled at being able to admire the other in full sunlight. It was going to take a lot of getting used to. Already Spike's sallow, pale complexion was darkening to a slight gold hue. The stark white bandage stood out against his light tan.

The cab stopped in front of the hotel and Buffy paid the fare, then they got out and linked their fingers together. They walked in, smiling broadly at the cacophony that greeted them. All the beings in the building, alive and undead, were chattering amicably. Angel stood, speaking to a green demon wearing a red suit. He turned and his red eyes stood out.

"Oh, honey, look at you. You must be Buffy. I've heard so much about you," he said as he rushed over to her. "Angel here came to me the other night with a little problem. Sounds to me like it turned out just like I saw."

The blond slayer was a little lost. "Uhh�"

"Oh, I'm sorry honey. Must've slipped my mind to introduce myself. I'm Lorne." He stuck a very green hand out to her in greeting. She shook it timidly. "I run Caritas. It's a demon karaoke bar a few blocks from here." Lorne turned to Spike. "And William the not-so-Bloody-anymore. So nice to see you again. When are you going to come sing for us again honey? You had the crowd on their feet last time."

"Yeah, probably running for their exit," Angel mumbled under his breath.

Lorne turned to Angel. "Well, now, that's not very nice. Apologize. Or I'll pull out the recordings."

"Sorry," he murmured. Buffy could've sworn she saw a tinge of red come to the vampire's cheeks.

The Host turned back to Buffy. "And when are we going to hear you, little lady?"

It was Buffy's turn to blush. "Umm� I don't sing�"

Angel looked up. "Yes you do. I could hear you singing the first night you came here."

"�in public," she finished.

Lorne humphed. "Maybe some other time, huh sweetie? Listen, it's been fun, but I have to be getting back. Gotta open up for the day."

With a flourish, the green-tinted demon left the building.

Meanwhile Cordelia was speaking with Faith and Drusilla in the office. "�so it would be great if the two of you would stick around. Now that you're better, Faith, it would help us out a lot to have a slayer on our team, and Dru, since you're all soul-having�"

Spike took Buffy's hand again and led her up the stairs. "I need you to check my arm." They entered his room and shut the door most of the way. He pulled his tee-shirt up over his head, hissing softly as it grazed the bandages on his biceps. Buffy gingerly pulled the tape away from his arm before lifting the thick gauze away from his skin. She looked beneath it and was shocked to discover that there was little more than a tiny scratch left on his skin. The wound had healed over nearly completely.

"Umm� Spike? I don't think you need a bandage for this anymore. It's a little bruised, but that's about it. You must've kept your vamp healing and gotten my slayer healing powers at the same time. Lucky." He glanced down and looked rather surprised. Then grinned evilly and yanked her into his lap. His mouth was on hers before she could react to his sudden movement, his tongue stroking hers into a seductive dance.

Buffy pulled away reluctantly. "Spike� not to kill the mood, but I REALLY need to take a shower. Being covered in demon guts doesn't really help me feel sexy."

"Luv, you could be covered in dog shit and you'd still be the sexiest woman in the world to me." He pushed her gently to her feet before standing with her and leading her into his bathroom. There, he peppered kisses up and down her neck as he rolled her shirt up her stomach, his lips leaving her flesh only to return after he tossed her shirt into a corner of the room to be retrieved later.

Her bra soon followed, and ended up being tossed on top of her shirt. As Spike gathered her close to him, pressing into her as he kissed her, he reached behind him and turned on the taps in his shower, adjusting them one-handedly so the water was at a perfect temperature. He reached between them and undid the fly on her pants, pushing them down her hips and letting them pool at their feet. He then allowed her to remove her panties, while he quickly stepped out of his own pants.

They stepped into the shower, kissing and caressing, the warm water washing over them and cleaning the remnants of the battle from their tired bodies. They washed each others' bodies slowly, trailing washcloths over water-slickened flesh. Long after the water ran cold, they finally stepped out of the shower and dried each other gently with soft towels. They then collapsed onto the large bed in Spike's room, naked, warm, and exhausted, their bodies curled around one another's.

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R to NC-17