| Summer Series 2002: The Journey of the Fool Story the 15th ~ The Devil By Kuzibah |
| Disclaimer: Spike is not mine, more's the pity. Spoilers: For "Grave." Everything in italics is a flashback. Archive- Please email request. Feedback- Absolutely. ******************* ~ Aboard the passenger ship, Michael Kent, somewhere in the Atlantic. Spike wedged his back into the corner of his cabin, hoping for some stability as the ship pitched and rolled in the late summer storm. The passengers had been assured there was no danger, and Spike had made enough trans-Atlantic crossings in his time to know rough seas were not uncommon, but that didn�t make it any easier to deal with. At least he didn�t get seasick. And right now, the weather was the least of his problems. �You�re an idiot,� he berated himself for the twentieth time, rapping his knuckles against his forehead. �You thought this soul would be the answer to all your problems, and it just made you stupider. ~:~:~:~:~ Spike entered the ship cafeteria and got himself some coffee and a sandwich. Unlike a cruise ship, the Michael Kent had only one dining hall, and a menu limited to what the cook was making that day. Mealtimes were two hours long, and everyone on board, passengers and crew, partook during that window. If Spike was going to �pass,� he�d have to be seen eating, but he hoped to be quick and get back to his cabin. No such luck. A lone woman passenger spotted him, and with a coy, �is this seat taken?� slid into the chair across. �So� afraid of flying?� she asked. Her voice was deep, and husky, and Spike knew she either drank too much or smoked too much. Maybe both. �Hyper-photosensitive,� he said. �I�m sorry�� �Extreme sensitivity to sunlight,� he explained. �Even a few rays through an airplane window could kill me. Can�t be too careful.� �So that�s a real thing,� she said, surprised. �I thought they made it up for that Nicole Kidman-ghost-movie. What was it called...?� �Haven�t seen it,� Spike said curtly. �I can�t stand flying,� she said, re-directing the conversation, �but I had to get out of England. Away from my ex-boyfriend, the lying creep. I never should have fallen for the whole suave-Englishman package.� Spike must have given her an offended look, because she quickly amended her statement. �Not to paint all Englishmen with the same brush, of course. Most of them are very nice. But Malcolm�� She gave an angry, bitter laugh, then sighed. �I�m sorry,� she said gently, �but I was such a fool. I thought if I was everything for him� But I was just there until something better came along.� Unconsciously, Spike found himself nodding in sympathy. �I suspected right away,� she went on, �so I broke into his files.� She lowered her voice. �I learned to pick locks as a teenager. One benefit of a misspent youth. Anyway, I found these bills for intimate gifts and a resort weekend. He told me he was staying in the city to work. You see,� she said. �A fool.� �If he lied to your face, how were you to know,� Spike said, recalling a similar situation of his own, albeit with more slime. �I followed him for days,� she said, �and I finally caught him, sharing a hotel room with the little chippy. That was it. I made it clear I never wanted to see him again. I sailed for America the next day.� Spike finished his coffee. �Sorry to hear all that,� he said. �Maybe I�ll see you around.� ~:~:~:~:~ You should have walked away then, Spike told himself. You should have seen her for the psychopath she was. Where was your famous intuition? He dropped his head into his hands as the ship gave a particularly violent roll. I am so screwed, he told himself. I wish I�d nicked that toy wolf, image be damned. ~:~:~:~:~ "Nice night,� Linda said, coming up behind Spike as he stood at the rail smoking. As Spike had guessed, she was a heavy smoker, too, and between meals and evening cigarette jaunts, they had talked on several occasions. In spite of Spike�s determination to stay aloof, he found himself enjoying the woman�s company, and after her initial anger-fueled autobiography, he found her charming and funny. She told him things she had heard from other passengers, and stories from, as she called it, her �misspent youth.� Now she leaned on the rail, staring at the moon-lit water. �You okay?� Spike asked her. �Yeah, just a little sad,� she said. �Thinking about what might have been.� �No way to live,� Spike said, leaning down beside her. �You can�t change the past. You can only try to make a better future.� She looked at him, an expression of respect dawning on her face. �That�s very profound,� she said. �I�ve had a lot of time to think about these things,� Spike told her. She reached over and covered his hand with her own. �I�ve enjoyed talking to you these past few days,� she said. �I thought this trip would be interminable, but with you around, I�ll be sorry when it ends.� �I�ve enjoyed your company, too,� Spike said. �I was thinking,� Linda said, �maybe when we get to New York�� Spike shook his head sadly. �My home�s in California,� he said. �I�m leaving New York by the earliest train.� �Oh,� she said softly, turning to look at the water. After a few moments she turned back. �I guess I�d better make the most of our time now,� she said, pursing her lips and leaning towards him. Spike let his eyes drop closed as he leaned into the kiss himself, just for a moment before he jerked away. �No,� he said, �I can�t, I�m sorry.� And he left her standing by the rail. ~:~:~:~:~ Yeah, that was brilliant, Casanova, Spike thought. Just string her along like that. Nice work. But the more reasonable part of his brain said, there was no way you could have known. She�s mad, and it wouldn�t matter what you did. You, of all people, should know that. ~:~:~:~:~ "Who is she? I�ll scratch her eyes out!� Despite a Herculean effort to avoid Linda the past three days, the ship was not that large and there weren�t that many passengers, and she�d cornered him in a corridor. �Linda, I�m telling you,� Spike said, �it isn�t like that. I can�t get involved with you.� �Why not?� �It�s complicated. There are things you don�t know about me. I�m sorry if I led you on. I didn�t mean to, but this has probably gone too far already.� �It�s me, isn�t it?� She was sobbing, now, and it was all Spike could do not to take her in his arms. He hated it when they cried. �I wish someone would just tell me, instead of dropping me in the middle,� she said. Spike searched his memory for anything he had said that would have implied anything but friendship. �We weren�t like that,� he said, going for gentle but firm. �I didn�t think of you as anything but a friend�� She slapped him, hard, across the face. �Screw you, William,� she said, spitting out the words. Then she marched away. ~:~:~:~:~ Whatever made you think that was the end of it? Haven�t you spent enough time around madness? A particularly violent movement of the ship pitched Spike forward onto his hands, and a moment later his papers and files were thrown off the desk. They scattered, fluttering to the ground like falling leaves, and Spike dove after them to gather them back together. He�d have to sort through them when this storm was over. It wasn�t like he hadn�t done it already. ~:~:~:~:~ "What are you doing in my room?� She ignored the question. �Who are you, William?� she said. Spike looked past her to the bed, which was covered with papers. �My files,� he said angrily, pushing past her to put them back in their folders. �What�s going on here?� she demanded. �These papers� all vampires and murders. It couldn�t have been you all those years ago..?� The look on his face told her everything, and her eyes went wide with horror. �No,� she said, backing out of the room. �It isn�t possible. It can�t be.� ~:~:~:~:~ He was dead. That�s all there was to it. She�d come back with a stake, or set the bed on fire. Even if she just talked, chances were someone would eventually believe her. At least be suspicious enough to check the cabin�s mini-fridge, where 12 pints of stagnant beef�s blood had been chilling since they left Liverpool. The ship lurched and shuddered again, and Spike heard a soft knock at his cabin door. �Go away!� he said firmly. �Please,� came Linda�s voice. �I need to talk to you.� �You�ve done enough talking,� Spike said. �I expect to be dragged onto deck at dawn� �No, I haven�t told anyone,� she said. A long moment passed and she spoke again. �I�m sorry,� she said. �I�m sorry for what I did. You were kind to me, and sometimes I get confused. But you didn�t lie� There is no way we can be together, I see that now.� Spike rose and opened the cabin door, and Linda stepped in. Her eyes were wet, and as the ship rocked, she fell against him with a cry. He put his arms around her to keep her from losing her footing. �I�m just so frightened right now,� she said. Spike guided her to the empty corner and eased them both down to the floor. �It�s easier if you stay down low,� he said, and they put their arms around each other as the ship rode out the storm. 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