Broken Circles

By Larilyn

Larilyn1@hotmail.com

www.geocities.com/larilyn1975

Disclaimer: I own nothing. "Broken Circles" written and performed by Aruna. No copyright infringement intended.

Rating: R

Summary: What if Angel had never been cursed with a soul? How would that change Spike?

This takes place during the fifth season of B:tVS around Fool For Love. Things in Sunnydale are very different without Angel & Spike’s interference. Answer to a challenge on Buffy/Spike diaries.

"Don't you get tired of fights you know you're gonna win?"

Spike to Angelus, Fool for Love

Chapter Eight

Buffy dressed quietly, sitting on the edge of her bed. She felt the mattress shift beneath her and strong arms encircle her waist.

Spike pressed his lips to her neck and asked, "Where are you going?"

"The hospital. Giles is picking us up soon."

"Thas right, your Mom’s operation is today, innit?"

She nodded a worried affirmative. Buffy leaned back into his embrace.

"You want me to go with you?" he inquired.

"Yes." She admitted. "But there’s no way that Giles would understand. He doesn’t quite trust you yet."

"Do you?" he asked, his eyes shaded by his dark eyelashes.

She turned in his arms and took his beautiful face in her hands. "I trust you." Buffy drew strength from certainty that she was not the first Slayer to trust, or love, this vampire.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked.

"Hmm?" he asked humming into her neck.

"When I met Angelus, I felt something. A pull."

"A thrall." He explained. "Dru taught him. Theoretically, everyone in our order has the ability."

"Can you?"

"Never learned."

***

Buffy was dying to crawl back into bed with Spike. He was once again sleeping peacefully in her room. She was a ball of nerves, watching out the window for Giles to pick her and Dawn up.

Her little sister came down the stairs noisily.

"Shh," Buffy admonished, "You’ll wake up Spike."

Dawn glanced at the couch. "And where is Spike?" she accused.

Buffy foolishly realized what she had done.

Dawn smiled shrugged, and bragged, "I totally saw that coming."

"Don’t tell Giles," Buffy begged. "He would completely wig."

Conspiratorially, Dawn asked, "Tell Giles what?"

***

Ten hours.

Buffy glanced at the clock again to be sure. Yes, ten hours since they had taken her mother into surgery. Giles sat next to Dawn, his arm reassuringly around her shoulder. Jenny was on the other side of Buffy’s little sister, holding her hand.

Willow and Tara sat side by side, Tara had placed her hand on Willow’s arm.

Buffy wished that she had taken Spike up on his offer. His presence would certainly be worth any trouble that it might cause.

Buffy stood and paced the waiting room. Soon, she felt her best friend’s comforting presence at her side. Willow communicated with her expressive eyes that she was there for Buffy. No words were really necessary but Buff felt compelled to say, "Thanks Will."

Dr. Christine Edwards pulled off her surgical cap as she entered the waiting room. Willow’s arm wound around Buffy’s back, generously supporting her friend.

The Doctor’s smile was all Buffy needed. Relief coursed through her. "It went very well. We were able to completely visualize and excise the tumor. We’ll need to keep her here for a few days, watch for any signs of trouble. But I’d say her prognosis is very good."

"Buffy," Willow bubbled, "Did you hear that? Very good is, well very good."

Buffy extended her hand toward the Doctor. "I can’t thank you enough, Doctor."

"Well when William told me about your mother’s case, I couldn’t refuse. I owe him everything." She glanced around, "I was really hoping to see him today."

Giles surmised, "It was you I heard him talking to."

"I don’t understand." Buffy stated simply.

"My daughter was kidnapped when she was four years old. It was William that found her and returned her to me. The police had looked everywhere. I had nearly given up hope. Then there he was, like an angel. That was, God, twenty some years ago."

"Nineteen seventy seven." Buffy said with certainty.

***

Buffy rounded the hospital corridor and felt a cold hand clasp over her mouth and pull her back. She tensed, ready for a fight, until she heard a familiar voice, "Shh, luv, its me."

She revolved in his grip, facing him. Buffy threw her arms around his neck and demanded, "What are you doing here?"

"Came as soon as the sun went down. How’s your mum?"

"Fine, thanks to you." She ran her fingers across the back of his neck.

"Don’t know what you’re talking about, Buffy." He smirked at her, knowing exactly what she meant.

"Don’t play coy with me, you know what I’m talking about."

Spike shrugged. "Just called in a favor is all."

"You impressed the hell out of Giles," she proclaimed. Quietly and with utter sincerity, Buffy said, "Thank you," before she claimed his lips.

When she pulled away, she told him, "You should say hi to Dr. Edwards. She really wanted to see you."

Spike chuckled, "She’s expecting to see a bloke who’s about twenty years older. I think I’ll stay out of sight."

"I’m glad you came." Buffy lightly kissed Spike.

"Well if it isn’t the Slayer, making out with my Key."

Buffy revolved to face her adversary, unconsciously guarding Spike with her body.

"It’s true, then." Glory voiced. "Jinx said you were concerned for his well-being. So you must be…" The God sniffed the air and finished, "A vampire?" She twirled a handful of her blonde curls and stated, "Okay, now I’m confused."

"Buffy," Spike insisted, "get out of here. Run."

"I’m not leaving you." She asserted.

"I want my Key!" Glory smacked Buffy, sending her flying down the hallway.

"Can’t be you. You’re a vampire. Impure. Your blood isn’t even yours." She regarded Spike thoughtfully before digging her fingers into his chest. She felt around his entrails as he screamed. "It must be in there somewhere."

He vaguely noticed Buffy’s Watcher, sister and friends assemble in the hallway where Glory was searching his insides. A familiar voice declared, "Eximete!"

Spike felt relief when Glory’s fingers were forcibly extracted from his body. He sank to the floor, in total agony. Glory sprawled on the ground in front of him.

He glanced up to see Buffy’s friend, his friend. The sweet face of the girl from the other night.

"I owe you one," he told her as she helped him to his feet.

Tara responded with, "I think this makes us even."

"You little witch…" Glory threatened as she crawled to her feet.

"And I’m the big witch…" A voice threatened, "Excudo." The redhead sent Glory flying down the hallway towards Buffy.

Buffy pounded Glory, straddling the hell god’s prone figure. With alternating right and left punches she pummeled her until Glory threw her off into the wall. Buffy’s head knocked into the plaster with a sickening crack.

"Buffy!" Willow cried.

"That! Hurt!" Glory yelled at Buffy, who had slipped into unconsciousness.

"Okay," Willow said, her eyes glowing black, "Now I’m pissed! Discede!"

Glory suddenly disappeared in a burst of red light.

Willow turned to survey her friends. Buffy was coming to. Dawn, staying out of the line of fire, clung to Giles. Tara supported Spike as she helped him to his feet. "Is everybody okay?" Willow asked sweetly, her eyes once again a glorious green.

***

"A teleportation spell. Very impressive Willow." Buffy said as she tended Spike’s Glory inflicted wounds.

Willow smiled at the Slayer from behind the bloodied Kleenex that she held to her nose. Flattered and embarrassed she insisted, "It was nothing."

"Wasn’t nothing." Spike declared firmly, resting comfortably on Buffy’s couch.

Tara emerged from the Summers’ kitchen with a glass of water and some aspirin for her lover. "Here you go sweetie."

"Where’d you send her?" Buffy asked

"I have no idea," admitted the witch.

"Spike, you should have let one of the doctors look at this." Buffy told him tenderly.

He winced as she poured antiseptic on his lacerations. "And when they couldn’t take my pulse?" He asked.

"Right," Buffy admitted, "Forgot about that."

Giles entered the room from the stairway. Spike asked him, "How’s the Little Bit?"

"Asleep," Giles assured him. "And very confused."

"We all are," Willow said with a sly look at Buffy, who was gently running her fingers over the areas of Spike’s skin that she hadn’t covered with bandages.

Buffy wasn’t listening to Willow. She was silently communicating with her Watcher. It was time to come clean with her friends about Dawn. "I didn’t expect Glory to threaten you guys, but since she has, I guess I owe you an explanation about what the Key really is."

***

Willow paced the room, her headache threatening to come raging back. "I can’t believe she’s not your sister…I remember…"

"I know Will, me too." Buffy sympathized her best friend.

Willow asked, "My memories aren’t real?"

Buffy asserted, "They are real. They’re real to us. In every way that matters."

Spike instructed the witch. "You love the girl? You keep loving her."

Tara touched her girlfriend’s arm, "She’s still Buffy’s sister to us."

Giles nodded. "Now we have to find a way to protect her."

***

Giles was easy to fool. Dawn pretended to sleep, breathing deeply, until she was sure the Watcher had gone downstairs to join the others. Then she sat at the top of the stairs, eavesdropping on their conversation.

Willow. "I can’t believe she’s not your sister."

Dawn had heard plenty. She skulked back to her room and slid her slim body out the window and down the side of the house.

She sped up when she hit the sidewalk. With anxiety, she glanced back to make sure she hadn’t been noticed and ran into something solid.

"Running away?"

Dawn backed up a few steps. The gnarled figure in the brown cloak stepped closer to her.

She was terrified. So scared that she was unable to scream.

Then, a blur of a man stepped out and grabbed the demon that was threatening Dawn. He quickly snapped its neck and tossed it into the nearby bushes.

His eyes were full of concern when he asked Dawn, "Are you all right?"

She nodded, incapable of speech.

"You’re Buffy’s sister aren’t you?"

Dawn allowed the feelings of indignation to bubble up to the surface. "I’m not her sister."

She and her rescuer walked a few steps before Dawn asked, "You know Buffy?"

Angelus smiled, "Oh, I know her."

***

End Chapter Eight