"Spike... Spike."
Spike groaned and opened a
swollen eyelid. When he saw who stood over him, poking his arm, he groaned
again and turned his head away.
"SPIKE!" She poked him harder
and spoke even more stridently. "Get up.
You've been laying down here for days and the laundry is piling up and
you stink."
"Bloody hell Anya. Leave a
bloke to die in peace, will you?"
"You won't die. You're a
vampire and you haven't been staked or decapitated. You're just feeling sorry
for yourself and frankly you're in the way."
"Sod off."
"What does that mean, sod
off?" Anya plopped down beside him on his cot. "You always say that, but sod is
grass. The nice kind that they use on golf courses. Sod off makes no sense."
"Fine then." Spike levered
himself up on his elbows and snarled at her. "How 'bout shut your gob?"
"You've tried that one
before, right before you hit me at The Bronze. It doesn't work. Ask Xander."
Since she didn't seem to have
any intention of budging, he decided to try a different tack. "Anya, love, I'm
not feeling up to visitors you understand. Broken bones and whatnot. Why don't
you take your lovely bottom back upstairs and give us a bit of peace down
here?"
"Because I told you, you're
in the way." She nodded toward the far wall. "This is the laundry room and
everyone is either afraid to come down here or can't stand the smell." She
frowned. "Except Buffy. She doesn't seem to notice, but she's busy with killing
hell beasts and feeding and training the girls. She really has her hands full, and if you had any measure of
ambition you'd get up and help."
Anya rose and stalked over to
the staircase, lifted a large rectangular basket, then returned to Spike's
bedside where she dropped it onto the floor.
"These are towels. There are more. Many many more." She returned to the
stairs and walked up toward the door. "Let me know when those are done and I'll
bring them down." With that she left.
"Girls?" Spike yelled after
her. "What girls?"
There was no answer.
*****
"Anya!" Spike screamed. "Get
your bloody arse down here."
Spike heard high heels
clatter on the kitchen floor above him just before the basement door was
opened. Anya looked down at him. "You must be recuperating. You're voice is
quite strong now."
"I'm finished with these bleeding
towels, now get them out of here."
"Cantankerous too." She moved
down the steps. "That's a good sign. Buffy will be pleased." Anya smiled
brightly.
"Where is she?" Spike
grumbled.
"She's resting, or trying to.
It's difficult when you're down here ranting and railing and overbalancing the
washing machine. You really need to
distribute the contents evenly to avoid that."
"You can take the sodding
washing machine and stick it up your..."
"An... everything okay down
there?" Xander poked his head through the doorway.
"Fine Xander. Spike is
amusing himself by hurling imaginative expletives at me."
"Buffy will be glad to hear
that."
"That's what I thought." She
turned back to Spike. "See there, you
are feeling better. Xander thinks so
too."
"I'm gratified to hear that
the stupid git thinks I'm all better."
"Xander." Anya called out.
"He just called you a stupid git."
"Good. I'll be back down with
the rest of the stuff since he's doing so well."
Heavy footfalls crossed the
floor, then returned, followed by several pairs of lighter steps. Xander walked down the steps carrying a
large basket of clothes, followed by Dawn and three other teenaged girls. All were piled high with more laundry.
"Bloody hell!" Spike groaned.
"Whew, Anya's right. You do stink."
Xander made a face. "Worse than the school basement stink. Come on. You're not
touching the clothes until you're April fresh." He reached down to help Spike
up off the cot.
"I can get up myself,
wanker." He turned his head when he heard giggling. "What is this, a frelling
slumber party?"
"Spike, these are Slayers."
Dawn began. "I mean, possible Slayers. We're protecting them."
"Oh right, 'cause nothing bad
ever happens in this house!"
Dawn smiled at her new
friends. "See, I told you he was funny. Just wait until you hear some of his
stories."
"Just stake me now." Spike
begged.
"No way. Buffy'd be way
ticked. Go upstairs with Xander and
take a shower. We'll change your bed, then you can finish the wash." Dawn
started to pull the dirty bloodstained sheets from the cot. "We may have to
burn these..."
Spike stifled back a groan,
turned away and stomped up the steps.
*****
"Hey, it's nice to see that
you're better. I brought you some blood." Willow held out a mug. Spike took it
from her silently and began to drink.
"You are, aren't you? Better, I
mean?" Her forehead wrinkled uncertainly.
"Sure Red. Sunshine and
puppies here."
"Oh good! Because, sunshine
and puppies, those... those are good things!"
He looked up from the mug and
arched a scarred eyebrow. "Right."
"D'ya wanna hear how Buffy
killed the Ubervamp?"
"Stake through the heart I
suspect."
"Oh no! I mean she tried
that... a couple of times, but I didn't work on him. No. She poked him in the eye
with a crossbow bolt, then cut of his head with a wire. Coolest dusting I ever saw."
Spike smiled genuinely. "Good
for her, then."
"Oh, yay! I got you to smile.
Good for me!" Willow took the now empty
mug from him "Do you want anything
else?" She looked around the basement. "We've been working you pretty hard."
"No. I'm fine, thanks." Spike
paused and frowned a bit. "Uh, where is...?"
"Buffy?"
He nodded.
"She's at work. Still has to
earn a living to keep feeding all these Slayers in training."
"How many are there?"
"We're up to six now, and Giles
is on his way in with another one. They're all pretty green, except
Kennedy." Willow stopped and took a
deep breath. "Kennedy's kind of special."
Spike arched his brow again.
"Oh? Special like...?"
"Yeah. Special."
"So what is Buffy doing with
all these girls?"
"She's training them." Willow
at beside him on the cot. "Most of their Watchers are dead and they're just not
prepared for the Big Bad. I don't think most of them are even ready for a
Little Bad."
"They're a perky lot, I'll
give 'em that."
Willow stood. "I need to go
now. I have a class."
"Hey Will?"
"Yeah?"
"Send 'em down. I have some
stories they need to hear."
Willow smiled hugely. "Okay."
*****
Buffy walked tiredly into her
house and dropped her bag. Her feet hurt. Her back hurt. Her head hurt. Fighting evil all night, working all day,
and training the girls in the in-between hours was taking its toll on her. They
had so much to learn and she had no idea about how long she would have to train
them. The apocalypse could come in a
day or a month. She dropped her head
and took a deep breath. She resolutely squared her shoulders and put on her I
Can Do Anything face and then noticed...
The house was calm and
quiet. The front window was fixed,
finally. She walked to the kitchen. It was clean. There were no wet towels
drying on the bannister. No teenagers
scrounging for food. No whining or
bickering. What was going on?
She opened the door to the
basement to check on Spike. They
weren't supposed to leave him alone in the house. She couldn't believe they
would all take off and leave him down there, sick and broken and alone. She stopped short as she heard their
voices. The girls were quiet and
respectful. Spike was calm and authoritative.
"Lesson the First: A Slayer
must always reach for her weapon. I've already got mine."
Buffy leaned against the
doorframe and smiled happily. Two
burdens had just been lifted from her shoulders. She walked down the steps to join her new partner.
END