The Dance

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Author: Alexandra

Rating: PG13

Summary. Fairly sappy story set immediately after 'Into the Woods', spoilers for that episode. Buffy tells Spike she is ready for them to 'dance'.

The Dance

She was weary, drained even as she patrolled through the cemetery. A fledgling vampire had been dispatched as soon as it had emerged and she felt nothing, she was an automaton, going through the motions of slaying without feeling. She felt hollow as the events of recent days began to sink in. Spike leading her to the warehouse, seeing Riley with the vampire, arguing with him and then facing Xander's home truths before desperately trying to make things right with Riley and failing.

She was tired, tired of relationships that ended in pain, tired of the responsibility of being the Slayer with always new evil to face, always the world to save, no matter what she did the threats would never stop coming and every time they did the people she loved were placed in danger.

She didn't hear the vampire approach, he wasn't especially skilled in his attack, but it was enough to throw her off balance and knock the stake from her hand. She counter attacked, but it was as if she was fighting in a fog, her actions slow, she didn't care yet she knew she should. A mockingvoice came into her mind 'part of you wants it, not just to stop the fear and uncertainty, but because you are just a little bit in love with it'. Had Spike been right? Did she have a death wish and was she now just too exhausted to suppress it? It all seemed so easy as the vampire grabbed her by the throat and pushed her against the mausoleum wall, to just let him take her life, to end it, she knew all she had to fight for, but in that moment none of it seemed to matter, her struggles were perfunctory as she felt the vampire's fetid breath on her neck and she waited for the pain of his bite.

Instead there was a familiar sound and the sensation of dust falling on her and when she opened her eyes she saw a pair of furious blue ones staring back at her. 'What the hell do you think you are playing at Slayer?'

'Leave me alone Spike'

'The hell I will,'

'What's the matter Spike, I thought you wanted one of you to have a real good day?'

She was goading him, he grabbed her by the shoulders slamming her back against the wall, she could see the pain the chip caused him, but his anger overrode it.

'So this is your way of solving your problems is it Slayer, Lover boy runs back to the army and you throw yourself on the fangs of the first vampire you come across because of your lost love'.

His scorn bit deep, after feeling nothing for days her emotions came flooding back and she pushed him off raining blows to his face, body, anywhere she could strike. He blocked her as best he could until he saw his opening and spun her round with her back to his chest catching her in his arms and pinning her to him fiercely. She struggled for a moment more, but the fight was going out of her and there was something almost reassuring in the strength of those arms. He felt her relax a little, but knew this was still dangerous ground; a wrong move and she would retreat into herself again.

He inwardly cursed at Giles and the Scoobies with their 'Buffy needs space to deal' approach. The girl was falling apart, Spike didn't believe it was love for Riley that was doing this, that may have been the catalyst, but this had been a long time coming he'd seen the signs. 'Angel opened this wound and circumstances have kept it from healing haven't they love?' he thought to himself.

'Let me go Spike', her voice was calmer now.

'Alright pet, but only so as you and me can have a bit of a talk, I don't want you running off into the night, got that?' Buffy nodded and he let her go, gently pulling her around to face him.

'There's nothing to say, you showed me what Riley was doing, it broke us apart and he left before it could be mended, you won Spike'.

'I'll say the same thing to you pet as I said to him, don't shoot the messenger'

'Why did you tell me? Did you want to prove that you were right about my tragic taste in men?'

Spike thought about this for a moment. Why had he told her? He knew she and Riley were doomed as a couple, it wasn't to remove him as a rival, time would have done that, Riley himself as much as admitted it to him. He knew it would hurt her, he also knew she would blame him for that hurt, but he did it anyway.

'I wanted to protect you' he said before he could stop himself.

'Protect me? How the hell do you imagine showing me something that would tear my heart out would do that?'

'I don't get it love, you know Riley wasn't the one for you, you cared about him and he was important to you, but don't pretend this is the love of your life who has just left pet, if your heart is torn, it's about more than Riley'

She looked up at him with big eyes that began to fill with tears, 'Oh don't do that love,' he thought, 'Your tears are my weakness'. He hesitantly reached out to touch her, to try to comfort her, but not wanting to scare
her. He gently brushed away a tear from her cheek

'What is it pet? What do you want?'

'I want it to stop, '

He looked at her in shock, it was there in her face, he'd seen that look before in others.

'Are you sure love?'

'Please Spike'

She moved closer to him until their lips were almost touching, she leaned into him and whispered

'I want to dance'.

He looked into her eyes 'Buffy'

'Shhhh,' she looked back at him with pleading in her eyes and kissed him gently, a lover's kiss.

His hands caressed her, moving slowly up and down her back, calming her, she put her arms around his neck and tilted her head back, chin raised, throat exposed. Gently he moved his lips to her neck, he pulled her to him tightly and at the same time bit into her throat.

He expected the pain to come immediately, but it didn't, she had given herself to him this was no act of violence it was an act of love. Her blood tasted sweet, his demon rose at the taste of it, he heard her murmur his name and then fall against him as she lost consciousness.

It took all his strength to pull away, not to drain her, he almost had to throw her from him in the process. The blood of a Slayer was coursing through his veins, his first human blood in months and it was hers, given to him freely. He picked her up and gently carried her to his crypt, once inside he laid her down looking at her closely. Her color was good, he hadn't taken too much, but he had no idea how she would react when she came around. He wasn't sure how he would either, she'd begged for a death he
knew she didn't want and he had protected her from it, but in doing so he had taken a step closer to something that terrified him, he could feel he was losing himself in her.

Buffy stirred and opened her eyes, for a moment she didn't know where she was and then recognized Spike's crypt. The events of the night before came crashing back to her, she touched her throat and felt the twin puncture wounds and remembered what she had asked of him. She looked around and saw him sleeping sitting up in a chair next to his bed, he had obviously been
watching her, taking care of her, protecting her.

'Protect her' that was what he had said last night. Buffy thought back over recent months with Spike, he had always seemed to appear when she needed help, he'd saved her life last night in some ways twice. She looked at him again unsure what to say to him, or how she felt.

'Spike,' softly she called his name needing him to wake up, but scared at what he would say 'please don't make a joke of it,' she silently begged.

'Buffy?' not 'Slayer' she noticed, 'How are you love? He was over to her in a second, sitting on the edge of the bed looking carefully at her face.

'I… I' her face crumpled she couldn't believe how close she had come to death last night and didn't want to face it now.

He pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair, she marveled at his gentleness and at the strength of his body. 'Easy pet, it's over'. She looked into his face, trying to speak, to explain, he took her face in his hands,

'Listen love, you don't have to say anything, you faced something that could have destroyed you and survived and you will be stronger for it in time. In the meantime you are safe, I'm not going to let anything happen to you'

She knew by 'something' he didn't mean him, he was right somehow a chapter was closing for her, the darkness that had been surrounding her for months was beginning to lift, somehow a soulless vampire was helping her find her way back to her own humanity.

She reached her hand to touch his face and gently kissed his lips, 'Thank you'. Spike felt something in his chest catch, he returned the kiss equally gently and then released her. He ached to take things further, but now was not the time, when she was ready she would come to him, he could feel it. In time he would show her there were other ways to dance.

The End