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E-mail Hilary

by Nebula

Note: This is a response to Challenge 43 and also a sequel to Fluffy Anne

“So, you nervous?”

“No!” Pause. “Yes. I can’t do this, Spike…”

“Yes, you can. I know you can.”

“She hates me.”

“She loves you. Now hush up, and lemme drive.”

Buffy sighed and leaned her head against the window. She was on her way home. In two hours she would see her mom again. Her mom who had disowned her. Her mom who hated her. Did she hate Buffy enough to turn her over to the cops? Would the cops put her in for life or a death sentence? She could see herself being walked down a narrow corridor, then strapped onto a table, a needle injected into her arm, the world fading to black…

“Buffy!!”

Buffy shook herself and looked over at Spike. The car was stopped on the side of the road, and he was staring at her, a worried look creasing his brow.

“I can’t do this,” she whispered.

“Yes, you can,” he said gently. “I know you can. ‘Sides, if anythin’ goes wrong, I’ve got your back.”

“If she turns me over to the police, they’ll kill me.”

“They won’t come near you,” he said with a smile, though his eyes glimmered ferociously. His smile dropped, a frown replacing it. “You gonna be all right?”

“I feel sick.”

“You’re just worryin’ yourself too much, and that’s why your stomach’s upset. Relax, and you’ll feel fine.”

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” she grumbled, but took a deep breath and tried to relax. She was asleep in a matter of minutes.

Spike smiled as he watched his sleeping Slayer. He’d helped her pack her things, and the two had left at noon, after Buffy had turned in her outfit to the diner. He didn’t know why she was so worried. She would be fine. She was a Slayer, after all.

What Spike was really concerned about was meeting the pointy end of a stake when he returned to Sunnydale. He was pretty sure her friends were keeping the vampire population down while she was away.

With a sigh he turned his attention back to the road. A nearby sign told him Sunnydale was 90 miles away. Not too far off.

< --- >

By the time they approached Sunnydale’s outer limits, Buffy was wide-awake and jittery again. “Turn around and head back to L.A. I can’t do this.”

“Bloody ‘ell, woman! We’re goin’ to Sunnyhell, and that’s final!”

Buffy rolled her eyes, but said nothing. As they neared the city, the familiar ‘Welcome to Sunnydale!’ sign greeted them. Spike grinned and got ready to ram it.

“Forget it, Spike. Leave the sign up.”

Spike pouted. “Please?”

“I enter Sunnydale, you leave the sign up.”

Spike sighed. “Fine. You take all the fun out of things.” Nevertheless, he grinned.

Buffy giggled. “You’re impossible.”

“But you love me,” he said, smiling at her.

She nodded. “Yeah, I do.”

Her smile fell as the car slowed to a stop outside a familiar house. Buffy swallowed as she noticed her mother’s vehicle in the driveway. “I can’t do…”

“For the last time, you can. I’ll go with you.” He took her hands in his and kissed her lips gently. “And believe me when I say you’ll never be alone again.”

Buffy smiled, her eyes glistening with tears. “Thank you.”

< --- >

Joyce was washing the last of the dishes when someone knocked on the door. She frowned, turning off the water. Who could it be? She headed towards the door, knowing it couldn’t be Willow or Xander. They were still in school.

A quick peek through the door’s windows had her opening the door with record speed. She stared at the two with shock, until the shorter one said meekly, “Hey mom.”

With a sob Joyce wrapped her arms around her daughter and pulled her in. Buffy had finally come home.

< --- >

Spike sat on the sofa, a cup of hot cocoa in his hand. He smiled as he watched Joyce fuss over Buffy, whose smile was threatening to crack her face in two. When her mom turned away, Buffy glanced over at Spike sheepishly. Spike rolled his eyes. He’d known Buffy’s mom would be overjoyed at her return.

“Can I get you anything, Spike?” Joyce called from the kitchen.

Spike shook his head, raising his mug. “I’m good.”

“Anything you want, I can get. It’s the least I can do for the man who brought my baby home.”

Spike grinned. “If you insist, more of those little marshmallows would be great.”

Joyce nodded and headed for the cupboard. Buffy rolled her eyes. Spike almost laughed at the _expression her face. Oh, but he loved her so much. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t seen it before.

Buffy and Joyce headed into the living room, a bag of marshmallows in Joyce’s hand. Buffy took a seat next to Spike, closing her eyes with content. This was much better then the excitement she’d been expecting.

Just then, the front door flung open. Willow and Xander ran in, with Cordelia right behind them. “Mrs. Summers! We saw a weird car out front, and we…” The three turned, and took in Spike and Buffy for the first time.

“The car is Spike’s, Willow,” Joyce said, as they gaped at Buffy. Buffy tried to shrink back into the sofa unsuccessfully. So much for no excitement.

Xander found his voice first. “What’s he doing here?”

“He brought me home,” Buffy said, sitting forward. “Hey guys.”

She was tackled backwards as Willow embraced her enthusiastically. “Oh, Buffy, we were so worried. We thought you could be dead…”

Buffy hugged her back tentatively. “Nope. One piece and everything.”

“So, where’d you run away to?” Cordelia said, never one for tact.

Buffy winced. She couldn’t deny it, though. She had run away.

Spike noticed her discomfort and turned to the Scoobies. “Needed a vacation was all.”

“Buffy can talk for herself,” Xander said.

“Xander,” Willow warned, sitting back.

“I think Cordy asked the right question. Where’d you go, Buff? Vegas? And what’s with Dead Boy Jr. here? Angel wasn’t enough?”

Buffy sighed. She’d known this would happen. Xander had been worried about her, and he was venting his frustrations.

Spike, however, wasn’t as understanding. “Speaking of Angelus, how is the ponce?” he asked, looking up at the Scoobies innocently.

Buffy frowned. He knew what had happened to Angel. Why was he asking?

She understand when Willow automatically said, “Angel. It’s not Angelus.”

“Why not?”

Xander was about to answer when his eyes widened. Buffy’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, tell me guys, why is it Angel? He didn’t have a soul, right?”

For a moment, nobody said anything. Then, Willow ventured, “Buffy, I’m so sorry…”

“Forget it. Just…forget it,” Buffy said bitterly, heading for the stairs, with Spike right behind her.

< --- >

Buffy stormed up the stairs, her emotions a mess. She was aware that Spike was behind her, but didn’t care. She headed towards her room, and stopped at her door, staring in.

The room was the same as she’d left it, with lines on the floor, indicating someone had recently vacuumed the room. Buffy took everything in, finally realizing what Spike had been telling her. “She was waiting for me to come home,” she whispered.

Spike refrained from saying “I told you so” and followed her in. She sat down on the bed carefully, as if afraid it would break underneath her. Just looking around the room brought back memories. She’d crept out of the window so many times, she couldn’t count. Looking at the closet, she remembered pulling out her pearly white dress, to face off against the Master. Things were missing, and she recalled packing them in her bag, then scurrying out the window, trying not to let her mom hear her.

“Hey, hey, no more tears,” Spike said, taking a seat next to her. He wiped away a few stray tears that had made their way down her face, and smiled at her. “You’re home now.”

“I’ve missed this,” she admitted. “But I was afraid to come home. I was just afraid they would turn me over to the cops, or hate me…” Spike wrapped his arms around her as she cried softly.

“We never hated you,” Willow said from the doorway. Buffy looked up at her friends and her mom.

“You missed this? We missed you,” Xander said, offering her a smile.

“Buffy, I’m so sorry,” Joyce said, tears threatening to spill again.

That was all she needed to hear. Buffy jumped up and hugged her mom, her friends soon surrounding her. Spike watched with a smile. He’d expected this.

Xander was the first to pull away, eyeing Spike. “What about him?”

“He convinced me to come home,” Buffy said. “Don’t stake him.”

“He’s nice now? Does he have a soul?” Willow asked cautiously.

“ME?!? A soul?! No!! I’m not like Peaches!” Spike protested. “Helped her ‘cause I love her.”

Everyone stared at Spike with wide eyes, except for Buffy. She smiled at him, a small blush on her face. She would never get tired of those words.

“Oh,” was all Willow said.

“Who’s Peaches?” Cordelia asked with a frown.

Spike grinned. “Angel. He used to hate it when I called him that.”

“You didn’t like Angel?” Xander asked. Spike shook his head. “In that case, you and I may get along very well,” Xander said with a grin.

Buffy shook her head. At least she didn’t have to worry about Xander staking Spike anymore.

“Ooh, Buffy, you should head over to the school! Giles has been looking for you ever since you left. I know he’d love to see you,” Joyce suggested.

Buffy was about to agree when she stopped. “What’s the matter?” Willow asked.

“I can’t go back to the school,” Buffy said.

“Why not?” Cordelia asked irritably. “The case was cleared. Cops aren’t hanging around the school anymore.”

“Snyder expelled me,” Buffy said quietly. “Remember?”

The Scoobies and her mom both stared at her. “What are you talking about?” Xander asked.

Buffy looked over at Spike, a puzzled look on her face. “Lemme get this straight. This Snyder person never told ya that Buffy was expelled?” he asked.

Everyone shook their heads. “I haven’t heard a word of anything like that,” Joyce said.

“Great,” Buffy sighed. “Just great.”

There was a banging sound, like someone had thrown the front door open. “Joyce?” called a British accent.

Buffy’s eyes widened. “Giles,” she breathed, before running downstairs.

Spike could hear her footsteps on the stairs, and a yell of surprise from Giles, then silence. He followed the Scoobies, already knowing what the scene would look like. Sure enough, Buffy was in the arms of her Watcher, who was now crying.

“Good Lord, Buffy,” he whispered.

She pulled away, giving him a watery smile. “Feels good to be home,” she said.

Giles looked up at the Scoobies and Joyce as they came down the stairs. His smile disappeared as his eyes landed on Spike. “Is that…?”

“Yes, it’s Spike. He’s good, no soul, he loves me, I love him, he brought me home…anything else I forgot, Spike?”

Spike shook his head, enjoying the looks of shock on everyone’s faces. “What?” Buffy asked. “It’s true: we love each other.” She smiled at Spike, who winked at her.

Giles reached into his pocket and pulled out his handkerchief. He began to clean his glasses, clearing his throat every now and then. He finally found his voice, and asked, “Have you, um, kept up your Slaying duties?”

“For awhile, no. Then, we found a Hell dimension, and shut it down. After that, we headed home.” Buffy smiled as she said ‘home’, a motion that wasn’t lost on Spike.

“We can start immediately on training,” Giles said, back in Watcher mode. “You’ve only missed the first two days of school. Willow can catch you up…”

“Uh, Giles?” Buffy said.

“…Don’t worry, Buffy, you’ll be back in class faster then you…”

“Giles?”

“…think, and what it is it, Buffy?”

“I was expelled. Snyder will have me arrested if I return.”

Silence. Then, Giles’ fists clenched, his lips pinched together. Buffy backed into Spike, who had reached the bottom step.

“That…sniveling…who does he think he is?!?” Giles exploded. “You will return to school if it’s the last thing I DO!!”

“Um, thank you?” Buffy said meekly.

“There’s been some clashing between Giles and Snyder over the summer,” Willow offered.

“So I noticed.”

Spike looked at Buffy, a frown on his face. “You never said he’d have you arrested if you returned.”

Buffy shrugged. “Snyder’s always had it in for me. Finding me at the scene of Kendra’s murder made his day, I’m sure.”

Spike glanced over at Giles, whom Xander and Joyce were trying to calm down. “Save me a piece of this Snyder fellow, would ya?”

“Not you, too,” Buffy groaned, putting her head in her hands.

Giles smiled at Spike. “Of course you can help, Spike. I would assume you know many ways to hide bodies?”

“This conversation is getting too gross for me,” Cordelia said, heading for the door. “See you guys later.”

“Let’s have a party to celebrate Buffy’s return!” Willow said suddenly, in an attempt to calm Giles down. She was hoping the talk of party would take the dangerous glimmer out of Spike’s eye as well.

Cordelia stopped, her hand on the doorknob. “Party?” She turned, her smile huge. “Leave it all to me. How many do we want? Small or large, Buffy?”

“Uh, just you guys,” Buffy said, taken aback by the amount of energy Cordelia was now showing.

“Can I bring Oz?” Willow asked.

“Sure,” Buffy started, but Cordelia cut her off.

“That’ll be…” Cordelia quickly counted off the people attending. “8 people? We’ll need sodas, snacks, music, games…” Cordelia headed out, still talking to herself.

She turned back and asked, “Tonight fine? Seven?”

Buffy nodded. “That’s…”

“Great! I’ll see everyone then,” Cordelia said, closing the door behind her.

Buffy turned to Xander. “She didn’t change much, did she?”

Xander shook his head. “Nope. We’ll head off and let you settle back in.” With one last hug, he followed Cordelia, Willow right behind him.

Giles turned to Spike, not looking sure of what to say. “I…um…” He sighed. “Thank you, Spike. For bringing her home.”

Spike grinned. “No problem.”

“And believe me when I say this Snyder problem will be fixed,” Giles said, turning to Buffy.

“That’s great,” Buffy said quickly. “Just don’t go Commando on me, all right?”

Giles chuckled, and headed out. “That wasn’t comforting,” Buffy said, grimacing. “That was a creepy kinda laugh, wasn’t it?”

Joyce shrugged. “He has been searching for you awhile now. If Principal Snyder had something to do with you staying away…well, he’ll meet Giles’ frustrations.” She smiled at her daughter. “You should probably unpack, dear.”

Buffy nodded, grabbing her bag. On her way up the stairs, she kissed Spike on the cheek. She left him on the first stair, a goofy grin plastered on his face.

Joyce shook her head, and with a smile headed after Buffy. “Young couples,” she said.

< --- >

Spike had gone upstairs a few minutes later and, after finding Buffy’s door locked, followed a pounding sound. He found Joyce hanging a wooden mask onto a wall. He frowned. That mask looked familiar…

“Need any help hangin’ that ferocious face?” he asked.

Joyce turned at the sound of his voice and chuckled. “It would be nice, yes. Could you hammer that nail in for me?”

“Not a problem.” Spike took the hammer from her and was about to push the nail in when Joyce asked quietly, “She was really afraid to come home?”

Spike sighed. “She thought you hated her, and plus, she’d just sent her love to Hell. With the cops on her back, and bein’ expelled…it was just too much.”

“Where did she go?”

“L.A.”

“Los Angeles? What on earth was she doing there?”

“Was a waitress in a lil’ diner when I found her. Dru had just dumped me, and I was blamin’ Buffy for the whole thing. I’d pulled in for somethin’ to eat. Found her, and even then, before I realized I loved her, I felt bad for her. Told her to get out and go home. She wouldn’t listen, and it took that blasted piece of Hell to convince her, and make her realize who she really was.”

“Who she was?”

“She was callin’ herself ‘Anne’.”

Joyce began to smile. Spike frowned. “What?”

“Anne is her middle name, Spike.”

“Really?”

Joyce nodded, watching his face light up with his smile. “Well then, looks like she didn’t toss everythin’ away, did she?”

“I guess not. I’m so glad she came back.”

“She is too, Joyce. Trust me.”

< --- >

Seven o’ clock came, and everyone gathered in the Summers’ living room. Oz had welcomed Buffy back, and soon everyone was asking Buffy about her ‘adventure’. Buffy shook her head, saying she’d tell all later. Spike raised his eyebrows. “All?” he asked, making a slight motion to indicate the two disgusting men from the diner.

Buffy narrowed her eyes at him. “Of course. I’m sure Giles would be really interested in the Hell dimension,” she said, stressing the last two words.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “A Hell dimension? That doesn’t sound fun. This party needs some excitement.”

Suddenly the front windows shattered, as five people fell into the living room. Cordelia yelled something about not meaning it, Joyce almost fell over, and Buffy was tackled to the ground. “Knife, please?” Buffy said, struggling with the person on top of her.

Willow took off running for the kitchen, as Spike laid a hit in to one of the people headed for Joyce. He frowned when the blow didn’t seem to faze the person. He switched into game face, then yelled to Buffy, “They’re dead!”

“Vampires?”

“No. Just…dead,” he said, sparring with the undead.

“A zombie,” Giles classified. “Buffy, where is your weapons chest?”

“Under…bed…”

Xander nodded. “I’ll get it!” he yelled, making a mad dash for the stairs. He had to push past three zombies, who were trying to block the stairs.

Willow returned with the knife, stabbing the zombie as hard as she could. Blood streamed from its side, but it continued fighting with Buffy. “Die already!” Willow said, continuing to stab it.

“It is dead,” Oz said, trying to stay away from a zombie.

“Oh,” Willow said. “Well then, stay dead!”

“Ewww! They’re covered with dirt!” Cordelia exclaimed.

Xander came running down the stairs, a chest under his arm. “Got it!”

“Good. Cordelia, they’ve probably just risen from the ground,” Giles said, taking a sword from the chest. “I would recommend you and Joyce finding a safe place to hide and staying there.”

Cordelia nodded and grabbed Joyce’s hand, hurrying off.

Spike grabbed the zombie on top of Buffy, and with a kick from Buffy, pulled it off. “You all right?” he asked.

“I’ve been better. Ah, how I’ve missed the Hellmouth,” she said, sarcasm heavily laced in her voice. Spike helped her up, and she grabbed an axe from the chest.

“Help us!” Cordelia screamed from the stairway. Her and Joyce were frantically trying to push zombies down the stairs.

The Scoobies rushed over, hacking away as Cordelia and Joyce ran for the basement. “Why are they trying so hard to get upstairs?” Willow asked, stabbing a few zombies.

Spike’s eyes widened. “The mask. They want the mask.”

“What?” Buffy asked, puzzled.

“A mask? Was it made of wood with slanted eyes?” Giles asked.

“Yeah. Pretty ferocious lookin’.”

“Then keep the zombies away from it! The mask contains a zombie demon called Ovu Mobani. If a zombie gets a hold of the mask…”

“Mobani inhabits him,” Spike finished for Giles. “I KNEW that mask looked familiar. Bloody ‘ell!” he yelled, as a zombie pushed him backwards. He fell to the ground, the zombies piling on top of him.

“Spike!!” Buffy yelled, climbing back down towards him.

He shook his head frantically. “Get upstairs! NOW!!”

Though she was reluctant to leave him, she knew what she had to do. With a last nod, she ran up the stairs, with two zombies right behind her. She kicked the zombies down, and ran full hilt the rest of the way to her mom’s room.

Spike managed to get up, with Xander’s help, and the two fought off the zombies as best they could. One of the zombies kicked Spike in the stomach and raced up the stairs.

“Get him!” Willow yelled, her knife now covered in blood.

“Lookin’ a lil’ scary there, Red,” Spike said. With a sheepish grin she lowered from her thirst-for-blood position. “’Sides, Buffy can handle one.”

“You sure?” Willow asked, unsure.

Spike grinned. “Trust me. She’ll be fine.”

There was loud thump above them, then a few more. Spike could hear Buffy swearing, his eyes widening at a few of her words. He didn’t know she knew such language.

Apparently, no one else did, either. “Wow,” Oz breathed, almost in awe. “That was…kinda cool. She must really be pissed off.”

Suddenly, the zombies stopped attacking. They all turned to the stairway at the same time, and knelt. “Uh oh,” Xander said. “This isn’t looking too good.”

More thumps could be heard now, and they gradually became louder. Buffy came into view, and she was struggling with a zombie at the top of the stairs. She was getting close to the edge…

Suddenly Willow shrieked as the zombie gave Buffy an extra shove, sending her tumbling down the stairs headfirst. She landed at the bottom, and didn’t move.

“The mask,” Giles whispered. The Scoobies looked up and found the zombie wearing the mask. The rest of the zombies were bowing to him.

Spike wasn’t paying attention. His eyes were fastened on the lifeless blonde at the bottom of the stairs. He finally tore his eyes off of her and stared with horror at the zombie with the mask. It was the zombie he’d let go.

“No,” Spike whispered, his eyes once more on Buffy. It was his fault she was… “NO!!” he screamed, running towards her. Two zombies pushed him back, and he went flying into the sofa.

As Willow helped him up, Xander gasped. “Don’t worry about it! She’s okay. See, she’s getting up!”

Spike couldn’t believe his eyes. Sure enough, Buffy was slowly climbing to her feet.

Or so it seemed. Everyone was shocked as they saw her begin to kneel in homage to the zombie, now Mobani. “What the…?” Oz said, voicing everyone’s thoughts.

“Dear…” Giles started, unable to finish. “Only the local zombies pay homage to Mobani.”

“But then, she’d be…” Willow stopped, her eyes beginning to tear.

“Dead?” Spike croaked.

Giles had barely nodded before Spike leapt forward again. “NO!!!” he screamed, Xander and Willow having to pull him back. “NO! No, no, no…” He fell to his knees, sobbing.

“Buffy, luv, I’m so sorry,” he whispered. “So sorry…”

Mobani began to walk down the stairs. “Spike? Spike! C’mon, we need you to help us fight this masked dude,” Xander said. “We can kick his ass for Buffy. Then, we can have a good cry later. Okay?”

Spike looked up, and nodded. Wiping his tears away, he looked up at Mobani with a murderous gleam in his eye. “I’ll take you down. For her,” he said, trying not to choke up. “For the love that you took, you ponce.”

Mobani reached the bottom step, and turned to Spike. Its eyes flashed, and several zombies headed towards him.

“Spike! Move it!” Willow hissed, backing up.

“Love to, Red, but I can’t,” he said. “Kinda immobilized me here.”

“Don’t look into its eyes!” Giles said, pulling Spike back.

“Now he tells me,” Spike grumbled.

As Mobani reached the bottom floor, the zombies stood and backed away. Spike watched with a sick heart as Buffy stood as well, not sure if he could watch her as a zombie for much longer.

Suddenly Buffy lunged, tackling Mobani onto the steps. Willow yelped in surprise as Buffy began punching Mobani as hard as she could.

“That’s…” thud “…for…” thud “…throwing…” thud “…me down…” thud “…the stairs!” Buffy said, punching harder with each hit.

Spike could feel tears gathering in his eyes. She was alive. “What the bloody ‘ell did you do that for?” he yelled.

“What, the acting? Had to make him think that oomph!” Mobani had flashed his eyes again, paralyzing Buffy, before throwing her into the front door.

“That what? You were dead?!? The rest of us thought you were, too!” Xander said hysterically.

“I know. Sorry,” she said. “I just didn’t have a choice.” She cringed as Mobani pulled his arm back, ready to strike. She couldn’t even block it. She couldn’t move at all.

But Spike could. After Mobani had flashed his eyes at Buffy, he found that his limbs could move again. Apparently, it only worked on one person at a time. With a feral roar he leapt forward, tackling Mobani to the ground. “Quit the flashin’!!” he yelled, before ramming his hand into Mobani’s eyes.

The mask broke in two, and all the zombies vanished.

Spike turned to Buffy, worry and concern etched onto his features. “Are you all right, luv?”

She nodded. “Moving and everything,” she said, standing. She gasped with surprise as Spike nearly tackled her backwards in a tight embrace.

“Thought I’d lost you,” he whispered, tears spilling down his face.

She pulled away and smiled at him, before kissing him softly. “I know. You don’t have to worry about losing me, though,” she added with a mischievous grin. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” she said, smiling. “Don’t worry. You’ll never be alone.”

THE END