Till the End of Time: Chapter Nine
Lovely banner by Kimber!!
Chapter Nine
“Wow,” Vicki breathed as the group came up on Willy’s. “So, you got burnt out on all the magic?” she asked Willow who was on one side of her and Xander on the other. Buffy and Spike were just ahead of them.
“That’s an understatement,” Willow agreed. “I was addicted in the worst way. It was like I was a drug addict. I was in a bad spot. I had just lost Tara-“
“Girlfriend, right?”
“Right. Amy was someone that I could share magic with. She can handle more than I can, well, sort of. But after I nearly got Dawn killed because I was so high, I stopped cold turkey.”
“Again, I say wow.”
“What sorts of things have you fought?” Xander asked her.
“So far, a zombie, demon, ghost and an incubus.”
“We’ve never had an incubus!” Willow exclaimed. “I don’t think a zombie either. See? You’re a step ahead of us.”
“Well, with the mention of a few apocalypses being averted, I really don’t think I’m a step ahead of anything.”
“Aww, don’t be so hard on yourself,” Xander said encouragingly.
Vicki had to laugh, “Thanks, Xander.”
“Ready guys?” Buffy asked, calling over her shoulder before the entranceway to Willy’s.
“Ready,” the three said in unison and as a group, they all entered, weapons concealed best they could.
Talk about feeling out of place. It was hard not to gawk at the prickly and ugly demons and vamps that littered the place. Vicki felt her heart kick up a notch and her palms started to sweat. Despite she had a vampire and a very powerful Slayer, not to mention a hatchet and Wicca right next to her, she was wishing hard that Henry was there.
“Willy, got a few questions for you,” Buffy began, sauntering up to the bar and talking to a mousey, dodgy man with greasy hair.
********
“Wow,” Vicki said for the hundredth time that night once they’d all exited Willy’s. “That was surprisingly easy. And kind of fun. Did you see? I just raised that hatchet at that demon and he backed right down!”
Buffy laughed, “Good job, Vicki.”
“What the hell is this? Where the hell have you been?!”
Henry.
Looking up, Vicki found a very pissed off Henry standing before her.
“Whoa! Where’d you come from?” Xander said, jumping away from them.
Vicki heard Willow whisper, “I think that’s his vampire speed.”
“I was inside that demon bar,” Vicki said proudly, and a tad haughtily, jerking her thumb toward the bar. “I scared a demon. Imagine that. I think I’m gonna carry this from now on,” and she held up her hatchet.
Henry’s eyes darkened to black and he roared, “I have been looking for you all over this town! Your scent is everywhere. Why did you leave without me?”
“I don’t have to answer to you,” Vicki said angrily, poking him in the chest.
“Calm down, Henry,” Spike jumped in, coming over to them. “She’s fine.”
“She’s fine?” Henry balked. “Do you know how bad her eyesight is? Do you realize she can barely see at night and you’re bringing her into demon bars? You gave her a hatchet?”
“It’s no worse than a gun!” Vicki shouted defensively.
Vicki watched in fascination as Spike’s face changed into his vampire visage. Something told her this was not good. Henry’s fangs were out and so were Spike’s, they could barely stand one another and Henry was fit to be tied. This was not going to bode well.
Xander and Willow moved clear out of the way while Vicki grabbed hold of Henry’s arm and Buffy took hold of Spike’s. Both vamps were growling something fierce.
“Henry,” Vicki said, squeezing his arm. “Look at me.”
Slowly, he dragged his gaze to her.
“I’m fine. There was no need to worry.”
“You didn’t tell me where you were going!”
“Well, I guess it’s only fair since you didn’t tell me where you were going last night. Or with who.”
He said nothing, just stared at her, his black eyes fading back to his soft blue, his fangs receding. “Vicki…”
“Not now,” she told him. “Look, we’re going back to Buffy’s now. Do you want to come?”
“Yes.”
“Then no fighting with Spike.”
Glaring at her, he nodded.
“Allow me to introduce you to my new friends that you just scared the crap out of…”
********
Henry was not used to feeling scrutinized, but scrutinized he currently was. Spike, Vicki and Buffy were in the dining room going over notes and what was learned (and not learned) at Willy’s while Henry sat with Xander and Willow in the living room feeling as though he were under a microscope.
He itched to leave and to get Vicki alone. He kept flipping from wanting to ream her out up one side and down the other, and apologize profusely. The hurt in her eyes when she hinted at having seen him with that girl the night before tore at him. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt Vicki and he didn’t think she’d understand, namely because he’d never explained, that last night was about needing to feed, not about sex, though it was offered.
“So your face doesn’t change at all?” Willow asked, leaning towards him from her place on the couch.
“Well, it changed a little; did you see the black eyes?” Xander offered, “And the fangs, but there wasn’t any lumpy forehead.”
Henry wrinkled his nose at the thought.
“So we see you’ve got the speed,” Willow assessed slowly, “Though I think you’re faster than Spike.”
Henry grinned, he liked this witch.
“He must have the strength,” Xander said, gesturing to him, “Even if he doesn’t look like much.”
Henry shot him a look, but Xander didn’t even bat an eye. Actually it was as if Henry wasn’t even in the same room with them. Either that or he was behind a display case and was being studied intensely. All that was missing were notebooks as they scrutinized him.
“Well, Spike doesn’t look like much either, but he can fling you across the room like a dishrag,” Willow pointed out.
Xander grimaced, “Yeah, thanks, Wills.”
Willow just shrugged, “I’m just saying.”
“So then what are really the differences?” Xander asked, eyeing Henry and rubbing his chin.
“I’m not rude and disgusting?” Henry offered.
Xander smiled, “I think I like him.”
Willow frowned, “I haven’t decided yet. That was kind of rude.”
Henry shot her a withering look. “I’m faster than him, most likely stronger than him, I don’t talk in that ridiculous accent-“
“He’s British.”
“So am I.”
Willow’s eyes widened. “You are?”
Henry smiled broadly, “I’m royalty. Ever hear of Henry the Eighth?”
“Duh, who hasn’t?”
“He’s my father.”
Willow and Xander didn’t look convinced, or even impressed. “Then why don’t you have an accent?” Xander asked.
“I didn’t want it. Makes it easier to blend in places like America and Canada without it.”
“Yeah, but…that’s your heritage,” Willow said, her nose wrinkling slightly. “Spike always remembers where he came from.”
“Sometimes I wish he’d go back to where he came from too,” Xander said on a wistful sigh.
“Does he run in packs?” Henry asked.
Xander and Willow started to laugh. “Spike doesn’t exactly play nice with others to be able to do that,” Willow explained. “Though he did have a crazy girlfriend for a hundred years. His Sire, Drusilla.”
“Yeah, she was a whack-job,” Xander muttered. “She had these dolls…”
Henry knit his brows together. “Dolls?”
Xander waved a hand, dismissing it. “It was a thing. She had visions, claimed to see the future and all that crap. Angelus really fucked her up.”
“Angelus?”
“Buffy’s first love. Another vampire with a soul, though he didn’t for a long time until he was cursed with one by a gypsy tribe. Another long story.” Silence for a beat, then, “Hey! You have a soul!” Nudging Xander she said, “That’s another thing.”
“You always had it?” Xander asked.
“Yes.”
“So, do you bag it?”
Henry reared back, “Bag it?”
“Yeah, Spike doesn’t have a soul, but he has a chip in his head so he has to bag it. He gets it from the hospital,” Willow told him matter-of-factly.
“A chip in his head? What in the--”
“Not disclosing all my secrets, are you Red?” Spike drawled, swaggering into the room, an unlit cigarette dangling between his lips.
Henry eyed him warily, to him; Spike was becoming an ever increasing peculiar sort of vampire.
“We’re trying to figure out the differences between you and Henry,” Willow exclaimed. “We haven’t come up with too much except for the face thing.”
“And that he’s faster than you,” Xander supplied.
“Oh yeah, and he always had his soul,” Willow added. “But other than that, nada.”
“Oh, I could think of a few things,” Spike said on a smirk.
Henry seethed inwardly. What was it about Spike that crawled right under his skin and tapped on his last nerve? And what was Vicki thinking that he could learn something from him? The woman had to be mad. He was crass and rough and - and if he didn’t have a soul what exactly was he doing with the Slayer and why did the Slayer keep him around? Without a soul, why did he care to help? And what was this about bagging it? That was just disgusting. Didn’t Willow mention something about a chip in his head?
“Take a picture, Fitzroy,” Spike said before sauntering out of the house.
Vicki came out a minute later, “Did Spike just come through here?”
Henry opened his mouth to answer her, but Willow answered before he could get a word in. “Yeah, he went outside to smoke.”
Vicki smiled, “Thanks.”
Henry scowled. Now she was seeking his company?
Chapter Nine
“Wow,” Vicki breathed as the group came up on Willy’s. “So, you got burnt out on all the magic?” she asked Willow who was on one side of her and Xander on the other. Buffy and Spike were just ahead of them.
“That’s an understatement,” Willow agreed. “I was addicted in the worst way. It was like I was a drug addict. I was in a bad spot. I had just lost Tara-“
“Girlfriend, right?”
“Right. Amy was someone that I could share magic with. She can handle more than I can, well, sort of. But after I nearly got Dawn killed because I was so high, I stopped cold turkey.”
“Again, I say wow.”
“What sorts of things have you fought?” Xander asked her.
“So far, a zombie, demon, ghost and an incubus.”
“We’ve never had an incubus!” Willow exclaimed. “I don’t think a zombie either. See? You’re a step ahead of us.”
“Well, with the mention of a few apocalypses being averted, I really don’t think I’m a step ahead of anything.”
“Aww, don’t be so hard on yourself,” Xander said encouragingly.
Vicki had to laugh, “Thanks, Xander.”
“Ready guys?” Buffy asked, calling over her shoulder before the entranceway to Willy’s.
“Ready,” the three said in unison and as a group, they all entered, weapons concealed best they could.
Talk about feeling out of place. It was hard not to gawk at the prickly and ugly demons and vamps that littered the place. Vicki felt her heart kick up a notch and her palms started to sweat. Despite she had a vampire and a very powerful Slayer, not to mention a hatchet and Wicca right next to her, she was wishing hard that Henry was there.
“Willy, got a few questions for you,” Buffy began, sauntering up to the bar and talking to a mousey, dodgy man with greasy hair.
********
“Wow,” Vicki said for the hundredth time that night once they’d all exited Willy’s. “That was surprisingly easy. And kind of fun. Did you see? I just raised that hatchet at that demon and he backed right down!”
Buffy laughed, “Good job, Vicki.”
“What the hell is this? Where the hell have you been?!”
Henry.
Looking up, Vicki found a very pissed off Henry standing before her.
“Whoa! Where’d you come from?” Xander said, jumping away from them.
Vicki heard Willow whisper, “I think that’s his vampire speed.”
“I was inside that demon bar,” Vicki said proudly, and a tad haughtily, jerking her thumb toward the bar. “I scared a demon. Imagine that. I think I’m gonna carry this from now on,” and she held up her hatchet.
Henry’s eyes darkened to black and he roared, “I have been looking for you all over this town! Your scent is everywhere. Why did you leave without me?”
“I don’t have to answer to you,” Vicki said angrily, poking him in the chest.
“Calm down, Henry,” Spike jumped in, coming over to them. “She’s fine.”
“She’s fine?” Henry balked. “Do you know how bad her eyesight is? Do you realize she can barely see at night and you’re bringing her into demon bars? You gave her a hatchet?”
“It’s no worse than a gun!” Vicki shouted defensively.
Vicki watched in fascination as Spike’s face changed into his vampire visage. Something told her this was not good. Henry’s fangs were out and so were Spike’s, they could barely stand one another and Henry was fit to be tied. This was not going to bode well.
Xander and Willow moved clear out of the way while Vicki grabbed hold of Henry’s arm and Buffy took hold of Spike’s. Both vamps were growling something fierce.
“Henry,” Vicki said, squeezing his arm. “Look at me.”
Slowly, he dragged his gaze to her.
“I’m fine. There was no need to worry.”
“You didn’t tell me where you were going!”
“Well, I guess it’s only fair since you didn’t tell me where you were going last night. Or with who.”
He said nothing, just stared at her, his black eyes fading back to his soft blue, his fangs receding. “Vicki…”
“Not now,” she told him. “Look, we’re going back to Buffy’s now. Do you want to come?”
“Yes.”
“Then no fighting with Spike.”
Glaring at her, he nodded.
“Allow me to introduce you to my new friends that you just scared the crap out of…”
********
Henry was not used to feeling scrutinized, but scrutinized he currently was. Spike, Vicki and Buffy were in the dining room going over notes and what was learned (and not learned) at Willy’s while Henry sat with Xander and Willow in the living room feeling as though he were under a microscope.
He itched to leave and to get Vicki alone. He kept flipping from wanting to ream her out up one side and down the other, and apologize profusely. The hurt in her eyes when she hinted at having seen him with that girl the night before tore at him. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt Vicki and he didn’t think she’d understand, namely because he’d never explained, that last night was about needing to feed, not about sex, though it was offered.
“So your face doesn’t change at all?” Willow asked, leaning towards him from her place on the couch.
“Well, it changed a little; did you see the black eyes?” Xander offered, “And the fangs, but there wasn’t any lumpy forehead.”
Henry wrinkled his nose at the thought.
“So we see you’ve got the speed,” Willow assessed slowly, “Though I think you’re faster than Spike.”
Henry grinned, he liked this witch.
“He must have the strength,” Xander said, gesturing to him, “Even if he doesn’t look like much.”
Henry shot him a look, but Xander didn’t even bat an eye. Actually it was as if Henry wasn’t even in the same room with them. Either that or he was behind a display case and was being studied intensely. All that was missing were notebooks as they scrutinized him.
“Well, Spike doesn’t look like much either, but he can fling you across the room like a dishrag,” Willow pointed out.
Xander grimaced, “Yeah, thanks, Wills.”
Willow just shrugged, “I’m just saying.”
“So then what are really the differences?” Xander asked, eyeing Henry and rubbing his chin.
“I’m not rude and disgusting?” Henry offered.
Xander smiled, “I think I like him.”
Willow frowned, “I haven’t decided yet. That was kind of rude.”
Henry shot her a withering look. “I’m faster than him, most likely stronger than him, I don’t talk in that ridiculous accent-“
“He’s British.”
“So am I.”
Willow’s eyes widened. “You are?”
Henry smiled broadly, “I’m royalty. Ever hear of Henry the Eighth?”
“Duh, who hasn’t?”
“He’s my father.”
Willow and Xander didn’t look convinced, or even impressed. “Then why don’t you have an accent?” Xander asked.
“I didn’t want it. Makes it easier to blend in places like America and Canada without it.”
“Yeah, but…that’s your heritage,” Willow said, her nose wrinkling slightly. “Spike always remembers where he came from.”
“Sometimes I wish he’d go back to where he came from too,” Xander said on a wistful sigh.
“Does he run in packs?” Henry asked.
Xander and Willow started to laugh. “Spike doesn’t exactly play nice with others to be able to do that,” Willow explained. “Though he did have a crazy girlfriend for a hundred years. His Sire, Drusilla.”
“Yeah, she was a whack-job,” Xander muttered. “She had these dolls…”
Henry knit his brows together. “Dolls?”
Xander waved a hand, dismissing it. “It was a thing. She had visions, claimed to see the future and all that crap. Angelus really fucked her up.”
“Angelus?”
“Buffy’s first love. Another vampire with a soul, though he didn’t for a long time until he was cursed with one by a gypsy tribe. Another long story.” Silence for a beat, then, “Hey! You have a soul!” Nudging Xander she said, “That’s another thing.”
“You always had it?” Xander asked.
“Yes.”
“So, do you bag it?”
Henry reared back, “Bag it?”
“Yeah, Spike doesn’t have a soul, but he has a chip in his head so he has to bag it. He gets it from the hospital,” Willow told him matter-of-factly.
“A chip in his head? What in the--”
“Not disclosing all my secrets, are you Red?” Spike drawled, swaggering into the room, an unlit cigarette dangling between his lips.
Henry eyed him warily, to him; Spike was becoming an ever increasing peculiar sort of vampire.
“We’re trying to figure out the differences between you and Henry,” Willow exclaimed. “We haven’t come up with too much except for the face thing.”
“And that he’s faster than you,” Xander supplied.
“Oh yeah, and he always had his soul,” Willow added. “But other than that, nada.”
“Oh, I could think of a few things,” Spike said on a smirk.
Henry seethed inwardly. What was it about Spike that crawled right under his skin and tapped on his last nerve? And what was Vicki thinking that he could learn something from him? The woman had to be mad. He was crass and rough and - and if he didn’t have a soul what exactly was he doing with the Slayer and why did the Slayer keep him around? Without a soul, why did he care to help? And what was this about bagging it? That was just disgusting. Didn’t Willow mention something about a chip in his head?
“Take a picture, Fitzroy,” Spike said before sauntering out of the house.
Vicki came out a minute later, “Did Spike just come through here?”
Henry opened his mouth to answer her, but Willow answered before he could get a word in. “Yeah, he went outside to smoke.”
Vicki smiled, “Thanks.”
Henry scowled. Now she was seeking his company?