Free For All Day – Fic: All in the Family (2 of ?)

Title: All in the Family

Author: spikes_heart

Era/season/setting: Buffy Season 4, Angel Season 1

Notes: A huge part of the first three chapters is borrowed from Buffy’s 4th season – Something Blue, written by Tracey Forbes. Everything you recognize is their respective writers’ property, and not mine. Interspersed, you will find my small changes, until canon is left behind (mostly).

Warning: There is the slightest bit of canon Buffy/Angel and a hint of un-reciprocated Buffy/Riley. Nothing explicit.

Rating: PG for now

Summary: What if Buffy brought back a little surprise after her encounter with Angel in I Will Remember You?

Banner Credit: Twinkles

Waking the next morning, Willow looked around. Buffy was already gone. She picked up her mirror, concentrated and said, “It is my will that my heart be healed. Now.”

Nothing.

With a sigh, she put the mirror back down and picked up her spellbook.

“I will that this book speak its words to me.”

Still nothing. Down went the book.

Picking up a bent Q-tip, she tried again. “I will that this Q-tip gets… unbendy?”

A knock at the door interrupted her fruitless attempts.

“Come in,” she called, not bothering to get up as Giles entered. “Giles, what are you doing here?”

“I’m… a bit concerned about you, actually,” he said, worry lines framing his eyes.

“Did Buffy tell you about the beer?” Willow asked, guiltily. “’Cause…”

“Uh… Buffy didn’t tell me anything.”

“Oh, well… forget the beer part, then,” she said with a blush.

“Happily. I came because we had an appointment the other day…”

“Oh, right… right… the truth spell.”

“Yes, um… Willow. I know that you’re going through a very difficult time, but shirking your responsibilities –”

“But… I didn’t – shirk. I… did the research, and I picked up the motherwort. I just forgot the doing-the-spell part.”

“That isn’t like you at all,” Giles said, disappointment written all over his face.

“I know. I-I’ve been off. I-I even tried to do a spell last night. To have my will done. I was hoping it would make me feel better. But, it just went kablooey.”

“A spell?” Giles was definitely not happy. “I don’t think it’s wise for you to be doing that alone right now. Your energy’s too unfocused.”

“Well, that’s not true,” Willow said, insulted. “I said I was off – not incompetent.”

“I only meant that you’re grieving, and it might be wise if you took a break from doing spells without supervision.

Incensed, Willow retorted angrily, “So, I get punished ’cause I’m in pain?”

“It’s not punishment,” Giles countered. “I’m only saying this because I –”

“Oh, you care,” Willow said, snidely. “Yeah, everybody cares. Nobody wants to be inconvenienced. You all want me to take the time and go through the pain, as long as you don’t have to hear about it anymore.”

“No, that’s not fair.”

“Isn’t it? ’Cause I’m doing the best I can and it doesn’t seem to be enough for you guys.”

“And I see how you could feel that way. I do –”

Willow stamped her foot, aware that her tantrum was childish. “No, you don’t,” she spat. “You say that you do, but you don’t see anything.”

Giles blinked once, twice, then removed his glasses. “Um… oh, sorry… Um, sorry. P-perhaps I’d better be going. Let’s um… talk about this later.”

*****

Giles walked around the shackled Spike, wafting a bundle of incense and reading from a spellbook.

“Enemy, enemy, be now, quiet.”

“You know… not too keen about this spell stuff,” Spike snarked. “Tends to be a bit unpredictable.”

“Yes, well, you might have thought about that sooner. Um… Let your deceitful tongue be…” he continued, having some difficulty following the words. “Be… uh… Let no… untruths… be spoken.”

Frustrated with his worsening vision, he set the book down, took out a handkerchief and cleaned his glasses.

“Hey, what’s this all about?” the vampire asked, concerned.

“Hm? Oh, nothing. I just got ash in my eye.”

“Well, I won’t have you doin’ mojo on me if you can’t read properly. You might turn me into a stink beetle or what all.”

“’T’would be a generous ending for you, Spike,” Giles said inelegantly.

Inexplicably, Spike freed himself of his chains. In a flash, he jumped up from the floor, pushed Giles out of the way and ran out the door.

*****

Sitting in their dorm room, Buffy resigned herself to yet another night of Willow grumping and crying over her boy-woes.

Willow was sitting on her bed, absentmindedly playing with Amy the rat.

“I mean, I’m going through something. I just don’t see why he was getting down on me,” she whined, ratcheting up Buffy’s upset stomach yet another notch.

“Giles just worries,” Buffy said, trying to soothe Willow’s ruffled feathers. “Spells can be dangerous. It doesn’t mean he thinks you’re a bad witch.”

“I am a bad witch,” Willow said with tetchy fatalism.

“No,” Buffy insisted automatically. “You’re a good witch.”

Willow shook her head. “I’m not kidding anyone. If I had any real power, I could have made Oz stay with me.”

“Will, you wouldn’t have wanted him to have stayed –”

“And I didn’t have the guts to do the spell on Veruca, and my ‘I Will It So’ spell went nowhere. The only real witch here is fuzzy little Amy.”

As best friend, Buffy felt obligated to bolster her flagging spirits. “I think you’re being too hard on yourself.”

“She’s got access to powers I can’t even invoke,” Willow plowed on, seemingly ignoring Buffy’s words. “I mean, first – she’s a perfectly normal girl – then poof! She’s a rat. I could never do something like that.”

When the phone rang, Buffy grabbed it like a lifeline. “Hello? Uh, I’ll be right there.” Hanging up, she turned to Willow, “Spike escaped.”

“A-and you’re going?” Willow’s whining climbed several decibels. “Now?”

“Sorry,” Buffy said, perhaps a little too quickly. “Duty thing.”

“Well, I mean, what’s the rush?” Willow asked. “Spike can’t hurt anyone, right? And I figured since I’m kinda grieve-y, we could, uh… you know, have a girls’ night. We could eat sundaes and watch Steel Magnolias and you can tell me how at least I don’t have diabetes.”

Really? Could that girl be any more self-centered? Unable to stand any more without being sick right there and then, Buffy said, “Will, I can’t hang out with you until I get Spike back to Giles – you know that. Okay, I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise.”

But Willow’s snit continued, even as Buffy made for the door. “I don’t see the big. He’s probably just standing out there. You’ll find him in two seconds!”

*****

No more than two seconds later, Buffy found herself staring at Spike. He was looking about the college campus, wildly confused.

“I thought that was gonna take longer,” she mused.

“Me, too,” Spike agreed. “Musta got… turned around.” He continued frantically searching about for something.

“Spike, stop.” Buffy felt her stomach try to climb out through her mouth. “You’re making me nauseous.”

“Hang… hang on. This – this is it. Wait, no… yes!”

“What are you talking about?” Buffy asked, clutching at her mid-section.

“The lab. Commando lab. The door was right here where I escaped.”

“I don’t think so,” she said, unconvinced. Try as she might, she could see nothing out of the ordinary – just undisturbed grass.

Spike ignored her, dropping to his knees and tearing at the ground with his bare hands. “Open up! I’m gonna kill you!” he shouted as he tossed handfuls of grass in the air.

“Spike! There’s nothing there,” Buffy insisted.

“Let me in! Fix me…” Spike begged, resignation tingeing his words.

Buffy reached down to drag him to his feet. But, as she tried to straighten up, she finally reached her limit. Doubling over, she puked.

“What’s wrong with you, Slayer?”

“I-I don’t know. It’s been building for a couple of days now… Why am I telling you this?” she asked, coming to her senses. “Okay, drop the act,” she spat angrily, grabbing Spike by the arm, only to be pushed away.

“Get off!”

“Okay, that’s it – I’m gonna gag you,” she said, turning green again as another wave of nausea made itself known, but she still managed to dodge the punch that Spike threw. She retaliated, and the crunch of cartilage rang loud in the night.

Prodding his injured nose, Spike noted, “That almost hurt, Slayer. You’re off your game.” He eyed her suspiciously. “Never seen you sick before.”

“I’m not sick!” Buffy insisted. “Enough of this nonsense. You have to go back to Giles’, and I’m gonna get you there if I have to tie us together and walk you there with one foot in your ass all the way.”

The look on Spike’s face was priceless, causing Buffy to mutter, “Pig,” under her breath.

*****

Giles was in the bathroom, putting in eye drops in an attempt to restore some of his lost vision, when he heard his front door slam open.

“Hey!” Spike protested. Watch it!”

“One more word out of you and I swear…”

“Swear what? You’re not gonna do anything to me. You don’t have the stones.”

“Oh, I got the stones. I got a whole bunch of… stones.”

“Yeah? You’re all talk,” Spike sneered, as if he held all the power between them.

“GILES!” Buffy yelled. “I accidentally killed Spike. That’s okay, right?”

Still fiddling with his eyedropper, Giles called back, “Uh… uh… um… just a minute.”

*****

Xander was about to lose his ever-lovin’ mind. Willow was pacing back and forth, still complaining about Buffy.

“I mean, I’m going through something,” the redhead repeated for the umpteenth time. “You’d think every once in a while, Buffy would make best friends a priority.”

He rolled his eyes before replying, “You know, Will, it’s not like she could just let Spike go.”

*****

Buffy had just about had it. She slammed Spike down onto a chair.

“You know,” he sneered, as nasty as he’d ever been. “I get this spell reversed; they’ll be finding your body for weeks.”

“Oh, make a move – please! I’m dying for a good slay,” she replied with just as much snark. If looks could kill, they’d both be dead(er) by now.

*****

“Spike’s more important than me.” Willow continued with her self-centered whining. “I get it.”

“Buffy’s gotta find out what’s up with those commandos,” he insisted, sure his words were falling on deaf ears. “Right now, she needs Spike.

“Well, fine,” she sniffed. “Why doesn’t she just go and marry him?”

Originally posted at https://seasonal-spuffy.livejournal.com/679072.html