Trick and Treats
Part Three
The eight Samhain celebrants made a litter to drag Spike through the woods to Oz's borrowed
van. Willow made certain that only she or Amy Madison touched him, considering the others
wouldn't understand why they were technically dragging a dead man. They left the other body
under Willow's instructions. She said she would contact the police when they got back to town.
Willow found the keys in Spike's pocket and, as her friends lifted him into the back of the van,
she used a borrowed cellular phone to call Giles.
"Hello?"
"Giles, it's Willow," the redhead said into the phone. "There's been an accident..."
*****
Buffy paused in speaking when she heard a faint beeping coming from her purse. She exchanged
a glance with Faith, who was sitting across from her. The brunette Slayer unclipped her black
pager from her skirt and looked at it expectantly, then shrugged.
Reaching into her purse as the conversation continued, Buffy hit the button and looked at the
number.
456*911
"Cordelia, I need your phone," Buffy said, her heart starting to pound in her chest. She looked at
Faith again, and the other Slayer shook her head.
"No page for me," Faith said.
Cordelia handed Buffy her cellular phone from the beach bag she was using as a purse. Then she
stood and headed over to where Xander and Oz were conversing with other friends of theirs.
"Something's up," she said, interrupting them.
Xander and Oz nodded, excused themselves and followed Cordelia over to where Faith and
Buffy had moved to. The blond was holding the cellular phone to one ear, her hand pressed over
the other.
Before the four friends' eyes, they saw all the blood leave Buffy's face. She disconnected the
phone without saying a goodbye.
"Buffy, what is it?" Oz asked nervously.
"We need to go to Giles'," Buffy said in a hollow, shocked voice. "Willow called him. Spike's
been shot."
"Shot?" Cordelia said, confused as the five of them quickly left the party. "But he's a vampire.
Bullets won't kill him."
"It probably still hurts," Xander said.
"Buffy, you gonna hurl?" Faith asked as Cordelia unlocked her car doors. "You ain't looking too
hot."
"I'm fine," Buffy lied. Inside she was shaking like a leaf, but she was going to force herself not
to jump to conclusions until she saw her mate with her own eyes. But she had a very bad feeling
in the pit of her stomach.
For once, Buffy thought Cordelia's driving was too slow.
*****
Thank the Goddess for Giles, Willow thought, noting the Watcher had converted his living room
to a makeshift hospital. She'd had to drive to his home alone, which was both a relief and a
hardship. She would have liked someone to listen to her nervous chatter, instead she had only an
unconscious vampire to talk to. Amy had promised to make sure everyone else would go home
and not bring up what had occurred.
"Willow, your assistance please," Giles requested, pulling Spike up into a sitting position from
the floor.
Willow hurried over and she quickly pulled off Spike's turtleneck. The makeshift bandage she'd
tied around his head came off at the same time. The strips of robe she'd used were soaked red
with blood.
"Grab his feet, if you will," Giles instructed. "On three, let's get him onto the table. Ready?"
Willow nodded. "One, two, three."
"Oof," Willow grunted as she assisted the Watcher. "Geez, Spike. Who have you been eating?"
Once on the table, Giles turned the vampire onto his stomach, his right cheek face to the table,
and Giles gently closed Spike's eyes. The Watcher pulled an arm light, which he'd attached to a
free-standing lamp, closer to the table in order to see better.
"Hmm." Giles picked up a wet washrag from a bowl, squeezed it, then carefully washed the
blood around the wound. "You say you heard a gunshot?"
"Yes," Willow said. "We went looking about ten minutes after we heard it. I found Spike and
another body about three minutes after that."
"Tell me about the other...man?" Giles prompted, picking up an instrument to probe the bullet
hole.
"Male, Caucasian, human, I think," Willow replied. "He didn't look too old. Blondish hair.
Knife in his throat. Camouflage."
"Knife in his throat, you say?"
"Yes. Probably Spike's. He carries one I blessed on him when he goes and follows Buffy
around on patrols. It's pretty funny. She doesn't even know he does it. I only know because Oz
smelled him a couple of times we were with her. It's kinda cute, in an overly over-protective
way."
"Anything else?" Giles asked, taping Spike's ear over before reblotting the bleeding wound. He
carefully inserted a long, thin pair of tweezers into the bullet entry.
"Um, no," Willow said. "Bandaged Spike's head, dragged his body to the van, brought him
here." She moved from the unconscious vampire's feet to the other side of his head. "Can I
help?"
"Why don't you put on some tea," Giles suggested. "Buffy shall be here soon," he pulled out an
impacted bullet and dropped it in another bowl, "and I'm sure the others will be with her."
"Tea. I can do tea. It's just water that's hot," Willow spoke as she moved to the kitchen.
The door to Giles' home opened and Buffy rushed in just as the Watcher finished sewing the
wound behind Spike's ear shut. "How is he?" Buffy asked, her voice choked up when she saw
him. She brushed shaky fingers over Spike's slack features, fighting down her panic.
"I extracted the bullet, but I cannot tell you how he is," Giles replied quietly. "I suppose, because
he is a-a vampire, he will heal. But, since he was shot in the head-"
"He was shot in the head?!" Buffy said in horror.
"Hmm, yes," Giles said distractedly as he examined the bullet. "By a long range rifle, I'd
suspect. Since it did not exit the skull, I would imagine that the shooter was at a great distance.
The angle of the entry indicates that the bullet went in at about 30 degrees into the cerebellum, it
traveled for about 13 centimeters before stopping-"
"Giles!" Faith snapped, interrupting the Watcher when Buffy's face turned a sickly shade of
grey. "X-nay on the Spike got shot in the brain-nay."
"Who did this?" Buffy asked through clenched teeth, her eyes hard when she raised them to her
Watcher. "Who shot my mate?"
"I think it was the guy that was with him in the woods," Willow answered, coming out of the
kitchen. "He's still there, if you want to see."
"I want." Buffy lowered her eyes back to unconscious husband's face. "I want very much."
*****
Buffy yanked the dagger from the dead man's throat, wiped it on his pant leg and clenched the
hilt tightly in her hand. She stared at the corpse's face with a coldness in her eyes. If he wasn't
dead already, he would be seriously hurting.
"Ooh, cell phone," Willow said, pulling the folded object out of the man's pocket.
"Found it," Oz called, jogging up to the two girls with a high powered rifle with mounted scope
in his hands. He went up to Willow and looked down at the pile of weapons surrounding her.
"Small arsenal this guy had."
Willow looked up at Buffy. "I don't think that this guy was just a hunter and shot Spike on
accident."
"My guess," Oz said, picking up a stake and a bottle of holy water from the pile. "I'd say this
guy knew exactly who he was shooting."
"Why?" Buffy asked, the hilt of the dagger biting into her palm. "Why would he be after Spike?
I know my husband is not the most well-loved demon in Sunnydale..."
"Well, we have cell phone," Willow said, holding up the object. "I can do things with this."
"No ID?" Oz asked.
"No ID," Willow replied.
"Do you need anything else?" Buffy asked. Willow shook her head and allowed Oz to help her
to her feet. "Okay, then let's get back to Giles'."
Oz shouldered the rifle and fell into step with Willow as they headed away from the body. Buffy
glanced at the corpse, then kicked him with all her might. "Bastard," she hissed. Then she
stalked after her two friends, unbelievable rage filling her soul.
*****
Spike had been moved to Giles' bed. Buffy straddled a chair on the opposite side, her arms
laying on the back, her chin resting on her arms. Her Watcher had told her not to jostle Spike so
he would heal faster. She listened for once, although what she really wanted to do was crawl in
the bed beside Spike and hold him tightly. Actually, she really, really wanted him to wake up and
tell her he had a "bloody headache" and ask her to make him feel better. But since that probably
wasn't going to happen right then, she was trying to be content with sitting on the chair and
watching over him.
Willow and the rest of her friends had been busy trying to decipher who the dead guy was in the
woods. Buffy had instructed them not to bother her unless they had solid information she could
act on. The anger she felt was carefully boxed away, waiting to be unleashed. And when that
happened...
Part Four
Buffy kicked the door open, stormed around the desk and picked Richard Wilkins, III up by his
well-pressed lapels. "Where is Trick?" she growled.
"Whatever happened to knocking?" the Mayor said. "You kids these days really need to learn
some manners."
"Trick," Buffy spat. "Where. Is. He?"
Wilkins looked down at her hands then back at her face. Buffy shoved him back down into his
chair, then folded her arms across her chest. "Now then, why are you after our dear Mr. Trick?"
"This isn't The Late, Late Show. Just tell me where he is before you have to change your name
to Nancy, Dick."
"My, my, my," Wilkins said. "That's quite the attitude you have there. Does your husband let
you talk to him like that?"
Buffy's fist shot out without warning. Wilkins' head hit the back of his chair and he rubbed his
jaw when he returned his eyes to her. "Now that wasn't very nice," Wilkins said.
"You'll find I can be a lot less nice if you don't talk," Buffy said in a cold, deadly voice.
"You are in serious need of some discipline, young lady," Wilkins said. "It's the vampire
influence. No morals, like violence, bad dental hygiene. As for Mr. Trick, you should find him at
the old Sunnydale Arms."
Buffy turned without a word and left the office. Wilkins shook his head. "She didn't even wait
for a by your leave. Kids today." He sighed and hit the intercom on his desk. "Tell Mr. Finch
that Mr. Trick has left Sunnydale permanently, Gladys." He released the button and leaned back
in his chair. "I'm going to miss him. He had such a unique sense of style."
*****
Buffy glanced up at the sun that was creeping higher in the sky. She smiled evilly. Perfect, she
thought. The only escape route would be through the basement, but after a quick call she'd
made to her friends, that way would be effectively blocked before Trick could use it.
The door opened easily under her hand, the lock breaking with a firm twist of her wrist. She
walked inside as if she owned the place, the sunlight streaming inside behind her. The light
highlighted the blond of her hair and made the red of her devil's costume more vibrant. The
vampires in the room took one look at the mocking smile on her face, and ran.
With lightning quick speed, Buffy grabbed one of the fledglings and threw him over her shoulder
to the ground. Her sharp stiletto heel came down in the center of his chest and she pinned him
with her icy stare. "Trick. Tell me where he is and I'll let you go."
The vampire looked terrified. "Upstairs. Second door on the right."
She released him, turned around and headed for the stairs. She wasn't worried about the
fledglings or minions in the old hotel. She was looking for one vampire and one vampire only.
Trick's head shot up when the door to his room banged open and he only had time to say "Oh
shit," before Buffy opened fire on him using same rifle that was used on Spike.
Both Cordelia and Xander were right in saying that bullets don't kill vampires, but they still hurt.
And the number of them that riddled Trick's body really, really hurt. Buffy unloaded the clip in
the high powered rifle, then let the weapon fall to the ground. Trick was laying on the floor on
his side, his brown suit turning red around the holes in it.
Buffy stalked over and kicked him sharply in the chest, sending him falling over onto his back.
She pulled a stake from inside of her sleeve, dropped down to her knee next to him, and growled,
"This will teach you to mess with my mate."
Then she drove the stake into his heart and Trick was nothing more than a pile of ashes on the
floor. A few minutes later, she lobbed the fifth Molotov Cocktail through a window of the
Sunnydale Arms and watched in satisfaction as the old hotel began to burn. The screams from
the vampires trapped inside just added a sweetness to the entire thing.
*****
Buffy was like a zombie the first weeks of November. She didn't sleep, barely ate anything, and
the classes she attended were all a blur. She wouldn't even had gone to classes, but she knew
that Spike would have not wanted her to miss any of them.
Spike was still unconscious in what would be considered the vampire equivalent of a coma.
After being moved from the Watcher's home back to the Brody apartment, Giles had contacted
Angel in order to ask him how to get Spike to feed, because unless he had blood in him, he
wouldn't heal. Between the two of them, Angel helping over the Brody's telephone line, they
rigged a system that worked adequately enough.
Faith had taken over the main bulk of slaying, although because of the destruction of the
Sunnydale Arms, the vampire population was at an all-time low. She would stop by late at night,
knowing that Buffy would still be awake, and complain about the boredom. But in reality it was
because she, along with all their other friends, wanted to be there for the blond while they waited
for Spike to return to consciousness.
All Saint's Day passed, Election Day passed and Veteran's Day passed with no change. It was
nearing Thankgiving and some people were starting to put out their Christmas lights. The stores
at the mall were starting their Holiday sales and were offering free gift wrapping. The weather got
colder, requiring winter coats to be taken out of storage.
Buffy knelt at the side of the bed, her fingertips lightly running over Spike's cheek and brow
repetitively. She carefully avoided the drip tube that ran from the bag of blood on the IV pole
into his mouth and down his throat. She wasn't thinking about anything, she was just kneeling
beside her mate, watching her tan fingers as they brushed over his pale skin.
Joyce stood in the doorway to the bedroom, watching her daughter, wishing there was something
she could do to take away her baby's pain. Someone was always in the apartment at any given
time, even while Buffy was in classes, just in case Spike would awaken. Angel had come up
from LA twice, even though he couldn't stay, and was due to return to Sunnydale the upcoming
weekend.
"Buffy, honey, would you like something to eat?" Joyce asked softly, even though she knew the
answer.
"No thank you," Buffy replied, her voice tired and quiet. "I'm not hungry."
"Well, if you change your mind, there's pea soup," Joyce told her. She saw Buffy nod, then she
turned and headed back into the other room.
Buffy continued to stroke the side of Spike's face, wanting nothing more than for him to return
to her.
Part Five
Spike opened his eyes into slits, looked left, looked right, then closed them again with a groan.
His head felt like someone had taken a jackhammer to it and enjoyed themselves tremendously.
He tried to swallow and immediately started gag. He could feel something long and skinny in his
mouth running along his tongue back to his throat. Whatever it was, he wanted it gone.
He heard a soft sigh near his right ear, and he forced himself to open his eyes again and looked in
that direction. All he saw was the top of a blond head and figured that it was his Buffy. She
really needed to touch up her roots, he thought absently, as he allowed his eyes to fall shut once
more because of the stabbing pain behind them.
He moved his arm towards where her head was laying and nudged her. He heard her murmur
something and nudged her again, this time harder. His aching head repaid his movements by
pounding for him, and he briefly wondered how much he drank to get into this state.
Then he remembered what had happened in the woods and was suddenly grateful to be feeling
anything at all.
Spike heard Buffy stir and felt her lift her head, and he forced himself to open his eyes again. She
let out a gasp and she came into his line of vision, tears streaming down her face. She sat on the
edge of the bed.
"Spike," she breathed, relief evident in her voice. She cupped his cheek with her hand and gave
him a huge smile. "Oh Spike, I'm so glad you're awake."
She leaned forward and pressed a kiss on his brow. As she was sitting back, a teardrop fell from
her face and landed on his nose. She laughed lightly, then brushed it away with her fingers.
Spike's heart sang with the sound. Moving slowly because his head was aching, he put his hand
on her thigh and squeezed. She blinked rapidly, the tears clinging to the ends of her long lashes.
"You probably want that tube out of your mouth," Buffy said. He barely nodded, but she
understood. "Okay, I'm going to pull it out. Ready?" She grasped the tube. "Here it goes."
She quickly pulled it out of his throat.
In what was not one of his most shining moments, Spike's eyes widened, then he turned and
threw up blood all over the side of the bed, Buffy's legs and on the floor. The pounding in his
head increased, but he found, to his abject horror, it was the pounding of running footsteps as
several people came into the room.
"Eew!" Cordelia said loudly, then turned and quickly left the bedroom again.
"Now that's something I really didn't need to see," Xander added, then followed his girlfriend.
"I think those two summed it up for me," Oz said. He, too, left, leaving Willow and Angel
standing in the bedroom.
Spike groaned and laid his head down in the mess on the side of the bed, closing his eyes. He
didn't care. His head hurt and he was just humiliated beyond reason. His unlife sucked.
"I guess he's awake," Willow said, smiling at Buffy. Buffy nodded happily. "I'll go get some
towels and stuff."
"I'd better show you where they are," Buffy said. She bent and kissed Spike's other cheek, then
stood and left the bedroom with the redhead.
Spike opened his eyes and saw his sire squatting before the mess on the floor, looking at him.
"Go away," he muttered, reclosing his eyes.
He felt a light finger run down his nose, then a tap on the end of it. "Good to have you back,
Spike. Everyone but me was worried about you," Angel said.
"Bugger off," Spike grumbled. "Leave a dead man in peace."
Angel chuckled and stood, leaving the bedroom. He met Buffy and Willow in the hallway and
smiled at them. "I think Spike will be just fine in a few more days," he told Buffy.
"Good," Buffy replied. "Because then I'm going to hurt him for making me worry."
"I'll get everyone out of your hair," Angel said. "And we'll let your mom and Giles know about
the blond idiot."
"Hey, that's my husband you're dissing," Buffy scolded. He gave her an innocent grin, then
bypassed her to go towards the living room.
The two girls entered the bedroom to see that Spike had rolled onto his back and had his arm
over his eyes. "Whoever that is, will you please shoot me and put me out of my misery?" he
asked with a plaintive whine.
Buffy and Willow exchanged looks, then burst out laughing. Spike raised his arm to look at
them. "What?"
"Too late," the two girls chorused, and fell into laughter again.
End