TORN

Disclaimer: AtS and BtVS are not mine.

AN: Thank you for reading my fanfic. This is the final chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Chapter 9: Resolution

“So?” Buffy awaited the results anxiously.

“There’s nothing…” Fred rubbed her forehead as she read a piece of paper. “Whatever he did was mystical.”

Buffy sighed and looked at me as I was struggling against my chains in game face. “He’s been feeding…” she walked closer to me. “He’s going to have withdrawals.” She paused. “This is like a never ending nightmare.” She said quietly.

“Willow and Wesley are working on it. I’m sure they’ll find something.” Fred tried to smile.

“All of this. Him coming back just so…” she broke off. “It took me a while to get over him.” she glanced at the physicist. “I lost him once and I’m not losing him again.”

“You won’t.” she tried to assure Buffy. “I know it’s none of my business but… I think the only reason why he doesn’t want to be with you is because he’s scared. And he loves you so much that he wants to do anything that’ll make you happy. He always thought that all he gave you were problems.”

“He’s dumb.” Buffy said as she held back her tears. She stopped when she noticed that I wasn’t moving anymore. “Spike?” she walked even closer to me.

Suddenly, I lunged at her. I wasn’t chained anymore. “Not that dumb.” I said as I kicked her.

As we fought, Fred ran out of the lab to get the others. Angel and Gunn went in the lab and saw the slayer and me, fighting.

“Spike!” Angel called out to me.

“Sorry.” I said as I shielded myself from Buffy’s punches. “Spike’s not here right now.” I finally kicked her across the room again. “Could leave a message.” Gunn swept in and fought me.

Angel furrowed his brows in confusion. “William?”

I pushed Gunn who hit his head on a table. “Charles!” Fred ran to tend to him.

I laughed. “Spike and William are one in the same, you git. So he probably isn’t here either.”

“I don’t really want to think right now.” He walked towards me and knocked me out cold, just like that, with just one punch. “We’re going to need stronger chains.”

--

“What was that all about?” Fred asked. “I mean the Spike’s not here thing.”

“Earlier, when I said he wasn’t Spike, he said I was right. What I meant was that he was William… the ruthless killer. But then he tells me that Spike and William are the same…” Angel mused.

Buffy really wasn’t in the mood to talk theories. She just wanted me back.

“Maybe Spike isn’t the one controlling Spike.” Willow paused as she thought of how confusing she just sounded. “I mean, maybe he’s being possessed.”

“By Cole?” Lorne queried.

“Mind control.” Wesley mused. “He’s making Spike his puppet.”

“So we take Cole down.” It was the first thing Buffy said through out this whole meeting.

“He’s too powerful.” Angel said.

“I really don’t care. I just want Spike back.”

So they used their resources again to track him down. And they did. Another perk of the evil law firm. Sorry. Formerly evil law firm. Maybe.

And they fought him. I wonder if it was a clone again. But I think not since I was myself again. Lorne and Fred stayed with me.

“Might want to unchain me.”

Fred glanced at Lorne. “Spike?”

“We have to wait for them.” Lorne whispered to her.

She smiled at me sympathetically. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.”

“I’ll give them a call.” Lorne got up and got out of the lab. Fred sat closer to me.

“She really loves you.”

“Who?” I pretended not to know who she was talking about.

“Buffy… She would have done anything for you.”

“And that’s what scares me… aside from the fact that she and Angel are still making googly eyes at each other.”

She smiled. “News spreads fast here.”

“And?”

“The other day, she and Angel talked about their ‘relationship’ and Buffy told him that she just wanted to be friends.”

“Really?” I couldn’t help the joy in my voice.

“Stop wasting time worrying about whether she’ll be happy with you. She wants to be with you, Spike.” She chuckled. “You don’t have to stay for me.” She finally said what she meant by telling me all these things.

“I love you.” And I really do. Just not as much as I love Buffy.

“But not in the way that you love her, right?” There wasn’t a sign of sadness or bitterness in her voice and I was glad. “I love you, too, Spike.”

I just sorted out one of my problems. Now here’s another. We didn’t notice Buffy was there and she only heard the last part. The part where Fred said ‘I love you too, Spike.’

“Here’s the key.” She handed Fred the key to my chains and then hurriedly left the lab.

--

Buffy was packing her bags when I arrived at her room. “Leaving already?”

“Uh. Yeah. Will’s waiting for me.”

“You’re not gonna wait for me?” I walked closer to her.

“You made it pretty clear you’re not coming.” She retorted.

“Tell me you love me.” I grabbed her arms gently and turned her to face me.

She sighed as she looked up at me. “I love you. I really do.” And she meant it.

“Ok, then.” I smirked at her.

“What about Fred?”

“Fred’s my friend.”

“But-”

“I love you so much, Buffy.” I cut her off.

She smiled at me sweetly. “Ok.”

The End

AN: Review please.