Chapter 3

With the delay in Rocky Point, the sun was close to coming up when Spike pulled up outside of Pete’s magic shop.  Luckily there was a hotel just down the block.  Spike paid for two rooms with two beds in each room and connecting doors.  Then, he hustled Buffy, Tara, and Dawn into the rooms.  While they were settling in, he went out to the Jeep for their bags and his cooler of blood.

Inside the room, Spike set the bags and cooler on the table.  He opened his own bag to grab out a fresh t-shirt.  His fingers brushed against an old picture that he’d forgotten was even in the bag.  He pulled it out with the t-shirt.  After he changed, he laid on the bed staring at it in the dim light.  Without Buffy, it was just a picture.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Buffy’s soft voice drifted through the darkness. 

“Just lookin’ at this old picture of me, Angelus, Dru, and Darla.  Contemplatin’ how much my life has changed.”

Spike heard the other bed squeak. 

“Budge over.”

Spike suppressed his surprise when Buffy crawled into bed with him.  She reached across him to turn on the light on the bedside table furthest away from Dawn.  She looked at the picture he was still holding.

“Angel and Dru look pretty typical of vampires.  Gray with the flashing back and forth to game face and the bite mark on the neck.  You’re all glowy, as I suspected,” Buffy said.  “Except Darla has… “

“Except Darla has what?”

Buffy touched the side of the picture.  Then, Spike could see it; the blue blotch on the lower section of Darla’s stomach.

“What the bloody hell?”

“I know, right?  Something else to ask Pete about.”  Buffy yawned, and her eyes drifted closed.  “Get some sleep, Spike,” she said in a sleepy voice as she rubbed her face on his shoulder.

Spike set the picture on the table before he turned off the light. “As you wish, Slayer.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

“Spike, can I order some room service?” Dawn whispered while she shook the sleeping vampire’s shoulder.

Spike squinted at the girl while he wondered why his side felt so warm and his arm was asleep.  “Sure thing, Nibblet.  Make sure you order some for Tara and your big sis too.”

Dawn whisper-squealed.  “You two are so cute.  I wish I had a camera.”

Spike listened as Dawn tiptoed back to the room she’d shared with Tara.  He turned to look at Buffy who was snuggled up against his side with her head on his shoulder.  “Time to wake up, Slayer.”

“Mmmm,” Buffy groaned.  “I don’t wanna.  This is the first night I’ve slept without a nightmare since … Well, since I came back.”  She snuggled closer, and she rubbed her face on his shoulder.  “Sorry if I drooled.”

Spike shrugged the best he could laying down with a Slayer limpet attached to him.  “Eh, what’s a little Slayer drool?  It’s not like I’m the Wicked Witch of the West.”

“I love the Wizard of Oz.  We should watch it when we get back to Sunnydale.”  Buffy sat up to stretch.  Several of her joints popped, echoing through the quiet room.  “Wow, I feel great for a change.”

Spike didn’t know what to say.  He kept his mouth shut for a change, not wanting to screw things up.

“I’m going to take a shower before I eat.  Do you need to take one, too?” Buffy asked Spike.

Spike shook his head.  “Nah, I’m good, luv.”

Buffy sprang out of bed, and she puttered around the room getting her things ready to go.  With a fresh change of clothes in hand, she slipped into the bathroom for a shower.

Tara poked her head into the room.  “The food will be here in about fifteen minutes.  I got you one of those bloomin’ onions you like and some hot wings.”

“Sounds delish, witchlet.  Thanks.”  Spike grinned at Tara.  She was such a sweet lady.

Spike rolled out of bed.  He drank some of the blood from the cooler.  While delicious ambrosia from heaven, wings and bloomin’ onions wouldn’t appease his real hunger.

By the time room service arrived, Buffy was out of the shower.  Spike and Buffy had joined Tara and Dawn in their room.  When they finished eating, it was time to go meet up with Pete for their appointment.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Spike parked the Jeep on the street in front of ‘Ye Olde Magick Shoppe’.  They got out of the vehicle to take in the storefront.  Spike wasn’t sure that the storefront had even had any upgrades since the building was erected.  He squinted at the sign above the door.  Apparently the store had been established in 945.   Wonder if that’s BC or AD? Or is the one missing?  Still 1945 is a long time to be in business.

The grimy windows had bars.  The green door was the only thing that looked new and shiny.

“Knick knacks and souvenirs sold here,” Dawn read the words beneath the store’s name.  “We should talk Giles into putting that under The Magic Box name.”

Before anyone could comment on Dawn’s statement, the store door opened by a tall, slender woman.  She put her hands on her hips while she glared at the group of Sunnydale residents.  “Are you guys going to stand around outside all night?”

They all shook their heads.

“No, ma’am,” Tara replied.  She stepped through the threshold of the store where she suddenly stopped.  Tara glared at the woman.

Sweet, kind, never-a-bad-word-to-anyone Tara glared.

“That thing on the doorway had better not hurt one little hair on Spike’s head,” Tara growled.  She narrowed her eyes, and electrical sparks crackled at the tips of her hair.

Sweet, kind, never-a-bad-word-to-anyone Tara growled.  And sparked.

Spike, Buffy, and Dawn stared at her in wonder.  They had never seen this side of their friend before, and they really liked it.

“What is it, Tara?” Dawn asked.

Tara didn’t take her eyes off the woman as she answered.  “There’s a talisman above the door that doesn’t allow any soulless creatures in the store.”

Spike took a step back.  At best, the talisman would work like a regular residence and he’d just bounce off a barrier; at worst, the talisman would turn him to dust.

The woman held up her hands in surrender.  “Your friend Anya called ahead to let us know that a vampire was part of the group making the appointment.  He is welcome.”  She looked at Spike.  “Come in, Spike, and be blessed.”

Spike hid his relief, but he still let Buffy and Dawn enter before he did.  He took a breath before he stepped through the door.  Buffy had turned to watch him enter, and he kept his eyes on her face.

Just in case.

Buffy’s face was the last thing he wanted to see if things went wrong.

Spike stopped inside the door.  Nothing happened.  He smiled at Buffy.

“My name is Junia Tabor.  Why don’t we have a seat, and you can explain everything to us?”  Junia gestured towards a circle of comfortable chairs.  Then, she walked over to the counter, and she spoke to a doll sitting in a rocking chair.  “Pete, wake up.  They’re here.”

The doll opened its eyes.  “Thank you, my dear.  I heard them come in.”

The group settled into the comfortable chairs, and they took turns telling Pete and Junia about Spike and Buffy’s new powers.  This time, the rehash included the incident with Detective Stein in Rocky Point.

Pete sat back in his chair with his hands in prayer position under his chin, his fingers tapping against each other.  “Hmm, it’s been awhile since I’ve seen a pair of Revenants.  Interesting.  I’ve never seen a Slayer-vampire pair before.  Very interesting.  The last pair was 600 years ago; a vampire and a zombie.  I won’t disgust you with how their powers worked”

“Revenants?”

“Revenant is one that returns after death or a long absence.  You died, yes?” Pete asked Buffy.

Spike slouched in his chair.  “One hundred forty seven days,” he said while Buffy nodded.  This seemed like a theme for the trip; the telling of how many days Buffy had been gone.

“Revenants always have a power related to death.  I’d say that you as a pair have a variant of psychometry.  All Revenants have it.,” Pete said.  “You mentioned that Spike glows gold to you, Miss Summers.  I don’t suppose you happened to look at a picture of her, did you, Spike?”

The blond vampire shook his head.  “No, we didn’t realize that I was involved too until we were at the diner.”

“Well, I bet she’ll be as glowy to you as you are to her.”

Tara frowned.  “I thought that psychometry was from touch.  Clearly Buffy doesn’t need to touch the picture to see if the person is dead or alive, just when she wants to know where they are.”

“She has to touch Spike for him to see it,” Dawn replied.  She waved her hands around in the air. “It’s not like this stuff is an exact science.  It’s really kind of not measurable or anything.”

“Will we always have to hold hands and touch the picture for Spike to have to see it?” Buffy asked. 

Pete shook his head.  “The more you use it, the easier it will come to you both.”  Then, he got a sly look on his face.  “Or, you know, you could just let him bite you and take some blood.”

Dawn and Tara stared at Pete with wide eyes.  They were waiting for an explosion of denial from Buffy or a snarky comment from Spike.

They had a long wait.  It never happened.

“Well, there are a lot of missing people in the world.  It would be wonderful for their families to have closure,” Buffy replied after the long silence.

“Every Revenant pair needs a chronicler.  I suggest you find someone to keep your story.”

Buffy shrugged.  “It will probably be Giles.  He already writes everything down because of my being a Slayer.”

“If you have any questions, feel free to call us,” Junia said.  “We’d be happy to take a trip up the coast to Sunnydale.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Six months later

Dawn, Spike, Buffy, and Giles stood outside the charred remains of The Magic Box.  Dark Willow had done a real number on the building and contents.

Xander stood off to the side with a guilt-ridden face.  He’d been able to save the world, but not Willow.  D’Hoffryn had whisked her away to his kingdom to ascend to demonhood.

“I can’t believe Tara is gone,” Dawn whispered.  “Why did it have to be her?”

“Red did a bad, bad thing when she brought the Slayer back.  A price had to be paid.  Unfortunately for us, it took the best we had.”  Spike had one arm around Buffy and his other around Dawn.

“Look at my store,” Giles moaned.

In a toneless voice, Xander said, “We can rebuild it.  We have the technology.  We have the capability to make the world’s first bionic magic shop.  Better than it was before.  Better, stronger, faster.”

Two people approached the group.  Buffy realized it was Stein and Kate.  “Hey guys.    What brings you to good old Sunnydale?”

“All the weirdness going on has trickled down to Rocky Point,” Stein answered.  “We thought we’d come see if you needed a hand.”

Kate nodded.  “And we have a business proposal for you guys that involve your powers and good old fashioned sleuthing.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 

Two days later while looking at a picture of Tara, Dawn was in for a stupendous surprise.

“Hello, Dawn,” Tara said.  “I’m here to tell you how to use your Key powers with Spike and Buffy’s Revenant powers to resurrect the dead without the consequences that Willow provoked.  We need all the help we can get to fight the First Evil.

The End