DISCLAIMER: The Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters are the property of Mutant Enemy, Joss Whedon, and Fox Studios. The story contents are the creation and property of Djinn and are copyright (c) 2001 by Djinn. This story is Rated PG.
Uneasy Rest
by Djinn
The cemetery was silent. It was the hour just before dawn. Spike finally felt safe being here now that
he was sure the slayer was home keeping her not-sister protected. He still made his way carefully. All of the Scoobies
were mad at him. No need to antagonize
them by showing up where he wasn't welcome.
And he knew he wouldn't be welcome here.
But the spot was deserted. Only the freshly turned dirt bore witness to
the recent activity here. The headstone
wasn't up yet but he knew it was the right place. He stood awkwardly in front of the
grave. He had been the cause of so much
death yet had known little reason to mourn anyone. He saw that the flowers piled onto the dirt
were already starting to wilt. Suddenly
it seemed very important to fix them. He
knelt down and began to remove the blossoms that had yellowed.
Should get you some new ones,
he thought. Looking around, he saw that
there were plenty of bouquets nearby, many with fresher flowers.
"Don't you dare."
Spike froze. He had been fond of Joyce and all, but
hearing her voice chastise him seemed a bit over the top.
"I'm really here."
He turned slowly. She really was there. He cocked his head to the side as he studied
her. "Haven't
seen a ghost for a good long time.
Rather surprised you'd show up this way.
I mean considering how you turned on me at the end."
Joyce looked chagrined. "Well, Buffy was so disturbed by your
confession. I had to support
her."
He knew he was pouting. "Uh huh. Well I thought we had a connection. You know...a bond."
"I'm here, aren't
I?"
He nodded slowly,
frowned. "Yeah, you are. But why are you?"
"You know why."
He raised an eyebrow at her
as he snorted in derision. "Aren't
you the mystical one? Cut the crap,
Joyce. What do you want from me?"
"I need you to tell
Buffy that I'm all right."
"Ok. Sure.
I'll just take a little stroll down to your place and ring the bell and
say 'Oh, hi Buffy. Just wanted you to
know your mum says she's swell.' Yeah, that's a great plan...for getting me
staked." He rose gracefully and
stalked away. "I've got a better
idea. How about you
tell her yourself."
"I can't reach
her." Joyce suddenly appeared in
front of him, causing him to start. She
made a sheepish face. "Sorry, I'm still
getting the hang of this."
"What do you mean you
can't reach her?"
"She's in so much pain,
Spike. It's blocking her
receptivity. Same with
Dawn. I go there and try to
contact them but they can't get past the grief they feel."
Spike's face grew sad as he
thought of the two young women alone and hurting. Then he remembered Buffy's face as she
rejected him. "Well, too bloody bad
for them." Again he took off toward
his crypt.
"Spike, I'm asking for
your help." Behind him, Joyce's
voice was gently pleading.
"Please?"
Don't fall for it, he begged
himself. Bugger it. His resistance was nonexistent. "Fine, what do you want me to do?"
Joyce moved closer. "Someday she'll be ready to hear this
and when she is I want you to tell her that you saw me. That I came to you and I was fine. She needs to hear that. She needs to know that we go on, we don't
just die." Joyce seemed very far
away for a moment, then she looked at him
squarely. "Tell her how proud I am
of her. How proud I've always been of
her. She was so strong the day I died. She doesn't think so now, but she was. Tell her how sorry I am that she had to find
me that way."
"Can't have been easy
for her," Spike agreed.
"No. Not easy.
And she has to take care of Dawn now too."
"Little Bits was already
confused. This isn't going to
help."
"I know. You have to tell Dawn that I miss my
baby. That I loved her
so much. I always will. She was my daughter, no matter what. I loved her.
Tell her that. Tell them both
that."
"Buffy may never let me
near them again, Joyce."
"She will. Someday. I'm counting on it." When he looked at her curiously, Joyce just
smiled. "I chose to come to you,
Spike. I could have gone to Giles or
probably to Anya."
"Or
Angel."
"Never really liked
him," she said with no apparent regret.
He found himself
grinning. "Just one more reason I
like you so much." His grin
faded. "And I did, you know. Like you."
"I know you
did." She touched his hand. "Thanks for coming here to see me. It means a lot."
"I wouldn't have stayed
away. You were special, Joyce."
She leaned in and laid
ghostly lips on his cheek. Then she was
gone.
Feeling considerably cheered,
Spike whistled as he walked back to his crypt.
Just before he got to the door Joyce appeared directly in front of him,
again causing him to jump. "Bloody hell, Joyce!
Did you forget something?"
She smiled evilly. "You didn't really think I'd go away
before we had a chance to talk about that robot, did you?"
FIN