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Buffy shivered in her sleeping bag, the cold, mountain air seeping into her skin. She glanced at Willow in the bag beside her, then sighed as she crawled out, pulling on her thick jacket that she had picked up before they started their journey over the Rockies.
She glanced out of the tent, seeing Spike sitting in front of the campfire, his duster wrapped around him, and his lips pursed around his cigarrette butt as he cleaned his gun.
She zipped her jacket and stepped out, and quietly sneaked up behind the vampire. He tensed, and Buffy froze as a hammer cocked, and her eyes widened when Spike turned in his seat, a pistol pointed towards her head.
Spike relaxed, and returned the gun to his side as he returned to cleaning his rifle, and Buffy let out the breath she hadn't been aware she had been holding as she continued to his side, "You scared the crap out of me."
"Don't sneak up on a bloke then," He said as she sat down beside him.
"You're jumpy tonight..." She lifted her head when she heard a wolf howling in the distance, and remembered his dream, "Is that why?"
"They've been skulking around the camp all night," Spike replied, "I'll let Peaches take over in a while...but I want a vampire on watch every night we're up here."
"You've got to be kidding..."
"They're under his power, Slayer...and the whelp probably couldn't hear one coming. And I'm not putting Red in unnecessary danger."
Buffy smiled at the blond vampire, and he glanced towards her, raising an eyebrow, "What?"
"Awww...the big , bad vampire's all worried about us little humans..." Buffy teased, and Spike gave her a look before laying the rifle across his knees.
His eyes flickered towards the trees, and Buffy followed his gaze, shuddering as a gray shadow flitted along the edges of the light cast by the campfire. "Are you gonna shoot it?"
"It's not bothering us right now..." Spike replied beneath his breath, "But he's watching us."
"Creepy much?"
Spike shrugged as he lit another smoke, his eyes still on the trees, "What are you doing up anyway? You should be getting some sleep."
"I wanted to thank you...for not...you know...telling Angel..."
She watched as he sucked his cheeks in a bit, not meeting her gaze, "Got enough problems with the stupid wanker..."
Buffy frowned slightly, leaning towards him, and he glanced down as she rested her hand on his knee, "What's wrong?"
"Anxious," He partially lied, "About the desert...he's stronger there...and he'll do all that he can to seduce me to his side...and I don't exactly have anything holding me back...but a bunch of bloody mortals who only need me because the poof's a bloody moron."
"That's not true...we don't need you just because of that..." Buffy frowned, "And I think I just implied Angel's a moron."
"You did," Spike confirmed, and Buffy shook her head, squeezing his knee a bit.
"You helped us survive, Spike...and I know you saved Xander's life in the alley that day...and I know you helped Willow to finally grieve for Oz...they need you...we need you."
Spike glanced towards her, the firelight caressing the deep valleys of his face, accentuating his high cheekbones. His eyes bore into hers, and Buffy found herself leaning towards him, and Spike closed his eyes as her lips met his.
Angel woke up, going into a coughing fit, which he stifled in the material of his sleeping bag, careful not to wake Xander, or alert the vampire on watch outside. He squeezed his eyes shut as his body convulsed with his hacking, wet coughs.
He took a deep breath, and sat up, trying to drive off the urge to vomit, and he managed to control the gag reflex.
He heard soft voices outside, and he glanced at the door of the tent, his eyes widening when he watched the two silhouettes cast by the campfire leaned towards each other, their lips meeting. The smaller of the shadows wrapped their arms around the taller, pulling him closer, and Angel leaned forward, slowly pulling up the zipper, careful that the sound wouldn't reach the pair.
He watched in horror as Buffy and Spike kissed each other tenderly, barely resisting the urge to scream. Only the mucous tickling his throat kept him from rushing out there, and he buried his mouth against his arm, letting his flesh cover up the sound.
Spike broke the kiss, and kissed Buffy's forehead, "Go to bed," he ordered her softly, "It's Peaches' turn for watch..."
Angel watched as Buffy smiled at the vampire a bit unsurely before standing and hurrying to her tent, and Angel climbed back into his sleeping bag, pretending to be asleep as Spike came in, and shook him awake roughly, "Come on, you no good wad of hair gel...get your arse up and protect the womanfolk and whatnot."
Angel glared at Spike as he sat up, then shoved past his childe to get outside, and he zipped the tent with a loud squeal of metal. As Spike settled into his own bag, he tensed when he heard the sound of someone vomiting near the edge of the woods, then closed his eyes with a harsh curse.
The sky was blood-red, and it made Spike's eyes ache just to look at. His duster billowed in the searing, desert wind, and the sun burned on the horizon, a sickly yellow that turned his stomach. He was standing on the edge of a red stone cliff, looking out over the dead desert, no vegatation or life visible anywhere.
He shuddered in revulsion when he felt a presence move behind him, and his body went taut as a wire, ready to strike if needed.
"Relax, Spike...I'm not gonna hurt you," A friendly hand clapped on the vampire's shoulder, and it felt as if sharp icicles had pieced his flesh at his touch, "We're all friends here."
Spike slowly turned as the dark man stepped beside him, and Spike's eyes narrowed slightly, taking in the man's scuffed cowboy boots and faded jeans. Pamphelets were sticking out of the man's jean jacket pockets, and Spike glanced down at a title that read, "Sons of America! Stand together against the threat of blacks and Jews sent to ruin our community!" The others were just the same, made specially to incite the ignorant to violence.
Gray, frigid eyes were studying the vampire in turn, an amused sneer turning up his lips, making the man seem handsome...and oh so hideous to look at. If Spike's heart could beat, he was sure it would have stopped in his chest at the sight of that smile.
"What do you want?" Spike growled, unsettled by this man. The very air around him was charged with an evil so ancient, it scared the unliving shit out of the powerful master vampire.
"Nothing at all, Spike...not from you...name's Randall Flagg..."
"Don't really give a shit what you like to call yourself, mate...we both know that's not your name."
Randall's eyes twinkled in dark amusement, "Don't take bullshit, do you, Spike? Admirable trait...admirable..."
"Will you get to the bleedin' point already?!" Spike snapped, irritation overriding prudence.
All amusement disappeared from Flagg's eyes, "I'm offering you a place, Spike...a real place in the world. I'm offering you power..." Randall swept his arm out, and Spike stepped back from the edge of a cliff, watching as a sudden army sprang up, his eyes widening.
There was an huge, menacing army speeding across the desert, kicking up a monumental plume of sand behind it. Spike's vision suddenly sharpened, and he felt disorientated, feeling as if he had traveled at light speed through a tunnel, and his head was swimming.
He shook his head to clear it, then stared at the hellish vision before him. Thousands upon thousands of men and women...their faces twisted in hatred, riding in anything available, strapped down with whatever guns, bombs and any other weapons they could get their hands on. The most disturbing of all was the man driving a huge open cabin, double-tracked truck...complete with a nuclear warhead.
Spike's eyes narrowed at the image of him leading the army with a weapon of mass destruction, a growl starting low in his throat. "Fuck. You." Spike bit out shortly, "You don't know shit about me...if I didn't let Acaltha swallow the world, I sure as hell won't be destroying it!"
"Don't be stupid," Flagg whispered seductively in the vampire's ear, "You won't be destroying the world...just the old witch's band of goody-goodies. No one will miss them..."
"Hmm..." Spike gave him a look, "I think I'm bloody insulted...I'm driving the nuke cause I'm already sterile...is that it? I mean..." Spike pretended to wipe away a tear, "I can't help what I am...I'm just a poor little sterile vampire who thinks you're a complete asshole and you can ram that nuke straight up your arse. No deal."
Randall's eyes went completely black, rage radiating off him in thick, palatable waves, "I think you should reconsider."
"And I think I should shove those pamphlets down your throat, and stab your eyes out with needles..and we know that none of that is going to happen...but hey...maybe if you wish real hard..."
Randall shot forward, and he lifted Spike off the ground by the labels of his jacket, "You little shit!"
"Now...now...if you can't say something nice..."
Randall roared in rage, and tossed the vampire to the ground, and Spike laughed as he stood back up, "You're the big shot everyone's so afraid of? No offense, mate...but I've seen demon shit more evil then you." Spike's eyes flashed yellow as he snarled in Flagg's face, forcing him to take a step back, "Fuck with me, mate...and you'll see who the real big bad is."
Randall smiled darkly as Spike whirled, his duster billowing behind him, "Have fun in Nevada, Spike. Give my love to that pretty little Slayer of yours."
Spike tensed and whirled with a snarl of rage, but Flagg was gone. A crow only shook it's feathers, cawing mockingly before flying off over the desert. "You stay the fuck away from her!" Spike screamed after the animal, "You stay the fuck away from us, you son of a whore!"
When Spike finally emerged from the tent, ill-tempered from his dream, and still tired as hell from sitting up half the night, he was pleasantly surprised to see the others had packed nearly everything up already.
"Xander said you were thrashing all night," Willow explained as handed him a cup of blood that had been warmed over the fire, "We decided to let you sleep in a bit..."
"Thanks," Spike smiled beneath the rim of his visor, and Willow sent him a dazzling smile, and Spike shook his head slightly as the redhead bounced off too finish packing up the bikes. Damned mortals...Spike thought. He was starting to get dangerously fond of them.
He glanced around, and saw Angel talking...or rather...arguing with Xander near the fire, and he stalked over towards the vampire and grabbed his arm, "Me, you...right now..." He growled angrily, and Xander shot Angel a smug look, probably thinking Spike was going to validate whatever point he had been fighting with Angel about.
Angel scowled at Spike, ripping his arm out of Spike's grasp, "Need I remind you who is whose Sire?" He asked bitingly, and Spike shot him a look, "I'm not in the bleedin' mood, Peaches. We talk. NOW!"
Angel rolled his eyes as the three teens watched in confusion as the two vampires disappeared into the trees before turning back to the task of packing up camp.
"You want to tell me what this is about?!" Angel snapped, inwardly seething about the night before. Granted, he had no right over Buffy's actions or decisions...but he did have some power over his Childe...power he was rapidly losing in the eyes of Buffy and the others. He would not appear weak in front of them.
"How long?" Spike bit out, "How long has it been going on?"
"How long has what been going on?!" Angel asked just as acidly as Spike, "What the fuck are you talking about, boy?"
"Don't you bloody well use that tone with me!" Spike snapped at him, "How long have you been sick, you idiot!?"
Angel closed his eyes, inhaling sharply, "I'm not..."
"Don't you fucking bullshit me, Peaches! How long?!"
"Three days...since we were in the last town," Angel admitted quietly, "I...probably caught it from the bodies we moved out of that house to sleep in."
"Three days..." Spike repeated, his blue eyes flashing, "Three days, you've had bloody Trips...and you didn't say a fucking thing?!"
"I..."
"You were what?! Hoping it was a cold?! Goddamn it, Angel! We're vampires! The only thing we can get sick from is TRIPS!" Spike shook his head, lowering his voice, "Shit...that's why you weren't having the dreams...isn't it? Because you're not like us. You're not immune."
Angel nodded, "That was my guess..."
"Fuck..." Spike shook his head, then looked at Angel levelly, "Well...it's your decision...but if you stay with us till it gets you...you're not driving with anybody."
Angel glared at Spike, "I ride with Buffy..."
"Right...so, when you go into convulsions...or you vomit in your helmet, you can smash into a tree or go off the bloody road?! That's not a chance I'm willing to take, and you're goddamned selfish if you want too!"
Angel's glare could melt ice, but he knew the blond was right, and he nodded stiffly. "Fine."
"Good," Spike gave Angel a look, "You get too bad to travel...we're not waiting for you, Angelus. He's not in Nevada just yet...and I'm not planning on being there when he is. I don't have time to fuck around with a sick man. You know that. Best I can offer you...is a quick finish. But you let me do it...not her. She can't take sending you to hell again."
Angel's face softened a bit at the vampire's obvious concern for Buffy's well-being and he sighed heavily as Spike started to stalk off back towards the camp, the younger's vampire's back taut with tension.
"Will?" Spike glanced over his shoulder at Angel, lifting an eyebrow at the name he had only used before as a term of endearment. "Thank you..."
A small smile curled the corner of Spike's lips, and then it was gone as the vampire whirled again and left Angel behind.
Angel started to cough into his hand, his entire body shaking with the racking, deep coughs, and he didn't see Spike look back at him, concern and worry etched in his features.
Buffy was throwing dirt over the fire as Spike and Angel returned to the campsite, and she shielded her eyes, peering at them closely, "No blood...no missing limbs...so, you didn't fight...anyone want to tell me what that was all about?"
"Disagreement," Angel replied, ignoring the look shot at him by Xander, and Buffy watched in confusion as Angel shouldered Oz's guitar, and he smiled at her reassuringly as he flipped down his visor, "You're riding with Spike today, Buffy."
"I am?"
"You are," Spike replied, glancing around the site to make sure they weren't leaving anything behind. "Let's go..."
Buffy shot a confused look at Angel before climbing on behind Spike, and the blond vampire flipped down his visor, waiting for everyone else to kick-start their bikes, Angel leading the way, with Xander and Willow in the between them.
Spike closed his eyes as Buffy's arms encircled him, then took a deep breath before starting the bike and roaring off after the others.
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