InsaneJournal

“Oh my God,” muttered Amanda as she staggered out of the door. Vi and Rona went to her side, as she was messily sick in a corner of the underground area, holding her up and trying to comfort her. As Eve started to glance inside, Xander grabbed her shoulder and shook his head.

“You don’t want to go in there,” he said softly. “Faith, keep the girls out here.”

“Sure,” said the Slayer with a nod. Xander smiled at her then grimly entered the room, closing the door behind him.

Slowly he strode across the floor until he came to the hanging figure, which looked up at him and choked out a laugh.

“Appearing as the whelp now?” the despondent figure choked. “Stupid. What do I care about him?”

Leaning forward, the vampire fed the anger that had been gathering in his chest for the past few months and felt the burn in his eyes as they turned colors. Spike twitched as red overtook the brown then gasped, “H-Harris?”

“In the flesh,” replied Xander. He pulled the dagger from his belt and started to saw at the ropes holding the vampire up, saying, “I may not like you but I’m not inhuman enough to let even you be tortured.”

“Better to kill me,” groaned Spike. “She…it…I’m dangerous!”

“I’m shocked that you care.”

“Harris!”

Xander scowled and spat, “Shut the hell up, Spike, so I can be chivalrous in peace. Christ, I didn’t expect you to disagree with a rescue attempt.”

The blond shuddered and hissed, “Don’t feel like fighting anymore.”

That made Xander frown and he leaned forward, forcing Spike’s head up so he could stare into his eyes. After a moment he saw something he hadn’t seen before in the vampire and hissed, “You’ve got your soul back.”

“Didn’t want it. Wanted…to forget…her… To go back to what I was.”

Those words made the vampire realize why Spike had always been obsessed with Buffy, why he’d stayed around despite them hating him and then disappeared a month after her death. The damn creature had fallen in love with her.

“Well you did,” said Xander sadly as he cut the last rope, catching the weak vampire before he fell. Holding Spike up for a moment, he softly said, “You went back to being William the Bloody Bad Poet. Now shut up and let me rescue you, you damn damsel in distress.”

Spike grunted as he was slung over one shoulder then groaned, “You’re an asshole, Harris.”

“Yeah, I know.”

---

“Why are we keeping him again?” asked Xander as he warded off a headache from Andrew’s constant ramblings.

Faith smiled and pointed out, “I could ask why we have Spike chained up in the basement too but I figured you’ve just gone the other way on me. It is kinky though.”

He glared at her and growled, “If I were going to turn gay, Faith, it wouldn’t be with Spike of all people.”

She laughed then sobered, glancing towards the locked basement door. “What are we going to do about him, anyway? We save him and now it looks like he’s dying.”

“Wills figures it’s the chip the Initiative put in his head. Which means the only way to stop this is probably to take it out.”

“Which then means he’d be free to do whatever again.”

Xander scowled at that, hissing, “He has a soul now, Faith. And despite being a pain in the ass, he’s always been the most human vampire we’ve faced.”

“You’re willing to risk it?” she asked in a low voice.

“Like I said, he’s a pain in the ass but…he genuinely wants to help us. And we need the extra firepower he could provide.”

“You just have to figure out how to live with him.”

“That,” said the vampire as he pulled out his cell phone and started dialing a number,” and remember not to rip off Captain Cornbread’s head over the phone. Or if he comes to town.”

Faith blinked.

“You have his phone number?”

“Got it from Dawn. He gave it to her ‘just in case’ apparently.”

“Oh.”

Xander snorted then growled into the phone, saying, “Flower shop, my ass! This is Xander Harris calling for one Riley Finn. Tell him that if he doesn’t get a team down here right now to rip a chip out of a vamp’s head, I’m going to hunt him down for not apologizing to a dead friend.”

Faith smirked as he hung up and leaned back on the kitchen counter, cocking her head slightly to the side.

“So…now what?”

“Now seems I and the Blond Wonder have a date with that old place since I figure that’s where they’ll make their appearance. You think you can hold down the fort?”

She kicked him in the shin and he grinned at her, saying, “A simple ‘yes’ would have been fine.”

“Nuh-uh,” shot Faith, sticking out her tongue childishly.

Xander smiled and playfully intoned, “Wench.” Then he leaned over and kissed her forehead and murmured, “Be careful.”

“You too,” she said with a smile.

“Always,” he called over his shoulder as he unlocked the door and descended into the basement. She heard him talking in a low voice then Spike answering before she left the kitchen to go make Andrew shut up and stop rambling about whatever science fiction thing he was going on about now.

---

“You decide,” repeated the military guy. “We either can repair the chip or take it out altogether.”

Xander frowned, absently noting while the others were eying him nervously, this guy didn’t even have a flicker of fear about him. So he was either crazy or he’d seen a lot of shit in whatever unit he was attached to. The latter was probably the more likely of the two but, either way, he found he kinda liked the guy.

It was tough to find someone that not only knew what he was and didn’t fear him in some small way but also seemed to respect him.

Then he turned to look at Spike, sitting wearily on the edge of the operating table, and asked, “You haven’t lied to me, right?”

“No,” replied the other vampire. “I…I feel like I owe it to her to help since she didn’t stake me when she could’ve.”

Xander stared at him for a long moment, assessing that answer, then turned back to the man standing next to him. “Take it out,” he hissed.

“You’re certain?”

“He makes one wrong move after this, I’ll rip his arms off and beat him to death with them. So, yes, I’m certain.”

The man blinked then nodded, barking out to the other, “You heard ‘em, boys! Take that chip out and hop to it!”

“Yes, sir!”

Xander watched as they closed off the spot around the table then cocked his head slightly towards the man next to him, saying, “You’re not afraid of me.”

“I’ve seen a lot in my time.”

“So I figured.” Holding out a hand, the vampire said, “Xander Harris.”

The man smiled and gripped the extended hand warmly. “Hrothbert Bainbridge, though I tend to go by Robert Bridges nowadays. Or Bob.”

Dark eyebrows arched at the older name and he regarded the man a second time, sweeping his senses around him but nothing seemed off. He was a perfectly normal human being.

“That’s a rather old name for someone young as you.”

Bridges chuckled at that.

“I’m a bit older than I look. Got caught in the middle of a spell about four centuries ago and just stopped aging.”

“Ouch.”

“Eh, not really. I never really belonged in that time period anyway.” Bridges shifted his head around at the shattered halls of the Initiative base and continued, “This century…now this is an interesting one.”

Xander frowned at this new information then asked, “So…you don’t age. What about injury?”

“Oh, I can die,” said Bridges with a grin. “I just get back up a few minutes afterward. It can be annoying at times but I’ve learned to avoid that sort of thing. Plus I found this outfit and I fit in here well enough for now.”

“How…how hard is it? Knowing everyone around you is going to die and you’ll just keep going?”

The man regarded him with a sad smile, softly replying, “It never gets any easier, if that’s what you’re asking. Still hurts every time I lose someone.”

“Then why get close to anyone again?” asked Xander.

“Cause we’re still human and we can’t survive without contact.” He clapped a hand on the vampire’s shoulder and added, “I’ve heard good things about you, kid, from a few of the other circles I move in. Bad things too but I know how to sort those out and find the good. You’ll be fine.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”

Bridges smiled and said, “Le’me give you a piece of advice, Xander.”

“Sure.”

“For every moment you’ve got with them, cherish the people you love now. Mourn them when they die for every instant your heart aches for them. Then remember them the way they were in their best times and keep those closest to your heart.” The man nodded towards Xander’s chest, finishing, “So long as you keep them there and remember them, you’ll find some way to keep moving forward.”

“Plus, I think you might’ve just made a new friend.”

Xander blinked then smiled, reaching for the man’s hand again. Bridges took it and the vampire said, “Yeah, I think so.”

Bridges grinned then looked up as one of the men came out, giving him a thumbs up. “Well,” he said, “looks like they’re finishing up. Means our job’s done here.”

“Thanks.”

“Hey, no need to thank me, we’re just doing the job. Also…let’s make a deal, kid.”

Xander frowned then asked, “What sort of deal?”

With a chuckle, the man handed him a card with a number and an address on it. “That’s my number if you ever need anything for one. And the deal is in the address…it’s a bar that’s been around for a long time in Boston called World’s End. How about…eh, say in eighty years…we’ll meet there and have a drink.”

The vampire frowned for a moment then nodded. He’d only just met this man but he found he really did like him. Reminded him strangely of a mix of his old friend Jessie and a man Darien had known once upon a time with Giles’ accent thrown over the top.

“Deal.”

Bridges smiled and clapped him on the shoulder, saying, “Alright then! In eighty years, yea or nay, we’ll meet there and have us a drink, we two immortals.”

“Eighty years,” confirmed Xander with a nod and a smile as he slipped the card into a pocket. “Now we just need to make sure we survive the Apocalypse.”

The man blinked then hissed, “You need any help with that, you call me. I faced down some nasty shit in my time and I’ve heard what’s been going on; hell, everyone in the know is aware that the Watcher’s are currently down for the count. And they’re watching you all here carefully to see just what will happen.”

“But not helping.”

“Most aren’t the sort to help. Hell, I’m usually not the sort to help but, like I said, I’ve heard good things about you, Xander. You need any help – any at all – you call me and I’ll come running with all the gear I can filch from my outfit.”

Xander smiled gratefully and said, “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.”

“Sir?” exclaimed Bridges. “Bah, anyone that’s a friend of mine calls me ‘Bob’.”

“Bob it is then,” corrected the vampire.

“Captain, we’re ready to move out,” said one of the men as he stepped up to them and saluted.”

“You remember what I said now, Xander. And our deal!” said Bridges. He then barked, “Alright, move ‘em out and hustle it, men! We’ve got to be out of here and in time to kill us a demon next before another team nabs the job. And we don’t want that, do we?!”

“No, sir!”

“Then move it!”

Xander watched them go and returned the wave Bridges gave him before he walked over to Spike, who was sitting up woozily. The blond blinked at him and said, “So he’s a mortal that won’t die. Can’t say I’ve seen that one before.”

“Me either. How’s the head?”

“You actually care, Harris?”

“Not really but it seemed polite to ask.”

Spike glowered then grumbled, “Its better.” He then stood up, swaying, slightly, and frowned at the other vampire. “You really planning to rip my arms off at some point?”

“And beat you to death with them,” pointed out Xander. “But only if you double cross us. I’m not Buffy, Spike. You screw with me, you don’t get a second chance.”

“Yeah, I got that. Guess we got to bloody live together now, don’t we?”

“Seems like.”

Spike snorted and stuffed his hands in the pockets of his trenchcoat as they walked out of the old Initiative, the vampire pulling out a cigarette as they entered the nighttime air. He puffed on it for a moment then grinned sideways at Xander, who was frowning at the sky.

“Thinking deep thoughts?”

“We’re not friends, Spike.”

“Oh, I bloody well know that, Harris. But we’re in the same boat you and me. Just like that bloke back there and the wanker of L.A.”

Xander sighed at that and started walking back towards the house, leaving Spike to jog after him.

“So now what?” asked the blond.

“Now?” repeated the other vampire. “Do what we’ve always done. We figure out what’s going on, get the firepower, and the stop the Apocalypse.”

“Sounds easy.”

“You haven’t been in many Apocalypse’s, have you?”

---

Hrothbert ‘Bob’ Bainbridge is created and named in honor of the short lived Dresden Files TV series and slightly inspired by Captain Jack from Torchwood. World’s End bar and the deal Bridges speaks of is inspired by that between Dream of the Endless and Rob Gadling from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman comics.