Chapter 10-Smallville

"They're coming to get him?" Pete asked in amazement.

"From what she says, they've been looking for him for a while. He disappeared from Sunnydale about a week ago," Chloe explained.

"Who looks for vampires?" Clark asked, walking down main street with his friends.

"She says he's sort of a friend that they've been taking care of," Chloe went on. "She didn't give me much detail, only that this Buffy girl he's been talking about is coming with her to take him home."

"Home? Do vampires have homes?" Pete asked.

"Okay, even for Smallville standards this is weird," Lana said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Yeah, a vampire, from California shows up in Kansas?" Clark asked.

"A vampire with the inability to hurt people to top it off," Pete added.

"Don't forget the insane part," Chloe threw in. "Well, they get here tomorrow. They're going to meet us at the Talon at nine, then we'll go to the cemetery and show her where he is."

"We're supposed to take this girl and her friends to the cemetery to retrieve their vampire?" Clark asked in disbelief.

"Hey, it's an interview opportunity," Chloe said proudly.

"It's always about the interviews and photo ops, isn't it?" Clark asked with a grin.

* * *

The next day…

"Are you Chloe?" a red-haired girl asked, standing in front of the Talon.

"Yes," Chloe answered, extending her hand. "I'm Chloe and this is Lana, Clark, and Pete."

"I'm Willow. This is Buffy, Xander, and Dawn," she said, gesturing to her friends.

"So, you're Buffy. From the two times we've talked to this…guy, he seemed very worried about you," Lana said, stepping forward to shake Buffy's hand.

"Yeah, he's a real concerned type of…guy," Xander said haughtily.

"What's his problem?" Chloe asked, nodding toward Xander.

"Let's just say he's not too fond of Spike," Dawn piped up, glancing at Xander as he walked back to the car.

"His name's Spike?" Clark asked.

"That's weird," Pete added.

"Long story," Buffy said simply. "Vampire history and all."

"Right," Lana said, looking around the parking lot. "Do you think he'll go with you?"

"She's Buffy. Besides, she's really strong," Dawn said as if it were obvious. She got quiet when Willow and Buffy shot her a warning look.

"Like a slayer?" Pete asked, a grin creeping over his face at his own joke.

"Why don't we go to the crypt now?" Buffy asked, changing the subject.

Chloe shrugged. "You can follow us," she said, walking to her red car as Lana, Pete, and Clark followed.

When they got to the cemetery Lana led the way to the crypt. "That's it over there."

Buffy nodded, marching purposefully over to the crypt. "Spike?"

"It didn't work," a voice behind them said.

Buffy whirled to face it, getting ready to defend the group.

"I came to escape them, but they follow me everywhere," Spike said softly. "I just want it out."

"I know, Spike," Buffy said, immediately softening. She walked to him slowly. "But we have to go home. We can figure this out, but we have to go back to Sunnydale."

"Look," Lana gasped, pointing where a little of Spike's chest was exposed. There were huge gash marks in the skin.

"What happened?" Clark asked Willow.

Willow seemed unable to decide if she could tell him or not.

"Long story short," Xander cut in. "He got his soul back, but it's not the vacation he thought it would be. Now, he wants it out."

"Ok, this is an overload," Clark said, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

"Nibblet?" Spike asked, as if seeing her for the first time.

"Come on, Spike," Dawn pleaded, her eyes filled with sadness. "Please come with us. You have to come back."

Spike seemed to think about it for a moment. When Buffy held out her hand, Spike slipped his hand into hers.

Willow smiled, turning to Clark, Pete, Lana, and Chloe. "Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks for telling us where he was. I don't know what we'd do without him," Xander said sarcastically.

"Xander," Willow said firmly, turning to him briefly.

"No problem," Lana told them. "I hope he'll be okay."

"He'll be fine, now," Dawn assured them.

Chloe, Pete, Clark, and Lana watched as the five climbed into the car.

"A vampire with a soul," Lana whispered.

"Welcome to our leafy little hamlet," Chloe said, gesturing to the town.

"Smallville, land of the weird, home of the strange," Clark added.

Pete shrugged. "Don't we ever get a break from the freaks around here?"

The four laughed together, climbing back into Chloe's car, and driving off.

* * *

"They'll stop now. Won't they, love?" Spike asked, rocking himself in Buffy's arms as Buffy stared straight ahead on their way out of town. "Now that you came to save me? Yes. They'll stop now. They'll stop."