The restaurant was nearly bursting with a breakfast crowd, but Buffy spotted Oscar instantly. He was wearing a blue and pink pin-striped frock coat which sported a green carnation in the lapel. The other diners were primarily cowboys and kept a wary eye to the Englishman, as though his fashion sense might be contagious and possibly even airborne.
Chapter 36
On a farm, just outside of Modesto, California, three a.m.
The musty scent of rain filled the air. Somewhere behind the darkened farmhouse, water sluiced off the roof and onto a sheet of metal with a pling-pling-pling. On the front porch, a creature sat in a rocking chair. She remained absolutely still. If not for her yellow eyes gleaming in the moonlight, she would have appeared as if carved from wood.
Two corpses lay in the doorway, an untidy pile. Dru hadn’t even needed to ask for an invitation from the pair. All she’d needed was to give them a pathetic look. One look at her rain-drenched condition, and they’d stepped across the threshold without a question. Foolish cattle. They deserved to be dined on.
Thanks to Lutamira, DoriansKitten and Science for the beta on this! :) Sorry this one took so long. I ended up doing five rewrites. Turns out that after William out-duelled Billy the Kid, anything I wrote after that seemed pretty damned anti-climactic! (Because ... err, it was!)
Chapter 35
Samson, went to bed, not much hair left on his head
He ate a slice of Wonder Bread and went right back to bed. –
-----
Buffy led William into their hotel room. He stepped gingerly, his boot leaving dirt trails on the bright blue carpet. She gestured toward the wingback chair next to the window.
“Want to sit down?” she asked.
William shook his head and coughed. He swayed on his feet, but she noticed he was careful not to use a steadying hand on the wallpaper. He was covered in grime and dried blood. Knowing William, he felt too dirty to touch anything in the room, and for certain he was too exhausted to keep standing for much longer.
Buffy touched his arm, tentatively. “Maybe you’d like a bath before sleeping?”
“Very much.”
What makes a good beta? What are the rules for betas? I’ve been writing for such a short time that I’m just learning my way around it – to be honest. But I have some thoughts about how critical betas are and what makes a good one – and I’d love to hear anyone else’s thoughts on this.
( So what makes the beta-author thing work, ya newbie? )
"White Americans, what? Nothin' better to do?
Why don't you kick yourself out? You're an immigrant too.
Who's usin' who? What do we do?
You can't be a pimp and an immigrant too." -White Stripes
Chapter 31
The men surrounded the porch, wolves circling their prey. To William’s amazement and Buffy’s credit, she showed not an ounce of fear. Indeed, even through the flickering torchlight he could see that she radiated a kind of power. He supposed it was the form her madness had taken.
Before William could alert her to his presence, a voice from the crowd shouted out. “We got no quarrel with you. But if you don’t git yourself offa that porch, we will.” William squinted into the darkness to find the speaker, but he was lost in the fading light.
Well darkness has a hunger that’s insatiable
And lightness has a call that’s hard to hear. -Indigo Girls-
Chapter 30
William’s heartbeat thundered out of his chest and up to his head. As he reached down to help Buffy up, his hand shook uncontrollably. His fear felt like a living thing, spreading its roots and tendrils through his mind. Anger may have been a bloom, but fear was the plant from which it sprang.
( Read more... ) 
We all begin with good intent
Love was raw and young
We believed that we could change ourselves
The past could be undone
But we carry on our backs the burden
Time always reveals
In the lonely light of morning
In the wound that would not heal
It's the bitter taste of losing everything
That I've held so dear. -Sarah McLaughlin-
Chapter 29
Chapter 28
Buffy yanked her hand back from the rail of the broken bunk as though the twisted metal was too hot to touch. Luckily everyone’s attention was focused on the shouting walrusmen and not her. Guiltily, she stepped away from the wreckage of the bed.
“Are you all right, dear?” William gave her a deeply concerned gaze.
She nodded, miserable liar that she was. ‘All right’ was a condition she was currently very far from. She flexed her hand, feeling the strength of it in her bones. There was no doubt – somehow, she was the slayer once again.
Thanks to you for your reviews and feedback. You are saying stuff which might make me change a fairly big thing which I can't tell you about, but I'll tell you after it happens. Yeah, I know that makes no sense.
Thanks to Science, Minx and DK for the beta and to Tenny for this cool banner.
Where is my Marlboro Man?
Where is his shiny gun?
Where is my lonely ranger?
Where have all the cowboys gone?
Yipee-yi, yipee-yay. -Paula Cole-
Chapter 27
- Twenty-six hours later -
Buffy woke in William’s arms. A sliver of light crept around the edge of the curtain that surrounded their bed, and she could see that he was deeply asleep. His sharp cheekbones were covered in a fine dusting of whiskers, and her fingers itched to rub against them.
He looked so innocent in sleep. Truth be told, he looked pretty innocent while awake, too. Sometimes, though, when he gave her that sideways glance, something sensual leapt behind his blue eyes that caused her breath to catch. She moved her hand up to his throat and placed her fingers against it gently, so as not to wake him. The thrum of his heartbeat never failed to steady her.
"Americans are great hero worshipers, and they always take their heroes from the criminal classes." -Oscar Wilde-
Chapter 26
Lusting after one’s wife all day was an absolutely exhausting activity. Though William was physically in the dining car, seated before very expertly prepared trout on the finest china, his mind was in a different place entirely. He watched as Buffy lifted a forkful of roasted chicken to her parted lips and slid the morsel of meat inside her mouth.
Many thanks to Science and DoriansKitten for their beta work! Tennyoelf made this kickass banner and I also borrowed her brain a bit! She’s seventeen shades of fantastic!
How I wish you could see the potential - the potential of you and me.
It's in a book that's elegantly bound, but in a language that you can't read.
You gotta spend some time, love - you gotta spend some time with me.
And I know that you'll find, love, I will possess your heart.
-Death Cab for Cutie-
Chapter 25
Billy held the lady's arm tightly as he stepped out of the saloon, and a cool night breeze rustled through her skirts. Though it was only a half moon, it glowed brightly enough to illuminate the dusty wooden planks of the walkway and the rutted road beyond it. His thick heels clomped heavily on the uneven pine boards as he led her toward the road.
Lutamira, Science, DoriansKitten and Capella did the beta and many thanks to them. Mistakes? Mine still. Minx DeLovely helped a lot and wrote this lovely poem just out of the blue because she’s like that! Thanks to Amy for the banner.
All my lovers are but one.
The girl who stole glances with a furtive frown
the one who be-puddinged my uncle a dripping crown
Innocently knowing she held my hands
Her mind a passport to unfathomed lands
A mind which then betrayed her
She, the displaced warrior with her flashing eyes
saw in my oaths of love a proof of lies.
I had never deserved my radiant love
So her heart was stolen from above.
Leaving her soul within its perfect form.
Indifferent to me, she will not warm.
And yet my home is she,
Alone together we must be. -William Pratt-
(as written by the lovely Minx DeLovely)
Chapter 24
One step closer to her – that was all William wanted. One more step in the dance. He feared he’d pressed Buffy too far, too fast, however.
After giving her the necklace in the cemetery, she’d gone so silent that he was at a loss, once again, as to the cause. She smiled at him, watched him carefully, but seemed to have sunk down beneath the surface where he could only guess at her thoughts and intentions.
Love knock'd one night at a gentleman's heart,
When his passions were snug asleep;
But they all jumped up with a terrible start,
All heels over head in a heap. -McDonald Clarke-
Chapter 23
Buffy knelt on the bed, on all fours, while Spike pounded into her from behind. Even without his voice in her ear, she’d have known it was him. The slide of his cool chest against her back, the chipped black nail polish as his fingertips pressed into her arms, the chilled column of his cock driving into her from behind.
“Like this game, do you, pet?” His words a frantic rumbling in her ear.
“I’ll deal,” Buffy said, as she shuffled the cards.
William said nothing, watching her while sipping his whiskey at glacial speed.
“You’ll like this game. I know you will.” She reached over and gave his arm a squeeze, trying to play the coquette and feeling like she was failing miserably.
Her hand consisted of a pair of jacks, a two, a six and a ten. She quickly discarded the jacks, then threw in the ten for good measure, which would be a really boneheaded move if she were trying to win. Her goal in this game, however, was to lose - to undress herself and seduce the man across from her.
( Read more... )
I have died everyday waiting for you
Darling don't be afraid I have loved you
For a thousand years
I'll love you for a thousand more – Christina Perri
Chapter 21
William’s Wooing: Day Three
Holding her in his arms at the start of the day. Was there a time when he wouldn’t wake stunned by the wonder of her? The curtains were parted enough to let in a finger of light which played across her hair in the most enticing way.
Her lashes remained closed, but he could see her eyes moving beneath her lids. What did she dream of? Him? Spike? Her former life? Did she still wake with dread, finding herself in this time, with him?
She stirred slightly, mumbling “mmm,” giving nothing away.
