Cheekbones {a btvs Spike story Buffy}

Chapter 1 - Amber the Vampire

"Ugh..." Amber moans as she opens her eyes. They feel heavy and her body feels numb for a whole second before the pain kicks in. Her legs are sore, her arms bruised and she feels an odd stabbing pain in her neck. She shifts her focus to her right and sees a figure sitting beside her. His face is turned away from her and his hand rests on hers. He absent-mindedly strokes the back of her hand with his thumb. It's relaxing and just peaceful enough to lull her back into a deep slumber.

When she awakes again, Amber has enough sense and strength to scan the room. She realises quickly that she's in Xander's basement - the faint smell of socks and Cheetos make it clear. On her left she sees Tara and Willow, sleeping in a big orange chair. The man from before has gone.

"Hey," A familiar voice says gently, "You're back!"

Buffy. 

"Hey." Amber replies, no louder than a whisper.

Amber takes a moment to adjust back into reality and realises she feels okay. No aches or stings, she strangely feels perfectly fine. She sits up on her elbows.

"How are you feeling?" Buffy asks with a comforting smile. 

"Good. No really, I feel fine."

"Amber!" It's Tara, coming over to hold her hand, closely followed by Willow. "We were worried sick!"

"How long have I been out?" Amber says, flashing what she hopes looks like a smile back at the witches. 

"Errm," ponders Willow, consulting her watch, "Seven hours. Don't panic though, that's normal for urm... What you've been through..."

"What I've been through?" When nobody responds, worry consumes her, "Been through? What happened?"

They both look at Buffy. She sighs and opens her mouth, but no sound comes out. She gives a fretful glace to Willow before blurting out: "You're a vampire!"

Everyone sits in a stunned silence before Buffy gives a rambled explanation.

"We were patrolling as usual and then we got attacked by a giant gang of vamps. It was me, you, Tara, Willow, Giles and Spike, Anya and Xander were on a date. That's irrelevant. Erm. We-we erm were fighting and stabbing - nothing was wrong. Then six vamps all at once go for you and you can't escape and you're screaming and I'm shouting for you and then. And then... You're on the floor, blood gushing from your neck. I'm sorry, I tried so hard to stop the bleeding. Spike got to you first and saw how bad you were hurt. He knew you were going to die unless you got turned. He cut the vamp that bit you and forced you to drink its blood. Then..."

Buffy looks like she's going to faint. Buffy never looks like she's going to faint. 

Willow carries on, "We had to think fast so while you were asleep, Tara and I performed an ancient spell to restore your soul. You know, like Angel that one time? We love you, and this was the only way to keep you with us. I hope you understand."

In the end, Buffy didn't faint. Amber did.