The Progesterone Effect

 
AUTHOR: Taramisu
WRITTEN: 5/04
E-MAIL: taramisu1@yahoo.com
SUMMARY: A re-look at Harsh Light of Day.  What if Buffy had reacted just a tad differently?
RATING: PG-13
AUTHOR NOTES: Thank you to my sterling beta, Jac.  Without her, I suck. 

"Sir.  The mission is complete."

Krak'Lekt stood in front of his boss, tall and proud.  Once again, he had managed to pull off what no other operative could.

"Yes.  Of course.  Complete."

But the big cheese did not appear impressed.  Krak'Lekt's spikes sadly drooped back, flattening to his back.  "Is there a problem, sir?"

"Problem?  Yes.  A big problem.  The time line…"

Krak'Lekt's anxiety overrode his obedience and he interrupted, "…has been altered just as you ordered, sir!"

Krak'Sept glared at his soldier.  "The time line has been contaminated."

Krak'Lekt's spikes stood on end as his eyes widened and mouth opened in surprise.  "No, sir.  I…I would never contam…"

"152 years, Lekt.  That's how long you've worked under me.  Never once have you been a disappointment.  Not once."  With the last two words, the superior pointed at the underling.  "Until today."  Krakt'Sept turned his attention to the doorway.  "Take him."

Krak'Lekt let out an undemonly squeal as the MPs grabbed him by each limb and carried his struggling body away.

"No!  Sir!  I didn't.  I did not contaminate the time line.  I swear on my life!"  His voice faded as he was dragged away down the hallway.

In his grief over losing his best op, Krak'Sept reviewed the log once again.  He had hoped to discover that he and the review team had been mistaken.  But no.  There it was, clear as day.  Upon entry into the mission's reality, Krak'Lekt passed a tall growing weed and bumped it, causing the yellow flower to sway and send a tiny butterfly into flight.  As the commander watched it flutter away, he swore under his breath.  Dimension 238C had been irrevocably contaminated.

*****************

Buffy hefted her armload of books over to the other hip.  Silently she wondered how a Slayer with superhuman strength could possibly have a hard time carrying a few books.  `Maybe it's all that stress
over waiting for Parker to call.  And speaking of Parker…'  Buffy spied the hot boy cum boyfriend in question on a bench yonder.  Just as she was about to approach him, a small butterfly flew passed her.  As if in slow motion, its wings pulled and pushed the air into little whiffs and puffs.  The currents combined with dust, contaminants and various bacteria, viruses and spores.  When Buffy saw Parker sidling up to a blonde Twinkie, she smartly inhaled, sucking the mixture into her lungs.

"You know, it hit me hard, my dad.  Since then, I just don't put stuff off any more.  It's about living for now," Parker was saying to the blonde coed seated beside him on the bench.

Upon recognition of the same pickup line, the young Slayer's stomach clenched and her shoulders stiffened.  Her breathing grew faster as she stomped toward them.

"Parker?"

"Buffy.  Buffy Summers, this is Katie Loomis."  Parker indicated the ho at his side and she waved amicably.

"What's going on?"

*****************

"Ovary alpha to Ovary beta."

"This is Ovary beta.  What's poppin'?"

"I'm sensing an increase in the histamine release from Mast Cells 36 through 98.  Also, Brain has been sending intense stress signals to all adrenal receptors."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm telling you that we're about to experience a premature drop in progesterone production."

"So, we're looking at an early menstruation this month?"

"I'm afraid so."

******************

Buffy fought back tears.  "Parker, did I do something wrong?"

"Something wrong? No, of course not. It was fun. Didn't you have fun? Watch out how you answer that. My ego is fragile."  Parker grinned at her as if he expected her to appreciate his self-deprecating joke.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.  "You had fun?  Was that all it was?"

"What else was it supposed to be?"  Parker appeared insincerely surprised.

Now she fought back the desire to punch him in the nose.  "It seemed like you liked me."

"I do.  But I'm starting to feel like you felt what?  Some kind of commitment?  Are you sure that's what you want right now?"

*****************

"Brain, Brain.  Ovary alpha to Brain."

"We're a bit busy up here, Ovary alpha.  Can't this wait?"

"No, sir.  It's the progesterone."

"Progesterone, smogesterone.  We've got an issue with sexual contact number two.  Our emotional stability is in dire straights and I don't have time for…"

"Sir!  It's this month's menstruation.  She's coming early.  I just thought you should know that things are about to get pretty dicey up there."

"Oh.  I see.  Thank you for the head's up, Ovary."

*****************

"Wow, that was pathetic."

Buffy looked up at the familiar voice just in time to catch a fist to her face.

"Birds singing, squirrels making lots of rotten little squirrels. Sun beaming down in a nice, non-fatal way. It's very exciting, I can't wait to see if I freckle." 

Still dazed by his unexpected presence and the blow, Buffy murmured her enemy's name.  "Spike?"  Quickly regrouping from the shock and Spike's punch, Buffy grabbed her stake and jumped up.  Spike began to parry with her playfully, exchanging a few non-lethal blows before he suddenly jumped forward, right into her stake.

"Oh, do it again! It tickles. You know, in a good way."  Spike tilted his head at her, smirking with his fangs.

Buffy sucked her breath in in amazement as the vampire failed to turn into the dust bunny she had expected.  Stunned, she withdrew the stake and the neat hole healed instantaneously, leaving a smug
expression on Spike's face.

"The Gem of Amarra."

Spike ceremoniously held up his hand to show her the coveted object, and then backhanded her.

"Official sponsor of my killing you."

***************

"Adrenal beta to Adrenal alpha.  We're running out of epinephrine quick!  How's your level?"

"I've got enough to cover you."

***************

"Getting tired, Slayer?"  Spike certainly never tired of that arrogant attitude, Buffy thought grimly.

***************

"Emergency alert, Brain!  Adrenal alpha and I are nearly out of adrenaline.  You better think of something quick!"

***************

"So, you let Parker take a poke, eh?  Didn't seem like you knew each other that well. What did it take to pry apart the Slayer's dimpled knees?"  Spike leaned forward salaciously.

Buffy's face screwed up in disgust at his insinuation.  "You're a pig, Spike."

"Did he play the sensitive lad and get *you* to seduce him? That's a good trick if the girl's thick enough to buy it."  Spike looked at Buffy as if weighing her intelligence.

Furious, Buffy flew up and delivered a roundhouse.  However Spike followed it with an equally vicious hit that sent her flying forward. "I wonder what went wrong.  Were you too strong?  Did you bruise the boy?"  Spike looked as if he were imagining precisely what Buffy and Parker had done in Parker's narrow dormitory bed – and strangely not enjoying it.

As Buffy's lips began to tremble with humiliation, Spike's verbal assault suddenly took a different tack, as if blaming her that his imagination had led him somewhere he didn't want to go.  "Whatever. 
I guess you're not worth a second go.  Come to think of it seems like someone told me that.  Who was it?  Oh, yeah. Angel." 

Spike braced himself for her attacking, thinking that last barb should goad her into what was sure to be the fight of a lifetime.  He could hardly wait to get his hands on her.  The anticipation was almost enough to make him hard.  However, to his dismay, Buffy fell to her knees and buried her face in her hands.  Spike's own face changed from a lascivious smirk to a look of confusion as he wondered
what game the Slayer was playing at.

"What's this now, Slayer?  You play the tearful school girl and I'm supposed to back off like the gentleman that I'm clearly not?" 

Buffy's sobbing grew more intense.  Spike judiciously approached her, then nudged her with his foot.  "Hey, now.  Get up and let's finish this, yeah?"

Instead of doing just that, she whimpered between sniffs and wipes of her nose, "I…I…I'm repulsive, aren't I?"

Spike's anger and desire for revenge slipped away at the sight of this small girl crying her eyes out over some worthless, human git.  "Well, now.  I wouldn't say repulsive, exactly."

Despite his well-meaning words, Buffy just cried harder and began to moan and rock back and forth.  The Big Bad mentally kicked himself.  "No.  What I meant is…you…you're…"  Spike, just moments
before so full of witty, rapid-fire commentary, was suddenly at a loss for words.  What was happening here?

***************

"Brain?  We have reports of mysterious malfunctions from all over The Body.  Tear ducts one and two have opened and we cannot seem to close them."

***************

Spike knelt at her side, but still out of the Slayer's reach.  "You're a beautiful girl, Slayer.  Any bloke'd be luck to shag you."  Contrary to his expectations, her wailing grew louder still.

If he had stopped to think about it logically, he would have made short work of his third Slayer and killed her as she wept.  But something inside him could not bear to see her in pain -- at least, not unless he'd caused it.  He inched closer and closer, all the while trying to amend his previous hurtful comments.

"Just forget what I said, pet.  I was just tryin' to piss you off good and proper.  Didn't mean to hurt you like I did."

She looked up at him with red, puffy eyes that nearly imitated a spring doe.  "Really?"  As if to properly punctuate her question, she sniffed loudly.

"'Course, Slayer."

"So, Angel never really said that I wasn't worth a…"

"No," he interrupted with a comforting hand on her back.  "Never."

***************

"How's the Tear Duct situation over there?"

"I won't lie to you, sir.  We've managed to shut the dam, but it could break open at second."

***************

They sat this way for several moments until Buffy's face screwed up in anguish again.  "Then why did they both leave me?"  The crying resumed and Spike panicked.  He awkwardly pulled her into his arms and in her emotional state, she allowed this.

"There, there, luv.  Those two wankers weren't good enough for you to wipe your shoes on.  Girl like you needs a man who…"

At his pause, she tilted her face to look into his eyes.  For some reason, he found her expression enchanting, and he smiled.  "Well, let's just say that if you were mine, I'd never let you go."

Buffy, enthralled by his sincerity, and Spike, captivated by her vulnerability, slowly leaned in to each other.  Their eyes closed and their lips met in a kiss that warmed their respective hearts.

This magical, forbidden kiss lasted only seconds before they separated with urgency Buffy gasped, putting her hand to her lips as if they had been burned.  Spike knit his brows together, bewildered
as to how this had happened.  They both breathed heavily, unsure what to say or do next, avoiding eye contact.

It was Buffy who broke the silence.  "If you tell anyone about this, Spike, I swear I'll kill you."

This baffled Spike, as they had been trying to kill each other just minutes earlier.  Apparently, she realized this too, as she held out her hand, looking agitated.  "Hand it over."

"What?  Are you off your bird?  It's *my* ring."  He instinctively pulled his hand further from her reach.

"And you're going to give it to me."  Buffy's voice was firm as she looked directly into his face.  

"And then what?"

Her answer was unspoken, but mutually understood with a raise of her eyebrows:  `I let you live.'

They stared into each other's eyes intently until Spike seemed to come to a decision.  With an almost imperceptible nod of his head, he backed up into the shadows, then proceeded to remove the ring from his finger and toss it to the Slayer…the only Slayer who had escaped his death blow.  The only Slayer who had managed to capture a piece of his heart.  The only Slayer who had viewed him as a man, if only for a brief, shining moment.  And it was this brief moment that would change his existence forever.