thismaz | Taming the Muse Prompt 28, BoaS Part 13, Kidnapped, BtVS, PG

I spent most of the day I wrote this on mapquest, as I tried to get the geography right. Please let me know if it isn't. However, when I re-read it the next day, I realised that by concentrating too much on that, the story had got lost. Since the week is now over and all voting done, I am reposting this chapter. Hopefully it will read a bit better now.

Title: Kidnapped
Part 13 of the Blood on a Sundial series. Previous parts, in reverse order, are here or in my memories.
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: #28 - A penny saved is a penny lying worthless in the drawer
At:

tamingthemuse
Disclaimer: here.
Rating: Pg
Word Count: 2,841

13. Kidnapped

Consciousness came in increments -- an awareness of existence, a knowledge that there was a world, a headache to kill all previously known headaches, aches and pains that were not being helped by the jolting that the universe was subjecting him to and finally a realisation, which brought mild panic in its wake, that he couldn't move his hands. Interestingly, the awareness of who he was came last of all.

Xander opened his eyes. His head felt loose on his neck and he squinted against the pressure of the dim, dirty looking light, muted as it was by the paint on the Windows. Windows...? Through the smeared black paint he could see other cars, some trucks, the occasional building. He groaned and leaned back into the seat, experimenting with stretching his back and leg muscles, which protested the attempt. He appeared to be tied down by a rope around his waist and another around his chest. There was no seatbelt per se, but the ropes did a fine job of keeping him in place. There was also a rug over his lap, which should have been comforting, but somehow... wasn't, and under it his wrists were tied together, something wider than rope keeping them secured firmly to his thighs.

The car sounded like it was going fast along a good road and he rolled his head against the rest to look the other way - and there was Spike. He closed his eyes, not yet willing to face this particular truth. Vague memories of Giles and the corridor outside the library surfaced - he'd been standing talking, apologising... but after that, there was nothing.

Spike's voice interrupted his confused attempt to locate more coherent memories. "You awake then?" he asked casually. "Beginning to think I'd hit you too hard, you've been so quiet."

Opening his eyes again, Xander realised that there was no putting this off. He was with Spike. In a car. Spike, himself, looked comfortable and relaxed, cigarette in one hand, the other on the wheel, like he didn't have a care in the world. Xander forced the pain in his head to the back of his mind and a stray memory of some TV programme sidled into his consciousness - something about getting the kidnapper to talk, making them see you as a real person. Would that work, when the kidnapper wasn't a real person? "Where are we?" he asked. "And why are you driving so fast?" Another thought struck him. "Why are you driving at all?"

Spike smiled faintly. "It's what you do on the highway."

"Highway?" That didn't make any sort of sense. "We're what? Where?" he stuttered. "Are we leaving Sunnydale?"

"Already left." There was a definite note of satisfaction in that voice.

But it didn't do Xander any good. "What? Why? Where are we going?"

"Away." Spike turned back to look at the road, just in time to veer around, and pass, a large white truck with a picture of happy smiling children on the side.

Xander closed his eyes for a moment, seeking the relief of ignorance. Not really a viable option any more. But his questions were getting him nowhere, except for making his headache worse. He peered at Spike from under half closed eyelids and decided to try a different line. "Why have you tied me up?"

Spike's expression clearly announced his opinion that Xander was crazy, and maybe he was. "Because you'd try and escape, if I didn't," he explained, in a voice reserved for the really terminally stupid. "And I don't want to waste time chasing after you."

Xander absorbed that comment. "This is crazy," he asserted. "And why the hell do you keep kidnapping me?"

Spike shrugged. "Fuck knows, mate. I was going for the watcher."

"So this is just me and my terrible luck, again?" Why didn't that sound as crazy as it should? Something in Xander sank under a sense of the awful inevitability of this moment.

Spike turned to glance at him, his brows raised in enquiry. "You'd 'ave preferred I got the watcher, after all?" He sounded... honestly interested in the answer.

"No! Yes... No... I mean... I'd prefer you didn't get either of us." He took a deep breath and started again. "You do know that Buffy's going to hunt you down, if you kill me? I might be dead, but I'll get my satisfaction where I can. And right now that's with the picture of you, dust and her with a stake in her hands."

Spike spent a moment apparently considering that prospect. Then he nodded to himself. "What if I don't?" he asked.

"Huh?" That didn't compute. "Don't what?"

"What if I don't kill you?" Spike asked again, a note of exasperation entering his voice.

It was like the breath was wrenched forcibly from his lungs - hope like a great... something...? To hell with metaphor. "That would be good." Xander agreed eagerly. "I like that. In a 'much better than death' way." Then sanity reasserted itself, like the unwelcome relative at the party. "But I've got to ask this... just so I know where I sit, although I'm sure I'll regret it... but... why wouldn't you? Isn't that what you do?"

Spike shrugged. "Usually," he agreed.

Xander stared at the vampire, totally perplexed. Spike was usually more communicative than this. And didn't it say something about his life, that he knew that. Time to try something else. "Where are we?" he asked, with as much calm as he could muster. Spike just looked at him. "Where are we going? And are we nearly there?"

"No!" Spike snapped. "Listen, mate. This isn't some comfortable Sunday drive in the country. I'm abducting you. Don't you get that?"

Okay. Mistake. Must try harder not to annoy the kidnapping vampire. Taking a deep breath, Xander tried again. "Will you at least tell me where we are?"

Spike's voice shifted back to friendly, as easy as pie. "Just passed Gorman. South of Bakersfield."

Bakersfield? That couldn't be right. Bakersfield was miles from Sunnydale. Xander blinked, taking the time to gather his wits. "Huh?"

"You going deaf, mate? Bakersfield. You know - town in the valley, home of Burning Image."

"Huh?" His wits had obviously taken a vacation.

"Forget it." Spike said. At least he didn't sound mad, this time. "They weren't anything to write home about."

Xander took another breath and waited to see if the world would make sense, anytime soon. Nothing happened, so he decided all he could do was persist. Trying for calm, he asked, "Why are we going to Bakersfield?"

Spike smiled at him and suddenly Xander knew he was being played with. "We're not. You asked where we are and I told you."

The headache was coming back and it was bringing it's friends. But getting information was important. "Okay," he agreed, slowly. "So where are we going?"

"New York."

"Huh?" That was unexpected. And a bit of a shock. "Why?"

"I like the place. Killed a slayer there. Had some good times."

New York? That was days of driving. And it wasn't north of Sunnydale. At least, not last time he'd checked. "Umm... Spike... I know my geography isn't what it should be, but Bakersfield isn't on the way to New York."

"No, pet. I know." His voice was a study in nonchalance. "Do you like raspberries?"

"Raspberries?" Were they playing non sequitur tennis?

"Dru liked raspberries. The only human food she'd eat - said they tasted like fear, all sharp and sweet." He smiled into the distance, beyond the paint smeared windscreen. "Made her lips all red..."

There was nothing to do but give up on sanity and humour the crazy vampire. At least until the headache cleared. "Yes, I like raspberries."

Spike's smile turned smug. "Knew you would, pet."

Giving up, Xander closed his eyes and tried to relax. He stopped straining against his bonds, let his body go limp and concentrated on his breathing. Doing his best to ignore the crazy man driving the car, he pinned his faith on a quick rescue.

*****

After what felt like an hour, but was probably just fifteen minutes, Xander opened his eyes again. He felt better. His head was clearer and although he still had no idea how he'd got here, he thought he was ready to face where ever 'here' was and maybe try for a plan. Through a scratched hole in the paint, a road sign caught his eye. "Err... Spike... That was the Road to Bakersfield we just passed."

"Yeah, I know." Spike nodded. "But we're not going to Bakersfield. We're going to Reno."

Okay, so maybe being ready to face the situation was a bit optimistic. "I thought you said we were going to New York."

"I did. We are. But we're going to Reno on the way."

"Hang on. Bakersfield isn't on the way to Reno, either."

"Know that, pet. 'S why we're not going to Bakersfield." Spike glanced at him, one eyebrow raised, and apparently decided to take pity. "We left, going south, so that if they got sight of the car, they'd assume I'm heading for L.A.. Instead, I turn north." He sounded proud of himself and Xander began to lose the hope of rapid rescue, he'd been clinging to.

Instead of dwelling on that, he took his time appreciating the first sensible thing Spike had said since he woke up. "Are you going to let me go?" he asked.

Spike shook his head. "No."

"So I come back to the original question: if you're not going to let me go, and you're not going to kill me, why did you kidnap me?"

Spike pulled a cigarette out of the packet on the dash and lit it, before he answered. "Didn't say I wasn't going to kill you."

"Yes you did. You said you weren't going to kill me."

Spike blew a cloud of smoke at the windscreen and a slow grin spread across his face. "No, I said I didn't know if I was going to kill you."

In spite of everything, Xander felt his own lips twitch. It was crazy. He'd been kidnapped. By a vampire. And the vampire was making fun of him. He took a deep breath. "And I ask again: why me?"

"The Watcher had holy water."

That was probably not a non sequitur. "So?"

"So you were on the floor behind me, unconscious, and he was across the corridor with holy water to hand."

"So I was just convenient?"

Spike sounded almost regretful. "Could say that, pet."

"Great!" Xander sighed. "So are you going to let me go?"

"No, not yet. I've got plans."

That was worrying. "What do you want from me?"

There was a smirk. It definitely had smirk-like qualities. "What are you offering?"

" Err..." Xander tried to think of something. And came up blank. "I don't know."

Spike laughed out loud. "You're just trying to save your life."

"Well, yes!"

His voice took on a sympathetic note. "Not much of a life, mate. Why would you care so much?" He glanced over at Xander and the sympathy turned seductive. "I can offer you unlife. Believe me, it's a much better deal."

Xander shivered. "I like my life," he said, with emphasis. "You may not think it's worth much. But I like it. And even if it's not worth much... Even if it's only worth... A..." Desperately, he tried to think of something that was worth something, anything. "A penny..." he said, triumphantly. "A penny saved..."

"Is a penny lying worthless in the drawer." Spike interrupted with a grin.

"No! Is a penny gained - as in building up wealth and... and happiness and... And my life is worth a lot more than a penny."

Spike's amusement was clear in his voice. "Look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves, you reckon?"

"Yes. Something like that." Xander snapped. "Just... No! That's it! I can't cope with this. My head aches and I'm uncomfortable. And I've been kidnapped. Again. And..." He trailed off and Spike, for once, didn't push it. Silence reigned.

*****

An hour later, Xander was getting hungry. Shaking his head at his own stupidity in even asking, he turned to Spike. "I don't suppose you'd packed any food for me?"

Spike looked across at him. He seemed pleased? That Xander was talking again. He shook his head. "Nah. Wasn't expecting to be hightailing it out of town. Thought I'd have the Watcher with me. And that just needed a trip out to the woods for a bit. Nice quiet place with no people. I wasn't interested in feeding him."

"Please" Xander pleaded. "Enough. I don't want to know what you were going to do to Giles. I don't want to know what you're going to do to me - if you even know yourself - unless it is to get me some food. I am going to concentrate on little things. Can we do that? Food? I haven't eaten since lunch."

Spike scratched his forehead, thoughtfully. "You are high maintenance, aren't you, pet?"

"High maintenance? I'm human. We get hungry. It's natural. Don't you... No, forget I started to ask."

Spike shot him a look and grinned. "Every day's, nice. Every other day's, okay. Leave it more than three or four days, and it gets uncomfortable."

"I didn't need to know that." He glared at Spike. "Why are you being so friendly?"

Spike looked like he had to think about it. "Well we're stuck here, together. Don't see the point in making it unpleasant."

"It is unpleasant. I'm tied up."

"Yeah, I know. But I'm being friendly. It could be worse."

Xander slumped back in his seat and decided to stop humouring the crazy vampire by talking to him. He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the growling in his stomach. A small voice in the back of his head pointed out that if he was really scared, food would be the last thing on his mind. He ignored that and concentrated on plotting his escape. He was aware of sidelong glances from Spike, but he ignored them too. He was getting good at ignoring things.

His eyes opened with a snap, as the car veered to the right and they left the highway. "Are we there yet?"

Spike growled. "No. But there's a rest stop place here. If it'll make your body stop with those bloody disturbing, organic noises, I'll get you food."

Xander perked up and began to think about stopping near people and how he could get help, without putting lives in danger. Somewhere along the way, without him noticing, the sun had set. Maybe he's been asleep. The world outside was dark, but there were lights up ahead. The car slowed, slightly, as it turned into the rest stop parking lot, but Spike drove past the area reserved for families and pulled up between two huge trucks, out of sight of the shops and restaurants. He opened his door and climbed out. Xander waited for the ropes to be untied, but Spike just slammed the door shut and started to walk away.

"Hey!" Xander yelled. Spike looked round. "What about me?"

Spike came back, opened Xander's door and leant his forearm on the roof as he looked in at Xander. "You stay here. I'll get you some food."

"But... I need to pee," Xander said, with a flash of inspiration.

Spike's eyebrow was raised, sceptically. "You wait here." He repeated, before slamming the door again and walking off towards the glow of neon lights.

With another example of inevitable bad timing, Xander realised that once the thought of having a pee had occurred to him, his body decided to agree with his mouth. He looked down at the rug covering his legs. Shuffling his feet, he managed to get one heel over the trailing edge. He caught the cloth between his feet and began tugging it slowly down. When it cleared his thighs he saw that the thing holding him still was a long leather belt, wrapped around his forearms and legs in a figure of eight, which he couldn't pull out of, without first getting rid of the rope at his wrists. He tried twisting his hands, but the knots were too good to slip. There was no way he was going to get free on his own. He looked around. There was no one in sight.

Xander flexed his body and felt some give in the ropes around his waist and chest. The knots securing them were well out of reach, right across the bench seat on the driver's side. Spike must have been sitting on them. That's why they were looser, now that he was gone. Xander wriggled some more, trying to edge his way across to the wheel, so he could hit the car horn with his head. Maybe someone would come and get him free before Spike got back. He paused. Getting him loose would take time. Spike had only gone to get food. It wasn't like he needed to use the facilities. If Xander attracted help, he might as well be signing the Good Samaritan's death warrant. He leaned back and closed his eyes in defeated recognition of the double, triple, bind he was in. Any escape would have to be solo. For some reason Spike didn't seem to be planning to kill him. But Xander wasn't stupid enough to believe he would show such restraint towards everyone who crossed his path.

With a sigh of frustration, Xander slumped back in his seat and concentrated on controlling the growing pressure in his bladder.

*****

That was how Spike found him, when he returned. "'Lo, pet." He said cheerfully. "Here, got you a burger and some fries."

"Spike."

"Yeah? "

"I really do need to pee. And unless you want me to do it all over your leather upholstery, I really need to get out of here."

Spike's face screwed up in an expression of distaste and he dumped the stuff in his hand on the roof of the car. Crouching down he undid the knots, then he came around to the passenger side door and opened it. Bending down he picked Xander up bodily and lifted him out of the car, placing his feet on the ground. The belt meant Xander was now bent over and even Spike could see that wasn't going to work, so he undid the buckle, freeing Xander's arms. With a groan Xander stood upright, staggered slightly and leant back against the car until he found his balance. Mutely he held out his arms, offering his wrists to be untied.

"No, that's enough mate. You can manage your fly with bound wrists. Come on." Grabbing Xander's shoulder he led him away from the car and further into the shadows, stopping by the back of the truck and turning Xander around so he faced the rear wheels. "There," he said. "Go on."

Xander glanced around, then at Spike. "Umm... Can you, maybe, not watch?" he asked.

Spike grinned. "Performance anxiety, is it?" But he didn't seem annoyed. "Okay. I'll turn around. Just be quick, yeah?"

Xander struggled to undo his jeans and fumbled himself free. The sheer physical relief was wonderful and he groaned as his body relaxed. When he finished he did his best to put himself away and once he felt comfortable again, as comfortable as it was possible to be with bound wrists and a vampire at his shoulder, he turned back to Spike and nodded.

Back in the car, Spike retied the ropes and wrapped the belt around his legs, but left his arms free. Then he passed Xander the bag and a big shake with a straw. "Eat up. We've a way to go before sunrise." He paused to consider. "Not going to make Reno." He frowned. "Shame. Still, I know a place just outside Sacramento. We'll stop there. Okay?"

Xander wondered why Spike bothered to ask, he was too busy eating to answer anyway.

They were back on the highway before he'd even started on his fries.

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