Disclaimer: I own nothing—nothing. Joss owns everything. Well accept this story. I just like to play with his toys, especially Spike.

Authors note: I’d like to give a great big thank you to my wonderful beta AmyB.

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“Angel, what are you doing here?”

Buffy had just finished a quick patrol of the buildings surrounding the Bronze, and was on her way home when she noticed Angel standing in the alleyway.

“I had to see you. Cordelia had a vision……You’re in danger.”

“Well, that’s a new one,” Buffy replied sarcastically.

“I know. I’m sorry.” Angel gave Buffy his best kicked puppy look. “Don’t I at least get a hug?”

Buffy dropped her chin slightly in embarrassment and slowly walked over to her first love, even though a voice in the back of her mind was screaming that something wasn’t right. Shrugging off the feeling she leaned into Angel’s embrace, enjoying the feeling of once again having his strong arms wrapped around her small frame.

“I’ve missed you,” She whispered into his chest, allowing herself to fall deeper into the embrace.

“Is that right?...... LOVER!”

Buffy tensed. There was only one person who called her ‘LOVER’.

“Angelus?” she asked breathlessly, desperately hoping that it wasn’t true.

“You were expecting someone else?” he replied in a mocking tone.

Buffy struggled to pull herself free from Angelus’ strong grip. It was no use. She could feel her heart pumping with terror. *How could this be happening? I knew something was different, why did I hug him?* She silently berated herself as she frantically tried to pull free from the monster, who now wore the guise of the only man she’d ever loved. Panic began to fill Buffy’s veins when her protests became futile. With each added struggle Angelus only tightened his grip, slowly squeezing the life out of her. She couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t move and yet he continued to add more pressure. A scream tumbled past her lips when she felt one of her ribs break from the tremendous pressure placed upon her body.

“Uh-uh-uh….can’t make a sound, wouldn’t do if we had any interruptions, now would it?” he mocked, bringing one of his hands up to savagely cup her mouth, giving her an evil smirk he added, “Of course, it would be interesting to see what the almighty Slayer would do. Would you try to save them as I ripped their throats out? Or would you just try and save your own hide? Maybe you’d run back home or perhaps your Watcher’s….. wouldn’t do you any good either way, it’s not like I don’t already have a free pass into those little sanctuaries.” He laughed sarcastically. “One advantage of having a soul, people tend to open themselves up in the most delicious ways.”

Buffy squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out his words and the harsh feel of his hands. He smelt like death, she could practically taste it on him. His words were true; she wanted nothing more than to be able to run away. Turn her back on this monster and pretend that he didn’t exist, let the world take care of itself for once. But she couldn’t- she was the Slayer. This was her calling, even if she wanted none of it. Swallowing deep, she forced away the taste of rising bile and fought back the only way she could. She opened her mouth and bit down hard, tearing a large piece of flesh from the hand cupped over her face.

Angelus was furious. He pulled his hand away from Buffy’s mouth while backhanding her with the other, knocking her to the ground. “You little bitch! You’ll pay for that!”

Buffy inwardly cringed at the harsh tone of his voice, rolling out of his way when he tried to deliver a savage kick to her mid section, painfully jarring her broken rib in the process. A gleeful leer filled Angelus’ features the instant he heard Buffy’s pain filled cry. Knowing that she was in pain only added to his delirium; nothing sweetened the kill more than knowing the intended prey suffered. In fact he was so pleased he was even going to overlook the fact that the little bitch had just bitten a chunk out of his hand. After all, if he let his anger get the better of him, it would all be over too quick, and he really wanted this to last.

Doing her best to ignore the pain that lanced through her chest, Buffy swiftly leapt to her feet, warily keeping an eye on the monster in front of her. “What happened to you?” she asked, all the while searching his face for any signs that part of her Angel remained inside of Angelus. There were none; all that was left was the monster.

“Well, to make a long story short, I had a soul, and now it’s gone.” Angelus let out a gleeful laugh and gave Buffy an evil grin, “and I’ve gotta say, it feels great!” He suddenly grabbed Buffy by the throat, holding her up so he could look into her eyes, “And now, as an added bonus I get to kill you,” he stated cruelly.

In a flash Buffy twisted herself out of Angelus’ grasp, instantly falling into Slayer stance. “You can try….but I wouldn’t count on it!”

Angelus barked out a laugh. “Oh, but I have no doubts, Lover. You see I know something about you that no one else knows,” stalking one step closer, Angelus gave Buffy a cold leer. “I know you can’t kill me.”

Buffy scoffed at this. “Oh come on! Do you really think I can’t kill you just because you look like Angel?” To demonstrate her point, Buffy lunged at Angelus, stake perfectly poised for the kill.

Angelus easily blocked the attack, grabbing Buffy by the wrist as she lunged at him. With a painful twist, he forced Buffy to release her grip on her only weapon. “No Buff, I don’t think you can’t kill me because I look like your beloved Angel. I know you can’t kill me because you always drop your shoulder when you attack from the right.” As though to demonstrate his point, Angelus gave Buffy’s wrist one more savage twist, breaking the bones with an audible crack. He practically purred when she cried out in pain.

Buffy struggled to pull herself free from Angelus, but his hold on her injured wrist was too tight. With each move, he only added more pressure, sending white hot sparks of pain through her arm.

A moment of panic filled Buffy. It was true, she did always drop her shoulder when she attacked form the right; Giles was forever rousing on her about it, and Angelus knew it! With more strength than she thought she could muster, Buffy wrenched her wrist free from Angelus, following through with a powerful kick and catching him on the chin.

Angelus responded with a hearty laugh. He had to give it to the girl, she sure had spirit. Seeing her standing before him, clutching her shattered wrist to her chest, trying for all the world to look threatening as she once again fell into fighting stance, a look of determination plastered upon her face….. Let’s face it, she looked adorable.

“See something amusing?” Buffy asked in disinterest.

“Well, actually, I was just thinking how cute you look, all puffed up, ready to take on the big bad wolf, even with a shattered wrist and a broken rib. I’ve gotta say, Buff, pain really suits you….Maybe I should make this last, you know, really let your true colours shine.” As he spoke, Angelus stalked closer, taking a deep breath and drawing in Buffy’s scent. He could smell her power as well as her fear and anger, tainted with a slight tang of her blood. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this, Buff.”

“Well then, I guess I better not disappoint,” Buffy ground out through clenched teeth, instantly attacking Angelus with a hurricane of powerful blows. She moved with a graceful flow, pouring all her strength into each blow, only to have Angelus block her every move. He knew her fighting style too well. Hell, in a roundabout way he’d helped train her.

“Are you even trying, Buff?” Angelus mocked as he blocked yet another blow, “I thought that I would have at least a little opposition….. Actually this is really rather pathetic. How you survived this long, I have no idea.”

“Pathetic! Do you want to know what’s pathetic? You actually had to trick me into believing that you had a soul!” Buffy spat back. “What, were you afraid to face me in a fair fight?”

Angelus simply laughed and grabbed Buffy by the shoulders roughly pulling her closer to him.

“No, Buff I’m not afraid of a ‘fair’ fight, it’s just that this way is so much more fun,” he practically purred out, as he leaned closer to her neck, allowing his true demon face to surface. “I’ve never killed a Slayer before. I hear they taste just like chicken.” He leant forward and licked Buffy’s neck.

“Mmm…… finger licking good.”

Buffy closed her eyes, allowing a single tear to fall down her cheek. *So this is how it ends,* she thought, *Please make it quick, just let it be over with,* as this thought entered her mind she felt Angeles’s sharp canines enter her jugular. Buffy opened her eyes and let out a sharp hiss in pain as he ripped at the tender flesh on her neck. She could feel herself weakening. She simply had no more fight left in her, closing her eyes Buffy whispered her goodbyes to her loved ones and waited for the darkness to engulf her.

Authors note: I’d like to thank AmyB for beta’ing this chapter for me.

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Spike was on his way home from the Bronze. He had hoped that Buffy would show; however, to his disappointment, she didn’t make an appearance. As he left the Bronze he noticed a tall dark haired vampire feeding off of a small blonde girl. His first thought was to just go home and ignore the vampire draining the girl in front of him. *What would Buffy say, mate, if she knew you let the silly bint die?*

“Oh bloody hell,” he muttered to himself. *I’m such a soddin’ poof. Trying to earn bleedin’ brownie points with a girl who’ll never give me the soddin’ time of day.* He had made his way over to the dark haired vampire, producing a stake from his waist band. *Look at you, mate, you’re carrying a soddin’ stake with you, and one of the Slayer’s stakes at that.* With that thought, Spike swiftly rammed the stake into the vampires back.

As the stake embedded into the dark haired vampire, he released his hold on the petite blonde girl he was feeding from, allowing her to fall lifelessly to the ground. He then turned to see who had the gall to interrupt this moment, only to see his own grandchilde standing behind him with a stake in his hand.

“Spi...” Angelus managed to croak out before he turned to dust.

For the first time Spike saw who the vampire in the alley was. “Angelus?” was all he could whisper as he watched his grandsire turned to dust before him.

Spike was stunned. *Angelus, bloody hell! That was Angelus, mate, your bleedin’ grandsire, what the hell is he doing back here in Sunnyhell? Why the hell was the poof feeding off a girl outside of the Bronze? What happened to his bleedin’ soul?* All these thoughts raced through Spike’s mind until his attention was turned to the girl from whom Angelus had been feeding.

“Buffy!” he gasped. “Oh my god! Buffy, its okay, luv, its okay, I’ll get you to the hospital.” Spike quickly gathered up the near-unconscious Slayer and started to run through the dark streets towards the hospital.

As he looked down at the petite girl he was carrying in his arms, he knew it was too late. “OH GOD, BUFFY, DON’T DO THIS TO ME! FIGHT DAMN IT! YOU’RE THE BLOODY SLAYER, YOU’RE STRONGER THAN THIS!” His voice filled with anguish as he held onto his love. “I can’t lose you, please fight for me, luv.”

It was no use, it was too late. Spike was faced with two choices, neither of which he wished to make. He could simply let his Slayer, his love, his Buffy die….. or he could turn her, make her like him, a vampire. The decision was clear. He laid Buffy softly on the ground and bit into his wrist allowing his blood to run free, then lowered his bloody wrist to the Slayer’s mouth.

Buffy resisted the offer, lazily shaking her head in protest until the coppery taste of the potent blood filled her mouth. Suddenly, with the last remains of her strength, she grabbed Spike’s wrist, holding it as close as possible to her mouth as she hungrily drank the strong nectar that was being offered.

Spike could not believe the force that the Slayer was using, almost draining him dry before he could remove his wrist from her tight grasp Buffy moaned in protest of having the powerful liquid taken away from her.

“That’s enough for now, luv. You need to get some rest.”

Spike weakly pulled himself to a sitting position next to Buffy. He couldn’t believe she had almost drained him. Admittedly he had allowed her to feed a lot longer than normal, and under normal circumstances a vampire usually would have just had drained the blood from the victim, hence giving them more blood to offer to their childe.

That’s what Buffy was, his childe. Not a minion, not some snivelling twit that would have to grovel and kiss his feet if he desired her to , no--she would be strong and stand by his side, powerful and confident. Anything less simply was not acceptable. She was his love, his equal, his childe, his everything, simply his.

Spike watched the Slayer take her last breath and die in his arms. It broke his heart to watch, but he couldn’t let her die alone. He knew she was not dead as in the traditional sense, but he could not be sure as what to expect when the Slayer awoke. There was every possibility she could be a ticking time bomb of mass destruction waiting to go off. Who knows what strength and power this former Slayer now vampire could hold in her tiny hands.

Spike didn’t care about any of this, as long as his Buffy was alive or as the case may be undead. He simply could not go on without seeing her every day.

Another horrible thought entered his mind. What if she blamed him for her change? What if she refused to see him ever again?

“I guess I’ll have to cross that bridge when I reach it,” Spike muttered to himself and bent down to pick up the lifeless body of the former Slayer.

He carried Buffy’s limp body into his crypt, laying her softly on his bed. He then proceeded to sit on the chair next to her and wait for her to rise as a fledgling vampire.

As he sat watching Buffy’s lifeless body he started to think of a few things that he would need in preparation to her waking. First she would be hungry when she wakes up, so he’d have to get her some blood. However, he was at a crossroads as to what he should have to offer her. If he offered her a live meal, would she be happy or furious? After a bit of thought, Spike decided that blood bags would be the best way to go; for one, how was he going to get a live meal for her with this soddin’ chip in his head? He didn’t think he could politely ask someone to come to his crypt so he could feed them to his childe...

~*~~*~~*~

After a quick trip to Willy’s, Spike had enough blood to feed an army of fledglings. “I guess I went a little overboard,” he muttered to himself as he packed the blood into his tiny fridge.

The next thing he needed was shackles. Who knows what kind of a mood Buffy could be in when she woke? She might have to be restrained. He quickly rummaged around his crypt, finally locating several sets of shackles. After all, he might have to restrain her legs as well. *No use taking any chances. I better check that she can’t find anything sharp, wooden & pointy,* he thought as he attached the shackles to the bed, two at the head of the bed and two at the foot. He did not place Buffy’s wrists or ankles in the shackles yet; he didn’t want to restrain her unless necessary.


~*~~*~~*~


*Four hours, it’s only been four hours. It seems more like four days,* Spike thought to himself as he watched Buffy. *So still. I’ve never seen her so still. Not even when she sleeps is she this still.* He should know, he’d watched her sleep quite often. She didn’t know, of course. He would sit outside her window for hours some nights simply watching her sleep. *It seems so strange for her not to be breathing, to not be able to hear the wonderful thump of her heart as it pumps warm sweet smelling blood through her body.*

“Get over it, mate, you’re never going to hear that again,” he muttered to himself as he let out a small sigh of remorse.

“Bloody hell, Buffy, I miss you already.”

Spike let out an unneeded breath as he thought about all the wonderful things that made Buffy special. Her golden skin would in time fade to marble white, the heat that had always surrounded her would no longer burn and instead she would be cold to the touch. The fire that always burnt inside of her would die out and be replaced with something icy cold and hard. She simply would not be the same woman that he fell in love with. Not that he regretted the choice he had made. No way in the world would he have changed that decision. He would rather face the great unknown than to let Buffy die.

As Buffy slowly started to wake she became aware of the sound of someone moving next to her.

*Where am I? What happened?* she thought to herself, desperately trying to process her last memories through her foggy mind. *Why do I feel so hungry? How long have I been asleep? Oh my god! NO- NO- NO- NO- NO! This can’t be happening, it can’t be true, no, Angelus wasn’t here. He didn’t bite me, it’s just a dream. A really, really bad dream.* With a scream she fully awoke.

“A- Ang- An- Ange, no, no, Angel, oh god what’s happening to m-me?” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Looking around the dark dank room she was in, Buffy realized that she knew this place. It was Spike’s crypt. *Why am I in Spike’s crypt? In Spike’s bed? Oh god I’m so hungry!* As Buffy started to regain some control, she noticed that the peroxide blonde vampire was standing next to her, looking nervous.

*Shit! Spike’s nervous, Spike’s never nervous. This can’t be good.*

“S-Spike, w-what happened, how’d I get here?”

“Its okay, luv, everything will be okay. Do you remember anything that happened?”

As Spike spoke he reached out his hand to brush some hair away from Buffy’s face. Her face that now showed her demon’s true image. When Buffy saw Spike reach out to her she flinched away from his hand as if he was some sort of poisonous snake about to strike. She crawled further up the bed to get away from him, reaching up to brush the hair out of her own face. As her fingers brushed her face, she felt the difference-the rough leather-like feel, the ridges and the fangs. *Oh my god, I’ve got fangs.* Suddenly all the night’s events came crashing down on her--the fight with Angelus, him biting her and Spike feeding her his blood.

“You did this to me,” she whispered while she hugged herself and began to rock back and forth.

“I had no choice, luv. It was too late,” Spike tried to explain.

“HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME?” She screamed.

“Please, Luv, I couldn’t lose you. Please let me help you.”

Spike reached out to Buffy, taking hold of her tiny hand. He pulled her forward into his strong embrace. Buffy allowed this, in too much shock to protest, letting out wrenched sobs she cried onto Spike’s chest as he stroked her hair and kissed her warm forehead. ‘WARM.’ Spike was shocked—it was true--she was warm, everything on her was warm. Her skin, her tears, her breath.

‘HER BREATH.’ *Shit she’s breathing!* Then he heard it--her heart was beating.

“BLOODY HELL!” Spike yelled as he pulled Buffy away from his chest to get a better look at her. There she was in front of him still in vamp face, with her heart beating a mile a minute. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. All the things he thought she would lose when he turned her, her heartbeat, her warm skin, her warm breath. She hadn’t lost any of them.

“What?” she asked.

“Your heart…….Buffy, it’s beating.”

“What?”

“Your heart, luv, can’t you feel it?”

Buffy placed her hand on her chest, and yes she could feel her heart beating, it felt like it was trying to beat outside of her chest. How hadn’t she noticed this? As she held her hand over her heart she noticed she felt warm to the touch. She also realized that she was holding her breath and she DID need to breathe, letting go of the air in her lungs she started to breathe rapidly.

“How?” was all she could get out.

“I don’t know, luv….. I’ve never seen anything like this before,” Spike pulled her into another embrace and kissed the top of her golden head. “Are you hungry, pet?”

Buffy looked horrified. “I’m not going to kill anyone!” she screamed as she pulled away from her sire.

“You don’t have to, pet. I’ve got blood in the fridge.”

“Oh…..sorry,” she whispered.

“S’okay, luv, I’ll go get you some,” he brushed some hair away from Buffy’s face. “Will you be okay?”

Buffy nodded her head, not really paying attention to what was being said.

The truth was she was far from okay. *How the hell could I have a heartbeat? Vampires don’t have heartbeats, they don’t breathe and they sure as hell aren’t warm. What the hell am I?* As she though about all the things that she shouldn’t have a wonderful smell hit her. When she looked up, Spike was standing in front of her holding a mug of blood. *Oh that smell, it smells delicious.*

As Spike handed Buffy the mug she practically ripped it from his hand, downing the contents quickly. He couldn’t help but laugh as his childe greedily gulped down her first meal. When she finished, she made a Yuk face at the taste of the blood.

“I know it never tastes as nice when it’s cold,” Spike shrugged, “have no way to heat it up.”

“Its okay…do you have anymore?”

He couldn’t help but laugh again, “Sure, luv, I’ll go get more.”

Spike returned with three more bags of blood and handed them to Buffy. She drained them quickly, making her Yuk face after each bag was finished.

“Do you need more?”

She shook her head. “No I’m full now…… Thanks.”

Suddenly she jumped off the bed and started to pace the floor. Spike couldn’t help but notice that all of her injuries had healed; however, he paid no heed to this. After all, he had seen it many times before, just one of the marvels of being turned. However, he did notice her movements had changed, and he couldn’t help but to compare her to a leopard. Sleek, graceful and deadly--she was beautiful.

“I have to do something. We have to work this out. This isn’t right, vampires don’t have heartbeats, they don’t breathe, and they don’t have souls……” It suddenly occurred to her she still had her soul. As she ran her fingers through her hair and over her face, she noticed that she was still vamped out. “And how the hell do I get rid of this?” she asked angrily, pointing to her face.

“Just relax, luv, and then you’ll be able to pull it back.”

Buffy sat on the bed next to Spike and tried to calm her nerves, after a few minutes she was able to shift her human mask into place.

“I have to talk to someone. I have to talk to Giles!” Her breathing started to accelerate. “This is…… This is too much.” She gasped, now bordering on hyperventilation. “Oh god, Spike, I’m so scared.”

Spike pulled Buffy into his strong embrace, trying to comfort her. “S’okay, Luv, we’ll go see ‘im together.” *And with any luck he won’t bloody well stake me,* he added silently.

TBC...

Authors note: I’d like to thank AmyB for her amazing beta work on this chapter. I couldn’t have done it without you girl!

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“How bloody long does it take for your Watcher to answer the flamin’ door?” Spike growled in frustration as he waited for Giles to open his door. “’Been bloody well knocking for ten minutes!”

“More like one, Spike. Why don’t you give him a chance? It’s like three thirty in the morning. I think he would probably be asleep…..Don’t you?” This was the first thing that Buffy had said since they’d left Spike’s crypt.

“All the more reason to hurry, after all it would have to be important for someone to come callin’ at this hour.”

At that moment Giles opened his door, armed with a crossbow, clearly still half asleep and not in a very good mood.

“Buffy, w-what’s wrong? Do you know what time it is?” Giles asked as he lowered his crossbow.

“Giles, I-I had to talk to you. I’m so scared. I didn’t know what else to do…” As Buffy started to talk, the dam broke and she started crying again. Seeing her Watcher, knowing that she would have to tell him that she was a vampire, was just too much for her to handle. She just wanted to crawl under a rock and die.

Spike tried to comfort Buffy by placing his hand on her shoulder only to have her pull away. Taking the hint he took a step away from her. She clearly blamed him for her current situation, not that there was anything different about that. Buffy tended to blame him for everything that went wrong in her life. Although in this case he couldn’t blame her for hating him….. but it still hurt.

“So you gonna let us in, Watcher? Or will we just stand out here all night?”

“Oh, oh yes of course come in,” Giles took a step back to allow Buffy and Spike into his home.

“Buffy, what’s wrong? What’s happened? Is Dawn alright?”

At this Buffy’s head shot up.

“Oh god, Giles, the others, he could have gone to them first,” Buffy sobbed near hysterical. “You have to call them and make sure they’re alright.”

“Who could have gone to them? Buffy, what’s going on?” Giles asked, his voice filled with concern.

“Just call them please,” Buffy sobbed out. She hadn’t even thought about the rest of the gang. Knowing Angelus, he most likely would have gone after her friends before coming for her. What was that he said about the advantages of having a soul, something about people opening themselves up in delicious ways? Buffy’s eyes widened in horror, that’s what he meant……Angelus had killed her friends, she could feel it in her bones. Suddenly she couldn’t breathe, there was no air left in the room and she was suffocating…….the room was spinning out of control.

“Buffy, tell me what’s going on. Who are they in danger from?” Giles asked, his brow creased with concern. He knew something bad had to have happened for Buffy to be this upset.

Buffy started to hyperventilate. The thought of Angelus hurting her friends was just too much for her to bear. She half-heartedly wondered if the vivid images that flashed through her mind of Angelus torturing her friends were a side effect of being a demon. She didn’t hear Giles’ insistent questions. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, almost like she was watching herself from a great distance.

Spike had had enough. He couldn’t stand seeing Giles badger Buffy with stupid, ill timed question.

“JUST BLOODY WELL CALL THEM, YOU STUPID BLOODY PONCE, CAN”T YOU SEE SHE’S UPSET?!!” he yelled in frustration. *How could her Watcher be so bloody dense?*

“Yes, yes of course…..I-I’ll go call them now,” Giles stammered, shocked by Spike’s outburst.

As Giles scurried off to call the rest of the Scoobies, Spike led Buffy to the couch, trying to comfort her by rubbing her back and stroking her hair.

“It’s all right, Buffy. The Scoobies are a tough bunch. They can handle themselves,” he said in a comforting tone as he sat down next to her. He hoped that he was right. He didn’t think that the former Slayer could cope if Angelus had harmed any of her friends or the Nibblet.

Spike was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn’t even notice that Giles had re-entered the room.

“I just called everyone, they’re all fine. Dawn’s still at Willow and Tara’s, and Xander and Anya are at home,” he took his glasses off and started to clean them. “Now would you kindly tell me what happened and who we are in danger from?”

“Angelus.” Buffy said in a small voice. “He, he b-b-bit m-me.”

“What?” Giles was shocked. This was the last thing he expected to hear. If Angel had lost his soul, why hadn’t he heard from Wesley or Cordelia?

“Angelus was in the alley…… I hugged him….. Oh god he bit me a-a-and I still have a heartbeat and I need to breathe…… Oh, Giles I’m so scared.” Buffy tried to explain to her watcher what had happened to her but she couldn’t find the words.

“Buffy I don’t understand, y-you need to calm down and tell me what happened,” Giles knelt down in front of her.

“You said, Angelus bit you…. are you alright?”

“No” she said in a hoarse whisper, tightly gripping Spike’s hand.

“S’okay, luv. Do you want me to tell him?”

“No I-I will, I’m okay,” she took a deep breath to calm herself down. Feeling a little better she turned to Giles. “You better sit down for this one, Giles.”

As Giles moved to sit in the chair across from her, Buffy took another deep breath, finally getting herself under control. She told Giles about meeting Angelus in the alley behind the Bronze, him biting her, Spike staking him and how he made her drink his blood.

Giles was furious at the thought of Spike making Buffy drink from him. Abruptly jumping from his chair, he ripped Spike from his seat and pushed him up against the nearest wall.

“What the hell where you thinking? You did this to her?” Giles screamed. “Do you have any idea what a Slayer turned into a vampire could be capable of?” “Did you even think of that?” “Did you even think how she would feel waking as a vampire?” Giles was furious. He was about two seconds away from staking the blonde vampire once and for all.

“Well, what do you have to say for yourself?”

Spike was stunned. He had never seen this side of Giles before. To tell the truth, he was a little scared. Of course, he would never let Giles know this.

“What, mate? Would you rather her be dead?”

“No! Of course not!”

Giles looked over at Buffy, who was still sitting on the couch with tears streaming down her face.*If she’s a vampire why was she so upset? And why hasn’t she tried to attack me?* Giles loosened his hold on Spike.

“Why did you do it?”

“I love her…. couldn’t lose her…. Not when there was something I could do.”

Spike was looking Giles directly in the eyes as he spoke. Giles could tell he was telling the truth and released his grip on the vampire.

“Why is she so upset? Vampires don’t feel remorse.”

“Well, that would be why we’re here. Seems, Buffy’s not much like other vampires. For one thing, she still has a heartbeat and she’s breathing. And as you can tell from the cryin’ and the you not bein’ dead yet, she’s still got her soul.”

“That’s impossible!” Giles gasped as he looked over at Buffy, who just sat there like a deer caught in a set of headlights. “If s-she still has a heartbeat t-that would mean she’s not a vampire.”

“Beg to differ mate, saw it m’self, she’s a vampire, blood drinking and all.”

“YOU ALLOWED HER TO HUNT?!” Giles yelled.

“NO!..... Gave her some blood from m’fridge, didn’t I!!”

“Giles… please help me. I’m so scared,” Buffy begged barely above a whisper.

Giles looked at his charge. She was looking at him with desperate pleading eyes. He’d never seen her look so scared. Not even when he arrived at her house after she found her mother’s dead body did she look this lost. He quickly walked over to her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Oh, Buffy, I’m so sorry.”

Buffy had her face pressed into Giles’s neck. She could smell his blood pumping through his veins, warm and sweet beckoning her to drink, to drain him dry. She felt her face shift, allowing her demon to surface. With all her strength she forced herself to pull away from Giles’ neck and giving him a slight push she hissed, “Get away from me!”

Giles didn’t know what had caused such a sudden change in her mood. “Buffy, what’s wrong?”

“I SAID, GET AWAY FROM ME!” she yelled as she pushed Giles to the floor, allowing him to see her face before she ran past him out the front door.


~*~~*~~*~


Buffy had no idea where she was running to. She just had to get away from Giles before she lost what little control she had left.

Before long she found herself in the same alley in which she had met Angelus earlier that evening. As she entered she noticed a small shiny object on the ground. Buffy bent down to see what it was, only to find that it was Angel’s claddagh ring. She fell to the ground sobbing. She couldn’t breathe--it felt like she was dying inside.

That was how Spike found her, lying on the ground in the filthy alley. With her knees tucked up to her chest holding Angel’s ring so tightly it had started to cut into her hand. Her tiny body shook uncontrollably as the night’s event flashed through her mind. If Spike’s heart could have broken, it would have shattered into a thousand pieces.

He bent down and pulled the former Slayer into his arms, brushing some hair away from her face and wiping away the tears that ran down her flushed and swollen cheeks. Spike held her to his chest, rocking her and cooing softly in her ear. They sat that was for what seamed to both like hours.

He could smell the sunrise coming--it would be morning soon. Slowly Spike pulled away from Buffy so he could look her eyes.

“Buffy, luv. We’ve got to go now. The suns coming up.”


Spike pulled Buffy up off the ground, wrapping his arms protectively around her shoulders as they headed back to Giles’ apartment.

TBC....

Authors note: Thanks to AmyB for beta’ing this chapter for me. She’s been a godsend.

---

The two vampires reached Giles’ apartment as the first of the morning’s rays started to shine across the small courtyard outside of the building. Spike held Buffy protectively close.

“S’okay, pet, you’ll do fine.”

“It’s not okay, Spike, I’m not okay, and nothing will ever be okay ever again,” Buffy whispered into his chest. “I was going to bite him, Spike. How can I ever look at him again? He must hate me.”

“No, pet, he doesn’t hate you. He loves you. I’m sure he’s been worried sick.”

As they entered the apartment, Giles dashed from the kitchen towards the front door. “Oh thank God you found her!” Giles had been frantic when Buffy had fled from his home. He knew that the sun would be rising soon and that she could be in danger.

“Yeah, mate,” Spike said with a small nod.

Giles wanted so badly to wrap his arms around Buffy. If he could hold her he would know that she was alright; however, he was beginning to understand that this would be brutal temptation for Buffy as, she was unable to control the demon inside of her at the moment. Resigning himself to this fact, he kept a safe distance from the petite girl in front of him.

Spike realized that Buffy was getting heavy as he held her against his chest, and as he looked down at the small figure in his arms he realized that she had started to fall asleep.

“Say, Watcher, you got someplace safe for her to sleep? I think she’s ‘bout done in.”

“Yes, yes of course. She can sleep in my bed upstairs.”

Spike picked Buffy up in his arms like a sleeping child and carried her up the stairs to Giles’ bedroom. He gently placed her on the bed and removed her shoes before pulling the covers over her tiny body. He then made sure that the curtains were securely closed, ensuring that no sunlight could enter the room.

Giles watched as Spike placed Buffy in the bed and fussed over the curtains. *He really does love her,* he thought to himself when he saw the tenderness the blonde vampire used in regards to the former Slayer.

“If you don’t mind I might catch a few z’s m’ self, getting’ a bit late an’ all.”

“Mmm…… Yes of course. W-where were you intending on sleeping?”

“Don’t worry, Watcher. I’ll sleep on the chair.”

“Very well then. I’ll leave you to get some rest.”

“Thanks, Rupes….. Oh one more thing, she’ll be hungry when she wakes up. Do you have any blood ‘ere?”

“No, no I don’t, I-I-I’ll go get some.”

“Thanks.”

As Giles left the room, Spike sat in the chair across from Buffy and before long he too was asleep.


~*~~*~~*~


“Angel, what are you doing here? I thought you where dead?” Buffy asked as she walked closer to the dark-haired vampire.

“You should know death isn’t enough to keep me from you…..Lover.”

“Oh no, not again. Stay away from me!” she hissed.

“Oh such harsh words, I’m quaking in my boots,” Angelus mocked.

“I mean it, if you come near me you’ll curse the day you were ever born.”

Buffy put as much force behind her words as possible, hoping that he wouldn’t come any closer. It didn’t work, Angelus just kept advancing on her and for some reason she couldn’t move.

Angelus was now standing so close that he could have kissed her if he wanted; however, nothing so innocent figured in his plans. He had a much more deadly desire to fulfil.

He bent down and licked the side of her neck, allowing his cold lips to linger over her pulse point.

Buffy let out a small shiver when she felt Angelus’ cool lips on her neck; as she felt his fangs bury themselves in her soft flesh, she let out a harsh scream. Tears welled in her eyes as she felt her life being drained from her.


~*~~*~~*~


Buffy awoke from her dream screaming. Spike was at her side in an instant, pulling her into his strong embrace in an attempt to comfort her. “S’okay, pet, s’okay. It’s just a dream, it’s over now.”

Spike was rocking Buffy, slowly stroking her hair as she cried on his shoulder. After spending so many years with Drusilla, he’d picked up a few tricks to calm down distraught females.
Dru would often have nightmares or visions that would send her into hysterics. Kissing the top of Buffy’s head, Spike stroked her back while he rocked her back and forth, all the while whispering in her ear that she was safe now, that it was just a dream and that nothing was going to harm her.

When Giles heard Buffy scream, his heart turned to ice. Running as fast as he could up to his bedroom he saw the bleached blonde vampire holding Buffy in his arm rocking her back and forth, whispering in her ear.

Giles started to make his way to Buffy so he could help comfort her.

“I think you best stay back, Watcher.” Spike spoke the warning gently, fully aware that it would break the watcher’s heart to have to stay away from his overwrought ward.

Spike was right. As much as it hurt Giles to be unable to comfort Buffy, the girl he considered to be his daughter, he would only be compounding the problem. After what happened earlier, he’d best stay away from the former Slayer, at least until she could control the demon inside of her.

“What happened?” Giles asked.

“Bad dream I s’pose,” Spike squeezed Buffy closer to his chest.

“Oh. W-w-well t-that’s to be expected, she’s been through a lot,” Giles said in a low voice.

“Yeah, s’pose so.” Spike responded in a sombre tone.

“I-Is there anything that I can do to help?” Giles asked.

“No, don’t think so, mate” Spike replied softly, all the while continuing to stroke Buffy’s hair.

As much as it pained Giles, he knew there was nothing he could do to help, for all he knew his presence alone could be enough to test Buffy’s self-control. “Right. I’ll leave you to it. I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”

“Yeah, okay,” Spike agreed with a small nod.

Giles stopped and turned to the blonde vampire. “Spike?”

Spike lifted his head to look at Giles. “Yeah?”

“Take care of her.”

“Course, Watcher, I’d give my own unlife for her.”

With that said, Giles slowly turned and walked back downstairs to continue the research he’d started on the Slayer/Vampire. Unfortunately he wasn’t having much success. In all his years as a Watcher he had never heard of a vampire with a heartbeat, and the fact that she seemed to have retained her soul and still required to breathe was nothing short of astounding. He would obviously have to conduct some more tests to see what other abilities the Slayer/Vampire was capable of. Under different circumstances, Giles would be positively jumping with unrestrained jubilation at the opportunity to study such an event; however, the thought of researching such an issue with regards to Buffy only served to be distressing.

~*~~*~~*~


Buffy had started to fall back to sleep in Spike’s arms as he rocked her back and forth. When he tried to pull away from her, Buffy only tightened her grip around his waist. If he had been human she would have easily killed him with the pressure she now placed on his body.

“Don’t leave, please just hold me,” she whispered into his chest.

Spike nodded his head. “Okay, luv. I won’t leave you. Just lay back, get more comfortable.”

As they lay down together, Buffy rested her head on Spike’s chest. He held onto Buffy tightly, kissing the top of her head as they fell into a dreamless sleep wrapped in each other’s arms.


~*~~*~~*~


When Buffy awoke she realized that she was lying on something cold and hard with what felt like arms wrapped around her body. Lifting her head to see what she was laying on, she found herself looking straight into ice blue eyes.

“Afternoon, pet, sleep well?” Spike asked, giving her a soft grin.

“It wasn’t a dream was it?” Buffy asked quietly as she ran her hand over her face.

“No, pet, ‘fraid not.” He started to stroke her hair, hoping to keep her calm.

“What time is it?” she asked as she rolled onto her back, pinning Spike’s arm behind her neck. Not that he was complaining about this, mind you.

Gazing down at the woman of his dreams, Spike brushed a wisp of hair from Buffy’s face. “’Bout four, I think….. You hungry, Pet?”

“Mmm yes, I’m starved.”

Buffy started to stretch, arching her back and raising her arms above her head. Spike couldn’t believe what he was seeing. *Cor she’s beautiful, so warm and soft. I can’t believe she’s allowing me to hold her. If I died right now I would die a happy bloke.* Shaking himself from his thoughts, Spike gave Buffy a warm smile. “Well then let’s get you something to eat. The Watcher said he would get some blood.”

“Mmm. Sounds good.” She forced herself to sit up, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She found that waking in Spike’s arms was a lot more pleasant then she would have ever expected.

“Spike, could you ask Giles to leave until I’ve eaten? Just in case,” she nibbled her bottom lip nervously.

“Sure thing, pet, I’ll go shoo him away.”

“Thanks.”


~*~~*~~*~


Spike somehow found a gentle way to tell Giles to sod off while Buffy had something to eat and after a few minutes Buffy made her way downstairs. Spike handed her a mug of warmed blood as she entered the kitchen. She greedily gulped down the warm red liquid making a yummy noise when she finished.

“Mmm, tastes a lot better when it’s warm,” she teased, handing her mug back to Spike. “More please.”

Spike only laughed and refilled her mug, placing it in the microwave to warm the liquid inside. When the microwave beeped he handed the second mug of warm blood to Buffy and she quickly grabbed it from his hand and drank greedily, loving the warm copper taste that spilled across her lips. Finally feeling sated, she handed the mug back to Spike and licked her lips.

“Want some more, luv?”

“No, I’m full,” she answered, patting her stomach to emphasize the fact.

He then filled his own mug, placing it into the microwave so he too could have some breakfast. At first Spike didn’t notice Buffy rummaging through Giles’ fridge and pantry. When he finally became aware that Buffy was looking in the fridge trying to find something, he raised his scarred eyebrow in question.

“What you looking for, pet?”

“Something to eat. I’m starving!! I haven’t eaten since yesterday.”

“Um, Buffy, what do you mean you haven’t eaten since yesterday? You just ate. You said you were full.”

“No, Spike, I just drank some blood. Now I want some food, I’m hungry.” Buffy repeated, her tone very much like she was talking to a distracted toddler.

“Pet, you’re a vampire. You don’t need to eat food anymore, remember?” Spike was looking at Buffy like she had just grown a second head.

“Yeah, Spike, try telling that to my stomach.”

She had finally found a box of Weetabix in Giles’ pantry and started to help herself a bowl of the cereal.

Spike watched in amazement as Buffy started to eat the cereal. Of course Spike ate human food on occasion, but he would never say that he ever felt the need to eat food because he was hungry.

Buffy was halfway through her second breakfast when Giles stuck his head through the front door.

“Um, is it okay for me to come inside now?” Giles shyly asked from his front door.

“Oh, Giles, of course, come in,” Buffy said, feeling quite embarrassed about the fact that she had forgotten Giles was waiting outside while she ate.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as he started to clean his glasses.

“Better, not great, but I feel clearer, not so confused. Guess that’s what a meal and a good day’s sleep can do for ya,” she said as she ate another mouthful of her cereal.

“Yes, yes indeed,” he put his glasses back on and noticed that Buffy seemed to be eating a bowl of cereal.

“Wh--What are you eating?”

“Weetabix,” Buffy said as she ate another mouthful of cereal.

“May I ask why?” Giles was more than a little surprised to see a fledgling vampire enjoying a bowl of cereal.

“S’what I’d like to know” Spike muttered to himself.

“Like I already said! I was hungry,” Buffy said while looking directly at Spike, raising her voice a little.

“What do you mean you were hungry? Didn’t Spike give you any of the blood I got for you? Willy assured me it was fresh.”

“Yes, Giles I had two mugs full. Thanks by the way. But I still felt hungry so I had a bowl of cereal as well.”

“What do you mean you were still hungry? The blood should have filled you,” Giles asked, desperately trying to make sense of what Buffy was saying.

“It did fill me, but I still felt hungry.”

“That doesn’t make much sense, pet, either you’re full or your not, can’t be both,” Spike was very confused on this one. How could she be full and hungry at the same time?

“What’s so hard to believe about the fact that I was hungry? I didn’t know it was a crime to eat a bowl of cereal! Am I going to get the third degree every time I eat something?” Buffy asked in irritation.

“Not at all, Buffy, we are just a little confused. You said that the blood filled you, is that correct?” Giles asked.

“Yes.”

“And you said that you were still hungry so you ate some cereal?”

“Yes.”

“And are you full now?”

“Yes.”

“So what you are saying is that you require both blood and food in order to feel satisfied.”

“Yeah I guess so,” Buffy said quietly, suddenly feeling very confused.

“This is fascinating.” Giles was amazed; he never knew that it was possible for a vampire to survive on anything other than blood.

“Glad someone’s happy about my new freak status,” Buffy muttered.

“You’re not a freak, Slayer,” Spike placed his hand on Buffy’s shoulder.

Buffy turned and pulled away from Spike. “Yeah right, I’m not a ‘freak.’ I’m a vampire with a heartbeat and a soul who needs to eat food as well as blood, oh and I also breathe. Now try telling me how I’m not a freak! I’ve always been a freak, even as a human I was never normal. I never had a normal life. Hell I never even had a normal boyfriend. No one I know is normal, Willow and Tara are witches, Giles is a Watcher, Anya’s an ex-demon, you’re a vampire and my little sister is some mystical key thingy. Xander’s the only one of us who could ever be considered remotely normal, and that is very disturbing!” Buffy was now yelling as she paced the floor.

“Just ‘cause you’re different, Slayer, doesn’t make you a freak,” Spike tried to reassure Buffy.

“Yes it does Spike. That’s what a freak is!” Buffy stomped over to Giles’ couch.

“Yeah, good point,” Spike shrugged his shoulders and followed her.

Buffy just looked at him and threw her hands in the air with a frustrated sigh, “could my life get weirder?” she muttered as she flopped down onto the couch glaring at Spike as he sat down next to her.

“Buffy, I know everything must feel very unnatural to you right now. But I’ll – we’ll start to research this right away. I’m sure that there is some reason that your transformation has occurred, perhaps a prophecy.” Giles walked over to stand in front of Buffy.

“Well that makes me feel so much better” Buffy announced sarcastically. Jumping from the couch she once again started to pace the floor.

“No, I’m sure it isn’t much comfort to you right now,” Giles said nervously, removing his glasses he briskly started to polish them.

“I’m sorry, Giles. I didn’t mean to be all snappy. I’m just a little high strung at the moment.” Buffy reached out to hold Giles’s hand.

He gave her a small smile in return. “Yes, I can imagine that you would be quite shaken by the recent events.”

“Understatement, much!” Buffy gave Giles’s hand a small squeeze. “So, what do we do now?”

“Well we should probably conduct some tests. Find out what other abilities you have--strength, speed, etcetera.”

“Well okay then. But first I’m going to go clean up. Than we can get started.” With that, Buffy walked to the bathroom.

“I’m gonna have a smoke,” Spike mumbled to no one in particular. Fortunately most of the courtyard was in the shade by now, so he could leave without the fear that the late afternoon’s sun would turn him into a crispy critter.

“Yes and I’ll start to prepare” Giles said to himself as he walked over to his weapons chest, removing several items.


~*~~*~~*~


Several minutes later Buffy returned from the bathroom.

“You guys are not going to believe this one….. But I have a reflection.”

“YOU WHAT!?!” Spike yelled.

“Excuse me?” Giles asked.

“I have a reflection,” Buffy said with a wide smile.

“This is amazing.” Giles was almost jumping with joy, “a vampire with a reflection, I have never heard of such a thing.”

“Don’t get so excited, Giles, you might give yourself an injury,” Buffy’s smile grew even wider at the sight of her Watcher almost dancing from the excitement.

“How the bloody hell can you have a reflection?” Spike asked as he walked over to Buffy.

“I don’t know, Spike, I just do.”

“But it’s not possible, I’ve been a bloody vampire for over a century and I’ve never even seen a glimpse of a reflection.”

“What’s wrong, Spikey, jealous?” Buffy mocked.

“Well yeah, don’t think it’s very fair s’all,” Spike muttered.

Buffy laughed and turned to her Watcher. “Giles when I was in the bathroom seeing my own reflection wasn’t the only weird thing that happened…… I um, I had to pee.” She nervously bit her bottom lip.

“Excuse me?” Giles couldn’t believe his ears.

“I had to pee.”

“That is not possible. A vampire doesn’t have an excretory system like a human.”

“Well someone forgot to tell my body that, because I just did.”

“This is amazing.” Each new revelation left Giles more overwhelmed with excitement.

“So, Watcher, got any theories?” Spike asked as he casually leaned against the wall watching Buffy in amazement.

“W-Well, one would assume that the need to consume food would necessitate the need for normal digestive and excretory systems.” Giles turned and watched Buffy sitting on the couch.

“Would the two of you stop looking at me like I’m some sort of lab rat? It’s freaking me out!” Buffy yelled.

“Sorry.”

“Sorry, pet.”

Buffy rolled her eyes in annoyance. “Okay, Giles you said something about tests earlier.”

“Oh yes, the tests. I-I was thinking that we would see if you have any normal vampire weaknesses.”

Buffy furrowed her brow. “What do you have in mind?”

“Well I would like to see if you have any reactions to items such as holy water, crosses, garlic, and sunlight.”

Spike was furious. “What, you’re gonna torture her? What’s the last test, a stake through the heart to see if she turns to dust?”

“No! Not at all. I would rather take my own life than to harm her. But we do need to know what her weaknesses are.”

“What, so if she goes all evil on you, you’ll know how to off her?” Spike growled in anger.

“NO! BUFFY NEEDS TO KNOW SO SHE CAN DEFEND HERSELF!” Giles was livid. How could Spike ever think that he would want to harm the girl that he loved like a daughter?

“STOP IT!” Buffy yelled.

Both Giles and Spike turned to look at the truly pissed off Slayer/Vampire standing in front of them.

“Spike, back off! I’ll do the tests.”

“Yeah well, when he decides to see if you have intolerance to pointy wooden things, don’t come crying to me.”

“Spike! Giles won’t hurt me. Will you, Giles?”

“No, of course not.”

“See, I’m in no danger.”

Spike only snorted in protest.

“Okay, what’s the first test?” Buffy asked turning to Giles.

“Well it’s your choice, Buffy. I have crosses, holy water, and garlic and of course there’s sunlight.”

“Not too keen on the sunlight, so I guess I’ll start with the cross, ya know work my way up to the whole burning to death thing.”

Buffy reached over and touched the cross with her fingertip. Nothing happened, so she laid her hand on the cross--still no reaction. Finally she picked the cross up off the table. With a huge grin she turned to Spike and showed him the cross. “See nothing to worry about.”

“Extraordinary!” was all Giles could say.

Next Buffy carefully opened the bottle of holy water. After a few deep breaths she dipped her finger in the bottle, no reaction. She poured a small amount onto her hand, still no reaction. “This is great! Now this is a test that I can pass!” Buffy’s grin got even wider as she looked over at Giles and Spike.

“Extraordinary!” Giles said again.

Spike was grinning like a Cheshire cat. *That’s my girl!*

Next Buffy picked up the garlic. She held it up to her nose and sniffed, “Just smells like garlic to me.”

“Extraordinary!” Giles said again.

“You know, Giles you’re starting to sound like a broken record,” Buffy said with a small giggle.

“Nah, Slayer. Never heard a record that sounded like that ponce” Spike said with a smirk.

Buffy burst out laughing and Spike drank in her beauty. He loved it when she laughed, especially when he was the one who made her happy.

“Oh yes, sorry, I’m just a little stunned. This is just…..” Giles took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes as he spoke.

“Extraordinary?” Buffy finished for him.

“W-well yes.” He gave Buffy a small smile.

Buffy started to laugh again. “Okay, okay. What’s next?” she asked as she took a deep breath.

“Well if you feel up to it, the sun hasn’t set yet, if you would like to see if-if……”

“If I burn to a crisp?” Buffy finished for him.

“Well, not so much burn to a crisp, as much as, well simply burn” Giles answered.

“Okay, let’s see if I go all dusty in sunlight” she said with fake enthusiasm.

“Buffy, pet you might want to think about this. Sunlight hurts like a bitch; takes a long time to heal as well” Spike said softly.

“No... It’s alright. It’s not like I’m going to walk out into direct sunlight or anything,” Buffy said as she walked to the front door. “Besides the suspense is killing me, and I don’t think I could wait until tomorrow to find out.”

Spike and Giles followed Buffy out the front door. They watched in amazement as she placed her hand out into a small patch of sunlight.

Letting out a scream in delight, she walked out into the full rays of the afternoon sun, holding her arms as she laughed and spun in circles like a small child.

“Oh god, Spike, Giles! I can go in the sunlight--this is, this is just incredible,” Buffy was overjoyed.

Laughing like a mad woman she grabbed Giles and pulled him into the sunlight with her.

“Look, Giles, I can go in the sunlight.” She was so happy she started to cry.

“Yes, I can see that. It’s wonderful,” Giles said with a huge smile.

“Wonderful, Giles? It’s amazing!” she tilted her face up towards the sun. “I thought that I would never be able to do this again.”

“Yes, I’m starting to believe that you may not have many, if any, ‘disabilities’ with your new, um,
condition,” Giles replied as he watched Buffy sunbathing.

Spike was standing in the shadows watching in sheer amazement and envy. What he would give to be able to stand in the sun with her.

“Dawn!” Buffy suddenly yelled.

“Excuse me?” Giles asked.

“Dawn, I have to call her, she’ll be worried sick,” Buffy stood up and started to walk back into Giles’ apartment.

“Buffy, may I ask what you are going to tell Dawn?” Giles asked curiously.

“I don’t know. But she needs to know what’s happened,” Buffy said quietly. She had no idea how to tell Dawn and her friends about her recent transformation.

“D-do you think it’s wise to tell her like this? I mean this isn’t the sort of thing you tell someone over the phone” Giles asked.

“Yeah, luv. Might be a bit of a shock n’ all,” Spike said as he lit another cigarette.

Buffy nodded her head in agreement, “Yeah…I guess I could call everyone and get them to meet us at the shop, if that’s alright with you?” Buffy asked Giles as she nervously ran her hands through her hair.

“Yes, yes of course,” Giles nodded his head in agreement.

As Buffy walked inside to call the rest of the Scoobies, Giles turned to Spike. “What do you think of all of this?”

“I think ‘s amazing. I mean she’s still Buffy, just new an’ improved, what more could you ask for?”

“Yes her transformation is amazing. However I don’t think I would use the term ‘improved’ as you put it!” Giles ground out, more then peeved at the thought of Spike thinking he had improved Buffy. “However, I must say I have never heard of a vampire with Buffy’s ‘abilities’. Have you?” He looked straight at the blonde vampire.

“Oh yeah, hear bout it all the time, in fact I saw a vamp last week that could fire walk,” Spike replied, his voice absolutely dripping with sarcasm. “Of course I haven’t bloody well heard of this before, Watcher” he threw his cigarette into the garden, “and I’m guessing we’ll never see it again. She’s a one of a kind.”

“Yes, yes you’re probably right, still I’ll continue with my research.”

A few minutes later Buffy came back outside and sat in a small patch of sunlight enjoying the warmth. “I’ve called the gang. They’ll meet us at the shop around seven.”

TBC...

Authors note: Thanks to my amazing beat AmyB. Her wonderful suggestions always make the story come to life.

---

Later that night Buffy, Spike and Giles waited at the Magic Box for the rest of the gang to arrive.

Spike was leaning casually against the counter. Giles was seated at the research table going through some old journals, still trying to find a reason why Buffy seemed to have retained her humanity even though see was clearly a vampire.

Buffy was pacing the area in front of the counter, wringing her hands nervously. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

Spike reached out and grabbed Buffy by the shoulders. “Sure you can, Pet, ‘s just like removing a band-aid, do it nice an’ quick.”

“You’re…..you’re comparing me having to tell my friends that I’m a vampire, to removing a
Band-aid?” Buffy questioned angrily as she pushed Spikes hands off her shoulders and began to pace again.

“No. I just mean if you do it quick, be less painful that way.”

Buffy spun to face Spike, her voice tinged with bitterness. “You want me to just blurt it out?”

“Well yeah, ain’t like you can break it to them softly.” Spike announced, casually lighting up a cigarette.

“Spike has a good point, Buffy, I can’t see anyway for this to be painless, for you or the others. Simply ‘blurting’ it out as you put it probably is the only way to do this.” As Giles spoke the bell on the front door rang and Willow and Tara entered the shop followed by Dawn, Xander & Anya.

“So, G-man, what fun little nasty do you have lined up for us tonight?” Xander asked as he walked over to the table and sat next to Giles.

“Angelus.” Buffy said quietly.

“A-Angelus?” Tara asked nervously.

“Don’t you mean Angel, Buffy?” Willow inquired hopefully.

Buffy shook her head, “No, I mean Angelus. I ran into him last night.”

“Oh boy.” Willow had turned white as a sheet. “This is not good.”

“Did you have sex with him?” Anya asked.

“NO!!” Buffy hissed. How could Anya ask her something like that?

Anya didn’t seem to realize just how pissed Buffy was. “Well how’d he lose his soul? I thought only you could do that? That’s what Xander told me. He said you had sex with Angel, and then he tried to kill everyone.”

“We don’t know HOW Angel lost his soul, but Buffy had nothing to do with it.” Giles replied in a clipped tone, removing his glasses and starting to clean them.

“Personally I don’t care how he lost his soul. I say we all grab a weapon and go kick some demon ass.” Xander was personally more than happy to take care of Angelus.

“No, Tara and I can do the soul restoration spell,” Willow interjected as she began to gather ingredients.

“No, Willow you don’t have to do the spell……. Spike killed him.” Tears began to form in Buffy’s eyes, threatening to fall any second.

“Spike killed Angel?” Anya asked, a little shocked.

“Yeah.” Spike replied. “Not soon enough though.”

“Why, what’s happened? He didn’t activate Acathla did he?” Willow was near panic at this stage.

“No… nothing like that.” Buffy took a deep breath.

“So what was Spike too late for?” Dawn asked.

“To save me,” Buffy whispered as a single tear ran down her cheek.

“WHAT?” everyone asked at the same time.

“I think it’s best if you all sit down.” Buffy took another deep breath to help calm her nerves.

“Oh boy, this is not good.” Willow muttered as she sat down.

Soon everyone was seated, except for Buffy and Spike.

“What’s going on, Buff?” Xander questioned, dreading the answer.

*Okay, just like removing a band-aid,* Buffy thought as she started to tell the gang what had happened. “I ran into who I thought was Angel last night. As it turns out it wasn’t Angel but Angelus.” She had to take another couple of deep breaths to calm her nerves. “We fought… I lost…. and he bit me.”

“HE WHAT?” Xander yelled.

“Are you okay?” Dawn and Willow asked in unison.

Buffy looked over at Spike for reassurance; he simply nodded for her to continue. “As I was saying, Angelus bit me. Spike staked him……but it was too late, Angelus had almost drained me.” Buffy looked at her shoes as she continued. “I was dying…….and Spike fed me his blood,” she finished with a breathless whisper.

“YOU WHAT?” Xander screamed as he ran over to Spike and grabbed him by the throat. “THAT’S IT YOU’RE DUST!” he yelled into Spike’s face as he produced a stake from his pocket.

“Hey-hey-hey, I had no choice.” Spike stammered in answer as he tried to get Xander away from him.

“You son-of-a-bitch. What, you couldn’t have her so you turned her?” Xander was furious.

“NO! I HAD NO CHOICE, I COULDN’T LET HER DIE!” Spike yelled back, still trying to remove Xander’s hand from his throat.

“Yeah well, looks like I don’t have a choice either,” Xander retorted as he raised the stake. He was about to bring it down into Spike’s chest when a strong hand grabbed his wrist, forcing him to drop the sharpened piece of wood.

Xander turned to see who had stopped him from staking the peroxide pest, only to see a very angry vamped out Buffy. “BACK OFF XANDER! YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU’RE DEALING WITH!” she growled out in a feral voice.

Everyone in the shop looked terrified and even Spike looked a little nervous. No one knew what Buffy was capable of, or if she could control her temper.

“NOW, I’m going to let you go. If you make any more attempts to harm my sire, you’ll be very sorry.” With that Buffy let Xander go and ran to the training room.

Spike turned and looked at Xander. “You bloody pillock! Look what you’ve done now,” he growled before marching into the training room to see if Buffy was alright.

Xander and the others were speechless. They all stood in the same spot with their mouths open in absolute shock at what had just happened.

Spike entered the training room only to find a very agitated Slayer/Vampire pacing the floor. Buffy was still vamped out and was clearly distressed about hurting Xander.

“Buffy? You okay, pet?”

“Do I look okay to you, Spike?” she replied angrily.

“Don’t get so worked up, luv, he didn’t hurt me.”

Buffy laughed, “I’m not upset over you, Spike. Why does he always think that I can’t take care of myself? Does he really think that I couldn’t dust you if I wanted to? I’m a big girl… I’m the Slayer for god’s sakes! I can take care of myself! I don’t need him jumping to conclusions.” Buffy was running her hands through her hair as she ranted. “What if he had dusted you? You’re the only one I can go to. I don’t know the first thing about being a vampire. He just makes me so mad sometimes!” Letting out a frustrated sigh, she sat down on one of the many training mats gracing the floor.

Spike sat down next to her. He didn’t really know what to think. On one hand she was saying that she didn’t care about him only to then say that she needed him.

“I think you should just kill ‘im, get it over ‘n done with….. Sure would be fun to watch,” Spike said with a cheeky grin.

Buffy gave him a small laugh, allowing her human mask to fall into place. “You think that’ll help?”

Spike wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Can’t hurt to try, luv.”

“What’s happening to me Spike? I can feel you inside of me.” Buffy dropped her head to rest on Spike’s shoulder.

“It’s called Sire/Childe bond, luv. What happened out there, you protecting me--that was the bond at work.”

“So you what, created your very own bodyguard?”

Spike raised his eyebrows, “Yeah I guess, in a way I have…… Never really thought of it that way. I prefer to think of a childe as a companion.”

Buffy looked up at Spike with questioning eyes. “What do you expect from me?”

“Nothing, luv, you’re free to do what ever your heart desires.” They each sat in companionable silence for several minutes, simply enjoying the presence of each other as they tried to digest the ramifications of this situation. A master vampire, siring a Slayer who could not only go into the sunlight and touch holy items but who had also retained her soul. The situation was just too surreal.


So caught up in their own thoughts, neither Buffy nor Spike noticed Giles standing in the doorway until he cleared his throat. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh just peachy,” Buffy replied sarcastically as she pulled herself to her feet.

“D-do you feel up to coming out?” Giles queried a little nervously.

“Is Xander okay? I didn’t hurt him did I?” Buffy inquired, her voice soaked in remorse.

“No, no not at all, he’s fine. A little shaken up is all.”

Spike laughed, “Nothin’ a change of grundies can’t fix, huh?”

Buffy playfully slapped Spike on the arm. “Spike, don’t be such an asshole.”

“Yeah well, luv, just remember to stay upwind of the little twit,” Spike had a grin from ear to ear.

Buffy couldn’t help but laugh.

Spike was overjoyed. He’d made her laugh again. As he watched Buffy giggle, he basked in the joy that he was the one responsible for the beautiful smile on her face.

Buffy finally managed to pull herself together and turned to Giles, who was smiling, although trying desperately to hide it. “We’ll be right out, I just need another minute. Okay?”

“Of course, Buffy. We’ll be waiting for you, take as long as you need.” With that Giles turned and walked out of the training room.

Buffy turned and looked at Spike. “Okay this is it…… damn, how am I going to face them? They’ll be terrified of me. What about Dawn? I don’t know if I can trust myself around her. What if I hurt her?” Buffy started to chew nervously on her bottom lip as she paced the floor.

Spike reached out and grabbed her by the shoulders. Closing the distance between them he placed his forehead on to hers, gently squeezing her shoulders.

“They’re your friends, luv, they’ll understand. Look at your Watcher--he understands what you’re going through, and so will they.” As he spoke, Spike placed a light kiss on the top of Buffy’s head. “You can do this, luv, and remember that I’m here for you. You’re not alone in this.”

Buffy looked into Spike’s ice blue eyes and saw that he was telling the truth, she wasn’t alone. He would help her through this.

After all, weren’t they supposed to be her friends? Shouldn’t they just accept her, warts and all, well in her case fangs and all? Why was she afraid of her friends? She met creatures on a nightly basis that were a lot more intimidating, so why did she have this gut-wrenching feeling of foreboding? Steeling herself for the inevitable, she took a deep cleansing breath and said in a determined tone, “Okay let’s do this.” Turning to Spike, she pleaded “Play nice with Xander, okay? This has got to be hard for him.”

Spike placed his hands on each side of Buffy’s face. “Okay, luv, I’ll try. Can’t say I’ll succeed--but I’ll try.”

Buffy smiled and placed her small hand on top of Spike’s. “Thanks.” She then took one final calming breath and walked out into the shop to meet the firing squad.

~*~~*~~*~


When Buffy and Spike re-entered the shop everyone fell silent, unsure of what to say.

“Wow….feel the love in this room,” Buffy announced nervously, coming to a standstill in front of her friends.

She walked over to where Xander was sitting looking extremely nervous. “Xander I’m sorry… I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

“Its okay, Buff, just let me know if you start getting hungry” Xander replied with a nervous laugh, Buffy he knew, but he was very unsure of this new vampire version.

“I’m not going to bite you, Xand….. Before, what happened, Spike kinda explained it to me. It’s like this bond thingy that if my Sire’s in danger…...well the demon sorta takes over.”

“Oh. Well that’s okay then, I guess--but seriously let me know if you start getting hungry.” Xander was still in shock from his last encounter with Buffy and he wasn’t quite up to polite conversation just yet.

Buffy’s hurt was evident on her face. It was just as she feared--they were scared of her.

“Xander! Buffy’s trying to apologize for something that was your own fault, and all you can do is throw it back in her face?!” Willow was up in arms at the thought of Xander’s insensitivity towards Buffy.

“Willow, it’s alright,” Buffy reassured. She didn’t want Will to be mad at Xander because of her; she felt like she was already causing enough trouble.

Willow looked at Buffy with wide eyes, full of love and understanding. “No, Buffy it’s not alright I can’t imagine what you are going through and you need our love and support. Not our distrust.” she added, glaring at Xander.

As Buffy listened to Willow she started to cry, overwhelmed and relieved that her friend supported her and seemed to understand how hard this was for her.

“Thank you,” she sobbed out as she hugged Willow tightly.

“Buffy… need to breathe right now” Willow said in a painfully breathless tone.

Buffy quickly released Willow. “Oh sorry, Wills. I didn’t hurt you did I?”

“Nah, I’m fine,” Willow scoffed, wincing slightly when she moved.

“I guess I don’t know my own strength” Buffy said with a shy smile.

“S’okay Buffy, I’m just happy that you’re okay.” Willow tried to hide that she was examining her ribs to make sure none were broken. Buffy had hurt her a lot more than she had let on. “You are okay, aren’t you?”

“I feel a little better now” Buffy answered, giving Willow a sweet smile and turning to the rest of her friends.

“Buffy!” Dawn squealed as she ran to her sister.

Buffy hugged Dawn, this time containing her enthusiasm in order not to harm her sister.

“Buffy are you okay? Did it hurt? Do you feel different?” Dawn had so many questions she wanted to ask.

Buffy kissed the top of her little sister’s head. “Oh, Dawnie, I was so scared. I thought you would hate me.”

“Why would I hate you, Buffy? You’re my sister. I love you!”

Buffy was overjoyed. She held her sister close and cried tears of relief.

After a few minutes, Dawn pulled away from her sister and looked in her eyes. “You said Spike was your Sire.”

Buffy nodded her head, “Yeah.”

“So he’s like your father?” Dawn asked a little excitedly.

“I guess you could put it that way.” Buffy was unsure as to what her sister was getting at.

“So that would make him my stepfather?”

Buffy looked at her sister in amusement, “In a really weird hellmouthy kind of way, yeah.”

“Cool!” Dawn screeched as she ran over to Spike.

“This means you’re family! That’s so cool!” Dawn squealed as she threw her arms around Spike.

Spike couldn’t help but laugh out loud at Dawn’s excitement over the thought of him being part of her family. As he returned Dawn’s hug he looked over at Buffy who had a huge grin on her face.

“Doesn’t anyone else have a problem with this? Look, Dawn is over here hugging Evil Dead, talking about him being part of the family!” Xander was furious. “Isn’t it bad enough that he’s brainwashed Buffy? Now everyone is going to stand by and let him get his grubby little fingers on Dawn, too!” He started to walk over to where Spike was standing, murder in his eyes.

“You must just love this. You get to play the innocent vamp who becomes the hero. Well it ain’t working on me. I know you, Spike. You couldn’t do the job yourself so once the opportunity arose you swooped down like a vulture and picked up the scraps. It wouldn’t surprise me if you knew Angel lost his soul. You probably planed the whole thing.”

As Spike listened to Xander rant, he became more and more livid. It was bad enough that he referred to him as a vulture and Buffy as the scraps. But to have suggested that he was in cahoots with that bastard Angelus was just too much.

Spike launched himself at Xander, punching him hard in the face. Both men fell to the ground, Xander from the force of the powerful blow and Spike due to the excruciating pain the chip inflicted.

Spike quickly recovered and pulled Xander to his feet, shoving him hard against the shop counter while ignoring the tinge of pain the chip caused.

“Why don’t you shut your fucking mouth, Harris? You have no idea what you’re talking about! You don’t know me—you’ve never known me—but keep this up and you’re gonna find out more than you ever wanted to know. You ever suggest that I planned to have Angelus bite Buffy so I could turn her or refer to her as ‘scraps’ ever again, and I think I might be inclined to see how much pain this chip can inflict while I beat you to death with your own arms after I’ve ripped them from your soddin’ useless body. You don’t want to fuck with me boy. Trust me when I say you have no idea who you’re dealing with!” Spike sneered, fury and pain fuelling his rant.

Spike let go of Xander and walked out into the training room, lighting up a cigarette to try to calm his anger. *That boy needs to learn some respect. Just who the fuck does he think he’s talking to? If it wasn’t for this soddin’ chip, I’d rip his fucking head off--after we played a few rounds with some railway spikes that is.* Spike couldn’t repress the smile caused by the image his mind had conjured up.

Xander was still leaning against the counter, a look of sheer panic on his face. “Did everyone see that? He hit me! He must have gotten his chip out.”

“No, Xander, it hurt him when he hit you. I just think that the things you said hurt him more—or at least enough to make him not care about the pain, anyway.” Willow bit back angrily.

“Maybe you should go home, Xander. I mean now, before you say something that, you know, gets you dead!” Dawn was completely fed up; she had been having a happy moment with Spike and Xander just had to start shooting him mouth off.

“I think Dawn is correct, Xander. It is probably in your best interest to go home.” Giles was in no way up to refereeing Spike and Xander’s arguments or to watching them kill each other. It had been a very long day.

“I’m not going anywhere! If Deadboy stays, so do I!” Xander announced angrily as he walked over to the research table and sat down.

Everyone in the room suddenly became aware of a low growling sound that seemed to fill the room. All eyes turned to Buffy. Who was staring at Xander with a cold look of pure fury on her face.

Giles cautiously approached her. “Buffy, are you alright?” he asked as he reached out to touch her hand.

As Buffy felt Giles’ hand cup hers she quickly snapped out of her rage and looked up at her Watcher with slight confusion and remorse.

Giles looked at Buffy with understanding in his eyes. “Buffy, dear, are you quite alright? Should I get Spike?”

Buffy shook her head. “No, he needs time to calm down. I’m sure he’ll come back when he’s ready.”

Xander snorted in response.

Everyone turned to look at him.

“What?” he asked.

“You just don’t get it, do you, Xander?” Anya ground out, finally at her breaking point.

“I don’t get what?” Xander asked in confusion. * Had everyone lost their minds? Why couldn’t they see Spike was using Buffy?*

“Spike is Buffy’s Sire! Do you know what that means?” Anya couldn’t believe how childish Xander was being.

“Yeah, it means he’s got his very own Buffy slave!” Xander replied angrily.

“No, it’s not like that. It’s like--she can feel what he’s feeling and he can feel what she’s feeling, like they’re connected. Every time you try to hurt Spike all you are doing is tearing Buffy apart. Can’t you see that? Look in her eyes, Xander. She needs you to support her. Do you think this would be easy for her? I’ve never seen a vampire with so much anguish! They’re usually turned and start tearing up the town. You know no--soul no remorse…..” As Anya spoke it suddenly occurred to her that Buffy was showing remorse and restraint and she realized just how odd that was. “Actually, why isn’t Buffy out on the town painting it red with Spike?” she asked rather enthusiastically.

“Well, Buffy doesn’t seem to be like other vampires. She seems to have retained her soul, as well as possessing other non-vampiric properties.” Giles explained.

“O-other non-vampiric properties?” Tara asked.

“Yes, it seems that crosses, holy water, garlic and sunlight have no effect on her. She still has a reflection, a heartbeat and she needs to breathe. She also requires consuming both food and blood in order to survive.”

“Wow, that’s so cool!” Dawn gasped.

“S-s-sunlight, you can go into the sunlight?” Tara asked.

Buffy looked over at Tara and nodded her head as she nervously chewed on her bottom lip.

“How is this possible?” Willow asked Giles.

“I-I’m not sure--I still have quite a bit of research to do.”

“Where do we start?” Xander asked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat when all eyes in the room fell on him.

“Well, I have been going through the Watcher’s Diaries archives, but so far I have not found any mention of a vampire retaining its human qualities after being turned, or for that matter of any Slayer being turned,” Giles explained.

“Why is that? I mean, why wouldn’t a vampire turn a Slayer? Wouldn’t she be a powerful ally?” Willow asked.

“Well, that could be the very reason why a Slayer has never been turned. Perhaps the Sire would be threatened by a stronger more powerful childe. The vampire social structure is very basic. All vampires wish to be the strongest in order that they might dominate other vampires. One would think that a Slayer turned vampire would be extremely strong and powerful, capable of challenging her Sire and taking over the rule of any other children or minions in the family group. Also, the whole challenge of hand-to-hand combat with a Slayer in order to turn her would probably prove to be outside the abilities but all of the most powerful master vampires, and these vampires would be least likely to bring threat upon themselves.” Giles explained.

No one had noticed that Buffy had started to walk away; everyone was too engrossed in Giles’ theories. She found herself walking into the training room, her mind racing. *Did Spike think that I would try to overpower him? If he knew that was a possibility, why would he take that kind of risk? Why would he risk having a fledgling more powerful than himself? He was a master vampire after all.. sure, since the chip was implanted he had lost his master status… But he was still a powerful demon, just unable to harm humans. Buffy’s final question was the only one that could truly shed light on all the others. Could he really love me? Buffy only wished she was sure of the answer.*

TBC...

Let me know what you think...leave a review.

I’d like to thank AmyB for her magnificent beta work….Go check out her amazing fic Fear in a Handful of Dust.

I also would like to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

---

It wasn’t long before she found herself standing in front of the vampire in question. He sat on the floor, his jaw tightly clenched, clearly not in a good mood. *Wow, he’s really pissed* she thought as sat down next to him. They sat in silence for what seemed like hours until the tension was too much.

“Sorry,” Spike finally said.

“What for?” Buffy asked as she watched the vampire next to her.

“You asked me to play nice. Didn’t, did I?” Spike stated, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his coat.

“It wasn’t your fault,” Buffy said quietly. She watched him light a cigarette, obviously enjoying the rush of nicotine.

“Can I have one of those?” she asked, indicating to the pack of cigarettes in Spike’s hand.

Spike narrowed his eyes and stared at Buffy, floored by the fact that she didn’t blame him for the fight he had with the whelp. Now here she was asking for a cigarette. This was a shock; Buffy had always given him a hard time about smoking around her, and here she was asking for a smoke.

“What?”

“A cigarette, Spike…..Can I have one?” Buffy asked as she pointed to the pack again.

“Why?” He was still surprised by her request.

“I’ve never tried one before and it’s not like it can kill me” she grumbled, slightly annoyed that he still hadn’t given her a cigarette.

Spike chuckled at this and handed her the pack, watching her closely as she pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it. She immediately started to cough like mad and her face looked like it was on fire. He couldn’t help but laugh as he removed the offending object from her hand while patting her on the back until she started to breathe normally.

“That’s disgusting! How can you smoke those all the time?” she gasped out between coughs.

Spike started to laugh again--the look on Buffy’s face really was priceless.

“Stop laughing, you big jerk!” Buffy scolded as she lightly slapped Spike on the arm.

“Sorry, luv, s’just--you should have seen the look on your face. I wish I had a camera.” He continued to chuckle as tears of laughter streamed down his face.

“Ha- ha- ha, very funny. I’m choking to death and you’re making jokes” Buffy said with a huge pout.

Spike couldn’t stand it. He had always loved that pout. Without even thinking he reached over to pull Buffy closer and brushed his lips across hers.

Buffy was shocked. *Spike! Spike’s kissing me. What do I do? Should I pull away? Should I hit him?* That was the last rational thought that she had.

Buffy felt Spike’s tongue seeking entrance into her mouth and quickly complied, moaning loudly when she felt his cool tongue begin to battle with her own. Each touch of his tongue against hers sent small shivers down her spine. Buffy raised her arm and placed it on the back of Spike’s neck, pulling him closer as the kiss intensified.

Spike growled with pleasure, the feeling of Buffy’s warm tongue sweeping through his mouth almost enough to make him burst. He felt like he was on fire, and he could feel her small body pressing against him as her hands moved through his hair.

Buffy whimpered when she heard Spike growl. It simply had to be to the single most erotic sound that she had ever heard and she was completely unable to stop her hands from exploring his body. He was perfect. Buffy revelled in the feeling of his cold hard chest as it pressed against her, and she simply couldn’t believe how aroused she was getting. She felt his hand slide under her top and cup her breast, brushing his thumb across her erect nipple. Buffy let out another moan and arched closer to Spike as her hands explored his body further.

Unable to hold on any longer. Buffy forced herself to pull away to catch her breath. With a slight moan of disappointment, Spike released the breathless blonde from his impassioned embrace, lightly resting his forehead on hers as they both panted for breath, even though only one of them had the need for oxygen. Running his hand across Buffy’s cheek, Spike gently brushed some hair away from her face, allowing him a moment to absorb her beauty.

Buffy lazily pulled away, momentarily drowning in the deep blue depths of Spike’s eyes. She watched him with a mixture of amazement and wonder before letting out a breathless “Wow!”

Spike chuckled and kissed the top of her head, pulling her closer to him. “You can say that again, luv……. Can’t say that much takes my breath away these days, but you just managed it.”

Buffy smiled sweetly and rested her cheek on Spike’s shoulder, making small circles with her fingertips on his chest.

They were both shocked to hear someone clearing their throat.

The two vampires looked up to see Dawn standing in the doorway with a huge grin planted on her face. “You know, you might want to think about locking the door in the future. I mean, unless you want to give Giles and Xander a heart attack.”

Buffy quickly jumped to her feet, followed by Spike, both hastily smoothed their clothing back into place. Buffy looked over at her little sister only to see Dawn smiling like a Cheshire cat.

“Dawn, how long have you been standing there?” Buffy asked, wondering how much of a view her little sister had gotten.

Dawn gave Buffy her patented eye roll. “Don’t worry. I didn’t see anything.”

“Um, did-did anyone……..?”

“Did anyone else see the sexcapades?” Dawn finished for her sister. “NO…..your secret’s safe.”

Buffy blushed bright red; obviously Dawn had seen a lot more then she had let on.

Spike gave Dawn a cheeky grin and winked at her. “Enjoy the show, Nibblet?”

Dawn turned bright red and turned to walk back into the shop. “Yeah right, as if that was on my must see list,” she called back over her shoulder as she left.

Spike chuckled at Dawn’s response.

After a moments hesitation Buffy turned to Spike, unable to look him in the eye. “I-I think we should go see if they have found anything.”

“Yeah. Sure thing, pet.”

When Buffy and Spike walked back into the shop, they found the entire research table completely covered with books. Apparently, the whole gang was deep in research mode.

Dawn looked over at Buffy and Spike, giving them a huge grin. Buffy turned bright red and averted her eyes from her sister.

“So, what are we doing?” Buffy asked, looking at the pile of books on the table.

“We’re looking through the old Watcher diaries, trying to find some mention of a Slayer turned, or of any vampires retaining their human abilities,” Willow answered.

“Oh….so how’s that going?” Buffy asked as she sat down at the table, pulling a large book off the pile.

“Not so good. There has been a mention of a vampire back in the 1100s that could go into the sunlight and seemed to be impervious to any injury, but….”

“Let me guess, the Gem of Amara?” Buffy asked.

Willow nodded. “How’d you guess?”

“Just lucky, I suppose,” Buffy said, meeting Spike’s eyes for the first time since their kiss to give him a teasing wink.

“So, how’d the silly sod lose it?” Spike grumbled. The gem was still a sore spot for him.

“Well it seems that the gem can’t help you if the finger the ring is on gets chopped off. Apparently the vampire in question made a lot of enemies…. well, they all kinda ganged up on him,” Willow explained with a shrug.

“So, he never learned how to make friends and influence people?” Buffy said as she flicked through her book.

“Oh! Wait! I think I’ve found something!” Anya squealed. “This book mentions a vampire who still has a reflection and can tolerate some sunlight…”

Everyone waited as Anya read the rest of the information.

“So, Ahn, you gonna tell us what it says? The suspense is killing us,” Xander whined.

“Oh never mind, it’s not a miracle. Just a really weak Vampire, apparently she was sired with only a few drops of blood. Part of an experiment that the Council performed in the ninth century.” Anya finished matter-of-factly.

“So what happened to her?” Dawn asked.

“Oh, they killed her,” Anya replied cheerfully.

“Well that sucks,” Dawn said under her breath.

“Um, this book mentions a vampire who could tolerate crosses….. But it just turned out that he had a high pain threshold. It still burnt him, h-he just didn’t seem to care.” Tara explained.

“Just like Zachary Kralik.” Buffy whispered.

“Who?” Dawn asked.

“Zachary Kralik, you know the insane vampire I had to fight without my powers. You remember that, don’t you, Giles?” Buffy snarked as she looked over at her Watcher.

“How could I ever forget?” Giles answered tightly as he started to clean his glasses.

“So what happened?” Dawn asked, rather intrigued. Buffy never told her too much about her Slayer duties so she’d learnt to grab any titbits of information that came her way.

“Well, when I pressed a cross to his chest, he actually seemed to enjoy it,” Buffy replied with a disgusted face.

“So what’d you do?” Dawn was fascinated.

“Tricked him into drinking holy water. Turns out he didn’t have a very high tolerance for that.” Buffy told her sister with a small smile.

“What do you mean, when you didn’t have your powers?” Spike asked.

“Well, the Council kinda has this test that a Slayer has to pass if she makes it to her eighteenth birthday. They made Giles inject me with this stuff, kinda like Slayer kryptonite. Then they locked me in a house with a really nasty, very insane vampire and no weapons, and I had to try to kill him before he killed me.” Buffy narrated with a shrug.

“They what?!” Spike was appalled. “Why the bloody hell would they do something like that?”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders again. “I don’t know, I just work for them. Guess they have nothing better to do.”

“I’ll tell you why they did it, because of what you’ve done!” Spike bellowed.

“Me?! What did I do?!” Buffy replied just as loudly.

“You quit…you told the soddin’ wankers to piss off and did it your own way.”

“What exactly are you implying, Spike?” Giles asked, rather annoyed that a vampire was questioning the Council’s methods. No matter how much he himself disagreed with them, Spike had no place involving himself in Council matters.

“They probably found that once a Slayer reaches eighteen, she starts to ask questions, starts to rebel. So they come up with some test to rid themselves of there little problem. I mean why else would they lock a defenceless, unarmed Slayer in a house with an insane vampire? What could that honestly teach her?” Spike started to pace as he talked, unable to believe that the Council would try to assassinate their own Slayer.

“I hate to say it, but Deadboy’s got a good point” Xander said.

“See! Even the whelp agrees with me” Spike said, pointing to Xander.

“So you think they tried to kill me?” Buffy asked quietly.

“Hell yeah! Tell me pet, how old were you when you quit?”

“Eighteen,” Buffy said in a small voice. “Angel was sick, and they wouldn’t help me.”

“I rest my case.” Spike sat down at the table, rather proud of himself and his indictment of the Council of Wankers.

Everyone in the room was silent, unable to come up with any other reason the Council would have forced Buffy to undergo that test.

Finally Dawn broke the silence. “Why go through all that trouble. I mean, they had to inject Buffy with that stuff that made her weak. Why not just inject a poison instead?”

“Don’t know, Nibblet. Maybe there wasn’t anything good on the telly” Spike answered, still deep in thought. Giles had injected that stuff into Buffy and she still trusted him…… Why, exactly?

“They observe the test.” Giles said as he took off his glasses and pinched his nose, trying to will away the headache that was quickly forming. “They claim it helps their studies on a Slayer’s self-defence training.”

Spike snorted. “Yeah. They call vampires monsters for killing someone, but when the Council of Wankers does it, it’s called studying. At least I’m straight up as to what my intentions are. Don’t go pissin’ about poisoning someone, and trickin’ ‘em into fightin’ me.”

“Nah, instead you’d wait until Buffy’s under a spell and defenceless.” Xander spat back.

“I BLOODY WELL WOULD NOT!” Spike yelled.

Xander scoffed. “Yeah right, fang breath. I remember a certain Halloween that Buffy forgot who she was. Didn’t take you too long to take advantage of that situation, did it?”

Spike couldn’t look at Buffy. “Well yeah, can’t blame a bloke for tryin’.” he muttered quietly.

“Actually we can, Spike. It’s sorta a sore spot with the people you’ve tried to kill” Xander spat back at the peroxide vampire.

The two men exchanged looks of pure rage.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Buffy yelled. “This isn’t why where here. We all know that Spike has tried to kill me. Now we also know that the Council are all heartless bastards who would love to see me dead. So with all that out in the open, now can we get back to the ideas explaining why this has happened to me?” She leant back in her chair as she finished her explosion, feeling more frustrated than she could ever remember.

“It’ll be okay, Buffy, we’ll find something” Willow said as she placed a comforting hand on Buffy’s shoulder.

“I know, Will, I’m just frustrated. Plus the testosterone twins over here are driving me batty,” she said, waving her hand to indicate Xander and Spike.

Xander and Spike both looked over at Buffy and then back to each other. “This is all your fault,” they said in unison.

Buffy sighed. “Maybe I would feel better if I ate something.”

“What?” Xander screeched, clearly shaken by the fact that Vampire Buffy was saying that she was hungry.

Buffy took one look at Xander and cracked up, laughing so hard that tears began to stream down her face. After a few moments she managed to gain control, and taking a deep breath she turned to Xander.

“Oh god, Xander! The look on your face ……”

“Yeah. Well, I don’t take kindly to being eaten, thank you very much,” Xander said as he nervously rubbed his neck.

Buffy started to laugh again. “I-I n-never said I was going to eat you, Xand. I was actually thinking more along the lines of hamburgers.”

“Oh, okay. I can deal with that.” Xander looked totally relieved at this news; his relief, however, only fueled Buffy’s laughter further.

“Oookay, has anyone else noticed that Buffy’s gone insane?....... Maybe it runs in the family, after all Spike made Dru crazy as well.” Xander said as he watched Buffy.

“Hey! Hang on a minute, whelp! You know nothin’ about me and even less of Dru. I never made Dru crazy; she was like that when she sired me” Spike yelped.

“What? I thought Ang- Deadboy Senior was your sire?” Xander asked, “At the school…… parent-teacher night, you said he was your sire.”

All eyes turned to Spike. Buffy finally stopped laughing when she heard Xander referring to Angel.

“No, you ponce, what I said was that he was like my Sire” Spike growled. “Bloody well would stake m’self if that wanker was my sire…..give me bloody nightmares that would. Be nothin’ worse than bein’ sired by a prancin’ poof who can’t even have a shag without goin’ off the deep end.”

“Where as being sired by an insane lunatic is so much better.” Xander threw back.

“It had its advantages. Least I never got bored. Dru always had a way of stirrin’ up trouble. This one time, we were in Argentina, and Dru decided that she wanted to wear a nun’s habit, somethin’ about the stars telling her to, or some such rot. So we go to this little convent, an….” Off everyone’s horrified looks, Spike had the good sense to discontinue telling his story. “Right, then. Guess you had to be there.”

Buffy nodded her head in distaste. “Kinda glad I wasn’t” she snarked before turning her attention back to her friends. “Okay, now that freaky story time is over, what do you say about getting some burger-y goodness? I for one am starved.”

“Yeah,” Xander responded flatly as he pushed himself away from the table, more than happy to be away from Spike and his disturbing stories of nun’s habits and Dru. “Okay, I’m gone. Usual order?” he asked, reaching for his jacket.

Everyone nodded and mumbled their agreements.

“Xander?” Buffy called out as he was about to walk out of the shop.

“Yeah?”

“Get some spicy buffalo wings as well, okay.”

“Okay, Buff, won’t be long.” With that, Xander walked out of the shop.

Spike walked over to Buffy. “So since when do you eat buffalo wings?”

“I don’t. They’re for you,” she said with a small shrug.

“Oh. Didn’t know you cared.”

Buffy lifted her eyes from the book she was reading, and looked over at Spike. “I don’t. I just figured if you had something in your mouth, at least we won’t have to be inflicted with anymore ‘Me and Dru’ stories.”

“Jealous, pet?” he asked with a chuckle as he sat down next to Buffy.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Hardly. I just don’t want to hear about the horrible things you did to some poor nuns.”

“Who said it was horrible, pet? You know there’s more than one way to get nuns out of old habits” he teased, finishing with a quick wiggle of his tongue.

Buffy was shocked into silence. Unable to come up with a suitable retort, she decided to return her attention to the diary she had been reading.

Spike chuckled lightly to himself, before picking up a book to help in the research of the Slayer’s ‘condition,’ occasionally glancing over at Buffy.

Several minutes later Spike noticed that Buffy had a huge smile plastered across her face. Obviously she had found something amusing in the journal she was reading.

“What’s so funny, Slayer?”

Buffy looked up at Spike and choked back a laugh. “Nothing,” she managed to squeak out.

Spike nodded and went back to reading his book, only to be interrupted by Buffy giggling.

“Okay, pet, out with it, got something in that book you find amusing?” Spike was watching Buffy closely, and he noticed that she couldn’t seem to look at him. *This can’t be good,* he thought to himself as he reached over and grabbed the book from Buffy’s hands.

“Hey! I was reading that!” Buffy protested as she tried to get the old Watcher’s diary away from Spike.

“Yeah I know, pet, just wanted to know what’s so funny s’all.” As Spike read the entry in the journal, his face fell.


// 17/3/1884

I have started my research on William Richard Suffolk the 3rd, later to be known as William the Bloody.

William Richard Suffolk the 3rd was born the only child of William Henry Suffolk the 2nd and Margaret Ann Winslow-Suffolk, on the 26th day of the 8th month 1857.

My studies have shown that William was introduced to high society at the age of fifteen. However, he was snubbed by most of the well-to-do families in the district, most likely due to his extremely introverted personality.

William tended to spend much of his time daydreaming and writing poetry; however, none of his poems have ever been published.

In September of 1880, William was unfortunate enough to meet Drusilla Elizabeth Swanson.

Drusilla, the mad childe of Liam Angelus Garrahan, chose to sire, William Richard Suffolk 3rd, soon to be known as William the Bloody. This name reportedly has its origins in the society that snubbed William as a means of mocking William’s “bloody awful poetry”, however, William quickly set out about to give the name a more gruesome meaning.

William’s body was found lying in a dark alley by a night watchman, Henry Fallwell. Near the body was a piece of torn paper with an unfinished poem inscribed upon it. It is believed to have belonged to William Richard Suffolk 3rd.

"My heart expands, ‘tis grown a bulge in it
Inspired by your beauty, effulgent……”

These words are believed to be to the last that William Richard Suffolk the 3rd ever wrote.

In October of 1880, William first used a railway spike during the torture of one of his victims. My research indicates that this victim may have unwillingly given William the depraved inspiration of using railway spikes as implements of torture in a remark made about William’s poetry.

Sir Adrian Fredrick Somersby the 2nd was later reported to have remarked, in front of many witnesses, “that he would rather have a railroad spike through his head than listen to that awful stuff!”

It is my conclusion that Sir Adrian Fredrick Somersby the 2nd was the first and only victim to be killed in this gruesome manner. However, this display was enough to earn William the Bloody the nickname Spike……….//

“Oh bloody ‘ell!” Spike muttered as he read the entry.

Buffy couldn’t contain her giggles. “You, you were a poet?!” she managed to choke out between fits of laughter.

Everyone at the table quickly looked up and stared at Spike.

“You’ll pay for this, Slayer,” Spike growled at Buffy.

Buffy started to laugh harder. “But what can I say, you’ve always bad,” she snorted, quoting Spike’s own words to her during their conversation, about the Slayers he’d killed. Apparently he’d decided to omit the part where he was a bloody awful poet.

“You were a poet?” Dawn asked, giggling at the thought of Spike sitting down to write poetry.

“Yep.” Buffy answered for him, a huge smile on her face. She was obviously enjoying tormenting Spike about his past.

Spike growled at Buffy in frustration; he knew she wasn’t going to let this one go without a fight.

“Did-did you have any of your works published?” Tara asked.

“If I did, do you think I would tell any of you sods?” Spike spat back. *Oh Buffy’s going to pay for this one,* he thought to himself.

“No. No… he-he was a ‘bloody awful poet’.” Buffy squeaked out as she fell into another fit of laughter.

“What?” Willow asked.

“That’s h-how Spike got his name, h-he was William the Bloody Awful Poet.” Buffy was having the time of her life. *Oh god I’ll have to read these old diaries more often,* she thought to herself as she tried to regain some control.

This last statement caused everyone to start laughing. Everyone except Spike, who was keeping himself occupied with fantasies of bathing in the Slayer’s blood.

“SLAYER!” Spike yelled, trying to stop Buffy from continuing.

“Wait-wait there’s a poem in the diary.” Buffy made a reach for the old diary, but Spike blocked her attempts.

“Oh come on, Spike, let me show ‘em. After all, it’s the only thing you’ve ever had published--you should be proud!” Buffy said between laughing fits.

“If you think I’m going to let you ever see this diary again, you’ve got rocks in your bloody ‘ead, Slayer!” Spike growled angrily, having long since lost his sense of humour about the matter.

“Oh don’t worry, Spike. I don’t need the diary. How did it go….. My heart expands, ‘tis grown a bulge in it, inspired by your beauty, effulgent,” Buffy said, before falling into another laughing fit.

Spike let out a furious growl. “Bloody ‘ell woman, can’t you keep your soddin’ mouth shut!!”

“Effulgent? Who’s effulgent?” Dawn asked.

“Effulgent isn’t a who, sweetie. It’s another word for glowing” Willow explained.

The sound of the front bell ringing as Xander returned with the food was enough to distract everyone from tormenting Spike any further about his past.

Without a moment’s thought, Buffy jumped up from her chair and grabbed one of the many bags from Xander, quickly unwrapping her burger and taking a large bite out of it. “Mmm… yum!” It wasn’t too long before she noticed that all her friends were staring at her with what looked like stunned amazement.

“What?” she asked as she swallowed her mouthful of food.

Nobody answered. They all continued staring at her.

“What? Do I have sauce on my face?” she asked again, wiping the side of her mouth with a napkin.

“You’re eating!” Willow said, completely surprised.

“Well yeah, I’ve kinda done it for about twenty years now.” Buffy replied as she took another bite.

“But you’re a vampire!” Anya squeaked.

Buffy nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Anya, I think we’ve covered that already.”

“But vampires don’t eat….food, I mean” Anya added, her confusion obvious.

“As I said before, Buffy’s not like other vampires. She still requires consuming both food as well as blood” Giles explained again, quite annoyed that no one seemed to have paid much attention to him when he explained all this to them before.

“Would you stop looking at me like that?” Buffy scolded her friends. “It’s giving me the creeps.”

“Sorry, Buffy, I guess we didn’t really believe it till was saw it for ourselves” Willow said quietly.

“S-so how’s the burger?” Tara asked shyly.

“Yummy. Why don’t you guys have some?” Buffy replied, taking another large mouthful of food.

“What kind did you get, Xand?” Dawn asked, looking through the different bags.

“Well, I’ve got cheese, double meat, chicken, and Hawaiian, and there’s some fries around here somewhere.”

“Hey! Where are my Buffalo wings?” Spike called out from across the other side of the shop thankful that everyone seemed to have forgotten about tormenting him with his past.

Xander threw the paper bag containing the Buffalo wings over to Spike. “So how’s the research going?”

“Pretty slow.” Willow volunteered around a mouthful of fries.

“Mmm, pretty boring actually.” Dawn agreed as she pulled the pickle off her cheeseburger.

“Well, everything except Spike being a poet. That was very entertaining” Anya contributed, taking a sip of her soda.

“What? Spike was a poet?” Xander cackled.

“Oh bloody hell, not again!” Spike muttered under his breath as he slumped down into his chair.

“Yes, it was very entertaining. Buffy found one of his poems. It was bloody awful” Anya said, giving Xander a huge smile.

“Spike a poet, oh this I’ve got to see!” Xander laughed. “Hey Spike! You gonna to give us a recital?”

“How about I give you a concussion?” Spike growled back.

“Oh, what’s wrong, Beethoven? Don’t like to perform in front of an audience?”

“Beethoven was a bloody composer, not a poet, you stupid twat!” Spike ground out, staring daggers at Xander.

“Oh poor Spikey, can’t take a joke!” Xander teased in a childish voice.

“Okay, the secret’s out. I was a pansy arse wanker who wrote poetry and obsessed over a woman who would never give me the bleedin’ time of day. She broke my heart, I got turned. I got over it. Which is more than I can say ‘bout you, Harris. You’ll always be a spineless poofter who hides behind Buffy when ever you get yourself into trouble.” Spike retorted hotly, leaning back in his chair, and feeling rather satisfied with himself.

“Hey!” Xander objected, taking a step closer to Spike.

“Okay, okay that’s enough. I think this topic has gotten a little old, don’t you?” Buffy chided, placing a hand on Xander’s chest.

Giles cleared his throat. “Yes, quite right. I think we have more important issues to address.”

“Such as?” Dawn asked.

“Well, for one, we still have a lot of research to do on Buffy’s ‘condition.’ Also, I still need to call Wesley and find out how and why Angel lost his soul.” Giles gave Buffy a comforting smile as he continued. “We also still have to find a way to defeat Glory before she opens up the portole.”

“Okay. Point taken—dusty tome time it is then” Xander agreed, taking his seat at the small table before once again resuming his research picking up a heavy book.

The rest of the gang followed suit, and soon the only sounds in the shop were quiet munching noises as their snacks were consumed while they resumed their research.

TBC...

Authors note: I’d like to thank AmyB, for her wonderful beta work on this story.

---

After another hour of research Buffy threw the book she was reading onto the table with a frustrated sigh.

“What’s wrong, pet?” Spike asked, looking up from the book he was reading.

“This would have to be as boring as watching paint dry. I’ve got to burn off some energy. I might go out and do a quick patrol,” she said, grabbing her coat and weapons bag.

“Do you think that is wise, Buffy? I mean, we are still unsure of your capabilities at the moment,” Giles asked, his tone dripping with concern.

“I’m a big girl, Giles. I can take care of myself,” Buffy replied, walking over to reassure her Watcher.

“Actually, pet. Watcher boy ‘ere has a good point. What if you run into that hell-bitch?” Spike asked with great concern.

“Not you too,” Buffy pouted with a sigh.

“We’re only concerned for your well being, Buffy. It’s best not to rush into anything” Giles explained calmly.

Buffy rolled her eyes in defeat. “Okay, Giles you win, I won’t patrol. But I can’t handle another minute of research. I think my brain has turned to mush,” she said her pout growing larger by the minute.

“Well, why don’t you go and train?” Giles suggested.

“But I feel like beating something up” Buffy whined.

“Why don’t you beat up Deadboy over here?” Xander questioned, pointing to Spike.

Buffy looked over to Spike and gave him a bright smile. “Ooh! Now there’s a point. What d’ya say, Spike? Wanna have a fight?”

Spike looked up at Buffy and gave her a cocky grin. “Sure thing, pet. Anything’s better than reading these bloody books.”

“Wouldn’t it be an unfair fight? I mean Spike has his chip, and we don’t really know what you are…” Dawn asked as Buffy and Spike started to walk out to the training room.

Buffy turned to Spike. “She’s right, you know. We don’t even know if you can hit me.”

“Well, there’s only one way to find out,” Spike said, slapping Buffy across the back of the head.

“Ow! You jerk! That hurt!” Buffy yelped, rubbing the back of her head.

“No it didn’t, luv… I feel fine” Spike replied, giving Buffy a cocky grin as he went waltzing past her into the training room. “This is going to be fun.”


~*~~*~~*~


As Spike waited for Buffy to join him, he picked up a large broadsword and started to expertly swing the weapon.

“Do we really need weapons for this?” Buffy asked from the doorway.

Spike turned to look at Buffy, giving her a cocky grin. “I just like them. They make me feel all manly.” He ran his hand over his chest, allowing the sword to drop to the floor.

Buffy started to laugh remembering the last time Spike said those words to her at parent teacher night three years ago. It had been one of the better fights she’d ever had; good to know he still remembered too.

Spike started to walk towards Buffy, moving like a cat stalking his prey.

“The last Slayer I killed, she begged me for her life….. You don’t strike me as the begging kind.” He continued with a huge grin, caught up in the memory of the first fight he and buffy had shared. She was so beautiful, wearing that little green top and a tiny white skirt. So confident and powerful--oh god how he had admired her.

Buffy decided to keep in character as she started to walk towards Spike. “You shouldn’t have come here, Spike.” She was having the time of her life! Her heart was pounding with excitement, and she was tingling all over.

She now stood mere inches away from Spike, and the heat and energy in the room was overpowering.

Spike laughed at Buffy’s comment. “No, I messed up your doilies and stuff. But I just got so bored” he answered, giving Buffy a charming smile. He was having a great time. “Tell you what, as a personal favour from me to you, I’ll make it quick. Won’t hurt a bit.”

Buffy flashed him a wicked grin that almost made his heart race. “No, Spike, it’s gonna hurt a lot.”

Buffy instantly fell into fighting stance and looked up, giving Spike a bright smile. “Ready?”

Spike mimicked Buffy’s stance. “Always luv,” he answered, giving her a cheeky grin.

Buffy was practically vibrating with energy. It had been so long since she sparred with Spike, and she had always enjoyed their fights. He always had such an energy about him, and his constant banter and the way he moved always made her feel vividly alive. He was the only opponent she could never seem to kill, and she had always wondered why.

Buffy was quickly pulled out of her thoughts by a low growl. She barely had time to react when Spike threw the first punch. She easily blocked the blow and followed through with a spin kick, connecting with the side of his head.

Spike laughed out loud. God he had missed this--it had been a long time since he had a real sparring match. He quickly recovered from the kick Buffy gave him, easily ducking her next blow. Once he had his bearings back, he kicked Buffy square in the rib cage, causing her to stumble backwards. He followed through with a sweeping kick, knocking her to the floor with a thud.

Buffy landed hard, and swore she could see stars; seems she had forgotten just how deadly Spike could be. She wouldn’t forget again.

He was on her in a second, taking full advantage of her current position on the floor. He held both of her wrists above her head, using his body weight to hold her in place.

Spike was enjoying this current position very much; he could feel Buffy’s warm breath on his neck and hear the wild thumping of her heart. But he knew Buffy’s fighting style, and he knew she was holding back.

“You holdin’ out on me, Slayer?” he purred.

“Maybe a little” she answered with an evil grin.

“Why don’t you show me then?” he teased back, giving her a mischievous grin of his own.

Without a second thought Buffy bucked Spike off of her by raising her hips. Once his hold on her was loosened she brought her knees up to her chin and kicked him in the chest, sending him flying halfway across the room.

Jumping to her feet with feline grace, Buffy once again took up her fighting stance.

Spike was stunned at the strength Buffy had just used to dislodge him. He knew she was holding back, but he had no idea she was holding back so much.

Buffy smiled at Spike, glorying in his shock. Hell, even she was shocked. She had no idea what her new strength was, but she was very interested in finding out.

Spike pulled himself to his feet. He instantly resumed his fighting stance, eyeing Buffy warily as he started to circle her, gearing up for the fight to come.

Buffy started to move in time with Spike, watching his every move. She wasn’t going to let him get the upper hand this time.

“Ready?” she asked. Her eyes shone with a dangerous glint.

“Don’t hold out on me, luv,” Spike commanded, trying to find her weakness.

“Let’s dance,” Buffy said as she launched herself at Spike, letting go; she could feel the power flowing through her body.

Spike couldn’t believe the force Buffy was putting behind her blows. He was having an incredibly hard time simply keeping on his feet.

She was strong, much stronger than he was, and much faster; he could hardly see her movements in time to block them.

Within minutes Spike was flat on his back, with Buffy straddling his hips. She was glowing with perspiration and power, and she looked absolutely beautiful.

“Are you even trying, Spike?” she asked with a mischievous grin.

Spike laughed. “Just a lucky shot, luv” he countered, struggling to release himself from Buffy’s tight grip.

Buffy giggled. “Yeah right, Spike, you think you can take me?” she asked as she tightened her hold on the peroxide blonde vampire. She could feel him trying to release himself from her vise-like grip. Buffy loved this feeling of power over Spike, loving the way he growled in frustration at not being able to extricate himself out from under her.

Spikes looked up at Buffy, giving her a suggestive smile and wink. “I’d love to take you, pet.”

Buffy snorted and rolled her eyes. “You’re such a pervert, Spike,” she scoffed, releasing her hold on him as she stood up.

Spike pulled himself up from the floor and leant over to Buffy, whispering in her ear. “Maybe I am, pet, but it got your hot little arse to move, didn’t it?”

Buffy lightly pushed him away. “You’re such a pig, Spike.”

Spike grinned. “Possibly, luv--I’ve certainly eaten a lot of ‘em.”

Buffy rolled her eyes at the annoying vampire in front of her. “Whatever, Spike. Are we going to go another round?”

“Feelin’ game, pet?” he responded, taking up his fighting stance.

Buffy laughed as she also fell into fighting position. “Why, you gonna try and take me?” she asked, mischievous grin firmly in place.

“Is that an invitation, pet?” Spike questioned, giving Buffy a suggestive wiggle of his scared eyebrow.

“Just try it Fang-breath. I’d love to be able to really let go,” she taunted, starting to circle around him.

“What? You were still holding back?” Spike asked in surprise.

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. “Yeah, just a little. Didn’t want to break my sparring partner.”

Spike stood up straight, relaxing his defences. “Bloody hell woman! You mean you didn’t give it your all just now?” He began to pace back and forth.

Buffy relaxed and watched Spike pace the room. “No, like I said--I didn’t want to hurt you.”

Spike stopped and looked at the petite woman in front of him. The woman that had just well and truly kicked his arse, the woman that was now telling him she had not used all her strength while she fought him. “How much did you hold back?”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know; enough not to pound you into dust I guess.”

Spike watched her sceptically. “Show me.”

“What?”

“Show me how much you held back.” he pressed, walking closer to Buffy.

“What? How?” Buffy asked, afraid of what Spike had in mind.

“Hit me. Hit me as hard as you can.”

“No!” Buffy yelled. “You can’t be serious!” She was terrified of what damage she could inflict on Spike if she really let go.

“I’m very serious, pet, hit me. Show me what you got,” Spike was right in Buffy’s face now.

“No, Spike, I don’t want to hit you. Well… not that hard, anyway,” Buffy answered starting to walk away from him.

Spike grabbed her by the arm, roughly pulling her around to face him. “What’s wrong, pet, afraid? Worried I’ll laugh at you when you don’t even make my nose bleed?” he asked, leaning right into her face until they were nose to nose. “Scared I’ll make fun of your so-called strength?” He chuckled. “What’s wrong, Slayer? Worried you’ll break a nail? Come on, Buffy, give it me good.”

Buffy looked at Spike with a cold glare, absolutely furious. “Are you trying to piss me off, Spike?”

Spike smiled at her. “Well, yeah. Is it working?”

“Hell yeah it’s working.” Buffy let out a feral growl and punched out at Spike with one powerful blow, sending him hurling through the air. He flew about twenty feet before hitting the back wall of the training room, leaving a large Spike-shaped hole in the wall.

Buffy let out a shocked gasp when she saw Spike lying unconscious on the other side of the room, covered in a pile of rubble. She instantly ran over to him, bending down to assess the damage.

Giles and the rest of the gang heard the loud thump followed by the thud of someone hitting the wall. Everyone quickly ran to the training room, all thinking the worst. Thoughts of the
un-muzzled vampire harming the tiny blonde Slayer permeated their imaginations.

As the gang ran into the training room, no one expected to see Spike’s unconscious form lying on the floor, covered in fragments of plaster. Buffy was leaning over him, trying desperately to wake him up.

“What on earth happened?” Giles asked, taking in the sight of the unconscious vampire and the damage done to the wall.

“I hit him!” Buffy called out over her shoulder as she continued in her attempts to wake Spike.

“Geesh, Buffy, you’re only supposed to be training, not killing Spike,” Dawn scolded, sitting down next to the rather dishevelled vampire lying on the floor.

“I didn’t mean it! He made me!” Buffy told her sister.

“Oh come on, Buffy, you finally just had enough of him and decided to throw him through a wall,” Xander announced, rather happy at the thought of Spike being hit by Buffy.

“No, Xander! He really made me. I was holding back and he knew, so he told me to hit him as hard as I could and wham! Spike’s lying unconscious in a pile of rubble.”

“May I ask where you were when you hit him?” Giles enquired.

“Over there,” Buffy replied, pointing to the other sided of the room.

Giles looked over to where Buffy indicated. “From over there?” Giles asked again, trying to mentally gauge the distance.

Buffy quickly looked over to where Giles indicated and nodded her head in agreement “Yeah.”

“You hit Spike from over there and he landed here?” Giles repeated again as he started to pace the distance.

Buffy continued to fuss over Spike as she absentmindedly answered Giles. “Yeah, he said to punch him as hard as I could, and I did—well, sorta.”

“That must be at least seven meters” Giles muttered to himself, pacing the distance across which Buffy had knocked Spike.

“Wow, Buffy! You really clobbered him!” Willow gasped.

“I didn’t mean to,” Buffy said in a small voice. “Do you think he’ll be alright?”

Willow walked over to Spike and started to look for any damage. “I can’t see any breaks, which is good.” She felt behind Spike’s head. “Oh, he has a big lump, but I can’t see anything major.”

“That’s good,” Dawn announced, stroking Spikes forehead.

“Dawn, can you go get me a wet towel?” Buffy asked.

“Okay,” Dawn agreed before jumping up and running out of the room to get a towel for Buffy.

“Is he going to be okay?” Tara asked shyly from the doorway.

“I think he’ll be fine” Willow answered, giving Buffy a reassuring smile.

“He could have brain damage” Anya announced, staring at the unconscious vampire.

“How would we be able to tell? I mean it’s Spike, he’s never been very normal.” Xander scoffed sarcastically.

“He’s doesn’t have brain damage!” Willow hissed back at Anya.

“How do you know? He hasn’t even woken up yet” Anya replied.

“Oh god, I could have given him brain damage?! I didn’t mean to hit him that hard!” Tears started to run down Buffy’s cheeks.

“You gave Spike brain damage?!” Dawn yelled, running back into the training room carrying a damp towel.

“No, Dawnie, Spike will be just fine. He’s just got a bump on the head; I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about.” Willow was trying to reassure both Buffy and Dawn that Spike would be fine.

“Can vampires heal from brain damage? I mean, Xander said Buffy broke Spike’s back and he got better from that.” Anya mused curiously.

“Oh god!” Buffy gasped as she looked at Spike’s limp body lying in front of her.

“Will you shut up, Anya! Spike does not have brain damage. I’m sure he’ll be fine!” Willow yelled. *When the hell is she going to learn some tact?* she thought to herself as she rubbed Buffy’s back in an attempt to try and comfort her.

Anya did as Willow asked and watched in silence, realizing she must have said something to upset the redheaded witch.

“Are you okay, Buffy?” Willow asked.

“She’s right, Willow. I could have done some major damage. He’s been unconscious for a long time” Buffy whimpered between sobs.

“Can vampires go into comas?” Dawn inquired, pressing the damp towel to Spike’s forehead.

“I don’t know” Buffy replied miserably.

“Buffy, I’m sure he’ll be fine. This is Spike after all. He’s like the vampire equivalent to a cockroach. You think you got rid of him and bam! He’s back” Xander tried to reassure as he walked closer to Buffy.

“Yeah I know, but how long is he going to be out?” She started to pick pieces of plaster out of Spike’s hair.

“You said you punched him from over here and he landed over there?” Giles asked, oblivious to the other conversation going on.

“Yes, Giles, I punched him and he flew through the air and hit the wall! I think we have already covered this!” Buffy hissed angrily.

Giles took his glasses off and nervously started wiping them with the hem of his shirt. “Yes, yes--quite right. W-we have already discussed this matter.”

Buffy sighed, realizing she had been unnecessarily short with her Watcher. “I’m sorry, Giles, it’s just--can this wait until Spike wakes up?”

Giles gave Buffy an understanding smile, “Yes, I’m sorry, Buffy, I’ve been very unsympathetic.” He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “Is there anything I can do?”

Buffy looked up at Giles. “No, I don’t think so.” She then looked at all her friends. “You guys can go, I’ll look after him. I’m sure it’s just like Willow said, it’s just a bump.”

“Yes, Buffy’s quite right; we still have a lot of research to do. I’m sure Spike will be just fine” Giles agreed, ushering everyone out of the training room.

“Can I stay?” Dawn asked her sister.

“Sure” Buffy agreed with a small smile. She didn’t really want the company, but she didn’t exactly want to be alone, either.


~*~~*~~*~


“It’s been a long time” Dawn announced, staring at the unconscious vampire.

“Thirty minutes” Buffy answered, nervously chewing her bottom lip.

“Do you think he’ll be alright?” Dawn asked her sister. She didn’t blame Buffy for hurting Spike, but she sure wished he would wake up.

“I’ll be fine, Nibblet” drawled a very groggy masculine voice.

Buffy just couldn’t believe it when she finally heard Spike’s voice again. She had never thought she would be so happy to hear that strong English accent.

“Spike, you’re awake!” she gasped, staring at the vampire lying in front of her.

“The pain in me ‘ead would indicate that” he replied, running his hand over the back of his head, wincing when he touched the throbbing lump.

“Are you okay? You don’t have brain damage do you?” Dawn asked anxiously.

Spike looked over to Dawn. “Do I look brain damaged to you?”

Dawn shook her head. “No, but I just wanted to make sure.”

“Dawn, why don’t you go and tell the others that Spike’s awake. I’m sure they would like to know” Buffy needled, giving Dawn an ‘I need time alone’ look.

Dawn rolled her eyes at her sister. “Yeah, okay. I’ll go tell them. Oh and, Spike--I’m glad to see that Buffy didn’t moosh your brain or anything.”

“Yeah thanks, Li’l Bit” he said with a slight laugh. He watched Dawn leave the room before turning his attention to Buffy.

She looked like hell. She’d been crying ever since her friends had left the training room and her eyes were bloodshot and her face was flushed.

“What’s wrong, pet?” he asked.

“I thought I put you in a coma or something” Buffy answered, wiping away the tears on her cheeks.

Spike placed his hand over his eyes. “Nah…. I’m sure a coma isn’t this painful.”

“Sorry about that” Buffy muttered shyly.

Spike only grunted in response.

Buffy pressed the damp towel to Spike’s forehead. “I thought you’d never wake up. You were gone so long” she whispered.

“How long was I out?” he asked, wincing in pain when he tried to move.

Buffy placed her hand on Spike’s chest, trying to keep him still. “About thirty minutes.”

“Bloody hell! Thirty minutes, no wonder I feel like I’ve been hit by a bleedin’ truck” Spike grumbled under his breath.

“Yeah, like I said--I’m really sorry about that…… No, wait! I’m not! You’re the one who wanted me to hit you! Serves you right if you do have brain damage. Why should I feel guilty?” Buffy removed her hand from Spike’s chest and started to run her fingers through her hair.

Spike sighed. “Yeah, pet, you’re right. I did ask you to hit me.” Slowly trying to sit up, he continued “remind me never to do that again.” He groaned as he ran his hand over the large lump on the back of his head.

Buffy gave him a small smile. “Okay.”

When Spike finally managed to sit up, he waited for the room to stop spinning before speaking. “You gave me one hell of a wallop there, pet.”

Buffy gave Spike a sweet smile. “Yeah, I guess you were lucky I still held back.”

Spike’s jaw dropped open with shock. “You mean you didn’t hit me full strength?”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders and nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“Bloody hell woman! How bleedin’ strong are you?” he asked, staring at Buffy with pure amazement.

“I don’t know. But I wouldn’t mind testing my new strength on some of the night-time baddies. Wanna help me tie Giles up so I can go patrol?” she asked with a sweet smile.

Spike chuckled. “I’m all for tying your friends up, pet but I don’t want you to patrol tonight.”

Buffy quickly jumped to her feet, placing her hands on her hips in anger. “Why not? I just kicked your sorry ass to Kingdom come.’’

Spike painfully pulled himself up and stood in front of Buffy. “Exactly, pet. When you let loose on the demon population, I want to see it. Seeing that I’ve still got double vision an’ all, I don’t think I’m up for the show.”

Buffy crossed her arm over her chest. “Well, that’s hardly fair. I wanted to beat something up” she protested with her pout already in force.

Spike sighed. God, why was he such a bloody fool for that little pout? Unable to stop himself, Spike stepped closer to the sulking Slayer, lightly running his hands down her arms and gently pulling her heated body closer to his cool form. “Come now, pet, lets have none of that,” he purred, lightly brushing his lips across her full bottom lip, loving the feel of her warm breath as it tickled across his parted lips before he claimed her mouth in a tender kiss.

Buffy could feel Spike trying to deepen the kiss but she lightly pushed him away.

Spike was disappointed to feel Buffy’s resistance. After the last kiss they had shared, he was sure she felt an attraction to him as well. “Buffy, what is it, luv?”

Buffy silenced Spike by placing her finger on his lips. “Spike, I-I can’t do this. Not yet. I’m not ready. I’m so confused” she gasped, her eyes begging him to understand.

Spike pushed a lock of hair away from her face. “S’okay, pet. I won’t push.”

Buffy gave him a small smile. “Thank you.”

They both became aware of someone opening the training room door. Both Buffy and Spike took a couple of steps away from each other and watched Giles enter the room. Buffy flushed red with embarrassment as she wondered whether Giles knew she had been kissing Spike.

“Giles…what’s up?” she asked nervously.

“Mmm, pardon? Oh nothing, I just came in to see how Spike was feeling” Giles replied totally oblivious to Buffy’s nervousness.

“I’m touched, Watcher. I didn’t know you cared.” Spike answered with a teasing smirk. The dark look that Buffy threw at him for goading her mentor quickly subdued him. *Right, mate. Gotta play nice with her little friends--wont do you any good pissin’ of the Slayer.* He thought for a moment before answering the Watcher’s previous question. “I’m fine, mate. My ears have stopped ringin’ an’ all,” Spike replied, casually leaning against the back wall.

Giles chuckled. “Yes, yes I imagine you would have quite a headache, judging by the hole in my wall.”

“I didn’t mean to ruin the wall, Giles, it just happened” Buffy mumbled.

Giles chose to ignore Buffy’s comment, instead jumping right in to ask her what her intentions were for the night. “Buffy, I wished to ask you what you intend to do with Dawn tonight? It’s getting somewhat late and we’re ready to break off for the evening” Giles prompted, his voice thin with exhaustion. It had been a very long day, and he was looking forward to a good night’s sleep.

Buffy slapped her hand on her forehead. “Dawn! I forgot all about her! What time is it?”

Giles pulled his glasses off and rubbed his eyes. “About two o’clock” he answered with a yawn.

Buffy looked surprised. “Two? Oh god, Giles, I had no idea it was so late.”

“Yes, we’re all quite worn out. It’s been a rather long day” he said, holding back yet another yawn. “So about Dawn, would you like me to take her home with me tonight?”

Buffy nodded. “Yes thank you that would be wonderful. Does she need anything from home?”

“No, I believe Dawn still has her overnight bag at my apartment; she left it there last week” he responded, placing a loving hand on Buffy’s shoulder. “Will you be alright? Do you need anyone to stay with you?”

Buffy gave Giles a small reassuring smile. “Nah, I’ll be fine.”

Giles gave Buffy’s shoulder a small squeeze. “Are you sure? We all want to help you through this.”

Buffy nodded. “I’ll be fine, Giles. I’m a big girl. Besides, I’ve always got Spike here. At least I can trust myself not to bite him or anything.”

“Yes, yes that’s true. Shall we continue our research tomorrow?” Giles asked as he and Buffy started to walk out into the shop.

“Sure, but I really would like to patrol before I hit the books. Spike won’t let me go out tonight,” she grumbled.

“Well, I must say, I’m inclined to agree with Spike. It is much too soon for you to patrol tonight. We don’t want to see you get hurt” Giles replied as he reached the research table.

“I know, I know. But it’s still not fair” Buffy huffed quietly.

“Don’t worry, luv you can kill ‘em just as dead tomorrow” Spike supplied, waltzing back to the research table.

“Mmm…I know, but it’s not the same” she mumbled as she walked over to a very tired looking Dawn. “Giles is going to take you home with him tonight, okay?”

Dawn looked at her sister sleepily. “Why?”

“We just want to be cautious. I don’t want to do anything to hurt you” Buffy replied, pushing some hair away from Dawn’s face.

Dawn nodded her head sleepily in understanding. “Okay.”

“Be careful and call if you need me,” Buffy said as she watched Dawn gather her things to leave.

Dawn nodded her head again. “Don’t worry, Buffy. I’ll be fine.”

Buffy gave Dawn a small smile. “I know. I’m just a little paranoid right now.”

“Understandable’’ Dawn agreed with a wide yawn.

“Do you need a ride home, Buff?” Xander asked.

“Nah, you guys go. I’m sure Spike can take me home” she said turning to Spike to make sure.

“Sure, luv, I can take you,” he said with a playful smile, watching in amusement when a heated blush formed on Buffy’s cheeks.

“Okay, Buffy, see you tonight,” Willow called out as everyone started to walk out the front door, totally oblivious to Spike’s double entendre.

“Okay, Will, good night” Buffy called out casually, trying with all her might to ignore the cocky vampire standing beside her.

TBC...

Authors note: Huge-huge thanks to AmyB for her excellent beta work.

---

After a quick trip to Willy’s to get some blood, Buffy and Spike began the walk back to Buffy’s house. They chatted about nothing in particular, simply enjoying each other’s company. The night-time baddies seemed to have sensed the dramatic increase in power radiating from the small former Slayer and wisely kept their distance.

Before long the two vampires reached Buffy’s house and stood on the porch, facing each other awkwardly. For some reason neither of them could really explain, it seemed like the end of a very good date. “Would you like to come in?” Buffy asked quietly as she opened the front door.

Spike smiled. “I’d love to, pet,” he answered, following Buffy over the threshold.

Spike watched Buffy in amazement as she passed through the front hallway and turned left, draping her coat over the chair in the living room before taking a seat on the couch. “You didn’t need an invitation.”

“What?” Buffy asked, turning to look at Spike in confusion.

“The house. You just walked in without an invitation,” Spike pointed out.

“Why would I need…?” Buffy’s question trailed off as she suddenly realized what Spike was saying. She, now a demon, had just walked into her home without the invitation of anyone who lived inside. “Maybe because I live here the invitation’s not needed.”

“Doesn’t work that way, pet. No vampire can enter a residence without an invitation from a living someone inside, even if they lived there before they died,” he answered as he removed his own coat and placed it on top of Buffy’s.

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. “Oh well, guess it goes into the same category as a vampire can’t go into the sunlight or have a reflection.”

Spike nodded his head in agreement. “S’pose so. I’ll just go put this in the fridge,” he tilted his head downwards, indicating the bags of blood he was carrying. “Wouldn’t want it to go bad.”

Buffy nodded her head. “Yeah, thanks.”

Spike quickly placed the blood in the fridge and walked back out into the living room to find Buffy sitting on the couch deep in thought. “Penny for your thoughts, luv.”

Buffy looked up at Spike. “I don’t think a penny would cover it. These thoughts have to be worth at least a dollar,” she added with a small smile.

“Okay, pet, have it your way. A dollar for your thoughts?” he asked with a laugh, taking a seat across from her.

“I was just thinking how this would have to be the worst year of my life, and I’ve had some bad years.” She took a deep breath.

“When I fought the Master, it killed me, literally… I never thought anything could be worse. I was wrong… I’ve only ever loved one man in my life, and he turned all psycho stalker on me after I slept with him. I watched him harass my friends and family and I practically let him kill Jenny Calendar cause I wasn’t strong enough to kill him. You were there for the fight, Spike, but I don’t know if you ever knew… when I finally had Angelus beat and Acathla was open and Angelus had to go, Willow gave him his soul back. But I still had to send him to hell …. I died for the second time that day,” Buffy whispered, struggling to hold back her tears.

Spike held still, just letting her talk, but everything in him wanted to go to her and pull her into his arms and comfort her. These were things she needed to say, though. So he held himself back and focused on listening.

“I’ve fought the Mayor, Adam, and successfully stopped five apocalypses. I’ve been possessed by ghosts, eaten by a mother Bezoar, attacked by an invisible girl and turned into an eighteenth century girl with the survival skills of a cupcake at a Weight Watchers meeting…”

Spike couldn’t help but laugh at that comment; she had been right bloody pathetic. All blubbering and weak, it had almost been enough to turn him off biting her… Well, almost.

Buffy didn’t even seem to notice Spike’s chuckles as she continued rambling. “I’ve been offered as a sacrifice to a big snake thing, turned into a cave woman, been burnt at the stake, not to mention being offered as a sex toy to some slimy fish boys.” She raised her hand to stop Spike’s inquiry before he even had a chance to open his mouth. “Don’t even ask… not something I really want to talk about. My point is that all of that is only the tip of the iceberg.”

She jumped to her feet and began pacing, wringing her hands nervously as she continued. “I’ve been kicked out of two schools, had my soul nearly stolen by my demonic roommate and been attacked by the first Slayer in my dreams. Oh, and let’s not forget having my body stolen by that skank Faith…. and god only knows what she did with it, or for that matter who…”

Spike quirked an eyebrow at this; he remembered that night. He’d thought Buffy was coming on to him; it had left him hard for hours, and he had practically sprained his wrist jacking off over her words. It had taken him weeks to piece together that it hadn’t been Buffy in the driver’s seat that night.

Buffy continued her rant oblivious to Spike’s thoughts. “You would think that that’s as bad as it gets, but you could join all those years together, all the nights that I’ve had to schlep around a cold dark cemetery fighting demons and vampires, and I don’t think they would even come close to how crappy this year’s been.” She dropped her head and ran her fingers through her hair as she continued.

“Now I have to defeat a hellgod before she tries to fit my make-believe sister into some mystical lock. I find out that my boyfriend is getting suck jobs by two-bit vampire whores, and he has the balls to put the blame on me. I’ve been staked with my own stake and bitten by Dracula. My father has gone AWOL and Mom…” Buffy broke off, starting to cry. “Mom’s gone and I miss her so much,” she whimpered as she started to sob harder.

Spike stood and grabbed Buffy’s shoulders, reaching down to her face and wiping her tears away as she continued to speak. He had known that her life was chaotic and far from easy, but he had never before seen any proof of the toll it had taken on her. She looked exhausted, devastated, and confused—a far cry from the unflappable warrior she usually seemed to be.

“And now I’m a vampire, and I couldn’t even get that right. Anyone else turned has the added perk of having no soul. They don’t care about anyone other than themselves. At least they have the choice to be completely selfish and self-centred. What have I got? A pile of guilt and self-pity to match my fangs and bloodlust!”

“I think you’re beating yourself up too much over this, pet.”

Buffy nodded her head. “I know, Spike—and I know it’s just that everything is so messed up… Did you know that one of my worst fears when I was a kid was that I’d become a vampire? I remember seeing that movie ‘The Lost Boys.’ I don’t know how old I was; I couldn’t have been more than ten. I had nightmares every night for a week… I remember Mom coming in to save me every night; she told me that vampires weren’t real and that I had nothing to be afraid of.” She let out a small laugh and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Guess she kinda missed the memo, huh? Because here I am all blood drinking and fangy… Who would have thought that Hollywood could be right? I mean apart from the whole vampires being able to fly thing, and that you’re only a half-vampire until you make your first kill, or for that matter that you could be sired just by drinking some blood out of a bottle…”

“You’re rambling, luv.”

She let out a quick, sarcastic laugh. “My point is, I don’t think I can do this … I-I’ve become my own worst fear. Only I think this is worse because I know that I’m a monster. I can feel it in me just scratching at the surface, always pushing me to do these terrible things, a-and it takes all my strength to try and hold it back. Oh god, some of the thoughts that popped into my head tonight--I’m scared for my friends. I’m scared what I might do to them. It’s like I’m sharing my body, my mind with this darkness that just wants to destroy everything I love. And no matter where I turn it always comes back to the same thing… I’m my own living nightmare.”

“Bollocks!” Spike growled.

“What?!”

“I said bollocks. Bollocks to the whole I’m livin’ my own nightmare. You’re the bloody Slayer. If I had thought that turnin’ you would have been your undoing, I would have bloody well done it years ago… You’re not some flamin’ martyr and you don’t bloody well have the corner market on the woe is me line. So you’re a vampire. So what? So am I, and as far as I can see, you have it a bloody well lot better then me. At least you’re not some bloody simperin’ half-wit of a minion. You’re bloody well stronger then anyone I’ve ever seen, you still have your prissy little friends to head the ‘we heart Buffy fan club’, not to mention you can still enjoy a nice day at the beach so your suntan won’t fade… The way I see it, your life’s nothin’ but sunshine ‘n bloody roses.”

“Are you about done?!”

Spike clenched his jaw and ran his fingers through his hair. “I don’t know, you’ve got me all pissed off now, talkin’ ‘bout livin’ the hard luck life. Yeah, you’ve had some shit breaks, and I’m sorry for that, Slayer. ‘Specially ‘bout Joyce—that was a right nice bird. But as for the rest, ‘s part and parcel of what you do. Might not be pretty but that’s the game as it’s laid out for you, yeah? And might I remind you that yeah you’re a bloody vampire now but you could right easily be a molderin’ corpse. Gotta tell you, luv. Bein’ on the outside, looking in, what you got doesn’t look all that bad to me.”

Buffy took a deep breath and shook her head. “You’ve got no idea what I’m going through. You think you do, but you don’t. Do you know how hard this is for me? I’ve become the one thing that I’ve been taught to hate… And to top it off, it’s all my fault.”

Spike gave her an inquisitive look. “How do you figure that?”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. “It’s my fault because I didn’t kill him. I wasn’t fast enough or strong enough… I--I think I was tired. I was just so tired of always fighting. I’ve fought them back for so many years, night after night and I think… I think I just gave up. Isn’t that what you said? Every Slayer has a death wish.’’

Spike let out a deep growl. “Out of all the things I’ve said to you, that’s the one you choose to believe.”

“No, I seem to remember you telling me that I had stupid hair, that I couldn’t hold a man’s interest… oh! And that my breasts weren’t as high or as firm anymore,” Buffy retorted.

Spike couldn’t suppress the smirk for forming on his lips. “Yeah, well after what happened tonight, I think I can safely say that the last comment is totally false,” he said with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrow.

Buffy rolled her eyes and shook her head as she tried to hide the intense blush that was creeping its way up her chest. “I’m sure the Powers have an ongoing bet on how much crap they can load me up with before I finally snap.”

“Well then, the Powers are set up to lose a hell of a lot of dosh, pet. Because I happen to know you are too strong to give up without one hell of a fight,” Spike said with an uncharacteristically gentle smile .

Buffy gave him a small smile in return. “You think?”

“I know.”

She took a deep breath and stood up. “Ok Yoda, I’m gonna have a shower and go to bed.”

Spike stood up and grabbed his coat off the chair. “Alright then, luv. I’d best be going then.”

“No!” Buffy exclaimed anxiously.

“What?” Spike asked, clearly surprised.

“I mean if it’s alright with you… I‘d rather not be alone right now,” she clarified, eyes cast down as she began fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

Spike raised his eyebrow in surprise. “You want me to stay?”

“Only if you want to. You can stay in mom’s room--there’s a nice big bed and the curtains are heavy so no sunlight should come in,” she offered, nervously chewing on her bottom lip.

Spike brushed a lock of hair out of Buffy’s face and gave her a loving smile. “Of course I’ll stay, pet.”

Buffy smiled brightly. “Great! I’ll just get cleaned up and I’ll fix up your room.”

Spike watched Buffy in amazement as she retreated upstairs. He shook his head, turning back to the living room and resuming his seat on the couch, running her little rant through his head. He didn’t believe he had been wrong—she was better off a vamp than a corpse, and he knew that she’d start to see that sooner or later. What Spike couldn’t believe was that if what she said was true—that he had turned her into her greatest fear—why was she still so relaxed around him? And why were the only things she remembered word-for-word the things he had told her about her physical appearance? He didn’t know what was going on between them now, but one thing was clear: Slayer had a crush, sire or no. He put his head back against the back of the couch, closed his eyes, and smiled.



~*~~*~~*~



Twenty minutes later, Buffy walked back into the living room to find Spike watching infomercials on the TV, seemingly engrossed in watching a lady currently demonstrating a new type of silver polish. “Wow, I never knew TV could be so boring,” she remarked with a playful smile.

Spike chuckled. “You have no idea, pet. This is considered entertaining for this time in the morning.”

“Damn, you mean I’ve been missing all the fun shows while I’ve slept?” she inquired sarcastically.

Spike laughed. “Guess so, pet. So you’re off to bed now?”

Buffy nodded. “Yep. Do you need the five cent tour?”

“Sure, luv” he replied, following Buffy upstairs.

Buffy quickly showed Spike around, making sure he knew where everything he would need could be found. “Okay, so that’s the tour,” Buffy yawned, stretching her arms sleepily over her head. “I’m off to bed. I’ll see you in the morning,” she finished with a small smile.

“Ta, luv. Goodnight,” Spike replied, watching Buffy close her bedroom door.


~*~~*~~*~


“Angel, what are you doing here?”

“I just stopped by for a little snack… Lover,” Angelus said as he turned towards Buffy, allowing her to see just what it was he was snacking on.

“Dawn?!” Buffy gasped. “Let her go, you bastard!” Buffy screamed as she charged the dark-haired vampire.

“Would you rather take her place?” Angelus asked before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Buffy ran to where Angelus had been holding her sister, only to find her own decaying remains lying in the filthy alley. “NO!” Buffy screamed in horror.

“What’s wrong, Buff, don’t like the show?” a voice called out from behind her.

Buffy turned to see Angelus standing behind her, now holding her mother’s bloodied body in his arms. Angelus carelessly tossed her mother’s body onto the ground alongside Dawn’s lifeless corpse, which had suddenly reappeared.

“NOOOOO….” Buffy screamed, running to her mother and little sister’s remains. As she ran towards her family the alley seemed to grow longer with every step, and soon she found herself in a graveyard. She could see a dark shadowy figure leaning against a tomb.

“You can’t get away, you know?” a harsh, whispered voice asked.

“Who are you?” Buffy demanded, walking closer to the dark figure.

“Death!” A voice hissed from behind her.

Suddenly, she was back in the alley with Angelus’ fangs deep in her throat. She could feel her life draining away from her with every gulp he took.

~*~~*~~*~


Buffy awoke from her dream screaming and panting, eyes frantically searching the room to try to establish the reality of her situation.

Spike had been jolted awake by Buffy’s harsh screams, and he quickly ran to her room and pulled the terrified girl into his strong embrace.

“S’okay, pet, s’okay. Nothin’s gonna hurt you… it’s just a dream,” Spike whispered into Buffy’s ear, rocking her back and forth.

Buffy clung to Spike like a lifeline. After a few minutes she stopped trembling, but she wouldn’t relinquish her hold on the peroxide vampire.

“Are you okay, luv?” Spike asked, pushing some hair away from Buffy’s face.

Buffy nodded her head and sniffed, but she still wouldn’t let Spike go.

“Do you want me to stay with you, luv?” Spike asked, softly stroking her golden hair.

Buffy squeezed herself closer to Spike. “Yes, please,” she whispered into his chest.

“Okay, pet, lay down,” Spike agreed, trying to free himself from Buffy’s painfully tight grip.

“Please don’t go. I need you to hold me. Please hold me,” Buffy pleaded into Spike’s chest.

“Okay, luv, ’m not goin’ anywhere. Why don’t you just scoot over a bit, princess? Get ourselves a bit more comfy,” Spike purred soothingly, managing to free himself from Buffy’s embrace.

Buffy quickly made room for Spike to lie down. As soon as he was comfortable she curled up next to him and rested her head on his chest, enjoying the coolness of his body.

“Don’t let me dream,” she mumbled.

Spike lovingly stroked Buffy’s back. “Okay, kitten. I won’t.”

TBC...

Authors note: I’d like to give a massive thanks to AmyB for her astounding beta work on this chapter. Thanks girl, couldn’t have done it without ya.

---

Buffy awoke to find herself again pressed tightly against Spike’s cool firm body. She slowly lifted her head to find herself looking at a sleep-tousled vampire.

Buffy gave Spike a sweet smile. “I seem to be finding myself in this position a lot lately.”

Spike smiled as he pushed her hair away from her face. “Yeah, luv, I’m beginning to think you might like me.”

Buffy laughed playfully as she began to sit up. “Nah, blondie—never happen,” she teased, eyes telling him that her words were a lie.

Spike raised his eyebrow playfully and laughed at Buffy’s comment. “Guess it wouldn’t at that. So how’d you sleep, pet?”

“Pretty good,” she answered, averting her eyes from Spike. “I’m sorry for freaking out on you last night.”

Spike reached over and cupped Buffy’s chin in his hand. “Don’t be, pet. I kinda like waking up with you all wrapped around me.”

Buffy snorted. “I bet you do.”

“You have no idea, pet. ‘Sides, now I can always tell everyone we’ve slept together,” he teased.

“Don’t even think of it, mister, or you’ll be fitting into an ashtray,” Buffy replied playfully.

“Okay, luv, point taken,” he snarked back.

Buffy rolled her eyes at Spike’s awful pun. “You suck.”

“Well, yeah… I’m a vampire, remember?” he countered with a grin, watching Buffy get out of bed.

Buffy threw her hands in the air in exasperation. “Whatever. Impossible vampire,” she grumbled.

Spike chuckled as he pulled himself out of bed. “So, you hungry, pet?”

“Mmm… starved” Buffy replied, rummaging through her closet for something to wear.

“Well okay then, I’ll go scare us up a couple of meals,” Spike announced, watching Buffy’s butt as she bent over to pick up her shoes from the closet floor.

“Thanks,” Buffy replied. “I’m just gonna get dressed, I’ll be down in a sec.”

Fifteen minutes later Buffy came bounding into the kitchen to find Spike dishing up a large plate of bacon and eggs.

“Wow, when did you become so domesticated?” Buffy asked, eyeing the plate of food in front of her sceptically.

“I’m a man of many talents, luv. You should see what I can do with a throw rug and a couple of pillows,” he replied with a smirk, handing Buffy a warm mug of pig’s blood. “’Sides, you said you were hungry.”

“Mmm, I am,” Buffy agreed, quickly draining the contents of the proffered mug. “Mmm… Yum!”

Spike smiled as he watched Buffy enjoying her breakfast. “So what’s the plan for today?”

Buffy swallowed the mouthful of eggs she was chewing on. “Well, first I’m going go see Giles and make sure Dawn is alright. I hate being away from her with Glory out there looking for her key. I also want to see if he’s found anything on why I still have a heartbeat and all; then I figure I’ll train ‘til sundown and go patrolling since we skipped last night. You know, test out all my new strength and speed on some slimy night-time things.” Buffy stopped for a moment, taking another bite of her food. “You wanna come with?”

“Love to, pet. Should definitely be a good time. Haven’t seen a good skull crushing in far too long—least, not from the outside of the skull,” Spike remarked, a huge teasing grin forming across his features.

“Hey! I told you I was sorry for that! Besides, what about that big troll thingy that destroyed the Bronze. That was pretty entertaining,” Buffy countered with a cheeky grin.

Spike laughed. “Yeah, luv, that it was. Only I didn’t get to see the final act. You left me behind, remember?”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. “Just try to please some people,” she muttered under her breath, continuing to eat her breakfast. “This I really good by the way,” she said, pointing to her food. “When did you learn how to cook?”

“I watch a lot of late night TV. I can also tell you some nifty ways to get red wine out of carpet,” Spike replied with a cocky grin.

Buffy laughed. “So how bored have you been since you got that chip?”

“Bored enough to hang out with the Slayer and her little band of do-gooders,” Spike replied playfully.

“Oh come on… you know you love us,” Buffy taunted in a teasing voice.

Spike took a step closer to Buffy. “Well, I know I love one of you.”

Buffy placed her hand on Spike’s chest and stared up into his eyes. “Spike… I know you love Xander, but he’ll never love you in return. He loves Anya, and a three way love affair just won’t work,” Buffy finished, giggling madly.

Spike laughed. “Well then, I’ll just have to try for the next best thing, won’t I?” he asked, reaching out and running his hand down Buffy’s arm. He lowered his face to hers, their lips almost touching. “Do you think I have a shot with the Watcher?” he asked, cheeky grin curving his lips.

Buffy flushed from the nearness and covered her nerves with laughter. “Well, you’re both from England; at least you have something in common.”

Spike laughed. “Well okay pet, let’s get on over to the magic shop. You’ve got some answers to seek, and I have a watcher to woo. So what do you think I should suggest for a first date?”

Buffy playfully slapped Spike’s shoulder. “You’re such a dork.”

Spike laughed. “So are you ready to go see your Watcher, luv?”

Buffy nodded her head. “Only if you promise not to ask Giles out on a date. I don’t think I would ever sleep again if he said yes,” Buffy replied.

“Okay, luv. I promise.”

It was just past four o’clock when Buffy helped Spike run to her mom’s car with the aid of a thick quilt thrown over his head, protecting him from the harsh afternoon sun.

~*~~*~~*~


Dawn had just arrived at the Magic Box, keeping her promise to Giles that she would come straight to the shop after school. Suddenly, a smoking, quilt-clad Spike almost knocked her over as he ran past her into the safety of the sunless back end of the shop.

Dawn stormed into the shop to find Spike stamping out the flames on the quilt. “Geesh, Spike, you almost killed me out there!”

Spike looked up to see a fuming Dawn staring at him. “What?”

“I was that speed hump you ran over in the front door. You really should learn some manners.” she grumbled, placing her school bag on the table.

“Sorry, Nibblet. Didn’t see you,” Spike shrugged, folding up the quilt.

“Obviously,” Dawn muttered, slumping down into a chair.

“Well, I was on fire! Think you gotta give a bloke some slack,” Spike whined, sitting down next to the pouting teenager.

Dawn smiled and rolled her eyes as Spike. “Okay, I forgive you.” She looked around the store. “So, where’s Buffy?”

“I’m right here.” Buffy announced as she entered the shop, sniffing the air as she looked around the store. “Is something burning?”

“That would be me, luv.” Spike stated.

“Yeah, he almost killed me when he ran in all flaming,” Dawn added, looking through her school bag for her homework.

“Are you okay?” Buffy asked.

“I’ll live. I’m sure the footprints on my back are hardly visible,” Dawn mumbled.

“That’s good to know, Dawnie. But I was actually wondering if Spike was hurt?” Buffy asked.

Spike quirked his eyebrow at Buffy, amazed by the fact that she cared enough to ask if he was okay. “I’ll live… I’m sure the Dawn-shaped indentations in my boots are hardly visible,” Spike retorted with a smirk, winking at the teenager next to him.

Dawn rolled her eyes at the annoying vampire. “Whatever. It’s just so nice to know you care,” she muttered under her breath.

“Oh, good, Buffy you’re here!” Giles greeted as he walked out from the back room. “Is something burning?” he asked, sniffing the air.

“Oh, that would be Spike,” Buffy replied cheerfully.

“Alright,” Giles shrugged casually, ignoring Spike’s indignant snort. “So how are you feeling today?”

“Okay… I had another dream, though,” Buffy told her Watcher.

“Oh, I suppose that’s to be expected. You’ve been through quite a trauma,” Giles reassured, placing a comforting hand on Buffy’s shoulder.

“Yeah, I guess. Still sucks though… they’re so vivid,” Buffy mused, pouting slightly before changing the subject. “So? Have we had any Glory sightings?”

“N-no, it seems she has gone into, well, hiding, for lack of a better word,” Giles replied, taking off his glasses and wiping them with the hem of his shirt.

“Fine by me. The less I see of her, the happier I’ll be,” Buffy remarked, staring at the pile of books on the table in front of her. “So how’s the other research going? Find out anything new?”

“Actually, I have,” Giles replied, picking up one of the old Watcher’s diaries. “I’ve found mention of three turned Slayers.”

“Really?” Buffy asked, surprised. “So what happened to them?”

“What happened to who?” Xander asked as he entered the shop, followed by Willow and Tara.

“I was just telling Buffy that I have found reference to three Slayers being turned in the past,” Giles revealed.

“Three? Really?” Willow gasped.

“Wow, you mean Buffy’s not the only vampire w-with a heartbeat?” Tara asked.

“No, I didn’t say that,” Giles clarified, gesturing for everyone to take a seat.

“Giles, did you know we’re out of Wolf’s Bain and Saraget Root?” Anya questioned, making her way from the basement.

“Yes, Anya, I am aware. For right now, would you care to join us?” Giles asked, indicating the research table.

“Well okay, but don’t blame me when you lose sales,” Anya grumbled, sitting down next to Xander and giving him a loving kiss before turning her attention to Giles.

Giles cleared his throat. “As I was saying, I have found reference to three Slayers being turned. The first was Shi Tang in China in 636 AD; reportedly turned by one Samuel Xavier. Apparently Shi Tang had only be the Slayer for two months when she was turned, and if I understand correctly she was a very vicious vampire; she attempted to usurp her Sire’s authority, and as punishment he chained her to a wall, allowing the sun to rid him of his mistake.”

“So she couldn’t go into the sun?” Buffy asked.

“Apparently not” Giles informed.

“Well did she have a heartbeat or a reflection?” Buffy asked anxiously.

“No, apparently she was a demon in every sense of the word. The only thing you seem to have in common is your strength; however, I’m sure you are by far stronger than she, given your other attributes,” Giles explained.

“Well that’s a big help. What about the others?” Buffy grumbled, sinking into her chair.

“Yes, well, the second Slayer was Mary Elizabeth Thompson, turned in England in 1326. Mary had been the Slayer for thirteen months when she was turned by a master vampire who went by the name Diablo. Mary did retain many of her human qualities much the same as you. She could also go into the sunlight for short periods of time; however, she could not handle religious artefacts.”

“Did she have a soul or a heartbeat?” Buffy asked.

“Well, as far as I can tell she did retain her soul. She apparently killed her Sire the very night she arose and continued to slay demons every night there after. As far as a heartbeat goes, some of my research refers to her as the living vampire, so I do believe she indeed retained her heartbeat.”

“So what happened to her?” Buffy asked excitedly.

Giles nervously cleaned his glasses and averted his eyes from Buffy. “The Council had her destroyed,” he said, shame colouring his voice.

“They what?” Willow yelped.

“Why would they do something like that?” Dawn asked.

Spike snorted. “Figures.”

“How did they kill her?” Buffy asked quietly. She had turned white as a sheet at the thought of what the Council would do to her if they discovered that she had been turned.

Giles gave Buffy remorseful look as he placed his hand on her shoulder, attempting to comfort her. “They sent a retrieval team out to find her. When they managed to overpower her, they tied her to a stake and burnt her alive.” Giles swallowed deeply as he continued; he knew all too well what the council was capable of if they found out Buffy was a Slayer turned vampire. “Apparently it was not an easy death; she did not combust like other vampires. Unfortunately she was strong enough to survive for several minutes before she finally passed away.”

Buffy took a ragged breath. “You didn’t tell them about me did you, Giles?” she asked in a small voice.

Giles stooped down in front of Buffy, clasping her hands in his. “No, Buffy. I would never tell them of what has happened to you, and I will do everything in my power to ensure they do not find out.”

Buffy looked at Giles and knew that he was telling her the truth. “Good, because I don’t think they like me as it is. I’d hate to give them a reason to burn me at the stake,” she tried to joke, but the weak smile on her face didn’t reach her eyes.

“Wouldn’t they already know? I mean Buffy died, wouldn’t another Slayer be called?” Anya asked curiously.

“I don’t believe so. Faith has already been called as Buffy’s replacement. For this reason, I would be inclined to believe no other charge will be called forth,” Giles explained.

“I don’t understand. If Mary still had her soul, and she continued to kill demons, why would the Council kill her?” Dawn asked.

“Because she was a vampire,” Buffy told her sister.

“Yeah, but she was a good one, just like you,” Dawn stated, clearly confused.

“The Council doesn’t care about any of that. They think every demon is evil and has to die. Why do you think I quit? They wouldn’t help Angel. They said they wouldn’t help any vampire, no matter how special their circumstances were. They wouldn’t understand that Anya’s now human, or that Spike can’t hurt people, or that I’m a vampire with a heartbeat and a soul. All they see is the demon and nothing else matters,” Buffy explained to her sister.

She took a deep breath and turned to Giles. “You said there were three, Giles. What happened to the third Slayer?”

Giles looked over to Buffy and nodded. “Oh yes, yes of course. The third Slayer was Sarah Leanne Johnson; she had been the Slayer for about seven months when she became a vampire. She was turned here in America in 1756 by an Yvette Whitecastle; apparently Yvette Whitecastle was her Watcher, who was apparently turned herself only a few days prior. She managed to catch Sarah unawares and turn her with very little effort. Sarah was a very strange vampire indeed; she did not seem to have a soul, but at times she would show signs of a conscience as well as remorse. However, this did not seem to inhibit her violent tendencies; she displayed strength unmatched by any other vampire, making her a very vicious creature indeed. She did not burn immediately when she went into the sun; however, she could not stay in direct light for more than a few seconds. She had no heartbeat, as far as I can tell, and she was unable to touch any religious items. She could tolerate garlic, though, and she was said to cast a faint refection in a mirror.”

“So what happened to her? Did the Council play Joan of Arc with her as well?” Buffy asked spitefully.

“No, she and Yvette tried to take over and rule a large portion of the demon world; the other demons involved didn’t agree with that idea, and after a very brutal fight Sarah and Yvette were killed,” Giles explained.

“So, what help is any of this for Buffy?” Xander asked.

“Yeah, she’s not evil, and she can still go into the sunlight,” Willow said, smiling at her supernaturally-enhanced friend.

“Plus, she’s still breathing and she needs to eat food and blood,” Anya pointed out.

“Yes, yes, I’m well aware of Buffy’s abilities. I have come up with a theory as to why Buffy is so unique,” Giles took a deep breath.

“Well?” Buffy asked impatiently.

“Buffy, you’re the longest-lived Slayer out of all who have been chosen. Most Slayers are lucky to survive more than a few months; you have survived for almost six years,” Giles started to explain.

“Yeah, and I’ve only died twice,” Buffy muttered.

Giles gave Buffy an understanding look. “Be that as it may, Buffy, you have survived well past any other Slayer. My hypothesis is that your current abilities may have something to do with your longevity as the Slayer.”

“Huh?” Buffy asked in confusion.

“Well, of the three Slayers turned, you share more similarities with Mary Thompson than with Shi Tang or Sarah Johnson. I believe this may have something to do with the time spent as a Slayer. Shi Tang had only been the Slayer for two months when she was turned; as a result she was denied any human abilities such as going into the sun or retaining her soul. Sarah Johnson had been the Slayer for seven months before she was turned; she demonstrated some human qualities such as a conscience, as well as the ability to handle small doses of sunlight. However, she was more demon than human. Mary Thompson, on the other hand, was the Slayer for over a year; she demonstrated many human abilities similar to those you possess. She could go into the sunlight and retained her soul and her heartbeat. I feel that perhaps the reason you have not lost your human attributes is simply because you have been called for so many years,” Giles explained.

The room fell silent for a moment while everyone digested this information.

“Could it also have something to do with the Sire?” Willow asked.

“What do you mean?” Giles asked.

“Well, you said Mary was turned by a master vampire, whereas Sarah was turned by a fledgling. Could their powers have something to do with the Sire?”

Giles thought about this for a moment. “Yes, indeed. That could be another factor I didn’t consider. Spike is a strong master vampire in his own right; he has in fact defeated two Slayers himself. That could possible account for some of Buffy’s abilities.”

Buffy turned to Spike. “See, I told you this was all your fault,” she said with a playful grin.

Spike laughed. “So what else is new?”

“So this confirms it, Buffy’s one of a kind?” Dawn asked Giles.

Giles smiled at Dawn’s comment. “Well, I’ve always thought Buffy to be one of a kind.”

“Oh please. If you’re all gonna hug and sing kumbayah, I’d rather be somewhere else,” Spike groaned, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his coat as he walked out into the back room.

“Actually Spike has a point. I don’t think I’m up for the singing and group hugging,” Buffy announced, following Spike into the back room.

“Has anyone else noticed Buffy’s spending way too much time with Spike?” Xander asked.

“I-I’m sure its nothing, she probably just needs a little air,” Willow said hopefully.

“Yeah, I’m sure they’re not out there plotting the end of the world or anything,” Anya pointed out.

“No, I don’t mean anything like that. It just seems that wherever Spike is, Buffy’s right there next to him,” Xander explained.

“She’s probably just confused. She’s had a pretty hard time lately. I say if Buffy feels more comfortable with Spike, then we’ll just have to try and make Spike feel welcome,” Willow said firmly, walking towards the back room.

“Where are you going?” Dawn asked, a little nervous that Willow might walk in on one of Buffy and Spike’s makeout sessions.

“I was just going to see if Buffy and Spike would like to go to the Bronze tonight,” Willow called back to Dawn.

When Willow entered the training room, she found Buffy and Spike sparring. Buffy was clearly holding back; however, Spike was still unable to find any weakness in her defences. Buffy saw Willow enter the training room and asked, “Hey, Will’s, what’s up?” as she ducked a blow from Spike.

“I was wondering if you guys would like to go to the Bronze tonight?” Willow asked, watching as Buffy grabbed Spike’s foot and flipped him over onto his back.

“Sorry, Will, Spike and I were going to patrol tonight. You know, test out my new super-Slayerness.” As Buffy spoke, Spike tackled her and threw her to the ground; Buffy quickly wrapped her legs around his waist and twisted, pushing him downwards as she placed her feet in the centre of his chest. Kicking out with her legs, she threw him over her head before jumping to her feet and turning to Willow. “How about tomorrow night?”

Willow smiled brightly. “Sure, how about you, Spike?”

“Love to, Red.” Spike replied, ducking a kick from Buffy. “Some spicy buffalo wings and a few beers might be needed to help me heal internally after fighting this little spitfire.”

“Oh come on! I’ve hardly even touched you!” Buffy replied, kicking Spike in the head, sending him reeling backwards.

“Well, I’ll leave you two to kill each other, then,” Willow replied, slowly walking out of the training room.

“So, are we bronzing it tonight?” Xander asked Willow as she walked back into the shop.

“No, not tonight. Buffy wants to patrol with Spike tonight to test out her new superpowers. But we’re on for tomorrow,” Willow informed him, taking her seat next to Tara.

“Oh, okay,” Xander agreed with a reluctant nod. “So what are they doing out there?” he asked, pointing towards the back room.

“Oh, Buffy’s beating Spike up,” Willow answered with a shrug.

“They never seem to get tired of that,” Xander commented.

TBC...

Authors note: I’d like to give a huge thank you to my wonderful beta AmyB. Without her amazing help the following fight scene would have probably been deleted. So thank you, Amy, I love what you’ve done for this chapter.

---

Buffy kicked Spike in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards. She quickly followed through with a spin kick. Spike lost his footing, sending him crashing backwards onto the floor; Buffy quickly took advantage of this and jumped on top of him, straddling his waist as she held him down with one hand on his chest. “It’s dark outside,” she whispered into his ear, loosening her grip on the blonde vampire.

Spike could feel Buffy’s warm breath caressing his face and neck, sending shivers down his spine. He looked straight into her beautiful green eyes and gave her a cheeky grin. “That it is, pet.”

“So, do you want to do this for real?” Buffy asked.

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow. “What do you have planned, luv?”

Buffy sat up and looked at Spike, more than a little annoyed. “Patrol, remember?”

“Oh right, kick the bad guys’ arses… yeah, I guess I’m ready.”

Buffy realized she was still straddling Spike, and quickly stood up to allow him to move. “Okay, then–let’s go.”

Spike followed Buffy back out into the shop, where she grabbed her coat and weapons bag before turning to her friends. “Spike and I are going to go patrol now; I shouldn’t be too long.”

“Okay, Buffy, be careful,” Willow called back to her friend. “Have fun!”

Buffy smiled. “I’ll try. Night, guys.”

~*~~*~~*~


Buffy and Spike walked in silence through the cemetery, both deep in their own thoughts; after about an hour with no demon sightings, they decided to head back to the shop.

“Damn, I was really hoping I could kill something tonight,” Buffy muttered to herself.

Spike smiled at the blonde Slayer; he could tell she was getting antsy. “Well, I guess you lucked out then, pet. Nothing seems to be happ…” Spike’s comment was abruptly cut short when a slimy demon jumped out from behind a tomb and grabbed him by the throat.

“Well, well, well… what do we have us here, then? Looks like the Slayer and her little lap dog Spring.” the demon growled as seven more slimy demons walked out of the shadows.

“That’s S..p..ike,” Spike choked out as the demon squeezed his throat tighter.

“Tell someone who cares,” the demon growled, throwing Spike on top of Buffy and sending them both tumbling to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

“You see me and my boys here are looking for a little fun--and Slayer, you look very appetising tonight,” the slimy demon said as he licked his lips in a suggestive manner.

Buffy and Spike were both on their feet in an instant, each taking up a fighting stance.

“Yeah, well you look repugnant! You know, it’s alright to be ugly. But you’re really abusing the privilege,” Buffy announced in a disgusted tone. “And secondly, may I just say eeeww!”

“Come now, pet. I think they want to play; let’s not disappoint them,” Spike said with a wicked grin.

Buffy smiled evilly, allowing Spike’s words to wash over her. This was what they had been looking for all night. Her body tensed in anticipation of what promised to be an exhilarating confrontation. Not even bothering to spare her sire a second glance, instinctively knowing that the blonde vampire would follow her into battle without question, she quickly launched herself at the large slimy creature in front of her, knocking him to the ground with a single blow. Looking around to gauge her odds for a chance to play, she noticed that the demons seemed a bit out of sorts now that their leader was down, and Spike seemed to be distracting a few of them while still leaving her a good-sized crowd to play with. *Smart man!* She brought her foot up quickly, smashing it down across the demon’s throat, watching with no small amount of amusement as his neck simply flattened under the sole of her boot. *Well, that was kinda cool!*

Cool as it was, it also got the demons regrouping in a hurry. Stooping down, she quickly slid a ceremonial dagger that she’d brought along just for fun out of her boot and stood, gracefully spinning as she lashed out in a circle, her fist clenched tight around the hilt of the dagger. The sheer brute force behind her hand and the viciously sharp edge of the dagger made for a lethal combination, and the second demon’s head slid to the ground in a slow, almost surreal movement. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Spike occupying himself on the edges of the fray as the rest of the demons finally began to attack; the disorganization that had resulted from the loss of their leader making them no less dangerous now as they jumped in simply for the joy of the fight.

Dancing through the tangle, wielding her dagger and her bare hands with equally deadly accuracy, she removed hands and arms and twisted heads off of living, writhing bodies; in short, she proved her absolute artistry in the savagery of the kill with each flick of her dainty wrists. Within moments she had killed all but five demons. God, but the fight was exhilarating; the heady scent of blood hung in the air, feeding her demon as she inflicted blow after blow on two of the remaining combatants. Taking time out from her play as she continued her mindless but still perfectly-executed blows, Buffy scanned the scene for Spike and quickly saw that her Sire was caught up in the mêlée with two more of the bulky creatures. He was holding his own, his blows solid and damaging, but he wasn’t faring nearly as well as the enhanced Slayer. Sensing her sire would soon be in trouble, Buffy quickly dispatched of the two demons she was currently fighting; playtime would have to wait for another day.

Spike was so caught up in the fury of the fight that he didn’t even notice the petite blonde suddenly fighting alongside him until he heard the resounding sound of cracking bone. He quickly glanced over to find Buffy pounding one of the demons with a mace; apparently some of their friends had brought their own toys to this little playdate. Big mistake—no way was Buffy gonna let them take them back home. With a broad smile, he caught the dagger that she tossed him in one hand as he brutally backhanded the demon in front of him with the other. Finally feeling that he had gained the upper hand in the battle with the slimy demon, he delivered a savage roundhouse kick to the creature’s head, momentarily dazing it. Not one to miss an opportunity for a good fists and fangs attack, even when he had a weapon in hand, Spike grabbed the demon and slammed its head repeatedly into a large cement headstone. After several blows he was nearly satisfied that the creature was dead but dragged Buffy’s dagger along its throat just in case, twisting it away from him to avoid the spray of gore that resulted.

Flicking a large chunk of slime that he hadn’t been able to avoid off of his precious duster, he decided to give the dead demon one last kick of contempt for crushing his throat and for messing up his leather. Straightening his spine after he’d administered his kick, Spike glanced over just in time to see Buffy give her opponent one last blow with the mace, leaving a fairly sticky paste behind in the cemetery grass.


“Nice work, luv.”

“I aim to please,” she said with a sweet smile, before walking over to the lone surviving demon, who had somehow managed to survive the carnage with only a glancing blow to his head and was now regaining consciousness. “Well look what we have here… another party favour.”

Without warning the demon surged to its feet and lunged at Buffy, grabbing her by the throat and throwing her against the wall of a near by tomb. She quickly recovered and let out a deep growl.

“You know, I think you might regret doing that mate,” Spike informed him flatly, watching as Buffy countered the attack with a flurry of kicks and punches; soon the demon was little more than a mass of blood, slime, and broken bones.

“Do I still look appetising to you?” Buffy asked, kicking the demon in the head with a savage roundhouse, decapitating him in the process.

“Told ‘im he would regret it,” Spike commented with a smirk.

“That was fun! Do you think there’s any more of them?” Buffy asked with a wicked grin.

Spike laughed as he stepped closer to the petite Slayer. “Remind me never to piss you off, luv,” he said playfully as he picked a piece of demon bone out of Buffy’s hair.

Buffy laughed. “Spike, you’re always pissing me off. It’s what you do best.”

“Is that so?” he asked in a husky voice, wiping a trace of slime off of Buffy’s cheek.

Buffy’s breath caught in her throat when she felt Spike’s hand run down her cheek. She unconsciously licked her lips and watched as Spike did the same, slowly moving closer; he was practically asking her for permission. Buffy could see Spike’s hesitation and was oddly touched by it; deciding to make it easier for him, she reached her hand behind his head and pulled him down and into a passionate kiss. Spike could feel her warm tongue licking his bottom lip tentatively as though asking for permission to enter, and he happily obliged. Buffy let out a deep moan when she felt Spike’s cool tongue caress hers, sending little tingles down her spine.

The kiss quickly went from teasing to ravenous as Spike pressed Buffy’s back against the wall of a nearby tomb. Buffy could feel Spike cup her ass, pulling her closer to him; she responded by wrapping her legs around his waist. She could feel his arousal pressing against her, causing her own juices to soak through her underwear as she growled lightly into his mouth.

Spike growled in response when he felt Buffy press her wet crotch against his growing erection; he could smell her arousal so strongly, it was almost enough to make him cum right there. “So hot and wet… oh… Buffy I need you,” he whispered huskily as he softly nibbled her ear.

Buffy gasped when she felt Spike’s teeth lightly scrape against her ear and neck, and she responded by running her fingernails down his back and arching closer to him. “So what are you waiting for?” she whispered in his ear.

Spike groaned in response and ran his tongue along her breast, tracing its contours through her shirt. Both Buffy and Spike were so involved with each other and their burgeoning passion that they didn’t notice their audience immediately.

“No wonder this town is so overrun with vampires. Looks like the Slayer spends most of her night laying vampires rather then slaying them,” a catty voice announced, sounding more than a little put out.

The two vampires’ heads quickly snapped around to find Glory standing only a few feet away, surrounded by a crowd of her crusty-looking little minions. Spike allowed Buffy to slide back to her feet before addressing the hellgod.

“What do you want, Glory?” Buffy asked angrily, readjusting her clothing in the process.

“What I always want, Slayer…. my key,” Glory announced in a sickly sweet tone.

“Don’t have it,” Buffy said with a shrug.

Glory smiled sweetly at Buffy. “I know you have it. In fact that’s the only reason you’re still alive. Now why don’t you just give it to me and I’ll be on my way.”

“No,” Buffy replied, folding her arms across her chest.

“Why? It’s my key! Why won’t you give it to me?” Glory wailed angrily, stomping her foot on the ground, causing several large cracks to appear.

“Look, Glory, I really don’t have time to do this right now… You know I’m not going to tell you where it is, and the twentysomething toddler routine is very much over at this point, so just go away,” Buffy said with a frustrated sigh.

Glory gave Buffy a crazed smile as she walked closer to Spike. “Well, maybe if I make you watch as I pull each one of lover boy’s arms and legs off, you might just change your mind. And hey, if you don’t… well then, I’ll just make you watch as I practice my acupuncture with a nail gun on that feisty little sister of yours… I know sooner or later I’ll find someone you love more than protecting my Key.”

Buffy stared at Glory with nothing short of fury and pure hatred.

“So what’s it going to be? Are you going to tell me, or do I get to make a wish?” Glory asked coldly.

“Actually, I’m not going to do either. I think I’ll go for option C… That’s the one where I get to kick your skanky ass,” Buffy spat back, chin jutted out determinedly.

Glory laughed. “Oh, come on! You call that a threat? God-like strength here, twinkie… you know you can’t beat me.”

“We’ll just see about that,” Buffy growled, launching herself at Glory and putting all of her strength behind her blows.

Glory was taken by surprise at the Slayer’s new-found strength; she was clearly now a serious threat to the hellgod. Glory was by no means a fighter, and she had always relied on her extreme strength to win her battles; now, however, she was face to face with an opponent who not only matched her strength and speed but also had six years of Slayer experience. Glory was barely able to remain standing as Buffy continued her unmerciful attack.

Glory managed to block one of Buffy’s savage blows, allowing her a small window of opportunity to defend herself against the superstrong Slayer. The insane hellgod grabbed hold of Buffy’s wrist, pulling her roughly against her chest. “What are you, crazy? You can’t touch me like that! I am a god!” Glory hissed.

Buffy rolled her eyes and let out a deep sigh. “Oh, get over yourself, will ya? The pretty princess routine needs to end, hellbitch!”

“You insolent little toad,” Glory growled furiously, backhanding Buffy with a powerful blow and sending her stumbling to the ground. The god saw her opportunity and started to kick the suddenly vulnerable Slayer violently in the stomach. After enduring several blows, Buffy managed to grab Glory’s foot and twisted it, causing her to fall on her butt. Buffy quickly stumbled to her feet, managing to get upright just as Glory angrily stood up herself.

“That was a new Versace dress!” Glory yelled, stomping over to Buffy.

“Really, and here I had you pegged as someone who’d only shop at Sluts ‘R’ Us,” Buffy retorted with a sneer, taking up her fighting stance again.

Glory looked at Buffy with pure rage as she stomped over to her. “You’re gonna pay for that,” she hissed before calling out to her minions, desperately needing their help if she was to have any hope of defeating the Slayer. However, none of her minions answered her panicked cries for help.

Buffy smiled when she looked over Glory’s shoulder, observing Spike savagely attacking what was left of Glory’s entourage. Several bodies littered the ground where Spike fought, with still more piling up as he worked his way through the crowd of toady demons.

“I don’t think they’re coming,” Buffy taunted, circling Glory gracefully, like a lion going in for the kill.

“Well then, I guess I’ll just have to do it myself,” Glory spat, reaching down and pulling a large marble headstone from the ground. She swung the stone expertly at Buffy, hitting her squarely in the temple.

Buffy stumbled backwards from the unexpected blow. She could see Glory swinging the headstone at her for the second time, but she was unable to block the crushing blow and it sent her tumbling to the ground.

Glory laughed madly as she prepared to strike the stunned Slayer for the third time. Anger had over taken any rational thought of keeping Buffy alive for any information pertaining to the whereabouts of her precious key. All Glory wanted was blood; she would bathe in the vile liquid, relishing in the knowledge that it was she who had rid this world of the contemptuous little brat of a Slayer. The little bitch had proven to be the proverbial thorn in her side ever since those contemptible little monks hid her precious key, but now the Slayer would know what it meant to call down the wrath of hell.

Buffy shook her head, trying desperately to clear it after the powerful blow she had just received. She could see Glory preparing to strike her again, lifting the heavy headstone over her head and attempting to put as much force behind the blow as possible. Buffy gathered herself and quickly jumped to her feet, side-stepping Glory’s blow in the nick of time. Letting out a deep growl, Buffy vamped out and attacked the hellgod with all of her strength, easily knocking Glory to the ground.

Glory stared at Buffy in shock. She had had no idea she was a vampire; she could normally spot a halfbreed a mile away, but Buffy smelt human, she radiated warmth and she could clearly hear her heart beating. “What the…….?” was all she could say before Buffy grabbed the headstone from her firm grasp.

“Ohh what’s wrong… did I scare you?” Buffy asked in a mocking tone as she began to pound Glory with the heavy marble slab.

Spike had been in the thick of a surprisingly tough battle; the little scabby buggers may not have looked like much, but they packed a hell of a wallop when they were defending their little high priestess of bad home perms. Spike had clawed, punched, and stabbed his way through the crowd, managing to kill all but three of Glory’s minions. Risking a quick glance in Buffy’s direction, he saw her vamped out and standing over the hellgod’s incapacitated body, repeatedly beating Glory with a large headstone. *That’s my girl!* he thought exultantly before returning his attention to the three crusty demons in front of him.

Buffy growled in frustration as she continued to beat the bloodied hell god. “Why…won’t….you… die?” she ground out between blows.

Glory closed her eyes in defeat. She was too weak, and she couldn’t take anymore. Taking a deep breath, she allowed herself to fade into darkness, allowing her pseudo-twin Ben to come forth.

Buffy blinked her eyes in shock as she watched Glory morph into Ben. She let out a surprised gasp and dropped the marble headstone, taking a few steps back as she allowed her human mask to fall back into place. *What the hell just happened?* she thought, watching Ben gasp painfully for each breath he took. *Should I help him? Is he evil? Is he a god too?* The thoughts rushed through her head at lightning speed as she stared in disbelief at the man who had been such a comfort to her while her mother was sick. “Ben?” she gasped in a shocked whisper.

Spike heard Buffy’s breathless question and once again risked his neck to glance over to see if Buffy was alright. What he saw managed to shock him beyond belief; lying there on the ground where Glory had been was now the badly beaten body of that ponce Ben. *What the hell is he doing here?* Spike’s momentary loss of focus allowed the three crusty demons just enough time to briefly gain the upper hand, and they surged towards him as one, swiftly knocking him to the ground.

Buffy slowly made her way over to Ben, kneeling down beside him as she stared into his swollen eyes. “Ben?” she asked again as she reached out her hand, lightly touching his cheek to see if he was real or not.

“Slayer! Let Glorificus go or the impure one dies!”

Buffy looked up to see Spike being held by two of Glory’s scabby little minions as a third aimed a loaded crossbow at his heart. She could feel all her blood drain to her feet as she watched in horror, fearing Spike would turn to dust right before her eyes. Buffy swallowed deeply as she gave Ben one last look before stepping away from his battered body.

The minions watched fearfully as Buffy slowly stepped away from their master. She nervously chewed her bottom lip, watching the demon who was holding the crossbow level with Spike’s heart.

Spike was livid; he couldn’t believe Buffy was taking orders from some two-bit scabby minion. Just what the hell was she thinking? She could have taken all three of the demons out in a blink of an eye—why was she hesitating?

Spike was jolted out of his thoughts as one of the demons in question jabbed him in the side, trying to get him to turn around. “Poke me one more time, scabby, and I’ll use your spinal cord to floss my teeth,” Spike growled angrily, giving the demon a shove and causing him to tumble backwards onto the ground. In the blink of an eye the minion holding the crossbow let the bolt fly, and it shot steadily forward, heading straight for Spike’s vulnerable heart.

Buffy let out a terrified gasp, watching the scene unfold before her. Time seemed to move in slow motion as she watched the arrow speed towards Spike’s chest. Buffy threw herself thoughtlessly forward, aiming herself at Spike and managing to knock him to the ground. She let out a painful hiss when the arrow lodged itself in her hand, feeling as if all the wind had been knocked from her as she desperately clutched her wounded hand to her chest in an attempt to protect it from further injury as she tumbled towards the ground. Spike was by her side in an instant, fussing intently over his injured childe.

Neither noticed the scabby minions scurry to gather up Ben’s unconscious body before running off into the night.

“Bloody hell, Slayer! What the hell where you thinking?” Spike yelled in alarm, trying to assess the damage to Buffy’s hand.

“I-I don’t know… .I just saw the arrow……” Buffy trailed off as she let out a pain-filled hiss.

“You could have been killed, do you know that!?!” Spike yelled frantically, finally noticing that Ben and the minions were gone, leaving them alone in the dark cemetery. He had almost bloody lost her while he stood there soddin’ helpless.

“Well I wasn’t… and if I hadn’t stopped the arrow you’d be fitting in an ashtray right about now!” Buffy yelled in irritation.

Spike let out a deep sigh and gently cupped Buffy’s cheek. “I know I would, pet,” he concurred in a loving tone.

Spike took a deep unneeded breath as he examined Buffy’s hand. “I’m gonna have to break this to get it out,” he said, indicating the arrow sticking out of her hand.

Buffy nodded her head in understanding. “I know.”

“Okay, pet. Ready?”

Buffy nodded her head again. “Yeah.”

Spike gently snapped the arrows shaft, watching Buffy with concern when she flinched. “On three. One, two, three!” On the count of three, Spike pulled the arrow from Buffy’s hand.

Buffy let out a short hiss when Spike ripped the arrow from her soft flesh, allowing a small trickle of blood flow from the open wound. Once the offending piece of wood was removed from her tiny hand, she pulled the injured appendage to her chest, cradling it gently and attempting to ease the pain.

“You okay, pet?’’ Spike asked, gently running his hand down Buffy’s shoulder.

“Yeah….I’ll be fine,” Buffy said, her eyes shining with unshed tears, both from pain and fright.

“Why’d you do it, luv… why’d you let them go?” Spike asked softly.

“Because you needed me… I could see that arrow, and I knew that if I didn’t do something…” Buffy trailed off, not wanting to think about what could have happened if she hadn’t gotten to Spike in time.

Spike stared into Buffy’s eyes in pure amazement. “You let them go to save me? What about Dawn? You had her, Buffy. You could have squashed the crazy bitch… why would you let her go, just to save me?”

“I didn’t,” Buffy said quietly, staring into Spike’s beautiful blue eyes.

“I mean I was freaked… everything happened so fast. One minute I was fighting Glory, and then *fitzzz* she’s Ben. I was in shock… and then that crunchy demon had a crossbow pointed at you… and I was so scared… I-I didn’t know what else to do. I mean who is Ben anyway? Is he a god too, or is he human? I mean what if Glory can morph into other people. I don’t want to kill some poor innocent person thinking it was her…”

“Whoa-whoa-whoa back up a sec… What’s all this about Glory morphing into Ben?” Spike asked in confusion.

Buffy lifted her head to look at Spike. “Well, I was fighting Glory and then next thing I know she wasn’t Glory anymore, she was Ben.”

“Well that’s a new one… Guess we should get back to the shop and tell the Watcher ‘bout it,” Spike announced with a shrug. “Need to get that hand seen to as well.”

Buffy nodded her head. “Actually it’s feeling pretty good,” she said, looking down at her hand. “Oh my god!” she gasped, holding her hand in the air for Spike to see.

“Bloody hell!” Spike’s astonished voice rang out into the night air. He just couldn’t believe his eyes; Buffy held her hand out for his inspection, and it was completely healed. All that remained of her severe wound was a small pink scar on either side of her hand.

Buffy shakily pulled her hand away from Spike, taking a deep breath as her bottom lip began to quiver. “Spike, what am I?” she questioned in a tiny voice.

Spike wrapped his strong arms around Buffy’s shoulders, pulling her into a comforting embrace. “You’re a miracle, ‘s what you are, pet.”

Buffy lifted her head and let out a small laugh. “I don’t feel too miraculous at the moment.”

Spike laughed as he pulled Buffy off the ground. “Come on, pet, let’s get you back to the shop. Your Watcher’s gonna have conniption if we don’t tell him ‘bout this right away.”

“Yeah. I can practically hear him saying ‘good lord’ and cleaning his glasses from here,” Buffy replied morosely.

TBC...

Authors note: I’d like to give a big thanks to AmyB for her fantastic beta work. She’s knocked herself out to beta this fic for me, even though she’s hard at work on her own. Go check out her Fear in a Handful of Dust fic…Well worth a read.

Also I’d like to thank whoever nominated this story at Lost in Spike Awards. Thank you for all your support and reviews, it means the world to me.

---

“Wonder how Buffy’s doing?” Dawn asked no one in particular, looking up from the large book she was reading.

The whole gang was still at the magic shop, researching. There was so much they had to do. Giles and Anya were researching any information pertaining to Glory. Willow and Tara were studying protection spells, trying to find some way to keep Dawn safe from the crazed hellgod. Xander and Dawn had continued on with their research on Buffy’s ‘condition.’

“I’m sure she’s fine, Dawnie. You saw what she did to Spike last night. I think she can handle herself just fine,” Willow reassured.

“Yeah, and with any luck she might see how Spike’s using her and dust his evil ass once and for all,” Xander grunted.

“Xander! We’ve already been over this. Spike saved Buffy’s life… He--He might not have done it in the traditional sense, but he did save her!” Willow was beyond annoyed. She’d had to listen to Xander bitch and whine about Spike all night. *Why couldn’t he see how hard all this would be for Buffy if she had to do it alone?* Willow couldn’t even begin to imagine what Buffy was going through. *She must be scared out of her mind.*

“Yeah sure… all he’s done is create his very own Buffy slave,” Xander grumbled under his breath. *Why was everyone so quick to accept the peroxide pest? Had they forgotten about the Buffybot or all the times Spike had tried to kill them? How did they know he was too late to save her? He could have simply waited for Buffy to slowly bleed to death and taken the opportunity to turn her, make her into his very own sex slave. Or perhaps he thought she would be all evil and he could send her to kill all of them. After all he couldn’t do it himself. Could he?*

Xander’s musings were cut short when the bell over the front door rang and in walked an extremely dishevelled-looking Buffy followed by a very tousled Spike.

“Good lord Buffy! What on earth happened?” Giles asked, dropping his book onto the research table.

“Are you okay?” Willow asked, slightly wide eyed.

“Yeah, Wills, we’re fine. We just had a little run-in with our resident hellgod and her merry band of crusty demons,” Buffy muttered, slumping down into one of the chairs surrounding the research table.

“W-what did she want?” Tara asked nervously, already knowing the answer.

“Her key,” Buffy replied, giving Dawn’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“I’m guessing she didn’t like it very much when you wouldn’t tell her, huh?” Xander queried, taking in Buffy’s and Spike’s appearance. They both looked like they’d been hit by a truck.

“No, she didn’t… She started throwing some hissy fit, complaining about how it was hers and why wouldn’t I give it to her?” Buffy replied with a small shrug.

“Yeah… stupid bint certainly has some serious screws loose,” Spike grumbled, taking a seat next to Buffy.

“Yeah, you would know,” Xander interjected, clearly referring to Spike’s relationship with Drusilla.

Spike simply glared at the whelp; he didn’t want to upset Buffy by starting another fight with the dark-haired twit.

“So what happened?” Dawn asked anxiously.

“Well, she demanded that I give her ‘her key’ or she’d make me watch while she ripped Spike’s arms and legs off,” Buffy said quietly.

“What? And you stopped her?” Xander retorted with an inappropriate laugh.

Buffy threw Xander an icy glare, silencing any further comments. “Anyway, she then started to threaten you guys, telling me she’d work through each of you and she’d eventually find someone I cared about more than protecting the key… so we fought.”

“Oh, Buffy! You could have been killed!” Willow gasped.

Buffy smiled. “Thanks for the concern, Wills, but here’s the thing: I really got to test out my new strength.” Buffy’s smile widened.

“And?” Dawn asked, unable to take the suspense much longer.

“And I kicked ass. I’m almost as strong as the bitch.”

“Good lord!” Giles gasped, taking his glasses off to clean them.

Buffy laughed at Giles’s reaction; nice to see some things in her life were still predictable. “The thing is, I think she’s always relied on her strength to fight her enemies; she’s no warrior. I was able to take her down too quick.”

“YOU KILLED HER!” Anya yelled excitedly, happy not to have to do anymore research.

“Not quite,” Buffy replied quietly, chewing her bottom lip. “I had her down, and I was beating her with a headstone, which was really fun by the way.” Off everyone’s looks Buffy lowered her eyes in embarrassment. “Anyway, she was weak… and then right before my eyes, POOF! She turns into Ben.”

“What?” Giles asked, stunned.

“Ben?! As in hospital Ben?” Dawn asked.

“Yeah,” Buffy said quietly. She knew Dawn had really liked Ben. He’d been nice to her.

The room fell into silence for a moment, and Buffy noticed that no one seemed to be too concerned with researching this phenomenon. She gave Giles a surprised look. “Well?”

Giles blinked a couple of times and stared as Buffy. “Well what?”

Buffy’s brow furrowed in shock. “Aren’t you gonna research it?”

“Research what?” Giles asked in confusion.

“The whole Glory turning into Ben thing,” Buffy said, slightly exasperated.

“Glory turned into Ben?” Anya cried, clearly surprised.

“Yeah… weren’t you listening? I just told you guys, I was fighting Glory and she morphed into Ben.”

“Glory morphed into Ben?” Xander yelped. “When did this happen?”

Buffy gave Spike a bewildered look. “Just now… What’s with you guys? What’s so hard to grasp about the fact that Glory is Ben and Ben is Glory?”

The whole room filled with shocked gasps.

Buffy let out a small whimper and looked to Spike for help. He looked just as perplexed as her. “What’s wrong with you lot? Evil’s afoot here, pay attention kids,” Spike ground out.

“What are you talking about?” Xander asked in confusion.

Spike threw his head back, letting out a frustrated growl. “Ha-ha-ha… ooh she’s a tricky one,” Spike laughed to himself. Off everyone’s surprised looks, Spike turned to Buffy. “Can’t you see, pet? It’s a spell. If anyone finds out about her little presto trick, they instantly forget.”

“So why wouldn’t it work on us?” Buffy asked, puzzled.

“Don’t know, pet… Maybe it only works on humans… and you and me being a little less or more than human, we’ve remained immune,” Spike replied, running his hands through his hair.

“So how do we break the spell? If I ask Willow or Tara, they’ll probably just forget.” Buffy wondered aloud, trying to find some way to explain her problem to her forgetful friend. “Um, Willow?”

Willow’s head shot up at the sound of Buffy’s voice. “Yeah, Buff?”

“Um… If someone had a spell placed on them, kinda like a protection spell that stops people from finding out a secret… How would you break it?” Buffy asked.

“What kind of spell?” Willow asked.

“A forgetting spell. Let’s just say, for instance, a demon was able to morph into someone else, and anyone who found this out would instantly forget. How would you break the spell?” Buffy asked, praying Willow would be able to help her.

“Oh, that would be a cinch to break! It’s a really simple trick; lots of wiccans used to use that spell in the Middle Ages. That way, if anyone found out they were witches, they’d forget before they could tell anyone,” Willow explained. “Why do you ask?”

Buffy took a deep breath, hoping against hope that Willow would remember this conversation. “I think Glory’s got a spell like that on her… Spike and I have been trying to tell you guys something about her and you keep on forgetting… Are you with me?”

Willow nodded her head. “Yeah. So you want me to break the spell.”

“Yes,” Buffy said with a sigh of relief. She was certain she would have screamed if Willow had forgotten again.

“Okay, just give me a sec. I’ll just grab the ingredients,” Willow announced, jumping up and grabbing the various items she’d need.

“You’re gonna pay for that, right?” Anya asked, clearly concerned for her money.

Willow rolled her eyes at Anya’s comment.

“Anya, if what Buffy says is true, this spell could be of the utmost importance,” Giles said, deeply exasperated. “I’m sure we can absorb the cost.”

“Well, just don’t complain to me if you go broke!” Anya huffed, sourly watching Willow raiding her saleable goods.

“Okay. That’s everything,” Willow announced, placing the ingredients on the counter.

“Do you need any help, honey?” Tara asked.

Willow gave her lover a sweet smile. “No… all I need is a bit of quiet; I need to concentrate on the casting.”

“You’re not going to release any hammer-wielding trolls, are you?” Anya asked snarkily.

Willow gave Anya an annoyed look. “Not if you keep quiet! It’s really a simple spell, just a couple of chants and some herbs, nothing too elaborate.”

“That’s what you said about the troll spell, and look what happened there,” Anya mumbled.

Willow gritted her teeth together, trying to remain calm. “Like I said before… THAT WAS NOT MY FAULT! If you hadn’t been blabbing all the way through the spell, nothing would have happened!”

“Oh, so it’s my entire fault that a 300 pound troll destroyed half the town. It’s funny because I don’t remember being the one stealing any of the ingredients!” Anya yelled in exasperation.

“I didn’t steal anything, I simply borrowed them… And it was for a good cause. I was trying to help Buffy,” Willow retorted.

“Oh, so unleashing a giant, town-smashing troll is your way of helping Buffy. Sorry, maybe it’s my seasoned age, but I don’t see how that could help!” Anya bit back angrily.

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Buffy yelled, beyond frustrated. It was enough to have to put up with Spike and Xander constantly at each other’s throats; now she also had to listen to Anya and Willow go at it. Buffy took a deep breath in order to calm herself down. “We don’t have time for this. I need this spell, and I need it to be done right. Any problems you have with each other, feel free to let loose… after we kill Glory.” Buffy gave Willow and Anya each a cold stare in turn. “Okay?”

Willow dropped her head in shame. “Sorry, Buffy.’’

Anya also had the decency to look ashamed, mumbling her apologies as she slumped down in her seat next to Xander.

Buffy let out another deep sigh as she lightly rubbed her hands over her eyes before turning her attention back to Willow. “Can you do the spell?”

Willow nodded her head. “Yeah.”

Everyone sat in silence as they watched Willow take several deep breaths before starting the spell; the shop filled with the smell of sandalwood and lavender. After several simple chants, the room lit up with a bright flash, indicating the spell was complete.

Buffy watched Willow expectantly. “So did it work?”

Willow nodded her head. “Yeah… I think so.”

“Okay, then… let’s find out,” Buffy said as she faced the group. “You guys remember how I said I was kicking Glory’s ass?”

Everyone nodded. *So far so good,* Buffy thought to herself as she continued. “Well, what you couldn’t seem to remember was the part where I told you guys that Glory turned into Ben. I mean right before my eyes.”

The room was filled with the same gasps as before. Buffy crossed her fingers, hoping desperately that they’d remember what she’d told them this time.

“Good god. How could that be?” Giles gasped.

“Glory is Ben?” Dawn asked in a small voice.

“Wow. Gotta say I never saw that coming,” Xander muttered.

“You can’t be serious, Buffy…. Ben is Glory? Doctor Ben?” Willow gasped.

“G-Glory turned into B-Ben?” Tara asked quietly.

“How could Glory be Ben? He’s a man!” Anya asked in confusion.

Buffy let out a sigh of relief as the room filled with excited questions pertaining to Glory’s transformation. “So you guys remember, right?”

“Yeah…Glory is Ben,” Dawn repeated, still sounding rather confused. “How can Glory be Ben?”

Buffy closed her eyes in relief as Dawn’s simple question filled her ears. “Thank god you remember… ‘Cause I swear if I had to explain to you one more time that Glory was Ben, I was gonna scream.”

“Glory is Ben?” Xander asked in mock shock.

Buffy rolled her eyes in irritation at Xander’s terrible joke.

“Buffy, I don’t understand… surely you mean that Ben was helping Glory in some way?” Giles asked, bewildered.

“No, Giles, I don’t. I mean one minute I was fighting Glory and the next *fitzzz*… She’s Ben,” Buffy explained.

“Yes, you keep repeating that… I’m just a little perplexed by this, ah… transformation. Perhaps if you enlighten me further on tonight’s patrol I would be able to comprehend everything more clearly.”

Buffy took a deep breath. “Spike and I were patrolling Sunny Grove Cemetery. Nothing much was happening, so we were just about to head back here when eight of these really ugly slimy demons attacked us. We took them out pretty fast, but then Glory turned up with a whole gang of her crusty little minions. She started complaining about me not giving her ‘her key’ and how it was hers and she should have it. We fought. I had her down. She was weak, and then the next thing I knew, she wasn’t Glory any more, she was Ben… and I froze… I couldn’t believe my eyes. I mean, one minute I’m fighting a hellgod, and then the next Ben’s lying in front of me all beaten and bloody… I didn’t even have time to think before I heard one of Glory’s cronies threaten Spike. When I turned around two of them were holding him and another one had a loaded crossbow aimed right at him… Everything just happened so fast. I saw the arrow flying through the air… I-I didn’t even think… I just threw myself at him and the arrow ended up through my hand. By the time we recovered, Ben and the minions were gone…”

“Good god, Buffy! You were injured? Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Giles gasped. “Anya, get the first-aid kit.”

“No, don’t worry. I’m fine,” Buffy called out, halting Anya in her tracks.

“Buffy, how on earth could you be fine? Didn’t you just say you had an arrow through your hand?” Giles asked, clearly puzzled.

Buffy nodded her head as she nervously chewed her bottom lip. “Um, yeah… I did. It kinda healed already.”

“What?!” Giles asked.

“I guess it’s just one more thing to add to the research pile,” Buffy shrugged as she showed Giles her hand. The only evidence of her previous injury were two small, almost invisible scars on either side of her hand.

“Good lord! You mean to say that this healed in less than an hour?” Giles asked, astonished, as he examined Buffy’s hand.

“Um, not exactly… It kinda healed in less than a minute,” Buffy said as she pulled her hand away from Giles.

“I-It healed in a m-minute?” Tara stammered softly.

“Extraordinary!” Giles gasped, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Wow… that’s, I mean wow!” Willow said, shocked, staring at Buffy’s hand.

“Yeah, I know,” Buffy said.

“Did you feel it? I mean, did you feel it healing?” Dawn asked in awe.

Buffy smiled gently at her sister. “No, Dawnie. It just healed.”

“Um, doesn’t anyone else here have a problem with Buffy risking her life for Spike?” Xander asked, stunned that no one else had voiced the issue.

“I do,” Spike said from his position next to Buffy.

Everyone in the room turned and stared at Spike.

“What?” Spike asked defensively. “You think I’m happy ‘bout her riskin’ her life to save my arse?”

Buffy threw an icy glare at Spike before returning her attention to Giles. “So, Giles… What do you make of all this? I mean who or what is Ben? Is he a god or what?”

“I’m sure I have no idea… In light of this new information I’d be inclined to suggest….”

“Research?” Buffy finished for Giles.

Giles gave Buffy a warm, apologetic smile. “Well, yes.”

Xander clapped his hands together. “Well, let’s hit the books, bygum!” he said with fake enthusiasm.

Everyone mumbled their protests and aggravation as they sat down at the table to research Glory and Ben.


TBC….

Authors note: I’d like to give a big thanks to AmyB for her remarkable beta work.

Also I’d like to thank whoever nominated this story at Vampires Kiss Awards. Yes you know who you are :) So big-big thanks for all your support.

---

Two hours had gone by, and still no one had found any useful information on whom or what Ben could possibly be. Buffy lazily rested her chin on her hand as she read insignificant information about demonology. Xander let out a frustrated sigh as he threw his book onto the ever-growing pile of useless texts and reached around Buffy to retrieve another book. Buffy closed her eyes and inhaled the rich perfume of Xander’s warm blood; she could feel her mouth watering at the thought of the thick liquid washing down her throat. Licking her lips, she watched her friend’s neck eagerly, mesmerized by the pulse that was visibly pumping just beneath the surface. She could feel the bones in her face shifting as her bloodlust threatened to overtake her senses, and suddenly the room seemed to echo with the loud thumps of her friend’s heartbeats. Pulling on the last thread of her strength, Buffy threw herself from her chair and ran into the back room, trying to distance herself from the temptation of her friend’s enticing blood.

The heads of all the Scoobies shot up at Buffy’s hasty exit. Spike was the first to reach the training room, bursting through the door to find Buffy madly clutching the pommel horse with her back facing him. He could hear her taking deep, ragged breaths as she tried to calm her nerves.

“Buffy, pet—what’s wrong?” Spike asked hesitantly, placing a loving hand on her shoulder. He could hear Giles and the others running into the room. Then he sensed it. Buffy’s bloodlust was radiating off of her in waves, and he could feel her body tense as her friends entered the room.

“Get back!” Spike yelled as the group advanced on the barely-restrained vampire.

“What’s wrong?” Giles asked with concern as he stopped dead in his tracks.

Spike clenched his jaw in frustration. He knew how hard it would be for Buffy to fight her bloodlust with so many live meals nearby. “Do you have any blood ‘ere?”

Giles’s eyes shot open at the realization of the situation. “N-no I don’t… we’ll go get some.” With that said, Giles quickly ushered everyone out of the room, instructing them to lock the door and stay as far away from it as possible. Nobody questioned him, all quite aware of their current situation.

Spike lightly ran his hand down Buffy’s back trying to comfort her.

“I don’t think I can do this, Spike. It’s too hard. I wanted to bite them… Oh god, I still do!” Buffy turned around and buried her face in Spike’s chest. “Don’t let me hurt them… Oh, please don’t let me hurt them.”

“I won’t, luv, but you’ve got to fight it. You have to be strong.” Spike rubbed Buffy’s back as he spoke. He could feel the tension in her body, and he knew if she really wanted to attack her friends there was no way he would be able to stop her.

Buffy sobbed as she tried to fight back her demon. “I can’t fight it, Spike. It’s too strong. I can’t do this… Oh god, I can hear them! I can hear their heartbeats. I can smell their blood,” Buffy inhaled deeply taking in Spike’s scent. “I can smell your blood too.”

Spike could feel Buffy nuzzling his neck, lightly running her fangs over his lifeless jugular, desperately trying to hold back her raging demon. A vampire in the thrall of bloodlust wasn’t too picky as to what they bit, and Spike knew all too well that Buffy could drain him without a second thought. He shuddered as Buffy buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing in her sire’s unmistakable scent. It was taking all of Spike’s control not to take Buffy right there on the training room floor as wildly erotic images of her feeding off him while he pumped into her at a feverish pace flooded his mind. Blood and sex were pretty much par for the course for a vampire. It’s what they existed for: blood, sex, and violence, preferably all at the same time.

Spike was jolted out of his fantasies by the sound of the training room door opening. “What—are you lot daft? Get out of here!”

Buffy began to struggle in Spike’s arms as the enticing smell hit her. *Blood*--she could smell it, thick and rich. Spike turned his head in time to see Xander dump a plastic bag on the floor before running out of the room. He apparently wasn’t willing to wait around to see if he was on the dessert list.

Buffy shoved Spike aside and ran over to the discarded bag. She quickly ripped open one of the many bags of blood, downing the first pint in mere seconds, and two more pints quickly followed. By the fourth pint Buffy had been reduced to tears, feeling completely ashamed of herself, terrified for her friends, and totally frustrated at her lack of willpower.

Spike pulled Buffy into his arms, trying to comfort her as he rocked her back and forth. “S’alright, pet, s’alright.”

“No it’s not, Spike… I can’t do this. I can’t live in constant fear of hurting my friends. Do you know how close I was to biting them… to biting you?” Buffy sobbed out in a small voice.

“Yeah, pet, I do… what you’re goin’ through is totally normal. I know how hard it is for you. I’ve been there m’self,” he said, all the while stroking her hair.

“How do you do this every day? How do you fight the bloodlust day in day out?” Buffy asked, pulling back to see Spike’s face.

Spike gave Buffy a small smile. “It gets easier, pet. In time. As a vampire ages, they learn how to control their demon. The way I see it, you have the restraint of a two-year-old fledgling, which is pretty damned amazing considering you’re only two days old. Do you know how proud I am of you? I know what it’s like to feel the hunger and have to fight it. I know how painful it can be, and you fought it so well. You’re so much stronger then you think, luv.”

Buffy gave Spike a dejected look. “Is this your way of saying I acted like a two–year-old?”

Spike smiled. “Something like that, pet.”

Buffy lowered her eyes and ran her fingers through her hair. “So what am I supposed to do, run into the back room whenever I get a burst of bloodlust?”

“No, luv…. All you need to do is recognize the small signs of an upcoming feed.”

Buffy looked at Spike in absolute mystification. “What signs?”

“Did you notice that your senses heightened a few minutes before you lost control?” he asked.

Buffy nodded her head. “Yeah. Their smells were stronger, and their heartbeats seemed louder.”

Spike nodded his head. “Those’re your first signs of hunger. All you need to do is eat before you endanger any of your friends.”

“That’s all well and good, Spike, if I’m here or at home. But what do I do if I’m at the mall or something with Dawn?” Buffy asked in a small voice.

“Simple, luv, just make sure you feed before you go out… It gets easier, Buffy, I promise you. Just give it some time, pet,” Spike explained, tenderly stroking Buffy’s hair.

Buffy gently pulled herself free from Spike’s embrace. “There are other things, Spike. I feel… When I was fighting Glory tonight, I lost control… I could feel this rage bubbling up inside of me… a-and I enjoyed it,” she finished, her head hung in obvious shame.

“I would have thought you would be used to that. I mean, bein’ the Slayer ‘n all…”

Buffy shook her head. “Um, no… t-this was different. I, um…. I felt… It kinda….”

“Turned you on?” Spike asked huskily.

Buffy blushed bright red with embarrassment. “Yeah.”

Spike let out a small laugh. “Welcome to the world of vampires, pet. Nothin’ like a spot of violence to get the juices flowin’.”

Buffy lifted her head and stared at Spike in shocked relief. “You mean it’s normal? I’m not a freak?”

Spike laughed. “Yeah, pet, it’s normal. When you get down to the nitty gritty, being a vampire is pretty much just about blood and sex and fightin’. There’s nothin’ wrong with you, pet… just the demon at work s’all.”

Buffy snorted. “So, what? I’m destined to walk around hungry and horny all the time?”

Spike laughed. “Don’t know ‘bout that, luv… both those things are a pretty easy fix,” he teased, giving her a suggestive wink.

Buffy blushed again as the sudden thought of allowing Spike to be the one to ‘fix’ that problem rushed through her mind. She could feel an all-too-familiar wetness forming between her thighs, the memory of how wonderful Spike’s firm body felt as he pressed her against the cold hard wall of that crypt earlier this evening still fresh in her mind. The way his skillful tongue swept past her lips, tasting every crevice of her willing mouth… and that thought lead to another as she wondered what else he could do with that tongue. She mentally groaned at visions of passionate sex that ended with her sinking her fangs into Spike’s willing neck… god how much she wanted that. She broke herself out of her reverie, mentally scolding herself; she couldn’t believe she was getting turned on by the thought of biting Spike. *Bad Buffy*.


~*~~*~~*~


Xander was nervously pacing the floor in front of the counter. “What’s going on here, Giles? I thought Buffy still had a soul.”

“She does have a soul, Xander. But she is still a vampire… She just needs to learn how to control herself. Please realize that all of this has got to be incredibly difficult for Buffy, and right now she needs our support. More so than ever, I might say.”

Xander ran his fingers through his hair in frustration as he sat down on the bench next to Anya. “I know…. I just can’t stand seeing her like that…. I mean, this is Buffy. She defeated the Mayor and Adam. I keep thinking that she’s strong enough to conquer the demon or something…. But then I see her like that and I feel so… so useless.”

Everyone sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts about Buffy. What Xander had said had entered all of their minds at one time or another. *Buffy can fight this. She’ll be the first person to overcome vampirism.*Seeing her so out of control and frightened, however, destroyed the naïve fantasies and succeeded in causing reality to come crashing back to earth. Buffy was a vampire, and nothing could change that. The only conciliation of this fact was that she hadn’t lost her humanity.

Dawn was the first to break the silence. “She’s going to be alright, isn’t she?” For some reason, seeing Buffy lash out at Xander in anger the night before hadn’t frightened her nearly as much as seeing her lose control for no apparent reason.

“I’m sure she’ll be fine, Dawnie. She’s just a little confused right now. Spike will help her understand some of what she’s going through, and she’ll figure out the rest. She’s tough, and so is he,” Tara assured the troubled teenager in a soothing tone.

Xander snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure he’s showing her the ropes right now.”

Willow rolled her eyes at Xander’s latent jealousy. “Xander, just give it a rest, okay! If you had bothered to notice, Spike was just as worried for Buffy as the rest of us, and he was the first one to try to help, and the ONLY one who knew how to. I think he can help her through this, and if you’d get your head out of your butt for one minute you might be able to see that, too!”

“That’s just what I’m afraid of, Will. I think he’s trying to help her right into his bed,” Xander said, clearly irritated by Willow’s outburst.

Willow raised her eyebrows and leant over the table towards Xander. “And what would be so bad about that, Xander?”

Xander’s jaw dropped open in shock. “You’re kidding, right? This is Spike where talking about--an evil blood sucking vampire who’s tried to kill us a whole bunch of times!”

Willow relaxed back into her chair. “That’s one way of looking at it…. But I’d rather look at it from another angle. Spike isn’t really evil anymore….”

“Only because of the chip!” Xander butted in.

“No, I don’t think so. If Spike really wanted to hurt Buffy, or any of us for that matter, he could have set us up at any time. Just because he can’t personally kill any of us, doesn’t make him incapable of hiring a mob of demons to do the job for him. He could have let Harmony take us all out, Xander, or had her sire minions to do it for him. I think it goes deeper than the chip. I think he really does love Buffy, and that’s why he’s changed. Just look at what he went through with Glory. She broke so many bones in his body, it took him weeks to recover, and he didn’t say a word. He could have told her about Dawn, or for that matter even told her that any one of us was the key, but he didn’t. And as for a blood sucking vampire, hello?! What do you think Buffy is now?” Willow added with a shrug of her shoulders. “Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I think Buffy and Spike should start running for Perfect Couple of the Year. But if she’s got feelings for Spike and wants to act on them, I’m not going to judge her, and neither should you. She’s a big girl, Xander, and there’s no way Buffy would let Spike take advantage of her. And if he’s stupid enough to try…. Well, you saw the damage she inflicted on him the other night. Imagine what she would do to him if he really pissed her off.”

Xander listened to Willow in stunned silence, unable to come up with a convincing counter argument and therefore wisely keeping quiet. He didn’t think yelling ‘liar-liar pants on fire’ would be considered a particularly mature retort. Finally he turned to Giles as the court of last resort. “So what do you think of all this?” he asked, hoping against hope that the level-headed Englishman would side with him on the whole ‘Spike = evil’ issue.

Giles turned thoughtful eyes to Xander. “Well, I happen to agree with much of what Willow has had to say. I-I believe that Buffy’s going through a torment which none of us could possibly try to comprehend, and through which none of us can truly guide and aid her in any quantifiable way. I feel she needs our support and understanding, and I also feel that she needs Spike. No matter what, ahh, relationship she chooses to have with him, she obviously places a great deal of trust in him and more importantly seems to trust herself much more when she is in his presence. She needs someone to confide in, and it could well be that Spike is the only person with whom she feels safe enough to share her thoughts and feelings at this juncture.”

“Hear,hear!” Dawn seconded with a grin.

Xander couldn’t help but smile at Dawn’s playful softening of Giles’ and Willow’s lectures. “Okay, okay, I get it. Buffy needs Spike. So I’ll play nice… doesn’t mean I have to like it though,” he mumbled as an afterthought.

“That’s the spirit, honey,” Anya said with a bright smile as she patted Xander’s hand affectionately.

No one seemed to notice Spike standing near the doorway to the training room until he cleared his throat, and everyone turned startled eyes towards him in response to the gravelly noise. Spike was sporting a huge grin, no doubt caused by the fact that he had heard most of the conversation between the Watcher, the Witch, and the Whelp.

Willow blushed when Spike gave her a wink, clearly indicating that he’d heard her comment.

Giles stared expectantly at the blonde vampire. “Oh, Spike, we didn’t see you there…. How is Buffy? I trust that she’s feeling better?”

Spike nodded his head as he walked over to the table. “Yeah… she’s just a little freaked at the moment. She wants to head home, get some rest. You okay with taking the Lil’ Bit home with you?”

“Yes, yes, of course. Dawn’s welcome to stay with me for as long as necessary.”

Spike nodded his head. “Thanks, Watcher.” With that he turned and retreated into the back room where Buffy awaited him.

Buffy jumped up from her position on the floor as Spike re-entered the room. “Are they okay?”

“Yeah, pet, they’re fine… You ready to go?”

Buffy nodded her head. “Yeah.”

Both Buffy and Spike exited the training room via the back door into the alley, as Buffy was still feeling far too self-conscious and anxious to face her friends. She wouldn’t have blamed them if they said they never wanted to see her again after the way she had acted tonight. She must have scared them half out of their wits.

On the way home, Spike made a quick stop by his crypt to grab a few things, since it had become apparent that Buffy had no intentions of letting him out of her sight. She felt so vulnerable and exposed whenever Spike left her side, but for some reason she felt more confident and in control of herself with him around. Perhaps it was the thought of him being able to hold her back if her demon decided to return full force… Even as this thought entered her mind Buffy brushed it aside, knowing full well that Spike really had no chance of restraining her if she wanted to attack. But somehow, him just being there made her feel more secure and more in control of herself.

Before long, the two blonde vampires once again arrived at Buffy’s house. They both shrugged off their coats, throwing them over the back of the couch as Spike placed his small bag of clothing on the floor by the door.

Buffy suddenly became all too aware of her dishevelled state as she looked down at her muddy top and dirty jeans. “Ugh… I’m a mess. I’m just gonna have a shower, ‘kay.”

Spike nodded his head. “Okay, luv… think I might just grab something to eat.”

“Okay,” Buffy called, already halfway up the stairs.

Spike listened to the running shower as he drank his mugs of warm pig’s blood. He couldn’t help but smile to himself over his current situation. This just felt so normal and domestic, leaning back against the kitchen counter, drinking a mug of blood while he waited for Buffy to finish in the bathroom. *Yes, unlife is definitely looking up…* he mused to himself, only to have his thoughts interrupted by the sound of Buffy’s voice calling down the stairs.

“Shower’s free if you want one.”

His smile only grew wider at the sound of Buffy’s sweet voice. *A bloke could get use to this,* he thought as he rinsed out his mug and headed upstairs to get cleaned up.

When Spike entered the bathroom, his nostrils flared as his senses were overwhelmed by the scent of Buffy. He could smell the soft perfume of her shampoo, combined with the sweet flowery scent of her soap and the underlying scent that was just so distinctly hers. His smile spread even wider. *Yep definitely could get used to this,* he thought, turning on the shower and squeezing a small amount of shampoo into his hand.


~*~~*~~*~


Buffy had just finished getting dressed and was walking down the hallway on her way downstairs when the bathroom door opened, revealing a half-naked Spike. The only thing keeping him semi-decent was a damp, loosely tied towel wrapped around his waist. Buffy came to a dead stop, her eyes almost popping out of her head as she stared at Spike’s marble white chest and washboard abs.

“Spike! I, um… I w-was heading down stairs to lock up the chest… HOUSE! I mean house. Don’t want a hardbody… I-I mean, anybody breaking in while we sleep.” Buffy mentally cringed, *get a grip girl, it’s still just Spike… yummy naked Spike with the chest and the abs and the… why couldn’t he just accidentally drop his towel?* “I mean, just because vampires need to be invited in doesn’t mean other demons are so easily stripped…. STOPPED!” Buffy blushed bright red. God, she couldn’t believe she was acting like some sort of adolescent schoolgirl. She was a grown woman, and she had seen naked men before. *None of them looked like him before, though… stop it! Bad bad Buffy!* “I’m just gonna go be somewhere… else. Now,” she said finally as she pointed towards the stairs.

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow in amusement as he watched Buffy ramble. “I’ll join you.”

“What?!” Buffy yelped as she spun on her heels, returning her attention to the imminently droolworthy vampire standing half-naked in her hallway.

Spike smirked. “I said I’ll join you, pet… forgot to bring my clothes up here.”

Buffy plastered a fake smile on her face, desperately trying to cover up the heated blush that was creeping up her cheeks. “Oh… I hadn’t noticed,” she said lamely as she turned away from Spike, cursing herself under her breath at her pathetic attempt to act cool.

Spike inwardly chuckled to himself; he had no idea he could have this kind of effect on Buffy without even touching her. *Should walk around naked more often,* he thought as he followed a very embarrassed and flustered Buffy downstairs.

Once downstairs, Buffy quickly busied herself checking to ensure that all the windows and doors were locked. Spike watched her for a moment before grabbing up the plastic bag containing his few items of clothing and sauntering back upstairs.

Once Buffy was sure Spike was no longer watching her, she turned and watched him ascend the stairs, admiring the back view almost as much as she had the front. *Mmm… yummy.* Once the blonde vampire was out of view, Buffy pressed her back against the front door, allowing herself to slide to the floor as she tried to clear her head. *Wow-wow-wow, oh god wow.*

Spike could hardly hold back the laughter caused by Buffy’s behaviour. He knew she was watching him as he walked back up the stairs, and once he rounded the corner he heard her small body slump against the door, followed by the scraping sound of her sliding to the floor. He chuckled lightly to himself as he walked into the bathroom to get dressed, although he thought it would prove to be a far more entertaining evening if he went sans-clothes for the duration. Listening to Buffy’s tongue-tied ramblings alone would be worth it.

Buffy shook her head in disgust at her behaviour. *Good god girl, anyone would think you’ve never seen a naked man before.* A mischievous grin spread across her lips, *but he sure has a nice chest though… cute butt, too. Bad Buffy! Shut up, little voice!* Buffy shook her head to clear it and headed upstairs, far too tired to analyse this any longer. As she ascended the last step she nearly bumped into a now fully-clothed Spike.

“Sorry, luv. Didn’t expect to see you there.”

Buffy smiled back. “Its okay….You’d be surprised just how often I hear that.”

Spike smiled as he looked into Buffy’s eyes. “You off to bed now?’

Buffy nodded her head and choked back a yawn. “Yeah, I’m pretty worn out… Having to fight a hellgod and all that.”

Spike smiled. “Okay, luv, I’ll see you in the morning,” he replied as he turned and walked towards his room.

“Spike?” Buffy asked in a slightly anxious tone.

“Yeah, pet?”

“Will you stay with me…? I mean I’m only gonna wake up screaming anyway, might as well just start off in the same bed….” Buffy said with a slight blush.

Spike held back a smirk. “Sure, pet.”

Buffy smiled. “Thanks.”

The two vampires walked into Buffy’s room and tucked themselves in, climbing in under the covers. Once Spike had gotten comfortable, Buffy scooted over and rested her head on his chest. He instantly wrapped his arm around Buffy’s back, inhaling her unmistakable scent, and within moments she was asleep. Yes, the fight with the slimy demons and Glory had definitely taken their toll on the Slayer, not to mention the draining fight she had waged with her demon over her raging bloodlust. Spike listened protectively to Buffy’s rhythmic heartbeat and the steady sound of her breathing, ensuring that she wasn’t falling into nightmares before finally surrendering to his own slumber.


TBC…

Authors note: As always, I’d like to thank my wonderful beta AmyB. She makes each chapter just that little more special.

So now on with the story… here we go kiddies, my very first smut chapter. Please be gentle, I’ve never done this before :)

---

Buffy awoke around 11 am, still wrapped in Spike’s strong arms. She had slept the whole night through without any nightmares, and she felt more refreshed than she had in days. She was startled to realize that she hadn’t even slept that well before she had been turned, and probably hadn’t since Glory had shown up in Sunnydale. She slowly pulled herself free from Spike, taking care not to wake him.

As per usual, her hunger drove her straight to the kitchen, and once there she poured herself a mug of blood and popped it into the microwave to warm it. She felt calm, almost peaceful for the first time in days, and she attributed the mood to the good night’s sleep. The microwave gave a small buzz indicating that her liquid breakfast was ready, and she downed the entire mug in three large gulps before starting to prepare a more solid meal.

Spike had awakened at the loss of Buffy’s warm body, but had tried to recapture sleep. Deciding that it impossible and making his way downstairs, he smiled when he heard her quietly singing to herself. Moving further down the hallways, he watched as she practically danced around the kitchen. “Mamma mia, here I go again. My, my how can I resist you? Mamma mia, does it show again? My, my just how much I missed you.”

Spike’s smile turned into a grin. “Mornin’ pet, sleep well?” he asked, basking in the feeling of seeing Buffy happy and so full of life.

Buffy smiled brightly and jumped up on the kitchen counter, casually taking a bite of her peanut butter-covered toast. “Mmm-hmm! Like a log.”

Spike smiled as he took in the sight of the beautiful creature in front of him. She was still dressed in her white satin pyjamas, which showed off the outline of her breasts every time she moved. Her long blond hair fell haphazardly over her shoulders, obviously untouched since waking, and somehow this seemed to give her an almost angelic appearance. He noticed that her eyes once again twinkled, something he hadn’t truly seen there since the night he fought her in that old church so many years ago. She was breathtaking.

Buffy’s brow creased in thought. “Wonder where that saying ever came from anyway. I mean, it’s not like logs can actually sleep…”

Letting out a low chuckle Spike walked closer to Buffy. “Don’t know, luv, think it just means nothin’ disturbed you, kinda like you can’t disturb a log.” He thought for a moment. “Well, I guess you can disturb a log… ‘tis just not really goin’ to bother it…”

Buffy smiled indulgently as she listened to Spike trying to explain the significance behind the proverb; apparently she wasn’t the only one who rambled her way through her thoughts out loud.

Spike finally noticed Buffy’s amused look and returned the grin. “Then again, I could just be full of shit.”

Buffy giggled. “Hmm… nope, I can’t argue with that.” She let out a deep sigh and stretched her arms over her head, giving Spike an even better view of her breasts. “Well, whatever, I slept better then I have in a long time… I feel great.”

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow questioningly. “Is that right?” he teased, sensually curling his tongue behind his teeth and eyeing Buffy from head to toe.

Buffy flushed under Spike’s heated gaze; she could practically feel his eyes roaming over her body, and it was sending lustful tingles through out her entire system.

“Mind if I see for myself?” he asked seductively as he closed the distance between them. Reaching out his hand, he lightly ran it down Buffy’s shoulder, down to her waist and then to the small of her back.

Buffy gasped and arched herself forward. Days of sexual frustration finally burst free, as she gave herself over to temptation.

“You’re right, luv. You do feel great. I bet you taste pretty good, too,” Spike purred seductively, leaning forward and capturing Buffy’s lips in a passionate kiss.

Buffy’s head was spinning, and her hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they frantically explored Spike’s body. She let out a small whimper when she felt his hand cup her satin-covered breast, lightly pinching her nipple through the soft material—and unleashing a mass of butterflies fluttering in her belly. Buffy was lost. How could this one man ignite such a flame in her with only a simple touch? No one had ever made her feel this alive. She could feel every nerve ending in her body singing out for Spike’s cool touch and had to fight the urge to scream out in pleasure. So many sensations swept through her body, much the same way as Spike’s tongue was currently sweeping through her mouth… seeking her out, exploring her, devouring her.

But oh, how she wanted to be devoured. She wanted him to take everything she had until there was nothing left of her. She wanted him to break through the thick walls she had built around herself, the walls that were supposed to protect her from these kinds of raw emotions. With a whimper Buffy broke the fervent kiss in order to catch her breath. As she panted madly for air, Spike continued his oral onslaught, hungrily sucking on her pulse points before kissing his way back up her neck. Buffy practically melted when Spike sucked her earlobe into his cool mouth, pressing her tightly against him as he teased her. She could feel his arousal as he seductively rubbed himself against her inner thigh, and she realized that she wanted him so badly it hurt. She needed to feel him inside her, completing her.

Spike let out a low growl as Buffy’s small warm hands eagerly ripped his t-shirt from his body. If it had been possible he would have had a heart attack from sheer pleasure as Buffy trailed hungry wet kisses down his chest. He could feel her small fingers frantically trying to release him from the constraint of his jeans, and he groaned loudly as she successfully unfastened the offending garment. Once it sprang free, Buffy’s hands made their way to his aching shaft, lightly caressing him with her soft fingers, just enough to drive him mad. “Oh bloody hell, Buffy, you’re killing me,” Spike gasped as he pulled her small body closer to his.

Buffy lightly nibbled on Spike’s bottom lip. “I don’t think so. I’ve hardly even touched you,” she said in a deep breathless tone, running her finger from the tip of Spike’s penis down to his testicles.

Spike’s eyes rolled back from the amazing, tortuous sensation of Buffy’s light touch. “That’s the point, luv. I need to feel you--all of you,” he growled, almost losing control and ripping them asunder as he quickly removed Buffy’s silky pyjamas .

Buffy’s breath was coming in short, lust-filled gasps as she watched Spike clear the kitchen counter with one swift sweep of his arm, sending utensils and crockery scattering onto the floor. He placed his hand on her chest, pushing her backwards gently and laying her out before him. Spike’s unneeded breath caught in his throat at the sight of her lying bare before him, her impassioned body shining with perspiration. Her breathing was rapid and shallow, her eyes completely dilated with desire. He let his eyes travel over her body, causing her to shiver with anticipation. “You’re beautiful,” he said with a breathless gasp as he drank her in.

Buffy looked up at him with heavy lids. “Spike, please,” she begged as she reached for his hand, desperate for his touch.

Spike let out a shaky breath and stepped closer to Buffy. The smell of her heady arousal was assaulting him, nearly bringing him to his knees. He just couldn’t believe that this was happening; all of the lonely nights he had spent fantasizing about her, his golden goddess--and here she was, laid out before him, begging him to touch her… and he was suddenly terrified. He was so afraid that she would disappear if he touched her, like she had in so many of his dreams.

“Spike, please… I need you.”

Buffy’s soft plea was enough to jolt Spike from him hesitations. He placed a shaky hand on her hip, groaning when he felt her thrust up into his hand. “Oh god, Buffy, I love you so much.”

Buffy felt the tremble in Spike’s hand as he lightly stroked her hip; she raised herself slightly from the counter and met his gaze, running her small hand over his trembling fingers. “Show me,” she whispered as she pulled his hand towards her breasts. That was all the encouragement that Spike needed, and he once again claimed Buffy’s lips with his in a searing kiss.

They broke apart, and suddenly Buffy could feel an almost guttural growl emanating from her chest as Spike latched his mouth around one of her nipples. He was alternating between sucking and lightly biting the tender flesh, arousing Buffy beyond belief, and she could feel her slick fluids pooling onto the counter underneath her. She actually thought she might come simply from the sensation of Spike suckling on her breast. She let out a hiss in disappointment when he let her tender nipple slid out of his mouth, only to have him turn the same attention to her other breast.

Spike couldn’t believe the guttural noises Buffy was making; if it was at all possible, he was growing harder listening to her. He couldn’t believe how responsive she was, and he was ecstatic that he was the one who was responsible for these noises. She let out another sweet moan that sounded almost like a kitten mewling and he was possessed by the desire to drag this out, to see what other noises he could urge from her. Buffy, however, seemed to have other ideas, and she reached down and once again began to stroke Spike’s manhood, breaking what little control he had left.

“Bloody hell, Buffy!” he groaned as she lightly pumped him, stopping at the base of his penis, only to gently cup his testicles before slowly sliding her hand back up his shaft. Spike’s eyes practically rolled back into his head when she gently ran her finger around the head before teasing back the foreskin, adding to the amazing sensation of her fingertips lightly massaging the sensitive tip. Spike looked down at Buffy through desire-glazed eyes, only to see that she was wearing a knowing smile. She knew exactly what she was doing to him, and it turned her on nearly as much as his touch.

Her lips parted slightly as her tongue darted out to moisten them, and Spike felt his control break. Letting out a deep moan, he pulled Buffy’s teasing fingers away from his shaft and swiftly climbed onto the counter, positioning himself to enter the heaven between her legs. Their eyes met and proved to be the mirror of the other’s desire. Buffy could feel Spike’s arousal kissing the entrance to her slick passage, and she let a sly smile light up her face as she reached both hands down to Spike’s backside and pulled him forward, pressing him into her. They both let out gasps of pleasure as he entered her slick, heated depths. Gently rocking together rhythmically, they allowed the exquisite sensations to engulf them both.

Buffy’s legs found their way around Spike’s hips, encouraging him to pump into her faster. Spike eagerly obliged, slamming into her at a frantic pace. As the frenzy of their lovemaking increased, Buffy shifted her hips, inadvertently causing Spike to lose his balance and sending him to the floor, taking her along with him. She let out a small gasp at the deeper intrusion before raising herself up on her knees and slamming back down, once again impaling herself on Spike’s engorged shaft.

Spike was in blissful heaven, watching Buffy’s beautiful flushed face as she rode him into oblivion. Leaning up, he captured one of her sweat-sheened breasts in his mouth, sucking eagerly on her pert nipple as his hand made its way down to her swollen clit.

Buffy moaned as Spike sensually caressed her clit. She could feel her release building, starting in her toes, tingling all the way up into her belly as small pre-orgasmic sparks ran through her womb. Buffy let out an almost feral scream as an earth-shattering orgasm rushed through her body. She couldn’t stop shaking as pulsing tingles of pleasure spread throughout her body, and she could hardly comprehend what was happening when Spike gave her clit another light tweak, sending her over the edge again.

Spike closed his eyes against the ecstatic pain as Buffy’s powerful muscles pulsed around him. Thrusting into her heated depths once more, he finally found release in her quivering channel.

Buffy let out a ragged breath as she collapsed onto Spike’s chest. She lay like that for several minutes, savouring the deeply intimate connection. Once her senses returned, Buffy lifted her head and stared into Spike’s pleasure-filled face. “Wow!” was all she could say before she dropped her face into the crook of his neck, breathing in the scent of her sire.

Spike let out a lazy chuckle as he softly stroked Buffy’s golden hair. “You can say that again.”

Buffy lifted her head and stared playfully into her sire’s eyes. “Wow,” She said again with a mischievous grin, leaning forward and giving Spike a sweet kiss before shifting her weight off of his well-muscled body.

Spike chuckled and shifted with Buffy, still holding her loosely to him with one arm. He finally came down from his orgasmic high enough to notice that something was painfully digging into his back. Reaching behind him to find the offending object, he laughed as his hand brought a fork into his field of vision. “Well, fork me,” he said with a smirk, tossing the utensil across the room.

Buffy laughed as she shifted uncomfortably, reaching under her hip and producing another fork. “Me too,” she said giddily as she tossed the annoying object over her shoulder. “What do you say we move this somewhere we’re less likely to get forked?”

Spike chuckled as he shifted his weight onto his hip. “Have some place in mind, kitten?”

Buffy gave Spike a saucy smile as she lightly traced her fingers down his sculpted chest. “Mmm-hmm.”

“Care to tell me where, luv?” Spike asked huskily.

Buffy responded by leaning closer to Spike and lightly blazing a trail of hot, lust-filled kisses down his chest before finally lifting her head, meeting his hungry gaze with her own. “Upstairs… Bedroom… Now.”

Spike didn’t have to be told twice, quickly jumping up from the floor and pulling Buffy with him. Once on their feet, Spike attacked Buffy with a round of almost savage kisses, and Buffy responded in turn with her own assault. Neither of them even seemed to realize they were moving until Spike tripped over the bottom step leading up to Buffy’s bedroom. Buffy let out a small giggle at the sight of Spike’s naked, fully aroused body sprawled out on the stairs before reaching out her hand and easily pulling him to his feet. Now upright again, they once again started their frenzied journey back up to her room. Halfway up the stairs, Spike grabbed Buffy and pressed her tiny, powerful body against the wall, hungrily kissing her as his hands enthusiastically caressed her naked flesh.

Spike was more than ready to take Buffy right there on the stairs. The short trip from the kitchen to her room had been beyond tortuous, and he was certain he could make it no further.

Buffy could feel Spike pressing himself against her, obviously intent on having his wicked way with her right there on the stairway. Somehow, Buffy’s fuzzy, lust-crazed mind registered just how precarious their current position was. What if Spike lost his balance and fell through the wooden banister? He could be dust before she even knew what had happened. The frightening image was enough to give her the strength to lightly push Spike away from her. “Not here … Bedroom,” she announced in short gasps.

Spike responded by lifting Buffy’s small frame, pulling her legs around his waist as he carried her upstairs to her room. If Buffy wanted her bed, Buffy was gonna have her bed. Hell, at that moment, if she had told him she wanted him to make love to her while she sunbathed in a vat of holy water, he would have joined her without hesitation.

Buffy whimpered as Spike’s cock rubbed against her moist cleft as he carried her up to her room. She busied herself by hungrily kissing and sucking his cool chest and neck, leaving behind small love-bites as a reminder that she had been there. Spike growled in agonized delight when Buffy lightly bit into his neck with her blunt teeth, drawing a small amount of blood that she eagerly lapped up. Finally, they reached the bedroom. Spike almost kicked the door off its hinges as they came crashing into the room, falling onto the bed in a tangle of limbs.

He quickly positioned himself between Buffy’s legs, groaning in delight as her heat engulfed him once more. This time he took his time, drawing out their climaxes as he took her at an almost torturously slow pace. Buffy was in heaven, allowing Spike to show her the hidden pleasure zones on and inside her body that she hadn’t even known existed. She could feel her release building, and she found she had to struggle to hold back her demon.

Spike could see Buffy’s inner battle as her eyes shifted from fierce gold back to green. “Let it go, pet…. Let it happen,” he whispered into her ear, sending shudders down Buffy’s spine.

Buffy did what Spike told her, releasing her hold on her demon and allowing her full demonic visage to fall into pace. She didn’t fight it anymore, and she didn’t question it either; she grabbed hold of the back of Spike’s neck, pulling him down to her mouth as she slid her elongated teeth into his soft, pliable flesh, gulping hungrily as she exploded in a powerful orgasm.

Spike moaned in pleasurable pain as Buffy latched onto his throat, drinking the borrowed blood that rested in his veins, and allowed himself to lose control as well. Unable to contain himself any longer, he sank his fangs into her neck, fervently drinking her powerful blood. Spike came the instant he tasted the powerful elixir that was Buffy’s blood; he’d tasted Slayer blood before, but it had been nothing like this--this was like some sort of euphoric drug.

Buffy released her hold on Spike when she felt his sharp canines enter the chalice of her neck, sending her spiralling into another earth-shattering orgasm. For several minutes they didn’t move, only held each other close as they gently licked the wounds on their partner’s necks.

Spike pulled back and looked into Buffy’s face, noting the strange expression of euphoric contentment mixed with confusion and remorse. “You okay, pet?” he asked as he lightly stroked her hair.

Buffy looked up at him and gave him a genuinely sweet smile. “Yeah… I’m just a little wigged, is all… I can’t believe I actually bit you.”

Spike smiled and bent down to give Buffy a tender, almost chaste kiss. “That you did, luv… And I bit you.”

“Mmm… actually, I kinda liked that part,” Buffy replied with a coy smile.

Spike chuckled as he rolled onto his back. “So did, I, pet…. So did I.”

Buffy giggled and rolled towards Spike so she could lie in the crook of his arm. “So is this normal…. I mean, the whole biting thing?”

Spike smiled. “Yeah, kitten…. Don’t think I’d ever describe what just happened as normal though.” He shifted his weight so he could look at her, lightly running his fingers down her already healed throat. “Bloody hell, pet, you’re amazing…. And your blood… your blood’s like an atomic blast of ecstasy. No, normal doesn’t even come close to describing what we’ve just shared.”

Buffy smiled and pressed herself closer to Spike’s cool chest. “Yeah… That’s what I thought, too.”


~*~~*~~*~


“A VAMPIRE! THE SLAYER’S A VAMPIRE! WOULD SOMEONE MIND TELLING ME WHEN THAT HAPPENED?”

Glory was livid. She was madly pacing the floor of her plush apartment, surrounded by several crusty minions who watched nervously as the hellgod ranted.

“And why the hell won’t she give me my key? I mean, what use is it to her? It’s mine and I want it!” Glory stamped her foot like a spoilt child to emphasize her point.

Jinx took a nervous step closer to the agitated god. “Most splendid magnificence, we are your humble servants…”

Jinx’s sentence was cut short by Glory backhanding him into a nearby wall. “Well then, serve me! Find out why the slayer-vampire… whatever the hell she is continues to defy me. I don’t appreciate it when lowly demons challenge me!” Glory yelled before calming slightly. “You know what I don’t get? She still has a heartbeat…. I mean since when do vampires have heartbeats?”

“We will follow her, your most glorious supremeness…” Murk offered nervously.

Glory smiled insanely as she walked closer to Murk, grabbing him by his bottom lip and pulling him closer to her. “You better do more than just follow her, Murky…. she knows about Ben, and she’s probably trying to find a way to use that against me.”

“But… your unholiness…. The spell… she will not remember the shift,” Jinx said as he pulled himself up off the floor.

Glory roughly snatched her fingers away from Murk’s lip, turning to face her idiotic minion. “She’s a vampire, you idiot! Of course she’ll remember. The spell doesn’t work on demons. Otherwise I’d have to tell you day in day out THAT YOU SHOULD BE KISSING THE VERY GROUND I WALK ON!!!!”

Glory took a deep calming breath and stared straight at Jinx. “Now, I want you and whoever else you can find to track the Slayer. I want to know who sired her, I want to know why she’s so strong, and I want to know WHERE MY KEY IS! AND I WANT TO KNOW NOW! Do you understand me?”

Jinx nodded his head, clearly terrified.

Glory smiled. “Good boy…. Oh, and Jinx, you screw this up and I’ll use your intestines to string you up…. Do you get my drift?”

Jinx visibly paled. “Yes, oh radiant one…”

Glory put her hand up at Jinx, effectively silencing the grovelling demon. “Can it, okay? Now go find my key.”

Jinx and Murk exchanged terrified looks before running out of the apartment in search of the Slayer and the Key.


~*~~*~~*~

It was four o’clock. Buffy and Spike were asleep, finally succumbing to the pull of fatigue after their marathon lovemaking. Buffy had silently thanked her lucky stars for her increased healing ability; she was sure that she wouldn’t have been able to walk for at least a week if she still had only her regular Slayer healing. By the time exhaustion had sunk in, they had made wild love seven times in almost every position thinkable. Spike had been eager to show her every trick he knew, sending her crashing over the edge time and time again.

The annoyingly shrill tone of the phone ringing woke Buffy from her almost paralytic slumber. Rolling over onto her back, Buffy blindly reached for the annoying object as her sleep-hazed mind tried to focus.

“Hello,” she answered groggily.

“Ah, Buffy. Sorry… did I wake you?” Giles asked on the other end of the line.

Buffy yawned and rubbed her hand over her face, slowly waking up. “It’s okay, Giles… I was just having a nap,” she said with a yawn.

“That’s good to hear…. I know you haven’t been sleeping very well lately.”

Buffy smiled as she felt Spike shift onto his side, blinking his eyes open and gazing at her sleepily.

“Yeah… I, um, had something to help me sleep,” she answered as she gave Spike a playful grin. “So what’s up?”

Spike gently kissed his way up Buffy’s neck, stopping at her ear and whispering in a husky tone. “I am,” he said before kissing his way down her body, gently pulling her bronze thighs apart, as he lowered his cool mouth onto her heated mound.

“Oh, I found some information on Glory and the Key…. I wanted to meet at the store so we can discuss the matter.”

Buffy let out a small gasp as Spike gently stroked her clit with the tip of his tongue before plunging it into her warm folds.

“Okay,” she said in a slightly high voice.

“Buffy…. Are you okay?” Giles asked, worry evident in his voice.

Buffy bit her bottom lip as Spike continued his sensual assault.

“Yeah, Giles. I’m good,” she gasped as Spike gently inserted one of his fingers into her heated channel, sensually stroking her inner walls.

“Oh, well… t-that’s good. We’ve all been very worried about you.”

Buffy clenched her jaw tightly, trying not to cry out as Spike inserted a second finger, curling them upwards to stimulate her G-spot. She took several deep breaths before she trusted herself enough to speak. “I know, Giles, but I feel much better today.”

“You sure do,” Spike said with a cheeky grin before once again sucking her clit into his mouth and rolling it slightly, sending an intense shudder through Buffy’s body.

“Who was that?” Giles asked.

Buffy swallowed heavily as she tried to get her unfocused mind to think up a convincing lie she could tell her Watcher. “The TV,” she answered with a gasp as Spike lightly bit down on her sensitive nubbin.

“All right… Buffy, are you certain that you’re feeling well? You sound terribly out of breath?”

Buffy inwardly cursed; god, she just had to get off the phone. “I-I’m fine, Giles really.”

“If you’re certain. So I will be expecting you then?”

Buffy wanted to scream. She was so close to her release that she could hardly sit still, and she wanted to hit Spike for giving her so much pleasure while she was trying to speak to Giles. She had only managed to grasp every other word he said, as her foggy, pleasure-dulled brain forced her to grind against Spike’s mouth and fingers like she was some sort of two-bit whore.

“Yeah, Giles… I’m coming,” she almost squealed as she shook uncontrollably from her blinding release.

Spike smiled as he licked her glistening juices off of his chin. “That you are, pet.”

Buffy stared at Spike with an expression of bliss mixed with righteous indignation.

“Very good. A-are you certain that you’re all right?” Giles’s concerned voice asked once again.

Buffy blushed uncontrollably; she couldn’t imagine what this conversation must have sounded like to her Watcher. “Yeah, Giles, I’m fine…. I just stepped on a thumbtack, is all.”

Spike chuckled in amusement, kissing Buffy’s inner thigh before sensually licking his way up to her hip.

“Oh, I see… are you hurt?”

“Ahha, No, super healing, remember?… I’ll see you soon, okay?” Buffy said, desperately trying to get off the phone before Spike did something else to make her sound like a cat in heat.

“Very well then. Good-bye.” With that, Giles hung up.

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief as she hung up the phone. “I hate you,” she grumbled as she looked down at the vampire nestled between her thighs.

Spike chuckled as he slowly crawled up her body. Buffy admired the way his muscles shifted with his sleek, sensual movements. So seductive and predatory--it was enough to make her turn to jelly.

“Is that so, Pet? Didn’t sound to me like you hated what I was doing to you when you came--while talking to your Watcher, no less. What a very bad girl you are,” he taunted.

Buffy let out a small growl. “Shut up, Spike and get up here,” she said in a commanding voice, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him further up her body.

Spike smirked at Buffy’s frustration. “Oh, and aggressive too,” he said as he leaned forward, stopping only mere inches away from Buffy’s lips. “Just the way I like ‘em.”

Buffy grabbed Spike by the back of the neck, pulling him down for a passionate kiss. *Giles can wait,* she thought giddily as Spike plunged once more into her aching depths.


TBC...

So what did you think? Review me please. I promise more smut if you do... mmm, smut :-) See, I’m reduced to bribery, how low can you go?

Authors note: Great big thanks to AmyB for beta’ing this story for me.

---

An hour later, Buffy and Spike came bursting through the Magic Box’s front door. Spike casually shrugged off the blanket he’d used to protect him from the late afternoon sun.

“So glad you could join us,” Giles said in a somewhat clipped tone. The entire gang had been waiting for Buffy to arrive so he could tell them of his discovery; they didn’t appear to have appreciated being kept in the dark for so long.

“Sorry, Giles… We came as fast as we could.” Buffy blushed as images of the last hour flashed through her mind.

Spike smirked. “Several times,” he whispered close to Buffy’s ear, enjoying the sound of her increased heartbeat and the scent of her arousal.

Buffy’s blush deepened at Spike’s words, and she quickly decided that she had best get some distance between she and her sire before any more embarrassments could occur. She gracefully slipped into one of the chairs next to Dawn, giving her sister a warm smile. “So what’s the what? Is Ben a god?”

“Yes, well… No, I don’t believe Ben to be a god of any kind… In fact, I happen to believe him to be very human. A colleague of mine in Cairo has found some very interesting texts which indicate that Glorificus was once one of three gods who reigned over a particularly hellish dimension. They ruled together as a united body until Glorificus became too strong for them to restrain; as her power increased exponentially, they came to fear her. Terrified as to what she had become, and fearful as to what she would do in order to reign the dimension on her own, they tried to assassinate her in an attempt to contain what appeared to be her ever-increasing power. A fierce battle erupted between Glorificus and her former colleagues, and she was ultimately overpowered and sent to a lesser dimension as punishment for her transgressions; this demotion also served as a means of removing the threat neatly from their own dimension, although it doubtless increased the risk to her new jailers. To link her inextricably to this new dimension, she was imprisoned within the body of a male mortal child, forced to live her life trapped in a prison of flesh and bone… And if what you tell me is correct, I believe Ben to be that child,” Giles explained.

“So he’s an innocent?” Buffy asked apprehensively.

“It would seem so,” Giles said.

“So how do we stop her without harming him?” Buffy asked.

Giles swallowed heavily as he looked into Buffy’s eyes. “All my information leads me to believe that Glory’s only weakness is her unbreakable tie to her mortal counterpart. Buffy, I believe that the only way to kill Glory is to kill Ben.”

Buffy took a deep breath as she digested Giles’s information. “But he’s an innocent.”

“I know,” Giles replied quietly.

“So what’s the big deal? I say we off ‘im and get on with our lives,” Spike said nonchalantly.

Buffy turned to Spike, clearly horrified by both his words and his tone. “Y-you want me to kill him? That’s your solution?”

“Well yeah… The way I see it, it’s kill or be killed, Slayer… just like the bloody Indians back when I first had the chip. Think about it, pet. This Glory chick is willing to kill anyone who gets between her and her Key.... and Dawn’s that Key, Buffy. Are you willing to allow the life of one man to take her away from you? Not to mention the countless victims she claims on a daily basis by sucking away their bleedin’ sanity—‘s not just Dawn and the Scoobies at stake, luv. It’s nothin’ short of the world an’ everyone in it. Look at it like that, Buffy, an’ it all seems pretty cut ‘n’ dry to me, luv,” Spike explained passionately, leaning back in his chair and watching her face carefully.

Buffy looked over at Dawn and her friends and found herself completely overwhelmed by both Giles’ and Spike’s revelations. Giles was right—Ben had to be killed—but more than that, Spike’s argument was also right on target. If she protected Ben, Glory would continue to hunt for her Key. She had already tortured Spike and had threatened the lives of Buffy and her friends on several occasions thus far, and she hadn’t even been around for all that long. Would she be able to live with herself if she allowed Ben to live and as a result Glory ended up killing one of her friends, or taking Dawn away to try to squeeze her into whatever lock she was supposed to fit in? And the rest of the world… Glory fed off sanity, as Spike had said… what happened when she ran out of fresh victims in Sunnydale? In California? The decision was pretty clear… It was either Ben or her friends and the world at large. “You’re right,” she whispered, her voice just one slight notch above silent.

“What? What do you mean he’s right? You’re talking about murder here, Buffy!” Xander yelled in horror.

“Don’t you think I know that, Xander? What would you rather have me do? Just let her take Dawn away, or allow her to kill you guys one by one? Let her brain-suck the whole of Sunnydale and California, before moving onto the rest of the US, and then what, Xan? Spike’s right. I don’t like it any more than you do, but we have no other choice. It’s us or him!” Buffy yelled back in exasperation.

“Um, guys… Sorry to interrupt, but there may be another way. We might be able to bind Glory….”

All eyes turned to Willow. In response, she flushed and shyly pulled out a book that detailed transmogrifications and the rituals involved in them. “It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try… I think if we could make Glory recede back into Ben, there may be a possibility we could bind her there forever… she’d still be in him, just not able to do any more hostile takeovers.”

Buffy nodded her head in agreement. “Sounds good to me… I mean, I know it may come to that, but I’m not really up for the whole ‘let’s kill Ben’ thing—not if there’s something else we could try first. What do you think, Giles?”

Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, clearly beginning to feel the strain of the past few days. “Well, I must say I’m inclined to agree with you, Buffy… we should explore all other possibilities before surrendering ourselves to other, more distasteful, solutions.”

“What about me?” Dawn’s small voice asked.

“Pardon?” Giles asked as he stared at Dawn’s slightly pale face.

“The Key… What am I? What do I do? Why does Glory want me?”

Giles shifted, giving Dawn an apprehensive look. “The Key is pure energy; its power is absolute. Its origins are unknown, as are the details of its creation. Its sole purpose is to open the gates separating dimensional walls. Glory intends to use you in order to return home, in all possibility so that she may avenge her banishment and reclaim rulership of her home dimension.’’

Buffy laughed. “That’s it? That’s all she wants? Just to go home? Couldn’t we just send her there, then?”

Giles turned his attention to Buffy. “Buffy, you don’t understand. The key can’t be used exclusively for one gate. If Glory was to open the portal to return home, all the gates would be opened, causing the dimensions to bleed into each other. Hell would reign on earth, quite possibly for all eternity.”

“So, I’m evil?” Dawn asked in a small voice.

“No,” Giles said soothingly. “The Key isn’t evil, or for that matter, good. It just simply is… It is energy of the purest form, above and beyond morality or definition.”

Dawn paled further as she digested this information. “So, how do I work? I mean, how do I open the gate?”

Giles visibly stiffened. “The ritual entails funnelling the Key’s essence into a specific location at a specific time. The ceremony itself is extraordinarily precise and can only be performed during a small aperture of time. If the ritual is not performed within these confines, the gateway will lock and will be impossible to open until all of the gates once again align; the alignment is an event that may take centuries to come about.”

Dawn swallowed heavily. “You said my essence… What’s that?”

“Blood,” Spike whispered.

Giles glanced at the blonde vampire, nodding his head stiffly in agreement. “Yes.”

Buffy and Dawn gasped, both looking visibly sickened by this news.

“S-she’s gonna make me bleed?” Dawn finally asked in a haunted voice.

“NO! No, she’s not.” Buffy assured her sister. “We won’t let that happen.”

“B-but what happens if she does? How do we stop the gate from opening? Or—or how do we close it? Can we close it?” Dawn asked Giles anxiously.

Giles shifted uncomfortably in his seat, removing his glasses one again to clean them and to provide him with an excuse for avoiding the frightened young girl’s eyes. “I-If the portal is activated… the dimensions will continue to bleed into one another, until the energy stops flowing.”

Dawn blinked back the tears forming in her eyes. “You mean until there’s no more blood?”

Giles nodded his head sombrely. “Yes.”

Everyone sat in silence, trying to understand the ramifications of the situation.

Finally Buffy broke the silence. “We have to stop her. We have to bind her, or kill her or something… I’m not going to let that whack-job start playing Elizabeth Bathory on Dawn, okay? Now you said that once the ritual starts, the only way to stop it is to stop the flow of energy… So all we have to do is keep Dawn safe until she runs out of time.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Xander agreed.

Buffy smiled weakly. “Okay, here’s the plan. Willow, you and Tara research the binding spell… try to see if it will work, because otherwise we need to try to find another way to stop Glory--other than killing Ben, that is. I don’t want to have to do that unless there’s absolutely NO other way, Okay?”

Willow and Tara nodded their heads and quickly fell into research mode, hurrying to the shelves upstairs where the most powerful spell books were stored.

Buffy turned to her Watcher. “Giles, can you try to find any information on closing the gates by any means other than stopping the flow of energy?”

Giles opened his mouth to protest, only to have Buffy cut him off. “Don’t argue with me on this one, Giles… There has got to be another way.”

Giles nodded his head in defeat. “I’ll try.”

Buffy then turned to Xander. “Xand, I need you to try to find out when and where the ritual is to be performed… At least that way we’ll know how long we have before the final countdown. Start with the books, then move to the streets—talk to your work buddies, see if they’ve noticed anything weird or any unauthorized construction.”

“No prob, Buff,” Xander said, reaching towards the stack of books sent by Giles’ Cairo contact. Those had the most info on Glory; they’d probably help the most when it came to figuring out how to keep her from getting home.

“Anya, find out about anyone buying any unusual spell ingredients… it might have been legit, but probably most would have to be black market stuff, right?”

Anya frowned. “I’ll try… But if it is black market magic we’re dealing with, generally speaking anyone in that trade doesn’t take too kindly to questions.”

Buffy nodded. “I know, Anya… we just need to try.”

“Okay… I won’t get anywhere, but I’ll try,” Anya said with a shrug. Grabbing a writing pad, she began to scribble a list of possible dealers who would need to be investigated, along with those on the second, easier-to-compile list of legitimate magic sources.

Buffy let out an exhausted sigh as she turned to her sire. “Spike, can you hit the streets? Maybe ask around the demon population, check on any unusual activities… something that could lead us to the ritual site?”

“Of course, pet,” Spike agreed, giving her a soft smile before casually sauntering out the front door; thankfully the sun had already set, and he could start his assignment immediately.

“Okay… I’m gonna check out the old high school library…. It’s more than likely that she’ll try to open the hellmouth, or at least open the gates from the hellmouth… right?”

Giles nodded his head in agreement. “Well, yes. That’s actually a very likely location.”

“What about me?” Dawn asked quietly, still devastated from all of the news. “What do you want me to do?”

Buffy turned her attention to her little sister. “Can you wrap yourself in some cotton wool and hide in a closet?”

Dawn cracked a small smile. “If you think that will help.”

Buffy gave Dawn a tender smile. “Yeah, I think it will….”

Dawn jumped up and wrapped her arms around Buffy’s neck, giving her a loving hug; Buffy returned the embrace with equal vigour. “I won’t let anything happen to you, Dawnie… I promise.”

“I know,” Dawn mumbled before pulling back and looking into Buffy’s eyes. “But seriously, I want to help…”

Buffy smiled and brushed some hair away from Dawn’s face. “I know. Why don’t you help Xander, ‘kay? He could use someone to keep him focused,” she added playfully, winking at her little sister as she tried to lighten the mood.

Dawn smiled in return. “Okay.”

Buffy watched Dawn pick up an old dusty book and flip through the pages for any information pertaining to the location and timeline of the ritual for opening the inter-dimensional portal. A small pang of anguish tore though Buffy at the thought of losing her sister. *No. That’s not gonna happen… I’ll die before I let that bitch touch Dawn!* With that thought, Buffy gathered up her things in preparation for scoping out her old high school in the hopes of finding any evidence of Glory preparing to open the Hellmouth.

Buffy was just about to leave when her enhanced spider sense started to tingle. She didn’t know why she hadn’t felt it before; perhaps she had been too concerned for her sister’s well-being for her to notice. Buffy let her instincts carry her towards the basement, where Giles and Anya always kept their surplus stock. As she reached for the doorknob, she noticed that she could hear the dull thump of several heartbeats coming from behind the door.

Xander noticed Buffy slip into Slayer stance as she stared at the basement door. He instinctively knew something was up; he hadn’t patrolled with the Slayer on a hellmouth for five years to not know the signs of trouble when he saw them. Moving slowly and quietly, he walked over to where Buffy stood, keeping his steps as silent as possible. “What’s wrong?” he whispered in an almost inaudible tone.

Buffy shifted her gaze to her friend. “Someone’s downstairs. I can hear their heartbeats.”

Xander stiffened. “How many?”

Buffy turned her attention back to the door, listening. Focusing on the heartbeats behind the door rather than her own and the one next to her was difficult, but she managed to read the cues after a few moments. “Three… maybe four,” she finally whispered.

Xander nodded. “Okay. We can do that.”

Buffy nodded as she reached for the doorknob. “Okay. Keep behind me…let me fight through first, but catch any that get by and try and keep them from escaping…”

Xander swallowed heavily and grabbed an ornamental dagger form a nearby shelf.

Buffy grabbed the doorknob, wrenching the basement door open in one powerful movement and sending one of Glory’s crusty minions tumbling to the floor in front of her. Three more of the scabby creatures stood on the stairs in shock for a long moment. Then, in an instant, all hell broke loose. Three of the demons tried to make a mad dash for the front door as another ran back into the musty confines of the shop’s basement.

Buffy easily grabbed one of the minions with lightning-fast precision, incidentally leaving the path clear for the other two to run at Xander; taking advantage of the opening, the two quickly knocked him to the ground as they broke further forward into the shop. The store filled with the shrill screams of Buffy’s shocked friends as the demons ran past them, heading towards the front door.

Xander was quick to recover, swiftly pulling himself to his feet and lunging at one of the scabby creatures, knocking him to the floor just as Giles tackled the other in a similar manoeuvrer.

Buffy promptly snapped the neck of the demon struggling in her arms, quickly choosing to help her friends rather than pursue the other minion who was, by now, trapped in the dank basement.

Xander was madly struggling for dominance with Glory’s minion; however, he quickly gained the upper hand, swiftly thrusting his dagger into its scabby chest.

Giles, meanwhile, struggled to overpower the demon he was fighting. Unfortunately, he lost his grip on the scabby creature, allowing it to gain control of the fight. Dawn gasped in helpless horror as she watched Giles get thrown across the store like he was some sort of overgrown rag doll. Buffy rounded the corner in time to see Giles hit the ground with a loud thump, creating a break in the blockade and allowing the demon a clear path to the front door.

Willow watched in alarm as the infiltrator yanked open the only barrier that was preventing it from reaching freedom and the safety of its insane hellgod mistress. With a flick of her wrist, Willow shouted “seal,” causing the door to slam shut and crushing the minion between the door and the frame with a bone-crunching crack.

Buffy stared at Willow in wide-eyed relief, thankful more than ever before for her red-headed friend’s extraordinary powers.

“I-Is that all of them?” Tara asked, gasping in shock.

“No, there’s one more trapped downstairs,” Buffy announced, picking up a large sword and swinging it expertly as she walked towards the basement.

“But the sewers open up down there!” Anya yelled.

Buffy let out a panicked gasp as she tore down the stairs with her friends in tow. “Where?” she yelled frantically.

Anya quickly pulled away a large box, exposing the sewer entrance. “Here!”

Buffy visibly paled. “We have to find him… He knows about Dawn!”

Buffy, Xander and Giles rushed through the entrance and desperately searched for the fleeing demon, leaving Willow, Tara and Anya behind to look after Dawn. Buffy easily gained a dramatic lead between her and her friends, rushing madly through the catacombs of the sewers.

She let out a strangled cry when she reached a junction point, growling in annoyance as she noted that the sewer forked off into five different directions. She could hear the frantic pace of Giles and Xander’s footsteps, closing in on her. Closing her eyes, Buffy tried to reach out with her senses for any traces of the demon… all to no avail; the demon’s scent was too faint for her to track. Considering their lack of surveillance acumen, these scabby demons seemed to be awfully stealthy; she couldn’t make out one discernable noise coming from any of the tunnels. She could feel her friends only feet behind her now. “We have to split up!”

Xander and Giles let out mournful sighs when they saw the splayed junction, knowing their chances of finding the escapee would now be even more limited. They refused to give up the pursuit, however, each choosing a tunnel as they split up and tried to chase down the creature.

Buffy let out an almost feral cry as they tunnel she was travelling split again, going off into two different directions. She knew she’d lost the minion for good. She couldn’t feel any presence of the demon she was pursuing in either of the tunnels. Letting out a gut-wrenching sob in defeat Buffy headed back to the shop; she didn’t want to leave Dawn alone, not now--not after she had allowed the eavesdropper to escape. She couldn’t believe she had been so stupid as to think she had the ugly little demon trapped in the basement. She could have gone after him, but instead she had chosen to go help her friends… Who hadn’t even needed any help, mind you.

Buffy was the last one to emerge from the tunnels, empty-handed and devastated. The entire shop seemed to take on a sombre tone as she walked over to Dawn, pulling the teen into her protective embrace.


~*~~*~~*~


Spike was halfway to Willy’s Place when he felt a jolt of overwhelming panic rush through his Sire-Childe bond; he knew instantly that something was terribly wrong—Buffy just wasn’t the type to panic this much so easily. Quickly turning on his heels, he rushed back to the Magic Box with every ounce of speed he possessed.

As he arrived at the shop, he was greeted by the mangled corpse of the demon who had been crushed in the doorway. He opened the door gingerly, allowing the dead demon to fall to the floor with a sickening plop; looking quickly around the store, he saw the bodies of two more minions. Spike could hear muffled cries coming from down in the basement, and he quickly rushed down the wooden stairs only to find the entire Scooby gang standing around the open grate that lead into the sewers. Finally, he noticed that the cries he had heard while he was upstairs were coming from Buffy, who was madly clutching Dawn to her chest, sobbing “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” over and over again.

Spike pushed his way through to where Buffy and Dawn sat in a heap on the floor.
“Buffy, luv… What happened?”

Buffy lifted her pale, haunted face to look at Spike. “I let him get away.”

Spike shifted uncomfortably on his haunches, the pain in her eyes enough to make him ache. “You let who get away?”

“The demon… I-I let him get away. I thought I had him trapped, and he got away… They were spying on us.”

Spike stiffened, running his fingers through his hair in dismay. “Fuck!”

Buffy looked at Spike with eyes with full of guilt, remorse, and sheer terror. “I didn’t mean to,” she said in a small voice, looking very much like a little girl.

Spike gave Buffy a small, understanding smile as he tenderly ran his hand down her face. “I know, luv.”

“So what do we do now?” Anya asked.

“I vote that we head for the hills… get some distance between us and the most unstable one,” Xander answered.

“No!” Buffy said a little too harshly as she stood up. “No! We stay here… If we run, she’ll only find us anyway… I say if we have to fight, we fight where we know; at least that way we can prepare.”

“Do you think that’s wise?” Giles asked, clearly uncertain.

“Yes! Look, we don’t even know if he heard anything, and if he did… How far do you think we’ll get if we run? Not far… this isn’t some half-man, half-machine we’re dealing with; it’s a god, a mightier-than-thou god. I say we stick together, and we fight on our turf,” Buffy announced in a very commanding voice.

The room seemed to fill with unease as everyone considered their options.

Buffy could see her friend’s apprehensions, and tried her best to encourage and comfort them. “Either way, we have to fight… Personally, I’d rather be here rather than on some road in the middle of nowhere. If we stay we can prepare and we can continue our research. We can’t do that if we’re running.”

“She’s right,” Willow agreed sombrely. “If we stay in a fixed location, it’s easier to protect. I don’t even know if there are any protections spells that can be used on a moving location.”

“Where will we go? We can’t stay here—this is a place of business, and the saleable merchandise might get damaged in an all-out war!” Anya argued, more than a little panicked.

Buffy let a small smile play across her lips; count on Anya’s materialism to lighten the mood in the face of certain death. “It’s okay, Anya. We can stay at my house; there’s plenty of room. Plus, Willow and Tara have already placed that early warning spell on it, so Glory won’t be able to sneak up on us--well, at least not without screechy sirens going off.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Dawn said gravely, obviously trying to appear brave through her terror.

Buffy reached out and stroked Dawn’s hair as she gave out orders. “Okay, we need to gather up all the information we have on Glory and the ritual. Giles, Xander, Anya—can you grab all the books and carry them out to Giles’ car? Just take everything—that way if we need it we have it and we don’t have to risk going out again. Willow, can you and Tara collect any ingredients you’ll need for protection spells and whatnot? Get as much as you can imagine us needing—we can always bring the extra back. Spike, help me grab some weapons—everything we can carry must go!”

Instructions clear and assignments accepted, the entire Scooby gang busied themselves with gathering up the necessary texts and ingredients while Buffy and Spike gathered as many weapons as possible, including Olaf’s troll hammer and the Dagon Sphere.

The trip back to Buffy’s house was made in tense silence. Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Tara chose to ride with Spike while Xander, Anya and Giles travelled behind them in Giles’ sporty convertible. Once they arrived at Buffy’s home, everyone busied themselves with bringing in their supplies and securing the house for the inevitable fight.


TBC….


Authors Note: Okay I lied, I know I promised more smut, (ducks and hides) but what can I say, the story must move on. Don’t hate me... :)

Author’s notes: I’d like to thanks my wonderful beta AmyB for all of her hard work on this story.


I’d also like to thank Lost in Spike Awards for presenting me with my very first award. Words can not tell you how much of an honour this is for me. Thank you for this acknowledgment, it will always have a special place in my heart. As a token of my appreciation, I’d like to dedicate this award to Amyb, my wonderful beta who encouraged me every step of the way. To Bloodshedbaby for her amazing support and help into the scary world of writing, and to the wonderful readers who have always given me such wonderful reviews; it makes it a joy to write this story knowing that someone out there is enjoying it. So thank you all. It really means a lot.

---

Several hours had passed by, and exhaustion was beginning to take its toll on the entire Scooby gang. So far, there had been no Glory sightings, and even the minions seemed to be keeping their distance.

“We should probably try and get some rest,” Buffy suggested as she looked down at her exhausted sister, lying next to her on the couch.

“Mmm… I would be inclined to agree,” Giles said with a yawn.

“Okay…. Tara and Willow can take mom’s room. I can set the cot up in the den for Giles, and Xander, you and Anya can take the couch,” Buffy said in a tired voice.

“What about fang-breath here? Finally decided to toss him out on his ear, huh?” Xander asked with a cocky grin as he looked over at Spike.

“No… he’ll sleep in my room,” Buffy replied in a low tone.

Spike couldn’t help but laugh at Xander’s expression; the boy’s mouth hung limply for several seconds before he could summon the resources to form any words.

“WHAT!” Xander yelled in exasperated fury before turning to Spike. “Didn’t take you too long, did it, you creep?”

“Xander, stop it! You may not like it, but I trust Spike… and I need him, unless of course you want me to wake up the entire house when I start screaming at the top of my lungs because I’ve had yet another nightmare.”

Xander gave Buffy an apologetic look. “Sorry, Buff, I didn’t know.”

Spike snorted. “No surprise there. What you don’t know could fill the bloody Grand Canyon.”

“Okay, one more word, Deadboy, and you’ll know what a Popsicle feels like when I jam a stake right up your….”

“Enough!” Buffy yelled, clearly irritated. “Look, I can’t do this... I can’t stand listening to another round of verbal insults. Why don’t you just whip ‘em out and grab a tape measure or something, ‘cause I’ve had it. No more!”

Xander lowered his eyes. “Sorry, Buff.”

“Are you, Xand? ‘Cause I don’t think you really are… I think you’re just sorry you got called out on it. Right now, I have too much on my plate to worry about what you think about me sleeping in the same room with Spike, and so should you! Who I choose to share my bed with has nothing to do with anyone other than me!”

Xander shifted uncomfortably as he gave Buffy a solemn look. “I’m sorry, Buffy, I really am… I just don’t want you to get hurt again.”

Buffy expression softened. “I know, Xander… and believe me, I’m not exactly jonesin’ for another heartache myself, but right now I’m actually more concerned with trying to survive the next couple of days.” With that said Buffy whirled on her heels and marched into the kitchen.

Xander was stunned. “What the hell just happened here?”

Spike rolled his eyes and grunted, “Stupid pillock!” before following Buffy into the kitchen. He found her standing in the open doorway, staring out into the night sky.

“You okay, pet?” he asked quietly. Buffy didn’t respond, didn’t even acknowledge his presence; Spike took a deep, unneeded breath and walked over to where she stood. “Don’t let him get to you, pet.”

Buffy whirled around in annoyance. “It’s not just him, Spike! It’s you, too!”

Spike was taken aback by this. “Me! What the bloody hell did I do?”

Buffy rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, Spike, you’re like a hundred and something, and you’re acting like some sort of two-year-old trying to score points with me in some stupid pissing contest you have going on with Xander.”

Spike stared at her hard for a moment before he lowered his eyes. “You’re right,” he said in a sombre tone.

Buffy blinked back her surprise at Spike’s easy acceptance. “I am?”

Spike smiled. “Yeah, pet. What you said out there, ‘bout the tape measure.”

Buffy furrowed her brow in confusion. “Who-wha-huh? You want a tape measure?”

Spike chuckled. “Not exactly, pet… What I meant was that this thing between the Whelp and me, s’all about attention, innit? You know, tryin’ to get the girl to notice you.”

Buffy gave Spike a bewildered look. “Huh?!”

Spike chuckled. “Of course that can be hard when the girl in question is a little slow on the uptake….”

“Spike, what the hell are you talking about?” Buffy asked angrily. She didn’t like it when people talked all cryptic, and she sure as hell didn’t like being called slow.

Spike took a step closer to Buffy, looking straight into her eyes. “I love you, Buffy… I love you with everything that I am… and so does the Whelp.”

Buffy started to laugh. “Y-you think Xander’s in love with me?! Oh please, he’s completely head over heels in love with Anya. He doesn’t feel that way about me anymore.”

Spike simply smirked.

Buffy caught Spike’s look. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You really think Xander’s in love with me?”

“Don’t think, pet… I know. Any fool can see it.”

Buffy’s lips curled up into a cheeky smile. “You’re jealous.”

Spike tensed his jaw slightly. “Well, yeah. He’s the one’s been beside you all these years, right?”

Buffy let a sultry smile spread across her lips as she moved closer to Spike, closing the distance between them. When she was only mere inches away from him she allowed her small hands to travel sensually up his chest. “You don’t have to be jealous, Spike… I like my men with a little more… bite.”

Spike let out a delighted groan as Buffy rolled those simple words off her tongue, seductively pressing her warm body against his cool chest. He couldn’t take it anymore--he had to taste her. Spike snaked his hand behind the small of Buffy’s back, pulling her even closer to him as he lowered his lips to hers, completely devouring her mouth in a searing kiss.

Buffy let out a muffled moan as she returned the kiss with equal passion. She could feel Spike pressing her back against the counter, and her mind flooded with the erotic memories of the first time she and Spike had had sex, right here on the bench top less than a day ago. As those memories flashed through her mind, Buffy wanted nothing more then to revisit the moment, to throw Spike down and ride him into tomorrow. Unfortunately, she was jolted out of those thoughts when she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Looking over at the doorway, Buffy saw Dawn standing there, with a look of amusement on her face.

“Sorry to interrupt the tonsil hockey,” Dawn said with a smirk. “But do you know where the guest’s linen is?”

Buffy blushed in embarrassment; Dawn seemed to be finding her with her tongue down Spike’s throat quite a bit lately. She gave Spike a shy smile and pushed herself away from the counter, trying desperately to compose herself so she could talk to her sister. After a few deep breaths she returned her attention to Dawn. “Have you looked upstairs in the linen closet?”

“Yeah… they’re not there.”

“Yes they are, Dawn. In the box at the back.”

“No they’re not… I’ve looked!”

Buffy shook her head in frustration. “Well, you mustn’t have looked hard enough, because I saw them there last week.”

Spike casually leaned back against the kitchen counter, watching the exchange between the two sisters in amusement.

“Well, they’re not there now!” Dawn said with a huff.

“Okay, fine! I’ll look for them!” Buffy announced with a sigh. “You’d think that after living in the same house for five years, you’d learn where the linen was kept,” she muttered to herself as she left the kitchen.

“Hey! In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve only lived here for eight months, not five years! I think you should give me some credit, considering I’m not even one yet!” Dawn yelled out after her sister.

Spike chuckled to himself at Dawn’s childish display.

Dawn turned to Spike with a huge pout. “Shut up, Spike.”

Spike threw his hands up in the air in surrender. “Hey now, what did I do? I’m just an innocent bystander here. Don’t turn the patented Summers pout on me—‘s not right.”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Yeah, right! Like you’ve ever been innocent.”

Spike smirked. “Yeah… you got me there, bit.”

It wasn’t long before Buffy returned holding a large pile of neatly folded linen. “So you looked in the box, did you?” she asked mockingly.

Spike chuckled as Dawn grabbed the linen from Buffy’s hands before stomping out of the room muttering under her breath. “Damn vampires, think they know everything. Don’t even know why I have to make the guest beds. They’re her friends, and all she’s doing is sucking face with Spike.”

Buffy rolled her eyes at her sister’s behaviour, slowly walking over to Spike. “You’ve got to give it to those monks. They didn’t miss a beat when they made her.”

Spike chuckled as he pulled Buffy towards him. “Yeah, she’s certainly got the whole teenage girl thing going.”

Buffy nodded her head as she stifled a yawn. “Mmm… Tell me about it.”

Spike lovingly brushed some hair out of Buffy’s face. “You look tired, kitten… You ready to go to bed?”

Buffy nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m pooped.”


~*~~*~~*~


Buffy couldn’t sleep. She was beyond exhausted, and yet she still couldn’t find rest. Her mind kept conjuring up graphic images of Glory making Dawn bleed, and the thought of the less-than-stable bitch of a hellgod possibly knowing Dawn was her Key terrified her. She’d been lying in Spike’s arms for an hour now, wanting to do nothing more than run into Dawn’s room and hold her and never let her go; she didn’t want to alarm her sister, though, so instead she’d just lain there, listening to the soft regular sounds of her friend’s heartbeats throughout the house.

A soft knock at the door jolted Buffy from her thoughts and Spike from his sleep. “Who is it?” Buffy asked as she sat up in bed.

“It’s me… Can I come in?” Dawn’s timid voice asked from the other side of the door.

“Yeah,” Buffy called out, curiously watching Dawn enter the room. “What’s up, Dawnie?”

Dawn dropped her head shyly. “I couldn’t sleep… I was wondering if I could stay in here tonight?”

Buffy smiled. “Actually, I was just thinking the same thing.”

Dawn smiled as she walked over to the bed, slipping into the vacant spot next to Spike. Buffy smiled at him when he instinctively wrapped his arm around Dawn, holding her protectively close to him. The Big Bad and his girls; curled up together feeling comforted and protected, the three of them fell asleep sheltered in each others’ arms.

~*~~*~~*~

Jinx had no idea where he was. It didn’t matter; he just couldn’t believe he’d managed to escape the fury of the Slayer and her friends. The hollow sounds of his pursuer’s footsteps still echoed in his ears, and he’d wandered aimlessly through the sewer tunnels for hours before he had finally decided to take the risk and resurface. Upon emerging, he found himself standing in the middle of an abandoned industrial site, surrounded by large empty buildings, and it had taken him another two hours for him to navigate his way back to his hellgod mistress’ apartment. By the time he finally reached the lobby of the prestigious building, the early morning sun already hung low in the sky, dawning a new day.

Glory was furiously pacing the floor of her plush apartment. It had been hours since she’d sent her minions to find her key, and so far there had been no word. “Where are they? It’s been hours. I mean, how hard could it be to find a hidden ball of energy?”

Glory turned to one of the remaining minions. “You don’t think they’d betray me, do you? No-no-no, they wouldn’t dare. No—it must be something else, it has to be the Slayer… I swear if that little twig has hurt any of my boys, I’ll stake her out in the sun, and watch her burn. I mean who does she think she is? It’s not like loyal minions just grow on trees… under them maybe… but not on them.”

Glory’s rant was cut short by the sound of Jinx crashing in through the front door.

Glory turned wide eyes on the bedraggled-looking demon. “What the hell happened to you?”

“Forgive me, your most dazzling magnificence, but there was some trouble with the Slayer and her friends,” Jinx explained in a small voice.

“I knew it… oh, she is so dusted!” Glory ground out with a sneer.

“Begging your pardon… oh incandescent one. But I have news of your key.”

Glory whirled around and beamed widely. “You do? Where is it?”

“Oh, your breathtakingly stunning wickedness …”

“Oh, cut out the dribble. Where’s my key?” Glory ordered in exasperation.

“Pleading your forgiveness, your most un-holiness, but I overheard the Slayer refer to her sister as the key,” Jinx announced in a confident tone.

“Are you sure?” Glory questioned with a delighted smile.

“Yes your slenderness, I heard them refer to the child as the key numerous times.”

Glory laughed madly in excitement. “Oh, Jinxy, I could kiss you… If you weren’t so disgusting, that is.”

Glory was positively beaming as she practically waltzed around the luxurious apartment. “Well, okay then. Let’s go get my key and maybe we can carve us up a Slayer in the process.”


~*~~*~~*~


Buffy awoke to the delicious scent of warm blood. When she lifted her head she saw Dawn curled up next to Spike; both were still fast asleep. As Buffy watched her sister, she became all too aware of the rising bloodlust slowly building up inside her; eager to handle the problem in its earliest stages, she gently pulled herself free from Spike’s comforting embrace and made her way downstairs. As she entered the kitchen, she overheard Giles talking on the cordless phone in the dining room to someone called Gunn.

Buffy immediately headed for the fridge in search of her much-needed liquid sustenance. She heated herself a large mug of pig’s blood, drinking it quickly in order to quell her building bloodlust.

Several minutes later Willow entered the kitchen, looking chipper, if very sleep-tousled.

“Hey, Wills, how you doing?” Buffy asked cheerfully.

Willow smiled. “Not too bad… Didn‘t get much sleep, though.”

Buffy nodded her head. “Yeah, I know the feeling,” she replied, rinsing out her mug.

Willow noticed the slight crimson tint to the water as Buffy rinsed out her mug; Buffy was obviously trying to hide the fact that it had contained blood. “How are you doing…? I mean with the whole vampire thing?”

Buffy turned to Willow and shrugged her shoulders. “It’s getting easier. Spike’s helped a lot.”

“Is that so, pet?” Spike said as he walked over to Buffy, pulling her into his arms and giving her a sensual kiss. Willow’s eyebrows raised in shock, but she remained silent. She had assumed that Buffy and Spike shared feelings for each other, having watched them closely over the past few days, but she hadn’t expected such an open display of affection.

“Eeww… Don’t you guys ever give it a rest?” Dawn groaned in a playfully disgusted tone as she walked into the kitchen.

Buffy rolled her eyes before turning her attention to her sister. “Morning, Dawnie… did you sleep well?”

Dawn nodded her head as she poured herself a glass of orange juice. “Yeah, actually I did. Spike really makes quite a comfortable pillow.”

Buffy gave Spike a mischievous grin. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that myself.”

Spike shook his head in mock disgust. “Look what my unlife has come to, bein’ used as a piece of soddin’ bedding.”

Buffy laughed as she playfully slapped Spike on the arm. “Oh, you know you love it. You have your own little harem, and you couldn’t be any happier.”

Spike chuckled. “Yeah… Got me there, luv. My only weakness would have to be Summers women.”

“I don’t know. Draining the blood of the innocent would have to rank pretty high on the list for you too, wouldn’t it?” Xander said flatly as he and Anya entered the kitchen.

Buffy could feel another testosterone attack building. In an attempt to break the tension, she turned to Willow and asked, “So where’s Tara?”

“Still asleep… We were up late last night working on protection spells.”

“Oh, okay… Is there anything we should know about?” Buffy asked.

Willow beamed. “Tons… We’ve done the works. I can show you.”

Buffy nodded her head. “Yeah, that would be good. I mean, we need to know where not to stand if we don’t want to get turned into a frog or anything.”

Willow visibly shuddered. “NO! There are NO frog spells.”

Buffy let out a small laugh. “Sorry, Wills. Forget about the whole frog fear thing.”

“You have frog fear?” Anya asked with a laugh. “That is so lame.”

Willow rolled her eyes in irritation. “As opposed to bunnies, ‘cause that fear’s so rational and common.”

Anya shrugged. “Hey! My bunny fear is well-founded! You’d be scared of them too if you’d seen them decimate an entire village in a matter of seconds.”

“Oookay,” Buffy said, raising her eyebrows in bemusement before once again turning to Willow. “So, Wills, you were saying something about spells?”

Willow smiled brightly. “Oh, yeah! You’re gonna love what we’ve done--it’s so cool!”

As the gang followed Willow into the living room, they saw Tara coming down the stairs. “Oh, hey, guys. What are we doing?” Tara asked, stifling a yawn as she attempted to perk up in the face of company.

Willow smiled as she walked over to her lover. “Oh, I was just gonna tell them about the spells we cast last night.”

Tara nodded coyly. “Oh, okay.”

Willow and Tara turned back to their friends to find them waiting anxiously for them to explain the castings they had done. Before she could begin her excited retelling of the night’s events, Willow’s attention was caught by the sight of Giles walking out of the dinning room with a very sombre look on his face.

“Oh, good. You’re all awake,” Giles said, looking drawn and sounding as weary as he looked.

“Yeah, Willow was just about to tell us all about the bad ass spells she and Tara did,” Xander announced as he and Anya took a seat on the couch next to Dawn. Willow was already seated in one of the armchairs with Tara perched on the armrest, leaving Buffy and Spike only one chair. They solved this problem easily when Buffy sat on Spike’s lap, earning a sneer from Xander.

Giles removed his glasses and began to polish them absently. “Spells, Willow? What kind of spells?”

Willow smiled eagerly. “Well, protection spells mostly. As you all know, we already have the early warning spell so we get screechy siren alerts in case of any hellgod type presences.”

Everyone nodded their heads as Willow continued. “Well, we’ve got some extra attachments. First, we’ve strengthened the house. I don’t know if it’s hellgod-proof, but it’s at least worth a go.” Willow took a deep breath. “Okay, if the early warning spell is tripped, a wall of mystical fire will surround the house. If that doesn’t stop her, I can put up a barrier spell. As I said before, I don’t know if either thing can stop a god, but at least it should slow her down and maybe drain some of her strength.”

“And what happens if she gets in the house?” Buffy asked as she nervously played with Spike’s fingers where they rested on her waist.

“Well, that’s kinda where you come in… you know, get all super-strength fighty with her?”

“But what about Dawn? She needs to be somewhere safe in case I can’t stop Glory once she’s in here,” Buffy said anxiously.

Willow smiled. “Got you covered.” She pointed over in the corner of the room. “I’ve enchanted that area with the essence of the monk’s Dagon’s Sphere. If Glory gets into the house, Dawn, you run there. If anyone tries to remove her, they’ll be drained of their strength. Only Dawn can enter the corner and expect the spell to activate, and once she does, until the spell is broken no one will be able to touch her.”

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief. “Wow! Looks like you’ve got everything sewn up.”

Willow smiled. “Well, almost everything.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small satchel and handed it to Spike. “This is for you. I figured if I was Glory, and I knew I was up against two vampires, I’d attack during the day. Gives the two of you less fight options, and gives her all the advantages.”

Buffy nodded her head. “Yeah, that does make sense. I mean, she doesn’t know that sunlight doesn’t affect me, or about any of that other stuff. She’ll probably try to prey on normal vampire weaknesses.”

Spike stared at the satchel in his hands as though he was afraid to open it. “What is this, Red?”

“It’s kinda like suntan lotion for vampires. You wear it around your neck and you’ll be able to tolerate small amounts of sunlight. It’ll still hurt…. just won’t be the burny kind of fatal.”

Spike looked at Willow with a newfound respect and gave her a rare genuine smile. “Thanks, Red.”

Willow smiled in response. “No problem. I just thought it would be easier to fight Glory if you weren’t all, well, combusty.”

“How long does it last?” Dawn asked curiously.

“A couple of days… Most of the ingredients have a short energy life, so it’s always more potent when it’s fresh,” Willow explained with a small shrug.

“So that’s everything?” Buffy asked, sniffing the satchel and making an eeew face when the smell of sulphur hit her delicate nostrils.

“Nope,” Willow said with a smile. “We’ve also finished our research on the binding spell… and it’s defiantly doable. All we need to do is weaken Glory until she can no longer sustain her hold as the primary form. And from what you said before, you can do that, Buffy. Once she retreats into Ben, we can bind her there.”

“Wow! That’s great, Will! What would we ever do without you and Tara?” Buffy asked, beaming.

“Y-yes… I must say that is very impressive. You are both becoming very strong allies indeed,” Giles agreed flatly, clearly following the conversation only on the most surface of levels.

“We aim to please,” Willow said, apparently not noticing the Watcher’s lack of enthusiasm as she turned towards Tara and gave her girlfriend a sweet smile.

Buffy, however, noticed the look of distraction on Giles’ face; his thoughts were obviously elsewhere, and it wasn’t like him to be so unenthusiastic about such good news. “What’s up, Giles?”

Giles looked over at Buffy with haunted eyes. “Oh… I’ve just received some disturbing news.”

“About what?” Dawn asked.

Giles took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Well, actually it’s about Angel, regarding how he may have lost his soul.”

“You finally managed to get hold of Wesley and Cordelia?” Willow asked, clearly relieved. She may not have liked Cordelia, but she still didn’t like her being MIA after Angelus had been on the loose.

Giles shook his head sadly. “Unfortunately not. I’ve spoken to Charles Gunn, who was one of their colleagues. I’m sorry to have to report that Wesley and Cordelia are dead,” he announced, clearly remorseful.


TBC….

Author’s note: I’d like to thank my wonderful Beta AmyB, I love the work you did on this chapter, you’re the best, sweetie.

I’d also like to thank everyone for there wonderful reviews… keep it up; I love hearing what you think.

---

“Wesley and Cordelia are dead?” Willow repeated in a small voice, the statement coming out more as a question than as a bare statement of fact.

Giles nodded his head, regret etched in the lines of his face. “Yes… apparently, Angelus caught them unawares; before they were able to comprehend the enemy they were facing, he slaughtered them without a second thought.”

“Son of a bitch!” Xander yelled, clearly furious.

“How’d he lose his soul?” Buffy asked, her voice carefully void of any emotion.

Giles stiffened uncomfortably. He really didn’t relish the thought of being the one to explain the horrible circumstances of Angel’s decline into darkness. “As you know, Angel was having some trouble with a large law firm called Wolfram & Hart. Apparently they decided, for whatever reason, to bring Darla back.”

Spike stiffened as he listened to Giles explain.

Buffy’s eyes widened with horror. “Darla’s back? As in Angelus’ sire Darla? As in took a chunk out of my mother Darla?”

Giles nodded his head. “Yes… they used her to play Angel, t-to try and break him.”

“Guess it worked,” Dawn mumbled quietly.

Giles shook his head. “Well, actually—no, it didn’t. Obviously Angel was quite disturbed by the revelation of Darla returning. However, he took her under his wing in an attempt to help her. You see, Darla was returned as a human, with a soul, and unfortunately also with an incurable syphilitic heart condition that had apparently afflicted her as a human.”

“Now that would be the Darla I know… Always was a whore,” Spike interjected bitterly.

“Yes… well… Angel tried to cure her, to no avail. Unfortunately, Wolfram & Hart had other ideas. They found Drusilla and had her sire Darla, returning her to her former strength,” Giles explained.

“Why the hell would they do that?” Xander cried out in exasperation.

Giles shrugged. “I’m sure I don’t know… However, that was the turning point for Angel. He fired his crew and locked Darla and Drusilla in a room with the lawyers of Wolfram & Hart. It was a complete slaughter.”

“So how did he lose his soul?” Anya asked.

Giles shook his head. “I don’t know. The only thing we can say for sure is it had something to do with Darla and Drusilla.”

“I can’t believe they actually did it!” Spike muttered in shock.

Buffy turned and looked at Spike. “You knew?!”

Spike shook his head. “No… Dru said they were trying. I didn’t think they’d actually do it.”

Buffy jumped off of Spike’s lap in absolute disgust. “You… you knew, and you let this happen to me?!”

Spike stood up and took a step towards Buffy. She only stepped back, keeping her distance. “No… I didn’t, I swear. When Drusilla came to town she told me about Darla, and how they were trying to bring back the old Angelus. I never thought they’d actually do it—I didn’t have any idea that they could!”

Buffy stared at Spike in shock. “You knew Darla was back and that she and Drusilla were trying to take Angel’s soul away, and you didn’t tell me. Explain to me the part where you thought that wasn’t something I should know about?”

Spike clenched his jaw tightly as he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “How the hell was I supposed to tell you? You locked me out, Buffy, and you wouldn’t talk to me. At what point was I supposed to tell you? How the hell was I supposed to know the wanker was so unstable? The last time I saw the soddin’ poof he was so soul-happy he actually destroyed the flamin’ Gem of Amara.”

Spike took a step closer to Buffy. “I didn’t know, pet… I swear. I thought Dru was out of her tree, talking about bringing back her daddy… as if I’d want that wanker back!”

Buffy softened slightly as she watched Spike slowly walk towards her. “You should have told me,” she sniffled, close to tears.

“I know, luv…” Spike agreed, pulling Buffy into his arms.

~*~~*~~*~

Glory burst through the Magic Box’s front door, letting out an ear-piercing scream when the early warning spell activated and set off a deafeningly shrill screech that penetrated the hellgod’s sensitive ears like white hot metal burning right through her skull. Glory’s blood practically boiled as she looked around the store. The bodies of her faithful minions littered the floor like discarded lumps of meat. There was no sign of the Slayer, or of Glory’s precious key. “Well?! Where the hell are they?” she growled in distain.

“Oh, forgive me, your most luminous one. But the Slayer and the key are not here,” Jinx answered, beyond frightened of his mistress’ rage.

Glory narrowed her eyes in fury. “DON’T YOU THINK I CAN SEE THAT, YOU INFINITESIMAL LITTLE SCAB? You said they’d be here! You told me that you found my key and that it was here! So where is it, Jinxy? Time’s runnin’ short!”

Jinx cautiously approached Glory, kneeling down before the truly pissed-off God and easily falling into grovelling mode. “I prostrate myself before your magnificence, and beseech you for your forgiveness. For my shameful cowardice and lack of skills has allowed the Slayer valuable time to flee with your un-holiness’s key.”

“Yes it has, you infuriating, snivelling little twit!” Glory yelled as she grabbed her forehead, trying to will away the deafening sound of Willow’s spell. Her head felt like it was going to explode at any moment.

Glory hadn’t expected to find the Slayer or her key just sitting here waiting for her, but she would have been a fool not to check anyway. Now, standing in the middle of the Magic Box with sirens blaring and a snivelling minion grovelling at her feet, she was ready to blow. She was going to find her key, and if the Slayer tried to stop her, she was going to rip out her heart and watch as she turned to dust. And with any luck, she’ll also have a chance to rip off the witch’s arms to see if she could get her to make the same shrill screams as this infernal spell. An evil smile spread across Glory’s lips as these thoughts entered her mind, and entertaining them slowly bettered her mood.


~*~~*~~*~


No one said a word as they listened to Spike’s explanation as to why he hadn’t told Buffy about Darla’s and Dru’s plan to make Angel evil again. Even Xander managed to keep himself from screaming out his I told you so’s.

Giles watched the interaction between Buffy and Spike. Clearly, whatever their relationship was, it had moved much further than just comfort. Giles didn’t really know how he felt about that. On one hand, this was the girl that he viewed as his surrogate daughter, and no matter how much physical strength she had she was still just a confused young woman who had just experienced one of the worst years of her life. It was hard for Giles not to think that Spike was taking advantage of Buffy in her vulnerable state. But as he watched the unlikely pair, Giles could see that whatever was between them went much deeper than that. It was more than obvious that Spike loved Buffy; of course, he had tried to make that more than clear months ago. But it was what he saw when he looked at Buffy that stopped his objections before they were vocalized; there in her eyes was that spark, just a hint of a flame that told him that she had strong feelings for Spike as well.

Giles finally cleared his throat, drawing everyone’s attention away from the now-reconciled couple. “I also received a call from the Council. They have informed me of the ritual timeline; however, we still do not know of the location.”

Buffy pulled away from Spike and took a step closer to Giles. “When is it?”

Giles carefully put his glasses back on before raising his gaze to meet Buffy’s. “There’s a reference in the ‘Dimensioni é prophecies dél demon’ that refers to the ritual as the dark death, where words collide and in turn consume each other…”

“That’s very fascinating, Giles, but can you cut to the part about when this happens,” Buffy interrupted in slight irritation.

Giles gave Buffy a small smile as he continued. “The ritual is said to be performed during the second night of the seventieth full moon after the feast of Cetulas.”

Buffy gave Giles a blank stare. “Huh?! Giles, English please?”

Giles lowered his head. “Two days… the gates will align in two days.”

The room filled with shocked gasps.

Buffy felt as though she was going to throw up and faint at the same time. She half-stumbled into Spike’s arms as she looked over at Dawn, who simply looked petrified. Her eyes were as round a saucers, and her skin looked almost transparent because of the blood that had drained from her face. Buffy turned her attention back to Giles. “H-how long do the gates align for?”

“Twenty-four hours,” Giles answered sombrely.

That was all Buffy could take; she ran straight up to the bathroom and threw up. *Three days, Glory has three days to find her key, and we’re just sitting here like lambs waiting for the slaughter.* The moment this thought entered her mind, Buffy threw up again.

As Spike neared Buffy’s location, he heard her sickening coughs as she emptied her stomach contents into toilet; his heart reached out for her as he knelt down next to the tiny blonde, lightly running his hand over her back as he waited for her dry heaves to subside. A sob escaped Buffy’s throat as she wiped her mouth with a damp cloth Spike handed her. She felt so stupid; why didn’t she run, how could she have been so blind as to think she could take on a hellgod? Another sob escaped her throat as Spike pulled her onto his lap and softly whispered into her ear. “Everything will be okay, luv.”

Buffy let out a sardonic laugh. “I’m glad one of us is optimistic… But the realist in me keeps screaming that I’ve killed Dawn. We should have run… We could have gotten on a plane and gone anywhere in the world… Three days, that’s all, just three days… But I said we should stay… I said we should fight. What the hell was I thinking?’’

Spike tilted Buffy’s chin up so he could look into her eyes. “You were thinking like a warrior. You know you can take her; hell, you’ve done it once already. I know why you chose to stay, Buffy… because one way or another you’ll have to fight the bitch, and you know it. Even if you did run, and you managed to evade her until the gates locked, she wouldn’t let you go. She’d have hunted you down like a dog, just for the sport and vengeance of it. ‘Least this way you can prepare. You know she’ll come looking for you, and you’ll be ready for her… You’re not alone, pet. You have me and your friends, all of whom would gladly give their lives to save you and the Bit… and as a plus you have Tara and Red, and I’ve gotta give it to that girl—she’s not someone I’d like to mess with. She’s got more tricks up her sleeves than David bloody Copperfield.”

Buffy let a small smile spread across her lips. “Only without the shoulder pads.”

Spike let out a small chuckle and kissed the top of Buffy’s head. “Well, that’s Havana demons for you. Always tryin’ to make ‘emselves look like they’ve got shoulders.”

“David Copperfield’s a demon?” Buffy asked with a small squeak.

“Of course, luv. How else would he be able to get Claudia Schiffer? He’s got that whole mind control thing goin’ for ‘im.”

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. “Good point…”

Spike tilted his head to the side as he watched his childe. “You okay, pet?”

A small smile graced Buffy’s features. “Yeah… We best get back, though--Dawnie’s probably terrified.”

With a slight nod of his head, Spike stood up, reaching his hand out to help Buffy to her feet.


~*~~*~~*~


Buffy and Spike had just reached the top of the stairs when Willow’s early warning spell activated. They barely had a split second to contemplate the situation before the house was surrounded by a ring of blue mystical fire. The screams of Glory’s minions filled the air as the fire engulfed them. Buffy and Spike ran to the living room, where they found the rest of the gang starring out the window, looks of sheer terror marring their faces as they watched the scene unfold around them. The front lawn looked like a battlefield. The smouldering corpses of Glory’s minions littered the ground like the aftermath of an atomic bomb, and several other severely burnt minions could be seen crawling away from the blistering heat. Buffy let out a shocked gasp as Glory stepped through the intense flame unscathed. She bore a look of pure rage and contempt as she absently patted out the small flames that threatened to engulf her silk dress.

Buffy turned wide-eyed to her sister. “Dawnie, get behind the barrier NOW!”

Dawn opened her mouth to protest, but Buffy instantly cut her off. “I mean it, Dawn--get behind that barrier and don’t come out no matter what you see!”

Dawn nodded her head in understanding and ran to shelter behind the safety of Willow’s spell.

Once Buffy was sure that Dawn was safe she returned her attention to the furious hellgod who was now only feet away from the house. “Will, put up the shield!”

Willow nodded her head, sitting down on the floor cross-legged as she poured all of her concentration into the spell. “Enemies, fly and fall. Circling arms raise a wall.” With a sudden blinding flash, the deafening sirens alerting them to the hellgod’s presence died away and were replaced with a low hum as the house was enveloped in a supernatural barrier.

Glory let out an inhuman growl when she encountered the invisible shields encircling the house. With her rage building to boiling point, she hauled off and punched her way through the protective magic’s, tearing the invisible barrier to sunder as she cleared a path to the house.

“Well, I guess we’ll see if the house is god-proofed,” Buffy muttered to Willow, absently but gratefully taking note that her friends had already armed themselves against the rapidly approaching hellgod.

Glory burst through the door as if it was made of paper. She stopped and looked around, gauging her surroundings, until her eyes settled on Dawn cowering in the corner like a caged rat. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for you,” she said cheerfully, shooting the terrified girl a malevolent smile.

Buffy and Spike instantly launched themselves at the hellgod, throwing all their strength behind their blows. Glory was beyond furious; after years of looking for her key, being imprisoned in the body of a human, and being forced to live on such a low plane, her anger was a bubbling cesspool of seething hatred waiting to be unleashed upon the world. With a simple swipe of her arm, she sent Spike flying through the air as though she had just swatted a fly. He came to a stop in a tangled heap on the stairs, shattered pieces of the banister littering his body like deadly pieces of confetti.

Buffy risked a brief glance at Spike to make sure he was still unliving and not a pile of dust. Seeing that he was still solid, she turned her attention back to the furious hellgod and punched the crazy blonde in the face, immediately following through with a high kick.

~*~~*~~*~

The few minions who had managed to survive the initial ring of flames that had encircled the house, quickly followed Glory’s path of destruction into the Slayers home. As they entered through the devastated front door, Giles, Xander, Anya, Tara, and Willow mounted a battle formation to take them on as they entered.

Spike panicked as he came to, in time to see one of the short demons grab Anya by the upper arm and shake her forcefully, coming increasingly closer to smashing her head against the wall. Xander was occupied with another demon who was trying to wrest his weapon from him, and Giles had been beset by two more. Tara and Willow were doing what they could, but they were forced for the moment to battle with regular weapons as they were both more than certain that their magic’s would be needed before the battle was over.

~*~~*~~*~

Glory easily blocked Buffy’s kick, leaving the Slayer just a split second to throw another punch. Glory reeled back from the second blow, allowing Buffy a chance to throw yet another sharp jab; she took advantage of the opportunity only to have the infuriated hellgod grab her by the arm and toss her into a nearby wall, sending her crashing to the floor in a shower of shattered plaster.

Glory moved with lightning-fast reflexes, quickly bringing her foot down towards the Slayer with the full intent of crushing the little gnat once and for all, only to have the infuriating twig grab her by the foot. Before she could react, the Slayer had twisted it sharply and thrown her off balance, sending the hellgod crashing through the glass doors into the living room.

Buffy was quick to move towards the stunned god; stomping her way through the broken glass, she attempted to deliver another savage kick to the downed blonde only to have the hellbitch smash her across the shin with a large piece of broken wood from the demolished glass doors. Buffy let out a scream as she fell to the floor next to Glory. Both women struggled to their knees as they continued to face off against each other. Glory was the first to strike this time, savagely beating Buffy across the head with the chunk of wood.

As Buffy fell to the ground, Glory seized her moment and attempted to slam the piece of timber into the Slayer’s chest. Buffy, however, had anticipated this move, and blocked Glory’s blow mere millimetres from her sternum.

A swift kick to the gut dislodged Glory, sending her crashing to the ground. Buffy was on her feet in seconds, grabbing the hellgod around the throat in a choking grip. Glory fought for purchase on anything that she could use to dislodge the super-strong Slayer, and eventually her fingers fumbled upon a poker from the fireplace. Mustering as much force as possible, Glory smashed Buffy across the side of the head with the long piece of iron.

~*~~*~~*~

Spike leapt to his feet and charged with a roar, taking the demon that was assaulting Anya by surprise and twisting its head off before it had a moment to react. The others weren’t quite so caught unawares, however, and redoubled their efforts, one leaving combat with Giles to focus on engaging the vampire and keeping him busy.

Spike wasn’t so easily distracted, however, not with his childe taking a beating in the other room and him unable to reach her; he plunged his hand through the chest of the new combatant and ripped out what he assumed was the heart. Even if it wasn’t, whatever it had been had obviously been important because the demon gave only a small gurgling noise before dropping to the floor in a lifeless heap.

Xander and Giles turned wide eyes, both admiring and frightened, on the furious vampire before quickly moving to dispatch their now-terrified sparring partners. The fear that Spike had struck into their hearts worked very much to the advantage of the Scoobies, and they defeated the remaining demons.

~*~~*~~*~

With a scream of pain, Buffy released her hold on Glory and tumbled to the floor as she fought back waves of dizziness. Glory wasted no time jumping to her feet and attempting to skewer the dazed Slayer with the poker. Buffy, however, had other plans; with blinding speed she grabbed Glory by the wrist, forcing the furious blonde to relinquish her hold on her weapon. The dull thud of the long piece of iron hitting the floor rang out in the otherwise quiet room. With a skilled move, Buffy raised her foot, kicking the hellgod into the nearby bookshelf.

Glory let out a furious scream as she grabbed hold of the large wooden bookshelf, sending it crashing down onto the Slayer.

Buffy rolled herself into the foetal position, trying to protect herself from the heavy projectile. The Slayer’s friends could only watch in horror as the petite blonde was engulfed by the large piece of furniture.

Fury finally getting the better of her, Buffy vamped out; pulling herself free from the shattered furniture, she once again launched herself at the unstable blonde goddess. Grabbing Glory by what Spike had termed her “home-permed nappy hair,” she repeatedly slammed her face-first into a nearby wall. Glory blindly grabbed backwards at her attacker, finally managing to snag her fingers in Buffy’s own tresses and savagely pulling on the long locks in an attempt to free herself from the infuriated vampire. Buffy let out a pained scream as Glory ripped out a large chunk of her hair.

Buffy released her hold on the hellgod; giving her a savage snarl she yelled, “You bitch!” Taking advantage of the god’s righteous indignation, she immediately smashed Glory in the face with the palm of her hand, sending the hellgod staggering backwards.

Glory let a wicked smile cross her lips when she noticed the bright stream of sunlight pouring in through the window. Letting out a feral growl, she grabbed Buffy by the shoulders, easily lifting her and throwing her into the golden light of the early morning rays. Her smile quickly faded when Buffy simply stood in the light. “Oh, yeah. That’s right… Sunlight doesn’t affect me,” Buffy announced tauntingly, mocking the taller blonde with a mischievous grin.

“Well, then, I guess I’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way,” Glory growled as she once again launched herself at Buffy.

Buffy backhanded Glory, sending her crashing through the coffee table. “Well, you can try,” she said with a sneer as she pounced onto the prone hellgod, looking to finish this once and for all.

~*~~*~~*~

Spike watched what was happening as though it was in slow motion. Turning quickly to make sure that the Scoobies were holding their own with the few remaining demons, he ran towards the combatants in the living room, praying that he wouldn’t be too late.

~*~~*~~*~

Glory was prepared for the attack. When Buffy launched herself at the blonde god, Glory tightened her grip around a large piece of wood from the shattered coffee table and plunged it upwards into Buffy’s chest, piercing straight through the Slayer’s heart.


TBC…

Authors note: I’d like to thank AmyB for her amazing help with beta’ing this chapter, her input with this battle scene was amazing… Also I would like to add further thanks for her help with the last chapter; it has come to my attention through a recent review that I never really credited her enough for her input. For any of you that managed to receive a chill reading about Spike ripping out the demons heart with his bare hands… Well that would be Amy’s doing :-)

Also, I would like to thank everyone for their wonderful reviews.

---

Buffy let out a shocked gasp as she looked down at the chunk of wood protruding from her chest. She didn’t even feel it when Glory threw her aside like a piece of rubbish. Spike’s anguished scream registered on the edges of her consciousness, but she was in far too much pain to try to find him and reassure him.

Glory let out a groan of disappointment when Buffy didn’t dust. She had really wanted to see the Slayer turn to ash. But on the bright side, it was always fun to watch someone linger. She let a satisfied smile spread across her lips as she watched the wounded Slayer struggle to breathe while her vampire lover gathered her in his arms.

Giles and Xander threw themselves at the powerful hellgod, not caring that she could snap them like twigs with a simple flick of her wrist. Their blows didn’t even slow her movements as she advanced on Dawn. She simply swatted them away with one powerful blow, sending them both crashing into Anya.

~*~~*~~*~

Willow watched the scene in horror. She could see Anya, Xander and Giles crumpled up on the floor like Glory’s discarded playthings. Spike and Tara were desperately trying to help Buffy. Willow realized with a start that she was all they had left. She had to try and stop Glory before she could get to Dawn. Willow’s eyes instantly turned black as ink as she stepped in front of the infuriated blonde.

Glory simply looked at her like she was a bug that needed to be crushed. “Ooh, the witch. I was hoping I’d see you.”

Willow tilted her head to the side and gave her a malevolent smile. “Is that right?” She watched Glory take a step closer to her. Willow simply shoved her hand out and shouted, “FREEZE!” Glory stopped dead in her tracks.

Glory let out a frustrated growl as she pushed against the invisible bonds that held her in place. “Is that it? Is that all you’ve got? How long do you think this will hold me before I break free and rip out your heart?”

Willow lowered her head and simply muttered, “Pain.”

Glory let out an agonizing scream as unseen razors slashed at her body, sending tiny tendrils of blood dripping down her motionless form. In the blink of an eye she burst her way past her unseen restraints, quickly advancing on the redheaded witch. “You better have more then that, witch bitch!”

Willow stood her ground, giving the rapidly advancing hellgod a cold stare. “Excudo!” With a bright flash, two bolts of lightning shot out of Willows fingers, throwing Glory across the room.

~*~~*~~*~

Chest aching and breathing painfully, Buffy watched in amazement as Glory flew through the air, smashing into a nearby wall with a loud thump. God how she wanted to help, but she just couldn’t seem to shake the pain…

~*~~*~~*~

Glory leapt to her feet in a fit of rage, grabbing the nearest thing to hand and hurling it at Willow. Unfortunately for the hellbitch, it just happened to be Buffy’s weapons chest. With a simple flick of her wrist, Willow muttered, “strigo!” and froze the projectile only inches from her head. In a cold commanding voice she uttered, “hisco,” opening the chest to reveal the abundance of weapons stored within it. “Impedtus!” she once again commanded, sending a plethora of axes, swords, stakes, and knives careening towards Glory.

With movement too fast for the eye to see, Glory scattered the flying projectiles across the room, imbedding several knives into the surrounding walls. With a feral growl, the maddened hellgod once again advanced on Willow. “Cute trick…. but that’s all you have isn’t it, witch?! Just a whole lot of tricks, but you can’t stop me--no one can.”

“We’ll see about that!” Willow snapped.

Glory snorted. “What?! What are you gonna do? Throw the silverware next?” she hissed.

Willow gave her a cold smile. “No. I was thinking of something a little larger.”


~*~~*~~*~


Spike and Tara struggled to keep Buffy still as she pulled the wood from her chest and sat up.

“Buffy, pet… you have to keep still,” Spike urged as he tried to get Buffy to lie back down.

“H-he’s right, Buffy, you’re hurt…” Tara pleaded, pressing a cloth over Buffy’s wound.

Buffy looked over at Spike and Tara. “No… I feel fine… Willow needs help.”

“Buffy, you’re in shock. Lay down for me, luv,” Spike said as he tried to push her down.

Buffy shook her head and pulled Tara’s hand away from her chest. “No… I’m fine!”

“Buffy, you’ve been staked. You are NOT fine! You’re bloody lucky to even be alive,” Spike growled in distress.

“She needs me,” Buffy protested.

Spike looked over his shoulder in time to see Willow throw the couch at Glory with only a simple flick of her wrist. “Looks to me like she’s doin’ fine all by herself, pet.”

Buffy took a ragged breath as pain coursed through her chest. “She can’t keep it up. Someone has to help her.”

Spike clenched his jaw in frustration. He knew Buffy was right, but the last thing he wanted to do was leave her side. However, Dawn needed him. Gritting his teeth in determination, he turned to Tara. “Look after her.”

Tara nodded her head in understanding and returned her attention to Buffy’s wounds.

~*~~*~~*~

Glory was beyond furious. She gripped the edge of the couch and threw it through the front window, the hole in the house suddenly allowing the room to be enveloped by a bright stream of sunlight.

Spike let out a painful hiss when the unexpected light hit his exposed skin, and he mentally thanked Willow for having the foresight to make the protection satchel that he wore around his neck. His skin felt like it was going to boil off his bones, but the sun didn’t cause any physical burns. Pushing himself to work far past his extremely high pain threshold, Spike threw himself at Glory, repeatedly hitting her with the poker from the fireplace. Glory all but ignored Spike’s efforts, simply shrugging him off and walking past him as though he was nothing more than an annoying germ. Her attention was directed more towards the annoying little redheaded witch.

Glory stomped towards Willow, murder burning in her eyes. “I swear I’m gonna rip out your ribs and crucify you with them, you little worm! Who the hell do you think you’re dealing with? I’m Glorificus, ruler of Argon, bringer of hellfires and destruction!”

Willow glared at Glory with ink black eyes. “Yeah? Well, you’re not in Argon anymore, Toto!” With that, she threw a blast of energy at Glory, throwing her clean across the room.

~*~~*~~*~

Spike watched gleefully as Glory once again flew through the air, colliding with a wall. His excitement was short-lived, however, because when he returned his attention to Willow his chest constricted in fear–she was spent. Clearly, all of her powers had been drained by her last attack. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Glory pulling herself to her feet; she looked completely insane with fury as she stomped over to Willow’s exhausted body. Spike made another charge, attempting to take the goddess out with a low kick to her knees; Glory, however, had seen the move coming and kicked him solidly in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall.

“Is that all you’ve got? Weak. Very, very weak, when here I was thinking you might actually have some power. Turns out all you had was a bunch of party tricks.” Glory gave Willow a savage kick, sending her flying across to the opposite wall. “You’re not even worth my time,” she said coldly before once again turning her attention to Dawn. “You, on the other hand… Now, you are worth my time.”

Dawn gave a small whimper as she watched Glory calmly walk towards her.

Spike let out a feral growl before launching himself from his crumpled position and charging towards Glory, punching her savagely in the face several times before she grabbed him by the throat, picking him up and throwing him on top of Xander and Giles, who were once again attempting to advance on the hellgod.

Glory snorted in disgust. “Vampires!” Stomping over to Dawn, she said in a sickly sweet tone, “Time to leave sweetheart. Momma’s goin’ home.”

~*~~*~~*~
Tara could no longer force herself to remain still; she rose to her feet, yelling, “Illuminate!” instantaneously blinding Glory with supernatural light.
Glory shook her head, trying to clear her vision. She could still see the outline of Dawn’s figure cowering in the corner. The goddess made a grab for Dawn, blinking her eyes several times before her vision began to clear.

Dawn screamed as she pressed her back against the wall, trying to shrink away from the hellgod’s grip.

Glory let out a weak gasp as she tried to shake off her dizziness. The moment she made a grab for her key, she immediately felt weak, as though something was draining her of her strength. Nearly snarling with rage, she cast a hateful look at Willow. *The witch must have done a protection spell. That sneaky little conniving bitch.* Glory let out a harsh growl as she pulled her hand away from Dawn. *Well, I guess I get to crucify me a witch after all,* she thought excitedly, a small smile spreading across her lips at this thought.

Buffy was on her feet in an instant, lightly pushing Tara aside as she watched Glory throw her friends aside as she advanced on Dawn. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. She could see Glory reach into the protection shield, intent on pulling Dawn out. She saw Glory’s face distort in weakness as she encountered the barrier. Buffy instantly grabbed Olaf’s troll hammer and ran towards the hellgod, ignoring the rush of pain that exploded through her chest when she lifted the unbelievably heavy hammer over her head; she had inadvertently reopened her rapidly healing chest wound, but she knew that all was lost unless she followed through with her blow. In the blink of an eye she brought the hammer down on Glory’s back, knocking the unsuspecting hellgod to the ground.

Buffy gritted her teeth together as she swung the hammer down on Glory again. “Get the hell away from my sister!”

Glory gasped in surprise and pain as she looked up at her attacker. *What was it with these vampires? They didn’t burst into flames when they went into the sun, and they don’t die when you stake them…* Glory’s thoughts were cut short when Buffy struck her again, splitting her lip open from the force of the blow. Glory struggled to pull herself to her feet, only to be knocked back down again.

Buffy let out a small growl as she struck the hellgod again and again. She could hear Glory’s strangled cries of pain, but they fell on deaf ears. She simply couldn’t allow the nearly-crippled hellgod any sympathy, not after the hell she had put Buffy and her friends through over the last few months. A sinister grin, full of the bloodlust that Buffy freely channelled from her demon, broke upon her face and managed to send a chill through the once-proud goddess’ heart. This wasn’t just defeating an enemy; this was payback time.

“This is for hurting my friends,” Buffy growled as she brought the hammer down on Glory’s chest.

“And this is for scaring my sister.” (WHACK)

“This is for torturing Spike.” (WHACK)

“This is for sending a giant snake after us.” (WHACK)

“This is for your creepy minions.” (WHACK)

“And for staking me.” (WHACK)

“And this is for destroying my house!”

As Buffy struck Glory for the last time, she saw the hellgod begin to shimmer; after a moment and right before Buffy’s very eyes she again watched as Glory morphed into Ben.

Buffy let out a muffled cry as she dropped the hammer on the ground, collapsing onto the floor in relief. Tears stung her eyes as she looked over at Ben’s brutally beaten body. She could hear his wet gasps for breath as he struggled to draw air into his battered lungs. Every square inch of his body was stained with blood and bruises; his eyes were swollen shut, and his bottom lip looked like he’d placed it into a meat grinder. He was a mess.

Buffy felt physically ill. She’d done this to him, and somewhere in the back of her mind she was rejoicing at the sight of the carnage caused by her own hand. She couldn’t move. She proved to be so lost in her desperate reflections, that she had hardly even noticed it when Spike gathered her up in his arms and hugged her like there would be no tomorrow.

Spike was overwhelmed by the feeling of utter relief that had taken over his brain functions; so many raw emotions coursed through his body that he was sure he wouldn’t accomplish intelligent thought again for days. He held on to Buffy with all of his strength, afraid that she might turn to dust if he was to let her go. The horrible vision of her lying on the ground with a strake protruding from her chest was all too real, and his knees went weak as he realized exactly what they’d just barely avoided. He’d come so terrifyingly close to losing her. The wet choking noises made by Ben as the man gasped for breath finally broke Spike out of his haunting thoughts. As he looked over at the mangled man, he couldn’t help the surge of blinding anger that arose within him; he wanted to tear the fucker’s head off for what he’d done to Buffy and Dawn.

Willow slowly pulled herself to her feet and looked down upon Ben’s broken body. She couldn’t believe that she could hold so much hatred for this poor innocent man. She knew that he was not to blame for any of the bloodshed caused by Glory’s hands, but even that knowledge didn’t make being in his presence any easier. She stared at him with blank eyes for a moment until the sound of Dawn’s voice broke her out of her reverie.

“Can someone let me out please?” Dawn asked from behind the protective shield.

Willow gave a small, detached nod and waved her hand towards Dawn. “End!”

With that simple word, the shield melted away as though it had never been there. Dawn gave a small squeal as she ran across to Buffy and Spike, wrapping her arms around them as she began to weep with relief. Buffy briefly pulled free from Spike in order to pull Dawn into a strong, elated hug.

“I-Is h-he alright?” Tara asked as she looked down at Ben’s broken body.

“He looks pretty bad to me, and I should know--I’ve done a few eviscerations in my time,” Anya stated matter-of-factly as she looked down at Ben. “On the plus side, though: if he dies, there’s no more Glory.”

“No! No one dies!” Buffy said in a commanding voice. “Will, are you up to doing the binding spell?”

Willow nodded her head. “Yeah… I think so.”

“Okay, do it.” Buffy turned to the rest of the group. “Is everyone alright? Nothing broken?”

Everyone nodded their heads and murmured their okays. Satisfied that her friends were unharmed, Buffy turned back to Dawn, giving her a concerned look. “Are you okay?”

Dawn nodded her head. “Yeah, I’m fine… ” Tears started to roll down her cheeks as she wrapped her arms around Buffy. “I thought she’d killed you… I saw her stake you… and… and I thought you were dead.”

Buffy gave Dawn a light squeeze. “So did I… But I’m okay… Everything’s going to be okay from now on, I promise.”

Willow and Tara crouched down next to Ben’s prone body, carefully scattering the spell ingredients around him, chanting all the while in an ancient language.

Willow turned her attention to several candles placed around Ben. Taking a deep calming breath, she began the spell. “Goddess Hecate, hear my plea. We ask of your divinity blessings in our hour of need. What was will be again, and what is will be no more.” Once all the candles were lit, Willow and Tara linked hands, allowing them to funnel their powers together. “Glorificus, I hereby bind you. I bind you within. I bind you from causing harm. Glorificus, by the power of Hecate, I bind you within this prison of flesh and bone. I bind you from this world, or from any other. I bind you. As this crystal turns black you shall be bound for all eternity, never to return. I hereby bind you.” As Willow spoke the last words of the spell, a crackle of energy filled the room, causing the crystal to turn black.

Willow let out an exhausted sigh as she looked down at crystal in her hand, knowing that this was the last remains of Glory.

“Did it work?” Dawn asked nervously.

Willow nodded her head. “Yeah,” she said, looking down once again at the crystal before handing it to Dawn. “Do you want to do the honours?”

Dawn looked at the crystal as if it might bite. “What do you mean?”

“This is Glory’s only escape from her prison… without this crystal she’s trapped for all eternity.”

Dawn gave Willow a nervous look. “What do you want me to do with it?”

“Smash it,” Willow said with a small smile. “No more crystal, no more Glory.”

Dawn let a smile spread across her lips as she took the crystal from Willow. She stared at it for a moment before dropping it to the floor and stamping on it with the heel of her boot, shattering it into a thousand pieces. “That’s it…?”

Willow smiled as she pulled herself up on shaky legs. “That’s it. No more Glory.”

“Well, that’s good. I for one was getting very annoyed with her constant interruptions. Xander has been so worked up over this whole mess that he hasn’t given me any orgasms in two days, and it been very inconvenient to say the least,” Anya said matter-of-factly.

Xander turned bright red as all eyes turned to him. “Ahn, remember our little talk about our private life being private?”

Anya simply shrugged her shoulders. “I was just pointing out that this has all been very intrusive in our lives.”

Giles rolled his eyes. “Yes, I’m certain that we’re all very sorry that the possibility of the world being sucked into hell has interfered with your sex life.”

Anya gave Giles a bright smile. “Oh, don’t blame yourself. I’m sure we’ll have plenty of make up sex tonight.”

Buffy couldn’t help but laugh at Xander when he turned an even brighter shade of red with embarrassment.

Tara turned to Willow with a shy smile, only to watch all of the colour drain from her cheeks. “Willow, sweetie, are you okay?”

Willow didn’t answer. She just took several deep breaths before collapsing. Spike was by her side as soon as her breathing changed, hurrying to catch her before she hit the floor. “’S alright, Red. I’ve got you.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Buffy asked in a panicked voice, running over to where her best friend was lying in her sire’s arms.

“She’s just exhausted,” Tara said as she lovingly brushed her hand over Willow’s cheek. “The spells took a lot out of her, and then the fight with Glory...”

Buffy gave Tara a comforting look before turning to Spike. “Can you take her up to mom’s room? She can rest there.”

Spike nodded in agreement and carried Willow’s exhausted body upstairs, Tara close on his heels the whole way.

The sounds of Ben’s strained gasps for breath jolted Buffy back to attention. She quickly turned back to see Giles and Xander attending to the injured man. “Giles, we need to get him to the hospital. Like, now!”

Giles nodded in agreement, wrapping a blanket around Ben’s battered body. “Yes, I know. Xander, can you help me carry him out to the car?”

“Sure,” Xander answered without hesitation.

Buffy glanced over at Anya, seeing that she was holding her arm, and rubbing a large, already purpling bruise that was steadily forming on her bicep. “Maybe you should go with them, too? You look a little damaged yourself.”

Anya gave Buffy a small nod and a smile and followed Giles and Xander out to the car, leaving Buffy and Dawn alone in the living room.

“Maybe you should go with them, too,” Dawn said as she looked at Buffy’s blood-stained clothes. “I mean, you did just have a chunk of wood jammed into your chest.”

Buffy gave Dawn a small smile. “Nah… I’m fine, just a little sore.”

“You sure?” Dawn asked, clearly concerned and not quite convinced by her sister’s denials.

“Yes, I’m sure. Look—I’ve already started to heal,” Buffy said as she pulled her top aside to show Dawn the rapidly healing wound.

Dawn looked at the gaping hole in Buffy’s chest with morbid fascination. “Ewww, gross…” When she looked closer, she noticed that she could see the wound healing right before her eyes; she watched with interest as new skin began to knit over the tender injury. “Wow… I-I can see you heal… that’s so cool! Can you feel it? I mean you have to feel it, right?”

Buffy smiled as she looked down at her chest. “Yeah, I can feel it… It kinda itches.”

Dawn looked up at Buffy. “This is amazing. It’s like watching one of those documentaries they show on the Discovery Channel. You know, the ones where they use all the time-lapse photography?”

Buffy just laughed at her sister’s comment and morbid enthusiasm. “See, getting staked through the chest not only creates good wholesome entertainment--it’s also educational!”

“Not exactly my idea of good wholesome fun, pet,” Spike said as he descended the stairs and walked over to where Buffy and Dawn stood. “You near frightened me into my second death.” As he spoke he wrapped his arms around Buffy’s shoulders, pulling her into a crushing but still tender hug. “Don’t do that again,” he whispered lovingly as he kissed the top of her head.

Buffy let out a small contented sigh, sinking further into Spike’s embrace. “Okay…”

Dawn couldn’t contain herself any longer. Closing the distance between them, she threw her arms around the two vampires she loved more than anything else in the world. Spike instantly responded to the feel of Dawn’s embrace, gently removing one of his strong arms from around Buffy’s shoulders and wrapping it around Dawn.

For several moments the threesome simply held each other until Buffy broke the silence. She gently pulled away from Spike and looked into his beautiful blue eyes, giving a momentary thought to the realization that she could drown in those eyes if she would allow herself to. Shaking away the beautiful thoughts for the moment, she asked, “How’s Willow?”

Spike responded by lightly pressing his lips to her forehead before pulling back and looking into her eyes. “She’s fine, luv…. Just worn out ‘s all.” At that moment Spike glanced around the room and noticed that only Buffy and the Bit were there. “Where are the others?”

“They took Ben to the hospital,” Buffy answered sombrely, taking a step back out of the embrace to gaze around the destroyed front room. As she moved, Spike was suddenly assaulted by the smell of her fresh blood.

“You’re still bleeding?”

Buffy shrugged. “Yeah, a little.”

“Right then, let’s get you patched up,” he said, pulling free from Dawn and marching into the kitchen to get the first aid kit.

Buffy gave Dawn an amused smile and followed Spike into the kitchen to be ‘patched up.’

The two sisters walked in to find Spike emptying practically everything out of the first aid kit onto the kitchen counter. Buffy plopped herself down on one of the chairs surrounding the counter. “Okay, Doctor Spike, patch me up.”

Spike raised his eyebrow at her, curling his tongue behind his teeth for an instant as he gave her a heated look. “Have to play that game later, Slayer,” he whispered against her ear before pulling back and giving her a simple smile and placing a small kiss on her forehead. “Okay, pet, lift up your top.”

Buffy complied without hesitation, lifting her blood-drenched top out of the way, only to flinch in pain when the movement reopened her rapidly healing wound. “Ow… Dammit!”

“You okay, luv?”

Buffy nodded her head dully. “Yeah…” She took a couple of deep breaths before regaining her composure. “You know, getting staked… Not as fun as it sounds.”

“Yeah, I remember.” Spike said absently as he looked at Buffy’s wound.

“What… Huh? When did you get staked? I mean, I did it that time with the Ring, but that SO didn’t hurt you… so how did you get staked and not go all dusty?” Buffy asked in confusion.

“Couple months back, your soldier boy paid me a visit before he left and staked me with a bloody plastic stake. Hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.”

“Riley staked you?” Buffy gasped, shocked. “Why?”

Spike snorted. “’Cause I fancied you. And ‘cause I told you what he was up to at that vamp whorehouse. Stupid ponce goes out and pays to get bled, and he blames me for tellin’ you ‘bout it.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry,” was all Buffy could say. Riley had tried to kill Spike… or at least had tortured him; that just wasn’t right. And Riley had known that Spike was in love with her, and so had Dawn. Has she been the only one who hadn’t known? Her rambling thoughts were cut abruptly short as pain lanced through her chest as the accompaniment to Spike’s prodding of the injury with a pair of tweezers. She let out a sharp hiss, tightly gripping Spike’s shoulder as she waited for the pain to subside.

“Sorry, luv…. got to get all the splinters out,” he murmured apologetically, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Buffy just nodded her head in understanding and waited for Spike to continue attending to her wound. “You okay, luv?”

Buffy took a couple of deep breaths before answering. “Yeah, are you done yet?” she finished hopefully.

“’Fraid not, kitten… Still need to clean it.” He picked up a bottle of disinfectant, splashing a large amount onto a clean cloth.

Buffy eyed the cloth hesitantly, knowing just how much that liquid would hurt.

“Ready?’’ he asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Buffy swallowed heavily and once again grabbed hold of Spike’s arm. “Just make it quick.”

Spike nodded, and quickly ran the cloth over the healing wound. Buffy tensed in pain as the disinfectant sank into the tender flesh. Her grip on his arm tightened as her true demon visage came forth. Before Buffy even realized what she was doing, she pulled Spike’s wrist to her mouth and savagely bit down, drawing in the exquisite taste of her sire’s blood and the comfort that came along with the connection.

Once the pain subsided, Buffy loosened her grip on Spike’s arm. She didn’t release his wrist, however, instead she continuing to lightly sweep her tongue over the puncture wounds, relishing the comforting taste.

Spike’s eyes flashed gold, and his jeans quickly became too tight. It took him a moment to remember what he was doing, and an even longer moment to remember where he was and who else was present. Hell, at that moment it would have been hard for him to remember his name; her actions were blinding him with lust and need, and he couldn’t help but think that Xander and Anya weren’t the only ones who had some lost time to make up for. Pulling up all of his reserves of willpower, he focused on finishing the cleaning of Buffy’s wound even as she continued to drive him to distraction with the feeling of her warm, sweet tongue sweeping over the fresh puncture marks on his wrist.

Dawn watched, wide-eyes, as the scene unfolded around her, holding back a shocked gasp as she watched her sister bite into Spike’s wrist. Her eyes shot to his face, wondering if Buffy was hurting him, but the most amazing look of pleasure washed over Spike’s face, and she thought that she might actually have heard him purr. It was amazing to watch--so dangerous and predatory, and at the same time beautiful and loving, perhaps even erotic—and wasn’t she WAY too young to be thinking like this, not to mention the ick factor of thinking it about her sister and her might-as-well-be brother.

The sound of Dawn’s quickening pulse was enough to finally remind Spike that he and Buffy were not alone. “You alright, Nibblet?” he asked, taking in Dawn’s wide-eyed expression.

Dawn swallowed heavily, flushing a bit in embarrassment before shifting her eyes so that her gaze was centred directly on Spike. “S-she bit you!” she exclaimed lamely, and then shot her gaze to the side so that she looked directly at Buffy. “You bit him!”

Buffy flushed with embarrassment, while Spike simply shrugged. “Yeah, she did, Nibblet. ‘s nothin’ to worry ‘bout.”

Dawn blinked in amazement. “You mean it’s normal?”

Spike laughed. “Yeah, it’s normal, ‘specially since big sis here just got staked an’ all. Sis needed comfort, an’ that’s the easiest way for her to get it in that situation. She wasn’t tryin’ to hurt me… she was just hungry and hurting.”

Dawn nodded her head, beginning to understand, and watched in silence as Spike finished taping a clean gauze pad over Buffy’s wound. “Are you okay?”

Buffy gave her sister a small reassuring smile. “Yeah, I’m fine, Dawnie. Just a little tired.”

Dawn gave Buffy a sympathetic smile before throwing her arms around her sister’s neck, taking care not to jar her injured chest. “Thanks for saving me… ”

A single tear rolled down Buffy’s cheek at the sound of Dawn’s heartfelt thank you. She quickly returned the embrace and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. “Did you really think that I’d EVER let that hellbitch get her hands on you?”

Dawn pulled away from Buffy’s embrace, looking her straight in the eyes. “No… If a stake through the heart can’t slow you down, I guess she never really had a chance.”

Buffy let out a small laugh as she jumped off the kitchen counter. “Damn straight! No piece of wood was gonna stop me from kicking that skank’s butt.”

“Didn’t have to test the theory, luv,” Spike mumbled.

Buffy shrugged before crossing to him and wrapping her arms around his waist. “Wasn’t exactly part of my master plan, either,” she whispered reassuringly, pressing a chaste kiss to his lips.



TBC…

Author’s note: I’d like to give a great big thank you to my amazing beta AmyB, who has once again outdone herself beta’ing this chapter for me, even though she has been terribly sicky-poo with the ‘flu from hell’ as she would put it. Thank you so much Amy, I love all the brilliant work you’ve done on this story, I couldn’t have done any of it without you. Get well soon sweetie *hugs*.

---

Chapter 17:

When Buffy and Dawn walked back into the living room, they were immediately taken aback by the destruction that confronted them. The front window had been shattered, leaving large chunks of glass scattered across the sunlit floor. The couch was thrown haphazardly against the front wall, a large hole having been left in its wake, and the coffee table was smashed into pieces, serving as a grim reminder of how close Buffy came to death. Chunks of plaster from the surrounding walls littered the floor, mingling with the glass to create a sort of macabre mosaic. Buffy sighed heavily as she stared around her; practically no surface had been left unscathed by the furious battle, and the smell of magic and blood filled the air with such strength that it seemed to be a physical presence all its own. In short, the room was anything but salvageable—a complete write-off.

“Wow!” Dawn gasped as she absorbed the destruction.

“Yeah,” Buffy agreed with a small gulp before turning back to Spike, noticing that he had remained standing in the shadows, well back from the harsh rays that danced across the carnage of the brightly lit room. “Dawnie, can you go grab some thick blankets so we can cover this window?” Buffy asked suddenly, never taking her eyes off of Spike. Dawn gave her sister an understanding nod and quickly ran upstairs; both girls knew that Spike wasn’t in any danger of going all flamy thanks to Willow’s spell, but they had both seen the look of pain that had crossed his features when he came into direct contact with the sun.

As soon as Dawn left the room, Buffy could feel Spike shift behind her, closing the distance between them slowly, if not stealthily. A small shiver ran down her spine when she heard his husky voice whispering in her ear, “You better watch out, pet. I might begin to think you care ‘bout me.”

Buffy let a small smile spread across her lips as she turned to face him. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take… Besides, I don’t think the neighbours need to see any more of what goes on in this house. I mean, this may be Sunnydale, but I’m sure that even the old-timers couldn’t turn a blind eye to an insane hellgod rampaging down the sidewalk out front. Not to mention the crispy-fried minions currently stinking up the front lawn.”

Spike let out a small chuckle. “Yeah, nothin’ will piss off the neighbours more then a rowdy barbeque.”

Buffy simply rolled her eyes and shook her head in response.


~*~~*~~*~


By the time Giles, Anya, and Xander returned from the hospital, Buffy and Dawn had seemingly managed to remove all of Glory’s dead minions from the front lawn, leaving only the scorched earth to indicate that something serious had happened on that ground very recently. As the threesome approached the house, they couldn’t help but notice that the front window was now covered with a thick blanket, denying any view into the Summers home; the house itself was eerily quiet as they stepped over the threshold into the demolished entrance hall.

Three pairs of eyes scanned the damage before finally settling on the three individuals sleeping peacefully on the couch. Buffy and Dawn sat on either side of Spike; both girls had an arm slung over his chest, each in almost mirrored positions as they pillowed their heads on his shoulders. Spike, in turn, was holding both of them as though they were the most precious creatures in the world, his arms each gently but firmly wrapped around one slender set of soldiers. Small content smiles played across the lips of all three as they drew comfort from each others’ presence while they slept.

As Xander took in the sight of the unlikely trio, he found himself unable to tear his eyes away from Buffy and Spike. Some way, somehow, their whole relationship suddenly made sense to him. Buffy needed Spike; regardless of the reasons for her need of the vamp’s company, whether she wished for a sparring partner, a lover, or merely a confidante, she had chosen Spike, and he would be there for both Buffy and Dawn. Although Xander hated to admit it, at times he kinda admired the chipped vampire; he was fearless, determined, and an exceptional fighter, and it was clear that he would do anything to keep Buffy and Dawn—and quite possibly the rest of the Scooby gang—safe. Xander had seen the peroxide vampire’s reaction to Glory attack. He had seen the look of sheer panic that had washed over his features when Buffy was staked. A small shiver travelled down Xander’s spine at the memory of seeing his friend lying there helplessly, a large piece of wood protruding from her chest.

Shaking away the disturbing memory, Xander once again turned his attention to the sleeping trio, honing in on Buffy and Spike; he couldn’t help but notice the small smiles that played across each of their lips. She was happy. He could clearly see now that Spike made her happy, so how could he try and deny her this? What kind of friend was he to try and tell her this was wrong? After all the hell she’d been through--losing her mother, having to drop out of school to look after Dawn, and then becoming a vampire--of course she would want to be with someone who could be stable with her, especially if that someone was her Sire. It was only natural, and he had been too pig-headed to allow himself to see that. It suddenly occurred to him how selfish he had been, trying to squeeze Buffy into his own perfect image of who she should be. He cringed as he remembered how cavalierly he had told her how she should act and react, how he had declared to her that any feelings she had for Spike were wrong and that Spike had only turned her so he could use her. He had even gone so far as to say that Spike had arranged for Angelus to drain her just so Spike could turn her, though he had only voiced that suspicion once… and now he felt like such a jerk. It was clear to him now, and probably should have been all along—Spike had saved Buffy’s life. In fact, he was quite possibly the only one who could have saved her. If Spike was telling the truth about what had happened on that fateful night, no one else could have helped her once they’d found her, and she would have simply bled to death before they could have gotten her any help. Another shiver travelled down his spine at the thought of how close he had come yet again to losing his friend.

Xander was pulled out of his musings by the sound of Giles and Anya’s voices; Giles was saying something about checking on Willow, and Anya mumbled something about getting some ice for her shoulder. Xander absentmindedly nodded before registering what they said, then realized his own non-comprehension and turned his head in the direction where Giles and Anya once stood. “Huh? What?”

Buffy awoke to the sound of muffled voices and footsteps; slowly opening her eyes, she spotted Xander standing in the doorway. Sitting up carefully so as not to disturb Spike or Dawn, she cautiously stretched her arms over her head. “When did you get back?”

Xander jumped slightly in surprise at the sound of Buffy’s voice, instantly returning his attention to the now-conscious Slayer. “Mmm? Oh, we just got back… Sorry, we didn’t mean to wake you.”

Buffy simply waved her hand in dismissal. “It’s okay… So where’re Giles and Anya?”

“Giles went up to see how Willow’s feeling, and I think Anya’s on ice patrol.” He shrugged. “So how are you? You’re not feeling all dusty or anything, are you?”

Buffy giggled lightly as she stood up and walked over to her friend. “No, no dusty feelings… In fact, all things considered I feel pretty good--especially since I was almost turned into a hat rack.”

Xander gave her a genuine smile before responding. “Yeah, the least she could have done was try and turn you into a useful piece of furniture… You know, like a broom holder. Or at least a towel rack or something.”

Buffy smiled warmly. “My sentiments exactly. So… How are you guys, anyway?”

“We’re all fine. Anya’s a bit bruised, but nothing broken.”

“Good!” Buffy acknowledged with a nod. “So, what did you tell them at the hospital?’’

“We told them that we found Ben in the park, getting beaten by a group of guys on PCP. They seemed to buy it, but we didn’t stick around long enough for them to ask a lot of questions.”

Buffy nodded in agreement. That was probably the best answer they could’ve come up with—what better way to explain their combined injuries? Ben had been mugged and Giles, Xander and Anya had been injured when they came to his rescue. In any other town, the story would have raised some eyebrows, considering the lack of an attack site or any description of the suspects; however, this was Sunnydale, and the police were a little bit more complacent here. After all, they hadn’t even come to investigate a hellgod and her minions tearing apart the house, or the fact that the lawn had spent a good part of the night in flames. Not that Buffy wasn’t happy for that small mercy; the last thing she needed was to have to try to explain all of that away. She didn’t think that Spike’s ‘rowdy barbeque’ excuse would work, even on Sunnydale’s police force. “What did they say about Ben? Is he going to be okay?”

Xander shrugged. “I don’t know. They said it was pretty bad; he had a lot of internal injuries and possibly some swelling of the brain.” On seeing Buffy’s distressed look, Xander instantly wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a comforting embrace. “It’s not your fault, Buffy. You did what you needed to do to save Dawn and the rest of us. If you hadn’t stopped her, all hell would be breaking out right about now—literal hell, Buffy. When it comes down to one person or the whole world, you’ve gotta choose the world.”

Buffy took a deep, steadying breath. “I know. I just feel… dirty… or something.”

“Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around,” Xander mumbled.

Buffy creased her brow in confusion. “Huh?’’

Xander gave her a tight smile. “Buffy, I want to talk to you… about Spike.”

Buffy let out an exasperated sigh and a short nod as she waited for yet another of Xander’s patented Spike’s Evil talks.

Xander noticed Buffy tense and start to pull away from him; realizing what she must have been thinking, he quickly shook his head. “No, not that kind of talk. I wanted… I wanted to tell you…” He ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of the best way to say what he wanted to tell her. Letting out a small laugh, Xander returned his attention to Buffy. “Let’s go sit down.”

Buffy watched him with curious fascination; Xander was never this serious. He looked like he really had something important to tell her, and she couldn’t quite figure out what it was. And somehow the fact that he wanted her to be sitting when he came out with it was not of the comforting. Buffy gave him a nervous look as he took her hand and started to walk them towards the dining room.

“Xander, what’s wrong? You’re not sick or anything, are you?”

He gave her a sardonic laugh. “Yeah, I’ve got a terminal case of asshole-itus.” Off Buffy’s blank look, Xander continued. “I wanted to apologize for the way I’ve been treating you and for the things I’ve said. I’ve been an absolute jerk, and I had no right to say any of those things to you… or to Spike. I was WAY out of line…”

“Xander, you don’t have to…”

“Yes I do, Buffy. I want to tell you because I love you and because you deserve to hear it. You’re one of the best things that has ever happened to me, and I don’t want you to hate me.”

“Xander, I don’t hate you,” Buffy began, only to be interrupted again.

“Well, that’s good to know,” he answered, giving her a goofy smile. “But I’m trying to apologize here, and if you keep on interrupting me, I’m gonna have to gag you--and then I’ll just have yet another thing to apologize for.” He flashed her another goofy smile and ducked away from Buffy’s playful slap.

“See! Now I’ve got your attention!” He chuckled softly when Buffy gave him her patented exasperated eye roll. “Okay, back to the subject at hand… I wanted to tell you that I’ve figured out the reason I’ve been acting the way I’ve been acting. I was angry--not much of an excuse, really, but I was just so angry. I was angry at Angelus, at Spike, at you, at the world… but mostly I was angry at myself for letting you get hurt.” Buffy opened her mouth to say something, only to have Xander hold his hand up, stopping her.

“I know I didn’t let you get hurt… but I wasn’t there when you needed me. I know this sounds childish, but I wanted to be the one to save you, like I did before. It hurts me to see you in pain, and after Spike… after he… I could see what it was doing to you, and there wasn’t anything I could do to help. So instead, I got angry, and the angrier I got, the more you pulled away. Everyone was telling me I was wrong, that you needed Spike, and I think that’s what hurt the most. You did need him, and once I saw that, I wasn’t angry anymore, just disappointed. I couldn’t believe that you would even want to see Spike after what he did to you. And then I realized that not only did you not blame him, but you actually started to take comfort in him…”

Buffy’s bottom lip started to tremble. *Why was Xander telling her this?*

Xander saw the movement in Buffy’s lip and noticed that her eyes were shining with unshed tears. He let out a mournful sigh in realization of the fact that he had hurt her again. “Oh please, Buffy, don’t cry. I… I just wanted to… to tell you how special you are to me. When I said I was disappointed in you… I don’t feel that way anymore, and I never should have. It’s just that you’re like my hero, and I’ve had you up on a pedestal for so long that I forgot that you’re also just human…”

“Uhm… Not so much with the human anymore.”

Xander gave her a reassuring smile. “Yes you are, Buff, you’re just a little more diverse… but you’re still you. You’re still the bravest and most selfless person I’ve ever known.”

Buffy responded with a watery smile.

“You’re an amazing person, Buffy, and the most amazing thing about you is that you don’t even know it. You risk your life day in and day out to save people you’ve never even met, and who will probably never even know that you helped them. I’ve seen you make sacrifice after sacrifice, just to keep the world safe for another day, and you deserve to be happy. I just wanted to tell you, if Spike can make that happen, I’m not gonna stand in the way. I… I don’t know if it means anything to you or not… but I wanted to give you and Spike my blessings.”

It only took Buffy a split second to acknowledge what Xander had said. The words ‘I want to give you and Spike my blessings’ still hung in the air, almost like a cartoon speech bubble. Without any hesitation, she threw herself into her friend’s arms, wrapping her tiny arms around his broad shoulders in a bear-like embrace while tears of joy rolled down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she gasped through elated sobs. “You have no idea what that means to me.”

Xander returned Buffy’s embrace with equal vigour. “Oh yeah, pile on even more guilt. It’s not like I’m not already drowning in it,” he teased with a laugh.

Buffy shrugged her shoulders. “It’s what I do best.” She lowered her eyes briefly before returning her gaze to Xander. “I mean it, you know. I do care what you guys think.”

“I know,” Xander said quietly, letting Buffy slip out of his arms.

“So?” Buffy asked, taking a deep breath. “What brought about the sudden acceptance?”

Xander shrugged his shoulders. “I had an epiphany.”

“Did it hurt?” Buffy asked with a giggle.

“Yeah, it was kinda painful removing my foot from my mouth. It’s been there so long,” Xander said with a chuckle.

“Not to mention pulling your head out of your arse,” Spike said as he casually leaned against the doorway, flashing Buffy a charming grin when she turned to him. Her features lit up with a bright smile when she saw the mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Yeah, that too,” Xander agreed with a slight shrug and a self-deprecating half-smile. An uncomfortable silence immediately engulfed the room, and the words where do we go from here seemed to infuse each of their thoughts as they stared off into space, each trying to get a handle on the moment. Unable to stand the deafening silence any longer, Xander cleared his throat. “Yeah, well… I think I’ll just go check on Willow.”

“Yeah,” was Buffy’s only response, her eyes still burning into Spike’s dazzling blue orbs. She was momentarily taken aback by the amount of life that shone in them. *How can someone, technically dead seem so alive?*

Xander was rapidly beginning to feel like a dirty old man with voyeuristic tendencies when he glanced at the blonde couple. They hadn’t move from their previous positions, still maintaining a good couple of meters between them, but the red hot looks they were sending each other were almost enough to set the room on fire. Finally turning on his heels, Xander continued his exit, stopping only for a moment as he walked past Spike, who was still leaning against the doorframe. “If you hurt her, you’re dust!” he said in a low threatening voice.


“If I hurt her, mate, I’ll hold the bleedin’ stake while you hammer it into my worthless chest,” Spike retorted, his steely eyes quickly settling on the dark-haired man before him, letting him see the truth behind his words.

Xander stared at the blonde vampire in front him, easily reading the emotion in his eyes. At that moment, Xander could clearly see how much Spike had changed; whether it had been because of the chip in his head, or from his feeling for Buffy, he had metamorphosed into this man before him. The Spike that he thought he knew was no longer there; after all, he still believed that the old Spike could have never loved Buffy and certainly would have never put himself in between her little sister and a roaring hellgod, not only once, but twice. A small smile spread across Xander’s features; if this wasn’t a case of a leopard being able to change its spots, then he didn’t know what it was. He gave Spike a small nod, muttering “It’s a deal,” before exiting the room.

Alone at last, Spike turned to Buffy, grin firmly in place as he advanced slowly upon her. “Interestin’ little twit. Never figured him to be one for existential thought.”

Buffy nodded her head slowly, a small smile playing across her lips. “Sometimes people can surprise you.”

“Is that right, luv?” Spike whispered, now only centimetres away from her.

Feeling the distance between her and Spike closing, Buffy’s smile immediately switched from playful to seductive. “Mm-hmm,” she purred in response.

“You like surprises, pet?” Spike asked, lightly running his finger up her arm.

A small shudder travelled throughout Buffy’s body as Spike’s fingers languorously ran over her heated flesh. With a breathless gasp, she whispered, “Yes.”

“Do I surprise you?” Spike asked, voice husky, only moments before his tongue shot out and grazed her earlobe before sensually travelling down the column of her throat.

Buffy couldn’t suppress the gasp that burst past her lips, her hands swiftly tangling themselves in Spike’s hair and pulling him closer to her. Her heart was pounding with desire, and she momentarily forgot how to breathe when Spike’s cool tongue founds its way to the hollow of her throat, igniting a bonfire of need within her. She didn’t know how she managed to speak, but her mouth somehow fumbled around and managed to speak the word, “Always!”

Spike let out a muffled growl, wrapping his arm around Buffy’s tiny waist and pulling her flush against his muscular body, allowing her to feel his need for her. Buffy was lost; the combination of Spike sensually pressing himself against her and the amazing sensation of his cool tongue and talented fingers dancing over her skin was enough to make her turn to jelly. Somehow, through the haze that had covered her pleasure-driven mind, Buffy was able to focus enough to remember that they were not alone in the house; at any moment, her sister or one of her friends--or worse yet, Giles--could walk in on them and get quite an eyeful. That risk was elevating by the moment, considering that Spike was currently in the process of slowly exposing one of her breasts little by little as he kissed his way down her chest, stopping at the point where Glory had staked her only to lovingly running his tongue over the now-unmarred flesh.

“Spike,” Buffy called, trying to get her lover’s attention; however, the breathless tone of her voice didn’t have quite the desired effect that she was hoping for. Rather than causing him to pause, it instead only seemed to encourage the vampire further, and he uncovered more of her flesh tenderly, one inch at a time.

Buffy closed her eyes, trying to will away the little voice telling her *Don’t make him stop. It feels too good. Who cares if they see you. It’s your house.* Shaking away these thoughts with great difficulty, Buffy tried once again to get his attention. “Spike!” This time her voice held more strength and immediately halted Spike’s actions.

“What?” Spike asked, turning smoky blue eyes upwards to look at Buffy.

“We can’t. Someone will see us.”

“So?” Spike questioned, clearly unfazed by the possibility.

Buffy raised her eyebrows in amazement. “So?” Spike could feel her tense under his fingers. “So, we can’t do this here. I don’t think my little sister really needs to have a live demonstration on the birds and the bees. And I don’t think that my friends are on the pay per view list, either…”

Buffy’s little tirade was cut short when she saw the evil glint in Spike’s eyes. She involuntarily swallowed the huge lump in her throat as his lips slowly descended on hers. “Spike, what...” The kiss that followed took her breath away; it was passionate and demanding and entirely too short.

Spike abruptly stopped the kiss, taking a step away from the stunned Slayer. Buffy just stared at him, panting desperately for breath to replace all that he had just stolen. “Come with me, luv,” he said, taking her hand and leading her to the basement door. Buffy turned huge eyes to Spike, silently questioning him. “You said not here. Don’t think anyone’s gonna bother us in the basement, do you, pet?”

Buffy swallowed heavily, shaking her head no as her eyes fell on Spike’s lips. “They’ll miss me, though, and might come looking… can we do it fast?”

Spike’s lips quirked into a sexy grin. “Oh, I can do fast, pet… But can you do quiet?”

Buffy’s eyes flashed in response to his challenge; she was not going to back down, not when he looked so damned smug. “Oh, I can do quiet… ‘surprise boy’,” she answered tauntingly, and then her lips were hungrily devouring his, one hand pushing him against the basement door as the other frantically reached for the doorknob. Both were too wrapped up in each other to notice Anya, who was standing in the kitchen with an ice pack pressed to her shoulder. Completely undisturbed by the sight of the two vampires entwined, she simply shrugged and went to find Xander.


~*~~*~~*~


“So how do you feel?” Xander queried. He was pleased to see Willow awake, and apparently in good spirits.

“Good. In fact, I’m better than good… I’m great, jubilant even,” Willow replied in a perky voice.

“Can you believe this? She takes on a hellgod, gets battered around like a rag doll, and look… She’s all pepto–girl!” Xander exclaimed disbelievingly to Tara and Giles. He wasn’t exactly sure what he had expected when he came to check on his long-time best friend, but he certainly hadn’t expected her to be so… well, hyper.

Willow waved off Xander’s comments. “Pishh. She didn’t bat me around like a rag doll, Xander. And I’m not pepto-girl. I just feel better now that I’ve had some rest.”

Tara leaned over to Xander’s ear and whispered loudly enough for everyone to hear, “Not to mention the cup of coffee I gave her earlier.”

Xander couldn’t suppress his chuckle. “Ahh, so the caffeine monster strikes again.”

“No, no monster,” Willow stated as she vigorously shook her head for emphasis. “A-and it was only a small mug, a cup almost. So no caffeinated Willow monster… not even a goblin…” Off everyone’s looks, Willow rolled her eyes. Who the hell was she kidding, she was practically bouncing on the spot, she was so hyped. “Well, maybe an imp.”


~*~~*~~*~


Buffy wrapped her powerful legs around Spike’s hips, rubbing her sopping mound against his denim-clad erection as he carried her down into the basement one treacherous step at a time. Once they reached the bottom, Spike wasted absolutely no time in unceremoniously dumping Buffy onto the washing machine, all the while ripping at her clothing, frantically trying to uncover the treasures that lay beneath. In return, Buffy’s hands were far from idle, madly struggling to undo the button on Spike’s jeans. Quickly giving in to frustration with her uncooperative fingers, she finally gave up and ripped the front of the garment open, sending the button flying and splintering the zipper into pieces as she tore the remaining fabric away from Spike’s body.

Spike in turn was having a similar problem with Buffy’s pants, cursing under his breath as he tried to push the skintight material past her slender hips and down her legs. “Why the hell are you wearing pants? Out of all the goddamn outfits in your soddin’ closet, you couldn’t think to put on a damn skirt…” Spike’s tirade was cut short when he triumphantly pushed the last of the material past Buffy’s ankles.

Buffy groaned in frustration at the loss of the feeling of Spike’s body pressed against her. “Spike! Stop fooling around and get your undead ass up here!”

Spike took a moment to allow his gaze to travel over Buffy’s gorgeous body from his current position, genuflecting on the floor in front of his goddess. He could see all the way up into heaven, he mused briefly before kicking his inner poet for the inopportune observation. Wasting not another moment, he sprang to his feet and positioned himself at her entrance, groaning at the wet heat that seemed to surround him instantly. Buffy moaned in pleasure as she felt Spike press himself forward, easing his way inside her, stretching and filling her to perfection. Twin gasps filled the room when he finally slid all the way inside her, his pelvis coming to rest against hers; pulling back only slightly, he gave one short, sharp thrust that slammed against her clit and set her on fire. Spike barely held back a curse when Buffy’s powerful muscles contracted around him; he felt like he was dangerously close to coming, and he’d only just entered her. Closing his eyes, he stilled the shallow movements he had just begun, trying desperately to regain some of his control. Buffy, however, seemed to have other ideas; she thrust her hips towards him pleadingly, quietly gasping when her clit again rubbed against the coarse hair at the base of his shaft. Losing the last semblance of control, Spike surrendered to his basest impulses, his eyes flashing gold. Buffy saw the raw lust in his eyes, and the sight induced another breathy moan from Buffy in the instant before he grabbed hold of her hips and began slamming into her like a man possessed.

“Spike… oh… oh… feels… so… good,” Buffy gasped out, breaths shortened by the force of his thrusts.

Spike responded with a low growl, causing Buffy to shiver with excitement. She had never felt anything like this before; nothing had ever been so carnal and wild. She felt like she was flying and sinking at the same time; like she desperately wanted to breathe, but at the same time needed to hold her breath. This wasn’t tender; her ears did not fill with the sound of a dulcet choir, and she sure as hell wasn’t lying on a bed of roses. This was rough, and frantic… and by far one of the most erotic experiences of her entire life.

Spike was just as lost as Buffy, a slave to the rhythm that his body needed and pursued. He couldn’t remember when he had last totally lost control like he was at this moment; he felt as if his body was in control, and the rest of him was just along for the ride. He gave a mental shrug before tightening his hands on Buffy’s hips and leaning forward to capture a peaked nipple between his teeth, groaning desperately as her muscles again clamped down around him, temporarily holding him prisoner inside her. Oh, but what a ride it was.


~*~~*~~*~


Anya was on her way upstairs to find Xander when she was sidetracked by Dawn’s sleepy voice.

“Where’d everybody go?” the teenager asked, drowsily rubbing her eyes before stretching her arms over her head.

“Well, Buffy and Spike are in the basement. I don’t know where Giles is, or Xander for that matter. Probably checking on Willow; after all, he’s practically obsessed with her… I mean all he would talk about the entire time we were at the hospital was Willow this and Buffy that, blah-blah-blah. I mean who cares anymore that Buffy was staked? It’s not like it killed her. And Willow’s fine; she only passed out, for God’s sake. But here I am, in genuine pain, and he’s nowhere to be seen.”

“He’s probably just worried about them, Anya. He doesn’t have to worry about you because he already knows that you’re all right. You were with him at the hospital, and they weren’t.” Dawn’s brow furrowed when she notice the icepack in Anya’s hand. “You are all right, aren’t you?”

Anya gave Dawn a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. “Yeah, just a little bruised. Nothing life-threatening.”

“That’s good,” Dawn answered with a small smile.

“But Xander should still be at least a little bit worried about me,” Anya answered, smiling at Dawn as the younger girl nodded her agreement.

~*~~*~~*~

The happy chatter of Willow, Xander, Tara and Giles filled the hallway as they made their way downstairs to find Anya and Dawn sitting alone on the couch, discussing the already purpling bruise on Anya’s arm.

Xander immediately walked over and sat down next to his girlfriend, placing a loving arm around her shoulders and gently running his fingers along the bruised appendage before leaning in to give her a tender kiss. “How’s my little boo-boo doin’?” he asked affectionately, giving her arm another gentle rub.

Anya smiled warmly, leaning into Xander’s embrace. “Better now that you’re here,” she answered sweetly.

Willow and Tara shared a meaningful look with each other over Xander and Anya’s sickly sweet behaviour. Who would have imagined that an eleven-hundred-year old ex-vengeance demon and a man once known as the Zeppo could be so happy with each other… or so unbearably schmoopy?

“Just call me Dr Feelgood,” Xander responded, giving Anya another tender kiss before snuggling in closer to her. “So… where’s the Buffster?” he inquired.

“Oh, she’s probably still in the basement having sex with Spike,” Anya said offhandedly, leaning her head onto Xander’s broad shoulder.

“Anya!!” Xander exclaimed, mortified, as he pulled away from his girlfriend to look at her.

“What?! What did I say?”

“Ahn!”

“What? All I said was that Buffy and Spike were probably still in the process of copulating with each other in the basement even as we speak. It’s perfectly normal. As a matter of fact, I’m kinda surprised it took them this long to get all physical. I mean, after a fight like that, who wouldn’t want to have sex?”

Xander jumped to his feet, roughly running his fingers through his hair and trying to block out the disturbing images that Anya conjured up. “Okay… First of all, Buffy and Spike are not having sex in the basement… not with us up here, at least. They’re probably doing the laundry or something… and secondly never, ever mention the words Buffy, Spike and sex in the same sentence! I’m OK with the dating, but I don’t want to hear about the… other stuff. And third can we change the subject here before I go hysterically deaf?”

Anya looked around the room at the other occupants. “Oh, come on! You can’t tell me that after a battle like that your first thought wasn’t about finding a nice quiet place and have lots of hot sweaty sex?”

“Ahn!! Word pictures!!” Xander yelled, more than a little mortified by her bluntness.

“What? It’s the truth!” Anya responded, more than a little annoyed by Xander’s density on the subject.

“Yes, well… I quite agree with you, Xander, that a change of topic is most definitely required,” Giles mumbled, flushing as he scrubbed at his eyeglass lenses vigorously with the edge of his shirt.

“I don’t know why you’re all acting like such children. It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Adrenalin is known to increase sexual desires. It’s kind of the body’s way of saying, ‘Yay! I’m alive… now let’s make babies, because life’s short!’ There’s nothing wrong with that; well except in your case, Dawn. You’re too young to have sex. Besides, the only other person here without a partner is Giles, and that would just be creepy…”

“Ahn!!”

“What? I was just pointing out that Giles was too old to have sex…”

“I beg your pardon!” Giles objected, managing to look both horrified and outraged.


TBC…

Authors note: I’d like to once again give a GREAT BIG thank you to my wonderful beta AmyB. You’re the best hun, I love the amazing work you’ve done on this story!

---

Buffy’s back arched in pleasure as Spike pushed her legs upwards, changing the angle of his thrusts and allowing him even deeper penetration. With each stroke he twisted his hips, enabling him to hit the sensitive bundle of nerves hidden deep within her. She could feel her release building, starting all the way down in her toes and slowly working its way up her legs and into her belly.

“Aaagh… Spike… so close… don’t stop… uhm… please… need.”

Spike slowed his movements slightly, prompting Buffy to jerk her head up to look at him pleadingly. Staring into Buffy’s eyes, Spike asked teasingly, “What do you need, kitten?”

“You… need you… ooh… make me come… ahh… need to come… so close, baby... please?”

Spike let out another growl, making Buffy shiver in excitement, and began to pound into her again. Throwing her head back in pleasure, Buffy squeezed her eyes shut and lost herself in the sensation of her imminent rapture.

“Look at me,” Spike growled commandingly. Buffy’s eyes immediately shot open in response, and she found herself getting even more aroused by his forceful tone. “I want you to look at me when you come.”

It took all of Buffy’s strength not to squeeze her eyes shut when Spike released his hold on her thighs and wrapped her legs around his narrow hips, positioning himself to ensure that her hypersensitive clit was stimulated with every thrust of his hips.

Spike watched as Buffy’s eyes glazed over with passion and need. It thrilled him to see her obey his command so willingly, even though she clearly had to fight her own desires to do so. Spike’s fingers bit into Buffy’s hips as he mercilessly pounded into her heated sheath, leaving small bruises temporarily marring her perfect skin. For her part, Buffy was in heaven; the combination of pleasure and pain was intoxicating, and her desire was elevated beyond anything she’d ever felt before by the look in Spike’s eyes as she held his gaze. She wanted desperately to scream out in delight, but she had to be quiet; she couldn’t make a sound--that was the deal. Biting down on her bottom lip in a desperate attempt to keep quiet, she was so lost in her own pleasure that she didn’t even realize that she had drawn blood. The blood, however, would prove to be Spike’s undoing; the scent of Buffy’s potent blood, combined with the sensation of her tight heat surrounding his turgid shaft, quickly pushed the master vampire right to the brink. The sensation of Buffy’s inner muscles clamping down on his thick shaft as she whimpered out her orgasm was the final push over the edge into release for Spike; letting out a growl of completion, he instantly crushed his mouth to Buffy’s, drowning in the taste of her as he chased every trace of her spilled blood, not wanting to waste even a single drop.

Letting out a breathless sigh, Buffy leaned limply against Spike’s chest, a contented smile playing across her lips as she ran light butterfly kisses across Spike’s collarbone. With a soft moan, she quietly mumbled, “Mmm… heaven.”

In response, Spike wrapped his arms around her small shoulders, pulling her petite form closer to him before whispering in a husky voice, “’m right there with you, sweetheart.” They held each other like that for a good while, simply enjoying the other’s presence and the warm glow of completion. Unfortunately, however, soon the weight of reality became too heavy.

“We should probably be heading back up. They’ll be looking for us,” Buffy mumbled reluctantly.

Spike simply nodded his head in agreement. “Yeah,” he said, squeezing her briefly before reluctantly releasing his hold on Buffy’s tiny body. As he pulled away, they both let out a mournful groan at the loss as he slid from her depths.

With a contented sigh, Buffy arched her back and languidly stretched her arms above her head before sliding off the washing machine and going in search of her clothes.

Spike watched Buffy dress in quiet awe before retrieving his own discarded clothing from the floor, only to find them in near tatters. His black t-shirt hung loosely across his chest as a result of Buffy’s stretching it during her desperate attempt to remove it from his body, but at least it was still wearable. His jeans, on the other hand, were destroyed, the zipper completely shattered and the button was nowhere to be found. “You’re a bloody menace, you are,” he grumbled, looking down at his destroyed attire.

Buffy raked her eyes appraisingly over Spike, taking in the way his jeans hung low on his hips and left almost nothing to the imagination. She licked her lips and tilted her head to the side, languidly sweeping her gaze over his chiselled body. “I kinda like ‘em… easy access and all,” she finally said with a saucy grin.

With a sexy smirk he shook his head. “Vixen.”

Buffy laughed. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

Spike chuckled and slowly advanced on the flirtatious Slayer. “Might want to watch that tongue of yours, pet. You keep talking like that and we’ll never leave this bloody basement. At least not until you’re bowlegged and near-comatose from pleasure.”

Buffy flashed him a sexy grin. “Once again, I repeat. You say that like it’s a bad thing.”


~*~~*~~*~


Some time later, Buffy and Spike finally managed to vacate their basement sanctuary, only to find the whole gang standing in the kitchen in the midst of making much-needed recuperation snacks. Six pairs of eyes quickly landed on the two dishevelled blondes as they made their way through the basement door. Taking in the questioning looks on her friend’s faces, Buffy nervously cleared her throat. “Oh! Hey guys… Spike was just helping me fix the… plumbing. You see, there was this drip, and h-he helped me fix it, so now no more dripping… from the pipe that was leaking,” she finished lamely.

Taking in Spike’s shredded clothing, Xander just had to comment. “That must have been one hell of a drip, Buff!”

Spike gave him a proud smirk. “We all coulda drowned if I hadn’t stopped it up, mate. But I gave it a damn good fix, so shouldn’t be a problem for a bit.”

Anya bit her lip as she took in the way that Spike’s jeans were hanging low on his hips, showing off many of his attributes and hinting strongly at others. Her mouth practically watered as she swept her eyes over his exposed flesh. “Xander, can you help me fix my plumbing? I feel kinda drippy too,” Anya announced abruptly.

Paying no attention to Anya’s comment, Xander kept his attention on the blonde duo. “You know Buffy, when I gave you my blessings, I didn’t mean for you and Spike to go and make hot bunny love in the basement right that minute.”

“Again with the bunnies!” Anya shrieked. “I swear, you know just the right thing to say to get me out of the mood, Alexander Harris!”

“Thank heavens for small miracles,” Giles replied, pinching the bridge of his nose and trying to block out the conversation going on around him.

Spike laughed. “Nice work, Harris. Didn’t know that the demon bird had an off switch.”

Listening to the exchange of banter, Buffy casually leaned against the kitchen counter, idly playing with a piece of fruit. She tilted her head to the side in curiosity as her enhanced senses were assaulted by a new scent. Taking a deep breath, she tried to discern just what the oddly familiar aroma was, and then it hit her. Arousal… that was what she could smell. Casting her eyes around the kitchen, she noticed that every female in the room reeked of it. Following their line of sight, she noticed that they were all staring at Spike; anger infused her tiny body when she realized that they were all looking at her man candy. Even Willow and Tara were practically drooling all over themselves as they drank in the sight of her man’s sculptured body. Letting out a possessive growl, she grabbed Spike roughly by the arm, pulling him from the room and away from the leering eyes for her friends and little sister.

After dragging Spike upstairs, she abruptly thrust a change of clothing into his hand before storming into the bathroom, leaving behind a thoroughly confused vampire.

~*~~*~~*~

Feeling much calmer and refreshed from her shower, Buffy made her way downstairs in search of Giles. She found him sitting at the dining table, writing what she presumed were the day’s events into his diary. Upon hearing her enter, Giles stopped writing and focused his attention on the tiny blonde.

Buffy nervously chewed on her bottom lip, obviously deep in thought. “Can I ask you something, Giles?”

“Why, of course, Buffy,” he replied with a kind smile.

Buffy cast her eyes down to the ground before returning her gaze to her Watcher. “What am I?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Giles replied, furrowing his brow in confusion at Buffy’s unexpected question.

“She staked me, Giles… she staked me right through the heart, but I’m still here,” Buffy said sombrely, locking Giles in place with her questioning stare.

“Yes, I know…” he trailed off, unable to comprehend how close he had once again been to losing this amazing girl.

“So why aren’t I dead?” she asked, her eyes pleading for answers.

“I don’t know, Buffy… I’m at a loss for an answer to that matter myself.” He placed a loving hand over hers, giving it a gentle squeeze before continuing. “I just thank the Powers that you are alright.’’

Buffy nodded her head, still deep in thought. “What if I can’t die, Giles? What if I’m really immortal? I mean, a stake trough the heart would definitely kill either a vampire or a Slayer, so why am I still here?”

Giles’ brow once again creased in confusion. “Is that a problem, Buffy? Did you mean for Glory to kill you?”

Buffy shook her head in clear disagreement. “No, Giles, I don’t want to die. Still very happy to be in the alive and kicking club. It’s just… forever’s a long time, you know? What if I get bored… what if I live so long that I just want it to be over with… what happens when everyone I love grows old and dies and I’m left all alone?”

“Spike is immortal, too, Buffy. And he seems quite devoted to you; I have faith that he’ll show you no less then utter devotion, as he showed Drusilla. You’ll always have him, Buffy, even after the rest of us have passed. You’ll never be alone,’’ Giles reminded her tenderly.

“Spike can die too, Giles…” she trailed off, lost in tormented thoughts of what-ifs. “It’s just that this is all so new to me. I’ve never expected to have a future and now it’s so huge and daunting and it just scares the hell out of me. I’ve always been told that I had an expiration date. I’m the Slayer, the one who dies young. I’m not supposed to be indestructo girl. I mean, what if something really bad happens to me… what if I get me head cut off or something? I don’t want to spend an eternity carrying my head around under my arm like some sort of Sleepy Hollow reject. You know me--I’ll be likely to lose it the very first week, and I don’t think that Sears has a lost ’n found bin that covers missing heads,” Buffy rambled, seemingly unaware of the humour within her rant.

Giles couldn’t help but smile at his young ward. “I believe that that may somewhat unlikely to happen, Buffy. As a matter of fact, one would assume that decapitation would almost certainly terminate any life form. Very few creatures can survive without brain function; indeed, I’ve only ever heard of it in cases of insects such as cockroaches, and even still they soon perished due to thirst.”

“Gee, way to inspire the troops, Giles,” Buffy grumbled.

“Yes, I suppose it was a bit… I’m sorry, it was very callous of me to draw that particular analogy,” Giles hastily apologised.

“It’s okay. I know I’m only being stupid, anyway; I mean, most people live their life afraid of their own mortality, and here I am afraid of my immortality.”

“It’s only natural to be afraid of the unknown, Buffy we just have to learn to play the hand that the fates have dealt us, one card at a time.”

“Yeah, but why do I get the feeling that they’ve just reshuffled the deck?” she complained, pout firmly in place.

Giles chuckled light-heartedly at Buffy’s comment. “Be that as it may, you still have a hand to play. My advice would be to make the most of if; the possibilities are quite endless.”

“Yeah, endless possibilities for a possibly endless life,” she replied dejectedly.

“Not a terribly bad place to be,” Giles replied, closely watching the tiny blonde in front of him. She obviously had something else troubling her thoughts.

“Yeah, I guess,” Buffy mumbled in response.

Tilting his head to the side, Giles felt compelled to ask, “Is there something else bothering you? You seem rather despondent.”

Buffy forced herself to focus on her Watcher. “Yeah… I… I was just wondering what all of this means. I mean, for me… Am I now compelled to act out the role of the Slayer forever? Because I don’t think I can do that, Giles.”

Confusion flooded the Watcher’s features. With a quick swipe of his wrist, he pulled his glasses off and stared at the lenses for a moment before beginning to slowly, methodically polish every inch of them. Finally unable to contain himself, he voiced his concerns. “Are you implying that you’re planning on leaving the hellmouth unprotected?”

Buffy shook her head at the man’s mortified question. “No! No, I’m not going to turn my back on my duty. Not while I’m the hellmouth’s soul protector. But in time, another Slayer will be called and then what?” she asked. “I mean, it doesn’t seem fair to have me do this forever, Giles. The Slayer wasn’t meant to be forever… we’re not even really supposed to last a decade.”

Giles placed a supportive hand on Buffy’s shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before answering. “When that occurs, then you get to be simply Buffy. Nothing more could possibly be expected of you. Of course you need not slay demons on a nightly basis, particularly if you do not wish to do so. That would be the Slayer’s responsibility.”

Buffy responded with a watery smile before wrapping her strong arms around Giles in an elated hug. “Thank you, Giles. That’s exactly what I needed to hear.” A feeling of fatherly delight rolled through Giles as he returned the embrace.

“Oy! Keep your hands to yourself, mate,” Spike announced, finally making his presence known. After getting dressed, he’d gone in search of Buffy, hoping to find out what the hell all that upstairs had been about. The bloody woman ran from hot to cold in a matter of minutes, leaving him thoroughly confused. After a quick search of the house he’d found her talking to her watcher. Apparently neither of them had noticed his presence, seemingly too deep in conversation... so he settled on eavesdropping. He was evil, after all.

Both parties immediately jumped apart at the barked order, only to find a very amused vampire grinning at them.

“Spike! How ruddy long have you been standing there?” Giles snapped.

“Long enough to see you tryin’ to grope on my woman,” Spike replied cheekily.

“I beg your pardon?! I would never!” Giles sputtered, evidently shocked by Spike’s teasing accusation.

Spike barked out a laugh, loving the look of indignation that formed on the normally unflappable man’s face. “Oh, don’t get your knickers in a twist, Watcher. I know you wouldn’t know the first thing about groping another bloke’s bird. Probably not in the Watcher’s Manual ‘n all.”
“Now see here!” Giles contested with righteous anger, fury making him tremble as he took a menacing step closer to the infuriating vampire.
“Ooh, Watcher. Are you coming on to me, or having a seizure?” Spike mocked, unable to stop himself from further tormenting the flabbergasted Englishman.
This response finally broke through Giles’ fury and resulted only in the older man shaking his head in irritation, complaining about “damned annoying vampires and their blasted arrogant attitudes” as he walked out of the room, leaving Buffy and Spike alone once more.
Buffy quirked her eyebrow at Spike in annoyance. “Your woman?”

Spike gave her a cheeky smirk as he sauntered closer. “Yeah. You’re my woman.”

Buffy laughed at his declaration of possession. “Neanderthal much? You sound like a dog marking his territory. You’re not gonna try to pee on me, are you?”

Spike chuckled. “I think I’ll be able to contain myself, luv.” Tilting his head to the side, he asked, “So what was all that about upstairs, luv? Sure would be nice to give a bloke a reason for the cold shoulder.”

Buffy just scoffed. “Oh come on, don’t act like you don’t know what that was about.”

“Might want to throw me a torch, luv, because I’m completely in the dark over here.”

“I’m talking about you just standing there and letting half of the female population of Sunnydale just ogle you.”

“What?”

“Oh, don’t tell me you don’t know what I’m talking about! You just stood there and let my friends and Dawn ogle you! And you just acted like it wasn’t happening!”

“So let me get this straight. You’re all pissed off at me because your friends and Lil’ Bit looked at me?”

“Not just looked, Spike! They were practically drooling all over themselves. And you let them! How could you let them, Spike? That’s my yummy goodness they where looking at, not theirs.”

Spike smirked at her response, taking a step closer. “Your yummy goodness, huh? To coin a phrase, ‘Neanderthal much’? Looks to me like my little Goldilocks has a bad case of the green-eyed monster.”

“No, I don’t, Spike!” Buffy hissed in frustration. “I just don’t know why you had to flaunt yourself around half-naked in front of my friends.”

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow in amusement. “In case you’ve forgotten, luv, you’re the one responsible for me showing off the wares to your little friends. So you can thank yourself for giving the Scoobets a free peek of ol’ Spike in most of his glory.”

A pout formed on Buffy’s face, and she raised her eyes to his for the first time since the argument had begun. “Well there you go again. I had a perfectly good argument forming, and you just have to bring the facts into it.”

Spike chuckled as he took one final step closer to his pouting childe, lightly running his hand down her arm in a soothing gesture. He pulled her closer, wrapping his strong arms around her small frame before placing a series of sweet kisses down the column of her throat. Buffy’s breath hitched when she felt Spike flick his tongue out, lightly laving her earlobe before whispering huskily, “Got nothin’ to worry ‘bout, kitten. They can ogle me all they like. ‘s not like I’ll ever notice, because all I ever see is you.”

A whimper escaped Buffy’s lips when Spike lightly bit her earlobe and then began nibbling a sensual path along her jaw. Tilting her head to the side, Buffy gave her sire total access to her delectable neck, silently urging him to take what he wanted. A fervent growl emanated from Spike’s chest at Buffy’s unspoken invitation.

Another whimper passed Buffy’s lips when she heard the erotic sound of Spike’s impassioned growl, followed almost immediately by the amazing sensation of his sharp canines entering her willing flesh.

Spike moaned in pleasure as he drew in large mouthfuls of Buffy’s sweet blood. She tasted like power and perfection, and he could taste also his own blood mingled in with her unique essence, telling him that she was without a doubt his and his alone. He swore that he could almost feel his dead heart starting to beat again as her blood infused his very being, satiating a hunger that had consumed him for far too long. This was what he needed, this was his salvation--his golden Slayer, his perfect childe.

Throwing her head back in pleasure, Buffy squeezed her eyes shut as she lightly wove her fingers through Spike’s hair. Nothing had ever felt so right before, not like this; this was perfection, this exhilarating sensation of having Spike’s teeth imbedded in her flesh as he clung to her like a drowning man with her as his only hope of deliverance. She could feel his love for her with every gulp he took. This was nothing like the other times he’d opened her veins; those had been about pure need and sexual release, but this was about reassurance, about proving to her that he loved her and her alone. She could feel his eternal devotion to her with every sweep of his tongue, and she knew without a doubt that he spoke the truth when he said all he could see was her. Nothing had ever seemed as clear as it did right now.

She felt Spike extricate his fangs from her heated flesh and found herself echoing his moan of disappointment. A light purr escaped Spike’s chest as he lightly licked the last remnants of blood from Buffy’s neck before the two small puncture wounds completely healed over.

Buffy lazily opened her eyes to find herself looking into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. With a shaky breath, she ghosted her fingertips over Spike’s bottom lip, wiping away the last remnants of her blood.

Spike practically combusted when Buffy placed her fingers to her lips, lightly sucking each digit into her mouth and cleaning them of any traces of blood. An animalistic growl erupted in Spike’s chest as he gripped Buffy by the shoulders, pulling her flush to his lean form and passionately claming her mouth in a searing kiss. Buffy moaned in response, practically melting when Spike caressed her tongue with his own, allowing her to taste her own blood mingled with his unique flavours. Her hands once again found themselves threaded through Spike’s hair, holding him close as she returned his breathtaking kiss.

Buffy’s head was spinning, and she felt like her entire world had just been thrown totally off kilter. No one had ever made her burn like this, and she felt so alive it frightened her. It was like she was completely and utterly out of control, but at the same time she felt so grounded that she could have been made of stone. She felt like she merely existed for this moment, like it was destined that she should end up in this man’s arms. With no small amount of hesitation, Buffy threw caution to the wind and allowed herself to be swept away.

With a sensual sigh, they ended the kiss, both panting for breath as they came down from their high.

Spike was the first to break the silence, his chest still rapidly rising and falling as he panted for unneeded breath. “Oh God, Buffy, I love you. I love you so much!”

Buffy was at a loss, unable to voice her own feelings. After being closed off for so long, she didn’t know what she felt for this man; she only knew it ran deep. She just needed time to put the words to the feelings. So she remained silent, giving him a brilliant smile and allowing him to see the wealth of emotion in her eyes before tucking her head under his chin, resting her cheek on his chest and simply drawing comfort from being securely nestled within his arms.


~*~~*~~*~

When Buffy and Spike finally re-emerged from their private conference, they found the entire gang attempting to tidy what remained of the demolished living room. They were happily chatting amongst themselves as they picked up various pieces of debris, placing everything in a neat pile in the corner.

Anya was the first to notice Buffy and Spike’s return. They each had an arm slung around the other’s waist as they strolled casually into the room like they had been together for years; seemingly forgotten were the past weeks during which Buffy had sent Spike into exile simply for saying that he had feelings for her.

Buffy herself noticed the easy familiarity between she and Spike as well, and thought about it for a moment, realizing that everything in the past was just that—past. She had been a different person then, had refused to see Spike as anything other than a demon, no matter how much she secretly admired his changes and… well, lusted after him. She had told herself that she had done the right thing by locking him out; after all, he had chained her to a wall and threatened too feed her to Drusilla. She had never given much thought to the fact that she had asked Willow to un-invite him before the confrontation in his crypt had even occurred; apparently the idea of him having feelings for her had been even more threatening than Drusilla. In her mind, she had seen him as a threat rather than just a desperate man, trying to get her to listen to him after she had defied every other effort… but that time of doubting him and treating him as less than a person was past.

Anya took in the casual display of tenderness between the pair, coupled with the contented smile that played across Buffy’s lips, and could only come to one conclusion. “Did you and Spike just have sex again?” she asked, wanting to satisfy her curiosity.

Buffy let out a small embarrassed laugh at Anya’s straightforward question. “No, Anya, we didn’t just have sex.”

Anya looked at the bottle blondes, once again observing their body language; everything about them just screamed recent sex, no matter how much Buffy denied it. “I don’t understand. If you didn’t just have sex, then why are you all glowy, and Spike’s all cocky?”

Buffy laughed again, this time with much more embarrassment; she wasn’t about to announce to her friends that the reason she looked all glowy was because Spike had just had his fangs buried in her neck, or for that matter that she had practically begged him to do it. There were some things best kept private. “We just had a quality moment,” she finally answered, giving Spike a sly smile that he returned with a cheeky grin of his own.

“You were only alone for a couple of minutes. How much of a quality moment could you have had?” As the question passed Anya’s lips, she suddenly felt envious of the petite Slayer; the ex-demon knew all too well just how much quality a master vampire could cram into a couple of minutes.

“Oh, it was quality,” Spike replied, cocky grin firmly in place as he claimed Buffy’s lips in a tender kiss.

A rush of mixed reactions enveloped the room as the Scoobies took in the sight of Buffy and Spike sharing a kiss in front of them for the first time.

Giles instantly removed his glasses, effectively blinding himself from the spectacle of his charge openly kissing William the Bloody right in front of him. He knew that they were a couple, and even that Buffy was depending upon Spike for eternal company, but he was quite certain that he never again needed to see proof of their affection for one another. Ever.

Willow, Tara and Dawn all shared a warm smile; they were pleased that the blonde duo appeared to be so happy and comfortable together.

Anya mostly looked jealous; it just wasn’t fair that Buffy got to have a quality moment without intercourse. She really needed to get herself a pet vampire. This thought brought a smile to her face as mental pictures of Xander nibbling on her neck while they played out her new sex game flooded her mind. *Wonder if plastic teeth feel as good as real ones?* the ex-demon mused silently.

Xander, for his part, mostly looked uncomfortable; he was happy for his friend--she looked truly alive for the first time in years—but that didn’t mean that he was able to stomach watching she and Spike play dentist in front of him. “You know, Buff… some of us are still trying to recover from almost seeing Spike’s dangly bits, and it a little hard to repress the memories with you macking on Evil Dead.”

Upon hearing her friend’s complaint, Buffy pulled away from Spike. Embarrassment coloured the Slayer’s cheeks as she glanced around the room, taking in her friend’s expressions.

She let out a laugh when her eyes landed on Willow; her redheaded friend sported a huge grin and was giving her two thumbs up in approval.

Tara, as always, glowed with easy and joyful acceptance, giving Buffy a sweet smile before shyly ducking her head in embarrassment.

Dawn wore an expression of gleeful smugness, tinged with a bit of jealousy. It was, after all, her big crush that her sister was now smoochie-buddies with, but she could deal if it made Buffy as happy as she seemed to be.

Xander looked slightly ill, but accepting. He was trying; Buffy could clearly see that in every aspect of his bearing and expression. So much had happened over the last few days, particularly between she and Spike, and she realized that up until now she’d forgotten just how new this was to all of them. Was it only last week she had been condemning Spike for his actions and feelings and locking him out of her life?

Anya looked like she was about to jump someone—namely a Xander-shaped someone. *OH MY GOD, we turned Anya on!* Buffy thought to herself, a little amused but mostly squicked.

On this disturbing thought she turned her attention to her Watcher, who looked as though he was desperately wishing for Willow to perform another Will-Be-Done spell; his eyes were darting around the room looking at everything but she and Spike, and it seemed clear that blindness would have at least been more convenient for him.

“So, are we Bronzing it?” Xander asked randomly, breaking the silence in the room in an effort to shake the air of discomfort that had settled on everyone.

Buffy nodded her head in affirmation. “Yeah, I think I’m up for some obligatory post-apocalypse Bronze action.”

Spike quirked his eyebrow in question, having never before really been invited to or involved with any of the Scoobie rituals.

Seeing her Sire’s perplexed look, Buffy explained the age-old custom. “It’s, like, this thing we do whenever we avert an apocalypse… kinda like a tradition. The world didn’t end, we go party!”

“Well, then, luv,” he chuckled in response, wrapping an arm around her shoulder before turning to address the rest of the room. “I say we party.”



TBC…

The Bronze was packed. The entire building seemed to vibrate with energy; the music pulsed throughout the crowd, sending young supple bodies into a sensual daze as they writhed against each other within a sea of endless flesh.

Upon entering the building, Buffy had to fight back her demon when her senses were assaulted by the overpowering perfume of warm blood, sweat, and unadulterated lust. It practically oozed from every corner of the building. No wonder vampires chose this as their favoured hunting ground; the heat and tension the room generated was nothing short of intoxicating.

For a moment, Buffy questioned whether she could safely enter the proverbial briar patch--until she felt the cool brush of leather against her arm. Spike stood by her side, offering silent support that she gratefully accepted. Taking a deep, calming breath, Buffy stamped down her restless demon and followed her friends further into the club, gracefully weaving her way through the throngs of dancing teenagers and college students as she made her way to the Scoobies’ usual table, tucked away in the corner of the club.


~*~~*~~*~


The evening was going off without a hitch; they’d danced and talked, just like old times, sharing drinks and jokes and teasing. No one would have guessed that this private table consisted of one human, two very powerful witches, a mystical key, an eleven hundred-year-old ex-vengeance demon, a powerful master vampire, his invincible childe, and a Watcher. Nor could anyone have known that this unlikely group were yet again responsible for saving the world and all of its inhabitants.

As the night progressed, the Scoobies spread themselves throughout the packed building. Spike, Giles and Xander retreated to the pool table shortly after Dawn, Anya and Tara disappeared into the crowd on the dance floor, leaving Buffy and Willow alone at the table to guard the drinks.

Buffy had to give Willow full points for effort; she actually managed to bite her tongue for almost a full minute once they were left alone. However, curiosity quickly got the better of the
redhead. “So, you and Spike... Are you like a couple now?”

Buffy gave her friend a coy smile. “You could say that.”

Leaning closer to Buffy, Willow raised her eyebrows and asked, “so?”

Flashing Willow a guileless smile, Buffy responded in an equally innocent voice, “so… what?”

Willow playfully slapped Buffy’s hand. “So… where are the juicy details? I want details. I’m the best friend—I’m owed details.”

Buffy laughed at her friend’s frustration. “What can I say…? He’s hot! I mean, way hot, as in goddamn that was absolutely incredible hot!”

“So he’s good, huh?” Willow asked, clearly eager for the lowdown.

Buffy fanned her face as an emphasis. “Oh yeah… Actually, make that multiple oh yeahs.”

Both girls broke out in giggles; it had been a while since they had made time to sit down and talk about smoochies and relationships . It brought back very good, if slightly old, memories.

“Multiple?” Willow asked, a touch of reverence in her tone. “I suppose he has had, like, a lifetime of practice; plenty of time to perfect the art.”

Buffy nodded her head in agreement. “Yep, it was time well spent, believe me… Oh! And his body? Willow, I swear I could just spend days licking chocolate off of him. He’s so hot.” A glazed look settled in Buffy’s eyes as she got lost in her thoughts.

“Yeah… I kinda got a sneak preview of the body,” Willow commented casually.

At this revelation, Buffy snapped back to attention. “Yeah, I noticed,” she bit out a little sharply. “I was kinda worried there for a while that Anya was gonna jump him or something… She had this really predatory look in her eyes.”

Both girls fell into another fit of giggles.

“So, is that all it is? Just good sex?” Willow finally asked.

Buffy quickly sobered at this question. “No, Will, it’s so much more. I’ve never felt like this before. He makes me feel free, like I can do anything, be anything. He treats me like I’m the sun, the moon, and the stars all rolled into one. He lets me be me, without demanding anything in return.” A sweet smile broke across Buffy’s lips. “He makes me feel beautiful and powerful and safe just with a simple glance. When I was with Angel and Riley, they always tried to hide me from the world, protect me like I was a child. But Spike, he doesn’t do that; he wants to show me everything the world has to offer. I don’t have to hold back anything when I’m with him, Willow… he wants all of me. Good, bad, and everything in between.”

Tears prickled Willow’s eyes as she listened to her friend explain her feelings with such passion.

“He challenges my every move, just to make sure I’m thinking it through. He’s passionate, impulsive, and totally infuriating.” A light tinkle of laughter fell past Buffy’s lips. “He makes me feel alive… and I think I’m falling in love with him.” As soon as the words left her mouth, Buffy fell into a shocked silence; she had just said out loud the one thing that she hadn’t even been able to admit to herself before that moment. She was falling in love with Spike, and it felt right. It was liberating to actually say it.

Willow stared at her friend in astonishment. This little revelation was completely a bolt out of the blue, and judging by Buffy’s shocked features, Willow wasn’t the only one caught off-guard with its suddenness.

“Buffy, are you okay? You look a little shell-shocked.”

Buffy gave a distracted nod. “Yeah.” A small smile spread across her lips as she looked over at the pool table, Spike’s head clearly visible in the dim light. “I’m falling in love with Spike.”

Willow nodded her head in acknowledgment. “Yeah, I kinda caught that.”

Willow just blinked confusedly when Buffy stood up and walked away from the table without a word or a backwards glance. From her vantage point, she could see Buffy weaving her way through the crowded club for a few feet before she disappeared amongst a mass of bodies.

Buffy was numb, picking her way though the patrons with only one destination in mind. She could see him just up ahead, his platinum locks shining in the low light as he lined up his shot. The moment Buffy reached the pool table, she grabbed Spike by the arm, pulling him around to face her and claiming his lips in a passionate kiss. Her tiny hands tangled themselves in his hair as she pulled him closer, intensifying the kiss.

With a ragged breath, Buffy pulled away; tightly grabbing Spike’s hand, she whispered throatily, “dance with me.”

Spike mutely nodded his head, dropping his pool cue onto the table and following Buffy onto the dance floor, leaving behind a very stunned Xander and Giles.

Once they reached the dance floor, Spike wasted absolutely no time wrapping his arms around Buffy’s waist as they sensually moved in time with the seductive beat.

Buffy lazily rested her head on Spike’s shoulder, simply absorbing his presence as they continued to move to the hypnotic beat. She couldn’t believe how perfectly they fit together. Letting out a contented sigh, she moulded her body to his as her fingers found their way under Spike’s coat, lightly tracing small circles across his back.

From her vantage point sitting at the table, Willow watched Buffy and Spike slowly sway together with preternatural grace. They moved with such precision that anyone watching them would have assumed they had choreographed the sensual dance. For every step Spike took, Buffy anticipated his moves, following his lead as though they danced together every day. A slow smile graced Willow’s lips. Wasn’t that what Buffy said Spike called their confrontations--dancing? That’s all that they had ever done together, she thought.

Buffy felt like she was floating; she had never felt so contented, so treasured, before. Shifting her eyes upwards to look at Spike, she saw that he was smiling--not a smirk, or a grin, but a true smile. She couldn’t honestly say that she had ever seen that before. He always hid behind his Big Bad persona, always responding with cocky grin or shit-eating smirk or derisive scowl. But now he wore a true smile, and the meaning of the expression elevated her already-high spirits even further. He was happy. Her heart skipped a beat when she looked into his eyes and saw her own reflection; she knew, without a doubt, that she was the one who made him happy. As this new revelation sank in, a matching smile stretched across Buffy’s features.

The lovers stared into each others’ eyes with such intensity that even the most casual of onlookers were made to feel like voyeurs. The connection between them was nearly tangible. With a simple tilt of her head, Buffy welcomed Spike’s lips as they descended upon hers; giving a moan of pleasure, she bought her hand up to cup his cheek, lightly stroking the soft flesh as he enticed her tongue out to play with his. So enraptured with each other were they that the blonde couple didn’t even notice when the music changed from its seductive siren song to a more upbeat pulse. They continued to sway to their own music as they lost themselves in their own private world.

The need for air forced Buffy into relinquishing Spike’s succulent lips as she panted for breath. *Oh, momma, could this man kiss.* She felt light headed and weak-kneed; she was sure she would have collapsed if Spike wasn’t holding her upright.

Spike, for his part, was feeling similarly light-headed himself; all of his blood seemed to have suddenly rushed to another part of his anatomy.

Buffy quickly noticed the hard bulge sticking into her hip, a coy smile spreading across her lips as she realized what an impact her mere touch had on Spike. He was hard as nails, and all they had done was kiss. Inspired, she found herself wondering what else she could do to drive him wild. One quick glance at her Sire’s face and she knew that she was playing with fire, and that she was just about to get burnt—in the best possible way. He looked like he was about two seconds away from throwing her to the ground and having his wicked way with her right there on the dance floor; she toyed with the idea of pushing him just that step further, but modesty won out. Buffy had never been one for crowds, especially when it came to seriously physical affection; she was much more of a one-on-one kind of gal–no audience allowed. Forcing herself to fight her desire, she decided that they both needed a little cool down time; without it, she didn’t think either one of them would stay in control for much longer.

“Maybe we should sit this one out,” she said, pointing over to their table in the corner.

Spike raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “If I sit down right now, I’m gonna break my dick in half, Slayer. Got me as hard as rock here, luv.”

A bubble of laughter tumbled past Buffy’s lips at her Sire’s blunt statement. “Yeah, I kinda noticed that… tell you what. Why don’t you go lean somewhere, and I’ll remove myself from being a temptation long enough to get us a couple of drinks.”

Spike gave her a heated glare. “Got other things I’d rather remove from you than temptation, luv,” he replied, eyeing her flimsy halter top and hip hugging skirt.

In response, Buffy simply gave him a teasing wink, followed by a mischievous, “down boy.” Less than a second later, she turned on her heel and strolled over to the crowded bar, hips swaying enticingly the whole way.

Spike chuckled to himself in response to the Slayer’s playful attitude. He found a deserted part of the club, casually leaning against a wall as he readjusted his painfully hard erection. *Saucy little minx, knows exactly what she does to me. But there she is, wagging her cute little backside around like a ‘come fuck me’ sign and thinkin’ I’m not gonna take her up on it. She’s gonna find out when I get her home—gonna pound into her hot little snatch till she can’t walk. She won’t know if she’s comin’ or goin’, time I’m done with her. Make such a pretty mess out of her… *

Buffy could feel her Sire’s heated gaze follow her across the crowded club, sending the butterflies in her belly into a complete tizzy. Her senses were on high alert as she casually leaned over the bar, flashing a little more flesh for Spike to feast his eyes on. She just couldn’t believe how sexy it was simply being watched, especially when she took into account what the result of his watching was going to be. Buffy flushed with fever when she ventured a look over her shoulder to see the scorching heat in Spike’s gaze, her knees practically buckling in excitement. She couldn’t suppress the smile forming across her lips as she thought of all the wicked things he would do to her, simply for teasing him like this; she wondered lustily just how much longer they had to play nice, how much more time they needed to put in before they could find themselves somewhere to be alone.

From out of nowhere, a shudder travelled down her spine. Her enhanced senses, already set on high in the heady surroundings, easily picked up on the vampire closing in on her. With a simple sniff of the air, she could tell that it was a newly-fledged male; more than that, she could smell his bloodlust as he approached.

Sensing him right behind her now, she stood still in anticipation, waiting to see what the demon was going to do. She didn’t have to wait too long before he brazenly placed his hands on the bar on either side of her body, effectively trapping her against the counter. A slow predatory smile spread across Buffy’s lips as she turned to face her captor; within moments, her sly smile turned into an all-out grin when she finally saw who had had the audacity to place himself in such an intimate position without so much as a hello.

The demon gave her what he probably thought was a charming grin as he leaned a little closer, invading her personal space. “I looked to the stars and searched the heavens, because they must be missing an angel tonight… And her name would have to be Buffy Summers.”

Buffy in turn gave him her most flirtatious smile, playing the bastard’s ego for all it was worth. “Parker Abrams. Fancy meeting you here.”

The newly-turned vampire responded by turning his charm on full bore. “Yeah, it’s a small world. I was just thinking about you, and then there you were, standing right in front of me.”

“Must be fate,” Buffy replied, batting her eyelashes at the interloper before her.

“Must be,” he replied as he leaned a little closer. “You know, I’ve been thinking a lot about you lately.”

Buffy raised her eyebrows in question. “You have?”

Parker smiled at Buffy’s seemingly innocent question; he couldn’t help but think that this kill would be almost like taking candy from a baby. She’d always been so gullible. He found his eyes focusing on Buffy’s neck, his mouth practically watering in anticipation as he eagerly watched her steady pulse carrying warm, sweet-smelling blood through her tiny body. Shifting his eyes from her entrancing neck, Parker once again made eye contact with Buffy. “Yeah, I have. I’ve been thinking a lot about how much I messed up what we had together.”

Buffy almost burst out laughing at the look of mock-sincerity that crossed Parker’s face. She had to give him ten points for acting abilities alone; he certainly deserved an Oscar for this performance. What the hell had she ever seen in this moron? Had she really been that desperate after Angel left? Buffy mentally slapped herself for ever giving this… git the time of day. She actually had to force herself to refrain from rolling her eyes as Parker continued going through his overly-rehearsed repartee. *Oh my god, this guy just doesn’t quit. If he keeps this up, I’m gonna drown in his verbal bullshit. I’ll need a backhoe just to dig out.*

“I can’t help but think how good we could be together,” Parker continued, totally oblivious to Buffy’s mental anguish. He lightly ran his fingers down her arm as he asked, “is there any way we could start over?”

Buffy had to fight back a shudder at the feel of Parker’s hand on her flesh; every inch of her being wanted to respond to his touch with violence. She forced back the taste of rising bile as she leaned into his cold touch, trying for all her might to look like the supreme seductress. “I’d like that,” she replied enticingly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy could see Spike making his way towards them. She could feel the fury radiating off of him all the way from across the room. She choked back a gasp as she caught sight of his livid face; he looked like he was hell bent for leather on destruction, and nothing was going to stand in his way.

Spike, for his part, was going to rip the fucker’s head off. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing--right before his very eyes, Buffy was openly flirting with another man. He saw red the moment the git placed his grubby hand on his childe, and a sneer wound its way across his features when he saw Buffy’s anxious look. *Oh, she better bloody well be worried,* he thought as he clenched his jaw in fury. As he drew closer, he realized with a start that he knew the wanker—it was that pillock that from the college. His nostrils flared in righteous anger upon the recognition. *Who the fuck does he think he is? Uses the Slayer like a bloody Kleenex, and he thinks he has the right to touch her?*

With anger blinding his senses, Spike was almost on top of the flirtatious pair before he realized that the darkhaired imbecile was, in fact, a vampire. A quick search of Buffy’s eyes told him everything he needed to know; she was only playing the fool, biding her time before she decided to strike. A malicious smile graced his features at the thought of watching Buffy reduce the wanker to dust. He loved watching his golden goddess at work; she was sheer poetry in motion, all brass and bravado–and he was certain that tonight she’d be sure to put on a good show, given the humiliation she had suffered at the asshole’s hands.

Buffy saw the flash of recognition in Spike’s eyes, followed closely by a look of pure desire. He looked like a little boy who had just been told he could open up his Christmas presents a day early. A rush of lust instantly suffused Buffy’s body as she watched Spike turn on his heels, strutting back across the crowded building in his usual cock-of-the-walk style before disappearing outside into the dirty alleyway.

Parker’s smile broadened at the sound of Buffy’s easy acceptance, an acquiescence followed almost immediately by the smell of her heady arousal. He indulged in a small smirk, thinking that he might have a little fun with this meal before the main corse. “Great! I’m so glad you feel that way,” he replied, lightly running his fingers across Buffy’s cheek. He almost groaned when he felt her tremble in response to his touch.

Buffy felt sick. She couldn’t hold back the shudder of revulsion that coursed through her body the instant that he caressed her cheek—and she had believed that it couldn’t get worse when he was only touching her arm. She had to get herself out of the bar, and she had to do it fast. “Hey, you know, it’s kinda loud in here. Do you want to go somewhere for a cup of coffee or something?”

Parker responded with another one of his supposedly charming smiles; taking a step back, he reached out his hand to take hold of hers. “Coffee sounds perfect,” he replied as he started to gently lead her away from the crowded bar. Buffy smiled brightly as she let him pull her towards the same exit Spike had just used. *Oh this is gonna be good,* both of them thought in unison as they stepped out onto the damp pavement surrounding the Bronze. Buffy didn’t say a word as she allowed Parker to take her around to the more secluded area behind the building.

She wasn’t surprised when Parker attacked the instant they were shielded in darkness; he sprang on her from behind, sloppily attempting to sink his razor-sharp teeth into her neck like it was some sort of chew toy. Buffy easily anticipated his move and responded by throwing him over her shoulder in a smooth, oft-practiced move. Parker stared at Buffy in complete shock, unable to comprehend how on earth he had come to be lying on his back in a filthy alley, staring up at his intended victim. Buffy, for what it was worth, simply looked annoyed; she had been expecting a little more effort from the fledgling, and quite frankly, she was disappointed.

A low growl filled the alley as Parker leapt from the ground, once again intent on taking down his intended prey. Buffy decide to toy with him for a while, easily sidestepping the lunging demon and watching in amusement as he fell face first onto the pavement, splitting his lip on his fangs. The pungent odour of his blood soon overrode the heavy stench of garbage and urine that saturated the air, adding to Buffy’s pleasure. She had always, deep down, wanted to make Parker bleed, but she had always had her stupid morals to prevent her from assaulting a human, no matter how deserving. But now, the tables had turned; this was no longer about retribution. This was her duty… but who was to say that she couldn’t have a little fun first?

With a roar of anger and pain, Parker launched himself at Buffy, intent on ripping her spine out in return for the insolent crap she had just pulled. She simply sidestepped him again, grabbing the unsuspecting fledgling by the bicep and forcibly swinging him into the nearby wall, smashing him into the rough brickwork with so much force that it shattered several bones in his face.

Buffy’s demon was rejoicing at the carnage created by her own hands. She wanted this to last, but her bloodlust and need for violence was quickly overpowering her rational senses. She could feel Spike watching her as she ripped the fledgling vampire away from the wall, only to savagely throw him across the alley and into the opposite wall, this time shattering his collarbone and left wrist. She rejoiced at the sound of Parker’s pain-filled scream as it permeated the air.

From the shadows, Spike watched the Slayer play with her prey. The brainless fledgling had really never had a chance. He watched as Buffy mercilessly beat the silly twit within an inch of his unlife; she was straddling him now, pinning his hips down with hers as she held both of his wrists above his head with only one small but very powerful hand, toying with him in the same manner as a cat would a mouse.

With the alluring smell fresh blood clouding her senses, Buffy had all but forgotten that Spike was watching her until she heard the faint metallic sound of his lighter flaring to life as he stepped out of the shadows, casually lighting a cigarette as he came to a stop in front of her. Parker, near-delirious from pain, foolishly thought that the newcomer was there to help him. “Hey man! Help get this crazy bitch off of me!”

Spike casually took a drag of his cigarette; tilting his head to the side, he asked the dark-haired twit in a disinterested tone, “and just why the hell would I do that, mate? Slayer here gets mighty pissed if I try to take her toys away from her.”

Recognition suddenly dawned on Parker; this was the Slayer his sire was always prattling on about. Over the last couple of weeks, Parker had learnt to all but tune out her idiotic ramblings. But now as he lay here on the damp street, pinned down by the extraordinarily strong blonde, he really wished that he had listened to his childish, dim-witted sire more often. His only thoughts of solace were that Buffy didn’t seem to be in possession of any weapons that could be used to finish him off.

As Buffy watched her Sire, she realized that she had come to think of him as the absolute epitome of sex. He stood before her, all balls and swagger, wrapped up in a badass attitude, leather duster flapping in the light breeze and adding to his bad boy persona.

Spike cocked his head to the side, watching the Slayer with interest. She had made no move to dust the vampire she was currently straddling; instead, she was simply sitting there, holding him down with one dainty hand, obviously deep in thought about something. “So, Slayer, you gonna finish the wanker off or not?”

Buffy blinked several times before she realised what Spike had said. “I don’t have a stake.”

Spike chuckled in response. “Well, then… I guess you’ll have to improvise, luv.”

Buffy’s demon rejoiced when she felt her prey tremble in fear. A malicious smile quickly made its way across her lips as she looked down at her detainee, and she nearly howled with pleasure when her senses were assaulted by the heady scent of Parker’s fear. In a moment of pure malevolence, she leaned down close to Parker’s ear and whispered, “do you know what, Parker? I always thought you were a spineless asshole. Let’s see if I was right.” The Slayer’s cold words hadn’t even had a chance to register through Parker’s brain before she plunged her fist into his chest, grabbing hold of his backbone before savagely ripping it out through his chest cavity, effectively turning him inside out.

For a moment, Buffy stared at the large piece of bloodied bone. “What do you know? He did have a backbone after all,” she announced with a shrug of her shoulders, watching in fascination as both the bone and Parker’s body disintegrated into dust.

The dust hadn’t even had time to settle beneath Buffy before Spike firmly grabbed her around the waist, pulling her to her feet and into his strong embrace. His body positively vibrated with pent-up lust. After having been forced to endure everything from Buffy’s teasing performance on the dance floor to watching her dispense of her pathetic adversary in such a bloodthirsty fashion, his cock was so hard he was certain that he could fuck her for days without needing a moment’s rest. This, combined with his demon’s rage at the thought of another man daring to touch his Slayer, left Spike little to no control over his base primitive instincts; crushing his lips to hers, he rejoiced inwardly as his demon set out to reclaim what he deemed to be rightfully his.

TBC…

A/N: Special thanks to Dia for giving me the macabre idea of dusting Parker by ripping his spine out.