A\N: This a sequel to All I Ask and Something To Live For so please read the previous installments to this trilogy if you haven't already. Thank you.

"Dawn. Up. Now.", Buffy muttered sternly. Dawn moaned and rolled onto her front, covering herself with her sheets. She heard her sister's foot steps approaching and tugged the covers tighter.

"You want Spike to give you a lift? You need to get up."

"I don't feel so good", the girl grumbled. Buffy ripped the sheets from the bed.

"Sooner or later Dawn, that excuse is gonna get old. You chose to live out here with me and Spike so you gotta accept that you need to go to College."

Dawn sighed and forced herself to her feet.

"Fine..."

It had been an eventful 5 months. As soon as the hospital had alerted them of Dawn's condition, all 6 of the scoobies, including Alice, flew back to Greece to see her. It took Dawn several weeks to adjust to everything that had happened, after missing out on almost a year of her life, but she was ecstatic about her new position as aunty. Buffy and Spike barely had any time with Alice when Dawnie was around. About 3 months ago, Dawn had decided to go and live with Buffy and Spike back in Tenerife. As much as she loved Xander, her coma had made her realise how much she needed her blood family and how much they needed her. Of course they kept in close contact and he visited regularly but they'd mutually agreed that a relationship wasn't the best thing right now.

Angel had also turned up at the hospital, when Dawn awoke, and both Spike and Buffy knew they owed him an explanation to what he had walked in on a few days before. As predicted, he wasn't at all happy with the bleached vamp fathering Buffy's child but as he soon came to accept, he knew there wasn't anything he could do to change the facts.

Alice was growing perfectly normally. Happy and healthy as promised. Spike's humanity was becoming increasingly apparent too. He'd completely lost his ability to heal quickly and according to medical professionals, was now extremely fertile. However, as much as she tried, Buffy still couldn't hear the sound of anyone's breath but her own in the night.

All 4 of them were living comfortable lives in a new villa, with an extra 2 rooms, but still on the beach. As Spike promised over a year ago, he had found and secured a job to provide income for his family since Dawn was at college most of the time and only had a part time job, and Buffy was a full time mum.

"Bit, you ready yet?!", Spike called to her room about a half hour after Buffy had woken her.

"2 minutes! Geez!", she yelled back.

Spike noticed Buffy reaching the top of the stairs, a wailing Alice resting on her shoulder.

"Great! You woke the baby. It's gonna be a pain to get her back to sleep. You know she was awake half the night?", she sighed to her partner.

"Bugger. Sorry."

Spike made his way over, to the other side of the second floor of their home, towards Buffy and carefully took Alice from her. The vampire tried everything he could think of to calm his daughter down but she just became more upset.

"Come on, princess, what's up?"

Buffy pressed her lips together.

"Maybe she's in pain. I think she's started teething", Buffy guessed, reaching for the girl's hand and giving it a comforting squeeze. Spike held her closer.

"Poor little love", he whispered, gently kissing her warm temple.

Buffy recognised the familiar sound of the lock on Dawn's door clicking and took the fractionally calmer girl back into her arms.

"Go or you'll be late. She'll calm down in her own time."

Spike gave her a concerned look. "You sure? Can stay off for the day if you need me too. You don't have to do this on your own just 'cause I've got a job now."

Buffy shook her head insistently. "That's sweet but I got it. Warm milk sends her out like a light anyway."

Suddenly, Dawn was tugging on Spike's duster sleeve.

"C'mon daddy daycare, let's go."

He nudged her as she walked past.

"Watch it niblet. Don't have to take you anywhere y'know."

Buffy laughed, in turn causing Alice to giggle, the baby realising that something funny had arisen. An infectious smile spread across all 3 of the adults' faces as her laughter faded away.

"Be good for you're mum, kitten", Spike giggled, trying to get his laughter under control, as he rubbed a hand up and down his daughter's back.

Spike glanced at Buffy but she stopped him before he could open his mouth.

"For the millionth time, I'll be fine. Now go."

"Was actually gonna tell you that I loved you but my offer still stands...", he trailed off as he leant into capture her lips in a short but tender kiss.

Buffy chose to ignore his last comment. "Well in that case, I love you too."

"I bloody well hope so", he muttered jokingly as he started towards an impatient Dawn, but not before Buffy swatted him on the arm with her free hand.

Buffy had expected the days without Spike around to be lonely. In one sense they were, since she was so used to having him close, but in another they made her feel free. She finally felt capable of looking after Alice without the vampire having to constantly protect them both.

An hour or so later, Alice had drifted off in her mother's arms so Buffy was very very careful putting her back in her cot. The slayer was barely awake herself so dragged her heavy bones to the kitchen to put on a jug of coffee when she noticed the enormous pile of washing that Dawn had thoughtlessly dumped by the machine, colours not even separated from darks. The only problem with staying at home all day, every day was that she really was starting to feel like a typical housewife. Of course, she didn't mind cleaning up after herself and giving the house a quick once over every so often but it was becoming ridiculous. Looking after Alice was time consuming enough without having to clean up a majority of Dawn's mess almost all of the time. Spike helped out as much as he could but working from 9-5 plus an hour journey home didn't leave much time to get the chores done.

Spike arrived home that night to find Dawn, singing to a care free Alice on the rug by the roaring fireplace, and to hear Buffy rattling around in the kitchen, probably preparing dinner, more for Dawn than anyone else. She didn't notice him sneak in and creep up behind her as she kept her attention focused on the many pans sizzling on the stove in front of her. She shuddered in both shock and pleasure as she she felt the sensation of Spike's lips brushing her earlobe.

"Smells good", he whispered, lowering his chilled lips to her clavicle.

"You're late. Do you really deserve any of this delicious food?", she teased. Spike growled and squeezed her waist, causing her to flinch and almost spill the jug of water she was holding.

"Minx." He continued to tease her vulnerable flesh but she shrugged him off after putting the now empty jug down, turning to face him.

"Not now." She handed him 3 sets of cutlery. "Go set the table and maybe, just maybe, we'll continue this later", she suggested flirtatiously.

"Yes ma'am." With a sudden kiss, he had taken the cutlery from her and was in the front room.

Evening slowly turned into night and Buffy and Spike finally had some time to themselves. Dawn had happily agreed to look after Alice upstairs whilst the couple wound down. The fire had been topped up with wood to keep the house warm on the surprisingly bitter and bleak June night.

"We really need to do this more often", Buffy murmured sleepily into Spike's hair. They were currently tucked up on the sofa, Buffy on Spike's lap, one of his arms around her waist and the other resting on her thigh.

"Mm hm", he responded in the same drowsy tone. " Promise. From now on we'll make time. Sod work."

Buffy muffled a laugh, fiddling with a few strands of the vampire's slightly discoloured hair.

"Can't. We need the money. Especially now with your hair. You need more bleach", she joked.

Spike grasped his hair self consciously.

"You can't be bloody serious?"

Buffy didn't know why he looked so surprised.

"My hair doesn't grow. Hasn't in over 100 years. Never needed to redye it."

The pair stared at each other for a few seconds before it dawned on them what was happening. Buffy looked at the faint but still apparent bite mark on his wrist.

"The bite", Buffy started.

"Bugger!", Spike exclaimed, another puzzled look forming on Buffy's face.

"Means I have to go through all the fuss of bleachin' it again. Bloody nightmare it was."

Buffy huffed at him in amazement.

"That's all you can think about dummy? You could be starting to age. You know? Grow old with your family?"

"Might not even be permanent yet love so don't get too overexcited."

Buffy gawped at him.

"Why aren't you taking this seriously? This...thing in you is clearly spreading and you don't seem to want to know."

"Because I don't want you thinkin' that I'm suddenly just gonna change into this normal guy and give you and Alice a normal life 'cause I don't even know if that can even happen."

Buffy suddenly felt a pang of guilt inside her and immediately wanted to retract what she'd just said. She went to cup his cheek but he flinched away, clearly stung at the reminder of what he might never have, what he might have to lose.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think. I was just so convinced that this might change everything. I want this for you not just me. I know its what you want too."

Spike still didn't say anything but he seemed a little more relaxed. Buffy slumped back against the arm rest for few seconds before Spike came into eye contact with her, willing to talk again.

"Marry me."

Buffy's eyes were suddenly fixtated on him, her jaw had dropped and she was utterly speechless for a few seconds.

"W-what?", she stuttered.

"Realised that every second I have with you is important and I want us to have anything and everything. Promised you that we'd be as normal as we could...So marry me."

Buffy could feel waves and waves of tears threatening to spill and tried to sniff them back.

"Nothing would make me happier William."

Her using his name was a rarity. She'd only used it a few times before, mostly on some of the worst days of his life. Now finally, on one of the happiest days of his life...