right, well, been writing on this for a couple days now, and already staring on Chapter three... I figured that's enough of a head start, especially if I don't post updates every other day, like I have with others... that way I don't have to stress out over getting chapters done fast enough...

I'm hoping that all chapters will be of fairly good length, considering I am writing in size 7 font, AND using the CSI font (you know tv show, CSI) which is smaller than normal anyway, so I have to write more to meet my general chapter page length...

Anyway, enough rambling. The prologue is a re-write of the end of the Series, and please bear in mind that this is my first ACTUAL Buffy fic... I've written one other thing, and that was a oneshot song fic.

This IS a Spuffy fic, though I was never adept at writing pure fluff, so don't worry too much... Though I feel I should warn any Angel lovers, I don't like Angel, and the best moments with him are the ones where Spike's putting him down, so you'll be seeing a bit of that... But Angel will get his own stabs in there as well, and after a while, So shall Xander.

Now on with the Spuffy goodness!

The Way Things Are
New Places, New Hellmouths

PROLOGUE: Chosen

"I love you," Buffy said the words steadily, even as the pain from her hand being burned threatened to make her voice crack. A tear made its way down her cheek, but it wasn't from pain... Not physical pain anyway. It was emotional. The look in Spike's eyes as she said the words was heart-wrenching. She'll tell you. The words echoed in Spike's memory. The young girl who had been able to see the future had told him that once, when he had been helping to save her life. One day she'll tell you. That day had finally come. Pity it had to be as he was dying. The words he said next, nearly broke his own unbeating heart to say, but anything to make Buffy leave.

"No you don't," he nearly choked on the words. He wanted to reply with an 'I love you, too, pet' but he couldn't. Then she would want to stay with him, "But thanks for sayin' it."

Buffy stared at him for a moment, and felt the very familiar, and nearly overwhelming desire to hit him, and keep hitting him until he was black and blue... But the circumstances, and the way his wonderfully blue eyes wavered stopped her. Instead, she made up her mind in a split second, and reached for the amulet around his neck. Spike realized too late what she was doing. "Bloody hell, Buffy, no!" he said, but she already had her tiny hand wrapped around the amulet. A single yank was enough to rip it from his neck. She threw it with all her strength onto the stones at their feet, and it shattered, the light refracting from it growing brighter, and brighter.

Spike collapsed as the jewel shattered, and Buffy caught him, dragging him out of the ray of sunlight, as he began to smoke. It was a struggle to get him up the stairs, but she managed it. How the hell she was going to deal when she got to the outside of the school, she didn't know, but she would manage.

---------------

Luckily, the cloud of dust rising from the school provided the cover required to keep Spike from becoming ash, and thank whatever deity there was that Faith had good eyesight, and stopped the group from driving away in one of the school buses, when she saw the slayer, and her bleach-blonde vampire companion draped over her shoulders. As a very injured Robin drove away from the city that was quickly becoming a crater, Buffy took sweaters and jackets from the people left alive, and the ones that had been left by careless kids. She rolled the unconcious vampire under the seats, and covered every inch of him in the sweaters and jackets. She couldn't risk him bursting into flames, not after she'd made the decision to save him. She knew he'd be pissed at her later, but oh well. She had been pissed at him before, when he'd saved her... even when she'd needed it. Shouts from one of the few surviving potentials... well, slayers now, made Buffy look up, and find who they were missing. But she noticed so many faces absent, she knew it would be easier to just go by who WAS there. There was Vi, whom was the one shouting, Rona, the target of Vi's yells, Kennedy, and an asian girl, whose name Buffy had forgotten.

All of her original Scoobies were there. Xander, Willow, Giles... Dawn was alive and well, as was Faith, and Andrew. She didn't know what condition Robin was in, only that he was hurt. And then there was Spike... Her Spike. Her jealous vampire champion. The look on his face when she had handed him that amulet, after telling him it was meant to be worn by a champion only... If she had known what it would do to him, she might never have let him wear it. But what was done was done. He was alive, or as alive as a vampire could be, and that was what mattered.

"Ease off, we're clear!" Faith called to Robin, and the bus skidded to a halt. Buffy, who had only crouched in the aisle, nearly fell forward.

Once the bus was fully stopped Buffy, Kennedy, Xander, Dawn, Willow, Giles, and Andrew got off to have a look at Sunnydale. Faith started to follow, but stopped by the driver's seat to speak with Robin. She told him they made it out alright, and he nearly scared the life out of her when she thought he was dead. He tried to turn it into a joke by saying "Surprise" when he woke up. Faith only smirked at him, and left him in Vi's care. The girl seemed to know what she was doing. Outside, the group was inspecting the crater that had once been Sunnydale. With what sounded like a squeak of defiance, the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign toppled over the edge and clattered down to the bottom of what had once been a Hellmouth.

"Good Lord," said Giles staring at the vast hole, "What did this?"

"Spike," Buffy replied, with a hint of pride in her voice, "He was going to die in order to make sure we lived..."

"Looks like the Hellmouth's officially closed for business," said Faith, in relief.

"There's another one in Cleveland," said Giles, and all heads turned in his direction, "Not to spoil the moment..."

Faith said something, but Buffy wasn't listening. She was staring off in the horizon. She wasn't the only Slayer anymore... There were girls all over the world now, who had her power. That could do what she did. She was free to live her life in a semi-normal way. Sure, she would have to work on training the group she had with her now, and any strays they picked up along the way, but still... Protecting the world was no longer her duty alone. She could have some peace. Sunny"Hell" was no longer around to haunt her. She could leave her more painful memories behind... Bury them in the rubble that was her old home. She could start a new life now. Maybe things with Spike had a chance of working out this time, without her duties as the sole Slayer to hinder her. That would have to wait until they had found a place where their entire group could settle comfortably. But there was that glimmer of hope, and that was enough to bring the smallest of smiles to her face.

-------------

CHAPTER ONE: Aftermath

By nightfall they had reached a small town called WeedPatch, California. Luckily the asian girl, whose name was Michelle, had lived in Weedpatch, before moving on to Sunnydale when her family, and watcher had been murdered. Most of Weedpatch had cleared out, since the craziness from the Hellmouth had seeped into that town as well, so there were no worries about people asking questions as to why there was a good-sized group of people suddenly piling into Michelle's house. Most everyone was glad to be off the bus. Buffy certainly was. Her legs had started to cramp from sitting in one place for so long, though it might have been an easier ride, if she had been in a seat, instead of crouched in the aisle, near Spike.

Fortunately enough the house was large. Sure, people still had to pair up when it came to beds, but there was more room than there had been in Buffy's house. It wasn't more than half an hour after arriving that all but Giles and Buffy were sound asleep, or in the vampire's case, out cold. Giles was tending the burns on her hand, and looking rather grim. Strange, when they had just defeated the source of all evil. "Guess holding hands with a torch of a vamp isn't exactly one of my more intelligent ideas," said the Slayer, trying to lighten the mood.

"What?" said Giles, "Oh, y-yes of course. What- whatever were you thinking?" He was distracted, that much Buffy could tell.

"What's up? You're all grim, and doom-like... We won."

"Yes, but at what cost?... Buffy, what happened down there? You said Spike caused the city to cave in on its self, but how? And why did you bring him out... My watcher senses tell me he didn't have a say in the matter."

"I destroyed the amulet... " Buffy replied slowly, "Spike was dying... That thing was killing him. He was telling me to leave him behind... So I broke it, he passed out, and the rest you know...I couldn't let him die, Giles. Not after everything he's done for us. And I'm sorry if it ruined his chance to die a hero, but he has a promise to fullfill to me."

"And what promise would that be?" Giles asked, cleaning his glasses vigorously, suggesting that he was uncomfortable with where this was going.

"He promised that he would be around until I was ready for him to not be here... And I'm not ready for him to not be here, yet. He can die a hero some other day... For now, he's saved the world, and he lived... If he wants to die, well, all he's got to do is make me mad enough to stake him."

"Do you love him?" Giles asked it so plainly, as if it were a question he'd ask anyone.

Buffy nodded slowly, "Yes... And don't lecture me on falling for another vampire, please, I've lectured myself plenty of times, and punished myself by denying it... So please, save the sermon." She surprised herself with the force with which she spoke.

Giles gave her the oddest look, "I wasn't going to lecture you, Buffy. Who you fall in love with is beyond anyone's control... Do I think you could make a better choice? yes... Am I going to belittle you, or make you feel guilty about the choice you did make? No. But, like Angel did, Spike has proved several times that he loves you."

"That's the funny thing..." Buffy began, finally saying something she'd been thinking since Angel had shown up shortly before she'd cut Caleb in half. "Angel loved me, I know... But when he lost his soul, he only loved the fun of tormenting me... Spike... Spike loved me even when he didn't have a soul. I can't help but think... if it had been Spike in that apartment with me back in highschool, then I wouldn't have woken up alone the next morning... But maybe that's just wishful thinking."

"You never can tell with, Spike, as moody as he is... He's unpredictable."

"Only when you don't know him very well... I already know how he's going to react to me getting him out of there. "

"And might I add... I'm beginning to see a pattern in your relationships... The vampires last the longest."

"You noticed that too, huh? Spike, before he got his soul, told me that I couldn't be happy, unless I was with a vampire... It was meant to hurt me, at the time, but maybe he was right. And you know, the funny thing is, I'm actually okay with that."

-----------------

Buffy leaned against the doorway of the room Spike was in, after checking in on everyone else. Watching the vampire sleep, she remembered the night she'd killed Caleb, and Spike had been dreaming. She laughed quietly as she remembered what he'd said... "I'm drownin' in footwear!... Weird dream..." She hadn't pegged him for the type to talk in his sleep, much less dream about footwear... Shaking her head at the memory, she fully entered the room and shut the door behind her.

From a ways down the hall, Xander had been watching. He hadn't been entirely thrilled that Buffy had brought Spike out of the Hellmouth alive. He had been less pleased when he'd heard Buffy and Giles' conversation about Captain Peroxide, and was rather angry that Buffy had just gone into the vampire's room, seemingly with no intentions of coming out. I only hope you don't get yourself hurt, again, Buffy... He's hurt you too many times before to be trusted now...

-----------------

The next morning, few of them were up before late after noon. In fact, Buffy, Willow, and Faith slept right through till early evening. By the time six pm rolled around, most were still in make-shift pajamas, and looking bleary-eyed, and in some cases, still chugging down cups of coffee. Faith was still grumbling about being able to go on with her sleeping for a week plan if it hadn't been for Vi sharing her room when Buffy managed to force herself to stumble down the stairs.

"I feel like I have a hangover from hell, and someone is only making it worse by beating me with a sledge hammer," she groaned, plopping down at the kitchen table. Dawn, the only one who had risen before one pm was in a fairly good mood. "Good morning Buffy!" she said cheerily, handing a mug of coffee to her sister. Buffy glared at her younger sibling and mumbled "What's good about it? And it's not even morning..."

"No," said Giles, "The correct term for this time of day is evening."

"Is Spike awake yet?" Dawn asked, ignoring her sister's glare, and Giles' correction.

Buffy shook her head, taking a sip of the coffee, "No.. Still out cold, like I wish I could be... The after-effects of all that fighting are hitting me hard...When I'm asleep it won't bother me at least."

"You think you've got problems?" said a groggy Willow, sitting next to Buffy, "All that power I gave you girls had to run through me... Felt good yesterday. Today it feels like a... a herd of elephants trampled me."

"Well, I could knock you both out," said Xander, "But I'd prob'ly lose my other eye."

What was left of the day was spent lounging about, and recuperating from injuries... Both phsyical and emotional. All of them had lost friends in the previous day's battle. Xander had lost the woman he loved, and though he was trying to hide it, Buffy noticed a lack of the jokes he normally told, dire situation or no dire situation. The four remaining former-potentials didn't laugh and chatter like they once had... Andrew even refrained from his constant complaints of "Rona stole the last piece of pie!" or that one of the girls had been rude to him. Faith sat with Robin, who, while concious, wasn't moving around. Willow and Kennedy were practically attatched at the hip, and Buffy and Dawn altered their time from sitting and talking with Giles, along with the teen slayers, and sitting with Spike, who muttered often in his sleep. It was just after the moon rose to it's highest point, and Dawn had gone to get something to drink, leaving her sister alone with the vampire, that there was a knock at the front door. Buffy heard it open, and heard Giles speaking, and another familiar voice. Curious, she got up from her chair, opened the bedroom door, and peered down the stairs.

It was Angel.

Angel looked up, just as Michelle called from the living room that he was invited in, and saw Buffy poking her head out of a room, staring down at him. He didn't know what he expected, but Buffy just looking at him with no real enthusiasm wasn't it. She stepped out of the room, and pulled the door closed behind her, carefully. She slowly made her way down the stairs, and leaned against the banister.

"Buffy," he said, waiting for the usual hug, or kiss. None came. There was the old spark of happiness, at seeing him, that he remembered, but not quite so bright as it used to be... Something had happened, after he left. That much he was sure of... And from the scent she was covered in, he was guessing it had to do with Spike. "Where's Captain Peroxide? Or is he back in Sunnydale?" he couldn't help the slight hint of hopefullness in his voice.

"No... He's upstairs, unconcious... That amulet nearly killed him... Would have, if I hadn't smashed it."

Angel grimaced. That wasn't the fate he'd wanted for that amulet... He could have cared less about Spike, but that amulet... There had been plenty more things that it could have been used for... Protection, purifying, the list went on. "Look, Buffy, I didn't know what it was going to do... If I had, I'd have worn it..."

And I might have let you die... Buffy thought, even though it disturbed even her to have such a thought, if it meant saving the world... "I'm glad you're back," she finally settled on saying, before things got awkward. "I guess I should introduce you to the girls.."

Once introductions were done, and everyone was settled in the living room -(even Robin and Faith joined them)-, chatting with one another, Buffy took the time to note how the girls acted with Angel. Dawn sat as far away as was possible. The blonde slayer couldn't have said why, for sure, but it most likely had something to do with the fact that Angel made it known that he hated Spike, whom Dawn thought of as an older brother. The ex-potentials however were happy to sit near him, and talk comfortably. Maybe because he didn't give off that "get near me and I bite your head off" vibe the other resident vamp did. Halfway into a discussion about Gnarl demons, Buffy tuned the voices out, and she was pretty sure Willow did as well, considering that Willow had found out first hand what a Gnarl demon could do. Buffy just didn't like being reminded of how she'd killed one... Digging her thumbs into it's eyes. That had been extremely nasty.

She started listening again just as Xander commented on the fact that Anya had gotten great enjoyment out of Dawn being posable while paralyzed by the demon. Dawn didn't find the memory too amusing, but Buffy did. Her rather upbeat "She's posable?" had only made Dawn even more annoyed. The conversation turned to the little musical mishap that Xander had started, causing the ones that hadn't been in Sunnydale for that incident to nearly start rolling on the floor with laughter at some of the songs that had been sung, and what they were about. Xander even went so far as to lovingly recite Anya's song about bunnies, even though he did a rather bad impression of his ex-fiance. Willow, Giles and Xander were talked into teaching everyone their "I've got a theory" song by Faith, and Rona, who seemed to think the idea was a rather amusing one. Buffy firmly refused to recite any of the songs she'd sung, as most would just bring back bad memories, though she did have a good time laughing at Xander, when Andrew requested that he recite the song he and Anya had sung.

None of them heard a door upstairs open. All Buffy heard a was a familiar voice saying "Oh Bullocks," and then a loud series of thuds, and groans.

------------------------

If you will all remember, "Oh Bullocks" is what he says before the "who-ket" as Buffy called it (last ep, scene "Jealous Vampire Champion"), started workin