Title: Music For the Heart ~ Chapter One: Learning to Breathe

Author: SlayrGrl55 (a.k.a. Anna)

Rating: PG-13 (just to be safe)

Pairings: B/S, X/A, W/T?

Spoilers: Everything through Season Six…this is my version of Season Seven

Feedback: I simply cannot write without it (hint hint)

Disclaimer: Not mine, blah blah, belongs to Joss and UPN, yadda yadda, would have been better my way, blah blah

Note: 'Learning to Breathe' Switchfoot

The sun was making its first appearance in the distance as Spike approached the Summer's house. He wasn't sure if Buffy would take him seriously. They had parted on the worst of terms and he wouldn't be surprised if she came outside armed with a stake and crossbow…maybe some holy water, too. But he was fairly sure she would be surprised.

          He leaned against the tree that was closest to Buffy's bedroom window and picked up his guitar. Suddenly he was having second thoughts. He told himself that this was stupid idea. He was about to turn and leave when a patch of light stretched over his hand. He was still getting used to that. He watched the sunlight play over his hands for a moment before beginning to strum on his guitar. The music floated away in the crisp morning air and he began to sing.

Hello good morning how you do?
What makes your eyes shine so blue?
I could use a fresh beginning too
All of my regrets are nothing new
So this is a way, that I say, I need you
This is a way, this is a way

Buffy awoke to the muffled sound of music. At first she passed it off as Dawn's radio, but then she felt a familiar tingle in the pit of her stomach.

"Spike?" she whispered to herself as she threw the covers off her bed and went to her window. Sure enough, it was him. She leaned closer to the window and noticed that something didn't seem right. It took her a second, and then…

"Holy crap! He's standing in direct sunlight." Buffy covered her mouth with her hand and backed away from the window. Spike was in sunlight? How? Why? When? How? Her brain was on overload. She turned and ran down the stairs and out the front door with the speed of a slayer and stopped short on the front porch. She took slow measured steps as she approached Spike. He saw her and smiled.


That I'm learning to breathe
I'm learning to crawl
I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall
I'm living again, a way better life
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies

          The youngest Summers awoke to the sound of hurried footsteps on the stairs. Worried that something was wrong, she leapt out of bed and raced to Buffy's room. She saw the covers thrown halfway off the bed and was about to turn and leave when she heard Spike's voice.

          "No way." She said. She followed the sound of the voice to the window and opened it. Now she heard it loud and clear. It was definitely Spike. He was standing at the base of the tree and playing a guitar. Then she noticed Buffy standing a few feet away. She could hardly contain her happiness as she ran down the stairs almost as fast as her sister and was outside in seconds. She stopped a little behind Buffy and it suddenly clicked in that it was daylight. And Spike wasn't combusting. Dawn's jaw dropped t match the expression on her sister's face.

Hello good morning how ya been?
Yesterday you left my head kicked in

I never, never thought that I would fall like that
Never knew that I could hurt this bad

Spike kept playing as he watched his girls come outside. The expressions on their faces were priceless. He wished he had brought a camera. He hoped they recognized the significance of the song, obviously they had noticed the sunlight issue. He was just happy Buffy wasn't raging mad…yet.

I'm learning to breathe
I'm learning to fall
I'm finding that you and you alone can break my fall
I'm living again, a way better life
I'm dying to breathe in these abundant skies

He couldn't take it anymore and he stopped playing. The silence was overwhelming. He didn't know what to say to them. 'Hey, look I'm human now!' wasn't going to cut it. So he opted to let them make the first move. The moment seemed to last forever as he put down his guitar and waited. Suddenly he was knocked to the grass by Buffy's crushing hug. At first he thought he was being attacked but when he realized she was hugging him he pulled her tighter. He burrowed his face in her hair, which he noticed had grown considerably.

In a flash Dawn had joined the embrace. She had missed him so much. Correction, they had both missed him so much. As trouble-free as life was without him, it just wasn't the same. A world without Spike was a world where Buffy and Dawn didn't want to be. They could have been lying there for minutes or even hours and none of them would have noticed. Finally Buffy pulled back and looked Spike in the eyes.

She noticed there was something different about them. The last time she had seen him his eyes were filled with fright and guilt, not their usual energy. Now they seemed content. She knew that being accepted back by herself and Dawn meant the world to him. Buffy stood up and helped Dawn and Spike to their feet.

"Let's go inside." She suggested, "Me and Dawnie aren't exactly dressed to be rolling out on the front lawn." She gestured to her yummy sushi pajama pants and white tank top. Dawn was no better, wearing smiley face boxers and a matching t-shirt. Suddenly self-conscious, Dawn quickly made her way back into the house, followed by Buffy and Spike. They all took seats in the living room.

"So, are you gonna tell us why you're all with the human-ness now?" Dawn asked. Buffy questioned Spike with her eyes and he took a deep breath.

"Well, I went to Africa and told this demon that I wanted to give you what you deserve." He quickly looked Buffy in the eye and she looked taken back, but nonetheless interested. "I thought I wanted to get my chip out, but the demon saw through that. I passed some trials, and he made me human." He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding.

Dawn jumped up from her seat on the couch. "Cool! So you have a soul and everything now? And you're gonna eat normal food and go out in sunlight and…uh, do other human stuff?" Spike merely nodded.

"Oh, I have something I need to give you." Buffy said as she stood up and ran to her room. Dawn attacked Spike with another hug and when she refused to let go when Buffy returned she simply stayed in his lap. Buffy smiled sincerely as she produced Spike's leather duster from behind her back. His eyes lit up and he practically shoved Dawn off his lap. Dawn was un-phased and watched as Spike put on his beloved coat. He just didn't look the same without it.

Buffy was still smiling as she planted a kiss on Spike's lips. "Welcome home, Spike."

Author's Note: I hope you like it so far…I have at least three more chapters on the way…if you review that is…muahaha