Author's Note:Hey everybody!I know I haven't posted anything in a long time, but here I am now!Better late than never,right?I'm really curious to see what will be the reactions to this sory, 'cause it's my first long one.I really hope you'll like it and that you'll let me know that.

Disclaimer:If I would've owned "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", trust me, it would've ended a whole lot different.

Summary:At the end or "chosen", Spike accepts Buffy's love, but he still chooses to die and fulill his destiny. But,with a little help from The Powers that Be,more that one lover will be brought story has a light crossover with "Xena the Warrior Princess", but I didn't considered that it should be in the crossover main pairings are:Spike/Buffy, Willow/Tara, Xander/Anya, Giles/Jenny, Faith/Wood, Angel/Cordy, Fred/Wesley and, I think, Dawn/Connor.I'm still not sure about the last one though.

Enjoy!

Right here waiting for you

Ch. 1

"I love you."

Spike looked at her aver their burning hands. In his cerulean yes she could easily read what she imagine was in hers too: love, awe and hope, but his were also laced with a tint of regret.

"'Bout time you admit it, pet. I've been telling you this for years now."

She grinned, relieved that he believed her. After everything they had been through, she had feared that he would reject her love. Her eyes filled with happiness, thinking that finally, everything will be all right now.

Spike looked at her, knowing what she must be thinking. He hated the idea of crushing her hopes, but he had to make her understand that this was what he searched for all his life and unlife: to make a difference. To save the world.

"Pet." he began, "remember when I promised that I'll never leave you?" She nodded, the happiness on her face being clouded with confusion. "And I swear to God 'tis the last thin' I want to, but I have to do this, Buffy." Tears began to run again on her face, while her eyes showed her realization and distress at his words.

She opened her mouth to speak, to try and convince him to stay with her, but he beat her to it.

"I love you", he said. "and I always will, but this is somethin' I have to do."

She dropped her head, a little hurt that he choose this over her, but also proud of the man inside him-her man.

"But I'll promise you somethin'." He lifted her head again with his free hand. "I'll come back. No matter where I am, no matter if I have to storm heaven an' hell, I'll come back to you." She managed to smile through her tears.

"Promise?" she croaked in a small voice.

"On my unbeating heart, that beats just for you." He said, also with a small smile through the waterfall of tears that marred his beautiful face.

She couldn't resist anymore and grasped the back of his head, giving him a long and loving kiss. When they finally parted, she rested her forehead against his and whispered:

"I'll always wait for you, don't forget that. But, please, be quick. I don't know how much I can last without you."

"I'll do my best." He whispered back. Suddenly, they heard a loud crash. The hellmouth was beginning to cave in.

"Now go!" Spike shouted. After another short kiss, she let go of his hand and ran towards the exit, not before sending him a whisper of "I'll be waiting."

Spike watched her leave and turned his eyes to the hellmouth again after she was gone.

"I wanna see how it ends." As he was beginning to disintegrate, he laughed. He finally did it. He really saved the world this time.

Meanwhile, Buffy had managed to jump on the roof of the school bus that was quickly leaving Sunnydale and the hellmouth. After a few minutes they stopped and she jumped down. She enveloped Dawn in a loving embrace and then turned to face the crater that was once Sunnydale.

"I don't understand. Who did this?" she heard Giles ask, genuinely confused

"Spike…" she whispered back as an answer. He looked away, but not before she saw on his face awe and shame.

She looked at the crater again, just in time to see the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign fall in it.

'Huh, you did it again, honey.' She thought, with a small smile, remembering one of Spike's favorite "hobbies".

As she approached the crater, she heard Andrew saying that Anya died protecting him. Her heart went to Xander when she heard his reply. She understood him. After all, she was experiencing the same thing. Her eyes began to mist up again, but she forced her tears down. Spike wouldn't have wanted her to cry. She promised she would wait, and she will. She heard the others joking around her, and then Dawn's question.

"Yeah, Buffy, what are we going to do now?"

She began to smile. Everything will be alright. After Spike comes back, of course, but she had faith in him. He always kept his promises, after all.

She turned back at the others. Only then did she noticed that most of them were hurt, including her. They needed tending and some of them really quick. There was really only one place they could go where they wouldn't be questioned.

'I really hope Angel managed to set that second front.' she thought dryly.

She entered once again and hopefully for the last time in a long period, in full slayer-mode.

"Okay. The only place we can go is L.A." The others nodded, some with relief, others looking uncomfortable.

"Um, B, we need a new driver. Robin's kinda beat up." Said Faith, her eyes full of concern for the dark-skinned man.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't knew." Buffy looked around her. Most of the slayers were hurt, and those who weren't so severe were helping the others. Kennedy was supporting Willow, who was still feeling shaken after the spell. Xander was distressed after Anya, Andrew was in shock, and Dawn and herself weren't an option, not if they wanted to arrive safe. So that left one man. "Giles, could you please drive? You don't look as bad as the rest of us." She said with a small smirk.

Giles scowled at her and went to relieve Robin, muttering something about "no bloody respect for the elders nowadays".

"Buffy?" Buffy turned to Willow's small voice, a little surprised to see tears and sadness in her eyes. 'What could be wrong now?' she asked herself. 'We won, The First is defeated, I mean we had casualties, but…' And the she realized.

"Buffy, where is he?" Same old Willow, always knowing her so well. She probably was one of the few in the house who noticed the strong connection between Buffy and Spike. Buffy remembered how, even before the soul, Willow, Tara and Dawn liked Spike, and treated him like their friend.

She turned towards the crater again. Despite her decision not to cry, tears welled up in her eyes as well and some of them felled. Dawn looked confused at both of them.

"What are you talking about? The only men with us were Robin, Xander, Giles and…" Suddenly, her eyes went wide. "Buffy, where is he? Where's Spike?" Buffy couldn't talk, she squeezed her eyes shut and fell on her knees, not wanting to look at her little sister's anguished face.

"No! No, he can't be gone! Not him! This is Spike, he doesn't leave us, doesn't leave you ! Please tell me it's not true!" Buffy only started to cry harder. The Wicca and teenaged Key approached her fallen form and caught her in a strong embrace. The three stayed that way for a few minutes, until Buffy calmed down a little and could talk.

"He-he said th-that i-it's what he wan-wanted." She managed to say between tears and hiccups. "But th-that he'll be back, a-and come t-to me a-again." She said, her tears increasing as she remembered the heartbreaking scene in the hellmouth.

"Then he will." Whispered Willow softly. "He always comes back." Buffy send Willow a teary smile, grateful that she wasn't judging her, and that she seemed to be accepting Spike without questions. After all, she was her best friend, and that's what best friend's do, they understand and support each other.

They threw one last look at the remains of their home. The three of them were the only ones left, all the others having already got on the bus. The new potentials weren't really so perturbed of the destruction of the little town. After all, they didn't have many happy moments here. But for the rest of them, it was a huge milestone.

For Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles it was the place where they encountered their loved ones, and lost some more. Angel, Spike, Oz, Tara, Anya, Jenny and Joyce were some of them. For Faith, it was a place that held not as much love, but equally very fond memories. It was the first place where she felt that she belonged. She made here her first friends in the Scooby gang, and she encountered a presence of a father, in the Mayor. Sure, he was evil, but he had really cared about her.

For Robin, it was the place where he finally made peace with his mother and her killer. Although it pained him to admit, Spike was right. He never was the center of his mother's world. Andrew was shocked. Warren, Jonathan, Anya…he couldn't stop thinking about them.

All of them had lost something here, whether it was innocence, a parent, a lover, a friend or all of the above. But at the same time all have won something in return. Even if it was placed on top of a hellmouth, Sunnydale will always be home for them.

At last, they turned and walked towards the bus, with Buffy in the middle, Willow and Dawn posing as guardians against everyone who dared disturb the distressed slayer.

When they arrived at the bus, Giles sent Willow a questioning look, but she just shook her head, a sad expression on her face. Giles looked away. He had never really liked Spike, but he remembered the summer Buffy was… gone.

The vampire was heartbroken, he didn't even want to eat, and the prospect of a sunbath was suddenly looking very promising. Until one day, when Tara and Giles went to his crypt. They found him drunk, crying over Buffy. After they managed to clean his crypt of all the junk and empty bottles (Giles still couldn't understand how a person, even a vampire could drink so much in only 3 days), they tried talking to him. Well, Tara tried. Giles was still in wonder. Only now did he began to understand that what they thought was just infatuation ran much deeper. He was pulled out of his thoughts when his brain registered that Tara was yelling. Tara? Yelling? Something was surely wrong. He caught the last part of Tara's tirade.

"…so you better move from that chair if you don't want me to throw you. Buffy would of been ashamed of you." At this, the vampire only began to cry harder. "What about Dawn? Don't you care at all what's happening to her? She hadn't eaten at all since Buffy…" at that, Tara stopped and began to cry softly too. She kneeled before the bleached blond and took his hands in hers. Giles just stood there, not knowing what to do. He had never seen Tara speak so loud, and without stuttering. Also, it was new to him that a member of the gang was being so gentle and tender to Spike, except Dawn. It seemed that the vampire was thinking the same thing, as he looked in awe at Tara.

"We all miss her, Spike," By now, he seemed to have calmed himself a little. "but now, we need you. Dawn needs you." He jerked his head at the words, an awed and questioning expression in his eyes. The Scoobys never asked anything of him nicely. Especially Buffy…

'But that's not true, is it?' a voice said in his head. 'She asked you to take care of Dawn, and you promised you would. And you failed her then, but you can make sure that Dawn is safe, now that she isn't here to take care of her instead.'

A determined light shone in his eyes as he sat up. Tara and Giles looked at him as he stood, tall and powerful. To Giles, it sent a felling of deja-vu. He remembered how powerful Spike was and looked before the chip, and even after. Spike was one of the few Big Bads that Giles continued to fear, even after he was chipped. He knew now that it was because Buffy never truly beat him, as he never could, or would, kill her. Giles never underestimated him, and he knew that if he got rid of the chip and he really wanted, he could kill Buffy.

But, as he looked at Spike talking to Dawn and convincing her to eat, after none of them could, he knew that Spike would never harm either Dawn or Buffy or anyone else, knowing that it would upset the two girls.

That summer, the vampire stood by their side, well, mostly Dawn's, and fought with them, for them, and helped the best way he could. Even then, when he had no idea of Willow's, Xander's, Tara's and Anya's plan, he stayed. He asked Spike one night, when they were patrolling alone, why. Why, even after all that happened to him in 'Sunnyhell', as he named it, even after Buffy's death, did he stayed? He smiled sadly, while taking a long drag of a cigarette.

"I made a promise to a lady", he answered, his voice cracking.

After that faithful night in the bathroom, Giles, as the rest of the gang, despised him. When he came back from England and found out that Spike was back as well, his first reaction was the desire to stake him. But, after he found out about the soul, he had to admit that the blond vampire earned, if not his complete forgiveness nor extreme affection, then his deep respect.

Now, looking back, he couldn't possibly understand why he agreed with Wood. Buffy was right, Spike was a good man, but they never gave him a chance to prove himself. Giles just wished that, if by some miracle Spike would return, he could apologize and get to now the vampire, the Champion, better. A small smile tugged at Giles' mouth. Knowing Spike, he would find a way to get back to his girls.

Meanwhile, the girls have walked to the end of the bus, where Xander kept them place.

"Almost like high-school." Whispered Willow. The three best friends looked at each other with sad, nostalgic smiles on their faces, remembering a time when slaying was cool, and their worst fear was Snyder catching them out of class.

The girls sat down, with Buffy and Willow in the middle, Xander next to Willow and Dawn next to Buffy, and the bus started it's journey towards the City of Angels. Or demons, depending on the week.

The 4 friends linked hands. The potentials, no, the Slayers were happy. They had survived their first wannabe-apocalypse, and they chattered quietly with each other, while the most unscathed ones tented the others. Faith was taking care of Robin, close to the foursome. Andrew sat by himself, lost in thoughts of past encounters and future insecurities. Now that the first was beaten, what would be his role in the gang? He was scared that they would dispense of him. He just didn't know what to do to make them see he could be helpful, so that they would allow him to be with them. He didn't want to be alone again. After he killed Jonathan, with only Warren/The First as company, he felt more alone than ever. He didn't want to feel like that ever again.

Kennedy was tending a badly injured slayer, while throwing glances at Willow. The fact wasn't lost by Dawn, who smiled on the inside. She didn't like Kennedy. She missed Tara so much, and she was sure Willow felt the same. The wicca had barely looked at the newly-turned slayer when she got in the bus.

Buffy turned towards Xander and Willow, and noticed the tears coming from their eyes. But they weren't tears of joy. In the last few years, whenever they stopped a disaster, there usually weren't many happy tears. Two years ago, Buffy had died. Last year, Tara had died and Willow had become the Big Bad. Now… Now they lost much more. Apart from Spike, Anya and the new slayers, they have lost their home. It wasn't going to be as easy to recover this time. But they would do it. After all, what couldn't they face if they were together?

While Buffy was thinking, or, at least, trying to think positive, Xander and Willow looked at each other. After a small conversation that took place only in their minds, they turned towards Buffy. The slayer was lost in thoughts, but soon realized that they were watching her and focused on her friends.

"Buffy, we um… Xander and I would like to tell you something." Willow said, in a small voice. Buffy frowned. 'Now what?' She nodded at her to continue.

"Um…we want to apologize." Buffy's eyes went wide.

"Guys, you have nothing…"

"Yes, we do, Buffster." Xander interrupted her. He turned towards her, and only then did she see in his eye sadness, shame, but also determination.

"You always took care of us. Spike was right. We were the cause of more getting-into-problems situations than solutions-for-getting-out-of-problems situations. But we always trusted you. Trusted that you will get us out, save us. And you did, you always did. But we failed you." At that, Buffy opened her mouth to disagree with him, but Willow began to speak.

"No, Buffy, he's right. In the end, when you counted on us, we failed you. We didn't believe in you, and we were against you, even though you proved more than capable to lead us against the First."

Buffy looked down. That fateful night will remain forever in her memory as the most horrible and beautiful night in her life. Horrible because of the lack of faith her friends and her sister in her abilities. Beautiful, because it was the first night she actually let herself be close to the man she loved. She lifted her head and enveloped Willow and Xander in a loving glance. Yeah, she felt completely wracked that night. But then, Spike found her, and as most of the time in the last year, he made her feel loved, beautiful…strong.

"Look, guys," she started, "I'm not gonna lie to you. I felt really bad that night. But it's long forgiven. I understand, I really do. After that fiasco with Caleb," Buffy looked guilty, after all, she thought, it was her that brought Xander and the potentials there, and got some of them killed, "I made myself into the hard general Giles wanted. And I know it wasn't exactly what he wanted, but I had to detach myself of everything. It's just that we were surrounded by so much death and destruction, that I…" she stopped.

At some point, she began to cry and now Willow was cradling her. It was hard remembering those times, when she hadn't had any hope, and the only one who could give her any comfort, like always, was Spike. She knew that her friends didn't like him, hell, Giles even tried to kill him, but he was the one that didn't let her drown.

After calming down, she looked at her best friends. After everything they had been trough, they were like her family.

"I know that we had rough times, and that we weren't always together, but now everything will change." She smiled and they returned it.

"Buff, I also wanted to apologize about Spike." Buffy's mouth dropped. Now THAT was weird. Xander began to fumble self-consciously. "I can't say he's my favorite person in the world. First time he came here, he wanted to kill us. After Angelus, he came and messed our life again. Then, he was chipped and, I have to admit, I felt kinda sorry for him. And then he comes with the bombshell that he loves you! And he makes Warren build the bot! Neither of us really believed him that his feelings were true." Xander paused, thinking what he was going to tell next.

"But after you were… gone," he winced, the subject of Buffy's death was still sensible, "You didn't see him, Buffy. I never knew a vampire could look so sick. He didn't eat, he didn't sleep, he only drank and killed demons. He was just skin and bones. But after a while, he began to look better. He started eating and taking care of Dawn. I asked Giles once what made him change. He said that Spike told him that he made a promise."

Buffy's eyes were swimming in tears again. She knew that he was referring to the promise he made her. Even after two years, she was still awed at haw Spike treasured her, even in death.

"We all owe you and Spike apologizes." Was Willow saying.

"Guys, really, it's okay. I mean, the stuff with Spike you'll have to clear with him, but the rest is long forgiven."

Willow smiled in gratitude, while Xander was looking at Buffy with a curious expression on his face.

"What do you mean, we'll have to 'clear it with Spike'? Buffster, he's gone." He said.

Buffy smiled brightly, the first real smile since leaving her lover in the hellmouth.

"For now, yeah, he's gone, but he'll be back. And I'll wait for him. We promised." She said, her eyes full of love for the bleached blond.

Xander looked at her in awe, but not because of what she said about Spike. He had lived in Sunnydale for too long to be wondered by these things. No, what really surprised him was the love shining in his friend's eyes, directed towards a vampire, again. But not even her love for Angel could compare to this. While then, Buffy was a teenager living her first love, full of fluff and dreams, now she loved Spike like a grown woman, who knew the difference between fairy-tales and real life. It was the kind of love he had seen between Willow and Tara, Giles and Jenny and himself and Anya. It was IT, the love of their life. How could have this escape them for so long?

"So, it's real then? You and Dead Boy Jr, huh?" he more stated than asked, with amusement in his voice.

"Yep, it's all with the real." She replied, popping the 'p'.

They all began to laugh. Only Buffy could phrase something like that. Suddenly, Dawn stopped laughing and gasped.

"Oh my God, Buffy, your hand!"

Only then did they notice Buffy's left hand, which sported a scar. That, strangely, started to glow.

"What happened?" asked Dawn, worried. She didn't want something happening again, not after what they've just narrowly escaped.

"Do you feel something? Does it hurt?" asked Willow, starting to examine it.

"No, it's actually kinda … warm." Buffy replied, furrowing her brow. Suddenly, she broke into a smile.

"It's Spike!" she squealed.

"What?! Now?" asked Xander, confused. "I mean, already?"

"No, or at least I don't think so. When we were in the hellmouth, we joined hands and they burst into flames. At the moment I didn't noticed, I was too… preoccupied" explained Buffy, blushing a little. Dawn and Willow exchanged grins, guessing exactly with 'what' she was 'preoccupied'.

"Anyway it didn't hurt, it just felt warm, like now." She continued, frowning. She couldn't understand why it didn't hurt her then, and it unsettled her a little. After all, it happened while they were in the hellmouth, and that thought wasn't exactly comforting.

"Buffy." She turned at Willow's hesitant voice. "I don't know how, or why even, but that flame, or whatever it was, united you and Spike. I can see traces of his aura in yours, and they weren't that pronounced before."

Buffy looked at Willow with a curious expression on her face.

"Will, what do you mean when you say that those traces weren't that pronounced 'before'?

Willow began to fidget. She didn't know how Buffy will take what she was about to say to her, but she didn't want any more secrets between them. They were too many in the past and they only drove the two friends apart. 'Here's to hoping she won't hate me' she thought, grimly.

"Look, I probably should have said this some time ago, but I honestly didn't think it was that important and I didn't want you to think I'm crazy or something. 'Cause I'm not. Crazy I mean." She clarified, seeing the amused looks on her friends' faces.

"It's okay, Will, we don't think you're crazy." Said Xander, amused but also a little concerned. Willow was beginning to babble and that normally didn't lead to anything good. He remembered the night they chose Faith over Buffy. After she left the house, Giles, Willow, Xander and Dawn talked about what they were going to say to Spike and who would do it.

Dawn didn't want to do it, since she felt bad about how she treated Buffy, and wanted to take the words back immediately after she said them. But she couldn't, and she really didn't want to talk to Spike about it, since he would probably see through her the moment she opened her mouth.

Giles and Xander refused from the beginning, knowing that after the way they had treated him in the past, he wouldn't have any problem snapping their neck when they told her about Buffy. Giles' probably more since that 'incident' with Wood.

So it was decided that Willow will be the one to do it. Not that Willow personally thought it was such a good idea, but nobody listened to her. They hoped that the compassion Spike had shown Willow in the past will extend to this situation as well. On the good side, they were right with the 'Willow compassion' part. On the bad side, they were also right that Spike would've killed or at least harmed anyone that wasn't Dawn or Willow when he heard the news.

But the thing that made it go downhill then was the fact that Willow began to babble. As in the same thing she was doing now. 'I just hope Buffy has the same soft spot for Willow Spike has' thought Xander, convinced that whatever the read-head was going to tell Buffy, it would contain at least a part that the Slayer won't like.

Buffy was also beginning to get anxious. She didn't like it anymore when Willow began to babble. It usually meant she did a spell that affected the Slayer or her friends, and, although Willow's magic was better now than three years ago, she was nervous.

"Um," Willow began slowly. "About two years ago, Tara showed me how to read auras." She stopped a little, trying to loose the knot that formed in her throat at the mention of her former lover. "Anyway, the first thing to know is that everyone has their own personalized aura, and that they differ from different species, too. Mostly, demons' auras are black, from the whole 'evil' part, while humans' are quite colorful. The only vampires I know that have other colors in their aura are Angel and Spike."

"But that must be because of the soul, right?" asked Dawn.

"At first, it would appear so. The problem is, Spike's was colored since I started to see auras…" Willow let it sink, knowing it was quite a lot to take in. What she just said proved that, even two years ago, Spike wasn't your average vamp.

Not surprisingly, it was Xander that broke the silence with a question that everyone wanted to ask.

"What?! I mean, what other colors did he have? And what did they, uh, mean?"

Willow grimaced, knowing that if she would've said something earlier, she could've changed a lot in their perception of the blond vamp.

"Well, Spike was quite different from the beginning. Tara told me that since she first saw him, they were a bunch of colors surrounding him. Apart from the black, there were also red, meaning passion and blue equaling… power." Xander frowned.

"Okay, wait a little. When Tara first saw him, it was after the chip. What power could he have had then?" Xander's tone wasn't one of derision, but of true curiosity. The slayer was still surprised how good he seemed to be taking the whole 'Spike situation'. Willow smiled, thinking the same thing.

"Xan, you have to remember Spike was a master vampire, and one that seemed to have quite a soft spot for all of us. If it weren't so, I don't think he would've let us lived." She turned to Buffy with an apologizing look. "Buff, sorry, but I think that, if Spike would've really wanted to, he would have killed you." Xander began to laugh.

"Come on Will. I mean, I know he was good, but he wasn't THAT good… Right?" He stopped laughing once he realized no one else was.

"Willow's right, Xan. I asked him once after he came from Africa why he didn't kill me when he had the chance. Which was quite a couple of times, let me tell you. He told me that he wanted to kill me that night in the school, but when my mom hit him, he became curious. He said he had never met a Slayer that had a life apart from her duty." While she told them that, she began to smile. She remembered that night when he confessed his true reasons. What she didn't tell them was that he also said he was too mesmerized from seeing her dancing that first night in the Bronze. That was something just for them to know.

She turned towards Willow again as she continued her explanations.

"After Adam, whenever he was in the same room as you and Riley, wisps of green would blend with his aura, too."

"Let me guess," interrupted a grinning Xander, "jealousy, right?" When Willow nodded, he burst in laughter. "I can't believe that 'the Green-monster' theory is so… literate." The girls just shook their heads and returned their attention to Willow, although Buffy's cheeks were a tinge more colored.

"That's it?" asked Dawn, amused by her sister's reactions.

"Not by far. See, after the whole Adam incident, whenever he was in the same room as you, Buffy or Joyce, slivers of gold were also visible. At first, they were faint, but, as time went on, they began to increase. Afterwards, they were also present when he was with Tara, Anya or me. They were fainter, though, but they were definitely there. Also, there were cream tendrils whenever he was patrolling with one of us, or when there was evil ahead. There was also some yellow…" she trailed off, trying to remember as much as she could.

This time, the other Summers broke the silence. "But what do they mean, Will?"

"Well, cream is for when you feel protective of something or someone, when you try to defend it or them. Yellow is when you respect someone, and gold is when you…"

"…love someone…" interrupted Xander. Willow nodded and smiled gently at her friends. This was just more proof that the love Spike said he felt was real, and not just an exaggeration of his.

"What about his soul?" asked a tearful Slayer. She was feeling so many things right now, things that made her confused… love, sorrow, despair, curiosity… With every explanation from her best friend, she realized even more how unjust they all were to Spike, but especially her. She couldn't wait for him to come back, so she could properly ask for his forgiveness.

Willow smiled gently.

"His soul was one of the most pure white I've ever seen. Purer than even most people, and definitely purer that Angel's. To be exact, it was almost pure silver, and that kind is extremely rare." At that, Xander snorted, and Buffy gave him a questioning look. He realized she could've taken it the wrong way and hurried to clarify.

"I'm not laughing at hum, Buff. I was just thinking what Dead boy Sr. would say if he would hear that his grandchilde is better than him." Buffy smirked and looked away, remembering their last discussion, so she didn't notice when Willow leaned in closer to Xander and whispered to him.

"I think I could arrange that." The only answer she got was a smirk worthy of William the Bloody.