Joss Whedon, ME, et al own the characters and some of the quotes, I just like to play with them. No copyright infringement is intended. Thanks to everyone who worked on the show. And thanks to all of you who read this fanfic. Please review and send comments to me letting me know if I did a good job. Songs and thoughts are in italics. Anything written inside a set of apostrophes' is Spike and Buffy saying things to each other through the claim.

This fanfic is set during and after "Chosen." It goes off canon quite a bit. Buffy knows that whoever wears the amulet will die. She meets up with Angel and tells him that she loves Spike. He asks her who she wants to wear amulet. She tells him she's not ready to lose Spike. With tears in her eyes she asks Angel if he will wear it. He tells her that he had been planning on wearing it. Especially if she wanted Spike. He hands her the Gem of Amara for Spike to wear. She kisses him goodbye on the cheek and tells him that she loves him and always will but she is in love with Spike. She walks through Sunnydale by herself just thinking about everything. For once there's no activity whatsoever at night. Also in this fic, Tara is alive and she is still with Willow who has her magick addiction under control, Anya and Xander did get married and she's pregnant, Joyce didn't die, she and Giles are engaged and she is pregnant as well. Anya and Joyce have taken all the stragglers out of town and are waiting in LA with the rest of the LA Scoobies for the Potentials, the Scoobies, and the rest of their ragtag army which includes Lorne from Angel's gang.

Chapter One

Buffy walks down to the basement after having met up with Angel and asking him to wear the amulet. She sits down on the bed and curls up beside Spike, both leaning against the wall. She puts her head on his chest and tries to say something but the only thing she manages to get out before starting to cry is, "Spike."

"What is it, love?"

"I'm scared."

"Why?"

"What if the amulet doesn't work like it's supposed to? Or if you die? Or if I die again? What about Dawn, Willow, Tara, Xander, Giles, Andrew, and Faith? Robin and the Potentials, too? What if we lose? Even if everything goes according to plan, one person will still have to die. If the amulet works and our plans all work out perfectly, Angel will still have to sacrifice himself and Sunnydale will be completely gone. It'll just be a huge crater."

"Love, you can't worry about the what ifs. That's all that they are. And The First will use any small amount of doubt that it can get to destroy you. Bloody hell, I'm sad Peaches will have to sacrifice himself. I may hate him, but he's family. He's taught me a lot of things over the years. As for the others dying, you know that people who die here don't always stay dead. Sunnydale will never be truly destroyed. We can come and visit it if we want to or need to."

While Spike is telling her all of this, she is wearing the ring he gave her when they were engaged and twirling it around her finger. They're just sitting there holding each other when Spike notices what she's doing. He asks her why she didn't get rid of it and she tells him she just couldn't let it go.

They sit for a little while not talking just holding on to each other. They start to kiss softly at first then adding on pressure. They make love with Spike taking Buffy right to the edge and then pulling her back right before she lets go. They continue doing that for a few hours. Buffy asks Spike to claim her and he asks if she's sure and she nods. He asks her to claim him as well and she agrees. They bite each other on the neck. This sends them into the best, most earth-shattering, mind-blowing orgasms ever. Spike growls, "Mine." Buffy replies, "Yours, Spike forever. And you're mine." They hold each other for a few minutes. Buffy starts kissing Spike's chest and he starts to purr, which sends tremors throughout her body moving from her lips to her core. Spike can smell her arousal and pulls her to him. They take it slow enjoying it while it lasts. After four or five more orgasms they decide to just cuddle.

A little bit later, Buffy is rubbing Spike's arms, shoulders, back, and playing with his hair, and Spike is rubbing her back, kissing her face, and running his fingers through her hair, when someone knocks on the door. They pull the blankets up to cover themselves and Buffy yells for them to come in. Faith and Dawn come down the stairs. Faith tells Buffy that it's almost time and Dawn hands them some food. She says, "I kinda figured you would be down here when I saw you weren't in your bed."

Dawn asks Spike if she can talk to him for a minute and they move to the other side of the basement. Dawn tells Spike that she has forgiven him and ask him if he plans to stay with her and Buffy this time. He tells her that wherever they go, he's gonna be with them no matter what.

While Dawn and Spike are talking, Faith notices Buffy's bite mark and says, "B, what the hell is that on your neck?" Buffy points to the bite mark and asks, "This?" Faith nods and Buffy says, "it's a claim mark. It means-" Faith interrupts her and says, "yeah I know what it means. Are you happy?" Buffy says, "I'm happier than I've ever been." Faith tells her with a big grin on her face, "congratulations, B. Good luck explaining it to the others." Buffy stiffens up and says "oh no, what am I gonna do? Some of them are bound to notice it." Faith calms her down and says "one word, B. Foundation. We'll cover it up for today. And I assume tomorrow, you're gonna tell everyone." Buffy nods. "I thought so." Spike and Dawn join them and Dawn asks them what they were talking about. They both reply, "Slayer stuff."

Before Dawn goes, she notices the bite marks on Buffy and Spike and asks them what happened. They tell her that they've claimed each other and explain what that means. Dawn gets all excited and asks them what they're gonna tell the others. Buffy says, "We haven't actually talked about that yet." Dawn says, "I'll let you two newlyweds talk and just go back upstairs."

After Dawn leaves Spike says, "That's what you two were talking about when the Bit and I walked back over, wasn't it?" Buffy just nods. "Love, demons will still be able to tell, even if they can't see it." Buffy starts asking him, "Will Anya be able to tell? What about Angel, Tara, Willow, Giles? And would you care to explain how demons will be able to tell without seeing it?" Spike starts laughing, and manages to get, "Angel will be able to smell it. The Watcher won't know. Not sure about Red and Glinda. They'll probably be able to sense something. Anya probably will too. Do you think they would tell the others?" Buffy thinks for a few seconds and says, "I don't think they would tell the others without talking to us first. Oh no, what about your bite mark? I don't think we have make-up pale enough to cover yours up." Spike shakes his head and says, "Pet, do you really think they'll bother asking about mine?" Buffy shakes her head and says, "Probably not. At least not for today and anyway tomorrow after we're outta here, we're gonna tell them. So no worries, right?" Spike pulls her close and murmurs into her hair, "Right. And if they do ask, we'll tell them that it's nothing they need to be worried about right now. Oh yeah Angel gave me the Gem of Amara to give to you to keep you safe." She hands him the ring. They finish their breakfast without interruption and go upstairs. Everyone turns and stares at them when they enter the kitchen. "Hey guys, everybody sleep ok?" Buffy says nonchalantly. Everyone murmurs "mmm," and goes back to eating their breakfast. Everyone finishes up and gets ready to move out.

A/N: I'm gonna try to post chapter two later today. Reviews are my addiction, so please review.