Picking Up The Pieces

A Buffy/Spike fanfic by Julie Brydon

Disclaimer: I didn't create any of these characters. I'm merely borrowing from the genius of Joss Whedon. Don't worry, I promise to treat them well.

Spoiler alerts: This takes place directly after 'Wrecked' and contains spoilers up through season six.

Willow lay in her bed, feeling miserable. The cold sweats had passed, but the nausea and intense headache remained. Mere over the counter pain pills would do little to help her now, as if she could keep them down anyway. Her head throbbed, as if someone were inside and in the process of drilling their way out.

"Just one little spell," she told herself, "To take the edge off the pain."

She focused her attention on a candle that sat on her dresser. "Fait lux," she whispered at it, and it lit, giving off the faint scent of mulberry. Her pain in her head lowered to a dull thud, and she breathed a deep sigh of relief. "But that's the last spell." She promised. "The very last one."

* * *

Buffy was bent over the oven in the kitchen, cursing under her breath. She had made some cinnamon rolls for Dawn, the separate and bake kind of course. She'd never been big on the cooking and baking, and as a result her pastries were rather burnt. So much for her master chef idea. Oh well, she figured, the frosting would cover it.

Buffy had made a personal vow to be more nurturing and domestic since the incident with Willow and that reckless night with Spike that she didn't even want to think about, and as a result thought about every other second. It was bad enough that her little sister was growing up without a mother, she shouldn't be growing up without a proper guardian as well.

Buffy applied liberal amounts of frosting to the cinnamon rolls and placed them on the table in front of her sister. "There you go Dawnie, home cooked food just like Mom used to make. With a little help from Pillsbury of course. Can I get you some juice or anything?"

"No that's ok, this is great." Dawn had been cleaned up and taken care of, but still looked a little worse for the wear. Her arm was in a cast, and the scratch on her cheek was still fresh. But the ailments did little to diminish the girl's beauty. Dawn took a roll and bit into it. She made a slight face.

"Buffy, these are great. But are they supposed to be, you know, crunchy?"

Buffy sat down in a huff. "I'm sorry, I tried. I'm afraid that I'm not much good with anything that doesn't involve a large array of weaponry."

"Don't be so down on yourself. You have saved the world from apocalypse quite a few times. You do your part."

"I suppose so. So whadda you say we swing by Mickey D's and get some Egg Mc Muffins?"

"Nah, cereal is fine. But you pour." Dawn gestured to her injured arm. Buffy prepared a bowl of lucky charms.

"So," Buffy ventured, "How do you feel?"

"Pretty OK actually, the pain pills kicked in finally." She giggled mischievously, "Thank God for viccodin!"

"You better watch it. We don't need another addict in this house." As soon as the words had left her mouth Buffy regretted them. The painful reminder of Willow's problem quieted both of them. It would be a long time before Buffy fully forgave Willow for putting Dawn's life in danger. It would be longer still, she sensed, before Dawn forgave her. There were going to be tense feelings around the house for a while. Buffy made herself her own bowl of cereal, and the two of them ate a while in silence.

Willow came down stairs. She had showered and changed, but the dark circles under her eyes attested to her difficult night. "Wow Buffy," she said, glancing at the barely touched cinnamon rolls, "You baked."

"I tried."

Willow took a bite of one. "Cajun style I see. A new approach to an old classic. I like it," Willow told her. However, she didn't attempt to eat any more of it.

"Um, Buffy. I'm gonna go watch some TV in the other room, alright?" Dawn asked. Buffy nodded. Dawn left the room without so much as a glance at Willow.

Willow watched her leave, her brow furrowed with concern. "She's still mad. I don't blame her. The way she looked at me . . . I just wish I could get her trust back again. I don't deserve it, but—"

"Just give her time," Buffy told her. "This is hard for her too."

"I know."

Buffy took on a more serious tone. "How are you Will? I know you had a rough night." Willow gave her a questioning look. "I heard you tossing and turning. I couldn't sleep either. I had a lot on my mind."

"Last night was awful, but I feel a little bit better now. I've still got a bad headache, but I'll live." She gave a weak smile.

"I'm proud of you, giving up magic. It'll be hard I know, but in the long run it's worth it."

"Yeah." Willow avoided her eyes. "It's good to know it'll soon be over."

* * *

Xander sat in the Magic Box, fiddling with Willow's computer. It had been an unspoken agreement that Willow should be left unbothered in the research department until she felt s little better. Xander had taken it upon himself to attempt his own hacker action. The screen lit up, with the telltale "bing," and the computer began to boot up.

"I figured out how to turn it on!" he said excitedly.

"That's nice honey," Anya said, briefly looking up from her bridal magazines. "It only took you an hour." She'd completely given up on trying to find the frost monster, pointing out that they'd likely figure out it's identity when it eventually got around to attacking them all or ending the world. Xander, however, was still optimistic.

"Create a screen name," he mumbled, "Whadda you think of XanMan?"

"Adorable, in a very nerdy way."

"It's taken. Who'd take a screen name like XanMan, except me of course? This one works, Zeppo. Now I just need to pick the access numbers." He fiddled with the computer.

"Welcome." The computer told him.

After about five minutes of searching, Xander said, "Got it."

"Our numerous hours of pouring through painfully dull books and Willow's expert hacking skills have turned up nothing, yet you're telling me you've just discovered the villain after your very first moments on that machine? I highly doubt it."

"No, it makes perfect sense. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner. Mr. Freeze!"

"Isn't that an ice cream chain?"

"No, that's Foster's freeze. Mr. Freeze is a comic book character. Do you remember that movie we watched, 'Batman Forever?'"

"I try not to."

"Don't we all. But Arnold Schwarzenegger played him. He froze people with a freeze ray that he powered with diamonds. It all fits."

"You're right, that does make sense." " Anya rolled her eyes at him and went back to her magazine.

"Fairytale characters can be real, vampires and demon's are real, witches are real, so why can't comic book characters be real?" he protested.

"Of course, but superheroes and supervillians?"

"What do you call the slayer? And how about the Master, the Mayor, and Glory?" he pointed out.

"I get the picture. Okay honey, say for a moment that this Dr. Freeze guy is real."

"Mr. Freeze, I'm pretty sure he didn't make it through medical school."

"Whatever. How would we stop him? Should we shine a bat signal in the air and start playing the theme music and hope a Batman and Robin come to save the day?"

"Well," Xander considered the idea, "It's worth a shot."

* * *

Sundown had fallen, and Buffy was debating whether or not to go out and patrol. Evil never really took a day off, not even when it was supposed to like Halloween. In fact, it tended to get worse at the times she herself most needed a break. Still, Buffy didn't really want to leave Dawn or Willow alone, and certainly not the two of them together. She also knew going out would most likely result in her running into Spike and she just wasn't sure she could deal with that on top of everything else. She vowed to put him from her mind, and least for a while. There was a knock at the door. With a sigh, Buffy went to answer it. Perhaps Xander and Anya had come by and she could get them to help her out. She opened the door.

Spike stood in the doorway. He was holding a large bouquet of roses. So much for her vow.

"Pathetic much?" she asked.

"Don't go getting all googly-eyed on me luv. These aren't for you, they're for Dawn." He told her. "You know the whole world doesn't always revolve around you."

That stung, but she didn't let it show. "Your invitation hasn't been revoked, you know. You don't have to knock."

"I was trying to be polite. Incase you haven't noticed –" but Buffy never heard the end of his sentence. It was cut off by Dawn bounding through the door, to give Spike a big, one armed hug."

"Spike!" she said enthusiastically. "Did you come by to see me?"

"I did at that." He told her, tousling her hair with his free hand. "These are for you Nibblet."

He handed her the roses, which she accepted with glee. "Really? No boy has ever brought me flowers before. Not that you're really a boy, being all undead and over a century old and all."

"Well I figured you were too big for stuffed animals. I wasn't sure what kind of flowers you liked. So I thought 'roses are always a classic.'"

"I love them. They're beautiful."

Buffy watched their interaction, worried. Dawn was clearly still infatuated with Spike, and that troubled Buffy more than ever, in light of her recent romantic interactions with him, whatever they really were anyway.

"So how'ya feeling Lil' Bit?" he asked her.

"Better," she told him, "The heavy medications have helped."

"Do you feel up to a game of cards?" Spike asked.

Buffy jumped in, irritated. "Brilliant plan Spike. She has an arm in a cast."

"So I guess I'll probably win." Spike gave Buffy a grin that both irritated her and made her knees go weak at the same time. This is just a crush, she told herself, a sick, illogical crush and it is going to go away any day now. She didn't really believe it, but it was the only thing keeping her sane.

"Yeah, cards would be great," Dawn chimed in.

"Cards it is! That is, if big Sis doesn't object?"

Buffy grabbed the flowers from Dawn. "I'll just go put these in water so they don't get dried out." She stalked out of the room and into the kitchen.

"Who does he think he is?" Buffy mumbled under her breath as she found a large vase in the cupboard and began to fill it with water.

"What's the matter?" Willow asked. She was sitting at the table sipping tea and reading a magazine. Buffy hadn't even noticed she was there.

"It's just Spike. He stopped over with some flowers for Dawn."

"Oh. I thought I heard him come in. That's kinda sweet of him."

"It is not sweet. It's weird. He's supposed to be all evil, and then he comes and brings flowers. He's messing with my mind, our minds, trying to make us think that he's harmless. But he's not harmless, except for the fact that he can't . . . "

"Harm any of us?" Willow finished for her.

"Exactly." Buffy felt somewhat foolish. "I just don't like the idea of him and Dawn becoming too friendly. He might get rid of that chip someday, and I don't want to have to explain to my baby sister why I had to dust her buddy."

"You still stand a good chance of having to explain that sooner or later regardless of Spike. This is Sunnydale."

"I know, I know." She let a slight smile creep upon her face. "That was pretty sweet of him to stop by wasn't it." As soon as the smile had appeared, it once again vanished. "What am I saying, this is *Spike* we're talking about. He probably just stole these off somebody's grave anyway."

"Um Buffy," Willow ventured, "Did something happen between you two?"

Was it that obvious? "No, nothing. Nothing has happened. Absolutely nothing. Why do you ask?"

Willow was taken aback by the sharpness of Buffy's response. She had obviously hit a nerve. She decided not to press the issue. "I don't know. You've just been fighting so much lately. I thought maybe he'd said something really mean or something. Apparently not."

"Look, I need to get out of here. You know, do my part to keep the vampire population down. I'm getting itchy for some slayage. Are you going to be alright here?"

"Yeah, fine. Hey, maybe I should come with? I haven't been patrolling with you for a long time." Willow stood up, and sat immediately down again. "On second thought, maybe not. I'm still a little queasy. I think I'll just stay here and keep an eye on Spike and Dawn. I'll make sure he doesn't go all grr face or smoke in front of her or anything."

"Thanks Will." On an impulse, Buffy gave her a quick hug. It would be good to have the old Willow back. Maybe after the magic thing had blown over she would tell her about the whole ridiculous Spike affair. No, NOT affair, incident. Under the strictest secrecy of course.

Back in the living room, Dawn and Spike were playing cards.

"Got any eights?" she asked him.

"Nah. Go fish." Spike drew her card for her, since her good hand was already full. As he drew it he slyly looked at it, noticing it was the three of clubs. "Got any threes?"

Dawn giggled as he took the card back, laying his quartet on threes down. "Cheater."

"It's only cheating if you get caught."

"And I just caught you."

"Right then. Guilty as charged."

"It's nice, having you around," Dawn confessed. "It seems like you never come by anymore."

"Well, I've been busy. With frost monsters freezing people, vampires, demons, and Lil' Bits getting kidnapped it's been a rough year. I suppose I sometimes get distracted."

"So it's not because of Buffy?"

Spike gave her a speculative look. Was the girl onto something? He hadn't said a work about the kisses and . . . all the rest to anyone. He didn't particularly want to get dusted at this point in his unlife. Not that Buffy could necessarily take him. He was no slouch in a fight. Then again he hadn't fought humans for a long time and they had different moves then vamps, especially slayers. "What exactly do you mean by that? Did –- did Buffy say something?"

"Not really, it's just that you always bicker so much. I thought maybe you were avoiding her."

Spike laid down his cards. The game was clearly over. "If anyone is doing the avoiding it's Buffy, not me."

"You know, she may talk big and tough and insulty, but I think deep down she really likes you."

Spike leaned closer. "Really? What makes you say that?"

"I just have a feeling. It's like a sixth sense, a sister sense. Well, that and the fact she never staked you."

"No. Not yet anyway."

Willow walked in. Spike glanced at Dawn who had grown very quiet. He didn't blame Dawn for being angry, but he couldn't help still liking Red.

"I just thought I'd let you know that Buffy's out patrolling." The silence was defining. "So, I'll just be up in my room, if you need anything."

"Thanks Red. We're fine." Spike told her.

Willow looked at Dawn who sat silently in turn, looking at the wall. "Well then," she told them, visibly hurt by Dawn's lack of response. "I'll just go."

"Go on, I'll watch the Bit."

After Willow was up the stairs, Dawn turned to Spike, and pushed him playfully in the chest with her good hand. "You'll watch me, huh?"
"Just didn't want the little witch worrying. Not that she's a witch anymore. Don't give me that look, I didn't mean it that way."

"I don't want to talk about her."

"Then we won't talk about her. Problem solved."

Dawn hesitated for a moment, "Spike, can I ask you something?"

As long as it wasn't about if her Sis and he had shagged. "Yeah, ask away."

"Well, do you think I'm pretty?"

"What?" Spike felt immensely relieved and immensely confused. "Of course you're pretty. You're growing into an absolutely beautiful young lady. Why do you ask? Because if someone told you otherwise I'd gladly smack them upside the head, chip or no."

"No, nothing like that. It's just the boys at school never really notice me. Ever. And the one guy who did like me, I had to dust."

"That the vamp you were off snogging this Halloween?" he asked her.

Dawn nodded. "I still think about him. A lot. He was really nice, except for the whole wanting to bite me and turn me evil thing. I thought about letting him at the time. Does that make me a bad person?"

"Nah, Bit, just means you're mortal. Can you help it if us vamps are the only ones smart enough to appreciate a good woman?"

"I guess not."

"Now I want you to listen to me Nibblet. Teenage boys are idiots, all of them. Sooner or later they'll grow up, and at least one of them will have the good sense to fancy you. You'll see."

"I don't know. I kinda like you."

"Me?!" Spike was once more on unfamiliar ground.

"Well, I know I'm only fifteen, but–-"

"Look, I'm very flattered, and I would be the luckiest vamp in the world, but Buffy would stake me if I even let the idea cross my mind."

"Why should Buffy care? Not as if she even notices anything I do."

"Oh believe me, she'd care." Boy would she, he thought.

"You're just saying that cuz you're in love with her."

"Yeah, I guess I am. But you could so a lot better than me. You should do a lot better than me. I'm no good. I've got horrible habits like smoking and blood drinking, I get the world's worst sunburns and you're friends would all laugh at your old geezer of a boyfriend." Dawn started giggling at that, lifting Spike's spirit somewhat. "You should find yourself a nice mortal, or failing that maybe a werewolf. Leave the vamps to the other dark forces in the night, alright?"

"Alright." She smiled at him. Suddenly a look of worry crossed her face. "You're not going to weird out on me and never see me again, are you?"

"Of course not. Don't be silly. Does it bother you, my being in love with Buffy?"

"No. Well, maybe a little, but it's not exactly your fault. You can't help who you like."

"That you can't, I'm afraid. So we're good then. We're still . . ."

"Friends?"

"Most definitely."

"You won't tell Buffy any of the stuff I said, about vamps and all. It would probably just freak her out."

"I wouldn't dream of mentioning it." He gave her a big grin and mussed her hair some more. "Go fish is for wimps. What do you say we do some crazy eights?"

* * *

Xander was cutting black construction paper. After he fashioned the paper to his liking he taped it onto the end of a flashlight. "There, done," he said, holding up his makeshift bat signal and showing it to Anya.

"A flashlight? How close is this Batman guy? Because it'd work if he were, say, next door."

"I see your point. So we need to find a bigger light."

"A much bigger light."

"And either a lot of construction paper or a lot of black paint."

* * *

Buffy was in the graveyard, pounding on a vamp.

"I mean, one minute he's the big bad, and the next minute he's all 'here have some flowers.' Where" kick "does" kick "he" punch "get" smack "off!" She flipped the vamp onto the ground and plunged the stake into his heart.

"Never fight a slayer with boy trouble," the vamp grumbled, and then burst into dust.

Buffy felt slightly better. She surveyed the graveyard, looking for more demons to destroy. Spotting none, she decided to head home. Hopefully Spike was gone, and if not it was high time Dawn went to bed. She was healing and needed her sleep.

She entered the house only to find Spike and Dawn laughing over cards.

"You guys still up?" she asked.

"Yeah, just playing around," Spike said. He felt immediately uncomfortable under Buffy's disapproving stare.

"Look Buffy, Spike signed my cast." Dawn got up to show Buffy. Next to his signature was a smiley face with pointed fangs. "It's a little vampire smiley face. Cute, huh?"

"Adorable," Buffy didn't sound impressed.

Spike cleared his throat. "Well, you're back now, so I guess I'll be going." He took a blind stab at small talk. "So how went the slaying? Did you dust many of my friends tonight?"

"You have friends?" she replied dryly.

"Right then. I'll take that as a no. Good night Nibblet."

"Good night Spike." Dawn called after him. He left with one last backward glance towards Buffy.

"You know, you could be nicer to him Buffy."

"We are *so* not having this conversation right now." Buffy replied. "Take your medication and go to bed."

"I will not just shut up and go to bed like a little kid. Don't think I can't see what's going on."

Buffy had a feeling she might be performing another staking in a moment. If he had told her anything, he was a dead man, or rather dead vamp. "And what exactly is it you think is going on?"

"Spike worships the ground you walk on and you treat him like dirt. It isn't right. Even is he's a vampire he does deserve a certain amount of respect."

"Why, because he has a chip that keeps him from killing humans?"

"No, because he's my friend." And with that, Dawn headed up to bed.

That really got to her. Buffy went into the kitchen, sat down and began to cry.