Authors Note: Wow! Chapter done... Let me know what you think

Chapter 2

At 4:30 Buffy was ready to head home. She had a long day and was ready to relax. Being stuck in the shop was sometimes not a great thing. Working here was fine and her art made her feel good but over the day she would get worn out. Tattooing was ok but the people she worked with were sometimes picky about what was done. She understood that to a point. Tattoos where permanent and her customers had every right to be picky but for once she wished she could do her own thing. Faith was one of the few people who didn't care, She would rest back in the seat and let Buffy tattoo whatever she wanted. Faith was a wild girl and Buffy didn't mind getting wild with her a lot but she was still a mom and remembering that made her realize no matter what she had to be strong. Buffy hadn't been on many dates since Riley left and she promised herself not to bring guys around her daughter, she learned from her mistakes. She did that only once in the last year and it had killed Cassie. Parker Abrams had been sweet and understanding plus he had seemed to love both her and her daughter. He would come over and play Go Fish with Cassie or he would take her for ice cream. After a few months of dating him Buffy finally let herself be physical with him and then she never saw him again. Her daughter cried and begged her to make him come over and it hurt Buffy so much. Not only had Cassie fallen for him but also she'd let herself get to comfortable with him. She knew she had never loved him but she had grown fond of having him there. The only good thing she saw in all of Parker leaving was that he had made her wake up and realize she needed to protect her baby girl from the heartbreak.

"Hey B you headed home." Faith leaned back in her chair and smiled at the customer who she had just finished tattooing.

"Yeah I need to get ready to go to the Bronze soon." Buffy cleaned up her station and grabbed her things.

"Your check is in the desk up front." Faith nodded toward the front office where they welcomed customers.

"Yeah I'm payday girl today." Buffy grinned and waved at Faith as she left. She collected her check and went out the door. Her workdays weren't to bad and today being Friday it was crazy given she worked both of her jobs today. Monday though Friday she worked at Wicked Kitty in the morning then Thursday though Sunday she bar tended at the Bronze. It wasn't to stressful but she hated leaving Cassie at night. She wanted Buffy to read stories and tuck her in, she hated missing out on those simple things. Although in her life she had already given up so much but she refused to give up anymore unless it was for her daughter. Buffy was tired of trying to find Cassie a dad, It mostly turned into them wanting her to change and she liked who she was. Everything in her life right now felt right and that's something that made her happy.

XXXXX

Buffy made it home soon after she went and deposited her check in the bank. Climbing out her car she pulled out her cell phone and dialed Oz's number.

"Hey Buffy how was work." Oz answered the phone.

"Good I got my paycheck."

"Are you home now." Oz asked.

"Yup just walked in. So how are was Cass." Buffy put her stuff on the couch and went to the kitchen for a soda.

"Shes ok we brought her to my place to get a nap a little while after lunch." Oz said something to someone in the background.

"Well you can bring her over now and tell Dawn I really appreciate her babysitting tonight." Buffy popped the top on her Pepsi and took a shallow.

"We'll be over in a few." Oz told Buffy.

"See you soon then." Buffy closed her phone and went to plug it in to charge.

While she waited for Oz to show up she cleaned up the house and picked out her clothes for the night.

"We're here." Willow called from the other room when they arrived.

"Hey baby did you have fun." Buffy wrapped her arms around her daughter and laid soft kisses on her forehead.

"Mommy can Spike watch us." Cassie asked while she fended off Buffy's kisses and giggled.

"Who's Spike?" Buffy asked her brother.

"Hes one of the guys in the band." Oz explained.

"Oh… who all was with you guys today?" Buffy asked while everyone followed her in the kitchen.

"Spike, Xander, Anya, and their kids." Willow answered her.

"Yeah our drummer Robin couldn't make it." Oz replied. "I'll introduce you to Robin and Spike tonight."

"Ok well I have to fix dinner and get ready for work." Buffy tossed the empty pop can she'd left out on the counter into the trash.

"Willow you guys can leave me here now if you want." Dawn pulled her jacket off and hung it on the back of a chair. Buffy liked Dawn but she really hadn't been around the teen much. Before Willow's parents passed away they'd lived in L.A with Dawn. Joe and Helen Rosenberg were on their way home from a vacation last year when their plan had gone down leaving Willow to take care of Dawn. Willow ended up transferring her last year of college to UCLA from San Francisco. She was graduating in three months with her degree in computers and another degree in occult studies which Buffy found odd.

"Good idea kiddo." Buffy told her.

"Ok well we have to go get ready." Oz told his sister.

"Bye Buffy." Willow waved as they left the room.

"C ya later." Buffy watched Cassie dance after them for hugs.

"Do you need any help?" Dawn asked from the table.

"Sure Dawnie." Buffy pulled a box of hamburger helper from the cabinet.

"I can start dinner if you want to go take a shower." Dawn said as Cassie came back into the kitchen and plopped down on the floor to color on a book she brought with her.

"Are you sure?" Buffy asked her when they had everything out and ready to be cooked.

"Yeah and when you're done we can figure out what I'll earn tonight." Dawn started the hamburger frying.

"Ok yell if you need anything." Buffy left the room to grab her clothes for work and to get her shower.

XXXXX

It was 6 when Buffy emerged from the bathroom. She had on a red leather mini skirt and a black Wicked Kitty spaghetti strap tank top. The emblem on her shirt was of a cat with a red spiked color and a sinister grin on its face. On the back on of the tank top was Wicked Kitty Art in big red block letters. Buffy went to her room to find her black fishnet stockings and her black army boots. When she was fully dressed she fixed her makeup and put on a red lace choker. A few minutes later she went back into the kitchen to find Dawn.

"How do I look." Buffy twirled for her and waited for her friend's judgment.

"You look fierce." Dawn laughed. "I like it. Why doesn't the Bronze have a uniform. I was curious about that but never asked."

"Thank you." Buffy grabbed a plate of hamburger helper and sat with Dawn at the table. "Uniforms cost money and the owner doesn't really care to spend his. So I promote the shop instead."

"So what do you charge." Buffy asked her while they ate.

"I usually charge 2 dollars a kid per hour." Dawn answered.

"Ok how is this I'll hire you to baby-sit Thursday though Sunday when I work at the Bronze and I'll pay you every Sunday." Buffy watched Dawn think it over.

"That will work. Who do you have baby-sit in the mornings." Dawn asked.

"Oh my mom." Buffy finished eating and rinsed her plate off. "Dawn I have a question."

"Sure whats that." Dawn asked when she finished the last of her dinner.

"If I pay you a couple dollars extra per night would you do light cleaning. I don't always have time and it would be awesome to have some help." Buffy took Dawns plate and rinsed it while she waited for her answer.

"Sure no problem. I need the money." Dawn smiled at her and picked up Cassie's plate.

"Thank you Dawnie."

"Your welcome Buffy." Dawn followed Cassie into the front room. Buffy checked the time and grabbed her purse and coat.

"Hey Dawn I'm gonna head to work if you need anything my cell number is programmed into the house phone ok."

"Ok have a good night."

Buffy kissed Cassie goodbye and left the house.

SPIKE

Spike got home to find that his roommate had thrown a party. The entire front room was covered in empty beer cans and bits of food. He hated this guy and wanted to bash in his bloody skull. Spike found his acoustic guitar on the floor full of potato chips. Right at that moment all he saw was red and he knew he needed to calm down. It had been about 5 months since Drusilla kicked Spike out and he had come to stay at Lindsey's place. He knew it wasn't all Lindsey, part of it was his girlfriend Eve and her friends. They thought that they needed to throw parties constantly. Spike decided then that he needed to move but he wasn't sure where. His phone started to ring after he'd gotten the chips out of his guitar.

"What." Spike answered the phone angrily.

"Wow man whats going on." Oz asked Spike.

"My bloody roommate and the stupid bint hes dating." Spike growled as he explained to Oz what he had come home to. Oz stayed quite till Spike took a breath to calm down.

"Look do you need a place to stay?" Oz asked.

"Kinda I really don't have anywhere else." Spike admitted.

"I know a place you can stay. My mom lives in a three bedroom house by herself and she rents out the rooms once in while." Oz told Spike. "I can talk to her if you want."

"Yes please mate if I don't get the bloody hell out of here I might rip that soddin' bloke's head off." Spike started picking up his things that Eve's friends had gotten into.

"Ok I'll call her now and if she says its fine I'll take you over there tomorrow but tonight you can crash at my place." Oz told his friend.

"Thanks mate I'll be over in a few. It's a good thing I left my other guitar and amp over there." Spike grabbed his duffel bag and started packing up his things.

"Ok talk to you when you get here." Oz hung up and Spike went in search of something to drink.

When he was finished getting his stuff together he loaded it in his car and left before Lindsey or Eve showed up. He really didn't want to deal with them right now. The couple had pissed him off for the last time. He was tired of putting trust in people and getting burned for it. Drusilla and him had been together for a year till he came home one night to find her in the arms of some bloke. Even before she'd cheated there had been so many things she did that he didn't like. Dru had a drug problem and he couldn't count the number of times he would come home from work to find her high talking nonsense about the moon and stars. She would even attack him for no reason other then to say that the pixies had told her to. He couldn't handle her when she was high. Finally when he tried to get her some help she kicked him out with the help of her new drug dealer. Spike was somewhat relieved to be rid of Dru but at the same time he had loved her. When he was growing up it had been the same his mum had left his dad. When she got tired of being in their family she met up with some bloke online and ditched them. His dad Rupert had lost it and couldn't handle the pain so he uprooted Spike and they had moved to LA. After high school he got accepted at UCLA and he moved to Sunnydale to start fresh. The only people he trusted these days where his friends and even then it had been a long time before he was able to do that.

XXXXX

When he finally pulled up to Oz's place it was 4. Spike grabbed a few things from his car and went to knock on the door.

"Hey Spike." Willow answered the door for him and stepped back so he could enter. "I'm really sorry about what happened."

"It's ok red." Spike made his way to the living room with Willow behind him. When he entered the room Cassie ran up and through her self into his legs.

"Spikey." Cassie giggled and danced around him.

"Hey little bit." Spike bent and picked up the little girl. Cassie wrapped her arms around Spikes neck and squeezed.

"Hey man." Oz nodded.

"Hey I figured your lil' sis would have gotten her girl by now."

"Shes probably working late and Cassie just got up from a nap." Oz told him. "Plus she'll most likely head home and call us when she gets there."

"So does your sis have 2 jobs?" Spike asked

"Ya she works at the Bronze at night and a tattoo parlor during the day." Oz explained.

"She does tats. I figured she'd be like some sweet valley girl or somethin' with a name like Buffy. Yeah?" Spike had a confused look on his face when Willow turned to Oz and laughed.

"Obviously you've never seen Buffy." Willow held her stomach and laughed even harder.

"Whats funny about that." Spike asked.

"My sister can be kind of out there sometimes. Most people hear a name like Buffy Summers and they think shes rich and blonde." Oz relied. "Although she is blonde when people meet her for the first time most either are scared of her or they think shes a bad person."

"Well it does make sense though if you think about it" Willow put in. "She used to be that girl but after Riley she kind of cut lose. Shes a good mom and a good friend don't get me wrong but when I first saw her changes I was like whoa don't piss her off."

"Yeah my sis changed a lot but she never stopped being a mom to Cass." Oz nodded to the young girl who had made her way to the toy box Oz kept for when she was there. "I'm really proud of her and if I ever run into Riley or Parker it wont be pretty."

"What happened with those blokes." Spike was curious now.

"Riley is Cassie's dad. When Buffy had Cassie they tried to make it work but after she decided to have another baby he ditched them. Thank god she didn't get pregnant again. He left them in Iowa with no way home" Oz grimaced at the memory but continued. "Parker on the other hand was great to both Buffy and Cassie, he treated them great and we all thought he was a good guy but then after Cass got attached to him he left. I'm not sure why he left but I think it was because he finally got what he wanted."

"What he wanted?" Spike asked.

"Buffy slept with him." Willow said. "She told me that she woke up and he was gone. Cassie was crushed and Buffy was really upset about her asking for him."

"I figured that was why he did it." Oz curled his hands into fists and glared at the wall.

"Ya she told me Faith ran into him about a week later and he tried to get into her pants." Willow had a smiled on her face when she remembered what Buffy had told her.

"Faith ran into him what happened. I know how Faith is and that would have been something I would pay to see." Oz told them.

"Lets just say Parker probably won't be having kids ever. Faith kicked him so hard he had to go to the hospital." Willow laughed and Oz grinned.

"Who's Faith?" Spike asked

"Oh she is a friend of Buffy's and if you think Buffy is wild meeting Faith will make you rethink that." Willow sat back on her seat and glanced at Cassie as she played.

"Hey I'm done in the shower Will." Dawn called from the other room.

"Ok I'm going to wait till after we drop off Cassie." Willow hollered back. Willow and Dawn stayed at Oz's place a lot. Willow's apartment was right near train tracks so they didn't get much sleep. Willow was Dawn's guardian and taking care of her lil' sis didn't bother Willow much as long as they had sleep.

"That's probably Buffy." Oz said as the phone started ringing.

"Is it cool if I take a shower while you guys drop off lil' bit." Spike asked.

"Sure we won't be long." Oz said while he hung up the phone.

"Bye Spikey." Cassie gave him a hug while Willow got her ready to go home..

"Bye niblet." Spike watched Oz, Dawn, Willow, and Cassie leave then headed to the bathroom.

XXXXX

When Oz and Willow finally got back Spike was dressed and ready to take off. He had his guitar in its case and was sitting on the couch when the couple walked in.

"How'd it go" Spike asked Oz as Willow ran off to get ready.

"Fine we left Dawn there to baby-sit for Buff." Oz sat down and both men waited while Willow got changed.

"Lets get the stuff in the car. You can ride with us if you want." Oz got up and picked up his guitar case while Spike grabbed his.

"Sure all my stuff is out in the car so it's probably a good idea to leave it here." Spike followed Oz out and they loaded up their equipment.

"Hey guys are you ready to go" Asked Willow as she emerged from the apartment.

"Ya I think we have everything we need." Oz said as he climbed into the van and started it. Willow and Spike got in and they pulled out onto the street.

BUFFY

The Bronze was packed when Buffy walked in. She smiled at a few customers she liked and went into the back to let Angel know she was here.

"Hey Buffy you ready to work." Her boss lounged in his chair and Faith sat on his desk.

"Hey B nice outfit." Faith got up and walked around to where Buffy stood. "I'm going to help you out tonight it's crazy out there." Faith told her friend.

"Ok sounds good." Buffy took off her leather jacket and hung it on one of the hooks on the wall.

"Let's go serve the masses." Faith smiled as she disappeared out into the crowd with Buffy right behind her.

"How's Cassie doing." Faith walked in behind the bar with Buffy.

"Good Dawn had her watching Lilo and Stitch when I left." Buffy smiled at a customer as she made his drink.

"Cool." Faith turned back to her customers when one ordered a white Russian.

Buffy and Faith worked for a few minutes when she heard a voice behind her. Immediately her heart rate picked up and her stomach did several flip-flops. She could smell that perfect mix of cigarette smoke, leather, and the right brand of soap. Slowly she turned to her brothers voice wondering where the smell came from.

"Hey sis." Oz and Willow stood at the bar with a guy behind them. He looked familiar to her some how but she knew that would happen when she worked at a bar.

"Hey do you guys want something to drink." Buffy handed a shot glass off to a waiting customer and turned back to her brother.

"Oz love the hair." Faith said coming up behind Buffy.

"Thanks Faith." Oz pushed his hair back and smiled at Faith.

"How was Dawn when you left?" Willow asked her best friend. Willow grimaced at Faith and the way she was flirting with Oz but they had all learned that Faith was like that. What everyone finally understood was that Faith liked the attention but she would never act on it when it came to Oz.

"Good she was watching movies with the Cass when I got out of there." Buffy nodded to Willow and handed a shot glass to Faith who downed it. The guy was staring at Buffy like she had something in her teeth.

"Oh Buff this is Spike. Spike this is my baby sister Buffy and her friend Faith." Buffy smiled at the bleached blonde who'd been staring at her.

"So this is Spikey, Cassie hasn't been talking about much else since earlier." Buffy smiled at him. She felt like a live wire with him so close but she couldn't figure out why he affected her so much.

"Oh Oz did you see your sisters latest work." Faith asked when she finished passing off a bucket of jello shots to a bunch of giggling girls.

"Nope." Oz glanced at Faith who had taken her top off showing the room her black lace bra.

"She did this about a month ago." Faith pointed to her back as she turned. The room filled with catcalls as everyone noticed the shirtless bartender. Oz looked at Faith's back where in the center was a demon. It had taken four sets of five hour sessions to do most of the tattoo. There were black cracks spreading around her back and it looked as if the demon was trying to break out of her.

"That's a nice bit of work." Spike praised.

"Thanks." Buffy's face had gone slightly pink at his compliment.

"Buffy did you show them your new tat." Faith asked as she put her shirt back on to a roomful of boos.

"What did you get" Willow asked eying Buffy's body for the new tattoo.

"It's not much." Buffy said as she lifted her shirt and turned so that they could see the black angel wings on her back as well as the lily tattoo on her side.

"Did Faith do yours" Willow asked Buffy.

"Ya she did all of them."

"How many you got?" Spike asked as he watched the pretty blonde show off her body. He liked what he saw and when he first walked in he couldn't get his eyes off her. Now that he knew she was his buddy's sister it made it easier to talk to her. He felt like he knew her from somewhere but he was certain if he'd known her he would never forget her.

"Five." Buffy answered him and tried not to stare at him like a dork. He was hot and Buffy appraised him with a keen eye. He had on black jeans, a tight black T-shirt, and a black leather duster just like her own. Most of all she noticed his electric blue eyes and bleached blonde hair. Willow smiled when she noticed Buffy ogling Spike. When Buffy spotted her friends smile from the corner of her eye she nodded once at Willow and smiled.

"Nice what are they." Willow glanced at Spike and noticed the flirting was from both people.

"I have the wings, Cassie's tattoo, an apple blossom, the sleeve, and the lilys." Buffy pointed to each one as she named them off. She also didn't notice Spikes eyes as she pointed out the sleeve and the apple blossom.

"Hey party people whats up." Xander and Anya appeared from behind Spike.

"Not much" Buffy replied as she placed a beer in front of each friend.

"Thanks Buff." Oz told her.

"It's on me." Buffy smiled at Spike as he pulled out a couple dollars.

"Thanks luv." Spike said as he turned and dropped the money into the tip jar. He felt like he'd seen her tats before, something about them tickled his memory.

"Hey we better go set up." Oz pulled Willow behind him and the rest of the group followed. Buffy and Faith went back to work after Buffy watched Spikes rear end disappear into the crowd.

XXXXX

Thought out the night Buffy always knew where Spike was and when he moved her eyes followed. Spike knew she was watching him and when she couldn't see his face he was watching her. The band preformed till 12 and took a break to cool off. Buffy watched the guys go up to the bar and Willow grabbed a set at a table up front. She smiled and placed several beers on a serving tray. Buffy nodded to Faith and disappeared into the crowd as Faith served Oz.

Spike, Oz, Xander, and Anya watched Buffy make her way to Willow while they ordered a couple drinks. When Spike and Oz pulled out some money Faith stopped them.

"Sorry guys Buffy said all your drinks where on her tonight and if I take that she will kill me." Faith smiled and handed them their sodas.

Meanwhile Buffy had decided it was her break time and headed for an empty chair.

"Nice table Will." Buffy sat beside her a handed her one of the beers.

"Ya I had to kill a guy for it." Willow said to her friend.

"Well it is a good table." Buffy smirked as everyone came over to sit.

"Hey Buff thanks for the drinks tonight." Xander smiled at her as he reached for one of the beers.

"Well I am payday girl so hear me roar." Buffy grinned and reached for a beer while pushing the tray toward Oz. "You guys sounded good up there."

"Thanks sis." Oz said.

"Ya hurry with the playing so I can take you home for many orgasms." Anya told Xander while everyone else rolled his or her eyes.

"That's how you ended up with kids pet." Spike told Anya.

"That's right and many more will follow after sweaty sex." Anya stated while Xander's eyes bugged out and he choked on his beer.

"Um Ahn honey maybe we can talk about that at home."

"Why everyone here has orgasms why can't I be proud of the sex we have Xander." Anya grumbled.

"Cuz it's not party talk sweetheart."

"What time are you off Buff?" Oz asked her, changing the uncomfortable topic successfully.

"2 but I have to clean up to so I won't be out of here till 3" Buffy replied.

"How is Dawnie getting home." Willow asked her friend.

"Oh I was just going to have her stay the night." Buffy said. "I hired her to baby-sit on the nights I work here."

"Ok, Sounds good."

"I'll be right back." Oz told the group.

"Oh Buff this is Robin." Xander pointed to the guy she just noticed sitting behind him.

"Hiya." Buffy greeted.

"Hey" Robin nodded at Buffy and went back to nursing on his drink.

"Willow." Oz was standing on the stage smiling when everyone turned to him.

"Oz what are you doing." Willow's face had gone red when everyone turned to her.

"I have a question to ask you." Oz took the microphone with him as he made his way off the stage and to their table.

"Um and what would that be Oz." Willow gulped and watched her boyfriend.

"Will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive" Oz was in front of Willow now and had dropped done on one knee. Buffy glanced at her friend and smiled.

XXXXX

Author's Note: Hey all at the moment it is 1:50 am here and I am grinding some chapters for you. Hope you like my effort. leave me reviews!