"You okay pet?" Spike asked, staring at Buffy, who was seated beside him. She had her arms folded on the table, her head resting upon them.
"Yeah…" she answered quietly. Giles had told the others a short while before that he was leaving, even though the tension in the air was bad enough without the news. Xander had left a little while ago, not wanting to be around Spike any longer. Dawn had gone over Janice's house for the night, and Giles had gone home to finish packing. Anya was up in the upper part of the shop, sorting through books, and Willow was sitting at the table opposite of Spike and Buffy, just thinking.
"It's not like he's leaving for good." He told her gently, tilting his head to the side a bit. "He'll be back."
Buffy sighed and sat up, running her fingers through her hair. "I know. It's kinda funny, he always leaves when things get weird."
Spike chuckled. "You'll be fine without 'im, Slayer."
Buffy nodded and smiled over at Willow. "Yeah, we'll survive. We always do." Willow gave her a small smile and nod before yawning.
"I think we're all a bit wiped." She looked over at Spike, smirking slightly. "Some a bit more than others. What d'you say we blow off patrol tonight? I think we could all do with a bit of sleep." She looked back at Willow. "You gonna go now or stay here?"
"I think I'll hang around here for a bit, I don't think Xander's gonna be very good company tonight." She said with a small smile.
Buffy nodded and stood, walking over to her best friend. She wrapped her arms around her neck and hugged her. "It's good to see you smile again." She pulled away and smiled at the redhead.
"You too." Willow said, brightening up a bit and smiling over at Spike. "Goodnight."
"'night Will."
"See y'round, Red." Spike said, smiling and heading towards the door.
"Anya, we're leaving!" Buffy called up to the loft.
"Bye!" The vengence demon called down. Buffy gave Willow a small wave before disappearing out the door with Spike.
"She doesn't live with you anymore?" Spike asked her once they got away from the shop.
"Willow? Nah, she's been staying with Xander. He's home a lot more than me and Dawn and both of them could use some company."
Spike nodded. "So how's she been doin'? You know, after what happened with Pixie…"
"Well, she's doing better now. She used to be bad, I mean, locking herself up for days at a time and just crying. She barely ate and whatever she did manage to eat she usually ended up puking up."
"Thanks, Slayer, I'm no longer hungry."
"Sorry. Anyway, she started staying with Xander a few weeks after she tried to destroy the world. She doesn't cry as much now, but she doesn't talk much. She just seems so… withdrawn from everything, you know?"
"Sort of like you."
"What?"
"When they brought you back, you weren't exactly Ms. School Spirit." He said, smirking.
She smiled. "Yeah, I guess. She seemed better today though. She was smiling. I don't even remember the last time I saw her smile." She looked up at him as she walked, giving him a sincere smile. "And it's because of you. Thanks."
"I seem to be having that effect on people lately… well, no I take that back. Just you 'n Red. Everyone else seems to thoroughly despise me."
"Xander - yes. Dawn - no. Giles - maybe. Anya - no."
"Slayer, Dawn refuses to even look at me."
"No she doesn't…well, okay, so maybe she just glares. But that's not the point."
"I appreciate the attempt to make me feel better." He said, throwing his arm across her shoulder.
"Did it work?" She asked, looking up at him.
"Little bit."
"Good. Feeling bad is….bad."
"Glad to see your vocabulary has been extended since I left."
----------
"You okay?" Buffy asked quietly, poking her head into Willow's old room. She had told Spike he could take the bed in there since it wasn't being used. He turned his head to face her, the tears on his face illuminated by the light from the hallway. She gave him a small smile and walked in. "I take it sleeping pills don't work on vampires."
He chuckled slightly as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Guess not."
Buffy tilted her head to the side and watched as he returned his gaze to the ceiling, his hands folded behind his head. "I'm sorry."
He turned to look at her, confused. "For what?"
"That you can't sleep."
"S'not your fault."
She shrugged. "I'm still sorry."
"Thanks, pet."
"No problem."
He gave her a small smile and sat up, throwing his feet over the side of the bed.
"Where you going?" Buffy asked as he stood.
"T'watch TV. M'not gonna be getting anymore sleep t'night anyway, might as well keep myself occupied." He walked out the door and turned to stare at her when she followed. "What are you doing?"
"Going with you."
"Slayer, it's three-thirty in the morning, go get some sleep."
"I can sleep downstairs." She said with a smile. He just shook his head and followed her down the stairs.
----------
"I hate these movies." Buffy whined, staring at the television screen. "They're so fake."
"Buffy, luv, it's Dracula."
"I know Dracula and that's not what Dracula looks like."
He chuckled and shook his head. "Whatever you say, now scoot over, you're hoggin' the couch."
"Am not." She protested, looking over at him. He was sitting at one end of the couch, his feet on the coffee table, while she had her head on the opposite armrest and her feet in his lap, stretched out completely across the couch. He looked at her, arcing his eyebrows. She scowled. "Fine, I'll move."
----------
"Buffy? I'm home." Dawn shut the door behind her and glanced up the stairs. "Buffy?" she walked into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks. The TV was going, but no one was watching it. Buffy was curled up alongside Spike, both of them sound asleep on one end of the couch. Dawn clenched her jaw and shook her head. "Yeah, just great…" she muttered under her breath before heading up to her room. She slammed the door loudly.
"Mmm, Dawnie?" Buffy's eyes fluttered open and she looked around, not seeing her sister. She turned to Spike and smiled. He was sleeping. As quietly as she could, she shifted and went to climb off the couch. She halted when the vampire began to stir, not wanting to wake him. She stayed like that for a moment, half off the couch, waiting to see if he had woken up. When he didn't move, she tried again. He stirred. Sighing, she laid back down.
"You can get up you know."
Buffy rolled her eyes and sat up, looking down at him. "You're awake?"
"Wasn't til about thirty seconds ago."
She shrugged. "Sorry."
"No worries, luv. What time is it, anyway?"
"Quarter til ten." She replied, standing from the couch and stretching her arms. "That means what, we got about five and a half hours of sleep?"
"More than I've gotten in the past week."
"So you're feeling better?"
"'course I am, I'm here with you, aren't I?" He said, grinning.
She gave him a small smile. "I have to go get in the shower. We're all supposed to meet Giles at the airport at eleven thirty." She paused for a minute, thinking. "Are you gonna come?"
"Probably not the best idea, luv. Giles isn't exactly fond of me and I could do without hearing Whelp's smart ass remarks. Plus the airports full of lotsa big windows."
Buffy snorted and shook her head. "Xander needs to get his head out of his ass…"
He gave her a surprised look. "You're insulting your friends for me now?"
"It's not an insult when it's true."
He chuckled and shook his head. "I love you."
She gave him a genuine smile. "I know."
----------
"Dawn? You ready to go? We're gonna be late." Buffy pushed the door of her sister's room open. Dawn was sitting on her bed, flipping through a magazine. "Hey, you ready? Xander's gonna be here in a few minutes."
Dawn looked up, her face expressionless. "I'm not going."
"What? Of course you are, Giles' plane's leaving in an hour."
"I don't want to go." She said flatly, returning her eyes to the magazine.
"Dawn, you're going, now come on." Buffy ordered, tossing her sister her coat. Dawn shoved it behind her and scowled.
"I'm. Not. Going."
"Dawn, don't do this, we're going to be late."
"I don't want to go, Buffy. You can't make me." Dawn whined. Buffy lowered her head and stared at her. "Okay, so you could make me. But I'm still not going."
Buffy groaned as Xander honked his horn outside, obviously not coming in for fear of bumping into Spike. "Dawn, now."
"No."
Buffy glared at her sister for a moment. "You know what? Fine, stay here with Spike." She shook her head and stormed out the door.
"S'matter pet?" Spike asked from the couch as Buffy marched angrily down the stairs.
"Dawn's being….Dawn. God! Spike, will you keep an eye on her? She's not going." Buffy rambled angrily.
"Sure thing pet."
She grabbed her coat and gave him a small smile. "Thanks. See you later."
Spike watched as she hurried out the door. Sighing, he stood and began to walk upstairs. "Nibblet?" He called, knocking lightly on the teen's door, despite the fact that it was open. Dawn looked up at him from her bed. "Can I come in?"
"Last I checked vampire's didn't need invitations to come into someone's room." She said flatly.
Spike smirked. "Well, then do you care if I come in?"
"Whatever." She muttered, returning her attention to her magazine.
Spike sighed and walked in, taking a seat on the bed next to the girl. "You still mad at me?"
"What do you think?" she spat.
"That you hate me." He answered simply.
Dawn blinked. "I don't hate you, I'm just ….mad, I guess."
"'cause I left?"
"Because you promised you wouldn't." she replied.
"Ah, so you're mad 'cause I broke my promise."
"And you didn't say goodbye."
"Okay, so leaving and not saying goodbye, right?" he asked, trying to make sure he got this straight.
"Yeah…"
"I didn't leave you, Dawn, I left Sunnydale."
"Why didn't you say goodbye? I mean, you could have called or something, you know, written. Anything. You just disappeared."
"Sometimes it's good to disappear for a bit."
"Not when you're already invisible everyone around you…" she grumbled, her eyes remaining locked on the floor.
He stared at her a few moments, his head tilted a bit. "I see you." She looked up at him, caught off guard a bit. "You'll always be my Lil Bit, you got that? And from here on out, no more disappearing, alright? I promi…"
"Don't." she interrupted. "Don't promise if you can't keep your word."
He smirked. "I promise."
"Really?" She asked, a small glimmer of hope in her eyes.
"Scout's honor." He said, raising his hand. "Cross my heart and hope to….erm, live, I guess…"
She grinned. "I missed you."
"Missed you too, Bit." He said warmly. He was thrown off guard as the girl wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He smirked and returned the hug. "'m'glad you're not mad at me anymore."
"Me too."
He continued to smirk as he pulled away from her, bringing his eyes to meet hers. "Now, about that whole 'goodbye' issue…"
----------
"We do this way too much…" Xander said jokingly as he hugged Giles.
The Watcher grinned, "Yes, I suppose we do." He went to say something else, but was startled as Anya hugged him tightly from the side.
"I miss you and you're not even gone yet." The blonde said, not letting go.
"I'm touched." He said playfully, hugging her back. When she finally let go, he turned to face Willow. "You alright?" The redhead nodded. He smiled warmly and enveloped her in his arms. "I'll miss you…"
"I'll miss you too."
He gave the girl one last smile before turning to face his Slayer. She looked on the verge of tears. He smiled and held his arms open.
"Goodbye.." she said softly, returning his hug.
"Be strong, alright? You'll be fine without me." He assured her.
"Yeah, I know…" she said quietly, pulling away and smiling.
"Tell Dawn I said goodbye, alright?" he asked, a bit shaken that the girl hadn't shown.
"Why don't you tell her yourself." The group turned to find Spike standing at the end of the corridor, staying in the shadows to avoid the sunlight from the looming windows. He was leaning against the wall, smirking. Dawn walked out from behind him and over to Giles.
"I'm sorry." She said softly.
"For what?" he asked, studying the girl.
"Not saying goodbye." She replied quietly. Giles smiled fondly at her before pulling her into a hug.
"I'm glad you were here." He uttered.
"I'll miss you."
"And I'll miss you. All of you." He said, looking at the familiar faces around him one last time before turning and heading towards the plane entrance. The scoobies all lined up along the window to watch the plane take off, all except for Buffy. She walked over to Spike, smiling as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Thank you…"
TBC…