As Dawn rushed past him, Spike's head felt thick from more than just the alcohol. He put the glass back on the table and threw a few euros down before leaving himself. Spike was out of the club in a heartbeat, figuratively speaking, but stopped lamely in the street.
Spike took in his surroundings. Beautiful night, he thought. A great night for stalking Buffy. Spike snorted. But that was before he had a soul when everything was different.
Now, Buffy was with another man. Spike couldn't make her love him again. But he would devote his time to exposing the Immortal and protecting Buffy from afar.
In the meantime, he roamed the streets, remembering that Illyria and Mark were at their rental and voicing his "Yecchs" at what that could mean. Maybe he would have to spring for his own placeā¦
Not knowing how much time had passed, Spike turned a corner and heard a struggle, causing his blood to turn hot in his veins upon instinct. As he got closer, he realized it was a vampire and human. He began to quicken his pace until he was upon them and saw it was Dawn. Before he could act, Dawn had staked the vamp, looking over both shoulders for more.
"Xander, I'm fine," Spike heard her say into a cellphone. "I staked the creep. It was actually pretty cool. Just, hurry up, all right?"
Spike, in the shadows, watched Dawn with mingled pride and sadness. Things had certainly changed since he had died. Perhaps the Slayer, Little Bit, and company didn't need him so much after all.
a/n: I'm back! To make up for my epically long absence, I'm posting two chapters instead of one. Enjoy and I hope you keep reading.
