A.N. Thanks to those of you who commented! They are always awesome to read =]

Everyone made it through dinner relatively unscathed. Spike and Xander took it upon themselves to grill Davie on every possible aspect of his life. This led to many uncomfortable moments during which Buffy kept pressing more salad on everyone for lack of a better way to change the topic.

Anya contributed to the conversation in her usual unfiltered fashion which created even more awkward moments that usually had some sexual underlining. Xander took to clasping her knee in his hand so that he could squeeze whenever she wandered onto dangerous territory.

Willow maintained a cheerfulness that was totally at odds with the tension radiating from all corners of the table. For her part, Buffy made sure all of her remarks were positive and as jail-less as possible. Dawn looked pained, but made sure her smile was brilliant for Davie.

After cake had been served and everyone declared himself to be full, they moved into the family room. Davie didn't stick around too long after that, begging off politely at 8:30. When Buffy locked the door behind him, Dawn turned to her hodge-podge family.

"So?"

The Scoobies poured forth an onslaught of comments all at once, their words running over each other in a totally incomprehensible babble. Within seconds, Dawn was laughing gleefully, collapsing back on the couch. "You are all so crazy," she gasped for breath.

"Hey," Spike said with a frown, "let's lay off the nutter comments, yeah?"

Buffy walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It's okay. You were still sexy even when you were talking to the people in the wall."

He growled, obviously less than buoyed by her comment. She didn't care, choosing instead to press her cheek against his back and listening to his steady unneeded breathing. "I liked Davie," Buffy said. "Assuming we didn't completely scare him off, he has my seal of approval."

"Really?" Dawn asked with shinning eyes.

The others looked to Buffy then turned to Dawn with smiles. "Yes," they chorused.

"So can I go out with him tomorrow night?"

Buffy thought this over. "I guess you can be done being grounded tomorrow, so yeah."

She squealed, hugging both her sister and Spike in her attempt to thank Buffy. "I'm going to go call him to make sure that you didn't, you know, scar him for life or anything," and she beat a hasty retreat up the stairs.

Anya and Xander headed out next, then Willow went to the basement to visit with Andrew who she had taken to feeling rather badly for ever since finding out he had stolen her positive thinking book.

Spike towed Buffy over to the couch and settled her comfortably on his lap. "Not so bad, Slayer. Even I managed to eat some of your spaghetti."

"In between hostile looks at Davie."

"Well, of course." He nuzzled her neck affectionately.

"It was good, wasn't it?" she asked, kind of surprised.

"It was," he agreed, his lips moving over her skin.

"Yeah, yeah, okay," Buffy teased. Pulling her hair around in her hand, she bound it to the left side of her neck with a hair tie so that it wouldn't interfere with Spike.

After a moment's delay, he sank his fangs into her skin. Buffy cooed at the feeling, growing ever used to it and starting to desire it.

Their minds melded in the brief time Spike drank from Buffy, pulling up images from their past. She saw them repeatedly on her back porch, the first time after she found out her mom was sick, the first time when she came back to life, and all of the many times in between. And all throughout the echo of Buffy saying she loved him.

It was weird enough when she heard herself from the answer machine, her voice sounded off, not the way she imagined she sounded. But these were Spike's memories, not hers and so she saw the memories through his eyes and heard herself through his ears.

When Spike pulled away, Buffy gently rested her head on his chest, listening to the silence inside. "I love you," she whispered.

His arms tightened around her. "I love you, Buffy."

Four simple words, but they held the power to make her heart soar. They enjoyed a few minutes silence, Buffy's heart beating against his silent chest, his fingers twining in her hair, and then he asked, "You're really going to let her go out with that wanker?"

"You don't like him?" Buffy asked curiously.

"I don't like anyone Dawn wants to date."

She grinned. "How very protective of you."

He snorted. "Yeah, well, it's Dawn, innit?"

Buffy's smile grew. "Yeah, it is. But everyone deserves to feel normal and her normal is Davie Smith and he's alright."

Spike sighed. "If you say so, Slayer."

She pressed a kiss to his chest. "I do."

They were up late again; Spike and Buffy curled up beside each other, staring into each other's eyes because they could be sappy like that and feel no shame. "Tell me about Drusilla," she instructed.

His eyes narrowed momentarily. "Why do you want to know?"

"Because you loved her."

"You already know about her, Pet."

Buffy shook her head, her nose rubbing against her pillow. "Really tell me about her. Why you loved her."

Spike exhaled slowly. "I haven't had a smoke since before dinner, couldn't we save this for another time."

Her finger crossed the minimal space between them to stroke down the length of his nose. "Please tell me, Spike."

He closed his eyes at her touch. "I'd never deny you anything, Precious."

"Then tell me."

"She made me a man. I was nothing until she came along and turned me. I was a poof, a greater poof than Angel, soft and stupid. When Dru sired me, she saved my life. And she loved me from the first. I didn't have to do anything to gain her love, it was instantaneous, and I loved her for that just as automatically." He paused, opening his eyes to see Buffy's reaction.

Though her heart twinged hearing him describe his love for another, she really did want to know. Buffy wanted to know everything about him and this was a big part of him. Dru was a big part of him.

"Dru was fragile, you know, so I got to care for her, and I got to feel special because she had chosen me for that sacred duty. And we were vicious together, she revealed in all of my destruction and taught me how to be even more destructive. Everything I did, I did for her, knowing it would make her happy, that she would love me more for it. I didn't view our relationship in terms of years, it was centuries we were going for."

"I'm more of a day-by-day girl," Buffy said quietly. "I haven't quite made it past the whole year mark, so . . ."

Spike didn't say anything, she watched the pain flickering in his eyes that looked black in the dark. "She was my entire world," he said finally, "until the day I met you, and you ruined everything that was me."

Buffy's teeth dug into her bottom lip. Of course she knew he had traded one obsessive love for the other, but it was still disconcerting to hear him say it.

"What were you like before?" she whispered, desperate for him to keep sharing himself, no bars held.

He traced the side of her face, blinking in the dark. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what was William like?"

Spike's smirk was self-defacing. "You wouldn't have liked him, Pet. Worse than Captain Cardboard he was. Love sick over some girl who would never give two figs about him. Even wrote poetry about her. A proper ponce, loved his mother and country, and all that rot."

Buffy smiled. "He sounds sweet."

He grimaced. "He sounds weak."

"I don't know. Poetry is kind of cool. I always liked the short ones that sound like a sneeze."

Spike pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Haikus."

"Those are the ones!"

He breathed in her scent. "Right. Want me to write you some haikus then?"

Buffy giggled it was something she rarely did and something Spike was more than capable of bringing out in her. "I've never had a boy write me poetry . . ." She snuggled closer to him, unable to remove the smile from her face. "William the Bloody writing poetry for me, the Slayer. How cool!"

Spike's laugh was ragged. "Whatever you say, Precious."

They grew quiet, each lost in their own thoughts. For Buffy it was a nice silence, wondering what kind of things Spike would write in a haiku to her, wondering if they would be dirty poems or loving ones. She hoped they would be the latter; she liked Spike the lover much more than Spike the fighter, even though he had to be both. They both did, they needed both halves, it was their duty, but with each other, they could just be lovers.

It took Buffy several minutes to realize that Spike's silence wasn't as happy as hers. She was able to tell from the way his left hand stilled on her hip, no longer rubbing soothing circles into her soft skin. She looked up at him in surprise, trying to make out his features in the shadows. "Spike?"

"Do you think we can really be forgiven for all of our sins, Buffy?" His words were thin as ice.

The breath caught in her lungs. "I believe the only way to atone for the past is to make things right now. Where ever forgiveness comes from, God, the universe, each other, it forgives but doesn't forget. So every day we have to remember why we fight the good fight and keep on fighting."

Her own past surely wasn't sin free and neither were the pasts of her friends. But that didn't stop them from being good people, it didn't stop Buffy from loving her friends, for trusting in them, and she felt no different about Spike in that aspect.

He exhaled slowly. "A thousand years would not be enough to atone for my sins."

"Then I guess it's good you've got the chance to live longer than that," Buffy teased quietly.

Spike blinked, looking at her. "I'm still dangerous, you know."

"Well, you have to be. But that doesn't mean you're going around eating people, because you aren't."

"Because of you. With you by my side, I would never do anything to fail you, I've done enough of that already."

"That's the only thing that keeps you from sucking my neighbors dry?" she reached across the mattress, interweaving their fingers.

"The blood lust is still there, the soul didn't get rid of the demon, but I don't want to hurt people, I don't want to be a monster."

"For me or for you?"

"For me – for you – for us."

Buffy scooted across the bed until his arm was around her and she was tucked securely against his side. "Then you're no more dangerous than I am. I could use my power destructively, I could be like Faith was. But I'm not. Because I don't want to be that person."

"See, here's the thing," Buffy said to Willow as she followed Willow into her room. "I haven't been shopping in a long time, what with the whole having no money and everything. But, now, I do! And Dawn and I really want to go shopping, but we really want you to go with us."

Willow didn't look particularly swayed. "Buffy, you know I'm not so much with the shopping. Me and fashion . . . we're more like acquaintances than best friends."

"And I totally understand that. But, you can oh and ah over the clothes Dawn and I try on. We could even by you a fruit smoothie from the food court!" Buffy bartered.

A tiny smile flickered on her lips. "I do love fruit smoothies . . ."

"Yes! Fruit smoothies are very good!" Dawn chimed in, two hands on the door frame, a wide smile gracing her features.

"So you, me, Dawn, fruit smoothies, store sales, and lots of bonding," Buffy said with satisfaction.

"Should we invite Anya?" Willow asked. "I think she's been feeling kind of left out ever since the not-wedding."

"Uhm," Dawn sidled into Willow's bedroom, "I think Anya is more into the collection of money than in the spending of it."

"Very true," Buffy agreed, brushing her hair behind her ear as she peered into Willow's mirror.

"Still, I think we should at least ask."

"Whatever you want, Will. Tell her we're leaving in twenty minutes." Buffy handed her the phone from the nightstand. Accepting it, she punched in Anya's number.

While Willow made her call, Dawn and Buffy went downstairs. "Okay," Dawn said, opening her purse to count the contents of her wallet. "We need a plan, because I want to get to all the good stores before Willow starts to fatigue."

"Agreed." Buffy picked up a pen and pad of paper from the coffee table. "Hit me with your favorites."

In the end, Anya came with them, apparently she wrought great joy from telling others how awful they looked in certain clothes and shoes. Buffy chalked it up to vengeance demon mentality. Willow made it through two hours of shopping before pleading for the smoothie. Dawn and Buffy came home laden with sales purchases, their wallets considerably lighter, but their inner shopping goddesses much happier.

"No, Dawn, I did not say you could borrow the boots. Why would I buy shoe wear just to have you ruin it?" Buffy rolled her eyes, dropping her bags in the living room.

"Willow, didn't you hear Buffy say I could borrow them?" She threw her bags alongside her sister's.

"The boots are not very attractive anyway," Anya said, flouncing down on the sofa.

Before Buffy could argue on behalf of the attractiveness of her boots there was a distant crash followed by an angry cry. The four of women turned to each other, trying to suss out where the din was coming from.

"The basement," Dawn whispered, pointing.

Buffy waved for the other three to stay where they were. But then they heard Xander shouting, "You freeloading vampire! I swear, I'm going to –"

"Watch out, Spike!" Andrew screamed.

"You bloody wanker!" Spike shouted.

Then the girls rushed down the stairs, knees smacking into each other. "Xander don't!" Buffy shouted, already throwing herself across the basement.

In her haste, Buffy didn't fully assess the scene in front of her until her hip whacked off the side of the folding table and she landed in a rather disheveled heap in Spike's lap.

Swiping the hair from her face, he gave Buffy a crooked smile. "Why, hello there, Precious. Didn't think you'd be back so soon."

"Wh-what's going on?" Buffy asked, brow puckered as she looked behind her. Andrew, Xander, and Spike were seated around a round folding table. Poker chips scattered over the surface along with a deck of cards.

"But – but we heard shouting," Willow said in confusion as she and the others came forward.

"Ahn," Xander stood up from the table. "I need to borrow some money."

Anya folded her arms over her chest. "I do not like to be parted from my money, Xander. You know this. And I don't like gambling. It is a foolish way to lose the money."

"Yes, but, I need to buy back in to win my money from –"

"He lost the hand to me, Red. That's what the shouting was about. Andrew's been out for three hands now, piss poor poker player that one," Spike explained.

"What is this?" Dawn asked, marveling at the set up. Smoke was heavy in the air which could only be attributed to Buffy's boyfriend, beer cans were scattered around the table along with cans of orange soda - those were clearly Andrew's.

"You guys had a girls' day so – so we had a boys' day," Andrew said with barely contained excitement at being included with the other guys.

Buffy's eyes widened. "Right. Of course." Then, looking at the cards, she leaned close to Spike, whispering, "You didn't cheat, did you?"

"Me?" he asked, his face a mask of injured pride.

She blinked blandly. "Definitely you."

A wicked grin replaced the innocence. "You gonna rat me out, Slayer?"

"Tell Xander he doesn't owe you for the hand he lost or I will."

"Bloody hell woman, I made good money, I'm not going to –"

"Spike."

He sighed. "You can pay me next time, Harris."

"Yes, next time, Xander, and then you won't need my money," Anya eagerly concurred.

Xander skipped onto a new topic, obviously not disappointed about not owing Spike. He shuffled the cards back together. "How was the shopping?"

"Ah! Let me show you my clothes," Dawn said, grabbing his hand and excitedly dragging him up the stairs. Willow and Anya went after them.

"Chain Andrew down here, will you?" Buffy asked Spike, climbing out of his lap. "I need to check his room again. Xander's missing his Star Trek VHSs."

"Hey! I want to see Dawn's clothes too!" Andrew protested.

The couple steadfastly ignored him. "Sure, Love." Spike hooked his hand around Buffy's wrist, pulling her down for a quick kiss.

She rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling. "Chop chop, Casanova."

Upstairs, Dawn was whipping out shirt after shirt, demonstrating them for Xander who was doing his best to look interested while Anya grew more annoyed by the clothing article. Picking up her sister's bag, Buffy handed all of their purchases to her. "Dawny, why don't you take our stuff upstairs? You could call Davie and tell him all about-"

She didn't need to finish her sentence, Dawn was already jetting up the stairs, shouting goodbyes to Xander and Anya over her shoulder.

Spike made a sound of disgust behind Buffy. "Shopping?"

She arched an eyebrow. "Please. I bought you clothes too, no need to cry." He tried not to smile, but Buffy saw the warm glow in his eyes. "Even a new coat."

The day would have been perfect had it ended there, but things are never that simple when you're a slayer. One moment Buffy and her friends were preparing their goodbyes, the next, glass shards were flying everywhere as creatures catapulted into the house.

Anya screamed, throwing herself to the ground, Xander dropping protectively over her. Buffy didn't see what happened to Willow as Spike grabbed his girlfriend and swung her behind him to protect her. But Buffy didn't care about herself or her friends at that moment, she was running for the stairs even as Spike started to fight the creatures which appeared to be men.

One of the men slashed a knife at Buffy as she leapt for the stairs, cutting a fine line through her shirt and into her skin. Buffy ignored the sting of pain as she rushed onward. Dawn was screaming and the only thing Buffy could think was to save her sister.

The man followed Buffy up, but having seen him for that brief moment, she knew he wasn't a man, he was a Bringer, one of the mutilated monks who worshipped the First. "Dawn!" Buffy screamed as she threw a kick in the direction of the Bringer sending him tumbling down the staircase.

"Buffy!" Dawn cried; she was cowering at the top of the stairs, Buffy pushed her back and into the bathroom, pulling the door closed on her.

"Lock the door! Find a weapon and don't come out unless I tell you to, unless I tell you what I said at the top of the crane!" Buffy added the last part for fear of the First showing up and impersonating her, because if she was listing off dead people, Buffy had died more than once.

Knowing that Dawn was as safe as she could make her, Buffy ran back down the stairs. Spike was sparring off with one of the Bringers and bleeding heavily. Even without their vision, the monks were deadly accurate in their assaults.

Anya and Xander were against the far wall, fending off a Bringer with an ax from the weapons' chest. Willow was flat on the floor, blood running down from her temple. Before Buffy could get to Willow, two of the Bringers cornered her. Buffy grabbed the first thing she could, which happened to be a chair. She swung it at the Bringers who lithely jumped away. Throwing it at them, Buffy slid across the floor and to the weapon's chest.

Pulling out an ax, she charged back at them, using a spin to decapitate the first monk while the other slashed open her shoulder. Cleaving the ax back around, Buffy slammed it into the second Bringer's chest and he fell dead to the floor. She whirled around, ready to help her friends, but they didn't need help. The Bringers that Xander and Spike had been fighting were vaulting back out the broken window.

"The basement," Spike panted, pointing with one hand.

Buffy rushed over to the open door. Clattering down the stairs, ax ready to decapitate any linger Bringers, she stopped still. The chains were empty. They had taken Andrew.