A\N: Quote from Superstar, season 4.
Giles, Buffy, Spike and Dawn reconvened at Revello Drive about an hour later. Joyce was at work, Willow and Tara were at College and Dawn had insisted staying home with Buffy instead of going to school. Not surprisingly, no one had seen Xander and Anya for days.
Buffy explained Spike's ill advised but heroic actions to her watcher. At least now they all knew how many Miryrids they were up against and had one less to worry about.
"Are you sure they were all present?", Giles questioned Spike.
"I mean, we don't know enough about them to conclude that they always stay together."
Spike, who was slouched against the living room wall, shook his head.
"Ran into them in Arizona. Trust me, they were pulling out all the stops to bump off the slayer then. If there was any more of them, they would've been there on that road."
Buffy took a few steps forward from the corner she was hiding in.
"We have to take Spike's word for this. We can't sit around any longer and just wait for information to fall into our laps. We need a plan."
Spike shot her a grateful smile. He'd shown up, convinced that he'd be fighting a loosing battle. Giles removed his glasses and began to polish them.
"I suppose if we gather enough people, who are able to fight, we may stand a chance. Maybe the council can help."
"Good. In the mean time...", Buffy started as she approached a bored looking Dawn.
"I've got a date to keep."
The youngest Summers' looked up at her sister from the floor.
"Movie milkshake fun day?!", she almost squealed.
"Sure, why not."
Dawnie clapped her hands and jumped up, taking her sister's hand firmly.
"See you later guys!"
Buffy caught Giles' taken aback expression, as she was tugged out of the front door, and Spike's amused one. He didn't seem nervous or anxious about letting her go out on her own today. This was probably the first time that he wasn't.
Dawn was absolutely buzzing from the sugar intake when she arrived home in the evening. Buffy was exhausted from just trying to keep the girl under control. She didn't have the energy to continually chase Dawn to get to her to bed but luckily, Spike was still on hand to help out.
When Joyce returned home, she found Spike and Dawn both asleep on the couch, the 14 year old's head resting on the vampire's shoulder. Mrs Summers tiptoed towards the blaring TV and carefully switched it off but an eagle eyed Spike noticed the woman's shadow through his closed lids and woke.
"Sorry", she whispered.
"No worries", he yawned as quietly as he could. He noticed the sleeping Summers, completely passed out next to him, and gently lifted her into his arms.
"I'll take the niblet up. She's had a bit of a day."
Joyce thanked Spike before heading upstairs herself.
Within moments, Spike had tucked Dawn up in her soft pink sheets, smiling at the sound of her snoring softly. Joyce had now turned off the landing light, leaving him in complete darkness, apart from the luminous glow of the digital clock on the bit's bedside table. He only then realised how late it was. It read 00:14. He snuck across the creaky floor, past Joyce's room and Buffy's.
"Didn't realise you were still here", a sleepy voice mumbled. Suddenly, someone snapped a light switch, to his left, on and a shattered Buffy appeared before him, slouched against the headboard of her bed.
"Bit fell asleep on me downstairs. Didn't wanna move 'er", he lied, not wanting to reveal that he'd fallen asleep too. Creature of the night and all. "Ah", she responded, a yawn quickly following.
"Ain't seen you this knackered before. Don't think I wanna know what Dawn made you do today."
She laughed and he entered the threshold of her room.
"Turns out she wanted to spend 4 hours shopping as well as drinking about half a dozen milkshakes. I'm kinda peeved I turned down the sugar now."
"Trust me, the crash is worse."
He'd reached the front post of her double bed now and was leaning against it.
"True", she giggled. A few seconds of surprisingly bearable silence passed before Spike spoke up.
"Guess I better get going. Patrol calls."
He started to make for the door but stopped when Buffy protested.
"Didn't you do enough fighting last night? Take the night off. Besides, I could use the company. Too tired to sleep."
Spike raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but twist her words.
"My my, Summers. Are you asking me to spend the night?", he smirked.
Buffy was flabbergasted.
"No! I mean...yes but not in that way! I'm simply asking you to stay and talk. Completely innocent."
"You need to learn not to take the bait, blondie."
"Well, you need to learn not to wind me up, you big...bleached...stupid guy!"
Spike had to do everything he could to hold back a snort at her pathetic yet adorable comeback.
"Touché", he retorted.
"Shut up...", she mumbled, realising how dumb she had just sounded.
He flopped down at the foot of the bed, manoeuvring his arms behind his head.
"Make yourself at home why don't you."
The vampire kicked off his shoes, purposely to annoy her.
"You did ask me to sleep over. Just makin' myself comfortable."
"You didn't seem to have any issues with the bed last night", she blurted out before she could stop herself. Spike pulled out a cigarette and lighter.
"Didn't really do much sleepin' though did we?", he explained, following his sentence with a cocky wink.
Any other day, Buffy would have demanded Spike put out his smoke immediately but she was too paralysed to say or do anything for the time being. Spike noticed her paleness and rolled onto his side a little.
"Don't sweat it sweetness. I'm okay with it as long as you are. Last thing I wanna do is make you feel bad about it."
"I'm okay", she started. "I just can't help but feel that I took advantage of you. You'd just told me you loved me and I rushed in without thinking about what I felt. We may not ever be best pals but I know what it's like to be used."
Spike knew that she was thinking about that tosser Parker from her short lived semester at UC Sunnydale.
He sat up and shuffled closer to the slayer before dropping his cigarette in a glass of water on a nearby surface.
"Now you listen to me. Wasn't anything like that. I knew that you weren't thinkin' straight. You 'avent got anything to be sorry for. If anyone was taking advantage, pet, it was me. You were in a bad place, probably off your noggin after what I'd just dropped on you."
The pair were almost close enough to touch now and Buffy felt them getting closer. She was thankful when he pulled away and searched around for a distraction. He found a discarded pack of cards, poking out from underneath the bed, and retrieved them.
"Know a thing or two about cards slayer. Wanna try your luck?"
Buffy grinned and snatched the cards from him.
"You're on..."
The clock now read 5:30. Buffy had barely been able to get through the first game of gin rummy, that she and Spike had started, before she gave up on trying to fight the exhaustion that was overcoming her. Spike had stayed on the other side of the bed, completely away from Buffy, but over the last few hours, she had slowly wriggled her way over to him. Her forehead now rested against his solid yet relaxed chest, her arm draped halfway across his waist and her knees were tucked up with the sheets covering her lower half. Spike's own arms were around her too. His left holding her upper back, to keep her close, and his right in her hair, stroking her blonde locks. He never thought that he'd get this close to her. Sex was one thing but this...
This required trust and respect from her. The best thing about it was that she hasn't just crawled to him in her sleep. She'd been awake and had consciously made her decision...
We're getting there. Slowly but surely we're getting there ;)