After the house was trashed, yet again, the demon dead and no clues as to who had hired him, the group went back to relative normalcy. Buffy had left to meet some ex boyfriend outside of Sunnydale, Ally didn't know much about it, leaving her, Dawn, the witches and Giles to clean up the mess, which was actually better. Buffy was going through a rough time, much worse than Ally, she needed to get out and forget about it all for a while. No one could say she wasn't trying. She had gone through too much in a short period of time.

To be honest with herself, Ally thought Buffy needed a spa week or month and a stable life for when she got back. But they were no where near that situation. The brunette would try and make it as good as possible for her sister, but she couldn't work miracles. She was too tired all the time, too exhausted to properly function. Her whole world revolved around Dawn and making sure everything was as well as it could be.

And she needed some time for herself too. Herself and someone else, to be more specific.

A someone who was at the back of the house, hiding not too well; she could see the smoke coming out from behind the tree near the back door from time to time, even from her spot near Dawn's window. The teen was asleep, hugging her blanket to herself and rolling around every now and then.

Ally couldn't sleep, though, afraid of the nightmares once more. She didn't want to wake her sister up in a screaming fit, she didn't want to hear the other's screams anymore. Willow had promised they would find a solution in a couple days, and she couldn't wait for it anymore. She needed a calm night, free from the memories, free from everything. She needed rest.

She couldn't sleep.

As quietly as possible, she left the bedroom, tip-toeing her way downstairs and to the backdoor in the kitchen, barefoot and in her pyjamas, looking all the bit tired. She paused before opening the door, tugging at her thin white tank top, thinking about the conversation her vampire and she needed to have. What could she say?

Just get it over with. We both feel the same way, don't we? She asked herself, taking a deep breath before stepping out of the house. She couldn't see him, yet she knew he was there. Those blasted cigarettes he kept on smoking like a freaking chimney gave him away. "Hey, Spike."

She heard the rustling from behind the tree, probably from him moving away from it, before he came into view, flicking the cigarette and throwing it to the ground, stepping onto it as he approached her. "Hello, love."

"Been there long?" She rested her arms on the white wooden railing, leaning forward, looking around the dark garden.

"A while. Shouldn't you be asleep?" He stood next to her, closer than friends would, not as close as she wished for him to.

"Can't sleep." Her voice dropped, hoping to hear him talk. It soothed her, and it was confusing. She was suddenly feeling much more than she did before, wanting more from him. When had that happened? She had frozen in place when she saw him the first time she came to the house after being brought back to life, had been left speechless when she looked at him. She was feeling so much it sincerely scared her.

"The Little Bit snoring?" He raised one eyebrow, leaning back against the railing, staring at her.

"No. Nightmares." Her eyes glanced at him, once again getting captured by his blue ones, feeling like she was drowning in them.

'I'm bloody drowning in you!', he'd said so long ago. She wondered if he had been feeling what she was feeling right then, so lost, so scared and attached. It was terrifying. And yet she didn't want it to go away. Still, she didn't find the courage to bring up the topic, to have that conversation. Coward. Give her a bunch of killer demons and she wouldn't hesitate in going after them, but feelings... That was even more frightening.

"Memories?" He guessed, his eyebrows crinkling in concern, even more when she nodded.

"I sometimes scream, and I don't want to wake Dawnie up. She gets worried and..." She shrugged, gaze falling to the floor in front of her. "She shouldn't have to worry anymore. She's had enough for a lifetime and she's only fifteen."

"Anyway to get rid of the nightmares?"

"Will and Tara are working on it. They say they should have a solution in a couple of days. I hope they're right. I'm mostly running on coffee right now." She smirked, looking back at him, yet his face was still serious. "It'll be over soon. I only have to last a couple more days."

"You can't not sleep until they get a magic solution for it, pet, your brain will go poof before that." He raised to full height, eyes set on her, frowning. "Go to bed." He started to walk around her, probably to go back to his crypt, until she grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Please, don't leave yet." She whispered pleadingly, her hand sliding to his, goosebumps exploding in her arms at the touch of skin with skin. Warm and cold. His face turned towards her, eyebrows high, a confused expression adorning his face. He looked so innocent, so clueless, she couldn't help but love the moment. "Stay." She got closer to him, her hands leaving his and getting under his coat and around his waist, her face burying itself on his shoulder. She wanted him near her, so close she could not tell them apart. Why? She had no idea.

"You need to get some shut-eye. It's the lack of sleep making you act like this, love." Even as his words came out, his arms moved around her, holding her tight, his lips and nose delving into her hair.

"Maybe. I don't care. I want you here, with me." She admitted, her mouth barely moving, her voice drowned by his t-shirt. She knew he had heard her, though. "Please, stay with me tonight."

"The Watcher will stake me if he finds out I've spent the night with you. And I don't think the Nibblet will like me standing near her bed while she's asleep. And you need to sleep, Ally Cat." His lips hovered over her ear, sending tingles down her spine, her whole body melting into him.

"Buffy's out." Her voice dropped even more, sleep threatening to over take her. Still, she didn't really fear it if Spike was with her. He would take care of her. He would protect her from her fears.

Just as her body lost strength, going soft against him, he picked her up in his arms, bringing her inside the house and upstairs once again, careful not to wake the Watcher asleep on the couch or come face to face with any other of the girls living in the house. He laid her in the senior Slayer's bed and brought the blankets around her. He then laid next to her, the girl immediately curling against his side, her head on his chest. His hand came to her hair, softly caressing her, enjoying the silky feel of her strands between his fingertips.

Be it the lack of sleep or the trauma from being in hell, he would be there for her whenever she wanted him to be, because she was all that mattered, she was his world, even if he didn't always deal with it well. She was everything he shouldn't want. For one, human. Even before, he knew it wasn't right, that feeling the way he did would only lead to pain. And then, she was a Slayer, the very thing he should hate, kill, and enjoy doing so. Yet nothing broke him more that thinking about her getting hurt. Nothing hurt more than seeing her limp on top of those boxes, empty, dead. He had barely survived that. He had only wanted to join her, even in hell. But he had made a promise, and he had to keep his promise, for her. He had stayed, he had looked after the Nibblet, all for her.

Because she was all that mattered to him. She was his world. His heaven and hell. His everything.