OR ENDING FOUR
"I wish that never lost the Gem of Amarra."
She smiled, "Done."
* * *
He crawled out from underneath the sewer grate and squinted as the midday shone did something that it hadn't in nearly 120 years, it touched his skin warming it but for the first time not burning. The clock struck one and the students darted inside large buildings. He heard a familiar voice ask,
"Did I do something wrong?"
"We were just having fun Buffy."
Spike watched as Buffy sighed rejected by the boy as he and another girl walked off into a building.
"The stupid sod."
At the sound of his voice Buffy spun around with a stake in her hand. Spike grabbed her hand before she could plunge it into his heart. Even though it wouldn't make a different.
He looked at the ring on his finger the green stone glittered in sun, Buffy's tiny wrist clasped in a firm grip by his fingers.
"The Gem of Amarra?" Buffy gasped.
"Yup." He looked at her warily but decide to go ahead and see how well he truly knew her. "I'm going to let you go now slayer. And you're going to play nice."
He slowly released his grip on the slayer and she went into full defensive mode. Throwing kicks and punches wildly at him. Spike simply dodged them.
"So what you're not going to hit back now what happened to you? The ring give you a soul?" Buffy asked sarcastically.
"Nope." He replied flatly sitting down on a bench.
Buffy watched in amazement and utter disbelief when Spike took off his duster and let the sun's rays hit is pale arms. He leaned back his head and closed his eyes. Leaving himself open to an attack by Buffy but she was too stunned to even react. Until he started.
"Why?"
"Uhh?" Buffy looked down on the vampire wondering what was his trick. What could he possibly be up to?
"Why did you let him get the best of you not once but twice. You should have kicked his arse, from here to Timbuktu."
"Spike I'm not here to converse with you." She growled.
"Fine I'll go." Spike got up and began to walk down the street.
Buffy didn't know what to make of it, but she had to tell Giles.
* * *
"So he didn't want to fight?" Giles asked with wonder.
"Not at all." Buffy shrugged.
"Yeah Buffy gave him everything she had too. I saw the whole thing." Xander added in.
There was a slight knocking on the front door and when Buffy opened it she couldn't believe her eyes. There stood Spike.
Giles quickly pulled out a crossbow and Xander grabbed a bottle of holy water.
"What the hell do you want?" Buffy asked.
"To help you slayer.' Spike answered cockily.
"Are you ludacrious man? For gods sake you've tried to kill her and now you want to help." Giles replied in utter disbelief
"I wouldn't be the first." Spike replied.
Buffy cringed. Giles glared at him and Xander couldn't keep his mouth shut, "That's true definitely, she did . . ."
Xander stopped as both Buffy and Giles glared at him.
"I don't want your help and I don't need you help." Buffy spun back toward Spike
"You will. I'll be around." With that Spike left.
* * *
"I think that you should just stake him and get it over with." Riley announced during a patrol.
"What? Xander just wanted me and you to go on double date with him and Anya, why would I stake him? Besides I don't kill people, that's Fai...." Buffy as the pit of her stomach ached.
If Spike hadn't rescued her from that warehouse she would have died and Faith would still be in her body. But what knotted her stomach even more was that Spike and even Tara, a girl she'd never even met prior to that day knew it wasn't her. Well, Tara from magic and Spike from good old vampiric intuition. But Riley a guy that she been virtually inseparable from for the last three months certainly didn't realize it.
Riley flinched when Buffy began to says Faith's name. Everything had been different since that day. She would look for any excuse in the book not to make love with him and even when she did, it was like she was unsure of her abilities. He knew Buffy often wondered if there was a difference between her and Faith. After that night Buffy's became withdrawn, and self-conscious around him.
"I was talking about Spike."
"What?... Hello? Spike is helping us set up Adam. Why would I stake him?" Buffy looked at Riley disgusted.
"I think that he's interested in you and I don't like it."
Buffy statement softened a little as she looked at Riley.
* * *
"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked as she stepped into her dorm room noticing a familiar figuring laying on her bed, "Where's Willow?"
At her girlfriends. And I was waiting for you pet."
"Why?"
"Just checking up on you."
"I seem to be saying why again?"
"Because I know that you broke up with the Captain Cardboard tonight." Buffy set down her weapons bag and sat on the edge of her bed. She began to cry and Spike quickly moved to console her.
"Tell me last year that I'd be crying on the shoulder of my worst enemy I would have bet everything I had against it." She tried to joke as he wiped the tear from her eyes.
"What happened?"
"He blamed me for Forrest's death."
"You went to the caves didn't you? God, Buffy I told you not to go to the caves. Adam knows them like the back of hands you could have been killed." Spike gasped as he clasped her face in his hands.
"Enough with the lecture. How did you know? About me and Riley?"
"He paid me a little visit. I'm glad that you never told him about the Gem of Amarra. He looked quite shocked when he plunged that stake though my heart and I pulled it back out."
"He did WHAT?" Buffy jumped back looking at Spike, over the last six months their once mortal enemy had become her friend, her guardian. Willow always kidded that that he had picked up where Angel had left off, well in almost every category except one. Willow had always told her that it was just a matter of time before all of the categories were filled.
"It's all right, slayer I'm fine." Spike smiled at her pulling her back into a hug.
"I can't take this Spike. These last couple of months have been torturous. With Adam, Faith, Riley and the Initiative. I just can't believe it. I can't believe that I'm going to say this but you've been the highlight of the year. Believe it or not." She mumbled into his shoulder.
"Why wouldn't I believe it?" Spike asked cockily
Buffy pulled away from and punched him playfully in the arm.
* * *
"So, you guys had a bunch of strange dreams. And there was a man standing there with cheese?" Spike asked as he looked at the four sitting on the table, who all nodded their heads. "So, was I in anyone's dream?"
"Yup!" Xander saw this a chance to embarrass Spike, "You were wearing a tweed jacket looking very Gilesian. And Giles said that you were going to be a Watcher. And . . ."
"All right I don't want to hear any more, it sounds just about as boring as you are." Spike brushed him off.
* * *
After they'd all gone Buffy entered her bedroom to see Spike still there.
"So are you going to tell me, luv? Or do I have to use drastic measures." He growled.
"Oh what ev..." Buffy felt herself being hoisted off the ground and flung onto her bed and he began to tickle her. She squirmed and screamed out laughter.
Joyce burst into the dark room and flicked on the light, to see her daughter pinned by the vampire on her bed. They both stopped immediately and looked at Joyce who shook her head, "You two and your ticklefests!! You guys are going to give me a heart attack one of these days."
"Mommy pleASSSSSSSE." Buffy screeched as Spike began his assault again.
Joyce rolled her eyes and smiled, "Give me a break Buffy, you're The Slayer' do something about it."
With that Joyce left the room. Before she even got to the stairs landing she could here Spike begging for her to stop. Joyce laughed as she went to clean up the kitchen.
* * *
"For god sakes slayer stop." Spike cried out weakly.
She sat up straddling him in triumph. "Who's the man."
Spike grumbled something unintelligible. Buffy posed her fingers to begin an all out assault on the vampire again.
"Ok ok ok, you are you are the man. A little pretty man." He replied.
Buffy smiled.
"So are you gonna tell me, now pet?"
"I didn't dream about you." She replied flatly.
"Oh." Spike looked dejected.
"Why would I dream when I have the real thing right here." Buffy dipped down and kissed Spike gently on the lips.
The End