*Zoom in on TV news program*

"If anybody has any information on the whereabouts of 20-year-old Buffy Anne Summers, please call this number. It is said she would most likely be seen with this man," a realistic drawing of Spike flashed on the screen, "He is said to go by the name of…Spike. I'm Julia Thornbreak, goodnight." A yearbook picture of Buffy was shown on the screen, above it reading Have you seen me? Below it read the number to call.

Willow switched off the TV and turned to the rest of the Scooby Gang.

"Where could she be? It's been a month, and still no word," the red head commented.

Willow looked around Giles' living room. To her right sat her Wiccan girlfriend, Tara. Across the room sat Xander and his ex-vengeance demon girlfriend, Anya, who was sitting across his lap. Off to the corner of the room, Giles stood, his left arm bent with his right elbow resting on his hand. In his right hand he held his glasses, the tip on one earpiece on his lip.

"What I want to know is, where would she go with Dead Boy Jr. and why?" Xander wondered out loud.

"But, he's not dead anymore, remember?" Anya reminded him.

Xander glared at his girlfriend and grumbled.

"Do, do you think they ran off together?" shy Tara broke in, speaking for the first time that night.

The rest of the group, excluding Anya, stared at Tara like she was crazy.

"Why the bloody hell would Buffy do a thing like that?" Giles exploded, using the best curse he knew.

"I was just-" Tara started.

"I dunno," Anya interrupted, "Spike's pretty hot. I don't see why she wouldn't." Ignoring Xander gaping at her, she studied her nails like what she said was the most normal thing to say.

"But Anya, remember, Buffy hates Spike. It doesn't mean he's not dangerous just because he's not all fangy anymore," to emphasize, Willow bared her teeth and held her hands up like claws. She looked around at her friends; Xander, arguing with Anya about Spike, Giles staring off into space, and Tara looking at her expectantly.
"Sometimes, I wonder why I even bother," Willow muttered.
Just then the phone rang. But before anyone could pick it up, the ringing silenced it self abruptly in mid-ring.


Meanwhile, Buffy and Spike were having their first fight.

"Well, maybe if you had let me say goodbye or something to my friends, or at least my family, I wouldn't try to contact them!"

"Has it ever occurred to you that they could *69, or possibly have the line tapped or even bloody traced?"

"Has it ever occurred to you that they might miss me? Or, heaven for bid, worry about me?"

"If you hadn't been afraid they would hate you for us being together, pet, maybe you-"

"Well, if you hadn't gotten me pregnant we wouldn't have had to worry about this!"

After Buffy's outraged claim, they stood in the kitchen staring at each other. Suddenly, Buffy had tears streaming down her face. Spikes angered features softened as he took a step toward her. She took a step back and waved him away.

"I'm sorry. It's nothing," Buffy tried to explain. Walking past Spike to get a tissue, he heard her mutter to her self, "Damn mood swings."

Later, when both had calmed down, Spike walked up behind Buffy, who was trying to calm her hair, slipped his arms around her waist, and nuzzled at her neck.
He looked up at the mirror and didn't recognize himself.

"Bloody hell! Who the…oh, heh. I'll never get used to my own bloody reflection!" he exclaimed.
Buffy responded with a small chuckle.

"Am I forgiven?" Spike murmured against her ear.

"Well…" she drawled on with an amused smile.

As he spun her around, Spike kissed her roughly and said in a low throaty growl,
"You need to dye your hair. I can see your roots."

Smacking him playfully over the head, Buffy walked off to grab 2 boxes of dye, one for her, the other for Spike.

"I figured, if I have to re-dye my hair, you should too, cause, I hate to tell you, but," her voice dropped to a whisper, "I can see your roots too."

He raised an eyebrow at her and took a box from her. Stripping down to her matching bra and panties, Buffy wet her hair and toweled it off, leaving it damp.


An hour later, still in nothing but their underwear, the couple's newly dyed hair looked natural again.
With Spike sitting in an armchair and Buffy across his lap, they watched the late night news.
After seeing their pictures on the screen, Spike looked over at Buffy.
"See, they do worry about you, luv," he purred in a husky voice.
"Yeah…" she replied, "I hope they're doing OK with all the nasties out there."
"I'm sure they are, they had you to look up to, pet. Nothing can go wrong in the department," Spike complimented, making her blush.
"I just wish I could help. But with this whole pregnancy thing, I don't think that's such a great idea," Buffy pouted.

Lifting her up with his knees, Spike took her hand, put it around his neck, and kissed the soft skin her stomach. Kissing a trail up, he reached her mouth and kissed her gently.

"Can we go out tonight?" Buffy asked him, "We can wear all black, and we won't be seen. I just want to walk the streets."

Spike thought about this.
"On one condition, if any vamps come along, leave them alone. I'll deal with them."

"Done," she smiled at him.

True to Buffy's word, they walked out into the night air for the first time in a month dressed in black. Buffy wore her hair in small pigtails and had painted her nails black. In case they decided to go into any shops, she had powdered her face to match Spike's pale complexion, applied a dark red lipstick, and wore a fake nose ring that she had from Halloween when she was younger. She had dark eye shadow on, and had applied black eye liner to Spike's eyes.

As they wandered about, Buffy saw a pink fuzzy teddy bear in the window of a store with a matching blue bear sitting next to it. She pointed them out and just had to buy them. As they were paying for the bears and about to walk out the door, Willow and Tara walked in, looking very tired. When they walked past Buffy and Spike, who were trying the hide their faces, they overheard the conversation that the Wiccan girlfriends were having.

"We have got to find something edible that has caffeine…"

As they walked past, Tara lifted her head to look at the couple at the register. She made eye contact with Buffy for a brief moment and gave a small smile. Not returning it, Buffy and Spike hurried out the door and to their home making sure no on was following them. When they were down the stairs in their living room, they collapsed on the couch.

"OK, I say that's the last time we go out for a long time," Buffy panted.

Spike just nodded and laid his head down in Buffy's lap. Stretching out the length of the couch, the couple fell asleep in each other's arms.