ImitorVitaProAmor17 Disclaimer: All characters and places, etc... belong to Joss and all those lovely people involved with making our fav tv show.
We only chose to borrow these characters for a bit to do what we enjoy doing. All that we own is our lovely plot! No
copyright infrigment is intended in any way shape or form.

With that out of the way...

Title: Imitor Vita Pro Amor (Imitating Life For Love)

Authors: Peroxide Pest and Nocturne Wytche, AKA Celeste and Debbie

Spoilers: All Seasons

Dedications: Well, I'd like to say thanks to all those wonderful S/B writers out there that have inspired me and my sister to come

outta our shells and see what y'all think of our lil fics. We'd probably like to thank each other for putting up with each other and

the sort, and of course for being so good at writing together, you can barely tell where one of us begins and one ends. Also, to
our sister, Keren, who still loves Angel, we forgive you :P Lea, thanks for all the help and support, blessed be sister.

Summary: A few unsuspected visitors come back to good ol' SunnyD and cause some more havoc in our favorite slayer's life.
She must also decide where her feelings for Spike lay. A run in with a demon changes things for Spike. S/B

Rated: R just to be safe

Note: songs come into a lot of play in the next few chapters, just to let you all know. Sorry if it becomes a nuisance, but hey
its the music of our character's hearts :P Or something to that affect... Plus, it leads to plenty of s/b romantic tension, which we
all love! Also, no copyright infringement intended on these beautiful songs, that are the backgrounds to the soul of this story :)

P.S.: We've also come to notice that Spike purring...is a GREAT thing :P *EG*
P.S.S Due to 2 mentions we've fixed the format so its easier for you all to read and enjoy, and we're such sticklers to please
our fans; its fixed :P enjoy!

Without further blabbings:

Imitor Vita Pro Amor

Part 17


Buffy was having trouble sleeping again. However, it wasn't the same, excited restlessness that had visited her with dreams of Spike, but rather something ominous and foreboding in the shadows of her mind. Her subconscious realized it was a prophetic dream and that she should pay attention, but natural fear kicked in as well and she immediately attempted to shy away from the images haunting her.

She whimpered in her sleep in pain and frustration, as if the very life was being sucked out of her. A laughing, wrinkled old demon gaped and flashed before her, causing her to instinctively cringe and twist away. Then suddenly, a green light filled the peripheral edges of her vision, and with it, a warm respite from the cold ice of fear. It was something so magnificent and bright that it nearly blinded her. Yet it drew her towards it, with all its gentle purity. She wanted to reach out and just touch it, run it through her fingers. It was airy and light, playful. It swirled about her fingers like a butterfly, and a sudden pang of familiarity hit her as it flitted gracefully between her fingertips. Then the moment was ripped apart as she watched, horrified, as the warm, glowing energy swirled and compressed into a thick mass, before being forcefully pulled into the wrinkled form of the demon, where it promptly dissipated with an earth-shattering burst of power followed by the elated cackling of the wrinkle-face. The last thing she heard was a distinctively familiar scream…

Buffy's eyes shot open and she gasped, filling her lungs with air. She held back the girlie scream that her body had initially wanted to let out, and sighed instead. Hand on her thumping heart; she shook herself. "God… is it soooo much to ask for a decent night's sleep?" she grumbled, turning on her side so she could survey the digital reading on her nightstand clock. 4 AM. Perfect. She'd gotten exactly three hours of sleep. Groaning tiredly, she rolled back onto her back, and tried to breathe slowly to calm her racing heart. Talk about the mother of all bad dreams. Buffy stared at the white ceiling of her room for several minutes, willing herself to calm down enough to think about everything she had seen rationally. She'd had prophetic dreams before, right? Sadly enough, this was definitely an experience that was not new. She mentally went through the steps of standard, required procedure after such a dream. What she needed was to write down the details right away before she could forget.

Pulling herself into a sitting position, the Slayer grabbed a loose piece of paper from her nightstand and a pen from the top drawer. Uncapping it with her mouth, she reached over and clicked her lamp on, illuminating the room in a soft yellow glow. Then, with a still, slightly shaky hand, she began to write what she had seen in that vivid, horrible, strange dream. The next step would have to wait till tomorrow, for the Scoobies.


In his crypt, Spike jerked uncomfortably awake, hand going to his chest and rubbing absently. What the hell had that been? He growled and vamped out, testing the air around him for possible danger. Not sensing anything, he shook off the ridged countenance of his demon and frowned. Being a vampire, his instincts were not just super-sensitive to the physical world, but also in superior tune with that of the supernatural. And something seemed off kilter. That little shock he had felt just a second ago, that spark from inside, it was a warning. Grunting, he debated weather it was worth the risk of getting up and trudging to the Slayer's, or the Watcher's to ask them if anything was going on. Then he realized how bloody ridiculous that all would seem if he rung the bell at 4 in the morning and asked if everything was okay because he'd had a jolt.

He laid his head back down on his crypt and tried to get back to sleep. Still, he felt a certain amount of disquietude running through his veins, as if his demon was anticipating something, and preparing itself. He tried to shake it off as jitters from everything that had happened earlier this morning, and willed himself to relax. But he was itching, inside. Growling, he sat up again and tossed his blanket off. It felt like something was going to happen and he'd be damned if it got the jump on him or his.

He sighed and grabbed his duster, swinging it onto his shoulders before exiting his crypt. He had time to do a quick sweep/looksee before sunrise. And he knew he wouldn't get any bloody sleep until he figured out was getting him all in a twist. It felt like there was something building, adding up, and getting ready to happen, soon. He strode out into he cool night air, his senses sharp and his body ready for anything. But in contrast to his inner turmoil, the outside was as still as…well, a tomb. Sighing, the vampire ran a frustrated hand through his hair and kept walking, in the direction (consciously or not) of the Summers's home. He walked quickly; wanting to make sure all was well there of all places, before heading back to the crypt in time that he wouldn't become the dreaded alter ego, Extra-Crispy Spike.

And so was the reasoning that brought him there, and upon arrival, oddly enough, he saw a light shining from the bedroom window that was Buffy's. The vampire stood under the tree in front of her house a moment, wondering what she could possibly be doing awake at this time of night, or rather, morning. Furrowing his brow worriedly, he wondered if everything was all right. Had he missed some clue earlier that should have revealed to him how Buffy was feeling about the past days' events? Had her making Riley leave been harder on her than it had first appeared? He muttered to himself about being selfish earlier, and for not thinking about the effects of his battle with Cardboard might have had on her. She had cared for Riley once, after all. And a part of him realized that she could very well be taking this poorly, just because she was the kind of person that cherished everyone in her life, and mourned each of them, if need be.

He contemplated climbing the tree to check up on her, but wondered if his presence would only bring a fresh bout of hurt to her. He was the reason, partly, for this entire fiasco in the first place. But the thought of her up there alone with no one to lean on tugged at him as well. He sighed and ran a hand through his already disheveled-from sleep-hair. Decisions were not always fun to make. It was a toss up between going in and possibly getting staked for his efforts, or going home, feeling guilty and wondering if he had caused some terrible pain in Buffy's life and hadn't been there when she had needed him.

He smirked to himself after reciting his thoughts through his mind. The decision apparently, was already made, and he began to carefully scale the tree. A strange night when one would rather risk getting staked than having to deal with their own guilt for possibly hurting someone they loved. He was a right soft wanker, he was.


Angel checked the clock on his dashboard as the convertible arrived in Sunnydale and allowed a grunt of satisfaction. They had gotten here with time to spare before sunrise. Deciding that there was time for a quick detour from the motel they were shooting for, the vampire hung a quick left and headed towards Revello Drive. The other members of his group were fast asleep in the convertible and thus, unaware of the side trip. The vampire was going to give himself this one, small allowance to perhaps, put his heart at ease for the night. It was just a crumb, after all.


Perhaps the PTB's were bored in the world of fighting evil, and felt the need to liven things up. Perhaps there was some hand of fate mischievously playing with the strings of the lives of our heroes, just because they could, and felt that they should do as such. Or maybe Sunnydale just wanted to see another terrific kicking of someone's ass. One never really knew on a Hellmouth, but it happens nonetheless.

Angel's convertible rounded the corner and drove down the street at a subdued pace, so as not to disturb any of the sleeping inhabitants of the neighborhood. The car pulled to a stop across the street from the Summer's home. He shut off the engine and pulled the keys, noting that his young friends were all still sound asleep, save for maybe Fred, who had woken once their momentum had stopped and was now looking around the quiet, suburban neighborhood with no small amount of fascination. "Where's this?" she asked him quietly, still fiddling with the loose glasses on her face.

"This is Buffy's house," Angel responded quietly. "I'm just going to check in real fast. Stay here, okay?"

She nodded and smiled. She always had a smile, for everything. Angel wondered if that was from having to live in a dimension where there was no laughter and she was making up for it, or if that was just in her nature. It was endearing, that sort of friendliness. "I'll be back in a second."

She nodded and took her hand away from her face, folding it into her lap with the other one. "Okay." She smiled again.

He returned the gesture, genuinely, and slid out of the car quietly, not bothering to mold himself into the gray shadows of the pre-dawn sky. There was no need for stealth now, he sensed no danger, and there wasn't time for that sort of grand entrance. Halfway across the street, a familiar scent caught his attention, and he barely kept from morphing, shaking his head and growling. Fearing that his senses were playing some sort of sick joke on him, he paused to take a figurative breath to gather himself. Then, he took another whiff of the air around him, listened to the demon pounding inside of him. There was no mistaking it this time, and all he could manage to think through his shock was an inarticulate, 'what the hell'.

The subdued pace he had initially taken was then switched for something more frantic, as he dashed across the lawn. His instincts hadn't betrayed him, as he had first thought. And there, to confirm what he already knew, much to his utter disbelief and horror, perched Spike, on the tree just outside Buffy's bedroom. The very tree Angel had traversed countless times to steal a moment with his precious slayer, during what seemed, an eternity ago. The blonde vampire looked to be peering in, his brow furrowed with thought, probably about the best way to kill her, as far as Angel was concerned, anyway. Spike made as if to knock on the glass, but pulled his hand back, and morphed into his demon form first. Enraged, Angel did the same and presented his demon countenance to the forefront, before silently moving to scale the tree after his errant grand-childe. This time, he would really kill the bastard.

Spike poised to tap softly on Buffy's window but paused when his senses screamed at him from inside. He allowed himself to morph to better analyze the situation, confused as hell with himself and his apparently, wacky wirings. That move gave him all the warning he needed, and he swung around the outstretched limb just out of the grasp of whatever it had been stalking up after him. On the belly of the branch's trunk, he growled and pushed himself back up the opposite side, back on top, landing in a defensive crouch on his toes. He glared into the night, senses on full alert.

"I'll kill you before I let you hurt her, Spike."

Spike was dumbfounded at the sound of the familiar voice, and let his guard down for a split second as realization hit him. It was just long enough for Angel to sucker punch him, sending him flying out of the tree and down into the hard packed earth just below. He grunted in pain, attempting to shake it off as his grand-sire landed lithely beside him, the perfect picture of glowing rage. Spike would have found it funny, if they weren't in danger of waking the Nibblet, which would make for a very brassed off Slayer to deal with in the morning…

"Oh yeah…" Spike jumped to his feet gracefully, remembering that there was a smoldering, magnificently pissed 249-year-old elder just about ready to kill him. He spun to face his grand-sire, smirking, just because he knew it irritated him to no end. "Mind me askin' what the hell you're doing in Sunnyhell, Angelus?" he asked, conversationally.

"I could ask you the same, boy."

"You can? I'm glad for you, I really am. You're learning more every time I see you, Hair Boy."

"You always did like to run your mouth before a fight," Angel growled in response. "Glad no one will have to deal with that ever again, after tonight."

"Well, aren't we the strapping Super-Poof tonight? Mind tellin' me why you saw fit to toss me out of the bleedin' tree?"

"What do you want with Buffy?"

"What do mean, what do I…" Spike didn't get to finish his sentence, because Angel lunged at him again, growling like a rabid lion. Spike ducked around him fluidly. His grand-sire sort of sacrificed form for power when he was this brassed off, and Spike knew it. Had years of experience with it from the past, in fact. The younger vamp supposed he could take the split second his sire was off balance during the charge to get under his defenses and give it good, but he really wasn't in the mood for this right now. Instead, he stood and waited patiently for Angel to spin around. The elder vamp did it about ten times faster than Spike had predicted however, and a foot caught him on the side of the head, snapping his chin sharply to the right. William growled low in his throat. Bloody ponce always liked going for the cheap shots. Setting his jaw again, he slowly turned back to face Angel. "Angelus, listen you ragin' wanker…" He was cut off with a quick jab to the nose.

Managing to dodge the next series of punches from Angel, Spike felt himself being backed up towards the bushes, and chanced a backwards glance to gauge the distance. He learned a little too late, that that had been a mistake, when his grand-sire's foot connected with his stomach. The force of the blow sent him staggering backwards, into the wall of Buffy's house, with a subdued 'thud'.
That was it. That was bloody well it. Spike wouldn't let his poof of a grand-sire get away with that while he was too busy trying to not fight back. Charging forward, Spike tackled Angel and shoved him bodily into the trunk of the tree, before smashing his fist hard into his sire's nose. "Will you bloody well listen to me?!" he hissed, trying to draw back so they could talk. As much as he'd like to kill the grand-poof right here and now, he knew Buffy wouldn't appreciate it, and he barely, just barely, managed to contain himself and keep from fighting back in more than just self-defense. But Angel took advantage of Spike's charity and grabbed him by the collar of his duster, reversing their positions, and slamming Spike into the trunk, hard.

"Listen? How about I 'bloody well' kill you instead?"

Spike rolled his eyes at the threat that wasn't very threatening. "This is bloody ridiculous. Will you just LISTEN for a second?" Spike couldn't believe this. He really couldn't. In all the time he had been working with the Scoobies, none of them had even bothered to keep his volatile grand-sire in the loop by telling him he'd switched teams? He made a mental note about thumping Xander upside the head for it tomorrow, if he lived that long.

"You know what? Fine. You've got one second to tell me what the hell you're doing here," Angel growled, right in the younger vampire's face as he held him off the ground.

"One second? That's fair," Spike agreed. Then he swung both arms out and knocked the hands pinning his body to the tree away, before slamming the palm of his hand into Angel's face. The older vampire staggered back, clutching his bleeding nose and snarling. He was going to kill Spike now. He really was.


Buffy paused in her writing when she heard a solid thump come from outside, against her house. Frowning, she set her pen and paper down, swearing to herself that if Spike was still out there… scratch that, she KNEW Spike was out there. She could feel him. Shaking her head, the Slayer got up off the bed and padded over to the window, annoyed face on and prepared to be thrown at her blonde vampire. Thrusting the window open and poking her head outside, she took a deep breath, ready to tell him that she wasn't above dusting him if it would get her some rest.

And then she stopped when she saw what was happening. Spike was obviously fighting someone; she could tell who was who from the brilliant shock of hair that was uniquely his. She couldn't make out his opponent down in the dark there, however. She squinted, trying to make out the shape of it to discern if it was vampire or demon. Or worse yet, a drunk, royally pissed off, Riley Finn.

She quickly got to her feet and sprinted back to her nightstand, throwing open the bottom drawer and grabbing a stake, just in case. Spike looked to be holding his own, but his opponent sure looked like he knew what he was doing. She ran back to the window, weapon in hand, and took another quick look. Whomever it was that her friend was fighting seemed to be getting the upper hand. Either Spike was holding back, or the thing attacking him was really very good.

In a fraction of a second, the Slayer was crawling out the window and on the branch of the tree; stake tucked under one arm. She jumped gracefully down behind the warring creatures and poised her stake, when her Slayer-sense screamed "vampire" at her.

Spike saw her, about to get the drop on Angel, her stake raised and ready to turn the bastard into dust. He sighed, knowing he was going to regret this tomorrow… "Buffy, no!!!!"

And with Spike's warning, Angel spun around, vamp face still full on, growling savagely. Buffy paused, too shocked to move. Her stake stayed poised mid-air, when something inside of her warned that he might once again, be soulless. "Angel?" she asked tentatively. God, all she needed was Angelus showing up again…

Upon seeing Buffy, and reading the half hopeful, half horrified expression on her face, Angel instantly reverted to his human mask. "Buffy?"

"Good, you still remember each other. Buffy, luv, tell your wannabe knight in shinin' armor to bloody well put me down, eh?"

Still shocked, Buffy lowered her stake as Angel morphed back to his human face. "Um, Angel… put Spike down."

Now Angel was confused. "What? But he… and I saw him, and he was climbing the tree…"

Buffy shook her head, not understanding a word of the babbling coming out of Angel's mouth. Instead, she looked at Spike, who was suspended several inches off the ground by the edges of his duster, slammed up against the back of the tree. "Spike?"

"Saw your light on, was worried you weren't takin' everythin' that happened today well," he explained, shrugging a shoulder as far up as Angel's grip would allow. "Then all of a sudden, I get knocked out of the bloody tree by the Dark Avenger here."

"Oh." She nodded, then turned her gaze back to Angel, who had watched the exchange with furrowed brow, and a frown that seemed to make his whole face stretch downward. "Oh! Angel, let him down, now!"

Working on autopilot, he did as he was told, and dropped the younger vampire, who landed on his feet, smirking. He always had the most irritating smirk. "Will someone tell me what's going on here?!" Angel asked, looking from one blonde to the next.

Spike looked at Buffy. "Seems the Scoobies and you… left out a bit of detail, pet. Apparently, Peaches'n cream here still thinks I'm evil."

Buffy sighed. "I knew I forgot SOMETHING in my welcome back call."

"You had a lot to talk about, luv. Back from the dead and all. Don't worry about it. Anyway, I was just droppin' by to see if you were all right. Got a strange feelin' while I was sleepin' and it wouldn't let up, kinda got worried. You all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Buffy responded, smiling at Spike in much the same manner Fred smiled at him, Angel noted. "Thanks."

"So it's normal when you're up at 4 AM readin', then?" Spike asked, skeptically.

She shook her head. "No…I had a dream… a nightmare."

"You did? Was it one of your Slayer-y thingies?"

"Yeah, I think so. I was writing it down."

"Oh. Guess that explains a lot then." Spike smiled sheepishly. "So um, you're not all broken up about the Commando Kid, then?"

"No, not as much as I thought I might be. I'm already over getting over him."

"Good then. I was worried I'd mucked up or somethin' and left you all alone in your misery."

"Nope, no misery here. Just bad prophetic dreams."

"I don't suppose I should be relieved then, eh pet? What'd you see?"

Angel coughed. "I'm still here."

Both of them were smacked out of their private world and back to that annoying thing called reality at the irritated voice coming from beside the tree trunk.

"You ARE still here. Why don't you get gone then, Poof?"

Buffy smacked Spike's arm lightly. "He's obviously here for a reason."

"Other than bloody sucker punching a bloke at 4am in the bloody morning?"

She smiled a bit at Spike's overacted expression of disgust. "You're bleeding," she said softly, reaching up with her fingers to wipe some blood of off a small cut that had opened itself on his forehead. "C'mon inside, before you two are Crispy-Spike and Crispy-Angel… apparently, we need to talk."

Angel looked back and forth between soulless vampire and the slayer, quite confused with the situation in its entirety. Buffy, was inviting Spike into her house?! Spike was not trying to kill Buffy? It was obvious they'd become...well, they formed some type of...no that couldn't be it. Buffy would sooner kill Spike than let him anywhere near hers. Maybe they just had an agreement of some sort. He remembered vaguely, Buffy telling him Spike was present during the Glory situation… but he'd written it off as a minor annoyance because quite frankly, in comparison to a hell god, that was what the arrogant boy had been. Everything else Angel tried to wrap his brain around made no sense.

No sooner than had they stepped into the living room, Angel whipped on the two and put a hand to his head. "What the hell is going on here?!" he asked, trying not to sound as annoyed as he felt. Was it so hard to just call him and tell him what was going on every now and again?

"Shhh..." Buffy growled. "Dawn's sleeping."

"Sorry..." Angel responded, lowering his voice to a whisper. "But, I mean, you gotta understand my confusion here..."

Spike snorted. "Course we understand it. You always were the walkin' wall of confusion, eh Grandpapa? I betcha my tree out there has got more brains than you. I know it has more bark, anyway..."

Angel growled low in his throat. "Shut up, Spike." He spat the younger vampire's name out like it was poisonous.

"Spike, please... No giant pissing contests this time," Buffy pleaded, eying her friend warily.

He turned his gaze to her and... bloody hell... he relaxed his stance, doing exactly as she asked, because he still hadn't found a way of saying no to her and not feeling like a complete wanker afterwards. He was a bloody poof if there was ever one. Hell, bigger than cave man Angelus here. He may as well bow down and kiss her feet next. *Which...* he eyed her cute lil slayer feet...*wasn't a bad idea...*

Buffy watched him staring at her intently and she flushed, thinking of her more pleasant dream of tonight. *Dreams... oh...right...* she thought, pushing herself back on track.

"Angel..." She paused, trying to get her mind off of memories involving a blindfold and lots of kissage. "Why are you here?"

"Wait a minute..." Angel put a hand up to stop her, because quite frankly, he still had no clue what was going on here. He noticed the intensity between the two of them, sure, that was hard to miss. Buffy was flushed, and he could hear her heart pounding in her chest. But he wanted to know WHY this intensity existed, in the first place. Had he accidentally stepped into another one of those damned alternate universes? "I still wanna know what HE'S doing here," Angel poked Spike in the chest.

Buffy glared at him now, smacking his hand away from his grand-childe's. "Play nice. Spike's a good puppy now."

Spike grinned that defiant, cocky ass son of a bitch smirk of his. "That's right mate, I've gone softer'n a marshmallow in cocoa."

Angel raised his brows, fighting off the sudden fit of hysterical giggles ready to overtake him. One escaped his throat anyway, and at the mere sound of it, he nearly burst into outright laughter. "Spike, good? What are you talking about?" He laughed. "You're not serious are you? Cuz if you are… "

"And I would let him into my house because of a joke?" Buffy crossed her arms, staring at Angel like he'd finally gone of the deep end.

Spike growled at his sire's antics. "Hard to believe or not, Soul Train, but I don't need no stinkin' soul to wear a White Hat. I'm a good Slayer's pet sidekick." He raised his brows in defiance. "I've switched teams."

Angel looked filled with disbelief. His eyes searched Buffy's. "And you really believe him?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Buffy asked, feeling angered at Angel's disbelief. Did no one trust her judgment?! "I told you when I called that Spike helped me take down Glory."

"Yeah, but Buffy you never explained that he was still here..." Angel added. "Or that he's supposedly switched teams. I thought he was doing it for some kinda reward, not out of the not-there kindness of his heart!" the elder vampire explained, looking into his ex-lover's eyes. Suddenly, he was afraid of the answers he might get.

"See, short story version, grand-poof...is... I got this pretty lil chip from the government, made me work for me bread'n blood, changed teams, been fightin' the good fight. As of late, went'n got myself a good ol' brain zappin' heart startin' electrocution the other night. Presto, no more chip to keep back good ol' Spike." He wrapped his arm around Buffy. "Thing is, I still like me white hat. Now, 'm all poofter like, taking after your footprints, and the sort Poo-ba. Except I'm doin' a better job of it. Even called a FRIEND to Xander. Scarier than you ever thought I could be, eh Cow Eyes?"

Angel felt a furious jealous rage course through his insides at seeing Spike's arm around Buffy. He was gawking at them. Buffy chuckled at the fish out of water impression Angel was doing and eased herself gently out of Spike's arm. "He's good Angel. If you don't trust him, trust me. Spike's a friend."

"A friend?" Angel questioned, skeptical.

They all knew there was more to the question.

Buffy burned under the men's gazes. "Uh… friends. I said friends, did I not?" She fidgeted. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Cordy had a vision." Angel answered. He was satisfied with their talk yet, but he knew it would have to do for now. Dawn was in danger.

"Oh no..." Buffy sat on the couch. "First my slayer dream... then Spike sensing it, and now Cordy..." She groaned. "If it's another hell god, I'm leaving the planet permanently."

Spike sat next to her, a worried look on his face. "Pet..."

"To the moon...no more afterlife stuff for me... no way..." Buffy assured him.

Angel felt sick at their closeness. They looked so comfortable with each other, and quite frankly, it was wrong. On soo many levels. He sat down gingerly on a chair, away from any windows facing the rising sun. "We rushed out as soon as we could after the vision. Tell me about your dreams..." he asked gently, needing to keep focused on the job at hand before he turned around and ripped Spike apart for just being here.

"Dream! Not dreams! Singular! Dream! There was only one dream tonight!!" Buffy assured him hastily, blushing slightly.

Spike eyed her with care. "Everything all right there, luv?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, momma vamp." She paused to shake her head, breaking eye contact with him. When he looked at her like that, she felt as if he could see right through her. "Anyway...about my dream...the prophecy type thing..." Her eyes darted to Spike, then she rested them on Angel. She explained the dream in detail especially the screams she heard at the end being Dawn's.

Angel frowned, the worried expression on his face pulling it downward in great lengths. "Cordy's vision was about Dawn. She said she saw something touching her, draining the energy from her..."

"That's how it felt in my dream..." Buffy frowned, fear working its way to her gut at the implications.

Spike growled low in his throat and snorted. "No one's touching the Nibblet. This time 'll be damn sure no one dies. Not this time..."

Angel listened to Spike's burst of arrogant bravado, still having a hard time grasping the fact that for once, Spike wanted to help, not to hurt. "We'll all protect Dawn," Angel offered, looking to Buffy.

Spike snarled. Dawn was his to protect, and so was Buffy. These were his girls, damn it... Peaches gave up the right to them when he hightailed it out of Sunnydale like the coward he was.

"What would want Dawn though? Why?" Buffy frowned, ignoring Spike's growls. "Who would need that much energy?"

"I don't know. There was bright light, Cordy said... like in your dream..." Angel offered.

"Well that just narrows it down right nice, Gramps. Right then, well done! A big ball of shiny light wants my Bite Size! Good show detective Holmes!" Spike barked at Angel in irritation, the sarcasm rolling off of him in waves.

"Spike..." Buffy chided gently. "It won't help Dawn any if you two can't get along..."

"Bloody hell Slayer," Spike rumbled. "This is Nibblet we're talking about! We need to figure this out!"

"I know! I'm worried too, but all this fighting and strutting isn't helping!" Buffy's voice held a pleading note to it. "Please..." she pushed him, her voice now filled with a weariness he hadn't noticed earlier.

"In Cordy's vision there was a bright light. We should work from there..." Angel started to suggest, but was interrupted.

"Hey!" Cordelia's voice entered the room. "Didn't anyone tell you its not nice to talk about people when they're not around..." she smiled sleepily in greeting, stepping through the front door and closing it behind her. "So we all decided for a 4 AM reunion and… Holy!!!!" Angel's link to the PTB's stumbled back at seeing Spike.

"Buffy!! That's Spike!"

Buffy groaned and dropped her forehead on Spike's shoulder wearily. There was no way Dawn was going to get any sleep through all this racket. "Cordy!! Quiet!"

"But…but..."

"Hey, cheerleader..." Spike waved, putting on his most evil smile. Cordelia nearly fainted. "You look smashing as ever, pet."

Delia ignored him. "What's he doing here?"

"We really need to call LA more often, cutie," Spike muttered gently to Buffy, her head still against his shoulder. He enjoyed both the feeling of that, and the one from Cordelia's complete and utter shock.

"Tell me 'bout it," Buffy mumbled in response, her mind in over drive.

Footsteps padded down the stairs, causing everyone to look up.

Spike looked up to see Dawn's sleepy face. "Nibblet!"

She smiled weakly. "Spike..." she paused, noticing more people in her living room. "Cordelia... Angel..." She reached the bottom of the stairs. "What are you all doing here? At sunrise?" she grumbled. "And waking me up 2 hours before I have to be up! I have a test tomorrow, you know!"

Buffy wished that tests were all Dawn would ever need to worry about. She sighed. That was all Dawn did need to worry about. It was her job to worry about protecting her sister. "Nothing, Dawnie. Angel decided to come say Hi. Go back to sleep..."

Angel gave her one of his infamous, stern, disapproving looks. "Buffy..."

"You heard big sis!" Spike interrupted Angel. There was no way he was telling his Little Bit that she was in danger. Not yet. And especially when she had school to worry about. "Off to bed, Platelet."

"I wanna know what's going on..." Dawn whined, trying to con her protector with a fierce pout.

Spike got up. "It's really nothing, Bit... Go get some more rest. Don't want you to forget our lessons for the test cuz the Poofter and company wouldn't let you sleep," Spike winked.

She yawned, relenting. "Okay...okay…but you're dishing tomorrow." She reached out sleepily and hugged Spike. "Night."

Spike smiled and embraced his girl gently. She was too damn cute to play tough guy with when she was all sleepy like that.

Dawn eyed him, realizing that he'd let go of the bad ass image long enough to give it to her good. "Going soft on me?"

"Regular poofter I am," he responded with a bittersweet smirk, whispering just so she could hear him.

"Goodnight," Buffy smiled.

"Night everyone," Dawn called back over her shoulder, footsteps heavy with sleep as she made her way back upstairs.

Angel couldn't believe what he'd just seen. And he knew he'd seen it, William the Bloody...hugging...a child... and enjoying it, but he couldn't seem to cram the concept into his already overworked brain. Just what the hell... His head threatened to explode under the impact of all this new information that it wasn't ready to accept. He shook it off dazedly, rationalizing that there were other matters at hand of greater importance, for now.

Once Dawn had returned safely to bed, Angel spoke up again. "I think we should tell her she's in danger."

"Real smart idea, Angelus. Are you always this brilliant? Right...you are... with the whole lot of trouble you got me and Dru in back in the old country, guess I should have remembered. You were a bloody idiot then, and you are now..." He paused before continuing his assault by doing his impression of Angel. "Let's see, I'm Angelus, the great big cotton poof ball. I have an idea! Why don't we go get a 15 year old girl outta her nice warm bed and scare the bloody hell outta her hours before she has to take a big exam?!" Spike scoffed, angry. Only when he received a flagrant look from Buffy did he rolled his eyes and stop. "Bloody hell..." he mumbled, feeling more whipped now than he had in months.

"The only danger Dawn needs to worry about is passing her test," Buffy agreed with Spike in a more politically correct manner, eyes still on Spike, as if she was reassuring him of his fears. He held her gaze for a moment, and then gave an almost imperceptible nod of his head, communicating to her that he would stand behind whatever decision she made. That decided, the Slayer turned calmer, if not bone tired eyes to Angel.

"Once we figure out what's going on, we'll tell her."

"Okay... is no one else shocked and amazed at Daddy Spike here?" Cordy stared at the spot where Dawn and Spike hugged. "Like...hello??" She raised her hands and waved them slightly, to emphasize the point.

"Cordy, Spike is of the good now. That's all you need to know," Buffy rubbed her forehead. She was so tired, but something told her, she'd get no rest tonight. Today...

"Right then," Spike broke the silence that had built, seeing Buffy on the verge of falling asleep right then and there. "What say we meet at the magic shop in a few hours? Maybe Giles knows what's after Dawn, and we can figure out how to hack it into little pieces with our great big weapons."

"Good idea," Cordy agreed, as tired as the other mortal in the room. "C'mon, Angel... we'll drive to a hotel fast. We may make it before sun up and that way, I won't have to vacuum you out of your seat."

"Here's hoping for no vacancies then," Spike snorted.

"And just how are YOU getting home before sunrise Spike?" Angel snapped, irritated to the edge by Spike's garish remarks.

Spike slunk back onto the couch next to Buffy. "I'll just stay with my FRIEND, the Slayer til then." He casually rested an arm around Buffy's shoulders and smirked.

Buffy groaned, leaning on him. "Stop it you two." She couldn't stand the remarks anymore and had tried to sound annoyed, but the yawn that punctuated her mid sentence did little to aid her. She knew the best way to keep Spike silent, was to give him what he wanted. Sad to say… it was her attention. But as long as it would just get quiet, and the possible threat of her vampires throttling each other would go away, everything would be of the good.

"Anything you say, luv," Spike patted her arm, proving her theory right.

Angel was completely fed up at the sight of them like that. There was nothing more he wanted in the whole wide world right now than to wipe that smug look of William's face with a sledgehammer. Turning away from them, he realized that he and Buffy needed to talk, alone, sometime. But now was not that time. He stood up and gestured Cordy ahead of him. "We'll see you all later. The whole crew is with us."

"Even Fred," Cordelia added, upbeat.

"Fred?" Buffy looked up.

"Well, we really do need to keep in touch more," Cordelia stated, shaking her head as she left the Summer's house.

"Bye, Buffy..." Angel forced a smile.

She smiled, eyes half open. "Bye, Angel."

"Later, Granddaddy..." Spike waved.

Then the guests were gone, the door was shut, and there was silence.

Spike expected Buffy to jump off his shoulder, break his nose, and push him out the door. "Guess I should make a run for it, then, eh pet? If I sprint, I can make it back to the crypt before morning fries me."

"Stay." Buffy said it before she had a chance to think it over. "It's too late…er…early for you to make it back," she muttered tiredly. It would be okay.

Spike's undead heart did a little leap and perhaps, a few cartwheels in his chest. "Really?"

She nodded, beginning to fall asleep again. "Watch Dawn..."

He kissed her forehead. "Till the end of the world..."

"And me..." she drifted off, head resting comfortably on his shoulder.

He gently rested her head against his chest and grabbed a nearby blanket, covering her. He sat back, the slayer in his arms. He wondered if he was dreaming.

TBC...