Chapter Eight: Bloody Awful Poet Society

Please read the Author's Note at the bottom of the chapter. ('specially if you're a BAPS member. It's a tribute, I swear!!)

Enjoy!!

Epiphany



***

Present Day

The tea kettle began to whistle as the water it held reached its boiling temperature. Buffy sat down at the table while Spike prepared the hot cocoa. He laughed internally at the flustered woman sitting at the table behind him. He began to add the milk and marshmallows. He knew he had struck a nerve, and before two weeks ago, he would probably have continued to needle, just to see the fire flash behind her eyes before she belted him one. But as he told her on that fateful morning, he knew where she lived now, and she no longer had that power. She fully expected him to continue his banter, and when he didn't, it sent her into a tailspin. When he did snipe back at her, it was usually with a sexual innuendo, which nearly caused a meltdown every time it happened. Buffy had simply turned around and sat down at the table without a word. Spike loved every second of it. About time she got a taste of what she'd been putting him through.

Spike brought the mugs over and set one down in front of Buffy. She looked down at and saw a puffy marshmallow face peering up at her. She looked at Spike, the question written all over her face. She wordlessly pointed to the mug.

"Dawn seems to like it that way. It's a habit. See?" he pointed to his own mug. "It looks more like a semi colon now, but it was a face when I started." He said as he slurped away the melted marshmallows.

"I had no idea you paid attention to things like that." Buffy said as she sipped at her own mug.

"Well, I'm a predator, right? I have to pay attention to my surroundings. Like you, for instance."

"Me? What?" Spike smiled at her puzzled expression.

Spike closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He could smell the marshmallows and chocolate very clearly. Milk, water, leftover pizza on the counter, dishwasher detergent.. something flowery and feminine, something dark and sexy. Something. Buffy. "You washed your hair with Pantene VO-5 this morning and used a separate conditioner, same brand. You used a peach scented foam when you shaved your legs in the shower. Ah, I can tell you're zestfully clean." He opened his eyes and winked at her. Buffy's face flushed.

Spike inhaled and shut his eyes again. "A little baby oil and a dab of vanilla body lotion and you got dressed. You changed your nail polish sometime this morning. You had a tuna sandwich for lunch. Need I go on?" he opened his eyes and smiled at Buffy's shocked expression.

"Are you stalking me again?" she asked.

"I can smell all those things when I concentrate. Have to admit, these past few months, I'd been smelling something different about you. Found out what it was two weeks ago." He said with an evil grin as he lifted the mug to his lips.

Buffy closed her mouth and stared at him. "I think I know why I've been having headaches these past two weeks." She said as she glared at him.

"Sexual tension?" he asked innocently as he stood up. He walked over to the sink and deposited the used mug in the soapy dish basin.

"Regular tension. Argument tension. I can't even get through one conversation without having some kind of argument with you. No one else does that to me, and darn it - no one else does that to you, either. Not anymore." She stood up and walked over to where Spike leaned against the sink. She stood before him, left hand on her hip, right hand poised to deck him one. "Why don't you and Xander fight like that anymore?" she asked.

"We became secret lovers over the summer." Spike stated. At Buffy's horrified expression, he laughed. "Oh, come on. What? You didn't think that was funny?"

"No, not really." She said as she punched him in the nose.

"Ow!" Spike held his nose in his hands and straightened up. "All right, guess I deserved that one." He said as he carefully inspected his nose with his fingers. He dropped his hands and looked at her. "I guess you could say that Xander and I came to an understanding this summer." He said as he pushed away from the sink. Buffy quickly scrambled back to keep herself from coming into contact. "Let's go sit in the living room and I'll fill you in."

***

July 31, 2001

"Happy Birthday, Harry Potter" Dawn read the sign in the Magic Shop as she and Spike entered. "All pewter cauldrons half price today only." She turned and looked at Anya. "Neat idea!"

"Well, Harry Potter is a huge name in the demon world." Anya told her as she dusted the main counter.

Dawn's face dropped. "What?"

"Oh, he's no longer alive, I mean. that stuff took place centuries ago. I was asked to curse one of the Dark Arts teachers - Hogwarts never could manage to keep one longer than a year, you know." She said airily as she completed her dusting task.

"You're making that up." Dawn accused. "I mean - it's a kid's book. Isn't it?" she asked. She whirled around and looked at Spike. "Isn't it?"

Spike shrugged his shoulders and wandered back to the training room. He could hear Giles putting the Buffybot through her paces. He wasn't exactly interested in watching, but he could hear Xander in the room behind Anya. He didn't feel like defending his right to be there tonight, so he made a quick exit until the meeting began. Xander passed through the door as Spike expected, his nose buried in a magazine. He never noticed the vampire.

"Well, the books that have been widely published and over commercialized, yes, those are children's books, but the original text is a bit more - "

"Fluffy?" Dawn asked hopefully.

"Bloody." Anya finished.

"What's bloody?" Xander asked as he perused a magazine.

"The real history of Harry Potter." Anya said as she opened the cash register just to make sure the money was still there. She had been noticing that small things had been disappearing from the shop lately.

Xander dropped the magazine. "What do you mean real history? Those are kids books. Aren't they?" he looked at Dawn desperately. "Aren't they?" he repeated.

"Sure they are, sweetie." Anya patted Xander reassuringly on the arm and walked away.

Dawn and Xander exchanged a look as they sat down around the customary Scooby table. Usually, Dawn was absent from these meetings, but tonight they had a special agenda that involved her. Xander eyed Dawn warily, hoping she would be up for the next chapter of her life.

Spike watched from the doorjamb as the Buffybot beat up a hanging heavybag. She was strong, no doubt, but he could see every move she was about to make. Probably because she was practicing the same combination over and over. Each move precise and accurate. Robotic. Spike scowled. No fire.

"She's getting rather good." Giles said as he approached him from the opposite side of the room. "No creativity, granted, but once she learns a move, she knows it."

Spike nodded. "We gonna leave her here while we get the meeting rolling?" he asked.

"No, she needs more human interaction. With all of us. See how we work when we're not on patrol, things like that." Giles argued politely.

"Dawn's here." Spike reminded him.

"Yes, yes I know. She seems to be handling being around the robot all right. Willow was even thinking of moving her into Buffy's old bedroom in a few nights - it would make recharging her a lot easier if she and Willow were under the same roof." Giles turned to Spike. "Willow was going to run it by Dawn tonight and see what she says. That was the point of the meeting tonight. What do you think?"

Spike stared at the former librarian. "Are you asking me my opinion?" he questioned.

Giles blanched. "Why, yes, I guess I am. Good heavens." He muttered, realization dawning on his face.

Spike made a face. "Didn't mean to rock your world, but if you're still interested, in my opinion, I think it would be an incredibly bad idea to have the robot in the same house as Dawn."

"Really?" Giles was surprised.

"Dawn is dealing, but it's still hard for her to accept the robot. I think it would be best to keep the contact to a few meetings for the next couple of months, and then gradually bring her into more everyday things. She hasn't finished grieving for Buffy yet. None of us have." Spike said quietly.

"I understand your point, but we don't have a few months. Dawn is going back to school in five weeks. The robot will be expected to attend a parent teacher conference in the beginning of October, and with the school being aware of Joyce's passing, they may ask Buffy to meet with Dawn's school counselors to appraise them of Dawn's progress over the summer in dealing with it. We have to start acclimating Dawn and Buffybot now so they won't arouse suspicion." Giles finished.

Spike reluctantly nodded. It was the last thing Dawn would want, but she really had no choice.

"Buffybot," Giles called out. The robot stopped mid punch and turned to face Giles.

"Yes, Giles?" she inquired politely, ever present grin at the ready.

"We're preparing for the meeting now - the one I told you about?" Giles waited for the bot to approach. "This is mainly for listening and learning, but if you have questions, feel free to ask."

"Oh! I have a question. Knock-knock?" Buffybot said excitedly. Giles and Spike sighed together as they headed to the meeting in the main sales floor of the Magic Box. Willow and Tara were just sitting down with Xander and Dawn. Anya was locking the front door and putting out the closed sign.

"Who invited the Ungrateful Dead?" Xander complained when he spied Spike.

"Least I have a job title. Vampire. What are you? Anya's bit-" he caught himself. "bingo?" he finished.

"You're supposed to say, 'who's there', Puppy." Buffybot scolded Spike as she walked by him to sit next to Willow. Willow pulled out an adapter to interface the bot with her laptop.

"Willow!" Spike whined.

"I'm working on it!" she said as she plugged the bot in. "I have new research to upload to her memory banks."

"More vampire stuff?" Anya asked. "I mean, doesn't she know it all by now?"

"Not vampire stuff. Domestic stuff. Dawn stuff." Willow looked up at the quiet brunette. "She has to get ready, Dawn. It's time."

"Time for what?" Dawn asked quietly. Willow exchanged a glance with Giles. "We need to give the Buffybot a normal routine. Sleeping. Grooming. Eating, except she can't eat. We all saw what happened when that robot from A.I ate the spinach." She laughed.

"God, don't bring that movie up. I had a hard enough time trying to forget it. Biggest waste of three hours of my life."

"That's what Anya said last week." Spike said innocently. Xander had his mouth open to reply when Anya jumped in.

"I was talking about that customer service seminar!" she said hotly. "I'll thank you not to twist my words around, Puppy."

"Puppy!" Buffybot giggled, looking at Spike.

Spike cocked his head and glared at Willow. "Your Jedi Mind tricks won't work on me, Spike. I'm working as fast as I can." She said without looking up.

Giles approached the table. "Well, this meeting is starting off just splendidly. Xander, if you and Spike can have a verbal cease fire for a moment, we might be able to accomplish something. There's a reason why we're meeting." Seeing the stricken look on their faces, Giles was struck by inspiration. "Apologize."

"What?"

"Bloody hell." They answered simultaneously. Giles gave them his best Ripper glare.

"Sorry," Xander muttered.

"And you," Spike agreed.

Giles straightened up and adjusted his glasses. "Better."

"As I was saying before we got off track-" Willow started.

"That was your fault. You mentioned the part about the robot eating spinach." Anya said helpfully.

Willow held her breath for a moment and then continued. "We need to start incorporating Buffybot into our everyday lives." She looked at Dawn. "I think we should bring her home and have her live with us."

Dawn visibly paled. She looked over at Spike. He gave her a slight, tight lipped nod. "Already?" she whispered. She steeled herself up. "Okay, Willow. If you think that's best." She said quietly.

"We know it's been difficult, Dawn, but I promise you, it'll get better once we're in a routine. No surprises." Tara spoke up.

"She sleeps, she learns a few domestic chores, she works at the Magic Shop when you're at school and she slays at night. That's what we'll start with. We can get into the interaction between you two whenever you're ready. We just want you used to having her around." Willow explained.

Dawn stood up and pushed herself away from the table. "May I go home now?" she asked.

Xander stood up as well. "I'll walk home with you, Dawn. I think Tara and Willow are going to be busy here for a while." He offered.

Dawn gave him a grateful smile. She headed for the door, pausing to look back over her shoulder at Spike before she and Xander left.

***

Present Day

"So that night, Xander was on Dawn duty. Willow and the others decided to bring the bot home that night. I left soon after the decision was made and headed home." Spike looked at Buffy who was seated on the reclining chair, the furthest seat from his position on the couch.

"That must have been rough on her," Buffy commented. "But I don't hear any Spike bondage-" Buffy's expression changed as she realized her faux pas. "bonding. BONDING. Spike and Xander bonding." She corrected herself quickly.

Spike chose to ignore the comment, but he lifted one brow and offered her a rakish gaze. Buffy huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Dunno how she did it, but the bit snuck out on Xander. He figured it out eventually and worked out where she had gone." Spike told her.

"To your crypt." Buffy finished. "That must have been a fun confrontation."

***

August 1, 2001. 12:35am.

Spike absently flipped through the channels. There was never anything on this late on a Wednesday night. He grew tired of the Tonight Show reruns. Growling in frustration, he snapped off the TV. It was still a good five hours to sunrise. He grabbed his jacket and climbed up the ladder which led to the upper chamber of his crypt. A few drinks at Willy's would keep him occupied for a while. Maybe a quick hand of kitten poker.

A noise made him stop mid stride. Something was out of place. He listened carefully. A heartbeat filled the room, and the scent of fresh daisies - Dawn's scent.

"Hallo, bit." Spike called out to the darkness. He saw Dawn emerge from her seat on the couch in the darkened room.

"Couldn't sleep." She said quietly. "I must have been really quiet, you didn't even hear me open the door. I've been here fifteen minutes already. You must be getting old." She joked.

"Had the telly on." Spike told her. "Does anyone know you're here?" he asked.

"I snuck out on Xander. Climbed out through Buffy's window." She told him as she sat down again. Spike walked over to the wall and lit a few candles. Dawn's small pixie face was drawn tight with tension. The shadows the candlelight cast made her face seem more withdrawn than usual.

"I didn't know they were going to do that." Spike said, taking a seat across from her.

"I know, and I'm kinda glad that I didn't know ahead of time. Would have just made me think about it more." She sat back against the couch and pulled her legs up underneath her. "I miss her Spike. I miss her so much, still. Having the robot there isn't going to help."

"I know, pet. But that's part of growing up, you know. Doing things you don't necessarily want to do, but knowing you have to do them."

"Like homework." She said miserably. "It's just going to be so tough. Everyone at school knows my mom died, and they'll ask how Buffy and I are doing, and I have to tell them we're doing fine when the truth of the matter is that Buffy died, too and I'm all alone."

"You're not alone, Bit." Spike said gently. "We're your family, all of us. Giles is our father, Tara is our mother, Willow and Anya are our sisters and Xander is our brother."

Dawn looked at Spike. "You two sure don't act like brothers," she commented.

Spike smiled and reached for a cigarette. He normally didn't smoke in front of her, but she left the door open to his crypt. He could feel a cool summer breeze circulating the air around him. "That's where you're wrong." He said as he lit his cigarette. "I grew up with a younger brother. God, what a nightmare that was." Spike laughed. "Always hanging around, getting in the way. Tagging along. Arguing with me. Xander is exactly like him. We fight exactly the same way, minus the death threats."

Dawn's eyes widened. "I didn't know you had a younger brother. What was his name?" she asked.

"Alexander, believe it or not."

"I don't believe it." Xander's voice floated out. He had been standing by the entrance to the crypt, unnoticed.

"I thought I'd find you here, Dawn." He said as he walked in. "It took me a while to find the place, I haven't been here in a while." He looked around. The candles cast a gloomy glow around the room. "Cozy," he commented.

"I thought we agreed on knocking before entering." Spike said mildly as Xander sat down next to Dawn.

"The door was open, and Dawn is supposed to be my responsibility tonight. You keep this up and they're going to assign a babysitter for both of us." Xander said to Dawn.

"Sorry, I just had to get away. I didn't mean to worry you." Dawn said tiredly.

"I knew you were coming here, so I wasn't as panicked as I normally would be. Plus, you no longer have a hell god out for your blood, so that's an added bonus."

Spike looked at Xander sharply. Was that a compliment he heard?

"Things with the Buffybot, I just couldn't deal," Dawn yawned. She snuggled closer to Xander and closed her eyes.

"I know." Xander said softly. "I didn't know until just now how brave you were being. I overheard some of what you and Spike were saying." He looked down at Dawn and saw that she had fallen asleep.

Xander looked up at Spike. "What is it about you that draws the Summers women?" he wondered absently. "First Joyce, then Buffy, now Dawn."

"Actually, it was Joyce, Dawn and then Buffy. Took her nibs a little while to come around." Spike said and took another puff on his cigarette. He reached behind him and picked up a bottle from the floor. He offered it to Xander. "Brandy."

"Gee, couldn't be the whole stalking and chaining her up incident, could it?" Xander asked as he accepted the bottle.

Spike laughed. "I like to think that's part of the charm."

Xander smiled and took a healthy swig of the brandy. It burned a fiery path down his throat and warmed him up from the inside. This was a side of Spike he had never encountered. It was creepy, but at the same time, it seemed appropriate. It was about time they lay down their weapons. "How long has Dawn been coming here?" he asked, passing the bottle back to Spike.

"Ever since the funeral, about once or twice a week." Spike took a drink.

"And you never told us?" Xander questioned.

"I was asked not to, and I'm a man of my word." At Xander's gaze he amended. "Well, nowadays I am at any rate." He returned the bottle back to Xander.

"You know what bugs me the most?" Xander looked up at Spike a few drinks later. "I can't remember the last conversation I had with her. I keep thinking and trying to remember, but I can't remember. I want to think that my last words to her were profound and significant, but something tells me they were more along the lines of 'I'll bring the beer nuts when we all get through this.' Do you remember the last thing you said?"

Spike took another swig of the bottle and clumsily passed it back to Xander's outstretched hand. He fumbled around for a cigarette, feeling quite drunk now. "We were at her house. I was standing at the threshold of the door because of the de-invite spell. Buffy invited me in and she went up the staircase. I called out to her, telling her I knew she would never love me, but she treated me like a man. I wanted to tell her that it meant more to me than anything, but I lost my nerve." Spike smiled at the memory. "I think she would have smiled at that, eventually."

Xander remained quiet for a moment. "You had a little brother named Alexander?" he asked. He set the bottle down unsteadily and gazed through drunken eyes at the vampire. Dawn was still asleep.

"Yeah, rotten little sod. He was two years younger than me, but by the time I was twelve and he was ten, he was a good three inches taller than me and outweighed me by two stones. He picked on me the way I picked on him when we were little kids." Spike looked up at Xander.

"He bullied you?" Xander laughed. "I would pay good money to have seen that."

"Oh, like you were king shit when you were twelve?" Spike slurred.

"No, but I didn't get beat up by ten year olds. I was too busy building forts and playing house with Willow. Besides, we ran a lot faster than the ten year olds on our block." Xander had no idea why he was telling Spike these things. Must be the alcohol.

"I was a lot different back then, and we're talking over a hundred years ago, mind you. Didn't have any fancy video games or telly to keep us busy. You went to school and then you came home and did chores. I passed my O levels and continued on. Alexander failed his when he was twelve and went to work."

Xander blinked. "You were a scholar?" he asked, completely flabbergasted.

"A poet, if you must know."

"Were you any good?" Xander inquired.

"Ever hear of William Wordsworth?" Spike asked. Xander's jaw dropped.

"Just kidding. No, I wasn't any good. Bloody Awful, in fact. But I do remain hopeful that one day, my writings will be found and a Bloody Awful Poet Society will be created in my honor." He took another drag off his cigarette.

"William the Bloody," Xander smiled drunkenly. "Hey! Hey I get it now!"

"Keep a lid on it. That secret dies with you." Spike stood up, swaying unsteadily. "Look, it's gone two am. Better get the Bit home. Willow and Tara have no doubt sent out the word that you two are missing."

"I left 'em a note on the kitchen table." Xander said as he tried to stand. He shifted Dawn over and she collapsed to the other side of the couch, still in deep sleep. Spike offered a hand to steady Xander as he stood up.

"You going to be able to make it there on your own?" Spike asked.

"No problem." Xander stretched and looked at Spike. "Guess this means we're friends?" he offered a hand to the vampire.

Spike stared at the offered hand a moment and then smiled. "Friends." He agreed.

***

Present Day

"You and Xander bonded over brandy?" Buffy said in amazement as she ran a hand through her hair.

"I seem to do a lot of that. First Anya, then Riley, Xander then you." Spike said easily as he finished telling her the events which led to he and Xander becoming friends.

Buffy sat up. "Anya and Riley?" she questioned.

"Those are stories for another time. They happened while you were alive." Spike looked at the clock on the wall. It was gone midnight. "Didn't realize the time," he said and stood up. "Your headache is better then?" he asked.

"Yes, thank you." Buffy said faintly. He was leaving? Now?

"Well, I'd better - " Spike reached for his jacket lying on the far end of the couch.

"Stay." Buffy said suddenly.

Spike stood up in surprise and stared at her. "Buffy -" he began.

"Spike. I've been stupid." She stood and faced him. "I've been pushing you away all this time thinking that my friends would never accept you, and now I found out that they already have." She shrugged her shoulders helplessly.

Spike gazed down at her face and remained silent.

"I've been pushing you away and using them as my excuse," she continued, looking down at her hands. "and using you as an outlet. The same way Dawn did."

"That's what I'm here for." Spike said simply.

"No, no it's not all you're here for." Buffy whispered. She ran her hands up his t-shirt and rested her palms flat against his chest. "Since I got back, you have been my friend and confidant, my enemy, and my lover." She looked up into his eyes. "and you never left me, not even when I left you. I understand better now, and I'm sorry." Tears began to form in her eyes again.

Spike's brow furrowed. "Sorry? For what, love?" he asked, stroking her hair.

"For being a total bingo to you." She smiled. "I'm sorry." She leaned up and met his lips with her own.

"Motherfunhouse," Spike murmured against her mouth as she pulled him down to the couch.

The End!!



Author's Note:

If any of you are familiar with BAPS, then you'll understand where the name "Bloody Awful Poet Society" comes into play. It's a wonderful website filled with a great community of people. My little homage to the home of "Action Spike Theater".

Also, I've been toying with the idea of adding an NC-17 ending. I've never written one before, but I had so much fun writing this, I'd be up for the challenge if there's any interest. Thanks so much for all the encouragement and constructive criticism!