Title: Truth

Author: Joy

Email: HREF="mailto:SleepingBeauty2@ziplip.com"SleepingBeauty2@ziplip.com

Willow stared out the window after Lorn and saw Buffy approaching. "Here she comes… What do we do?" Willow commented. Xander and Spike looked at each other for a second then looked to Willow.

"Spike, you go into Buffy's room and wait. Willow and Xander you head down toward the basement to make an escape to the Magic Box. She doesn't need to deal with you right now… but I know you'll want to listen. I'll face her first and try to get her to see reason. She will most likely go running to Spike next then back to the box. I don't know how this is going to play out but it won't be pretty. Buffy in Denial normally makes things go Boom," Dawn ordered. All scattered to their positions as Buffy's key turned in the lock.

Dawn stood confidently in the living room as Buffy approached. "Ya feeling better," Dawn ventured.

"No…" Buffy huffed and started toward the stairs.

Dawn met her at them and said, "Lorn is gone and we need to talk before you go hide in your room."

"I was not going to hide… I was going to take a relaxing bath."

"Fine… But first we talk," Dawn insisted.

"What about?" Buffy muttered.

"Don't play oblivious with me. That may work with the Scoobies but I'm your sister. I know how you work… Why did you run off?"

Buffy looked at Dawn Annoyed. "A demon waltzes into our house to tell you your future and I'm supposed to be all hunky dory about it."

"Oh but the dreams you've been having about killing the man with the purple eyes who is trying to lead me to my destiny… that I'm supposed to be happy about," Dawn snapped back.

Willow and Xander looked at each other, while Spike listened intently from upstairs. Buffy's eyes grew big. "How did you know about that?"

"I had the same dream. After you came to Spike's last night I got a personal visit from our stranger. I saw your dream and your reaction…. I saw all your dreams," Dawn stated calmly. "You weren't being straight with any of us especially me… You want so badly to live your teen years vicariously through me that you won't accept I wasn't bound for the ordinary either." Buffy sank down to the stairs. "You have to let me go Buffy," Dawn said in a whisper.

Buffy let out a short groan and stood. "No… I won't let you go."

She took off up the stairs where Spike was retreating into her room.

Dawn sighed and met Willow and Xander on the way out. "Maybe Spike will have more luck."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy flew into her room slamming the door not noticing a thick blanket had been placed over the shades. She didn't notice the Blonde in the corner as she thrashed about beginning to undress.

"Not that I don't love to see you naked but I thought I should mention I'm standing behind you," Spike said in her mid motion. Buffy spun around and attacked Spike's mouth. "Pet," Spike said pushing her away. "I'm not a punching bag or a blow up doll if you haven't noticed."

Her eyes were glassy with rage and lust. Buffy looked like a caged animal in heat. She breathed heavily and stormed into the Bathroom. Spike sighed and went after her. She slammed the door on his leg, which he promptly forgot as he grabbed her shoulder. Buffy spun to deck Spike only hitting air as he had side stepped her and was unbuttoning her jeans, before she noticed.

"Lets try this again pet. You're frustrated as hell and would like to use me as an outlet. That isn't going to happen. What is going to happen is we are both going to undress and get in the bath. I will, out of the goodness of my undead heart, wash you from top to bottom, hair included. I may even give you a backrub if you behave. But I will not be treated like a whore… Do you understand?" Spike stated firmly.

Buffy, with a sort nod, let out her breath in a long stream and let Spike undress her. She closed her eyes to her life and let Spike take care of her. She gave him the weight of her world for a few moments.

Spike hurriedly undressed himself and turned on the water while slowly undressing Buffy. His hands touch lightly her body. He set her on the toilet while he search for girlie bubble bath or bath oil. He lit one candle grabbed some bath salts and a mug and led Buffy into the bath.

Spike sat down first and offered his hand for Buffy to step in. She naturally went to sit opposite of him but Spike tugged her back to his chest. "You lay back here so I can reach you easier," Spike commented. Buffy for once was silent, going with the flow rather then causing trouble. When Dawn was making more sense then she was, the world was askew.

The bath salts fizzed around them as Spike massaged Buffy's shoulders gently. Buffy closed her eyes and put all her weight on Spike's chest. He took lavender smelling body wash and caressed her body with it, massaging her muscles as he went. Buffy sighed and moaned a little at the careful attention she was being given.

"Sit up," Spike whispered to the Slayer as she lazily did as she was told. He filled the cup with warm water and drenched her newly shortened hair. Spike placed a small amount of shampoo in his hand and began to run it over Buffy's head. He massaged her scalp in the most relaxing way that she naturally leaned back on Spike's chest again. Spike smirked slightly before saying, "Like this, pet?"

"You have forever to stop," Buffy muttered.

He kissed her cheek softly then said, "Up again so I can wash out the suds and add the stuff that makes your hair so soft."

Buffy lifted her head and felt the warm water running down her head and neck. After a few cups of water, the cool sensation of her conditioner being worked into her hair by cold fingers pervaded her senses. She relaxed against Spike's shoulder again while the conditioner set and nearly fell asleep.

Spike lifted his chest not to disturb the slayer and rinsed her hair thoroughly. She sighed against his chest. "Luv," Spike whispered. "I'm going to pick up and take you to your room. I'll dry your hair and let you sleep. You're exhausted."

Buffy nodded with a yawn. Denial takes a lot of ya, Spike thought. Buffy was being carried away, encompassed in a nice soft towel. She was laid down on her bed for a moment before Spike began to towel her off with loving soft strokes. Soon Buffy found herself propped up with Spike behind her. He was hand drying her hair and kissing her temples as he went. "Sleep well, luv," was the last thing Buffy remembered hearing as she drifted off to sleep wrapped in Spike's arms.

Buffy stood in the Bronze and drank in shadows from the catwalk above the dance floor. It could have been any Saturday night when she was fifteen. She saw herself dancing with Angel down below. Momentarily he morphed into the violet-eyed man and then returns to himself. Buffy scoured the crowd and saw Willow dancing with Oz, who also temporarily transformed. Further away she saw Xander and Cordelia in a lip lock. Before her eyes Xander transformed.

"What the hell?" she muttered.

"What did you think, pet?" Spike spoke from behind her, transforming back and forth between himself, the violet-eyed man, and the wolf. "Did you think you could hide from me? From them? They made you. They know your heart."

Buffy turned to run but stopped short seeing Dawn with the boy from her earlier dream. They were about to dance. "That's all we do, slayer, is dance," Spike whispered as he took Buffy into his arms. "I will always come for you."

The Scene faded from her eyes and she stood in blackness. The violet-eyed man appeared from smoke and stood facing her. "Who am I Buffy? Who am I really?" his voice was at first his own but then became laced with others. Buffy shook her head. "Is it so hard to believe I would come to you again?" he asked.

"Let me think," Buffy demanded. The voices were all wound into one. She couldn't tease them apart.

Dawn appeared in the blackness, her eyes and voice her own, "The voices are of love Buffy. You hear Angel, and Riley, and Spike." Buffy's eyes went wide as the boy from her dream appeared next to Dawn. She took his hand in faith. "I have a partner waiting for me… And I will find him. Yours is already with you and you reject him."

The violet-eyed man came and gathered Buffy in his arms for a dance. "You have hurt me before," Buffy whispered.

He smiled, "You chose of love a man you were never meant to. I tried to stop you…distract you… But you were so full of love."

"There were others," Buffy said as they continued to dance.

"I brought you Riley and you rejected him… never giving him your heart with loves abandon. So now I have given you the only one that fits you perfectly… the one you were always meant for. Can you accept that? Can you trust that?"

With those words the violet-eyed man disappeared from her arms and Spike was standing in his place. "Can you accept me, luv? Can you trust me?" Buffy leaned forward and kissed Spike sweetly and with pure love.

Buffy startled awake as Spike reassuringly stroked her arms to calm her down. "It's alright pet. The dream's over."

She squirmed a little putting some space between her and Spike. "If you said to me 'I will always come for you,' what would you mean?" Buffy asked blankly.

Spike quirked an eyebrow and said, "If we were in bed it would be a exhortation of your abilities…" he paused and she seemed completely unfazed by his comment. "Otherwise I would mean that if I should ever have to leave, I would always come back. Not even death could keep me from you," he said in a low whisper.

"You said that to me in my last dream… I understand now… It wasn't a demon after Dawn…or vampire… A boy… A love…will come for my sister…and everything in me will want to 'protect' her from the pain I have gone through," Buffy said and then turned toward Spike. "I cannot do that anymore then I can pretend that you and I aren't… whatever we are." Buffy turned away, not looking at Spike. "Dawn's destiny requires a partner… a love… for her to work with… It will be sooner then later. I can't and shouldn't stop it… I, it seems, have a partner already…that I've always been dancing with."

Spike could scarcely breathe as she said the words. He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently whispered, "I will always come for you. Always… I love you Buffy. One day you'll love me too… It doesn't have to be scary… You were so afraid you were headed down the wrong path with me. I guess the guys upstairs decided it was time to show you differently."

"Yeah," she sighed relaxing into Spike's arms. "How do we tell Xander?" she asked with a giggle.

"Don't have to… Now don't get mad, pet, but Lorn sort of spilled the beans to Willow, who had already figured out most of it. Dawn came in praising herself for how well she could keep a secret and how smart she was at figuring it out before everyone else. Apparently she's known for a while. She's got a mouth on her too," Spike said snuggling with a very mystified Buffy. "Xander came in and Willow tried to tell him but just ended up laughing. So Dawn spouted off leaving Xander ready to stake me but then Will reminded him no one harasses him about the prospect of Anya going back to her demony ways. It took him no time to put together that he had walked in on us while you were invisible. He claims he is scarred for life but has made no attempt to kill me so I think we're good."

"This all happened while I was punching the bag at the Magic Box?" Buffy asked.

"Yep," Spike said kissing Buffy's head. "It was quite a sight. You should have seen Dawn, ordering Xander to get over himself, fussing at both Will and Xander that they let you have some happiness with me, and then pulling out all the stops kicking them out and banishing me to your room while she talked to you."

"Guess Little sister is coming into her own."

"I think she's realizing she has your backbone and some authority with the group. She maybe the youngest but she also has a destiny to fulfill."

"What now?" Buffy asked quietly into the crook of Spike's neck.

"Well," he smirked, "We are both naked under here."

"We are, aren't we?" she smirked back.

Spike dropped the bravado and touched Buffy's cheek. "You could let me actually make love to you."

Buffy's face went soft as she looked into his deep blue eyes, "Nothing would make me happier." She pulled him down into a soft kiss and looked back up to his face. His body was over hers as they began caress each other. "I love you," she whispered quietly into his neck.

Spike pulled his head up to look into Buffy's eyes. It was there. She really did love him and she had admitted it. Tears dropped from his eyes onto her face. "I love you, too. You will never be alone again."

TBC