Chapter 5

Xander sputtered, "Oh no, did you get the gem of amara again!?"

Spike was enjoying this tremendously. He didn't reply, and kept smiling.

Willow watched him intently. She paid attention to every detail. The sun beamed down on his skin, which was not as pale as she remembered. There was a gleam of mischief in his eyes, that appeared to be playful. His duster was off, which was rather unusual. Then her brain registered it all. What was nagging at her.

"Xander, I think he's human," Willow pointed out.

"Always were the smart one, Red," Spike informed.

"Hey, guys," came a soft voice.

Everyone turned to see Buffy. She stood half inside, half out. She wore a pair of tight black pants and a white v-neck shirt. Her hair hung loose, still wet from the shower.

Xander stepped forward. He gestured to Spike. "Tell me you don't see what I do," he pleaded.

"Sorry, Xander, but I do," Buffy said.

" I thought you saw him turn to a pile of dust."

She nodded. "He was two nights ago."

A wave of curiosity swept over Willow. "How did this happen?"

"The powers that be sent me back. Except, they decided to throw in an extra surprise," Spike explained. "At first I didn't like the idea, but it's growing on me."

He looked over at Buffy. Her face was unreadable.

"Great," Xander said. "It was bad enough dealing with you at night. Now, who knows when I'll have to see you."

Spike crossed his arms. He glared at Xander. "That wasn't very nice, mate."

"Hey, I'm not your. . ."

He was cut off by Willow. "We have to research this."

A laugh came from Spike. "What else is there to know? The high ones brought me back here with a beating heart."

"This goes deeper than that. Like, do you have a soul? Do you still have strength? And most importantly, why did they choose you?"

"Maybe it was my charm," he stated.

Buffy shut the door. "We can test one of those." She went out into the yard. "Come here, Spike."

He obeyed, a little uncertain of what to expect. "What do you. . ."

The blow came. Buffy's fist flew to his nose.

He staggered backwards. His hand touched his nose. Good, no blood. It still damn well hurt. "Now, Slayer, what brought that on?"

Buffy was in a fighting stance. "Hit me, Spike."

His eyes widened. What the hell?

"Come on, good and hard," she went on.

He hesitated for a moment. Memories of pounding headaches flashed through his mind. But the chip was gone, right? It should be. There was only one way to find out. Spike punched Buffy back.

There was no pain. It was wonderful. He had felt the power in it.

They stared at each other. An understanding flowed between them. The two of them were true equals now. The same.

Spike circled Buffy. "Come on, Slayer, let's dance," he chirped.

The corners of Buffy's mouth lifted. She swung at him. This time he dodged it. His fist came at her, she blocked, twisting his arm. He shoved her away.

They moved with grace and passion. Buffy kicked him in the stomach. He recovered quickly. He tried to punch her, but she rolled out of the way.

He smirked. "Good one, luv," he commented.

Buffy charged at him. Her leg went out, tripping him. His body was thrown to the ground. She flung herself ontop of his middle, pinning him down.

Their gazes met. Spike mustered his energy and somehow managed to switch the positions. They both were panting, aroused by the fight. Spike took a chanced and lowered his face. Before he could make contact with her lips, she threw him off in a panic.

Buffy got to her feet. She smoothed out her hair and clothes. "Well, that demonstrates that Spike is no weakling."

Willow and Xander were speechless. They stared as she walked over to them.

Spike sat up, a little disoriented. He blinked a couple times.

"That was interesting," Xander told Buffy.

She remained silent.

Willow cleared her throat. "I'm going to the magic shop. Flip through some books, see if this ever happened before." She faced Xander. "Can you give me a lift?"

He nodded. "Yeah. After all, I did drive you here."

"Bye, Buffy," Willow said. She waved.

"Sure, see ya both later," Buffy called.

Willow and Xander glanced at Spike before getting into the car. He was just now standing up.

Willow leaned in close to Xander. "I think they both enjoyed that too much," she whispered.

"Yeah, and dead boy-jr . . .uh ex-dead boy-jr, was going to take advantage of the situation." There was hostility in his voice.

Willow went around to the passenger side. "Buffy doesn't seem too concerned about it, though. So, I guess we should ignore it."

Xander got into the driver's seat. "That's the problem! Buffy doesn't seem to care about it anymore!"

He put in his key and drove away.