"But Buffy…"

"Dawn, no."

"Buffy…" Dawn continued to whine as Spike curled up next to her on the couch, looking up hopefully at the Slayer.

"Dawn, you can't take care of a dog." Buffy argued, crossing her arms over her chest. Xander was sitting in a chair behind her, staying out of the argument.

"Can too. I mean, I'm home a lot a-and I don't have to go over Janice's as much as usual. Plus no one else is ever here, he can keep me company."

"You don't need a dog to keep you company, people work much better for the job." Buffy countered. Spike sat up and whimpered, giving her what he could only guess was his best puppy eyes. Hey, he'd only been a dog for less than a day, he still wasn't sure what he was doing.

"Please, Buffy, he needs a home." Dawn begged as she hugged the dog.

K, Nibblet, Ole Spikey needs to breathe now…. Spike could almost feel his eyes bugging out as the girl hugged him. No wonder the girl doesn't have any pets….

"Dawn, don't do this. Some one else will adopt him from the shelter, I promise. He'll find a great home."

"But what if no one does? They'll put him to sleep. Please, Buffy?" It was Dawn's turn to give the Slayer puppy eyes.

Just say yes already. Spike thought as Dawn continued to hug him tightly. He made a mental note never to buy the girl a pet. Well, maybe a goldfish….

"Dawn…" Buffy began to protest again, but her arms dropped to the side. "Fine, but…"

"Oh, thank you!!" Dawn was off the couch in an instant, wrapping her arms tightly around Buffy. "I'll take care of him, I promise."

Spike wagged his tail and barked. Way to go, Bit.

"He's your responsibility, got it? You pay for the vet visits, you pay for the food, you take him for walks, you train him, and you get him fixed." Buffy ordered sternly. Dawn nodded happily in agreement.

Spike's ears fell. Bugger…

"I'll talk to Anya, you know, see about helping out in the shop after for money?" Dawn suggested. Spike noticed a pained look cross Xander's face at the mention of the ex-demon's name. He almost felt bad for the Whelp.

Almost.

"Here. Me and Xander are going to get some coffee. You can give it back when you get some cash." Buffy pulled a wad of spare bills from her pocket and handed them to her sister. Dawn nodded happily and made her way to the door. "And Dawn,"

"Yeah?" The teen asked, turning back to face her.

"You pay for everything. got it?"

"….yeah. Money." She waved the bills in the air and smiled. "Come on, boy." She patted her leg, motioning for Spike to follow. Spike turned to look at Buffy.

"Go on, you're her dog now." She said, smiling as she nodded towards Dawn.

And why does that make me nervous…. Spike sighed and hopped down from the couch, following obediently after Dawn. Buffy couldn't help but smile as she watched Dawn walk out the door with her new pet.

"So, how long do you give the poor creature?" Xander asked as he stood.

"Xander! She's not that irresponsible…" She protested. They both fell silent, thinking that phrase over. Dawn and responsibility….Buffy, pouted. "Four months, now let's go."

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"So, I guess you need a name, huh?" Dawn questioned her canine companion as she pushed the door of the pet shop open.

Already have one, Bit. Spike thought as he looked around curiously. For some reason a big bin of pork bones caught his attention and smelled really appetizing. Now that's just disgusting…He cringed, thinking about eating one of the things. Hopefully he'd find a way to be turned back before the whole dog food issue came up. Blood he could deal with, but he had a feeling that a big bowl of dog food wouldn't taste very good, even with his puppy tastebuds.

"Let's see, I guess we should get food first, huh?" Dawn grabbed a cart and started to push it down an aisle.

Bloody peachy…He sat at Dawn's feet as the girl looked over the various brands of dog food, contemplating which to get. She settled on a large red bag marked 'Puppy Chow' and threw it in the cart. The girl then turned to look at the bowls lining the shelves on the other side of the aisle as Spike squinted to read the bag's label. "Tender, meaty chunks made with real beef and chicken." I don't want to know what else it's made with…He thought sorrowfully. He snapped back to attention as Dawn threw two large metal bowls in on top of the food. "Come on, we'll get you some toys and a collar and stuff."

And stuff…He tailed along after the girl, watching patiently as threw various toys and treats into the cart. Bones, chew toys, ropes, balls. Hell, he felt bad for the girl. He didn't plan on staying a puppy forever, which meant she was wasting her money on all this stuff. Maybe he'd have to rethink that whole 'No pets for Dawn' policy. Maybe he'd get her a new puppy.

Yeah, maybe he'd get her a dog and then maybe he'd be over her house everyday when she wasn't there to make sure the thing got fed.

"How bout this one?" His eyes shot to Dawn as she help up a bright purple collar.

No bloody way…. His eyes went wide as he looked at the purple number. The bright purple number. I'm a guy, Nibblet, a guy!! He whimpered in protest, hoping she'd get the idea. Dawn found this funny.

"Oh, come on. It'll look cute." She said between giggles. Bending down, she snapped the collar around his neck. Spike didn't think the thing could stand out anymore against the white fur on his neck. Dawn stood up and smiled down at him. "See? It looks cute.."

I don't wanna look cute. Spike looked quickly at the rack of collars. Scrambling over, he grabbed a black one in his teeth and dropped it on the floor.

Dawn cringed. "Eww, I'm not getting you a black one."

Nibblet! Spike whimpered again as Dawn picked up the collar and placed it back on the rack. He let out a sharp yelp and grabbed it back down. I'm not wearing a purple collar.

"Bad dog." Dawn scolded, pointing a finger at him as she hung it once more. "Now let's go."

Spike was ready to give up and follow when something a bit further down the aisle caught his eye. He rushed down and grabbed it in his mouth. Dawn grinned and took the spiked black collar from his mouth.

"Oh, yes, we'll buy you this one and then we can name you Spike." She said sarcastically.

Good plan, now pick it back up and pay for it. He wagged his tail and barked.

"I'm pretty sure Spike would get mad if I named my dog after him." She said, patting the dog on the head.

I would if I wasn't your bloody dog! Now buy the sodding collar! Sitting down, he began to scratch at the one around his neck. Dawn rolled her eyes and bent down to take it off of him.

"There, you happy?" Spike wagged his tail as Dawn grabbed the spiked collar once more. "Buffy's going to kill me for this, you know…"

Course she will, pet, now name me Spike and let's go home. Spike thought impatiently as Dawn put the collar around his neck.

"There, can we leave now?" She asked, smiling as she stood. Spike barked in reply.

Get home, find out what the hell happened to him, and find out how to fix it. Yes, fix it before someone fixed him. Literally.

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A/N: I'm not gonna go into detail about Buffy and Xander's little coffee trip. Just imagine that it went something like what happened in the end of 'Seeing Red', only without the whole 'getting shot' thing.