--Later that night--

"Hello?" The bells above the door of the Magic Box jingled as Dawn walked in. "Anya, you here?" The teen let the door swing shut as she walked in, narrowly avoiding squishing Spike as he followed after her.

Anya walked out of the back room smiling. "Hello. Welcome to the Magi…oh, it's you. I thought there was a paying consumer out here."

"Sorry, just me. Besides, I have no money to spend." Dawn replied with a shrug.

"As I have noticed." The blonde replied. Dawn's gaze fell to the floor as the subject of her little 'grabbing habit' came up.

Now that was a bit uncalled for. Spike shook his furry head as he sat next to Dawn's feet. If he could have, he would have defended the poor teen, but the fact that he was a dog prevented him from doing so. He sighed and looked around, studying the magick shop from a much lower perspective than he was used to.

"Well, um, I know I've worked off everything I owed you, but I was wondering, do you still need any help around here? I mean, you know, like after school and stuff?" Dawn asked sheepishly.

"You want a job." Anya stated bluntly.

"Well, yeah, see, I got a puppy and Buffy said th…"

"Yes." Anya cut in.

" ..at I had to….huh?" Dawn's brow furrowed as she looked up at Anya.

"I said yes, you may have a job. I could use the help, plus it's been pretty lonely around here lately." Well that was a bit easier than she had thought it would be.

"Yeah, this place isn't quite Scooby central anymore, is it." Dawn muttered softly. "If it makes you feel any better, it's not like they just relocated. I mean, well, no one really hangs out anymore. Everyone has their own lives, you know?"

"Yeah, I know…" They both fell silent for a few moments, staring at the floor. Spike was suddenly glad he wasn't himself, he wasn't sure he could face the ex-demon quite yet, at least not as himself. "What's his name?"

"Huh?" Dawn looked up curiously as Anya broke the silence. She was staring at Spike. "Oh, him." She shrugged. "He doesn't have one."

"You know, I knew this one demon who had a pet. It wasn't a dog, it was more of a slug with a furry tail, but anyway, his name was Spefton and…"

"Hey." Anya's rambling was cut off as Buffy walked in. She offered Anya a small smile and threw her bag on the table. As much as she fought it, she was angry at the girl for what she had done with Spike. As far as she was concerned, jealousy was a big no no when it came to Spike type things. The slayer was drawn from her thoughts as Spike bounced over to her, wagging his tail happily. He couldn't help it, the thing just seemed to have a mind of it's own: wag when you're happy and, well, sit there if you're not.

"Anya said I could have my job back." Dawn stated proudly.

"That's great." Buffy replied with a smile as she knelt down to pet the puppy. "Dawn, what it the dog wearing?" Her face scrunched up as she poked at the spikey collar.

"I didn't want that one either, he did." Dawn explained. The other girls looked at her like she was mad.

Good job, Bit. Make em think you're crazy. 'The doggy told me to murder the innocent people, really!' Spike thought sarcastically as he sat down next to Buffy, who was still kneeling on the floor.

"You should name him Spike." Anya spat. Buffy's eyes shot to her defensively, a little shocked.

"What?" She asked weakly as she stood and took a few steps toward her. Spike stayed next to her feet.

"Well, he likes you, obviously, and he's following you around just like Spike. 'A lost little puppy.'" She finished as she rolled her eyes.

Something clicked in Spike's head. Anya did this, she made him a bloody dog! Okay pet, fun's over, fix me now.

"We're not naming him Spike…" Buffy said quietly as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Anya shrugged and walked behind the counter to grab some paperwork. "It was just a suggestion. I doubt Spike would like it anyway." She looked up to find Buffy looking at her, a look of annoyance on her face. "..sorry." She added with a shrug.

Buffy shook her head. "…No, don't worry about it. W-we have to go anyways. See you later." Dawn was already waiting by the door. Buffy grabbed her bag and walked towards her sister, Spike on her heels. The canine looked back over his shoulder at Anya, who seemed to care less that he was there.

Okay, so maybe she didn't turn him into a dog…. Or maybe she didn't know it….

---------

"Dawnie, I'm leaving. You gonna be okay by yourself?!" Buffy called up the stairs. She heard a large thump from Dawn's room and Spike came racing down the stairs.

"I'll be fine!!" Dawn replied.

"K, just don't stay up too late, you have school in the morning." Buffy instructed as she turned to go out the door. Spike was seated in front of it, looking at her pitifully. "Sorry boy, you can't go. Buffy's got monsters to kill." The slayer picked the dog up and set him to the side. She was halfway out the door when she heard him whimpering. Turning, she found him on his hind legs, nudging gently at Spike's coat, which now hung from the coat rack.

Come on pet, put two and two together. Spike thought, hoping maybe she'd figure out it was him.

Buffy sighed and grabbed the coat. "Fine, I'll take it back to him, but you still have to stay here."

Okay, wrong idea…

She turned to leave again but he raced out ahead of her and sat on the path in front of her. She sighed. "Okay, you win." She turned back to the house and shouted through the door. "Dawn, you care if I take the dog?!"

Dawn appeared at the top of the stairs in her pj's. "What?"

"He wants to go for a walk." She explained, motioning to the puppy.

"I guess." Dawn answered with a shrug.

----------

"So, he tells me over and over he loves me and then what does he do? He goes and sleeps with my best's friends ex-fiance! I mean, sure, I told him to move on, but this wasn't even a day later!" Buffy rambled to the dog walking alongside her. She had a stake in one hand and Spike's jacket in the other.

Spike was beginning to wonder why the girls like to have conversations with creatures who had no choice but to listen and couldn't talk back. It was strange, really. Sure, he had conversations with his liquer bottles on occasion, but that was only when he was really drunk.

"…God, I don't even know why I care! Sure, we had sex a few times…well, a lot. But that was it, wasn't it? I mean, it's not like we were dating. We weren't even friends." She said, trying to reassure herself. "And then he…" She was cut off as a vampire jumped at her, catching her off guard in the midst of her rambling. It tackled her to the ground and threw her stake from her hand.

Spike was on the creature in a second, digging his sharp teeth into the flesh on his leg. The vamp roared in pain and forgot about the slayer as he turned to swing at the dog. Buffy used the opportunity to kick him off of her and stood, taking up a fighting stance.

Spike grinned mentally as the vampire stood and tried to grab at him. He ran between the creatures legs and took off down the street as Buffy connected her fists with it's jaw. She looked at Spike in surprise as he trotted back up to her, her stake in his mouth. Shrugging, she took it from him and impaled the vamp, sending his ashes floating in the wind.

She looked at the dog curiously. He just stood there, wagging his tail. "Well, um, good boy…I think…" She blinked a few times, shook her head and continued back through the cemetery.

Home sweet home. Spike thought as the slayer pushed the door to his crypt open.

"Spike?" She looked around for a moment before coming to the conclusion that he wasn't there. "Way to go, Spike, run from your problems…" She mumbled, tossing the jacket over the back of the couch.

I'm right here pet…. Spike thought solemnly.

"Oh, hey there!" Buffy and Spike both turned to find Clem standing in the doorway, smiling broadly. "I'm here to see Spike, you know, maybe watch some movies, have some snacks..."

Way to put it, Clem, now the Slayer's gonna think I'm shagging you too….

"Um, he's not here…." Buffy answered quickly as she made her way towards the door. He stepped to the side, allowing her through. She walked a few paces, but stopped, turning back to him. "You…you don't know where he is, do you?" She asked hopefully.

Clem shrugged. "I haven't seen him in a few nights. I stopped by last night and he wasn't here. From the looks of it no one's been here in a few days."

"He left?" Buffy asked softly.

"Left? Maybe. Why, did you guys get into another fight?" Clem asked a little too happily.

"Yeah..well, no. Sorta. I mean, its complicated." She shook her head and turned to leave again, but once again turned back to the demon. "He told you we were together?"

Uh-oh….

"Nah. Well, he did, but it was kind of obvious before that, just the way you two acted around each other. You know, aside from the beating the crap out of each other. Whenever you guys fought he wasn't much fun to hang around. He was always all mopey and teary."

"Teary?" she asked softly.

Great, now she's thinks I'm a sissy…Spike snorted and sat down.

"Sometimes. Other times he was just mad."

"Oh…" She muttered, looking to the ground.

"Don't feel too bad, he always pulled out of it. You two'll get through your problems, trust me. Plus, you just make the cutest little couple." He grinned.

Buffy couldn't help but smile a bit. "Clem, we're not…."

"Oh, I gotta go!" The demon exclaimed, catching a glance of a clock in Spike's crypt. "The new episode of Survivor's coming on in a few minutes. Hope you guys work it out." He patted her on the shoulder as he walked away, not wanting to miss his show.

"You don't know where he is?" She called after him, feeling a little bad. Or maybe she was just scared.

"Nope, but I'll let you know if I see him." Clem called over his shoulder. He gave her a small wave before disappearing from sight.

"Maybe we could name you Spike… I doubt he's gonna come back anyway." Buffy muttered. "Come on, let's go home…"

Spike panicked. She thought he left! Bugger…He let out a sharp yip and dashed back into his crypt. Leaping onto the couch, he crawled under his coat.

"Come on, let's go." Buffy ordered. She walked in and pulled the coat away from his head. "Stop it, now let's go." He was laying flat on the couch, the coat draped over his body, only his cute little puppy head visable. She sighed when he didn't budge. He was staring up at his with those big blue eyes of his.

His.

She cocked her head to the side and stared at him a bit more closely. His eyes….

"Oh. My. God. Spike?!" she shrieked. He let out a small yip and wagged his tail.

Good guess Slayer.

"There is no way that's you." She spat, shaking her head. He just sat on the arm of the couch, staring at her.

It is me, luv.

"There's no way…" she muttered again, shaking her head frantically. "I mean, you're a dog. You can't be Spike."

Can too…He hopped from the couch and ran over to the corner. He came back with a shirt in his mouth. Her shirt. A shirt she had left after they had….yeah.

Buffy's eyes widened and she snatched it from him. "No way. I mean, dog's can track stuff, this doesn't prove anything." She told herself. Spike barked sharply in protest. "Um…okay." She knelt down in front of the dog, feeling completely stupid. This was absolutely crazy. "One bark for yes, two for no, got it?"

Spike barked once.

"Erm, okay, is Spike's real name… Daniel?"

Two barks.

"Robert?"

Two barks.

"..William?"

One bark.

She stared at him for a moment. Maybe he was just a possessed demon puppy. I mean, he didn't necessarily have to be Spike, did he? Or maybe he wa just really smart.

"Um…..me and Spike, we had sex at my house…. You know, the first time."

Two barks.

"The movies?"

Two barks.

"An old building?"

One.

Her eyes lit up. He was the only person who knew that…. Yeah, pet, it's me… Spike thought, a bit relieved. Maybe finally someone could try and turn him back into himself. Sure, it had been fun hanging around her house without anyone yellin at him to leave, but the canine bit was getting old. Yes, now she could help change him back.

 "I'll kill you!!" She jumped at him, fire blazing in her eyes.

His ears fell flat. Bugger….