Love's Truth

Spike silently drummed his fingers on the steering wheel to another rock song. He had turned the radio down after the slayer and her sister had fallen asleep. Dawn was sprawled out in the backseat snoring softly while Buffy lay in the passenger seat breathing quietly.

As Spike continued watching the road, he fumbled for his cigarettes. It had been quite a while since his last one.

He found them and lit one, placing it in his mouth. Before he could even inhale one precious bit of the intoxicating smoke, the slayer's arm shot out and took it.

"Hey!" Spike cried out in protest, suprisingly not bothering the sleeping teen.

"You've been alive over a hundred and twenty years, I don't think you want to die of lung cancer," Buffy explained.

"Well maybe I do!" Spike grabbed for the cigarette but Buffy was faster and tossed it out her window with a smug look on her face.

Spike mumbled something under his breath and fixed his eyes back on the road.

Buffy continued smiling, enjoying the calm before the storm.

***

"Ugh, I am so tired!" Cordy groaned as she walked into the kitchen scratching her back and yawning.

"Planning on breaking anymore windows today Cordelia?" Angel smiled over his cup of blood at her.

"Aw, bite me," Cordy mumbled, then, after seeing her mistake, she said, "Not literally."

Angel just nodded and watched as Wesley came in.

"Good-uh-morning," he said as he took off his jacket, staring at Cordelia in surprise.

"What are you looking at?" Cordy growled.

"It's just-well you're up unusually early this morning," he stuttered.

"Yeah, well, Princess Buffy is coming today and everything has to be perfect for her," Cordy said sarcastically.

"Oh. So she's agreed to come then?"

"Isn't that what I just said?" Cordy snapped.

"Not a morning person, is she?" Gunn finally spoke up from the corner.

"Why is everyone picking on me?! It's supposed to be "pick on Buffy day" today! Why me?!?!" Cordy promptly turned on her heel and stomped out the door.

"Well, that was certainly an awakening sight," Wesley broke the men's silence.

"Uh-huh," Angel continued staring at the door the ex-cheerleader had just walked through.

***

"Dawnie! Dawnie, wake up!" Buffy leaned over the backseat and shook her sister's shoulder. "We're almost there."

Her sister sat up and groggily wiped the sleep from her eyes. "Already?"

"Yes, already. You slept through the whole bloody thing," Spike put in.

"I can't say as much for you," Buffy said concernedly, turning her attention to Spike.

"I can take a nap later. Now do you want to stay at Peaches's or get a hotel?" Spike stifled a yawn.

"Get a hotel. I don't think either one of us would be very comfortable staying with Angel," Buffy looked back out her window.

"Yes! You guys have to get a really nice hotel so I can go swimming and-" Dawn stopped and added, "If you can afford it, I mean."

"Oh, we can afford it 'lil bit," Spike cut Buffy off before she could say anything. Spike lowered his voice and whispered in Buffy's ear, "I picked up a little cash. And besides, Dawn would really like it, and just think of what we could do," Spike gave her a suggestive smile.

"Hotel it is," Buffy said.

"Sweet," Dawn smiled and unbuckled her seatbelt as Spike pulled the car over to an expensive looking hotel. It had great glass sliding doors and doormen wearing green and gold suits with stupid looking hats. Spike did his best not to laugh at them as he and Buffy walked inside and asked about vacancies.

Dawn lingered near the doorway as she looked at the hotel in amazement. The ceiling rose up high and was painted with little angels flying and singing. Buffy followed her sister's gaze and stopped as she saw the angels painted on the ceiling. "Heaven," she sighed slightly, memories of where she had been and where Spike should have been in her mind.

"What's that luv?" Spike asked, hearing Buffy's pain filled sigh.

"What? Oh, uh, nothing," Buffy looked away from the ceiling and at Spike's slightly worried face.

"You sure pet?" Spike asked again as he studied her face and handed the hotel manager the money at the same time. While Buffy was staring at the beautifully painted image, Spike had managed to find the perfect suite for the three of them.

"Uh-huh," the slayer nodded and decided to not go back into her stupor so that she and Spike could give Dawn a good time.

"Okay then. Off to the rooms," Spike grabbed his duffel bag while Dawn and Buffy picked up theirs.

"Rooms? As in more than one?" Buffy asked as she followed Spike to the elevator.

"Yup. Got a master suite and a smaller one attached for the nibblet," Spike grinned at Dawn.

"I get my own room? Awesome!" Dawn jumped in the elevator.

"Yeah just behave or we'll take it away from you," Buffy warned her sister.

"We? What do you mean we? I-" Spike stopped when Buffy suddenly elbowed him in the stomach. "I mean, yeah, we'll take that privilege away from you right away missy," Spike said in his best protective parent mode.

"Shut-up Spike, you are such a dork." Dawn smiled and gave a small laugh.

Spike chuckled and the three of them quieted as the elevator doors stopped and two more people got in.

One of them, a boy about Dawn's age, walked to a corner of the elevator while the other, an older man of about 19 with a red hood pulled over his head, secluded himself in the remaining corner.

It was obvious that the two were not together, just having coincidentally gotten on at the same time.

Buffy lowered her voice as low as possible and nudged Spike. "Vampire."

"Which one?" Spike asked.

"Hood," she responded.

Spike nodded and looked over to the hooded man. He then noticed that Dawn was only a few feet away from the vamp and he could easily grab her. He wanted to pull Dawn over to his other side so that he could protect her, but Buffy made no move of what she was going to do yet. Spike knew that in that pretty blond head, a plan was forming, and when it was done, Buffy would tell him what he had to do.

But before the slayer could announce her plan, the vamp made his move. He grabbed for Dawn and at the same time changed into his game face and let his hood fall off.

Dawn screamed but the vamp was too slow and Spike yanked her away from its clutches. Spike shoved Dawn behind Buffy and took the hit that the vampire had just given him out of anger.

Spike's head whipped back but he recovered quickly. It seemed that the Powers hadn't taken all of Spike's vampire strength away, and he and the vamp began one-on-one combat.

Suddenly he got a good hit in and Spike went flying into the elevator wall, the wind knocked out of him.

Buffy took this moment to get a few of her own hits in, and began by kicking the vamp in the stomach.

He got back up and moved with great agility towards Buffy. He was old and experienced, Buffy noted from his stance.

Buffy quickly pushed Dawn and the boy out of the way as the vamp pulled another punch. She dodged it and the vamp angrily turned away from the slayer, sick of being teased, and grasped Dawn's arm.

He pulled Dawn out of the elevator as the doors opened and pulled his hood up. He ran down the hall with the slayer's sister in tow.

As Dawn began screaming for help, Spike and Buffy ran out of the elevator.

Suddenly Dawn's cries for help ceased and as Buffy and Spike rounded the corner the vamp had just turned, they were gone.

"Dawn!"