AUTHOR'S NOTE: I love you all! Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! They really made my day. I've never gotten more than fifteen reviews before, so this is *very* nice! Ahem, back to the story…Okay, so you've all convinced me. I'm gonna go through with the original whole story I had planned out before. This means the story will actually have a *plot*, and not just be pure, mindless Spuffy fluff. Though that's fun, too! And, cross my heart, the romance is comin'. I just wanna drag it out a bit. It's no fun if they kiss in the first chapter! Well, yeah, it is…but I don't wanna, and it's my fic, so…Pppppffff *blows raspberry** Hehe…just kidding. We'll see some B/S loving soon enough. I promise! On with the story…







CHAPTER FOUR ~ Bloody Revenge





Buffy slid into the driver's seat and unintentionally closed the door behind her with a slam, causing Spike to jerk up in surprise. He had been turned facing his window, staring out into the daylight, and Buffy could tell his mind was in places that were not here. She wondered what he was thinking.



The Slayer put the car into reverse, backed out of the driveway, and pulled onto the street. They both drove in silence for a few moments, neither quite knowing what to say or how to express what they were feeling. Buffy kept her eyes on the road in front of her, still inexperienced when it came to the whole driving thing, and Spike tapped his fingers over each and every available surface. First they tip-tapped against the side of the door, then roamed up to the window, fingernails clicking upon the glass. Finally, when Spike began drumming on the dashboard in some beat from a punk classic, Buffy spoke.



"So, I take it you gave up smoking?"



Spike looked over to her, startled, and placed his hands back on his knees. "Wha'? How'd you know that?"



Buffy grinned and replied without looking at him, "Spike, I've known you for what, five years now? Whenever you get nervous, you light up. It's, like, a fact of life. So, you sitting here, pattering all over my car, tells me that you're nervous. You do that with your hands when you get nervous."



Spike gave her a semi-leer. "I do other things with my hands, too, luv. Even when I'm not nervous…"



Buffy smirked at his lame innuendo and continued her analysis, "Anyway, you only do that when you have nothing else to do with your hands, like ripping off a demon's head or puffing away at your cigarette. And something tells me you're not just being courteous and not smoking in my car since you're not the courteous type…"



Spike replied defiantly, "I could too be courteous. If I wanted to…"



"…So you must have given up smoking. I gotta admit, never thought I'd see the day. How's it going for ya'?" She felt like the smirk was permanently attached to her face.



Spike grinned at the Slayer, thoroughly pleased. "Didn't know you knew me so well, pet. I think I may like it." **Hey, wait a minute… god, is Buffy *blushing*?!** He made Buffy *blush*! Spike couldn't conceal the giddiness and satisfaction on his face. "Yeah, luv. Gave it up 'bout two months ago. First time in over 125 years that I actually felt the stuff go down in my lungs, then I proceeded to hack one of said lungs up. Bloody frustrating, is what it was. I've got no idea what to do without my smokes. It's like they were a part of me…"



"Like the duster?"



Shame once again crept into Spike's face as he looked down to his lap. It took him a moment to speak again. "I assume you got rid of that thing, right?"



"What? Of course not, Spike." Buffy felt that blush coming out in full force again. "Dawn and I…we hung it in the hall closet, a few days after everything settled down. We were…well, we were waiting to give it back to you…when you came home."



Spike had to push these warm fuzzies down. He honestly felt he'd burst at any moment. Wait… "When things settled down? What happened here once I left?"



Buffy let out a weary sigh. "A lot, Spike. Too much."



Spike looked at her intently. "Go on."



"Well, after you left, that geek-guy, Warren? He and I finally had it out. He had these orb-things that gave him superpowers. Didn't matter, though, 'cause I still kicked his ass. Anyway, I broke the orbs, kicked his ass some more, and then he flew off with a jet pack."



"A jet pack?"



"They're *geeks*, Spike. That's their thing. Anyway, Warren got away and Jonathan and Andrew were sent to jail. Then, the day after, Xander and I were in the backyard talking when Warren shows up with a *gun*. He shot me first, and another bullet strayed and hit Tara through the chest. It…it killed her…"



Spike stared in front of him, trying to take this in. "He shot you… and he killed Glinda…"



Buffy nodded, eyes filled with grief.



He looked out the window, eyes cold. "I'm going to kill him."



She sighed. "You can't."



Spike turned to her, aghast. "Like *hell* I won't! Just 'cause I'm human now doesn't mean I'm gonna let someone hurt the people I love and *not* get bloody revenge!"



Buffy shook her head slightly. "No, I mean you *can't*, as in literally. He's already dead…Willow killed him."



Now Spike was truly stunned. "Red killed someone? A human?" He glanced out his window again. "Huh…Never thought she had it in her…"



Buffy let out a small, bitter laugh. "Oh, she had it in her, alright. After Tara died, Willow went on a warpath. It was like…like she was being *controlled* by her fury. It was the scariest thing I've ever seen, and trust me, I've seen a lot of scary stuff." She paused when she came to a stop sign, then looked Spike in the eyes. "I had to *fight* her, Spike. I had to fight my best friend. And she *would* have killed me." She pulled out from the stop sign and continued, "Luckily for me, Giles arrived in the nick of time."



"Giles is back?" Spike gave a genuine smile. "Leave it up to ol' Rupert to save the day. So, did he put the mojo on Willow?"



"He tried. He got some borrowed magick or something from some coven. But Willow pretty much kicked his butt. I don't know exactly what went on between them, because I had to go save Dawn and Xander from a flaming fireball Will had sent after them," Buffy had to pause a moment at the sheer incredulity of it all, "but apparently everything worked out in the end, though the Magic Box was trashed. Giles was dying, Willow was raising some Satanic demoness to end the world, and Dawn and I got stuck down in the bottom of some huge grave Willow created for us, fighting these earth monsters." Buffy's face took on a look of undeniable pride. "Dawn seriously kicked some, Spike. I mean, she was really able to take care of herself in a fight. That's why we've been training her. And she's actually supposed to start patrolling with me by the end of this month."



Spike laughed. "The Bit's patrollin'? God, she must love that!" Something twinkled behind his eyes. "Can't wait to see Niblet."



Buffy glanced over at him, and the look of love for her sister on his face completely melted her heart.



Spike turned to look back at her. "So what happened? How'd the goody-good guys come out on top?" He stopped and suddenly looked fearful. "Red's not dead, is she?"



"No…no. Luckily it didn't come to that. Actually, it was Xander that sorta saved the day. I mean, Giles kinda sapped Willow's powers from her, but Xander was the one who finally talked her down."



Spike looked disappointed. "So the Whelp's the hero of this piece, then?"



Buffy couldn't help but grin at the sound of jealousy in his voice. "Kinda."



"Can't say I'm too upset I missed it then. Except the killing Warren part. I'd have loved to have strung him up and torn ever strip of skin from his body…"



Buffy let out a sheepish grin. "Uh, Willow sorta took care of that, too."



Spike looked disgusted. "Bugger. Witch's really gonna have to work to get back from this, you know?"



Buffy nodded as they finally pulled into the school's parking lot. "I know. She knows, too. It'll take her a while, and she's not even *close* yet, but she will come back. She has to." She sighed, then tried to shake the melancholy out of her voice. "So, you ready?" Spike nodded. "This is going to be great. Dawn's head's gonna explode when she sees you." They both got out of the car and headed into the building, Buffy's voice echoing through the air, "Not literally, of course…"









To be continued…



Okay, now I *promise* that next chapter we'll see someone *other* than Buffy and Spike! It's just that the two crazy kids had a lot of catching up to do, and I love writing their little convos. Now that that's over though, we'll start to get into the *real* story.



And remember, please Read & Review!!! It gives me happies!