Part 12: Reclaiming

"Willow! Willow, wake up!" Buffy shook her sleeping friend frantically.

The redhead grumbled, sitting up and rubbing her groggy eyes. "What?" she whined, annoyed at having her peaceful sleep disturbed.

"Bri's not here! I didn't hear her come in last night and her bed hasn't been slept in! Go get dressed. I'm gonna call Giles and see if he's seen her."

Willow nodded and hurried upstairs to change out of her PJs. Buffy walked into the kitchen and grabbed the phone off the wall. As she dialed Giles' number, Joyce Summers came in, smiling cheerfully at her daughter.

"Morning, honey." She said chipperly. "Or should I say good afternoon? I guess you and Willow stayed up pretty late last night."

"Yea." The slayer responded distractedly as Giles' phone rang several times. "Come on…pick up." She urged impatiently.

"Hello?"

"Giles! Is Bri over there?"

"No…she's not there?" the watcher asked, concern evident in his tone.

"She never came home from patrolling last night."

"Oh dear."

"Me and Willow are gonna go look for her. Could you maybe call Xander and Oz? See if they've seen her?"

"Yes, of course. I'll call your cell phone if she turns up."

"Thanks, Giles." Buffy said, hanging up the phone.

"Bri didn't come home?" Joyce asked, having overheard her daughter's conversation.

"She came home from her date but then went out again to patrol." Buffy saw the worry etched on her mother's features. "Don't worry mom. We'll find her." It was what condition they'd find her in that worried the slayer.

Bri awoke to the feel of a cool body snuggled behind hers. She smiled at the familiar and comforting feeling, closing her eyes again and savoring the moment. Suddenly she felt a pair of cool lips tracing along her shoulder and up her neck.

"Mmm…how long have I been asleep?" she asked.

"Quite a while. You've slept most of the day away." Spike replied, nibbling on her earlobe.

Bri rolled onto her back so that the vampire could lay over her and he took her lips with his gently at first, but soon began kissing her with the desire and passion that had gone unfulfilled during their short time apart. Spike's hands roamed over her body, running along her gentle curves with unrestrained fervor. His hand ran down her thigh, lifting her leg up to hook around his hip.

As things began to heat up between them, Bri pushed at his chest. "Spike…" she said in a tone that clearly told him they would be going no further.

"Oh bloody hell." The vampire growled in frustration.

"I can't do this." She said. "I feel…gross."

"What?"

At Spike's offended expression, Bri laughed. "I need a shower, silly." She said, pushing him away gently. "I've been on a street corner all night and I'm not exactly feeling sexy right now."

"You're always sexy to me, love. Even if you were covered in mud…" the vampire stopped, contemplating the idea and looking as if it greatly appealed to him.

Bri rolled her eyes. "Me. Shower. Now." She said, heading for the bathroom, shedding her clothes as she went. When she reached the door she turned to find Spike right behind her, pealing his black T-shirt off. She arched an eyebrow at him. "And where do you think you're going, mister?"

Spike grinned down at her. "One way or the other- we're both gonna get what we want." He said, slipping his hands around her waist and pulling her to him.

"You're impossible." She muttered even as she leaned up and kissed him, one hand reaching behind her to open the bathroom door. They moved inside, their lips never parting as Spike kicked the door shut behind them.

Angel walked slowly down the street, stopping every few feet to smell the air. He'd been following Bri's scent for about an hour, ever since Buffy had stopped by the mansion, distressed about the other slayer's disappearance. The entire Scooby Gang had been searching all day and had come up with nothing to go on.

The vampire rounded a corner and froze, the young slayer's scent extremely strong here. He sighed in relief when he didn't smell blood, so he assumed that she was physically OK. The scent led him across the street and into a motel parking lot. "What the hell…" Angel wondered aloud as he followed up a flight of steps and stopped, the smell seemingly going in two different directions.

One led straight ahead on this level and another went up the next flight of stairs. The vampire chose the stairs, dashing up them two at a time when he sensed he was growing closer. He ran down the hall, stopping in front of one of the doors. The scent was strong in here. She was in this room.

Angel knocked and waited anxiously for a response. When none came, he banged his fist on the door. It flew open just as the ensouled vampire was about to pound on it again.

"What the bloody hell is…Peaches!" Spike exclaimed as he saw the older vampire on the other side of the door.

"Spike!" Angel shouted in rage and disbelief.

"Angel?" Bri appeared behind Spike and blushed furiously. Angel suddenly noticed what his anger had prevented him from noticing at first- that both of them wore nothing but the crisp, white motel towels, Spike's thrown hastily around his waist and Bri's wrapped tightly over her chest. Both had water droplets on their skin and their hair was wet.

"What the hell is this?" he screamed. Bri saw the murderous glint in his eye and quickly pulled him inside, avoiding a public scene. "Is this where you've been all this time? We've all been out searching for you! You made us all worried sick!"

"Oh my God." Bri gasped, sinking down onto the bed. "I-I didn't even think about it…I guess I'm just not used to having all these people who worry about me. In Virginia…I only had my watcher…" Spike rubbed his hand over her back comfortingly. "Angel, I'm so sorry."

The vampire studied his grandchilde warily. "What's going on here?"

Spike snorted. "I should think that'd be pretty obvious, mate."

Bri smacked his arm. "Go get dressed." Spike glared at Angel once more before retreating to the bathroom.

Angel sighed and began pacing the floor. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced at the slayer sitting on the edge of the bed. "You- … Did you- … He didn't- …" the vampire sighed. "You're OK right? I mean…this," he motioned between her and the door Spike had just disappeared through. "this was mutual right? He didn't…uh…make you…"

"God Angel! Of course it was mutual! Spike would never…well…it would never come to that. We love each other and even if he did try anything- which he wouldn't- I could take care of myself."

Spike emerged from the bathroom, still shirtless but wearing pants and drying off his hair with a towel. He glared at Angel, having overheard his conversation with Bri. Angel ignored the look. "What are you two planning to do? You can't exactly keep this a secret."

The two lovers exchanged a look. "Well…we haven't really thought that far ahead." Bri said.

Angel was about to launch into a lecture when his pocket suddenly began to ring. He growled, pulling out the cell phone Buffy had lent to him while he looked for Bri. "Hello?"

"Have you found anything?" Buffy's voice asked worriedly.

The vampire hesitated. "Yea…I just found her. I was about to call."

"Oh thank God. Is she all right?"

"Yea she's fine."

"Can I talk to her?"

"Sure. Hold on." He handed Bri the phone who took it tentatively.

"Hello?"

"Where have you been? We've been worried sick!"

"I know. I'm sorry. On patrol…I…got a little lost and stopped in a warehouse to rest and I fell asleep."

Buffy hesitated, and the two vampires in the room heard Bri's heartbeat hasten. "Well…I'm just glad you're OK. Come on home."

"OK, Buffy. Sorry again." The young slayer said with relief, turning off the phone. She stood and looked at Angel squarely. "You won't…"

"I won't say anything. But I just want you to know that I am against every aspect of this…whatever it is."

"Thank you Angel. I'll see you later, OK?"

The ensouled vampire shot one last glare at Spike. "You hurt her and…well it goes without saying what I'd do."

"You don't have to worry about that. I'd never hurt her." Spike said seriously. Angel nodded before turning and leaving the room. Spike sat down on the edge of the bed. "You and the poofter seem to have struck up a friendship." he commented after a few moments of silence.

Bri smiled wickedly. "Jealous?" she asked, climbing onto his lap.

Spike snorted. "Of Peaches? Never."

"Right. Sure." The slayer kissed him soundly, rocking slightly on his lap. "You have nothing to be jealous about." She whispered, her voice thick with emotion. "Because I love you. And only you."

Spike smiled softly, gazing into her bright eyes and finding himself enraptured by the ardor and devotion he found there. "Cor, I love you so much." He murmured, brushing a wisp of drying hair away from her face. She stared at him, seemingly contemplating something. "What?" he asked curiously. She didn't respond. Only cocked her head to the side, brushing away her wet hair and baring her neck to him. He studied her, perplexed. "I've already claimed you, pet."

"I know. But that was before…when I hadn't fully owned up to what we were doing. I was ignoring what we are. Now…it's like we have a new beginning. I want to start fresh, knowing that we're both conscious of what we're doing and the consequences that we know will come."

Spike said nothing, but lifted her up and gently laid her on the bed. Hovering over her he studied her face. She was staring up at him with a faith that overwhelmed him. He still couldn't believe that something this amazing could happen to him. That a girl could truly love and trust him so completely was almost too much to bear. But he wouldn't let her down.

He kissed her softly then planted kisses on her nose, over her cheek, and down her neck. She turned her head, giving him better access. At the bottom of her neck, he stopped, nipping at the smooth skin with his blunt teeth before his features shifted and his incisors bit down into her flesh.

Bri gasped and squeezed her eyes shut, her hands clutching the vampire's back tightly as he drank from her. But soon the pain was cloaked by the staggering stimulating sensations coursing through her body. Her breath came in short ragged gasps as wave after wave of pleasure hit her. She cried out in ecstasy, her nails digging into the flesh of his back, drawing blood.

As she slowly calmed, Spike retracted his fangs, licking the twin puncture wounds until they stopped bleeding. "Are you OK?" he asked, his face shifting back to their handsome human features.

Bri nodded, opening her eyes to smile up at him. He kissed her gently and rolled over, wincing at the cuts on his back. He sat up, his hand moving to inspect the damage the slayer's nails had caused. But suddenly his hand was pushed away and he felt Bri's hot tongue gliding over the wounds. Spike gasped, closing his eyes at the feelings it gave him.

The slayer didn't care about the sick coppery taste of blood in her mouth. She was concentrating on how Spike's back muscles tightened when she ran her tongue slowly across them. When the cuts she had inflicted were clean of his blood, she ran her hands up his back and arm his neck. "I really should go." She said regretfully.

Spike nodded. "Yea…wouldn't want the Scoobies to fret anymore." Bri climbed off the bed and began to retrieve her clothes from the floor. "I guess I should see about a more permanent residence." The vampire commented as he watched the blonde pull on her jeans.

"Like where?"

"Don't know…maybe a house…it'd have to be furnished already though. But I just need something bigger than the apartment was."

"That'd be nice." Bri finished lacing up her shoes and Spike stood, taking her in his arms. "Get something with a big bed." She said with a grin. "And away from nosy neighbors who get mad at loud noises at all hours."

Spike chuckled, leaning down to kiss the mark on her neck. "When can I see you again?" he murmured against her skin.

"Tomorrow night. After I patrol. I'll meet you at the Bronze around ten, OK?" The vampire nodded and she kissed him lightly then headed for the door. "And get an alarm clock!"