Anya looked up as she heard the door to the Magic Box open. She smiled as she saw Willow and Tara enter.
"Hey," they greeted. "Is Giles around?"
Anya nodded and pointed to the back room, next to Buffy's training room.
Willow walked in that direction, leaving Tara behind. Willow knocked gently on the door and entered.
Giles hadn't noticed her enter the room, too wrapped up in his reading. Willow coughed softly, disturbing him from his reverie.
"Uh…Willow. Wh-what can I do for you?" he asked, still a little startled by her presence.
"Nothing. Just
wanted to make sure you're okay. So…are
you? Okay, I mean."
"Quite, thank you," he replied, looking back down at his diaries from five
years ago. He had started reading from
the beginning of his life as Buffy's Watcher and had been somewhat guilty for
writing that he had thought she would last only a few months.
She had proven him wrong of course, twice now.
"What'cha reading?" Willow asked quietly, taking the seat next to him.
He handed her his first Watcher's Diary.
"Slayer is wilful and insolent. Her abuse of the English language is such that I understand only every other sentence," Willow read. She laughed a little and smiled at Buffy's surrogate father.
"This doesn't make you a bad person you know," Willow said.
He nodded and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Just…it's rather embarrassing really. For someone who's supposed to be completely detached from her, I'd say that I failed in that area."
"Buffy's a hard person not to like. I mean, she's had two vampires fall for her, so that has to be saying something. Plus, even Wesley got attached to her in his own stuffy way," Willow explained.
"That's true. He was rather upset when he was fired," Giles said. "And it wasn't just because he no longer had a job."
"See? So, it's not your fault at all," she encouraged.
He smiled, thankful for the young witches efforts to comfort him.
"Do you…you think she'll be alright, don't you?" she asked.
He shrugged silently, hoping against hope that she would be fine. The first time she had died, she hadn't dealt with it properly and had pent up her frustrations and anger and fear within herself.
"As long as she talks to someone, she should be fine," he said.
"Should I try and get her to talk to me?"
"Possibly. She could just need a bit of time. I'd imagine that she's a little confused. Torn between two things. Returning, even though she wanted to, can't have been easy. Giving up perfection to come back here…I don't care how strong she is, she will regret it in some ways."
________________________
Buffy walked into the kitchen, her head throbbing with too many thoughts. Spike had said his good-nights a few minutes earlier and Buffy couldn't help but notice how awkward his departure was.
She'd had first dates drop her at the door with less awkwardness.
They had stared at each other in silence, both of them uncomfortable and unsure of what the other wanted. Buffy had a fair idea what Spike wanted, but she was too unsure of what she wanted.
Spike had eventually left, turning away from her gaze, unable to hold eye-contact any longer.
Buffy sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against the coolness of the refrigerator.
"You okay?" asked a voice behind her.
She jumped, startled by the other person's presence.
"You startled me," she told her sister.
"Sorry. I just heard you come in," Dawn explained.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up," Buffy said.
Dawn shrugged and shook her head. "Not like I could really sleep anyway, I'm too afraid to sleep."
"Afraid?" Buffy asked.
"You know…if this ends up being a dream. If I don't go to sleep, I can't wake up," Dawn explained.
Buffy smiled and touched Dawn's shoulder gently, running her hands through the young girl's hair.
"This can't be easy for you," Buffy said quietly.
"Compared to the week we've just had, this week's gone pretty well so far," Dawn said, a smile dancing around her lips.
"You wanna stay in my room? That way when you wake up, I'll still be there," Buffy offered.
Dawn nodded, grateful that Buffy had suggested what she was about to ask for.
"Thanks," Dawn whispered.
"S'okay. I'm just gonna be down here for a few more minutes. I'll be up in a sec," she said.
"Cool." With that, Dawn turned and left the kitchen, trudging up the stairs towards Buffy's room.
Buffy sighed and ran her hands through her hair. She looked upwards, staring blankly at the ceiling.
"How could you leave me here like this?" she whispered. "I trusted you!"
~*~
Dawn stretched tiredly as she woke up, feeling a little disorientated. She rubbed at her eyes and saw that she was in Buffy's room.
She quickly rolled over, making sure that her sister was still beside her and that last night hadn't been a dream at all. When she saw her sister's long blonde hair, she knew without a doubt that this couldn't be a dream. Buffy was back, and she was back for the long haul.
Buffy stirred a little as she felt her younger sister moving in the bed, and groaned as she sat up.
"Morning," Buffy said tiredly, the greeting sounding completely natural to them both, even though there had been a week or more where neither of them could speak to each other.
"Morning," Dawn replied, a smile coming to her face.
"You sleep okay?" Buffy asked.
"Like a rock," Dawn answered.
Buffy smiled and stood up, wiping the sleep from her eyes. She smiled as Dawn groaned a little, trying to stretch out her cramped muscles.
"What day is it?" she asked.
"Saturday," Buffy replied. "Which means no school. Not that I would have made you go today in any case, but…now you've got a valid excuse."
Dawn smiled and got out of the bed, both girls wandering down to the kitchen. Buffy immediately headed towards the fridge and retrieved some juice, pouring a glass for both herself and her sister.
"So what have you got planned for the day?" Buffy asked.
"Well, I was going to go to a friend's house, but I think I may just spend the day with you, cos…well, it's kinda obvious," Dawn said.
Buffy smiled, thankful that she could spend the day with what was left of her family.
"I was thinking we could head up to the Magic Box, see what the Gang's got planned. Maybe research more into this whole demon thing," Buffy suggested.
"Yeah, sounds good."
________________________
"Hey Will," Buffy greeted as the door closed behind her.
Willow looked up and grinned. "Hey Buffy. How's things?"
"Alive and kicking. Both things that I kinda enjoy," she quipped.
Buffy looked up as she saw Giles head out from the storage room. He smiled as he saw her and walked towards where she stood.
He held out something in his hands and gave it to her.
"Welcome home," he said.
She smiled at him, a little confused. "We already did the welcoming thing. And what are these for?" she asked, holding up the set of keys that he had given to her.
He pointed to the back room, her training area.
"When you…left, I locked the room up. I wouldn't let anyone in there if they weren't you. Now…it's yours again."
She smiled, thankful that Giles had been so sentimental about her training room that Giles, Riley and Xander had prepared for her so long ago.
"Thank you," she whispered, her eyes tearing over a little.
Giles smiled and touched her shoulder gently.
"If you don't mind, I might go and…get back into it," she said.
________________________
Dawn sat quietly on the sofa to the side of the room, watching her older sister train. The only other times when she'd really been allowed to stay and watch was when Buffy had been doing meditation exercises. She'd never really been allowed to watch any physical action.
She was beginning to understand why.
The sheer brutality that Buffy was using to pound the punching bag was astounding, and from what Dawn had briefly witnessed when Buffy was killing Glory, what she was seeing now was no-where near the full strength that Buffy had.
Dawn saw Giles in the corner of her eye, standing in the doorframe, unseen by her older sister. She watched as his expression grew more concerned for his charge, and only then did Dawn realise why he looked so worried.
As Buffy hit and kicked and punched, she was beginning to let tears flow from her eyes, going unnoticed by the Slayer. The sounds coming from her mouth were no longer soft grunts, but yells that were getting increasingly louder.
It was only then that Dawn heard that Buffy was yelling at someone, and she knew that it wasn't at anyone in the room.
"You jerk!" Each word pronounced as she hit the bag, the weight of the words was brutal, the pain in them apparent. "I…trusted…you!!"
Dawn watched as Giles slowly made his way over to Buffy, moving slowly in case he frightened her and she hit him with complete Slayer strength.
He put a hand gently on her shoulder and for a moment, Dawn thought that Buffy hadn't even noticed the touch. She then saw her sister stop, her body begin to sag and it took extremely quick reflexes from Giles to stop her from collapsing to the ground.
Dawn was on her feet in lightening speed, rushing to where Giles was keeping her sister standing.
Without a word between them, Dawn and Giles helped Buffy to the couch, making her sit down and rest. Dawn held her hand silently while Giles raced out of the room and returned within moments, carrying a blanket and a wet washcloth.
Dawn sniffled a little but quickly forced her tears back, knowing that however hard this was for her, it was ten times more so for Buffy. As long as nothing major happened in the next few days, Dawn knew that, somehow, Buffy would be alright.
~*~
Angel stepped into the main downstairs area of the hotel and looked towards the large blanket-covered lump lying on the sofa. He smiled as he saw the short blonde-streaked brunette sleeping quietly.
He walked towards the bed and shook her shoulder gently. "Cordy?"
She looked up at him in confusion. "Angel?"
He nodded and helped her to sit up.
"You okay?" he asked.
She nodded and looked away from his intense stare.
"I just needed to get away from Wesley for a while," she explained.
"Why?"
Cordelia gave a small shrug. "He's just…mopey. And…I'm so sick of being mopey."
"He does have a valid reason for it," Angel said.
"His reasons not even half as good as yours, and you're not all silent and brooding. Well, no more than usual," Cordelia said bluntly.
"Cordy-"
Cordelia screamed out in pain, her hand going up to her head to try and relieve the pain of the mind-shattering vision that was coming to her.
Angel rushed to her side, helping her sit on the bed. He handed her a pad of paper and a pen to write what she saw.
As the vision subsided she looked at him, confusion written on her face.
"What is it?" he asked.
She shook her head, her hand clutching at her heart. "It's…it's impossible."
"What? What did you see?" Angel asked firmly.
"I saw Buffy. Alive. In Sunnydale."
~*~
"Remind me again why Giles wanted us to split up," Buffy said to Spike, holding her trusty stake at the ready.
"He reckons that it's easier for the slaying, and because," Spike cleared his throat and stood up straight, putting on an even more British air about him, "It's imperative to the cause that you are not seen together."
Buffy laughed and shook her head.
"Which is what you said last night, only…less stuffy."
"So, we'll meet up in an hour," Spike said.
"Same place as last night."
Spike nodded and watched as she walked away from him. He sighed softly and walked in the opposite direction.
Things had been different since she had been back, and she had only been back for a day. For one thing, the Nibblet couldn't have been happier about things. Giles was actually smiling for the first time in days. Willow and the whelp had been shocked but they were definitely glad to have her back.
Spike stopped walking and listened carefully as he heard a noise coming from in front of him. "Show yourself," he called.
Christian stepped from the shadows into the light that was coming from a street lamp.
"Christian," Spike greeted. "How's things on the home front?"
"Fine. Court wants things to start soon. He'll probably want to see you tomorrow. He wants us to retrieve the Key for him," Christian said.
Spike growled extremely softly and quickly composed himself.
"Just tell me the time and place. I say, the sooner the better. I want this bloody chip out of my head," Spike said.
Christian nodded and looked over his shoulder.
"We'll be in touch, don't worry. It should all go down tomorrow night. And with the Slayer out of commission, it will be even easier," Christian said.
"The Slayer?" Spike asked, his unbeating heart contracting.
"Oh, she's back from the dead or something. But we'll be putting her back in the ground tonight. Of course, she'll rise again though," Christian said, grinning.
"You're making the Slayer one of us?" Spike asked incredulously.
"Brilliant isn't it? Court wanted someone strong, and who would be stronger than the Slayer?"
Spike nodded, trying to stop himself from being sick at the thought of Buffy becoming like him.
"Where are they?" he asked, grabbing Christian's shoulders and shaking them roughly.
Christian pulled out of his grasp and straightened his clothing.
"You're not worried are you?" Christian asked with disgust.
Spike shook his head, his demon showing on his face. "No. I just want to watch."
Christian grinned and vamped out. "They're about fifty feet in that direction. As for me, I'd love to stick around and watch, but I've got my own kill to make."
________________________
Buffy moved away from where she knew Spike was standing watching her. She breathed a deep breath and looked over her shoulder, thankful that he had finally left.
It was interesting that he and Dawn were the only ones who had really tried to make things normal for her. Even though they were both afraid that they would wake up at any moment, they had obviously decided to savour the dreams they believed they were living in.
Willow and Xander, while they had been great were still a little uncomfortable around her. She couldn't blame them though.
She quickly stopped walking and whirled around, her stake at the ready. She couldn't see anyone in the shadows, but her Slayer senses were kicking in.
"I am so not in the mood for games tonight. Show yourself," Buffy called.
From out of the shadows stepped three vampires. Buffy stepped back a little but quickly readied herself for the fight.
"I can do three," she whispered to herself.
As they stepped forward, she saw three more vampires coming towards her from the side. She swallowed nervously and hesitated only a moment before attacking the first three.
She easily dusted one, ducking punches from the other two. She easily kicked the second vamp away, his head hitting a headstone with a loud crack. The third vamp lunged at her from the front as two from the second group did the same.
She struggled and flipped out of their grasp, kicking one in the face, hearing the crack of his nose breaking. While he was clutching his nose, she thrust her stake into his heart.
She felt her arm being pulled from the side, and before she knew what was happening, she had been pushed face-forward against a tree. She struggled to no avail and felt her heart beat quicken, not wanting to die this way.
The stake was pulled out of her hand and she was roughly turned around to see three vamps standing around her, licking their bloodied lips.
Two vamps held her sides and the third advanced towards her, his hand reaching out to touch her face gently. She flinched away from him and went to scream for Spike to help her, but before she had a chance, the vamps hand had struck her across the face.
She would have fallen from the blow except for the fact that she was being held up by the two other minions.
"You're going to die tonight Slayer," he said, his face only centimeters from her face, their noses touching. "You've come back once, and you'll come back again. But this time, you're not gonna be killing us. You'll be killing them."
Buffy tried to back away but was stuck between three vamps and the tree that was pressing uncomfortably into her back.
She closed her eyes, silently apologising to her sister for not being able to keep her promise.
She felt the nameless vamps fangs pressing into her neck and she gasped as he began to drink from her. Her head felt lighter and her thoughts became less and less as she felt herself beginning to fall into unconsciousness.
"Not so fast Slayer, don't die on us yet," she heard. "You've still gotta have a taste."
The two vamps holding her back suddenly let go and she fell to the ground, struggling to stay alive. She heard a faraway 'whump' and realised that one of the vamps had been dusted.
She tried to open her eyes, but they were too heavy to be opened.
She heard another two dustings and felt her body finally relax, knowing that she could at least die with some dignity. Being turned would have been the ultimate victory for any vampire over a Slayer.
She felt someone pulling at her arms, trying to help her to her feet. She tried to stand but found that she was leaning heavily on her saviour.
Her knees buckled and she fell forward into her rescuers arms.
Spike held her close to him and stroked her hair gently.
"It's okay luv. I won't let them hurt you."
~*~
Angel burst into the Magic Box, startling the Scooby Gang.
"Angel," Giles said, the surprise in his voice obvious.
"Where is she?" Angel yelled, his demon showing and disappearing every few seconds.
Willow gasped softly, realising that no one had told Angel that Buffy was back.
"She's patrolling," Willow offered. "Angel-"
"Why didn't you tell me she was back?! She's in trouble," Angel cried.
Giles stood up, slowly approaching the upset vampire.
"Angel, she only came back yesterday. We've been a little…overwhelmed. I'm sorry you weren't told-" Giles stopped as Angel interrupted him.
"Where did she go?" Angel asked, trying to calm himself down.
"Go?" Giles repeated.
"Patrolling! Where did she go? She's in trouble!"
"She was going on her usual route. She'd be in Restfield. And yes, she did go alone."
Angel was out the door, racing towards the cemetery before Giles could even finish his sentence.
"He has got to stay off the caffeine," Xander commented.
Willow stood up and walked to where Giles was still staring at the door.
"Giles, what do you think he meant by Buffy being in trouble?" she asked.
He shook his head, not knowing the answer to her question.
"Shouldn't we go and…help her out?" Tara asked.
Giles looked to where Dawn was curled up on a bean-bag, somehow managing to sleep through Angels screaming fit.
"Someone needs to stay here with Dawn," Giles said.
Tara nodded. "I'll watch her."
"Me too," Amy offered.
Giles nodded and looked towards Willow, Xander and Anya. "Let's go."
~*~
Spike's face hovered closely above Buffy's, his eyes filling with tears. He brought his hand up to the uninjured side of her neck and felt for her pulse, surprised to find that it was stronger than most people's would have been after being nearly completely drained. Her breathing was steady.
Spike knew that her Slayer healing was working its magic, and thankfully she would be back in action soon.
Her eyes fluttered open and Spike smiled softly at her. He let her lean against him, her knees still shaking, his arms never leaving her waist.
"Tell me what happened luv," Spike said softly, hugging her body closer to his.
"Vampires. They surrounded me. They…they were going to-" she stopped, unable to bring herself to say it.
Spike hugged her tightly in his arms, her body wracking with sobs.
"Hey, it's okay," he whispered. "They're gone."
"Thanks to you," she said softly.
"How many were there?" Spike asked.
"Six," she admitted, a little ashamed that she hadn't been able to take the down herself.
"Slayer, you can't forget that you aren't at your full strength."
She nodded, still embarrassed that she had almost been turned by a minion, not even a master.
He wiped a tear from her eyes and gently kissed her forehead. She sighed softly and leant her head on his shoulder.
He bent his own head to her shoulder, smelling the blood on her neck but feeling not even the slightest inclination to taste her.
He felt himself being ripped away from her, a fist connecting with his face before he could even see who was attacking him. He looked to where Buffy was and saw that she was looking on in horror but was too weak to stop him from being attacked.
He tried to look at his attacker, but only saw a foot connecting with his face. He quickly rolled away and grabbed the offending foot, pulling it's owner to the ground.
Spike quickly got the upper hand and was on top of his attacker, punching the face blindly.
"Stop it!" he heard Buffy yell loudly.
With what little strength the Slayer had left, she pulled Spike off his attacker and helped him to stand up.
His attacker stood up and Spike finally saw who had pulled him away from the Slayer.
"Angelus," he growled.
Angel looked at Spike, both of their demon faces showing, both of them looking as though the only way they would stop fighting would be when one of them was dust.
Buffy looked towards Angel in disgust.
"What is it with you?" she asked him. "This is the second time you've done this!"
"Done what?" Angel asked in confusion.
"Come to beat up on my boyfri-" Buffy stopped, realising what she was about to say.
Spike and Angel looked at her, their eyes open wide. Spike's demon immediately resided.
"What?"
"What?!" Angel yelled.
"I didn't mean…well, I didn't mean 'boyfriend' per-say," Buffy stuttered.
"Well, what did you mean?" Angel yelled.
"Yeah, what did you mean?" Spike asked. His voice was softer, more gentle than the older vampires.
Buffy looked towards Spike, pleading with him to stay silent.
"Angel, you can't just come to town like this and expect things to be the same," Buffy said.
"They're not the same!" he cried. "For one thing, the last time I checked, you were dead!"
"Things change," Buffy said softly.
"Obviously," Angel said bitterly. "Buffy, I came back because you were in trouble. Cordy had a vision and you were in it, much to everyone's disbelief. Those visions don't come unless it's something worth my efforts," Angel said.
"Well, I'm so glad I'm worth your effort. But, newsflash. I'm in trouble everyday Angel. And I've got the help I need here. You don't need to come into my life every second that I'm in danger," she said.
Angel glared towards Spike, noticing his small smirk. It looked similar to the one that Angel himself had given to Riley the last time Angel had been in Sunnydale.
"And where does he fit into all of this?" Angel asked, motioning towards his childe.
"He is part of the Scooby Gang. Like I said, I've got all the help I need," she said.
Angel stepped towards Spike who stood up straighter, trying to be at eye level with his sire.
"You're in love with her," Angel said accusingly.
Buffy looked towards Spike, wondering what exactly his response to that would be.
"What of it?" he asked, a smile coming to his face. "You still are."
"You don't even have a soul," Angel said, his voice full of bitterness.
"Just 'cause you were incapable of loving when you're a soulless prick doesn't mean that I can't. You and me have always been different Angelus. You know it, I know it, the Slayer bloody knows it as well. I may not have a soul, but I was never capable of pulling the crap you did," Spike said.
Buffy looked towards Angel, knowing that Spike's words were true. Angelus had never been capable of love, only of obsession. And Buffy knew that Spike's devotion was much more than obsession. She had watched from above and saw him grieving more than any normal man may have.
"Buffy," Angel said, looking at his former lover with pleading eyes. He wanted her to tell him that Spike's affections were completely one-sided. Having Buffy fall for his childe would have been too much to bear.
"Angel, you don't know what things have been like around here. And I know without a doubt that Spike does love me. And Dawn. And the gang as well," Buffy said.
"I wouldn't go that far, pet," Spike interjected.
"I would. I've seen you with them. You and Giles are exactly alike, you take care of Dawn without even thinking of yourself, and I know that you like Willow and Xander, even though the get on your nerves," Buffy said.
"So I like 'em, big deal. Doesn't mean I bloody love 'em," Spike said defensively.
Buffy shrugged, letting him believe whatever he wanted to believe.
"So you're saying that you and Spike are…what? Together? A couple? Are you in love with him?" Angel asked, the hurt evident in his voice.
Buffy hesitated. Whatever she said here was going to hurt someone. The question came down to who she wanted to hurt the least.
"I'm not saying that I'm in love with Spike," Buffy said, cringing as Spike's face fell with disappointment. "I'm just saying that I'm not completely disgusted by it," she continued.
Spike looked up at her, hope in his eyes. She hadn't seen him look that thrilled since he had found her in the cemetery the other night, clawing at her gravestone and shouting at Spike's soul for abandoning her.
"Buffy, I left you so you could have a normal life! A normal partner!"
Buffy shook her head, knowing that Angel clearly didn't understand who she was.
"Me, have a normal life? Angel, you left me because you and I couldn't be together like that. You didn't leave me so I could be normal. 'Cause I'll never be normal. I'll always be the Slayer. And my shelf life is never going to be as long as anyone else's. I've already died twice Angel, I don't want to die again without knowing that I can have passion and love and romance for the last few years of my life," Buffy explained.
"But why with him? Of all people?! He's not even a person," Angel said.
"Neither are you. Angel, I'm sorry, but…we were over a long time ago," Buffy said gently.
Angel went to say something more but stopped and nodded his agreement.
"You're right. We have moved on. And…I may be falling for someone back in LA, so I can't really come and tell you how to live your life. But I'm not leaving without helping you through whatever Cordy saw in her vision," Angel said.
Buffy shook her head, telling him he wasn't wanted or needed here anymore.
"Angel, I've already told you…I don't need your help anymore. I've been coping fine without you for the last three years. There's people in LA who need your help more than I do," Buffy said.
"Buffy, I'm not leaving until I know you're safe," Angel said, his voice showing his stubbornness.
"She's safe," Spike said, stepping forward as if to challenge his sire to disagree.
"With you?" Angel spat.
"Yes, with him," Buffy said, stepping forward to be beside Spike. "He's got my back for about a year now Angel. I trust him with my life," she said.
"See how far that got you last time with Glory," Angel said accusingly.
Spike felt as though he had been staked in the chest. Buffy grabbed his arm to keep him from pouncing on top of Angel and pummelling him to a pulp.
"What happened with Glory was meant to be. It happened because it was meant to happen. Dying was the work that I had to do," Buffy said calmly.
Angel shook his head, still glaring at Spike.
"It shouldn't have come to that. He should have been there!" Angel cried.
Spike suddenly understood what his sire was saying. Angel wasn't accusing Spike, he was accusing himself.
"So should you!" Spike yelled.
Angel stopped and stared at his childe. Spike raised his eyebrows, challenging his sire to disagree with him.
"You try and blame everyone else for it, but really you're blaming yourself. You think that you could have stopped it if you had been here. If she had trusted you with protecting Dawn. But you ran away. You ran far, far away from here, away from her. And it kills you because she's moving on to things that aren't you. You always were possessive," Spike said bitterly.
Buffy looked between the two vampires, each of them glaring at the other.
"Angel, even if you were here, nothing would have changed. I was supposed to jump. The Powers That Be told me that jumping was what I had to do. That death was my gift to give. That's why I'm back here. I gave my gift, and now I'm receiving one back," Buffy explained.
"Buffy…"
Angel couldn't really tell her anything that would convince her that Spike couldn't possibly be able to help her as Angel could. But Angel knew firsthand that Spike was tough and, if nothing else, he was loyal to a fault. He had loved Drusilla for over a hundred years, even though Drusilla had never loved him back.
"Angel I'm sorry, but…you're not needed here."
Angel nodded and stepped back, silently telling Buffy that he accepted that he wasn't wanted in Sunnydale any longer. Before he walked away from Sunnydale for the last time, he turned to Spike and glared one last time.
"If you hurt her, I'll kill you."
~*~
Buffy shifted uncomfortably as she watched Angel walking away from her. Somehow, it hurt less and less each time he did it.
She stole a sidewards glance at Spike who looked unusually solemn. She heard him clear his throat and she looked up at him directly.
"You alright, pet?" he asked.
She nodded, unable to form words to try and explain what had just happened.
"So, uh…" Spike stopped, suddenly speechless.
Buffy looked down at the ground, her right foot softly kicking her left foot in nervous anticipation. Why was Spike of all people, of all demons making her this nervous?
He stepped forward and gently touched her neck. She flinched at the coldness of his touched, but at his wounded face, she ignored the pain that coursed through her still open wound and leant into his touch.
He leant forward slightly, moving slowly, unsure of why he would have sworn that he could feel his heart beating.
He remembered a time when Angelus had told him one of the reasons that he had hated Buffy. She had made him feel alive, made him feel human again. Angelus' very reason of hatred was why Spike had fallen for her.
Unconsciously, he licked his lips, and saw her do the same.
"Buffy-"
He was stopped suddenly by her mouth meeting his, her lips crushing against his.
It was everything he had dreamed it to be, only made better by the reality of it. She had kissed him once before as a thank-you, he had been kissed by the Buffy-bot, but never with the bottled up passion that he felt from her lips as she kissed him.
Their tongues danced, and both fought for dominance, their hands meeting and clinging to one another as though there would be no tomorrow. Though after dying and being brought back, one tended to live for the now.
They both drew back, Buffy breathless, Spike surprised by her actions.
He looked at her curiously, wondering when she would hit him, push his chest and tell him to put a stake in himself. All she could do was look at him in wonder.
"Spike-"
"Buffy-"
They both laughed a little, thankful for the small break in tension as they spoke at the same time.
"You go first," Spike offered.
Buffy smiled gratefully.
"I uh…just wanted to say thank you. For before. If you hadn't have shown…I woulda been dead. Or worse. And…also I wanted to say sorry for Angel. Him beating you up can't have been too much fun for you."
"I've had far worse," Spike said.
Buffy nodded, remembering when Glory had tortured him for hours on end to find out where the Key was hidden.
Buffy cleared her throat and tried to meet his gaze, but found herself too afraid to look into his eyes for fear of what she would find there.
Love she could deal with. Disgust, indifference or hate…it would have killed her inside, hurt her far worse than any vampire could have hurt her.
"You were going to say?" she asked.
He hesitated and decided to just dive straight in. After all, he was still the Big Bad, and he was going to tell her exactly what he thought of her, regardless of how she felt for him.
"I love you."
He didn't even give her a chance to reply, a chance to react to his words. His mouth was upon hers in seconds, his hands running through her hair. His only thought as she put her hands on his waist to draw him closer was that she can't have minded too much.
Suddenly she pushed him away as quickly as he had pulled her to him.
Spike held in an unnecessary breath and waited for her to tell him to go jump, to tell him to go find something dead to date.
"I meant what I said before, to Angel. When I accused him of beating up my boyfriends. It's…it's how I want to think of you. It's how I've thought of you for a while now."
He smiled, something he rarely did, ever since getting the chip put into his cranium.
She smiled back shyly and reached her hand up to his head, running her fingers through the short hairs on the back of his neck. She pulled him towards her, hugging him tightly, thankful that she had finally admitted to herself and to him what she wanted.
"We should probably get back to the shop," Spike whispered after a few more moments of their shared silence.
Buffy reluctantly let go and nodded her agreement. Before she let him begin walking, she kissed him once more quickly and grinned sheepishly.
"You call that a kiss?" Spike asked.
She laughed a little and bit her lower lip. "Not really, no."
"Good," he replied, half laughing as he did.
He leant forward and caught her lips with his own, thankful that he had finally been given a chance to walk in the sunshine that was Buffy.
Buffy pulled back suddenly as she heard a shocked gasp come from behind them. She turned to see who was watching them and saw Xander, Willow and Giles standing there, Xander with his mouth open, Willow looking a little shocked, but still pleased, Anya grinning from ear to ear and Giles trying to hide a smile.
Giles stepped forward and his smile immediately resided.
"Giles-" Buffy started, seeing the expression on his face become one of violent contempt.
He was in front of her, his fingers coming up to her neck gently. Anger flashed through his eyes.
"Who did this to you?"
"They're dust," Spike answered.
Giles turned to look at him, Spike giving him a silent look, telling him that the Slayer was safe.
"And Angel?" Giles asked.
"You knew he was here?" Buffy asked, hurt that no one had told her.
"He came into the Magic Box about fifteen minutes ago. He said Cordelia had a vision with you in it, so he came to help you," Giles explained.
"Angel left. He's needed back in LA," Buffy said simply.
Giles looked at her disapprovingly. "Buffy, if the Powers that Be sent Cordelia a message with you in it, it obviously means that you're in some kind of danger."
Buffy stared at him and finally nodded. "You're right. And right now, I've got no chance of stopping this demon transformation thingy from happening, so…I'll need all the help I can get. But not from him."
She turned to Spike. "Whatever you need," he said, his three words sealing his promise to protect her sister.
Buffy turned to the rest of the group and couldn't help but almost smile at Xander's still shocked face. "Come on, we need to get back. If we're gonna beat this guy, we're gonna need everything we've got."
~*~
Dawn sat comfortably in a bean bag chair by one of the shelves, reading the Harry Potter book that her sister had questioned her about before. She was so engrossed in the events of a Quidditch match that she didn't even look up when the bell above the door rang.
Amy and Tara, on the other hand, looked up immediately.
"Shops closed," Tara said to a young teenage boy.
"S'okay," he replied. "I'm not really here to buy anything."
Amy looked towards Tara, whose eyes suddenly opened in fear. She cast a look towards Dawn who suddenly looked up.
Dawn was on her feet quickly as she recognised the boy who had tried to gain access to her home the other night.
"You," she said, trying to step away, but finding herself cornered.
Tara went to run forward to stand between Dawn and the boy who she now believed to be the boy-vamp Christian. She felt strong hands on her arms and swung around to see two vamps staring at her hungrily.
Christian stepped forward towards Dawn who suddenly stood straight, glaring defiantly at him. Christian grinned and laughed a little.
"It's really too bad that Court wants you alive. I could have had a helluva time teaching you our ways," he said, eyeing her up and down.
She went to run, but his fist went around her wrist within milliseconds. She struggled but he threw her into the shelf, making both Dawn and the shelf fall loudly to the ground. Tara protested loudly and struggled against her captor.
Christian turned to look towards Tara and Amy.
"Leave them. I want them completely fine when the Slayer finds them."
The vamps holding Tara and Amy growled, unhappy that the prospects of an easy feed had been denied to them. The vamps threw them into the table, the glass smashing as Tara's weight came down in the centre.
The two young girls watched helplessly as the vamps grabbed Dawn and roughly pulled her away from the store.
A single tear rolled down Tara's face, knowing that this time, she had failed to protect Dawn.