"Buffy! Capture that. that little creature!" called Giles as the small hobbit with Leprosy made a break for the road. "Hey, come back!" she called after it as she took up the chase. From the corner of her eye she could see Spike with one arm around the weeping Dawn. He was so good with her, big brother like. She wondered what it would be like to have a big brother of her own. Diving the last few feet, Buffy's arms tripped up the little thing and it tumbled head over heels for a few meters before landing in a whimpering heap. Buffy was fairly sure she'd broken it, just a little; she could live with that, long as its mouth worked. Before she could pull it to its feet however, Spike was on it in an apparent rage. "You. Never. Touch. The. Girl!" each word was punctuated by a rather brutally broken finger on the creatures left hand. Buffy grabbed him and hauled him back from the now screaming captive holding him tightly 'till he calmed down enough to lose the game face and take a few deep breaths. "Spike. go take care of Dawn. OK?" she asked softly. He nodded and moved back to Dawn who was somewhere between being moved and being disgusted by Spike's violent show of over protectiveness. In any event, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tightly to him. Dawn had never even seen it coming, they'd all been walking to the magic shop and the little thing had grabbed her trying to pull her away into the bushes while a large slimy. thing. had attacked Buffy and Spike. It appeared, at least to the casual observer that Spike was seeing red, he ploughed his was through the slime demon as Buffy chased the little guy. Speaking of whom, the Slayer had said weasily looking little creature by the scruff of the robe and was hauling it towards Giles still whimpering and cradling its broken fingers against its chest. "You're going to be very co-operative aren't you?" she said to it in a deceptively light tone, "and do you know why?" she asked it impishly. The small thing shook its head. "Because if you don't, I'm going to let Spike here start on your other hand." Spike's eyes lit up and he vamped out, growling threateningly at the leper-infected hobbit. "Yes Buffy, I believe that's enough. Lets get it back to the magic shop." Giles said firmly, not entirely comfortable with the tactic used. Spike hoisted Dawn up into his arms and carried her. When she started to object he just looked at her with large and very spooked blue eyes. He was terrified of losing her and it was written plainly on his face. Dawn dropped the tough teenage act and let herself cuddle against her dark protector and rest her chin on his shoulder. "Thank you Spike." she said softly. "Don't have to do that Nibblet," His voice was gruff but it was obviously an act, "can't let no one take you away from us." Dawn let it go and closed her eyes. Her father hadn't been what you'd call an attentive parent and having a man carry her around was something she wasn't used to. It wasn't entirely bad, in fact, she could rather get used to having Spike look after her. Now if only Buffy would stop being so stubborn and get together with him! The Slayer watched the exchange with an odd mix of tenderness and jealousy. Over the past weeks she had worked long and hard to become friends with Spike, and found that once she stopped trying, it wasn't hard at all. She had, grudgingly at first, allowed Dawn to spend more and more time with him and found that he was a calming and controlled influence on her. Convinced to begin with that he'd teach her how to steal and cheat and generally be bad, Buffy had kept the contact between them to a minimum. As it turned out however, Dawn listened to Spike's requests far more than she did her sisters. Spike had a way of addressing the girl that made her feel not so much like a girl, being told what to do and more like an adult being asked to co-operate. The Watcher had observed the slow and somehow inevitable march towards friendship that his Slayer and the Vampire appeared to take together. Concerned at the start he had looked for reasons to keep them apart, but in his logical British mind, when he couldn't find any, he stopped looking. What he saw then was somewhat astonishing. The Vampire's crypt was very close to Dawns school and most afternoons she went straight there to be babysat until sunset when Spike walked her home. Buffy had in him an unwavering companion who listened without comment and gave advice without reservation. The way they fought together was nothing short of miraculous and he found himself wanting to catalog all of it. As with any event in the Slayers life, it was viewed with interest and critiqued by her friends, the ever-present scoobies. The Witches, Tara and Willow, smiled somewhat shyly behind their hands and made small comments that often included the word 'cute'. Spike usually made a great show of taking offence to such statements. Xander, whist being mortally offended by the notion of a friendship with 'Deadboy Jr.' managed to be pulled into one anyway. While in public Xander made a point of say how gross it was and how much Spike could not be trusted, it was more for show, because people expected it, than because he really wanted the blood sucker gone. Once back at the Magic Shop, Spike carefully deposited Dawn on a couch and covered her with his precious coat. Without a word he sat by her and she curled up with her head in his lap. To the amusement of some and the wonderment of others, his black nail polished fingers made their way gently through her hair. "Guys. we need to tell Glory we have the key." Buffy started after shaking her head. The little half locket around her neck seemed somehow heavier every day that she wore it. She could feel it itching at her skin and sometimes it was unbearably hot, other times cold. She wanted too much to take it off and give it to someone else. One day she had wondered idly what would happen when she died. "Buffy I'm not entirely sure that's wise. she has no way of knowing Dawn was the key. it was a random attack to try to get at you, and its failed." Said Giles as gently as he could manage. Dawn however was not a subject on which Buffy was willing compromise. "Giles they nearly took my sister!" she started, her voice that the quality of someone who was getting ready to scream for hours. "Listen to me, Glory appears to have a very short attention span. Given her history it is likely that seeing this plan has failed she'll simply find another one instead of trying again." He explained patiently. "But you don't know that!" Spike looked down at Dawn who was shaking slightly in his lap. Loving Buffy had been one thing; she was a warrior, someone as powerful as himself. That love now seemed to extend to the things which Buffy loved, namely and most noticeably, the Nibblet. He'd do anything to keep her safe. "Tell her its me." He said quietly but firmly. All eyes were on him. Some wide and unbelieving, others trusting but very unwilling. Buffy's were drawn down to his throat, where his half of the locket sat, nestled safely. "What?" she asked. "I said tell her its me. Not right out in the open mind, but let it slip. She'll rip herself to bits trying to get her hands on me and completely ignore Nibblet." He couldn't stop looking at the teenager in his lap. "You can't, Spike I will not sacrifice you to her!" Buffy couldn't decide whether to be indignant or touched or just angry. "I'm not saying that I should go and give myself up! Just sayin' TELL her its me. we'll lead her a long merry chase before she works it out, and by then she will have forgotten all about lil' bit here." Buffy was lost for words. She honestly had no idea what to say. He was offering up his life as a diversionary tactic. Just to make sure Dawn got away for another day. "We can't allow you to do that Spike." Giles was right! Wait? Giles? "And why not? I don't serve any purpose that the Slayer can't on her own." "You wear half of the key around your neck. We can not allow even that half to fall into her hands, she'd then know what the other half was, or have a good idea." Spike frowned in annoyance. It was such a good plan, and at least for the time being it would have secured the Nibblet's safety. He tugged experimentally at the locket about his neck. He'd never really tried to take it off before; it comforted him somehow to have it on him. It was responsibility, responsibility that Buffy had given him. She trusted him with it. "Find a way to take it off. Face it Watcher it's the best plan we've got so far." said Spike stubbornly. Dawn was on her knees however with her arms flung around his neck gripping him tightly. Good thing he doesn't need to breathe. "You can't! You wont! I wont let you! Buffy wont let you! Tell him Buffy, Tell him he cant!" she cried. Spike frowned a little in embarrassment but again it was mostly faked, all his existence Spike had given more love than he got back. But Dawn loved him, and it was good to know. "Nibblet, this is the best way we have come up with so far to keep you safe. You're very important bit, you know that right?" he told her gently. "No I'm not! I'm not even the key anymore! You're way more important than me! You fight the bad guys and stuff! I don't do anything! You can't die!" "Pet." he sighed and gently pulled her face back so he could look at her dreading his own next words, "I'm already dead pet. and I'm nothing. Just a grunt. Buffy need's you and she'll always need you. And I need to know that you're OK." Dawn cried seemingly inconsolably into his shoulder as the others watched on in amazement. Willow and Tara wiped at their eyes with the backs of their hands to get rid of the tears that were threatening to spill. "We're not doing it Spike and that's final." Came Buffy's resolute voice. "Slayer. Buffy, help me find a way to get this thing off, and help me defend myself, or I'll just do it on my own." His eyes were firm; who knew Spike had resolve face? "We can at least research how to take the locket off, it will make our options more open. Does everyone agree to that for now?" Giles, reason again. Buffy hated that. "Alright Watcher, but you'll come around to my way of thinking mate." The bleached vampire held the teenager against him gently and rocked her in his arms. Dawn pulled her face out of his shoulder and nodded, her eyes red rimmed from crying. She didn't cry well, made her face all puffy. Buffy frowned at her watcher feeling somewhat betrayed. She knew how resourceful he was, he'd find a way to take the chain off Spike, and then Spike would go through with his plan. What choice did she have? She nodded and sat down next to Spike and Dawn on the couch watching her once mortal enemy hold her sister to his chest and whisper to her that everything would be all right. When did he get to be such a big part of her family? Buffy tried not to think that it was the night he made love to her. Instead she tried to think of it as the night they did the spell to save Dawns life. Saving Dawn's life. it seemed to be a theme where Spike was concerned. And he was concerned, more than Buffy would ever have thought possible. As concerned as she was.

I know I said this series was finished, but people really seemed to like it and what can I say, I'm the review vampire, I'm a sucker for 'em! PLEASE review me!!!!! More to come.