Title: Family and Friends 1/4

By: Chen

Disclaimer: All belong to ME (Grr! Argh!), not me.

Archive: http://chenanceou.net/BtVS_NB.html

A/N: Set a few weeks after we last saw Charlie and Spike. Here's a recap: Spike found out his chip was no longer working and that he could hurt humans; he freaked and ran away, ready to go back to his evil ways; Charlie finds him and, rather dramatically, brings him back to his senses. Those two are unbeatable. Note – due to the new ratings policy on FFNet some of the chapters of this new part will be only available at my site.

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"Duck, Charlie!"

Charlie reacted to Spike's voice on instinct, barely avoiding the projectile that turned out to be a vampire reluctantly learning to fly. Spinning on the ground to face the vamp, she raised her stake and had it ready in case Spike needed assistance. But he was doing fine, jumping over the crouched Charlie and, with a graceful move, dusting the vampire.

"Hey, it really *is* dust to dust and ashes to ashes, uh?"

Spike's head snapped back with a horrified look. "Luv, vampire here. Show some sensitivity..."

Charlie got up, brushing the vampire dust she had learned to hate off her pants. "You have promised me to live forever, hon." Walking over, she looked him deep in the eyes and her playful tone belied the seriousness to be found there. "Remember? Promises 101. Keep them, good. Break them, evil."

"Are you two done yet?" Tara made her way around the tombstones, stopping to catch her breath by the Alpert mausoleum.

She had been knocked out as soon as the fangy vampire showed up, standing by while the dusting was taking place. After patrolling with them, almost every day for the last week, the witch still couldn't believe how much she had missed leaving her house in the middle of the night to risk life and limb to chase evil demons and the other nasties that abounded in Sunnydale.

Spike and Charlie looked at each other and then turned as one to face Tara. "Yes," they answered in unison and then burst into giggles. The intensity that had been surrounding them just a minute ago evaporated and the three of them fell in pace together.

"Hot chocolate anyone?" Charlie suggested.

"With.."

"Mini-marshmallows, yes. Hon, you bought the whole town supply. Not like we'll ever be out."

Tara laughed quietly to herself. Now they were finishing each other's sentences, and she knew for a fact that Charlie and Spike borrowed each other's clothes all the time. It was all right under their noses. No way she was going to be the one to add to their already complicated lives, though. How could she explain to them what she couldn't explain to herself? Auras and cosmic links would just sound bonkers. Perhaps, even without her butting in, they would figure it out one day. And if they didn't, it really didn't matter, did it?

They were talking about whether to get some take out, Spike and Charlie already making yummy noises over the prospect of much spicy goodness, when Spike stopped abruptly.

"What's the matter, hon? Another fangy?" A stake had already found its way to Charlie's hands and Tara hurriedly started to go over the spell she had intended to use earlier. Spike looked around, smelling the air.

"Let's get out of here. C'mon ladies, hurry up."

Tara looked at Charlie with a questioning look, but was met with a shrug of shoulders and a worried expression. Spike was in a hurry to get out of the cemetery and the girls had to increase their pace to keep up. Something had spooked Spike and who were they to not get spooked along?

Turning a corner of the cemetery, the gate already in sight, Spike started to relax. They were going to make it... Bugger!

The Scoobies. Buffy in braids, Willow with a fuzzy hat and what looked like a paint by numbers sweater, the colors clashing so badly they were atrocious even in the dark, and Xander a few steps behind the estrogen brigade.

Buffy stood with her hands on her waist and a none-too-happy expression on her face. "What are you doing here?"

"I could be as obvious as you and ask the same, but since the answer is clear, I won't."

Great, Charlie thought, he sees her and reverts to fifteen.

"You're being rude, Spike."

"You're the one who's rude, Slayer."

Okay, make it five. "We were on our way home, Buffy. Just finished a little patrolling." Charlie saw Spike making eyes at her, and pointedly ignored him. Oh boy, this couldn't get any more infantile.

"Spike dusted a couple of vamps on the east side of the cemetery, right next to his old crypt." So, she couldn't help it, she was proud of him and maybe wanted to show off a little. Spike's regressive tendencies must be contagious.

Buffy said nothing, just stared. Spike, Charlie and Tara stood side by side, very much a mirror of herself, Willow and Xander. Stakes poked from the girls' jeans and she hadn't missed it when Charlie had hastily put away hers. They had stakes. They'd been patrolling. Who did they think they were?

A quiet voice cut through the tense silence. "Can... can we go... now?" It was Tara, trying hard to avoid Willow's eyes by looking intently at the grass sticking to her sneakers. If she had looked up, she would have seen something dark and dangerous lurking in there.

"Yes, we're done here, pet." Spike parted the sea of Scoobies, careful not to touch Buffy, but making sure to walk close enough to Xander that the boy took a step back. Charlie gave them a weak apologetic smile and followed behind, with Tara trying to keep as close as possible.

As they reached the gate Charlie finally let out her breath. "Uncomfortable, much?" Her intention had been to relax her tense friends, but all she received were empty stares. "Like I was the only one who knew this was going to happen? Sunnydale does have an awful lot of cemeteries for its population, but this was bound to happen sooner rather than later."

"Yeah, Charlie girl. But I'd have preferred the latter."

"You say latter and I say later." Charlie sang and Spike couldn't hold back the smile. Turning to Tara, she reached for the witch's hand and receiving it, gave it a friendly squeeze. "So, if they are the Scoobies, what are we?"

"How about the Power Puffs?" Both Spike and Charlie made mock horror faces at Tara.

"The Scourge of Vampires?"

"Oh yeah, Spike. We are so scourgeful! Charlie teased and stuck her tongue out at him. "And that isn't even a cartoon!"

Charlie locked arms with her friends, a wide smile still on her face. "I like the Loonies. Because, we *are* nuts."

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