Spike's eyes drifted open slowly, adjusting to the dim light in the Slayer's room. The blinds had all been carefully closed, making the usually bright room rather dank. He pressed the palm of his hand against his forehead, groaning. These after-torture-session headaches were worse than a bloody hangover. Reopening his eyes, which, surprisingly, he could now see out of both, he caught a glimpse at the Slayer's alarm clock. It was late in the afternoon, surprisingly. The sun would set in a few hours.

"Mmm…"

A soft moan drew his attention to the floor besides the bed. Much to his surprise, Buffy was lying there, wrapped up in a small lump of blankets. Had she been there all night? No. He remembered vaguely that she had said something about going back downstairs to talk with the mini-Slayers after she had helped him up the stairs and into her bed. Well, more like dragged him up the stairs when he nearly passed out and let him fall onto the mattress when the room began to spin. He had said something about not wanting her to sleep on the floor, and she said something about sleeping in with Willow, which apparently she had lied about to get him to shut up.

He suddenly became aware of the three bags of blood lying on the floor beside her. Had she gone out to get those last night? Or maybe earlier today… Hm. He felt a pang of guilt. Poor Slayer was running stupid errands on his account when she should be at home resting. The bruises on her face were more prominent now, making him wince. Poor chit. Had that happened when she was trying to get to him? He sure as hell hoped not. He sighed heavily, reaching down and grabbing the bags. She went to the trouble to get them, he wasn't about to let her efforts be in vain. He sat up, tearing into the first with his fangs.

He had just finished off the third packet when he heard the Slayer stir once more. He sat the empty bag absently on the table, peering over the side of the bed. "Buffy?"

She looked up, her head barely visible from underneath the blanket. She smiled. "Feeling better?"

"Yeah…" He mumbled, looking down at his hands.

She yawned, sitting up, the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders. "What's wrong?" She asked gently, her eyes shining with concern. He didn't look up and she sighed, bringing herself to her feet. The blanket fell to the floor as she sat down beside him on the bed, pulling her feet up underneath her. She remained silent, not exactly sure what to say to him.

"I… I almost gave up…" He finally said, looking up warily at the girl sitting beside him. "I thought you wouldn't come…"

"Spike, I…"

"You said you wouldn't." He interjected, looking back down. He shut his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "Not…not you. The First. It was you… a-and you said you wouldn't come…"

She frowned, shifting in her seat. He still refused to meet her eyes. "Hey." She said firmly, placing a small hand on his shoulder. He reluctantly looked up, eyes red and glossy. "I came, Spike. I wouldn't leave you like that, alright? The First was just trying to…"

"But you believed in me." He mumbled. "You believed in me and I gave up on you…"

"No." She said simply, running a hand down the side of his face. She shook her head slightly as he looked up at her. "I know you, Spike, and I know you wouldn't give up. You're too strong for that."

"I'm sorry…"

"Don't be." She said simply, giving him a small smile.

"Why did you come?" He asked quietly.

"I told you, I couldn't leave you there." She replied.

"… but why?"

She swallowed, unable to find words. No, they were there, she just couldn't bring herself to speak them. She found herself breaking down under his longing stare, her eyes watering up. She didn't think she could feel any worse for the vampire. She sniffled. "Come here…"

Spike could feel the threatening to spill as she wrapped her arms around him. His head rested against her shoulder and he closed his eyes. After what seemed like an eternity, she pulled away, giving him another reassuring smile. She slid her hands from his shoulders and down around his hands, giving them a small squeeze. "We should probably go downstairs…"

-----

Buffy peered almost cautiously around the corner as she got to the base of the steps. This was for two reasons, one being to make sure the room wasn't flooded with sunlight, and the second being to see where the mob of teenage girls were located. By the looks of it, Willow had sent them to the basement for some training. This was a bit of a relief, as she really didn't feel like twenty questions again. She turned to Spike, who had halted beside her. She nodded towards the living room and the pair made their way towards the couch, Spike still rather limpy, but all in all much better than he was last night.

"You're looking better." Willow said, smiling as she walked into the room. "I heard you guys comin' down the stairs."

Buffy gave her a small smile, straightening up as Spike plopped down on the couch. "The girls downstairs?"

Willow nodded. "Sent 'em down a couple hours ago, figured you might not want them in here when you woke up. Told them they weren't allowed back up until I came down to get them."

"Thanks." Buffy said earnestly, smiling graciously at her friend.

"You guys hungry?" The redhead offered.

"Already ate…" Spike mumbled.

"No, I'm fine." Buffy replied. "Where's everyone else?"

"Xander went with Giles and Anya to try and get some new leads before the sun sets, and I stuck Andrew in the basement with the girls. Figured they needed to practice dealing with truly evil creatures. Or at least really annoying ones." Willow said.

"Good test of self-control…" Buffy muttered. "I take it Dawn's down there to?"

"Yep."

Buffy nodded, then turned to Spike. "I guess I should fill you in on what's been going on while you were gone."

-----

Buffy had just finished recounting what had happened to Spike when she heard the thundering of footsteps from the basement. Chloe had come up a few minutes before to use the bathroom, glancing curiously at them when she walked by. She nearly ran on her way back to the basement, obviously eager to share with the others that their new vampiric roomie was awake.

"Brace yourself…" Buffy muttered under her breath, giving the vampire a quick glance before the mob of girls exploded into the room, followed by a squeamish looking Andrew. He glanced at Spike, then proceeded to walk over to the far corner of the room.

"Oh my God, how did you…"

"You were a mess last night!"

"Do all vampires heal that fast?"

Buffy stopped the flow of questions by holding her hand up. "Guys, stop. If we're going to do this, we're going to do it one at a time, got it?"

They nodded in agreement.

Spike shifted a bit, feeling quite like some sideshow freak. He had to admit though, he was a bit more comfortable than last night. For one, he had a shirt on. That in itself was a plus, not to mention the shower he had taken. And he could actually see out of his left eye, which meant that his face wasn't nearly as mangled as it had been, he didn't need a reflection to know that.

Molly raised her hand.

Vi elbowed her in the side. "This isn't second grade."

"Sorry." Molly said sheepishly before looking back up at Spike. "Where in England are you from?"

Spike smirked. "Near Whales, pet."

"Really? Cause I used to live in Whales, but then mum and me shipped off to Cambridge after daddy left, and then we…"

"Molly, can we save this for later?" Buffy questioned, giving her an amused look.

"I've got a question." Vi piped. Spike gave Molly a quick wink before turning his gaze to the redhead. "Do all vampires look, well…"

"Hot?" Chloe blurted. She turned beat red. Spike smirked, catching a glimpse of Buffy's flushed cheeks from the corner of his eye.

"Uh, well…" He scratched the back of his head.

"Vampires look the same as they did the day they died." Buffy said, giving him a smirk.

"Oh…" Chloe mumbled, smiling sheepishly as she sat back.

"I thought vampires were supposed to be scary?" Rona inquired.

Spike looked to Buffy, who shrugged. He turned back to the girls, his face transforming. They gasped. Molly screamed.

He shifted back to his more appealing human visage, raising his eyebrows at them. There was silence for a few moments as they took in what they just saw.

"How old are you?" Kennedy questioned.

"I'm guessin' prolly around five times your age, kiddo." He replied.

"Really?" She questioned, arcing an eyebrow.

"Yep."

"So, he's like, way older than you." Chloe said, looking at Buffy.

"Well, yeah, but what does that…" Buffy started.

"Why are you helping here? I thought vampires hated Slayers?" Rona asked.

"That's kinda a long story, luv…" Spike muttered, trailing off. "Let's just say I'm in it for the long haul. 'm'not goin' nowhere any time soon."

"So you're gonna help us." Kennedy said.

"Appears so." The vampire answered, shrugging.

"Do you really drink blood?" Molly asked.

"Yeah…"

"Human?!"

"Pig's."

"Oh."

Another hushed silence fell over the room. They all sat there, unmoving, unspeaking.

"So how long have you an Buffy been dating?"

TBC…

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A/N: Short, yes, but I have to get to work. :P More reviews are good, yes yes. *nods*