San Francisco October 2003

 
 "Do you want to meet some of my roommates?"

Buffy nodded and slipped her arm through his. She really just wanted a shower, a bed and twelve hours of uninterrupted sleep. In that order. But she supposed a few seconds to make nice weren't going to kill her. As two sets of footsteps made their way closer, Buffy and Toad turned to greet them.

It took three rapid steps back and a considerable amount of mental cajoling for Buffy to get her voice box working again.

"Spike?"

Buffy twisted her fingers together in a move she belatedly realized was reminiscent of Tara.

 No! No Tara thoughts. Or Willow thoughts or Xander thoughts. Those thoughts bad. Just Spike thoughts. No wait! That's bad too. I'm quitting that. But he's here so of course I'm gonna have Spike thoughts and what the hell is he doing here anyway? And why do I care? I don't care. But just in case I do, which I'm so not saying I do, but if I did would it be in a 'gee I missed you' kinda way or in a 'where the hell have you been' kinda way. But isn't that the same thing? Or maybe it's a 'I miss you' in a 'I need to kick someone's ass and yours will do'  way. Whoa, back up a step, Spike's ass leads to really bad thoughts and I'm seriously quitting any thoughts that include Spike's ass and anything to do with his body. Nope no ass thoughts or sexy blue eyes thoughts or tight six back abs thoughts or…

"Buffy?"

Buffy tore her gaze from the blonde apparition that had stepped out of the living room to stared slack jawed at Toad, who was frantically attempting to get her attention. "Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

No I'm not okay. That's Spike. Do you have any idea what that means? Of course you don't. No one does, not really. Hell, I don't even know what it means. Is this what a nervous breakdown feels like?

Buffy took several deep breaths and tried to calm the massive fist twisting away in her gut. "I'm fine."  Turning slowly away from Toad's concerned face she brought her eyes to the man who hadn't spoken or moved an inch since he had entered the room.

Hi Spike, how are you? Hi Spike, it's been a while. So Spike decided to relocate did you? Spike. Hi. What's new?

"Spike…What the hell are you doing here?"

Oh yes, Buffy, you are a smooth one.

"Slayer."

Buffy blinked twice at the low menacing growl in his voice.

Oookay, he must be still pissed. Well you know what Spikey?  That's too damn bad.  I'm the injured party. Mostly. If anyone should be growling here, it's gonna be me. Not that he doesn't have reasons for being pissed but mine are definitely better…I think.

Another growl, this one decidedly feminine,  permeated the air and Buffy forced herself to acknowledge that there was indeed another presence in the room. Shifting her eyes slightly, she caught a flash of long black hair and pale skin before an armful of vampire was pressing her intimately to the floor. And not in the good way.

 Buffy stared, stunned, at the girl who had tackled her to the ground, seemingly intent on discovering just what color foundation the Slayer used by way of long red cat scratches that were welling up all over Buffy's face.

Buffy got her arms up and was about to return the facial when a bright spark rendered her momentarily blind and the weight on her body was suddenly dissipated. She remained on her back, propped up by her elbows for leverage, and gaped, dumbfounded, at the sight before her.

The raven haired vamp was now being straddled herself by yet another vampire.

Was there a sale? Three vamps for the price of one? Oh yeah, I'm losing it.

The new one was kinda cute though in that "I'm a jock and can shotgun beer'  way.  Another woman, this one decidedly more human, stood just off to the side blue sparks flashing around her fingers.  It was the way she seemed to be alternating her gaze between the psycho who had attacked her and Spike, that garnered Buffy's attention. She had the exact same pissed off look that Buffy got when Dawn had done something particularly annoying.

"Spike, so help me god, you had better get your ass over here and control your girlfriend."

Buffy's gaze shot from the finger-sparky girl to Spike. What the hell has he been telling them about me? I'm nobody's girlfriend. Okay that's just sad. Moving on…

Buffy shoved herself off the floor. "I'm not his girlfriend."

When no one paid the slightest attention to her Buffy raised her voice a few decibels. "I'm not his-"

The extensive tirade she was building in her mind was cut off by a sharp snort from Spike. "Not bloody likely. Why don't you be a sport and let her up?  Watching Tash kick the Slayers ass would round out my day nicely."

Rude much?

A few previously glossed over facts assimilated themselves in Buffy's brain as her glare flit between Spike and the psycho vampire on the floor. Such as, the fact that Spike had been holding the psychos hand when they entered the room  and continued to do so the entire time she had been staring fell into a calculation she hadn't previously taken the time to add up.

Girlfriend? Spike has a girlfriend?… Well good. Don't bother me a bit. Nope I'm fine with that. Better than fine. See watch me be all with the fineness.

Reaching into her pocket, Buffy pulled out a stake and headed across the room, fully intent on rendering the 'good for Spike he has a wonderful, shiny, new relationship' girl, dust. Halfway to her target she was met by an insurmountable wall of flesh in the form of a certain blonde menace. Stopping dead center in front of him, she raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

His gaze ran slowly, mockingly,  over her body before coming to rest on her face. A small smirk played at his mouth and his eyes held nothing but contempt for the figure he had so thoroughly perused moments before.  "Ah ah, Slayer. Staking someone who can't defend themselves isn't really your style now is it? The Slayer I know and loathe would wait like the pathetically noble creature she is for a fair fight. Or doesn't it work that way anymore? Need to stake em' while their down? Years taken off a bit of your edge? Mind you from where I'm standing they certainly took their toll on your body. Or was that gravity?"

A million things ran through her head at that moment. The things she'd discovered about his past, the questions, the overwhelming urge to just curl up and cry. Unfortunately, her throat seemed to have seized up and she did the only thing she could.

Cocking an elbow, Buffy punched him squarely in the nose.

"Are you completely brain dead? What in the world possessed you to bring a Slayer into this house? Did it not register in your pea brained little mind who the hell lives here?"

Twin grunts of agreement sounded from the kitchen table where Spike and Ian sat with twin ice packs pressed gingerly to their noses. Ian had been the unfortunate one who had the distinct pleasure of wrestling an irate Buffy off Spike while she pummeled him into the ground.

"Tasha!" Rain shouted. She had been sitting on the kitchen counter trying to process the exact sequence of events that had led up to the drama in her foyer. Which was getting increasingly difficult with the endless diatribe Tasha was partaking in.

Tasha spun around from her position of having Toad jammed in a corner, to face Rain. Swiftly transferring her glare to the only other human in the room, she propped her balled up fists on her hips. "What?"

"Would you just calm down and-"

"I'm not going to calm down! He's trying to get us all killed!"

A chorus of shivers erupted up the spines of everyone in the room as Tasha's shrill voice reached chalk board scratching levels.

Rain shook her head as if to clear her ears. "Sam is not trying to get us killed. He may have had a small lapse in judgment but I'm sure he's not-"

Yet another snort made it's way out of Spike's nose and he winced slightly at the pain inducing action. "Well if he's not, then I'm going to have to agree that the boy has lost his bloody mind."

A grunt of agreement sounded to his left and Spike nodded at Ian's show of vampire solidarity. Ian tended to cave at crunch time when it came down to keeping Rain happy. At least on this one thing they were all on the same page. The Slayer had to go, no matter what Rain said.

"Would you three just shut up for two seconds so we can figure this out?"

Spike leveled his gaze on Rain. And here we go…

"There's nothing to figure out. She's the bloody Slayer. I say we kill her and dump the body."

Spike was momentarily distracted by the malicious gleam on Tasha's face. The look was reminiscent of Dru and he made the increasingly inevitable connection between his princess and Tasha.

She's not a replacement. She's not a replacement.

With a certain degree of difficulty he pulled his focus back to Rain, who was pacing the kitchen in agitation.

"We are not killing the Slayer!"

Spike eased back into his chair and propped his feet up on the table. "Fine but don't blame me if your honey here can't service you on account of him being nothing but dusty remains."

Rain slammed her hands down on the table and glared at Spike.

"Would you pull your head out of your ass for two seconds and think. Contrary to popular belief the world does not revolve around you. She's here for a reason and if the Slayer is showing up on our doorstep it must be something big. Something I have no desire to face on my own. If you stop and consider, it's actually an honor to be chosen to help her."

Spike stood quickly, knocking his chair over in the process. Leaning across the space separating them, he brought his face within an inch of Rain's. Despite the tension that reverberated through his body, his voice was a low menacing roll. "I do not help slayers. Get that through your thick little skull. There is no bloody way  I'm gonna sit here and let your little hero worship trip get me killed."

"For your information, I am not on a hero worship anything! Have you forgotten what we do here. If the Slayer needs our help, the friggin CEO of what we do, we are going to help her whether you like it or not."

So intent on their battle of wills neither noticed when Ian stood and calmly righted Spike's chair. Moving forcibly between them, he pulled Rain away from Spike and smiled down at her like a benevolent father. "Rain. Honey." Ian pushed an errant strand of hair off her face and took her hands firmly in his, holding them against his chest.

Spike smirked at the gesture. It was designed to look sweet and humble, when in actuality it was Ian's subtle way of trying to curb Rain from lashing out at him with her magic.

"She can't stay here. You know we can't trust her. The Slayer's whole purpose in life is to rid the world of us and I for one don't want to wake up with a stake in my chest if she gets a bad case of PMS. I know you want to help, and I love you for that but I can't allow you do this. She's leaving and that is final."

Rain looked at the group assembled, Spike's superior smirk, Tasha's cold, nervous rage, Sam trying to sink into the floor and then back at the love of her life. Her voice dropped a few octaves and her green eyes flashed with fire. "Did you just say, allow me?"

Exactly ten minutes later Spike stalked out of the house with a fuming Tasha in tow.

"Bloody whipped sod!"

Buffy slammed her suitcase down the bed and ripped open the zipper. Staring blindly at the contents of the overstuffed bag, she brought up a hand and pressed her fingers against her eyes.

I will not cry.

Tilting her head back, Buffy stared at the ceiling trying to stop the tears that still threatened despite her adamant refusal to let them. With a quick toss of her head, she let her gaze wander aimlessly around the room. It wasn't bad. A big queen size bed done in some nice earth tones with an ornate metal head board sat flush against one wall. A tiny bench was tucked at the end of the bed and a large chest of drawers stood by the door. A huge bay window engulfed the wall across from the bed. Crossing to it, she lifted the heavy midnight blue curtains and peered out.

Spike.

She could just make out the glint of his hair as he strode away from the house accompanied by that dark haired psycho. "Tasha," Buffy said, testing the name on her tongue. It was decidedly bitter. Buffy let the curtain drop quickly. A throat cleared behind her and Buffy jumped slightly before she turned. It was the other girl. What was her name? Shower or something? Buffy practically ran back to her suitcase and started pulling items out. She wasn't entirely sure why she felt like she had just been caught.

"So you're the Slayer?"

Buffy unscrewed the top of her curling iron and upended it to let a stake roll out on the bed. Getting through customs with an arsenal required some creative thinking. Lifting her weapon of choice, Buffy fingered the end and fixed an unwavering gaze on the girl standing in the doorway.

I will not be intimidated. I'm the Slayer. I can take anything. Even bleached wonders who felt the need to find  Dru-shaped replacements .

Without so much as a flick of an eye, the stake was ripped forcibly from her fingers and flung against the wall. Buffy stared at the weapon on the floor and then back to the girl who hadn't moved an inch from the doorway. Buffy nodded slightly at the glow of energy surrounding the girls fingertips.

"So you're a witch?"

The girl slowly crossed the room until she was standing directly in front of Buffy and raised her hand, palm up, in greeting. "Rain."

Buffy stared stupidly at the hand for a moment and then took it in a short, firm shake. Quelling the urge to squeeze as hard as she could. "Buffy."

Both immediately stepped back once their hands were released and eyed each other warily. Rain was the first to break the oppressing silence. "So, do we stand here all night trying to decide who's the bigger bitch or do we just get down to business?"

Buffy's eyebrows shot somewhere up into her hairline and an unwilling grin spread across her face. Symptomatically, her words came out somewhere between a giggle and a cough. "Business. Business would be good."

Rain flopped down on the bed and started to dig through Buffy's suitcase. "What else you got stashed in here?"

Buffy stared for a moment at the sudden change in demeanor. The girl was coming in somewhere between a cross of Faith and Willow on her radar. Lowering herself gingerly to the bed, she sat down on the other side of the bag and began pulling things out, itemizing as she went. Holy water, daggers, more stakes, switch blade, axe just in case. When she was done the bed was covered in enough weapons to keep an army surplus store happy for months. Rain flicked an uninterested eye over the cache and then picked up a backless silver top. "Can I borrow this?"

Buffy fell back on the bed as a fit of giggles engulfed her. Rain raised an eyebrow. "Is that a no?" Buffy just laughed harder. She couldn't remember the last time someone had asked to borrow her clothes. It was so girly, so non-Slayer, so normal.

God, whatever happened to normal?

 "Take it," she managed to choke out after a few minutes. " It's yours."

Rain raised an eyebrow in a 'hello crazy woman in my house' look. Buffy pressed a hand on her stomach trying to stop the giggles. "I'm sorry. It's just been so long since…"

Rain looked from the pale, worn girl on the bed, to the weapons, to the suitcase full of clothes. With a sharp nod she stood up. "Business can wait, you need a break. Why don't you get some sleep and we'll talk in the morning."

Buffy stared hard for a moment at her retreating back and then raised a hand. "Wait."

Rain paused in the doorway and turned back with question in her eyes.

Buffy sat up and gestured to the bed, silently asking her to sit. "Where the hell am I? Better yet, who are you people?"

Rain moved back towards the bed, after shoving the suitcase on the floor she sat down and crossed her legs. "We, all of us who live here, are Divinity. Don't laugh, I was into this dictionary phase when I named us. We protect those who can't protect themselves against things most people pretend not to know exist. Or some such sanctimonious crap. Kind of a local chapter of the Slayer."

A small, long forgotten blurb ran through Buffy's mind. Something about we help the hopeless. Buffy rolled her eyes.

Guess those powers have to stick their nose in everywhere. Really makes me wonder why they even bother with the whole chosen one thing.

 "You've met pretty much everyone. The big guy whose nose you broke is Ian."  Buffy glanced sheepishly around but Rain dismissed the look with a flick of the wrist. "He can handle a little pain, it was his pride more than anything."

"You do know that you're pretty much surrounded by vampires, don't you? That Ian is a vampire?"

A small mischievous grin formed on Rain's lips. "Wouldn't be nearly as much fun otherwise."

Buffy stared at her for a second before comprehension set in. "Oh. Oh! You mean you and him…"

"Yeah, me and him. He's my husband."

"You married a vampire!"

"Well not technically. Priests and vampires don't exactly mix. He prefers the term mating or some such. I don't really pay attention to all that vampire crap, besides mating makes me think of dogs. But essentially, for all intents and purposes, he's stuck with me until death do us part. Literally."

Buffy wanted to ask what that little comment meant but she figured there were to many other things to discuss at the moment. "What about Ta…the others?"

Rain noticed the slip and filed it away for future contemplation. "Well you met Sam, he's our technical guru. He's not much involved in the actual slaying bit, more of our man behind the scenes. Then there's Sage, but you might not meet her. It all depends on whether what you're here for will involve her or not and apparently you already know Spike."

Buffy flinched at the mention of Spike's name and noted the interest Rain was taking in her reaction. Stiffening her spine, Buffy silently waited for the rest.

"Which brings me to Tasha. Tasha is Ian's sister, Spike's mate and all around pain in my ass. You are going to have a real fight on your hands if you covet that title of supreme bitch with her around. She's also unfailing loyal to those she loves and most importantly, she's one of mine…"

Buffy didn't miss the warning behind Rain's words. Whatever turmoil abounded in the group, they were tight knit and a threat to one was a threat to all. Nodding slowly, she processed the odd dynamic of the group and forced her brain to latch onto the least wanted but most desperately needed piece of information. "Spike. How did he get involved?"

Buffy raised an eyebrow at the sharp laugh from Rain but held her tongue.

"We found him trying to terrorize the unsuspecting public into supplying his alcohol habit. Guess he thought I looked like a good mark. He thought wrong."

Buffy smirked. The more things change... "So why's he here? Why didn't you just stake him?"

"Tried that, but he's got some kind of protection spell on his heart. I swear he's got nine lives sometimes. Anyway it's impossible to dust him that way, stake just kinda goes in, then we're all sitting around waiting for the big poof that never happens. Trust me I was shocked as shit when it happened. His ego has swelled to mammoth proportions since. But we decided to keep him around anyway, he does tend to keep conversation lively."

Buffy shook her head slightly at the long tumble of words and tried to decipher the point. "What kind of spell?"

"Not sure exactly. There's a tattoo over his heart with, I think, the Latin word for protect or bind. We haven't been able to decide which and he doesn't really care as long as it does it's job."

"He never was one to get the logistics of a thing."

"You know him pretty well then?"

Buffy caught the slow measuring way Rain said it and was instantly on guard. "Spike? I guess you could say that."

"Funny thing that. I mean you've only seen him a few times and I knowing him it was probably mostly fighting. So that leaves me wondering, how did you get to know him so well?"

Buffy acknowledged the leading questions but her temper flared before she could stop it. "What? A few times? What? Spike's been a consistent pain in my ass for years. Up until six months ago I was tortured with his presence on a daily basis. "

"Well now that's interesting, cause' according to Spike he hasn't seen you in years."

Years? That lying, conniving son of a bitch. What the hell did I expect though? It's not like blood sucking fiends are known for their honesty. Well if he thinks he can just sweep me under the carpet he's got another thing coming. He's going to acknowledge me if it's the last thing I…What the fuck am I saying?

Taking a deep breath, Buffy folded her hands and said in her most nauseatingly sweet voice, "Tell me then, if he hasn't seen me in years what exactly has he been doing?"

"In a word. Drusilla."

At Buffy's sharp snort of disgust. Rain grinned. "Know her then?"

"Unfortunately. So tell me where, in his delusional little world, was he 'doing' Dru? Cause I can guarantee you it wasn't in Sunnydale."

"Europe. Trying to get a chip out some doctors shoved in his brain. Hey, come to think, you live there, do you know who that was? I'm really getting sick of listening to him whine about it."

"They're gone," Buffy said, in a tone that made known the subject was effectively closed. "So let me get this straight, you're saying he went to Europe, with Dru, to get the chip out? When exactly did this little fantasy trip supposedly happen?"

Judging by the look on her face, and her next statement, Rain was becoming hard-pressed to keep a handle on her temper. "I'm not 'saying' anything. I'm telling you what he told us. A story I have absolutely no reason to disbelieve. As for when, I think it was right after he got the stupid thing."

Buffy forced herself to calm down and lowered the pitch of her voice to placating. "So, how did he get here?'

"To make a long, endless whining and bitching story, short. Dru dumped his ass, little trip to Africa, big drunken mess, long boat ride back to the states."

Buffy sat quietly for a minute trying to process what was happening here.

I wanted something to make these feelings stop.

Buffy's jaw dropped and she stared at the girl before her but all she could see in her minds eye was a white bathroom and a vampire pleading for his heart. "You have got to be kidding me."

Rain raised a brow. "What?"

"He did it."

"Did what?"

Buffy stared blindly at her suitcase for a moment. Tears threatening to cloud her vision again. He erased me. He fucking erased me.

Looking up at Rain, she had trouble hiding the pain, she didn't want to feel, from her eyes. "He-"

"Rain." Both girls looked up sharply at Ian, who was framed in the doorway. "We've got a problem?'

Rain's gaze shifted from the distraught girl to the man in the door. "What is it?"

"With Sanctuary out of business nests seem to be springing up everywhere. We've got a lot of work to do," a pause, then, "Like now."

Rain heaved a sigh. She really wanted to know what was going on between the Slayer and Spike but it was going to have to wait. "Alright I'll be right there." Turning back to Buffy, she took her hand and smiled reassuringly. "Look we'll talk more later. Why don't you try to get some sleep?"

Buffy was still mentally rampaging against Spike and the only foolproof cure for a pissed off Slayer was mass destruction, preferably of the dust variety. Standing slowly, the smile she sent Rain was vicious. "Hello? Slayer here."

Rain looked momentarily shocked. The small emotional shell of a girl was gone and in her place stood a confident determined woman. Ignoring the glare burning into her back and the subsequent growl from the doorway, Rain held a stake out to Buffy. "Did you want to come with us?"

Buffy simply started strapping stakes on her body in answer. Rain stood and shot her own glare at Ian. "I'll just go page Spike and Tasha."

"Yeah you do that. Page Spike. We a lot to catch up on…Wait a second. Spike has a pager?"

Spike strolled nonchalantly towards  Ian and Rain, who were standing quietly staring into the huge windows of an abandoned warehouse. He was still unbelievably pissed and the rather large amount of alcohol he'd consumed since leaving the house was just adding fuel to the fire. There was no bloody way in hell he was running because the little witch beckoned. No not him, he was walking…slowly when she beckoned.

Sometimes I wonder who's the whipped one around here.

Stopping a few feet away he waited for their acknowledgment before he could have the pleasure of treating them to withering glares and smart-ass remarks. And waited. And waited.

Patience. Not his virtue.

"So is this the new plan then. Wait for the evil nasties to file out in an orderly fashion and fall on the stakes. Bloody brilliant that, don't know why I didn't think of it."

Both turned simultaneously towards him and Spike's eyebrow hitched up at the stunned expression on their faces. There wasn't much in this world capable of rendering these two mute, Rain especially.

"What's wrong with you two?," Spike muttered as he ventured closer to the window.

At first all he could see was a thick encompassing fog. It took a moment to comprehend that it wasn't actually fog but rather a substantial layer of dust polluting the air. Narrowing his eyes, he dimly picked out a blur of movement in the shape of what appeared to be ten separate bodies.

"We tried to stop her but…"

Spike glanced at Rain who seemed unable to finish her sentence. "Stop who? Tinkerbell in one of her destructo modes again? Why stop her?  Makes less work for us this way."

"No…," Rain said slowly, "That's not Sage."

Spike stared uncomprehendingly at Rain, then snapped his eyes back to the window so quickly his neck threatened whiplash. "No. It can't be. There has to be at least ten in there with her."

"There 'was' twenty."

Spike tried for cool nonchalance and failed miserably. "How the hell did she do that?"

"Don't know exactly it was all kind of a blur. She seemed really pissed about something though. Yelling stuff about arrogant assholes and spells and 'who in the hell does he think he is', all the way over here. She wasn't making much sense."

Stands to reason, he supposed. Slayers always were a few screws short, especially that one. You had to be somewhat unbalanced to fall for your mortal enemy. What kinda nut job does that?

"Not that I care, but why aren't you helping her."

Rain shrugged slightly, still unable to tear her eyes away. "We tried. Just ended up standing there with nothing to do so we came out here to get away from the dust. Oh look it's starting to clear."

Spike felt his jaw hit his chest at what he was witnessing but didn't have the faculties to stop himself. Buffy was in the center of the room with the five remaining vampires. She had a deadly smile on her face and if his lip reading skills were accurate she was calling them all on at once.

 Oh please, they're not gonna fall for that old trick.

To Spike's disgust, they all rushed at her simultaneously. Just as they reached the center, Buffy executed a perfect back flip over their heads, causing the rushing vamps to crash into each other. Buffy stood safely a few feet away, hands on her hips and  a 'god you guys are stupid' expression.

Who in the bloody hell is making these stupid wankers?

Spike realized, much to his personal embarrassment, that he had his hands and nose pressed against the glass. He was about to move back when Buffy spun a kick at the nearest vampire and he was lost in the fight again.

Perfect.

No, not perfect, he berated himself,  just better than he remembered. Whatever she had been doing that took away the bouncy little golden girl he remembered  sure as hell hadn't affected her fighting style.

Bouncy little golden…What the hell is wrong with me? She's the Slayer, remember? Evil nasty bitch screwing up your life? Bloody soddin buggering dreams.

Spike suddenly smacked his hand on the window as his focus was pulled back to the tiny girl beyond the glass. Buffy was down to her last opponent and the move she was using was extremely effective. He should know, it was one of the many in his repertoire. Spike turned away to tell the others that the all-mighty Slayer was stealing his moves, but they weren't even remotely paying attention. Before he could raise, what was going to be a considerable amount of bitching, Buffy strolled calmly outside, wiping dust off her coat. At the astonished looks from the assembled gawkers she glanced back at the building and then at them. "What?"

Rain was the first to move, walking forward quickly and grabbing Buffy's arm to drag her off down the street. "Exactly how bad is this thing you're chasing?"

The other three followed from a discreet distance. Or if truth be told, a safe distance.

Spike glanced at Tasha and Ian from his place between them. Ian was the first to speak. "Can I just say how glad I am that she's not actively trying to kill us."

Tasha snorted "She's not that good. Those were probably fledglings. I could have done that."

Spike smirked. Sure you could Tash. Got a bridge you might be interested in buying too.

Spike trained his gaze on the Slayers back. This was not good. There was another little nugget of information his mind had conveniently forgot. Shifting his jeans, Spike fought for control over his errant body.

Bloody bitch always did get me like this. No wonder Dru was always complaining. Not that she should have, some of the best shags we had was after a tussle with the Slayer…Ungrateful bint.

 Spike watched the subtle sway of the Slayer's ass under the cover of her coat and began to create a game plan for the  positions he was going to get Tasha in when they got back home.

Might be some benefits to having the chit around yet.

All pleasant thoughts were forcibly wiped from his mind as his gaze focused on the material of the coat rather than the wearer. Spike blinked twice and roamed his eyes over the leather clad figure again.

"Hey! That bitch has my bleedin coat!"

TBC