A/N: sorry it took so long, I wasn't sure where to go from there. But I was stuck at work for an obscene amount of time today and was bored so I had time to think. So, two warnings for you. 1.) The fluffyness has come to an end. Time for actual plot. 2.) The following contains spoilers and rumors about upcoming episodes. Not all of it, but there are tidbits and I won't be specific about which parts, but they're there. They're not exactly how they're played out in the show either, I just worked them in to give it more a realistic feel. Yep. Keep the reviews coming!!

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"What are they doing?" Joey questioned, peering out the kitchen window from her seat atop the counter.

"Nothin'." Spike said simply, not looking up from the stove.

"They have to be doin' something." She said in a stubborn tone, looking over at him.

He sighed, setting the grilled cheese he had just made on the table. He peered out the window, careful to avoid the streams of sunlight. There were seventeen girls in the backyard, all moving in sync as Kennedy led them through a series of kicks and punches. It looked like a martial arts class.

"Well?" She asked, staring at him.

"Don't worry 'bout it." He said, taking his gaze away. He picked her up easily and deposited her on the stool in front of her food. "Now eat your lunch."

"But I wanna go outside too." She whined.

"Finish your food first."

"I'm not hungry."

"You were twenty minutes ago." He pointed out, smirking at her.

"Fine." She said, giving in, although she didn't do it without a hefty amount of pouting. "But can I go play after I'm done?"

"We'll see, kitten." He said, walking towards the living room. They were the only two in the house at the moment. Anya and Giles had headed off to East Germany to recover another potential while Willow and Xander had shipped off to Ireland for another. Dawn and Buffy were at school and Andrew was staying at Xander's place while he was gone, the overwhelming presence of nearly twenty teen girls having almost driven him mad. He glanced at the clock as he grabbed an old book from the table. Buffy and Dawn would be home any time now.

"I'm done."

He turned to see Joey standing in the doorway, an empty plate in hand. "Ate that pretty fast for someone who wasn't hungry five minutes ago."

She gave him an impish smile. "Can I go outside now?"

He sighed, then nodded. "Yeah, but remember the rules. Stay in the backyard and don't get in the girls' way. 'right?"

She nodded.

"Go throw your plate in the sink then." He said, following after her as she scurried off towards the kitchen. She had just ripped the door open as he walked in, slamming it loudly behind her as she hopped out onto the porch. He watched from the corner of the window as she stood on the top step for a few minutes, watching curiously as the girls continued with their drills.

"What's wrong?"

Spike turned, startled as Buffy walked into the kitchen. "What? Oh, nothin'."

The Slayer walked up beside him, crossing her arms over her chest as she watched. "It's sad, isn't it…"

"What is?"

"Most of them are going to die soon." She said flatly.

"Yeah." He agreed, returning his eyes to the girls.

"There's so many of them."

"Two more on the way." Spike reminded her. "When are the other due back, anyway?"

"Willow and Xander should be back in three or four days, and Giles and Anya are due back any time now." She replied.

Spike nodded, looking down a bit.

"Spike."

"Hm?" He replied, looking back up at her. She nodded towards the window, her hand covering her mouth. His eyes shot up and his stomach fell.

Joey was standing at the edge of the group, attempting to follow along, swinging and kicking with the others.

They both stared, then after a moment, Buffy spoke up. "We should go see if we can find anything else…"

"Yeah." Spike said numbly, turning and following her towards the livingroom.

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"Spike!"

Buffy and Spike both looked up from the couch as Joey came running into the living room, her eyes wide.

"S'wrong kitten?" Spike asked, closing the book he had been flipping through.

"They're yelling a lot." She said, covering her ears.

"The girls." Buffy said, standing and tossing her book to the floor as she marched towards the kitchen.

"What the hell's going on?!" The Slayer demanded, crashing through the back door and onto the porch. Silence fell over the screaming group and they all stared at her. Chloe hiccupped. She was crying. "What. Happened." She ground out, glaring at them.

There was a brief silence, then Kennedy spoke up. Her voice wavering. "I was just trying to get them to keep up. They were falling behind in the drills and I told them they were just slow and weak and if they didn't try harder…"

"And you think you're better?" Buffy offered, smirking at the girl. Kennedy looked hurt. "Well, let me tell you something." The Slayer said, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked down the stairs. "You all fail to realize something. You're ignorant. You're dumb. You're weak. Not a single one of you is ready to take on anything bigger than a housefly. You'll all die. Some of you sooner than others, but you'll all die. Look around you. You see the girl standing beside you? Remember her face, because sooner or later she's going to be the one fighting to save you or she's going to be dead."

The girls remained silent, staring at her.

"You have had it easy." Buffy said coldly. "These drills? These patrols? They're nothing. You have no idea what we're up against. I've been carrying you all this far, but guess what?" She stopped pacing, her cold eyes drifting over them. "Ride's over." She said simply. "Now you have a choice. Tough it up and start carrying your own around here. Or leave. And die." She paused again, looking them over. "Your choice." She finished, turning and marching back up the stairs. She slammed the door behind her.

"What was she talkin' 'bout?" Joey whispered as Buffy went back into the livingroom.

"Don't worry 'bout it…" Spike said, giving her a slight nudge in the direction Buffy had gone. "You can watch the telly for a bit…"

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"Why can't I come?!" Joey whined, trying desperately to pull away from Dawn's hold.

"We're not gonna be gone long, pet." Spike said, pulling on his jacket. "Just stay here with Dawn and the others for a bit."

"But I don't wanna!!" She wailed.

"Spike, we have to go." Buffy said, ushering the girls out the front door. They had been rotating SIT's, taking six or seven on patrol a night.

"Comin' pet." He said, crouching down in front of Joey. "Make you a deal. You stay here and be a good girl and I'll bring you a little treat back, alright?"

Joey sniffled, running her sleeve under her nose. "Please?"

"Sorry kitten." He said, brushing her wet hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. "No can do. Just do me a favor and stay 'ere. We won't be gone long."

She continued to sniffle, but didn't say anything.

He gave her a small smile, ruffled her hair, then stood. "Call if anythin's wrong, Nibblet."

"I know." The girl said. "Be careful."

He gave her a small nod, then went out the door after the Slayer.

Joey began to cry once more.

"No. No, no, no, no." Dawn said, crouching down beside her. The numerous SIT's in the living room stared at them. "What's wrong? Oh! I got an idea. How about we play a game? We can play hide 'n seek again. And this time there's lotsa people, not just me and Spike." She said, motioning to the girls in the other room. "It'll be fun."

Joey looked at them then wiped at her eyes. "Okay…"

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Spike yawned, leaning back against the side of a small crypt. He had been here nearly an hour and the two girls searching for him had yet to stumble across his little hiding spot, which in reality, wasn't much of a hiding spot at all. He sighed. "Would'a thought you'd do a bit better than this, Chloe…" He mumbled, leaning to the side and looking around the corner. He had given up on memorizing everyone's names and only knew the name's of the first couple handfuls that had arrived at the house. Chloe and some little redhead were supposed to be finding him, but apparently they weren't having much luck.

"Boo!"

Spike jumped a bit, startled by the high pitch shout. "Joey?!" His eyes went wide. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" He yelled, jumping to his feet.

Her eyes went wide. "I…I just wanted to come…." She whimpered, her eyes leaving his face and darting around the dart cemetery. "I missed you…"

He relaxed a bit, feeling a bit guilty for having yelled. "Sorry, luv. It's just… it's not safe outside at night." He said in a softer tone, crouching down so he was eye level with her. "How'd you get here, anyway?"

"I walked."

"Where's Dawn and the others?"

She giggled at his question.

"What's so funny?" He asked, quirking a suspicious eyebrow at her.

She walked up to him and cupped her small hand around his ear, then leaned forward and whispered something.

"They're huntin' the house for you?!" He asked in surprise. "You were playin' hide 'n seek and you took off?"

She nodded a bit warily, afraid he would yell again.

He sighed, running a hand over his face. "Let's go find the others. Buffy has the phone on her so we call and let them know you're safe." He stopped for a minute, then looked back down at her. "How'd you know where we were, anyway?"

She shrugged. "I dunno, I just…"

A loud scream echoed through the air.

Spike bristled. "Change of plan, kitten." He said, snatching the girl up and tucking her under his arm. He broke the lock off the door to the crypt and set her inside. She looked around, her eyes wide. "Stay here." He said firmly.

"It's scarey!" She shouted, tears brimming in her eyes.

"I'll be back." He said, pulling his jacket off. He wrapped it around her shoulders and pointed towards the corner. "Go sit down and keep quiet. I won't be gone long. Just stay here." He said firmly, plopping her down on the floor. "I'll be back." He assured her once more, closing the door. He looked around for a moment, then walked up to the small metal fence surrounding the cemetery and pulled a bar from it. He thrust it through the door handles of the crypt and strained to twist it, locking the girl inside.

Then he bolted.

"Behind you!" Buffy shouted, slicing through another Bringer's stomach as he swung at her. Chloe ducked just in time to avoid a blow to the head. Two of the SIT's screamed as a group of the eyeless demons surrounded them. They huddled together as they approached, knives drawn.

"Miss me?" Spike asked, smirking as he smashed two of the creatures' heads together and snapped the necks of two more. The girls looked up at him through tear filled eyes. They looked horrified.

They'd be some of the first to die.

Spike shook the thought from his head and refocused his attention at the enormous amount of Bringers swarming around them. Buffy was having a hell of a time fending them off on her own, and the SIT's seemed completely petrified and did little but dodge them.

"About time you showed up." Buffy said, gritting her teeth as she drove one of the Bringer's knives back through it's stomach.

"Fashionably late, luv." Spike said, plunging a stake into another's side. Two more down. Three. Five. Nine.

Buffy wiped a small stream of blood from her mouth as she looked up. "Where'd the rest go?"

Spike swallowed, his eyes staring in the direction they had taken off in. "Scared 'em off?" He offered.

Buffy shook her head. "Is everyone alright?" She asked, turning back to the group of scared girls. They nodded sullenly.

She nodded again, then turned back to Spike. "We should head back to…."

A high pitch scream rang through the air.

Spike's stomach dropped.

"No…" He said in disbelief. An instant later, he was darting back in the direction he had come, Buffy tearing after him. They easily hurdled over the tombstones in their paths, but the SIT's trailing behind them had a much harder time weaving between them.

Spike pushed a tree branch out of the way as he dashed back towards the crypt he had left Joey in. He felt his chest tighten when he saw that the doors were open. He ran faster.

"Spike! What's…" Buffy froze, her eyes widening as she stopped behind him in the doorway of the crypt. They were both silent.

"Buffy! Spike! Wait for us!" The redheaded SIT called as she came panting into the clearing, the others tailing behind her.

"Oh God…" Chloe squeaked, her hand covering her mouth as she looked past them and into the crypt.

The structure was coated in blood, and in the center of the mess was Spike's torn, tattered jacket…

TBC…

A/N Did I not say the fluffyness was over? Didn't I?! Ack. Actual plot. I'll try and post again tomorrow sometime. Don't wanna leave you hanging too long. ^_^ keep reviewing!!