AN: Here's Chapter 2! It took a little longer than I thought it would to get out. Let's just say that if you ever want an excuse to clean your room, lose a library book. Anyway, as a bonus, this chapter is longer than most will be/have been. I didn't intend on it being so long. It just kinda happened. But I'm sure no one can complain about that. It's a treat from me to you for making you wait awhile. Enjoy! And don't forget to review when you're done of course! ;)

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A New Beginning

Chapter 2

**same night**

"Hah! I win!" Andrew cried, leaping up from the couch. "I beat you! The good side of the Force always wins!"

"Alright, alright! So you won this game. That's still only one out of 5. I won the other four!" Xander shouted.

"Yeah! Well, at least I took the path of the Jedi and became a Jedi Knight! You took the path to the Dark Side and became a Sith Lord! Just look at all those Evil tiles! At least I've redeemed myself!"

Xander was getting frustrated now. He leapt up from his place on the floor, making sure to get into Andrew's face.

"Oh yeah? Well, I have more tiles than you do! Look at all my Logic and Intuition tiles! All you've got is Energy! I'm really smart and you're just really…peppy!"

"Oh yeah?" Andrew retorted. "Well-"

Andrew was cut off by the sound of the door opening. In unison, they both looked toward the door to see Buffy walk in, the SIT's not far behind. Buffy stopped when she saw them. She took one look at the game on the coffee table, and their faces, just inches apart, and said, "I don't even want to know."

The two men – though one could hardly call them so judging from their behavior seconds before – looked at each other and immediately pulled away.

Xander turned back to Buffy, smiling nervously, and, shrugging at the game that Andrew was beginning to put back in the box, stammered, "We were just…we were just…"

"We were playing the Star Wars Life game," Andrew supplied from the floor.

"Yeah," Buffy replied slowly. "Okay."

Xander blanched.

As the SIT's entered the house, heading off to various rooms, Buffy walked over to him. "I'm kidding, Xander," she whispered, a humored smile on her face.

Xander let out a long, loud sigh, smiling with relief. "Good. That's good."

Buffy was on a roll now. "Ya know Xander, the last time I looked we didn't own that game."

"Oh. Well…it's Andrew's."

Buffy gave him a look that clearly meant, "Yeah. Sure it is."

Xander sighed. "I bought it."

"Thought so," Buffy smiled knowingly.

Xander laughed. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"Well, it certainly adds some entertainment to my otherwise entertainment-free day."

He smiled. "I'll bet. Well, now that I'm done making a fool of myself, I'll just go hide under my covers." Xander turned around to leave when she stopped him.

"Xander."

He turned back to her, curious.

"Where's Spike?"

Buffy was surprised when Xander's smile quickly deflated. Whether it was because something was wrong, or because Xander didn't like her asking about Spike, she wasn't sure.

"He said he was gonna turn in early."

"What?" Buffy asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I got back from the grocery store about two hours ago. I came inside and he was asleep on the couch. I woke him up and asked him to help me with the groceries. He helped me put them away, complaint free I might add, and then said he was going to turn in."

"Oh," Buffy answered, still looking surprised. Or was it worried?

Off of this look, Xander said, "He's just tired, Buff. You guys have been working really hard training the potentials. I'm surprised they haven't dropped."

Buffy looked to be considering it. Then she replied, "Maybe you're right. We have been working really hard."

"Yeah."

"I think it's about time we had a day off. Tomorrow. No work, no training. We'll stay in and…play board games. Or…we could go shopping. Window shopping. Or see a movie."

"Oh, I want to see the Two Towers!" exclaimed a new voice.


Buffy and Xander turned to find Dawn at the foot of the stairs.

Xander grinned, turning back to Buffy. "Oh yeah. I've trained her well."

"Dawn. Eavesdropping. Ever heard of it?" Buffy asked.

"So, are we really going to go see a movie tomorrow?" Dawn asked, completely ignoring Buffy's question.

Buffy sighed, rolling her eyes, but she couldn't be mad. She smiled. "Maybe. We're all taking the day off tomorrow."

"Cool!" Dawn exclaimed.

"Yeah well just because we're staying in doesn't mean you can stay up all night. You still have school tomorrow."

"Tomorrow's Saturday."

"Oh. Never mind then. Boy, time sure does fly doesn't it? Still, you do need to sleep. Sleep is good for you. So no staying up all night."

"Yes mother," Dawn replied, rolling her eyes and smiling, letting her know she was just kidding.

Buffy smiled back. "Good night, Dawn."

"Night guys." Dawn left the room, yelling as she went, "Hey guys! Guess what!"

Xander smiled. "She sure seems happier. I think it was a good idea to start taking her out training."

"Yeah. Even if she's not a potential, it's still a good idea to teach her so she can protect herself. And she's even making friends with the girls."

"Yup. Nothing wrong with that."

"Yeah. Well, I'm gonna head upstairs. Check on Spike and get some sleep."

"Alright. Night, Buffy."

"Goodnight, Xander." Buffy turned and headed up the stairs.

When Buffy was out of earshot, Xander whispered, "Psst. Andrew! You got the instructions?"

Andrew, who had just finished stashing the game under the couch, got up off the floor and walked over to him. "Right here," he answered, holding up the instructions to the Life game.

"Cool! Let's see what kind of Jedi we are."

"Cool! Me first. Hmm. Most Energy tiles, then…Intuition. 'You are so connected to the flow of the Force that it is difficult to see where you end and the Force begins. Instinctively, you tap the Force to see what is to come, to guide your thoughts, to give you strength, and to move faster than the eye can follow. You are often asked to do the impossible and frequently called on for missions where the goals aren't clear, the road is murky, and the outcome uncertain.' "

"Cool. What's mine say?"

"Umm…here. 'Sith Lord: Although powerful, you have fallen to the dark side of the Force. Your access to the Force is through anger, fear, and hatred. Your skills come easily to you, although do not bring you peace. Your power is great, but somehow unsatisfying. All fear you, though none respect you. You bring destruction to the galaxy, using others for your own purposes.' "

Xander was speechless. That last part seemed to apply quite well to their problems with the First.

Andrew considered the paper for a second, mouth open. Then he looked up at Xander and shook his head.

"What?" Xander asked defensively.

"Dude, that is messed up."

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Upstairs in Buffy's room, Spike was lying on his cot, a cold, wet washcloth pressed to his forehead.

"Ow! Bloody hell!" Spike groaned, pressing the cloth tighter as the sharp pain overpowered the painful, constant thud. "Dammit, that hurts," he hissed through the pain, his eyes closed and his face squinched up. The initial pain lasted about 30 seconds before finally dissipating, leaving the now familiar thud in its wake.

Spike's panting finally lessened and his tense body went slack. Spike sighed as he realized the attack, at least this one anyway, was finally over. He lifted the cloth from his head, rearranged it, and placed it back on his head. He relaxed and tried to see if he could fall asleep. Before he got a chance to, however, he could hear Buffy's voice getting closer to the room. She was coming up the stairs.

As quickly as he could he took the cloth off his forehead and shoved it under the pillow. He wiped off his forehead and lay down on his side, curled up under the covers, and closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Buffy entered the room to find him that way. To her, he seemed asleep. She went over to the dresser and grabbed some pj's and a clean towel. She could never find one anymore, so she'd stooped to hoarding a few in her dresser when she could find them.

As she headed back toward the door, she paused to look at Spike's face. He seemed to be sleeping soundly, though since he didn't breathe she couldn't know for sure. She let out a deep sigh. She must have just been overreacting. He was fine. Xander was right. He was just tired. She left the room and headed toward the bathroom to see if she could grab a shower.

After she was gone, Spike let out his own sigh. Good. It had worked. He curled up deeper under the blankets and pulled the pillow closer. And when Buffy came back 15 minutes later and climbed into bed, he was sound asleep for real.

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Buffy opened her eyes to find the room still dark. She looked over to the clock next to her bed. 3 o'clock in the morning. Why would she wake up at three? She rolled over to face the door. And that's when she saw him.

Spike was on his cot still, but he was curled up tight, shivering violently. He was letting out tiny whimpering noises and moaning. And he was clutching his head, hanging on for dear life. Or…unlife.

Buffy sprang up out of bed and shot over to the cot, kneeling down beside him. She could now see…tears? Yes, tears running down his face. Beads of sweat covered the parts of his head that she could see. "Spike?" she called out to him.

He didn't answer her. He just continued to moan and shiver.

"Spike!" she yelled.

He still didn't answer.

She reached out and began to shake him, lightly at first, then harder as her motions proved in vain. And as she was shaking him, she continued to yell his name. "Spike! Spike! Come on! Snap out of it! Spike?!" Buffy got more and more nervous as he continued to be unresponsive to her. "Spike?"

All of a sudden, he stopped thrashing. The shivering ceased and his tense body began to relax.

Spike finally realized that she was next to him, touching him. He vaguely remembered her trying to shake him, but he couldn't respond to her through the pain. He opened his eyes to see her kneeling next to him, concern etched on her face. Spike took his hands off of his head and relaxed, as the pain dissipated once again to a thud.

"Spike?" Buffy whispered, her voice unsteady. "Are you okay?"

'What do I say?' he thought. 'I can't tell her the truth. She'll go nuts.'

"It's nothing," he replied, stretching out on the cot. "I just had a bad dream. That's all. A nightmare. I'm fine."

Buffy didn't look convinced. "Are you sure that's all? You were really freaking out."

"Yeah, well I can have some pretty bad nightmares is all. Really. I'm fine. You should have seen the nightmares I had after I got my soul back. Those were awful. This is nothing. Happens all the time when I have a really bad one."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive Buffy. Trust me. It's over. Just a bad dream. I'll get over it."

Buffy sighed, giving in. "All right. Do you need anything?" she asked.

'Hmm, now this seems oddly familiar, doesn't it?' he thought to himself. Out loud, he answered, "Some blood would be good. I haven't had much to eat today. I'm probably just having bad dreams cause I'm feelin' peckish." He grinned.

Buffy smiled back at him. "Kay. I'll be right back." She took her hands off his shoulders and left the room to go get him some blood. Spike let out a huge sigh when she was gone. "That was close," he said to himself. "Whatever this is, I sure hope it stops soon. I don't know how long I can keep this up."

Spike sat in silence until Buffy returned, warm mug of blood in hand. "Here," she said, handing it to him. He put it to his lips. "Careful! It's hot."

Spike smiled into the mug and began to drink, a warm feeling spreading through him. Not because of the blood, but because of the amount of concern she showed for him. Though annoying at times, and painful for him at others, her concern never ceased to make him feel…special. Warm. Alive. Even…loved.

Spike drained the mug and looked up to find her still in front of him, staring. When the staring became too much for him, he said, "You should get back to sleep, luv."

Buffy shook herself. She'd been staring at him again. She couldn't help it. She wasn't 100% sure that he was telling the truth. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked for the millionth time that day.

Spike couldn't possibly be angry about her constant questioning this time. She seemed deeply concerned for him, and he couldn't worry her even more. Gently, he reached out and grasped her hand in his, squeezing it. "I'm fine," he stated firmly but gently. He looked at their hands together and was reminded of so many nights before, after his encounter with the First, when he had done the same thing. "It was just a bad dream. It's okay. You had one of those too, remember? This isn't any different. Now why don't you go back to sleep? You've had a busy day. You don't need to keep yourself up over little old me. Right?"

Buffy smiled at him, trying to make it as real as possible. "Sure," she replied. "Sleep sounds good." She looked down at their hands, still clasped together. She grinned, a genuine one this time. "Can I have my hand back?"

Spike realized he still had her hand in his and he smiled nervously, letting out an equally nervous laugh. "Oh. Of course." He let go of her hand. If he had any circulation, he was sure his face would be beat red.

Buffy got up off of the floor and climbed back into bed. She crawled under the covers and lay down on the edge closest to him, facing him. He set his mug on the floor and lay down too, closing his eyes.

Buffy lay awake until she was sure he should be asleep. Though as usual, her level of assurance couldn't be very high. After about 20 minutes, she closed her eyes and tried to get back to sleep. But she was having a hard time. Had he really had a bad dream? Was that all it was? Or was it something…more? He'd said that she herself had had a bad dream, and his was no different. He was right of course. It wasn't any different at all. People had bad dreams all the time. Her last thought, before falling to sleep, was 'Yeah. But not everyone has slayer dreams that can come true.'

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Buffy opened her eyes once again. This time, the room was lit up. She looked over at the clock. 7:30.

"Dammit!" she cursed "Why can't I just get some sleep? I'm tired enough. You'd think I could stay asleep a little longer." Buffy groaned loudly. She rolled over on her other side to see if she could possibly sneak in a few more hours. She frowned, however, when she spotted Spike's cot. Empty.

"Hmm. He must have just gone to get some blood." She lay down and relaxed. All of a sudden, her eyes widened. She could see a dark patch on the floor, over near the door. "What the hell?"

Buffy got out of bed and slowly headed toward the spot. She kneeled down and looked closely. Her eyes widened more, if that was even possible, when she realized what it was. She stood up. "Blood." She'd seen enough of it in her life to know what it was. She stepped out into the hallway.

"Oh my god," she whispered. Smaller dark spots were located throughout the length of the hall. They led to…"The bathroom!"

Buffy sprinted down the hallway to the bathroom. The door was open a crack. Buffy entered, not bothering to knock. She let out a frightened gasp at the scene that met her.

Spike was bent over the toilet, making the most awful noises. He let out a loud heave and blood gushed out of his mouth, landing in the toilet. The blood. From last night. He was throwing it up.

"Oh God." Buffy rushed over to him, landing next to him on the floor. "Oh Spike," she whispered. She put one hand on his arm and the other she placed on his back. She stroked his back gently as he continued to throw up the blood from hours before.

When the heaving finally subsided, Spike collapsed, his head landing on his arm that was thrown out on the toilet, his unnecessary breathing heavy. Buffy got up and got a washcloth from the towel bar, soaking it in cold water. She gently wiped the blood from his mouth as he sat there. When she was done, she tossed it in the sink.

"Spike?"

Spike pushed himself up off the toilet. He sat up for a second, before he crumpled.

Buffy caught him before he could hit the floor. She rested his sweat-drenched head on her chest and held him to her.

"Oh god," he gasped as pain shot through his head again. The attacks were getting closer and closer together, occurring more often. He grasped his head and curled up in her arms. He began to sob as the pain got worse and worse. Buffy held him closer, cradling his head and stroking his back as he cried, trying her best to comfort him.

When he finally stopped shuddering, Buffy spoke quietly, her voice shaking in fear. "Spike, tell me the truth. Did you really have a nightmare before?"

"Yes," he whispered.

She didn't believe him. Not after this. "Spike, please!" she begged. "Don't feel like you need to lie to me. Please." She choked on the last word.

Spike lifted his face up to look at her. He took one look at her face, her deep concern so clearly evident, and knew he couldn't lie to her anymore.

"No. It wasn't a-" He was cut off by another shot of pain. He shrieked loudly and curled up in her arms again. "Dream," he finished through gritted teeth. "Oh god, oh god, oh god," he chanted, holding his head. "Make it stop, Buffy. Please. Just make it stop," he begged.

Buffy began to rock him slowly, holding his head close, and resting her own head on top of his. "I will. I promise," she whispered into his hair. As blood began to pour out of his nose, Buffy whispered, continuing to rock him, "God, what's happening to you, Spike? What's happening to you?"

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TBC

AN2 – Disclaimer: I didn't want to put this in the beginning because it would have given something away. Nothing too major, but it wouldn't have been as good if you'd known it was coming. Anyway, I need to add this because I really don't want to be sued:

The Jedi descriptions that were spoken by Andrew, and the Star Wars Life game itself (The Game of Life: A Jedi's Path), are the sole property of it's makers: Hasbro, Milton Bradley, etc. The "What Kind of Jedi Are You?" descriptions are found in the back of the instruction booklet. You didn't honestly think I could come up with those myself, did you? ;) Yeah, I wish.

Anyway, chapter 3 shouldn't take quite as long to get out. It's one of those ones I wrote in the beginning as procrastination. Needs more though. So expect a shorter wait for this one. I can't promise when, but soon. :) And, as always, reviews may tempt me to write faster. ;) Hope you all enjoyed it. :)