Secret Identity

By Silk Summary: This is completely fictional. I'm not sure where the idea came from, but have you ever noticed how cat like a Vampire can be? Set sometime in the fifth season before Crush. Rated PG-13

Prologue

Two large yellow eyes watched as the rabbit sniffed around a large berry bush. They watched as the rabbit came closer and closer, not realizing the danger until the last minute. To late it tried to run as the large cougar pounced on it. It let out a long scream before the cat tore it's throat out.

Part One, Spike's secret

Spike watched as Buffy killed her fifth Vampire. He had finally admitted to himself that he was in love with her. He wasn't sure when it had happened or how, but he really didn't care. He was going through in his mind how he would tell her. He could just yell it at her, but that just didn't seem appropriate. He sighed. He turned back to the Slayer and his eyes widened when he saw at least ten vamps jump her at once. Growling, he leaped out of cover and charged into the fray, dragging one off of Buffy and staking it. Soon there was nothing left of the Vamps but a few piles of dust. "Did I ask for help?" Buffy asked, glaring at Spike. He should have been angry. He should have hated her for that. But instead all he felt was hurt. "Oh, fine. Let yourself get killed. See if I care." Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. "Not that I do. I hate you. Just thought a spot of violence would be fun," Spike tried to cover, mentally cursing himself. Here was a chance and he was blowing it. "Go away," Buffy sighed. "I'm not in the mood to deal with you." That made him angry. "I'm not a.a dog or something!" He yelled. Buffy sighed again. "Fine. Just don't bother me, okay?" The way she said it made him want to do anything she wanted. "Okay." He agreed. He hesitated, then asked. "Can I come with you?" Buffy looked at him funny, then threw her hands in the air. "Fine!" Spike smiled and fell into step beside Buffy. They patrolled for another hour. "I'm going home," Buffy told Spike, yawning and stretching her arms. "Can I." Spike started, then shook his head. "Never mind." Buffy raised an eyebrow at him. "Can you what?" Spike shook his head again. "I said never mind." "Spike," Buffy said warningly. Spike hung his head in defeat. "Okay, okay, keep your knickers on. I was going to say can I walk you home," Buffy just looked at him for a few minutes. "Yeah, I suppose." Spike grinned. Buffy couldn't help it, she laughed. Spike looked so much like an overeager teen at that moment. They walked back to Buffy's house. Spike watched her go in, then turned and walked toward the woods near the cemetery.

"Have we got any information about her yet?" Buffy asked the next day. Willow shook her head. "Nothing about demons that are that powerful. Nothing. And we looked all night." "Yeah, we're all very tired." Xander commented. Buffy smiled. "Go home. Get some rest. I'll do a little research." The Scoobies shook there heads. "No, we're okay. Really." Buffy sighed. "Okay." Later that night the Scoobies were going to the Bronze for a well deserved break. Buffy caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye and stopped, looking in that direction. "What is it?" Giles asked. "I dunno," Buffy said. She walked over to the hedge she had seen it behind and peered over. Nothing. "Huh, thought I saw something." Buffy said, shrugging. "Best keep an eye out," Giles advised. The others nodded. Not a minute later Buffy saw it again. This time she pretended not to notice. As they rounded a corner Buffy saw a cougar slink past to the next hedge. She stopped dead in her tracks. "Guys!" She whispered loudly. "There's a cougar following us." "A cougar?" Dawn said excitedly. "Where?" "Behind the hedge," Buffy said. Giles frowned. "Be careful. Cougars usually only come into populated areas when there food supply is scarce." The Scoobies nodded. Buffy sensed a Vampire not far from the Bronze and groaned. The Vamp jumped out at them suddenly and without warning. It was obvious that this one was not new, a fledgling would not have snuck up on them. Suddenly the cougar roared and jumped on the Vampire, ripping it's throat out with it's teeth. It looked up at the Scoobies. Buffy could have sworn it winked before slinking away. "There's something weird about that cougar." Buffy muttered before sneaking after it. The others followed her. They followed it through the woods and to a field. They stayed back as it stopped at the edge, then began to run. And as it ran it began to change. Fur melted away into milky white skin. The tail shrunk and disappeared. Paws changed to hands and feet, rearing up as the joints changed. The change completed as it reached the other side of the field. It turned around and the others gasped. It was Spike. Before the others could stop her Buffy ran out of cover toward Spike. A look of surprise crossed his face. "How long have you been here?" He asked, making it sound like he couldn't care less. "Long enough. How did you do that?" Buffy asked. Spike paled even more. "Do what?" "You were a cougar," Buffy said. "We watched you change." "Oh," Spike said meekly. "Er, why don't you bring the others out here. I don't want to have to tell this twice." Buffy nodded and motioned for the others to come out. They did so. Dawn ran straight to Spike. "That was awesome!" She said enthusiastically. Spike grinned. "You think so," Dawn nodded. Giles was looking at him in fascination. "How did you do that?" He asked. Spike sat down on the ground. The others followed suit. "Have you ever noticed how much Vampires are like cats?" Spike asked. "We purr, growl, hiss, have yellow eyes, can see well in the dark, we can run unnaturally fast." The others nodded. "That's because there is a small amount of cat in a vampire. Most Vamps don't know about the transformation ability, but it's there." Giles was fascinated. "Fascinating. I had wondered about the likeness. Can you turn into all types of cat?" Spike shook his head. "No. Just the cougar and a domestic cat. I'm not sure how to turn into a domestic cat yet, though." One by one the others left. Buffy was the only one remaining. "I wish I could do that," Buffy said wistfully. Spike shrugged. "You can. It would only last for a week, but you can." Buffy's eyes widened. "How?" "I'd have to bite you in cougar form." Spike told her, knowing she wouldn't do it. "It can't be that simple." Spike shook his head. "It isn't." Buffy shrugged. "Well? Hurry up, I wanna try this." Spike stared at her. Then he got up and raced across the field. He came bounding back a minute later and bit her hand lightly. After a few minutes he removed it and took a mouthful of her sleeve, pulling on it. Buffy laughed and started to run. She felt herself change as she ran, and by the time she reached the other end she was a cougar. It was the coolest thing she had ever experienced. Her senses were awesome. She felt like she could do anything. Then suddenly she felt Spike head-butt her in the side. She looked over at him. He did it again, then lightly nipped her before taking off. He looked at her when she didn't follow, then came back over and pawed at her head. Buffy realized he was trying to play with her. Without warning she pawed his nose and took off. Spike growled playfully and took off after her. They romped all over the field for hours before collapsing. Spike's head was resting on top of Buffy's, and for some reason she didn't mind. She put a paw over his and Spike started to purr. They stayed like that for a while, then got up and ran back into human form. Spike smiled. "Fun, isn't it?" Spike grinned at her. Buffy nodded vigorously. "Lots of fun." She agreed. They headed home.

Part Two

Buffy was sitting on the couch, watching tv. Dawn was over at a friends, so Buffy was taking the chance to be alone. Buffy felt something brush her leg and looked down. A small, adorable little tabby was rubbing her leg. He looked up at her meowed. "Hey, how'd you get in here," Buffy smiled. It was too cute to kick out. It jumped up into her lap and curled up, his head pushed into her stumick. Buffy remembered she'd left the window open in the kitchen. That must have been how he got in. She petted it as she watched a show on tv. The little tabby purred loudly until it fell asleep. Near midnight she picked up the cat and carried it to her room, letting it lie on the bed. Some time later she was asleep. The cat got up and crawled out her window. It layed down outside and rolled over. As it completed the roll it became Spike. Spike rose to his feet and grinned. He'd figured out how to do it just after he'd gotten home from playing with Buffy. If that was how he was going to get attention, it would have to work.

For weeks now the cat had been coming at night. Buffy was beginning to look forward to its visits. Dawn thought it was absolutely adorable. Buffy thought so, too. On the second month, Buffy caught him. She was out patrolling when she saw the cat. She smiled and started to head toward it when suddenly it lay down on his side and rolled over. Buffy gasped as it turned into Spike. Then she laughed. She couldn't help it. Spike had been coming to her house for months now and she hadn't even known. Now, the question was, why? "Hi Spike," Buffy called. "I see you've figured out how to turn into a cat." Spike looked over at her as he got up. "Yeah, why?" "You're the cat that's been coming to the house," Buffy said matter of factly. Spike sighed. "Bloody hell. You weren't supposed to figure that out." Buffy laughed. "Spike, do you like me?" Spike looked embarased. "Um, no?" Buffy turned serious. "Then why have you been coming to my house for two months?" Spike swallowed hard. It was time to tell her. He had to tell her. He walked closer to her. "Um, Buffy, I have something to tell you," Spike said slowly. He took a deep breath. "I'm in love with you." Buffy stared at him. She didn't know what else to do. How could her mortal enemy fall in love with her? "Is this a joke?" Buffy asked. Spike shook his head. "No. I'm serious." Buffy stared at him for few more minutes, then she closed the distance between them, leaned up and kissed him. Spike was stunned, but he responded instantly. Buffy pulled back a minute later and locked her eyes to his. "I've wanted you for some time now," Buffy told him. "I don't love you yet, but will eventually if we try this." Spike blinked and opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. "Try...you mean..." Spike couldn't get it out. Buffy smiled. "Yes, I mean we are going to try." "Yes!" Spike yelled. He looked embarrased. "Um." Buffy laughed. "That was funny." Spike rolled his eyes, then kissed her again. Buffy kissed him back, braking it off only for air. "I could get to like this," She smiled. "Dawn's going to love this." "Oh?" Spike cocked his head at her. "Why?" "She's been telling me to 'go get you' for about six months now," Buffy told him, laughing. Spike laughed, too. "Well, good for Dawn." It was Buffy's turn to roll her eyes. "Come on, lets go tell the others." The two blondes dissapeared into the darkness.

End.