Summary:       Buffy wishes she had a demon to kill, but no, it's just a conversation with Willow and Xander 

Disclaimer:    Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own everything.  But I wouldn't mind leasing Spike from them for a couple of weeks :)

Feedback:     As always, appreciated.

Topsy-Turvy

"Okay, Buffy, why all the secret, covert operation stuff?  What's going on?"  Xander was seated in the Summer's living room.  Willow sat beside him on the couch.  Buffy had invited him over, but she wouldn't say why.  All she said was for him to come alone.

Buffy paced in front of the coffee table.  Already told Angel, already told Dawn, already told Giles.  Just need to tell them.  These are my friends.  They'll understand.  Just need to slide into this slowly.

Buffy stopped pacing.  Sheer panic took over.  "I slept with Spike."  Buffy collapsed into the chair.  Okay, that wasn't exactly easing into the subject.

Xander began to laugh, really laugh.  Buffy sat up straight in her chair.  "Xander, I'm not joking.  I slept with Spike." 

"Yeah, I know Buffy.  Knew about it weeks ago.  Wondered how long it was going to take you to fess up."  Xander was pissed.  Why did everyone think he was a moron?

"You knew WEEKS ago?  I've been caring around this massive secret, and you knew weeks ago."  Buffy was in shock.  Obviously not as much shock as Willow.  Wills just sat there.  She kept opening her mouth to speak, but no words would come out, so she just shut it again.

"Come on, Buffy.  Anya and I have had our suspicions for a while, but the invisibility day?  I come over to take Dawn to school to find you and Spike all gropey in the kitchen.  I was egging you on to tell me, remember, about the type of woman that would be interested in Spike?  Then later in his crypt.  Do you really think I bought the naked push-ups excuse?  Not to mention the fact that you were playing with his ear.  Spike's ear is moving on its own.  And he's twitching all over the bed.  Sure, you had nothing to do with it.  Does everyone think I'm an idiot?"  Xander turned to Willow for an answer.  Willow was still stuck in fish-face mode.

Buffy thought about the day she was invisible.  And Xander had known.  At least she had the decency to blush.  "You and Anya have discussed it?  And you never said anything to me?  Didn't try an intervention.  Didn't try to tie me to chair until the feeling past."  The shock was wearing off, but Buffy still couldn't believe Xander was the calm one among the three of them. 

"You're going through a lot right now.  We all are.  Anya and I have the wedding.  Willow is cold turkey on the magic.  You have death, resurrection, bills and your sister to deal with.  I didn't think getting in your face with the whole Spike thing was a good idea.  You're the Slayer; you can take care of yourself.  He's got a chip.  As long as I didn't see bite marks, I didn't think it was the time to bring it up."  Xander continued to sit there with his I'm-the-man attitude.  "It's not like you would listen to me anyway.  I spent three years trying to get you away from Angel, and that never worked."       

Buffy bounced out of her chair.  She almost threw herself into Xander's arms, landing a big kiss on his cheek.  "Have I ever told you how lucky I am that you're my friend?"  First Angel, now Xander.  Would Buffy ever learn that things never went the way she thought they were going to go?

Now it was Xander's turn to blush.  "Look, Buffster.  I'm not saying I'm okay with this.  I'm just saying that I knew already.  I still think that you and Spike is a bad idea, a very bad idea.  But were not in high school anymore.  We're grown-ups.  If this is something you intend to pursue, I'm not going to stand in your way.  But I will be the first one to stake him and the first one to say I-told-you-so when it goes south.  Because no matter what, I think it will end badly."  Xander was serious.  He didn't like the idea of Buffy and deadboy jr together.  But no one gave him an attitude about Anya.  He had to respect other people's choices like they respected his.   

Willow took that moment to speak up.  It wasn't a word, more like a garbled sound.  "W, w, w, wh, wh."  She closed her mouth and tried again.  "What the HELL did you say!?"  She finally had found her voice.  Both Buffy and Xander were blown away by the force behind Willow's question.  She continued, this time yelling.  "I'll stake him myself.  What is he thinking?  Taking advantage of you like that.  It's not bad enough we had to listen to all that 'I love you' crap, now he thinks he can worm his way in by sleeping with you when you're vulnerable.  Does he not realize the power of the witch he's pissing off?" 

Buffy reached over Xander, grabbing Willow's arm.  "Excuse me, Sabrina.  Spike isn't taking advantage of me.  Actually, I'm the one who started it." 

"That's what he wants you to think.  He probably performed a spell.  That's it, a spell.  Like the one he wanted me to perform on Drusilla.  When I get a hold of him."  Willow's eyes turned a menacing black.  The lamp on the end table closest to her exploded. 

Now Buffy was worried.  "Willow, calm down.  You're letting your emotions get the best of you.  And I just bought that lamp."  Buffy scrambled away from Xander, kneeling in front of Willow.  Thank God she didn't decide to tell them with Spike here.  There would have been bits of vampire all over the living room.  "Willow, look at me."

Willow refocused her eyes on her best friend, letting the power slip away.  "Buffy, I'm sorry about the lamp, but we can't let this continue.  It's not right." 

Buffy started talking to Willow in a calm, slow voice.  "Willow, there's more going on here than you understand.  And I am taking care of it.  That's why I went to talk to Angel.  I wanted a vampire's opinion about the entire situation.  I'm the Slayer, not some naïve little girl.  We are going to do some research about the past Slayers, see if any of them had relationships with vampires.  I've already talked to Giles about it.  He's going to send us some books.  And I've talked to Spike.  We agreed to stay away from each other until I find out more.  Angel thinks we should look at the prophecies too.  Maybe all of this is happening for a reason."  Buffy wasn't sure how she felt about Spike, but she didn't want Willow to dust him before she could find out.       

Willow concentrated on what Buffy was saying.  Angel and Giles already knew?  Angel hadn't dusted Spike himself?  What was the world coming to?  "That day I changed Amy back.  You were trying to tell me then, weren't you?  When you came into my room?" 

Buffy nodded.  "Yeah.  But Amy threw me.  Rat in the morning, person in the afternoon.  Things were a little crazy."

"And that night.  You weren't out fighting.  You were with him all that night."  Willow was finally calming down.  Murderous intent was gone.  Shock was back in its place.   

"Yes, I was."  Buffy sat back in her chair.  "I'm not going to give you guys details.  I think Xander's seen, or not seen, enough.  But I do want to explain.  Ever since I've been back, Spike has been the only one I could talk to about what's going on with me.  He was the first one I told about being in heaven.  Oh, side note.  Angel thinks we need to investigate that too.  He has his doubt.  The first time I kissed Spike was right after Sweet left.  The second time was in the Bronze.  And both times, I'm the one who started it.  Even our first time together, I started it.  And he was just as surprised as I was, so trust me, I don't think it's a spell."

"Something else I need to tell the two of you."  Buffy knew this was the one that wasn't going to go over well, not even with cool-guy Xander.  "I had Tara investigate the spell you used to bring me back.  Seems my returning changed my molecular structure somehow.  Wills, you'll probably understand it better than I do.  Tara compared it to a sunburn.  But whatever it is, it's just enough of a change that makes me register as not-human with Spike's chip.  So, he can hurt me, but he hasn't.  And I don't think he intends to."

"This is not of the good."  Now Xander WAS worried.  Chip-working Spike worried him.  Non-chip-working Spike scared the hell out of him.   

"Xan, like you said, no bite marks.  And I am a big Slayer now.  I can take care of myself."  Buffy turned back to Willow.  Please Willow, she thought, I like the other lamp too.

"Different molecular structure.  No bite marks.  You started it.  Possible prophesy.  Research.  Got it."  Willow was having a difficult morning.  She thought just getting through her classes was hard.

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief.  "You two did better than I expected, well except for the lamp.  I was ready for all out war.  You know, my life's been crazier after the second time I died than it ever was after the first time I died."             

The three friends were silent for several minutes.  "So, " Xander began, "Are we Bronzing it tonight?  I for one could use a frosty beverage." 

"Several, actually."  Willow was adjusting, but beverage never hurt.

"Can't tonight," Buffy said.  "It's Spike's night for the Bronze.  It's one of things we worked out.  He's going to patrol on the nights I work late.  In exchange, he gets the Bronze on Saturday nights and I patrol.  We get it the rest of the week, though.  Next Friday, maybe?"

"Party at my apartment tonight.  You can bring Dawn after patrol."  Xander was not giving up his frosty beverage.

"Buffy, what other things did the two of you work out?"  Willow felt like the people who slowed down to watch a car accident.  She didn't want to know, but she had to know.

"We made a list.  I have it upstairs.  Hold on, I'll go get it."  Buffy walked out of the room.  No one could say living on the Hellmouth was ever boring. 

-----TBC