It had been two days since Buffy's breakthrough, and though her mood was elevating slowly but steadily, something was gnawing at her. She still hadn't been patrolling yet, but that wasn't the problem. She had explained to Giles her apprehensions, and he understood fully with fatherly support, as only Giles could. He assured her he would take care of everything. And he had, asking Spike to patrol in Buffy's stead for a while. Spike had agreed readily, as Giles knew he would. What Giles didn't notice was Spike's slight disappointment that Buffy hadn't asked him personally.

Willow was the first to notice Buffy's distraction one night at dinner. "Hey, what's up Buffy? You look a million miles away."

"I don't know. It's weird. You know, like when something's bothering you, but you can't figure it out?"

Xander pointed at Buffy. "Oh! I know this one. Hormones!" All the women looked at him blankly. "Um, I mean, well, sometimes Anya gets grumpy for no reason, and she says there's nothing wrong. And it's usually that time of the......I'm gonna stop talking now." Xander focused intently on his food.

Anya pulled a baritone voice. "Oh, Xander, you should not say such personal things at gatherings of our friends. It is inappropriate and embarrassing." Anya then smiled big and patted Xander on the head.

"It's not hormones, Xander. I don't know *what* it is, but I'm pretty sure it's not that." Buffy sighed.

"Well, maybe you miss slaying? I mean, you are still the Slayer. Maybe you have some subconscious drive to kill beasties?" Tara offered.

Buffy smiled weakly. "Nah, I don't think that's it. I mean, I really don't miss it right now. By the way, how is patrolling going for you guys?"

The rest of the group looked around at each other questioningly. "Um, I know *I* haven't been patrolling. You guys?" Xander asked the ladies. Head shakes all around.

"Well, then.....I mean, Giles said he'd take care of it. I just assumed he'd ask you guys to do some patrolling. You don't think *he's* doing it, do you? And I know it's not the robot, which, by the way, please take that thing out of my house. So freaky."

"We'll take care of it, Buff." Xander volunteered. The girls gave him skeptical looks.

"*We* will store it away, Buffy." Willow shot Xander a look.

"What? Oh, come on, it's not like I'd use it like Spike did. It's a robot. A very well made, sturdy robot.....but still, I couldn't." Xander leaned over and whispered in Anya's ear. "Could I?" An elbow to the ribs was his response.

"Spike! Oh, duh! Of course, Giles must have asked Spike to patrol. God, it's so weird. I haven't seen him since that day," Buffy realized.

"It's only been a couple of days," Anya said.

"I know, but I saw him almost every day after I got back. Just weird, I guess. He hasn't come to see how I was doing or anything."

Tara put her hand on Buffy's arm. "I'm sure he's just giving you time to readjust to stuff. We all needed some Scooby time together anyway."

"He really isn't part of the group, is he?" Buffy frowned.

Tara's face turned red. "Oh, I didn't mean that. I mean, he is part of the group. He helped a lot this summer. I just meant......well......"

Willow tried to intervene. "Um, I think what Tara meant was that, well, while Spike is definitely a team member here, he just uh......Well, he's relatively new to the group, and frankly you didn't even like him for the most part of recent memory......and well, he's Spike. He's never really wanted to be part of the gang, as far as I could tell. All summer it was, 'you bleedin' Scoobies' and 'you're as useless as a buncha Scrappy Doos.' That one kinda stung....."

Buffy laughed. "No, I know. You're right. He's not a Scooby, I know. But I really should go thank him. But not until I get a couple of those brownies I smell baking!"

---

"Spike? You here?" Buffy entered the crypt quietly.

"Down here, up in a second." She heard him call from below. A moment later, he jumped up through the opening, startling her. "What're you doing here?"

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Well, pardon me! Didn't know I was intru---" Buffy stopped when she noticed Spike was shirtless and he had several fresh scratches on his chest. His hair also looked rather messy. "What were you doing?" Buffy asked before she even realized it was none of her business.

Spike looked nervous. "Uh, just sleeping. I mean, it's time for me to get up and go patrolling anyway, so it's ok."

"Really? Just sleeping?" Buffy looked at him skeptically.

"*Yes*, just sleeping." Just then, they heard a small clattering from down below. Spike clenched his jaw and shot his eyes to the ceiling. "Oh, balls," he muttered.

Buffy's eyebrows shot up. "Just sleeping with who?" Buffy tried to step around Spike, who kept himself in her way.

"Not sleeping with anyone, just sleeping. And besides, it's none of your concern anyway. You jealous or something?"

Buffy smirked. "You wish. And according to you, there's nothing to be jealous about." She pushed past him. He didn't try to stop her.

As she climbed down the ladder, Spike said, "It's not what you think. I mean, I just.....really, you don't need to go down there." He jumped down after her.

"Alright, where is she? Where's your love monkey?" Buffy teased, trying to hold back the raging jealousy that she was, indeed, feeling. 'He's supposed to love me, to want me. Not some two bit vampire trollop.....'

"I don't have a love monkey, for crying out loud. It's.....nothing."

Just then, Buffy heard a tiny little mewl coming from Spike's bed. She cocked an eyebrow at him and walked over. She noticed a candle and holder on the floor, apparently the clattering that had alerted her in the first place. When she got to the bed, she looked confused. Then a lump under the sheet started moving. Buffy jumped back, startled. Then, curious, she slowly lifted the sheet to reveal a tiny golden kitten.

"Awww, a kitty." Buffy looked at Spike confused. "You have a kitty?"

Spike looked a bit embarrassed but covered quickly. "Pfft, no, not mine. She just.....followed me home. Been tryin' to get rid of her....." Just then, the kitten jumped up into Spike's arms and started purring immediately, nuzzling his chest. Spike sighed, "Bugger."

** It's TBC and if you R&R I'll be TCB!