A/N : Wow, I have over 100 reviews now! Thankyou so much to all you lovely people who wrote nice reviews - you're very kind and you make me want to write more often, which is pretty amazing since I want to write most of the time anyway : ) I'm glad you're all enjoying this so much. I have to warn you though, there are only going to be another five or six chapters I think and then it will all be over (if everything goes according to the plan, that is). Anyway, enough of my rambling, here's the next chapter! (Please review if you want more soon!)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 18 - The Morning After The Night Before

"Spike!" the young man awoke at the sound of his name being yelled through the house, loud enough to wake the dead, never mind a person just a few feet from the location of the sound "Spike!"

'What the bloody hell?' he wondered as he sat up and looked over at Buffy, writhing on his bed and screaming his name.

"You pick your nights to have nightmares, Slayer" Spike sighed, pushing the blanket from his body and moving over to the bed. He sat on the edge and grabbed the girls upper arms, holding her still, afraid that she would hurt herself or roll herself completely off of the bed, cracking her head on the cabinet on the way down.

"Buffy? Buffy, wake up, luv" he said, softly shaking her. He was surprised to see a smile spread across her face. Still very much asleep she calmed her movement and he moved to let go of her, but she stopped him, grabbing the hands he tried to take away Heaven only knows how she did it when she was so fast asleep but then perhaps her dream and reality were closer than he realised.

"Oh Spike" she whispered, sliding her hands up his arms.

'She's dreaming about me?' he wondered, a smile creeping across his own lips. Her hands on his shoulders and the look on her face was silently begging him to come closer, but when she was asleep? That was no better, actually it was probably worse, than when she was drunk.

"Do I have no luck at all?!" he asked any forces above that would listen, it was only after he'd done it that he realised how loudly he'd not so much spoken as yelled. His outburst awoke his very own Sleeping Beauty who was somewhat shocked to find herself in Spike's room, on his bed, with him very practically on top of her - but that had been a dream right?

"Oh God - Spike?" she gasped, looking up into his face.

"I'm right here" he told her. What would she think now?

"I just...I..." she stumbled on her words. She had been asleep, it had been a dream, but he was here and her dream, her thoughts, the feelings were still clear in her mind. He was inches away, she could just...

She was awake now, she was probably hungover but no longer drunk and there was wanting in her eyes, he knew that look, it would be so easy just to...

"William!" a voice boomed from the front door.

"Oh, bugger!" Spike cursed, getting up from the bed in somewhat of a panic. His mother seemed to have worse timing than he had luck!

"What's going on?" Buffy wondered, suddenly very aware that her dream was most definitely over and panic was setting in as to how much of it had been reality! What was she doing in Spike's bedroom? And why when she tried to sit up did her head protest so much?

"Just keep quiet pet" the bleach blond told her in a whisper as he headed for the bedroom door "and do not come out of this room, okay?" he said just before he exited, waiting only long enough for her reply.

"Okay, but..." she was cut off by the door closing loudly, sending another jolt of pain through her skull. She didn't have the energy or the inclination to worry about what was going on right now, she just wanted to lie still and hope it all went away.

"Hey Mum" Spike greeted his mother as she came up the stairs.

"Will, what's going on?" she asked suspiciously as she met him on the landing.

"Nothing, nothing's going on" he assured her, ushering toward her own bedroom, out of the way "Why'd you ask?"

"No reason" Jessica shook her head but continued to eye her son suspiciously "You're acting very strangely" she observed.

"I've always been strange Mum" he smirked "you only just noticed?"

"Very funny, dear" she smiled, patting him on the shoulder "Now, I'm going to go have a shower and get changed" she gestured toward her room and the bathroom "You wanna make a start on lunch for me?"

"Lunch?" Spike echoed in confusion.

"It's almost eleven already William" Jessica frowned "you did notice, right?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Spike nodded his head and smiled.

"Sure, yeah. You go have that shower Mum, relax, I'll start the food"

"You're a good boy" she smiled, ruffling his hair as she headed for her shower.

"Yeah, right" he said to himself, "If only you knew"

He watched his mother disappear into the room before turning back to his own. He still had a very hungover and confused Slayer to get out of the house before his mother noticed.

On re-entering the room he found said Slayer still on his bed, but sitting on the edge by now. She looked tired, confused and generally un-Buffy like, but to Spike she looked as beautiful as ever she had.

"Time to go, luv" he said somewhat sadly, he'd love to pick up where they'd left off a few moments before, but his priority right now had to be not getting killed by his own mother or Joyce, and therefore getting Buffy out of his house, fast.

"I feel awful" the Slayer groaned, clutching her head.

"Thought you might" Spike admitted, picking up her boots for her and urging her to out them on quickly.

"Last night" she frowned, as she pulled on her footwear "I don't remember much..." she glanced around the room and then over at Spike "oh God, I didn't, I mean, we..."

"Buffy, calm down" he hissed as her voice got progressively higher and louder " I don't have a lot of time to talk right now, you need to go home, because if my Mum finds you here we're both in trouble" he explained, but she still looked panicked. He sighed "I promise, pet, last night I carried you here, took your boots off for you and we slept, separately, you on the bed, me in the chair"

He watched relief fall over her features, knowing he could have really wound her up but all too aware of the lack of time right now.

"Right now though, we really need to get you out of here" he said again, getting her to stand up and pulling her by the hand toward the bedroom door. He stood and listened for a second but Buffy would not keep quiet.

"Okay...but what happened to Cordy?"

Spike rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Her grandma had a fall, ended up at the hospital, Cordelia had to go look after her"

"Oh, poor Cordy" Buffy sympathised as Spike peeked out onto the landing. His mother was in the shower, he could here the water running. He opened the door fully and started across the landing toward the sitars before realising Buffy's hand had slipped out of his.

"Yeah, movement of the essence here, luv" he called back to her in a whisper.

"Oh, sorry" she said, shaking her head lightly, trying to clear the fog that was inside. 'Why don't I remember?' she wondered as she was dragged down the stairs and the front door was opened. The sunlight made her wince as it hit her eyes.

"Will!" Jessica's voice called loudly from upstairs.

"Oh bugger" Spike cursed, shoving the girl beside him out of the front door "Buffy go"

"Will I see you later?" she asked just before the door closed.

"Count on it, pet" he smiled briefly before slamming the door closed and not at all improving Buffy's headache.

To Be Continued...