The End and Beginning
Chp. 26

( MSU: You leave the best reviews. Thanks for all of them. Big huge Spikey kiss to you. To the person that asked if the last chappy was the end, believe me when I say, this is so far from over. The darned story will not end, I think it's going to then I just lead right into something else. To everyone else thanks for the reviews, and a Spike kiss to all.)

The bus pulls into the local Wal-Mart. Everyone piles out, into the parking lot, after Xander finally parks it at the very end it. The bus is sitting caddy cornered, because Wal-Mart doesn't have spaces for buses.

"Could you have parked any further away from the store, Xan?" Dawn asks, sarcastically and rolls her eyes at him. She exits the bus, not waiting for his reply.

"If you want to try and park this big honkin' thing, then be my guest." He shouts after her, just as sarcastic as she was being.

"OH! Don't go getting all huffy, Xan. I was just kidding with ya." She shouts back at him, from the outside. She then strides off to the entrance, thinking of all the stuff she's going to buy with the signed check that Buffy had given her.

Buffy had decided to give everyone a signed check, so that they wouldn't have to meet up with her for her to pay for everything.

Buffy and Spike exit the bus hand and hand. They are having some kind of discussion, but they're so quiet that no one can figure out what they are saying. They're smiling like two goofs, at each other.

"They're inseparable, aren't they?" Kennedy asks Willow quietly.

They are standing outside of the bus door, waiting for the rest of the slayers to emerge. Xander is standing beside them, so that he can close it up after everyone gets off.

"Yeah." Willow answers. "Me and Tara were like that for awhile, then she broke up with me. Not that I'm saying that because Buffy and Spike already broke up and now they're back together again and I don't think they'll break up again and." She's waving her hands around and getting excited.

"Wills you're babbling." Xander says. Thinking *after all this time and all we've been through, she's still the same old Wills*

Everyone is finally off of the bus and Xander jumps back on to make sure that everything is secure and he exits then shuts the doors up tight.

Everyone is walking up to the entrance, not even noticing all the stares they are getting from all the people that are in the parking lot.

The people all know that Sunnydale was destroyed, because of a big giant sinkhole had swallowed the whole town up. Yet here is a bunch of teenage girls and two very nice looking guys on a bus that says it came from there. They just watch the procession of strange people, staring and not believing it.

The group finally enters the store and everyone heads in their own directions.

Buffy drags Spike directly over to the women's clothing and starts to pick items up off of the racks.

"It's not he best selection, but it'll have to do until I can get to a better store." She states, smiling up at her honey.

"Pet, why am I standing here looking at women's clothing?" Spike asks her and smiles back down on her.

" 'Cause you love me and I might need a mans objective opinion on some of the stuff I pick out. Plus you wouldn't want to miss me trying on this." She replies, while holding up a skimpy, red string bikini.

Spike raises his scarred eyebrow at the barely there swimsuit, picturing his goddess in it. He moves his hands, which are in his pockets in front of the bulge in his jeans. *Really don't need to be thinking' like that in the middle of a department store, Mate* he thinks to himself.

"Wouldn't mind seein' you in that, Luv, but I need some stuff too." He says, as he calms down a bit. "I'll be right over here, if you need me." He points to a rack holding t-shirts that he had noticed, while he was being dragged through the store. Placing a kiss on her cheek he turns from her and proceeds to his destination across the aisle from her.

Watching him strut away, she smiles and shakes her head. She says to herself, "I love that man."

"Love you, too Pet." he heard her and called it back over his shoulder. Everyone that was around them looks from him to her. This embarrasses Buffy and she hides her face from all spectators.

She pulls a few shirts and some pants off of a rack and heads the dressing rooms, her face still slightly pink from being embarrassed.

Andrew is in heaven. He is standing in front of the video game display, just about drooling. He stares and stares. He is trying to figure out which console is the best, and which games he can get.

Dawn notices him, walking over from the CD's. She chuckles at him, because he is just so funny standing there with his mouth hanging open and just a little bit of saliva at the corner of his mouth. "What'cha doin'?" She asks him, as she nears.

Andrew turns and looks at her. He still has that look of euphoria on his face and just a couple of drops of drool on his chin. He swipes his wrist over his face removing the spit, unknowingly.

He finally registers what Dawn asked, and replies "I don't know which on to get. I mean X-box has that really cool design, but Playstation has so many games and then you have all the other consoles, to pick from. I just can't choose which one. HELP?"

Dawn sighs and rolls her eyes at the geek. *How do I get myself into this stuff with him* She wonders. She decides to help him out, and then get the hell away from him. "Okay, I get the one that you can play the most games on, and then the whole interchangeable games thing shouldn't be much of a prob'. The games you really want are on all of the consoles."

"Thanks Dawn. I guess I'll get the Playstation then. Now all I have to figure out is what games other than LoTR, and Star Wars."

Dawn shakes her head and goes back over to the CD's. She was looking for the new Three Doors Down CD when she noticed Andrew and she also wants to get a CD player, too. She hopes she finds the CD so she can play that song for Buffy and Spike that reminds her of them. She wants to play it when everyone is back on the bus.

Willow and Kennedy are in the aisle directly over from Dawn, looking at Sarah Mac Lachlan music.

"Let's get this one and this one." Kennedy says dropping the cd's in the cart. " I also want to get that Michelle Branch one, too."

"I don't know Kennedy, I sort of wanted to get Blink 182 and this one." Willow says holding up a jewel case.

"We can get all of them. Buffy said that we could get anything we wanted, so let's get what we want." Kennedy says in a practical tone. Placing her hands on her hips. She isn't going to not get these cd's and Willow knows it by the stance, it must be in the slayer genes or something.

"Yeah, you're right, Buffy did say we could have anything. I say we get what we want and have fun doing it."

Xander is standing in the tool section, browsing hammers and saws and everything a carpenter could dream of. He has just about the same expression on his face as Andrew did while looking at video games. Except in his case there is no drool.

Andrew walks past noticing Xander and says, "Hey Xander, check out what I'm gonna buy."

Xander turns around, relieved that he's not still alone, even if it is Andrew shoving video games up nose. He still isn't alone anymore.

"Hey Andrew, let me check those out." He says, just trying to get him to stay. He drops the hammer he was checking out and grabs for the games.

'Cool, Tekken. We are so gonna play this." He says when he sees one of the coolest games ever in the stash of games in the cart.

"Yeah can you believe it's one of those 19.99 deals?" Andrew asks, very excited that he was getting it that cheap.

"This was a great idea Andy." Xander compliments him. "Now we can totally ignore Giles and Wesley, and most of all the Buffy and Spike cuddle show."

Andrew smiles real big and thinks *Xander thought I had a good idea, not many times that'll ever happen* "Thanks Xander, plus it's really boring in that hotel, after you explore the whole thing."

"When did you go exploring? Xander asks, interested in what Andrew had found out about the place.

"About 2 O'clock this morning, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to have a look around."

"Did you happen to find anything interesting?"

"Not really, it looked like part of the basement had been a training room at one time, but that's about as interesting as it got."

"How could you tell, I mean the only one that I know of you ever seeing, was the half assed one that was in Buffy's basement."

"Well, it almost looked like Buffy's, I mean there was mats and stuff. That sorta told me that it had been something similar to a training room or gym."

"You're probably right, I'll have to tell Buff, to go down and check it out. If we can get her away from Spike long enough."

He picks up the hammer he had dropped and some other stuff and places it in the half full cart he's pushing around.

Spike is still browsing around in the men's section, he has a box under his arm, and you can see a logo on the side that looks like a bull. He has found a pair of combat boots similar to his beloved Docs. The cowboy boots he has on are nice and all, but he misses the comfortable boots he had so long.

He starts to wander off, but then he hears "Spike?"

His lady is yelling. "Yeah, Pet?" he yells back.

"I need your opinion, on something."

He walks over to where her voice is coming from, and notices that it's the dressing room.

The people that were once looking at clothing and other assorted things are now looking from Spike to the dressing room door.

"Pet?"

"I'll be out in a sec." She shouts, not knowing he is standing right outside the door.

"Luv, I'm right here. There's no need to shout."

People are still staring at him, wondering about the strange man with the big leather duster on in the middle of spring. They seem to think it strange.

"Pet, hurry it up, people are starin'."

"I'm coming out, close your eyes."

"Huh?"

"Close your eyes, baby. I promise it'll be worth it."

"Okay my eyes are closed." He huffs out, thinking it silly.

She comes out of the room, and says, "Okay, you can open'em."

Spike opens his eyes and sees on of the most beautiful sites, he thinks he's ever seen.

Standing right in front of him is Buffy in that barely there bikini she'd shown him when they first walked in the store. His mouth falls open, there's a little drool slipping out of the corner. He cocks his head and stares.

He stays like that until some guy says "That is one lucky guy right there."

Spike turns and sees that all males in that part of the store are staring at his mate. He growls.

He turns back around, and is struck speechless, again.

"You like?" Buffy asks innocently, knowing that every male eye is on her.

Spike just nods his head, because the site of her in that was just too much. He moves his hands in front of himself again, he can feel that he is rising and tries to hide it.

Buffy noticed though, and smiles then says, "Struck speechless, huh?"

He finally finds his voice, "Damn, Luv, you're beautiful."

People are still staring at the couple, some at Spike and all of the men looking at Buffy.

Spike has to take his eyes off of her, before he takes her right here in the store. He looks around and notices all the people staring at them. "Buffy, Luv? Could you please go put your other clothes back on? You're 'bout to give some these people a heart attack." He says looking at an old man.

All the men around groan, and start to walk off. Spike growls again, possessively, when one guy tries following his mate back into the room she came out of. "If I were you, Mate, I wouldn't even try it." He says getting ready to pounce on the dead beat.

The guy sees and hears the warning, Thinking I could take that pipsqueak. The guy is about a head taller than Spike, and makes about two of him. He keeps on walking towards Buffy.

Spike stalks towards him, yeah he knows Buffy can take care of herself, but it's the principle. He doesn't want this guy anywhere near her. He closes in on the guy, as soon as he reaches the door where Buffy went in.

He grabs the guys shoulder and repeats his warning "I said you shouldn't even try it, MATE." He growls it out in a whisper this time, he's getting ready to pound this Riley look alike into oblivion.

Buffy exits the room, right in time to see Spike punch the guy, "Spike, what the hell are you doin'?" She says, as the guy looks at her and leers suggestively. She is so totally repulsed it's not funny and it shows on her face.

Spike looks at her and explains, "This ponce, was comin' in after you, Luv. Didn't want you to 'urt him, so I did it for you." He looks back down on the guy and states, "I told you, you shouldn't try." and then he grabs Buffy's hand and walks off.

"Was that guy really comin' after me, baby?" She asks as she lays the stuff she doesn't want in the return buggy at the end of the row of dressing rooms.

"Yeah Pet, he was. I told him he'd regret it."

Buffy looks back over her shoulder at the guy, who is leaning up against the wall, nursing a black eye. "Serves him right." She says.

Spike looks down at her stunned. "Pet?"

"Well it does Spike, I mean god, he could have done that to anyone. He deserved to get what was coming to him."

Spike just smirks.

Buffy dumps the stuff she wants in the buggy she got on the way in and notices that Spike has a few things, including new boots in it. She smiles and starts pushing it towards the make up aisle.

Spike looks in the cart and his eyes grow wide, "Luv, do you really need so many clothes?" He asks still stunned at everything in the cart. He hadn't noticed how much stuff she had dumped in the cart, since he was defending her virtue and all. Plus she had dumped an armful of stuff in the return bin. He has measly black t-shirt and some khaki pants he thought Buffy would like and the pair of boots.

She looks down in the buggy and sees that he only has a few things in it. "That's all you found?" she asks him looking at him incredulously.

They walk by a rack of button up shirts for men and Buffy picks one up off the rack. It's a deep, almost black purple. She says inspecting the shirt, "This would look sooo good on you, plus it would go with the whole black thing."

She puts the shirt in the buggy and walks off, not even consulting Spike. He shakes his head and follows her, he doesn't care if it'll make her happy, then he's happy.

Buffy pushes the buggy into the beauty aides and starts looking through lipsticks.

Spike was just following her not paying any attention to where she is headed and says "Pet, why'd you drag me to the make up aisle, I don't use it and I'm really not planning to anytime in the near future."

She turns around and says, "I need make up and well you just followed my lead I recon."

He walks up behind her, placing his arms around her and kisses her neck right on his mark.

She leans into him as he does this, and murmurs "MMMMM."

"Pet I'm gonna go check out some music, will you meet me there when you're done here?" He asks, planting another kiss on her neck.

"MM HMMM." She says, her mind now on lipstick and nail polish.

'I'll meet you there in twenty?" She says, picking up a lipstick to examine.

"Yeah, Pet, That's fine. I'll see ya then." He leans down and places a kiss on her cheek, and heads off to the jewelry counter, which is only a few feet from the electronics.

(Okay I had to split this chappy up in to two, because it was like really, really long.)