Title: The Soulmatchers

Author: Sunglow999

Pairing: Spike/Buffy

Rating: R (Just to be on the safe side)

Disclaimer: All characters belong to Joss Whedon & Mutant Enemy, except Cassie and Orion – they belong to me.

Spoilers:- Up to Dead Things, things are different from there on in. Crossover with Angel later on. This is my first ever fanfiction so reviews would be helpful, email me at sunglow999@hotmail.com

Chapter 8. Tears before bedtime.

They walked in silence to Spike's crypt. Buffy was still struggling with pangs of jealousy and Cassie was trying to think up ways to break the news of Orion and Dawn as gently as possible. They arrived before either were prepared and it was Buffy who broke the silence.

"Well? What was so important and secret that it couldn't be said at the house?"

"First of all, I know about you and Spike." Cassie decided to address the other issue first.

"What about me and Spike? There is no 'me and Spike'" Buffy was in full panic mode. "I don't know what you're talking about. If he's said anything to you then he's lying."

"Stop it, Buffy! Stop lying to me and stop lying to yourself!" Cassie interrupted Buffy's rant. "You love Spike."

"No! I don't love Spike! He hasn't got a soul! He's a soulless demon and they can't love or be loved without a soul." Buffy's panic had escalated and she will in full denial.

"Who told you that?"

"Giles, and Angel."

"Giles is your Watcher?" Cassie was going to ignore the Angel reference. She started to pace back and forth. "To quote Spike, 'They're a bunch of wankers'. Orion and I had a run in with them about thirty years ago. We've always avoided the slayers, you see, but Orion had a craving for fish and chips and the best fish and chips are found in a little café just up the road from the Council of Watchers. Orion spotted a tweedy type reading about druidic practices and they arranged to meet the next night to go over some other texts he had. We didn't know that he was a watcher and the next night he was waiting with some muscle and managed to tranquilize us. We woke up chained in their cellars. Bastard had recognized us from an old watcher diary and took great pleasure in testing our abilities. I swear, that Travers enjoyed staking us every time."

"Travers? Quentin Travers?"

"Yes." Cassie raised an eyebrow. "You know him?"

"He's head of the council."

"I'm not surprised, he was headed for the top even then and the coup of capturing the soulmatchers added hefty brownie points to his record."

"How did you get away?" Buffy vividly remembered her time in Faith's body and the helplessness she had felt at the hands of the council's hit squad.

"They didn't know that Orion is telekinetic. The drugs slowed him down a bit but eventually he was able to concentrate enough to free us from the manacles and unlock the door. They'd taken blood samples so we had to find their lab and destroy them. They were too busy trying to put out the fires I set and saving their precious records to worry about us. Orion hasn't wanted fish and chips since." Cassie stopped pacing. "What I'm trying to say, Buffy, is that your watcher is wrong, or has been told the wrong information. When Orion and I match vampires with slayers, and it has been done not that the council would ever admit to that, the human soul of the vampire becomes stronger and the demons weaker. Spike does have a soul and he does love you."

Buffy had started to cry. She shook her head in denial.

"No, you're wrong, he doesn't love me, he can't! How can he love me when I've been so h.horrible to him? I've b.beaten him, u.used h.him, rejected him so many times."

"What can I say? He's Loves Bitch."

Buffy suddenly laughed through her tears. "Did he tell you that?"

"He didn't have to. He's a direct descendant of ours; my brother Galen. Just occasionally I can read minds, and believe me, delving into Spikes mind is like negotiating a maze."

"He drives me crazy." Buffy sank into Spikes ratty chair and wiped her eyes. "Some the time I want to kiss him, but most of the time I want to.."

"Kill him?" Cassie grinned. "But you love him anyway."

Buffy sat still as she finally opened her mind to the notion of loving Spike. As Cassies words sank in she realized that maybe it wasn't such a terrible thing to love him, and to allow him to love her.

"Yes, yes I do." A weight seemed to fall from her shoulders as she finally admitted the truth to herself and to Cassie. "What about Angel, though? I thought Angel was my soulmate." Her tears started again. "I loved him so much."

"I know, and once upon a time he was. The Powers that Be do occasionally make mistakes and they realized that one too late. They caused the spell the gypsy's cast to be broken, thus severing your bond and allowing you and him to be re-matched. The powers have other plans for Angel, his destiny lies elsewhere."

"It's going to be so hard." Buffy scrubbed her hands over her face, wiping away the tears. "Spike's going to be saying 'I told you so' for years."

Cassie started pacing again.

"I didn't bring you here just to tell you about you and Spike though."

"I can see you're related to Spike now."

"What?"

"The pacing, that's what Spike does when he's thinking."

"Yes. Oh, the cheekbones run in the family as well. Spike looks a lot like Orion only Orion's hair doesn't come out of a bottle."

"Wow, I can't wait to meet him."

"There's to be no drooling over my brother, that's your sisters job." Cassie didn't have to wait long for her words to sink into Buffy's consciousness.

"What!" Buffy surged up out of the chair and Cassie beat a strategic retreat to the other side of the sarcophagus. She didn't want any more bruises.

"Dawn is Orion's soulmate."

"No! No no no no no. Dawn is not getting involved with a vampire, one in the family is enough!"

"Buffy, he won't be a vampire. That was the deal with the PTB's. When we join with our soulmates we become human, or mostly human. We retain our powers and strength but we age and we eventually die."

"What do you mean 'join'?"

Cassie winced internally knowing how Buffy would react to her next words.

"We physically join, as in make love."

Spike's television suddenly became a casualty of Buffy's rage.

"No! Dawn's only fifteen!"

"Why do you think I was so angry at the Bronze? Orion doesn't know she's only fifteen. All he knows is that she's here in Sunnydale. He's going to be so pissed off."

"He's pissed off? I'm already pissed off! Dawn is not having sex until she is thirty, and only then if I'm dead!"

"Look at it this way, Buffy. Orion will protect Dawn, he can't be killed, he has a soul already and he can walk in the sunlight with her. I'll make sure he knows that he'll have both you and Spike after him if he touches her in any way sexually until she's at least eighteen. He can still feel pain you know."

"I don't care. I've worked hard to make sure Dawn doesn't grow up like me. I'm not having her lose out on a carefree teen-hood just so some ancient vampire can have sex with her to become human."

"It won't be like that, he'll love her."

"Yeah, like Angel loved me and look how well that turned out when I slept with him."

"Orion won't lose his soul."

"I still don't care. I want Dawn to have crushes and prom nights and sleepovers with her friends. Losing mom and then me has hurt her too much already. She's not going to be forced to grow up too quickly."

"Buffy, you live on the hellmouth, how the hell can she not grow up quickly."

"So I make sure she takes self defence lessons. She won't need your brother to protect her, she has me, and Spike and the others."

"You won't be able to stop him once he sees her. He's very single-minded."

"Then you'll have to make sure he doesn't see her. Once we get him back you leave for LA as planned and you take him with you. I won't have him lurking about waylaying her."

"If I agree to this, how long will he have to wait?"

"Until she's eighteen, and only then if she isn't dating anyone seriously."

"Will you call us every so often? Just to let us know how she's getting on?"

"I'll give you my phone number. Once you're settled in LA you can let me have yours and I'll call you, not the other way round. There'll be no contact at all with Dawn from your brother."

"Will I be able to speak to her? I give you my word of honour that I won't mention him. I like Dawn, she's a good kid."

"Okay."

Cassie held out her hand and they shook on it.

"So, should I ask about his prospects?" Buffy asked. "How will you support yourselves?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. Orion and I have had a lot of years to amass a fortune ready for when we become human again. We realized long ago that we didn't want to have to worry about money. We're millionaires several times over."

"M.millionaires?"

"Naturally, Spike gets a share of that. We set up a trust fund and all the paperwork relating to it in Spike's name for him to access it easily after meeting him in Prague."

"Oh, wow."

"So, when this is all over, do you want to go shopping? Dawn wants a pair of these." She motioned to her trousers.

"No, no leather." Buffy put her foot down, there was no way she was going to let Dawn go anywhere in leather pants.

"Come on, let's get back to your house before they all think we're dead. Well, you anyway, I'm immortal."

"Oh God!" Buffy suddenly stopped short in the doorway, causing Cassie to bump into her.

"What?"

"Angel. Spike's not going to be able to resist crowing when I tell him I love him." Buffy savoured the words before continuing. "He's going to be shouting it from the rooftops and the first person he's going to tell is Angel."

"Don't worry, I'll handle Angel." Cassie pushed her forward.

"Oh yeah. How did you do that, by the way? I've never seen Angel back down before."

"I'm a hell of a lot older than Angel. It's a vampire thing."

***

When they got back Buffy noticed Spike looking at her apprehensively and knew that he was wondering how she had taken the news. She decided to make him suffer just a little bit, and, pasting a scowl on her face, she stalked up to him. She grabbed him by the lapel of his duster and hauled him out of his chair.

"Upstairs. Now!" She ordered and pushed him in front of her.

"Slayer.."

"Don't slayer me, get upstairs, now!"

Cassie watched as, protesting he preceded her up the stairs. As Buffy closed her bedroom door behind Cassie flicked her fingers and cast a silencing spell round her room. She didn't want any other vampire ears to hear what was going on. Both Tara and Willow sensed the magic and looked at Cassie. Tara got it first and smiled slightly. Willow wasn't far behind and would have said something if Cassie hadn't put her finger against her own lips in a gesture of silence. Willows eves opened wide and she looked at Tara, who nodded. Willow sat down on the arm of the sofa; things were about to get interesting.

A/N Hope you don't think Buffy gave in too easily, but I got fed up of all the angst. Next chapter is a little steamier as Buffy and Spike get together. This was re-written after reading Caramina von Strade's comments, maybe Buffy did give in too easily about Dawn and Orion – blame it on this episode being written at 6.00am.