Disclaimer: The usual, Joss and Mutant Enemy...

Spoilers: BtVS through Chosen and AtS through Just Rewards.

A/N: I am using the "reality bends to my will" idea from Hellbound and some occasional quotes, but otherwise my story will not be following the series 'Angel'. And, Spike is able to do more than just pick up coffee mugs in my story.

True Nature

Chapter 7

As they walked through the door, Spike began to feel nervous.

"Buffy, luv, I don't know how...solid, I can uh..."

Buffy smiled at his sudden shyness. Then rushed to comfort him when she saw the hurt in his eyes.

"I wasn't laughing at you, Spike. It's just...you're so..."

"If you say cute, I'm out of here." Spike glared at her.

Buffy bit her lip to try to hide her smile; cute was exactly what she wanted to say. "I was going to say sexy."

"Yeah, sure you were." Spike looked unconvinced, but he allowed Buffy to steer him toward the couch.

"Spike, I'm not expecting you to perform miracles." She told him as they sat down. I've just missed you. I've missed being close to you, touching you, feeling you next to me" She put her hand against his cheek. "I just want to experiment tonight, find out how much we can touch each other."

Spike reached up and gently caressed her cheek. "I've missed you, too. I was so worried when I first came back, but Angel assured me you were fine. Wouldn't let me talk to you, poncy bugger, but promised me you were okay."

Buffy frowned at first, then rolled her eyes good-naturedly at Spike's reference to Angel. She leaned against the back of the couch next to him. "I hated leaving you there. You know that, right?"

Spike nodded. He remembered seeing her broken body lying atop a pile of debris, under a tower built for a Hellgod and he knew just how she felt "I know, luv. I'm sorry you had to go through that. But, you know I had to do it, right. Just like I understand now why you jumped off that bloody tower. It wasn't a choice. It had to be done." She nodded. "But, I'm back now, so you don't have to miss me anymore."

She smiled, but looked at him, a question in her eyes. "But, what about those trips into Hell you said you've been taking?"

Spike looked surprised. "Know what? I haven't had one of those little trips since..." He paused to think. "Since Wesley read me that bloody book that Rupert wrote." He looked genuinely confused. "Wonder why?"

Buffy, on the other hand looked pleased. "That's great. Hey, don't go looking for trouble. This is us, remember? It will find us soon enough. Besides, alone time, remember?"

Spike smiled and scooted closer. "So, what should we do with our alone time?"

Buffy leaned up and kissed him. This time the kiss slowly deepened, gently, but passionately. They opened their mouths and allowed their tongues to dance. Spike's hands came up to slide into Buffy's hair. Buffy slid her hands up Spike's back, gently caressing him.

Spike broke the kiss first; sliding his lips down Buffy's cheek to her neck, gently nibbling until he found the spot below her ear that he knew drove her crazy. He nibbled on that spot, sliding one hand down to cup her breast through her blouse, rubbing the nipple underneath, until she was whimpering and writhing under his ministrations.

He moved one hand to her blouse, but realized that he would not be able to manipulate the buttons.

"Buffy, luv, the buttons..."

Buffy came out of her lust-induced fog long enough to realize that he needed her help to get her blouse off. She unbuttoned her blouse as he watched. She loved his eyes. She could see so much in them. Right now, they were full of love and desire. They followed her every move as she undid each button and then slid the blouse off of her arms and dropped it to the floor. Then they watched as she unhooked her bra, slid the straps down, and sent it to join her blouse. Then she couldn't see his eyes anymore.

As soon as Buffy got her clothing out of the way, Spike moved in. He hadn't tasted her in far too long. He latched his mouth onto one rosy nipple and began teasing it with his teeth and tongue. His hand came up to tease the other one. Buffy simply lay back and enjoyed the sensations. It wasn't quite the same as before. For one thing, Spike was being much gentler, probably because she was letting him. But, also, it was almost ethereal. She couldn't describe it; it was nothing she'd ever experienced. He wasn't cold, or warm, he felt just wonderful. She moaned and arched into his touch.

Spike switched sides and gave the same treatment to the other breast. Buffy moaned and sighed, as she softly ran her fingers through his hair. She smiled at the feeling of his hair. Soft, but almost insubstantial, like if she tugged it too hard, it would just fall to nothing in her hands. So, she tried to restrain herself, no matter how much pleasure he was bringing her.

Spike was in heaven. He never thought he'd ever be able to touch Buffy like this. Not, again, because they'd never really been together like this. It had usually been fast, hard, and rough. There had only been a few exceptions. And even then, she usually had not allowed much foreplay. For her, foreplay had been a bit of rough and tumble, or a round of Kick the Spike, no snogging allowed. This was what he had always wanted and he was in heaven.

Buffy slipped out of the rest of her clothes and returned to the couch. Spike continued to torment her with his hands and mouth until she screamed his name in pleasure.

"Wow." She breathed out. "That was... I mean it was.. you know you got the job done before, but that was...wow."

Spike chuckled. "Well, what can I say, luv? I was inspired."

Buffy giggled and slapped his arm. Of course her slap went right through him, which made both of them laugh harder. "Okay, I think we're both way too tired. Do you have a bed in this place?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. This way." Spike waited as Buffy picked up her clothes and led her to his bedroom.

She gasped when she walked in. The room was nothing like his crypt, nothing like she'd expected. Of course, she should have learned by now. Nothing about Spike was ever what she expected. The room was done in oak with dark blues and greens with a queen-size bed, dresser, and ('okay, not a surprise') small entertainment center.

Spike watched Buffy get ready for bed and was amazed to discover that his love for her apparently knew no bounds. Who knew that watching her brush her teeth at his sink and climb into his bed, even when he knew it was just to sleep, could be so sexy?

As she snuggled down under the blanket next to him, she sighed. "We need to get you fully corporeal again. I want to be able to return the favor." She kissed him gently, then drifted off to sleep.

Spike had a little more trouble finding sleep that night, his imagination kept running over just how she could return the favor.

*******************

The next morning, Wesley knocked on the door to Spike's suite, apparently not remotely disturbed to find Buffy answering the door, looking like she had just gotten out of bed, or possibly been out of bed and then been enticed back into it.

He smiled. "Good morning, Buffy. I need to speak with you and Spike."

Buffy stepped back and allowed Wes to enter the living room. Spike was lounging on the couch, with a very pleased look on his face. Wesley just shook his head and smiled at the smirk on Spike's face.

"Well, I'm glad that you two had a pleasant evening, but we really do need to get to work on finding out what if going on with the amulet and see if we can't find a way to re-corporealize you, Spike. So, Angel has called a meeting in his office. Apparently, the remarks made in there yesterday made an impact on him and he has decided to back us up in our efforts, and has called a meeting to organize the efforts."

Buffy and Spike rolled their eyes. Wes looked at them, "What?" He asked in an irritated voice.

"Nothing, Wes. It's just that, yeah, Angel's on the bandwagon, now, big yay, but now that he is, all of a sudden he's in charge. You and Spike and Fred have been doing this for months, but now Angel's going to take charge. Doesn't that ever just..."

"Chafe your willy?" Spike asked. Buffy nodded.

Wesley sighed. "Sometimes. But, in this case we can use his help. He is the head of the firm and with his full backing we can use all of the firm's resources."

Buffy and Spike sighed, but agreed with Wesley's assessment.

"Fine, I'll go take a shower." Buffy left to go freshen up.

After she left, Wesley looked at Spike. "You do realize Angel may very well stake you if we do get you fully corporeal again?"

Spike nodded as he looked in the direction of the bathroom. "Yeah, but trust me mate, she's worth the risk."

*************************

Half an hour later, Spike, Wesley, and Buffy walked through the door of Angel's office. As they sat down, a strange look passed over Angel's face. He could tell that Buffy had recently showered, but under it he could smell her arousal. He knew Spike was still non-corporeal, and unable to touch anything, but apparently something had happened. And, since Spike was still not flesh, he had no scent, and Angel couldn't detect Buffy's scent on Spike, either.

He shook it off and cleared his throat. He looked at everyone. "Okay, first, I want to apologize. Gunn, Lorne, and Fred, I'm sorry that I accused you of turning on me. You've all been very loyal. Wesley, I'm sorry for everything I said about you being a traitor and defending Spike, even when he was evil. I know you wouldn't do that. And, I have already apologized to Spike and Buffy for what I've done to them."

He took a deep breath. "Now that I've got that out of the way, I agree with Wesley that Spike would be an asset to the firm if were fully corporeal again. So, I am putting all of the firm's resources at his disposal. He is also released from any non-life-threatening cases to work on this. And, the rest of us will work on it when we can. Is that okay with everyone?"

Everyone looked at each other and nodded. Buffy smiled at Spike who returned her smile.

"Okay, now that that's settled, we've got work to do, so Wesley, you, Buffy and Spike can use the library or your office. Do you need anyone else today?"

Wesley shook his head. Angel nodded. "Good. Okay, that's it. You can go."

Everyone nodded and left the office. As they moved out of the office, Fred pulled Buffy and Spike aside. "For what it's worth, I'm glad that you managed to get through to him. I'm glad someone finally did. So, what can I do to help?"

They smiled at her as Wesley walked over. "Fred wants to know what she can to help."

"Yes, well, we need you to analyze the amulet, again. See if you can find anything physical, any flaw, or any detail that we might have missed before, that we could use to help us re-corporealize Spike."

"Okay, where is it?"

"In my office."

The four of them headed to Wesley's office. "So, where did you hide it? Angel had this place turned inside out." Fred asked.

Spike chuckled and walked over to Wesley's Chelsea Football Club mug. He picked it up and placed it on the desk.

Fred gasped. "You, you can..."

"Yeah, neat isn't it?"

"How?"

"I can touch and move things if I really want to and especially if I focus on it."

"That's great."

"Look in the mug, pet."

"What? Oh." Fred looked into the mug and found the amulet. "Oh, but why didn't Angel look in there?"

"Why would someone like Wes put a priceless, mystical amulet in a souvenir coffee mug?" Spike asked.

"Ah, good point." Fred conceded. "So, any idea what I'm looking for?"

"Not really." Wesley admitted. "I just think there must be something that we're missing. There may be something on the amulet that I missed before. We're going to search the library, again, but could you put the amulet through a full spectral analysis?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

Fred smiled and said good bye as Buffy, Spike, and Wesley settled down with the books from the Wolfram and Hart library. Wesley wasn't sure if the information they needed might be found in any of the various codices, prophecies, or simple historical texts. Therefore, they utilized all of them.

******************

Over the next few weeks, they fell into a comfortable routine. Buffy kept in close touch with her friends and family in Cleveland. Everything was going well. Dawn was fine under Giles' and Willow's supervision. She was doing well in her classes and helping with the Slayer training. Giles was preparing her for the new Watcher Academy he was planning as his next project.

Spike, Wesley, and Buffy spent most of their days researching his current state, unfortunately with little success. He had not made much more progress in his ability to manipulate his environment.

They also spent alot of time hanging out in Spike's living room watching football matches, Passions, and movies. They patrolled together at night. Buffy was impressed with Wesley's skill at demon fighting and Wesley was impressed at Buffy's maturity in her technique. They fought well together and enjoyed spending time together with Spike.

Spike was glad they got along so well. It made it easier to spend time with them, and he felt better about them patrolling when he knew they were watching each other's backs.

Every night after patrol, Wesley dropped them off and Spike and Buffy spent the night talking, snogging, and testing the limits of Spike's ability to touch Buffy. They got to know each other better than they ever had and fell more in love. But more than that, they learned that they really liked each other.

*******************

About three weeks after Buffy arrived in LA, she, Spike, and Wesley were in the lab with Fred discussing the latest test results, which were just as disappointing as usual.

"Are you sure you haven't discovered anything new?"

"I'm sorry Wesley, but there's nothing."

The door opened and Angel walked in, followed by Gunn and Lorne. "Well, have you found anything new?"

Wesley sighed. "No, nothing."

Angel shook his head. "You know, I hate to say it, but maybe it's time to give up."

Buffy jumped off the stool she was sitting on, ready to tear into Angel. But, she knocked her coffee cup off of the lab table. She tried to catch it, but even with her Slayer reflexes she wasn't fast enough and the cup shattered on the lab floor.

"Oh, bloody hell."

"What?" Spike and Wes simultaneously as they burst into laughter.

Buffy looked up as she bent down to pick up the shards. "What?" She paused, then realized what she'd said. "Oh, right, well what do you expect? I spend all my time with you two. I'm lucky I'm not walking around saying 'bollocks' and 'knickers' and 'sodding' all the time."

Everybody laughed at that. Buffy returned to her task and picked up the broken shards from the floor. But, just as she started to toss them into the trash bin, one of them sliced into her palm.

"Ouch."

Spike jumped to his feet and hurried to her. "What's the matter, luv?"

"Oh, nothing. I just cut myself with one of those stupid coffee cup pieces."

"Oh, poor baby." Spike purred as he bent to kiss Buffy's palm. As his lips swept over the cut on her palm, her blood coated his lips. Suddenly, the skin on his face took on a warmer hue, his lips turned slightly warmer, and felt firmer. Buffy gasped as she noticed the changes. She looked up at him with shining eyes. She reached up to stroke his hair and found she could actually feel his hair. She ran her fingers through his locks, pulling a few strands free of their carefully slicked back style, allowing them to curl just the way she liked. After a moment, he again became non-corporeal.

A collective gasp rose behind them. "Did you see that?" "What happened?" "How did they do that?" "What is going on?"

They turned and looked at everyone, the surprise on their faces mirrored by everyone else in the room. Finally, Wesley stepped forward. He indicated the faint traces of blood on both Buffy's palm and Spike's lips. "Was it her blood? Is that what precipitated the change?"

Buffy looked at Spike, her eyes wide, as she realized the implications of Wesley's question. "I-I think so. When he kissed my hand, the-the cut, he got solid." She looked back at Wesley. "You were watching, was he solid all over, or...?"

"No, it was just his face and head."

"Oh."

Spike had not taken his eyes off of Buffy since hearing Wesley's words. He understood the implications. 'Because it's always got to be blood.'

"Okay, so we know that Buffy's blood can make him corporeal, is it only her blood?" Fred asked.

"I don't know." Wes replied. He shrugged and picked up a small scalpel off of a nearby tray and cut his finger. When he tried to raise his finger to Spike's mouth, though, Spike recoiled in disgust.

"I'm not tasting your blood, Wes." He backed up. Wes shrugged, but then attempted to smear a small amount of blood on Spike's hand. His hand passed right through.

"Guess that answers that question." Wesley announced.

"Okay, so only Buffy's blood works. Now, what?" Gunn asked.

"Now, nothing." Spike announced. "I'm not using her blood. Not now, not ever. Not for anything."

"But, Spike..."

"No, Buffy. I know you want to help me, but you know I will not take your blood."

He turned and stalked out of the lab, not even bothering with the door. He just walked right through the wall.

Wesley turned to Buffy. "I realize that he doesn't want to hurt you, but he may not require that much blood. We haven't been able to find anything else. This may be the only solution. I know that you've been in a similar situation before. Perhaps, if you did whatever it was that you did to convince Angel to feed from you..."

"It wouldn't work." Buffy responded quietly.

"Buffy, if you would just try..."

"No, she's right, Wes. It wouldn't work. She had to hit me until my demon emerged and I bit her. She couldn't do that with Spike, because she can't hit him." Angel informed him.

"Well, what if she just got some blood on him, you know, enough to just get him solid enough to hit him, then she could..." Buffy cut Gunn off before he could finish.

"You guys don't get it. It wouldn't work because he's not Angel. He wouldn't let his demon loose to bite me, no matter what I did. Even when things were really bad, even when I beat him to a bloody pulp, he never tried to bite me. The only time he ever vamped out on me in the past few years was to get a reaction out of me, not to hurt me or defend himself against me." She paused. "Well except when he was triggered. Then, he managed to fight off the effects of the trigger once he tasted my blood."

She turned away. "So, you see, it wouldn't work. Spike wouldn't bite me unless he wanted to. And I can't force him to."

Wes stepped forward and gathered her into his arms. She sighed and put her head on his chest as she let the tears slide down her cheeks.

TBC