A/N: Hey, guyz! ~waves~Sorry that I'm a bit off schedule, but my state wuz hit by Hurricane Isabel, so I had no power 4 3 dayz!!! . ~Cries~No Internet! lol, I'll shut up now. =P Just az b4, in chapter 10 & 12, this chapter has~sighs -_-'~adult situations, as well, but this time I think that it's kinda worse, heh. ~Cough~Welp, n-e-who, I hope that u enjoy this chappie & R&R! ^,~

"Alright, there ya go......easy does it, now."

Nami grew red in the face as she struggled to breathe due to the tremendous over-exertion, her tiny hands grasping onto her sister's forearm for support as she tried her best to take her very first steps out of the hospital.

"There ya go......see? That wasn't so hard," Arexu announced as she casually let go of her younger sibling so that she could unlock her SUV's large car doors.

"Ha! Easy for you to say," Nami grumbled, bitterly easing herself up and into the ample vehicle before buckling her seatbelt in disdain. "I swear, Arexu, the next time I see Randall I'm gonna beat his ass into next week!!!"

Arexu frowned deeply. "Please don't, Nami....I don't wanna have to take you back to the emergency room for round 2 of life vs. death."

"I can take 'em!," she insisted, suddenly containing an amazing amount of vigor and pep within her tiny being. "That bastard needs to be taught a lesson, and I'll be the one to do the teachin'!"

Arexu sighed as she shifted the car into reverse so that she could back out of her parking space, muttering sourly, "You've got way too much of dad in ya, Nami.....just let it go. I-I don't want to see you get hurt again, or even worse, dead."

"Then why the hell are you still apart of Randall's gang?!,"
she demanded, sending her sister a fiery glance as she folded her arms with contempt. "I would think that since he almost killed me you wouldn't be apart of the Barracudas anymore............guess I was wrong."

Gripping the steering wheel tightly, Arexu returned weakly, "I want to, Nami, believe me, I do, but ever since Mikaya was murdered yesterday, I suddenly feel very vulnerable and completely unable to defend myself."

Nami blanched. "Mikaya's......dead?"

"That's right," Arexu acknowledged softly, "and Faye's next."
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"Are you ok?"

Faye nodded, biting her lip as she watched two men continue to shovel hefty amounts of soil upon Mikaya's casket, Spike instantly interlocking his hand lovingly into hers before giving it a gentle squeeze with the hopes of easing her troubled spirit.

Faye opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't find the words to form what needed to be said. Burying her face into the arm of Spike's suit jacket, she sobbed bitterly, her hot tears of pain and woe absorbing within the coarse material as he pulled her shaking body close and rested his chin atop her lovely violet hair in adoration.

"I love you," Spike whispered, only causing Faye to cry harder.

"I-I love you, too," she managed to choke in return, slipping her arms about his waist as warm, burning tears continued to stream down her cheeks like hot candle wax."I don't know what to do, Spike.....I feel so lost and lonely."

"Then just know one thing and one thing alone.........I will always be here for you, no matter what,"
he breathed into her ear, causing her to tremble amidst her vast shroud of embittered emotion like a brittle leaf.

"Aww.....now ain't that sweet?," a venemously sarcastic voice demanded from behind. "Why don'tcha take a picture, Spiegel? It lasts longer."

Turning around in an instant, Spike gritted his teeth together amidst his deep inner ire as he recognized the crude young man in an instant, growling in regard, "Randall.......what are you-"

"Doing here?,"
he supplied, wrapping his arm smugly around his girlfriend, Jazz's shoulder as he bestowed his hated nemesis with a scornful sneer upon his thin lips. "Why do ya ask? I'm payin' my respects, ya nimrod!"

Spike frowned. "Who are you trying to fool? Why would YOU mourn the loss of a Red Dragon?!"

"Cuz she was one sexy chick," Randall replied as if it were obvious. "Isn't that why you're here?"

His frown only deepening as Faye continued to cower behind him, Spike returned icily, "No, it most certainly isn't. I'm here because Mikaya was a remarkable young woman and a true friend........to all of us."

"Whatever," Randall scoffed, causing Jazz to snicker. "So do ya want the truth about me comin' here? I'll give you the truth. I came here to warn ya.....especially Faye.....to watch your backs. After all, you never know when you'll end up just like Mikaya."

Gasping, Faye clung to her lover in absolute bewilderment as Randall and his girlfriend casually strode away, her heart pounding wildly within her taut bosom as she managed to choke, "W-what do you think he meant by that?"

"I don't know," Spike admitted, staring up into the satin gray heavens with a bleak sheen across his russet-colored two-toned irises. "I honestly don't know."
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"You alright?"

"I could be asking you the same thing, ya know," Faye retorted, carefully setting her can of Coke down as she turned to face the young girl whom had addressed her. "It's been a real rough day.....how are you and your parents holding out?"

"Fine, I guess,"
Aimee mumbled, lowering her glistening violet gaze down to her small feet in dismay.

Giving her an empathetic glance, Faye ventured softly, "Do you wanna talk about Mikaya?"

"NO!,"
Aimee blurted, tears stinging along her lashes like liquid fire as she sent her sister's friend a look full of sheer emnity. "No, I do NOT want to talk! Leave me alone! Why don't you just go ahead and screw your boyfriend like everyone says you do! He's still HERE, after all! It seems that with you two around my family and I NEVER get a moment's peace!!!"

"What are you talking about?!,"
Faye demanded, absolutely outraged by the sudden accusation. "What you're proposing doesn't make any sense!"

Wiping her nose with her sleeve, Aimee closed her eyes and choked on a delicate sob, returning weakly, "Yeah, I know, I-I'm sorry.........I just really m-miss my sister."

Forcing a weak, embittered smile, Faye gathered the sobbing young woman up into her arms and held her tight, urging gently, "Ssh...it'll be ok, sweetheart.....just hang in there, alright? I really think that it'd be a good idea for you to go get some sleep like your parents, so-"

"Yeah, yeah......
I'll go to bed," Aimee interrupted, smiling. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, I guess......night, Faye."

"Goodnight, sweetie,"
she returned, suppressing a shaky sigh as she watched the young girl dash out of the kitchen and towards her bedroom with a surprisingly eager pace.

Immediately turning her back towards the direction that Aimee had disappeared in, Faye propped her elbows onto the countertop and let out a heavy sigh of dejection, a single tear streaming down her pale, silky cheek as she thought about her best friend with a burning nostalgia.

"How could this have happened?," she asked herself aloud as she began to massage her temples in order to relieve herself of some of her built-in stress. "How could I have LET this happen?!"

"It wasn't your fault,"
a familiar, soothing voice insisted gently from behind. "You couldn't control Mikaya's fate."

Looking up from her trembling hands, Faye returned weakly, "Yes, I could have, Spike.......if we had just ended our night out a bit sooner........"

"Stop blaming yourself!,"
he cut in, trying his best not to frown as he came up from behind and slipped his strong arms about her waist and pulled her close. "Just accept the fact that it was beyond your power to save our friend!"

Biting her lip, Faye pushed him away in anguish, denying stubbornly, "No.....it IS my fault, Spike! Please stop trying to protect me from the truth!"

"But I'm not!," he insisted, growing more and more frustrated by the minute. "If you really think about it, we're all to blame, Faye! Aimee could've saved her sister if Mikaya had cried out just a bit louder....her parents could've if they had been home........aw, hell, even the neighbors could've saved her! Do you see my point yet, sweetheart?"

Faye nodded bitterly, slowly turning to face him before admitting softly, "Yes....I'm sorry....I-I think that I understand now. Oh, I can't believe what a stubborn nuisance I'm being!"

"No you're not.....
it's natural to be stiff and stubborn when you're grieving," Spike insisted, eagerly reaching past his love for an intriguing item upon the marble countertop. "I was just like how you are now whenever my mother passed away, so please.....please don't take it out on yourself."

"Oh, Spike.....you're such a wonderful-is that alcohol?!," Faye demanded, growing wide-eyed as she suddenly took notice of the item that he had swiped from behind her. "If so, it's not yours, so I don't think that-"

"Relax," Spike cut in, giving her a sly, impish smirk as he thumbed the cork off of the wine bottle before pausing to invade the cupboard within an instant of sheer bliss. "Damn, the Grayson's sure have good taste...I've seen this shit for sale in the best wineries in the Ellewood City district!"

"Oh,"
Faye murmured, swallowing the huge lump within her throat as she watched him pour himself a glass, then throw back his head and down it all in one single swig. "Do you really think that it's ok for us to be getting into the Grayson's wine? After all, I'm pretty sure that they spent a large sum of money on just that bottle, alone."

Glancing down at the wine in his hand, Spike let out a heavy sigh full of disappointment before admitting ruefully, "Yeah, I guess you're right.....do you want just a little swig, anyway?"

"Spike-"

"Just a LITTLE one?"

"Oh, alright!,"
Faye acknowledged, giving in as she impatiently held her hand out to take the glass that he was offering her, "but just a little one."

A pleased glimmer reflecting off of his two-toned irises, Spike placed the glass within her grasp and watched on with a large smirk as Faye took a tentative sip, then downed it like a pro drinker.

"Hey.....that was really good," she announced, ignoring the subtle buzz within her head as she held her glass out for a re-fill. "I suppose that the Grayson's won't miss just little bit more of their wine.......right?"

"I don't see why they would," Spike replied, filling up the tiny glass before giving it back to her. "I mean, it's not like we'll be drinking the whole bottle."

"Of course not," Faye agreed, letting out a contented sigh as she felt the cool liquid slide down her throat and into her being as she leaned back against the counter and shot her lover a warm smile. "I have to hand it to you, Spike......you sure know your wine."

He grinned. "Guess there's a plus side to having an alcoholic for a father, afterall."

"Your father drinks?," Faye squeaked, suddenly growing very fearful. "He never hurt you while he was drunk.....right?"

Spike frowned, his deep, two-toned irises darkening as he acknowledged bitterly, "No....the sonofabitch always hurt me while he was sober. My father goes to bars at around midnight, then doesn't show up again 'til about 2AM. Sounds like one Hell of a guy, huh?"

"Don't even joke about that," Faye pleaded, shaking her head as she sorrowfully placed her empty glass down upon the countertop in dismay. "I-I can't even drink anymore, knowing that this kind of liquid is the very fuel that your father runs on. I-I hate him for what he does to you, Spike.....I HATE HIM!!!"

Watching on in disbelief, Spike raised an eyebrow as she burst into tears and turned her back to him, her shoulders heaving up and down as she continued to chant over and over again, "I can't believe that he could ever want to hurt you......I just can't BELIEVE it!!!"

"Hey, hey....c'mon,"
Spike breathed into her ear, gently lacing his strong arms about her waist as he buried his face into her soft mass of silky violet hair and let out a deep sigh full of contentment. "I don't see why this bothers you so much, sweetheart."

"Be-because I love you,"
Faye choked, closing her eyes as she felt hot, stinging tears continue to burn along her lashes. "If something ever happened to you.....oh, Spike.....I don't even wanna think about it!!!"

Turning her around in his arms in an instant, Spike cupped her face in his hands and thumbed away at her tears, insisting gently, "Nothing will happen to me, Faye, and as long as I'm around, nothing will happen to you, either. Always remember that, ok?"

"O-ok,"
she agreed breathlessly, sighing as her lover pressed his warm, satin lips firmly against her own and held her tight within his comforting embrace, a sensuous burst of heat rupturing within her being as she burrowed her fingers deep beneath his shirt and caressed his smooth, muscular torso in longing.

"Faye," Spike moaned, pulling away from her lips within an instant of breathlessness, "what are you doing? Aren't you-"

"Please,"
she cut in, bringing her lips to his once more in a demanding kiss before adding into his open mouth, "please love me.....I know that this seems very wrong, but you're the only one who sets me free.......the only one who can heal my mental anguish."

Feeling the familiar sense of desire taking over his being in an instant of a lustful hunger, Spike immediately enveloped Faye within his strong arms and slammed her up against the refrigerator, his lips ravaging her own in a bruising kiss as he felt her grasp fistfuls of his hair and let out a deep, fervent moan of sheer bliss, her tongue sliding deep within the depths of his mouth as he began to gingerly lift her low-cut tank top up and over her being.

Ascending her arms into the air in order to assist in the removal of her clothing, Faye moaned the moment that she felt her tank top glide off of her body and onto the floor, his warm lips burning along her breasts like an untamed fire as he eased her up and ontop of the counter before hurriedly unfastening the button to her jeans.

Moaning his name over and over into his ear, Faye shuddered in ecstasy the moment that Spike's mouth encompassed her breast, his tongue lightly caressing her nipple as he tugged her pants down past her thighs and over her knees, a heated sigh escaping her slightly open mouth as he continued to make love to her bosom with his warm, fiery lips.

"My God, I can't believe that I was ever this deeply in love with anyone before I met you," Spike breathed as he felt his lover lift his shirt up and over his head before giving him a deep and passionate kiss. "Faye.....my dear, sweet Faye....."

"Spike,"
she returned passionately, feeling as if she were floating as he pressed his lips to her smooth, flat stomach and gently stripped her of her final article of clothing, a soft cry escaping her lips as he gathered her up in his arms and nibbled on the soft flesh of her neck with a hungry, unexplainable appetence that burned within the very epitome of his soul.

Peering out into the darkness through hooded lids, Faye moaned as she felt Spike drop his pants and boxers to the floor within a moment of heated desire, their lips crushing together for a demanding and furious kiss as he roughly thrusted forward and took her into his possession.

Letting out a sharp cry as his thrusts began to grow deeper and deeper, a light hiss escaped Faye's full, rosy lips as she tightly gripped the edge of the countertop with the hopes of gaining some sort of stability over the situation at hand.

Instantly finding a solution, Faye bit down onto Spike's shoulder in order to slightly control her muffled cries of passion and began to ride him with all that she had, her inner misery and woe dissipating within the comforting aura of lustful bliss that currently held the two lovers captive.

Letting out a tremendous shudder, Spike climaxed within her and gently withdrew himself, both lovers lightly dropping to their knees in an instant of sheer exhaustion and held one another close within their vast sense of passion.

Gently lying down onto the cold, tile floor, Spike pulled Faye down into his arms and held her snugly against his form, both waiting for their erratic breathing to gradually return to normal as they laid there tangled up amidst their nakedness.

"Thank you," Faye breathed into her lover's ear, realizing that she no longer felt a dull, agonizing ache within her heart. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome,"
Spike returned, nuzzling the nape of her neck as he lightly caressed her face and placed a soft, heartfelt kiss upon her lips. "I'd do anything for you."

Faye just merely smiled in answer as she snuggled up against his broad chest, dreams of a better future nurturing her dying hopes within her delicate heart as sleep gradually took its course.

A/N: ~blush~So how was that??? o.O lol, sorry if that wuz a bit 2 risque' 4 u~cough~it kind of wuz 4 me, 2, lol....u know....since I changed up my style just a bit. And no, I do NOT have experience, in case if u were wondering, lol....I'm not that kinda gurl, so get that outta ur head! . Heh. -_-' Well n-e-who, if u're reading this, PLEASE R&R! I'd appreciate it SOOOO much!!! Help me get az many reviews az possible, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease???? ~blinks w/ the puppy dog look~ ^^ lol, welp, until next time....luv ya bunches! R&R! ^,~
3 Kendra Luehr -^_^-