Chapter 8

The two of them stared at the smirking vampire; one with an angry but not very surprised look and the other absently while he put the pieces together. Spike hadn't heard what had been said between Vin and the demon, but he was smart enough to figure out what was going on. But he wasn't sure yet if he liked it.

"So, what do you say? You up to the challenge?" Vin asked tauntingly with the smirk still on his face. "The Mayor is probably the most powerful vampire who has ever lived, and many slayers before you have tried to kill him and failed. Wouldn't it feel good to be the one who finally dusted him?"

It was evident that he expected his words to get Buffy eager and aflame, so when the young woman suddenly burst out laughing his face froze and he glared at her, and the vampire next to her that soon grinned widely.

"What?" he asked testily. "I'm beginning to think that your journey trough that portal made you both a bit insane, because I can't think if anything that could possibly be funny about what I just said."

To his great annoyance Buffy just kept on laughing, and she went beyond what could be called amusement and bordered on hysteria. Soon Spike grew serious and watched her closely, as if fearing that she would suddenly collapse, or maybe go crazy and start chewing on her shoes. Hesitantly he stretched out his right hand with fingernails he no longer painted black and put it on her shoulder. At first he only pushed her lightly, but moments later his grip hardened and he shook her violently until her head started nodding back and forth like she was a doll. At that point she finally stopped laughing, and her legs gave in beneath her. She was out of breath, and that didn't get any better as she breathed quickly and shallowly.

"Pet?" Spike asked with and unsure tone. "Buffy? You all right?"

With barely visible shakes of her head, the slayer showed him that, no; she wasn't all right. Slowly as in slow-motion she lay down on the hard wooden floor with a shaking body and lungs burning by lack of air. Almost before her head reached the floor pale hands reached out towards her and drew her back up again to a sitting position. She couldn't control her body, and no matter how much she tried to breath, there was no point, her heart was racing and black spots started to show in front of her eyes. Trying the hardest she could to stay conscious, she used her last ounce of strength to grip Spike's upper arm for support, and then she fainted.

For Spike there was no one else in the room besides Buffy. Without thinking he'd put her in an upright position, not knowing if it was good or bad for her, and he wished that he had the capability to give her the oxygen she needed, but he couldn't. There weren't any humans around that he knew of, and the fact that Vin was there, a vampire who knew the building well and who could most likely call for a human servant, didn't occur to him, there was only her. The second her eyes closed he picked her up and rushed out of the room with her to get her to their rooms. It wasn't very far, and less then a minute later he'd run trough the empty hallways and in trough the door that led to their living room. Quickly he put her down on the couch and went looking for water. Moments later he returned with a can which earlier had contained blood but now was filled with icy-cold tap water and splashed some of it on her face. At first the blonde didn't react much except for the fact that her pulse sped up again, but then seconds later which had felt like hours to him her eyes opened and she took a deep, shuddering breath.

All this time Vin had been following the couple, curiously watching them to see what was really going on. His first impression had been that they were trying to trick him for some reason, but soon he'd realized that there was actually something wrong. Suddenly his comment about the portal making them crazy didn't seem so far off.

"What's wrong with her?" he asked coldly with no compassion what so ever for the distraught vampire who was still holding the empty can. But Spike didn't even notice him; his eyes were fixed on Buffy's face and no sound reached his ears. Deciding that there was no point for him to stay, Vin shrugged and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him as he went.

Finally alone with her, Spike sat down on the couch next to her and gently brushed the hair from her face. Small droplets of sweat coated her forehead, but her hands were cold and shaking. Since he was so cold himself, there was not much he could do about that, but he wiped the moist from her face with the sleeve of his black shirt. Slowly she started to calm down enough to gaze back at him, and to his surprise she smiled faintly.

"You decided to wake up now, pet?" he asked her amusedly, although he wasn't particularly amused. She had made him afraid for her life for a second, and even the thought of losing her again had pained him more then he could bare.

Buffy didn't answer, but to his amazement she reached out to take his pale hand in hers, and squeezed it weakly.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I don't know what happened, but it helped me that you were here for me, I probably wouldn't have been able to calm down otherwise."

Those few words that didn't really profess any deep feelings for him on her part still managed to warm him greatly, and he smiled back at her, for once not trying to seem tough or hide anything from her.

Instead of getting up quickly and give her some space like he normally would have, he slowly reached out for her other hand, so that both pair of hands were connected. Buffy was still a little out of breath and her face was flushed, but she sat up so that their eyes were at the same height and she could look into his without lifting her head. None of them said anything, but their eyes spoke a thousand words. Slowly but deliberately she moved closer to him until their noses almost touched, and then after a short hesitation her lips met his.

At first their kiss was barely more then a flight touch, but soon it grew deeper and their hands let go of each other and Spike's hands moved up to cup her face. Short trails of thoughts went trough his mind, but none stayed for more then a split of a second. For a long moment it was as if time stood still and neither one of them remembered where they were or that there was anyone else in the world. With hand slowly caressing the bare skin of each other's arms, and eyes closed so that everything else would be shut out, they both made some decisions.

When Buffy had to take a breath their lips parted and they opened their eyes again. Spike didn't dare to speak; the risk of breaking the moment too big. Although he tried not too, he couldn't help but wonder if her sudden change of attitude towards him had been brought on only by the confusion that she had felt when she finally woke up after her attack. But when she moved as if to kiss him again, he put a finger to her lips to stop her, and looked at her seriously.

"What-" he began to ask, but she interrupted him.

"When we get back there's going to be some changes," she said calmly and with eyes not leaving his. "I can't promise you anything specific, but trust me when I say that things wont just get back to the way they were." She fell silent and he could see how she struggled to find the right words to say. When she didn't continue, he swallowed and gathered enough courage to ask the question that had been going trough his head many times since the kiss began.

"Do you love me?" he whispered, hearing how weak and desperate he sounded, but deciding that he didn't care. There were times for pride, but this was not one of them. But when her gaze dropped his mood fell and he couldn't help but back away a little from her.

"I care about you," she said, and he could hear she was being honest and knew that it was a big thing for her to admit, but still it wasn't enough. For a moment he'd believed that she felt the same as he, and to realize that that wasn't the case was painful.

"As a friend," he said almost accusingly, and with more anger in his voice then he'd intended. At the same second as the spark of rage lit in her eyes, he regretted what he'd said, but it was too late to take it back.

"Yes, as a friend," she said furiously. "And that's a lot more then you could have ever hoped for. You're a vampire, and I'm a slayer. I should really be killing you, don't forget that."

He knew that it was her anger talking, and not her heart, but the words still hurt. Buffy stood up quickly, and immediately she started to fall back on the couch again. Her strength hadn't fully returned yet, but she managed to stay standing out of pure will.

"Then why did you kiss me?" he asked even though he knew he shouldn't. The best thing he could do was to leave her alone until she'd calmed down, but he wasn't thinking that far ahead.

She glared at him and then turned around and headed for the door.

"Wait!" he called out after her, and after a brief hesitation she paused and waited for him to continue. "You're still weak," he said with a reasoning voice. "Vin knows that you're a Slayer, and no matter what he says, there might still be others who knows as well. For you to go out all weak and shaky is down right stupid."

"I'm fine," she said tensely without turning to look at him. "I can take care of myself, I don't need you looking out for me."

Now it was his turn to get angry. Less then a second later he was at her side and turned her around to meet her eyes.

"You're shaking," he noted with a strained voice as he tried not to shout at her. "You're shaking and just a moment ago you almost fell. I wouldn't call that 'fine'. And what the hell happened earlier? You almost stopped breathing, and without any reason. Who knows if it'll happen again? And what will you do then if I'm not there to take care of you?"

She took a deep breath and he could almost hear her counting in her head so that she wouldn't burst. She seemed to be calming down, but he wasn't sure.

"It was nothing," she said tensely. "I just felt a little dizzy, and that was all." It was clear that she didn't even believe herself, and all of Spike's anger disappeared in a second. Sighing he reached out for her hand, but she didn't let him take it. But she didn't move away, and her eyes once again met his.

"What. Happened?" he asked her sternly and kept her gaze fixed with his.

"I don't know," she said quietly. "It was the thought of fighting the Master again, it brought back old memories. I thought that I'd put all of that behind me, but with everything that's happened lately, I just." She trailed off and looked down at her feet as if she had suddenly gone shy.

With a strong feeling of compassion for her, he once again reached out for her hand, and this time she let him take it.

"And that caused you to almost stop breathing?" he asked uncertainly. It seemed like a too strong reaction to him, and he feared that something was seriously wrong with her and she was hiding it from him.

"I guess it was the possibility that he might kill me again," she whispered, and he could see how much it pained her to act this weak in front of him. "I was so recently."- she swallowed before she continued, - "gone. For a second there I was relieved to know that I would get back there again, where I didn't have to think about making sure that Dawn made it to school on time, or about how I'm going to pay the bills." She stopped and laughed without any trace of humor. "Or how the hell I'm going to get back home. It just scared me that I would even think of such a thing. To just give up, it's. I'm not a quitter, and I couldn't leave Dawn again, not after everything she's gone trough. But still, the thought was there, and for a while there it sounded like a good thing."

Buffy looked up and stared him straight in the eyes.

"But I'm not going to give up. I'm going to get back home, and I'll do anything to get there. If Vin wants me to kill the Master again in exchange for it, then I'll do it. And I feel sorry for anyone who's in my way."

A/N: Okay, there you have it. I was asked to write some more Spike/Buffy action, and so I did, even though I don't know if you'll like it. I'm not good at writing things like that, and I have a tendency to make it end badly (which you who have read some of my other stories knows. ). But I tried, and I would really appreciate reviews (as always! *lol*) , both good and bad btw. Oh, and one more thing. I'm really happy that some of you have reviewed, and let me know that someone is actually reading this, it makes me go on. It's not that many, but it's still more then I've ever gotten before, so I'm happy! Thanx!!! /mell