Disclaimer: Not mine blah blah blah

A/N: Hey all. Sorry to say that I'm REALLY busy this week so updates are going to be a little slower (as you've probably already noticed) - I'm going to alternate this with the other story I'm doing at the moment because I really haven't got the time update both every day at the moment. Don't worry; it should only be for a week or so! Now that's over with, thanks for the lovely reviews!

Chapter 5: Introductions

She was running. She had no idea where she was headed or even how far she had come. All she knew was she had to keep going, she couldn't stop. She was running for her life and if they caught her she knew she'd never get another chance like this. She'd been lucky this time; they'd thought she was out cold so they hadn't bothered to restrain her. If they caught her now they'd never make that mistake again and they'd make her pay dearly for daring to run at all.

Her lungs were on fire and her legs felt like lead waits. She was vaguely aware of the fact it was probably down to the lack of exercise, she wasn't used to this kind of physical exertion. Every muscle screamed for rest but she refused to listen.

She knew the people she passed were looking at her like she was insane with her filthy clothes and her greasy hair, running like there was no tomorrow...but there wouldn't be if they caught her. She was tempted to try and get someone to help her, but she'd been told enough times that no one would listen. Even if she could shout and cry and beg them it would do her no good. People weren't kind; people didn't care what happened to her night after night.

"He's only in your dreams little girl. He isn't real! You're just as insane as she was. Just feeble minded and stupid. I should have you locked up! I could do that you know! I'd just have to tell them what an evil little brat you were. Tell them how much trouble you were and they'd put you in a home with all the other crazy people. Imagine what they'd do to a little thing like you in one of those places! He wouldn't come and save you there either! No one's coming to save you. No one cares!"

NO!NO!NO!

Can't listen she silently screamed. If she listened then she wouldn't have the energy to keep going.

It felt like she'd been running for hours before she reached the cliffs. Why was she here? This wouldn't help! She turned around to head back in another direction and that's when she saw him. He'd followed her! He knew. He'd let her run this far. She could tell from the evil grin on his face that it had all been a game for him. He could have caught her anytime he felt like it. He just wanted her tired out and defeated.

"That was a bad move Buff." He laughed at her, if that evil terrible sound could be called a laugh. "But if you come back now we wont be so hard on you."

She shook her head. He was lying. He was always lying!

"Don't be coy Buffy. You know you enjoy it really!" He started walking towards her, getting closer.

She kept backing away until she felt the edge of the cliff behind her, one more step and she would be over the edge. A quick glance behind her told her that if she fell she would be lucky to survive. But as he reached out to grab her the choice didn't seem that hard. She only had one thought as she took that final step. I'm free...

"Buffy?"

Buffy's eyes snapped open and she looked around. Where was she? Oh that's right, she's in Spike's house. Spike's nice. Spike wants to help her! She took a few seconds to savour the softness of the sheets she lay on before she moved, smiling to herself as she inhaled their clean perfume. With a happy sigh she rolled off the bed and walked to the door. She was still in the clothes she had been wearing from the hospital and they were slightly crumpled. She felt a little embarrassed at first, before she remembered that it didn't really matter what she looked like.

No one wants to look at you! You're ugly! You're disgusting!

She opened the door to see Spike standing on the other side, smiling at her. She liked Spike. He was always so kind when he didn't need to be. He had the loveliest eyes. So blue and sparkly. Spike never seemed upset, and he always seemed happy to see her.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Spike asked.

Buffy nodded, no need to let him know about the dreams.

Spike saw something in her eyes that told him she wasn't exactly being truthful. True he was always good at reading people, at cutting through their bullshit. He'd used it to piss people off at times - he loved telling Snyder that he knew he was bluffing. It had been hilarious when he'd been called into his office the Monday after he'd stolen the watch. The little troll had been fuming and ranting about calling the police - telling Spike he would have him locked up but if he confessed they'd go easy on him. Snyder knew he had no proof and he was just trying to trap him. Spike had laughed in his face. AS he had seen the bluff in Snyder's eyes he could see the concealment in Buffy's now...but he wouldn't push her to tell him, he didn't want to scare her away.

"Are you ready to go downstairs?" He asked instead. "Dinner's ready."

Buffy bit her bottom lip nervously. She knew there were other people downstairs. Other people who might not be as nice as Spike. Spike saw her nervousness and tried to reassure her.

"It's only my mum and Rupert." He told her. "You wont have to stay any longer than you're comfortable with. If it's too much you can come back up here. Why don't you just come down and say hello and we'll see how it goes?"

Buffy still looked unsure but nodded anyway.

"Oh before I forget, this is for you." Spike told Buffy as he handed her a small note book with its own attached pen. It had a hard silver cover and a little clip she could use to mark her place. It even had a place for her to put her name. She looked up at him curiously. "It's so you can write things down if you need to talk to someone. I thought it might help." He smiled at her unsurely, hoping he hadn't offended her.

Buffy quickly opened the book and uncapped the pen and began to scribble on the first page. When she lifted it up to show him Spike grinned. There, in neatly curved letters she had written 'Thank you' and drawn a smiling face to match her own.

"Your welcome." He told her.

Buffy followed Spike as he led the way to the kitchen she had seen earlier, tightly clutching her new prize. She continued to nibble on her lip. It was getting quite sore now yet she didn't seem able to stop. As she entered the kitchen, staying safely behind Spike she saw two other people sitting on stools on one side of the counter. One was a man who looked to be in his forties or fifties, a pair of glasses slowly sliding down his nose, which was buried in a book. The other was a pretty lady about the same age who was smiling at her.

"Hello dear." Joyce said as she elbowed Rupert in the side to get his attention. He looked up startled before noticing that Spike and their houseguest had walked in.

"Ah, yes. Good evening." He said in greeting. Buffy offered a little wave in response from her huddled position behind Spike. These people seemed nice enough but she was still nervous.

"Mum, Rupert, this is Buffy." Spike announced. "Buffy, this is my mum Joyce and my step-father Rupert."

"Buffy?" Joyce asked, confused. "I thought..."

"She told me her name was Buffy." Spike cut her off. "And before you ask, no she can't talk. Even saying that took a lot of effort."

Joyce nodded in understanding and gestured to the two plates on the other side of the counter. "Are you two hungry?"

Fifteen minutes later Buffy was happily digging into her spaghetti Bolognese as if it was the best thing she had ever tasted. Joyce had said something about being happy to have finally found someone who ate what she cooked without complaining. Apparently Spike always complained about the mushrooms and Rupert always added too much salt no matter how often she told him it wasn't healthy. These people were treating her like a human being, they were welcoming her and feeding her and telling her they wanted her to feel at home. Buffy wished this was her home...but she knew it wouldn't last. She knew they'd find her eventually...

A/N: Well I hope that was ok. I just wanted to ease into the whole 'Buffy's perspective' thing. I hope I pulled it off! Let me know what you think! I'll update ASAP! :)