Sorry for the lack of updates, but the last chapter I posted was the last chapter I'd written, and I hate doing that. This story will be going on temporary hiatus while I work on it, but it will DEFINITELY be finished. It should only be a few weeks until I post again, but I'm going to try and finish writing it. Sorry!

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Chapter 22

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Buffy turned and tossed restlessly on her bed, listening to the soft snoring coming from the other side of the room. Cordelia had returned shortly after the fiasco at the bar, and has listened in delight as the three girls had described their night. She squealed when Anya told her about the good looking men they had danced with and made Faith promise to take her with them next time. Although she claimed her shopping spree had been a lot more fun, and Buffy couldn't help but agree. Despite kicking ass and loving it, fighting that number of vampires has terrified her. Every time she faced another one she saw her friends' faces and wished that she had told them how much she appreciated them. Every swing, punch or kick could have distracted her and every weapon could have been the one to end her life. It was an exhilarating and frightening thought.

As she rolled over to face the wall, her thoughts returned to the conversation she had held with Giles after the club debacle.

"Ah, Buffy," he began as she wiped her stake clean.

"Mmm?"

"That was…" he trailed off, unsure of which word to use.

"Invigorating?"

"Ah, no actually, the word I was looking for was surprising."

Buffy paused in her wiping and glanced up. "Huh?"

Giles moved to sit beside her and rested his elbows on his knees. "I've been trying to hold you back from using your full potential, but I can see now that I was wrong. You understand the basics of slaying, and from what I saw are a competent fighter."

"Competent?" she replied with a grin.

"Okay, a bloody good fighter. And I can see that you're more than capable of looking after yourself, so when all this business with the Council smooths over I'm allowing you to patrol by yourself."

Buffy smiled, a rush of pride filling her as she realized this was Giles' way of apologising and promising her more freedom in the future. Since the beginning she had waited for the day when Giles and the others would see her as a true Slayer, and not just a green, unexperienced Slayer. Finally she had done something worth while, and she felt herself blush slightly under the half-amazed, half- pleased looks on her teachers' faces. Giles had been distant and stern throughout her training, and she caught a glimpse of a glimmer in his eyes that gave her hope of cracking his hard exterior. She wanted the relationship with her Watcher that Kendra had had with hers and she hoped this conversation was an indication of the trust that could exist between the two of them.

Pulled from the memory by Cordy's bed squeaking as she shifted, Buffy rolled onto her back and tried to sleep. It was evading her however, mostly because she was still on a high from the night's slaying. Although it had been frightening, she had never felt so powerful. With every swing she took the blood in her veins pumped energy throughout her body, and the intensity of the danger and exhilaration was a potent stimulant. She had felt herself becoming surer of herself with every vampire she had staked, and once she had relaxed into the fight she found her movements becoming more natural and less forced. There had been no time for thinking; she had relied purely on instinct and her body's natural movement. She could see her opponent pull his shoulder back a split second before he did, and it gave her enough time to avoid it and counteract it with her own strike. Her senses- or 'Spider-sense' as she liked to call it- warned her of danger that she could not see, and the feeling of protection it gave her allowed the Slayer part of her to take over. Not take control though, because the very thought of being under the control of such a force terrified her. She was always there to quickly return to the surface when the threat was taken care of.

How was she ever going to get to sleep? She still had a lot of pent up energy throbbing through her body, and she could hear and sense every tiny sound and movement on her floor. She knew sleep would not be an option tonight, and as she dressed in her work-out clothes she reminded herself to ask Giles how to switch off after slaying. As she had done the night she snuck out, Buffy stole from her room and down the hall, careful to remain in the shadows. Moving through the building silently, a mere blur of movement, swish of blonde hair, she made her way towards the library, and was surprised to find the shelf in front of the tunnel already open. She walked through it, closing it softly behind her, and proceeded down the darkened corridor. When she descended the steps she caught a soft grunt and recognised it.

"Slayer," Spike said, nodding towards where she stood in the shadows.

"Spike," she replied, stepping into the light. She saw that he had been pummelling the punching bag, and it hung by a thread from the roof. She raised her eyebrows, and he shrugged.

"Had to get it out some way," he said, as though it offered an explanation.

"I can see. Got a few frustrations?"

Spike smirked, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead. "'Could say that. What about you? I'da thought after the fighting tonight you'd be sleeping for a week."

"Guess again. I'm so worked up I could do it all over again."

He grinned. "Gets 'ya hot and bothered does it?"

Buffy's felt a shiver spiral down her back at his words. "What?"

"Slaying."

"Oh! Um, no!"

He shot her a knowing look and she ducked her head, suddenly interested by her trainers.

"You up for a bit of a work out?" he asked, and she glanced up.

"Yeah, was thinking something along those lines."

"How 'bout we spar?"

"With you?" she replied, incredulous.

"No, with the other vampire standing in this room," he answered, and she rolled her eyes at the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Fine. If you insist on getting your ass kicked…"

"Don't hold back, ducks."

"I won't if you don't."

They jumped right into, testing each other out by taking weak shots at their midsections. After a few minutes things began to warm up, and there movements became faster and smoother. Blow after blow they sparred against each other, pushing themselves to the limit. Sweat dripped into their eyes and fresh bruises appeared on their skin as they danced around the room, trading blows that were so in tune with each other that it seemed the whole thing was choreographed. His muscular, pale body was a stark contrast against her tanned and petite, if not toned, torso. Each seemed to predict their opponents move a split second before it happened and aside from a few surprise shots, they were equally matched.

For the first time in over a century, Spike had been truly afraid. When Angel had contacted him and repeated what Anya had told him his first thought had been of Buffy. Alone, except for a hot-headed potential and a room full of terrified people, she had been in danger. How she had managed to slay so many so quickly was beyond him, and his anxiety hadn't been abated until he had found her in the grasp of that vampire. After his initial glance at the room, he had been worried by her absence. The fact that he hadn't been able to sense her had added to his fear, although he would never let it show. A two-hundred and something-year-old vampire terrified for the safety of a girl he barely knew? It sounded ridiculous, even to his own ears. But he could not forget the fear she produced in him, neither the anger that he felt seeing her hurt or in trouble. Somehow, this girl, the Slayer for God's sake, had managed to twist her way into his unbeating heart.

And it was this realization that distracted him long enough for Buffy to sweep his feet out from beneath him.

"Ha!" she cried as she pinned him to the ground. He blinked, cursing himself for allowing a stupid fancy to distract him, and then noticed the position that they were in. Like the last time, she noticed it at the same time he did.

As she straddled him, Spike could barely contain the wayward thoughts racing through his mind. She was beautiful, and he could not pull away his gaze. All he wanted was to kiss her, feel the softness of her lips on his, hear the soft thud of her racing heart and feel her body in his arms. She stared back at him, eyes full of anticipation and an innocence which he had never seen in a Slayer. She was beautiful, she was powerful, and she was leaning forward to meet his lips…

He grabbed the back of her head and pulled it down ferociously, smashing their lips together. She clutched his shoulders with her hands and parted her lips, allowing him access to the warm recesses of her mouth. His hands slid up and down her back, trying to feel every inch of her body. It had been so long since he had felt the touch of a woman's body, and even longer since a woman had also wanted him. He ravished her mouth with his tongue, and almost moaned at the sensations she was causing in his body.

Buffy could not believe that she was kissing Spike. She was kissing a vampire, a demon she was born to slay, and she loved it. There was no time for gentle kisses and loving embraces; this was about passion, pure and simple. There was a connection between them that was undeniable, and ever since he had rescued her from her first encounter with a vampire neither of them could ignore it. It was too strong; pulling them together with a heat and want so intense it burned them. They had danced around each other for so long and it was always going to result in such a fervent climax.

But just as her arms slipped around his neck, pulling him closer, Spike opened his eyes and gasped.

You will kill her.

He shoved Buffy away from him and leapt to his feet.

There is nothing you can do. If you love her, you will kill her.

The words echoed through his mind, and as he stared at Buffy with his regretful, pained eyes, he remembered. This could not happen.

"'M sorry. This can't happen…it's too dangerous." He turned and fled from the training room and left Buffy, still breathing heavily from their impromptu pashing display, to watch as the vampire she had grown to love disappeared.

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