Chapter 10: Words

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Spike woke around sunset. He came downstairs to find Dawn and Buffy in the kitchen.

"Hey, Spike! Guess what?" Dawn squealed. "Buffy's started talking!"

"That's great, luv," Spike said, smiling warmly at Buffy, keeping his tone of voice calm. Dawn's hyperness could be enough to bother most anyone, especially someone recently traumatized.

Buffy blushed and looked away. "Thanks," she murmured quietly.

"Ok, so she really hasn't said more than a few words, a-and she doesn't seem to remember much... but hey, it's a good sign, right?"

"Sure, Nibblet. It's definitely a good sign. Let's not overwhelm your sis, though, k?"

"Oh! Ok, right. Yeah, no overwhelming... whaddaya wanna do now, Spike?"

"Breakfast."

"Ewww, blood, gross," Dawn responded, with a face scrunch, as she did every time Spike went to eat. "Come on, Buffy, let's go watch TV."

"Wait a sec, Bit, where's everyone?" he called after her.

"Uh, Angel just left and Giles left a note," she hollered back as she led her sister into the family room.

I'll be at the Magic Box, researching, should anyone should have need of me.
Giles

Spike headed for the phone, figuring he should tell Giles about Buffy's speech recovery. He hesitated, however, and decided to wait on it. He didn't want Giles pressing Buffy with too many questions, however good intentioned they may be.

On the other hand, he wasn't sure he could resist asking her questions right now, either. But he somehow sensed he should leave her be for a bit. Give her some time.

Standing in the entranceway to the family room, Spike watched his girls. Dawn was talking and gesturing animatedly, and Buffy was looking a bit lost, but not unhappy.

My girls, he thought happily, realizing he was grinning like an idiot, but not caring in the least. All those months of mourning Buffy together had made Dawn and him even closer, and now, with Buffy back, he finally felt like he was where he belonged- with his family. Wish Joyce were here... he thought idly.

Just then, Dawn looked up to see him. "Hey, Spike, come on, it's your favorite show!" she teased. "The Powerpuff Girls!"

"Bloody hell," he groaned halfheartedly, proceeding to sit between his girls, an arm around each. "Not this bleedin' show again!"

"Whatsa matter, Spike, got a problem with strong females?" Dawn joked.

"Ha, bloody ha, luv," Spike groused back.

Buffy just looked at them, her lack of comprehension clear. Then again, Spike speculated, the way Dawn and he communicated was enough to confuse anyone.

Spike resigned himself to watching 'this bloody show' as he referred to it. He didn't really mind it, though, as Dawn well knew. He'd never admit it, but the little girls were kinda cute.

When the show was over, he stood. "Gonna go patrol for a bit. Nibblet, you ok with things here?"

She nodded. "No problem."

"Now, don't stay up too late," Spike admonished. "School starts soon and you need to get back in the habit of sleepin' at night, and bein' awake durin' the day."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Says the vampire!" When he gave her a serious look, she relented with a sigh and another eye roll. "Yes, Mom, we'll go to bed and eat our broccoli! Now, shoo! Go patrol."

"Yes ma'am!" Spike mocked her gently.

With a kiss on both their foreheads- which was quickly becoming a habit - he left.

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After a fairly normal patrol, Spike headed to the Magic Box to see if Giles was still there. Sure enough, there was the Watcher, working away.

"Didn't I tell ya to get some sleep?"

"What? Oh! Hello to you, too, Spike," Giles responded. Wearily, he leaned back in his chair, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes.

"Find anythin' useful?" Spike asked as he seated himself at the table.

Giles sighed. "Unfortunately, not a whole lot. Anything interesting occur at home, or on patrol?"

"Patrol was pretty normal. Killed a G'las'chn'htudhca demon, those are rare in this climate. At home... well, Buffy can speak a bit."

Just as Spike had predicted, Giles was excited by the news. "That's most excellent, indeed! Why didn't you call to tell me? How much does she remember? Can she-"

Spike cut the Watcher off. "She doesn't seem to remember much. And she hasn't spoken more than a few words, so calm down. I don't want you pesterin' her with your questions."

" 'Pestering' her! I wouldn't 'pester' her, Spike, don't be ridiculous," Giles spoke indignantly, his fatigue heightening his reaction.

"I know, Rupes, I know. I just... though she needed a bit more time, that's all. You can talk to her tomorrow. Come on, let's head home."

Giles looked as though he wanted to argue, but decided against it. The two rose and left the Magic Shop, Giles carefully locking it behind it.

As they walked home, Giles said, "A new development has arisen, one which I wish to discuss with you."

"That doesn't sound too good. What's goin' on?"

"Well, as you know," Giles began in 'lecture tone,' "with the discovery and subsequent destruction of the Buffybot, the demon world considers Buffy to be dead. News of that sort travels quickly around the world. Now, I called the Coven. Willow and Tara are safely with them, and they've assured me that it would be permissible -"

"Watcher, you gonna be gettin' to the point anytime soon?"

Giles glared at him. He was just as bad as Buffy when it came to his impatience! "I was getting there, Spike. My point is that, with the Coven assuring me that it would be all right for the Council to know about the resurrection spell, I decided to call up Quentin Travers and tell him the whole story."

"Wait a sec, you sayin' the Council didn't know Buffy was dead?"

"No, they had no idea up until the time word reached them via their contacts in the demon world. Unfortunately, they heard about this before I called them. By then, events were in motion, and couldn't be stopped. What do you know about Faith, Spike?"

Spike was bewildered. "Uh... it has to do with religion?" he guessed.

"No! Faith, the other Slayer! The one that was called after Kendra was killed."

"Oh! That kinda Faith. Hmm... probably heard about her, but nothin' springs to mind." Didn't pay much attention to her, since I never tried to kill 'er or shag her,Spike thought silently.

"Faith was... difficult. She rebelled, allied with the Mayor. She killed humans, tried to kill Buffy, poisoned Angel, stole Buffy's body... well, the list goes on. At any rate, with Angel's help, she apparently saw the error of her ways and turned herself the police. She has been in jail for the best few years. Upon hearing of Buffy's demise, the Council managed to pull some strings and get her released. She's on her way to Sunnydale as we speak."

"Huh. That was a rather long way to go about tellin' me that, mate. Could've just told me that last bit." Seeing that Giles was about to protest, Spike spoke over him. "So what do we do with her?"

Giles sighed, rubbed his brow. "I don't know, Spike. I'm not even certain how to contact her. Tomorrow I will call Angel, see if he knows where she is, precisely."

"So you think she's really on our side, for good this time?"

Another heavy sigh. "I'd certainly like to believe so. Angel assured me that she was, and the fact that she turned herself over to the police would certainly indicate that. However, I've made the mistake of trusting her before... I simply don't know. We'll have to watch her, judge for ourselves."

Spike nodded. "Sounds like a plan. We do nothin' till somethin' happens, and then we do whatever needs to be done. My kinda plan."

Giles snorted inelegantly. "Thank you for your summary, Spike. Just keep your eye on Faith when she's around, all right?"

"Whatever you say, Pops."

Spike chuckled at Giles' groan as they walked into the house.

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Giles headed upstairs to sleep, while Spike wandered into the kitchen for some blood.

With his vampiric vision, there was no need for lights. He heated up his blood and crumbled up Wheatabix in it, then headed for the back porch.

To his surprise, his usual spot was already occupied.

Sitting down slowly, so as not to startle her, Spike said softly, "Hey, pet, what are ya doin' out here?"

Buffy just shrugged a little, without turning to see him. She was staring out into the darkness, expression thoughtful. Her arms were wrapped around herself defensively.

Since he was uncertain of what to say, Spike sat there silently for a while, sipping on his blood while he meditated what he should say to her; if, indeed, he should say anything at all.

It had almost been easier for him when she was acting wild. That, he knew how to deal with. But this? This was new. It vaguely reminded him of the time when he had come to kill Buffy, and found her crying over her mother's illness. He hadn't known what to do then, either. Funny how it was always the back porch.

Finally, he broke the silence. "Can't sleep?" he guessed.

Buffy shook her head.

"Not sleepy?"

She shrugged again.

"More nightmares?"

She nodded hesitantly.

"Oh, luv... look, those monsters aren't real. Try to remember that, ok?"

Spike wished he could give her some better advice. He'd been plagued by nightmares after her death, and still was occasionally.

Buffy shook her head in response to his statement.

Noticing that she was shaking - and figuring that it wasn't from the cold, given the fact that it was summer in California- he slowly scooted closer to her, and put his arm around her shoulders. She nuzzled up against him, her head resting on his shoulder. Spike stroked her hair soothingly, loving the feel of her long, silken hair.

After a few minutes, Buffy rasped, "Real."

"What's that, luv?" Spike asked, startled.

"Monsters... Real."

Spike considered this for a minute. "Well, yeah, monsters are real... but not the ones in your dreams. And real monsters, Slayer - we can fight them, you and I. And kick their asses. So no worrying about monsters, all right, pet?"

Buffy nodded hesitantly. She pulled back a bit, and turned her head to look him in the eyes. She started to say something, and then - Spike couldn't tell. Either she didn't have the words for it, or she decided against saying whatever it was.

With a gentle sigh, she lay her head back on his shoulder and wrapped her arms around him.

After several minutes of sitting like that, Buffy murmured sleepily, "Bed?"

"Sure thing, luv."

Spike waited for a moment for her to pull back her arms and get up. When she showed no inclination to do so, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her. She was fast asleep by the time he put her in her bed, next to a snoring Dawn.

Checking to make sure the blinds were fully closed, Spike lay down on the floor beside the sleeping sisters, and was soon dead to the world.

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A/N: Hey, lookee everyone, I finally got some Spuffy in there! I'm actually not too happy with my chappy, or the story in general - hopefully having Faith there will spice things up a bit.

I think I've figured out what I want to do as far as where Buffy was - thanks for your comments, readers.

As always, please keep up the reviews. They keep me writing!