Two nights had passed since the visit from Maui and thoughts of Bella had begun to consume him. Ever since their slumber party of sorts. Don't need to fall in love again, he thought. Not now. Not ever. Definately not with her. And he was pretty sure she didn't want him falling in love with her anyhow. Had said as much. Didn't need love sodding up her mission. But who the Hell was he kidding? He already reeked of it... love's bitch. Always love's bitch. And willingly.

He sloshed back a bit of whiskey. That's what they'd been drinking that night. The Scoobies weren't big on having them poncing off, but Buffy told them to let him be. Things had gotten pretty emotional in the days since he'd staked Dru. Half-thought Buffy wanted to push him off on Bella. Keep him preoccupied and away from her. No matter what she said when she'd come to him. That didn't even get under his skin the way that it had. It was Bella who had invaded his whole existence with soft lips, probing tongue... innocense and sweetness wrapped up in a great warrior. The love he had felt for the Slayer was quickly dissipating. Being replaced by pity of her plight.

She'll never love you. Nobody wiill ever love you. Hated that damned soul sometimes. Communicated too much with his subconscious. Harrassed him all the time. Good and bad. Daywalker could love me. Knows what it's like to be alone. Knows what it's like to be me, he thought. No, she can't. Too busy fighting Big Bad to care about you. Just a distraction. Fucking bloody shut up!! Stupid soul! Stupid subconscious! Stupid vampire!

She'd called him strigiou when she'd first met him. Like calling a human white trash. But wasn't that what he was? White trash? He stole, took over places nobody else wanted. Loved the ones who believed they were truly unlovable. First Dru. Then Buffy. Now, Bella? NO. Must stop. Hurts too much with a soul.

He must have fallen asleep arguing with his subconscious. Or with his soul. She woke him up with a sharp jab to the ribs.

"Bloody Hell, Woman! What was that for?" he yelled as he bolted up.

She'd already sussed out the place. Empty bottle of booze. Candy bar wrappers on the ground. Stench of nicotine, cheap liquor and afterlife.

"You gonna feel sorry for yourself and drink all night? Or are you going to get your bony white ass out there and help us fight the good fight?"

And he thought that Buffy was a bitch.

"I heard that."

Got to be more careful. Conceal those thoughts better.

He stood up, naked. Buffy would have had the decency to blush, look away. Bella looked him over, sized him up. Licked her lips.

"That's all well and good. I don't care if you get dressed or not. Just get moving, Vampire."

She would revert back to calling him Vampire usually when others were around. Like calling him by his name would show some sort of chink in her armour. As soft and emotional as she had been with him before, she seemed to feel it neccessary to be even more of a hard-ass when it was time to work.

He took his sweet time pulling on his jeans and a t-shirt. She was tapping her foot as he slowly pulled on his boots.

"Trust me, Spike... I can speed things up, but I don't think you'll like it." Ah, a threat. Was starting to like those when they came from her. Got to see her go all hot with fiery passion. Liked that he could do that to her. Someone had to piss her off. And not the way Harris did with his inane questions and barmy comments. Looked like she wanted to turn him into a toad when he'd start with all that.

"So, what's on the menu tonight, Pet? Obviously not you," he commented snarkily as he reached behind him to a shelf to grab a half-smoked cigarette from the night before. She sent a small bolt and knocked it out of his reach.

"Nobody likes a smart-ass vampire," she warned.

He ran a hand through his hair and smiled at her. Of course, not. Nobody likes a smart-ass period. No matter how beautiful she is.

He stood up and took his duster from the slab he called a bed and tossed it on. Stuffed his hand in the right pocket to retrieve a pack of cigarettes. One, two... two left. Would have to pick off a pack while they were on patrol.

"No you won't. I've got enough to share," she told him. "If you're nice."

"Dammit! Stop doing that! Let me clear the fog from my mind before you start fucking with it, Bella!"

She let out a chortle at that remark. It was actually kind of fun getting under Spike's skin. She'd never really had a playmate. And he was so much her very own playmate.

"Oh, let's just go before they all come looking for us," she told him as she handed him a lit cigarette.

He closed the crypt door tight and reached for her hand. Took a long toke off the cig and squeezed her hand lightly before releasing it.

"Thanks for the gasper, Love."

Patrolling with Bella was ten times more exhilarating than patrolling with the Slayer. And he did love patrolling with Buffy. But with Bella, it was different. He felt somewhat of a kindred spirit with her. She understood things that Buffy couldn't. While Buffy's fighting style was raw and ruthless, it was also learned. Bella was born to fight. She was fluid, graceful and passionate. It came as easy to her as... breathing. As breathing did at one time.

"You don't, do you?" Spike suddenly asked her.

"I don't what?" She asked in response, eyes darting furtively... ready for anything.

"Breathe. You don't... breathe."

She stopped dead in her tracks.

"I don't have to. No. Just like you. Dead." She resumed her pace. He quickly fell into step.

"Still do," he offered.

"Do what?" Her mind was fixed on the hunt, not quite following what he was chattering about.

"Breathe. Can't help it. Makes me feel a little less of what I am and a little more of what I was," he shuffled his feet a bit before adding "Plus, I find the humans appreciate it."

She stopped and watched him for a moment. He looked pretty. All breathing and almost human. Wanted to kiss him right then. If only to shut him up. Not a good idea, though. Had to be professional. Keep watch. Stick with the task at hand.

"We need to concentrate. Big Bad. Somewhere out here." She told him, slight flush creeping into her cheeks.

He smirked and continued walking. Wonder what that was about, he thought.

It was amazing how young she was. Yet how old. He imagined that she'd been born old. She had told him, while they were trading shots of sour mash during their make-shift slumber party, that she was never a child. He'd laughed. Made some comment about it being Hell on her mother if she'd come out at 5'1" and a buck-o-three of sinewy muscle. She said that she always felt like the little adult. Mamma had become very serious. Scared. Scared that Artemius or the dark powers would find her and make her pay for how she'd manipulated nature. She told him that now, she felt that she had to prove her worth to everyone -- the Grigori, the Watcher's Council, witches, vampires, humans... him. She still had a soul. She'd managed to keep her soul when she died. The Grigori told her that they thought that it was her mother's doing. But she told herself that it was a gift from TPTB for enduring all that she had in her short life. She hadn't asked to be conceived or born. She had even thought of just ending her life not too long after her father had turned her. But her mother had come to her in a dream. She told her to stop dwelling on her death and get on with her life. Irony at its purest. And he had told her the same thing. Live, Bella.

He walked quietly by her side, deep in his own thought. Can I keep you? That's what she'd asked him. They hadn't discussed that night, him holding her, kissing her, sleeping with her in his arms. Always other people around. Nosy Parkers. They'd want to know everything. And then they'd try to take her away from him. Why should the dead be happy if the living can't, right? You can keep me. I'm yours. For always, Pet. She looked at him and smiled.

"You worry too much," she told him. "Free will. Ever heard of it? They can't take that -- "

She didn't get to finish. She whipped around just as a fledgling jumped out from behind a large bush. She had a stake in his stony heart before he'd even touched her. That just amazed him about her. She was so swift and smooth. Fought like she was made of mercury. All liquidy and quicksilver.

"How 'bout I take you out an' get you drunk when we're done?" he was hopeful. Wasn't the most romantic way of asking her out, he knew that. It was at times like these that he felt more like William the Bloody, writer of bad poetry, than like Spike, Scourge of Europe. And he could thank Dru and the Slayer for that lack of self-esteem. All that I-want-you-but-I'm-too-wrapped-up-in-myself-to-love-you bullshit had poisoned his brain.

"Hey, man... if there's something I'm always up for, it's a shot and a beer," she smiled. And it was a genuine smile.

They spotted Buffy and Willow at just about the same time Buffy and Willow spotted them. What was that? A bit of worry? Maybe even jealousy on the Slayer's face?

"Hey," Buffy greeted them. "Been as slow for you guys as it has for us?"

Spike went into sulk mode. He always did that around Buffy and her friends. He immediately felt judged, not good enough to be in their presence and he would either put on a cocky attitude to cover up or just hang back out of their way. Didn't matter how many times the conversation had turned to his defense. He didn't believe any of what they'd said.

"So, uh, I was wondering if you could maybe come by and we could talk shop... magick... after patrol?" Willow nervously asked Bella, more than anxious to be allowed to practice magick again.

And there went his night with her at the Bronze. Why hang out with him when she could be teaching the witch or fitting in with the Scoobies or --

"Oh, Willow... I already have plans. With Spike. But we'll get together tomorrow afternoon at the Magick Shop. Definately. Bring Dawn along." Bella told her. If it's cool, she silently asked the Slayer. Buffy nodded, giving her consent.

"Sure. Yeah. Tomorrow is... good," Willow agreed looking from Bella to Buffy to Spike, confused smile troubling her face.

They all walked together through the cemetery and back out to Maple Street. Buffy looked like she wanted to say something, but suffered the uncomfortable silence. Bella sensed that something was on her mind.

"So, uh... plans. With. Spike? What are you two up to tonight?" Her voice seemed small, almost distant, when she finally spoke.

"Nothing you'd be interested in, Slayer," Spike said defensively. He had no desire to share Bella with anyone.

"Just shooting pool and whiskey at the Bronze. You two in?" Bella offered.

"I could... I could go to the Bronze for awhile. I don't know about whiskey..." Buffy wrinkled her nose.

"Or pool," added Willow.

"Yeah. Pool. Not good at that. But, yeah. Some dancing."

"And people-watching. Always fun," piped in Willow again.

They continued to walk in an uncomfortable silence. Bella tried to tap into Spike's thoughts, but he was guarding them. She felt him, though. And he was clearly upset. What is it about the Slayer and her friend had gotten him so upset?

Bella knew what it felt like to be an outcast. But the Scoobies hadn't treated her as such. Even after they found out she was a Daywalker. And a witch. So, why was he still acting like he thought he was beneath them? After all that was said, she just didn't get it. And she wouldn't have it.

Spike left them behind as soon as they entered the Bronze. Disappeared into the crowd the second they walked in the door.

"Let's go dance, Bella" Willow suggested. Buffy nodded in agreeance.

"Uh, maybe in a few. First, I'm gonna suck down a few fingers of hooch with my boy." Bella told them. She stifled a smile as their jaws dropped.

In an instant she had sidled up to Spike at the bar. He was working his jaw, looking irritated.

"You do this often?" she asked, watching him kick back a double shot of whiskey.

"Come again?" he asked, confused. What? Go to the Bronze? Drink? Be ignored?

"Juke a girl after you ask her to come with you for a drink." She tapped the bar and made eye contact with the bartender. He brought her a glass. And a full bottle of Jack Daniels.

She poured a hefty amount for herself and then replenished the glass Spike had set back on the bar. She lifted her glass to him.

"What are we toasting?" he asked, still not sure why she was hanging out with him when she could be out dancing with the Slayer and the Wanna-Be Witch. He was softening. She could feel it.

"We, my friend, are toasting the night. And we're toasting... us. Our friendship. Our... unholy alliance." She winked.

He held his glass up to hers and tapped it. He could toast that.

"L'acqua รจ economica, puramente e bene; ma assottiglia il sangue."

He laughed at her toast... water is cheap, pure and good... but it thins the blood. She had an odd sense of humor at times. Maybe that's what he liked about her most. No, not the most. But he certainly appreciated her canny wit.

She clicked his glass again and downed the brown liquor at once. She lifted the bottle with questioning eyes, seeking his approval, before refilling their glasses.

She could feel Buffy and Willow watching them from the dance floor. Nosy thing, that Slayer. She just didn't get why Spike would change the second anyone else came around. They'd had a great time on patrol. Cracking jokes. Talking music. She could see him crawling back into himself.

"Aren't you going to go dance with them?" he asked her, trying to sound unaffected by Buffy and Willow tagging along.

"Nah. Don't want to dance. At least not with them." She told him, taking a long swig off the Jack Daniels bottle. Who needed a glass when she had the whole thing in her hands, right? He'd already learned that she didn't give two fucks about formality.

She peered up at him from the corner of her eyes and gauged his reaction. He was trying to play it close to the cuff. But in the short time she'd known Spike, she knew that he was pretty much transparent. Just had to know how to look. Wasn't a whole lot of guesswork when it came to what he was feeling. And she knew that he cared about her, maybe even more than he'd admit to himself.

"What is it you want with me, Daywalker?" he asked with a suspicious sigh.

"Good question. What is it that I want with a moody, self-loathing vampire with a soul?" she returned, head down but eyes finding him and keeping him there.

She replenished his glass and as Buffy and Willow approached them. "Ah, great timing ladies. Babysit my booze while Blondie and I have a turn on the dance floor," she told them before turning to Spike and winking, "I believe they're playing our song, Pet."

Into the valleys
The shadow of death
Griefs silently across the darkened sea
This is it
We stand alone

She dragged an unprotesting Spike away from Buffy and Willow, both with mouths dropped again. When they reached the dance floor, she reached up and put her small hands on his chest, he put his on her tiny waist. Little Bit, she was, he thought. All power and energy wrapped in a petite package. That was one of the things that threw off Big Bad. Something so small shouldn't have the strength to fight off demons and vampires the way that she did. She made it look as easy as running a hot knife through a stick of butter.

Spike leaned down close to her ear and whispered.

"You know, they're gon' think you're round the twist if you keep putting on with the likes of me."

"Do you always worry so much what they're thinking?" She tipped her head up and kissed him softly of the lips. "Fuck 'em. You asked me to the Bronze. You ployed me with drinking and dancing. And I intend to collect on both parts," her voice teasing him.

He wasn't much for the dancing. Kind of just stood there, bobbing in time to the music. Something he'd seen on cable... on MTv or something. Some young rapper talking about how to look cool even if dancing wasn't your thing. Nope. Not big on dancing. But he sure liked watching Bella's hips and ass move to the music. She reached for his hand as the song ended and led him back up to the bar.

Buffy and Willow had been watching them the whole time. Bella wasn't really interested in what they thought about her connection with Spike, though. Slayer needs to loosen up, live a little is what she really thought. If my dead ass has to live, Slayer needs to do it, too. Get a few stitches of brown in her... even when she and Willow were dancing, she looked too aware of herself. Bella couldn't help but feel a little pity for her. Young girl like that. Weight of the world thrown at her just as she entered high school. No wonder she was such a serious thing. Reminded her a little of Mamma in all her darkness.

"So, whaddya say, Girls? Pour you a drink?" she offered as she took the bottle from the bar.

"Oh, no. A world of no. That's okay. Not much of a drinker," Buffy tried to use as an excuse. Bella wasn't buying.

"Oh, I don't think so, Slayer. Stop being so serious. Here, tell ya what," Bella signaled to the bartender. "These ladies need a couple of fruity girl drinks... something with an umbrella, topped with a cherry or something equally decorative yet semi-nutritious."

Willow wasn't protesting. Hmm... maybe the Wanna-Be Witch had a sense of adventure after all. Buffy started to open her mouth with another mitigation and then closed it just as quickly.

"You know what? You're right. I could definately use a... fruity-girl-drink." She gave Bella a defeated smile and obligingly took the Pina Colada that was handed to her. Willow took the Mango Margarita.

Bella slipped another shot of whiskey into Spike's empty glass and raised the bottle.

"There's my girls," she smiled. "Here's to kicking evil demon ass and to not forgetting to live our lives when we're done doing it!"

"Oh, I can definately drink to that!" Buffy agreed. They all clinked glasses. Willow couldn't help but giggle as she watched Spike and Bella nearly simultaneously knock back hefty swigs of whiskey.

"Looks like Spike's met his match," she said as she sipped at her drink. He shot her a stifling glare causing her to quickly change the subject. "And mmm! Definately fruity! Yum!" She said holding up her glass and then sucking down a huge swatch from it.

Buffy nodded. Definately yum. She often forgot what it was like to just be a girl. She was the Slayer. She was the older sister, the mother figure, the friend, the advisor, the killer of all things evil. But it wasn't very often that she was just the girl. She looked at Bella. Really looked at Bella. She's nice, she thought. And she's fast. She's strong. She's honest. And very perceptive. Smart. She's more beautiful than anyone Buffy had ever seen. She had such confidence and grace. And she's a vampire. A vampire. Just like him. No. Not like him. Like... him?

She kept sipping her drink, watching how easily Bella spoke to Spike. He was different with her. Wasn't all bleeding-heartish. And it didn't seem to matter to him that anyone else was there. Not like it usually did. He didn't act like a big jerk when Bella was around. I can't be jealous, she thought. How could she be jealous? She'd cast him away. Had practically forced him on Bella. And now, now... she found herself wishing that she could be touching his arm the way that Bella was. Laughing at his stupid jokes the way Bella was. Falling for his charm... the way Bella was. But she was the Slayer. And he was a Vampire. And that would never change, she sadly thought.

Willow was chattering on about how she thought she saw Xander and Anya come in and she thought that she should go say hi and invite them over to have a drink. "You know Xander. He'd love a fruity girl drink... and Anya, well, she'll probably get a kick out of the Barbie-sized umbrella! Either that or she'll be afraid of it... like bunnies."

"Yeah, tell 'em to come on over! We'll hook them up and get them faced, too!" Bella laughed. She turned to Buffy and winked. "It's all good, Slayer. Be a girl for a few hours. Might find you actually like it." Buffy's hand slid from her sleeve. Bella was right.

"Yeah. I might," she said weakly. "I'm, uh, gonna hit the Ladies'. Order me another one of these when you get a chance?" She held up her empty glass. "Yummy. Definately yummy."

Bella was pleased with herself. Poor thing needed to be less serious. Even if it was for only a few hours.

"You know," Spike said, interrupting her thoughts and her Cheshire Cat smile, "Nobody else could get the Slayer to loosen up like that. What'd you do, Pet? Giver 'er the eye?"

"Got you to loosen up. Didn't give you the eye," she said with a slight slur. Whiskey was kicking in. Felt good. Made her feel warm and toasty all over. Put a little heat in her cheeks. She was leaning up against the bar watching Spike pour another drink for himself and then one for her.

"My turn to make a toast," he told her. She took her glass and held it up.

"G'head" she told him.

"Bella... I think that it would be an absolute shame if I didn't toast your beauty tonight, Lamb." He was all good looks, pretty words and pure animal heat.

And, oh, he was charming. And she could fall. Fall hard, too. Shit. They clinked glasses and downed their drinks. In a moment, she had her arms around his neck and was whispering to him.

"Y'know, I really don't give a rat's knuckle what they all think," she slid her tongue into his ear making him shudder. He wrapped his arms around her, one on her waist, the other possessively cupping her ass, and half carried her toward the dance floor.

"Yeah, they're right over th--" Willow turned to show Xander and Anya where Spike and Bella were. They were no longer at the bar. Buffy was collecting two more of the fruity-girl-drinks. She threw them a smile as she crossed the room

"Hey, Guys. What's up?" Buffy asked with a little too much perkiness upon her return from the potty. She passed the Mango Margarita to Willow and began sucking down her own drink.

The raucous burst of electric guitar filled the air as the band brought the stage to life. Anya was already shimmying and babbling. She was impetuous enough without umbrella-draped drinks.

"Oh, I loooove this song!" Anya said, grabbing a reluctant Xander and pulling him and his two left feet toward the dance floor of the Bronze. Buffy and Willow, a bit giddy from their fruity-girl-drinks, followed closely, dance-walking to the intro of the song.

"It's from that movie with that guy and everywhere he'd go he'd hear this song and Matt Damon was the singer and--" Anya was yelling over the music.

"Holy. Shit." Xander drew full attention to where Bella and Spike were. On stage with the band. Spike had filchered a microphone, as they had seen him do from time to time to feed his endless ego. But Bella was standing at his left side, his arm drawing her close to him as she danced, hands over her head. Her belly ring sparkled as her black tank-top lifted up a bit. She was wearing a tiny Catholic School-girl kilt. And she was smiling and grinding her body as Spike started singing a familiar tune with his own spin on the words, like he often did.

"Scotty doesn't know that Bellona and me do it in my van every Sunday..."

Xander couldn't help but fight a major chubby as Bella almost purred with satisfaction.

"Aren't those two a pair, huh?" Anya grinned, a bit of longing in her voice. At least they know how to have fun. All work and no play has made the Scoobies suck! Suck! Suck!

"And she's a dirty girl," Xander absentmindedly added, earning him a swift kick to the shins from his girlfriend.

Buffy was shocked, to say the least. Bella easily moved in Spike's loose grip on her. She was dancing provocatively and only had eyes for the platinum-haired vamp.

"Bellona says she's out shopping... but she's under me and I'm not stopping."

The whole crowd had been worked into a contagious frenzy, shouting "Scotty Doesn't Know! Scotty Doesn't Know," but in a momentary bout with paranoia, Buffy could swear they had thrown in a couple "Buffy Doesn't Knows" as well. She knew better, but her own insecurities had begun to rise. They were beautiful, so beautiful. Just like when they had hovered in the doorway of the Magick Shop.

Spike pulled the tiny Guardian up his side, one arm around her waist, her arms around his shoulders, legs kicked back off the ground in a cheerleader's crescent, and planted one on her for everyone to see. Not the way he'd kissed Buffy. Not the way she'd seen him kiss Dru. Different. With such passion and purity that told her he had found his one true love and it was no longer her. It was Bella Grimaldi. She couldn't blame either of them. She'd pushed him away, treated him like a dog and let her friends do the same thing. Bella never once talked down to him. She listened to him as she would any other man or woman. Oh, Buffy had seen her tear into him, challenge him. But she regarded him as an equal even though everyone else thought that he was beneath her, too. Bella didn't seem to think so. She was absolutely glowing at his side.

"Wow... that... um... hot." Willow was at a loss for words and put her mouth to work on her drink. Yeah. They had left everyone breathless.

They jumped down from the stage and tried to lose themselves in the crowd as the band started up another song.

There's a place off Ocean Avenue
Where I used to sit and talk with you...

Dancing. With Bella. Made his head spin. Made his heart feel alive. Made him feel like... a real, live boy. That's what she'd called him, wasn't it?

Sleepin' all day

Stayin' up all night

Stayin' up all

Night...

"For someone who's supposed to be all witchy-smart and wise, Bella sure fell for Spike's poor-me-I'm-so-tortured-that-I'm-hot act pretty fast," Xander commented.

Buffy felt the heat rise in her cheeks. Why was she so pissed about a comment she might have made herself at one time?

"That's really not fair, Xander." She wasn't sure who she was defending. Spike? Bella? Or herself?

"What? He's all so in love with you that he goes out and gets himself a soul and then he can't take his hands off of Witchy-Pooh. And you think that his thoughts are pure? That he isn't up to something?" Xander accused.

"That's enough, Xander," Buffy warned. They can hear you, she warned him with her eyes. They can always hear you.

"No, Buffy. It's not. Dead-Boy doesn't know what love is. And now he's gonna get our Great Italian Hope distracted and get us all killed and -- " he didn't get the chance to finish. His lips were sealed. Literally. He couldn't open his mouth even if he'd wanted to.

"I told you they could hear you."

Xander's eyes were angry as he continued to make undistinguishable sounds through his shut-tight mouth.

"She was thrown into this whole mess because we needed her. She fights and she tries to be everything to everyone... so she turns to mush with Spike and now she's not worthy? Are you so self-absorbed that you think that everything about her has to be dead?"

Xander, Anya and Willow looked at her, the Slayer's lips slightly trembling from anger. No. It wasn't Bella she was defending. Wasn't even Spike.

Bella and Spike had made their way over to the Scoobies. She took the spell off of Xander. She could already feel Spike bristling next to her. Closed himself off to everyone already. Just a few moments ago, he'd been himself. His real self. Now, he was back to barbs and jabs and all that defended him from these kids who wanted to hurt him. Who didn't understand that just because he was dead didn't mean he didn't feel.

Buffy stood steely-eyed, but inside she was grappling with understanding and confusion. She understood how Spike and Bella could be drawn together so quickly. She could understand why she'd pushed him away. She couldn't understand the underlying pangs of jealousy she was experiencing. She didn't love him. She couldn't. But the jealousy was still bubbling just below the surface.

It's okay to feel that way, Buffy. She heard Bella in her head and looked into the Daywalker's eyes. He knows you don't love him. Just be a girl tonight, Buffy. And don't beat yourself up over anything else. We're all just starting to learn about this whole living thing, right?

Buffy knew that Bella was right. And really, if she and Spike had something what business was it of Xander or anyone else?

"Hey, guys, the night is still young," Bella told them, breaking away from the whole maudlin feeling that had tried to impose on their good time.

Willow agreed. "Yeah, all this uptightiness isn't good. Dancing. Good. Fruity-Girl-Drink," she held up her now-empty glass. "Very good. Barbie-umbrella," she handed it to Anya. "The epitome of goodness?"

Anya smiled, twirled it in her fingers. Barbie-umbrella. Fruity-girl-drinks. Vampires in love. All was right with the world. At least in her book.

"I vote for vampires in love!" she blurted out with glee. They all looked at her like she'd just been possessed.

"Barbie-umbrella..." she mumbled as an excuse before pulling a brooding Xander toward the bar. "Got to get one of those things that Willow's drinking," they heard her tell him as they departed.

Buffy laughed softly. Spike seemed to relax a bit after Xander and Anya went over to the bar. He watched the two of them, wondering what the retired vengenace demon could actually see in someone as useless as the boy.

"Start thinking like that and you're just as bad," Bella scolded him.

She was right. No bother to wonder about that ponce when he had a girl who could love him holding fast to his side. The Slayer and her friend were fidgety, looking a bit uncomfortable in the wake of things.

"I think I need another one of these," Willow said, absent-mindedly smacking Spike's arm. "Come with me to get a frosty glass of alcoholic indulgence?" she asked him. In other words, let the Slayer and the Daywalker have a moment. He nodded in understanding, leaned down to kiss Bella on her forehead and promised to be back in a jif toting another round of brown.

"Sit?" Buffy asked. She and Bella sat at the high-top across from each other.

"Listen, Buffy," Bella began. "You don't--"

"No, wait. I want to apologize. To you. To Spike. For my friends. For myself. What you choose to do with your personal life is totally your business. Not ours."

"You don't have to apologize. It's all good. I can't expect them to understand when they have no idea what we're really like." By we, she meant her and Spike. She meant Vampires.

"Spike's the first friend I've ever had," she admitted. "And I don't want to lose him. He understands how I feel. Not just how I feel as a... a creature. But as a person. He knows what it's like to be sheltered from everyone, everything. He understands what it's like to be known by only the words that define you... vampire, witch... but not by the words you feel you are... man, woman, Spike, Bella. He makes me feel more alive than I did when I really was. I don't expect anyone else to understand that. And I don't need them to understand that. It isn't their place."

But Buffy did understand all too well. She'd come back from the grave, dead to everything. Not right. Not the same. And he had made her feel. He was the only one who could make her feel for a very long time. In exchange for his unconditional love and his understanding of her, she'd persecuted him. She... was beneath him.

"You know, Buffy. He does understand," Bella told her, reading her thoughts. "I know you don't think he does. But he ached to have you see that he understood why you came to him. He knew you'd never love him. He was just grateful that you made him feel like a man again, even if it was just in private. Just for a little while." Bella put her hand over Buffy's. She hurt for the girl. Wished that she could magickly whisk away the life she had been given. But Bella knew that TPTB had their reasons for everything. Like she had told Spike, everything happens for a reason. She was supposed to be with him. She was supposed to come to Sunnydale and they were supposed to meet and overcome this huge, evil obstacle together. She never questioned TPTB. Not even when they let Artemius kill her mother.

"If he hadn't fallen in love with you, he would have never known love; real, pure love." She was referring to Dawn. "Your sister, she adores him. She isn't afraid to fling herself at him no matter who's around. She isn't afraid to be his friend and to love him openly. She doesn't expect anything in return from him that he can't offer." She pulled a cigarette from her crumpled pack. Have to start buying my Cowboy Killers in a box, she thought. She took a deep drag on the smoke and let it out in a steady stream. "Children... children see things that we can't always see through our jaded eyes. We're too busy being responsible; trying to save the world. We forget what it's like to just worry about that cute boy in the desk beside us in English class. Or how we'll do on the next Algebra exam. Or what color shoes to wear to the prom."

"I never went to prom," Buffy offered sadly. Not really, at least.

"I never went to school," Bella told her in consolation. They both laughed at their plights. Daywalker. Slayer. Bonding over booze. She could get used to having friends.

"I'm so glad Bella convinced us to try the frou-frou yummies," Willow smiled, alcohol beginning to affect her head and her speech.

Spike was still brooding, watching the Slayer and the Daywalker, trying not to intrude on their private conversation. Curiosity was killing him, but he needed Bella to know she could fully trust him so he tuned them out. Unfortunately, that meant having to listen to Red prattle on about the benefits of frozen cocktail concoctions to his drink of choice, whiskey neat.

"You're so not listening to me, are you?" She suddenly asked jarring him from his own thoughts. He liked that about Bella... she didn't need to babble to fill airspace.

"Hmm? I heard you, Red," he told her through his costernation.

"You're... you're in love with her, aren't you?" Willow cited, breathless.

The vampire scowled. It was undeniable, though. The Wanna-Be Witch had nailed it on the head.

"What? You... you know, Red. You have too much time on your hands. Need to stop reading those silly Harlequins at bedtime," he told her, scoffing at her discovery. Flustered him, though. Flinging her girlish accusations at him.

She was smiling, whole face glowing in realization.

"No, you're not brushing me off that easy, Spike! You love her! It's all over your face!" She was pushing it. He growled in warning, flashing his amber eyes to try and make a point.

Willow wasn't phased. Laughed as she sipped her drink.

"No, Spike. That's good. It's a good thing. Love. Good."

Yeah, sure it was. Figured she was just happy to have him turning his attentions to someone other than Buffy. Hearts and dead roses over some other girl, right?

"Dammit, Red. Stop looking at me like you know some big secret. You don't know anything," he slammed back another glass of whiskey.

"Spike and Bella, sitting in a tree..." He shot her a look of warning.

"You know, sometimes I wonder how anyone could want to be around you for more than five minutes. You're so moody and sulky-like. Can't even take a compliment when you're given one," Willow voiced. "At least you look... happy.... when you're with her."

He did look happy with her. That much he knew. He felt happy with her. Felt like nothing else mattered in the world except for him and his Daywalker. Could feel a smile playing on his lips.

"Now was that so hard?" Willow asked, catching his consignment. "You know, you're actually kind of cute when you're not all look-at-me-I'm-a-bad-ass-vampire!"

He laughed yet. Tapped on the bar for two more glasses of Bella's favorite tipple. Had the barkeep bring a couple more of whatever those drinks were that had put the Slayer and the Witch in such good spirits and then nodded to the witch to get her going. She carried the drinks through the thinning crowd to the hightop Bella and Buffy were occupying.

"Xander and Anya still hiding from us?" she asked, scoping out the dance floor for them.

"I think Big Bad over there scared them off for a bit," Buffy smiled, taking her drink from Willow.

She couldn't help but watch Spike with Bella. He sat very close to her, their bodies leaning into each other. He'd placed his own glass on the table before handing her the other with a quick "a jot of the dog that bit you, Love." She took the glass from him, fingers brushing his, knowing smile between the two of them as she arched up to kiss his lips, hand tenderly touching his cheek on the way back down. She wondered if they'd had sex yet. Not that it was her business. Not that she cared. Just curious. Someone ought to be getting some, she cynically thought.

Red was still looking at him with that tell-tale 'I've-got-a-secret' smile. They were definately cute. He was absolutely different. He was kind of likable when Bella was around him. Took a tiny little Guardian to finally soothe the savage beast. Or something like that.

"Xander has something he wants to say to you," Anya announced, bounding up, Xander in tow and breaking into their thoughts upon her return from the bump and grind to the band. "Xander," she urged in a way that a mother might urge an insolent child.

Xander looked at his feet. And Anya unceremoniously stomped on one.

"Ow! Dammit! Okay, okay," he conceded. "I, uh... what you do isn't my business and I have no right to pass judgement on anyone especially with my track record and if you two want to do whatever it is you're doing, then, by all means, do it and don't worry about me."

Bella giggled. She was sure he hadn't taken a breath during his obviously Anya-imposed speech.

"Apology accepted, forgotten and let's move past all this bullshit and never bring it up again," Bella smiled raising her glass. It was really hard to not like her. She let things roll off her like water off a duck.

"We've got way too much of the paramount going on to start giving into dissension among the troops, don't you think?" Smart bird, Spike thought. Maybe that is what I love most about her.