A/N: For all you loyal readers, a treat. A true Spuffy chapter for you. I think this chapter may be rated 'R' for one minor incident. Don't want to spoil it. Romance is in the air. But, guys, this is Spike and Buffy so don't think it's gonna be happily ever after just yet...
As the Slayer walked side by side down the small craggy pathway with the peroxide-haired vampire with a soul she smiled just a little. She had never thought she would be taking a nice, normal non-patrol walk with Spike – partly because she had thought him dead and partly because they just didn't seem to have the type of relationship that usually included nice country strolls.
It was dark now because it was around five o'clock and the days got darker sooner in England. They had left later then she had intended but that was because she had found Spike napping in her bed. Her other bed anyway. It wasn't like she used it much anyway. Buffy figured she had slept in the guesthouse about three times since they had come to England. As far as she was concerned Spike could stay in the small cottage as long as he wanted to stay, which she hoped would be for a little while longer than her trip to Los Angeles had lasted.
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye and he was kicking a small pebble down the stony path. Spike was looking down as he walked, fixated on his shoes and that was unlike him because he usually strutted as confident as a predator, which he was. Either he had changed an awful lot since Sunnydale or something was playing on his mind. Buffy kind of hoped it was the latter because she didn't want Spike to have changed, she liked him as he was. Mostly.
The Slayer sighed and looked up at the full moon thinking about werewolves because even now with her slightly more normal life slaying was still almost all she thought about, which was more than just ironic after all the times she had wished she could have more freedom. Be a normal girl. Sure, she wasn't the only Slayer anymore, but she still had the strength, the determination and the drive to rid the world of evil. That just wouldn't go away because of what had happened in Sunnydale.
Buffy stooped down and plucked a poppy from the ground – there were fields on either side of the path that consisted of mainly long, uncut grass but occasionally Buffy would see a nice flower that had made it through. She twirled the flower stem between her thumb and index finger as she walked with Spike through the English countryside. The only sounds in the night were their footsteps crunching on the gravel and a few crickets communicating in the night.
"We goin' anywhere specific or just having a wander?" Spike asked breaking the relative silence.
She glanced at him and her lips held a small smile "Follow me"
Buffy veered suddenly off the path and waded into the thick grass hearing Spike pause but then he was behind her doing as she had asked. The Slayer used her hands to push the long grass out of the way as she marched through with Spike close behind. She got bitten a few times through her thin white sweater and her black pants with black boots. Her hair was loose and as the breeze blew around her hair was lifted and tossed around like autumn leaves.
Buffy braced herself when the ground started to go down in a slope as she had been here many times before. Spike had no such knowledge of it and cursed as he slipped down the mud behind her and ended up colliding with her back. Buffy stumbled forward and grabbed hold of Spike arm as she twisted around to face him. He grabbed hold of her hand and they faced each other both holding the other one up and neither entirely well balanced.
Buffy looked into his stunned eyes "Guess I should have warned you about that, huh?"
"Might have helped, luv" He nodded and then let out a sudden burst of laughter as if miraculously some of the tension had just leaked out.
Buffy righted herself and pulled Spike into a steady position before turning back around "It's only a little way from here"
She walked forward slowly this time and heard Spike follow her a moment later. The mud got less thick here and it was easy to walk on. A thick clump of trees came into view and Buffy walked up to them and entered during a small gap between two of the trees. The Slayer could see well in the dark compared to most humans and she weaved in and out of the trees like someone who could come here with their eyes closed and Buffy thought that might be possible given the amount of time she had spent down at this place when she needed to think.
She finally came to the small clearing and entered stepping to the side so that Spike could come up next to her. In front of them was a small glittering lake. It was completely unspoiled by civilization like most of Westbury. It was roughly circular, very roughly, and completely surrounded by large trees. The water was clean, almost clear, but there was a large rock towards the centre and off to the left that broke the water and made for a good sitting place when she had first tried out swimming in the lake. The moonlight flittered through the branches of the trees to dance across the surface of the lake. The only thing that was missing was a cascading waterfall but this was England for god's sake and she couldn't expect perfection.
Spike let out a whistle "Seen a lot of the world in my time. Never knew my home country still had any of these kinds of places left. It's like steppin' back in time"
"And you should know" Buffy grinned.
He looked at her "I'm not that old"
"How old are you now?"
"Hundred and thirty, hundred and thirty one. I wasn't exactly counting"
The Slayer nodded "Yeah, you're not old at all" She chuckled.
The vampire looked at the lake once more and sighed then he sat down on the small ledge by the water, which he was lucky the mud had dried and wouldn't rub off on him. Buffy looked down at him as he pulled his knees up and then rested his forehead against them, closing his eyes.
Buffy hesitated and then crouched down next to him, not sitting, but just near him and she reached over and tentatively put a hand on the back of his neck. Spike shivered but she knew he wasn't cold because it wasn't that type of shiver.
She stroked her fingers underneath the collar of his black shirt "What's up?"
"Nothin'" Spike rasped.
"Oh. Okay then" The Slayer withdrew her hand from him and stood up.
The loss of her touch made Spike look up at her from his sitting position on the ground and he locked eyes with her for a moment before burying his head back in his hands and closing his eyes. Buffy smiled and kicked her shoes off. She pulled her sweater up over her head and continued to undress until she was left in just her underwear feeling the effects of the cold on her skin but ignoring them. Then the Slayer looked down at the vampire who had not noticed all of this and turned diving into the lake. She was sure he would hear that. As the cold water hit her body Buffy felt refreshed and fresh instead of chilled to the bone like most people would have. The temperature change made her heart pound harder but she stayed under water until she swum up close to the large rock in the lake before she resurfaced. The lake was deep enough and she was short enough that only her head appeared above the surface when she stood on the bottom of the lakebed.
Sure enough Spike had noticed her exit and he was now stood up searching the water for her, his eyes were worried until they locked on her then he just looked slightly intoxicated as he noticed her clothes had been left on the bank next to him.
"What are you doin'?" Spike called out.
Buffy pushed her wet hair away from her face and let out a shuddering breath of icy air "What's it look like?"
"Looks like you've gone barmy, Slayer!" He shouted back but let out a gleeful laugh all at once.
She smiled too happy to see him smiling again and the tension easing out of his body and mind. That was what she had intended to do in the first place.
"You comin' in?" Buffy asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Nothin' would get me in that freezin' water" Spike shook his head and folded his arms across his chest.
"Nothing? You sure about that?" The Slayer cocked her head.
He nodded and let out a small chuckle as he looked at her. Buffy reached around herself and kept her eyes on Spike's as he continued to mock her water drowned state knowing that due to her distance away from him and because the water came up to her chin Spike couldn't see what she was doing as she unclipped her bra and slid it off of her shoulders. She pulled her arm back and pitched the garment at him and it hit him square in the face as she had planned. Spike took a stumbled step backward due to shock and tore the thing off his face he was about to shout at her when he looked down at his hands and realized what it was.
"You won't even come in now?" Buffy grinned wickedly.
The wide-eyed, open-mouthed look on Spike's face made her laugh and she began to walk backwards further away from him in the water as she kept her eyes on his. The Slayer pulled her hand out of the water and motioned for him to join her.
Spike gulped a few times like a goldfish trying to find air before he snapped himself out of it and quickly pulled his shoes off and tossed them away. He ripped his duster off and pulled his belt out of the loops of his jeans but apparently he couldn't wait any longer because he then waded into lake still wearing his jeans and shirt.
Buffy's back pressed against the rock in the middle of the lake as she watched his approach – the water soon became deep enough that he had to swim toward her. As he approached Buffy had to think that he looked a lot like an albino shark, he was a strong, sleek, sinewy predator and she was the prey.
Spike resurfaced just in front of her, water cascading off of his alabaster skin and Buffy let out a small gasp as he opened his eyes and looked at her. Spike reached out and put his hands on the rock behind Buffy trapping her in-between his arms. He looked into her eyes so deeply she thought he might be trying to steal her soul with just a look.
"You should know better than to tease, Buffy" His voice was a low purr.
Buffy smiled and then let it slip looking at him seriously as she reached up and looped her arms around his neck then brought herself forward to press her breasts against his sodden shirt "Who said anything about teasing?"
Spike turned rigid and then he moved his hands from the rock and tangled one in her hair pulling her face to his and kissing her hard on the mouth. Buffy was pushed back against the rock and she was kind of glad it was there because otherwise she wasn't sure her legs would support her. The vampire's other hand rested on her neck and then slid down over her shoulder. Spike pulled back abruptly and looked into her eyes as he dipped his hand below water level and touched her breast. She sucked in a quick breath but kept her eyes on his.
Spike pulled away from her unexpectedly and shook his head. Buffy let go of the breath and frowned as he took a few steps back from her and then turned his back on her and stood then with his shoulders tense.
Buffy's frown didn't waver as she cautiously reached out and placed her hand between his shoulder blades. If it was possible Spike tensed even more but he looked over his shoulder at her and then quickly turned away as if regretting looking at her.
"What's wrong, Spike?" Buffy spoke softly and intimately, her heart still beating too fast from their contact.
"I...I'm not real" Spike said then let out a long unused breath.
Her frown only deepened "What?"
"I'm not your someone"
"You really aren't making much sense, Spike"
He turned back to face her, water beads on his face "I'm a vampire"
"Well, yeah, I had noticed that" Buffy smiled but it slipped when his face remained serious "What is this?"
"I'm a vampire and you're human. You need someone who can –"
"Spike, I swear to God if you say I need someone who can take me into the light I will stake you myself" Buffy's teeth gritted.
Spike's eyes widened and she could tell he had been about to say exactly that. The Slayer threw her hands up in the air and then dived into the water and swam past the vampire vigorously towards the bank of the lake. She climbed out onto the bank and turned to see Spike facing the rock with his back to her. Buffy pulled on her clothes making them wet but she really didn't care.
She pulled her boots on and started through the trees when she heard Spike call her name and start to swim towards the edge of the lake. The Slayer just walked faster moving in-between the trees and then climbing the small slippery hill to get to the field of long grass. She made her way through that field and back onto the stony walkway back to Giles house.
"Buffy!" She heard him call.
The Slayer ignored him and he called out again. She carried on down the path.
"Buf –" Spike's voice was cut off abruptly and there was a loud thud.
Buffy stopped and turned looking back at the patch of trees. It was possible that Spike was just trying to trick her into going back to him. Buffy hesitated not knowing what to do but in the end her Slayer instincts, and her feelings for Spike, won and she turned and ran back down to the trees. She got to them and saw footprints that were larger than her own – they stopped suddenly and then there were muddy tracks as if something heavy had been dragged. Buffy ran through the trees following the drag marks and found herself at the side of the lake again.
She looked out at the water but everything was serene and undisturbed. Buffy frowned and called out Spike's name several times. She did a sweep around the lake and through the trees her breathing getting ragged as she got more panicked. The Slayer made her way back around to the original opening of the trees and looked out at the field with the long grass. She walked every inch of it and found no trace of the asinine vampire. This was just typical of him, Buffy got mad at him and then he would disappear and probably get kidnapped just so she had to work through her rage and worry about him. So typical.
Buffy called out his name again and then she turned and ran full tilt back home she had to find Giles and Willow, Willow could do a spell and she would find Spike. Buffy fell more than once because her clothes were wet and the mud slippery and soon she was covered in mud and probably looked like some sort of hell beast herself.
When she burst into the house and ran into the living room caking mud and water all over the carpet Giles and Willow turned to look at her in alarm – she told them the situation as quickly as possible and they sprang into action. Willow got out her location spell stuff and Buffy got her weapons while she did it.
"Its weird," Willow said "The spell says that he's right where you left him"
"He can't be. I checked" Buffy frowned.
"It says he's there"
Without another word Buffy turned and ran out of the house and she heard Giles following a long way behind calling out her name. She ignored and sprinted down the path and toward the field, which she crashed into noisily. She slipped down the hill of mud and then picked herself up and weaved in and out of the trees.
She came grinding to a halt when she saw Spike lying on the bank of the river completely soaked and muddy as if he had dragged himself up it. He was groaning in pain and clutching his chest, which seemed to have some sort of spine in it.
Buffy ran over and crouched down next to him "What happened?"
"Bloody...water-feral demon" Spike groaned "Dragged me under – lucky I don't bloody need to breathe"
"Where is it?"
"There" He pointed to the water.
Buffy turned and readied herself for an attack but saw the thing floating face down in the middle of the lake – the back of it's head was caved in and she saw a thick splurge of blood on the rock in the lake. Spike had dashed the thing's brains out.
She turned back to Spike as Giles slipped down into the clearing and crawled over to them getting muddy himself.
"What's this?" Buffy asked pointing to Spike's chest.
"It's the water-feral demon's quill," Spike groaned.
"Duh" She rolled her eyes "Does it...is it..."
Giles looked over at the water, at the demon "Judging from the species, which I would say is a venomous water-feral demon, I'd say it's –"
"Venomous?" Buffy guessed sarcastically.
"Yes, quite," He nodded, not getting her sarcasm.
Spike spoke through gritted teeth "It's doin' something to me...I can feel it. Ahh! Bloody hell! I can't...I can't feel anything...I can't..."
Spike's eyes rolled back in his head.
TBC...
A/N: Oh, the tension! What's wrong with Spike? Can Buffy fix it? Will I ever stop tormenting my readers by dangling them carrots and then yanking them away? Find out when I load the next chapter. Keep the reviews coming, loyal fans. Thanks ever so.