A/N: You are all gonna hate me for this chapter but it was needed to further the story. And, hey, it's not under my control – Buffy, Spike, Giles etc are taking over! I think this chapter gets a PG-13 rating or possibly an R if you're very sensitive. Mild angsty type things and some violence. Don't want to give more away, read on....

Dawn entered the house with a sigh, dropping her bag on the floor and kicking her shoes off. School was such a drag sometimes. Sure, she loved the school in England because she could leave in a few months if she wanted to and because she was actually popular. Being American set her apart from the other students but in a good way. They all asked her about what it was like to live in America and she was getting some pretty favorable looks from the guys as well. That she liked. What she didn't like was having to go to school when one of her friends was hurt. Spike had been a close and dear friend to her until things had gone wrong in Sunnydale. Now, though, she felt that he had earned her forgiveness at least in part. She didn't want to see him turn into some freaky demon thing.

She didn't think it was fair that Spike saved the world and got a soul just for it to end like this – swimming off into the great sea.

Of course, Buffy wouldn't let that happen. She would probably lock him in a tank until they could find a cure. It made Dawn feel weird to think of her sister feeding Spike with those little flake things you gave to your pet goldfish.

Dawn heard voices as she entered the living room. Giles was standing leaning against one wall, with glasses in hand and weary expression. Willow and Buffy were sitting on the couch in the middle of a heated discussion on everyone's favorite topic; Spike.

They all looked up as she entered.

"What's up?" Dawn asked, then added hopefully "Did you find a cure?"

Willow shook her head "No...no not yet. We're working on it"

"What's that?" She saw a vial of black liquid in the witch's hand.

She glanced down at it then back up "The poison from the water-feral demon. I extracted it from its arm quill"

"Eww" Dawn pulled a face "So, what for? Does that thing hold the cure?"

Buffy stood "We hope so. Willow says that it's a pretty strange compound though"

"Yes," Giles pushed away from the wall "It seems that due to the demon's poison's metamorphic ability the cells in it keep multiplying and changing. It could be very difficult to specifically reverse its polarity to that of vampire physiology"

Dawn gave him a blank look.

"To turn the poison instead into one that can change a creature into a vampire. Like Spike" Giles explained in simpler terms.

"Oh, right," Dawn turned to Willow "Will it...I mean, if you can do that...will he lose his soul? Just be a regular vamp again?"

Buffy shook her head; arms crossed "No. No"

"Well, Buffy," Willow said gently "We don't actually know that..."

"No, Willow. Spike's soul has nothing to do with his physi...physo...whatever! It's inside him it's part of him and it can't be taken away" Buffy nodded her head "It can't"

Giles stepped forward "I think you're being a little naive..."

"Yeah? Well, I think you're being a lot annoying" Buffy countered.

Dawn rolled her eyes and decided to tune the rest of the conversation out. Buffy and Giles had been fighting so much since Spike had come back it had almost become a taken for granted part of life. She slipped out of the room and walked down the hall into the kitchen and then out of the back door. Her feet crunched on the gravel as she made her way over to the cottage. She just wanted to see if Spike was all right, he was probably frightened going through this alone.

The door to the cottage had been torn off but was now fixed thanks to Xander. Dawn pushed against it and wasn't surprised to see Buffy hadn't locked it. She never locked doors. That was going to get someone in trouble one day. Dawn shut the door behind her and made her way through the living room and up the stairs to Buffy's bedroom.

Dawn wished she could have a whole cottage to herself. There would be no was that she would still want to sleep in the main body of the house then. No way. The sight of Andrew and Giles in the morning in their Spiderman PJ's and robe, respectively, bickering about being Watchers was not a pretty sight.

Dawn reached the top of the stairs and knocked on the door. There was a slight groan from inside. Dawn opened the door and stepped inside. The room was pitch black – the curtains firmly shut and no other light coming from a lamp or anything. It was darker in the room then it was out in the English night.

"Spike?" She whispered stepping cautiously further into the room.

"Ohh..." There was a groan "Dawn...get out...not...ohh..."

She frowned and looked around. She heard a loud thud and jumped. Dawn saw a flash of platinum hair on the floor by the bed. Spike had obviously rolled off the bed and hit the floor. She started to go to him when he let out a loud swear word and told her to stay away.

Dawn was worried about him; he could be badly hurt or changing into the fish thing right now. Something in the back of her mind told her to go and run and get Buffy but then she changed her mind. It was Spike and he might be hurt. She walked over to him and crouched down, laid a hand on his bare back.

"Spike, are you okay?"

To her surprise he let out a long laugh "Oh, I'm better than okay, Dawnie"

He whipped his face around to look at her and there was no Spike in his eyes. They were empty and his face full of an emotion Dawn had never seen on a guy looking at her but she recognized it nevertheless – desire. It caused her to jump up and take steps backwards away from him. Something wasn't right here. Something was really wrong.

Spike flipped up onto his feet in one fluid movement, his eyes fixed on her. A sharp smiled stretched across his lips and he slowly, calmly, deliberately started to walk towards her. It was more of a swagger really, one of a hunter. And she was the deer caught in the headlights.

Dawn turned to run like her mind was screaming at her and made it almost to the door before Spike grabbed her around the waist and threw her across the room. She hit the bed in a semi-soft landing. There was only one thing left to do.

Dawn screamed like hell.

Spike was on her in a second slapping his hand on her mouth and using his other to pin her by the shoulder to the bed. He was leaning all his weight against her and Dawn couldn't move at all.

"Hello, Dawn," Spike licked his lips "Always wanted to be thought of as a real woman, didn't you? Well, now's your chance"

Spike leaned down into her and Dawn decided to take action. She was scared as hell and her heart was hammering in her chest but she was Dawn Summers and she wasn't just going to lie there and take it. As he leaned his face down to hers she brought both her hands up and slapped them against Spike's ears at the same time.

The vampire roared and threw his head back clutching his ears. Buffy had taught Dawn that move – hurt like a bitch apparently.

Dawn used his distraction and shoved him in the chest with all her strength. Spike toppled from her off the bed and Dawn leapt up and over the end of the bed like she was an Olympic sprinter. She yanked the door open and made it to the top of the stairs when Spike barreled into her from behind. Dawn had time to think Oh, crap before they both went tumbling down the stairs.

She was defiantly going to bruise, Dawn decided as she stuck the side of head on a stair and landed at the bottom in a heap with Spike on top of her, so gonna bruise. Spike was up in a second, grabbed her, tossed her over his shoulder and carried her back upstairs. Even through her semi-conscious haze Dawn heard the sound of the door downstairs being kicked in and to say she was relieved was a mild way of putting it.

Spike threw her down on the floor as footsteps ran full speed up the stairs. He looked down at Dawn and grinned.

Buffy burst through the door shortly followed by Giles and Willow. The Slayer took in the scene with wide eyes and a quavering lip.

"What the hell...?" Buffy said, trailing off.

Spike turned to her "Slayer. Care to join little sis and me? Turns out she's quite innocent. Or at least she was until I –"

Buffy slapped him around the face so hard the sound echoed through the room. Then she seemed to realize that that wasn't enough as Spike grinned as he turned around to look at her.

"Spanking, eh?" The vampire morphed faces "I like it, Buffy"

Dawn watched as a hurt look crossed Buffy's face before she whirled around and kicked Spike in the gut. He let out a groan and flew backwards into the wall by the window. He grinned. Buffy ran at him and started throwing punches.

Giles and Willow ran to Dawn "Are you alright?"

Dawn couldn't answer as she saw Spike try to make a grope for the Slayer. Buffy ducked out of the way then grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him out of the window. The glass shattered and Spike disappeared outside. A loud thud and a groan shortly followed the sound of braking glass.

Buffy ran over and knelt by Dawn, took her face in her hands "Did he...did he...do anything to you? Did he touch you?"

"...No...no..." She shook her head, cuddling into her sister "What's wrong with him, Buffy? That wasn't Spike, right? It wasn't him"

Buffy stroked her hair "No...no it wasn't....it wasn't"

Dawn looked up and noticed the look on Giles' face. It wasn't a friendly one.

A/N: There you have it. It had to be done, I'm sorry. Wait. No I'm not! I am an artist and I make no excuse for my art. Keep reviews coming – even if it's hate mail.