Her voice resounded in her ears as she realized that she and Spike had landed in the soft sand of El Porto State Beach with the bright sun shining down on them. She threw her body over Spike's as her screams continued. She was frantic. She could feel him shaking underneath her; shaking with... laughter?
"Slayer, let me up," he told her as his laughter finally subsided.
"Wh-what's going on? You're not..." Her eyes grew wide. She hadn't seen him in the sunlight since he stole the Ring of Amarra and attacked her on campus. "You're not crispy-critter. What the Hell is going on? Are you... are you..."
"Dead as ever, love," he grinned. He was sitting on the beach, staring into the eyes of his beautiful girl with the sun beating down on them both. And he wasn't going up in smoke.
"I don't understand," Buffy whispered.
"Welcome to your new world, Daywalker."
It was the voice of the Powers. She heard it. She started to ask him if he'd heard it, too, but the look on his face was all the answer she needed.
"Oh my... Spike! You can... oh, God!" she cried as she wrapped her arms around him. She drew back and stared into his handsome face. "Wow, you really need a tan."
"Hey, now, Slayer. Watch it!"
He couldn't deny the fact that he was thrilled beyond belief. He could walk in the sun. He could spend his unlife with the woman he loved. The reward was greater than any risk he'd ever taken. He watched as a wicked smile crossed Buffy's delicate features.
"I have an idea," she told him.
An hour later, she and Dawn were sitting inside the Fandango Salon while Anita and Janelle worked their magic. She and Spike had left the beach with separate agendas promising to meet back at Buffy's house in three hours. He dropped her off at her Dad's house before continuing on to Angel Investigations to have a talk with Angel.
Buffy could feel Dawn staring at her from her retro-styled salon chair.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" Buffy grinned.
"Hmmm... where to start?" Dawn pondered sarcastically. "I know, how about the fact that it's daylight and you're in it. Or, ooh! I know! You're finally doing something about your hideous roots and headful of split ends. Or maybe it has something to do with the smile that's been plastered on your face since I opened the door at the house. And it's not that creepy 'I'm not all there' smile that you've had for the past year."
Ancient key aside, Dawn's maturity level really hadn't advanced too greatly since the near-apocalypse in Sunnydale. She was still good for a snarky remark or a well-timed huff and pout combo. Of course, the snarkiness Buffy had always attributed to time spent with Spike. Now she couldn't help but grin thinking about how he'd taken on Dawn as his own when he thought that Buffy was dead. And he would have continued to have a hand in her upbringing had the resurrection never taken place. Buffy's smile grew even wider knowing that Spike would be part of their lives again. They were his family. And he was theirs.
"What in the world is with you, Buffy?" Dawn continued to pry.
"Keep it up and I won't take you to get your nails done," Buffy warned with a neatly waxed raised eyebrow.
Spike couldn't conceal his glee as he dialed the number to the Hyperion.
"Angel Investigations, we hope you're helpless."
Hopeless, you bint, he thought. He wasn't nearly as agitated with Harmony's lack of phone skills as he normally was, though.
"Put Peaches on, Harm," he instructed.
"Blondie Bear? Is that you?" she squealed.
"Harm!" He brought his voice down. She had an incredible way of bringing out the worst in him. "Just get Angel. Please."
He waited while he was transferred. Need some decent hold music, he thought. Maybe a Pistols medley. Or something from the Misfits.
"What is it, Spike?" Angel asked with that unmistakable tone of impatience and annoyance.
"Why don't you pull back the curtain on your necro-tempered window and look out to the walkway," he suggested.
Angel had no time for Spike's games.
"Why? Will I see you as you burst into flames?"
"Just throw back the bloody sash, you git!" Spike snapped.
He saw the curtains move slowly across the pane. Angel stepped in front of the glass and looked down to the street. He saw Spike waving at him, a delirious smile nearly splitting his face horizontally. Without thinking, he waved back. It was less than a second later that Spike heard the phone hit the floor.
"Holy fucking..." His grandsire let out a long string of profanity as he scrambled to pick the phone back up. "Get up here!" he demanded. "Get up here right now!!!!"
Angel slammed down the phone and began pacing in front of his desk. Shanshued. That stupid ponce of a peroxide blonde had been Shanshued! It made sense! Vampire. Soul. Great sacrifice! Fuck! Why was Spike always stealing his thunder? First Dru. Then Buffy. Then he went out and got himself a soul. Fought the good fight. Slayed some demons. Fended off an apocalypse or two. Now he got the Shanshu.
"It should have been me!!!" he roared. His shouts brought Wesley, followed by Gunn, Fred, Harmony and finally, Cordelia into his office.
"Angel, what is it?" Cordy asked frantically. She ran to the vampire. He was shifting in and out of game face in his fit. How could he even begin to explain that, once again, his grand-childe had managed to steal away yet another reward for which he had worked so diligently? She slipped her arm around his waist and held him close.
Spike stealthily made his way into the office.
"He's freaking out, Spike. Do something," Fred pleaded.
Angel started shaking his head. No. He didn't want that bleached moron anywhere near him. Hadn't he done enough?
"Oh, Peaches. Cut the theatrics already. I haven't stolen your precious Shanshu. Wouldn't want it. Being human's for nancy boys like you, anyhow," he let Angel know.
Angel stopped pacing and stared hard at Spike. He sniffed the air. Tried to capture a heartbeat. Nothing. Just as dead as he was the day he'd met him.
"Then how? Did you find another gem? Is it a spell?" Angel sputtered.
"You know," Spike began as he looked around the room at the slack-jawed stares he was receiving. "I think that this is best done in private if you lot don't mind."
Angel nodded. "It's fine. Really."
They filed out of his office one by one. Cordy stopped, her hand on the door knob, to question her friend one more time. "You're sure?"
"Yeah. He, uh..."
"No bloody Shanshu, Pet. Just a little thank you gift from the Powers That Be," Spike assured her.
"It's okay, Cordy," Angel told her.
She smiled weakly and shut the door behind her.
"Am I going to need a drink for this? Or something wooden with a pointy end?" Angel asked, still a little leary about Spike's sudden recovery from a century-old sun affliction.
"I could use a bit of the tipple," Spike grinned as he plopped down in one of the comfy chairs so that he could talk to Angel across his desk. He propped his boots up on the desk to have them knocked down by the brooding vamp on his way to his chair. He pulled a bottle of scotch and two glasses from his desk drawer and took to filling them. He pushed one across the desk to Spike and downed the other in one gulp.
"I didn't steal your Shanshu, you ponce," Spike insisted.
"Yeah," Angel said between swallows of his second glass of scotch. "I got that. So, what did you do?"
Spike sighed and looked at his watch. He still had a few hours. May as well give him the full monty.
"You're taking me shopping?" Dawn asked incredulously. "Okay. Who are you and what have you done with Buffy?"
Buffy giggled as she plowed through the racks at Decades. She loved the vintage styles and knew that Spike would appreciate them as well.
"Oh, just enjoy it and hush," she told her sister.
"Buffy, this place is really expensive," Dawn whispered as she read the price tag on a pair of silver Luis Vuitton high-heeled sandals. She didn't even make that much money in a week working part-time at the Gap.
"Oh, come on. It's not like I can't afford it. And when's the last time you saw me spend money on anything?" she shrugged. "I figured we could use a little retail therapy. Pick out something nice. Something... summery. Something that would look good on my back patio."
Dawn shot her a confused smile.
"I've got a little surprise waiting," she added before turning her attention back to the rack. She began shuffling through the dresses before finally stopping on a deep red confection she knew that Spike would love. It was a silken chemise with spaghetti straps. Almost looked like a fancy nighty. And it would look perfect with those overpriced Luis Vuitton sandals Dawn had pointed out.
Spike was a nervous wreck as he paced back and forth on Buffy's back patio. After Angel had found out that he hadn't been passed over for the Shanshu, things had gone a little more smoothly. Granted, he was still sorely agitated at the Powers' favor of Spike. And he still wasn't sure that Spike was the one who deserved the cookie. He did, however, know William well enough to clearly see his heart. And his heart was bursting with Buffy.
"Be good to her, William," he had said, shaking his grand-childe's hand while pulling him into a half-hug. Spike smirked at the recollection. Angel. Hugging him. That was too much. He wished Buffy could have been there. She would have really enjoyed that.
He'd taken the time to stop at the store for steaks and a bottle of champagne. Bought the good stuff, too. It was going to be a special day. Even Buffy couldn't deny Dawn a glass for a toast that was a long time coming to them all. He'd packed a small bag and returned to Buffy's house, letting himself in with the key she had given him. He started the grill and then took a hot shower while it smoldered. He was humming "My Way" to himself as he tossed on a pair of faded blue jeans and a soft white t-shirt. He even traded in his manky combat boots for a pair of runners like the ones he'd seen Gunn sporting on most occasions.
"No longer a creature of the night," he said outloud. Things were definately looking up.
He chanced that Buffy would have something he could stomach in her CD collection. He began rifling through her entertainment armoire and was thrilled to find several Sex Pistols CDs in her eclectic collection. Correction, his Sex Pistols CDs. She'd saved them all. He popped one into the CD player and then went out to the back patio to put on the steaks.
Buffy had insisted on stopping back by her father's house so that she and Dawn could put on their new clothes. Dawn was still prattling on about the expense. And then asking too many questions as to why it was so important to get so dressed up in the middle of the afternoon.
"Just do it," Buffy had told her. "For me. It will make me happy."
Dawn couldn't help but comply. She hadn't seen Buffy happy since Spike... she didn't even want to think about it. There were so many things she would have done differently. Like forgiven him.
Buffy could barely contain her excitement as she and her sister entered her home. The front door had been left open. The storm door was unlocked. She caught a glimpse of Spike as he headed out the sliding glass doors to her patio. The first thing she noticed was that the house was flooded with light. Spike had taken the liberty of drawing back every curtain and blind. He must be beyond giddy, Buffy thought with a smile. She knew that she was. And she hadn't bothered with the sun by choice. Her stomach was suddenly fluttering in anticipation of Dawn's reaction.
Dawn dropped their bags on the sofa and picked up the CD case that was sitting on the coffee table. Sex Pistols. Spike music. She set it back down and looked up at Buffy.
"Why don't you go out to the patio," Buffy said softly. She could see Spike busying himself with the grill, turning steaks and poking coals. He looked incredible with the sun shining on him, all pastel colors and white-blonde hair. "I'll be out in just a moment."
Dawn shrugged and started toward the sliding glass doors. She froze when she saw the sight in front of her. It couldn't be, could it? She froze in the doorway as Buffy grinned over her shoulder at the vampire in front of them.
Dawn felt Buffy's arms wrap around her waist from behind and her chin settle on her shoulder.
"Isn't he effulgent?" she whispered. Dawn nodded in shock.
"Sp--Spike?"