New Beginnings

Disclaimer: All I want for Christmas is…. Spike! Don't own anything else.

Summary: Well, this seems to be the end, but is it?

Reviews: Review and I'll tell Santa how good you've been. ;-) Reader rock but reviewers RULE!!

A/N: I seem to have reached the end of this insane ramble. Hope you all have liked it. To my awesome reviewers: THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!! I love you all.

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Spike stiffened suddenly, distracted from his perusal of the room by the sight of Gunn stalking toward Fred, HIS Fred. Eyes flashing amber, the vampire walked silently across the space between himself and his lady. Gunn stood in front of the slender brunette looking at her angrily. Spike moved up behind her and slid an arm around her waist possessively. The room seemed suspended while everyone waited tensely.

"Fred. Can we talk?" Gunn asked. Anger flashing in his dark eyes as the vampire smirked at him. "Alone?" He added, earning a glimpse of fang from Spike.

Fred glanced up at the amber eyes and ridged forehead of her love's gameface. She reached up and stroked her fingers across his vampiric features. "Spike. Calm down. I need to talk to him and I don't need you to be all grrr. Okay?"

She forced his gaze down to meet hers. Slowly the amber faded and sapphire blue regained dominance in his eyes. She pulled his head down until his forehead rested on hers. Her brown eyes held his blue ones intensely, communicating silently that she really needed to resolve this one last obstacle of their love.

'Spike. Baby, listen. If I don't talk to him, he'll never move on and he'll always have a reason to want to stake you. I couldn't bear it if that happened. Please.' She sent mentally.

'Sweetling, he's angry. I don't want him to hurt you.' Spike rationalized his jealous show.

'What could happen? I have two Master Vampires, one of whom is a wizard, a slayer, and two powerful witches around me. I'm pretty sure that most of them, if not all, will protect me from the big mean human. Gunn's big, not stupid.' She assured him his fears were unfounded. Finally he closed his eyes and nodded. Flashing one last golden glance at Gunn, the vampire released his physicist and stomped over to the staircase to sit down next to Dawn and Lorne.

Gunn put a hand on Fred's elbow and led her over to an empty corner. He looked over at the blond menace glaring at them. "Fred. Are you sure? I mean he's a vampire."

"Angel's a vampire and you work beside him. You like him. You defend him in fights. So what if Spike's a vampire. He's good. He saved me. A vengeance demon sent me back to Pylea and he saved me. That vampire couldn't bear the thought of me being gone so he opened a portal, went there and brought me back. I think I love him and I hope he loves me. All I know is that we have so much in common. I recognize so much in him. I think that maybe… he's… my… soul mate." She explained with dawning understanding of her speedy involvement with the blond bloodsucker, of why he became so important to her so fast. He was the other half of her own soul. Her brown eyes sought Spike's worried blue ones across the room. Fred beamed a misty smile at her vampire.

Gunn saw it and frowned. But he knew defeat when he saw it. Fred was lost to him. Things between them had not been going well and he had known that she would not be with him much longer. He was aware of Wesley's interest in her and admitted to himself that he would have rather lost her to English than that vampire. Angel's family be damned. But, she'd chosen and he'd lost, Wesley too. They'd both missed their chance. He could see the changes in her already. She was more confident and less skittish than she'd been in all the months since they'd first found her. The Fred he knew would never have gone along with that little practical joke Spike and Xander had played. He noticed her worried gaze at his continued silence. He forced a smile, earning a beaming one from the lovely girl in front of him.

"Girl, I love you. I just want you to be happy. If a wizard type vampire is what you want then okay. But I gotta tell you, if he ever hurts you, they won't find enough to put in an ashtray. Tell him that." Gunn finished.

She beamed at him. "It won't be necessary, he won't hurt me."

"I hope not." The big man stated with a growl.

Dawn shifted up to the step behind Spike and looped her arms around his neck. She could feel the tension in his shoulders as he watched Gunn talking to Fred. Their voices were too low for Spike to hear, even with his vampiric hearing. Drawing him back so that he rested against her, she tried to get him to relax. Hearing a tiny growl rumbling in his chest, she sighed.

Lorne noticed Spike's distraction. He smiled as he followed the sapphire gaze to Fred and Gunn talking in the corner. Looking over at the tense vampire next to him, he decided to tell Spike a small secret.

"Um, Sweetcakes, you know that Fred is over the moon for you, don't you?" The green demon began hesitantly.

A small, unneeded breath was caught but it was the only sign that the vampire heard.

"I've read both of you now and from what I can see, you have absolutely nothing to worry about." Lorne added, closely watching for any reaction. Spike merely closed his eyes.

"Spike? Are you okay?" Dawn asked worriedly. Spike only nodded, once.

Spike was in agony fearing that Gunn would convince her that dating a vampire was a bad idea and he'd be alone again. He opened his eyes to see her giving his rival a beaming smile. He caught his breath at her beauty. He hardened his features so no one would notice he was falling apart inside.

Angel watched as his friends talked quietly in the corner. He saw the misty smile the slender brunette aimed at Spike. He felt Spike's unease watching his new lady secluded in a corner with her former boyfriend. He tensed as he felt his Childe's fear, his agony as he watched her smile so brightly at Gunn. A low growl sounded in the elder vampire's chest. Cordy looked up in surprise. She placed a small hand on Angel's arm.

"What's wrong?" She asked her love quietly.

"I don't know yet." He answered her, not once taking his gaze off Spike.

Fred reached up and kissed Gunn. Spike closed his eyes again as his heart shattered. He inhaled sharply as the pain sliced through his chest. Angel echoed Spike as he too inhaled sharply, feeling his Childe's pain as keenly as if it were his own.

Tara grabbed Willow's hand as the tension swept through the room. Wesley and Giles sat watching intently as the silent drama unfolded. Xander pulled Buffy off to the side as she noticed the tension in the two vampires. It wasn't a situation that called for a slayer and he didn't want her in the middle of it. Buffy's green eyes flashed up to meet Xander's chocolate gaze as he restrained her with a hand on her arm. He shook his head.

Lorne tilted his head. He knew the blond vampire had the wrong idea but he also knew that there was nothing he could say to alleviate Spike's fear. He continued to gaze at Spike, noting the way he kept his eyes closed in denial. Spike's lean features grew stark as the pain knifed through him.

Dawn's arms tightened fractionally as she watched Fred kiss Gunn. Then her hands slid slowly back until they rested on Spike's tense shoulders. Spike stiffened as a familiar scent reached his nose. Then soft lips caressed his cheek, fluttering across his face to rest on his mouth. He responded almost against his will. The kiss deepened, warming the fearful vampire through to his toes. He opened his eyes only to close them again in immense relief. Fred had chosen him. He snuck his arms around her and pulled her into his lap, lengthening the kiss as it drained the pain from his chest. Fred pulled away and reached up to trail a finger down Spike's face.

"Hi." She whispered. "I missed you."

He rested his forehead on hers as a blissful smile spread across his face. "Hi. I missed you too." He answered. He covered her mouth with his own, pouring his feelings into the contact. Coming up for air, he whispered, "I love you so much." Putting his heart on the line with the simple statement.

Fred smiled up at him radiantly. "I love you, too."

Wesley closed his own eyes as the realization washed over him that Fred was lost to him.

Xander watched Buffy closely as she watched Spike and Fred kiss as if their existence depended on each other. He could only see acceptance. She finally seemed to be putting someone else's happiness before her own. Maybe there was hope for the slayer.

Angel relaxed as he saw Fred leave Gunn and approach Spike. She hadn't realized that Spike thought she was dumping him already. Spike's heart was so fragile that the slightest hint of rejection was devastating. He'd spent so much time being treated as a yoyo that he'd come to expect a relationship to blow hot then cold. Rejection had become a regular part of Spike's existence. The elder vampire smiled broadly as Spike pulled the slender brunette into his lap and kissed her soundly. Cordy relaxed against her own vampire as she saw his tension dissolve.

Spike stood up and let Fred slide down until her feet rested on the floor. He kissed her again and hugged her close in relief. Closing his eyes again, he savored having his love in his arms.

Everyone looked on as the vampire and the scientist embraced in the center of the room. Giles noticed something that made him smile. Memories of the night Spike's magic appeared surfaced as the Watcher looked at his vampire friend.

"Um… Spike?" Giles began.

"Yeah, Mate?" He answered, nuzzling Fred's neck distractedly.

"You're floating." Rupert said, bemused.

Startled, Spike looked down. Sure enough there was at least three inches between his and Fred's feet and the floor. "Bloody Hell." He grinned. "Ain't it great?" He asked no one in particular as he went right back to kissing Fred.

Finis

If You Choose To Love Me

My heart is looking for a brand new start

So if you choose me don't break my heart

It's healing and looking for love again

So if you want just be my friend

Don't make promises you can't keep

Because my scars go very deep

Let me laugh and let me smile

I will be happy for a little while

I will always listen to what you say

And hold it in my heart for another day

Material things mean nothing you see

Friendship and love are more important to me

So if you promise to love me and be my friend

I will be there for you again and again

CAROLE

(Gincoco)

A/N: The minute I read this I thought of Spike. It took me forever to figure out how to use it. I wanted to give everyone a chance to see the entire poem. There could be an epilogue if anyone wants it. If there are any little plot bunnies anyone wants me to try out, give me a shout. Until then, Happy Holidays. Love to you all!