Disclaimer: I only own Buffy's family--excluding Joyce.

Previously: Buffy and Willow want to plan a New Year's party for their friends and Buffy has developed a cold while Spike has inadvertently confessed his feelings for Buffy...

(---)

She could feel the weight pressing down against her abdomen. She moved to the side--trying to release the pressure--but she couldn't. She struggled against the weight. Trying to take a breath made her suddenly realize how much her chest hurt but there was an even greater pain in her neck. Slowly, she reached towards the pain.

Her hand touched something warm and sticky. Dragging her eyes open, she removed her hand and stared at it. Her palm was covered in red, sickly blood. Her hazel eyes became saucers as she watched a tiny drop slip down her wrist.

"You look surprised, Pet." She looked up at Spike who looked back at her innocently.

"Did you bite me?" she asked. She pressed her hand back against her throat.

"Buffy, you knew it was going to end like this...we both did...I can't be with you unless you're like me..." Spike replied. Buffy shook her head in disbelief. Spike couldn't be saying this...he loved her! His grinning face changed--morphed--into that of Willow.

"Buffy, it has to be this way..." Willow said. Again the face changed--this time into her mother's.

"Buffy, we want you to be happy..." Joyce continued. This time the face became her father's.

"...and to be happy...you two have to be the same...that's the only way it works..." Jim finished.

"No, no, no," Buffy sobbed, her hand still conformed tightly to her neck.

"It's all there is, Buffy," Jim said, "Vampires and Slayers can't date...and they can't be in love...remember Angel?"

"Angel..."

"Buffy!" Spike jostled her shoulders. He was completely content with watching her dream but when his name had slipped from her lips, Spike couldn't take it anymore.

The slayer sat up quickly--her hand flying to her neck--her breathing was heavy and erratic. Spike narrowed his eyes and studied Buffy intently. But try as he might he couldn't find anything physically wrong with her--except, of course, the cold that he had predicted the night before.

"Pet, what's wrong?" Spike inquired, placing a soothing hand on her back. It was as if she noticed him for the first time since she'd woken up. She stared at him for a full minute before blinking rapidly and throwing the blankets away from her. Spike was beyond confused now. What the bloody hell is wrong with her now? He thought looking up at her as she backed away from the bed. There was a look of sheer terror on her face as she bumped into the staircase. She spun around the banister and raced up the wooden steps.

"Buffy!" Spike tried to leap off the bed but got caught in the twisted sheets, causing him to topple forward onto the concrete. He could only moan in pain with his face pressed deeply into the flooring. He pushed himself up and forcefully tore his lower half away from the clinging covers.

(--)

Meanwhile, Buffy pushed the basement door away from her as she darted into the hall. It was still very early and her family was comfortably sleeping away the wee hours. She could tell, since her mother was softly snoring from the couch.

She leaned her back against the wall--the molding digging into the small of her spine. She slipped down onto the floor--hugging her knees to her chest. The memory of her dream haunted her in wisps. Her neck was throbbing--as if the vein there was trying to jump out of its skin casing--and she could still hear her parents and friend's words--could see their faces in her mind's eye--switching from one to another.

And then the tears came. She'd tried to hold them back for so long but everything came down on her. Perhaps it was her impending sickness that was making her emotions go haywire but she didn't bother trying to figure it out. Her head was pounding and her hands were trembling. She heard the door by her side creak open. She sensed him come up near her. He crouched down into her line of sight.

"Pet, do I want to ask what just happened back there?" Spike implored gently.

"I-I had a nightmare," she replied weakly. She met his eyes--her own the wide ones of her dream--she reached out her hand and traced her fingertips along his defined jawbone.

"Oh, good... I was afraid you'd woken up and realized there was a vamp sleeping in your bed." Spike's joke brought the faintest of smiles to Buffy's face, "Glad to see you still appreciate my sense of humor."

"Spike," Buffy said quietly, "No one appreciates your sense of humor." Spike grinned at her response.

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay up here and chit-chat about my preference of quips--I have a deep-rooted feeling that your mum won't be too cheery if we wake her at this time of the morn. Do you? What say you, if we head back down into that vamp-friendly basement of yours and just chill for a little while?" Spike suggested.

Buffy nodded and held up her arms. Spike stood, taking hold of both her hands. First, he pulled her to her feet and then swung her up and around so she sat in his arms. Buffy clung to his neck as he carried her down the steps. Gracefully, she closed the door behind them as he kept walking. He managed to maneuver them towards the cot without hurting either one of them. Less than gently, he flopped her down onto the bed. It creaked dangerously under her sudden weight but didn't move anymore.

"That was a close one," Spike said, eyeing the bed from a couple feet away.

"Yeah, if you had broken this, we would have been in a serious mess. There's no way my mother would have gone out to buy you a new cot because you dropped me on it," Buffy agreed.

"Slayer, are you suggesting the creak was my fault?" Spike simpered. Buffy looked up at him, getting to her feet--her eyes never leaving his.

"Yes," Buffy replied, "actually, I am." She walked into his waiting embrace, snuggling against his toned chest.

"So, you wanna tell me what this dream of yours was about?" Spike asked, nuzzling his nose into her soft curls.

"Trust me, you don't wanna know," Buffy answered, breathing in the scent of cigarettes, nail polish, and death that was uniquely Spike. She really didn't want to talk about what she's seen.

And she couldn't tell her friends--god, Xander would say it was a prophetic one and it symbolized she should break up with Spike for her own safety. Of course, Buffy knew that this would be completely pointless, Spike could never hurt her because of the chip shoved up brain--and he never would hurt her because he loved her--he'd said it. She smiled slightly, feeling the cotton of his tee-shirt against her cheek.

(--)

Joyce woke to her ex-husband sitting on the chair next to her head. His shadow loomed over her like an evil spirit. She rolled her eyes before pushing herself up into a sitting position against the couch arm.

"Jim, you better have a hell of an excuse for waking me up at five in the morning," Joyce snapped, rubbing her eyes.

"Well, Joyce, you and I need to discuss our daughter...there's something about her that's just bothering me about her...perhaps the fact that she's a vampire slayer?"

Joyce turned to him, a surprised look writing her features. She did the fish-face for about a millisecond until she regained her composure and lowered her voice.

"How did you find out?"

"A little birdie told me...now, more to the point...why is she this vampire slayer?"

"It's her birth right."

"It was never her birth right when I was around. Joyce, what have you gotten her into?"

"Me!? I only found out about it two years ago! She's been a vampire slayer since before we moved here. You remember that incident in L.A.? With the school gym and everything? Yes, apparently, there were vampires in that gym and she had to burn it down, which, in turn, was the reason that we had to move out here to a Hellmouth and then Buffy met up with Mr. Giles, and with Willow and Xander and Angel. Angel turned out to be a vampire and they stayed together then Spike came and Angel went evil, Buffy ran away after she killed him and then she came back and he came back and it's all been very confusing. Spike came back and he's a vampire too, but he can't bite anyone anymore--the government saw to that--he's was staying with Mr. Giles--that's Buffy's watcher--but Mr. Giles went back to England to see his family and Spike stayed here. They hated each other a week ago but now they're a couple and I have three very important words I have been meaning to say to you for quite sometime, my darling Jim," Joyce looked sweetly at her ex husband.

"Yes?" Jim inquired.

"Kiss my ass!" Joyce threw the covers off her self and got up quickly. Jim only stared at her as she strode purposefully into the kitchen. Sitting on a stool, cup in between her two small hands, was Joan's daughter Judy.

"Hi Aunt Joyce," Erin said happily.

"Hello Erin," Joyce replied moving over to the coffee pot and pouring in the grounds.

"I heard yelling, were you and Uncle Jim having an argument?" Erin asked.

"Don't worry about that sweetheart, Uncle Jim and I just don't get along anymore," Joyce patted Erin on the head.

"Aunt Joyce, why don't some kissing people get along?"

"Kissing people?"

"People like Buffy and Spike or my mommy and daddy."

"Oh, well, darling, that's a difficult question. You see, a lot of times people--couples--just have different opinions on important ideas. They may just be different kinds of people," Joyce explained, seating herself beside her niece on another stool.

"But Buffy and Spike are different and they don't fight," Erin stated.

"Buffy and Spike are very much in love--like you're mommy and daddy--but they will fight--once in a while--it's natural--you'll see--Buffy and Spike have to fight so they can work out their differences--and trust me, no matter how much Spike loves Buffy, she WILL get annoying soon enough, but it's okay. They'll still be together," Joyce assured her.

"Are you sure?" Erin looked up at her aunt.

"Positive." Joyce squeezed Erin's shoulders before standing and getting her coffee.

(--)

"You feeling any better?" Spike asked, handing Buffy a bowl of steaming soup.

"Not much?" Buffy replied, her nose a stuffy mess.

"I'm gonna go get you some more blankets," Spike kissed Buffy's cheek softly before heading up the steps. Buffy leaned back against her pillow, sighing and sipping her soup slowly. She heard the door above her open faintly and she assumed Spike had found the blankets easily enough. But the footsteps she heard were too heavy for the graceful vampire. She looked up and found her father staring back at her.

"What do you want?" Buffy asked coldly.

"Your mom said you weren't feeling too hot. I thought I would come and see how you were doing. It is my job to look after you, or has Spike taken up my position," Jim said sitting beside Buffy on the cot. She not-so subtly moved herself further away.

"You're job?" Buffy inquired.

"Yes, to take care of you," Jim answered returning to his feet.

"Please, Dad, Spike is trying to be my father, he's trying to be my lover!" Jim eyed his teenager skeptically, "Uh, that came out wrong. He's trying to be my boyfriend is what I meant."

"He's taking care of you..."

"Yeah, Dad, but it's not like you've ever done that job! God Dad! I mean for most of my teenage life you've been too busy to even talk to me! The first father I had was Giles!" Buffy snapped.

"Mr. Giles? Your Watcher?" Jim solicited.

"My what?" Buffy got out of bed and padded across the floor. She grabbed her father's retreating shoulders and spun him around to face, "Dad, what did you just say?"

(--)

"Mom I can't believe you told him!" Buffy threw her arms up over her head.

"Buffy, I didn't really have a choice. He ambushed me with it, I wasn't ready. I just panicked," Joyce defended.

Spike grinned, watching his pet and her mum rally it out. It was amusing to say the least--not that he liked seeing his pet all in a tizzy or frustrated--but it was a good show for a once-evil being like himself. Still, he felt like he owed it to Joyce for letting him stay with them--even though she of all people knew how evil he was--and for all those hours of hot cocoa and long talks.

"Buffy, maybe your mum really didn't have a choice. Your dad's a really persuasive man, Pet," Spike suggested.

"Spike, stay out of this!" Buffy snapped, "Mom, it's bad enough that Grandpa Jack knows, now Dad knows! You know he's gonna go and tell everyone! I really don't need my entire family knowing I'm the slayer!"

"Buffy, I know it's difficult to be the Slayer, let alone keep it a secret from the people you love but I promise, I had no intention of ever--and I mean ever--telling your father anything," Joyce replied.

"Mom, I know that you get it--I really do--but that's just the thing--It really is hard to be the slayer and keep it from everybody--and Dad's not going to help with the secret part of this equation," Buffy rubbed her forehead, trying to ease away the tension from her cold and frustration.

"Ladies, is it really one or the other's fault--?"

"Spike!" both Joyce and Buffy exclaimed. The vampire shrunk back away from his two favorite women.

"Buffy, all I'm saying is I didn't mean to tell him...about you...two..." Joyce trailed off, turning away from her daughter.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Buffy placed one hand on the island and the other on her hip.

"He knows about Spike too," Joyce answered quietly.

"Mom!"

"Oh, bloody hell!" Spike turned in disbelief and shock.

"I'm sorry! Like Spike said, your father's very persuasive!" Joyce explained, turning back to Buffy and Spike.

"Hey, what's going on in here?" Grandpa Jack walked into the kitchen from the living room.

"Nothing Dad, just--..." Joyce held her hand up.

"Don't 'nothing' me, Joyce. I know my rights. And they say that I have the right to ask my family what's happening when they interrupt the young' uns and me from watching the Christmas Parade on the T.V. so, either you tell me now, or I'll have to get nasty later!" Jack said a gleam in his eye.

"Grandpa, Mom told dad about me being the Slayer and Spike being a vampire!" Buffy explained.

"Oh, well, if that's all..."

"What do you mean 'if that's all'?"

"Buffy, how long did you think it was going to go unnoticed that Spike never goes outside during the day and you come home at night with blood on your clothes? They may be annoying but they're not stupid!"

"Thank you, Dad!" Joyce said, standing by her father.

"Don't think I'm taking your side...you shouldn't have said anything no matter how hard he pushed you," Jack commented.

"So then he's gotta be on my side," Spike stood up, proudly smiling at Jack.

"Again," Buffy and Joyce said at the same time.

"Buffy, your friend Willow called and I'm going out for a drink, care to join me Spike?" Jack asked.

"Love to...can't got the sunlight problem," Spike pointed to the partially blocked off window above the sink.

"Grab a blanket, kid, we're gonna talk," Jack turned on his heel and left through the way he had come.

Spike followed after him, pausing in front of Buffy who kissed him lightly on the cheek, "Have fun," she said, pushing him off towards her grandfather.

"They're like two peas in a pod," Joyce said softly, smiling.

"Yeah...by the way, I forgive you," Buffy leaned her shoulder against her mother's.

"I figured," Joyce put her arm around her daughter's shoulders and squeezed her tightly, "Come on, help me start dinner."

"At noon?" Buffy looked up at her mother.

"Gotta start early, right?" Joyce laughed. Buffy shook her head and turned away from the door.

TBC...in Chapter 13: Title Unknown At The Present

In Coming Chapters:

A car accident...

A fight...

A painful argument...