(apologies for not getting the next part up before now... it's been a lousy week or so)
TITLE: Christmas With Bill Harker
CHAPTER TWO
"Church?" he asked in disbelief. "Since when do you go to church?"
Buffy began walking again; the church was only a block away, but time was moving quickly. Dawn might be happy to see Spike again, but Buffy sliding into the service late was a total no-no. "Because Dawn wants me to," she replied. "I go twice a year; Christmas and Easter and hope that she doesn't ask anything more of me, like go on a regular basis."
"Dawn goes to church?"
"Yes. Does that offend your un-dead sensibilities?"
"No, no." His long strides matched hers, pace for pace. "It's just, well, never expected any of you lot to be interested in that sort of thing."
"You've been gone a long while, Spike," Buffy replied quietly. "A lot's changed."
"Yeah, so I see."
"After you… died… none of us knew what to do."
He stopped her there. "I know all that, Blondie," he told her. "Andrew told us a lot when he paid his little visit to us." Spike's face contorted into a sneer. "Quite impressive how you lot could send someone for a demented slayer, but wouldn't even spare Willow when Fred was dying."
"That was Giles' doing," Buffy retorted. "Dawn and I were in Italy at the time. We didn't know how bad she was." Her voice became softer. "How bad was it?"
"She died."
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh." He sighed and for a moment he seemed lost in memories. "What's with you and this church thing then?"
They were approaching the church now. The parking lot was slowly filling with cars and Buffy was grateful that people were still heading into the building.
"Dawn did a lot of what you could call soul-searching, I guess."
"I've done a bit of myself," Spike commented with a wry grin.
Buffy smiled in response. "I guess she was looking for a place where she could belong."
"And she found it here?"
"Yeah." They stopped at the main entrance. "You want me to go get her?"
Spike shook his head. "No need," he replied as he walked through the front door and onto consecrated ground.
Buffy stared at his back open-mouthed for a moment, before closing it abruptly and hastening after him.
TBC