A/N this is more of a fluffy interlude than anything else. Hope everyone enjoys it. Rated PG-13 Xx til

Chapter Seventeen – Passions

Buffy got up in time to make Dawn's breakfast as usual. It was just a small thing, but listening to her sister talk about school, about who was dating who, which teachers were cool and other meaningless stuff was one of the best parts of her day. As she closed the door behind Dawn, she had a huge smile on her face. Things had been better lately, especially with Dawn. Last night she'd made stir fry, like Spike had shown her, and then they'd had a girly night. It had gone really well, and Dawn had only brought up Spike once. After the events at the Bronze, she had insisted on knowing everything that had happened between them. Since then she'd checked up on her regularly to make sure nothing had changed. At first it felt strange, but now it was cool to have Dawn as her friend as well as her sister.

There was a knock at the door, interrupting the housework Buffy had been doing. She frowned as she walked towards the door. Who would call at this time on a weekday? She opened the door to see Spike on the porch.

"Hey Spike, is there something wrong?"

"Nope, everything's just great, why?" Spike walked into the living room and sat down. He picked up the remote to turn off 'Passions'. Buffy had been watching it whilst tidying.

"Well mainly because it's twelve o'clock on a Tuesday. Shouldn't you be at work?"

"I'm ill." Buffy raised an eyebrow in suspicion. Spike gave a half-hearted cough in response, and then gave up.

"Ok, ok, I'm just bored, but that's like a disease. I still need lots of pampering." He said with a hopeful smile. Buffy gave a long suffering sigh for show, then grinned and sat down. She flicked through some channels on the TV until she found 'Passions' again.

"So what's for lunch?"

"Lunch..? Err… I don't know." Buffy knew Spike would not be best pleased to hear that lunch was rare for her, she usually only ate one meal a day, so she played along. "I was going to have some tomato soup, but I guess we should make it chicken as you're so ill." She grinned.

"Sounds great. Off you go then." Buffy stuck her tongue out at him light-heartedly and went into the kitchen. When she returned with two bowls of steaming soup, Spike was cuddled up under a blanket he'd taken off her bed and had turned off 'Passions' in favour of 'The Matrix' video. As Buffy put the bowls down, he paused the tape.

"You know, you're almost the perfect nurse maid." He said with a grin.

"Almost?"

"You'd be even better if you looked the part." Spike's grin widened as he produced a tiny nurse uniform that Dawn had worn one Halloween. Buffy opened her mouth to protest. This was really not a good idea. Then she shut her mouth again. She took the uniform from him, giggling as his mouth fell open in shock.

Buffy changed and quickly checked the mirror. The skirt barely covered her ass; the top showed a generous amount of cleavage and the hat sat on top of her plaited hair at a wicked angle. She put on some red lipstick to complete the effect and went downstairs.

Spike bit back a moan when he saw her. This was really not a good idea. He'd only produced the costume to see the look of horror on Buffy's face, he was bored and she'd seemed like fair game. Except now she was changing the rules. He bunched the blanket over him to hide his sudden erection.

"Can I do anything for you? Plump up your pillow?" Buffy asked seductively. God, she was going to kill him. He gulped quickly, willing himself to speak.

"A glass of water, please." He squeaked in a very unmanly voice.

"Sure thing." Buffy giggled and gave him a little wink as she went to get his water. When she returned she slipped under the covers at the other end of the couch and watched the rest of 'The Matrix' with him.

"It still seems so wrong not seeing Jonathan in this." Buffy commented as it ended.

"Oh please, that spell didn't last more than a day."

"It did so. Besides these things have effects. It was like that with… another spell." Buffy caught herself before she admitted it was the engagement spell which had left her with weeks of dreams and fantasies about Spike's lips and … other parts with no satisfaction. Spike quirked an eyebrow at her, a gesture she hadn't seen in way too long. Buffy decided it was safest to change the subject.

"So what else does the patient need to make him feel better?"

"Ice cream!" Spike said with a cute little smile.

Soon they were both sat in front of a huge tub of caramel ice cream with swirls and chocolate chunks. Buffy moaned as the first lot of ice cream melted in her mouth.

"This tastes way too good to be healthy, maybe you shouldn't have any." She teased Spike.

"Buffy." He warned. This was no joking matter. In response Buffy loaded up her spoon with more ice cream and held it in front of Spike's mouth.

"Now you be a good boy and take your medicine." She instructed him. He opened his mouth and allowed Buffy to deposit the gooey caramel goodness inside. Then she helped herself to another spoonful, letting her tongue dart out to clean the spoon for longer than was strictly necessary. Spike's erection became a problem again as she took a second and third spoonful, playing with each for longer, wrapping her tongue around the spoon as she extracted the sweet. Spike shook himself out of the daze she'd trapped him in.

"Think it's my turn."

"I don't know. We wouldn't want to overdose you." Buffy said sweetly, fluttering her eyelashes in faux innocence.

"That's not what I meant." Spike said, snatching the spoon from her hand. He scooped a large amount of ice cream onto it and put it into his mouth. He ran the spoon along the roof of his mouth, leaving a fair amount of the treat on the spoon as he extracted it. It was this he offered to Buffy. She watched, fascinated as he brought it to her lips and put it in her open mouth. She swallowed, not taking her eyes off Spike's. Tension hung between them, neither knowing what to do. It was Spike that made the first move.

"Spike!" Buffy grabbed a tissue and started mopping up the ice cream that he'd just flicked onto her chest.

"Sorry, I just didn't think you were sweet enough." At his grin Buffy got up and went upstairs to change muttering death threats. That was when she had an idea.

Spike didn't realise that she was back downstairs until she launched herself onto the couch and proceeded to attack him in a flurry of arms, legs and…lipstick?

"If I have to dress like a nurse, then you have to look ill." Buffy explained as she dotted more lipstick 'measles' onto Spike's shocked face. She thought she had him immobilised, but he managed to turn enough to send her off balance and then pushed her onto the floor. What he hadn't counted on was Buffy's quick reactions. She grabbed him as she fell so they both ended up rolling around on the living room floor. Buffy quickly pinned him again adding more lipstick blobs to Spike's face. He soon gave up on trying to wrestle the lipstick out of her hands and tried a different tack. He skated his fingers lightly over Buffy's stomach which was exposed. She immediately stopped what she was doing and looked down at him in horror. Spike grinned and did the same again with more force. Buffy burst out with forced laughter and started to wriggle on top of him. Before she knew it, he had her pinned and was mercilessly attacking her ticklish spots. Unable to defend herself, Buffy knew there was only one option left. Attack. She tickled along Spike's ribs, immediately getting the response she was after. Spike tried to contain his rather unmanly giggles, but Buffy showed him no mercy. Forgetting all about the original cause of the impromptu wrestle, the two of them continued to roll around on the floor, tickling each other to death. They quickly became flushed and out of breath, but they kept going as neither was willing to concede defeat.

Buffy was straddling Spike, still wearing the tiny nurse costume which had risen further up her thighs and stomach to reveal more than it had to start with. Spike was still covered in lipstick spots although some of them, especially around the mouth, were smudged. Both of them were giggling and screaming loudly as they wriggled against each other trying to get the upper hand. They were so focused on their war that they didn't hear Dawn arrive home from school until she walked past them.

"Get a room." She rolled her eyes and walked upstairs, leaving Buffy and Spike frozen in the position they'd been fighting in. Buffy's eyes widened and she quickly got up.

"I should… err… shower, because… you know… cleanliness is… next to… something." She babbled, flustered.

"And I should go." Spike stood up and grabbed his jacket, his cheeks red with embarrassment. Buffy didn't even look at him as he hurriedly left the house. He hadn't meant for things to get that far. He'd just wanted some company. And was there any chance that Buffy hadn't noticed his erection that she'd been pressing against so deliciously?

Inside, Buffy was getting undressed for her shower, her mind a mess. This was bad, really bad. She hadn't meant for things to go that far. She'd just been enjoying the company. She hadn't even realised what a compromising position it was until Dawn had walked in. Damn, she was going to want to know all about this. And there's no way she'd believe it stayed PG-13. Why did she always manage to screw things up for herself? Maybe it wasn't so bad. Spike had seemed like he was enjoying it. No, of course he hadn't enjoyed it. Her mind argued. He must have been really uncomfortable. Especially with that stake he'd had in his pocket.

Buffy sighed, and flashes of the day began to creep into her mind. She felt herself getting warmer as she thought of them, especially the most recent ones. Definitely cold shower time for Buffy.