Gypsi Moates sat on the desk, her legs curled up against her chest and her head resting on her knees. Riley Finn, resident soldier paced in front of her, occasionally muttering something. Gypsi's eyes slowly began to drift closed as the murmuring of his voice lulled her to sleep. Her eyes slipped shut when she fell fully asleep and, missing the consciousness required to keep herself upright, she fell off the desk, landing with a painful thud of the ground, her feet still semi on the desk. Riley rushed over to her and helped her up, checking the dark-haired girl for injuries. When he finally felt confident that she was in no way injured, he helped her back onto her perch on the edge of the desk.

"So have you decided anything yet?" The girl's soft voice broke through the silence. Riley jumped and looked into her amber colored eyes before blushing and looking down at his hands.

"I really think I like her. I mean, she seems so smart and funny. And she's definitely beautiful… And if she can keep from being offended by Spike for an entire day, she's definitely made of some pretty strong stuff."

"Teflon, Babe."

"Huh?"

"Roswell. One of the characters, Maria Deluca, calls herself Teflon since she can bounce back from anything. She says that nothing can hurt her. That's kind of the way Raven is to me. No matter what's happened in her life, she always seems to bounce back."

"What's happened to her in the past?"

"A lot of stuff. Her parents weren't so thrilled when she became a witch, but they accepted it since that's what kept her younger brother alive."

"What do you mean?"

"Kirwin was stillborn. The doctors pronounced him dead. It was terrible. Then Izzy just… wished him alive… and he was. She brought him back from the dead. Then when her parents found out she was the cause of it, they didn't take it so well. I mean, at first they were just happy that she had managed to bring the baby to life, but after they thought about it more, they realized they didn't want to deal with an eight-year-old witch. An adult one was okay, because her mom was already nineteen when she discovered her powers, but not a child, and especially not when there was a new baby to take care of."

"Were they mean to her?"

"More like they just didn't know what to do with her. They just let her run wild. She could do whatever she wanted so long as nobody died and she didn't disturb the baby."

"Wow… That's… She turned out so well in spite of all that… And I think that's the most I have ever heard you say!"

"Raven's my best friend in the world; I can talk all day about her. And don't say 'in spite of'. It's because of her reckless childhood that she turned out like this. I mean, Kirwin turned into a total brat!"

"Yeah… okay… but how am I going to talk to her now?"

"Simple. You walk up to her and say, 'Hi! I think I like you, and Gypsi isn't upset by it!'."

"I can't do that!"

"Sure you can!"

"No… She's too… regal for that. It just… I think she's… Well… She's perfect."

"That is so sweet!"

… … …

"Trust me! It'll make your whole life-or in your case unlife-better!"

"But she hates me!"

"That doesn't mean she'll never love you!"

"Actually… it normally does…"

"But it doesn't have to in this case."

Spike groaned and shook his head. He should have known that talking to the white witch was a bad idea. She seemed to think that he would be perfect for Gypsi. "I don't even know why she hates me! All I did was look at her!"

"It's because you're a vampire."

"So? That never seems to bother any of the other chits in this group!"

"Gypsi was orphaned by vampires. Her mother and two older brothers were killed by a pack of vampires, and then, on Christmas Eve, she saw her father get murdered and drained by a vampire. She was only seven. She didn't speak again for two years, and even then she only spoke to me. She was thirteen before she was willing to talk to anyone else about anything, even to ask someone to pass a food item on the table during a meal."

"Then why hasn't she killed me already?" Spike asked, sinking to the ground and looking up at Raven with down-cast blue eyes. The pale girl smiled sadly at him.

"She hates any form of death, unless the creature was pure evil. She can tell when someone is evil, too."

"Like I said, why am I not the center piece on some ashtray?"

"Apparently, you're not evil enough to die."

"So… you think I have a chance?"

"I didn't say that. But I didn't say you had no chance, either."

"You enjoy being mysterious, don't you?"

"Immensely. Just be gentle with her. Give her time and space when she needs it, but don't let yourself be forgotten by her."

"And how do I tell the difference?"

"I guess I'll help… but if you hurt her…"

"I know; I'll be beaten to death with a shovel."

"Close, but no cigar. You'll be beaten to dust with a small crucifix."

"Harsh…"

"Well you can't exactly die," Raven pointed out. Spike conceded her point with a shrug.

"Now I need to fulfill a promise. What do you think of Riley?"

"Did he ask you to do this?"

"No… Willow told me that Gypsi did."

"Gypsi?"

"Yeah… Red also wanted me to tell you that Gypsi 'seems willing to accept Riley in your life'."

"I guess he's not so bad… For a soldier, follow-the-rules type."

… … …

"Hey Gypsi?"

"Nani?" 1 Raven smiled at her sister. Leave it to Gypsi to bring in more languages. Two could play at that game…

"T'amour Spike?" 2

"Nien!" 3

"Why not?"

"He's a vampire. Thy can't love."

"Angel loves Buffy…"

"Angel has a soul."

"So does Spike, and you know it."

"I just… I can't trust him."

"Because of what Willow's told us?"

"No. I don't trust him because he just… I don't know… I just get a bad vibe from him…"

… … … … …

A/N: Please review and let me know what you thought!

1 – Japanese for 'What?'

2 – Crapified French for 'You like Spike?'. I haven't taken French in two years and almost failed the two years I did take it. The wording just confuses me, and I don't have access to a translator at the moment….

3 – German for 'No.'

ThankYous:

sheilamarie – Thanks a bunch! I'm glad, and I hope this chapter kept it. There are at least five more, so please stick around!!