"What did you do?" she demanded again, tears trailing down her face.

"Looks like I killed your boyfriend," he spat.

Spike truly couldn't help it; he was still a bit angry at her. For lying. For not staying home. For even getting herself involved with him in the bloody first place.

He took a glance at her. Her already short dress was pushed up to the tops of her thighs. He could make out a small wound that that trickled blood, opened from movement he guessed, that was located on her inner thigh. He tucked that information away for later use and continued drinking her in. Skin pale, eyes water, bruised neck, dirty flesh.

"How could you?" she poured out over tears. She looked up at him and kept his eyes. "Do you know what you've done?" her voice sounded old and haggard.

Throwing her hands down against the floor, she walked over to the bed and cuddled against the covers.

"Don't be daft. 'Course I know what I've done-killed him."

Emotions were swirling around her head and she didn't know what to do. Her best friend killed her lover. If what her memories told her were true, then she would be driven to insanity and then ultimately take her own life.

"You didn't just kill him. You killed me too. Don't you get it? Don't you understand!" she started to scream. Her throat turned raw and hoarse from her screeches.

Spike's eyebrow rose to her speech. Obviously she wasn't telling him something. Or...anything, really. Sitting next to her on the bed, he tried to soothe her with his touch.

"Shush, pet. 'S okay," he calmed. "Why don't you tell me everything."

Dawn started to sniff and rub the tears off her face and then she settled against the blonde.

"He came to me one night when I was on my way to see you. And when I saw him, I just knew who he was. But even before that, I could tell something was...calling me. My skin was crawling and I just...knew. Ya know?" she took a deep breath. "

And that's when she told him. Everything. It just slipped out of her mouth like a torrent of running water. Gushing from her swollen lips. She spoke of past lifes and loves lost and the dirty feeling that he made her feel.

He sat there beside her on the bed. His hands didn't move to comfort her when the tears fell. Instead they played with the edges of the worn comforter. Keeping all his emotions in, he waited until she finished to process the information.

"Then we went upstairs and...that's how you found us," she finished with a crooked smile.

"I just don't soddin' understand. Like the Watcher said you have to crave it," he explained. "Did you really burn for him?"

"It was nice to be wanted that much. I guess I craved his attention," she admitted. "But he it wasn't just emotionally. Physically too. I felt like I'd go insane if I didn't have him."

Spike didn't say anything at first. He let his fingers do the talking. Pushing up her dress, he explored her upper thigh.

"What are you doing?" her voice was high and nervous.

Once he reached his target spot, he pushed up the dress as far as it could go.

"This. See this?" he asked, tracing the tiny bite. "It's how he does that bloody craving thing. You attack the artery closest to the sex, which taps into the unkempt sexual potency." Thinning his lips, he continued. "Now that he's dead, you won't feel it anymore. That desire."

She shook her head, a feeling of reassurance coming over her. She didn't have to feel dirty for wanting his touch.

"And as for the memories, they're fake. He manipulates your mind, remember pet? He probably looked into your mind to see what you feared the most, then worked off of that."

"So I'm not evil?" she rushed, the words out of her mouth before she even thought them through.

His hand came up and embraced her jaw bone. It worked its way up to her hairline.

"I know evil, love, and what you are and what I know... you could never be evil," he assured with a toothless smile.

Throwing herself in his arms, she cried into his shirt. He didn't think she was a bad person! She didn't have to continue to feel soiled from her thoughts.

"Oh, I love you Spike!" she exclaimed into his soft skin. "Thanks for saving me."

He returned her fierce hug. Slipping his hand through the sheer dress and stroked her skin. Dawn snuggled to his ministrations and gave a quiet mewl.

"Let's go home, pet."

Hmm, I have an epilogue set. Yeah, I hate this chapter too. Blurr blurr blurr. But I'm really into HP and it makes me insane. What am I saying?> I don't know. R&R