Chapter 3

Buffy cried out as Spike landed on the floor but she didn't do anything, she just stood and looked at him. Giles touched Buffy's shoulder.

"Is he real?" She whispered without taking her eyes from Spike's still form.

Xander and Giles walked over to the unconscious vampire and they carried him away to Buffy's room. Buffy stood still, looking at the spot where Spike had been laying.

Willow walked over to her best friend. "Buffy?" She asked "come…" She took her hand and walked her to her room. There Spike lay, upon the Slayer's bed, and she suddenly seemed to wake up of her stupor. She hurried to his side, and turned to Giles.

"Why…" She whispered "why isn't he waking up?" She slowly caressed Spike's tousled locks.

Giles sat down next to Buffy. "Buffy, dear… For all we know… Maybe this is just his shell… His body, his essence might be gone! I'm sorry… But until we know more about what has happened to him… We don't know if he'll ever wake up…"

"You say you don't know…" Buffy answered darkly. "Maybe… Look, he's so strong… He's my champion. He will wake up."

Her emerald eyes were filled with tears and she put a hand on Spike's cold cheek. "He will wake up."

She suddenly felt that the room was too crowded, and she turned to her friends. "Could… Could you guys just, let me…" She trailed off.

The two men and Willow quickly left the room, understanding that Buffy wanted to be alone. She laid her head on Spike's abdomen, inhaling his scent. She laid in silence and watched Spike. She was disturbed from his lack of breathing, especially since Spike actually breathed when he slept. She found that she started to list things in her head that made him different from other vampires.

'He eats human food, he can control his demon better than anyone I've ever met, he…' She smiled a bittersweet smile 'He purrs when he's content…' She had noticed the kittenish behaviour the night he'd found her in that abandoned house. The night he had held her, and she'd actually never felt more at peace than being there, in his arms.

She saw tears fall down on Spike's black tee and she quickly dried them off. Then her eyes lit up. "I wonder…" She whispered to herself before running to fetch her bag that she'd brought from Sunnydale.

She returned seconds later with a sharp knife.

"I know that… That you wouldn't want to do this… But you need to feed, and I'm not losing you again."

She opened his mouth and kissed his forehead. "Please…" She whispered as she put her slit wrist against his mouth.

She waited with her heart in her throat, for any sign of life. "Do it for me…"

It was like he had heard her. Spike reluctantly began to suck on her wound, and Buffy almost cried out of happiness and relief.

Giles was stunned by the sight in front of him. There, in the Slayer's bed, lay William the Bloody – scourge of Europe and murderer of two slayers. Spike lay in Buffy's arms, and she held on to him like he was the only thing left in this world to live for. She slowly caressed his forehead and kissed it before reluctantly letting go of him and padding over to Giles.

She pulled her hair back and Giles immediately noticed the red scar across her wrist. He flinched but didn't question Buffy about it.

"Buffy… I just wanted you to know that I think you should get something to eat, especially since you have barely eaten anything since we arrived."

Buffy smiled a little at the thought of food but shook her head. "No… I can't just leave him now…" She turned to look at the sleeping vampire. "He hasn't woken up yet, but he's getting better… He makes signs that he can hear me and…" She trailed off.

Giles smiled a little "I can sit and watch over him…" Buffy frowned a little but, after some convincing, agreed to run down to the dining room and get something to eat.

Giles sat in the same chair that Buffy had sat in, and he suddenly felt very sleepy. Time passed by and Giles didn't know for how long he had slept when he heard Spike move in the bed. He opened his eyes and he saw that Spike had begun to shake.

He tried to get the vampire to still but nothing worked. Then, at last, Buffy walked in through the door, and she sprinted to the bed.

"Shh… Spike…" She caressed his cheeks and kissed him softly and after a few moments he stilled and, to Buffy's joy, his eyelids began to flutter.

She grasped his hands in hers and she felt her left hand sting, due to the burn she had gotten the last time she had seen Spike. Then, Spike gasped loudly, and opened his eyes.

"…Buffy…?"

She embraced him, and vowed to herself that she wouldn't let go this time.

Spike felt like he was surrounded by darkness, so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Then he saw a sparkle of light and heard his golden princess speak to him, she was alive.

He had spent his time inside the darkness with a single thought in his head. Buffy. Now she was here, next to him. Talking to him. But when he understood what she was asking him to do, his blood froze. No way that he was feeding of Buffy. He heard her beg him to drink from her, and in his weakness he finally gave up, letting his demon decide what to do. Naturally, his demon wanted to live, and it wanted to feel the woman it loved, because that was what it did. Both William and his demon loved Buffy. It would always be like that.

After he had fed from her, just taking enough to get conscious again, he had slipped into darkness again, only this time it was more like a dark mist. That mist let Buffy's voice through, and he could almost feel her.

Then he felt the mist grow thicker, and his whole body screamed in protest. He tried to fight the mist but to no use, and he felt his body tremble.

And just as the mist had almost swallowed him, he felt her. He felt her caress his forehead and he felt her warm lips.

He felt his hand burn, and seconds later, she was there. He knew she was there but he had to be sure. There was so much he wanted to tell her, but his mouth and tongue didn't want to form the words that William had composed. His mouth and tongue wanted to say the most beautiful thing in the world. And they did.

"…Buffy?..."

And then he felt her arms around him, and he knew he was home again.

A/N Yay! Go Spuffy :) We're getting there ;) Review!