Disclaimer: see chapter 1

4: FEEDING TIME

Spike was the first to wake up in the morning. Despite the sensation of waking up to daylight being entirely new to him, he adapted to his situation quickly, deciding to use the opportunity to take a shower without Buffy's interference. The ex-vampire noticed that Buffy's arms were tightly clutched around his middle, and he was somewhat captured by the embrace of her legs as well. Carefully extricating himself from her limbs and climbing off the bed without waking her, he padded on little Slayer feet to the bathroom.

Although he'd been anticipating it, he was not quite prepared to look at himself in the mirror. A cute little hazel-eyed girl, with a light golden tan and highlighted hair, stared back at him. Spike was glad he'd already come to terms with Buffy's sexiness, because otherwise the feelings evoked by staring at her naked body might have come as quite a shock.

Spike noticed a pair of scabs on the smooth and very kissable neck. A wave of pride washed over him as he remembered that he'd marked her. He'd bitten the Slayer. Chuckling to himself, he wondered what Buffy was going to think when she remembered.

Deciding that his unlife only got better, he stepped into the shower.

Buffy awoke to the uncomfortable feel of skin being pressed into denim wrinkles. Oh right. I slept in Spike's jeans. She was used to sleeping in her flannel pajamas, but even if she hadn't left them in Sunnydale she doubted they'd fit her new body. She could of course make Spike wear them - that would be interesting in itself - but it wouldn't solve her problem.

A rumbling in her stomach interrupted her inner monologue. It surprised her that vampire stomachs growled, but nonetheless she realized she was hungry. She grabbed her purse, but then realized that maybe she could manipulate Spike into paying for room service, so she decided to wait for him.

Finally she heard the shower turn off, and a wet and dripping Spike strolled out of the bathroom. Buffy stared at him, scandalized. "Spike! Get dressed now!"

Spike looked down at the petite feminine body he was wearing. "Why? 'S not like you've never seen it before," he commented.

"Well, I know, but...You're in there now, and that means you're naked, and..." having been unable to find a coherent argument, she glared at him with an expression that clearly said "Your question is so stupid, it doesn't deserve an answer." Smirking, Spike put on Buffy's only pair of clothes.

Buffy's hungry stomach complained again. "Hungry, Slayer?" Spike asked, grinning.

"Yeah, and - Oh! It's your fault…somehow, so you have to pay for room service. So hand over the cash, and I'll make the call."

Spike tossed his wallet in the air repeatedly, catching it deftly each time. "Now is that really a good use of my money?" Buffy rolled her eyes at him. "Well, you see, you sure as hell can eat all that, but you're still goin' to be just as hungry. There's this thing about vampires, see, where we drink blood. Maybe your watcher neglected to teach you about that too, but -"

"Eew. Spike, I am not drinking blood. Ever."

Spike snorted derisively. Then he happened to catch the look on her face: the look of someone who's lost everything, for whom things only seem to get worse; the look of a girl who wouldn't be surprised to hear she's in Hell. "Slayer, it's not all that bad. We can find you pig's blood - humans eat that." He sat beside her on the bed, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"Will it taste bad?" Buffy was surprised that he was willing to help her, instead of watching and laughing. It seemed like he was trying to make her feel better - and that was odd, even though this wasn't the first time. Buffy remembered the previous night, how he'd talked to her after she killed Angelus. Maybe the whole 'Big Bad' thing is a total smoke screen she thought.

"Not as good as the real stuff, but it'll fit with your morals self-righteous morals and all." She shot him a glare, but then snuggled back into his embrace.

"How do we get pig's blood? I think Angel just kept it in a cooler, but..."

Spike looked thoughtful. He'd never had to locate pig's blood before; he'd always been able to get human blood on tap. "S'pose we could call a butcher's or something...Sounds like a good place to start, anyway."

By the time they parked the Desoto in a shady parking lot behind the butcher's, both stomachs were screaming. Buffy whined every time she was reminded of her hunger, but Spike was almost entirely quiet. Only when her complaints grew especially irritating did he inform her that she wasn't the only hungry one around, so to please shut the bloody hell up.

This particular butcher was obviously not very familiar with the needs of the undead, because all the windows were wide open. Buffy glanced around the shop apprehensively, refusing to move beyond the shadows that covered the back of the shop. "Spike..." she whined. "I'm going to starve myself to death!"

"Shh. Just wait here, luv, and I'll go buy you a few pints."

Buffy watched Spike walk up to the counter and order the blood. She realized that if it weren't in high-heeled boots, the little Slayer body would be only a head's height taller than the counter. Embarrassing, most definitely. As Spike returned to her with the much-needed sustenance, his belated complaints finally kicked in. "Slayer. I'm starving. We are going to a restaurant, now." He pushed her out the back door and into the parking lot. Grumbling, Buffy climbed into the passenger seat, primly sipping her blood.

Spike pulled out of the parking lot and onto a multi-lane road. He was so engrossed in his thoughts of Happy Meals that weren't on legs that he didn't see the car tailing him.

"Spike," Buffy called in annoyance. "Hello-o, earth to Spike? There's a police car behind you."

"Bollocks." He swerved and pulled over next to the sidewalk.

"Moron."

The police car pulled over behind them and a stout woman climbed out of the car with a notebook. "If she tickets me, eat her."

Buffy made a face, which would have looked cute if performed by her original visage, but just looked odd on Spike's. "Yuck."

"Excuse me, miss?" the policewoman interjected. She tapped on the blacked-out window and Spike rolled it down. "You look a tad on the young side. Could I see your license?"

Spike fumbled in Buffy's purse for a wallet, but upon opening it he found there to be nothing in the way of a driver's license. Soddin' bint.. "I'm sorry, but I guess I left it at home." At the cop's icy stare, he continued. "You know, I also left my cell...Today's just been...hectic."

Pathetic Buffy thought. She is so not buying that crap. Realizing that an angry Spike would probably force her to pay the ticket, she hurriedly chose to cover for him. "Really, it's been a hard day. A hard, hard...Buffy's mother, she just die-passed away on Monday, which was four days ago, a-and today we went to pick a coffin...Which, you know, is a hard, very hard thing..." Okay, I'm not really any better...

Spike leapt at his chance to save their asses and their cash: he started crying. Buffy was appalled; it was so sneaky, and he was making her make-up look even worse than it already did after being slept on. The policewoman looked taken aback, and even more so when Spike resumed talking. "My dad is gone...He's always away on some business trip or another, and so I have to get the funeral ready all by myself..." Sob, sob.

The policewoman wiped her moist eyes with her manicured fingers. "I'm very sorry, miss, it sounds terrible...I can't believe you're holding yourself together as well as you seem to be, given the awful circumstances..."

Spike smiled sweetly at Buffy. "Well, thank God for Spike! I don't know how I'd ever manage without him, he is the sweetest, most understanding boyfriend ever..." Buffy poked Spike angrily.

"Yes, well, you must be incredibly lucky. Now, I'll let you two get on your way home. And I'm incredibly sorry about your mother..." She drove off.

"Well, Slayer, that was bloody brilliant!" Spike grinned, basking in the glory of the successful lie.

"Yeah, well, you were good too. And that bit about my dad was a stroke of genius!"

"Can't deny it." Spike pulled away from the curb and merged with the traffic. "Where is he, actually? It's odd, I've never seen him around..."

The laughter in Buffy's eyes died and her smile shrank. "They're divorced. That's the main reason we moved, I guess." Spike could tell she was biting back tears.

He wrapped one arm around her shoulders, patting her toned bicep. "Shh. Your mum's a strong woman. You're better off learning from her anyway. Hell, that woman can really wield an axe."

Buffy smiled slightly. It seemed like Spike was becoming her reliable comfort blankie, and he was doing a nice job of it. He always managed to say something that made her feel better, however inappropriate it might seem. Maybe there was more to this unusual so-called evil vampire than she'd thought.

I'd love to know what you think! Also, throughout the story, if you spot any typos or plot holes or anything and would be so kind as to let me know :) I'd appreciate that as well. Next chapter coming soon!