SuperSlayerVille 7: Season Three

by shadowglove

xover w BtVS. Three years after Chloe was kidnapped by Angelus, Sam has grown strong enough to give the vampire back his soul. Angel is left tormented by what he's put Chloe through, while Chloe is left trying to figure out exactly who and what she is now that so much changed. Buffy must also find her purpose as a Slayer without a Hellmouth to protect. And what is Azazel up to?

5. Lover's Walk

Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville, Supernatural, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Based on Buffy Season 3 Episode "Lover's Walk".

---

Spike really wondered when his life had gone to hell.

And not in a good way.

It seemed like it was only last Thursday that he, Dru, 'Gelus and Chloe were living the life in France, enjoying all of life's creature comforts. For vampires family was everything, and yet considering everything Spike, the youngest Childe, had had very little 'family time'. And for the first couple of centuries he'd had to put up with that bitch of Darla who'd never kept it a secret how deficient Drusilla was, and how little she thought of Spike. He had to admit though, part of the reason he'd become as vicious as he'd wanted to prove her that someone who came from Drusilla wasn't useless, as Darla proclaimed. The last three years Spike had finally started living that coven life he'd heard so many others brag about, and his Dark Princess had started to act…normal…er.

The vampire hissed as he kicked at a discarded can on the ground, leaning against the fence as he gazed out into the playground, where the moonlight bathed down upon the two sitting on the swings talking.

How pathetic was it that he'd only had three good years in an actual family, and a non-vampire had been the cause of it?

She shouldn't mean so much.

She shouldn't.

She was just one bird.

One, annoyingly human, bird.

He'd lived with Drusilla on and off for centuries, they'd survived Angelus' departure and Darla's abandonment the moment Angelus left. It shouldn't be so damn hard now that Chloe had done the same damn thing as Darla.

And yet, she hadn't, had she?

Sure, she'd left and gone back to her family like Darla had the Master…but Chloe had still called, still kept in contact-the only reason she'd stopped was because he'd thrown away the damn phone in one of his tantrums.

And now…now what did the vampire have?

Angelus was gone again.

Dru had left him for a Chaos Demon.

And the only one Spike had left…he didn't have the courage to approach.

Laughter from the playground caused him to turn his attention to the two on the swings, watching as the Pup slid off of his swing and began pushing the giggling blonde on hers.

Spike took another swig of his rum, fighting down the resentment of her having such a great time while he himself was in the pits of despair.

Chloe stopped laughing and turned to look in his direction, almost as if sensing him. She was obviously unable to see him from his hiding spot, but the fact that she somehow seemed to know made Spike feel a little less miserable.

He wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

He was going to have to show her that she couldn't just forget about them this easily.

Especially not him.

---

Sitting on the counter of Giles' kitchen, Buffy swung her legs as she played with one of his knives as the Watcher fluttered about as he readied to leave. He'd rented a place that was actually quite close to where Cordelia and Dean studied. It wasn't a big or showy place, but it was very much him. It was filled with books and every sort of occult material. She'd made fun of it the first day to tease him, but she felt very much at home amongst these things. The Slayer had invited herself to stay over his the first day back in California after leaving Metropolis the day after the Smallville Incident, and while Buffy was sure Giles had expected her to move back in with her mother (and her mother probably expected the same) Buffy found herself much more comfortable here.

Like Gabe Sullivan, Joyce Summers had remarried, and while Buffy liked the man enough and was happy her mother was very happy, she didn't exactly feel in her own home anymore.

Thankfully Giles didn't seem to mind every time she brought over more and more of her clothes and things to his place, into the guest room she'd installed herself in.

She wasn't a silly teenager anymore, didn't live in a dreamworld in which she and Giles were meant to be together, but he still was the one who made her feel safest and most appreciated.

She felt at home with him.

What more could she ask for?

"I'm just worried about Sam." Buffy made a face as she shook her head. "He's obviously still in love with her."

"With who?" Giles asked curiously, head in the fridge.

"What do you mean 'with who'?" Buffy asked in shock. "Chloe of course!"

Giles stood and turned to look at her in surprise. "You believe Sam has a romantic inclination towards Chloe?"

"Believe-? Giles! How did you ever get laid!?" Buffy scoffed, completely shocked. "Sam's been in love with her since high school!"

The man blinked, his shock obvious on his every feature. "Truly?"

"Giles…" Buffy shook her head at him in awe. "I can't believe what I'm hearing. You're just as oblivious as Chloe!"

"Ah…" he cleared his throat, removing his glasses and cleaning them. "So she has not realized his feelings either?"

"No, there was always only Angel for her." Buffy made her face at the memory of the vampire she still had mixed feelings towards. "And now…even now I think she still thinks about him." The Slayer shook her head. "When we were in Smallville, and she thought she was infected, she asked me to give the ring back to him."

"The ring…" the Watcher made a face. "You're referring to the claddagh ring he gave her for her birthday?"

"Yes." The Slayer nodded. "She still wears it with the heart facing her, though it's on her other hand now." With a sigh her hazel gaze went to Giles. "Sometimes I just want to rip it off her finger and throw it away…I know it's ridiculous, but sometimes I think if she just got rid of that ring she could forget him."

"And notice Sam?" Giles raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe," Buffy admitted. "He would have accepted Angel just to have her back-he risked his own life-was willing for me to kill him should anything go wrong-and brought the Soul back just to get her back." The young woman put down the knife and hugged herself as she learned forwards. "Shouldn't that mean something?"

"Sadly, in life one does not always get what ones deserves…be it good or bad." The Watcher sighed.

"Well, that sucks." She let him know.

Giles chuckled, shaking his head as he returned his attention to the kitchen. "Will you be alright here while I'm on the retreat?"

"Of course I will be." Buffy rolled her eyes, amused. "Though I've seen your bag, you're packing like this retreat thing is in the Yukon."

"It quite near actually." The Watcher pulled out the sliced bread and other ingredients to make a sandwich she planned on stealing the moment it was finished. "It's, um, it's the clearing at the top of Breaker's Woods."

Buffy eyed the ingredients of this sandwich before slipping off of the counter and going behind him to open the fridge once more and pull out the jar of pickles she'd bought the night before, placing it on the table next to the mayo.

Giles didn't notice, already grabbing two plates. "It's the site of some fascinating druidic rituals."

"But you're just going to be gone for a couple of days, right?" Her lips twitched with her taunt. "'Cause I poked around your luggage and what I saw gave me the suspicion that you're planning on settling there and growing crops or something."

"What?" He eyed her in confusion before his eyes widened and chuckled. "Oh! My gear! No, no, no, they are basic necessities."

"You pack more things than I do."

He gave her a little smile. "Are you and Chloe still thinking about getting your GEDs?"

Buffy nodded, sitting back on the counter once more. "Neither of us exactly finished high school, and most jobs now ask you to at least have a high school diploma. When I told mom I was thinking about it she started getting very excited talking all this crazy talk about me going to college."

Giles thought for a moment as he continued preparing their sandwiches, hers with the pickles. "She may be right."

"What?" Buffy asked in shock. "What about the whole "you have a sacred responsibility" speech you gave me in high school when I ranted on and on about not getting to go to college and all that?"

"I'm not suggesting that you…ignore your calling…but, um, you need to look to your future." He cut the sandwich into half and passed her the plate before going back to finish his own. "Faith has been holding her own as Slayer despite the fact that she's a bit of a loose cannon, and Wesley-well-he's somehow not dead yet." The Watcher snorted, obviously not thinking much about his replacement. "You've been living the civilian life for three years now and the world hasn't ended…I don't see why not to allow you to live a normal life. For a-a time, at least."

Buffy stared at him, unsure how to react to this.

When she'd first found out she was Slayer all she'd wanted to be was a Slayer, and then she'd used Kendra's existence as an excuse to escape her failures in Sunnydale. She'd lived the normal life she'd thought she'd wanted, needed, and yet three years later she couldn't deny the fact that being a Slayer was in her blood…and it hurt to hear Giles say that she was replaceable.

"Well, let's, um, let's discuss it when I get back." Giles finally finished his own sandwich. "In the meantime, please don't do anything rash."

"I'm helping Chloe look at apartments." Buffy rolled her eyes. "She's staying with Sam until she finds a place of her own, and I'm getting the feeling that he's trying to convince her he needs a permanent roommate but she's not getting he's not just offering out of the goodness of his heart."

"Not to sound rude, but how does she plan on paying for this apartment if she has yet to even finish high school or has a job?" Giles wanted to know curiously.

"I'm not too sure." Buffy admitted. "She just said that she'd be able to afford it."

The Watcher took a bite out of his sandwich and chewed pensively.

Buffy followed his example, and the conversation died off.

---

What?

Was she living with the Pup?

When did this happen?

Spike made a face as he watched the little apartment the Pup and Chloe had gone to after leaving the playground. He crept towards one of the windows and peered inside, taking another gulp of his newest bottle of alcohol, watching the two in the living room. The Pup was sitting in front of a small table covered in thick, boring looking books, obviously studying for something or the other. He'd changed clothes, now wearing sweats and a t-shirt, his gaze narrowed, his concentration on the text in front of him. Chloe lay lengthwise on the sofa facing the window, hair up in a ponytail, wearing shorts and a long t-shirt, dialing a number on her cellular.

Spike gave a drunken humph. "Who are you calling…" he slurred as he continued to watch.

They were listening to classical music, Chloe's foot shaking slowly in rhythm with the melody.

He stepped back from the window, swaying unsteadily. "Okay, stake out successful! Found out where they live." He looked at his bottle and took a long drink, tossing it away in a huff when it emptied. "Now-to enact phase two of my chillingly sinister plan!"

In his drunkenness the vampire tripped over one of the flower beds, fell into it, and passed out.

---

Spike still wouldn't answer her phone calls.

Ever since their argument in Smallville Chloe had been trying to get into contact with the vampire, and it worried her that he was keeping grudge this long. Or it could be that something happened to him or Drusilla. Or he was planning something. The worse thought was that he just didn't care anymore. Spike might be a sadistic killer with a penchant for the dramatic, but he was her sadistic killer. Chloe really couldn't define her relationship with Spike, even if she wanted, and she did sometimes, especially when Buffy or Sam or someone else realized she was still trying to call him despite fact that he hadn't answered any of her calls since the fight.

Spike was a friend, a lover and a brother all at the same time. He'd been her stable and constant during her years with the vampires, and she loved him. She mightn't be in love with the bleached blonde, but she loved him, and by god she missed him and his sarcastic nature.

Her green gaze went to where Sam was studying over some legal texts, taking his studies so seriously it made her smile and be even more impressed with him. Somehow he'd managed to not only keep up with a 4.0 grade average while studying law, but he was still studying up magic. The obscure and occult texts in his apartment said it all, and these had been his newest acquisitions since his older ones had burnt in his apartment when his girlfriend…

Chloe frowned as she sat up, tilting her head to the side as she remembered the girl she had not treated nicely the night she'd met her. The girl had been beautiful, and if Sam had loved her then she'd been special as well. It made Chloe feel a little bad to have never met the woman who'd lived and loved Sam, and yet on the other hand Chloe wondered how she would have been able to deal with this Jessica person. The blonde realized just how selfish she was then and there, because while she'd had Angel, and to some extent Spike, Chloe realized that she probably would have been somewhat jealous of Jessica and the position she had in Sam's life.

Even if Chloe had tried pushing Sam towards Amy…she'd always known that she and him shared a special closeness…

Damn, she was selfish.

Sam had done so much for her, selflessly, and she was beginning to realize just how much of a bitch she actually was.

She needed to find an apartment soon before she subconsciously took advantage of Sam's kind nature. Also? She couldn't let herself depend on him too much. He'd just lost someone important to him, and he was emotionally vulnerable at the moment. She could not take advantage of that either, even if she didn't mean to.

Seeming to sense her gaze on him, Sam's green/blues rose and met hers. "Hey."

"Hey." She smiled back.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked curiously.

"A penny will only buy you a sneak peak." She teased, standing. "And I was thinking that you're an incredible guy."

A surprised and embarrassed yet pleased smile curled his lips. "Don't know what I did to deserve that one-but continue on with that train of thought."

Laughing softly, Chloe shook her head as she joined him at the table, hugging his neck as she stared at the books on the table. "Course I will."

He stilled for a second under her touch before reaching up and placing his hand on her arm, curling his fingers around her and just holding on.

Chloe gulped, feeling both the desire to pull away and cling closer.

"Chloe-." Sam began, whatever he was going to say interrupted by a loud sound outside. "The hell was that?"

The blonde pulled away and hurried towards the window, peering out into the darkness. At first she didn't see anything, and then she saw a prone figure on the ground covered in a black leather duster.

"It can't be." Eyes widening, Chloe raced passed the rising Sam to the door, unlocking it and flinging it open as she sprinted outside barefoot. "Spike?"

He murmured something in a drunken stupor before snoring loudly.

"The hell is he doing here?" Sam grumbled from the doorway, stepping out just as barefooted as her.

"I think something must have happened with Dru. Last time we talked he and her weren't doing so well." Chloe whispered, heart breaking to see Spike in this condition, going towards him and lowering to her knees as she brushed his bleached hair out of his face. "Spike? Spikey?"

He groaned yet didn't wake up.

Letting out a little sigh, Chloe shook her head. "Let's get you to a motel." The blonde turned to Sam. "Can you call us a cab? I'll take him somewhere and wait with him until he's slept off whatever he's drunk and see what happened to him."

Sam sighed, bringing his hand to his face. "I'm going to regret this."

The blonde looked up at him in confusion.

"You'd think a centuries old vampire would be able to hold his liquor better," Sam mumbled as he joined her by Spike's side, poking the snoring vampire. "Or at least find more dignified places to pass out drunk in."

"Yes, well, Spike's never been known to do anything if he wasn't going to do it in excess." Chloe sighed, eyes widening when the vampire's body began to arch off of the ground seconds after she felt Sam's magic tug at her core.

"I usually wouldn't waste magic like this-because it is damn draining after a while-," Sam's eyes were darker as he spoke. "But there's no way I'm picking that Billy Idol Wanna Be up and letting him anywhere near my neck. Passed out stone cold drunk or not."

Chloe could feel his magic calling to her core, to where her connection with the Hellmouth was sealed away, but unlike it had been with Andrew and so many other situations in the past its presence wasn't demanding or violent. Almost without realizing she unlocked the invisible door Jenny had taught her to close on it to bar others using her as a power source, Spike's body jettisoning high into the air almost as if he'd bounced off of a trampoline or something.

Sam's darker eyes widened. "Woah…I haven't felt that in a while."

Chloe stood and tilted her head back, arching her neck as she stared up at Spike's dangling body. "That's impressive."

"We're just lucky he didn't explode," Sam muttered, lips a wry smile. "How many times did that happen when we first tried connecting during spells?"

Chloe snickered, remembering the brownie incident when they'd finally come clean to the others about their secret studies. "I like my Spike in one piece."

Sam snorted, his eyes going an even darker blue/green as he worked Spike down to an acceptable height, the vampire slowly being levitated towards the door.

The blonde turned to look at the witch in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Inviting Spike the Bloody into my home," Sam mumbled, apparently that being enough of an invitation since Spike's body floated through the front door without any problem.

"I don't think-."

"Chloe, for three years I've made researching everything and anything to do with vampires my own little pet project." Sam reached out, placing his hand at the small of her back, leading her back into the house. "Trust me to know what I'm doing." As they entered the house, the door swung closed behind them and locked on its own.

"I trust you…" Chloe looked behind her in shock, because while she'd known that Sam could do some incredible stuff magic-wise, he'd never really used it during his every day life. Maybe it was because he was used to pretending normality with his girlfriend Jessica, or maybe it was because magic was taxing on the body and he preferred to use it only when he needed it. Whatever reason it was, this was more magic than Sam had ever used outside of a battle, and it was fascinating to see, especially when she could feel his power connecting with her, and how the Hellmouth power source within her powered everything. "It's him I don't trust to behave."

"Neither do I." He assured her, walking towards the bedroom she was using and hesitating only a second before depositing the vampire into her tub, letting Spike fall the last couple of centimeters.

Chloe flinched.

Spike didn't seem to even notice.

Sam held his hands out towards the vampire in the tub, whispering words in a language age didn't know, his eyes growing darker as the pull towards Chloe grew stronger.

The blonde stopped at his side, watching as symbols burned into the tiles around the tub and wall, the tub itself glowing red before fading away to nothing.

"What exactly did you do?" Chloe as curiously, eyeing the snoring vampire.

"I Uninvited him from my house except for that tub, while making it so that UV rays can't shine through the glass in the bathroom window," Sam responded evenly, resting his elbow on her shoulder as he gazed down at the vampire as well. "That way the sun doesn't make him nice and crispy in the morning, and I get to sleep peacefully knowing that he will in no way be able to try and kill me while I'm snoring."

"You can do that?" Chloe asked in shock, turning to look up at the tall man, more and more impressed.

"I just did." He grinned down at her, obviously reading her awe on her face and deeply pleased by it.

"You didn't have to, you know." She stared up at him, that awkward awareness returning despite her battle against it. "I would have been safe in a motel with him. He wouldn't have hurt me."

Sam was silent for a moment as he just stared down at her before sighing. "You know how vampires are family, and they share even if they don't like it sometimes?"

"Yeah?" The blonde tilted her head to the side.

"Let's just say that this is something similar to that." Sam then turned a halfway evil grin on the snoring vampire. "Anyway, I was chained for months while with those guys. As far as I'm concerned, this is payback."

"So there is evil deep down inside that heart of gold." Chloe laughed, grabbing Sam's hand and dragging him out of the bathroom, closing the door to make sure that there was no way sunlight could hit Spike inside come morning.

"You caught me." Sam chuckled, lacing his fingers through hers as he began to lead her towards the living room. "Deep down inside I'm a very sneaky, very conniving man who uses his face of goodness to hide resentment, jealousy, and covetousness."

"Aren't those three things basically the same emotion?"

"In a way, yet each is slightly different in very important ways," Sam murmured, gaze going to his books on the table. "Resentment is a bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly; Jealousy is being fearful or wary of being supplanted by another, apprehensive of losing affection or position; and Covetousness is an envious eagerness to possess something that belongs to someone else."

Chloe paused, eyeing him curiously. "Why do I have a feeling that if I looked in the dictionary I'd find that those definitions were basically verbatim?"

"Verbatim. Good word." Sam chuckled darkly, giving her a crooked little smile while tightening his hold on her hand. "My legal jargon is rubbing off on you, I see."

It almost felt like he was trying to change the subject, and while Chloe didn't get why, she allowed him to, grinning brightly at him. "You've caught me red handed."

Sam just smiled down at her, the expression less dark and more tender.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Sam's gaze went to the door, which flung open of its own accord so violently the doorknob was sure to have left a dent in the wall. "Oops."

Dean stood there, hand raised to knock again, expression shocked. "Dude."

Cordelia stuck her head around her boyfriend before leaving him in the doorway as she entered, all smiles and plastic bags. "We brought Chinese!"

Dean followed his girlfriend in at a more sedate pace, holding some plastic bags of his own as he went to check the door in shock. "Honey? Can we stop for a moment and just process how a door opening on its own didn't even catch your attention?"

"Sam can teleport, Dean." Cordelia rolled her eyes, putting the bags in her hands on the table next to Sam's books. "Opening a door is kinda lame in comparison."

Dean's eyebrows raised as he slowly shook his head, finally closing the door behind him and eyeing the dent in the wall. "Your landlord's gonna be pissed with you."

Sam sighed, shaking his head. "To what do we owe this visit?"

"What?" Dean asked, putting his bags on top of Sam's books. "Can't an older brother come and visit his little, much less attractive, younger brother?"

Sam raised an eyebrow, lips twitching in amusement. "Yes, but you haven't visited me ever."

"Are you two bonking each other yet?" Cordelia asked as she threw herself down on the sofa, resting her high-heeled clad feet on the arm rest. "Because if so we so need to start double dating. There is no one we know who I would put up staying with in the same restaurant for as long as it takes to eat."

Chloe's eyes widened as a blush heated her chest. "Sam and I are not-!"

"Cor-." Dean tried.

"What?" The brunette frowned at him. "Angel's decided to be all mopey and depressed and left her high and dry when she needed him the most. They are so last year's fashion accessory. Why is it wrong to ask if these two are finally doing the horizontal tango when the chemistry's been there since high school?"

Oh dear god.

Chloe felt more than mortified, having forgotten the extent of Cordelia's bluntness.

"Is it because Jessica died?" Cordelia sat up, frowning as her gaze went to Sam questioningly. "Is it too soon?"

"Cordelia Chase everyone, give her a round of applause." Dean tried for a weak laugh, sitting down on the armrest she'd just removed her feet from. "I promise you all that we did not come here with the sole purpose of making everyone terribly uncomfortable."

"He's right." Cordelia nodded, making up her face. "We're here to talk about the fact that my expiration date is going to be up soon."

"Don't say that." Dean snapped at her.

"What?" She pursed her lips at him. "That's what's going to happen."

Chloe's eyes narrowed, previous mortification forgotten. "Expiry date? What are you talking about?"

Sam ran his large, calloused fingers through his silky hair as he sighed. "After Jess' death Dean and I talked to dad."

Chloe's gaze turned to him and widened in surprise.

"Turns out daddy dearest never thought it important to tell us that the Winchester men are cursed." Dean shook his head, disgusted. "All the women who are with us are doomed."

"Like our mothers." Sam let out a little breath. "And Jess."

"And, most importantly, me." Cordelia piped up. "Considering I've been with this bozo twice, and since I was a teenager, I'm thinking that I've been treading that chasm too closely lately. I mean, Jess was only with Sam for like a year and then she went all crispy." The brunette made up her nose, oblivious to the look of slight horror on her boyfriend's face. "How I see it, I've been selfless for way too long. I mean, it was one of the things Dean and I had come to see you about in Smallville and then things got out of control. But now we are here and I need you all to call in a Scooby Meeting and fix this." She pointed her finger at them and twirled it around. "Pronto."

Dean cleared his throat. "Cor and I have taken some time off from our studies so we can dedicate our time to figuring out what this curse is and how to break it."

"We're looking for a place to rent around here." Cordelia declared. "My parents bought me the apartment we're sharing right now, so I'm just renting it out while we find someplace here."

"I thought of moving in with you in here at first." Dean informed his brother. "But then I remembered that Cor's loud…"

She slapped his thigh.

"I was going to go apartment hunting with Buffy tomorrow but something's come up so I probably won't be able to make it." Chloe ran her finger over the scabbing cut on her cheek which she'd gotten from the glass while in the attack on the Kent's home. "Why don't you go with her instead?"

Dean nodded. "Sounds good."

"Why are you apartment hunting?" Cordelia wanted to know. "I'm sure Sam wouldn't mind you staying here with him."

Chloe sent the handsome giant a small smile. "Sam's been a great host, but I can't depend on his kindness all the time."

Dean snorted and murmured something under his breath that she didn't catch.

Sam sent his brother a narrowed, warning glance.

"Until then, we decided to crash here." Cordelia informed them. "So we'll take the guest room."

"Chloe's in the guest room." Sam interrupted. "You and Dean can have my bedroom and I'll sleep on the couch."

"Wait, you guys really aren't sleeping together?" Cordelia asked in a shock.

"Cor…" Dean groaned.

"You should sleep in my room and I'll sleep on the couch." Chloe turned to her host. "I'm smaller, I'll fit on it better."

"I'm not going to let you sleep on the pull-out couch." Sam frowned at her.

"Well I don't want it." Cordelia let them know.

Dean sighed, gaze going to the ceiling.

"Anyway," Sam's blue/greens were on the blonde. "If your guest wakes up I don't want to be the one in the room with him."

"Wait, Chloe has a guy in her bedroom?" Cordelia gasped in scandal. "It isn't Angel, is it?"

"Spike." Sam replied.

Dean stood immediately. "You invited that-?"

"He's confined to the tub." Sam eased his brother's worries. "No way will he be able to get out of it unless I invite him into the rest of the house-which I have no plan of doing right now."

"What is he doing here?" Cordelia wanted to know, lowering her voice. "And is Miss Crazy here too? Cause I have to say she freaks the bejeezus out of me."

"Can I just say you're insane to have an evil vampire in your bathroom?" Dean made a face.

Chloe turned her gaze on Sam. "I really could go to a motel with him and-."

"No." Sam shook his head. "It's okay. The spells on that tub are gonna keep him there tonight and then tomorrow, when he's sober, you guys can talk. We don't know why he's here. If he's running from trouble then I don't want you alone with him while he's unconscious."

Dean grumbled. "He's got a point. At least if Fang is expecting unwelcome company, they won't be able to get in here, and if they aren't vampires we can all deal with demons in this house."

"So it's settled then!" Cordelia grinned, apparently having decided this on her own. "Dean and I'll get the Master bedroom, Sam gets his nice and comfy couch, Chloe keeps her bed, and Captain Peroxide gets the tub. Great. Now lets eat and talk about my untimely demise." With that she arose from the couch and hurried to where they'd put the bags. "I'm starving."

---

"Okay, mystery solved." Lucy announced as she stepped out of the balcony and into their bedroom in the small chateau they'd taken over once Angelus, Chloe, Spike and Drusilla had deserted it. "Spike's in California."

From where he lay on the bed, Kal raised an eyebrow. "He finally swallowed his pride."

"I doubt an apology is in the future, but he needed to go and talk to her." Lucy slipped onto the bed next to her boyfriend, putting her cellular on the bedside table. "The breakup with Drusilla was really hard on him, and Chloe's the only family he has left. I should have thought to call her earlier once he went off the grid."

"You really should have." Kal agreed, eyes teasing.

Rolling her eyes, Lucy turned towards him. "Talking about family…considering that Lois wants to come and spend some time with us before heading back to the States to surprise Chloe-which I will totally warn her in advance about-you're going to have to promise me to behave this time."

Kal pouted. "But your sister's annoying."

Lucy raised an eyebrow.

"Fine." He grumbled. "But if she starts pestering me again I'm going to be visiting Spain. A lot."

Chuckling at the way her boyfriend and sister fought like siblings, Lucy nodded, before reaching for the light and turning it off in time for her boyfriend to pounce on her.

---

The couch was damned uncomfortable, and the first thing Sam was going to do in the morning was throwing it out and getting a comfortable pull-out bed for such a time as this. He didn't know how he was going to be able to move around tomorrow, knowing his muscles were going to be sore and protesting his every movement. It annoyed him because with Spike here, and with Dean and Cordelia ready to start what would be their first Scooby Mission since Chloe's return, well, Sam needed to be one hundred per cent. And he wouldn't be.

Not only was the couch keeping him awake, but he could still feel Chloe's energy zinging through his veins like electricity. This was the first time in far too long in which she'd opened her source to him and willingly allowed him entrance. He'd forced his connection with her while Ensouling Angel, and in Smallville Chloe's connection had already been forced open by Webber, and Sam had had to use his connection with her to close it, seal that door shut once more. Each and every time he'd felt his connection with her in a different way, but he had to admit that the best ever was when she opened willingly.

It was like pure power and life and molted gold…if that made any sense.

"I knew it," a voice whispered from the doorway. "You can't sleep."

His gaze went up, finding a backlit, petite figure leaning in the open doorway. "Neither can you, apparently."

The blonde pushed away from the doorway as she made her way towards him, her bare feet silent on the floor as she approached. "The couch is too small for you."

"I'm not making you sleep here." He already knew what she was going to offer, and shook his head at her.

Leaning against the back of the sofa, Chloe shook her head, her loose hair bouncing with the movement. "Why did you let him stay here?"

He knew she wasn't talking about Dean, and cleared his throat, having known that she'd come back to the topic of the vampire in their midst yet had hoped that he'd have a bit more time to regroup.

"It can't just be that whole wanting revenge about the whole being tied up." Chloe's gaze was intent on him in the darkness.

Sam cleared his throat, looking away, before inhaling deeply and returning his gaze to her. "I wasn't being nice, Chloe. I don't have an unselfish reason for what I did."

She frowned slightly, not saying anything, just waiting for him to continue.

"I-I didn't want you to go to a motel alone with him." And he felt so stupid for admitting this, but needing her to understand, even if only a little bit. "I know that after what happened in Smallville you're worried that you might put us all in danger by just being around, and so I was scared that he'd convince you to leave with him." The young man raised his chin and he cleared his throat. "And I'm not willing to let you go again."

The blonde was silent, the shadows hiding her expression from him.

Sam just continued looking at her, feeling so stupid and corny and-.

Chloe leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead before reaching out to grab his hand. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" Sam asked softly, shocked silly by the kiss and gesture, standing and slowly following her towards her bedroom.

"We're both adults." She merely answered, leading him through the door into the darkness of the guest room. "We can share a bed and not be awkward about it."

He gulped, suddenly not too sure about this. "I don't think-."

Chloe closed the door behind them. "Sam, you've seen me naked, being screwed by a vampire, sometimes two, every day for months. This is far more innocent."

The witch gulped once again, not having needed to be reminded of that, not now that they were alone in a bedroom. "Chloe-."

She gave him a little push from behind, jolting him out of his little moment of mounting terror. "To bed, Mister Winchester."

He continued to hesitate, watching her move towards the bed before sliding into it, pulling the sheets up around her.

"Sam." She sat up, backlit by the moonlight through the curtains.

Clearing his throat, Sam finally moved towards the bed and slid into his side, wrapping up as he gazed up at the ceiling in utter disbelief.

"Goodnight." She whispered, getting a little more comfortable before slowly settling into sleep once more.

Sam continued staring up at the ceiling, heart racing, commanding his errant lower extremities to behave.

It didn't help when, around twenty minutes later, a softly snoring Chloe turned and wrapped an arm around his waist as she cuddled into his body.

Sam closed his eyes tightly and gave a little whimper.

This was going to be a very long night.

---

"You're just annoyed because I was right-as always-and they're having sexy times." Cordelia gazed into her compact mirror the next morning and checked her hair as they drove towards Giles' home, having agreed to pick the Slayer up so they could go apartment hunting together-although the beauty queen couldn't figure out why Buffy had to come with-but she didn't complain.

"Just because we woke up to find them sleeping on the same bed does not mean any naughty nighttime spanking took place." Dean countered, stopping at a red light. "She could have just, I don't know, offered to share the bed with him because the couch was uncomfortable or something."

"Please," Cordelia rolled her eyes, checking her lipstick. "Your brother has been in love with her since high school, and now not only is she out of a toxic relationship and living with him, but he's got the body of a sex god." She snapped the compact mirror shut. "They are so doing the naked tango."

Dean made up a face. "Don't use 'sex god' and 'naked tango' when talking about my baby brother. I just threw up a little in my mouth."

The brunette snickered at him.

"And anyway, Chloe's still vulnerable with everything that's been going on, and Sam's not the type of person to take advantage of that." Dean was ever so sure of his brother and his high moral standards. "Plus…there's Angel."

"What about Angel?" Cordelia huffed, not sure why she was supposed to forgive and forget just because the dude had a Soul now. "He's out of the picture. By his own doing."

"She's been with him for years, through the good and the really bad." Dean tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "That sort of love doesn't just disappear like that."

"So what, you think she should just wait around for him to decide that he wants to be with her again?" Cordelia made up her nose in disgust. "No. She does not need to do that. She needs to jump your brother. Continuously. They've both suffered enough. It's time for Sexual Healing."

"Another group of words that should never be mentioned when in reference to my baby brother," Dean groaned.

"Stop whining." Cordelia smacked him up the back of his head and then checked her manicure to make sure that it was fine before continuing. "Even back in high school I was Team Sam. Now that Angel's gone and did his whole melodramatic exit I'm ready to dust off my cheerleading uniform, grab my pompoms, and cheer these two on to touchdown."

Dean's grin went lecherous at the mention of her high school cheerleading uniform.

She smacked him up the back of his head once more. "Mind out of the gutter, mister."

"It lives in the gutter baby," Dean gave her a sheepish look as his hand rested on her knee. "But only because you're so gorgeous."

Pacified, she smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek as up ahead the light turned green.

---

At first, when Spike woke up to find himself in a tub he couldn't seem to get out of despite no visible binds he thought he might still be drunk. And then he heard the heartbeats and could smell her through the slit on the bottom of the bathroom door. The vampire could guess what had happened after he'd collapsed outside, and winced at just how his plans never seemed to work out how he wanted them to. This was definitely not the sinister plot he'd been sure to have befall all.

It took him a couple of seconds to realize that there were two heartbeats on the other side of the door, beating peacefully in sleep, and Spike had to pause when he realized that the Pup was sleeping with her.

On the same bed.

Despite his sniffs he couldn't smell sex in the air but that only meant that they hadn't done anything last night or this morning, which meant that those two…

Spike didn't know whether to smirk at the thought of how Angel would take the news…or be resentful and annoyed.

Everyone was getting laid except him…and probably the Soul.

And Spike didn't like being in the same category as the Soul.

"Nibbles!" He yelled, annoyed and refusing to be left with his thoughts any longer. "NIBBLES! WAKE UP!" He could hear the change in their breathing as they both slowly awoke. "I'M BORED NIBBLES! AND HUNGRY! AND-AND-BORRRRRRREEEEEDDDD!"

"Coming." She whispered, yawning, the sound of her feet trudging against the tiles towards him betraying her approach before the door was pushed open, and the half-asleep beauty smiled softly at him. "Hi Spike."

"Hello." He tilted his head towards her. "I seem to find myself in a peculiar situation luv. I can't get up from this tub."

"Right." She winced, rubbing her eyes as she came towards him and promptly sat down on the bathroom mat on the floor in front of the tub. "Sam has only invited you into his tub…you're uninvited from the rest of the house…as a precaution."

"You mean he doesn't trust me?" Spike tried for innocence.

The girl snickered, shaking her head.

"Well, he was always the smart brother," Spike murmured, pouting, hearing the man grunting as he stretched and stood from the bed. "Tell Lover Boy to come in here. I need to talk to him as well."

"He's not-," her eyes widened and she blushed. "We're not." The blonde cleared her throat. "We're only friends."

"Friends don't share bed," Spike pointed out, somewhat resentfully.

"Dean and Cordelia arrived unexpectedly in the night and they took my room." The Pup trudged into the room, wearing boxer shorts and a muscle shirt, yawning as he leaned against the doorway. "Chloe offered to share her bed. Nothing else."

"I see." The vampire raised an eyebrow as he gazed at them. "So we're in the denial stage, are we?"

"Spike." Chloe raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you didn't come all this way to question Sam and my sleeping habits."

"Despite how utterly fascinating I'm finding it, you're right." The vampire let out a little breathe before his gaze went to Chloe. "I'm, you know, about what I said on the phone-."

She smiled at him. "I know."

He smiled back at her, relieved that she never expected him to come out and say stuff like that when it was obvious what he was trying to do.

It wasn't like it was easy for a proud creature of the night such as himself to apologize anyway.

"And now that that is over with," Spike cleared his throat and turned his narrowed gaze on the giant in the doorway. "I also came here because I need the Pup to do something for me."

The witch raised an eyebrow in shock at this. "This is going to be good." He moved to sit on the toilet seat, getting comfortable. "So, what exactly do you deludedly think I'm actually going to do for you?"

"A spell," Spike declared as he sat in the tub, leaning hard against the plush pillow Chloe must have stuffed behind him to help make his accommodations more comfortable the night before. "You're gonna do a spell for me."

From where he sat on the toilet, looking quite awkward and large on it, the Pup raised an eyebrow. "What sort of spell are we talking about here?"

"A curse." He was surprised that that question even had to be asked.

"A what?" Chloe sat up straighter from the mat she was sitting on.

"A curse. For the damned demon Dru left me for," The vampire replied, somewhat exasperated, not only by his wreck of a romantic life, but by the fact that he was being bound to a bathtub. "Y'know, something nasty. Boils!" There was an idea! "I wanna give him boils all over his face. You know, dripping pustules. Let's really go for the gusto here."

The Pup's lips twitched. "I'm hearing a lot of negative energy here, and the first lessons of witchcraft is that the sort of energy you send out-."

"Leprosy!" Spike interrupted, not giving a rats ass about the rules of witchcraft. "A spell that makes his parts fall off sounds right and proper."

Chloe bit her bottom lip, obviously torn between horror and intrigue as she turned her large, green gaze on the Pup. "Not that I'm saying you should, but could you do that?"

The giant cleared his throat. "I don't do…leprosy."

"Then do a love spell!" Spike exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in utter frustration. "I'm gonna get what's mine! What's mine! Teach her to walk out on me." He narrowed his eyes on the he-witch. "You can do, it, right? You can make Dru love me again? Make her crawl!"

"I don't know." The Pup eyed him curiously. "I've never really been interested in studying love spells."

Spike's gaze slid to Chloe before returning to the he-witch with a scoff, disbelieving. "Sure you haven't."

The Pup's eyes narrowed, all amusement gone. "It's not smart to antagonize the guy you're asking for help."

"I'm not asking for your help. I'm demanding it," the vampire clarified with a scandalized huff. "It's the least you could do since this whole mess is your bloody fault!"

Chloe's eyes widened in shock. "Why would you think this is Sam's fault?"

"Why would I think-?" Spike sputtered, completely horrified that his pet hadn't figured this out yet. "It's all his fault!" The vampire leaned hard against the pillow, shaking his head. "She wouldn't even kill me."

"Spike…" Chloe whispered, reaching over the rim of the tub and placing her hand on his shoulder.

"She just left." Spike was unable to believe it even now. He and his Dark Princess had always had their highs and lows, but never had it been this bad! "She didn't even care enough to cut off my head or set me on fire." He sniffled, reaching up to place his hand on Chloe's and squeeze, having missed her presence. "I mean, is that too much to ask? You know? Some little sign that she cared?"

"I'm so sorry hon." Chloe pushed up on her knees to reach in and hug him tightly, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "I'm sure that deep down inside she really wanted to hurt you, mutilate even."

"You think?" He whispered, hopefully.

"I'm sure of it," Chloe assured him, pulling away long enough to kick off her shoes before crawling into the tub with him.

It should have been very uncomfortable having two people in this tub, but Spike held her tightly as she wrapped around him, head on his unbeating heart. "I would have settled for her cutting off a digit or two…any little hint that I meant something to her still."

The Pup just sat there watching them with an odd look on his face.

It was a testament to the vampire's misery that he didn't flaunt this closeness to Chloe to the Pup, instead just focusing on holding her warmth close and letting his bleeding heart pour out to her as he'd needed to for a very long time now.

There was a sigh and then the Pup leaned forwards. "How is this my fault?"

"It was that damn spell of yours!" Spike pointed a finger accusingly at the he-witch. "You brought the damned emo SOUL back and ruined everything!" He paused for a moment to inhale and exhale deeply. "Dru said I'd gone soft because I didn't murder the Soul before he could take Nibbles away with him, as we both knew he would. She said that I wasn't demon enough for the likes of her. And I told my Dark Princess that she wouldn't want Nibbles unhappy as she would be if the Soul was dead. But she didn't care…said she was cold now that Hell was gone." He let out a little fluttery breath. "'Cold?' I asked her. So, we went to Brazil, and she was…she was just different. I gave her everything: beautiful jewels, beautiful dresses with beautiful girls in them, but nothing made her happy. And she would fliiiiiiiirt!" He sniffed at the memory. "I caught her on a park bench, making out with a chaos demon!"

Chloe made up her face in disgust. "No!"

"Yes!" Spike exclaimed, egged on by her reaction, turning his attention to the confused giant. "Have you ever seen a chaos demon?"

The Pup shook his head.

"They're all slime and antlers!" Spike made up his face. "They're disgusting."

"You know she only did that to hurt you." Chloe stroked his chest soothingly. "She didn't mean it."

"I know." The vampire agreed. "So I said, 'I'm not putting up with this anymore.' And she said, 'Fine!' And I said, 'Yeah, I've got an unlife, you know!' And then she said…she said we could still be friends." He held on tighter to Chloe, burying his face in her hair. "God! I'm so unhappy!"

Chloe pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"I mean, friends!" Spike ranted in infuriated pain. "How could she be so cruel?"

There was a little sigh, and a groan, and then the Pup let out an aggravated breath. "I'm going to regret this."

Spike raised his gaze to the he-witch. "Regret what?"

Chloe turned her gaze over her shoulder at him. "Sam?"

"I feel guilty," the giant grumbled in annoyance to himself. "He's a psychotic, murdering maniac who has caused me nothing but trouble. I should not feel guilty because he's bawling his eyes out in my guest tub."

"A true man is not afraid to cry!" Spike defended vehemently.

The witch let out another deep breath and ran his hand over his face before sighing. "Fine. I'll do it." His eyes narrowed on Spike. "But I've never done this before and I not only don't know how effective it'll be, nor do I have all the ingredients I'd need."

Spike was shocked that he didn't have to threaten someone to get his way.

"But I need things from you, and I need you out of the tub to get them." The Pup narrowed his eyes on the vampire. "So if I'm going to take off the Univite to the rest of my house, I need to know that you won't abuse that and hurt anyone either in my house, or in this city, while you're here."

Spike grinned brightly. "Deal."

To his credit, the Pup only raised an eyebrow, seeing passed the blatant lie.

"Swear it Spike." Chloe slowly pushed away from him, sitting up on the tub's rim, staring down at him seriously. "Swear by Venice that you won't hurt anyone while you're here and you'll behave."

He flinched at her bringing up something as sacred as Venice. "Nibbles…"

"Spike," she interrupted, determined. "Swear by it."

The vampire hesitated, staring up into her face before sighing and nodding, all amusement gone. "I swear by Venice that I'll behave."

Chloe nodded, smiling softly at him. "Thank you."

Spike sighed. "Only for you."

He could feel the Pup's curiosity, and had to admit he admired the fact that the witch wasn't asking what was so sacred about Venice.

Chloe turned to the witch and nodded.

The Pup trusted her, it was without a doubt, since his eyes went darker with magic as the symbols on the tub disappeared Spike was set free.

---

The first two apartments had been a bust, but they were on the third and Cordelia seemed completely enamored with it, arms looped around the landlady's while asking her question upon question.

Buffy felt the place lacked character, but she wasn't the one who'd be living in it, so she just stayed quiet. Also, with Cordelia fascinated and keeping the landlady busy, Buffy was able to finally get caught up with the Winchester Curse situation, shaking her head at the thought that John Winchester had allowed his sons to continue living their lives without at least warning them that the women they slept with were in danger. Considering that Sam's ex girlfriend had died not so long ago, Buffy if the reason why the brunette had lasted so long without anything happening to her was because death was just avoiding tackling Cordelia Chase.

Of course, the Slayer felt a twinge of guilt after the thought fluttered through her mind, but not too much.

The brunette was still a veritable pain.

"It's times like these with patriarchal curses that Giles would be the most useful with his books and stuff…" Buffy frowned as she turned towards Dean. "So of course he's not around."

"Where is English?" Dean folded his arms over his chest.

"At a retreat in the clearing in Breaker's Woods." The Slayer replied.

"I know the spot, it's like a forty-five minute drive." Dean's gaze went to Cordelia, who was charming the landlady into a possible discount on the monthly payments should they snatch up this place. "If Cordelia wants this place, then we could sign the papers, and then motor it to Breaker's Woods."

Buffy nodded. "I agree. He really wanted to go to this retreat, but times a'ticking."

"I want this place!" Cordelia had apparently finally detached herself from her potential landlady. "We've got two rooms, a huge amount of closet space, and the view is to die for!" She looped her arms around Dean and grinned up in his face. "Please don't fight me on this. I'll only win in the end. And during the time we're arguing someone else might have snatched this place up and I will never wear my cheerleading outfit for you ever again."

"Eeeeewwww! I didn't need to know about your perverted little bedroom games!" Buffy gasped, bringing her hands to her ears. "I feel the need to scrub out my brain now!"

"Who invited you into this conversation?" Cordelia wanted to know.

"Sometimes I wonder why I'm always agreeing to help save your life." Buffy let her know.

Dean stepped in before they could start one of their epic fights. "Baby, let's go sign those papers."

Fight forgotten, Cordelia squealed and kissed him before dragging him over to where the landlady was pulling out the paperwork.

Buffy watched them, shaking her head. "He is so whipped."

---

Even though he was a vampire, and had had his bloodlust relieved thanks to his little Nibblet tilting her head to the side and offering him a taste of his favorite blood, Spike hated to admit it but he still liked a lot of the things humans did. He enjoyed their food, especially those little onions the Bronze used to fry in the shape of a flower, and whenever he was down he had a thing for hot chocolate. He must have partaken in the beverage quite a lot during the Pup's stay because the giant with his back to the vampire was in the process of making three cups of the delicious ambrosia of the gods.

Chloe was bathing now that Sam had gotten out of the shower, and Spike took the time to eye the guy who was to blame for his current misery.

Then again, he really couldn't blame the witch, could he? Spike could admit that he and Dru had broken up a family to steal their mother-figure away, and he could demonically appreciate having karma come and bite him in the ass. He really should have been expecting it, now that he sat down and thought about it. The Pup had blended in too well into their Family, which meant he had an evil streak up in there somewhere, and he was gutsy, and Dru had been fond of him. That should have warned Spike that the Pup wasn't just puppy dog eyes and awkward limbs.

And anyway, even if the giant had given 'Gelus back his soul it wouldn't have mattered if the Soul wasn't so damned…damned….DAMNED!

Spike huffed, his frustration and annoyance growing and turning in a new direction.

It was Angel who was to blame.

Angel was always the one who fucked up the family.

Dru had been right.

Spike should have just staked the bastard.

Nibbles would have gotten over it…eventually…maybe…probably not.

Spike sighed, depressed all over again.

He couldn't bloody win, could he?

And being depressed again made him think of his Dark Princess, a little sob near escaping his lips as he decided he didn't do 'quiet'. "So, I'm strolling through the park, looking for a meal, and I happen to walk by and she's making out with the chaos demon!"

Sam sent him a look over his shoulder as he finished preparing the first two mugs, bringing one over to plant in front of Spike as he cradled his own.

"And so I said, 'You know, I don't have to put up with this'." Spike continued on, stirring the hot chocolate in despondency. "And she said, 'Fine!' So I said, 'Fine, do whatever you like!' I mean, I thought we were going to make up, you know."

"Don't take this the wrong way, Spike." The Pup made a face. "But from what I remember of my time with you guys, she's always been somewhat unreasonable."

"Oh, I know." The vampire nodded. "She's out of her mind." He sniffed. "That's what I miss most about her." He smiled softly at the memory.

The Pup cleared his throat, sending a look towards Chloe's bedroom before sighing and turning his attention back onto Spike. "Well, uh, sometimes when two people seem right for each other, their lives just, uh, take them in different paths."

"No, this is different. Our love was eternal. Literally." He paused, suddenly noticing something. "You got any of those little marshmallows?"

The Pup blinked, surprised at the change in topic. "I should, uh, Chloe loves them too so I think she has a stash somewhere."

The vampire watched the boy searching the cabinets, and sighed, pursing his lips as he considered him.

Ensouling aside, this guy wasn't all that bad.

He made decent hot chocolate, that in itself made him tolerable.

"Now that it's just us men and Nibbles is off having a bath, let me ask you something."

"Do I really have a choice?" The witch mumbled, still searching for the marshmallows.

"Not really," Spike admitted, taking a sip of the warm beverage before continuing. "What's the deal with you and Nibbles?" He leaned further over the counter, eyeing the giant curiously. "You've been hormonal over her since you were a head with limbs…so why haven't you sealed the deal now that the Soul's gone and made himself scarce?"

"Why haven't you?"

"Ah, the Pup learns to growl," Spike chuckled, amused.

The witch was far from amused as he threw the bag of recently discovered marshmallows to the vampire. "Why do you always call me that?"

"Because you're no Hellhound, that's why!" Spike caught the bag, opening it and pouring the tiny little pieces of hell into his drink. "You've got a lot of growing up before you could be that, in my book."

"Why is it that nothing you say ever makes sense to me?" The giant mumbled.

Feeling generous, Spike stirred the marshmallows into his beverage. "When my Dark Princess and I brought back 'Gelus, she announced that Hell and her Hound were still in need of joining the fold."

The giant blinked.

"You've got to understand, mate, back then you were incredibly awkward looking. No way could I even wrap my head around her calling you a Hellhound, they are marvelous, monstrously large, powerful and fierce beasts." The vampire paused as he eyed the man that the boy had grown into. "Guess you just needed a couple of years to grow up."

The guy just took a long sip of his hot chocolate, narrowed eyes on the bleached blonde.

"Now, if you're asking for my opinion, I'd say you'd be a fool not to take this opportunity to finally make your move." The vampire preached, forgetting for a second that he wasn't exactly the best person to be giving out relationship advice at the moment. "It's been years in the making, and if her scent and reactions have anything to say about the matter, she's finally realized you've got dangly bits."

The giant coughed, choking on his drink.

The vampire took the opportunity to blow on the melting marshmallows and take a long gulp of the delicious beverage.

Having abandoned his own glass, the Pup hunched over the counter, his palms flat on the surface, as he finally got over his coughing fit, raising wary eyes on him. "Why exactly would you of all people be encouraging me to make a move on her?"

"Hey, as I see it, there are two options here, and I'm Team Puppy Dog." The vampire declared. "What has the Soul done for me other than leave me high and dry each and every time he's made an appearance? Sure, with you I've spent a night in a tub, but let's face it, I've slept in worse places." He finished his glass and sat it down loudly on the counter before meeting those wary, narrowed eyes straight-on. "How I see it, my Dark Princess, though pissed at you at this moment spouting 'Bad Doggie!'…considers you a part of this family. So I have to as well."

His eyes widened.

"The Hellhound is the inferno's keeper, protector, guardian. Think Cerberus if you may, guarding the gates to hell." The vampire reached for the pack of marshmallows and began plopping them into his mouth. "Chloe's an integral part of my family, and by proxy to your connection with her, you are too…although you've done nothing to ingratiate yourself in my books."

"Look," The witch began. "I am not-."

"Also, if you don't make your mark now, the Soul's gonna come back and take her." Spike could see the Pup's body tense. "What? You didn't really think that the Poofster was gone for good did you?" He snickered. "Peaches might be off brooding and being an utter twat at the moment, but kid yourself not, he's in love with that woman in there and will put on his Big Girl Panties and come back to win her over again." The vampire raised a scarred eyebrow. "The only question in this whole scenario is if he's going to have some competition-or if she'll be free to be swept off of her feet."

The giant was silent.

The vampire smirked at him.

The door to Chloe's room opened and she emerged, fresh faced and smiling brightly, putting her wet hair up in a ponytail. "How are my two favorite men in the world?"

Spike smirked up at her. "You flatter me…continue."

Laughing, the blonde reached his side and pressed a kiss to his cheek, stealing a marshmallow from the plastic bag in his hand before plopping it into her mouth and chewing, her gaze going to Sam.

The Pup cleared his throat, his face still slightly disturbed before he gave her a little smile. "Hot chocolate?"

The blonde looked between the two of them curiously before nodding. "Thanks."

---

"So what exactly is Giles doing in the middle of nowhere?" Cordelia wanted to know, making up her face as they drove deeper into Breaker's Woods. "From my experience, the only thing that happens in the woods are mass orgies or mass murders."

"When have you ever experienced a mass orgy?" Dean wanted to know, ever the guy.

Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"He's here for a Watcher's Retreat thingy that's going on." Buffy shrugged, not wanting to hear anything that had to do with Cordelia Chase and mass orgies. "He says they usually get together annually to study some constellation's affect on something or the other…or something like that."

"Way to vague it up." Dean snickered.

"Well, excuse me, my mind started to wander after he started mentioning old greek dudes who wrote down things." Buffy shrugged. "This has never been my forte."

"You Tarzan, he Jane." Dean chuckled, repeating something he'd said a very long time ago.

Buffy's lips twitched in fond amusement as nostalgia set it. "Can you believe just how much has changed since then?"

"I know." Cordelia was, surprisingly enough, the first to agree with her. "Fashion sense alone has completely done a 180! Remember when big hair was in?"

Buffy wanted to be above it all, but she couldn't. "Please don't remind me."

Dean ignored them. "We're getting close to the clearing…should there be an infestation of tweed-lovers prancing all around the place smoking pipes or whatever Watchers do while pretending to be outdoorsy types?"

Buffy frowned, realizing that there should be some sort of sign that there was a retreat going on.

"I'm telling you," Cordelia pursed her lips. "We're either going to come upon a huge mass murder, or orgy, and I don't know which will be more traumatizing."

The Slayer rolled her eyes. "This is not going to be a mass murdery event."

"Are we saying there's still a chance for it to be a mass-orgy event?" Dean wanted to know warily.

"Ohmygodno!" Exasperated, Buffy leaned forwards between the front seats as they turned the corner, coming upon the clearing. "There is not going to be an orgy or a-."

Dean stepped on the breaks.

Cordelia sighed.

Buffy's eyes widened in horror at the disaster before her.

There was nothing left of the Watcher's Annual Breaker's Woods Retreat other than torn down tents, bloody gear, destroyed vehicles, and mutilated bodies.

Buffy's heart plummeted to her stomach in horror as she surveyed the aftermath of a massacre, her gaze finally resting on what remained of a horribly familiar car. "Giles."

---

Considering that Spike just couldn't shut up and let Sam concentrate as he got things ready for the spell, the vampire had been banished to Chloe's room and the blonde sat with him on the bed, keeping him company.

"I used to bring her rats with the morning paper." Spike sat crossed legged across from her. "How can she just not care anymore about those little details?"

The blonde sighed, shaking her head. "Moping around is not going to get her back."

"The spell's gonna get her back." Spike declared confidently. "If your boy can get back 'Gelus' soul-he can get me my Dru back."

Chloe gazed at the pattern of her bed sheet silently. "Would you really want her back like that?"

Spike frowned. "What do you mean?"

"If Sam does this spell for you, and you get her back, won't it always be in the back of your mind that she's only with you because of magic?"

"I wouldn't care."

Green eyes rose to his. "Yes. You would."

Spike slid his gaze away from her, slouching down. "I'm nothing without her."

"You are the Slayer Killer, Spike, not Dru." Chloe knew that that was a big thing of pride in the vampire world, and while she would not be encouraging Spike to kill any of the Slayers alive now, she knew that he needed picking up. "You're William the Bloody…a Master in your own right."

Spike sighed, still obviously depressed.

Chloe reached out and placed her hand on his. "Maybe you should think about moving on. It wouldn't be the first time that you two have had a break."

"Move on. Yeah." He scoffed. "You're one to talk."

"Meaning?" Chloe narrowed her eyes on him.

"Meaning," the vampire met her gaze dead on. "Peaches left you high and dry and you're not only still mooning over him, but you're wearing his damn corny ring."

Chloe's gaze went to the ring in question, twisting it around her finger, gulping.

"He's going to come back and you're going to take him back."

"He's not coming back." She whispered.

"Bullshit and you know it." Spike shook his head. "You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver, but you won't be able to stay away from each other and you will never just be friends." He pointed a black nail to his temple. "Love isn't brains, pet, it's blood…" he clasped his chest. "…blood screaming inside you to work its will."

Chloe's gaze lowered further, not wanting to hear this.

"Angel's gonna come back, you're going to take him back, and you're going to be right where you left off with a bloody love triangle with the Pup."

Chloe's gaze rose finally at that. "Sam and I are not-."

"-just friends." Spike finished. "C'mon luv. Man up and admit it finally. There's more than friendship there. You know it. He knows it. Angel bloody well knows it."

Chloe lowered her gaze once more, gulping.

"I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it." He sighed, reaching up to cup her cheek with his cold hand, caressing her skin with his thumb.

"We're quite the match, aren't we?" She whispered, leaning into the touch.

"Would have been better if you and I had fallen in love." He agreed.

"So much better." She nodded, voice beginning to wobble for the first time since Angel had walked out on her, the blonde finally yanking off the ring. She moved to throw it away…and yet couldn't do it, and hated herself for it as she slowly slipped it back onto her digit. "We're perfect for each other."

"A right pair we are." Sighing, Spike drew her into his arms, the two of them lowering to lay on the bed, cradled in each other's arms, mourning their horrible luck when it came to love.

---

"What the hell happened here?" Dean moved around the campsite carefully while Cordelia locked herself in their car and tried calling Sam and Chloe. The sun was setting around them."They've been torn apart."

"GILES!" Buffy yelled out, refusing to look at the bodies. "GILES! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"Slayer, I know your'e worried about English, but you need to see this." Dean bent down by the body of a mauled woman. "All of them are missing their hearts."

"GILES! RUPERT GILES!" Buffy tried one last time before cursing and kicking at a discarded, bloodied pot, finally turning her attention to Dean. "We need to find him. Whatever did this is still out there."

"These bodies are cold, and from how stiff they are this happened hours ago, maybe even last night."

"He's alive." Buffy snapped, not even willing to consider the alternative. "Whatever did this is probably tracking him."

"What did this?" Dean wanted to know. "Do you know of any sort of demon that does this sort of damage? Cause the whole taking the heart out of each and every victim, and the amount of destruction says this wasn't a bear."

"I don't know." Buffy hated it. "I-Giles would know in a second what would do this."

"Chloe and Sam might." Dean took a couple of pictures with his phone before finally standing.

As if on cue, Cordelia lowered the window enough for her to be able to yell out. "There's no reception here! I can't get a call out!"

"I'm guessing these guys figured that problem out too late." Dean frowned, staring at the bodies.

Taking in a deep breath, Buffy nodded. "You and Cordelia need to go back to where the others are and figure out what this could be. I'll stay here and find Giles."

"You can't stay here." Dean frowned at her. "We don't know what's out there or how many of them they are."

"I'm the Slayer, I can handle this."

"Your whole Me Slayer Me Invincible act still annoys me." Dean informed her, going towards the car and opening the trunk.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked, eyes widening when the false bottom to the trunk was removed, revealing the weapons cache beneath. "Whoa."

"I'm thinking about getting a different car because this one doesn't have the trunk space I need to lay out everything I have." Dean declared, pulling out a stake, holy water, gun with what seemed like homemade bullets, and a machete. "Your pick."

"I have my own stake." She reached down into her boot, pulling out Mr Pointy. "Holy water and an…ax?" She grinned, putting back Mr Pointy and picking up the things mentioned. "Winchester, my estimation of you has escalated tenfold."

Snickering, Dean grabbed two walkie talkies and flashlights, passed one of each to her before lowering the false bottom and then the trunk's top, going around to the front, motioning for Cordelia to put down the window.

The brunette inside did so. "What's the plan?"

"You go back and give Chloe and Sam this, there's pictures of what we're dealing with." He passed her the phone. "Then you stay there when they figure out what this is and how to kill it."

"Safe and sound, I like the sound of that." She nodded, before frowning. "But what about you?"

He raised the machete.

She frowned. "Why don't you just let Buffy handle this one? She is the Slayer."

Dean leaned in and kissed her deeply before pulling back out. "Drive fast. And buckle up."

"If you get hurt I'm exiling your cute tush to the couch." She warned, pointing her finger at him. "Don't expect me to baby you and nurse you back to health or anything."

"Never." He promised.

She sighed, reaching up and grabbing his shirt, pulling him closer to give him a deeper kiss before letting go and closing the window again, slipping into the driver's seat.

Buffy joined Dean's side as Cordelia started the engine and reversed around before stepping on the gas and getting the hell out of there. "Don't worry about me or anything."

Dean sent her a sideways glance as he smirked. "Let's go find English."

Sighing, Buffy met his gaze and nodded.

---

Sensing movement, Sam looked up from the book and ingredients he had around him, readying himself. "Oh, Spike." He straightened. "I'm almost ready."

"Sod the spell." The vampire waved it off.

"Huh?" Sam blinked, straightening, confused. "I don't understand. I thought-."

"I'm really glad that I came here, you know?" The bleached blonde smirked, leaning against the wall, folding his arms over his chest. "Helped put my head into perspective, made me realize I've been all wrongheaded about this." He made a face. "I've been weeping, crawling, blaming everybody else. If I want Dru back, I've just gotta be the man I was." He pushed away from the wall and stood proud. "The man she loved." He grinned brightly. "After talking with my favorite little Nibblet, she made me realize what I shoulda done in the first place."

Sam narrowed his eyes curiously. "And that would be?"

"I'm going to find Dru wherever she is, tie her up," Spike grinned toothily, "and then I'll torture her until she likes me again."

"Chloe helped you figure this out?" Sam didn't know exactly how to take that.

"Yeah, right before she fell asleep." Spike nodded, moving towards the door, pausing right before he opening it, turning back to face the confused witch. "See you later, Sam."

And with that, he was gone outside, disappearing into the darkness.

---

Night had descended on the two in the woods, their flashlights barely able to pierce through the darkness.

"Whatever killed the Watchers is still out here." Buffy whispered, tightening her grip on the ax. "My Spidey Senses are tingling."

"Don't got Spidey Senses." Dean shone his light around him, eyes narrowed. "But this place is dead quiet…that only happens when a predator is close by…and I doubt it's us."

"Do you hear that?" Buffy turned around, shining her flashlight.

"What?" Dean's gaze went towards her.

Suddenly something large bounded out of the foliage and barreled into Dean, sending him to the ground, the blow disorienting him. He barely had enough time to shove his heavy-duty flashlight into the creature's mouth when it tried to snap at his face.

Buffy yelled, the sound of struggling proving that there was definitely another one of those things out there.

As the creature fought to get the flashlight from where it was jammed inside of it's mouth, Dean struggled out from underneath it and searched for where the machete had fallen during his fall. His hands ruffled through the ground, finding nothing but leaves, and even though his gun only had rocksalt bullets the sandy blonde turned and grabbed it, pointing it to the creature and pulling the trigger when it jumped towards him. He knew it wouldn't kill the thing, but it'd hurt like hell, and maybe disorient it enough for him to find his damn machete.

---

Throwing the holy water onto this creature was eliciting no reaction, so Buffy threw the container with the water at its face and front snap kicked its jaw, sending it back in time to perform a full-spinning wheel kick to its face. Her Spidey Senses were screaming right about now, the Slayer twirling round the managing to duck another one of these creatures as it jumped at her.

Gunshots and snarls proved that Dean was still very much alive.

The Slayer didn't have time to celebrate that as the two creatures circled her, the shadows of the night hiding all but their large forms and white fangs from her.

She kept herself alert, tightening her grip on the axe as she moved slowly with them, making sure that each were in her view at each instance.

The creatures roared, charging fractions of a second behind the other.

Behind them, Dean yelled in pain as jaws clenched down on his arm.

Reacting on instinct, Buffy threw the ax towards the creature attacking him, the blade embedding itself deep into its skull, the monster crying out before collapsing dead upon its victim.

It only gave her a split second to remember the two charging her before the first reached her, the Slayer crouching down and sweep kicking it in the legs, causing the creature to cry out as it flipped over into a diving shoulder roll. She then quickly backflipped twice when the second got two close, bringing her foot up in a snap kick to its face on the last flip. She then swung around and kicked it as hard as she could on its neck sideways, a loud crack echoing in the night as the creature fell, never to rise again.

Turning, Buffy reached out and grabbed the first of the monsters by the neck in time to be knocked down, struggling to keep those snapping fangs from her face.

The creature yelped and threw itself off of her, Dean's machete sticking out of its back.

The guy tossed her her bloody ax.

Buffy reached out and caught it by the handle, gaze going to his bloody arm as Dean went towards the limping creature, yanked out his machete and drove it into the creature's neck, delivering the killing blow.

Silence remained in the woods.

"How's your arm?" Buffy stood, gaze around her, narrowed, waiting.

"Peachy." Dean replied, yanking back out his machete and joining her side. "How are those Spidey Sense of yours?"

"Still wigging out." Buffy's hazels narrowed on the woods around them. "There has to be more of those things out there."

"NOW!" Someone yelled, flaming arrows raining down from the trees above, causing the bushes to catch on fire, betraying the position of four other creatures, who'd been creeping towards the two unseen in the darkness.

Not stopping to wonder exactly was going on and who had turned on the lights, Buffy flung the ax at the second closest creature, the ax embedding itself deep between it neck and shoulder blade. The Slayer raced towards the closest creature and when it jumped she slid downward, sliding down under the monster as she yanked out the ax from the shoulder of the fallen. With one smooth movement she twirled around and flung the ax at the back of the one she'd just slid under.

One of the creatures roared as it ran around, pelt completely on fire, the scent of burning flesh searing the air.

The other lay dead on the ground, head clean off of its body.

Dean stood over it, his uninjured arm's muscles clenched as he gripped his machete tightly, staring down at the decapitated head illuminated by the blazing fires. "What the hell are these fugly bastards?"

Buffy didn't answer, sensing movement and turning in time to see a shadow jump down from one of the trees.

The figure barely hit the ground before walking determinedly towards her, other shadows descending slowly yet surely to the ground all around them.

Finally, she recognized the stride right before the light of the flames chased away the shadows on his face.

"Giles." Buffy whispered, racing towards her Watcher and flying into his arms, hugging him tightly.

His arms went around her, holding her close. "What took you so bloody long?"

She laughed softly into his chest, fighting the desire to cry from relief. "I figured you were somewhere, knocked out."

"I don't always get knocked out," he mumbled.

She just smiled, holding him tighter, as the few remaining Watchers who'd survived the massacre drew closer.

"I hope, whatever these damn things are, that they aren't contagious." Dean muttered, gazing at his bloodied arm warily.

"You mean you don't know what they are and what their appearance here means?" A woman gasped in scandal. "Are you not part of the Slayer's group? It should be obvious what this means for everyone!"

He made a face at her. "Lady, if you know something, just spit it out. No one likes a Know It All."

She sputtered, indignant.

Giles loosened his grip on Buffy, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "They're Hellhounds."

Buffy's eyes widened in shock. "Hellhounds?"

"Yes." Her Watcher nodded, his gaze going to the carcasses all around them. "Their…existence…is not contagious." his gaze went to Dean. "They aren't werewolves. You can't contract what they are like some sort of virus or transmutation."

"Good." Dean nodded. "Because the last time one of us was transmutated an innocent pig lost its life."

A couple of the Watchers shared confused looks as they drew closer.

"So did Principal Flutie." Buffy reminded him.

"Oh, yeah." Dean blinked.

The Slayer rolled her eyes before turning her gaze back on Giles. "So, what's the damage? Obviously Hellhounds attacking isn't a good thing-for more reasons than the obvious."

"Hellhounds are the guardians of the portals between all worlds." The female Watcher declared, as if unable to believe that the Slayer herself didn't know this. "And this was a deliberate hit. Some of the most influential minds of the Watcher's Council were here on this retreat."

"So you're saying someone put a hit on the Watcher's Council?" Buffy's eyes widened.

"I'm afraid that it's a little more serious than that." Giles removed his glasses and ran his hand over his eyes before putting the glasses back on. "Hellhounds have very distinctive, purposeful role in the supernatural world. They are guardians of the doors to hell…and rarely ever leave their post to journey to our plane of existence."

"Wait, if all hell mouths have Hellhounds guarding them-why haven't we seen them before tonight?" Dean asked a good question as he drew near. "The Hellmouth in Sunnydale opened up. We should have seen one."

"That Hellmouth was never properly closed, not with the Master stuck within, so there was never a closed door to guard." Giles replied severely.

"There isn't a Hellmouth in Breaker's Woods, is there?" Buffy made up her nose in confusion.

"Of course not." The female Watcher sniffed. "Don't be ridiculous."

The Slayer ignored her, gaze on Giles. "What's going on?"

He sighed. "Buffy, these puppies-."

"Wait, puppies?" Dean interrupted, stepping closer. "You're telling me these monstrosities are the cute, cuddly versions?"

"Yes, that is the only reason why fire worked on them, because they had not fully matured to their fire-retardant adult versions." Giles nodded, severe. "If they are out here, the mystical convergences-maybe worldwide-are in an upheaval of momentous proportions."

"So basically, the world's going to hell, isn't it?" Dean sighed.

Giles nodded. "It would seem that the mystical powers are either reacting-or anticipating-a great upheaval unlike any this earth might have ever experienced."

"That's never good." Buffy grumbled, leaning hard against a scratched up tree.

"I am afraid," Giles declared. "That we must all prepare for whatever is about to befall."

---

TBC