My House, My Rules

A/N: In case anybody wanted to know, I kind of became dissatisfied with the story after receiving some reviews about being OOC. Well, I'm better and READY TO CELEBRATE. This one is for everybody at Underground Fanfictioners! :)

What happened, luv?" She can utter no response, only to reach out to him and cling to his body for her dear life

A whole hour passes of Buffy sobbing. All the noises she makes all sound like jibberish, but Spike doesn't mind. Even Andrew knows better than to ask about the slayer's the natural blonde finally settles down into a fit of heavy, choked breathing, she finally gains the strength to look Spike in the eyes. "T-they're gone."

"I've noticed, luv." He keeps his voice low, knowing it's best to not instigate an emotional slayer. The lack of noise-and people led him to the discovery a few minutes after Buffy settled into his lap.

She looks away. "Sorry, I probably ruined your shirt." She speaks of the tear stains embedded into the vampire's shirt.

He chuckles. "They make more, you know."

Andrew comes out from the kitchen with a bowl of a steaming liquid. "Soup," he offers weakly. He places the bowl on the coffee table before scampering away. There were about ten recipes he can preoccupy himself with to avoid the sad reunion of Buffy and Spike. The painful departure of the potentials.

Buffy sits up and moves her body away from Spike. "I don't know what to do." She sighs, regaining her composure. The tears from mere moments ago now mean nothing to her and it is now all business. "If they die, it's on my head. It's my fault."

"It's their fault they left," Spike corrects. His blue eyes meet her green ones and he reaches toward her. Thinking better, he retracts his hand. "We can figure this out. It's not our first apocalypse."

The slayer gives Spike a small smile. "True."

. . .

The group of potentials grudgingly follow Faith as they stalk down the deserted streets of Sunnydale. "Why couldn't we just work things out with Buffy?" One of the girls complains, her bag practically dragging on the floor.

"Why would you want to stay with someone who doesn't like you?" Dawn counters her face grim. She never expected her sister to actually kick them out. It's not as if the potentials were doing anything wrong. Buffy is just a control freak, in her opinion.

Willow's neck snaps toward Dawn. "She likes us perfectly fine, Dawny. She's just... stressed." The Wiccan's green eyes are worried as she thinks about her best friend. They have been through everything together-and now, they aren't.

The last time Buffy was stressed, she ran away to Los Angeles. She cannot do that at the end of the world, fortunately.

Faith walks at the head of the troupe. "We're going to be okay, girls. B cannot hold out for too long. She needs us. Vampire boyfriend or not."

"But she said she didn't like him," another girl points out quietly. All her confidence left her when she was kicked out of her new home. She is the only one who still believed in Buffy after everything that happened. She knows is responsible all of them all alive this waking moment.

The group stops in front of a large house and Faith turns to the girl. "She also 'doesn't' trust him more than us," the second slayer sneers. "Anyway, meet your new home, girls."

. . .

Buffy sets the bowl back down on the coffee table. "Never shall I underestimate Andrew ever again." She laughs and Spike allows himself to smile. He has never been able to understand the slayer for the five years he's known her. And all it takes to cheer her up is a bowl of soup.

"Thank you!" Andrew calls from the kitchen. Buffy's smile broadens.

Spike takes the opportunity to change the topic. To something much more serious. "Any ideas on what you want to do next? Any plans of revenge?

The slayer sighs. "It depends, did you find out anything particularly interesting on your mission." A beat before he answers. "If I was in charge, I wouldn't have ever sent you."

"I know." He looks at her, his eyes grinning. "And you were right. It's all in the vineyard."