A/N : Another chapter for you, quite a large one too, which I hope you like. Your reviews are my encouragement, so please continue to let me know what you think of this fic :-)
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 2

Buffy giggled madly as Spike deposited her on his bed. Though he'd had many a fantasy about the Slayer lying as she was right now, she had a lot less clothing and was considerably less drunk in his dreams. Poor bint had suffered too much in her young life and he hated to know how much she must be hurting. Maybe boozing wasn't the best way to solve her problems but at least he'd got some laughter out of her. This was better than her almost-tearyness that had occurred on the way here.

"Spike?" she said through her chuckles, "Where did the stars go?" she asked as she stared at the ceiling.

The vampire smirked at that. She almost sounded like Dru, 'cept at least the Slayer seemed aware that the stars were now gone, didn't fancy herself able to see them through the solid roof and in the day time like his sire used to.

"We're inside now, luv, in my crypt" he told the girl on his bed, not daring to get too close to her in this state.

Drunk and lonely young women were capable of anything, and Spike didn't trust himself not to take advantage of the situation . He loved her too much to ever want to hurt her, but if she decided she wanted to get up close and personal in her inebriated state he wasn't so sure he could stop himself, as well as her, from doing something she'd regret in the morning.

Buffy pulled herself up to a sitting position and immediately regretted it as the room spun somewhat out of focus.

"Woah" she said, putting a hand to her head and waiting for the world to be still, "I don't think my head is used to drinking" she said as if it was some great discovery.

"Reckon you might be right there, pet" Spike smirked, "Probably best you lie down, get some rest" he told her gesturing for her to get comfortable on the bed.

"You wanna lie down with me?" she asked with a look in her eye that Spike both loved and hated.

Now she chose to get all sexy with him? Now when she was so drunk he couldn't do anything about it without getting himself in some severe, dusty-type trouble in the morning? Unlife was so cruel!

"Er, I've got water, bottled stuff, might do you some good" he said quickly moving towards the ladder and pulling himself up to the higher level.

Buffy's laughter was all that followed him and for that Spike was eternally grateful. It was taking every drop of strength he had not to take advantage of this woman up to this point and now she was practically throwing herself at him. He only hoped that by the time he got back down to the lower level and got a non-alcoholic drink into her Buffy would gain some coherence, and maybe sleep off the effects of too much booze without further attempts to get him to 'lie down' with her.

"How you feeling, pet?" he said as he came back down the ladder, "Probably best if... oh bloody hell" he cursed when he turned and saw she was passed out on the stone floor.

Rushing over, he discarded the bottle of water on the way and hurried to get the Slayer up from the ground. She came to seconds after he'd laid her down on the bed, his arms still around her when her eyes opened.

"Where did I go?" she frowned slightly, "I... I thought I saw" her lip trembled and tears came to her eyes then, "I thought I saw her" she cried and Spike's heart broke for her.

Though it seemed strange that in the few seconds she had blacked out she'd had a chance to dream of her sister, Spike knew she'd definitely thought of Dawn and the effect of the alcohol being what it was had caused her to get upset all over again. Her arms wrapped around his back and pulled him down beside her, giving Spike little choice but to lie beside her as she'd asked before. He held Buffy tight and she cried just a short while before lifting her head and staring up into his eyes.

"She had the biggest crush on you" she said softly, with a watery smile.

"Maybe she did" Spike smirked, knowing the Slayer's sister had cared about him in some way and being proud to know she counted him as a friend. She was a brave and remarkable girl, who he was sure would have been a hell of a woman one day, like her sister already was.

"She saw you differently" Buffy continued, gaze never wavering from Spike's own as her hand moved up to his face and her fingers brushed against his cheek, "She saw things I couldn't..."

"Slayer" Spike interrupted, but her fingers moved over his lips and silenced him.

"She saw the real you, that I couldn't see" she explained, "I wouldn't let myself, but now... now, it's different" she whispered, a second before she moved in closer and kissed the startled vampire on the lips.


Willow couldn't sleep. It didn't matter how many times Tara told her she shouldn't worry or how many times she told herself the same thing, she just could not stop thinking about Buffy and feeling uneasy about what was going on with her friend. She was different since the whole Glory thing, and whilst it made sense that such a close call with death could've changed her outlook, there had been more than one occasion when the Slayer's own mortality had become so obvious. She'd been different after the Master had killed her and she'd come back thanks to Xander and CPR, but that hadn't lasted so long, besides it seemed all she'd needed was closure to get over that event, and Glory was most definitely dead and buried. There was no unfinished business that Willow could think of, no more danger of the hell-god type at the present time, and they'd all come through the battle relatively unscathed. Something just didn't make sense.

Slipping out of her girlfriends embrace, Willow quietly got out of bed and crept along the landing. She peered around Buffy's door and was not really surprised to find her friends bed was still empty despite the fact it was past two in the morning. She'd lay awake listening for her to return home for the past few hours, and it was highly unlikely she'd missed the event had it happened.

Padding down the stairs to the kitchen, Willow stopped short of the door as she thought she heard movements within. Aware that as easily as it could be Buffy it might also be something much more dangerous, the young witch did a silent spell that brought a dagger from the weapons chest to her hand.

With cautious movement she leant in towards the door and pushed it open, almost jumping out of her skin as a figure spun around and sent a glass of water smashing to the floor. The person yelped like a girl as Willow flipped on the light and looked at him with surprise.

"Xander?" she frowned, "What are you doing here at two in the morning?" she checked, looking concerned.

"I was, er, in the neighbourhood?" he said with a nervous smile, an expression that did not come naturally tonight, or this morning as was more accurate.

The look on his friends face told him she wanted a better explanation and he sighed, moving to step forward when she yelled at him.

"No! There's glass, don't move" she said, hurrying back to the hall closet and fetching a brush to sweep up the shards.

When she was done, Xander was permitted to move and the pair sat down at the kitchen counter, he in considerably more clothing than her as she pulled her robe tighter around her, overly aware of the fact she wore only flimsy nightwear underneath and it was doing little to keep out the chill of the early hours.

"I guess this is the part where I explain why I was creeping around in your kitchen in the middle of the night, huh?" Xander said, staring down at the counter top.

"Might be helpful" Willow pointed out, "I mean, shouldn't you be all snuggled up with Anya doing... whatever you do, right now" she said awkwardly, wishing she'd never begun that sentence as her brain recalled all manner of explicit things Anya had told her against her will about bedroom activities she'd partaken of with Xander.

"See, me and Anya, that's kinda the problem" the brunette sighed, still studying the counter and not looking at his friend at all.

"What did she do?" Willow asked worriedly and Xander was quick to defend his woman.

"She didn't do anything" he said with a shake of his head, "I mean, she loves me, that's what she does, and I love her but..."

"There's a but?" Willow checked, not loving the sound if this.

Though she was far from Anya's biggest fan she knew the ex-demon and her own best friend were so happy together, she worried what would happen if things went wrong between them. Buffy was distracted and upset enough already, Willow didn't think she could deal with Xander retreating into himself too should his relationship with Anya be over.

"Will, I asked her to marry me" he admitted, finally meeting her eyes and the red-head's mouth dropped open of it's own accord. It really was the last thing she'd expected him to say.

"You asked... and she said no?" she guessed, after all why else would her friend be wandering in the night, looking lost and a little upset.

"No, she said yes" Xander corrected her, "It was way back before the fight against Glory, when death seemed kinda definite. I asked her, she said yes, if we won she would marry me"

"But you never told us" Willow frowned, "You always... You used to tell me everything" she reminded him sadly, knowing even as she said it how ridiculous it really was.

When they were kids they shared all their secrets and knew each other inside out, there was a time in their teenage years when they'd even fancied themselves to be in love with each other, but they were grown-ups now, they'd both moved on with their lives, and he didn't have to tell her anything if he didn't want to.

"I still tell you a lot of stuff, Will" Xander assured her, "I wanted to tell you this but... I guess I was kind scared that if I told anybody, it'd be real"

"You don't want it to be real?" Willow realised, "Xander, did you change your mind?" she wondered aloud and he looked away again.

"I don't know" he sighed, "Sometimes I do. Sometimes I look at Ahn and she looks at me and I just know we're forever, it's as perfect as it can get and we're gonna get that happy ever after ending that you hear about in the movies" he smiled, before shaking his head, "But other times, she'll say something, or I will, and it reminds me of my parents and..."

"Sweetie" Willow interrupted, putting her hand over his on the counter top, "You're nothing like your father, and Anya's not like your Mom either" she promised him, "If you two were to get married, if that's what you want to do, you can't worry about turning out like them, because you won't. You're so different" she told him, squeezing his hand and smiling when he turned his over and squeezed back.

"I know" he agreed, "Least I think I do. I guess I worry too much, but, Will, this is the biggest, most grow-up thing I ever did. I never felt like this about anyone before. Anya means so much to me, and... and I'm so scared of hurting her"

"You could never hurt anyone, Xander" Willow assured him, knowing it was true, "You're one of the good guys" she smiled, feeling ridiculously teary as they shared a sweet moment of friendship.

"Hey, you're not so bad yourself" he smiled back, moving to hug her tight, "And hey, just really occurred to me how inappropriate this is" he said, pulling away again when he noticed that Willow's robe had fallen open and her barely half covered chest was pressed against his body.

"Oh Goddess" she gasped, pulling it back around her, blushing slightly.

"Am I supposed to be jealous?" Tara said from the doorway, the smile on her face proving she was only teasing her girlfriend and Xander.

"That's ancient history, Tara, I promise" the brunette grinned, "Will was just helping me out, stopping me from being an idiot"

"It's a full time job" Willow joked, scuttling away when Xander pretended to strike at her playfully.

"I guess since we're all up we may as well eat" Tara suggested as she came further into the room.

She'd got herself dressed in her sweats and tied her hair up in a ponytail before coming downstairs, and now moved towards the sink to wash her hands and get out the breakfast things.

"I should probably head home, make things right with Ahn" Xander sighed, "I can't believe the stuff we fight over sometimes, I mean, how do you get from 'Which movie do you wanna see?' to 'I wish I had my vengeancey powers back so I could liquefy your entrails'?" he asked the Wiccan pair who both made a face and shook their heads, saying they had no idea.

"Relationships are tricky" Willow shrugged before saying she should go get dressed and disappearing from the room.

"Yeah, they're tricky alright" Xander sighed, "And nobody knows that better than me"

"Lots of people have difficulties in their love life, Xander" Tara reminded him, "It hasn't been easy for any of us; me, Will, Buffy..."

"Speaking of, where is the Buffster?" he asked, "Still sleeping off patrol?"


"Spike, I need you" Buffy gasped, kissing the vampire beside her with a passion, "I want you" she told him, pushing her body up close to his and wishing he would just take her already. He seemed reluctant to respond which both surprised and infuriated her, especially in her drunken, moody-swingy state.

"Slayer, please" Spike said weakly, pushing her away as best he could, "You don't know what you're saying" he said, both loving and hating this situation as she insisted she did know what she was saying, she needed and wanted him so badly and it seemed she was quite determined in her endeavour as she pushed herself up close to him again and tried to kiss him.

"Luv, if I thought it was true..." Spike couldn't even get out the sentence with her writhing next to him like this and fought to get himself up off the bed and away from her.

God, what was she trying to do to him?! Of course he wanted her, he loved her, all he'd wanted for months was to be close to her like this but in her drunken state it was no good. In the morning she'd hate herself for coming on to him, and him even more so for having taken advantage of her. As much as he'd love to make this night perfect, he couldn't bear the aftermath, couldn't stand to think she'd look upon him with the disgust she had a year ago - they'd come too far to throw it all away on one drunken night, however blissful it might be at the time.

"You're supposed to love me" Buffy said tearfully, still lying on the bed unmoving as Spike backed away and out of her sight for fear she'd come at him again. If she'd carried on kissing him like she had been, he was sure his resolve would have crumbled in minutes and all decent rational arguments would have fled his mind as he made love to the women he adored. He couldn't let it happen, not with her in this state. For once in his existence he had to think with the brain north of his belt.

"I do love you, you silly bint" he sighed, "If I didn't I wouldn't be doing this" he told her, though of course it made little or no sense in her alcohol fogged mind.

Though she shed her tears in silence now he could smell the salt from across the room and hated himself terribly for causing her more pain.

"Buffy, pet, please don't cry" he begged of her, daring to approach her once again.

"I'm not" she lied, sounding so much like a child as she turned over on the bed, her back to him as she cried silently into his own pillows, "Leave me alone" she said, face buried in the bedclothes so he barely heard her. Clearly she felt she'd made a fool of herself and was now both embarrassed at her own behaviour and saddened by his rejection of her advances.

With a sigh, Spike reached a hand out to her hair, fingers stopping just short of touching her. It was probably best he didn't initiate further contact and set her off again, there was only so much a man could take before he snapped.

"You get some rest, Slayer, sleep it off" he said softly, backing away towards the ladder that led up to the ground level, "I'll be right up here when you wake up" he promised as he climbed the ladder and emerged in the upper chamber of the crypt.

He closed his eyes and tried to be calm, though after having Buffy be all over him like that it wasn't easy. He could still feel her warm body against his own, feel her lips on his, making him feel so alive, ironic for a man who'd been dead for over a century, but nevertheless true.

Spike rifled through his pockets for the half empty packet of fags he knew he had somewhere, and located his lighter too as he headed for the door. He needed a smoke and a decent spot of violence truth be told, though he knew he wasn't going to go far, just in case some nasty caught the scent of the Slayer and attacked when she was in no fit state to defend herself.

Leaning on the outside wall of his crypt, Spike found himself chain smoking all the cigarettes he'd had left as he thought over the past few hours. Unlife certainly wasn't dull with the Slayer around. He knew he shouldn't he let himself believe that she must feel something for him now. Okay so she had to be drunk to voluntarily kiss him but surely that attraction had to be there in the first place. Alcohol made a person lose their inhibitions, but it couldn't conjure up love and wanting that were not there to begin with in some shape or form.

Finding his packet of fags empty, Spike threw it to the floor and stamped the remainder of the last one into the ground with his boot. Just a couple more hours to sunrise, he realised, sensing the approach of the day as vampires could. He turned to go back inside when something made him stop, a feeling, like a shiver running up his spine, a familiar scent on the breeze.

"Drusilla?" he said too softly for any human ear to have heard. He listened, concentrated hard as he glanced around the darkness of the graveyard, head tilting to one side as he tried to hone his senses. After a moment he shook his head a pained laugh escaping his lips.

"Goin' soddin' mad tonight" he told himself, as he opened the crypt door and went inside, careful not to let it bang too loudly behind him, for fear of waking his Sleeping Beauty in the chamber below.

Outside in the darkness a figure laughed silently, stepping out of the shadows, the moonlight enhancing the paleness of her snow white skin.

"Silly, silly William" Drusilla giggled, "Think it's all a game, with fairies in your head, and a princess in your bed" she sing songed, "You and I are destined, my love" she whispered, a smile on her face as one hand slid down her body, resting gently on her swollen stomach, "And baby makes three"

To Be Continued...