"Do you get lonely? I mean the holidays are hard when you're alone, right?"

Spike took a deep, unneeded breath. The slayer sounded like she might actually give a damn about his answer. He swallowed. What was going on in that head of hers?

"Haven't had a proper Christmas in quite a while, but we all get lonely, Slayer. Don't need a beating heart to feel alone."

She nodded and her heart began to race. He took another deep breath, trying to figure her out. He could smell her fear, a sharp sour scent, but there was another scent wafting from her. He took another long pull of the air around him, and nearly jerked the car into oncoming traffic.

He took a few seconds to straighten the vehicle, ignoring her sputtering overreaction. She was breathing rapidly, the warmth of her breath filling the cabin. It was wonderful. Her body was speaking even if she hadn't gotten to the point.

Those few hours being hers, he had learned her scents, learned her responses. He looked at her out of the side of his eyes. Her cheeks were tinged a becoming pink,and her eyes appeared darker in the glow of the instruments. She shifted and the heady aroma of desire surrounded him. The slayer wanted him.

"Are you okay to drive, Spike? I mean what the hell?"

"Bloody colonials, driving on the wrong side of the road." Spike snarled to cover his gaff. Buffy giggled.

"Yeah, Giles forgets sometimes, too." She put her booted feet up on dash and sighed. "It's no big."

He nodded. She would get around to talking to him. The girl couldn't resist silence. He tapped his fingers against the steering wheel. Miles of road passed. Spike sighed wondering if he could hold out longer than she could.

The sound of her heart and her breath filled his world. Each pulse of blood stretched to infinity. She had to talk soon. He wrapped his fingers around the wheel. Counting headlights wasn't helping.

He had to keep driving. Pulling over, burying his hands in her silken hair, and kissing her until she begged him for more was not an option. She had to talk soon.

"Look." She licked her lips. Her heart beat faster. "I know this is going to sound crazy, but here me out. Okay?"

He nodded, afraid to speak and interrupt her. The sudden weight in the air was familiar. He'd noted it before. His world was about to change as it had when he'd met Dru and the night he killed his first slayer. His body was strung tight. He rolled his shoulders, eager for the metamorphosis he knew was coming.

Her breaths shortened. The sharp scent of her fear surged. She knew this was heady stuff, just as he did, but she held the control. He was left waiting, equal parts anticipation and dread. He fought the urge to growl when her heart beat began racing.

"So, I tried to do the normal thing, and we both know I failed. I know there isn't a happy ending out there somewhere for me. I get it." She licked her lips. "When Willow did her spell, you and I, we talked about it, about the reality of my life. I mean around the obnoxious music selections and the pouting over exes."

She took several deep breaths and squirmed in her seat.

"You were getting to a point?" He took another deep breath and glanced at her. She was worrying her lower lip with her teeth. "Just say it, yeah?"

"I don't want to make this weird or anything, but could we try and see if maybe we could like each other? I know you love Drusilla. I can't replace her, but maybe we could just have each other for a while 'cause it sucks to be alone for the holidays." She took a deep breath.

"So, a fling while we're away from your precious little world?" He kept the anger from his tone. Did she honestly believe he was that desperate?

"No, I just figured it might be easier to see if there's anything there, anything worth our effort before we went to war with my friends over it. I miss you. I mean you annoy me, but I miss you, too."

He swallowed. Truth be told, it wasn't a bad plan. If they worked over the next few days, it would be worth facing her watcher's wrath and the whelp's complaints. If it didn't, they could return with none the wiser.

"I'm not a toy. Won't be that again. If we do this, you have to be all in." Spike watched from the side of his eyes as she turned toward him.

"What does all in mean?"

"It means we talk, we do things together, and we don't run for the hills when it gets tough. We're enemies, slayer and vampire. That's gonna be hard to overcome. I want to know who you are when you're at home. I want you to know me that well, too. I want to be Spike and Buffy, man and woman." He took a deep breath. "Just to make one thing clear. Don't love Dru like that anymore. She made her choice. I'm only interested in one lady now."

"Okay." She sighed, and, suddenly, her hot, little hand was resting on his thigh. "I'm scared to disappoint you, ya know?"

"Is this more of that blather about you being no good in the sack?" He rolled his eyes. "I bloody told you with me it will all be different. It's true spell or no spell. 'Sides how bad could it have been, if the poof got all blissed out."

"It's not just that. I'm probably crazy, but I really want this to work." She stroked her hand down toward his knee. "Willow's spell made me think, ya know?"

"Made the scales fall from my eyes as well. This isn't going to be easy, but the great things never are."

"Great things?" Buffy's hand slid back up his thigh.

"No point trying if you expect to fail." He dropped his hand own on hers and laced his fingers through hers.

"How much longer is this drive going to take?"

"We've got hours to go, Pet." He smiled at her heavy sigh. "Why don't you tell me about your modern Christmas traditions?"

"Didn't you ever celebrate with Dru?"

"No, she was happy enough to drain the occasional bell ringing Santa, but Christmas made her cranky. Too much good will."

"That's the stuff that's gonna take some time." She sighed. "You don't mind that you ate people?"

"I am a vampire." He looked over at her, wondering if this thing was ending before it had gone anywhere. She swallowed and nodded. "Baggin' it now."

"We used to ice skate as a family. Mom and Dad aren't from California, so they wanted me to learn. I just wanted to skate. I loved it." She smiled. "We would go to the rink and play around to the Christmas music. Dad made time for it. He never checked his watch. It was the best."

He relaxed as she continued her stories. She was all in. He smiled, thinking of the stockings and the one gift he had hidden in his duffle. It might be a merry Christmas after all.