Hi everyone, thanks to all of you who have reviewed and given me feedback. You're comments are great!

If anyone is going to Phoenix Comic-con let me know and maybe we can meet. Eliza Dushku, Amber Bensen and Charlaine Harris will be there, I'm so excited!

Again, everything is property of Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.

Chapter16 Facing the Day

She fought back tears as she watched him leave. She knew it was silly, they would see each other again, and soon. But they had had a day and two nights to themselves with only Willow's brief intrusion and now they had to face the world again. And if Willow's reaction was any indication, it was not a world that would be happy with her choices.

Not that she really had any control over how she felt. Sure, when Spike called her because of the appointment she put on his phone she could have said, 'Sorry Spike, I just wanted to say thanks.' But even by that point she had been obsessed with thoughts of him.

And if it was just the sex she might be able to end it now, by mail, so she didn't have to see him or hear him, she thought with a smile. Because all he had to do is look at her just the right way, or say something in that husky, sexy tone and she'd be all over him.

But it was more than that and apparently the feelings were mutual. She thought about what Willow had said and what she had seen in his eyes. Did Spike love her? He hadn't said it to her, but then she had plainly said she didn't know if she was or could be. How do you know if you're in love? Obviously she cared about him. She wanted him. But was there more to it?

She had been so sure she was in love with Angel, but why? Thinking about him now, she could remember how she felt, but it was through a cloud of sadness and pain. It seemed so strong before, but different. She now realized how naive she was then and wondered if it had been an infatuation, a crush. Maybe all first loves were, all wide-eyed, not looking at the consequences, only living in the now where another person can be the most important thing in the world and all other concerns melt away. Once that first love falls apart can you ever go back to that same carefree place? And in the history of relationships falling apart, their break-up was literally apocalyptic, or would have been if she hadn't killed him.

Realizing she was depressing herself, she shook her head and forced herself to change her train of thought. Whatever the extent of her feelings, she had them and she was going to have to tell people about the relationship. She decided to tell Giles first. She was fairly certain that he wouldn't tell her mom. She wasn't sure the reverse was true. Her mom was still getting used to the idea of vampires being real and had found out about Angel, both the extent of their relationship and his true nature, under less than ideal circumstances. She didn't want that to happen again with Spike. Although she already knows he's a vampire. How do you tell your mom you're dating a vampire? She would let her draw her own conclusions as to how far they've gone. There was no way she was even going to hint at what she and Spike had done, here in her room, the kitchen, the dining room...

"Oh my god the table." she bolted upright in bed. She still hadn't figured out how to explain that. She swung her legs out of bed. No way she was going to go back to sleep now. Stretching she realized she was still a little sore in a few places. Spike was right, she'd been using muscles in ways they weren't used to yet. She smiled thinking how enjoyable "training" was going to be. She grabbed her robe and headed into the bathroom.

Despite the shower last night she decided she needed another. As she stepped under the water she couldn't help but remember it in vivid detail. Her body felt so alive, each nerve responding to the spray and her soapy hands gliding over her skin. She wondered if she'd ever be able to shower again without thinking of him and wishing he were there.

Reminding herself she had to face the world, she fought back thoughts of Spike and tried to plan her day. Giles was expecting her for training and she had told Faith to meet them, although she couldn't remember if they had set a time. Faith didn't seem like an early riser, although she knew Giles was. Probably if she got to the school around nine or nine-thirty he would be there and they could get her training out of the way before they play "meet the slayer".

She turned off the shower and started to dry off. She had other business with Giles as well, telling him about her and Spike. Now that Willow knew she would have to tell him sooner rather than later, but she wasn't ready to tell him just yet.

Before that she had to see to the house. Even though she had tidied up a few days ago, with Spike meeting his every room goal she wanted to make sure there were no traces left behind. She dressed quickly in her favorite training clothes, tied her hair in a high pony tail and applied minimal make-up.

The first thing she did was strip her bed and toss the sheets into the washing machine since they could be running while she saw to the rest of the house. Cleaning the house took longer than it probably needed to, but she was meticulous to the point of paranoia. She scrubbed down the counter in the kitchen and polished what was left of the dining room table. Staring at the broken section she tried to think of a reasonable lie to explain what happened, but her mind kept going back to what really happened, in great detail. Rousing herself out of the daydream she went back to the kitchen and washed the wineglasses, which also took longer than it should as she relived their exercise in concentration.

She took the company plates down to the basement and moved her sheets to the dryer. Even with the distractions she was able to get the house in order and have breakfast in time to get to the school by nine.

As expected Giles was already there. The tables were pushed back, leaving a large empty area. "Morning Giles." she said brightly as she entered.

"Hello Buffy, I didn't expect you so early."

"Just part of my new nose-to-the-grindstone routine. Plus I wanted to get some training in before the new girl gets here." She set down her bag and began wrapping her hands.

"New girl?" Giles asked.

"Yeah, a new slayer is in town. We ran into her Friday at the Bronze. Her name is Faith. I told her to meet us here this morning, but she seems like a night owl."

"A new slayer?" he took off his glasses and started rubbing them with his handkerchief. "I do wish the Council would keep me apprised about these things. Did she say why she was in town?"

Buffy shrugged and did some stretches. "Just that her watcher was on some retreat in England so she came here to meet me. I think it's just 'when the cat's away' type of thing." She paused in her stretching. "How come you aren't at the retreat?"

"I'm sure the Council felt with a Hellmouth here it would be best if I did not leave for an extended period." he said stiffly and Buffy could tell it was a sore point. For whatever reason, he wasn't invited and he took it as a slight.

"The Hellmouth does seem to be a prime venue for all the big names: the Master, the Judge, Acathla. And yet the Smashing Pumpkins skipped right over us."

"Yes, well thank god for small favors." he replied sarcastically. He picked up some target gloves and put them on. "You seem in good spirits."

"Yeah, I am. So what's on the schedule today?" She assisted him with the second glove.

"I thought we would work on your reflexes, hitting moving targets." he held up a gloved hand.

"Okay, ready when you are." She raised her fists defensively and began to bounce on the balls of her feet.

"All right, now don't wait for my hands to stop. Just hit them as often as you can, as hard as you can." he waited for her to nod. "Begin."

It was a good workout. Giles kept his arms moving and tried not to fall into any patterns and Buffy kept up. Although she could tell from his grunts and pained expression that he was regretting telling her not to pull her punches. "Should I ease up?" she asked after a particularly solid hit that caused him to stumble back a few steps.

"Just a tad, but only if you're getting tired."

Suppressing a smile she reduced the force of her blows. She didn't miss with a single punch. She was enjoying this. It was much more realistic than hitting the stationary target stand and it left Giles out of breath so he wasn't constantly talking, breaking her concentration. So when he said "Willow." with relief it took her a second to register. She turned to her friend walking toward them, a box of donuts in hand.

"I thought you might have worked up an appetite." She said to Buffy, then looked panicked and added. "With the training, I mean. How else would you have worked up an appetite?" she chuckled weakly.

Buffy's eyes widened and she turned so her back was to Giles, trying to shush Willow. But the redhead wasn't looking at her. She seemed unable to make eye contact. She kept babbling on. "So any new big news?" she asked brightly, her voice overly high. "Not that there should be any big news. Not that I know any news. Because where would I get any news? Maybe there isn't any news and that's fine, in fact, you know what they say, no news is good news." she ended with a nervous giggle.

Buffy looked at Giles, thankfully he seemed to be concentrating on trying to get the target gloves off.

"Here let me help you with those." Buffy offered. She gently pulled the gloves from his hands and he flexed his fingers gingerly.

"Are you okay Giles?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

"Fine, fine." he looked embarrassed at his pain. "If you'll pardon me a moment." He headed to his office.

Buffy watched to make sure he was out of earshot before moving in front of Willow. "Breathe Will." she whispered. The girl took several quick, shallow breaths. "Slow and deep." Buffy added. As she seemed to calm a little Buffy said. "Please Will, you have to keep it together. You didn't need to come today."

"I wanted to make sure you were okay." she looked sorry that she came.

"I'm fine, you don't have to worry.:

"I can't help it. I know what he said and all, but it's Spi..." Buffy grabbed her hand to silence her. "I'm just not sure you can trust him."

Buffy disagreed but didn't say so. "I'll be careful." she said dutifully.

"Is he still at your house?"

No, he left this morning, Mom'll be home this afternoon."

"Does she know?"

"Not yet."

"Have you told Giles?"

"Told me what?" The girls jumped at his voice since neither had heard him come back. He was still several feet away and Buffy hoped he hadn't been there long.

Willow started stammering and Buffy cut her off speaking over her. "Told you about ...Faith, the new Slayer." She supplied with exaggerated arm motions, she clamped her hands together to stop. "Which I have, so you are all caught up on what you need to be caught up on." She smiled brightly, too brightly she knew but she couldn't stop herself. Apparently Willow's anxiety was contagious.

"Th...that's right, Faith. I was just asking Buffy about that." Willow added looking panicked.

"Here Giles, have a jelly donut." Buffy held the pastry up in front of his face to distract him from Willow.

"Yes, well thank you." he said in surprise as he reached up for the donut, he winced and his other hand went to his shoulder.

"You're not all right." Buffy said with concern. "You should put some ice on that."

"I don't think that's really necess..."

"Nonsense, you stay here Willow and I will run down to the cafeteria and get you some ice." She gestured to Willow and headed to the door.

"Yeah, we'll be right back." Willow said as she followed Buffy.

Once they were several yards from the door, but where Buffy could still see it she turned to Willow. "I know this is hard on you Will and I'm sorry. I really am going to tell Giles, but with Faith coming here I just figured that was enough for one day. Let's get that all sorted out and then I'll tell him."

"It will be this week for sure, right? Because Buffy, I don't know if I can take this."

Buffy sighed, she had known, deep down, that it would have to be soon, she had just hoped it wouldn't be that soon. But looking at Willow she knew if she put it off too long Willow would let something slip or would make herself sick with stress. "It will be this week." she hugged her friend. "And I really do appreciate this, I owe you."

Willow laughed and pulled back. "I think with all the times you saved my life, you're still in the owed column."

"How's about we don't keep track?" Buffy suggested as they resumed walking to the cafeteria.

"Deal." Willow agreed.

Buffy glanced at her, she still had dark circles under her eyes. "You look tired. Did you sleep at all last night?"

"A little, not real well." she said with a shrug. "You?" she asked automatically, then blushed and stammered. "Not that it's any of my business if you were sleeping or not sleeping. What I mean is..."

"I slept fine." just not enough she added silently. "And you don't have to be embarrassed for me. While I'm not about to go blabbing about my love life to everyone, people are eventually going to find out. But I'm happy and Spike a part of that."

"But won't people know that you've..."

"Oh please, doesn't everyone already know that I had sex with Angel?" She looked glum. "Heck, I bet there's a whole file on it at Watchers' Headquarters."

"Buffy, I'm sure Giles wouldn't have told them." Willow was obviously appalled at the thought.

"Are you? 'Cause I'm not." She shook her head. "It's his job, to watch and keep a diary of everything I do. So future Slayers can read it and know 'Hey if you come across a brooding re-ensouled vampire, don't get all smoochy with him, see what happened when Buffy did?'"

"Well maybe he just put it in the diary so no one will know until..." she trailed off.

"I'm dead?" Buffy offered as she opened the cafeteria door. "It's okay Will. I know that I have a short life expectancy. Maybe that's part of the reason I'm seeing Spike. He knows, I don't have to worry about what a shock it will be to him when I die, unlike if I were dating someone like Scott. And I don't have to hide who I am or worry about him getting hurt because Spike can so take care of himself."

"I guess that makes sense." she conceded. "But I still worry that it's dangerous. He's still a vampire."

"Says she who is dating a werewolf."

"But Oz is only dangerous a couple of days a month.

"Didn't his nephew bite him when he wasn't wolfie? What if Oz bites you and you become a werewolf too? But you trust that he won't. I trust Spike that he'll live up to his word."

Either that was a good argument or Willow had decided not to press the issue because she remained silent as they filled a couple of cups with ice.

To break the silence Buffy asked. "Faith say what time she'd come today?"

Willow shook her head. "No, I told her how to get here and how to get in. Although I wouldn't be surprised if Xander's outside waiting for her."

"He did seem really into her." Buffy observed.

"Yeah, he seems to have a thing for Slayers."

"I bet Cordelia loved that."

"She was pretty much fuming by the end of the night." Willow smiled. "Definitely a night of no smoochies for Xander."

"How about you and Oz? How's that going on the smoochie front?" she asked with a sly grin.

Willow blushed, "Th...there's smoochies."

"And..." Buffy pressed.

"No 'and' just smoochies." Willow said with a sigh. "We're kinda stuck at smoochies."

"Have you said anything about wanting to go past smoochies?"

Willow paled, her eyes widening. "No! I...couldn't. I wouldn't know what to say...How?"

"Try touching him where you want him to touch you. He'll probably take the hint. He might just be waiting on a cue from you."

"I...I don't know." she blushed. "Won't he think I'm easy?"

"I think six months of only kissing will keep your reputation safe." She thought about what Spike had said to her. "Has Oz gone beyond smoochies with someone before?"

"Well yeah, I think so. He was a senior last year, so probably."

"Do you think he's easy?"

"No, but it's different. He's, well he's a...a..." she stammered.

"A guy?" Buffy supplied. "It's silly that guys get to act on their urges without being labeled and girls don't. It's almost the year 2000."

"But." Willow began but didn't finish.

"No buts." Buffy said firmly. "I'm not saying go all the way. Just let your hands drift down to his chest. You both will probably like it."

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed scandalized. Buffy just smiled and winked, then both girls started to giggle.

They were still giggling when they entered the library.

"What are you two on about?" Giles asked taking the cups of ice despite his earlier insistence he didn't need it.

Immediately Willow went back into panic mode. "Nothing. We...we're not..."

"We were just talking about Willow and Oz. Sitting in a tree..." Buffy sang with a smile.

"Buffy!" Willow blushed.

"Yes, well, excuse me a moment." Giles headed back to his office with the ice, obviously not interested in participating in that conversation.

"Why'd you say that?" Willow whispered.

"Cause it's the truth and it helps explain why you're so jumpy." Buffy said with exasperation. She had hoped that once she had gotten Willow to calm down she'd stay that way, but obviously that wouldn't be the case. "Can you keep it together?"

"I...I think so." She gave a slight jerk of her head to signal to Buffy that Giles was coming back.

Buffy calmly turned and picked out a donut, gesturing for Willow to do the same. She then sat on the edge of one of the tables. She looked at Giles who was holding an ice pack to his shoulder.

"Sorry Giles, I should have pulled my punches."

"No, no, I'm fine. I wanted you to concentrate on hitting your target and that would have been a distraction." He adjusted the ice pack. "Now, this new slayer, Faith wasn't it?" he paused and Buffy nodded, her mouth full of donut. "Did you get a chance to see her fight?"

Buffy put a hand in front of her mouth to speak around the donut. "Yeah, she dusted a vamp outside the Bronze."

"How did she do?"

"All right. She had him on the ropes pretty quick, borrowed my stake and took him out, no muss no fuss." She popped the last bit of donut into her mouth.

"Anything else you can tell me?" He turned and started moving some papers on the table. "Do you think she would be able to hold her own against a formidable opponent like the Master or Spike?"

Buffy was thankful that he wasn't looking in her direction, because she felt a slight smile tug at the corners of her mouth. She quickly willed it away.

Unfortunately, Willow didn't have as much control. She immediately went into panic mode. "Spike? Who said anything about Spike?"

Giles studied her which made Willow shift from foot to foot. Buffy was afraid her friend was going to hyperventilate.

"Giles and I were talking about Spike during training on Friday. I had just said he was tough since I'd never been able to beat him is all."

"You seem awfully high-strung Willow, is everything all right?" Giles asked.

"Me? No, I'm fine." Willow tried to lie and failed miserably.

"I told you you should avoid those sugary coffee drinks at the donut shop." Buffy supplied, hoping Willow would latch onto the excuse.

She laughed nervously. "Yeah coffee, always makes me jumpy."

"Maybe you should go and try to walk it off." Buffy suggested.

"I...I think I will." Willow grabbed her purse. "Bye guys. Enjoy the donuts." She hurried out the door.

"Do you think she'll be all right? She seemed terribly anxious. You don't suppose anything is preying on her mind?" he asked.

Yes, my secret relationship is eating her alive. Buffy thought guiltily but aloud said. "I think she's just hyper about senior year."

"Possibly." He said with a glance at the door. He shook his head to redirect his thoughts. They talked a little more on what Buffy had observed about Faith's fighting ability. But then the new Slayer arrived, with Xander, who had indeed been waiting for her.

The rest of the morning passed quickly with plans to incorporate Faith into training and patrols while she was in town. Buffy suggested they patrol the waterfront tonight and invited Faith over for dinner to which she readily agreed.

Excusing herself so she could be home in time to greet her mom, Buffy left the library near noon, leaving the others to carry on.

When she got home she made herself a light lunch out of the last of the fruit and cheese. She caught herself staring at the counter where Spike had lifted her after she had finished dishes. The memory relighting the fire in her. Aggravated with herself, she pushed the memory away and headed into the basement for her sheets. She laughed when she realized that the basement missed out on Spike's checklist. "I might just have to spend all of my time down here." she grumbled to herself. Her sheets in a basket, she ran up the stairs to her room. She made the bed and arranged her stuffed menagerie in front of her pillows, giving Mr. Gordo a kiss for his ordeal.

Rummaging through her book bag, she pulled out her science book and headed downstairs. She started to sit on the couch and got weirded out and chose the chair instead. She opened the text and started to read, but she kept catching herself staring at the couch her mind replaying every moment they spent there. Almost an hour had passed when she heard the SUV turn up the drive way and she had read less than two pages and couldn't even say what they were about.

Putting the book on the coffee table she went out and met her mom as she got out of the car, greeting her with a hug.

"I'm glad you're back." Buffy said, and while it was almost completely true she felt guilty for the smidgeon of a lie.

"So am I. I'm exhausted." Joyce replied. "How's everything?"

"Great. I was just doing some homework." Joyce opened the rear doors, but Buffy shooed her away. "I'll get these." she indicated the suitcases. "What's the point of having a daughter with super strength if you don't use her like a pack mule?" she asked cheerfully.

"Thanks honey." her mom closed the back of the jeep. "I just want to sit down and relax."

"I'll put the kettle on and get you some tea. Let me take these upstairs first."

"You're being awfully nice. Either you really missed me or there's something you're not telling me." She said as she held the door for Buffy.

Buffy's mouth dropped open, but she thought of a good excuse. "I kinda invited someone over for dinner." she said with an apologetic smile.

Joyce sighed, "Anyone I know?"

"No, her name is Faith, she's a Slayer like me." Buffy had one foot on the bottom stair.

Her mom showed immediate interest. "I'd love to meet another Slayer. Let me relax for a little and then I'll throw something together."

"Thanks Mom, you're the best. I'll take these up to your room." she ran up the stairs the extra weight not slowing her down at all.

She had just set the suitcases down when her mom called.

Skipping down the stairs Buffy asked, "What is it, Mom?"

"What happened here?" her voice came from the dining room and Buffy paled, she had never come up with an alternate story. Taking a deep breath she rounded the corner to see her mom holding the broken piece. "Please tell me you just weren't out of stakes."

"No, the dining table would definitely be last resort. Chair legs work much better." she joked half-heartedly.

"So what did happen?" She wasn't distracted by the poor attempt at humor.

"There was a...spider." she said emphatically.

"A spider?"

"A huge spider, maybe even a tarantula, big and hairy." she shuddered.

"And this spider broke the table?" Joyce asked skeptically.

"No, when I saw it I freaked and slammed my French book down on it. But I guess my Slayer strength was a bit too much for the table." she looked at the piece of wood in her mom's hand. "Do you think we can glue it back on?" she asked hopefully.

Joyce sighed, "I guess we can try. It will probably be visible, but we can just throw a table cloth over it."

"I'm really sorry."

"It's okay, it was an accident. But I would have thought that anyone who faces down vampires and zombies could keep a level head when it comes to spiders."

Buffy shook her head and shivered. "Yech, eight creepy legs, little beady eyes, I'd rather face a vampire any day."

"If you say so." Joyce said shaking her head as she set down the piece.

"Sit down and relax. I'll bring your tea in when it's ready and you can tell me about your trip." Buffy urged.

"Thanks honey." her mom said with a slight smile and headed into the living room.

When Buffy came in her mom was sitting in the chair. Buffy handed her her tea and awkwardly sat on the couch. Joyce didn't seem to notice her discomfort.

"So did you have a good time?"

"I did." she said definitively. "I met up with Margie, you remember her right? She and Rick would come for dinner sometimes in LA." Buffy nodded and her mom went on to talk about people in L.A. and then moved on to the show itself. Try as she might, Buffy only half-listened, losing interest as her mom talked at length about antiquities and artifacts. Unfortunately that gave her mind the freedom to wander back to the first night Spike visited. As her body responded to the memory she shifted in her seat, trying to drive away her physical arousal.

"I'm boring you aren't I?" Joyce asked, making Buffy feel guilty.

"No." Buffy lied. "I was training earlier and I'm still a little pumped. If you want, I can jog to the store and pick up anything we need for dinner."

"Really honey? That would be great. I wasn't looking forward to getting back in the car." Joyce sighed with relief. "You're sure it's not too far?"

"Nah, I've chased vamps farther than that. Just give me a list. I'll go put my shoes on." She jumped up and ran up the stairs. Weirded out by being turned on with her mom around she was relieved to be able to leave the room.

It hasn't even been twelve hours since Spike left and I'm going out of my mind. She chastised herself. All right, head in the game that is my life. If I can't keep a coherent train of thought, not only will I fail all my classes and someone will figure it out but it could get me killed. Pointedly not looking at her bed she sat at the vanity and put her shoes on and managed to concentrate on that small task. She did hesitate as she went to pick up the hairbrush she had used as a stake stand-in last night. Steeling herself she picked up the brush and scolded her reflection as she smoothed her hair. "Keep it together. You have to live in this house and act like nothing happened. Yes, every room has memories, but since you can't burn the house down you just have to figure out how to cope."

She heard her mom on the stairs and put down the brush, sticking her tongue out at it. She met her mom in the hall. "You didn't have to come up Mom." she said as she reached for the list.

"I just wanted to check how much shampoo I have left." she went into her room.

"Okay." Buffy stood at the doorway to the room, trying to stop herself from staring at the floor where the sparring match had ended. But her eyes kept drifting there. She jumped when her mom came out of her bathroom.

"You're jumpy, is something wrong?" Joyce asked with concern.

"Wrong? No, nothing's wrong." Buffy quickly denied, but added silently: except your daughter is a sex addict. "Like I said, I just have some energy left from training."

"If you're sure." Joyce said skeptically, but set the list on her dresser so she could write on it. "I think this should be everything. Pot roast sound good to you?" She looked up when Buffy didn't answer. "Buffy?"

Buffy looked up, she had been staring at the floor. "What? Yeah pot roast sounds great."

Joyce glanced at the floor where Buffy had been staring. "Is something there?"

"No. It's just..." her mind cast about for an excuse. "the spider. Since I killed it I keep thinking I see more out of the corner of my eye. Just a bad case of the heebie-jeebies I guess."

"Would you feel better if I called an exterminator?"

"No, I'll get over it. I would hate for you to spend the money." She took the list her mom held out. "Speaking of money."

"I left some by the door." Joyce said as she removed an earring. "I'll change and start dinner."

"Okay. I'll be right back." Buffy folded the list and shoved it in her back pocket. Jogging down the stairs, she grabbed the money without stopping and hurried out the door. She took a second to shove the money into her pocket, then set off at a full clip, hoping to run the sexual frustration away.

What actually took her mind off Spike was traffic. Chasing down vampires in the middle of the night it was not something she had to worry about. But even on a Sunday afternoon it was. After almost getting hit on the first street she crossed she paid more attention. She probably should have slowed down to a jog, but the all out run felt good and it stretched her sore muscles. She was a little disappointed and barely winded when she found herself at the grocery store.

The list her mom gave her was short, and on a whim she checked the small hardware section and found some wood glue. Hopefully that would work on the table. Thinking of that again brought Spike to the front of her mind. But now she was thinking about how to tell Giles and her mom. Not that telling her mom about Spike would have changed what she had told her about the table, but it would make some things easier, she hoped.

She knew Giles wouldn't approve, and would again be disappointed in her and that hurt. She felt she knew all the arguments he would make but they would all boil down to: Spike was evil. She chuckled, he almost wore it as a badge of honor. She might be putting her family and friends in danger again, but she didn't think so. As far as she could tell he hadn't lied to her, and he said he wouldn't go after them. Looking at the past romantic interests of her family and friends: mantis lady, Incan mummy girl, homicidal robot and demon on the internet; Spike seemed to fit right in. Maybe it was part of living on the Hellmouth.

Not that she was fooling herself, she knew once they weren't together anymore, Spike would leave the straight and narrow. Although most likely that would be the next Slayer's problem.

Her problem right now was how to tell Giles. On the walk home she ran through different scenarios in her head. She would want to be alone with him, although she wished it could be alone in a public place like a restaurant. That would keep him from yelling, but his disappointed look would be worse than any yelling anyway. Since they never went out socially it would be odd to suggest it. No, likely it would be in the library. How to broach the subject? She couldn't very well walk in and say 'Hey Giles, Spike and I are a couple now. Just thought you should know.' nor did she think starting with 'You know how you said it was unlikely that we would team up with Spike again and I said stranger things have happened on the Hellmouth? Well...'

What she was fooling herself about was that she could be flip about this. She knew talking to Giles she would hem and haw like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar by their father which is really what Giles was to her. But like the child, she felt the cookie was worth it and a scolding wouldn't change that or keep her from going back for more.

That realization, that no matter what Giles or her mom had to say they weren't going to dissuade her from this relationship, suddenly took the fear of telling them away. Had she really been afraid that they would forbid it and she would have broken it off? She wasn't going to. They were the ones who were going to have to deal with it. She had sacrificed enough to be the Slayer, she wasn't going to sacrifice this too.

She walked up the steps to her door with a new spring in her step. The next couple of days weren't going to be easy, but they weren't going to drive her and Spike apart.

To keep from plagiarizing the wonderful writing of the crew of the show, please insert the scenes from the episode "Faith, Hope and Trick" where Faith has dinner at the Summers' house and Buffy and Faith go on patrol together.