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Buffy stood at the front porch watching the group of Potentials that had accumulated over the course of the last two weeks. They were chatting, trying to sound excited about the vision quest that they were going to go through once they reached the desert, but the truth was there was an air of uneasiness and sadness. Just days before, Molly and Annabelle were killed by Bringers and their spilled blood was used to bring forth a Turok-Han, an unusually strong vampire. Molly and Annabelle had just gone out for walk around the block in broad day light when they were ambushed by Bringers. Nobody at Revello Drive had even noticed that the two teens had been missing until it was too late.

Buffy had never thought that the Potentials would be in danger during the day; she was accustomed to danger coming out during the night. And that it was why she had made it clear that they could not venture into the streets during the night unless it was with someone from the Scooby Gang, preferably Giles, Spike, or her. Apparently, they had only taken part of her rule into account. They had not ventured out in the night as she had instructed but they had failed to take someone from the Scooby Gang with them. She hadn't made it clear that the part of the rule also affected day time outings; she had hoped they would have realized it on their own. She had been wrong.

She had felt sad and guilty when she first heard about the girls' death although she didn't have much time to contemplate it since the Turok-Han appeared the next day. Spike had tried to fight it but he failed to destroy it. He had managed to stake it but the Turok-Han didn't dust and he barely managed to escape it. The Turok-Han had proven to be a difficult adversary and with it brought much fear and a big research party. The other newly arrived Potentials' fear increased tenfold upon hearing the deaths of their sister Slayers-in-Training and the arrival of an ubervamp; as if they weren't scared enough as it was already with the Slayer being pregnant and not really much of a protector.

Buffy had hated the fact that the girls had died just around the corner from her house and also that she felt so useless, and that is why with Willow and Spike's help, a plan was devised so that she could avenge the death of the girls' and give the remaining girls hope. It was actually Dawn, who had suggested albeit jokingly that she should switch bodies with Spike so that she could have a crack at the ubervamp. And that it was what they did, although Xander, Giles, and Spike weren't very supportive at first. She was sure Spike could have taken care of the ubervamp by himself but she really wanted to take that vamp down herself. Even though, it hadn't been her body that she had used during the battle, she had fought with the intention of showing the Potentials what she was capable of and to show that the war against the First wasn't hopeless. She succeeded in defeating the ubervamp although she wasn't too sure about the latter. Sure, they seemed to have regained hope but she still couldn't help but hear their comments when they thought nobody was hearing them about how they were doomed.

She didn't blame them; if she had been in their shoes she would have been just as freaked and probably thinking the same thing. It didn't matter if she was pregnant or not, because the fact of the matter was she was just one Slayer and she was dealing with the force that created evil. Something she couldn't touch or fight and that was the worst thing.

Yesterday, Giles had said that he was going to speak with Wesley about bringing Faith out of jail. Buffy hadn't been too pleased with the idea but Giles had argued that they needed all the help they could get and that desperate times called for desperate measures. He had also pointed out that she had said it herself that Faith seemed to have changed the last time she saw her in LA. Begrudgingly, she caved in although it wasn't clear when Giles' and Wesley's plan would take effect.

"Buffy," Giles called to the blonde Slayer as he appeared by her side.

"Hey, Giles. Ready to do the hokey pokey?" Buffy asked, a small tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Giles frowned. "Not particularly. You really shouldn't have described my part of the ritual in such a matter to the girls."

"I'm just telling them the truth," Buffy smiled.

Giles sighed and surveyed the scene of the Potentials who were now piling into his car. "I'm not sure how I'm going to survive this trip. I don't think the girls nor I should be taking this trip. I should be here in case something happens. I just don't feel right leaving you and the others here."

"We'll be fine," Buffy gave him a reassuring smile. "Anya's sources said that the First is in remission. Sounds like a good thing in my book, at least for now anyway. It'll give the girls a chance to get comfortable with fighting and weapons. Besides, the girls need this trip to relax and just forget, the First, at least for a little while."

"Quite, right," Giles agreed. A second later both Slayer and former Watcher jumped upon hearing the car's horn.

"I guess they're roaring to go," Buffy stated.

"It seems so," Giles said. "Very well, I shall see you when I return."

"Bye, Giles," Buffy said as she hugged him in farewell.

He returned the hug and then made his way towards his car. Buffy watched as the girls seemed to be having some sort of argument in the back seat and Giles started berating them. She laughed, thinking that it was going to be a hell of a trip for Giles. Five minutes later, Giles managed to get the girls calmed down and he drove off.

"Good riddance."

Buffy turned around to find her younger sister grinning.

"What's a matter? I thought you liked having more sisters around the house. You know so you could have more people to talk to, get on their nerves, maybe get homework help from them," Buffy teased.

"And share my room and the bathroom? Yeah right. I'm so over the whole Brady Bunch thing."

Buffy laughed. "Me too. Finally the bathroom, all to myself."

"I call dibs on it."

Buffy groaned. "Not fair."

"You snooze, you lose." Dawn stuck her tongue out. "Hey, you know what, I'm gonna go take a bath right now. It's been far too long since I've had a good soak."

"Go ahead."

And with that the teen went inside the house. Buffy took in a deep breath before heading inside herself. She spotted Xander taking a nap on the couch and quietly she went to the kitchen where she found Spike seated with a mug. She had been letting him out of his chains at least when she was around since the First hadn't made an attempt to control him anymore. The search for a way to disable the First's hold on him had temporarily been put on the back burner since they got sidetracked with the Turok-Han.

"What are you drinking?" Buffy asked.

Spike stared at her, raising an eyebrow in a gesture that seemed to say 'what do you think I'm drinking?'

"Oh, right," Buffy mentally slapped herself. "Blood."

She hadn't really talked to Spike much since the night she first felt the baby move inside her. Sure, she talked to him during the training sessions he helped out in with the Potentials and during the whole bodyswitching thing, but she avoided as much as she could having a real conversation with him. She didn't want to give him the impression that she wanted them to be back together, or rather have an actual relationship this time around. Although a part of her was annoyed at herself for acting this way since she had already made it clear to Spike that she didn't want a relationship with him and just wanted him around for the baby. It seemed like Spike got the message, but the paranoid part of her kept telling herself that she had to act this way.

She was vaguely aware that she was staring at Spike as he drank his blood, but for some reason she couldn't keep her eyes away from the mug he held in his hands. She could see the steam rising from the scarlet liquid and she suddenly felt the need to have the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, to have it cascade down her throat.

"Buffy?" Spike paused from drinking his blood.

Buffy ignored him as her gaze remained fixed on the mug in Spike's hand. Before Spike could stop her, she snatched the mug away from him, spilling some of its contents on the counter. Quickly, Buffy raised the mug to her lips and started drinking it.

Spike could only stare at her in shock as she downed the mug. "What the bleedin' hell are you doin'?"

Buffy's face mirrored Spike's shock as she stopped drinking and let the mug drop to the floor, breaking into tiny pieces. " I- I-I don't know. I just… I wanted to d-d-drink blood. I don't know why. I just needed to."

"You had a craving for blood."

" I-I. guess so," Buffy mumbled. "Oh, God." She ran both her hands through her hair, still not quite believing what was happening to her.

"Has this happened before?" Spike wondered, still staring at her.

"No," Buffy denied it but then she thought better of it. "Um, not exactly. Well I kind of did feel like drinking blood once before. That night I first felt the baby move, but it was for a second. It wasn't like just now." Buffy glanced down at the mess on the floor. "Not like a full on craving."

Before Spike could say anything, Xander appeared at the kitchen entrance. "Buffy, what happened?" He glanced suspiciously at Spike.

"Just dropped me mug is all," Spike answered for the Slayer, who still seemed to be in shock.

"Is that what really what happened?" Xander asked Buffy, ignoring the vampire's look of annoyance.

"Huh? Oh, yes. He dropped it."

"Are you sure?" Xander frowned. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine. I just need some water." Buffy said, as she went to the cupboard and took out a glass.

"Okay," Xander relented although he felt like he had just missed something. "I'm going to go back to my nap. Out in the living room, just a couple of feet away." He glared at Spike as he left.

"You do that," Spike mumbled as he started picking up the broken pieces of the mug.

Buffy drank water, feeling it cleanse away the taste of blood in her throat. She couldn't believe she had drunk blood let alone enjoyed it. Even now, she couldn't force herself to spit out the last remnants of blood in her mouth although it seemed like her cravings were curtailed for now. She almost felt like a vampire except she didn't have control of when she wanted to feed; unless she was compared to a fledging. But then again she had been able to exercise control over her bloodlust all those years ago when she had become a vampire temporarily as a result of that boy in the coma; so she was capable of controlling her cravings unlike some fledglings. Just days ago she had been able to control her bloodlust while inhabiting Spike's body. She remembered vividly how it felt to be a vampire.

"Are you ready,Buffy?" Willow glanced at the Slayer anxiously and received a nod in reply. Willow in turn gave a nod indicating she was ready to proceed. She took a deep breath, grabbed some herbs, and began to chant in Latin.

Buffy took one quick glance at Spike, who was standing directly in front of her before closing her eyes. She heard Willow's chanting and began to lose her herself in the witch's voice. Suddenly, she felt a sudden pull and then she knew she was no longer in her own body.

She could tell immediately she had switched bodies unlike that time she had switched bodies with Faith. Without opening her eyes, she found herself already knowing a wealth of information about the people in the room. She scented four humans in the room, three of them female and one male. She could scent nervousness as well as hear four heartbeats, no five.

"Buffy?" She heard Dawn's questioning tone.

She then opened her eyes immediately and turned around to the voice in question. Dawn was staring at her worriedly, but all Buffy could think about was about sinking her fangs into the younger's girl neck .

"She's staring at my neck!" Dawn exclaimed as she backed away from Buffy in Spike's body.

"Buffy, stop you have to reel the demon in. Don't let it control you. Concentrate. Focus on keeping it at bay," Spike quickly instructed in Buffy's voice.

Buffy then turned to Spike. It was odd to see herself and yet not be in her body, but those thoughts soon left her mind as she found herself vamping out. She suddenly felt the need to lick her fangs as she glanced at herself, no Spike. She moved forward and she found herself grinning when Spike didn't even back away.

She could hear Spike's heartbeat begin to race although he was trying to remain indifferent on the outside. She could also hear a second heart beat coming from him and that made her even hungrier,

"What are you doing? Buffy move," Xander protested. "I mean Spike."

"I know what I'm doing," Spike replied, his eyes never leaving Buffy's.

Buffy growled as she grabbed his hand and pulled him forward; he didn't even fight her hold on him. She took a whiff of his scent as she got dangerously close to his neck. She could smell the scent of lavender shampoo, her lavender shampoo. She then leaned close, her mouth just centimeters away from his neck.

Spike tensed. "You don't want to do this."

"Why not?" Buffy found herself speaking with Spike's voice. Despite the nervous pounding of Spike's heart beat, she could scent something in him that wasn't fear. And then it hit her what she was smelling, arousal.

"Because of this," Spike answered. He quickly grabbed her hand and placed it on his stomach. Buffy then glanced down at their hands interlaced over Spike's, no her stomach. And that's when she started to focus on the second heartbeat coming from Spike's body. She closed her eyes, trying to block out thoughts of biting Spike or anybody, and then her demonic features faded.

"I'm fine now," Buffy muttered as she opened her eyes. She still felt the demon's hunger but it no longer dominated her thoughts. She was in control now.

"Are you sure, Buffy?" Willow asked. "I mean, if you can't control Spike's vampire instincts, I should probably switch you back."

"No. Don't switch us back. I've got it under control. I can do this." Buffy replied as she took a step back from herself or rather Spike.

"Am I the only disturbed by this?" Xander commented, as he glanced at the blondes.

"I thought it was kind of sweet," Dawn said.

Xander looked at her confused for a moment. "I was talking about the Buffy and Spike switcheroo."

"It's kinda disturbing," Dawn agreed. "But kinda cool at the same. Can I try it sometime?"

"No," Buffy immediately answered, earning a roll of eyes and a giggle from the teenager.

"I've always wanted a brother," Dawn grinned.

"What is happening to me?" Buffy finally spoke, shaking herself out of her thoughts. "The baby. Oh God. I-I-t wanted me to do this. I don't understand."

Spike threw the broken pieces he collected into the trash and then went towards Buffy. "We're going to figure it out, Buffy. Everything's gonna be alright. Guess this proves the platelet's really mine."

Buffy rolled her eyes as she considered his words. "D-D-Do you think it's because you're a vampire? Does that mean the baby is a vampire? But Angel's baby was born human. I don't get it, why would…"

Spike let out a yell as he clutched his head with both of his hands. He dropped to the floor, never letting go of his head. A couple of seconds later, he lay still.

"Spike, what's wrong?" Buffy said as neared him.

The vampire didn't say anything prompting a frown on Buffy's face. "Spike?" She then finally heard a low moan in response.

"Spike, what is it?" She asked once more.

"The chip," he managed to answer.

"The chip?" Buffy repeated. She crouched down to Spike's level and noticed that blood was dribbling from Spike's nose.

Once more Spike screamed in pain as another shock ripped through his brain.

"What the hell is going on?" Xander arrived at the scene along with Dawn.

"What's happening to him?" Dawn asked concerned.

"It's the chip," Buffy murmured.

Spike shook his head as the pain wore off. He struggled to stand but Buffy helped him to his feet. A half an hour later, Spike was still suffering from headaches and nosebleeds.

"So what are we gonna do? Spike's chip seems to have reached its limit and there's nothing in these books or on the net." Dawn wondered as she shot a quick glance in the direction of Spike, who was lying on the living room couch.

"There's only one option left," Buffy replied. "Riley."

"Riley?" Dawn and Xander echoed at the same time.

"Yes, he left me his number in case I ever needed to reach him."

"Buffy," Xander began but then he bit his lip. "Alright, I'll get you the phone."

Xander brought her phone and she went to the number. A couple of minutes later, Buffy replaced the phone on its cradle none too gently.

"It's a government conspiracy I tell you," She announced, as she glared at the phone.

"What happened?"the teenager asked.

"Apparently this is a number to a flower shop, but I don't buy it. It's probably one of those government things where they pretend you aren't calling a government number but you really are calling one but you have to know the secret password in order to get access."

"So, what are we gonna do now?" Dawn asked worriedly. "He's a vampire, I know, but he can't last like that forever, right?"

Buffy averted Dawn's gaze and replied, "No, he can't."

Hours later, Buffy watched Spike as he slept in his cot. Gently, she ran a wet cloth over his forehead removing the dried blood that rested there. His face radiated a peace that she had never noticed before and it was a stark contrast to everything that he had gone through over the last several months. She removed the rag from his face, and took a moment to stare at him. She had never really taken the time to really look at him, not even during their affair. She hadn't allowed herself to do so because she couldn't admit that what was occurring between Spike and her was real. She had wanted to deny that she could feel anything for a soulless vampire since she couldn't even feel anything for herself. She had hated him at times because he was undead and yet could feel more than she could when she was the one with the beating heart. Despite her mistreatment and denial of feelings, she realized in the end she did care of him and tonight she almost lost him.

She peered over him, studying how his dark lashes rested against his cheek bones, the way his cheeks hollowed, and how his hair was all curls and unruly. He was so beautiful. She blanched at the thought of how she pummeled his face the night she thought she had killed Katrina. Gently, she placed a finger against his nose and then began to trace the slope of his nose down to his lips and around his chin.

"I'm sorry," She murmured, although she knew he wouldn't hear her. He had been knocked out cold thanks to the sedatives the military guys had provided when they removed his chip.

It turned out she had been right; the flower shop was a front to reach the military. She was just glad Riley had gotten the message and had sent help. The doctor had said that if Spike hadn't received help when he did, he would have been dust.

She had been given the choice of installing a new chip or just removing his chip. She had decided for the latter, she trusted him now. She knew Giles wouldn't like it but she didn't care. Spike had a soul now; she was sure that would keep him on the right path. Besides, spending a day in Spike's shoes had given her more insight into Spike increasing her trust in him. She'd always known blood was a part of a vampire's life but she had never realized the control Spike always exercised over his demon. She'd never even thought about how he never tried to bite her during their affair, knowing how she was the only one the chip didn't react to. Despite the mantra in her head that kept telling her during that time that he was a soulless evil vampire, she had subconsciously trusted him, fangs and all. It had never really hit her until now, how Spike loved her soul or no soul and it scared the hell out of to think that Spike loved her soul or no soul. It was something that she did not want to think about although she was glad that he was among the living, er undead.

Buffy yawned. She frowned, not quite wanting to go to bed. In the end, she gave in. She brushed back Spike's hair from his forehead and gave him a quick kiss there.

"Good night," She murmured.