Author's Notes:

Joss Whedon owns all this (except for K) and he is my hero. There's a bit of smut in this chapter, just a warning. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy.

Dreams

It took a long time and gallons of Gatorade before K even started feeling remotely close to better. But with the help of her Slayer powers, she was able to at least sit up in the time of ten days. Spike was almost always next to her, and he finally allowed other people to occasionally come and visit, but most of the time, everyone left those two alone.

"You know, love," Spike said, pouring her a glass of Gatorade, "the day we were supposed to have off, before we took on the third vampire nest… I wanted to make that the best day of your life. Well, night, actually." He handed her the cup. "I don't think you'd fancy me being burned by flames and all. But I wanted to take you out. Have some fun."

K sipped from the cup. "I would've liked that," she said. "I need a fun adventure. Running around New York City in the night… I don't know anything more exciting."

Spike raised one eyebrow. "You crave an adventure? A Slayer wanting adventure?"

She laughed, and then shrugged. "Slaying is an adventure, but not really the kind I wanted. I was an ordinary girl in high school, with nothing but dreams and a strong passion for getting the fuck out of that hell. And… becoming a Slayer… well, you know how that I wanted to start my life over. I thought being a Slayer would be a good opportunity to follow my dreams."

"Which are?"

"Well," K started after a deep breath, "first, I wanted to get a novel published. Writing is kinda my passion and stuff."

Spike smiled. He remembered when writing was his passion.

"But I can see now that the whole being a famous novelist thing is probably never going to happen," K continued. "What with me being a Slayer and all. I've got this sacred duty now, so that's just not going to happen."

"It's all right, love. I gave up my writing dreams. Well, I didn't really have a choice. I got sired and became a soddin' monster. But after all that, I still ended up on the side of sacred duty. I'm just going to say we're on the same page with that one."

K smiled stupidly. "My other dream was to just see the world. Once I had the money, mind you. I wanted to see everything, everywhere, everyone. Meet a ton of new people, make a ridiculous number of friends. I didn't want any close friends, I had enough of those in high school… but just a ton of people and places and things. Run around places and look insane while the people around me gave me disapproving looks. I wanted to touch the clouds and every inch of the earth. I wanted to live."

Spike snickered. "That's some fancy way of saying 'to travel', love."

K's dumb grin grew.

"Did you think being a Slayer would provide you more opportunities to travel?"

She nodded. "And it is providing me opportunities. I mean, I've only been to New York one other time in my life. But, y'know, it's all work, no play. Well, all slay and no play."

"Yeah," was all Spike could say. "You've got some pretty big dreams, though."

"There was… one more…" K said softly.

Spike raised his eyebrows. "And that one is?"

K's cheeks turned pink and she looked down into her Gatorade. "It's kind of dumb. Now that I think about it, it was really dumb of me to expect it to happen the way I wanted."

Spike put his hand on her forearm. Her head shot up at the feel of his touch. He smirked at her.

"You don't have to tell me, Pet, if you don't want to."

K's dumb smile grew. "So, by the time I was a sophomore in high school, living through hell, and just wanting to break out of the rut, I had already developed a plan for myself. It's kinda silly, but I really believed in it."

Spike kissed K's forehead, and then looked lovingly into her warm, chocolate-brown eyes.

"My plan was," K continued, "the instant I graduate from high school, I get out of there and go to college somewhere on this side of the country. I major in English, and become a badass writer who is the best ever. Then, as soon as I get out of college, I travel the world, writing as I stay at luxurious hotels, which I can obviously afford because I've been saving money since I was in seventh grade for this, and because I'm a very successful author. I get my books published, and I travel, doing book tours and stuff like that. Meeting new people, signing autographs everywhere I go. Of course, at this point, I've forgotten all my friends from high school, including Gary, and I've met so many new people. And then… seven years later, when I'm around 28 years old, that's when I fall in love. That's when I go to buy a huge three-story Victorian-style mansion and settle down with my husband and have a family. That was the plan."

"That sounds like a beautiful life, love," Spike said, now his own stupid smile on his face. "And it's not silly at all. It would have been inevitable if—"

"If I hadn't been chosen as a Slayer," K finished. "Thanks, Spike."

Spike just realized something. "Wait… Gary?"

"My ex," K explained. "I changed the plan a little bit after he broke up with me. The original plan was to tell him to wait all those years until I wanted to settle down. And I believed that he would. I mean, he waited three years before he… before he gave up." K smiled up at Spike. "But all that doesn't matter now."

Spike wanted to hold her. He never wanted to let go of her. He just wanted to keep her close to him, so that her breasts pressed against his chest. He wanted to kiss her over and over again and never stop so that he'd get so turned on that eventually—

"Hey, Spike?" K said.

"Hm?" Spike snapped out of it. "What is it, Pet?"

"You seem kind of out of it," she said. "You haven't gotten any rest. Maybe you should get some sleep."

"Sleep," Spike repeated, rubbing his eyes. It sounded so blissful at that moment. "Maybe that's not such a bad idea."

"You don't need to worry about me," K said. "I think I'm even almost ready to start standing up again. I've been healing quickly. And if I need anything, I'll wake you up."

He nodded. "Right, Pet. Don't hesitate. I'll be right in this other bed, all right?" Spike got up and lied down on the bed. "'Night, love."

"Goodnight, Spike."

Spike felt like he was asleep for days. He slowly opened his eyes and turned his head towards K on the other bed. She was still in the exact same position. She didn't move an inch.

"How long was I asleep, love?"

"Not long," she answered, her voice slightly lower. "You're not tired?"

Spike stood up. "Not at all, love."

K pushed the covers of the bed off of her. "God, it's so hot, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Spike said. He hadn't noticed it before, but the room was getting unusually warm. He took off his shirt. "Why is it so hot?"

He looked over at K, who was slipping off her shirt as well. "I know…" she sighed. "I'm starting to sweat."

Spike sat down on the bed, right next to K's tiny body. He leaned down, and kissed her full on the lips. She pulled her head up and deepened the kiss, as their tongues danced together.

Spike pulled back. K smiled up at him. He kissed her lips again, and slowly moved down until he was kissing her neck.

"Mmm… Spike…" K whispered as Spike was pulling off her bra. He held her breast in his hand… she had surprisingly large breasts for a girl of her size.

He continued to tease her by kissing lower and lower until he reached the edge of her pants. He slowly slid them off along with her panties. He kissed the outside area lightly before putting his tongue out and teasing her clit.

She moaned. "Spike…" she breathed, "I want you."

He continued to suck her clit for about a minute before he looked up. "Are you sure, Pet?"

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Spike sat up. He began to unbuckle his belt. "First time, love," he said, sliding his pants down. "It's going to hurt a bit."

"I trust you, Spike."

He nodded and smiled just before he slowly slid himself inside of her heat. He felt bad as she winced at his girth. He started off slow and careful as she continued to wince in slight pain.

"How are you doing, love?" Spike asked as he slowly moved inside her.

"Hmmm," she groaned. "You're… so big…"

"I'll stop if you want me to."

"No," she gasped, her face relaxing a bit. "I want… you to go… faster…"

Spike raised his eyebrows, but gladly gave in to her request. She continued to moan and repeatedly say his name.

He was so close.

But she was closer. "Aah! Oh, God, SPIKE," she screamed as she came over the edge.

He was just about to, and then—

"Spike?"

His eyes shot open. He was still lying in the bed that was neighboring K's. Both of them still fully clothed, the temperature no longer extremely hot. He turned his head over to see K still lying on the other bed. "Yeah, love?"

"What were you dreaming of?" she asked.

Spike furrowed his eyebrows. "I don't know what you're talking about, Pet."

She awkwardly cleared her throat and pointed to the area between her legs.

Spike raised one eyebrow and then looked down to the area between his legs. "Oh, God," he said, quickly grabbing the covers off of the bed and hiding his erection.

K's cheeks were now deeply flushed.

"Um, K, I—"

Someone knocked on the door.

Spike sighed with relief.

"Come in," K called.

Xander opened the door, accompanied by Dawn who had her arm interlocked with his.

"Hey, gang," Xander said, closing the door behind them.

"How are you doing, K?"

"A lot better," she answered. "I've almost got the ability to move my legs now." She smiled. "How have you two been doing?"

"Great. We're still sorta recovering from the vamp nest from a few days ago."

"Wait… you guys went to the third vamp nest and didn't tell me?"

"Sorry, love," Spike said, sitting up. He was gathering the covers of the bed into a little bundle and placed it so that it covered from his waist to his thighs. "That's my fault. I meant to tell you, but I just got so carried away in making you feel better, it just sort of slipped my mind."

"Oh," K said. "It's okay. No problem."

Xander and Dawn sat down on the bed next to K. Dawn was now in Xander's lap, her arms wrapped around his neck.

"I hope you've been getting plenty of rest," Xander said.

"She's alone in a room with her boyfriend, and you think she's getting plenty of rest?" Dawn asked, laughing.

K was slightly disturbed, considering the fact that now that she wasn't in the same room as them, Dawn was alone in a room with her boyfriend. What could they have been possibly doing?

"I have been resting a lot," K said when she realized Spike didn't want to answer.

Xander nodded.

Dawn scoffed. "Sure, of course. I believe you," she said sarcastically.

"No, really," K said in complete sincerity. "I kind of have to rest considering I was barely able to move."

"What? Not even kissing?" she asked as she pushed her nose against Xander's cheek.

"No."

"No hugging or holding each other?"

"No."

"What's wrong with you two?"

"Nothing."

"Well, there's got to be. I never see you two kissing, or even holding hands, or even touching each other. When Spike was with Buffy, they used to have sex all the time."

Spike looked down at the bundle of covers on his legs.

"Well, I don't think we really need all that," K said. She felt she could explain why better than Spike could. Considering that she thought that Spike probably didn't even know why they didn't have a physical relationship like he was used to.

"When you're in your lover's arms," K started, "you feel safe. Like nothing in the world can touch you. You're there, close to them, and the rest of the world fades, because nothing else matters except for your lover. And nothing can even come close to you because you're perfectly safe and content in their arms. That's why lovers hold each other.

"When you and your lover kiss," she continued, "you're completely connected. Your lips touched, and you're practically wired to the other person. You feel the same, and you're probably thinking the same thing. You begin to feel as one.

"When you have sex with your lover, and I wouldn't know the details being a virgin and all, but you're completely given to your lover. Your love is completely each other's and you've given all you have to your lover. There's good feelings, and ecstasy, and happiness."

Xander and Dawn looked at each other, and then back at K. She had caught their attention. Even Spike was looking up at her, wondering where she was going with this.

"You don't need to be in your lover's arms," K sighed, "because your hearts should always be in an embrace. Because of your pure love for one another, there shouldn't be any fear of the world. With your hearts always together, you're always safe.

"You don't need to constantly snog your lover because your minds are already connected. There was a reason you two fell in love, it's because you think the same way, you like the same things, that natural chemistry is all there in your mind and you're already one mind.

"You don't need to have sex with your lover because your souls are moving in unison already. Your souls are already expressing your love and emotions, and there's no need for orgasms in that mix."

"Wow," Dawn said quietly. "I guess I never thought of it like that."

K shrugged. "Not many people do. I'm just weird, I guess."

"That was beautiful, love," Spike said, smiling.

"And it seemed well-rehearsed," Xander added.

K laughed. "Oh, you have no idea how many times I've given that speech. People have even commented that the only reason I think like this is because I'm still a virgin. But I honestly believe it."

"See, Dawnie," Xander said, kissing her forehead. "It's not all about kissing and orgasms."

"I know that!" she said.

K smiled. "Well, it was really nice of you two to come down to see how I was doing. When are we going in to the final battle? The big-boss, last vampire nest?"

"Well, Buffy said she's going to need all the help we can possibly get," Xander explained. "So we're waiting for you to heal, and then we're getting a group of back-up Slayers to help out. We're drawing out battle plans at the moment. Kennedy and Satsu have been constantly going to the building, getting a feel for what it looks like, and then we're sorta planning how we're going to go in for attack."

K nodded. "That sounds great. I'm glad I'll be able to help."

"Yeah. And we want to find out what they're up to, so we'll find that out, too," Dawn said. "Anyway, we should probably go now. Let you rest and all."

"We'll come down again soon," Xander assured.

"That'd be great. Thanks."

"Goodnight," the two of them said, closing the door behind them.

"Buffy is waiting for me to get better," K said. "I really should get some rest about now. I feel ridiculously tired."

Spike smiled. "Yeah, maybe you should get some rest. Save up that energy. Oh, and thanks."

"Thanks for what?"

"Just thanks," Spike shrugged. He lied back in bed. "Goodnight, K. Sweet dreams."