AN: Sorry updates have been pretty much nonexistent lately. I'm working on fixing that. Many thanks to those of you who favorited and left beautiful comments. In case it has slipped by you, I am a terrible editor so if anyone would be interesting in some beta work this entire fic could use it.

Buffy woke up in her dorm. She pulled the blanket up over her head refusing to face the day ahead of her. It was good twenty minutes before she gave up on falling back asleep and flipped the blanket off her with a distraught sigh. Willow came walked through the door half a second later.

"Hey, Buffy," Willow said smiling. "Pretty day, huh?"

"I hadn't noticed." She looked out the window.

"So how did last night go?" Willow asked.

"We got in and out fine. And we got these." She handed Willow the disks from their place on the night stand.

Willow sat on her bed. "I'll get right on this." She grabbed her laptop and fired it up. Buffy didn't move.

"Buffy? Is something wrong?" Willow asked.

"Wrong? No, I... I just," she sighed. "It's Spike." She sat down beside Willow.

"Is he getting testy 'cause he doesn't like helping us? I thought that might happen what with him being used to being all 'big bad'. He hasn't been getting in the way has he?" Willow set the disks aside.

"No, nothing like that. Well, he was never happy about being helpful, but it's not that." Buffy stared at her hands in her lap.

"Oh. Well, what is it then?"

"He... Well I think he almost kissed me."

"What? Buffy oh my- wow! And did you, you know, almost kiss him, too? 'Cause it's okay if you did. Sometimes you spend a lot of time with someone and even though it's a little unusual you still get these feelings and sometimes they have feelings too and you both don't know how to say it or what anyone is gonna think and it's hard and sort of scary but really exciting too," she rambled. "You know?"

"I uh, what? No, I didn't. I don't have feelings for Spike I mean he's... he's Spike!"

"Oh." Willow looked disappointed.

"Do you think maybe... Spike has a crush on me?"

"I don't know. It's possible." Willow shrugged. "Lots of weird things have happened."

"But it's Spike though. He's probably just trying to mess with me right?"

"Buffy, don't you think that against all odds, that maybe he's just in love with you? That even though it's the sort of thing some people would frown upon he cares about you and wants to be with you?" Willow said defensively.

"Are we still talking about me?"

Willow sighed. "We're talking about Spike."

"Are you sure 'cause it seems like we're-" Buffy began.

"Well we are Buffy, okay?" Willow nervous and uncertain.

"Willow are you-"

"No, Buffy I'm not alright!" She jumped up from the bed. "You're fighting this creature we can't even name. Xander's always off with Anya. Giles has been unreachable since Angelus and I'm having all these problems that I don't want to bother anyone with. Like having to start a whole new class since Professor Walsh died and answering questions about where you've been and trying to get the wicca group to actually act like wiccans and to top it off I think I'm kind of gay," she said in a rush.

"Oh," Buffy said as the words took a minute to process. "Oh, wow. I mean not wow. Just I'm surprised. Is this about Oz?"

"No, it's not about Oz."

"Oh, so... Tara?"

"Tara."

"And are you guys?"

"No."

"Does she..."

"I think so. We haven't talked about it or anything, but I really like her Buffy. She's really special." Willow sat back down looking a lot calmer. Buffy nodded.

"So... you and Spike?" Willow asked.

"Not ever."

"So what are you gonna do about it?"

"I don't know. I guess I have to tell him that I'm not interested. It's just weird."

"It's not weird." Willow shook her head.

"You don't think it's weird?" Buffy looked surprised.

"I think it would be weird if he didn't."

"Great. So, I'll talk to him." Buffy didn't move.

"He isn't gonna talk to himself," Willow coaxed.

"Right..." Buffy finally left the room.

Willow sighed with relief. She put the first disk in the drive and set to work. Her mind wandered as her fingers moved over the keys. She thought about Tara and was relieved that Buffy had all but given her blessing. She didn't think Xander would offer any protests because guys are into that kind of thing anyway, right? So her friends were totally cool with her and Tara dating. Now she just had to talk to Tara about it. She felt suddenly doubtful, but a knock at the door brought her back to the present moment.

"Come in!" she called.

Tara stepped into the room with a bright smile.

"I just saw Buffy in the hall. I'm really glad they made it out of there okay. I was worried for a minute that I may have done something wrong..."

"You did perfect," Willow told her with a smile.

Tara sat down on the end of the bed. "So what are you doing?"

"Buffy found these disks in the Initiative. We're hoping they can tell us something about this monster they've got on the loose." Willow went back to typing what looked to Tara like a series of random symbols and words.

"Oh... So I'm probably just in the way," Tara said getting up.

"No! You should stay. If you want. This is kind of a long process and it wold be nice to have some company. You know if you don't have anything else to do."

Tara nodded. "I'll stay then." She laid down on her stomach next to Willow.

Buffy wandered around Sunnydale thinking of what she might say to Spike. It realized how important it was she made it clear she wasn't interested without insulting him. The last thing she needed was a pissed off vampire on top of the big bad Initiative monster.

The sun set and she trudged her way back to the cemetery hoping something would come up and prevent her from finding Spike. She kept her ears peeled for screams or growls or various other sounds that would require her immediate attention. When she reached the front gate, she scowled at the general structure of Sunnydale.

"Not a peep when you need it, but when you've got plans suddenly everyone's in danger," she grumbled.

Not two steps onto the cemetery grounds, she heard the scream she'd been hoping for. She nearly smiled as relief hit her. She raced off toward the sound.

Three vampires stood over a woman who had chosen a bad to time to visit a dead relative. Buffy grabbed the first two she reached and shoved them aside. The third whirled around to see her with a face full of fangs and she clocked him in the jaw. As he jolted back, she swung her leg around to kick the vampire coming up behind her and knocked him into the other who was climbing to his feet. She pulled a stake from her coat and vampire number three was dust before faster than he could yell 'slayer'.

A vampire behind her kicked her hard in the right shoulder and nearly knocked her over. She turned, dodging his fist and plunged her stake into his chest. The last vampire wasn't where she'd expected him and she whirled around until she spotted him heading into the woods. She flipped the stake in her hand to grasp the very end and sent it flying into the bloodsucker's back.

She threw her arms up with a little cheer and winced as the movement disturbed the bruise forming on her upper arm. She rubbed her sore shoulder turned back in the direction of Spike's crypt. Instead of the empty cemetery she'd expected, someone stood in the shadows of the closest mausoleum. He stepped forward into the moonlight with a smile on his face.

Buffy's eyes took in the pink/green skin and half human face. He was large and disturbing and instantly triggered her slayer instincts causing her to freeze in place and raise her fists defensively.

"So, you would be the slayer. I've heard a great deal about you," He said in a deep voice. "Buffy Summers. They fear you. Vampires, demons, they hide in the filthiest of places."

"As they should," she told him.

"No. You are wrong. They are the superior race. They hide when they could dominate. Yet you are only a little girl. What is so terrifying about you?"

"I thought you heard. I'm the slayer. Who are you?"

" I am called Adam... You are the slayer, but you are only one while they are hundreds, thousands... I must ponder this." He turned his back and walked back to the shadows.

"Hey!" Buffy shouted. "Thought we were talking." She ran after him and sent her fist into the back of his neck. He stopped walking and turned around. Buffy ignored the pain in her hand that signaled she may have fractured a knuckle.

The demon swung his arm and knocked her aside without effort. She fell into a headstone and it cracked beneath her.

"If I wanted to fight," he lifted his left arm as a long spike slid out from under his skin. "You would be dead now."

He turned away again and left her there panting. She gasped and pressed her hands over her ribs. They didn't feel broken but the pain in her chest said otherwise. She climbed to her feet and her teeth ground together as her jaw clenched. She stumbled forward a step and pain shot through her chest stealing her breath.

Cool arms wrapped around her and lifted her up. Her head spun from the elevation change and she squeezed her eyes shut just before she passed out.