Chapter 2

It was just after seven at night when Angel had arrived at the house. Everyone had left earlier so it was just Joyce, Dawn, Buffy and Riley in the house with Spike. Everyone had been waiting for Angel to get here as they were hoping he would be able to put to rest the risk of Spike dying. Dawn had been up in the room sitting with Spike while Buffy, Riley and Joyce sat in the living room. Riley was on edge and clearly not happy about Angel coming here. The tension between Riley and Buffy's family and friends was increasing and Buffy knew she would need to do something about it soon or it was all going to blow up. When the knock finally came at the door Buffy got up all too happy to go over and answer it. She opened the door to see Angel standing there. She gave him a smile and a hug as he walked into the house.

"How is he?" Angel asked with concern.

"He's still in bad shape, but he's stronger than he was when I called you." Buffy answered as she closed the door.

Angel went over to the entrance of the living room and saw Joyce and Riley there. Riley was sitting down, but when Angel knocked on the door he stood up and tried to look intimidating.

"Hello Joyce, how are you feeling?" Angel asked politely.

"Better thank-you. I'm just worried about Spike at the moment."

"He'll be better within a week." Angel reassured her.

"I'll take you up to him." Buffy said.

"I'll come with you." Riley said.

"There's no need." Angel said in a deadly tone.

"I'm not leaving my girlfriend upstairs alone with two vampires." Riley said back.

"Your girlfriend is the Slayer she can handle herself. I don't need Spike smelling you." Angel said as he went for the stairs.

"Stay here Riley." Buffy said before she turned and followed Angel up the stairs.

Riley stood there by the stairs with his hands on his hips clearly not happy, but he didn't follow. Buffy went into the guest bedroom with Angel behind her. Dawn was sitting in the chair by the bed doing her homework. Angel saw Spike there on the bed still shaking and struggling with the pain.

"Hey Angel."

"Hey Dawnie."

"Can you give us the room Dawn" Buffy said.

"Ya I'll just go finish this downstairs." Dawn said as she packed up her things and headed out of the room.

Angel went over to the right side of the bed and he sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You don't know if he can hear you?" Angel asked.

"No I just know he can smell me and blood."

Angel moved his right hand and turned it so his wrist was up and placed it underneath Spike's nose.

"If his demon is strong enough it will be able to recognize my smell and hopefully it will wake up enough to bite me." Angel said.

Spike moved his head in the direction of Angel's wrist and Angel could see Spike's left hand trying to move so he could touch him. Angel grabbed Spike's hand gently and gave a soft squeeze.

"His demon is strong enough to recognize my scent. That's a good thing."

"You vampires and your smelling thing is just weird."

"His demon has the same blood as my demon, that's what makes us family, our blood. The demon is just a demon without the man controlling it. Spike has always had exceptional control over his demon it's why he can easily pass as human. Right now the man in Spike is too battered and weak to be able to keep the damaged demon in check. When he does start to get stronger you need to be careful when feeding him. He won't have much control over the demon and once it smells blood it will come forth. Spike's brain damage is what is keeping the demon in check right now. The demon is too weak and afraid to fully come forth. It doesn't understand what is going on. Demons are very good at remembering smells it recognizes us as safe. Even if he doesn't remember you right away he'll know you are safe by your smell. Just like he will know that your boyfriend is not safe just by his smell." Angel explained.

"Riley is safe." Buffy said in Riley's defense.

"Not to our kind, not to Spike. He would kill him in a second if he was up here with him. The demon in Spike knows it. You don't have to be here for this if you don't want to." Angel said.

"What do you have to do? Don't you just need to give him blood?"

"I do."

"Then what's the big deal? Angel I know what you both are. I gave him some of my blood today to keep him alive so you can get here. Unless some weird sexual thing is going to happen I'm not leaving."

"Nothing sexual will ever happen between us. It's not that type of Sire/Childe relationship."

"Sire/ whatdy?" Buffy asked confused.

"Long story. My point is nothing sexual will happen I just need him to bite me."

"How? Is mean is he even strong enough to?"

"He seems strong enough to at least let his fangs down that's all he needs. Once he smells my blood the demon should take over and do what it knows to do." Angel said as he moved his right hand and grabbed the pocket knife that he had brought with him. He brought it up to the right side of his neck and he made a cut deep enough to bleed before he put the put the knife down on the bedside table. Spike moved his head in the direction of the blood and Angel could see he was interested, but he didn't feel his fangs coming out.

Angel moved his right hand and ran his finger over the cut to get blood on his finger. He then gently got Spike to open his mouth by running his finger over Spike's lips before he opened it slightly. He put his finger into Spike's mouth and Spike licked at it to get the blood off. Angel felt Spike's fangs go down and he removed his finger slowly from Spike's mouth. Spike let out a whimper at the loss of the blood his body desperately needed. Angel bent down to give Spike the right side of his neck and he whispered into Spike's ear.

"Bite my Childe, take Sire's blood." Angel said in his Sire voice and he instantly felt Spike weakly bite into his neck where the cut was.

He was just strong enough to get his fangs into Angel's neck. He felt Spike take slow long pulls of his blood and he allowed him to take as much as his own body could handle. After five minutes Angel started to feel dizzy so he whispered to Spike once again.

"Enough Childe." Angel said in his Sire voice and Spike instantly retracted his fangs and lightly licked the holes closed.

Angel moved his head back and Spike subconsciously laid his head down so his face was facing the right leaving the left side of his neck exposed in a submissive offer. Angel went and gently rubbed the old scar from his Sire claim on Spike's neck.

"Is he going to be okay now?" Buffy asked sill slightly worried.

"I brought enough of my blood for you to give it to him twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. I also brought some human blood for you to give him throughout the day, every four hours. You make sure he drinks the blood and sleeps he will be seventy-five percent healed up within the next seven days. He should wake up and start talking again in about three days. I don't know what his mind will be like though. It'll be the first to repair itself, but he might still have problems seeing for a week or two afterwards and his right hand might shake every now and then too for a little while. Within three weeks he will be one hundred percent again and more than ready for a fight."

"Good I really need him in this fight. Ever fight a Hell God before?"

"No I can honestly say I haven't. I got Wesley to do some research for you. He has some older books that the Council doesn't have access to and once Spike is feeling better you should get him to speak to the demon community."

"Ya Anya suggested the same thing. Did Wesley find out anything?" Buffy asked with hopefulness.

"He found out that she can summon any demon she wants from a Hell dimension, but only for twenty-four hours after that they go back. Her power can only hold that long."

"Well good to know. What does a Hell dimension demon look like?"

"They are the demons that are the most pure evil that the ruler of that Hell dimension refuses to let cross through the portal and into another dimension. Essentially they are the army of that Hell dimension and they love torture and violence. Even with only twenty-four hours one of those demons could kill a hundred thousand people easily."

"So not good. Great anything else?"

"Just the same information you found out. She wants to go back home and needs the Key that she believes you are protecting. She doesn't know anything more than the fact that the Key is human. The Key was made by Monks and sent it to you to protect. Wesley thinks it must be someone new in your life and this person wouldn't even know they are the Key. They would have fake memories and those memories would become yours if you have a past history with that person. Do you know who the Key is?" Angel asked as he continued to rub his thumb along Spike's neck

"Ya I found out."

"Who is it?"

"Dawn." Buffy answered just softly enough for a vampire to hear her and not Riley who was currently standing on the outside of the door thinking they didn't know he was there for the past five minutes.

There was shock on Angel's face for a moment before he spoke.

"What do you want boy?" Angel asked directing his question to Riley.

Riley came around the corner and acted like he had just walked up the stairs and stood in the doorway.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. Buffy, your mom is just worried she's wondering how everything is going up here." Riley said calmly like he wasn't eavesdropping onto their conversation. At the smell of Riley Spike started to shake and move around on the bed.

"Everything is fine we're just about finished with Spike. Why don't you go tell her and we'll be down in a minute." Buffy answered tightly.

"Is he okay? He seems to be in a lot of pain still." Riley asked trying to get a good look at Spike, but Angel moved to block most of his view as he bent down to whisper into Spike's ear.

"It's okay my Childe I won't let him hurt you. Calm down." Angel said in a gentle voice. The voice stopped Spike from moving around, but he was still shaking slightly.

"He's fine just in pain still. Angel's blood will help him be better by the end of the week. Go tell Mom for me please." Buffy said again.

"Oh ya sure thing baby." Riley said clearly not happy that he didn't get to stay, but he turned around and went back down the stairs.

"He's never reacted that way to Riley before." Buffy said with worry.

"It's okay he's gone." Angel whispered to Spike as he continued to rub his neck to calm him down again before he spoke to Buffy. "Not that he would ever show you, but this isn't just Spike, this is a demon, a very powerful demon. Normally Spike wouldn't show how much he hates a smell or the feel of someone. Do you ever see Spike close to Riley by choice? Ever see him move further into a room to put as much space between the two of them?"

"Ya I guess. I mean when they are in the same room I usually make sure they aren't beside each other, because Riley doesn't like him. And with Spike not being able to fight back I don't want him to get hit by Riley."

"Spike is doing it on purpose because of the smell and feel of Riley. Spike's senses are stronger than mine and I have a century plus on him. He's always had strong senses. If he tells you something or someone doesn't feel right take his word for it. Riley would smell like the Initiative to Spike and to the demon that is a place that hurt him, damaged him so he wouldn't like the smell even more than Spike."

"We don't really know everything that happened to Spike while he was there. Never asked him about that stuff and he never volunteered any information, but I can't say I blame him."

"Spike isn't going to share unless he is asked. He's an emotional vampire he fought to keep his human emotions and that makes him a rare breed. He'll talk about it, he always talks, he talks so much he'll actually write. You'll never have to wonder what he is feeling or thinking because he will tell you. Emotional pain though, things about his time as a human are not things he will easily share. But if you are patient and ask at the right time he will tell you."

Spike began to make a nose and Buffy couldn't help the huge smile on her face. "Is he purring?"

"It's a demon thing. You could call it purring." Angel said nonchalantly.

"Do you purr? You've never purred around me."

"I don't purr it's not my demon's style." Angel said offended.

"But it's his demon's style?"

"Some demons purr when their Sire or Lover touches their mark long enough."

"So then why do some do it and other's don't?"

"It's a complicated and long story. Just don't tell anyone he does it or he'll be mad. We should join the others downstairs I have to be back tonight." Angel said as he moved his hand away from Spike's neck and got up off the bed.

He grabbed the bag he brought with him as Buffy spoke.

"Oh is it really busy?" Buffy asked trying not to sound annoyed that once again Angel didn't tell her anything.

"It's been pretty busy. I think your Hell God is scaring away some of the tourists and they are coming to play in my city." Angel said as they headed out of the room.

"Oh sorry about that." Buffy said, but not really apologetic about it.

They headed down the stairs and into the living room.

"How is he?" Joyce asked.

"He's going to be fine Joyce. I have blood for him to drink and as long as Buffy does as I explained he will be awake and talking in three days." Angel answered.

"That's wonderful. Giles was saying it could take months before that happens. I don't understand all this difference in the blood thing and I don't care. I'm just so happy you came down and did this for him. It means a lot to me. Thank-you Angel." Joyce said as she went to give Angel a hug.

Angel was always awkward with hugs and he gently gave Joyce a hug before she moved back with a smile on her face.

"It's no problem he's family and he's fighting for the good guys now. He's a strong fighter to have on your side."

"I thought you two hated each other. Buffy was telling me how he tortured you less than a year ago." Riley said.

"Family always has problems along the way. He didn't actually torture me he had someone else do it. Spike was never one for torture. And in all fairness to him he owed me a lot more than one over the years." Angel said trying to keep the hurt at his own actions out of his voice.

"Angel was able to find out a little bit more information on Glory at least." Buffy said to quickly change the topic.

"Anything we can use?" Riley asked.

"She can summon any demon she wants from any Hell dimension, but they can only survive for twenty-four hours. The problem is within those twenty-four hours it could kill the whole city. So not good." Buffy said.

"We should just get the Initiative involved. We can have a squad go after her and capture her to bring back to the base where we can then figure out how to kill her." Riley said.

"Ya that's what we need a secret Government Agency that likes to experiment on demons and vampires getting their hands on a Hell God. A world of no." Buffy said.

"Maggie is no longer in charge it's different now." Riley said.

"And how would you know? You said you haven't been working there. You said you were just working as a T.A again." Buffy said.

"I've been down there a few times now helping out. They needed help training new soldiers. I might not have the enhancement drugs in me, but that doesn't mean I don't know what I'm doing or capable of fighting off demon and vampires. The new General is a good man and he is looking for me to come back full time. I haven't given him an answer yet." Riley said with a shrug like it was no big deal.

"And are you going to go back?" Buffy asked clearly getting upset.

"I'm considering it. It's my choice Buffy."

"You would go back there after everything that happened? You would go back to torturing demons and vampires, defenseless demons and vampires? You would actually do that knowing how I feel about it?" Buffy didn't know if she was more hurt or angry at Riley in this moment.

"I have to put up with your job the least you could do is put up with mine. What we do is run experiments and try and find a scientific break-through to help people. They are just animals who hunt and kill people it's no different than what you do only my job has a purpose. You're just a hunter." Riley said with anger.

"A hunter? Are you kidding me right now! I'm Heaven's Chosen One. I got picked out of everyone in the world to protect it. I've dead protecting it, literally died. I've stopped apocalypses while you have been running around in packs Tasering vampires and demons behind their backs like cowards. That's the only reason you could even take Spike down. You snuck up behind him and Tasered him because you couldn't handle a fight against him even with twenty men on your side. My job is the one with purpose, it's a calling and I don't have a say in whether I do it or not. Your job is just a sad excuse to torture defenseless creatures." Buffy said with anger.

"Get out of here boy." Angel said with a deadly tone.

"This isn't your house vampire." Riley hissed back.

"No, but that is my Childe up there and you're upsetting him with your emotions. Get out before I throw you out." Angel said in a deadly tone again.

"Get out Riley. I'll call you if I need you." Buffy said emphasising the word if.

"Fine pick your vampires over me again." Riley hissed out with anger before he headed for the door and slammed it shut.

Buffy let out a huff of anger before she spoke.

"Is Spike ok?" Buffy asked Angel.

"He's calming down. Spike's always had strong senses like I said. The emotions down here stirred him up a bit, but he'll calm down now that soldier boy isn't here." Angel said with anger.

"I am not happy about this Buffy. I know he is your boyfriend, but he has no right to talk to you like that. If he is getting back involved with that Initiative you shouldn't be around him or let him around Spike." Joyce said.

"I know and I won't. Hopefully he calms down and we can have a civil conversation about it, but we just have different opinions so I don't see that happening." Buffy said with a huff.

"He's lucky Spike has that chip in his head. If he didn't soldier boy would be in serious trouble." Angel said.

"He would go after Riley?" Joyce asked calmly.

"Not the way he is now. Spike has always been different he's never had that blood lust. Angelus and Drusilla made him turn darker than his nature. Once he was away from the both of them he changed even before the chip. Spike wouldn't go after Riley or any of those other soldier boys. But if they started something with him he wouldn't hesitate to kill them. If it's his life or someone else's he'll always made it theirs. Spike is loyal though and if Buffy told him not to kill someone he won't. Like it or not he considers Buffy, Dawn and yourself his girls. He'll die to protect you and do anything for you. He's loyal to a fault because right or wrong he will stand by you one hundred percent. It's just who he is." Angel answered honestly.

"So as long as he isn't influenced by Angelus or Drusilla he wouldn't go back to killing if he didn't have the chip anymore?" Buffy asked trying to sound casual and calm.

"Even if either of them came back he wouldn't go back to killing. The three of you is what keeps him grounded. He was never evil to begin with it wasn't until the family got a hold of him did he become evil because Angelus made him worthy of the blood in him. Spike was a vampire for a month before he even killed his first person. He was drinking animal blood for the month. He never had the blood lust. Drusilla was insane and when she used her thrall to kill him, she buried him and then forgot about it until two weeks later. Spike crawled out of the ground and went home to take care of his sick and dying mother. With the exception of needing blood he was just a normal person. He's the rarest vampire in history. He doesn't have a chip anymore does he." Angel said as he looked right at Buffy.

"It came out during the fight. His brain was injured in the part that the chip had been implanted. I didn't tell anyone yet." Buffy answered.

"She's debating if she should tell Spike or not." Joyce said clearly not happy about it still.

"You have to tell him Buffy. Spike always keeps his word and he would tell you if the situation was reversed. You need to tell him so he can defend himself against them."

"I know I just don't know how the others are going to handle it. The only reason they tolerate him being around is because he can't hurt them. Once they find out he doesn't have a chip anymore there's no telling what could happen."

"You need to tell them and him. You also need to tell him what the hell is going on. He's going to have a Hell God after him now too. You said he hurt her; she's not going to let that go. He needs to be prepared for what could happen."

"I know I'll tell him. I'm just not looking forward to the mess that all of this is going to bring."

"They will get over it. Spike wouldn't hurt anyone I believe that and deep down so do you." Joyce said.

"I know I just want him better so he can be ready to defend himself for when Glory comes back." Buffy said.

"He'll be waking up within three days. Just remember he's going to be confused and a little out of it for a day or so. Just be patient and he'll be fine." Angel reassured Buffy.

"Are you leaving now?" Joyce asked.

"I need to get back to L.A we're having our own problems right now. Call me if you need anything and I'll come back." Angel answered.

"Thank-you for coming I really appreciated it." Buffy said honestly.

"He's family. Let me know what happens with Glory. I'll have Wesley continue to do some research and I'll let you know if we find anything." Angel said.

"That would be great thanks." Buffy said.

"Goodnight Joyce."

"Goodnight Angel and thank-you again." Joyce said back.

"Goodnight Buffy."

"Goodnight Angel."

Angel headed out of the house and back to his car so he could head back to L.A, Buffy went into the living room and sat down on the chair while her mother was sitting down on the couch.

"You need sleep Sweetie. Spike is going to be fine you should get some sleep in your bed." Joyce said as she saw how tired Buffy was.

"No I want to stay in the room still. He needs to eat every four hours Angel said. I need to put that blood in the fridge."

"He wouldn't want you to be exhausted Buffy. He would want you to take care of yourself." Joyce said gently.

"I know I just, I just don't know what to think anymore." Buffy said with confusion in her voice.

"Don't know about what Sweetie?" Joyce asked gently again.

"First there's the whole Riley and the Initiative thing. Then there is the whole Spike didn't kill until Angelus and Drusilla got a hold of him a month later. And then finally if Spike doesn't need a soul to be loyal and feeling love and other emotions then why couldn't Angelus love me like Angel did? I just…I just feel like everything I know about my world and vampires are just falling apart."

"I think for Riley you need to listen to your heart and do what you feel is right no matter how much it might hurt. As for the rest maybe you should talk to Giles and see if he can do some research on Spike so you would have a better background on him. Or better yet you could try asking him."

"Angel said that I could ask Spike anything and he'll tell me. Angel isn't like that. He doesn't like talking about things that have to do with being a vampire. When he's in better shape I'll ask him and see what he says. I don't think Giles knows that Spike didn't come out of the ground a blood thirsty killer."

"Talk to Spike first Sweetie because if you go to Giles first and Spike finds out you didn't come to him he'll be upset and rightfully so. Any questions you might have about being a Slayer or this life you could ask Spike about it or Giles they might have different answers for you. I don't know what to tell you. The mother answer would be for you to do what is right by your own heart and what you won't regret later on in life."

"I just wish I knew what that was. I'll talk to Spike maybe he has more insight into the lives of Slayers. He did kill two of them. If nothing else he might talk more than Angel would or Giles. I'm gonna head up. I'll put the blood in the fridge and then get some sleep."

"I'm going to bed too. Goodnight Sweetie." Joyce said as she got up from the couch.

Buffy got up from the chair and gave her mom a good night hug as she spoke.

"Night Mom."

Buffy grabbed the bag of blood and went into the kitchen and put it away in the fridge before she headed up the stairs. She poked her head into the room holding Spike and he was still sound asleep. She decided to take a quick shower and get changed before she would lay down and try to get some sleep herself before she would wake up Spike for some blood again. Buffy took a quick shower and go changed into some sweats and a tank top. She went into the guest bedroom and she was going to sleep in the chair again, but she decided against it. She set her phone for three hours from now so she could give Spike more blood. She then grabbed the covers and she crawled under them and put them over Spike. She was careful of his injuries and she curled into his right shoulder and closed her eyes.

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It had been three days since Angel had been by to give Spike his blood. Three days since she had even spoken to Riley. She didn't know what she was going to do about it and she didn't want to make a rash decision. She had decided to stay with him after he went to the vamp whorehouse despite what she felt about it. She didn't want to throw away their relationship and she was worried that she wouldn't find another man that would be able to handle what she was. Riley was different he knew of the life and he was okay with it. Buffy just didn't want to have to handle all of this right now. She had a Hell God to try and kill the last thing she wanted was to deal with Riley and his problems with Spike or her calling.

She had spent the majority of the past three days sitting in the room with Spike. Everyone had been by to check in and see him, but she didn't tell them about his chip yet. She was just going to wait and see how he got better first. She knew she was putting it off, but she couldn't help it right now. She had enough to worry about she didn't want to cause a fight. She figured she would wait until Spike was better before she brought it up. Over the past three days Spike had gotten slightly better. He was no longer shaking and he didn't seem to have a fever anymore. The bruising on his face wasn't getting better, but on his stomach it seemed to be getting slightly better from the internal damage. His right arm looked like it was mending and his skull was almost back to normal. Buffy had no idea how the damage on the inside of his head was healing and he had yet to wake up. Buffy had barely left the room except to eat and to shower and change. She was still sleeping in the bed with Spike, because she didn't want to leave him alone. Helping Spike heal was something she could do for him. She could be helpful here for Spike and she found that she just wanted him to wake up and annoy her again. She had never thought much about Spike other than he was just there as extra muscle or for someone to beat up on when she was pissed off. It had started to make her feel bad seeing Spike here in her house lying on the bed seriously injured because he chose to protect her family. She knew she needed to treat him better. Spike didn't seem like he was going to be going anywhere, anytime soon and she knew she needed to be nicer to him. He deserved her loyalty as she had his and she didn't even do much for it. There was more to Spike then they had all been lead to believe and Buffy found herself wanting to know more about him.

Buffy was sitting down in the chair when Spike made a groan. Buffy got out of the chair and went over to Spike as Spike slowly started to open his eyes. Buffy could see that they were glossed over and he couldn't really see out of them yet. Buffy saw the panic and pain on Spike's face and she quickly spoke.

"Spike, it's okay calm down it's okay." Buffy said in what she was hoping would come across as a calm and gentle voice.

"Buffy?" Spike's voice came out very weak and hoarse, but she could hear the fear in it. Something she had never heard from Spike before. He was always the one to cause fear in people without even trying. She had never thought he would ever get scared.

Buffy moved so she could hold onto his left hand as she spoke.

"It's me I'm right here. You're safe." Buffy said gently.

Spike started to move around as the pain picked up and he had a wheezing sound to his breathing.

"It's hurts. I can't see, why I can't I see?" Spike asked weakly and it was clear he was in a lot more pain than Angel would have expected.

"It's okay Spike you were just hurt. I know it hurts but it won't in a couple of days."

"I don't understand. I can't remember." Spike said with panic to his voice as his breathing picked up.

"Spike, listen to me listen to my voice. It's okay, you are going to be okay. You can feel my touch, you can smell my scent. You know where you are. You know you are in my house and you know I'm not going to let anyone hurt you. You are safe. You will remember what happened later you just need sleep. I got something that will help with the pain ok just hang on." Buffy said gently.

She knew she shouldn't be doing this again, but he was just in so much pain and injured. She knew she could help him heal and get stronger and she needed him to be stronger. She grabbed the knife and she cut her left wrist again. She then brought it up to Spike's mouth and he could instantly smell it as he fangs dropped. Buffy could see him fighting his demon even in his weakened state and Buffy couldn't help, but be shocked by it. She moved her wrist over to Spike's mouth as she spoke.

"It's okay Spike drink my blood. I'm giving you permission it's okay."

"You would never let me. I don't understand. It hurts too much to think."

"Then don't think just drink Spike please. You need it. Trust me." Buffy said in a pleading voice and she was hoping it would work to get Spike to do as she asked.

She slowly felt his tongue on her wrist and she pushed it gently against his mouth. He began to take slow pulls of her blood and Buffy couldn't help but notice the tingle she got in her body that she didn't the last time. She didn't even notice it when Spike ever so gently slipped his fangs into her wrist to get more blood once the cut had closed up. She could feel herself getting wetter and wetter and she had no idea why, but she was so turned on in this moment she didn't even know what to do with herself. She thought she was going to explode when she felt Spike releasing his fangs and licking her wound closed. He placed a soft and gentle kiss to her wrist before he fell back asleep. Buffy moved her left hand and she gently rubbed the right side of Spike's face. She was still turned on and wet, but the desire was no longer there. She knew she would need to ask Spike about it at another time. I would be an awkward conversation, but she was hoping she could work her way around it so it would seem like she wasn't asking about herself. After a few minutes she pulled herself back and she decided she was tired so she went around to the other side of the bed and just curled up beside Spike and fell asleep.

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It wasn't until two days later when Spike woke up again. His body told him it was dark out and he felt something warm next to him. He turned his head slowly to see a head of blonde hair that was distinctive of Buffy. He also got a clear scent of her and he looked around slightly. He was under the covers and he wasn't wearing a shirt. Spike tried to look around. He could see, but he couldn't see as well as he used to. He could see the doorway, but after that it was all blurry. He had a headache pounding behind his eyes and in his head so he knew he had been hit pretty hard. He tried to think back to the last thing he could remember. He remembered waking up and not being able to see anything. He remembered being in a great deal of pain. He could remember the fear and panic he felt. He then remembered that Buffy had given him some of her blood. He could also feel Angel's blood going through him as well, which was surprising and welcoming at the same time. He tried to move his right hand but as it was off the bed slightly it shook and he had to put it back down. He could still feel a few broken ribs and his jaw was sore, but he didn't feel anything missing at least. He was exhausted and he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open, but he wanted to know what the hell was going on. He didn't recognize this room, but he knew the smell was Buffy's house. He didn't know why Buffy was sleeping next to him either, but he really didn't want to wake her up. Her warmth felt good beside him. It had been over a century since he had slept next to someone with warmth. Spike knew that they were supposed to hate each other, but he just couldn't hate her. He had developed feelings for her out of nowhere and he had done his best to hide them from her and everyone else. It wasn't natural and he knew that she would never trust him or like him like that. Not after Angel. So he had to settle for watching her back and keeping her safe. He should be waking her up right now and getting some answers, but he was too tired to even care right now. He slowly rolled over onto his right side and was pleased when it didn't hurt too much. He draped his left arm over Buffy's stomach and closed his eyes and allowed her warmth to warm his cool body up.

It wasn't until the next morning did Buffy start to wake up. The first thing she noticed was that she was curled up against a solid chest and an arm was draped over her stomach. For a moment she forgot where she was and who she was curled up against and just let herself enjoy the feel of being held. She couldn't help but notice how well she fit into his chest. Spike wasn't as big as Riley or Angel and she always felt so small in their arms. With Spike they were more evenly matched. He was bigger than her, but not overly bigger than her. She just felt right against him a thought that scared the hell out of her. She was also happy to see that Spike had rolled over so he was at least able to move. It had been six days now of him healing and now he seemed to be in better shape. Buffy opened her eyes and she looked up at Spike to see his sleeping face. Buffy reached her hand up and gently touched the side of his face. Spike took a deep breath in before he slowly opened his eyes to see Buffy looking back at him.

"Hey." Buffy said softly.

"Hey yourself." Spike said softly back with exhaustion still in his voice.

"Your eyes are better." Buffy said with a smile.

"Ya I can see now, sort of."

"How bad is your eye sight?" Buffy asked with a slight worry to her voice.

"About as good as it was when I was human. I don't miss that." Spike said dryly.

"You had to wear glasses when you were human? Did they even have glasses that long ago?"

"That long ago? How old do you think I am?" Spike asked with a chuckle.

"Well I don't know when glasses were invented. That's a Willow thing, not a Buffy thing."

"They were invented and yes I had to wear glasses. They were gold wired and I hated wearing them."

"Gold wired? As in real gold?" Buffy asked shocked.

"Yup, costed two hundred dollars back then. Now you can't even get plastic glasses for that price. But back then two hundred dollars was about two thousand dollars now a days."

"Wow. You came from a rich family?" Buffy asked not even bothered by how close they still were.

"I did even to this day it would be considered rich."

"What was that like to be a rich Victorian Englishman?"

"Boring actually. It involved a lot of stuffy parties where I was not popular in."

"Why not?"

"Why the sudden interest Pet? Our conversations before haven't gone past do this or I stake you." Spike said lightly, but Buffy could hear the undertone of hurt to his voice.

"I know, but it was wrong for me to treat you like that. You don't have to tell me anything I know, but I was curious."

"I don't have a problem talking about it Luv, just not real sure what is going on right now. All I remember is pain and then waking up beside you cuddled into me. So either I've died and somehow ended up in Heaven or I've missed out on something important."

"You think this is Heaven?" Buffy asked with warmth in her voice and shock.

"I'm lying next to a beautiful woman curled up in my arms. I can't imagine anything better right now. But considering I can hear your neighbors arguing about the bloke leaving the toilet seat up again I'm going to assume I'm still in Sunnyhell and I have missed something bloody important."

"You've missed out on a lot of something important and that was my fault. I kept you in the dark about something important and it got you hurt. I'm sorry I shouldn't have kept you in the dark. I don't want you to worry about what happened right now just relax. I promise I'll tell you everything later."

"It must have been bad for you and Angel to give me blood. How long have I been out?"

"Today is the sixth day that you've been here. You didn't wake up for the first three days. You were in a lot of pain and really out of it. You couldn't see at all and I gave you more of my blood."

"I remember that vaguely."

"You were really hurt. I've never seen you afraid before." Buffy said softly.

"Ya let's just keep that part between us eh Luv." Spike said slightly embarrassed.

"I won't tell. Your Big Bad persona is safe with me. So getting back on track why were you an outcast?"

"Back in my time if your family was rich you didn't really do the whole school thing. You went until what you consider grade six. We didn't call it that, but once you were twelve you didn't go to school. If you were female you were focused on finding a mate and settling down. Parents would set up their boys with suitable girls to wed them off. The males would then work for the family business. It's just how it was back then. My Pop died while my Mum was pregnant with me. Back then if your husband died you were a widow for life. You didn't date or get remarried it went against the belief in the church. Growing up with just a Mum put me as an outcast and then I didn't stop going to school. I went all the way through to University and got a degree. All of which made me very unpopular and peculiar among my social circle."

"You have a degree? In what?"

"I went to Oxford University and received a Masters in English and a B.A in Art."

"Shut up! You have a Masters degree." Buffy said with a smile on her face.

"This stays between us you are aware of that right?"

"Ya, ya, ya it stays between us don't worry I won't tell anyone that you are actually intelligent or that you purr." Buffy said with a smile.

"You shut up right now. I do not purr." Spike said in a serious voice, but Buffy could see the twitches of a smile on his face.

"You so do. I heard you purring when Angel was rubbing your scar, which by the way he wouldn't tell me why and he got really offended when I asked if he did it too."

"He doesn't do it and he would get offended by that. He spends too much time trying to fight his human side and his demon side against each other."

"So why do you purr?"

"It only happens when family or a lover rubs it for a while. It's a demon thing and it only works if the vampire doesn't fight his demon. My demon and human half live in harmony so every now and then it purrs if I'm that deeply asleep. It's rare and with being injured my demon took over slightly."

"Hm well I guess that makes sense. So does that mean if I rub your scar you'll start purring?" Buffy asked with a smirk.

"You're my lover now? Bloody hell I have missed out on a lot." Spike said with a smirk.

"I am not your lover nor will I ever be." Buffy said with a pointed look.

"Then no purring for you or any other trick that would make your eyes roll into the back of your head with intense pleasure."

"I guess I'm just going to have to settle for normal sex." Buffy said with a smile.

"Normal sex is code for boring sex Luv and that is a bloody shame."

"Moving on. What did you do once you graduated your fancy University?"

"I wrote a lot and I worked at an art gallery helping them with purchases. I didn't have to work we were rich, but I wanted to do something until my Mum got sick and I had to take care of her."

"What did she get sick with?" Buffy asked gently.

"TB, but back then it was known as consumption. It was assumed that someone who smoked and drank too much caused them to be sick. There was no cure for it and with the rainy wet weather of England it only made her lungs worse. She died not long after I did."

"But you were there for her while she died." Buffy said already knowing that from Angel.

"That's a story for another day Luv."

"Fair enough." Buffy said as she snuggled into Spike's chest and Spike held her closer to him. After a moment Buffy spoke. "So how rich were you?"

Spike smiled at the question before he spoke. "Stupidly rich, like old dirty aunt money rich."

"I have no idea what that means." Buffy said with a chuckle.

"Let's just say that I still have the money that comes in from the accounts and I own the estate. Between that and the money I have made in the past century plus, rich like private jet and tropical island rich."

Buffy's head snapped up and looked at Spike before she spoke. "Shut up, you are not that rich."

"I really am. I keep the estate in England in working order with a cleaning company coming in twice a month. If I ever figure out a way to play outside in the sun I would buy a resort on some tropical island with a small jet so I could fly and not have to wait around in airports."

"Ok we need to figure out a way for you to be out in the sun just so I can sit on a tropical island." Buffy said with a smile.

I'll work on that Pet." Spike said with a chuckle.

"Is that even possible? I mean that Gem of Amara is no longer an option I can't imagine there are many other ways a vampire could go outside."

"There are tricks you can do to get around the sun, but most vampires can't be bothered enough to figure it out. I might have to start looking into it."

"I don't suppose there is anything that makes Sayers immortal."

"Not that I've come across Pet, but I'll keep my eyes open for ya."

"You really had us worried Spike. You even had Xander worried." Buffy said in a serious voice.

"I must have been bad. I'll be alright Luv. Still a little weak and banged up but I'll be back to perfect health in a day or two."

"You almost died Spike, because of me." Buffy said sadly.

"I highly doubt that one Luv. I may not remember right now what happened, but I do know that it wasn't your fault. No one makes me fight unless I want to. I don't blame you Luv." Spike said in a serious voice.

"Everyone will be by today and we can go over everything then if you feel up for it."

"I'll be fine Luv."

"I should get up and check in on Mom. You also need some blood in you. We can't stay in bed all day."

"We could do other things besides just laying here in bed together." Spike said with a flirty smirk.

"Oh you must be feeling better." Buffy said with a smile as she sat up. As she sat up the cover moved and Spike was able to see the level of damage done to his torso.

"That's a lot of bruises." Spike said as he looked down at his injuries.

"There was actually more than that before." Buffy said sadly.

Spike moved his right hand so he could feel his ribs, but as he went to touch his ribs his right hand shook again. Spike squeezed it to try and shook it out of it, but when he went to touch his ribs it did it again.

"It's okay Angel said it would go away in a few weeks to. He knows about all of your injuries and he said you would be seventy-five percent better within seven days. It's day six right now so in another week or two you'll be back to one hundred percent. I'll get you some blood and later if you want you can shower, Xander brought over a change of clothes for you from your crypt."

"That is unexpectedly nice of him."

"He was with me when we found you. Like I said he was worried, we all were, but I'll explain later for now you need blood and I need to eat and shower." Buffy said as she reluctantly got out of the bed. She didn't even want to think about what that meant that she didn't want to leave the bed with Spike in it.

She headed down the stairs and into the kitchen to get a mug of blood warmed up for Spike. Joyce smiled at Buffy as she came into the kitchen.

"Morning Sweetie."

"Morning Mom. Spike woke up and he's taking and he can see. Not as well as he normally can, but he can see." Buffy said as she worked on getting Spike some blood.

"That's great Sweetie. Does he remember what happened?"

"No he doesn't remember that. I told him we could talk about it later when everyone got here. I'm hoping he can sleep some more and feel better and maybe that will help with his eye sight and his right hand shakes. He should be one hundred percent though by the end of next week." Buffy said optimistically as she removed the mug from the microwave.

"Good. Do you know what he is planning on doing? Is he leaving today to go back to his crypt?"

"I don't know I haven't talked to him about it. I really don't like the idea of him being there though. Now that Glory knows where he lives, she's going to be coming back to get him. I don't think he should leave until he finds a new place."

"I agree he shouldn't be going anywhere until he is completely healed and he has a new place to live. At least with him here if she shows up again he will be here to help protect us."

"I'll tell him later after I tell him everything else. I'm gonna bring this up to him and then shower and get some breakfast before everyone gets here."

"I'll bring it up to him while you get something to eat Sweetie. I wouldn't mind seeing for myself that he is awake and doing well." Joyce said as she got up off the stool and grabbed the mug from Buffy.

"Ok I'll be up once I'm done eating." Buffy said as she grabbed a bowl for some cereal.

Joyce headed up the stairs and into the guest bedroom. She walked into the guess bedroom and saw that Spike was sitting up slightly against the headboard. He smiled when he saw Joyce walking into the room.

"Hello Mum." Spike said with a smile.

"Hello William. I brought you some blood. I am making Buffy eat something. She gets so thin sometimes it worries me." Joyce said as she walked into the room. She handed Spike the mug of blood before she sat down in the chair.

"Slayers have a very fast metabolism. You'll never find a fat one."

"I know but I still worry. Sometimes she gets too thin even for a Slayer."

"Stress does that to people. Being a college student in general can be stressful but when you combine that with whatever the hell is going on plus being a Slayer. She's going to have times when she is stressed and loses weight and times when she puts it back on. It's normal."

"You know a lot about Slayers right?"

"I do ya. Anything in particular you want to know?" Spike asked as he took a drink from the mug.

"Well I know a normal life is out of the question."

"Depends on your definition of normal I suppose. Will she ever have a nine to five job and never have to fight vampires and demons again? No. But she can still have a normal life. She can still get married, have children, own a business. She wouldn't be the first Slayer to have a family or run a business Mum."

"Really? So she could have a family if she wanted and make something of herself besides what she has to do with her Slayer duties?" Joyce asked with hope.

"Of course she can. She's still a person and she can be whatever she wants to be. She just has to patrol at night to make sure that nothing bad happens. She doesn't just have to be the Slayer she can be an individual too."

"I never even thought she could do both. I always thought that her life, the life of having a family of her own would no longer be possible. She doesn't even believe it either. She's taking courses at college because she thinks she should, but she doesn't even know what she wants to do. She never even imagined she could do something with being a Slayer." Joyce said sadly.

"I'll set her straight. There's a lot she doesn't know about and I'll do what I can to help her. We can get it all figured out in time Mum."

"I'm glad you are in her life and I am thrilled that you are feeling better finally. Thank-you for what you did for Dawn and myself. I know you don't remember, but you saved our lives."

"I'd do it anytime you know that. You're my girls and I always protect my girls. She's upset, she's upset about something more than what has been happening. Did something happen while I was out?" Spike asked with worry.

Joyce let out a heavy sigh and she sat back further into the chair. She was about to answer when she heard Buffy coming up the stairs. Buffy leaned against the door frame and looked at Spike and Joyce before she spoke.

"Everything ok?"

"Everything is fine Pet. Your Mum and me were just chattin'. Did you eat breakfast?" Spike asked.

"Ya I ate some cereal. I'm gonna shower and change. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine Luv stop worrying about old Spike. I'll be ok, I'm not dyin' on ya."

"You better not I went through a lot of trouble to keep you alive. The least you can do is live." Buffy said with a smirk.

"I'll remember that Luv. Go shower and change before all of your friends get here."

"Alright. You two behave." Buffy said with a smile as she pushed off the doorframe and headed down the hallway to her room and then into the bathroom.

"She's been really worried about you. She hasn't left this room all week. She even slept in here." Joyce said.

"I know I woke up to her curled up into me. Can't think of a better way for a bloke to wake up. Thought I'd died and gone to Heaven."

"You love her." Joyce simply stated.

"I thought I was being careful about that." Spike said slightly shocked that Joyce had figured it out.

"You are. She doesn't know and the others don't, but I can tell. The way you protect her and always have her back even when you may think she is wrong. You're a good man even when you want others to think differently. You show the three of us a different side of yourself, your true self. She cares about you. She doesn't want to admit it to herself, but she does care about you. No one spends six days in a room worrying and caring for someone that you don't care about. She's just stressed and worried after the last relationship with a vampire didn't go so well. I know you aren't him but she's just worried and afraid of it happening again."

"I'm not him. I would never hurt her like that."

"I know you wouldn't. Just be patient she'll come around."

"I got all the time in the world. Now what else has been happening?" Spike asked calmly.

"Riley, that is what has been happening. I never thought anyone would be worse than Angel, but he may actually prove me wrong." Joyce said with anger.

"He doesn't deserve her. He has no idea just what he has. What has he done now?" Spike asked with anger.

"For starters he thought we should just kill you because you were going to take too long to heal before we knew Angel would give you blood. He kept calling you an animal and saying how what the Initiative was doing wasn't torture it was experiments for science. He managed to upset everyone in the room. Then we find out that he has been offered a job working back in the new Initiative and he was considering taking it. He completely took Buffy by surprise and he has been acting like her job isn't important. Like she can just quit whenever she wants. That was six days ago and she hasn't spoken to him since."

"He's a bloody idiot. He has no idea what he has and he will never understand just what she is. I want her to be happy, but being with him will only cause her heartache. It's already caused her enough heartache. She doesn't deserve it. She deserves a man that loves her because of who she is and not in spite of it. He'll never be good enough for her."

"I just wish he would understand that this is a hard time for her. He should be supporting her not fighting her on her decisions and being condescending to her and to me might I add. I know very well that you are a vampire. I've known for years now. If you wanted us all dead you would have done it by now. "

"Really would have. How are you feeling? All of this stress isn't good for you." Spike said with concern.

"I'm fine. I'm tired and I am taking it easy. Melissa has been a lot of help with running the Gallery for me while I have been away. I think I will go there tonight just to check in on a few things. We have a major showing next week and I want to be there for it."

"Well if you want to wait until five I can go with you."

"If you are sure you are up for it."

"I'll be fine and I'll feel better knowing that you are not out there by yourself at night just a week after brain surgery."

"I feel just fine, but we can go together I am sure by then you will be itching to get out for a little bit."

"Really will be."

"Well I need to work on some paperwork before everyone gets here and you should rest while you can."

"I'll do just that I promise."

"I'll come and see you later. I'm so happy that you are feeling better William."

"Me too Mum, me too." Spike said with a warm smile.

Joyce headed out of the room and back to her room so she could work on some paperwork. Spike finished his blood and decided to lie down for a bit before he would get up and get showered and changed.

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It wasn't until two in the afternoon did everyone else arrived. Everyone, but Riley came into the living room. Joyce was sitting in the kitchen working on some paperwork, but she was still close enough to be able to hear what they were saying. Dawn was still in school so it was as good as a time as any to be having the conversation that Joyce knew was coming. Buffy had yet to tell the others about Spike's chip no longer being in his head anymore. It was a conversation that couldn't be put off anymore as Spike was now awake and talking again. Once everyone was settled into the living room Xander spoke.

"So how is the fanged wonder doing?"

"Do you really not like him? I mean at all?" Buffy asked calmly slightly unsure of what the answer would be.

"Like is a strong word. I mean I don't hate the guy. I did put up with him in my room for a couple of weeks." Xander said.

"That's not really an answer." Anya said confused.

"Ya I don't know. I don't hate him and I don't like what the army did to him. I don't like what just happened to him. Ya I mean I guess I like him. He's the only guy in my life that I can talk to about what happens after dark. We go out and play pool and have beers that he even pays for. I guess were friends and as much as I would deny I ever said it I would miss him if he wasn't around." Xander said with a shrug as if he just realised it himself.

"And Will, you and Tara both trust Spike right?" Buffy asked slightly nervous.

"Spike is different. His aura has changed over the time that I have known him. I trust him." Tara answered.

"Ya I mean he's not the, I'm gonna kill you guy anymore. He's not so creepy and dark as he used to be. It's been a year since he's gotten his chip I mean if he was going to kill me he would have done it by now." Willow said.

"Why the questions Buffy?" Giles asked.

"There's something you should know about Spike."

Before everyone had arrived Spike had woken up and decided to take a shower before he would go downstairs and stretch his legs. When he stood up he was a little shaky on his legs and his right hand was still shaking whenever he tried to do any fine movements. Spike knew he would get better it was just going to take some time. He grabbed the clean clothes and his socks and boots and headed into the bathroom. He took a nice hot shower before he got out. The bruising was still really bad and he still had a rib or two that was still healing. He was also still in some pain, but he was used to pain. He heard everyone coming into the house and he could hear their conversation. Spike was confusion why Buffy was asking everyone what they thought of him, but he was pleased to hear their answers. He liked Willow and Tara they were good girls. Willow reeked of power and Spike knew it would be something they needed to keep an eye on. Tara was just a sweet girl and he found himself wanting to protect her. Him and Xander did have a weird relationship, but Spike could consider Xander a friend and it made him happy to know that Xander felt the same towards him. He was getting dressed when he noticed that in his pants pocket was a fresh pack of smokes and his lighter. Spike smiled knowing that Xander had done it for him. He froze when he heard the direction the conversation had turned.

"What should we know about Spike?" Giles asked with concern.

"During the fight Spike somehow lost his chip. I saw it in the blood when we moved him." Buffy admitted.

"Wait what? He's back to being a soulless, chipless killer again?" Xander asked with panic.

"He's not back to being a killer." Buffy said in Spike's defense.

"Does he know?" Giles asked.

"No he doesn't know." Buffy said.

"What the hell are we going to do? He could kill us, he could attack us or kill other people." Xander said.

"This does throw a wrench into the plan." Giles said.

"I don't think Spike would go back to killing. His aura has changed it's no longer dark colors it's more blue and green now. He's calmed down and is happy to be fighting demons and not killing humans." Tara said in Spike defense.

"Yes, but how long is he able to control his demon before it becomes a problem is the question." Anya said.

"Spike does have remarkable control over his demon. He couldn't have been the first vampire to get the modification chip implanted into him. The others all died from biting people. They had no control, but Spike has been able to survive on bagged blood and getting violence through fighting other vampires and demons. If he didn't have a good control over his demon then he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from attacking humans." Giles said.

"How do we trust him though? The chip was a guarantee that he couldn't hurt us or anyone. Even if you want to entertain that he won't come after us, how will we know he won't kill other people?" Xander asked calmly.

"He won't. He knows Buffy would have to stake him and I don't think he wants to fight Buffy, at least not kill her." Willow said.

"Spike wouldn't do that to Buffy." Tara said.

"Look, we need him in this fight. He doesn't know he doesn't have the chip and he doesn't technically need to be told." Buffy said.

"You want to keep this from him? You don't want to tell him that he no longer has the chip? Giles asked surprised.

"Ya Slayer, just how long were you plannin' on not tellin' me?" Spike said with pure anger to his voice.

They all turned around to see Spike standing there by the bottom of the stairs. He was dressed, minus his normal long leather coat. He didn't look too sturdy on his feet, but he was wearing the clean clothes and freshly showered. Buffy could see the anger in his eyes, but she could also see the hurt and betrayal in them as well.

"Spike, I was going to tell you I was just waiting for the right time." Buffy started.

"Oh really? And when was that going to be? When you were done using me? You've known for six days and you didn't think to tell me during any of them? Ya I get I didn't wake up really until this mornin' where I could actually understand anythin'. So you get pass for the last six days, but what about this morning? Seemed like you had plenty of time then to bring it up. You know a little, hey by the way you're not longer defenseless against those army wannabe buddies of my sweet honey." Spike said not even bothering to hide the anger in his voice.

"Spike listen to me please." Buffy pleaded.

"No you listen here Slayer, how would you like it? If someone came up behind you, tasered you, threw you drugged up down on some table and chained you down to it. How would you like it to feel someone's hands poking around in your head? It didn't matter how much pain it caused you, how much you screamed as they kept poking and prodding. You can't pass out because it hurts too bloody much and you can't even move. All you can do is feel the pain and hear their laughter like you don't even matter. How would you like to go around every single day looking over your shoulder waiting for them to find you again knowing you can't even defend yourself? Knowing that you could be back there getting experimented on like you are nothing more than some bug they found in the dirt. You kept a piece of information from me that could at least take the fear away of being some lab rat again. But you were just going to keep that piece of information to yourself until you're through with needed the extra muscle. So tell me Slayer, what the hell makes you any better than them?" Spike said with hurt and anger in his voice like none of them have ever heard before.

Buffy didn't even get to say anything back to that before Spike turned and headed out of the kitchen and slammed the door shut behind him. Buffy dropped her head into her hands at the obvious pain she had caused Spike. She had just spent the morning curled up in his arms and this is what she did to him.

"I'm sorry Buffy, but he does have a right to be angry over this. We have all trusted him with our lives in the past year. That deserves our loyalty and faith." Giles said.

"I never thought about it like that before. He really does have a point to be upset right now. I would be too." Xander said.

"I know he does. I have to go and make this right." Buffy said as she got up from the chair and headed out into the kitchen and did her best to ignore her mother's sad stare as she walked outside.

The backyard was always covered in shade during the afternoon so Spike was standing on the grass away from the house smoking and pacing around. Buffy could tell her was pissed off and very hurt by her keeping this from him. Buffy sat down on the top step as she spoke.

"Spike please hear me out. I was going to tell you I really was, but I was afraid I would have to stake you."

"You think I would do that to you? Do you think after coming to you for help last year, after watching your back in fights, helping you protect your family and friends, after whatever the bloody hell just happened. Do you really think I would turn around and say fuck you and go off and kill people? Put you in the position to fight me, to put you in the position to stake another vampire that you know and have fought beside? Do you really believe I was just slap you in the face like that after everything?" Spike said with a combination of hurt and anger in his voice.

"I want to believe you wouldn't Spike, but this is complicated. I don't know. Everything I have ever been told is that all vampires and demons are evil and a soul makes the difference. Then here you are, no soul, and yet you loved Drusilla, I know you did it was obvious that you loved her and it wasn't fake I think I love you love. It was real. You would have died for her. You are everything I have ever been told that is impossible. I so badly want to believe it's an act so I don't have to think about the fact that Angel couldn't love me without a soul. And yet at the same time I want to believe that you are different from every other vampire around. But I'm scared Spike, I'm scared that I'll have to kill you and I can't go through that again." Buffy said with complete honesty to her voice.

"I wouldn't do that to you. I am different from every vampire out there. I don't need the soul to have emotions or to feel guilty about things that have happened. Scared or not you had no right to even think about keeping this from me. Not after everything they did to me in there. Everything they had me do." Spike said softly with pure pain in his voice and Buffy wanted and needed to know now more than ever just what had happened when he was held captive. Before she got to ask he spoke again. "You have to decide, right here, right now if you trust me or not. If you don't then fine say it and once whatever the fuck is going on is taken care of I'll leave town for good. Your Mum and little Sis will always be under my protection so you don't even have to worry about it. But I'm not going to stay around a place I'm not wanted. I'm not going to put up with another round of kick the Spike or the comments and being left in the dark. I'll leave and I still won't be killing whether I'm in this town or not. If you trust me then tell me and I'll stay. I'll actually make a real go of it here in Sunnyhell, but you have to trust me fully no more keeping secrets from me, no more games and no more questioning my loyalty. Decide what it's going to be Buffy." Spike said calmly.

"You know if you would have asked me that two weeks ago I would have denied it. I would have let you go without a second thought. Not because I don't trust you, but because I couldn't admit it to myself. I trust you Spike completely. I screwed up I know that. Giving you my blood wasn't about just keeping you alive for this fight, it was because I don't want to know what it's like for you to not be here. I don't know what's going on or happening between us, but you went from being my number one enemy to a friend. I enjoy patrolling together, I like knowing that you know me so well that we don't even need words when we fight. You know when I need you to be there as a silent support or when I need you to tell me some stupid joke to make me laugh. You just know me like no one has before. It scares me, if I'm being honest it scares me a lot. This morning waking up wrapped up in your arms I didn't even want to move. It just felt right, like we fit perfectly together. I don't know what is going on Spike, I don't, because two weeks ago it would never have happened. But then you got so injured. There was so much blood and you were dying. You were in so much pain and all I could do was sit there and hold your hand and talk to you. I didn't even know if you could hear me. All I knew was that you could smell me and I just hoped that would be enough for you to know you were safe. You went through all of that for my family, to keep them safe. I don't want you to leave Spike. I'm so sorry for the way I've treated you in this past year I shouldn't have judged you. Please don't leave Spike." Buffy said with honesty to her voice.

Spike let out a sigh before he flicked his cigarette butt away and went and sat down beside Buffy on the steps.

"I'm not going anywhere Luv. But no more games alright? I'm too old for games."

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have kept you in the dark and then turn around and drop Mom an Dawn off expecting you to keep them safe. It wasn't fair."

"We'll move on from it ya. Come on let's go back in there and you can fill me in on everything. Then later on I'll get out of your hair."

"You can't go back to your crypt Spike she could go back there for you. It's not safe. And you are not leaving here until you are in better shape. You just technically woke up this morning."

"Suppose you are right about my place not being safe. Not that it was real safe to begin with. I'll find an actual place to live and make a real go of it here in Sunnyhell. Get a business up and going."

"I thought you were rich."

"I am rich, doesn't mean I don't like to work."

"What would you do?"

"We can talk about it later Luv. We got more important things to discuss. Come on we can talk more about it later." Spike said as he got up and Buffy did as well.

Together they headed inside and Spike just winked at Joyce and she knew that everything would be ok.

"Come on in with us Mum, this probably would concern you as well ya?" Spike said.

"It most certainly does." Joyce said as she stood up from the stool and they walked into the living room.

Joyce sat down and Buffy had Spike sit down in the chair while she sat down on the arm of the couch facing Spike.

"Spike, I would like to apologise on behave of everyone. We should have trusted you more than that." Giles started.

"No more needs to be said on the matter Mate its all taken care of. Now someone tell me what the bloody hell happened." Spike said trying to move passed all the feelings and get into the heart of the matter.

"A couple of months ago I was attacked by this woman and she kicked my ass. She was stronger than me and I didn't expect it. I thought she was a demon and she called herself Glory. She kept going on and on about how I have her Key and she wanted me to tell her where it was. I was able to get away and I ran into some Monks that were dying. The one Monk told me that the Key was a mystical ball of energy they had been protecting from Glory and they turned it into a human and sent it to me to protect. We've been trying to research who Glory is or what she is and she's been pretty quiet until a week ago. She was here in the house and that is when I had Mom and Dawn go to you. I knew you would be strong enough to protect them while I was with the Council trying to see what information they had for me. I was then attacked by these knights that want the Key to destroy it to stop Glory from having it. You were attacked by Glory, who we found out was a Hell God." Buffy started.

"The purpose of the Key is for her to use it to get back home to her dimension. Only the Key's blood will open the portal and once there is no more blood the portal will close. However, while the portal is open anyone from that dimension can cross into our dimension causing Hell on Earth." Giles added.

"Ok time out for a second here, who's the Key?" Spike asked.

"The only people that know outside of this room is Angel and I just told him when he came here to help you. Riley doesn't even know and I don't want him to know just in case. Dawn is the Key and she doesn't even know." Buffy said.

"The Niblet is the Key? She's the one this Hell bitch is after?" Spike asked with a control anger to his voice.

"She is. Glory doesn't know it and Dawn doesn't even know it, but she is." Buffy said back with understanding in her voice.

"You need to tell Niblet what she is." Spike said.

"We can't do that to her. The Monks just made her like two months ago. All of our memories of her, all of her memories are factory made. It would crush her." Buffy said.

"She'll figure it out eventually. She's smart she's going to overhear something one day or she's going to find the answers herself. Giles is always writing in his books all she has to do is find one and read it. It's best she hears it from the people that love her and can explain and help her feel better than learnin' about it on her own." Spike said trying to get them to see reason.

"I just don't want her thinking that she isn't a part of this family or that we don't love her. She's human now it doesn't matter what she was." Joyce said.

"I know that, but she is also a mystic ball of energy. Who knows what else she could open. She might find out she has a power later on in life and then the questions will come up all over again. It's better for you to tell her now then for time to go by and she just gets more angry and feels even more betrayed. You need to tell her on your terms and make sure she knows that she is loved and a part of your family." Spike said calmly.

"Spike is right. There is no telling just what she could be capable of. If she can open one doorway there is nothing to say she can't open another. If demons got word of it they could come after her for her power. She deserves to know." Giles said.

"We'll tell her, but we will do it on our terms." Joyce said.

"Getting back on point here, Buffy did say that you were able to injure Glory." Giles said.

"She wasn't easy to injure and I don't know how bad she ended up or how fast she can heal. She's one strong bitch though. What else do you know?" Spike asked.

"She lives half of the time in a human host. We do not know who that is though. Wesley was able to find out some information. She can apparently summon any Hell demon she wishes, but they can only remain for twenty-four hours before they go back to their Hell dimension. However, Angel did say that a Hell demon could kill the whole city by then." Giles said.

"And then some. I'm assuming if you kill the human host she dies." Spike said.

"Probably but we don't know who the host is." Giles said.

"I'm not killing a human. It's not the person's fault that he or she has a Hell God in them." Buffy said.

"I'm not saying we do, but if it comes down to some stranger dying or the Niblet I'm gonna pick the stranger Luv. Besides if you kill the Hell God won't the human host die as well?" Spike said.

"Quite possibly." Giles said.

"Couldn't we separate the two?" Willow asked.

"I wouldn't even know where to begin with that or if it is even possible." Giles said.

"It would take an extreme amount of magic for that." Anya said.

"Wait there's a book. They have rules, shit what was the name of it." Spike said as he looked at Anya.

"Oh right it had all of the rules that Hell Gods had to play by while out of their dimension. I saw it once. It's this small little black book with designs on it. Oh crap what was it called." Anya said as she tried to think.

"They have to play by rules?" Xander asked surprised.

"Every demon does it's just how it is. If my head would stop pounding I might be able to think of it. It started with an S and was in the language of the Gods." Spike said.

"Gods?" Tara asked.

"Heaven's Gods not Hell's Gods." Spike clarified.

"Ok time out again, Heaven has Gods?" Buffy asked clearly confused.

"Silly humans never did learn about the world they were playing in. You would think being Heaven's Chosen One she would have learnt all of this." Anya said with a head shake to Spike.

"I'll teach her. Not their fault remember how wacked those Journals are. It's all political now, not what it used to be." Spike said.

"Someone please explain." Giles said clearly now very interested in what the two very old demons knew.

"Once my head is no longer fully scrambled I should remember the name, but until then Red look online for the book. It starts with an S and it will be in rough shape. All demons and vampires, anything that is not one hundred percent walking, talking human has rules they have to follow. Like humans have laws they have to follow. They vary on the species of demons to vampires. And just like humans do we have courts within those species to decide what the punishment should be. For vampires you don't hunt on Halloween, it was a sacred day before all of the little children were out knocking on doors. Halloween was a day to worship the Devil and you don't go out of your place on the sacred day. Over the centuries though things have changed. Vampires have begun to be disrespectful of the older traditions. Before if you Sired someone they were your family, they became your Childe." Spike started.

"Ok stop right there. What is that? Angel refused to tell me." Buffy interrupted.

"You don't know what a Sire and Childe is?" Spike asked shocked.

"Nope I really don't so please explain." Buffy said.

"What have you taught her?" Spike asked Giles shocked that Buffy didn't know something so simple.

"I tried to teach her a little history, but she had no interest. So I taught her how to win instead. It's not my fault." Giles said in his defense.

"Somebody just tell me." Buffy said annoyed.

"A Sire is the vampire that turns a human into a vampire, that newly turned vampire, fledging, becomes the Sire's Childe. Back in the beginning it was the Sire's responsibility to take care of that Childe, to teach it how to hunt, feed, survive everything. You became a family and anyone that Childe Sired was a member of the family. Sometimes the lines get blurred, but it was basic. The Childe had to obey the Sire and the Sire could control the Childe by using a special tone in their voice. I reaches into the demon and the demon has to obey. Angel and me are one of those special situations. Dru was off her rocker more so then you saw her. She couldn't fulfill her responsibilities so Angelus bit me while I was a vampire and created his own Sire claim over me removing Dru from her responsibilities and claiming me as one of his."

"So he adopted you?" Joyce asked.

"Ya we will go that. As centuries went on though vampires started Siring people and leaving them on their own. If they have done it enough times they could be brought forth of the vampire courts and sentenced to death by ignoring the rules." Spike continued.

"Why? I would think that the more vampires there are the happier the court would be." Xander said confused.

"It's all about the balance." Anya said.

"The balance?" Tara asked.

"Of good verse evil." Anya said.

"Again though the more vamps the higher the numbers for the evil half." Xander said confused.

"But there is no good in having a thousand mindless fledgings that are weak and can be killed by one person. It's not just about the numbers, but the quality within those numbers. Getting back on track my point is that this Hell Bint would need to follow the rules or she is at risk of being brought forth of her own kind's court. We need the book to see if we can figure out how to stall her or a weakness of hers. Maybe even create a temporary truce with her so we can buy ourselves more time and not have to worry about someone dying." Spike said.

"I'll see if I can find it somewhere. If we can find a name then I can also do a locator spell for the book itself." Willow said.

"Do you know how she got here?" Spike asked Giles.

"No the Council had no records of it. I'm assuming she just ended up lost in dimensions."

"Well that's not possible she couldn't jump around in dimensions it doesn't work like that." Anya said.

"How does it work?" Buffy asked.

"There's only three ways a demon or Hell God can get out of their Hell dimension. The first is someone in this dimension summoned her." Spike started.

"But that can't be it, because if she was summoned she could only do what she was summoned for and then sent right back. She also wouldn't be living in a human host. So that's out. The next is if she made it through the Gates." Anya said.

"The Gates?" Giles asked.

"Wow, they really didn't teach you anything did they?" Spike asked with a shake of his head at Giles.

"I know only what I have been able to read. There has never been any of this knowledge written down. Not that I have seen." Giles said.

"Then take out your notebook because I'm only giving the History lesson once." Spike said.

Giles did actually pull out a notebook and pen before he sat down on the other end of the couch and looked at Spike. Spike noticed the sparkle in his eyes as he was about to learn something that most wouldn't.

"You know the first way for a Hell God or Hell demon to come down here. They only get twenty-four hours to complete their task before they are sent back. That's one of the rules and the same goes for Heaven Gods and Heaven demons." Spike said.

"Heaven has demons?" Xander asked shocked.

"I'll get there. The second way is to travel through the Gates. Each Hell dimension has Gates, but they are hidden and you have to go through the paths to find it. It could take a thousand years for one demon to finally find the gates and they can go through, but they go through to a human host that is being born. It's always a baby. That demon then lives in that person until they grow up. The demon influences that person to become a killer, or a criminal. That doesn't mean that all criminals have demons in them but you'd be surprised how many do. Glory is living in an adult host though so she must have gotten here the third way." Spike said.

"Which is?" Buffy asked.

"She pissed off Lucifer." Spike simply stated.

"Lucifer? Like literally the Devil?" Willow asked shocked that he even existed.

"The one and only. The ruler of all Hell dimensions. If she pissed him off he could exile her out of her own Hell dimension and into our dimension into a human host. It would make her weaker and trap her from returning to her dimension unless she had the Key to open her dimension. If she was here long enough it would kill her, by either draining her of all of her powers or her human host dies and takes her with him." Spike explained.

"But then why go back to her dimension if she angered her boss?" Willow asked.

"Because if she can get back she can atone for whatever she did and it shows that she has paid her price and she'll be allowed to still rule her dimension." Anya answered.

"This is fascinating. There really is a Devil." Giles said with a smile on his face.

"Well you might as well tell them the whole history lesson." Anya said.

"There's more?" Giles asked with a smile.

"There's a lot more." Anya said.

"Hang on." Giles said as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He hit the recorder button and put it down on the coffee table with a smile. "Ok continue."

"Are you recording this?" Buffy asked with shock to her voice.

"Well I can't write that fast and who knows if I will ever be able to get this information again. He's certainly not going to go over it again. I can record it and then write it out later. Please continue." Giles said to Spike.

"Alright real quick. Ever since the beginning of time there has always been a struggle between good and evil. Even the bloody dinosaurs were put into each category. You had the carnivores of evil; they killed anything they could, even each other. The more blood the better. The herbivores were for the good; they stuck together and got along only fighting when given no other choice. From the time that the world has been created it was predicted that one day an epic war would take place between good and evil. This war will be the ultimate war and the fate of the world would be decided by which side is left standing. To this day it hasn't happened, but people still believe that it will and it will happen eventually. Once each side feels they have enough players in the game to win. The problem is as time goes on new player emerge for each side and players die off. It's a numbers game of quality they want the strongest and the best on their side. For evil you have the First he's the one in charge of everything, but he's just an entity."

"Ya we know the First tried to get Angel to kill himself a couple years back." Buffy said shocked that the First was brought into the conversation.

"Angel is a bloody perfect example of things going wrong. The First is evil's top player he then has Lucifer ruler of all Hells and Hell demons and Hell Gods. Angelus would have been considered a Hell warrior. But the Powers that Be got involved and had a Gypsy curse him with a soul. Eliminating him as a threat for the side of good. Now he fights for the side of good." Spike explained.

"So players can switch teams." Buffy said.

"On either side. Take Faith, a Slayer supposed to be on the side of good, but she came from a broken home, was abandoned and missing something important in her life. That made her easily seduced by the evil in the world and she switched sides. She's not out of the game though, if the Powers that Be didn't think she couldn't be back on the side of good she would have been killed by now in prison. You might find her back here knocking on your door one day looking to help." Spike said.

"Great that'll be a fun day all around." Buffy said sarcastically.

"So if Hell has warriors then does Heaven?" Joyce asked.

"They do, they are made up of Slayers and good demons and witches that chose to fight for the good. Unlike Hell's warriors they live among us in this dimension. Hell's warriors are trapped in Hell until Lucifer gives them the path through the maze to reach the Gates. They are then born into a new soul and grow into a Hell warrior in this dimension so it takes longer. Lucifer could call forth all of his warriors and demons that he has in all of his Hell dimensions to fight on Earth, but he only gets twenty-four hours to win or lose. If he wins they can remain here on this dimension, but if he loses he has to go back to Hell with all of his fighters. Lucifer works for the First, he is the one that gets the army together and prepared on both this dimension and his own. God is the same except for the Powers that Be. Both sides have been trying to figure out how to destroy the other. Hell started to have demons being born to wreak havoc on the world giving the Powers that Be no way to protect the innocent people. Over ten thousand years ago though they caught a lucky break. In Africa a group of Shawmen decided to do something about the demons running through the towns killing everyone. They stumbled upon a teenage girl that had survived the attack. They then took the blood from a demon and it's essence and merged it with the girl's own body."

"Creating the first Slayer." Giles said.

"Technically no. This is where your Watcher's journals go all political. The girl was stronger and faster. She could kill the demons and she did, but she didn't have enough of her own soul in her to know the difference between right and wrong. She killed people too in fits of rage from the demon. The Shawmen finally was able to trap her and they killed her. The Powers that Be took that idea and used it in their favor. They used the essence of demons from Heaven's demons. A dimension where all of the harmless demons and vampires go when they die. When a new fledge is coming out of the ground their soul is still clean as long as they don't hunt and kill. When Buffy gets them before they can kill anyone they go to a demon's Heaven dimension because their human soul is clean. The universe doesn't punish a victim for being killed. A vampire's soul will remain in limbo until they die then it will be determined which direction they go."

"I didn't know that." Buffy said sadly.

"I didn't either. This is truly amazing." Giles said.

"So if Buffy gets them before they hurt anyone then they can still be free from Hell?" Joyce asked just to hear it again.

"Yes as long as they don't kill they get to go to a special Heaven." Spike reassured.

"So the Powers that Be didn't come up with the idea of a Slayer then?" Giles asked.

"They didn't invent it, but they engineered it. The first time they used the essence of a vampire that had been good. They took that essence and infused it into a normal human girl, around the age of six. She then grew up and ten years later they allowed her to be called. The vampire woke up inside of her giving her the strength and speed she needed to fight the demons and vampires. Her instincts came from what the Powers that Be created next. Once they had their Slayer they needed something that could work as a protector of the Slayer. Something more powerful that could keep an eye on her. They created Guardians. A holy God that watches down on the world keeping innocent people safe and is waiting for the ultimate battle to begin where they can then come down to this dimension and fight alongside he warriors. Hell also has Guardians, but they are called Rey'aziel. They like the Guardians can't cross down here until the day the battle happens. The first official Slayer from the Powers that Be was everything they could have ever expected. She protected the innocent and harmless including demons and vampires, which is what she was originally supposed to be doing. Slayers were designed to only hunt those that fought for the side of evil. It's believed that one day when the war happens humans and demons will fight together on the side of good against those that fight on the side of evil. Every time a Slayer killed a demon that was harmless she was lowering their numbers on her own side. They needed someone that could educate the Slayer on which demons were good and which were evil so they gave her a Watcher. They put the knowledge into the mind of the first Watcher so he could find her and train her and teach her. And that is how it started."

"How old did the first Slayer live till?" Joyce asked.

"She's still alive to this day. She was everything the Powers that Be could have asked for and more. They made her a Guardian to look after each new Slayer that was called. The Powers that Be then got bolder and started to infuse the essence into more than one girl just in case one was killed or one was turned so easily to darkness. They could pick now which one they believed how be perfect for their cause. More Watchers were created, more were picked that were family men and could pass it down. But problems came up that they couldn't control. Politics took place and things were being kept from new Watchers and Slayers. The Council was born and they started killing off the Slayers they felt weren't worthy or strong enough. Slayers were getting killed off by vampires and demons when they were just coming into their powers. As generations went on what a Slayer was truly supposed to be became less and less. The Powers that Be stopped interfering and focused on other players like Angelus and witches, powerful demons that didn't play either side. Slayers stopped being the warriors and started being the hunters. They would kill as many evil players as they could. Until Buffy came along. The first time in five thousand years the Powers that Be interfered in a Slayer's life." Spike said as he looked right at Buffy.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked confused.

"You fought and killed the Master. You went into that fight knowing you would die, but you didn't run like others would have. You went head on into battle prepared to die and you did. It wasn't Xander that brought you back it was the Powers that Be that allowed you to live again. You impressed them with your courage and desire to do what is right and needed. You did it again when you killed Angel when you could have let him live. You then left to try and get away from it, but they always knew you would be back, it's who you are nothing will change that. They brought Angel back after teaching him a very powerful lesson. He never again would risk losing his soul and it gave you back your protector. But he left and you stayed strong. You stopped other apocalypses, you've pushed through and you continued to have family and friends fight beside you. You stopped being their hunter and you became more than a warrior, but their Champion of the Light. And just like the first Slayer if you work on protecting all innocent species you will then become a God, an immortal being for the good. To be in this dimension to protect and watch out for new Slayers, to truly teach them what it means to be a Slayer. If the Powers that Be have it their way you will be their general and you will win the fight against evil. That is what it means when the books say you are Heaven's Chosen One Buffy." Spike said with pride in his voice.

"Oh my God." Joyce said with tears in her eyes as she put a hand to her chest.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Buffy asked with shock as she looked at Spike.

"Not kidding Luv. You're amazing I've always told you that and I meant it every time." Spike said with honesty to his voice.

"So Buffy could be a Guardian one day?" Willow asked.

"No, but she could be the one in the prophecy." Spike answered.

"Prophecy? What prophecy would that be?" Giles asked in awe of the conversation.

"Please not another one where I die in it." Buffy grumbled.

"Not at all. It doesn't state the names and it could be a thousand years from now. There can only be twelve Guardians and twelve Rey'aziel. There is a prophecy where a child will be born between two Champions of the light. That child will put the good ahead of the evil by one and be the strongest Guardian in history. It will also be able to live in this dimension and as that child gets older the more immortal it will become. That child will stand by the Powers that Be's General in the war and victory will prevail against evil." Spike explained.

"And if Buffy is appointed as their General the child would be hers and whoever her mate or husband is." Giles said.

"Except just like there is a prophecy for the good there is one for the evil. Around the time this child is conceived the First will impregnant a powerful vampire or demon. That child will be born between two evil demons and that child from birth will know his job is to kill the thirteenth Guardian. If she is born and protected until she is immortal then Lucifer will lose the battle against her and the Powers that Be's army will be successful in destroying the First's army leaving the First alone and having to start all over again. There are other prophecies that talk about a powerful witch on the side of good that turns into a God and will be there to banish the First into another dimension trapping it and it's evilness for good. Putting the world into peace for millions of years." Spike continued.

"How do you possibly know all of this? Giles asked amazed at Spike's knowledge.

"When I first found out about Slayers they fascinated me. I wanted to learn as much as I could about em. I found an old Watcher's building that had been destroyed in a fire. They were all killed and everything was forgotten about. I went looking through it and I found a few books that were over six thousand years old. Ever since I've been collecting books over the years. I have about twenty of them. One was from an Ex-Watcher who the Council kicked out for being unhealthily obsessed with Slayers. He went back to the very first Slayer and he believed that the Slayers that lived longer were infused with vampire essence and not demon essence. He also believed that there was some sort of connection that the Slayers that lived longer and were more successful shared something in common and that is why they worked out better than others. The books talk about the Slayer's lives, which ones were married, which ones had kids and own businesses."

"Wait Slayers have actually had husbands and kids?" Tara asked surprised.

"About two hundred of them have. One Slayer in Germany six hundred years ago fell in love and married a fifteen hundred year old Master vampire. They married through human and vampire laws. He hadn't been evil in a thousand years when they met. And together they adopted twin newborn baby girls from Africa when she was thirty. She died at fifty-six from a car accident. The vampire continued to watch over the children, he walked them down the aisle when they got married, had grand-children. For another five hundred years he was the family's protector to ensure they were kept safe. He died a hundred years ago fighting to keep another Slayer safe from a pack of demons. She was able to get away and he was killed." Spike explained.

"Oh that is so sad and so beautiful at the same time." Joyce said.

"There is a Seer in the demon community. She works at the College. She's seen you around. She can see that you are the Slayer. She can see that you were infused with vampire essence. She believes that you possess that Master Vampire's essence. That that Master Vampire was connected in some way to the Master Vampire that the Powers that Be used on the first Slayer. That God himself chose you specifically for that essence to be infused into you. She believes that you are truly Heaven's Chosen One, that God himself chose you to be his General." Spike said as he looked right at Buffy.

"This is a lot of information for one day." Buffy said clearly overwhelmed.

"I know it is Luv. It's information you should have already had." Spike said sympathetically.

"Those books I would like to see them myself." Giles said.

"I have them hidden and kept in a safe place. The problem is they are the last books out there with the truth in them. Completely unbiased, unpolitical truth. If the Council got a hold of them they would destroy them and the truth will be lost forever. They need to be passed down to Slayers so they know the truth and can be what they are supposed to be." Spike said calmly back.

"I give you my word Spike once I am done reading them then I will return them to you. I might be able to find something that you missed or didn't have the time to properly look into. I'm not about to hand them over to anyone. I simply just want the proper information than what I have been told all of these years." Giles said calmly back.

"Alright, I'll get you them so you can read em."

"You said this Seer was working at the college? How is that possible I would have noticed a demon." Buffy said.

"Not all demons look like a demon. She's dying to meet you. She lives in the demon community. You see demons every day you just don't know it. They work the night shift in the corner stores, they work in construction, on the night shift for the police, pizza delivery men, sewer workers. Any job that is too dangerous in this town for normal humans to do a demon does it. All of which are harmless demons just working to take care of their family. They don't harm humans, they don't drink blood, they eat normal foods, they breathe and they are just looking to live in peace with their family and children."

"There's a demon community?" Xander asked surprised.

"There is. When I get a new place I'll get one down there. They are all peaceful and the houses are cheap and on a lot of land. I can buy one and have it repaired by some of the construction workers. You have demons on your construction crew you just never noticed. There are more peaceful demons here than there are evil ones. Even some vampires live there that don't hunt. They own businesses and bag it." Spike said with a shrug.

"Oh my God have I ever killed a harmless demon?" Buffy asked appalled at the thought she could have killed someone that wasn't even dangerous.

"I don't know Pet. Normally when they see a Slayer they run the other way. Any demon you've come across that fights back and doesn't coward away would be evil."

"Oh well good I haven't come across any then." Buffy said relieved.

"There are times when they need help and protection from other dangerous demons that you could help, but they don't go to you out of fear. If you want to live up to what the Slayer was truly about, what the essence was supposed to truly be about you might want to try and repair that damage." Spike said gently.

"Just how big is this community?" Willow asked.

"Pretty big. They have bars, clubs, restaurants, a church, construction crew, security, mechanics, a butcher shop and a supermarket. It takes up half of the city. The Bronze is on the outskirts of the demon community before it starts."

"I had no idea one even existed. I just assumed they all lived in abandoned factories or in the tunnels." Giles said amazed.

"No they live and work with everybody else. They are peaceful so there's no need to harm them or go looking for them. With the original Slayer she used to protect those demons along with humans, but politics and biased Watchers and Council members had the Slayers believing that all demons are dangerous and they started to kill them off. That caused a rift between the good demons and the Slayer. Now they just handle their own problems and avoid the Slayer when they can." Spike said with a shrug.

"Maybe tomorrow night if you're up for it you could take me down there. Tonight I feel a strong urge to kill something evil." Buffy said with a smile.

"I think we can fill that urge Luv." Spike said with a smile knowing that Buffy had been overwhelmed and hadn't been out much in the past week.

"As cool as all of that information was. We still don't know how to kill Glory." Xander said with a smile.

"We need that book and it might give us something." Spike said.

"I'll get working on tracking it down. If you remember the name just let me know it'll make it easier." Willow said with a small smile.

"I'll try Pet."

"Dawn will be home soon. Buffy tonight I am going to the Gallery to speak to Melissa about a few things." Joyce said.

"You can't be going alone Mom, you're supposed to be relaxing." Buffy said.

"I'm not going alone Spike is coming with me." Joyce said with a smile.

Buffy turned to glare at Spike and he just smiled at her.

"Spike, got his brain scrambled a week ago and you got released from the hospital a week ago after having brain surgery. The last two people going anywhere together is you two." Buffy said back.

"I did not have my brain scrambled." Spike said in his own defense.

"You had it broken in three spots, almost with no rib cage or chest plate and your organs were soup. The only place you are going is bed." Buffy lectured.

"I can walk down the street Luv. It's just to the gallery. Stretching my legs is good after not moving for so long. We're gonna leave at five and we'll be back before you even leave to go on patrol. Don't you have some school thing you need to do?" Spike said trying to change the subject.

"Don't even try to change the subject and maybe, probably." Buffy said slightly unsure.

"You're supposed to pick new courses for the next semester that is starting in two weeks." Willow said with a smile.

"Oh ya. I brought the course book home."

"Why don't you look it over and see if anything interests you. I'll escort your Mum down to the Gallery and we will be back by eight. Then tomorrow I'll give you a tour of demon town while I look for a house to buy." Spike said with a smile.

"You're buying a house?" Xander asked surprised.

"I am. I don't normally live in a crypt. I didn't know if I was gonna stay in town or not. Figured now would be as good of a time as any to buy some house and fix it up."

"Wow I just can't imagine you in a house." Xander said.

"Keep it up and I won't hire you to fix it." Spike said with a smirk.

"Do you even have money?" Xander said with a smirk.

"Oh no he has money. Trust me you want to be hired by him." Buffy said with a knowing smile.

"Alright we'll talk." Xander said with a smile.

"I'll let you know." Spike said.

"That doesn't change that you two shouldn't be going out alone together." Buffy said.

"We'll be fine Buffy. Spike can handle it if something happens. Plus we will be driving."

"You can't drive after surgery and he can't drive with his hand shaking and don't think I haven't noticed it's been shaking every time you move it." Buffy said to Spike giving him a knowing look.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Spike said faking innocence.

"Alright I will drive them to the gallery on my way home." Giles said.

"What about when they need to come back home?" Buffy asked.

"We can walk home Pet. We'll be fine. Don't worry about it." Spike said.

"Fine, but if you get hurt don't expect me to have sympathy." Buffy said clearly not happy.

"We'll be fine Sweetie. I need to get showered and ready to leave. Once it gets dark enough for you we can leave." Joyce said to Spike.

"Fine by me Mum." Spike said back with a smile.

"I'm gonna go back to the dorm and do some research." Willow said.

"I'll come and help you." Tara said with a smile.

"I need to get back to the shop." Anya said.

"Alright I'll drive you back. Call if something comes up eh?" Xander said to Buffy.

"Ya definitely." Buffy reassured him. "There's still a couple of hours before sunset why don't you get some rest?" Buffy said to Spike.

"I'm fine, but if it will make you feel better I'll go lay down." Spike said with a smile.

"Why don't you go and find that course booklet and take a look at it." Joyce suggested to Buffy.

"Ya I'll do that." Buffy said with a smile that everyone knew she wasn't going to be doing that.

They all went their separate ways and later that night while Joyce and Spike were still out Buffy headed out to patrol. She was upset that it was after eight at night and Spike and her mom still hadn't returned yet, but she was going crazy sitting around waiting so she headed out for the graveyard. She had read the paper and knew that there were three people who were killed by a vampire in the last forty-eight hours. She figured with keeping in mind what Spike had told her she would try and get to the new vampires before they had a chance to kill anyone and condemn their soul to Hell. Buffy was walking through the graveyard when she saw Riley fighting a vampire. She waited until he had dusted the vampire and she stood there waiting to see if she should talk to him or not. He was wearing his army get up so she had a very strong feeling he went back to the Initiative despite what had happened just last year between them. Just as she was debating if she should leave or not Riley had dusted the vampire and he had turned to see her standing there.

Riley straighten up and he put the stake back into his pocket before he spoke.

"Hello Buffy." He kept his voice tight and Buffy couldn't help, but be even angrier at him.

"Really that's all you have to say to me? You storm out of my house six days ago, no phone call, no nothing and that is what you have to say to me?" Buffy said with anger and annoyance mixed together.

"I've been giving you space. You seemed to have a lot going on with that vampire. Haven't even seen you around out here. Did you finally find the time to leave him alone or is he dust?" Riley asked with his own annoyance.

"He's better now. Almost perfect health. I've been busy keeping him alive all week. Giles and Xander said they would handle my patrols and apparently you have been back out here. No commando gear though, does that mean you haven't taken on the job?"

"No I have. I start tomorrow. Buffy I don't want to keep fighting with you. I hate fighting with you. Sparing with you if always fun for a workout and it's wicked hot seeing you hot, but arguing with you I hate it. The Initiative had a lot of good mixed in with a lot of bad. The new Director is different though. He's mostly interested in finding demons and vampires and killing them. The numbers are up for them and he wants to get the numbers back down."

"Riley you still capture and torture helpless creatures. I can't approve of that, especially when the Initiative built demons from parts of other demons and created Adam, who almost killed me and my friends. I can't just look the other way and trust them because someone new is taking over."

"I'm not saying you trust them right away. I'm saying you trust me to know that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you or your friends and family. I walked away from them remember, before Adam came around. I left when they went after Oz, who was harmless. I'm not saying I agree with everything they have done in the past, but it is different. I've seen it being different so I am willing to give them another chance. All I'm asking is that you trust me to know the difference between right and wrong. I didn't think that was so much to ask for Buffy." Riley said with hurt to his voice.

"It's not, but you just bring it up out of nowhere. You should have spoken to me about it before. What happened before makes the Initiative my business and I had a right to know it was back and that they wanted you back as well. You almost died from those enhancements Riley. I can't through that again and I won't. I do trust you, but I don't trust them and I don't know if I ever will. I can deal with you being back there, but I can't deal with you constantly trying to kill Spike. He's a part of the team now and that is something you are both going to have to get used to. He'll keep to himself if you do the same. He's a powerful and old Master Vampire he's valuable to me. He knows a lot and he's survived a lot. He's also the only one that has been able to hurt Glory including me. If I don't want the world to end then I'm gonna have to count on him to fight Glory with me. I can't do that with you two arguing every second you are around each other. I don't want to hear it. I have enough to worry about and try to handle. I can't handle you two bickering too."

"Fine, but that doesn't change that I don't like him I can see where you are coming from though so I'll do my best. Can we please be done fighting now?"

"Fine. I need to patrol do you want to come with?"

"Definitely."

"Let's go I need to kill something." Buffy said with a small smile.

They spent the next two hours patrolling the three cemeteries before they both ended up going back to Buffy's place. Buffy and Riley headed up to her bedroom Buffy was relieved that her mother and Spike were back if Spike's presence in the spare room was anything to go by. Buffy knew he would have kept her mother safe so she wasn't worried now that they were back safe and sound. Buffy closed her bedroom door and Riley moved over to her and began to kiss her. After a few minutes Buffy pulled back with a smile.

"Behave Mister, Mom and Dawn are down the hallway."

"But we fought that means we get to make up and make up sex is always the best."

"We can't they could hear us."

"I can be quiet if you can be quiet. That is unless you aren't up for the challenge." Riley said with a cocky smirk.

"That is not going to work on me." Buffy said trying to be serious.

"Oh I think it will. If not I know something that will." Riley said as he began to remove his shirt before he went over to Buffy and started to kiss his way down her neck.

"We can't be doing thing this, what if they hear us?"

"You can scream into your pillows."

"I don't scream and you know it."

"No, but one day you will mark my words one day I will make you scream out in complete pleasure you won't even know what to do with yourself." Riley said with confidence.

"Oh that sounds like fun and a big challenge. Do you think you are up for it?"

Riley grabbed Buffy's hand as he spoke. "You tell me, does that feel up for it?"

"Well I guess we could if we were really quiet"

"There's the spirit." Riley said as he went to remove Buffy's clothing.

Spike who was sitting in the spare room waiting for when Buffy would return safely from her patrol got up and headed down the stairs. He was tired and he just wanted to sleep, but he knew that wasn't going to happen while Buffy was going to be having sex with Riley in her room right next to his. Even if he wasn't a vampire he still would have been able to hear them. The last thing he wanted to hear was Buffy having sex with anyone let alone Riley. Not that being outside in the backyard was much help it was at least better than being right next door to it. Spike was upset and annoyed with himself for letting himself think that he meant something to Buffy. He didn't understand what was going on with her. She spent six days waiting for him to gain consciousness, giving him her blood, even calling Angel. Then when he wakes up she spends almost an hour in his arms just talking to him about his past life as a human. She tells him not to leave that she wants him around and now she was upstairs sleeping with Riley who was one of the men responsible for putting a chip in his head. Spike didn't understand why she was putting up with his crap and he didn't understand why he was doing this to himself. He should just accept that they were comrades and maybe on the way to being friends and that is all it will ever be with her. The problem was Spike wasn't the type of person to just fall in love and then move on in a moment. It was going to take time for him to get over Buffy and it might never happen with him being in this city with her. Spike knew he was a fool and an idiot, but he just couldn't bring himself to leave her. He wanted to keep her alive and watch her back. He wanted to be there for Joyce and Dawn and make sure they are okay. Spike knew he would just need to get over it all and try and be her friend. For now he was just going to stay outside on the back porch until he heard them going to bed. Then he would be able to go back upstairs and get some sleep himself. Right now it was starting to seem like it was going to be a long night. Spike pulled out his pack of cigarettes and lit one up as he sat down on the top step of the back porch. Puffing away in the quiet of the night.