Summary: A story that spans two years, starting in season 3 where Buffy meets an enigmatic Spike for the first time. In a world where good and evil occasionally work together to keep the world turning, Spike is the representative sent to prepare the Slayer for the greatest threat any of them have ever known. Entirely Buffy's POV, slight sexual content.

I is for Impact

I have late

Night conversations

With the moon;

He tells me about the sun

And I tell him about you.

-S.L. Gray

She felt herself wading slowly against the heavy weight of the air. Her mind was muddled and aching for relief as she fought to remain aware of her surroundings. She could almost feel the suffocating hands as they counted down the hour at an agonizing pace. A familiar voice penetrated the thick fog that encompassed her.

"Buffy!" Giles said loudly, his eyes bright with a well-known mix of exasperation and concern.

The Slayer lurched forward as his call startled her. The fist that had been holding her head up dropped suddenly as her head snapped towards her watcher, eyes wide with a newfound alertness. "I'm listening!" she automatically insisted.

"Clearly," the older man said dryly, his lips involuntarily twitching with amusement.

Buffy sighed and rested her check against her fist again, her head tilted towards Giles. "I'm sorry, You know I'm no good at this book stuff," she said, not really sounding all that apologetic. "You sure I shouldn't be out patrolling?" she asked hopefully, not for the first time.

Giles rolled his eyes up towards the heavens. "I told you Angel will be here soon with the vampire the Order has sent as liaison."

"I still don't understand why the Council is working with the Order in the first place," she muttered unhappily.

"Eons ago it was agreed, by both good and evil, that a certain balance must be maintained in the world. Aside from the most tenuous means of communication the opposing groups generally ignore each other, however a few times in history extraordinary measures have been enacted to preserve that balance and the two sides inevitably end up working together," Giles explained for what felt like the hundredth time. "This is such a time."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "But how do we know we can trust this vamp they're sending in?" she asked bluntly.

Giles turned solemn eyes on her. "Only the fact that the humanity still rules the world stands as proof that these alliances have worked in the past."

"Which makes me wonder why the demonic element plays nice. Why would they want humans to have control?"

Giles' mouth opened and closed momentarily before he shook his head and, with his most authoritative tone replied. "I'm sure they have their reasons."

Well that was dissatisfying, Buffy thought to herself as she exchanged a look with Willow, who had been a silent witness to their conversation. The redhead shrugged sympathetically, seemingly about as excited about the impending introductions as the Slayer was.

"I don't understand why Angel isn't the liaison," Willow spoke up with a frown. "I'd think that as a vampire with a soul he'd be the best option for both sides."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed. "I don't get that either."

Giles sighed. "Given his history as Angelus the Council isn't willing to trust him with anything so important. I imagine the Order sees him as a bit of a traitor, willfully seeking out and aiding the Slayer."

"But the Council is willing to trust some random vamp off the street?" she replied skeptically.

"All I know so far is that this particular vampire has, of his own accord, made past alliances to help avert an apocalypse. It is, as I've been told, what brought him to the attention of both organizations."

The large double doors to the library swung open before another word could be said and Angel walked through them looking hassled and ready to lash out. Buffy raised a brow, she could practically see the steam pouring from his ears.

Behind him another figure, smaller in stature, sauntered into the room. What he lacked in size he made up for in presence. As the doors fell shut behind him it seemed as though the air had escaped with them. The shadows that haunted the perimeter of the room seemed to cling to him and Buffy's Slayer tinglies buzzed sharply, announcing the arrival of a predator.

She sat up straighter, muscles tensed and ready. She felt Willow fidget beside her and, daring a glance towards her watcher, she saw he too was tense and battle ready. The vampire wore his hair shockingly bright which, along with his alabaster skin, served as the only contrast against his black jeans, skin tight t-shirt and long leather duster.

The energy in the room seemed to crackle when the deep blue eyes of the newcomer clashed with hers as he appraised the room's inhabitants. When he smirked it was sharp and wolfish. "Meet Spike," Angel grit out, breaking the tense silence.

"Spike?" Giles asked, his eyes not leaving the vampire.

The vampire in question met the watcher's eyes, his lips quirked in amusement. "Most of you watcher types know me better as William the Bloody," he offered as he resumed his perusal of the library.

Buffy's eyes didn't leave him as he wandered towards the weapons cage and inspected the collection within. She heard Giles' quick intake of breath and decided that he'd definitely recognized the moniker.

"Maybe now that we're here you can tell us how the hell you ended up as a liaison between the Order and the Council," Angel snapped. Buffy finally pulled her eyes away from Spike and looked to Angel. He was clearly pissed, the scowl on his face not doing anything to attempt to hide that fact.

"I take it you two know each other?" Buffy asked, forcing the airy pep that she was known for into her question.

Spike snorted. "Know each other?" he scoffed. "Angelus here made me."

"You're his sire?" Giles asked in surprise.

"No," Angel growled.

Spike shrugged. "Near enough, granddad," he replied, there was no mistaking the challenge in his eyes and Buffy noticed that Angel didn't refute it.

"I'm his sire's sire," Angel reluctantly told them.

Giles shook his head and spoke back up. "I am rather curious as to how the Slayer of Slayers managed to become liaison," he said and there was no mistaking the steel in his tone.

"Nice to see at least one of you wankers seems to have some backbone," Spike noted approvingly.

"S-slayer of Slayers?" Willow timidly asked.

"If my books are to be believed then William the Bloody is responsible for the deaths of at least two Slayers over the last century," Giles replied, not taking his eyes of the vampire in question.

"True enough," Spike agreed with a self satisfied grin. "They went out the same way they lived. Warriors. Tell me Rupert," he said and from the corner of her eye Buffy saw Giles start in surprise at the use of his name. "Do those books also talk about the Slayers I've aided?"

"Why would you?" Buffy questioned in disbelief.

Spike shrugged. "Why wouldn't I?" he countered. "I quite fancy the world as it is. The wrong demon gets it in his Angelus sized head to end the world and there goes all my delicious little happy meals. Bloody stupid, you ask me."

"Is that why the Order works with the Council?" Willow spoke up again, her voice stronger now that her curiosity had overridden her nerves.

"Most of us have a symbiotic relationship with humans, yeah?"

"More like parasitic," Angel grunted.

Buffy's stomach clenched at the low, mocking, rumble of a laugh that Spike let out. "That's a laugh coming from you old man."

"Look, how about you just tell us about whatever threat is on the horizon so I can kill it and go on my merry way?" Buffy said, already tired of the back and forth between the two vampires.

"Buffy's quite right," Giles agreed as he picked up a pen to make notes.

"Soloman," was all Spike said but it had it's desired effect. Giles' pen, already near the page and ready to start scrawling, slipped as his head snapped up and he locked eyes with the bleached blond.

"Soloman?" Willow asked in confusion. "As in the king of Israel?"

"Not quite, Red," Spike replied with a smirk.

Giles cleared his throat, set down his pen and notebook and pulled off his glasses to begin unnecessarily cleaning them. "Soloman was vanquished centuries ago," he protested weakly.

"Bollocks," came the vampire's quick reply. "He was banished to another dimension and he's 'bout to find the way back through."

"Why didn't we know of this?" Giles demanded.

Spike's smirk was predatory. "You may not have, mate, but the Council sure as hell did. After all, it was their coven who worked with the Order to banish him."

"Who's Soloman?"

"A very powerful warlock," Giles replied slowly. "He attempted, centuries ago, a spell that would have infused him with untold power. As I understand it he very nearly succeeded."

"So he's power hungry," Buffy said with a roll of her eyes. "Tell me a new one."

"Cocky lil' bint, aren't you?" Spike asked and Buffy caught a flash of amusement in his oceanic eyes.

"Soloman wasn't like anything you've come up against Buffy. If this information is accurate than I fear none of us have come up against anything like him in our lifetimes. The power he was after would have given him the power to rend worlds. To reshape reality into whatever he desired. Demon and human kind alike would have been at his mercy," Giles told her gravely.

"So why wasn't he killed back then?" Angel asked with a frown.

"Too powerful. The best the tossers in charge could come up with was banishing him and leaving him for a future generation to deal with," Spike clapped his hands and rubbed them together. "Guess that's us, kiddies," he added gleefully.

"When?" Buffy asked, growing more serious in the face of Giles' solemnity.

"They haven't sussed that out yet," the vampire admitted. "Could be tomorrow, could be a couple years from now. All they know is that he's pounding on the door and one day soon it's going to open."

"So they've sent you to help us prepare," Giles murmured.

"Suppose you could look at it like that," Spike agreed.

"How else should we look at it?" Buffy asked shrewdly, eyes narrowed.

Spike grinned darkly. "Like I'm here to suss out whether you'll fit the bill," he replied menacingly as he looked her up and down.

"And if you decide she doesn't?" Giles grit out, body rigid with anger.

Spike's eyes flicked over to the watcher before locking them back with Buffy's. "Then I add another notch to my belt and we try our luck with a new Slayer," he said indifferently.

Angel moved quickly, his leather duster swishing as he turned on the other vampire, his arm lashing out towards Spike's throat. Buffy's eyes widened as Spike's grin widened and he ducked a scant moment before Angel's blow would have connected. As he returned to his full height he kicked out and caught Angel in the abdomen, sending him flying several feet away.

The disgust was obvious in his expression as his gaze settled on the older vampire. "That was just pathetic, Angelus," he chided. "Hopefully your Slayer fights better than you do," he said, his voice low and threatening. "Be seeing you lot around," he promised as he turned and sauntered back out of the library.

The silence was thick as the eyes of the four remaining inhabitants remained locked on the doors where their new frenemy had just departed.

~BTVS~

Crickets sang their late night serenade and somewhere in the distance an owl was hooting. Buffy had long grown used to the signals the nightlife sent her way and she knew that she wouldn't find anything in Restfield that night. She sighed and turned down the block.

Her heart rate sped up as the shadows danced around her, almost suffocating her as they pressed against her. A now familiar shape broke free from them and Buffy watched closely as Spike casually ambled towards her. "Rumors about this town have been greatly exaggerated," he muttered in distaste as he fell into step with her."

"What, not enough townies to snack on?" she retorted. A call put into the Council by Giles had assured them that Spike would not be murdering any townsfolk while on the job but that didn't stop him from feeding on them and Buffy had been appalled to learn that they considered that a 'necessary evil'.

Spike glanced at her from the corner of his eyes as his lips turned up a bit. "Nah, got plenty of nummy treats just begging to be bit," he said, voice going a bit distant as a young woman passing by grinned seductively at him as she practically undressed him with her eyes.

"Case in point," the Slayer muttered in irritation.

"I was promised violence to my hearts content," he continued as they entered the next cemetery on her route. "I think your Hellmouth is broken."

Buffy couldn't help the sharp laugh that escaped. "Broken? Did you forget why you're here?" she demanded.

"Not yet," he replied as he fished a flask out of one of his duster pockets. "Which is why you and I are going to have us a bit of a rough and tumble."

Buffy stopped suddenly, her fiery eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?" she grit out.

Spike stopped a foot in front of her and turned to face her. His amusement was obvious. "A dance, Slayer. Sparring, I think you call it," he clarified. His head tilted and his eyes were piercing as they studied her. "Why? What did you think I meant?" he asked innocently.

She ignored his question even as she felt warmth climb up her neck, and frowned in consideration. "You want to spar?" she asked incredulously.

"Gotta test you out somehow," he replied with a shrug.

"It's cute," she sneered. "That you think you could kill me."

Spike's grin widened and she could almost feel the power thrumming through him as he leaned closer to her. "It's cute," he mocked. "That you think I can't."

It came so quick that she didn't have any hope of seeing the attack before she was flying through the air. She landed roughly on the ground, gasping as she fought to regain the breath that he'd knocked out of her. She heard more than saw his boots as he strolled closer to her and she forced the pain away as she rolled to her feet and faced him.

Her lungs burned as she lunged towards him, one arm swinging out to block an incoming blow as her foot came up in a roundhouse, her body twisting to absorb and impact that never came. He was fast, dodging out the way a moment before the blow would have connected.

He wasn't able to dodge the next one, her fist landed hard against his well defined cheekbones and his head snapped to the side with the force. She felt a trill of excitement at the sound of his deep laugh. He blocked her follow up and danced just out of her reach. They circled each other for a few moments before they leapt at each other in unspoken agreement.

Buffy was sure that an outsider wouldn't have been able to follow their movements. She barely could. She'd like to say that she gave as good as she got but with a powerful threat on the horizon it wasn't the time to kid herself. For every hit she got in he landed two. She was stronger but he was faster and he knew how to use it to his advantage.

She fought dirty and he fought dirtier. When she found herself pinned down on the ground, Spike stretched out over her, she arched up towards him in an attempt to make him falter. Instead the vampire ground down against her forcing a gasp out of her as her usual fight induced arousal heightened. His head lowered down towards her neck and her struggles began in earnest as fear caused her heart to beat wildly against her chest.

When he bit down it was with human teeth and she felt unwanted desire pool low in her belly at the light nibble against her pulse point. She gasped as his weight disappeared and she forced herself up on her elbows, gazing at where he now stood several feet away.

"I'm still alive so I guess I passed your test," she managed to say, shocked at how even her voice sounded. Her heart was still pounding erratically and she knew that he could hear it. The blue of his eyes were almost swallowed up by black and as her eyes slid down over his form she felt her breath catch. He really was enchantingly beautiful, a fact that she'd fought against admitting for the two weeks that he'd been in town.

"You drop your right shoulder," he told her, voice rough. "And I could have killed you half a dozen times."

"But you didn't," she reminded him.

"No," he agreed. "I didn't."

"You going to tell the Council and the Order that I can handle it?" she asked.

"No. Because you can't," he told her plainly. "But you will," he added. His eyes swept over her still inclined form and she felt her body heat up under his perusal. He took a step back and then another. Before she could say another word he was swallowed back up by the shadows and she twisted so she was on her knees before slowly picking herself back up. She was sore and beaten but, somehow, victorious.

After completing patrol the next evening she swung by Giles' to fill him in on her unscheduled spar session with Spike. After loading her up with ice packs for her still visible bruises he gave her the news.

"Spike came by at dusk," he told her. "The Order has given him his next objective."

"And?" she asked with a shrug that she almost immediately regretted as her shoulders revolted against her.

"He's left town," Giles said as he handed her a cup of tea.

Buffy frowned. "He told me last night that I wasn't ready. I thought that the whole point of him coming here was to either get me ready or kill me," she pointed out.

"He believes he'll be back soon enough. In the mean time we are to continue our preparations. The Council is sending two members of the Devon coven to come guide Willow's burgeoning powers and Spike has put me in touch with a martial arts expert he believes will benefit you greatly."

Buffy tried not to read into the disappointment she felt coursing through her as she nodded her understanding and took a sip of her tea.

~BTVS~

Buffy had never felt stronger. Over a year of training with Krysler, Spike's martial arts contact, had honed her natural abilities into a weapon far beyond what she'd ever dreamed they could be. When she'd met him for the first time in the High School library and found out he was a demon she'd immediately gone for the kill. Kill first, ask questions later, right? Instead she'd gotten her ass handed to her, this time without any of the sexual tension that had enveloped her fight with Spike.

Between working with Krysler and the Devon witches, Emmaline and Ruby, the scooby gang's eyes had been opened to the half truths and complete falsehoods they'd been fed by the Council. For nearly three years Buffy had fought and killed indiscriminately, the tip of the Council's spear. Now she knew the harsh truth that, just as not every human was inherently good, not every demon was inherently evil.

It had been a hard pill for her to swallow and between that and the Cruciamentum her trust in Giles and the Council had taken a beating. She had managed to mostly repair her relationship with her watcher but only remained in contact with the Council because of the continued threat of Soloman.

Angel had moved to Los Angeles a few months earlier to help set up a new line of defense. As far as Buffy could tell that's been the bulk of what has happened over the last year. Different lines of defense scattered throughout the world so that when Soloman consolidated enough power to bust into their dimension they'd have an emergency response team immediately en route. The important players like Buffy and Willow would be teleported to wherever the warlock landed.

In the meantime Buffy's day job hadn't been quiet. Between the giant mayor snake, Sunnydale's run of the mill evil and college she was all work and no play which was why a night in with her hunk of a boyfriend was exactly what she needed.

She laughed at the lame joke in the movie as she snuggled in closer to Riley, too happy at normal girl time to care about the cheese factor of the action movie he'd picked out. When it ended and they got down to the heavy make out portion of the night she couldn't help it when, as her eyes fluttered shut, she imagined mischievous blue eyes and a dangerous smirk. She'd long given up trying.

She'd only seen Spike a handful of time over the last year. He rolled into town for a day or two, conducted whatever business he had, sparred with her to 'test her progress', and left. Every single encounter between them was heavy with a tension that was palpable.

She knew that she made him as hard as she was wet and after he'd left the last time, just as she and Riley had first started dating, she'd almost immediately found herself at her new boyfriend's room to get the release she never got with the blond vampire.

She liked Riley, she really did, but he didn't make her heart pound so hard that she felt like it would bust out of her chest. He didn't turn her on to the point that she felt like she'd combust with just a slant of his eyes and the tug of a smirk. He was nice and safe and could handle her secret identity- which was a huge bonus.

As she arched up under Riley- naked, sleek with sweat and mewling out encouragements- it was the imagined cool touch of long pale fingers, the illusionary lips from a wicked mouth and the phantom deep rumble of sinful words that had her breaking apart beneath him.

She buried the guilt as she always did when she opened her eyes and smiled at her boyfriend.

~BTVS~

The air in Giles' apartment was suffocating and Buffy sat stiffly next to Riley, her green eyes tracking every move the blond vampire made as he twirled a blade around in his fingers while speaking to her watcher. Riley was tense next to her and the Slayer was almost certain she could hear his teeth grinding as he studied the vampire. It was the first time he'd met him.

It had been explained to him, back when each other's secret identities were revealed, who Spike was and what his role in the (supposed) upcoming apocalypse was. He hadn't liked it and had, for a long time, refused to believe that any demon could be capable of fighting to save the world. Hanging around the scooby gang had softened his stance a slight bit but Buffy wasn't surprised at his hostility towards Spike.

Spike had a way of taking up all the space a room had to offer, leaving the rest of the inhabitants on edge and practically fighting to breathe. Dangerous. That was a good word to sum it up. It didn't really matter what the vampire was doing, he could be twirling a blade or sipping a cup of tea, it was just what he was.

"You're sure?" Giles asked after an uncomfortably long pause.

Spike shrugged casually. "Not me, mate. You're coven seems to be, though," he replied, his tone bored. His eyes moved across those in the room, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully when they caught sight of Anya. Lips turning up into a smirk as he took in a blushing Tara sitting next to an equally flustered Willow. Buffy's stomach clenched in that all to familiar way when his smirk turned wolfish as his icy eyes met Riley's.

"And the blade is for…?" Buffy prompted, clearing her throat and nodding towards the blade he was still fidgeting with.

"You," he told her simply, and she felt herself falling into his gaze as his eyes finally met hers.

"Me?" she squeaked excitedly, before mentally chastising herself for her less than cool response.

Something like amusement flashed through his eyes and, for the first time since she'd met him nearly two years earlier, his smirk turned into something almost resembling a warm grin. "Typical woman," he chortled. "This blade has been blessed- or what have you- by the Devon coven. The chit's have been working on it for the last two years, it's supposed to have a draining effect on Soloman should you manage to stab him with it," he told her.

Buffy stood and gravitated towards him and the pretty blade that was about to be hers. "Doesn't look like much," she murmured as she closed the distance between them."

Spike's lips quirked back up in his trademark smirk as his eyes smoldered. "Wait 'til you feel it, Slayer," he replied, his tone a low rumble.

Buffy flushed, her heart beating wildly as her fingers grazed his as she took the blade from him. She barely heard Riley clear his throat as her body lit up with power as soon as the hilt of the dagger was seated firmly in her small palm. She gasped, her eyes clashing with Spike's once again as her head shot up in shock. "What is it?"

Spike's eyes were dark and inscrutable as he studied her. "A weapon fit for a Slayer," he replied enigmatically.

"Are you okay?" Riley's worried voice cut in through the heady buzz that had spread throughout her body. "Buffy? What did he do?" His hand came down on her shoulder. "What did you do?" he demanded angrily as he faced off against the insouciant vampire.

"Do sit down, Riley," Giles spoke up in exasperation as Spike raised an amused eyebrow in the watcher's direction.

"What?" Riley spat as he turned towards the older man.

Buffy snapped back to present as her connection the dagger settled into a gentle thrum. She placed a hand on Riley's bicep. "I'm fine, the dagger just feels like it's...mine," she tried to explain. "Spike didn't do anything."

"Can we see it?" Willow asked softly. "Emmaline and Ruby told me they've been working on something big the last time I spoke to them," she explained as Buffy reluctantly handed it over. She felt the loss immediately.

"Oh Goddess," Willow murmured breathlessly, sharing a dazed look with her girlfriend as she passed it to her. "I've never felt anything so powerful."

"Let's just hope it's powerful enough, eh kiddies?" Spike replied dryly. "The wall between our dimensions is getting thinner," he added as he locked eyes with Giles.

"How long?" Buffy asked as she caught his fathomless gaze again.

"Not long enough to train up a bitty Slayer, anymore," he replied with a quirk of the lips.

"Guess I'm it," she replied grimly.

"Think you always were, luv," he murmured. He rose gracefully to his feet. "Well, I'm off. Like as not, the next time we meet it'll be on the front lines," he informed them with a single nod before turning and leaving before anyone could reply.

The silence was deafening in his wake but it was only a moment before Buffy was moving towards the front door. "Be right back!" she called out with a meaningful glance at her boyfriend before pulling the door closed behind her.

The only indication he was still there was the warm glow of his cigarette from the shadows. She walked resolutely towards him. "What if I'm not ready?"

"You've had near enough two years, Slayer," his voice rumbled out from the darkness.

"You haven't been around to train me much," she pointed out.

"Krysler did well enough," he told her, she was close enough now to make out the shrug of his shoulders.

"Krysler has been great," she agreed. "You would have been better," she said huskily as she finally stood face to face with him.

Spike's head tilted in that way that made the butterflies in her stomach flutter. "I would have been distracting," he said bluntly.

She should have felt embarrassed at the obvious implication but instead the acknowledgment of the tension between them just emboldened her. "And would I have been the only one distracted?" she asked.

Spike's eyes darkened as he studied her. "You should get back to your football player," he told her, his voice a bit strained.

"He's more the military type," she replied offhandedly. "You didn't answer my question."

The stifling silence stretched out for endless moments as she watched the battle rage behind his impenetrable gaze. "No," he finally murmured, his eyes flicking down briefly to her lips as they turned up into a satisfied smile.

Solemn eyes locked back onto hers and for the first time she could remember his expression was wholly serious. "Don't get cocky, Slayer," he told her firmly. Before she could fire back a reply his hand was suddenly running through her hair and tucking the loose strands back behind her ear. "Cocky gets you dead," he added before dropping his hand and stepping back into the shadow.

Buffy stood there for a long moment until the tingle that told her a vampire was nearby was long gone. She slowly turned her head back towards Giles' front door and suddenly dreaded going back inside. With one last glance at the spot her vampire had just vacated she sighed and forced herself to return to her boyfriend.

~BTVS~

It happened at the most inconvenient time, of course. One moment she was happily in dreamland and the next her bedroom door was being pounded on and her mother was bursting in, tears in her eyes and a frantic look on her face. "Willow and Tara are here with Emma and Rose," Joyce said gravely as Buffy shot up in bed. "It's time."

A cold pit of dread settled in her stomach as she threw the blankets off and mechanically got dressed. She outfitted herself with her usual arsenal of stakes, because they were comforting, and the dagger that Spike had brought her just a few months earlier.

She flew down the stairs, meeting her mother at the bottom and catching a glimpse of the four waiting women. Joyce pulled her into a fierce hug. "You come back, you understand me?"

Buffy smiled up at her mother as sincerely as she could. "I promise to try," she told her. She forced herself out of the embrace and joined the circle of witches in the living room. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"England," Emmaline replied with a tremulous smile.

"Cool, I always wanted to visit the motherland," she replied absently as she joined hands with Tara and Willow.

The world lurched around her but Buffy had no time to feel queasy as the scene in front of her was thrown into sharp relief. The air was shimmering, bending and twisting as towering demons emerged out of it. People were shouting and running as battles broke out all around them. Emmaline and Rose ran to join the small circle that made up their coven off in the distance, pulling Willow and Tara along with them. Willow caught her eye in one last desperate gaze before they were swallowed up by the crowd.

Buffy watched as pockets of people emerged onto the scene. Angel and his Los Angeles crew appeared, the witch that brought them immediately leaving to join a different coven. Her Slayer senses lit up with a familiar tingle and she knew that Spike had arrived. She turned to seek him out when cold like she'd never felt before invaded her entire being.

She turned back to the portal as a new, human looking figure emerged. Soloman. Steel ran through her veins as she stood straight, her dagger clutched tightly in her fist and her purpose never more obvious than it was in that moment.

Fear clutched at her heart as she tasted the power that emanated off of him. She took one step towards him, her eyes taking in every detail. Another step, she watched him set his sights on one of the covens and with a wide swing of his arm they went flying, bodies broken and unfinished magics snuffed out.

A quicker step, his attention turned to the Devon coven. To Willow and Tara, Emmaline and Rose. She broke into a run but she already knew she wouldn't make it. His arm raised up. Her heart thudded wildly as she pushed herself harder than ever before. His fingers twitched. Her stomach roiled as the contents of her stomach threatened to come back up.

The motion of his arm arcing back seemed to go in slow motion, the sounds around her faded as every ounce of her attention was focused on the warlocks simple motion. Time suddenly sped up as halfway through his maneuver he was tackled forcefully to the ground. An entirely new fear clawed at Buffy as a very familiar platinum and black figure rolled to his feet, facing off against Soloman.

The warlock kipped back to his feet but before he could make a motion towards Spike, Angel was there, yanking his arm back and shoving him to his knees. The man roared out in anger and with a violent motion both vampires were thrown through the air. He rose to his feet but not before the Slayer was there, anger running hot through her veins as she aimed a kick at his chest.

He stumbled backwards but didn't lose his footing. He was incredibly agile despite his old age and had a hand wrapped around Buffy's throat before she could blink. She swung at him wildly as she fought to breath and the dagger cut into his arm. His black eyes widened in surprised pain before his scowl deepened and his grip around her neck tightened as he lifted her up into the air.

Black spots danced along the edges of her vision as she tried to gasp in air. She could barely hear anything above the sound of her blood rushing to her head. Panic flooded her as she both fought to dig the blade into his flesh and to keep it out of his possession. Her legs kicked out uselessly. Her limbs grew heavy and she wasn't positive if it was due to lack of oxygen or some sort of magic trick. Her eyelids fluttered and she suddenly was filled with the same certainty that she'd had before she went to face the Master. She was going to die.

The spots of black at the corner of her vision grew and shifted until she saw nothing but black. It was almost an out of body experience as she vaguely felt the twitching of her limbs. She was dying in slow motion, aware of every single final second.

Suddenly her knees were aching as a shooting pain resonated through them and she was reflexively gasping in shallow gulps of air, her vision slowly started to clear and she forced her head up. Spike was there, enraged and dodging magical blows as Soloman waved his arm back and forth and chanted, an angry bite wound gaped out from the side of his neck.

Buffy tore her eyes off the duo and desperately scanned the ground for her dagger, she must have dropped it while she was dying. She was on her hands and knees pawing the ground for it when something with very ugly feet kicked at her, catching her in the abdomen and sending her flying.

She coughed harshly and forced herself to her feet before the demon could follow up. Her hand automatically went to her waistband and she pulled out her trusty stake before running towards her new opponent.

The next few moments passed in a blur as they duo traded vicious blows, Buffy had deep gashes across her left shoulder from it's wicked claws and the demon had gouges in it's torso from her stake. Adrenaline and stubbornness were the only things propelling the Slayer. She kicked out, catching the demon off guard and causing it to stumble back enough that it put it at eye level with her stake. Buffy wasted no time in stabbing it through it's neck and panting with satisfaction as it gurgled before dropping dead.

"Buffy," Willow's voice sounded out through her head. The Slayer looked around wildly as she tried to regain her bearings. "Buffy, Soloman has your dagger."

The Slayer turned towards the warlock just as he was about to bring said dagger down on Spike. She lunged towards him and grabbed his fist just before it made contact with the vampire. She used her momentum to twist them to the side. She managed to control the roll so that she ended up with the upper hand and, while the warlock was still somewhat dazed, she twisted the dagger out of his hand and brought it down forcefully to his chest.

He yelled out in pain and anger, his hand clutching at hers as he tried to remove the blade. He was chanting and she could feel the blade start to rise. Cold hands covered hers and she sighed in relief as Spike's added strength pushed the dagger back down. "Anytime now Wills!" Buffy yelled out.

A gut wrenching cry sounded through the night as magic surrounded the trio, Buffy looked up to the fantastic sight of all the remaining covens gathered around them, hand in hand as they chanted.

The body beneath her started to morph and she looked down to see it wither and decay, the magic that had fueled him being forcefully removed leaving nothing but a desiccated husk in it's wake. What was left of Soloman's jaw was hanging open in a scream.

Buffy felt like she knew how he felt as she felt all the fight leave her body just before collapsing back into the cool arms behind her.

~BTVS~

When she awoke she was on a soft cloud and her surrounding were bathed in a warm glow. Her throat felt like sandpaper and she was pretty sure her ribs were busted. She forced her eyes to focus and finally realized she was back in her bedroom. Memories of the big battle flooded her and her eyes widened with the realization that she'd somehow survived.

Her gaze caught something that wasn't supposed to be in her room and relief blossomed at the sight of shocking platinum. Spike was leaning against her windowsill, looking out into the night. "Almost got cocky there, Slayer," he muttered without so much as a glance in her direction.

"Don't worry, he reminded me of my mortality," she rasped out, wincing at the roughness of her voice.

The sound of her voice got the vampire moving as she suddenly found him at her bedside with a glass of water in his hand. She gingerly sat up and took it from him, delighting in the cool sensation even as she winced as it went down.

"Willow and Tara?" she asked, keeping her voice a whisper, after she was done drinking.

"Alive. Angelus and his crew too," the vampire informed her as he took his place back at her window.

"So that was the big bad, huh?" she mused as she laid back against her pillows.

"Would seem so," came the distant reply.

"What happened to the demon army?" she asked with a frown.

"Covens sent them back to through the portal," Spike replied. "Joyce will want to know you're awake," he told her suddenly as he moved towards the door. "See ya around, Slayer."

"What?" Buffy demanded, sitting back up. "That's it?"

"What else should there be?" he questioned with a raised brow as he turned back towards her.

"Can we just not play this game?" Buffy sighed tiredly.

"Game?" Spike parroted back.

Buffy let out an irritated huff. "Yeah, the one where we both pretend we don't drive each other crazy."

"I rather like that game," He replied and she narrowed her eyes at the amusement in his tone.

"Soloman is dead," she told him.

"I was there," he reminded her.

"You won't have a reason to come around anymore," she forced herself to say.

"I'm sure you're army man will be pleased," Spike smirked.

"He would if we were still together," she agreed.

She studied him as he stilled. "Oh?" he asked, face unreadable.

"We broke up after you brought me that dagger," she told him boldly.

"My condolences," he replied carefully.

Buffy shrugged. "None needed. Riley's a good guy but I kind of have a thing for someone else," she said boldly, ignoring the pounding in her chest. When Spike didn't say anything she swallowed down her nerves and pressed on. "You think you'll find a new reason to come around?" she asked.

Spike tilted his head. "No," he replied in a low rumble and Buffy felt her heart sink as embarrassment burned at the back of her neck. "I think I'll just use the old one," he continued nonchalantly.

"What?" she asked, eyes wide as hope and disbelief flooded through her.

"I'll see you later, Buffy," he told her before opening the door and walking out. The stunned Slayer slowly lit up in a smile as his meaning came clear to her.

Her mother entered her room a few minutes later and Buffy let herself be mollycoddled as she replayed their conversation in her head.

~BTVS~

Buffy looked up at the moon. It had been fairly quiet in the two months since Soloman was beaten. She figured it was the universe's way of rewarding her for her good deed. She kicked at the headstone in front of her. "Stupid vampire just disappeared like he always does. 'see ya around, Buffy.'," she mocked. "If I see him again, I'll kill him."

"Who you talkin' to, luv?" her stomach flipped as his accent cut through the night.

She turned toward him, cursing her heart as it started wildly pounding at the sight of him. "The moon," she grit out as she glared at him.

His smirk widened in amusement. "Good conversationalist?" he wondered.

"Better than you," she shot back.

Spike laughed and Buffy had to fight off an answering smile. "Feisty tonight, are we?"

"Where have you been?" she demanded.

"Away," came the vague response.

"So what brought you back?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Spike raised an eyebrow and looked at her like she was an idiot. "Thought that was obvious, Slayer."

"Let pretend I'm dumb," she said as she crossed her arms across her chest.

His grin widened as his eyes flashed with humor. Something in her expression must have had him rethinking the easy opening she'd given him though because instead of laughing her off he stepped closer and grew serious. "You brought me back, Summers," he told her.

"For how long?" she asked.

Spike sighed and half turned away from her. "A week. Maybe two," he answered, not looking at her.

"That's all?" she asked, disheartened.

"If you want someone who'll be at your beck and call you're barking up the wrong tree, Slayer. 'Ve got commitments," he told her solemnly.

"I thought you only worked for the order when it suited you," she replied pointedly.

"I do," he told her.

"So you're working on something then?" she asked.

"I am," he confirmed.

"What is it?"

Spike hesitated and for the first time in the two years that she'd known him he looked unsure. "I am what I am, Buffy. I'm a vampire who does what I want, when I want. I help who I want, kill who I want. I've killed Slayers and I might do one in again one day."

Buffy's stomach turned at his words. "And you've helped Slayers," she pointed out.

"Yes."

"Have you been killing?" she had to ask.

"Not of late."

"Why?"

"Haven't wanted to."

"Why?"

"What are you? Two?" Spike demanded in irritation.

"Just answer the question!" she shot back, her ire rising right along with his.

"Because you stupid bint, I'm in love with you, aren't I?" he seethed, eyes narrowed angrily. "God only knows how the fuck that happened," he added in a mutter.

She'd probably find it in her to be angry at the way he'd worded his confession later but at the moment she was too busy feeling victorious. "Oh," she blinked. "Good."

"Good?" Spike glared.

"Yeah, I mean it'd be embarrassing if it was unrequited, right? Talk about a hit to the ego," she said casually.

He did that head tilt thing that drove her crazy. "It doesn't change what I am," he warned her.

"I know," she told him honestly, taking a step closer to him. She'd had two years to consider what a relationship with the morally ambiguous (at the best of times) vampire would look like.

"I'll be away a lot," he added.

"Seems likely," she agreed. Another step.

"I've killed your kind."

She shrugged as she came toe to toe with him, "And I've killed yours," she replied.

His lips twitched up in a smile that never quite appeared before his head lowered to hers and he captured her lips in a searing kiss that blew all her late night fantasies out of the water.

The world fell away until it was just the two of them locked in a moment she'd dreamed about for nearly the entire time she'd known the infuriating, enigmatic, funny man that had had such a big impact on her life. She reluctantly broke away when the need for air became too much to ignore.

"Think you can make it two weeks?" she asked breathlessly.

Spike smirked as he swooped down and caught her in a quick, hard kiss. "I'll see what I can do, luv."