The car ride had been incredibly, uncomfortably quiet. Spike was being an introvert and both Buffy and Riley felt awkward about driving Spike anywhere, let alone having a completely quiet master vampire in the backseat.

Plus, the entire time that Buffy had known him, he had NEVER been quiet. If it was one thing you could count on, it was that Spike would open his mouth and usually put his foot in it.

The fact that he remained silent the entire ride unnerved her.

When they arrived at the Bronze both saw just how nervous he was as he fidgeted and looked around as if he was trying to find…courage…maybe? But to Buffy he um…he looked ridiculously cute when he was flustered.

Glancing sideways Buffy felt her stomach doing flip flops at the way he looked almost shy and scared as he waited for Stephanie. Looking down at his clothes, fixing them, touching his hair to try and feel if it was fine. Which it wasn't with how many times he had grabbed at it in frustration. Which reminded her of the way he looked in her dreams while they…

She stopped her train of thought.

The sex god from her dreams was nowhere to be found, and a ridiculously nervous and flustered undead man stood. And yeah…she was attracted to tall men but… but… he was taller than her right? He wasn't Riley tall, but in the dreams…they…they fit. They fit.

So this Stephanie girl was a little shorter than her. That didn't mean she would…

Buffy almost gagged.

It didn't mean anything!

When his hand had been over hers earlier it was the first time she had felt his hands since Willow's spell had pushed them together into an engaged couple. It felt…it felt different than the dreams. It felt…it felt like home. It had made the shivers go away.

She didn't understand why or what it meant but…she was beyond all reasonings at this point.

Buffy let out a sigh. She had to stop this. She was in no way attracted to Spike. Why the hell this was happening to her when not but a few short weeks ago she didn't care about even looking at Spike and now she was haunted by him almost every second of every day was beyond strange.

She couldn't get away from him. Even when she was determined and trying with everything in her not to think about him…she couldn't stop.

Since she started dreaming about him she couldn't stop.

He was always there. Always.

Buffy didn't notice the way Riley was watching her. Watching the way she tried not to look at Spike, but her eyes were almost solely on him. And Spike looked like he was about to run out of the Bronze with how he kept looking like he was ready to jump out of the stool.

But here they sat…waiting for Stephanie. Riley watched his girlfriend looking at another man. And that man being a dead man - was sitting there looking like if he could vomit he would.

"Hey." Stephanie said smiling widely to Spike as she approached the table. She saw him as soon as she entered and immediately walked over to him, then looked over and saw Buffy and Riley and the smile waned.

Obviously she had not been expecting them.

"Hey Steph." Riley said with a smile that she understood to mean 'I'm sorry I'm here.'

"Hey Rye." And then Stephanie ignored Buffy altogether which irritated the Slayer way too much and not enough to distract her from seeing the extremely high heels the girl was wearing and how little else she was!

Buffy felt herself straighten up at the sight of Stephanie. There was a name for those heels and her mind instantly growled at what it meant.

Buffy had talked herself into the reason for her being there was to make sure that Spike didn't attack this girl. She had forgotten that the girl actually wanted to be attacked.

Spike had stood immediately at seeing her. "Hey." Spike said softly to her, and Buffy could have sworn she saw him blush and then look down and away from Stephanie a hand scrubbing at the back of his neck near his hairline. The action showing a form of shyness she had never associated with Spike.

Buffy watched a sly smile spread across Stephanie's face as she watched Spike. Buffy had to stop herself from punching the girl's face in.

"So…what do you feel like doing?" Stephanie asked with a real smile spreading over her face as Spike looked up at her.

"Um…I promised my mum that I'd make sure her eldest ate, but um…maybe…maybe we could go see a movie after?" Spike spoke softly, afraid that he would somehow mess up and ruin this. Whatever this was, he knew it was the only way the Scoobies were accepting his presence.

Stephanie's face showed confusion and when Spike saw she was confused and saw the question on her face as she looked over at Buffy, he understood they had never explained why they knew each other.

"Um…my mum…my real mum died a long time ago. Me Da' is marrying Joyce…ergo…her eldest…" Spike motioned with his head at Buffy behind him. Shockingly not needing to lie to explain anything.

"Oh." Stephanie said as she looked over at Buffy and then back at Spike.

"And Faith is…your sister?" Stephanie asked trying to understand the dynamic between the people she had met last night.

"No." "No!" Both Spike and Buffy said at the same time.

At the simultaneous answer Stephanie looked between the two at a complete loss.

"Look…it's…kind of personal but…Faith didn't have a good home life. My Da' and Joyce are adopting her. She…feels safer around me. I understand her a bit more." Spike shrugged his shoulders even as he said things a bit harshly as he was getting a bit defensive of Faith.

Stephanie just gave a little nod and then softly said. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry. I…well honestly I did think she was your sister with the way she talked about you. You can tell she loves you. And I can tell you love her."

Spike smiled, and it was a smile that reached his eyes to Stephanie's obvious delight.

"Yeah well…my family means pretty much everything to me so…"

Stephanie smiled and then Spike motioned with his arm for her to take a seat.

As Stephanie sat down Spike waved over a waitress and asked for a menu.

The female server had several in her apron and gave them over to Spike with a little wink at Stephanie. Stephanie gave a little laugh at the confused look on Spike's face.

"Um…she was my waitress last night…we kind of bonded over a certain blonde we were both staring at all night." Stephanie confessed and blushed slightly as she looked down at the menu Spike had handed her.

Buffy watched as Spike suddenly developed a smirk that she was very use to seeing. The fact that it was directed towards Stephanie making her beyond angry even though she fought herself on WHY she felt that way. She looked over at Riley who apparently had been looking at her curiously and she found her face had been in a glare and suddenly realized she had been openly staring at Stephanie and Spike and not even engaging Riley.

Before she could say an 'I'm sorry', Spike passed the menu over his shoulder to her and said. "Order something."

The fact that his eyes had not left Stephanie as he said it making Buffy's jealousy flare in a way she couldn't even understand.

"I'm not hungry." The instantly angry reply came causing Spike to immediately turn angry eyes on her.

"Don't care if you are or not! Promised Mum you'd eat something…"

"Well you shouldn't make promises you can't keep." Buffy said immediately angry at him and moving her body stiffly as she glared at him. He had absolutely no right to talk to her like that. She was THE Slayer.

Spike turned in his stool to face her as he became completely pissed off. "You pick something to eat and then eat it or soo help me I'll stuff it down your gob myself!"

"You couldn't get me to pick something! Let alone force me to do anything Spikey!"

"Oh I bloody well can by just calling Rupes up and telling him how bloody stupid you're being!"

"STUPID?!"

"Yeah! STUPID!"

"The only STUPID THING I know is trying to tell ME what I should and shouldn't do!"

"OH BLOODY HELL! JUST EAT SOMETHING! STOP MAKING EVERYTHING SO BLOODY COMPLICATED!"

"STOP TRYING TO TELL ME WHAT TO DO BLEACHBRAIN!"

Riley and Stephanie watched as the two began to scream at each other and at the same time get closer to each other as they glared at each other. Neither knew what the hell was happening. One second everything was fine and the next they were fighting.

"EXCUSE ME! If you two do not calm down I'll be forced to ask you to leave." The waitress from earlier said as she looked between the two blondes of the group with a death glare of her own.

Spike glared angrily at Buffy and breathed slowly trying to calm himself showing off his cheek bones and the angles of his face as he did. Buffy looked like she wanted to break his nose with how angry she looked, and was only holding back because they were in public where humans would question how she had sent a grown man flying across the room with one punch.

Still glaring at her he turned and looked at the waitress with the same look in his eyes.

"One bloomin' onion, two grilled cheese with fries, and load the bloody thing with mayo! Add ketchup for the fries with a cherry coke." Spike ground out then looked back at Buffy as the waitress immediately left with the order.

"I swear if you don't eat every bloody bite I'll make TED look like a saint!" Spike growled out at Buffy and his eyes flashed yellow at her.

Buffy was too angry to ask how the hell he knew about Ted, let alone how she liked her grilled cheese.

"Why exactly does she have to eat what you tell her?" Riley asked suddenly super suspicious of what happened to cause the extreme anger.

"She fainted! Doesn't even remember when she ate and Joyce nearly looked like she would have ripped my head off because of it." Spike answered embellishing slightly but spoke immediately before Buffy could answer.

"I've been busy!" Buffy said turning and finally giving Riley her entire attention. "Between school and patrolling and Adam I just…"

"Buffy you need to eat. You can't starve yourself and still function doing what you do!" Riley said with passion as he realized that it was a big deal. Buffy could have fainted while patrolling and that could have led to…

Suddenly Riley felt the same anger that Spike had felt. She could have died. She could have died because she just wasn't eating!

Buffy couldn't tell them that the reason she couldn't eat was because she was sleeping any chance she got because the dreams had literally been waking her up every night and the little sleep she got after patrolling was turning into nonexistent!

She had so little energy from not sleeping that the not eating hadn't really bothered her yet.

The waitress put down tiny plates and a plate with the blooming onion on it, "Your other food should be out shortly."

Of course Buffy's body was a traitor and immediately her stomach growled loudly as she looked at the food.

A pout instantly formed on her face.

Stupid…stomach.

Spike rolled his eyes. God she was a stubborn woman. Without preamble he took a knife that had been already rolled up and in a napkin at the table and cut a huge chunk of the onion along with the sauce and placed it on a tiny plate and put it in front of her.

"Eat!" Spike commanded in a no nonsense way that pissed Buffy completely off and she would have yelled at him again if it wasn't for Riley who also said "Please Buffy."

Buffy looked at the plate and then looked up at Stephanie who was looking at her with a look of…of…pity.

"You really shouldn't neglect your body. Your brother's right."

"He's NOT my brother!" Buffy instantly snapped, the anger at the girl for even suggesting it was barely contained and easily seen on her face with the way she was staring daggers at Stephanie.

Spike felt very strange at the wording as well. But knew if he said anything he was dust.

Riley held his tongue as he realized that if HE said anything Buffy would pick a fight with HIM, something which he avoided unless completely necessary.

Despite being in the military, fighting with his girlfriend was the thing he wanted to do least in the world.

But the way she was reacting to Stephanie was sending warning signals to his brain.

Stephanie looked as though she were about to say something back, but a quick glance at Spike and she seemed to ease back into her seat. With that she reached forward and took a plate and with her eyes asked Spike for some of the Bloomin' Onion.

"I love their blooming onion. It's probably my favorite next to their spicy wings." Stephanie said with a small blush forming on her cheeks.

"Really?! It's my favorite here too. Same with the wings. Love the kick they have to them." Spike said as he served Stephanie a piece of the blooming onion.

"I know right?! Not many places even know about Naga king chili and how to handle them without completely burning your mouth off."

"Ghost Peppers are definitely hot but in New Mexico they're started a chili pepper institute to measure the heat of one's collected in India because they were trying to use it for weapons. There's a competition going on who can cultivate the hottest pepper."

"Really?! I didn't know that! That's extremely interesting." Stephanie gave Spike a huge smile which he returned.

Right then. He could do this. He could talk about random things. Why the hell had he been terrified that he would bollocks this up was beyond stupid. It wasn't really that hard.

Buffy was staring between the two and felt like her heart was constricting at the look they were giving each other.

He was acting…he was acting…normal! Which…he never acted normal. Not even when he was trying to fake out Riley that he wasn't a vampire. He was…he was…

"Here's your food." The waitress said as she placed the meal down at the small table.

Buffy's stomach growled once more and she couldn't help but pout at her bodies betrayal.

"Please eat Buffy. I really don't want your mom to worry about you anymore than she has to." Riley requested with a pleading look on his face.

Buffy looked at her plate of food and then at Stephanie who indeed was eating and found her eyes once more looking at Spike who no longer was paying any attention to her but was completely focused on his date.

Buffy let out a sigh once more as she reached for her grilled cheese and proceeded to take a small bite.

The second her body understood she was eating, her hunger came back with a vengeance!

Within seconds the one sandwich was gone and she was on to the fries and second sandwich.

Every now and then she would glance up and constantly listened in on the conversation between Spike and Stephanie as she ate.

The more she heard and watched the two easily converse the more dread she began to feel in the pit of her stomach.

It officially couldn't feel more awkward for her.

"So…what movie do you want to see?" Stephanie asked Spike.

And with that question Buffy knew she had been wrong!

Because she was not about to let Stephanie be alone in a dark theater with Spike!

I swear to God if you let that skank touch him…

Apparently the voice was back with a huge surge of jealousy and Buffy somehow knew that the 'warning' was backed by the flood of violent images that were now going through her mind.

Which…that was new!

Look! You don't know him…you really don't! You think you do…but…he's a better man than demon. Look at how much he cares about Faith. About mom! He's more than what you think…and… she's not supposed to be here! She was all over him last night! Imagine if she got him in a darkened room with hardly anyone around! Get her the hell away from him!

Buffy concentrated like at the house as she wanted to talk with this voice and tell it to 'get the hell out' and finally was able to talk to the voice.

WHO ARE YOU?!

That's when a flash of herself was suddenly in her mind. But…she was…older. Much older.

I'm you. At least…a future version of you. Don't know how…don't know why…even after everything I've been through. But…things are different…then they were for me. Maybe…I don't know…maybe they sent me to another dimension…or something. Wish I had listened to Andrew more than I did. He'd probably know what the hell is going on. Honestly right now all I care about is getting this bimbo AWAY from Spike!

Why should I care?! Ohh. Oh. My. God! These…these dreams…they're yours aren't they?!

Uhh…not so much dreams as in…memories!

Buffy felt a wave of embarrassment, self-loathing, and pain accompany the words.

Buffy felt her own self blush as she realized exactly what that meant.

It meant that somewhere, in some…universe? Dimension? That SHE got involved with Spike!

Strangely the wave of revulsion did not appear at the thought.

And GOD wasn't that beyond wigsome.

Somehow…someway…Spike seemed less…icky.

She refocused on the room she was in and the two talking in front of her and she saw the way he was smiling at Stephanie.

She couldn't explain the feeling of contentment the sight brought her.

And then when her eyes followed what he was looking at, her heart seemed to clench again as she saw the huge smile on Stephanie's face as she continued to talk to him.

"Return to Me? That's the movie that your friend Andrew suggested?" Stephanie asked.

Spike rubbed the back of his neck for a second, "And me mum. She's…she's the only person that's ever reminded me of my own mum. So…if you don't mind I'd like to take her and me sis to see it instead."

Buffy saw the adoration flash in Stephanie's eyes at the request. Hell her own heart did a flip at the words.

Noone had ever taken her mom to the movies besides her dad when she was really little. The idea of Spike caring that her mom wanted to see it and would prefer to take her and Faith to it instead of his date…

Yeah…major swoonage.

NO! NO! Not major swoonage!

Um…that wasn't me. That's totally on you!

Buffy eyes bulged out of her head at the voice.

"Well…if you don't mind a bit of horror we could always go watch American Psycho. I mean…if you don't mind me salivating a bit at Christian Bale. I've had a crush on him since he was in Little Women. And they say you get to see him naked soo…" Stephanie said with a cat ate the canary grin.

Spike couldn't help let out a laugh and smirk at the girl. She definitely knew what she wanted. Plus…wasn't the suggestion almost perfect for the likes of him?!

"Horror film sounds good to me." Spike said and gave her an honest to goodness real smile.

Buffy looked between the two and felt her muscles tighten at the sight. She looked over at Riley.

"Wanna go see a movie?"

"Horror movie it is." Riley said without a single protest. He knew they would have ended up in the same theater as the other two anyway.

Despite what Spike had told him, he could see it in Buffy's eyes that the only person she cared about was not part of the land of the living.

But he loved her, and Spike had warned him to just be there for her. So…despite all of his reservations, he was going to be. No matter how hard it was to watch her fall in love with someone that wasn't him.

And a dead man that was trying to save her from a future he deemed horrible enough to withstand 1000 years of wait to rewrite just happened to be trying to date a human girl who didn't know he was a vampire.

Yeah.

This was going to be loads of fun.

.