A Pirate's Life for Me
by Addie Logan

Disclaimer: This is the part of the fic where I say I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and this isn't for profit, so I don't get sued. Neat, huh?

Rating: NC-17 (Adult Language, Sexual Content, and High-Seas Hijinks)

Summary: As the Slayer, Buffy Summers is certain she hates the vampire Spike. But when an enchanted book pulls her into a world where she's Lady Elizabeth Summers, trapped on the ship of famed pirate William the Bloody, things start to look a little different… (Humor/Romance)

Spoilers: Up to Season 5, "Blood Ties" (Riley's gone. Glory's on her Great Key Search. Spike loves Buffy, but she doesn't know it)

Author's Note: It's an all-human Buffyverse fic! Betcha didn't think that even was possible, huh?

Feedback and Archiving: Seeing as I had to write that disclaimer thingy and prevent any monetary gain on this endeavor, feedback's all I can get—so review away! And I'm cool with archiving 99.9% of the time, but if I haven't already given you the okay for my fics before, please ask. Thanks! addie_logan@yahoo.com 

Shameless Website Plug: I've written some other stories. Go check 'em out: http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/addielogan/buffy.html 

A Pirate's Life for Me

By: Addie Logan

*** *** ***

Buffy walked into the Magic Box. Giles had asked her to meet him there after her patrol in order discuss the current situation with Glory after the run-in Buffy had had with her the night before.

It had been a quiet patrol, however, and when Buffy got to the shop it was empty. She sat on the counter, idly twirling her stake as she waited for Giles. After a moment, she looked beside her, seeing an open shipping box beside her. She peeked in, finding it full of books. Needing a way to pass the time, Buffy set the stake by the register and pulled out a book, frowning as she read the title: Skulls, Crossbones, and Desire.

The cover, with its chesty heroine being clasped by an over muscled pirate made the genre of this particular tome quite evident. "When did Giles start selling romance novels?" she wondered aloud before shrugging and turning to the first page.

It was the sort of night that chilled one to the bone. The young maiden wrapped her cloak tightly around her to guard against the cold sea winds, her nipples pressing against the fabric of her bodice.

Buffy rolled her eyes. Two sentences in, and it was already bordering on raunchy. She didn't see why anyone would be interested in this stuff. It was horrible. She kept reading.

"Whatcha readin', Slayer?"

Buffy jumped, her eyes wide. "Spike! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Lookin' for you. Wanted to ask if the nibblet was all right." He gave her a wicked grin. "That must be some book to get you so caught up you didn't even hear me come in."

"I…I was just waiting for Giles. I wasn't really reading it."

"Uh huh. What's the title?"

"It's…I didn't pay attention."

"Right. Give it here."

"No!" Buffy said, backing away from Spike.

"If you're not reading it, Slayer, then you shouldn't mind if I take a look at it."

"I do mind! I mind because…because…you can't be trusted with the merchandise!" Spike rolled his eyes and snatched the book out of her hand. "Hey!" Buffy cried in protest as Spike ran behind the counter to keep her from reclaiming the novel

Spike flipped to the middle, laughing as he read aloud in a breathy falsetto, "Oh, I just can't resist you! I must ride you like the lusty stallion you are!"

"Give it back, you, you—pervert!" Buffy cried, jumping over the counter to get to him as Spike continued to read.

"Her bosom heaved as he wrapped his arm around her to pull her close, his lips descending on hers, overwhelming her with his pleasing, masculine taste. She moaned, melting as he…"

Buffy grabbed the book, trying to pull it from Spike's tight grasp. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and Buffy raised her free hand to shield her eyes.

The book fell to the ground, leaving the Magic Box empty once more.

*** *** ***

Buffy woke with a splitting headache. And to make things worse, the room was spinning. She frowned. No, not spinning. It was rocking. Why was the room rocking?

And furthermore, why was she in this room at all?

"Oh, thank goodness you are awake. I was beginning to fear you would never come to."

Buffy sat up, clutching her head. At least that voice was familiar. "Giles? Where are we?"

"Try not to speak, Lady Elizabeth. It will only tire you. We can discuss our current situation when you are better rested."

Buffy removed her hands from her head, glancing over at Giles. He looked like her Watcher. He sounded like her Watcher. But why was he wearing those funny clothes? Her gaze darted down. Why was she wearing funny clothes? Had someone gotten into the possessed Halloween costumes again?

Just then, the door burst open, and Spike came bounding in. Buffy frowned. He was wearing funny clothes, too. And why in the world was his hair long? "Buffy!" he announced, his tone scarily chipper, "We're on a pirate ship. And get this—I'm the captain! There's a whole mess of pirates out there that'll do anything I say!"

Buffy buried her face in her hands with a whimper, wishing she would wake up but knowing at the same time that everything was too vivid to be just a dream. Somehow, someway, she'd ended up trapped on a pirate ship with Captain Spike and crazy Giles.

Why did these things always have to happen to her?

*** *** ***

This is a lot shorter than my normal chapters, I know, but I wanted to see what sort of response I got before I really started work on it. So, If you want to see more of this—or don't, either one—let me know. If I get a bunch of reviews telling me you're interested in this one, then I'll continue. (Ah, blackmail—gotta love it.)

Spike knew he should be more concerned about the fact that he'd been sucked into what was apparently some sort of alternate dimension—especially since he'd first appeared in sunlight and had not consequently burst into flames. But as soon as he figured out he was captain of a pirate ship, any possible worries went out the proverbial window. That chip had restricted him from getting his evil on back in Sunnydale, but he was sure there was all kinds of mayhem he could cause as a pirate captain.

The Slayer, on the other hand, seemed less than thrilled. She was sitting on a cot with her face buried in her hands. Spike wanted to just leave her there, go back on to the deck and exercise his newfound captain powers. Instead, he walked over to her, sitting beside Buffy on the cot and putting his hand on her shoulder. "You all right?" he asked.

"No she's not bloody all right!" Giles yelled. "You attacked her ship and kidnapped her, you, you brigand!"

Spike shrugged. He certainly didn't remember doing that, but being a pirate now, he figured it was something he would do. Buffy, on the other hand, looked up sharply. "When did that happen?"

"Oh dear. You must've gotten a blow to the head. It's despicable the way you and your men would treat a lady."

Spike glanced between Giles and Buffy. Buffy seemed to be the same Buffy he'd always known, while Giles was different. "Who are you?" Spike asked Giles.

"I am Lord Rupert Giles," he replied, puffing his chest up. "You seemed fully aware of that when you illegally boarded my ship, pillaging it and taking both my ward and me hostage."

"I'm your what?" Buffy asked.

Giles looked stricken. "Lady Elizabeth, do you remember anything?"

"I…things are fuzzy," Buffy replied. After all, that was partly true.

Spike pulled Buffy up by her arm. "Need to talk to you for a moment."

"You are not taking her from my sight!" Giles yelled.

"Oi—pirate captain here. I'll do what I want!" Spike brought Buffy back on to the deck, shutting the cabin door behind him and leaning on it so Giles couldn't get out, despite his constant banging. "Any clue to what's going on here, Slayer?"

"This sounds a bit insane, but I think we're in that novel."

"Insane is the norm on the Hellmouth, pet. Any theories on why Giles doesn't seem as, um, aware as we do?"

Buffy frowned. "Not unless…not unless it isn't actually Giles."

"Who would it be then? Pod Giles? Clone Giles?"

"No." Buffy chewed on her bottom lip. "We were the only two in the shop when this happened. So maybe we're the only two people who are actually here."

"Then why does he look like Giles? And call himself Rupert Giles for that matter?"

"I don't know! It's all…" Buffy stopped. "You're in the sunlight."

"Yep. Neat, huh? I think my heart's beating, too."

"So you're human?" Buffy asked.

"I suppose. I tried making myself all fangy, but it didn't work."

"Do you have a soul?" Buffy asked quickly.

"Well, no great desire to brood. Still want to cause chaos and destruction. Nope, I'm thinking I'm soulless." He gave Buffy a wide grin.

"This has got to all be superficial," Buffy said. "Something generated by magic."

"Gee, you think."

"Uh, captain, why is the lady outside of the cabin?"

Buffy and Spike turned around to see a dark-haired man with an eye patch. "We were having a discussion…Xander?" Spike replied, recognizing the pirate.

"William, as your first mate, I think I should tell ye—some of the others are a bit concerned to see ya talkin' to the lady so nicely. Not good for the reputation of William the Bloody."

Spike frowned. "Hmm. Good point." He turned back to Buffy. "We'll have to finish this at some other time, luv. I have important pirate duties and whatnot." He grabbed her by the arm again, throwing her back into the cabin. Once he had secured the chain on the door, he turned back to Xander. "That better?"

"Aye."

"So, we planning some big pillage somewhere?" Spike asked, rubbing his hands together.

"We were going to hold the lady for ransom," Xander replied, giving Spike a puzzled look.

"Right. Um, why are we doing that again?"

"Because her fiancé is an admiral in the Royal Navy, and you hate the Royal Navy. Have ye been out in the sun too long, Will?"

"No. It's just…been a long day." Spike started walking off with Xander, ignoring Buffy's yelling from inside the cabin. Sure, they'd figure out a way to get back sooner or later, but right now there were just too many opportunities for fun. "So you think we could work a bit of pillaging into the schedule?" Spike asked. "I want to burn something."

*** *** ***

Buffy sat on her cot in the cabin, cursing Spike every way she could think of. Lord Rupert had informed her that she was not behaving as a lady should, but the look she'd given him had put an end to that. She had tried numerous times to break the door, but hadn't had any luck. It appeared that her Slayer strength had gone the way of Spike's vampirism. Just what she needed to make this day even better.

Eventually, the door opened and Buffy stood, ready to give Spike a piece of her mind. She frowned when she realized it wasn't him, but a young man who looked strangely familiar, although this one Buffy couldn't quite place. "Where's Spike?" Buffy asked.

The man blinked. "Excuse me? Spike? I don't have any Spikes." He held up a tray. "Just dinner for you and the old man."

"I am not old," Giles scoffed from the corner.

"Captain William," Buffy clarified, rolling her eyes.

"He's dining with the others," the man replied. "Last I saw, they were getting drunk, like filthy men. Er, which I am one of, of course. I am a filthy man who loves to get drunk."

Buffy frowned. This was a very strange person. And the familiar thing was still niggling at her mind. "Do you have a name?"

"Jenkins."

"Well, Jenkins, could you tell the captain that I wish to see him as soon as possible?"

"He said you'd tell me that," Jenkins replied. "Said you'd be whining about your 'accommodations.' He also told me to tell you to 'hold your soddin' horses, and he'll deal with it later.'" Jenkins smiled at the end of the recitation of the message, complete with an imitation of Spike's accent.

"Well, you can tell the captain that if he doesn't come and talk to me soon, I'm going to break his nose—for starters."

"The captain won't like that. I've seen the cruel things he can do, even to pretty women like you."

"I don't care about that, or his stupid reputation," Buffy replied, her hands on her hips. "I just want to get out of here!"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Jenkins said with a smile. "You're going to get out of here just as soon as Admiral Finn pays the ransom money. Unless the captain decides to just kill you, that is. Which is a very real possibility. He's killed lots of people."

Buffy's eyes grew wide as she realized something for the first time. Spike could kill her. She didn't have her powers. There was a good chance he wasn't affected by the chip. And even if he was, he had a whole crew who would be willing to string her up, or make her walk the plank, or whatever else Spike could think of. She was at the mercy of someone who had wanted to kill her for the better part of three years. For the first time in a long time, Buffy felt helpless—and at the mercy of Spike, no less. She sat back on the cot.

Jenkins held the tray in front of her. "Don't you want to eat?"

"I'm not hungry. Give it to Giles."

Jenkins shrugged and complied, bring the tray of food over to Lord Rupert, setting it in his lap. Then, with a smile, the pirate left the cabin, the sound of chains rattling outside letting Buffy know that they were indeed being locked back in.

Giles walked over to Buffy, tray in hand. "You should eat, you know. I understand that it must be difficult with this trying ordeal, but it will not be any easier if you starve yourself."

Buffy looked up into the face that was so similar to the one of her Watcher. Despite the comfort of familiarity, she knew it wasn't her Giles, and it just made this all the worse. Sure, this whole thing may be fun to Spike, but she just wanted to go home. She was stuck in a strange place, at the mercy of a vampire she hated, and the corset she was wearing was really starting to pinch.

Lord Rupert sat the tray down between them, patting Buffy on the shoulder awkwardly. "I won't allow him to hurt you, Elizabeth. I promised your mother on her deathbed that I would see to it that no harm came to you, and I plan to uphold that promise."

Hearing Giles refer to her mother as being dead made Buffy's heart clench. After coming so close to losing her in her own reality, the thought of Joyce being gone in another one scared her. She wanted nothing more than to be home right now, curled up on the couch with her mother and sister. But instead she was trapped on a stupid pirate ship, cold, tired, and wondering if Spike was going to throw her to the bottom of Davy Jones' Locker.

She sighed as she picked up some food from the tray.

*** *** ***

When Spike finally made his way back to the cabin late that night, Buffy and Giles were both asleep—her on the cot, and him in a chair in the far corner. He knelt beside Buffy, shaking her until her eyes opened. "Spike!" she hissed. "It's about time you showed up."

"Sorry, pet. Got a bit caught up. This whole pirate thing is just as bloody great as I thought it would be."

"Glad you're having a good time," Buffy said sarcastically as she sat up, rubbing her eyes. "I hate it."

"Jenkins said you were a bit feisty when she brought you your dinner."

"Well, yeah, I…wait, did you say she? I thought Jenkins was a boy."

Spike tisked. "Not recognizing your own friends? Now that's bloody pathetic. Jenkins is Anya. I'm guessing she just dressed like a man to get on the ship."

Buffy frowned. Now that she thought about it, Jenkins was the last name Anya had made for herself once she became human. And it did explain that 'filthy men' comment earlier. "Have you seen anyone else around that we know?"

"There's a quiet pirate, was playing music earlier. Think he might be that dog boy Red was into for a while. Other than that, no. Oh, and you're engaged to some admiral. Could be Captain Cardboard."

"An—Jenkins called him Admiral Finn, so I'd suppose so. This is weird."

"Tell me about it."

"So how are we going to get back?" Buffy asked.

"Get back? What makes you think I want to rush back to Sunnydale? I can be evil here." Spike grinned.

"But I hate it here! I'm locked up, this dress is torture, and I don't have my powers!" Buffy clamped her hand over her mouth when she realized what she'd admitted to Spike.

To her surprise, he didn't gloat about how she'd be so much easier to kill now. "Yeah, I'm sort of missing my vamp strength. I forgot how bloody heavy things can be. Oh, and the speed, too. But I also seem not to have the chip, so it's a tradeoff. Although I suppose for you, things are just bad all around."

"I can't even break that lousy wooden door," Buffy replied with a pout.

"Don't worry about it too much, Slayer. You got a fearsome pirate lookin' out for you, after all."

Buffy blinked. "You're looking out for me?"

"Well, yeah. What else would I do?"

"I sort of thought you'd kill me, seeing as you can and all."

Spike shook his head. "We're in this together. Could end up bad for me if you were dead. Besides, if I ever were to kill you, I'd want it to be the right way—vampire versus Slayer."

"Gee, how sweet."

"Look, there's nothing to be worried about. We'll get home soon enough. Just let me have a bit of fun first."

Buffy crossed her arms in front of her. "But what about me? Spike, I need to be back in Sunnydale. What if Glory finds Dawn while we're here? I should be protecting her!"

Spike frowned. He hadn't thought of that. And as much as he hated to admit it, he cared. "Balls," he muttered under his breath. "Fine, we'll find a way out of here. But you owe me, Slayer."

"I owe you? Hey, if anything you owe me for not dusting your sorry ass the moment you showed up on the doorstep."

"Oi! Be nice. You're the damsel in distress here, remember?"

Buffy shifted uncomfortably. She did remember. And she hated it. "Let's just get out of here."

"Any plans?"

Buffy frowned, thinking for a moment. "The book! Did you have the book when you showed up here?"

"No," Spike replied, shaking his head. "And I haven't seen one around either."

"You're not just saying that, are you?"

"Bloody hell, woman, I told you I'd help you get out of here! I'm not gonna go withholding information."

"Fine. No book. Maybe we could just jump off the side of the boat. It might bring us back to reality or something."

"Or it could leave us in possibly shark-infested water. I'm not comfortable with that chance, Slayer."

"But it could…"

"You can't help Dawn if you're eaten by sharks, Buffy."

"You know, I really hate it when you make sense." Buffy pouted, resting her chin on her fists. "This sucks. We have no plan."

"We could look around the ship," Spike said. "Most of the crew is asleep. Well, passed out drunk is more like it. Maybe we could find some way back."

"Like what?"

"I don't know, some sort of swirly vortex or something. I'm not really an interdimensional travel expert, you know."

Buffy stood. It was as good a plan as any. "All right. Let's go exploring."

*** *** ***

Giles walked around the Magic Box, frowning as he spotted no sign of Buffy. He thought she may be in the training room, but he couldn't find her there either. He went behind the counter and picked up the phone, calling Buffy's house, only to find she hadn't made it home.

Fear gripping him, Giles hurried out of the shop in hopes of finding his Slayer, not noticing as he kicked a small paperback book under the counter in his haste.

*** *** ***

Sorry for the delay in updates. I was out of town for Christmas, and then I had company. But I should be able to return to a more regular posting schedule now.

Hope you're enjoying the fic. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. Keep letting me know what you think!

Spike and Buffy began their exploration of the ship, searching for anything that might give them a clue as to how to get home. So far, they'd been unsuccessful.

Buffy glanced around nervously as they walked, a slight tinge of fear in her eyes that Spike had never seen there before. He put his hand on her shoulder, and she jumped. "Easy, pet. It's all right. I told you I'm going to help you out."

Buffy pushed his hand off of her. "Somehow the idea of you helping me doesn't exactly fill me with feelings of warmth and security, Spike."

"Look, Slayer," Spike replied, his eyes narrowing. "I may be a lot of things, but I do have a spot of honor. If I say I'm going to help you, then I'm bloody well going to carry through on that."

"Fine. I'll take great comfort in the fact that my mortal enemy is watching my back."

"Had no problem trusting your 'mortal enemy' with your mum and little sis not too long ago."

"That was different. You were the only person strong enough to protect them, and I knew you couldn't hurt them."

"Couldn't or wouldn't, pet? Chip wouldn't have stopped me from feeding them to the first vamp I saw."

Buffy looked at him in horror. "You wouldn't…"

"Exactly. Wouldn't. Not every vampire is as twisted as your ex, Slayer. Some of us are capable of behaving like something other than sadistic psychopaths. Now come on, we have a lot more ship to search."

Buffy stopped short even as Spike walked on. She'd never thought about him being able to cause any real damage with the chip, but suddenly that seemed incredibly naïve. Her mind drifted for a moment to Harmony. Buffy was almost positive Harmony was still around, doing hell knew what with Spike. Granted, Harmony was about as incompetent as they came, but with Joyce and Dawn alone in Spike's crypt, could they have been at the mercy of the blonde vampiress? Would Spike have done anything to protect them then? And what if Glory had shown up at Spike's crypt, looking for the Key. The chip certainly wouldn't have stopped Spike from handing Buffy's family over to the hellgod.

"Hello, Slayer? Planning to start walking again any time soon, or have you grown particularly fond of that spot?"

Buffy blinked, realizing that Spike had stopped and was facing her, arms crossed. "Oh, sorry. I was, um…the stars are pretty."

Spike chuckled, shaking his head. "As tough as you are, you can be such a girl sometimes."

Buffy planted her hands on her hips. "And what's wrong with that?"

Spike leered at her, smirking at Buffy's sudden blush. "Nothing, kitten. Nothing at all."

"What's the little filly doing out of her cabin, cap'n?"

Buffy and Spike both turned suddenly to see a small, filthy pirate eyeing them warily. Buffy's nose wrinkled at the man's unpleasant odor. Spike grabbed Buffy's arm. "Takin' her back to my cabin for a bit of fun," Spike replied.

Buffy snatched her arm away from Spike, almost as a reflex. "I'm not letting you touch me!"

Spike gave Buffy a pained look then grabbed her, throwing her over his shoulder. "Women," he told the pirate, "do not know when it's best to keep their bleedin' mouths shut and just do as they're told."

"Aye," the pirate agreed. "You think maybe you'll be sharin' the lady when you're done with her, cap'n?"

Spike couldn't resist teasing Buffy a bit more, even as she squirmed in a futile attempt to get down. "I might. Although by then she won't be much of a lady anymore, now will she?" Spike and the pirate shared a laugh, drowning out Buffy's cry of outrage.

"Well, you break 'er in real good for us then," the pirate said, slapping Buffy on the bottom.

Spike pushed down the surge of possessiveness that made him want to rip off the other man's arm and beat him to death with it for daring to touch Buffy like that. "Will do," he said, forcing a grin. "Now if you'll excuse us…"

"Course, cap'n. Know you got a long night ahead…"

Spike nodded, walking towards the cabin he'd earlier discovered to be his. Buffy struggled to get out of his grasp until he said, "You know, Slayer, all that's doing is wriggling that cute little arse of your in my face."

"Pig," Buffy muttered. Her wiggling stopped.

Once Spike got her to his cabin, he put her down and shut the door. "That was bloody stupid, Slayer."

"What was I supposed to do with you saying those things?"

"Gee, I don't know—play along?"

"But I didn't want him thinking we're in here doing that."

"What bloody difference does it make? He's probably not even real!"

Buffy crossed her arms angrily. "But the things you were saying were just gross, Spike."

"I was playing the part! What did you want me to say?" Spike affected a slightly different accent, sounding more like Giles than his normal self, "Excuse me, good sir, but we're in search of an interdimensional portal. Have you perchance seen one laying about?" Spike moved closer to her, his tone darkening again. "We're not in your world now, Slayer. You don't have all the power—or any at all, actually. As far as anyone here is concerned, you're nothing but the hostage of a pirate. You can't throw around punches and insults to get your way. You're just a weak, helpless little girl."

Spike expected Buffy to yell at him, or possibly even hit him despite his pointing out that that wouldn't do any good. Instead, she sat down on the edge of his bunk and began to cry. Spike frowned. "Uh, Slayer, when I said you needed to be all weak-like, I didn't mean you had to start right this second."

"But you're right!" Buffy said, sniffling. "I'm weak, and I'm helpless, and my friends and family are out there at Glory's mercy. I can't do anything!"

"Welcome to the club, Slayer," Spike muttered.

Buffy looked up at him, confused for a moment before she realized what he meant. "Is this what it's like for you with the chip?"

"A bit, yeah. Going from the biggest and baddest on the block to not even being able to defend yourself takes a bit of, well, adjusting."

"I think I'm starting to see why you were so happy when you found out you could hurt demons." At the smirk Spike gave her, Buffy quickly added, "Not that I get off on violence the way you do."

"Sure you don't. You can't tell me that our old fights didn't get your motor running at least a little."

Her tears gone for the time being, Buffy rolled her eyes. "Ego much, Spike?"

Spike tapped his nose. "Vampire, luv. I always knew the effect I had on you."

"Ew!" Buffy replied trying her hardest—albeit unsuccessfully—not to blush. "Majorly gross—and also really, really delusional."

"Believe what you want, Slayer, but I'm not the one here with delusions."

Buffy held up her hand. "Can we not talk about this anymore? We have more important things to discuss than your twisted little fantasies. We need to get back out there and search the ship some more."

"We can't."

"What do you mean we can't? You said you'd help me!"

"I know what I said, and I still plan to make good on that. But short an' smelly thinks I'm in here making with the debauchery."

"So?"

"So, if he sees us wandering the ship again, it'll blow our cover."

"But you're the captain! Can't you just do whatever you want?"

"Buffy," Spike said, obviously frustrated, "acting suspiciously will only make this whole thing more difficult. We have no sodding clue what's going on here. I think it's safe to say it has something to do with that book, but we don't know who put it in the shop or why. And as far as this place goes, we don't know who any of these people are. Sure, some of them look like your friends, but they don't seem to be aware that anything's wrong like we do. They could just look the way they do in order to lull us into a false sense of security. We really can't push against the flow right now. We need to play along, at least until we figure a bit more out."

"Oh my god. I'm an emotional mess, and you're making sense. This is hell. That's what happened—that book was a portal to a hell dimension." Buffy frowned. "I wonder if this one has shrimp…"

"Shrimp? What are you… Never mind. And I don't think this is a hell dimension. If it was, there'd probably be little demons eating our livers or something."

"Hell dimension or now, I don't like it."

"Buffy, we'll get out of here, and Dawn will be fine."

"How come I don't feel at all confident about that?"

"Because you're the most pessimistic person in the world despite the fact you always win?"

"Hey!"

"That wasn't really an insult, you know. Not all of it, anyway."

"It still wasn't all that nice." Buffy yawned.

"Tired, Slayer?"

"No." She yawned again. "Okay, maybe a little."

"We probably should get some rest. Keep our strength up. Lie down and scoot over."

Buffy eyes widened when she realized what he meant. "We are not both sleeping here, Spike."

"What? You can't very well go back to your cabin—debauchery cover, remember?"

"Well, you're not sleeping here."

"Where am I supposed to sleep then?"

Buffy pointed to a wooden chair across the room. "There."

"No bloody way. That think looks more uncomfortable than those damn sarcophaguses in my crypt."

"We are not sharing a bed."

"Oh, grow up. I'm not going to try anything. There's enough room in the bed, and there's no reason not to just be adults about the whole thing."

Buffy frowned. "Fine. But you try anything, and I swear you're dust as soon as we get back to Sunnydale."

"And oh, that just makes me want to help you even more. Lie down, Slayer."

Buffy grumbled, lying down and scooting as close to the wall as she could. Spike joined her, closing his eyes without as much as giving her a glance. He tried to sleep, but every few seconds, Buffy shifted. Finally, he opened his eyes again, sighing heavily. "What's wrong?"

"It's this dress. I can't sleep in it."

"You were sleeping just fine in it earlier this evening."

"Well now I can't!"

"Bloody hell," Spike muttered, getting up. He went over to a chest, dug around for a bit, then tossed a long shirt to Buffy. "Here, sleepin in this."

"But it's your shirt."

"You are the most difficult…" Spike's jaw clenched. "Buffy, we've been here for a day. I've never worn the sodding shirt. Put it on."

"Turn around." Spike did as she said, rolling his eyes skyward as he did. A few moments later, he heard Buffy say his name. "What now?"

"I, um, can't get out of this dress."

"Are you going to threaten me for helping you out of it?"

"Um…no. But again, if you try anything…"

"We get back to Sunnydale, and I fit in an ashtray. I've got it. Come here."

Buffy walked over to Spike, turning her back to him nervously. Spike sucked in a deep breath, trying to undress her with as much detachment as he could. It wouldn't do for him to react to Buffy now when he couldn't do anything about it. "Arms up, pet," he said.

"Why?"

"So I can lift the dress over your head," Spike replied, his tone exasperated.

"Oh, right." Buffy lifted her arms, and Spike pulled the dress up. He swallowed at the sight of her bare back. "Can you get the rest of it off then?"

"Yeah. Turn back around."

Spike nodded and turned around, wishing more than anything that he had access to a cold shower. Maybe he would go for a swim in those possibly-shark-infested waters. He heard the bed creak, and a moment later Buffy said, "I'm decent."

Spike nodded, this time taking off his boots and belt before joining her on the bed. "I really hate these clothes," he said.

"I don't know, I think they suit you," Buffy said with a giggle. "And at least you don't have to wear a corset and five million skirts. Walking has been a chore."

"You just be thankful you don't have one of those gigantic wigs to go with them."

"Ugh. I think my neck would break off." Spike chuckled softly, and Buffy glanced over at him. She knew it should be weird, sharing a bed with him, but despite her earlier protests, it really wasn't so bad. And he was—surprisingly—being a gentleman about it. He hadn't even copped a feel when he was helping her out of her dress. "Thank you."

"For what? Taking off your clothes, cause…"

"Stop right there. You were being halfway decent, and finishing that sentence will so ruin that. But I meant thank you for, well, helping me instead of killing me."

"Might need you to get out of here. Just watching my own back, Slayer."

"But you didn't want to leave."

"I could eventually."

Buffy regarded him for a moment in the dim light. For some reason, that answer didn't ring true to her, despite the fact that she knew that should logically be the only reason Spike would bother to help her instead of killing her like he'd always wanted to. "Well, um, thank you anyway," she said.

"You really should get some sleep. Who knows what we'll have to face tomorrow."

"Yeah. Good night, Spike."

"'Night, Slayer."

*** *** ***

The look on Giles's face told Joyce as soon as she opened the door that something was wrong. "Is Buffy here?" Giles asked.

"No. You didn't find her either, I take it."

"No," Giles replied, stepping inside the house.

"You didn't…you didn't find any signs of Glory, did you?"

Giles shook his head. "Nothing overt. But if Glory simply grabbed her, then…" He trailed off, noticing the look of worry on Joyce's face. "I'm sure Buffy's fine."

"Which is why you've got that wild, nervous look in your eyes, right?"

Giles sighed. "I am worried, but Buffy's taken longer to patrol before. She may have simply run into something that took up more time than she was anticipating."

"Is that a nice way of saying my daughter is probably somewhere fighting for her life?"

"Well, not quite that extreme… Perhaps we should call some of the others, see if they've heard anything?"

"Good idea," Joyce replied as she and Giles walked towards the telephone.

*** *** ***

Buffy woke curled up against a warm body, a heartbeat sounding steadily beneath her ear. Strong arms were wrapped around her waist, keeping her in place. For a moment as she drifted through that place between sleep and wakefulness, she found nothing about this position to be out of the ordinary, still accustomed enough to waking up next to Riley.

But as she became more aware, she remembered that Riley was gone. Besides, the body she was nestled against was too tight, too compact to be Riley. The events of the previous day came back to her, and who exactly it was she was currently using as a pillow became blazingly clear. Buffy's eyes popped open, confirming that it was indeed Spike.

Her initial impulse was to jump away from him, but the novelty of hearing a heartbeat emanating from his chest kept her in place. She reached up and touched his cheek, fascinated by the warmth—the life—she felt in his skin.

"That tickles, you know."

Buffy pulled her hand back as if burnt. "Spike! You're awake."

"Wasn't until you started going all Helen Keller on me," Spike mumbled, shifting a little. "Something on your mind pet?"

"You're alive."

"Well, yeah. Would explain the whole 'not bursting into flames thing' when I'm on deck. Besides, we already discussed the fact that I don't seem to be a vampire here—just like you're not exactly in prime Slayer condition."

Buffy winced slightly at his reminder of her newfound weakness, but she decided not to dwell on it. "I know, but now—hearing your heartbeat, feeling your warm skin—makes it seem all that more real, y'know?" Buffy pulled away from him. "But it's not real. None of this is real. We're stuck in some trashy book."

"Can't be all that trashy."

"What makes you say that?"

"'Cause we're not shagging."

Buffy frowned. "You're a pig, Spike."

"Do you ever plan to come up with any new insults for me?"

"I prefer to stick with the classics."

Spike folded his hands behind his head. "Suit yourself. But the timid young maiden being ravished by the sexy pirate captain—sounds like fun to me."

"Hey! I'm not timid—or a maiden for that matter. And that's not my kind of fun."

"It's not, huh? No wonder Cap'n Cardboard ran off to play G.I. Joe in the jungle." Spike could've kicked himself as soon as the words were out of his mouth, and the pain on Buffy's face made the regret even stronger. "Buffy, I'm sorry. I didn't…"

Buffy climbed out of the bunk, picking up her clothes from the floor. She struggled to put the corset back on for a moment before throwing it to the ground, tears in her eyes. Spike came up behind her, putting his hands on her shoulders, but she pushed him away. "Don't touch me."

"Look, Slayer, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it. I say dumb things sometimes. You know me—I just open my mouth and out pops just about anything. I'm sure the git's leaving had nothing to do with your skills in bed."

Buffy made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "No, you're first observation was probably closer to the truth. After all, why else would he run off to get bitten by vampires?"

"That didn't necessarily have anything to do with sex…" Spike said, wincing as he knew his tone was anything but convincing.

Buffy turned around, tears shimmering in her eyes. "Please. You're a vampire—most of the time anyway—so you know what a bite can do to a human. And don't go trying to tell me otherwise, because I know, too."

"Riley's an idiot, Buffy. Any man who wouldn't be satisfied with you is."

"No man's ever been satisfied with me, Spike. Not Angel, not Parker, not Riley. I don't know what's wrong with me, but there has to be something."

"Or maybe there's something wrong with them, Buffy. Riley, as I've said, is an idiot. Parker was obvious a wanker that did that to all the girls, and Angel…well, if I listed off all his issues we'd both be old and gray by the time I finished."

Buffy shook her head. She hated being this vulnerable around Spike, but at the same time she felt like she couldn't help it. She felt scared and lost, and he was the only person around who she really knew, physical appearances of some of other people on the ship not withstanding. "I'm starting to think I could never be enough for anyone," she admitted softly.

Spike took a step closer to her. "You'd be enough for me."

Buffy's eyes grew wide, and she backed away from him. "What did you just say?"

"I uh…I was just trying to make you feel better. Not like it was a declaration of love or something, Slayer. No point in getting your knickers in a twist about it." Spike chuckled nervously.

"I should go back to Giles. Or Pod Giles. Or whoever he is. He's probably worrying. Pacing, cleaning his glasses, mumbling 'oh dear'—the whole shebang."

"Right. So you need help getting that corset back on, or…"

Buffy looked down at the garment in question in disgust. "I really, really don't want to."

"I have an extra coat. You could throw it over what you're wearing now, should be enough to make you decent. Eighteenth-century style underwear is a far cry from your usual thongs."

Buffy eyed him skeptically. "How do you know I wear thongs?"

Spike internally berated himself for saying one dumb thing after another all morning. The last thing he needed Buffy to know about was his little excursions into her underwear drawer… "Uh…lack of panty lines?" he replied.

"You pay that much attention to my butt?"

"Look, do you want the coat or not?"

Buffy glanced at the corset and her dress again. As much as the idea of running around a ship full of pirates in what was essentially her underwear was unpleasant, the thought of squeezing back into that outfit was worse. She couldn't breathe, and the dress had to weigh a ton. "Fine, I'll take the coat."

Spike went over to the chest and got the coat, bringing it back to Buffy. She muttered a "thank you" as she wrapped it around herself. He then put his boots back on and led her back to the cabin where Giles was, Buffy's face flaming as the other pirates made catcalls and obscene comments. When he started to go into the cabin with her, Buffy put her hand out, stopping him.

"You have a ship to captain."

Spike looked at her, confused. "But what about trying to get out of here?"

"Come back later, when there are less people around."

"Buffy…"

"I'm fine. Go play pirate."

"I'll look around for anything that could…"

"Yeah. Let me know if you find something."

Buffy shut the cabin door, and Spike stared at it for a moment. He cursed himself again for all the holes he'd stumbled into this morning by opening his mouth. He turned around, seeing that most of the crew was watching him. "Get back to work!" he called out, storming angrily back towards his own cabin.

*** *** ***

"Lady Elizabeth! You're back! I was so worried about what that vile, contemptible wretch was doing to you."

Buffy sat down on her bunk. "I'm fine, Giles. The 'wretch' didn't do a thing."

Lord Rupert looked at her for a moment. "But you're wearing his jacket—and his shirt? Where is your dress?"

"On his cabin floor," Buffy muttered.

Lord Rupert sat down again, immediately proceeding with a thorough glasses cleaning. "He's…he's compromised your virtue?"

Buffy snorted. "Gallons and gallons of no."

"Pardon me?" Lord Rupert blinked, unsure of what to make of her response.

"That was a no. As in he didn't do anything to my virtue."

Lord Rupert scratched his head. He couldn't imagine a situation where a man such as William the Bloody would take a woman for the night and not do anything to compromise her. Perhaps his ward was too unfamiliar with what took place between a man and a woman to understand what had happened. "Are you quite sure? He didn't…"

"Look, Giles, I may be a damsel here with the weakness and the swooning, but I think I'd notice that. We slept. I had my clothes on, he had his clothes on. End of story." Buffy muttered under her breath. This was all enough of a hassle without having someone fretting about her "virtue."

"I am quite relieved to hear that. I have worried since I discovered you were no longer here. I know you have led a sheltered life and know nothing of these things, Elizabeth, but men like him, they do things to women that are dastardly and vile."

Buffy stifled a giggle. She thought that anything Spike would do to her might be a bit on the "dastardly" side, but she doubted it could possibly classify as "vile." When she realized what she'd just thought, any desire to giggle promptly vanished. Anything with Spike would be vile. It was Spike. Current heartbeat not withstanding, he was still as disgusting as ever. They'd get out of here, and he'd go back to being nothing but a soulless vampire—just like the ones she staked everyday. Definitely no reason to think of him as anything else.

Buffy ignored the little voice in the back of her mind that loved to remind her that Spike was not like the other vampires she encountered on a daily basis. That he was nothing if not unique.

"Did he discuss what he plans to do with us?" Lord Rupert asked after a moment, breaking the silence.

"No," Buffy replied. "But he'd not going to kill us, so don't worry about that."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes." And she was. Somehow, any worry she'd had earlier that Spike might take advantage of this situation in order to kill his third Slayer had passed. He'd demonstrated behavior pointing towards the exact opposite.

What Buffy found even more surprising was that she was now wishing she'd remained with him instead of returning to the cabin with pseudo-Giles. Her uneasiness over his comments before had passed, and she felt a desire to see him again. Unbidden, her mind kept replaying everything she'd felt waking up with him that morning, how good it had been to be in his arms.

Buffy shook her head. Those weren't good thoughts to have. Warm, fuzzy Spike thoughts were definitely of the bad. She lay back on the bunk. "I'm going to rest for a while. I have a headache."

"I will keep myself quiet for you, then," Lord Rupert replied.

Buffy nodded slightly, then rolled over towards the wall. She tried to fall back asleep, but found it impossible as her mind kept bringing her back to Spike.

*** *** ***

 

"Are ya not enjoyin' yerself, captain?"

Spike stared into his ale, really wishing the Xander-pirate would go away. "I'm enjoying myself just fine," he mumbled.

"Doesn't look like it to me. Did the wench not please ya last night?"

Spike glanced up. "Wench?"

"Aye. That pretty little filly you brought to you cabin last night. Was she not as pleasin' as she looks?"

Spike growled, reaching up to grab Xander by the throat. "Don't talk about her like that," he snarled. "Lady Elizabeth is a proper young woman."

Xander's eyes bulged as he gasped for breath. When he thought his point had gotten across, Spike let go, staring into his drink again. "I will keep in mind from now on that she is indeed a proper lady," Xander said, rubbing his throat.

"You do that, whelp," Spike replied. He pushed down the urge to hurt Xander some more, knowing that it would accomplish nothing, and that his anger wasn't really at the boy anyway. Part of him wanted to be angry at Buffy, but honestly, he knew he was really angry at himself. Strange circumstances aside, he was away from the Hellmouth—away from that bloody chip—and yet all he could think about was Buffy. He was willing to pass up his chance to do some real violence again, just because she needed his help.

And to make matters worse, he'd just gone so far as to defend her honor. It wasn't like she was a blushing virgin by any means. But hearing someone belittle her—even this strange version of Xander—was enough to set him on edge.

Spike stood, shoving the chair under the table as he did. For a second, all eyes were on him, but as he turned to leave, everyone went back to what they were doing before the captain had made his abrupt mood shift.

Spike stopped when he got on the deck, closing his eyes and sucking in a deep breath. He walked to the side of the ship, looking out over the water. The sun's rays danced on the blue surface, and Spike felt his anger fading. He hadn't paid much attention to it the day before, but now he remembered just how beautiful the sun was. He went to Buffy's cabin, pulling her out by her arm amidst protests from both Buffy and Lord Rupert.

"What's your deal?" Buffy asked as she pulled away from Spike.

"I want you to see this," he said, leading her over to where he'd been standing earlier.

"What? The ocean? It's very, um, watery."

"No," Spike said with a shake of his head. "Not the water. The light."

"The light? What are you…" Buffy stopped short when she realized what he meant. "The sun."

"Yeah."

Buffy smiled. "It must be nice to see it again after all these years."

Spike turned away from the ocean to look at Buffy. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the sun's rays dance on her golden hair. He reached out tentatively, touching a strand that had fallen in front of her eyes. "The smile of her I love is like the dawn whose touch makes Memnon sing. O see where wide the golden sunlight flows."

Buffy blinked, gaping. Had Spike been replaced by one of whatever the Giles-looking thing in her cabin was. "What did you just say?"

Spike jumped back. What the hell had that been? He'd left his habit of spouting out lines of poetry behind long ago. "Uh, nothing. Maybe after not being exposed to the sun for so long, it's, um, sunstroke. Makes you say crazy things. So, any new ideas on how to get back to good ol' Sunnyhell?"

Buffy decided that the fact that Spike had both quoted poetry to her and that he had used the word "love" were best ignored completely. "Nope. Lord Rupert in there has made it impossible for me to concentrate on anything. First, I had to convince him that you had in fact not compromised my virtue last night, and then he proceeded to talk non-stop about the 'horrible predicament we are facing.' I will never, ever accuse regular Giles of being too stuffy again."

Spike was grateful that Buffy had decided not to comment on what, as far as he could tell, had been his temporary possession by his long-suppressed poncy git alter ego. "That bad, pet?"

"Yes."

"You can always join me and the other pirates."

"I would prefer not to. They are no more than savage beasts."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "You'd 'prefer not to?' 'No more than savage beasts?' Where's that special version of Buffy English I've grown so accustom to?"

Buffy sighed. "I've been doing that all day! It's got to be him, and his proper speaking. It's rubbing off on me."

Spike bit back a laugh at her genuine disappointment at speaking properly. "Has Lord Rupes been in there playing Henry Higgins on you, pet?"

"Inadvertently, it would seem. Ah! I did it again! That's it. I'm not talking anymore."

"As if that would even be possible. I don't think I've even known you to keep your mouth shut for more than two minutes at a time." Buffy started to speak, but quickly caught herself, glaring at Spike. Spike laughed. "Had anyone ever told you how adorable you are when you're being defiant? Annoying, yes, but there's a definite adorableness in there, too," he teased.

"And you, sir, are incorrigible."

Spike moved closer to her. "I believe that's what you like most about me, my lady. You've grown tired of men you've known before, and their proper ways. You're seeing now that what you need, is a rogue."

"I dare say not! You stay away from me, you vile…" Buffy stopped in mid-sentence. "What in the—you were doing it, too!"

Spike shook his head. "Yeah. That was…"

"Majorly wiggy." Buffy smiled at her statement. "Yes, majorly wiggy. That's what it was. Much of the wigginess there."

"You're overcompensating."

"Right." Buffy sighed. "We really need to get out of here."

"I'm starting to agree with you there, Slayer. Don't like the idea of something controlling what I say and do like that. With my luck this'll turn out to be like the bleedin' Pirates of Penzance, The last thing I need is to be hit with the uncontrollable urge to burst into song."

"So we need to figure out what's going on here, search the ship some more. There has to be a way out. I will not even begin to consider that we're stuck here forever."

"We can do a little more reconnaissance work tonight."

"And hopefully not run into anymore creepy little pirates."

"I'll come and get you when most of the ship is out then?"

"All right. Hopefully we can get out of this place soon. Again, may I comment on the wigginess?"

"Wigginess noted," Spike said with a wink. Then his expression softened, and he reached out to touch Buffy's hair again. "You really are beautiful in the sunlight, kitten. I should've savored the look of you more when I had that ring."

Buffy stared at him, at a loss for words. But then he quickly reverted back to the Spike she knew, pulling away from her. "Well, back to your cabin then. See you when we can get something done."

"Okay," Buffy replied, surprised to find her voice working. Spike locked her back up with Lord Rupert, then walked away, cursing himself as he did.

He needed to get out of here soon before he made the mistake of saying something Buffy couldn't simply ignore.

*** *** ***

Joyce and Giles sat on the couch, an uncomfortable silence between them. No one had heard from Buffy. They had decided then to wait for her, both telling themselves that they were worrying over nothing and that the Slayer would walk through the door any moment, perfectly fine.

That had been over an hour ago. As the seconds ticked away, the tension rose. Even on Buffy's longer patrols, she'd usually checked in by now. And with Glory still out there, neither her mother nor her Watcher could help but think the worst.

Finally Giles stood. "I can't take this any longer. I'm going to look for her."

"But isn't that dangerous?" Joyce asked. "Not that I don't want to find my daughter, but…"

"I'll take weapons. And perhaps ask some of the others to accompany me."

Joyce nodded, wringing her hands. "You'll let me know the moment you find her, right?" She couldn't stand the thought of putting an "if" into that question.

"Of course, Joyce. Wherever Buffy is, I'll see to it that she makes it home safely. She will be fine."

*** *** ***

Buffy gripped the side of the cot as another blast rocked the ship. The fear that she'd felt when she'd first realized she was without her Slayer powers came back with a vengeance. They were under attack, and she couldn't fight.

Her feeling of panic grew when she thought of Spike. What if he was injured—or killed. Who would protect her then?

Wait…did she just think of Spike as he protector? Buffy shook her head. Now was not the time to worry about that. She had to stay strong, remember that with or without her powers, she was still the Slayer.

The boat shook again, and Buffy screamed, flinging herself on the cot. Lord Rupert sat on the floor, his face pale as he mouthed something that Buffy thought was most likely a prayer.

Buffy wished more than ever that she could just go home.

*** *** ***

"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Spike roared over the sound of cannon fire.

"We're under attack," Xander replied.

"I can see that, you bleedin' idiot!" Spike replied. "Do we know who's doing the attacking? Is it the navy?" Spike felt a cold grip of fear at the thought of "Admiral Finn" coming to take Buffy away from him.

"No. From the look of the colors, it's another pirate ship."

"Why aren't we blowing them out of the water then?" Spike asked.

"We're trying! They have bigger guns." Spike groaned as he watched the other ship come closer. The cannon fire stopped. "It looks like they're preparing to board us, captain."

"I noticed that," Spike muttered as he watched the other pirates clearly begin to board. His thoughts immediately went to Buffy. He may be able to keep her safe from his own crew, but with these new pirates thrown into the mix… His stomach turned at the thought of what could happen to her.

He wouldn't let it happen. He'd protect her with his life if need be.

"Stand your ground, men!" he yelled to his crew as the other pirates started over to his ship. He could see that they were clearly outgunned and out-manned, the other vessel significantly larger than his own.

"Aye, William my boy, no need to get testy. S'not like me cannons did any damage to yer very fine ship here. Just me way of greetin' was all that was."

Spike groaned as he heard the voice. He watched as the first two pirates to come aboard his ship stepped aside, revealing a tall man with a large mustache. That voice, that face—two things he would never be able to forget, no matter how hard he tried. And something told Spike that the other man's presence here was not a good thing.

"Angelus."

*** *** ***

And wasn't that a mean place to leave a cliffhanger? Anyone wanting to hurt me now?

The poem Spike quotes is "The Smile of her I Love" by Richard Watson Gilder, in case you were wondering.

I'd like to say something in response to the number of complaints I've gotten about my less-than-speedy updates. This isn't about people who leave reviews telling me they want me to update soon or that they can't wait for the next chapter, but serious complaints. I've already tried to get this across numerous times, but seeing as I'm obviously being ignored by some, I'm going to try one more time.

First off, I'd like to say I'm appreciative of every review I receive. I am grateful that people read my stories, and that they enjoy them enough to let me know. However, repeated complaints about when I update start to get old really quickly. I have written author's note after author's note about why I can't update more frequently than I do. I have a job. I go to college. I am either at one of those places—or both—every single day. Monday-Sunday, as in seven out of seven days a week. I don't have weekends off. I don't have any day off. EVER. I am constantly busy. So no, I can't update faster. No, I can't make my chapters longer. I'm lucky I find the time—and the energy—to write what I do.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy writing fanfic. It's a great stress reliever for me, and I enjoy being creative. If I had the time, I would certainly write more than I do. But the way my life is right now, I just can't. Fanfic is a hobby—not my whole life. I'm not over here bogarting chapters. I don't sit at my computer with chapter after chapter finished and think, "I know, I won't post this just to make them sweat!" When I get one finished, I post it immediately. I write, I proofread, I post. I don't know how I could possibly make the process any faster.

I know you want to read more of my stories, and frankly, that's flattering. I'd love to be able to give you more than I do. But please, bear in mind that I'm not some fanfic writing machine. I'm a person with a very busy life. Harassing me will not make the chapters come any faster. All it will do is stress me out more, which interrupts my creative flow.

Thanks for reading!

Addie

 

"Oh, thank the good Lord! It sounds as if the fighting has stopped!"

Buffy gave Lord Rupert a thin smile. Despite the fact that she was glad to no longer hear cannon fire—and for the fact that they didn't appear to be sinking—Buffy couldn't share his enthusiasm. Something seemed off. "Do you believe the captain is all right?" she asked, the question out of her mouth before she could even realize she was speaking. What surprised her even more than the involuntary speech was the genuine fear behind the question.

"I dare say I hope not," Lord Rupert replied. "A creature such as that… The world would be a better place without the scoundrel in it. I would hope instead that this ship's attackers were the Royal Navy, and that they are taking him to be hanged."

Buffy paled at that last word. She had not previously considered that a possibility. What if Lord Rupert was right? She felt tears spring to her eyes at the thought of Spike being hanged, and hoped more than anything that he would soon walk through the cabin door and let her know he was all right.

Lord Rupert grew silent again, and Buffy chose not to speak as well. Instead, she sat stiffly on the bunk, wringing her hands as she waited for Spike to come for her. He'd have to. She couldn't accept the idea of things happening any other way.

*** *** ***

"This is a nice ship ye have here, William my boy." Angelus paced the deck, smiling even as Spike and his crew glared at him with outward hostility. "Not as nice as mine of course, but…"

"That's my bloody ship, Angelus—not yours," Spike snapped, the words coming from his mouth unbidden. Still, somehow he knew he spoke the truth, at least within the boundaries of this world.

Angelus only grinned more. "I claimed 'er fair enough."

"Fair enough! You mutinied against me!"

Angelus approached Spike and clapped his hand on his back. "That I did, boy, but as weak a captain as ye were, I figured ye were givin' 'er to me."

"Well, I wasn't, you git, and if you think…"

Angelus cut Spike off with a loud laugh. "Come now, you're not actually going to dwell on the past, are ye?"

Spike glared as a mixture of memories of the Angelus he'd known and images of a fabricated past with the version here now mixed to fuel his anger. "I want you and your crew off this ship."

Angelus leaned down, a cold gleam in his eye that Spike found all too familiar. "Ye forget, William, that I have the bigger guns."

"Drusilla always said otherwise," Spike growled. Again, his speaking was beyond his control, but this time it was something he was more than happy to say.

Angelus pulled up, as if attempting to intimidate Spike with his superior height. "I'd watch my tongue if I were you, boy. Especially since I hear ye got precious cargo on board."

Spike's eyes widened. Did he mean Buffy? Spike frowned as he realized of course he did. After all, if this really was a romance novel they were trapped in, who else would the villain be after but the heroine? Spike was really starting to dislike this whole thing. "I've got nothing on this ship for you, Angelus."

"Oh, but I think ye do. Show me to the lass, Willie. Knowing you, ye probably haven't even been man enough to properly welcome her aboard."

Angelus's crew laughed raucously behind him, and Spike used every bit of strength he could muster to keep from hurting the man in front of him. As much as he was itching for a good brawl, he also knew it wouldn't help Buffy. Angelus had a larger crew and more weapons. Any fight as things stood would most likely not end well for Spike. He needed to keep himself in one piece in order to protect the currently-powerless Slayer. "You're not touching her," Spike growled.

"And how exactly do ye plan to stop me? Ye always were the weak one, William." Angelus snapped his fingers and two burly pirates came around and grabbed Spike, holding him back.

"Search the ship for the girl!" Angelus bellowed. "Kill anyone who stands in yer way."

Spike struggled against the men who were holding him, but without the supernatural boost to his strength being a vampire gave him, he was helpless. His stomach turned at the thought of what Angelus could do to Buffy. "You hurt her, Angelus, and I will make you regret it."

"And how exactly do ye plan to do that? You're pathetic, and ye always have been. Besides, what sort of gentleman would I be if I left the girl in the hands of a rogue like you?"

"Let go of me! Get your filthy hands off of me right now!"

Spike turned sharply at the sound of Buffy's voice. He watched as one of Angelus's crewmen dragged her onto the deck, pulling on her arm so hard Spike was surprised it managed to stay in the joint. He swallowed hard, wanting nothing more than to go to her, protect her. She looked up at him, the fear and helplessness he saw in her eyes something new to him. It made his heart ache.

"Take the lady and the captain back to the ship!" Angelus barked.

"What about the rest of the crew?" a man beside Angelus asked.

"Leave 'em to rot," Angelus sneered. "We got what we came for."

Buffy and Spike both struggled as they were brought over to the other ship, but it was no use. Buffy watched the man who looked so much like her former love and shuddered. The look in his eyes told her this was not Angel, and she felt the cold fear rise in her at the thought of being at his mercy. She glanced back at Spike, meeting his eyes. There was a sense of determination there, and she felt a twinge of hope. If he hadn't given up, neither would she. He'd get her out of this.

She held her head up high, deciding not to give Angelus the satisfaction of seeing her fear.

*** *** ***

Giles woke with the distinct feeling of being watched.

And he was—by a very confused looking Dawn.

"Mom? Giles? Care to explain why you're both down here sleeping on the couch?"

Giles blinked, trying to find an answer in his sleep-fogged brain. Then it all came back to him. Buffy was missing, and after a futile search for her, he'd returned to check on Joyce. They must've fallen asleep. He wondered what sort of Watcher he was to allow himself to sleep when his Slayer was MIA.

Joyce stretched from her seat beside Giles, trying to comb her hair with her fingers. "We were waiting for Buffy. Did she never come home?"

"I didn't check, but I don't think so," Dawn replied, frowning. "Did you guys check with the Scoobies?"

Giles took off his glasses for their first cleaning of the day. "We had them looking for her as well last night. Did they not…"

Before Giles could finish his sentence, the front door burst open, and Anya, Willow, Tara, and Xander walked in. "No sign of Buffy," Anya announced. "We looked everywhere. She's probably dead."

Joyce paled at Anya's statement, and Giles moved quickly to comfort her. "I'm sure she isn't dead, Joyce. She's just…somewhere we haven't thought to look."

"Well, I don't know where that could be," Anya said, ignoring the looks Xander was giving her. What was the point of sugar-coating things anyway? "Oh, and Spike's missing, too."

"Spike?" Dawn asked.

"We went by his crypt," Willow explained. "We thought maybe he'd seen Buffy when she was patrolling. But he wasn't there. Tara and I stayed there for a while and waited for him, but he wasn't back before sunrise."

"Dear lord," Giles said, still wiping his glasses. "You don't believe Spike has something to do with her disappearance?"

"Spike wouldn't do that!" Dawn exclaimed. "He wouldn't hurt Buffy!"

"Dawn, he tried to kill her. A lot," Xander pointed out.

"But that was before!" Dawn replied. "Besides, he can't, remember—chip."

"Maybe he got the chip out, and he and Buffy had a big fight to the death," Anya suggested. "Or they could just be off somewhere having sex."

"Anya!" Xander snapped. "Buffy is not dead, or having sex with Captain Peroxide."

Anya shrugged. "They're the two most logical conclusions, Xander."

"Only in your world, honey."

Giles stood. "I think it best that no one jump to any conclusions. Let's go to the Magic Box instead, see what we can come up with. Tara, Willow—can the two of you perform a locator spell?"

"Of course," Willow replied. She frowned. "And now I'm sorta wondering why we didn't think of it before…"

"Yes, well, we'll do it now," Giles said. "Joyce, it would be for the best if you stayed here in case Buffy returns home. We'll call you if we hear anything."

"And I'll do the same," Joyce replied.

Giles gave her a nod and the Scoobies filed out, leaving Joyce and Dawn alone in the house. Dawn went to the couch, sitting next to her mother. Joyce put her arm around the girl and kissed the top of her head. "Buffy will be home soon," Joyce said, comforting herself as much as Dawn.

*** *** ***

Angelus had Buffy and Spike brought to the lower level of his ship. Spike was thrown into a small cell, the door shut and locked behind him before he had a chance to fight it.

"What are you planning on doing with us?" Spike asked.

"Well, seems there's quite a pretty reward for the girl," Angelus replied. He grinned widely at Spike. "And another one for ye, too—once yer hangin' in the gallows."

"And what, you think they're just going to hand you that money? Come on, Angelus, you're a pirate same as me. They'll hang you, too."

"That's where you're wrong. See, it seems the good Admiral Finn knew that catchin' ye would be a bit of a…difficulty. But not fer me—I knew ye, William. I knew just how to find ye. Finn knew I would. That's why we made this nice little deal. I bring him his sweet morsel of a fiancée, and the man who took her of course, and I get to leave with the money, free as a little birdie." Angelus approached the cell, his hands gripping the bars as he looked into Spike's eyes. "But just so ye know, I didn't do it just fer the money. I did it so I could watch your body swingin' in the wind."

"I'll never give you that satisfaction, Angelus."

"I'm afraid ye don't have a lot of say in the matter, boy. Now if you'll excuse us, the lady and I have some quality time to spend together." Angelus grabbed Buffy by the arm, ignoring her as she hit futilely at him.

Spike rattled the bars of the cage, his anger rising to new heights as he saw Angelus touching Buffy. "Leave her alone," he growled, even though he knew it was useless.

"What, is she yers, Willie? Did ye make this sweet little girl into a woman? She is wearin' yer clothes after all." Angelus brought Buffy in front of him, holding her tightly against his body. "Still, she'll need a proper seein' to, and I plan to make sure she gets one. Ye best think about that while yer waitin' to go to yer death."

Spike glared. "I will kill you, Angelus."

"Promises, promises, boy." Angelus laughed darkly as he dragged Buffy up the stairs and out of Spike's sight.

Spike shook the bars of the cell, letting out a frustrated roar. This was not going very well at all…

*** *** ***

Buffy woke with every joint stiff and the blinding sun in her eyes. She sat up and stretched, wincing as she did. "Remind me never to sleep in the sand again," she muttered.

"I'm with you there, pet," Spike grumbled, sitting up beside her. "I can't feel my arm." He shook the offending appendage, frowning.

"Your circulation got cut off."

"Oh. I forgot it could do that."

"Wear a corset for awhile and you'll never forget again," Buffy replied, still trying to stretch out her sore muscles.

"I'll pass, thanks." Buffy looked at him for a moment before erupting into giggles. Spike frowned harder. "What's so bloody funny?"

"I'm sorry," Buffy said, trying unsuccessfully to stifle her laughter. "It's just I had this picture of you being all Rocky Horror."

Spike glared. "Watch it, Slayer."

"Sorry," Buffy said again, although the look on her face made Spike believe she didn't really mean it.

"Well, now that you've had a nice laugh at my expense, let's see if maybe we can get our bearings here."

Buffy sobered, biting her bottom lip. "How long do you think we'll be stuck on this island?"

"I don't know, pet, but I figure as long as we're here, we'll need to make the most of it."

"I feel helpless," Buffy admitted softly. "I don't like it."

Spike put his hand on her shoulder. "We'll get out of this, and you'll get back to Dawn. I promise you that."

"But what if we are stuck here forever? What if I'm trapped on this island for the rest of my life, and what if I'm not there to stop Glory from…" Buffy trailed off, unable to say anymore.

"Won't happen, Slayer. You're the good guy, she's the bad guy. You'll win."

"I think you've been in this magical land of make-believe too long, Spike. You of all people should know sometimes the bad guy wins."

"I never won with you."

"We never had our final fight. That was taken from us."

Spike smiled warmly at her. "Maybe that was for the best. You've kind of grown on me."

"Is that the dread pirate William talking again?"

"No. Just Spike."

"Spike hates me."

"Sometimes." He met her eyes. "But recently those times have been fewer and farther between."

Buffy felt her stomach flip. He was looking at her with such intensity, and Buffy realized that if she hadn't slipped into character, then he probably hadn't either. But if that was the case, then why did he have that look in his eyes? She realized she'd seen it before—in the alley outside of the Bronze the night he'd told her about killing the other two Slayers. She'd been sure then that he'd wanted to kiss her, and now…

Buffy jumped to her feet. "We should get going. Find shelter, food, water—you know, the basic necessities for sustaining life." She laughed nervously.

Spike sighed inwardly, realizing Buffy had sensed he'd wanted to kiss her and that she was now running scared. He felt the urge to grab her, to pull her into his arms and show her how good a kiss between the two of them could be, but suddenly he realized he couldn't be sure if these were his own feelings or those of his bloody pirate persona. He knew that in the outside world he'd wanted Buffy for a while, but now he wasn't sure if he had control over his words and actions or someone else, and that bothered him. He didn't like not being able to think for himself. Spike stood, wiping the sand of off himself. "Right. Basic necessities. Let's head off then."

They kept their distance from each other as they began an exploration of the island.

*** *** ***

Buffy and Spike stopped in a clearing. A small but sturdy looking shelter stood on the other edge, with what appeared to be makeshift cooking supplies strewn about outside about. Spike felt Buffy reach out and grab his arm, and he looked down at her. "What is it, kitten?"

"Do you think maybe we're not alone on this island?"

"I don't know. This place looks like it hasn't been touched in a while. We may as well scout a bit, though—see if anyone's home."

Buffy nodded, her hand never leaving Spike's arm. When they peeked into the shelter and found it empty, they ventured into the woods, wondering if maybe whoever had built this camp was nearby. They hadn't gotten too far away from the clearing when they discovered they were in fact alone—or at least the only living people in the area.

At the sight of the human skeleton lying on the ground in front of them, Buffy cried out, turning to bury her head against Spike's chest. He wrapped his arms around her, trying to soothe her as tremors wracked her small frame. Eventually, Elizabeth looked up, tears still shimmering in her eyes. "Oh, William! Is this the fate that awaits us, too?"

William gently wiped her damp cheeks with his thumb. "No, my sweet little Elizabeth. I promise you that I will never allow you meet such an end. I will do everything in my power to protect you, and I shall fight until my very last breath to see you safely returned to civilization."

"I'm so frightened!" Elizabeth exclaimed, her hold on William tightening. "But…" As she spoke her next words, Elizabeth lowered her eyes shyly. "But I feel safer when I am with you. I once feared you so since you are such a brute of a man, but now I cannot help but feel secure in your strong arms."

"And you will never be anything but secure in them, darling Elizabeth. I feel nothing but remorse for doing such a cruel thing as attacking your ship and taking you hostage. Were it not for me, you would no doubt be safe now. I cannot help but hate myself for putting a precious treasure such as yourself into so dangerous a situation."

"Please, William, don't say that! Don't say you regret what has allowed us to meet! As terrible as our fate seems to be, I do not regret the night you plundered my vessel, and I cannot bear to think you could either!"

"How can you not loathe me for what I have done to you?"

"Because I can no longer imagine a world in which I do not have you."

Her words made William's heart burst with joy. Was it actually possible that his dearest Elizabeth felt even a fraction of the emotions that she stirred within him? He knew what he felt blossoming inside him was a love the likes of he'd never know before. She had planted herself inside of his heart, and the roots had already grown deep. He cupped her face in his hand, marveling at the softness of her skin against his calloused fingers. She was a beauty so rare, so pure, and he knew that he had to feel her lips against his own. "Oh, Elizabeth. My sweet, sweet Elizabeth," he whispered, her name like a prayer as it tumbled from his mouth.

Elizabeth knew he was going to kiss her, and felt her insides trembling in both anticipation and fear. Admiral Finn had never presumed to take such liberties with her, and she couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to kiss a man, especially this brash, handsome pirate. His slightest touch had made her tingle, and she somehow knew that kissing him would make her soar.

And oh, how it did! The kiss was soft, exploratory, as if he was learning the taste of her. Soon, however, his arms tightened around her, bringing her soft, supple body against his harder one. Despite an initial flash of shock as his tongue entered her mouth, Elizabeth was soon following William's lead, unable to stifle a moan as his touch brought her to a place she'd never dared to explore before. It was like heaven, a deep, magical…

Suddenly, their eyes snapped open, and Buffy and Spike pulled away from each other sharply. Spike watched Buffy's reaction, noting with some satisfaction that this time she managed not to wipe her mouth furiously while screaming about "Spike lips."

"What the hell was that?" Buffy asked when she managed to calm herself down enough to speak.

"Dunno, luv," Spike replied with a cocky grin, trying to disguise how much that little incident had managed to knock him arse over tit. "Seems like William and Elizabeth are getting a bit hot for each other."

"Ugh. Stupid romance novel." Buffy kicked her foot and sighed when she realized she'd kicked the skeleton. "We should move this guy if we're going to stay here. The bones have pretty much been stripped, but there's still a chance it could attract predators."

Spike nodded. This was his Buffy again. No nonsense, practical. Powerless yes, but still able to slip into Slayer mode. He felt more at ease with Buffy in the driver's seat of her body again. "Right. And then we need to take a look around, see what we can find in the way of fresh water and food."

"Yeah. They're the two necessities left seeing as Jolly Roger down there seems to have provided us with the shelter part."

"Pretty convenient that."

Buffy's eyes stayed trained on the skeleton as she muttered, "Gotta love those plot devices."

*** *** ***

Willow stared at the map in front of her, her brows knitted. "This can't be right."

"What's wrong?" Xander asked, moving to stand behind the witch to see for himself the outcome of the locator spell. "Where does it say Buffy is?"

Willow and Tara shared a look, confirming that they were both seeing the same result. "According to this, Buffy's in the Magic Box," Willow replied.

"What! But we looked here!" Xander exclaimed. "Oh god, what if she's pulled a Marcie! Have we been ignoring her?"

"I don't think she's invisible. She'd probably at least let us know she was around if that was the case," Willow said. She frowned, looking down at the map. "Something must be off with the spell."

"Besides," Tara added, "The spell says Spike's here, too."

"You know, this book is missing, and…"

"Not now, Anya!" Xander snapped, not bothering to turn around and look at her. "Now would probably be the time for you to think about something other than business and money."

"We should do the spell again," Willow said. "Something must have gone wrong."

"You'll just get the same results," Anya muttered, not particularly surprised when no one paid her any attention. Instead, she started to walk around slowly, moving things around on shelves.

"Xander, tell Anya to cut out whatever she's doing," Willow said after a moment. "She's breaking my concentration."

"Anya, sit down," Xander said immediately.

"But I'm looking for the book."

"Well, stop it! Geez, Anya, you'd think that you'd be a little more sensitive to the fact that Buffy's…"

"Wait a minute," Giles said, cutting Xander off. "Anya, which book is missing?"

Anya walked back over to the box on the counter and snatched one of the books out of it, waving it in the air for Giles to see. "One of these."

Giles immediately responded by cleaning his glasses. "Oh good Lord."

Xander glanced rapidly several times between Anya and Giles before settling on Giles. He gestured towards the other man. "It's so not a good sign when he does that."

Tara looked up from her position on the floor. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We need to find that book, and we need to find it now," Giles replied.

"What's the deal with the book?" Willow asked.

"Well, if what I believe Anya is suggesting is correct, then the spell may very well be accurate. Buffy and Spike are in fact in the shop—and quite possibly in some trouble."

"Okay, you need to work on the specifics there a bit, G-man," Xander said.

"It's an enchanted book," Anya announced. "Reading aloud from it takes you, and anyone who happens to be with you at the time, into the story itself."

"Why would anyone want to get sucked inside of a book?" Xander asked.

Anya rolled her eyes. And he told her she never got things. "It's a romance novel, Xander. See the lurid cover?"

"A romance novel? So that would mean people go in there to…oh." Willow's eyes grew wide as she realized exactly what was being implied. "Oh!"

"This is why if Buffy is indeed in this book with ,Spike we must get her out immediately," Giles said.

"It's Spike," Xander said. "It's not like Buffy's going to do the wacky with the evil undead."

"But that's part of the enchantment," Anya explained. "The book takes over, allowing you to eventually become your characters. There's a basic script for the story, and you will follow it. It allows the user to become more involved in the fantasy and makes everything much more realistic."

"So you're saying that Buffy's stuck in a book that's going to make her to have sex with Spike?" Xander asked, trying to wrap his head around that particular concept.

"Precisely," Anya replied. "Although I doubt she'll really mind. Romance novel sex is always really good."

Giles replied to Anya's last statement by blushing heavily and giving his glasses another thorough cleaning. "Yes, well, that aside, I say we need to find the book and make sure that doesn't happen."

"If they are in the book, how will we get them out once we find it?" Tara asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," Giles replied. "Usually the, um, reader,, stays inside until the novel has reached its set ending."

"And by that point, Spike and Buffy are sure to have had lots of satisfying but potentially problematic sex," Anya said.

"We get that, Ahn," Xander said. "No need to keep spelling it out. Giles, what do we do?"

"We find the book. If they are in there, well, we have to see if there's anything we can do to release the magic that's holding them inside before they can advance much further into the plot."

"Although they've probably already had sex," Anya said. "They've been there since last night, and things tend to move a bit faster in these types of alternate dimensions."

"Anya!" Xander yelled. "Stop being so pessimistic!"

"I'm not! If anything, I'm being optimistic. Buffy's been really tense lately, and with Riley being gone, well…"

Giles pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes screwed shut. "Anya, please, spare us all and stop right there." To Giles's great relief, she did, although her facial expression made it clear that she thought everyone in the room was ignoring obvious logic. "No more discussion until we find this book. We may very well be too late, but for Buffy's sake, we need to try our best to get her out of this situation."

The rest of the room agreed.

*** *** ***

Thank you so much to everyone who has reviewed. It means a lot to me to know that so many people are enjoying my fic!
 

Buffy straightened up around the small shelter that was apparently going to be their new home, while Spike searched the surrounding area for food and water. The inside of the shelter was fairly well-kept, complete with a bed made from leaves that was surprisingly comfortable and undisturbed by nature. She couldn't even find any bugs or other little creatures living in it. It was also big enough for two, despite the fact that Mr. Bones seemed to have been living alone. All very convenient.

As was the fact that she wasn't all that hungry even though she hadn't eaten in well over a day. She also felt clean despite her current lack of bathing, and she didn't stink. Nor did Spike, even with his current pirate status. Neither one of them had bad breath, and her hair managed to be, at worst, a bit tousled. And now that she thought about it, she hadn't had to go to the bathroom once since she'd woken up on the ship.

Buffy supposed those were the perks of living in a work of fiction.

If it weren't for the fact that she periodically lost her free will and felt the desire to jump her mortal enemy coupled with her "trapped" status, this wouldn't really be so bad. Sort of like a tropical vacation. A tropical vacation with Spike, which was turning out to be surprisingly not so bad.

Buffy shook her head. That must be Elizabeth invading her thoughts again. Buffy only tolerated Spike because she had to, not because she enjoyed his company.

Spike walked into the shelter, and Buffy jumped. He smirked when he realized he'd startled her, and Buffy decided that was something else she missed about her slayerness—being able to tell when someone was trying to sneak up on her. "Spike! I thought you were looking around."

"I was. Found some nice, sparkly water. Thought you might want to see it."

"Oh. Well, um, lead the way then."

Buffy's cheeks were slightly flushed as she followed Spike into the woods. While common sense told him it was simply her embarrassment from him being able to startle her, he couldn't help but hope that maybe he was affecting her like she was him. That had been quite a kiss after all, and even if someone else had been doing the thinking, it had still been Buffy's body. She had to have reacted to it physically, didn't she?

When Spike pushed away the low-hanging branches in front of them, Buffy gasped. It was one of the most beautiful places she'd ever seen: a crystal-blue spring set in a tropical paradise. Birds sang from their perches high in the branches of trees that hung heavy with fruit. Vibrantly colored flowers accentuated the landscape, and she longed to feel the rush from the small waterfall on the other side of the pool.

"Oh, William, it's lovely," Elizabeth said as she turned to face him.

"You like it, sweet?"

"Oh, yes! I dare say I shan't ever see a place more beautiful than this, even if I live to be a hundred!"

"I can think of only one thing I have ever seen that rivals it in beauty." William's intense stare made his meaning apparent to Elizabeth, and she blushed and turned her head away.

"William, you flatter me too much."

"I think I do not flatter you enough. You are the loveliest creature I have ever had the fortune of gazing upon. Every inch of you radiates beauty. You're…effulgent."

Elizabeth looked up at his face again, this time with tears shimmering in her bright green eyes. "You are not the course scoundrel I believed you to be when we first met, William. You speak to me with the heart of a poet."

"I merely utter the words that spring to my lips when I gaze upon your beauty." William cupped her cheek, his heart swelling for her. He wanted to touch her, but felt unworthy to do so. She was such a pure creature—what right did he have to taint her? He dropped his hand. "You must be thirsty. Come, the water is fine to drink."

Elizabeth felt disappointment flood her. She had been certain that William was going to kiss her again, and she had already begun to long for the delicious feelings his touch stirred inside of her. As he pulled away, she wanted to initiate a kiss with him, but was embarrassed by even the mere thought of being such a brazen woman. Instead, she let him lead her to the water's edge. Suddenly, she tripped over a root, reaching out and grabbing William as she fell, pulling them both into the water.

"Bloody hell, Buffy!" Spike shook his head, trying to get the dripping white-blond strands of hair out of his eyes. "Are you trying to drown me now?"

Buffy sputtered. "It wasn't me! It was Elizabeth!"

"Well isn't she a right clumsy chit, then?" Spike snapped. He found himself quickly tiring of those schizophrenic moments, especially since Captain William was starting to remind him a bit too much of his pre-vampire self. Had he actually used the word "effulgent?"

"Yeah, well, for all I know, William knocked me in!" Buffy retorted.

"Now you're just being argumentative."

Buffy gave him a dirty look, and Spike then realized that the water had made the clothes she was wearing almost see-through. The wet fabric clung to her skin, and he couldn't manage to do anything but stare. She looked so deliciously indignant, and with her every curve highlighted in such a manner, Spike couldn't hold himself back. He made his way over to her quickly and grabbed her, kissing her roughly.

Buffy's eyes widened. Was this Spike or William? She certainly wasn't Elizabeth, which would lead her to believe that the man kissing her now was not William. But why would Spike do this? He wrapped his arms tightly around her, pulling her flush against him. Buffy could feel him so easily through their wet clothes, and she moaned. Even if her mind was confused by this turn of events, her body knew how to respond. She wondered if the book was controlling only their actions now, instead of their thoughts and speech, too, as it had earlier. That had to be it. She couldn't come up with any other reason for kissing Spike.

She gripped his shoulders, not trusting her footing on the uneven ground of the lakebed. This kiss was different that the one before when they'd been in character. The kiss was bruising, and even at his most passionate, William had never been this rough. She realized then that this was wholly Spike. He kissed her the same way he fought, with violence and passion mingling together as he poured everything he was into a single physical act.

When they broke apart, her whispered her name, tangling soft reverence and rough need in the sound. Buffy's fingers dug into his arms as their eyes met, surprise echoed between them. It seemed he'd been almost as unprepared for that as she had been. He dipped his face towards her again, and Buffy moved to meet him. She wanted to give into the fire that had been stirring in her since the first kiss they'd shared on this island.

Suddenly, Spike lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her back to land. He laid her out on the grass, moving to cover her body with his. He tore himself away from her lips, trailing his mouth across her jaw line. "I want you, Buffy," he whispered in her ear, his voice rough with need. "I was you so much."

"Spike," Buffy said softly, barely managing anything more than a whimper. She thrust her hips up, craving contact and moaned at the bulge she felt pressing into her. "I want you, too." And god, she did. Whether it was the book making her feel this way or not, she didn't care. She just needed more of this.

Spike stiffened on top of her, his ministrations ceasing. Buffy frowned. Why was he stopping? He wasn't supposed to stop now. "Spike?"

"Shh." His eyes widened, and he stood up, pulling her with him, then pushing her behind him.

"What's…" She stopped when she saw a large boar only a few feet away from them.

"Elizabeth, go back into the water."

"William, it will surely harm you!"

"Do as I say, Elizabeth, please!" William entreated her as he drew a knife from his belt.

Elizabeth slipped back into the water, wrapping her arms defensively around herself as she watched William. What would she do if something were to happen to him? In such a short time he had gone from her most hated enemy to someone she felt she would die without. She gazed upon the scene with bated breath, her heart clenching as she feared the worst.

William struck as soon as the boar came for him, pushing the creature to the ground as he plunged the knife into it. The beast began to squeal horribly, and William continued to stab it until the sound was no more. He let out a sigh of relief as he looked down at the boar's carcass.

Elizabeth ran from the water and threw her arms around William, seemingly unaffected by the blood that now stained his clothes. "I was so afraid something would happen to you, William!"

"Wouldn't have let that happen," William replied as he dropped the knife and embraced her. "I had to protect you." He looked at her face and saw the tears rolling down her porcelain-smooth cheeks. "Don't cry, lamb. Everything is fine now. We're both safe."

"But…but what if we hadn't been?"

"Wasn't going to happen. I would never allow harm to befall you." William pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead. "Come, darling. Let's get you back to the shelter."

He picked her up, cradling her trembling body in his arms as her carried her away from the spring.

*** *** ***

"Found it!"

The group in the Magic Box turned to see Anya standing behind the counter, triumphantly holding up the book. "Are they all right?" Willow asked. "Is there anyway you can find that out?"

Anya rolled her eyes. "Well, yeah, read the book."

"You mean the book is telling the story of what's happening to Spike and Buffy?" Tara asked.

"Yes. Once the person enters the story, the pages become blank, only to be written on as the story unfolds." Anya flipped through to the last written on page. "William just killed a boar."

"William?" Xander asked.

"It's what the book says. And that's Spike's real name, isn't it?" Anya replied. "William the Bloody?" She frowned. "You know, a friend of mine knew a guy that everyone called William the Bloody, but he wasn't anything like Spike, at least from what she said. And that was way back in my vengeance demon days, so that guy would be…"

"Anya, that's great, hon, but it's not relevant to Buffy or Spike," Xander said. "What's going on in the story? Are we too late?"

"Too late? They're both fine, and…" Anya trailed off with a sigh. "Oh. You mean have they had sex." She flipped though the pages for a moment before looking up and announcing, "Nope. There's still just lots of unresolved sexual tension."

"Well, that's good, I think," Giles said with frown. "Anya, would you mind keeping an eye on Spike and Buffy's progress through the book while we work on a way to bring them back to this world?"

"No problem," Anya replied. "This looks like a juicy read." She walked over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs, propping up her feet. "If you want to deprive Buffy of great orgasms, you better hurry," she said after a moment. "These two are about to pop. You should read this scene in the water. Damn."

"Anya!" Xander said, unable to handle what his girlfriend was saying.

"What? Giles told me to read the book, so I'm reading the book."

"Anya," Giles said as he furiously cleaned his glasses. "It may be best to keep the occurrences in the novel to yourself unless Buffy and Spike are in grave danger. For all our sanity."

Anya shrugged. "Whatever." She turned her attention back to the novel.

"I'm gonna head out and get some coffee," Xander said. "This looks like it's going to be a long night."

As Xander left, Giles, Willow, and Tara gather together to start discussing how exactly they were going to save Buffy.

*** *** ***

Elizabeth and William sat together outside their new "home," the only light now available that of the moon and the fire in front of them. William had managed to clean and cook the boar he had killed earlier, and Elizabeth had to admit that she was impressed by his culinary skills. The idea of eating the creature had been somewhat off-putting to her at first, but her suddenly ravenous stomach had convinced her to take a chance, and she was quite happy that she had. How William had managed to cook something so delicious with what little supplies they were offered was beyond her, but she didn't question it. She took another bite, hoping that she was managing to still eat like a lady even here in this setting.

Suddenly, Buffy looked down at the piece of meat she was holding and frowned. Something was very wrong. She knew she'd been Elizabeth for a moment, but something was different this time, something more unsettling than usual.

"Um, how did we get here?"

Buffy looked up at Spike as he spoke and realized what the problem was this time. "I have no clue. One second we were walking away from the pool, and then the next thing I knew I was coming off another one of those freaky Elizabeth mind switch things."

"William cooked this," Spike said, holding up a piece of boar meat. "I have no memory of actually doing that. Something's just telling me it happened."

"Do you think maybe our characters took over completely for a while?" Buffy asked.

"I don't know." Spike's brow furrowed as he thought for a moment. "Maybe we're skipping around in the narrative."

"Huh?"

"Well, maybe William cooked this, but it wasn't in the novel. Just mentioned, you know?"

"So we just what, skipped ahead a few pages?"

"No. It didn't happen because the book was leaving out the unimportant parts. But it's part of the story, so we think it happened."

Buffy closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was getting to be too much. "So now it's not only controlling our words and actions but jerking us around through time, too?"

"I suppose. It's just a theory. I'm not really understanding this anymore than you are, Buffy."

Buffy threw the meat down to the ground and stood up. "I can't take this anymore! I'm weak, all this Elizabeth-Buffy switch stuff is making my head hurt, and I'm wearing really silly clothes!" She started towards the shelter, but Spike ran after her, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her towards him.

"It'll be all right. Things look bad now, I know, but we'll get back."

"But I want to go home now! I've had enough of this stupid book."

"You're freaked out by what just happened, Buffy," Spike said, rubbing her arms as he realized she was trembling. "But you've faced worse, and you've survived. This isn't going to be the end of you, Slayer. I promise you that."

"But what if it is? What if I die here just like that guy we found earlier did?"

"You won't! None of this is real, Buffy. It's just a story, just fiction. And we're the main characters, all right? We're going to be okay. That guy, he was never anything but those bones."

"But it feels real! And what if it becomes real? What if we become William and Elizabeth, and we're stuck here forever, and this is our lives, and…"

Spike silenced her with a kiss. Buffy's eyes widened for a moment before she gave into the sensations he was creating inside of her, moaning against his mouth. He took it as an invitation, and slipped his tongue inside, hers eagerly moving to join. When they broke apart, both were gasping for air.

"William…"

William held on to Elizabeth's arms as if trying to push her away but not quite able to. "Oh, Elizabeth, I want you. I shouldn't, I know, but I cannot stop the tide of my desire."

Elizabeth turned her head, blushing furiously. "I…I want you, too, William. I…I give you permission."

"Elizabeth, my darling, you do not know what you're asking me to do…or how you're tempting me."

Elizabeth looked up, her expression both shy and full of unrealized desire. "I do know. I…I know what you want, William, and I'm willing to give it to you."

"Do you, Elizabeth? Do you know what happens between a man and a woman?"

Elizabeth breathed in deeply. "You could show me."

Her innocent yet lust-filled tone was William's undoing. He scooped her up, carrying her into the shelter. He laid her down on the bed of leaves, then stood again, Elizabeth's arms immediately reaching for him. "Don't worry, my sweet," he cooed as he took off his boots and shirt. "I'm not leaving you."

William dropped down into Elizabeth's arms, covering her face with kisses. "My darling…my angel…Oh, Elizabeth, how I want you!"

"I want you, too, William. I…I love you." The last three words she spoke were soft, conveying her fear at uttering them.

William pushed himself up on one elbow, using the other hand to smooth her golden tresses away from her face. "Do…do you mean that, Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth steeled herself and met his deep, blue eyes. "Yes. I love you, William."

"I love you, too."

Any lingering doubts Elizabeth may have been feeling about what she was going to do fluttered away at the sound of those words coming from William's lips. He loved her! That could only mean that this was right, no matter what the society she had been a part of before may have told her. The rules of the past had no meaning here, on this island. All that matter now was the two of them and their love for each other.

"I want to see you, Elizabeth. May I?"

Elizabeth looked at William with confusion. "See me? I'm right here, William."

He grinned at her innocence. "No, my sweet, I mean see all of you. Without your clothes."

Elizabeth's nervousness returned and she reddened. "You wish to undress me?"

"That is part of this thing that we are doing, darling. Do you not wish to continue?" William started to pull away from her

"No!" Elizabeth protested the loss of his warmth. When she realized he took her negative answer as meaning she did not want more from him, she locked her legs behind him, pulling him down against her. "I don't want you to stop, William."

Her unexpected action pushed William against her core, and he moaned, the heat of her almost too much for him. Elizabeth's eyes widened as she felt his bulge press into her, and she wondered what on earth it could be. Her curiosity and desire boiled together inside of her, and she thrust her hips, her body knowing instinctively what it needed even if her mind did not.

William clenched his teeth, forcing himself to remember that she was untried and that he must take this slowly. It wouldn't do at all to frighten her off now that he had her love. He felt as if he was touching heaven, and he could not allow it to slip from his fingers because of his own carelessness.

As William began to undress her, Elizabeth fought against her fear. Despite their initial meeting, Elizabeth knew this pirate would not harm her. His touch had brought her such pleasure so far, and she could not help but desire more. Besides, it had somehow become unbearably hot within the tiny shelter, and her clothing seemed to only be causing her discomfort. She protested no more as William bared her naked body to his eyes.

It wasn't until William stopped that Elizabeth's nervousness returned. He was looking at her with such unrepentant want that it caused a blush to spread over her entire body. She moved to cover herself, and it was then that the trance that William seemed to be in broke. He grabbed her arms. "No," he said, his voice roughened in a way that sent a shiver through Elizabeth's heated flesh. "I want to see you. You are beautiful, Elizabeth. I feel as honored as if I were allowed to view Venus herself."

Elizabeth admired his perfectly sculpted chest, high cheekbones, and intense blue eyes, now darkened with desire. No man had ever affected her in such a way. He took her breath away. She cupped his face with her delicate hand and smiled warmly at him. "You're beautiful, too, William."

He graced her with a wide smile before he descended again, kissing her with scorching passion. Elizabeth kissed him back eagerly, the embraces they'd already shared making her feel comfortable with this action. Then, he made a move that she had not been expecting. He reached his hand between her legs, stroking her inside of her womanly folds. Elizabeth's eyes grew wide, and she tore away from his mouth, moaning and arching her hips to grind against his exploring fingers.

William moved his lips to her ear, giving the lobe a quick pull with his teeth before whispering, "Do you like that, Elizabeth? Do you want more?"

"Yes! Oh, William, yes!"

He began to move his fingers against her faster, his mouth moving again, this time to kiss and lick her neck. As Elizabeth began to climb higher towards her peak, she grabbed on to his shoulders, riding his hand as her harsh pants became keening yells.

Sensing how close she was, William raised his head, looking into her eyes. He watched as she broke apart, his gaze never moving away from hers as she called his name in her first climax. When he finally took his hand away, she was trembling. Her grip on him was still tight as if she felt the need to hold on to him to keep herself grounded.

Elizabeth had never imagined that she could feel such a thing. She had known very little about what occurred between a man and a woman other than that it was supposed to be rather uncomfortable for the woman—something to be endured. But this…this was a beautiful thing. She decided then that William must know something that other men did not.

"That was wonderful," she told him once she felt her voice was useable again.

William gave her a prideful smirk. "And that was only the beginning, kitten."

Elizabeth gasped. "There's more?"

"Oh yes, my love. So much more. I'm going to teach you how to fly." He stood then, and Elizabeth cried out, rebelling against the loss of his warmth. He smiled down at her. "Shh…I'll rejoin you in a moment, dove." He reached down to the fastening of his breeches.

Elizabeth gasped as the last of his clothing fell to the ground. "What…what is that?"

William couldn't suppress the chuckle that erupted from him at her naïve question. "It's my cock, love."

Elizabeth blushed once again. She had never heard that word used that way before, but she was positive it was dirty. "I've never seen such a thing before. How…how do you fit something so large into your breeches?"

William smiled at that question as he lay back down on top of her, smoothing her hair back again. He didn't think he'd ever get his fill of touching her hair. It was like spun gold. "It's not always like this, sweet. Only when I am full of desire and lust for a woman."

"So it is large because of me then?"

"Oh yes, Elizabeth. All because of you."

With William on top of her, Elizabeth could feel what he had called his "cock" pressing into her, only now without the breeches in the way, she could feel the heat of his velvety skin. Curiosity overcoming her, she reached down and wrapped her hand around his shaft.

William cried out in surprise and then groaned in pleasure. Elizabeth's unpracticed touch was doing more to him than he was sure even the most skilled harlot could do. A few moments only, and he was very close to embarrassing himself. He took her hand away, and she looked at him, her eyes wide and fearful again. "Did I do something wrong?" she asked.

William smiled at her. "'Course not. It's just not the time for that, all right? We'll play later. Right now I need to be inside you."

Elizabeth's brow furrowed. "Inside me? What ever do you mean?"

"Let me show you." William slid his hand between them, stroking her again, rebuilding her pleasure until she was gasping. As her eyes glazed over and he knew she was nearing another peak, William used his other had to position himself at her entrance. He slid into her as slowly as he could manage, his teeth clenched with the strain of not burying himself in her tight, welcoming heat as quickly as he possible.

Elizabeth's eyes widened in surprise. Before there had been so much pleasure, and now it felt as if William had torn through her. She struggled beneath him, but William stroked her body, placing kisses all over her face as he murmured soothing words.

"Shh…it's all right, my darling. The pain will pass. Just trust me, love, trust me to make it feel good. Would never hurt you, kitten. Only want to make love to you, Buffy…"

"Oh my god, Spike!"

They stared at each other, eyes widening almost comically. "I…um…it was William?" Spike said, hoping desperately that Buffy wouldn't kill him for this. Although to be fair, he really hadn't had any control over his actions, and she had been just as amorous as he'd been.

"Damn, who would've thought that chaste little Elizabeth would be such a tramp?" Buffy muttered, trying to take her mind off the fact that Spike was buried so intimately inside of her.

"Must be William's dashingly good looks," Spike replied, making no move to pull away.

"Ego much?" Spike snorted in response. Buffy took a deep breath. "Okay, so we should stop this now."

"Right. Because we're mortal enemies and all that."

"Yes. So not the little lust bunnies that were in our bodies a few moments ago."

"No. We're not them."

"I don't even want you."

"I don't want you either."

Within moments, they were kissing again, Buffy's arms and legs wrapping around his back to pull him closer. Spike moaned, his hips thrusting as he sought his pleasure in a woman he'd craved since the first moment he saw her. Buffy met every movement with her own hips, her body desperate for what Spike was offering. She chanted his name over and over, her nails scoring long, red welts down his back as his relentless pounding brought her to new levels of ecstasy. When her climax hit her, she screamed, the world momentarily growing dark around her.

When she came to herself again, Spike was still moving inside her, his thrusts amazingly controlled and steady. She felt another orgasm riding on the tail of the last, and she whimpered, her brain heading towards pleasure overload. "Spike…oh god, it's too much."

"Just one more, pet," he whispered in her ear, his voice hoarse with the strain of his actions. "I'll come with you this time."

"Yes…" Buffy hissed, the idea of Spike climaxing along with her pushing her closer towards the edge.

Spike increased the pistoning of his hips, his hand working back down to rub Buffy in time with his thrusts. Buffy cried out, her legs tightening around him to the point that Spike wondered for a second if, with her Slayer strength, if she'd be able to crush bones that way. But then all thoughts left his mind to be replaced by blinding pleasure as, true to his word, he lost himself inside of Buffy as she fluttered around him.

The only sounds in the shelter for some time were their ragged breathing, until Buffy finally spoke.

"You're squishing me."

"Oh, sorry." Spike rolled off of her, lying at her side. To his surprise, Buffy followed him over, resting her head on his chest. "Buffy…"

"No. Don't say anything. I don't want to talk about it. Let's just let it be what it was, okay?"

"And what was it?"

"It was…it was that."

Spike bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying anything else. He wanted more than that, wanted to know if her feelings for him had changed. He'd been in love with her for what seemed like so long now, and what had just transpired between them had been one of the most amazing experiences of his existence. But he knew Buffy, knew how easily she could turn cold on him again. He knew she wouldn't have done this had they never ended up in this book, and he had no illusions of it happening again once they returned to Sunnydale. All he'd have of her right now was this, and if she was willing to stay in his arms for the moment, he wasn't going to open his big mouth and ruin everything.

Instead, he held her, watching her even long after she drifted off to sleep.

*** *** ***

"We're too late."

The entire Scooby Gang turned at Anya's words, although none of them seemed as if they'd fully processed them. "What do you mean we're too late?" Xander asked for all of them.

"Buffy and Spike just had sex. Good sex, too. Buffy had three orgasms." Everyone but Anya blushed, although she didn't understand what the trouble was. With sex like that, Buffy should be much happier than she had been before going into the book. If she didn't already have Xander, Anya would've asked Buffy if she'd be willing to share Spike. He seemed like a good find.

"Oh goddess, poor Buffy!" Willow exclaimed.

"Poor Buffy?" Anya asked, visibly perplexed. "Did you hear the three orgasms part?"

"Yes, we did," Giles said, predictably cleaning his glasses. "I'd ask for you not to repeat it again."

"But the book made her do that!" Willow said, clarifying her response. "It's…it's like she's been raped!"

"Not how I read it," Anya said. "Okay, well, for the first part they were in character, but that last bit was all Spike and Buffy. You can tell because the names shift—and she was most definitely screaming Spike's name."

"Oh dear lord."

"I'm with the stuffy British man," Xander muttered, sitting down.

"You people can make with the drama if you want, but I'm saying we're going to have one relaxed Slayer when all this is said and done."

"Anya, could you please just not talk?" Xander said.

Anya shrugged and went back to the book. Yet another reminder that she would never fully understand human behavior.

*** *** ***

Buffy woke up very aware of the warm, naked body pressed up against her. Her eyes opened and then bulged when she saw Spike. The events of the night before rushed back to her, and Buffy turned bright red. How could she have done that with Spike? The very thought was disgusting.

Only it wasn't. It should be, Buffy knew. The thought of letting a vampire touch her like that. Well, a vampire that wasn't Angel. Because he had a soul, and that made him different.

But Angel also didn't make you feel like that… Buffy wanted to scream at the traitorous voice in the back of her mind. The same one that always said things she didn't want to hear when Spike was around. Like how sexy that thing he did with his tongue was, or how hot his butt looked in those tight jeans…

She shook her head. No. She wasn't going to even begin to go there. She was just going to get up, find her clothes, and get away from Spike. She started to, when Spike muttered in his sleep, pulling her closer to him.  Her eyes widened when she felt that at least part of him was awake. She was definitely getting away now. There was no way she was going to stay here with him like that.

But instead of moving out of the bed, she moved towards him, pressing herself back against his erection with a low moan. She could still remember the way it had felt to be with him the previous night, and lord help her, she wanted him again…

"Mmm…mornin', pet."

His deep, husky voice rumbling against her was her undoing. She knew she shouldn't want this, that being with him was wrong even if, in this place, she wasn't the Slayer and he wasn't a vampire, but the damage had already been done the night before. She cursed that little brat Elizabeth for getting into this mess. If she hadn't started things with William, then Buffy never would've felt the need to finish them with Spike.

Or want to go again now.

Buffy gasped as Spike's hand snaked down between her legs. "Wet already, kitten? Were you having naughty dreams?"

"No," Buffy replied, the word followed by a desperate whimper as she arched herself into Spike's hand. "It's just from waking up next to you." Buffy's eyes widened at her admission. Why in the world had she told him that? She decided Elizabeth must be affecting her again.

"That so?" he replied, his other hand coming up to play with one of her nipples. He thrust his hips against her backside. "I suppose you can feel what waking up next to you does to me."

Boy could she ever… Buffy decided that right then, she didn't care about right and wrong, or the effects of this stupid novel, or even what would happen once they got out of it. She rolled over, pushing Spike onto his back and poising herself over him. She held herself just above the tip of his cock, watching him as he stared up at her, his breathing labored and his eyes dark with desire. "You want something, Spike?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"You know I do, luv," he replied, his hands trembling from the strain of trying to keep from shoving the hips they were currently holding on to down. He'd let Buffy set the pace. It would make it harder for her to blame it all on him once they got back to Sunnydale. Not that she probably wouldn't find a way…

She lowered her upper body, her hands resting on his shoulder, then slid down slowly, inch by inch. Her head was thrown back, her eyes closed.  Spike kept his gaze trained on her, marveling in the look of pure bliss on her face. He'd dreamt about her like this more times than he could ever begin to count, but not even in his most vivid dreams did he ever know she'd be this beautiful being so wanton. She opened her eyes once he was completely inside, looking back down at him with a look of determination as she began to move.

The night before Spike had been so caught up in the experience of being inside Buffy that he hadn't taken the time to really observe her. But now that he could lay back for the ride, so to speak, he did, watching every expression of pleasure that graced her features, hearing every moan, gasp, and whimper. She was amazing, his own golden goddess.

Soon, the movement of her hips got more frantic, her moans turning into keening yells. As much as Spike wanted to keep up his careful study of her, he couldn't anymore, the things she was doing to him overwhelming. He dug his fingers into her hips, meeting her every thrust with a powerful one of his own. Her breathing got harsher, until finally, she stiffened, bucking sporadically, her head thrown back as she came. Spike let the tightening of her inner muscles around him pull him over the edge, and he lost himself inside of her.

Buffy collapsed on his chest, trying to bring her breathing back to normal as Spike rubbed her back gently. She wondered if any of this was real, or if the book had merely put them into a vivid dream state. Maybe Spike wasn't even here, just another part of her mystical romance novel illusion.

But if that were the case, then why on earth would her mind have chosen Spike to be there with her?

Maybe because you've wanted him from the moment you saw him…

There was that damn inner voice again. Buffy decided she really needed to get a gag for that thing. Still, somehow, she knew what was happening now was more real than it should be. She was trapped in a pirate-infested bizzaro land with Spike, and they'd just had sex—for the second time. Her bare skin was pressed against his, and she could feel him softening inside of her.

And then it was all too real. She pushed herself off his chest and began to search frantically around for her clothes. Spike frowned, sitting up. "Buffy?"

"I…I can't," she said, finding his jacket and wrapping it around herself before hurrying outside the shelter.

She hadn't gotten very far before she stopped, her eyes glancing around nervously. She felt disoriented, as if things weren't quite as they should be.

"Elizabeth!"

She turned sharply, pulling the jacket more tightly around her as she saw William striding towards her, clad only in his breeches. She trembled, not knowing if she should move towards him or run away.

The decision was made for her, however, when she felt William's arms wrap around her trembling form, pulling her against his well-muscled chest. He stroked her golden tresses, speaking soothingly. "What is it, my darling? What has spooked you so?"

Elizabeth looked up at him with wide, watery eyes. "I…I don't know, William. I just feel so very confused!"

William steeled himself before asking his next question, knowing her answer could potentially break him. "Do you regret what we've done?"

"No! Oh, William, don't ever think that! I could never regret something as wonderful as what we shared! It's just…" Elizabeth turned away from the intensity of his penetrating blue eyes.

William cupped her chin, turning her face so she was looking at him again. "Then what is it, kitten? Tell me what has made you cry."

Elizabeth sniffed. "I'm scared, William."

"Of being on this island? Elizabeth, my dearest angel, I won't let you become like the man we found. I promise you that."

"No," Elizabeth replied, shaking her head. "I'm not afraid of being on the island—I'm afraid of leaving it."

"Whatever do you mean?" William asked with a frown.

"If we are ever rescued, we'll be pulled apart. No one will understand what we feel for each other, and they won't let us be together. William, I love you! I can't bear the thought of losing you now that I've felt what it's like to be in your arms!"

William's grip on her tightened, as if holding her now could keep her with him always. "I won't allow that to happen, Elizabeth. Never. I love you, too, and I won't let us be separated."

"But what if it's beyond our control? Oh, William, I have a terrible sense of dread when I think about our future!"

William moved his hands to her shoulders, clutching her tightly. "I won't let us be torn apart. I swear to you, I won't allow it."

"But how? How can you promise such a thing? If we ever get out of this place, you'll be a pirate again, and I, a lady."

"I don't have to be what I was before. I'll changed, leave my old ways in the past. I'll be what you need me to be, Elizabeth. I'll do whatever it takes to keep you."

"William, I want to believe you, I do. I'm just so very frightened."

In all honesty, William was frightened, too. Being with Elizabeth made him feel a way he never had before, and the thought of losing her chilled him to his very core. He couldn't fathom anything driving them away from each other, couldn't even contemplate something so horrific. "Let's not dwell on the future, my love. We have each other now. No reason to taint the present with fears about what might be, is there?"

Elizabeth shook her head. William was right, although worry was still churning in her stomach. "Can…can we go back to bed?" she asked softly. "I need to feel you touching me again."

William nodded, a lump in his throat preventing him from speaking. Instead, he simply led Elizabeth back to the shelter to fulfill his lady love's request.

*** *** ***

Dawn walked into the Magic Box, finally winning the battle of wills with Joyce that allowed her to come and check first hand on the progress made on the "Save Spike and Buffy" front. At the moment, it didn't seem like much. Xander was passed out on a pile of old books, Willow and Tara were talking in hushed tones over what Dawn figured was either ingredients for a spell or soup, and Giles was nowhere to be seen. The only person in the room who appeared to be the least bit animated was Anya, who was reading a paperback book as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. After saying a quick hello to the witches, Dawn made her way over to Anya. "What are you reading?" Dawn asked, peering over Anya's shoulder.

"It's the book Spike and Buffy are stuck in," Anya replied.

Her mother had told her earlier that Buffy was trapped in a book, but Dawn was still having a hard time wrapping her head around that concept. Although really, she wasn't sure why she was even surprised. It wasn't as strange as being told that you were a mystical "key" and your whole life was a lie, after all. "Can I read it?" she asked.

Anya shrugged and started to hand Dawn the book, when Tara and Willow yelled "No!" Xander popped up at that, looking around confusedly and wiping drool from his mouth.

Dawn frowned as Anya pulled the book back from her. "Why can't I read it?" the teenager asked.

"Is Dawn trying to read the Buffy and Spike book?" Xander asked.

"Yes," Dawn replied, her arms crossed in front of her. "And I don't see why I can't."

"Trust me, Dawnie, you do not want to read that book," Xander said.

"I just want to see if Buffy's all right."

"She is," Tara said, trying to quickly reassure Dawn so she wouldn't try to get the book away from Anya anymore. "Anya's been reading so we can keep tabs on her."

"Why is Anya reading it?" Dawn asked. To her, Anya seemed like the last person in the group who would volunteer for that position.

"Because none of them could handle reading the sex," Anya replied matter-of-factly, her attention quickly going back to the book, causing her to miss the simultaneous eye-bugging of everyone else in the shop.

"The sex?" Dawn asked, her voice cracking.

"It is a romance novel," Anya said, turning a page. "Wow. They're right. You are too young to read this. Xander, come here. We should try this later."

"What? No!" Xander protested. "I'm not getting ideas for us from that."

Anya shrugged. "Suit yourself. But it looks fun. Although I guess it wouldn't really work without the seaweed and coconuts."

Dawn gaped for a few moments, trying to process what she'd just heard. "Spike and Buffy are inside that book having sex?"

She got her answer in the form of a yes from Anya mixed with a vehement no from Xander.

"Wow. Go Buffy." Xander, Tara, and Willow all looked at Dawn in shock, while Anya continued to read. "What?" Dawn asked with a shrug. "Spike is way hot."

"Dawn, Spike is a vampire," Xander said. "Vampires are not hot. Vampires are bad. Very, very bad."

"I don't see what's the big," Dawn replied. "It's not like a vampire boyfriend is new Buffy territory."

"Yeah, and it was a mistake then, too," Xander countered. "Spike is evil, Dawn. Anything your sister does with him other than make him dust is a bad thing."

Dawn bit her lip from arguing it further, knowing no one in this room was going to see her point anyway. Well, except for maybe Anya, but she was too engrossed in the book at the moment to back her up. She just hoped that Buffy didn't ditch Spike as soon as they were back in Sunnydale. To be honest, Dawn had a bit of a crush on Spike herself, but she'd be happy to see him with Buffy. At least Spike would treat her better than stupid Riley ever had.

"So have you made any progress trying to get them out?" Dawn asked, deciding a topic change would be the best for everyone right now. Especially Xander, who was looking rather pale.

"Nope," Willow said. "All our spells have gone ker-phlooey."

"But Mr. Giles has gone to his apartment to get a text he thinks might be of some help," Tara added quickly when she saw the disappointment on Dawn's face.

Dawn sighed, pulling out a chair and sitting at the table. "Has anyone tried shouting out a name for the Childlike Empress yet?" she asked with a sigh, resting her chin in her hands.

Anya looked up. "Huh?"

"It's a reference to a movie," Xander explained. "The Neverending Story."

"I'm still not getting it," Anya said.

"It's from the 1980's," Tara added. "There's this little boy who finds a magical book, and he saves the characters inside of the book from this thing called The Nothing by naming the Childlike Empress."

"That sounds dumb," Anya replied. "How can you save a world that's inside of a book by naming someone? And why didn't the empress have a name to begin with?"

"No, see, it worked because by shouting out her name it proved that people still believe in the fantasy land of books," Willow said.

"Still lame," Anya replied. "And I hate it when you guys reference something that everyone knows about but me."

"If it makes you feel any better, I've probably never seen it either and only think I have because some monks felt I should have the memory in order to make me a more convincing little girl," Dawn muttered.

Anya smiled brightly. "It does. Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

The Magic Box was silent for a bit, until Anya looked up again, her brow creased. "So how exactly was the story never-ending?"

*** *** ***

Buffy had been sliding between herself and Elizabeth so much that day she was barely sure of who she was anymore. All she did know was that she didn't want to be away from the man she was with now. William or Spike, she didn't care, she just needed him, needed him to keep touching her. She realized her words were running together with Elizabeth's, that she was telling him she loved him and he was saying it back. But what did it matter with the two of them alone on this island? Real, imaginary—those words, concepts, meant nothing to her anymore.

All she wanted was for him to keep making love to her, their bodies keeping time along with the steady rhythm of the ocean.

*** *** ***

Buffy wasn't sure how long she'd been on the island with Spike. Elizabeth seemed to be taking over more and more now, and Buffy had all but given up on trying to fight it. Part of her rebelled at the idea of losing herself like that, but the more time she spent sharing a body with Elizabeth, the less Buffy felt as if they were really two separate people after all.

And Spike… He hardly seemed like the vampire she'd known in Sunnydale at all, and she'd found herself thinking of him as "William," even when Elizabeth wasn't in control. With his long hair and sun-kissed skin, he'd taken on a decidedly different appearance. Furthermore, his behavior towards her had become tender, even loving. So many times he'd held her, stroking her hair and reciting poetry in his rich, soothing voice until she drifted off to sleep.

Which was where she found herself now, pleasantly sated and lounging in the arms of her lover. "I want to hear the one about the people that eat the flowers again," Buffy said, cuddling closer.

"That's the same one as last night, pet."

"I know, I like that one."

Spike chuckled, kissing her forehead. "Then that one again it is."

As she listened to his voice, her eyes drifted shut, a small smile playing on her lips. This was contentment, perfection, and everything else faded away. The darkness that existed outside this island, outside this world, didn't matter anymore. She was safe and warm and loved.

Hateful is the dark-blue sky,
Vaulted o'er the dark-blue sea
Death is the end of life; ah, why
Should life all labour be?
Let us alone. Time driveth onward fast,
And in a little while our lips are dumb.
Let us alone. What is it that will last?
All things are taken from us, and become
Portions and parcels of the dreadful Past.
Let us alone. What pleasure can we have
To war with evil? Is there any peace
In ever climbing up the climbing wave?
All things have rest, and ripen toward the grave
In silence; ripen, fall, and cease.
Give us long rest or death, dark death, or dreamful ease.

*** *** ***

It had become an almost daily ritual for William and Elizabeth to make their way to the spring they'd found their first day on the island. William watched her with amusement now as Elizabeth carelessly discarded her clothing before slipping into the water, not a thought to the fact that she was exposing herself so brazenly in the presence of a man. If anything, the way she was moving in the water led William to believe that she was flaunting herself instead.

When she turned her gaze squarely on him and crooked her finger, William knew she that was exactly what she was doing. Gone was the shy virgin he'd come to this island with, in her place a gorgeous vixen that he couldn't get enough of.

William shed his own clothes and made his way through the water towards Elizabeth. Just before he was in touching distance of his goal, however, she swam away, giggling as she glanced over her shoulder to see William's look of shock. She stopped, waiting for him to approach her again before escaping a second time. Even with the coolness of the water, William felt as if his skin was on fire, and he wondered if Elizabeth knew what she was doing to him.

He didn't need to question it, for that look on her face told him that she most certainly did…

"Playing the water nymph, are you?" William asked after Elizabeth eluded him for the third time.

Elizabeth giggled again in response, then arched her back, coming up a moment later with her hair now wet, slick down her back, and water droplets traveling down her body. William's eyes turned dark with passion as he watched the display. He then moved through the water faster than he would've thought possible, grabbing Elizabeth before she had a chance to escape him once more. Elizabeth squealed, struggling weakly as William dragged her through the water and back to shore.

He was on top of her and inside her in an instant, and Elizabeth gasped, wrapping her arms and legs around him as William thrust in and out. Her game in the water had made him wild with desire, and he was quickly working her into a frenzy to rival his own. She chanted his name over and over until words had no more meaning to her, and all she could do was scream her pleasure to the woods around them.

*** *** ***

It was quite some time later before they'd both had their fill of each other for the time being. They lay in each other's arms, listening to the gentle songs of the birds around them.

Elizabeth nuzzled her face against William's chest, a smile on her lips. "I love you," she said softly, feeling his grip on her tighten as she spoke the words.

"I love you, too," he replied, kissing the top of her hair.

They were both quiet for a while longer before Elizabeth announced, "I don't think this is wrong."

"What's not wrong, pet?" William asked.

"Us. People…off this island…they'd tell us this is wrong, that we're wrong. They would have a hundred different reasons why I shouldn't be here with you like this. But William, I've never felt so happy. You make me feel cherished and loved. This can't be wrong, William. It can't!"

William ran his fingers through her golden tresses. "It isn't wrong, my love. Nothing else in my life as ever been so very, very right."

Elizabeth sat up. "So then we can't be torn apart! This is the way things are supposed to be, William. No horrible fate can tear apart what is meant to be!"

"Nothing will tear us apart, Elizabeth," William replied, taking hold of her delicate hand. "I love you too much to ever lose you, my darling."

Elizabeth settled back down against his chest. "I'll love you forever," she vowed, her voice strong and determined. "Nothing shall ever make me stop."

*** *** ***

Elizabeth's gaze was concentrated on the horizon, her brow furrowed. William approached her, sitting beside her on the beach. "What is it, lamb?" he asked her.

"There's a spot," she replied, pointing. "Out there."

William followed her finger, swallowing hard when he realized what she was indicating. "That's a ship."

Elizabeth's eyes widened, and she turned to him, clutching his arm. "A ship?! William, what if it's Angelus come looking for us?"

That was a possibility, and William knew it. But the look of terror in Elizabeth's eyes made him want to soothe her fears. "It could be. But it could also be the British Navy. Could be your rescue, darling."

Much to William's surprise, that only caused her to become more afraid, her fingers pressing deeper into the flesh of his arm. "The Navy! No! You're—you're a wanted criminal! They'll kill you, William!"

William wiped away her tears with his thumb. "They wouldn't have to know who I was, kitten. We could get them to let us off at the nearest port, and we could start a life together, off this island."

Elizabeth shook her head. "I don't want off this island. Bad things are off this island, I can feel it. We…we have to stay here!"

William gathered her into his arms. "No matter what happens Elizabeth, we'll have each other. I've promised you that."

Elizabeth pulled back, and the sight of her tear-stained face broke William's heart.  "I don't want to be rescued. Can't…can't we hide? If they come here, they'll think the island is deserted. Please, William?"

"You honestly want to live the rest of your life on this island?"

"You're here with me—what else could I need? I've been so very happy here! I don't want to leave, ever!"

William felt himself pulled in two different directions. His heart wanted nothing more than for him to live out his days in this beautiful paradise he'd found with Elizabeth. But his mind warned him of what could occur if something were to happen to him. How would Elizabeth survive on her own? The thought of her trapped here alone tore at his gut. "We'll wait, see what colors this ship sails under and even if it stops at the island at all. We can make our decision then."

Elizabeth nodded, appeased for the time being, although the threat of William being taken away from her still seemed all too real. "I want to go to bed, William," she said, disentangling herself from his arms and getting to her feet. "I need to feel you."

William stood without a word and walked with her to the shelter, his need to have her in his arms just as pressing as her own.

*** *** ***

"A ship's on the horizon. It might be the British Navy coming to kill Spike, or it might be the Dread Pirate Angelus coming to kill them both," Anya announced to the previously quiet Magic Box.

"What?" Xander asked quickly, summing up the thoughts of the other people in the room.

"I said…"

"I heard what you said, Ahn," Xander replied, cutting his girlfriend off. "It just didn't make a lot of sense. You said Angelus is in there with Spike and Buffy?"

"Did Angel lose his soul and then come to the Magic Box and get trapped in the book with Spike and Buffy?" Willow asked.

"No. Don't be insane," Anya replied, rolling her eyes. "I mean, what would they have done, gotten into a fight where in the middle of it all three of them grabbed a book and someone began to read aloud? Please."

Willow crossed her arms in front of her. "Oh, and people stuck in a book is oh so normal?"

"Well, yeah, when it's an enchanted book. Anyway, part of the enchantment involves creating a sort of template based on the feelings and memories of the reader. Makes it more real if the other characters are people that the reader already knows."

"So that's not really Angelus in there?" Dawn asked. "How can you be sure?"

"Well, for one thing when everyone was debating over the order for Xander's latest donut run, I went and read the instruction manual. Also, I'm in the book, and I can't be two places at once."

"Wait—there's an instruction manual, and you're just now telling us this?" Willow asked in shock. "And…and what are you doing in the book?"

"It didn't tell us how to pull them out prematurely, or I would've said something," Anya replied. "Apparently I'm a cross-dressing pirate, and that's rather strange, but at least I'm mentioned—which is more than I can say for you, Willow."

"I'm…I'm not in it? Doesn't Book Buffy need a best friend?"

Anya shrugged. "Guess not. Although from reading how it's supposed to work, I think that part of the enchantment is messed up anyway."

"Why do you think that?" Tara asked.

"Because Spike and Buffy are the lovers."

"So?" Xander asked. "They got sucked into a romance novel together. It's just the book affecting them, making Buffy do things she'd never do if she was herself. It's not like she actually has feelings for Spike."

"Actually, Xander it does," Anya said. "Or at least it should. Remember how I said that the book assigns characters based on the reader's real life? Well, that goes for any other people that get sucked into the book as well. According to the manual, technically, only one person should go into the book at a time, and the default setting is for a woman to be the central figure because that's the demographic of the mystical publisher. But beyond that, well, anyone else brought into the book with Buffy should've blended into the story in a way fitting their relationship in the outside world. So then Spike should be the villain—not the love interest. My guess is that Spike and Buffy have such, um, strong personalities that the book made them both central to the story." The look of horror currently on Xander's face made Anya decide to practice restraint for once and not voice the other theory she had. She was pretty sure that one would make Xander's head explode, and that didn't sound nearly as fun as it would have in her vengeance demon days.

"So what's going to happen with this ship coming towards them?" Dawn asked, breaking the silence that followed Anya's revelation.

"I don't know," Anya replied. "This book is written as Buffy and Spike go along, so I can't flip ahead. I just wanted to give you all an update now that there's something other than hot, sweaty sex going on."

"We need to hurry up our efforts to get them back," Willow said, deciding it best to ignore the last part of Anya's latest comment. "If that is Angelus coming towards them—fictional version or not—then they're going to be in some serious trouble."

"Or it could just be the British Navy coming to kill Spike, so hey, no big loss there," Xander said.

"Well, there is the fact that Buffy and Spike are bound by an enchantment, so their life forces are most likely tied together," Anya said with another roll of her eyes. Honestly, she didn't know how Xander could be so dense sometimes.

"Oh. Well, then that's bad," Xander said.

"Huh. This is interesting."

All eyes in the Magic Box turned to Anya. "What's interesting?" Tara asked.

"Well, it seems that the answer to who's on that ship the Navy or Angelus is, um, both."

*** *** ***

Admiral Riley Finn stepped out of the rowboat and on to the shore of the island. After taking a moment to survey what was in plain sight, he turned to the man now standing beside him. "Are you certain this is where he would've taken her?" the admiral asked, his voice dripping with distain for his current companion.

"It's th'only island within swimmin' distance from where wee Willie jumped ship with the lass." Angelus replied. "They're here. Grantin' they didn't sink to the bottom of Davy Jones' Locker, that is."

Admiral Finn glared at the pirate. "For your sake, Angelus, you better hope that they are indeed on this island."

Angelus held up his hands. "I was bringin' her to ye, Admiral, just like we planned. It's that bastard William ye should be threatenin'."

"Oh I shall do more than threaten him," Finn vowed. "When I find him, he shall pay dearly for what he was done to my fair Elizabeth." He cleared his throat. "Men! Search the island! If my fiancée is here, I want her returned to me by nightfall. And as for that filth that kidnapped her, bring him to me as well. I want him to suffer by my hand."

*** *** ***

When the ship had come close enough for them to see its colors, William had been able to identify it as a British naval vessel. He had tried to convince Elizabeth that allowing themselves to be rescued would be the best course of action, but she had refused, telling him she feared too much that that would lead to him being hanged for piracy.

She was right, he knew, but his love for her outweighed his concern for his own life. Elizabeth would be safer back in civilization.

In the end, however, her tears and pleas had won out, and they were now headed deep into the forest and away from the ship that could bring Elizabeth to safety. The strength and depth of her love for him shocked William to the very core of his being as he realized she would give up everything she'd ever known just to be with him.

He gripped her hand tighter as the continued on.

*** *** ***

The poem Spike recites is a stanza from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's "The Lotos-Eaters." It's a great poem, if you want to check it out.

Thanks to whoever nominated this for best Anya in the Fool for Love Awards. Anya's one of my favorite characters, and I try really hard to get it right. Makes me feel good to know people think I'm doing a good job with her.

And of course, please remember to review. I can't know what you're thinking about the story unless you give me feedback…

Admiral Finn knew his men thought him mad to order such an extensive search of an island that seemed to be deserted, but he knew his darling Elizabeth was there. And when they stumbled upon the small shelter, complete with evidence that someone had recently dwelled within, he became even more firm in his belief.

He stood inside the shelter, surveying the tiny room. His stomach turned as he noted signs of what most likely had occurred there, and his need to find Elizabeth intensified. The thought of how terrified the poor girl must be in the hands of such a ruthless man as William the Bloody chilled him to the very core. No, not a man… His pure, innocent Elizabeth had been at the mercy of a monster. Finn could only pray that anything that may have been done to her had not driven her to insanity.

"Admiral?"

Admiral Finn looked up as his first Lieutenant, Graham Miller, walked into the shelter. "Yes?"

"They still cannot be located, sir."

"Keep looking! Elizabeth has been here, in this very spot!"

"Sir, if I may…are you certain that it was indeed Lady Summers? Then men, well, they've found the bones of a man, sir. It could have been he who was living her, not the lady."

The admiral turned a cold gaze on the lieutenant. "My fiancée is at the mercy of a cruel, heartless pirate. I do not want to hear anything but a promise that every inch this island will be searched, that no man will rest, until she is returned to me. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Admiral Finn, sir."

"Then go."

Lieutenant Miller gave a terse bow, leaving Riley alone in the shelter again. The admiral's eyes came to the make-shift bed, then narrowed. "Mark my words, William," he said aloud. "You will pay for daring to touch my Elizabeth."

*** *** ***

Elizabeth's entire body ached. She'd been running with William for hours she knew, and yet, she refused to stop. They had heard voices a few times, and she knew their pursuers weren't far behind. Any wasted second could be just what it took to tear her away from William.

However, her steps were getting slower, her body not responding as quickly as she wanted it to. She was moving now by sheer force of will alone, and she wasn't sure how much further that could take her. She clung to William's hand, giving herself a tangible reminder of why she had to push forward.

Suddenly, she was falling forward, her foot snagged on a tree root. William caught her before she could hit the ground. "Elizabeth?" He frowned, seeing the exhaustion clearly written on her face. "You're tired, my love."

"We can't stop. If we do, they'll catch us." She clutched tightly to his strong arms.

"I could carry you."

"That would only slow you down! We have to move quickly or…"

"Or I may just find ye."

Elizabeth felt cold fear grip her as she turned and met the cold eyes of Angelus. "No…" she gasped.

William moved her behind him, attempting to shield her with his own body. "I will fight to protect her, Angelus," he informed his old rival.

"I'd love fer ye to, Willie. Would mean my new friends here would get to shoot ye." Angelus grinned brightly as several British naval officers stepped forward, their bayonets trained on William.

"You're working with the Navy?" William asked in confusion.

"Told ye I was before ye went and kidnapped the lass off me ship. I was tryin' to bring the girl back to her lovin' fiancé."

"You were not!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "This man is a scoundrel! Don't believe his lies!" she implored the soldiers.

"Life on the island must've made her crazed," Angelus said with a shrug. "Best be gettin' her back to the admiral."

"No! Just let us go!" Buffy pleaded. She clung to her lover in desperation. "William, please, make them leave us alone!"

William swallowed hard. With the number of weapons pointed at him now, he didn't have a chance to fight his way out, even if he had been armed. Still, if Elizabeth hadn't been there, he may have tried, but he would never put her in that kind of danger. "I can't," he said, a helpless expression in his eyes that Elizabeth had never seen before.

And that's when she knew it was over. They couldn't escape, couldn't keep running. Her only choice was to let herself and William be led to the person who would tear them apart—and quite possibly kill the man she loved. With tears in her eyes, she made her way through the woods and back to the beach, William by her side for what she knew could be the last time.

*** *** ***

"Admiral Finn! I've got the lass and that villain William the Bloody!"

Before Elizabeth could even begin to protest Angelus's words, Admiral Finn had grabbed her, embracing her tightly. Elizabeth's eyes widened. Her fiancé had never shown her such affection. "Riley?" she managed to say, his beefy arms almost squeezing the breath out of her.

Riley pulled back slightly then. "Oh, Elizabeth! My darling! How I have feared that I should never see you again, my heart!"

Elizabeth had never before noticed how cold his terms of endearment left her. They held none of the passion of William's, nothing there to make her feel as if her heart and body were aflame. "No danger befell me," she replied. "William took care of me."

Riley's eyes widened, and his arms dropped to his sides. "Whatever do you mean? William, he's…he's the filthy pirate who kidnapped you!"

Elizabeth winced. "That was before. Things have…changed, Riley. You must understand. I've fallen…"

"No!" Riley snapped, not allowing Elizabeth to finish that sentence. His men were present—what would they think of such a thing? "No, Elizabeth. It's…it's the heat! It's made you go mad!"

Elizabeth felt the urge to roll her eyes, and a small voice in the back of her mind told her to inform Riley that he was a "totally lame freak who needed to turn down the wigging factor," whatever that could mean. Maybe she had gone mad from the heat if she was thinking such nonsensical things… However, she instead looked at Riley defiantly and said, "William is a good man, to whom I own my life!"

"He's a pirate, Elizabeth! Pirates can never be good men!"

"He's right there, lass. We're a mean, cruel lot, we pirates."

Elizabeth turned slowly towards Angelus, the look in his eyes making her shudder. "Why are you working with him, Riley? He tried to kill me when I was aboard his ship!"

"I did nothin' of the sort, Admiral! The chit's gone mad, just like ye said."

"No! Riley, please, listen to me!"

William watched the scene in front of him with a heavy heart. He knew the overgrown admiral would never accept what Elizabeth was telling him. He also knew that nothing he could say would help her. They could both plead all they wished, but Admiral Finn would never allow them to be together. William had lost the woman he loved. The inevitability of losing his life as well seemed to pale in comparison.

Riley glanced between Angelus and Elizabeth before settling his gaze on William. "Take this blackguard to the brig."

"No!" Elizabeth yelled again. She tried to run to William as the Navy men brought him back towards the ship, only to have Riley grab her, pulling her back.

"He's a pirate, Elizabeth," Riley said, his tone a harsh whisper. "A lowlife and a scoundrel. Do not embarrass me by forgetting that."

"You know nothing about him, Admiral," Elizabeth replied angrily. "I owe him my life! He has done nothing but keep me safe since that animal attacked us!" She pointed to Angelus.

"I tried t'save her!" Angelus insisted. "Got the lass off his ship. Tried t'get her back to ye before Willie jumped ship with 'er."

"No! That is not at all what happened! Angelus is lying!" Elizabeth said, her voice almost hysterical.

"Angelus is in my employ," Finn said tersely. "His task has been to help save you, which he has done."

"But he's a pirate, too!" Elizabeth exclaimed, clearly exasperated. "If you won't trust William, why will you trust him?"

"We will discuss this no more!" Finn snapped, grabbing Elizabeth's arm tightly and dragging her off. "We are going to the ship, and you will speak no more of this nonsense."

Elizabeth struggled as best she could, but she had no chance against Riley. Eventually, she slumped, resigning herself to the loss of her paradise.

*** *** ***

Elizabeth sat in her cabin, her features tired and drawn. Riley had locked her inside, making it impossible for her to get to William. She'd never been frightened of her fiancé before, but the way he'd been treating her since the island changed that.

She was terrified now, for both herself and for William. She knew Riley would have him hanged, and that thought made her feel cold inside. Where would she be without William? How could she survive without the man she loved so deeply?

Elizabeth heard someone at the door and looked up sharply just as Admiral Finn came striding in. "Riley…"

"I want to hear nothing from you, save for the answer to one question—did you willingly lay with the pirate?"

Elizabeth paled. What she had done with William had seemed right on the island, but now Riley was looking at her as if she'd been tainted by the vilest sin imaginable. "I…I love him," she said, her eyes begging Riley to understand.

Finn's expression darkened, and he slapped Elizabeth across the face. "Whore!"

Elizabeth pulled back, shocked. "Riley…"

"You will address me as Admiral Finn," he said coldly. "I will not take such a dishonorable woman as my wife. You have shamed yourself, and you have shamed the memory of your parents."

Elizabeth's eyes filled with tears at the mention of her parents. What would they have thought of her now? "I love him," she said again, her voice soft this time.

Riley sneered. "You disgust me." He stormed from the cabin, leaving Elizabeth alone.

*** *** ***

"Did ye just find out the lass is less of a lady an' more of a trollop?"

Admiral Finn turned, his eyes narrowed at Angelus. "I should throw you off this ship."

"Ye should, but if somethin' were to happen t'me, well, certain secrets might find a way of gettin' out."

"Don't speak of that on my ship," Admiral Finn replied, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Then ye best be rememberin' out deal, Admiral. I'd hate to see anythin' bad happen to a business partner such as yerself."

The admiral's jaw was tight. "I won't forget our deal, Angelus. I will honor my end of the bargain." He left then, Angelus watching him as he did.

"Oh, I won't be forgettin' it either, Admiral," Angelus said once he was sure Finn was out of earshot. "Only problem is, I'm not one fer honor…"

*** *** ***

"Okay, now that sounded sinister."

Xander frowned as he picked his head up from the table and glanced over to where Dawn had joined Anya in the book reading. "What are you doing, Dawnie?" he asked. "Didn't we establish that that thing isn't exactly G-rated?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Okay, for one thing, I'm old enough to up the rating from 'G.' Secondly, Spike's in the brig, and Buffy's locked in her cabin, so I don't think there's going to be any hanky panky goin' on."

"Spike's in the brig, huh?" Xander said, perking up a bit. "Well, that's good news at least."

"Why are you so dense sometimes?" Anya blurted out, managing to surprise everyone else in the shop. "William is the hero in this." She shook the book at Xander. "And he loves Elizabeth. Therefore, she is safer with him. Duh, Xander."

Xander looked offended. "Look, I don't care what sort of wacky notions that book has, Spike is nothing but bad news."

"Actually, it looks more like Riley and Angelus are the bad news," Dawn said. "They've got some secret evil deal that Angelus plans to be all dishonorable about." She turned to Anya. "How come there are scenes without Spike and Buffy? I thought the book was supposed to chronicle their actions inside of it."

"Because the further they slip into character, the more book-like it becomes. Besides the plot needed to be moved along, and Angelus and Riley certainly wouldn't have had that conversation in front of Spike or Buffy," Anya explained.

"Good point," Dawn replied.

"I've got it!"

Dawn, Anya, and Xander all turned towards the sound of Willow's exclamation. "What did you get, Will?" Xander asked.

"The answer to how to get Spike and Buffy out! This spell will be perfect! It's meant to pull people out of dimensions created by mystical enchantments. It's exactly what we need."

"Yeah, unless it manages to only bring back their toes, or turns them inside out, or something," Anya muttered.

Willow shot Anya a dirty look. "It'll work. I just have to get the ingredients together, and Buffy and Spike will be home before you know it!" Willow grinned as she started getting what she'd need off the shelves of the Magic Box.

*** *** ***

I know it's been a really long time between updates, but real life has been affecting my ability to write. I have no intention of leaving off any of my WIP's or to stop writing all together. I will update as my schedule permits, but updates will probably be a bit sporadic for the time being. There's nothing I can do about this, and harassing me to update will not make anything go any faster. Just know that I am writing when I can, and I don't plan to just leave you hanging.

Review please. It's the only way to let me know that people are reading this!

William rattled the bars of his cell, though he knew it would do him no good. Even if he could manage to break through the iron, he was still trapped on a ship—from the British naval fleet, no less. He saw no chance of freedom.

Though William would be willing to accept his fate if only he knew that Elizabeth was safe…

"Stop the racket, you pirate scum," the soldier guarding him snapped. "We're not letting you out until we've reached land—and the gallows."

"I need to know about the lady," William said. "I need to know she is safe."

"She's away from the likes of you," the guard sneered.

"That doesn't answer my question," William replied, his patience nearing its end. "Where did Finn take her? Is she away from Angelus?"

"I've been given permission to rip out your tongue should you give me any trouble," the guard said, a cruel glint in his eyes.

William shoulders slumped, his hands falling from the bars. He was helpless here, unable to even be told of the welfare of his beloved. He hoped that Admiral Finn would be able to keep her safe, but the sinking feeling in his gut told him otherwise. That man was fool enough to trust Angelus. Not to mention the obvious ire in his eyes back on the island when he seemed to realize what may have occurred between William and Elizabeth.

William knew his love was in trouble.

And he was helpless to save her.

*** *** ***

Angelus prided himself on being a patient man. Nothing was quite as sweet as the rewards you had to wait for. Had to work for.

And nothing was quite as pleasing as seeing a plan in its final stages, when everything fell into place.

The ship was quiet, still, aside from the gentle rocking of a calm sea. Admiral Finn had, of course, ordered some of his men to stand watch, but not nearly as many as would be around during the day.

Not to mention the members of his crew Angelus had managed to hide in the hold combined with the number of Finn's men he had in his pocket, which would more than tip the scales. He'd have this nice ship all to himself within an hour. And the admiral had practically handed it to him on a silver platter…

Angelus chuckled as the time came to set his plan in motion. There weren't many things better in this world than taking advantage of a gullible, desperate man.

*** *** ***

Elizabeth had not slept since Riley had left her. She had been able to do nothing but cry, feeling her heart break for the man she loved so desperately. The fear that she would never see him again wrapped around her like a vice, and she could not bear to face the thought of the inevitable end of her darling William, swinging by his neck in the gallows.

As night fell, the ship grew silent like the grave, the only sound Elizabeth could hear being that of her own sobs.

Then it started. A scream pierced the night, followed by a gun shot. From that, a great commotion broke out, and Elizabeth knew something was happening on deck. She feared to think of what it might be, wondering in a panic if she was going to have to suffer yet another pirate attack.

As the noise above her grew, Elizabeth clutched her head, wanting to block out the horrible sounds. She wished even more to have her William. She knew that no matter what was happening outside the room, with his strength and love she'd be safe.
When the door to her cabin flew open, she thought for an instant that maybe she'd been lucky enough to have her wish granted.

Instead, she found herself staring into the cold, dark eyes of Angelus.

He grinned at her like a predator. "Miss me, wench?"

Elizabeth scrambled backwards, only to find herself against the wall. "You…you get away from me! You're a vile creature, and I won't have you touching me!"

Angelus chuckled. "Vile creature? I love it when ye talk pretty." He advanced on her, pinning her to the wall with his meaty arms on either side of her. He leaned in, licking the column of her neck and making her shudder in disgust. "Yer quite a delicacy, ye know that? I'm gonna have quite a time takin' ye." He pulled back, grinning like the Devil. "But first, I think we should go thank our good friend William fer breakin' ye in so nicely."

Elizabeth gasped in horror. "No…please. Do what you wish to me, but don't hurt William!"

"Well, aren't you the loyal lass? Sorry it won't do you any good. I've been waitin' too long to see the end of William the Bloody. Ye're just a bit o' extra fun." Angelus grabbed her arm. "Come on now, I want to kill yer lover so I can get around to rapin' and killin' ye. Be a good girl and don't make me wait."

Elizabeth screamed as she struggled to break his grip. "No! I won't let you!"

Her attempts to escape only made Angelus laugh again. "Don't see how much say you have in it, darlin'. Seems like ye're at me mercy—which is somethin' I don't have much of." He started dragging her out of the cabin.

Elizabeth knew Angelus was right. He had easily overpowered her, and she had no way of breaking his grip. Desperate, she did the only thing she knew to do.

She called for help.

"Riley!" Elizabeth screamed, hoping that her former fiancé would hear her and that he wasn't so disgusted with her that he'd leave her in the hands of Angelus. "Riley, please! Help me!"

Angelus laughed yet again, his tone mocking. "The Admiral's not gonna come fer ye, girl. See, it seems like the boy got himself in a spot of trouble a while back. Was takin' money from pirates, lettin' them line his pockets in exchange fer their freedom to roam certain areas o' the sea. Only problem was, he ran into one that wanted somethin' other than his gold." Angelus grinned. "I wanted this very fine ship here. And it looks like I'm gonna get it." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "And killing that lover of yours will be just the perfect thing to top off a perfect day."

Elizabeth struggled as Angelus took her to the brig, though she knew she had no chance at freedom. Angelus was going to kill William and then do things to her she couldn't even begin to think of. Her stomach turned, and she had to fight to keep down its meager contents.

"Oh Willie boy!" Angelus called as they entered the brig, the guard long gone in order to assist in the fray above deck. "Look at what I brought ye."
William snarled at the sight of Angelus's hand wrapped around Elizabeth's delicate arm. "You get away from her."

"If you insist," Angelus replied, throwing Elizabeth hard against the wall, smiling in satisfaction as she slid down, moaning in pain.

William grabbed the bars of the cell. "I'll bloody kill you!"

Angelus pulled out his sword, the blade glistening in the dim lantern light. "Will ye now? Seems t'me like that'll be a little hard since I'm the one with the weapon, and ye're the one in the cage." Angelus approached the cell, poking the sword through the bars and chuckling as William jumped back. "Scared, boy?"

"I've never been scared of you, Angelus."

"Well, maybe it's time you should be."

Elizabeth groaned, lifting her head up as best she could with the pain Angelus's blow had caused. She could see him now, using his sword to taunt a caged William. She watched as Angelus was able to draw blood, laughing as the red liquid began to show through William's shirt.

"That smart a bit, lad?"

William snarled, trying to move away from Angelus's blade, only to be nicked again. The cell was too small for him to really maneuver, and he knew as well as Angelus did that he was trapped prey.

Elizabeth saw the glint of a sword only a few feet away from her. Her only thought being to save the man she loved, she crawled slowly towards it, careful not to attract Angelus's attention. When she had the sword in her hands, she rose to her feet, feeling the weight of it against her palm. Despite the fact she never remembered handling a weapon before, it felt strangely right, familiar somehow. "Hey, Angelus," she called. "Why don't you come over here and pick on someone armed, you big bully."

Angelus turned, the sight of Elizabeth upright and with a sword obviously taking him by surprise. Soon, however, he seemed to decide the whole thing was amusing. "Do ye wish to play, too, wench? I suppose ye'd still be good t'me if ye were all bloody."

"I don't think that's going to what happens here, Angelus." She attacked then, lashing out with a skill Elizabeth didn't know she possessed. Angelus faltered for a moment, but quickly regained his footing, coming after Elizabeth. She blocked with ease as something instinctual seemed to take over, a sense deep inside of her that told her when and how to move.

"I see you have trainin' in the blade," Angelus said, his breathing heavy. "That's…surprisin'."

"As surprising as this?" Elizabeth quipped as she found her opening and plunged the blade into his gut. She frowned, a strange sense of déjà vu washing over her as she watched him slide to the ground.

Angelus choked and sputtered, blood coming from his mouth. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose as she watched him, gasping for breath as he clutched the mortal wound. She gave him a good kick, taking a moment of pleasure in his pain. "Who's all weak now, huh Angelus?" she asked with a grin.

Angelus looked up at her, groaning in pain. He flailed his arm out towards his dropped weapon, only to have Elizabeth kick it away from him. "Nope," she said. "You're gonna just sit there and die now. How's that for a perfect ending to your day, wench?"

"Um, darling? A little help here? We can taunt the dying man later."

Elizabeth turned, blushing a little as she realized that she'd almost forgotten about William in the excitement of the battle with Angelus. "Right. Keys?"

"On that wall, love," William said, pointing weakly. He winced in pain at the wound Angelus had given him on his arm.

Elizabeth ran and got the keys, freeing her lover. She threw her arms around him as he emerged from the cell. "Oh, William! I thought I'd never see you again!"

William held her close, the elation at feeling Elizabeth again allowing him to ignore the pain. "We have to get out of here," Elizabeth said when they finally broke apart. "Angelus's men have taken over the ship."

"We're in the middle of the open sea," William pointed out. "Where will we go?"

"Lifeboat?"

"We wouldn't last long, kitten."

"We won't last long here, either, William. We have to take our chances. Maybe we can make it back to the island…"

William knew their chances of a successful escape were less than slim, especially since that he had wounds that needed tending to. But he also knew they wouldn't last long on the ship either. Even with Angelus dead, Riley would still pose a problem—if he'd managed to survive Angelus's mutiny, that was. The way William saw it, he would either be faced with pirates or naval soldiers who wanted him dead if he stayed here—and neither of those outcomes let him stay with Elizabeth.

"We'll try to escape," William said. "But our chances aren't good, Elizabeth."

She took hold of his hand. "We're together, William. I know we can make it as long as we have each other. Our love is that strong."

William looked into her eyes, and the hope and love he saw there almost made him believe her words. "Come on, kitten. Hopefully we can use the chaos up there as cover."

Elizabeth nodded, clutching tightly to his hand. She glanced back at Angelus once, watching him as he struggled to take his last breaths. She knew she should feel guilt for killing a man, but she had none. Instead, she felt relief knowing that such a creature was no longer in the world with her.

"By the way, luv," William said as they crept out of the brig, "Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"I didn't," Elizabeth replied. "It just…came naturally to me I suppose."

William raised his scarred eyebrow, but said nothing in response. As they left the brig, he noticed that the ship had grown quiet again, and his stomach clenched with dread.

"Going somewhere, are you?"

William heard Elizabeth gasp beside him as they walked out onto the deck only to come face to face with the pistol of one Admiral Riley Finn.

*** *** ***

"Um, Willow, you might want to hurry up with that spell," Anya said with a frown. "Angelus is dead, but Riley's got himself a pistol, and I doubt he's afraid to use it."

"Angelus is dead?" Xander asked. "How did that happen?"

"Elizabeth skewered him."

"Huh. Go Buffy," Xander replied.

"Well, she did it before," Dawn said. "And this Angelus is even nastier than the other one."

"Okay, all set," Willow announced cheerily, sitting in front of a circle composed of strong-smelling herbs. In the middle were three crystals, leaning against each other to form a pyramid. "Tara?"

Tara sat across from Willow, reaching out to take the other witch's hands. They both closed their eyes, chanting in unison.

Anya, Xander, Dawn, and Giles looked on as the three crystals began to glow, first dimly and then so brightly that they had to shield their eyes.

Suddenly, the crystals burst into flames, and Tara and Willow jumped back to avoid getting burned.
"That wasn't supposed to happen!" Willow exclaimed as Xander ran for the fire extinguisher. She coughed and sputtered as he put out the fire, then looked up to catch Giles's not-so-pleased expression as he looked at the burned spot on his floor. "It wasn't! It was supposed to create a portal that would pull Buffy and Spike back into this dimension."

"Maybe they're not in another dimension," Anya said. "Maybe the book simply creates a pocket within this dimension that allows them to both be here and not here at the same time. Which would make sense, considering the results we got from the locator spell."

"I thought you said the book created an alternate dimension," Willow said.

"Yes, but I never said it created a dimension outside of this dimension," Anya said, rolling her eyes.

"So let me get this straight," Xander said, rubbing his temples. "Buffy and Spike are trapped inside a dimension that's in this dimension?"

Anya nodded happily, glad someone was finally getting it. "Exactly!"

"That makes no sense!" Xander exclaimed.

"Yes it does, sweetie," Anya replied. "See, the book has to create a new dimension in order to allow Buffy and Spike to travel through it, yet due to its temporary nature, it doesn't get its own plane of existence. It has to exist here while not existing here. Makes perfect sense."

"In crazy land!" Xander said.

Giles's glasses were in his hand as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "Willow, do you think you can find a spell that would allow you to pull someone out of one of these pocket dimensions Anya's speaking of?"

"I…I could try. It's going to take some more research."

"Fine. Let's get started then." Giles put his glasses back on, sighing heavily as he looked down at the burned spot on the shop's floor. "And do clean that up. It looks atrocious."
 

Elizabeth gripped William's arm tightly, her fear plain on her face. "Riley, please. Don't do this."

"Do what? Dispose of a pirate and his whore? Tell me, Elizabeth, did you have a part in what just happened? Did you help these pirates try to take over my ship?"

"No! William and I weren't working with Angelus. He was evil, Riley! William's a good man."

"Pirates are scum."

Elizabeth held her chin up high. "Is that why you take their money, let them free to roam the seas as long as they meet your price?"

Riley's eyes flared with anger. "Shut your treacherous mouth! It speaks lies."

"You speak lies, Riley. I know the truth about you. I know your secret. Angelus told me."

"Silence!" Riley cried, cocking back his gun. "Or I will silence you."

"I don't think that's going to be the way of things now," said a voice that Elizabeth recognized but couldn't quite place. Suddenly, an arm was around Riley, a knife at his throat. "Stand down!" the man yelled to the soldiers, "Or the admiral will die."

Finn trembled. "Unhand me," he snapped, though his fright was evident. The blade moved closer to his skin, a trickle of blood appearing. His eyes bulged. "Do what he says, men!"

Finn's men stood down, giving the admiral room. William blinked, the reality of what was happening hitting him. "Xander?"

"Aye, captain. Didn't think that I'd let ye die, did ye? What sorta first mate would that make me?"

"I'm here, too!" piped up a voice from beside Xander. "We snuck on the ship with Angelus's men together."

William grinned. "Glad to see you, too, Jenkins." Jenkins grinned, obviously proud of her part in rescuing their captain.

"So how about we get out of here, then?" William said, taking Elizabeth's hand. "You two do have an escape plan, don't you?"

"Aye, sir. The ship is docked not far from here. We can make it."

"You're not getting away!" Riley said. "Kill them!"

Xander dug the knife in deeper. "Just so ye know, my dyin' act will be to cut off this big head of yours."

"Don't kill them!" Riley amended.

William led Elizabeth behind Xander and Riley as they backed away from the armed men. "Well, gents, it's been fun," William said with a smirk, feeling for the first time since they were captured that things were finally going his way. "Everyone just stay right where they are, and we'll let your admiral stay in one piece." He shrugged. "Or at least alive anyway."

Once at the edge of the deck, William and Jenkins prepared a lifeboat as Xander kept his blade at Riley's neck, glaring at the soldiers, daring them to move. Soon, they were in the water, rowing away from the naval vessel.

"You won't get away with this," Riley sneered. "I will kill you all!"

"Big words for a man with a knife at his throat," William said smugly. Did he ever love having the upper hand…

"You know, we're far enough from the ship now that we don't really need him," Elizabeth said. "Why don't we just dump him overboard for the sharks?"

William shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

"Wait! No!" Riley yelled. "Don't do that! I'll do anything, just don't kill me!"

William and Elizabeth shared a glance. "What do you think, kitten?" William asked.

Elizabeth trained her steely gaze on Riley. "Will you leave us alone? Let William and I be happy?"

"Yes! Just let me live. And…and don't tell anyone what Angelus told you…about…about the bribes."

"You are seriously pathetic," Elizabeth said with disgust.

William jerked a thumb towards Finn. "And you were going to marry him?"

"Was. I wised up." Elizabeth grinned, running her hand down William's arm. "And I found something much better."

William leaned in, capturing Elizabeth's lips for the first time since they'd been taken from their island paradise. She tasted even sweeter than ever, and he remembered what she'd said to him as they'd left the brig.

We can make it as long as we have each other. Our love is that strong.

And it was. In that moment, he knew it. Their love could overcome anything. In the arms of this woman, he'd found where he belonged.

Admiral Finn made a sound of disgust, and William broke away to glare at him. "Sharks," he said, his tone dark with warning.

Finn shifted. only to hiss in pain as Xander's knife pressed into his skin again.

William felt Elizabeth's hand on his chin, and he turned, letting her pull him into another kiss.

*** *** ***

William breathed a sigh of relief as they pulled ashore, his ship in his sights. Elizabeth took hold of his hands, her excitement almost palpable. "We did it, William," she said softly. "We made it."

"That we did, my love."

"I told you we would."

"I know. And you were right." Looking at the smile on her face, William was unable to stop himself from leaning in to kiss her again.

"Um, Captain? What should I do with the Admiral?"

William reluctantly broke away from Elizabeth. "Leave him here."

"What! You can't do that! I'll die here!"

William shrugged. "Possibly. Although Elizabeth and I survived an island just fine…" He winked at Finn and wrapped his arms around Elizabeth's waist.

"You are slime," Finn spat. "You will pay for this. If not on earth, then in Hell."

"Oh, whatever," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes. "Honey, can we go back to the ship now? I think I've already had my fill of this place."

"Whatever you wish, my darling." William grinned back at Riley. "And here's to hoping this is the last I see of you, Finn."

As William, Elizabeth, Jenkins, and Xander walked away, Finn yelled at them angrily. "You'll never get away with this!"

"You already said that!" Elizabeth tossed over her shoulder, taking hold of the hand of the man she loved as she walked away from her past.

*** *** ***

William took a deep breath from the deck of his ship, watching the island where they had left Admiral Finn grow smaller and smaller. He was home, finally back where he belonged.

So why didn't he feel that way?

He glanced at the woman beside him and knew why.

"Xander?"

The other pirate turned. "Aye, Captain?"

"How would you like your own ship?"

Xander blinked his one visible eye. "Beggin' the captain's pardon, but I wouldn't want to leave yer employ, sir. I'm quite fond of this ship."

"I'm offering you this ship, Xander. I'm looking to retire."

"William, what…" Elizabeth began, only to have William give her hand a tight squeeze, signaling for her to wait to hear what he had to say.

"Captain, I…"

"It's time for me to settle down. I've gone and fallen in love, and I'm going to do right by the lady. I want you to be the one to take over my ship—on one condition."

"What's that?" Xander asked.

"That your first act as captain is to marry me and my ladylove." He smiled down at Elizabeth, taking in the shock on her face, followed by the tears glistening in her eyes.

"You…you really mean that, William?" Elizabeth asked softly.

"I do, my love. If…if that's what you want, that is."

"Oh, William!" Elizabeth exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "Of course it's what I want. I love you!"

William held her close to him for a moment before turning back to Xander. "So will you do it, mate?"

"Aye, I will. Just as soon as the two of ye are ready."

"Elizabeth?" William asked. "When…"

"Now. I don't want to wait another moment to be your wife, William." She frowned suddenly. "Although though I do have one question."

"What's that, darling?"

"Where's Lord Rupert?"

William looked back at his former first mate. "Xander?"

"Oh, he's…um… Jenkins?"

Jenkins sighed, walking over to a man sleeping against the side of the deck and shaking him hard. "Hey, you, wake up! Elizabeth is here!" She shook him harder. "Wake up!"

Lord Rupert's eyes popped open, and he swung the rum bottle he had clutched tightly in his hand. "Huh? What…"

"Elizabeth is here," Jenkins shouted, loudly enough to make the older man wince. "She wants to see you."

"Elizabeth? She's all right?"

"She's fine. Come on, get up," Jenkins said, helping Lord Rupert to his feet and over to his ward.

"Elizabeth! You're alive!" Lord Rupert exclaimed, falling towards her in an attempt to give her a hug. Elizabeth grunted, fighting to keep the man upright. Seeing her distress, William jumped in, helping Rupert to his feet.

"Yes, I'm alive. And you're…drunk?" She turned to Xander. "What happened to him?"

Xander shuffled his feet nervously. "Well, ye see m'lady, he was right distraught over your disappearance, and we gave him a little rum to calm him—and he took to it."

"I see," Elizabeth said.

"It's quite nice," Rupert slurred. He held the bottle out to Elizabeth. "Would you like to try some?"

"No thank you," Elizabeth said, gently pushing it away. "Actually, I'm getting married now."

"Oh? Not to the overgrown ape of an admiral, I hope." Lord Rupert turned to William, who he was still using for support, and whispered conspiratorially, "I never liked him."

"Me either," William whispered back, a small grin tugging at his lips.

"I'm marrying him," Elizabeth said, putting her hand on William's arm. "I'm marrying William."

Lord Rupert attempted to pull himself upright. "Well, young man, I am her guardian, you do know. I would have to give con…con…" Lord Rupert frowned, his brow wrinkling. "Consent! Consent to such a union."

William cleared his throat. "I love her very much, sir. And I will take good care of her."

"Do you have money?"

William smirked. "Tons. I'm really quite rich. I plan to retire with Elizabeth someplace nice and warm where she never has to worry about anything ever again."

"Well, then in that case, on with the wedding!" Lord Rupert exclaimed, raising his bottle of rum into the air before he stumbled back, breaking out into song.

"Is he always this way?" William whispered to Elizabeth.

"A really big no," Elizabeth replied. "This is…different."

"Right then. Xander? The wedding?"

"Aye." Xander frowned. "Captain, I don't know anything about weddin's."

William shrugged. "Make something up." He took Elizabeth's hand and led her to stand with him in front of Xander. The rest of the crew had gathered around, watching the proceedings with fascination. Lord Rupert grew silent again, leaning against Jenkins for support, who sighed heavily, muttering under her breath about filthy, drunken men.

Xander cleared his throat. "Do you, William, wish to be wed to Elizabeth?"

William glanced down at the woman beside him, surprised at the tears that formed in his own eyes at the question. "I do," he replied, caressing her hand with his thumb.

"And you, Elizabeth, do you wish to be wed to William?"

"I do," Elizabeth said softly, her voice choked with emotion.

"Well, then…um, Cap…er, um, William?"

William looked at Xander. "Yes?"

"Shouldn't there be a ring?"

"I don't have a ring," William replied.

"I do!" One of the pirates exclaimed. He rushed forward, placing the ring in William's hand before wiping a tear from his eye. "I just love weddings, cap'n," he said. "They're so beautiful." He stepped back.

"Thank you, Larry," William replied, looking down at the gold ring with a bright green emerald setting he held now. "Almost as beautiful as your eyes, love," he whispered to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth found herself without words, her voice choked with emotion. All she could manage to do was hold her trembling hand out for William. He slipped the ring on slowly, finding it to be a perfect fit.

"As captain of this ship, I declare ye married!" Xander exclaimed. "Kiss yer pretty wife there, William."

"Don't have to tell me twice," William replied, taking Elizabeth into his arms. He kissed her softly first, trying to pour all of his love for her into the act. But soon, the feel of her against him was too much, and the kiss grew in passion.

When he finally pulled away, William and Elizabeth were panting, both from lack of air and arousal. He scooped her up in his arms and announced to the crew, "Xander is your captain now. Obey him like you did me." He gave Elizabeth a heated gaze. "Right now, I'm going to exercise my marital rights."

The crew cheered and catcalled as William carried Elizabeth below deck, but the newlyweds barely heard it. Instead, they stayed wrapped in each other, ready to begin their life as husband and wife.

*** *** ***

"Nervous, wife?" William asked, glanced down at the woman spread out on his bunk.

"No."

William smirked. "Well, you aren't exactly a blushing virgin."

"Does…does that bother you?" Elizabeth asked, sitting up.

William mentally kicked himself for putting that worry in her eyes and sat down beside her. "No, my love. For one thing, despite how you come to me on our wedding night, I know no other man has been with you except me." He pushed her hair back from her face. "But Elizabeth, even if you had lain with a thousand other men, it would make you no less desirable in my eyes. I love you. I'll love you until my dying breath—and beyond."

"And I you, husband," Elizabeth replied, stroking his cheek.

"Let me show you how much, Elizabeth—my treasure." William lowered her back on the bunk

"I was afraid we wouldn't have this, William. I was so afraid, when you were taken away from me that…that I'd never get to feel you again."

William saw the tears spilling down her cheeks and wiped them away with his thumb. "Shh… I'll never leave you again, dove. We're bound together now. Forever. Nothing can change that."

"I know, my sweet William. Now love me, please. I need to feel you."

William said nothing in response, only moving to remove her clothes and then his own. When nothing lay between them any longer, he pressed the length of his body against hers, slipping his hand between her thighs to find her wet and ready for him. "Elizabeth?"

"Now, William. They took you away from me for so long…"

William smiled. "It was only a day, my love."

"Too long… I never want to be away from you, without you. I ache, William. Fill me again, and make the aching stop."

"As you wish," William replied, settling himself between her legs and entering her in one stroke.

Elizabeth cried out, wrapping her arms around him, feeling as if she could never have him close enough. "William…I love you. Oh, my husband, I love you so much."

"I love you, too, my wife."

Elizabeth had never felt as close to anyone as she did in that moment. He moved inside of her, their bodies entwined, but it went so beyond the physical. Their hearts were joined as well, a bond that no one could ever break. He was her husband, now and forever, his arms the one place in all the world where she belonged. Where she felt warm, safe, loved.

They rose and fell together, time and space melting away until nothing existed but them, their love. When they reached their peak, it was in unison, climbing and falling together in perfect harmony.

William rolled over, bringing Elizabeth with him. She lay nestled in his arms as they drifted to sleep, content.

*** *** ***

Elizabeth woke to find her husband still sleeping beside her. She slipped out of bed silently, pressing a kiss against his forehead before dressing and stealing out of the cabin.

As the sun rose above the horizon, the upper deck was nearly silent, most of the crew below in their cabins. She rested her hands against the edge of the ship, closing her eyes and taking in the fresh sea air. She thought about how quickly and how much her life had changed. Only a short while ago, she had thought she'd known her path, known what the future held for her. But when a man by the name of William the Bloody had come crashing into her life, she had found everything she'd thought she'd known turned upside down. No, her life wasn't how she'd ever imagined it would be.

It was better.

She knew he was there even before he wrapped his arms around her, and she sighed happily, leaning into the embrace.

"I woke to a cold bed," he rumbled in her ear. "Not what a man expects the morning after his wedding."

"I didn't wish to wake you," Elizabeth said, opening her eyes.

"I could've worn us both out again, kitten," he replied, nipping at her ear.

"Mmm…I'm sure you could."

William slid his hand down to run it over her ring. "Forever," he said softly.

Elizabeth turned in his arms so she could look into his deep blue eyes. "Forever."

William leaned in, sealing their promise with a kiss.

The world seemed to spin around them both, and she was gasping for air when she broke away. "Spike…"

"Buffy…"

And then it all came crashing down around her. They were back in the Magic Box, her friends staring at her as she stood wrapped in Spike's embrace.

It wasn't real. None of it had been real. It had all been an illusion, and now she was back in Sunnydale. She broke away from Spike with a cry.

"Buffy?" he said, his tone soft, so much like William's had been.

But he wasn't William. Not the William from the book anyway. And she wasn't Elizabeth. The loss of it all tore at her, and Buffy did the only thing she knew to do.

She ran.
 

Spike stood for a moment, in shock. He'd been with Elizabeth…no…Buffy. He'd been with Buffy, and they'd been…

It was over. The sense of loss he felt was acute, tearing at him from the inside. He'd had the woman he loved in his arms, and now she was gone, running from him—running from what they'd had.

Without thinking, Spike went after her, out of the Magic Box.

And into the sunlight.

As he began to smoke, he heard a high-pitched scream, and then felt arms wrap around him and pull him until they stumbled backwards into the shop.

"Spike…you think maybe you could get the hell off of me?" a familiar, male voice grunted from beneath him.

Spike got up, dusting himself off. He looked down to see Xander on the ground, wiping his brow. Xander had just saved him? Maybe they were still in Bizzaro World. He held his hand out, helping the other man up. "Um…thanks."

"Yeah, well, I didn't feel like having to clean your dust up from in front of the store," Xander muttered, letting go of Spike's hand the second he was upright.

Suddenly, Spike felt something hit him, and looked down to see Dawn clinging to him. "You scared me, running out there," she said.

"Sorry, nibblet. Where your sis and I were, I could go out in the sunlight. I guess I just forgot that I'm not really supposed to do that." With those words, Spike felt an overwhelming sense of despair fill him. He couldn't go out in the sunlight anymore, and he'd wager that he no longer had a heartbeat. He'd never thought he'd really care about those things, but now that he couldn't give them to Buffy anymore…

And Buffy had run into the sunlight. Back into her world, a place where he couldn't go.

"I have to go," Spike said, pulling away from Dawn. "I have to…" He needed to get away. He couldn't go after Buffy, and he wasn't even sure that he should. His mind was racing, his thoughts everywhere.

"Are you okay?" Dawn asked, her big, soft eyes looking too much like Buffy's for Spike at the moment.

He looked away. "Yeah, I'm… I have to go," he said again before hurrying out of the Magic Box, this time using his usual sewer exit.

"Well, he was acting weird," Xander said. "Even for Spike."

Anya shrugged. "Well, a few minutes ago, he was hanging out on a pirate ship after just marrying Buffy. Now he's here, and she ran away. Gotta be disorienting."

"Marrying Buffy!" Xander exclaimed. "When did that happen? And why didn't you tell us?"

"I didn't tell you, because it was the end of the book, and I knew they'd be out soon," Anya said. "But it was a nice little ceremony, even if Rupert was drunk the whole time. You conducted it, Xander."

Xander's exclamation of "I what!?" managed to drown out Giles muttering, "Well, I'd have to be drunk if Spike and Buffy were getting married."

"You conducted the ceremony," Anya said, patiently, as if speaking to a child. "Or the version of you in the book anyway. See, he was Spike's first mate, and…"

"Spike's first mate? What sort of insane book is that?"

"He…or you…whatever…Anyway, that Xander was his first mate and William made him captain, so he married them." Anya frowned. "I'm not sure that ceremony was entirely legal. I mean, they were out of England, so I don't think they needed to post the banns, but…"

"Of course it wasn't legal! It was in a book! This is all insane!"

"Um, you guys? Do you think maybe we should check on Spike and Buffy?" Tara asked, everyone turning to face her as she did. "I…I mean, they have to be reeling from what just happened to them."

"Spike won't want company," Dawn said. "He'll be drinking, and possibly breaking stuff. But I'll go see if I can find Buffy."

"Okay Dawn," Giles said. "And have Buffy contact us later, would you?"

"I will," Dawn said with a nod before leaving the Magic Box.

"How did they get out anyway?" Willow asked. "I didn't do a spell…"

Anya shrugged. "The book was over."

*** *** ***

"Buffy! You're home!"

Buffy stopped in front of the stairs as he mother came rushing towards her, enveloping her in a hug. "Yeah, I'm home," Buffy said, weakly returning the gesture.

Joyce pulled away from her daughter. "Mr. Giles said you were trapped in a book? With Spike?"

"Yeah."

"I've heard of a lot of weird things since we moved to Sunnydale, but… Are you okay, Buffy?"

"I need to lie down for a bit, okay?"

"Sure, honey. Let me know if you need anything, all right?"

"I will."

Buffy walked up the stairs and to her room, sitting down on her bed. She knew she should be happy to be home, happy to be back with her family and friends. So why did she feel this way? She felt empty and lost, the pain welling up inside her almost unbearable. She hadn't felt this way since…

Since Angel moved to LA.

She picked Mr. Gordo up off her pillow, holding the stuffed pig as she curled into a ball on her bed, tears spilling from her eyes before she could stop them. Something inside her was screaming for her husband, for the man that she'd pledged herself to for all eternity, and the pain of knowing there was no real person to answer that need tore her apart.

She closed her eyes, but all she could see was William, looking at her with so much love. But none of that was real, that it all had been the product of a fantasy. She didn't have William, and she never would again.

Buffy barely registered the knock on her door right before Dawn peeked her head in. "Buffy?"

Dawn watched her sister for a moment, noting how her only movement was from the sobs wracking her body. "Do you want to talk about it?" Buffy was silent, staying curled in a ball on her bed. Dawn's thoughts were drawn back to not so long ago, when Riley had left. Buffy had been upset then, too.

But she hadn't been this upset…

Dawn sat beside Buffy, reaching out tentatively to touch her arm. "What happened, Buffy? Why did you run out of the Magic Box like that?"

Buffy's only response was to cry harder.

"Spike tried to go after you. He ran outside and…"

Buffy sat up suddenly, her eyes wild. "It was sunny out there! He…oh, god…"

"No! He's okay, Buffy. Xander pulled him back in."

Buffy's shoulders slumped forward in relief. "He shouldn't have done that."

"Xander?"

"No! Spike! He shouldn't have…he shouldn't have run after me like that."

"He seemed upset, too, Buffy."

"Well, of course he was," Buffy said, her tone suddenly bitter. "If you were a vampire, and you'd just been forced to be all lovey-dovey about a Slayer for days, wouldn't you be bitter, too."

Dawn frowned. "Buffy, I don't think that was it. He looked…sad. Sorta like you do now, only with less hysterical sobbing." She cleared her throat. "Anya said the two of you got married…in the book?"

"William and Elizabeth got married."

"But you were William and Elizabeth, right?"

"No. Not really. It wasn't…" Buffy doubled over, clutching her face in her hands. "Oh, Dawnie, none of it was real! I was so happy, and so in love, and then it was all taken away from me. I lost the man I loved."

Dawn wrapped her arms around Buffy, trying to soothe her. "But Spike is still here. I'm sure he went back to his crypt. You could…"

Buffy pulled up, shaking her head. "No. I…I can't. Spike can't love me, not here. He's…he's a vampire. He doesn't have a soul. He can't love me. The book only made him think he did, and now he'd…" Buffy's voice trailed off into another fit of tears.

"But…but he loved Drusilla. You know he did, Buffy. Couldn't it be possible for him to love you now?"

"No! It was just the book. He can't love me outside the book."

Dawn managed to meet her sister's eyes. "Do you still love him?"

Buffy said nothing, but the flash that Dawn saw in her eyes was all she needed to know. Buffy fell forward, and Dawn held on to her, trying her best to comfort her sister.

*** *** ***

Spike sat in a chair in his crypt, whiskey bottle in hand. He'd been taking one long drink straight from the bottle after another, hoping that it would dull some of the pain.

It didn't.

Over and over again, the memory of watching Buffy run from him played in his mind. He remembered the look in her eyes when she realized where and who they were, and knew what she had to be feeling.

Hate. Loathing. Disgust.

He knew she'd be angry at herself as well as him, but knowing Buffy and her holier-than-thou attitude, she'd quickly make it all about him. She'd dismiss all the whispered words of love, all the passionate touches, and go back to hating him with a blind fury.

Just like she had after that bloody engagement spell…

Spike took another drink from the bottle and sneered. Who was she to think that she was better than him? That she hadn't felt it just as strongly as he had? Self-righteous little bitch, always assuming that no soul meant no feelings. Wasn't his fault that her Great Ponce of an ex had been a bland, emotionless wanker.

The door to his crypt slid open, and Spike looked up sharply, blinking as he wondered if his eyes were playing tricks on him. "Buffy?"

Buffy willed herself to keep her distance from him. She wasn't even sure why she'd come here, knowing that it couldn't possibly go the way she wanted it to go. He wasn't going to sweep her into his arms and love her the way William had. But Dawn had encouraged her, told her she had to go talk to Spike now, before too much time had passed. And honestly, she wanted to see him. After everything that had happened between Elizabeth and William, being separated now hurt, even if she knew that things weren't the same.

"We have to talk," Buffy said, pulling herself up straight.

Yeah, Spike had seen this coming. Now it would be time for the threats. If you tell anyone about this, I kill you, etc. "Save it, Slayer," he growled. "I have no desire to hear a sodding thing that comes out of your mouth."

Buffy's lip trembled at his harsh words, but she refused to start crying again. Instead, she surveyed the litter at the bottom of his chair. "You've been drinking?"

"Well, yeah. Had to get the Buffy taste out of my mouth, didn't I?"

Buffy felt like she'd been hit. She'd known that he'd be cold to her now that they were back in the real world, but this… "I hate you," Buffy said before turning and running from the crypt.

"Yeah, mutual!" Spike yelled back. Spike glared down into his whiskey bottle before throwing it against the wall.

 

Dawn couldn't sleep. Despite the fact that walls and closed doors muted the sound, she was keenly aware of her sister's heartbroken sobs. She hadn't known Buffy to be this upset in a long time.

"Or ever, really," Dawn muttered to herself. "Since I didn't actually exist yet the last time."

Dawn still couldn't quite wrap her head around that concept. She was mystical energy and her memories were all fake. Even for the Hellmouth, that was weird.

And she'd done nothing but cause problems since she had been put into human form. Glory was after Buffy, and Dawn knew that was all her fault. Things would be hard enough for her sister without a hellgod to contend with, and Dawn had brought that down on her.

She wondered, too, if she'd had anything to do with her mother's illness. What if she was radiating some sort of energy that had sparked a tumor in Joyce's brain? She knew if she voiced that fear to anyone, they'd tell her it was insane, but she couldn't help feeling it. It had all started after Dawn arrived, after all. Who better to blame than herself?

Buffy's crying was getting worse. Dawn felt an overwhelming urge to comfort her, to help her. She had to bring something beneficial into their lives, be something other than a destructive force.

Dawn crept out of her room and into Buffy's, climbing into the bed next to her sister. Buffy looked up at her, her eyes red and puffy. "Hey, you," she said hoarsely.

"Hey," Dawn replied, smiling as she pushed Buffy's hair back from her face. Buffy thought in that moment Dawn looked older than her age, almost as if she could see part of her real ancient nature shining back in her eyes.

"Was I keeping you up?" Buffy asked. "I'm sorry, I…I wanted to be quiet, but…"

"It's okay. I'm glad I'm awake. You look like you could use some company." Dawn paused for a moment, then said, "And don't worry about Mom. She's asleep. She's still taking those pills the doctors gave her post-op. I think she could sleep through World War III."

Buffy chuckled lightly. "Probably. Dawnie?"

"Yeah?"

"How long was I gone?"

"About a day," Dawn replied. "Not long at all. I'd only been out of school a couple of hours when you got back."

"Oh. It seemed a lot longer for me. Weeks…maybe even months. I don't know how long we were on the island…"

"Island?"

"Yeah…Spike…er, William and I…or Elizabeth…well, we were on this island together. And at first I was afraid, because we were stranded there, and then there was this skeleton of a man we found, and I thought that we'd die, but we didn't…and…and then it was nice."

"Nice? What did you do?"

Buffy turned bright red. "Things you don't discuss with your little sister."

Dawn blushed, too. "Oh. So…so you and Spike were, um, pretty close, huh?"

"Yeah. We were. I loved him. Or she loved him. I don't know. It's all so confusing."

"Why don't you tell me about it?" Dawn suggested. "It might help."

"There's no reason to. It wasn't real."

"Neither were the first thirteen years of my life, but I'm not going to say they didn't exist. I have the memories. It's like I lived them. I can still taste the cookies grandma used to bake. I can still remember the smell in the kitchen of our old house after the…incident." Dawn smiled a little at the way Buffy's mouth quirked at that. "I can remember running around the backyard with you when we were kids, and how Dad would always yell at us about how we were going to fall and break out necks. I can remember so much from those thirteen years, and in that way, they're real."

Buffy sat up, and for a moment, Dawn thought she was going to bolt. She didn't. She pulled her knees up to her chin and took a deep breath. "I woke up on the pirate ship. Giles was there, only it wasn't Giles. It was weird, book Giles. But then Spike was there, and he was the pirate captain. And then there was Angelus, and he wanted to kill us. We ended up on this island, and then somehow…we fell in love. We kept switching back and forth between ourselves and our characters, and I want to say that it was Elizabeth loving William and that was it, but Dawn, I felt it even when Elizabeth wasn't there. And then it was just Elizabeth, but…but I still knew everything that was going on. And I know I was still affecting her. Or me. Elizabeth was in control, but…but I was Elizabeth, too."

Buffy grew silent again, and Dawn mulled over what she had just said. Granted, it was confusing, trying to sort out the whole Buffy/Elizabeth thing, but if Buffy had still felt like she was herself when she was her character, even if the character was technically in control… "I bet it was the same for Spike. With William. If William loved you, then Spike would have to, too."

Buffy looked at her sister, and Dawn saw the tears reforming. "He doesn't. I know he doesn't."

"What did Spike say when you went to talk to him tonight, Buffy?"

Buffy's gaze fell to the bedspread. "It didn't go well."

"I gathered that much. Details?"

"He was just…mean. He said he didn't want to talk to me, and that he had to drink to get my taste out of his mouth."

"And?"

Buffy ran her finger over the bed, tracing out her own pattern. "I said I hated him."

"Buffy!" Dawn screeched, sitting up. "Why did you do that?"

"Because I do! He's an evil vampire, and…"

"Oh, stop right there. I mean, sure, he's evil, but he's also…well, sorta good. You and I both know he's not like other vampires, Buffy. You think Angelus would've gone with me when I broke into the Magic Box to make sure I didn't get hurt?"

"He should've brought you back inside the house."

"And then I would've snuck out again. Spike knew that. He kept me safe that night, Buffy. That's not an evil thing to do. And what about last week, when he let me and mom stay in his crypt? He let me paint his nails."

"Spike paints his nails anyway."

"Yeah, but still… an evil vampire sitting still while a teenager does his nails? Not exactly of the norm."

"I… It doesn't matter, Dawnie. Spike and I can't have here what William and Elizabeth had in the book. It isn't possible."

"How do you know? You haven't even given it a shot."

"Spike doesn't have a soul, Dawn."

"He has a chip. Same dif."

"No, it isn't."

"I think he loves you, Buffy. I mean, have you seen the way he looks at you? It's like you're the only woman in the world." Dawn's eyes lit up, as if suddenly getting an idea. "And you know, I bet that's why he's been all big about helping you on patrol lately. It's sorta romantic."

"That he wants to kill things for me? Ugh, no. And he only helps me on patrol so he can get his violence on. Nothing romantic about that at all."

"You are so stubborn. Like when we were younger, and you insisted for months that you could teach the dog to talk."

"He was right on the verge of speaking, I swear!"

"See. Stubborn. And Buffy, you obviously want to be with him. Otherwise you wouldn't be in here sobbing your eyes out."

"What I want and what I can have are two different things. I've been down this road before. I know where it leads."

"You have? Refresh my memory and tell me when you've dated Spike before."

Buffy gave her sister a dirty look. "I've dated a vampire before, Dawn. It's the same thing."

"It is not!"

"Yes, it is! You just need to understand that, okay?"

"Do you know what it would be like to date Xander?"

"Huh?"

"Answer the question, Buffy."

"Well, no, I guess. I mean, I can speculate since I know him, but I don't know exactly what it would be like to date Xander."

"But you dated Riley."

"They're two different…" Buffy stopped, realizing where Dawn was going with this. "Oh. Clever."

"See? Saying you know what it would be like to date Spike because you've dated Angel and they're both vampires is just like saying you know what it would be like to date Xander because you dated Riley, and they're both humans. My English teacher is always going on about not making overgeneralizations, and that's just what you're doing."

"I'm not writing an essay."

"No, you're making important life decisions. I have a few hints from my guidance counselor about those…"

"And you can save them. But I get what you're saying."

"So go talk to Spike? Possibly when he's not drinking?"

"I've already talked to Spike. He's not William, and he doesn't want me. End of story."

"Argh! There it is again! Stubbornness! Do you really want to just stay here by yourself and be miserable?"

Buffy's eyes clouded over. "I don't have a choice, Dawn. Spike and I just can't be together in this world. I have to deal with and accept that."

Dawn stood up. "Fine. But you're making a mistake."

"I'm not."

Dawn sighed. "I'm going back to bed, Buffy. Try to get some sleep."

"Good night, Dawn."

"Good night." Dawn walked out of the bedroom, frustrated, but with no intention of giving up. If she couldn't talk any sense into her sister, well, then she'd just have to come up with something else.

*** *** ***

Spike was used to waking up with a headache the morning after a night of heavy drinking.

What he wasn't used to was having that headache coming from something smacking him repeatedly in the head.

He opened his eyes to see a very angry looking Dawn Summers, her hand poised to hit him again. He jumped up. "Bloody hell, woman! What are you doing?"

"I was trying to knock some sense into you," Dawn said, hands now perched on her hips. "Oh, and I wanted to hurt you for making my sister cry. Did either one work?"

"Well, you hurt me all right, you little…" Spike stopped abruptly. "Buffy was crying?"

"Yep. Sobbing her heart out all night. Said it was all your fault."

"My fault. My fault?" Spike chuckled humorously. "She's the one who ran off. And the one who said she hated me, I might add."

"She didn't mean that. You know Buffy, make her mad enough, and anything's liable to come out of her mouth. But she doesn't hate you. She loves you."

Spike stared at Dawn for a moment. "You're cracked."

"It's true. She told me last night during the sobfest. Oh, and that's what she was coming to talk to you about when she came to your crypt last night."

"She….what?" Spike sat back down.

"She wanted to know if you still felt what William felt. And judging from what I saw last night, she's thinking you don't. So…" Dawn walked over and smacked him hard on the side of the head again.

"Ow! Would you bloody cut that out! Evil lil' chit…"

"Hey, I'm trying to help you. I want my sister to be happy. She's had a hard enough time as it is, and if you can make her happy, then I want you to be with her. That, and you're way cooler than any of those lame losers she's dated before. Anyway, you've gone and messed things up big time, so it's going to take some serious work if you want to convince Buffy that you can love her, and that you can, you know, give up all the evil stuff."

"What! I'm not giving up any evil!"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Please, Spike. You haven't been the Big Bad for a while, and you know it. So give it a rest already."

"I am so! It's just this chip!"

Dawn crossed her arms in front of her and arched an eyebrow. "Oh, really? So if the chip stopped working right this very second, you'd drain me dry."

"You bet I would."

"Liar. Anyway, I know you're totally in love with Buffy, and she's totally in love with you, so we're going to have to make this work."

"You do know you're insane, don't you?"

"Spike, would you focus? I'm sure between the two of us, we can wear her down. It's just going to take some work. You know how Buffy is, and she's got that whole no soul equals bad programming we're going to have to deal with. Any suggestions?"

"You stop skipping your meds?"

"Spike! You are being no help. Come on, do you want Buffy or not?"

Spike sighed, looking down at the stone floor of his crypt. "I'm never going to get Buffy, bit."

"Ugh. You are just as stubborn as she is. So you're gonna what, sit around here moping and drinking, and feeling all sorry for yourself. That really is pathetic. You're less of the Big Bad than I thought."

Spike's head shot up. "Oi. Watch it. I told you I'm still the Big Bad."

"So prove it. You want something, you take it. Stop being a big baby, and get Buffy."

Spike looked almost hopeful. "You really think I can?"

"I know you can. With my help of course."

"So what do we do?"

Dawn plopped down in front of Spike's chair, sitting cross-legged. "We plan."
 

Spike wasn't sure why he'd agreed to do this. Personally, he'd thought his plan of chaining Buffy up until she agreed to listen to him would work just fine, but Dawn insisted that would get him, at best, a punch in the nose, and he'd be damn lucky if that was all.

So instead he was standing on the Summers' front porch with flowers. Dawn had said he had to be romantic. Give Buffy flowers. She liked that apparently. He had to prove he was in love with her by being romantic… Spike took a deep breath, feeling the air hit his dead lungs. He could do this.

Buffy threw the door open then paused in shock. "Spike?"

"Um, hi, Buffy," he said, his tone reminding her scarily of a teenager on his first date. "I, um, brought you these." He thrust the roses forward.

"Thanks," Buffy said warily as she took the bouquet. The last time she'd seen Spike he'd been drunkenly yelling at her. Now he was bringing her flowers? What was he up to?

"Buffy, honey, who's at the door?" Joyce asked, coming in from the kitchen.

"It's Spike," Buffy replied. "With…roses…"

"Oh, how nice," Joyce said with a smile. "Come on in, Spike." She took the flowers from Buffy. "I'll go put these in water."

When Joyce had left again, Buffy faced Spike, her arms crossed. She wanted to run to him, to beg him to hold her the way he had when they were Elizabeth and William, but she wasn't about to open her heart just to get it broken even more. Instead, she kept her stance defensive, kept her guard up. "Why are you here?"

"To bring you the flowers. Oh, and to ask you to go out with me tonight."

"Go out with you? Like on a date?"

Spike shuffled his feet. "Yeah…If…if you want to."

"What about what you said before? In your crypt?"

"I'd been drinking," Spike said. "I wasn't thinking clearly. Didn't mean any of it." He met her eyes. "Just like I know you didn't mean what you said either."

"Spike, I don't…"

"Spike! What a pleasant surprise!"

Buffy and Spike both turned to see Dawn bounding down the stairs. "Uh, hey there, nibblet. Just came by to try to talk your sister here into going on a date with me."

"Really? That's so sweet. And romantic. Buffy, don't you think so?"

Buffy glanced between her sister and the vampire, who were now standing side by side. "I think you've both gone a little insane."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "You should go. You need to get out of the house more anyway." She grabbed Buffy's jacket from the coat rack and thrust it at her before all but pushing her out the door.

"Dawn, what are you…" Before Buffy could finish her sentence, Dawn had guided Spike out, too, and was in the process of shutting the door.

"You kids have fun!" Dawn called right before the door closed and the lock was bolted.

"I…she…I don't have my keys," Buffy said with a frown.

"They'll let you back in later," Spike said, offering Buffy his arm. "Are you coming with me, pet?"

Buffy eyed his arm skeptically for a moment before accepting it. "This better be worth the trouble, Spike," she muttered as he led her off the porch.

Back in the house, Dawn smiled brightly, barely able to contain her excitement as she saw the pair walk off together. Things were going perfectly. Just like she and Spike planned.

"Where's Buffy?" Joyce asked, walking back into the living room.

"She's out with Spike," Dawn said happily. "On a date."

"A date? With Spike?" Joyce asked, surprised. "I guess that would explain the flowers…"

"So he did bring the flowers, huh? Roses?"

"Yes… Dawn, do you have some part in all of this?"

"Just a little. Isn't it wonderful?"

"I'm not sure 'wonderful' is quite the word…"

"It is, Mom. Trust me. Spike is a totally great guy, and Buffy loves him a whole bunch. They'll be such an awesome couple!"

Joyce frowned, thinking about the reasons why she'd wanted Angel out of her daughter's life. Spike should invoke the same feelings in her. It would be her daughter getting involved with another vampire… But she couldn't seem to find the same dislike she had for Angel. Maybe it was because Buffy was older now, and Spike seemed more like someone her own age as opposed to the letch she'd felt Angel to be. But still, the general idea of her daughter dating a vampire didn't sit right with her. "I don't want to see Buffy get hurt again," Joyce said.

"She won't. Spike totally loves her, too. He'd do anything for her, I know it."

"I just…I wanted Buffy to have a normal life, with someone…"

"Um, Mom?" Dawn interrupted. "Your kids are a mystical Key and a vampire Slayer. Normal isn't happening. Come on, let's pop some popcorn and watch corny movies on Lifetime."

Joyce glanced out the window once before following her youngest daughter into the kitchen.

*** *** ***

Buffy looked down at the spread in front of her. "We're having a picnic. In a cemetery. Could you possibly be any creepier?"

Spike clenched his jaw for a moment, trying to keep himself from snapping at her. Dawn had said over and over that he had to be nice to Buffy, no matter how much of a bitch she was being. He hated this whole thing. He felt anxious, out of place, even though he should feel right at home there in Restfield. "Have a seat, Buffy." He gritted his teeth. "Please."

Buffy gave a dramatic sigh. "Fine." Spike started to walk off, and she sat up straighter. "Where are you going?"

"Just here," he said, kneeling by a tombstone and pulling a bottle of champagne and two glasses from behind it. "Drink?"

"God, yes," Buffy replied as Spike sat down and poured her a glass. She downed it almost as soon as he handed it to her, and Spike quirked an eyebrow.

"Thirsty, kitten?"

"Yeah. Another?"

Buffy drank the second glass quickly, too, coughing as the bubbles threatened to go up into her nose. She hoped the alcohol would help to calm her frazzled nerves and twisting stomach. Being this close to Spike was sending her into overdrive. Her mind and body were both a wreck, her emotions sent into turmoil. She wanted to be with him again, wanting things to be like they were in the book.

"You look really beautiful tonight, Buffy," Spike said softly. Dawn had told him to compliment her, but he didn't have to force this one. It was true. Bathed in moonlight the way she was, she looked almost ethereal.

Buffy looked up at his words. He was looking at her so intently, so much like William… "Spike, I… Demon!"

"Demon?"

"Over there!" Buffy said, pointing.

Spike jumped up, turning to see a large, snarly beast coming right for them. "Great, a ludash demon. Just what we needed," he muttered, falling into a battle stance. Buffy stood beside him, the look of the Slayer back in her eyes.

The fight itself was over quickly, the ludash no match against Slayer and vampire. However, Spike knew the aftermath would not be something so easily dealt with…

Buffy tried in vain to shake off the green goo that covered her. "You've fought these things before, Spike?"

"Um, yeah."

"So you couldn't have thought to maybe toss out a warning like, 'hey, Buffy, punch it real hard in the stomach, and it'll explode into green slime?'"

"Sorry… I forgot about that little part." Buffy glared at him, and Spike added, "But you killed it, so that's a good thing, right?"

"When it gets me dripping in demon guts, no." She turned around, walking off.

"Wait!" Spike called, going after her. "Where are you going?"

"Home. I need a really, really long shower."

Spike tried to ignore the images that immediately conjured in his mind. "Buffy, I know tonight was a bust, but…"

Buffy stopped, turning around on her heel. "Look, I don't even know what you were trying tonight, but it's not going to work. We're not in that damn book anymore. We're in the real world, and here, we're not in love. So no more flowers or moonlit picnics, okay? Just…just stay away from me."

Spike looked down at her, tilting his head slightly, and the pain Buffy saw in his eyes made her heart break. "Buffy…luv…you can't really mean that."

"I do, Spike. It's what's for the best. At least…at least until we can get rid of whatever weirdness that book stirred up."

"Buffy, I can't do that. I can't stay away from you. I love you."

A part of Buffy wanted to believe that. She wanted Spike to love her more than she could ever even admit. But she also knew that it couldn't happen. "You can't love without a soul," she spat at him.

Spike took a step back. "I loved you in the book. I didn't have a soul then either, and I loved you."

"The book made you. It was just…part of the script."

"No! Dammit, Buffy… I love you. And not because of some stupid book. I love you because you're you. I can stand here and look at you covered in slimy demon guts and still think you're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. You're all I think about, all I dream about. You're on my mind all the bloody time! You're everything to me, Buffy. Everything."

"Stop it! Just stop it! You're a vampire—a soulless vampire. You can't feel that way for me. You can't. Just let me go." She turned around and started to walk away again, not wanting Spike to see the tears that were forming in her eyes.

He ran after her again, grabbing her shoulder. "Buffy, please…"

"Leave me alone."

"I can't. You have to listen to me. You have to believe."

Buffy grabbed his hand from her shoulder, throwing him off her. When he came towards her again, she struck, punching him hard enough to knock him to the ground. He looked up at her in shock, blood coming from his nose. Buffy's hand went to her mouth as she saw what she'd done. "Spike…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…"

He reached out for her. "Buffy…"

It was too much. She wanted to believe that the love he said he felt for her was more than an after effect of the book, but she couldn't. She knew that would only get her hurt again. "I'm sorry," she said again before running back home.

Spike sat in the grass, wiping the blood from his face.

Apparently the romantic approach wasn't going to work with Buffy after all…

*** *** ***

Buffy pounded on the door to her house until her mother finally opened it. "Honey, what happened?" Joyce asked as she looked at the tear-stained face of her slime-covered daughter.

"I don't want to talk about it," Buffy said. "I just want to take a shower." She pushed past her mother, running up the upstairs to the bathroom and slamming the door.

Dawn came in from the living room. "Date didn't go well?"

"She was crying and covered in slime," Joyce replied.

"Oh. Yeah, those would be bad signs." Dawn sighed. "I guess Spike and I are going to have to come up with something else."

"Dawn, I want you to stop meddling in your sister's life."

"But, Mom! I'm not meddling! I'm helping."

"I really don't think you are, sweetheart." Dawn started to open her mouth to speak again, but Joyce didn't let her. "I know you're trying, and you just want Buffy to be happy, but things are not going to work out between her and Spike. They're too different to ever have anything real."

"She loves him, Mom. I know she does. And it's breaking her heart that she thinks she can't be with him."

"Honey, you're just too young to understand. Being in love isn't that simple."

"I'm not too young!" Dawn snapped. "I'm what, a few thousand years old?"

"Dawn…"

"No! I'm going to bed."

"Dawn, sweetie…"

Dawn ignored her mother, storming up the stairs and slamming her bedroom door behind her.

*** *** ***

Buffy could hear her mother and Dawn fighting downstairs, and though the words were muffled, she knew it was about her. It reminded her too much of when her parents had fought all those years before.

She turned on the water as hot as she could stand it, discarding her ruined clothes before stepping into the shower. She sighed as she felt the slime washed from her body, closing her eyes and letting it all rush down the drain.

She knew Spike had genuinely tried that night, and she couldn't help but feel bad for him. He had done the best he could, she was sure, but, seeing as he was who he was, he hadn't been able to quite get it right. Still, she'd been touched by the gesture, even if she didn't want to admit that to him.

But that wasn't what mattered. Whatever was going on in that bleached head of his now, it was only temporary. Some sort of hangover effect from the book. He'd gotten so used to loving her as William that he thought he still did now that they were back in Sunnydale. He'd be over it soon, and then where would that leave her? Dumped yet again? She couldn't go through that, not now with so many other things weighing down on her.

Knowing that didn't make her stop longing for him. She wanted to go to him, pretend for a little bit longer. She wanted to be wrapped in his arms again, even if it was just for a moment. She wanted to feel what she'd felt as Elizabeth, that all-encompassing love that she knew she'd never have to doubt.

Buffy sunk to the bottom of the shower, her tears falling even long after the water had grown cold.

 

"Welcome to the Magic…" Anya stopped in mid-sentence when she saw who'd just walked in. "Oh. It's you, Spike. Well, you're not really a customer, so you don't get a greeting. All you do is steal our burba weed."

"Yeah, whatever. Gotta ask you a question," Spike replied.

"About our merchandise?"

"After a fashion, yeah?"

Anya nodded, understanding. "About the book."

"You guessed it. You know anything about how it works?"

"Sure do. I read the instruction manual," Anya said with a chipper smile. She liked when she could be helpful with information.

Spike cleared his throat, looking around to make sure none of the other Scoobies were present. "Did it…did it make the Slayer fall in love with me?"

"I don't think so," Anya replied. "Technically, it should've pulled all the characters from Buffy's psyche, even yours, since she was the woman and therefore the sort of 'default' setting."

"So Buffy's psyche made me the love interest?"

"Yep. It could've been a glitch since you both have such strong personalities, but I don't think so."

"And…and the way we were with each other…"

"You mean the hot, nasty sex or the mushy stuff?"

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Anya, did you read that book?"

Anya shrugged. "Of course I did. Someone had to keep track of you guys, and everyone else was all weird and squeamish about it." She leaned in and whispered conspiratorially, "You know how those humans are."

"That I do," Spike said with a smirk. "So the book? Did it…"

"Make Buffy love you? I don't think so. And really, if she was completely resistant to it, it should've taken the story in another direction. Made her end up with Riley or Angelus or something. And is it just me, or is it rather interesting that both of them ended up in bad guy roles? I mean, your psyche had something to do with it, but ultimately, it was Buffy's fantasy, and in it you're the great love and her exes are…well, pretty disgusting."

Spike blinked. He hadn't thought of that. "Yeah, that is, um, interesting. So all that stuff that happened between us, it wasn't just the characters spoutin' off?"

"No. The book doesn't work like that. All it did was take what the two of you already felt, what you already had on your mind, and twisted it to fit the plot of the book. But it didn't create much of anything out of thin air, and it certainly didn't create the feelings. Emotions that powerful can't be made by magic. That's why love spells tend to go wonky. Real love can't be faked."

"That spell Willow put on us a while back certainly did a damn good job of it," Spike replied.

Anya snorted. "Oh please. You two were probably in love then, too. Are we done here? Some real, non-thieving customers just came in."

"Uh, yeah. That's all I wanted to know. Thanks, demon girl."

"You're welcome. And if you ever get any money, please, come back." She gave him a wide, plastic smile.

"Yeah, I will," Spike muttered, heading towards the back exit.

*** *** ***

Buffy decided she really needed to start listening to the weather reports. If it said eighty percent chance of rain that night, then dammit, she should skip the patrol. Or at the very least, wear a raincoat.

But she'd had tension she needed to work off, and she'd foolishly taken that twenty percent risk that she'd get through the night dry.

She hadn't. She wasn't even through the first cemetery when it had started, and now it was pouring so hard that she fully expected an ark to come sailing by at any moment.

She could barely see with the way the water was falling in her eyes. And to make matters worse, apparently all the vampires had paid attention to the weather report and stayed indoors.

It was time to go home. Only home was a lengthy walk away, and she was cold and wet. Spike's crypt on the other hand was quite close.

"No," Buffy told herself. "You can't go there."

But her feet were already walking, ignoring what her mind was saying. It had been two nights since their "date," and she'd deftly avoided him, despite her sister's constant urgings that she do otherwise.

She stopped at his door, knocking before she could stop herself. She swallowed when he opened it, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Slayer?"

"It's…it's raining."

"Do you want to come in and dry off?"

Buffy nodded, and Spike was half tempted to tell her too sodding bad. After the way she'd acted on his failed attempt to bring her on a date… But that wouldn't exactly get him the girl, and he was smart enough to know that. He stepped back. "Come on in, then. I'll get you something dry to put on, yeah?"

Buffy stepped into the crypt. "Okay."

Spike disappeared into the lower level, coming up a few minutes later with a handful of very pink clothes. "Sorry. These are Harmony's. I…all I have are jeans and t-shirts, and they'd be too big for you to be comfortable."

Buffy wrinkled her nose a bit at the idea of wearing Harmony's clothes, but the desire to get out of the soaking wet things she was currently wearing won out. "Thanks," she said, taking them from him. "And um, where is Harmony?"

"Kicked her out," Spike said with a shrug.

"When?"

"That first night we came back from the book. Couldn't sleep next to her after…" Spike stopped. "I have some hot chocolate I could make, warm you up good. How about I do that while you get dressed, yeah?"

"Okay, sounds good," Buffy said. Spike nodded and went into the kitchen area, keeping his back to her as he rummaged around over there.

Buffy was surprised at how considerate Spike was being. He hadn't made a single smart assed comment since she'd shown up, instead doing everything he could to be accommodating, without any questions. She looked down at the hot pink track pants and t-shirt with a glittery unicorn that she was holding now and made a face. Maybe having her wear these things was his way of tormenting her…

She slipped off her wet clothes, noticing that Spike continued to keep his back to her. She surprised herself by feeling disappointed. Didn't he want to see her naked? Or maybe he'd seen enough of her and didn't care to again… She sighed and put on Harmony's clothes, trying to shake off the creepy feeling they gave her. "I'm decent," she said once she was dressed.

Spike turned around, unable to keep from grimacing at the sight of the very shiny unicorn. "A little scary, though."

"Hey, you're the one who gave me the things to wear."

"I'm thinking maybe I should've just given you one of my t-shirts. That shirt's just bloody wrong."

Buffy smirked. "Unicorns have never exactly been my style." She gestured to one of his chairs. "Is it all right if I sit down?"

The Slayer was asking for permission to sit in his house? Spike really hoped he could take that as a sign that maybe she liked him more than she'd wanted to admit and not that she had suffered brain damage from slipping out in the rain or something. "'Course." He took the two mugs of chocolate he'd just prepared and carried them over to the living room area, handing one to her before sitting down in the other chair.

Buffy took a sip of the drink, then glanced around. "Did you get some new furniture?"

"A little. I've been finding what I can, trying to piece together a decent looking home. Got a real bed downstairs now."

Buffy couldn't help but blush at the thought of Spike's bed, and she wanted to kick her inner-Elizabeth for that. "Where were you sleeping before?"

"On the sarcophaguses. But Harmony kept complaining." A sour look went over Buffy's face, and Spike cursed himself for his stupidity. Why had he said that? He wanted to woo the girl back into his life, and talking about his former was not going to do that. It was bad enough he'd had to give Buffy Harm's clothes…

"You know, Spike," Buffy said, taking another drink of the hot chocolate. "You really didn't have to kick her out because of me. I mean, I'm certainly not going to be getting any use out of that bed with you. No point in you being alone."

Spike heard a bitterness in her voice, and hoped her words had been motivated by a jealous need to lash out more than anything else. "I kicked her out because I didn't want to be with her anymore, Buffy. Not like I was making room for you." Buffy glared at him, and Spike quickly backpedaled. "Didn't mean that how it sounded. I want you, Buffy. You know that. Nothing in this world would make me happier than having you in my bed. I just meant…"

"I know what you meant," Buffy snapped. "Wouldn't mind another go at the Slayer, but it's not like you'd want me around for long."

"What? Are you completely daft? I want you for bleedin' forever! All I was trying to say was, whether you still wanted to be with me or not didn't mean anything when I threw out Harmony. Wasn't makin' room for you in the bed because you're already there with me anyway, in my heart. Can't sleep next to another woman. Can't sleep next to someone who…who isn't my wife."

Buffy tightened her grip on the mug she was holding to keep it from hitting the floor. "I'm not your wife."

"No? Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't feel like my wife—and that I don't feel like your husband."

"Elizabeth and William got married, Spike. Not us."

Spike jumped up, and his mug did shatter against the stone floor, making Buffy jump. "Would you stop with that? Bloody stubborn woman! We are William and Elizabeth. Just because the book made us act a little differently didn't mean we weren't the same people. You ever pay attention to what we said to each other then, pet? There wasn't much of it couldn't be applied to our lives back here."

"It was just a script, Spike. Just words that the book made us say."

"No. I talked to Anya today, luv. She read the instruction manual. Seems the book can't create love if there isn't any there to begin with. Something about the emotion being too powerful to be made by magic. Elizabeth loved William because you love me."

"That's crazy! And you certainly didn't love me, so…"

"I bloody well did! I've been in love with you for, well, soddin' never forever it seems these days. I loved you long before we got sucked into that book. Haven't you noticed? Haven't you seen how I've been changing? How I've been trying so hard to help, to be good? It's for you, Buffy. Because I love you."

Buffy set down the mug of hot chocolate, no longer trusting it in her shaking hands. "How…how can you? You don't have a soul."

Spike grit his teeth, forcing himself not to snap at her. As much as it stung, he knew she had her reasons for thinking that way. His grandsire had done quite a number on her… "I don't need a soul to love you, Buffy. What I feel for you, it goes deeper than any soul. It's in every bit of me, ever fiber of my being. I love you with everything that I am, with all of my unbeating heart. I married you on that ship, Buffy. I pledged to love you until there was nothing left of me, and I meant it. You are my soul. You're what makes me feel alive."

Buffy stared up at him, tears in her eyes. No one had ever said anything like that to her before, even Angel. And she was almost sure she could see the love shining from him. It would be so easy to believe, so easy to let herself fall into his arms. But the fear was still there, a dark stain on her heart. "I…I can't, Spike," she said, standing up. "I want to, but I can't."

Spike took a step closer. "You can, Buffy. You can love me. I won't let you down. I'll be the best man I can be, and all for you."

"But what if your best isn't good enough? You're evil, Spike. You don't know right from wrong."

"I bloody well do! Just because I've never cared doesn't mean that I don't know. I know killing's wrong. And it's not just because the chip would zap me either. This chip stops working tomorrow, and I carry on just like I have been. You know why? Because I love you too much to ever hurt you. I'd dust first."

"What if you get tired of me? What if I'm not enough, and…and you leave me. Then what?"

"Won't happen."

"How can you be so sure of that?"

"Because I'm not them, Buffy. I'm not the sort of man who leaves."

"You kicked Harmony out."

Spike gaped for a moment at that. "I… Bloody hell, woman, that was Harmony. What about the hundred plus years I stayed with Drusilla, even when she flaunted her relationship with Angelus right in front of me? That doesn't tell you anything?"

"I don't know, Spike! I don't know! It's all too much, okay? I don't know what I feel. I don't know what you feel."

Spike's facial expression softened. "We love each other, Buffy. We do. Please, kitten…"

"I need…I just need time to think. Sort everything out. Can you give me that?"

Spike closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. She was being so difficult… He opened his eyes. "Yeah. I can give you that."

"Thank you. I think the rain's slowed down a bit, so I'm going to head on home. I'll bring you these clothes back later, okay?"

Spike rolled his eyes. "Burn the bloody things."

Buffy gave him a small smile. "I just might." She picked up her own clothes, wrinkling her nose as the dripped on the floor. "You have anything I can put these in?"

"Yeah. Just a second." Spike went over to the kitchen, coming back with a black garbage bag. "Here."

"Thanks." She dropped her clothes in except for her tennis shoes, which she put on, frowning as the squished when she walked. "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Don't take too long to think, please Buffy?" he asked, his tone softer than she was used to. He gave her a heartbreaking smile. "I'm not exactly known for my patience."

"I know. I'll…I'll try." Buffy gave him a small smile before leaving the crypt, walking out into the now-light rain.

*** *** ***
 

Buffy took off Harmony's clothes as soon as she got into her bedroom, wadding them up and throwing them in the corner. She stared down at the damp pile, wondering if Spike had ever taken them off of the blonde vampiress. The thought made her stomach turn.

She heard a soft knock on the door and looked up sharply. "Buffy?" her mother called from the other side.

"Yeah, Mom?"

"There's pizza downstairs if you're hungry, sweetheart."

"I'm fine. I think I'm just going to turn in for the night."

"Are you sure? I know you're usually really hungry after patrol…"

"It wasn't a very busy night, with the rain and all."

"Oh." A pause before Joyce spoke again. "Can I come in?"

"Just a minute. Let me get dressed." Buffy grabbed a pair of flannel pajamas from her drawer, in the mood for something warm and comforting. She put them on quickly, then called to her mother. "Come on in."

Joyce opened the door slowly, coming in the room almost tentatively. "I feel like I never come in here anymore."

"I'm barely in here anymore," Buffy replied.

"You haven't changed it much since we moved in," Joyce said, looking around.

"I like having something in my life that stays the same."

Joyce smiled softly at her daughter, tucking a wet strand of hair behind Buffy's ear. "Are you sure you're not hungry? If you don't want pizza, maybe we could get something else? It's late, but there's some drive-thrus…"

"I'm fine. And what's with the Mom overload?"

"I just…I love you, Buffy. You know that, don't you?"

"Of course I do. And I love you, too." Buffy frowned. "Is everything okay? Did…did something happen? Are you still sick?"

"I'm fine, honey. I had a check up today, and everything's going as well as the doctors hoped. They got it all, and the doctors say my recovery is going very, very well. It's just… I keep thinking about how close I was to being gone from the lives of my girls. There's so much we wouldn't have been able to do, and I…" Joyce stopped, wrapping her arms around Buffy in a fierce hug.

Buffy felt tears pricking her eyes as she returned her mother's embrace. "I know. I don't know what I would've done if…"

"Shh. I'm here now, and I'm not going anywhere. Not for a long time."

Buffy looked up, though she kept her arms tightly around Joyce. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you, too, baby." Joyce kissed Buffy's forehead. "You're all cold and wet. Would you like some hot chocolate?"

Buffy blinked, thinking back to when Spike had offered her the same thing a short time before. He'd been taking care of her… "I just had some. Thanks, though."

"You did?" Joyce asked with a frown. "Where?"

Buffy pulled away. "Spike's."

"Was he helping you patrol?"

"No. I went alone tonight. It just started raining, so I went over there because it was closer than home. And he gave me some dry clothes and hot chocolate."

"Oh. Well, it's good to know he does actually drink it."

"Huh?"

"Oh, I give it to him to take back to his crypt with him. He likes it."

"You give Spike hot chocolate?"

"Yes."

"When do you do this?"

"He comes over here," Joyce replied. "We talk. You didn't know that?"

"Uh, no. What do you and Spike talk about?"

Joyce shrugged. "Different things. He's a very nice young man."

Buffy suppressed the urge to giggle insanely at Spike being described as a "very nice young man." "I just never thought about Spike coming over here. It seems so odd…"

"Not really. He told me I remind him of his mother. I think they were very close. Besides, everyone needs a little mothering now and then."

Buffy lowered her head slightly, glancing upwardly at her mother. "So you, um…like Spike?"

"As someone to share a cup of hot chocolate with now and then, yes. As a boyfriend for you, I'm not so sure."

Buffy looked down at the floor. "Me either."

"Is this because you were in a romance novel with him?"

Buffy looked up sharply. "You knew it was a romance novel? Did they actually tell you that? I mean, you're my mom, and…ew."

"Well, they didn't exactly tell me, but when I asked Rupert what book it was, he started stammering a lot and polishing his glasses. That was a bit of a tip off."

"I guess the book was part of it," Buffy said, looking back down. "But Spike said tonight that there's this instruction book, and it says that it creates things based on feelings you already have, so I had to really be in love with him, not just thinking I was because of the book."

"And are you?"

Buffy's answer was barely audible. "Yes."

Joyce felt herself torn in two different directions. Buffy was obviously hurting, and the last thing she wanted was for her little girl to hurt. But on the other hand, she wanted something other for Buffy than a vampire. Although Riley had been human, and he certainly hadn't done Buffy any good… Joyce had been firmly against the idea of Buffy being with a vampire when it came to Angel, but looking back on it now, she saw how much of that was just not liking Angel. And she hadn't. Not even when she had thought he was simply Buffy's history tutor. He had looked at her daughter in a way that the mother in Joyce had rebelled at.

Spike looked at Buffy like she was something wonderful, a treasure. And the tone in his voice whenever he talked about her… He was bright and handsome, both things she'd wish for Buffy to find in a boyfriend. And he was always well-mannered, at least around Joyce, which was very high on her list. The way she saw it, a young man should always be respectful to his girlfriend's mother, and bonus points if it didn't seem forced.

Honestly, other than the whole undead issue, Spike was exactly the kind of man Joyce would want for Buffy. She supposed if it meant Buffy was happy, she could overlook that one thing…

"I think you should follow you your heart, Buffy."

Buffy blinked, gaping at her mother for a moment. "Huh?"

"If your heart is telling you to be with Spike, you should. Yes, in an ideal world, I'd prefer my daughter not to be with a vampire, but…" Joyce let out a deep breath. "Life's too short to not be with the person you love."

Buffy felt a lump rise in her throat, her mother's words hitting her hard. She was the Slayer. She'd known from the beginning that that came with an expiration date. Even if you lived to be a hundred, life was short. When there was a very good chance you wouldn't see thirty…

"I need…I haven't decided yet," Buffy said.

Joyce squeezed Buffy's hand. "Whatever you decided, sweetheart, I'll support you."

"Thanks, Mom."

"If you change your mind about being hungry…"

"I'll come downstairs."

Joyce smiled. "Okay. Good night, Buffy."

"Night, Mom."

*** *** ***

Buffy couldn't sleep. Her eyes didn't seem to want to stay closed, and all she could do was stare up at the ceiling.

And think about Spike…

She could feel the walls crumbling around her heart. What Spike had said to her tonight, coupled with her mother's acceptance of any relationship that could exist between her and the vampire, had done so much to warm her towards the idea. Was it actually possible that it could work? Could she be in love and not have it end tragically? Buffy had never known love and happiness to go hand in hand. Every man she'd opened even part of her heart to had hurt her.

Maybe it was because she hadn't given it to the right one…

Was it naïve to believe that? Was it better to be jaded, to know the pain love caused and shield yourself from it?

But she was shielding herself now, and it still hurt.

She rolled over, grabbing the phone and dialing a number from memory. After several rings, a tired male voice answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Xander."

"Buffy? It's three in the morning. This better be an apocalypse…"

"No, sorry. World's not ending. Is Anya there?"

"Um, yeah. Why?"

"I want to talk to her."

The confusion was obvious in Xander's voice. "Okay…"

A few moments later, Anya was on the phone. "Buffy? Why in the name of all the hells are you calling me at this hour? Xander said you said the world isn't ending, so I don't see why this couldn't wait for normal business hours."

Buffy decided it was best to cut to the chase. "Spike said you told him the book can't make people fall in love."

"It can't. Is that why you're calling?"

"Yes."

Buffy could hear Anya's heavy sigh on the other end of the line. "Look, it's late, so I'm going to cut this short. The book didn't make you fall in love. You are in love. It's obvious to anyone with eyes. Go have him give you orgasms, and let me get some sleep."

Buffy heard Xander's loud exclamation of, "What! Don't tell Buffy to get…those from Spike!" followed by an "ow!" "What was that?" Buffy asked.

"Xander said something stupid, so I smacked him. Being tired makes me cranky. But according to the instructions, you love Spike. Really, I don't care what you do with your life, but personally, I think you'd be much less bitchy if you had some good sex, which I'm positive Spike could provide. I mean, have you seen the size of that bulge in his jeans. If I didn't have Xander…"

"Anya!" Buffy and Xander exclaimed in unison.

"Ow. Both of my ears hurt now. Anyway, is that all you wanted?"

"Yes. You can go back to sleep now." The only response Buffy got from Anya was the click of the telephone, followed by a dial tone.

The voice that had been telling Buffy that being with Spike was wrong kept getting quieter and quieter. He was a vampire, and that had been a problem with Angel. He didn't have a soul, and she couldn't pretend that didn't bother her.

But he loved her. And she loved him.

Life's too short to not be with the person you love…

Buffy jumped out of bed, changing her clothes quickly. She crept down the stairs and out the front door. As soon as she had it locked behind her, she took off in a run, ignoring the driving rain that was hitting her. One thought ran through her mind over and over again, kept her going.

She had to get to Spike.

Suddenly, she felt herself stopped by something in front of her, and she looked up into feral yellow eyes.

"Well, lookie what we have here, boys? Seems like someone thought it would be fun to take a jog through the cemetery at night."

Buffy sighed as the three vampires circled her. Where had these guys been when she was looking for a fight? She didn't have time for them now, not when they weren't the vampire she wanted. She put her hands on her hips. "Look, I'm not in the mood. Can we do this some other time?"

The vampire in front of her smiled, his fangs glistening in the moonlight. "Sorry, sweets. I'm hungry now."

"Fine. If that's the way you want it. We'll just have to be quick about it."

"Uh, Ralph, she ain't scared. This is the part where they're usually scared."

"That's because I'm not the one who's about to die," Buffy replied, pulling a stake from her waistband. She pushed back, driving it into the heart of the vampire who had just spoken without as much as a glance in his direction.

"Ralph!" the third vampire exclaimed. "She just dusted Leroy!"

Buffy quirked an eyebrow. There was something slightly disappointing about a vamp named Leroy. Not that Ralph was any better… But there wasn't exactly time to dwell on it now. Or even bother with the punning. She was a Slayer on a mission after all. She turned and staked the vamp who had just lamented the death of Leroy.

Ralph's eyes widened. "You're the Slayer."

"Hey, he catches on! Are you gonna run now?"

Ralph grinned. "Nope. I'm gonna kill myself a Slayer."

"Hate to break it to you, Ralph, but that's not how this is going to work."

Buffy raised her stake, only to have Ralph swipe at her with his meaty hand, knocking her down into a puddle of mud. She looked down in disgust. "Ew! And I was going to meet someone, too. You better hope he'll still want me if I'm all muddy…"

"You better hope he'll still want you when you're all dead."

"See, Ralph, we've had this conversation," Buffy said, getting back to her feet. "I'm not the one who isn't walking away from this." Ralph struck out at her again, but Buffy ducked beneath the blow, coming up to hit her mark with her stake. She dropped the piece of wood to the ground and ran through Ralph's dust.

Spike's crypt was in sight. Just a little further…

She stopped when she got to the door, taking a deep, calming breath before pushing it open and walking inside.

*** *** ***

Spike heard the door of his crypt slide open. He frowned, grabbing a sword that was leaning against the wall before going to the upper level. Usually when something came looking for his blood, they were a little louder than this, but maybe it was a stealthy demon…

He stopped when he saw who was standing there, the sword sliding to the ground with a loud clang. Buffy was staring at him. He could hear her rapid heartbeat, could see the fear in her wide, green eyes. The silence was heavy between them, and he felt like he had to say something—anything—before she bolted.

"You're all muddy."

Spike winced as soon as the words left his mouth. That wasn't exactly the way to make the girl want to stay…

"I got in a fight with a vamp. He pushed me down. His name was Ralph."

"Ralph?"

"Yeah. And there was one named Leroy, too. There was a third one, but I didn't find out his name. Just staked him."

"Oh."

Silence fell again, Buffy's nervous rambling doing nothing to ease the tension between them. She glanced between Spike and the still open door, and Spike knew what was on her mind. He could sense her inner conflict, could see the tense way she held herself. "Don't go. Please, Buffy…don't go."

"I wanted to see you, but…I'm all gross now."

"I don't care about that. Jus' making an observation, was all. You wear mud very well, kitten. Make it look beautiful."

"I don't…"

"I have a shower downstairs," Spike said quickly. "Well, not really a shower so much as something I rigged with a pipe, but it works. Could clean that mud right off. It's cold water, but…"

Buffy glanced back at the door again, the rain coming down as hard as it had all night. She had come here because she'd wanted to be with him, had been drawn to him. If she tried to run now, she knew she'd only be pulled right back. Spike had her heart, whether she'd wanted to give it to him or not. She walked towards the door, only to shut it before turning to face Spike again. "Okay."

A relieved grin broke out across Spike's face. "It's downstairs. Come on."

Buffy followed him into the lower level of the crypt. It was dark, and she reached out, grabbing hold of Spike's arm.

He stopped at the feel of her fingers against his skin. "Can't see, pet?"

"No."

"I'll get some light. Wait here for me?"

Buffy nodded, too nervous to speak, knowing that his vampiric senses would allow him to see the gesture. As she felt Spike leave, her nervousness rose towards panic levels. She was standing in the dark in a vampire's crypt. It went against every bit of her Slayer training. But then Spike was back, carrying with him a large candle that was just enough to let her see what was right in front of her.

"It's over here, kitten," he said, taking her hand and leading her to the "shower." He set the candle up on a ledge, then turned on the water. "Should be enough to rinse the mud off."

Buffy self-consciously wrapped her arms around herself. "Can I have something for when I finish? No more of Harmony's clothes. Just…maybe a towel?"

Spike smiled. "I can do that. Be back in a few minutes, yeah?"

"Okay…"

When Spike was gone again, Buffy stripped off her wet, mud-covered clothes and stood under the running water, goosebumps rising to her skin as the cold water hit her. She tried to work quickly, wanting to rid herself of the mud as quickly as possible.

Spike got a towel from nearby, but stayed in the dark, watching Buffy as she rinsed herself off. He knew she'd most likely prefer him to be a little less voyeuristic, but even the few days that they'd been apart had been too long, and he missed the sight of her body.

Besides, how could he possibly miss the chance to get an eyeful of wet, naked Buffy? Add cold to that, and he was damn near in heaven.

Buffy tried to turn off the water, only to bring the cold water down on her harder. She yelped, jumping back. "Spike!"

He stepped out of the shadows then, turning off the water. "Here, luv," he said softly, handing her the towel.

"Thanks," Buffy replied, her teeth chattering. She wrapped herself up in the large, fluffy towel, desperate to get warm again.

Unable to keep himself away from her, Spike walked up behind her, rubbing her arms through the towel. Even with his lack of body heat, his nearness alone was enough to warm Buffy up. "Come on, pet," he said softly. "Let's go somewhere to talk."

He started to lead her back through the dark, but Buffy stayed put. "I still can't see."

Without a word, Spike lifted her off her feet, Buffy's arms immediately going around his neck. He smiled to himself at her acceptance of his help. He carried her to his bed, gently sitting her down on the edge. "Just a moment and I'll get some light in here for you."

Slowly, the room became more illuminated as Spike lit the candles he had around his bed. Buffy glanced around, taking in the seemingly mismatched décor of the room. The area around the bed was quite clearly a crypt, but the bed itself was lush, large and inviting. She felt safe there, as if it were a haven in this place of death.

She looked up at Spike, realizing how much the room fit the man. Even in death, there was warmth. Comfort. She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. "I came here to talk to you."

Spike gave her a half smile. "Figure you didn't come just to use my shower."

Buffy looked down at her hands. She could do this. She was the Slayer. She could be brave. "I think maybe I'm in love with you."

"Maybe?"

Buffy glanced up slightly. His eyebrow was arched, his expression outwardly stern, but with a hint of amusement under it. "Probably?" Buffy said, her voice rising.

"Try again, pet."

"Definitely?"

The smile that had been threatening for the past couple of moments finally broke on Spike's face. "That's more like it."

"And…and you still love me, don't you?"

Her vulnerability now reminded Spike of Elizabeth, and he realized then how much she'd been the girl beneath the Slayer, desperate for and scared of love at the same time. He moved slowly, careful not to spook her, and knelt in front of her, taking her shaking hands in his. "I love you, Buffy. Don't need a soul to tell me you're a dream come true. You let me in now, I won't let you down. I'll be a man for you. Can't be a man like William, with a beating heart, but I can do the best I can."

His words surprised her. Buffy had feared that he wouldn't want her now that he was back to being a vampire, but she'd never thought that he'd be afraid that she wouldn't want the vampire. Not because of that anyway. She pulled one of her hands away from his, caressing his face. "I don't need your heart to beat as long as it's mine."

"Oh, it is, kitten. It's all yours. Forever."

"Mine's yours, too. It's a little worse for wear, but…"

Spike pressed a soft kiss against her lips. "I'll treasure it, sweetheart. Won't let it break again."

He pulled back slightly, and Buffy met his eyes, holding her gaze steady with his as she unwrapped the towel from around her, letting it fall to the floor. She could see Spike's eyes darken, even in the soft candlelight, and it made a shiver run up her spine. She crawled backwards up the bed, resting up on the pillows, waiting for her lover to pounce.

She didn't have to wait long. Spike was on top of her at a speed beyond anything a human could've been capable of, his mouth and hands seemingly all over her as he caressed her into a fevered arousal. Buffy clung to him, wondering how she'd ever thought she could deny herself this. Spike made her feel something that no other man ever had, stirred a fire deep within her soul. Right or wrong didn't matter anymore. She was passed that point. She needed him now. She needed him always.

Spike reveled in the new level of intensity his vampiric senses brought to this act. In the book, Buffy had smelled and felt wonderful. But now… He was surrounded by her, drowning in her. The scent of her arousal beckoning to him, Spike slid down her body, resting his head between her thighs. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing her in. The desire was rolling off of her, and it was because of him.

He lowered his mouth, smiling at the way Buffy's hips shot off the bed at the first lick. He wasted no time finding her clit, his tongue moving over it rapidly as he plunged two fingers inside her, pressing them against the spot he knew would make her scream. He could tease later. Now was about imprinting himself on her skin, burning himself into her very soul until she could never try to reject him again.

Spike grew harder at every scream that he ripped from her throat, every whimper that fell from her lips. But he kept himself in check, wanting this to be about her. He'd get his pleasure soon enough, but not until he'd driven her wild. She reached down and took hold of his hair, wrapping the curls around fingers hard enough to hurt, but he didn't pull away, didn't stop. He only sped up his movements, pushing her closer to the edge.

Buffy came with a near-primal scream, her fingers pulling so hard that Spike was surprised his hair wasn't coming out in clumps. He felt her fall slack against him, but he still didn't stop. Buffy gasped, her hips bucking. "Spike…I can't…" she said, her voice hoarse.

He ignored her, moving his tongue over her as fast as he could. Buffy clawed desperately at the comforter, her eyes rolling back in her head. He hadn't stopped since he'd started, and her last coherent thought before she fell apart again was that there were definite perks to being with a man that didn't need to breathe…

Spike licked her slowly, bringing her back down before looking up at her, a smug smile on his face. "Pleased with yourself?" Buffy asked, panting.

"Should I be?" Spike asked, though his cocky tone belied what he thought the answer should be.

Buffy didn't disagree. She'd thought he'd been amazing in the book, but that… "Yeah, as a matter of fact, you should," she said, in too good of a mood to bother arguing the point.

Spike gave her a quick kiss between her legs before standing up, shedding his clothes as fast as he could before settling his body over hers. "Gonna let me in, kitten?"

Buffy replied by locking her legs behind him, pulling him down so their hips were flush against each other. "Yes. Spike…yes." She reached between them, and Spike hissed with pleasure when he felt her hand wrap around his cock. Buffy kept her eyes on his as she guided him inside, both vampire and Slayer crying out in unison once he was fully sheathed in her warmth. She moved her hands up and down his back, caressing the rippling muscles as he thrust in and out.

"This…this feels right," Buffy whispered, tears shimmering in her eyes.

"It is right, Buffy. This'll always be right. Never…never do anything to make it wrong. Can't lose you," Spike said, his voice rough with emotion. Buffy responded by pulling his mouth down to hers, needing to kiss him, needing to be even closer.

As his thrusts got harder, their combined movements more frantic, Spike pulled up, looking back down at her. Buffy saw his eyes flash yellow, and knew he was fighting to keep his demon reigned in. She thought about what he'd said before they'd started this, his concern over no longer having a heartbeat for her, and decided she had to do something for him, to show him it was all right. Having him now, inside her, she knew he was the same man she'd been with every time in the book. This was her Spike and her William.

He was her husband.

She needed that bond with him, needed it to be here what it was in the book. And despite her plans under Willow's spell the year before, a legal wedding ceremony with a vampire wasn't exactly in the realm of possibilities. Besides, she needed more than that. She needed to be his, for him to be hers. She needed assurance, both for him and herself.

She needed to know he'd never leave, never break her. She needed him to know she could accept that outside the book, he was a vampire.

She pushed up slightly on his chest, halting his movements. "Spike…"

He looked down at her, brow furrowed. "Buffy? Do…do you want me to stop? Have you changed…"

Buffy pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. "No. None of that. I…I want you to claim me."

Spike's eyes widened. "You want me to what?"

"I want you to claim me."

"Buffy…pet…do you know what a claim is?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Duh, Spike. I wouldn't ask you if I didn't know what it was. I do pay some attention to my Slayer training. A claim's a blood bond between mates. It would bind us together. Right?"

"That's the simplified version."

"And…and it would be like a marriage?"

Spike pulled out of her and rolled over to the side, despite the extreme protest his body gave at that. He couldn't respond to her request rationally when he was buried inside her heat. "That what this is about? You want what we had in the book and think this is the only way to get it?"

"Not really." Buffy rolled over, looking him in the eye. "Well, maybe a little. But I…I want to be your mate, too."

"You do realize this is a forever thing. Once a claim's in place, that's it. Tied to each other for all eternity."

"I know. I want forever, Spike."

And he did, too. More than he could ever tell her. But the idea that Buffy would really want that from him was something in the realm of unbelievable. Ever since she'd shown up that night, he'd been expecting her to run off, and now she was asking for this? It was too good to be true. All Spike could figure was that she was caught up in the moment and didn't know what she was talking about. "No vampire's ever claimed a Slayer, pet. And vampire-human claims are rare. Usually, the vampire turns the human."

"We could be the first."

"Buffy, I…"

"Please, Spike. I need this."

"It's forever, Buffy…" he stressed again.

"That's what I want! I told you that. I already pledged myself to you on that ship, Spike. In my heart, I'm your wife. But I'm still scared. I can't help it. I need…I need assurance."

"And that's why you want a claim? Proof that I won't go away?"

"More than that. I need you. I need you to be a part of me."

"You already are a part of me, Buffy," he said softly, pushing her hair back from her face. "Nothing can change that."

"So let's make it official. I know what I'm asking for, Spike."

Spike gave her a sad smile. "Can't, luv. Chip won't let me. Claims require a bite."

"I know. But…but I think the chip would let you. It…it wouldn't be an act of violence. It would be an act of love."

The temptation was strong. Too strong. He couldn't turn her down. Even if she was wrong, and the chip turned his brain to a sticky paste, he couldn't stop himself from taking what she'd offered. The demon in him wanted it as much as the man, if not more. This would make her his. Nothing could take her away from him ever again, not even Buffy herself. It would be forever.

Just like William had promised her…

Spike moved back over her, positioning himself at her entrance. Buffy guided him in again, the determination on her face never wavering. Spike tried to move slowly, to savor the moment, but her talk of a claim had brought the demon too close to the surface. His bones shifted, his eyes now a feral yellow. He drove into her body with a near-bruising force, shaking Buffy to her very core. She clung to him as she tilted her neck, giving him access.

"Take it. It's yours," she said, tightening her grip on him.

Spike snarled, the demon in almost full force now. The woman he'd chosen as his mate was offering her neck to him for the first time. And he was taking.

He lowered his head, sinking his fangs into her with a gentleness that surprised Buffy. The demon didn't want to rip and tear her. It wanted to love her, the same as the man did. The slice of his fangs against her skin brought her nothing but pleasure, and she cried out in orgasm as he drank from her neck.

"Mine," Spike growled, licking the wounds. As he spoke the words, the scars left by other vampires in the past faded away, leaving only Spike's marks.

He pulled away as he felt the fluttering of her internal muscles slowing, his human face slipping back into place as he met her eyes again. "You need to complete the claim, pet," he said. "Can you do that? Can you bite me?"

Buffy lunged forward immediately, biting hard enough for her human teeth to draw blood. Spike's hips jerked and spasmed as he let go inside of her, filling her. "Mine," Buffy said, licking the marks she'd made. She pulled away from his neck and watched with satisfaction as Drusilla's marks faded as well. He was hers now.

Spike rolled over, pulling her with him. He held her close, still nestled in her depths. They were silent for a long while before Spike asked her what was running over and over again in his mind.

"Any regrets?"

"No. I feel…calm. Like I did back on the island. Things are back the way they should be."

Spike felt relief wash over him at her words. "They are, kitten."

"Although you know we're going to have to find a new place to live. I mean, as nice as this place is, it's still a crypt. And I don't want us to live with my mom. Not with all the loud, rowdy sex I plan on us having."

Spike blinked. "You want us to move in together?"

"Well, yeah." Buffy frowned. "Don't you?"

"Of course! I just…I didn't think you would."

"We're mated, Spike. I need you here. Besides, it's not a good sign for a marriage if you're living in different places."

"No, guess it isn't. I…I can't believe this is real. Keep expecting to wake up, you know. Yesterday you were pushing me away and now we're mated? What changed, luv?"

"Had to let myself let you in. I knew tonight I couldn't fight it. And I didn't want to try anymore. It was making me miserable."

"And you're happy now?"

"Yeah. I am." Buffy nuzzled up to his neck, giving the bite marks she'd left a long, slow lick.

Spike shivered, a deep growl rumbling through his chest. "Hope you weren't planning on sleeping tonight."

Buffy looked at him, her expression making him growl again. "Come on, vampire. Show this Slayer what you've got."

*** *** ***

Buffy woke up feeling content for the first time since she'd been pulled from the book. She looked beside her, smiling at the sight of Spike there. Her lover…her husband…her mate.

She felt different now that the claim had taken place, as if Spike was really a part of her. She could feel his presence, a warm tingle on the edges of her mind. And his love… She could feel that so strongly it almost overwhelmed her. It seemed strange to her that a soulless creature could feel so much, but she'd never doubt it again. Spike's love was strong, and more real that anything she'd ever known in the past.

His eyes opened slowly and he smiled as soon as he saw her. "Good morning, luv," he said, his voice husky, making her tremble.

"It's definitely one of those," Buffy said, snuggling closer to him.

Spike chuckled. "Glad to hear it." Then he gave her a small pout. "No kiss then?"

Buffy responded by grabbing him and pulling him against her lips, kissing him hard. Spike groaned, wrapping his arms tightly around him. When she finally pulled back for air, Buffy grinned. "How was that?"

"Nice start, but I think we could do a little better," Spike replied, rolling her over so she was pinned beneath him.

"So is this how I'm going to wake up every morning?" Buffy asked.

"Will be if I have anything to say about it."

"You have lots to say about it," Buffy promised, reaching up to run her hand along his sharp cheekbone.

"Good," Spike replied, leaning in to nuzzle against the marks he'd made on her neck the night before. Buffy shivered at the contact, her whole body responding to the nearness of her mate. "I hope you know," Spike began, moving his lips up to her ear and whispering hotly, "that I have no intention of letting you out of this bed all day."

Buffy couldn't help the moan that escaped her in response. "Sounds…god, that sounds good."

Spike nipped at her earlobe. "Mmm hmm. I thought so, too."

She pushed gently on his chest until she could see his face again. "But after sundown, we need to go out, okay?"

Spike frowned. "Where? Patrol?"

"No. Though that probably wouldn't be a bad idea… We just…we need to let the others know what's going on."

"You want to tell your friends we're mated?" Spike asked in surprise.

"Well, yeah. I mean, they're gonna notice when we can't keep our hands off each other. And Giles will probably know that these aren't just any bite marks I'm sporting. But also, I need to tell my mom. I can't wait days to tell her her oldest daughter is married."

Despite the fact that getting out of the bed with Buffy sounded like one of the most unappealing things ever in Spike's book, he was thrilled by the idea that she wanted to go public with their relationship. Even with the claim and her talk of wanting to move in with him, he was afraid that she wouldn't want to admit what they had—at least not how serious it was. "So we what, go tell your mum, then call a Scooby meeting?"

"Yeah. Is…is that okay with you? I mean, if you don't want it getting out that you're mated to me, then…"

"What? Why would I not want people to know that?"

"Well, you're already unpopular enough with the demon crowd. This would make it worse."

"Sod them. Any demon tries to harass us, I'll just kill it. Besides, whether we announce it or not, sweetheart, they're gonna know. That's part of a claim. Every demon out there is going to know you're my mate." He snaked his arm behind her back, pulling her against him. "And I'm damn proud of that."

Spike's mouth descended back to her neck, nibbling and licking the marks, and Buffy let herself be swept away in his arms.

*** *** ***

"Oh god, Spike, I'm nervous. Maybe this isn't such a good idea. Maybe we should just go." Buffy turned around, starting to walk off her front porch.

Spike grabbed her arm, pulling her back. "Uh uh, Slayer. We already decided we're telling your mum. And I got out of a nice, comfy bed—complete with naked mate, I might add—for this, so we're going through with it."

"But what if she's not okay with it? I mean, last night, she told me I should be with the person I love, but…"

"Your mum said that?"

"Yeah."

"And she knew that was me?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yes, doofus. Apparently she likes you or something. Anyway, what if she didn't mean it? Or what if knowing I've been claimed by a vampire freaks her out? Or…or what if she's mad we didn't invite her to the wedding?"

"Buffy, kitten, we got married in a mystical book. We couldn't have invited her if we tried. And as for our 'wedding' last night, I don't think that's exactly something you would've wanted your mother there for…"

"Okay, good points there. But…but there's still the claim. She could wig."

"She could. Or she could be incredibly happy for us. How about we go in and find out, yeah?"

Buffy took a deep breath. "Okay. But keep in mind we might have to make a break for it."

Spike chuckled. "I will. But I think it'll be all right." He kissed her forehead. "Joyce just wants you to be happy, pet."

Buffy swallowed, taking her keys out of her pocket. She opened the door, stepping into the foyer. "Mom? Dawn?"

Joyce came in a few moments later. "Buffy? Where have you been all day, I…" She stopped when she saw Spike step inside behind her daughter. "Oh," she said, a knowing look on her face. "I see."

"Mom, Spike and I have something to tell you. And Dawn. Is she here?"

"She's upstairs," Joyce replied. "Why don't the two of you take a seat in the living room, and I'll get her."

Buffy and Spike went into the living room, sitting on the couch. Buffy couldn't believe how nervous she was at the thought of a conversation with her mother. All she could think about was what if Joyce freaked out at the idea of Spike placing a claim on her. Would her mother be able to handle that she'd willingly allowed a vampire to bite her? Would that make her change her mind about accepting Buffy's relationship with Spike?

Spike took her hand, caressing it with his thumb. She felt a wave of calmness wash over her, and she realized it was coming from him. She reached up with her free hand and fingered the marks on her neck. "Is that coming through the claim?"

"Yeah." Spike brought her hand to his mouth, pressing a kiss against her skin. "It's going to be all right, luv. I'm right here."

"I love you, Spike."

"I love you, too."

Joyce came into the living room, Dawn bouncing behind her. "Are you two together?" Dawn asked, running in to sit on the couch next to her sister. "Is that your news? Is it?"

Buffy couldn't help but smile at her little sister's enthusiasm. "Yes, as a matter of fact it is."

Dawn squealed, jumping up to give both Buffy and Spike a hug. "This is great! I knew you two would get together! You're just too perfect a couple not to be! This is the best thing ever!"

"There's a little more," Buffy said. "Mom, you might want to sit down."

Joyce's eyes widened a little. "You're not pregnant, are you? Wait, vampires can't have babies—can they?"

"No, and, um, no," Buffy said.

Joyce sat down in the chair by the couch. "What is it? Dawn, sweetie, calm down." Dawn pouted, flopping back on the couch with her arms crossed.

"Spike and I are, well, we're, um…we're…"

"We're mated, Joyce," Spike supplied, seeing Buffy's difficulty with the word.

"Mated?" Joyce frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"Sounds like something you'd hear about on the Discovery Channel," Dawn said, her comment making Buffy blush.

"It's a vampire ritual," Spike said. He tried to think of the best way to explain it to Joyce, and decided to go with the simplest. "It's like a marriage."

"A marriage? You're married to my daughter?"

"In a manner of speaking."

"We were married in the book," Buffy said. "I…I wanted that back. And a claim is what a vampire has in place of a marriage."

Joyce's gaze fell to the marks on Buffy's neck for the first time since Buffy and Spike had come in. "Buffy, are…are you a vampire?"

"No, Mom. I'm not." She gave her mother a small smile. "You didn't have to invite me in, remember?"

Joyce placed a hand against her own neck. "But…"

"The bite was part of the claim," Spike said, his gaze pointed down, unable to look Joyce in the eye.

"Spike, I don't believe I like the idea of you biting my daughter."

"Bet Buffy liked it," Dawn muttered.

"Dawn!" Joyce exclaimed.

"What?" Dawn replied. "Haven't you ever seen a vampire movie? The women are always all swoony when they get bitten by the sexy vampire guy."

Buffy's face reddened further as she and Spike stared at the floor together.

"I don't know about any of this," Joyce said. "I want you to be happy, and if you love Spike, then I can accept you being with him, but bites? Claims? And marriage! I would've liked you to have finished college first."

Buffy looked up. "I am going to finish college. Spike won't stop me from doing that."

"And where are you going to live? This is awfully sudden, Buffy. You haven't planned any of this."

"I know, but…we were going to look for an apartment together," Buffy replied.

"Where? And how will you pay for it?"

"I have money," Spike said. All three pairs of Summers eyes turned to look at him.

"You do?" Buffy asked.

Spike shrugged. "Well, yeah. You can amass a nice little fortune in a century if you play your cards right. And I do mean that in a very literal sense."

"You gamble?" Buffy said with a frown.

"I'm not sure that's a trait I like in a son-in-law," Joyce said, her expression eerily similar to her daughter's.

"I can quit," Spike said. "I have a nice little nest egg saved anyway."

Buffy crossed her arms in front of her. "If you have money, why were you always conning it out of us?"

Spike shrugged. "It was fun."

"Jerk!" Buffy exclaimed, smacking him hard on the arm.

"Oi! That was before. Not like I'm going to do it anymore."

"I think we're forgetting the important issue here," Dawn said loudly. "Spike and Buffy are married. Hey, does that make you my brother-in-law?"

Spike shrugged. "I suppose."

"That's totally cool! I've always wanted a big brother." Dawn shot Buffy a look. "I know it has to be better than having a big sister."

"You are such a brat," Buffy replied.

Joyce sighed heavily, bringing the attention back to her. "Spike, I like you. You're…the nicest vampire I've ever met. And I would've been fine with the two of you dating for a while, at least until Buffy was done with school, but…"

"That wouldn't have been enough, Mom," Buffy cut in. "I know it seems sudden to you, but it isn't to us. We had a whole relationship in that book. We were stranded together on an island for who knows how long. We fought for out lives—and our love—time and time again. And we were married. I pledged myself to him forever. To be with Spike out here in the real world, I had to have all of that again. I couldn't have him be my husband one day and my boyfriend the next. It would've broken my heart."

Joyce looked back and forth between the two blonds sitting on her couch. Their hands were linked together so casually that she wondered if they were even aware of it. It looked like a natural state for both of them, as if there was a connection between them that had to be made physical somehow. And while it would take some getting used to, she could understand what Buffy was saying. "How…how permanent is this claim thing?"

"It's permanent," Spike said. "We're bound. Forever."

"So I guess you're sure this is what you want, Buffy?"

"Positive." Buffy gave Spike's hand a gentle squeeze. "I love Spike. And he loves me. After what we've shared, what we've been through…I couldn't live any other way."

"I won't hurt her, Joyce," Spike said. "Vampires fiercely protect their mates. Buffy is the most important thing in the world to me. Her safety and happiness come before all else."

"And this doesn't change her in any way? No offense to you, Spike, but I don't want my daughter to be a vampire."

"I'd never turn her," Spike said, the conviction in his voice startling Buffy. "I don't want a demon. I want your daughter. Exactly the way she is. The bit the Watchers' Council feeds the Slayers about the human being gone completely from a vampire, that's not true, but it does change a person." He swallowed hard. "I've…I've seen it. I'd never do that to Buffy. I'd dust first."

"They're happy, Mom," Dawn said. "And they love each other. I told you that days ago."

Joyce sighed again. "I can't say I'm completely over the shock of all of this, but…" She stood up, holding her arms out to her daughter. "Congratulations, honey."

Buffy's smile lit up her entire face as she jumped up and embraced her mother. "Thanks, Mom."

"You, too, Spike," Joyce said as Buffy moved out of her arms. Spike moved tentatively, and Joyce pulled him into a hug. "Welcome to the family."

"Thank you, Joyce."

Dawn jumped up, bouncing in place. "This is so awesome!" She hugged both Buffy and Spike again. "I have to call all my friends and tell them my big sister married the coolest guy ever." She ran up the stairs, the door to her room slamming shut moments later.

"I think she likes you," Buffy said with a smirk.

"Yeah, sorta gathered that, ducks."

"So did you two have any plans tonight?" Joyce asked.

"We stopped by the payphone on the way over here to call Giles," Buffy said. "Scooby meeting—to break the news."

"I keep telling her we should do it some other way," Spike said. "Possibly write them a letter from Siberia."

Buffy elbowed her mate. "Shut up, you." She turned to her mother. "He thinks they're going to stake him."

"They better not!" Joyce exclaimed. "I wouldn't appreciate someone staking my son-in-law."

"Thanks, Joyce," Spike said.

Joyce let out a deep breath. "I know you two already had the wedding, and I don't even want to think about what that claiming ritual entailed, but…would you let me throw a reception for you at least? It wouldn't have to be anything big. I just…well, I'm your mother, and I want to have something. Show off my newly-married daughter?"

Spike and Buffy shared a look. Spike nodded, and Buffy looked back at Joyce. "Sure. Just tell us when and where, and we'll be there."

"I can set something up at the gallery Sunday. Save me from having my house full of people."

"Sounds lovely, Joyce," Spike said. "Thank you."

"Well, you better get to your meeting," Joyce said, stepping back slightly from the couple. "Would you like to come over for dinner afterwards?" She looked quickly at Spike, as if suddenly remembering something. "I don't have any blood. But I can keep some in the freezer from now on. For when you visit." Joyce turned to Buffy. "You will be visiting, won't you?"

"Of course we will!" Buffy said. "You'll get sick of us, I promise."

Spike rested his hand on Joyce's arm. "We'd love to come to dinner. And don't worry about not having any blood. I can enjoy a human meal, too."

Joyce smiled. "Okay, good. Although I'm afraid I don't have much in the house. I need to go shopping. I was just thawing some chicken wings when you showed up, but I could…"

Spike's eyes lit up. "Those would be fine."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Spike will be plenty happy with that, Mom. Believe me."

"All right. Then you two meet with Buffy's friends, and I'll make dinner." Joyce hugged Buffy again. "See you soon, honey."

"Okay." Buffy held on to her mother a moment longer. "I love you, Mommy."

"I love you, too, Buffy."

*** *** ***

Buffy stood with Spike on the porch, her fingers laced with his.

"See, kitten, that went well. Nothing to worry about at all."

"Yeah, it did." Buffy looked up at him. "I sorta wish it hadn't."

"Why's that?"

"Because we blew all our luck. I'm starting to think maybe your letter from Siberia idea isn't so bad after all…"

Spike turned her to face him, putting his hands on her shoulders. "Listen to me, Buffy. It may take some time, but your friends are going to accept this."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because I'm in your life now, Buffy. We're mated. Nothing can change that. If they want to be in your life, too, they're going to have to learn to deal with that."

"But what if it's too much for them? What if it makes them hate me?"

"It won't, kitten. I promise you. Your mates love you."

"Are you positive?" Buffy asked, her voice small.

"Would I lie to you?"

"Probably."

Spike arched his eyebrow. "When do I lie to you?"

Buffy frowned. "Actually, now that you mention it, you tend to be more like brutally honest."

"See?" Spike said. "I'm quite trustworthy. You know, for being evil." Buffy chuckled. "Knew I could get a laugh."

Buffy kissed his cheek. "Let's get this over with. The sooner they know, the sooner we can get on with our life together."

"Then let's go, pet."


23


The others were already there when Buffy and Spike walked into the Magic Box. Their eyes all turned towards the couple as soon as they came in, and Buffy felt herself fill with cold dread. Never in her life had she been less excited at the prospect of talking to her friends.

"Ooh, you're here," Anya said, breaking the short but awkward silence that followed Buffy and Spike's entrance. She came around quickly from behind the counter and went to Buffy, dropping something in her hand. "I found this when I was cleaning earlier. I think it's yours."

Buffy's eyes grew wide as she saw what it was, a smile spreading over her face. "It's my… How?"

Anya shrugged. "Must've fallen out of the book. I thought that's what it was, from the description I read, and I figured you'd probably want it."

"I do! Thank you. It means so much to me to have it back."

"What is it?" Xander asked, trying to look over from the table without getting up and see what Buffy had.

"It's my wedding ring," Buffy said softly, staring down at it.

"Your what?" Xander asked, leaping to his feet. "Why on earth do you have a wedding ring?"

"Xander, I told you Buffy and Spike got married in the book," Anya said.

Xander replied with a wild look in his eyes, "No. No! You said William and Elizabeth got married in the book. And that wasn't real. That ring looks real to me. Why is that ring real?"

Buffy looked up at Spike, then slipped her hand in his for support. "That's why we wanted to talk to all of you. See, that marriage in the book, well, um, it felt real to us. So we found a way to make it real here, too." She took a deep breath, deciding to make telling them like pulling off a band-aid. "Spike claimed me."

The only sound in the room was that of Giles's glasses shattering as he whipped them off his face so quickly he accidentally flung them to the ground. After a moment, Xander spoke.

"What the hell is a claim?"

"It's a special kind of bite in which the vampire makes a mate his for all eternity. It's very rare, but is viewed throughout the demon community as a sign of eternal devotion," Anya replied, sounding very much like a demonology encyclopedia.

Xander, however, did not like the answer. "You bit her? You bit Buffy?!" he screamed at Spike. "You bastard!" He lunged at the vampire, knocking him to the ground and hitting him in the face.

Buffy didn't hesitate. She grabbed Xander, throwing him off of Spike. "Stay away from my mate," she said, her voice almost a growl.

Buffy knelt down beside Spike, helping him up as Anya went to Xander. "That wasn't very smart," the ex-demon told her boyfriend. "Attacking a claimed mate like that is just asking for trouble. If you'd put Spike in enough danger, Buffy could've killed you."

"Giles! Do something about this!" Xander said, pushing himself up without the help Anya that was offering. "He's done something to Buffy that has made her into a killer."

"That's not what I said!" Anya protested. "You twisted that."

"There's nothing I can do, Xander," Giles said, his tone cold. "What Buffy has done can never be undone. It's a mistake she will have to live with for a very, very long time."

Buffy turned slowly towards Giles. "Mistake?" she said softly. "Giles, please don't…"

"Do not ask me to approve of this," Giles said.

"But…"

"No!" Giles snapped. "You are the Slayer. What you have done is…well, I don't think disappointing is quite strong enough of a word."

Tears were forming in Buffy's eyes. She'd known she'd meet with resistance, but the way Giles was talking to her now… "Giles…"

"I can't…I can't look at you right now," Giles said, before walking out of the shop, the door slamming behind him.

Spike wrapped his arm around Buffy, pulling her to him and letting her cry on his chest.

"Don't touch her," Xander snapped.

Spike's eyes flashed yellow for a moment as he fought to reign in his demon's reaction. "Don't tell me not to touch my mate. She needs comfort right now."

"Oh, and like you can give it to her? You're the reason she's hurting right now," Xander sneered.

"Me?" Spike snarled at Xander. "You're the one hurting her, you git."

Xander's eyes narrowed. "When Buffy comes to her senses, you're dust. Come on Anya, we're leaving."

"No, I'm not," Anya replied. "I have inventory to do. Besides, I think a claim is very romantic, and I'm going to be supportive of Buffy and Spike." She crossed her arms in front of her. "That book was a beautiful love story, and I for one am quite happy to know that their love is still strong."

"Fine," Xander replied, angrily, storming out of the Magic Box.

Buffy turned her head away from Spike's chest, though she kept her arms wrapped tightly around him. "Willow?"

Willow was sitting at the table, frowning. "I don't know, Buffy. You and Spike…that just seems wrong to me. And he's bitten you? I don't get that."

"I love him," Buffy explained.

Willow stood up. "I'm sorry, Buffy. I'm just going to have to have some time here. I need to think about how I feel about this."

Buffy nodded, not sure of what to say. She'd wanted Willow's support, but at least she wasn't condemning it quite the way Giles and Xander had. "Okay."

"I'm heading back to the dorm. Tara?"

Tara glanced between Spike and Buffy and Willow. "I'll catch up in a minute, okay?"

"Sure," Willow replied. She gave Buffy a quick glance before walking out.

Tara got up then, slowly approaching the couple. "I…I just wanted to let you know that, um, your auras…together… They're…they're really beautiful."

Buffy felt her eyes tear up again, although this time for a different reason. "Thank you."

"From me, too, Glinda," Spike added. "Thanks."

"They'll come around," Tara said. "Or at least Willow will. She's just…surprised, I think. But I'll talk to her for you. I can see how much love you have for each other. It's brighter than I've ever seen before."

Buffy broke away from Spike to hug the other girl. "Thank you. That means a lot to me."

Tara nodded as Buffy pulled away. "Congratulations. Really."

"My mom's throwing us a reception at her gallery on Sunday. Can you be there?" Buffy asked Tara. She looked over at Anya. "You, too."

"I'll be there," Tara said. "And Willow will be, too."

"I'll show up," Anya said. "Can't promise Xander, though. He's being a jerk. Although I might be able to blackmail him by telling him he can't have any orgasms from me unless he does."

Buffy smiled slightly at that. "Thanks for the thought. But if he doesn't want to be there, well, I'd rather he wasn't."

Anya put her hand gently on Buffy's arm, a move that surprised the Slayer. "I'm sorry. About him. He just…he doesn't get it. I've stopped trying to talk to him about these things. He doesn't like thinking about me as a demon. But I am sorry for you and Spike. A claim—it's a big thing. You shouldn't have any pain associated with it."

"Thank you. Both of you," Buffy said. "It's nice to know I still have friends."

"Your mom's throwing the reception? Does that mean she took it well?" Tara asked.

"She wigged a bit at first, but she's accepting it," Buffy said. "She didn't like the biting thing."

"That's because she's never been bitten by a vampire during sex," Anya said. She leaned in and whispered to Tara, "It's very erotic."

Tara blushed. "I…I bet," she said, looking down. She glanced up a little then, although she couldn't quite look at Spike directly. "I should go catch up with Willow. Start that whole working on her thing."

"All right. Thanks again for your support," Buffy said.

"I couldn't not support you," Tara said. "Not with what I can see."

"Still means a lot," Spike said. "To me, too. I know how important Buffy's friends are to her. Don't much care for driving a wedge between her and them. Not that I'd really mind if Xander decided to move to Siberia on a permanent basis or anything, but I don't want Buffy to be hurt."

"I can see that," Tara said. "Your love for her radiates from you. I'll explain it to Willow. She should understand. This just took her by surprise. And we'll see you at the reception."

"Okay. Have a good night, Tara," Buffy said.

"You guys, too," Tara replied, smiling at the other three before she left.

"I'm going to go do some work," Anya said. "I'm angry with Xander, and working makes me feel better. Not quite as much as sex, but I don't want him touching me right now."

"I'm sorry. For causing trouble between you and Xander. I didn't mean to do that," Buffy said.

"You didn't, Buffy," Anya replied. "Xander did. He's the one being a total dumbass."

"Still, I…"

"Don't finish that sentence," Anya said. "Buffy, in all my years as a vengeance demon, do you know how many wishes I had to grant for a vampire's mate? None. Not a once did a woman who had been claimed by a vampire, be her vampire or human, require my services. Like I said earlier, vampiric claims are rare. But if they're made, they're taken very seriously. If Spike has claimed you, then I know that he loves you, and he will do everything in his power to make you happy. Xander's your friend. He should be happy to know his friend is going to be loved that dearly for the rest of her existence. It's a cause for celebration, not anger and threats."

"I…I'm feeling really bad for being kinda bitchy to you for the past couple of years," Buffy said.

"Eh, don't. I'm bitchy to you, too. It's how we relate. Now are you going to stand here all night, or can I go count my money?"

"We're going to have dinner with my mom," Buffy said.

"Good. Call me with the time of the reception later?"

"Sure. When my mother sets one," Buffy replied.

"All right. Bye now," Anya said with a bright smile before walking off to the back of the store.

"I'm sorry that didn't go very well, sweetheart," Spike said softly. "I can feel how much you hurt through the claim."

"I expected that from Xander," Buffy said. "And I can't say I'm all that surprised by Willow's reaction either. I think Tara's right about her coming around soon anyway. But Giles…" She fought back the fresh onslaught of tears that threatened to break. "I disappointed him, Spike. I didn't want to do that. Not ever again."

"Hey. Listen to me. If anyone here should be disappointed, it's you. What he said to you tonight, that's now how you talk to someone who's like a daughter to you. Look at your mum. It bothered her a bit, yeah, but she accepts it because it makes you happy. And she trusts that you can make this sort of decision about your own life. Giles should give you the same courtesy."

"I don't know, Spike, I just…"

"Are you having second thoughts about this?"

Buffy's eyes went wide. "What! No! Please, don't think that. I don't regret what we have, Spike. I never will." She opened up her hand, where she'd kept the ring tightly inside since Anya gave it to her. "Put this back where it belongs?"

Spike nodded, her request and adamant defense of her choice to be with him making him choked with emotion. He took the ring from her and slid it on her left ring finger. "I love you, Buffy Anne Summers."

"And I love you, too, William whatever-the-rest-of-your-name-is."

Spike chuckled, then kissed the top of her head. "Ready to go to your mum's then?"

"Yes. Let's get out of this place."

*** *** ***

Joyce was finishing dinner when Buffy came into the kitchen. She opened the cabinets, getting out a ziplock bag before taking it to the freezer and filling it with ice.

"Who hit Spike?" Joyce asked as she figured out her daughter was putting together an ice pack.

"Xander," Buffy said, wrapping a towel around the baggie of ice. "Gave him a black eye. Spike says the ice won't really do anything for him, and his vampire healing will take care of it soon enough anyway, but I feel like I have to do something."

"Of course you do, honey. He is your husband after all."

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, he is. Oooh!" She put the ice pack down on the kitchen island. "Anya found my ring!"

"Your ring?"

"Yeah. My wedding ring, from the book. Anya found it when she was cleaning up in the Magic Box. I don't know how it got here, but I'm so happy it did." Buffy held out her hand for Joyce to see.

"Oh, honey, that's lovely," Joyce said, taking a good look at the emerald.

"Spike told me it was almost as beautiful as my eyes," Buffy said.

"Spike sounds like he has quite a romantic streak."

"He does," Buffy said. "At first I thought it was just the effects of the book, but now I know it's more than that. At night, when we were on the island, he'd recite me poetry until I fell asleep."

"That it. He's a keeper," Joyce said with a teasing smile.

Buffy giggled. "He is, isn't he?"

Joyce regarded her daughter. There was a spark back in her eyes that she hadn't seen since before they'd left Los Angeles. Buffy looked…happy. "Yeah, he is. Now go take care of his eye while I put dinner on the table, okay?"

"Okay." Buffy picked up the ice pack and walked out of the kitchen, feeling much better than she had when she'd left the Magic Box. The rejection of three of her friends stung, but she could survive. They'd come around, or they wouldn't. She stopped in the doorway of the living room for a moment, watching with a smile as Dawn talked to Spike animatedly about the reactions of all of her friends when she'd told them her sister had gotten married. Buffy knew then that whatever happened with Giles, Willow, and Xander, she'd still have people who loved her. Her sister. Her mother. Her husband.

She'd still have her family.

*** *** ***

Just to steer away any confusion, this is still not the end.

Is everyone still following this? I've never written a fic this long before, and I don't want to have gone on too long. It is winding down, but I wanted to fully deal with what happens when they come out of the book and not just make it mostly William and Elizabeth

tbc

Xander watched as Anya went into his closet, pulled out a wad of sheets and a pillow, and deposited them on the couch. "Ahn, what are you doing?" he asked.

"You're sleeping on the couch."

"Huh?"

"I said, you're sleeping on the couch. I don't much feel like sharing a bed with you tonight."

"Then go home."

"No. I want you to sleep on the couch. It's a time-honored punishment for men who have upset their wives or girlfriends. Once, I cursed this guy to sleep on the most uncomfortable couch in the world for all eternity."

Xander blanched. "This is insane!"

"So is you being all mean to Buffy and Spike."

"What?! Anya, Buffy's letting Spike bite her. And doing other things with him that I can't even begin to think about."

"Then don't think about it. It's none of your business. And he isn't feeding off her, Xander. It was a claiming bite."

"A bite is a bite! There's only one reason why a vampire would sink his fangs into a Slayer!"

"Oh, so you're a vampire expert now?" Anya asked sarcastically, her hands on her hips.

"I've been fighting them for five years. I think I know a thing or two about them!" Xander exclaimed.

"A thing or two, maybe. But everything? No. I've known quite a few vampires in my time, and I know from personal experience that there is more than one kind of vampire bite."

"I don't want to hear that."

"You don't want to hear a lot of things. But that doesn't make them any less real. Buffy and Spike are mated. If you want to be Buffy's friend, then you're going to have to learn to live with that."

"I can't do that! It's disgusting, her doing that with a demon."

Anger flared in Anya's eyes, and she slapped Xander hard across the face.

"Ow!" Xander cried out, reaching up to stroke his sore cheek. "What was that for?"

"Is what we have disgusting, Xander? Is that what you think of our love?"

"No! But we're different. You're not a demon anymore."

"So if I was still a vengeance demon, you couldn't love me? If I'd never become a human again, you couldn't still love me for the person I am?"

Xander stared at her. The phrase "you wouldn't be a person" was on the tip of his tongue, but he stopped himself before he said it. He'd never thought of that before, where he'd be if Anya had stayed a demon. Would he have fallen in love with her? Part of him wanted to say no, he could never love a demon, but at the same time he couldn't imagine Anya not in his life. "I don't know," he said finally.

"Then maybe you should figure it out," Anya snapped before going into his bedroom and locking the door behind her.

Xander sighed and started fixing himself a bed on the couch.

*** *** ***

Spike woke up to the sound of Buffy crying. They'd decided to stay there at her mother's that night, and while she'd gone to bed in a good enough mood, Spike had felt her anxiousness coming through the claim. It infuriated Spike that her friends would do this to her and then have the nerve to call him evil.

He leaned over and kissed her shoulder. "Sweetheart?" When she didn't respond, he pulled her closer to him, her back to his front. "Buffy?"

"What?" she said, obviously trying to keep the tears out of her voice, though Spike could still hear them. "I told you I didn't want to have sex with my mother in the house."

"Not pushing for that, kitten. You're upset. Thought you might need a little comfort."

Buffy turned in his arms then, burying her head against his chest. Spike held on to her, and her cries turned into sobs. "He couldn't look at me, Spike," Buffy said, the pain in her voice making Spike's heart break. "Giles couldn't look at me."

"Shh. Watcher didn't mean that, pet. He was just upset."

Buffy looked up, her face stained from crying. "Yes he did. Giles hates me. I disgust him."

"No. There's not a bloody thing disgusting about you. He's the one in the wrong here."

"But it hurts, Spike. It hurts so much."

"I know, baby," Spike said, guiding her head back down to his chest. He stroked her hair and back, murmuring softly to her until she fell asleep again.

He glanced over her head at the alarm clock beside her bed. He still had a little time before daybreak, although he'd be pushing it. Still, it was worth the chance that he might get stuck somewhere for the day. His girl was hurting, and he needed to fix it.

*** *** ***

"You know, leaving your door unlocked in a town like Sunnydale, not the brightest idea. All sorts of monsters could just wander right in here."

Giles looked up, his eyes narrowing as he saw Spike standing in his doorway. "Most monsters don't have an invitation."

Spike took another step into the apartment, wrinkling his nose. If the empty bottles and glasses weren't evidence enough of what Giles had been up to since he'd left the Magic Box earlier, the stench of too much alcohol rolling off the Watcher certainly was. "Well, I do. And we're going to have a little conversation."

Giles grabbed a stake that was on his desk, standing up shakily as he pointed the weapon at Spike. "The only 'conversation' I want to have with you, Spike, doesn't involve words."

"You're gonna want to put that down, Watcher," Spike said, his tone icily calm. "You know what that'll do to Buffy."

Giles let the stake fall to the ground. "I should've pushed you out into the sunlight the moment you came to my door seeking help. I never should've let you get this close to Buffy."

"Wasn't your call. You didn't let her do anything. Buffy made the choice to let me close."

"And you wasted no time in taking advantage of that error in judgment, did you?" Giles sneered.

"What are you on about? I didn't take advantage of Buffy!"

"You most certainly did!" Giles tried to advance on Spike, but wobbled, clinging to the side of his desk for support. "That book, it did something to her. Messed with her mind. And you…you took advantage of that. Put a claim on her for who knows what sick purpose."

"I claimed her because I love her. I claimed her because I wanted to make sure she knows that I will stand beside her until I'm dust. What could I possibly gain from tying myself for all eternity to a woman I didn't love?"

"You'll only hurt her."

Spike narrowed his eyes. "I'm not the one who's hurting her. What you said to her today… She was sobbing tonight. You broke her heart."

"She acted with very poor judgment. She…"

"No! Bloody hell, are you seriously that blind to what Buffy's feeling? It doesn't matter what you think of her actions. The point is you turned to a girl who sees you as her father and told her you couldn't stand to look at her. That she's a disappointment. Do you have any idea how cruel that is?"

"Well, I guess you'd know about cruel, being a demon and all. You don't love Buffy. You cannot love Buffy. You're not capable of it."

Spike forced himself to refrain from acting violently. Wouldn't exactly do to prove the other man right. "Look, personally, I don't care what you think. You can spit back the tripe the Watchers' Council fills the heads of its girls with all you want, doesn't make a damn bit of difference to me. I know more about vampires and what we're capable of than all your books put together. But it matters to Buffy. You matter to Buffy. And that makes it important to me. If someone hurts her, then it's my duty to make it right."

"So you're what, going to threaten me? Tell me you'll find a way to enact horrible tortures on me if I don't give my blessing to this unholy union?"

"No. And not just because the chip won't let me either. My mate sees you as family, which means you're under my protection. I'll never lay a finger on any of you so long as you're dear to Buffy. What I'm saying is you might want to think about what you're doing. You don't have to like me. Hell, I don't like you. Think you're a right git. But what Buffy and I have, it's forever. I don't expect you to know all the reasons why Buffy and I decided on a claim. That's private. Just between Buffy an' me. And you don't have to approve of it. Your opinion doesn't change what it is. But I won't have you treating Buffy that way. She doesn't deserve it. For whatever reason, your opinion means something to her. And I know you care about her. You don't approve of what she's done, but you still love her. So bloody act like it. Don't turn your back on her because she's trying to find a little happiness in this hell of a life she lives. Girl's suffered enough without you adding to her pain."

"I don't need advice from you, Spike."

"Fine. But keep in mind that you're the one who's going to be missing out when you lose Buffy from your life."

Spike walked out of the apartment, leaving Giles alone with his thoughts and his scotch.

*** *** ***

Spike ran in through the backdoor of the Summers' house, narrowly missing the first rays of the morning sun.

"Cutting it a little close?"

Spike looked up sharply, surprised to see Joyce awake. "Yeah. Made it though. Mornin', Joyce."

"Good morning. And, um, where were you exactly?"

"Had to go talk to Giles."

"About Buffy?"

"Yeah. He didn't take to the whole claim thing very well."

"Oh." Joyce looked pensive for a moment before asking, "Would you like a cup of hot chocolate?"

Spike knew there was more coming that just hot chocolate. Joyce had something on her mind. But he also decided it was best to go along with it. She was his mother-in-law now, after all… "Sure, Joyce. That would be lovely."

Joyce smiled as she got up to put the pot on the stove. Spike sat at the kitchen island as she fixed them both a mug. After she finished, she handed the drink to Spike, who took it graciously. "Thanks."

Joyce sat across from him, wrapping her hands around her own mug. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

"I figured you were getting to that. Go ahead. Can't promise an answer, but I'll do what I can."

"Can you explain this claim thing to me a little more? What does it mean for my daughter?"

"Means she's mine."

Joyce frowned. "You own her?"

"No, not like that. Buffy's not my possession. She's mine. But I'm hers, too. Forever."

"Forever? Buffy won't live forever, Spike. She's human…isn't she?"

"Yeah, she is. But she's tied to me now, and I'm not. Claim won't make her a vampire, but it'll keep her with me. Binds us together. I live, she lives."

"And if you die?"

"She wouldn't fall right to the ground. Don't worry about that. She wouldn't be immortal anymore, but it wouldn't kill her right out."

"And if Buffy dies?"

"I walk into the next sunrise."

Joyce blinked a little at that. "You love her that much?"

"I love her with everything that I am. Buffy's my everything. Vampires don't claim mates very often. We're not exactly a species known for monogamy. But when we do make that choice, it's sacred. Protecting for and caring for his mate becomes the top priority for that vampire. And for me, that's Buffy."

"I suppose you didn't have a claim with that other woman then, did you? The one you were upset about the time you came here?"

"Drusilla? No. She wouldn't allow it." Spike looked down. "I tried, but she wouldn't reciprocate. Got mad at me for trying to erase her connection with her 'daddy.'"

"Daddy?"

"Angel. He was Dru's sire—the vampire that made her. He held a place in her heart that I could never fill."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

Spike looked up again. "I'm not. If Dru had let me claim her, I couldn't be with Buffy now."

"And you love Buffy more?"

"Yeah, I do. Never thought I could love anyone more than I loved Drusilla, but Buffy… Your daughter's really something special, Joyce. The things she can make me feel with just a smile…it's bloody amazing."

Joyce reached across the island, placing her hand on top of Spike's. "Thank you."

"For what?" Spike asked, his brow furrowed.

"For reassuring me. For letting me know my daughter is going to be loved and cherished for the rest of her life. There's nothing a mother wants to know more than that."

"No reason to thank me for that. I'm honored that I get to."

"Still, I'm…"Joyce patted his hand. "I'm glad to have you for a son-in-law."

"Thanks, Joyce. Couldn't have asked for a better mother-in-law myself."

Joyce smiled and took a sip of her hot chocolate.

*** *** ***

I've had a couple of people ask how long I intend for this fic to be. I honestly can't answer that. I intended for it to be over a while ago, but I've yet to reach a point that I feel is a satisfactory ending. I wanted to thoroughly address the issues that arose from Buffy and Spike's time in the book. I do, however, feel that the story is winding down. It could end in the next chapter, or it could take a couple more. I'm not sure. I'll end it when I feel that the story has been fully told.

Also, a few people were displeased with the way I portrayed Giles in the last chapter. Personally, I think there is plenty of precedent for his reaction. Think episodes like "Revelations" and "Lies My Parents Told Me."

If anyone's interested, I've started a sort of companion piece to my fic "Daylight." It's from Angel's perspective, so obviously, I can't post it here, but if you would like to read it, here's the link: http://adultfan.nexcess.net/aff/story.php?no=544193968


Review please!

25Buffy took a deep breath, her hand poised to knock on the door to Willow's dorm room. She hated this, the uncertainty she was feeling over having a conversation with one of her closest friends. Willow was supposed to be one of the people she knew would always be in her corner. She steeled herself and rapped her fist against the wood.

Willow opened the door a moment later. "Buffy! You came!"

"You asked me to," Buffy said. "You told me you wanted to talk."

"Um, yeah," Willow replied, clearing her throat. She stepped back, giving Buffy room to enter. "Come on in."

Buffy gave a small nod, entering the dorm room. She stopped short when she saw who else was in there. "Xander? What is this, yet another intervention? Cause to be honest, I'm really sick of those."

Willow shut the door, then took a step towards Buffy before the look in the Slayer's eyes made her stop short. "We just wanted to talk to you, Buffy."

"Yeah. Remind you who you're real friends are," Xander said.

"My real friends?" Buffy gave a short bark of laughter. "Real friends wouldn't be here telling me that being with the one man in my life who has ever made me truly happy is wrong!"

Willow held up her hands. "We're not telling you you're wrong, Buffy. We're just thinking maybe you're…confused. After what happened in that book, it's only natural that you would be confusing Spike and William. But Spike isn't a romance hero, Buffy."

"He's a cold blooded killer. He's murdered thousands. You can't be with someone like that," Xander added.

"So you're not with Anya?" Buffy replied. "Cause you two look pretty damn cozy to me."

"This isn't about Anya," Xander said. "This is about you getting yourself all worked up over another vampire."

"And you just can't stand that, can you?" Buffy asked, turning towards Xander. "You can't stand the fact that I'd choose another vamp over you."

"No! It's not that!" Xander said, taking a step back. "Spike is still a killer. If he got that chip out of his head…"

"And if Anya ever got her demon powers back…" Buffy retorted. "You are not the person to be telling me not to be with someone with a bloody past, Xander Harris. Anya's body count is bound to dwarf Spike's, and I'm not even sure if she thinks anything she ever did was wrong, or if it was all in the name of righteous vengeance. What would stop her from going right back again if D'Hoffryn asked her? What would stop her from taking vengeance on you if she was called on to do it?"

"Because she loves me!"

Buffy crossed her arms in front of her, feeling that her point was made even if Xander wasn't willing to see it. "And Spike loves me."

"Spike can't love you, Buffy," Willow said, trying to keep her voice soft and sympathetic, though to Buffy's ears it was still harsh. "He doesn't have a soul. It's just going to be like Angelus all over again."

Buffy turned back to Willow then. "No. Spike is nothing like Angel. He loves me in a way that Angel never could, with or without a soul. And we're mated. That's forever. No amount of misguided intervention from the two of you will change that."

"Buffy, Spike's only going to hurt you," Willow insisted. "And…and this mating thing, I think there might still be a chance to undo it. I was looking into spells, and…"

Before Willow could finish her sentence, Buffy had her pinned up against the wall. "Don't you dare. I swear, if you do anything to come between us, you will be sorry." She stepped back, letting Willow go. "Spike will never hurt me. He's my mate. He can't hurt me. And that includes hurting other people, because he knows that would rip me apart. And he's going to fight with everything he has to make sure that I'm never hurt by anyone else either."

"Claim or not, he's still a vampire," Xander sneered.

"Exactly! And vampires protect their mates!" Buffy took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm in love. And for the first time since I was called, I feel like there's some level of peace for me. Someplace where I can escape the turmoil that is the life of a Slayer. And that place is in Spike's arms. If the two of you were really my friends, you'd be happy that I finally have that."

"Buffy, we are your friends," Willow said. "And we want you to have that. We're just not sure you can with Spike."

"I can," Buffy said. "And I will. I'm not giving him up. And I care about the both of you, but…" She glanced at Willow and Xander, meeting them both in the eye before she spoke again. "If the two of you want to be my friends, you're going to have to accept Spike in my life. Otherwise, I don't have anything else to say to you."

"You'd just toss away our friendship for him?" Xander asked in disbelief.

"Losing Spike would destroy me. If you really want to do that to me, then you're not my friends anyway." Buffy walked out of the dorm room, leaving Willow and Xander in silence.

*** *** ***

Buffy hit the bag in front of her as hard as she could, grunting with the exertion of the punches. How could they call themselves her friends and try to take away her happiness? And Willow had actually thought about trying to mystically erase the claim? How could she?

She hoped she'd convinced Willow that trying that would be a very bad idea. Although even if Willow did find a way that—which to be honest, Buffy wasn't even sure if you could break something as strong as a claim, even with magic—Buffy would only go right back to Spike and have him bite her all over again. He was hers, and no one could take that from her.

"Thought I'd find you here."

Buffy stopped suddenly, spinning around to see Spike emerge from the back entrance of the Magic Box. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Or feel me, apparently. Something's got you good and worked up, luv. Things not go so well over at Willow's?"

Buffy's shoulders slumped. "Xander was there, too. It was another one of their damn interventions."

"They want you to give up drinking?" Spike asked with a small grin.

"And they're not too happy with my crack addiction either," Buffy replied. She sighed heavily. "They're supposed to be my friends, Spike. They're supposed to be happy that I'm happy."

Spike wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. "I know, kitten. They just have their heads too far up their arses at the moment to see that."

Buffy sighed, moving away from him a little. "I wish they'd pull them out. I really don't want to lose my friends."

"I know, baby." He pointed towards the punching bag. "You're never going to work off the tension with that thing."

"Yeah, but it's still light out. There's no vamps around to pound on."

"There is me," Spike replied with a leer.

"I'm in the mood for a fight, Spike. Not…that."

"I know." He dropped into a fighting stance. "C'mon, Buffy. Give it to me good."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to fight you. Besides, you can't even hit back, so where's the fun in that?"

"Neither can that punching bag."

"Yeah, but it doesn't have feelings. You…" Before Buffy could finish her sentence, Spike had taken a swing at her, though he'd purposely missed her in order to avoid a firing of the chip. "Hey!"

"Come on, pet. Put up a fight. Always did like it when you were…beating on me."

"You are such a perv," Buffy replied with another eye roll. Spike struck at her again. "Knock it off."

Spike's only response was to grin and throw another punch at the air beside her head.

"Okay, fine. If that's the way you want it…" Buffy took a swing at him, only to have Spike grab her arm and flip her onto the mats. She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed. "Oh, now you are in for it."

Spike ran his tongue over his teeth. "Such sweet promises there, Slayer."

Buffy jumped up and lunged at him, only to have Spike block her every move. He couldn't hit back, but he could certainly keep up. It had been so long since she'd gotten the chance to fight him, and even if it was just sparring, the feel of facing off against such a capable opponent got her blood racing. Suddenly, she stopped fighting, launching herself into his arms and pressing her mouth hard against his.

"Thought you weren't in the mood for this," Spike said as she broke the kiss.

"Changed my mind."

Spike grinned. "Sparrin' with me get you all hot, Slayer?"

"Oh yeah."

Spike pushed her against the wall, licking his marks on her neck. "Always did, didn't it baby?"

Buffy knew there was no reason to lie now. Not with what they had between them. "Uh huh. Had so many dreams about you throwing me down in the middle of a fight and fucking my brains out."

Spike groaned, thrusting hard against her. "Wanna make those dreams come true?" he asked, his voice husky.

Buffy ran her hand down his cheek. "You make all my dreams come true."

"Oh, Buffy," Spike moaned, crashing his lips down on hers. Buffy pushed him away, and Spike frowned before he realized she was simply ridding herself of her pants. He grinned. "No knickers, luv?"

"Figured it was the safest way to keep you from ripping them off me at some point."

"Good idea." Spike unbuttoned his jeans, pulling out his cock and stroking it, shivering at the way Buffy's eyes followed the movement of his hand, her pink tongue darting out to lick suddenly dry lips. "See something you want, baby?"

Buffy threw herself into his arms. Spike stumbled slightly, only to regain his balance by pushing her up against the wall. She hooked her legs around his waist, and Spike thrust home, groaning in heartfelt pleasure as he felt Buffy close in around him. He pulled out only to immediately push back in again, setting a rough but steady rhythm. His growls mixed with the sounds of Buffy's grunts and mewls as well as the sound of her hitting the wall with the power of his thrusts. She clung to the leather at his shoulders, her mind not registering anything but the bone melting pleasure of having him inside her again.

When her orgasm hit her, Buffy screamed, the force of it almost too much for her to bear. She clenched tightly around him, and Spike sank his fangs into her neck, succumbing to his need to mark her again as he came inside of her.

Spent, they slid down to the ground, Spike moving to sit beside Buffy against the wall. Suddenly, the door opened, and Buffy scrambled to cover herself with the side of the duster Spike was still wearing.

Anya stood in the doorway, her arms crossed in front of her and a frown on her face. "You think maybe next time you're in the mood for a little hanky panky in the training room, you could just do what Xander and I do, and wait until after business hours? All that screaming and banging scared off all the customers. I think they thought someone was being murdered in here." She slammed the door, leaving Buffy to turn back to Spike, burying her face against his shoulder in mortification.

"I can't believe people heard us."

Spike wrapped his arm around her. "Least we gave them something good to listen to."

Buffy smacked his chest, though she didn't have the energy for more than what amounted to a small swat. "Pig."

Spike leaned down and licked a drop of blood that was running down her neck. "Oink, oink, baby."

Buffy jumped up, scrambling to find her pants and put them back on. Spike looked up, concern in his eyes. "Buffy, did I…"

"We have to get to your crypt…now."

"What…"

"Look, Anya says I can't have sex with you in here anymore, and if I have to wait much longer for round two, I'm going to spontaneously combust, so get a move on."

Spike grinned, getting to his feet and re-fastening his jeans. "Let's go, princess."

Buffy took his hand and walked with him through the sewers and back to his crypt.

*** *** ***

Buffy lay in the bed with to Spike, curled up against his side. At the moment, the fire inside her had been calmed, but she knew it would be only a matter of time before she was desperate for Spike's touch again. He stirred something deep, something primal inside of her, and she knew that even if they made it through to eternity, she'd never get her fill of him.

With any other man, she might have been frightened by desire this intense, but with Spike it just felt right. She needed him, and he needed her. It was the way things should be.

"Oh, I got something earlier I wanted to look at with you," Spike said suddenly, reaching over the edge of the bed and picking up his duster where it had been discarded. He pulled out a glossy magazine, tossing it on top of the mattress.

Buffy's eyes lit up when she saw what it was. "An apartment guide!"

"Yeah. Thought we should get a jump on this. As much as I like your mother, I don't fancy living with her forever."

"I still need to be close by, though," Buffy said. "You know, in case Glory…"

She stopped as Spike flipped to a page he had dog-eared. "This one's in a complex two miles away from your mum. They've got washer and dryer connections in the units—so you can get to work on those pesky demon stains right after patrol—cable's included in the rent, and there's a pool for a little late night swimming fun." He wagged his eyebrows at the last part, making Buffy giggle.

"Sounds like you've been doing your homework."

"They've got a two bedroom available, which I thought would be good since one apocalypse or another might leave us with a mess of houseguests. Or Dawn might just want to spend the night with big sis." He shrugged. "Either one."

Buffy looked at the pictures from the complex he was talking about. It certainly did look like a nice one, and it was in the good part of town. The rent was reasonable, too. "Can we call tomorrow? Ask if we can come see it or something?"

"That would be the next step, I suppose," Spike replied, kissing the top of her head. "Although really, I'm about as new to this as you are. Usually if I wanted a place to stay, I just ate the current occupants."

Buffy gave him a dirty look. "Charming."

"Well, I'm not doing that this time. You've made a right ponce out of me."

Buffy replied with a soft kiss, "I'd like to think I've made a good man out of you."

*** *** ***

Sorry there was another break in posts this time. Blame it on Xander. I didn't know what to do about him.

Please review.

Tara stopped short at the door of the Magic Box, watching as Willow took items from the shelves and dumped them in a cardboard box. "You know, the store's closed," she said.

Willow didn't look towards Tara. "I know. I didn't want Anya here when I got these things."

Tara stepped into the store, a scowl on her usually-placid features. "This is about Spike and Buffy, isn't it?"

"Tara, he's done something to her. That claim, or whatever it is, is making it so she can't think straight."

"Buffy's thinking just fine, Willow. As well as anyone in love can think, anyway."

"She can't be in love with him! That book made her all confused, and Spike took advantage of the situation and put some kind of sinister hold on her. I have to make it right again. I have to save Buffy." Willow continued to pull items from the shelves as she talked, never once pausing to face Tara.

"Willow, what are you going to do?"

"I read…I read about a woman who had a claim forced on her by a vampire. A witch made it go away. I can do that, I know I can."

Tara approached Willow then, taking the box out of her hands and setting it down on the counter. "No. You can't do this. It's wrong, Willow."

Willow turned around, her eyes pleading with Tara. "How is it wrong? How is helping Buffy wrong?"

"Because you wouldn't be helping her. You'd be hurting her."

"She told Xander and me that she didn't want to be our friends anymore if we didn't accept Spike. How could that be, Tara?" Willow asked, her eyes filling with tears. "We're her best friends. She can't possibly choose Spike over us!"

"What would you have done if your friends couldn't have accepted our relationship?" Tara asked.

Willow blinked. "This is different."

"Not to Buffy," Tara replied "She loves Spike, and you're telling her it's wrong. Would you have been able to just drop what we have if Xander and Buffy had told you that they couldn't support us being together?"

"It's different!" Willow insisted again. "That would just be them being narrow-minded and judgmental. Spike could hurt Buffy."

Tara shook her head. "No he couldn't."

"He could! He's a vampire. Blood-sucking fiend, remember? And hey, Buffy's the Slayer, so hurting her—pretty high up on his to-do list."

"Willow, I tried to tell you this the other night, but you wouldn't listen to me. I've seen their auras together. It's real love. And that claim, well, I don't really fully understand what it is either, but I know it wasn't something forced. Buffy and Spike are both very happy with what's between them. And they are in love. It's coming off them so strongly…" Tara reached out and took Willow's hand. "You'd see that if you looked at this with your heart."

"But he's a vampire…"

"I know. But I also know what I saw when I looked at them together. It was beautiful, Willow." Tara turned her gaze on the box of magic supplies. "If you do this, you've lost Buffy. She'll never forgive you for trying to interfere this way." Tara paused, then added softly. "I'm not sure if I could either."

Willow's eyes widened in shock. "Tara, what are you saying?"

Tara took a deep breath and turned her eyes back to Willow. "I'm saying that if you would do this to someone, you're not the person I thought you were. You're not the type of person I could be with."

"Tara…"

"I'm serious, Willow. Spike and Buffy…you shouldn't interfere. Especially not like this. It's wrong. Very, very wrong."

"I'm worried about her," Willow said, her voice small.

"I know. Spike won't hurt her. But if you do this, you will." Tara gave the hand she was still holding a gentle squeeze. "Let's just go home, okay?"

Willow looked back and forth between Tara and the box, the conflict warring on her face. Finally, her shoulders slumped. "Let's go."

The couple walked out of the store, hand in hand, the box still resting on the counter.

*** *** ***

Spike couldn't help but grin when he saw how happy Buffy was. She was practically glowing as the woman showing them the apartment stepped out for a moment to let them think it over.

"I love it," Buffy said, taking hold of both of Spike's hands. "I want to live here."

"Me, too," Spike said, his grin widening.

"This room we're in right now, this is going to be our living room." Buffy pulled one hand out of his, pointing. "And that. That's going to be our kitchen."

Spike tugged on the hand he was still holding, pulling her against him. "And that room in there will be our bedroom," he said nodding towards the room in question.

Buffy's smile turned into one that reminded Spike of the Cheshire cat. "Complete with our bed."

Spike shivered. "I like the sound of that."

"Good," Buffy said as she jumped back. "So let's sign the lease or whatever so we can start having sex in every room."

Spike threw his head back and laughed. "God, woman, I love you."

"I love you, too." Buffy kept her hand entwined with his as they walked back into the hallway outside the apartment.

"So what did you and your husband decide?" the woman asked Buffy as she saw them approach.

Buffy felt warmth flood her insides at the sound of someone calling Spike her husband. So what if her friends couldn't accept it? The rest of the world could. "It's exactly what we're looking for," Buffy replied.

The woman smiled. "I'm happy to hear it. It's so nice, seeing a young couple just starting out."

Buffy smiled even more brightly as she felt Spike's arm wrap around her shoulders. "So what do we have to do?" Spike asked.

"We can go down to the office and fill out the forms," the woman replied. "Just follow me."

Spike and Buffy kept their hands linked as they walked down the hall towards the next step of starting their new life together.

*** *** ***

Xander didn't understand any of this. Buffy had threatened to stop being friends with both him and Willow, and Anya wasn't talking to him. All because of Spike? It didn't make sense. Spike was just a monster. Why would anyone want to take the side of a monster?

But there was still hope. Willow had said she thought she could break the claim. Then the hold Spike had on Buffy would be gone. Buffy would probably even finally get around to staking him after what he'd done to her. Then she'd be grateful to her friends for saving her from such a fate. And Anya would have to forgive him, too, once she saw he'd been right the entire time. Everything would be back to the way it should be.

When he heard a knock at the door, Xander jumped out of his chair, running to open it and finding it to be Willow, as he'd hoped. "Did you do it?" Xander asked quickly as he ushered Willow in.

"I can't," Willow replied.

"Why not? Did the Magic Box not have the right ingredients?"

"No, they were there, but I can't, Xander."

"What? What are you talking about? You're a powerful witch. I'm sure you can break any spell Spike put on her," Xander said in confusion.

"A claim isn't a spell. It's something else. And I don't mean I can't physically do it, it's just that…" Willow took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I was in the Magic Box getting the supplies for the spell when Tara came in. We talked, and…and what she said made sense, Xander. What if this is what Buffy really wants, what can really make her happy, and we take it away from her?"

"This is Spike we're talking about here, Willow," Xander replied. "He's not good for Buffy. Not like Riley was. She might as well have decided to throw herself at Angelus!"

"But what if he really loves her? Tara said from what she could see of their auras, it looks like real love…"

"I can't accept that! Willow, just look at who it is. It's Spike. He's an evil blood-sucking fiend. All this is is some sort of trick. Probably part of a way to get around the chip and kill Buffy. You saw that mark on her neck."

"I don't think so. He would've killed her already if that were the case. Spike—not big with the patience."

"I can't believe you're saying this!" Xander exclaimed, throwing up his hands. "We agreed that we'd do this."

"I know, but…"

"There can't be any 'buts,' Willow. Buffy's in trouble."

"I thought so, too, but now…I'm not so sure she is."

"Willow…"

Willow held up her hands. "No. I'm sorry, Xander. Like I told you when I got here, I can't."

"Buffy's our friend."

"I know. That's why I can't do this." Willow went back towards the door, pausing only for a moment to apologize to Xander again before leaving.

Xander didn't go after her. If Willow wasn't prepared to do what needed to be done, then he'd find someone who was.

*** *** ***

"I can't say I'm particularly surprised to see you here," Giles said as he opened his front door to Xander. "Only I'm afraid that it's a wasted trip because I'm going to tell you no."

Xander blinked, still standing outside the Watcher's apartment. "No? You do realize I'm here about Spike and Buffy, don't you?"

"Yes. Which is precisely why I'm telling you no."

"I don't believe this! First Willow backed out on me and now you're refusing to help me do anything?"

Giles stiffened. "What did Willow 'back out' of?"

"She found a spell that supposedly undid a vampiric claim that was forced on a girl once. We thought it might help Buffy, but…"

"It wouldn't have helped," Giles said quickly, cutting Xander off. "That claim isn't forced—it's been reciprocated. Nothing can break it, and you'd be a fool to try."

"Then we need to get rid of Spike. He can't have some sort of 'claim' on Buffy if he's dust."

"Yes, he can. Killing Spike would cause Buffy both mental and physical anguish."

"Won't she get over it?"

Giles's jaw tightened. "It's quite common for someone to end their own life within days—if not hours—of the death of their mate. Usually if they keep going at all, it is simply to take revenge on the mate's killer."

"Giles, there's no way Buffy would kill us and then herself."

"There is if we kill Spike."

"This doesn't make any sense!" Xander exclaimed. "Why would Buffy willingly let Spike do this to her?"

"I don't know, but it's not a decision she can take back. She's bound herself to Spike—forever."

Xander's eyes widened. "Forever? That can't be…."

"It is. Linking herself with Spike made her as immortal as he is."

"Giles…"

"Go home, Xander," Giles said as he shut the door, leaving Xander on his own again.

*** *** ***

Sorry this chapter is so short, but it's nearing the end of the fic, and the last few scenes I have planned fit better as their own chapter.

There's one more chapter left after this one, so please review. Reviews were down last chapter…

Also, thanks to Mandi (vampkiss) generously giving me the space and Holly helping me with graphics and coding, I've been able to move from my crummy little angelfire site to a new, much better site. You can check it out here: http://www.dark-desire.org/blood
Spike wasn't exactly in his element at the reception Joyce had thrown for them. At the moment, the only people he knew there were the Summers women, and Joyce was currently showing off her newly-married daughter, while Dawn was put in charge of hostess duties.

Which left Spike to do nothing but give the occasional small wave when Buffy gestured to him, indicating who the husband in question was. Although he supposed this was better than actually socializing…

Spike looked up as the front door opened and four familiar faces appeared. While Xander didn't exactly share the sunny expression of the three women accompanying him, Spike knew the fact that he was there was nothing short of a miracle—and one that would make Buffy very happy, even if Spike didn't understand why she bothered to keep the whelp around.

Buffy turned from the woman she'd been talking to, her face lighting up at the sight of her friends. She quickly excused herself from her current conversation, going to them and hugging each one in turn.

Spike approached the group, his arm going around Buffy as she pulled away from Xander. "Glad you could all make it," Spike said.

Xander met Spike's eyes defiantly. "I'm only here because of Buffy."

Spike shrugged. "Yeah, me, too."

Willow took a step forward. "We're happy you're happy, Buffy," she said. "And…and I wish you two the best. I really do."

Buffy hugged the redhead again. "Thank you. It means so much to me that you're here. All of you."

"Sorry I'm lagging a bit behind the others, but it seems I was stuck carrying all the packages."

Buffy's smile widened as she saw her Watcher come in carrying several bags. "Giles! You came! And with presents."

"Some of those are from the rest of us," Anya said. "I just said that everyone should come together so some people wouldn't try not to show up." She glanced between Xander and Giles.

"Well, everyone is here," Buffy said. "And that… It means so much to me. Really. I love all of you, and I didn't want to lose you anybody."

"You won't," Xander said. "Not that I'm anywhere near happy with the thought of you shacking up with Evil Dead over there, but since this seems to be permanent…"

"It is," Buffy said, taking Spike's hand. "Spike's part of my life now, and nothing can change that. You're going to have to get used to it."

"We are getting used to it," Giles replied. "It will just take a little time. He is, after all, a vampire. With everything that happened because of Angelus…"

"I am nothing like him," Spike said through gritted teeth.

"I know," Giles conceded. "And I do trust you marginally better than I would him. But the fact remains that you are a vampire involved with my Slayer, and I can't easily come to terms with that." He turned to Buffy. "But I'm also not going to abandon you. You're more than just my Slayer. You're like a daughter to me. I know what a claim means, and I know that separating you from Spike will never be an option. So I can…learn to live with this."

Tears glistened in the corner of Buffy's eyes. "Thank you, Giles. It means a lot to me that you're at least trying to be okay with this."

"I am." Giles grimaced slightly. "Now if you don't mind, could you show me where to put all of these down? My arms are beginning to tire."

"Oh, right! Of course." Buffy took some of the bags from Giles as she led him over to where the other presents were.

Spike looked at Buffy's friends. He was an uneasy fit in their group, he knew—especially where two of them were concerned—but if they were willing to try this, so was he. They were important to Buffy, and that made them important to him as well.

He turned to look over towards where Dawn had stopped Buffy and Giles on their way back. Buffy looked so bright, so radiant, that for a second, Spike could've sworn he felt his long-dead heart beat. When he'd come to Sunnydale, it had all been for Drusilla, his dark princess. But somehow he'd manage to lose the woman who had been the reason for his existence for over a century only to find something else entirely.

Something better…

*** *** ***

Buffy looked out the rolled-down window on the passenger's side of Spike's DeSoto, what she saw making her frown. "Honey, you're going the wrong way."

Spike gave a quick glance towards her. "No I'm not."



"Yes, you are. The house is the back there," Buffy said, pointing behind them.

"We're not going there."

Buffy frowned. "We're not headed towards your crypt either..."

"I know."

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise. Just sit tight. We'll be there soon enough."

"But…"

"Your mum isn't expecting us, pet," Spike told her. "As a matter of fact, she packed the bag for you that's currently in the trunk."

"There's a bag for me in the trunk?"

"Isn't that what I just said?"

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Learn a little patience, Slayer."

Buffy crossed her arms in front of her. Imagine Spike of all people telling her to be patient…

Spike couldn't help but chuckle at her pout. "It's a good surprise, kitten. I promise."

"I don't like surprises," Buffy said, pout still firmly in place.

"Humor me."

Buffy stayed quiet for the rest of the ride until Spike finally pulled off the road. "This is a hotel," she said.

"Yeah. Probably why they have that 'hotel' sign out front."

"If you wanted to have sex, we could've gone to your crypt. Or, you know, the apartment even though there's no furniture and we're technically not supposed to move in for another few days, but we do have the keys."

"I know, but…" Spike parked the car near the entrance before turning to look at her. "I know we can't have a real honeymoon, what with you having to guard the Hellmouth and my sun allergy, but I thought maybe for one night…"

"We could ignore all that?"

"Yeah."

Buffy placed her hand over his. "Thank you."

"It's not just for you, y'know," Spike said with a crooked smile. "I kinda like the idea of getting a night in a hotel with you all to myself, too." He looked her over once, his smile turning to a leer.

Buffy giggled. "Well, let's get to it then."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Spike said as he got out of the car and went around to the trunk for her bag.

They walked together into the hotel, Buffy waiting for Spike as he got the key to their room. She followed him to the elevator, glancing around the lobby. "This is a nice place," Buffy commented.

"Like I'd take my wife to some fleabag…"

Buffy smiled the way she always did when she thought of herself as Spike's wife. "Didn't think you would. Just making an observation."

They took the elevator to the top floor of the hotel, and then Buffy continued to follow him as he led her down the hall to the room. Spike unlocked the door, and Buffy gasped as they walked inside. "It's huge!" she exclaimed.

"It's a suite, luv."

Buffy looked around, noticing the décor. The walls were lined with wood paneling, the windows were circular, and the carpet was a deep blue. Netting and a large, silver anchor hung from the walls. She turned back towards Spike. "I'm noticing a theme here…"

"They have themed suites in this hotel. This is the 'nautical' one." Spike ran his hand through his hair. "I know it's a little corny, but…"

"I love it," Buffy said, wrapping her arms around his waist. "It's perfect."

Spike grinned. "Yeah? I'm glad you do…"

"Although I do have one question."

"What's that, pet?"

Buffy stepped back, looking at him with wide, almost-innocent eyes. "What are you going to do with me now that you have me all alone on your ship, you evil—yet devilishly handsome—pirate captain, you?"

Spike's grin widened, his tongue curling over his teeth. "I'm going to ravish you, milady."

Buffy laughed with delight as Spike scooped her up and carried her off to bed.

*** *** ***

And that is the end. After nine months, this fic has reached its close. *wipes sweat from brow* But I do have plenty of plot bunnies scratching to be let out of their cage, so hopefully you'll enjoy the new stories I have planned. :)

Thank you to everyone who read this, and an extra special thanks to those who reviewed. All your kind words meant so much. And even though this is the end, please keep it up. Let me know what you thought about the last chapter.

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