Broken Home:
By Revello_1620
 

Paring: Buffy/Spike Spike/Dru, EVENTUALLY much Spuffyness

Continuity: Big fan of the show but not a big fan of playing it by the script, so pretty much just take the story as it goes.

Warnings: Extreme Violence, Bloodshed, Gore, Strong Language, Dark Fiction, Blood Play, Sexual Content…do I really need to go on?

Disclaimer: All of the characters and places from the Buffy-verse are the property of the writers, actors and Fox. This is just my take on their work and they are in no way responsible for anything said or implied by myself.

Any characters of my creation are mine and mine alone for better or worse.

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Elizabeth slowly climbed out from underneath the bed when the screaming that had woken her up stopped and it had been quiet for a really long time. Clutching her beloved piggy Mr. Gordo to her chest, she tucked her thumb into her mouth and went to go find her mommy. She had known she didn’t care because they were special. Stupid Billy Morgan thought his parents were the best because his daddy was a police man and more than anything she wished she could tell them all about her parents…but she knew that would be bad. Daddy told her it was a secret and if she was his good little princess, she wouldn’t tell. So she kept her mouth closed even though she really wanted to look into Billy’s fat face and tell him that her daddy and mommy were the bestest in the world.

Anything she ever asked for she got, even when it wasn’t even her birthday and even though they didn’t celebrate Christmas like all the other kids in her preschool, getting presents all the time was better than getting some one day that was always a long long time away. Yep, Elizabeth thought pushing open her parent’s door, she was the luckiest five year old girl in the whole world.

Waking up from the dream, Buffy opened her eyes and looked around her bedroom half expecting it to be the one she remembered as a child. That one had been painted pink, with framed prints of ballerinas and she had slept beneath a sheer pink canopied bed. Looking back on it now, it was like living inside a bottle of Pepto-Bismol but then it had been a five year old girl’s fantasy come to life. Pushing away the thoughts of her past, she focused on the warm sunlight flooding through her window. Those memories, like the things that had kidnapped her…weren’t meant to see the pure light of the day.

Pushing the blankets away, she climbed out of bed to pick what she would wear for her first day at her new school. She had been to a lot of new schools over the years but since Joyce and Hank Summer had adopted her four years ago and given her their name, she thought that time of her life was over. But then again, last year she and Joyce hadn’t known that a surprise visit to Hank’s office would involve catching Hank with his pants around his ankles as he was doing more than just dictating a memo to his secretary.

Joyce cleaned up in the divorce settlement and used the money to buy a house and a small but respectable art gallery more than two hundred miles away from her ex-husband. Sunnydale had a mall and even a movie theater but it was it was nothing but a hick town in the middle of nowhere compared to LA. She didn’t really mind though, she decided pulling out a short white summery dress with a pattern of delicate roses. LA was spoiled for her and not even the lure of Rodeo Drive could make her forget what had happened to her there. That was her goal in life, never to forget again.

Slipping on the dress, she brushed through her long golden blonde hair and only bothered with the lightest of makeup. Her skin, thankfully, was dewy and flawless without the help of base and her lashes were dark and long without mascara, which she always felt made her eyes look like they were being eaten by a particularly ugly tarantula. So she was glad to be able to skip smearing the cloying glunk on but she did brush a shimmery layer of lilac shadow over her eyelids, bringing out her natural green color and a coat of clear cherry flavored gloss over her lips.

Knowing that she was stalling, Buffy quickly slipped on a tiny cross necklace and made her way downstairs. Sniffing the air appreciatively, she headed straight to the kitchen. “Did I walk into Denny’s by mistake or are we having several people over from breakfast?” Buffy asked, flicking her gaze over the mountain of eggs, a plate of crisp bacon and hash browns as well as a towering stack of fluffy pancakes.

“I guess I went a little overboard, huh?” Joyce asked, looking a little embarrassed.

“Uhh huh, but if you take the rest with you to the gallery it could start a new craze. Buy something pre-Columbian get a free breakfast buffet.” Buffy said snagging a pancake.

“I just wanted to start the day off right.” Joyce said pouring herself a cup of coffee. “I have a good feeling about this place honey. I think we can be happy here.”

“I think what you were going for is fat and happy, but hey who am I to complain?” Buffy said swallowing down the last of the pancake.

“You never do, you know.” Joyce said getting serious for a minute.

“Good genes I guess.” Buffy said thinking they were talking about her fast metabolism and her naturally slight build.

“I read all these books about raising teenagers after divorce and you’re supposed to be acting out, staying out late, talking back and complaining about everything. I moved you away from the big city and plopped you down here, but you never complain. Even before the divorce you were a perfect daughter and since you’re a teenager that worries me.”

“What you mean is, that you can’t believe I’m so well adjusted after everything I’ve been through…right?” Buffy asked, taking a seat at the bar.

“Buffy you’ve been through a lot, more than any girl your age should have to and just when you thought your life was finally settling down, I moved you here.” Joyce reached out across the bar, to take her daughters hand. Her and Hank had never been able to conceived on their own and like most couples they had their hearts set on adopting a newborn, But when their were visiting a baby in a foster home, Joyce had taken one look at Elizabeth, who was also living there and knew that she was meant to be her mother.

“I don’t like to think about it, because then it’s all to real. Memories can’t fade if you keep dredging them up and reliving them.” Buffy squeezed Joyce’s hand lightly. “But I think I am going to like it here to, it’s different and it’s like getting a clean slate. No one here knows I’m adopted, so no-one is going to pry into my past and it that will be nice.”

Since Buffy’s words had put her mind at ease, Joyce gave her a quick smile before looking at the clock. “Well then, you better get going. You don’t want to be late on your first day. Have a nice day honey.”

Buffy gave her hand another gentle squeeze and then walked over to where her keys were hanging on the wall. “You too, charm all the eligible handsome male patrons into buying lots of expensive pieces.”

When Joyce fluffed at her hair like a femme fatale, Buffy laughed and made her way outside to her sweet sixteen present. A cherry red mustang convertible with a black soft top. Joyce got some serious money in the divorce but since Hank had been the bread winner, they were now middle class and Buffy couldn’t help feeling glad that her birthday was before the divorce, because she loved her car. Climbing into the butter soft leather seats, she started the engine and made her way to school.

“Have you seen the new girl yet?” Jessie asked plopping down on the top of the stone table where his two best friends were sitting. “She makes the girls around here look like rejects.”

“Oh I bet Queen Cordelia is just going to love that.” Xander said dryly, before taking a bite of his Twinkie. “But no, I haven’t seen her yet…so spill.”

“Well she’s blonde, beautiful…did I mention she was blonde?” Jesse asked, smiling widely.

“Twice actually,” Willow reminded him patiently, used to being the keeper of two girl crazy guys. “But she’s also really nice, I mean she said hi to me and everything. She even said she would like to sit with me at lunch.”

“You are now officially my best friend ever.” Jesse said wrapping his arm around Willow’s shoulders. “So when is my golden goddess going to be joining us?”

“Umm…now…I guess.” Buffy said coming up behind them. “Hi Willow, sorry I’m late but I kinda got hung up in the library.”

“You’re smart too, I think I’m in love.” Jesse said clutching his chest for effect.

“Not Willow smart, but I was there getting my text books and got to talking with the Librarian.” Buffy held up her now bulging book bag to illustrate her point. “I’m Buffy by the way.” She smiled at Xander, who unlike his friend, seemed to be quiet like Willow.

“Xander, it’s really Alexander but no-one really calls me that. See Xander is my nickname, that’s why they call me that.” Xander rambled knowing he sounded like a fool. “Hi,” he finished lamely.

“That’s cool. My name is Elizabeth but my mom has always called me Buffy. Which is majorally weird, I know. But I don’t really feel like an Elizabeth or a Liz so I get what you’re saying.” Buffy said giving him a soft understanding smile. She wasn’t shy, but since he was it made her cut him some slack.

“I’m Jesse, no nickname.” He told her with what he hoped was a charming smile.

“I thought your nickname was lameo boy,” Cordelia said walking over to join them. “Are these losers bothering you?”

“No, but you kinda are.” Buffy said, used to girls like the stunning brunette in front of her. All schools were the same, no matter where you went, there were prom queens and jocks who were certain that it was their goal in life to make everyone feel miserable. Buffy couldn’t stand people like that, she didn’t care about being popular if it meant you had to hurt people to get there. “Did you need something?”

“You’re new here, so it’s obvious that you don’t know who you are talking to, so let me clue you in.” Cordelia placed her hand an her hip. “This is my school and if you hang with me and mine your social status is assured while hanging with rejects like this won’t make you anything but a loser like them.”

“Better to be a reject than a superficial snob who is so blinded by her own warped version of herself, that she doesn’t know her attitude makes her ugly.” Buffy shot back sitting her book bag down on the table.

“Well aren’t you little miss feisty.” Cordelia told her crisply, with a smug smile. “You think that just because you come from LA you’re some hot new commodity.”

“Actually I don’t think I’m better than anyone but you, but then again it’s only my first day.” Buffy looked at Cordelia critically for a moment, and when the girl raised a hand to her face, Buffy gave her a cruel smile. “Do you know that when you’re angry, you get this wrinkle in your forehead? From one girl to another, that’s not exactly pretty.”

When Cordelia gave a slight eek and headed to check it out for herself, Xander stood up and applauded Buffy. “Ding dong the witch is dead. All hail the new Queen. Buffy, Duchess of Buffonia, Champion of the rejects who all now bow before her.”

“Wow…I’ve never seen Cordelia speechless before.” Willow turned to look at her. “Where did you learn how to do that?”

“It’s something my father taught me.” Buffy said without thinking. She wasn’t talking about Hank or the man whose blood she carried, she was talking about the man who had taken her after brutally killing her parents and raising her as his own little princess. She may have only been with him for two years but he was now as much a part of her as Joyce. Shrugging off the melancholy that settled over her every time she thought about that time of her life, she smiled at the others. “He was big about standing up for yourself and taking what you want. And since I want to hang out with you, I figured I might as well get it out of the way now.”

“So what are you doing tonight?” Xander asked acting fast before he could talk himself out of it. “We were all planning on going to The Bronze.”

“The Bronze?” Buffy asked pulling out her lunch.

“It a club, anyone can get in and the cover is cheap. The music is good, not great but good, making it the primo hangout place for the youth of Sunnydale. Well that and the fact there’s not all that many places to go.” Xander explained rapidly, knowing that it must sound lame to a girl from LA.

“Sure count me in.” Buffy said quickly altering her plans for the night. She had already told her new Watcher she was going on patrol and if this club was really packed with teens then she was betting more than one vamp would be hanging around.

*** Since I used a lot of episode quotes, from a lot of episodes I figured it was a good time to remind everyone that I don’t own Buffy the Vampire slayer...:) ***




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After selecting a suitable slaying slash clubbing outfit, Buffy decided to walk to The Bronze. After her last Watcher had been killed, she had been prepared to slay solo until she found out that the Council had sent her a replacement. Rupert Giles, seemed...well Watcherly, she decided reflecting on his affinity for tweed but slaying wasn't just a job for her, it was personal.

When she had walked into her parents’ room and seen the naked body lying on the floor, all of the memories of the past came back. She remembered seeing her old parents...her real parents, lying in a pool of their own blood, with a thick mass of flesh that had once been their throats beside them. She had been three at the time and she didn't really understand what she had been seeing but there was no mistaking their screams or their desperate pleas to sadistic couple holding them hostage in their own home. Even now if she closed her eyes and thought about it, she could remember her mother saying they could take anything they wanted, do anything they wanted if they would please leave her baby alone. She kept begging even as the man had been raping her. Her mother had been in pain and instead of remembering that, she had put her tiny hand in the killers and made a new life for herself...forgetting about that night...those desperate screams.

Even though she was only five at the time and couldn't understand everything she knew she had to run away. So she did, she ran out of the house and she just kept running until she was on Billy's doorstep. She had play dates with him on Tuesdays and since her parents couldn't go outside, her nanny had taken her. She pounded on the door wearing nothing but her nightgown and holding her pig, until Billy's daddy, the policemen opened the door.

During the investigation into the murder and her parents disappearance, she kept her family secret, knowing that no one would understand and believe that the people she believed were the best parents ever, weren't even people at all. The kind faced therapist the social worker took her to see, said she had repressed the memories of her abduction and her parents’ murder because her young mind couldn't understand what she was seeing. He believed that when she saw the second body, it unlocked the memories and since she understood what it meant to be dead, it all made sense. He could call it what he liked, but Buffy knew the truth. She had loved the people that raised her and forgotten about the ones who had died for her. She was more their child than the humans who had begged that night were. She had made her peace with that fact long ago.

Being the slayer, helped that. She knew when Merrick had explained to her what she was, that it was fate's way of giving her a chance to make amends for that blood filled night. They say that which doesn't kill you only makes you stronger, well Buffy knew for her it was with every one of them she killed, she was stronger. She couldn't blame herself for things she had done as a child but she could make sure that didn't repeat those mistakes as she grew up. She was ruthless, when she had to be but she didn't enjoy the misery of others. When you stopped caring about others Buffy knew that it was then and only then did you become a monster. When The Bronze was in sight, she let go of her memories of the past for a moment and went inside to make new ones.



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"So you wanna dance?" Xander asked Buffy, after they had been sitting at the table for nearly an hour. The others had been dancing at regular intervals but he had spent the time building up his courage. Now he was ready...or he atleast thought he was. "I mean with me...you wanna dance with me?"

"Sure," Buffy said getting to her feet and giving him a bright smile. He was sweet, in a puppy dog sort of way and she didn't see the harm in seeing if there was anything more between them than just friendship. He was a refreshing change from Jessie's caveman style of romance, She decided taking his hand as he led her to the dance floor.

A slow song was playing and since he didn't seem sure what to do, Buffy stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Relax Xand, it's a dance not a matter of life or death."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that princess." A deep, painfully familiar voice said from behind her.

She turned before she could stop herself and saw one of the faces that had haunted her dreams. The soft chocolate hair was shorter than she remembered but his angelic face and deep brown eyes hadn't changed over the years. Unable to speak, she just stared at him, torn between throwing herself in his arms and running away as fast as she could.

Sensing her hesitation, he reached a hand up to touch her face. Taking her had been a lark; something he had agreed to, since Darla had a yen to play mommy. He figured that she would grow tired of her and they would dine on her soon enough but instead they fell in love with her. In his past, he could remember their steward saying that farmers didn't name anything that would end up on the dinner table and after having her in their life, it was impossible to kill her. They were family and she belonged with them. "You look beautiful...just like your mother."

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked him, stepping away. "How did you find me?"

"Actually princess, we've been here for awhile. So it is you who have returned to us." Angelus said holding out his hand for her.

“Umm, Buffy is everything all right?” Xander asked, laying his hand on her shoulder. It was plain that whoever this guy was, he was making her uncomfortable and even though he wasn’t the best at being brave, she was worth taking a punch or two, he decided.

“Her name is Elizabeth.” Angelus snapped coldly, flicking his gaze over the boy who dared to touch what belonged to him. “This doesn’t concern you, so I suggest you leave.”

“Listen, Mr. Billowy coat guy, I’m not leaving until Buffy says she wants me to.”

“You always did want a puppy and it‘s seems you found one.” Angel said seconds before reaching out to grab him by the throat. He picked Xander several inches off of the floor and dragged him closer to his face. “Her name is Elizabeth and if you touch her again, I will show the real meaning of pain, boy.”

“Leave him alone Angelus.” Buffy said coldly. Xander’s face was bright red but with Angelus’s hand around his throat she couldn’t risk pulling him away.

“That’s not how good girls ask for treats.” Angelus told her tightening his grip on Xander, making him flail around like a hooked fish.

“Daddy please.” Buffy said softly, promising to make him pay for making her call him that again.

Angelus released him and gave her a pleased smile. “That didn’t hurt, now did it Baby?”

“No, but this will...a lot.” Buffy said giving him a lethal smile, before punching him in the face with a left cross.

Stunned, Angelus tuned back to look at her raising his fingers up to touch the blood pooling at the corner of his lip. Rubbing it between his fingertips, he decided that it had just been a lucky shot and nothing more. “What did you think Elizabeth, that you could just change your name and that things would be different?”

“No, but being a vampire slayer sure helps.” Buffy said crossing her arms over her chest. She knew they had drawn a crowd but she didn’t really care. Tomorrow, they would forget anything about vampires; it was something she had seen before to many times to count, so she wasn’t overly worried.

“You forget yourself Elizabeth. It takes more than one blow, before you can call yourself a slayer.” Angelus told her arrogantly. “You’ve grown up around them and that’s just something you want to believe so that this world makes sense. You feel it, under your skin, calling you home to us. You don’t belong here...you belong with us.”

“I don’t belong to you.” Buffy said with a shrug. “Maybe you don’t get it, but me slayer, you vampire, me slay vampire...you dust. Any questions?”

Instead of replying, he stuck out at her with a back handed slap and she caught his hand in mid air. “I was soo hoping, you would do that.” She riffed, landing a blow to his midsection.

She ducked under his next swing, going in for a low leg sweep. When he started to fall, she threw her hair back over her shoulder and looked down at him. “Like I said, things change.”


Flipping to his feet, he looked at her with pride shinning in his eyes, making them appear as warm as honey. “If that was true princess, you would have gone for the kill...but you didn’t. You can’t.”

“Give me time,” she said turning around to walk away.

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“What just happened in there?” Xander asked catching up with her outside. Wincing, at how sore his throat felt.

Normally she would have lied or ignored him, letting him make up his own explanation but since he had tried to stand up for her, he earned the truth. “Vampires and other assorted demons are real...”

“Yeah, I know all that.”

“What?” Buffy asked, caught off guard.

“Sunnydale isn’t like other towns.” Xander said with a shrug. “Most towns this size don’t have two full pages of obits. Instead of drugs, we got demons...it’s a pretty fair trade off. So what just happened in there? I mean I‘ve seen you in daylight so you‘re not a vampire...unless all those monster movies have been one great big lie.”

“Not a vampire, just as strong as one. See I am vampire slayer. One girl in all the world is given the strength and speed to hunt the vampires...yada, yada, yada. Basically, I get the perks of being a demon but still get sunlight and crosses. I don‘t even have to drink blood...which is nice cuz liquid diets are so last year.”

“Okay, then why did you just call the vamp in there Daddy? Either I missed something or you left something out.” Xander said flicking his head back in the direction of the club.

“To make a long story short, Angelus and his woman Darla, killed my real parents when I was little and took me to raise as their own. I was there with them two years never remembering my old life until they brought their fun and games home and didn’t clean up before they went back out. I ran away, bounced around the system and got adopted.” Buffy explained calmly, like it all happened to someone else.

“How old were you?”

“Three when they took me, five when I left.” Buffy said doing the math for him. Anticipating his next question, she looked into his face. “I knew they were different but I thought they were special...not lethal. I had a nanny who took me to school and I did all the things other kids do...well not Christmas, but everything else.”

“Do you really want to talk about this?” Xander asked, knowing that she had told him some very private stuff. “Because if I’m out of line, we can just let it go.

“It’s okay, I guess you want to know if I was happy?” When he nodded guiltily, she gave him a wistful smile. “It’s the only time of my life I can actually remember being happy. But once I heard my real parents screams in my mind...happy feeling gone.”

“Man, I’m sorry Buff.”


“Don’t be, I don’t feel sorry for myself so you shouldn’t either. But if you see Angelus...run. Don’t stop, don’t think, just run.” Buffy felt really bad for bringing him into this, so she gave him a brief rundown on vampire safety. Once she had covered, crosses, holy water and the dangers of inviting one inside your home, she gave him a slightly uneasy look. “I don’t think he’ll bother you, but I’d still feel better if you let me walk you home. After that I totally understand if you don’t want to be friends anymore.”

“I gotta tell Willow and Jessie, because we tell each other everything but being friends with a superhero, a major plus in a town like this.” He said giving her a bright smile. “Let me go in and get them...then you can take us all home. Or better yet, you could come with me.”

While they walked back inside, Darla stepped out of the shadows and bushed absently at the tears running down her face. She had known the minute she had seen Elizabeth that she was meant to be hers and she was willing to do what it took to keep her baby safe. But more than that...she wanted her to be happy. She and Angelus had much to talk about.
 

“Did your last Watcher not explain the need for secrecy as you preformed your sacred duty.” Giles asked her, whipping off his glasses.

“I’m the slayer, you’re the Watcher, so you can watch me do my duty, my way.” Buffy said easily, fondly recalling a similar conversation with her last Watcher. Not about secrecy, but about everything else under the sun...or moon as the case may be. Merrick was twice as starchy as Giles but before he had been killed they had a peaceful harmony when working together. Death was part of the job description and while she had grieved for her fallen friend, that to had been done her way. It involved killing the vamp who had killed him and making sure it take a really long time for him to die, which she refused to regret.

He had known about her past and helped her to discover the identity of her vampryic abductors. Even though Angelus had never personally shown her the art of torture and death, she couldn’t help but think that her time with them had tainted her in some way. Baptism by blood, during a time when she was suppose to be innocent. Merrick had believed that to, even though she hadn’t ever seen Angelus or Darla’s inherit cruelty he told her that children that age are like sponges, soaking up every thing they see and a few things that others don’t. She could remember Angelus, verbally lashing into her nanny and it was that cold look in his eyes that she had seen on his face last night with his hand around Xander’s throat...a look she knew had been in her own at the time.

“Listen Giles, I didn’t plan on running into Angelus and since Xander was in danger he had a right to know what was going on. They were all actually pretty cool about the whole thing.”

Since he knew about her past, he knew she had a point. “What’s done is done but right now I think we need to figure out while Angelus and Darla are in Sunnydale. I believe it might have something to do with the fact that the city is located on a hell mouth.”

Buffy zoned out while Giles explained his theories of mystical convergences, idly wondering what would be in the cafeteria for lunch. All she needed to know was how to kill whatever demon she was hunting, the rest was not in the job description. She was not Nancy Drew, she was a hunter which is why the slayer package came complete with a smart British guy chock full of demon lore. “Do they have female Watchers?” She asked curiously.

“Yes...” Giles answered immediately and then gave her a considering look. “Why or better yet, what does that have to do with the hell mouth?”

“Are you all British, because since both of you have been, I’m starting to notice a trend.”


“No we are not all British, but could you please pay attention to the matter at hand.” He chided her gently.

When the bell rang, Buffy resisted the urge to cheer. “Sorry Giles, but I gotta go. We can pick this up later.” She told him all but running to the door.

“Hey.” Xander said walking over to her when he saw her fly out of the library. “Was your Watcher guy mad?”

“Nope, very reserved on account of him being British and all.” Buffy thought about that and figured the wildest thing Giles had probably done in his entire life, was slip a little real coffee in with the decaf. Do English people even drink coffee she wondered, recalling both her Watcher’s fondness for tea and a zesty series of Taster’s choice commercials. “I mean I don’t get the whole stiff upper lip thing. If I’m happy I smile, if I’m angry I hit...simple and logical in a Vulcan kind of way.”

“You're mixing your metaphors.” Xander said giving her an indulgent smile. “Vulcan’s make the English look like funky party weasels.”

“Right, I was thinking of the other guy. Scotty, the passionate Scottish guy.”

“What show were you watching, because he didn’t really seem to be a Don Juan.” Xander shot back, wondering if she had even seen the show at all.

Forgetting about class, she laid her hand on his arm and when they both stopped, she took a step closer to him. “Passion is an almost irrational love, consuming...emptying and filling at the same time. Even as he screamed that she couldn’t take anymore, he wouldn‘t let her quit. He loved that ship more than most people feel for their significant others. That’s passion.”

Aroused at the smoky tone of her voice and more than a little surprised that he all he ever needed to know about love and passion could be found in an interstellar space ship, he pushed out a trembling breath. “Has anyone ever felt that way about you?”

“No but I know for a fact that someone feels that way about you.” Buffy said, walking again now that she had proved her point.

“Really...does this someone have a name or is this just your way of boosting my pathetic ego?” Xander asked hurrying up to catch up with her.

“I can’t believe you are really that dense.” Buffy said with a shake of her head. “You’ve only know her your entire life.”

“Willow?? You think Willow feels that way about me...are you insane or just well insane?” Xander asked her, stopping in his tracks. Willow and him...him and Willow, no matter which way he said it, it didn’t make any sense.

“I saw her face when you asked me to dance last night and when she saw the bruises on your neck this morning. She’s got it so bad she can’t think straight but since she’s a girl she’s stuck in a holding pattern until you make some kind of move. If you ask me, you’re a lucky guy to have a girl who knows all your secrets and still loves you.” Buffy said, figuring that it was about time someone clued him in, for Willow’s sake.

“But, she’s my Willow...I mean my friend...sister like even.” Xander shook his head, mired in confusion. “I mean, I don’t think of her that way. I mean, she sweet and smart but she’s well...she’s just Willow.”

“Just when I thought you were different than other guys, you go and say something ridiculous like that. Oh she's good enough to be your friend but if she doesn’t have a big rack and a short skirt, she’s not good enough to be your girlfriend. Beauty fades Xander, and someday you’re going to wake up beside a once beautiful woman and have nothing to talk about because you never looked deeper than her pretty face. Willow is a full blown hottie. One day she’s going to realize that and then you’ll come sniffing around and realize that’s she’s out of your league, wishing you had made a move sooner.” Buffy told him putting her hand on her hip, knowing full well that a beautiful face could be attached to a sadistic liar.

“Hey...I’m not declaring war on the united bonds of sisterhood or anything, it’s just either you feel a thing or you don’t. And I don’t.” Xander said holding up his hands.

“How do you know you don’t?” Buffy shot back smugly. “Have you ever kissed her or tried to look at her like she is a girl and not just one of the guys? Trust me Xand, you two fit and if you would take a minute to really think about it...you would see that.”

“Yeah...maybe.” Xander said not believing it for a second. When the bell rang, announcing they were late, he gave her a relieved smile. “Gotta run...we‘re doing that study thing at your place, so I’ll catch you after school.”

When he took off like he was being chased by a ravenous wolf, Buffy got a brilliant yet somewhat underhanded idea. Quickly she made her way down the hallway, not to her class but to where she knew Willow was. Walking into the room, she gave the computer teacher a bright smile. “Ms. Calender, Mr Giles the librarian, needs to speak with Willow about a project she is working on and he sent me to see if you could excuse her.”


“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.” Jenny said, since Willow happened to be her best student. “You can go Willow.”

“Thanks.” Willow said awkwardly, telling her first lie to a teacher ever. She managed to hold it together but the second they were in the hallway she sent Buffy a desperate look. “What’s going on...I mean, I know I don’t have a project so...are we going to get in trouble?”

“Breathe...I’ll have Giles cover for us but you and I have something we have to do.” Buffy said taking her arm and pulling her to the library, to secure their alibis.

“What are we going to be working on?” Willow asked, feeling more than a little nervous.

“You.” Buffy said biting her lip and giving her a bright happy smile.

_____________________________________________


“Man where are they?” Xander asked Jessie for the umptenth time as they waited outside for Buffy and Willow. Classes had let out fifteen minutes ago and they still weren’t here yet and after his talk with Buffy he had a really bad feeling working its way into his stomach.

Hearing someone call his name, he watched as Buffy and an strangely familiar girl walked over to where they were standing. “So whose your friend?” Xander asked, absently scanning the crowd for Willows familiar face.

“Duh Xander, I’m right here.” Willow said feeling more invisible than ever, even though she knew she had never looked better in her entire life.

Xander turned to the sound of her voice and his jaw dropped at what he was seeing. Willow’s long carrot colored hair now barely brushed her shoulder, in a stylish layered cut and in the light, it was every color of gold to gilded red. Instead of the same dresses and pant sets she had been wearing for as long as he had known her, she was wearing a pair of black leather pants that accentuated her long slender legs and waist with a soft cotton peasant top, with tiny flowers on it. The gathered scooped neck was low enough to reveal just a hint of her small high breasts. “Wow...you look...wow.”

Beaming, Willow shot Buffy a grateful look. She had never believed that Xander would look at her like that and as of right this second she was willingly Buffy’s slave...she owed her big time. “Thanks...so I guess we should get going?”

“You’re leaving?” Xander said, suddenly understanding what Buffy had been trying to tell him earlier. He was the King of cretins and all lesser cretins bowed before him. Buffy had been here all of two days and had seen this side of Willow and he had known her his entire life and missed it, he was an idiot.


“We all are Xander...studying, my place remember?” Buffy reminded him helpfully, inwardly congratulating herself on a job well done.

“So whose your new friend.” Cordelia asked, noticing the new girl besides Buffy. The second she got a good look, she seemed hit by a truck. “Good god...you’re Willow.”

“Yeah well don’t tell anyone and I won’t have to tell anyone you’re an idiot.” Willow shot back, Xander and Jessie’s appreciative, looks bolstering her confidence. “You guys ready?”

“Wow...Willow took on Cordy and won?” Jessie said completely in shock as they headed to Buffy‘s car. “Okay, what universe did I wake up in, because something tells me I’m not in Sunnydale anymore.”

“That felt amazing...thank you Buffy...for everything” Willow whispered softly, thinking about all the years she had been to afraid stand up for herself.

“That’s what friends are for.” Buffy told her slinging an arm around her shoulders. “My mom was right, I think I like it here.”
Chapter 4

After everyone left, an hour before sunset Buffy prepared herself for her nightly patrol. She told mom she was going out to meet the others at the Bronze for a few hours and since she had spent most of the day studying Joyce didn’t even protest.

She had no intention of going to the Bronze and since she had filled Jessie in on Operation get Xander and Willow together, she knew he was going to do something else tonight as well. She knew that Willow had to be home by ten on school nights, so she would swing by about a half hour before that just to make sure they got home...without letting them know they were being watched. With that in mind, she kept an eye on her watch as she patrolled.

When it was about time to head that way, she had dusted two vamps and that and her earlier campaign with her new friends put her in a lighthearted mood. Until she got the undeniable feeling that she was being watched. It was like a feather being stroked across her neck and until she knew who was watching, she couldn’t ignore it. “It’s late, I’ve got stuff to do so I’m not in the mood for games. Show yourself.”

“Are all slayers as bitchy as you pet, or are you just having a bad night?” Spike asked walking closer to her.

“Did Angelus send you or are you just looking to try out the slayer?”

“How do you know Angelus?” He asked her, expecting the bastard to appear at any second.

“It’s personal and since that’s not why you’re here, can we get to the fight? I mentioned earlier that I have things to do.” Buffy told him snidely, her attraction to him making her slightly more bitchy than usual. If she had a weakness it was, swearing,heart breaking,bad boys. And everything about the bleached blonde decked in long black leather duster, screamed that he was the leader of the pack. His crystal blue eyes, gave him the look of a fallen angel and since he was a vamp, it was true. Which was why she was going to dust him, instead of seeing if he tasted as good as he looked. No matter how sweet candy coated sin might taste as it melted on your tongue, Buffy knew it was still a sin and she had enough of those darkening her soul with adding on a few more.

“Angelus is dangerous, slayer. If he’s got his eye on you, it’s going to stay there. I may be a vampire, but I don’t bite, like your thinking. I have myself a soul and if Angelus is after you...you could use a friend because he‘s not the only big bad in this town.” Spike said, afraid of what might happen to the delicate beauty before him if, Angelus got his hands on her. A friend had told him the slayer was in trouble in Sunnydale and on the way here he had thought of all they ways to slowly work his way into her life but the mention of his grandsires name, was enough to throw all his carefully laid plans aside.

He had come to make amends for his past and somehow he was back to where it all began. If he was smart, he would leave town and just suffer for his sins but after one look at the girl in front of him, leaving wasn’t an option. She was stunning, with the ethereal grace of an angel but looking into her eyes and seeing a darkness that matched his own, he knew that like him, she had fallen from grace. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a box, figuring that she would need it more than he did and tossed it to her, hoping that it would keep her safer than the last slayer who had worn it.

Flipping open the lid, she stared at the cross for a few moments before closing it and tossing it back to him. “I’ve got all the friends I need.”

“Well if you want to keep them alive, I suggest you take one more. Angelus won’t just go after you luv, he’ll go after everyone you love. Your friends, your family...”

“He’s my family and that’s the problem.” Buffy said, not knowing why she trusted him. Maybe he wasn’t lying about having a soul but until she knew for sure she wasn’t going to take any chances. “If you wanna help, meet me at the high school library in an hour. If my Watcher says you’re not lying, then I’ll let you tag along.”

“I’ll be there. I get that you don’t trust me slayer.” Spike gave her a confident smile curious about her earlier remarks, but knowing she had said all she was going to on the matter. “But you will.”

She let out a short laugh and turned to head to the Bronze. “I don’t trust anyone.” She said over her shoulder, not bothering to turn around.

“You‘ll trust me luv.” Spike repeated softly, just under his breath as he watched her fade into the shadows of the alley.

tbc...

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