Scorched
by
Evenstar

O Love in Glory
With crowned brow
I fell thine arms
Around me now.
Soft thy kisses
Warm thy breath
Vision of love
Angel of Death.

 Chapter 1

"What did you just say?" Spike whispered, his voice tight and shaky. He backed away from the Slayer, he hadn't seen her in weeks and wanted nothing more than to be right where he was, but the words she'd just spoken had shaken him to the core. He'd returned from his pilgrimage, back from Africa, a different man and he'd come home to a very different world and a very different Buffy. Her first words to him had been 'You're home...', and even the slightest inkling that she considered Sunnydale his home had been monumental. Then she'd told him that Tara was dead and he'd gone weak in the knees. When he'd composed himself she'd continued and told him that Willow had dived back so deep into magic, the darkest magic, that Buffy didn't think she'd ever come back from it. Warren had been responsible for it all, in an attempt to take down Buffy for which the benevolent Wiccan had paid for. Warren was of course dead now too, by virtue of Willow, and his cohorts were in prison. He'd listened pensively, turning the words around in his mind as she told the story. Giles could do nothing after the fact and remained still in England. Xander had gone, she didn't know where and Anya was once again in the service of D'Hoffryn, but was still in Sunnydale - heartbroken and angry.

Then she came to the part that had left him as raw as lacerated nerve endings. For all intents and purposes only Buffy and Dawn remained of the core he once knew. When they'd needed him the most, he was nowhere to be found. The world had gone silent again, finally after all the death and mayhem, the sisters were clinging to each other because they had nothing left. Their house was silent, they barely spoke save to tell the other they were going out, or something as mundane as making out a grocery list. Buffy suffered through each shift at the Doublemeat and had to borrow money against the house just to keep them afloat, went through the motions of Slayer and all the while she came closer and closer to the single epiphany that would change the course of all their lives.

"You need me to say it again?" she asked, a tiny smile was forming in the corners of her mouth. He closed his eyes, a single tear holding to the corner, he nodded his head. She closed the gap between them and caught the tear before it fell down his cheek with her lips. She grazed the back of her hand over one of his sharp cheek bone, then trailed her index finger over his bottom lip and was touched by how it trembled,"Spike....I love you."

"You love me?" He kept questioning her, the reality of it too amazing to him to accept it on face value.

"Open your eyes." He did as she bade and beheld the melee of colors that were her eyes, gray and green speckled with tawny golds. Buffy looked at him as if he were new, not knowing how true her observation was, his eyes weren't cool like they'd always been. Still as blue as a rare jewel, but warmer, like a tropical ocean."I love you."

"I wasn't sure if I should come back. But I couldn't stay away, I'm drawn to you no matter where I am in the world...like a moth to a flame, I don't care if I'm burned, I can't stay away from you....I love you too much. The way I left things between us..."

"That wasn't your fault..."

"Yes it was...I tried..."

"You stopped yourself when you realized I meant no, and you hated yourself....and you didn't really, you just thought...."

"Think all I had to do was remind you how good we felt together and that would be enough? I acted like the sort of man I never thought I would ever be...the kind that were weak and uglier inside than any demon....I was so wrong..."

"And so was I....I want to put it behind us, right now...please?"

"I don't know if I can, Buffy."

"For me?"

"Anything for you, love."

"Then listen and do as I ask? Things were hard, there were all these walls around us, all these impenetrable barriers. We'd made each other bitter and angry, made each other hurt the kind of pain only people who love each other can. I was positive that I wanted you gone from my life, but when I found out that you really had left and I thought for good there was suddenly this hole in my heart that could only be filled by you. I was sick and empty inside and then I finally knew why, because I was worried and scared over you. Where did you go?" Spike shook his head and scratched at his chin, trying to gather the resolve to explain the audacious sojourn he'd embarked on.

"I don't think you'd believe me if I told you...give me a little time, need to think of an approach....need for us to be sitting down, for sure."

"Can you tell me why you left? Dawn told me how you came and said goodbye...she wouldn't.....no, she couldn't bring herself to tell me..."

"Let's leave that between me and my sweet bit. I hope she'll be as happy to see me as you are, I hope she's forgiven me for abandoning her."

"She loves you too, she might be angry somewhere deep inside, but mostly I think she'll just be relieved."

"Tell me something, love, because I don't know the bloody answer.....where do we go from here?"

Chapter 2

"One breath at a time...well, not breath, you and the no breathing thing," Buffy said lightly and Spike reciprocated her small joke with a smile,"One touch....one kiss....just moment to the next...I don't know what's coming, but I can't help but have hope, you know? My friends are all gone, they were my family...all I had left was Dawn and we're not close like we used to be. But now you're back, Dawn's gonna be ecstatic, and the three of us can be a family..."

"God....I want that so much, Buffy....so bloody much I can't even put it into words. It can happen, I promise you it can...I've seen and done things, things that have changed me...I want you to know something about me that maybe you never thought, believed before. I'm a good person, my love is real and my word is my bond...I'm not evil, despite all you've known about me, and you don't need to ever feel ashamed for loving me, alright?" She ran her fingers over his brow, down the bridge of his nose, then across his cheek.

"I can feel it, there is something different...I think I knew it the moment I saw you....you seem....balanced."

"Sounds about right...I feel grounded, right. Mind you, Slayer...I don't think I'd say everything was in it's rightful place until a I stepped across the threshold of your front door and into your arms, now I'm whole."

"Something major happened when you were gone, didn't it?"

"You could say that....I...I still need to wait to tell you."

"I understand. I just want to hold you, feel your arms around me, feel your lips on my skin..." Spike certainly didn't need anymore encouragement, he outright swept her off her feet and carried her into the living room, flopping down on the couch and taking her on his lap. He let go of her only to squirm out of his coat, his arms bare to touch the skin of her upper body that was not covered by the violet tank top she wore. The contact of their skin sent ripples of sheer pleasure through them, which was augment when their lips smashed together. The pressure was fierce and ravenous, then soft and wet when their tongues drew them in deeper. Buffy's hands fisted themselves in his hair and maneuvered until she was straddling him, pressing her breasts firmly against his chest."I missed you so much..."

"Never leavin' again...my beautiful Slayer...." They were so caught up in their reunion that they both failed to notice the sound of the front door opening and slow, delicate feet coming inside the house. A strangled an unexpected cry broke the lovers apart.

"Spike!!!" Dawn practically shouted. Buffy moved off the vampire just in time for her sister to propel herself against him. The teenager hugged Spike with such fervor and strength that he winced, but he couldn't have cared less and instead hugged her back. When he realized she was crying he began to stroke her hair and call shhhh into her ear."You came back! You came back...."

"'Course I did, doll, couldn't leave m'nibblet forever....love you too much....you n' big sis..."

"I thought I'd never see you again...everything's so horrible, everybody's lost....." Dawn let him go and sat back next to him, then noticed how Buffy's hair was mussed, her lips swollen and her eyes dancing."You told him? Didn't you?"

"Yes, Dawn, I told Spike I loved him.....and we promise he's staying for good."

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Dawn asked, almost timidly.

"I found it....and lots more, so much more I could write a bloomin' novel 'bout it. Listen, bit, Buffy's told me everything that's gone down...but from now on you can be happy about the future...the three of us'll make it alright. Blimey, suddenly I'm having the best bloody day of my entire un-life."

"I think we are too," echoed Buffy,"It's been so dark and miserable for weeks, this is the first bit of happiness in forever."

"Clearly the planet's off its axis if I'm the one bringing you ducks happiness.....thought I was still a big bad, even a little of one, at the least...not I'm sodding bloomin' Santa Claus..." Buffy rolled her eyes and pinched his cheek, to which he gave her a sideways glare of annoyance.

"Okay....how's this....you're an evil bloodsucking fiend?"

"That's right."

"Un-huh....but you're our evil bloodsucking fiend....and we love you."

"Ppppsshh....who am I kidding....I've totally switched sides, I'm as pure as the driven snow."

"Sure thing, sweety.....I can see the halo already." Buffy's voice fell silent and she seemed to move in slow motion, her eyes closed and he came to him again, parting her lips ever so slightly, then they were on his lips again. The kiss was brief, but it's tangibility lingered with the taste of her.

"Spike...is there something different about you?" Dawn asked, looking over Spike just as Buffy had.

"The whole world's different, sweet bit."

Chapter 3

"I think we need to celebrate!" Dawn declared,"When was the last time any of us had any fun of any kind??"

"So long ago I can't remember when," Buffy replied with a sigh, sinking against Spike.

"Well, m'lovelies, doesn't matter to me what we do so long as it's me n' you two."

"The Bronze is still standing....we can sit in a comfy corner, eat nachos covered with jalepenos n' cheese n' drink beer..." Dawn suggested.

"You're not having beer," was Buffy's answer,"What do you say?" Spike looked back and forth between their two bright faces, two beautiful girls that probably hadn't smiled in weeks.

"I'd say I'm a very lucky man indeed."

"You certainly are, don't you forget it."

"I won't, love. I'm not however lucky enough to have anything to wear...this shirt's about two threads from fallin' off m'body...these soddin' pants are...well, sodden...and you don't even want to know about m'socks. I swung by m'crypt n' someone cleaned me out....even the nooks I'd stashed all my fave clothes in....all m'books n' jewelry, cds....cleaned me out, I'm absolutely skint to the bones."

"That someone would be me, actually. I didn't know if you were coming back, I didn't want anybody to take your stuff...and I couldn't.....I couldn't let you go, so I took your things and put them in a box in my closet." The smile he gave her tugged at her heart strings, he was obviously amazed that she'd taken mementos of him, which told him the seed of her love for him had been planted before he'd gone.

"Tell you what ducks, I'll hop in the shower, we'll get spruced up n' then go for a spin on the dance floors of our favorite haunt...this is how it should have always been.....the three of us."

***

The trio waltzed into the Bronze, Spike had a lady on each arm and both were decked out in smashing outfits. They took up a nice spot in the corner, a couch just for them, out of the way of the crowd. Spike left them alone for a moment, to grab them some munchies and drinks. Dawn and Buffy sat close together, holding each other's hands and smiling, watching Spike ease back into his regular demeanor, confidant and sexy as hell. Wherever he had been, whatever he'd accomplished it hadn't changed the fundamentals of why both Summers women loved him. He always had a dual personality, one side was strong, confidant, rebellious while the other was vulnerable, sensitive and tender. When melded as they had he became irresistible, it may have taken Buffy a little longer than her sister to realize it, but she'd come there in the end.

Spike returned to their nook followed by a waitress who had in truth a deep fried onion that had first been unfolded into a flower with drinks for Dawn and Buff on a tray. Spike set down a bottle of beer for himself on the table before flopping down next to Buffy. He tossed and arm around the Slayer's shoulders and pulled her back against him for a fast and fierce kiss. He let her go and retrieved his beer, taking a swig and groaning in satisfaction."Comfy?" Buffy asked coyly. He smirked at her and put his heavy feet on the table, clearly during his time away he'd paid no more attention to his manners than usual.

"In heaven, love," was his reply, sending a wink her way,"Dig in ducks, the food's brilliant!" Dawn was already munching, and soon enough Spike and Buffy had joined her. The evening wore on and from each's point of view it was clear that the three of them had formed an unbreakable bond over the years they'd been together. They'd begun at opposite ends of the moral spectrum, but had since met in the middle and become a family. When Spike had left, the absence of him in their lives had been enough to jar Buffy out of her state of denying she loved the vampire. Now that she'd voiced as much, the actuality of it was effortless. Dawn was keenly aware of this fact in respect to her sister and couldn't help but feel overjoyed at the latest turn their lives had taken.

"Mmm.....be right back..." Buffy spoke as she got to her feet.

"Where you off to, Slayer?" Spike asked, not too warm to her not being at his side all night long.

"Where you cannot follow.....or at least where you should not follow unless you want trouble..." His face crinkled at a lack of understanding and Buffy tutted her tongue to the roof of her mouth in mild exasperation,"The ladies room, Spike, geez..." The sudden look of relief on Spike face was enough the send Dawn into a fit of giggles after Buffy had walked out of ear shot.

"And what pray tell are you laughing about, pet?"

"You! Silly...Spike, I'm just so....so....."

"Me too, sweet bit - happiness....scary as hell isn't it?"

"Terrifying."

Chapter 4

"Shouldn't big sis be back by now?" Spike asked, noticing that Buffy had been gone longer than expected. Dawn seemed unfazed by his heightened state and casually shrugged her shoulders.

"She's the Slayer, she's fine, I don't think she had a nasty run in with the hand dryer."

"Do me a favor, bit, just go n' check for her?"

"Paranoid much?"

"Just go...."

"Okay...be right back." As Dawn headed towards the ladies room, Spike started to cast his eyes to every dark spot in the Bronze, even to the balcony above, no sign of Buffy anywhere. Dawn came sauntering back over to him shaking her head,"Maybe she saw a vamp and followed him outside..."

"Wait here."

"Spike?"

"Stay put, I'm gonna take a look outside."

"But...."

"Dawn, mind me when I tell you things like this, it's important." The teenager huffed and sat back on the couch, taking Spike's beer with her to let exorcise a little of her aggression at being left out of the action. Spike stepped out into the night air and inhaled deeply, hoping his senses would catch a whiff of her perfume or any other tell tale scents of the Slayer. Secondly, he perked his ears and caught what sounded like the slightest kitten like mew. He followed around the building until he came to the mouth of an alleyway. He approached as quietly as possible, his footsteps lighter than the wind. He stopped short when he found Buffy and the obscene sight in front of him. Buffy was against the wall, standing reasonably straight, but she had a cold blank stare on her face. Someone or something was pressed up against her, it's hand fondling her breast and it's mouth at her throat. It wasn't a vampire, it seemed to be simply a man.

Spike could do nothing to suppress the rage that was welling up inside him and it burst forth with his demon. He snarled and sprinted down the alley after them, witnessing as the thing moved away from Buffy and into the shadows. When Spike came upon her the man was gone and Buffy was as catatonic as when he'd first seen her. Ignoring the urge to go in hunt of what had forced itself on his love, Spike turned his attentions solely to Buffy. She reminded him briefly of a mannequin, lifelike but empty inside."Buffy? Come on, love....Slayer?" he asked, shaking her, smacking her face lightly."Buffy, please, don't scare me like this!"

"Spike?" Dawn called coming down the alley. She saw her sister and began to panic as well,"God, what's wrong with her? Buffy!? Buffy!?" All of a sudden Buffy's eyes closed and she turned her body against the wall and promptly bent over and threw up. Spike held her up and held her hair back while she wretched and clung to her stomach in great pain. Eventually she calmed and came out of her fog to find Spike supporting her and Dawn wiping her face with tissue.

"Buffy, sweetheart?" Spike asked as she caught his eyes, blue that had moments before been enraged with demonic yellow.

"Why are we outside?" Buffy whispered.

"You went to the bathroom and didn't come back," Dawn explained,"Spike came outside to look for you...he told me to stay inside....but I couldn't just sit and wait..."

"Spike? What happened?"

"You don't remember?" Buffy saw the grave look on his face and she shook her head, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. She clutched her stomach and leaned forward,"What's wrong?"

"My stomach.....hurts...."

"We'll go home now...come, love." She tried to take a step forward, but the ache in her guts became stabbing and she cried out. Seconds later she was in Spike's arms, being carried. She didn't absorb much of what was happening to her as they walked home from the Bronze. She was aware of little else than that she was not on her own feet and that her face was against the familiar surface of Spike's body. They were inside the house in no time and ascending the stairs,"We'll get you tucked in bed..."

"I want a bath.....I feel...I feel so dirty...." she whispered.

"Dawn," Spike spoke as she came up after them,"Go on ahead and run Buffy a bath."

"Shouldn't you just put her to bed?"

"No....she said she wanted one....don't make it too hot....go on." Buffy was able to stand of her own accord when Spike put her on the tile floor of the bathroom. She let him and Dawn undress her, feeling almost like herself again, even nude she felt protected, she was with the two people she loved most and they were taking care of her. Spike made sure she didn't slip as she sunk into the warm water, then tossed off his coat and knelt before her, reaching for the soap and lathering it up before spreading it over her back."You want us to go?" She shook her head.

"You want me to wash your hair?" Dawn asked, hopeful.

"Okay..." Buffy replied in a meek voice. Buffy closed her eyes and went into herself, letting them care for her and trying to find a quiet place inside her mind to take shelter in. She didn't know what had come over her, or how she got into the alley, but whatever it was it had made her feel used. Dawn's fingers worked the shampoo into her hair while Spike's large hands moved slippery all over her slim body. Their touch was nothing short of miraculous at making her feel safe and clean again. She felt water being poured over her, rinsing the soap from her hair and body.

"You can go on to bed, bit, I can take it from here," Spike's voice came through, making Buffy open her eyes and come back to them.

"I'm good now," Buffy spoke, giving her sister a reassuring smile. Dawn gave Buffy a peck on the cheek, then one for Spike before heading to her own room. Buffy got to her feet as the bath water disappeared down the drain. Spike handed her a towel for her hair, while he dried her body with another.

"You're positive about that?" he asked,"You're feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Your stomach still hurt?" As he spoke the words, his hand rubbed the formerly affected area.

"The pain's gone." He nodded then wrapped the towel around her. She stepped out of the bath and the two of them headed across the hall to her room. Spike left her side and went to her dresser to search her drawers for a nightgown.

"What would you like? Something flannel from ankles to chin? Or something pretty...."

"Nothing..." He turned around to see the last of her naked body getting under the covers. He closed the drawer and sighed, her face sunk against her pillow and she rolled on to her side in a tight fetal ball. He kicked off his boots and slumped into the chair at her desk, shutting his eyes tight and rubbing them hard until a kaleidoscope of colors exploded behind the lids."Spike?" He opened his eyes again and for a moment couldn't perceive her in the darkness, not until the colors had faded.

"Yes, love?"

"Why are you sitting there?" Misunderstanding the intent of her words he rose from the chair and turned towards the door.

"I'll take the couch then....or go back to my crypt..."

"No...don't be ridiculous, come to bed." This time it was his heart that exploded with the kaleidoscope, only this time the colors were emotions."I don't want to sleep alone." He obeyed and stripped off his shirt and pants, not caring where they fell on her floor. He slinked into the warmth of the bed and against her back. Her body was exceptionally warm, from the bath and perhaps from a touch of fever if she was getting sick as her symptoms may have indicated. To Buffy his cool, soft skin was tempering and exotic. With all his parts, the flat and the not so flat pressed to her, he eased an arm between her neck and the pillow he had her head on and another around her waist to hug her close. He lay his head behind her's, the scent of the bath lingering in her damp hair. He kissed her tenderly, pressing his lips to her skin for a long time.

"Just sleep tonight?"

"Just sleep, Spike."

"Gotcha..."

"More ways than one. I'm so happy you're home....don't ever go away again, okay?"

"I'll never leave your side, my sweet."

Chapter 5

Buffy awoke the next morning feeling exceptionally refreshed, like she'd walked out of Hell and into the light of the sun. Sometime during the night she and Spike had disentangled themselves from each other and he now lay on his stomach with his face in the pillow and an arm dangling off the side of the bed. He looked as content as a fat cat in the sunshine and as much as she wanted to rain kisses all over his back, she couldn't bring himself to disturb the sleeping vampire. She gently rose from the bed and strolled over to the window to pull the curtains back just enough to bathe her in the morning sun's rays, but made sure they didn't touch Spike.

She glanced over at the clock by her beside, it was almost 10am. She pulled the curtains back and rummaged around in her closet for a robe before leaving the bedroom. Buffy checked on Dawn but found her room empty, she proceeded to the bathroom for her morning routine and found the note from her sister telling her she'd gone to school and would be back directly after. Dawn had folded up Spike's coat, discarded the night before and put it on the counter for him. Taking it with her, Buffy returned to the bedroom and found Spike sitting upright, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Noticing her, he smiled,"Sleep alright, love?"

"Like a baby...you?"

"Mmmm....not so well, kept waking up..."

"Why?" He motioned for her to come over and she complied, seating herself next to him, close enough that he could taste her scent.

"Last night....when I found you...you weren't alone." Buffy gave him a wounded look,"You sure you don't remember?"

"No....I don't, not a thing...I was with you and Dawn one minute, and then the next I was feeling sick....out in an alley. Who was with me?"

"A man I think, it was hard to tell, you were in the shadows. I chased him away."

"What....what.....Spike, was he doing something to me?" Spike cast his eyes downwards, afraid to look at the fright and disgust that had instantly appeared in her eyes the same time the thought had,"Spike! Tell me now!"

"He...well....I'm not entirely sure. His hands had your breasts..." Buffy made a sound, similar to the one she had moment before she'd gotten sick in the alley,"His mouth was all over your neck...but as soon as I was there he ran off..." Buffy pulled her robe around herself tighter and fought back feelings of having having unwelcome hands and lips on her body."Buffy, love, it's alright.....he's not here now, you're perfectly safe."

"But what would have happened if you hadn't come after me? How far would he have gone.....Spike, I don't even remember it...but I feel it now, imprints on my skin....I feel violated."

"It's over...it could've been much worse, that's true, but you're with me now. He's obviously worked some bloody powerful mojo on you to make you forget yourself, but I'd wager whoever the bastard is he won't be coming for you again, I think I got the message across - fangs n' bumpy forehead n' what not."

"I'm beginning to think that you came back just in time to save me once again..."

"I came back because I love you and couldn't bear being away any longer." Buffy unclutched her hands from her robe and moved it off her shoulders, exposing her naked breasts to him.

"Touch me," she bade. Spike needed nothing more than the very thought from her and his palms were against her nipples, fingers splayed out over the supple flesh. He kneaded them gently while watching his reflection in her eyes, the only place he ever saw his own image. Buffy moved from beside him, pushing the covers away from him until she straddled him and got even closer. When she felt him grow hard underneath her, Buffy didn't hesitate to take him inside her. She gasped and arched against him, then relaxed and sunk to him completely. He hands left her breasts and move to her hips to counter her grinding motions with thrusts from below and the forcing down of her with his hands. Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck and closed his face in between her breasts. His mouth was surprisingly hot, but his tongue was still tepid as ever, Spike virtually ravaged her with his mouth, just as she consumed him further down.

They made love, started slowly, but then the minutes passed into hours and by the time each had come more times than could be counted they were too exhausted to even speak. The slipped apart and collapsed beside each other in her bed. For a long stretch of time they neither touched nor spoke, but as sleep overcame them, Buffy formed herself against him, her head on his chest, dropping butterfly kisses on him,"Welcome home, Spike," she whispered.

"Home, love...I'm finally home."

***

Their nap didn't last long when both were awakened an hour later with Dawn announcing from the bottom of the stairs she was home . They groaned and Spike was roused further by the Slayer poking him in his ribs,"Hey....steady on....I'm moving....just gimme mmm...another hour....." he complained, refusing to move.

"Get up...." Buffy ordered as she dressed. Out of the corner of one eye he saw her put on the same lilac peasant blouse she'd worn the day she'd broken up with him, he thought he never wanted to see it again, but now that he looked at her after all this time had passed he came to suddenly love it.

"If you want me to get up love, all you've got to do is...."

"Oh stop it....behave."

"Never!" Buffy pulled on a well worn pair of jeans and zipped them up before making her way into the closet. From the large cardboard box of his things she found him a black t-shirt and a pair of jeans. She brought them to him and insisted he put them on, not until he was dressed would she dare touch him, knowing full well if she did her resolve would fly out the window.

"Dawn's home and she's expecting us to spend time with her." She said the words whilst trailing her fingers down his face and neck.

"Right, right...mustn't ignore our girl in lieu of many more hours of fantastic shagging..."

"You make very difficult to choose you know.....but, Dawn wins."

"Of course she does....family first n' all that." They came downstairs and found her in the kitchen making a snack.

"Hey guys.....I can guess what you've been doing all day," said Dawn before a mouthful of chips and salsa. She had to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep the food in when she burst out laughing at the sight of Spike.

"What?" He looked himself over and then frowned when Buffy startled giggling,"What?!"

"Major vampire bedhead....your hair's all over the place, sweety," Buffy informed him, trying to straighten his wayward curls. Spike made a sound reminiscent of a whine, feeling rather embarrassed. However, when he was with them, he didn't care.

"Buffy.....what is that?" Dawn suddenly asked, closing in on her sister.

"What's what?"

"On your neck there..." Buffy's hand suddenly flew to the spot where the man had been kissing her the night before. Under the pads of her fingers she felt a raised area, like the remains of a scar.

"Lemme see, love," Spike asked pulling her fingers away to reveal what seemed to be a symbol, like two 'X's, one reversed and the two superimposed to form the mark. Buffy reacted with panic to the look on Spike's face and rushed into the hallway to examine it herself in the mirror.

"Ohmigod...omigod...."

"Sweetheart....it's....noth..."

"It's not nothing! Don't try and pretend it isn't! That weirdo last night did something to me!"

Chapter 6

"C'mere..." he spoke with a cajoling tone, pulling her shaken body to him. He bent his head to kiss the mark, proving to her that was insignificant depite the obvious fact that it wasn't. He first kissed behind her ear, then moved lower over the raised area, he pressed hard against the spot and suddenly cried out and lurched away from her.

"Spike?!"

"It...it....burnt me, bloody hell.....burnt m'lips....." Sure enough his lips were marked by red welts and it soon became hard to even speak as the blisters burst and blood flowed him them. Dawn rushed back into the kitchen to grab him a tea towel, and returned to Buffy crying and Spike trying to make her let him hold her again. Dawn passed the towel to Spike and hugged her sister.

"Guys, what's going on? Spike who's she talking about?!" Dawn demanded.

"Last night...there was someone with Buffy....he took off...but he was....he must have put the mark on her....magic or something..."

"Spike....I'm so sorry....I didn't know..." Buffy spoke, trying not to cry. Spike grabbed her hand and held fast to it.

"Buffy....how many times have we come up against weird, whacked out demons n' even hell gods? We always win, we always go in fightin' n' we always win, don't worry pet, we'll figure this out, promise. After the sun's down we'll head to the Magic Box, Anya'll have a book on the whole thing, you'll see."

"Yeah, Spike's right, Buffy...so you got a hex on you or whatever....hey, you can get a tattoo to cover it, that'll be cool!" Dawn suggested.

"Yeah, Bit's spot on...big red gothic letter's that say 'SPIKE's'!!" Buffy sniffled as she let her sister and boyfriend lighten her mood.

"You're right....this is....this is just like all the other times....not big deal..I'm not getting a tattoo....but I'm definitely Spike's."

***

Over the many years as the Slayer, Buffy had spent an inordinate amount of time away from home during the night, she used to love the night, loved staring at the stars. But this night however she felt timid and exposed. She'd covered her body, wearing a turtleneck even though the air was rather warm, she didn't particularily feel like showing any skin even though she knew Spike liked it that way, for fear that the mysterious person from the night before could be watching her. Spike had driven them in his car, which he first had to venture out and retrieve from his friend Clem, who'd been using it during his absence. The car felt like a military tank with it's blacked out windows and heavy 50s model exterior, she felt protected inside it's belly, encased in metal as if nothing could penetrate it. She did her best not to worry or bother the mark on her neck, but often found herself scratching or rubbing it. She'd begun to do it subconsciously, at which time Spike would nonchalantly ease or hand away from it and lace their fingers together for a time.

Dawn had called ahead to ask Anya to remain in the store a little while after closing so she could let them in. Dawn had explained briefly to the newly demonized friend what had occurred, but Anya could offer no explanation off the top of her head. Spike still held Buffy's hand as they walked into the shop. The door was unlocked, but the sign said closed and Anya was seated at a table reviewing what presumably were stock summaries and things of the like."I'm surprised you came back," she spoke, looking directly at Spike, then at their joined hands,"I didn't think you would."

"I'm sorry, love.....for what happened...but I'm not like him....I had to leave for something...important, but I was always going to come back, I love Buffy, and Dawn..." Anya put up her hand to silence him.

"I have business to attend to...lock up when you're done...."

"Wait....look at her neck first, please." Anya made a face, but came over to them nonetheless. Buffy pulled down her shirt and Anya studied the mark for a moment.

"Never seen it before...."

"Are you certain, you didn't look very long...." Buffy spoke.

"I've never seen it before....looking at it for an hour isn't going to change that..." Anya walked past them and slammed the door behind her.

"I wonder if she'll ever get over her anger...."

"Don't count on it, pet, the demon's pretty strong in that one....not much of the old Anya's left...don't expect her to be around much longer. Before she's gone maybe you should suggest she sign the store over to you, she won't care much about money once she's back on her game....vengeance that is."

"That's so sad..." Dawn remarked,"I mean, she's always been kinda weird, but she was funny...it's not fair."

"Life rarely is, nibblet, but it's never as bad as all that...we can make choices that'll steer us to one fate or another, you just have to weigh the consequences...Anya didn't bloody stop and think."

"But you did, didn't you?" Buffy asked,"Wherever it was that you went...it was big on the steering of fate?"

"Very big, love....but I made the right choice. Right then...let's hit the books...think there's a Jung book on signs n' symbols up there somewhere...every demon's usually got a sign too, so check out the demon volumes. We should order pizza."

Chapter 7

Buffy rolled her neck around on her shoulders, trying to alleviate the tension in her muscles, cracking the bones that would give. She was becoming drowsy a decidedly cranky, essentially fed up at looking over thousands of pages and finding absolutely nothing helpful. She groaned and lay her head on her arms upon the table, closing her eyes. Meanwhile Spike and Dawn stood above on the upper portion of the store, putting back the last of the books on the shelves."I think she's fallen asleep," Dawn whispered to him.

"Probably a good thing, poor girl's half out of mind with fright, sleep'll do her good."

"I think she'd rather be in her own bed....with you."

"Hey now, none of that....I still think of you as a lil' girl, you're supposed to think of me as very old and the thought of me having sex with your sister is supposed to disgust you."

"Oh please, I grew out of that stage when Riley was around....except the thought of them having sex did disgust me. But you and Buffy....it makes me happy, you're nothing like the others, they never measured up to her...she needs someone to take a risk on, someone who'll challenge her and love her with blind passion and devotion....that's you."

"You're reading those godawful romance novels of your mum's aren't you?" She swatted his arm and made him drop a book. He gave her a pointed look and bent down to get it when suddenly Dawn gasped."Bit? What is it?"

"Look....down, under us....." her voice was a coarse whisper and she was visibly afraid. Spike looked through the grate under his feet and saw nothing at first then detected movement."Who is it?"

"Stay back..." Spike fluidly jumped and perched himself upon the railing, biding his time until the figure emerged from the shadows. Slowly, as if floating, a tall olive skinned man with tousled black hair came into view. Spike changed to his demon visage and launched himself from the balcony. The other man turned slightly and held out his hand, for a split second suspending Spike in the air then propelling backwards to where he'd come from. He slammed into the bookshelves and fell hard to floor. Dawn screamed, but to no avail as both Buffy and Spike remained unconscious. The man continued to make his way towards the sleeping Buffy, oblivious to Dawn's cry.

Ignoring any possible danger to herself, Dawn ran down the steps to intercept the man before he reached her sister. He'd stretched out a hand was about to lay it upon the Slayer when Dawn snatched it away and forced him to turn and face her."Don't you dare!" she warned before he looked at his face. Upon seeing it she wanted to cry, she'd never seen anything like it in all her life. When he saw the small defender before him, he saw her true self just as she saw his. She was bright and glowing, emitting colorful blue-green waves of light and she was also too powerful for him to face at this time.

He spun around on his heels and bolted for the shadows. Dawn closed the hand that had touched the man into a fist, trying to rub out any trace of his essence from upon her skin. Once she was certain that the intruder was gone Dawn turned back to her sister, sleeping soundly and unaware of how close the danger had been."Buffy?" Dawn called, giving her sister a nudge. Buffy came around slowly and yawned.

"Mmmm....guess I fell asleep, time to go home?"

"No...Buffy....he was..."

"BUFFY!!!" Spike's voice came bellowing from the balcony above. Having regained consciousness and snapped back into action without realizing the crisis had already been averted. He sailed down from on high and rushed down only to find two calm and collected girls and no stranger."Where's he gone??!"

"Who Spike?" Buffy asked, oblivious.

"He was here...I tried to get to you.....he did something to me...he had power....Dawn what happened?"

"I made him leave..." Dawn replied,"He tried to touch her and I stopped him....I think he was afraid of me."

"Of you? Nibblet...I'm sure you'd be pretty good in a scrap but this guy threw me across the bloody room with a flick of his wrist!" Spike was about to continue when he suddenly felt the fingers of the Slayer close around his wrist,"Love, you alright?"

"Your forehead.....you're bleeding..." She took a few tissues from her purse and wadded them against the burst skin on his head, trying to stop the flow,"I'm sorry." He took her hand away, hardly concerned with himself at a time like this.

"Don't say that....it's not your fault."

"Spike's right, how can you being stalked by some freak ass albino be your fault?"

"Wait a minute.....albino?" Spike choked out,"Hardly.....bloody pillock was as black as pitch....dark skin, black hair...black suit...."

"Are you nuts?!" Dawn shot back,"He was whiter than you Spike! And his skin was all glowy....his eyes were majorly trippy, all white, like no color at all..."

"Oh bloody hell, did he work some mojo on you too.....kid, he was as demonic as they come!"

"He was not....I think you're the one with brain damage here, maybe your chip's finally fried your brain!"

"Would you two shut up!!!!" Buffy suddenly exploded,"Stop fighting.....pl...please...." Spike and Dawn fell silent, more angry with the situation than each other.

"We're sorry, love....we didn't mean to," Spike said softly,"We're just...just...."

"You're scared, it's okay to say it.....we all are....but right now I just want to go home to bed."

Chapter 8

"This is ridiculous...." Buffy sighed, trying to get comfortable in the large bed in what had first been her mother's, then Willow and Tara's,"I really don't think we need to go this far....I mean, really....come on...."

"Shhhhhh," Dawn and Spike admonished in unison. The Slayer found herself as the middle of to a vampire and magic key sandwich, Spike to her right and Dawn to her left, each with an arm around some part of her body. It was Dawn's a idea. As much as Buffy pretended to protest, she very much appreciated their devotion and truth be known it was kind of sweet. Nonetheless, she felt like she was in a cocoon the way the covers had been pulled up to their chins and their heads were all on the same pillow.

"Sigmund Freud would have a field day with you two..."

"Buffy go to sleep, I have school tomorrow..." Dawn informed.

"Yeah....n' if I have to sleep like this I at least want silence....jeans are bloody uncomfortable to sleep in..." Spike grumbled.

"You're keeping them on...as it is this'll probably warp my influenceable teenage mind..."

"Don't think influenceable's a word, nibblet."

"Whatever...as it is I'm having to use a healthy willing suspension of belief....keep your hands off my sister's squishy spots...."

"Pish....I have no intention of......of squishy spot touching....and frankly, m'platelet, I want to keep m'pants on....can't have anyone staring in disbelief at my healthy willy suspension..."

"I can't sleep....Spike tell me a story...."

"For two people who wanted quiet...." Buffy interjected.

"Shhhhhh!!!" Spike and Dawn did again.

"Right then.....story....here's one for you....Spike on Safari...."

"Huh?" Buffy questioned. Spike snuggled in closer to the Slayer and kissed her cheek.

"I went to Africa."

"AFRICA?!!"

"Quiet, love....get comfy n' listen, it's a good one. Before I left things were pretty bloody awful, for all of us...but specifically between you and me...so much anger n' hurting. We were so deep with each other, but we were drowning. I knew you couldn't get past the fact that I was a soulless bloodsucker n' the fear that my love for you was just an obsession and not real at all....."

"I know it's real Spike..."

"Quiet now, sweetheart....I also knew that that the sort of man you needed had to be one you could depend on to be good, to be the sort you could trust. To me that meant that as long as I was collared and leashed by the chip you'd always have doubts about me....so...I found out that there was this bloke deep in the heart of the continent....he was a shaman, with a bit of demon thrown into the mix.....he promised he could take the chip out..." He paused for a moment, waiting for them to react. But the only response he received was for Buffy to place a hand over the one he had laid on her stomach."Getting there was no easy task, lemme tell you...too much bloody sunlight for my liking...had to be careful like you wouldn't believe...had to hold up in some places for days waiting for m'next ride, finding blood was even tougher - almost felt like giving up sometimes I got so hungry, but I'd think of the two of you and that'd be all I needed.

When I got there, dusty nothing of a village, he told me that it would be no problem....his magic could take care of it, no troubles. If, and this is one major bloody if, I had to pass a test..."

"What kind of test?"

"I had to fight the first Slayer." Buffy shot up straight in bed, Dawn turned over, already fast asleep. Spike sat up with Buffy and kissed her shoulder, then wrapped his arms around her and drew her back down to the bed, pulling her close against him."Obviously I did alright, I'm here aren't I?"

"That was dangerous...it was stupid and dangerous..."

"But it was necessary...had to do it or he wouldn't take out the chip..."

"Forget the damn chip..."

"Buffy, love, lemme finish....it wasn't like they called her up n' we went at it...it was more like they sent me to her. I don't rightly understand all this magic rot n' such, but he but me in a state....a trance n' there I was on the other side of the fire facin' her. I wasn't quite all myself, mostly just the vampire, the fangs n' the face all lumpy...she had her stake and the fire was in her eyes. I've seen it in your eyes a few times. So she n' I we went at it....raw n' violent, but it was different, effortless for both of us....just like a dance."

"You won though?"

"I did....had m'fangs at her throat, I could have had her...but I let her go....I let her go because I realized something...part of her lives in you and I could never do anything to hurt you, so I couldn't do anything to her...she had other ideas though..."

"You're okay, right?"

"I'm fine....she was going to stake me, and I would have let her, but the shaman pulled me back then....told me I was m'self again...he even let me beat up a few villagers just to prove it.....then I came back....and I realized a few more things, about us...about vampires and Slayers, I think that was the point of the trial, for me to learn. I could never be whole unless I had the love of the Slayer and she couldn't until she had the love of a vampire, until they both stopped fighting against it and accepted it. It's like a scale, we balance each side out...yin yang....two halves of the same whole...understand?"

"It means that our love.....is perfect."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far, pet, but it's pretty damn special."

Chapter 9

On rare occasions Spike would wake up and find himself in what he deemed to be idealic circumstances. When he opened his eyes he found himself within striking distance with his tongue of the perfect, rosy tip of Buffy's nipple. He looked beyond her sleeping body to see that the bed contained only the two of them and that somehow the slip nightgown that she had worn had slipped off her shoulders and down her body. He listened for any sign of Dawn and detected the distinct sound of pots and pans clanging in the kitchen. Reveling in his happy situation Spike curled his tongue around said nipple then moved his mouth closer to give it a gentle suckle. Seconds later Buffy giggled and tugged at his hair."Mornin' love," he said, then proceeded with his kisses until he'd reached her mouth.

"What's with the tongue so early in the mornin'? Not that I mind...but Dawn...."

"The bit's downstairs makin' her breakfast....once she's off to school what say you n' I have another 5 hour marathon?"

"Better make it 6...I'm feeling a little needy and vulnerable after last night.....there' no cure except many many hours of getting Spiked."

"Mmmmm...I'll give you your medicine, baby....nice cool injection...."

"Oh god....you're absolutely terrible at the sex metaphors...."

"That was a perfectly decent metaphor, Slayer, and your's was no better....but in all honesty do you really want metaphors when you can have the real thing?" Buffy was about to reply when a shudder of pleasure over came her as Spike's hand ran up the inside of her thigh. He tugged down on her panties, and brushed a finger against her. She bit her lip and whimpered when he gently eased the single digit inside her. His mouth returned to her breasts to work in synch with the stroking of his finger on her inner walls. Before long he added a second finger, and began to stretch her somewhat. His ministrations were helped along as her body responded and moistened itself, prompting him to place in a third one. He searched inside for a particular bundle of nerves while casually thumbing her clit.

"Mmmm.....good morning......"

"A very good morning, sweet Slayer...."

"Oh god...."

"Do you suppose God ever wonders why people call out his name during sex? I mean really, it's not like he's in the bloody room or anything...not like he's the one.....doing this..."

"Spike!.....spike....spike..."

"That's my girl....tell me you love me....."

"I love you....I....I....." Her words transformed into sharp gasps and tiny cries as she came, her muscles sucking upon his fingers and he continued his manipulations. When the ecstasy had passed he withdrew his fingers and brought them to his mouth to taste.

"Breakfast of champions....."

"You really were a bloody awful poet weren't you?"

"So I'm sweet fuck all at metaphors....I'm a damn fine man...."

"You are....you are.....and you're so good to me...now let me be good to you...." She was about to disappear under the covers when a shrill of a scream cut through the air with the quickness of an arrow. Spike was the first to react, springing from the bed and flying from the bedroom down the stairs. He found Dawn rushing back inside, and she collided with him just as Buffy caught up.

"Outside....outside....." the girl cried, seeking to hide herself from the horror she'd just come upon. Spike pushed Dawn behind him and proceeded with Buffy towards the sunlit morning . He took the first step out on to the shaded porch and as a reflex his foot jolted up when he stepped on something unfamiliar. He looked down to see what it was he'd stepped on, then backed himself over the threshold and inside the house, holding an arm out to stop Buffy from going anything further.

"Bloody hell..." he whispered, genuinely disturbed himself. Buffy saw it too and felt a strong wave of nausea over come her. She ran back inside for a sink, Dawn going with her. That left Spike to stand and bear witness to what could only be described as only the work of something's wrath. From their front door, across the porch, the driveway and the entire front yard, but ending at the edge of the property were hundreds if not thousands of dead swallows. A sea of tiny bird corpses littered their home, it was a sign if ever he'd seen one, that whoever was responsible was in possession of a malice even Spike himself could not have imagined. He slammed the door shut and bolted it tight before searching out Buffy.

He found her hunched over the kitchen sink trying to compose herself, Dawn pouring them each glasses of water,"I'll take care of it once the sun's down, I think there's a shovel in the garage...." he offered, but truly at a loss for words to explain any of it.

"This is personal.....when we were fighting Glory she was coming after us because Dawn was the key, but it was never personal, Glory just wanted the world destroyed....whoever's doing this, they're only after me, just me.....why??" Buffy pleaded.

"I...I don't know, love, wish to god I did, but it's not gonna go on like this forever, eventually something's gonna break.....always does..."

"I don't think so this time......this time being the Slayer's no good, being a vampire's no good....."

"What about me?" Dawn suddenly asked,"He was afraid of me last night, I swear he was....maybe because I'm the Key? I mean we don't really know really know anything about what else I can do.....what being the Key means, I open dimensions, but what about the rest of the time? Spike you saw him and he was all dark....but to me he was like light, pure light.....maybe he could see me in my non human form? Maybe that's why he ran away. I touched him too, and there's no marks on me....maybe this time I can help."

Chapter 10

"I think the bit's right, Slayer. But who knows more about the Key than what we already do? There're no monks.....no more Knights of Byzantium...."

"We've got a few clues," Dawn continued,"There's the symbol....the light/dark thing, and....the birds...we've still got Willow's computer and the net's still hooked up....there's no way I'm going to school...."

"They're sparrows...." Buffy whispered,"I always liked sparrows....they sang....um....I'll call the school, tell them you're sick...I...."

"Why don't you take it easy, pet, lay down on the couch...we'll just be in the other room..."

"Sure....I'm going to take shower first..." She went to leave but paused briefly to put a kiss to Spike's cheek, then continued on solemnly.

"Come on Dawn...we've got work to do."

***

Buffy woke with a start, jolted from a nightmare she couldn't remember, only to find herself in a place different than where she'd originally fallen asleep. She was on top of the covers in her own bed, still dressed in the clothes she'd put on after she'd had her shower. The curtains were drawn, but it was still light out, for a moment she was afraid and uncertain, but then something next to her moved and moaned in its sleep. She whipped her head around and saw Spike out cold, crinkling his face and snarling like a dog chasing a cat in its dreams."Fighting Slayers, I suppose," she whispered rhetorically. She huddled in close and watched in amusement as his face told the gist of dream. He made little biting snaps with his teeth, and groaned out Slayer more than once which was followed shortly after by an mmmmm Buffy. She tried very hard not to laugh at him but he genuinely was behaving in a most adorable way.

Watching him dream was a much needed temporary reprieve from the present situation they found themselves in. Fighting another unknown evil was normal for them, but this time was different, this time it was only the three of them, definitely an insufficient amount of Scoobies for fighting the forces of darkness. Spike continued his little theater of dream sounds and faces and Buffy couldn't help but lean in a kiss him. Even from the other side of his dreams he responded to her touch. Their kiss was deep and succulent, melding the flavors and sensations of each other's mouths. As he awoke, Spike wrapped his arms around her and rolled her on top of him,"We should always wake up like this," Buffy mused as she parted from his mouth,"I love waking up like this..."

"Me too, love."

"So tell me, how did we end up here?."

"Daytime's usually sleep time for us vamps...so, carried you up n' put us to bed. I did contemplate waking you for a snog...but you were peaceful and seems how things really aren't all that peaceful, I let you be..."

"Right now is better than any dream."

"Can't tell you how much it means to hear that."

"I can imagine....because it makes me feel so good to be able to say them, I love you Spike, with everything I have. I wish I could have seen it sooner, but I guess it's true what they say, you have to hit rock bottom before you can start climbing up and I think that happened for both of us. When you left I don't think you'd ever been so low within yourself, and when everything happened, and everyone left and it was just me and Dawn....alone and hurting, I just woke up...to you. I realized I wanted your love, needed it.....and I also realized I wanted to be the same for you - but you were gone and I didn't think you'd come back, I thought I'd driven you away for good. But then out of the blue you knocked on the front door and there you were and in two seconds I went from misery to bliss. So, I thank you, for everything you've ever done for us and for still being here."

"There isn't a question of thanks, my sweetness, if I'm not with you, I'm nowhere. If I'm not your's, I'm nothing. The Slayer and the vampire go hand in hand....." She kissed him again, then lay head next to his and hugged at his shoulders.

"Did you find out anything useful, with Dawn?"

"Not really, sorry, love. Bit's still at it, refuses to give up. The only mythical thing we found out about sparrows is that apparently they were the only bird present at the Crucifixion; in medieval England they were a symbol of strength and perseverance among the peasants....nothing useful, I'm afraid. Soon as the sun's down I'll get to tending to the yard, then if you think you n' the bit will be alright, I'll see if there's any words out on the streets about this buggar..."

"The sparrows...I'd almost forgotten about that....even the thought of it makes me sick to my stomach...I don't think you should have to do it, but I don't think I could face it."

"You shouldn't have to, and if you'll indulge me in a lil' caveman moment...it's not the sort of thing a woman should have to deal with, I'll take care of it so you won't have to, plain n' simple."

"I love my caveman Spike...you can even throw me over your shoulders, toss me on a bed and have your savage way with me sometime."

"Ohhhh.....you can count on it..."

"Until then....promise me it's gonna be alright....promise it's not gonna take me away from you and Dawn....promise me I'm not going to die again...." Some how she'd gone from playful exuberance and sobbing over him, her tears falling in his eyes, a her hands gripping fiercely to his shirt. Her fear tightened his heart, it may not beat, but he could still feel the pain of it breaking. He held her face in his hands and kissed away her tears.

"I promise...."

Chapter 11

Spike patted down the last shovel full of earth with the back of it. The job had taken him nearly three hours to accomplish in its entirety. He'd first gathered up the majority of the dead birds to a corner of the yard, then dug a grave large enough and deep enough that Buffy and Dawn would never have to think about it again once grass had grown over it. After he'd filled the hole with the birds, he went around with a flashlight to be certain he got every last one. His vampire enhanced night vision was probably enough, but he wanted to make sure. Once the dirt covered the grave he pitched the shovel into the ground and stormed off. The work had been ugly, foul and had left him feeling too angry and repulsed to go back inside, lest he inflict his mood on either Dawn or Buffy.

Therefore he walked the streets in order to gather his thoughts. It felt wrong to leave the two of them alone, but after what he'd just spent the last three hours doing, not to mention the fear he was feeling himself, he needed to blow off steam before going back inside. He stalked down the streets of mid-evening Sunnydale, a freshly lit cigarette hanging from his lips to which he gave long inhales just to feel the intense prickle of the chemicals in his lungs. The urge to punch and beat on someone faded as left the neighborhood and entered his cemetery, something about the place made him feel normal again. He'd spent the majority of his time in this one place over the past few years. It felt familiar, safe, where definable, well known enemies like demons and vampires roamed, things he knew how to kill.

He had another purpose to his walk, Dawn had given him directions to where Tara had been laid to rest. The knowledge that the Wiccan was no longer in with them weighed as heavily upon his heart as the threat against Buffy did. He felt he'd had a kinship with the girl, they'd both come into the fold as outsiders, they were both beautifully strange and vice versa in their own ways. After Buffy had died, Tara had been the only one who would listen to his lamentations and grief and believed it to be genuine. Then after Buffy's resurrection Tara had been the only one to give him the time of day. He considered her a friend and he missed her terribly. As he walked between the tombstones he'd gathered the nicest flowers he could find, it wasn't much, but the sentiment behind it was real. He placed the bouquet on her grave and brushed a few leaves from the grave marker.

"Ever wonder what it's all about, love?" Spike asked as he stood before her,"Why some of us get to go on while others check out early. See, I figure that everything happens in this world for a reason, I know you did too. I died about a hundred and twenty something years ago, but I'm still here, I'm not the same person who died, but I'm still me. So, I figure you are too, you're still here, you're not the Tara we all knew just like I'm not the same William.....but you're still you. I know you loved us all, even I felt some of it and truth be know, pet, you helped me a whole lot to change. I think I'm good now, not sure, but I love Buffy and I love Dawn and I want them to trust me and be proud of me, so that means I don't hurt people, I protect them......and the wanting to do it is there now, doing it for myself as much as the rest of 'em. If I know you like I think I do, you're patting me on the back as we speak.

Now, if it's all the same to you, love, I'd like to take a moment to.....to....I guess just to say m'sorry I went away when I did, maybe I could have gotten it right this time n' saved you, stopped Willow from goin' off...but like I said, things happen for a reason. I know it's selfish to think this, but just maybe you're in a position now to help us n' that's why you had to die. Whatever you can do....please send us a sign, girl, anything...please help us 'cause we're at our wit's end......and I'm scared, I'm so scared.....I can't lose her again.....I beg...no, just....just be well, wherever you are.....loved you, sweet girl."

***

Spike walked back inside the Revello Drive home to complete silence. All of the lights upstairs were out upstairs and that first gave him cause for concern, but when he came through the front door he was immediately drawn to Buffy, who was waiting for him on the couch. He threw off his coat and came over to her, sitting down next her. Without a second thought they were kissing madly, tongues thrashing each other's like vipers. Buffy ran her hands down his back and under his belt into his jeans, giving his rear a squeeze and making him growl into her mouth. She pulled his shirt out from his pants and fought to pull it off him. They reluctantly broke off their kiss to get his shirt off but as Spike went for her mouth, but Buffy had other ideas. She pushed him over and dragged her tongue down his chest then sucked on his nipple while grabbing for the hardness at his crotch.

"Christ......Buffy......" She eased up on him and went to task at unbuckling his belt, but he stayed her hands hand held them above her head. He settled his weight down on her gently, letting the fervor die down,"Buffy....what's the matter?"

"Why would you think something's wrong? I want you..."

"I know something's wrong.....you can't hide, not from me..."

"Come on, Spike....I know you want me too....I can feel it...." She bucked her hips against him and tried to kiss him again, but he stopped her.

"You're running scared again....just like last time.....this is the old Buffy, the Buffy that was scared and hurt and not coping with getting yanked out of Heaven by her friends, the Buffy that used me for sex to dull her pain."

"But I love you..."

"I know you do and I love you...." He released her wrists but she made no effort to move, furthermore she couldn't avoid the tenderness and understanding in his eyes.

"I was sitting here alone, waiting for you to come home after Dawn went to sleep...and I, I was imagining all sorts of terrible things, like what he might do to me if he got another chance. Both times I didn't even know it was happening, what if he....what if he..."

"You don't have to say it..."

"When I was young, when I was going up against the Master I wasn't this scared...huh, then there was you of course, Big Bad...." They shared a knowing smile, Spike could feel the tension leaving her body already,"With Angelus it hurt like hell, but I was still strong, the Mayor, then Glory....but this time I'm so scared I can't even find hope or faith in myself to face it. Spike I feel like I'm just waiting here for him to take me and it's making me crazy. Then you can in here and touched me....just make me forget for a little while......I don't want to run and hide, but I can't help it."

"I wish I had the answers you need, sweetheart, but I don't. There's nothing out there about him, I checked with every contact I could think of. I hate to say it, 'cause I'm supposed to be strong for you....but I'm bloody terrified, this isn't something I can tear apart with m'bare hands and it makes me angry. But I can tell you that you're not alone, that I'm by your side or I'm dust....I want you to run and hide too and I can't help it either."

"I have a solution."

"What's that, pet?"

"We don't run....we don't hide...we fight him...."

"Sounds like a plan, Slayer....but what about the rest of tonight?"

"Tonight...we make love."

"Can I be the caveman?"

"As long as you don't konk me on the head with a club and drag me by my hair back to your cave!"

"Just the ravishment then? No problem."

"Thank you.....thank you for you."

"Right back at you."

Chapter 12

The next morning Buffy came downstairs a little later than she'd intended to, she wanted to see Dawn off to school, but when Spike had tried to rouse her she'd swatted his hand away and mumbled into the pillow about not wanting to do anything by sleep. She found him sitting in an arm chair with a mug of what no doubt pig's blood, puzzled that he'd somehow managed to find time to get some. She yawned and haphazardly roamed into the living room. She pushed the book aside that he held in his hand and flopped herself down on his lap,"Good morning to you Slayer, sleep well?" he asked casually, returning to the interest of the book and taking a sip from his mug.

"Where did the blood come from?"

"Clem, he obliged me by dropping some off earlier. Good chap that Clement." She flung her legs over the arm of the chair and relaxed her small body against his and sighing.

"I slept very well....best remedy for major wigguns attacks....hours of orgasms with undead lover."

"Tried, tested and true, my pet."

"What are you reading?"

"John Milton....felt like something light."

"Never read him...Dawn get off to school okay?"

"No worries....no corpses along the walk way if that's what you're thinking. She didn't want to go, but after yesterday I thought the change of atmosphere would do her some good, truth be know I think she wanted out of here."

"Can't say as I blame her, I think I've got a little cabin fever myself....but going out seems scarier...still the sun might feel nice, it's been a while since I've been out in it."

"Love to join you....but I don't think they make suntan lotion with an SPF of fifty billion. Incidentally, have you noted the confusion that is your outfit? You've got on a smashing pair of rather short cutoffs on, topped by a heavy woolen turtle neck."

"I don't want to see it....don't want to be reminded, I thought about trying to burn it off the the curling iron...." Spike put his book and mug down and forced her to look at him.

"Don't talk like that, I don't like it, scares the bloody hell out of me to hear you talk about hurting yourself...thought we worked this out last night?" She pulled off her sweater to the tank top underneath and pushed her hair behind her ears.

"We did, I'm sorry....does it look any different?"

"No, don't think so....can you feel it? Does it bother you?"

"Yeah, it bothers me, but no it doesn't twitch or anything...I think I'm warming to the SPIKE's tattoo idea." Spike chuckled and kissed her cheek,"What's on the agenda for today?"

"Mmm....thought we'd give the Watcher a call, get him off his arse n' have him research, see if he can get a better lead. Then of course lay down the factoid that we're lovers."

"Probably a good idea....the research part."

"Then of course.....more orgasms with the undead."

"Oh goody..." Spike and Buffy's both stared with lust at each other when a demanding knock came to the front door, turning the look to one of disbelief. Buffy got off of Spike's lap and they went together to answer it. An even more unexpected sight greeted them, there on the porch was what appeared to be, of all things, a Rabbi. He was on the late side of middle-aged, dressed in the traditional style, also with a leather sachet slung over his shoulder.

"Hello...is this the correct address for a Miss Willow Rosenberg?"

"Um....ye..yes....but she's....she's away at the moment," Buffy quickly explained, at a loss at coming up with a more detailed explanation."Can we help you?"

"It's a bit funny, actually, I really didn't have any intention of coming so far out of my way....but I knew how important the information I had for her was, so here I am....what can I say? I admire such studious young people."

"Would you like to come in? I can make coffee."

"Certainly....thank you, that would be delightful. I'm Rabbi Ezra Rubenstein. From New York City."

"Buffy Summers....and this is Spike..." The Rabbi tipped his hat to them and walked inside. As the Rabbi walked past them Buffy gave Spike a questioning look, wondering what this might lead to, but he merely shrugged his shoulders. As Buffy went into the kitchen to make the coffee she'd offered, Spike played host. They sat opposite each other in the living room, a bit of an uncomfortable silence hanging between them.

"So....Rubes...how's the Rabbi thing workin' out for yah?" said Spike with little tact. However, the Rabbi smiled at the vampire and eased into the conversation.

"You know, in college that's what they used to call me, either that or Ruby....as if Ezra wasn't a perfectly good name....but you can call me Rubes. The Rabbi thing is going well, er....Spike...guess you're one for nick names too?"

"Yeah....not too many kids out there called Spike I suppose..." Buffy joined them with a tray and sat next to Rabbi Rubenstein on the couch.

"Well, I'm disappoint I missed Willow, but to be fair she didn't know I was coming. She'd put in a request with our archives in New York City some weeks ago and it often takes as long to retrieve and copy....we're not digital yet. The information she requested is for a comparative thesis she was writing for a theology course next semester, she wanted to get a head start. It sounded very interesting from my point of view, I love it when the conceptual pot gets stirred. The Concept of Guardian Angels in Neo-Religions I seem to recall was the premise, she was going to focus on the older ways that have been reinterpreted in modern times...Wicca, Cabalism and the like, she promised to send me a copy."

"Guardian angels? I could certainly use one of those..." Buffy spoke under her breath. The rabbi dug into his satchel and brought out a file folder that was overflowing with pages, it had several elastic bands around it, trying to keep it together.

"Sorry for the mess, but she asked for so much information......unfortunately we could send her the original volume, it's too valuable you understand...but I managed to get permission to bring it along with me so she could see it...." He went into his bag once more and brought out an obviously ancient leather bound book. It was as large as a dictionary and just as thick, how he managed to stuff it into the leather suitcase was a wonder in and of itself."This is actually a medieval replica of a much much older book, the original is sealed in a vault in Jerusalem. A complete guide to all things angelic, more or less....it's amassed volumes of Essene and Cabalist writings, apocrypha, pseudepigrapha...even a few Islamic and also Christian volumes, Dionysian Hierarchy of Angels and such...." He passed the book to Buffy and she wasn't surprised that it practically weighed as much as an anvil.

Spike watched with only mild interest until he felt a change wash over Buffy, she was stone again, like she'd been in the alley."Buff? Buffy, love?" he asked, glancing for a second at teh rabbi who also seemed to have noticed.

"Spike.....look," she replied, holding the cover up for him to see. Imprinted into the leather across the top and bottom were a series of symbols, one of which was the same as the mark on Buffy's neck.

Chapter 13

"Is something the matter?" the Rabbi asked. Spike got up from his chair and sat close next to Buffy. He pulled her hair back and tilted her neck.

"Look at this, Rubes, what can you tell us?" Spike asked. The Rabbi leaned in and scrutinized the mark.

"Fascinating...."

"I don't care how bloody fascinating it is! What does it mean?"

"It's angelic script....thousands of years old....it's an angel's symbol. Lore dictates that when God creates an angel he tattoos it with it's own distinct mark....but how did it come to be on you?" Buffy covered the mark with her hand and cast her eyes down while Spike took the book from her and handed it to the Rabbi. He put his hand over Buffy's and kissed her temple.

"A couple of nights ago we were at a club, Buffy got out of my sight for a while n' I went lookin'. I found her outside, out of it and dazed and some crazy bloke was touchin' her....thought I scared him off, but he came at her again another night. The mark appeared after the first time...so, what I'm wonderin' here, mate, is if its an angel puttin' his mark on her what the bloody hell does it mean?"

"An angel?" Buffy questioned,"I though angels were supposed to be good...like Valentines and Christmas...not creepy and predatory..."

"I'm afraid angels are very misunderstood in these modern times, Buffy," Rubenstein began,"Even now in heaven there were angels carrying savage weapons. That's a quote from the Old Testament....have you ever noticed, in the Torah, or the Bible...whenever God needed to punish or kill someone he sent an angel? If you can...imagine what a creature like that must be like? Loving and serving your God, proclaiming prophecies and coming messiahs.....but always with one wing dipped in blood. Angels aren't chubby babies with small wings, or beautiful girls with halos and harps. They are warriors, guardians, they are the servants of God....they are men-like, with human qualities, but they should never be mistaken as humans, they're not, they do not have souls...they are pure, so to speak. The concept of souls is another tangent altogether, but consider this analogy...the body of an angel is like water...take the body of an angel and pour a soul into it become human and like milk......you can take the analogy further....mythological figures like vampire - it's like then pouring ink into the milk...."

"Not to snuff out your metaphor there, Rubes....but this blighter's after my girl and we need to stop it!" Spike interrupted.

"Stop it? I doubt that you could...I don't really know....this isn't something that most people would even believe..."

"Bloody hell...."

"I'm sorry, but I'm out of my league...I'm really just an historian..."

"Wouldn't the book tell you anything...it's got the bloody symbol on it....must be something in there." Rubenstein nodded and opened the heavy thing, thumbing through the pages. Spike watched over Buffy's shoulder for any sort of glimpse, but Buffy was reserved, too quiet for Spike's liking. But he knew she had at least not detached herself from the situation when her hand moved over his knee and gave him a reassuring squeeze."Ah......here we go....the angel is not named...but the symbol is one among many for common angels. There's a long adopted hierarchy in heaven Orders of Angels.....the highest and closest to God are Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and lastly Angels....it's the last that are the closest to humans, they ministrate to us.....like the ones I talked about before...announcing prophecies, punishing, killing.....guardian angels too...."

"This one isn't a guardian angel, that's for damn sure....more like a bloody pervert tryin' to mack on my girlfriend!"

"Well......nice choice of words there.....that stands to reason, in the past angels have taken human women....begat children from them, called Nephilim....but, the stories, too gruesome for me to read more than once..."

"Gruesome?" Buffy asked, her voice breaking.

"The women would be driven insane by what they carried in their wombs, some tore themselves apart to get them out...the children, the Nephilim were incredible beings, the power of an angel, but the free will and soul of a human being. Some tales tell that they were giants and actually burst forth from their mothers....I rather not explain any further....I really should be going...." The Rabbi hurriedly gathered up his things, stashing away the book back in the satchel, then make a break for the door.

"Now wait one bloody minute!" Spike hollered, grabbing his arm and preventing him from leaving."You don't just lay the big doom on us then bolt outta here like some half hearted wanker...."

"What you're involved in...it can only mean terror and chaos....your world frightens me and I beg you not to make me a part of it!"

"Spike, let him go, there's nothing he can do..." Buffy advised and Spike released his hold. The Rabbi looked at both of them and spoke again.

"If the fallen one comes to you....send him on his way, don't make any deals...you'll lose in the end, lose your souls...."

Chapter 14

Rabbi Rubenstein rushed from the Summers home like it was one fire, probably praying from Noah to Moses and back again. Spike growled and slammed the front door,"Bloody coward! Stupid bloody half pricked git! I'll say one thing for Giles, he might be all bookish like Rubes there but he's not a yellow striped pillock!" He looked skyward, made his hands into claw and snarled like a tiger for fresh meat.

"Calm down...now isn't the time to go all psycho! What's next? Gonna start breaking up my furniture?" Buffy shouted back at him before she herself kicked over the coffee table as well as the tray with the coffee pot, sugar and milk, creating a terrible mess on the carpet,"Damn!"

"Love, I'm sorry....." he apologized, coming over to help her, but she pushed him away. He walked off, but returned quickly with towels from the kitchen to help soak up the liquid from the carpet,"I didn't mean to go off like that, love, didn't mean to upset you."

"It's okay," she whispered, sniffling as a few tears trickled down her cheeks,"At least you can find something to get angry at, all I can seem to do is just try to hang on." He set the table right, then put the mugs and such back on the tray. He took her by the hands and made her stand up, she looked at him for a moment, trying to judge his intent. Suddenly she found herself swept off her feet and spun around."Spike! What are you doing?!" He flew back and landed with a mighty foom and rush of wind into the arm chair he'd previously occupied. Buffy was laughing and hugging him without doing it consciously and didn't quite until she saw Spike looking at her.

"There she is." He beamed, his classic cheekbones high and sharp with a smile that put all others to shame.

"There's who?" She was overcome by him, whoever said he didn't have an inner light had never seen him stripped down to just when he was only a man in love.

"The fiery, beautiful girl that can smile one second and then less than a second later have a stake to my heart, same fire in her eyes, same beauty.....but twice as much strength. What it means to be a Slayer is that you will be cut down time and time again, but when your down to nothing 'cept blood n' bones you're still standing, you're never backing down. You might not think you're there right now, or when you're crying in my arms, but I promise you it never goes away - your strength, your inner fire....you never lost it....it's always there, I swear it. Do you remember our first fight?"

"The high school....parent/teacher night..."

"That's right...I won that fight."

"Did not!"

"Fine, your mum won that fight...love your mum, I do....anyways, I knew it even back then that you were different from them all, more like the bird I had a tousle with in Africa than any of the others...it's no wonder Heaven wants to get it's hooks back into you, no wonder hell keeps coming for you....but I know something neither one of 'em do."

"And what's that?"

"That you belong to none of them....."

"I belong to you."

"Nah....even I can't lay claim.....you belong to yourself....my point is, and I did have a point when I started on this rant, pet, is that Buffy Summers is gonna win."

"All that poetic St. Crispiny type speech to end with Buffy's gonna win?"

"Do you know you ge the exact same sparkle in your eyes when you punch me as when you climax?"

"Spike!"

"Gets me hard as a rock every bloody time...."

"Spike, what are we going to do?" She'd come serious again, Spike sighed, his attempt at relieving her stress had worked, if only for a short time. She curled against him, her arms wrapping themselves around his shoulders, and her knees drew up against his chest. He caressed her bare legs, smooth as satin, her warmth tempering his slow, cool hand. She nestled her face against his neck and dropped little gossamer light kisses over his throat.

"I wish I knew, love. At least we've got a few answers, we're not pawing around in the dark - so now we look over the stuff he's left for Willow, see if we can learn anything, like how to kill the buggar or how to get out out of his thrall."

"We should have asked him about Dawn and why she can see him differently, why he was afraid her...."

"Don't think he would've known, pet, he might have a good brain for the religious stuff, but I'm in doubt he'd have a clue about our nibblet."

"I think I might have come back wrong after all....I don't inspire love, I inspire obsession. What kind of thing am I if I inspire an angel to to stalk me like I'm his prey? The things the Rabbi said.....about the Nephilim, makes my blood run cold."

"You're forgetting something, my sweet love, you also inspired a demon to go against he natural born ways...turn him into the light.....turn him from a killer to a good, kind man that does love you, that will fight for you...you're not wrong, a little quirky maybe......but not wrong."

"I don't know much about God....but I know one thing....if he sent you to me, I can never thank him enough...."

"Best no bring the Almighty into this...I'm a little peeved at him for not wrangling his herd proper....thank the Goddess, always like her better anyways....whilst your at it, thank Buddha too.....or Shiva, yeah, maybe Shiva's responsible....."

"You're incorrigible."

"And you....so....beautiful....."

"Orgasms with the undead time?"

"Bet your sweet ass it is....."

Chapter 15

"But Buffy...." Spike pouted, fluffing up the quilt of the bed, trying to lure her back into its comfort and warmth,"We've got at least an hour before she comes home. Sometimes I'm rather unfond of your steely Slayer resolve."

"Spike we were supposed to try and figure out the angel thing, go through the Rabbi's notes....instead we wasted the day away shagging like wild animals..."

"Wouldn't say wasted..."

"No...not wasted....but we don't have time to just....escape like that..." She located the shirt she wanted to wear and slipped it over her bra, straightening her outfit,"And now that we've made Orgasms with the Undead an Olympic sport I think we need to focus.....mind you every time I think about focus.....I'm really just thinking about that ninety-six thing...."

"Sixty-nine....pet....it's called....nevermind...you sure you want to go out alone? You're not nervous? I don't think he's like a vamp....aversion to sunlight, angels probably love it...you think you should be alone at a time like this? I can't come with."

"It's only a short walk to the school, I want to meet Dawn and walk home with her, and it's like you said...I belong to no one, except maybe you."

"But I don't own you and I don't control you...take a weapon, put my mind at ease."

"Don't angels usually carry flaming swords? Don't think I've got one of those in the weapons chest."

"Well, in a pinch a good set of lungs would do you good, draw attention to yourself. Hurry home, I'll worry if you're not back by 3:30. I'll sort through the notes from the Rabbi whilst you're gone." She came back over and next to him on the bed, she ran her hand over the bare muscles of his chest then leaned in to kiss him, one long, still kiss.

"I love you."

"Love you too, pet, hurry home."

***

"Buffy!" Dawn shouted as she spied her sister a few dozen yards away, then went running to her. The hugged briefly, then turned, arms linked, towards home,"Can I ask why you're here? Did you have a good day?"

"I had mostly great day..." Dawn snickered at the look of contentment on Buffy's face.

"I'll say.....you and Spike alone....the mind boggles."

"True, that is where great part of the day came from.....but we found something out, we know what we're up against...."

"It's an angel...isn't it?" Buffy's steps halted and she turned, eyes wide with shock to her sister.

"How did you.....Dawn? How did you know..."

"Because he just whispered it to me...."

"Who..." Buffy's voice hitched her her throat when she noticed that someone was watching them from across the street. It was a tall man, clothed in a dark suit, with flowing blond hair and a nose like an eagle. He started across traffic, the cars passing through him as if he wasn't even matter, but solely spirit."We have to get out of here!"

"No...Buffy wait....he's not here to hurt us....I can hear him in my head, he wants to talk about it...he's not like the other one..."

"What do you see when you look at me?" he asked aloud, standing a good ten paces back from them.

"You're like the other one....bathed in light, white....you look peaceful...but you don't look harmless." Dawn replied, taking hold of Buffy's hand."What do I look like?"

"Energy...he used something like you when he formed the world....you're very old and powerful and it because of this that I intercede, you deserve respect and an explanation."

"Are you going to tell me what's been stalking me?" Buffy asked, finding the courage Spike told her she had.

"His name is Xuxael, he is the Guardian of the Watchtower at the Gates of Ithelian. By this I mean that off all the brethren in Heaven he alone was set apart from the rest, commanded to oversee the flow of souls into Eternity. He had welcomed Slayers before, thousands over the eons, but when you passed he beheld someone that stirred a longing in him that had slept since the Creation. You, you alone above all others were prized and he left his post in pursuit of his precious," spoke the angel, with all the tomes and portents the word of Heaven could convey."I am named Uriel and I stand closest to the High, as the prisidor over the order of the Seraphim. I am the Chief Gatekeeper, the first to stand at the Gates of Eden and the one chosen to select the guardians who would stand at each Gate into Heaven. It is I alone who bare the shame of Xuxael, my once loved brother. His defiance and fall from grace is a blight on me sure as the slice of Michael's blade. But he is beyond my reach now, here on Earth I cannot touch him."

"So you're telling me I'm on my own?"

"Once an angel is fallen he can only be brought back unto the fold by the hand of the High himself. There is no more to tell you." Buffy huffed out a breath and rolled her eyes, her jaw tense and tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

"Fine. How do I kill him?"

"You would dare to challenge one of us?"

"I can and I will, if he comes near my sister, my boyfriend or me again I will kill him.....you at least tell me how, you owe me that." The angel's expression was as stoic as ever, not giving away a spec of emotion. The silence hung in the air like the last breath out of a dying man.

"Remove the heart."

"That's it? Just reach on in and rip it out and that's the end?"

"As one of Heaven's legion, I stood with my brothers and watched Lucifer fall. We bore witness to him being cast out, and then rise again with a power greater than what he had at the throne's side. Xuxael leapt of his own will, defied the one who made him, this is an imbalance and anamoly....Heaven does not know how to fix it.....there will never be an end."

Chapter 16

"What about the trance thingies Willow and Tara always used to do, you've done them before, you can help me set it up!" Dawn suggested as she and Buffy neared home,"It's gotta be worth a try...all the clues are falling into place and I'm the last one, I gotta be!"

Buffy considered Dawn's idea, but her mind kept hearkening back to moments before when they'd stood in the presence of an angel. Uriel, he'd said his name was, Uriel who was still a messenger and servant of Heaven, unlike the one who was after her. An angel had leapt from Heaven, given up the love of his creator and all for her. The sick and obsessive tone of his sacrifice made Buffy feel ill herself, as did the thought of pulling his heart from his chest. This wasn't like facing her usual fare of evil creatures, this one possessed a power different and older than even Glory's. Of course the best antidote to all of her tangled emotions would be the embrace of her lover, her vampire. But it wouldn't matter how many hours he made love to her, the angel would still have to be dealt with. Problem being of course that it seemed to be able to toss Spike clear across a room with barely a flick of the wrist, it also was able to render Buffy helpless and catatonic, and she was more than hesitant to have Dawn be put in harm's way simply because she seemed to have a connection to the angels.

"Buffy, are you listening to me?"

"Huh? What? Oh....yes....Dawn, you can do the trance, I don't doubt....but it doesn't change the fact that I'm not putting you on the front line......have we forgotten about Glory?"

"Glory was different and you know it! Come on, I'm 16 here.....you were already full on Slayer by this age, and it's not like I'm a newbie to all the danger stuff....can I at least do the trance....see if I can find anything out? Tara's taught me all sorts of stuff, I already know what to do....protective shields and everything. OOOoooo.......Spike looks pissed!!" Buffy followed her sister's gaze over to the vampire that leaned in the doorframe of the open front door to the house. He was staring at them with a most heinous scowl on his face, sucking on a cigarette. He had his duster on and a blanket at his feet, obviously contemplating whether or not to chance combustion to go look for them. Before they'd reached the front door he'd kicked the blanket back inside and left his coat on the floor, stalking back inside."I'm gonna go upstairs.....get together what I need..."

"K'....call me when you're ready...." Buffy watched her sister go up the stairs before crouching down and picking up Spike's coat. She never took stock before of how heavy all that leather really was. She hung it on the coat rack and stepped down into the living room. The place was in absolute disarray. The pages from the folder were scattered everywhere, pages of his own notes on top of them, it looked as if even a mug of blood had been accidentally knocked over and spilled on the carpet where the coffee had been."Guess we should think about an area rug, huh?"

"Don't make light of it...." he spoke seriously, quietly.

"What? The stains on the rug? Honey, I don't think we're gonna get blood and coffee out...."

"It's damn near four o'clock Buffy!" he shouted. Buffy stepped around the masses of paper until she stood close enough to cup the side of his face with her hand. He leaned into her palm like a cat looking for a fierce caress."It's almost four o'clock...." he whispered. She moved her hand behind his head and pulled him down for a kiss, albeit a brief one,"I was about to go looking....."

"You shouldn't even think about going outside during the day, I'm seriously gonna have to curb you of that impulse."

"I thought something had happened to you."

"Something did....is there anything in the mess about and angel named Uriel?"

"Why? Did.....oh my god.....did...."

"He's what delayed us....long enough to say, sorry 'bout that whole angel stalking you thing, our bad, but shucks honey, you're on your own.'"

"That's it? Just dropped down from on high to quip sorry we're fucking you over?"

"He told me the angel's name was Xuxael and that he was the angel that stood at the gates of Heaven to welcome in the new souls. I figure when I was in Heaven I was safe and he could admire me from afar.....then when Willow brought me back....I was out of his reach...so he fell to Earth to come after me....and now he's here."

"Xuxael? Sounds like a git, don't suppose Uriel though to lend you his flamin' sword eh?"

"'Fraid not.....but he did share one thing....if we want to kill him we have to take out his heart."

"Probably easier said than done right....so far, love, both you n' I have proved to be pretty piss poor at getting to him."

"But Dawn hasn't....that worries me, what if she's the only one who stands a chance, I can't put her in danger like that! On the other hand, what else can we do? She wants to try out some of the trances Tara taught her, trying and figure out how her being the Key makes these guys all respectful and fearful...."

"I don't like it either, love, but what else can we do?

"Buffy? Spike? Come upstairs! Let's get this show on the road!" Dawn hollered.

Chapter 17

It had taken Dawn a few hours in actuality to finally induce herself to a meditative state, at which point a shield of impenetrable protection sealed her in her place and state until the time would come for her to receive the answers to her questions. This left Buffy and Spike for once on the outside of the fray. They'd been unable to find anything particularly useful on the subject of Uriel and at length found themselves sitting across from each other over the pile of papers in the unkempt living room in an uncomfortable silence. Buffy sighed and looked over the mess, then focused for a moment on Spike's hands resting on his stomach, fingers drumming on the toned muscles. She gnawed on her thumbnail casually, unaware she was even doing it.

He was staring at the ceiling, remembering and laughing on the inside at Drusilla naming all the stars one time whilst doing the very same thing. He too sighed and shifted in the arm chair, crossing his legs then letting his eyes wander to the coy young thing on the other side of the room. The caught each other's stare unexpectantly, flickers of understanding passing between them then simultaneous they leapt to their feet and ran for the stairs. They crashed through Buffy's bedroom door and tripped over each other, Spike landing underneath and Buffy ending up with her breasts mashed to his face. Just as Spike began to work his mouth over the still clothed mounds of supple flesh, she was off him, leaving one very put out vampire.

"Sllllayyyyyyer...." he growled in a hoarse whisper.

"Lose the seduction....get undressed!" she ordered, stripping clumsily out of her own clothes as fast as her lust fevered person could manage. She let out a cry of frustration when she couldn't manage to unclasp her bra and stomped her feet as she fought with it. Spike crawled over to her and kneeled at her feet, reaching up to take her hands in his, pushing them aside, then helping her off with the garment.

"I think I'd like us to take it slow, pet....nice and slow...."

"But...."

"Ah ah....let Spike take care of his sweet Slayer..." Drunk with desire Spike cupped her breasts with his hands and raised his hungry mouth to the soft tips, making them strained and erect with the swirling of his tongue around them along with a few nips with his teeth and the occasional drawn out suck. Buffy let her head fall haplessly back as she began to gasp and moan at the attention he as giving her heat engorged breasts. She held his shoulders as he continued to please her until he began to trail down her torso with his slick lips. He unzipped the front of her pants and pulled the fabric down over her hips. He then hooked his little fingers under the straps of her tiny panties before pulling them too to her ankles. She stepped out of her discarded clothes and he pushed them away."Move your legs apart a little." She did as he asked, feeling like her spine had been taken out, anticipating what she hoped was coming next. He placed his own hands on her hips and guided her pelvis to his eager mouth.

He began slowly by placing slight kisses over her thighs and brushing her soft curls with his nose. Buffy couldn't help but cry out at the first sensation of his tongue contacting with her increasingly wet center. With long deep stroke Spike brought her ever closer to climax. Just as he felt her quiver with the beginnings of an orgasm he broke himself away from the divine taste of her and got to his feet. She whimpered when he stopped, denying her when she was so close. He took her chin in between his thumb and forefinger and locked his gaze with her delirious eyes."Spike....spike....spike..."

"Love it when you say my name like that.....all lusty and hot....like you're about to explode in technicolor screams...."

"Spike....."

"Heh.....made you forget the English language did I? Damn I'm good.....ooooohh.....aaah!" Buffy had had enough of his posturing and had grasped the bulge in his pants and given it a twist. She relented when he dug his fingers into her shoulders.

"You want to play games, William?"

"Hey now, love, no need to use the formal name....we'll both get our cookies frosted.....can't do that unless you release the Spike......gentle like, mustn't bruise the Spike, those hands can crush more than a man's heart, love...." She smirked at him, bit her lip and shook her head in amusement at him. Her hands moved to the waist of his pants, popping the first button, then sliding the zipper down slowly. She reached delicately inside with her hands, certain not to crush or bruise and took hold of his hardening length. She kissed his neck, mimicking the sucking of a vamptress while her warm hands worked him back and forth with skillful strokes. When she was sufficiently satisfied he was ready for her, she released him and helped him out of his clothes, whipping off his shirt, pushing down his pants. They backed towards the bed, Spike falling on his back and Buffy slinking up his body like a cat stalking her prey in the jungle. Her tongue lashed over the engorged tip of his erection, then she ran it between her breasts and down her torso until she was poised over him.

Watching her descend slowly upon him, taking inch by inch inside her, Spike shuddered and groaned with a million sensations surging through him from their joined centers to the rest of his body. When she'd gone as low as he thought she could go, her legs went wide on either side of him and both were jolted with electric shocks of ecstasy as she took just a little bit more of him. He bent himself back up to her, holding on to her upper arms and crooking his head just so, watching her watch him, their eyes unwavering. Any shift or movement between them elicited a tiny gasp from Buffy, and a groan from Spike. She ran her hands over her his smooth pecs, but they were marked with scars and lines, the remnants of their previous couplings. She held on to his shoulders and began to slowly move on top of him, just enough to create a rising friction, but determined not to lose any of the fullness she coveted when he was inside her.

"A thousand years will never be enough time with you....my beautiful Slayer...." he whispered.

"Let me see your other face...." she said back, the request taking him very much by surprise,"Do this for me...." He complied, the demon gold chasing away the lucid blue, his teeth becoming gnarled and sharp with fangs, and his brow was contorted and fierce like the animal he sometimes could be. She ran her fingers delicately over the ridges on his face, her tongue across the fangs, then looked him in the eyes again.

"Buffy?"

"I love my vampire...I love you like this as much as the other...I wanted you to know that....I want you to believe that I love everything that is you...." She closed her eyes and bared her neck to him, he understood what she meant by the action, but not until she guided him down to her neck did he truly believe it. He kissed at the artery, the beat of her heart pumping the intoxicating elixir straight to his chalice. He made certain to avoid the angel's mark, the sight of it making him ache somewhere deep inside."Spike.....do it...."

"Shhhhh.....not yet, my pet....all in good time...when you come....then......" he spoke softly in her ear, then slid his hand down between their conjoined bodies. Slipping between them, he explored and found the protrusion that was her clit, it was hard and soaked and begging for his touch. She cried out when his thumb struck it, then she moaned over and over with his apt stroking of it. He whispered naughty little words behind her ear, as he nipped and licked the lobe.

Buffy heard a feral growl come from deep in his throat and took it as merely one of passion, unaware that in actuality it was a predatory one. She lost herself in the rapture of him, but Spike's attentions were elsewhere. He knew they were being watched the second the angel appeared outside her window, perched in the tree like a crow watching its would be carrion in death throws. Xuxael and Spike had locked eyes, demon versus angel. Spike didn't know or care why his enemy only sat and watched, obviously in morbid fascination at he and Buffy going at it. It served only to heighten Spike's arousal, the ambition to once and for all claim Buffy as his.

He flipped Buffy on to her back, falling on top of her and taking her with long, urgent strokes as she writhed and thrashed beneath him. Spike grabbed her at her knees and push her thighs as far apart as she could bear, allowing for a deeper penetration, but also to be sure and give the angel a full view of what Spike had and he never would. Buffy was little more than a conductor of pure sexual energy , her body screaming for release and her soul lost in the passion of the beautiful beast on top of her. However Buffy wasn't one to simply take it, as Spike seemed to have forgotten. Being marginally stronger than him, Buffy grabbed his ass and held him to her. Spike's attention was returned to Buffy when she flexed her inner muscles around him over and over. She had a wicked smile painted on her face and every pulse she made was a shot of adrenaline into her lover. Spike moved slowly now, curving his shaft against the sweet spot inside her, then lay his weight down on her and brushed his fangs over the skin of her throat as a precursor to their orgasms.

Almost simultaneously their breaking points came, Buffy climaxing first which compelled Spike to release a mighty wash of cool liquid. At that moment he roared and sunk his fangs into her neck. As he breached her skin and began supping on her blood, both their orgasms were compounded and expanded, unlikely to cease for a long time to come. Xuxael was gone.

Chapter 18

Buffy had laid awake long after Spike had collapsed into slumber. She watched him sleep for the longest time, he looked sublime to her, especially considering that he'd drunk from her. She hadn't ever guessed it would be such an enlightening experience to have his fangs in her throat at the same time as his other instrument of penetration was deep inside her. It had been an enthralling rush she couldn't believe she denied herself of all this time. She'd given up the last of her fears over loving a vampire in that thrilling moment, and now felt stronger as the Slayer because of it. As he drank from her he'd somehow passed on some of his knowledge from the pilgrimage to Africa, the eternal connection between Slayers and vampires.

Buffy carefully left his side, pulling a house coat around her nude body for warmth as she padded across the hall and into the bathroom. She wanted to see what the marks his fangs had left looked like. Flipping on the light she craned her neck and tossed her hair behind her. Sure enough two red wounds, freshly closed, stood proud upon her. She examined them, fascinated and hypnotized by the stirrings the sight caused inside her. As she ran her fingers over them she gasped and saw how Xuxael's mark was gone, replaced by Spike's. If it was possible, her love for the vampire increased, it seemed that in this small way they'd suddenly gained the upper hand.

She wanted to rush back into the bedroom and shake him awake so he could see too, but she'd let him sleep, he'd earned the rest. Buffy, suddenly feeling quite euphoric and went downstairs in search of a drink, or perhaps something decadent in the form of fudge ripple ice cream. Searching through the fridge, nothing was jumping out at her as being particularly appetizing and she huffed in disappointment. It didn't register at first that there was someone outside on the back porch until he perched himself upon the wooden railing like a mad crow on a telephone wire. She was inexplicably compelled to open the door.

"Oh my god..." she whispered.

"God? God is love....I don't love you," the angel replied, the angel the Rabbi had warned her may come.

"Lucifer?"

"Indeed...I am the first angel, loved once above all others, a perfect love....but like all love, one day it withered on the vine. So, while you were taking a dirt nap Xuxael decided to get a little fresh with your soul? Yes? Hmmm? Then your friends knocked on the Pearly Gates and when someone wasn't watching their post they snatched you back into wormy earth for you to claw your way out of. Now he's acting like a stray dog come sniffing around your corners and you can't get rid of him."

"What do you want?"

"Nothing much....a nice home in the country, white picked fence, golden retriever....and your spinal nerves strung out like a tightrope for me to dance upon. Xuxael is defiant, Xuxael is arrogant.....that is evil and that makes it mine. Uriel and all his good intentions are worthless, yes? He'll do nothing for you......but I will....I want what's mine and I will take it happily."

"But you need my help? Is that it?"

"I need bait, and you with your succulent breasts and fragrant little quim are as ripe as roe in the sun..."

"Buffy! Get away from the door!" Spike snarled, running up behind her and grabbing her by the shoulders, dragging her almost to the other side of the room. Lucifer jumped down from his perch and leaned casually just outside, against the threshold.

"We we're just getting to know each other better....they don't make vampires like they used to, you're practically radiating with love and compassion, eats me up inside to see an apple roll so far down the hill when once it was red and juicy on the branch. Come home with me, I'll love you better than she ever will...."

"You're not wanted here, sod off!!"

"But I'm needed, aren't I Buffy? There's room in this universe for only one fallen angel, only one....and I know my place, if Xuxael isn't taken down and by down, I mean into my basement......he might make himself a life....take this strawberry for a wife and have her insides laid out by the fruit of his poisonous seed, maybe make himself another hell and that's one hell too many. You need me."

"What is that scares you so much about us that you need to prostrate yourself on a bloody alter with some bloody ruse? To help us? It's because you need us....you can't get him to come out of hiding without the Slayer. Well, mate, we don't want you....leave now." Lucifer laughed and clapped his hands at Spike.

"Very good. Very good indeed. You had me from start to finish. You can't make me leave...."

"But I can," Dawn's voice spoke as she appeared at her sister's side.

"Hey....I know you....you were at the party on the first Sunday...you wore green, am I right?" Dawn rolled her eyes and stalked towards the angel. As if he were little more than a door to door salesman she gave him shove and slammed the door shut.

"Geez....what a jerk."

Chapter 19

"Dawn!" Spike and Buffy exclaimed in unison at the teenager's audacity. She had a wide bright smile on her face and gave the couple an amused look as she clued in to what they'd obviously been doing whilst she was in her trance.

"Nice sheet Spike," Dawn flirted, making the vampire clutch the gathered material around his waist more firmly as well as making him self-conscious in front of her."And nice puncture wounds there Buffy.....gee I wonder what you two've been up to...."

"Dawn.....do realize who that was?" Buffy asked.

"Prince of Darkness, Satan, Beelzebub, the Devil, yadda, yadda, yadda....Lucifer, I know....not big."

"No big?! Dawn are you crackers?!"

"No, I'm a hammer....or a screwdriver, possibly a wrench, I'm not really sure....but I do belong in the cosmic toolbox."

"Hi...yeah, Dawn, sister dearest, I believe we're missing a large piece of the puzzle here, one that would help us comprehend the toolbox metaphor." Dawn giggled.

"Well, being as we're all up....I'm hungry, who wants to make me chocolate chip pancakes?"

"Dawn, it's 1am....."

"And the bit's hungry.....I'll make 'em, start talking, bite size."

"Spike...you might want to invest in some pants first...." Buffy suggested,"Not that the image of you being naked and domestic doesn't thrill me....but...."

"But she's afraid you might lose the sheet and shock me....please, I created the universe, I think I can handle the sight of your...." Dawn explained.

"Do not finish that sentence...," Buffy cut Dawn off,"I'll start the pancakes...Spike, can't believe I'm actually saying this....go put on some pants....." Spike sighed and went on upstairs, but not without giving Buffy another kiss."You....uh, didn't hear us did you? When we were....um..."

"No, I didn't...I mean, I probably would have if I wasn't in my trance thingie, but you guys don't have to worry, I'm a very well adjusted person....and I'm happy you're happy. The angel's mark is gone, I'm glad, it never should have been put on there in the first place....I like your new marks....very, uh.....primal? Is that the right word?"

"Not sure how things work with vampires....and....guess you could say mates....I think I've been claimed or something like that..."

"It's romantic, in it's own way....I think you're both really lucky...."

"Yeah, we are....Dawn??....."

"What?"

"I created the universe, I think I can handle the sight of your naked....???"

"I was gonna saw ass, but I could tolerate seeing his..."

"No, I meant the I created the universe part!"

"Who created the universe?" Spike asked, coming back from upstairs clad in his jeans, of which he neglected to do the top button up, instead letting them ride low on his hips. Buffy had herself a minute pleasure moment at the sight of his naked upper body, but then he took the pancake batter she'd been mixing from her and snapped her back to reality.

"I did," Dawn replied,"Well, not all by myself, like I was saying, toolbox....I was one of the tools used....Dawn Summers, My Life as an Instrument in the Creation of the Universe.....foreward by Oprah Winfrey...."

"I think you're going to have to suss this concept out for us a tad more there, lil' bit."

"Okay.....you guys know like the Big Bang theory? The universe exploded from a finitely minute point and out to the infinitely large thing it is now? Well, what did the universe explode into....there can't be nothing, right? Well that's where I'm from, the other side of the universe...I, green and glowing Key girl, or the concentrated energy that I was got harnessed and focussed along with a whole bunch of others and we kinda made the universe.....and now I'm 15 and hormonal, having chocolate chip pancakes with my sister and her undead boyfriend at 1am.....nothing personal, but that's a huge step down...."

"Be nice, bit, or I'll put blood in the batter. So, hand of God n' all that....way to be."

"It's not bad...I've got all kinds of influence and powers.....limited by the skin suit of course....you know, we could've avoided that whole Glory thing if I'd done the trance sooner."

"Now she tells me..." Buffy groaned, only half serious, before beginning to set three places at the island for their impromptu breakfast.

"So, what 'bout the big man upstairs then? Look like Laurence Olivier does he? White beard n' robes?" Spike asked, dropping batter into the frying pan."

"Olive who? God? Um....well....it's not exactly a he....or a she....just is....and it's not like I got the whole thing in technicolor. It's just an omnipresent sort of conscious....can't really be explained or defined. If it makes any sense, all religions are both right and wrong...but the angel thing's another deal altogether. Angels are just the same as demons....for every Glory there'a Uriel....there's all these dimensions and they all work together in the great big cog....it's kinda complicated. But the point is, we can take care of Xuxael the same way we take care of every other bad we've come up against...I think we'll be okay."

"Just like that?" Buffy asked.

"Yep......oh one more thing, I saw mom....she's really happy you two finally worked things out and it certainly took you long enough!"

***

"Your skin's so nice and cool...you're going to be extremely coveted this summer..." Buffy mused as she lay herself against Spike's body, back in bed for the remainder of the night and probably most of the morning.

"Tell you what, love, I'll stand in front of the open freezer before coming to bed..." he replied in a hazy whisper, chocolate chip pancakes sitting heavy in his stomach and exhaustion from their earlier activities reasserting itself. Buffy dotted kisses over his stomach and chest before settling her cheek against his breast and wrapping her arm around his torso.

"And in the winter I can make you warm...." Sleep crept over her too, she hadn't even been hungry and herself had consumed as much food as Dawn. Spike's hand ran over her back to rest low down, hugging her closer to him. As they wandered into each other's dreams a stillness and peace blanketed them. Their enemy may still lurk outside, but for the time being they were content and they were together.

Chapter 20

Red sky at night, sailor's delight; Red sky at dawn, sailors take warn, as the old adage went. When morning came to Sunnydale, the sky came alive in an angry, fiery red. Streaks of pinks and orange running through the reddened misty clouds like veins. The sun breached the cusp of the horizon and day had come. Two hours after sunrise, the rays crept over the front lawn of the Revello Drive home and surpassed the leaves of the tall oak that stood by Buffy's bedroom window. His skin smoked lightly, smoldering more like the embers of a dying fire than one that was just being ignited. Spike shook involuntarily in his sleep, unaware that portions of him were in direct sunlight.

His face was pressed next to Buffy's, their cheeks, lips, eyes within parallel to the other's, limbs possessively tangled with each other. When flames burst from his ankles he awoke with a shout, but found himself trapped as if the bed and blankets had turned to stone. His cry, right against her skin, awoke Buffy too and her eyes widened in horror, but she had not the voice to scream though her mind and heart commanded her body to do so. The fire began to spread and they were fixed together in their prison of glass. The quilt, the sheets, the pillows, the entire bed.....the entire room, everything....the entire house had been turned to perfectly clear glass.

Reacting purely by instinct Buffy used her strength to shatter the blankets that bound them. Shards flew everywhere, but they were free. Spike flung himself back in hopes of finding his duster or even a corner of refuge, but the coat too was glass and the transparent corners of the room cast no shadows. Buffy rushed to him and tried to pat out the fires on his body but it was no use, it only served to burn her own flesh. Casting aside absolutely all concern for herself she punched through the floor, cutting her fists to ribbons, but giving Spike passage down one level. He jumped and went through the dining room table and the floor below until he landed in a bed of glass in the basement. He crashed through shelves and other things in the basement until he found the east corner of the foundation, under the earth and casting a merciful shadow. He flattened his body against the dirt with only moments to spare before he'd combusted.

The heat in his body faded, the fires went out and he was saved, but the screams and perceivable bleeding body of Buffy two stories above him cut him worse than all the glass had. He wished he could go to her, but any distancing of himself from the shadows would kill him, so he closed his eyes, sunk to his side on the ground and wept and bled.

Understanding of everything that was transpiring came upon Dawn the second Buffy's screams woke her. The teenager forced herself to relax and concentrate, she felt the energy that had been awakened the previous night well up inside her, then flow from her body and set things back as they should be. When Dawn felt the magic die away and with it her sister's cries. She tossed off her restored covers and went to run across the hall, but stopped short when Buffy exploded from her room, cuts all over her naked body, but caring not about her own state and only concerned with finding Spike.

"Buffy!!!" Dawn called out, following her sister, equally as scared that she'd been too late to save him. Buffy pounded down the stairs, shards of glass embedded in her feet and hands, but she didn't notice. She turned sharp at the bottom and nearly fell over, but kept running, crashing through the basement door and descending the stairs. In the dark of the basement she couldn't see him at first and began to cry and scream again.

"Buffy...." he called out weakly from the corner,"Buff....." He tried to move to her, but he was diminished and badly injured by both the sunlight and the glass. Buffy fell at his crumpled body and grabbed for him, pulling him into her arms for a fierce embrace. She was wracked with sobs of utter relief, and Spike could only accept her touch, but was prevented from comforting her by his own weakness.

Even though Buffy was the one in emotional upheaval, she rocked him and whispered cajoling words in his ear while she cradled his head at her breasts."Is he okay?" Dawn asked as she stepped off the last step down into the basement, holding blankets from the living room in her hands.

"M' not dust..." Spike choked out with a half laugh,"You alright, Slayer?" She shook her head and squeezed him tighter.

"You're both all cut up.....sorry I couldn't fix the house faster...first time I ever had to use my...my powers....Xuxael turned the house into glass, to try and kill Spike....but I helped in time....didn't I?"

"Yes, you did, lil' bit...you saved me...." Dawn advanced slowly on them and passed the blankets to Buffy, who let go of Spike to throw one over him.

"Can you move?" Buffy whispered, securing the wrap around herself.

"Maybe....might have to crawl up the bloody stairs.....but like I said, m'not dust..."

"Don't make jokes.....please....."

"M'sorry..."

"Dawn, can you go upstairs and get out the first aid kit from under the bathroom counter? We'll be up in a few minutes...."

"O...okay....Buffy?"

"Yes?

"It's a good thing it's Saturday....'cause there's no way I'd be going to school."

Chapter 21

"Hold still...just this one last piece....there...." Spike said as the tweezers pulled out the last shard of glass from her heal,"All better..."

"Hardly."

"Yeah, well....I was about two seconds away from being able to fit in the vacuum cleaner, so by way of comparison...."

"By way of comparison we're both stark naked and covered in blood with half a trash can full of glass shards pulled out of our flesh, you're covered in blisters and burns, my nerves are shot and my sister's an all powerful creation.....thing."

"The bath's ready...we should wash out our wounds...." Spike offered her his hand and she took it. He winced at seeing all the slices and nicks over it, the entire hand was enflamed,"It'll hurt....the water......but you should start to fell better soon..." He helped her into the tub and she stifled yelps as the water seeped into the cuts, but eventually she settled, then it was Spike's turn to run the gauntlet,"Bloody hell......bloody hell...and another bloody hell......"

"You know it was always a fantasy of mine, to share a bath with you....."

"Was it now?"

"But it was more like there was a storm outside and the power was knocked out, so we had to light candles everywhere. The picture never included the water being tinged pink because of all the blood in it and someone having tried to kill you by turning my house and everything in it to glass." Spike playfully splashed a little water at her and settled in up to his neck.

"Still....it's kinda nice, love...we're warm...not in mortal danger." She sighed and leaned her head against the tiles. Under the water she reached out to touch his fingers.

"You scared?" He wanted to reassure her and make with the bravado that he usually adopted, but he couldn't force it.

"Yes....for you...."

"I'm scared for you...makes things even. I can't believe this is what angels are really like, vindictive and obsessive...or just plain evil like Lucifer....condescending and self-righteous like Uriel....my mom always told me angels would be watching over me, protecting me in the night...stop me from getting hit by cars when I crossed the street.....they're not supposed to want to rape you and kill your loved ones."

"C'mere." She moved across from her position at the opposite end of the tub over to him, it was a tight squeeze but they managed to fit together."I think your mom was right, there are angels like that...ones that are like Tara....I think the witch must've sent the Rabbi to us...without him we wouldn't have a bloody clue what we were dealing with....she gave us a fighting chance."

"You really believe that?"

"Absolutely."

"I hope she's watching over us....we need something." Spike agreed, signified by leaning in to kiss her, slipping his tongue inside her mouth and lulling her into the warm water. She felt like she was floating, soothed and loved, for all his demonic attributes he was the most romantic, caring man she'd ever known. When Spike loved you, nothing compared to it."Mmmm...Heaven's got nothing on you....."

"Good thing, love....'cause Heaven can't have you back....." The interlude in the bathtub lasted the length of a few more kisses, neither one fancied turning into proverbial prunes. Once toweled off each administered first aid to the other, bandaging their worst cuts, making sure to swathe them gobs of antiseptic ointment, anything to take the stings away. Walking was decidedly unpleasant for both of them, but not quite so as unbearable as when they were full of glass. Buffy pulled on an old pair of sweatpants and a tank top, forgoing a bra, any restraint on her body would be unbearably uncomfortable. Spike rummaged through his box in the closet, frowning at his severe lack of clothing and making a mental note to acquire more when this latest crisis was over. He eventually settled on a loose pair of gray slacks, the only thing that could be deemed comfortable. Fishing deeper he came across a black tank top he didn't know he had, given the fact that his arms were still raw he was quite pleased to have it.

They padded down the stairs in bandaged bare feet, a pair of walking wounded, arm in arm."Couch...." Buffy ordered, though in a tone sounded very much like Joyce's when she was in comforting mom mode. The curtains were shut tight and there was still the giant stain in the middle of the carpet, but the place to be was the couch. The place where they could nurse their wounds and generally, specifically, vegetate. Buffy took two cushions and placed them on the coffee table while Spike readied to toss a blanket over her. She slumped down towards the center and put her feet up on the cushion, sighing heavily. The blanket fell upon her, then the vampire sat down next to her, hip to hip. He groaned when his feet hit the cushion and let his head fall back.

"Love, we're so pathetic..."

"Oh yeah....Slayer, vampire....we're two of the toughest bad asses on the Hell Mouth and now we're laid up on the couch like two 12 year olds with the flu...the only thing missing is a cup of..."

"Soup and blood!" Dawn announced emerging from the kitchen with two mugs.

"Yeah I was just gonna say that....what would moping around the house be without my tried and tested comforting cup of blood, just like mom used to make me." Spike laughed an accepted the mug from Dawn while Buffy took her tomato soup.

"Thanks, bit, this'll hit the spot." Dawn sat across from them in the chair that Spike usually occupied and examined the two of them.

"So....who wants to hear my plan for ripping the angel's wings off and shoving them up his heavenly white..."

"Dawn!" Buffy exclaimed.

"Oh please.....up his heavenly white ass! Now, after this morning I'm more than a little peeved, we can all admit this was the last straw?" Buffy and Spike nodded over the rims of their mugs."First things first...I don't think we should be separated for any length of time.....think you two can curb your raging libidos for a little while?" Dawn giggled at the dark scowls they both shot at her,"Now, since my vision quest thingie I've learned a few tricks.....like turning the house back to normal. I also think I'll be pretty good at sensing when he comes back around. While you guys were upstairs I came up with a plan." Spike and Buffy looked to each other, mildly horrified, eyes wide."Hey! I'm serious.....I created this universe and I can uncreate it if you two don't smarten up and give me some credit!"

Chapter 22

"No charts and graphs?" Spike teased as Dawn organized the papers on her lap, she rolled her eyes and curled her lip at him.

"You're walking on thin ice, fang face," was her reply, her interest returning to the schemes of her plan."Be right back....forgot a few things...." With that she sprang to her feet and darted from the room.

Buffy's head landed against Spike's shoulder with a long sigh. He took her hand and intertwined their fingers, giving her a half smile as she looked up at him with bright, vibrant eyes.

"Feeling better, love? Slayer healing workin' it's magic?"

"Doing pretty good....you?"

"Tip tops n' too rights...right as rain...and other British slang terms...." She laughed a little at him, leaning up to his mouth for a light brush of her lips across his.

"When this is over I think we should make with the major funs...I want the three of us to do something, bigger and better than the Bronze, I think we deserve a shot of good karma, we've had enough penance to last twenty lifetimes."

"What did you have in mind, pet?"

"Maybe a trip? Go visit Giles in England....and at the same time bludgeon the Council until they agree to pay me, retroactively of course, with bonuses for the 6 or so apocalypses I've averted. We can go for nice long walks out on moors and stuff.....get lost in castles."

"I'd like to take you to Devonshire and Cornwall....into funny little places like Clovelly, an odd town that hasn't changed in probably 300 years...or Torquay where they've got these wild underground caves...then o'er to Tintagel and Uther Pendragon's Castle....that's King Arthur's father...the beach there is bloody amazing, the whole thing is made up of the small, perfectly oval, perfectly flat stones - Tara could've used them to make runes n' what not. To the far left is this big opening that leads into Merlin's cave, you can only get in when the tide is out - the ceiling's all like crystal, beautiful. Then I want us to go up to North Wales, to a place called Betwys-y-coed...it's magic, real magic, the whole place is just teeming with it, especially the forests. Dru wouldn't go within a hundred miles of the place it had such goodness to it, but I was never afraid. I'd been there as a lad, just before m'da died...loved it, think that's when I first knew there was something beyond every day mortal life, you know? We can make love under the stars....very romantic, near a stream in a field....where no one with trouble us....hours and hours with our bodies.....what? Why are you looking at me like I've grown a second head?"

"Watching you spin fantasies....you're eyes are so bright, so full of life and hope..."

"Makin' me out to be a bloody poofter..."

"You said it, not me! No, I'm teasing...it's just.....you have all this beauty inside you that I never took the time to look at before.....breaks my heart how beautiful you are."

"Are we having a moment, Slayer?" He nuzzled in very close, till their noses touched and he could nip at her lips with his teeth.

"Yes, we are...I love you, don't think I said that yet today."

"Love you too...love you always..."

"It was a nice fantasy wasn't it...but just a fantasy...we can't afford it."

"Never say nev...."

"I've lost the house...." Buffy's eyes darted away as the words escaped,"The day before you came back I got a letter from the bank, they're foreclosing on the mortgage, selling the house out from under us and we have to be out at the end of the month....I haven't told Dawn...I can't bear to...."

"Oh Buffy..." His arms found their way around her, pulling her against him.

"It's okay..." she said through tears and sniffles,"I saw it coming, I was pretty sure that that when my Doublemeat wages covered everything except the mortage it was gonna happen eventually. Plus, I've called in sick every day since you've been back....I'm probably fired, I forgot to call today. God, if I wasn't so happy I'd be miserable. You're the happy, by the way."

"Is there anything you can do to stop them....thanks for the happy bit there by the way."

"Well if you can magic up $200 000 in less than a month be my guest." Spike hugged her tighter, the gravity of the situation leaving him without a smart comeback.

"I could probably rustle up enough for the trip...but not enough to save your house, love....I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry, not your fault..."

"Not your's either."

"Maybe not....but...."

"But you think you've let everyone down when all you've done has been above and beyond the call of duty."

"Stop being reasonably, I'm trying to have a self pity moment."

"I think, pet, I'd rather go back to spinning fantasies." He released her from the hug, but instead of pulling back, she relaxed further and lay her head in his lap and closed her eyes, pulling her feet up underneath her and snuggling under her blanket."Where were we?"

"Making love outside..."

"And the grass is wet and cold on our skin....but the air's warm, middle of summer....before long we're drenched, dew and sweat...."

"Among other things I bet..." Spike laughed to himself and let his hand slither under her blanket to caress her backside.

"Among other things....naughty Slayer...."

"Corrupted by a vampire, you mean."

"Oh yes, all my fault..."

"It is....I'm aching all over, I'm all cut up, I look and feel pretty much like the underside of your boots and you've still managed to turn me on....."

"Don't think the bit will appreciate us skipping out on her big presentation....so...best you have a nap my sweet and we'll make our way to North Wales another time."

Chapter 23

"Oh you guys!" Dawn whined when she came back into the living room. Spike's eyes shot open and he nudged Buffy until she came around, accompanied by a wide mouth yawn.

"Sorry, sweet bit...but you know we're a rather nocturnal pair," Spike explained, stretching out his lean body as Buffy did the same,"So do tell....what is your master plan for takin' out the blighter from the great beyond?" Dawn organized her thoughts and took a deep breath.

"Okay...I've been reading all these papers, learning about what all the religions and the history says about angels and stuff and I've come up with some ideas to go with the whole pulling out his heart thing that Uriel talked about. But first we have the problem of him turning Buffy into zombie girl and him being able to use his powers to throw Spike around like he was a wiffle ball."

"Hey!" he protested, Buffy simply patted his knee.

"Anyways....everybody's got symbols, right? Christians have crosses, Jewish people have the Star of David....everybody's got something. The angels all have their own marks... anyways, you know how Catholics make medals of certain saints to wear for protection? And Tara once told me she wore the Ing rune to give her the power of what that symbol meant and there you go!"

"There we go how?" Buffy asked.

"Seems how I'm the one with the power to go against Xuxael, I want to give you two a symbol from me to wear....get it tattooed on you someehere instead of a necklace. Something that really means me, embodies all the coolness that is Dawn."

"Oh bloody hell....please don't tell me it's that dreadful insipid Hello Kitty you have on all your shirts? Rather give the girl over to the angel." Spike snarled. Buffy promptly whacked him hard in the stomach,"Steady on....just kiddin' love...tryin' to lighten the mood. If it means savin' you I'd get Britney and Justin 4 Ever inked on my back in big purple calligraphy..."

"Would you two stop it! I'm being serious....and it's not Hello Kitty, give me some credit would yah? I don't know what it'll be until it's already on you, just one of those instinct, subconscious magic Key type things...it won't hurt, promise....and I'll try and make it cool."

"Right then, how we gonna go 'bout it then."

"Take off your shirts." Spike and Buffy exchanged a look, half confused, half wishing they could follow Dawn's command to removed their shirts, alone."Hop to it!"

"Yes ma'am," Buffy replied in an amusing tone. Spike pulled off his tank top and ran his hand down his torso in an effort to entice the Slayer, which worked as he sensed her heartbeat quicken. Buffy pulled off her own shirt, but held it over her naked breasts. Without casting a second thorough to the action, Spike's hand was approaching the little scrap of fabric that covered her.

"Don't touch her," Dawn commanded,"You two can play later....hopefully when I'm far far away from the house...."

"Sorry...." they both mumbled, looking downwards.

"Okay, stand up and turn around." Buffy and Spike complied and seconds later each had a small, graceful hand placed between their shoulder blades. Warmth spread across their backs and then it seemed to come from the inside, as if they'd swallowed a hot drink too fast and it radiated quickly through their organs and their blood. Then as suddenly as it had come upon them, they were normal again, even cooling down. Goosepimples spread over Buffy's skin and she shivered, immediately Spike reached for a blanket and threw it around her,"I'm sorry about that....little bit too much anti...anti the thing I just did...."

"It's fine Dawn....I'm all warm again already," said Buffy, then her eyes were diverted to Spike's back and she gasped,"Oh wow....Dawn.....it's beautiful....." Buffy placed her hand on her boyfriend's back, running her fingers back and forth over the pattern that lay between his shoulder blades.

"What's it like?" Spike asked, trying to crane his neck to see it. Buffy moved the blanket down and turned for Spike to see,"Woah...so that means you huh nibblet?"

"I guess so...."

"What's the rest of your plan?"

"Pretty easy actually, but we have to wait until tonight, when Spike can go outside...until then I'll explain what I've got in mind....then I think maybe I'll go hang with Janice for a while now that the marks will protect you, I've got a chem test to study for, might as well get a head start. That'll leave you with hours to....you know......and don't pretend you're not just all fireworks on the inside...you two are worse than teenagers!"

Chapter 24

Despite Buffy's perfect ability to walk for herself, Spike had insisted and scooping her up in his very strong and masculine arms and carrying her up the stairs once Dawn had left for the afternoon. The gesture was a terribly romantic one, his mouth tickling behind her ears and over her face. Fact of the matter was, ever since Dawn had put the marks on their backs an overwhelming surge of confidence had found a way into them. The angel may have made his attacks upon them by day, but he never made an appearance in the flesh until night. They felt safe for now, secure in the belief Dawn's plan would work. They were confident even more so in the teenage girl that had been formed and sent to the Slayer as her sister. Dawn was miracle in and of herself, and she was theirs - her sister and best friend and in a way her parents as well, even though she happened to be more than just a magic Key. Dawn's new found powers in truth frightened Buffy, knowing how Willow had been corrupted and lost. But that was a bridge they'd cross.....after Xuxael was dead.

Now however was not a time to be morbid or nervous, now was a time to toss Buffy on her bed and ravage her....or in practice, gently lay her down. Buffy moaned as she sunk into the quilt and overly soft mattress, her pillows surrounding her, but it wasn't what she wanted, she was still cold and still somewhat achy from that morning's ordeal. Spike stood at the foot of the bed undressing, throwing his tank top in the general direction of the closet, then unbuttoning his pants, drawing down the zipper and letting them fall to the ground. He kicked them off his ankles and walked back towards her door, shutting it, then flipping off the lightswitch. The room was virtually in shadows, some afternoon light coming through the fabric of the curtains making his lithe form distinguishable in the dark.

"You want to know one of my favorite things about you?" she asked as he stood at the other side of the room.

"What's that, love?" he replied, approaching slowly.

"You're not so tall...." He laughed, coming to stand at the end of the bed again."I'm serious...the others....whom I won't name...were at least two heads taller, I didn't like that. I never made an issue of it at the time, but they made me feel child-like....you make me feel more like a woman." The self-gratified smirk that painted his face was evident even in the shadows.

"There's other ways.....that I.....can make you feel like a woman...." With those words he climbed on to the bed, gliding up the length of her body until his naked one covered her still clothed one. He kept the majority of his weight supported by his arms on either side of her. He came down slightly, teasing her with little vampire growls and tiny darts of his tongue to lick her lips. She shivered and Spike noticed that it wasn't from pleasure."You cold, my sweet?"

"Little bit...yeah...."

"Why didn't you say so? Last thing you need is the living ice man touching you." He backed off her and she sighed when he went to moving her off the bed so he could pull back the covers.

"You know, sometimes your too selfless for you own good?"

"Why's that?" Seconds later he found that he'd been pushed down to the bed and a suddenly naked Slayer was there with her body pressed up against him. She pulled the covers back over them up to their chins, pressing their foreheads together. Her hand moved up and down the outside of his ribcage while the other traced the features on his face.

"You might be cool to the touch, but you make me very very hot you know....you can make this body warm in no time. Things have been very strange and very scary since you came back....but I also know that if you hadn't come back I'd be in the worst hell I could ever imagine...so the way I see things, every minute spent like this, no matter how cold the temperature might be is the happiest, most complete I ever feel. Got that?"

"Yes dear." He said in such a way that it earned him a swat on his rear end.

"Will you come and live with us?"

"Thought I was, pet...the crypt's pretty uninviting now that I've had a few days nestled in the warm bosom of the Summers household."

"I meant in wherever we move...move to...I don't know how big of an apartment we'll be able to afford, but I know it wouldn't be home unless you were with us."

"'Course I'll come...fact that you want me to is a bloody blessing. Must say though, can't picture you two livin' anywhere but here...Joyce's presence n' all...I'd miss it."

"But there's nothing we can do about that.....I just know that as long as the three of us are a family it doesn't matter where we live...just as long as we're together."

"I'll second that...."

"Stolen moments like this don't feel like enough somehow...we've got a couple of hours to ourselves, then the outside world's gonna knock on the door and drag us back out....I wish I could freeze time."

"Speakin' of freeze....you're not cold anymore....guess I warmed you up after all."

"Told you...and you're all nice and warm...." Her hand moved from where she'd been kneading his backside, around to the hardened length that had come to attention between them,"And nice and hard for me too....."

"Always for you, baby....what say we freeze time for a few hours...."

Chapter 25

Spike tightened his grip around the railing of Buffy's wireframe headboard, he forced out a grunt of almost release, but it turned into a heated, desperate moan. Buffy was hidden under the covers, doing all sorts of devious things to him. She pumped him furiously with her hands, while her tongue did a veritable tour de force of acrobatics. Just then the sound of the front door shutting hard could be heard downstairs.

"Buffy! Spike! I'm home!!" Dawn shouted from below.

"Coming!!" Spike replied loudly, perfectly aware of the double meaning. Buffy couldn't help but giggle and laugh, even in the middle of what she was doing,"Ow! Slayer watch it with the teeth....Slay...sssssssllaaaaayerrrrr........" She gave his length one long, luxurious suck and it was more than enough to finish him. She reappeared from under the the quilt, licking her lips, still laughing, hair messed and looking too satisfied with herself for her own good. She lay herself on him and kissed him fully, sensually, meanwhile prying his white knuckled fingers from her bed frame.

"When I think back...to when I first met you....never in my wildest, most outrageous fantasies did I ever, ever think that that would be one of my most favorite pastimes." She kissed him again, then removed herself from the bed and went about dressing herself for the night's confrontation. She chose more combat styled outfits that she was inclined to lately, opting black leather pants, knee-high black leather boots and a fitted shirt with a high neck and long sleeves, also in black. Spike watched her cover herself and then affix her hair tight against her head in a small bun. Spike remained laying comfortably on the bed, rather cozy in fact under the quilt, the scent of sex still making his head swim.

"Love?"

"Mmm hmmm?"

"Are you saying that you had fantasies about me way back then? Hmmm?" She retrieved a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt for him, as well as his belt. She brought them over to him, sitting on the edge of the bed and trying not to smile."Buffy? You were supposed to be hopelessly in love with the great poof and I was invading that virginal little mind of yours? Tell me, sweets, did our fisticuffs in the school hallways get you moist?"

"You're such a pig."

"Answer the question...."

"I hated you....immensely."

"That's not answering the question."

"Maybe."

"Maybe? You're lying."

"Well.....there was that first time when you came out of the shadows after I dusted your decoy, looking all smug and applauding me.....then it was the whole I'll kill you on Saturday. But for a second there I was all wow on the inside. As for our fights....like you said.....we dance...." Spike huffed and wormed his way out from under the covers, pulling on his jeans and feeding the belt through the loops.

"You are such a terrible liar, Slayer."

"It's not a total lie, you are devastatingly handsome, fiendishly so....and you always had this dead sexy way about you...so it took me a while to come around to your charms....but now...." She advanced on him and put her arms around his neck, looking into his brilliant blue eyes,"I'm completely under your spell. There's something, I think, missing from my little ensemble..." By now his arms were locked around her waist.

"What's that, pet?" She stretched her neck to one side.

"When we see him tonight....I want him to see your mark on my neck, I want every one to know that the Slayer is the lover of a vampire....I want them to hear it from here to LA, to London...." He bent down and kissed the spot, but his teeth did not pierce the skin. He pulled back the neckline of her shirt to look at the marks from the night before, closed with bruising around the punctures.

"Last night, in the throws of passion are one thing, love, but starting to use you as my own personal source..."

"I'm not a Happy Meal on legs Spike....it's not like that, this about our bond....this is also about sticking to Xuxael. He thinks he's better than us, thinks he can keep us under his thumb.....thinks he can take me and use me for whatever sick, obsessive, twisted idea of love he's made up. Angels don't understand what real love is....it's selfless, nurturing, passionate..."

"You used to think that my love was sick, obsessive and twisted..." She caught a brief flash of pain on his face and she saw him nervously gnaw on his lower lip.

"And that was because I didn't understand yet....the things you found out in Africa....Slayers and vampires are cut from the same cloth...we're symbiotic in this world. As for you, what you did for Dawn and me, laying your life on the line when Glory came for her, I had an epiphany back then. You were more than just a vampire and you loved us and it was real, even if I didn't want it. When I first came back and was still all confused.....when I saw you at the bottom of the stairs, the look you had in your eyes, I almost couldn't face it...there was so much love there, just for me.....I was so amazed you were still here and after that I couldn't deny you, in my heart at least....of course you know, stuff happened."

"Stuff always happens, Slayer. Thank you for telling me these things....I didn't know...."

"Now you do....so.....as I was saying....my neck is looking far too pristine...." He closed in on her, the demon rising to the surface and his face changing, fangs descending. Buffy lay her hands on his chest and let out a cool sigh of utter abandon, closing her eyes and bearing her neck again. He kissed the spot once more, then widened his mouth, sinking his fangs in deep. She cried out, but faintly before it turned into a soft moan. As the night before the hot liquid of her blood began to pool in his mouth, Spike felt himself lulling into a strange, beautiful place. The gift she was giving him was beyond the most thrilling dreams of any vampire, but moreover the very taste of her was teeming with love for him. Even if she never said the words aloud again, he would feel always it as surely as he could taste her now. After only a few earnest draws from her veins he retracted and held his mouth over the wounds as the flow ceased. His lips left her and he licked the wounds clean, leaving nothing but two perfect red circles.

His arms stayed around her waist, making sure she wasn't faint or dazed. Shaking off the vampire face he looked into her eyes again, they were bright and gleaming and still so full of love he was the one who felt weak on his feet."You alright, Buffy?"

"I'm just...a little.....wow...that was amazing...." A knock was at their door seconds before Dawn came in. She looked over the scene and smiled slightly, but then couldn't' resist the chance to tease.

"Geez, Spike...she's not a meal wagon......"

Chapter 26

Buffy needlessly straightened the collar on Spike's coat while he complacently let her do it. It certainly wasn't necessary, after all he had been wearing the coat for twenty five years as it was, the thing was shaped to fit him, the collar never needed straightening. Somehow the action seemed to do something for Buffy, so he stood there in the front hall and let her. She patted his shoulders down and continued looking at his chest, but soon found herself looking in his eyes when he took her chin with his hand and raised her head."You sure 'bout this, Slayer? Would it be wrong of me to remind you that this was the same plan as Lucifer's?"

"Using me as bait? Dawn's convinced it'll work....and I trust her, but still....."

"We'll both be there, lurkin'...I'll have your back."

"You always do." Suddenly she hugged him, her strong arms circling his shoulders and squeezing with all her might."And we have Dawn..."

"She's might belong in the universal toolbox, as she put it, but she's your sister first."

"I'm still worried....I know you are too."

"Yeah....but the nibblet's made of tough stuff....she's made from you, if you recall....I don't even think she's realized her full potential. I don't think Xuxael stands a chance against her if she really wanted to let him have it. With that said, I know what you're thinking....absolute power corrupts absolutely? Let me just say this about that...I'd say Willow's already learned that lesson for her, how altering the course of events to suit your own selfish needs backfires. Besides, she'd got us...we'll steer her down the right path."

"You're the one who taught her how to pick locks and shop lift." Of course, he smirked, he was obviously proud that he had influence over the younger Summers."But you also taught her how to protect herself, how be loyal and how to love selflessly."

"Nah.....you did that.....you showed her that when you jumped off that tower..."

"And you picked up the pieces and kept her going....I think we both deserve credit for what an amazing girl she's turned out to be."

"Guess it's the closest we'll ever come to being parents huh? It's funny sometimes that I find myself thinking like that...there was a time I would have thought of Dawn as a nice lil' snackable." Buffy let a soft laugh roll off her tongue before they fell into a slow, languid kiss. Meanwhile, Dawn had been standing at the top of the stairs listening to their discourse with hints of tears in her eyes. Three supernatural beings who had formed themselves a natural family. The realization came upon the teenager then, that for all her new found powers, broader understanding of the universe, its creation and its deities, it was nothing to compared to the happiness she gleaned from something so simple as watching Spike and Buffy share a tender moment.

Composing herself she gradually made her way down the stairs, making just enough noise to distract her sister and her vampire from each other,"Ready to roll sweet bit?" Spike asked after he'd pulled away from Buffy.

"I'm good to go...what about you two?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," Buffy breathed out while her fingers tightened around the leather on Spike's arm. Spike moved away from her and into the living room, diving into the weapons chest and coming back with stakes for each of them and blades for he and Buffy.

"Never can be too careful, my sweets....still plenty of common all garden vamps out there. As for you n' me Slayer, couple a sharp ones for diggin' out angel hearts." They secured the weapons to their bodies and then stood silent as the sun set outside. Once darkness had fallen Spike lead Buffy to the front door, pausing to place a kiss on her cheek before opening the front door,"We'll be right behind you, love.....no worries, okay?" She nodded her head and sucked in a deep breath.

"I love you. I love both of you...."

"We know....go on, sooner we get this done...." He ran his hand over her back, where the tattoo that matched his own was imprinted,"You can feel it, can't you? We're all connected....the three of us...you know everything's gonna work out fine right?" She kissed him once more and then stepped out into the twilight, heading out alone to hopefully lure her stalker straight to her.

"You okay Spike? You look really nervous." Dawn observed. Spike shrugged his shoulders and looked away from the vacant path that Buffy had just walked down.

"Yeah....just have that feeling....you know? Same one I felt after Doc stuck me n' tossed me off the tower...that ugly ache deep inside...I'm falling and when I hit the ground I'll know I've failed and I'll have lost her again." He felt a small comforting hand coming to rest on his forearm.

"It's different now." Spike shook off his feeling of foreboding and headed towards the door.

"Come on, nibblet...got myself a yen for clippin' some angels of their wings."

"Now your talking!"

Chapter 27

Buffy knew that Spike and Dawn were only a couple of minutes behind her, but still she knew this was a dangerous venture. It wasn't that she didn't have every confidence in Dawn's powers of protection that she'd been infused with by virtue of the mark, it was herself that she had doubts about. This time felt eerily similar to when Angelus had been haunting her, taunting and torturing her friends and family. By the same token during that time she also had Spike helping her, just as she did now. This time however was vastly different, this time he wasn't just helping her, he was deeply in love with her and she with him. She was keenly aware that so much more was at stake now that she was no longer a teenager.

After all this year's tragedies she'd finally awakened to what she wanted for her life. Precisely what she wanted was what she already had; her sister and her lover. She imagined Dawn's graduation from High School, her going on to University, maybe falling in love and getting married and even perhaps being so lucky as to have children of her own. All these may have only been fantasies given the emergence of power in her sister, but a future as Buffy had conjured was not out of the question.

For herself, as she walked towards the largest cemetery in Sunnydale, Buffy still held on to romanticized visions of her own future. Ambitions for a real career had been let go not too long after submitting to working for the Doublemeat Palace. Her calling was to be the Slayer and that would always be first and foremost in guiding her destiny, but it would never guide her heart. Because of Spike everything she ever imagined about who she would spend the rest of her life with had been thrown out the proverbial window. He defied all categories and never ceased to challenge her concepts and notions about love. She dreamed of cliché romance novel scenes of candle lit baths, roses and red wine; but also she delighted in the lascivious desires for him to take her amongst the grave stones of any given cemetery. Moreover she found happiness in thoughts of strange but mundane activities such as warming a cup of blood or bleaching his hair for him. She loved their talks, how they laughed and teased and how he said words that shook her to her foundations and made her eternally grateful she had such a devoted, beautiful man to love.

Spike had had changed his ways in order to be worthy of her love and somewhere along the way he'd embraced that change for his own edification. She was immensely proud of him, but the heart of the matter when it came to him was how vital his existence had come to mean to her's. Him leaving had been a painful wake up call, but a necessary one because his return had been the most amazing moment of her life. A life that found itself alone in a cemetery waiting for a fallen angel to come and try to take it from her.

Buffy nearly jumped out of her skin when a crow cawed loudly as it swooped past her. It's body was almost formless against the black of the sky. She wondered why it hadn't gone to it's nest for the night, most birds did before the nighttime creatures came out. Perhaps it was looking for a last bit of carrion or even fresh prey, out for a last hunt. Never before on regular patrols had Buffy felt so frightened; it wasn't the outright terror that had one cowering or screaming, just the pangs in the cells that put one on edge."This is me...all confident and ready for action," she spoke to herself, gripping her stake more firmly.

"Creatures kissing in the rain, shapeless in the dark again. In the Garden, please don't speak, in the Garden no one sleeps...." The words came to her ears, carried on the wind in a soft genderless voice. Buffy stopped walking and shut her eyes tight as if trying to force herself out of one reality into another,"In the heat of the night, the animals scream. In the heat of the night walking into a dream..."

"Who's there? Spike? Dawn?"

"The tides of sin draw tighter and brighter, my sweet.....this is when the night comes down, a hammer on an anvil and you are lost....but we'll always find you."

"Show yourself! Coward!!"

"No coward, pretty thing....cannot be a coward if you serve Heaven's league, must be as brave as a Templar..." Buffy fell back as he was suddenly at her shoulder. It wasn't Xuxael at all, but instead a much more sinister creature. He was incredibly tall, well over 6 ft, possibly seven. His entire being was black and seemingly as liquid as ink. His skin, his eyes, and even his teeth were all nearly as imperceptible as the crow had been. If it weren't for the moon reflecting in his eyes she wouldn't have know he was there. She quickly stumbled to her feet and drew out the knife Spike had given her.

"Who are you?" Her voice was by all appearance confidant and stoic, but all the while on the inside she was screaming for Spike and Dawn to hurry and catch up.

"I have said, I serve him, the angel."

"Where is he?"

"Oh, he's about...should be here any moment, have you come to kill him? That's a dear price to pay, the blood of an angel on your hands. Their blood never washes clean."

"I'm willing to take my chances, what are you here for? To do his dirty work?"

"Hmm? No, not really, I'm just supposed to keep you from leaving."

"Easier said that done....I think I can take yah."

"Maybe, but all of us?"

"Huh?" Then she saw them, their eyes becoming as numerous as the stars, vampires, demons, night breeds of all measure. There were dozens, if not a hundred, emerging from the shadows and surrounding her."Oh no...."

"Oh yes......"

Chapter 28

At the same time as trying to strategize how to fight her way through so many monsters, Buffy began to back away from the blackened man. He made no motioned to follow but gave a chuckle that sounded like matches striking. A ring of vampires advanced and Buffy raised her stake, battle ready and slipping into her other self, the Slayer. Dammit, Spike...where are you? she thought. One vampire broke from the pack and lunged at her, she caught its head with an inside crescent kick and put it to its knees. She plunged her stake into its back through the heart and it immediately exploded into dust. Two more vampires came at her and managed to disarm her of the knife, sending it far out of her reach. She still however had her stake and between more kicks and punches staked them both. Buffy could manage to fend off the vampires with relative ease, but suddenly she found that other less easy to kill demons were joining the fray. After wrestling a Fyarl to the ground and snapping its neck and powerful anvil of a fist connected to a mighty Charrago side swiped her face and she was sent reeling.

Spike and Dawn came into the cemetery, by all accounts it was as calm and lifeless as ever. There was something about the place that always made him feel like he was never walking alone. Sometimes he liked that, as if he had night kin all about; while other times there was a strange prickling on his skin as if he were being stalked or molested. He reasoned that Buffy probably felt the latter ten times over with Xuxael trying to get his hooks in her. As her lover and her life mate the least he could do was rip it's heart out, but what he really had rolling around in his mind was tying the thing up, and if it had wings, plucking it's feathers one by one with rusty pliers before reaching down it's throat for the organ.

He felt Dawn's hand slip under his arm and grasp on to his bicep. He reached across and gave it a reassuring squeeze,"Penny for your thoughts, bit?"

"It's nothing, really, but ever since I did my trance all these images, sounds and sensations have been coming back to me, memories I guess."

"Givin' you the wigguns are they?"

"Yeah, big time."

"Wanna share?"

"The universe wasn't created in seven days you know, that's just a metaphor - there were seven stages to it. And, and...uh, there's like an infinite number of parallel universes out there where every possibility is played out...including the world without shrimp."

"You don't say."

"Yeah...but there's a world out there where you and Buffy are accountants living in Wyoming with a whole bunch of little rugrats and a golden retriever." Spike couldn't help but laugh at the absurd imagery.

"I don't think it matters what reality we're in, just as long as I get to love you girls.....but whilst I've got your ear...can you tap into the universal forces and catch next week's lotto numbers?"

"Why?"

"I'll be staked good n' proper if I tell you, but I think maybe you should prepare yourself for some tough times, lil' bit."

"I read the letter from the bank, Buffy hid it...I didn't mean to, but I just kinda found it. I know what's gonna happen."

"Big sis is tearing herself up inside o'er it....so when the time comes n' she sits you down....be brave for her, k'? Can you promise?"

"I promise, but I think it'll be okay. Listen, I know I kinda make fun of you guys for being all over each other, and even for those looks that are like are torn from the pages of romance novels, but you're the best thing to ever happen to our family and we're lucky to have you. Don't cry."

"I'm not..."

"Yes you are." He ran his thumbs under his eyes, stopping any flow of tears."And you're not a poof, or a wanker or any other one of those colorful words you like to throw out there. I love you Spike, sorry had to be said."

"Love you too, sweet bit...more than you'll ever know."

"I've got a good idea.Cut, end of mushy sentimental moment."

"Agreed."

"So where do you suppose Buffy is? Shouldn't we have seen her by now?"

"It's a huge cemetery, just need to keep our eyes n' ears open....." Suddenly Dawn stopped dead in her tracks, the hand she had on Spike's arm halted him aswell,"Dawn?" She cast her eyes upwards and gasped, clutching fiercely to Spike's coat.

"Spike look...he's coming." Sure enough, as he followed her gaze, obscuring their view of the moon was the silhouette of outstretched wings twenty feet across gliding on the wind."We have to find Buffy....."

Chapter 29

Buffy could taste the blood in her mouth from when she'd accidentally bit the inside of her mouth when taking a left hook from one particularly stealth vampire. Her strength and endurance both were waning and her eyes stung from the sweat and vampire dust collected in them. She was sure she'd only been fighting a few minutes, but the weight of her arms made it feel like she'd done a thousand rounds with a heavyweight boxer. At length she was taking as many blows as she was landing, if Spike didn't come soon she might really be done for. More demons and vampires were arriving every second, as if someone had summoned them to converge on this place. Another much larger and imposing vampire stormed the Slayer, faking her out then pounding his fist into her guts. Buffy fought the urge to wretch, falling her her knees and crying out. She felt massive hands close around her throat, but as soon as they were there they were suddenly gone.

She was left gasping and crying as Spike tore her attacker away and staked him. "SLAYER?!" Spike roared back to her as he started taking all demonic comers jumping into attack."Buffy!! Get up Buffy!"

"Spike....." she acknowledge, clamoring to her feet just in the nick of time as another Charrago came for her."It's the angel, Spike....he's called them all here...." Spike kicked away his own opponents and raced after the Charrago, stabbing it through the back with his knife. He put his back to Buffy's as the demons closed their circle around them.

"We have to get outta here, love...."

"Where's Dawn?"

"She told me to get you n' burn rubber....something she had to take care of..."

***

The blackened man spun around and was instantly on guard when he felt the light behind him. Dawn walked towards him with a well matched aire, bathed in power and a green preternatural light. Her eyes had lost all pigment but a whirlwind of magic under the glassy surface. The teenager had awakened the source that dwelled somewhere in the seat of her soul. Her skin was a glow as if she'd been coated with phosphorous.

"Remember me?" she asked, coming within ten feet of him.

"I do......you were the one used to give life, when the High was making cells and aligning molecules, it was you who gave them their spark," he replied.

"And it was you that made it so everything to which I gave life could die. Now it's your turn!"

"Only if you win and that shell you've been funneled into is not unbreakable."

" But if the body's broken, then I cannot be contained and my power will increase beyond even this world."

"It's the body that makes it so you can love them. If we become solely energy we revert to our original purpose and can be manipulated, used like the tools we're meant to be....are you prepared to give up the freedom?"

"For Spike and Buffy? I'll give anything....they already did it for me."

"Prepare yourself then....."

"Already there...." A dense depression of energy and sound contracted around Dawn and then spread out in a luminous sphere. It thrummed in the atmosphere like a heart pumped full of blood. She continued her advance on the other of God's instruments but he was prepared. He called forth his own power and beat it against her's life a whip in a pit of lions. The two forces of nature pushed and pulled against each other when once they'd worked side by side. Infinite years had passed since they'd last been in each other's company, no longer the hands of the God, one now a wicked angel's minion and the other the sister of the Slayer.

Chapter 30

Buffy and Spike finally managed to break away from the the throngs of demons they'd been fighting and where running hard, searching for Dawn and an escape."Spike we have to find her!!" Buffy shouted as they made a wide circle to go back for Dawn but at the same time avoiding the masses of demons who were in pursuit. Suddenly a massive figure swooped past them and while Buffy was thrown off her feet, Spike was lifted from the ground. Buffy watched in abject horror as Xuxael flew up high with a precarious hold on Spike's shoulders, the vampire fighting and flailing against the angel. The appearance of wings on the angel made Buffy cower, Xuxael was even more of monster to her because of them. With an expanse that seemed to block out the stars and moon, he came around and past her, then promptly dropped Spike in the thick of the minions he'd called to the cemetery.

When Xuxael came and landed in front of her, Buffy could feel him trying to possess her again, but she could also feel the warmth of the mark on her back working against it. She hadn't seen him before, not really, not standing before her stark from the waist up with a powerful chest and muscular arms, his skin rich and bronze. Around his waist he wore a diaphanous wrap of white fabric, while the thick black curls of his hair were unencumbered around his face. He was classically handsome, like he's stepped down from the canvas of a Renaissance painting. He'd tucked his wings against his back, making them small and not so domineering of his body, then he crouched down at her and opened his lips to draw in a breath, about to speak his first words to her. She couldn't imagine what those words could be and she didn't want to know, instead Buffy smiled wickedly, pulled her leg back and kicked him as hard as she could across the face.

The angel was caught completely off guard and stumbled back, losing whatever grace Heaven had once afforded him. Buffy spun herself around and back to her feet, poised and ready for the fight. The angel's entire demeanor changed and Buffy knew that if she didn't defeat him, her fate would be one worse than death. Her mind flickered for a moment to both Dawn and Spike, but time could not be spared for their welfare as Xuxael started to come for her. He was enraged, his statuesque face contorted with malice and it was all for her. He set his jaw and pounced at her to which Buffy quickly dodged, only to have him spin around and punch her in the back. She lost the air in her lungs and heaved and gulped to get it back enough to be able to continue fighting. Another blow came to the back of her head and she was dazed, nearly losing consciousness. She swung her fist and hit some part of him, only to stumble when her eyes lost focus and pain flooded her brain.

On her hands and knees, Xuxael stood over her, a deadly smirk spreading across his face. He kicked her stomach and she fell helplessly on to her back. The angel was every bit as strong Glory had been, if not moreso and Buffy had lost all her weapons. She tried to look for Spike, but saw only the angel. She breathed out the vampire's name, hoping for a scream but giving only a whisper.

Somehow, either on the wind, in his head or more likely in his heart Spike heard Buffy's voice calling his name. He felt the urgency of her fear in his blood. He'd been fighting off demons and vampires with success but no so much that he could go and help the Slayer. In the distance he could see the angel come over her, but the line of sigh to Buffy's actions was obscured by the wings. In a motion of masterful stealth, Spike vaulted himself out from the center of the hoard and on a path straight to Buffy.

He never knew he could move so fast, whatever the vampire equivalent was for adrenaline he was experiencing a megalithic surge of it. Buffy was pinned and struggling underneath Xuxael, trying to save herself from strangulation or a broken neck, as the angel had her about the throat and she held him at bay with white knuckles around his wrists."BUFFY! Hold on Slayer! I'm coming!" Spike roared as he came closer and closer. Spike heard the hell beasts hot on his heels, but also the forced out cry with her last breath. Spike moved faster still to reach her before it was too late. He had his knife drawn and ready to plunge into Xuxael's heart when suddenly another's clawed hand had smashed through the flesh and bones of the angel.

Buffy saw the mirror of Xuxael's face crack when his heart was ripped form his chest cavity. He'd let go of her neck and had begun to flail and shake above her. Buffy's scream caught in her throat as his eyes caved in on themselves and a black ooze ran down his chin, but she miraculously found herself being dragged out from underneath the drama. Xuxael teetered for a moment, like a lunatic on stilts before falling forward, dead.

Spike help Buffy securely against him, shielding her from the ugliness and giving her times to compose herself. At length she turned back to face Xuxael's killer, Lucifer - who was lobbing and tossing the heart about as if it were a baseball. The fallen angel was laughing to himself and dancing about in an odd celebration, then suddenly stopping and turning back to face the couple,"Look, you might not believe it, children, but you really, really didn't want to have killed an angel on your resume, you wouldn't believe the problems it'll create for you later....especially if you want a nice afterlife, like getting into Heaven n' such."

"'Not going to Heaven, mate, this is my afterlife...." Spike explained.

"Oh please.....you, Mister Redemption personified? They've probably got a cloud and harp already picked out for you with a nice lil' card reading RESERVED for Mister the Bloody, The Noble Vampire. And we all know she gets to pass go and collect her $200 - especially considering her sister..."

"And I should take your word for it? I don't fancy you've got the inside track on who gets into the big house...."

"No need to get snippy, let's put it another way, you're not on my list for future eternity, so where else you gonna go? No one lives forever...."

"Don't be so sure about that one," Dawn said as she appeared behind Lucifer, back to normal, she too was playing with something in her hands, a black sphere about the size of a golf ball. Lucifer suddenly grew angry and threw the heart to the ground in disgust, the organ making a large squishing sound as it hit.

"No fair! He was damn good employee! Why'd you have to go and do that!? Sure he jumped over to Xuxael's side.....but still...."

"Would you get lost already?" Lucifer rolled his eyes and tossed up his hands in surrender, but before leaving he turned back to Buffy.

"Leave a light on for me Slayer..." A low growl vibrated in Spike's throat and Lucifer gave a mock shiver,"Isn't he just dreamy when he's fierce?" Dawn cleared her throat,"Okay, okay.....I'm going......geez....." They watched until he folded back into the shadows, the other demons and vampires following suit, before the remaining three started towards home.

"You sure you're alright, Dawnie?" Buffy asked, putting her arm around her sister's shoulders and pulling her close.

"I'm fine....feeling pretty good actually, you know, post-traumatic euphoria." She continued to play with the sphere, tossing it up into the air, which was then snatched by Spike to examined.

"You gonna tell us what this is, lil' bit?" he asked.

"It's the Key to Immortality."

Chapter 31

"Let's get you out of these clothes, hmm?" Spike suggested as he went to task. They were once again tending to wounds in the bathroom. Lately it seemed they spent as much time doing that as they did making love, the latter was definitely preferable.

"You have a one track mind," she replied as he pulled her shirt over her head and off, but he didn't respond to her teasing. Even when he unclasped her bra and peeled it from her body, he made no gesture that could be construed as sexual in any way. Instead he had a resolute, serious look on his face that was threatening to become and outright scowl. Buffy stood there and let him undress her and then pull her bathrobe over her and do up the sash."Are you okay?"

"M' fine..." He ran a wash cloth under cold water and wrung it out before coming near her face with it,"This'll hurt, the bruises go pretty deep." She hissed in pain and then whimpered as he cleaned her face, being especially careful around her blackening eye."I think it's too late to slow the swelling, the eye might close overnight. It'll be mighty uncomfortable, do try and not take it out on me..." He laughed a little at his own comment, but it was forced and it turned into a sigh.

"Spike?"

"Yeah, love?"

"When Glory beat you up....what did you do after...after I came to your crypt I mean? We didn't see you for days, not until I asked you to take Dawn into the caverns...."

"What did I do with the closed up eyes and battered body? Pet, I lay there in the same spot you left me and tried to sleep when the pain dulled enough to let me. You'll be back on your game in no time, so your eye's black, your lip's split and your cheeks are all mashed - you took on a hundred hell beasts and fought off an angel - and you're still the most beautiful thing on earth."

"What did you do after I beat you?"

"Buffy...sweetheart, now's not the time."

"What did you do?"

"Buff....fine...for one I barely made it back to m'crypt before the sun came up - you were almost rid of me. And I spent most of the time sitting downstairs in the corner like a wanker with a bottle whiskey wondering how the bloody hell I could help you to save yourself. If you're wondering, I wasn't angry with you, I was scared for you." He finished applying iodine to the broken spots of skin, her hand nearly breaking the counter it grasped as she worked through the pain.

"Karma's a bitch."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean I think this is the universe trying to send me another message, letting me walk a mile in your shoes, well your face. I'm sorry I ever hurt you."

"Don't be sorry, ancient history. You want some dinner? I kind of fancy a big greasy pepperoni pizza and lots of beer."

"I love you."

"Yeah, I know you do."

"The pizza sounds good."

***

Dawn and Spike had a mini battle over the last piece of the pizza, but Dawn's doe eyes and pleading gaze melted the vampire worse than the mozzarella and she won the rights to said slice. Still in her robe, Buffy had situated herself across Spike's lap, laying down and looking fondly up at him. His free hands rested about her upper body, massaging away sore spots, and rubbing her tummy where she'd taken a particularly hard blow. The climb down from the climax of the final fight with Xuxael had been pleasant, just the three of them being a normal family. Buffy sighed and closed her eyes, blindly reaching for and pulling the throw that hung on the back of the couch over her bare legs. She snuggled in against Spike, nuzzling the better side of her face against his stomach. Dawn watched from her vantage point across from them in the armchair as the vampire continued to caress her sister's stomach while look down upon her quiet, bruised face with a empathy and tenderness she'd rarely seen in all her time as a human being. An idea, a daydream, came into Dawn's head and she couldn't help but smile openly at the prospect.

"Hey, I have a question," the teenager suddenly piped up. Both Spike and Buffy turned there attention to her and were somewhat puzzled but the look of odd happiness she'd donned.

"Fire away, nibblet," Spike answered.

"If you could, would you guys ever want to have a baby?" Both of them were jolted from their relaxed, complacent positions. They sat on the edge of their seats, dumbfounded,"I'm serious....if you could would you want to have a baby together?" Spike and Buffy turned to look at each other, seeming to actually conjure scenarios in in their minds. Spike ran his fingers lightly over her exposed knee and caught the glimmer of hope in Buffy's eyes.

"Yeah," Spike whispered, but then changed his tune a split second later,"No sense bringing up stuff like this, Dawn, I'm no good at giving babies...I'm dead, remember? I don't mind you askin' this once....but don't talk about it again..."

"Buffy?"

"Dawn..." Buffy began,"There are a certain amount of things I know that I have to give up for being with Spike....normal things like having kids. But I'm okay with that....he's worth giving those things up for. Sure there'll be times when it's gonna hurt....but...."

"You all think way to linear....hello, all powerful CREATION tool here. I'm saying if your two ever wanted a lil' vampire or a lil' Slayer I think I can make it happen....not being in the room kind of make it happen, 'cause like ewww, but I'm pretty sure I could work a little magic in your favor! And I wanna know if you'd want me to?"

"Could you make it work five or six times?" Spike mused.

"Spike! Hold your horses there....I think one is overwhelming enough to think about!" said Buffy.

"You know what I'm like when I get obsessed with an idea......think you could magic m'up some twins? Triplets!?"

"Dawn, you've created a monster. Maybe someday....when we can afford it.....thing of it is..."

"I can make money too....out of thin air even.....I was practicing earlier! It's so neat....I'm gonna try and make a porsche tomorrow! Once I get a real handle on all these powers I'm gonna be so awesome! And don't give me it's wrong speech...do you really want to keep working at the Doublemeat?" Dawn reasoned.

"I guess not...."

"And since I'm on a roll.....you two should also get married, you should go to LA and laugh in Angel's face about it - serve him right for ignoring me the whole time he was around. Oh! oh! and track down Riley and really rub his nose in it! Like even get all hot and heavy in front of him......what else? Oh! I wannt go visit Giles in England....then I wanna check out Paris! Shopping!!!....." Dawn continued to spout out her wish list, while Spike and Buffy turned back to each other, Buffy sliding on to his lap.

"So what do you say, Slayer? Wanna make brood of Lil' Bads with me?" he asked. She caressed his face and pressed herself close on him.

"Absolutely....someday, until then....lotsa practicing...."

Chapter 32

"Hello, yes....my name is Rupert Giles...from the....the.....I'm the undertaker here to retrieve the body....of.....I can't believe she's made me do this...of Mr. William Summers," Giles stammered out with great difficulty to the airport official, shuffling the forms he'd brought with him in order to go through the proper channels to receive the coffin Spike had stowed himself away in for the trip across the Atlantic. A week previously he'd received a late evening phone call from Dawn, who within the first ten seconds managed to greet him and tell him they were coming to England next Friday. It wasn't until the laughter he heard in the background had died down and Buffy snatched the phone from her sister did he learn just who they included.

"Giles!" Buffy exclaimed, her giggles fading. Giles was certain he heard heavy breathing on the other line, but deduced that it wasn't coming from Buffy when she continued talking and the heavy breaths continued."Guess Dawn told you we're coming to visit?"

"Yes...the first words out of her mouth after eeeek Giles. I must say this is rather good news, you haven't written and we haven't spoken....since all the unpleasantness came to a head with Tara's death. I'm very much looking forward to seeing you, but are you able to afford the tickets, do you have your passports in order?"

"No problem on the funds...passports arrived today, but I need huge favor."

"Of course, name it."

"Can you meet us at the airport?"

"Naturally, I'll be there to fetch you."

"Cool, but there's more....think you can swing some forgeries and stuff - for picking up a coffin."

"A coffin you say? Why on earth are you travelling with a coffin."

"Well the layover in Iceland is a problem, they're making us get off the plane for an hour and it'll be right in the middle of the day. He's not too thrilled about it either, but the guy in that movie managed okay.....I just have to promise to put a nice care package in with him so he doesn't get bored."

"He?"

"Frank Langella......Love at First Bite."

"No....no....who's in the coffin?"

"Duh Giles....Spike." At which point a definite growl was audible on Buffy's end and then more giggles from Buffy.

"Spike.....Spike? Spike's there with you now?"

"Yes....beast that he is....Spike, honey.....stop that! I'm trying to talk to Giles...Spike...oh Spike...."

"Buffy.....dear me.....Buffy?"

"Un-huh?"

"What's he doing there?"

"Nibbling on my neck actually...."

"Oh god!"

"Oy, allo Watcher," suddenly Spike's voice came over the line,"How's home sweet home? Prolly raining, innit?"

"Spike...."

"That's me..."

"What are you doing at the house?"

"Sorry?"

"What are you doing at Buffy's house?"

"Living in it? Though presently I'm making my sweets their breakfast, eggs n' bacon...but Buffy's not really all that hungry, she already had a protein drink this morning, didn't you love?" Lastly there was the clear crack of someone's hand on someone's face, then Buffy returned to the phone.

"Sorry about that....I swear one of these day I'm going to have to force some manners into him."

"Buffy....I don't understand...."

"Didn't Dawn explain? She said she would...."

"No, she most definitely did not. Perhaps you would be so kind to."

"Okay....how's about this - I'm probably gonna marry him......Giles? You there? Giles? I think he fainted."

As Giles was lead towards the Special Baggage Claim center he massaged the lump on his forehead, gotten when he had indeed fainted upon hearing Buffy's revelation about her and Spike. The coffin was rolled out on a conveyor belt of sorts and then halted before a crew of four squirrely looking men."Allo....you come for him then?" one of them asked in a broad cockney accent, he sounded like even more of a degenerate than Spike.

"Yes...yes.....Mr. William Summers' remains," Giles replied, his knuckles rapping on the fine wood of the coffin."Just toss it on the trolly, no need to be gentle, not as if the dead care about comfort and such." The four workers picked up the coffin and started to carry it over to the transport that was to take it to the hearse Giles had procured. The men moved in unison, Spike laid out on their shoulders in his box, that was when Giles saw the blessing the Powers That Be obviously thought he deserved. Giles made as if he were walking to keep up with the men, but on the sly he stepped on the loose shoelace of the lead men causing him to trip and the head of the coffin to hit the ground as all control was lost. Giles smiled inwardly, proudly when he heard a familiar bloody hell as well as a stupid git coming from inside.

A short while later the hearse pulled away from London - Heathrow with Buffy, Dawn, Spike and their luggage stuffed into the back. The sisters and Giles sat along side the coffin on the bench seats while the driver guided them towards Bath. Once the partisan was raised between the front and back and the black curtains on the windows drawn tightly shut, Buffy immediately went to task at unlatching the sides of the coffin and tossing back the lid. Spike quickly sat up and started to bend and stretch his legs, grumbling and groaning from being restrained for so many hours.

"You sure made a mess!" Dawn observed, looking over the disarray of his diskman and CDs, books, scattered Doritos, a flashlight and other in flight occupations.

"Not my bloody fault, he made them drop me! On my head!" Spike accused, pointing at Giles. Dawn and Buffy turned wide eyed to stare at Giles, the smirk he sported fading quickly.

"Giles!" Buffy scolded, the Watcher had no defense against the trembling of her lower lip. Returning her attentions to the maligned vampire she wrapped his arms around his head and cradled him against her breasts. She pressed kisses into his blond hair while stroking his temple with her thumb. Spike warmed to her soothing touching, nestling close as a baby would."Do you have a headache, sweetie?" He nodded and put his arms around her waist, sighing and relaxing, but making sure to shoot Giles a smug look. The Watcher tutted his tongue on the roof of his mouth and rolled his eyes, swooping off his glasses in order to satisfy the nervous habit.

"Aren't they the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" Dawn beamed.

Chapter 33

The natives were becoming restless, and Bath was still half an hour away. Dawn had stretched herself out in the coffin and was humming along to one of Spike's CDs as she listened to the diskman. Here eyes were closed and her foot tapped in synch with the beat. Meanwhile Giles sat a respectable distance away from Spike and Buffy, who were seated next to each other, holding hands and staring mindlessly into each other's eyes like lovesick teenagers. The relative silence of the car ride was suddenly interrupted by a fierce rumbling emanating from Spike's stomach. Buffy giggled and gave his tummy a rub, which irked Giles to no end.

"Is your thermos empty?" she asked eyeing the object that lay at Dawn's feet.

"'Fraid so, pet, finished it right after take off.....now I'm all growly....don't like rumblies in my tumbly...." His insipidly cute childlike talk made Giles' face twitch yet somehow compelled Buffy to roll up the sleeve of her blouse and offer him her wrist.

"Buffy you can't be serious!" Giles began to protest, but before he could get another word in edgewise Spike's demon face appeared and he'd sunk his teeth into the Slayer. Giles cried out and even visibly recoiled, while Buffy simply lulled against Spike in some sort of ecstatic thrall."This is absolutely abominable! Buffy you are the Slayer....inviting him into your home is one thing but this is insanity!" Spike cast his yellow eyes at Giles in general annoyance and then gave the coffin a good hard kick, snapping Dawn out of her music induced trance. The teenager bolted upright and took off the headphones.

"Are we there yet?" she asked, then noticed Spike and Buffy, her sister's free hand massaging Spike's neck, Dawn smiled at them and held her hand to her heart. "I hope I get to be in love like that one day."

"I pray not," Giles replied.

"Dawn," Buffy spoke,"Tell Giles what you found out about yourself....."

"Oh yeah! Giles it's so cool! I'm a screwdriver!!"

"You're a what?"

***

The remainder of the time spent in the back of the hearse consisted of Giles being told the tale of all that had occurred since Spike had come back into the Summers womens' lives. Giles was loathed to admit it, but if it weren't for Spike's timely return and perseverance Buffy would no doubt have been helpless against Xuxael. And as Giles' time in the couple's company progressed he began to take note of the subtle nuances of their closeness. As the story of the fallen angel was fleshed out, Giles noticed how the vampire tuned every breath he took to speak in perfect flow with Buffy's; how when she spoke Spike's eyes stared at her lips; when Spike talked Buffy closed her eyes and listening; each other's fingers were constantly tracing patterns over some part of the other's body. Not to mention a litany of coy smiles, loving caresses, prolonged meetings of their eyes. Giles had to admit it, it was true love for the vampire and the Slayer. He'd need a drink, to play Quadrophenia very very loud and then a nap just to get over the epiphany.

The driver of the hearse had been instructed to take them to the Hornby Brothers' Mortuary and Undertakers, the empty coffin was unloaded and Spike slipped away without being noticed as night had just fallen and he blended with the shadow and the black of the car. Giles brought his own car around once the luggage, and the women had taken their seats, Dawn in the front and Buffy in the back. The former Watcher contemplated speeding past the vampire, but one quick look at Buffy reflected in the rearview mirror searching expectantly for Spike, he slowed and stopped. Spike flopped down in the back seat and saddled up almost on top of the Slayer. With one arm around her shoulders, Spike turned into Buffy and sunk his mouth down upon hers. Definite giggles were audible from the back seat, though muffled under Spike's mouth and roaming hands.

"Not that I'd expect to be considered," Giles spoke up to no one in particular,"But in my own car, is it really necessary? I am due some respect, am I not? After the trouble I went to arranging....." He stopped talking when it was clear both Spike and Buffy were ignoring him utterly.

"It's okay Giles, you just need to get used to it...I brought extra earplugs," Dawn explained.

"Earplugs? Why on Earth would you need........oh dear Lord in Heaven.....that's....."

"It's sweet and I'm glad their so happy and so in love, but seriously, sometimes the whole damn house shakes...."

"Perhaps they'd....um.....be more comfortable in.....in....a hotel or a Bed and Breakfast?"

"I don't think they care where they do it......cemetery...hood of his car.....the roof of the house...."

"I think I'd be more comfortable with them at a hotel...."

Chapter 34

It was decided after all that everyone was welcome to stay at Giles' house. He'd recently moved from the flat he'd rented upon first returning to Bath to a duplex that was actually quite large by way of comparison. His severance package from leaving the the Watchers was tidy indeed and abled him to purchase it outright. Presently Giles had employed himself in dealing with magical antiquities, travelling off to the corners of the planet to retrieve them, not to mention the usual rounds of taking out demons and vampires when he came upon them. Dawn likened him to Indiana Jones upon his telling of it. Furthermore he still had his hand in the Magic Box and had received word from Anya that she was coming around and would not fail him in their partnership.

Spike took it upon himself to carry all the bags in from the car, Buffy casting glances back over her shoulder at him to make sure he was managing alright. He took his time making his way up the walk. Despite being encumbered by all the suitcases, he felt envigored and even a little alive. There was something remarkable about being back to the place where he was born. Bath wasn't London, but it was England, an entire country full of magic and history for him to show Buffy. He had every intention of taking her to the places they'd fantasized about, especially his favored North Wales. The vampire's attention was abruptly snapped towards Giles' front door when it opened of its own volition and both Buffy and Dawn cried out. There leaning in the doorframe with a bright smile on her face, and hair like the flames of a midsummer bonfire was Willow. The three women ran, meeting on the steps and pulling each other into tight embraces, tear abound. Giles came back over to Spike and alleviated his burden by taking some of the luggage.

"You're a rare breed, Watcher...." Spike ruminated,"And good at keepin' a surprise under wraps....Red been here long?"

"A couple of months....almost since she left Sunnydale.....flew here, literally....she came to me broken and barely holding on to sanity, her soul.......the magic had almost complete control, she almost wasn't herself.....almost. She had enough strength to want help and to ask for it."

"She looks healthy.....like her old self...."

"She is, she's come a very very long way with the help of a Wiccan Priestess I went to school with. Willow has learned how to use her magic in service of the Goddess, doing good.....I dare say she has been reborn."

"I don't think I've ever seen Buffy look so happy....."

"I have.....not an hour ago in the back of the hearse when you brushed that stand of hair out of her eyes and then oh so nauseatingly and playfully flicked her nose, then kissed it. As much as it pains me to admit it....Spike, listen, I've know Buffy since she was barely 16 years old and I couldn't love her more if she were my own daughter, but your love for her astounds me, truly. When I watch her looking at you I know that no man will occupy her whole heart the way you do, she loves you and therefore I am indebted to you for her happiness."

"What say we leave 'em be for a while....pop down to your local for a pint.....or three?"

"Capital plan...."

***

Dawn snored as she lay sound asleep, drugged by jet lag, on one of the two twin beds in the room that Willow had occupied since coming to stay with Giles. The room that was decorated suitably to Giles' combined style of deco furniture with a bit of California Mission and illuminated by the dim bulb of a beside lamp. Willow and Buffy both lay on their's sides, facing each other and talking very much like they had early on in their friendship, when they'd had slumber parties just for two. Buffy had listened in silence to Willow talk over hooded eyes to everything that had occurred since she disappeared from Sunnydale. She seemed like the old Willow again, although certainly wiser, older and even perhaps sagely, like an old oak that had grown another year and its bark tougher for it.

There was a sadness about her friend, still obviously in mourning over Tara, but reconnecting with Buffy and Dawn pulling her to a new plateau on her path to becoming whole. The house was deafly quiet, the occasional creak giving Buffy a start, but Willow quite at home with all the eccentricities of Giles' abode. The laughter of the two girls was soft and brief, observing how strange it was to be where they were considering how they started out so many years ago. Buffy lay back and stared at the ceiling, knowing now that Willow's story was finished and it was time for Buffy herself to answer questions the most obvious being,"Spike," Willow stated as a matter of fact.

"Spike," Buffy sighed, drumming her fingers on her stomach.

"Gotta say, never quite saw that one coming...the second time I mean. The first was kinda understandable....you needed something to make you feel, so you could learn to want to be alive again."

"And Spike loving me with blind devotion fit the bill, for a little while."

"Then you started to hurt him when it stopped working...."

"And then he left and then I realized that hurting him hurt me.....but not because I felt pain, but because he did and I didn't want him to hurt....because I loved him.....but he was already gone."

"But he came back and now it's all good, right?"

"It's very good, better than I deserve, but he thinks he's the lucky one."

"That's how it's supposed to be, you both think you don't deserve each other - when you look at him you thank your lucky stars and even when he leaves bloody lumpy weetabix chunks in the kitchen sink you still get butterflies in your tummy just thinking about fangy kisses."

"More like condors....I love him so much Wills, it's insane and I can't get enough....and it doesn't matter what he's doing, even when he's only painting his finger nails black! Just to be near him....can you imagine?!"

"Yeah....I can."

"Oh I'm sorry.....I didn't mean....."

"I miss Tara, I love Tara.....and, and maybe all I get is the time she and I had together, maybe I meet someone new...I'm not ready to know yet. Seeing you happy like this is better than ice cream with cookie dough chunks for the soul, maybe bringing you back wasn't the worst thing I ever did?" Buffy reached across and hugged her friend.

"Thank you for bringing me back Willow." When they parted the young witch was in tears and soon so was Buffy. It was then that the sound of footsteps was distinguished coming up the stairs. There was a light rapping on the closed door before Spike opened it and peaked inside.

"Allo ducks....we're back.....hey, Red," Spike spoke quietly.

"Hey Spike," Willow replied, looking fondly at him.

"I'm gonna turn in.....you two'll be chattin' to mornin' I expect....so....yeah......" He closed the door behind him and Buffy turned back to Willow, here eyes asking permission.

"Go....go have yourself some Spuffyness..."

"Spuffyness?"

"Spike+Buffy=Spuffy....."

"Very cute, Will."

"Yeah well....I'm getting some of that old Willow back aren't I?"

"Yes you are...she'd been gone for some time, I've missed her."

"Me too."

Chapter 35

Spike groaned as his head hit the pillow in the incredibly soft double bed in their guestroom at Giles'. The room was pitch black and cool, the quilt he'd pulled up only so far as his waist was heavy and hard to move under. But he was comfortable and content, alcohol warming his blood and thoughts of Buffy warming other places. He and Giles had talked over their beers, about England, the Slayer, and what the years each had on the Scoobies meant when considering the years to come. They talked about Spike's responsibilities to Dawn and Buffy now that he'd established himself in their lives. But they also shared a few laughs, a few memories, and a few stories of Buffy's more embarrassing moments on patrol, just the lighten the mood. All in all a nice time, maybe even the beginnings of a friendship.

At any rate, Spike was just appreciative for the bed, the darkness and the coolness in the air. He felt sleep coming fast, when unexpectedly the door opened and she slipped inside the bedroom. He could smell the freshness of her, her nighttime routine complete and her skin clean and warm, hair brushed out silken smooth. These were all the subtleties about her he'd come to cherish, the things she probably never gave a second though to.

She tried to be silent, so not to wake him, but off all the paths to walk she chose the one where he'd put his boots. She tripped and banged her knee on the dresser, muttering stupid vampire under her breath. He smiled, and watched her with the clear night vision his eyes possessed. She undressed, letting every last article of clothing fall in a different spot on the floor. Finally coming to the bed she crept in between the sheets next to him, relaxing just as he had minutes before. Spike reached across the few inches that separated them to lay a hand on her shoulder."Thought you were asleep..." she whispered. He crawled over and layed half his body on top of her's tucking his head under her chin and wrapping an arm and a leg around her, snuggling down close.

"Almost."

"Did you and and Giles get along alright? He's not still giving you a hard time is he?"

"Me n' the Watcher are on good terms....sort of, I'm to be staked if I ever hurt you."

"Naturally."

"But I'd stake myself first if I ever hurt you. Mmmm....you smell divine, love....I could lie here like this for-bloody-ever....."

"Me too.....jet lag's taking hold...sleep....need sleep....can't sleep when you suck on me like that....." Spike had affixed his mouth around the pert tip of one of her breasts, gently applying a deep pressure with the vacuum of his mouth over it."Spike....Spike we can't....everyone's sleeping....we'll....mmmmm...OH!!" He released the nipple with a tug and a pop, surprising her and sending a flurry of arousal through her entire body. Spike chuckled and bit at the skin of her torso.

"Then we'll do it real quiet like..." Considering it had been almost 24 hours since she'd last had him, Buffy wasn't about to refuse, however did move her body about to test the strength of the bed, happy to find it didn't creak and didn't budge an inch."Don't fret, pet, we'll be good to the furniture." He moved like a snake slithering across sand dunes until he settled himself atop her. He took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together, and held them above her head."M' not too heavy?" She shook her head then craned her neck up to kiss him, capturing his tongue with her's and drawing him down. They melded their mouths into a deep, consuming embrace. When she felt him grow hard against her, she drew her thighs apart and he slipped inside her with ease. At the moment of joining each moaned into the kiss, then pulled their mouths apart."Remember, love....quiet....."

He surged against her slowly, never moving out of her, only pushing forward then relaxing. Buffy let out tiny gasps, trying to best not to cry out or even scream, which is precisely what her body was compelling her to do."Talk to me....."

"Yeah?"

"Yes....tell me how much you love me....."

"Can't you fell how much I love you, my beautiful Slayer?" He pushed forward hard, grinding against her and making her entire body arch as he both stimulated the engorged protrusion that was her clit and at least two different spots inside she hadn't felt before. Tears sprang from her eyes over the ecstatic pleasure of it,"Want it again, pet?"

"God yes...." He repeated the action and her voice hitched as little more than a squeak in her throat. She shuddered and even sobbed a little, this time felt different than all the rest, as if he'd melted through her skin and had taken up residence inside her body with her. He continued the drive into her, remaining sheathed to his hilt and making sure he stroked every nerve of her passage."Spike! I....I'm...." He kissed her again to cover her screams when she reached her climax. Spike stopped moving altogether when her inner muscles began to clench around him with such ardor he imagined she'd break him off. Buffy felt the coolness of his orgasm spread to her womb before he fell upon her.

They resisted coming to their senses, wanting the ephemeral nirvana to last, but eventually calm came to their bodies and clarity to their minds. Spike made motion to move off her but Buffy stilled him by wrapping her legs around his hips."Stay....stay inside me all night....." she breathed into his ear. He complied and lay his cheek against her's and released her hands, for them to hold each other.

"I'm gonna marry you...."

"Are you now?"

"Mmm hmmm...next week, we're gonna get a car and drive up the that place I told you about, remember?"

"I remember....Betsy Coed or something...."

"No, sweets, Betwys-y-coed....we'll find someone to marry us....then make love under the stars like I promised...."

"You'll be mine forever? My husband...."

"I already am, love....always was......"

***

It was just a little before sunrise that Dawn snuck inside her sister and Spike's bedroom. The room was dark and she could barely even hear Buffy's breathing, but she could see the shape of their two bodies, Spike on top of Buffy with the blankets surrounding them. If Dawn had learned anything since her awakening to her true nature it was to trust her instincts implicitly and they were telling her not to wait and that now was the time. Everything about right now was perfect. The Key of Creation walked to the side of the bed and raised her hands above the sleeping lovers and let the magic flow from her. They were bathed in a soft green glow for just long enough for a conception to occur, and then everything was still and dark again. Dawn backed away towards the door, but turned around just for a moment to smile at them," Congratulations on your twins, Spike," she whispered before leaving them in peace.

THE END
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