Part One

Wednesday evening...

"Hi..thanks for coming so soon."

Joyce smiled as she pulled the door open wide.

"No problem," Spike replied, stepping into the foyer. "What's up?"

"Come into the kitchen," she said softly. "Buffy's upstairs and I don't want her to hear us talking."

Placing her hands on his shoulders, she began nudging him in the direction she wanted him to go.

After pulling two chairs away from the kitchen table, Joyce sat down. "There's beer in the fridge," she said. "Help yourself."

"All right...you want one?"

Joyce declined and waited for him to sit down.

"So," he said, popping the cap off the bottle of beer. "What's with all the cloak and dagger?"

"I need you to do me a favor."

Spike spoke without hesitation. "Name it."

The slayer's mother beamed at him, and Spike realized once again that Buffy wasn't the only Summers girl with a knock-out smile.

He liked Joyce, and he knew that despite their initial introduction..when he'd found himself on the business end of a fire ax.. she liked him too.

Joyce Summers always went out of her way to be pleasant and friendly to him whenever he showed up at the door.

She had told him more than once how pleased she was at the way his relationship with Buffy had sorted itself out, and that she was grateful to him for accompanying her on her patrols of the cemeteries and back alleys of Sunnydale.

Spike had spent a great deal of time and a considerable amount of effort redeeming himself in Buffy's eyes, and it had paid off.

Gradually, one baby step at a time, she had begun to trust him, and they had become a practiced and smooth working team, anticipating each others moves and watching each others backs.

Of course, Buffy had downplayed their turbulent beginning, and how fervently he'd tried to kill her, figuring that the less her mother knew about THAT, the better off they would all be.

"Here's the thing," Joyce began. "I have to go out of town for a few days, until Sunday in fact, and Buffy has a dental appointment on Friday."

"Mm-hmm," he nodded.

Joyce sighed. "The problem is that Buffy hates going to the dentist, ever since she was a child."

Spike grinned. The top gun slayer, one who had gone toe-to-toe with more horrifying monsters than you could shake a stick at...scared to go to the dentist.

"The first time she went," Joyce continued, "the dentist had to extract two abscessed teeth and she's never..."

"Forgiven him?" Spike ventured.

"Exactly."

"You want me to take her, then?"

"If it's not too much trouble." Joyce favored him with another smile. "I'm afraid that if I'm not here, she'll cancel the appointment..or just not show up."

Spike tilted his chair onto it's back legs, leaning against the wall. "You know I'll do anything for you, Joyce, but don't you think she'd rather have one of her friends take her?"

Joyce pinned a level gaze on him. "You're one of her friends..aren't you?"

He hesitated.

WAS he one of her friends..JUST a friend..or was he something more?

He wanted to be something more. Wanted it more than he'd ever wanted anything.

But 'wanting' and 'getting' were two totally different things.

He'd WANTED for so long now that he couldn't clearly remember NOT wanting, as though it had always just been, and always would be.

Wanting had become yearning..yearning had become craving..and craving had become needing.

Sometimes that need was unbearable, almost physically painful.

These were the times when he had to isolate himself from her, fearing that he might buckle under the oppressive weight of his need and simply take what he wanted..whether she offered it or not.

His desire for Buffy had been a constant undercurrent when they had been enemies, a secret he'd protected by burying it so deeply into his subconscious mind that even HE wasn't really aware of it.

Now that they were no longer enemies, that desire had taken on a mind of it's own. It was becoming difficult to control, fraying at all it's seams.

How long can you want and not have before you lose your mind, before you have to turn your back and walk away forever? How long can I put up with it?

It was a valid question, and the answer was as clear as glass; For as long as it takes.

Because there was no way that he could EVER walk away from Buffy. No power on earth could make him leave.

Not without her..

No matter how loudly his brain screamed at him to put as much distance between them as he could, his heart would never allow it.

So, he would stay, and he would be her friend. He would love her..and he would protect her..he would do anything at all for her.

Even if she never offered him anything more than friendship.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Spike?"

He tuned back in to the conversation, wondering how long he'd been gone and what he had missed.

"I'm listening," he assured Joyce, setting his chair back down on all four legs.

She gave him a doubtful look, then said, "The reason I want YOU to take her is because.. well, because you're the only one strong enough to MAKE her go...if it comes to that."

MAKE her go? Strange way of putting it..

"You aren't asking me just to drive her there, are you?" he asked. "You want me to wrestle her into the office, too."

"No! No, not at...um...yes," she finally admitted. "But only if it's absolutely necessary."

Spike paused. "You DO know that she's just as strong as I am, don't you."

Joyce nodded.

"Well, what makes you think that I'll be able to do what you want?"

"Let's just say that out of all her friends, YOU have the best shot at it." She gazed appealingly into Spike's eyes. "So, will you help me?"

He looked at her, nodding his head in surrender.

Summers women...what is it about them that makes me do anything they ask?

"You know I will," he said. "Give me the details."

Joyce reached into the back pocket of her slacks and pulled out a business card.

"This is the address," she said, handing him the card. "Her dentist has evening hours on Friday so I made the appointment for six o'clock."

"Sun will be down by then," Spike said. "Good thinking."

"Even if it wasn't down, there's underground parking and an elevator straight to the office."

Spike's sharp ears detected the padding of small feet coming down the stairs. He slipped the appointment card into his shirt pocket just as Buffy walked in to the kitchen.

She looked surprised to see him, but not displeased. "Hi," she said brightly. "How come you're here?"

"I dropped in to see YOU, sunshine," he replied, watching her open the refrigerator door. "You patrolling tonight?"

Buffy sighed and opened a can of Coke. "What else?" she shrugged.

"Fancy some company?"

"Sure," she answered without hesitating.

"Go and get your things, then," he said.

As Buffy turned and left the kitchen, Joyce caught his eye and mouthed "Thank you", giving him one last lovely smile.

Oh, yeah...there's something about these Summers women that gets me very damn time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Mom...your cab's here." Buffy stood at the bottom of the stairs, inspecting her recent manicure. Without looking up she hollered again. "MOM!!"

"I heard you the first time, Buffy," Joyce scolded.

"Sorry." Buffy smiled, as she reached for the suitcase in her mother's hand.

After stowing it in the trunk of the cab, she threw her arms around Joyce and kissed her cheek. "Have a safe trip."

"Before I go," Joyce said, pulling back to look directly into Buffy's eyes, "do we need to go over the rules again?"

"Nope," Buffy assured her. "Got all the rules and regulations safely tucked away."

Joyce arched her brow, waiting.

Exasperated, Buffy rolled her eyes. "No parties, no living on junk food, in bed by a reasonable hour, remember to bring in the mail every day, don't take candy from strangers, blah-blah-blah."

"Very amusing,"Joyce said, sounding anything BUT amused.

"Mom...I KNOW the rules, okay? I'll be fine."

"I know you will, honey." As casually as she could manage, Joyce added, "Don't forget about your check up on Friday."

"Right. Like I even COULD forget with your little hints every half hour. Not to mention the big ' X marks the spot ' you drew on the calendar. Kind of overdoing it, don't you think?"

"No," Joyce replied. "I don't." She opened the door of the cab and got in.

"I'm not a baby, you know," Buffy said irritably. "Don't worry about me."

Her mother smiled. "I beg your pardon, but you're MY baby...and it's my job to worry about everything when it comes to you..including your teeth."

Buffy closed the cab door with a loud clunk, hoping for a quick get away, then sighed when her mom rolled down the window.

"I'm serious, Buffy. You're already three months overdue for this check up."

"You'd better get going, Mom. You're gonna miss your flight or something."

"Buffy..."

"I won't forget!" Buffy said loudly. "Geez, what do I have to do? Slit open a vein and sign it in blood?"

She leaned down to kiss her mother goodbye again, then stood back and watched as the cab pulled away.

When it turned the corner, she smiled and pulled a cell phone out of the pocket of her overalls.

"Hi, it's me..She just left..Play time, boys and girls..What's that supposed to mean?..I said that I KNEW the rules, not that I would FOLLOW them..You worry too much for someone your age..."

Still chatting, she went back into the house and closed the door.

Part Two

Friday evening.

"This is just stupid," Buffy grumbled, supremely irritated at her predicament.

"Why's that, kitten?" Spike asked casually from the drivers seat of Joyce's Blazer.

Buffy glared at him. "Because I don't need someone to take me to the dentist. I'm perfectly capable of getting there on my own."

He smiled. "Yeah. I heard ALL about how capable you are."

She folded her arms across her chest, scowling. "My mother has a big mouth."

"Now, I thought those stories were cute, kitten. Don't be embarrassed."

Joyce had asked Spike back to the house the next day and gave him an insurance claim form to take with him.

As they sat at the kitchen table and sipped hot cocoa, she had regaled Spike with amusing stories of Buffy's past attempts to avoid the dental chair; everything from hiding in the top branches of a tree in their yard, to calling the office pretending to be her mother and canceling the appointment.

"I'm not embarrassed," she snapped. "I'm totally pissed off!"

"I can see that. But why?"

"Because," Buffy ranted. "She doesn't trust me!"

Spike looked at her. "Has she got a reason NOT to?"

"She..no, she's just..." Buffy stammered. "..of course not!"

"I was just asking."

Buffy sat in angry silence for a minute, then said, "It was pretty sneaky of her not to mention ahead of time that you were coming with me."

Spike shook his head in mock sympathy. "Poor little slayer."

"What?"

"Must be frigging awful to have a mother who cares so much about your teeth," he said. "Good God, what a nightmare."

"Oh, shut up." With her scowl still in place, she slid down in her seat and didn't say another word for the remainder of the drive.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy glanced at Spike as he stood leaning back against the rear wall of the elevator, watching the green digital numbers change.

When they passed the fifth floor, she reached out and pushed the "Stop" button on the panel.

Inside he was smiling broadly, but he kept his facial expression neutral. "The office is on the seventh floor, kitten."

"Yeah, I know. I just..."

"Just what?" he asked.

"Well, I'm HERE now. There's really no reason for you to waste your time hanging around."

Buffy was trying to sound casual, as though it made no difference to her whether he stayed or not, but she didn't think she was pulling it off very well.

She should have known better. Although she had no problem snowing her friends and, to a lesser degree, her mother..Spike always saw through her right down to the nucleus of her being. She couldn't put anything over on him.

Looking at him now, she could see that this time was no exception, and she'd have to handle things differently.

Spike was smiling indulgently as he reached to start the elevator moving again.

"That's all right, kitten," he said, pinching her cheek. "I'm free all evening, and I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend it with."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sign on the door of Suite 710 informed them that there were four dentists practicing there; a general Dentist, an oral surgeon, an orthodontist, and a periodontist.

"Got all their bases covered," Spike said as he pushed the door open.

Once inside, he glanced around the waiting area. "Very nice."

His feet sank into plush carpeting in a muted shade of blue. There was a small sofa and several arm chairs upholstered in a contrasting color.

Three or four oak tables held a selection of magazines, and one wall consisted of an oak shelving unit holding at least thirty books, as well as porcelain and brass figurines.

As he examined his surroundings, Spike couldn't help comparing them with the dental parlors that had been around back when he was still mortal.

Now, THEY were something to be afraid of.

Stepping up to the counter, he tapped lightly on a pane of frosted glass that separated the front desk from the waiting room.

The pane slid open immediately, revealing the receptionist..a good looking redhead with a nice figure and a toothy smile that was a fantastic testimony to her employer's skills.

"Hi, can I help you?" she asked.

"Yeah," Spike said. "Buffy Summers is here."

The receptionist looked past him into the waiting room. "Where?"

"Right.." Spike turned around and found himself staring at an empty room.

"Damn it," he swore softly, then turned back to the receptionist. "Hang on a minute."

He ran down the corridor, turning the corner just in time to see Buffy punching the "Down" button on the elevator.

He could hear her muttering, "Come on, come on," under her breath.

Buffy spotted her babysitter rounding the corner, and was about to lunge for the stairs when the elevator 'dinged' and the doors slid open.

"Ha!" she said triumphantly, placing one foot inside the car.

But in her hurry to be gone, she had forgotten how fast Spike could move when he wanted to. Before she saw it coming, he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and yanked her back out of the elevator. "Ha!" he mimicked her.

Buffy yelped with surprise and turned to elbow him painfully in the abdomen, but he was prepared for it and deflected the blow without hardly trying.

"Let go of me!" she demanded, bringing the heel of her shoe down on top of his foot, another maneuver he avoided easily.

He ended her struggles by wrapping both arms around her wriggling body and lifting her clean off her feet.

"No, I can't do that, kitten." Tightening his grip, he walked with her to a small bench next to a payphone.

"You're just wasting your time and energy, you know," he said. "I'm the one you practice these moves with, remember?"

All the fight suddenly drained out of her. Wondering if she thought she could get him to let go by pretending to surrender, he kept his arms locked around her.

Buffy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Spike, please," she said quietly. "You're hurting me."

He didn't let go, but he modified his grip as he sat on the bench, holding her in his lap.

Spike was beginning to find her behavior worrysome. A little dental phobia was one thing, but Buffy looked positively green at the prospect of walking into that office.

Urging her to lay her head against his shoulder, he petted and stroked her hair, trying to soothe her.

When he felt her begin to relax in his arms, he said, "What's the matter, kitten? It's not like you to be so frightened. Are you afraid it's gonna hurt?"

Buffy shook her head. "Sort of, but..that's not why."

"Tell me," he coaxed her.

She took another deep breath, collecting her thoughts.

"When I was little..when we lived in Los Angelus.. my mom took me to my first dentist appointment. I was kind of scared, but they wouldn't let her go in with me. I don't remember why."

"Mm-hmm...and?"

"Dr. Richards..that was his name..he was pretty nice at first. But he.."

"Your mother told me about the extractions."

"Oh. Well, anyway..she had given me the whole "dentist is our friend" pep talk, but I was just a little kid. I didn't want some stranger coming at me, poking me with a sharp..."

When she realized what she was saying, she looked up and saw him smiling at her.

"Yeah," he said. "I don't like that, either. Ruins my whole day."

She giggled, and he gave her a gentle squeeze. "Go on with your story."

Buffy began playing distractedly with the buttons on his shirt. "Dr. Richards..."

"Hurt you?"

"...was mean to me."

"MEAN to you?" Spike stiffened. "How was he mean to you?"

She stopped fiddling with his buttons. "He...I was in the chair, and...and he..."

Spike pressed her more firmly against his shoulder, so she wouldn't see the expression on his face.

No...do NOT let this be going where I think it's going..

Anger was building slowly inside of him, but he kept his voice calm. "What did he do?"

"He was giving me a shot of novacaine in my mouth...and it really hurt."

Not what he'd been afraid she was going to say, thank God.

"I started to cry...and I guess I was kind of squirming around in the chair. He got mad at me and he took the needle out..then he covered my mouth with his hand and pinched my nose."

FUCKING HELL!....what kind of dentist pulls shit like that with a frightened four year old girl??

Although he knew it was contrary to most vampires, Spike had always liked children.

If there'd been any soft spots to be found for humans anywhere inside of him, they were reserved for the little ones.

In fact, one of the few things he had genuinely disliked about Drusilla had been her penchant for hunting and devouring children.

She had absolutely no qualms about plucking infants from their cradles and draining them dry, then tossing their corpses aside like so much trash.

Occasionally, she'd cap off the experience by lingering nearby to listen to the screaming and weeping of parents when they discovered the broken little bodies of their children.

He had never told Dru how he felt, but he'd always distanced himself from her for a while after these episodes.

Spike considered vampires who specialized in killing children to be particularly revolting, and though he had tolerated it with Dru, he hadn't allowed any other vamp that worked for him to engage in the practice.

This had left him open for questions and comments as to why he gave a damn whether mortal children lived or died, but he hadn't cared.

Feeling no need to explain jack shit to anybody, he had simply laid down the rule and dared any member of his gang to break it.

Most of the vamps he'd associated himself with had followed his edict automatically. The rest of them, he bullied into submission.

But, sitting here now, holding Buffy in his arms as she relayed this nasty little story, reminded him that vampires weren't the only monsters menacing children.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, kitten," he said, kissing the smooth skin of her forehead. "And I promise I won't let anybody be mean to you ever again."

Buffy sighed, making no effort to leave his lap. "Can't we just go home?"

"Sorry, kitten." He shook his head, no. "I promised your mother that I'd get you into that office. You wouldn't want me to break my promise, would you?"

"I won't tell if YOU won't tell," she grumbled.

Spike chuckled. "I can't lie to your mother. I'm an accomplished liar at times..but she'll see right through me."

Slipping his arms beneath her, he stood up and carried her back down the hallway. As he set her on her feet, he smiled. "Let's try again."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The receptionist opened the inner door and gestured for Buffy to come inside.

The slayer turned to Spike with a last ditch appeal in her wide green eyes, as if begging him to please get her out of there.

He slipped one hand behind her neck and tugged her close to whisper in her ear. "Listen, you're a big girl now. If THIS one puts his hand over your mouth, feel free to break his fingers."

Buffy smiled and pulled away, surprising him by brushing the side of his face with her lips.

She stood up, and Spike had to consciously keep himself from grabbing her hand and pulling her back down to kiss her senseless.

"Be seeing you," she said softly.

He watched her cross the room, looking like a condemned prisoner on the way to the hanging tree.

As she passed in front of the receptionist, Spike jumped to his feet.

"Don't hurt her," he said firmly, a hint of a threat in his voice.

"We won't," she replied, closing the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He hated waiting. He'd never had any real patience, even as a mortal, and after he'd become a vampire, he didn't really have to wait for anything.

So, he wasn't any good at it.

After thirty minutes, he moved from the sofa to an armchair. Five minutes more went by, and he began to prowl the room like a caged ferret.

He was nearly ready to kick the door in and demand to see that Buffy was all right, when it opened suddenly and a girl he hadn't seen before came out.

"Are you here with Buffy?" she asked.

"Yeah. Who are YOU?" he demanded. "Is anything wrong?" She looked startled at his vehemence. "I'm Dr. Stern's assistant, and nothing's wrong. This is her first appointment with us, so we took a full set of x-rays, and Dr. Stern noticed an impacted third molar..a wisdom tooth..in both the upper and lower right quadrants."

"So what does that mean?"

"They have to come out."

Spike sat down hard on the sofa. "What..tonight? Why? I mean...are they hurting her?"

The girl shook her head. "No, but if they don't come out, they can start to cause problems that WILL be painful. It's better to do it now and avoid the complications."

She sat down beside him. "Don't look so worried," she said. "It's an easy procedure."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. But..she's going to be sedated for it, so she'll need someone to drive her home and stay with her for a little while.

Spike felt his stomach tighten. "Maybe she should wait until her mother is.."

The assistant cut in. "She said she wants it done now, that you'll drive her home and take care of her." She paused, then said, "She seems pretty certain..is this a problem for you?"

Spike shook his head. "No. No, it's not a problem," he said quickly. "She said that? That I'd take care of her?"

"Yes, she did. She said she wants YOU to be here for her..that you make her feel brave."

Spike stared at the floor as a wave of tenderness passed through him. She wants ME here..wants ME to take care of her. Not Giles, not Xander, not Willow...but ME..

He looked up at the assistant. "Tell her I'll be right here."

She stood up and gave him a little smile. "It'll take us a few minutes to get things set up. Would you like to come in and sit with her until we're ready?"

"Yes," he said immediately, instantly back on his feet. "Where is she?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The assistant stopped in front of a door with the number 4 on it, gesturing for Spike to go on in.

Without hesitating, he opened the door and entered the small room.

It was spotlessly clean, with a big picture window and a slight scent of antiseptic in the air.

The centerpiece of the room was a padded dental chair so large that the girl sitting in it looked tinier than she already was.

Although the chair was still in an upright position and there were no frightening instruments in sight, Buffy sat rigidly still, her nails digging into the chair's padded arms.

Spike closed the door behind him. "Hello, kitten," he said, pulling up a small chair on wheels and sitting beside her. "You all right?"

When she turned to look at him, he noticed that her eyes were a little glazed, and guessed that she'd been given something to relax her.

Buffy smiled sweetly at him. She loved it when he called her "kitten". She'd heard him call other girls "pet" and "luv", and he usually called Willow "red", but he kept the name "kitten" reserved only for her.

Her head felt pleasantly fuzzy, and she retained just enough clear thinking to know that the injection she'd been given was kicking in.

"I'm fine," she answered. "Feeling very not-so-bad right now." She sighed deeply. "They tell you the good news?"

Spike nodded, returning her smile. "Doesn't seem quite fair, does it?"

Reaching for her hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed the back of it, then laced his fingers with hers. There was a brief silence between them, broken when Buffy suddenly giggled.

The childlike sound made him smile again. "What's funny, honey?"

She took a deep breath and released it. "I have noooo idea."

Spike shook his head. High as a kite..

Buffy gazed up into his eyes, light green colliding with dark blue. God, he is SO damn good looking...why'd it take me so long to to see that?

Even with her befuddled brain, she knew it hadn't actually taken her long to SEE it, just to ADMIT it.

She'd seen it the moment their eyes met for the first time, and she remembered thinking what a damn shame it was to have looks like that wasted on a vampire.

Very nice of life, wasn't it? Dangling this handsome creature before her eyes, teasing her with something she could never have...a fallen angel, cast out of heaven and thrown at her feet.

"You're awfully quiet, kitten. What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing much."

That was a big, fat lie. I'm thinking about you, Spike. And about me and my feelings for you, and when I started feeling them, and what am I gonna do about them, and....

"How are you feeling, Buffy?" The dentist's assistant came into the room, bringing an IV set up with her.

Buffy looked at her, squeezing Spike's hand.

"Pree gooood," she said, her words beginning to slur.

"All right then, I'm going to start your IV, and that'll help you go to sleep for a little while, okay?"

Buffy nodded. "S'allright by me." She turned her face away as the back of her free hand was swabbed with alcohol and the needle was gently inserted and taped down.

"This isn't a general anesthesia," the girl explained. "It's an IV sedation..used to be called twilight sleep, because that's what you do." She hung the IV bag on the light fixture, and started the drip. "Be right back."

After she was gone, Buffy looked up at Spike. "Thank you for taking care of me," she murmured.

He gave her a reassuring smile. "It'll all be over soon, kitten. I promise."

The assistant came back in and injected the medication that would make Buffy sleep into the IV line.

By the time she left the room again, Buffy was struggling to keep her eyes open. "You've been so good to me...helping me...and I never say...say thank you."

"Yes, you have," he replied. "You've thanked me plenty of times.

She raised her eyebrows, perplexed. "Oh...yes?"

"Yes."

She was quiet for a moment, and Spike figured she had fallen asleep, but she roused herself, trying to speak.

"But there's something else...I didn't tell you...I should have...but..."

"You want to tell me now?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm..."

He waited. "I'm listening, kitten."

"I never told you..." Her voice began to fade out. "...that I...that I love you..."

"WHAT?" He was so surprised that he wasn't sure he heard her properly. "Buffy.. what did you say?"

There was no reply...just soft, even breathing.

"BUFFY! Wake up!"

"Actually," a voice spoke from the doorway. "That's not what we want her to do. It kind of defeats the purpose of the sedation."

A man that Spike assumed was Dr. Stern came into the room, wearing blue scrubs and a doubtful expression.

"Yeah, well...it's just that she needed to tell me...something," Spike said lamely.

"Was it something important?"

Spike sighed and shook his head a little. "You have NO idea."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, he was back in the waiting room, turning the pages of a magazine without even seeing the words printed on it.

His mind was completely occupied with analyzing Buffy's last statement before she'd gone down for the count.

She loves me. She said it...and sure, she was half in the bag when she said it, but still..

He tried to be logical and remain calm about what she had said, but logic wasn't easy to come by when you finally heard the words you'd waited and wanted to hear for so damn long.

As for calm...well, that pretty much took a back seat to manic elation.

Spike walked over to the window and looked outside. There was a fat and brightly shining moon casting it's romantic glow over the most prosaic of settings.

He remembered something a friend had told him once, about a thing he'd called the "Yeah, but.." philosophy.

Yeah, she said she loves me...but what did she really mean?

This was followed by the "What ifs".

What if..she didn't really mean it?; What if..it was the sedation talking?; or worst of all, what if...she loved him as a friend?.

Well, that was the kiss of death right there. An E ticket ride to "Just Friends Land".

Spike had been there in the past, and it wasn't a place he wanted to return to anytime soon.

Still, if you looked at it from the proper angle, the "just friends" platform could be a solid enough foundation to build on.

Just because HE had gone overnight from hating every part of her to falling head over heels in love with her, didn't mean that SHE had to travel the same route herself.

Lack of patience notwithstanding, he could wait. He'd waited this long, and he sure as hell didn't want to scare her off now.

Of course, there was the delicious possibility that she'd meant what she'd said the way he wanted her to mean it.

And, if THAT was true, then all bets were off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back on the sofa, Spike looked up when the door to the inner offices swung open and saw the dental assistant standing there, smiling. "She's all done."

Spike stood up anxiously. "How'd she do?"

"Just fine," the girl assured him. "Everything went beautifully." She handed him a sheet of paper. "These are post-operative instructions and here's a prescription for codeine if she needs it."

"She has a pretty high tolerance for pain," Spike replied, glancing at the paperwork.

"Well, she probably won't need it then." She handed him a small white card. "I made an appointment for her on Tuesday. If it's not convenient for her just have her call and we'll reschedule it."

Spike nodded.

"Okay, come on back and you can take her home."

He followed the dental assistant back down the corridor to the room he'd left Buffy in. When he looked inside, he saw that she was wide awake and sitting up, listening to the dentist explain what she could expect during her recovery.

Buffy smiled when she saw him standing by the door, smiled so sweetly that he was certain she was aware of what she'd said, and that she'd meant it the way he wanted her to.

"Hi, kitten," he said. "You feeling all right?"

Her face was a little swollen, but nothing that detracted from her beauty in his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm okay," she said. "A little sleepy, maybe."

"The after effects of the sedation," Dr. Stern explained. "By tomorrow morning you'll be fine." He looked at Spike. "Did Susan give you the postop instructions?"

"Yeah," Spike said, not taking his eyes off Buffy, a fact that the dentist and his helpers noticed. "All right," Dr. Stern said, "Buffy..here's your ride and I'll see you next week."

He left the room, and Susan appeared in the doorway. "Hop in," she said cheerfully, holding the handgrips of a wheelchair.

Buffy shook her head. "I don't need that," she replied, as firmly as she could. "I can walk."

The assistant just gave her a sympathetic smile. "Oh, I'm sorry. You have go down in the chair...those are the rules.

Rules and Buffy were rarely a well fitting matched set.

"Maybe you could bend those rules a little," Buffy suggested. "I won't tell anyone."

"I really can't. You've been under sedation, and if you got dizzy or..."

"I never get dizzy," Buffy said pugnaciously, "and I'm not riding in that thing." Her manner was clearly daring the other girl to keep arguing.

"Why don't I solve this problem?" Spike interjected. Shoving the papers in his pocket, he leaned over and scooped Buffy up in his arms

She made a tiny squeak of surprise, then automatically wrapped her arms around his neck.

He winked at her, then looked at Susan. "That should satisfy everyone here," he said, giving her his most charming smile, the one that usually got him whatever he wanted. "She won't have to ride in the chair, and you won't have to worry that she might get dizzy."

Holding her a little closer, he turned his smile on Buffy. "Ready to go home and let me spoil you rotten, kitten?"

Buffy sighed, laying her head on shoulder. "Totally ready," she said.

When the door closed behind them, the dental assistant and the receptionist just stood there staring at it.

"SHE is the luckiest girl on the face of the planet," the receptionist murmured.

"Oh, man.." the assistant whined. "That was SO romantic. Why are all the gorgeously sexy knights in shining armor taken, anyway?"

The receptionist shrugged. "Because there aren't enough of them," she said. "They're a vanishing breed."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Still feeling all right, kitten?"

"Uh-huh."

"Want me to put you down now? No one's looking."

"No, I'm fine," Buffy said quickly. "Unless you WANT to put me down. Am I too heavy?"

Spike chuckled. "Yeah, too heavy. That's you all right. I'm staggering under the load." He pressed his cheek against the soft crown of her hair. "Silly little girl."

"Good," Buffy murmured sleepily. "Let's go home."

Such wonderfully enticing words. As though HER home was THEIR home.

If only, kitten...if only...