His best friend had been pretty freaked out by Spike’s behavior, but he had backed him up all the same. * He’s a good friend. Only a true friend would help you haul a limp and beaten body into the trunk of a car. *

++++++

Anya heard the door to their apartment shut and her eyes snapped open. She glanced at the clock; it was 4:21 a.m. She hurriedly put on her robe and headed out to the kitchen where she found Xander pouring himself a glass of juice. “Xander? Are you all right? I was worried, Spike said you’d only be gone an hour and that was almost four hours ago.”

Xander downed the entire glass of orange juice wishing it was vodka and then poured himself another. “Yeah, well we found who we were looking for.”

“And?”

“And, it’s been taken care of.”

++++++

When Xander pointed out the guy at the Pub, Spike recognized him instantly as the guy who’d been trying to practically hump Buffy right there on the dance floor of the Bronze earlier that night. Currently, this prick was cornering another pretty blond against the far wall of the bar. The girl was drunk and was trying her best to push him away.

Spike grabbed the guy by the back of his neck and wrenched him away from the trembling co-ed. “So you really go for the blonds, don’t you?”

The assailant squirmed out of Spike’s grip. “Who the fuck are you?”

Spike smiled evilly at him. “Oh you don’t know me, but you know a couple of friends of mine.”

Xander was there in an instant to back his friend up. “Remember me?”

“Shit.” Was all the guy could say as he bolted out the back door of the bar.

Xander looked at Spike and shook his head. “What a coward!”

Spike and Xander caught up with him within moments and Spike smashed him up against the wall face first. “Now, I’ll tell you what, you don’t struggle and I won’t break every bone in your body.”

The guy just laughed maniacally. “Who do you think you are? Superman? So? Was that blond slut your girlfriend? You should really put a leash on her, or a chastity belt.”

Spike twisted his arm until he could feel the bones begin crunch. The young man started to whine in pain.

Xander approached slowly. “Spike, man, don’t forget, he’s got a. . .”

At the sound of his friend’s voice Spike loosened his grip for a moment. When the-would-be rapist felt this opportunity to reach for his gun, he wasted no time and quickly pulled it out of his coat. With the gun pointed squarely at Spike’s chest, the slayer shot a glare at Xander. As his best friend put his hands up, Xander shrugged. “Dude! Don’t blame me! I tried to tell you he had a gun!”

The sex offender simply laughed and started his maniacal rant again. “Why do you protect sluts and whores like her anyway? She wanted it! They all do. Evil, disgusting things like her deserve to be put down like the bitches they are!”

Spike couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This sick fuck was referring to Buffy as if she were nothing but a thing and not a real person. Then he remembered how only a couple of weeks earlier he had said the exact same thing to Buffy. Spike felt ashamed and furious with himself. Buffy wasn’t just a thing to be put down. She was evil, yes. She could be disgusting when she wanted to be, sure. But she was also devoted and sweet and soft and beautiful. It didn’t matter that she was a vampire. She was his vampire and he’d go to Hell before he’d let this asshole hurt her and get away with it. Never mind the fact that he was threatening to kill both Spike and Xander right now.

With one swift movement Spike snatched the handgun out of their attacker’s hand. It was Spike’s turn to laugh now. Spike waved the gun in the now trembling man’s face. “What’s wrong, buddy? Scared?” With one hand Spike squeezed as hard as he could and crushed the gun into bits and pieces of useless metal.

Xander was amazed. He’d seen Spike do some pretty amazing things before, but this was new. “Very cool, my friend.”

Spike didn’t hear Xander. He didn’t hear anything anymore except the echo of Buffy’s pained yelp that she had made when he had grabbed her off the couch a couple of hours ago. Over and over he could hear her cry. Now all he wanted was to make this guy feel the same way. He wanted him to cry.

But he was already crying as Spike approached him. “Please! No, no, no . . .”

But Spike didn’t hear his pleas. Spike’s right hand closed around the man’s throat and began to throttle him. Lifting him off the ground Spike yelled in his face. “She’s not a thing! Do you hear me? How dare you touch her! No one touches her! She’s mine! She’s mine!”

Xander was yelling. Spike could hear it in the distance as if he were miles away. Then Spike felt a hard smack on his back. Spike let go of the man and they both fell to the ground. Xander had hit him!

Xander stood over his friend holding a large chunk of wood he’d found in the alley. When Spike had ignored his pleas to stop strangling the guy he had to snap him out of it. “Jesus Christ! Spike! You could’ve killed him!”

Spike shook off the pain in his back and slowly stood up. “You-you hit me?”

“Yeah! I had to! The guy was turning blue, he couldn’t breathe!”

Spike looked at the unconscious man crumpled on the ground. He reached over and felt for a pulse. The guy was unconscious, but alive. “It’s OK, Xander. He’ll live. Now help me get him up.”

Xander stepped back away from Spike. “Why? What are you going to do to him?”

“Make him pay.”

Xander was more than a little scared now. “Pay? How exactly?”

“Don’t worry, Xandman. Just trust me.”

++++++++++++

Buffy had gone home to her crypt and drank every drop of blood in her frig and an entire bottle of bourbon before passing out on her bed still wearing the pajamas Dawn had lent her. That had been twelve hours ago.

When she woke up the tiny alarm clock on her bedside table read 5:51 p.m. Slowly she rose from her four-poster bed and shuffled over to the coffin that doubled as her dresser. Opening it she took out her vampire uniform - black jeans, tight black mini tee shirt and her Docs - she quickly changed back into these clothes. She only paused for a few moments to check her wounds. The bullet hole in her chest was very close to healed and she gingerly felt in between her legs to make sure all was healed down there. Much to her relief she felt no pain and saw no blood on her fingers or the panty liner. * Thank God! Didn’t fancy living like one of those poor circumcised Muslim women for all eternity! *

Running her hands through her blond tresses, Buffy put her hair back into a ponytail and secured it with one of the elastic hair bands Dawn had given her. She climbed her ladder and sauntered over to her television set. Turning it on, she began to search her living room for that last bottle of Jim Beam she knew was hiding somewhere.

“Jimmy! Jimmy! Come out, come out wherever you are!”

Buffy located it underneath her television set and was about to open it up when a familiar face on the screen scared the daylights out of her. “Bloody Hell!”

There on the TV was the face of the man who’d beaten her last night. She quickly turned the volume up and settled into her armchair to hear the news report.

“The F.B.I. was right here in Sunnydale today and they confirmed the identity of the man found handcuffed on the steps of Sunnydale Police Headquarters early this morning. He has been identified as 27-year-old convicted serial killer, Carl Reynolds, who escaped custody of U.S. Marshals earlier this month during his extradition from Oregon to California. He was to stand trial in LA County for seven counts of rape, two counts of assault and three counts of murder in the first degree. F.B.I. spokesperson described Reynolds as ‘a monster not fit to live in a human society.’ If convicted on all charges, Reynolds faces up to 200 years in prison.”

The scene on the screen changed to footage of Carl being put into a police wagon. He was struggling and cursing. What wasn’t bleeped out for broadcast was barely intelligible but Buffy could distinctly hear what the son of a bitch was saying over and over again. “Superman did it! Him and Jimmy Olsen turned me in! But I didn’t have any Kryptonite! Superman brought me to justice! Hahahaha! *Bleep*-ing Superman!”

“So, my hero avenged me! Probably just pissed ‘cause that prat almost killed Xander.” Buffy opened her bottle of booze and started to drink herself into a depression.

++++++++++

Xander sat at the reading table of the Magic Box eating Chinese take out with Anya as she reconciled the day’s receipts.

Xander poked at his pork lo mein and sighed.

Anya looked up. “What? You’re making those sad and concerned noises again. What’s wrong?”

“I’m a little worried about Spike.”

Anya put down her account ledger and picked up her chopsticks. “Why? He got the bad guy and he didn’t even kill him. I would have killed him.”

“It wasn’t what he did so much. He was totally justified in beating the guy up a little and scaring him. It was more what he said while he was doing it.”

“What did he say?”

“He was all ‘How dare you touch her! No one touches her! She’s mine, she’s mine!’ And all the while he’s choking the guy and he wouldn’t stop not even when I yelled at him. I had to smack him in the kidneys to get him to stop.”

“That’s weird. What do you think is going on there?”

Xander shook his head, exhausted with the thoughts running around in his brain. “I don’t know, An. I haven’t seen him that angry since, God, since. . .”

“Since when?”

Xander looked up at his fiancée. “Since Glory took Dawn.”

“You don’t think him and Buffy. . ?”

“No, no way. That’s just too weird. I mean I know Spike doesn’t hate Buffy anymore, but he’s not exactly in the ‘like’ category with her either. If I had to describe it, I’d say he’s in the ‘I barely tolerate her’ category, barely.”

Anya put her beef and broccoli down and thought a moment. “What about what he said last night?”

“What?”

“He said he needed to protect the people who mattered most to him; the ones he loved.”

Xander smirked a little. “Well, I thought he was just talking about us, you, me, Dawn, the rest of the gang.”

“Maybe he wasn’t just talking about us. Maybe Buffy matters more to him than any of us thought.”

+++++++++++

Dawn switched the news off and crawled into her big brother’s lap like she used to when she was a little girl. “You and Xander did that didn’t you?”

“Yeah, we did. So, you forgive me for last night?”

“Yes, I do.” Dawn hooked her good arm around Spike’s neck and squeezed. “Thank you. You did good. You should go over and tell Buffy you got the guy.”

“Maybe I should drop in before patrol. Just to make sure she’s all right. Not trying to plot my death again.”

Dawn rolled her eyes at her brother. “Yeah right! She’d sooner take a walk down the beach at noon wearing nothing but a bikini and a smile than try to kill you again.”

Spike mentally paused at the thought of Buffy in a bikini. He could picture her in his mind wearing nothing but a string bikini and a barely there thong. * Stop it, Spike! Geez! No more sex games with the undead, no matter how beautiful she is! *

“OK, Dawnie, let’s eat dinner and then I’ll be going out later for patrol. Willow will be here and I don’t plan on being too late tonight.”

“So what are we having? Not macaroni and cheese again?”

Spike got up and headed towards the kitchen. “No, it meatloaf night!”

Dawn rolled her eyes behind her brother’s back and mumbled to herself. “Oh great! Burnt mystery meat with ketchup. Yum!”

++++++++++++

Buffy lay on top of the stone sarcophagus inside her crypt. After polishing off her last bottle of bourbon Buffy had stumbled out and procured more alcohol as well as four pints of cows blood. She drank two pints for dinner and saved the rest for later. She was now sipping on her third bottle of alcohol and feeling ill for it. * I should really learn to pace myself. You’d think after a century of drinking I’d have learned my lesson by now. *

Buffy thought more about her disastrous un-life. * Lessons learned and promptly forgotten. *

Why did she constantly make the same mistakes over and over? Why couldn’t she just get it through her thick skull that she didn’t belong here in Sunny Dee with the Slayer; she didn’t really belong anywhere.

She’d been shunned her whole life and un-life. When she was a real live girl she had been a pathetic mousy spinster mooning over a wrong man who would never love her. Writing poetry about him hadn’t done anything except earn her a Bloody Awful nickname and the ridicule of her peers. He was a love that she would never have and her sometime friend, Cecily, had no qualms about telling poor Elizabeth the sad truth – she was beneath him.

Buffy had met her death when she met Angel in that dark London alleyway the very same night so many years ago. It was then she’d thought she’d found her place and her calling. Her passion for destruction was boundless and Angel was right there with her. But when they had come to the Hell mouth all that had changed. Drusilla was here with the slayer and as soon as Spike had given Ole Dru her big happy moment everything in Buffy’s life went to shit. Angel dropped her crippled body into a wheelchair and left her for bigger and badder pastures.

Buffy hated Dru with a passion. * Stupid Irish bitch of a grand-sire, mucking everything up! * When she wasn’t being all soul having and good, she was evil incarnate and Angel loved her. Angel would never love Buffy the way he had loved his “Sweet Mummy” - it made Buffy sick to her stomach just thinking about the whole affair.

Had it not been for Angel’s infidelity and the Acathla thing, Buffy wouldn’t have ever had to strike up an alliance with Spike in the first place. Then she wouldn’t have started being so obsessed with the good Slayer and Angel wouldn’t have seen the Spike “floating all around” Buffy. And Buffy wouldn’t have Spike in her heart, consuming her every thought and emotion making her his very own. Buffy had to face it – she truly was Spike’s slave. And the worst part about it was that it would only get harder and harder for her to leave this place, this one-sided love affair, unless she made a break for it now.

+++++++++++++

Spike made his way through the cemetery towards Buffy’s crypt. He didn’t know what he was going to say. He’d probably tell her that the very human monster that had hurt her would be spending the rest of his life in either a prison or a mental institution. Then maybe she’d try to repay him by making a naughty suggestion about giving him a reward for being such a hero. Or perhaps she would still be extremely pissed off at him and try to pay him back for the pain he’d caused her last night. Either way, Spike’s skin was tingling with anticipation. He couldn’t wait to see her. His heart was pounding inside his chest and he suddenly found himself smiling and pounding on her door.

Spike kicked the door open and called out. “Buffy?”

He was met with a strange silence. He calmed himself for a moment and let his Slayer sense try to tune in her presence. He couldn’t feel her; she wasn’t there.

Spike turned towards the door to go look for her when he noticed another and much more alarming absence. Buffy’s television set was gone!

++++++++++++

Buffy parked her car in front of Spike’s house on Revello Drive. It was after midnight and Buffy could tell that the Slayer wasn’t home. How did she know? Neither the kitchen lights nor his bedroom lights were on. When he was at home he was either eating or sleeping. * So predictable! *

Buffy went around to the back yard and looked up at Dawn’s window. There was a tiny glow coming from her bedside table. * Good, I won’t be waking her, at least. *

Buffy may be skipping town, but she sure as Hell wasn’t going to leave without saying goodbye to her Little Bit. She owed her at least that much.

The blond vampire expertly scaled the trellis outside Dawn’s bedroom and then lightly rapped on the windowpane. Dawn looked up in surprise when she saw Buffy waving at her outside the window. Quickly she unlocked the window and opened it, letting Buffy inside.

“Buffy? What are you doing here? Why didn’t you just come in downstairs?” Dawn whispered.

Buffy laughed softly and straightened an errant strand of hair away from Dawn’s face. “Didn’t want to wake the witch. She needs her beauty sleep more than ever these days.”

“OK. . .so what’s going on then? Is something wrong?”

Buffy motioned to the bed. “Come sit down, let’s have a chat, shall we?”

A nervous feeling fluttered in Dawn’s stomach as she felt something was definitely wrong. Buffy looked so serious and sadder than Dawn had ever seen. Dawn held her breath for a moment and then sighed heavily. “What’s wrong? Did someone die? No one’s dead, are they?”

Buffy sat down on the bed and took Dawn’s hands in hers. “I’m the only dead person around here, Bit.”

“So what’s with the weirdness?”

Buffy smiled sadly and squeezed the teenager’s hands. “I’m going away, Dawn.”

“For how long?”

Buffy remained silent. She didn’t have to say it. Dawn knew.

The tears came quickly, but quietly. “Why? Why are you leaving? You promised, you said, you said you’d stay and you said you’d stay ‘til the end of the world. You told me that.” Dawn said softly.

Buffy choked back a sob. This was a lot harder than she thought it would be. “Dawn, you don’t need me here anymore. Your brother is here and the Scoobies. You are going to finish high school, go to college and get yourself a real life. You don’t need the evil undead hangin’ around. Believe me - I’m old. I know these things.”

Dawn sniffled back her tears and tried her best to reason with the vampire in her room. “But, I like it when you hang around. Sometimes, you’re the only one I can talk to and sometimes you’re the only one who’ll tell me the truth. So tell me the truth now. Why are you leaving?”

“Nibblet. . .” Buffy began to speak, but couldn’t finish. She reached out and tried to stroke her hair, but Dawn pulled away.

“You know, I never thought you were all that evil, until now.”

“Dawn. . .”

“No. Just go, go like the rest of them.”

Buffy got up off the bed and headed towards the open window. “I’m sorry, Bit. I didn’t want to hurt you, I just didn’t want to leave without saying goodbye.”

Just as Buffy was about to step out the window Dawn put her hand on her shoulder. Buffy turned to face her young friend and Dawn threw her arm around Buffy’s shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

The teenager began to sob again and Buffy held her tighter. “Take care of yourself, Buffy.”

Buffy kissed Dawn’s cheek. “I’m going to miss you so much, Dawn. Now listen to me, mind your brother and no more pinching or else you’ll get caught one of these days.”

“Pinching?” Dawn asked.

“Oh come on, Dawn. I know what you’ve been up to you can’t fool a fellow thief.”

“Oh, that.”

Buffy released Dawn from her embrace and crooked her finger underneath her chin forcing the young woman to look into her eyes. “Be good, all right?”

Dawn smiled. “You too.”

Buffy laughed again through her now watery eyes. “I’ll try my damnest.”

Before Dawn knew it Buffy had leapt out the window as quick as a cat and was gone out of view.

As she made her way to the bathroom she noticed that Spike’s door was shut.  Her older brother had taken to long bouts of sleeping followed by equally long bouts of insomnia since his return from the great beyond.  It was already 9:30 a.m. and she wondered how long he’d be out this time.  *  He’ll probably sleep until dinnertime.  *

Dawn brushed her teeth and was going to get into the shower when she heard Willow knocking softly on the bathroom door.  “Dawnie?  Are you going to be long?  I’m not feeling very well.”

Dawn opened the door quickly and let Willow in.  “Just so you don’t yak on the carpet.”

“Thank you.”  Willow said as Dawn shut the door and headed back to her bedroom.  Dawn heard the faint sounds of Willow heaving into the toilet followed by the shower running.

Dawn attempted to go back to sleep, but she only ended up tossing and turning in her bed.  She didn’t want to feel so alone anymore; she just wanted someone to talk to who would actually listen to her.  Now that Buffy was gone, Dawn had lost her last outlet of communication.

She wished things were as simple as they were when she was a little girl.  She used to be able to just crawl into Spike’s arms back then when he was just her big brother, Will, and fall asleep with him.  No need to feel afraid or uncertain, Dawn always felt safe and secure with him sometimes even more so than when she was with their parents.  *  Maybe since the monks made me out of him, I always just knew that I was his.  *  And he was always the one she would run to after she’d had a nightmare or especially when Mom and Dad were fighting.

There had been an entire year after Mom and Dad split up that Dawn couldn’t sleep unless her brother was with her.  She would fall asleep on the couch in his lap or on the floor next to him while he did his homework.  And if she ever woke up and he wasn’t there she’d instantly get terrified.  Mom did her best to break Dawn of this increasingly annoying habit, but Dawn just kept clinging to Will.

It wasn’t until they all moved to Sunnydale and its basic Hell mouth weirdness that her brother started to kick her out of his room and his life.  He suddenly became very secretive about his comings and goings.  Neither Dawn nor Joyce could have guessed he was the Slayer.

Then they started getting phone calls at the house asking for “Spike”.  It was funny at first.  It seemed his football teammates had nicknamed him Spike and it stuck.  Then in typical Will Summers fashion he got kicked off the football team for missing too many practices.  He was being all-delinquent again and Mom was worried.  Then Spike was at home less and less at night so Dawn’s habit of clinging to him was broken by default.  Couldn’t be clingy to someone who wasn’t there – even if he did give her his favorite stuffed pig Mr. Gordo to keep her company.  Still, Dawn missed those days.

Dawn really wanted to curl up with Spike and sleep the day away.  Maybe if she just went in and laid down he’d wake up and talk to her or maybe he’d tuck her in and call her his “Little Dawn Monster”.  Dawn decided it was worth a try.  What was the worse that could happen?  He could just kick her out, but he probably wouldn’t.

Dawn walked down the hall towards Spike’s room passing a very damp and very pale Willow in the hallway.  Willow smiled.  “Hey, Dawnie, bathroom’s free.  I’ll go down and make breakfast for you in a few minutes.”

“That’s OK.  I’m not hungry yet.  Go back to sleep for a little while.  You should work up an appetite before you force yourself to look at food.”

Willow became even paler at the thought of food-like ingredients.  “OK, Dawnie.  I think you’re probably right.”

Willow then slowly shuffled down to her room and shut the door as Dawn approached Spike’s bedroom.  Opening the door quietly, Dawn peaked inside.  A single figure lay under the covers, but it didn’t look like her brother at all.  This person was way too small.

Dawn closed the door and made her way over to the bed.  Her jaw dropped when she recognized who it was in her brother’s bed.  “Oh my God!”  Dawn gasped quietly.  “Buffy?”

Buffy rolled over at the sound of Dawn’s voice and started mumbling in her sleep.  “Yes, Nanny, I’m up.  I won’t be late for church this time, I promise.”

Dawn laughed and poked the sleeping vampire.  “Buffy!”

Buffy’s eyes snapped open and she looked at Dawn in surprise.  She raked her hand through her hair in an attempt to look more presentable for the teenager.  “Little Bit!  Well, this is quite embarrassing.”

          Dawn smiled.  “Did you want to go to church or something?”

          Buffy gathered the covers up to her neck and shook her head violently.  “Church?  Are you bloody crazy?”

          “Well, you were sleep talking something about not being late for church.”

          Buffy rolled her eyes.  “Stupid dreams!  My nanny when I was a little girl used to . . .  oh, never mind.”

          Dawn sat on the foot of the bed and observed the very embarrassed woman as she held the covers closer to her body.  “You’re not naked under there are you?”

Buffy laughed softly.  “No, Nibblet.  I’ve got my knickers on.  See?”  Buffy showed her that she was wearing her top and panties.

“So?”

Buffy avoided Dawn’s gaze.  “So.”

“You boinked my brother didn’t you?”

Buffy gasped in horrific embarrassment.  “Dawn!  I did nothing of the sort!”

“Oh please!  That’s such crap!  You expect me to believe you’re in his bed looking all tousled and glowy because you spent the night holding hands?”

Buffy put her hands upon her cheeks.  “I look glowy?  Really?”

Dawn gave her a knowing smile.  “Yeah, you do.  And you’re hair’s a total mess.”

“I didn’t just bonk him, you know.  It wasn’t like that.”  Buffy said seriously.

          “I know.”  Dawn looked at Buffy and her smile grew even bigger.  “So, you didn’t leave.  Does this mean you’re going to stay now?”

“I tried to leave, believe me, but the Slayer wouldn’t let me go.”  Buffy smiled with the memory of last night’s passionate and real lovemaking.  No longer did Buffy feel like she and Spike’s relationship was only one-sided.  Although now she was wondering to where her lover might have disappeared.

“So, you’re not leaving, right?”  Dawn asked again hopefully.

Buffy reached out and squeezed Dawn’s hand.  “No, never again.  Ever, I promise.”

          “You really love him, don’t you?”

“Yes.  I do.  But he’s not the only one.”  Buffy motioned for her Little Bit to come in for a hug.

Dawn’s heart felt like it was going to burst she was so happy.  She wasn’t losing her confidant after all.  And she loved her, too.  Dawn hadn’t felt this wanted since before Mom died.  Dawn went into Buffy’s outstretched arms and hugged her as best she could with her arm in its sling.  “I love you too, Buffy.  I’m so glad you’re gonna stay.  And now that you and Spike are, you know, together, you’ll be around more won’t you?”

Buffy yawned.  She was still exhausted.  It was so early for her still.  “Hopefully, Dawn, if things go well.  I’ll do my best for you, all right?  I’ll try not to muck things up, but you’ve gotta watch me.  Don’t let me go off the evil deep end or anything.”

Dawn laughed.  “You sound like Willow.”

“I’m serious, Dawn.  I don’t want to do anything to make your brother push me away.  I want to be better, you know, good enough for him and you.”

Dawn looked into Buffy’s eyes.  She looked so scared, like any second Spike was going to come in and stake her.  “Buffy, you’re not as bad as you think you are.  You’re more than just some vampire.  You’ve been more than that for a while now.  You just have to remember it.”

Buffy reached out and stroked Dawn’s hair in very much they same way Joyce used to when she was alive.  “Dawn, you are the only reason I’m even still here and not a dust pile, ya know?  You saved me.”

“Huh?”

“You did.  When Spike died, you were the only reason I didn’t go right out and get myself a terminal suntan that morning.  I’d promised him I would look after you.  And I couldn’t let you or him down again.  And I won’t.”  Buffy kissed Dawn’s cheek and then yawned again.

Dawn followed her lead, yawning a big yawn.  “You’re still tired, so am I.”

Buffy moved over and made room for Dawn as she flopped back down into the pillows.  Dawn snuggled in next to her and looked up at Buffy as she fell back asleep.  “Buffy?”

“Mmmm?”

“You don’t snore, do you?”

Buffy smirked.  “No, pigeon, I sleep like the dead.”

++++++++++

          Spike put the dozen bagels and two containers of favored cream cheese on the counter and headed upstairs to see if Buffy was still sleeping.  He was sure that she wouldn’t mind getting up before Anya and Xander came over for Sunday brunch.  He could just say that she showed up this morning, as usual, nothing new about that.  Spike just hoped that Willow hadn’t seen her yet sleeping in her underwear in his bed, hair all tousled, skin smooth as silk, lipstick smeared – such a pretty mess.  Maybe he could go in and wake her up for a morning quickie before anyone arrived.  He was getting hard just picturing her there in his room, in his bed, in his arms.

*  What am I going to tell them?  ‘Oh by the way, Guys, I’m in love with another vampire and I’ve been banging every chance I get even though she’s a soulless demon.’  *  On the one hand he wanted to tell them that he and Buffy were in a relationship, but on the other hand he didn’t want to deal with the inevitable lecture that was going to go with that admission.  They might be so ashamed of him.  He couldn’t bear them looking down on him, but he needed her, he loved her.  Maybe Xander would get it.  After all, his best friend was marrying an ex-demon who sometimes acted as if she still was a monster if only when it came to money.  *  No, they don’t need to know yet.  Buffy and I will just play cool today.  Maybe if she hangs around with them more often and she behaves herself they’ll start to like her more.  I hope.  *

Spike opened his door quietly and started to take off his clothes when he heard something odd.  Someone was breathing and it certainly wasn’t Buffy.  The Slayer peered into the bed and found his little sister snoring into Buffy’s shoulder.  He quickly zipped up his jeans and put his shirt back on when he heard Buffy whisper.  “She came in looking for you and found me instead.”

Spike watched as Buffy slowly extracted herself from Dawn’s embrace and then pulled the covers over the girl, tucking her in.  “She’s such a sweet girl, this one.  I should’ve loved to have had a sister like her.”  Buffy pet Dawn’s hair lovingly, smoothing her long brunette locks away from her face.  “You’re a lucky man, Slayer.”

“I know.”  Spike said as he leaned in and kissed Buffy gently on her lips.  Seeing her there looking after Dawn was almost like seeing his mother Joyce taking care of her again.  Buffy was really in this for the long haul.  She wasn’t going to just disappear like Dru or Harmony did.  She was going to be the one to stay and see things through, like she always did.  Even when Buffy was Uber-evil and his enemy, she always stuck with her evil plans until the end, no matter how ill conceived or easily thwarted they were.

Spike smiled at his lover and nodded towards his sister.  “What do you say?  Should I go put Sleeping Beauty back in her own bed and then you can show me how lucky I really am?”

Buffy was beaming a beautiful smile at him.  “Whatever you think is best, luv.”

Spike gently picked Dawn up and carried her towards the door.  “I’ll be right back.”

++++++++++

          Willow opened the front door for Xander and Anya.  “Hi guys!  Come on in, I’m making omelets and pancakes and some bagels magically materialized in the kitchen so . . .”

          Xander’s eyes almost popped out of his head.  “Magic?  Willow, no!  You’ve been doing so well!”

          “Oh, no!  I-I think Spike might’ve gone out for them earlier.”  Willow explained.

          Anya sighed with relief.  “Thank goodness, because I’d hate to think you’d backslide into magical addiction for the sake of brunch.”

          “So, where is Spike anyway?  And Dawnster?”  Xander asked.

          “They’re both upstairs, I think Dawn’s in the shower.”  Willow replied as she rushed back into the kitchen to keep her omelets from burning.

          “I’ll go get Spike.  An, can you help Willow with the food?”

          Anya rolled her eyes.  “Sometimes I wish she could still just snap her fingers and make bagels magically appear.”

          Xander chuckled and headed up the stairs towards his friend’s room.  Knocking quickly on the door Xander turned the knob and opened it up.  “Rise and shine sleepy. . .Whoa!”

          There they were - Spike and Buffy!  Xander blinked twice as he took in the scene before him.  Spike was on top of Buffy covered only by a thin bed sheet.  His mouth was suckling at her pure white breast as she mewled with pleasure.  His friend was very obviously thrusting inside of the pretty vampiress when they both stopped and stared back at Xander with shock and surprise.

“Oh my God!  I’m sorry!  Sorry!”  Xander exclaimed as he backed out of the room and quickly shut the door.  Turning towards the stairs he ran directly into Dawn, freshly cleaned, dressed and ready for food.

          “Xander?  What’s up?  You look funny.”

          “Uh, um, uh . . . Oh my God!  Whatever you do, do not go in there right now.”  Xander said quickly grabbing Dawn’s arm and dragging her down the stairs.

          Willow and Anya looked up from the dining room table in confusion when Xander practically shoved Dawn into the room.  Anya became alarmed by the look on her fiancé’s face.  “Xander?  What’s wrong?”

          Xander’s mouth opened and shut without making a sound.  Willow rushed over to him.  “Xander!  Oh my God!  What’s the matter?”

          Finally Xander spoke.  “Spike – he’s, he’s, he’s. . .”

          “He’s what?”  Anya and Willow both demanded.

          “He’s in his bed with Buffy and they’re, they’re . . .”

          “Boinking?”  Dawn asked trying to be helpful and sounding none too surprised.

          Xander nodded.

          Anya gaped.

          Willow sat down, stunned momentarily.  “Are, are you sure?”

          Xander looked at Willow and nodded vigorously.  “Yes, Wil!  I’m very sure!”

+++++++++

          Spike and Buffy quickly put their clothes on.  Buffy was on her knees searching under the bed for her missing boot while Spike putting on a clean tee shirt.  When she found it and started to put it on she glanced up to see the anxious expression on Spike’s face.  In that moment she knew everything they’d done last night and this morning didn’t change the fact that he was scared to death of admitting his feelings for her to his friends.

          With a reassuring smile Buffy placed her hand his shoulder.  “No worries, Slayer.  I’ll borrow a good thick blanket and be on my way.”

          Buffy reached for the doorknob and Spike grabbed her wrist.  Pulling her into his arms and backing her up against the door Spike looked into her eyes.  “No, you stay here, I’ll deal with them.”

          “But. . .”  Buffy began to protest, but Spike silenced her with a searing kiss.

          “Don’t leave.”

          Buffy nodded in silent agreement and watched him bound down the stairs.

++++++++++

          Spike poked his head into the dining room and gave them all a small smile.  “So. . . um.  Hey!  Funny thing happened on the way to the cemetery last night. . .”

Anya rolled her eyes at the Slayer’s attempt at humor.  “So what happened?  Did you trip and accidentally fall into bed with the undead?”

          “Hey!”  Dawn exclaimed.

          “Well, someone had to say it!  This is crazy!  Just like when we thought he was doing Buffy last year, except that was just a robot.  Or did you forget about that fiasco, Spike?”

“An, honey, we’re not supposed to make him feel worse about this, just help him through this.”

          Spike eyed all of his friends suspiciously.  “Help me through what?”

          The looks on their faces spoke volumes.  They were worried, disappointed and horrified.  In the space of ten minutes Spike had managed to alienate all of his closest friends.  The only face not glaring at him was Dawn.  No, Dawn wasn’t glaring at Spike; she was glaring at everyone else in the room.

          Willow bit her lip as she took Spike’s hand and led him over to a chair, silently telling him to have a seat.  “Did something happen, Spike?  Something strange or-or out of the ordinary that would make you think being with Buffy was something you wanted to do?”

          Xander snapped his fingers.  “That’s it!  It’s a spell!  Like that time when Willow did that horrible spell and you proposed to Buffy.  Remember?”

          Spike looked visibly shaken.  He opened his mouth and tried to speak, protest, explain, yell – anything.  But he then fell silent and shook his head.

          Dawn came up behind her brother and put her hands on his shoulders in reassurance.  “It’s not a spell.  Right, Spike?”

          Spike looked up at all of his friends’ bewildered faces.  Quietly the Slayer began to explain.  “I-I care about her.  I don’t understand why, but I can’t help it.  She knows me.  Sometimes she knows me better than I know myself, and it feels . . .”

          Willow gaped at Spike and then let out a shocked yelp.  “OH MY GOD!”

          Everyone jumped in response to Willow’s outburst and watched as she quickly rushed at Spike and Dawn.  Willow reached out and grasped the hand that Dawn had placed on Spike’s shoulder.

          In horror Willow examined Dawn’s fingers.  “Dawnie?  Where did you get this ring?”

          “I found it.  Someone threw it in the garbage.  I thought it was pretty.  Is-is it yours?”  Dawn asked nervously.

          “Oh my God!  Dawn?  You haven’t made any wishes lately, have you?”

“Um, don’t think so.  Why?”

“Amy gave me this ring!  That’s why I threw it out.  It’s supposed to be able to grant the wearer one wish.  A wish for anything – they could change the universe if they wanted to.”

“A Ha!  See!  I told you it was a spell.  Dawnie, you didn’t say anything like ‘I wish my brother would fall in love with Buffy’, did you?”

          Dawn clicked her tongue in annoyance.  “No.”

Xander didn’t believe her.  “’Cause we all know you really like Buffy a lot, and that would definitely explain the insanity going on here.”

          Spike was starting to get very fed up with this situation.  “You think I’m insane?”

Xander immediately started to backpedal.  “Well, not insane insane just under the influence of something magical or evil or . . .  Willow, help me out here.”

Willow was lost in thought over how and when a wish could have been granted to Dawn.  It simply had to be the reason for Spike’s behavior.  “Well, Amy gave me that ring on Thursday morning, when did you find it Dawn?”

Dawn thought for a moment.  “Thursday night.”

Xander completed his deduction.  “And you’ve only been having sex with Buffy since when?  Last night, right?”

          Spike shook his head and began to reply to his friend’s question when they all heard a mocking laugh coming from the doorway.

Buffy entered the room smirking at Xander.  “Shows what you know, Boy Wonder!”

          Xander ignored Buffy’s insult and kept his attention on the Slayer.  “Spike?  How long has this been going on?”

“There was one other night – all night – about a week ago.”  Spike admitted.

          Willow remembered.  She’d been out with Amy and Dawn was left alone with Tara.  “Oh. Wow.  It was that night you and I didn’t come home, wasn’t it?”

Buffy saw the look on Spike’s face.  This was hurting him so much.  He was humiliated and disgusted with himself and it was all her fault.  His friends were making him feel so guilty about this, it just wasn’t right.

          Buffy stood up to these humans and their overly pious attitudes.  “Hey now!  Don’t blame the Slayer!  It was me.  It was my fault.  He’d been very lonely since . . . well, you know.  And – and I was just, convenient.  It’s not like it means anything, to him.  Boys will be boys, all that rot.”

Spike winced at his lover’s attempt to trivialize their relationship for the gang’s benefit.  She was using the same arguments with them as he had done with her the morning after their first time together.  He started to feel a little sick just remembering how he’d behaved with her.  It was probably best if he put a stop to her ranting.  “Buff…”

But she just continued talking.  “It was just a little sex.  It’s not the end of the bloody world!  Unlike some vampires I don’t have an orgasm and then decide to kill everyone I know.  And anyway, you all know that there’s nothing to fear from me.  It’s not like the Slayer can bang this chip out of my head.” 

“All right, that’s enough!”  Spike yelled at the blonde vampire.  “It wasn’t just sex!  At first, yeah!  I thought it was just a momentary lapse of judgement.  I was lonely and she is in love with me and she is attractive and unbelievably strong and she was wearing . . . well never mind what she was wearing.  I just gave into the temptation.  I thought it was a one time thing, a fluke, but it hasn’t turned out that way.”

Buffy hissed at Spike.  “Slayer…you don’t have to…”

“God!  Buffy!  For just once in your life, can you keep your mouth shut and let me finish?”  Spike snapped at her and she closed her mouth.  He then went on addressing his friends.  “You see?  She’s rude!  She interrupts me all the time with her comments and her opinions.  And she’s evil!  So evil that she never holds back the truth, no matter how ugly or how much I don’t want to hear it.  She’s a monster!  But she’s also devoted and protective and one Hell of an ally.  And I don’t know when I started to feel it, but like it or hate it, I need her.  I’m sorry I disgust you all so much, but I’m not insane.  This is real.”

Xander ran his hands through his hair in exasperation.  “Hey, Spike, you don’t disgust me.  I mean, I understand she’s beautiful, sure . . .”  Xander gestured in Buffy’s direction.

“Oh great, I think I’m going to heave!  The whelp thinks I’m pretty.”  Buffy started to search her duster for her cigarettes.

Xander again tried to ignore Buffy’s constant insults.  “What I mean is she beautiful and if you wanted to just fool around with her on occasion, fine.  But getting into a full on relationship with a demon like her . . .”

Buffy scoffed and laughed as she lit up her cigarette.  Dawn shook her head “no” at Buffy’s smoking.  As Buffy searched the dining room for something to put her cigarette out in, Anya’s eyes shot daggers at her fiancé. 

“Xander?  What about you?  Are you just ‘fooling around with me on occasion’?

“Anya, no, that’s not the same thing.  You’re my girl.  I love you.”  Xander explained.

At Xander’s last comment, Buffy got fed up and finally dropped her cigarette into Willow’s glass of orange juice extinguishing it with a hiss and a puff of smoke.  Willow sneered at Buffy with disgust.  Buffy quickly snatched the offensive glass away from the witch.  “Sorry, Wils.  I’ll get you a new one.”  Buffy headed off to the kitchen to get Willow a new glass of juice and Anya continued to yell at Xander.

“Oh!  So you’re saying that it’s OK for Spike to bone Buffy when he feels the urge, but he can’t have feelings for her?  Is that how you felt about me when we first started having sexual intercourse with each other?  Was I just some demon girl to satisfy your virile masculine cravings?”

Xander was caught.  On the one hand, when he first started seeing Anya it was mostly about sex, but on the other hand, he would never have just used Anya as some sort of sex bunny.  When he looked at Anya, even back then, he didn’t see just some demon.  He saw her as a woman and he liked her, then she was his girlfriend and he loved her.  Sure, she was a thousand years old and had probably tortured, maimed and killed thousands and thousands of men, but he loved her.

Xander put his arm around Anya and pulled her close.  “No, An, you were never just some demon.”  Xander looked at his best friend’s pitiful expression.  He’d hurt really Spike by telling him that it was wrong to have feelings for Buffy.  Who was he to talk?  Anya probably had racked up a higher body count during her demon years than Buffy could ever have hoped to achieve during her whole un-life.

Willow sighed.  She had to admit it - she didn’t like Anya very much when she’d first met her.  Even now Anya still grated on her nerves, but Xander loved her so much and Willow only wanted him to be happy.  Why shouldn’t she accept that Buffy might actually make Spike happy?  She really wasn’t so bad anymore.  Evil – yes, but so helpful.  All summer she’d diligently worked to help with the slaying and taking care of Dawn in the evenings.  Willow had actually seen the vampire do the dishes!  Who’d have thought?  Willow reached out and grabbed Spike’s hand.  “It’s OK, Spike.  We’ll always be your friends, no matter what.  No matter who you’re sleeping with, as long as you’re happy.  That’s all we want.”

Xander nodded his agreement.  “Yeah, man.”  Xander’s grip tightened around Anya’s waist.  “If she’s the one who makes you happy.  And from what I just saw, as embarrassing as that was, you looked, you know, happy.”  Xander said with a smile.

“And who am I to judge?  I used to date a werewolf and now I’m a former witch and a lesbian who’s currently not dating anyone, but . . . still very unconventional.”  Willow offered.

“And Xander is about to marry me.  And I was a demon.  It’s not like Buffy’s all that demony anymore.  I mean what kind of demon eats popcorn and paints her toenails pink anyway?  I know I didn’t.”

Buffy stood in the doorway holding a glass of juice for Willow listening to their reassurances to the Slayer.  Dawn was looking directly at Buffy with a sweet smile of satisfaction on her face.  Spike gazed across the room at Buffy and simply said to no one in particular.  “I love her . . . she’s mine.”

Buffy then quietly walked over to Willow and handed her the beverage.  “So, right then.  Now that we’ve gotten past the mini melodrama, shouldn’t we be trying to suss out what kind of wish our little Nibblet may or may not have made to alter this our wacky universe?”

          Willow snapped back to full attention.  “Oh yeah!  Well, we could always do a spell . . . oh . . . damn.  No spells allowed.”

          Spike stood up and began making himself a plate of food.  All this emotional excitement had made him exceedingly hungry.  “Well, Willow, you can’t do a spell, but we still have a friend that can.  That is if you don’t mind her coming over.”

          Willow’s bottom lip quivered a little.  “Yeah, I guess we could call Tara.  But I don’t know if she’d help with my being here and . . .”

          “I’ll call her.  If she knows we need help, she won’t say no.  Don’t worry.  I can guilt her into it.”  Dawn said as she picked up the cordless phone and pressed speed dial number three.

+++++++++++++

          One phone call, two hours of research and one trip to the Magic Box later, the whole Scooby gang, Tara included, sat in the living room preparing to do the spell that could reveal what magic if any had been used to alter their reality.

          “Thanks again Tara for doing this on such short notice.  I really didn’t feel up to the whole putting myself into a trance thing.  I’m not very good at that sort of thing, we’d probably be here for hours, possibly days.”  Spike said while he made a counter clockwise circle of magic sand around Tara.

          “I don’t know, Spike, you d-did a good job the last time.”  Tara quietly said while trying to avoid the longing stare of her former girlfriend watching the preparations from a safe distance.

          “Ooh!  Can I light the incense?”  Dawn asked in excitement as she nearly kicked over two of the already lit candles.

          Buffy gently pulled Dawn away from the prep area.  “Come sit over here with Xander, Princess.  I’ll light the incense.”  Buffy pulled out her Zippo lighter and made quick work of igniting the required three sticks of mystical and stinky incense.

          Buffy then settled into the big armchair with Dawn to watch Tara do her thing.  Dawn put her head on her shoulder and sighed.  “Is it going to take long?”

          Spike sat down on the floor in front of his girls and hushed them.  “Shh, she’s about to begin.”

          “What kind of spell is this exactly?”  Buffy asked.

          “She’s going to be ‘pulling back the curtain’.  It’s a spell to see spells.  I did it once myself.  It’s how I found out that Dawn was . . .”  Spike stopped his explanation short.

          “It’s OK, Spike.” Dawn reassured her brother.  “It’s how he found out I was the Key.”

          “Oh.  Handy spell then is it?”  Buffy asked.

          “Shh!”  Anya hissed.  “She needs quiet!”

+++++++++++++

          Inside the circle, Tara retreated into herself.  She quietly chanted the required words over and over getting herself to the perfect state of calm in order to be able to “see” what she needed to see.  She was very good at this and it took only fifteen minutes for her to reach the spiritual plane that she was seeking.  A bright light flashed behind her closed eyelids and her eyes then snapped open.

++++++++++++

          The honey blond witch stood up and glanced around the room.  To the spectators it seemed as though she was looking right through them as if they were ghosts.

          It was then that Tara walked over towards one of the end tables by the couch and knelt in front of it in wonder.  She was staring directly at a picture of Joyce, Dawn and Spike with her mouth gaping open.  Her head then spun around and she gasped as she looked at Spike sitting there with Dawn and Buffy.

          Spike stood up and faced Tara.  “Tara?  Can you hear me?  What do you see?  Can you see the spell?”

          Tara opened her mouth to speak, but only a slight squeak emanated from her throat.  Her attention then turned to Buffy who was none too impressed with this so-called spell.  But then she started to get a tad uncomfortable with the way the Wicca’s eyes were focusing on her.  “What?”  Buffy snapped.  “Come on, Wicca girl, out with it now.”

          Tara shook her head and blinked a few times then shouted.  “Let the spell be ended!”

          Tara stumbled backwards and then forwards, almost falling to her knees, but Spike caught hold of her quickly.  “Tara?  Are you all right?  Come sit down.”

          Willow rushed into the room.  “Is she OK?  Tara?  You look pale.  I’ll get you some water.”

          Xander went to assist Spike in getting Tara situated on the couch.  Gently, Xander prodded the witch.  “I take it you saw the spell?”

          Tara nodded affirmitively.  Willow handed a glass of water to Anya and gestured for her to give it to Tara.

          As Anya handed the glass to Tara she just couldn’t help but add to the conversation.  “Come on, Tara, the suspense is killing me.  What kind of wish did Dawn make?”

          Tara took a gulp of water and then finally spoke.  “I saw it.  I heard it.  Dawn said ‘I just wish that you could know what it’s like to be in his place for a change’.”

          Anya scowled.  “Huh? What kind of wish is that?”

          “Her wish has swapped their essences.  Buffy and Spike – they’ve switched their rightful places in this universe.”

          Buffy laughed.  “And that means what?  Spike is really the vampire?  And I’m the bloody . . .”

          Tara cut Buffy off.  “And you’re the Slayer, Buffy.”

          Everyone was speechless, except Buffy.  “Bloody Hell, Tara!  I was only joking!  Now stop foolin’ and tell us what you really saw.”

          Buffy’s plea was met with a silent apology from Tara.

          Buffy’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.  “Oh God!  No!  Please no!  This is a bloody nightmare!”

TBC...