The Last

Chapter 11:

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He awakes with scattered thoughts and sensations, the type of awakening that puts most people in bad moods. He is aware first of the approaching sunrise. Then of the fact that his Grandsire is within a mile of him. Then the feeling of warm blood rushing through a nearby human. Then the scent of the Slayer. Then the wooden stake against his chest. And finally the certain part of his anatomy that is very hard and very buried within something hot, female, and Slayer.

She is straddling his hips, connected in the most intimate way, still fully clothed except sans pants and underwear. Her eyes are fixed firmly on the tip of the stake she holds to his heart.

"Oh my god, Slayer, what are you doing?" Spike rasps out in utter disbelief, biting back a groan of pleasure.

"What does it FEEL like?" she says, jerking quickly with her hips at the word 'feel', "I'm fucking you, vampire."

"W-why?" he moans, putting his long hands on her hips out of sexual habit. The sharp wooden point of the stake penetrates the marble skin of his torso.

"I don't need to answer to you. I can do as I wish. You refused me last night. I don't take 'no' for an answer." she states simply, eyes deadly and cold as she rides him hard.

"Oh Jesus..." he sighs in ecstasy. The stake digs deeper.

"Stop announcing your pleasure. This is about me, not you. And a demon should not be calling out to things of purity."

"Its you, ducks. You bring out the purity in me." he gasps, thrusting his hips up to meet hers now.

"I don't want your non-existant purity. I want something else from in you." she smirks cruely, eyes dropping from his face, to the stake, and then down to their united bodies, indicating what she wants from inside him.

"Buffy, Slayer, please stop. This isn't right. S'not how I wanted it. I mean, this is as sexy as hell, but I lo--gah!" he is cut off by the stake's violent descent, its tip dangerously close to his heart now.

"Don't you DARE say that word to me."

Just then the crypt door is kicked inward and a towering, snow-covered vampire fills its frame.

"Buffy! What the hell are you doing?" Angel exclaims, stopping dead in astonishment, the ridges of his demon visage rippling to the surface. Buffy's head whips around to stare at him, the sweaty locks whipping like golden cords around her face. Spike uses the opportunity to push her off. She falls to the icey dirt floor in a tumble. Angel moves cautiously towards her crumpled and quivering body at the foot of the sarcophagus, while eyeing Spike zipping up his jeans with golden eyes. He looks up at Angel with his demon face on as well.

"What is going on here?" Angel asks his Grand-Childe in a low, rumbling growl.

"The Slayer decided to have her soddin' wicked way with me and was riding me like a race horse."

"And you didn't stop her?"

"Its kinda hard to stop the most powerful Slayer of all time when she has a stake pressed into your fuckin' chest, you poof." Spike grumbles, pulling the said stake from his skin with a gasp of pain. Angel's golden eyes widen.

"I didn't even notice, Spike. I'm sorry." his voice is soft, a Sire's concern mixed with the emotion of his soul. Spike's feral yellow eyes flicker blue for an instant as he mutters a 'thank-you' before turning back towards the heap of Slayer on the floor.

But obviously she's not in a heap anymore. She is completely dressed, with a stake in either hand, the look of the Fight in her stance.

"Both of you need to die." she says with a judge's certainty. She moves with deadly elegance into the center of the mausoleum, the black of her garb fading into the shadows...except to the vampires' eyes.

To both of them, she shines no matter where she is.

"Buf--Slayer," Angel grimances, "We called a truce, remember?"

Buffy lets out a bitter laugh.

"Yeah, I remember. But now I forget. So, no more truce. I must have been influenced by the whole "humanity" of the situation, or the fucking "honesty" in your brown eyes. But now I see gold. Both of you have your true faces on. And thats a reminder of what I am, NOT a reminder of what I said. Besides, I was drugged up."

Spike and Angel exchange a look, and then lunge, pinning the tiny powerful body of the girl to the stone wall, spinning her around just fast, and pulling down the manacles that hang from a notch high on the wall with speed. Soon their unbearable cold grip holds her wrists, keeping the curves of the front of her body flattened against the hardness of the stone.

"You will fucking pay for this, Vampires!!" she screams against the wall, her face growing numb from its temperature.

Spike turns to Angel with concern.

"So what now, mate?"

"I am going to try to get to Giles' before the sun rises. The clouds are so thick though, I think I'll be okay even if it does. Keep an eye on her. She is mad, and dangerous. Spike," Angel puts his wide finger under Spike's narrow chin and urges his yellow eyes to look into his, "be careful."

Spike nods slightly, and then turns back to stare at the struggling Slayer. Angel fades into the swirrling snow , pulling the door shut with a muffled bang, the silence of the snow outside clashing with the silence of this tomb.

"You look cold." Spike says quietly, moving towards Buffy with caution.

"I'm not." she says, her face turned away from his, staring out the window across the expanse of dark room.

"Yeah, sure. Because being covered with a film of sweat, and having juices still rolling down your leg while chained to a stone wall during a snow storm is just *so* warm and cozy."

"Fuck you." she says, turning her head to look at him.

"You just did, pet, and-" he stops. The half of beautiful smooth face that was once against the wall, is the one looking at him now. The grime and dirt of the stone has clung to it, creating a black mask across her jaw, cheek, and temple. His demon's face, still firmly in place, lets out a primal growl. "Yeah, and I remember it well. 'Said something about how you can do what you wish. Well, guess what, Slayer? Now its my turn."

Her damp pants and underwear were torn from her body faster than she could open her mouth to shoot back a warrior-tainted retort. And then he was slamming into her from behind, pushing her body even harder into the stone.

Fangs drinking Slayer blood. One clawed hand around her waist. The other curled in her fingers.

She slams back.

Violent. Savage.

"This. is. how. you. wanted. it. right? You. wanted. me. to. fuck. your. brains. out." he says with each near bone-crushing slam, as he laps at the beautiful ruby gems of blood that swell from his bite mark.

"We were created to do this." she whispers back at him passionately.

And then they both come. High keening, low growl.

Release.

"I love you." Spike, still the demon in his entirety, breathes into her ear, placing the sweetest, gentlest kiss on her neck.

The Slayer clenches her teeth to keep back the tears that threaten to spill.

And another part of the prophecy slides into place.

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tbc

Chapter 12:

Angel opens the door cautiously, vampire senses hit instantly with the sour smell of sex and blood. His brown eyes flash gold for an instant, and then he looks back at the few Scoobies who follow him. Tentatively leading them into the crypt, his mind is in turmoil, not knowing what he will find.

Spike is curled in a ball, swaying back and forth to the music of his quiet sob. Buffy is unlocked from her manacles, curled up at the foot of the sarcophagus on which Spike sits. Two ducked heads, buried in their own body for protection, as if the world was crashing down around them, but they are too stubborn and upset to find comfort in each other.

"*Now* what's going on?" Angel curtly asks Spike, who looks up at his Grand-Sire with streaks of tears rolling down his face.

"I don't know. I don't know. I don't know." Spike whispers in time with his movement. Angel stoops to Buffy's form and rests his hands on her small boney knees.

"Slayer." is all he says, testing the waters of her attitude, seeing whether he should slam her back into the wall and chain her up, or enclose her in a warm hug. Her wide hazel eyes open and stare unseeing up at him.

"It took control. I had no choice. Primal. Primal. It was so savage. Oh Spike, I'm so sorry, so sorry. Why am I sorry? I shouldn't be. I shouldn't be. I shouldn't be."

"Dear god. You didn't tell us that Spike had been affected as well!" Giles mutters, placing the books he had brought wrapped under his coat, onto the ratty chair in the center of the room. Willow rubs her hands together to warm them, a worried expression causing her delicate red eyebrows to scrunch, and her wide green eyes to squint.

"What the hell is going on? I am so confused, and not to mention a little wigged out. What's wrong with Spike? Why is the Slayer being all blubbery? I thought she was a tough girl. Giles, an explanation would be super appreciated right now." Willow says, turning to stare at the Watcher with accusation.

"I second that." Dawn quietly adds, moving from her place in the shadows of the two adults to the stone sarcophagus, placing a tiny hand on the shimmering nest of golden hair on Spike's head. He instantly stops his silent insanity and looks at Dawn with wide, bloodshot blue eyes, "Hey, Spike. Calm down, okay? Can you tell us what's wrong?"

"Um, actually, I do believe I know what is happening here. But if my speculations are correct, that means that more happened here than Angel has informed us of." Giles says with a pointed look to said vampire. Angel ducks his head.

"I didn't think it was appropriate."

"Appropriate or not, it is information that is important. Be thankful that its prophecy and I can figure it out without the "unappropriate" facts." the Watcher carefully continues, advancing towards his Slayer with a quiet, unthreatening stance.

"Slayer...Buffy....do get up. I am going to fill you in on what is going to occur at the apocalypse, as well as the reason for what just happened here."

Buffy obeys quietly, her eyes darting from her Watcher, to the redhead, to Angel's intense stare, and finally to her sister, the Key, who is tucked nurturingly under the muscular arm of Spike. Buffy sits at the edge of the stone, as far away from the two as possible, one hand fluttering over the scabs on her neck, the other clutching nervously to the gritty sarcophagus surface.

Giles smiles gently, and then moves to his books, opening one with purpose.

"Shouldn't we do this somewhere warmer, and with everybody else too?" Dawn asks, burying her head further into Spike's shoulder, her lanky arm holding his waist with more strength.

"We came here to tend to Buffy. Since she has recovered, to a degree, we can just go ahead and talk about this here. I don't see any problem. We'll explain everything to the others later on tonight. Besides, I do believe they are all sleeping right now." Giles smirks, putting on his glasses to better read the pages in the dim light.

"Now," he began with a large breath, "Buffy was turned into a complete Slayer for one reason, and one reason alone: strength. Not the physical, but the emotional. You see, for the Buffy we know, to face the upcoming challenges would have emotionally destroyed her. We all are going to assist, therefore, harm could befall any of us. But Dawn being the Key is the most prominent. Glory has a major part to play in this apocalypse, and so Dawn is threatened-"

"The Last is here, The Last has come
And soon the world will fall into none.
All the kings horses, all Glory's men
won't be able to close the ring again." Buffy interrupts quietly, her eyes on the floor, hair hiding her face. Giles stops his explanation with amazement.

"Yes, exactly! Where did you hear that?"

"Prophecy dream. Buffy sang it to us." Spike answered for her, his blue eyes searching the curtain of hair hiding her features.

"You were apart of her dream, Spike?" Angel asks skeptically.

"Yeah. It was all-Human Buffy, and she was givin' pointers to the Slayer and myself." at this Buffy looks over to Spike, their eyes meeting briefly with pained understanding, before flitting away again.

"You have 2 days." Giles says abruptly. Buffy leaps off the sarcophagus, fire returning to her eyes.

"What the fuck?!"

"Its right here, and I quote- 'And the 666th longest of life shall be blessed with the power of the Ancients to protect the world of its total annhilation. She of light will be purified, made into a higher being of all elements.' It then says later on, in Sumerian, 'And she will fight within the ring of fire, the clouds will come, and the horses will trample, but the One who holds her humanity will not fade. Twenty-Five will bring destruction, the forces of hell will rise up, but for One who betrays them will beat them back. This shall happen on the 5th day.' This is the third day. You have 2 days to prepare."

The crypt is as silent as the death it was built to entomb. Then Dawn releases a surprised squeaky sigh.

"Well, we had better start preparing then, huh?"

"Th' still doesn't explain what happened in here earlier. Or the link between the Slayer and me." Spike mumbles

"Do you want me to discuss that in front of the others, or shall we talk about that at another time?" Giles asks, tilting his head with blunt inquiry.

"Another time." both Buffy and Spike mutter in unison.

"Thats what I thought." Giles nods, and then preceeds to light some candles near his books, calling Angel over to browse and discuss what he has great speculation over.

And the snow continues to fall.

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Chapter 13:

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Somehow during the foggy cold day, Tara, Anya, and Xander made their way through the huge drifts of snow to the crypt.

They fall through the door, gasping from the dry winter air, and brushing the flakes from their furry coats and mittens. Speaking with worried and angry tones as they pull off their damp garments that causes the group to assemble around them, concern painting the scene.

"Whoa! What happened!?" Willow gasps, helping Tara remove her coat.

"Glory, thats what. Anya and I were on our way to Buffy's, and just as we got there we met up with Tara, who said that Will had left her a note that you all were over here at Spikes. So, okay, we turn to make our way here, when BAM! We hear all of this stuff going on in Buffy's house. Glory's thugs were ripping it apart, throwing stuff out the windows and into the snow. No doubt they were *looking* for *something*" Xander explains, hinting sarcastically at the something they were looking for by turning his large brown eyes to Dawn. Dawn gasps and cowers behind Buffy, who glances back at her with the briefest twinge of sympathy, before turning back to the trio to grill them for information.

"Did you kill them?" she asks with a hard tone.

"Um, no, Buff, sorry." Xander apologizes, eyes darting at the other members of the Scooby Gang. Buffy shakes her head with disappointment and walks away from the group, muttering.

"Well, then I guess we'll stay here for a while. Spike, is that alright with you?" Giles turns to the vampire. Spike nods slowly,

"Yeh, but why not the Magic Box?"

"I, for one, don't really feel like trekking through the freezing piles of snow anymore. Spike's place is as good as any." Anya speaks up, moving towards some unlit candles with the clearly seen intention to light them, "We just have to get it warmer in here so I don't get frostbite and my feet have to be sawed off."

Xander laughs, heartily agreeing, and then follows her journey with the lighter around the crypt, joking with her about frostbite and missing limbs. Dawn hops back up onto the sarcophagus with Spike's creamy comforter from his Harmony Days, while Giles rounds up the rest to continue research and preparation plans. The narrow body of Spike stays covered in the candlelight shadows, half listening to the discussion, half watching the Bit, and half wondering where Buffy trotted off to.

"Okay, so, 'The Slayer' is all tough and cruel to shield 'The Human' from the emotional turmoil this apocalypse will create?" Willow sums up, her voice lilting to a question directed to Giles. Giles nods,

"Yes, see, it makes perfect sense. Dawn is in danger. You all are in danger. Her mother is gone. Riley has just left town. She is struggling with love and her commitment to her friends, as well as her place as the Slayer. So, when I took her to have her questions answered, The First Slayer, who is her guide, cleansed her of her humanity, thus creating the most powerful Slayer of all, the one who was prophesied."

"The Last." Tara says simply, a touch of awe in her voice, "But that still doesn't explain this Ring of Fire stuff you translated. Or the horses, or clouds, or "The One who holds her humanity", Giles. Whats that all about?"

"Apparently the fight will take place within a ring of fire, my guess is to melt the snow that has covered the ground. I don't believe its going to happen over the Hellmouth, however, which leaves us to try to discover its location. I am hoping Buffy knows."

"And the horses?" Angel asks, sitting heavily on the side of the shakey table.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Buffy said she had a prophecy dream with horses, and the only reference to them in here is "Horses will trample". I believe there will be physical horses there, perhaps a calvary from Hell." Giles says dryly, sitting on the arm of Spike's beloved chair. Willow collapses into the seat.

"And the clouds?" she asks within a sigh.

"Bloody look outside." Spike mumbles from his dark corner. Willow shoots him a look, to which he shrugs his shoulders and glares back at her, his blue eyes sparkling coldly.

"Well, yes, the weather is my presumption as well." Giles states, oblivious to the sparks of annoyance shooting back and forth between Willow and Spike. Tara and Angel both clear their throats simultatneously to break the immature tension.

"And what about the One who holds her humanity, and the Betrayer?" Angel asks, his finger tracing along the notepad where Giles scribbled down the English translation of the Sumerian text. Giles re-reads his notes and then glances to Spike.

"Uh, I believe they are the same. "The One who holds her humanity" and the One who betrays the forces of Hell. But that issue I need to discuss with the Slayer. I have to find out what also occured in her dream last night before speculating anymore. Spike, come with me to speak to her, please." he says, taking his legal pad from underneath Angel's searching finger, and moving towards the hole in the floor. Spike's eyes light up with surprise for just an instant before fading back to boredom and annoyance. He follows the Watcher quietly, leaving the others to the confusion in the glances they give each other.

---

Their shadows float along the icey walls as they move down the ladder to the frozen cave below. Buffy dances with a sword in hand in the light of two lone pillar candles. Spike wants with all of his being to stop Giles from talking, to tell him to go away so that Spike can sit and admire the glorious girl. But Giles has a mission, and as Spike reasons it, he figures that the fate of the world is probably more important than watching the Slayer practice her elegant fighting techniques. Damn.

She knows they are approaching her, Spike hears her heartbeat pick up, and he can almost smell the anticipation humming in her system. She abruptly turns around, the flashing tip of the sword suddenly at Giles' throat. He gasps.

"Uh, excellent...move...dear." he stutters beneath the sharp metal. Buffy cocks her head lightly to the side, a feral and amused smile on her face. She pushes the sword just a little closer.

Spike watches with interest, and then puts his hand on the blade, and runs it down, moving closer to her as his hand slides gently to the hilt.

"Now, Slayer, s'not good to brutally murder your Watcher when he has important things to tell you." he says lightly, but his eyes are grave and serious. His hand comes to a stop on hers that clutch the handle. She looks down at the touch, and then rips herself away with frusteration, throwing the weapon into a dark corner with a silence-shattering clatter.

"Ruin my fun. Now what do you have to tell me?" she growls, planting her hands on her slender hips in irritation.

"He wants to discuss what happened before." Spike says in nearly a whisper. Buffy suddenly drops the bitchy attitude and looks down at the dirt floor, hands beginning to wring in shame.

"Okay." is all she says. Giles swallows and then moves to the nearest candle to peer at his notes.

"Alright, now after reading through these books several times, I am sure that it is Spike who is destined to be apart of this great battle. It wasn't exactly prophesied, but there are mentions that The Last will find a partner of some sort, and he will be just like her."

"Thats what Buffy told me." the Slayer says quietly, "She said that he is two beings in one, just like us, and that he is both, " her voice drops to the slightest whisper, "beauty and the beast."

"Exactly. I also believe that Spike is "the One" that the text speaks of."

Spike's dark eyebrows drop low on his eyes in confusion, "What? How's that?"

"You are the one who has betrayed the forces of Hell. You are a demon, yet you fight for good."

"But the humanity part..." Spike asks.

"Buffy talked about that, too." comes the breathy whisper of the unsure Slayer.

"Care to elaborate?" Giles asks cautiously. Buffy shakes her head. Spike's blue eyes fill with awe.

"I-I hold your humanity?" he whispers, then shakes his head, choking back the emotion of the moment to turn to Giles, "That doesn't explain what happened before. The... violent...encounter."

"Um, yes," Giles cleans his glasses, "well, I have another question, how come you didn't know what Buffy had said about you in the dream? I thought you were there."

"Don't avoid my question, Watcher. I wasn't apart of the dream until Buffy addressed me personally. Asked me a question, she did, and I was called to answer it, I s'pose. Now, answer MY sodding question: why did we do what we did?"

"The demon was recognizing the Slayer... Its the duality of your natures... It's an ancient relationship. Didn't something happen like that in your dream?"

"Sort of. But it wasn't as violent. She had a mask on, and I started going insane with the need to fight her. 'Guess thats what happened here. Only it was different." Spike's voice slowly disintegrates into a whisper of shame. Buffy glances up at him quickly before looking back at one of the flickering candles in sad contemplation.

"But I'm just the Slayer. There is no duality here. I am the Last. No humanity." she says simply. Giles looks at her quietly, before gathering his notes and putting his glasses back on their superior perch on his nose.

"Well," he begins gently, "that is something you are going to have to discuss with the holder of your humanity."

Giles reaches for the ladder, "I'll leave you two alone to talk about that."

And he disappears silently into the glowing room above, closing the trap door with a muffled finality. Buffy's eyes find Spike's.

And silence reigns.

TBC

Chapter 14:

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They barely let themselves look at the other.

Spike's glacial blue peer at her form for a moment, before falling to stare at the frosty dirt of the floor

Buffy's huge round hazel eyes flit to his shape, and then drop to a golden flickering candle sitting on a wobbly table.

"We need to talk." his rough accent pierces the uncomfortable silence.

"I know." she whispers back, fingers gingerly touching the skin of her neck where he bit her earlier that wintery morning, "But I do not wish to, Vampire."

His outburst is quick, and causes her to jump up with astonishment.

"Damnit, Slayer!!" he pounds a tight fist down onto the table, causing the candle to shake violently, wax splattering everywhere, "Don't do this. Not now. Not after what we did. There is a prophecy that linkes you to me, and you will not just act like the bitch you are just because you are the bloody all-powerful LAST. You will talk to me. We will discuss this, understand, pet?"

Her eyes flash with anger.

"You have no fucking right to demand ANYTHING of me!" she clenches her fists at her sides, looking as if she is just barely refraining from letting her punches fly. His face glows with just as much furious glee, and he steps up toe-to-to with her tiny quivering body, peering down into her upturned face with a threatening dare.

"Oh yeah? Why not?"

"B-because you have degraded me...you are living on borrowed time! I should stake you!!" she sputters, his nearness having an effect on her angry argument.

"How did I degrade you? By fucking you? You started that, ducks." he reminds her, steel in his voice, ice in his eyes.

"Of course not by fucking me," she says, tossing her head slightly, sending the beautiful waves of golden hair flying behind her shoulder, "You degraded me by biting me. A Slayer is not meant to be tasted."

"You *wanted* me to bite you." he says softly, his true statement melting into the cracks of her inhumanity. Her head drops to stare at his boots, a barely perceptible nod of affirmation. His one hand raises carefully to her chin, urging her to look up at him again.

"Buffy." he whispers. Her eyes darken with disagreement. She's not Buffy. He nods at her, "Buffy," he says again. She opens her mouth to argue back. I'm not Buffy. He shakes his head, "You *are* Buffy."

"H-how did you know thats what I was going to say?"

"Because I know you. I know the human, and I know the Slayer. Buffy may have been cleansed from your mind, but you are still her. In your heart. And you are my heart, love. " he takes a chance and rests his forehead against hers, leaning into her body.

"Stop it." she sighs, eyes fluttering shut, fists opening into tiny searching fingers that slowly move to his biceps to hold him to her.

"Stop what?"

"Being like this. Making me feel like this. I am the Slayer-"

"And sooner or later that excuse gets old, Buffy." he sighs, savoring the feel of her warm hands holding his muscles so timidly, and her lightly sweat-covered forehead pressed against his.

"I-I need t-to get back to training." She starts to pull away. His arms band quickly around her slender waist and pull her back, flush against his chest. She gasps.

"Why are you avoiding this?"

"Because Slayers and Vampires aren't supposed to be this...tender." she can barely say the gentle word.

"The demon and the Slayer fucked upstairs. Now *I* want to make love to the girl."

The tears begin their descent down her delicate cheeks, much to her proud dismay.

"The girl doesn't exist Spike! I was cleansed remember?" she can't keep back the sobs, the wrack through her chest with aching shudders and gasping breath. His hands enfold her face, and he looks down into her huge tear-filled eyes.

"Nonsense."

And his lips cover hers.

Its the same as the candlelit kiss from the night before- gentle, searching, watery, and full. He sucks her tongue ever-so-carefully before urging it to dance with his.

Then heat takes over, and the kiss becomes desperate. She moans as she feels his hands skim up her back, fingers playing over the ridge of her spine like a keyboard. Her hands clasp around his neck, delving into the short soft hair of the nape of his neck. Slowly he lowers her body, heavy with desire and arousal, to the floor.

They roll, intertwined passionatly, clothes being shed at each interval of sensual rotation. Skin glistens in the light of the lone candle, alabaster white with golden silk. She pants and mewls, letting him make love to her with his cool mouth, his tongue sliding and prodding her heated expanse of skin, and innermost heat.

"Spike, Spike, Spike..." she begins her whispered litany as his lips close over the bite mark he gave her, and his hips begin to push himself into her body. Her strong legs wrap around his narrow waist, delighting in the feel of his strong hardness.

"Buffy, Slayer, I love you. I love you so...bloody...much." he says into her ear, as he thrusts, then begins to suck lightly on her earlobe.

"Too much, oh god, this is too much..." she begins to sob as feelings of ecstasy begin to wash through her, pink and rosey like waves on the beach in the dawn. Her hearbeat is frantically pulsing through her body, causing her to feel dizzy and desperate.

One more feverish, full, loving thrust, and they both slip into the void of pleasurable nothingness. Reality falls away into the oblivion of pure emotion. Stars explode and fade into darkness. Her Slayer is stripped away, leaving nothing but a girl who cries with the intensity of it all, her sobs mingling with moans of the man above her.

Their bodies are in complete contact, and they stay still, him pressed against her, inside her, under her skin, loving her to an immeasurable degree. And she falls asleep in contentment, crystal tears still making shimmering tracks on her sweat-kissed face, her lover gently kissing his mark of love on her neck.

TBC

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Chapter 15:

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"There's no way Spike could be 'The One', Giles. We're talking about Spike here. Creepy, blood-sucking Spike who stalks Buffy." Xander argues, hand waving madly through the air to punctuate his point.

"I don't know, Xand. It sounds pretty plausible." Tara says in her sweet melodious voice, snuggling closer to Dawn on the sarcophagus.

"What about Angel? He betrays his kind, and he has a soul so that could be the humanity thing." Willow asks, her eyes searching Angel's dark form in the corner. He has been silent since Giles filled the rest of the gang in on Spike's involvement in the prophecy.

"I originally thought it might be Angel, until I noticed the closeness of Buffy in her, er, new form and Spike. And now that I know that they were both in the her dream together, I have no doubt that Spike is 'The One'."

"Which explains why they've been down there training together for the past three hours." Dawn wryly mumbles, laying her head on Spike's pillow and nestling her nose into its softness.

"They aren't training." Angel says flatly, hurt obvious in his voice. Dawn's one visable eye opens and looks over at him,

"Duh. You have to use your vampire senses to figure that out?" her voice is muffled by the pillow. Angel's usually soft brown eyes spark and snap with anger.

"Don't push me, girl, I'm not in the mood." he growls, stepping out of the shadows and towards her. Tara jumps off of the stone slab, putting one long, delicate hand in the air to stop Angel's advance.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down!" Willow bites out, sliding next to her girlfriend to glare at Angel. Dawn is not to be undone however, and she leaps off of the sarcophagus.

"Yeah, and what are you going to do, Peaches? Bite me? Geez, act like the 200 or whatever old you are, and get over your jealousy because really, its not that attractive." she snaps at him, planting her hands on her tiny hips and standing with them at a jaunty feminine angle. Angel pushes Willow and Tara aside, his demon rippling forward.

"Maybe I will bite you. It'd save the world a lot of grief if your dead. No key, no problems."

Giles and Xander move forward at this statement, their voices raised in rebuke and outrage.

"How DARE you say that to her!?" Giles exclaimes, pulling off his glasses and pointing them at Angel.

"She needs to get over this school-girl crush she has on Spike. He is a killer, a souless monster! Defending him is not an option!" Angel roars, starting to pace in the shadowy side of the room.

"You are the jerk who is his GrandSire. Lotta love I see, Grandpa! And for your information, I don't have a crush on him anymore. He is like my big brother. He LOVES my sister. He LOVES me. So shut your fangs, and let him and Buffy be happy." Dawn says, tossing her head so her shimmering sheet of chestnut hair flies behind her shoulder.

"Thats NOT BUFFY down there, Dawn! Its a purified Slayer! And don't be fooled, Spike is not capable of love."

"I beg to differ, Angelus." Spike's cool, ripped accent floods into the room. All turn to look as his ascent into the upperlevel, his black form sans the usual duster, violent blonde hair in disarray. He stands proudly, waves of content, passion, and disagreement with Angel's opinions surging from his stance.

"Where's Buffy?" Dawn asks him quietly, even while his icey eyes are trained on his grandsire.

"Wrapped in my coat and sleeping like a baby down there on the floor. Don't disturb her, Bit." he says reassuringly, still glaring at Angel. Dawn nods, and smiles slightly when he puts a comforting and calming hand on the small of her long back, urging her back to the sacophagus, and to stand down from the impossible squable with Angel. He strides forward then, and grabs Angel by his nancy-boy coat collar and pulls him down so they are face to vampire face.

"You, me, next crypt over. We need to have a little chat."

"Don't order me around, William."

"You wanna fight it out, mate? Lets go. To the death." he invites, spreading his arms out in a "come on, hit me!" gesture.

Angel is silent.

"Tha's what I thought. Now, lets act mature for once in our unlives and talk this out. Let's go." Spike mumbles and jabs a finger towards the door, then turns the opposite direction to speak to Dawn.

"She'll be up soon," he starts, his left hand rising on its own affectionate accord and gently smoothing her hair, "And I don't know if she'll be pissed, or tired, or happy, or confused. Jus' send her over to the other crypt, okay? Don't let the other's ask her questions, understand pet?" he whispers to her.

She nods against his pillow. He gives her a faint smile, one that just curves his upperlip and makes his lower lip look scrumptious. He drops that lowerlip to brush it against her temple, and then fades to the door, and him and Angel disappear into the growing darkness of the empty cemetery.

--- --- ---

She awakes feeling sticky, sweet, and unfathomably loved. Her hear is fanned out along the frosty dirt, and her body is nestled comfortably in a black leather coat that is definitly her lover's by its smell and look. For one moment, the Slayer is more content than she has ever been. Then it hits her.

He made love to her. It wasn't rough. It wasn't angry. It wasn't even lustful.

It was gentle, warm, copious with emotion.

Buffy wasn't here. The humanity was dead. And yet, she had felt something...

That was impossible, right?

Wrong.

Every thought clouds into her, causing her to shake in the soft leather creases from the timid and unsure thoughts she is having. Confusion has invaded her mind.

She stood quickly and pulled on her dusty clothing, putting the long coat back over her shoulders, taking a full deep breath of its scent before scrambling up the ladder.

The Scoobies are still scattered. Everyone in their own corner of the crypt, doing their own thing, most with noses buried in prophesy books or fighting technique books, or sharpening blades to use for the great Ring of Fire battle. Dawn sits up, beckoning Buffy over with an expression of mature happiness.

"Spike is in the next crypt over, arguing with Angel about all this crap. He told me to tell you." she said, an encouraging smile flitting across her lips. The Slayer is strangely filled with the strength that that smile was trying to communicate, and she nods slightly before following the tingling sense that tells her where the two vampires now stand in anger.

TBC

Chapter 16:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Why must it always come down to complications of contrast? Is it because humans are just created that way? or are all things created that way? Contrast is forever. Contrast is life. Contrast is apparently unlife, too.

They are opposite in every way. One stands tall and large, his darkness looming in the dim of the crypt. The other is shorter, tight and pale in the foggy glow of the window.

It may be merely physical apparence, but the outter shell usually reflects some of the inner fire.

And that fire is burning hot and angry between them now.

--- --- ---

She opens the door with caution, its ancient moan echoing into the stone emptiness like a shriek of pain. The two vampires stand facing each other, both glaring daggers at the other. Words have been spoke, but empty words, with no resolution or explanation that will dampen the furious understandings. She moves towards them, stopping several silent feet away from both, their standings creating a triangle quivering with emotion.

"Hey pet. Everything okay?" Spike asks gently, eyes still trained on Angel, while his left hand reaches for her. She walks just to where he can touch her shoulder, but no further.

"Yes. The girl...Dawn...told me that you were in here. I came to make sure you did not kill one another." she explains dully, eyes sliding back and forth between the two vampires.

"Since when did you care about our deaths, SLAYER?" Angel grounds out at her, mocking the word of her being. Her eyes flash in defense.

"Since I had to face 25 hell-beasts and a god hell-bent on getting a young girl, and I need all the forces I can get, VAMPIRE."

"What the hell is wrong with you, Angelus? Stirring up trouble with the Slayer, and apparently saying some nasty buggerin' things to the Bit...'ave you lost your bloody mind or something?" Spike asks in furious disbelief. Angel's vampire face ripples forward again so he can growl menacingly, and then smooths back to his cherubic human mask.

"I'm just..on edge. This whole thing is baffling me. Giles explained to me why you were here, Spike. And now Buffy isn't all right. And this apocalypse...both of you act like you are handling it well, but I KNOW it terrifies you," he says, studying them both seriously, "A warrior can always recognize and feel fear in another warrior. And its coming from you at tidal wave force."

"I. am not. afraid." Buffy says through clenched teeth. Angel takes a tentative step towards her.

"Yes. You are. We all are. There is snow on the ground, and this is Southern California. You have no recollection of your human life. You have prophesied beings ready to fight you, and Glory looking for your sister. And you just had sex with Spike. There has gotta be something wrong. And that's damn scary."

"Stop bringing up the sex, right, mate! It has nothing to do with you. Can't we just bloody well leave it at that?" Spike lashes out, throwing his hands up in anger, and moving to a dark corner of the cold dusty masoleum. Angel drops his head in the slightest hint of shame in his obvious jealousy. Spike sees this action out of the corner of his eye, and sighs before mving back to Angel's side and putting his hand shyly on his Grandsire's broad shoulder.

"I know its...hard. I'm sorry. But we can't afford to argue about it any more. We got'ta prepare for this end of the world, or what not, and it takes too much energy to fight between ourselves. Know this: I love her. As much, if not more, than you do. And a part of her will always....love...you. But I need to try to see if she'll ever love me. Even a smidge, and I'll be a content wanker for the rest of my unlife. Can we please let it rest, now, my Sire?" Spike nearly whispers respectively, in a low-toned voice that makes everything seem like ice and wind.

A surge of the ancient link of related vampires connects them for one moment. And then all is forgiven. Angel turns his serious brown eyes to his Grand-Childe's, and then nods in agreement before wrapping an arm playfully around his narrow muscular shoulders.

"We still need to talk some of this out eventually, but I'd say we got an "end of the world, or what not" to get ready for before then, eh Spike?" he says in a musical lilt, moving towards the door and dragging the smaller man with him. Spike yelps in surprise, grabbing on to a confused and silent Buffy and pulling her with them and the head back towards the New Scooby Central, throwing snowballs on the way.

--- --- ---

"Whoa! Um, did I miss something? What happened? Spike and Angel were ready to murder each other 20 minutes ago, and now they are laughing like best friends?" Willow asks with big astonished eyes. Buffy shrugs, her face showing that she is just as confused as everyone else.

"Sire, Childe thing. Don't need to concern yourselves." Spike states, waving an unconcerned hand through the air in a wishy-washy motion. Willow's one eyebrow arches high above her sparkling green orbs.

"Alrighty, then, Spike, Whatever you say." she sighs.

"Damn straight." he agrees with a silly expression. Buffy finds the corners of her mouth quirking in an amused smile, and she instantly turns away, trying to reign in her happiness. Slayers aren't supposed to be happy. No emotion. No emotion. Emotions are weakness. Feelings cripple.

"Did you help them work it out?" a soft feminine voice accompanied by a slender hand on her arm interrupts her self examining. She turns to face the wide blue eyes of Dawn, her...sister.

"Not really." she shrugs again. Dawn smiles.

"But I'm sure you just being there helped them out. They'd both do anything for you. Hence the reason they are here helping you prepare for this big fight thing." she says, sitting gingerly down on the floor in the milky glare of the tiny window, the silky comforter still wrapped around her shoulders. She pats the floor next to her, looking up at Buffy with invitation. Buffy folds her legs and stoops carefully next to Dawn, both staring up into the twilight clouds just barely visable through the fog of the windowpanes.

"Are you nervous?" the girl asks, breaking the silence. Buffy sighs, looking down at the toes of her black boots, still wet from melted snow.

"A little. Are you?"

"Yes. A lot. Giles says I should stay here while you all go fight, but then no one will be around to protect me. But if I go, then Glory could use me how she wishes to use me, and that could be bad too. No one knows what to do. So yeah...I'm nervous. I'm terrified." Dawn says, voice cracking, and one lone tear rolling over her high cheekbone. Buffy feels a strange unpleasant tingling at the site of this girl crying. Unbidden her hand comes out and pushes a beautiful lock of brunette hair behind Dawn's shoulder, smoothing it to a place behind her ear. Dawn looks up at her with awed but cautious delight.

"I won't let anything happen to you." The Slayer states firmly. Dawn nods.

"I know." she whispers, lips curving in a thankful but nervous grin.

"Buffy, Slayer, where did your dream take place?" Giles' approaching voice interrupts. Buffy stands quickly.

"On a mausoleum roof and in the desert."

"The desert! Aha!" Giles says excitedly, racing back to his books before he even reaches Buffy. She follows curiously with concern.

"What, why?"

"You will be fighting in the sacred place in the desert. The very place where I took you to meet with your spirit guide, who cleansed you. This is excellent!" Giles picks up a tattered book and peruses it quickly. Spike leans against the table, lighting a cigarette while he muses aloud,

"Okay, so we know location. We know ring of fire. We know horses. We know 25 beasties. We know Glory and her men...now all we gotta know is-"

"-how to kill them all." The Slayer finishes, eyes looking at each person seriously and deadly. Its time to kick ass, because that's what she's made for.

tbc...

Chapter 17:

Swords clang at regular intervals all through the night, as Buffy practices with Spike and Angel, and the three train the other humans with the basics. Now they sleep, bodies curled around each other to trade warmth. Buffy watches them with blank eyes, taking a large sigh as she reaches for a long sharp blade and leaps into the hole to the basement, her Vampiric Shadow following behind.

"You are swinging it too wide." his voice breaks through her thoughts as she cuts strongly through the air with brave arcs. She stops the motion mid-air, blade glinting in the light of the torches set up to brighten the bare space.

"What?"

"You are swinging your sword too wide, Love, they are going to be able to hit you in the weak spot since your blade is too far from your body to protect you. Pull your arm in." he explains, moving towards her with a sword of his own.

"But then I lose 30 percent of my strength." she counters, experimenting with his advice.

"Nah, you gain. 'ave to coil up, see? Use the strength in your torso, rather than your arms." he demonstrates, lunging towards her. She fends him off with a sharp metal clang that rings through the night air. He swings towards her again. With a singing slide of metal, she defends herself again.

"You're good."

"I should be. I'm the most powerful Slayer ever, after all."

"Most powerful Slayer my ass. Those 25 nasties are going to have a field day eating you."

She stops and stares at him, astonishment with the slightest hint of hurt.

"Buffy, I am joking." he smiles, thrusting the sword into her again. She brings hers down, making his aim for the dirt and get lodged securly, "Can't you take a joke?"

The action has brought him very close to her fire-lit face, glowing, burning, shining. So beautiful. Her eyes are deadly though.

"It wasn't a funny joke." she says seriously. And then breaks out into a blinding smile. He lets out a bark of laughter and pulls his sword from the dirt, attacking her again with vengeance.

And the Slayer and Vampire continue the dance that was previously interrupted.

--- --- ---

The sun falls on the Fifth day, and the Slayer and her forces move in a caravan of two cars towards the desert, the tires digging through the snow and sand mixture.

The ring of fire has already been lit. It burns brightly, melting the snow and causing it to soak into the sand, making a hard flat circle battlefield. Figures in brown robes stand along the face of a rocky hill which hangs dramatically over the sacred spot, their blond leader on the pinnacle, suveying the chaos with glee, eager to get home. Beasts move between the flames, their furious and hungry roars mingling with the sound of hoofbeats in the distance.

They are all waiting for the Slayer and the Key, or more specifically, their blood.

"Its a holiday." Spike muses from his place in the back seat, staring at the scene in front of him, his chin resting on the shoulder of Buffy's shotgun seat. She glances back at him.

"You ready?" she asks, her voice quivering just slightly.

"As I'll ever be. You?"

"I'm always ready." she states firmly, turning back to stare at the ring of fire. Spike turns and looks to the girl sitting beside him,

"What about you, Bit?" he asks softly. She turns watery blue eyes to him and blinks bravely.

"I'll be fine. I trust you guys."

"Good girl." he affectionatly commends, patting her knee and turning his gaze to the Slayer sitting stifly in front of him.

"Watcher, when we get to the Ring of Fire, we are all going to get out. I need you to stay behind us with the Ke- Dawn- and just keep an eye out. Everyone needs to enter the Ring with us, in case it closes up and then we aren't able to return to protect her. Got it?" Buffy commands sternly, voice hard and unforgiving, except with the gentle correction of Dawn's name. Giles nods, and accelerates, spinning snow up under the tires. The car with the others behind them also speeds up, the two racing aggressivly into the semi-circle of fire. The moment both sets of wheels of both vehicles hit the exposed sand, the fire roars closed behind them, completing the circle of firey doom.

Every Scooby is prepared however, and they lunge from the cars, weapons flashing in hands. Willow climbs to the roof of one car, while Tara pulls Dawn up with them, their eyes suddenly swirling with magicks of green and black and a heavenly blue. Giles stands next to them, sword and staff ready, as well as a mind full of magick he has never unleashed before now.

"Angel, come with Spike and me. Xander and Anya, stay with Giles. Protect Dawn at ALL COSTS, but kill if you are able." Buffy shouts tensly, striding towards the chanting and disfigured monk beings that have begun to emerge from the flames. Angel and Spike flank her advancing form, both of their bodies quivering with violent anticipation.

The battle begins, amist the chants from the brown-swathed monks, the cries of 25 beasts in the fire, the cackles and shrieks of a god, and the ever present sound of hoofbeats in the distance. One by one, the heads of the Glory's minions fall. The brown blob of them is thinning. Buffy, Spike, and Angel are flushed and thrilled with the fight, even though lopping off heads with only weak defenses is not as exciting as the beasts that will-

-And they are released. Twenty Five massive creatures move from their place in the flames, each different than the other, but all deadly as they lumber and pounce over the monks, squashing and demolishing the silly little creatures in their way.

"They don't want the Key!!" Buffy screams behind her shoulder as her and her vampire warriors back up with the advance, eyes darting about looking for weakness and ways to attack, "They just want to destroy. Take Dawn and GET OUT OF HERE BEFORE-"

A panther-like monster with teeth as long as Buffy's arm leaps over the three courageous fighter and lands in front of Anya and Xander, swiping at them violently with its clawed paw. The two humans crumple and tear like leaves in a bonfire under the strike, their bodies sliding across the sand. Buffy glances at them before jumping into the fray, Spike at her heels. Angel glances back with concern.

"Anya! Xander! Giles, get them out of here!" He shouts before a hideous horned demon descends upon him.

"Angel! JUST FIGHT, GODDAMN IT! Don't worry about them anymore!" Buffy roars at the hesitating vampire. Spike glances at her with surprise before continuing to fend off two ugly slimy things attempting to suck his head off.

The fight progresses on, sweat burning in the fire's heat, muscles throbbing with pain as they incessently swing their axes and thrust their swords. Buffy's shirt has been sliced open, and her pants are threadbare around the knees from the action. Angel no longer has a pinky on his left hand, blood dried from its path down his arm and off his elbow. He staunched the flow by sucking on the wound, recycling the blood and using it as more strength. Spike has barely been injured, but for green slime splattered across his shirt and hair, burning miniscule holes in the fabric and making the hair smoke slightly.

Buffy was vaguely aware of the other people getting into a car and huddling inside of it, unable to leave because of the 10 foot deep wall of flame. She has a feeling that the boy and his lover have died, considering the wracking shoulders of the figures inside. But she cares not. The fight is still on, and 13 more beasts need to be vanquished.

Suddenly the sound of horses hooves thunders around the fire, and the shadowy shapes of the magnificant animals can be glimpsed through the orange and red flames, their terrifying shrieks and whinney's chilling the three fighters to the bone.

" 'Horses will trample.'" Buffy repeats in a whisper to herself, as she pulls another blade from its secret place under her clothing and prepares to destroy the horses as well.

"They won't go for us, Slayer! Horses don't like stepping on live bodies. They'll go for the cars!" Spike shouts, wiping sweat from his forehead wildly before another monster lunges for him.

"We must protect the car!" Angel yells, running towards the vehicle which holds everyone else and pounding the glass window to get their attention, "Willow, try to cast some reinforcement spell so they can't crush the metal!"

Buffy glances at him and slowly backs up near the car, Spike on the other side doing the same. They keep fighting, even as the horses with manes and tails of flames come streaming into the circle that is littered with corpses and body parts.

The torrent breeze blows sparks against Angel, causing him to ignite with a scream of agony. He drops to the damp sand and rolls, extinguishing the flames, but his skin smoldering and flaking in complete destruction. Willow opens a door and quickly pulls his stiff and smoking body into the car to administer to his wounds, while Tara's lips keep moving in a Reinforcement Spell, keeping the car shielded from the herd of firey horses.

"Angel's down!" Spike informs Buffy from across the circle, each involved in their own duels.

"Okay!" Buffy shouts back, continuing her slaughter.

Four more beasts to go, although the ring still thunders with the stampede of horses circling and swirling around its length, occasionally pounding over the cars, the one with the people stands strong, while the other is completely destroyed.

3 more..

2..

1.

And his scream of pain shatters Buffy's proud violent thrill. She whips around from the dying monster infront of her to see Spike, kneeling in the blood saturated sand, 3 gigantic tusks buried in his chest. The tusked-demon lets out a satisfied sigh, before Buffy is suddenly upon it, kicking it from its place in the vampire's organs, and tearing off its head with her bare hands.

All seems like its in a whisper. The white-noise roar of the fire and hooves, and the unneeded but pain-filled breaths of Spike has he slumps to the ground. Buffy drops to his side, pulling his head into her lap, and examining the wounds.

"This can't kill you. Its okay, Vampire. Stand up. We are finished." she says sternly. But her strength is betrayed by the squeaky sound of tears in her throat as they begin to fill her devestated eyes.

"T-teracki Tree De-demon, S-slayer. Tusks of w-w-wood. Missed my heart, but c-close enough to be f-f-atal. An' I'm lo-oosing a lot o-of blood." Spike gasps, blood leaking from the corners of his lips. He chokes for a moment, and then turns his head, coughing up blood all over Buffy's scratched knees.

"But...losing blood..that can't kill you...." she argues weakly, her one hand cradling his head, while the other tries to stop the blood flow uselessly.

"Y-yeah it can, L-love." Spike smiles weakly, raising his quivering hand to her face, "'s okay. Always knew I-I-I'd go down fightin'."

"NO, damnit! You are not dying, you dead thing!" she shouts, sobs interrupting her anger as she shakes her head with denial, "Get a grip, and act like the warrior I thought you were!"

His eyes turn soft, as if he is prepared to go to Heaven and that everything will be warm and comforting. Buffy smacks his razor-sharp cheek.

"NO SPIKE. STOP! You aren't dying!!"

He coughs again, blood gurgling in his throat as his eyes flutter shut. A heart-wrenching and breathless cry of pain comes from Buffy's mouth as she cups his face with her shivering hands.

"Spike, no no no, damnit, I need you. I NEED YOU. Don't leave. You can't leave...Don't you fuckin' get it? I. NEED. YOU. to be here with me. I can't be....without you."

Then the vision from her dream hits her with the force of a waterfall. A rush of light that seems familiar, and then a vision surrounded by a fringe of surreal clouds:

*It was a horse. A great majestic horse with rippling flanks and powerful legs, running along the metal grating of a tower walk-way towards the edge. It leapt off gracefully, bright blue sparks and lightening flashing around it, then it began to transform into Buffy in a swan-dive, glowing with ethereal light.*

"Sacrifice." Buffy whispers, shaking off the clouds of the vision with understanding. She quickly tears off her shirt, as well as Spike's, and wraps them tightly around his gushing torso, succeeding in stopping the blood flow. Then she picks him up into a sitting position, placing his face at her sweating jungular.

"Spike, I know there is a little more life left in that goddamn demon of yours, now DRINK!" she whispers fiercily, cutting her skin desperatly with her fingernails. The scent of Slayer blood hits his fading demon with devestating force, and his smooth human face ripples into the demon who eagerly sinks his fangs into her sweet flesh.

Buffy feels life start to slip away as she stays there, wrapped in his powerful arms as he drinks heavy pulls from her blood. Her legs tighten around her waist as her arms hang limply on his shoulders. The last thing she feels is dark clouds over head, dropping their enormous flakes of snow onto the fire and flame horses, causing them to hiss...and diminish...

--- --- --- --- ---

TBC

Chapter 18:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere in the middle of the void of all things that are, will be, and have been, Buffy's existence had been chosen, cleansed, and put back into the physical world. Now the snow had fallen. Just like Dream-Buffy had said it might. And this time, the Slayer was purified in the realm of love's subconscious: her humanity was restored.

The world comes swimming back to Buffy. She is laying in her bed, the cool feminine fragrance welcoming her like a best friend. A moan escapes her dry lips as she moves slightly, every muscle in her body protesting. The bed creaks next to her. Someone is sitting at her side, weighing down the plush mattress.

"Slayer?" Willow's cautious voice warmly invades the silky mist of sleep. Buffy licks her chapped lips, and attempts to turn her head towards her best friend's voice, but is prevented by a large bandage wrapped around her slender neck.

"Will?" she croaks out, her eyes fluttering open briefly before squinting shut against the sunlight. Willow lets out a small sound of relief.

"Yeah, Buffy? Is it You-you?" she asks, smoothing Buffy's hair with a gentle hand.

"I think so. I'm Buffy Summers. And you're Willow Rosenberg, my best friend." Buffy sighs, attempting to open her eyes again. Willow's sweet face solidifies in the light and Buffy smiles at her.

"Oh Buffy! We've missed you. Do you remember anything?"

"Everything. Like I was watching it from above. The snow, the aggressiveness, the *bathtub chaining*," she says with a weary pointed look. Willow blushes slightly, "the battle. And- oh my god, Xander and Anya!!" she shouts, sitting up abruptly. Willow places her hand against Buffy's shoulder and urges her to lay back down.

"-Are fine. They got banged up pretty good, but they are back to normal. After all, they've had 2 whole weeks to get better..."

"I've been out for two weeks!?" Buffy gawks, leaning back into the pillows, "And I am still as sore as this?"

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, Angel is still nearly bed-ridden with sore muscles and injuries over in the master bedroom, even with his vampiric healing."

Buffy nods understandingly, her fingers going unbidden to the bandage around her neck. She plays the white fabric absently, her thoughts suddenly swirlling.

"He tore your neck up in a nasty way. It saved his life though." Willow says softly.

"He's okay?" Buffy asks in a whisper. Willow nods.

"You probably want to see him too."

"Oh god, yeah, I really do. Is that wierd?" Buffy asks quietly, hand covering the bandage adorning her neck as if it were precious. Willow shakes her head with a glimmer of a smile.

"Not at all. I saw that Buffy was starting to appreciate him. And then I saw the Slayer and him bond. He was even part of the prophecy. And now that you are back...and you saw what occured between the Slayer and Spike, I'm not surprised that you want to see him, and be with him." she explains, putting a hand on her friend's thigh and squeezing lightly. "Why don't you get dressed and come down and get something to eat, if you are feeling up to it. I'll go tell the others that you're back and better than ever."

Willow leaves the room, pulling the door shut behind her, as Buffy sits up in bed and swings her legs gingerly to the edge. Her knees bear scars of the damage, but had healed completely in the two weeks she was unconscious. She stands up carefully, stretching her muscles and moving her limbs experimentally, testing the pain levels. Slowly, she removes the hospital gown that covers her body, and snips off the hospital bracelet with finality.

She totters down the steps slowly, her faded sweat pants and sweatshirt mismatched but comfortable over her scraped skin. Dawn leaps out form the dining room doorway to greet her.

"Buffy!" she squeals, grabbing her sister in an enormous hug. Buffy smiles squeezes her lightly before releasing her.

"Hi Dawn. I missed you." she says lovingly, tucking a shimmering lock of brown hair behind Dawn's ear. Dawn's watery smile warms her heart, and she takes her hand, leading her into the living room where everyone else is.

Giles looks up at Buffy with love, gesturing to the sofa, urging her to sit. Buffy shakes her head.

"No. I need to stand for a little. Gotta get these muscles working again." she says tiredly. Giles nods with understanding. "So how long was I in the hospital?"

"Until yesterday. The doctors were amazed with your healing ablity, so they gave us instructions and let you come home. You were actually fading in and out of consciousness all night, so we were all expecting you to wake soon." Giles explains, stirring his tea thoughtfully.

"And everyone else is okay?"

"Xander and Anya are still recovering at home. Angel's upstairs, dead to the world, like I told you before. It took a couple of days for Tara and me to recover from the magick usage, but we're okay now. Spike's getting better at his Crypt. And Giles and Dawn were both unharmed." Willow fills her in, sitting on the couch and throwing a leg absently onto the coffeetable, "Oh, and the snow's gone! First it snowed again to put out the fire ring, then it suddenly melted all away."

Buffy turns her head and looks out the window into the beautiful balmy sun and sky of the usual California weather and sighs happily, "Mmm, yay. Hey, um, guys, I think I'm gonna go for a walk, okay? I need some fresh air."

Giles and Willow exchange an amused look, as a bright smile stretches across Dawn's face.

"Good. Spike has been around you all night, every night, waiting for you to wake up. He'll be glad to see you." Dawn says, eyes knowing and wise. Buffy's pale lips fall open in disbelief.

"Wha? No! I just want to be out in the warm sun, and cool breeze, and be with the birds and the bees...." she trails off seeing the expressions of her friends, "Yeah, okay, I want to see Spike."

"You don't have to try to cover it up. We knew you'd want to see him right away." Dawn grins

"Do you want me to drive you over there?" Giles offers, his face crinkling with kindness.

Buffy's eyes glow with quiet glee, "No, I want to walk. I'll see you all later then?"

All three heads bob with agreement.

--- --- --- ---

His crypt doesn't represent the cold, dank, deathly place that it usually does. The mausoleum doesn't seem so awful and creeping with night and finality. She approaches it with joy, for to her it stands for a cool caveran in the sun, housing someone of passion, love, and loyalty. The last time SHE was here was to see if he had betrayed her and Dawn to Glory. He hadn't. Then she found out why. And she kissed him.

Later she had seen him in the Slayer dream. It was really HER, the human, just like it was really him, not some figment of the Slayer's prophetic imagination. Now they had the double bond connection they needed. All this time, she thought it was the human who was rejecting Spike. But it was the Slayer who was pushing him away.

Then the Slayer embraced him. And now it was Buffy's turn. As both. As two. Beauty and the Beast. Light grows between cracks. Isn't that what she told the Slayer.

She pushes open the door gently, letting the sunlight rush into the stone crypt, warming the surfaces briefly before she nudges it shut behind her.

"Spike?" her voice like a sweet aroma in the dim light.

"Buffy." he gasps in disbelief, suddenly standing next to her. She turns quickly to face him, her body suddenly filled with a surging warmness that comes from seeing his familiar face and feeling his wonderful presence. It makes her weak with joy.

"Oh god, Spike." she breathes, unable to hold herself upright, and sinking against his hard chest, "It's me! Really me. All of me."

She murmers against his tee-shirt covered muscles, trying to bury her head in his chest, and sighing with relief when she feels his arms wrap around her.

"Oh Buffy, my love, how are you fairing?" he whispers with concern, putting his face into her hair and breathing deeply.

"I'm okay. Sore. And my neck hurts." she whispers back, pulling her head away to gaze up into his sky-blue eyes. He glances down at the floor with shame, his arms loosing their strength around her waist. "Hey none of that." she admonishes gently, "I wanted you to bite me. I told you to bite me. If you wouldn't have taken my blood, you wouldn't be here today. And I can't BEAR even that thought."

She wraps her arms around his neck aggressivly and holds him tighter when he doesn't look up. Then she begins to rain open-mouthed kisses along his razor-sharp jaw, "Spike...please. Its okay."

He sighs, and pulls her in tighter, dropping his lips to her bandanged neck and kissing it with reverence. Suddenly she pulls back again and stares seriously into his bottomless eyes.

"Spike. I love you." she says seriously, and simply, whispered like she is swearing on her life and death, "I can't say more than that, because I can't translate all of what I feel for you into words, but I do know its love. I love you utterly and completely. The Slayer and the Girl, loves both the Vampire and the Man. You are so beautiful." she gasps, leaning in and covering his astonished and overjoyed mouth with her own.

He kisses her back passionatly, sucking on her mouth with full and sure pulls. Tongues make love to each other, gliding and caressing the moist flesh of their mouths. Buffy's hands dive into his bright hair and hold his neck firmly. Spike's elegant hands hold her shoulderblade and the small of her tiny back, keeping her torso firmly against his own. Buffy breaks away to catch a breath through kiss-swollen lips. Spike's face nuzzles its way into her neck again.

"Buffy, I love you. I love you so damn much." he sighs, pulling away to look at her flushed and joyous face. Her gigantic smile ignites the glow, as well as his silent heart and he laughs happily, pulling her back in for another earth-shattering and LOVING kiss.

Beauty and the Beast. Beast and the Beauty.

Light grows in Love.

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Fin.
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