Chapter 4

When Spike finally stopped, Buffy found herself in a deep cavern with a high ceiling. The floor was made of stone, and Buffy noted the presence of varied torches adorning the walls, which Spike promptly lit. The place was really amazing.

"How did you find this place?" Buffy asked, looking around her.

"I followed some hikers here one night." At Buffy's disgusted look, he said loudly "What! ' 'Twas their own bleedin fault, stupid as they were to go hiking at night. Don't you bloody look at me like that, Slayer." He warned.

"Right. So for daring to hike at night, they deserved to be killed?" Buffy mocked.

"Well, yeah. Vampire here, luv. S'what I do."

"Don't remind me." She took a look around and realized that there were sleeping
bags on the ground. She gave Spike another nasty look.

"What?? S'not like they needed 'em anymore. I told you to stop looking at me like that." he threatened.

"Or what? Spit shake, remember?" she reminded him.

He growled, and threw down the bag he had grabbed from his car. "You're starting to piss me off, you know that?"

Her response was to throw a smirk his way, and he growled again. "I must have been off my bleedin' rocker to sign up for this."

"You're just figuring out that now? Boy, always knew you weren't the sharpest tack in the drawer." Buffy quipped back. She couldn't help it. Whenever she was around this vampire, he always brought out her most sarcastic edge.

"You know what, slayer? We've got the rest of tonight to still get through. Come dawn, we have Angelus and my girlfriend to face. This would go a LOT better if you'd step off of that bleedin' pedestal you've placed yourself on. Starte acting more like the oh-so-Chosen One instead of a whining little brat." Spike informed her, storming over to one of the sleeping bags, and throwing himself down on it. He was pissed, there was no doubt about it.

Good move, Buffy. Piss off an evil killer. She looked over at him, he was staring straight up at the ceiling, jaw clenched. Oh yeah, he looked pissed. He would take an occasional drag of his smoke that he just lit up, but that was it. Suddenly Buffy felt the need to apologize. For a reason she didn't want to explore, she didn't want Spike mad at her.

"Sorry," she muttered, not looking at him. She missed the smirk that came over his handsome features.

"What was that you said, slayer?" Spike goaded.

"I SAID I WAS SORRY, GODDAMMIT" she yelled, looking at him finally, and realizing he had a smirk on his face and that he had heard her the first time.

"No need to shout, pet. Sittin right here." he replied, getting up.

"You really are an ass, you know that?" she told him, shaking her head in amazement.

"And you really are a bitch, you know that?" he replied, with a grin. She smiled back, and suddenly felt better than she had in days.

He stood up and reached into the bag he brought, asking her, "You hungry? Got some stuff in here."

She looked at him in amazement. "You brought me food?"

He looked at her like she was daft. "Figured a hungry slayer would be a bitchy slayer. Wanted to increase my odds of walking out of here without being staked. Don't go reading anything into it." He told her. But she did, as he pulled out some of her favorite snack items.

"How did you know what I liked?" she asked him suspiciously.

"How do you think? I spied on you." he laughed at the look she threw him.
"Angelus. He would go on and on about you, what you liked, what you didn't like. Couldn't help but have some things hammered in my head after a while."

He saw Buffy's face go pale. Way to go,wanker. Remind her of the great Poof. He held out a bag of chips to her as a peace offering, and was surprised when she took them.

In a soft voice, she asked, "he talked about me?" Geez luv, don't wear your heart on your sleeve or any rot like that, Spike thought to himself. If he was a heartless bastard, he could have some fun with this little girl. Wait, he was a heartless bastard. Why DIDN'T he want to have fun with her?

"Yeah he did, luv. He was obsessed with you. You reminded his demon of the feelings of humanity, and that pissed it off." He told her.

Wait, what do you mean? I thought there was Angelus and his demon."

"In Angelus's case, he is his demon. His demon rules, no doubt about it. He was a right bastard when he was turned though, so Liam isn't much help. 'Twas a little shocked when the Judge proclaimed that there was no humanity in him. What with him previously being Mr. Soulful and all." Spike explained.

"What did the Judge say about you?" Buffy was sure she was going to get an answer when there was silence for a moment. Finally he admitted, "He told Dru and me that we reeked of humanity."

"So are you the exception, or is he?" Buffy asked him.

"Don't know what you mean, pet."

"Well, besides being annoying, you seem to be more man than demon. Is that the norm? For vampires?" she questioned, curious.

Spike slipped into game face to make a point, and slipped out just as quickly. "I'm a demon, luv. Make no mistake about that."

"Does the word DUH mean anything to you? I'm talking about the fact that I can think of no other vampire who would be holed up in a cave with the slayer, in attempt to save the world. And not be tempted to try to get some of that slayer blood that's supposed to be such a delicacy"

"Who says I'm not tempted, luv?" he said softly. A look of fear passed over her face. He gave an evil chuckle, "don't worry, we have a spit shake. You'd have to beg me."

"Yeah right!" Buffy replied, her eyes grown slightly big at what she thought Spike was implying.

He just continued to smirk at her. "So what is slayer blood like?" she asked.

"You're not too smart, you know that? It's not the best thing to go getting a hungry vamp to recall the fond memory of slayer's blood." Spike chastised.

When she continued to look at him, he sighed. "Ok fine. If you really want to know. To a vamp, it's like that one perfect thing, it's the embodiment of power. A slayers blood can make you all powerful for days, depending on how much you drink. You're stronger, your senses are sharper, everything about being a vamp is heightened. It's also an aphrodisiac." He could see the redness fill Buffy's cheeks. "You asked, luv And I'm tellin it."

Buffy nodded. " I know." A silence filled the cave. Buffy munched on her chips, lost in thought.

"So, what else did Angel say about me?" Buffy asked softly.

"Angelus, pet. Don't go mistakin' that wanker for Angel." Spike corrected her.

"You really don't like him, do you?"

Spike scowled. "Hell no. Comes waltzin in and as soon as he snaps his fingers, Dru jumps right into his bed." Buffy flinched. "It's the truth, luv. Besides, it's Angelus, not Angel, you've gotta get that straight in the pretty head of yours."

Did Spike just call her pretty? In a churlish voice, she said "I bet Dru doesn't disappoint him."

Spike just stared at her. "What rot are you spewing? You think you disappointed him?"

"Oh wait, don't' tell me. He talked about THAT too." Buffy spat.

"That he popped your cherry? Hell yeah he did. Wouldn't shut up about it." Buffy cringed at the bluntness of his words. She stared down at the stone floor, a look of sadness on her face." But darlin, if you think you disappointed him, you're off your nut. You gave the guy such a big happy, it made him lose his soul." He could tell by her face she was unconvinced. And why did he care? Hell if he knew. But it had chapped him when Angelus had crudely bragged over and over about their night together and the cruel words he had thrown at her the next day, and he didn't like seeing the sad look on her face now.

"Slayer, it ever occurr to you to perhaps ponder the fact that Angelus was trying to score some points for mental anguish?" At her look of surprise, he repeated her earlier words, "And you said that I wasn't the sharpest tack in the drawer." This girl was something else. Here she was, feared by all vampires, and she had the self esteem of a flea.

"Look at you. You're pathetic, you know that? You are playing right into his hands. Doubting yourself. Don't you think he knows that if he can get you doubt your sex appeal, that he can get you to doubt anything, and that he was won?" his words harsh in an attempt to penetrate her self pity.

He had hoped to goad her into anger, instead he goaded her into tears. Good job, Spike. Make the girl fall apart right before we have to take out her great love.

"Why the HELL are you crying?" he demanded.

"You wouldn't understand," she whispered, eyes cast downward.

"Don't give him tears, do you hear me? He doesn't deserve them. He's not worth it," Spike growled.

Her words were so soft, if it wasn't for his vampire sense of hearing he would have missed them. "He said I wasn't good."

Oh bloody hell. This was pathetic. She was letting him get her all twisted up inside. He strode over to her side and quickly captured her stunned lips with his own. She pulled back in surprise. "What are you doing?" she asked, eyes wide.

Hell if I know, he thought. Instead he told her, "Seeing if you're any good." Without giving her any time to think, to reply, he recaptured her lips, rejoicing in the warm feeling of her mouth against his. At first, there was no reaction, then slowly, she gave into the pressure of his mouth, allowing her arms to wrap themselves around his neck, and he pulled her close.

He coaxed her mouth open with his cool tongue, and when he was given access, allowed his tongue to explore the warm depths of her mouth. She hesitantly touched her tongue to his, and Spike groaned at the sensation. The bulge in his jeans was becoming uncomfortable, and he moved slightly to adjust himself. He grabbed at her hips, bringing her hard against his erection, and felt her give a small gasp. Grinding himself against her, he allowed his hand to caress it's way under her shirt, until he came to the lacy material of her bra. He pushed it up, and molded his hand over her breast, rubbing his finger lightly over her nipple.

Buffy moaned at the feeling of his cool hand on her breast. Oh god, what was she doing? This was bad. Spike was evil. He could even be trying to kill her. Rational thought was trying to penetrate through the web of sensation that Spike was making her feel. She felt a surge of wetness between her legs, and thrust herself harder against the hardness in Spike's jeans. At the pleasure that came with that, any ability to think was gone.

She did not protest when Spike lifted her shirt over her head, or when he deftly removed her bra. Her legs went weak when she felt his cool mouth close over the tip of her breast, his tongue flicking back and forth over her nipple.

And she did not protest when Spike pushed her down onto one of the sleeping bags. He sat back to ease her jeans off, leaving her clad only in a pair of thong panties. It didn't take him long to divest her of those. She found her own hands pushing his shirt over his head, running her hands over his sculpted alabaster chest. He was perfect, she thought.

Not any good? Bloody hell, any better and she's likely to kill me, Spike thought to himself. He took his boots and jeans off, freeing his erection, and quickly joined her on the sleeping bag.

"You sure about this, luv?" he whispered to her, pressing kisses down her neck into her shoulder.

Buffy nodded, not feeling capable of speech at that moment. She grabbed his head and brought his lips back to hers. "You know who you're going to be making love to, right pet?"

Again she nodded. "Say it." Spike growled. "Say my name." He took his hand and placed it between her legs, flicking one finger over her clit.

Waves of sensation flooded Buffy, "Spike." She managed to whisper, looking him straight in his blue eyes, now dark with hunger. With a growl, he made her guide his hardened shaft into her, and he started to push himself into her slowly.

Bloody hell, she was so tight, so warm. She felt like the sun, like heaven, I could get lost looking into her beautiful eyes, he thought. How Angelus could let this girl go, he did not know. Angelus should have kept her, soul or not. Spike decided at that moment, when he was pushed all the way to the hilt inside her, looking into her passion filled face, that this girl was now his. "You belong to me now, luv, understand?" he growled.

She nodded, and urged him on with her hips, and Spike gave her what she asked for. He thrust into her gently at first, making sure he wasn't going to hurt her. He knew this was only her second time. Then harder, with her meeting him thrust for thrust. Oh god, those slayer muscles, the things they can do, he thought.

Buffy felt something build up deep inside her, something big. She was so close.
She closed her eyes and arched her head back, leaving her neck exposed and that seemed to be all Spike was waiting for. His demon came forward and he clamped down on her jugular with his razor sharp teeth, allowing her blood to pour down his throat.

At the sudden penetration of his teeth, Buffy felt something inside of her explode, as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her. Her inner walls clamped down like a vise on Spike's hardness, and that was enough to send him over the edge as he spurt load after load of cool seed into her womb.

Buffy was coming down from her powerful orgasm when Spike removed his fangs from her throat. "Mine." He whispered into her ear.

Buffy just nodded mutely. Still whispering into her, he said, "I'm claiming you, you belong to me now. Understand?"

She looked into his intense eyes and whispered back. "Yours."

He gave her a gentle satisfied smile. "Do you know how to complete the claim, luv?" Before Spike could blink, Buffy had sunk her teeth into the side of his neck. He jerked in surprise, then moaned in pleasure. As quick as she did it, she just as quickly removed her teeth. "Yours."

He looked down at her, still inside her, just reveling in the feel of her. He got a fierce look on his face suddenly. "You won't think about Angelus's cruel words again. He lied."

She suddenly found tears in her eyes. "Thank you." She whispered, bringing his head down to hers for a kiss.

"Dont' need to thank me, luv. 'Tis the truth. But like I said, you belong to me now. I don't want you thinking of Angelus again, he does not have to power to hurt you anymore. Understand?" Spike told her, trying the claim out.

Buffy nodded her understanding, and Spike withdrew from her and flipped over, bringing Buffy to lay in his arms. He was content. Not how he pictured the night progressing, but entirely pleased with it. He was finding this girl was something special.

Chapter 5

Buffy lay in Spike's protective embrace, contented. But then her slayer's sense of rational thinking finally started to kick in again. Her brain scrambled to embrace the implications of what she had just done. ~Oh my god!! What did I just do? With Spike! He wants to kill me!~ But even as she told herself that, she knew it wasn't true. Not anymore. Things had definitely changed, and he was no longer her #1 mortal enemy.

Spike felt her tense in his arms. He bent down to lick the wounds on her neck, initiating contact. "It's all right, luv."

It wasn't helping Buffy. Her heart rate increased, and anxiety raced through her. "Holy shit Spike, what the hell did we just do?"

"You know what we did, luv. You were right there." He told her, knowing she was scared. This had been only her second sexual experience, and while she may be the slayer, she was still a young girl.

"Why did you do it?" she asked, shyly.

"Do what, exactly? Make love to you, or claim you?" Spike asked, trying to use words that would put her at ease.

"Both, I guess." Came the quiet reply.

Spike thought for a second, trying to suss out the reasons to himself. "I made love to you because it bothered me that you believed what Angelus said to you. Knew it wasn't true, heard bleedin' enough about it from the wanker to know it wasn't. Needed you to know it wasn't true, also." He tried to explain, stroking her hair. He didn't even want to rationalize why he was saying `making love` and not his usual `shag`. He just didn't want to reduce this into something dirty in her mind, that was important to him.

"I claimed you because after I started making love to you, the thought that Angelus was able to give you up astounded me. Even without a soul, he was crazy to not want you again. I suddenly realized that I wanted you for myself. So I claimed you." he finished. "Now luv, the question is, why did you complete the claim?"

"Can I plead temporary insanity?" Buffy quipped. At Spike's growl, she said, "Ok, ok. I was just kidding, don't be so grumpy. To be honest, I'm not quite sure. For some reason, when I was just with you, I felt totally safe. Which is ridiculous, if you think about it. You just bit me, yet you made me feel safe. I think I felt an overwhelming need to be protected by you. It's really confusing for me." Buffy admitted, having a hard time talking about this. Especially she didn't really know what was going on in her mind.

"Join the club, pet. You're the bloody slayer, I shouldn't have wanted this." Spike announced, agitation growing in his voice.

"What about Drusilla?" Buffy tried to keep the jealousy out of her voice.

"She's lost to me now. Ever since Angelus came back." came the reply.

"Oh." Buffy then said softly "Spike?".

"Yes, pet?"

"I'm not sorry I claimed you, I just wanted you to know that. It feels nice to be wanted, to belong to someone." She admitted quietly.

"This isn't a temporary thing, y'no. Claims are life long. I'm not just some rebound guy to help you get your rocks back." Spike warned, pleasure flooding through him at the soft words Buffy had uttered.

"I know. What is weird is I think I wanted you since I first saw you, at the Bronze that night," Buffy told him, resting her head on his hard chest.

Spike laughed. "Believe me luv, I couldn't get it straight in my head if I wanted to shag you or kill you. Didn't want to admit to the former, so went with the killin' part."

"Know what you mean. That's probably why both of us are still alive. Well, some more than others," she joked.

"Probably," Spike agreed. Then his tone turned serious. "Buffy, you know we are going to have to take Angelus out, right?"

"I thought that was already part of the plan," Buffy asked in confusion.

"Well, yeah, but if he finds out that I claimed you, and we don't take him out, I can guarantee you that it's not going to be pretty. Angelus may have not wanted you, but he sure as hell considered you his property." Spike explained.

"Oh god, I don't even want to think about what he's doing to Giles right now," Buffy's voice suddenly filled with fear and horror.

"S'ok, luv. I untied the Watcher before I left tonight." Spike revealed.

"You did? Why?" Buffy asked, wonder thick in her voice.

"Let's just say I did it for you, luv. Leave it at that."

Buffy lifted her face up to look at into his handsome face. "Oh my god, thank you! I hope he got away."

"Pretty sure he did. Dru and the wanker were otherwise entertained, and I made sure the minions were occupied. He was ok, Angelus worked him over, but it's all surface stuff." Spike assured her.

Tears ran down Buffy's face, as she contemplated this beautiful vampire before her. "Thank you." She whispered again.

Spike wiped at her tears, and pulled her head back down to rest against his chest, as purrs vibrated the room. Buffy at once felt safe and content, and she sighed deeply.

"Let's rest for a while, then we should go over the battle plan," Spike announced. Buffy nodded her understanding, letting her eyes close as Spike drew one of the unzipped sleeping bags over their bodies.

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At the mansion, Drusilla sat up in bed suddenly, putting her hands to her head and moaning softly. "oooohhhhh.."

Growling softly, Angelus tried to pull her back down to him, but she batted him away.

"My Spike is being a naughty boy," she finally uttered, swaying slightly in the bed.
Angelus propped himself on one elbow and asked "What the hell are you yammering about?"

"Full of secrets, full of longing. My Spike is being a wicked boy and needs to be punished. Deep in a cave, blood he will consume."

Angel grunted impatiently. "He's a vampire, Dru."

She continued with her swaying, humming lightly in-between words. "No mortal blood will be had. Blood of a slayer he will consume." She gave a little shriek, as her vision gave her insight to something disturbing. Angel's anger started to spark at the mention of slayer's blood. Buffy.

"Blood of a vampire she will consume, until they became one. Naughty Spike. Naughty slayer, keeping secrets, hiding in a hole."

Those words uttered, a bit of clarity crept into Drusilla's eyes, and she looked into the angry eyes of Angelus.

"Where?" was all he growled.

A smile slowly drew itself over Drusilla's face, her features softening. If it wasn't for the maniacal gleam in her eyes, she would be stunning. "Nasty slayer has my wicked Spike, both need to be found. Miss Edith says it will be so." Drusilla reached out with her mind to locate Spike, and she had the location before she was effectively tossed out of his head.

She turned to Angelus and grinned wickedly. "Such a naughty boy, thinking he can hide from his princess. But he let her into his heart and it has made his mind weak. Miss Edith knows where they hide."

"WHERE??" Angelus roared.
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In the cave, Spike suddenly jerked upright. SHIT! He jumped to his feet, pulling a bewildered Buffy up with him.

"What is going on?" she asked, her gaze questioning.

"Dru," was all he could mutter as he started throwing things into his bag. "We have to get out of here. Now."

"I don't understand."

"She probed my mind. I don't know if she saw anything, I kicked her out as soon as I felt her, but I am not willing to take that chance." He explained, tossing her clothes
at her as he hurriedly threw his on.

Buffy hastily dressed, she could feel Spike's fear. The thought of being in Angelus hands terrified both of them. Stopping him from opening Alcatha would be a challenge if that occurred.

"Shit, shit shit! I should have known better, god dammit." Spike was muttering. He grabbed Buffy's hand and they flew out of the cave.

"I'm sorry Buffy" he threw over his shoulder. "I should have known she would try that, kept my defenses up. I got too distracted though," he admitted to her, as they ran down the path they had made earlier. The woods were dark, allowing only slivers of moon light to penetrate, and Buffy felt herself clutching on to Spike's hand to keep herself from falling.

Spike was in demon face, his amber eyes needed to penetrate the darkness. The clock was ticking, if Dru had managed to pull their location from his head. God, how could he have been so bloody stupid? He had years of practice keeping her out, but he was so wrapped up in Buffy, he let himself slip.

Spike knew they would be in deep shit if they were caught. What had been done to the watcher would be child's play compared to the price they would be forced to pay. Tree branches whipped across his face, and he tried to keep the majority of them from hitting the young girl running behind him. At least if they were caught, she would die knowing that Angelus was full of crap.

They finally made it to the car, and Spike wrenched her door open, threw himself in and pulled Buffy in after him. She was slightly out of breath from the long run they just had, and just collapsed against him. His hands were shaking slightly as he jammed the keys in the ignition and threw the car into gear. They took off through the woods, Spike drove as fast as he dared, leaving the headlights off. He was still in game face, needing the enhanced vision.

Finally, they came to the main road, and Spike took the turn too fast, leaving skid
marks on the pavement as the car fishtailed. He got it back on the road, and floored it. The big black car responding to the request by flying down the highway. At the first main turn they came to, Spike took it.

"Where are we going?" Buffy asked.

"Dunno yet. Don't want to go down the main road though, hate to pass Angelus on the road." Spike said, concentration highly focused on the expanse of road in front of him.

"Good thinking." Came the reply.

They drove without passing any other vehicles for about 15 minutes when they noticed headlights coming in the opposite direction. Spike had turned his on, by this time, not wanting to attract undue attention to driving without headlights.

They both tensed as the car came closer and passed, letting out identical sighs of relief.

Rounding a corner, headlights again shone in their faces, and they both tensed up simultaneously. They waited for the vehicle to come closer and pass, like the previous one had. It appeared be an older model Suburban, built like a tank. However, this time they were not so lucky. Just as the car was passing them, it turned right into the driver side and slammed into the fender of the DeSoto. Spike fought the wheel for control, but the high rate of speed both cars were going caused the wheel to lurch out of his hands. Out of control, the big black car shot straight off the road, hitting the guard rail and causing the car to flip over with both occupants inside. It careened top side up across the pavement for what seemed like forever. The noise was deafening as metal scraped against cement. It finally came to a stop against the embankment on the other side.

Minions, that used to answer to Spike but now answered to Angelus, poured out of the Suburban and surrounded the vehicle, weapons in hand.

Inside the DeSoto, Spike groaned, his head pounding. The car offered only lap belts, and Spike was thankful he had remembered to put that meager scrap of safety on before they left the hillside. Otherwise he'd be a whole lot worse off right now. As it was, it felt like everything in him ached.

He quickly looked over towards the passenger side, and saw that Buffy was unconscious. For the star pattern on the passenger window he sussed out that she had knocked her head against it pretty good when they'd been struck. Fuckin wankers. Must have been covering all the roads.

He managed to slip his lap belt off, the sensation of being upside down in the car making things difficult for him. He crawled over to Buffy and tried to shake.

"Get out of the car, Spike" one of the minions growled, now standing by the side of the car, crouching down to look in. With the black paint present on all the windows, it was hard for them to get a good look inside the car.

Spike looked around wildly. He saw that a stake had fallen out of their weapons bag, and grabbed it. He used his feet to kick out the window, leaned out of the car and stuck the stake into the heart of the vampire that was crouched by the window. He exploded into a pile of dust. Spike felt a sword at his neck, and he knew he was in a vulnerable position here, half stuck out the window like he was.

"Throw the stake, Spike." the vampire with the sword commanded. Spike ran through his options. Shit, he had none. Well, he could take out one more at least. He flung the stake through the air, and it landed with perfect accuracy into the heart of one of the minions hanging back.

"Very funny, asshole," Sword minion growled. "Get up."

Spike allowed himself to climb the rest of the way out, and threw himself abruptly to his feet, trying to gain the element of surprise on the vampire holding the sword. He managed to knock the sword out of his hand, every muscle in his body aching from the beating it took when the car flipped. He grabbed at the sword, trying to keep the remaining 7 minions in his sight the entire time. He could take out that many. Before he could finish that thought, however, the world went black and Spike slumped to the ground.

"Get him in the back. Get the slayer too, and nobody had better touch her. Angelus will kill you." The vamp who retrieved his sword instructed the rest of the vampires. "That's why I'm thinkin ole Spike here is going to be a dead man." He said, as two of the vampires brought Buffy to the back of the Suburban and threw her in next to Spike. He sensed Spike's claim on her and smiled. "Oh yeah, Spike's a dead man. Tie these two up, and make sure it's done RIGHT."

TBC...

I believe I was having a brain fog and mispelled Acathla in a previous chapter. DUH! I went back and corrected it. I think.
WARNING this chapter contains stuff that could DEFINITELY be considered disturbing, torture and all that. Ok, I warned ya.

Don't own Buffy, blah blah, wish I did, blah blah.

Chapter 6

Back at the mansion, Drusilla watched as Angelus paced , snarling and growling the entire time. They had figured out that Spike was able to walk again, when one of the minions found his wheelchair tossed in the bushes in one of the parks. And now he knew who was responsible for the Watcher escaping. He didn't even want to think of how many minions he had staked while trying to find out who was responsible for that one.

Spike would pay. And so would that cheating bitch. He had sent his minions out quite some time ago to retrieve the pair, and none of them had returned yet. Impatience poured through him, and Drusilla was being smart enough to leave him alone. She allowed him his space, her fanthomless dark eyes following each movement he made.

Suddenly the sound of footsteps were heard entering the gardens outside. "Master,
we have a surprise for you!!" one of the minions called out.

Angelus strode out into the night air, and he grinned evilily when he saw the unconcious forms of Spike and Buffy over two of his minions shoulders. Suddenly he threw his head back and laughed demonically. This was going to be so much better than the torturing the watcher.

As quickly as he had started laughing, he stopped, and snapped "Bring them inside. Chain them up."

To the other minions who had been in on the capture, he told them, "And as for you, I have a special task for you. This is what I want you to do."

After he gave them their instructions, they quickly took their leave. They knew better than to do anything to displease the new Master Vampire.

Angelus strode into the mansion and looked at the two forms hanging from the chains attached to the wall. He glanced over at the big form of Acathla with the sword sticking out of him, just waiting to be woken up. Oh yeah, this was going to be a lot of fun.

Now he just had to wait for the traitors to wake up and then the fun could begin.

Buffy's first waking thought was in response to the pain that rushed through her. Her head hurt. Then panic gripped her as she realized she was chained up. The last thing she remembered was the car coming towards them. Oh yah, it hit them. Oh shit! Angelus must have gotten them.

Her eyes flew open as she remembered Spike and searched for him. She found him chained up next to her, his eyelids just starting to flicker. Now that she was more with it, she found that could feel him, feel his presence. Beyond the vampire/slayer sense. Her body sensed and recognized her mate. She let her eyes search the room and her stomach dropped when she saw Angel perched by the fireplace. No Buffy, don't do that to yourself. Angelus. That is Angelus.

He pushed himself up and came towards her. "Oh, you're up. Was beginning to think you would sleep all night. Couldn't have you missing all the fun, now could we?" he said in a deceptively friendly tone.

Buffy didn't reply, she just stared at him, trying not to let the fear show in her eyes. Spike's eyes popped open. "Buffy?" he called out. His first waking thoughts had been for her, as he looked around frantically.

"Awww... how sweet, Spike. Your concern for her is truly touching. Brings a tear, really." Angelus told him, going to stand in front of Spike. Spike tried to jump up and wrap his legs around Angelus, but the leg shackles kept him chained in place.

"Poor Spike, all chained up. This reminds me of the games we used to play, doesn't it? You used to like it when you'd get chained, didn't you boy? Used to make you scream." Angelus taunted.

Dru fluttered into the room, her long dress flowing around her ankles, and came to stand next to Angelus. She shook her finger at him at him and clucked "My naughty boy. Daddy's going to have to punish you now. Miss Edith told me you took his favorite toy from him." She leaned in and inhaled deeply. "Miss Edith was right, you've got that nasty slayer all over you. My wicked Spike. And you didn't even invite us to the party!"

That made Angelus growl louder, and he turned to the table and grabbed a knife. "Do you have anything you wish to tell me, boy?"

Spike looked over at Buffy, trying to will her to be strong, and he replied smugly, "Yeah, I do. Slayer's mine."

"Really?" Angelus pretended to ponder this, then looked towards Buffy. "And lover? What do you have to say about this?"

Gnashing her teeth at him, she announced, "I belong to Spike."

With a roar, Angelus leaned right into her face and growled, "Wrong! You belong to ME."

Buffy shook her head defiantly, staring at him dead in the eye. "Never."

"You didn't claim her, I did. She's mine." Spike snarled, changing into game face. Angelus threatening his mate was bringing his demon to the forefront, and his demon was feeling an overwhelming primal need to protect his mate from this threat. Rage was bubbling over at being denied.

Angelus strode over to Spike and punched him in the gut. Spike doubled over in pain, Buffy let out a gasp, which brought a sadistic smile to Angelus's face. Spike caught her eyes and willed her "don't react, don't react. Whatever he does, do not react." Buffy willed back that she understood, and hoped he got the message. She was discovering this claim thing had its uses.

With pure evil intent in his eye, Angelus strode back to Buffy and told Spike, " You DARED to take something that was mine, that took guts, Spike, really. Well then, shall we see just how devoted you really are to her?" He held the knife to Buffy's bare arm and started making small deep cuts into her skin, blood pooling and falling.

"If you tell me she doesn't belong to you, I'll stop. She won't be hurt anymore. It's that simple Spike." Angelus taunted.

IN BUFFY'S LIVING ROOM- PRESENT DAY

Buffy felt her throat catch as she recanted this part of the torture. But she knew it wasn't the worst of it, by far. She could still hear the screams and pleading. They had moved to the living room, and were seated comfortably. Buffy felt secure in Spike's arms, as she leaned against him on the couch. Willow and Xander had joined them, by this time, and had managed to refrain from interrupting too many times.

"So, Drusilla can probe minds?" Joyce asked.

"Yes, it's her gift. She can get into your head, that's how she bagged the other
slayer, whatshername." Spike answered. They had left some details out of the story they had told so far, details that the others had no business knowing. It was between Buffy and him.

"KENDRA" replied Buffy, Giles, Xander and Willow at the same time.

"Right, Kendra."

Xander was having a hard time seeing Buffy in Spike's arms. It bothered him, and he knew that the story they were being told had been highly edited. There had to be more to it than they went to the caves, he claimed her, they got caught, they got tortured and then they escaped. The end.

Catching yet another livid glare being thrown in his direction, Spike finally said, "Whelp, if you have something to say, say it. I'm bleedin tired of feeling your eyeballs on me."

If this surprised Xander, he didn't show it. "Yeah, I guess I got something to say. I'm guessing I am not liking seeing one of my friends cuddled up with a killer. We know how well that turned out last time."

"XANDER!" Willow hollered, staring aghast at him. She wondering if she was going to be witnessing the murder of her friend right in front of her eyes. Gasps of shock were heard from the other members of the room. Buffy's face paled, the meaning behind his words striking deep.

Spike and Buffy looked at each other, then turned to look at Xander. Buffy told him, "Look I know this is hard to deal with..." but was interrupted by Spike. "No luv, let me."

He looked at Xander and then at each one of them in the room. He announced, "Since I'm sure this is something on all of your minds, I'm just saying this once, so listen up. Buffy and I haven't had a chance to sit down and suss this thing between us out yet. We've pretty much been running, tortured, fighting or injured since it happened. But I knew when I claimed her it meant certain things. And one of those things would be me living a lifestyle where she would be able to live with herself. Being mated to a vampire who was still killing is something I know Buffy could NOT live with. She's the bloody slayer. In order to keep her happy, I know that I will have to go against my nature and change. But, she's worth the sacrifice." he said the last words to Buffy. He saw her eyes fill up with tears.

"Really?" she asked, in a hopeful voice.

"What, you thought I was going to leave your side, go kill people, then come right back to you? That would have ruined you, luv. Eaten you up inside, making you hate yourself and me. Don't want that.," he told her, stroking her cheek with his hand.

"Thank you, " she told him in a soft voice.

"Does that answer your question, whelp? Want to make sure you got it, don't want to have to go repeatin' myself." Spike said to Xander, giving him a menacing look.

"Well, if we can believe a word you say," he started to retort, but was given a smack by Willow. "Ok, fine. It answers it.. Spike can be taken off America's Most Wanted list for now." He didn't believe a word Spike had just said, and wondered if the others did.

"How about if I can continue the story then?" Spike said, and received nods all around.

Angelus Mansion- 1 day earlier

Dawn was coming up, Spike could feel it. He wished he could take a morning stroll right into the middle of it, and spare himself this mental anguish he was feeling.

Angelus had gleefully covered all visible areas of Buffy's skin with knife marks. She had not uttered a sound throughout the whole thing. Her eyes repeated his message back to him "Don't react, don't react." The physical pain of this would go away, the pain of Spike denouncing her would last forever.

Every 4th cut or so, Angelus would turn back to Spike and say, "Got something to say to me, boy?" And each time, Spike would just shake his head. It was getting harder and harder, the more flesh that was cut. Angelus would lick the blood that would pool up, and the knowledge that Angelus was touching his girl fueled Spike's demon. Not being able to protect his mate from harm was enraging it, and Spike was having a hard time keeping his demon at bay.

"Gotta tell you Spike. I am impressed. But maybe she just doesn't mean that much to you, not worth it. I recall saying words to her along those lines, myself. Didn't I Buff? You just don't care that she's hurt and bleeding here, and you're the reason for it, do you? Because all you have to do is say the words, and bye bye pain." Angelus taunted.

But Spike knew that wasn't true. Feeding the brunette's delusions was only asking for trouble. Buffy would be in deep shit if he denounced the claim. His claim was all that was keeping Angelus from raping her right there, while she was chained up. Claims were sacred, and not even an elder vamp could break it. Nor would Angelus go against the sacred tradition in front of his men, it would make him look bad in their eyes. Vampires held their traditions in high regard, and if Angelus raped Buffy with Spike's claim in place, his men would lose respect for him that he couldn't even honor the old ways. Death wasn't enough to bring about the end of a claim, the surviving party had to denounce it. And that is what was keeping Spike alive at this time.

Finally Angelus sighed, this was getting boring. He turned to Spike, and began the same methodical torture on him. "Come on Buffy, you want this to stop, you know what you have to do. Say you belong to me, not him." Again Spike and Buffy's eyes met, and the chant "don't react" echoed through both of them.

After giving it a worthwhile effort, Angelus stopped. Hundreds of small cuts adorned Spike's flesh, matching the one's found on Buffy.

Hopefully, the next part of his torture would be ready. Angelus called out to one of his men, and requested that one of the "families' be brought to him.

Buffy felt pure terror and her heart constricted when she saw a family being led in.Two small children with their parents. Their eyes wide with fear, they allowed themselves to be herded along. Their arms were bound, but that was all the restraint that had been required. Oh my god, no, please not this. You sick fuck.

"Buffy, Buffy, Buffy. Such a dilemma for you. What's a slayer to do? Save this nice family, or protect your lover?" Angelus mocked, grabbing for one of the children. The girl's mother screamed, and was hit across the head, effectively shutting her up as she slumped to the floor.

"Here's all you have to do. Say you want to belong to me, and beg me to kill Spike, and this nice little girl can go home." he informed her in a sinister tone.

But Buffy knew he lied. This family wasn't leaving the mansion, no matter what she did. And if she gave in to Angelus, they would kill Spike, then she would eventually be killed, and Acathla could be opened and the world would then go to hell. At that thought, and the knowledge of the decision she knew she had to make, a gut wrenching stab of pain went through her. Buffy looked at Angelus defiantly and shook her head.

The look of pure terror in the girl's eyes burned itself into Buffy's memory. Angelus gave a nonchalant shrug and ripped the girl's throat open, draining her before allowing her lifeless body to fall to the ground. Drusilla excitedly clapped her hands in the background. Buffy felt the tears well up in her eyes, and repeated to herself "Don't react, don't react. It's not your fault, don't react."

She gave a look over to Spike, and was amazed at the feelings she saw displayed there. Spike knew. He knew how hard it had been for her to allow this girl to be sacrificed. But he was proud of Buffy for realizing the girl would have been dead regardless of what she did. The girl and her family's death warrants had been signed the second they had been dragged from their warm cozy beds. Buffy had done the right thing. She knew it, but her heart didn't want to listen.

Angelus grabbed the next child, turned to Spike next and said, "Ask me. Beg me to dust you so that you can spare her this mental trauma."

Spike also shook his head, he couldn't speak. The girl's father moaned in agony as he processed what he had witnessed happen to his youngest child. And now his other daughter fate was at hand. He struggled violently against his bonds, to no avail.

"Is that your final answer? You won't give up your life for this child? To spare Buffy, the girl you claimed as your own?

"No." he told Angelus, wishing that he was remaining unaffected by this. He was a vampire, he had killed thousands, but the pending death of this young child tugged at him. Because it pained Buffy. He cared because she did.

Angelus gave another nonchalant shrug, but this time the child was thrown at Drusilla. She grinned happily and sank her fangs into the child's throat. This went on and on, until bodies littered the floor. Adult and child. Buffy felt sickened, horrified by this. It was getting harder and harder to remain stoic through it. She could feel Spike trying to send calming thoughts through the claim, and she clung to them. Minions were called for to clean up the bodies, and she had to watch them be dragged away, one after the other. Each face would forever be burned into her mind. She would never forget.

What seemed like hours later, Angelus finally gave up with a roar. He was full, and this was getting boring. Because he had been so intent on inflicting as much mental anguish as he could on Buffy, he didn't know that Spike had been working on his shackles the entire time, and could feel them loosening from the wall. Spike had Buffy's slayer's blood in him, he could feel the extra zing of power it had brought. Looking over at Buffy, he was almost sorry he had drank from her earlier, she had lost a lot of blood from the knife wounds Angelus had inflicted upon here. Her face was pale, frozen in horror. But if they had a chance of escaping this, the extra bit of power was going to be needed.

Angelus shouted for someone to bring him a sword, this was going to end once and for all. The thought of killing anymore people made him cringe, he was completely gorged on blood. He didn't want to give any over to the minions though. He'd save the rest of the prisoners for he and Dru to feast on later.

A minion ran towards him carrying the requested sword, and gave Spike just the opportunity he had been looking for. He made the fatal mistake of coming too close to Spike when he passed, thinking it safe, and those were his last thoughts that would ever cross his mind again.

With a roar, Spike gave a mighty tug on his arm shackles and was rewarded when the pins that held them to the wall snapped. He grabbed the vampire, snapping his neck in less than a second, relieving him of his sword which he used to cut through the leg chains.

This happened so fast, Angelus barely had time to react. "Stop him!" he managed to yell finally,as he saw Spike swing the sword into the chains that held Buffy. In a matter of seconds, she was free. Vampires flooded the huge front room of the mansion, and having no weapon, Buffy used the expanse of chain that hung from the end of one of her wrists. She swung that around expertly, knocking away vampires. She was finally rewarded when one of them dropped a sword and she picked it up and threw herself back into the fray.

Spike, embracing every bit of slayer blood power he could, became a vampire killing machine. Every time a crowd of vampires would get close to them, he efficiently beheaded them, causing dust to fly heavily through the air. Ruthless and fierce, he was constantly in motion.

Buffy, working on pure adrenaline and survival instinct, was swinging her sword as fast as she could. She felt the edge of a blade graze her abdomen, but shook it off.

They were being outnumber by about 30 to 1, but the slayer and vampire were rapidly stacking the odds in their favor. Angelus was cursing the number of minions he had staked tonight as a result of Spike letting the watcher go. Their number here might have made a difference. He was waiting for his men to tire out the two fighters, then he would take care of them, once and for all. He looked over at Drusilla, and they gave each other evil looks, smirking in anticipation.

The two blondes had finally reduced the number to a scant handful, and were still slicing and dicing their way through them. Angelus was eagerly waiting for his turn, and his impatience once again got the better of him as he strode forward and staked a few of his minions out of his way, and ordered the rest to stand down.

Exhausted, vampire and slayer turned to face the final foe. Angelus had ingested his own fill of slayer blood during the course of the day, and his blood was singing as well. He grinned in evil anticipation.

Not one to wait around, Spike gave a primal roar and leaped towards Angelus. His demon had a lot of pent up rage to express, and the cause of it was standing right there.

Angel met his sword parry thrust for thrust, and the two vampires battled it out. Drusilla lunged towards Buffy, an insane look in her eyes, "You took my sweet William away from me, you naughty little girl. Miss Edith says we should make you pay."

"Does Miss Edith tell you you're a god damn fruitcake also? Because if she doesn't, you should think about returning her and getting your money back." Buffy replied, bringing her sword up to block Drusilla. Her strength was failing her, she could feel it. She knew this was going to be a tough fight ahead of her.

The vampires that Angelus had told to stand down were watching from the walls, interested to see how this was going to play out.

Unbeknownst to Spike, he did have one remaining loyal minion who was watching the fight, waiting to see if he could lend his true master a hand.

For what seemed like hours, the sword play continued. Finally, Angelus knocked Spike's legs out from under him. And as Spike lay prone on the ground, the dark haired vampire brought his sword up high to bring it down on Spike's throat. He hestitated for just a second, to give Spike one last parting comment.

"I'll take good care of her for you, Spike, makes sure she gets it good." he tortured
the blonde vampire with. He started to bring the sword down, when he gasped in surprise, turning his head around. His last sight on this earth was of one of his men standing there, and a stake sticking out of his chest. Then he was gone, nothing but ashes.

Spike lay there, gasping, for a moment. His brain trying to piece together what just happened. A hand was thrust out to him, Spike grabbed it and was helped to his feet. "Thanks, Brian, I owe you one." he told the other vampire gratefully. His unlife had literally been flashing before his eyes, but yet he was still alive. Buffy, where was she?

Drusilla at that moment had just noticed that Spike was alone. "NOOOOO" she screamed, racing over to him, Buffy at her heels. The minions who remained looked hesitant, not knowing what to do. Their master had just been dusted by one of them. There was confusion as to who was the master vampire now.

Drusilla turned to them and shouted "Kill the traitors!" Being the elder vampire, the minions decided that she was now master and scrambled to do her bidding. Drusilla renewed her fight Buffy, rage fueling her now.

Spike and his new sidekick Brian took on the remaining vampires. There was a dozen or so remaining, and the fight was a brutal one. Spike glanced over to Buffy and saw out of the corner of his eye Drusilla about to land a fatal blow on her. Without a thought, Spike roared and threw himself over to them and plunged a stake in his sire's heart. She looked at him in horror as she turned to dust. Spike didn't have any time to think about this, as right in front of him, one of the vampire's raised a brick and clocked Buffy on the head with it. She went down hard, unconscious.

Spike roared loudly, screamed for the battle to stop, he was now the Master Vampire and commanded them to stop. To his surprise, they did. There was only 8 remaining out of the original 100 that Spike had left the day before. He ran over to Buffy, and gathered her into his arm. He knew he had to get her out of there, get her help. She had lost a lot of blood, and she now had a head injury.

He turned to Brian, and told him that even though he was a minion, Spike was giving control over to him. None of the remaining vampires argued it, they were just happy they were going to live. Spike didn't care what their fate was, he just wanted to get the hell out of there.

The mansion was in shambles. Blood stains all over the floor, vampire dust thick. Acathla stood in the middle of the room, still asleep with his sword in place. With Angelus and Drusilla gone, that was no longer a threat.

So he took Buffy out into the night air, and headed to the one place where he could think to take her. They had been in Angelus's clutches for over 14 hours now, and he was surprised he could even keep himself moving. But he knew he had to get Buffy to safety, get her taken care of.

He strode up to the porch of 1630 Revello and pounded on the door, Buffy unconscious in his arms. Joyce opened the door.

Present day

When Spike finished, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Horror mirrored itself on everyone's faces.

Joyce stood up and stumbled over to her daughter and Spike. "Oh my god, I am so sorry you had to go through that," she cried as she gathered them both close for a hug. Knowing the way Spike had protected her, had killed the woman he had been with for over 100 years to save Buffy, erased any lingering doubt in Joyce's mind about Spike. He may be a vampire, but that's not ALL he was.

Giles was shellshocked. Utterly speechless. When he had learned that Spike had claimed Buffy, horror and dread had washed through him. He now realized that the claiming was probably the only thing that kept these two alive. Spike protected Buffy, a mate protecting his chosen one.

He found himself doing something he never thought he would do. Apologizing. "Spike, I am truly sorry I was such a right bastard when you brought Buffy home last night. I'd like to thank you for everything you did."

Spike gave him a smirk and said "S'alright Watcher. Being at the hands of Angelus doesn't leave people the most trusting sort."

TBC....



Chapter 7

Spike gave him a smirk and said "S'alright Watcher. Being at the hands of Angelus doesn't leave people the most trusting sort."

Giles gave a short laugh and replied, "Quite right." He was taken slightly aback that Spike hadn't used the opportunity to make one of his sarcastic and rude comments.

Buffy was exhausted, mentally and physically. Even though Spike had taken the worst of her pain into himself, it still haunted her mind. The faces, the screams. Her guilt wasn't quite as acute as it had been however, and she blessed Spike for that fact.

Spike could feel her fatigue, and stood up, bringing Buffy up to stand next to him. "If you don't mind Joyce, we're gonna try to get some more sleep." He told Buffy's mother.

Joyce looked at her daughter and took note of her pale face and the dark circles under her eyes, and her heart bled just a little more. Her physical wounds seemed to be well on their way to being completely healed. But Joyce knew the horror of what she had gone through was not something her daughter would easily forget.

"That's a good idea, you both look like you can use it." She told the vampire. "I'll get some blankets to cover the windows."

"Thanks, Joyce. Watcher, think you could head down to the butcher's and pick me up some blood?" Spike asked, watching Buffy head up the stairs with her mother. God, she really did look tired. He didn't feel the need to feed at the moment, but he knew when he woke up he would be feeling peckish. Buffy's blood had kept his demon sated longer than the usual human blood, and he wasn't much looking forward to going from that to pig swill. But he had meant the words he had spoken, he did plan to change. He wanted to be a man that Buffy could live with. These were the thoughts that had been going through his head when he had felt Dru entering his mind, back at the cave. He had been so consumed by thoughts of what his life was be gonna be like with the bleedin' vampire slayer at his side, that he had let his defenses drop.

He realized that Giles was speaking, and tuned in. "I'll head down there in a bit. Anything else you need? I don't suppose you can go pick up the rest of your stuff, can you?"

Spike thought about that for a second. "I probably could, but I'd rather not right now." he replied. He didn't want to tell him that he felt torn. Those had been, at one time, his men. Letting them live conflicted with Buffy's status as the slayer. He owed his life to Brian, and decided that he would sneak over there at some point and tell him to leave town. He didn't want to have Buffy at odds with herself, and him, about leaving a small nest of vamps alone. And knowing she was voluntarily letting a group of killers alone in her town would be hard on her, especially after what they had faced with Angelus.

Willow piped up, "Uh Spike, I can go buy you some clothes, if you want." He
smiled at her and told her "Thanks Red, appreciate it. I have some money upstairs, I'll get it for you." Again, Giles was taken aback. He had not expected this vampire to even consider reimbursement. All his research had indicted that Spike was a user. Nicking whatever suited his fancy, certainly not paying for it. Giles realized he was going to have to reevaluate his way of thinking towards this blonde vampire now, and perhaps begin to give him the benefit of the doubt. For Buffy's sake, if nothing else.

Spike made his way up the stairs and found Joyce exiting Buffy's room. Heavy blankets had been tacked up to cover the windows and the room was suitably vampire proofed. Spike sensed Buffy in the bathroom, and a quick glance to the closed bathroom door confirmed it.

"All taken care of." Joyce smiled at him. If someone had told her 2 days ago that she would be preparing Buffy's bedroom so that her 17 year old daughter could share it with a 100+ year old vampire, she would have recommended they be committed. But yet, here she was, hardly cringing at the thought of the two sleeping together. ~They are just going to sleep, Joyce. Don't think about anything else they may do.. You don't want to know.~ Joyce chastised herself.

"Thanks." Spike told her appreciatively. He moved into Buffy's bedroom and grabbed his duster off of the chair, going through the pockets until he came to his wallet. He was glad he remembered to grab his duster before leaving the mansion. If Angelus had caused him to lose it, he'd REALLY have been pissed.

"Wow, didn't know vampires had wallets." Buffy commented in mock surprise, from the doorway.

He turned to smile at her. No makeup adorned her face, and her highlighted hair was pulled up in a ponytail on top of her head. She looked so young, so fragile but Spike knew that was deceptive. Regardless, a wave of protectiveness and longing washed over him at the sight of her standing in the doorway.

"Don't know everything there is to know about us vamps, pet." He teased, sauntering to her side and captured her lips with his own. Her arms entwined themselves behind his head, and she pulled him close.

"Oh! Sorry guys!" Willow injected from the hallway, her red face matching the color of her hair. "I uh, was going to uh,.."

Buffy kept her arms around Spike and smiled at her friend, "It's OK, Will. Just say it."

"Came up to get the money so I could go get Spike some clothes." She managed to get out.

"You have money?" Buffy asked him, only half teasing.

He smirked at her and replied, "Wouldn't YOU like to know." He let go of Buffy and went back into the room where he'd dropped his wallet, and took out a wad of bills. Making his way back to where Buffy and Willow stood, he thrust the money at the girl. "Get me black. You come back with anything else, I'll bite you." He threatened.

Willow's eyes grew wide, and she backed up a few steps. She wasn't comfortable with the idea of Spike yet either. He was a soulless vampire, like Angelus, and Willow was having a hard time getting past that fact. She realized Spike was different, but she knew it would take a while to trust him. Spike could smell the fear radiating from the redhead and he smiled.

Buffy shoved the vampire. "Dammit Spike, you can't go around saying shit like that. They don't know you're just kidding. Jesus, and you wonder why they are having a hard time trusting you?" she scolded, giving him a fierce look.

Spike rolled his eyes at the blonde. "Sorry Red, just playin around. Well, sort of. I meant it about the black." he tried apologizing with.

"You know, you could just thank her for running your errands for you, instead of making with being the Big Bad." Buffy chastised.

"I AM the Big Bad, luv" At Buffy's continued fierce scowl, he conceded. " Ok fine, fine. No bleedin' sense of humor." he grumbled. Buffy raised her eyebrow at him, and he turned towards the redhead.

Thank you for doing this for me." Spike told Willow. Then in a more sincere tone, he added "I really do appreciate it, come to think of it. Don't fancy runnin' around in these nancy boy clothes for longer than I need to. So thank you."

Willow nodded numbly, and said, "Ok then. See you guys later."

Xander saw Willow walk down the stairs with a peculiar look on her face. "What happened?"

The redhead just looked at her friend and simply said "Spike's weird."

"Now that was a shocking statement. Tell me something I don't know."

"I think Buffy has him whipped." She added.

"Another victim fallen under the Buffster's spell. Poor bastard. Didn't stand a
chance." Xander mocked.

"No, I mean it. I really think he meant it when he said he wasn't going to kill again. I just keep trying to picture Angelus ever acting like Spike has been, and I just can't. Spike's weird." Willow announced.

"Hey!" the two teens heard being bellowed down the stairs. "I'm not whipped and I'm not weird. And don't you DARE compare me to that wanker ever! If you are going to keep talking about me, I'd appreciate it if you would leave the house to do so. Vampire, remember?"

"Sorry!" Willow yelled back, and grabbed Xander's arm. "Come on, let's go."

"What! Why do I have to go? I don't want to go shopping for the evil undead. Besides, I told Cordelia I'd meet her later and give her the scoop. Didn't think the Buffster would appreciate her tactful comments during "The Story" Xander said, using air quotes when he referred to The Story.

"Smart move. She is the queen of tact, that's for sure. Ok, fine, I'll go by myself. Have all that mall goodness to myself." Willow huffed and removed herself from the Summers house.

"You go girl." Xander muttered to the air. He then looked at his watch. Ohh, it was noon already. Crap, he was late. Cordelia didn't like it when he was late.

"Bye, I'm leaving now!" Xander yelled, wondering if anyone cared. He knew Joyce and Giles were in the kitchen, and he heard muffled "bye's" coming from various locations around the house. He let himself out of the house and went to meet his girlfriend.

Joyce put down her tea cup and said to Rupert, "I thought for a second that Spike was going to kill Xander for what he said earlier."

Giles put his own cup down and replied, "I'll admit to being concerned for Xander's safety myself. I believe he has a bit of a crush on Buffy, which helps explain his hostile words. I've had to listen to repeated "I told you so's" from him regarding Angel. I think it is quite upsetting to him to see Buffy going from one vampire to another."

Joyce just shook her head, as the absurdity of that statement hit home. "What
reality is this? Where my teenage daughter goes from one vampire to the next?"

Giles took his glasses off to polish them. "A reality where such things exist, I'm afraid. I will tell you, when I first learned that Spike put a claim on Buffy, I could have staked him right there. However, if Spike hadn't had such an urge to protect his mate, I'm not sure they would have made it out of there. As hard as this is to say, I am glad that claim was in place. I don't know what his attitude would have been regarding Buffy's safety without it."

Joyce sighed. "Oh Rupert, that story they told. Never in my wildest imagination did I think it would be so bad."

"Nor I, and I've seen what Angelus can do first hand." Giles admitted. "He is the master of mental torture though, it's his specialty. He is the one who made Drusilla insane, one by one he killed off her family. Until she finally broke and then he turned her. Spike took care of her for over 100 years, took care of the mess that Angelus made of that girl. As much as I hate to say it, he really is quite remarkable."

Joyce's eyes were filling with tears again, this had been such an emotion day. "I think he really is. After hearing about what they went through, I am so thankful he did what he did to her last night. Even if I did have to see him biting her." She admitted.

Giles nodded his agreement. "Buffy's sense of duty is very strong, she always knows exactly what she has to do." He gave a short laugh. "She may not always go about it the most orthodox way, but the bottom line is, Buffy gets it done. Always. However, Angelus knew just how to work her, letting those people think that the choice was hers to make. Whether they lived or died, all she had to do was say the word. That had to have been agonizing for her. What Spike did for her, well, let's just say I am very grateful. The feelings aren't gone, but the hard edges seem to be softened.. She'll still need to grieve and go through the healing process, but this will make it easier for her to live with herself while she is dealing with it."

Joyce nodded, "yes, it will take time. For all of us, even Spike."

Giles picked up his glasses and reluctantly agreed, "Even Spike."

Upstairs, Buffy yawned and relaxed into Spike's arms. He was just holding her, they hadn't moved from where Willow left them, just rejoicing in the feel of their bodies pressed against the other's.

"Come on, luv, let's get you into bed." Spike informed her, and quickly picked her up in his arms, kicking the door shut with his foot. He carried Buffy over to the bed and gently laid her down on top of the turned back sheets. He slipped his shirt off and slid in next to her, gathering her close. He kept his sweat pants on, not knowing if they would be getting any peeping toms while they were sleeping.

Buffy closed her eyes in contentment and snuggled into Spike. They were laying facing each other, and Spike had his face buried in the crook of her neck, purring loudly. Buffy felt the tension that had built up over the course of the morning, drain away at the contact. "Night, Spike." she whispered sleepily.

"Night, luv." he replied, refraining from mentioning it was midday. The room was darkened, and Spike felt his own body relax. The feelings he had absorbed from Buffy were still playing in his mind, and he was more affected by it than he had let on to the humans. He had to work hard to keep it from Buffy, she could sense his feelings now. But with decades of practice of keeping Dru out of his head, it hadn't been difficult.

But now, with his mate by his side, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep. The knowledge that they were both safe flitted through his mind, and he felt some of his dark feelings leave. He didn't think he loved this girl quite yet, it too soon. But he wanted her and she was his. They both had a lot of things to work out between them, but he was determined that he would do whatever it took to keep this girl safe and happy. At that last thought, a smile came over his face, and he fell promptly asleep. Safe in the knowledge that when he woke up, Buffy would be there.

THE END

Ah don't worry. There will be a sequel. OMG, I finished my first fic, wahoo!!