Rating: NC-17, eventually.

Setting: Season 4 implied, some slight alterations, does that make this AU, hell I don't know but I'm sure we can all suspend our utter disbelief for now.

Summary: After being stranded in Happy, Texas, Buffy's back in Sunnydale, but so is Spike.

Disclaimer: So, I'm out to dinner with a few friends of mine when my cellie rings. I give it to my friend Hope, cause you know I'm trying to work on my plate of spaghetti *it's not every day you get a dinner at the Olive Garden, you know*. Hope covers up the phone with her hand and tells me, "Hey, Desire, it's some guy named Joss. He says that you don't own the characters and that he's the one making the money off of them and not you. Oh yeah, he also said that he knows about James being locked up in your closet".Dammit! Joss is crafty, how did he get my number.

Author's Note: Here it is, the start of my 'follow up' to Happy, Texas. I hope this one will be as much fun as the first story. Just so you know, there's no Tara in this tale, Willow is post Oz but no Tara. Riley is here.unfortunately.but learn to cope, I promise it won't be scary and horrible like say the memory of 'Where the Wild Things Are' is for me.

RECAP: In a land far, far away known as Happy, Texas; Spike was busy getting piss drunk after Dru dumped him once more, and our Buffy while doing some across the room flirting, missed her bus to Cleveland, leaving her stranded in the one horse town for 5 days. A sober Buffster just happened to run into our drunken Spike, and the two struck up a deal to share a hotel room for the 5 days. After poker, cigarettes, mullets, line dancing, and more booze *Spike is such a lush*, the passion exploded as they say, the two ended up simplifying their sleeping arrangements, and Buffy now has a new favorite poem. Alas, it all had to come to an end, and the Slayer was on a bus first thing in the morning, without so much as a goodbye.

There, now you know all you need to know incase you didn't get around to reading the previous story.but you know, just to be safe, you might want to read it, I mean, I don't want you to miss anything. You should probably review it too.and maybe you know, send your Author a check for a 1,000 dollars.while you're feeling charitable.



********

Signs, balloons, big smiles, Buffy's welcoming wagon was all prepared, waiting anxiously for the Slayer to walk out of the gate.

The door opened, and the plane's passengers filed out into the terminal. Buffy hoisted her garment bag up on her shoulder, sighing a little when she heard an excited Willow scream her name. Not that she wasn't happy to see her friends again, or to be back home in Sunnydale, she was simply tired.

The battle with that vampire cult had been harsh and draining, she was still sporting a few well-concealed bruises. She gave the group a very tired smile, as they pulled her into the customary 'welcome home' hugs.

"It's so good to have you back!" Willow beamed, pulling her friend into a bear hug.

"It's good to be back." She smiled wearily; wincing a little as Will accidentally squeezed one of her sore spots.

"We really missed you, Buff." Xander said, wrapping his arms around her. Anya scowled at the sight, drumming her fingers impatiently on her 'Welcome home, Buffy' sign.

"I can tell, I get signs and balloons, and everything." Buffy grinned as Xander pulled away, smiling sheepishly; he placed a reassuring hand on his girlfriend's shoulder.

"You like? I stayed up all night making them." Willow said, her pride slowly melting away at the 'sad' glances she was getting from her friends. She shrugged her shoulders, slightly hanging her head. "It was kind of a slow night, yesterday."

"Welcome home, Buffy. I didn't miss you or anything, but Xander told me it was customary to say so." Anya continued drumming her fingers on the sign, completely ignoring the look Xander was now giving her.

"Gee, thanks Anya." Buffy deadpanned, rolling her eyes.

Giles stepped up from behind the pack, a warm smile on his face. He gave his Slayer a fatherly embrace, looking absolutely happy to see her again. "Welcome home. So, how was your trip?"

She shrugged. "Well, you know, you stop one apocalypse, you've stopped them all. You're friend Michael was really nice, though. Knows how to buy a girl a plane ticket and everything."

"Very funny." Giles said dryly, removing his glasses.

*******

"While you're up, I could use another slice of cake." Xander said, pushing his plate out towards the end of the table. Buffy shot him a withering glance, and he smiled stupidly, trying to cover for his bad manners. "Ms. Summers, if you don't mind."

Joyce smiled as she grabbed up the plate. "Of course I don't mind, Xander." She sighed, heading towards the kitchen. "That's what I'm here for."

The gang had converged in the Summers' dining room for a 'Welcome back' dinner, all eating their fair share, especially Xander. Giles sat back in his chair, taking a sip of his tea. He was putting on the business face, Buffy hadn't even been home two hours and she already had to deal with the business face.

"I take it things went well in Cleveland."

"Um, yeah." Buffy nodded. "The freaky vamp cult is no more, and Calista Flockheart is completely destroyed."

"Calsistifore." The Watcher quickly corrected.

"Right, that's what I said."

"So how did the getting laid in Texas go?" Xander asked casually, playing with a fork on the table. Buffy felt all of the air go out of the room, and her eyes get big as saucers. He couldn't possibly know what happened, how could he know what happened?!

"Buff, did you hear me?"

"Uh, no, Xand." She shook her head, swallowing the nasty lump that had formed in her throat. How could they know and not say anything until now, like this! It was just cruel. "What did you say?" She managed to choke out.

"I said, how did the layover in Texas go? Giles told us you got stranded."

"Oh." Buffy sighed completely relieved, she chuckled a little to cover up the abject fear plastered on her face. "It was okay, you know, not much to um.do. It was like getting a little down time before the actual battle. So." She began, searching for a topic to change the subject, anything. "How were things here?"

"Things were kinda slow on the slaying front, only a few vamps."

"Yeah." Xander piped up. "But we took care of it, we had a system."

"With code-names and everything." Willow smiled.

Anya sat leering at her boyfriend, her eyes traveled over his toned arms, the sexy Hawaiian shirt he was wearing, the memory of seeing Xander sweaty and fighting vampires had come back and was doing strange things to her at the dinner table.

"Xander was 'Night-Hawk'." She said, reaching out to run her finger across his arm. "Night-Hawk."

Xander began to blush, quickly getting the not so obvious hint Anya was dropping. He climbed to his feet, inching towards the kitchen. "Um, it's getting kind of late, Anya and I should.you know, I think I'm going to have to get that cake to go. Good to have ya back, Buff."

Anya beamed from ear to ear, racing out of the dining room after Xander.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Night-Hawk." Buffy called after him.

*******

Bed..nice, soft, bed..

The words ran disconnected through her mind, as she stood in the doorway to her room. Buffy felt like she hadn't seen her bed in years, all she had wanted to do since getting off of the plane was crawl into it and never get out again. Maybe they could get her one of those bedpans, and feed her through a tube or something.

Willow and Giles had left soon after Xander and Anya, and after successfully dodging her mother's questions about her trip, she'd made it up stairs to have some nice, quality time with her bed.

She softly shut the door behind her, then went to work kicking off her shoes and shimming out of her binding jeans. Buffy yawned as she pulled her shirt over her head, tossing it on the floor.

She was tired, beyond tired, all that mattered now was getting some sleep, the Rip Van Winkle kind of sleep. Oh, Riley! She had forgotten to call and tell him she was back, she shrugged it off, she'll call tomorrow, right now sleep.

Buffy grabbed the small garment bag off of the bed, and pulled out a dingy black T-shirt, slipping it on. She climbed into bed, not worrying about the lights, only wanted to sleep.

She was all settled, her eyes closing, when she heard it.

A faint sound outside her window, almost like a voice.

She shrugged off the Slayer senses that were willing her to investigate, time to sleep, she'll check it out tomorrow, it's probably nothing.sleep.

******

Shit.

He was going to have to be more careful in this fucking tree, he nearly fell out, and wouldn't that be a sight. The Slayer would have heard him and rushed right out with Mr.Pointy in hand.

He cupped a cigarette in his hand, lighting it. Might as well get in a few smokes to kill time, he was going to be here until he could smell the sunrise.

TBC.

********

"Wakie, wakie, Spike."

The words rang in his ears, causing memories and a familiar tingling sensation to come rushing back. His eyes shot open as he turned to face the woman beside him.

"Harm…" Spike sighed loudly, his face falling a bit. "What the bloody hell do you want?"

"Do you have any idea what time it is? It’s almost ten o’clock, are you gonna sleep all night?"

Spike scowled at her as he sat up, Harmony’s wasn’t exactly the first face he wanted to see when he woke up. He had met the girl while passing through LA en route to Sunnydale. A quick lay was all she was supposed to have been, but she latched onto him, calling him her ‘boyfriend’. Since she was the one who found the crypt they were now setting up shop in, he decided not to tell her to pack up her things, but now he was giving serious consideration to taking a torch to her.

"You haven’t spent one minute with me since we got here. You were gone all night yesterday, where were you?"

"None of your business." He growled, throwing the covers back and climbing out of bed.

"None of my business?! Spike, I’m your girlfriend…"

"Harm, for the thousandth fucking time…" He began, cutting her off. "You are not my girlfriend! Now, have you seen my jeans?"

Harmony sighed loudly, reaching over the side of the bed, god her blondie bear could be a handful sometimes. She grabbed a pair of his jeans, and tossed them to him.

"Are we going out?"

"I’m going out." Spike said, zipping up the pants. "I don’t care what you do."

"Well, where are you going?" Harmony whined, she was so getting tired of Spike leaving her behind.

"Again, that’s none of your business, now toss me a shirt."

*********

Buffy felt it, the cool fingers running up and down the length of her arm. She moaned softly, the feeling slowly waking her. Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled sleepily at the man smiling down at her.

"Mmm…Riley, Riley!" She quickly sat up in bed, blushing slightly, of course it was Riley waking her up like that, who else would she expect?

"What are you doing here so early?" She asked, running a hand through her hair.

"Well, technically, it’s ten o’clock…"

"Yeah…"

"At night." He added smiling.

"Oh." Buffy shrugged. "I kinda slept all day, huh?"

"Yeah, you kinda did." He chuckled, giving her a kiss on the forehead. "So how’s your aunt?"

"My aunt? My aunt! Oh, she’s great, it’s a miracle, really." She lied. "How’d you know I was back?"

"Willow told me after the class you weren’t in today." Riley said smiling. Buffy rolled her eyes at him, giving him a playful punch in the arm.

"You didn’t really expect me to be there did you?"

"It is your responsibility…" He shrugged.

"Well, I promise I’ll be there tomorrow, bright and early, and ready to face Prof. Walsh’s cold stares."

He laughed, smiling warmly at her, god he had missed her like crazy. "So, sleepy-head, feel like Bronzing it tonight?"

That’s exactly what she needed, some quality Riley time, time to show him just how completely devoted she is to him. Just the two of them…

"Sure, let me just get a shower and kill this cat on my head." She smiled, climbing out of bed.

"Great, some of the guys are gonna be there, they’re real anxious to meet you."

Buffy could feel her face falling, and she quickly put on her forceful smile.

"Sounds like fun."

********

Riley was sweet, and she was really starting to have strong feelings for him, he was exactly what she needed, but he was boring her to tears.

They had only been at the Bronze for an hour, but it felt like an eternity. His friends were drooling mongoloids who, so far had done nothing but drink beer, and tell every single unfunny blonde joke there was.

Xander had said that he had to work a late shift at Hot Dog on a Stick and couldn’t make it tonight, but Buffy had distinctively heard Anya in the background over the phone, calling for ‘Night-Hawk’ to rescue the lonely peasant girl. Willow had a Wicca group meeting, Buffy was stuck…

"Riley, I’m gonna go and get another drink, my coke’s feeling a little less rummy." She said, climbing to her feet, walking away, she couldn’t get away fast enough…

"Hey, Buffy!" One of Riley’s friends called after her. "How do you drown a blonde?" He snickered

She stopped in her tracks, sighing heavily as she turned to face the table of snickering frat boys. "Glue a penny to the bottom of a pool." She said in a clipped voice, turning quickly on her heels and heading away. Like she hasn’t heard that lame ass joke before. Moron.

"Rum and coke please." She sighed, tonight’s two-drink minimum rule was about to go right out of the window. Buffy leaned on the bar while she waited for her drink. She was so busy deciding whether she should tell Riley that she was still feeling a little jet-lagged, or if she should get drunk out of her mind, that she didn’t notice the guy slipping in next to her.

"Hi, Buffy." He smiled.

She could feel the air going out of the room, and she paled at the sight of him, suddenly feeling very sick.

Shit.

TBC…

********

He paced nervously in front of the Bronze, ha, he was nervous, just the thought made him laugh bitterly. He was determined to get his role in their game clearly defined again; he was the bad guy, she was the annoying good one, his mission was to kill the annoying good one. That was the whole point to his coming back to Sunnyhell in the first place, to do the thing he couldn’t do a million times before…kill the Slayer.

Damn, there it was again, that sick flip-floppy feeling in his stomach. Every time he thought about getting rid of this bitch for good it would come rushing forth, bringing a vomit-ie taste with it. God, that was laughable, the thought of killing the Slayer, his mortal enemy made him sick…and it’s all because of Texas!

That’s right, completely the fault of the state of Texas, with it’s big-haired women and NASCAR shirts, and line dancing, and, oh yeah, Ramada Inns.

If he had never gone to Texas, he would have never met up with the Slayer, would have never shared that room with her, would have never found himself wanting her…

Spike whipped a cigarette out, lighting it quickly. He was a piss poor excuse for a demon, sleeping with the fucking Slayer, and now getting sick at the thought of killing her…

He had been trailing her since she arrived in Sunnydale, watching her greet her little friends, plotting his moves carefully. He had been tempted to strike when she was heading to bed, he could tell she was tired and her guard was completely down, but that’s when he saw it, her pulling out his T-shirt to sleep in. He didn’t know why, but after seeing that he couldn’t bring himself to…only wanted to watch her sleep. Why hadn’t he taken the time to watch her sleep when he was close to her?

Spike had come to the Bronze on a hunch, the Slayer and her pals were always here when they weren’t busy being thorns in his ass, but he hadn’t quite made it inside yet to see if she was actually there. Too busy burning through every fag in his pack, pacing around the front entrance like a ponce.

Why was so god damn hard all of a sudden?!

*******

"Hi, Buffy." He smiled.

She could feel the air going out of the room, and she paled at the sight of him, suddenly feeling very sick.

Shit.

Why did this asshole still have that effect on her? Maybe it had to do with fact he’d used her, fed her all kinds of lines, which she bought, compared her to a toilet seat according to Riley. Or maybe it was the fact that he stood next to her now smiling, as if, nothing had ever happened between them, as if he had never hurt her and left her feeling like shit.

"Parker." She spit out through clenched teeth, here’s hoping he noticed how much hate she put into his name.

"You, you look great." He smiled his flashy smile. Obviously, not noticing the venom. Buffy rolled her eyes, giving him the most polite smile she could muster.

"Thanks. You look…pretty much the same." She grabbed up her drink as quick as the bartender put it down, taking two big gulps. Between Riley’s friends and Parker’s leering eyes, she was going to need more than a rum and coke…

"So how have things been with you? I haven’t seen you around much lately, I know we left things kind of bad but I was hoping that…"

"Buffy, the guys and I are going to shoot a little pool…" Riley began, seemingly turning up out of no where. He frowned at the sight of Parker, pushing in between him and Buffy. She smiled at his overprotective-ness, she was more than capable of getting rid of this bastard on her own, but she had to admit it felt kind of good having a hero-type boyfriend.

"Abrams…" Riley growled. "Don’t you have somewhere to be, some other girl to irritate with your company?"

Parker nodded, grabbing his drink. He smiled, backing away slowly like a coward. "Right, I was just…it was good seeing you again, Buffy."

Buffy smiled as she watched him turn tail and run, the sight was almost orgasmic…almost. She set her drink down on the bar and gazed up lovingly at her boyfriend, stretching up on her tipi toes to give him a kiss. "Have I told you just how much I missed you?" She smiled.

Riley wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. "No, I don’t believe you have." He said, leaning in for another kiss. Their smooches were cut short by the sound of Riley’s beeper going off. He groaned loudly, reluctantly pulling away from her, and removed the beeper from his pants.

"I’ve got to go." He sighed, shoving it in his pocket.

"Go where? What are you a doctor or something, Colombian drug lord…"Buffy teased.

"It’s…uh…school stuff…"

"The Professor beeps you? That’s a little scary."

"Ah, the life of a T.A." He smiled, giving her a quick kiss. "Do you need a ride to the dorms?"

"Um, no. I’m gonna spend one more night at home before heading back. I’ll walk, need the exercise."

Riley gave her another kiss before jogging off with his friends, funny how they all seemed to have to leave at the same time. She took one last sip of her drink before heading out of the Bronze. She might as well do a quick sweep of the cemetery, get back in the swing of patrolling again.

********

No matter how many times she did it, walking through the alley behind the Bronze at night, always gave her the wiggens. There was just something about it that made her skin crawl, made her feel like a thousand eyes where on her, watching her every move.

Buffy stopped in her tracks, her Slayer senses were kicking into overdrive. It wasn’t just the overall creepieness of the alley anymore, someone or something was following her.

"Alright…" She began, sighing. "I know you’re out there and I don’t feel like playing games, show yourself so we can get this over with."

A cool breeze whipped through the alley, making goosebumps spring up on her arms. Buffy watched, waited, nothing. The feeling of not being alone left her, whatever it was that was out there must have gotten a quick clue and left right away.

The only trace left of her ‘shadow’ was a heavy cigarette smell in the air.

TBC….

************

Dammit!

She had hit five of the twelve cemeteries and this was it. One mealy-mouthed fledgling, who took off running the second he saw her. She hated the chasing, especially when she was in her dancing shoes, God patrolling right after a stint at the Bronze had its major downsides.

She was closing in on him, dodging in between the monuments and headstones that lined the cemetery, when he managed to elude her, ducking around the side of a crypt. Buffy picked up her speed, heading around the side of the crypt, running blindly.

Suddenly, she was on the ground, pain shooting through her chest. She had ran right smack into something, something hard and big, bulky…whatever it was had gotten a nice taste of her strength as well, both let out a simultaneous ‘oomph!’, as they fell.

Buffy slowly climbed to her feet, shaking off the pain, taking in as much air as she could gaining her wind back.

"Are you okay? I’m sorry, I didn’t see you…" She said wearily, inching closer to the looming figure that was slowly starting to rise off of the ground.

"You know, buddy, graveyards aren’t exactly the best places in Sunnydale to be hanging out at night. Lots of weird things around here…"

Her mouth dropped slightly at the sight of him as he rose to his feet.

"I guess you’d be one of those things."

*********

"Commandos?" Giles removed his glasses, giving them their ritual cleaning, while looking at his Slayer as if she’d gone insane.

"Like the ones we saw on Halloween?" Xander asked, flopping down on Giles’ couch. The gang had gathered in the Watcher’s apartment for Buffy’s ‘urgent’ meeting, each one of them actually excited at the potential for some new evil to battle. Things had been extremely slow while she was gone, it was good to see some action, to be needed.

"Exactly like the ones we saw Halloween."

"I guess they weren’t just nifty costumes, huh?" Willow said, sighing audibly.

"Giles, this guy got in my way, it was like he came out of nowhere, and the vamp I was tailing, completely gone."

"Well, by all accounts, it sounds like what we’re dealing with is…uh…human. I doubt I have anything here that could be of any help. You’ll just have to keep your eyes peeled, maybe widen your patrol."

Buffy nodded solemnly at Giles’ suggestion, more patrolling, gosh it was great to be back in Sunnydale. As if she could feel her friend’s frustration, Willow gave Buffy her reassuring smile, patting her gently on the shoulder.

"Don’t worry, Buffy, we’ll jump right into research mode. We’re gonna find out who these guys are and what they want."

***********

Great, another night, another chase.

Buffy ran full speed across the campus, tailing yet another vamp. She hadn’t seen many lately and after letting that fledgling get away the other night, she was anxious for a kill. What was the deal with the shortage of vamps lately? Were vampires like birds, flying south for the winter…maybe opting to converge on another hellmouth somewhere that’s else? She pushed the thought aside as she chased the vampire into a secluded area, it made no sense anyway, it was almost June, not winter. Maybe vampires were like spawning salmon…

The vamp decided it had grown tired of running, coming to a stop. Buffy quickly got prepared for the fight, loading up her pun-o-meter.

"Thanks for the relocate." She panted, slightly out of breath. "I perform better without an audience." The vamp lunged at her, big mistake number one, and she took him down effortlessly, deciding on getting in a little pummeling before the actual staking.

"You were thinking, what, a little helpless coed before bed? You know very well, you eat this late..." She quickly whipped out her stake, driving it into its heart. "You're gonna get heartburn. Get it? Heartburn?" He exploded into a cloud of dust without giving any kind of reaction. She sighed loudly, brushing away some of the dusty vamp particles, and slid her stake back into its hiding place.

"That's it? That's all I get? One lame-ass vamp with no appreciation for my painstakingly thought-out puns." Buffy said, shaking her head. "I don't think the forces of darkness are even trying. I mean, you could make a little effort here, you know? Give me something to work with."

She sighed once more, heading back in the other direction. She might as well get back to the dorms, she had a mountain of fresh new catch-up work to get started on.

********

He watched her as she left, smirking at her comments. She had no idea what she was in for…

"Watch your mouth, little girl. You should know better than to tempt the fates that way. 'Cause the big bad is back, And this time, it's... Urrgh! Aaaahhh!" Spike felt the painful jolt of electricity go through him as he slumped to the ground. His senses barely returning, as he felt his limbs being picked up.

Someone or something was dragging him…he felt groggy, his eyes were growing heavy…he stole a glance at the masked, hulking figures taking him away, soldier-looking things, before his traitor eyes finally shut.

TBC…

********

He could hear them surrounding him, all kinds of medical jargon spilling from their mouths. He had begun to come to once they placed him on the cold, steel operating table. Spike could feel the sting of the fluorescent lighting overhead behind his closed eyelids. He kept up the façade as he heard one of the doctors ask for the anesthesia.

He felt the nurse grab hold of his arm, preparing the area for the injection, now was a better time than any he thought as he let his eyes spring wide open, and his vampire countenance, spring forth. He let out a low, visceral growl as he wrenched the nurse’s arm.

She screamed in pain and immediately the doctors were on him, trying to hold him down. Spike let her go, kicking them off almost effortlessly, jumping off the table, fighting them as he crashed through the door.

"Code red! Code Red! We’ve got a Hostile on the loose!"

Ear piercing alarms went off all around him, red lights flashed as he ran through corridor after corridor. The soldiers that were responsible for his being in this hellhole, seemed to come from every direction, but Spike stayed one step in front of them.

"Stop him before he gets through the doors!"

"Finn, he’s heading right for you!"

Spike landed on the hard floor with a thud, as the one they called Finn tackled him, knocking him backwards. The boy pinned him down, and Spike writhed beneath him, struggling to get free. He roared, spitting in Finn’s face, distracting him long enough to toss him off. Spike quickly climbed to his feet and sent a swift kick to the boy’s ribs, knocking him back against the wall.

Spike scrambled before the others could reach him, diving through the doors before they closed.

*******

He was gasping, Spike was gasping, if he wasn’t in so much pain, he would have laughed.

Where the hell was he going to go?

The crypt?

No, there’s a chance those soldier boys could find him there, plus Harm was there, didn’t want to deal with her right now.

The old mansion on Crawford Street?

No, that place held too many memories, too many really unpleasant memories, memories of Dru and Angel…he shook it off, this was no time to cloud his head with thoughts of Dru and Peaches. Only one other place he could think to go, and he really didn’t want to go there…

*******

"I’ll get it!" Buffy shouted, bounding down the stairs, and towards the door, throwing it open.

"Hello, luv." He smiled weakly.

Buffy paled at the sight of him, her stomach suddenly felt like it was twisted into a thousand knots. She was going to be sick.

Shit.

TBC….

********

Buffy leaned over him, fastening the chains, and Spike took this opportunity to have a peak down her top. He smiled in appreciation…and at the memories, his eyes glazing over a bit.

"I didn’t know you were into chains, pet." He grinned. Buffy blushed, her eyes widening at his comment before settling into a scowl, and yanked the chains, inciting a yelp of pain from him.

"Ow! Is this really necessary?!" Spike screamed, sending a helpless glance in Giles’ direction.

Giles shrugged his shoulders a bit, smiling. "Remains to be seen, but it is rather fun to watch." He chuckled.

"I’m a man in pain here! I would’ve never come here if I had known that I’d be chained to a fucking bathtub! A bloke’s been through enough already…"

"What the hell are you babbling about?" Buffy sighed loudly, straightening herself up.

"Some soldier-boys zapped me, dragged me off to their little underground lair, and when I woke up, I was on an operating table getting ready to be another guinea pig I suppose…"

"Soldiers?"

"Yeah, Rueps, soldiers…commandos…jar-heads, whatever you want to call them."

"That still doesn’t explain why you showed up on my doorstep." Buffy said, impatiently folding her arms over her chest.

Spike narrowed his eyes, he was getting increasingly annoyed with her. So that’s it then, they’re back to playing that game. She’s her old bitchy self and what happened in Texas, never happened. Why did he expect any different from her…

"Well, it certainly wasn’t to be near your pleasant self." He sniped, rolling his eyes. "I had nowhere else to go. If they were tailing me, I figured this would be the least likely place they’d look."

"You think it could be those same commandos I ran into on patrol?" She asked, turning to Giles.

"Sounds like it. Spike, where was this ‘underground lair’ as you put it?"

"I don’t know, I was still a little out of it…will you take these damn things off me! You know damn well I’m capable of being trusted…"

Buffy blocked out his ranting, opting instead to give her former Watcher her undivided attention, for once.

"Keep him here for a few days…"

She opened her mouth, and Giles could feel the whine coming on and quickly cut her off. "We need any information he may have, Buffy."

"Hello! Is anyone listening to me!" Spike screamed, rattling the shackles. "Don’t pretend like I’m not in the bloody room!"

"I’ll tell the others and get started on the research."

Buffy nodded, her bottom lip jutting out, settling into its trademark pout. "And I’ll do the Spike-sitting." She sighed.

Giles gave Buffy a sympathetic smile before walking out of the bathroom. He shot a quick glance at Spike and not being able to hold it in any longer, burst into laughter, disappearing down the hall.

*********

She was going to kill him, plain and simple.

Buffy was trying hard to concentrate on her psych paper, slowly regretting accepting her mother’s invitation to spend the weekend at home. Spike banged his chains against the tub, shouting ‘Slayer!’ and every colorful obscenity he knew.

She closed the laptop she was working on, maybe she should just go ahead and return it to Will, there was no way she was going to get any work done…she was on the verge of screaming.

She was going to kill him, the thought ran through his head as he spotted her standing in the bathroom doorway. Her hair, pulled into a haphazard ponytail, she was dressed in rumpled sweats, her face free of makeup but marred with anger and utter frustration. She never looked more beautiful, he let that thought run through his mind and for the first time, chose not to push it away.

"Can I help you?" Buffy snapped. She now stood in front of the tub, arms folded over her chest.

"I’m bored! You don’t have a telly or something that you could put in here…"

"What the fuck do you think I am?" She asked, a bemused expression crossing her face.

"Do you really want me to answer that, pet?" Spike smirked, slumping down in the tub.

********

"A little more to the left." Spike directed her with his shackled hand. Buffy sighed loudly, obeying, moving the antenna on the tiny television a bit more.

"That’s perfect, leave it there."

She couldn’t believe that she had actually gone digging through her closet, sifting through the mountain of old clothes and ancient New Kids On The Block posters, to find her old portable TV. All for the sake of shutting Spike up she supposed.

"Anything else I can get you?" Buffy said, her words dripping with sarcasm.

"Nope." He smiled. "I’m all comfortable."

Buffy rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head and started towards the door.

"Wait, Buf-Slayer. Where are you going?"

"I have a paper to write, one that’s due Monday, one that will never get finished if I keep wasting time with you."

"So…you don’t want to sit and watch a little telly with me, then?"

********

Buffy laughed as she watched Lancelot storm Swamp Castle, stretching her legs out on the cool bathroom tile. Spike looked down on her from his position in the bathtub, and smiled. Never would of pegged the Slayer for a Monty Python fan.

"Never would of guessed you were a Python fan, luv."

"Oh yeah." She nodded, giggling. "I practically lived on Flying Circus reruns when I was a kid. I’m not sure if I really got it, but I knew there was something damn funny about the Ministry of Silly Walks."

Spike laughed, the sound a deep, rich baritone. She really liked his laugh and this was maybe only the second time she’d heard it. She really wished he’d do it more often, it just made him seem so different…

Buffy turned away from the movie, facing Spike, smiling brightly at him. There was the Buffy he liked. Relaxed and genuine, just the girl, not the Slayer. Spike shifted his weight, leaning in closer to her, the side of the tub pressing rather hard against his chest.

"Ever seen the ‘Life of Brian’?"

"How’s your boyfriend?" Spike asked, quickly regretting the question. He was going to scare her off, completely ruin the moment they were in…

"He’s good." Buffy said, nodding solemnly.

"What was his name again?" He said, inching his face closer to hers, he might as well go for it…no harm there…he’d been wanting to do this all night anyway.

Buffy felt her breath catch in her chest. Spike and his lips were getting closer and closer to hers. She was supposed to do something, scream, push him away, laugh in his face, she was frozen. God, she has a boyfriend…who’s name she couldn’t quite remember at the moment…but she loved him, kinda…and couldn’t cheat on him…*again*. What the hell was his name!

"Buffy! I’m home!" Joyce yelled. "Where are you?"

Buffy swallowed, shutting her eyes, and turned away from Spike. "I’m in the bathroom, mom!" She shouted, climbing to her feet. Spike let out an exasperated sigh, moving back to his former position, slumped down in the tub.

Oh great, now she remembered…

"Riley, my boyfriend’s name is Riley."

She opened the bathroom door, greeting Joyce on the other side.

"Hi, honey. I’m sorry I’m late, that art expo ran a little longer than I thought…" Joyce began, her expression suddenly changing to one of utter confusion. "What’s Spike doing in my tub?"

TBC…

********

"Where is he?!" Xander practically shoved his way into the Summers’ home, a wide, silly grin plastered on his face. Willow quietly entered behind him, shaking her head.

"He’s upstairs in the bathroom." Buffy sighed as she watched her friend dash up the stairs. "He’s loving this a little too much isn’t he?" She shook her head, shutting the door.

"Oh yeah." Willow nodded. "He’s been like that all morning. So, how are things with the ‘Undead English Patient’?" She smiled.

"As good as they possibly could be, mom didn’t even seem to really mind having him here, although there were shower issues…"

*******

This was it, Spike’s Dante’s Inferno, his ninth circle of hell. Here he was, chained to the Slayer’s bathtub, with the whelp standing in the doorway, grinning like an idiot.

It was bad enough when Joyce had wandered in, in the middle of the night to do her ‘business’, seemingly forgetting that he was there, but this…this was cruel. Spike sighed loudly, slumping down.

"What the bloody hell do you want?!" He growled. Xander continued to stand there, his smile, if possible wider than it was before. The boy broke into a fit of laughter, complete with snorts.

"Give me a minute…" Xander panted in between his gawfaws. "I can’t breathe…"

Spike growled, rolling his eyes. "Slayer!"

*******

"So, you think Spike’s commandos and our commandos are the same…uh, commandos?" Willow asked, flopping down on the couch.

"Looks like." Buffy said, taking a seat next to her friend. "But, if they tortured Spike, they can’t be all bad right?" She smiled.

The red head opened her mouth to speak, but was tentatively cut off by the sound of running water and Spike’s painful cry of "Slayer!" The pair exchanged glances before climbing to their feet and rushing upstairs.

Buffy couldn’t help but laugh, really she couldn’t. The sight she and Will had stumbled on was priceless. There was Spike in all of his chained, blonde glory, soaking wet, and there was Xander, his face still marred with the goofy grin he had been sporting all morning, his hand suspiciously on the cold-water knob.

"Quick, I’m going to do it again, but I need one of you girls to flush the toilet." Xander said, ignoring the death glares Spike was sending him.

"As soon as these chains come off, I’m snapping your neck."

"Ah, if only you had chained Angel to the bathtub. Oh, well." Xander sighed. "I guess Deadboy Jr.’s better than nothing."

Willow sent Spike a sympathetic smile, turning to Buffy. "Stop this, it’s mean. Kinda funny…but still mean."

"I will in just a sec. Hey, Xand, get ready to turn the water on, I’ll flush the toilet!"

"Buffy!" The Slayer’s smile withered away underneath the power of Willow’s resolve face, damn, the resolve face was like kryptonite.

"Oh, alright. Xander, you’ve had your fun, step away from the tub." Buffy grumbled, turning to Will. "Party pooper." She muttered.

********

He was sick of being laughed at, first Giles, then the whelp, now her. Buffy hadn’t left the bathroom, even after Red and the boy said their good-byes. Nope, she stayed, arms folded in front of her, smirk planted on her face, and laughing eyes peering right down at him. He must be a masochist to put up with this crap.

"Please, don’t let a little thing like my feelings get in the way. By all means, get your ya-ya’s out." Spike said glumly, slumping down once more.

Buffy giggled, kneeling down by the tub. "Aww, poor Spikey." She said in a mock sympathetic tone.

"Do I at least get a dry pair of clothes?" He asked rolling his eyes.

Buffy smiled. He was so pitiful, his features all droopy and hangdog, his shirt soaking, clinging to him, and his hair a tangled mess of curls from the blast of water. He was adorable, and for the first time Buffy didn’t try to push the thought away.

"But you look so cute all wet." She teased. Spike smiled, quickly switching into his leering glance, and leaned in closer to her.

"Oh, you think so?" His pink tongue darted out to wet his lips. She cleared her throat, loudly, trying to will her eyes away from his lips. Dammit, it wasn’t working…

"Um, I think I’ve still got one of your shirts, you could change into that." Buffy said softly, clearing her throat once more. "Can’t really help you in the pants department…"

"Mmm." He mumbled, nodding before capturing her lips in a searing kiss. No awkward fumbling, no hesitation, and every annoying little doubt, pushed back to the far corners of her mind. Buffy moaned as his tongue slipped pass her lips, battling her own. She’d have time later to dwell on the consequences, right now she just wanted to feel…damn tub, blocking them off.

Spike somehow managed to wrap his fingers around her shirt, and deftly yanked her into the tub on top of him, breaking the kiss for only a second, but wasted no time, smashing his lips on hers again.

********

The sound of the phone ringing echoed throughout the empty living room, the answering machine finally kicking on when it was apparent that no one was there to pick up.

"Hey, Buffy, it’s Riley. I guess you’re not home. I was just calling to make sure that we were still on for tonight. Well, give me a call when you get in. I love you, bye."

TBC…

**********

Where the hell is he?!

Harmony paced around the crypt, her fuzzy pink slippers slapping loudly against the floor. Her Spikey had been gone all night, and there wasn’t a single sign of him today.

She had busied herself by arranging her unicorn statuettes, and redecorating she and Spike’s bedroom with her newly purchased unicorn posters, but she was bored now, and worried about her blondie bear.

Where the hell is he?!

***********

Where the hell is she?!

It wasn’t like Buffy to not return his calls right away. He stared at his cell phone, almost willing it to ring. He was more than a little worried about his girlfriend. He was well-aware of what went bump in the night, and with that Hostile on the loose…he didn’t even want to think of Buffy being alone out there…

"If you keep staring at it long enough, it might actually ring."

"Huh?" Riley said, looking up to see the grinning face of his best friend. He tucked the phone back into his pocket, smiling, somewhat embarrassed. Buffy was fine, he was worrying over nothing, he really needed to get a grip…

"Come on man." Forrest gave him a small, reassuring pat on the back as they stepped in front of the mirror. "She’ll call, just give her some time."

"Retinal scan, accepted." The Orwellian voice of the computer sounded, opening up the doors to the elevator. Riley sighed loudly as he and Forrest stepped inside.

"I know she’ll call, but I worry. I worry." He said, leaning into the microphone.

"Initiative vocal code match complete. Special agent Finn, Riley. Identity number 75329."

Where the hell is she?!

***********

"Ow!" Spike cried out, tearing his lips away from hers for just a second. Damn faucet, the back of his head was throbbing.

"Sorry." Buffy giggled, bringing her lips on his again. She repeated the word again, into the kiss, still giggling.

"It’s okay." He muttered against her mouth, chuckling a little himself.

She had managed to pull her legs in the position to straddle his waist, even with the limited space of the tub, and snaked her hands around to the back of his neck, while his own slipped under the back of her shirt to caress her bare skin.

Spike cursed himself for ever agreeing to the chains, it was limiting his range of movement, and slowly becoming a pain in the ass. He ran the pads of his fingers lightly over her back and thanked the powers that be for her lack of a bra, would have nearly impossible to remove in his ‘state’.

He growled in lust as she rubbed herself down against the hardening shaft that was encased in his jeans. His hand dragged lightly around her body, cupping her breast, the feel of the stiff peak poking into his palm causing him to growl once more.

Buffy mewled in the back of her throat as he tugged and rolled her nipple between his fingers. She rubbed against him, feeling his erection, the need to be closer overwhelming her. Spike broke away from the kiss, abruptly, his free hand tugging at the hem of her shirt.

Buffy, breathless, panting, her eyes glazed over with lust, stared at him as if he’d grown two heads. What happened, why wasn’t he kissing her anymore, her brain ran over the words in a disconnected haze.

Spike tugged frantically at the shirt, completely relieved when she finally got his hint, and yanked the shirt up over her head. His mouth immediately latched onto a rosy nipple, inciting gasps of pleasure from her. She arched forward as he sucked and teased the hardened peak, repeating his actions on her other breast.

Buffy ran her fingers up under his shirt, cursing herself for making him agree to be chained before she would let him stay in the house. She, would half to settle for simply letting her fingers feel the beauty of the sculpted pecks and abs underneath the cotton barrier instead of actually drinking in the sight with her eyes. She relished in the sounds he made as she dragged her nails down the front of his muscular chest, unconsciously moving back and forth on him, seeking friction.

His fingers deftly moved to the waistband of her drawstring pants, swiftly untying them. His hands disappeared down her pants, cupping her ass, pulling her slightly up on her knees.

Spike inhaled sharply when her own fingers had undone the button and zipper on his jeans, and danced lightly over the hard, cotton covered member they found there. When did he start wearing boxers? The thought entered her mind, but quickly disappeared when his hand dived into her nest of curls.

Simultaneous groans filled the air, and she raised higher up on her knees as he used his other hand to push down her loosened pants as far as he could, giving him the room to slide two fingers into her slick opening.

As he stroked her inner walls, she pulled his shaft through the split in his boxers, encircling her tiny hand around it.

He growled once more, deep and throaty, and moved his hand away from her sex back to her pants, trying desperately to tug them down further. This time, Buffy taking the hint, stopped her teasing and steadied herself against his chest. She lifted one leg and brought it closer to the other, using her free hands to yank the material off of her body. She repositioned herself on him, gasping loudly as she lowered herself down on his rigid shaft.

Spike’s fingers tightened on her waist as her heat engulfed him, holding her flush against him. Her mouth tore away from his in a muffled cry, their eyes meeting and holding their gaze, seemingly melting into each other’s.

Simultaneously, she rose up as Spike shifted his hips down, coming back together in a torturously slow move. Repeating it again and again, never breaking eye-contact for a second. Their mouths fused again as their bodies hit together harder, now driving at a faster, constant pace.

Her breath hitched when he slid one hand down between them, capturing her swollen nubbin. Her feminine walls grasped at Spike’s shaft, and he could feel her shattering into a million pieces. His booted heels kicked hard into the end of the tub as he finally lost his control, filling her with his cool semen.

He kissed her soundly before pulling away, resting his forehead against hers, both visibly shaking.

"Did you hear that?" Buffy said softly, sniffing a bit.

"Hear what, luv?"

"I thought I heard the phone."

***********

"Finn, if you don’t put that thing away, Walsh is going to have your head!" Forrest whispered harshly to his friend. Riley was like a brother to him, and he was all for seeing him happy, but this was ridiculous. The poor guy was already pussy-whipped and he wasn’t even sure if Riley was getting any yet.

Riley sighed, tucking the phone away again, and turning his attention back to the tiny woman pacing in front of them.

"I’m greatly disappointed in you gentlemen. Letting a dangerous HST get away from you. We will not rest until that Hostile is back in containment where he belongs."