Chapter 1 - Coming Home

Buffy fumbled with the keys as she tried to unlock the door to her house. The wood screeched as it slowly rolled open. She made a mental note to ask Xander to fix that. It was really starting to get on her nerves.

“Hey, Buffy!” Dawn’s voice was heard from the living room.

“Why are you guys up so late?” the slayer asked the two girls sprawled on the coach.

“Celebrating our last non-school night.” Willow answered; her eyes never leaving the television set. “Classes start the day after tomorrow.”

Buffy threw her denim jacket on a chair and proceeded by taking her place between the two girls. They both protested over the sudden loss of space, but after a lot of tossing and turning they settled down.

“So, what are we watching?” taking a hand full of popcorn and stuffing her face with it.

“Nothing. Just some old Dawson’s Creek episodes I taped.” Dawn replied.

“Oh, I hate this episode. In fact I hated the whole season. This whole Pacey and Audrey thing, just… Grrr!” Buffy crunched up her face in sign of disgust.

“I know. It’s like Pacey and Joey never existed. It’s just… stupid!” Willow agreed bringing a scoop of popcorn into her mouth.

They looked at the screen for a while longer until Buffy spoke.

“Ah, turn it off, I can’t watch it anymore.” She waved her arms in front of her as if trying to keep the images from assaulting her senses.

“So, what else can we do?” Dawn asked as she popped the tape out of the VCR.

“What else have we got?” Buffy asked.

“We’ve got…” Dawn paused as she went thought the various tapes. “…Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The Man Who Cried… hum…Woodstock?” a frown settled on her eyebrows as she stared at the tape. Suddenly she realised who it belonged to.

An uncomfortable silence settled around them as the memory of the bleached vampire filled every empty space in the room.

“I’ll take it to Clem’s on tomorrow night’s patrol.” Buffy finally spoke in a low voice.

Willow awkwardly shuffled in her seat as she saw the painful look on her best friend’s face, she was about to say something but Buffy was faster:

“Well, I’m beat. I’m going to bed.”

“Ar-Are you sure? There are other movies we can watch.” Dawn quickly offered but it was no use. As it had happen all through out the Summer at the mere mention of anything related to the lost vampire, the Slayer silently retreated to her room, dragging her tired feet. “Goodnight.” The young teenager shouted after her, but she had no answer.

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As she entered her room and closed the door behind her, Buffy hesitated. If she opened her closet it would be there. She had no doubt about it. It would be neatly hung on the door just were she’d left it. She had no idea why she hadn’t taken it to Clem’s along with all the other items he had left around the house before leaving. She just couldn’t part ways with it.

Slowly, she opened the door and the familiar aroma of old leather mixed with cigarettes and alcohol assaulted her nostrils. She closed her eyes tightly. She could almost see him through her closed eyes lids. He was standing in front of her. Head slightly tilted to the side, teasing eyes staring at her with breathtaking intensity and a cocky grin dancing on his lips. But when she pried her eyes open he was gone and all that was there was his old leather coat.

Her trembling fingers reached for the hem of a sleeve and she snaked her hand in bringing it to her face, steadily brushing it against her cheek. A knock caught her off guard and she immediately slammed closed the door to her closet.

“Yes?” she whispered.

“Hey, it’s Dawn. Giles is on the phone. He wants to know how was patrolling.” A squeaky voice was heard from the hall.

Buffy sniffed and brushed her eyes with the back of her sleeve as she tried to regain composure.

“Um… Tell him I’ll report to him first thing in the morning, at the Magic Shop.”

“Ok.” Silence. “Buffy? Are you ok?” Dawn made a move to open the door but decided it was best not to.

“Yes, I’m fine. Go to bed.” Buffy answered.

She heard soft footsteps walking away from her door and she dared to approach the closet once more. This time, without hesitation, she took the coat in her hands, carefully slid it on and slumped her tired body onto the bed. Curling up into the foetal position; her arms braced her small torso as she rocked herself to sleep.

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

“Hello, Buffy!” Giles greeted as he saw the young woman enter the shop.

“Hi, Giles.” She answered, slumping into one of the chairs. “Sorry about telling you I’d meet you here, I didn’t realise it was Sunday and the Shop would be closed.”

“Don’t worry, I had to come over anyway.” The former watcher spoke as he walked across the room to stand in front of her. “How was patrolling? Nothing new, I hope.”

“Yes.” She replied flatly, playing with the cover of a book that lay on the table. Giles noticed it and quickly snaked it out of the Slayer’s strong grip.

“What do you mean?” he now concentrated on the skilfully rubbing of his glasses with a handkerchief.

“Well, there was nothing, which in itself is new.” She explained, taking her next victim into her hands.

The librarian immediately stepped in and, once more took the heavy book from her, but this time he expertly positioned himself between her and the closest stack of books, which made it impossible for her to massacre them as a distraction.

“Nothing?”

“Nothing. Zero. Nada. Rien. Zeppo!” Buffy answered.

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely. No baddies.”

“That’s very strange.” Giles murmured under his breath, bringing is hand to scratch the side of his forehead.

“No. Not strange. Good. It means I get to take this night off, right?” Buffy looked at the watcher with hopeful eyes, but the old man barely even noticed her, he was wrapped up in deep thought. “Giles!” she finally called causing him to snap out of his trance.

“Hum? Oh, yes. Of course you can.”

“Yuppy!” she cheered, picking up her backpack and making her way out of the Magic Shop. She was about to say her goodbyes to him when she realised something was eating at the man. “Are you ok?”

“It’s just… very…” he struggled for a word.

“Non-Hellmouthy?” she offered.

“Yes! It looks awfully like the calm before the storm.”

“It’s amazing. Even when there is no danger, there is… danger. You gotta love the Hellmouth.” Buffy joked.

“I guess. But, you can take the night off anyway. You deserve it. You’ve been patrolling every night this summer and not having Spik-“ he stopped himself before he said the name, but it was too late, the shadows had already settled over her face. “I’ll stay here and research, you go. Have fun!” he said with a weak smile.

“Bye, Giles.”

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

She knocked lightly on the heavy door before she entered:

“Clem? You here?” she called out. She heard a strange noise coming from the lower level of the crypt and she made her way to the stairs, only to find her way barred by a very jittery floppy skinned demon.

“Slayer! Hey!” he greeted her. “What bring you to these parts?”

Buffy frowned at the nervousness of the creature, but ignored it. He was such a strange character, she never knew what was normal for his standards. “Who know? Maybe this is normal.” She thought to herself.

“I came to drop this off. Dawn found it last night. I think it’s Spike’s.” it was Buffy’s turn to look nervous or at least uncomfortable. She shuffled around in her bag and finally found what she was looking for.

“Woodstock. Man, that rules!” the demon exclaimed taking the tape from the Slayer’s hands.

“You’re into that stuff too, huh?”

“Are you kidding? Have you seen Hendricks play at Woodstock? It was amazing!!!”

“I guess you had to be there.” She sighed. “So, just leave those things with the rest. Ok?”

“Hum…” the demon struggled with the words and when they eventually came out they were stuttered: “Slayer! I-I’ve had news from Spike.”

“Really?” Buffy cursed herself for letting her enthusiasm show and immediately added in a nonchalant tone: “I mean… have you?”

“Yeah. He said he-he’s not coming back.” Clem explained.

Buffy’s face fell at the demon’s statement. She felt as if someone had just punched her straight in her stomach and the air had been propelled out of her lung dew to the intensity of the impact. Slowly she regained her composure and she forced the words out of her:

“Did he say where he was going?”

“No. He just asked me to mail him some of his stuff to New York. He said, he’d pick them up when he passed through.” The demon clarified.

“Oh!” her mind was racing with memories of all the moments they had shared. She couldn’t believe that she would never see him again. It had been over four months, but she still believed he’d come back, but now even that thread of hope had been severed. She was brought back to reality as she felt her eyes well up. Quickly, she shook her emotions away and added a feeble smile in the mix as she spoke: “Well, make sure he gets that, I think he was fond of it.”

And with that she turned on her heels and made her way out of the crypt. When the sound of a door being slammed shut echoed through the stony walls of the compartment, Clem asked:

“Are you sure you don’t want me to tell her you’re here, pal?”

From the lower lever a bleached haired man appeared. He flickered on the littler as he lit his cigarette. He took a deep drag of it before he spoke:

“Nah, mate.”

“Really? Cause I think you should tell her.”

“Trust me, she doesn’t want to know.”

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“Dawn! Where are you?” Buffy called out as she entered the house and dropped her backpack on the living room couch. She continued shouting as she made her way into the kitchen. “Giles gave me the night off, which means it’s sister bonding time. What do you-“ she stopped dead in her tracks as she saw the piece of paper over the kitchen counter.

“Buffy, I’m going to sleep over at Janice’s if you don’t mind. We have classes together tomorrow, so I’m going straight to school with her. Don’t worry. Don’t stay out patrolling to late. Love, Dawn.” Buffy read out loud. “Well, no chance of that happening.” She said to the empty room.

Taking two steps at a time, she made her way to the top floor of the house. She lightly tapped on Willow’s door when she reached it.

“Will? Are you home?” Buffy turned the knob and peeked in. The room was empty and she noticed a nicely folded piece of paper on the bed.

“Dear Buffy, If you find this it’s because I decided to sleep over at Xander’s. He asked me to come over to help him out with the… Anya problem and I’m pretty sure this is going to be another one of those soul-baring-cry-sniffle all-nighter marathons. Kisses, Willow.”

“What is this? Abandon Buffy and leave her a message day? This is great! My first night out in mouths and I get to spend it alone. Perfect.” She mumbled under her breath as she made her way into her bathroom and poured herself a warm bath.

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Careful not to slip on the wet floor, Buffy stepped out of the tub as she wrapped a white towel around herself. Standing in front of the mirror, she slowly brushed her hair into place, straightening her soft locks. She stared at the image reflected on the humid piece of glass. Her hair had grown quickly and it now rested half way down her arm. “He liked it this way.” She caught herself thinking about him and shook her head as if trying to erase the memory.

She dragged herself out of the bathroom and into her room. She was about to sit on the edge of the bed when she heard a scream coming outside. In a flash, she was leaning over the railing of her window, outstretching her neck to see what was happening. At the end of the street was a group of shadowy figures. She strained to identify them but couldn’t. For some reason the lights on the side of the road were turned off.

“Just great.” She mumbled to herself as she dressed in seconds and jumped out of the window. There was no time to take the stairs, that was for sure. Quickly, she jogged her way up the street. “My one night off and I get this…” she stopped as she was able to tell what was going on.

On the sidewalk, was a hysterical woman screaming her lungs off, frenetically pointing at a group of vampires. There was nothing wrong with that picture except for the fact they weren’t doing anything. They moved slowly along the street, zombie like, with glassy eyes just staring into the horizon.

An excruciatingly loud scream coming from the woman snapped the Slayer out of her daze.

“Must be from out of town.” Buffy murmured to herself as she moved towards the panic-stricken woman, who was now crazily pulling her hair out. “Are you ok? Did they hurt you?”

“Va… Vamp…” she stuttered.

Buffy placed her body between the woman and the group of vampires, and turned to face her.

“Oh, no mam. They’re just some crazy kids who are just a little too worked up about Halloween. Even if it is a few weeks away. Ha, ha, funny huh?” Buffy forced the laugh and the woman looked at the Slayer as if she had just grown a second head.

“Halloween?”

“Yeap. Here in Sunnydale we are really into the whole… Grrr thing.” Buffy tried to calm the woman down and after a while she succeeded.

“I better get back to the hotel then.”

“You do that.” Buffy patted the woman on the back and saw her leave. Then she turned her attention to the group of vampires but there was no sign of them. She ran a bit along the street to see if she could find them but… nothing. “That’s weird.”

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

“You just turned you back on THEM?” for the first time in her life she actually heard Giles shout.

“Well, at that moment I was more afraid of what the woman was going to do than the vampires wanna be zombies gang. Vampires I can handle. Hysterical women pulling at their hair, not my line of work.

“Exactly. You should have followed them!” Giles pointed an accusing finger at her.

“Sorry?!” Buffy offered.

“Buffy have you learned nothing?”

“I’m sorry, ok? I was just a little off my game yesterday.” Buffy tried to excuse herself.

“Why? What happen?” Giles asked taking a seat next to her.

“Nothing.” When she saw that her answer didn’t satisfy the former watcher she lied: “I came home last night and everyone was gone. Dawn went to Janice’s and Willow to Xander’s. You know I wanted to get jiggy with it but there was no one to get jiggy with.”

“Jiggy what?”

“Forget it Giles. So, any clue on why we have a brand new gang of seriously stoned vampires?” Buffy changed the subject.

“I have no idea. I’ll have to do some research.” Giles started to speak as he moved towards a stack of books. “Could you ask Willow to come by latter today, see if we can figure this out? I’ll call Xander.”

“Yuppy, Scobbie meeting. We haven’t had one of those in… almost a week.” A cocky smile settle over her lips as she mocked. “Are we calling Anya on this one?”

“We better. She is a demon. She might have some inside information.” Giles spoke as he skimmed through a book.

“Oky-doky. I’ll remember to bring the little plastic thingies for my ears.” Buffy said as she stood up and headed for the door.

“Are they still mad at each other?” Giles asked concerned for the odd couple.

“You have no idea.” Buffy sighed raising and eyebrow.

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

Spike watched from afar as the young teenager knelt down at the foot of a grave and placed a fresh bouquet of wild flowers on the grass. Behind the bushes, from a few feet away he could clearly hear what she said to the cold marble stone.

“Hey, Tara.” Dawn spoke in a low voice. She paused for a while playing with the grass beneath her knees. “Sorry I couldn’t come sooner. Class started today. I have a new math teacher. She’s kind of scary, but I think I can handle her.” She smiled and continued. “Everything’s fine back home. Buffy got name employee of the month at the Double Meat Palace, can you believe it? They gave her this silly burger shaped trophy thingie.” Pause. “Willow’s doing much better. She’s been sober for over four months now. You’d be proud. Not even a tiny spell. She’s been hanging around Xander’s a lot these days. Yeah, he and Anya are still mad at each other. Not as much as they used to, but… You know.” She paused thinking what she’d say next. “Oh! Buffy showed me a new move on Friday. It’s this really weird kick, it’s really cool. I still have a few kinks to figure out, though. Most of the times I land on my butt instead of on my left leg.” She choked back a laugh as her fingers pushed through her hair. “Well, I gotta go. We’re all going to the Magic Shop. It’s a Scoobie meeting… again. Yes, I know. We seem to have one of those every week now!” Slowly she rose to her feet and took a step closer. Her pale fingers traced the contours of the bold letters carved into the headstone. “I miss you so much.” She whispered as the tears began to roll down her blushed cheeks. “I’ll come back next week.”

She turned on hell heels and headed out of the cemetery. In the shadows, Spike couldn’t help following her.

Suddenly, out of nowhere a large and seriously pissed off demon appeared in front of her. It roared in her face as it lunged at her. Spike immediately jumped out of the bushes to Dawn’s rescue. He hissed in pain as the scorching sunrays burned into his skin and he was forced to retreat back into the shadows. There, he helplessly watched the demon attack the young girl. To his amazement, instead of screaming for help and running away, like she usually did, Dawn stood her ground, returning every punch and kick blow by blow.

Skulking in the darkness, the vampire watched, with his jaw dropped to the floor as the young girl battled the demon. She was doing a pretty good job actually, but the struggle was growing too long and it was clear she was getting tired.

“Finish him off, bit.” Spike murmured to himself. “No, not the chest.” He hissed. “The head. You have to… Bugger, she doesn’t know how to kill it.”

Unexpectedly, the demon’s fist came flying out of nowhere and landed on Dawn’s stomach, propelling her across the field, into the shadows. When she opened her eyes the demon stood over her, preparing the final blow. She closed her eyes as her mind raced. Suddenly she heard the sound of bones cracking. Realising it didn’t come from her, she pried her left eyes open.

”Spike?” she asked confused, staring up at the vampire.

“Hello, little bit!” he greeted in a low voice.

Chapter 2 - Spaced Out

He outstretched his arm, offering her a helpful hand. She accepted and leaned on him as rose to her feat. Without warning the back of her hand came flying at him and struck him over the chest.

“Dawn, I’m sorry I-“ before he could finish his statement, the young girl had her arms around his neck and griped him tightly. If he wasn’t a vampire he would have suffocated.

“I’ve missed you so much.” She finally spoke.

At first, he was surprised by the sudden outburst, but soon he was returning the gesture, wrapping his long arms around her small torso and lifting her off the ground. He was so glad to see her. She had grown. She was taller and her hair, which had been cut short, dangled over her shoulders. He hadn’t realised just how much he’d missed her until that very moment.

“Um… Spike?” he heard her call. “Spike!” her voice seemed desperate somehow, so he opened his eyes. “Oxygen. Need. Now!”

“Oh! Sorry!” he apologized, letting her out of his deadly grip.

They stood there and smiled at each other.

“It’s good to see you.” She spoke calmly.

“It’s good to be seen, Nibblet.” He replied, resting his hand on her shoulder, he took a lock of her hair between his cold fingers. “You cut your hair.”

“Yeah. You like it?” she asked.

“I love it.” He smiled at her.

“Buffy’s going to die when she sees you.” Dawn said happily, but her smile crumbled when she saw the change on the vampire’s face. “What?”

His head was tilted, his gaze dropped to the ground at his feet.

“I don’t want her to know.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“It’s complicated.” He tried to avoid the subject, but she wouldn’t have any of it.

“Is it because of what you did? Before you left?” she spoke calmly, without any accusation in her voice.

“What?” he looked at her surprised.

“I know, Spike. She told me. Well, actually it was Xander, but… we talked about it.” Dawn stared at him. The way her eyes showed nothing but concern and forgiveness made his heart break. “I understand. Things got out of control and…”

“I tried to rape her.” he finally spoke. His voice was barely a whispered and his tone was filled with regret.

“You stopped.” Dawn pointed out.

“She stopped me.” Spike corrected, walking away from her.

She quickly followed.

“She couldn’t have stopped you if you wanted… to hurt her. You stopped.” She tried to explain.

“There is no excuse for what I’ve done, I-“

“Spike!” Dawn cut in.

“Dawn, I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t want her to know I was here.” Spike put a stop to their discussion.

“Were here? Where are you going?” Dawn asked, stopping in mid stride.

“I just came by to collect my things. I’m leaving in a couple of days.” Spike answered, coming to stand in front of the young teenager.

“But you can’t leave without at least…” Dawn trailed off when she saw the look of resolve in his face.

“Something between me and your sister broke that night. I went away thinking I could fix it, but I didn’t. I only made it worst.” He began walking again.

“Spike!” she called out. He stopped and turned to face her.

“Don’t go.” She begged, closing the distance between them.

“I have to.” He answered, with a weak smile.

“At least stay for a while longer.”

“I can’t-“

“Stay. Just for a couple of weeks. Then you can go wherever you wanna go.” She looked at him. She knew she still hadn’t convinced him. “Come on, what are a couple of weeks against eternity?”

Spike sighed in defeat and nodded. Suddenly the little girl was dangling off his neck once more.

“Come on, I’ll walk you to the Magic Shop. Don’t want you running into any other nasties. Bye the way, where in the world did you learn to kick demon ass like that?” he asked with a grin on his face.

“Buffy, taught me! Pretty cool, huh?”

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“Where is she?” Buffy asked for the one hundredth time that afternoon as she paced around the shop.

“She probably just, went out with Janice for a going back to school celebration.” Willow offered with a sweet grin, but when she saw the look that everyone else in the room gave her she added. “Ok, fine. So I still am a geek. I liked going back to school. Summer used to get very boring and school was fun.” That last statement earned her a new look, one that shouted You’re an alien, right? “Ok, shutting up now.”

The ringing of the bell was heard as the door was flung open and a very smiley Dawn came through it.

“Where have you been?” Buffy asked crossing her arms over her chest. “And why are you so happy?”

“I was out with Janice. And why wouldn’t I be happy. School’s back.” Dawn lied through her teeth. “Well, I’m not actually lying. Not in a world where Janice, school and Spike are synonyms.”

“A-ha! See!” Willow said triumphantly.

“Whatever.” Buffy dismissed the thought and sat down next to Willow. “So, Giles, what’s the verdict?”

“Hum?”

“What’s the reason behind the vamp gang?” Buffy rephrased.

“Well, I’m sorry to say there is no… verdict as of yet. I’m still researching. Are you sure you didn’t find any other demons?” Giles asked.

“Nop.”

“Well, actually I just ran into a really nasty one back at the ce…” she paused but it was clear she had been caught so she continued. “metery.”

“Dawn!” Buffy sighed in frustration.

“I went to see… Tara.” She gave a quick glance in Willow’s direction. “And it’s daylight so - no vampires.” “None except for Spike” she added in her thoughts.

“Even so, I don’t like you going near the graveyards by yourself.” Buffy commented.

“What kind of a demon was it?” Giles asked.

“I don’t know. Though it was pretty ugly.” Dawn offered

“Well, that cuts the list short.” Xander finally spoke sarcastically.

“Hey!” Anya protested. “Vengeance demon here.”

“Oh, sorry forgot.” Xander apologized unconvincingly.

“Right. You are really asking for-“

“Anya!” Giles warned.

“Yeah, Anya!” Xander imitated.

“Xander.” The librarian called.

“Yes?”

“Shut up!” Giles said flatly and turned his attention to Dawn. “You were saying?”

“Well, it was scaly, tall, big horn coming out of his forehead and I killed it by snapping his neck. Nothing else seemed to work.” She sat down when she finished speaking.

“You killed it?” Buffy asked as her face lit up with sisterly pride.

Dawn nodded.

“You go girl!” Xander congratulated her and patted her on the back.

“That sounds like a Juanola demon.” Anya offered.

“Juanola?” Willow asked.

“Yeah. Though it’s strange it would be around these parts. Lives in the tropics. You know, heat and lots of rain. Mostly around the Amazon river.”

“What would it be doing here?” it was Buffy’s turn to inquire.

“Beats me.” Anya shook her shoulders.

“A Juanola demon in Sunnydale.” Giles said to himself.

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“No, Dawn. How many times do I have to tell you? Right, left, right, kick, then left.” Buffy sighed in frustration, her head peeking out from behind the punching bag.

“Sorry. First kick then left. Got it.” Dawn tried to memorize.

“Ok. Now let’s give it another try.” Buffy said holding the bag against her chest.

Dawn threw three swift punches, alternating between her right and left hand, then she twisted her torso, bringing her leg up high, connecting with the bag almost at the same time as her left fist hit the lower end of the training device.

“Good.” Buffy congratulated.

“Finally!” Dawn breathed heavily as she began to unwrap the pieces of protective cloth she had over her knuckles. “This is really hard.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it.” Buffy reassured her as she came to sit next to her sister.

“Hum… Buffy?”

“Yes?”

“I know this it taboo and everything. And if you don’t want me to talk about it I won’t bring it up again, I promise.” Buffy could sense the nervousness in her little sister’s voice.

“What is it Dawn?” she asked with a soft smile.

The younger girl drew in a deep breath and finally blurted out:

“Do you miss Spike?”

Buffy choked at the sound of his name. She coughed uncontrollably.

“Are you ok?” Dawn asked, patting her on the back.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Cough.

Eventually the coughing subsided and the two stood in silence.

“Do you? Miss him?”

Buffy pondered what she would say and finally simply answered:

“Yes.”

Dawn smiled sweetly, pushing back a lock of her wild hair behind her ear.

“I miss him too.”

“Dawn, he’s not coming back.” Buffy spoke quietly.

“What?!” the younger Summers asked confused.

“I talked to Clem, he said he talked to Spike and he said he’s not coming back to Sunnydale.“ Buffy’s eyes were buried in the floor in front of her as she spoke.

“Do you want him to come back?” Dawn inquired after a brief pause, but Buffy didn’t have time to answer as she heard a loud scream coming from the back door.

She immediately jumped to her feet and went into Slayer mode.

“Dawn, go inside and call the others. I’ll go see what’s happening.”

The young teenager nodded as she saw her sister run towards the back exit.

Buffy was dumb struck by what she saw. The entire street was filled with all sorts of demons. Tall, short, thin, fat, horny, not horny, peeling, flaky and…

“Clem!” Buffy called out but he didn’t seem to notice her, so she jogged her way between the crowd of demons. “Clem!” she called again grabbing the flabby demon by his right arm.

When she turned him around she noticed the spaced out look on his face. In fact, know that she thought of it, all the demons around them seemed to be that way.

“Clem! What going on?” when she didn’t get an answer she shook the life out the demon and that seemed to do the trick.

“Slayer?” he asked confused.

“Clem, what are you doing here?” she questioned as she looked over her shoulder and saw Giles and Xander coming up behind her.

“Buffy, what’s going on here?” the young man asked.

“That’s what I want to figure out.”

“Well, whatever this is we better get inside. We never know when these demons are going to snap out of their trance.” Giles offered.

As they entered the Magic Box, Giles stayed behind and carefully locked the door.

“Do you mind explaining to me what you were doing in the middle of the street in broad daylight? You do remember you’re a demon, right? You’re not supposed to go around fraternizing with the whole town.” Buffy asked a dazed Clem as he sat down.

“I don’t know. One moment I’m comfortably chatting with Spi…ders, “Clem caught himself just in the nick of time. “next thing I know I’m in the middle of the street and you’re pulling at my arm. By the way, you better watch that grip. That hurt.” The demon protested as it rubbed the flabby skin under his forearm.

“Spiders?” Xander asked confused. “You talk to spiders?”

“Xander! That’s not the point.” Buffy interrupted before the demon had anytime to answer. “The fact is we have a bunch of seriously spaced out demons wandering in the middle of the streets and we have absolutely no idea why.”

“Buffy has a point. This can’t be good.” Giles noted out.

“Why is this happening, Giles?” Willow asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe some dark mystical energy is drawing everything that is of demon nature to Sunnydale. Maybe the Hellmouth has increased its pull over them.” Giles proposed.

“Then why isn’t Anya all stoned out too?” Willow questioned. “She is a vengeance demon after all.”

“I-I’ll have to research this.” Giles finally admitted.

“Well, in the meantime what to I do about our doped out friends outside. If I could snap Clem out of it they are bound to wake up sooner or later.” Buffy pointed out sitting next to Clem, who seemed a little more awake.

Giles was about to answer when Anya spoke.

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that. They’re gone.” The vengeance demon informed as she stared out the window at a now empty street.

“Gone? They can’t be.” Xander refused to believe, walking towards the window.

“They’re gone. I’m telling you, but you never believe me, do you?” Anya snapped.

“I don’t believe in you? How can you say that?” Xander never made it to the window, instead he turned to follow Anya around the Magic Shop as she nervously dusted the various bookshelves in the place.

“Because it’s true.” She said matter-of-factly.

“I do-“

“Will you two stop fighting and focus on the matter at hand. This is very serious. We need to find out what this is. Now!” a very pissed off Giles interrupted.

“Sorry!” the two said in unison.

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

“There you are.” Spike sighed in relief as he saw Clem enter the crypt. “Where were you? We were talking and you just stood and left. I know you must be a little tired of listening me yap on and on about the Slayer, but that was just bloody rude, mate.”

“I was at the Magic Shop.” The demon answered dropping its entire weight on the couch.

“What? You told her? I told you not to tell her! What’d she say? Does she know about the… you know… Soul?” Spike rambled on and on nervously at the thought that the Slayer might know of his presence in town.

“Calm down, I didn’t tell her anything.” Clem finally spoke; his eyes never left the TV set.

“Oh.” There was a hint of disappointment in his voice but he quickly disguised it with a question: “So why’d you go there?”

“I didn’t. Well, not of my own free will anyway. I just woke up in the middle of the street and the Slayer dragged me to the Magic Shop.” Clem explained. “I don’t know how I got there.”

“Well, as far as I can tell, mate, you did it with your own two feet. You walked out of here more dazed out that a Beatle on LSD.” Spike commented, taking a cigarette and lighting it.

“I wasn’t the only one. There were a bunch of us demons in the middle of the street. The Watcher thinks it might have something to do with the Hellmouth’s pull on us, or something.”

“Well, then we didn’t I get a happy too?” Spike questioned curious.

“Beats me. Oh,oh… Felicity’s on! I love this show.” Clem smiled as he turned up the volume on the TV set.

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

Buffy twirled the axe in her hand as she walked between the headstones of the graveyard. Giles had decided it was best for her to took extra armour on patrol that night and so she was stuck with carrying it plus two sharp knifes, one tucked on the inside of her boot and the other right next to her trusty stake, behind her back.

She walked around for hours and nothing. It reminded her of the patrol she had gone two nights before. She didn’t like this quiet. She preferred the heat of the battle, where she could actually see her enemies. A cold chill travelled down her back as she felt eyes on her. She turned around and scanned the perimeter. There was nothing there so she continued to walk. Four more steps and she sensed it again. Once more she stopped. She felt her heartbeat accelerate and her palms begin to get damp and slippery because of the small beads of sweat that slowly formed.

In the shadows, hidden in the safety of large and thick bushes he watched her. She was just as beautiful as he remembered her and he caught an unneeded breath at the sight of her. Her hair had grown back and she worn it loose over her shoulders. He frowned when he noticed her wardrobe. She wore snickers, comfortable jeans and a baggy sweater. It was so strange. She usually dressed up for everything, even patrolling. Spike wondered why the sudden change of heart concerning fashion choices, but the thought seemed to melt away as he saw her stop and turn to face him. She sensed him and he knew it. He watched her as she scanned the perimeter like a wild cat searching for its prey. “God! She’s beautiful.” He thought to himself.

Buffy moved towards the bushes; slowly at first but gradually gained speed. As she reached the foliage, she jumped high in the air and landed on the other side of it. She was surprised to see no one was there. She was sure she felt a presence there. It was so intense it was actually overwhelming. She felt strange, uncomfortable, she felt… him.

Spike continued to observe her every move from his new hide out behind an abandoned crypt. She had been quick on her feet but he had gotten away just the nick of time. “She’s still got it.” He smiled at the thought.

In the meantime, Buffy struggled with her senses. Every bone in her body told her he was there. She could almost smell him but her mind denied it. Finally, she gave up and turned away from him heading home. In the distance he heard her murmur to herself.

“It’s not him. There’s no one here. Don’t start going all wacky.”

Chapter 3 - Resident Evil

“Bugger!” Spike cursed as for the one-hundredth time since he’d come back a twig pocked him in the eye as he moved between the bushes. “I’ve got to find another way to follow them around.” He paused and hissed at himself: “What am I talking about? I have to just leave, forget about them and…” he trailed off as he saw Dawn skulking out the back door. “Bloody hell, what’s the little bit doing out at this hour?”

He watched her as she passed by him, completely oblivious to his presence.

“And just where do you think you’re-“

“Ah!” Dawn shouted as she felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

She reacted impulsively and Spike never knew what hit him. Suddenly, he was on the floor, his nose bleeding and he was still wondering which part of her body had done the damage, her hand or her foot.

“Spike?! What are you doing?”

“I should be the one asking that! What’d you do that for?” he protested, bringing his finger to his running nose.

“I’m sorry. You shouldn’t jump up on people like that.” She said helping him up.

“And you shouldn’t be outside at this hour.” Spike retorted. “Where are you going? Does your sister know?”

“No, she doesn’t.” she answered raising her chin up high. “What are you going to do? Tell on me?”

“Dawn!”

“Why can’t I tell her?” she whined, stomping her foot on the ground.

“We’ve talked about this. I’m not staying.” Spike sighed.

“But-but we’ve got all these weird demons wandering around and we can’t figure it out. You’ve got to help us.” Dawn quickly argued.

Spike gave her a weak smile: “You know your sis can handle a couple of demons who’ve had a little too much wacky backy.”

Dawn frowned at the expression.

“Pot, bit.” He explained.

“Oh!”

“You better go inside now.” Spike suggested.

“I don’t want to. I want to hang out with you.” She protested, pouting.

“Nibblet, stop whinging.” He warned.

She looked at him for a while and finally gathered the courage to ask:

“Will I see you again?”

“Of course. I promised you I’d hang around for a while.” He smiled sweetly.

“When?” she asked gleefully.

“I’ll come over tomorrow night.” He suggested. “Now, go!”

She smiled and made her way up the stairs of the front porch.

“Hey, Nibblet!”

She turned around and he asked: “Where were you off to?”

“I was going to see you. Thanks for saving me the trip.” She winked at him and entered the house.

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

“Giles!” Anya whined from behind a large volume of Demonic Trance. “Can’t we just stop for a little while?”

“No.” he answered flatly, his eyes never leaving the book he was holding in his hands as he paced around the Magic Shop.

“But, I’m tired and hungry and I hate doing research.”

“Anya, we need all the man power invested in this.” Giles argue, giving her a serious look.

“Keyword - Man. I’m not a man, not even human. That means I’m off research duty.” Anya replied.

“Hey, I’m not going to do research on my own with G-Man over here.” Xander protested.

Anya was about to say something but Giles cut her off.

“Anya, you’re going to research whether you like it or not.” Giles said, but as he saw the silly grin on Xander’s face he added: “Xander, first off, don’t ever call me that. Second, you’re stuck with this too, so no need to grin.”

The door bell was heard as Buffy, Dawn and Willow entered.

“Hey, you guys!” Buffy greeted with a big smile.

“You’re late.” Was Giles short retort.

“And hello to you too.” The Slayer replied.

“Buffy, I don’t think you realise how serious this is. We need to focus.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Buffy pouted sitting next to Dawn at the round table. “I’m on total research mode. Feed me!” at her words Xander threw a large book which landed on the table right in front of her.

“Here! Chew on that.” He said returning to his own book.

“Gee, could you people be in a worst mood?” Dawn finally spoke.

“Giles just scolded him and now he’s sulking.” Anya explained.

“I am not sulking.” Xander protested.

“Yes, you are. That’s all you do these days. Just because you stopped the world from ending doesn’t mean you get to mope around every time someone says something.” Anya’s rant was cut short by Giles as he spoke:

“Will you two just shut up, for once in your existence.” They both nodded and the Watcher added: “Thank you.”

“This is going to be one of those days.” Willow elbowed Dawn, who grinned in response.

“I heard that!” Giles warned with his eyes glued to his book.

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

Hours had passed and nothing.

“Who wants donuts?” Xander asked as he walked into the Magic Shop carrying a large pink box.

“Me!” Dawn immediately jumped up and reached for a large jelly doughnut.

“You’re eating again?” Buffy asked looking at her sister stuff her face. Dawn simply nodded and took another doughnut in her other hand. “You eat like a pig, you know?” Dawn nodded. “And you’re gonna get fat too.” She warned.

“What are you talking about? She always eats like a pig and never gains an ounce.” Willow stepped in.

“I know. I hate her for it.” Buffy hissed, skimming through a book.

“What? You didn’t bring a chocolate doughnut? You know I don’t like jelly.” Anya protested. “You did it on purpose.”

“They were all out.” Xander explained. “Contrary to what you may think, a lot of people like chocolate covered doughnut and they tend to sell out pretty quickly.

“You…” Anya was about to answer but suddenly she trailed off.

They all looked up from their respective book as they saw the demon stand up. Her eyes were glassy and her gaze distant as she moved towards the door in a zombie like fashion.

“An…” Xander called after her. He was about to grab her and shake her out of it when he felt Giles’ strong grip on his arm. He turned to look at the watcher.

“Let her go. Maybe she’ll lead us to whoever is behind all of this.”

“You want us to use my girlfr- ex-girlfriend as bait.” He corrected himself.

“It’s the only way of finding out what’s happening.” Giles argued.

“What? No! I’m not letting you do that!” He shouted going after her.

“Xander!” Giles called out, but it was too late. Xander had already reached her, grabbed her by her arms and shook her out of her trance.

“Xander?” she asked confused.

Back in the Magic Shop, they all sat around the table and Anya was the centre of attentions.

“What happen?” Willow asked.

“I don’t know. I was talking to Xander in here and then, all of a sudden I was outside and he was shaking me.” The demon explained.

“Xander, you should have let her go. We would have followed her and she would have been safe.” Giles pointed out.

“I don’t care, Giles. If she is going to be bait I think she has the right to know.” Xander hissed angrily.

Giles sighed and nodded: “You’re right, Xander. She has the right to choose.”

Xander was ready to continue arguing when the former watcher’s words sunk in.

“I’m right?” he stared for a while then regained his composure and affirmed: “Of course I’m right!”

“Don’t get cocky.” Giles warned.

“No, sir.” Xander replied with a grin.

“So, Anya do you agree with it?” Giles asked.

“Agree with what?” she questioned still a little spaced out.

“The next time you get… drawn to something, we won’t shake you out off it and you’ll lead us to whoever is causing this.” Giles proposed.

Anya thought for a while and then spoke:

“One condition. I get off research duty and Xander doesn’t.”

“You’ve got it.” Giles agreed.

“But, Giles…” Xander protested as Anya’s tongue darted out provokingly.

“So how do we know when she goes under… the effect?” Willow questioned.

“We don’t. One of us has to be with her every single second. She can’t be left alone at any moment.” Giles explained.

“What?!” Anya exclaimed. “That wasn’t the deal.”

“Sorry, but it’s for your own safety.” Giles explained.

“How do we keep an eye on her 24/7?” Buffy asked.

“She’ll have to move in with one of us.” Giles offered. “How about you’re place?”

“My place?” Buffy asked, the discomfort and uneasiness were clear in her tone.

“Yes.”

“Well, she can stay in Willow’s room, if she doesn’t mind. She’s sleeping in a king-sized bed.” Buffy said looking at her best friend who was nervously turning her face from side to side. “What do you think, Will?”

“But she’s gay!” Anya spoke.

“So…”

“I can’t sleep with her in the same bed. She might come onto me and I don’t like women I like penises.” The demon said matter-of-factly.

“Anya!” everyone said in unison.

“What?!”

“Nothing. Then it’s settled, you’ll stay at Buffy’s.” Giles resolved the issue.

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

“ANYA!” Dawn called out as she entered the bathroom. “Anya!” she shouted once more when she didn’t get an answer.

“Yes.” She heard the demon from the next room.

“Could you come here for a second?” Dawn asked as politely as she could, but deep inside all she wanted was to put her hands around the demon’s neck and squeeze reeeeally hard.

“What is it Dawn?” Anya came up, with two towels, one wrapped around her body and the other over her head.

“What are all these towels doing on the floor?” Dawn asked as the anger boiled inside of her.

“Well, I couldn’t find one that fitted me.”

“Fitted you? Anya, it’s a towel.” Dawn pointed to the mess on the bathroom floor.

“Well, it has to be soft and non-scratchy. Scratchy towels are bad for your skin. Makes it grow older faster.” Anya noted with a huge grin.

“Anya! You’re a vengeance demon now, remember? You can’t get old!” Dawn almost shouted.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I keep forgetting.” Anya looked at the young teenager apologetically, lightly tapped the top of her head and went back into the bedroom.

“She keeps forgetting? She keeps forgetting.” Dawn groaned between clenched teeth as she picked up the mess.

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

“My loneliness is killing me; I must confess I still believe. When I'm not with you I lose my mind. Give me a sign. Hit me baby one more time. Oh, baby-“

“Anya! How many times are you going to sing that song?” Buffy asked angrily, turning off the TV. The sound of the demon’s squealing voice made her lose all interest in anything that was on.

“And badly.” Willow added in a low voice so only Buffy, who was sitting next to her, would hear it.

“Hey, I heard that!” Anya protested.

“Sorry!”

Anya gave Willow an annoyed look and turned her attention toward Buffy.

“I sing when I’m nervous.”

“Why do you sing-“ Buffy shook her head as she realised that question would lead her down a path she really didn’t want to go on. “Nervous? Why?”

“New house. I’m not used to it so I get nervous.” She explained.

“And why that song?” the moment the words left Willow’s mouth she regretted saying them.

“Oh! That’s the song I used to sing to Xander when we played Naughty School Girl Who-“

“We DON’T want to know!” Buffy immediately stepped in, raising her arm in front of her as she stood up.

“Oh! Ok!” Anya smiled and made her way upstairs.

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

Spike looked in through the window, gawking at the Slayer. She looked even more beautiful than last time. She was sitting on the couch talking to Willow and waving her arms up in the air emphasizing what she was trying to say. A sweet smile crept up the edges of his mouth as he noticed the big teddy bear stamped on her t-shit along with the words “Kiss me Good and Proper!”. He couldn’t help remembering all the passionate kisses they had shared. His mind wandered from that spell induced kiss, to the first and only gentle kiss they had ever shared after Gloria had beat him up, to the intense and consuming make out sessions they would have during their lovemaking. Eventually the memory of their last meeting assaulted him and he forced his eyes shut as the images flashed in front of him. Immediately, he got on his feet and began to walk away when he remembered:

“The Nibblet!”

He had promised her he would come and see her that night. Slowly, he made his way to the backyard of the house and looked up at the windows. He smiled when he saw a silhouette of a female woman brushing her hair. He bent down, picked up a pebble and threw it. It hit the window dead centre, but he had no answer, so he repeated the gesture a few times before he saw the curtains move. He was about to make a smart comment about his lurking in the dark when he heard her speak.

“Is anybody out there?” Anya’s voice echoed through the garden and Spike immediately jumped back into the shadows, getting pocked by a twig in the process of falling between the bushes.

“Bugger!” he cursed under his breath.

“Hello?” Anya tried once more, but when she didn’t get an answer she retreated back into the bedroom.

“Spike!” he heard Dawn’s voice whispering.

“What the Hell is she doing here?” Spike asked as he brushed off the leaves from his black jeans. Dawn was about to explain when the vampire cursed once more. “Oh, bloody hell!”

“What?” Dawn asked.

Spike moved his hand in front of her to reveal he had a weird brownish substance smeared all over in.

“I got shite on my bloody pants!” he protested.

Dawn chocked back a laugh.

“Don’t even think about it!” Spike warned her.

“I’m not saying anything.” She was able to say between chuckles. “Come on, we’ve got to get you cleaned up.”

“But your sis.”

“She went to bed a minute ago.”

“And Red?”

“She turned in too. Come on, we’ll clean that up in the kitchen.” Dawn giggled as she guided him towards the back door.

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

“Willow, you do know I’m not gay. I like penises.” Anya said as she prepared to got to bed.

“Only about a 1000 times tonight. I think I’ve actually become immune to blushing at the sound of the word penis just from hearing you say it so many times.” Willow sighed covering herself with the sheet.

“Good. That way there will be no funny business.” Anya said why her patented smile.

“Good night, Anya…” Willow groaned, turning her back to the demon.

“Good night, Willow!” Anya replied gleefully as she turned off the light on her nightstand.

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

“What the Hell is this stuff?” Dawn asked as she rubbed the pants with a wet cloth.

“How should I know? It’s your bloody backyard.” Spike grumbled.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be such a baby!”

“Don’t be such a baby? Those were my favourite pants!” he spoke loudly.

“Shhh….” Dawn reminded him.

“Oh! Those were my favourite pants.” He repeated in a low voice.

“I heard you the first time.” Dawn replied as she knelt down next to him to clean the stain.

“Well, I’m bloody tired of losing my favourite clothes around your house. First there was my duster and now this!” he complained.

“You-“ Dawn shut up when she heard her sister’s voice coming from the hall.

“Dawn? Is that you?”

“Quickly! Hide!” Dawn whispered.

Dawn and Spike frenetically looked around for a place to hide him, but there was no time.

Chapter 4 - While You Were Sleeping

Instinctively, Dawn pulled Spike’s arm, pushing him down to the floor.

“Stay there!” was the last thing Dawn was able to say before she saw her sister come in.

“Dawn? Who were you talking too?” Buffy asked noting her sister’s jittery state.

“Me? No one. Why?” Dawn tried hard not to stutter as she spoke and at the same time tried to make sure her sister didn’t come any closer.

From where she was standing, Buffy couldn’t see the vampire who was now kneeling on the tilled floor behind the counter. She came to sit on a chair near the counter and Dawn immediately moved on the other side of it, coming closer to lean on the marble surface and in the process blocking Buffy’s view.

“I thought I heard some- What *is* that smell?” Buffy suddenly noticed the horrible stench in the kitchen.

“What smell?”

“The something old and decrepit just crawled in here and died smell.”

Dawn choked back a laugh as she saw Spike’s angry face from the corner of her eyes.

“It’s probably just a sewer pipe of something.” Dawn spoke still a little nervous.

“Well, we better get someone in here to fix that. I’ll call Xander in the morning.” Buffy paused and then added: “Are you ok? You seem kinda jumpy.”

“Me? Jumpy? Why do you think that?” Dawn tried hard to control her breathing as she spoke.

“Well, for one you keep repeating the end of my sentences and your breathing is shallow.” Buffy’s left eyebrow coked up as she explained her suspicions.

“Oh! That’s cause I just came from outside. It’s kinda chilly.”

“Huh…” Buffy wasn’t very convinced, but she decided to let it slide. She was too tired to try to get anything out of Dawn. “Do you want some tea?”

The Slayer stood up and prepared to move around to the other side of the counter when a very nervous Dawn offered:

“I’ll make you some. You just sit there.” And she pointed to the chair Buffy had just left behind.

“Ok…” she replied confused and took her seat once more.

“Camomile or Lemon?”

“Lemon.” Buffy chose.

“So…”

“So…” Buffy repeated.

“What do you think about Anya moving in?” Dawn asked taking her place back near the counter as she waited for the water to boil.

“A very, very bad idea.” Buffy sighed.

“Did you see what she did in the bathroom?”

“Did you listen to her sign?” Buffy replied.

“I’m really sorry for Willow! I don’t envy her at all.” Dawn said sympathetically.

“Speak of the devil.” Buffy said as she saw a very tired Willow enter the kitchen. “Not sleepy either?”

“No. Very sleepy actually. Very, very sleepy. But I can’t sleep.” Willow dragged her feet as she came to seat next to Buffy.

“Why not?” Dawn asked.

“Anya, our all time favourite vengeance demon.” Willow forced a weak smile on her lips, which crumbled just as she started her next sentence: “She snores louder than a bear.”

“Bears snore?” Buffy frowned.

“That’s not the point. The point is I can’t sleep.” Willow pouted.

“Tea?” Dawn offered as she took the kettle from the fire.

“Yes, please.” Willow yawned.

“Lemon or camomile?”

“Lemon.”

In the meantime, Buffy was still very uncomfortable with the smell as she picked up a napkin and breathed into it.

“Whatcha doing?” Willow asked giving her friend a glance.

“Can’t you smell it?”

“Smell what?” Willow inquired confused.

“The stench.”

“I’m too sleepy to smell anything.” Willow explained resting her head in her hands as she leaned into the counter.

Dawn quickly prepared three mugs of lemon tea and she nearly had a heart attack when she turned around to set them on the counter. For a second, she had almost forgotten about Spike. He was all curled up into a tiny ball, leaning against the counter. As she moved and gave him a glance, she saw him make all sorts of excruciating faces and she had to choke back a laugh.

“What?” Willow asked sipping from her tea.

“Oh, nothing. Just remembered Anya’s singing and I didn’t know if I should laugh of cried. I chose the former.” Dawn lied.

“That was probably one of the most agonizing experiences of my life.” Buffy whined tracing the counters of her mug with her index finger.

“I hope we solve this zombie thing soon. I don’t know how much longer I can take this.” Willow protested.

“Giles is working on it.” Buffy reassured her friend lightly running her hand over Willow’s back.

“He better hurry!” Willow pouted with her eyes closed.

“Willow…” Buffy whispered to the already half asleep girl.

“Hum…” she moaned.

“You better go to bed.” Buffy advised.

“I can’t. The resident snoring evil is my roommate, remember?” Willow murmured never opening her eyes.

“You can sleep on my bed. I’ll take the couch.”

“No, I’ll take the couch.” Willow tried to argue but was too tired and soon she was on her way up.

“And you, young lady, have classes tomorrow, so off to bed.” Buffy commanded as she stood up.

“You go on ahead, I’ll clean up.” Dawn said.

Buffy was about to protest, but for some reason decided it was best not too.

“I’ll go and make up the couch and in two minutes, if you’re not in bed, I’ll come here to get you.” She warned.

“Yes, mummy.” Dawn mocked as she saw her sister leave the room.

Spike waited until he heard a door on the upper level being closed before standing up and shaking his legs.

“Finally! I thought you guys would never shut up.”

“Sorry. You better hurry. She’ll be back down any min…” Dawn trailed off as she heard loud footsteps coming down the stairs. “Down!”

And Spike was forced to take his place back behind the counter. In the meantime, Dawn leaned on the sink washing the three mugs.

“What now?” Spike whispered.

“I don’t know. You’ll have to sneak out when she falls asleep.” Dawn offered shaking her shoulders.

“So. You ready?” she heard Buffy’s voice coming from the hall and into the kitchen.

“Almost.” Dawn tried to delay the inevitable.

“Dawn, your two minutes are up. Let’s go. Don’t make me go there and drag you.” Buffy said with a smile.

Seeing she had no choice, the younger Summers’ girl made her way out of kitchen but not before giving a quick glance towards the skulking vampire.

Buffy followed her and when they reached the bottom of the stairs she gave Dawn a quick peck on the cheek and wished her goodnight. Sighing deeply as she saw the young girl walk up stairs, Buffy turned on her heels and continued to the living room. She took her place on the couch and curled up between the sheets.

In the meantime, Spike refused to move; afraid any sound would alert the Slayer in her. He waited a long time before he stood up and walked around the counter. He was about to open the back door when he heard a soft moan coming from the living room. That was all it took. In a blink of an eye he was in the room with her, he had tried so hard to resist the urge and just leave, but the sound of her lament triggered something inside him he wasn’t able to control.

Against common sense he came closer to her, walking around the couch. He figured if she woke up he would be able to hide behind it. He gazed down on her; she looked so peaceful in her sleep. She lay on her back, her head tilted toward the coffee table. Soon he found himself drifting around the couch once more and now he hovered over her head, part of his body still behind the divan.

Her breathing was calm and slow as her chest rose and fell in front of him. A strand of hair came to rest over her face causing her nose to twitch. Without thinking, he took the lock and moved it behind her hear. His fingers lingered between her blond threads as he fought the urge to run his hand over her wild locks.

Then she moaned once more and he jumped up as her hand came to rest over his, bringing it down over her cheek and she pressed her face against his cool palm. Spike took in a sharp breath. He tried to move his hand away, but the more he did the tighter her grip became around it.

He attempted to pull away once more and she moaned in protest.

“No.” she mumbled in her slumber.

He decided it was best not to oppose her and he relaxed, eventually moving his thumb in small circles over her cheek. A content murmur escaped her parted lips as she moved her hand over his, encouraging him and he obliged her.

“Hum...”

Spike was lost in the moment and the sounds that she was making only worsened the scenario.

“What are you doing, you wanker? She’s going to wake up any minute. Bloody Hell!” he cursed to himself as his hand hovered over her cheek and down her neck.

“Hum… Spike.”

The vampire froze at the sound of his name on her lips. Did she know he was there or was it just a dream? And if it was just a dream why was he in it?

As he watched her he saw a faint smirk grow into a soft smile and she mumbled something unintelligible. Without realising he was doing it, his face drifted to hers as if enthralled and eventually his mouth connected with hers in a chaste kiss. He brushed his cold lips over her warm ones and his heart threatened to beat for the first time in a century. A tingling feeling began in every inch of skin that touched hers and spread through his entire body. He had dreamed about this for so long.

Suddenly, a loud noise coming from the stairs startled them both and soon he was hiding behind the coach once more as she began to drift into consciousness. Another loud crash was heard and this time Buffy jumped up and looked frenetically around.

“What? What?” she said with a hoarse voice.

In front of her, in the hall she saw a confused vengeance demon helplessly sprawled on the floor. Buffy was kneeling next to her in a second.

“What happen?” she asked concerned.

“I don’t know. I think I feel down the stairs.” She protested stumbling to her feet and rubbing her lower back.

“You must have zombied out again.” Buffy offered.

“Why does this have to happen to me?” Anya asked herself out loud.

“I don’t know. Go back to sleep and we’ll stop by the Magic Box tomorrow and ask Giles if he has any news.” Buffy said helping her up the stairs.

Soon, the Slayer was back in the living room. She scanned her surroundings. She was still startled from the loud noise that had woken her, but she remembered it distinctly. It was such a vivid dream; she could swear she had felt his lips brush over hers. Instinctively, her hand came to rest over her mouth as she sat down on the couch.

Sitting on the floor a couple of feet behind her sat Spike, nervously trying to get his breathing under control as he remember the kiss he and the Slayer had just shared. “What the bloody hell were you thinking about?” he mentally kicked himself. “And stop breathing. You’re a vampire, you don’t breathe!”

Buffy ran her hand between her tousled hair as she tried to shake away the strange feeling in her chest.

“Stop thinking about it!” she ordered herself. “Go to sleep and forget about it! Just forget.” She curled up between the sheets once more, but it was only a little before dawn that she finally fell asleep.

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

When she had woken up, she had searched the house for the lurking vampire, but there was no sign of him, so she figured he had managed to weasel his way out. Dawn sighed loudly when she entered the kitchen.

“Why the long face?” Buffy asked as she flipped the omelette in the frying pan.

“Just sleepy I guess. Anya snored the entire night.” Dawn complained as she took a seat next to the counter. “I really don’t know how long I can take this.”

“Good morning, everyone!” a very cheerful Anya greeted as she walked in the room.

“Hey, An!” Dawn grumbled.

“How’s the back?” Buffy asked, when she saw Dawn’s curious look she explained: “Anya got… called last night, she was drifting out of the house but stumbled on the stairs and fell.”

“I’m better. But I couldn’t sleep a thing. It hurt so much.” Anya protested suddenly developing a strange limp as she walked towards the counter.

“You didn’t sleep? What are you talking about? Anyone within a 5 mile radius could testify in court that you slept like a baby.” Dawn grumbled once more as she propped her head up on her arm.

“I did not!” Anya said in an outraged tone.

“You do know you snore louder than a… a…” Dawn searched her mind for an example but it escaped her. “Well, louder than something that snores very very loud!”

“I don’t snore!” Anya protested.

“Do too.”

“Do not!”

“Do too.”

“Do not!”

“Do-“

“Hey! Give it a rest, will ya?” a sleepy Willow shouted from the hall as she, made her way toward the kitchen.

“Hey, Will. Didn’t get much sleep either, huh?” Dawn asked sympathetically.

“What’da think?” Willow whinged.

“Omelettes anyone?” Buffy tried to change the subject as she noticed Anya about to say something and by the look on the demon’s face it wasn’t going to be pretty.

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

In the Magic Box, Giles paced around as he read the book he held in his hands.

“G-man will give it a rest with the digging a whole in the ground routine?” Xander begged as he was already getting a bit nauseous from seeing the librarian walk around in circles.

“Xander, I’ve repeatedly asked you not to call me… Ah you’re here!” Giles sighed as he saw the four girls enter the shop.

“Hey, Giles! What’s new?” Buffy said as she closed the door behind her.

“Not much, I’m afraid. I’ve been up all night and I still haven’t got any tangible lead on this… thing.” Giles exhale noisily in frustration.

“Well, Anya got called last night.” Willow eagerly offered. All she wanted right now was to help Giles solve this problem. She figured the sooner it was deciphered the sooner Anya would move out of the house and she would be able to sleep.

“What happen? Why didn’t you guys call? Are you ok?” a worried Xander asked.

“I’m fine!” Anya groaned rubbing her lower back.

“Well, she fell on her way out of the house and she woke up.” Buffy explained.

“This means the… callings are happening more often.” Giles thought to himself.

“Why do you think it took longer for Anya to be… called?” Dawn asked curious, as she sat on one of the chairs around the table.

“I think it might have to do with the thrall of whatever is pulling them. Its power has probably been growing.” Giles theorized. “First, it only attracted those which have a really powerful demon side and that’s why we had that one night where there were no demons out on the town. As the intensity of the pull grew, it started calling even the weaker elements.”

“So all demons are now being called?” Buffy questioned.

“Oh my God! Sp…” Dawn stopped herself as she realised what she was about to say. If it was calling all demons, it might call Spike too. She had to do something. “Clem! Clem might be called again!” she finally said.

“You’re right.” Buffy agreed. “We have to help him.” She continued as she got up and started putting her jacket on. “You guys wait here. I’m going over to Spi… Clem’s, to see if he’s alright.”

“I’m coming with you!” Dawn immediately said, standing up.

“No! you’re staying here. We don’t know how many demons are going to be out there.” Buffy ordered.

“But…”

“No buts.” Buffy snapped, but when she saw her sister’s hurt expression she added in a softer tone: “Please, Dawn, I don’t want to have to worry whether or not you’re safe.

Dawn looked up at her sister and realised she was right. She nodded as Buffy leaned in and kissed her on the forehead and turned to leave. “I really hope she doesn’t freak out when she sees Spike is back.” The young girl thought to herself as she saw the Slayer disappear behind the closing door.

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

“Clem!” Buffy yelled as she entered the crypt, not bothering to close the door behind her. Seeing the upper compartment was empty she quickly made her way down the stairs. There was no one there. “I really hope nothing has happen to him.” She said to herself as she moved through the room.

Flashes of the last time she’d been there assaulted her. It had been when she’d broken up with… him. She felt a pang in her chest as she remembered her words and his chiselled face staring in disbelief at her.

She paused for a while as the memories sunk in and only after a few minutes did she notice her surroundings. He had rebuild the entire floor and it looked exactly the same way it did before it had been blown up.

She was snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of a familiar voice.

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

Spike sighed in frustration as he saw the door to his crypt wide open.

“Clem! How many times do I have to tell you? Close the bloody door behind you!” he yelled off the top of his lungs as he stomped into his place.

In the lower compartment, Buffy felt her heart jump to her throat.

“Spike?” she whispered to herself.