Chapter 5:

Sunnydale- (Buffy's grave)

When Spike had run out of tears for the time being, he settled on his back with his head at the grave marker. He brought his arms up behind his head and just stared at the sky for what seemed like hours. He didn't say much of anything. He felt he'd shared more than his, well...share, earlier. Or at least more than what any normal soulless vampire would share. As if any other prat of a vampire is enough of a wally to have anything to share where the Slayer is concerned. 'Cept her death o'course.

Of course there was Angel, his Grand-Sire and least favorite person, or un-person as it were, on this planet and any other. Xander was pretty high up on his list of least favorites,
but Angel had everyone and everything beat by centuries.

"Peaches never really was the sharing type anyway, so...he doesn't count. 'Cuz he doesn't share, so there would be no sharing where you're concerned." He spoke aloud as if Buffy could actually hear him. Knowing that was impossible didn't stop him from continuing on. "Then there's me. Y'ruined me up right proper, luv. 'll never be my own vamp again, let alone a normal vamp." He pictured Buffy and her determination; her strength, her humanity, her beauty, her life.

He'd been looking for something effulgent all those years ago, when a snooty Cecily caused his life to take a dramatic turn. Dru had seen it in him; she'd known what he was looking for.

That's what first intrigued him about the dark beauty. She had seemed to understand what he wanted, what his desires were, in the scant moments she'd seen him. Oh, how he'd longed to have someone understand him, even his Mother hadn't completely, but only because he hadn't allowed her to see everything hidden in his soul. But Dru seemed to see that, she'd made him believe that she could give that to him.

In a way, he guessed maybe she had given him what he'd longed for. If he had never run into that alley and met Drusilla, he never would've met Buffy. The Slayer. HIS Buffy. HIS Slayer. He knew she'd likely pop him a good one for laying claim to her, but what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Or him. And with that in mind, he reasoned that he was safe to call her his for now.

Once again he had visions of Buffy dancing through his head, and knew for a fact that Dru had, most definitely, led him down the path he needed to travel so he would someday get what he wanted and end up by his Slayer's side. He'd always figured that his search for something effulgent had ended when he was turned, but that view changed the second he realized he was in love with Buffy.

She was just a small slip of a girl, but she had it in her to turn an evil master vampire completely love struck. And that's what he was, even now that she was gone. The fact that he knew she was coming back to him--let a vamp dream will ya?-- sometime soon certainly didn't put a hindrance on any feelings, but even before he'd known she was returning, his love had been as strong as ever.

"Ya know, I dunno how long you were plannin' on stayin' up there luv, but Nibblet misses you somethin' fierce. Not to mention your mates and the watcher." Spike's voice sounded out through the silent cemetery again. "Or me." He added in a softer tone. "But you already knew that, yeah?" He chuckled and brought his right arm around reaching into his duster pocket for another cigarette. After he lit it and inhaled, he blew the smoke out through his nose and continued.

"Nibblet's takin' two classes to make up for missin' so much when the god of trailers made her appearance. Seems to be doin' good in 'em. Me and the witches've been helpin' her 's much as possible. I usually take on English and History. But I guess that'd be obvious. Red and Glinda take on the maths and science."

He was silent again as he finished his cigarette. He repeated the gesture from earlier and placed the extinguished butt in his pocket, then in a swirl of leather was up off the ground with vampire speed. He turned and faced the headstone one last time, and wiping off dirt only he could see, he said his goodbyes. "A'right pet, I'm waitin' on ya, but you know I'm not one for patience, so hurry it up, yeah?" He rubbed his hands together and placed them in his duster pockets, taking a step back from the grave. "'ll just be off to Willy's for any liquid that might hold numbing qualities. 'll see you soon love."

And with that Spike turned and made his way out the clearing and then the cemetery, headed directly for Willy's. He hoped to be completely off his face by the time he made it back to the Summers' basement, since he wasn't exactly in the mood to have vivid dreams of his Slayer all night.

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Summerland-

Buffy and Joyce were currently huddled together on the couch speaking in soft tones, and saying what Whistler assumed to be their final goodbyes. There were tears and chuckles and more tears, but both women had remained surprisingly composed. He wasn't exactly relishing having to break up their heartfelt moment, but time was most definitely of the essence right now. Mere minutes here were hours in Sunnydale, and the longer it took Buffy to finish up here, the more time passed down there.

He hadn't been lying when he said that the timeline was important. Everything had to happen a certain way and at a certain time, or who knew what would happen. He also hadn't been lying when he'd said that the Powers were thrown by the discovery of this prophecy, and they weren't exactly the types of beings that liked being kept in the dark. Especially when it concerned the Chosen One. Slayers and Champions were their business and they weren't happy if they weren't kept in the loop. There was apparently a reason for it to have been kept hidden for so long. Whistler just hoped the Powers knew what they were doing. No one knew when and where everything had to happen but his bosses had pressed heavily on the time issue.

So, that meant he was the unlucky candidate for breaking up the party. "Alright ladies; time's a ticking away in the way that time will." Buffy looked up from the huddle and glared at the small demon, while Joyce looked up with sad eyes. Whistler held his hands up in surrender, "Sorry, it's not like I enjoy being the bearer of bad news, but you're needed somewhere else."

The Slayer gave him one last glare and then turned back to her mother. "I hate that I have to leave you." She pouted.

Joyce ran her fingers soothingly through Buffy's hair, "I know honey. But at least we actually get to say goodbye this time." She had a small smile on her face, which Buffy could tell was forced, tears forming in her eyes once more.
"And you've got bigger stuff ahead of you. So stiffen up that upper lip, little lady." Chuffing her daughter on the shoulder lightly, Joyce attempted to lighten the situation.

Buffy couldn't help the chuckle that escaped at her mother's words, but she quickly had the pout back in place, "That's not gonna work, Mom. I'm not gonna see you again, for like, a really, really long time." With tears in her eyes mirroring her mother's, she pulled her into a tight hug, forgetting for a moment that she had retained all her Slayer powers and that her mother was still, in this place at least, in a mere human's body.

"Sweetie...?" Buffy pulled back slightly and looked at her mother with a question in her eyes. "Ribs."

"Wha'? Oh! Oh God, I'm sorry mom." She pulled back quickly, and completely this time, hugging her arms around herself, fearful of repeating herself.

"It's okay, it's not like it'll leave any permanent damage." Joyce joked.

Buffy looked at her mother skeptically, "You know, you've been taking all of this in really easily. How come you're not wigging over all this?"

The eldest Summers lifted her hand to move a stray hair out of Buffy's face, "Because, like I told you, I know stuff. I know you'll be okay, Dawn's going to be okay, everybody is. So I'm not too worried." Then in a whisper she added, "Plus, I've gotten really good at covering worry, what with my daughter being the Slayer and all."

"I know, it's hard even for me to understand and accept, so I figured it'd be harder on you, 'cuz you're all mom-ish." She turned to Joyce with a bright smile that seemed out of place for the situation. "But hey, that works out, since you are, you know, a mom."

Joyce chuckled, "Yeah, I guess that does work out, huh?"

On the other side of the room Whistler cleared his throat trying to get their attention back on the matter at hand. When they turned to look at him he gestured with his arm to the Slayer, "Ready?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming." She stood up from the couch pulling her mother with her. "Didn't say I was ready, but I'm coming." She grumbled as she and Joyce made their way towards Whistler.

"Buffy," her mother admonished. "Stop worrying, it will be fine. You'll be fine."

"Yeah." Whistler chipped in. "It's not like you haven't died before and come back. What's the difference?"

Buffy rolled her eyes at him, "Oh, for like, what, a whole minute? This is just a wee bit of a big difference."

"Pfft." He waved his hands dismissively. "A minute, a couple of weeks, same thing."

"The same...? Are you serious?" She looked at him as if he'd just sprouted an extra head.

He simply ignored her question and clapped his hands, rubbing them together. "So, ready to get this show on the road?"

She in turn ignored his question and turned to Joyce with a pleading look, "Mom, this is gonna be weird."

"We've covered this Buffy. It will be fine. It's not going to be that weird. Your friends deal with weird everyday, and it's not like it's completely unexpected." Joyce chided gently. Buffy made a nasally whiny noise and stomped her foot, but moved closer to Whistler.

"So...how's this happen? Do I just stand here and you 'abracadabra' me back or what?"

"Well, there's this thing where your body is buried." Whistler started hesitantly.

"And...?"

"So... you have to get into your body, and it's buried, so..." He trailed off hoping she would read between the lines. He wasn't looking forward to telling an already agitated Slayer that she would be waking up in her coffin, buried under six feet of earth. He noticed Joyce cringe as she awaited the moment her daughter realized what he was saying.

It took a moment to register, but as soon as Buffy understood what Whistler wasn't saying, it was apparent by the look on her face, and the fact that she backed away from the two adults by at least six feet. Where Joyce and Whistler had been expecting to see anger or indignation, what they
actually saw was fear. "What? No." She asked in a small, shaken voice whipping her head back and forth abruptly.

"Sorry kid, it's the only way."

"No! There's gotta be another way. Can't you, like, teleport my body, or something? Make it not be in a coffin? 'Cuz, honestly; not loving that part." She said in a panicked rush as she walked towards them again.

"Honey, it'll be okay." Her mother tried to calm her down.

"No! It won't be okay." She said vehemently, shaking off her mother's hand. "This is not okay. It's soo not okay. This isn't even in the same dimension as okay, mom." She turned to her mother with wide eyes, tears ready to fall. "I cannot wake up my coffin. That's like, a big fear."

Whistler decided to step in at that moment, "Hey kid, ya know how I said you were gonna be different? Still the Slayer, but not just the Slayer?" At her nod in the affirmative, he went on. "You'll be able to bust through in no time. You're not going back to a weak body. You're gonna be even stronger."

Buffy looked at him like a third head had sprouted, "What!? That's not even the point. It's the whole being traumatized by waking up in my COFFIN!!"

"Well, at least you won't wake up all alone. Somebody'll be there with you." The messenger tried once more to calm her nerves.

"I won't be alone?" Buffy asked confused. "How's that work then? I'll be waking up in a coffin...that kinda requires ya to be alone."

"Yeah, you'd think so." He answered distractedly. "Tick tock, tick tock." He pointed to his watch and then looked at her pointedly.

Buffy forgot about all the other stuff for a moment and focused on saying goodbye to her mother one more time. "Alright, I guess this is it then," she sniffled a bit, Joyce answering with a twin sniffle. "I'm gonna miss you. I'll tell Dawnie that you love her and that you're fine."

Joyce nodded her head. "I'll miss you too. But you'll be fine. Just watch out for Dawn and all your friends." She gave Buffy a pointed look and then spoke in a voice that her daughter knew not to argue with. "Be a little nicer to Spike, okay? And give that Angel the what for."

Buffy chuckled in spite of her tears, "Stop calling him that." But her words held no scorn as she had a small smile on her face. "And I promise I'll be nicer to Spike. It'll be hard, but I'll do it. Somehow."

"Good. Now off you go." Joyce ushered her eldest daughter towards the door. She stopped her just before she crossed the threshold, where Whistler was now waiting outside. "Be careful okay? I love you."

"I will." Buffy assured her mother. "And I love you, too."

They hugged one last time and Buffy was out the door and meeting Whistler.

With one last look at her mother she joined Whistler and they began walking to the stream Buffy had frequented during her stay there. Neither said a word as they walked along. When they reached the small stream Whistler spoke first, breaking the silence.

"In all seriousness Buffy," she started a bit at his use of her real name and realized he was definitely being serious. "You've got a lot ahead of you and you're gonna have to stop analyzing so much, or you'll miss out on a bunch of the good parts."

"What does that mean? I hate it when you go all crypt-o"

"Now you're adding 'o'," he chuckled at her. "I'm not trying to be cryptic intentionally. But I'm only allowed to tell you so much. And like I said before, it ain't much." He was all seriousness again. "You have to trust your heart, okay? Don't worry about the other stuff. It'll fall in place once that does."

"Argh! What do you mean? " she cried out in frustration.

"You'll see." When Buffy continued to scowl at him, he flashed her a smile. "Ready?" She scowled harder. "Set?" Her eyes widened when she realized he was really getting ready to send her back. She closed her eyes and she sucked in a deep breath, bracing herself for anything.

"Go!"

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Sunnydale-

Spike stumbled his way through the cemetery after his visit to Willy's. He wasn't quite as drunk as he'd have liked, but it was a start. He still had a couple of bottles in his crypt he could stop by and grab before he headed back to the Summers', and that would solve that problem. He wanted the welcome embrace of incoherence and forgetfulness. Just for a little while. But before that he wanted to stop by his Slayer's grave one last time for the night, just to make sure it was all still okay. He was secretly hoping that he'd walk by and it wouldn't be there. That the grave marker would be gone and this would've all been a nightmare. He knew that was far reaching, but for the short amount of time it took him to walk to her grave, he could at least pretend.

He was almost upon it when his vampiric senses alerted him to the presence of another vampire somewhere nearby. He growled low in his throat at the thought of some mere minion desecrating the ground around Buffy's grave. He ceased the breathing which was purely habitual, and slowly began to stalk the area in search of the wayward vamp. He spotted the scraggly looking brunette leaning up against a tree, taking lazy sips from what looked to be a huge bottle of 'Colt 45'. Spike shook his head in disappointment, stupid git, can't even drink properly.

Spike straightened up to his full height, which admittedly wasn't much, and sauntered proudly so that he was standing directly in front of the other vampire and about ten feet away. The vampire looked up at his entrance, but other than that showed no interest.

Spike reached into his pocket and casually lit a cigarette. He tilted his head and exhaled a plume of smoke, eyeing his opponent. When he spoke it was with such a casual air that a passer-by might have mistaken them for acquaintances. "You have to wonder."

When he didn't continue the dark haired vampire slowly lifted his head to eye the blond with glassy eyes. "Hunh?" Drunk Guy grunted/slurred.

"You have to wonder," Spike continued as if he'd never paused and there had never been an interruption. "What kind of bloody stupid twit would dare tread on my girl's grave?" He moved slowly towards the intoxicated fledgling. "What kind of bloody STUPID , drunken, ignorant, soon to be dust in the wind TWIT , would dare set a single, smarmy foot on my girl's grave."

The younger vampire seemed to suddenly realize that he might be in danger and straightened up, as much as he could in his current condition. "Loook budddy. I jus' stop'd fer, liike a haf a sec affer dinner."

Spike moved closer still, "Doesn't matter. Still did it." He finished up his cigarette and put it out on the bottom of his shoe, placing it in his pocket he began stalking around his prey with fluid grace, vanquishing any signs of his earlier buzz. "And that's jus' not somethin' I can let lie. Certainly you understand?" he asked in an almost reasonable tone.

He darted out with vampire speed and the fledgling took a right hook to the jaw. It seemed to jostle him enough to sober him up a bit because when he jerked his head back up towards Spike he had switched into game face and was snarling.

A huge grin split across Spike's face and he bounced, back and forth, on his toes. "Ooh, gettin' right feisty aren't'ya? Just what I needed before beddy-bye," he chortled, swung out again, hitting the other vamp square in his nose, and then had to duck to avoid a sloppy jab.

Spike spun to his left, putting his back to the brunette's side, and gave him an elbow to the kidney. The fledgling doubled over, half from pain and half from drunkenness, as Spike spun back around to face him again, still bouncing on his toes. "C'mon mate! At least make it interestin'."

In all the commotion neither vampire heard the cracking sound to their right. The voice that rang out suddenly startled them both, but one in particular. "Spike! Will you quit playin' with him?! Hurry up so you can help me, dammit!"

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As soon as Buffy closed her eyes and heard Whistler say 'Go!' she felt the air change around her. It was nothing major, nothing too noticeable, just a slight buzz in her ears and a bit of a 'whoosh'. She kept her eyes closed tightly, too scared to open them and face the fact that she was, well, where she was.

After a few seconds it became too hot and stuffy and Buffy realized that, regardless of what she wanted, what she needed was to get out of there before she died a third time before she even got out of the coffin from the second time. When she opened her eyes and let herself see that she was, indeed, inside a big wooden box, she began tearing at the satin and busting through the wood. She clawed her way through with little trouble, just as Whistler had said. That is, until she ran into a bit of a snag.

Literally.

She yanked on her foot only to realize what she already knew; it was caught on a root, or rock, or something. 'Oh, this is just great.' She wiggled it this way and wiggled it that way, but to no avail. Somehow Buffy maneuvered her way so that she could get her head and upper torso through the dirt.

The sight she was greeted with only confirmed that pretty much everything Whistler had told her was gonna end up being true. She paused for a moment in her struggle to free her foot to take in the sight before her.

There he was. Spike, in all his glory. Or half of his glory, since they guy he's fighting doesn't look like much of a fight. She watched him for a while longer until she realized that he hadn't noticed her travails with the coffin, and dirt, and roots, and everything else I've gone through, and that he was still fighting. Big, stupid, blind, deaf, blond, stupid vampire. Hello? So called love of your un-life hangin' out in her grave... When he still showed no signs of sensing or hearing her she decided to just do this the easy way. And the way she knew best. Yelling. It always worked.

"Spike!" She hollered out loud enough for the whole of Sunnydale to hear. Both vampires stopped dead in their tracks, arms in mid-swing, and turned their heads sharply towards the grounded Slayer. When she saw she had his attention she rolled her eyes and continued, "Will you quit playing with him?! Hurry up so you can help me, dammit!"

Spike was still so shell-shocked that he had yet to move, his attention solely on his Slayer. The younger vamp decided to take advantage of this when he saw that Spike was still standing stock still. He let his fist fly from its holding position and knocked Spike right across his right cheekbone. This was only the first time that Spike had actually been hit by the fledgling, but with his attention on Buffy, it was enough to knock him on his ass. As soon as he hit the ground he seemed to come out of it. With a growl he leapt back up and, producing a stake from somewhere, quickly staked his opponent without ever taking his eyes off his Slayer.

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Even as the final dusty remains of his enemy drifted to earth, Spike's entire focus remained with the blonde stuck half in and half out of the ground. The longer the vampire stood frozen in shock--failing to move, speak, blink or breathe, the more annoyed Buffy became. She wanted out of this hole; it was bad enough she had to wake up in it, but to now be stuck in it too. She couldn't begin to say how grateful she was that Spike had been there right at this moment. And yet, he was still staring at her open mouthed. Kicking her legs around as much as possible with her foot lodged; she braced her hands against the ground and tried to push up. Still nothing. "Great. I'm stuck and I've got a zombied out, catatonic vampire starin' at me like I'm the Holy Grail. Arrgh!" She grumbled to herself as she continued to try anything and everything to get out. Finally giving up with a huff, she slumped down and turned to face Spike again. "What's a gal gotta do to get a fella to help her out huh?" She asked him finally.

For a few more seconds he stood there, then amazingly enough and to the total surprise of Buffy, he started laughing, hysterically. He had tears streaming down his face steadily as he laughed heartily, clutching onto his sides. Not long after his laughter had begun, he ended up on his knees on the ground

"Well..." Buffy huffed. "That's certainly not the reaction I expected. I figured, I dunno, crying, smiles maybe, shouts of joy, hoorays of happiness, but not hysterical, verging on maniacal laughter." For several more minutes Spike laughed on. "Okay, you can quit with the laughter there, Chuckles. There are other things to do ya know. Like, oh, GETTING ME OUTTA HERE!!"

Spike slowly stood up, his laughter finally dying down and began slowly walking towards her. As he came closer, Buffy realized he still had tears falling freely down his face and she felt her heart lurch as the sight.

When he was finally upon her he placed his feet apart, one on each side of where her body should be, and squatted down on his haunches. She could tell that Spike was still in shock since he still wasn't speaking. Note to Self: Spike is capable of shutting up. They sat in silence for only a few moments, but it seemed like an eternity to them. In that time, they became so lost in each other's eyes that they forgot she was stuck in her grave, which she had just risen from, after being dead and spending time in a cabin with her likewise dead mother and an immortal demon whose presence always firmly rested on her nerves. None of that matter as she gazed into his midnight blue eyes and he into her harvest hazel eyes.

OH.MY.GOD. Have his eyes ALWAYS been so blue?

Oh, bloody hell. How could I EVER get lost in anything else?

He slowly and ever so gently raised his hand up and brushed an errant hair out of her eyes and then picked a few pieces of earth out. He brought it back down and rested his elbow on his thigh, still silent.

Buffy blinked slowly and then said softly, "Hi."

Spike couldn't hold back the smile that broke out across his face, "'Ello, love."

"Can I get a hand?" she finally asked after the continued silence.

"Yeah." but he failed to move.

She waited a few beats, "Spike?"

"Hmm?"

"Help?" she gestured to the rest of her body still hidden.

"Oh. Right." he shook his head violently seeming to 'come to'. He looked down at the ground between his legs. "You're stuck,." he said it as if she'd had no idea.

"Yeah, hence the help needin'," she joked with a smile. "You didn't think I was just lounging around did you?"

"I dunno what to bloody think, luv," he answered honestly, and then began to dig up some of the dirt trying to loosen her.
Using the time needed to 'concentrate', he thought about the situation they were all in now. Of course they'd been expecting it; expecting her back. Now that it was actually happening, anything they were going to be coming up against in the near future would now happen sooner rather than later. Whatever prophecies or portents or apocalypse his Slayer was involved in would soon be coming to pass. Needless to say that scared him senseless, he didn't like the thought of everything happening so soon. Obviously that was a stupid fear, seeing as Buffy wouldn't be back at all if it weren't for 'destiny' or 'fate', whatever you want to call it, so he should actually be grateful.

Somehow, he just couldn't bring himself to be gracious for the thought of possibly losing her all over again because of some stupid prophecy.

Spike stopped digging and gestured to her buried feet, "Wiggle it a bit, luv, and see if that did the trick."
Buffy did as instructed and was rewarded with mobility. She breathed out a sigh of relief and began to extract herself from the earth.

"Whew! Finally! I am so kicking Whistler's ass for this. He failed to mention the added bonus of getting stuck after I've just dug myself out of my own grave." She finally pulled herself completely out, muttering the whole time, "Stupid balance keeping, fashion victim, crypt-o freak, demon."

Buffy stood up straight and brushed dirt off of her white sundress. She rubbed her hands together and looked up at Spike. "So, whatcha been up to?"

Spike chuckled in answer and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground shyly. He shuffled his feet from side to side, occasionally glancing up at Buffy, but remained silent, suddenly grateful that vampires couldn't blush. He already looked like some lovesick schoolboy, to also be caught blushing would be something he'd never live down. Even if Buffy never said anything or called him on it, his demon would torment his inner William for acting like such a nancy boy.

Buffy was extremely flattered by the fact that she could make a master vampire twitter in his combats. She enjoyed the fact that she affected him this way; that her presence could change his entire countenance the way it did and cause him to act so out of character for a vampire of his 'reported caliber'. Pfft. He's just a big ole cuddly vampire. She'd kept her eyes on him the entire time and when he still hadn't spoken she hesitantly moved towards him.

Spike jerked his head up towards her quickly, and then just as quickly ducked back down lifting his shoulders bashfully.

Softie. Buffy smiled at the thought..

She stopped when she was standing directly in front of him and only a foot away. She was suddenly struck with the thought that her behavior was completely out of character too. She was flattered by Spike, loved seeing this side of him; and those were things a Slayer shouldn't feel towards a vampire.

Before she could get too heavy into analyzing anything she remembered Whistler telling her to quit doing exactly that, and decided to just go with it. This was a whole new start. A second, or third in her case, chance at doing things differently and she was just gonna let it fly. She brought her hand up and shoved Spike's right shoulder playfully, "Don't act so shocked, Junior. You knew I was coming back."

Spike shrugged his shoulders, "Well, yeah, but we didn't know when. And I certainly never expected it'd be here and now. I mean, you had to wake up in your coffin. Seems to me 's if they coulda brought you back a little less dramatically. Maybe somewhere else completely." He answered, embarrassed that he'd been caught here. These were his special moments and the random vamp was bad enough, but now SHE was here and he felt a little imposed upon.

Not that Spike wasn't happy that she was back. He was; extremely so. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold her until he was assured that she wasn't going anywhere. Then he wouldn't let go still; he wanted to kiss her senseless.

Seeing the woman he loved come back from the dead, and in a joking mood at that, was fine and dandy. She was joking with him, laughing with him, not walking away from him, and most importantly; not hitting him. This put a whole new spin on fine and dandy. Actually, this blew fine and dandy out the window. This was more like, he felt his chest was gonna burst from his heart wanting to beat so badly. He was still extremely wary of Buffy's acceptance of him, so he was trying his best not to let his excitement show too much.

Although, being embarrassed certainly helped him keep his giddiness in check, so he had no worries.

Buffy shoved him with the back of her hand, "See! That's what I said." She shrugged her shoulders in a 'what can ya do?' gesture and continued, "BUT, Whistler was the 'master in show', so I knew it would be all drama-queen-y. And not only would it've been more convenient, but I would've preferred to've been brought back somewhere that's else, too. I wasn't keen on the whole, 'wakin' up in a box' thing, ya know? So don't get all defensive and wiggy on ME; wasn't my fault." She finished with her chin jutted out, her weight bearing on her left hip with her right foot pointed out, and her arms crossed; classic Slayer style.

And Spike loved it. God, how he'd missed her and her attitude. Not to mention the crazy way she talked. Sure, he'd been around the Scoobies, talked with them and still heard 'Scooby-Speak', but it was different coming from his girl. Gonna have to stop with that, mate. Slayer'll be more likely to stake yer sorry bum if she hears your declarations of propriety.

Either way, staking or no, he was ecstatic that his girl was back and that she seemed to be as normal as ever. Or maybe a bit abnormal since she was acting this way with him. Didn't matter, he wasn't asking any questions because he could care less what caused her behavior, as long as she stayed this way. Spike inwardly smiled at her and her stance, while outwardly he stood up straighter and moved closer to Buffy so that they were only inches away from each other. "'M not defensive. And I don't get 'wiggy'." He said the last as if it left a sour taste in his mouth. "Was just sayin' 's all. Don't see why you had to be brought back HERE." He gestured to the are with his hands. "Seems...I dunno...harsh, dunnit?"

"Well, duh! Did'ya miss the part where I said I wasn't keen?"

He huffed a bit at her. This was the Slayer he knew and loved, snarky as ever. "Noo. I didn't bloody well miss it. Was just agreeing with you. Can't you soddin' tell when someone is on your side?"

Buffy brought her arms down to her sides and moved closer to him, their noses almost touching. "Yes, I can tell, thank you very much. But you sounded all defensive and wiggy. So I was just tellin' you not to be."

Spike suddenly had a smile break out across his face, his eyes shining. "Welcome home, love."

Buffy stopped for a second, cocking her head to the side and then smiled in return. "Thanks." Her words were genuine and she wanted him to know that. She hoped that her eyes were relaying the message correctly and that Spike could tell that she meant it.

Apparently they did, because neither one moved at first, once again lost in each other's eyes. Spike finally averted his, and looking at the ground, he backed away. "We should get you to the house, luv. Everyone'll wanna know you're back, 'specially Nibblet." He looked up towards the sky, "She'll be 'sleep at this hour, but this occasion calls for an early risin', yeah?"

Buffy cleared here throat and shook her head slightly. "Yeah. I guess you're right, Giles is prob'ly chomping at the bit to hear what I know." She chuckled lightly, "And I wanna see Dawnie, let her know mom's okay." Suddenly a shiver shook her to the core and she brought her hands up to rub her arms, "Also, I wanna know whose bright idea it was to bury me in a white summer dress! And sandals? Which, by the way, I've lost one of somewhere down there while I was stuck." She clenched her fists and brought her arms up under her bosom, still shivering. "It was a freakin' funeral, who gets buried in a white dress and sandals? No one, that's who."

"So, you're cold then?" Spike asked with a cheeky smile, to which she responded to with a glare. He shrugged his trusty duster off his shoulders and placed it around Buffy's, as if he'd done it a thousand times.

The gesture and his close proximity had Buffy blushing, and her belly burning, as she slid her arms through the sleeves and mumbled a low, "Thanks."

"Welc'm. 'S not like I feel cold or hot anyway." He responded gruffly.

"Right. Forgot that." she said slowly. She looked at him through squinted eyes and wondered what the problem was. What's with the mood change-y-ness?, stupid moody vampire. Buffy thought to herself.

Truth was, Spike was a bit unnerved by the Slayer's reaction to him. He'd caught the reddening of her cheeks, the slight rise in body temperature and heart rate. And if he allowed himself to believe it, he'd even caught a whiff of arousal. Bloody Slayer's gettin all hot for me, He thought cockily, 'Bout time.

Then he seemed to realize the implications that her reactions caused and became nervous again, which in turn caused him to, as the Slayer'd said before, get 'defensive'. Quit actin' like a nancy-boy flutterin' about a girl he fancies. Spike admonished himself, trying to stop his heart from trying to, literally, flutter. Well, as much as a vamp's can anyway.
Buffy cast one last questioning glance at the other blond, and then she began making her way out of the clearing and towards her house.

Spike remained silent but moved to fall in stride with her. So caught up in his own thoughts, he didn't notice the Slayer wincing and limping until about the fourth wince. He looked over at her and noticed that she was in fact missing a shoe, and as a result, her right foot was taking a beating from the ground.

Spike wasn't the only one lost in thought. Buffy was currently cursing everything and everyone that had anything to do with her return; the location, timing, all of it. Stupid Powers. They should be called the Weaklings, or the Pussies. Can't fight their own battles, gotta have a girl do it. Can't let her die either. Or, stay dead anyway. She stepped on a particularly pointy rock and her limp became even more pronounced and her curses continued.

Stupid Whistler. Stupid people who make sandals that can't last through a resurrection. Stupid, WHOEVER, that dressed me in wimpy sandals. She glared at Spike, just for good measure. Stupid vampire. She knew she didn't really have a reason to be angry at or curse Spike. But, she wasn't happy, and he happened to be there, so venting seemed like the right thing to do, so that's what she was doing when she slammed into Spike's back all of a sudden. "What the hell? What's wrong with you?" She demanded as he turned to face her.

"Way I figure it is; you got three options, pet." He ticked off his fingers as he listed them. "One: Continue limpin' along and gettin' your pretty lil feet all bruised. Two: Hop on piggy style and let me carry you home with at least a little dignity. Or, three: I snatch you up fireman style or damsel in distress style and you'll have no dignity left as the Slayer." He placed his hands in his pockets and shrugged his shoulders. Looking off to the side as if it didn't matter either way, he added, "Your decision."

Buffy started to protest but then realized that he was right. Her feet couldn't handle the entire trek to her house. There was no way. She may be the Slayer, or something LIKE a Slayer only stronger, whatever; but her feet were still sensitive from disuse. It would certainly feel better if she accepted his offer, that she knew. And she was planning on doing just that, but she threw in an extra scowl just because she felt she was required to. "Fine." She huffed in mock aggravation.

Spike opened his mouth to speak, but quickly shut it and smiled at the Slayer and her glare of warning. He spun around quickly, offering his back to her. "Hop on little lady."

Buffy growled, but moved to jump on his back anyway. "Can't believe I'm doing this. Me! The Slayer, jumpin' on a vamp's back for a piggy back ride to my house, where he's been staying and taking care of my sister." She grumbled to herself as she jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist. Placing her left elbow on his shoulder, she bent her arm and brought her hand up to lean her face against, her other arm resting lightly on his right shoulder.

Spike stopped walking as he heard her last statement. "How'd you know I was stayin' there?" He turned his head to the side so he could see her out of the corner of his eye. "I didn't tell you that."

"What?" She asked innocently.

"I said, how did you know I was stayin' there? I didn't tell you." He repeated.

"Yeeaahh. And I said, what?"

He started walking again, "You're not gonna tell me, are ya?"

She shook her head quickly, "Nope, notta chance. Now, giddyup little horsey." She tugged at his curls gently, messing them and causing them to stand up in all directions. Hm, must work on getting him to lose the gel and wearing his hair tousled. Tousled Spike makes for Sexy Spike. She thought with an evil grin and a glint in her eye. She unlocked her ankles and made to 'kick' him in the sides like she'd seen them do in the movies. But instead of hitting his sides, her heels made contact with the tops of his thighs. And a little to close for comfort if you asked Spike.

"Oi! Watch it now Slayer. Those bits might not interest you," yet he added silently, "but I don't fancy the idea of losin' 'em. If it's all the same to you."

"Ugh, Spike, you're a pig." She swatted him half-heartedly on his head, a smile in place the whole time.

"Sing me a new one, luv." Spike replied, smiling himself. "Sing me a new one."

The two made their way to the Summers' home in a comfortable silence, both completely lost in their thoughts.

 

Chapter 6:

As always- Disclaimers still in full effect. I own nothing, they own all, I'm only playing!

Huge, mondo, super-sized thanks go to Stephi for this chappie. You rock sista!

Sunnydale-

The Slayer and vampire slowly made their way up the walkway of Revello Drive. Spike dropped Buffy to her feet as soon as they'd reached the sidewalk. He heard her heart speed up in nervousness and figured she'd be more comfortable if she were able to move freely, or pace, if needed.

Buffy reached down and removed her remaining sandal. It had been making a 'thwacking' noise as she walked, and that disturbed the silence that was needed in order for her to get her thoughts in order.

She was really excited that she would see Dawnie again, and her friends too. But she was still wary because, as she'd told her mother, this was just gonna be weird no matter how you looked at it. They might've known she was coming back; but to be faced with the situation head on, was something else entirely. Buffy knew that first hand. She noticed Spike watching her and turned to meet his gaze.

"Shouldn't be nervous, luv. We've all been waitin' for this day. They're bound to throw a party, or send out flyers."

"Yeah. I know. But I can't help it." She sounded like a scared little girl; totally the opposite of what his Slayer usually acted like.

"Well, buck up, get over it and get yourself inside before I have to resort to carrying you in there. And don't think I won't. Don't care if you are scared, you're goin' in." He knew that the sure fire way to get her inside that house was to imply that she was afraid.

"I am not scared! And I'm going. I was just resting for, like, a second. You big butt." She glared at him and then stomped the rest of the way to the porch. As soon as she reached the steps she slowed down again as a fresh wave of nerves assaulted over her. Jeez Buff, get it together, will ya? She straightened her shoulders and put her hand on the knob. She tried to open it, but nothing happened. She took her hand off and glared at it like it was the problem, and then tried to twist the knob again. Still nothing.

All of a sudden Spike was behind her. Reaching around her body, his muscular frame very close to her own petite figure, he put his key in the lock. As he turned it, he whispered in here ear, his cool breath against her sensitive skin caused her body to erupt in gooseflesh, again. "Usually works better when you try to open it AFTER you've unlocked it."

Buffy sucked in a sharp breath as chills swept over her body in response to his nearness and his accented voice in her ear. "Very funny." She breathed out. Her heart was hammered in her chest, her face felt aflame, and she was too much of a lady to discuss the rush of heat in her womb and the subsequent state of her undergarments.

Needless to say, the effect Spike was having on her was a profound one, and if she stopped lying to herself, she would even say it wasn't exactly a shock.

He's always been sexy. Even that first time I saw him, I knew it. I just found out he was a vamp and figured that was that, Buffy thought as she unconsciously leaned into Spike's chest and closed her eyes. Then with the Will Be Done spell, found out first hand just how yummy he was. And it's not like he's even evil now, I mean, c'mon!

She knew that she was basically making up excuses to ogle the sexy vamp, but she was actually listening to Whistler for once and not analyzing or questioning. I know I wasn't the only one who saw how he was while I was gone. So it's not a total shocker that I'm wanting to ravish the vampire on my porch. Is it?

Spike released the key and let his hand fall to Buffy's side as she leaned into him. This whole night had been completely surreal to him. His Slayer was back, she was okay, she was being nice to him, she was... touching him.

Through the haze of shock she'd created when she'd leaned into him, Spike once again noted the changes of her body and was still surprised at the hint of arousal. Especially this time. There was more than a hint there. Bloody hell! The dozey bint's tryin' to kill me. His nostrils flared and his eyes rolled back into his head as her scent washed over him. He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply. She smelled of sunshine and night, strength and life, lust and want, earth and just plain ole Buffy. Gone were the parfums and spritzes. This was everything Buffy, and he was sure he'd ever smelled anything so sweet. He brought his hand up to her arm, his fingertips lightly grazed the skin.

"Ready, love?" he whispered against the shell of her ear.

She shivered in response and answered with a mumbled, "MmHm," and a sigh.

When she still failed to move he brought his hand up to her face and lightly traced her cheekbone, "Buffy?"

"Yeah?"

"You have to actually open the door to get in, pet."

"What?" She lifted her head up and asked confused. She shook it a bit, "Oh, yeah. I'm going." She stood up straight and wiped her hands against her thighs nervously. Both of them felt the strong sense of loss go straight to their cores, and in spite of the hum on her skin telling her to get her warm body back up against his cooler body, Buffy hesitantly reached for the door and opened it slowly.

"When did the door start getting locked anyway? I don't remember that part." She tried to cover up the way he affected her, but a vamp's nose didn't lie, and she knew that. But-- she could fool herself if no one else.

"Put in a new one a few weeks ago. Didn't want the Bit in a house with a door we couldn't lock since no one seemed to have a bloody copy of the key to this place. So-- I figured I'd just start over." Spike answered.

"Ah." Was Buffy's distracted response. She moved over the threshold and noticed that the lights were all off, save one that seemed to be in the kitchen, and a small lamp in the living room. She stepped into the foyer completely and poked her head around the corners of the living room and dining room, just to make sure no one was hiding, and then turned towards the stairs.

Spike followed behind the Slayer and closed the front door softly. He watched her actions in interest and when she began to slowly make her way up the stairs, he did the same.

Buffy reached the top and turned to head in the direction of Dawn's bedroom. She stopped when she reached the door and put her ear against it, listening for any sounds that her sister was still awake. When she heard none she turned back to Spike and he simply nodded and gestured with his hand for her to enter. She turned the doorknob slowly, and opened the door in the same fashion, mindful of any squeaking. When the door was opened completely, she stepped into the room and walked up to the side of her sister's bed. Dawn was lying, not really on her back, but not on her side either, and with headphones resting askew on her head. She'd undoubtedly fallen asleep with some teeny bopper boy band crooning in her ear.

Spike came to rest against the door frame crossing his arms and ankles. He watched Buffy silently as she removed the headphones from Dawn's head and placed them on the girl's nightstand. He watched with an over abundance of love, as she gently pushed a strand of hair out of Dawn's face and then sat on the edge of the bed. And he watched in apprehension as his Bit started from the sound of her sister's soft voice calling her name.

"Dawnie?" Buffy whispered softly.

Dawn was just getting to the good part of her dream. Justin Timberlake had been telling Tiffany Johnson, the resident snoot of her school, that she was a troglodyte bitch with calluses on her lips from gossiping so much. Tiffany was always a major bi-yatch to Dawn; constantly stabbing her in the back and running her mouth. Just as JT turned towards her with the intention of kissing her-- right in front of everybody in school-- she heard someone softly calling her name.

Nuh-uh. Not wakin' up. I like this dream. Her dream self shook her head in protest and stubbornly scrunched up her face.

When she got no response other than her sister shaking her head negatively and adapting a 'sour puss' face, she repeated a bit louder, "Dawnie." That seemed to do the trick as the young girl rolled onto her back, stretched her limbs, and squeezed her eyes shut really tight.

Dawn had just decided to ignore the other voice in her dream and focus completely on the hunk in front of her. He'd almost reached his destination-- her lips-- when the voice spoke again, louder. Her dream self stomped her foot, Daggum it! She whined in her head as she felt herself being pulled back to the land of the awake. Why couldn't these people leave her alone? She was an impressionable teenager that needed her sleep. She had to be prepared for the day of learning ahead of her, and one of the others waking her up right now certainly wasn't going to achieve that goal. Plus, JT's totally hot!

She rolled over and stretched out, much like a cat waking from an afternoon nap, when it suddenly occurred to Dawn that she'd just been awakened by her sister.

The sister that was supposed to be dead.

That could only mean one thing.

She slowly opened her left eye first, followed by her right. Still having said nothing she turned to Spike in the doorway for clarification. He nodded slowly with a smile on his face and she turned back to Buffy with her own smile in place. "It is you."

Buffy nodded and tears sprang to her eyes, begging to be released, "Yup. The only me there is; that's me." Dawn suddenly burst out laughing, much like Spike had done earlier, and tackled Buffy to the bed. The two girls hugged ecstatically and laughed heartily as they rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

Spike couldn't help but laugh at the situation also. His girls were happy, he was happy; unlife was good.

"Ow." Dawn suddenly whined. Buffy moved from her spot on her sister, after having landed there from the fall. "Happy time, but, ow." She giggled again and fell to the floor on her back, exhausted.

Buffy giggled also from her spot next to Dawn, "Sorry, but, you did tackle me, ya know."

"Yeah, but I couldn't help myself. I mean, hello! My sister just came back from the dead. Kind of an overwhelming, tackle needing situation, right?" Dawn reasoned as she lifted herself onto her elbows and looked at her sister.

"I know. Spike reacted the same way. Only less with the tackling and more with the laughing." Buffy commented as she eyed him at the door.

"Not 'xactly in the mood for a migraine, thanks. Otherwise, I'd'a been more'n happy to tackle ya." He responded with a smirk in place and his scarred brow arched. "Still am."

"Spike!" Buffy admonished quickly. "Behave." His only response was to run his tongue against the backs of his upper teeth and smile, causing her face to flush again. She looked away quickly, and turned back to Dawn. "Ignore him. He's being weird tonight."

Dawn looked to Buffy with an 'are you crazy' look, "How's tonight any different than every other night? He seems pretty normal to me." She turned towards the vampire in question and gave him the once over. "You bein' weird tonight, Spike?" She asked him honestly.

"Nope." He answered, popping the 'p'. "Don't 'ave a clue what she's talkin' about." He lowered his voice and moved his head in Dawn's direction. Speaking in a stage whisper he continued, "'M a bit worried, tell the truth. She's just come back from the dead, she might just be off her nutter. If ya know what I mean?"

Dawn giggled in response and Buffy mock glared at him. "Why was I being nice to you again? I suddenly can't remember. Must be a side effect of, what was it again? Oh, duh! The whole me 'Being off my nutter' thing, right?"

Spike sobered up quickly, "You're right. 'M sure you're fine." He turned to Dawn and slightly shook his head and gave her a look that said 'total rot'. Buffy noticed and her mock glare intensified, causing Dawn's laughter to do the same.

"You're a bad influence on my sister, Spike." Buffy commented.
He simply shrugged, "What can I say? Evil, remember?"

"Shyeah. You're evil alright. About as evil as a cuddly vampire can be." She told him with a smirk.

His eyes widened, "Oi! Take it back!"

"Nuh uh. Big softie."

He moved farther into the room and Buffy sat up as he approached her. "'M not a bleedin' softie, woman. 'M a master vampire of the Aurelian bloodline, that's not something to be taken lightly, I'll have you know."

She clasped her hands over her heart and gasped, "Oh no! Dawn, the big bad Aurelian vampire's gonna get me. Whatever shall I do?"

Dawn waved her hands in front of herself, "No, no, no. I'm not taking sides. I'm smarter than that."

"Looks like you're all by your lonesome here, Slayer." He said as he stalked towards her.

Buffy said nothing but watched his progress with a smile on her face. This whole 'no analyzing' thing is pretty fun. She leaned back on her hands as he came to rest on his haunches in front of her.

"'S not nice to tease a vampire, luv. You should know that." Spike commented.

"Generally I would go with the popular vote on that one, BUT, this is you we're talking about. Not some run of the mill vamp." She shrugged her shoulders, "It's not like you can do anything to me anyhow."

"Ooh, is that what you think?" He turned to Dawn with a cheeky grin and then proceeded to attack the Slayer with wiggling fingers at her sides. He wasn't clear on where his newfound courage came from, but he wasn't asking any questions. His Slayer wasn't trying to stake him yet and he was making the best of it. Dawn had let him in on a tiny secret a couple weeks back. Apparently, Buffy was extremely ticklish; and this was something he planned to use to his advantage from now on. He was evil after all.

"Wha'! Oooh no, unh uh mister! Stop it! St-stop i-it! Aahh!" Buffy tried her best to get away from his overactive fingers, but she couldn't wiggle away fast enough, and she soon found herself trapped on the floor with Spike looming over her.

"You give, Slayer?" he asked with his hands hovering over her sides.

"Give? Are you crazy? A Slayer doesn't give," she remarked bravely.

"'S'at right? Hunh. Let's see shall we?" Suddenly he was tickling her mercilessly again.

Buffy somehow found some leeway and was no longer underneath Spike, but on her side facing him. They appeared to be at a stalemate; hands clasped together in between their bodies, both panting and flushed from exertion. Neither said a word for what seemed like minutes, both too confused by the evening's events.

As she looked straight into his eyes Buffy was, at that moment, having a bit of a disagreement with herself. The little voice inside her head that sounded like Faith and that she'd dubbed 'Bad Buffy' spoke up. C'mon B, have a bit of fun! You know those big pouty lips are just begging to be sucked on.

'Normal Buffy' added her opinion, Don't you dare little missy! This is an evil, soulless, bloodsucker you're eyeballing. What kind of Slayer would you be if you hooked up with another vamp? One that doesn't even have a soul? 'Normal Buffy' added her opinion.

'New Buffy' threw in her two cents, 'Cept he's not so big with the evil now is he? He might be soulless, but he ain't evil. Besides, he's totally lickable. Even as she had the thought, her tongue darted out to moisten her lips.

Spike nearly lost the tiny bit of control he had when he watched her small pink tongue peak out. Oh sod all. He happened to be involved in an inner argument himself. The Spike of now, demon included, wanted nothing more than to attack Buffy's mouth with his own and shag her senseless. Her intense stare, combined with the heavenly scent radiating from her body almost did him in.

Look at those lips, mate. Stop and take a whiff of the air. She wants you, you know she does. The nose never lies my friend.

Before he could voice any more inappropriate comments his inner William interjected, Hear now! Young ladies of Miss Summers' caliber should never be the subject of such ungentlemanly thoughts. You question her honor when you make such proclamations and I'll not have you sully her virtue.

Any further introspection was prevented by Dawn breaking the silence. "God! What is with you?" She burst out. The two blonds on the floor whipped their heads in her direction, shock evident on their faces. They were both completely dumbfounded and surprised by Dawn's outburst; they'd completely forgotten about the youngest Summers' presence in the room. She was standing over them with her hands on her hips and her head cocked to the side. "Didn't you listen to me at all?"

Surprise was quickly replaced with confusion on their faces, when she made her last statement. She huffed and moved to stand behind Buffy, looking directly at Spike. "You have to go for the side AND the leg." She said rolling her eyes. Spike suddenly smiled at her and Buffy continued to look at her in confusion. "Like this."

And with that, she was on her knees showing Spike exactly what she meant and causing her sister to almost hyperventilate. The three were so caught up in their fun that they didn't realize the level their voices and laughter had gotten to. Suddenly lights were coming on throughout the upstairs and doors were swinging open. Willow's voice could be heard coming down the hallway, "Spike! What did we tell you about keeping D-...oh." Her tirade was cut short when she reached Dawn's bedroom door and saw exactly what all the commotion was. She stood completely still and speechless at the threshold.

Tara's voice rang out through the hallway then, "Dawnie, honey, I thought we talked about...oh." She stopped abruptly, right next to her girlfriend; both wore matching expressions of shock.

Spike greeted Tara and Willow from his spot on the floor, then turned his gaze back to his Slayer. "Ladies."

Dawn hopped off of the floor and bounced over to the two stunned witches. "Look! Isn't it great? She's back." They simply nodded, still unable to form words.

Buffy looked up at them from her spot next to Spike and smiled shyly, "Hey guys. Miss me?"

Soon they were all on the floor forming a massive group hug. Spike tried, in vain, to free himself from the groping and reaching arms, but found it impossible. "Soddin' group hugs." He grumbled, but found himself hugging back anyway. He suddenly felt someone pinch him on his side, under his arm. He let out a decidedly feminine yelp and glared at the giggling Slayer.

"Shut up Spike. You know you love it." Buffy said teasingly.

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do n...Oh bloody hell, forget it. Yes, I love soddin' group hugs and puppies and flowers and sugar and spice and everything nice. Now will you let me up? I may not need to breathe, but having four women all piled up on me, while sometimes fun, can get uncomfortable for a bloke." He gave up trying to argue with Buffy, he knew it was pointless. He was, in fact, enjoying himself but he wouldn't dare tell. It just wasn't normal for a master vamp to enjoy a soggy Hallmark moment with four human women, one of which happened to be the Slayer-- so he had to put up a front. Couldn't let on that this was an important moment in his existence. But as the small group slowly extricated themselves from each other and came to sitting positions, he had a feeling they already knew.

Forming a circle on the bedroom floor they all sat facing each other. Spike settled back, his left leg bent up, the other against the floor, and his hands behind him. The girls settled back in various curled up positions or Indian style. As he lifted his head, Spike met Buffy's gaze and knew for sure that, even without saying anything, she knew how he felt.

Okay, it was definite now, Buffy needed no further proof. Not only did she come back all power enhanced and Slayery, but she also came back with weird eyes. That was the only reason she could come up with for why she couldn't seem to look away from Spike tonight. She even specifically ordered her eyes to avert, Okay peepers; look away from the sexy vampire. She mentally popped herself on the hand, No! Not sexy. Quit doin' that. Look away now before it's too late! But they simply ignored her. It's not as if it was entirely their fault, they were seeing a whole new side to him after all. But still, she was the boss, so the ignoring her thing just wasn't cool.

The two stayed in each other's gaze for what seemed like minutes. That is, until the air was filled with Willow's voice. "I'm so glad you're back Buffy. We were startin' to wonder what was taking so long."

Buffy looked away from Spike. Finally! Stupid eyes! She shrugged her shoulders and looked to the red headed witch, "I dunno, something about timelines and destiny, blah blah." She made the universally known hand gesture for talking, and then waved as if dismissing it. "Whistler yapped so much that I ignored some of it."

"Ignored it? Buffy? How could you? What if he told you something that could help? What if you missed something that was, like, super mondo important?" Willow asked frantically with Tara and Dawn nodding in agreement.

"Oh, I listened to the important parts." Buffy nodded quickly trying to reassure them all. "Just not when he was whining about certain times and schedules 'tick tock, tick tock' and crap like that."

Willow let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, and rolled her eyes. "Oh. Well, okay then." She turned to Tara and whispered, "You shouldn't let me wig before I hear the important stuff."

Tara chuckled lightly at her girlfriend. "Okay sweetie, I won't let you do it again, 'kay?"

"'Kay." She nodded and turned back to Buffy, "So, how are you?"

"Honestly? I'm starved. Please tell me we have something to eat in this house?"

Tara quickly made to stand and head towards the kitchen. "We actually do have food. Spike and Dawn went to the market the other night."

Buffy looked at Tara shocked and then turned to Spike and Dawn. "You guys went grocery shopping?" She looked down at the floor and muttered to herself, "Mom and Whistler didn't tell me that. Can't believe I missed it." She ended with a pout.

The sound of four 'huh?'s rang through the room. Buffy's head shot up and she looked at each one of them in turn, then said quickly, "Never mind." She stood up and joined Tara at the door, "So, food huh? I'm huge with the food lovin' right now."

Soon all five were making their way down the stairs. Willow and Dawn firing off questions at Buffy in quick succession. The Slayer stopped halfway down the steps, "Guys! How 'bout lets feed me, call Giles, Xander and Anya, and then I'll tell everyone at once? Please? I don't feel like playing repeat-o girl tonight."
Tara turned to Buffy and placed her hand on the other girl's arm, "Of course Buffy, there's no need to tell the story more than once. And I know Xander and Giles'll wanna be here too."

"Sure, yeah." Willow readily agreed. "Gah, don't know what I was thinking. Tara and Dawn can get you some yummies and I'll call everyone." When she said 'everyone' Spike whipped his head around and looked at her with wide eyes. He had an intuitive feeling that Angel would, no doubt, be included in that 'everyone'.

Buffy smiled at her friend genuinely, "Thanks Wills."

Willow beamed a smile at the Slayer, "No prob, Buff. I'll just go get the phone." She said as she rushed down the rest of the stairs, through the living room and into the sitting room on the side. \par
When the rest of the group reached the bottom of the stairs, Tara and Dawn turned towards the kitchen go raid the fridge, Buffy made to follow but noticed Spike hanging by the front door. She turned to him curiously, "What's up? Aren't you coming?" She asked sweeping her arm in the direction of the kitchen.

"Um...nah, think I'll bugger off now. Red'll be making the calls and that'll include Peaches, and as much as I enjoy goading him on, I don't fancy facing him again right now." He tried to put on an air of disinterest and nonchalance, but he never was very good at lying, so his movements were jerky and clumsy as he moved to open the door.

"What? Did you slip a crazy pill in with your afternoon blood? Is the 'big bad' scared of the 'Great Brooding Wonder'?" Buffy asked in a mocking voice, using one of the many monikers Spike had for Angel. She walked towards him and latched her hand around his bicep. "You're not getting away that easily, Junior. Running never solved anything." She told him with a firm nod, then grinned. "Or at least that's what I heard."

"'M not scared." He declared standing tall. "And 'm not runnin'!" He heatedly protested.

"Oh no? What d'you call it then? Traipsing quietly? Sauntering in silence?" She snorted indelicately. "More like galloping in fear."

"Oi! 'M tellin' you that I'm not scared here, luv," he said pointing a finger at himself. He moved away from the door and took a few steps towards Buffy. "And I don't traipse or gallop. Occasionally I'll saunter, but only if the occasion calls for it. But never, ever do I traipse or gallop."

"Whatever you say, Bleach Boy," she called over her shoulder as she walked away from him and towards the kitchen. "What's the eats?"

He followed behind obediently, but voicing his opposition. "'M serious Slayer. I don't." They turned the corner and disappeared into the other room.

_____________________________________________________

Willow dashed through the living room and into the sitting room, headed for the phone. She came to an abrupt halt, her hand halfway to its destination, suddenly overcome by the severe urge to do the happiness jig. She ran in place, much like Jennifer Beal in 'Flashdance', shook her arms and made a high pitched 'SQUEE' noise. She was so excited to have her best friend back.

With the sounds of chatting and laughter coming from the direction of the kitchen, Willow diligently placed her calls. The first being to Giles, the second to Xander and Anya; both consisting of Willow speaking before the other could answer, simply saying, "She's back." But that was all that was needed, because in all actuality, she'd only gotten as far as 'She's b-' before she heard their doors shutting.

Then came the part where her nerves got the best of her-- the call to the ex, sometimes evil, always moody, vampire-boyfriend. Willow knew there was a reason someone should've made this call weeks ago, or just told him as soon as they found out, and this was it. The bit where she got to tell Angel that his true love had returned from the dead, and that they hadn't seen fit to tell him it was even a possibility.

Yeah, so-- fun this is not. Willow grumbled to herself as she reached for the phone again. She halted her progress at the sound of Buffy laughing at something Spike said, and Tara and Dawnie chuckling along in the background. She smiled to herself, once again basking in the greatness of the situation. Her smile was quickly replaced by a look of confusion, 'Cept...It's kinda large with the weirdness to see her acting all buddy-buddy with Spike. I mean, c'mon! It's SPIKE!

Although, if she allowed herself to admit it, she knew that he had changed. This wasn't the punk rock vampire that blew into town with his psycho girlfriend; this was the chipped love-sick vampire that was head over heels for her best friend. Yes, she could say it now; Spike loves Buffy. In spite of being a soulless, 'evil' vampire, he loves Buffy. Everyone had seen how he was after that night, they'd seen how much of a mess he was; if that wasn't, at least in part, love then she didn't know what love was, obviously. Xander had even changed his attitude and actions towards Spike. She wasn't delusional enough to see them frolicking through a meadow in the future, but they at least got along for the most part now. Willow had a feeling that their new and shiny 'buddiness' began with the mutual Angel-hatin' that occurred on the day of the funeral. That, and they both loved an incredible woman that was gone; but now that Buffy was back Willow had a niggle in the back of her head telling her that the 'buddiness' would be cut down to pint size. Xander and she had been friends since kindergarten, she knew how he could be when his jealousy was in the driver's seat. Even with the recent engagement and upcoming wedding, Xander was still insanely protective of Buffy-- especially when dealing with male suitors.

Oh well, guess we'll find out here shortly exactly when the male posturing will begin. Xand'll be here in no time.

She shook her head and scolded herself for getting distracted from her task. She really, really didn't want to make this call, it was just destined to be full of badness. Angel's gonna get all growly and broody. Then the REAL male posturing will begin. Between the three of 'em, there'll be enough testosterone in the air to fuel the National Guard.

She grabbed the receiver to prevent herself from continuing her mind babble, and finally placed the call. She glanced at the small notepad on the table, read the number and then punched it in; all the while dreading having someone pick up on the other end. When it rang twice and they still failed to answer she began nervously twirling the phone chord around her fingers. By the fourth unanswered ring her heart began to speed up again, only this time it wasn't because of her nerves.

Hey! Maybe they won't be there and then someone else, that isn't me, can call them later! That'd be stellar. Finally she heard a click, and for a second she thought her heart stopped. Then she heard Cordelia's voice ring out over the phone line, 'Hi! You've reached Angel Investigations...' With lightning speed she slammed the phone down onto the cradle, before someone did pick up.

"Phew! One angst ridden conversation put off for now," she muttered to herself as she continued to stand by the phone. She heard laughter ring out from the kitchen again and turned to head in that direction. "Maybe now someone else-- again, not me-- will have the pleasure of that lovely convo and I won't have to deal with it. Yay me!"

She made it into the kitchen just as Spike was ending an entertaining imitation of the womanly screech that Xander had let out one night on patrol. When she was in the room fully, she went to stand against the island between Buffy on the bar stool, and Tara leaning against it. "What'd I miss?" she asked with a smile.

Dawn stopped laughing long enough to answer. "Oh, Spike was just telling Buffy about that night you guys fought that Glarko-wacky-thingy."

Willow began giggling herself, as she picture Xander running around the cemetery yelping at Spike to help him. "Oh yeah! The Glor'kow'dkin. Oh Goddess, Buffy!" She turned to the Slayer, "You shoulda seen it. Apparently, the Glor'dow'dkin's limbs are still 'alive', after you sever them. You have to like, yank their hearts out or something. But-- Spike cuts this thing's head off, right? Xander walks right up to the demon's body-- keep in mind, the head is off the body, but still nearby-- kicks it in the side saying something like, 'Ha! You big demon dummy' or something as equally Xander-ish, when all of a sudden something grabs onto his pants leg." She had to pause in her narrative in order to get a particularly nasty case of the giggles out. "So, Xander looks down at his ankle, and what does he see? An ankle biter! Literally. The things head was still 'alive' and had clamped down on Xander's jeans with his teeth. He was running around like a little girl, screaming at Spike to 'Save me you big dumb peroxide vampire!' with this head attached to him. It was the funniest thing, in like, EVER."

Soon the entire group was in stitches as they continued to recount their tales of patrolling without their Slayer. And that is the scene that Xander, Anya and Giles walked into as they arrived at the Summers' house.

TBC...

Review, review, review...
 

CHAPTER SEVEN-

Giles drove towards Revello Drive with a lightness to his heart that hadn't been there in recent months. His Slayer was back. The girl that was more like a daughter to him than a charge had been given back to them. The word 'elated' popped into his mind when he tried to name exactly what it was he felt.

He arrived at the Summers' residence with Xander and Anya trailing behind by mere seconds. The three friends all hopped out of their respective vehicles at the same time, anxious to get inside.

Only, Xander seemed to forget the importance of putting the car in park and turning it off, so when the car lurched forward he leapt back in just before it rear-ended Giles' car. "Crappy crap, crap, crap." He cursed to himself as he got back into the driver's seat.

Anya screeched when the car jerked just as she was getting out. "Xander Harris! You could've caused some serious bodily harm to me, mister! Not to mention yourself. Then who would pleasure me, huh?"

"Sorry Ahn." He replied distractedly as he moved towards the porch. He met up with Giles on the sidewalk and walked in stride with the older gentleman the rest of the way. Xander turned to Giles with a sappy grin on his face, "G-man! Looks like our bestest Slayer's gonna be back in business."

"Yes, it would seem so." Giles replied distracted. He then turned to Xander sharply, "Don't call me that."

"Sorry G-ster," Xander said with a grin, all but sorry. "Just a little excited is all."

Giles stopped walking and looked at the younger man curiously, "Where do you come up with these loathsome names? Do you just sit around thinking up new ones?"

"What?" Xander asked raising a hand to his chest looking appalled. "No. I'm very witty and inventive in that way; no prior thinking required. They just come to me-- like an epithany."

"Epiphany." Giles automatically corrected.

"Yeah, epiphany, that's what I said." Xander puffed his chest out with pride, "Connoisseurs of the art of funnies, such as myself, don't have to work hard at our jokes, we're just naturally talented."

"No you're not." Anya said, matter-of-fact, looking at Xander with wide eyes. She turned to Giles and gestured to Xander with her thumb, "He lies in bed at night coming up with his moderately funny names and sometimes humorous anecdotes. He practices on me first, after many hours of orgasms, of course."

Giles had to stifle a laugh at Xander's look of embarrassment and a cringe at Anya's always forthright comments.

Xander's face turned beet red and his eyes grew exponentially in size, "Anya! Remember what we talked about? Private moments stay private, and those are private moments."

Before his, as of yet to be announced, fiancé could respond Giles spoke up again saving them all from further embarrassment. "What say we go in? We've dawdled out here long enough. We have ourselves a very alive Slayer waiting to see us inside. Now, I don't know about you, but I'm rather anxious to see her again."

Xander nodded enthusiastically while Anya did the same, just with a lower level of enthusiasm; and they all three headed inside.

______________________________________________________


Inside Buffy was still seated on a barstool at the island, Dawn on the other, Willow sat on the kitchen counter next to the sink with Tara leaning against the counter beside her, and Spike was settled on the other counter next to the microwave.

For the last ten minutes the group had regaled Buffy with events that took place during her absence, and while she knew pretty much everything that happened while she was gone, she was at that moment having one particular event recounted for her. And as a result she had tears of laughter streaming down her face as she held onto her sides.

"Wait, wait. So...Ok," She took a deep breathe, "You made Spike and Xander do what exactly?" She asked looking at Willow.

"Hey!" Willow cried defensively, "it's not like it's my fault that the vamps were casting rejects from 'To Wong Fu With Love'. Tara and I can't exactly dress like men, dressed like women can we?"

Buffy shook her head, "No, I guess not, but-- still, I can't believe you made them do it; and they actually did it."

"Wasn't exactly happy about it, Slayer. 'S not like I willingly participated." Spike pouted from his spot. He pointed an accusing finger at Willow, "Red threatened to turn me into a newt if I didn't do it."

Willow nodded in agreement, "You betch'yer cushy tushy I did, and I still will if you get outta line buster." But her voice held no heat, her cheeky grin was full proof.

"Oh come on Spike! I'm sure you made a lovely 'woman'." Buffy joked before promptly bursting into laughter.

"Oi, Slayer! Who said I was the woman? Maybe Harris was."

She shook her head and responded wryly, "Somehow I just can not see Xander dressed in drag with you playing the doting 'partner'." She made the air quotes around partner and shook her head, "Then again, I can't really see you dressed in drag with Xander playing the doting partner either, but-- hey, what do I know?"

"You shoulda seen him, Buffy." Dawn piped up excited. "With his cheekbones and lean frame; he was a be-aut! Dark blue is definitely your color, Spike." She finished with a giggle in spite of the glare Spike sent her way.

"That wasn't the best part though." Tara spoke up softly and with a grin. When Buffy turned to her with one eyebrow arched in question, she continued holding back a snicker, "The best part was when they had to hold hands and act all snuggly at Willie's."

Spike didn't seem to find this bit of information as hilarious as the others. He slumped his shoulders and lowered his head grumbling to himself. "'S not that funny."

Buffy looked over at Spike and noticed his pouty _expression. She found his reaction adorable, and that wasn't something she'd expected. Huh. Adorable-- never imagined that'd be a word I'd use in reference to Spike. But she was turning over a new leaf. She was a 'New Buffy' and she took the advice given and was re-thinking the whole thinking thing. Not to mention the fact that, for some reason, since her return she had a set of gymnastically inclined butterflies in her stomach that put on a show whenever she looked at him.

The other females ignored his comment and continued giggling. "What was this for again?" Buffy asked Willow as she finally looked away from Spike. "Why did the boys have to make with the fake man lovin', just to go after some random vamps?"

"Well, we had heard that they were after this really powerful amulet. It was reported to have many supernatural qualities. One of which was added strength." She shrugged her shoulders, "We figured it was better if we got our hands on it first. So-- stakeout." She finished simply, looking at her best friend.

"And the dress comes in where?"

"Turned out a simple stakeout didn't work as well as we'd hoped. We needed some way to get closer; see if we could hear anything."

Dawn nodded her head, "Yeah. One night when we went to the movies, we saw 'Sorority Boys' and Xander made the comment that the movie was, and I quote: 'Stupid and totally far fetched. No self respecting member of the male species would ever dress in drag just to spy. We tend to go more for the suave, debonair, 007 kind of spying.'" The younger Summers shrugged her shoulders, "We all looked at each other-- you could practically see the light bulbs coming on over our heads, well 'cept Xander-- and then voila! The next day was spent finding Spike a suitable dress, teaching Xander to act more feminine, and assuring Anya that he wasn't really gay and that he wouldn't leave her for another man."

Images of a frantic Anya popped into Buffy's head, which caused her to double over in laughter again. But then she began to wonder how, exactly, she had missed all this. Her mother, Whistler, and she had watched their TV pretty much constantly. Guess with the time differences it's possible, but-- damn I woulda loved to have seen that!

The others joined in her laughter, again, shortly thereafter and even Spike couldn't suppress the smile that blossomed on his face at the sight before him. He was definitely not enjoying the humiliation factor, but seeing his Slayer laughing and living again wasn't something he was willing to put an end to anytime soon. And the fact that she was treating him like an actual person, and dare he say friend, was an added bonus. So he played the part of the embarrassed, grumpy vampire all the while smiling on the inside.

Willow finally regained her composure enough to finish up the story, "OK, so-- we got Spike all gussied up and Xander all trained in the art of 'flaming'. Then they went to Willie's and acted all couple-y; holding hands, talking quietly--"

She was cut off when Buffy interjected, "I can just imagine the colorful conversation they had." Everyone chuckled at the Slayer's comment.

"I know, I know. They sat in the back of the bar in a little booth close to the Wong Fu-ers so they could hear what they were saying." Willow continued, "They were only there for a little bit before they heard the first mention of the amulet."

Spike scoffed, "Yeah, and what did we hear?" Willow had the decency to look at him shamefaced and he glared in response. "Seems the rainbow club thought the little bobble was pretty. Shiny. Thought it might go well with an outfit or two."

Buffy stopped laughing and looked at the blond and red head with wide eyes. A small smile began to crack through, "They just wanted a new accessory? Something that would match both their evening gowns and massacre wear?" She laughed all out then. "So they weren't even a threat? Well-- not a threat in the sense that they wanted to get the amulet and become all powerful, but more like, 'Oh my God! where did you get that fabulous necklace' type of thing." She giggled. "So, no world endage planned then?"

"Nope." Willow confirmed. "No world endage that week."

"Yeah. No world endage for you. I'm the one forever scarred. And forever is forever to me," Spike grumbled.

"Doesn't hafta be that way, Junior. I could always take care of that forever problem for ya." Buffy cheekily offered, and then she turned back to face Willow with beseeching eyes. "Please, please-- tell me you got pictures?"

Being as caught up in 'storytime' as they were, the occupants of the Summers' household didn't hear the cars pull up outside; or the muffled conversation being held on the front porch. So when they suddenly heard Xander's voice, they all turned surprised faces towards the door leading to the kitchen.
______________________________________________________

The three newcomers walked into the kitchen just as Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Tara all erupted into raucous laughter. As Xander came into the room fully, he held up the hand in which he held Spike's keys. He looked at the blond vampire, "Ya know Spike? There's this common ritual practiced among us humans. It's something we like to refer to as 'the key removal'. It's where you take these," he held up Spike's keys and shook them slightly, "unlock the door; then take them back out and place them firmly in your pocket. Or, if there's a special little hook somewhere that they call home, you stick 'em on there." Xander shrugged his shoulders going for a look of nonchalance, "I dunno. Do what ya want. Just figured you wouldn't want copies of the key passed out to all the bad guys. Would kinda defeat the purpose, yeah?"

"Can it Whelp," Spike responded. But Xander's-- and everyone else's-- attention was solely on the Slayer sitting at the kitchen island.

When a full thirty seconds had passed with no one breaking the silence, Buffy spoke up. "What? I don't still look dead, do I?" She asked with a smile, looking to the three standing in the doorway.

That seemed to break the spell over the room as Xander walked up to Buffy and gave her a hug with almost enough force to knock her off her stool. "Buffster! You are a sight for sore eyes."

She chuckled in response, "So I take that as a no then, huh?" Xander backed away and allowed Buffy to stand.

Giles walked up and stood in the spot previously occupied by Xander. "Buffy." He whispered, almost choked up.

"That's me." She answered with a watery smile. He opened his arms and she flung herself into them, hugging him fiercely.

"You are quite the miracle young lady." He whispered in her hair, causing her arms to tighten around his middle. He wheezed a bit, "And still quite strong, I see."

Buffy released him and backed away embarrassed. "Sorry Giles, I seem to have a problem in the hugging too hard area."

"Quite alright," Giles was quick to reassure her, "nothing was broken, I assure you." He rubbed his side and grimaced slightly, but tried to cover so Buffy wouldn't feel bad. "I'm just glad you're here to hug in the first place." He told her with a smile.

Suddenly Giles was shoved out of the way and Buffy found herself engulfed in Anya's arms. "I'm glad you're not dead now."

Buffy smiled and hugged the other girl back awkwardly, "Thanks Anya. I think."

Anya pulled back to arm's length with her hands still on Buffy's upper arms and looked the Slayer in the eyes, "No, I'm being sincere. I'm really glad you're not dead anymore. I missed you. It was weird." She released the Slayer and stepped back next to her 'secret' fiance.

Buffy had to smile at Anya's choice of words, Good ole Anya-- blunt as ever.

Silence descended over the room once again. The weirdness of the situation wasn't lost on Buffy, See... I knew I was right. Weirdness abounds for Buffy. As always. I hope his immortal twerp-iness is watching this. She thought to herself with a grumble when she thought of Whistler.

Buffy was starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with the quiet. Sure, she knew it would be an adjustment for everyone. I mean, hello! Dead girl not so dead anymore. But the staring thing was kinda creepy after a few minutes. She looked across the room at Spike and saw that he was watching her with the same adoration as everyone else, but there was also a hint of something more there. His eyes held a softness that she'd always tried to ignore; like he knew exactly what she was thinking and what she was feeling. And she found that his stare wasn't really in the creepy category, more flattering than anything. That would, under normal circumstances, be kind of wiggy; but Buffy was starting to realize that the rule of thumb for normal circumstances didn't apply to her, or the people surrounding her. She couldn't blame it all on the Hellmouth either-- she had a feeling that her life would be just as strange without it.

When Spike noticed that Buffy was looking at him he tilted his head, slightly, to the side and gave her a small smile. She graced him with a smile that made his still heart somersault in his chest. He knew that she wasn't relishing this moment. Her merry band of do gooders, himself included, were all acting like she was the second coming. But, if one thought about it-- she was. She's a bloody savior to the lot of us. A savior, a protector; he wanted to say angel, but there was no way he'd ever call his Slayer that. No, that name was forever ruined by the poof. She's a cherub, that's what she is-- with hair of golden spindle and eyes that shine like a million stars. With the heart of the world and the strength of a beautiful warrior. His inner Spike sent his inner William a scowl as he heard the pathetic attempt at poetry resound through his head. Then his inner demon brought his arm up and drove his fist straight into inner Spike's nose. Bugger off you nit! Even if it is sappy, sickeningly romantic drivel-- at least the wanker knows she's shag worthy. Spike realized that his entire 'being' was in complete agreement when it came to Buffy. He was hopelessly lost in love no matter which side of him you asked.

The two blondes held each other's gaze when the silence remained heavy in the air. That did not go unnoticed by the Slayer's friends and family. Dawn mentally hopped up and down and screeched at the obvious connection between her two favorite people. She hoped that Buffy was finally over her 'Spike = evil' thing, and that she'd realize that she had a major hottie totally caught in her web. She didn't think she'd every be happier than if they got together.

They should just bone and get it over with. Sheesh, they act like grade schoolers-- being mean to each other because they like each other. Dawn giggled silently when the image of a little Spike pulling a little Buffy's pigtail, and then little Buffy chasing him around threatening to stake him. She knew that sometime in the near future she'd be envisioning the three of them all under the Summers' roof, like one big-- or smallish-- happy family. How freakin' awesome would that be? She wanted her sister to be happy and she just knew that Spike was the perfect person, er vampire, for the job. She knew that her sister needed someone that loved her no matter what. Someone that wouldn't run away at the first sign of drama, that wouldn't leave her for her own good. Butthead. She thought as she imagined herself kicking Angel really hard in the ass. And Spike would definitely never do either of those things. Now-- if only she'd stop being so hard headed and notice what she has in front of her.

Dawn continued to watch the interaction as she thought to herself, while Willow, Giles, Tara and Xander were all caught up in their own thoughts on the blonde duo. Willow and Giles were highly speculative on the prospect of Spike and Buffy being involved, Tara thought it was cute and that the both of them deserved some happiness. Aside from the fact that their auras were mingling together whenever they were close, she thought they would both be good for each other.

Xander stood with a constant loop of, What's this? What's going on? Why are they looking at each other like that? Since when does the Buffster stare at Deadboy Jr. without a hint of glare-y-ness in her eyes? He wasn't as entirely opposed to the idea as he would've been months ago. He had after all worked beside Spike all summer when Buffy was gone. He'd noticed the changes in the vampire, even if he wasn't sure he wanted to admit it. Sure, he'd kept up pretenses most of the time, let everyone believe he still hated Spike with a fiery passion, but he secretly enjoyed having another male in the group. Since Oz had gone, and now Riley, Xander was seriously lacking in the sharing of testosterone and male bonding department.

Yeah, there's Giles, but he's the dad of us, it's just not the same. Plus, the old coot can't play pool to stop an apocalypse. But all of those things didn't mean that he wanted Buffy to take on Spike as her newest boyfriend and get all mushy-gushy, cuddly-wuddly with him either. Of course, he'd never been exactly ecstatic when she had a boyfriend in the first place, he still carried a small torch for the Slayer, and he had Anya now, so it wasn't totally a jealous thing, but because of past experiences with male members of the vampire species, he wasn't exactly doing the snoopy dance in his head.

Anya simply stood beside Xander eyeing Buffy and Spike and wondering why no one else was commenting on the fact that the energy between the two was palpable. Happyland and orgasms would do wonders for those two. Why humans continue to ignore these things is beyond me. But for once she kept her mouth shut and sat examining her manicured nails.

When silence continued to reign over the room Buffy shifted uncomfortably and her eyes darted around avoiding everyone in the room, save Spike. When their gazes connected she sent him a silent plea of 'Now would be about the time you usually say something smart ass-y.'

The right corner of his lip lifted just a bit before he stood up straight and did just as she asked, "A'right you gits, 'at's enough of the starin' and gawkin'. I'm sure you've all got questions burnin' in the backs o' your throats." He pointed to Giles, "'Specially you Watcher. So why don't we get the Q&A session over with so I don't have to stand around and watch the lot of ya bein' all weird."

Giles took his glasses off and began wiping them on his shirt tail, "Yes, I suppose that'd be a capital plan."

Spike snickered loudly and then spoke in an upper class British accent mimicking Giles, "Yes, I suppose that'd be a capital plan. God you're such a nancy."

He placed his glasses back on and glared at the blond vampire, "You know Spike, if you don't want to be here, I'm sure there are some demons lurking about tonight, you could take out your aggressions on them, or possibly some mildly illegal activities that you could partake in."

Xander walked up to Spike and slapped him on the back, "Yeah, or you could go on the hunt and scowl at people all night. You know, be the Big Bad again... well, the Big Bad Scowler."

Spike answered the younger man's antics with one of the patented scowls that had been mentioned, and an accompanying elbow to the ribs to which both men responded to with a yelp of pain. Spike grabbed the front of his head and squeezed his eyes shut tight while Xander grabbed onto his side and winced. Anya jumped from her place on one of the stools and ran to Xander's side with a constant stream of 'are you ok?' and 'you deserved it' and 'Spike don't hurt him' coming out of her mouth over and over.

When Spike cried out in pain, Buffy found herself almost jumping to his side to make sure he was ok and not Xander. He had after all only been doing what she'd wanted and Giles and Xander had given him a hard time. While she wasn't condoning him inflicting pain on one of her best friends, she also realized that Xander deserved it.

Ok, I'm officially aboard the wig train. Since when do I worry about and take up for Spike over Xander? She caught herself before she actually made it off of her stool and caused the others to question her sanity, but just barely. She knew that they were thinking that she was a bit crazy right now anyway since she hadn't kicked Spike out of her house yet, but she didn't want to amplify their thinking on the matter.

But Xander was acting like an ass, so why would it be so strange if I made it known that I felt that way? If she was going to follow through on the whole new Buffy-ness thing she had going, she knew she would have to stop worrying about her friends' reactions so much. But that was going to take some work and lots of effort. It wasn't exactly something she could just do over night either, she'd have to ease them into it, Take it slow and watch out for their reactions to my reactions.

Once he recovered from his head zap Spike looked at Xander, "Again, it was worth it."

"Shut it 'Almost Scary One'." Xander grumbled while continuing to rub his side as Anya fawned over him. Spike simply glared at him while everyone else let out a small giggle over their antics, thereby missing the almost glare Buffy sent Xander herself.

"Yes, well now that that's over with," Giles looked at the two men reproachfully then to Buffy, "Why don't we go into the living room and have us a chat?"

Even though Buffy had known she'd have to go over everything she still didn't look forward to playing a super sized game of twenty questions. More like a gazillion questions. She grumbled silently while standing from her stool.

"Guess so. Let's get this boat show on the road." She said as she moved towards the living room.
Spike fell in directly behind her and everyone else followed diligently as they made their way into the other room. Once in the room, Buffy seated herself in one of the chairs, Spike leaned up against the door frame leading to the foyer, Giles took up sentry at the fireplace with one arm on the mantle, Tara took up her regular station at the desk, paper and pen at the ready, and Xander, Willow and Dawn all sat on the sofa with Anya sitting on the arm next to her boyfriend.

Buffy sat wringing her hands nervously and staring at her lap as she tried to figure out where to begin her tale. When Giles cleared his throat she finally looked up, "Ok, so where do ya want me to start?"

Everyone began firing off questions in quick succession all at the same time.

"Where were you?" from Willow.

"Was it Heaven?" from Tara.

"What was it like?" from Dawn.

"Did you meet any dead famous people?" from Xander.

"Did you have to wear flowy gowns and hippie sandals?" from Anya.

Giles, like Spike, remained quiet and studied his Slayer while the others spoke.

When it was apparent that they weren't going to let her get a word in edge wise, Spike finally spoke up, "Oi! Why dontcha shut yer gobs. The Slayer can't answer your questions if you don't pause to even take a breath." Everyone had the grace to look sheepish while Buffy sent him a grateful smile. He responded in kind, gracing her with his own shy smile.

Oooh, school boy Spike is back. Buffy giggled mentally.

Before she would get into her thoughts to heavily Giles interrupted them, "Why don't we start with the prophecy you spoke of to Willow and Spike. Did you 'visit' them for that specific reason? It was a way for us to all find out and research it?"

Buffy shook her head slowly, "No. That wasn't the reason for my visit. Someone," She glanced at Spike with an eyebrow raised, "was acting like a big ole dummy vamp, so mom and I decided to pay him a visit to get him to knock it off." The blond vamp looked down at his feet, shuffled them awkwardly and grumbled an almost imperceptible 'sorry', Awe, how cute he's-- No, no Buffy. Gotta concentrate here, no googliness can happen right now. She mentally popped herself on the hand before her thoughts could once again run away with themselves.

Giles looked at her quizzicaly then to Spike and Willow in the same fashion, "Acting like a..." he cleared his throat, "'a big ole dummy vamp'? What does she mean?"

Spike quickly adapted a deer in the headlights look, "Uhh..."

"It was nothing Giles, he's over it now." Willow answered for Spike. She looked him with her eyebrows raised, "Aren't'cha?"

Spike glanced at Buffy with a smile and a nod then back to Willow, "Yeh, over it."

Xander was looking from person to person with a look of confusion clearly displayed on his face, "Oookay, now that that bout of confusion has passed..." He looked to Buffy, "So where were ya? What was goin' on? How did you know what was up with Mr. Chippy and Wills?"

It was the Slayer's turn to get the wide eyed-caught look, "Welll, Whistler kinda set it up so I could see what was going on down here."

"Whistler?" Giles asked intrigued. "You got a visit from Whistler in Heaven?"

Buffy nodded in the affirmative, "Yeah, but it wasn't really Heaven. It was some place called 'Summerland'." She waved her hand in front of her. "Kind of a holding place, since I was coming back and all. And yes, the irritating one was there." She scowled, "He just loves to piss me off and drive me crazy. I swear that's one of his job descriptions, 'Drive the Slayer crazy.'" She looked up at the ceiling questioningly, "I wonder if they put that in the ad...? 'Must wear tacky hats, show up when not wanted, and be able to drive the Slayer insane with your inane crypt-o messages and smart ass-y-ness."

"Buffy..." Giles prompted.

"Huh?"

"You're gettin' kinda off topic there Buff." Xander answered.

"Oh. Sorry." She shook her head, "What was I saying?"

"You said Whistler set it up so that you could see what was going on down here..." Willow said to help her remember.

"Oh, right. So we had this TV that we watched. But time was different, so I didn't see everything. That's how I didn't know about your cross dressing mission." She snickered as she glanced at Spike and Xander.

Xander's face turned beet red and his eyes widened, "You...? You told her about that?" He covered his face and lowered his head, "Oh god, my masculinity is now nonexistent."

"Oi! How'd ya think I feel Harris? I was the one in the dress.

And now she's picturing me wearing one, plus you're not the one whose in l-" He dipped his head stopping himself from finishing that sentence before he could embarass himself further. Everyone knew he was in love with Buffy, it was obvious, but he never really spoke about it to the others, at least not all together with everyone looking at him like he was the latest exhibit at the museum. That was bit too close for comfort there. Gotta watch the looseness of the tongue around the Slayer and her cronies. He glanced over at Buffy to gauge her reaction to his almost slip and noticed that she grinned and blushed a bit, and slightly lowered her head. Hmm, what's this then? The Slayer actin' all girlish? About me?

Buffy had in fact noticed what he almost said and couldn't help the slight blush that crept up her face and neck and the small tingle of feminine pride. She giggled a bit in her head when she thought of the fact that he loved her. Ok, first it freaked me out and pissed me off-- now, it makes me giggle like a girl and blush.

"People! Can we get back on topic please? I wanna know what she was up to... God!" Dawn stated in a loud voice.

"Dawn is right. This is rather important, we have a prophecy to contend with. Not to mention the fact that our Slayer has returned from the dead." Giles spoke up, the voice of reason as always.

"Right." Buffy agreed. "The prophecy... I don't really know much about it guys. It's the whole cryptic 'you can't know right now' type of thing."

"Well, let's start with what you do know, yes?" Her Watcher prompted.
 

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