Chapter Quattor

***

There was an eerie silence. Just then, Dawn, Portia, Willow, and Livia entered the room. They stopped at the silence.

"What is going on?" Portia asked.

"Williamus believes he is descended from Lucius," Tiberius answered. "Come have a seat, girls." They did as they were told.

Lucius smirked. "You're of my line?"

Spike made no response.

"That's interesting. I have no childer," he continued.

Livia frowned. "But you will, if they speak the truth."

"I don't believe them," Lucius answered cooly. "Why would I create childer? I promised you I would not attack humans. I am a man of my word." He slouched comfortably in his seat.

"You aren't a man at all," Xander pointed out. "And vamps aren't exactly known for keeping promises."

"Shut your trap, whelp," Spike jumped in. "I have always kept my promises."

Xander opened his mouth to respond, but Buffy cut him off. "Drop it, both of you. Spike has always kept his word with me."

"Spike?" Lucius drawled again. "My, my, Williamus, we are not being very truthful as of late, are we?"

"William is my real name, you prat," Spike scowled.

"Of course."

Tiberius stepped in. "Perhaps you could tell us about the demon that sent you here?"

"Right," Willow began. "It was big and green and had lots of red horns." Then she blushed, realizing her own words. "Not very helpful, huh?"

"We can continue with this later, if you please," Tiberius said. "Perhaps Anna could ..."

"Could what?" Buffy asked.

"I would like to see how you fare against Livia in a fight," Tiberius answered. "Do you fight in any particular style?"

"Not really. Giles-my Watcher-taught me a bunch and I kind of squished them all together."

"Is it effective?" Tiberius pulled out a scroll of papyrus and busied himself with taking copious notes.

"Is it effective?" Spike scoffed. "That little girl can knock me clear across the room when I let my guard down."

"So you train with your husband?" Livia asked, a curious smirk on her face.

"With my ..." Buffy frowned. Her ... oh. "Not really. You see, he used to have this chip that-"

"Stops him from being a bloodsucker!" Anya finished enthusiastically. "Although I really don't think he needs it anymore."

"A chip?" Tiberius inquired.

"A chip is a piece of technology embedded in his brain that contains information and specific direc-"

Xander cut Willow off by placing his hand over her mouth. "It's a piece of silicon in Spike's head that gives him a big headache if he tries to hurt a human."

"And he doesn't have this 'chip' anymore, you say?" Tiberius asked, furiously scribbling on the parchment.

"Oh, sorry," Tara said. "He still has it. If he tries to hit any of us, it'll still zap him. It just doesn't work on Buffy anymore."

"And that's why we should stake him," Xander finished.

"Please, Xander," Dawn interrupted. "Spike wouldn't hurt Buffy. He loves her," she said, hands on hips.

"Can you really be sure of that?" Xander asked, frowning.

Tiberius cleared his throat. "If you are quite done," he said and continued without waiting for an answer. "Why doesn't this thing work on Anna anymore?"

"It's a long story," Buffy answered. "I don't think we should really go into it. It deals with me dying and getting resurrected and coming back with a little different genetic sequence ... do you guys know about genes yet?"

"About what?" Tiberius asked.

"Never mind," Spike answered. "The reason I didn't train with her is because of the chip. I do, however, go on patrol with her. Want to know anything else?"

"No, I think that's quite enough for now," Tiberius said, laying the scroll out to dry. "Would you like a hand-to-hand battle or with weapons?" he asked both Livia and Buffy, beginning to clear off one side of the study.

"If you don't mind, do you think I could eat first?" Buffy asked. "I'm really hungry and I can smell the food from the kitchen already."

Tiberius stopped, clearly disappointed that the fight wouldn't take place right then. "Of course. Williamus, Lucius, would you like me to bleed an animal for you?" he asked offhandedly.

"I'm good," Spike answered, grinning slightly.

"Surely you need to eat?" Tiberius asked.

"'m not hungry," Spike answered. "Ate enough already."

Xander and Anya swung around to gape at Buffy. "You weren't having sex when we walked in on you!" Anya blurted out, causing Buffy to turn a deep red. This, unfortunately, caught everyone's attention.

"No, we weren't having sex, Anya," Buffy reassured her, still embarrassed.

"You let Spike feed off of you?" Willow asked, amazed. "You let Spike -bite- you?"

Tara didn't say anything, trying to stay out of the conversation. Dawn glanced back and forth between Spike and Buffy while Lucius looked on, interested.

"Yes, I let him. Is there a problem?" Buffy asked, feeling a twinge of irritation. When no one answered, "Xander?"

"No problem, Buff," he muttered.

"Great!" Buffy answered, a fake smile on her face.

"Perhaps we could do the fight tomorrow, pater?" Livia asked, tossing a dark lock behind her shoulder. "I do not really feel up to it tonight."

"Of course, sweetheart," Tiberius said. "Lucius, do you think you could stay the night and aid in the fight tomorrow?"

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "You want me to fight the other slayer?"

"No," Tiberius said. "I would like you to fight Livia. I have not seen you two fight in a while, physically of course. You two bicker enough every day." He turned to Spike. "Williamus, perhaps I could watch you fight Anna? If that's okay with you, of course," he said to Buffy.

"Whatever," Spike answered. "Are we going to eat?"

"You eat human food?" Portia asked, surprised.

"That depends on the food, Bit," he answered, unaware of the fact that he was using Dawn's nickname. Then at Dawn's frown, he ruffled her hair and slung an arm across her shoulders. "Wanna sit next to me, Nibblet?"

Dawn flung an arm around his waist, grinning. "Sure."

Lucius got up off his seat. "I'm going to stay here for some training."

"Bye Lucius," Portia called, admiration shining in her eyes. Buffy knew that look. That was the way Dawn looked at Spike.

The rest made their way to the kitchen as Tiberius counted heads. "Oh dear, I'm afraid I only have room for nine at the table. Fulva, will you please bring a chair over for me?" The servant nodded her head before venturing out into the next room in search of a seat. "The rest of you can have a seat. Three to a couch," he directed them to the table.

True to his word, Spike took a seat on the end of one couch, helping Dawn up next to him while Buffy took the last spot. "This is so wiggy," Dawn whispered to him. "I've never eaten kinda laying down like this before." Spike grinned in response.

Tara took the seat nearest to Spike on the next couch. Anya was next to her and Xander was on the end. The couch across the table was occupied by Willow, Portia, and Livia respectively. Finally, Fulva returned with a chair and Tiberius slid it up next to the empty side.

"They will serve us in a minute."

"What kind of food do you have?" Tara asked timidly.

"We have slices of meat, cheese, grapes, and bread," Tiberius answered. "We will have wine for our drink, unless you prefer water," he said.

"No water," Spike answered.

"Spike," Buffy whispered fiercely. "Wine? You know how I get with alcohol," she said.

"Unless you want to drink their water, Slayer, be my guest. It's probably well water and unlike your wonderful American system, it isn't cleaned."

"Fine, but if I get woozy, you're the one who is going to have to deal with me all night. Remember last time I got drunk?"

"Of course, luv. Don't worry about it." He grinned. "If you get drunk, we could probably go find some demons and play kitten poker."

At this, Buffy reached around Dawn to poke him in the side.

"Are we going to have dessert?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Oh, yeah!" Portia answered, grinning. "Apples and honey, my favorite."

"Apples and ... honey?" Dawn said.

"They don't have sugar here, Bit," Spike said playfully. "You all really don't know much about Rome, do you?"

"Hardy har har, Spike," Dawn said sarcastically. "Just because we all aren't over a hundred years old like you ..."

"I am," Anya spoke up. "Although I'm Greek, not Roman."

"Greek?" Xander said curiously. "I didn't know that."

"Of course. I knew Latin because my father was a merchant, but we did not speak it much at home." She smiled. "I met D'Hoffryn in Thessaly after some dickheaded Roman soldier promised he would marry me and then ran off with some-" she cut off in the middle of her sentence. "Well, that's how I became a vengeance demon. I don't think it would be an appropriate time to tell you what I did to him. We are about to eat," she said sunnily. Then she furrowed her head in thought, "Right Xander?"

"Right, Ahn," he reassured her. "I really don't think forms of torture would be a proper subject to talk about at any time, actually."

Just then, Fulva and the servants from earlier came into the triclinium wtih trays of food. One of them had the cups and a pitcher of wine on a golden tray. They passed out the food and the gang dug in.

"I didn't realize how hungry I was," Willow admitted. "And this stuff tastes healthier than anything I've eaten in a while."

"Yeah, Wills, whole grain can do that to you," Xander answered sarcastically. She stuck her tongue out at him in response.

The gang finished eating quickly and made their way back to their rooms. True to his word, Buffy was not intoxicated. But then again, it probably had something to do with the fact that she took only about two sips of her wine.

The sun was already setting. "I didn't realize how late it was," Tara said thoughtfully. "I guess the spell took longer than I thought."

"Whatever," Dawn said. "I'm just tired. The apple and the honey tasted better than I thought it would."

"I'm going to turn in," Tara said.

"Yeah, I guess we all should go to bed," Buffy agreed. "Dawn are you going to be okay?"

"Sure, Buffy, I'm not a kid anymore. The only thing that might be a problem are the voices that I know will coming from down the hall." She smirked.

"Yes, well, then we better get a headstart," Anya answered, dragging Xander back to the room.

Suddenly, everyone was gone, leaving Buffy and Spike standing there.

"Do you want to go to bed, pet?" Spike asked.

"Not really," Buffy answered. "I'm kind of on edge."

Livia passed them just then, holding a stake in her right hand. "I am going on patrol, Anna. Pater told me to ask if you would like to accompany me."

Buffy glanced up at Spike. "And suddenly there is something to calm my nerves down. What do you think, should we go?"

Spike grinned. "Never one to say no to a fight. Got any other stakes with you?" Just then Lucius entered holding a stake of his own. "He's going?" Spike asked, disgust in his voice.

"Yes, Pater likes him to come with me," Livia answered coldly, throwing a glare at Lucius. "He doesn't like me to patrol alone."

"Any stakes?" Buffy asked again. Livia handed her two. "Here, Spike. I'm definitely up for a little rough and tumble. You?"

He grinned back slyly. "Always, luv, always."

They headed off into the night.

***

Chapter Quinque

***

Buffy walked alongside Spike through the Roman graveyard. Nothing much seemed very different from the modern-day cemetaries in Sunnydale. It was just not as well-kept, darker, and altogether spookier. She grinned when she noticed that many of the graves had the letters 'RIP' on the tombstones.

"Hey, Spike, look," she pointed to the letters, allowing a little giggle to escape. "Just like in the cartoons, huh?" It was becoming more and more comfortable talking to Spike. Here, he wasn't as annoying as he seemed to be, and it was so much easier to accept him knowing that he wasn't the only one. It -could- be possible.

"It means 'Recite in Pace,' Slayer, not 'Rest in Peace.'"

"But-"

"It translates out to 'May he rest in peace.'" Spike grinned cockily at her, feeling a little uncomfortable without the constant weight of his duster on his shoulders.

"Big difference." She looked over at their other two companions. It seemed as if Livia and Lucius were becoming annoyed with their constant banter and sarcasm.

They stopped in their tracks. A group of vamps had gathered around a moss-covered monument of Pluto. Without warning, Lucius and Livia attacked as Lucius pulled out a broadsword.

"Do you wanna join them?" Spike asked, grinning.

"Let's."

The two sprung into action. There were at least ten vamps, and they had already dusted six earlier that night. Buffy and Spike reached the fray as Livia and Lucius took out two, leaving eight. They were able to split the vamps, taking on two each.

Buffy easily took out hers. The vamps weren't big on fighting, and she took them down quickly despite her skirts. It appeared they were of the lower class judging by the looks of their burial clothing.

She turned to Spike as one of the vamps exploded into dust. He was having problems with his last vamp. This one wasn't like the others. Whereas the others were definitely of lower status, this was a Roman soldier. He was decked in mail and helmet, with a broadsword in one hand and a large oval-shaped shield in the other.

Spike was dodging fatal swings by the sword, searching silently for an opening. Buffy attacked from behind, causing the vampire to swing blindly inadvertantly cutting Spike across the shoulder.

Clutching the wound seeping through the white of his tunic, he kicked the sword out of the vampire's hand. "Don't kill it," he gritted out to her.

Delivering a series of punches and kicks, Buffy backed it up against the statue of Pluto that the vampires had previously been gathered around.

Fighting back desperately, the soldier managed to smack Buffy hard across the face with his shield. Spike quickly took over, using the vamp's shield to pin it to the statue.

Lucius and Livia finished their four and approached them, each brandishing stakes.

"Wait," Spike stopped them with a hand, using his body weight to keep the shield in place. "Now listen, mate," he growled to the vampire. "We may be new in town, but you still looked mighty suspicious to me." The vamp struggled, and Spike slammed him back into place, full gameface. "Wanna tell me what's going on?"

"Never," the vamp hissed, spitting in his face.

"Doesn't really matter," Spike smirked, wiping the saliva from his cheek with the back of his hand. "You're going to die anyway. Let's just say that this little questioning session determines how you're going to be sent to hell."

"You will never win," the vamp growled, ceasing his struggles.

"Oh, so there's a new Big Bad in town, eh?" Spike grinned at Buffy. "This is getting kind of old." He turned his attention back to the vamp. "Well, never matter. There are -two- Slayers in town now and me, too."

"Two Slayers?" the vampire gaped.

"Did you hear the next part? The part about me?" Spike asked glaring.

"Traitor," the vampire hissed at him, then to Lucius, "Both of you."

"You couldn't scare a puppy, Spike," Buffy laughed, then at Spike's look. "Sorry, this is Buffy being serious." She put on a mock glare. "Whoever you're working for, they're not gonna win." She grinned. "And killing me won't do much. I've died twice already, and trust me," she smirked, "I could torture you until sunrise."

The vamp's eyes widened, and he resumed his struggles until Lucius slammed his sword into the statue near his head. "Who is your master?" he snarled. "Livia!"

The girl apprached with a large crucifix, hair swinging behind her. She ran it lightly up and down the vampire's face, watching closely as the skin sizzled. "Gonna tell me now?" she asked quietly.

"Severus!" the vampire screamed out, desperately moving his face away from the source of pain. "Lord Severus sent me to gather newly risen minions!"

"Is that so?" Livia asked thoughtfully. She pressed the cross full on his face, its size blocking the vampire's features from view.

A blood-curling scream followed. "He plans on opening the Hellmouth during the solar eclipse!"

Buffy groaned, pulling out her stake and quickly dusting the vampire. "You think they would be a little more original," she said to Spike. "I was hoping for something new."

"What are you talking about, love?" Spike asked as Lucius and Livia watched, finally interested in the conversation.

"The Mayer planned his ascension during the solar eclipse a couple years back," she explained.

"The bloke that burned down the high school?"

"No," Buffy blushed. "Um, that was me."

Spike laughed at this, a deep rumbling laugh that brought a smile to Buffy's face. He never laughed like that.

"He was the one that turned into the giant snake during graduation."

"And this happened during a solar eclipse?" Livia asked, frowning. "I don't like it. No sun equals a lot of vampires."

"Well, yeah," Buffy answered. "That's how Angel was able to ..." she trailed off when she saw Spike. "Sorry."

Spike shrugged it off, trying to deflect the conversation from him. "I think we should save this for later when we can talk to Tiberius."

"Perhaps we can try to gather some information from the local demons, Williamus," Lucius suggested, still in gameface. Spike nodded in response.

"Are there any other places we should check up on?" Buffy asked Livia absently.

"Usually we go home after patrolling one graveyard, but perhaps it would be best if we visited the mausoleums, just in case," she said, her fingers flexing around her stake.

"Good idea," Buffy agreed. "You lead the way."

***

After reporting all information to Tiberius, they headed out back.

"We have our own private bath," Livia explained. "The servants always heat the water and leave out extra clothing whenever we go on patrol. I think it best that we do not go to sleep with a sheet of vampire dust covering us."

The bath was actually a small pool, to their amazement. Not as large as the public baths but still three feet deep with a divider down the middle.

"You two go over there," Livia directed Spike and Lucius to the other side of the divider. As soon as both were safely on the other side, she began stripping her tunica, slipping into the warm water as Buffy stared on. "What?" Livia asked. "Are you not going to wash?"

"Oh," Buffy blushed red. Livia expected her to bathe with her?

"Do you not bathe like this at home?" Livia asked again, matter-of-factly, pouring some bath oils into her hands and scrubbing her body down.

"No, can't say I do," Buffy murmured.

"It is only us women," Livia reassured her, dipping a pitcher into the water and wetting her hair.

Reluctantly, Buffy quickly stripped down and joined Livia in the tub, sitting on one of the underwater benches and scrubbing herself ardently.

"So," Livia said mischievously. "Are you really married to him?" She arched a perfect dark eyebrow, her dark blue eyes sparkling with impishness. "Just between us," she added.

Buffy fingered the ring Spike had given her underwater thoughtfully. "No," she whispered.

"I thought so," Livia said. "I did not think you could marry a vampire."

Buffy looked up. "I'm starting to think that it might not be so bad," she whispered, "Being married to Spike."

"Why is that?" Livia asked.

"He loves me," Buffy answered softly. Images and memories flashed through her head.

"I'm drowning in you, Summers. I'm drowning in you ..."

"But you treat me like a man and that's ..."

"'Til the end of the world ..."

"Every night I save you ..."

Buffy looked up and repeated herself louder. "He loves my sister and he loves me." Dipping herself under the water to clean off the remaining soap, she quickly left the water, grabbing one of the cloths apparently left there for drying and wrapping it around herself. The bottom of the light material brushed the floor. She picked up her sandals and one of the laid out tunicas, trotting back to the entrance.

She was surprised to see Spike already standing there fully clothed. "Done already?" she asked softly, gripping the ends to the cloth tighter.

"Was feeling weird being naked in the water with him," Spike explained with a toss of his head. He looked down at her hands. "Need help dressing, pet?"

Buffy nodded. "Can we do this in the room?" she asked quietly.

"Course, love," he answered, pulling the cloth around her body. "It's like a robe," he explained. "Find the sleeves?"

True to his word, Buffy found holes where the sleeves should be, slipping her arms through. Holding the front closed with one hand, she took his hand with her other and let him lead her back to their cubiculum.

Setting her tunica on the bed and tossing the sandals to the floor, he asked if she was wearing any undergarments. At her answer, he turned to let her do so, tugging the curtains to the window closed as an afterthought. The lit torch sent long shadows across the small room.

At her word, he turned to help her into her tunica, trying to keep focused on the task at hand. She reached for the rope to tie around her waist, but he took it from her hands and tossed it into the trunk. Digging around some, he found a fine bristled brush and handed it to her.

"What do you think about our situation now?" Spike asked, watching her pull the brush through her blonde hair.

She stopped, sitting the brush on the bed next to her. "I really want to lie to you, Spike. But I'm scared." She looked at him, the torch's flame dancing across her pupils. "We're not even sure if we can go back home," she resumed her brushing, her shaking fingers gripping the wood tightly, taking out her frustration on her hair.

Spike took her hand, gently pulling the brush from her. Turning her back to face him, he continued the task meticulously, brushing her newly short hair dry.

Buffy clutched her hands in her lap, bunching the light material in her fists. "It'm so scared, Spike, for Dawn, for everybody. This isn't our time. It's not our turf." He could smell the salt of tears slowly welling in her eyes. "This is not our fight." She turned to look at him. "I'm -tired- Spike."

He paused, placing the brush on the foot of the bed, pulling her drying hair to one side. Running his fingers through the drying strands, he marvelled at the young woman in front of him. She had been through so much and had sacrificed so much already. Kissing her gently where her neck and shoulder met, he pulled her into his arms. "I know you are, love," he murmured, tightening his embrace. "But we're all here to help you; that's what we always do. I'll always be here to help you. I'm not going anywhere." He kissed her below her ear softly. "I love you, Buffy."

Buffy smiled, silently leaning back into his arms. She could feel the walls she had built around her heart crumbling. "I know that," she agreed, and Spike couldn't help but wonder if she was agreeing about the Scoobies or the fact that he loved her.

"Spike, can we go to sleep?" she asked, eyelids drooping. It was so easy to let go around him, to let herself be vulnerable knowing that she was safe and cared for. It was soothing and such a relief to let the fact of the world lay on someone else's shouldes, if only for a little while.

"Anything, love," he told her, lifting her off the bed to pull the blankets down. Laying her back on the featherdown mattress, he spoke delicately to her as he crawled in next to her. "Go to sleep, love. Let go. I'll catch you, love. I've got you." Pulling her into his arms, Buffy laid her head on his cool chest. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her back sleepily, and Buffy fell asleep listening to Spike's soothing, deep voice.

***

Chapter Six

***

Warmth. Pure warmth and comfort surrounded her, cushioned her in safety and protection. Breathing deeply, Buffy shifted, burrowing deeper into the softness encompassing her. White light shone through her eyelids, creating a harsh splash of red as the smell of rosemary saturated the warm morning air. She smiled softly as feather-light fingers trailed over a tanned shoulder, making circular designs across her back. She shifted towards the touch, burying herself into strong arms. Inhaling once again, she sensed not cigarettes and bourbon but spices and something else ... Spike. Underneath the tobacco and leather, Spike surprisingly smelled distinctly of spices.

Buffy froze, stilling in his arms. What was she doing? Memories of the past day flew through her mind, images of the Magic Box, Dawn and Spike, of the demon, Rome, Tiberius, being married -- that's right. She was married to Spike. The weight of the weathered ruby had somehow become a constant on her ring finger. There was no spell this time, and although they weren't inhaling each other, she had kissed him and vice versa. Willingly, no less.

She hadn't moved, and Spike had briefly stilled his actions before resuming them once again. He must have known she was awake for her heart hammered relentlessly against her ribs, but she still refused to open her eyes. Everything would be fine unless she saw him. What was that quote? She had heard it numerous times before. Ah, yes. That was it. "When ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." ... Or something like that. English class was becoming less and less important as of late.

She was broken from her reverie by a pair of moist lips grazing the shell of her ear. Spike was becoming impatient. "Good morning."

Taking a deep breath as to stabilize herself, she shifted lightly. She mustn't lose herself. Blinking rapidly due to the blinding sunlight, she was greeted by a pair of sleepy blue eyes, and she immediately softened. At that moment, he had looked so innocent, like a little boy. He seemed so ... human. "Morning," Buffy returned quickly. Placing a hand behind her, she pushed herself into a sitting position. "What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes and lightly yawning.

Spike laid back into the feathers of the mattress and glanced at the yellow sun peeking through the translucent curtains. "About six."

Buffy whirled towards him, shocked. "Wha ...?"

Spike smirked. Sometimes she could be so empty-headed. "Vampire."

"Oh," Buffy answered. Just when she had started to forget ...

"You should get some more sleep," Spike continued. "We got into at about one. Sleep a few more hours," he insisted.

She faced him, a little surprised at his concern. It was times like this that she could almost envision what he was like when he was William. "No, I don't think I will," she said, pushing the covers aside. She had to get out of that room. Her gut was twisted with confusion by being alone with him for so long. Unlatching the trunk at the end of the bed, she ran her fingers over the beautifully sculpted carvings of the oak.

Spike was standing next to her, much to her surprise. "It's a story," he told her, and she realized he was speaking about the box. "Of Persephone. Do you know the story?" Buffy shook her head lightly, diverting her eyes back to the carvings. "She was the daughter of Ceres, the goddess of grain and fertility on Earth. She was beautiful, Persephone, with golden hair," he explained, running his fingers through Buffy's own yellow strands. "Wherever her feet touched, flowers bloomed."

Buffy stilled her fingers, mesmerized by his voice. Did he tell Dawn stories like this? This was a big leap from his tales of bloodshed and murder ...

"So great was her beauty that her uncle, Pluto, god of the Underworld, fell in love with her." She could feel him smile. "The gods were sick, sick people; they did not pay any mind to incest ... But I suppose it is always best to be with someone that you know is at the same level as you and can live with you as long as you are still here." Buffy's brow furrowed, understanding the depth of his words. "So one day, as she was gathering flowers with her mates, Pluto took her away to his home, and he fed her pomegranate seeds, ensuring that she would always be his."

"What about her mother?" Buffy whispered.

"Ceres became deeply worried and neglected her duties searching all the Earth for her daughter. The whole world was dying. So the sun, Helios, who sees all came to her and told her who took her daughter. She went to Jupiter, her brother and king of the gods, and asked him to bring Persephone home. Jupiter went to Pluto, but Pluto loved Persephone so deeply that he did not want to let her go. They struck a deal. Persephone would spend part of the year with Pluto and part with Ceres. While she is in the Underworld, her mother's grief causes the world to wither and die, Winter. But, while she is on Earth, the world flourishes, bringing Spring and new life and new beginnings."

Buffy looked up when his voice ceased. He was looking at her with such a kindness and compassion and unadulterated -love- that she swiftly averted her eyes. Such a love could prove to be dangerous. Swinging the lid open, she pulled out her belt, tying it around her waist. Biting her lip softly, she thanked the Powers she was already dressed. Walking over to their disregarded sandals, she noticed Spike had made no move to get ready. "Spike?"

He was sitting at the foot of the bed, silently watching her. "Buffy," he answered.

Leaving the shoes on the floor, she sat back down next to him. "What's up?"

His brow furrowed as he slowly studied her face. "Are you okay, love?"

Buffy was immediately taken aback. This was definitely a bad idea ... "I'm good. Why?"

Spike got up to retrieve their forgotten sandals. "You weren't okay last night," he answered, avoided her eyes by shoving his feet into the leather and lacing them up.

"I'm perfectly fine," she insisted. "I just ... over-reacted. That's all."

She always pulled away--so hot and cold! "This is going to kill you, Slayer," Spike said, angrily pulling on the leather laces.

So they were back to the 'Slayer' business, huh? "I know what I'm doing," Buffy said, glaring. "And if I wanted your opinion, I would have asked you."

Spike stared at her for a second or two, gritting his teeth silently, trying to rein in his emotions. "Just don't do anything stupid," he said finally. "You've got to remember the timeline."

Buffy grabbed her shoes off the floor. "Fine," and she commenced lacing them up, finally understanding how to do so.

No more words here spoken.

***

Dawn once again sat in the triclinium, lightly chewing on dinner leftovers. "You think we should wake them up?" she asked thoughtfully.

Portia looked over. "Livia is still sleeping and Lucius isn't here yet," she answered. "We usually let her sleep a little longer if she is out on a late patrol."

Dawn nodded, absently popping a grape into her mouth. Rome wasn't turning out as boring as she thought it would be, and Buffy and Spike hadn't killed each other yet. There were at least two things to be thankful for. Hopefully she wouldn't miss too much Passions ...

"And besides," Anya's voice cut into Dawn's train of thought, "who knows what we might see if we just go barging in there." She raised her eyebrows before smiling brightly.

Xander groaned and slapped his hands over his eyes. "Please, Ahn, you're giving me a visual." Tara grinned over at Willow who blushed lightly back.

Just then Tiberius made his entrance, kissing Portia on the cheek.

"Good morning, Pater," she greeted him, and he ruffled her raven hair in response.

Taking the empty seat next to her, he began to eat. "Fulva," he called the same blonde-haired servant girl over. "Will you please have Justinus bleed an animal? Bring two cups." The girl nodded at her instructions and scampered off.

"You know, Spike might not need the blood," Anya pointed out bluntly. "That is, if Buffy lets him bite her again. Slayer blood is very strong, and sex with vampires usually involves drinking."

"I didn't know that," Willow said off-handedly.

"Well," Anya clarified, "not drinking to kill. Apparently, it heightens the sexual stimula-"

Xander clamped a hand down over her mouth. "Let's not talk about this now, okay Ahn?" She nodded slightly and he removed his hand.

Tiberius grinned. "Just in case. One can never be too prepared."

Just then, Buffy and Spike wandered into the dining room taking the empty seats on either side of Dawn. All eyes followed them.

"You don't want to sleep more?" Tiberius asked, surprised.

"Sure," Spike answered matter-of-factly. "But the Slayer here doesn't think she needs it." He glowered in his seat as Buffy pointedly ignored him.

Anya raised her eyes in suspicion. They certainly weren't as lovey dovey as the day before. What had happened?

"Williamus," Tiberius addressed him. "I am having a cup of blood made for you." Spike nodded in response as Xander threw Anya a grin of triumph. "Perhaps, once Livia is up ..."

As if in response to his words, Livia entered the triclinium, long black hair swinging slightly behind her. Unexpectedly, Lucius was trailing not far behind. As she sat in the extra stool provided, Lucius stood next to the door, watching the group silently but paying extra attention to Livia. Tara grinned when she noticed. Fulva also returned, handing Lucius one of the cups and the other to Spike. Nodding to Tiberius, she left them alone.

"Now that we are all here," Tiberius announced. "I believe it is best that we talk about what happened last night while you four," he nodded to them, "were on patrol." Livia recounted to them exactly what had happened.

"This is great," Xander said.

"Maybe this is why we were sent here? To help you with this?" Willow said more than asked.

"It is a possibility, Williana," Tiberius agreed. "But now we have to research the impending apocalypse as well as a viable way to send you home."

"So how is this guy Severus going to open the Hellmouth?" Tara asked, playing nervously with the belt of her tunica.

"We don't know," Lucius replied. "But Williamus and I are going to look into it."

"Oh, are you?" Tiberius said. Lucius nodded. "So," he continued. "If you would like to commence the demonstration in the study ..."

"Of course, Pater," Livia said. "I'll go ahead. You all finish eating." She left for the study, Lucius following. Livia glared as Lucius trailed after her with a smooth, swaggering gait. "Why are you following me? Don't you have somewhere to be?" she asked coldly.

"Well, seeing as I'm here to fight you, I don't think I have anything else on my schedule," he said, grinning lightly.

Livia hurried more quickly down the hall towards the study, forcing Lucius to almost run in order to keep up.

"Come on now, sweetheart," he called out. "What's wrong?"

Livia burst through the heavy wooden door, leaving Lucius to shut it. "You want to know what my problem is, Lucius? You!" she shouted fiercely in his face, yanking open a chest filled with weapons.

"Now what did I do this time, sweetheart?" He plopped down on a chair next to her.

"Don't call me that!" she spit out immediately.

"So what do you want me to call you? Occisor?" he looked up at her as she pulled two large swords from the chest followed closely by two long bos.

"How about my name?" she said sarcastically.

"So what -did- I do wrong?" he asked again, this time honestly.

"Why ... why are you always here?!"

"What kind of question is that? I'm here because I was asked to be," he answered, standing up. He took the swords from her and placed them on the end of the training area. "To help. So that's what I'm doing."

Livia glared. "That's not what I'm talking about and you know it," she accused, tossing the bos towards the swords. "Why are you always around ME?"

"I think you already know the answer to that one," he said seriously, slowly coming to stand next to her and taking her hand. Slowly, he lifted his free hand to brush away a dark strand of hair from her face. "I love you."

Livia ripped away from him as if she had been burned. "Stop saying that! You don't love me! You don't have a soul!" She moved herself further away until she bumped into the weapons trunk. "You're a vampire!"

He made no move to near her. "So what? That doesn't change how I feel about you. I love you." She opened her mouth to respond, and he stopped her with a hand. "I do. I've changed for you. I'm not leaving. I'm always going to help you, and I'm going to watch your back. I'm not going anywhere."

She tore herself away from large brown eyes. "I don't need you," she insisted.

"Maybe," he said, "but I love your soror and I love you, and I'm not leaving." Livia made no response. Tilting his head as if in contemplation, he approached her. Taking her chin in his hand, he lifted her face to his. "Livia, you believe me, right?"

She was frozen in place, staring at him. Nodding gently, she saw him smile lightly.

"Ego te amo," he whispered one last time before swooping in and capturing her lips. This time, however, she didn't slap him but instead responded hesitantly. Unsure of herself, she tentatively placed both hands on his cheeks. Kissing him more deeply, she traced high cheekbones with soft fingertips. She pressed herself tighter against him as he placed a hand on her waist.

Suddenly the door opened, and her eyes shot wide before she shoved herself far away from him and rushed to make herself look presentable.

Lucius glanced at the door. The Slayer and Williamus were ready. Taking one last look at Livia, he smirked. She looked as if she had just been deliciously ravished. One more glance at the others and it was clear that they shared his opinion.

Tiberius stopped in his tracks at the sight within the room. Well, he certainly wasn't expecting this.

Portia turned to Dawn and grinned. "Always knew this was gonna happen someday."

Dawn smiled back, mirroring Portia's expression. "I know. Do you think that all slayers are attracted to a vampire at one point or another?" Portia shrugged, a goofy smile plastered across her face. "I just learned that my sister was boinking Spike on a regular basis."

Portia turned to her with a confused look. "But they are married, aren't they? Wouldn't that be normal?"

Dawn's eyed opened wide and her mind frantically searched for an explanation. "Well ... it's one thing between knowing it and -knowing- it." She lifted an eyebrow to give the impression that she knew what she was talking about.

Portia smirked. "They're not married, are they?"

Dawn panicked but struggled to keep a straight face. "What are you talking about-"

"No lying," Portia insisted. "Either you walked in on them while they were in the middle of something or they're not married at all."

"You can keep a secret?" Dawn asked, lowering her voice to a mere whisper and pulling her to the corner by her arm. Portia nodded her head, stealing a glance at her flustered sister. "No, they're not married. They're not even going out."

"Going out? You mean courting?" Portia asked, confused.

"Right."

"Really? They look like they're in love ..."

"No," Dawn said. "Spike loves Buffy, not the other way around, but I think she's in denial."

"Ahem, yes," Tiberius cleared his throat lightly. "You've chosen weapons?" he asked, trying desperately to divert everyone's attention back to the training.

"Yes," Livia quickly answered. "I chose the broadswords and the bos."

"Are you two comfortable fighting in those garments?" Tiberius directed to Buffy and Spike, pointing the others to seats.

"I'm good," Buffy said. "I'm used to fighting in a skirt." She headed towards the open floor never casting a backwards glance towards Spike.

"You?" Tiberius asked the glowering vampire.

"Actually, I'm going to go put on some pants," he said, proceeding towards the door. "Don't fancy fighting like this very much."

"Very well. While you're gone, maybe Anna and Livia can begin," he hinted.

Livia nodded in response, pinning her hair back. "I was hoping we could go hand-to-hand instead of weapons, but it's really your choice."

Buffy nodded. "Okay then. I hope you don't mind, but I really don't feel like using the swords or the ... yeah."

Tiberius directed the two towards the floor.

Concentrating herself, Buffy sized Livia up from across the training floor. Remembering something Giles had said in the past, she realized that the Romans had no clue about karate or any form of Asian fighting. Smirking slightly, she knew that was probably something to her advantage.

Suddenly Livia attacked in a flurry of punches. Responding on instinct, Buffy deflected each one before dropping to the floor and sweeping Livia's feet out from underneath her. Buffy aimed a kick towards her middle as Livia quickly rolled out of the way.

Gracefully regaining her footing, Livia regarded Buffy warily. The other slayer reminded her of a lioness on the prowl, eyeing her prey carefully, searching for any opening of any type in which she could pounce. Casting a glance at Tiberius, she saw him frantically recording the fight and realized her mistake a second too late.

Taking advantage of Livia's distraction, Buffy rushed her, knocking her back several steps with a flying kick. She brought her arms up to block as Buffy delivered a combination of punches and roundhouse kicks, even landing several punches herself. Livia was caught off guard as she noticed Buffy was aiming her blows towards her pressure points and joints, especially her shoulders, elbows, and knees.

In a last minute effort, Buffy used her body weight to knock Livia to the floor and immediately hustled to pin her.

Livia bucked desperately, dark hair flying everywhere, trying to throw her and was shocked to find that she was unable to.

Grinning down at her, Buffy pushed herself to her feet and offered a hand to Livia. Scowling at herself for the loss, Livia accepted the proffered hand.

Buffy turned back to the group, pulling her hair from her line of sight. It had come loose from its pin during the fight. Running her eyes over each of them, she was surprised to see Spike back already in his usual form-fitting black jeans and equally tight t-shirt. She let her gaze settle on him, waiting for a comment on her performance. She was only slightly surprised when none came.

"Good job, Buff," Xander praised. "Nice fight."

"Yeah, haven't seen a fight like that in a while," Willow added. "It was very ..." She balled her hands into fists and took several small imaginary swings at an invisible opponent. "... fighty ... yeah."

Tiberius smiled silently to himself. Livia could learn a thing or two from the other slayer. "Very nice, Anna, Livia. Shall we take a small break so everyone can rest? I would like to see Livia and Lucius next."

Buffy took a seat next to Spike, calming her pulse and catching her breath. The Scoobies immediately crowded around.

"That was awesome!" Willow smiled. "Knew you could beat her."

"Do you want a glass of water?" Tara asked kindly, and Buffy shook her head, offering a smile of thanks.

"I saw what you were doing," Anya said. "When you kept hitting her in the knees and the elbows. What was that?"

Buffy grinned. "It was a Japanese style Giles showed me ... or was it Chinese? I can't really remember the name either, but it was either aikido or ju-jutsu or something like that. I'm pretty sure it's called aikido. It doesn't really matter."

"The other slayer put up a good fight, too," Xander added thoughtfully.

"Um, guys," Buffy said, "I'm gonna go change. Spike, I need to talk with you." She turned pleading eyes to him, hoping he had caught her choice of words. She had said 'with,' not 'to.'

Without another word, Spike rose and stalked out of the room. Sighing to herself, Buffy followed his lead.

He threw the curtain to their room open and leaned against the opposite wall, his face cold. "What now, Slayer? Thought you were angry at me."

Buffy sighed again, pulling the curtain closed behind her. "Okay, look, we're going to be stuck together for this whole thing, and I know we should be on better terms." She paused, searching his face silently for any type of reaction. Finding no change, she continued. "I'm sorry-about this morning."

Spike's brow furrowed. "What?"

"I was wrong. You were just acting concerned and I over-reacted."

"Again," Spike muttered mostly to himself.

Ignoring his comment, Buffy continued. "I'll-I'll try not to blow things out of proportion from now on. I'm just stressed, and ..."

Spike made no response. Inside he was a storm of thoughts. Buffy was being civil and apologized first. Not trusting himself to speak, he simply nodded his head.

"Okay, are you angry at me, Spike?" she asked, pressing her lips together. It was so ironic that she was actually worried about his opinion of her.

He shook his head. Cor, that girl really had no clue about what she was doing to him. Taking a chance, he spoke. "You fought well with her."

Buffy shrugged, blushing slightly. Stop it! She scolded herself silently. Blushing because Spike thought you kicked major ass is on the Slayer's list of big no-no's.

Remembering her purpose for being in the room, she untied her belt with deft fingers before throwing open the lid of the trunk. Reaching in, she retrieved her jeans and shirt. Without another thought, she pulled her tunica over her head and replaced it with her top, sliding the tight jeans over her hips. Placing the garment in the trunk, she noticed Spike was wearing his heavy combat boots. Following his lead, she replaced her sandals with her low-heeled boots.

Finally finishing, she turned and faced him. He had a dazed and distracted look upon his face, and glancing down, she knew exactly why. Striding forward, she stopped directly in front of him. "Spike, are you hungry?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

Spike considered her briefly before shaking his head. "No."

"But don't you wan-"

"Yes," he cut her off. "But you need it." Before she could reply, he added, "For the fight."

Nodding mainly to herself, Buffy asked again, "Then later? Tonight?"

Spike was surprised. She was being so adamant about his drinking from her. Maybe the little time travel bit wasn't so bad after all. "Sure, love. Tonight."

Smiling lightly, Buffy leaned forward and kissed Spike softly, drawing his bottom lip into her mouth. He, however, made no move to respond, having been caught off guard once again. Clutching his face at the cheeks, she deepened the kiss, making it more demanding but never changing the gentleness.

When he felt a soft tongue seeking entrance, Spike leapt forward, grabbing Buffy by the arms and crushing her to his body. His cool tongue plunged into her mouth to duel with hers, running it along the ridges of the roof of her mouth.

Finally running out of air, Buffy broke away gasping. Sagging against him, she looked up through hooded eyes and pressed a number of short, sweet kisses to his lips. Draping her arms around him lazily, she whispered in his ear, "Sleep with me."

"What?" Spike asked abruptly.

"No," Buffy said, chuckling lightly. "Lie down with me on the bed until they come and get us. Nothing else."

Smiling profusely, Spike kissed her temple and lifted her easily into his arms. "Yeah, I can do that, love."

Settling beside her on the bed, he pulled the sheet over them and pulled her form nearer to his so that she was facing him, and their heads rested on the same pillow. Buffy reached over and lightly laced their fingers together.

Simply looking at him, she felt something swell in her chest. Affection. That's what she felt for Spike at the moment. Affection. No lust or desire or desperation. Companionship and affection ... because there was no way it could be love. Sure, Spike made her feel warm and at ease and -loved-, but there was no way she could love him back.

Pushing her thoughts to the back of her mind, she merely looked at him looking back at her. Every now and then, she would lean forward to kiss him gently on the cheek, the lips, the forehead ...

Sliding forward, she molded the front of her body to his, keeping their inside hands clasped and throwing an arm around to his back. Smiling at her, he tugged her closer, his free hand resting at the small of her back. Buffy rubbed her hand in small circles, working it under his shirt, as she slid a leg between his. Their faces were so near to one another that their noses touched and eyelashes brushed on cheeks.

"Buffy," he whispered quietly, and she could feel his breath on her cheeks. "Love you." His lips brushed against hers with every syllable.

Buffy responded by moving her face forwards that empty breath and pressing her lips tightly to his, kissing him slowly and deeply.

***

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