Title: Fluffy Doomed (Ep 18 of the Fluffy Files)

Author: Hilary

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: Everything I have borrowed from Joss.

Author's Notes: This is part of a series I have lovingly titled The Fluffy Files. I'm taking every ep that Spike has appeared in and twisting it to give it a nice fluffy B/S ending. The eps are not meant to be read in sequence (unless you want to). They are all stand-alone fics which I have just grouped together, sort of a 'how they might get together' thing. In other words ignore any other Fluffy File fics and just pretend this is the first. For each ep just assume that the show has gone more or less as normal up until the point where I start.

Dedications: To my wonderful beta readers Becca and Isabelle and to all the B/S shippers who were saddened and upset by the events of Seeing Red. Have faith guys, it will get better.

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Not again, Buffy thought to herself as she cowered in the doorway of her dorm. As the earth shook several books and ornaments crashed to the floor. Beside her Riley watched the tremors like an excited schoolboy on Christmas Day.

When the quaking finally stopped the two of them moved out from the doorway, Buffy surveying the damage with a frown.

"Wow." Riley breathes as he took in the mess. "That was my first earthquake."

"It wasn't mine." Buffy replied softly, the memory of the last one still fresh in her mind. It had been three years ago when The Master had tried to rise and she had drowned for a few minutes before being revived. She shivered.

"I'd better go and make sure my friends are ok." She said, moving towards the door. She was going to have to talk to Giles about this. Earthquakes meant bad things on a Hellmouth.

"Buffy, wait." Riley called but she was already out of the door.

* * *

After making sure that her Mom and Willow were alright she headed over to Xander's. She'd tried to call him but there had been no answer and she just wanted to make sure everything was alright before she headed to Giles'. She'd already called her Watcher to make sure he wasn't hurt.

"Xander?" She called, pushing the door open. "Are you here?"

As she stepped inside the first thing she noticed was the damp floor and the sound of water running from what was obviously a burst pipe.

"Oh bloody hell!" A familiar voice cursed, the rest of his words drowned out by the sound of metal hitting metal. As she made her way into the main part of the room Buffy couldn't help but smile at the sight which met her eyes. Spike was stood on a chair, wrench in hand, trying to fix the burst pipe in the centre of the ceiling. He was soaked, his hair plastered onto his head and his clothes clinging to every curve and plane of his body. It was also obvious that the pipe Spike was now growling at wasn't going to move on its own.

"A vampire plumber." Buffy remarked with a smile. "Just what every guy needs for those aftershock moments."

Noticing her for the first time Spike almost fell off the chair. Then he sighed.

"The Slayer. Great. Now all I need is for the ceiling to cave in and bathe me with sunlight and this day will be complete."

He paused for a moment, looking up and considering that option.

"Hmm, least if the ceiling caved in it'd put me out of my misery. What do you want?"

"I was looking for Xander." Buffy replied, ignoring his complaints of misery. "Is he here?"

Spike gestured around the room. "Does it look like he's here? Not a lot of places for him to hide you'll notice. Bloody crime having me shack up in this hole. When can I move back in with Giles? Least he has cable and knows that vampires are not supposed to be plumbers."

Buffy looked up at the pipe, which was still flowing freely and continuing to soak Spike who now seemed beyond caring. She almost wanted to leave him to fix it himself, but realised that if she did Xander would more than likely come home to find his home under three feet of water. Taking off her coat and putting it on the bed with her bag she moved over and studied the pipe, careful to avoid getting wet herself. She knew that she probably knew about as much about plumbing as Spike did. But between them they could probably figure it out.

"Try tightening that valve." She suggested.

"Which one?" Spike replied with a scowl. "There's three up here."

With a grimace Buffy climbed up onto the chair, wincing as the cold water began to flow on her head as well as Spike's. Grabbing his hand she moved it over to the valve she meant.

"That one." She said, keeping her hand over his as she tightened the valve. The water immediately stopped flowing.

"There." She smiled, feeling pleased with herself. She turned to face Spike, only to find herself pressed against him with their faces only a few inches apart. She hadn't realised just how small the chair they were standing on was. Her first instinct was to jump down, but suddenly she found herself unable to move. They stared at each other for a few moments before a small smile pulled at Spike's lips.

"We should get out of these clothes." He said softly.

For a moment the whole world seemed to freeze around them. Then Buffy's eyes widened.

"What?" She gasped, too stunned to think about yelling at him or hitting him. The next thing she knew Spike was reaching out for her, slipping an arm around her waist and causing her to tremble involuntarily. The other hand reached for the hem of her shirt and just as Buffy was about to protest he squeezed it, wringing some water out.

"We're both soaked." He said, the moment between them broken. "If you wear those for much longer you're going to get sick. And I can't say the idea of sitting around in wet clothes is my idea of fun either."

A frown crossed Buffy's features as Spike jumped down from the chair. "And what am I supposed to wear while our clothes dry?"

Spike grinned. "Much as the idea of us being naked together might appeal. I doubt very much if Xander would approve of you wandering around starkers. 'Course, no one can resist my hot little bod so it won't be much of a problem for me."

At her warning glare Spike tossed Xander's robe to her and waited for her to change. It was only when she cleared her throat that he realised there was nowhere for her to change except for the room they were standing in. With an exaggerated sigh he turned around and allowed her the privacy she wanted.

Once she was done, Spike began to remove his own clothes, smiling in amusement when Buffy hurriedly turned her back. He could feel her cheeks burning without having to see them.

Finally it was all done. Buffy and Spike's clothes were in the drier and Buffy had managed to save a load of Spike and Xander's clothes being shrunk in the wash.

"It's not my fault." Spike had protested when Buffy had pointed out his mistake. "I'm not exactly a domestic vamp."

Buffy, however, had been trying too hard not to laugh to hear what he was saying. While his clothes were being washed and dried Spike had put on some of Xander's clothes. Unfortunately all he'd been able to find was a Hawaiian shirt and a pair of shorts. It was hard for Buffy to see the Big Bad in the man in front of her.

"What?" Spike asked, cutting into her thoughts.

"Huh?" Buffy asked, having missed what he was saying.

"You were smiling about something."

Spike looked down at himself and sighed. "It's these clothes isn't it? Here I was thinking that not being able to fight was humiliating enough. It had to get worse."

He sat down on the end of the bed, burying his head in his hands. After a moment Buffy sat down beside him, not sure what else to do and feeling a little guilty about Spike's current depressed state. Suddenly his head shot up and he looked at her, hope in his eyes.

"I want you to stake me."

For a moment Buffy wasn't sure that he was serious. She stared at him, waiting for him to follow it with a joke. When none came she realised he wasn't kidding.

"Spike, I'm not going to stake you."

"Why not?" He demanded, glaring at her, his bottom lip sticking out in an almost childish pout. "I thought that was supposed to be your job."

"It's my job to protect this town. You're not exactly a threat anymore."

Great, she mentally chided herself. Kick him while he's down.

"Well that's great." Spike explained, standing up and throwing his arms up in the air. "I'm so pathetic even the Slayer won't slay me. I can't feed, I can't fight and I'm shacked up with possibly the biggest loser in this sorry excuse for a town. What have I got to live for?"

Buffy didn't know whether to laugh at him or comfort him. She knew this must be hard for him, but he was being so dramatic that it hardly seemed real.

When no answer came Spike grabbed her bag from her, reaching inside and pulling out a stake.

"Fine, if I'm too pathetic to kill then I'll have to do it myself."

The drama suddenly becoming very real Buffy jumped up off the bed.

"Spike, don't!" She yelled, before she even realised she was talking. He now had the stake pressed over his heart but he made no move to take it any further. Instead he looked at her, anger and uncertainty in his eyes.

Buffy took a deep breath, brushing her damp hair away from her eyes.

"Look, I get it that this is hard for you, but you're going to have to try and deal with what's happened. The rest of us get by without having to constantly fight and kill things. Do you think I'd be out fighting Demons and Vampires every night if there was any other choice? Now, I know I can't stop you from staking yourself if that's really what you want. If you want to take the coward's way out then that's fine. But the Spike I know isn't a quitter and is certainly not a coward. I know that man is still inside you somewhere."

Spike looked down at the stake in his hand, feeling the rough grain off the wood against his skin. Then he looked at Buffy. He certainly hadn't expected her to try and talk him out of this.

"I'm not a man." He said softly. "Why do you care whether I dust myself or not?"

"Because..." Her mind was suddenly blank. Why was she so determined to save him? "I just care, ok."

Moving forward she placed her hand over his, the one that was holding the stake. "I'll help you in any way I can, I promise."

Closing his eyes Spike nodded, all the anger and resentment he'd felt now gone. He let go of the stake and it clattered to the floor. For a few moments they stood there in silence, Buffy still holding Spike's hand while the vampire kept his eyes closed.

Finally the drier clicked to a stop, bringing the two of them back into awareness. Gently pulling his hand away Spike moved over to the drier and pulled their clothes out, passing Buffy's to her. Then the two of them turned their backs to each other and quickly changed.

"Spike..." Buffy began, once they were dressed, but was interrupted by the sound of the door banging open.

"Hey Buff." Xander smiled as he walked in and removed his coat, completely ignoring Spike. "What's up?"

"Just came by to make sure you were ok."

For the first time Xander seemed to notice that the pipe had been fixed. He shot Spike a smug look that said 'I told you so' and then turned back to Buffy.

"Well, since you're here do you want some pizza. Perk of the job, get them free at the end of my shift."

Buffy shook her head. "I need to go over and see Giles. Earthquakes usually mean badness in the world of Buffy. Spike are you coming?"

"What?" Both Xander and Spike exclaimed at the same time.

"Why are you taking him with you?" Xander asked, being the first to find his voice. Spike continued to stare at Buffy in bemusement.

"I just figured you might want your place to yourself again. I'm sure Giles won't mind having Spike back now that Olivia has gone."

Xander sighed. "It would be nice to spend some time alone with Anya...."

"Well, that's settled then." She took Spike's arm and pulled him towards the door. "Bye, Xander."

Xander could only watch in mute confusion as Buffy pulled Spike out of the door and closed it behind her. There was something weird going on and he didn't like it.

* * *

"What did you do that for?" Spike asked as they walked towards Giles'

"You said you wanted out of Xander's." Buffy replied simply.

Spike couldn't really argue against his own words and the two of them walked in silence for the remainder of the journey.

"Giles!" Buffy called when they arrived, walking into the house as though it was her own. Her watcher's face peered out from the kitchen, frowning when his eyes fell on Spike.

"Wait here." Buffy whispered to Spike. "I need to talk to Giles alone for a second."

Spike nodded and Buffy made her way into the kitchen.

"What exactly is he doing here?" Giles hissed, gesturing towards the living room.

"Xander wanted some alone time with Anya." Buffy quickly lied. "I didn't think you'd mind if Spike came back here now that Olivia has gone."

Giles sighed as he poured himself a cup of tea. "Buffy, I don't mind him staying here for now, but we're going to have to think about what we're going to in the long run. It's not fair on us to share the responsibility of putting him up and god knows why I'm saying this but it's not fair on Spike either."

Buffy nodded. "I know. We'll think of something. But the reason I came here is I wanted to talk to you about-"

At that moment the phone rang and Giles moved to answer it.

"Hello?"

He listened, a frown creasing his featured. "Willow, what's wrong? What's happened?"

Buffy immediately tensed, something was clearly wrong. She could tell just by the look on Giles' face.

"Yes, Buffy's here. Hold on."

Buffy quickly snatched the receiver when Giles held it out to her. "Will? What's happened?"

"Buffy." Willow sniffled on the line. "Something happened. A guy is dead. One of the students."

She began to sob softly. "Oh god, Buffy. I found him. It was horrible."

"Stay there." Buffy said gently but firmly. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Ok."

Hanging up the phone Buffy turned to Giles. "One of the students has been killed. Willow found the body. I have to go."

Giles nodded. "I'll put some tea on if you want to bring her back here. It might not be such a good idea to stay on the campus with all this going on."

"Alright, thanks."

* * *

Half an hour later Willow was sipping a cup of tea in Giles' living room with Buffy, Giles and Spike sitting around her. As she raised the cup to her lips her hands began to tremble slightly. No matter how long she lived on the hellmouth and no matter what she saw, she'd never get used to the death.

"It was awful." She said softly. "I was at this party and I went into one of the rooms just to have a lie down. It was all dark and I didn't realise anything was wrong until I was actually lying next to him. He was so cold."

She began to cry again and Buffy wrapped her arms around her, stroking her back soothingly.

"Was it a vampire?" Giles asked uncertainly, not sure if he should push Willow so soon after her ordeal.

She shook her head. "His throat had been slashed. And there were these marks carved into his chest."

Giles suddenly looked interested and handed Willow a piece of paper. "Can you draw them?"

Willow nodded and quickly sketched what she had seen. Giles looked over the paper for a moment and then sighed, taking his glasses off and starting to clean them.

"You know what it is?" Buffy asked, not liking the grim expression on his face.

Giles sighed again and places his glasses back on his face. "It's the end of the world."

For a moment Buffy didn't say anything. Then she jumped to her feet.

"I knew it!" She yelled, starting to pace up and down. "You get an earthquake in any other town and it's normal. Get one here and it's the apocalypse. So what do I have to kill this time?"

Giles looked back at the piece of paper Willow had drawn on and shook his head. "I'm not entirely sure. I know that these marks coupled with the earthquake mean something, but I'll have to check my books to see what exactly it is we're dealing with."

Buffy sighed, if there was one thing she hated it was uncertainty. "Ok, you guys research and I'll go and patrol. If I'm lucky I'll find this thing and kill it before it can do anything else."

* * *

"If I'm lucky I'll find this thing." Buffy muttered to herself. In front of her was a crypt marked with one of the symbols Willow had drawn for Giles and coming out of the crypt was a tall, heavily muscled demon carrying a small bag. It was obvious that it had something to do with what was going on. Without a word she attacked.

She had the element of surprise in her favour and she managed to tackle the demon to the ground. He recovered quickly however and scrambled to his feet, dealing Buffy a powerful punch that sent her stumbling backwards into a tombstone. Before she had time to recover he picked her up and threw her across the cemetery, smashing her into the side of another crypt. She lay there for a moment, winded and stunned.

As she tried to compose herself she heard footsteps coming towards her and summoned all her strength to jump back to her feet, stake in hand. She spun around and almost plunged her weapon into Riley's chest. He jumped back a little but remained calm.

"I figured I'd find you here."

Barely listening to him Buffy scanned the cemetery. There was no sign of the demon.

"Riley, I can't talk now, I have to find that demon."

She began to move away but he grabbed her arm. "I've got it."

Pulling out a small radio he began to speak in what sounded to Buffy like almost another language.

"This is Agent 15. We have a code 3 in the northern sector. All agents surround sector and prepare to move in. Target is a level 1, proceed with extreme caution. Over and out."

He turned to Buffy looking almost pleased with himself. "Don't worry, they're good men. They'll take care of your demon for you."

Buffy managed a weak smile, not wanting to deflate Riley's ego by telling him that her plan hadn't been to just kill the demon. "Great."

"So, can we talk?" Riley asked, perching on the edge of a tombstone. "About us."

Buffy sighed, faced with the realisation that she couldn't hide from this forever. They were going to have to talk eventually so it might as well be now.

"Ok, talk."

"Well...." Riley faltered. "It seems that we're both in the same line of work. We don't have to keep secrets from each other any more. I guess what I'm trying to ask you is where you want to take it from here."

Buffy looked at him, studying him closely for the first time. It was then that she noticed it, they way he was dressed in his military uniform brandishing his gun, an excited gleam in his eye. He looked like a little boy playing soldiers with his friends. And that's what this was to him, an exciting adventure where he got to play the big strong hero and kill the bad guys. He probably had no idea what it was like to live on a hellmouth, to have grown up there and to have faced death regularly from the age of fifteen. If he wanted he could hang up his coat and quit whenever he wanted, this was a hobby to him, not his destiny.

"I'm sorry Riley, I can't do this."

"Can't do what?" He asked, her answer clearly not being what he had expected.

"Any of it. You, me, this, I just can't. I'm sorry."

She turned and began to walk briskly towards the cemetery gate.

"Buffy! Wait!" Riley called after her but she carried on walking, his calls falling on deaf ears.

* * *

"Is this the demon you saw?" Giles asked, passing a book to Buffy. Sure enough a picture of the demon she had fought was looking right back at her.

"That's him."

Giles nodded, looking grim. "A Vahrall demon. And you say you saw him looting in a crypt?"

"Yeah, I went back to have a look this morning. There was an empty coffin, a child's coffin."

"The demon stole the bones of a child?"

"Uh-oh." Willow said, grabbing a book and flicking through the pages. "I read something about that. Here we are, the ritual of three. The ingredients needed are the blood of a man; the bones of a child and something called the word of Valios. Apparently this will end the world, but it doesn't give the specifics."

Buffy stood up. "Right then, we have to find this word of Valios thing before the demon does. Willow, you and Xander head to the library and see if you can find out any more about what this thing is. Giles, can you and Spike stay here and keep reading. I'm going to head out and see if I can find this demon."

* * *

A few hours later and Giles and Spike were still pouring over the books.

"Have you found anything yet?" Spike asked with a sigh, having reached the point of extreme boredom about five minutes after they'd started reading.

"No, Spike I haven't." Giles snapped, "and if you stopped asking me that every thirty seconds then-"

He stopped mid-sentence and his eyes fell on one of the books on the table. "Oh no."

Spike watched with interest as Giles grabbed the book and hurriedly read over it. "Again oh no."

Giles quickly stood up and moved over to a large chest in the corner of the room. Spike picked up the book and began to read. There was a small picture of a talisman entitled the Word of Valios. Underneath were full details of the ritual of three, including what the ritual was for. Spike turned to Giles who was now frantically searching through the chest.

"I can see why this is bad." Spike said. "But until we find this thing, or the demons do, we're ok, right?"

Giles held up a small talisman which he had found in the chest. It was the one from the book.

"Oh bloody marvellous." Spike groaned, banging his head on the desk. "Pretty soon that demon and all its friends are going to show up here looking for that thing."

"I don't think so." Giles replied softly.

"Yeah?" Spike asked hopefully. "How can you be sure."

A soft growl was the only reply he got and his head shot around just in time to see three Vahrall demons tackle Giles to the floor. As Giles struggled to get the demons off him, Spike cast an eye to the door. It would be easy for him to get away now, it wasn't like he could fight anyway, and apocalypse was something to look forward to, not try and avert. However, before he had even finished thinking it through he was walking towards Giles, reaching down and pulling the talisman from his hands.

"Hey!" He called to the demons, holding up his prize for them to see. "I think this is what you're looking for."

All three demons growled and quickly climbed to their feet, leaving a bruised and slightly dazed Giles lying on the floor. As soon as he was sure he had their attention Spike ran for the door. Unfortunatley, the large size of the demons did nothing to slow them and the first one reach Spike before he had even managed to grab the door handle. He grabbed the vampire and pulled him back, spinning him around and dealing him a powerful punch to the face. The other two demons then tackled him to the floor, being quickly joined by the third.

As Spike lay buried beneath the three demons he knew he had to do something. He was going to have to try and fight his way free. He didn't have any other choice, and he reckoned that the pain in his head couldn't be any worse than being ripped apart by these three. Squeezing his eyes shut in anticipation he focused all his energy into his legs and kicked out as hard as he could. As soon as he felt the weight of the demons leave him he jumped to his feet, clutching his head expectantly.

There was no pain.

He looked at the hand that had been holding his head in surprise and then at the demons who were climbing to their feet. Then he smiled.

"Well, well. It seems that I can hurt demons. Looks like you picked the wrong vampire to attack."

Before they had a chance to move Spike charged at them, all the anger and frustration he's been feeling since he escaped the Initiative fuelling every punch he threw and every kick he dealt. For a few minutes Spike had them on the defensive, but they soon realised that three of them against one vampire left the odds very much in their favour. Combining their strength two of them rushed forward, grabbing Spike by the arms and holding him still while the third used him as a punching bag.

When he finally lost consciousness they let him drop to the floor and one of them remove the talisman from his limp hand. With what they wanted now in their possession, the three demons left without looking back.

* * *

"Hey guys." Buffy called as she entered Giles'. "Did you find anythi-"

She trailed off as the scene of destruction met her eyes. There was smashed furniture all over the room and no sign of any life.

"Giles?" She called again. "Spike?"

"Buffy?" A voice called behind her, causing her to spin around. Giles emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of water in his hands. There were some scratches on his cheek and one of his eyes was swollen and purple.

"Are you ok?" Buffy asked with concern, moving over to him. "What happened?"

Giles sighed. "We found the word of Valios. Unfortunately so did the demons. We tried to fight them off by they were too strong. They took it."

"We?" Buffy asked with confusion. "Spike fought too?"

Giles nodded. "It seems that whatever has been done to him only prevents him from harming humans. Buffy, he had the chance to escape but he stayed and fought. He saved me."

Buffy wasn't as surprised as she thought she would be. The conversation she'd had with Spike in Xander's basement the day before had shown her that he'd changed. Whether he liked it or not he was pretty much one of the scoobies now.

"Where is he?" She asked.

Giles moved over to the couch and Buffy followed.

"Oh god." She whispered.

Spike lay stretched out, his face and arms covered in all kinds of wounds.

"Come on slayer." Spike croaked with a crooked smile. "You've seen worse than this before. No need to get all girlie and squeamish on me."

With those words Buffy knew he was going to be ok. If he was well enough to make fun of her then he'd recover.

Giles set the bowl of water down on the floor and knelt down beside Spike, cleaning his wounds with a damp cloth. Spike hissed in pain but didn't say anything.

At that moment the door opened and Xander and Willow walked in.

"No luck with the word of Valios." Willow said. "We couldn't find anything in the library."

"Woah, what happened in here?" Xander asked, noticing the mess.

Giles stood up. "The word of Valios is a talisman. I had it here all the time. I bought it a few years ago in a sale and never got around to finding out what it was called. It seems the demons somehow found out I had it and they've taken it."

Willow and Xander stood in a stunned silence for a moment.

"So we need to find out what this ritual does and stop it." Willow finally said.

"The hellmouth." Giles said softly. "They're going to open the hellmouth. The one in the old high school."

While Xander, Willow and Giles talked Buffy had taken over cleaning Spike's wounds.

"Thank you." She said softly as she bandaged his arms. "For saving him."

Spike shrugged. "No big deal. I just wanted a fight."

Buffy smiled wryly. "Yeah, it looks like no big deal. Can you sit up?"

Spike nodded and with Buffy's help he manoeuvred himself upright. It was then that they heard what the ritual for and Buffy jumped to her feet.

"Looks like we get to go back to high school."

"I'm coming with you." Spike said, climbing to his feet behind her.

Buffy shook her head. "You're hurt. You're staying here."

"I'm coming with you." Spike repeated firmly, taking a step towards her to make his point. "These guys are strong. You're going to need all the help you can get."

Not fazed, Buffy took a step forward as well. "Spike, you can barely stand. I'm not going to let you get yourself killed. I can handle this."

Before he could argue any further she turned and marched out of the door, Xander and Willow close behind.

* * *

"Apparently now the demons have all the ingredients they just need to make a sacrifice to open the hellmouth." Willow said nervously as they made their way through the charred remains of the High School.

"We'll stop them before it gets that far." Buffy replied firmly. It was difficult not to get swamped by the memories the High School carried. So much had happened there, some good things and some bad things. It was in these corridors that she'd met her friends and it seemed likely only yesterday. It also felt strangely ironic that it had been here that she'd met Spike for the first time. It was here where they had their first fight and now look where they were. Spike was getting beat up in an effort to protect Giles. He was pretty much one of them. She never imagined she'd see the day when she'd actually be worried about him.

"We're here." Xander said, cutting into her thoughts and breaking into her memories. Sure enough the library was just ahead and the soft sound of chanting was resounding through the corridors.

"It looks like we're not to late." Buffy whispered. "You guys find whoever it is they're going to sacrifice and get them out of here. If they can't do the ritual then we're safe."

She jumped down into the centre of the room. "Is this a private ritual or can anyone join in?"

The demons immediately jumped to their feet and charged at her. As Buffy did her best to fend them off Xander and Willow frantically began to look for anything that might resemble a sacrifice.

"There's nothing here." He called to Willow, causing one of the demons to notice them. He growled.

"Uh-oh. Bad move." Xander said as he looked around for a way to escape. The demon, however, moved over to the opening which lead down to the hellmouth. Picking up the vial of blood he jumped in.

"Ok, now that I wasn't expecting." Xander said with surprise.

The ground then began to tremble violently and suddenly it all made sense. "The demons. They are the sacrifice. We've got to get them away from the hellmouth."

Buffy nodded and carried on fighting the other two demons. As the ground began to tremble debris started crumbling from the ceiling.

"Get out of here you two." Buffy yelled. "It's not safe in here."

Seeing there was nothing else they could do other than wait for Buffy, Xander and Willow quickly headed outside.

As Buffy began to fight she was becoming increasingly aware that she wasn't going to be able to handle these two on her own. They were just too strong, combining their strength to slowly force her back out of the library. Debris was still continuing to rain down, a beam almost falling on top of her. She managed to duck out of the way only to see one of the demons pick up the beam and start wielding it like a club. The last thing she saw was it swinging towards her head before everything went black.

* * *

As Buffy groggily opened her eyes she found herself still lying on the floor of the library. She realised she must have only been out for a couple of minutes because both demons were still there and they were fighting someone. Climbing shakily to her feet she squinted as her vision finally cleared up. She could now see the demon's opponent clearly.

"Spike?"

He didn't seem to be aware that she was back on her feet and he carried on fighting. It was obvious that the wounds from his earlier fight were slowing him down and at the moment he was barely keeping both the demons at bay.

Shaking off the last effects of the blow to her head Buffy quickly ran forward and pulled one of the demons away from Spike, evening the fight to one on one. As Buffy fought her opponent Spike managed to get his on the defensive, driving him back towards the entrance of the hellmouth. By the time Buffy realised what was happening it was too late.

"Spike! No!" She yelled but before the words had finished leaving her lips Spike had kicked the demon, along with the bag of bones which was fastened to its waist, into the hellmouth. The earth began to shake violently again, sending both Buffy and Spike sprawling to their knees.

The small distraction was all the demon needed. Grabbing the Word of Valios from the floor and diving to towards the hellmouth, it's upper body made it into the hole before it stopped, hanging there helplessly. It growled in rage and twisted its head to see Spike holding tightly onto its ankles. As Spike slowly began to pull it back up, he was joined by Buffy who began to help.

As soon as the demon was fully on the surface Buffy kept hold of it while Spike brought his book down on its neck, snapping the bone easily. As the demon died the earth gave one more shudder before all was still once again.

Spike looked down at the demon at his feet and sighed with relief. "Wow, that was close."

Buffy stared at him in silent disbelief for a moment. "Spike, why did you come here. You could've been killed."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Not like I had anything better to do. Thought a bit of violence might pass the time."

Buffy couldn't help but smile, brushing her hair away from her eyes and wincing when her fingers encountered the gash on her head.

"Come on." Spike said, moving towards her and the exit of the library. "Let's get out of here."

Without though or words the two weary fighters wrapped their arms around each other, sharing their strength and support. Slowly they headed out of the school and into the fresh night air.

Almost as soon as they were outside they saw Xander and Willow waiting for them and Buffy immediately noticed that they weren't alone. Riley was with them. Instinctively she pushed Spike behind her, there was a chance that Riley would recognise him and there was no way she was going to let anything happen to Spike after what he'd done.

"Buffy? Are you ok? You're bleeding."

Barely even noticing that she wasn't alone Riley brushed her hair aside and examined her wound carefully.

"Riley, I'm fine." Buffy protested, taking a step back. "It's nothing."

Riley flinched but lowered his hand, trying not to let the hurt he was feeling show too much. "We traced the Sub-T you were fighting last night to this building."

Buffy nodded. "We took care of it."

At the use of the plural Riley seemed to notice Spike for the first time, even bruised and bloodied there was something familiar about him.

"Do I know you?"

"This is William." Buffy replied before Spike even had the chance to think. "He's a friend of mine."

To re-affirm the point she slipped her hand into Spike's, giving the clear impression that they were something more. Buffy felt guilty for a second, but she knew that this would be for the best in the long term.

"I get it." Riley said sadly. "Goodbye Buffy."

As he turned and headed back into the night Buffy heaved a sigh of relief but didn't let go of Spike's hand.

"What was that all about?" Xander asked as he watched Riley's retreating form.

"Nothing." Buffy replied.

"So it's over?" Willow asked hopefully. "No apocalypse?"

Buffy nodded. "No apocalypse. Guys, Spike and I are pretty beat. We're going to head back to Giles'. You coming."

Xander shook his head. "I think I'm going to head home. I was supposed to meet Anya a while ago."

"And I said I might pop over and see one of the girls from Wicca group." Willow said.

Buffy nodded. "Ok, guys I'll see you later."

As Xander and Willow disappeared Buffy realised she was still holding Spike's hand but somehow she couldn't bring herself to let go. She turned to face him.

"Spike, I know I've said it before but thank you for everything you did tonight. I know you didn't have to."

Leaning up she pressed her lips softly against his in what was intended to be a chaste kiss of thanks. Spike however, had other ideas, drawing her close to him and deepening the kiss. Buffy wanted to pull away, her head was screaming to her that kissing Spike was insane, but her body merely tightened the hold on him and kissed him with the same depth.

Finally they parted and Spike smiled.

"You know what, pet. For the first time I can remember I'm actually glad the world didn't end."

Buffy smiled in return as they began to walk back to Giles.

"Me too."

The End