Title: Fluffy Hush (Ep 17 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 betas Becca and Isabelle.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

As Professor Walsh spoke Buffy did her best to listen attentively and scribble down notes at the same time. Psychology seemed to be her best class and it was certainly the one she found the most interesting so she wanted to do well.

"Human nature." The Professor was saying. "Something which has fascinated scholars, philosophers, theologians and of course psychologists for centuries. It's the little things that make us tick which define who we really are. Some people have argued that human nature is universal, that there are set rules which people live by. Others would argue that since no two people are the same it is impossible to predict how they will act."

At that moment the door to the lecture hall burst open and Spike strode in, his eyes scanning over the students until they met Buffy's.

"This is a perfect example." Professor Walsh continued, barely looking at Spike. "No one could have predicted that this man would just walk into the room like this."

Buffy looked around in confusion, waiting for someone to question what was going on, but they were all listening to the professor and taking notes, Willow included. Getting up from her seat she walked down to the front until she was stood in front of Spike. Professor Walsh was still talking and the students were still busy writing.

"Spike?" Buffy finally asked, realising that no one seemed bothered that he was there. "What are you doing here? Is something wrong? How did you get out in the daylight?"

"I didn't." He replied and before she could say another word he leant in and pressed his lips to hers, kissing her as though the fate of the world depended on it. Buffy wanted to fight, to hit him, push him away, but her body didn't seem to agree. Relaxing against him she deepened the kiss, feeling as though she couldn't let go.

When they finally pulled back she became aware that the lecture hall was now empty and lit only by the moonlight which was streaming in from one of the windows.

"See?" Spike said. "No daylight."

Opening her mouth to ask him what was going on she was silenced by his finger pressed gently on her lips.

"Shh." He hushed gently, shaking his head. "We don't need words."

Buffy nodded, not complaining when he slipped his hand into hers and led her out into the corridor. She could hear someone humming and turning to Spike she saw him point down to the far end of the corridor. Following his gaze her eyes fell on a little girl who was walking towards her slowly, a small wooden box in her hands. As she walked the girl began to sing, a sweet sounding nursery rhyme but with eerily haunting words.

Resisting the urge to shudder Buffy turned back to Spike only to find him nowhere in sight. Opening her mouth to call his name she stopped as she caught a fleeting glance of a figure out of the corner of her eye. It wasn't Spike though; it was something much worse.

"I'll expect your reports in by the end of the week."

Jolting up in her seat Buffy became aware that she was back in the lecture hall and it was daylight once again.

"Nice nap?" Willow asked with a smile as she gathered her things together.

It had been a dream. Of course it had been a dream. But it seemed so real. Especially the little girl's song. She had a feeling it meant something. She'd have to go and see Giles as soon as she could.

"I didn't snore did I?" She asked Willow sheepishly, not wanting to tell her friend about the dream until she was sure it meant something. She especially didn't want to mention the part about Spike.

Willow grinned. "There may have been a little drooling but you managed to stay quiet."

With a smile Buffy grabbed her things and the two of them made their way back to the dorm.

"Are you going to Wicca group this afternoon?" Buffy asked as they walked.

"Yeah, I figured I'd give it a try, might be nice to meet some other magically inclined friends."

Buffy smiled and nodded. "I'm going to head over and see Giles. I figure he could use some company."

"Yeah, I can't imagine being cooped up in a house with Spike can be much fun."

Buffy froze. She'd forgotten Spike was going to be there. How was she supposed to face him after the dream she'd had? Maybe she could just call Giles and tell him about it over the phone. No, she'd already stayed away for over a week after the disastrous spell that had made her get engaged to Spike. She knew Giles was starting to worry so she'd just have to hope that Spike would be asleep. It was the middle of the day after all.

"Well, I'd better go." Buffy said, forcing herself to smile almost a little too brightly. "Have fun at Wicca group and I'll see you later."

Waving goodbye Buffy headed outside and began the short walk to Giles' apartment.

* * *

The house seemed almost too quiet as Buffy pushed open the door and let herself in, as Giles had told her and the scoobies they were welcome to do any time.

"Giles?" She called from the hallway. "Are you home?"

"NOOOOOOOO!"

Hearing her Watcher scream Buffy ran into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks. Giles and Spike were both sat on the couch, staring in wide-eyed horror at the television.

On the screen a young woman was kneeling down beside the body of a young man and sobbing dramatically.

"Oh, Ethan, I'll never forget you, my love. Please forgive me for what I've done."

As the titles began to roll the look on Giles and Spike's faces didn't change.

"He...died." Spike finally said, sounding stunned. "After all she did for him."

"Maybe they'll bring him back." Giles said hopefully. "From what you've told me that sort of thing happens a lot."

Spike nodded numbly. "If they don't I'll be the first to write a strongly worded letter to the network."

Buffy couldn't help but smile as she watched the two men bonding over a stupid soap opera. It was almost sweet, in a really weird kind of way.

"Tea?" Spike asked, climbing to his feet.

Giles shook his head. "I could do with something a little stronger after that. Honestly Spike, I can't believe I let you talk me into watching that show with you."

Spike's eyes glittered mischievously as he pulled a flask of bourbon out of his pocket and handed it to Giles. "Come on Rupert, you're just as hooked as I am now. Admit it."

Taking a swig from the flask Giles suddenly noticed Buffy for the first time and put it down, jumping to his feet. He didn't like her to see him drinking.

"B-Buffy?" He stammered nervously, hoping she hadn't seen any of his little display. "H-how long have you been here?"

"Only a couple of minutes." She replied, smiling as Giles nervously removed his glasses and began to clean them. "Enjoy the show?"

"Well...I....yes." He stammered, cleaning his glasses more furiously and causing Buffy to grin.

She deliberately didn't make any eye contact with Spike. Unfortunately he seemed to pick up on this and made a point of addressing her directly.

"You should have come over a little sooner, pet. I could have introduced you to some quality television."

Finally raising her eyes to meet his she willed her cheeks not to flush red as she spoke. "Well, I'd love to but unlike you I can still kill things and I have a job to do. Giles, I need your help. I had this dream and I think it might be Slayer related. It was pretty weird."

Seeing that this was a business rather than a social call Giles nodded and the two of them moved into the kitchen, leaving Spike alone with the tv. It didn't take long for Buffy to tell Giles what she'd dreamt, leaving out the part involving Spike.

"The Gentlemen?" Giles queried as he fixed himself a cup of tea. "I'm not familiar with them."

Peering his head around the door he frowned as he saw Spike lying sprawled on the couch, his boot-clad feet resting on one of the cushions.

"Spike, have you heard of a group called The Gentlemen?"

Spike raised his head so that he was peering over the top of the couch. "Who?"

"The Gentlemen." Giles repeated.

"Is that some sort of retro band that I somehow missed out on?"

Giles sighed and shook his head. "Never mind."

Wandering back into the kitchen Giles braced himself for the next problem he was about to face.

"Well, I'll look into my books for references to The Gentlemen. In the meantime just carry on with your patrolling as normal and keep a lookout for anything suspicious."

"Something suspicious on the hellmouth?" Buffy asked with a smile. "Do you have a year while I make a list? Ok, I'd better head back. Let me know if you find anything, ok? It's always nice to know what I'm up against."

"Buffy, before you go I need to ask you something." Giles said hesitantly. "I wouldn't even consider it if there was any other option but I've already asked Xander and it seems he has already made plans with Anya."

"This sounds serious." Buffy said with mock fear. "What's up?"

"I have a friend from England coming to visit and I'd like us to be alone. I'd appreciate it if Spike stayed with you and Willow for a couple of days."

Buffy's eyes widened so much that she thought they might fall out of her head. "You can't be serious!"

"I'm sorry, Buffy. If there was any other alternative then you know I'd use it. It's only for a couple of days, I'm sure he won't be too much trouble."

Buffy wished with all her heart that there was some rational reason for why Spike couldn't stay with her but to her dismay she couldn't think of anything. It wasn't like Spike could hurt any of them and she felt a little guilty about denying Giles a little companionship just because of a stupid dream she's had.

"Alright." She sighed. "He can stay."

Giles smiled, he knew this was difficult for Buffy but he trusted she'd do the right thing and she had. "I'll stock up on blood for him today so that you don't have to buy any. Thank you for this, Buffy."

"Thank me when the two days are over." Buffy smiled wearily. "I can't guarantee Spike will come out of this in one piece."

Giles knew that this was just for show, there was no way Buffy would kill Spike while he was defenceless like this, no matter what she said. The two of them moved back into the living room where Spike still lay sprawled on the couch.

"Don't get too comfortable." Giles said. "Once the sun sets you're moving in with Buffy for a couple of days."

Spike bolted upright at that and stared with wide eyes at both him and the Slayer. "Are you INSANE?? I'm not staying with her. She'll dust me after two minutes."

"Only if you do something to deserve it." Buffy grumbled. "Just be ready at sunset ok, I'm as unhappy about this as you are so we'll just have to deal."

Before Spike could argue any further Buffy was gone.

"Fantastic." Spike muttered after she was gone. "William the Bloody shackin' up with the Slayer."

* * *

"Spike's staying here?" Willow asked in disbelief as Buffy informed her of the situation.

"I'm sorry Will, I don't like it either. But I felt I owed it to Giles to give him a couple of days off from Spike. It's no big, we can keep him tied up and gag him if he starts being a pain in the ass."

Willow smiled and nodded. "I guess it won't be the end of the world having him here."

Glancing at her watch Buffy stood up. "Well, the sun will be down in a few minutes. I guess it's time for me to go and collect our house guest."

* * *

"I just want to go on the record as saying this is a bad idea." Spike complained as he and Buffy made their way along the corridor back to the dorm room.

"Well fortunately no one cares what you think so why don't you just stop complaining for five minutes."

Pushing open the door the two of them stepped inside and Spike eyed the room appraisingly. It was alright, decidedly girly which was to be expected he supposed. Two beds and a small tv in the corner.

"I don't suppose you've got cable?" He asked, almost hopefully.

Buffy shook her head. "Spike, this isn't a hotel. We're students. No cable."

He sighed ruefully. "Great, that means I'm going to miss Passions. Maybe Giles will tape it for me. Your Watcher's becoming quite a fan, you know."

Buffy rolled her eyes, the gag idea seeming like a good one with each second that passed.

"Hey! Where am I supposed to sleep?" Spike asked.

"Did you hear what I just said?" Buffy snapped. "This isn't a hotel. You're sleeping on the floor."

"Well, that's not very hospitable." Spike smirked, his eyes glittering. There was fun to be had here. "Are you sure you don't want someone to snuggle up with?"

Buffy merely glared and pointed at a space on the floor between the two beds. "I'm not opposed to gagging you so you can either sleep there and like it or get knocked out and tied up."

Spike raised an eyebrow, a grin forming at the corner of his lips. "Slayer! You didn't strike me as the bondage type. Still, if you want to have a go I'm sure I can oblige."

Buffy sighed, she'd only been with him for a short while and she was already getting a headache. How Giles had put up with Spike this long she'd never know.

"It's too early to sleep anyway." He continued, ignoring her obvious exasperation. "Why don't we watch a film or something. You do have a video don't you?"

Buffy nodded, still not entirely comfortable being around Spike after their 'engagement'. Willow on the other hand seemed quite happy with the idea. A movie gave them something to focus on and meant there wouldn't be much talking required.

"What should we watch?" She asked, searching through her video collection.

"None of that girly crap." Spike replied. "Something with plenty of violence."

He took a seat on the bed next to Buffy, smirking when she shifted away from him.

"No need to be bashful, pet. It's not like I can bite you."

Eventually they decided to watch The Terminator. Plenty of violence for Spike and a love story for Willow and Buffy. By the time the movie had finished Willow was sniffling quietly and Spike looked bored, having lost interest as soon as the final battle was over.

"I guess we should get some sleep now." Buffy said, hoping Spike would take the hint and get off her bed. Amazingly he did, slipping off the edge and settling himself on the floor.

As he struggled to get himself comfortable Buffy couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Not guilty enough to give him her bed though. She lifted her pillow to retrieve her pyjamas and when Willow suddenly exclaimed

"Spike! What are you doing?!"

Snapping her head round Buffy's eyes widened as she saw that Spike had now removed his shirt and was in the process of removing his boots. She had intended on yelling at him herself but she found her throat had suddenly dried up, her eyes involuntarily lingering on his muscles.

"Um, getting ready for bed?" Spike replied.

"Not naked you're not!" Buffy replied, now trying to look at anything but Spike's body.

A smirk curled up at the side of his lips. "Why not, pet? Scared I'll get you all hot and bothered."

"Hardly." She replied. "Here."

She threw a blanket and pillow at him and hurried out of the room before he could see her blushing.

With a grin Spike settled himself down properly and was asleep almost instantly.

"It could have gone worse tonight." Willow mused as she brushed her hair, having quickly joined Buffy in the washroom. "At least you and Spike weren't trying to kill each other."

"Give it time." Buffy grimaced. "I swear if he says one more thing to piss me off we'll be sharing our dorm with a pile of dust."

The two girls made their way back to the room and manoeuvring themselves around the sleeping vampire on the floor they climbed into their beds and soon fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning Buffy awoke to dull rays of sunlight filtering in through the drawn curtains. After yawning and stretching her stiff muscles she glanced of at Willow's bed and saw that her friend was still sleeping. Climbing out of bed she almost tripped over Spike who she'd forgotten was sleeping on the floor. As she looked down at him she couldn't help but smile. All she could see was the top of his head poking out from underneath the blanket. His hair was mussed and sticking up in all directions while the rest of him remained buried.

As she tried to stifle a giggle she realised with horror that she was actually thinking how cute he looked. Cute! Spike! These were not the sorts of feelings she should be having for him. With a shake of her head she grabbed her wash things and headed into the bathroom.

* * *

As Buffy wandered back into the dorm she saw that Willow was now awake and looking down at Spike, a look of amusement on her face.

"You think we should wake him?" Buffy asked. Or at least she thought she had. She'd felt her mouth forming the words but she hadn't heard them. Clearing her throat she tried again

'You think we should wake him?'

Willow now looked stricken, fear etched across her features.

'Buffy! I can't hear!' Buffy saw Willow mouth the words but nothing came out. Something was very wrong, and she didn't think it was anything to do with their ears. She's been able to hear everything else just fine. Shaking her head she pointed at her mouth.

'We can't speak' She mouthed clearly.

Although she still looked scared Willow nodded. Something had clearly happened to them in the night. She idly wondered if it was just the two of them that had been affected. At that moment both her and Buffy's eyes fell on Spike who still lay sleeping.

Kneeling down beside him Buffy shook him roughly by the shoulders. Spike jerked awake and on instinct his fist shot out and connected sharply with her jaw. Both of them fell backwards, Buffy from the force and shock of the punch and Spike from the pain in his head. It only took a few seconds for them both to recover and once they had Spike sat up and glared at her.

'What the hell are you doing?' He attempted to yell, a frown marring his featured when no words came out. Buffy sighed and climbed to her feet, grabbing a pen and piece of paper from her desk. She scribbled a note and handed it to Spike

Spike read it and handed it to Willow who immediately nodded frantically. Spike pointed to himself and then to the window, shaking his head. Buffy nodded in understanding as she realised Spike wouldn't be able to go anywhere until the sun set.

'Sewers?' She mouthed.

Spike put his boots on as he tried to think of where all the entrances were. He guessed there must be somewhere in the building he could use. He nodded. Buffy scribbled another note and handed it to him.

Spike nodded again, grabbed his shirt, slipping it on as he headed out of the door. Buffy showed the note to Willow and the two of them hurriedly began to dress.

* * *

By the time Willow and Buffy had arrived at Giles' Spike, Xander and Anya were already there. On the way they'd also discovered that it wasn't just them. The whole town appeared to have lost their voices.

As they walked through the door Buffy immediately noticed the piles of books all over the floor and piled up on the table. Xander, Anya, Giles and a woman Buffy assumed was Giles' friend were busy reading while Spike sat on the couch, holding a damp cloth to one side of his face. Seeing Buffy and Willow enter Giles moved over to greet them. Willow joined the others to research and Buffy gestured to Spike with a questioning look. Giles pulled a scrap of paper and a pen out of his pocket and wrote her a quick note.

Buffy nodded and wrote her own note on a piece of paper she'd been carrying around with her.

Giles shook his head and gestured back to the others who were still researching. Buffy nodded and moved over to where Spike was sat. Taking a seat beside him she gently took his hand and moved the cloth away so she could inspect the damage. Giles was right, it wasn't too bad. The skin on the right hand side of his face was bright red and starting to peel. But it hadn't blistered so that was a good sign. It was probably quite painful though.

Seeing a jar of salve on the table she picked it up and scooped some onto her fingers. Spike watcher her warily as she tried to indicate that it would be alright. He nodded but immediately flinched as the salve made contact with his tender skin. He could tell she was trying to be as gentle as she could and she gave him a sympathetic smile when she noticed his pain. When she was done he managed a smile of thanks and the two of them made their way over to the others to help with the research.

By nightfall they had made a little progress. Giles had made a list of an array of demons and monsters that could have been responsible for stealing their voices. Buffy had left for patrol just after sundown, knowing that there would be chaos until people got their voices back. Another hour passed when something caught Giles' eye. As he continued to read his eyes widened and finally he scribbled a hasty note to the others

As soon as Spike had read it he stood up and grabbed his coat. The others looked on, puzzled, as he scribbled a note and threw it on the table, walking out before any of them even had the chance to pick it up. As the door slammed Xander read what he had written

Xander shook his head and showed the note to the others. Spike was an idiot. If anyone out there attacked him there was no way he could defend himself. Going out alone like this was only going to result in him getting dusted.

* * *

Buffy had been right, the whole town was going crazy. Riots were starting out all over and people were looting every shop they came across. It was amazing how the loss of speech had caused the whole community to collapse on itself like this. Buffy had done her best to break up as many fights as she could and to try and calm people down but she could see she was fighting a losing battle. What these people needed were their voices back.

Finally she'd admitted defeat and decided to head back to Giles and see if they'd had any luck finding out what was causing this.

Unbeknownst to her Spike was wandering around town looking for her and had been for some time. He'd been lucky so far, keeping himself to himself and no one had bothered him. He hated this, having to shrink away from everyone like a coward and not even being able to defend himself if he needed to. For a moment he questioned why on earth he'd been stupid enough to come out alone like this. Then he remembered Buffy. He couldn't forget the tenderness she'd used when tending his burns. It probably didn't mean anything to her, but the way she'd touched him had left him with the insane urge to help her in any way he could. Whatever it was that stopped him from hurting people was obviously making him soft

Like baby food, he thought with a smile, remembering back to the last time he and Buffy had fought side by side. With a wistful sigh he wondered if he'd ever get the chance to do that again. Somehow he doubted that whatever had been done to him was easily reversible, and even if it was Buffy would stake him if he so much as sniffed a human throat.

It was then that he saw her heading back through town and from the looks of things heading back to towards Giles.

'Buffy' He called, rolling his eyes at his own stupidity when no words came out. He ran after her.

* * *

Lost in her own thoughts Buffy reacted instinctively when the felt the hand on her arm. Swinging around her fist connected sharply with her attacker, but it was only when she saw Spike stumble back that she realised what she'd done.

Wiping the blood from his nose Spike glared at her and she shrugged helplessly, indicating that she hadn't meant to hit him. Spike relaxed a little and pointed in the direction of the College. Buffy frowned, not understanding what he meant. With a sigh Spike took hold of her hand and began to pull her in that direction.

After a few minutes Buffy realised where they were headed and gestured to Spike that she understood. Much to her surprise however, he merely nodded and carried on walking, not letting go of her hand. What surprised her more was the fact that she wasn't pulling away from him, in fact she rather the liked the feeling of his fingers entwined with hers, it reminded her of the dream she'd had in class the day before.

They continued to walk like that until they reached the main building of the college. Xander was stood outside waiting for them and as soon as Buffy saw him she detached her hand from Spike's ignoring the way his body tensed at the loss of contact. The two of them joined Xander and together they made their way inside.

* * *

Giles was all ready for them in one of the lecture halls and as soon as Buffy, Spike and Xander had taken their seats he began his presentation. Switching on the projector he'd set up Giles pressed play on a small tape recorder and some creepy violin music began to play. He placed the first transparency on the projector. On it was written The Gentlemen, and underneath was a photocopied picture of a group of demons.

Buffy flinched when she saw the name of the demons, remembering her dream, including the part with Spike. She glanced over at him but he was looking with interest at the screen. She focused back and studied the picture carefully. The demons were certainly creepy looking, tall and thin with their skin stretched tightly over their bones and dressed all in black. Somehow they reminded her of a nightmare version of undertakers.

Giles moved on to the next transparency. 'They are fairy tale monsters' was written, along with another picture of them.

The next one almost made Buffy laugh. The words 'They come to a town' were written, along with a rather childish drawing, which Giles must have done himself of the demons standing on the outskirts of town.

'They steal all the voices so no one can scream' said the next transparency, along with a hand drawn picture of the demons pulling some sort of mist out of someone's throat.

'They need seven human hearts.' A gory picture of someone's heart being cut out accompanied this.

Buffy shuddered and grabbed a piece of paper, writing a note on it.

Giles nodded and put up the next transparency. 'In the stories the princess screamed and they all died.'

Willow pulled a CD out of her bag and pointed at it. Giles shook his head and put up the next transparency. 'A real human voice'

With that he switched off the projector and the tape recorder. The rest of the gang moved to the front of the room to stand with him.

I've got to find these guys before they get their first heart. I'll walk you guys home and then I'm going to start looking. Buffy wrote on a piece of paper.

Giles nodded and the group of them filed out and began the walk home. First of all they dropped Willow off at her dorm, she was going to look into finding a spell that would either restore their voices or help them find The Gentlemen. Next they dropped Xander and Anya off at Xander's, it was clear they wanted some alone time and since there was nothing else for them to do Buffy figured it would be best to just leave them to it.

The final stop was Giles'. Olivia came out to meet them, worry evident on her face. Giles gave her a reassuring smile and the two of them headed inside, their arms around each other. Now alone with Spike Buffy gestured to the road they had just come down, indication that she was going to head out and start looking for The Gentlemen. Spike nodded but as Buffy turned to leave he grabbed her arm and spun her back to him. For a moment they just stared at each other, Buffy's eyes wide and her breathing unconsciously rapid. For a split second she thought he was going to kiss her and almost without realising it she leant a little closer. Finally, however, he let go of her arm and mouthed 'be careful'. Her shoulders slumped and with a nod she turned and headed out.

As soon as Buffy was out of site Spike mentally kicked himself. He'd come within an inch of kissing her and from the looks of things she'd wanted him to too. He didn't know what it was that had made him pull back. Maybe it was because they were supposed to be enemies or maybe it was because he knew deep down that once they got their voices back she wouldn't touch him with a twenty-foot pole. He just wished they could talk about this.

Glancing back at the door he realised he really didn't want to sit around watching Giles and his girlfriend have a snog and maybe even a shag. His eyes drifted back to the empty road that Buffy had just walked down. With a sigh he went after her.

* * *

Slumping down on a bench near the college Buffy buried her head in her hands. She was exhausted. She'd been searching for The Gentlemen for hours and had found nothing. Wherever they were they didn't want to be found. Or course it didn't make things any easier that she couldn't ask any of her demon sources for information since they were all as voiceless as she was. She was rapidly running out of options.

As she pondered what to do next, she didn't hear the group of demons approaching her from behind.

* * *

Spike was running out of places to look. He'd searched most of town and so far had found no trace of Buffy. As a last resort he decided to wander over to the dorm and see if she was there with Willow. It was one of the few places he hadn't tried yet.

As he made his way through the campus his eyes almost skimmed over the girl sat on the bench with her head in her hands. If some idiot girl wanted to sit outside alone at night then she was asking to get eaten. What drew his attention back to her was the group of what appeared to be lunatics, hopping along on all fours and approaching the girl from behind. Behind them two familiar looking figures glided along. The Gentlemen.

Spike began to back away, he couldn't fight, there was nothing he could do. It was obvious the girl couldn't be saved, there was no one else around. He turned away and was about to continue his search for Buffy when something made him stop. The girl on the bench had raised her head and was rubbing her eyes wearily. It was Buffy. And she was completely oblivious to the danger behind her.

'Buffy!' He tried to yell in warning. Of course no words came and if he could talk Spike would have uttered every curse word he knew. There was nothing else for it; pain or not he couldn't let Buffy be killed. Slipping into his vamp face he ran forward.

As she finished rubbing her eyes Buffy jumped to her feet as she saw Spike running towards her, game face on. He was going to attack her. All that stuff about not being able to hurt people had just been a lie to get close to her. How had she not realised it? And she'd even started to think she had feelings for him. What an idiot!

She raised her fists ready to fight but what amazed when Spike jumped straight passed her and tackled a demon to the floor. Spinning around she jumped back when she saw The Gentlemen and their minions making their way towards her. As the minions jumped towards her Buffy began to fight.

From his position on the floor Spike struggled to sit up. Tackling the demon had sent him smashing face first into the concrete sidewalk. He'd managed to gash his forehead open and could feel his blood running down his face. The plus side was that he seemed to have knocked out the minion he'd attacked and that left one less for Buffy to fight.

Rolling onto his back he finally managed to open his eyes and immediately wished he hadn't. The two Gentlemen were stood over him, looking down with rictis smiles etched onto their faces. One of them was carrying what looked like a doctor's bag. He opened it and pulled out a scalpel. This wasn't good.

Continuing to fight the minions Buffy found that they were a lot stronger than they looked. She'd lost sight of Spike and just hoped that he was ok.

One of the Gentlemen held Spike down while the one with the scalpel leant in, ready to start cutting. Clearly they weren't aware that Spike was a vampire and that his dead heart was no good to them. Spike wasn't exactly in a position to tell them, he could only hope that Buffy managed to get away.

Before the first cut could be made, however, the demon with the scalpel looked over his shoulder to where Buffy was still fighting. Two of the minions lay dead now and she was in the process of fighting the third. Looking back at his comrade he appeared to communicate telepathically. The one holding Spike down nodded but didn't let up his grip. The other put the scalpel back in his bag and instead pulled out a large syringe full of a bright blue liquid. Spike barely had time to register what was happening before the needle was plunged into his neck. Almost immediately his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.

The two Gentlemen nodded in satisfaction and the one holding him down rose, pulling up the unconscious vampire and hoisting his limp body of his shoulder. Leaving their minion to its fate they made their way back to their lair with their first victim.

Cracking the neck of the final minion, Buffy took a moment to compose herself before looking around. What she saw chilled her. Or rather what she didn't see. Spike was gone. The unconscious minion Spike had tackled still lay on the sidewalk and beside him she could see a smearing of Spike's blood. For a moment she hoped that he'd seen sense and taken off. But in her heart she knew that wasn't true. They had taken him. Looking at the way the Gentlemen had come from, Buffy started walking.

* * *

As Spike awoke he was amazed to find that he was still alive, in the undead sense. Unfortunately it seemed that he wasn't going to stay that way for much longer. One of The Gentlemen was stood over him again, scalpel in hand. Leaning down he began to cut into Spike's chest.

The pain was excruciating and Spike's mouth formed an agonised scream although so sound came out. He just willed it to be over quickly. However, after a moment he felt the scalpel being removed and opened his eyes. The Gentlemen were gone, leaving him alone once more. He struggled to his feet, clutching his chest as he wondered what had made them leave, then he heard signs of a struggle coming from downstairs, evidently a fight going on. He resisted the urge to smile. It was Buffy, it had to be. Still, there was no way he was going to sit around and wait to be rescued, he had to get out of there. Hurrying over to the door he was amazed to find it unlocked. He quickly hurried out and made his way down the stairs.

As he reached the bottom he saw one of the minions fly past him and crash into a wall. The next thing he knew he was looking down the barrel of some sort of gun.

It took a moment for Riley to register just who it was he was looking at. He'd come in here looking for the creatures that had stolen everyone's voices, and had certainly not expected to run into Hostile 17. He faltered for a moment; this wasn't why he was here. On the other hand, Professor Walsh would be happy to here that the missing HST had been eliminated. Tightening his grip on the trigger he prepared to fire.

It was at that moment that Buffy ran in, having seen one of the minions run out of the clock tower she had headed inside, guessing that this is where The Gentlemen were hiding out. Her eyes quickly took in the scene before her. Riley, dressed in the commando uniform that she now knew well, had a gun pointed at Spike, who despite it all looked a little afraid. Reacting immediately she kicked the weapon from Riley's hand, jumping back before he had time to attack her. His eyes widened in recognition but before he had the chance to do anything they were attacked by some more of the minions. Buffy grabbed hold of Spike and pushed him towards the door before resuming her fight.

From the doorway Spike watched as Buffy and the soldier fought together against the minions. They seemed to be doing well and slowly the fight moved upstairs. Spike knew that he should probably just leave and let them handle it. But somehow he couldn't make himself leave until he was sure this was all over and that Buffy was alright, that was why he'd come out in the first place. For her. With a sigh he carefully made his way up the stairs.

The battle was still raging hard when Spike reached the top of the stairs. Both Buffy and the soldier seemed to be outnumbered now, both the minions and The Gentlemen themselves were fighting. He wished there was something he could do to help without blowing his brains out by fighting. Scanning the room his eyes fell on a table which was covered with various vials and containers. He thought about maybe throwing them at the demons, but figured that counted as hurting people.

Buffy however, had also noticed the table, in particular a small wooden box that sat in the middle. She remembered back to her dream, it was the same as the little girl had been carrying. As one of the minions began to choke her she pointed to the table and gestured to Riley, making the shape of a box with her hand. He nodded and ran over to the table, smashing a glass vial with the butt of his weapon and looking pleased with himself. Buffy and Spike both rolled their eyes and the vampire walked over to the table himself, grabbing the box and dropping it on the floor. Before any of the demons could react he brought his boot down on it, shattering the wood easily.

The Gentlemen could only look on in horror as a silvery mist filled the room for a moment before spreading out and vanishing. Buffy took a deep breath and screamed as loudly as she could. The Gentlemen covered their ears with their hands but it was useless. Their heads exploded, showering everything with yellow blood as their bodies slumped to the floor.

After a moment of digesting the fact that it was really over, Spike wearily made his way over to where Buffy was standing. His injuries were now making their presence clear and he just hoped she'd keep the soldier from trying anything else.

"Hey." Buffy said with a smile as Spike appeared in front of her. "Nice work."

Spike smiled in return, Buffy's voice music to his ears. He opened his mouth to say something back but all that came out was a small moan as the last of his strength left him and he slumped forward. Buffy quickly slipped her arms around him, helping to steady him and ignoring the look of disbelief she was getting from Riley.

"Let's get you home." She whispered to Spike softly, brushing a loose curl of hair away from the wound on his head.

"Buffy-" Riley began but she cut him off with a shake of her head.

"Not now Riley, ok? I'll talk to you tomorrow."

Before he could utter another word she guided Spike down the steps of the tower and the two of them headed out into the night.

* * *

Willow asked no questions when Buffy entered the dorm room, supporting an obviously wounded Spike. She'd felt her voice come back a while ago and figured that Buffy had defeated the demons. Watching her friend lower the vampire onto the bed she suddenly got the idea that they needed some alone time. Making a quick excuse, she slipped out of the door before Buffy could say anything.

Removing Spike's shirt Buffy covered her mouth in horror as she saw the deep wound above Spike's heart. She'd almost lost him, and that bothered her more than she'd like. As she set about cleaning him up she noticed he was watching her every move.

"What were you doing out alone?" She finally asked, unable to keep her questions at bay any longer. "You know you can't fight. Were you trying to get yourself killed?"

He winced as she bandaged his chest wound but then managed a smile. "Would it bother you if I was?"

"No!" She exclaimed, and then relented. "Yes. Spike, you saved my life tonight, and almost got yourself killed in the process. What was that all about?"

He shrugged, wincing again as he aggravated his wound. "I figured I owed you one for letting me stay with you and helping me when I caught the sun."

It was a weak lie at best, and they both knew it. Not knowing what else to say Buffy dipped a cloth in the bowl of water and began to gently clean the wound on his head.

"Thank you." She said softly.

Spike tensed for a moment, unsure if he's heard her properly.

"You're welcome." He finally replied.

She wasn't sure what made her do it, but the next thing she knew Buffy was leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to Spike's lips. It took a moment for him to react, but finally he kissed her back. To both of them it was like something they had been missing for a long time.

It was like coming home