Title: Fluffy Something Blue (Ep 16 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: This was originally going to be a co-write with Py but her computer broke. Still, I want to send her a HUGE thanks for helping me get started. I also want to send a massive thank you to Lily whose thoughtful reviews pulled me out of my writer's block and got me to finish this. This one's for you. Thanks to Tracy for helping me with the Riley bashing, it seems I've found someone who hates him more than me. LOL. As always I'm indebted to Becca whose feedback has helped me turn a mediocre fic into something half-decent.

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

"So you saw their faces but you can't describe them." Buffy reiterated, annoyed with Spike's reluctance to talk.

"Well, they were human. Two eyes each, kind of in the middle."

"Spike, this is serious. If you won't tell me about the commandos, will you at least tell me about the lab?"

"Big place, enormous and very white. Clean, too surprising since the place is underground," receiving a look from the Slayer, he sighed. "Look, I don't remember where I escaped from, alright? I climbed through an air vent and was just glad to be free. If you think I stuck around to study the location, you're out of our skull. Can I get some blood now?"

As if on cue, Giles entered the small bathroom carrying a mug filled with warm blood and a straw sticking over the side. Spike salivated as he smelled the coppery aroma, fidgeting in his chains in anticipation. "Hurry up now, Watcher. Take your bloody time, why don't you." he grumbled as he watched Giles hand the mug to Buffy.

Peering into it she nearly gagged, the sight of a cup of blood made her shiver and she made a face before shoving it in Spike's direction. He drank through the straw greedily, the warm liquid sliding down his throat. He noticed Buffy's discomfort and released the straw.

"Oh come now, you never heated a mug up for Soulboy?"

"I never had to, he was old enough to get his own meals," she shot back, pulling the mug away from him. "Now stop changing the subject. Commandos. Lab. Info. Now."

They stared at each other for a moment, neither one prepared to give in to the other's demands. Spike eyed the Slayer carefully. She was a tough one; all work no play. That's the main reason why she annoyed him. Everything was work. He knew she'd never go on patrol, slay a few vamps, and say, 'That was fun!' But to be honest, he kind of admired her for taking control of the problems she faced daily without breaking a sweat. She was the strongest Slayer he'd ever encountered, and not just physically strong. She didn't let anything get to her if she could help it. Hiding her doubts and fears until the impending crisis was averted. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to say she was the perfect Slayer, he thought. Strong, brave, determined, a skilled fighter, willing to do anything for her friends, risking her life to save others, and last but not least, beautiful.

"I'm still thirsty." he stated, glaring up at her.

She sighed and held the mug up for him again, watching him drink. As annoyed as she was with his stubbornness, she needed the information and would have to put up with his antics to get it for the time being. But she knew Spike could play this game forever. Delaying things as long as possible until he got what he wanted out of the deal. A smart trick if you're in a bind you can't get out of. But then again, Spike was always prepared to make a bargain. She couldn't remember a time they'd run into each other when he wasn't quick to strike a deal. He was a tough fighter, too, strong, skilled, and resourceful her equal in every way. The only vampire she'd never been able to stake besides Angel of course. But even then, she'd even been able to beat him to the ground whenever they'd train. And maybe Spike was a little cute, she thought, it didn't hurt to look. And he was definitely worth looking at.

Spike hit the bottom of the mug with a loud slurpy noise, trying to catch every last possible drop.

"God, do you have to do that?" she snapped.

"I need to drink all I can now who knows when I'll get fed next?" he replied angrily.

"Well, that all depends on how fuzzy your memory is." she replied, sauntering out of the room.

Spike watched her appreciatively before snapping back to reality, an urgent reminder going off in his head. "Slayer, come back! Passions is about to start and I can't reach the telly! Hello? SLAYER!"

* * *

Buffy entered the living room, finding Giles talking with Willow. Funny, she never even noticed he'd left the bathroom; she must've been so wrapped up in thinking about Spike. Arguing with Spike. She corrected herself.

"Hey, Buffy, I just had an idea. What if we used a truth spell on Spike? We'd get all the information we'd need about the commandos in just a few short minutes." Willow suggested.

"And everything else he'd want to tell us about," Buffy added. "I don't particularly want to know what goes on inside his twisted little brain."

"Well, chaining him in the bathtub hasn't gotten us anywhere it might be our last option." Giles stated.

Buffy pouted. "Well, fine, but if he says something we really don't want to hear, let me say the first 'I told you so!'"

"Great!" Willow grinned. "I'll have to get some stuff from the magic shop to perform the spell, so how about we rendezvous tomorrow morning?"

"Sounds like a plan," the Slayer sighed, making her way toward the front door. "See you all tomorrow, I'm outta here."

* * *

Buffy had hoped that her morning class would have made her forget about just how infuriating Spike had been, nobody got under her skin like he did. Unfortunately the class had been possible one of the most boring she'd ever attended and after as little as five minutes she'd found herself playing over their argument again and again.

Grumbling to herself she hurried through the corridor, not stopping until she ploughed face first into someone.

"Sorry." She muttered absently.

"That's ok," A familiar voice replied. "Looks like I interrupted some serious thinking."

Looking up she found herself facing Riley, who was also smiling. This was good. Riley was really sweet; a nice decent, reliable guy. Someone who wasn't Spike.

"I was looking for you actually." Riley continued. "I thought maybe we could go for a drive tomorrow morning if you're not in class. I know we talked about it. We could take a picnic and I know this great spot."

Buffy's smile fell. "I'm sorry Riley, I can't. I've arranged to do this thing with Willow. Maybe some other time?"

Riley tried to hide his disappointment. He was beginning to think that he and Buffy just weren't meant to be. Somehow things kept happening to stop them ever actually going on a date. Maybe this was someone's way of telling him that in his line of work he just wasn't meant to date normal girls.

He forced a smile. "That's ok, don't worry about it. Some other time, like you said."

Buffy hated this. Her slayer life was always interfering with her attempts to have a normal life. Angel had left her so that she could date a normal guy but somehow it just didn't seem to be working. Maybe it was time she accepted that as the Slayer she could never have a normal guy. Even if she could she wasn't sure it would be enough.

"I'd better go." She said apologetically. "I have a class in a few minutes."

Riley nodded, fake smile still plastered on his face. Watching as Buffy disappeared into the crowd he let his smile fall as soon as she was out of sight. With a sigh he decided to go and see if Professor Walsh needed any help with anything.

* * *

Willow lay in bed that night, trying desperately to make herself fall asleep and failing miserably. Today had to have been the worst day of her life. It had been bad enough when Oz had left, but she'd always held on to the hope that he'd be back. That's what made it worse. She'd gone to his room just as she had done every night since he's left, just to feel his presence, to smell him and imagine he was still with her. But today had been different, when she'd gone into his room all his things were gone, even the smell of him. Apparently he'd asked Devon to send his stuff over and hadn't even bothered to leave her a message or a note. He really was gone, and he wasn't coming back.

The pain that came with the realisation was so devastating that she'd tried everything to get rid of it, finally having a couple of beers in the Bronze. All this had earned her were a few chastising comments from her friends and yet more words of patronising sympathy from Buffy. None of them understood the pain she was going through and at the same time they didn't seem to want to hear her talk about it either. It would be so much easier if she could just make the pain go away, then they'd all be happy.

Her eyes snapped open. Why hadn't she thought of it before? Therewas a way she could end this.

Glancing over at Buffy she saw that her friend was sleeping soundly. It was now or never.

Sneaking out of bed as quietly as she could Willow opened the chest at the foot of her bed. Inside was everything she would need. A spellbook and various ingredients. Pulling out what she needed she headed to the bathroom where she hoped she wouldn't be disturbed.

It didn't take long to set everything up. All the spell needed was some candles and a small dish for the herbs. Sitting inside the circle of candles she'd made Willow began to chant.

Feeling a surge of power flow through her she jumped as the flames on the candles suddenly rose dramatically. It looked, and felt as though the spell had worked. Quickly gathering the things together Willow snuck back into bed and quickly fell into a peaceful sleep, knowing that tomorrow it would be all better.

* * *

Willow frowned as she looked at her reflection in a small handheld mirror. Buffy had gone ahead to Giles' to get Spike ready for the spell and she'd stayed behind, telling Buffy that she needed to sort the ingredients out. She figured this would be the perfect time to test her spell from the night before.

"I will that my heart be healed and that I no longer feel the pain of it breaking." She repeated.

Nothing.

With a sigh she wondered if she was trying something too difficult. She picked up a CD from beside her bed and held it in her palm.

"I will that this disc sing to me."

Still nothing.

Finally she picked up one of Buffy's pale pink lipsticks.

"I will that this lipstick turn as black as the night."

When it remained pink she was almost glad, she didn't really want to explain to Buffy why her lipstick looked like something a punk would wear. Thinking of punks reminded her of Spike and with a groan she grabbed the ingredients and book for the truth spell. Hopefully it would be more successful than her Will Be Done spell.

* * *

Spike watched Willow warily as she made the preparations for the spell. He'd been moved out of the bathroom and onto the floor of Giles' living room but he was still chained up. He was now beginning to wish that he'd told them what he knew, magic had a tendency to go a bit wonky.

"Are you sure you know what you're doing, Red? I don't want you turning me into a toad or anything."

"Actually, I think that would be an improvement." Buffy replied, sat on the arm of the couch glaring at him. "Maybe I'll have Willow give that a try once you've finished spilling about the commandos."

Spike sighed. This was getting worse by the minute, he should have just staked himself when he'd found he couldn't hurt people.

"Alright, I'm ready." Willow announced, lighting a stick of incense and motioning for the others to be quiet.

Buffy watched with interest as Spike's eyes began to droop as Willow chanted, finally closing completely as she came to the end of the spell. His head dropped forward onto his chest and it looked as though he's fallen asleep.

"Spike?" Willow said softly. "Can you hear me?"

"Yes." He replied, his voice clear yet sleep filled, almost sounding as though he had been drugged.

"Spike, I'm going to ask you some questions about the lab where you were imprisoned and I want you to tell me everything you know, understand?"

"Yes." He replied in the same sleepy voice.

Willow shot Buffy a reassuring smile, this seemed to be going very well.

"What do you remember about the night you were captured?"

"Was watching the Slayer fight....got attacked from behind.....didn't see who it was...."

Giles scribbled down some notes as Spike spoke.

"What's the next thing you remember after that?" Willow asked.

"Woke up in a cell.....all white.....head hurt.....felt dizzy....."

"Do you know where it was?"

"Underground somewhere....not sure....."

Willow nodded even though he couldn't see her. It seemed that he'd already told them pretty much everything he knew. "What about the people there? Can you describe them?"

"Only saw two....looked like doctors....white coats......human.....escaped after that....."

"Where did you escape? Can you remember how you got out?"

"Tunnels.....lots of caves....managed to get into an air vent....came out in the college...."

Willow shot Buffy a glance. It sounded like the place Spike had been held was nearby.

"Then was did you do?"

"Went looking for Buffy....wanted to kill her....knew I couldn't.....too good....perfect Slayer.....wanted to fight.....love it when we fight....love her...."

Buffy went rigid and her eyes widened as she stared at Spike. There was no way she could have heard what she thought she'd heard. But the stunned look on Willow and Giles' faces told her that she hadn't misheard him.

Willow was now frantically flicking though the pages of the spellbook until she finally found what she was looking for.

With a small sigh Spike slumped to one side and lay still.

"Oh god." Willow gasped. "I've killed him."

Hurrying over she knelt down beside him and shook him roughly.

"Spike? Come on, don't do this to me, wake up."

Getting no response she shook him again and finally slapped him hard across the face.

"Spike! Wake up!"

Her heart lodged in her throat as she heard him let out a small moan and she could have kissed him when he opened his eyes and blinked sleepily up at her.

"Red? Are you gonna do this damn spell or not?"

Willow stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was kidding. As he sat up he glared at her.

"If I miss Passions because you're too busy preparing then I'm going to be severely pissed off."

"Yes, and I'm sure we're all quaking in fear at the harm you can't do us." Giles sighed

"Um, Spike. We did the spell already." Willow said nervously, ignoring Giles for the moment.

As his brow furrowed in confusion Willow glanced over at Buffy. Her friend was still sat in the same position, her eyes still wide with shock. This wasn't going well.

"What do you mean you did it already?" Spike demanded. "Where was I?"

"Right here. You don't remember?"

If it was possible Spike looked more irritated than before. "Are you telling me that I was sat here spilling everything without even knowing it. No one said anything to me about amnesia."

Willow blushed as Spike continued his tirade. She should have known something would go wrong.

"Alright." Spike continued. "I want you to tell me exactly what I said. Every last word."

A loud slam prevented Willow from answering and they all turned to the door just in time to see Buffy hurry past the window.

"Well that's just rude." Spike complained with sarcasm. "Taking off like that without saying goodbye. What's up with her?"

"I'm sure it's nothing." Willow replied uneasily as she gathered her things back together. Somehow she knew that she can Buffy were going to have a little 'talk' later on.

* * *

"I told you!" Buffy exclaimed as she paced up and down the dorm that night. "I knew something like this was going to happen but you and Giles wouldn't listen."

With a sigh she flopped down onto the bed and buried her face in her hands. "Oh god, what am I going to do? Spike loves me! This is a disaster! Am I some sort of vamp magnet or something?"

Reaching out tentatively Willow placed a hand on Buffy's shoulder. "It's not that bad. It's not like he can remember what he said or anything. You can just forget it happened."

Shrugging away from Willow's touch Buffy rose and began to pace again. "I can't. I can't just forget I heard something like that. It's weird."

"Well, it's not like you return his feelings or anything." Willow replied, getting a little annoyed. No one wanted to listen to her talk about her feelings, but she had to sit here and listen to Buffy rant about a guy she didn't even like. "Why don't we have a girl's night. We can watch Thelma and Louise and remind ourselves that we don't need men."

Buffy smiled. Willow was right; all she needed to do was forget about what Spike had said. Why should it matter that he loved her, it wasn't like she'd ever touch him anyway. She's been through the whole vampire thing with Angel. True, Spike was different, but she'd vowed when Angel left that she's never go near the undead in a non-fighty way.

"Alright, that sounds nice."

Willow smiled; finally they were going to do something she wanted.

As the two of them settled down to watch the movie Buffy tried hard not to think about Spike. The problem was his voice seemed to be inside her head, repeating the same words over and over again. The words she was trying to forget.

Suddenly she jumped to her feet. "Giles! I have to go and see Giles! I....uh....need to tell him something about....uh.....a demon I fought last night."

Inwardly she groaned, that sounded lame even to her, but Willow didn't seem to notice.

"You're going now? Can't it wait until the morning? The movie only just started."

Buffy was already putting on her jacket. "It won't take long, you carry on without me."

Before Willow had the chance to protest any further Buffy was out of the door. She blinked back the tears she felt forming in her eyes. Why was it that no one seemed to have time for her? This was driving her crazy. Picking up the phone she quickly dialled a number.

"Xander? It's me. Buffy just bailed on me and I was wondering if I could come over for a bit. Ok, thank. I'll see you in a few minutes. Bye."

Hanging up the phone Willow was glad that one of her friends still seemed to have time for her.

* * *

"Buffy?"

Giles looked mildly surprised to find the Slayer stood on his doorstep. She looked almost embarrassed about being there.

"Giles, hi. Um....I think I might have left my bag here this morning."

The little voice popped up inside her head again, jeering at her constant stream of feeble excuses.

Steeping aside Giles allowed her in.

"I haven't seen your bag, but you're welcome to have a look."

As Buffy entered the living room she felt a small shiver run through her. She was standing in the place where Spike has unconsciously confessed his love for her just a few hours ago. There was no sign of the vampire and a twinge of disappointment ran through her, that was why she'd come after all.

"Buffy, are you alright?"

She jumped at the sound of the voice and turned to face Giles who was looking at her with concern.

"I understand you're probably a little...disturbed....by what happened with Spike this morning. I've chained him back up in the bath until we can work out whether whatever has been done to him is permanent. He still claims to have no memory of what he said whilst under the spell and I'm inclined to believe him."

"Giles, do you mind if I talk to him. Alone."

A frown marred hid featured. "Buffy, are you sure that's wise?"

"Please? I'm going to go crazy if I just leave it like this. I just want to find out for sure that he doesn't remember anything."

With a sigh he knew arguing with her was futile. "Very well, I'll be out here if you need me."

Smiling gratefully Buffy tentatively pushed open the door to the bathroom and stepped inside, closing it softly behind her. From his chained position in the bath a pale and dishevelled Spike looked up at her and glared.

"What the hell do you want? Come to torment the poor, helpless vampire some more have you? Sorry, Slayer, I'm not in the mood to play."

As he turned his head away from her Buffy was not deterred. Putting down the lid of the toilet she sat down and watched him. A few moments passed and finally Spike sighed, turning his head back to her.

"Why are you still here?"

Buffy swallowed hard as he fixed his eyes on her, eyes which at the moment showed hatred and annoyance, but beneath them she could see the faintest glimmer of something else. It was something she'd never noticed before, or chosen to ignore. Her throat suddenly felt dry.

"Spike?" She finally managed to croak. "Do you really not remember anything you said under that spell?"

Frowning with irritation Spike shook his head. "How many times am I going to have to tell you before it sinks through your thick skull?"

As his words resounded off the walls Buffy suddenly wondered just what she was doing here. Willow was right, if Spike couldn't remember what he'd said then there was no point dwelling on it. No matter what he felt for her he clearly wasn't going to admit it, not to himself and certainly not to her. Why would she even want him to?

Standing up she headed over to the door.

"Oh, so now you decide to bugger off?" Spike said bitterly, letting his head drop back onto the edge of the bath and not even flinching when it let out a dull crack.

"Well you did tell me to leave." Buffy pointed out.

Raising his head Spike fixed his eyes on her once more. "And since when did you ever do what I ask you to? You never did tell me why you came here."

"It was a mistake." Buffy snapped, growing tired of this. "I thought that.....never mind, forget it."

Spike's eyes glittered, it was always more fun when they fought and he wasn't about to let her get away so easily. "What's wrong, pet? Scared?"

Buffy snorted. "Of you? Please! I'm more scared of a pet kitten than I am of you."

"Then why are you running away?"

She froze. How was she supposed to answer that? She wasn't even sure herself. Why had she come here? To see if Spike could remember his confession of love. So what if he did? There was no reason why she should care either way.

So why was she still here?

* * *

Xander tried his hardest to listen patiently as Willow continued to rant. She'd been there for almost an hour and she was still talking about Buffy.

"I bet she didn't even want to talk to Giles." She continued. "I bet she just wanted to be away from me."

"Will, that's crazy. You know Buffy would be there for you unless it was something really important."

Willow wasn't listening. "Either that or I bet she wanted to see Spike. She pretended to be all freaked out that he loves her but I bet she's enjoying it really. In fact deep down I bet she feels something for him too. She's always had a thing for the undead. She can just replace one vampire with another."

Xander's jaw dropped, not having heard the last part of Willow's talk. "Spike....loves.....Buffy?"

But Willow still wasn't listening. "If she wants to spend so much time with him why don't they just get married."

* * *

"I'm not running." Buffy tried to explain, her hand still resting on the doorknob. "I just don't have any reason to be here."

"You could get me some blood." Spike suggested. "Watcher seems to have forgotten I'm here."

"Lucky him." Buffy grumbled. "Look, I'm not here to work as your personal waitress. If you're hungry I'll ask Giles to bring you something when he's done dealing with things that are actually important."

"Well, that's nice." Spike growled. "I thought us evil types were the ones who were supposed to be the experts on torture. Seems to me that you've got it perfected."

"What can I say?" Buffy replied. "You must bring out the bad side in me."

At that moment everything seemed to change. The look of anger melted from Spike's face leaving nothing but hopeful adoration, a similar look also covering Buffy's features.

"Buffy." Spike said softly. "There's something I need to ask you. I've been wanting to say this for some time but haven't been able to work up the courage."

Buffy could feel her heart pounding in her chest. She didn't dare to hope for what he was going to say next. Walking over to the bathtub she knelt down beside him. "It's alright. You can say anything to me."

This seemed to reassure him a little and he took a deep breath before smiling. "Buffy, I love you. I think I have since the first time I laid eyes on you. I know now that there'll be no one else for me but you. Will you be my wife?"

She could feel the tears of joy build up in her eyes as he spoke. He had no idea how long she'd waited for those words to fall from his perfect lips. The look of anticipation on his face as he waited for her to give her answer was almost too much to bear.

"Oh, Spike." She smiled. "Of course I will."

A look of perfect joy filled his eyes and he leaned over to draw her into his arms. Unfortunately the chains held him back and he was unable to reach her. With a defeated sigh he lay back and did his best not to let the moment be ruined. Seeing the look on his face almost broke her heart and Buffy quickly hurried into the living room. Giles was in the kitchen making a cup of tea and she quickly grabbed the key to Spike's chains from his desk and hurried back into the bathroom. As she held out the key Spike's eyes shone once more and that alone was enough to make her happy.

Quickly unlocking the manacles she watched as Spike rubbed his chafed wrists and stretched now that he wasn't squashed in the bathtub. Finally he climbed out and moved over to her.

"I want to do this properly." He said, pulling his silver skull ring off his finger and kneeling down in front of her. "Buffy Anne Summers. Will you marry me?"

As he held up the ring to her Buffy took it from it and placed it on her finger. Amazingly it fit perfectly. "Yes, Spike. Of course I will."

With another joyful smile he climbed to his feet, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply. As Buffy kissed him back she knew this was most definitely the happiest day of her life.

"We should go and tell Giles." She said when they finally parted, slipping her hand into his. With a nod the now engaged couple made their way into the living room.

Emerging from the kitchen Giles jumped and almost dropped his cup of tea when he was Buffy standing in the living room. With Spike.

"Buffy?" He said cautiously. "Why is Spike no longer chained up?"

As they turned to face him he was rather surprised to see that both of them were smiling happily.

"Everything has changed now. We can't keep Spike chained up, he's going to be my husband."

A deathly silence filled the room, shattered only by the sound of Giles' cup smashing on the floor as he stared at them as though they'd gone insane.

* * *

"It's not just Buffy." Willow complained, ignoring the fact that Xander was still trying to come to terms with the news about Spike's feelings for Buffy. "Giles is just as bad. He claims to see what I'm going through and to understand but he doesn't. He doesn't see anything."

* * *

"You can't be serious." Giles said for about the fifth time, removing his glasses and cleaning them just so he wouldn't have to look at the couple who were continually gazing at each other and kissing every thirty seconds. His stomach could only take so much.

"Giles, I know Spike isn't exactly your first choice for my husband. But I love him, please can you just be happy for me."

"I won't hurt her." Spike added. "I'd rather stake myself first."

"That's so sweet." Buffy cooed, pulling him in for yet another kiss.

Giles frantically pulled of his glasses again and it was then that he noticed that something seemed to be wrong, More wrong than Buffy and Spike kissing. It seemed to be getting darker. The lovesick couple didn't appear to have noticed but by the time he'd put his glasses back on everything was pitch black.

"Did someone turn the lights off?" He asked hopefully, fearing the truth more than anything else.

"What are you talking about?" He heard Spike ask and then felt a small hand on his arm, Buffy's.

"Giles, what's wrong?" She asked, the concern evident in her voice.

"I appear to be blind." He replied, his voice shaking as the reality of the situation hit him. "It must be a spell."

He hoped it was a spell anyway, spells could be reversed. If this was somehow natural then there was a chance that he could be like this forever.

Buffy guided him over to the couch and helped him to sit. Behind him he could hear Spike moving around.

"It shouldn't be too difficult to reverse." Spike said, flicking through the pages of a book he'd picked up. "There's a general reversal spell that will get rid of pretty much anything. We'll need some supplies but once we have them I think I can do it."

Giles sat there for a moment, not sure what to say. Spike was actually helping him. He felt the couch move as Buffy stood up.

"Ok, I'll head over and get the supplies. It won't take long."

"I'll come with you." Spike said and Giles almost smirked when he could hear the smile plastered on Spike's face.

"No, you stay here and take care of Giles. He needs you more than I do at the moment."

This suddenly didn't seem like such a good idea. Although he was almost certain Spike couldn't hurt him, Giles wasn't sure he liked the thought of being left alone with a vampire while he was blind.

"I'm alright, really. You two get what you need."

"Giles, are you sure?" Buffy asked with concern. "I don't want to leave you alone."

"I'll be fine." Giles repeated. "You said yourself it won't take long."

"Come on, pet." Spike urged, not hiding the fact he wanted some alone time with her. "He said he'd be fine."

Moments later he heard the door open and close and with that he knew he was alone. With a sigh he found that he was actually relieved and closing his eyes, even though he didn't need to, he enjoyed the silence.

* * *

"Look, Will. I know this is hard for you." Xander said, finally able to get a word in. "But it won't last. The hurt will go away eventually, you'll meet someone new and things will be better."

"Yeah, because all relationships on the hellmouth work out nicely." Willow said bitterly. "I mean look at you, you've only had one human girlfriend and even then I'm not sure Cordelia qualifies. You're a demon magnet."

Before Xander could argue with her any further she stormed out of the basement, slamming the door behind her. Xander rubbed his temples, feeling a headache building up. He wished he could say something to help his best friend, but if she was going to attack him like this every time he tried then he wasn't sure he could.

A soft knock at the door brought him out of his thoughts and he looked up as Anya let herself in. With a smile she sat down next to him and kissed him softly. Demon magnet or not, Xander wouldn't have it any other way.

* * *

"I don't think your Watcher's going to be very happy about them not having all the ingredients." Spike said as he and Buffy left the magic shop. Under his arm he had a brown bag containing all the ingredients they needed bar one which they had to go back and collect tomorrow. In his other hand he held Buffy's tightly and didn't want to let go.

"I'm sure he'll understand." Buffy reassured. "It's only for one night and...Oh my god!"

Seeing something up ahead Buffy ran over, pulling Spike along with her. In front of them was a wedding dress shop with two or three dresses in the window standing on mannequins.

"Look at them." Buffy breathed in awe. "They're beautiful."

Her eyes fell on the dress in the centre of the window. It was a white, sleeveless gown with the skirts spreading out at the bottom. The bodice was decorated with white, stitched flowers and there was a tiara that went with it.

"That's the one." She whispered to Spike. "That's the dress I'm going to wear."

Spike studied it closely for a second, taking in every last detail. Finally he snorted. "You can't wear that. It looks like a meringue."

Buffy's eyes filled with tears as Spike shattered her dreams with one quick comment, then she found herself growing angry. "And what exactly do you know about dresses? I'd like to see you pick something better."

"Fine!" Spike retorted, "I will."

Peering through the window he scanned the vast array of dresses until his eyes fell on the perfect one.

"That one." He said, pointing. Buffy followed the direction of her fingers until her eyes fell on the one he'd picked. It could hardly be called a dress, the skirt was barely short enough to cover anything and the top was so low cut there was no way she'd be able to walk down the aisle without her breasts falling out.

"I can't wear that!" She exclaimed in horror, her eyes still fixed on the monstrosity. "It's so skanky."

"Skanky?" Spike questioned. "It's hot. You'll look great in it."

"I'm not wearing it!" Buffy repeated.

Spike wriggled his eyebrows. "You'll just have to walk down the aisle naked then, because I'm not marrying a meringue."

"If I get married to you in that thing then I practically will be naked. Look, this is my day and I want to wear that pretty dress."

Tears began to build up in her eyes at the prospect of the whole wedding being ruined because Spike wanted her to dress like a ho.

"Maybe we should call the whole thing off." She finally sniffed, determined not to cry in front of him.

Looking over at his fiancée Spike almost felt his chest cave in when he saw how upset she was and realised this he was responsible for it. Dropping the bag of supplies his moved over to her and stroked her cheek, brushing her hair away from her eyes.

"Pet, I'm sorry. You're right. This is your day and I know you'll look beautiful in whatever you wear. If you want that dress then it's yours."

Buffy's face lit up at his words and the tears which had threatened to fall quickly disappeared. Throwing herself into her arms she hugged him tight.

"Thank you. I love you so much."

"I love you too." He replied, leaning in for a kiss.

"Buffy?"

Pulling apart from Spike Buffy turned to see Riley walking towards them, looking a little confused. She beamed at him, another person to share the great news with.

"Riley, I'm glad you're here. I have something I need to tell you."

Casting a curious glance at Spike who was scowling at the interrupted kiss, Riley wondered why he seemed so familiar.

Buffy moved closer to Spike and slipped her arm through his. "Riley, I want you to meet Spike, my fiancé."

Riley stared at her for a moment, waiting for the punchline to the joke. When it didn't come he realised she was serious. "Your what?"

"My fiancé." Buffy repeated. "Spike, this is Riley, he's in my Psychology class."

Spike gave the man in front of him the once over and a curt nod. He looked like even more of a ponce than Xander.

Riley still seemed to be having difficulty coming to terms with what he was hearing. The girl who he really thought liked him, who he'd been able to see himself dating, was announcing that she was getting married some someone who looked like a reject from the 1980s. He just wished he could put his finger on where he knew the guy from, perhaps it was something to do with that rather tragic Billy Idol impression he was doing.

"Spike?" He finally managed to ask. "That's an...unusual name."

"No stranger than Riley." Spike retorted, wishing this guy would go away so that he could get back to kissing Buffy.

At the sound of the British accent Riley's eyes widened in horror. Now he knew where he's seen the guy before. It was Hostile 17. Buffy had just inadvertently gotten engaged to a vampire. The problem was he couldn't tell her now without revealing that he was actually a member of the Initiative.

"I've just had a great idea!" Buffy suddenly exclaimed, pulling Riley from his thoughts. "We still haven't got a best man for the wedding, and since Spike doesn't have any friends maybe you could do it. Xander's an usher so he's out."

Riley's mouth opened and closed a few times as he tried to think of something to say, this was getting crazier by the second. Spike however was quick to make his thoughts known

"I'm not having him! I mean look at him, Corn-fed American Joe with less fashion sense than Xander and worse hair than Angel."

"You think I'm an Angel?" Riley asked, now beginning to wonder if he'd left his brain a couple of streets back.

"Not an Angel." Buffy explained. "Angel was a guy I used to date."

She turned to Spike. "Well, you know that Angel is the only other choice if you don't want Riley to do it."

At the mention of his rival's name Spike's jaw clenched tight. "Fine, that's a brilliant plan. I can have Angel as my best man and you can have Dru as your maid of honour."

"You always do that!" Buffy yelled. "I mention Angel's name and you have to bring Drusilla into it as well. I'm starting to wonder if you'd prefer to marry her rather than me. Or maybe you're just going to imagine it's her."

Spike shook his head with remorse and pulled her into his arms again. "Impossible. You're my girl, the only one I want."

"I'm sorry I mentioned Angel." Buffy said, snuggling close to him. "And we don't have to have Riley if you don't want. We'll work something out."

Seeing that they were about to kiss again, and had apparently forgotten he was there Riley cleared his throat loudly. They pulled apart quickly and Spike glared at him.

"Are you still here?"

Ignoring him Riley took Buffy's arm and pulled her to one side. This had to end now before she got hurt.

"Buffy, you can't marry him."

"Why not?" Buffy asked with a small pout, first Giles now Riley. Wasn't anyone out there going to just be happy for them?

"Because...." Riley stumbled to think of a good reason without betraying himself. "I'm pretty sure I saw him on the news. I think he's a member of one of those gangs that's been spotted in town."

Buffy frowned. "Riley, don't be stupid. Spike isn't in a gang. Look, I know why you're doing this. I'm sorry Spike was rude to you and I'm sorry things didn't work out between us. But I love him, and nothing you or anyone else says is going to change that."

"But he's dangerous." Riley persisted. "If you marry him you'll only get hurt, or worse."

"I can take care of myself." Buffy replied. "Besides, Spike can't hurt anyone. I know he looks dangerous but he's not, really."

As she turned to go back to him Riley grabbed hold of her arm. "I can't let you do this Buffy."

Glancing down at the hand clasped around her arm and Buffy decided she'd had enough. It was sweet that Riley had been concerned about her, but now he'd crossed the line.

"Take your hand off me." She hissed.

"No." Riley replied firmly. "I'm not going to let you go off and get yourself killed."

Buffy raised her eyebrows. "You're not going to let me marry the man I love?"

Taking hold of his hand she pried his fingers from her arm and shoved him away, using enough of her strength to send him stumbling backwards but not enough to hurt him. Turning around she made her way back over to Spike.

"We're leaving."

Spike nodded, picking up the bag from where he'd dropped it and not looking back at Riley. He could tell something had happened between them but he didn't know what it was and at the moment he didn't care. She was marrying him and that was all that mattered.

Wrapping one arm around her the two of them disappeared into the night and didn't look back.

* * *

"We're back." Buffy called as she and Spike stepped through Giles' door. "They were all out of Tagas Root at the shop but they'll have more tomorrow."

She stopped as she saw Xander and Anya sat beside Giles on the couch. They two of them stood when they heard her.

"Hey guys." Buffy said with a smile. "What are you doing here?"

"We appear to be having a problem." Giles said from his seat on the couch. "It seems that Willow has done some sort of spell and it is manifesting itself without her even realising it."

"What are you talking about?" Buffy asked, wishing that Giles would learn to use words that were less than 3 syllables.

"Willow came over to see me when you left." Xander said. "She told me that you and Spike should get married, that Giles didn't see anything and that I was a demon magnet. Not long after she left we got attacked by demon after demon. She literally made me a demon magnet, I can't get away from them."

"Well that explains why Giles went blind, but what does it have to do with me and Spike?"

Xander raised an eyebrow. "Buffy, you're engaged to a vampire. One who until recently was trying to kill you. Doesn't that strike you as a little off?"

Buffy shook her head. "I know Spike and I have had our differences in the past, but I love him Xander, and he loves me. Why can't any of you accept that."

"Because it's not real." Giles said with exasperation as he climbed to his feet. "Willow's spell is merely making you think you're in love."

Buffy shook her head again. "No, you're wrong."

Spike looked confused. "It doesn't feel like a spell to me."

"Look, we can't talk about this now." Buffy said before any of the others could reply. "Willow's still out there and if she doesn't know what she's doing she could really hurt someone. We need to find her and get her to fix this."

A general murmur of agreement went through the others and they headed out, Buffy and Spike at the front while Xander and Anya guided Giles at the rear.

* * *

It was only a short distance to the college but Buffy really hoped they didn't run into any of the demons that were after Xander. She could probably manage to take them but with Spike unable to fight and Giles blind it was going to be difficult to avoid casualties.

The building was in sight when she heard the low growl. Demons. Three of them. She should have guessed really, nothing ran smoothly in her life. She felt Spike tense beside her and knew that he was intending on trying to fight.

"Get Giles out of here." She hissed as she formed a fighting stance. "I don't want either of you getting hurt."

"I'm not leaving you." Spike replied firmly, adopting the same pose she was using. "It might hurt like hell but I'll do what I can."

"I can handle this, Spike. Get Giles out of here. You might not care what happens to you but I do, and I care about Giles too. I know I can trust you to keep him safe."

Finally he lowered his fists and nodded. "Right. I'll take the watcher to your room. Hopefully Willow will be there and I can get her to undo this."

With a nod she hurled herself at the first demon, delivering it a series of brutal punches and kicks. Spike almost wanted to stay; he loved watching her fight. Then he remembered what she's asked him to do and moved back to where Xander and Anya were doing their best to keep another of the demons away from Giles. As Spike laid a hand on the watcher's arm he swung around and punched him squarely on the jaw, causing him to stumble back a few steps.

"Bloody hell!" Spike exclaimed. "For a retired librarian you pack a mean punch."

Giles' sightless eyes scanned the area looking for the source of the voice. "Spike?"

He nodded and then realised how pointless that was. "Yeah, it's me. I'm moving over to you now and I'd appreciate it if you didn't hit me again."

Giles nodded and relaxed when he felt Spike's hand on his arm this time. "What's happening?"

"We've got a bit of demon company. Don't worry, Buffy's taking care of it. She told me to take you up to her room and look for Red."

"Alright." Giles said with a nod, knowing that he could trust Buffy to make the right decision. "Let's go."

Since the demons were only interested in getting to Xander they paid no attention to the fact that Giles and Spike were leaving. Instead they tried to get past Buffy, who was determined to stop them.

Halfway down the path Spike glanced over his shoulder to see how Buffy was doing. Two out of the three demons were fighting Buffy and she seemed to be having trouble fending them off. Xander and Anya were still struggling with the third demon. Spike let go of Giles, unable to run away while the woman he loved was fighting for her life.

"Wait here." He instructed, knowing that Giles was of no interest to the demons. Running back over to the main group he wondered what he could do to help without getting himself killed in the process.

"Hey!" He finally yelled, hoping to distract at least one of the demons away from Buffy, allowing her more room to fight. Sure enough one of the demons turned to face him, snarling.

"You get your kicks from fighting a girl do you? How about taking on someone a bit closer to your own size."

With another snarl the demon lunged at him, driving his claws deep into Spike's shoulder. With a cry of pain he was flipped over the demon's head and landed in a heap on the floor.

"Spike!" Buffy cried as she saw the man she loved lying injured on the floor. A cold rage flooded through her and she snapped the neck of the demon she was fighting before throwing herself at the one who had hurt Spike.

Dispatching him as quickly as the first she hurried over to Spike and knelt down beside him. His shoulder didn't seem too bad. Thanks to his vampiric healing the wound had all but stopped bleeding, but his eyes were closed and he was lying still.

"Spike?" She asked fearfully. "Are you ok?"

She sighed in relief when his eyes opened and he looked lovingly up at her. "Did you get him, pet?"

With a smile she leant down. "I got him."

They began to kiss, forgetting that Xander and Anya still had their own demon to fight.

* * *

Willow, her shoulders slumped, made her way slowly back to her dorm. After leaving Xander's she'd spent most of the evening just walking around. She's said some pretty harsh things about her friends; they were only trying to help after all. She'd have to apologise to Xander in the morning and hope that he hadn't told Buffy or Giles what she'd said about them.

As she neared the college she heard a scream ring out and quickly followed the sound of it, hoping she'd be able to help whoever was in trouble.

Reaching a small clearing she froze, a look of horror on her face as she took in the scene before her. Anya was in the process of being throttled by some kind of demon as Xander did his best to pull it away. A little further behind them Buffy and Spike lay on the ground, absorbed in a kiss and apparently oblivious as to what was going on around them. To one side Giles was looking around blankly, his hands stretched out at he tried to feel his way around.

"Willow!" Xander yelled, spotting his friend. "Whatever spell you did. You have to undo it. Now!"

The horror on Willow's face deepened as Xander's words sunk in. She was responsible for this. The cruel words she'd used to Xander had come to pass and now everyone was in trouble. Closing her eyes she focused her energies and began to chant.

A white light flashed and when it cleared the demon Xander and Anya had been fighting was gone. Giles had lowered his hands and blinked as he looked around at his new surroundings. One the ground Buffy and Spike continued to kiss for a spit second before jerking apart. Their eyes met and after a momentary look of initial shock, it was replaced by love.

"Buffy?" Spike asked uncertainly, taking in the fact that she was still lying on top of him.

"Shh." She hushed gently, not wanting this moment to end. She could still remember everything that had happened under the spell, and although she knew that marrying Spike was crazy she couldn't get rid of the feelings she had for him. Maybe they'd been there the whole time and she just hadn't wanted to admit it. All she knew was that two minutes ago she's felt happier and more alive than she could remember feeling since being called as the Slayer. There was no way she was going to just let that go. Looking at Spike she could see that he felt the same way and leant down to kiss him.

Giles, Willow, Xander and Anya all moved to stand around this kissing couple.

"Dear Lord, I almost wish I was blind again." Giles sighed.

"I'm sure Willow can sort that out for you." Xander replied. "And while you're at it Will, any chance you could make me blind too?"

Willow smiled sheepishly, her eyes still fixed on Buffy and Spike. Maybe something good had come out of all this after all.

The End