Title: Fluffy What's My Line (Ep 4 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.

Author's notes: A HUGE thank you to Kristin, Richess and Python_Chick for encouraging me and helping me when the going got tough. Without you I doubt there would be a fic. This one's for you.

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Spike smiled with satisfaction as his minions bundled Angel up and carried him down the length of the tunnel. The key to Dru's cure was now in his hands. All they had to do now was wait for the right time and that would be it. Grinning to himself, he turned and followed his minions back to the factory. Back to Dru.

* * *

Buffy glared at Kendra while Giles studied the manuscript. They knew that Spike was planning on curing Drusilla somehow, that's why he'd stolen the Cross Du Lac, but they still needed to know how exactly it was going to be done before they could even think about stopping him.

"Oh dear." Giles finally murmured.

"Bad news?" Buffy asked.

"Somewhat. I've discovered how Spike intends to cure Drusilla and I've even managed to narrow it down to a few specific locations."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "That's good…right?"

Giles shook his head. "The key to Drusilla's cure is the blood of her Sire."

Buffy visibly paled. "Angel?"

Giles nodded.

Her throat feeling suddenly dry, Buffy tried to swallow.

"This ritual, will it kill him?" she croaked.

Again Giles shook his head. "It's much worse, I'm afraid. The ritual will not only restore the sick vampire to its former being, but the Sire as well."

Buffy's eyes widened as she realized just what Giles was saying.

"If the ritual is performed, Angelus will return."

* * *

Dru beamed with delight as Dalton told them how the ritual worked. Behind her Angel sat bound and gagged, his shirt open and his chest welted with burns from holy water. She turned back to him and placed a kiss on his cheek while he twisted his head to get away from her.

"Soon, my Angel." she purred. "Soon you'll come back to me."

From behind her Spike watched, a frown playing across his features.

* * *

A few hours later, Dru had removed Angel's gag, deciding she'd rather hear him scream while she played. The physical pain hurt Angel badly, but what hurt worse was the knowledge that he was responsible for what Dru had become, and fear of what would happen to Buffy if his demon was released. As the door opened and Spike walked in, Angel knew what he had to do.

Taking in the scene, Spike smirked at Angel. Dru really was an artist when it came to torture; then again she'd had a good teacher. His smiled faded a little.

He placed a kiss on Dru's forehead.

"Having fun, pet?"

Although she kept her eyes on Angel, Dru nodded. "The water makes pretty patterns."

Spike rolled his eyes. He'd only let Dru have Angel because she'd asked; if it had been up to him he'd have just locked him up until it was time for the ritual. "Yeah, pet. It's lovely. Personally though, I'll be happier once you're cured and soul-boy here is back to his evil old self."

Angel raised his head. It was now or never. "You're not the only one who will be happy." he rasped.

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Missing the mayhem and violence, are you? Want rid of that pesky soul?"

Angel shook his head. "Not me…Dru. All she's talked about is how she can't wait for Angelus to get back. You're obviously doing something wrong somewhere."

Dru growled playfully. "Naughty Angel, it's not nice to tease my poor Spike. He does the best he can."

Spike visibly flinched at her words and Angel forced a smile. "But it's not enough, right?"

Dru remained silent.

Spike's hands clenched into tight fists and it was all he could do to stop himself from staking Angel right there. Instead he turned and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

Angel slumped. He had failed. Spike was obviously getting stronger; in the past he would have staked him at the mere mention Dru. Now Buffy was in serious danger, not only from Spike and Dru, but from himself as well.

Dru leaned forward and ran her tongue up his cheek.

"Soon." she whispered.

* * *

"We've got to do something!" Buffy cried frantically as she paced the library.

Kendra's face remained expressionless as she watched Buffy pace. "You must not panic." she said calmly.

Buffy whirled to face her, anger her blazing in her eyes. "Calm? My boyfriend is going to get turned into an evil psycho-killer and you want me to be calm?"

"He is a vampire. He will always be a killer. He is a monster even by their standards."

Buffy shook her head. "No, he's different. I'm not going to let this happen to him."

Willow stepped forward and put her hand reassuringly on Buffy's shoulder. "Why don't you try Angel's apartment? See if he's there."

Buffy stopped. Yes, good. Maybe he'd be there and she could protect him until this was over. They didn't know for sure that Spike had him. She turned back to the group.

"Keep researching; try and find out as much as you can about this ritual, especially where it's going to take place. If Spike already has Angel then we'll need to act fast."

Once she was sure they understood, she turned and bolted from the library

* * *

"ANGEL??"

Buffy burst into the apartment and quickly scanned the area, looking for any sign of him.

Silence.

She checked all the rooms, her panic rising. Finally she wandered back into the main room, feeling dejected.

"He's not here."

Buffy whipped around and her eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw Spike sitting in one of Angel's chairs, casually smoking a cigarette.

"Hello, cutie." he grinned.

She snarled and lunged at him, pinning him to the wall by the throat with one hand and grasping a stake with the other.

"You really are stupid, Spike." she hissed. "You should have realized I was going to show up here."

"Actually I was counting on it." Spike replied calmly.

"Why's that?" Buffy growled. "Thought you'd have another go at me?"

She dropped him and stepped back. "Come on then, kick my ass."

Spike looked at her appraisingly for a moment. "As much as I'd love to, this isn't about you. It's about Angel…well, Dru to be more specific. You see there's this ritual-"

"I know about the ritual, and I know about the cure. Get on with it before I get bored and do what I'm supposed to."

Spike flopped down into the chair and lit another cigarette. "I need your help."

Buffy stared at him for a few seconds and burst out laughing. That had to be the craziest thing Spike had ever said.

"I'm serious. And if you want Angel back in one piece, you'd better bloody listen to me."

That made Buffy stop laughing. How could she have forgotten Angel?

"Alright, talk."

"Well, turns out that if I cure Dru, Angel will go back to the land of the soulless."

"I know all this." Buffy snapped. "Tell me something new."

"If you stopped interrupting every two bloody seconds then I would." Spike yelled in reply. "Anyway, the point is, Dru has got it in her head that she wants Angelus to take up his old role in her life, which pretty much leaves me out in the cold."

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "We've been together for over a century and all of a sudden I'm no better than yesterday's garbage."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "If she's so hooked on Angel, why don't you just dump her?"

Spike looked at her as if she was crazier than Dru. "Because, Slayer, she is everything to me. I'm lost without her. You should know what that feels like."

Buffy's face hardened. "I know what it feels like because YOU kidnapped my boyfriend."

"I did. But you'd have done the same thing."

Buffy opened her mouth to protest but Spike cut her off. "Think about it, Slayer. Supposing Angel was sick, dying maybe, and the only cure was to kill someone you regarded as an enemy anyway, you'd do it, wouldn't you?"

She wanted so badly to say that she wouldn't, that she could never do what Spike was suggesting. But she knew it would be a lie. She sat down beside him.

"What's your plan?"

* * *

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Dalton watched nervously as Drusilla thrashed around on the floor, caught in the throes of one of her visions. Finally she stilled, her soft whimpers being the only sounds she made.

"My Spike plans to spoil my games!" she cried.

A few more minutes passed and she climbed to her feet before wandering towards Dalton. She reached out and ran her fingers over his cheek. "Help me start my party and I'll give you all you can dream and more."

"W-what do you want me to do?" stammered Dalton.

"Help me, help me get my Daddy back. I know you can do it; you're so clever."

Dalton nodded. He was afraid of Spike, but even more so of Drusilla. Spike at least had the sanity needed to be able to reason with. She was just insane.

"I-I'll need to make some preparations."

He scurried away quickly and Dru turned her attention back to Angel.

"You'll be back with me soon," she purred as she raked her fingernails across his already raw chest. She didn't seem to notice, or even care, that he was unconscious and couldn't hear her. "I'll make the Slayer fly away, like a little birdie."

* * *

Buffy and Spike walked through the town in silence. He had fully explained his plan to her. He was going to act like he was going ahead with the ritual as planned, and Buffy would bust in halfway through, 'beat' him, and rescue Angel. He also made it clear that no one should ever find out about his involvement in this. In return he'd promised to take Dru away from Sunnydale and never return. They had gone to the factory first of all but had found it empty. Dru must have gone to the church to prepare. Spike was a little surprised that she had taken the initiative like that, but soon shrugged it off.

They soon arrived at the church and Buffy slowed down. Spike stopped a few feet from the main door.

"Give me a few minutes and then do your stuff."

Buffy nodded but froze when the door to the factory opened. Spike turned and saw the two surviving Tarakan Assassins emerge. He quickly walked back over to Buffy and grasped her by the neck.

"Just play along." he whispered softly. Buffy nodded ever so slightly to let him know that she understood. Spike dragged her over to the others.

"Well," he snapped. "I guess they don't make hired killers like they used to. Managed to get the Slayer by myself so it looks like I won't be needing your services after all."

The two assassins glanced at each other before Patrice, dressed as a cop, pulled out her gun and pointed it at them. Buffy flinched but Spike was unfazed. Buffy silently cursed, he seemed to be forgetting that although Bullets might not be able to kill him, they would certainly do her a lot of harm.

"Don't you get it?" Spike asked. "You're fired. I've done the hard work myself."

The other assassin, Norman Pfister, stepped forward. "I'm afraid it's you that doesn't understand. The Slayer is no longer our sole target."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

Pfister pulled out a stake. "You both are."

Outraged, Spike drew himself upright. "Under whose orders?"

Buffy grabbed his arm. "Now might be a good time to run."

The door to the church opened again and Buffy gasped.

"Angel?"

"That's not Angel." Spike said softly.

Angelus grinned. "Good call, Spikey."

Dru wandered out behind him and he wrapped an arm around her possessively. Spike felt sick to the pit of his stomach. She didn't even look at him; she was so absorbed with Angelus.

"Well," Angelus began. "I see you've met my two newest employees. You have no idea how happy they were to accept my offer of a new contract, especially when I told them how pathetic you both are. I'm mean, Buff, you're boyfriend was locked up, having the living hell tortured out of him, and you were out making nice with another guy."

Buffy felt the tears burning in her eyes. "I-"

"And you," Angelus now addressed Spike. "I don't know how you can even call yourself a vampire after this. Running off to the Slayer as soon as Dru looked the other way. No wonder she wanted someone else. How the hell she put up with your for a century is beyond me."

Spike's whole body tensed with rage and pain, but he said nothing. Angelus turned back to Buffy.

"I feel sorry for you especially. You think soul-boy really loved you? All you were was something to try and convince him he wasn't me. Trust me, I've been trapped with him for eighty years. We've both had better girls than you in the past, never a Slayer though. That's why he was trying so hard to make himself believe he loved you, you represent all that's good and he wanted to try and repress the side of him that was evil. So, how does it feel knowing this?"

Buffy looked at him for a moment before her face hardened.

"The fact that I'm feeling anything at all is a start. Angel wasn't exactly brimming with fire and passion. I don't know what school of loving you went to, but you MUST have gotten an 'F'. I'm just glad to have met someone who actually knows what they're doing."

Before anyone could react, she grabbed Spike and pulled him into a passionate kiss.

Angelus' look of amusement quickly turned into burning rage. He motioned to the two assassins. "Kill them."

Buffy and Spike immediately formed a fighting stance as the two assassins launched themselves at them; Pfister going for Buffy, and Patrice going after Spike.

In a fraction of a second, Spike kicked the gun out of Patrice's hand. Buffy launched herself at Norman only to put her fist through a torso of maggots and grubs. She quickly pulled it out to see her hand covered in the disgusting slimy creatures. Angel looked on in amusement as Buffy shook her hand vigorously, trying to get the crawling bugs that were quickly making their way up her arm off.

Spike punched Patrice in the breadbasket and the 'officer of the law' went down hard into the adjacent church wall, her head slumped on her shoulder Spike turned to her Buffy's cries of terror.

"SPIKE!"

Angelus was so enthralled watching Buffy trying to defend herself from the waving assault of bugs that he hadn't even noticed that Spike was behind him. He turned to see a flurry of blond hair and then a fist that knocked him out cold. Spike stared at his unconscious Sire for a moment. He was ready to pull out his stake and finish him off when he was distracted by Buffy's voice, sounding a little more panicked. He cursed under he breath and ran over to her.

"SPIKE!!"

He turned to see that Norman had totally dissolved and thousands of bugs were crawling up Buffy's legs and arms.

Spike grabbed her leather jacket and ripped it off of her, taking care of the bugs crawling along her arms and shoulders. He stomped on ones trying to crawl toward him. He bent slightly toward Buffy, grabbed her right leg and brushed all the bugs off of it and then did the same with her other leg. Buffy stood watching the them reform into Norman bug by bug. Spike noticed this as well and, reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a cigarette, lit it and tossed it into the pile of bugs. They ignited instantly and Buffy tried not to gag as the smell of charred insects filled the air.

Buffy looked around to assess the current situation. Angel was nowhere in sight and Patrice lay motionless on the floor. She began to brush her legs and her arms feeling the remnants of the bugs on her skin.

"Okay, that was gross. If I didn't hate bugs before, I certainly do now."

"You're fine now, pet, don't worry about…"

"What are we going to do?" Buffy turned toward Spike as she shivered from the night air. He sighed and took off his duster, which flared in the wind. By the time it settled it was too late Spike had his back turned and Buffy only the saw the movement by the time is was too late. Patrice was standing holding a gun pointed at the back of Spike's head.

Buffy looked Spike in the eye and he could sense Patrice's distance. Buffy's eyes helped him follow her calculated movements. Patrice smirked when Buffy saw her but her mistake was taking two small steps closer to Spike. His leg shot backwards kicking her in the stomach. Patrice doubled over but not before getting off a shot. Spike ducked quickly but Buffy's half a second delay caused the bullet to graze her thigh. She cried out in pain and dropped to one knee.

Without a second's hesitation, Spike picked Buffy up in his arms and disappeared into the night.

* * *

It seemed that being shot had had no effect on the rest of Buffy. She wriggled in his arms and yelled at him to put her down throughout the whole journey.

"Slayer, shut up!" he finally snapped. "Unless you want the whole country to know where we are."

Amazingly, she stilled and fell silent.

"Where are we going?" she finally asked softly.

"Sun's nearly up," Spike replied. "We need to lay low until we figure out how to deal with this little situation we've managed to get ourselves into."

Buffy nodded and fell silent once more. Spike shifted her weight in his arms.

"I can walk you know." Buffy said, slightly annoyed that he was treating her like a helpless girl.

"We're nearly there."

Spike opened the door and deposited Buffy on the bed. She sat up and looked around, slightly confused.

"Angel's?"

Spike looked proud of himself. "The wanker's too thick to think about looking in his own home for us. We'll be safe here until we sort this out."

He walked back over to her. "How's the leg?"

She glanced down. "Healed, courtesy of Slayer healing powers."

Spike nodded.

"So, what are we going to do?" Buffy asked.

Spike sighed and sat down on the bed beside her. "Well, the only way we are going to stop the assassins, is by killing the person who owns the contract."

Buffy nodded. "I can do that."

Spike looked a little skeptical. "Are you sure? I can't have you backing out at a crucial moment."

Buffy had her hard, resolved face in place. "Angel is gone, I get that. I need to do this for his sake, to free him from that monster once and for all."

Spike nodded in understanding.

"Spike?" she asked carefully. "What are you going to do about Drusilla?"

A slight look of sadness filled his eyes and he looked away. "She's made it clear where her affections lie."

Buffy almost felt sorry for him. Although she thought she and Angel had been in love, she knew that it was nothing compared to what Spike had had with Dru.

"I'm sorry." she murmured.

He turned back to her. "Why…why did you kiss me back there? At the church?"

Feeling her cheeks flush red, Buffy turned her face away from him.

"Don't know." she muttered.

He reached out and stroked her hair gently, causing her to shiver slightly. "You saved my life back there, pet."

She turned back to face him and gave him a small smile. "Anytime."

He leaned forward and kissed her lips lightly. She froze for a second, part of her telling her to push him away and the rest of her telling her to draw him closer. While she was trying to decide what to do, Spike pulled away and climbed to his feet.

"I'm sorry. That was stupid. Get some sleep, well move out as soon as it gets dark."

"What about you?" Buffy asked, still slightly stunned from the kiss. "Where are you going to sleep?"

"On the couch."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Um, Spike…"

He looked around the apartment and realized what she meant. A table, a few chairs, no couch. "You've got to be bloody kidding me. What the hell is wrong with the idiot? EVERYONE has a couch."

He sighed. "Looks like it's the floor then."

Buffy watched as Spike went through Angel's closets until he found some blankets and a pillow. He began to set up a makeshift bed on the floor for himself.

Once he was settled, she reached out for the lamp.

"Good night, Spike." she called.

"Night, Slayer." came the muffled reply. She switched off the lamp and the apartment was plunged into darkness. Closing her eyes, she quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

It felt like only minutes later when Buffy woke again. She glanced down at her watch and saw that she had only been asleep for a couple of hours. She sighed and sat up; keeping vampire hours wasn't fun. Through the darkness she could make out Spike's form still buried beneath the blankets on the floor. He was moaning in his sleep, tossing and turning.

"Dru…no…don't…"

Buffy bit her lip as she realized he must be dreaming about Dru. She debated whether to wake him or not. He began to thrash more violently beneath the blankets and his cries became more desperate.

"Please…don't…Buffy…run…"

She gasped as she realized it wasn't Dru he was dreaming about; it was her. She climbed out of bed and walked over to him, kneeling at his side.

"Spike?" she whispered.

He continued to toss and turn and was now whimpering in his sleep. Buffy lay down beside him and pulled him into her arms.

"Shh." she whispered gently. "It's okay."

With a small sigh, Spike settled down and snuggled close to her. Buffy stroked his hair until she was sure he was sleeping peacefully. She then closed her eyes and allowed herself to join him.

* * *

Spike awoke with the feeling that something wasn't quite right. He lay there for a few minutes with his eyes closed before curiosity finally got the better of him and he opened them. For once he was glad he was sleeping on the floor; he would have fallen off of the bed otherwise.

Buffy lay asleep beside him, her arms wrapped lightly around his waist and her head resting on his chest. What shocked him more was the fact that he was holding her close to him. Buffy stirred and opened her eyes.

"Hey." she smiled when she saw that Spike was awake.

"Um…Buffy…I'm pretty sure we didn't go to sleep like this earlier on."

A slight look of concern filled her eyes. "You were having a nightmare."

"Oh."

Spike's brow furrowed as he tried to remember what he had been dreaming. Then it hit him. Buffy. He'd dreamed that Dru had been torturing her right in front of him. Laughing and prattling on about her swimming around in his head. And he'd been helpless, unable to move to stop her.

He shuddered at the memory and Buffy reached out to brush her hand over his cheek. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and they both became increasingly aware that they were still holding on to each other. Neither made a move to let go.

Buffy thought about the previous night. How she had kissed Spike to get back at Angel. However, lying here in Spike's arms made her realize something.

"Spike…last night, when I kissed you. It wasn't just because of Angel; I did it because I wanted to."

Spike looked surprised to say the least. "Why?"

"Because you showed me that vampires without souls are still capable of deep love. Kendra, the other Slayer, said something to me yesterday; that Angel would always be a monster. I think she may have been right. All Angel's soul did was hold him back, keep the demon repressed. But you, you're different."

She leaned over and kissed him, this time Spike responded and for a few moments they were lost in each other. Finally they parted and smiled at each other.

"I guess we should go fight the bad guys." Spike said eventually.

Buffy nodded and they both got up, now fully prepared to do what needed to be done.

* * *

The couple wandered Sunnydale's streets, waiting for Angelus to make his move. They knew they could search forever and not find him, he wouldn't be found until he wanted to be.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, they rounded a corner and found themselves facing about ten Tarakan Assassins, headed by Patrice. She sneered at the sight of the vampire and the Slayer together, knowing that this time there would be no escape.

Buffy and Spike glanced at each other. They knew there was no way they were going to be able to beat such a big group. They turned and ran.

"We need to get inside." Buffy panted as they ran, the assassins in hot pursuit.

They found themselves by the old church that had been used for the ritual the night before. Spike grabbed Buffy's arm and pulled her inside.

"We should be okay in here for now."

From outside the lock of the door clicked.

"Or maybe not."

A figure stepped from the shadows.

"Glad you could make it." Angelus grinned.

Drusilla stepped out from behind him and latched onto his arm.

"A happy reunion." she smiled cruelly

* * *

Spike stepped forward, his eyes locked on the two. "Well, I'm glad we're all together. Means we can get this over with quickly."

Angelus shook his head. "I beg to differ. It's going to be far from quick for either of you. By the end of the night you'll be begging for death before it's even close."

Buffy glared at him. "The only begging you're going to be hearing is your own."

With a snarl she hurled herself at Angel and Dru launched herself at Spike. The fight was on.

Both fights were evenly matched. Buffy had always known that Angel was strong, and now that Dru had been restored to health she was having no difficulties in fending Spike off.

Angelus was mildly surprised to see that Buffy wasn't pulling any punches. She dealt him a swift kick to the chest, which sent him stumbling backwards. It would have knocked the breath out of him, had he needed to breathe. As it was, he quickly recovered himself and swept her legs out from underneath her, sending her crashing to the ground.

"Come on, Buffy." he sneered. "Give it to me good."

She jumped to her feet and launched a fresh attack.

"You've been living a lie, my Spike." Dru snarled as she punched him. "You say you're a vampire, but you're not. I can see her dancing all around in your head. The Slayer."

"So what if she is?" Spike snapped as he dealt her a roundhouse kick. "You made it clear you prefer that poufy wanker to the bloke who has looked after you for a hundred years. I think it's fair to say things are over between us."

Dru growled and threw herself bodily at him, wrestling him to the ground.

"You sure didn't waste any time did you, Buff?" Angelus let out a feral growl. "I can smell him all over you. Maybe when I'm bored of this, I'll turn you; make you mine forever."

"Not a chance." Buffy spat.

Angelus shrugged. "Figured you'd say that. Guess I'll just have to settle for killing you instead."

He kicked her in the stomach and while she was doubled over, he grabbed her by the throat, lifted her and threw her with all his might into the large church organ, which stood nearby. The sound of wood cracking and splintering filled the church. Buffy climbed groggily to her feet, still dazed from the blow.

A low groan echoed through the church and a look of horror filled Spike's eyes. He kicked Dru off of him and used every ounce of vampiric speed he had to rush over to Buffy and push her aside just as the organ collapsed. An enormous crash resounded through the church and everyone was forced to stop as the air was completely obliterated by a thick cloud of dust. Once the air cleared, Buffy gave a cry of horror. Where Spike had been stood only seconds ago, there was now a huge pile of rubble.

"SPIKE!" she screamed. "NO!"

As Buffy frantically clawed at the wreckage, Angelus calmly picked up a torch and set fire to the nearby curtains. He wrapped his arm around Dru's waist and guided her to the door, banging on it and barking at the assassins to release the lock. Once they were outside in the cool night air, they turned back to the flaming church and smiled.

"Now that we've rid ourselves of that little problem, what's say we get out of this god-awful town?" Angelus purred as he pulled her closer. "We could go to Spain, you always loved the bullfights."

"Yes, my Angel. I'd like that."

"Alright then, baby. Let's go. Goodbye, Sunnydale. Hello, the rest of the world."

* * *

Tears were now pouring down Buffy's face and she was starting to cough from the smoke, but she wouldn't stop. She'd managed to move most of the larger pieces of rubble; she knew she couldn't be much further away from finding Spike. The heat, however, was growling more intense and she speeded up her efforts. Fear gnawed at her heart as he realized just how much wood was among the debris. Supposing the reason she hadn't found him yet was because…no, she couldn't think like that, not now.

After what felt like hours, but was in fact only minutes, she uncovered a hand. Almost weeping with relief, she continued to dig until she had fully uncovered him. He was unconscious, but not dust. The heat was unbearable now. They had to get out of there, and fast. She stood up and scanned the area; walls of flames surrounded them on every side, including blocking off the doorway. Then through the smoke she saw it, a trapdoor leading to the underground part of the church. She just prayed it wasn't locked.

As the trapdoor opened easily she thanked God for at least helping her out with that. Once the door was open, she ran back to Spike, picked him up as carefully as she could and carried him down the stairs, making sure the door banged shut behind her. She gently set Spike down on the floor and took of her jacket, pillowing it beneath his head. Lighting some candles, she had a look around at the area that was going to be their home for at least the next few hours. There was nothing much to see; it was just like a regular crypt really. Bare walls and floor with a few stone tombs dotted around. Not the most lavish of places, but it would do. She turned her attention back to Spike, kneeling at his side and assessing his injuries. Aside from a few superficial cuts and being unconscious, he didn't seem to be hurt too badly. She wouldn't know for sure until he woke up though. She sat down beside him, there was nothing to do now but wait.

Despite the fact that there was a blazing fire burning above their heads, it was amazingly cold and Buffy soon found herself shivering. She glanced down at her coat beneath Spike's head. She really didn't want to make him any more uncomfortable, but she wasn't going to do him any good if she froze to death. Maybe they could reach a happy medium. She lifted his head, placed it on her lap and put her jacket back on. There, one warm Buffy and one semi-comfortable Spike.

She glanced down at the vampire in her lap. She'd read somewhere that when people were unconscious they could still hear what was going on around them.

"Spike?" she began, faltering a little. "I know you can't tell me if you can hear me or not, but I'm going to talk anyway. You know I can't resist the sound of my own voice."

She gave a small laugh.

"And I know you're a good listener, you proved that last night. I don't know anyone who would have listened to me pouring my heart out when they had lost someone they loved too. You're a very special vampire, Spike, that's one of the things I love about you."

She gasped when she realized what she had just said and glanced down at Spike, almost hoping that her words might have shocked him into waking up. He continued to lie limp and motionless in her arms. She leant down and kissed his forehead.

"You're going to be okay, I promise."

* * *

They had been stuck in the church for almost 24 hours. Spike was still unconscious and Buffy was getting increasingly worried. He should have woken up by now. She eased herself out from under him and decided to check on the fire situation. Placing her hand on the trapdoor she found it to be cool; that was a good sign. She carefully opened it and gazed in amazement at the charred remains of the once ancient building. Still, she had more important things to do than stand there like an idiot. She walked back over to Spike and carefully picked him up.

"Let's get out of here." she whispered gently before carrying him out of the ruins and into the cool, fresh air of Sunnydale. She paused for a moment, not sure what to do next. There was only one place she could think of to take him. She began to walk.

* * *

As she opened the door to Angel's apartment, the irony was not lost on her that just last night their roles had been reversed and Spike had been the one doing the carrying. She set Spike down on the bed and removed his coat and his boots. Aside from that she didn't know what else to do. She sat down beside him and brushed his hair back from his forehead.

"Please wake up, Spike. I need you, please come back to me."

Yet again someone up there must have heard her because at that very moment Spike stirred and moaned. Finally his eyes opened and focused on Buffy gazing down at him with concern. He smiled; she was alive. He'd saved her.

"Are you ok?" he whispered hoarsely.

Buffy nodded, tears in her eyes. "What about you?"

Spike swallowed hard. "My legs. Can't feel them."

Buffy's eyes went wide with shock and horror and she realized what he was telling her. "Not at all? Can you feel this?"

She pinched his leg and he shook his head. She felt the tears begin to roll down her cheeks.

"Can you move them at all?" she asked hopefully.

A look of total concentration filled his face as he focused all his energy on trying to move his legs just a little. Finally he gave up, it was time to face facts; he was crippled. Buffy seemed to have already realized this as she now had her face buried in her hands and was sobbing.

"It's…all…my…fault…" she choked.

Spike shook his head and pulled her into his arms. "Wouldn't have it any other way, pet. I'm just glad you're in one piece. Besides, vampire healing powers, I'll be up and about in no time."

Buffy looked up at him and smiled. He'd gone through all this for her.

"I love you." she whispered gently. A startled Spike leaned forward and kissed her.

"I love you, too."

* * *

~Epilogue~

"Spike?" Buffy called as she entered the apartment after her nightly patrol. It was all part of her routine now. It had been a month since Spike had been hurt and every night it was the same. During the day she went to school as normal and Spike slept, allowing his healing powers to work their magic. In the evening she would patrol and afterwards would visit Spike for a few hours, just spending time with him and bringing him fresh blood when he needed it.

As she stepped inside, she looked slightly puzzled at the apartment lit warmly by candles with music playing softly in the background.

"Spike?" she called again, wondering what on earth he was doing.

"Hello, cutie." said a soft voice behind her. She smiled, turning slowly, and then she almost fainted from shock. Spike was standing in the doorway. Standing, unaided. Her smile widened and silent tears of joy began to roll down her cheeks.

"Happy to see me, pet?" he asked with a grin.

It was all she could do to nod as he took her hand and pulled her into the middle of the room, holding her close to him. Slowly they began to sway in time to the music.

"I had to get better, just so I could do this." he whispered.

Buffy smiled and rested her head on his chest. She wished they could spend all night like this. Clearly, however, Spike had other ideas. Once the song had finished, he guided her over to the bed, pulling her into a kiss as he did so. Buffy responded happily, she knew this was right, she felt it in her heart.

"I love you, Spike." she whispered breathlessly. "I want you."

Spike continued to kiss her whilst easing her top over her head. She worked at buttons on his shirt and soon they were making love. It was more perfect than either of them could even think of describing. It was heat, passion, love and tenderness all rolled into one moment.

Afterwards they slept peacefully in each other's arms, happy and content.

The End