Chapter 18:

Giles woke up early the next morning to the sound of his phone ringing and picked up. It was Buffy. He knew something was wrong because it was eight in the morning and Buffy didn’t usually drag herself out of bed until at least twelve!

“Hey Giles, you have some time to research something for me?”

“Yes, of course, what is it Buffy?”

“Last night at William’s…at the spot,” she couldn’t even say the word grave; it sounded so impersonal! “I got this rush of pain and a whole lot of emotions kinda flowed through me, only they weren’t my own. The pain is gone. It left after a few moments but the emotions keep coming back.”

“I see.”

“Are you cleaning your glasses?”

“Yes.”

Buffy giggled at that and Giles was only too happy to hear that sound. He knew it would take more than a week for her to get over William’s passing but laughter was a definite step in the right direction.

“So you think you can look it up for me?”

“I’ll get right on it Buffy and no worries! We’ll figure this out soon!”

“Thanks Giles, bye!”


Giles hung up the phone and headed for his books.











Willows eyes widened when Oz walked through the door of his room, slowly setting the crossbow down. “Where were you?”

“We need to talk.” Oz said in a tired voice, “but can we sleep first?”

Willow nodded her response. Oz climbed into bed next to her and pulled her close. ‘Maybe things aren’t that bad after all’ she thought as she drifted to sleep in her lover’s arms.







Jenny walked down the hall and into Spike’s room. She smiled fondly when she saw him sleeping and thought back to the conversation they’d had in the early morning hours.



“Halloween!” Spike almost yelled.

“What happened on Halloween?” Jenny asked confused.

“I turned into my costume. I was a vampire.” They both paused a moment, the irony not lost on either one of them. “Anyway, when I was all fangy I bit Buffy. I claimed her!”


Jenny gasped. Her son had taken a wife and even though, it was in a demon sense and because of a weird spell, he hadn’t told her! She swatted him upside the head.

“What the bloody hell was that for?” he growled.

“For not telling me you got married!” she chided.

“Soddin’ hell mum, I turned human again not long afterwards which pretty much annulled the marriage…until now!”

Jenny smiled. “I guess the ‘till death do us part’ section of the marriage doesn’t count in this case, huh?”

Spike growled and Jenny raised her hands in surrender. “Alright I’m done teasing, relax,” she said lovingly and sat down to listen to the rest of his rant.

“Anyway, I have no ties to my sire. Well I do…I mean I can kind of feel her and I know our ‘family history’ but that’s it. I don’t have the love for her or the respect that I should. And she said she didn’t make me, she only brought me back.”

He slumped down in the chair next to his mum and put his head on the table. She started running her hands over his hair absentmindedly as she thought of what it all meant.

“Holy shit!”

“Watch your mouth mum, it’s unbecoming.” Spike teased.

Jenny smiled and started to speak. “You where a vampire on Halloween and now your sire is telling you she didn’t make you!”

“Um yeah, I just told you that but thanks for the recap.”

“Stop being sarcastic, William.” At his low growl Jenny sighed, “Stop being sarcastic SPIKE. What I’m trying to tell you is that Dru didn’t make you, the spell on Halloween did!”


“What the bloody hell are you spouting off about? I was human a half hour later!”

“I know sweetie but nonetheless, a demon was created for you and only you. It wasn’t a regular demon; it was a magickal one designed solely for you as its vessel. So when Dru turned you, the same demon that was made for you that night was put back into you!”

“Bloody hell!” Spike whispered and then grinned like the cat that ate the canary. “I’m a special boy!”

“We still don’t know what this means, Spike. It could definitely be why you aren’t like the other vampires. It could also be why you don’t have the same kind of blood lust. Strong magicks created your demon to adapt to living in a still human body that was only mystically changed into a vampire. Underneath the spell you still had a beating heart and you where still human so the demon was made to fit those qualities.”

“So maybe I don’t need blood?”

“I doubt that but it probably means you can go longer without it and the thirst won’t drive you to kill innocent people!”

“What about bad people?” Spike asked with a smirk.

Jenny gave him the evil eye and he shut his gob. Maybe she was right though. The little bit of blood he’d taken from her earlier had kept him almost full until even now. Admittedly, he was a little peckish but it wasn’t consuming him or anything.

While he’d been lost in thought Jenny had walked to the fridge and pulled out a bag, its liquid red contents making Spike growl. She tossed him the bag and he tore into it. Even if he wasn’t all that hungry, you couldn’t put a bag of blood in front of him and expect him to deny it!

When he was done, he smiled and wiped his mouth. “What was that? Wasn’t too bad.”

“Pig’s blood.”

He began to gag and Jenny laughed. “This is just like the time you ate spinach and loved it but, once I told you what it was, you made yourself throw up.”

Spike glowered at her and bared his fangs but she just smiled and ignored it. “I’m gonna go to bed.”

He walked to his old room and left a smug faced Jenny to herself, smiling after him.




She was brought out of her reverie when she heard Spike start to mumble.

When she stepped closer to his bed the word Buffy could be heard tumbling from his lips.

Jenny sighed and prayed to a god that now hated her baby to make his unlife as easy as possible on him and to give him back the only thing he’d wanted in life—Buffy!

She walked down the stairs and went in search of some old books her uncle had given her. She wanted to see if she was right about her theory on what Spike really was and what that meant for him!

 

Chapter 19:

Willow woke up nestled in Oz’s arms and sighed contentedly before reality came crashing back. She looked up at him and looked into his eyes.

“What’d you wanna talk about Willow?” he asked nervously. That in itself was way too strange for Willow’s liking. Oz had one emotion–casual.

“Why have you been hiding from me, Oz? Have I done something wrong? Are you not in love with me anymore?”

“Baby no! I haven’t been meaning to hide from you and I still love you more than anything…it’s just that I’ve been going through some weird changes lately.”

Willow’s eyes widened. “What do you mean ‘changes’?”

He rolled up his shirtsleeve and for the first time Willow saw a fading scar. “What happened?”

“My cousin Jordy bit me while I was babysitting a few months ago.”

“And?” Willow prompted.

“I caught something from his saliva.”

“What did you catch, Oz?” Willow asked, her voice taking on a tone of concern.

“Lycanthropy.”

“Oh…should I go get tested?”

“It’s not an STD, sweetie.”

“I know but…” Willow almost gave in to continuing their ridiculous conversation but stopped herself as the clues from the past few days started coming together. “Is this why you’ve been hurting me? Ditching me at the last minute? Was that you howling in the basement last night?”

“Yes, yes and yes.” Oz responded solemnly, looking her in the eye.

“I see…you’re a jackass, Oz!”











Giles sighed in frustration and rubbed his temples. He’d been researching what the cause to Buffy’s “not so Buffy” emotions could be and it all boiled down to one of two things. It was either a spell or a claim. The spell theory was quickly squashed when he performed a spell of his own and concluded that Buffy was not under any magickal influences. A claim was much harder to track considering the fact that for it to exist, she would’ve had to be bitten by a vampire. To his knowledge, that had never happened.

He picked up his phone and dialled Jenny’s number, reasoning that her background in gypsy magicks might prove helpful in figuring out what was going on with his slayer. He found himself blushing as he waited for her to pick up, thoughts of the other night fresh in his mind.



Jenny was just about to try another book for answers, since the previous one had offered nothing about Spike’s condition, when the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Jenny, it’s me.”

Jenny smiled wide, the sound of his voice melting her and making her giddy…and playful. “Who’s me?” she asked coyly.

“Oh how silly of me…it’s Rupert. Rupert Giles.” He cleared his throat, embarrassed.

“The Rupert Giles that recently bedded me?”

At his choking cough Jenny started to giggle, she could practically see him wiping his glasses. “Easy Rupert, I’m teasing.”

“Quite funny, Jenny.” The smile was obvious in his voice but Jenny could hear the worry in his tone as well.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Buffy.”

“Is she okay?”

“Yes and no. It’s rather complex actually. She told me the other day that she was experiencing feelings, emotions actually, and a physical pain and she was certain that they were not her own. I’ve been researching and all these apparent symptoms, for lack of a better word, can only mean one thing.”

Jenny’s heart was threatening to thump a hole straight through her chest.

“And what’s that?” she asked, praying that his concern for Buffy would be enough to keep him from noticing the panic in her voice.

“A claim.”

“But Buffy hasn’t been bitten, has she?” ‘I have to stop with these lies’ Jenny scolded herself unable to find the strength to confess everything she’d been hiding.

“Not to my knowledge but stranger things have happened in Sunnydale.”

“Yes, stranger things have happened.” Jenny whispered and trailed off.

“Do you think we could meet up later? Perhaps put our heads together and figure this thing out before it happens again and catches Buffy by surprise in the middle of her duties?”

“Yes, of course. I’ll stop by later tonight. Goodbye, Rupert.”

“Goodbye, Jenny.”

When he heard the dial tone he replaced the receiver and sighed. She had sounded strained, tired.

He put his glasses back on and returned to his books. Perhaps he was wrong; maybe, he had simply missed something.





“How do you think they’d take it?”

Jenny gasped and whirled around to see Spike standing in the shadows of the living room.

“I don’t know.” She admitted and went back to her books when Spike walked back up the stairs to his bedroom. It was still too early for him to be up.









Buffy went to her basement to work out after the long shower she’d taken. Giles was researching, Willow was with Oz and Xander and Anya were…well, she didn’t want to think of what they were doing but she knew they were busy.
It was the middle of the day and she needed to vent but the sunlight filtering through the small windows in her workout area confirmed that unless she was ready to wait a few hours to unwind, the punching bag would have to do.

She wrapped her tiny hands and stretched for a few moments before she started to punch. Once she started though, the rest of the world went away and she got lost in the feel of letting go.

With every punch she saw his smile, his eyes, his body. With every punch she could hear him tell her she was beautiful, that he loved her, that she was the one. With every punch she felt a second of happiness and for that alone she kept punching long after her arms started feeling sore from overuse.








“Why am I a jackass?”

“For not telling me sooner. Did you think I would care? Am I that shallow?”

“No baby, you’re not but I was scared, Willow. This wasn’t about you it was about me! I’m a werewolf. Has it crossed your mind that I might need time to adjust?”

Willow looked away. He didn’t get it. “Oz, if you love me, and I mean really love me, then it isn’t just about you. It’s about the both of us. You’re my world and I would never keep anything from you. I guess the same doesn’t go for you.”

A tear slid down her cheek and Oz could feel his own eyes water. “I’m sorry that you feel that way but I had no intention of hurting you. I was gonna tell you…when I was ready.”


She knew that he loved her and that he’d only been trying to protect her but it still hurt. “No more secrets?” she sniffed.

“No more secrets, baby.” Oz confirmed and pulled her close.

“Good,” she mumbled into his arm “Because I’m gonna need your help with something.”

“What’s that?”

“Buffy’s Christmas gift. It’s next week and I still don’t have everything I need.”

“What are you getting her?”

“I’m not so much ‘getting’ her as I am helping her find something. Me, you, Xander and Anya are going to help her find some peace.”

Oz tensed. He didn’t like the sound of this but he knew that Willow was a cautious person. “How do you plan on doing that?”

“A spell to take away her pain.”

Or maybe she wasn’t. “Willow don’t you think that’s bordering on unethical. She needs time to grieve. You can’t just poof the death of a loved one away.”

“No, I know it’s what she wants! Can’t you see how dead she is inside? I won’t be doing anything wrong really. I’ll just be helping her by letting her see the good instead of the bad.”

“I still don’t think it’s right Willow.”

She narrowed her eyes. “I’ll do it with or without your help, Oz.”

“Without.” He said simply and she stood and walked to his door.

“How can you be so selfish? She needs us more than ever to help her get past this and you won’t help.”

“I’m not the selfish one, Willow. You’re the one who wants to use forces you can’t control to make your friend all bubbly with the snap of your fingers when instead you should be there for her. Listening, talking, comforting, reminiscing! Not running around and trying to do things the fast and easy way.”

Oz sighed and watched her turn to leave. He didn’t know if he would have a girlfriend after this. She was really pissed. He would talk to Giles about it tomorrow, and they’d have a week to try and talk her out of it. He loved her so much but sometimes she just didn’t think clearly. Odds were she’d never forgive him fully for today but he understood that the cost would be worth it. Who knows what a spell could do to Buffy, or the ones performing it if they weren’t one hundred percent prepared?

She slammed the door behind her and walked out of the house. ‘Change of plans’ she thought to herself as she headed to Xander’s. There was no doubt in her mind that Oz would go to Giles for help to stop her from going through with the spell. They would have to do it tonight.


 

Chapter 20:
Xander and Anya fidgeted nervously while Willow set up the necessary twenty black candles around them in a circle.


“Correct me if I’m wrong, and I don’t think I am, but isn’t black of the dark magick variety Wills?” Xander half teased.

“Yes, but it’s important for the spell. It’s ninety-nine percent white and a teeny one percent dark. No worries, I can handle it guys.

“It looks more like twenty percent dark to me, seeing as how there’s twenty black candles and all.” Anya added.

Willow huffed angrily. “Are you guys with me or not?”

“Easy Willow, we’re just curious about the effects it’s gonna have.” Xander said with his hands raised as if in surrender.

“Xander, the effects it’ll have will be good for Buffy, I promise. I’ve explained it over and over to you guys. You have to trust me on this.”

“Why?” Anya quipped.

“Why what?” Willow asked aggravated.

“Why do we have to trust you?”

“Because I’m Buffy’s best friend and I know what’s best for her.”

“Doesn’t Buffy know what’s best for Buffy?” Anya shot back.

Willow sat down opposite them; they formed a triangle inside the circle. “No. Her grief is blinding her. We have to do what she can’t. Make her see the good again. Now are you ready?”


Willow reached for their hands and began to chant once they had all closed their eyes.

“I implore you goddess of life, hear my plea,
Show my friend what she can’t see.”

At this, Willow placed a picture of Buffy in the middle of them and lit a red candle at the same time.

“Take the pain caused by grief,
Give to her your kind relief.”

Willow took the jar of herbs she’d mixed for the spell and poured it over the picture. The red candle flame started to jump and dance as if alive and Willow’s head whipped back, staring at the ceiling.

“Make it so she cannot feel,
And with my blood I seal our deal.”

She poked the tip of her finger with a small blade and one, single drop of blood splashed onto the picture before everything went dark.


Xander and Anya’s eyes had snapped open at the mention of Willow’s blood and a moment later the candles had blown out. Only there was no breeze in the room save the one that seemed to have appeared around Willow. Her hair blew and whipped across her face and she looked at them with black eyes.

“So mote it be!” she screamed before collapsing.










Buffy had been walking through the cemetery on patrol when it hit her. She’d been forcing back her tears for the millionth time that week when all of a sudden she didn’t have to. There were no tears that needed to be shed.


She sat on the grass and put her hands on her head, breathing deeply. Something was off here…this definitely didn’t feel right. The pain was gone. But so was the love she had once had, as well as her hope and her anger, her fire and her joy.

As Buffy stood again she let out a growl. Her now amber eyes scanned the cemetery while she sniffed the air, attempting to pick up a familiar scent. She didn’t know exactly who she was searching for, only that there was burning desire in her to find the scent she knew she’d recognize.



Spike shot out of his bed and threw on the clothes his mum had washed and put out for him. He didn’t know why but his demon’s instincts where taking over, his human emotions getting pushed to the sidelines. With a snarl he raced to the graveyard with a single purpose. He had to find his mate.




Xander had panicked and phoned Giles. After explaining the situation, Giles asked in an eerily calm voice what words she had used for the incantation. Xander couldn’t remember it perfectly but explained what he could.

“I don’t know Giles, she started talking about her blood sealing a deal so that Buffy couldn’t feel anymore. It was to take away her pain…we thought it’d be a good thing Giles…”

“You idiots!” Giles roared, cutting Xander off. “Tampering with forces the likes of which you can’t even begin to conceive seemed like a good idea? How could you? You can’t possibly comprehend what you could have done to Buffy. Because of you she could be hurt now or possibly even dead. How is that a good thing?”

“We didn’t think….”

“Of course you didn’t. And am I to assume our friend the witch was behind this?”

“Yes.” Xander whispered as he looked over taking in the sight of a still unconscious Willow straddled by Anya, who was repeatedly slapping the crap out of her face in an attempt to wake her.

“I’ll be right over. I have to know what spell she used in order to reverse its effects. Do try not to cause any further trouble in the meantime.”

Giles hung up the phone and raced to Jenny’s, quickly filled her in and together they went to Xander’s. Jenny had heard Spike wake up with a growl, her maternal instinct telling her that he was going to Buffy. She knew that after tonight her secret wouldn’t be a secret any longer.


After Giles put Willow on the bed, he picked up the book that had been lying next to her.

“Oh dear God,” he whispered.

Jenny took the book from him and gasped. Seeing Anya and Xander’s looks, she explained.

“You haven’t only taken away her pain, you’ve taken away everything that made her human. You’ve put her into a feral, animalistic state. She’s primal.”

Fear clenched Jenny’s heart like a vice. There was a primal slayer somewhere out there with her son, the vampire. She looked at Giles panic stricken and they started to research a reversal spell. The only thing keeping her sane was the hope that the claim would save her boy until they found a spell to fix this.

A thought hit Jenny then and she relaxed somewhat. Perhaps Spike was as affected by the spell as Buffy was. Their claim was stronger than any she’d ever heard of. For the same claim to exist twice with only one bite was nothing less than a miracle, so maybe he would be fine against the slayer. If she was primal there was a good chance he was too. She just prayed to the god and goddess that they wouldn’t tear each other apart.







Buffy tensed, turning slowly and letting a small warning growl vibrate through her. She lowered herself to the ground, one hand in front of her, the muscles in her legs tightly coiled and ready to pounce.

The person in front of her stood deathly still. She approached him slowly and made her way up his body noting that he made no effort to stop her. She sniffed his neck and snarled. He responded with a low guttural growl that vibrated within her as she buried her face in his neck. This was the one she’d been looking for–this was her mate.

Spike had managed to stay still until he felt her skin make contact with his. Her touch on his neck sent electric shocks through his whole body. He scooped her up into his arms and kicked open the door of the nearest crypt. All he knew was her, that she was his. There were no tears of joy at being reunited, no happy smiles or soothing words of love and devotion. There was only need. Pure, basic and in its rawest form demanding to be met.

 

Chapter 21:

The air in the crypt was stale, the walls and floor littered with leaves and
dirt. The only witnesses were the friendly, cherub-like angels at each
corner, looking on impassively at the vampire and his mate.

Spike set Buffy down only to grab her by the back of her head, smashing
their lips together in a passionate kiss. He moved forward until her back
came into contact with one of crypt walls. Every part of Spike’s body was
pressing against her with enough force to break a regular human being’s
bones. He would climb inside of her if he could, just to be closer, to feel
every inch of her inside and out.

With the solid support at her back, Spike ground his erection
into her, swiveling his hips a bit, so that she felt each movement on her
throbbing clit. She mewled into his mouth, trying to maneuver her body in
an attempt to get more contact with his erection but he kept her pinned with
his strong frame. His tongue began a slow exploration of her mouth, seeking
out every crevice and sweet spot before sliding over her own tongue and
massaging it. Spike pulled back a little, wanting to taste every part of her
body but noticed that Buffy wasn’t done with him yet.

She curled her fingers around his head and drew him back to her
mouth, relishing his sweetness on her tongue. There was no doubt in her mind
that he was the only one she would ever want, the only one that would ever
feel like home. She felt him reach around and grab the hand holding his
head in place. She tried to fight him as he held her wrists in one hand
firmly against the wall but his demon gave a low snarl, letting her know who
was in charge. The slayer in her gave a token protest but recognized
the effects of the claim and remained quiet.

With deliberate strokes, his tongue made its way slowly down her neck. He
pulled, licked and nibbled, concentrating on the spot where her pulse was
the strongest until she felt like she was going to faint from the pleasure.
Each time his tongue skimmed over his bite marks, it felt like there was a
direct connection to her drenched pussy. Each pass caused a new flow of
wetness until the crotch of her jeans was soaked through.

Still keeping her wrists in one hand, he grabbed her top with his other
hand, tearing it from her body in one fluid motion. His hand came up to
grab her breasts, twisting and pulling her nipples roughly. Before he could
even think about reigning in his demon’s desire, his mouth left the
sanctuary of her neck and his fangs pierced one pert breast. Buffy’s primal self
whimpered in delight as his strong pulls of her blood sent her dangerously close to
what she knew would be the most unbelievable orgasm of her life.

Buffy knew she wouldn’t last much longer like this. The temptation to let
him continue seeing to her was powerful but she was also certain that the
desire to have his cock buried inside of her was something that wouldn’t go
away. In a flash, she wrenched her wrists out of his grip and turned them both
around to a position that nearly mirrored the one he had held her in. His
demon tried to assert its dominance but that only succeeded in getting him
slammed again, this time even harder, against the crypt wall. Inwardly, his
demon was proud of having chosen a mate who was his equal. Yes, she was the
fucking and the fighting all in one magnificent blond package.

Buffy reached down to his waistband, undid his belt and yanked his jeans
down in the blink of an eye. Before he could even protest, she had climbed
up his body and positioned herself right above the tip of throbbing cock.
As she held herself there, he could feel her wetness dripping down on him.
He looked up meeting her amber eyes with his and cocked his head, confusion
and lust written on his face. In that moment, he realized why she paused.
She wanted to make sure her demon, her mate knew exactly who was about to
fuck him into oblivion.

Without any warning, she impaled herself on his thick cock. Spike’s eyes
rolled in the back his head, his howl piercing the quiet of the cemetery.
She raised and lowered her body with complete abandonment grinding her hips
at the end of each downward motion. Spike had never felt anything like it.
All he could do was stand there, his hands grabbing her ass hard enough to
leave bruises, spreading her open a little further and allowing him even
more access. Her heat was consuming him, making him feel like he would
burst into flames at any moment. Her pussy was unbearably tight and
squeezed him until he was closer to cumming than he had intended.

Before any more of his control slipped away, Spike decided that he’d had enough of letting her control the situation. With a roar, he pushed off from the wall, carried
her over to the sarcophagus in the middle of the crypt and flung her down on
it. Buffy whimpered at the loss of contact with her mate, but soon decided
it was worth it as she watched Spike divest himself of his jeans and prowl
up her body with panther like grace. He rammed his cock into her as he
wound his hand in her hair, fisting it and wrenching her head to the side.
He held himself up with his other arm and watched his golden goddess. Her body
shaking, her breasts quivering as he thrust into her, her head falling to one
side, the long column of her neck exposed for him. Her mouth formed a small
“o” as she grunted and panted with each one of his strokes.

He knew she was close, could feel her thighs trembling around him, the walls
of her pussy throbbing around his dick, desperate for release. He reached
down and found her engorged clit. He held it between his thumb and
forefinger and pinched it. Her scream echoed in the crypt, punctuated by
the feel of her pussy contracting around him. It was too much for him to
last. He growled and tore at her neck with his fangs, the sweet taste of
her blood flowing over his tongue and down his throat. He shot his dead
seed deep inside of her, pulling at her blood in time with the spasms of his
dick as he continued to come.







Giles held in his hands the last book that could possibly hold the answer to undoing Willow’s spell. She still had not woken up. She only mumbled in her sleep but the words were unintelligible. Not to mention they’d had no luck in tracking Buffy and had no way of knowing if she was okay. The gang was more on edge with every passing second for fear of what was happening to both of their friends.


Jenny was continuously applying a wet cloth to the witch’s forehead to try
and hold back the fever that threatened to consume her; while Anya and Xander
were going through books they’d already read in the hope that perhaps they’d
just missed something.

After a few more weary moments Giles announced excitedly, “I’ve got it!”


Everyone stopped what they where doing to look at him while he explained
what they needed to do.

His eyes skimmed the page for a few more seconds and he cleared his throat.
“It would seem that the spell Willow used was one to improve Buffy’s life. In
order to reverse it we must to go to a place of death. The cemetery I’d presume.
Once there, all we have to do is say a few words and end it with saying ‘undone’.
Xander you stay here with Willow, make sure she’s okay, the rest of you will come with me.”

Xander nodded as the others followed the watcher out into the night. Jenny
prayed that her son was okay while Giles prayed that the girl who was so
much like a daughter to him was still in one piece.


They raced through the cemetery gates and found an open area in which to stand. Giles held the book in one hand as he began chanting the required words while Anya and Jenny stood nervously on either side of him.









Spike pulled out of Buffy with a groan, leaning forward to rest his forehead on hers. He lowered his head and began to lick the wounds on her neck and breast clean,
purring all the while. He’d reasserted his claim on his mate and he was
satiated both physically and emotionally. The bond they had was now
stronger than ever and this pleased him immensely.

Buffy mewled softly and he kissed her swollen lips. It felt like he hadn’t
seen her in forever. The need to stay close to her was overwhelming but
his hunger was back and he needed to feed.

He growled softly and motioned for her to dress. He sniffed the air and
smiled. There was food close by.


He opened the door to the crypt and she followed him out. They walked a
short distance before they saw them. A group of people that they knew they should
recognize but didn’t. Buffy nuzzled his shoulder then crouched down, excited at the prospect of seeing her mate in the hunt. He walked towards the group with a predatory swagger.




Jenny looked away from Giles for a moment and gasped. “Rupert, hurry.” she
said in an anxious voice. Anya and Rupert followed her eyes and their hearts
stopped for a moment.

“William?” Anya called out.

Giles kept his eyes on Jenny, “No Anya, it’s not William. Is it Jenny?”

With tears in her eyes, Jenny shook her head no. She shivered at the
coldness of Rupert’s gaze.


The vampire was only meters away now. “Spike stop this, you know us. You
don’t want to do this baby. It’s a spell.”

At the woman’s words Spike cocked his head, intrigued. Why wasn’t she
running? He turned his head, growled and Buffy stepped out of the shadows
to join his side. Placing her hand in his, they started to advance just as
Giles yelled, “UNDONE!”


A bright flash lit the cemetery for a few seconds before the dark of night
returned along with the harsh reality of the situation.


Buffy didn’t even notice the others. Just him. The tears flowed down her
face as she studied him. “William?” she asked with a shaky voice.
She reached out to touch him but he was already gone, racing through the
graveyard and into the cover of the woods.

Buffy fell to the ground, barely acknowledging Giles wrapping his arms
around her to calm her. All she knew was the heartache that accompanied the
flood of memories of what they’d just done and the realization that he had
deserted her just when she’d found him again.


 

Chapter 22:

Watching as her William turned his back and ran away Buffy stood still, shocked. Once he’d disappeared into the shadows, she turned her empty eyes to Jenny.

Tears where streaking down the woman’s face as she fell to the grass and admitted everything.

Buffy walked over to the older woman and knelt in front of her shaking form. “Did you think I was going to kill him?”

Jenny just continued to cry.

Buffy took her by the shoulders and shook her roughly this time screaming, “DID YOU THINK I WAS GOING TO KILL HIM?”


“YES!” Jenny screeched. Buffy leaned back, locking her gaze with Jenny’s. “You stupid bitch!” she spat out. “Where is he going?”

“Home.” Jenny sobbed, her hand reaching out for Giles but grabbing thin air as he quickly stepped away from her.

They had a lot to talk about and he wasn’t ready to comfort the very person who had betrayed his trust. He looked to Buffy. “Go,” he urged and she was off, blond hair flying in the wind.


He looked back at the woman he almost loved and sighed. “We have to talk and you’re not going home tonight. They have to be alone.”

The gypsy stood on wobbly legs and followed him silently to his car.










Xander jumped back, stumbling over a chair when Willow shot up, wide-awake. “Did it work?” she gasped.

“No, it didn’t. But you knew there was a possibility that it wouldn’t, didn’t you?”

She looked away.

“She’s your friend, Willow. Me and Anya, we’re your friends. How could you do that to us?”
“I wanted to make things better,” she whispered, clinging to the last vestiges of the argument she had used to convince herself and the others.

“For who, Wills? For Buffy or for you? It’s hard when your best friend’s depressed isn’t it?”

The tears where gathering in Willow’s eyes but that only encouraged Xander to say what he knew he needed to. “Feeling sad Willow? Why don’t you use some magick and try to fix that nasty feeling? Why don’t you fuck up your own life instead of someone else’s for a change?”

Willow gasped. “You were as much a part of this as I was! Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

A sad half-smile crossed Xander’s face, “I know and I’ll never forgive myself, Willow. I’ll never be okay with what we did. But this…this isn’t gonna stop you. You’re gonna keep using magick even when you can’t control it and you’re gonna hurt us all. I can see it in your eyes, Wills–how addicted you are to these spells you do, how it gives you a rush.”

Willow went to open her mouth and defend herself against his accusations, but Xander raised his hand. “I don’t wanna hear it, Willow. Right now, I have to go make sure Anya and the others are alright.”

He stood and walked to the door, turning before he left. “By the way, it’s nice to know that you were more worried about how the spell went than the wellbeing of your best friend.”

The door shut loudly behind him. Willow started to pack her things; she didn’t want to be there when Anya and Xander got back. She sniffed, holding back tears as the full force of Xander’s words hit her hard.








Buffy reached Jenny’s house and went around the back. She thought about knocking but honestly, didn’t feel like it so she broke the window and unlocked the door herself. Stepping slowly into the kitchen, she took a deep breath.

“William?”

No answer. She walked to the living room, and when she saw it was empty walked downstairs. What she encountered made her want to throw up. There was a cot on the far side of the room and shackles above it, screwed into the wall. There was a small fridge and when she opened it she saw that it was packed with bag upon bag of blood.
There were open books lying all around and a quick glimpse showed her they were being used for vampire research.

She grabbed a bag of blood and headed to his room. Hesitating outside the door, she pulled out her stake and let herself in.

At first glance, she couldn’t see or hear anything but she felt him. Felt his presence. Deciding to leave the lights off, she ventured further into the dark. She felt his bed but there was no one on it.

She walked to the window and opened the curtain, allowing the moonlight to filter in and illuminate the room ever so slightly. What she saw shattered the dam that had been holding back her tears for over a week. Buffy collapsed on the floor, her river of pain flowing down her cheeks.


He was sitting in the corner, rocking himself back and forth. His eyes were blank as if he weren’t only dead on the outside, but on the inside as well.

Between her sobs, Buffy managed to speak softly.

“William? William, baby, can you hear me? It’s Buffy, sweetie…I’m here now.”

She raised a trembling hand to his cheek but quickly withdrew it when he lifted his head for second and bared his fangs.

Swallowing deeply she tried again, ignoring the low warning rumbling that was coming from his throat. When she touched his skin, she couldn’t help but shiver. He was so cold.


He leaned into her touch for just a moment before retreating into himself yet again. He mumbled something that she couldn’t hear.

“What, baby?”

“Are you going to use that?” he asked again only slightly louder this time, nodding his head towards the stake clutched tight in her hand.

Buffy reeled back as if slapped. “I would use it on myself before I would use it on you William. You know that.”

He stood up and loomed over her. “I’m not William anymore. I’m Spike. Can you use it on Spike?”


Buffy bit her lip as the truth of his words seeped into her heart. This wasn’t William. She had been taught that over and over. This was something that had stolen his body after he died. But there was something about that scenario that didn’t quite fit either. He wasn’t attacking her or trying to feed from her. The only time he had actually bitten her that night was to claim her again.

“Do you still love me?”

He leaned down and looked her straight in the eyes.

“I never stopped.”

“You died.” She shot back.

“That doesn’t mean my love for you did.”

“You have no heart.”

“You’re wrong Buffy, I have one. It just doesn’t beat anymore.” He paused “Do you love me?”

“I love William. Only him.” Buffy stood and faced him. “You’re a monster.”

“Is that all you think I am? Do you believe that I don’t remember the man I was before this? I feel, I love, I hurt, I smile, I cry and, like you, I bleed. Are we so different?” he said with a sad smile.

Buffy took a step back. “Don’t you dare compare us! I am nothing like you.” She knew she was being unreasonable and that her words were hurting him, but she couldn’t stop herself. She could see so much of her first love in the demon that wore his face that it was throwing her off. Making her think of him as her baby when he wasn’t.

“Stake me.”

“What?” Okay, she hadn’t expected that one.

“I said stake me Slayer.” He said with a growl and ripped open his shirt. He took the hand that held the small piece of wood and held it over his dead heart.

“Why are you doing this?” She didn’t understand how this demon would simply let her kill it. It wasn’t normal. He should be fighting her, trying to kill her.

“If you think I’m so vile then do it. Don’t ask questions. It’s your job Buffy…your calling.”

The tears started again and she pressed the stake into his chest just a little harder. He bit his lip and closed his eyes tightly. After a moment, he opened them again. “I’m not dust,” he stated.

She could only look at him; she couldn’t form the words just yet.

He searched her eyes for a brief moment and understood why he wasn’t just a pile of dust on the floor. “I’m not him, either.”

She dropped the stake and punched him in the face, shocking them both.

“Bloody hell! What was that for?” he bellowed.

“For taking his body.” She yelled with another punch.

He fell to the floor from the force of the blow and she pounced on him, straddling his waist. “For taking him away from me.” Punch. “For still loving me.” Punch. “For still being him in so many ways.” Her punches were getting weaker and although he was making no effort to fight her, she felt herself getting tired.

“For not coming to me.” Those final words broke her and she collapsed on his chest crying hysterically. Words were useless at this point so he gave her the only comfort he could, rocking her while tracing small circles on her back. As her body slowly stopped shaking, she raised herself just inches from his face and gazed into his eyes.

When she found what she’d been looking for she crushed her lips to his passionately. She had seen love–undying love. The same kind that had shone in William’s eyes for her and her alone. She knew he was still there, still with her.

He pulled away and took an unneeded breath. Before he could speak, she placed a tiny finger over his lips.

“I love you. How could I not? You’re still in there. I can see it in your eyes when you look at me. I can feel it when I kiss you. It’s you, you’re just different.”

His eyes grew wide and he could feel the tears start to fall as she leaned in to kiss him again. She still wanted him. She still saw him through the darkness. She still saw William and the light inside him swelled with joy and the dark faded a little more.

He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her from the floor, placing her gently on the bed.

For the first time since he had been turned, he thought to himself ‘Everything will be okay’.


 

Chapter 23:

Spike looked at her in awe as she lay there, spread out on his bed. She was still the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen, always would be, until he was dust. So much had happened to him and all it took was this moment in its simple beauty to make reality crash into him with a blinding force.

Buffy gasped when he sat next to her on the bed and just cried. He held his face in his hands as the sobs racked his body and his wails filled the room. She ran her hand over his back and waited for him to calm.


When he finally quieted down enough for her to speak she did.

“Are you okay?”

He shook his head and sniffed. “M’ not alright Buffy, I’m dead.”

He laughed bitterly. Just moments ago he’d thought that things might just be okay and now, after seeing her there, hearing her heart beat and seeing her light, his hope was torn to shreds. “I don’t deserve you.”

“How so?” she asked quietly.

“You said it yourself Buffy. M’ a monster.”

She flinched when he used her words and sighed. “I was angry and confused. I shouldn’t have said those things Will…Spike. I had no right to. You’re not dead either. I know that your heart doesn’t beat baby, but it works. It works better than most people’s who have blood flowing through them. It loves and it loves well. That’s more than I can say about eighty percent of the world’s population. And it loves me.” She traced his cheekbone with her index finger and brushed away the tears from his pale skin. “I’m grateful for that.”

She paused to kiss him tenderly before adding, “You beat back the darkness and came back to me. There’s humanity in that. You’re not a monster; you’re mine. And you’re a miracle.”

He pulled her to him frantically, needing to feel her, to make sure this was real. There tongues met shyly at first but after a moment the intensity grew and he pushed her gently onto her back, so that she was lying beneath him. She moaned at the pleasure that his touch brought and arched her back when his hand skimmed over her waist.

He pulled away and traced his bite marks on the soft skin of her neck. “I hurt you,” he stated sadly.

“No, you loved me. If I had fangs I’d have done the same,” she said with a small smile. He growled in response. The thought of her biting him had him harder than he’d ever been and he ground his erection into her mound roughly, causing her to bite her lip and hold back a moan.

“Don’t you ever hold back from me Buffy. I want to hear how I make you feel,” he said in a husky voice. The way it was said and the commanding tone in his voice had Buffy dripping right then and there.

He peeled her top off of her and lowered his mouth to her breasts. His tongue snaked out and licked her nipple in slow circles while the other hand rubbed her clit through the fabric of her pants.

“William please…” she begged.

He went to correct her, to tell her he was Spike but he couldn’t. What was left of the darkness, however little there was, was now as much a part of William as William was of Spike. And if this girl wanted to call him William, then so be it. She was their world and she could have whatever her beating heart desired.

“Tell me what you want baby,” he encouraged as she writhed beneath him.

Buffy whimpered and a smile formed on her lips. “I want you to fuck me, Spike.”


He growled, as he yanked his pants off and positioned himself at her entrance. He realised that in the mere span of a minute she’d called him both his names and this pleased him to no extent. She was accepting both sides of him, craving all of him.

He plunged into her in one sharp motion and Buffy’s scream was loud and long. When she opened her eyes, she saw him staring at her. A slight smile played on his lips but he remained quiet as he began to pump into her slowly. She wrapped her legs around his hips and urged him to quicken the pace.

He was thrusting into her almost savagely now and all she could do was beg for harder. Strength wise he was her equal and she didn’t have to worry about holding back with him. She’d never experienced this kind of sexual freedom before and she knew it wouldn’t be long now before the onslaught of new sensations sent her over the edge.

When her walls started to tighten, she could see his eyes flash from amber to blue and in the heat of the moment she bit him hard.

Spike roared as her teeth dug into the vein in his neck and pierced the skin. It was like nothing he’d ever felt before. He felt her pulling on him, drinking from him and he bit down on her.

Buffy was shocked. She’d only intended for the bite to remain on the surface but once she had the taste of his blood in her mouth, it had driven her crazy and left her wanting more. One last pull of his blood and her pussy was convulsing around his cock as she screamed her pleasure and bucked against him, managing to yell the word ‘mine’ in the process.

Spike’s eyes rolled back and he came harder than he ever had, all the while continuing to drink from her. The feeling of her walls milking his dick had him in the throes of an orgasm that seemed to last an eternity. When the last shot of seed left his body he thrust in once more quickly and roared the word ‘mine’. He licked her neck clean as she did the same to him before he rolled off her.

She pulled him to her and he laid his head over her heart. “I feel good.” Buffy said in a tired voice. “How do you feel?”

“Alive.” He whispered as they fell into the most peaceful sleep either one had had in long while.


 

Chapter 24:


Willow walked up to Oz’s house and knocked softly on the door. When he answered she threw herself into his arms and let herself cry.

“You were right, Oz,” she sobbed. “I did screw it up and I shouldn’t have done it.”

He soothed her, uttering soft words of comfort in a low voice and when she was done he pulled away slightly.

“Feel better baby?”

Willow sniffed and shook her head ‘no’. He gave her a small smile. “At least you know what you did was wrong, Willow. It’s a start. It’s gonna take a while for people to forgive you for this but they will because they love you. I’d love to stay with you but it’s a full moon tonight,” he explained. “Wanna chain me up?” he asked and wiggled his eyebrows, causing her to laugh.

“Sure, sounds like fun,” she said with a smirk. She wiped the tears from her face and walked down the stairs to the basement with him. “You have any stuff to make cookies?”

He laughed at that. Willow’s guilt cookies were a common thing of late. “Upstairs, kitchen pantry…will you be here in the morning?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world, baby.” She gave him a small kiss and cuffed him to the wall. She left quickly, not wanting to see how painful it must be for him to transform and turned the music on in the kitchen to drown out the howls she knew would be coming soon.

Tomorrow she would go to her friends and try to make amends.









Jenny sat on Rupert’s couch and watched as he paced back and forth.

“Are you going to talk to me Rupert? You’ve been walking back and forth for at least twenty minutes.”

He continued walking but turned his head to look at her. “You’ve been lying to me for two weeks, Jenny. Why?” he asked the hurt evident on his face.

“Honestly, I don’t know why, Rupert. I was scared and I’d just lost my baby. I did what I thought was the right thing. I’m sorry I hurt you…hurt everyone.”

“We would have helped you. Did you think we would hurt him, Jenny? Did you think we wouldn’t have tried to find a way to help him?”

“You’re a watcher Giles, first and foremost. Your duties require you to watch your slayer kill vampires. My son became a vampire. Do you think it was an easy decision to make?”


Giles sighed and sat next to her. “No, I don’t expect it was. But I would have been there for you, we all would have.”

“I know that now,” Jenny admitted.

Giles took her hand in his and squeezed it lightly. “So tell me about him. Will Buffy need to stake him or am I right when I say he doesn’t appear to be our average demon?”

Jenny’s eyes lit up with what could only be called motherly pride. “She won’t have to do anything, Giles. He’s still in there. He doesn’t need as much blood as a regular vamp does to sustain himself, he has no will to harm the innocent and most of all, he still loves her with every fiber of his being. True the demon is in him, but I believe it’s the same one that took him over on Halloween.”

“That’s right, he became his costume,” Giles said slowly as the realization hit him. “What you’re saying is that this demon is not bound by the rules?”

“No, he does need to feed. He’s definitely a night person now and he is linked to his sire. But that is the only connection he has to her. There is no fear, no respect, and definitely no desire to please her. In fact, he hates her. The demon in him was created to inhabit a vessel that was still human instead of a corpse as most are. His soul is in there with the dark, Rupert and it would seem that the demon in him craves the light, likes it even. I think we may actually have a vampire that wants to be human. I have no idea what else is different about Spike but I can promise you he is nowhere close to average.”

“I suppose we’ll learn as much as we can from my books. As for the rest…I should think it would fall into place with time.”

Giles had to admit he was very excited about the aspect of figuring out this vampirical anomaly and even though he was brassed off at his guest, he could admit he was still pleased to have her there. Things would work out and time would heal the wounds. Amends would be made. He got up and she followed him to his bookshelf, each of them searching for the books that would contain the necessary information about vampire lore.






Xander had stopped by a flower shop on his way to Anya’s and held them out for her to see when she answered the door. She smiled and smelled the beautiful arrangement.

“What’s this for?”


“For being you. For letting me love you.”

She kissed him happily and brought him into the house. After explaining everything that had gone on at the cemetery he ran his hands through his hair.

“That poor bastard,” he whispered.

“Who?”

“William.”

“Oh, he’s not William anymore. He’s Spike. Much sexier,” she added.


“Anya I love you and everything you are. You’re my world. I don’t think I tell you that enough,” he said suddenly.

“No, you don’t. But today’s a good day to start.”

He smiled. This was his girl. So blunt and beautiful and full of life. Tomorrow he would think of everything that had just happened, but tonight he would think of his Anya.

“Ready for orgasms?” she asked, cutting into his thoughts.

“And willing.” He said eagerly as they went upstairs. There was nowhere better to make amends than in the bedroom!










Buffy woke up and shivered. She was so cold. She rolled over to her side to uncover the source of her goosebumps and warmed up immediately. Spike’s hair was tousled and his mouth was hanging open slightly, his fangs showing just a little. Buffy thought it was the cutest thing she’d ever seen and began to giggle.

Spike opened one sleepy eye and growled. “What are you laughing at scruffy?”

Buffy wrinkled her nose. “Scruffy?”

“Yeah…your hair’s all mussed up, scruffy. Like you’ve had a night of mind-blowing sex with the love of your life.”

She tilted her head and gave him a smirk, “Well that’s strange. I think I would have remembered if that had happened last night.”

“Oi pet! I’ve got feelings you know.” He said, giving her his best puppy dog look.

“Don’t you dare puppy-eye me. You called me scruffy.” She said with a pout.

Spike laughed. “Look at that lip, gonna get it!” he teased and lunged at her playfully.


Buffy giggled uncontrollably, happy and excited at the same time. Amends had been made and a new future with new possibilities lay ahead of them. Life, and unlife, was good.


 

Chapter 25:

“Unfuckenbelievable!” Giles screamed and Jenny came running to the dining room where his voice had come from.

“Giles!” she said astonished at his language.

He blushed for a moment but shook it off, this was far too important.

“I’ve found it Jenny.” he beamed.

“Found what Rupert? You’re confusing me.”

“What Spike is, why he’s different, why he’s here and why he’s tied to Buffy.”

He handed Jenny the book he’d had flown in from his personal ‘stash’ in England and she almost passed out.

“Oh my God.” she breathed softly as Giles wrapped his arms around her and she let the tears fall.









“Where are you going kitten?” Spike asked groggily. It was only twelve in the afternoon and he’d woken to find Buffy packing her weapons bag and freshly showered.

“Nowhere.” She lied, badly.

He scowled and a low rumble reverberated in his throat. Buffy sighed and sat next to him on the bed.

“There are…some things I need to take care of, so that nothing can hurt us.


Spike sprang from the bed instantly. “I won’t let you go after Dru Buffy.”

At the narrowing of her pretty eyes Spike had to suppress a gulp. Sometimes he forgot she wasn’t just his girl, she was the slayer too, and she was damn scary.

“Do you have feelings for her Spike?”

The tone of voice froze his already dead body even more. “S’not like that princess, you know you’re the only one for me. Till my second death do us part and all that but she’s dangerous luv. She killed me.”

“She won’t kill me. I’m the slayer.”

“It doesn’t matter who you are Buffy. All it takes is one good day for a vampire and you’re gone, the next waiting to be called gets supercharged and you’re sitting on a cloud playing a bloody harp and polishing your halo.”

Buffy ran her hand across his cheek softly and gave him a small smile. “I won’t get dead baby. Besides you promised me you’d never get in the way of what I have to do, and I have to do this. For me, for you, for us.”


Spike slapped her hand away and growled. He hated the hurt he saw in her eyes but he couldn’t help it, he was worried. Druscilla was strong. She could also fuck with your head. He had no doubt that physically Buffy had the upper hand but mentally, Dru could tap into you and make you see things and do things that you had no control over.

“I forbid you to go.”

“And I tell you to go fuck yourself Spike. I’m not your puppy dog, I’m your mate. I wont do your will at the snap of your fingers or at one of the growls you give me. I want her to pay for what she took from me, even if it was only for a little while.”

Spike picked up the lamp on the nightstand and threw it against the wall. “I won’t let you go Buffy. If anyone deserves to take her out it’s me. You want vengeance for what she took from you? What about what she took from me Buffy? She took my life for Christ sake.”


Buffy only looked at him with watery eyes and took off from the house. Spike stared open mouthed, the surreal feeling that she had fled from him hurt like a bitch, but only for a moment. Then reality came back. Buffy was on her way to face his sire, alone. She was in danger. Without a second thought to the mid-day sun in the sky Spike tore out of the house right on her heels.


He caught up to her at Restfield cemetery where Dru was staying in one of the crypts. He called her name and when she turned she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Spike?” came her uncertain voice.

“How the bloody fuck else would it be chasing you like an idiot pet?”

“How?”

“Um, I used my two legs. I moved them one in front of the other rapidly and-“

“HOW ARE YOU IN THE SUN JACKASS?”

Spike took a moment to look around and several more to bask in the warmth on his skin.

“I don’t rightly know.” He said softly and with awe in his voice. He opened his arms and Buffy flew into them, both of them laughing, their fight now forgotten.

“I thought I’d never get to do some things with you again baby. We can go to the beach, take walks, fly kites….”

“I’m not bloody likely to fly a kite luv, ruin my image it would.” He said with a smile. “So shall we go slay some sire?”

“Let’s.” Buffy said daintily as they held each other’s hands. No longer in a rush to get there they walked through the graveyard with their faces aimed towards the sky.


When they finally reached the crypt they had been looking for they turned and held each other’s gaze.

“Ready?” Buffy asked.

He nodded his head. “She’s mine unless I need help, sound fair?”

Buffy nodded her head and then kicked in the door.

The screams that filled the crypt where horrendous. Also male and female.

When Buffy’s eyes adjusted to the dark she gaped when she saw Angel standing next to that bitch. Spike had described her briefly but he’d failed to mention how very creepy she was.

“You’ve burned mummy with two sunshines, no sweets for you.” Dru said angrily to Spike and approached him. Buffy on the other hand went to Angel.

With her mouth set in a thin line she was surprised she managed to choke out the words “What are you doing here?”

“Don’t let the sunshine burn you daddy.” Dru called out to Angel.

Buffy’s eyes widened. “You made her? Why?”

“It wasn’t me” Angel whined, “It was Angelus.”

Buffy pulled out her stake and raised it. “If there’s one thing Spike has taught me it’s that the soul and the demon become one and the same. You turned her, wether or not you say it doesn’t count, it’s because of you that my boyfriend got killed.”

She advanced and Angel backed himself into a corner, his arms raised in surrender. He gave a small smile to the slayer and said “You can’t kill me Buffy, you’re meant to be my salvation.”

It was the smile that did it. She plunged the stake into his heart lightning fast and when he looked at her with shocked eyes she answered. “That’s why I have too, rest in piece Angel.”

At Dru’s agonizing scream Buffy turned to see Spike knock her down. He stood above her, chest heaving unnecessarily.

“You can’t kill me. Where connected my sweet boy.”

“I can feel you.” Spike admitted.

Buffy frowned. “You can?”

He looked at his maker and he looked at his lover and he smiled. “Ya, kinda stings.”

And as easy as that, Dru was dust.

Buffy ran to him and kissed him roughly before they stepped out into the sun yet again. Their new life ahead of them, looking bright.


 

Epilogue:

Willow yawned and smiled happily. Oz was lying where she liked him best, next to her and the morning sun was filtering through the windows. Life was good. Oz stretched out and gave her a sleepy smile in return.

“Morning baby.”

“Morning Oz.” She said and snuggled up to him, nuzzling his neck. “Stubbly.” She commented.

“I’m part wolf, I’m allowed to be.”

She laughed at that and sighed.

“You okay Willow?” Oz asked with concern.

“Ya, I’m good. All with the happy right now.”

“But?” Oz prodded knowing she was holding back.

“But no one has seen Buffy and Spike in a month and we have no idea where they are, just that postcard that says they’re okay. I could use magicks to find them but I don’t want to mess things up again.” She admitted with a pout.

“Ya it’s hard on everyone Wills, imagine how Giles and Jenny feel.”

“I know but I wish they’d call at least.”

Oz smiled wolfishly, something he’d learned how to do, what with being half animal, and pressed her into the bed, kissing her senseless.

Ring.

“Ignore it.” He growled.

Ring.

Willow laughed and reached for the phone. “It may be important but next time I’ll be careful what I wish for.”

“Hello?”

“Wills? It’s me Buffy.”

Willow let out an excited screech and when she finally stopped she could hear her best friend laughing from the other end of the receiver.

“I take it you’re happy to hear from me?”

“Of course I am stupid! Where have you been? Why did you leave? When are you coming back?”

“I’m not stupid, I’m challenged. I was in London visiting Spike’s roots and what not, I left because we wanted time alone to get to know each other all over again, and I’m actually at my house right now. Would you be able to meet us at Giles in an hour or so?”

“Of course, I can’t wait to see you…and Buffy?”

“Ya Wills?”

“I’m sorry for what I did. I never meant to hurt you, I made cookies but by the time they where done baking you where already gone.”

“I know Wills. I appreciate what you tried to do and at the end of it all I suppose I’m grateful for what you did but next time a heads up would be appreciated, okay?”

“Okay, best friends still?”

“Always. Can you phone the others and let them know I’m back?”

“Sure, I’ll call Giles and Xander and the others.”

“Actually Giles and Jenny knew where we where. We called them before we left.” Buffy admitted sheepishly.

“Oh.” Willows tone was full of hurt but a moment later she perked up. “So where even then?”

“You bet.” Buffy said with a laugh.

“I gotta go, there’s something I gotta do before I meet you guys. Bye Wills.”

“Bye Buffy.”





“Don’t you mean there’s someone you gotta do princess?” Spike said with a sneer.

“Pig.”

“You love it.”

“No I love you, big difference there buddy!” she said and poked him in the chest, hard.

Spike faked crying and Buffy giggled. “Don’t be such a baby, baby.”

He got that look on his face and she backed away. “Oh no you don’t, if we start well be late for sure.”

“Come on kitten, I can make it quick if you want.” Spike kept stalking towards her, the gleam in his eye getting brighter.

Buffy snorted. “Baby the last time you said that you lasted two hours. Now ill admit, that is short for YOU but for everyone else, it seems like forever.”

“I can’t help it if little spike cant obey me when it comes to you.”

Buffy snorted again. “Little Spike, come on. He’s the second largest thing I’ve seen on you.”

“ What’s the second?” Spike curled his tongue and pulled her into his arms.

“Your ego.” She giggled.

He growled and shot her on the bed playfully. “Come on baby, just a l’il quickie before we go see our mates ya?”

“Fine.” Buffy said with a sigh and tried to act irritated but Spike could hear her heart beat speed up and he could smell her arousal.


Spike leaned over her and began to kiss her neck softly. Nipping at the skin gently every now and then, causing shivers to run through her body. God she loved the feel of him.

When he got to her jugular he gave it extra special attention, causing the bite marks left by him to throb in time with her pulse. He moved down to her collarbone and traced it with his tongue before settling on her breasts. He was infatuated with them.

Pulling open her bathrobe to give him v.i.p access to her body, one hand cupped her breast while the other was taken into his mouth. He sucked the nipple between his teeth and flicked his tongue across it quickly, causing her to moan. The second she did he got harder then before. The things her voice could do to him was incredible.

When he had her writhing for more he continued his southward journey, leaving a small moist trail along the skin of her abdomen.

When he got to the small patch of curls he breathed deep. Buffy had a smell that drove him crazy. It was a mix between vanilla and her. He didn’t know how else to describe it but it was delicious.

He sunk his tongue into her and lapped at her juices like a cat would. When he felt her tense he used his fingers to pinch her clit and at the same time increased the speed of his tongue. He was rewarded with a flow of her cum and he drank at it greedily. When Buffy thought he was done she pulled at his shoulders, leaving scratches on them.

“Need you in me now.” She whispered.

Spike sunk his fingers in her and shut his eyes. “You’re so wet for me baby.”

She moaned and opened her legs even wider as he settled between them, pushing his dick in slowly so she could adjust to him properly. After all the times they’d been together, she was still so tight it was incredible. She was perfection in his eyes, always would be.

He moaned when he felt her walls adjust to his length and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

He began to thrust into her, slowly at first but as her cries grew so did the urgent need in him to cum, to mark her as his once again.

He increased the speed of his thrusts, making them fast and hard. The telltale signs of Buffy about to cum where there, her cries grew louder, more frantic and she met each of his thrusts eagerly.

When her walls clenched around him and she screamed his name he came with her, spilling his seed into her with every extra thrust. He loved to ride out orgasms as long as he could, it was so much better that way, so much more satiating. “Mine.” He roared with his last thrust and bit down at the same time she did. The biting always added that extra pleasure that they both needed now. Spike doubted her wounds would ever heal at the rate that he kept opening them.

After a few moments of catching breath and light touching Spike looked her in the eyes. “I love you princess.”

“I love you baby.”

He cleaned her bite with his tongue, purring all the while and rolled off her only when he was done.

“Ready to face the world?”

“Not on your life pet, rather stay here with you. You’re my world, nothing else.”

Buffy cupped his cheek and kissed him softly before getting out of bed and starting to dress. “I know and I feel the same way about you.” Spike smiled. “But you’re not getting out of this one.”

“Fuck.”











Giles and Jenny sat on the couch together, Anya and Xander next to them and Willow and Oz sat on the love seat that faced them, all waiting anxiously for the doorbell to ring, to see their friends again.


They where an hour late and Giles had tried calling but no one had picked up. So all sat there anxiously, wondering what could be keeping them. They got their answer as soon as a dishevelled Buffy ran through the door out of breath mumbling apologies.

Giles looked at her and cleaned his glasses. “You missed a button Buffy.”

She looked down and blushed, turning to fix her top properly. Turning again to face them she gave them a bright smile.

“Hey guys.”

Just them Spike came in and wrapped his arms around her. Everyone jumped and did the whole ‘everyone hugs everyone’ thing.


Once everyone was seated again Buffy and Spike stood in front of them nervously.

“So what did you want to tell us Buffy?” Jenny urged and her and Giles shared a knowing look that no one else understood.

When Buffy stood there frozen Jenny laughed lightly and said “Why don’t I start with what Giles and I found out while you where gone? It will make it easier sweetheart.”

Buffy nodded her head thankfully and the couple gave Jenny the floor.

The gypsy woman began to speak and everyone’s eyes where glued to her.

“There was an old legend that Giles found in one of his books. So old it was long forgotten, until now. Or until a few weeks ago at least. I knew that Spike was different from the start, I’ve never known a vampire to keep his soul without the help of magicks, it was a miracle, a dark one albeit but a miracle none the less. The legend goes as this. Lucifer fell from heaven after trying to gain control of it. When God cast him away he vowed to bring chaos and evil into the world. It was not all Lucifer’s doing however, people had the ability to do wrong from the start, this was because God had given them free will. All Lucifer had to do was tap into it. However evil existed outside of people as well, in the form of demons. When the underworld began to overflow Lucifer lost control of his mignons and had to ask God for help. God agreed but on one condition, that from that moment forth there had to be a balance between the forces of darkness and the forces of good. Too much of either leads to chaos and the world which we know would be destroyed. Without evil there can be no good, one cannot exist without the other. So the pact was made. Lucifer would be able to claim his souls as before but to a certain extent, the same went for God. Neither one can force a person to choose good or evil, they can only guide you. In the last few decades evil has raised in numbers so God and Lucifer chose a soul to be their warrior. But to make things balance, the body in which the soul lived had to become that of a demon. A human being could not be chosen because that would be in favour of good, a demon could not be chosen because that would be in favour of evil. So a middle-ground was found. The warrior soul in a demon warrior’s body. He would fight alongside the forces of good but belong to the darkness. He will not have all the weaknesses of the demon because he is needed at all times to fight, during the day or night. His soul is linked to that of the slayers, it was pre-destined. They will fight side by side as comrades although they are meant to be enemies, this was done to be neutral. The slayer was an integral part of this too. Without her light his dark would prevail but with it, with it they would thrive and bring into the world the dawning of a new era in which perhaps the darkness and the light can blend together, learn to coexist as peacefully as they can. Like the slayer and the vampire would come to do. Spike and Buffy are the warriors of the world.”

Spike stood there open-mouthed while Buffy gaped along with everyone who wasn’t over thirty years old in the room. Giles smiled and put his glasses back on. “So what did you want to tell us Buffy?”

“I’m pregnant.” She whispered and Spike choked suddenly.

“Wa?” was all he managed to get out.

“I’m pregnant Spike.”

She reached for his hand but he shied away from her. Buffy bit back the tears and held his gaze. She watched his face go from shock to fear, and then from fear to happiness and pride. He pulled her to him and smothered her face with kisses.

“I’m gonna be a ‘Da.” Was all he kept saying over and over again, with a few ‘I love you’s’ shot in.

It was Xander who finally broke the silence. “Holy fuck.”

“That sums it up.” Anya said pleasantly and again hugs where exchanged with congratulations.


After chatting for a bit Spike and Buffy went outside to be alone for a while, to figure things out. Jenny and Giles followed them out and Spike glared at them.

Giles raised his hands in mock surrender. “Easy Spike, we just thought you should know one other thing that we don’t think the others should know.”

Spike calmed down and held Buffy tightly to him. “Go on them.”

“Because you two are linked by forces so strong you co-exist. Like good and evil, there cannot be one without the other. Should Buffy die, so should you Spike. You will not age Buffy because he cannot and you cannot be killed unless he is killed as well.”

“I’m immortal?” Buffy asked in shock.

“In a manner, yes you are.”

Buffy’s eyes misted and the adults took that as a sign to leave.

“Are you okay kitten?” Spike asked as he wiped away her tears. “I know it’s gonna be hard losing those close to you when they get older but I’ll be there for you. Always, just like I promised.”

Buffy sniffed and looked at him. “I’m not crying because I’ll lose people I love Spike. When the time comes for that I’ll cry for my loss then.”

“Then why are you crying baby?” he asked confused.

“Because I’m happy. The thought of losing you hurt more then anything else in the world baby. Because since I don’t have a time limit anymore I’ll be able to save so many girls the burden of becoming the slayer, because I’ve created a life with you that will change things for the better and because I have an eternity to show you how much I love you.”

Spike leaned in and cupped her face, kissing her softly and thoroughly. “Eternity isn’t nearly long enough for me to show you what you mean to me Buffy.”

Buffy rubbed her tummy in small circles and Spike kissed her forehead.

“I’ll always love you Spike.”

“And I’ll love you longer then that.” He said with a smile as they watched the sun set, both waiting for it to rise again tomorrow signalling the first day of the rest of their lives.

"Everything is gonna be okay Buffy." Spike whispered in her ear.

Buffy looked at him with glowing eyes, "Everything IS okay Spike, everything is finally okay."




Well i hope you guys liked it. I love you all and thanx so much for all the wicked reviews and support, i dunno what i'd do without you guys, you rock. to my beta, Cecilia. You are a goddess, thanx so much for all your help on this.xxx to all
Linz