Chapter Seven


She’d been awake for an hour now without letting on, but as he’d been watching her closely all night Spike new she was no longer sleeping.

"Wanna tell me what you’re thinking about, luv," he finally said with a hand moving to pull the hair back from her face.

"That if I open my eyes this will all go away," she whispered. "And," she opened her eyes and rolled on to her back, "that I need to talk to Angel."

"What you need to see him for?" he made no effort to hide the jealousy in his tone.

"I was remembering what he said in the elevator," she looked into his eyes to show him he had nothing to be jealous of, "and I think I owe him an explanation."

"Don’t owe him a bloody thing," he muttered.

"Yes, I do. He’s right about us not fully appreciating how hard this must be for him. The last time I really talked to him I led him to believe that there might be a future for what we had had," she twisted her hands in the covers and stared at them. "I’m really not proud of having done that, but I did and it can’t be easy for him seeing me all gung ho to get you back after I told him it wasn’t like that. Again," she said at seeing how hurt he looked at what she’d revealed, "not proud of having said any of that, but the fact remains that I did say it. And now I have to go set things straight. He’s bringing you back to life. To me. I really do owe him that much."

"Fine, we’ll go have a heart to heart with the wanker," he made to get out of the bed they’d shared.

"No," she stopped him by saying firmly. "This is a me thing, not a we."

He turned to see her slipping from the bed and going over to the bags she hadn’t bothered to unpack the night before.

"I’m just supposed to let you run off to him?"

"Yes," she began dressing in the casual jeans and blouse outfit she’d selected. "And you’re going to stay right here and behave yourself because you know and trust that I love you. What I felt for Angel was over and gone a long time ago. I was just too stubborn to admit that before. I have admitted it now and the reason I need to see him alone is to finally get some closure on it all."

After staring deep into her eyes for a moment he saw the truth of her words and let go of his jealousy with a relieved sigh.

"Love you, too," he gave her a lopsided grin and silently let her know it was ok now.

~*~*~

Taking a deep calming breath, Buffy raised her hand and knocked on the closed doors of the office where she assumed Angel to be after not finding him in his apartment at the top of this building.

Upon receiving no response she knocked again then turned the doorknob and entered the room.

"Angel?" she looked around and saw him sitting at his desk brooding at something lying on the surface in front of him. "I … I knocked," she said as she stepped hesitantly into the room.

"I heard you," he raised a hand that held a tumbler full of blood and took a gulp of the liquid.

"Are you busy?"

"Just working on my block of wood mystique, as your lover," he spat the word out bitterly, "would say."

Not really expecting this kind of antagonism she stood uncertainly just inside the office and stared at him.

"Where is Casper this morning?"

"He’s still in bed," she replied honestly then only realized when he winced how her words sounded.

"What’s it to be," he finished his drink and sighed, "the ‘I’m sorry,’ ‘he’s not like you think he is and I love him’ or some other little speech to clear your conscience?"

"Well," she scoffed in disbelief at his attitude, "I had been thinking along the lines of ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner that I loved him and that I gave you false hopes about a possible future between us the last time we talked, but I do love him and I thank you for putting all that aside to help us’ speech, but if you wanna be like this I think I’ll save my breath."

"Sorry," he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "had a bad night. Your little ceremony will open the gates to hell, do you know that? Is he worth that?"

"What are you talking about?" she approached his desk with a frown.

‘It’s all here," he picked up a file from his desk. "Not sure we’ll be able to get the invite to Voca, though, seeing as I killed the thing."

"You found it," she gasped, ignoring his words in favor or reaching out to take the file from him.

Eagerly she sat down in the chair in front of his desk and began reading the documents in the folder. She cringed and gasped at many of the details enclosed, like the raising of the Voca demon – ‘he of pure darkness’ as the file proclaimed – monks preparing a holy place in the darkness and annointing it with oil while taking the blood of the living and gathering together the living dead. Upon reading how Voca had said how the very gate of hell shall open and the world above will tremble for that which is below shall arise, she began feeling a bit apprehensive at this plan.

"We can change this right? Ignore the things like calling forth that Voca guy and have Willow do the ceremony to get rid of all this evil stuff they’re talking about?" she looked up from the papers. "Right?"

"You’re setting out to do something that is against all laws of God, man and nature – bring back the dead – there is now way to get rid of the ‘evil stuff they’re talking about," he stated.

"No," she closed the file and stood facing her ex. "That is not what I’m – what we’re doing. Something – God, man, nature or those Powers That Be – wanted Spike back without me even thinking for a second of trying a stunt like this. We’re just finishing what they started."

"Keep telling yourself that if it’ll let you sleep easier at night."

"What the hell is your problem? Willow did this with me, went against all known laws to bring me back to life, and no one heard you complaining about that."

"You were different. You’re a slayer and protector and the world needed, still needs, you - "

"It needed and still needs Spike, too," she interrupted softly. "He’s helped save it three times, two of those times he did it without a soul and one of those times he was saving it from you. He wasn’t born into it like me, he chose to be a champion and protector and the world needs all of those it can get."

"And that’s your only reason for pushing this?" he scoffed in an effort to appear unaffected by her passionate words.

"You’re not going to make me feel like I’m doing something wrong in wanting him back for selfish reasons. I love him and I’m ashamed that I had to lose him like that to admit it, but I am admitting it. He’s more than in my heart. He has been for a long time. He’s in my head and my body and my soul and every fiber of my being, but," she looked him straight in the eye, "I was willing to let him go. I was grieving, yes, every night I grieved and I would have continued to do so until someday it got easier to wake up in a world he died to preserve. Living with the guilt that even though I loved him I hurt him nearly every chance I got. That I had so often degraded what we had and when I finally admitted to loving him he rather nicely laughed in my face. It would have taken me a long time, but I have Dawn and my friends and I would have made without him. I don’t have to, though. He is not gone from this world and knowing that, nothing is going to stop me from having him back in my life."

"Why weren’t you able to admit it sooner?"

"Because of you. Well, I guess more because of Angelus, but kind of the same difference," she sat down again. "I fell in love with you, with all the warm fuzzies a gal gets with her first love, and then I made love to you and met Angelus. He showed me how twisted and evil soulless vampires can be and why my life’s mission was to kill such things. He tainted what we had had, made me doubt myself and judgement and hurt me in ways I never told you. Then it started happening with Spike. The warm fuzzies I tried to call anything but love because he was a soulless vampire - God, he was Angelus’s prodigy of all vampires to choose – and I just couldn’t believe that would happen to me twice. Every time I was with him and loving it, part of me kept remembering what happened with us. How that went wrong and how I got hurt. Because of you and Angelus I refused to let myself see that with or without a soul Spike was nothing like either one of you."

"I think I’d rather hear your ‘I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner that I loved him and that I gave you false hopes about a possible future between us the last time we talked, but I do love him and I thank you for putting all that aside to help us’ speech now," Angel interrupted when she paused to organize her thoughts before continuing.

"Sorry. You kinda blew your chances at getting that one and I need to get this said. We have to actually face all this so we can both move on," she looked him in the eyes again. "Don’t get me wrong. I loved you and part of me always will and I’ll always cherish what we had before Angelus, but it’s time we acknowledge that that ended when you lost your soul. We both mourn losing it, but it is gone and nothing will bring it back. If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll know what we have now is a friendship that we’re both pretty happy with when we don’t get to thinking too much about what we’d had."

"I thought with all my years of experience I was supposed to be the wise one about what we were and needed," he smiled sadly.

"You are, but you kinda dwell a bit on the past and take your time admitting a few truths," she smiled back weakly.

"So you and Spike."

"Hey, you wanted me to move on and find a nice human partner and after we’re done with this scroll thingy he’ll be just that," she reminded him. "Speaking of the scroll thingy, we should be looking for it now."

As she got to her feet Angel picked something else up off his and extended it toward her.

"You already had it?" she asked then frowned upon seeing that a corner of the parchment was scorched.

"The lighter I used for light to find it slipped," he tried to lie when she glared from the burnt edge to him then back again.

"Really? It just slipped?" she rolled the paper up then crossed her arms over her chest and stared at him.

"Ok, I thought about burning it, I did, but I didn’t do it. I couldn’t do it," he defended before muttering, "stupid soul wouldn’t let me."

"What did he ever do to you that was so bad you’d begrudge him this?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

"What didn’t he do?" the vampire scoffed then sighed. "You’re wanting actual honesty here aren’t you?"

"Yep," she nodded firmly.

"It’s not very pretty."

"I know he wasn’t always good, Angel. I know he did really bad things like Angelus, but that isn’t who he’s been for a long time now and I can handle whatever you have to say."

"That’s not the ugly of it. I’m jealous of him," he said quickly and quietly in hopes she wouldn’t hear.

"Jealous? I thought we’d just settled the me thing. You’ve got no right to be jealous of what I have with him," she sighed.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, but you don’t really enter into it. I was Angelus. A big nasty vampire feared throughout the world with Darla on one arm and Dru on another as we cut a bloody path through all humanity in our way. Then it stopped being enough for Dru. She had to have a toy and she picked this sniveling little Englishman named William of all the men she could have chosen. Of course, I had to take him into my family and crew after she made her choice, teach him the way and be a good grandsire. Then he outshines me. He develops a reputation as impressive as mine in far less time. Takes my favorite childe from me. Takes out two slayers when Angelus never even tried for one. He becomes a frickin’ golden boy of vampires, catching all the breaks while I feed on one wrong girl and get cursed with a soul. Then he has to go and out do me there. He goes and gets himself a soul and shows me up as a champion. And he even gets the girl I can’t have because of that damned curse."

"You have got to be kidding me," her jaw dropped.

"Told you it wasn’t pretty," he couldn’t bring himself to meet her disbelieving gaze.

"I was expecting something a little more legitimate for such hatred than your vanity."

"Do you have any idea how long it took me to build up my reputations as Angelus and now Angel? It’s just not fair that he gets the same kind of glory with and without a soul without even trying. I’m cursed to relive and remember every horrible act I’ve committed in my life without ever being allowed to know happiness again or else lose all I’ve worked so hard for and he doesn’t have to deal with any of that. And now," Angel got to his feet and moved to stare out at the sun breaking over the horizon, "now he gets to be human again without having to fulfill some hopeless prophecy that may make such a dream reality for me. He gets it all so easily and it’s always thanks to me. You may consider it childish or stupid, but believe me," he turned and looked into her eyes so she could see his bitterness, "all that is grounds enough for what I feel toward him."

Chapter Eight

"So this is it?" Spike cocked his head to the side and glanced at the scroll Fred and Willow were reading over.

"That’s it," Buffy smiled at him from where she and Dawn sat on the sofa in Angel’s office, which they had all once again commandeered.

"I can’t believe it’s this simple," Winifred pouted just a bit. "Just spout some phrases, offer up a sacrifice and voila he’s back. There’s got to be a catch."

"Not seeing one anywhere," Willow said as she turned from the scroll and snatched some the details of the ritual from Wesley to once again scan the documents for ick factors. "Looks pretty clear cut for a foray into the dark magiks."

"Guess I was just overthinking it all with my extrapolations on interdimensional plasma dynamics," the scientist sighed.

"No," the Wiccan assured the other woman. "Not overthinking, just thinking with science. I used to do the same thing before I started to see that magik was … well, easier. See magic was around long before science and it pretty much has a solution for everything and it’s just a matter of finding the right history to find the spell or ritual or whatever is needed to get those ancient magiks working for us so we can bypass all the complicated science stuff."

"Yes," Wesley cleared his throat and calmly retrieved the papers from the redhead. "That is sometimes the case."

Sighing at her empty handed status Willow rose to her feet and looked around to where Angel set.

"How long till we’re good to go on this?" she asked the brooding vampire who was rather deliberately studying files on cases the firm was supposed to be working on.

"Well, first we need to locate this crypt and get those monks who performed so much of the previous ceremony. After that it’s a simple matter of you saying all the right words to complete the ritual," Fred replied when there was no answer from the man behind his desk. "Are you sure you want to perform it though? By all these accounts it packs quite a wallop."

"I’m kinda used to wallops by now," the Wiccan blushed a bit at the woman’s friendly concern.

"They’re on the payroll," Angel informed them reluctantly. "They’ll be meeting us here as soon as night falls to take us to the crypt and perform the ceremony."

Buffy and Wesley both looked at him with surprise evident on both they’re faces for varying reasons.

"You’ve certainly started the ball rolling on this," the former watcher observed cautiously.

After a moment the slayer caught Angel’s eye and mouthed a sincere ‘thank you’ to him causing him to smile a bit and salute her with the mug of blood Harmony had brought him a few minutes ago.

"We should perhaps look a little further into this matter before performing the ceremony," Wesley sighed. "After all that’s happened I can’t help but be weary at Voca’s mention of ‘the beast.’ Darla’s resurrection is what ultimately led to his appearance here."

"But that whole situation can’t be replicated," Fred argued. "It all happened because of a whole once in a lifetime chain of events resulting from Darla going back to being a vampire. You are wanting to stay human, right?" she asked Spike.

He and Buffy exchanged a look as he answered softly, "Yeah. I’ll want to stay human."

"These monks, will they be doing all the work like it appears they did before?" Willow asked anyone who could answer.

"The holy place in darkness, annointing it with oil, blood of the living and living dead?" Angel asked wryly. "Yeah, they’re on that."

"So there’s really nothing for us to do until tonight," Buffy said with a bit of surprise at the realization.

"I should probably study the words I need to be saying so I get it right," Willow again took some papers from Wesley.

"I’m sure you’ll do fine," he smoothly reclaimed the papers. "We can practice in my office, though, as I’ve got the morning free."

"I guess I better get to the lab since I’m not really needed," Fred got to her feet.

They gathered their things and went off to their destinations, leaving the Summers sisters, Spike and Angel in an increasingly awkward silence.

"Seen any good movies lately?" Dawn asked in an attempt to break the ice.

~*~*~

"We should have like a present or something," Dawn said as she and Buffy stepped from the elevator onto the proper floor of the apartment complex.

"I guess we could do our shopping first then come back to see him," her sister paused thoughtfully.

"Be kinda silly since we’re already here," the teenager sighed.

The slayer nodded in agreement and continued down the hallway to the apartment number Willow had given them.

She raised her hand and knocked on the door then waited patiently as her younger sibling was practically bouncing off the walls for him to answer.

"Maybe we should have called first," Dawn tried to peer into the apartment through the tiny peephole in the door.

"She said it’s his day off. He’s probably - "

"Andrew?!" both sisters stepped back in surprise when the door was suddenly opened by the familiar blonde.

"Oh my God," he exclaimed before rushing forward to embrace them both. "Xander you’re never gonna believe who’s here!"

"What have I told you about answering the door?" asked a male voice from somewhere beyond the ecstatic young man holding them up in the doorway.

"I know, I know, don’t answer the door or the phone or anything that leads anyone to believe I live here, too," Andrew pulled away from the girls with a roll of his eyes before grabbing their hands and pulling them inside the apartment.

"Are you living here too?" Dawn asked.

"Dawn?" Xander poked his head out of a room off to the right and looked at them in surprise. "Buffster?"

"Aren’t you glad I answered it this time?" Andrew glared at the other man.

"Don’t push your luck," the brunette ordered as he came forward to hug first the slayer then Dawn. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We’re in town and you’re in town so we had to see the Xan-man," Dawn smiled and lingered in his arms for a moment.

"Why aren’t you in jail?" Buffy was staring at the other blonde in the room.

"I was found not guilty due to being under the control the First," he replied with a smile. "Angel’s firm represented me. They’re really good with the law stuff."

"Yeah," Xander pulled free of the arms around his neck. "They’re working on an appeal for Faith that should spring her legitimately in a month or so."

"She went back?" the slayer was surprised to hear that news.

"Wood kinda convinced her to do the right thing instead of live out life on the lam and that Gunn guy found some errors in her first trial and convinced her that she won’t be there anywhere near what she was sentenced," the brunette explained.

"Things change so quickly," Buffy shook her head slowly at all that. "How you doing?"

"Good, good," her friend assured her while waving a hand toward the couch. "I’ve gotten a lot of my depth perception back and can do some work without screwing things up. Don’t even hit my thumbs instead of the nails anymore," he joked a bit then ran his fingers a bit self-consciously over the eyepatch covering his left eye.

"That’s great," Dawn said enthusiastically as her sister smiled a bit sadly and reached out to squeeze the man’s shoulder as she remembered how he lost the eye. "So you’re working construction again?"

"Yeah. Caught a break and found the old crew from Sunnydale relocated up here. Bossman always liked me, so he’s giving me a trial run that’s looking pretty good."

"This is a nice setup," Buffy sat on the leather couch and stared at the large screen TV dominating the living room area.

"I chip in for rent," Andrew flopped down in an armchair to their right. "I got this supercool job at a comic shop down the street. I’m finally getting paid to sit around and read comics."

"So what brings you back this way?" the blonde man was ignored by the trio as Xander focused on Buffy. "Thought you were off telling the new slayers of the world about their new powers. Didn’t think that could be done in two months."

"It isn’t," she took a deep breath and prepared to give him the news she knew he would not like hearing. "Something else came up."

"Not another apocalypse. There has got to be some kind of mandatory waiting period between those popping up here."

"No, no apocalypse. It’s a good something. At least, I think it is," she grabbed his hands in hers. "Spike’s not dead dead. He’s here in LA and tonight we’re gonna bring him back to life. Real life. Not as a vampire, but as a human."

"Are you sure we can’t have an apocalypse instead?"

~*~*~

"I don’t see why we can’t add a bit of color to his wardrobe is all I’m saying," Dawn sighed as her sister flatly refused to add the shirt the teenager held to their pile of items to purchase.

"We’re shopping for Spike, not Xander, and that shirt has too much color for even Xander to wear," Buffy blinked at the glaring splashes of color and put the garment back on the rack. "You’re right about the color, though. Do you think they have anything to match his eyes?"

"Oooh," her younger sister’s eyes lit up at the idea, "lemme look. And maybe some red like he used to wear."

As her sibling rushed off in search of something blue, the blonde shifted the pairs of jeans and numerous black t-shirts she carried from one arm to the other to check her watch. She was surprised to see that only an hour had passed since they arrived back at this mall to shop for Spike’s return. Blowing a strand of hair out of her eyes she wondered why shopping wasn’t as much fun when shopping for someone else then she saw another shopper walk past with a shopping bag from a leather shop in the mall and she smiled.

Maybe she was just browsing in the wrong shop.

Chapter Nine

After his last meeting of the day Angel stalked into his office to await the arrival of the monks only to grind to a surprised halt in the doorway.

"What’s going on here?"

"A little impromptu party for all of Spike’s friends," Lorne stepped forward and threw an arm around Angel’s shoulders. "Come have some blood catch up with the old crew. You know everyone, right?"

"Whoa, over here," Xander pointed the bottle of beer he held in his right hand at himself, "Not a friend of Spike. I’m here for Buffy."

"I like Spike. Spike’s a friend of mine," Andrew the Zima he’d chosen for his drink. "Mmm … a nice refreshing Zima. This is a good party. Can I have another one?"

"No," answered Buffy, Spike and Xander who all know what just one Zima did to the blonde.

"Well this party sucks," the young man pouted and sat down next to Dawn on the sofa.

"You’re not all going to go to this ritual, you know that, right?" Angel asked the gathering.

"We’re just here for moral support," Dawn inched away from Andrew who was looking at her a bit funny.

"Who all will be going?" Kennedy asked.

"Me," Willow raised her hand then pointed around the room, "Wesley, Buffy, Angel and the monks. An intimate little gathering."

"Speaking of the monks, shouldn’t they be here by now?" Wesley turned from the window he was staring out of at the darkened sky. "Night has fallen."

"Right this way," Harmony was heard to say just then before ushering in a pair of figures covered in hooded brown robes. "Bossy, your appointment is here."

Angel growled at her calling him that again and the blonde vampire shrugged apologetically before leaving the room.

"It is time," the figure on the left informed them with his head bowed forward.

"Come with us now," the second monk raised his head, but did not look at any of them before turning to leave the office assuming they would follow without question.

"That’s a bit creepy," Fred observed before taking a sip of her martini.

"Showtime, Buffy," Willow moved to take her friends arm and drag her away from Spike.

"I’ll see you soon," the slayer lingered long enough to say to the ‘ghost.’

"Let’s hope you’re right, luv," Spike sighed quietly as the group that was to restore him left the office to do the deed.

~*~*~

Wesley and Willow stepped cautiously into the crypt after the monks then stood just inside the chamber staring at the pentagram covering the floor then the five angry vampires chained to the box in which Spike would appear when the ceremony was complete.

"Are you certain you wish to do this?" the former watcher asked the redhead.

"I killed a deer to bring Buffy back," Willow dismissed the five vampires she was about to sacrifice. "Killing a Bambi was harder than this will be."

~*~*~

"Shouldn’t we be inside with them?" Buffy paced the cemetery outside the crypt.

"You’ll know when it’s your time to go in and we really don’t need to see the beginning," Angel continued to lean against the side of the limo that had brought them there.

"This is really gonna work, right?" she stopped and looked at him with the worry she felt in every fiber of her being.

"It worked for Lindsey and Willow’s a lot better at this stuff than he was. You’re going to get your Spike back tonight," he reassured her with surprising ease and sincerity.

"God, I hope so," she bit her lip, paced for another minute then threw herself against him for a hug. "Promise me it’ll work."

He didn’t make that promise. He just slowly wrapped his arms around her, patted her back soothingly and stared over her shoulder at the crypt.

~*~*~

"We begin," Willow said to end the chanting of the monks. "Five are without breath," she began circling the pentagram with scroll in hand.

"Yet they live," the monks said.

"Five are without time."

"Yet they live."

"Five are without soul," she ignored the vampires that growled hungrily as she stepped near them with each of her statements.

"Yet they live," the monks continued to chime in.

"Five are without sun."

"Yet they live."

"Five are dead."

"Yet they live."

Willow stepped inside the circle and came to a stop at the tip of the pentagram then began the critical part of the ceremony as Buffy quietly slipped into the crypt.

"And the five shall be a sacrifice," the redhead said in Latin, her eyes beginning to grow dark at the magiks she was channeling. "And the one who is dead shall live. Even as life and death are not two things but one," her voice was growing stronger and something seemed to charge the air in the chamber. "In darkness is the light, in light is the darkness," her body arched backward for a moment then she faced the box at the center of the pentagram and said with increasing volume. "Arise. Arise! Arise!"

The ground was shaking with increasing intensity and as the crypt began to shift dangerously around them the flesh of five vampires chained to the box evaporated to dust while their bones remained solid. A small tornado develops around the box, nearly knocking Buffy and Wesley off their feet with the force of its gusts, and quickly draws the dust and bones into its center to draw into the box. A ring of light erupts from the center of the circle. Buffy and Wesley turn and duck from the blinding glow as Willow braces herself to take the light inside her body. The energy slams into her with the force of a freight train and she doubles over unable to breathe, but does not fall from the impact or lose consciousness.

As the ground stops shaking and the light vanishes, Buffy and Wesley slowly turned to stare at the box. After another moment, the witch suddenly stands straight up and desperately draws in a deep breath of air.

"Willow," Wesley finally noticed her struggle to fill her lungs and rushed to her side. "Relax. Relax. Look at me," he forced her gaze to his then reared back in surprise upon seeing the pure black of her eyes.

Slowly she began breathing normally and as she did her eyes returned to their normal green color, causing Wesley to sigh in relief.

"Did it work?" Angel asked from the entrance to the crypt.

Buffy remained frozen against the wall just inside the chamber with her hopeful yet apprehensive gaze locked firmly on the large metal box that should now have her fully restored lover inside.

Wesley and Willow were now focused on the box, as well, but made no effort to approach it and get an answer to Angel’s question.

The monks were gone, having slid quietly off into the night the moment Willow spoke the last word of the ceremony and the resurrection began to actually occur.

"Someone needs to check," the vampire in the doorway said without moving to do so himself.

~*~*~

Andrew, Dawn, Fred, Gunn, Kennedy, Lorne and Xander all stood staring silently at the spot they had last seen Spike.

"Is that a good thing?" Dawn finally asked nervously.

"He could just be doing his little vanishing act again and will probably pop up to scare us in a few minutes," Gunn suggested.

"No," Winifred argued and cautiously approached the area the ‘ghost’ had vanished from. "He hasn’t done that since getting free of Pavayne. I …," she looked around the room worriedly. "I think he’s gone."

"But he’d have to be gone for the ceremony to have worked so that’s probably a good thing," Dawn was getting near tears and Xander moved to give her a reassuring hug. "Right?" she raised scared eyes to ask the man. "It’s a good thing, right?"

The others in the room all averted their eyes so the teenager wouldn’t see their doubts and remained silent.

"I’m sure it worked," Xander lied unconvincingly and the girl buried her face against his chest and began to cry.

~*~*~

"I … I can’t look," Buffy shook her head and bit her lip as the others looked to her to go check.

Angel remained planted firmly in the doorway of the crypt, leaving Wesley and Willow to begin arguing over which of them should go see if it worked.

"I did all the work, you check," the Wiccan said.

"Exactly, you did all the work now you want to be sure that it worked," the former watcher pushed the redhead toward the box. "So go see if it worked."

"Maybe we could check together," Willow dug her feet into the floor and resisted the man’s pushing.

"Would it help you twits along to know that I’m in here?" asked a familiar voice from inside the box. "And those clothes you brought for me would be nice right about now, luv."

"Spike?!" they all four exclaimed and ran toward the box to peer down into it.

Lots of pale naked flesh was the first thing they noticed and upon seeing it Wesley and Willow jerked away from the box rather nervously.

Buffy’s eyes latched onto the familiar peroxide blonde hair topping the head she looked down on.

"Spike," she whispered and he tipped his head back to look into her eyes.

As he rose awkwardly to his feet, Angel turned quickly away from the box and found the other two watching him anxiously.

"Is it … " they both looked from the box to Angel then back again.

"It is," Buffy answered as Spike finally stood before her with his bare torso sticking up out of the box.

The reunited lovers gazed at each other with such emotion that the other three present averted their eyes, shifted their feet awkwardly then mumbled something and left the crypt.

Hesitantly Buffy and Spike each raised one of their hands and extended it toward the other. At the same moment, with the same almost fearful light touch, their fingers brushed over each other’s faces.

Upon finding that she touched actual skin Buffy’s caresses grew more confident until she was running both her hands over his face and torso and tears streamed down her cheeks for his warm solid fingers to brush away.

"It actually worked," she sobbed and wrapped her arms around his waist with her hands sliding up to curl over his shoulders and hold him as tightly against her as she could.

"Was there ever any doubt," Spike swallowed back his own tears, slid his arms around her waist then buried his face in her hair.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Ten

"Can’t it wait until tomorrow?" Buffy asked Angel as they all stepped into the elevator in the lobby of Wolfram & Hart to get up to the vampire’s office.

"No."

"Do you have to do it all tonight?" she knew she was whining a bit, but didn’t really care as she leant back against Spike who had his arms wrapped tightly around her waist and his mouth running over her neck.

"Yes," Angel said firmly while staring at the lift doors and trying to ignore the couple behind them.

"I’m sure you both," Wesley looked at the couple, saw one of Spike’s hands venture south of the slayer’s waist then quickly looked away again with a clearing of his throat, "have some … catching up you wish to do, but Angel is right. The powers that we dealt with tonight are dangerous and dark. We cannot take any chances on having brought something else to this realm with Spike."

"So how long am I to be your bloody guinea pig then?" Spike looked up from Buffy’s nape and glared at the other men in the lift.

"Lorne will only take a few minutes, Winifred and the doctors could take days to complete their necessary testing," Wesley replied.

"Do I really have to sing for him?" Willow spoke up from the back of the elevator as the doors opened. "Cause me and singing are things that don’t go hand in hand."

"Trust me, you can’t be as bad as Angel," the former watcher replied dryly, earning a glare from the vampire, "and yes, I’m afraid we all have to sing for Lorne."

"When I prove you wrong, just remember you made me do it," the redhead followed the group out of the lift and toward Angel’s office.

Before they got there Dawn, with her eyes dry now, but red from crying and worry, came running out to greet them and pushed her sister aside to prove to herself that Spike was really ok.

"Hey!" Buffy turned and glared at her sibling hugging and groping the man. "That’s my boyfriend. No one gropes him, but me," she nudged the teenager away and slid her hands under the black leather trenchcoat Spike wore over his new black T-shirt and jeans.

"No groping anyone by anyone tonight," Angel growled and yanked the bleached blonde away from the others to push him toward the office.

The Summers sisters both pouted after the men then Buffy saw Dawn’s pout and elbowed her sister in the ribs before they followed the others.

"Sing," Angel was ordering Spike who he’d pushed in front of the green empath demon in the room.

"After you, peaches," the blonde countered with a stubborn expression.

Fine," the dark haired vamp turned to Lorne and began flatly, "Oh, Mandy. Well you came and you gave without taking - "

"Bloody hell, make it stop," Spike covered his ears and glared at the green demon who only shushed him.

"But I sent you away," Angel’s singing got louder and even more grating at the interruption, "oh, Mandy. Well, you kissed me and stopped me from shaking," Andrew, Buffy, Dawn, Fred, Kennedy, Willow and Xander were all snickering while Gunn tried to pretend he didn’t want to join them in laughing at his boss. "And I need you today, oh, Mandy," the vampire sang on with glares at everyone, "Well, you came and you gave without taking - "

"Is that all you know? Pick a bloody awful song and don’t even know all the words to it," Spike scoffed as the chorus was repeated. "Pathetic, that is."

"That’s enough," Lorne stepped between them and looked at Angel. "Mi amigo, you’re clean, but I’m gonna have to agree with this one and request new material from you in the future. Give Manilow a break. Slim," he turns to Spike, "you’re up next."

"Any requests?" the man looks over to Buffy and Dawn who were trying to stop laughing at Angel.

"Oh, you know any Billy Idol songs? ‘Cause that would be cool with the way you look like him," Andrew suggested.

"That ponce? I’ll not be singing any of those songs, thank you very much," Spike ran a hand through his hair and muttered, "Bloody git stole this look from me, he did."

"I understood there to be a desire to hurry this part along so you could get to the poking, proding and pricking tortures Fred and the docs here have planned for ya, so you wanna just pick something and begin," Lorne sighed.

"Ok, let’s see if you know this one," Spike smirked at Angel. "Pleased to meet you, hope you guessed my name," he began slowly in a rich clear voice made all the more appealing by his accent, "but what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game. I watched with glee while your kings and queens, fought for ten decades for the God they made. I shouted out," he was really started to get into the song now and Angel glared at how the others seemed to be enjoying the tune, "’Who killed the Kennedys’ when after all it was you and me. Let me please, introduce myself I’m a man of wealth and taste," he preened a bit for his audience, "and I laid traps for troubadours who get killed before they reach Bombay. Pleased to meet you, baby," he blew Buffy a kiss, "hope you guessed my name, but what’s confusing you is the nature of my game."

"Fabulous," Lorne clapped and made a cutting gesture at his throat for Spike to stop. "You are perfect. I see nothing but good for you in your future and you positively glow," the empath turned to Buffy, "Hope you remember where you put that amulet."

"Sympathy for the Devil," Wesley recognized the man’s song choice wryly. "A rather fitting selection I suppose."

"And a hard act to follow," Willow pouted. "Do we have to do the singing here? With other people present?"

"What was that about the amulet?" Buffy said at the same time the redhead spoke.

"Minor details," Lorne again waved for the room to be quiet. "Next?"

Buffy, Wesley and Willow exchanged slightly panicked looks then began arguing at once who they felt should go next.

"Puh-lease, children, this is not a root canal. The sooner you step up the sooner you’re done," the green demon joined the trio and threw an arm over Buffy and Willow’s shoulders. "Wes, let’s see what you can do."

"Me?" the man’s eyes went wide. "Why must I go next?"

"Because these two lovely ladies look too good propping my arms up at the moment for me to let either of them go next," Lorne replied with a smile. "Any requests for Wesley?" he asked the room at large.

"Do you know any Billy Idol songs?" Andrew asked timidly.

Ignoring them, Wesley sighed and rubbed at his forehead thoughtfully before apparently making a decision and facing the empath demon.

"Yesterday," the man began a bit roughly with no music to help him along, "all my troubles seemed so far away. Now it looks as though they’re here to stay Oh, I believe in yesterday," he took a breath and continued with a bit more confidence. "Suddenly, I’m not half the man I used to be, there’s a shadow hanging over me. Oh, yesterday came suddenly," he paused thinking that had been enough, but Lorne urged him to continue. "Why she," he stumbled a bit over that, "had to go I don’t know she wouldn’t say. I said something wrong now I long for yesterday," his voice grew quieter as if he was singing only to himself. "Yesterday, love was such an easy game to play. Now I need a place to hide away. Oh I believe in yesterday. I believe in yesterday," he trailed off and walked over to stare blankly out the window.

"Well," Lorne cleared his throat and clapped once to break the awkward silence after the rather emotional rendition by the stoic man. "You’re fine and you’re next," he looked from Wesley to Buffy.

Fred shifted a bit and cast odd little glances toward the man at the window while Buffy argued against going next then began complaining about not knowing any songs to sing. Angel sensed the same unease in his friend as Winifred was at that moment and moved to place a comforting hand on Wes’s shoulder.

"Oooh, I know," Dawn bounced over to her sister’s side and whispered something in the slayer’s ear as they failed to pay any attention to the bit of drama playing out among Angel’s gang.

"I … I don’t know the words to that song," Buffy looked around paranoidly at whatever her sibling had suggested.

"Oh, yes, you do," the teenager refuted with a big smile. "And I know you do."

"Ok, I just don’t wanna sing that song," the older girl said firmly with a warning glare.

"What song?" Spike, Willow and Xander all asked.

"Come on," Dawn pleaded. "I know you always think of Spike when you hear it and that’s why you sing it so often when you think I don’t hear you and he’s hear and you know he’ll love hearing you sing it."

"And now I’m bloody curious to hear it," Spike moved to stand behind Buffy and slip his arms around her waist. "What’s the ditty?"

"I can just sing the chorus right?" the slayer asked Lorne who nodded.

"No, sing the whole song. For Spike," Dawn encouraged despite the gleam in her sister’s eyes that spoke of mortal danger for the teenager.

"Shut up. I’m just doing the chorus," Buffy told her sibling before taking a deep breath and beginning more in a talking than singing manner, "so, baby, take a chance and show your confidence. Oh, baby, tell me who you are. You make my body scream, you make me believe that you’re what I’m waiting for. Don’t you be intimidated."

"Puh-lease," Angel turned to stare at her with a roll of his eyes.

"Sorry, sweetheart, but going to have to actually sing a bit for me to get a reading," Lorne informed her as she looked at him expectantly.

"I sang. I just sang for you. It was a song and I sang it and now it’s Willow’s turn," the slayer argued.

"It may have been a song, sister, but you spoke it. Sing for me, honey, or look at your yummy new boyfriend all back in the flesh and sing for him," the demon encouraged.

With warning glares around the room threatening unspeakable tortures to anyone who laughed, she turned and focused on Spike then began another song she knew by heart.

"What’s practical is logical. What the hell who cares? All I know I’m so happy when you’re dancing there," she began singing as much as one can to a Britney Spears song. "I’m a slave for you. I cannot hold it, I cannot control it. I’m a slave for you. I won’t deny it, I’m not trying to hide it. Baby," Spike leered at her a bit and she smiled and began girating her hips for him in rhythm with the song she heard in her head, "don’t you wanna, dance upon me to another time and place. Baby, don’t you wanna dance upon me, leaving behind my name, my age."

"That’s enough Britney for my lifetime," Angel called the performance to a halt. "Don’t even try saying you didn’t get a read off that," he said to the green empath.

"She’s good," Lorne informed his boss. "Maybe too good at the moment," he glanced at the slayer and saw her locked in a heated embrace with her resurrected lover.

"I need a drink," Angel growled and stalked to the liquor cabinet.

"Any chance someone can gouge my other eye out?" Xander joked weakly as he watched his friend making out with the former ‘dead boy, jr.’

"It can be arranged if that’s your bloody spirit," Spike offered with a bit of a snarl as Buffy broke off their kiss.

"Children, please, we’re almost done here," the host strived for a return to peace. "Witchy one, you’re the best saved for last. Now I hope you’ve taken all the time I’ve given you to get a song all ready to sing."

"I did," the redhead nodded then bit her lip, "Just don’t laugh," she ordered the room. "Anyone who laughs will get their lips sown shut. If you don’t believe me," she told Angel, Fred, Gunn, Lorne and Wesley, "ask them," she waved to the fellow Scoobies. "I can really do that."

"Yeah and it’s as ugly as it sounds," Xander remembered having seen the Wiccan sow Warren’s lips shut when she was grieving Tara’s loss.

"No laughing," everyone assured her.

"Ok," Willow took a deep breath and began singing quickly, "My bologna has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R. My bologna has a second name, it’s M-A-Y-E-R. O, I love to eat it everyday and if you ask my why I say, ‘cause Oscar Mayer has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A."

"Interesting choice and boy did it make me hungry," Lorne gave the woman a kiss on the cheek. "Everyone here is okie dokie by me," he informed the room.

"Isn’t Willow a lesbian?" Andrew asked with a puzzled expression. "Why would a lesbian sing about loving her bologna?"

There was complete silence in the office for a moment, then Dawn snickered followed quickly by Fred and Xander until everyone had no less than an amused smile on their face.

"You’re lips are so sealed," the witch’s eyes flashed and everyone ceased being amused.

"We were laughing at Andrew, not you," they all defended with hands going protectively to their mouths.

"That’s the ‘you’ I was talking about," Willow stepped toward the geek who shrieked girlishly and dove behind the sofa.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 

Chapter Eleven

"Need I remind you I’m no longer a vampire," Spike yanked his arm back when Fred approached it again with a familiar needle, "replacing all this blood you’re taking isn’t as easy as biting one of the gits around here for a refill."

"I’ve barely taken any, ya big baby, now sit still and shut up," Winifred hid a smile as she took his arm and drew another sample of blood for examination.

Buffy, who was standing behind him, made no effort to stop her smile at his complaining.

"I’m glad you find this amusing," he surprised her by whipping around suddenly and seeing the smile.

"I’m not," she denied then smiled up at him and ran her fingers through his hair. "You’re just so cute like this."

"Cute?" he glared at her.

"Utterly adorable. Like a sulking little boy," she teased as his glare intensified. "It’s a real turn on for me," she whispered into his ear so it wouldn’t be overheard.

"Is it now?" he pulled back to arch a skeptical brow at her.

"Yep," she slid her arms around his neck and nibbled at his earlobe. "Makes me wanna take you into my arms and do all kinds of adult things to you to stop that sulking."

His arms wrapped around her waist and his hands cupped her ass and pulled her against him.

"Tell me more," he did some nibbling at her ear until she moaned and tipped her head to the side encouraging him to move his lips down her neck.

"Did Fred hurt you with that nasty needle?" she teased pulling his left arm from around her waist and frowning at the puncture marks left by the scientist’s drawing blood. "Shall I kiss it and make it all better, baby?"

Her fingers were stroking over the warm skin of his inner arm and the gleam in her eyes sparked a matching fire in his as he tightened his other arm around her waist while bending to snatch a kiss.

All teasing faded away as she marveled at the still new feel of his moist lips being warm against hers instead of slightly cool against her heat. She moved both her hands back to his head to deepen the kiss and his arm instantly went back around her waist.

He was growing hard in his tight jeans and she relished the familiar feel of that hardness against her stomach as they opened their mouths wider to allow their tongues absolute access while her hands dug into his hair and his pulled up her shirt to get to her bare back. They were moaning and gasping for breath when they reluctantly pulled away for fill their hungry lungs then Spike pushed her backward until he found a low table to lift her up on.

Forgetting all about where they were Buffy wrapped her legs around his waist to grind herself against his erection as their mouths went back to devouring one another.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Fred finally stopped watching the reunited lovers with a fond expression and rushed forward to stop the hanky panky when Spike’s shirt was removed with Buffy’s about to follow right afterward. "You can’t do that here."

The shirt came off to reveal the slayer’s having foregone wearing a bra today and Winifred whipped away from the sight with her lower lip held thoughtfully between her teeth as she tried to think of a way to stop them before Angel or someone else wandered in to see how these tests were going.

"Christ, I’ve missed this," Spike groaned against Buffy’s throat as they remained oblivious to the scientist in the lab with them.

"Me too. So much," Buffy arched and moaned as his hands found her bared breasts. "More," she squeezed him closer to her core with her legs while directing his mouth back to hers. "Need you so bad," her hands went to the front of his jeans between kisses.

Behind them Fred ‘awwed’ as the beauty of the moment of such powerful love she was witnessing then she heard a zipper being lowered and squeaked in surprise. Hoping they wouldn’t kill her too painfully, she raised the only thing she could think of to stop them, aimed it, closed her eyes and fired.

"What the hell?" Spike reared back at the feel of something cold suddenly coating his bare back.

Buffy’s hands ran over his back, felt the substance and she snapped out of her little haze to stare in confusion at the foamy whiteness covering her palms.

"Sorry about that," Winifred slowly lowered the fire extinguisher’s nozzle as the couple turned their heads to stare at her in disbelief. "I … I tried to you know stop you with talking, but I really don’t think you heard me and, um, this was all I could think of on short notice."

"A bloody fire extinguisher? Are you daft?" Spike forgot about his pants being open and turned to face the woman.

With a shrill "Eep" of surprise, that made Buffy snicker as she realized the likely cause of that squeal, the scientist quickly turned to look the other way and Spike looked down to see what the brunette had seen to react so.

"So about that," he grinned cockily and tucked himself back in his pants carefully. "Safe again," he told the woman after pulling his zipper back up.

"You," Fred peeked over her shoulder cautiously before relaxing a bit and facing them once again. "You should probably wash that off pretty quickly," she put the used extinguisher aside and cringed apologetically at the man. "It’s chemicals so you probably don’t want it on the skin."

"You don’t say," he located his shirt and bent to pick it up.

Buffy shrieked when she realized he was no longer concealing her topless status from the scientist and she quickly snatched up her own top the was nearby on the table.

Spike stood again and the slayer quickly pulled her shirt back on as he began using his to wipe at the foam on his back.

"The shower would probably be a better idea," Winifred said helpfully then rushed on when the couple exchanged a heated glance at the suggestion. "A cold shower for you," she wagged a finger at Spike, "and you can wash your hands in the sink," she informed Buffy firmly.

"Yes, mum," the former vampire smirked and reluctantly helped his lover down from the table before heading off toward the showers not far from the lab.

With a sigh the blonde watched him go before going to wash her hands as instructed by the scientist.

~*~*~

Spike held a sleeping Buffy against his chest as he sat in a chair in the lab and watched the trio huddled across the room discussing him.

"I’m just saying that he’s exhibiting traits of both, not that he is both," Winifred whispered with a slightly exasperated expression at Angel and Wesley. "He’s definitely human now. Nothing undead about him, there are just a few anomalies."

"We need specifics here, Fred," Wesley said firmly. "If any of these anomalies include a craving for blood we’re in a spot a trouble."

"He is not a vampire," the scientist snapped a bit louder than she intended and she looked up to see if the topic of conversation had heard her.

"Yep, I heard you, pet," Spike gave her a little salute. "And no craving blood here, you prat," he informed Wes.

"He heard that?" Angel whispered to his companions.

"Yes, Liam, he has two fully functioning ears that are hearing your every bloody word," the blonde man snarled disturbing the sleep of the woman he held.

"What’s wrong?" Buffy sensed her lover’s upset and awoke quickly to determine its source.

"Sorry, luv," Spike kissed her forehead and stroked her stomach where one of his hands rested. "Just arguing with the poof."

"Arguing about what?"

"Our mad scientist here is all aflutter over something her bloody tests found and those two are thinking I’m still a big bad vamp in human clothing," his blue eyes glared at Angel and Wesley. "Even though I passed their bloody demon’s test with flying colors."

"What did you find?" the slayer rose to demand of Fred.

"Something I obviously should have kept to myself," the brunette exhaled tiredly and removed her glasses. "Everything I’ve found indicates that he’s mortal now with the same human frailties we – most of us here have," she glanced at Angel before continuing, "but there are indications of something more. He still appears to have the heightened senses of a vampire, hence his hearing us talk all the way across the room, and his reflexes are still much faster than that of a normal person. My preliminary test results suggest an advanced genetic structure with a hint of superior regenerative capabilities. I’ve also detected some kind of energy surrounding him that I can’t identify or locate a source for. But," she said firmly in response to all the looks she was getting from those around her, "None of this is bad. It’s just curious and I believe it merits further study, but purely for the sake of scientific knowledge not because it poses any kind of threat. Lorne says he’s clean and all my tests completely back that up. He’s a flesh and blood human with … well, superhuman abilities."

"Superhuman?" Angel, Buffy and Wesley all repeated with disbelief while Spike’s tone was rather pleased as he said it with them.

"The heightened senses, reflexes, genetics and energy all indicate that he’s retained the more desirable traits of a vampire while becoming fully human. Like a hybrid, which makes sense when you think about it because he’s a former vampire brought back from the dead as a human thanks to the sacrificing of five other vampires."

"A hybrid?" again the whole room asked in sync.

"Could you all stop doing that? It’s really freaking me out," Fred frowned at them all before putting her glasses back on. "All this is supposition and theory on my part. I noticed a few tiny little details that weren’t completely normal and, of course, my mind locked onto those tiny details even though further testing could show them to be nothing and I really shouldn’t have told any of you any of this until I’d done that further testing, but frankly the information I have now was exciting to me at least and – silly me - I just assumed you’d find it interesting as well, but now I know differently and in future I’ll keep my mouth shut in situations like this."

"I thought Willow was the only one who could do that," Buffy marveled. "The talking without breathing without passing out thing."

"Rewind a bit to the ‘could show them to be nothing’ part," Spike said. "Am I or aren’t I superhuman?"

"All signs right now point to you are, but it could just be residual or misreadings on my part," Winifred confessed.

"Ok then," Wesley stepped forward. "We’ll run all the tests again and I’ll examine the results."

"Oh bullocks," complained the man who knew what poking and prodding those tests would bring.

"Angel, it may be a good idea to get Lorne back here to tell us everything he saw in Spike’s reading," the former watcher ignored Spike and said.

"Can we at least go upstairs for a quickie before you get started on all that?" Buffy asked with a bluntness that must have rubbed off on her from having known Anya.

"No," came Angel, Fred and Wesley’s quick response.

Spike just gave her a leer, wrapped his arms around her waist and informed her so the others would hear, "We don’t need to go upstairs for that. These tables are solid enough if the geeks here will look away for a bit."

"No," Winifred said firmly. "You two are not doing anything else on my tables!"

"What do you mean ‘anything else’?" Angel asked slowly.

Chapter Twelve

"Need I remind you people what happens when I don’t get my beauty sleep?" Lorne groaned as he arrived back at Angel’s office around 3 am.

"Wouldn’t have called if it wasn’t important," Angel sat behind his desk and growled warningly at Buffy and Spike sitting way too close to each other on his couch. "We need to know exactly what you saw when you read Spike and you might need to read him again."

"What’s your worry, morning glory? He’s perfect. All bright and shiny with goodness. Honestly that future was so sweet I don’t know whether to cry or vomit," the empath demon assured them.

"Fred found some things in her tests and we need specifics here. What did you see?" the vampire persisted.

"That little bauble slim here popped out of to make that fab re-entrance into this realm? He’s still connected to it with a nifty side-effect. The magic protecting the amulet now protects him, making him virtually indestructible unless on hallowed ground. He stays here fighting the good fight with us and his little honey there and it’s all happily ever blah blah blah."

"Why the bloody hell would I stay here?" Spike asked as that point stood out from the host’s statement.

"You know how you couldn’t get past the city limits when ya first got here? Well, get used to that. The amulet still belongs to this company and you still belong to the amulet so … welcome," Lorne stood and waved at the darkened city outside the window "to your new home, blondie bear."

"You have got to be kidding me," Angel said slowly as he rose to his feet. "Read him again."

"If you insist," the demon sighed then motioned for the blonde man to rise and sing. "Ready when you are."

"Ok, I got one for ya," Spike got to his feet after a moment’s thought and slowly started singing another Rolling Stones hit, "I can’t get no sat-is-faction. I can’t get no satisfaction ‘cause I try and I try and I try and I try. I can’t get no, I can’t get no. When I’m drivin’ in my car and that man comes on the radio and he’s tellin’ me more and more about some useless information. Supposed to fire my imagination. I can’t get no. Oh no no no - "

Lorne stopped him with an upraised hand and turned to Angel, "Still the same future and one of the clearest readings I’ve ever gotten. If you want more proof let me just say that what I saw reading Buffy showed the same future for them both. So sorry, cream puff, but that’s the way this cookie’s gonna crumble. Any chance I can go back home and get some sleep now? I was having a pretty good dream before you called and I don’t want to keep those twins waiting."

The vampire was too busy glaring at the couple behind the demon as Buffy reached up to grab Spike’s T-shirt and pull the blonde man down to the sofa with her with a playful, "You’ll get your satisfaction soon enough," before proceeding to kiss him in a fashion that had Angel making a mental note to burn that couch tomorrow.

"Hey, kiddies, take that upstairs," Lorne ordered indulgently as he turned to see what had his boss’s attention.

"That’s what we’ve been trying to do all bloody night," Spike broke the kiss he was involved in to snap with a glare at the man standing behind his desk.

"Go on then. Get out of my office," Angel sighed and reluctantly gave the couple the order they’d been waiting for.

"Stop being a gloomy Gus, sweet pea," the empath demon sat on the edge of Angel’s desk as the lovers eagerly departed the office. "I saw good things in your reading, too, and the sooner you get happy for those two, the better that future will be. Just make sure there’s enough resentment there to keep Angelus out of the picture."

"Oh, I’m happy for them. Spike’s a real boy again and going upstairs right now to screw my ex-girlfriend. Whoo hoo, there’s a ticker tape parade going on in my head for them. 76 damn trombones and all that," the green man tsked at his friend’s sarcasm. "He really can’t leave L.A?" the vampire looked into Lorne’s red eyes and sighed heavily at what he saw there. "Ok," he tipped his head back and began speaking to the ceiling, "so maybe in my past I’ve slaughtered and tortured a few innocents and once tried to send the whole world into hell. Was any of it really bad enough for me to deserve this?"

~*~*~

Buffy pushed the button for their floor seconds before Spike grabbed hold of her and pushed her against the back wall of the elevator with his lips moving over hers with bruising force. She returned the kiss with matching hunger and wrapped her legs around his waist as her fingers slid into his hair with her palms resting against his perfect cheekbones.

Somehow he heard the ding of the elevator announcing their arrival and turned with her still wrapped around him to make his way from the lift down the hallway to the room she’d been given on the upper levels of the building.

"Key," he broke the kiss to say and with a whimper she instantly pulled his warm lips back to hers. "Buffy," he tried when they broke apart for air a minute later, "need the key to your room here, pet."

"Oh," she blinked before slowly untangling her legs from around him to stand a bit unsteadily on her feet and dig into her pants pockets for the item.

"Screw this," he muttered when she began wondering aloud what she’d done with it.

With a snarl of impatience he wrapped his hands around the doorknob and twisted it forcefully with enough strength behind his actions to break the lock so the door could be pushed open.

He gave her a cocky, self-satisfied smirk at his accomplishment that had her taking him by surprise with the way she threw herself at him again – legs around his waist once more, fingers twisted in his short platinum hair and her mouth devouring his.

Under the passionate onslaught Spike held onto the writhing bundle in his arms, stepped into the room, kicked the door shut behind them and stumbled his way to the bed.

As soon as his legs hit the edge of the mattress he turned and fell back on it with a hard bounce that dislodged Buffy’s lips from his.

She didn’t seemed to mind, though, as she quickly began kissing her way down his neck, pausing to bite sharply at his Adam’s apple to make him arch upward and grind his erection against her.

"Why did you have to put this back on?" she pouted when her lips met the cotton obstacle of his shirt. "Clothes bad."

"That they are, luv," he smiled and began tugging her shirt off.

Maneuvering her legs from underneath him so she could sit up and straddle his this the slayer licked her lips with a wicked gleam in her eye before taking the collar of his T-shirt in both hands and ripping the fabric apart.

"God I’ve missed doing that," she grinned while sitting back on her heels to admire the pale skin exposed by the torn black garment.

His breath stilled in his lungs as she placed her hands on his chest to push the shirt aside. Not needing any encouragement he twisted a bit under her to free his arms from the sleeves of the coat he still wore and the cotton remains.

Her hands slid under him to curl up over his shoulders from behind as her head slowly lowered toward his chest when he was finished, but instead of kissing his body she laid her head over his heart.

"Buffy?" he asked with concern after a moment when he felt a warm drop of moisture touch his skin.

In answer she turned her head to kiss him where the tear had fallen then raised her watery green eyes to gaze into his blue depths.

"This is real," she moved her hands from his back to his face, fingers lovingly tracing every feature. "You’re real," a smiled touched her lips. "Your heart is beating so hard."

"Always said if it could beat it would break my chest ‘cause of you," his hands cupped her face with fingers brushing aside her tears.

"Mine’s the same," she whispered and moved one of his hands to rest against the soft flesh covering her heart. "Feel it."

"I feel it, luv," his fingers curled around her breast while his mouth moved to press against the pulse pounding at her throat.

A quivering sigh of pleasure escaped her and she pressed her chest into his hand and pulled his head tighter against her skin.

Smoothly Spike rolled them so that she was beneath him with his body pressing heavily against hers and every inch of her relished the pressure.

Their urgency of just a few seconds ago was gone and for a moment they simply laid their absorbing each other’s heat and luxuriating in the feel of their flesh touching again.

"I love you," she looked deeply into his eyes, seeing his beautiful soul and the love he too felt shining in his gaze along with the smoldering flare of desire.

Their lips met and he gave no verbal reply, but the softness of his mouth as it gently parted hers for his tongue to slip inside and glide over the hard ridges of her teeth before rasping over her own told her everything she needed to know.

Her tongue danced with his and her half naked body began undulating under him until the softness was forgotten in the heat of passion again.

His lips were firm and hungry as they moved from hers down her neck to her breasts as he worked open the fastenings of her jeans. The inferno of his mouth tore a surprised gasp from her as it enveloped her nipple and drew strongly on the nub.

"Spike," she moaned in a request for more.

He moved to her other breast and thrust a hand into her pants to delve into the moisture he knew would be there.

After just a moment of those dually satisfying actions he pulled away to tear off her shoes and strip her bare. It took him a minute to throw aside his black doc marten boots so he could stand and get out of the rest of his clothes.

Buffy shifted to a kneeling position in the middle of the mattress to watch his unveiling and she sighed his name when he straightened to stand nude before her for just a moment then crawled back onto the bed.

She giggled a bit when he butted his head against her stomach then slowly moved it back and forth to tickle her skin with his hair. Her fingers slid into his hair and he pressed his mouth to her bellybutton before kissing his way up her body while applying a gentle pressure to push her on to her back again.

Her lips were parted and waiting for his when they left her throat and found her mouth.

His lean hips settled between her legs and she draped them around his waist so her feet rested lightly on the backs of his thighs.

"God, Buffy," he pulled away to groan as she began rocking her hips against him.

"I need you," her hands ran down his back to curl over the taut cheeks of his ass.

"Patience, luv," he braced himself up on his elbows and smiled down at her.

"Two months," she raised her head to lick his neck and tasted the beginnings of sweat on his skin, "too long," she moved to bite his earlobe, "ready," her hips wiggled to try getting him inside her, "need you," she worked a hand between their bodies to take hold of his erection when her wriggling didn’t work, "Now," she moaned as her fingers guided him home.

They both froze as the tip of his shaft stretched her opening and dipped into her wet heat. Her hand remained at the base of his erection as they looked into each others eyes and ceased to breathe as they savored the moment. Then he whispered softly in her ear that he loved her and her hand moved back to his butt to press him in further.

Spike took his time, inching forward then pausing to memorize the way her body adjusted and seemed to mold itself to him.

Their gazes remained locked every second of his entry with their mouths mere inches apart.

They didn’t kiss. They breathed in each other’s air and stared into each other’s soul and it was more intense then many of their kisses.

When finally he was buried to the hilt inside her his eyelids drifted halfway down then opened fully again to watch hers fall closed in ecstasy. For a single second he stayed unmoving in her, watching her beautiful face react, then he could take no more.

He moved his right hand down her body to grip her thigh and pull it higher over his hips as he began thrusting slowly. His left hand moved into her hair as he lowered his lips to kiss hers with the same gentle rhythm of his body inside her.

Then she began rising to meet his thrusts and raking her fingers up and down his back and demanding more with her mouth.

Needing air in his new lungs, he turned from her lips and pressed his face against the side of her neck as need took over them both.

Her legs were no longer draped over his hips, they were locked around his waist like a vise to make sure he didn’t leave her when he withdrew only to slam back into her very core.

They both savored the new elements to their lovemaking. The erratic pace of both their heartbeats as their bodies moved faster and harder together. The labored panting breaths they each took to fill their lungs with much needed oxygen. The sweat that beaded up on his flesh and made her grasping hands slips and slide over his back until her fingers dug sharply into the flexing muscles of his upper back.

Most of all they felt the heat.

His breath and body seemed to add fuel to the raging inferno inside her when in the past those had been cool things that helped tame the wildfire.

Now only one thing would satisfy the flames of desire eating her up inside and that was to let them burn them both.

Incoherent words of love, want and need spilled from both their lips as their bodies pounding against each other toward orgasm.

Those words melted into cries and moans and whimpers torn from Buffy’s throat as he gave one powerful thrust then twisted his hips to grind his groin against her exposed clit causing her body to tense and arched just one more small push away from climax. He pulled almost completely out of her only to repeat that thrust and twist at the same time as his blunt teeth sank into the flesh of her throat where her pulse pounded so frantically and that was all she needed.

Crying out his name her legs clenched with bruising force around his waist, her fingernails drew blood from the skin of his back and her inner muscles clamped down on his shaft.

Her name escaped his lips on a gasp for breath as he felt her convulsions and thrust into her three more times before stiffening to release himself deeply inside her.

"Buffy, I love you," he panted as his sweating body collapsed onto hers.

Too breathless to speak she just pressed her lips against his neck and wrapped her arms tightly around him as aftershocks ran through her body.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Thirteen

"Wow," Buffy said when she finally got her brain cells and mouth functioning in sync to get a word out.

"Told you it was a talent I wouldn’t lose," Spike rolled off her to lay on his side smirking at her sweaty well loved body.

"Maybe it’s just beginner’s luck," she teased and shifted on to her own side facing him.

"Ready for another go then?" his smirk remained firmly in place as he slid a finger between her lips to get the tip wet then trailed the digit down her neck to circle a half hard nipple.

"I was born ready," she pushed him onto his back as the nipple returned to full arousal at his touch. "And I believe I get the top this time."

"Says you," he nudged her onto her back and quickly rolled on top of her.

"Oh, come on," she pouted up into his face before he lowered it to lick, suck and nibble his way down her neck. "You know you love me on top," she moaned and her toes curled into the blankets under her body as he sucked on the sensitive patch of skin right where her neck and shoulder met.

"That I do, luv," his hands cupped her breasts for his approaching mouth. "This titties of your bounce so sweet while you ride my cock," he licks first one then the other nipple, "but," he moves to press a quick kiss against her mouth, "I’ve got a lot of catching up to do."

"Oh," a shiver ran through her body as his lips made their way down the center of her chest. "Well, then," she moaned and spread her thighs as he circled her navel with his tongue then settled himself between her legs, "I guess I can wait for my turn."

"Right generous of you, pet," he smirked and stroked his hands over her soft inner thighs.

"I know," she smiled back at him then sighed dramatically. "I just give and give and give," she giggled at the disbelieving look he flashed her way.

"Sure you are," he turned his focus to the treasure before him. "Me? I just take," he ran his fingers through her neatly trimmed pubic hairs and parted her wet folds to reveal the deep reddish pink color of her pussy, "and take," he blew a warm breath over her wetness then gave her a wink before diving in, "and take," he said against her clit as he took the nub into his mouth.

"Mmm, you’re a greedy man, Spike," she moaned and pressed her head back into the mattress as his tongue began licking up and down her slit.

"Love it don’t you?" he asked while making quick darting forays inside her to coat his tongue with their combined juices.

"Yes," one hand fisted in the blankets at her side and the other sank into his soft silky hair to draw him nearer to her core.

"Who’s being greedy now?" he teased at the demanding touch with a light nip of his teeth on her clitoris.

A gleam entered her eyes as she remembered so well all the times they had taunted and teased one another before he got his soul and she used her hand to pull his head back so she could look into his eyes.

"Spike," she said softly when he focused on her face, "eat me."

"There’s my bossy little bird," he gave her a smirk then lowered his head again to obey.

At the first deep thrust of his tongue inside her she sighed in contentment at having it there again. Then he did that bone melting tongue curling thing of his so that the tip of his tongue raked over channel and sent an uncontrollable shiver running through her body. The tongue was then withdrawn to circle her entrance and run up to rasp roughly over her clit before he shoved it back inside to lick her pussy clean.

Over and over again he repeated the same process - twisting his head from side to side to hit all her magic spots from every possible angle, varying the speed and pressure he used and sometimes humming just a bit to send wonderful vibrations through her.

Moaning and panting and shaking under his talented ministrations she sank both her hands into his hair and pressed his head against her as she thrust her hips upward for more.

After a moment he suddenly yanked his head away and rested laid it against her inner thigh as he gulped air into his lungs.

"Careful, luv," he panted, "remember I gotta breathe now."

She was too far gone to notice his words, though, and seeing that he smiled a bit cockily and resumed his oral play, this time keeping his mouth focused on her clit while bringing his fingers in to explore her depths.

"Yes," Buffy arched and moaned as two fingers thrust then curled inside her as he began suckling on the taut nub of nerves at the apex of her thighs.

Her hips were rising and falling frantically in time with the twisting plunging thrusts of his fingers, her hands were now gripping his shoulders, her feet were pressed flat on the bed to give her more force on the upward thrusts of her pelvis and the most arousing whimpers and cries and breathless moans were pouring from her lips.

As he began pushing her over the edge into climax Spike raised his head to watch her face contort in the throws of passion and had to fight hard to keep from following her into that bliss.

He managed by biting the inside of his mouth hard and moving his gaze to study a painting on the wall above the bed for a minute before focusing on his lover again. With practiced ease he calmed her body from orgasm, easing the spasms of her muscles with soothing sounds and touches, while keeping the fires inside her stoked for more.

When her eyelids fluttered open and he met her slumberous green gaze he made his way up her body to slide his throbbing length into her quim.

Her eyes stayed partially open and looking into his as he used the fingers of his right hand in tandem with his driving thrusts to push her toward another quick release that he quickly followed with a sharp cry and a flood of hot cum gushing into her welcoming depths.

~*~*~

Nearly an hour later, in a reversal of their roles from the previous night, Buffy had Spike lying flat on his back with his strong arms tucked firmly under his head.

He was using the elevation given his head by those arms to watch her dainty yet oh so strong fingers stroke over his chest and washboard abs while her mouth leisurely explored both sides of his neck with some special attention to his Adam’s apple. She then suckled her way along his shoulders before sinking her teeth lightly into the muscle of his upper arms.

"Hey now," he said in an injured tone, "watch those chompers."

His full lower lip extended in an exaggerated pout, which she rolled her eyes and reluctantly smiled at before gently sucking the lip between both of hers as her fingernails raked over his pecs.

"Did I tell you what to do when it was your turn?" she nipped at his lip with a smile before pulling away.

"I do recall, and I quote you, luv, ‘Spike, eat me,’ being said at one point. That qualifies as telling me what to do now dunnit?" he reminded her with a half smile and arched brow.

"Well, yeah, if ya wanna get all literal on me," she pouted then grinned wickedly. "Want me to return the favor and eat you?"

"Figured you were getting to that on your own, but if it wasn’t on the agenda you’d best put it there."

Suddenly her expression grew serious as she moved to straddle his stomach and bent to take his face into her hands. She stared into his eyes for a long moment and opened her mouth to say something, but now sound came out so she closed it again then pressed her face against his neck.

"Why are you getting weepy on me now?" he pushed back her hair and turned her face to his again.

"I’m not getting weepy," she denied with a few rapid blinks of her watering eyes. "I was thinking how I’ve never had anything like this before you. Joking, laughing, playing, talking in addition to the … sex … with a guy," she sniffled delicately and pressed her face back to his neck. "I never told you how much I loved that and I just realized now how much I missed it and I just know I never would have been able to have it again with anyone else and I never would have been this happy again," she sniffled again and sat upright with her hands quickly wiping away the hint of moisture that had fallen to her cheeks. "I am not getting weepy, though. I’m just saying, is all."

"I love you, too," he whispered before pulling her down for a quick kiss then sitting her back up with a gleam in his eyes. "Now, Buffy," he ran his fingers through her hair and wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, "eat me."

"Mmm," she said after her surprised laugh trailed off, "now there’s my bossy little blondie bear."

"Nothing little about me, as well you know, pet," he groaned as she shifted further down his body and pressed her mouth to his stomach, "and if you start calling me that horrible name, I’ll call this off."

"Oh, but it’s such a good name for you," she looked up into his eyes as her tongue circled his belly button. "You’re all blonde and cuddly like a cute widdle teddy bear," she maintained eye contact as her mouth moved lower, "I just can’t believe Harmony thought of it before me."

"Oh, you’re a bloody riot tonight," he rolled his eyes and groaned comically.

"I thought it was pretty funny," she smiled broadly and settled between his legs while running her tongue along the length of his shaft to give him another reason to groan. "Are we done talking now?" she asked after licking every inch of his hard cock.

"I think," he rocked his hips forward to nudge the tip of his erection against her smiling lips, "there are better things we could do with your mouth."

Her hand curled firmly around the base of his shaft as she obeyed his silent command and pushed back his foreskin to suck the bulbous head of his cock into her mouth.

She pulled in her cheeks and applied strong suction to the tip while her tongue rasped over his sensitive flesh before she released him with a smacking pop of her lips to ask, "That what ya had in mind?"

"If all you’re gonna do is play with it, I’m taking it back," he warned with his hands gripping his forearms firmly under his platinum blonde head.

"You like me playing with it so hush," she ran her hand up and down his shaft and flicked her tongue over the tip while looking into his eyes.

"I love your playing with it, but if you don’t stop soon I’ll take you over my knee and rosy that lovely little bottom of yours," he threatened thickly.

"This bottom," she pulled her knees up under her to push her butt up in the air and wiggle it. "Promises, promises," she murmured before taking him into her mouth.

"That’s it, luv," he forgot about the no touch policy they’d started with and moved his hands to tangle his fingers in her soft blonde hair. "Take it all in."

Slowly, giving her muscles time to adjust around his length, she took inch after inch of his thick cock into her mouth until her nose was buried in the brown hairs curling around the base and the tip was buried deep in her throat.

A deep guttural sound of satisfaction was torn from his throat at being held so deeply in her mouth that became a protesting groan as she began pulling back up. Before his hands could move to press her back down she moved her lips that way of her own accord and started bobbing her head up and down on his shaft with a gentle suction.

"Oh, Christ, don’t stop," he practically begged when she removed her mouth to draw in a few deep breaths.

"Wouldn’t dream of it," she panted with a few firm strokes of her hand on his shaft before returning it to her mouth.

This time she deep throated him faster, sucking harder, massaging his base with her hand whenever her mouth moved upward and squeezing his balls gently with her other hand.

He panted and groaned and uttered coarse words of encouragement at her every action. His hips began thrusting up to force himself deeper in her throat on every downstroke and she began sucking as hard as she could upon him as his balls began tightening in her hand.

Just before he starting cumming she dragged her lips up to hold just the head in her waiting mouth while using both her hands to stroke and squeeze his shaft.

With a shout that was her name he exploded under her ministrations, filling her mouth with creamy hot liquid faster than she could gulp it down. She continued to suck his juices from the pulsating shaft until it finally stopped spurting in her mouth and began going soft in her hands.

Buffy swallowed one last time then removed her lips and rested her forehead against his abdomen until her breathing steadied. Once it was back to something like normal she raised a hand to wipe the moisture from her mouth and chin then looked into his eyes as she started licking her hand.

"You are," he sat up and moved his face to nearly touching hers, "the sexiest creature I have ever seen in my entire existence," he declared passionately before claiming her lips.

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