Multok and Shel followed the slayer and vampire to a second bar. Buffy noticed that this new bar had, at least, a better parking lot and appearance, attempting to look more modern than the previous bar's 1960's motif of olive and dirt brown. Immediately upon entering, Spike made a bee line for the back as Buffy took a seat at the bar.

Still a novice, Shel became very anxious as she watched the pair split up. "Multok, is Spike leaving? Shouldn't one of us follow him?"

Multok shrugged. "Why don't you see where the vampire has run off to, while I get a sample or two of the beverages served here at the bar?"

Since she was still developing her ability to pass through objects, Shel was thrilled to have a chance to practice. Concentrating very hard, she successfully passed through the wall and into the room that the vampire had disappeared and immediately came flying right back out.

Multok chuckled as he watched his apprentice race toward him with her mouth hanging open and her eyes big, round circles, accentuating her shock. "Take a breath, missy, or you're going to pass out, and it's a long drop to the floor."

"But…but he was…you know. And he was holding his…his…but he is dead!"

Multok had suspected the vampire had been off to take a piss, but he couldn't resist a little practical joke. The girl was so naïve that he just couldn't resist a practical joke or two. "What? You didn't think vampires take a pi…relieve themselves? All that food and drink has to go somewhere, Shel. Ok, enough of fun time, he's back. Let's get to work."

As they flew over close to the pair, Spike had already started up an animated conversation with Buffy. "Bloody fucking hell, woman, if my heart could still beat, I would've had a heart attack over your pitiful excuse for driving. As it was, you nearly scared the piss out of me."

"Eewww. Much more info than I needed. But don't say I didn't warn you, and besides, my driving is not that bad. I just don't practice much. Hey, I could borrow your car"

Spike's hand shot out and covered her mouth. "Don't even think it, let alone say it. There's not a mail box, light poll, or curb safe when you are behind the wheel."

"Remember, it was *your* idea for me to be your designated driver tonight." Buffy could tell Spike was teasing her, but he was also right. In all honesty, her driving was pathetic. On a scale of 1 to 10, her driving would score a three, which was generous. It was usually a one or a two, but the score was high tonight because she hadn't actually hit anything. Just scared a couple of innocent pedestrians, but that didn't count, did it?

Buffy's and Spike's attention was soon drawn to a loud game at the dart boards toward the back of the bar. A few people were gathered around the two men who were playing. Judging from the shouting going on, the short, beefy, brunette man was beating a thin man of average height, whose look of frustration was the biggest tip off as to who was losing. When the game ended, the loser paid the winner, and Buffy and Spike turned back to their drinks and conversation.

Buffy took a sip of her coke and was startled when a hand suddenly landed on Spike's shoulder.

"Spike, good to see you here tonight. I needed to make some more money."

Not bothering to turn around, Spike took another drag off his cigarette before answering. "Well, Nathan, that depends on how much money you plan to lose?"

"Come on back, and don't worry, I'll make it worth your while." The short, burly man chuckled good-naturedly and headed back to the dart boards.

Spike looked over at Buffy with a cocky smile, "I never mind making more blunt." As he shrugged out of his leather coat, he nodded his head toward the back, "Want to go with or stay here, pet?"

Torn between the two options, Buffy chose the safer of the two. "I think I'll stay here."

"Ok, this won't take long," he bragged as he laid his coat on the chair next to her. Buffy watched Spike make his way over to the dart board, but frankly, she wasn't sure what shocked her the most. On one hand, she was amazed that the small crowd that had gathered to watch the game seemed to not just know Spike, but also welcomed him into there midst. On the other hand, she was amazed that he actually took his signature duster off to play, which he didn't even do when he fought.

As Spike joked with the onlookers and threw some darts to warm up, Buffy's attention was drawn to three women, who had been sitting by the door. Buffy watched as they moved to a table as close to the game as possible, without being on the receiving end of a sharp dart, attempting to gain Spike's attention whenever possible.

However, the crowd quickly grew to the point that Buffy could no longer see the game from her seat at the bar. Her last, clear view was of Spike ordering a drink from a waitress, yet another female tripping over herself to flirt with him. The woman finally pulled herself away from Spike so she could turn in the order to the bartender before taking some other drinks to others waiting. Buffy drummed her fingers on the bar as she remembered Spike's "favor" was for her to be his driver *and* be a bodyguard. 'Silly me,' she had thought. She had assumed that Spike was kidding her about the bodyguard part, but as she counted four different women presently vying for his attention, she realized that the conceited bleached-blonde vampire hadn't been kidding at all.

Turning away from the game and back to the bar, Buffy fumed as she watched the bartender make Spike's drink. She wanted to move up closer to watch Spike play, but of course, she didn't want to look like those bimbos drooling over him. As Buffy struggled with indecision, she watched the waitress "accidentally" rub her tits up against Spike as she delivered drinks to a table next to the dart boards. 'Are you going to let that woman get away with that?' a surprised, little voice asked her. Buffy made her decision and let her actions answer that question.

As soon as the bartender set Spike's drink on the bar for the waitress to serve, Buffy laid Spike's coat over her arm, picked up her coke and grabbed Spike's drink. However, as Buffy turned, she almost dropped their drinks when she almost ran into the overly flirtatious waitress. The two women squared off, sharing cold glances that were brief, but spoke volumes. The waitress's look implied knowledge of the secret Buffy was trying to hide from herself and from the rest of the world, 'You're more interested in Spike than you want to let on.' However, Buffy's look was more concise and to the point, 'Take your tits packing, slut.'

Over at the dart board, Spike saw the silent exchange and had to work hard to keep his gloating grin off his face so Buffy wouldn't see and knock it off. For once, a plan of his was working as designed. He had carefully picked this particular bar because of the abundance of "friendly" women, especially the brunette waitress, Sharon. Spike had never taken Sharon up on any of her offers, but she always provided a boost for his ego. However, if Buffy thought Alyssa at the first bar was an outrageous flirt, then Sharon was worse. Sharon was one of those souls that if she was awake, she was flirting. If the bar was totally empty, she would make a pass at the nearest bar stool.

With this in mind, Spike used this setting to his best advantage. Knowing how territorial women can be, what better way to see if Buffy had any interest in him than to see how she reacted to the waitress's obvious overtures? And Spike thought Buffy's reaction couldn't have been better.

As Buffy approached, Spike grabbed an empty stool and put it at the tall table that he had set his previous drink. "Here you go, luv, a front row seat."

Setting both drinks on the table, Buffy climbed onto the seat. She wanted to say that she couldn't believe Spike had let that slut rub on him but decided that might sound like she was jealous or something. "I can't believe…uh…you lost the first game."

Not fooled, Spike could tell that the slayer had wanted to say something else, but let it pass. Instead envying his coat, which was now lying across her lap, Spike gave her a wicked grin. "Well, the bet was a bit skimpy." His eyes sparkled mischievously. "But now we are playing for double or nothing, which is much more interesting. Give me a few minutes, pet. I'll be double and that wanker will be nothing."

*****

"Oh, Mr. President, you look soooo handsome tonight."

The "President" looked at Harmony lying on her side across the bed. Her blue dress was slit up high on the side, exposing her leg. He trailed his hand up her exposed leg, then up and across her hip. As he ran his fingertips across her ribs, Harmony giggled, but he didn't stop until his hand rested on the back of her head. Wrapping his hand in her hair, he pulled Harmony's head back so that she was looking up at him. His voice was calm and smooth when he spoke. "You got here tonight before I did." His hand slid into the low neck of her dress to firmly cup her breast. "You know you should have asked my permission." His fingers closed on her nipple.

Harmony groaned as he pinched. "Oh, I've been a very bad girl, but I had to get ready for you."

He gave her nipple another sharp pinch and then pulled as he leaned down to kiss her. "Monica, did you bring my cigar?"

"Yes, Bill. I've been keeping it warm for you." Harmony put one of her fingers in her mouth and sucked suggestively.

He rolled her onto her back and walked around to the opposite side of the bed. Pulling her legs apart, he ran both hands up her dress, pleased to find that she wasn't wearing any underwear. Nestled between the lips of her cunt, his fingers quickly found what he was looking for. As he slowly pulled the cigar out of her, Harmony moaned. In replacement, he thrust two fingers, pumping them in and out of her cunt. Harmony lifted her hips up to eagerly meet each thrust.

When he pulled back and slipped the cigar in his mouth, Harmony sat up on her knees, changing from her human to her vampire features and giving him a toothy smile. "Mr. President, does my little present taste good?"

He smiled around the cigar while he unzipped his pants. "I've got something thicker for you to suck on, Monica." He pulled out his hard cock, stroking his hand down the shaft. "Put your fangs away for now, but keep them handy. We'll need them later."

*****

When Buffy pulled into the last stop on their pub crawl, Spike was pleased to see that the parking lot was not packed. He had picked this bar as carefully as the other. However, he chose this as their final destination because it was quieter than any of the others. Dark and cozy, with a small dance floor in the center, the bar was a perfect spot for lovers and romantic interludes. A good atmosphere always helped.

Again the pair sat at the end of the bar, and Spike quickly had her laughing at his stories about the crazier times with Drusilla and imitations of the Scoobies she couldn't help enjoy. As they talked, they also watched the couples slow-dancing on the dance floor. One couple stood out as they kissed, staring into each other's eyes, making sure that they were always touching as much as possible without becoming lewd. The couple's love was obvious to any who cared to look. Buffy and Spike's conversation fell off as they watched for a few moments. Then Spike looked back at Buffy, taking in her expression, which was entranced, wistful, and envious all at once.

Purposefully keeping his tone light, Spike teased, "So what is it about Captain Cardboard that keeps you going back for more?"

Buffy pondered the question a moment before answering, not realizing how much the pause spoke about the current state of her feelings for Riley. "He's polite, honest, trustworthy"

Giving an abrupt snort, Spike smirked, "A bleedin' boy scout, no doubt."

Ignoring his interruption, Buffy continued, "He's handsome."

Disgusted, but trying to still act nonchalant, Spike absently played with a book of matches. "If you go for that Jeffrey Dahmer, boy next door type. Just think, one day we will see him on a Court TV documentary about serial killers, with some neighbor yapping to a camera crew, "I just can't believe it. He was such a nice boy."

"Killer! Look who's talking, William the Bloody, Mr. "I'm the Scourge of Europe." Grrh! What's your body count?"

Even though he thought her Grrh face was distracting but adorable, Spike pressed on, "At least I admit what I am, but not soldier boy. He's just a glorified demon serial killer. Never stopping to see if they are peaceful or not."

Buffy knew Spike had a point. When Riley was with the Initiative, he had killed or captured any demon that was unfortunate enough to cross his path, disregarding whether the demon was dangerous or not. All done in the name of duty. But if Riley was a killer, what did that make her? But why was she even thinking about this? That was not an internal path she cared to travel down at the moment. Damn, him. Spike could effortlessly get under her skin. Buffy had no idea how someone could be so maddening, while so appealing at the same time.

She looked at him, up and down, trying desperately to think of a stinging comeback. "At least he's…he's tall."

Spike's jaw dropped open as he gaped at her. "Tall? Tall is the best you could come up with? Right then, let's talk about Willy Wanker's excessive height."

"It's not excessive, but we can talk about it." Buffy crossed her arms as an indication of her resolve, but her smile started to slip as worry set in. Spike was just too smug.

First taking a sip of his drink, Spike jumped into the fire with both feet, no matter the consequences. "He's what? 6'2" or 6'4? And you are what, 5'2"? That's about a 12 inch difference, Slayer, at best. Tell me, does he have to pick you up to snog?"

Buffy was shocked he would ask her such a question. "If you mean kiss…nooo, he just leans down, and I stand up on my toes"

Spike raised an eyebrow, "What about when you fu…shag, do you moan into his two chest hairs? Can you even do a proper kiss while doing the dirty?"

Buffy spit out the drink of her coke that she had just taken. On top of being shocked, Buffy now couldn't believe that she and Spike were discussing her sex life with Riley. So not expecting this. "We kiss during…you know just fine.

"Ooohhhh, I believe you, Slayer." However, Spike's tone clearly said that he didn't. Thinking about what he was going to try next, Spike thought he would probably get staked for it, but what the hell. He liked to live dangerously. "Kissing is much better with someone closer to your height."

Buffy laughed, "Is not."

"Is, too," Spike countered.

"Not."

"Is."

"Not."

"Is. Try it and see."

"I did." Spike's skeptical look made Buffy add, "With Angel. He's shorter than Riley."

Now Spike was going to prove his point regardless whether he was right or not. Angel's name paired with Buffy's this particular night was just too much to bear. "No, the king of brood is still too tall, pet. Stand up, and I'll give you a proper demonstration." While Spike watched for Buffy's response, he was thinking, 'Damn, I really should have worn a bullet-proof vest.'

Buffy started to stand but caught herself. "As if, and besides, I've kissed you before, when Willow cast her "my will be done" spell."

"But that time we were under a spell, pet. Not the same by half." Spike's smug smirk returned. "And the last one, when the spell was broken, we were laying down."

What Buffy and Spike had not realized was that as their voices rose in their argument; their little "discussion" had been attracting quite an audience. Nonetheless, even if the pair was not arguing loudly, they would stand out in any crowd. Both had beauty and presence that always drew attention. Accordingly, the tables closest to Buffy and Spike were all trying to inconspicuously eavesdrop, while the ones farther away openly watched.

The bartender, however, was close to the pair but did not try to disguise his interest in the couple. He was obviously listening and chuckling from time to time. In his twenty plus years tending bar, Spike's line had to be the most original he had ever overheard. And he had heard thousands. He would gladly have given a week's paycheck to ensure he was ringside to watch this pair, and he would have bet a week's tips that the pretty blonde girl would take the bait on the line Spike had cast.

Oblivious to their onlookers, Spike raised his scared eyebrow in a silent challenge and waited for Buffy's next move.

Multok had to admit, to himself only though, that he would have never thought to use Buffy's boyfriend to aid Spike's seduction of Buffy. The vampire was truly brilliant. But now Multok was frantically trying to signal to Shel to see if they could help the vampire out. The two small, blue demons may have been invisible to everyone in the bar; however, if Multok yelled across to Shel, the jig would be up.

Across from her mentor, standing on Buffy's shoulder, Shel tried to decipher Multok's mime imitation with no success. She had always hated charades, which now seemed to have come back to haunt her. Finally giving up, Shell turned to Buffy's ear and improvised. "Try it, you'll like it." Realizing that she sounded like a commercial, Shel cringed at her own lack of originality. Pulling herself back together, she tried again, "Just look at him. You want to kiss him. He wants to kiss you. Do it." The second try wasn't much better, but Shel was a little happier.

Regardless, unknown to Shel or Spike, Buffy didn't need much coaxing. She was looking at him, and she did like what she saw. She did want to kiss, find out what he tasted like. And do it? Yeah, she was going to do it fast before she thought better of it.

When Buffy stood up, following her lead Spike also stood, confident that his gamble was about to pay off. But unexpectedly, Spike found himself nervous, and that was one feeling he never enjoyed. His and the slayer's tentative partnership hunting Eloquaws was working rather well, enough that he had felt that they had gotten beyond that mortal enemy rot. But a kiss, a first kiss, changed their relationship, forever declaring an interest beyond their current provisional agreement. Yes, he ached to kiss her and much, much more. However, there were many obstacles to anything beyond a one night-stand, and he was beginning to suspect that just one time would never be enough. The saying, "fools rush in," came to mind, and maybe he was a fool, but looking at her, he knew she was worth the risks.

Spike took a step toward her, purposefully invading her personal space. Buffy held her ground, but her pulse soared when Spike reached out and lightly grasped her upper arms.

Not wanting to send her running before he had a decent chance, Spike leaned in and gently placed his lips on hers.

Feeling his cool lips on her warm ones, Buffy thought the kiss was sweet, unpretentious, and surprisingly nice but not nearly enough. She opened her mouth slightly and tentatively ran her tongue along his lower lip.

Surprised, Spike pulled slightly back to look into her face. As her eyelids slowly opened, Spike only saw desire. He was a little shocked but thrilled to see her sensual smile. Her desire, her smile was better than any aphrodisiac and instantly arousing. Spike's hands quickly traveled up her arms to cup the sides of her face as he leaned into kiss the slayer properly.

Instead of feeling the coldness of his hands, Buffy felt as if he had left twin paths of fire up her arms, up to either side of her face. Making her feel like she would melt down into the floor when he opened up his mouth on hers, allowing their tongues to meet. Such an intoxicating kiss, and the only places that they touched were their lips, tongues and his hands on her face. Very minimal but very erotic.

When Buffy finally pulled back to breathe, Buffy realized that the pounding she had assumed was her heart beating hard in her chest was actually applause. Looking around, Buffy saw every patron in the bar, the waitress and the bartender clapping their hands, cheering their intense kiss. Dismayed, she looked at Spike with wide open, shocked eyes and then rushed out the door.

Spike was not the least bit embarrassed, but amused at their audience. Before heading out the door to follow Buffy, Spike took a bow for his cheering fans. "Thank you, the next show will be tomorrow night at nine. Buy your tickets early. Thanks again and good night."

Continued in Part 2

Chapter 6: Payback

Bracing himself for the notorious, slayer fury, Spike headed out the bar's door. Even though he thought Buffy looked magnificent when furious, and he usually enjoyed goading her into that particular state, he had wanted to skip that tonight. Spike wanted to let his head pleasantly spin a little longer from their kiss as he walked ten feet off the ground. But then he put his hand on the door knob and the reality of an impending ass chewing outside, causing him to slide back down to earth.

However, when he opened the door and walked outside, Spike came to an abrupt halt at the sound of Buffy's laughter.

Buffy wasn't mad, mortified, or offended like she thought she should be. That little voice gave her some solace, saying that the people in the bar applauded as a compliment, not criticism. Instead, she felt absolutely giddy, almost light-headed, and overall invigorated. Buffy discovered that it felt so good to just out and out laugh, let loose and enjoy the moment. Every time she pictured the faces all over the bar, her laughter started anew. When Spike walked up, she was able to choke out, "Did you see all those people? They were applauding." Her laughter got the best of her again.

Spike tried to look indignant but couldn't in the face of Buffy's gaiety. He smiled his best cocky smile and lifted his scarred eyebrow, "Well, it was a damn good kiss."

Spike turned the laughing slayer, pointing her toward the DeSoto and gave her a push. When she finally climbed in behind the wheel, Buffy's laughter had down graded to a chuckle.

"Since there is always room for improvement, rehearsals are tomorrow, pet. Ya know what they say, practice makes perfect." Wiggling his eyebrows suggestively, Spike looked over at Buffy, who was now stone-faced and staring at him. "What's wrong, pet?"

"Seatbelt."

Spike looked at her like she was cracked in the head. "Yeah, heard of those. One of those new innovations that I just never got into."

"Put yours on."

"Ha, ha. Very funny, Slayer. Now, let's go."

With her jaw set, Buffy looked him square in the eyes. "No buckle up, no drive."

"Let me remind you, in case you forgot. I'M DEAD."

Buffy looked straight ahead and drummed her nails annoyingly on the steering wheel.

Spike recognized the Buffy "I'm not going to budge on this issue" look when he saw it. "Of all the bloody ridiculous, idiotic, dim-witted ideas. Bleedin' soddin' hell, woman, I crashed Rupert's Citron head on into a concrete wall and survived." Spike dug in between the seat, pulling out old cigarettes, food wrappers, some petrified French fries, and one long object that suspiciously resembled a finger with a hooked claw on the end. As he searched, Spike's indignant rant continued, "Who the fucking hell ever heard of a master vampire wearing a seat belt"

"You have now." After watching him dig and cuss for a few more minutes, Buffy finally couldn't hold back any longer and started laughing again.

Spike closed his eyes as it dawned on him that he had been had, tricked, snookered, and well and truly fooled. Lighting a cigarette while his little voice told him to calm down and not do anything rash, he took a long drag and blew the smoke purposefully in Buffy's direction. "Alright, Slayer. You think you're so funny…Hey!"

Stopping at a red light, Buffy reached over, yanked his cigarette from his hand and promptly tossed it out her window. Buffy chuckled at the site of a speechless Spike. When she explained, her voice was perky, which ground on his nerves, "Oh, didn't I tell you? This is now a smoke-free vehicle."

By the time the light turned green, he came up with a comeback, not very original, but he would make sure it was true. "Payback's a bitch, Slayer."

Buffy hit the brakes again, bring them to a screeching halt in the middle of the intersection. "Did you just call me a bitch?"

"If the shoe fits"

"Real cute, cliché guy, but I've been called worse and probably from you."

"Hopefully from me."

Honking from behind them temporarily broke up their verbal sparring.

As she started driving again, Spike pulled his pack of cigarettes back out. "First, this is my car. Second, no soddin’ bint is getting away with…Hey!"

Buffy sent Spike's whole pack of cigarettes sailing out the open window and had the friggin' nerve to laugh.

"Laugh it up, Slayer, but I owe you big." The curl at the corners of his mouth belied his threat. 'Bugger his little voice to hell and back. Payback starts now,' he thought.

Spike directed her on a very non-scenic tour of town, giving her directions of where to turn, then repeatedly changed his mind until she was shouting in frustration.

Buffy came to an abrupt halt when Spike's directions nearly had her running down the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign. Seeing the sign just in time, she slammed on the brakes, sending Spike crashing into the car's dash.

"Ow, you daft bint, warn a bloke before stopping like that."

Buffy couldn't believe the opening Spike had left her. "Where a seatbelt then, stupid vampire."

"Arghyou are the most perverse"

"Hey now, is this going to be one of those names you call me that is worse than bitch?" Buffy's taunt hit home and thoroughly deflated his impending tirade, causing Spike to growl in frustration.

Taking a deep breath, Spike took his little voice's advice and tried a different tact. "Oh, I get it, your trying to distract me from the fact that you don't have the nerve to run down that sign."

Multok, Spike's little voice, sighed. Goading Buffy was not the new strategy he had had in mind.

Buffy looked dumbfounded. "But…what?"

"That's ok, Slayer." Spike shrugged, appearing to be totally sympathetic. "You don't have to pretend with me. I won't tell anyone that you were too scared to knock down one little sign."

"Scared? I am sooo not scared. I just don't want to do it."

Spike patted her shoulder. "You don't have to cover up with me that you don't have the stones." Spike gave a dramatic sigh. "Nevertheless, every time I see that sign, my dead heart goes pitter pat."

"Huh? You can read, can't you? That sign says Sunnydale. You know, the place you call Sunnyhell, the place where I have kicked your ass so many times, where I put you in a wheel chair, where you got a chip stuck in your pitter patty head?"

"Yes, I can read, and no, I don't love this city, but I do love to knock that sign down." Spike gave her one of his smirks that never ceased to needle her.

Unexpectedly, Buffy hit the gas and plowed over the sign. "There, fang face, we're even."

Spike turned to face her in his seat. "Sorry, pet. I've ran that sign down twice so far."

"Then I'll hit it again."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Doesn't count since it's already down."

Buffy's bottom lip jutted out in a pout as she hit him in the shoulder. "That's not fair."

"And when exactly did I ever claim to be fair?" Unable to resist that adorable lower lip, Spike leaned over, closing the gap between them, and asked the question he had wanted to ask since leaving the last bar. "I was right, wasn't I? About the height difference?"

Not giving her a chance to answer, Spike captured Buffy's lips with his own. As she frantically tried to process the sudden but pleasant feeling of his kiss, he pulled back and looked at her, gauging her reaction. "Well? Was I right?"

Buffy blinked a few times as it took her to clear her head enough to understand what Spike was asking. "I...uhI plead the fifth."

Spike practically purred, "Ah but, luv, I'm British and a vampire. No constitution or laws for me."

His smile held pure sex appeal, causing Buffy to want to stop verbal dueling and go on to a more physical level.

"So, lawless British vampire, why don't you help me stay quiet."

If the first kiss in the bar had been hot, then this one was sizzling. Trying to get as close to one another as possible, Buffy crawled into Spike's lap, with his help. She knew she needed to come up for a breath, but who needs air anyway? This was so much better than oxygen. However, when her lungs started to burn, reality set in.

Buffy pulled back, "Riley and Harmony."

"Huh?"

Buffy pointed to herself, "Riley," and then pointed to Spike, "Harmony."

Spike point to her, "you Buffy," and then to himself, "Me Spike." Then pulled her back into another kiss, quickly drawing them both into the pleasure. The slayer just tasted too good to stop for more the a few seconds.

However, Buffy pushed Spike back again, "How did you feel when Dru slept with Angelus?"

"You mean when Dru was fucking the poof." He closed his eyes, instant images of Dru fawning all over her sire.

"You've made your point, Slayer." Rolling his eyes, Spike thought, 'That sickening image will make a bloke go limp in two seconds flat.'

He slid out from under her, leaving her on the passenger side as he settled behind the wheel and started the engine.

During the drive to Buffy's house, neither spoke, lost in their own thoughts.

In Spike's original plan, he had planned to Spike had planned to park his car in his storage. Then each of them walk home their separate ways, thus avoiding any unwanted questions. Questions that would surely arise if he drove up to the Summer's house to drop Buffy off. But sod it all, he wasn't going to go behind anyone's back.

When spike pulled up to Buffy's house, she quickly opened the door and got out. However, she paused before shutting the door and looked back into the car. "I haven't done fun in a while," she said as she looked down at the concrete, "and tonight was fun. Thanks."

"Sure, pet."

"Help me hunt tomorrow night?"

"I think I can fit that into my schedule, but let me check my planner." He was relieved when he heard her laughter. Her smile was definitely a good sign.

"Goodnight, Spike."

"'Night, Slayer." Spike drove away, planning how best to go about making some changes in his unlife.

Buffy finally fell asleep due to the calming effect of the rain outside, a heavy rain which lulled her into sleeping well through the next morning. Upon waking and looking at the alarm clock, she was happy that it was Saturday, which meant no classes. In fact, she had been tempted to cancel her lunch with Riley and stay in bed, buried beneath the covers with a pillow over her head.

However, instead of hiding away from the world, Buffy met Riley at the agreed upon restaurant for lunch. After that, Riley drove her to the Magic Box to meet up with Giles. When they pulled up in front of the store, Riley, always the gentleman, came around to open her door. When she stepped out, Riley leaned down for a goodbye kiss, into which Buffy put everything she could muster. When Riley pulled back, she could tell he was pleasantly surprised. Buffy, however, was painfully aware of the height difference between them and the difference of this kiss from Spike's kisses the night before. Cursing the blonde vampire for at least the tenth time that day, she tried to smile as Riley leaned down to kiss her again before he returned to his car and left.

Buffy entered the Magic Box on autopilot. "Hey, Giles."

Giles was behind the counter, busily writing in his ledger. "Oh, Buffy, I am glad you are here. How has your Eloquaw hunting last night?"

Buffy began to wander around the store, absently picking up and looking at various objects. "Uh…great. No prob."

Perplexed, Giles took off his glasses and looked at her. "I still don't think I quite understand why you don't want any assistance with these demons. That is, except for Spike's help."

"Spike and I…uh…are the only ones fast enough. Besides, you so don't want to get licked by these guys. Way yuck!" She hoped her guilt didn't show on her face because she didn't want to admit to herself why she didn't want anyone else's help but Spike's, let alone admit it to Giles. Subject change time. "So, Giles, where's Anya?"

"She's gone to an ex-demon support group retreat in Salem." Giles put his glasses back on and looked back down at his ledger.

Shocked, Buffy stopped her wanderings and turned to face Giles for the first time. "Anya's socializing and supporting instead of earning money?"

The corners of Giles' mouth tilted up into a very small smile. "In true Anya style, she did mention that she was also going to pick up some inventory, and then she could write off the trip as business."

Buffy laughed, "Shocker there."

*****

That night Buffy left her house to patrol as soon as the sun set. She knew that she would be early, but that was more than fine with her. What she didn't want was Spike to know how painstakingly she had styled her hair, or that she had spent over an hour picking out the perfect outfit to wear that night. Thinking back on it, Buffy felt slightly sick when she realized that she had taken more care dressing before seeing Spike than she had to see Riley for lunch earlier that day. Riley was a great guy, but Buffy was beginning to wonder if their boat of romance had already sunk.

As Buffy approached Spike's crypt, she could see a cardboard box full of clothes sitting next to the open door. Unsure what to expect, Buffy warily stepped inside to find Spike busy packing up another box. Curious, she crossed the crypt to peek inside the box. "What's this? Fall cleaning? And imagine, I had thought you were going for that 'who would want to live here' look."

Spike didn't even bother to look up, just kept packing items away. "Granted all the unicorns would drive anybody off their bloody rocker and out the door of this place, but the truth is, pet, that I'm nudging Harmony on her merry way."

"And that translates to?" Buffy thought she already knew but wanted to make sure.

"Harmony's arse should be hurting right about now since I gave her the boot, but knowing Harm, I suspect she has already moved on to a greener pasture. Said she already had possibilities. Guess my charms are a little lacking of late."

"Oh." Brilliant reply, but she couldn't very well say what she could hear whispered in her head; that his charm wasn't lacking but was just fine and mixed with a healthy dose of sex appeal. "I would say I was sorry, but I don't think either one of us would believe it."

"Good call, slayer. Besides, my fling with Harm has been over for weeks, so no harm, no foul. And no pun intended." Spike finished with a smirk. After he carried the second box and set it outside, he shrugged into his duster and headed for the door. "You ready to go, luv?"

"Sure."

Spike held the door open as Buffy approached. As if impatient, he stepped half way into the door way so she had to step around. As she passed through, he inhaled deeply, "Hmm." Buffy made a mental note to buy another bottle of the fragrant shampoo that he could smell.

*****

"Come on, Slayer. Move it. He's getting away." Hot on the chase, Buffy followed Spike's form, which was about thirty feet in front of her. As they ran into a grove of trees, Spike suddenly took a sharp turn to the left, leaving her line of sight. Clearing the turn, Buffy started to pick up speed again while looking for Spike's platinum blonde hair in the dark.

"Spike, where are…Aaahhh" Her feet slid out from under her, and her ass hit the ground, sending her sliding on her back over ten feet. As she came to a stop, Buffy found herself looking up at the canopy of the trees. Below she could feel cold and wet beneath her. Sitting up, Buffy was dumbfounded to discover that she was now lying in an enormous, mud puddle, a byproduct of the recent rain.

Buffy tensed when she heard steps approaching from her right. Bracing herself for the attack of a demon, the hunter could now very well be the hunted. Thankfully, she could make out a platinum blonde head through the dark. Calling out, she asked him, "Did you get him?"

"No, Slayer, he got away."

Not the answer Buffy wanted to hear. "I'm covered in mud, and you didn't even catch that demon?"

Ignoring her question, Spike wiggled his eyebrows. "Does it squish in the right places, Slayer? By the way, I know a place in LA that you could make lots of money wallowing in the mud. More if you do it topless."

"Eeww, you would know places like that." Looking down at the mud again, Buffy thought for a moment before looking back at him suspiciously. "Why didn't you slide in this muck, too?"

Spike casually shrugged. "You're just lucky, pet. Maybe I should have played poker or the lottery tonight."

"You did this on purpose." Buffy could feel her blood pressure rising.

"Slayer, you've hurt my tender feelings. I'm a sensitive bloke, ya know."

"Evasive much?"

Dropping the innocent act, Spike smirked. "Ok, I *may* have scouted around here earlier." Spike walked up to stand at the edge of the puddle. "But remember, slayer, payback is"

"Is a bitch, and you're looking at a very pissed off one." Buffy glared as best she could while covered in mud. "You did this because I threw your cigarettes out the window, didn't you?"

Spike appeared to think about his answer for a minute, "Nooo, I did this because of your seat belt prank, then my fag thrown out the window, which was followed by the whole pack."

"You're just begging to be staked." She pulled out a stake and pointed at him, but most of the effect was lost as the point of the stake dripped mud. Aggravated, Buffy rolled her eyes. "But you're paying for new clothes before I dust you."

Fast, Buffy's hand shot out and latched onto his ankle, then gave it a jerk. Arms waving in a doomed attempt to keep his balance, Spike fell flat on his back with a noisy splash.

For a moment, the vampire was speechless. He had been expecting Buffy to try to pull him in if he gave her a hand up, but not this attack. Always keeps you on your toes, that bird did, or in this case, on his arse. Annoying as it was, her unpredictability was one of the things he loved about the slayer.

Nonetheless, a vampire does have his pride. Growling, Spike glared at her but didn't succeed any better than Buffy had covered in the muck. "Slayer, I'm gonna kill you."

"As if," Buffy quipped and tried to ignore him as she tried to get the majority of the mud out of her hair.

"Just look at my coat." Horrified, Spike held up the sides of his duster, which Buffy looked at with no sympathy.

"Big baby." She punctuated her accusation with a splat, hitting Spike right between the eyes with a glob of mud.

Steaming now, Spike swiped the mud out of his eyes. "I'm the baby. Look whose throwing this muck."

Buffy thought he still looked a little too clean for her taste, so her next shot hit him in the chest.

The fight was on with both throwing mud. The fight quickly escalated to a new level when Spike grabbed her leg and yanked off one of her boots, tossing it as far as he could. "Now you can get the full effect of mud squishing between those dainty slayer toes."

Not thinking she could get his laced up boots off without a major struggle, Buffy retaliated by aiming at a much easier and prized target, Spike's ever-perfect hair. Taking him down with a dive, she rubbed with both hands full of mud into his bleached hair, until not one strand was left blonde. Next, she went for stuffing mud down his trade mark, black t-shirt until Spike rolled them both over, so that he was now on top and pinning her hands to the ground.

In this new position, Buffy could feel the undeniable bulge of his arousal, and the answering heat between her thighs. Looking up into his blue eyes, she waited breathlessly as he leaned down to kiss her, but she wanted to scream when he stopped just a couple of inches away and rolled off of her.

Spike also wanted to scream and yell from frustration on top of that. But instead, avoiding any eye contact, he stood up and made an attempt at wiping off the mud.

Buffy continued lying in the puddle, hoping the mud covered up her blush of embarrassment and shame. She knew why he had stopped. Riley was who she was suppose to be kissing, not Spike. Finally, sitting up, Buffy thought, 'One way or another, this just can't go on. Now I just have to figure out what way that is.'

Spike's strained voice broke into her thoughts, "I'm going to go wash up."

"Good idea." Buffy looked in to his face, trying to figure out what he was really thinking about. But she already knew. He had broken up with Harmony, but she still had Riley.

As Spike turned to leave, he paused. "I don't think I can help you hunt tomorrow night."

"Ok."

"See ya around, Slayer."

As Spike disappeared into the surrounding trees, Buffy climbed to her feet and headed home. Who would have thought that this would be the night that Spike's conscience kicked in?

*****

When Buffy finished her shower and put on her favorite pajamas, she went down the hall to her mother's bedroom. Buffy found her sitting in bed, reading a book. "Mom, can we talk, woman to woman instead of mom to daughter."

'Woman to Woman? This must be about men," Joyce speculated with a smile. "I'll try, honey, but I warn you, it's hard to switch off the mom part." Joyce patted the empty space beside her on the bed.

Buffy sat down beside her mom, unsure how to begin. "What…what if a girl is no longer attracted to her boyfriend? See, the boyfriend hasn't done anything wrong. In fact, he is just about perfect: nice, caring, handsome, stable, normal"

'Yep,' Joyce thought, 'it's about boys.' "Buffy, he sounds like the model boyfriend, but by any chance, does this girl have her eye on another guy?"

Buffy wanted to roll her eyes, but refrained. 'Why do Moms always ask the hard questions?' Buffy thought before answering her mom. "She may have looked, may have been tempted, but he is a big no-way no-how. Text book bad boy."

Joyce had already figured out that Buffy was talking about herself and Riley, and now she knew who "the other man" was. She also knew that she should be horrified, but over a cup of hot chocolate a year ago, Joyce had discovered that there was a great deal more to Spike than the leather and fangs he hid behind. Sure, he was another vampire, but he wasn't Angel, and Joyce felt sure that Spike would cherish and protect her daughter with everything he had. And to be perfectly honest, she had a soft spot for Spike.

Nevertheless, Joyce knew it was still Buffy's choice. "Does this girl love her boyfriend?"

Buffy began to play with the blanket, extremely uneasy with the question. "Wel…lshe thought she did, but now, she's thinking it's a not."

"It sounds like she needs to tell Ri…him that it is over and move on."

"But Mom, he hasn't done anything wrong."

Joyce wrapped her arm around her daughter's shoulders and squeezed. "Honey, if her heart is no longer in the relationship with her boyfriend, she needs to let go. Tell her to ask herself if that is how she would want to be treated."

Buffy contemplated that advice for a moment, and then with a sad smile, Buffy hugged her mom. "Thanks, Mom."

Before Buffy made it out the door of the bedroom, Joyce's voice stopped her. "And, Buffy, sometimes the bad boy is only the top layer, and it may be worth it to look a litter deeper."

*****

The man had been waiting for Harmony for the last half hour, impatiently cooling his heels since he was able to get free sooner than he had previously thought. Sitting on the sofa, he idly slapped a rolled up newspaper against his hand. Next to him lay a leash and some chocolate "doggie treats." He quickly stood up when he heard Harmony come through the back door.

Yelling at the top of her lungs before the back door had time to slam, Harmony came into the living room where he was waiting. The vampiress was so mad that she practically had smoke coming out of her ears. "Can you believe it? Who does that asshole think he is? After all I've done for him, I can't believe he did this to me."

"Harmony…HARMONY!" He thumped her on the side of her head with the newspaper to get her attention.

"What the hell are you raving about?"

"Spike, William the Wimpy. He can't even hurt humans, let alone feed, but he thinks he's so great. He"

He thumped her on the head a couple of more times. "All right already. You know I agree with you. You know I hate him as much as you do, maybe more, but what did he do *this* time?"

"Quit hitting me already. I'm not in the mood yet." Harmony took a couple of deep breaths, trying to calm down, but it didn't help. "That bastard kicked me out, acting like that crypt is his. Like he had claimed it or something. WellI guess he was there first. But I don't see his name on that crypt. Besides, he wasn't even buried in Sunnydale."

"Color me dense, but I don't see a problem here. Spike doesn't treat you as well as you should be treated, and you should have left him before now. Now, let's forget about the biteless undead and play." He picked up the leash off the sofa, dangling it in front of her face. "I've got your leash. Now, does puppy have her collar?"

"Yes," Harmony pouted, "but puppy needs a new dog house."

"Then puppy can stay here. Now be a good puppy." Looping the leash around her neck and pulling her up against him, they kissed until she moaned. When he came up for air, her mouth moved down to his neck, seductively biting with her human teeth.

Groaning, he playfully admonished her, hitting her on the ass a couple of times with the newspaper. "Bad puppy. Bad puppy. No bite." He heard her giggle before he felt her fangs extend against his neck and pierce his skin. As she fed, his cock grew hard almost to the point of painful. "Oohhh, yes. Yes bite. Gooood puppy."

Lying in bed, staring sightlessly at her window, Buffy pondered the last twenty-four hours. The Cliff Notes version was that she had gone out bar hopping with Spike. On top of that previously inconceivable event, she knew the reason for the little adventure had been flimsy at best. Her excuse of owing Spike a favor would in no way bear up to any Scoobie scrutiny, but the night had definitely been of the fun. She had actually enjoyed each of the different bars, but even more remarkable, for the evening, Buffy hadn't been the slayer, and Spike hadn't been a vampire. They were just two people out on the town.

But the kisses…those were far from ordinary. The first one was intriguing; lighting a spark within her. However, the next two kisses in his car were show stoppers, stoking the spark into a fire, which burned for more. 'More kisses, more touching, more caresses…just more!' the little voice in her head was practically screaming.

Buffy got out of bed to open her window, hoping the action would help clear her thoughts. As she opened the window, she glanced out at the street and was surprised to see Spike's DeSoto parked in front of the house. Watching for a few minutes, she could make out the red glow from the tip of his cigarette. Mesmerized, Buffy watched the glow move up to what she assumed to be his mouth, briefly glowing brighter before moving back down. The mouth that had provided her with those amazing kissing she had just been thinking about.

Buffy could not remember how she made it from her window to his car. Once there, not stopping to think, she leaned through the open driver's window, and without saying a word, she placed her lips on his. Spike groaned, sounding like a man who had had his first drink of water after crossing a desert. His hand came up to the back of her head to grip hair, not to pull her away but to hold her securely to him. Their tongues met furiously dueling, tasting, trying to find out if the previous night had been nearly as incredible as each remembered. This kiss confirmed their memories, but also promised more to come.

Finally needing oxygen, Buffy puller her head back to catch her breath. Spike's blue eyes burned into her own hazel ones, silently asking if she wanted more.

And she did. The corners of her lips curved into a seductive smile as she whispered, "Much more." The butterflies in Buffy's stomach furiously fluttered from Spike's answering growl and steamy look

Spike didn't stop long enough to even be surprised at her aggressiveness. With his hand still holding the back of her head, he brought her mouth back to his own, and he pulled Buffy through the window into his lap. Without interrupting their heated kiss, Spike managed to maneuver her over to the passenger seat. Finally letting her go, Spike started up the car and drove to a remote lover's lookout outside of town.

As soon as he parked, Buffy climbed into the back seat, and then she watched Spike take off his duster before joining her. Each froze for a moment, looking at each other, again making sure this was what they really wanted to do, knowing that there would be no turning back afterwards.

They came together as if it had been weeks since their last kiss, instead of just minutes. Clothes were frantically pulled off and thrown all over the interior of the car. Buffy impatiently swatted Spike's hands away when he took too long with his pants, which left Spike's hands free to caress her body. Bonus for both.

Spike explored what he had dreamed about. One hand cupped her breast as the other slid down her stomach, through her curls to rub her clitoris. With a groan of frustration, Buffy went ahead and ripped his pants, so Spike could get out of them faster. Watching as his cock sprung free of his jeans, Buffy reached out, rubbing her thumb across the tip of its head before stroking his shaft.

Having enough of playtime, Spike leaned over and kissed Buffy, a hard, crushing kiss that pushed her to lie back on the backseat, with him lying between her legs. Having retained her hold on his throbbing shaft, she guided it to between her legs, loving the feel of his velvety cock rubbing against the lips of her cunt.

When he drove in to the hilt, Buffy tore her lips from his so she could throw back her head and scream.

Unfortunately, that scream was what woke Buffy up out of her erotic dream. Still thoroughly aroused, she tossed and turned in the bed until she finally got up to look out the window, checking to see if, by chance, the DeSoto was out there. But no DeSoto, no glowing cigarette.

Resting her forehead on the soothingly cool window pane, Buffy again ran over in her mind what her mother had said to her, and her mother had been right. It certainly was not right or fair to Riley to dream about someone else. She knew now for a fact that she most certainly wasn't in love with Riley. She had tried real hard to love him, but over the last year, it never came to pass.

So with one luscious, frustrating dream, Buffy made her decision and just prayed that it didn't come back to haunt her. Step one had been to decide on Riley versus Spike. Buffy's little voice assured her the choice was simple, and it was not her current boyfriend but her resident pain in the ass that she chose. So now, on to step two, which was to figure out what the hell to do next. That was a stumper of mega proportions.

*****

Something else Buffy didn't know was that if she had looked out of her window and toward her left, beside the oak tree in the back yard, shrouded in the dark shadows, she would have seen the glowing, red tip of Spike's cigarette that she had been looking for.

Spike had been watching the slayer's window for the last two hours, thinking, wondering, and speculating. Earlier that evening, while rolling in the mud with the slayer, he had wanted to throttle her, but then his anger became an ache to kiss her, to touch her. Even better, he could read in her eyes that she felt exactly the same.

But then, just as the night before, the sickening vision of Dru with Angelus had flashed before his eyes. So, mentally cursing the situation to hell and back, he rolled off of Buffy. Spike had reminded her of Riley, so that she understood why he had withdrawn both physically and mentally. Afterwards, he had wondered if their dilemma ate at her as much as it gnawed away at his insides, from the second he had walked away from her till now.

Just thinking about that over-grown, nancy-boy, military poof made his blood boil. Or whatever blood he had drank before coming here to Buffy's. Regardless, here he now stood, hidden in the shadows, watching her window like a love sick pup. A pathetic git he was, but he wasn't moving.

When he heard her moans and then a scream, using his enhanced vampiric hearing, Spike had been ready to climb up to her window. Whether he was climbing up to take care of whatever nasty made her scream or give her some reasons to moan more, he would never know. When he saw the Slayer at her window looking out, safe and sound, he stayed in the shadows of the tree.

His only solace for his inaction was that small voice in his head that had been very vocal the last couple of weeks, filling his head with words of patience and encouragement. Heeding the advice, he stayed leaning against the tree, pondering the possibilities tomorrow would bring and wondering which path Buffy would choose for her future. Spike knew that he was the dark horse in this race, but he could hope for an upset. Maybe, he thought with a smile, Riley would fall and break his leg.

*****

Shel and Multok watched over Buffy until she finally fell asleep again. They passed through the window outside to talk.

Multok patted his apprentice on the back. "That was excellent, my girl. Your work and suggestions for her dream were quite creative."

Shel's grin beamed from Multok's praise. "I was so scared at first that I wouldn't know what to suggest. But I relaxed, as you keep telling me to, and the words just started flowing out. But I have to admit that she was an easy subject, since she was already starting to dream about Spike. I don't know how much help she really needed."

"Well, you did a great job for your first dream. Those two are about to jump each other from pent up desire. How about a celebratory drink before we turn in for the night?"

*****

Walking behind Dawn, Buffy took a deep breath before following her sister into the Magic Box. Everyone was gathering for an important Scoobie meeting that Giles had called. A meeting that Spike might be present for, and it was that same blonde vampire that had her hesitating before entering the shop.

Buffy remembered how Spike had implied last night that he didn't want to see her today. Accordingly, Buffy wasn't sure about running into him either, and the dream she had had last night was not helping matters. So she crossed her fingers that Spike would be absent and stepped through the door way.

'No such luck,' Buffy thought as she walked in, and the first person she saw was Spike, who sitting on the counter, intently watching her.

"Hello, Dawn. Buffy." Giles greeted the girls with a nod of his head. "Have a seat, and we will begin."

Buffy and Dawn took seats at the research table at which Xander, Willow and Tara were already seated.

Everyone said their hellos as Giles walked over to the door to change the open sign to closed before approaching the table. "Now, I would like to begin this meeting."

Giles didn't get very far before Dawn interrupted, "But Riley's not here yet. Buffy, where's Riley?" She looked at her sister expectedly.

Buffy looked up and caught Spike's eyes. Watching him tilt his head as he waited to hear her reply, she knew that the mention of Riley's name reminded both of them of the previous night. But before she had to answer, the bell sounded as the front door opened. All eyes turned to the front of the shop as Riley rushed in.

"Uh…Riley…please come…" Giles never got to finish.

"Excuse me, sir, but I need to talk to Buffy."

"Now?" Buffy's shock was evident in her voice.

Everyone's eyes were riveted on Riley, except for Spike, who was watching Buffy and trying to decipher her reaction.

"Yes, now and in private."

Buffy stood up to go with him. "Well, uh, I guess we can go into the workout room."

No one in the front part of the Magic Box spoke as the door closed behind Buffy and Riley, maybe because no one knew what to say. However, after a few moments, the voices in the back room rose to the point that they could be heard through the wall, not distinct words but the tones and volume were very telling. Uncomfortable listening in on someone else's disagreement, Giles decided chit chat was called for. "Err…uh…Xander, how are you faring without Anya?"

Xander smiled. "Great. When that cat's away, this mouse doesn't stray."

"Oh, really, whelp?" Spike asked. "What if that cat played? What would the mouse say then?"

"Yeah, Mickey?" Dawn said with a proud grin. "Get it. Mickey Mouse?"

When no one laughed, Tara leaned over and patted Dawn's hand. "We get it, Dawnie. It was a very funny joke."

Despite the joke, Xander started to sputter defensively. "I trust Anya. I am worryless and suspicionless."

Willow joined in the 'What If' game. "What if she kissed someone? Would that be ok with you?"

Xander shook his head. "No, beside she wouldn't."

"What if she just flirted with some guy?" Dawn asked.

Judging from the red color of his face, Xander was now starting to go beyond defensive on to flustered. "That would be ok if…No! No flirtage, kissage, or bump and grind-age."

"What if…" Dawn never got to finish her question.

Xander was saved from answering any more questions when the door of the workout room flew open and slammed against the wall. With fury pouring from every pore, Riley stormed out of the workout room and straight out the front door, without a word to anyone. Giles cringed as the shop's fragile front door received the same harsh treatment as the sturdier workout room door.

As when he entered the Magic Box, Riley flew through the room and out the front door. And as before, no one was quite sure what to say, until Giles broke the stunned silence with a very British, "My word."

However, the fact that Buffy did not come out of the workout room was even more worrisome. After a minute or two and several exchanged glances between the various Scoobies, Willow got up and went to check on Buffy. Dawn finally couldn't stand it either and went to peer in the door.

When everyone could hear the hushed voices of Willow and Buffy, the other Scoobies went back to talking amongst themselves in an effort to give Willow and Buffy some privacy.

Spike, though, did not join in the conversation this time, not that they would have made any effort to include him anyway, which was fine with him. In fact, he was particularly pleased that they were ignoring him at that moment.

When Riley had made his grand exit and Buffy didn't follow, he was probably the only one in the shop that was pleased about it. Thrilled, actually. He wasn't exactly sure what had been said back in the workout room, but that wasn't for lack of trying. However, between the fact that the people in the same room with him were all yapping, and that he that couldn't resist ribbing Xander himself, he didn't catch much of the unhappy couple's conversation in the back. Even though he only picked up tones of their voices and a word or two occasionally, Spike had figured out that they were fighting, that Riley was furious and that Buffy was using a more subdued tone.

So when Riley left, Spike was torn. He was happy to see Riley leave and even happier that the slayer did not chase after the straight-laced git. This is a definite sign that their relationship was going south. But the down side was when Buffy did not return to the front of the shop, and that made him worry. So now Spike sat on the counter, wishing he was in Willow's place, but he just didn't want to show that much of his hand to the Scoobies this early into the game.

Willow found Buffy expressionless, sitting on the mats, starring off into space. "Buffy...are you ok?" When Buffy didn't respond, Willow crossed the room and sat down next to her. "Buffy, honey, what happened with Riley?"

"I went out the other night instead of patrolling. I had told Riley that I was training with Giles, so that he couldn't come with me like he wanted to, and Riley found out."

As Buffy and Willow talked, Multok and Shel conferred at the back of the workout room. Multok was shaking his head from side to side, looking at Shel with a confounded expression on his round, blue face. "When I helped her boyfriend find out about Buffy's and Spike's little excursion, I didn't think Riley would make the confrontation quite so public or so hostile." Bemused, he looked back at Buffy. "I just wanted to break them up, that's all."

"Uh, but you did that, and now she is so sad. I wish we could have found a different way to split Buffy and her boyfriend up."

"Me, too, Shel, but no use crying over spilt milk. Why don't you go over and try to comfort her, and I'll go check on Spike. He doesn't strike me as the patient type."

Thousands of questions raced through Willow's mind as she tried to comfort her friend. The dilemma was that she didn't know which of her questions to ask first or which one should be left unasked. Yet, her curiosity soon won out. "Buffy, did you go out alone?"

Buffy glanced at her friend before looking down at the mat again, guilt clearly written on her face. "No, I was with someone else."

"A 'he' or a 'she' type someone else?"

"A 'he,' but it wasn't a date," Buffy hastened to add. "It was a favor. See, I was his designated driver. Totally platonic. He is just a…" She had no idea what to call Spike. And ex-mortal enemy turned ally, or how about a vampire that makes her insides melt when he gives her one of his sensuous smiles. Buffy opted to just not finish her sentence.

Instead, she dropped a different bombshell. "Willow, Riley didn't break up with me. I broke up with him. I was going to tell Riley before we even had this mega-showy blow up." Buffy gave a weak chuckle at Willow's astonished expression. "It just isn't right, is it? I thought if I am having..uh..touchy-feely thoughts about another man, I shouldn't string Riley along. But Will, that's the problem."

Listening to every word her best friend said, Willow was still having a hard time following Buffy's train of thought. "Buffy, I'm not sure I am following you. What exactly is the problem?"

Buffy looked up at Willow with unshed tears in her eyes. "The problem is that I broke up with Riley."

"But you just said that it was the right thing to do, that it wasn't fair to Riley. So where's the prob?"

"That I broke up with him."

Willow rubbed her temples, trying to massage the headache she could feel coming on. "I'm beginning to think I'm in a foreign country where I can't understand the language."

Buffy continued as if Willow hadn't said a word. "You know how I have been looking for a normal guy for so long. A nice, normal guy, and Riley fit the bill perfectly. Even with him being on the straight and narrow, we still even shared an interest in killing demons. But I don't want him. So actually there are two problems. I shouldn't have broken up with him, but I should have."

"Ok, the Buffy translator is starting to work. You broke up with Riley because he just doesn't cause sparkage anymore, and Riley was mad because you went out with someone else, even though it was not a romantically inclined evening. Then you broke up with Riley because you are starting to be romantically inclined with the mystery man."

Satisfied with Willow's condensed version, Buffy nodded and stood up. "In a nutshell. But the problem now is all the leaves and stuff on the outside of the nutshell."

Trying to lighten the mood, Willow changed the topic off of Riley and the multiplying problems to the new, yummy guy. "So, who's this other guy? He must be a really great…uh…friend."

"Take my word for it, you just don't want to know." Looking toward the workout room's door for the first time, Buffy saw Dawn's concerned face in the doorway and gave her sister a teary smile. "Let's go see what Gile's problem du jour is."

Spike was relieved to see Buffy reappear, closely followed by Dawn and Willow. However, as she made her way back to the research table, she avoided any eye contact with him.

This was one of those times that Buffy was glad that Giles was British because, after the three girls returned to their seats, her watcher started the meeting as if no interruption had ever occurred. "As all of you are aware, our current priority demons are the Eloquaws. And I think we can all agree that they are quite a serious problem. However, I am afraid that they are attracting a new ...er…threat."

Xander spoke up, "Keeping in mind that we do live in Sunnydale, home of the homey little Hellmouth, is this a fish-boys on the swim team level of threat or a Mayor-sized threat?"

"Well, I am not sure where this falls on your rather unique scale, Xander, but I would imagine this new threat is closer to Mayor-sized. It appears that the Eloquaw demons attract another demon, the Hungkin demon. You see, the Hungkins happen to find the Eloquaw to be a very desirable delicacy."

Now Xander was confused. "So Giles, what's the big deal? These Hunglins eat the Eloquaws, and we kill the Hungkins."

"Yes, Xander, that works in theory, but it seems, though, these new demons must live inside a host."

"So these demons happen to watch Stargate SG1?" Hoping to lighten up the mood, Xander looked around at everyone's blank faces.

Tara was starting to catch on to Giles' explanation. "Host equals human, right?"

Relieved that someone was taking him seriously, Giles nodded. "Yes. So with the demon in a human, you can see that this new threat will be hard to recognize, let alone kill without killing the human host."

Hunting and killing a demon was something that caught Buffy's attention. "So, Giles, how *do* we identify these Hungkin guys?"

"You see, when the Hungkin enters the body, the host is totally unaware. The host does not show any outward signs, but as Hungkin grows, it begins to effect the host's actions and personality. That's how I believe we will be able to find these particular demons. We look for people that are unusually combative or aggressive."

Her interest showing on her face, Willow chimed in, "Kinda like the person has multiple personalities."

She received a thankful smile from Giles. "Yes."

Spike finally spoke up, "So how do we kill these camouflaged buggers."

He had been so quiet that most had forgotten Spike was in the shop, but not Buffy. She felt his presence as if he was standing at her shoulder, asking the very question she had been thinking.

"Good question, Spike, but we unfortunately don't have an answer yet. I, of course, am still researching. What I suggest tonight and the following nights until we take care of this current problem, is that Buffy and Spike continue hunting down and killing the Eloquaws. The rest of us can research and try to see how to identify these Hungkins once they are in a host."

"Since we need to kill all these Elo guys fast," Xander asked, "how about me and Anya, when she gets back, help Buffy and Spike out. If nothing else we can help them spot the Elo's or help slice and dice."

Willow poked Xander in the ribs, "The fact that there won't be any books involved helping Buffy wouldn't have anything to do with your offer, would it?"

"Well, I'll admit the lack of reading stuffy books in long, dead languages would be a perk."

Before Buffy could think of a good reason to protest, Giles finished polishing his glasses and made the decision. "Xander, your idea does have some merit. However, I think Anya should help research since she is knowledgeable in the various demons. But I am sure Buffy and Spike could use your help."

Spike thought he would gag. God knows how many nights spent with the whelp was worth this white hat gig. Well, maybe it was worth being close to the slayer.

Happy that the meeting was winding down, Buffy quickly stood up and announced, "Sounds like a plan, Giles. Meeting adjourned. Come on Dawn, let's head home."