Buffy was the first to arrive at the meeting place for that night's Eloquaw hunting. She knew Xander was on his way, but she didn't really expect Spike to show. The night before, the vamp had said he couldn't help her tonight, and Buffy wondered if that was best. Knowing Spike, he would in his non-subtle way ask about her fight with Riley earlier at the Magic Box, and she wasn't sure that she was ready to answer any questions on that particular subject yet. As it stood now, she was hoping for divine intervention that Xander would give her a break and leave the whole Riley topic alone.

Not the slayer part, but the woman in Buffy would have loved to have had the night off to just think abut the meaning of life, and to be honest, have a good sulk with a pint of ice cream to keep her company. Even though Buffy knew she had made the right decision by calling it quits with Riley, the breaking up process in general felt horrible.

"Hey, Buffster," Xander called to her as he approached. "Where's the evil, undead guy?"

Buffy was thankful to hear Xander's voice, which cut off her dark thoughts. "I don't think Spike will be helping tonight." Obvious much? She hoped her disappointment over the absentee vampire could not be heard in her voice.

"Well, we can handle it just fine on our own." Xander proudly held up a sword. "See, I've brought my Excalibur to cut off any offending tongues pointed in mine or anyone else's direction."

"King Arthur you are not, whelp." Spike sauntered up from behind Buffy and blew smoke from his cigarette in Xander's direction. Speaking volumes of his skepticism, his gaze traveled up and down taking in Xander and his sword.

Putting her hands on her hips, Buffy turned and scowled at the vampire as she felt her pulse increase. "I didn't think you were coming tonight."

"Just following Rups orders, pet." Contrary to his words, his cocky smile told a different story.

In response, Buffy raised an eyebrow. "That has to be a first, the Big Bad following anyone's orders."

Knowing that they had other demons to handle that night, Xander decided to break up the usual spat-fest between the vampire and the slayer. "Ok then. All present and accounted for now, so let's kick some demon ass."

"Slayer, how about we send the whelp out, and while he is on the receiving end of an Eloquaw's tongue, we will come up from behind and take it out." With a smirk, Spike directed his gaze at Xander. "Try not to get hit in the head, boy. But of course, it can't paralyze that little part of your anatomy that doesn't already work."

"Very funny, *dead boy.* "

"Ok, let's save the testosterone war for another time." Buffy tried her best to hide her smile but didn't think she had succeeded. "We're going to spread out and start hunting, but stay within calling distance so we can work together."

As Xander headed out, Spike stopped Buffy by catching her hand, and then pulled her behind a crypt. He brushed his thumb across the back of her hand, smiling an alluring smile that would make any girl's knees weak. Buffy found that she wasn't immune either and was struck with how easy she could get lost in his stunning, blue eyes.

Spike loved the feel of her skin and loved that he could touch her in a caress instead of a punch. "Slayer, I still expect favors from you, and I have some nice ones planned."

Buffy looked him over and even surprised herself when she playfully teased, "Will the next favor be as good as the last?"

"Oh, better. Much better." Using his other hand that was free, Spike ran his knuckles down her cheek and practically purred, "Uhmmm. Much better, luv. You have my promise." Slowly letting go of her hand, Spike walked away while he still could bring himself to leave. Not to mention, a certain tightness in the crotch of his pants that was getting a little too noticeable.

Getting far enough from Buffy so that his head cleared, Spike's thoughts returned to the dilemma of the day. He had a pretty good idea what had happened between Buffy and that military git. Spike was 99% sure that they had split-up, but the other 1% worrying him was who had broken up with who. His little voice kept asking why it even mattered who dumped who, as long as the dumping happened. But Spike argued back that it did make a difference, to him if no one else. If Riley was stupid enough to make the break, then odds were that Buffy would be crushed, feeling like their relationship was all her fault. Not that he wouldn't love to be the one to comfort her and convince her that she could do better, but Spike didn't want Buffy that way. He wanted the slayer willing, with no questions as to how it came about or with him as the replacement on her rebound. On the other hand, if Buffy had broken up with the board-straight ponce, she was through and ready to move on to bigger and better. A Big Bad that is, who sincerely hoped he was one of her reasons for the split. Now all he had to do was find out who did the breaking, and who got broken.

"And I need to find out why I keep getting these annoying pains around my ear." Spike grumbled as he walked away.

Multok thought he had better start switching shoulders since he didn't think he could stop kicking the obstinate vampire. 'Obviously Spike doesn't know that this would go so much easier if he would just listen to me.'

*****

Buffy thought the night had gone relatively well. So far. To be honest, with herself only, she would have preferred to hunt with Spike alone, but Xander had been a big help. Mostly, he lured the Eloquaws to Spike or Buffy or both, but he did take one out on his own. After tallying the body count, Buffy owed Spike another favor, and judging from the other night, she didn't think that was of the bad.

Shaking her head, she wondered why she had ever thought Spike would behave himself with Xander around. Her brain must have taken a nap when she thought the pesky vamp would keep his hands to himself, especially when earlier he only held her hand. Oh, and ran his knuckles down her cheek, which made her insides go mushy. She wondered how he made such a simple gesture, so intimate. Anyhow, she was supposed to be on the job.

Intently listening for a stray demon or two and trying to push Spike out of her thoughts, Buffy walked through a playground and then into the surrounding trees. She felt his presence only a few seconds before she felt his cool arms wrap around her waist and pull her flush against his body. Spike's voice rumbled in her ear, making her smile despite herself. "Mmm, Slayer, you smelled so good that I had to come back for more." Spike buried his nose in her hair and inhaled deeply before his mouth made its way to nibble on her ear. When she felt his blunt teeth on the sensitive shell of her ear, goose bumps rose up on her arms and had her shivering in pleasure.

"Let me remind you that we are working here, fang face. No time to play."

"Oh, slayer, there is always time to play."

"Well, maybe a little break then." Buffy pressed her back into his front and let herself enjoy what he was doing to her neck, ear, shoulder, jaw line and anything else he could reach with his mouth. She wanted to turn around so she could kiss him but couldn't bring herself to move for fear he would stop making her tingle in the right places.

Feeling Buffy relax, Spike thought he would make the best of the opportunity. "So, tell me, pet. What was up with you and Captain Cardboard earlier at the Magic Box?"

Buffy had thought that Spike would be happy that she was no longer dating Riley, but this was a good time to make sure. "Nothing really. As you could see, he was somewhat pissed when I broke up with him." In response, she felt his arm tighten around her waist, answering her question and any doubts.

"That's the best, bloody news I could have heard tonight. Scratch that. The best, bloody news this year."

Drawing their attention, the pair lifted their heads when they heard Xander calling close by. Another Eloquaw had been located.

Spike placed a light kiss on her neck, his tongue tracing along her skin, before releasing her. "Let's go make sure the boy doesn't get licked to death." Given her a gentle push, they were on their way, both charged from their encounter and the anticipation of the hunt.

*****

Around noon the following day, Multok and Shel had arrived at the crypt in order to check up on their vampire charge. Multok was proud of Spike's actions the night before and wanted this day to be just as successful for the newly developing romance.

Unaware of his small, invisible guests, the vampire was attempting to watch TV, but only ended up trying to decide on the next favor he was going to ask from the slayer. Thinking back to the night before, how willing the slayer had been in his arms, Spike knew he should and would up the stakes.

As the two match-making demons were discussing some ideas of their own to suggest, the door of the crypt flew open and in walked a man that the two demons recognized from the day before.

"Multok, but that's…that's Riley. What is he doing here?"

"I have no idea. I thought he was out of the picture, but I guess I thought wrong." Multok scratched his head. "I told Riley that Buffy had gone out with someone, just not who that someone was. I left that juicy tidbit a mystery."

Across the crypt from the invisible demons, Spike stood up as Riley stomped in, watching him with obvious distaste. "Hello, soldier boy. I know I didn't send out any invitations for tea today, and even if I had, I certainly wouldn't have sent you an invite. Why don't you come back, let's say…NEVER?"

When the vampire and former demon-hunter stood toe to toe, Riley grabbed hold of Spike's arms and pushed him, pinning him against the nearest wall. "No, Spike, instead of tea, I think we need to have a man to evil demon chat."

"Right, you're the big man, picking on a demon that you know can't fight back. Does it make you feel manlier, like your dick is bigger than it is?"

As a reply, Riley slugged Spike on the side of his face, snapping the vamp's head to the side. "You might not be able to fight me, but you sure could sneak behind my back with Buffy."

Turning his head back, Spike fixed Riley with a cold gaze, appearing as if the wanker had never hit him. "No sneaking involved, mate."

"So, you don't deny going with Buffy to a bar?"

Spike wanted to yell in the belligerent ass's face that he had been lucky enough to go out with the slayer, but he wasn't one to kiss and tell. "I have helped the slayer for the last few nights, but I don't know what pub you are blabbing on about."

Riley's first connected with Spike's jaw this time, and Spike tasted blood. The vamp clenched his jaw in rage, muscles visibly flexing.

"Don't lie to me, Hostile 17. After a little intel mission, I found out that Buffy was with a bleach blonde that wore a long, leather coat, which would be you. And I saw you with her last night, touching her." Riley punctuated his "intel" with a punch to Spike's ribs.

With wings flapping as fast as a humming bird's, Shel was enraged on the vampire's behalf. "Multok, it's not fair. That guy can hit and harass Spike, but Spike can't even thump that jerk on the nose."

"No, Shel, it's not fair." Multok thought for a moment while Shel fumed beside him. "Sometimes life isn't fair, but in this one case, let me see if I can even up the odds."

Shel grabbed his arm to stop him from leaving. "But Multok, what can you do to help?"

Multok turned back to her. "I'm going into Spike's head and bring out the chip. Simple…theoretically."

"Don't you think he will feel you go into his brain and wonder what is causing the pain? Itit could eventually lead him to discover us."

"The going in part he will never feel. In fact, neither one of us will feel it. However, Spike will feel the chip coming out." As both demons watched, Spike took another blow to the face. "But right now, I seriously doubt the vampire will notice a little more pain."

Shel nodded and released Multok's arm. Moving closer, she watched her mentor, who was still invisible to the combatants, fly behind Spike's skull and disappear inside.

Spike felt the chip's removal alright, but Multok had been right. The pain was confused with all the rest of times that each of Riley's punches slammed Spike's head back against the wall. The vampire howled as Multok exited the back of his head. Then Multok dropped the small, metallic chip down onto the floor so that neither Spike nor Riley would see an object mysteriously floating around them.

Shel started to call out a warning, but Multok quickly dodged Spike's head, which came back smashing against the wall and almost crushing the small demon. Recovering quickly, Multok landed on Spike's shoulder and started whispering furiously in the vampire's ear. "Go ahead. Feel free to sock that overblown bully, preferably in the mouth. Don't worry about the chip anymore. It's been taken care of."

Before Spike had time to think about how much pain the chip was going to send coursing through his brain, he followed the voice's suggestion. However, he didn't waste the imminent zap on a pop in the pillock's mouth. No, if he was going to risk being incapacitated at Riley's feet, Spike thought he would shoot for a much more satisfying target. Not waiting for Riley to get another punch in, Spike shot his knee up and crushed GI Jerk-Off's family jewels, hitting him so hard that Multok even flinched.

As the pain started radiating up from his crotch, Riley's brain in emergency mode still registered that "Hostile 17's" chip had not fired. But then pain won out as he reached down to cradle his balls in a hopeless attempt to stave off the pain. Nonetheless, his eyes started to bug out, and he desperately fought to stay on his feet.

Smirking, Spike swaggered, following Riley's stumbling but hopeless escape attempt across the crypt toward the door. "Yeah, that's right, mate. Look scared. Bet you're about to wet your camo huggies since this little pieced of metal you gits shoved in my brain no longer dishes out the pain. Now, to tell the truth, I think I'll test it out again to make sure it wasn't a one shot affair. On you, of course, just like I was a test subject for your Initiative. However, I'm going to give you the courtesy you were too much of a coward to give me. I'll give you a minute to recover. Besides, what fun would it be pounding on a bloke while his balls are tickling his teeth. After your two, little nuts drop again, you might want a doc to check you out. You know, make sure all the squigglies are still swimming."

Riley was finally able to catch his breath enough to choke out one word, "How?"

"Ya mean how was I able to get the chip to stop working? Don't know and don't friggin' care. Oh wait" Spike's fist shot out, hitting Riley in the stomach. When Riley doubled back over, Spike brought up his knee again, connecting with Riley's face this time and sending him flying back into a pillar. Spike followed his prey. "No, chip still doesn't work. This drastically changed the vampire versus human playing field, doesn't it?" Making sure Riley watched the transformation, Spike's shifted from his human face to that of his demon. Riley found himself looking into a different Spike with ridges and long, sharp fangs. "Maybe I should stop playing and drain you dry." Spike stalked closer, savoring the fear written all over Riley's face.

When Riley made it to his feet using the pillar as support, he took a swing at the vampire but just ended up hitting a wall when Spike easily ducked. Staring into Spike's piercing, yellow eyes, Riley cradled his now injured hand.

"No, doesn't look like I need to do a thing to you, boy. You are going to break your bones all on your own." Done with the pillock, Spike picked Riley up and bodily threw him out.

He gazed down at Riley sprawled on the grass just outside of the crypt door. "Listen you stupid, dense git. If Buffy broke up with you, that was her choice. Not because of me, not because I made her. If you knew her at all, you would know that the slayer is a big girl, who definitely has a mind of her own and who makes decisions on her own." Admiring the black eye beginning to show on Riley, Spike's eyes glittered gold in the indirect sunlight as he looked down at the wanker. "Now, accept it and bugger the fuck off. But know and remember this, if you do anything to the slayer or come after me, you will feel my fangs." With that threat, Spike slammed the door shut so fast that Riley had to jerk his feet out of the way.

For a few minutes, Spike just stood on the inside of the door and tried to absorb all the implications of the chip no longer functioning. He was elated that the chip no longer worked, but the slayer was going to shish-kabob him on a nice wooden stake. He could hunt again, so no more bought blood, but he just didn't feel the need to hunt. He was almost too embarrassed to admit, even to himself, that he had become use to the butcher's blood anyway, and he had certainly not forgotten the last time Dru had hit town, when he had fed from the dead girl on the balcony of the Bronze. He had learned then that feeding on a human was just not appealing as it once was.

*****

The night had added numbers to the Eloquaw's body count, but Xander had been roughed up by one demon that had been cornered. Faced with a choice between Buffy, Spike, or Xander, the Eloquaw had chosen to try to make his escape through Xander. As a result, Xander had numerous cuts and bumps that he was anxious to tend, leaving Buffy and Spike alone. They could hear him mumbling about Anya not being there to take care of him.

As successful as it was, Buffy was still happy the night's hunt had ended. She had been dying to ask Spike about the bruise below his eye, on his cheekbone, and he looked to have a split lip, also. However, while Xander was with them, Spike avoided all questions. But now Xander had headed home, leaving Spike and Buffy to some privacy.

Contrary to what Buffy was thinking, Spike was anxious to talk to her, but it was the subject that he dreaded. So far, he didn't think Riley had told her about the chip not working yet. Spike mainly assumed this because he didn't have a stake shoved though his chest yet. Strong emphasis on "yet." Good, he did want to be the one who told her, so he was going to get it over with now.

Buffy watched Spike fidget. She had seen him pace, drum, chain smoke and various other outlets for excess energy, but never fidget. In fact, Mr. Cocky Vamp looked nervous. Starting to become nervous herself, Buffy tried to think of something besides the weather to start the conversation rolling. "Uh…tonight and last night makes two favors I owe you, almost three."

Spike threw his cigarette on the ground. 'I'm going to tell her about the chip,' he thought. 'I'm determined to come clean whether he ended up a big pile of dust or not.' But he wanted to set it up right first, and Buffy had provided him the perfect opening. "I want to combine the two favors into one big favor."

"Ok, what's this big favor?" Buffy smiled. This was more like the Spike she knew, always seeing if he can get a better angle, push the envelope.

"A truce. You promise that you will not stake me for the next five days."

How had they gone from the succulent kisses on the neck to a truce she didn't think they needed at this point of their relationship? Even more suspicious, Buffy watched the vampire look everywhere but at her. Strange behavior for Spike since he normally didn't hesitate to look her eye to eye. "Why does this sound like there is a big, fat catch coming?"

Spike shrugged a shoulder. "Suppose that depends on your point of view, pet."

"I thought we already had a truce in place. Neither one of us has tried to kill the other in a year. You can't hurt me; I haven't tried to stake you. In fact, I may have been mistaken, but I thought we've been working on the same side lately." Buffy was really wondering where Spike was headed with this new favor, but she was game. "I'll give you three days, and I'll even mark my calendar. Good enough?"

"Yeah, but that's the rub." Spike took a deep breath that was more of a stall than a necessity. Then the words came out of his mouth in a rush. "Mychipdoesnotworkanymore."

Spike took a deep breath, that was more of a stall than a necessity. Then the words came out of his mouth in a rush. "Mychipdoesnotworkanymore."

Buffy listened to the words flying out of his mouth but didn't understand one syllable, let alone one word had he said. "Huh? Emphasis on 'Huh'?" Sorry, I didn't bring my secret, vampire, decoding ring with me."

"What? Are you deaf as well as daft, woman? I said the bloody chip stopped working. No more zap to the big bad's noggin."

Buffy opened her mouth to reply but closed it again as she seemed to reconsider. She stared at him intently before asking, "Does this have something to do with your black eye?"

Spike threw up his hands in frustration and started pacing back and forth in front of her. "I just told you that my chip doesn't work anymore, and you're worried about my black and blue?"

In answer to his question, Buffy put her hands on her hips with a stubborn expression on her face and waited for him to answer her question first.

Knowing she wouldn't budge, Spike rolled his eyes before beginning his explanation. "A human came calling at my crypt this afternoon and decided to knock me about. When I had had enough, I struck back and no zap."

"Is he still alive?"

"Bumped and bruised but very much alive. All I did was put a little fear into the tosser before throwing him out of my crypt." Spike halted his pacing in front of her. "Look, Slayer, I wanted to tell you myself before someone else did so I could explain first."

Buffy watched the vampire squirm for a moment. Not to make Spike feel anymore uncomfortable than he already was, but to take in his body language. He wasn't playing up the master vampire persona, no grrh or threatening like stuff. Interesting, but she had a few more questions for him. "Who is the who that would tell me first?"

When Spike didn't answer her, she tried to think of any humans that would even know that Spike lived in that crypt and know that he couldn't fight back against a human. "That black eye came from Riley, didn't it?" The look on Spike's face confirmed her deduction. "Spike, I didn't tell him who I was out with, so how did he know?"

"I know you didn't tell him, Slayer. Never thought you had." Spike had no doubt that she wouldn't broadcast that she had gone out with a vampire, especially this vampire. "Soldier boy must have found out some other way. He babbled some gibberish about reconnaissance and intel. Regardless of how he found out, he knew and came after me, thinking I was still defenseless. Hell, I didn't even know that the chip no longer worked until I popped the pillock back."

Watching Spike light a cigarette, Buffy was trying her best to absorb this new twist to her world. She needed time to think about Spike being able to feed again, or that he could even go back to trying to kill her. "Our three day truce is off if you kill or even feed off a human. Only butcher's blood for you, bub, and don't even bite the butcher."

Taking her threat as a good sign, Spike smiled at Buffy's joke. "Fair enough."

"Meanwhile, I need time to think about this. Probably all three days." Buffy started to walk away but turned back with one last question, "But why are you asking for the three days? Why not leave town so you could do as you want with no interference from a slayer? I know you could disappear in some corner of this planet, where I could never find you."

"True, leaving Sunnyhell would be the easy way, and a year ago, I would gladly have gone back to my old, lethal ways." Pausing, Spike decided to lay his cards out on the table. "Even tonight, I could have bagged my third slayer instead of telling you about the chip and then hit the highway, leaving a trail of drained bodies behind me." He took a draw off his fag. "But that's the problem. I've found that it's more of a challenge killing demons than stalking helpless humans."

Spike stared down at the ground, kicking a rock with his boot, before looking back up into Buffy's eyes. "But most of all, Slayer, I don't think I want to go back to you and me doing the whole mortal enemy gig again. So there it is. I may be more dippy than Dru ever was on her worst day, but now that I have the choice given back to me and had time to think about it, I am choosing to continue helping you kill all those meanies that go bump in the night, instead of killing any more humans. I've made my decision and will stick to it. Now it's your choice which way you want to take this next. Actually, the next three days are for you to make your choice."

With that, Spike flicked his fag to the ground and walked off into the darkness, leaving a very shocked slayer with a dizzying amount to think about.

Buffy turned and started her walk home on auto-pilot. Before the last couple of weeks, she had never doubted her path, which was straight and clear. And part of the path was that if Spike were ever free of the chip, he would try to kill her again, or she would kill him. Now, her path seemed to have lead her to a fork in the road. One route was for her to do her duty without her heart interfering with her decisions while the other route was to follow her heart and her instincts to lay her trust in Spike keeping his demon under control.

*****

As the vampire and slayer left in different directions, Multok and Shel looked back and forth between, which was rather like watching a tennis match. They were trying to decide which person to follow. Multok finally decided that the vampire had made his choice was fine for the time being, but the slayer was more of a concern at the present. He wasn't sure that a beginner should handle alone the conflicts that Buffy was feeling, so he decided that they should double team Buffy. Both Multok and Shel hurried after the slayer to whisper and help her with her decision.

*****

By 8:30 the next morning, Buffy, with the help of not one but two little voices in her head, had decided that she didn't need three days to make up her mind about Spike. Actually, she had found that the choice was easier than she expected. After her AM class, which felt like it lasted for hours, Buffy headed for Spike's crypt instead of the Magic Box. Giles would be ticked off with her for skipping her training, but he would just have to deal.

When Buffy slammed open the crypt's door, she stood waiting for the snarky critique of her usual entrance. But instead, she was met by the strong smell of smoke. Not Spike's usual cigarette smoke that she had come to expect and associate with the sexy vamp. This smoke smelled more like burning wood. Quickly glancing around the crypt, Buffy didn't see Spike anywhere, but since his beloved, leather duster was lying across a sarcophagus, she could tell he was around. Maybe he was burning some of Harmony's belongings down below. That would account for the smell, and now that she thought about it, she would enjoy lending a hand.

Buffy crossed the crypt assuming Spike was in the lower level. As she approached, she could see that the trap door was open, which was unusual in its self. Even more suspicious was that the ladder was gone. When she looked down through the hole to the lower level, she could see the ashes of the ladder on the floor below.

"Spike?" She called hopefully but her hopes swiftly fell when she saw the destruction of a fire and a big one from all appearances. Judging by what little she could see through the trap door, the whole room would have burned if the walls had not been made of rock. Yet what wigged her the most was that fire and vampires were so not mixy.

Buffy jumped down and frantically started searching for what she really didn't want to find. Vampire dust among the remains of the bed. First she searched the room, all but the bed. It was still daylight, and since it was cooling down, she could tell that this fire had happened a couple of hours previously. So that didn't leave much time between when she had left Spike at dawn and now. Accordingly, Buffy deduced that Spike had most likely been in the crypt, probably asleep in bed, when the fire occurred. With that horrible thought in mind, she braced herself to search what little was left of the bed. She wasn't even sure if she could tell the vampire dust from the ashes of the bed, but if she found his dust, she would know Spike was gone for good. However, that voice in her head assured her that Spike was just too perverse to go out this way, to have faith. On the other hand, if she didn't find his remains, she was going to kill him for scaring her so badly.

"If I had known you were going to come calling, Slayer, I would have tidied up." Following his voice, Buffy whipped around, relief flooding through her at the sound of his voice, until she saw his appearance. Spike's shirt and pants, or at least what were left of them were singed, with several, large holes burnt into the material through out. Buffy quickly crossed the room and started inspecting his condition through the singed openings. Then she stepped back and hit him through one of the holes in his t-shirt. "You nearly scared me to death."

"Ow, you insane bint. I've had enough people trying to hurt me for the last two days." Rubbing the spot on his chest that was still stinging, Spike gave the slayer a look that clearly questioned her sanity. "Besides, if I had known that scaring you was the way to take you out, don't you think I would have done that when I first came to Sunnyhell and was trying to kill you."

"Ha, ha." Somewhat recovered from her shock, Buffy gestured toward the ashes of the bed. "What were you doing, smoking in bed?"

"Oh sure, Slayer. Like I would take a chance falling asleep with a burning object on flammable materials with flammable me lying there like a cherry on top. Don't you recognize the damage of an incinerating device when you are standing in it?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure I do." Buffy attempted to fake her way through her lack of knowledge.

"It's a bomb that is designed to burn everything around it, luv."

"Thanks…but if it was under your bed that would mean someone meant to kill you."

Spike strolled around, looking at the remains of his bedroom. "Looks like."

"Well, Spike, I'm sure you've made loads of enemies over the years with your special brand of charm."

Spike smirked at her. "Yeah, but I killed most of them. I don't know of any in the area but Angelus, and he should be good and pissed over my betrayal over Acathla. But I take it that Peaches still has a grip on his slippery soul. Of course, there is my natural enemy." He gave her a wicked grin. "You."

"Me? Like I even knew what an incinerating device was. Besides your latest favor, the three day truce which I agreed to, is why I came to talk to you."

"Made your decision already, pet?" Surprised, Spike tensed, not sure if he wanted to hear her decision. This day had had a very rocky start, and he wasn't sure it was going to get any better or not.

"As I see it, now that you have returned to the vamp world of chipless, I have three options. First, I stake you. The pros of this option is it's straight forward, easy on me, and poof everything is handled." When Spike looked at her horrified, she gave him a little shrug. "Well, it is my job description, vampire SLAYER."

Spike was trying to think fast. "I…huh…I have to disagree. Yeah, that's not such a wise option, pet, especially since I am *extremely* allergic to pointy pieces of wood." Spike gained confidence when she didn't pulled a stake yet. "Stakes rank right up there with that nasty little glowing ball up in the pretty, blue sky."

Buffy wanted to laugh but kept a straight face, wanting the cock-sure vamp to sweat some more. "Option two is that I let you leave town before I have to irritate one or more of your 'allergies'. That way you don't permanently stay in Sunnydale as dust to be swept and thrown away."

Now, Spike thought, this was a scenario that I can work with. Spike gave the slayer a smile, with as much little boy charm he could put in it. "But you see, luv, I'm not going to give you an excuse to stake me. I plan on being an absolute angel. Cross my dead heart and hope to die. Ok, I am already dead, but I do promise."

Putting her hands on her hips and gazing at the vampire with obvious skepticism, Buffy sarcastically pointed out, "An angel? You're more like a devil missing his horns."

"Hey, now, I do too have a horn. A long, hard horn." Spike raised his scarred eyebrow at her. "No, wait. I could be lying. I wouldn't dream of stopping you if you want to check."

Buffy crossed her arms this time and raised an eyebrow of her own, but the corners of her mouth were starting to curl up. "Do I need to go back over option one again?"

Spike raised both hands, palms toward her, and took a step back. "Ok, ok. Let's not get hasty, luv. So what's the third option?"

Buffy paused before answering, looking him eye to eye. "Simple, I trust you to not feed on humans."

Spike couldn't have been more shocked if Angel had told a bawdy joke, but he quickly recovered. "Uh? Oh, great idea. Bloody brilliant you are," he said as he slowly walked towards her, a cocky grin spreading across his face. "But I think, just in case, you should keep a very close eye one me. In fact, I think it would be better if you keep your hands on me." Spike pulled her up against him as he wrapped each of her arms around his waist. Buffy smiled at his forwardness as his lips descended on her own.

The bomb and fire was forgotten. The decimated bedroom surrounding them was forgotten. The chip that no longer worked was forgotten. Time was forgotten. Their kiss was soft but searching, fueled by a new, mutual agreement of trust between former foes.

Drawing their kiss deeper, Buffy brought her hands up and with one caressed the side of his face and with the other one she ran her fingers through his hair. Her boldness was fueled by the adrenalin, which was still in her system from her concern for his safety, and the relief of her decision to trust Spike to not feed instead of staking him.

Pulling back Buffy's hands fell down to his chest. "Do you have any other clothes besides of these ventilated ones?" Buffy asked, as she hooked a finger in one of the t-shirt's holes over his chest, caressing his skin.

"No, this was the best I could find, pet." He motioned over to a destroyed dresser that was still smoking. "I'll have to do a bit of shopping."

"Oh, a good excuse to go clothes shopping. I can do it for you." Buffy hopefully looked down towards his feet. "Your boots weren't damaged, were they?"

"Sorry, luv, no excuse to shop for shoes. My boots are right as rain, but I appreciate the offer. So if you would go and get me a t-shirt and jeans, there are some other details I need to take care of."

Standing on tip toe, Buffy gave Spike a chaste kiss on the lips. "I'll see you later." As she left the crypt, Buffy distinctly had a bounce in her step, thinking about their kisses and what color would best go with his eyes. He didn't say the t-shirt had to be black, did he?

When Buffy was safely gone, Spike sat down and rested against the wall. Emotions were flowing through his whole body at Mach 7. Ranging from shock and amazement to the euphoria that one gets in a dangerous situation and then makes it to safety. Hell, he had been in a dangerous situation. Since he told the slayer about the chip no longer working, she could have staked him, or at least tried, he thought with a smirk. But instead, she decided to trust him. That was what made his head spin, making him feel light headed. A slayer trusting a vampire that had killed two other slayers. The kiss they had just shared was amazing, and he did want more, but he was thankful to have some time to himself. Time to thank his lucky stars and anyone else up in the heavens that helped this miracle happen. And most of all, he was thankful for the opportunity to prove himself to the slayer. He wasn't just a monster on a leash any longer. Now he could show her that he was much, much more.

******

"Ok, let's begin your session. Like, uh, tell me how you are feeling right now." Harmony was sitting in a chair wearing a short skirt and matching jacket over a low cut blouse. She held a pen and a pad of paper to take notes. Her overall appearance was topped off by a pair of glasses perched on her nose, which she had to look over in order to read her own writing.

A couch was positioned in front of Harmony's chair, providing her lover reclining on the couch, an excellent view up her tight skirt. Not to mention, her lack of underwear enhanced the view considerably, but he wasn't looking. Instead her lover was lying stiffly on the couch, eyes fixed on the ceiling, with one of those eyes sporting a spectacular shiner. "How am I feeling? I'm feeling like I could rip the head off that bleach blonde bastard. That's how I fucking feel."

"Touchy, touchy." Harmony flipped her hair over her shoulder. "So why are you so hostile?"

"Hostile? More like Hostile 17. I should have staked that mouthy blood sucker when we had him under lock and key." His hands clinched and unclenched repeatedly at his sides. "I saw that asshole with Buffy last night. He came up behind her, and they weren't just talking. He had his arms wrapped around her."

"Ok, I get it already, Mr. Grumpy. How *else* do you feel?"

Ignoring the vampiress' question, he ranted on. "That disgusting vampire was kissing Buffy on the neck, and *she let him.* He must have been using his thrall."

Harmony rolled her eyes and gave a huge, dramatic sigh. "Spike thinks that a vampire who uses that thrall thingy to seduce a victim doesn't have the "rocks" to be able to do the seduction on his own. So, if Buffy is doing the dirty with Spike, she is doing it of her own, free will. But anyway, that's not what you were suppose to say. When I asked you how you felt, you were suppose to say that you were horny, and that you had been having fantasies about you banging me while I was bent over this chair."

Finally, he looked over at Harmony. His eyes took some time to focus on her, but his anger still shone brightly.

Unexpectedly, he lunged off the couch, jerked Harmony out of her chair and pushed her down on the carpet to lie on her back.

She smiled up at him as he straightened up to unzipped his pants above her. "Ooo, I just love it when you are all forceful and stuff."

However, that was all she was able to say before he was on her, spreading her legs. Without preamble, not bothering to even take off his pants, he rammed his cock into her cunt, up to the hilt in one forceful move.

"Oowww!" Harmony was surprised at his sudden aggressiveness. "Ow, that hurts. Ahhh, that hurts sooo good."

Finally, her lover had found a release for his burning anger. With each thrust, he growled through clinched teeth, "Spike.Has.To.Be.Stopped.He.Has.To.Die." He shot his seed on the last word and collapsed on Harmony.

As he lay heavily on her, his whole body limp, Harmony slapped him sharply on the ass. "You fuck like a rabbit. In, out, in, out, done. As if! My patient better come up with more words to pound into his doctor to satisfy her. In fact, this session is going to cost you double and let me show you where to start payment." Harmony pushed him by his shoulders down her body until his face was even with her mound. "Now, trust your doctor, and she'll show you a much better way to use that filthy mouth of yours."

Spike woke up as he felt someone sit down on the bed and slide under the sheet with him. Since he wasn't dust or having to defend himself, it certainly wasn't whoever was trying to kill him lately, at least he hoped not, but his brain was still a little foggy from sleep. He couldn't have been asleep more than thirty minutes but had been under deep. After the fire and then talking to the slayer, his main priority had been to acquire a bed. "Acquire" being the key word because there hadn't really been an exchange of money. Normally he wouldn't have minded sleeping on a sarcophagus, but if he was trying to get the slayer into his bed, then he needed an actual bed.

His senses tingled which would usually mean another vamp, or the slayer when feeling was more intense. Problem was that his senses were still napping. The vampire could tell that it wasn't a human, which ruled out Riley coming back for another go. Not to mention he would have to kill Riley for getting in his bed. Since he couldn't imagine the slayer climbing in his bed out of the blue, he assumed it was Harmony coming back to get something from him her usual way, on her back. 'Balls, why wouldn't the stupid bint just bugger off for good?' He didn't bother to open his eyes, "Hi. Bye. Piss Off."

"Ok. But I just got here."

When his eyes shot open, he was looking at a blonde woman alright, but it wasn't Harmony. Bloody hell, he was going to have to knock some sense into his vampire senses, but just not right now. Buffy was lying on her side, just a few inches away with her head resting in her hand as her elbow rested on the bed. Gazing at her, Spike couldn't think of a better way to wake up. "Hello, cutie.

"Hi." Buffy repressed a laugh at the shocked expression on his face. "Do you usually sleep so soundly?"

"Can't say. How about you come around each day and find out?"

Spike recovered but couldn't what he had ever done so right to be blessed with this woman in his bed without trying to stake him.

When his expression shifted into an arrogant leer, Buffy ached to kiss it off his face but waited. "I bought you some new clothes and thought I would bring them by."

"Thanks, luv. Not that I don't appreciate your help, but I don't think I'm in need any clothes right now."

Buffy quirked an eyebrow, "Does that mean you don't have any clothes on under this sheet?"

"Not one stitch." The low, seductive timbre of his voice made her body temperature shoot up where even the light sheet had becoming stifling. But what a delicious kind of hot.

Buffy scooted closer until only an inch separated her nose from Spike's nose. She tilted her head so that they could easily meld their lips into a kiss, but before their lips met, she whispered, "Good, I was hoping that I wouldn't be the only one naked in this bed." Listening to his growl in response, Buffy watched the fire in Spike's eyes start to burn bright and felt her response between her legs as he pushed her onto her back with his lips on hers.

As Spike's hand roamed over her body, he kissed the temptress laying naked in his bed, feeling the soft, golden skin against his own that he had only dreamed about until now. He finally had her in his bed, and he was going to take his time. And even better, he had her in his bed because she made the first move; the slayer came to him.

He pulled back to look down into her face, seeing desire for him in her eyes. Then Buffy ran her tongue along her upper lip as if savoring his taste making Spike groaned. 'Who the hell am I kidding? We'll take our time later.' His mouth crushed down onto her own, bruising her lips as their tongues battled, a battle they would both win. He cupped her breast while running his thumb over her hardened nipple. As his mouth replaced his hand, flicking her nipple with his tongue, his hand traveled further down, over her navel, and through the curls between her legs. Her arousal amplified when she felt his hand run over the lips of her sex

The vampire growled when he felt the wetness caused by her desire for him. Using two fingers, he stroked across her entrance, up between the moist lips to finally rub against her clit. Instinctually, Buffy arched up, frantically trying to somehow get closer to his talented hand and mouth. Buffy reached down and grasped his erection, sliding her hand down the shaft and then back up, in an attempt to bring him as much pleasure as he was giving her. Buffy thought she would come when his fingers slid back down and into her heat. Between gasps, as if she had run the Boston marathon, Buffy gasped, "Spike, now…ahhh…Damn it, now."

"Anything you want, luv." Spike smiled an undeniably male smile as he lifted up and covered her body with his own.

Impatient, Buffy slid her hand between them, grasped his cock, and guided it to her entrance while raising her hips, attempting to guide him inside. He slid into the slayer so swiftly that she barely pulled her hand out before it was trapped between their bodies. When he was completely in, he pulled back to watch her face as he began to stroke in and out.

Buffy had her head thrown back and eyes closed, concentrating on what Spike was making her feel. The coolness of his shaft contrasting with her body heat enhanced their contact, and she could feel the head of his cock driving so deep that it touched her womb. As she began to feel her orgasm build, Buffy wrapped her hand behind his head to draw him into a hungry kiss. They nipped at each other's lips as the tension continued to build. When Spike increased his force, Buffy pulled her mouth free and bit down on his shoulder as his pelvis slammed into her clit. Both plunged over the edge with the minor pain mixed with the extreme pleasure.

When Buffy finally felt that she could open up her eye lids again, she gazed into Spike's blue eyes and shared a smile,. She felt her body humming with satisfaction, and without warning, Buffy thought back to the first night when she had followed an Eloquaw demon into the sewers. The night she found the underground bedroom and spied on Spike with Harmony. She remembered her surprise seeing the vampiress' reaction to having sex with Spike, but now she understood why Harmony writhed in pleasure and found such sexual gratification with the blonde vampire. Laughing to herself, Buffy decided that Riley really was pathetic in bed. But thinking of Harmony in bed with Spike again brought on two emotions, jealousy and possessiveness, that Buffy wasn't ready to recognize,. Pushing these unexpected feelings aside, Buffy captured his lips in a passionate kiss.

Eventually, pulling away from the kiss, Spike tilted his head to the side and raised an eyebrow. "So what thoughts are causing such a frown?"

"Ohhh....nothing."

"No?" Spike looked down at her, still reveling in the site of the slayer lying naked in his bed.

"No."

"Well, then. You leave me with no other choice than to torture you for the information." Spike slid his way slowly down her body, holding her gaze until his tongue was able to flick across her clit, sending her head back in ecstasy.

Continuing to cause her pleasure with his personal brand of torture, Spike had to hold her down as she attempted to squirmed her way across the bed. Not that Buffy had any desire to get away from him, but she just couldn't hold still under his erotic onslaught. "If this is torture, I want at least an hour more."

"Only an hour, pet?" Spike chuckled when one hand let go of the sheets long enough to push his head back down.

Shortly thereafter, Buffy found out that she couldn't last an hour, and Spike was amused to find that she grew very still, not moving away from him, as her second orgasm built up and shook her body.

Licking his lips, the vampire smiled at the slayer as she lay bonelessly relaxed on his bed. "Oh no, luv." He slid back up her body, and in one fluid motion, slid his shaft back into her wet cunt. "We're not nearly done yet."

Buffy gasped when she felt him enter her again but changed into a whimper in pleasure as he began to stroke in and out. Looking up at him and feeling the way she felt, she knew she was treading in dangerous territory. She had loved a vampire before and look how that turned out. She was an adult now; she could have an affair if she chose to with no strings attached. But she had possessive-y thoughts and now I love him type thought about Spike which scared her down in her bones. Scared but not scared enough to stop whatever they had just begun.

"Spike...oh god...Spike wait. Promise me that this is not going to be one of those 'fall in love and then everything falls apart' relationships. Promise me that we will keep this light and fun."

"So you want to make love, just not fall in love, Slayer?"

"Screw, fuck, shag, hump, whatever until we can't walk but just not love. It messes everything way up."

Thinking back to his time with Dru and how his black princess had crushed his heart to a bloody pulp, Spike knew Buffy had a valid point. But regardless of the reasoning she used, he decided not to tell the slayer that sometimes you just can't avoid falling for someone. Distracting her with a kiss, he hoped she didn't notice that he hadn't answered her request. He prided himself in keeping his promises, but Spike wasn't so sure that this was a promise he would be able to keep. And if she was feeling anything like the fluttering in his stomach, he wondered if she could either.

*****

After nightfall, they met Xander for another round of Sunnydale's favorite game, "Find the Eloquaw." Both vampire and slayer acted as if none of their afternoon in bed had ever occurred, enjoying their naughty, little secret. But whenever they could catch a moment or two of privacy, they made up for the lost time.

Since Anya was returning to town the next day, Buffy had an easy time convincing Xander to make it a short night so he could rest up for the ex-vengeance demon, who had a very voracious, sexual appetite.

But Buffy and Spike scarcely made it through the door of his crypt before they were on each other. As the door to his crypt swung shut behind them, he was only able to shed his duster before she was plastered against him, arms wrapped around his neck, holding on tight. Spike cupped her ass with both hands, lifted up and carried her until her back was pressed against a wall. She finally let go of her strangle hold long enough to reach down to lift up her skirt and rip off her thong. After unzipping his own pants, Spike lifted Buffy up and then back down onto his throbbing erection.

Spike hissed out a "yes" through clinched teeth as he felt his shaft slide into her while Buffy pulled back to give a involuntary cry of pleasure.

As their mouths hungrily met again, he pulled out to the tip of his cock before sliding back in, with Buffy's moan adding to his pleasure. Buffy used the wall at her back to her advantage, using it to push off, pressing Spike in deeper.

Their rhythm increased until Buffy tore her mouth free of his, trying to breathe as her orgasm began to build. As she felt like an explosions rocked through her, she threw her head back on the wall giving Spike free access to her neck. And he did bite her, but the bites were a lover's light nips and kisses on her neck that just increased her exhilaration from their joining.

When she road out the waves of her ecstasy out, she finally came back down only to have another orgasm began to build. And she returned the pleasure, kissing and biting on his neck in return. Spike unnecessarily inhaled in surprise. A slayer biting a vampire was a heady aphrodisiac. Spike growled and increased his pace until he felt her squeezing his shaft again with her second orgasm, causing him to find his own release.

*****

Still pressed against the wall, supported by Spike, Buffy hung onto to him unable to move. Her eyes were closed, and she was feeling thoroughly sated. Since his head was resting on her shoulder, Buffy whispered into his ear, "Spike?"

Spike's reply was muffled, "Yes, we can do it again but give me a sec or two to recover, luv."

"No." Buffy pretended that she was shocked as she jabbed him in the ribs which just made Spike laugh. "That was so *not* what I was going to ask. At least, not yet." She stopped his laughter by pulling his head back by his hair and placing a quick kiss on his lips. "But I was going to ask if you have anything to drink besides blood or liquor."

Spike carried Buffy and set her down on a sarcophagus. "What? You think I'm a lush with a blood fetish on the side?"

"Let me think about it…Yeah." Buffy batted big, innocent eyes at him.

In return Spike attempted a scowl, but he just felt too good to even try for grumpy. Instead, he settled for a dramatic sigh. "Yes, luv, I have something else besides blood or liquor." Spike pulled away and instantly missed the contact with her. With regret, he zipped up his pants and made his way over to the frig. "Is water acceptable for you highness?"

"It's great." Smoothing her skirt down, Buffy rolled onto her back on the cool stone. Thinking over the last couple of hours, sex with Spike had been better than she had ever dreamed, literally. Just as with their fighting, they had been perfectly in sync. But now in the aftermath, she was relieved that the banter that had always existed between them and the ease that they recently felt with each other was still there.

Earlier when she had climbed into his bed uninvited, she had felt like she was taking a small step over a broad chasm, unsure if there would be a bridge beneath her foot or not. But judging from his enthusiasm and how her body felt at that particular moment, the risk was going to pay off. Licking her lips as she watched Spike walk back to her holding a bottle of water, her mouth watered for the vampire more than the drink.

As he handed her the bottle, he sat down next to her on the edge of the sarcophagus. "Here's you water, luv, or maybe it's really vodka," he added with a wink.

After she good-naturedly stuck her tongue out at him, she took the bottle and drank.

"You know that Vodka is odorless and tasteless, don't cha, pet?"

"Ha, ha." Buffy smirked and playfully shook some water onto him, thinking she could always lick the droplets off later.

However, Spike's chuckle at her lightheartedness turned into a yelp of pain. Everywhere the water hit him felt like a piece of burning coal had been dropped on him and was sizzling into his skin. When he whipped his t-shirt off and looked at his upper body, he saw whiffs of smoke rising up from the multiple wounds.

Buffy was horrified when she saw the places where each droplet hit turn into an open sore. As she was still trying to process what was going on, Spike dashed for the ladder and disappeared down below, leaving Buffy running to catch up. When she came down the ladder, she couldn't see Spike, but she could hear him cussing. She found the vampire around a corner in a make-shirt shower, trying to get the water running. The water started flowing just as she was close enough to touch him.

Even as he stood under the stream of water, he started to shuck his boots and then his pants as Buffy grabbed the soap on a shelf and began washing the parts of his upper body that she could reach. Finally naked, he leaned his forehead on the shower wall in front of him, letting the water wash over him and trying to be distracted from the pain by Buffy's ministrations.

Looking at the front of his chest, Buffy saw ugly, open wounds that stood out sharply in contrast with his pale skin. There were also a few on his legs where the bottled water must have soaked through his jeans. "What happened? What was in the water?"

Spike looked over at her for a moment before closing his eyes again. "You should know, slayer. I have seen you use it on vamps before."

"Holy water. Someone put a bottle of holy water in your refrigerator?"

"Judging from the fucking pain I'm in now, that wasn't spring water."

Buffy's voice was low and full of emotion as all the ramifications started to sink in. "Spike…If you did drink holy water it would have killed you, right?"

Keeping his forehead on the wall, Spike shook his head. "I don't know, luv. Maybe if I drank enough."

"This is the second attempt. Someone is not only trying but is determined to kill you. And surprise, it's not me this time."

Buffy earned a smile for her joke, but she could barely hear Spike's low voice over the water when he replied. "Looks like some bloody bastard has decided I don't need to walk this earth anymore."

Stepping into the shower behind him, she carefully wrapped her arms low around his waist to avoid any sores and pressed herself against his uninjured back. "No prob. We find the coward that is trying to kill you, and we stop him."

Confused, Spike didn't know what to make of Buffy trying to help him stay undead. "We?"

"We." Buffy's voice was firm, leaving no opening for debate.

The implications of that one word, "we," just about drove the pain from his body, and whoever the bugger was, he didn't stand a chance against a master vampire and a slayer. Comforted, Spike smiled as he placed his arm over hers, feeling the water rush over his body and her warmth against his back. No, he would never have been able to keep his promise not to love this woman, especially since he strongly suspected that he already did.

*****

Later, the pair moved out of the shower to lie on the bed. Buffy had slipped out of her wet clothes to let them dry and was lying next to him, cuddled against his back again as he laid on his side, trying to will the sores into healing faster.

"You know, Slayer, that it's more than likely that your ex-soldier boy is playing these nasty, little pranks on me, don't you?"

Buffy didn't want to believe Riley would stoop to these kinds of acts, but she had suspected Riley from the first. "Yes. Since the fire, I've been trying to find him. But no one has seen him at his apartment, or where he works, or even at school. It's like he's dropped off the face of the earth, or at least the face of Sunnydale."

Relieved that they were on the same page instead of Buffy defending her ex, Spike passed on his own findings so far. "When I went out and procured this comfy bed, I checked with the two bomb builders here in Sunnydale"

"And you know the bomb makers in Sunnydale because?"

"A big bad needs to know things like that, luv." Despite his pain, Spike had to smile, knowing that he had just earned one of Buffy's eye rolls. "Anyway, neither had had any orders for that kind of bomb or even someone in to buy the supplies to build one. As for the holy water, I don't know. He could buy it places, have the bottle blessed by a priest, or any combination of those."

"So we keep looking," Buffy said with as much confidence as she could muster, but she knew that both she and Spike each silently finished her sentence. 'We keep looking before he succeeds.'