Part: 16/18
Notes: Finally! Heh. Uh... my excuse is that I was on call for jury duty... and the waiting to be called to sit in a room with tons of people for 8 hours stifled all creativity. Riiiiight. Okay, so I've been a lazy slacker. And... I'm still hurting from the finale. And I can't write fight scenes at all... so writing that took me about four days. Heh. Sad excuses, huh? Oh well.

"What's wrong with their faces?" Hank broke the tense silence with his question.

"They are... ah..." Giles fought with what to tell him and his urge to run and help Buffy. On one hand he was relieved he was right about Spike, because Buffy should of never have been involved with him in the first place. But, on the other hand, Spike had killed two slayers... Buffy could very easily be the third.

"He bit her!" Xander cried. Giles saw the twin, blood oozing holes on her neck. He pulled out a crossbow and loaded it.

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

Joyce watched the scene around her play out with a strange feeling of detachment. Her mind was slowly processing it and everything that had happened since a few months before they'd moved from Los Angeles. Pieces clicking here and there... blood stains, ripped clothes, that strange, older man she'd seen Buffy talking to in L.A., the sudden uncharacteristic "bad behavior", the gym incident... and so many other little things she'd sort of just written off.

Then there was sweet William's face. Bumpy forehead and fangs peaking out from between his lips. She remembered him as the leader of what Principal Snyder had dubbed a "gang on P.C.P". He was the one who had tried to harm her baby that night.

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

Jenny remained by the door. She sat down cross-legged, pulling out the items for the spell that she needed. She had been hoping to do them both together, but the spell was very specific that only one be done at a time. She glanced over at the dance floor. Spike was in game face and Buffy looked ready to kill him. Drusilla stood off to the side, eyes glinting in the dark. She whispered something in Buffy's direction before sidling closer to her and slipping a stake into her hand.

Jenny's instincts told her that Drusilla was the bigger threat, despite the fact that everyone else probably thought that Spike was.

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

"Get away from her!" Giles shouted, shakily holding the crossbow up and aiming at Spike.

"I'm not..." Spike started, backing away from Buffy as she stalked closer to him. "Buffy, Luv..."

"I demand to know what's going on here." Hank shouted angrily. "What did is he doing to my daughter?"

"Oh, bugger..." Spike groaned. "I didn't do a sodding thing to her, you pollick. Drusilla put her inna..." His explanation was cut short when Buffy kicked him in the gut. "Bloody Hell, Buffy, Luv, stop."

She swing a fist at his face, but he blocked it. She did the same with the hand that held the stake, but aimed for his chest. He was a little too slow, to stop her, but her aim was off. The stake ended up going in right over his heart. "Owww! Bugger all!" He shoved her away and yanked the stake out.

"Kill him. Kill him." Dru chanted almost giddily as Buffy rushed Spike, pinning him against a wall. "Kill him, Slayer. It's your duty."

"Shut up Dru!" Spike growled. "Buffy, Sweetheart, shut her outta your mind. Don't let her control you... you're stronger than that."

Buffy stared at him for a half a second before head-butting him. She pulled him towards her and punched him in the face while he was still reeling from the head-butt. She did a quick, but forceful roundhouse kick that sent him crashing into one of the pillars that supported the catwalk.

She grabbed the stake from him before picking him up by his throat and shoving him against the pillar, furthering the damage to it. She lifted her arm, ready to strike.

The sound of wood creaking echoed throughout the Bronze.

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

"Wh--?" Buffy shook her head, in an attempt to clear the haze that had enshrouded it. She frowned, realizing she held Spike by the throat and that she was about to... stake him? Horrified, she dropped the stake and let go of him. "What's going on?"

"Buffy..." Spike let out a sigh of relief and pulled her into a near bruising embrace.

"Buffy, look out!" Willow screamed from the other side of the Bronze as the pillar cracked in half, the catwalk breaking into pieces and falling to the ground. A large piece was about to fall off right above them.

Spike let go of her only to grab hold of her hand and pull her to the other side of the room where her friends and parents were. He put his hands on her face, relived beyond words that she was out of Dru's thrall. He asked her if Dru had hurt her, aside from biting her.

"I'm not hurt." She murmured, stepping closer to his body.

"Get your hands off her you... you... you blood sucking fiend!" Xander shouted bravely. His action of cowering, however, belied his words.

"Will somebody please tell me what is going on?" Joyce demanded.

"Nooooooooooo!" All eyes went to Drusilla when she screamed. She dropped Miss Edith and made a charge towards Jenny, who'd continued with the spell despite the Bronze falling apart.

The Orb of Thesulah was hovering in the air, glowing a bright yellow. Then it disappeared.

Drusilla stopped in her tracks, her wide eyes glowing for a half a second. She gasped for unneeded air, looking like a lost little girl.

"It worked!" Giles cheered Jenny, who was shaking from all the energy she'd used to do the spell.

"What worked?" Willow asked.

"I cursed her with a soul." Jenny said.

Spike pulled away from Buffy, who was trying to keep herself from bawling at the look he had in his eyes as he stared at Drusilla. "William? What's happened to me? I feel... so empty. My pixies are gone and Miss Edith wont speak to me. Spike..." Drusilla cried, holding her arms out to him. "I'm so frightened."

"I..." Buffy hung her head when he looked down at her. He knew he'd never be able to explain that he had to go to Dru. She made him. He owed it to her to be there for her... at least until Angel could be gotten a hold of.

He walked to Dru and let her grab onto him. His arms stayed at his side, his gaze fixed on Buffy, who's breath was hitching in an attempt to keep herself from crying.

"Jenny, are you well enough to do the other?" Giles asked.

Glad for the distraction, Buffy looked over at Jenny. "Other what?"

Jenny held up the second Orb of Thesulah. "Another soul curse... for Spike."

"What? You are not giving me a bloody soul!" Spike tried to go over to stop her, but Dru clung fast.

"Buffy, this will guarantee that he will not hurt you if you insist on continuing this insane relationship with him. It is for the best." Giles explained.

Jenny looked between Giles and Buffy before holding the Orb out to Buffy. "The choice is yours."

Buffy took it in her trembling hands. "It's very shiny." A couple of renegade tears slipped down her face and onto the Orb. She looked up at Spike. Drusilla was nuzzling his neck. "Whatever happens... I... I love Spike how he is. This... this would change that." She turned her hand and let the Orb fall. The glass shattered around her feet.

"Buffy! Are you insane?" Giles yelled.

"I need to... not be here." She sniffled back tears and bolted out the door. She ran like all the forces of Hell were on her tail. Seeing Drusilla clinging to Spike... seeing him go to her was too painful.

She was about a block from the Bronze when she slammed into Angel. "Buffy? Buffy, what's wrong?" She barely spared him a glance before shoving him out of her way and continued running towards home.

Buffy reached her house in a matter of minutes. Once inside, she collapsed against the shut door and began sobbing.

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

"Honey?" Joyce walked into the house. Hank followed her in. "Buffy, Sweety, where are you?"

"She's probably in her room."

Joyce rolled her eyes at Hank. "I'll go talk to her."

"I should..."

"Stay here, Hank, please. You'll just upset her more right now."

Hank begrudgingly stayed downstairs.

Joyce knocked on Buffy's bedroom door a couple of times before opening it and peering in.

Buffy sat huddled in a corner of her room, her legs drawn up to her chest. She was shaking and when she looked up, her face was red and there were smudged streaks from her makeup and tears down her cheeks.

"Oh, Buffy." She went over and wrapped her arms around her daughter, trying to comfort her.

"It hurts." She hiccuped.

"I'm so sorry, Buffy. I wish I could protect you from all the hurt in the world." She grabbed a tissue off Buffy's dresser and wiped at her cheeks. "Why don't we go to the bathroom to put bandage on that... bite mark?"

Buffy nodded and followed Joyce to the bathroom. Joyce put the toilet's lid down and Buffy sat on it, much like she had when she was a little girl and would get cuts and scrapes. Joyce felt her heart twist for Buffy. Things had changed so fast and she hadn't even seen it... she wasn't there for Buffy.

She quickly put disinfected of the two little holes and put a couple of layers of white gauze over her neck. "Do you want to explain those to me... and everything else?" Joyce winced at her choice of words. She had planned a better lead in to this conversation, but couldn't stop the words from coming out.

"Can we talk about this tomorrow? I just... just wanna go to sleep."

"All right, Buffy." Joyce placed a kiss on her forehead.

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

Buffy lay under the covers of her bed as Joyce bustled around, picking up things and putting them away. She kept her eyes closed tightly until she heard her finally leave. She let out a sigh of relief to have her mother gone. She'd been hovering over for the good part of an hour.

She knew sleeping would be an impossibility. She sat up, clutching her blanket to her chest as she stared out the window. Spike was out there somewhere... she just worried that Dru was there with him.

Part: 17/?
Notes: So sorry about the delay on this. I've no excuses or anything. So... yeah. :)

"I'm a Slayer. The Slayer. All formal title having and everything."

"The what?" Hank looked up from the newspaper he'd been reading when Buffy walked into the kitchen.

"I'm the Slayer. Vampire Slayer, actually. But there's demons and stuff too, not just vampires, I mean." She stood next to Hank, but looked at Joyce as she spoke. "It's why I burned down Hemery's gym. It was all vampire infested."

"Was that older man your friends told me they saw you with a vampire?" Joyce asked, taking deep, shaky breaths.

"I..." Buffy looked down sadly. "That was my Watcher, Merrick. He died. Giles is my Watcher now. All slayers have one. They guide and train them and... well... watch them."

Hank stood up. "I have to get back to my home." He went and kissed Buffy's cheek. "I'll see you in a couple of weekends, Princess."

"But..."

"Hank, don't you think you should stay for this conversation?"

"I really have to go." With that said he was gone in less than a minute.

"I didn't really expect that." Buffy gave a half laugh. "Denial-land must be a nice place... you think I could visit for a couple of, oh say, decades?"

"Your father has different ways of dealing with shocking news."

"Shocking?" Buffy frowned. "I'm sorry, Mom. I wanted to tell you before. I was just afraid..."

"Of what?"

"I'm not normal. I didn't want you to be ashamed of me. I didn't want you to hate me."

"Buffy," Joyce pulled her into a tight hug. "You're my baby. I love you no matter what. Just because you're this... Slayer, that doesn't change anything. Well... maybe a few things, like curfew, I guess. But you're still my daughter. There is one thing I don't understand. William, his face... and that woman..."

Buffy squirmed out of her mothers embrace and leaned against the counter. "Spike and Drusilla are vampires. Actually so is Angel... remember him? I said he was my tutor?"

"Vampires." Joyce sighed. "How... er... long has William been a vampire for? Did he just... become a vampire?"

"You don't really wanna know, do you?"

"Buffy..."

"One-hundred and twenty-four years. S'not including how long he was alive for. He never told me how old he was when he was turned."

"He's older than me." Joyce cringed. "He's... goodness, he's dead. He's the living dead?"

"Yep. Well... I kinda think the P.C. term is 'undead'. Not that it makes much sense, does it? I mean, wouldn't being undead make you alive? But, uh, that's not important at the moment, is it?" Buffy giggled nervously.

"If you're this... Slayer... why haven't you..."

"Why haven't I killed him?" Joyce nodded. "We... I dunno, I guess we figured it was more fun making out and, er, stuff... than fighting. It's actually kinda funny, 'cause, yanno, he's tried to kill me quite a few times before."

Joyce's nodded her head. "I remeber him now from Parent-Teacher Night."

"Heh... yeah. I think he was always a little afraid you'd pull out an ax on him whenever his back was turned." Buffy cracked a small smile.

"Mr. Giles was right then, about him trying to hurt you?" Joyce's horror widened eyes would have been laughable at any other time.

"You don't have to worry about him hurting me, Mom. I know he wouldn't. Not anymore." Buffy said, putting all her hopes behind those words. Physically, she knew she was safe from him. But... her heart, her happiness and her very future lay in his hands. She didn't want him to crush them.

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

Buffy was going stir crazy. It was barley eleven in the morning and she was bored to the point of tears. Well, that wasn't the only reason she was near tears. Her room was one big pit 'o Spike memories.

She couldn't even hold Mr. Gordo for comfort because she remembered Spike playing with the little piggy.

Her bed... the night before she'd ended up sleeping on her floor because she could smell Spike... and the scent of previous love-making on her sheets and pillows.

She knew she was thinking very cheaply of his love for her, but she couldn't help it. A large part of her knew he'd gone to Drusilla out of some final act of duty to his maker and once most beloved. That part also knew he wouldn't hurt her... he'd chose her in a minute over Drusilla, no matter how much the crazy vampiress would need him now.

Unfortunately, the smaller, nay-saying part of her seemed to have a much louder voice than the larger part. How could she not help but listen?

Buffy pondered getting drunk to drown the pain. It's what they did on TV and in the movies, right? Of course, there was a problem with that plan. The actual obtaining of booze. She knew she couldn't pass for twenty-one if her life depended on it.

Plus, she couldn't really forget the fiasco of the first time she decided drinking would be super cool and loads of fun. Who could say that she wouldn't end up the sacrifice to some demon?

Still needing some sort of comfort, she left her room and snuck downstairs. She wasn't in a talking mood. "Get the goods and get out", was the mantra she mouthed. Her mom was sitting in the living room, talking on the phone in hushed tones. Buffy thought about staying to try and listen to the conversation, but she really needed the ice cream to ease her sadness.

She opened the freezer and dug around before pulling out a carton of New York Super Fudge Chunk. She took the lid off and inhaled deeply. "Mmmmm."

Not wanting to make any noise that would get her mom's attention, she opted to lick the ice cream out of the carton instead of getting a spoon. She shut her eyes, relishing the cool ice cream for a second. It helped beat back some the emotional turmoil she was feeling.

"I thought you'd grown out of that? But, I guess it was just my wishful thinking." Joyce chuckled.

Buffy pulled her face from the carton and faced her. "Hehe... er... sorry?"

Joyce shook her head amused. She took a paper towel and handed it to Buffy. "Please don't drip."

She took the paper towel. "I'm not five, Mom." Buffy huffed in the perfect, annoyed teenager tone.

"Yes, because every seventeen year old wears ice cream on their face. Is it the latest trend?"

Buffy brought the paper towel to her face and wiped vigorously. "I didn't... uh... you were on the phone. I didn't wanna make any noise digging around for a spoon. Who were you talking to? Was it Daddy?"

"It was Mr. Giles, actually. He wanted to speak to you."

"He did?" A wave of dread passed through Buffy.

"I told him whatever it is was he needed to say to you could wait until tomorrow."

"Do I hafta go to school?" Buffy pouted.

"Yup." Joyce handed Buffy a spoon and pat her hair as she walked past her into the living room. "Oh! Willow stopped by earlier. She left a box for you."

"Really?" Buffy left the ice cream on the counter and followed Joyce. There was a box on the coffee table. It was sealed with tape. There was a large "Buffy's Stuff" written on one side of the box. "I wonder why she taped it." She mused as she ripped the tape off and opened it.

Her coat lay neatly folded on top, covering the other items... her gifts from Spike. Buffy's almost forgotten pain came rushing back and tears started to well in her eyes.

"Honey? What is it?"

"Uh... presents that Spike had given me. I'm just gonna..." She stood, clutching the box tightly to her. "I'll be in my room."

Joyce simply sighed and nodded.

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

Buffy'd been on her bedrooms floor for sometime, kneeling in front of the box. She had put the coat on, arms wrapped around her stomach as she worked herself up to taking the precious items out.

She took the journal out, holding it to her. It was full of pretty, rhyming words. Her heart ached at the thought of them being just that... words and nothing more.

Shaking her head of the negative thought, she put the journal on the floor and took out a delicate silk corset, thong and garter set that made her blush. She was suddenly very glad Willow had sealed the box. If her mother had seen them, she probably would have had a heart attack.

Underneath that lay a small box filled with various... toys. Spike had smirked at the shocked and confused look on Buffy's face. "I'll teach you how to use those the next time your mum goes out of town." He had promised with a wicked wink.

He'd given her a book of love poems. When she skimmed through it in the Bronze, she saw that he had written things next to certain poems. Some sweet like, "if I were a better poet, I'd of written something like this about you", some just funny like, "Yeah, like this ponce ever got any to know what it's like". Some places he's just written, "I love you Buffy Anne Summers".

Then there was the bracelet with her birthstone. She fingered a couple of the stones before fiddling with the clasp. She managed to get it on after a bit of hassle. If only she'd stayed put trying to get it on when they were at the Bronze instead of going off and looking for the missing present...

Speaking of the mystery gift... there was a small, velvet jewelry at the bottom of the box. Willow must have found it when she was rounding up the rest of her stuff.

She opened it with shaking hands. Inside was an exceedingly thin white gold chain resting against the soft lining. Hanging from it was a white gold heart encrusted with onyx's. On first glance it looked like an arrow was running through the heart. Buffy took it out of the box and held it up to see it better.

She started giggling. The little bit of white gold had been made to look like a stake. On the back was an inscription, "my heart, my life, my everything is yours."

It was a matter of seconds before her giggling turned into sobs.

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

Buffy had spent a good deal of the afternoon crying in her room. The sun had set when she'd decided to change her clothes and head out to patrol. She felt that killing something... or at least getting to beat something up a whole bunch would make her feel just a teeny bit better.

But, Buffy soon began to wonder if patrolling was such a good idea. It wasn't that there was much demon action going on... it was that her feet had led her to the park. She looked at the Recreation Center for a long while before making her way to it.

As Buffy trekked up the ladder, she felt a slight twinge. Right back to the beginning. Every angsty, wonderfully perfect, heart-breaking moment she'd had since the day she and Spike had seen Angel and Drusilla betraying them... all of that and the love she'd gained for and from Spike began on the roof she stood on.

She was happy for what had happened that night. She had grown. It made her wiser. It made her love. Of course, she didn't think Jesus himself would have approved of her special brand of "love thy enemy", but it was true love.

Buffy shut her eyes tightly when she reached the center of the roof. She remembered the crushed look on Spike's face when he saw his two makers together. She remembered how worship-filled his voice had been when he'd whispered "Drusilla".

But, she mostly remembered how quickly he was at Drusilla's side when she'd gotten her soul and called out to him like a weak, little kitten.

She'd been a coward, running out when that happened. Her heart had shattered, much like the Orb had... into a zillion little pieces. What a great birthday present that had been.

It didn't help matters any that she hadn't seen or heard from him since then. Sure, a full twenty-four hours hadn't even passed since then, but her fears would not rest. Was he with Drusilla? Had he even spared her a thought?

"This is Hell." She said into the emptiness of the night. The wondering and worrying and waiting was killing her.

"That's not very optimistic, now is it?"

Buffy jumped and spun around. "What..."

"Kinda a coincidence, meeting you here." Buffy was surprised her slayer senses hadn't kicked in at his approach. "Actually, it wasn't. I've been looking for you for about an hour."

"Oh." Buffy didn't like the look on his gorgeous face as he came to stand next to her, staring out at the park grounds.

"I wanted to say goodbye before I left town."

"Y-You're leaving?"

"I'm taking Dru and heading... somewhere. I don't really know where yet."

Tears pooled in Buffy's eyes. "You're leaving with Drusilla."

"I... she needs someone to take care of her now more than ever. I understand her. I can help her... I hope."

There was a silence that was more than a little awkward. "I won't go if you ask me to stay. I love Drusilla, but I love you too, Buffy. A part of me always will."

She looked away, tears threatening to spill. "I don't need you. She does."

"I guess it just wasn't meant to be." He moved away from her. "If you ever need me..."

"You'll be gone?" She laughed.

"Well... yeah... but I'll get in touch with you once I get settled. Give you a number where you can reach me. Don't hesitate to call... for anything."

"Good luck with Drusilla. I hope she'll be okay."

He ducked his head sadly. "Goodbye, Buffy."

Title: Meant To Be
Part: 18/18
Previous parts can be found at:
www.geocities.com/blackqueenphoenix2/mtb.html <http://www.geocities.com/blackqueenphoenix2/mtb.html>

As Buffy stood there, a soft breeze caused her hair to
blow around her face. A few silky wisps stuck to her
tear-stained face. "Bye, Angel."

Buffy moved to sit on the ledge of the roof...
watching as the souled vampire walked out of sight and
out of her life.

She wasn't sure how long she'd sat there, gazing out
at nothing before the sun began to rise. She
reluctantly got up and left. Her mom would probably be
worried if she didn't at least make a guest appearance
at home.

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

Willow pulled away from Oz's sweet embrace when she
saw a haggard looking Buffy walking down the hall. "I
better go see how she is." She told him. "I'll see you
later?"

"Sure."

She rushed over to Buffy. "Hey, Stranger." She greeted
as casually as possible.

Buffy lifted her head to look at her. "Hey Wills." She
forced a smile.

"So... how are you? I mean, you don't have to tell me
if you don't want, but, you know... sometimes it's
good to talk about your feelings. And stuff. And I've
just been so worried about you. Your mom wouldn't even
let me go up to see you and..."

"Willow... breathe." Buffy put a hand on Willow's arm.
"I'm... okay. I'm a little worried about having to
deal with Giles and 'The Talk'. But, I'm good."

"'The Talk'?" Willow frowned. "But Giles isn't your
dad. Why would he..."

"Noooo." Buffy's eyes widened. She looked around the
hall and motioned Willow to follow her to a less
people dense area. "I meant the 'Spike's a vicious,
evil, bad man, how could you even think about parading
around with him? What will The Council say? And how
dare you have broken my pretty glass?' talk." She said
it in a weak imitation of Giles' accent, which made
Willow giggle. "Oh my god, could you imagine Giles
trying to explain the birds and the bees?" Both girls
giggled at the thought.

"That'd just be scary."

"Oh yeah."

"Have you talked to Spike?" Willow blurted after a
second.

Buffy's face fell. "No, I haven't." She leaned against
some lockers. "I did see Angel, though."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He just wanted to say goodbye. I was so happy
when he told me he was taking Drusilla, I cried."

"Will you miss him?"

"I don't know. I don't think so. It's not like we were
the closest of pals these few months."

"True."

"Willow, can you tell me something?"

"Sure."

"What happened after I left The Bronze?"

The warning bell for class rang just then. "I'll tell
you at lunch, okay?" Willow promised, glad she'd been
saved for the moment.

Buffy sighed. "Okay."

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

Willow had just left her classroom when Buffy pounced.
"So..."

"Why don't we get food, then I'll tell you, 'kay?"
Willow smiled nervously, trying to think of ways to
bend the truth or lessen the blow of what she was
going to tell Buffy.

Buffy pouted. "Okay, sure. Food it is."

After they got their lunches, they sat outside
underneath a tree. Willow shoved food into her mouth
as soon as Buffy was about to ask her to speak. Her
mouth was so full she was sure she'd choke.

"Willow, please stop stalling. It's making me
nervous." Buffy said right before Willow was about to
shove half her hamburger into her mouth.

"Stalling? Who's stalling? I'm certainly not
stalling." She laughed nervously. "Okay, so, um, you
left The Bronze. Spike didn't seem too happy about it.
He, he kinda whimpered your name. It was really sad. I
mean, you could tell he wanted to go after you, but
Drusilla wouldn't let go of him no matter how hard he
tried to pull away."

Willow, swirled a french fry in some ketchup on her
lunch tray. She didn't think she'd be eating any more,
though. Just thinking about what she was going to tell
Buffy made her stomach knot in the most unpleasant
ways. She couldn't lie. Buffy deserved the truth.

Buffy was sitting there, ripping blades of grass into
tiny bits and pieces. Her lunch was forgotten,
becoming an all you can eat for ants and other
insects.

"Your parents left almost right away. But, um, your
dad said something along the lines of 'I don't want
you freaks around my daughter, especially you' and
gave Spike a pointed look.

Then Angel came in..."

**************************************************************************

"What the Hell happened??? I just ran into Buffy and
she was crying." He saw Dru clutching Spike and
growled. "What did you do to her?"

Spike finally managed to pry himself from Dru's grasp.
"Take her." He shoved her into Angel's arms.

"Oh... my Angel." She sobbed.

Angel instinctively cradled her. "Drusilla, what's
wrong?"

"They're all screaming at me. They're so angry.
Please, Angel, make them stop."

Spike was making his way to the door when Giles' voice
stopped him. "Buffy is above you. She represents all
that is good and light. She deserves so much more than
an evil, dead thing like you in her life."

Spike growled. "Sod off, Watcher."

"Stay away from her. If you love her at all... if she
means anything to you, you will leave her be. She
deserves a normal life. A chance at real happiness."

Spike glared at Giles for a long moment before going
to the back room to get his coat. He was walking to
the door once again when something caught his eye. He
walked over to a booth and grabbed something off the
seat.

He stalked over to Willow and put it in her hand.
"Make sure the Slayer gets that." It wasn't a question
or a request. It was a demand... and the tone it was
given in made Willow shake as she nodded.

Then he was gone.

**************************************************************************

"He just... left?"

"Buffy, I'm sorry. I dunno, maybe he took what Giles
said really seriously."

Buffy's heart wrenched painfully in her chest. That
was it. Spike left because of Giles. No more Spike and
Buffy... Buffy and Spike.

Just Buffy.

How was she supposed to go on without him? He was her
world and she loved him more than anything. She'd be
alone and miserable. She was already missing him from
her life so much she couldn't even think. He didn't
even try and fight for her. Didn't he know she would
do anything for him? That she'd happily go against
what her parents or Giles' wished, just so she could
be with him?

"Buffy? Buffy, you're scaring me." Willow shook Buffy
roughly. Buffy looked at Willow, her mini-catatonia
breaking.

"Sorry Wills, I just..." She tried to bite back the
sob, but failed.

"Oh... Buffy." Willow wrapped her arms around Buffy's
small, shaking frame. "I'm sorry, Buffy. I'm so
sorry."

The ringing of the bell, signaling the next class was
about to start made the two girls part. Buffy wiped
her face with the back of her hand. "It's... okay,
Willow. I'll be okay."

"Going to class?"

Buffy made a face. "I wish I didn't have to. Think
Xander'll say anything to me?"

"I dunno. He was really mad about the whole thing, but
I haven't talked to him since Saturday... so maybe
he's calmed down?"

"One can always hope."

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

Buffy squirmed uncomfortably in her seat as she
glanced up at the clock. There was still a half an
hour to go of class and her back was beginning to burn
from the intense heat of Xander's glare.

When she walked into the classroom, she'd given him a
small wave, hoping maybe they'd be okay. But, he'd
sneered and looked away. Cordelia had surprisingly
smacked her boyfriend upside the head, whispering
something angrily to him before shooting Buffy a
sympathetic smile.

As Buffy was taking notes, she noticed Giles walk into
the classroom. He cleared his throat to get the
teacher's attention.

"Can I help you with something, Mr. Giles?"

"Er, yes, I need to speak to Buffy Summers."

The teacher nodded at Buffy to let her know it was
okay to leave.

She quickly gathered her things, slightly relieved
that she'd be away from Xander's glaring. Of course,
the fact that she was probably going to get the
lecture of a lifetime from Giles made any relief fade.


Neither of them said a word as they walked down the
hallway leading to the library. He walked ahead of her
and held the swinging doors open.

"I'm sorry to have taken you out of class, but I felt
it was of the utmost importance that we talk now." He
started as he slipped the "Closed" sign in front of
the doors. "I called you several times, but your
mother would not let me speak to you."

"I told her I didn't wanna talk to you." She sat down
on the edge of a table, hands folded neatly in her lap
as though she were some prim, proper and innocent
little schoolgirl. "Giles, before you say anything
else, there are some things I need to say. I'm sorry
that I went behind your back for so long about my
relationship with Spike. But I'm not sorry I was with
him. Knowing what's happened, I'd do it all over
again. You have no idea... none... how much I love him
or how much he means to me.

Willow told me what you said to him at The Bronze. I
haven't seen him since, so he's probably gone. Gone
and left me and my heart is broken. I hope... I hope
you're happy with that and I hope you can live with
what you did to me.

I'm angry and hurt that you would do that. You didn't
even bother to open your eyes to see that he changed
so much for me... to be with me. I already told you
he'd stopped feeding off people. And not only that but
he had his minions patrol. That's why there's been
such a lack of badness. Not 'cause of some pending Big
Bad... but 'cause my boyfriend didn't want to see me
hurt or dead."

"I had no idea." Giles sounded impressed.

"Of course you didn't. You only wanted Spike to be the
villain he *used* to be. You didn't want him to be
anything more than a monster. The world isn't black
and white. I just learned that. There are so many
different shades and colors, Giles. Spike was one of
them."

"Buffy, regardless of whatever changes he may have
undertaken, that doesn't change the fact that he is
William the Bloody, killer of two slayers and
countless innocents. And he is dead. What kind of life
do you imagine leading with him? You would never be
able to have children. You could never take a daylight
stroll with him. If he had a soul, like Angel, perhaps
the situation would be different. You chose against
that. I am sorry you are hurt in any way, but I am
relieved that he is gone."

Buffy stood up, clutching her books to her chest. "I
better get back to class." She walked to the doors,
pausing there, but not looking back at him. "Uh... I
won't be training for a while... or patrolling. My
mom's still wigged about the whole "Slayer thing". A
couple of days of mother-daughter bonding are in
order."

"You told her everything then?"

"Yeah, I did." Buffy bit her lip, pausing at the door.
"If he were to come back, you know nothing you say
would keep me from being with him, right?"

She heard him sigh heavily before he answered. "I
know."

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

Buffy went back to class, but after a few minutes, the
threat of tears caused her to rush out of the room.
She could hear the teacher calling out after her, but
she just kept going.

It was all so much. Willow's story of what happened
after she left and the Xander glare-fest... and Giles
delight at her broken heart; Buffy couldn't really
take it anymore.

Once she was outside, she started running, afraid
Snyder would catch her ditching. She froze when she
noticed the DeSoto parked across the street. She
stared at it like a dying man would his last hope for
living.

She didn't take her eyes off it she slowly walked down
the sidewalk and to the curb. She watched as it made a
u-turn in the middle of the street to pull up in front
of her. Her insides were doing all sorts of flips and
flops as she opened the door and slid in, mindful to
keep as much sunlight as possible from getting in.

Spike looked tired and smelled like he'd taken up some
serious chain smoking. The DeSoto's floor was littered
with cigarette butts and whiskey bottles. She'd never
seen it in such bad shape. Spike usually kept his
precious child as clean as possible.

As soon as her seat belt was secure, he peeled off. As
the car sped down the streets, the screeching of other
cars braking to get out of its way could be heard.

After driving this way for about twenty minutes, Spike
pulled the car to a stop.

"I... I thought maybe you'd left."

"Is that what you want?" He crawled across the seat to
her, trapping her body between the seat and a hard
place.

"No. Of course not. I love you."

"Of course not. I love you." He all but sneered,
vamping. "Is this the man you love? This demon
inhabited corpse?"

"Spike, why are you acting like this?"

"I'm not acting, Luv. It's all me. Now answer my
question."

"I do. I love all of you." She whispered. "The man and
the demon. You know that."

"Yeah?" He rubbed his body against hers as he lowered
his face to her neck.

"Spike..."

"You smell delicious..." His teeth grazed her neck.
"So horribly afraid. You shouldn't fear the man you
love." He placed several open mouthed kisses right
over her jugular before slipping his fangs into the
skin.

It wasn't new by any means. He'd left more than a
dozen of his marks on her. But, she'd never felt the
gut wrenching fear she was feeling. The only time
she'd ever really been afraid of him was when they had
been enemies.

Spike was actually feeding from her... ripping at her
throat as he pulled greedily from her life source.

"S-s-s-stop. You're hurting me." She gasped, blood
bubbling up in her mouth.

He laughed against her neck, retracting his teeth. He
pulled away to look down at her. His face was a blur
of red as she fought off a wave of dizziness. Her
blood was smeared all around his mouth, dripping down
his chin and onto her.

He grinned maliciously before moving back to her neck.
"Is this the man that you love, Buffy?"

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

Buffy gasped, her hand flying to her neck. Her pulse
was racing underneath her fingers.

"How kind of you to join us in the land of the living,
Miss Summers." Her teacher said.

Taking a shaky breath, she looked around. She was
still in her classroom. Xander looked almost
concerned. The other students were snickering.

"Sorry."

"Try not to let it happen again, okay?"

"Yeah." Buffy glanced out the window, not sure whether
she was hoping to see the DeSoto out there or not. Of
course, it wasn't there. Rubbing her neck one last
time, she tried to focus her attention on her class
work.

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

Buffy wearily walked home after school had ended.
She'd avoided Willow, who she was certain would try to
get her to join her and Oz at the Bronze later on.

That dream had been the final straw.

Like being a Slayer... having died once added on top
of being a teenager wasn't enough. No. She had to have
the mother of all angsty romances. She should have
just stayed with Angel... then she'd be drama free.
But noooo... she had to go and fall in love with
Spike.

"Hi Honey." Joyce said when she got home.

"Hi. I'll be in my room. Got oodles of homework to
do." Her voice was emotionless. She knew that her
mother would worry. But she hoped she wouldn't try to
talk to her or anything. She needed some more time to
wallow.

"Buffy."

She stopped on the first step of the stairs. "Yes,
Mommy?"

"What happened today?"

"Nothing much. I did talk to Giles today. It wasn't
pleasant, but I knew it wouldn't be."

"I'm sorry, Sweetie."

"It's okay." Buffy shrugged, forcing a smile.
"Everything'll be back to normal now that Spike's
gone."

"Gone?"

"I'm only guessing." Buffy looked down. "I should get
started on my homework. If anyone calls, could you
tell 'em I'm busy?" Buffy didn't wait for an answer,
just went to her room and shut the door.

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

Hours bled into each other. The phone had rung dozens
of times. Giles, Willow, Xander... maybe Angel. Buffy
didn't really care who it was. She seemed to have a
lot of trouble caring about anything.

The homework she'd said needed to be done was
untouched. Her windows were open, letting the chilly
night air in. She was shivering, but she just didn't
have the energy or desire to get up and close it.

Her cell phone rang. She crawled across the floor to
take it out of her backpack and turn it off. A couple
of minutes later, the doorbell rang, followed by
several loud knocks.

"There's someone here to see you." Joyce peaked into
Buffy's room.

"I'm not really in the mood to see anyone, Mom." Buffy
said, hugging her knees tighter to her.

Joyce knelt next to Buffy, who'd been sitting against
the wall, hugging her knees to her chest. "Buffy, this
isn't good for you. I know your hurting, but you can't
keep shutting out me and your friends."

"I know. I just... I just need time. I miss him so
much, Mommy."

"I know." Joyce sighed, kissing her daughters hair.
"I'm going to the gallery tonight... I have an
important shipment coming in. I'll... be late. In
fact... I might just stay there overnight. I'll leave
money for pizza on the table, okay?"

"'Kay. Thank you."

Joyce left Buffy's room. Minutes later, Buffy heard
her mother's car speed off.

Buffy had to admit it was strange that her mom had
left like she did. The woman had been on worry
overdrive since her birthday. She figured she wouldn't
be pulling any all-nighters at the gallery for at
least or a few days.

Buffy frowned when she heard her door creak open. "I
didn't hear you drive up. Did you forget some...
thing?"

She lifted her head a bit and saw all black. She wiped
at her tears to get a better look. Black boots...
black pants... on upwards to the sinfully tight black
tee-shirt... then the pale skin of his neck.

Buffy wasn't sure whether to cry, laugh or jump up and
down for joy when she saw Spike's gorgeous face. She
knew in an instant that it was him. Really him. Not a
dream or hallucination. She could feel it in her
bones... in her gut.

"Spike."

He walked into the room, looking at everything but
her. "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter."

"Yeah, it does. I didn't... Christ, Buffy, I never
meant to cause you any harm. I know she'd hurt you...
bit you... but I had to go to her. Not 'cause of
anything but that I owed her." He sat down on her bed,
finally looking at her. "She made me, Buffy. If not
for her, I'd of never had you in my life."

"I understand. I know none of that was your fault. I
mean, I can't really blame her for wanting you back.
You are wicked hot. And I get the whole duty thing,
too." A few tears slipped down her cheeks. "I kinda
don't understand why you kept staying away though."

"Oh, Sweetheart, please, don't cry." He had scooped
her up in a matter of seconds and was cradling her in
his arms. "I'm so sorry, Buffy. So, so sorry." He
peppered her face with kisses that soothed her soul.
"I wasn't sure how welcome I'd be. Though you might be
mad."

She slid her arms underneath his duster and wrapped
them around his waist, clinging to him for dear life.
"Willow told me what Giles said... I was afraid you'd
leave. I thought I'd never see you again."

"What he said did get to me... and it's all true. You
do deserve better than me. But, I'm a selfish prat.
An' I love you too bloody much to let you go."

"Good." She sniffled, smiling a little. "Because I was
getting tried of crying all the time."

"Oh, Luv, I don't think I can say sorry enough, can
I?" He pressed his forehead to hers.

"Probably not, but I'd rather you just stop saying it
all together. You're here... that's all that matters
to me."

He nuzzled his face with hers before kissing her. "So
much time wasted."

"It's only been two days." She said softly, returning
his kiss.

"A bloody eternity." He began kissing his way down her
jaw line and to her neck. Buffy tensed.

"Luv, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." He arched an eyebrow. "I had this stupid
nightmare... er... day-mare? Whatever it was... it was
just stupid."

"I bit you?"

"You questioned my love for you. You were so mean. And
you bit me and you were gonna kill me, I woke up
before..."

Spike frowned. "You know I would never do that, don't
you?"

"Yes. That's why I said it was stupid." She tightened
her arms around him, grabbing the fabric of his shirt.


"C'mere." He tilted her head up. "Give us a kiss."

Buffy rearranged herself so she was straddling him.
"Why should I?" She smiled coyly.

"Because I bloody well told you to, Woman."

"Bossy, bossy." She chided. "Maybe I don't wanna kiss
you."

"Buffy." He growled.

She giggled. "Sorry." She placed her hands on either
side of his face before pressing her lips against his.

She whimpered as he wrapped his arms around her, their
bodies pressed tight against each others.

"Missed you." She sighed when he pulled away to let
her breathe.

"It's only been two days." He teased.

"You're not going anywhere, right?"

"Prolly gonna find a new place. something smaller.
Since Dru had all my minions killed."

"All of them?"

"Yeah."

"You gonna keep the same bed? I love that thing."

Spike chuckled. "Anything for you, Luv."

"Really? Because my mom said she'd be gone all night.
I can think of a couple. or. say. a couple dozen
things you could do for me."

He laid her on her bed and helped her pull off her
clothes. "We'd best not waste any of this precious
time then, huh?"

"Nope. But, even after tonight, we'll have."

"We'll have forever, Pet." He quickly shed his
clothes, watching her intently as she laid spread out
before him on her bed.

"Promise?" She opened her arms to him.

He joined her on the small bed, holding her close and
kissing her gently. "Promise, Luv."

**Okay, this isn't really the end. I have an epilogue
half done. I'mma try and get it done before Spring
Break is over.


=====

Title: Meant To Be
Part: Epilogue
Thanks: I hope you all enjoyed the ride even if only
half as much as I did. Tons of thanks and millions of
hugs and kisses to Mandi, Nel and Rachel for wanting
to archive MTB at their awesome sites.

Lastly, but of course not least, all my lovely readers
and reviewers! Everyone from AdultFanFiction.Net, the
BlackQueenPhoenix group/site, FanFiction.Net (before
they turned Nazi and I had to take it off), the MTB
Update List, Nel's World, Sinister Attraction, The
Spuffy Realm, and Vampire's Kiss! Thank you so much
for all the support!

"C'mon, you gotta admit... this is fun."

"It bloody well is not."

"Spike, you're a terrible liar, you know that, right?"

"Bugger all."

"Spike likes fighting evvvvil." Buffy giggled as she
pulled Spike out of the cemetery.

She'd insisted she had to go patrolling, but Spike
didn't want her to. As a compromise, she managed to
get him to go with her. He'd dusted two fledglings and
helped her kill some horned demon.

"Bloody Hell, Woman, shush." He clamped a hand over
her mouth. "I have a reputation to maintain." She bit
his hand hard enough for him to yank it away after
yelping. He glowered at her.

"Reputation-shemputation." She snorted. "I think
shagging a slayer kills any badass reputation you
had."

"Does not."

"Does too."

"Does..." Spike rolled his eyes. "I just don't want
you getting hurt s'all."

"Awe." Buffy gushed, hugging him. "It's sweet and all,
but, Spike, I am the Slayer. I think I can protect
myself pretty well."

Spike just shrugged, taking her tiny hand in his and
swinging their joined hands as they walked. After a
few minutes, they entered the warehouse district,
where pulled jerked to a stop.

"Oh my god!"

"What?" Spike fumbled in his coat with his free hand
for a stake. "What is it, Luv?"

She glared at him, smacking his arm. "Look."

Spike looked around the alleyway that Buffy had
stopped him in front of. He tilted his head, the
memories slowly coming to him.

His tiny golden goddess, kicking and punching and
blocking and he returning his own in kind. It had been
so beautiful. The beginning of the end of "William the
Bloody" and the return of "William the Bloody Awful
Poet" and supremely whipped love's bitch.

Spike turned to Buffy with a mischievous grin and a
wink. "Slayer?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna snog?"

Buffy's eyes sparkled brightly as she giggled, and
feigned innocence. "What's that?"

He pulled her into his arms, lowering his lips over
hers. "This," he purred before kissing her.

After a few heated smooches, he lifted her by her tiny
waist. Buffy automatically wrapped her legs around
him.

"Bugger." He growled as he struggled to undo her
pants. "That's it. From now on. you only wear skirts
or dresses."

"Even on patrol???" Buffy pulled back to look at him.

Spike paused to pull the zipper down and slowed his
hand in, rubbing against her wet undies. "Uhhh. well,
when you put it that way. no. Don't want any fledge to
see my girl's pretty little knickers."

Spike groaned when he had to set her down to get her
pants and boots off. "This was so much easier the
first time around."

Buffy just giggled as he pressed her against the wall,
pulling his duster around her so her nudity wouldn't
be seen by any passer-bys.

Buffy put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him.
Their lips melted together.

No awkward teeth clacking or accidental biting of
tongues as they dueled. No. they were meant for each
other in every sense. fighting or fucking. It was
just. perfect.

Spike's lips left hers to move down the smooth column
of her throat. He bit down with his human teeth along
the left side, hard enough to leave a mark. He kissed
the mark lightly and nuzzled his face there for a
second.

She let out a moan as his lips traveled from her neck
all the way down to the top curve of her breasts.  She
let go of his shoulders to try and push his head
further down.  Spike let out a small chuckle at her
eagerness before nipping at one pert nipple, then did
the same with the other.  Buffy's legs tightened
around his waist as she ground herself against his
jeans, seeking more friction.

"Naughty little girl." He groaned when she slid one
hand down between them and instead of unzipping him,
flicked at her clit.

"But. but. you're taking too long." She whined when he
pulled her hand away and placed it on the straining
bulge pushing at the denim of his jeans.

Spike shook his head. "Thought I'd shown you some
things are worth waiting for?"

"Last time we were here you basically just stuck it
in. and there was much less talking involved." She
pouted.

"Pouty." He kissed her twice quickly. "Love when you
do that."

"Yeah? Love when I do this?" She unzipped him and
grabbed him. She stroked him a couple of times.

"Uuuuhhhh." Spike's head fell back and he almost lost
his balance.

"Smooth." She snickered.

Spike gave her a look before she led his penis to her
dripping entrance. Spike put on hand on her soft
little butt to hold her and the other on the wall
behind her. He pushed himself fully into her, pushing
his hips upward so he was grinding hard against her
clit.

Buffy came immediately when he did that.

When she came down form her euphoric high, he was
grinning victoriously. "How was that for smooth?"

"Very." She panted.

"Good."

Tiny bolts of pleasure were still coursing through her
body form that first orgasm when Spike pulled out then
pushed back in her.  Her body arched as she sighed his
name "Spike." 

She matched the pace he set and bucked against him,
clenching her already tight vaginal walls around him
on every down stroke. 

Buffy's head was against the wall and Spikes face
buried at her throat when she felt his face shift. She
clutched the back of his head with one hand.

Taking that as consent, Spike slid his fangs into her
neck. He'd never bit her there before. The Master's
mark had been covered by Drusilla's. Now any reminder
of those two horrible incidents would be covered by
his mark.

Buffy gasped, near orgasm, when he bit her. It was a
hundred times more intense than any other time he'd
bitten her.

At first, she'd felt a momentary fear of her horrible
dream coming true. But she knew Spike would never,
never hurt her.

Still buried within her, Spike pressed her clit,
pushing her towards orgasm. Buffy's eyes shut and her
mouth opened in a silent cry as a wave of ecstasy took
over her.

About a minute later, Buffy finally recovered enough
to remember they were in a dirty alley and she had
both of their sticky, wet spendings on her thighs.

But Spike didn't seem in much of a hurry to move from
his comfy warm place. He was licking the two neat
holes on her neck, like a dog would its owner's hand.

Buffy wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.
"Love you."

"Mmm... love you, too." He finally pulled out of her
and set her on her feet. Her legs buckled and she
almost fell. Spike was quick in grabbing her. She
clutched onto his leather-clad forearms.

Buffy giggled, the feeling slowly returning to her
legs. "My god. I'm standing in an alley naked."

"Wish I had a camera."

"You big perv." She smacked him playfully.

Spike fell to his knees, kissing her belly button and
he reached for her clothes, scattered around them, one
arm still around her waist to keep her standing.

Buffy put on her clothes as best she could with Spike
still doing very naughty things to her with his
devilish mouth. When she was confident she could stand
on her own she moved away from him to straighten
herself out so she didn't look like she'd just been
thoroughly had.

"There, I'm all pretty again." She looked around and
wrinkled her nose. "No more trips down this memory
lane again, okay? I mean, much fun as the hot sex
was... dirty alley, not so much fun."

"Oh, I dunno, this place will always hold a place in
my heart."

"Should I leave the two of you alone?"

"Maybe just for a minute." He grinned, pushing her
tiny top down just a bit to caress her breasts. He
leaned down and kissed the bite marks on her neck.
They had already stopped bleeding.

"How 'bout we go home so I can give you a proper
shag?"

"Sounds like oodles of fun. But first." She reached
over to put "Little Spike" back into Spike's jeans and
zipped him up. She giggled and stood on her tip-toes
to kiss him.

When she pulled away, he ran and finger over her
cheek, then lips. His eyes held a look of awe and
wonder. "My pretty Slayer."

"Just pretty?"

"You're indescribable, Buffy."

"I hope only in the good way."

"Always."

"C'mon." She looped her arms through his. "I believe
you said something about a proper shag at home?"

"Mine or yours?"

"Yours. Bigger bed." She leaned up and kissed his
cheek. "Plus... I think we should give some of
those... things under your bed a whirl, don't you?"

Spike raised an eyebrow. "You know, I knew there was a
reason why I love you so bloody much."

Buffy rolled her eyes before taking his hand a pulling
him out of the alley. "C'mon. Home. Bed. Now."

"Yes Ma'am. Who am I to argue with such a lovely
little thing?"

"I hope I'm the only 'lovely thing' you take home, or,
you know... take anywhere."

"Only you, Sweetheart. Never be another bird for me.
Ruined me good, you have."

Buffy snuggled closer to him. "Glad to hear it."

Neither of them saw it coming. A stake being launched
towards Spike's chest. Luckily his reflexes were
faster than that of the attacker.

He grabbed the wrist that held the stake and twisted
it until a scream escaped the attacker.

"Let me go you filthy vampire!" It was a girl. She
looked to be a couple of years younger than Buffy and
was very pretty. She had lovely light chocolate
colored skin, her hair pulled away from her angelic
face, into a braid. Her clothes looked like something
stolen long ago from the set of "I Dream of Jeannie".


"You just tried to kill him." Buffy rolled her eyes
and tsked. "You don't really think he's gonna let you
go, do you?"

"I was trying to save you."

"I don't need saving from him or any other vampire,
thank you very much."

The girl used her other hand to grab onto Spike's
wrist and hurl him onto the asphalt. She pulled out
another stake from a pocket in her pants, looking much
like a cobra ready to strike.
 
"Buggering chit..." Spike groaned, getting off the
ground to stand next to Buffy.

"I don't know who the Hell you think you are, but
you're messing with the wrong person... and the wrong
person's boyfriend to boot. So why don't you..."

"Your boyfriend is a vampire? I am sure it just wants
to kill you." The girl laughed. "Why don't you run
along, Girl, so I can kill it?"

"Hello? Didja not hear what I just said? Wrong person
to blah-blah-blah? Or did the information just fly
right through your skull and miss your brain
completely? Girlie, I'm the Slayer. Do you know what
that means? It means you really don't wanna mess with
me when I'm pissed off. So why don't *you8 run along?"


"You cannot be the Slayer." The girl sniffed with an
air of superiority.

"I have super strength and abilities you can't begin
to imagine, along with averted apocalypses, and The
Master's death notched on my belt that would say
otherwise." Buffy all but sneered, with the same air
the girl had.

"It is impossible."

"Would you like a demo?" Buffy asked, irritated.
"Because, I'd be more than happy to give it to you...
free of charge."

"It is impossible for you to be The Slayer because I
am The Vampire Slayer." She stated with a smug grin,
her head held up high as though she were nobility, not
someone who was destined to fight the evil of the
world and die by said evil much too young.

Buffy and Spike looked at the girl, then at each
other, their expressions of confusion identical.
"Huh?"

The End