Returning

By *~Rachel*~

Disclaimer: Oh yes…they are ALL MINE! (Sarcastic) Haha. RIGHT. Joss Whedon, Marti Noxon, Twentieth Century Fox Productions, UPN, Sandollar Television, and Mutant Enemy own BtVS. No copyright infringements were intended. This is my story and not meant to copy the show.

Rating: It's basically PG-13 all the way though until the last part, which is sort of borderline R/NC-17

Summary: OK, everyone has done their own little version of what if Buffy and Spike were together and then Riley returned. Well, this is my version.

Spoilers: Probably most of fifth season and then since this story takes place in 6th season, spoilers for that. It doesn't really flow with the episodes, but it would be some time after "After Life" and before "Once More with Feeling," even though I make up my own "After Life" Type of scene.

Author’s Notes: <_______> Signifies thoughts.

Distribution: My site, Sinister Attraction, the groups I'm sending them out to, and....anyone else can just ask me first! (I'll probably say 'yes')

Special Thanks: Thank you SOOOO Much to my first beta EVER! Mary, thank you, thank you, and thank you again! You rock!

Feedback? OF COURSE!

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When Spike first saw her he didn't believe it was possible. Willow had called him asking him to come over to the Summers house right away. She told him that the gang had done something that they never thought possible and he had to see it too. Figuring that it couldn't have been anything great, he headed over to Revello Drive to see what Willow had phoned him about.

When he walked in the doorway, he saw Sweet Bit, a very tired looking Willow and a third person sitting down on the couch. <Oh God,> Spike thought. There was no way that Willow could have pulled a trick like this and brought Buffy back. It was impossible. Yet there she was, sitting less than 10 feet away in brown slacks, an off-white top, and a black duster, which hung loosely off her shoulders. The clothes looked clean, so Dawn and Willow must have helped her change as soon as they got home. Spike's eyes immediately traveled to her hands, which were wrapped in white bandages.

"Buffy..." he gasped. "Buffy...it's you."

"She's a little bit shaky," Willow said. Her eyes darted around, trying not to tell him that she and Xander actually thought that the spell hadn't worked at all. "We, uh, didn't know she'd..."

"What did you do?" he asked, glancing over at Willow.

"Did a spell, brought her back," Willow said. "Her hands are...well, they're kinda all cut up from, something. We patched her up as soon as we got home though, so it'll be okay."

"She had to punch her way out of her coffin?" Spike asked softly. He had a dull memory of doing that himself.

"Yeah..." Buffy said softly, speaking for the first time since Spike had arrived. She tried to hide her knuckles from Spike's sight, trying to keep attention away from them.

"You let her come out *that* way?" Spike asked. "Let her work her own way out of a coffin buried in the ground?" He couldn't believe that Willow could be so insensitive and cruel.

"Well, we didn't know what would happen." Willow said, her voice not sounding angry or upset. She was too drained and worn out from working the very difficult spell. "But it's okay now. She's here and she's alive."

"And *she* is still in the room," Buffy said softly, annoyed that they were talking as though she wasn't even there. "Will, Dawn, can you leave me alone with Spike for a second?"

"Sure," the two girls said before walking upstairs and out of hearing range.

Spike walked up closer to Buffy, breathing her in. He'd dreamed of this, he'd wished for this -- to have her alive again and back in his life. But she looked so lost, so sad, and so tired.

<Bloody hell, Red. Why did you do this?> Spike thought. <Hasn't she served her time here long enough? Hasn't she done enough?> He looked at her, trying to keep a welcoming and friendly smile on his face and not cry in front of her. He sat down on the couch, and suddenly he couldn't help himself. Everything that had been bottled up inside of him all summer came spilling out. "Buffy, I'm so sorry," Spike finally said, breaking down. "I failed. I couldn't do my job and I let you and Sweet Bit down."

"Spike..." her soft voice started. "I can't talk much...vocal chords not used to working yet, but..." her voice died off. "I don't blame you."

"If...if I can make it up to you in any way. I'll help you with anything. Wherever you were; if you were hurt or tortured, or..."

"I wasn't, Spike." Buffy said. "Don't you get it?" She stared at him, surprised that Spike of all people wouldn't understand why she was acting the way she was. "I wasn't in hell. I was in heaven."

<Oh God,> Spike thought, listening as Buffy described the peaceful happiness of her afterlife experience and the pain of being suddenly ripped away from her mother’s presence. <What have we done?>

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It had been exactly 17 weeks and 2 days since Buffy had been brought back from the dead. Only Spike knew that Buffy had been in heaven rather than hell. However, she still didn’t understand why her friends had felt the need to bring her back. She was hurting, she was confused, and more than anything she just wanted peace once again. Buffy began spending most of her time alone in her room, reluctant to spend time with the gang. Almost every night she would go out to patrol, and eventually try to meet up with Spike so they could patrol together. When she wasn't patrolling, which seemed to be every other night or so, she tossed and turned in bed, trying to wake up from her constant nightmares.

Spike...he was the only one who actually knew what had happened to her and where

she had been. Strange as it may have seemed, Buffy found herself seeing Spike in a new light. She could relate to him in ways that she never thought possible, and sometimes it scared her -- she wanted more. Buffy would hang out with him until she knew that everyone would be asleep and she wouldn't have to worry about anyone bothering her with questions. As she patrolled with Spike, she learned his fears and guilt from the night she died; his feelings for her; his life 100 years ago, and more than she ever thought possible.

Word spread that the Slayer had returned from the dead a second time. Because of this, none of the demons wanted to take the chance of running into her. It seemed that almost all of the vampires and demons had cleared out of Sunnydale after those demon bike riders. Buffy was grateful of this, however, because it just made her nights go a little bit easier. Nevertheless, Buffy walked around the deserted cemetery with a stake in her hand.

"Evenin' love," a voice called out to her left.

Buffy spun around and looked toward the voice, already knowing whom it was. "Hello Spike," she greeted.

"Another night patrolling?" he asked, walking up to her. As soon as the sun had set he had started looking for her to see if she was out patrolling or not.

"What else?" she asked, continuing to walk. Spike fell into step with her. It was scary how alike they were now. Each of them knew more about each other than ever. When she came back, Spike was the only one who never pushed her to get back to the schedule of living. Instead, the two would talk as they patrolled- about stupid things, the way things were before he came back to down and was kidnapped by the Initiative. Spike was beginning to know Buffy better than Willow did anymore, since Buffy spent all of her time with him.

As Spike walked along side Buffy, he though to himself about peaceful he felt around her. However, ever since her return, that was the way that he always felt. He only hoped that she felt the same way. The two hadn't argued at all, something that Spike was grateful for. Spike had already figured that he had gotten more than a crumb. Maybe she was finally accepting all of him. Maybe she would start looking at him differently and his dreams would come true.

Spike decided to break the silence, saying, "How have you been?"

"I'm okay...I guess," she started. "Willow and all of them keep pestering me, trying to make me cheer up. Dawn has been staying with Xander and Anya most of the time because I'm just too busy to do anything for her...and yet I'm not doing anything. I'm just sitting here..."

This was about the 6th time that Buffy had shared her feelings with Spike, not knowing why she even started telling him what she was thinking. What made him so different that she could tell everything to without even having a second thought?

"They just want you to be happy, love." Spike said. "They think they did you a big favor by bringing you back."

"Well, they didn't. I wish they had just left me there." Buffy said.

Spike cleared his throat, wanting to change the subject. Truthfully, although he was shocked and angry that she had been brought back the first night he saw her, his feelings had changed. Now, he was beyond happy that the gang had brought Buffy back. However wrong it might have been, she was back here and befriending him, something that he never expected.

Buffy went on, saying, "Sorry, I know that you don't really want to hear me talk about this..."

"No, I don't mind it, love." Spike said.

"It's just that...it's nice," Buffy started, stopping her walking. She turned toward Spike, meeting his eyes. "It's nice to have someone to talk to that will listen to me and help me deal with all of this."

Spike smiled, glad that she finally admitted it. He had listened to her talk every night of their patrol and tried to reassure her. However, she had never come out and actually mentioned anything about it. "You know I'll be there for you, love." he managed to say.

She gazed up into his eyes, suddenly having the urge to kiss him and hold onto him until morning. She hadn't even had those lusty thoughts since Riley had left her, and that was more than one year ago. However, now the thought of it was killing her. <God, what am I doing?> she asked herself. <This is Spike...my...whatever he is. I'm *so* not falling for him.> "Look, I don't think we're going to find anything out tonight. It's been pretty quiet. Maybe we should just head back?"

"Sure thing, love." Spike said, turning around with her. The two started walking back the way they had come.

"Spike?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, love?"

"Can...can I hide at your place for a few hours?" Buffy asked, looking at him.

<WHAT?> "What?" Spike managed to spit out. Now she wanted to come over to his crypt? He was beyond confused now.

"Well, I don't really want to go home. If I do...Willow is going to nag at me about how I should be doing *this* and doing *that* and *not* doing this and that and...and I don't really want to deal with that now," Buffy explained. Hopefully she could hide out at Spike's place for a couple hours until she was sure that Willow had gone to sleep.

"Sure thing, love. Uh, the place is a little messy- wasn't expecting company." Spike said.

"Oh, that's fine. I just...don't want to go home yet." Buffy said.

"Okay then, back to the crypt it is."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy threw some empty beer bottles off the couch before sitting down. She plumped up a couple of the tattered throw pillows and lay down on the couch, getting as comfortable as she could.

"Make yourself at home, love." Spike said, seeing that she already had. He had emerged from the basement after grabbing himself a beer.

"Thanks," she said, smiling at him. <Whoa, that was my first smile in months...> Buffy thought. <And it was directed towards Spike....uh oh.>

"Do you want anything to drink?" Spike offered.

"Uh, let me think...if my choices are blood and beer, then I think I'll say no." Buffy said. She appreciated him being polite, however.

"Oh please, you think that's all I've got?" Spike asked her, raising his eyebrows. "Hold on a second." And with that, he climbed back down the ladder. Buffy shifted into a more comfortable position.

Honestly, she was very tired. Ever since she had come back, Buffy had been bombarded by dreams in the middle of the night that would wake her, and keep her up until dawn. Nothing she did seemed to make them stop. She closed her eyes, thinking that maybe if she could get some rest here at a new place -- even though it was Spike's place -- she wouldn’t be plagued by the nightmares. She moved her head against the pillows and started falling asleep.

Spike climbed back up the ladder holding a bottle of Minute Maid Lemonade in his hand. He tried one of those at the Bronze last week, and was hooked. <Boy, if Harris could see me now,> he thought. <Another sign of my growing nancy boy tendencies> "Buffy?" he called out. "I managed to grab one of these..." His voice died off, his eyes looking at the slayer resting on the couch. <Oh bloody hell,> he thought. "Buffy? Maybe you shouldn't fall asleep," he said, walking over to her. He didn't want the gang to worry about her and send out a search team. He gently shook her shoulder, trying to wake her, but the girl didn't budge.

Spike set the bottle of lemonade to the side and looked at Buffy. It was so quiet that he could hear her heartbeat pounding as though it was reverberating off the walls of the crypt. He crossed the room and sat in an old chair from which he had a clear view of the slayer. Before long, he was drifting off himself.

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"No..." Buffy started moaning, thrashing around on the couch. "No!"

Her screams shook Spike out of his sleep and he tried to gather his thoughts as Buffy thrashed and kicked over on the couch. She was dreaming, and from the looks of it, it couldn't have been a good dream. He quickly strode over to the couch and started shaking Buffy, gently at first and then harder.

"Buffy!" He shouted to her.

"No!" Buffy said, her hands moving to push him away. "NO!"

"Buffy!" He shouted once more, shaking her shoulders back and forth.

Her eyes snapped open and she stared at him without recognition. She closed her eyes for one second. As she opened her eyes once again, her awareness began to return. "Spike?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah, love, it's me..." Spike whispered, his arms closing around her in comfort "It was a nightmare, you're okay. It was just a nightmare."

Tears started welling in her eyes and she lowered her head. "God, it was awful," she started, burying her head in Spike's shoulder. He ran his arms up and down her back to give her solace. He felt her salty tears soak through his shirt and his hands ran through her hair as she cried. "Spike...I couldn't get out. The dirt kept coming. I couldn't breathe." and she gasped for breath as her cries continued. "I was suffocating and I couldn't get out this time."

"Shh, love. It's okay now, I've got you," Spike said comfortingly. He remembered what that was like -- climbing out of your own grave. The only difference was that he didn't have to worry about breathing as he made his way through 6 feet of dirt and rocks. "It's all over, and you're okay."

"It's not over, Spike. They keep coming, the dreams, the monsters, all the things I have to face when all I want to do is lay down and rest for once. I can't even do that without having nightmares." Buffy said. She moved back and looked at Spike's eyes, which seemed to be shimmering with tears of his own. She realized again that her pain was his pain.

"You'll get through it all," Spike said, not knowing what else to say that wouldn't cause her even more pain. "You've got friends, a Watcher that's only...20-something hours away, and...you've got me." Spike said. He cupped the back of her head in his hands and kissed her forehead before he could stop himself -- it just seemed so right.

Buffy stopped crying and looked at him, seeing the love and adoration in his blue orbs. <He kissed me...> she thought. <Okay, it was a comfort kiss, but, uh...wow, are his lips really that soft?> she asked herself. <Does he expect me to kiss him back? What are we doing?> "Uh, maybe I should...go," she said awkwardly. She rose from the couch and started toward the door, wiping at the tears on her face

"Buffy, wait. Maybe you shouldn't be leaving in this condition," Spike said.

"No, I'm fine. It's a short walk from here back to the house." Buffy said, backing away from him.

"Look, I'm sorry that I-"

"No, I'm fine. I can get back over there by myself."

"Buffy, it's it because I just kiss-"

"No! It's not that, I just..." Buffy's voice died off, knowing very well that it *was* that. "I should get back in case Willow and Dawn start to worry about me." She started opening the door.

"Okay," Spike finally said, defeated.

"But I'll be out patrolling tomorrow...so, if you want to join me..." Buffy said, her eyes meeting Spike's. "I'll be out then." After giving Spike one small smile and wiping her eyes dry, Buffy stepped through the doorway and silently closed the door behind her.

Spike fell back into the couch cushions, smelling the air around him. <Mmm, smells like Buffy.> he thought, lying down on the couch and stretching his body out. <Fellow could get used to this,> he added. He drifted into unconsciousness thinking of Buffy and the taste of her skin.

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"Slayer! Watch out!" Spike yelled as a vampire tried to roundhouse Buffy while she fought another one to her right. He grabbed the vampire that he was fighting by the collar and shoved him towards a headstone.

"Thanks!" She shouted back to Spike as she ducked one vampire's attack and then staked the one in front of her.

As soon as Buffy and Spike had met up, both planning to talk about their feelings towards each other, a group of vampires had emerged from a nearby crypt and fighting had ensued. Now the two were fighting off about 10 vampires, something that usually wasn't a problem except for the fact that Buffy hadn't fully gotten her slayer skills back up to par since her resurrection.

Buffy punched a vampire to her left in the gut before following through with a kick and then staking him in his dead heart. She turned to her left and started punching a new vampire. She felt weak, something she hadn't felt since she first became a slayer and her muscles weren't developed enough for the job.

Spike, on the other hand, was doing better than Buffy. He had already staked 4 of the 6 vampires around him and could tell that he was about to get one more. He grabbed one of the vampires by the shirt and spun him around, raising his left hand into the air and driving the stake home. The vampire exploded and Spike looked around for the other one that had just been standing there and was now missing.

"Spike! A little help here!" Buffy said, dodging the vampire whose kick then arched over her head. She blocked his punch before ducking once again, trying to get a clear shot in order to stake him. Three vampires surrounded her and one of them had just kicked the stake out of her hand. "A stake would be nice about now!"

Spike ran toward her. "Heads up, love." he said before throwing a stake in the air. Buffy caught it and very quickly dusted the vampires to the left and right of her and spun around to kick the vampire behind her. Spike watched as she fought the last vampire, amazed at how beautiful she was slaying and fighting. <Cor, she's bloody wonderful,> he thought.

Buffy tried to grab hold of the vampire's arm but he managed to slip out of her grip. He shoved Buffy hard, sending her flying back into Spike before he took off running for the woods. Buffy hit Spike with enough force to knock them both to the ground, and Buffy landed on top of the vampire. The two both groaned from the pain rushing through their bodies from the fall.

"That was great, love." Spike said with his usual sarcastic humor.

"Well, can't that just be the one that got away?" Buffy said, looking down at him. Neither one of them made a move to get up and chase the fleeing vamp.

"Not fair, I already had ‘the one that got away’ tonight,” Spike said. He resisted the urge to push her golden locks of hair out of her face as she smiled down at him.

"Well..." Buffy started, catching her breath. "Then I guess tonight we've got ‘the two that got away’"

"Whatever you say, pet." Spike said, smiling at her. She returned the smile instantly. And the two smiled at each other a second longer until Spike said, "Uh, love, you want to get off me?”

"No, I really don't." Buffy said, and with that, she straddled him, pushing him flat onto the ground as she leaned down and pressed her lips against his. She held his arms down on the ground, keeping him from doing anything but kiss her. Her lips ran over his as the two kissed.

"What are you doing?" Spike finally managed to ask after Buffy pulled back gasping for air.

"What's it look like?" she asked, smiling at him with a sly gleam in her eyes. She lowered her mouth again, this time releasing his hands as she held into the sides of his face with her fingertips. Spike's hands traveled down her sides and rested at her hips as their mouths met over and over again, pausing only when Buffy needed to breathe.

Buffy pulled away and sat up straight, still not moving off of Spike's body. "Hey, Spike, remember when we were doing...this in that crypt when Willow did that spell? And Xander and Anya were fighting for their lives against that demon and we were just on the ground in this very position?"

"'Course I remember that, slayer," Spike said. "Bloody hell, been wishin’ it could happen again. It was very...well, I had Buffy taste in my mouth for days."

Buffy grinned, and delivered the only insult her mind could come up with at the time. So what if he’d heard it before? She was slightly distracted by the feel of his body beneath hers at the moment. A girl couldn’t be expected to be original all the time, could she? "You're a pig, Spike."

Spike returned her smile. "Yeah, but at least I'm not the one who wanted 'Wind Beneath-'" Buffy kissed him again, cutting off his embarrassing reminder of what he had yelled out to her friends.

"See? Don't need a wish for it to happen again." Buffy said, kissing him once more. "You make me happy, Spike. You're the only one so far who's actually been able to make me smile and laugh and remember all the good times instead of the bad and the …other bad parts of my life. I don't...I don't know where this is going, but I wanna find out. You want to find out with me?"

"Hell yes," said Spike, and he sealed their pact with a kiss.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By far, this was the most innocent relationship Spike had ever been in. Buffy never let their smoochies go any further than that. Nevertheless, Spike didn’t mind waiting. Although he knew that he loved her, he wanted to help Buffy find out what she was feeling for him.

Sometimes Spike would meet up with her behind the Magic Box to talk and hang out while she was sparring. He'd help out with her fighting skills in the training room, giving them another chance to be together. They went patrolling together almost every night, which provided a good excuse for them to be together without the gang suddenly walking in on them. Then, when everyone was sleeping or out partying at the Bronze, Spike would meet at Buffy's house for some late night make-out time.

Much to Spike's dismay, their "togetherness" was a secret from everyone else. No one in the gang knew about their nightly meetings and the many kisses that the two used-to-be-enemies shared.

However, Xander, Willow, Tara, Anya, and Dawn had all noticed a change in Buffy's mood and appearance. Everyone was wondering what had gotten into her that had made her suddenly change and do a 180. No longer was she moping by herself in her room, she was out and around, walking into the Magic Box with a smile on her face. She started going back to the Bronze with her friends or having nights that she would share only with her sister so the two of them would remain close.

Her only worries were what everyone would say when they finally found out- because her friends *always* found out about things like this. Buffy remembered what they all thought while she was dating Angel and didn't know what everyone would say if they found out that she was dating Spike.

Spike noticed the changes within her also. Every time he saw her acting more like the normal Buffy, he smiled when he thought that *he* was the cause of it.

Two months passed. Demon activity on the Hellmouth was down, and Buffy was thankful. Finally! Some time alone with her...well, whatever Spike was to her now.

Buffy sat on top of a headstone in one of Sunnydale’s many graveyards with that very question running through her mind. What did Spike mean to her? The term 'boyfriend' just didn't seem to fit him, but they weren't pure lovers yet either.

"Penny for your thoughts, love?" Spike asked, walking up behind her. He quickly kissed her cheek as she stood up.

"Ugh, money's pretty tight these days," Buffy complained. "I'll give them to you for free."

"Then give away," Spike said, walking around and standing next to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her forehead. "What's wrong?"

"Wrong? Nothing," Buffy said, starting to walk in between the tombstones and flower bouquets. "I was just...thinking about us."

"Really?" Spike asked, feeling a wave of dread coming over him. <OK, this is the part where she says that for the last two months she's been criminally insane and now wants to dump me.> "What about us?"

She looked over at him and smiled, knowing what he was thinking. "No, I'm not going to dump you, Spike." she said, smiling when she saw him sigh with relief. "I was thinking about, well...what we are."

"Well, I'm a vampire and you-"

"No, not that kind of 'what,' like...'boyfriend,' 'couple,' or...whatever." Buffy said. "Y'know what I mean?"

Spike stopped walking and grabbed her arm to stop her also. "What do you want us to be?"

Buffy looked around, everywhere but where he was standing. She didn't want to disappoint him with a lousy answer. "I -- I don' t know."

"Well, that's okay," Spike said. She was with him and that was all that mattered, no matter how long it took. One night while kissing her, Spike was so caught up in the moment that he whispered how much he loved her. Buffy, however, only smiled and said, "I know," before kissing him again. Even though she might not share his feelings - yet -- it was great that at least he could express his.

"But it's *not* okay. We've been together for like 2 months and I'm still confused by what's going on between us." Buffy said. "I mean, you're *mine* and I don't want to let you out of sight, but there's not a term that --" Buffy's voice was cut off from Spike's lips pressing against hers.

He pushed her body up against his as he wrapped his arms around her waist and ran his lips across hers, pausing here and there to allow Buffy to breathe. Finally, Spike pulled back and rested his forehead against hers, sighing. <I'm *hers*> he thought. <Bloody hell, I must be dreaming.>

"Not that I'm complaining, but what did I say?" Buffy said.

"Nothing, love." Spike said. "Just...you called me yours. That's...that's a lot better than a simple title like boyfriend...sounds poufy anyway."

"Well, I'm yours, right?" Buffy questioned before Spike slowly nodded. "Well, you're mine, okay?"

"Okay, pet." Spike replied, his voice thick with love. Quickly, he took a step towards her and raised her head with his fingertips before kissing her. Gentle at first, before quickly turning passionate and out of control, Spike's arms seemed to swallow her whole as the two kissed, their tongues mingling and their fingers sweeping through each other's hair.

"Well, look what we've got here," A loud and obnoxious voice called out from behind Spike. "Spike and some blonde bimbo making out!"

Buffy and Spike broke apart and grinned sheepishly at each other, knowing very well whom that voice belonged to. "Evenin', Harris." Spike said, turning slightly to reveal Buffy’s face.

"Spike..." Xander said, looking at the vampire in front of him. Anya and Willow were at his side. The three of them had been looking for Buffy, planning to give her a night off by offering to patrol for her "And Buffy!" Xander shrieked, his hands dropping the axe he was carrying. "Buffy...Buffy-bot!"

"Xander..." Buffy started. Her eyes darted back and forth between Xander's denial and Willow and Anya's shocked expressions. They at least, knew that she wasn't the bot.

"I thought the bot was destroyed," Xander said to Anya. His fiancé only managed to slightly nod and grunt, not believing what she was seeing.

"The Bot was trashed, whelp." Spike said.

"Spike, be nice." Buffy said, slapping his arm.

"Sorry, love," Spike apologized.

"Xander, it's me...Buffy." Buffy explained, taking a step towards him. The only reply she received was the sound of Xander Harris falling to the ground in a dead faint.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy and Willow tried slapping the sides of Xander's face to get him to wake up. "Xander!" Buffy said.

"Hmm? Wha-oooh, my head." Xander said. He looked at Buffy and then behind her at Spike who was standing a few feet away from him. "Please tell me I imagined Buffy and Spike making out."

"No...uh, no you didn't." Buffy said. "Uh, we're kinda together...hey, did I forget to mention that at the Scooby meetings?" Behind her, Spike chuckled.

"Oh man, what a nightmare," Xander said, climbing to his feet.

"It's not a nightmare, Xander, it's...me and Spike, and we're sort of trying out the together aspect of life." Buffy said. "If you have a problem with it, then oh well. You're just going to have to deal with it."

"But Buffy, he's-"

"Hey! All those times when Anya makes some tactless comment or used to talk of her old 'demon days' or tried to get her powers back and released that evil Willow in our town, did I ever say anything when you were dating her?" Buffy asked. Xander was always the person who got on her case whenever it dealt with her and her significant other. "No offence, Anya." Buffy said over to her.

"That's okay," Anya replied.

"But Buffy...he's just-"

"He's with me." Buffy said, looking over at him. "What business is it of yours, anyway?"

Xander lowered his eyes; inwardly realizing that the reason she was doing so well was because of Spike. "Okay, Buff. Let me just take some time to get used to all of this."

"Okay Xander."

"And...let me go home and put some ice on my head where I landed." Xander added, starting to walk off. "Anya, you coming?"

"In a minute, sweetie!" She called back out to him.

Buffy wandered back over to where spike was standing. "Well, wasn't that interesting?"

"It was bloody fun, pet." Spike relied. "It looks like Demon Girl and Red want to talk to you and I think I'm out of all my beer and smokes, so I'm going to head over to town and grab some."

"Good, and anyway, I'd like to get home to relieve Tara of Dawn-duty." Buffy said.

"Okay then," Spike replied, "I'll see you tomorrow night, right?"

"You got it." Buffy replied, smiling up at him. The two met in a sweet, chaste kiss, before Spike walked away from her and faded into the shadows.

Buffy walked back to where Willow and Anya were standing and the three fell into step together, heading in the general direction of Buffy’s house. A smile was plastered on her face and she had to force herself to not laugh about how happy she was feeling right then. "What?" she asked when she noticed the others staring at her.

"What?!" Willow asked back. "Buffy, that was...Spike, you and- and Spike-"

"Yeah, we're kinda...together I guess." Buffy said.

"That's the reason you've been so happy these last couple of months." Willow said slowly, as understanding began to dawn. Right then and there, her feelings for Spike changed. If the vampire could bring a depressed and sad Buffy back into the light and make her laugh then he was worth keeping around for a while.

"Yeah, he helped me get back to everything and…” Buffy said. "He helped me live."

"Well, that's good then." Willow said. "That's good."

Anya turned her head and looked at Buffy with this "you've got to tell me now" look. "So..." she started. "How is he in bed?"

Buffy burst out laughing and quickly tried to be quiet. She blushed the slightest bit as she collected herself. "Anya, no...I don't know. We haven't...y'know, yet."

"But you're going to right? He'd be your orgasm friend...much like Giles' old orgasm friend when we lost our voices." Anya said, remembering the time when the Gentlemen came to town.

"Eeew...that was too much information." Buffy said. "No, we're...taking it slow I guess and just seeing how all of this turns out."

"Well, that's good." Willow said, jumping onto the Buffy and Spike bandwagon. Her friend was happy, and -okay -- Spike was the cause of it, but that wasn't the point.

"But I bet he's a *hell* of a kisser," Anya said, smiling over at Buffy.

Buffy grinned and let out a laugh that almost sounded like a snort. "Oh yes, hell yes." she said, giggling like a 16-year-old.

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For once, something very unusual was happening- everyone was getting along. Buffy and Spike were together, Xander and Anya were engaged, Tara and Willow were still going strong, and Dawn was free from the threat of some Hellbeast God or anything else. Everyone was worry-free and able to get out and have fun at night, almost as though Sunnydale was no longer on a Hellmouth.

Xander and Spike were actually getting along and Buffy seemed to have recovered 100% from leaving heaven. She realized that she’d get to go back there one day and she should live in the *now* with her friends and Spike at her side as long as she could. She loved him, which was clear to her now, and didn't want that feeling to go away. All in all, things were going pretty well. Which, of course, meant that something very evil was coming up.

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It was late at night, but the bus depot was still packed. Buses were rolling into the station and pausing only long enough to allow people to climb aboard before driving back off into the night.

One bus from northern California slowly stopped. A tall and broad shouldered man stepped off the bus steps. He was the only person stepping off of the bus- after all, who would want to come and stay in Sunnydale?

The man walked away from the brightly-lit bus station, swinging his beaten black leather bag over his shoulder. The familiar path appeared before his eyes and he started walking into town. "Good to be home," Riley said to himself as he breathed in the fresh air.

He'd drop off his bags at a hotel in town and then head out for his first stop -- Buffy's house.

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"And then Anya screamed when some little girl thought that it'd be cute to bring in a white rabbit to the shower because her mom just got it for her as a birthday present." Buffy said, thinking back to the party that everyone had thrown for Anya. Xander's co-workers were invited to the wedding so the wives attended the bridal shower. She was explaining to Spike everything that had happened at the party. "We had a hell of a time trying to explain to everyone why Anya was deathly afraid of the rabbit."

"Sounds like Demon Girl had fun," Spike said. They walked down the sidewalk in the dark, nearing Buffy's home. Buffy had gone over to Spike's crypt in the afternoon and stayed with him for the remainder of the day, something she had started doing several times each week. The two talked and laughed over Anya and Xander's pre-wedding festivities.

"God, you should have seen her and the stripper though." Buffy said. She shivered and wrapped her long, black, leather jacket around her. "She insisted we have one." Spike chucked before wrapping an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him to keep her warm. Although he had no body heat, she immediately felt warmer.

"I bet Harris would love to hear about that," Spike said smugly. Although he and Xander were getting along, Spike still loved to make fun of him. "Maybe I should mention it sometime."

"You're never going to stop making fun of him, are you?" Buffy asked, looking over at him.

"Can't help it, love. It's just too much fun." The two rounded a curb and came into view of Buffy’s house. "How's Niblet doing?" Spike asked. He hadn't seen much of her recently since every time he was at Buffy's house Dawn was out with her friends.

"Oh, she's great. She's got this major crush for a guy now," Buffy explained. "She's been going to the Bronze almost every Friday and Saturday night to hang out with him and her friends."

"Like a date?" Spike asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Well...I guess..." Buffy said. "She's almost sixteen."

"She can't date! She's too young," Spike said, stopping her as they stood under a street lamp. "Guys around that age gonna take advantage of her." Since caring for Dawn the summer after Buffy’s death, Spike had become almost unreasonably protective of the younger girl.

"I was dating Angel when I was 16," Buffy reminded him.

Spike made a face of disgust and tried not to insult her ex-boyfriend. "Let's not talk about the poufter, okay, love?"

Buffy grinned, knowing that she hit a sore spot. "Okay then, let's not talk at all." And she pulled him toward her to kiss him.

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Riley walked down the sidewalk near Buffy's house. He wanted to tell her everything that had happened in South America, all the death and demons he had seen there. He needed to tell her that he'd worked everything out mentally and wanted to start over with her again. He needed to be with her again, and he knew that she would want him back too. Since she was so upset to see him leave she'd probably welcome him back with open arms.

He turned left and saw Buffy's house. The lights were on so hopefully someone was home. <Maybe she's out patrolling or something,> Riley thought. He grinned, thinking, <Maybe she finally staked Spike.> He had always hated that blonde vampire. He hated that Buffy seemed to have a soft spot for him, never being able to stake him. Riley could think of many good excuses -- the “engagement” the time when Spike had hoped to get his chip out and ended up almost getting Riley killed, and not to mention the hundreds of people he had killed during the decades before he arrived in Sunnydale. Hopefully, Buffy had finally come to her senses and killed him.

Across the street, he saw a couple dressed in long leather coats kissing under the light of a streetlamp. Riley squinted, trying to make out their features because something about them seemed very familiar. He had good eyesight but… <Oh God,> he thought when he realized that the man was Spike <What the hell is he doing so close to Buffy’s house - again? And what idiot girl is stupid enough to be making out with a vampire on the street?> The couple were very wrapped up in each other, and the angle of the girl’s face made it impossible for Riley to identify her. He could see the long blonde hair ... <Harmony?> he wondered.

Riley stayed hidden in the shadows on the other side of the street as he approached Spike and his mystery friend. Finally, he got close enough to recognize her <Oh God...it's Buffy!> He watched the two kiss under the beam of light, disgusted by what he was seeing. <What the hell is going on?> he thought, trying not to gag. *His* girl, albeit not girlfriend, was kissing the one thing in this town that he truly loathed. Although he wanted to tear his eyes away from the scene, he couldn't, feeling compelled to watch, and straining to hear what, if anything, was being said.

Riley watched Spike slide his hands inside Buffy’s coat, his hands running up underneath her shirt and along her bare back. Buffy giggled, her lips breaking away from Spike's for a second. "Ooh, hands...hands in new places," she said to him, drawing her tongue across his lower lip. Spike moved his hands to the side of her body and then to her chest before he gently caressed her breasts. "Ooh, hands in nice places now," Buffy joked again before kissing him.

Bile rose in Riley's throat and he fought the urge to gag for fear of getting caught. The image of Spike groping Buffy would be forever etched in his memory. <Something has to be done about this,> Riley thought. <She's making out with the evil undead...again.> Riley turned around and walked back to the hotel he was staying at. There was no way that he was going to talk to Buffy tonight, not when he just saw her moaning and Spike's hands all over her, touching areas that were meant for him alone. <Tomorrow, I think I'll give Spike a little surprise visit,> Riley thought.

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