"Slayer," Spike whispered, trying to calm her down and stop her from trying to jump his bones while they were still outside where everyone could see them. "Maybe we should..." he kissed her on the lips, breaking his speech. "We should...get inside..."

"Dawn's home," Buffy replied, breaking his kiss to reply. "With Willow."

"Well...maybe we could sneak past them," Spike suggested, looking down at her, her lips moistened and swollen from his kisses.

"Spike..." she warned, using a tone of voice she only used when she was pissed at him, which hadn't been recently, but she still didn't want to let her friends see any more of the two of them then they had to.

"I know, love," Spike replied, knowing that he wouldn't have gotten away with it. He kissed her once more and swept his fingers through her hair. "Anyway, there's bound to be something good on the telly now."

"At midnight?" Buffy asked, raising her eyebrows. "Whatever you say, Spike."

Spike and Buffy broke apart, Buffy pulling down and straightening her shirt as Spike pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Goodnight, love." Spike said.

"Goodnight Spike," Buffy replied. "Are you coming over tomorrow? Dawn will be out again, and we'll have the place all to ourselves all night..." she started suggesting.

"Count me in, pet," Spike said.

"Good," Buffy smiled. The two separated and Spike started walking away as Buffy stood there, watching him. "Spike!" She called out to him, stopping him from walking.

"Yes, love?" he asked, turning around.

"I..." <I love you,> Buffy said it. <Come on, you stupid blonde, say it...now,> "I'll see you tomorrow."

"You got it, slayer." Spike said, before walking off and disappearing into the night.

"I'm so stupid," Buffy muttered to herself as she turned back around and started walking up to her house and the front porch. <Oh well, I'll just tell him tomorrow when we're alone and...I can show him that I love him.> Finally, things were all worked out.

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

The next evening, Spike got ready to head over to Buffy's house. Although the sun hadn't fully set yet and he was seriously thinking about running over to Buffy's house now and dealing with getting singed from the sunlight. However, he wanted to look his best when he arrived. He would rather not have a trail of smoke follow him as he ran through the door. He grabbed his leather coat off the back of the chair and pulled it onto his body before beginning to pace back and forth again, counting down the minutes until the sun would have fully set.

The sun was barely visible now as Spike looked out the window. Spike was anxious to leave and willed the sun to go down just the slightly bit faster. He grabbed a cigarette and lit it before pacing again, willing the sun to go down just the slightest bit faster. After that cigarette was finished, he checked the window again. <Yes! It's about bleedin' time,> He thought to himself, seeing that the sun had finally set. He walked up to the doorway and opened the door, preparing to step out. He was so busy thinking about Buffy and the two of them that he didn't even see the stranger who stood in front of him. "Spike," a voice growled at him.

Spike stopped walking and looked up at the figure standing a few feet away from him. "Well, well, well," Spike said. "If it isn't Captain Cardboard back from South America."

"How ya doing, Spike?" Riley asked coldly.

"I'm fine, mate," Spike said. He started moving past Riley, but Riley blocked his move.

"Mind if I come in?" Riley asked Spike. He walked past Spike and entered his crypt. Spike sighed and cursed, turning back around and following him inside his crypt. <Great time for him to drop by too,> Spike thought. He wanted to head over to Buffy's house so he could be with her as long as possible.

"Looks like I got here just in time," Riley said, walking deeper into Spike's home.

Spike raised an eyebrow, taking a few steps towards the man. Did he know what was going on? "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what that's supposed to mean," Riley replied. "You...and Buffy."

"What about me and the slayer?" Spike asked, trying to play it cool. <Maybe Captain America is bluffing. He probably doesn't know anything.>

"The fact that I had to resist the urge to throw up when I saw the two of you together." Riley sneered, walking up to Spike. "So, what's the plan, Spike? You use her? Your chip has stopped working and so now you decide that the time is right to charm her with...well, whatever charms you have, before stringing her along until you can find some way to kill her?"

Spike stared at him in shock. "What's your excuse, Soldier Boy? You left her a year ago. I didn't see your name on her anywhere."

Riley grabbed him by the fabric of his shirt. "And if I find out that you actually looked everywhere..."

Spike shoved him off, taking a step back. "Sod off. She's not *yours*, mate. You left her, and I haven't."

"To my dismay, you haven't. You're right about that." Riley said. "I swear to god, if I find out that you've hurt her, screwed around with her brain at *all*, then I will --"

"It's not going to be like that, mate!" Spike exclaimed.

"Oh really? Because all I see is some lame-ass vampire who thinks he's got Buffy under his 'spell' and has nothing good to offer to her unlike-"

"That's enough!" Spike shouted, drawing out his left fist and punching Riley in the face. Riley fell to the floor in a heap as Spike stared at his fist in shock. <I can hit people? I can kill people?> "What the hell?" he whispered. <God, what if the chip stopped working?>

Riley slowly started to rise, shaking his head in an attempt to throw off the dull pain. He hadn't really been hurt by Spike's punch, it had only caught him off guard. When he stood to his full height and stared at Spike, Spike found himself gazing into Riley's eyes...his glowing, and eerily yellow vampiric eyes. "Surprise," Riley said. "Guess I'm not as ‘Soldier Boy’ as you thought.”

"You're...you're a vampire," Spike could only stutter. He wondered how come he didn't notice it in the first place.

"Yeah, it's kind of funny how it happened," Riley said, walking around Spike. "My commander in the rainforest directed us to raid a village in the where those demons were living. He didn't know that the demons were in league with the vampires there. Before you know it, everyone's dead or turned and, well...I woke up with a craving to return to Sunnydale. I even got a warlock to cast a spell on me so that no one knows that I'm a vampire, not even Buffy. She'll think that I'm still good ol' Iowa-farm boy."

"You see, I guess I figured that if Buffy was hot for Angel, a vampire with a soul back then, and always had a soft spot for *you*, then...Hell, why *wouldn't* she ask me back to stay with her?" Riley said, grinning at Spike. "I mean, I come back to town and find that she's all hot for *you*, a vampire with a government chip installed into his brain."

"Buffy's not going to like you like that, and you know it," Spike said. "Okay, you got the monster in you now, but she's already got a monster...me."

Riley growled as he ran up to Spike, shoving him back to the wall of the crypt. "I don't think so, Spike. She sees me, she'll jump out of her however-many-months-long-insanity and come back to me, with open...well, you know."

Spike swung his arms around, pushing Riley off of him and then following through with a punch to the right side of his cheek. He kicked Riley in his gut and faced him. "Well, lucky me. Guess I finally can do what I've always wanted...kill you."

Riley growled in response. "You can try. Try your best, Spike." And with that, Riley leaped forward and kicked Spike in his stomach before hitting him on his back and shoving him towards the floor of the crypt. The fight continued. Along with his combat training and vampirism, Riley was a strong fighter, an equal match for Spike.

Spike dodged Riley's slow left-handed jabs as he tried to stay out of the way of his right fist. "So, what's your plan, mate?" Spike asked in between dodging. "You go over and turn Buffy and the two of you wreck havoc on Sunnydale?"

"Well, good idea..." Riley said, ducking as Spike tried to kick him. "Actually, I was thinking about turning Dawn first and making Buffy watch and *then* turn Buffy before we go wreck havoc on the town."

"You don't come *near* Niblet," Spike growled fiercely. "I'm not allowing that to happen."

Riley stared at him, momentarily letting down his defenses. "What's happened to you? Sure you've got a chip, but you're still a vampire, it's not like you've got a soul."

"No, but that little girl has gone through a lot, and I'm not letting her *or* Buffy down." Spike said, remembering the night when he promised Buffy that he would protect Dawn. He still held onto the promise and would until he or Dawn died. "Not that you would know anything about that," Spike added before punching him again.

Riley grabbed Spike and threw him up against a wall. Bending the blonde’s arm up behind his back, Riley smashed Spike hard into the wall, then forced him to turn and meet Riley’s own eyes. "Getting tired?" he asked.

"Not in the slightest," Spike replied. He tried to push Riley off, but his heavier body didn't budge.

"Well, I know that I'd love to stay around and fight, but I have to get to Buffy's house." Riley said. "I know that she'll just be speechless to see me." He punched Spike in his stomach and jabbed at him in the face with his fists. Riley pulled out a taser from behind his back and turned it on. The electricity shot out as he turned the taser on and pressed it against Spike's back.

"Arg!" Spike screamed. "Bloody hell!" Riley repeated the motion, this time sticking the taser on Spike's chest.

In a quick motion, he grabbed Spike and threw him across the room where he landed lying across the hole to the lower level of the crypt. Riley walked up to him and kicked him in the ribs, pushing Spike down into the basement where he landed on top of a pile of rubble. He looked down at the fallen vampire making sure he made no move to get up. "I'll be seeing you, Spike," Riley said before walking out of the crypt and turning toward Buffy's house.

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

Buffy ran around her room, trying on various tops and necklaces and other things. Spike was coming over tonight. It was actually going to be the first time that the two had ever been alone at her house without the watchful eye of Willow or Xander or someone like that. She sprayed some perfume on her wrists and brushed through her hair, smiling to herself in the mirror. This was it...now or never. She loved Spike, she really did, and she wanted to tell him that and watch as his blue eyes lit up in surprise.

Downstairs, she heard the doorbell ring. <Strange,> she thought to herself. Usually Spike would walk in without warning and come up behind her when she was least expecting it. However, maybe tonight he was going to be polite.

Buffy walked down the stairs and walked up to the front door. She smiled, getting ready to great Spike as she opened the door. "Hey-!"

It was Riley. "Buffy, hey," he said, looking at her. <God, she looks so good. I could just eat her up,> he thought. <Oh...wait a second.>

"Riley..." she said, at least acknowledging that she remembered him. Her smile had disappeared as she stood there, looking at him. <God, where are you Spike? Why can't you come by and help me kick Riley out?> She didn't want him here, especially when Spike was due any minute.

"How are you?" Riley asked. <Come on, invite me in,> he thought. He knew that Buffy would think that it was suspicious if Riley couldn't enter the house by himself.

"I'm good," Buffy managed to say. "Listen, uh, I was kind of expecting some...friends, and they-"

"Well, this won't take long," Riley said. <"Friends," whatever.>

"Okay then," Buffy said, moving aside to allow him to walk in. She stared at him, her eyes cold. "Well, are you coming in or not?"

<And I'm in!> Riley thought triumphantly to himself. "Sorry, I just didn't know if you were okay with me coming back into your home,” he said as he walked through the doorway.

"Well, I can't say that I'm happy having you here but..." Buffy started walking into the living room and Riley followed, a look of hunger and evil stretching across his face. "Now that you *are* here, I guess I could ask you how things went?" She sat down on the couch and Riley sat down as close to her as he could without being *too* close.

"God, Buffy, it was horrible," Riley started. <That's right, give her the guilt act...just like Angel. She's sure to fall for it.> "So many of my men died...so much death, so many demons everywhere."

Buffy looked over at him, saying, "Riley, I'm so sorry."

"It was awful," Riley said. "But, we got released and now I'm back. I thought that we could, you know..."

"Riley, I don't think so..." Buffy said. "It's been a year. You don't know what's happened to me since you left. I’ve been seeing someone -sort of - and I think it may be..."

"Spike?" Riley spit out of his mouth, his farm-boy act starting to dissolve.

"Wh-what? How do you know about Spike?" Buffy asked. He didn't reply and she immediately got suspicious. "Riley, what happened?"

"Oh don't worry, I got him out of our way," Riley said smugly.

"What did you do?" Buffy asked, rising from the couch. "Riley, what did you do to him?" He didn't answer, just stared at her and smiled. "Whatever," Buffy said, starting to walk to the foyer. "I think you need to go," she said, her voice floating back to him. Riley rose from the couch and started walking up to Buffy, his facial features shifting into the face of an evil demon. "I need to go out there and find him...fix whatever you did to him." She opened the door for Riley to leave.

Riley walked up to her and grabbed the side of her neck, bending it to the left and baring in place of: bearing the right side of her neck, the side where each of them -- the Master, Angel and Dracula - those that had come before him, had bitten her. Her eyes widened at what he was doing. Riley growled in her ear before saying, "You're not going anywhere." He licked the side of her neck, his free hand grabbing her hands as they tried to push him off.

"Riley! What the hell are you doing?!" She shouted.

Her only answer was a feral growl before she felt his fangs penetrate her flesh and bite her.

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

Spike woke feeling dazed. He looked around, confused by where he was. It took him a couple of minutes to realize that he was in the lower level of his crypt. He shook his head, trying to force the headache to go away. <Oh God,> he thought. <Riley...Buffy won't know that...>

Spike climbed to his feet and pulled himself up the ladder before grabbing a stake from the weapons chest he kept in the corner He ran out the door of the crypt and used all his supernatural speed as he raced toward Buffy’s home, trying to get there before it was too late.

What normally seemed a short distance now seemed like a never-ending marathon as he ran to Buffy's house. Finally, he rounded the curve in Revello Drive, racing past the same streetlight he and Buffy had been kissing under the night before, and dashed across the road to her house. He let his mind wander and the thought that he may never kiss her again made Spike sick to his stomach but he kept his thoughts together, refusing to break down when Buffy may need him the most.

He sprinted up to her front porch, gasping for breath unnecessarily, and felt his heart drop when he saw Riley drinking from Buffy. The front door was open, the two of them lying on the floor as Riley slowly and painfully drew the blood out of Buffy's jugular. Briefly, Buffy met Spike's eyes, and he could see her whisper his name before his eyes closed. "No..." He whispered, fearing the worst for the woman he loved so much.

Spike jumped the three stairs on the front porch and ran inside the house. He pulled Riley off of her and pulled the stake out of the left-side pocket in his leather jacket. Riley turned to face him, his eyes gleaming and teeth and lips stained with blood.

"See?" Spike sneered in Riley's face. "I told you that you weren't the long-haul guy." And with that, Spike drove the stake home, right into Riley's dead heart. Riley exploded into a cloud of dust and settled around Buffy and Spike.

"Buffy?" Spike asked, bending down to look at her. Her eyes were closed and he couldn't see her chest moving up and down. He felt for a pulse in her wrist and felt a faint 'thump thump, thump thump.' <Thank God,> Spike thought. "Buffy? Love, wake up!" he urged her.

He carefully picked Buffy up in his arms, the usual strong and powerful slayer feeling weak and feeble in his arms. Once again, he was running, only this time towards Sunnydale General, praying that he could get her there in time.

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

"Hey! We need some bloody help here!" Spike shouted as he burst through the doors of the emergency entrance, Buffy held close in his arms.

Immediately, two nurses ran up to Spike and the unconscious slayer. "Okay, what happened, sir?" the brunette nurse asked.

"She...she got attacked, lost a lot of blood." Spike explained, trying to tell as much as the truth as he possible could. "Bloody hell, she needs help. I felt a pulse, but I couldn't get her to wake up.”

"Okay, sir...we'll take it from here," the first nurse said, signaling him to follow her to one of the stretchers. "What's the victim's name?"

"Buffy...Buffy Summers," Spike managed to say. He laid Buffy on the stretcher and grabbed hold of her hand. He looked at her pale face and frowned, dragging his hand through her hair. <Please, love, hang on,> Spike thought.

"And your name?"

"Sp-William," he said. "Uh...Winthrop," he said, trying to remember his last name and failing miserably. He made up something in his head. "Please, you guys have to help her."

"Sir, we'll do whatever we can." The second, and much older, nurse replied. "Debbie, pull Ms. Summers' file, please." she told the nurse who was following her. The brown-haired nurse and another man grabbed the ends of the stretcher and started wheeling it down the hallway. Spike followed the two, holding onto Buffy's hand.

"I'm sorry, sir," the nurse said, stepping out and holding Spike back.

"What?"

"You can't come with her." She said.

"Bloody hell I can't. I- I need to be there. I have to..." Spike said.

"Mr. Winthrop," she started. "Let us do our job. You did a good thing by bringing her here when you did, and now we need to take over."

Spike sighed. He hated rules, but he mostly hated rules like this. "Okay, I'll be out here."

Debbie, the nurse who had pulled Buffy's folder walked back over to the nurse that had helped Spike. "I got her information. This is the second time in three years that she's been here for the exact same thing," she said as the two of them started wheeling Buffy past the double doors.

Spike watched Buffy disappear down the hallway, hearing the two ladies talk about the last time Buffy was here for a "loss of blood" accident. <Hmm, must have been that time when Nancy Boy fed from her,> he thought as he walked back into the waiting room. Then, feelings of shame and guilt washed over him. He should have gotten to her house sooner. He should never have let Riley get out of his crypt in the first place. <I'm so bloody stupid,> Spike thought.

He walked over to the phone and dropped some change in the slot before dialing Xander's apartment number. "Hey...Harris there?" Spike asked Anya on the other line. "Yeah...yeah, it's Spike. Look, uh, you better round up the gang...something's happened to Buffy and she's at the hospital," he explained to Xander. As soon as he said that, Xander hung up the phone to go find Willow and Dawn.

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

The gang arrived in short order. They saw him sitting in the shadows, anxiously waiting for news. More than anything, he wanted Buffy to walk into the room and tell him she was ready to go home. They crossed to him with worried looks on their faces.

"What happened?"

"Is she okay?"

"What did the doctors say?"

"What did you *do* to her?"

Tons of questions came out of all of their mouths at the same time, leaving Spike no time to actually answer all of them. Finally, they all quieted down and looked at him. Spike slowly stood up and stared at all of them. "She's going to be okay I think." He said to them.

"What happened, Spike?" asked Dawn, looking up at the blonde vampire with tears shimmering in her eyes.

"She, uh, got attacked, Sweet Bit," he explained.

"But...you were supposed to protect her," Dawn said, jumping to conclusions. "Where were you?"

"Helping?" Xander asked? "Attacking her in the first place?"

"Shut your *gob* Harris!" Spike shouted at him. "I would *never* do something like that to her!"

"Xander, I'm sure that Spike can explain all of this," Willow said. She was reminded when the same thing happened to Buffy and Angel when he had brought her to the hospital. They had all jumped to conclusions that Angel bit her for the hell of it, not because she forced him to. She didn't want that to happen again, so she was going to try and give Spike a chance. "Spike, what happened?"

"Uh...Riley, he came back to down with a new look, all fangy teeth and yellow eyes," Spike tried to explain. "He, uh, bit her and-"

"Oh, now you're just struggling for an excuse," Xander said. "Trying to do anything that can take the blame away from *you* and place it on someone else...someone that hasn't been here for like a year."

Spike scowled at him, knowing that this was just the opportunity that Xander needed to get everyone to turn against him. "Look, whelp, I know what I saw and what I did. This is just what you were hoping for, I know that." He looked over at Dawnie, who stood there with tears streaming down her face. "Look, Lil' Bit, I-"

"Why weren't you there?" Dawn whispered to him. Spike stared at her, his undead heart tearing in two from the tone in her voice and her facial expression. <God, I have royally fucked this up,> he thought. Spike gathered his composure and started walking away. He would head back to his crypt, pack up his things, and leave. <No, I won't leave her...I can't leave her,> Spike thought, because then he'd be just like all the rest of them, all the rest of those stupid blokes who had left her, and Spike was better than that.

A nurse walked into the waiting room. "Uh, is William Winthrop here?" she asked.

Xander and the gang walked up to her. "Yeah, he had to leave. Uh, this is Dawn, Buffy's sister, and we're her friends...extended family, I guess you could say." he explained to her. "So, how is she?"

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

A day and a half later, Buffy snapped out of her coma. She jumped awake and gasped for breath. <Oh man,> she thought. Her hand instinctively ran up to the right side of her neck, feeling the taped piece of gauze that was placed there over the bite wound. <Great, another lucky souvenir,> she thought, rising from the bed.

She saw her clothes lying on the chair across from the bed and slowly dressed, trying to shake off that feeling of dizziness and weariness. <I have to get to Spike,> she thought. <God, if he hadn't shown up...> Well, her thoughts didn't even want to go there.

Slowly, she started walking out of the patient's room and saw all of her friends and sister sitting on a long bench in the hallway. She walked up to them, testing out her vocal chords with a simple, "hey."

"Buffy!" they all shouted at the same time.

"Are you okay?" Willow added. Everyone rushed up to her and surrounded her.

"Yeah, I'm getting there." Buffy said, trying not to move her neck to sharply. Whatever Riley had done when he bit her hurt. She hadn’t experienced this much pain from previous bites for some unknown reason. The only thing that she could think of was when Angel bit her, she loved him and allowed it. She even forced him to drink from her. The Master didn't take much blood from her, it was mostly the drowning part that killed her. Then, when Dracula bit her, Buffy was under his thrall. She didn't feel much of anything from him except the power that he had. Maybe since she could feel was Riley was doing to her and it was against her will, that she was feeling pain even days after it had happened.

"What happened?" Tara asked.

"Uh, Spike brought me here," Buffy said, her mind still fuzzy. "Did he have to leave? I guess so because of sun light, right?" She remembered something very similar to this happening when Angel had brought her in. <God, that seems like a lifetime ago,> she thought.

"You've lucky we didn't stake him right then and there," Xander said.

"Why? What did he do?" Buffy asked, confused. What had happened after she lost consciousness?

"He...he did *this*! All of this to you! Then he made up some lame-ass story about how Riley had come back to town and bit-"

"But he did, Xander...Riley did come back." Buffy said. "If it hadn't been for Spike, I probably would have been killed or turned...Xander, he saved me."

Xander lowered his eyes in shame. <Am I ever going to get control of ‘jump to conclusions guy’?> Xander wondered. Everyone lowered their eyes, regretting what they had and had not said to the vampire that had worked his way into their circle of friendship. Anya regretted trying to jump into the conversation to support Spike. Tara wished that she could have summoned up the courage to speak out against Xander's words. Dawn scolded herself for being so unfair to Spike, the person who had protected her all summer long. How could she have acted that way to him when no one else was supporting him?

"Where did he go?" Buffy asked.

"We, uh, we don't know, Buffy," Willow explained. "He just kind of walked off."

"Well, I need to find him," Buffy said, starting to walk away from her friends. Her legs felt like jelly and she instantly started collapsing to the ground. Dawn ran up and grabbed onto her, holding onto Buffy.

"Whoa, watch out, Buffy," Dawn said, steadying her sister.

"Thanks, Dawnie." she sighed and shook her hair out of her face. "Okay, maybe I should get home first and get some sleep...two or three days worth of sleep." she said.

"Don't worry, Spike still probably be sneaking into your bedroom tonight or something," Dawn said. "You know how he is."

"Yeah, I do," Buffy replied. "I'll go home and rest up some and then head out to find him. He must be feeling awful right about now."

Willow and Tara came up to Buffy's side and held her steady in between the two of them. Willow eyed Xander warily, angry that, once again, he had gotten in the way, saying things that shouldn't have been said and turning his friends against someone else. "Come on, Buffy, let's get you home," Willow said.

"Is there...can I help you guys with anything?" Xander asked, stepping forward.

"Xander, just leave it alone." Willow said. "Look, we'll take Buffy home to let her get some rest...give her some time," Willow helped Buffy to walk out of the waiting room. The two went searching for a nurse so they could check Buffy out of the hospital. Buffy never liked hospitals and didn't want to spend anymore time here than was necessary. Dawn gave Xander a sad smile before following her sister.

"Well, I'd say that went well..." Anya started, "Big mouth," and she turned around and walked out of the room also. Xander shook his head, thinking, <women!> as he turned around and ran after his fiancée.

"Anya, wait up..." Xander called out after her.

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

"So, is there anything I can get you?" Dawn asked Buffy. Buffy lay sprawled out on her bed, relaxing and trying to regain her strength.

"No, I'm okay, Dawnie," Buffy said. "I just need to...heal up from this."

"Okay then, well...if anyone stops by-"

"I don't want to see them...unless it's Spike," Buffy replied. Later that day, she had sent Xander out to tell Spike that she was out of the hospital and wanted to see him. When Xander returned, he reported that Spike wasn't at his crypt and no one else knew where he was either.

"I think Xander feels really bad about what he said to Spike, though. He was kinda mean to him." Dawn said. She walked into Buffy's room and sat down at the edge of her bed. "I guess that's why he agreed to go find him for you."

"Well, you know Xander, he can sometimes think with his...well, he doesn't think with his brain," Buffy said. "That's how it's always been."

"You should have seen Spike, I've never seen him look so...freaked." Dawn said. "He was totally freaking out about you being in there. I think he kind of blames himself."

"Well, there's no reason he should," Buffy said, sitting up against her headboard and looking at Dawn. "He got me out in time."

"That must have been so weird, seeing Riley again but as a vampire." Dawn said.

"Well, I wasn't even conscious for most of it, but it was...well, to tell you the truth, I didn't even feel anything for him." Buffy said. She knew whom she wanted now, and Riley wasn't in the picture at all. "I just wanted him off of me."

"But Spike got to you in time, so everything is good," Dawn said, smiling and trying to get her sister to look at an optimistic side of everything.

"Yeah, unless he never shows his face again and then I can't ever tell him that," Buffy said, sighing at how stupid Spike could act sometimes.

"What's it like?" Dawn asked.

Buffy, who had closed her eyes, only made a noise that resembled a "hmm?"

"Getting bit by a vampire, what's that like?" Dawn asked.

"Draining," Buffy responded deadpan.

Dawn grinned. "Come on, Buffy, this makes it like four vampires now, what's it like?"

Buffy opened her eyes. "Okay, curious one, you are asking way too many questions about this for my enjoyment. It's not something you ever need to worry about and it's not something that I like to relive."

"Oh, sorry then," Dawn replied. She rose from the bed. "Are you sure you don't want anything from downstairs?"

"Yeah, Dawnie. I'm fine," Buffy replied.

"Okay then," Dawn said, starting to walk out of Buffy's room.

"Dawnie? Thanks for cheering me up some," Buffy replied, smiling over at her sister. Dawn just grinned and walked out of Buffy's room, closing the door behind her.

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

A couple more days passed and Buffy was almost back to 100% strength. A scar had formed in the shape of Riley's teeth, and Buffy knew that, once again, this was a vampire scar that wasn't going to go away. <Guess I've got another 'angry puppy' added to my list,> she kept thinking. Riley's scar was on top of Angel and Dracula's scar, a place that vampires seemed to like. However, when a week went by and there was still no sign of Spike, Buffy was becoming frantic.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Buffy asked Dawn as she paced around her room. "I mean, it's been a week and he still hasn't dropped by. He hasn't even been stalking me in the shadows."

"Well, maybe he just wants to wait a little bit longer..." Dawn suggested.

"For what? I'm alive? I'm healthy and alive and kicking, there's no reason why he couldn't have come by like 5 days ago to see me." Buffy said. "I just wish I knew where he was."

"He's probably drunk in a bar somewhere," Dawn said. Knowing Spike, he was probably at some place like Willy's, getting totally trashed.

"Yes, I know that my boyfriend has some alcoholic issues, but I checked all of those places and no one has seen him in weeks," Buffy said. She hadn't been doing much to drain her of energy, but she had run through all of the bars in town to see if Spike had been visiting them.

"Well, he's probably following you around and you just can't even tell it," Dawn said. "He's gonna show up, he's...he's Spike, the guy that's totally in love with you?"

"What if he left?" Buffy blurted out her biggest worry.

"Oh puh-leeze, Buffy, The guy can't stand to not be within like 10 feet of you. He's so whipped!"

Buffy smiled over at Dawn and chuckled. "Yeah, he really is, isn't he?" She was beginning to love these talks with her younger sister. Now that Dawn was getting a little bit older, she could handle more mature conversations and Buffy loved to have someone else besides a best friend to talk to about her personal life. Dawn, in return, loved hearing everything about her older sister. "Maybe I should go out and try to find him?"

"You think you're up for it?" Dawn asked. "Like, do you have enough strength?"

"Yeah, maybe I'll do a quick sweep of the area around his crypt to see if he's there," Buffy said, grabbing some stakes and putting on a brown leather jacket to match her dark brown shirt and black top.

"Okay...so, should I expect you back tonight or not?" Dawn asked, grinning at Buffy slyly.

"Dawn, that is...well...that's none of your business!" Buffy said quickly. "Look, I'll probably be back home in a couple hours. I just need to talk to him about stuff. If I'm not back by then call someone like Xander or Tara to come over just to watch over you for the night, okay?"

"But Buffy, I can stay here by myself-"

"Just...make your older sister happy, okay?" Buffy asked. Dawn nodded and Buffy swept her fingers through her sister's hair. "I'll see you later, Dawnie," Buffy said before walking out of her room.

"I might as well go call Xander or Tara now," Dawn muttered to herself.

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Buffy left home and headed toward Spike's crypt. She was somewhat out of breath and her legs were tired. It was strange that it was taking her so long to recover from this one bite wound. However, she forced herself to walk the rest of the way.

When she reached the crypt, she pushed on the door with all her strength. Slowly, after a few more shoves against the door, it swung open with a loud creak and groan. She stepped inside, letting her eyes adjust to the light. "Spike?" she asked softly, taking a few steps into the room. She heard a crash of glass from downstairs and Buffy walked over to the steps before climbing down. She walked into the lower part of the crypt, stepping over broken beer bottles and trash.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Spike asked from her left. He was hiding in the shadows with a knife in his hand.

"Coming to see why the person who saved my life hasn't come by to say hello to me all week long? Or at least give me some flowers or a gift basket to celebrate my speedy recovery?" Buffy said, trying to keep the atmosphere light.

Spike chuckled, a cold, humorless laugh that seemed to echo off the walls. "Bloody hell, slayer. You think that I *saved* your life?" Spike asked.

"Well, yeah. Spike, if it hadn't been for you, I would have died."

"If it hadn't been for me, none of that would have ever happened," Spike tried to explain. "He came over to my place before visiting you, love, did you know that?" Buffy shook her head. "Yeah, he came over, beat the shit out of me, and then headed over to your place. If I could have stopped him there, taken him down instead of the other way around..." his voice died off and he stared at her. "God, I'm sorry I put you through all of that."

"It wasn't your fault." Buffy said. "I'm the Slayer, I'm suppose to know when a vampire is around me. Damn, 6 years of slayer training down the drain," she said, trying to get Spike to smile.

"Are you okay though, love?" Spike asked. He had stayed in his crypt all week, avoiding Buffy's usual patrolling spots and getting around through the tunnels instead of running through the streets.

"I'm better, now that I've seen you," Buffy said, smiling again. <Why can't we just forget about this?> She thought. "So...what was your plan? Stay out of my sight forever?"

"Well...not forever, just long enough that you'd...forget about me?" Spike thought, lying to save her from the pain of knowing that he had seriously considered leaving town.

"Right, like I could forget about the vampire who I once called my mortal enemy, who got a chip installed into his head by the government, fell in love with me, and captured my heart?" Buffy asked, taking a step towards him. "Right, like I could forget...damn, what's his name again?" Spike finally broke down and cracked a smile. "I knew I could get you to smile eventually.”

Spike walked up to her and ran his hand across her right cheek and then down to her neck, rubbing his fingers over the healed bite mark. "Lucky blokes...all those vampires got a taste of you," he whispered.

"And that just kills you, doesn't it?" Buffy asked. "All of my ex-boyfriends and two really, really, *really* old vampires also managed to suck me dry and yet...you haven't."

"Yeah, that's right, love, because of the chip," Spike said. He had dreams about what it would be like to make love to Buffy and then complete the act a little bite and a few drops of her [blood flowing into his mouth] His definition of heaven.

"Well, what if I allowed it and...didn't let it hurt me?" Buffy asked, looking at him honestly in the eyes.

"What?" Spike asked. "What are you saying?"

"Spike...I want you...” She started to run her hands over his back and chest as she pulled him closer and rubbed up against him. Taking him totally by surprise she grabbed onto the sides of his face and pulled his face down to hers and kissed him. She shivered with delight and rubbed herself against him as Spike grabbed onto her arms, pushing her towards his body. Spike's tongue traced her lips and then demanded entry to her mouth, which Buffy willingly gave.

"God, I love you, Slayer..." Spike said. "You really feel up to this? Now?"

"Yes, I am," Buffy said in between meeting Spike's lips. Her hands ran over Spike's chest, moving down to rest on his hips, her index fingers looping through the belt loops on his black jeans. "Here... now..." she said.

"Good," Spike said, grinning before plundering her mouth with his once again. Still kissing her, Spike started backing the two of them up towards his queen-sized bed. Buffy wrapped her arms around his neck, following his motions as the two of them toppled onto the bed. "Slayer, you sure? Spike asked, pulling back from her. "No going back after this. If we make love, I won’t - can’t - go back.” He searched her eyes for an answer.

"I don't want to go back, I want you," Buffy said honestly before pulling him to her again. Then their lips met and there were no more words. The two started pulling off articles of clothing as they kissed. Buffy pressed herself against his hard body, kissing him more deeply as she wrapped her arms around his neck once again. Buffy rolled onto her back as Spike stroked his fingers though her hair and the two continued kissing. Buffy shook with anticipation and excitement from the feelings that Spike inspired in her- feelings that she hadn't felt in many years and feelings that she never thought that she would ever feel again.

Buffy reached down and grabbed the ends of Spike's shirt. After a tender kiss, Buffy started pulling his shirt up over his body. Spike helped her pull it off, and he threw it onto the floor. Buffy met eyes with him and quickly smiled at him before he kissed her again. Buffy felt her smile grow larger as he slid his hands under her top, gently caressing her back. <Oh, hands...hands in *very* nice places,> Buffy thought before pulling him closer to her, feeling their bodies molding together. Spike fiddled with her top, trying to get it off. His hands traveled down the front, trying to unbutton the buttons.

"Oh, screw it," Spike muttered before grabbing a handful of Buffy's shirt and ripping it apart, the buttons flying everywhere.

"Oh great, that was an expensive shirt," Buffy said, looking up at him.

"I'll get you another one, love." Spike replied before kissing her again.

Before long, Buffy's shirt, followed by her skirt, was thrown onto the other side of the room. Spike's hands continued moving up and down her back, caressing her and pushing Buffy even deeper into his embrace. There were no more words spoken. Instead, There were only gasps and moans of pleasure as the two strove to get ever closer to the other.

Buffy moaned in pure ecstasy as he entered her, his great size stretching her to her limit. He tried to move gently, to give her time to adjust but Buffy pushed him forward and forced him to move. Her hands clutched at his back and she dug her nails into his skin. Her body clenched around him with all the Slayer strength that she could muster.

Spike grasped for the ragged edges of his control, trying to go gentle with Buffy for their first time together, and missed. Acting purely on instinct he pulled back, driving into her so hard that a normal human would have been broken. Buffy arched to meet his thrusts, matching his strength with her own. With her kisses, and whispers, and moans, she urged him to continue moving. She was so close to completely falling off the edge, and she turned her neck to the side, offering him access to her throat.

Spike gazed down at her bare neck, awed by what she was offering, what he was about to attempt. Before he could give a second thought, however, Buffy grabbed the back of his head and pulled him down to the hollow of her neck. She kissed his forehead and closed her eyes, a smile washing over her features.

Spike looked down at her neck, pressing a gentle kiss to her throat, running his tongue over her skin in an erotic way. He closed his eyes for a second, feeling his facial features shifting. He kissed her neck once more before biting down to break the skin, revealing Buffy's life that flowed beneath. His tongue and taste buds spiraled out of control from the power that Spike could feel in her blood, Buffy's life source. <God, this is heaven, she's my definition of heaven> was Spike's last sane thought before he came to the point of loosing control.

As Buffy felt Spike's fangs enter her neck and start to drink from her, she climaxed, her whole body convulsing as wave after wave of pleasure washed over her. When Spike stopped drinking and rolled over and off of her body, Buffy was happily spent and overjoyed. Spike gathered her up into his arms as the two kissed once more, Buffy tasting her own sweat and blood.

The two lay on their sides, Spike's arms wrapped tightly around Buffy's stomach, where Spike would occasionally kiss the mark on Buffy's neck. He had covered Riley's and Angel's mark entirely, claiming her as his. And unlike any of the other men in her life who were stupid enough to give her up, Spike would never leave or let go of her. No, he was much too smart to do something so foolish.

"No, things are okay up here," Spike said.

"As okay as they can get I guess," Buffy joked. His response was to tickle her bare stomach with his hands, setting her off in squeals of laughter. She rolled over onto her back and he braced himself up with his arms to face her. He lowered his head and kissed her, his lips trailing off from her lips to the side of her neck where he kissed her drying scar.

"Mm, you just can't get enough of that, can you?" Buffy asked. "The Big Bad finally got a taste of the Slayer."

"And, what? Are you complaining?" Spike asked, knowing very well that she had enjoyed it also.

"I loved it..." Buffy said, looking up into his blue eyes. "I love you...Spike, I love you."

"Wh-what?" Spike asked, his eyes bulging. He lost the strength in his arms and fell on top of Buffy. "You what?"

"You heard me, blondie, I love you." Buffy said. She raised her head and kissed him. "I was going to tell you the night that Riley came by, so I never got the chance, but I do...very much."

"Oh really..." Spike said, smiling down at her. <She loves me...I got to taste her and she just told me that she loved me.> He thought as he grinned. <Life can't get any better.> "And that compels me to ask...how much?" he asked, raising his scarred eyebrow.

Buffy pushed him closer to her, their bare bodies pressing up against each other. "Let me show you..."

And she spent the rest of the night doing just that.

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The end!