Disclaimer: Not mine. Dammit.

Spoilers: Mild season 5 spoilers

Premise: Alternate season 6. Forget everything you know about how Spike and Buffy met.

Distribution: Just let me know!

After trying to nail her new trick of throwing her stake in the air and catching it behind her back, Buffy gave up. It wasn't so much a trick as a boredom chaser. Lately the vamps just didn't want to come out and play. For the past two weeks, it had been dead quiet in the cemeteries, and not just in the obvious way. It gave her a feeling of foreboding. Nothing good ever came of change on the Hellmouth. As long as there were vamps and demons for her to kill, Buffy felt safe and normal. If there weren't, she was just a strange girl with a wood fetish who liked to spend too much time in cemeteries.

She was just about to call it a night when she saw a man slouched over, sitting on a headstone. 'Good spotting, Buff. If he'd been a snake he'd have bit ya. Or worse, a vamp. Well, no, vamps I can handle. Snakes, not so much.' She shook herself out of the internal musings to make her presence known to the oblivious man. He'd have been vamp bait, had there been any vamps to bait. "Hey, guy! Dontcha know it's not really safe in cemeteries late at night?"

He startled at her voice and spun around. 'Good one, mate. If she'd been a snake she'd have....' His own musings trailed off when he saw her. Petite and bouncy. And a little too comfortable in the odd environs. He shook his head. "Ah, well, could say the same to you. Little flit of a thing, you are." He gave her a warm smile as he slid the book he'd been reading inside his jacket pocket.

Buffy couldn't help but smile. 'Wow, what a cutie! Great accent. And look at those eyes. Pretty blue.....the glasses don't even make him look dorky. Who'd have known there was a guy who could really pull off glasses.....'

"Uh, you alright there?" He quirked a scarred eyebrow up.

Buffy blushed. "Oh, yeah. I just.....well, I sort of come here often.....uh, that doesn't really sound good, does it? Um, I just mean, I'm pretty familiar with the local folks, and I haven't seen you around before. You new to Sunnydale?"

The man stood and walked toward her. She marveled at the feline grace in his movements. He stopped a few feet in front of her. "Yeah, got here a couple of weeks ago."

Buffy nodded, trying not to be too obvious in casing this way hot guy. It was lucky for him that she was so absorbed; it allowed him his own perusal of her taut little body.

"And, uh, how do you find our little haven?" Buffy gave him a big smile. 'Why am I fawning over this guy like he's the high school quarterback?'

He shrugged and looked around as if he were evaluating. "Not too bad. Definitely seen worse. It's got nice...." He looked at her as he cocked his head to the side and pressed his tongue to the roof of his mouth. ".....scenery." 'What are you doing, ya git? She's far from the first pretty face you've seen here.'

Buffy blushed redder, if that were possible. "Um, well....."

He stiffened. "Then sometimes the scenery gets downright ugly."

Buffy's eyes flew to his face, shocked at what he was implying. When she found he wasn't looking at her, but beyond her, she sighed, then turned on instinct.

Two vamps were making their way towards them, looking for all the world lucky bastards who had stumbled upon a couple of snacks.

"Oh yay! Finally!" Buffy exclaimed, then turned back towards the man who was giving her a strange look. "Um, ok, I know this will sound weird coming from a 'little flit of a thing', but you really need to go."

He frowned, then a smile slowly crept across his face. "Well, believe it or not, I think I can handle myself. Probably as well as you can."

"Uh, look, I'm not sure that you understand what exactly is about to happen here, so really, really, I gotta recommend that you skedaddle to somewhere that's not here."

He now had a cocky grin on, keeping a wary eye on the approaching vamps. "Can't rightly call myself a gentleman if I just leave you to the wolves, can I?" He quickly slipped off his glasses and put them in a case he pulled from his coat’s inner pocket pocket.

"These aren't wolves, ok? They're much worse than wolves. They're....." She shook her head, searching for an answer.

He brushed past her and called over his shoulder. "Dust?"

As soon as the larger vampire engaged the man in a fight, Buffy shrugged her shoulders and went after the smaller one. The scuffles were brief, and when the dust settled, quite literally, she cast a questioning look to him.

He smiled. "I guess this means you're the Slayer?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "And this would make you......?" She let the question hang between them.

He gave a little chuckle. "Unique?"

"Ok, so you're saying you, what, just woke up one day with these.....powers and abilities?" Buffy looked at him incredulously.

"God's honest truth, luv. Sorta came out of nowhere. And for quite a while, well.....it was a little disorienting. Wasn't exactly into fighting for good right off the bat. Took me a few years to really find my place."

"How long have you been this way? I mean, had these powers."

"Some years now. Sometimes it feels like a century."

Buffy shook her head. "So let me get this straight. You were just this regular guy, then bam, you've got superpowers?"

He nodded his head. "That's the long and short of it, yeah." He slid further back on the sarcophagus they were sharing, giving himself a more full view of her.

"Huh. You know, I've heard about these supposed 'Powers That Be,' but I never figured they'd just smack some normal guy upside the head with this stuff."

"Well, who knows the how or why.....I've long since stopped trying to figure that out."

"So now you're in Sunnydale? Explains why I've been so bored with my work lately. I'm surprised I haven't run into you sooner."

He shrugged. "Lotsa cemeteries in this town. And I had heard there was a Slayer here. Was beginning to think it was a myth. But like I said, lotsa cemeteries. We probably just missed each other a few times."

"Wow, so this is like, your calling or something? You do this full time?"

"Every night."

"How do you, well, I mean, do you have a day job?"

He chuckled. "I have another job, yeah. Very flexible hours. I come and go as I please."

Buffy frowned. "Is it illegal? Cuz if it is, don't tell me. I don't want to know."

He smiled. "Not illegal. Kind of a.....bouncer, if you will."

"Oh, well, that's not illegal. And kinda makes sense. You think they'd hire a girl bouncer? Cuz it's gotta beat flipping burgers."

"Unfortunately, I think I'm enough bouncer for them. Sorry, luv."

Buffy shrugged. "Ah, you just gave me a fleeting hope that I wouldn't go home smelling like reprocessed meat every night. No big."

"You don't smell so bad from here."

Again, Buffy blushed. "Oh, well, I kinda took a shower before I came out here. I've learned that the vampires can smell me coming from a mile off, and they've equated the Doublemeat smell with getting dusty. So they tend to avoid me when I'm oh-so-aromatic."

He cocked his head and smiled at her. It made her a little uncomfortable. She felt like he was either picturing her with her clothes off or wondering what she would taste like. And the contexts of those thoughts together made her blush even more. He, on the other hand, thought she was about the cutest thing he'd come across in a long time. 'Start thinkin' with your bloody brain, pillock.' "Uh, ya know it's kind of late. I need to make an appearance at work. Usually all it takes for things to stay settled."

Buffy couldn't help the little laugh that escaped. "Just your presence strikes fear into the patrons?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Something like that. And am I getting the impression that you doubt that?"

Buffy shrugged. "Ah, well.....I mean, I don't mean any offense, but.....well, you're an awesome fighter and you have the super power bonus, but just to look at you. Not sure there's a lot of.....intimidation in your....look."

He frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Buffy sighed. "Look, I don't even know you. It's not really my place, and I'm really not in the habit of criticizing people I just meet. Irregardless of right now."

He nodded. "I'm William. You're the Slayer. Now we know each other. So what's so 'unintimidating' about me?"

She shook her head. "Look, all I meant was.....well, you got the.....intellectual look going on. The glasses, mainly. And you were reading when I first saw you. Kind of oblivious to the world. Not something that made me go, 'I better watch out for this one, he looks like a bitchin' demon fighter.' That's all I meant....." 'William.....gotta file that away.'

His look softened. "Let's just say, the folks who come to the bar all know me. And they know what I'm capable of."

"Fair enough. I sure know enough to stay on your good side. Unless I've completely blown that by my incessant ramblings here, cuz I'm pretty sure I haven't made a real good impression."

William smiled. "You've impressed me quite well, luv." He started to walk toward the cemetery exit.

"Oh, thanks. I think. Hey! That isn't necessarily a good, is it?" She called after him.

He chuckled and turned to her. "It's good, pet. All good. And if you'll excuse me, Slayer." He paused while he fished out his glasses and put them back on. "I have some folks to go intimidate."

Buffy smiled. "Ok. Good luck. Oh, by the way, it's Buffy."

"What's buffy?"

"Me, I am. It's my name. I mean, ya know, if we run into each other out here again sometime. Instead of calling me 'Slayer', you can call me Buffy."

"I look forward to it, Buffy." He gave her a short nod and turned again to leave. 'Who in the hell names their kid Buffy? Gotta be short for something. Maybe Elizabeth.....'

"Hey, Buff! How was the ole' patrol tonight?" Willow asked brightly. "Did ya kill any baddies? Dust any vamps? Hack any demons into little bitty bits?"

Tara shook her head and placed her hand soothingly on Willow's arm. "Sorry. She convinced me to let her have some coffee so we could stay up and study. I should have known better....."

Buffy smiled. "Caffeinated Willow. Haven't seen her for a while."

Willow's face fell. "Sorry, I know I can be annoying girl when I'm all juiced up. But you look like you had a good time. The lull over?"

Buffy shrugged. "Ah well, the usual, ya vamps.....lotsa headstones.....I met a gorgeous guy.....did I mention the headstones?"

Willow got excited again. "OH! A guy!" She turned to Tara. "Buffy met a guy!" Back to Buffy. "Oh, ya gotta sit and dish with us. Gorgeous, huh? Tell us all about it!"

Buffy couldn't contain her giddy smile. "Well, don't get so worked up. I don't even know if I'll see him again. But I think I will. We're kind of in the same line of work, I guess you could say."

Willow frowned. "You mean.....someone from the Doublemeat? It's not that scary guy with 4 fingers, is it? I mean, the one with 4 fingers on one hand. Ya know, 9 fingers total.....missing one....." Willow trailed off when Tara started rubbing little circles on her back. "Sorry.....I mean, ya know, if that's the guy, well.....that's cool. Good for you."

Buffy laughed. "NO, it's not him. Ewww. And I don't mean that line of work. I mean the other line of work. The one that has me coming home with demon intestines and vamp dust on me almost every night. Of course, that could be just a bad day at the Doublemeat....."

"So, you met a guy who fights demons?" Tara smiled gently.

"Yup. A bonafide demon hunter. And not just that, he's awesome. He has like.....like Slayer powers, except he's a guy."

"A guy Slayer? Wow....."

"Not really a Slayer, he said one day a few years ago he just woke up and had super powers. Isn't that whacky?!" Buffy said wide-eyed.

"Yeah.....oh, but tell us about the gorgeous, I definitely remember hearing gorgeous." Willow beamed.

"Oh, god yeah. He's taller than me, which is, ya know, a requirement. He's got these super pretty blue eyes. God, beautiful eyes. And cheekbones forever. His hair is a little iffy, bleach job on its way out, but it seems to really work on him. The dark roots and the light ends.....And he has this awesome long black leather coat. And the way he moves and fights.....he's like.....like sex! Well, except way better than any sex I ever had....." Buffy looked off wistfully. 'Angel was nice and sweet, but it was just that once. Parker was......eh. Riley was good, solid. Good and solid about cover it.'

"Earth to Buffy," Willow smiled.

"Oh, and I forgot the best part. He has an accent."

The Wicca’s melted. "Ah, what kind? I love accents," Tara glowed.

"British. He's got this awesome British accent. But not like Giles British. Better. Less stuffy, more......sexy......"

"Wow, so are we gonna get to meet this gorgeous superhero anytime soon?" Willow asked.

"Oh, God, I don't know. I don't know if I'll even see him again. He kind of just drifted off into the night."

"Um, Buff? Angel much?"

"What? No! Not Angel. Not Angel at all," Buffy pouted.

"Well, the whole super powered, night drifty thing....."

"Well.....he didn't so much drift into the night as leave for work, but still....it was kinda drifty. But in a cool way, not a 'I'm a mysterious vampire' way.

"Well, a super powered good guy that has a regular job. Sounds perfect for you." Willow winked.

Buffy smiled. "I know, but.....ah, who knows. If I see him again, I do, if I don't, I don't."

"Am I right in assuming you're hoping for the former versus the latter?" Tara smiled at Buffy.

Buffy shrugged. "Maybe....."

After William had sufficiently intimidated the patrons at Willy’s, he made his way upstairs to his apartment. He rubbed his sore jaw. He'd let some rabble rouser get a few licks in. All because he was thinking about that girl. 'Buffy. Bloody stupid name. But.....does kinda roll off your tongue. Like I bet she would--Ok, stop this train of thought. No more thoughts of Buffy and tongues and rolling.....She's not that great, when ya think about it. Too skinny. Funny nose. Eyes......a bit of alright to look at. Lips.....probably kissable. Wouldn't mind nibbling on those cute little earlobes. But other than that.....other than that, she's absolutely perfect. Except she's a bloody Slayer. And a woman. And you're doing your best to avoid both of those things. You've come a long way. Done too much to cock it up now. Just toss off and get some sleep. Like every night. She'll seem less appealing in the morning. So long as you don't bloody dream about her.'

Except, he did dream about her. All night long. And when he woke, his usual lazy morning/noon erection was painfully hard. 'Bloody women.....' he thought as he stroked himself off.

After his shower, he occupied himself in the usual ways. Reading, writing, thinking. When it came time to go patrolling, he was hoping beyond hope that he wouldn't see her again. Maybe he could have a restful sleep this time.

Buffy felt silly, like she was getting ready for a date, but it was just patrolling. She was trying to pick out the most slay-effective, but sexy clothes. Dawn would just laugh at her when Buffy would barrel into her room asking her how she looked. Secretly, Dawn was happy for Buffy. She hadn't had a boyfriend since Riley left more than a year ago. She hadn't even seemed remotely interested in men. Angel came to visit every few months, but Dawn couldn't tell if Buffy was still interested in him. They seemed to get along well enough, but if it was more than friendship, Dawn couldn't tell. Buffy never talked about him like anything more than a friend, but she thought sometimes the looks they shared alluded to something deeper that still existed. She would half-jokingly remind Buffy not to boink him, to which Buffy would respond by throwing something at her. Dawn thought Angel was alright, for a vampire. But she also thought he was more trouble than Buffy needed. All her exes were. She needed someone easy. Someone she didn't have to hide her slaying from. Someone who didn't get their ego bruised when Buffy turned out to be stronger than them. And, most of all, someone who wouldn't try to destroy the world if Buffy decided to get groiny with them. Dawn hoped that this new guy fit all those key categories.

Finally, Buffy yelled that she was being ridiculous and probably wouldn't run into him anyway. She left the house with a tank top and old sweatpants on. Her once meticulously curled hair was thrown back into a sloppy bun. About an hour into her patrol, she realized she was looking for him more than looking for vamps. She mentally chastised herself for acting like a silly school girl, but then she saw him coming out of the Sunnydale Forever cemetery.

'Bloody hell, she's gorgeous. No rest tonight.....Does she do that on purpose? That tank top is cropped too high.....her pants are riding too low on her hips....is that? Is she wearing a thong? And her hair all mussed.....God, she looks like she just got shagged. Too bloody sexy.....fuck.....'

'Oh! There he is. Wow, he looks.....really hot. I wonder if his hair does that wavy thing naturally or if he makes it do that. And why is he looking at me like that? Again, with the clothes off or eating thing.....And, was his t-shirt that tight last night? Did his muscles always ripple like that when he walked? Too bad that duster is so long, bet he’s got an ass to die for.....Stop it! Maybe he’s not even looking at you like you think he’s looking at you. Maybe he’s got a girlfriend somewhere. Who knows. Cute guy like that, surely taken. Or gay. Oh, God, don’t let him be gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Some of my best friends are gay. Really. But, ah, don’t let him be taken or gay. Or maybe, yes, if I can’t have him, he should be gay. Then I know no other woman will have him either. Or I could stop mentally babbling, because he’s running his hand through his hair and I’m pretty sure all my blood is leaving Brainsville.....”

“Hello, cutie. Nice night for killing things, don’t ya think?” He smiled at her, trying to give off an air of cool and collected. Trying to keep her from seeing the tightness in his jeans.

“Uh huh,” Buffy was able to sputter out. ‘Damn, get it together!’ “Been very busy?”

William gestured his head toward the cemetery he was leaving. “Just one in there. But I’m headed to Restfield right now.....” ‘Don’t ask. Don’t ask. Girl is obviously nervous. Heart’s racing a mile a minute. Does she want me to ask, or is she upset she met up with me?’

“Would you mind some company?” ‘Obvious much, Buffy?’

“That’d be lovely.” ‘Or, how about NO, you can’t come along. How about, if you come along I’m gonna be wankin’ off all night to the mental image of you sliding down those pants just a little more and lettin’ me get a taste of ya.’

William watched her all night. He tried not to be obvious, and for the most part succeeded. She watched him, a little less than subtly. But that’s probably just because her body was giving off signals that she was unaware of. ‘Girl likes. Girl definitely likes. I can tell by the way her heart skips just a bit when I dart out my tongue to my top lip after a good tussle. And the soddin’ smell of her. She definitely likes. And I like. And that’s just not going to work at all.’

“So, looks like we’ve had a good body count. All a bloke can hope for. Think I’m gonna call it a night.”

Buffy looked disappointed. “Oh, ok. Yeah, probably not many left anyway. Gotta save some to catch for tomorrow night, right?”

“Yeah, there will always be more.”

“So, um.....maybe we can hook up again tomorrow. I think this tag-team slaying works pretty well. That is, unless you prefer to work alone. You gotta forgive my forwardness, I’ve just never come across someone relatively normal that I could do this with. I mean, my friends, but I was always worried they’d get killed......”

‘No, I work better alone. No, if we split up, we can cover more ground. No, I can’t be near you when you grunt and sweat and fight, because I’m afraid I’ll come in my pants.’ “I’d love t’ meet up tomorrow. Say, 10 at the gates of Landonview?” ‘WHAT?!?! Now you’re making plans? Do you want to internally combust???’

“Sounds great! I’ll be there with bells on. Except, not really, because bells, noisy.” ‘Ok, stop babbling, you got a date. NO, no a date. A set time to take a walk together at night where you probably will end up killing things. Definitely not a date.’

“Looking forward to it.” He turned go, pulling out some cigarettes from his pocket and lighting one up as he went.

Buffy frowned. ‘Well, not perfect. Shouldn’t have expected perfect. But still.....as damn close as I’ve gotten in a while. And how does he make something so nasty look so hot?’

She went home feeling like a little girl at the circus who just found out she was going to Disneyland the next day.

And so they met the next night. And the next. And every night for the following two weeks. Each patrol they got more and more comfortable with each other’s style, learning to anticipate and expect the other’s movements. It didn’t take long before they were a fluid team. And as often as William told himself it was a bad idea, he found himself waiting for her every night at 10pm. And as often as she told herself not to get her hopes up, Buffy found herself getting first date butterflies every night around 8pm.

But one night was different. Around 9pm, Dawn called to Buffy, “Hey, Buffy, don’t forget Angel is coming into town tonight. You want me to put out the sheets for the couch?”

Buffy ran out of the bathroom with her toothbrush in her mouth. “Oh shit! I completely forgot. I’m supposed to meet William tonight.”

Dawn smirked. “When aren’t you supposed to meet William?”

“When is he supposed to get here?” Buffy whined.

“God, he’s your ex, not mine. Maybe you could keep track of this stuff. And 10pm, by the way.”

Buffy shook her head. “No good. I meet William at 10. Gonna be late at it is. Look, when Angel gets here, just tell him I’m sorry that I couldn’t wait for him, and I’ll try to cut patrolling short tonight.”

“Whatever.” Dawn rolled her eyes. “You haven’t had a short patrol in weeks. As a matter of fact, they seem to get longer and longer. And we still haven’t met this guy, ya know.”

“Look, we’re just patrolling buddies at this point. If anything more happens, you guys will be the first to know, ok?”

“Hey! Was getting worried some baddy tagged you on the way over here.”

“Sorry, I had to stay late at work. Barely had time to shower and dry my hair.”

William smiled. “Not a problem, luv.”

As they started to walk further into the cemetery, Buffy heard someone calling after her. She turned to see Angel jogging toward the pair. A hint of panic hit her, but she quickly hid it and waved at him. “Angel! What are you doing here?”

He slowed as he approached them. “Well, Dawn said you were patrolling. Said I could find you here and-“He stopped abruptly, noticing the man she was with. “Spike?”

William had been trying to casually hide his face ever since he saw Angel coming toward them.

Buffy frowned. “Um, Angel, this is William.”

“William.” Angel shook his head and looked at Buffy. “You ever going to start hanging out with guys who are actually alive?”

Buffy half grinned as though he were joking, but then looked at William, who was now glaring at Angel with a clenched jaw. “You’re.....you’re not.....you’re a vampire?”

William didn’t answer, he just directed his gaze to the ground.

“But.....but you said.....and I thought.....God, you lied to me? All this time, you’ve been lying to me?”

William spoke quietly. “Never lied to you.”

“Ha! And how come I couldn’t tell? I’m the Slayer, that’s my job.”

Angel chuckled. “Well, you certainly didn’t seem to know I was a vampire before we were dating.”

At that, William’s eyes shot up to Angel. ‘Dating. Buffy dated this pillock?’

Angel shook his head. “Spike, old boy, what the hell are you doing here?”

“None of your bleedin’ business,” William grated out, again looking anywhere but at Angel.

“Wait, Spike? I thought you said your name was William.” Buffy was confused.

“Well, back in his bad old days, he preferred Spike. But now that he’s got a soul, I guess he’s back to William.”

William glared up at Angel again. “How did you.....” Then he just shook his head.

Buffy looked at William. “Ok, hold on. First of all, you’re a vampire. Not only that, a vampire with a soul. Any other secrets I should know about?”

“Oh, you might want to look up his history with Slayers. You can find him under ‘Spike’ or ‘William the Bloody.’ He’s sure to be in the Watcher’s journals.” Angel seemed to be having a very good time with this.

William closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He turned to Buffy and said quietly. “Look, I’m sorry. I just thought if you knew what I was, you’d.....I don’t know, run me out of town. Didn’t know you had ‘experience’ with vamps with souls.” He threw a disgusted look towards Angel. When he looked back at Buffy, his eyes softened. “Just wanted to help out. Do some good.”

Buffy looked at him blankly and shook her head. “I don’t think I want to patrol tonight. I’m going home.”

William stepped back and let her leave. As she passed Angel to head to the exit, Angel walked up to William. “You touch her, you’ll regret it.”

William looked indignant at Angel. “I’ve got a soul now, you bloody idiot. I don’t hurt people anymore.”

Angel shook his head. “That’s not the kind of touching I meant.” With that, he turned to join Buffy.

William sighed. “Don’t do that anymore, either,” he said to himself.

---

“Buffy,” Angel implored.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Angel. Just.....let it go.” Buffy stomped up to her front door.

“You like him, don’t you?”

Buffy stopped and turned to him. “What part of ‘don’t want to talk about it’ is so confusing?” She unlocked the door and stormed in, leaving it open for Angel.

“Buffy! You’re home early,” Dawn chimed from the living room. Upon seeing her sister’s expression, Dawn’s immediately went grave. “What happened?”

“Nothing. And I don’t want to talk about it.” Buffy threw herself onto the couch.

Dawn frowned. “Ooookay.” She looked up at Angel as he entered the room. “What did you do? She was fine before you went looking for her.”

Angel put up his hand defensively. “I didn’t do anything.” He couldn’t help a little smile escaping. “I just.....informed your sister that her new boyfriend was a vampire. That’s all.”

Buffy glared up at him. “He’s not my boyfriend. And you’re just loving this, aren’t you?”

Angel shrugged. “C’mon. It’s kind of funny, right? I mean, you’re the Slayer and you keep being attracted to vampires.” When neither of the girls softened their gazes toward him, he just said, “Or not so funny.....”

“Alright, you obviously know him. Tell me what you know,” Buffy said as Angel sat in a chair across from her.

Angel sighed. “What’s to know? Doesn’t matter, does it? I can have him out of town tonight, if you want.”

“Oh, you have that ‘power’, do you?” Buffy scoffed.

“Spike and I.....we go way back.”

“So tell me about him.”

“He’s not anything you need to worry about. Only been trouble as long as I’ve known him.”

“Yeah, but you said yourself he’s got a soul now. How much trouble can he be?”

“Plenty. Look, just forget about him.”

Buffy scowled at Angel. Then she turned to Dawn. “I’m going to bed. Don’t stay up too late.”

“But I just got here. Thought we could talk or something,” Angel said.

Buffy shrugged. “We’ll talk tomorrow. Not in the mood.” She left Dawn and Angel sitting in uncomfortable silence as she made her way upstairs.

Dawn spoke first. “William’s a vampire?” Angel nodded. “But he’s got a soul, right?”

“Seems that way, yeah.”

“So what’s the big?”

Angel frowned. “The ‘big’, Dawn, is that your sister needs to not be dating vampires. Even ones with souls. She needs to find a normal guy.”

Dawn snorted. “Like Riley? He was about as normal as you’ll find on the Hellmouth, and look how that ended up.”

“Look, you’re young. You don’t understand that it takes time for people to find the right fit. Sometime it takes a few tries. I’m sure there’s someone out there for Buffy. Someone normal, alive, who can make her happy.”

“You wish it was you, don’t you?”

Angel shrugged. “It can’t be me. Not right now anyway. And I’m not going to be so selfish as to ask her to wait.”

“Wait for what?” Dawn asked.

Angel shook his head. “Nothing. Just.....who knows what can happen. It’s not fair to her to think that I can get my curse lifted or that I can.....that any thing else can happen that would let us be together. And a big part of me knows that even without the curse, I wouldn’t be good for her.”

Dawn nodded. “Wow, this is the most I’ve ever heard you talk. Frankly, it’s worn me out. I’m going to bed too.” She headed toward the stairs.

Angel gave her a half smile. “Night, Dawn.”

“Night, Angel.” Dawn turned to him. “I know you’re looking out for her, but I think she’s gonna take this one hard. So maybe try not to make so much with the jokes at this guy’s expense. I think she liked him.”

Angel nodded. When he heard Dawn’s bedroom door close, he slipped out the front door, closing it quietly behind him.

“Spike. Let’s you and me have a talk.”

William turned to see Angel walking toward him. He shook his head. “Bugger. What do you want, Angelus?”

“I think we should get a few things straight.”

William put up his hands. “Hey, the Slayer’s yours. I got that. Don’t need that trouble anyway. Much as I hate to say it, you coming ‘round here tonight’s the best bloody thing to happen in a while.”

Angel stopped a few feet in front of him. “She’s not mine. Not anymore. But she sure as hell won’t be yours.”

“Don’t want her. Thought I made that clear.”

‘Yeah, well.....Buffy.....she has a way of making guys who don’t want her, want her.”

William nodded. “I could see how that might happen.....to someone else. Me, I want nothin’ to do with her.”

“Well, now that we have that cleared up, let’s talk about that soul of yours.”

“Not in the mood, but thanks for the interest.” William turned to walk away.

Angel was in front of him in a flash. “Wasn’t a request, boy. Let’s talk.”

William rolled his eyes. “What do you care, anyway?”

Angel shrugged. “Call it curiosity. I wanna know what’s happening with the ‘family.’”

William laughed. “Oh, the ‘family.’ Right. Since when have you cared about the ‘family’, Angelus? Certainly not since you got your soul.”

“Yeah, well, I care now. What happened to Dru?”

William shook his head. “This isn’t any of your concern. Now, if you don’t mind, this city is short a Slayer tonight. Gotta go fill in the gap.”

“Look, you can patrol, fine. But I’m just gonna follow you around and bug you until you tell me.”

“Well, maybe I’ll snap your neck before you get a chance. Sod. Off.”

Angel laughed. “You can try. And we can fight. And we can let all the bad guys win tonight because you didn’t want to dish a little gossip with me. Or, I’ll help you patrol and we can talk. C’mon, Spike. For old time’s sake. We’ve both got souls now. Looks like we’re on the same side. At least in the big, cosmic, good versus evil way.”

“Fine! Will you just stop blathering on?”

“Absolutely. But you better start blathering, then.”

“Fine, what do you want to know?”

“Drusilla.”

William nodded and started to walk deeper into the cemetery. Angel followed beside him. “Thing is, there’s a story before hers.”

One hour later, Willy's Bar...

Angel frowned. “Wow. I mean, I’d heard rumors that you’d gotten your soul, but man..... So, let me get this straight. You were in D.C. when the government grabbed you. Stuck a chip in your head that didn’t let you hurt humans. You escape, Drusilla brings you dead bodies to feed on, but you miss the hunt. You get depressed, Dru sees your heart just isn’t in it anymore, and leaves you for a.....Fungus demon?”

William shook his head and slammed back the shot of bourbon he had been holding. “Chaos demon. The second time she left me was the Fungus demon.”

Angel took a pull on his beer. “Right, sorry. Chaos demon. So she leaves you for a Chaos demon. You get even more depressed. Then you decide to try and be a badass again and go find her. Tie her up, torture her, get back together, which lasts how long again?”

“A month.” William signaled the bartender for another bottle.

“Ok, so that lasts a month. Then, she freaks out with one of her visions and says you’re going to betray her. Says you’re going to give up everything she gave you, right?” William nodded. “So she leaves you again. This time the Fungus demon. And this time you’re completely shattered. Totally depressed, irrecoverably-“

“Yeah, yeah, pit of despair and all that rot.”

“So, you’re in this pit of despair, and you decide to get a soul? I think I missed my connection somewhere around Tijuana, because that just doesn’t make sense.”

“Well, it didn’t just happen like that, did it? Spent a good year in that.....pit. Waited for Dru to come back to me, but she never did. Got my blood from a butcher shop, which, I gotta say, didn’t help my mood. Saw all these tasty little humans running around, with their blood pumping so loud I could hear it and almost taste it. But not a drop for Spike, no sir. Couldn’t even get a taste. I even hung out in bad areas waiting for people to get murdered. Fed on them sometimes, but what’s the fun in that? I mean, way I figured, if they’re not screaming and wriggling and making that blood pump into your mouth, what good is it bein’ a vampire?” William opened the new bottle the bartender brought and took a long drink. He offered it to Angel, who waved it off.

Angel nodded wistfully. “Yeah.....blood from a cup sucks.....” He frowned. “Not that I want to feed off humans, but.....”

“Hey, exactly my point. I couldn’t feed off humans, so I decided to try and find something that would take away the urge.”

“Urge is always there,” Angel mused as he finished off his beer and opened his next.

“Too right,” William nodded. “Anyway, I thought I could. Thought I could find a spell or a charm or something that would make the urge go away. God knows I tried everything that first year to get the chip out. Or deactivated. You’d think with all the soddin’ magic in the world, something would have been able to fix me. But, well, nothing I ever found, at any rate. So I go to this shaman fella and tell him my problem. He says, the only way he can fix me is to give me a soul. And of course, I tell him to sod off. I didn’t have any use for a soul. But then he shows me this.....vision. Vision of what I’ll be like if I stayed on the course I was on. Hidin’ from humans instead of hunting them. Lurking to feed off corpses. Nothin’ I hadn’t been doin’ already, I tell him. But then he shows how in a few years I’d be crazy. More bug-shaggin’ than Dru, if that’s possible. And part of me thinks, that’s not so bad. I sometimes admired Dru’s oblivion. But I knew deep down I didn’t want that. Pathetic excuse for a vampire. So I’m considerin’ just stakin’ myself right there and bein’ done with it all. But then he touches my chest and I get this other vision. And a feeling.....It’s me fightin’ some demon off of a little kid. Demon dies, little kid lives. And.....the feeling.....seein’ that kid look at me with gratitude and joy ‘stead of fear and loathing.....I’d never felt anything so good. So I decided then and there it’s what I wanted. Even though the demon in me was screamin’ against it, it’s what I did.” William paused for a moment, his face darkening. “Wasn’t really prepared, though.”

Angel shook his head. “I’d imagine not. So, this was how long ago?”

“A year, give or take.”

“Still hard, isn’t it?”

William looked into his empty shot glass. “Yeah,” he said quietly.

Angel nodded. “Look, I should be getting back. You ok to get home?”

“I live upstairs. Think I can find it.”

Angel chuckled as he stood and put on his coat. “Not so sure, you never could hold your liquor.”

William stood and cocked an eyebrow. “Sorry, you had about a hundred years on me, mate.”

Angel turned to go, but when he reached the door he stopped. He turned back to William.

“It’s good. Good that you’re on our side now. You’re a good fighter.”

William shrugged and looked at the ground. “Had a good teacher. Till he went all pansy-assed and got a soul.”

Angel laughed as he turned to the door again. “Yeah, gotta watch out for those pansy-asses with souls.”

William picked up his coat and threw it over his arm. “Willy? What’s the damage?”

“Oh, come on, man. You know it’s on the house.” Willy said with a smile.

William shrugged as he headed out the door. “I may be drunk, but I’m not stupid.” Once he was outside, he made his way to the outer stairs and up to his apartment. He fell asleep on his bed wondering if he would remember the heart to heart he’d just had with his grandsire, and desperately hoping he wouldn’t.

TBC! R&R please!

Buffy bounded down the stairs with a too happy smile on her face.

Angel scowled from the couch. "What're you so happy about?"

Buffy sat down next to him and scrunched up her nose at him. "Happy that I didn't have whatever it was that you had to drink last night."

Angel ran his hands over his face, through his hair. "Well, you'd turned in for the night. And I had some business to see to."

Buffy shrugged. "Whatever. I'm not your mom." She bounced up off the couch. "Want some breakfast? Dawn'll be up soon, so you should get some while you can. She's a pig!" She took off into the kitchen.

Angel followed her, slowly. "Just coffee for me, if you've got it."

"Sure," Buffy chirped. She hummed some mindless tune while she made the coffee.

"Ok, what's going on? Last night you were so mad you couldn't see straight, now you're Mary Sunshine."

Buffy shrugged again, not looking at him. "Nothing's going on. Just decided that that stuff isn't something to get upset over. Wasn't dating the guy. Hardly knew him. No big."

"Yeah, right. Look, he should have told you, plain and simple."

"No, I should have known. I'm the Slayer. It's just that he's so....." Buffy shook her head.

"Human?" Angel finished.

"I guess. I mean, he just seemed so normal. Aside from the whole demon-fighty thing, but hey, in my world that is normal. And it was nice to have someone to talk to. Well, that's when I thought he was more like me than like you."

Angel frowned. "You don't feel you can talk to me?"

Buffy sighed. "It's not like that. But he was.....or I thought he was a human guy who got saddled with these powers and this duty. Like me. Didn't know he was a vamp seeking redemption. Or whatever he's doing. See? I don't even know why he's fighting. And I don't care. He's a non-issue. Maybe he'll just scamper off to wherever he came from and everything will go back to normal."

"He's a good fighter, ya know. You can never have too many of those on the Hellmouth," Angel said nonchalantly.

Buffy looked at him like he'd grown a third eye. "What?! Weren't you the one warning him away, telling me what a baddie he was? Now you're singing his praises and saying he should stick around?"

Angel bristled. "Not exactly singing his praises....." he mumbled.

"Oh, I get it. Maybe this is some kind of 'vamp with souls' club. And you're secretly sworn to promote the causes of all other vamps with souls. I get it, makes sense. Or is it just a support group? 'Hi, I'm Angel and I have a soul. I've been souled for 100 years, see my pin? I did have a relapse a few years ago, but I'm all better now.'"

Angel shook his head. "Look, all I'm saying is I may have been a little rash. It's been known to happen. Spike and I didn't have the friendliest history. But we had a little discussion last night. We sort of.....hashed things out, so to speak. I think he deserves a chance. A chance at redemption and to fight the good fight, not a chance with you, that is."

Buffy scowled. "You don't think anyone deserves a chance with me."

"Not true. But I'm still holding out hope you'll find a normal guy."

"Riley was normal....." Buffy arched her eyebrows at Angel, daring him to argue.

"Riley was....." Angel looked at his watch. "Oh, gee, aren't you going to be late for work?"

"Uh huh," Buffy smirked at him. "You do know that normal doesn't exist, right? Or at least because everyone is so dysfunctional nowadays that normal is actually not the norm. So abnormality is normal and normality is abnormal."

Angel winced. "Just.....not a vampire, ok?"

"Can't seem to attract anything else lately....." Buffy mumbled. "I'm working a double. You gonna be gone when I get back?"

Angel nodded. "Yeah, sorry I couldn't spare more time, but this demon informant up in San Francisco has to shove off to his dimension again soon."

"Anything juicy?"

Angel shrugged. "Possible apocalypse. But what's new?"

Buffy nodded. "Such is life. Our life, anyway." Buffy gave Angel a hug and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for stopping by. And tell Dawnie I left her a note on the fridge, if she ever comes down. I forgot it's Saturday, so you may not see her at all. Oh, and I think Tara and Willow were taking a shower, so they should be down soon if you want them to make you breakfast. They'd be happy to do it."

Angel smiled. "I'll be fine with coffee."

"Bye, Angel. Be careful," Buffy said as she headed out the door.

"You too," Angel said after she'd gone.

It was 10:30pm and William was still waiting at the gates of Landonview. 'Like a git,' he chided himself. 'She's not comin', and it's all the better for that fact. She's probably shaggin' Angel right now. Yeah, big problem with vamps 'n souls, she's got.' He resigned himself to the fact that he was patrolling on his own. But the next night, and the night after that, he found himself dawdling around Landonview around 10pm. 'Just happen to hit this cemetery at the same time every night,' he reasoned with himself. 'Got nothin' to do with the bird who's haunting my every waking and sleeping thought.'

"Um, Buff? It's been a few days.....and well, you kinda are the Slayer. Aren't you going to patrol?" Willow asked nervously.

"She's trying to avoid William," Dawn chimed in. "Just because he's a vampire, she doesn't want to like him. I mean, it's not like she doesn't have experience with dating vampires, and it's not like she's not close, personal friends with a vampire who visits her sometimes. But no, this vampire, who also has a soul, is just bad news."

Buffy scowled at Dawn. She then turned to Willow. "No, I just figured, he's out there patrolling, so I get a well-earned break. I think at least a week of non-slaying will do wonders for me."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Or you could just go jump William's undead bones and that would probably do wonders for you too. I know it would make all of us feel better."

"Dawnie!" Willow cried. "Buffy's right not to want to.....do what you said. And I think it's smart not to get involved with another vampire, because, hey, demons. But, well.....I'm not sure that being avoidy is the right answer. Maybe you could just confront him and then you guys could be friends. And you could be slay-buddies again. Because, really.....you seemed pretty happy lately."

Buffy shrugged. "I'm sure I'll see him around. It's not a big deal. I just wanted to take a little break. Is that so terrible?"

"No, no, and I'm all for the not killing of things once in a while, but still.....you're being a little....."

"Don't you dare say avoidy, because I'm not. I'm just.....regrouping. And not over him, just over the whole slayer gig. It gets a little wearing sometimes."

"Yeah, you looked really worn out when you'd practically knock me down trying to get out the door so you could be on time for your slay-dates." Dawn scoffed.

"Dawn, isn't it your bedtime? School tomorrow?" Buffy quirked an eyebrow at her sister.

Dawn sighed. "Fine. I'm just saying.....you were pretty much happier than you've been since......since you came back. Before, even. It was nice. And if it's a nice guy that makes you feel that way, I don't care if he's a vampire or a Klynk'r demon or a soldier.....just so long as you’re happy."

Buffy stood and gave Dawn a hug. "I know, Dawnie. And I appreciate what you're saying. But Buffy Summers doesn't need a man to make her happy!" She tried to get a smile out of Dawn. "It just takes time, ya know? Everything'll be fine, I promise."

Dawn nodded. "I think you're right about one thing. You don't need a man to make you happy. But maybe a vampire......"

"Dawn," Buffy mock warned.

"Ok, ok, going to bed now."

A week had gone by and William was getting severely disgusted with himself. Tonight was the last night, he had determined. He wasn't going to wait one minute past 10:15 for her. 10:20 if he decided to have a smoke. At 10:37 he had smoked his last cigarette and headed into the heart of the cemetery, desperately wanting to kill something.

Her voice stilled him. "William the Bloody. Also known as Spike, due to his penchant for driving railroad spikes into his victims. Fought and killed two Slayers, one in China during the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 and one in New York in 1977. William is reportedly very boastful of his conquests, and has a reputation for seeking out Slayers whenever he is able."

William did not turn to her, only hung his head. "Did your research, I see."

"Watcher's diaries. Usually pretty reliable."

"Oh. I assume Angel filled in the blanks for you."

"No, he.....didn't say much about you. Of course, he doesn't have any place to talk when it comes to this stuff, does he?"

"Not really, no." Finally, William turned to her. "Look, I'm pretty sure an apology would fall on deaf ears right now, so I really don't know what to say."

Buffy frowned as she moved closer to him. She held up the book she'd been reading from. "You think you can just apologize this stuff away?"

William looked strangely at her. "What? That? No! Not apologizing for that. Can't ever....." He shook his head. "I mean to apologize for not telling you what I was. For making you think I was a.....person. Wasn't a conscious thing I did, not at first. It's just that.....you looked at me like I was a person. Just a guy who had a strange job like you. And I guess I just didn't want that to go away. But I'm sorry all the same. Wasn't right, fooling you like that. But I'd be lying if I said I wanted to tell you the truth, because I never did. Never wanted you to know what I was. What I am." He looked at the ground. "That book, what it says about me, it's all true, minus some of the gory details. And I understand if you don't want anything to do with me, but I can fight. And I want to fight. And I know this is your town, so if you tell me to go, there's not much I can do about it. But I'd like to stay and help, if you'll let me. I mean, maybe we can take turns, or you can just have a few days off sometimes. But.....I'd really like to stay. It's up to you, but really.....I've got nothing better to do. Nowhere else I need to be." William's eyes pleaded with Buffy.

She had to look away before she caved too easily. "Look, if you want to stay, that's fine. And it would be nice to have days off sometimes." William's face fell slightly at this. "But if you want to patrol with me, I have one rule: no more lies. I'm not saying you have to tell me everything about yourself, but what you do tell me better be true. And none of this half-true stuff. No more misleading or shading.....just tell me the truth. And if it's none of my business, tell me so. I can be kind of nosy sometimes, I realize that. But really.....vampire? Kind of critical information for a vampire Slayer to have. And soul? Also a good thing to know about."

William was trying to hide his smile. Part of him was rejoicing, and part of him was fighting against it. This part knew that this girl was trouble. Knew that she would tear down everything he'd been delicately building over the past year. But the happy part could care less, because she was letting him patrol with her again. Her finger poking him in the chest shook him out of his thoughts. "Huh?"

"I was going over my other two rules," Buffy scowled.

William frowned. "I thought there was only one rule."

"Well now there are three. And I reserve the right to add more as I see fit."

William grinned. "Ok."

"Anyway, the other two rules are, obviously, no biting, which I think is a given, but then again I thought it was a given that you were just a regular guy, so I'm not leaving anything to chance now. And the other rule is no smoking around me."

"Aw, c'mon, luv. Gotta have a smoke after a fierce battle."

"Then you can patrol alone." She looked at him challengingly.

William sighed and popped his neck. 'Yes, good! Patrol alone! Tell her to sod off!' "Fine. No smoking."

Buffy smiled, satisfied. "Good. Now, give me the update on what's been going on this week. Lotsa baddies? Little baddies? I want the scoop." William smiled and nodded as Buffy began walking into the cemetery beside him.

TBC

The next few weeks flew by for Buffy and William. They were getting closer, despite both of their attempts to keep some distance. They both knew that being anything but friends would be a mistake, but neither could deny there was an intimate attraction. Neither voiced these ideas, but each wondered if the other thought them as well.

They were both deep into playing it cool and nonchalant. They didn't dig into the other's past or private life too much. They accepted what was volunteered, but never pried. Buffy, especially, could tell that William's past was something he wasn't really excited to talk about. She would lob little questions at him, small probes to feel him out a bit. Just enough to get a sense of him, but never too much to be nosy. For his part, William would casually open up topics that he knew would lead to Buffy talking about herself. He consumed each tidbit of information and filed it away in his head. After their patrols, he would try to mentally construct her in his head, putting all the things he learned in place with the things he knew from previous conversations. He was wholly impressed with the woman that was being created in his mind.

At least once a week, sometimes more, William offered to patrol alone. Though she rarely accepted, Buffy appreciated the mini-breaks when she did indulge. She knew that William preferred to patrol with her, mostly because when she offered to give him a day off, he refused. One afternoon she decided she needed to show her appreciation, show her thanks in some way.

"What about a nice gift basket? Ya know, some little cheeses, crackers, and a couple bottles of blood?" Dawn offered helpfully.

Buffy rolled her eyes, but kept it for consideration nonetheless. She was really stumped as to what she could do for him. For all the things she was slowly learning about him, he was still hard to gauge when it came to these things.

"Oh!" Willow jumped up from the couch. "You could invite him over for dinner. You know, with all of us, not a ' you and him alone' kind of dinner."

Dawn's eyes got wide. "Yeah! And then we could finally meet the mysterious guy that you spend more time with than your own family."

Buffy frowned. "That's not true, Dawnie. I only spend a few hours a night with him. And it's not even 'with him'. It's patrolling."

Tara smiled. "Well, I may be the only one that noticed, but your patrols have gotten longer and longer since William's been around."

Willow nodded. "Yeah, they used to be, like, two hours, tops. Now two hours is a short patrol....."

Dawn chimed in, "You gotta admit, with two people patrolling, it would seem like it would only take half the time, not double.....but strange phenomena abound on the Hellmouth."

"Ok, guys, I got it. I spend a lot of time.....patrolling." Buffy shook her head.

Dawn sighed. "No, you don't get it. We don't care how much time you spend patrolling. We just think it's about time we meet this guy that you're patrolling with."

Buffy looked over at Willow and Tara, their nods confirming Dawn's assertion. "Ok.....maybe tonight I'll see if he'd be interested in coming over for dinner before patrol sometime. But no promises. He's kind of a shy guy, I'm not sure he'll be psyched to meet the Scooby gang."

"Oh! That reminds me, we should invite Xander and Anya. I know they'll want to meet him," Willow said.

"Sure, cuz Xander was so excited to find out there was another souled vampire in my life," Buffy scoffed.

"Hey, give him a little credit. He took it better than we thought he would. He didn't say anything bad about him," Dawn offered.

Buffy quirked her eyebrow. "No, but that little vein that nearly burst in his forehead spoke volumes. I'm just glad Giles is back in England. He would have a coronary."

"You're going to keep this from Giles?" Tara asked.

"What's there to keep? I just have a patrolling buddy. And if Giles cared that much about my day to day Slayer activities, he'd be here, wouldn't he?" Buffy left abruptly and went into the kitchen.

Dawn shook her head. "Oook, a little latent Giles hating going on."

Willow frowned. "Less latent, more blatant. I thought everything was cool with her and Giles."

Tara patted Willow's shoulder. "I think she's still sore that he left again for England so soon after we brought her back."

"Yeah, but it's only for a few months, so he can get some things squared away with the Council. I mean, hello, Slayer no longer dead......kind of created a ruckus with the Watchers," Willow defended.

"I know. And so does she. But it still hurts her, I think. It's kind of been a rough time for her, and then the only parent figure she has left leaves her. Even if it is temporary, she still needs him around," Tara reasoned.

Buffy came back in the room and grabbed her keys off the table. "Ok, I'm off. Don't wait up."

"I never do," Dawn offered. "I'm always afraid I'll end up hearing growly vampire sex coming from your bedroom, and I think that would just traumatize me for life," she teased.

"Ok, no more HBO for you, young lady," Buffy said in her most stern 'mother' voice as she closed the door behind her. As she walked to the cemetery, her mind couldn't help but wander. 'Hmm.....growly vampire sex......not entirely an unappealing idea......NO! No more vampire sex. Vampire sex is bad. Oh, who am I kidding, it's the best sex ever. But, no.....bad, very bad. Especially bad with William.....and those tight muscles that ripple in his back when he tosses off his duster for a big fight. And his completely biteable ass. And those chest muscles that I got up close and personal with when that Groxlar threw me into William. And it would be bad to run my fingers through his unruly curls, but, God, they look soft. And I bet he clenches his jaw when he's thrusting, just like he does when he's fighting. And it would be bad if I licked his cheekbones, because I'd probably cut myself they're so sharp. Then there would be blood in my mouth and he's a vampire and he wouldn't be able to help himself. He'd grab me and lick the blood off my tongue. And he's a guy, so he couldn't help himself but to kiss me then. And it would be rude and bad of me not to return it. So then we'd be kissing, and then I could touch his soft hair......grab his tight my hands up and down his chest and back......'

"Hello, luv."

His presence startled her, and she wondered for a moment how she had gotten to the cemetery so quickly. She shook her head. 'Definitely bad......' "Hey.....ready?"

"Always," he smiled as he stomped out his cigarette. He had kept true to his word and didn't smoke while she was around. But there was no way he could go without a smoke before. Just knowing she'd be around was enough to make butterflies that he thought had died with his human self resurface. So, he smoked like a fiend before and after patrol, but never during. No matter how fierce a fight had been and especially no matter how hot Buffy made him. He was learning to find other ways of calming himself around her, though few with much success.

"1907," Buffy said, taking him a bit off-guard.

"Huh? Oh.....uh.....1907......1907.....Spain."

"1883."

"1883......we were.......wait, I know this......1883, not long after I got turned, um......" William stopped walking and closed his eyes in thought.

"Time's up! Awwww......I win......Ok.....What was your favorite food when you were alive?"

William frowned. "Hey, I contest. Not fair, I'm an old man, you can't possibly expect me to remember where I was in 1883."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "But I bet you remember your favorite food from way before that."

William sighed and shook his head. He couldn't help smiling a bit at her. "My mum made a brilliant Shepherd's pie. That'd probably be my favorite, if I had to pick."

Buffy nodded as they continued further into the cemetery. "Shepherd's pie. Isn't that like stew or something?"

William smiled, watching her out of the corner of his eye. "Yeah, something like that. Ok, Rozerab-morgel."

"Ha, too easy. Green, thick skinned demon that comes from......some other dimension. Spits mild acid that, while not too harmful to skin, is hell on cashmere."

William cocked his eyebrow and chuckled. "Ok......Orflong."

"Orflong......oh yeah, they.....oh, hold on," Buffy gestured behind William. As he turned to look, she was already past him, her stake ready. She dusted the fledgling quickly and turned back to William. "Anyway, Orflong's are--"

"--Oh, I'm sorry. Time's up," William tsked as he looked at his watch.

"Hey! No fair. I had a time out for killing a vamp. You can't count that."

William frowned in thought. "Actually, you said ‘hold on’, you didn't call a time out, so I can't in good conscience count it as a time out. Sorry, luv. Rules are rules. Anyway.....Ok, when you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?"

Buffy pouted. "I don't remember."

"Sure ya do."

She sighed. "Fine.....I wanted to be a figure skater," she mumbled.

William frowned. "What? Sorry, didn't catch that last bit."

Buffy scowled. "If there's one thing I know about vamps, it's that you have that stupid hyper-sensitive hearing. You know good and well what I said and I'm not saying it again."

William chuckled. "Fair enough, pet. Um, Balcam demon."

"Hey! It's my turn. You get two, now I get two."

William shook his head and pointed behind Buffy. "No, luv. No games. Balcam demon behind you. Make that, family of."

Buffy whipped around to see four very large, and for the most part unhappy, sharp and pointy demons heading in their direction. She looked over at William and shrugged. "You want the two on the right?"

William nodded, never taking his eyes off the group. "Sounds good."

"Um, by the way, if this were a question, I would miss it," Buffy admitted sheepishly.

William sighed. "Not from around here, their spikes are razor sharp and they have retractable spines that shoot out of their elbows. And they always attack in twos."

Buffy nodded. "Spikes, sharp, spines.....got it."

It was a pretty harsh battle, and in the middle of it William was sure he would need a smoke soon after. He was able to keep both of his demons on the defensive for the most part, using their lack of speed and tendency to lumber against them. He got nicked a few times with the spikes, but avoided any serious injury. He took a moment to check on Buffy after he had snapped the smaller demon's neck. He scanned the area, getting sight of her just as one of her demons rammed its elbow spine into her back. William and Buffy cried out simultaneously, and William's remaining demon attacked at just the wrong time, resulting in his head being torn off. William still carried the head in his hands when he reached Buffy. William shoved the demons off her with more force than he thought he possessed. He then vamped out and when the two remaining demons saw this, along with their comrade's head in his hands, they made a hasty retreat. William thought about giving chase, but instead punted the head in the direction of the fleeing demons.

He dropped to his knees beside Buffy, almost frozen with fear. He shook it off and gently rolled her onto her back. Her shirt was drenched in blood, front and back. He noticed that the demon had gotten her through the shoulder, so he hoped there wasn't much damage. But apparently there was enough blood loss and pain for Buffy to be out cold. William picked her up, unsure of what he should do. He wondered briefly if he should take her to the hospital. He dismissed that thought, knowing full well that her injuries would raise too many questions at a hospital. He also hoped that her Slayer healing would make further treatment unnecessary. But one thing was for sure, he couldn't stay out too long with her. The blood she'd lost would already be attracting vamps near and far. Nothing had a pull like Slayer blood.