Title:    Not Your Ordinary Walk in the Park
Author:   Sandy <sp23twop@yahoo.com>
Pairing:  Spike/Buffy
Rating:   NC-17
Time Frame: Season 4 post "A New Man", but I'm taking a whole lot of
liberties from that point on.
A/N: A scene in Chapter 12 is taken verbatim from the episode "New
Moon Rising" written by Marti Noxon, thanks to my handy S4 DVDs.
I've also incorporated bits of "The Yoko Factor" and "Primeval"
Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer.  Not mine, though I wish I owned
Spike.  Not making any money.  I write because I love.
Summary:  After Buffy enlists Spike's help in fighting a strange
demon, it sends them to another dimension.  There, Buffy discovers to
her distress that she must rely upon Spike for her very survival. And
then things get really interesting.

Many, many thanks to my wonderful beta, Avidrosette.  This story
started out in my mind as a PWP, but as I started writing, it grew.
It wasn't until I sent to Avidrosette that it became much more than I
ever anticipated.  Her comments and suggestions run throughout the
story.

Chapter 1

It all started because Buffy decided to make a sweep through
Sunnydale City Park before heading back to the dorm and getting in a
little study time.  Just a nice little walk in the park to round out
patrol.  She'd dust whatever vamps were hanging about waiting for
necking teenagers to show up, and then call it a day.  So when Buffy
saw the oddly dressed little demon making its way across the
playground, she was less than happy.  Still, it wasn't very big so
killing it should have been easy enough.

Things didn't quite work out that way.

Two hours earlier.

"You sure you can't make it to Xander's after patrol tonight?" Willow
asked as the two girls strolled down the sidewalk from their
dorm.  "There'll be Jackie Chan, free pizza, and quality Xander time."

"And Anya," Buffy added dryly.  The two girls exchanged a look of
mutual commiseration.  "I wish I could, Willow, but I really need to
start studying for that lit exam, and with Riley and the rest of the
Initiative out on that military thingy, I might as well do it
tonight."

"I thought you were all tight with the Initiative now," Willow
said.  "How come you're not with them?"

"Riley said it was a regular Army thing," Buffy shrugged.  "So I'm
single Slayer tonight."

They reached the street and Willow stopped.  "Well, here's my stop,"
she said.  "Xander's supposed to pick me up."

"Tell Xander I said hi.  Maybe we can all go to The Bronze this
weekend."

"That'd be great," Willow said enthusiastically.  "Have fun
studying," she added with a grin.  Buffy made a face at her friend
and walked away to start her patrol.

Finishing a sweep of the last of Sunnydale's many cemeteries, Buffy
glanced at her watch and saw that she had time to make a quick patrol
through the park.  Tonight's patrol had been one of the more boring
ones.  She hadn't run into very many vampires, certainly none that
had given her any problems, and she was feeling impatient to finish
when she reached the playground in the center of the park.

And then she saw the demon.

***

The creature was about three feet tall and nearly as wide.  It had a
round toad-like face with bulging eyes and a wide thin-lipped mouth.
A long, hooded cloak of a grayish-green color almost the exact shade
of its skin was draped over its body.  It stood stolidly before the
Slayer, brushing off each punch, each kick, and each jab with the
ease of a mountain lion fending off the attack of a house cat.

One of Buffy's punches managed to get through the demon's defenses
and connect with its face.  It turned its head, absorbing the punch
with no visible effect, and then swept out its arm, knocking the
Slayer back fifteen feet.  She landed on her back with a loud grunt
and the clip that held her hair popped loose and fell to the ground.
She brushed her hair out of her face, flipped upright, and executed a
series of handsprings that ended with both feet kicking the demon in
the head.  She followed up her attack with a punch, a backhanded
slap, and then, twirling around, another kick.  Her sturdy half boots
landed solidly on the demon's head.

The demon barely reacted.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, Buffy renewed her attack, raining
blow after blow on the indifferent demon. Completely ignoring her,
the demon began moving forward in a queer not-quite hopping
movement.  Buffy stood in front of it, placed both hands on its
chest, and shoved.  The demon grabbed her by her upper arms and
hurled her out of its way.

She landed hard on her backside and silently cursed when she heard a
familiar chuckle.  She turned her head to see Spike leaning
nonchalantly against the swing set, cigarette hanging from his mouth,
thumbs hooked in the waistband of his jeans and a look of immense
enjoyment on his face.  She paused only long enough to glare at him
before returning to the fight.  She kicked out, landing a blow on the
demon's chest.  It stumbled back a step, but then continued its
forward progress.

"What the hell is this thing?" Buffy gritted out breathlessly as it
casually pushed its way past her.

"Damned if I know, Slayer.  Whatever it is, I hope it kills you."

Sweeping her jean-clad leg against its ankle, she attempted to trip
it.  "I thought you wanted to kill me yourself," she said as she
watched the demon easily hop over her leg.

"I do," Spike said.  "But I got this chip in my head, remember?  So
since I can't kill you myself, I'll just have to settle on watching
some other lucky bloke do the job."

Buffy stood still for a moment while she caught her breath.  Nothing
she'd done so far had made the least bit of difference, and she
didn't think her stake would be of much use either.

"I don't suppose you have anything sharp and pointy in that
disgusting coat of yours," she said, her eyes never leaving her
opponent.

"I might.  How much you willing to pay me for it?"

Buffy looked at him in amazement.  "You want me to pay to borrow a
weapon from you?"

Spike shrugged.  "Supply and demand, Slayer.  You want me to supply
you with a weapon, I demand to be paid."

She knew that she could just beat him up and take the weapon from
him, but she was getting tired from her mostly one-sided fight
against the toad demon and didn't feel like bothering.  "Ten bucks."

Spike just snorted.  "Try again."

Buffy watched the demon's slow progress across the playground.  Well,
if she had to pay, she was going to get her money's worth.  Turning
back to him she said, "Fifty dollars and you help me fight this
thing."

Spike raised his scarred eyebrow, considered for a moment, and then
nodded his head.  "Deal."

Moving forward rapidly, he handed Buffy a long, heavy knife with a
razor sharp blade as he passed her. Slipping into game face, he
stopped in front of the demon, his coat swinging dramatically around
him.

"That's far enough, Kermit," he said with a smirk.  "You're not
playing with little girls anymore.  The Big Bad's here, and I'm going
to..."

He never got any further than that in his speech.  The demon reached
forward, picked him up as easily as a child and threw him.  Right
into Buffy.  They tumbled to the ground, a mass of arms and legs
entangled together.  Buffy had part of Spike's coat under her pinning
him to her.

"Get off me, you oaf," Buffy snapped as she tried to push him away
from her. The demon temporarily forgotten, they worked at separating
themselves.  They'd almost succeeded when a blinding white light
enveloped them.  Shielding her eyes, Buffy just caught a glimpse of
the demon holding out its hand with a shaft of light pouring from it
before she felt a wave of dizziness overcome her. When her head
cleared, she and Spike were in the middle of a sunlit meadow
surrounded by a vast forest.

Spike rolled away from her with a yelp of distress, jumped up and
began beating at his arms and chest.  Buffy watched at first in
horror, and then with eyes widening in astonishment.  Spike stopped
slapping at himself and held his arms straight out in front of him,
staring at them with a frown creasing his forehead.

He looked up at the sun blazing high in the sky above them and then
down at his arms.  "How come I'm not burning up?" he asked in
confusion.

Buffy rose shakily to her feet.  Her fight must have worn her out
more than she'd realized, she thought as a wave of weakness washed
over her.  "Good question."  Her eyes swept across the meadow and
stopped at a low-growing shrub not far from where she stood.  Walking
over to it, she knelt down studying the plant closely.  Tiny odd-
looking flowers hung limply from thick thorny branches.

"You ever see a flower like this before?" she asked.  When she got no
response, she turned to look at Spike.  He was standing stock-still,
head thrown back, eyes closed, face tilted to the sun.  Something
about the pose, an almost innocent, child-like quality, brought a
tiny hitch to Buffy's breathing.  She quickly quashed the reaction
and snapped, "Spike!"

He lowered his head, opened his eyes, and frowned at her.  "What?
Can't you see I'm catching a few rays?"

"Yeah?  Well come over here and catch this," she said, pointing at
the bush.  "I'm no vegetarian, but I don't think I've ever seen a
flower like this before."

"Botanist."

"What?"

He walked over to stand next to her, pausing only long enough to pick
up the knife lying on the ground where they'd landed.  "*Botanist*,"
he repeated with a hint of scorn in his voice.  "Not vegetarian."

"Whatever," she said impatiently.  "Have you ever seen a flower like
this or not?"

Spike studied the plant.  Shrugging, he surveyed the surrounding
area.  "It's new to me, but then I'm no botanist either, Slayer."

Buffy stood up and glanced into the sky, observing for the first time
that instead of the blue she was used to, the sky had a pinkish tinge
to it.  Turning in a semi-circle, her eyes tracked across the sky.
Stiffening suddenly, she reached out and tightly grasped Spike's
arm.

"Look," she said with a breathless voice.

When he didn't respond, Buffy glanced back at him.  He was looking
down at the hand she had clamped on his arm, a small frown creasing
his forehead.

"Dammit, Spike, look," she insisted, giving his arm a shake and
pointing up at the sky.

He turned his head to follow the direction her finger pointed, and
Buffy felt his start of surprise.  A large moon hung low in the sky.
It was so close that Buffy felt as if she could jump up and touch
it.  It was obviously not the moon she was used to.

Staring at it Spike said, "I've a feeling we're not in Kansas
anymore."

Buffy glared at him.  "What gave you the first clue, Dorothy?  The
weird flowers, the pink sky, the humongous moon, or the you not
burning up?"

Spike smirked at her.  "There's another clue, too."

"What?"

Spike glanced around and then walked over to a largish rock a few
feet away.  Picking it up, he measured its weight and tossed it to
Buffy.

"Here, catch," he said.

Buffy sidestepped the rock, which landed with a dull thud on the
ground by her feet.  "What the hell do you think you're doing?" she
snapped.

"Pick it up."

"And I want to pick up that dirty rock, why, exactly?"

"Call it a test."

"Spike, we don't have time for whatever stupid tricks you're up to.
We need to find out where we are and figure out how to get home."

He walked past her, bent over and picked up the rock.  Holding it
out, he challenged, "Take the rock, Slayer."

"Oh for...fine, Spike.  I'll take the stupid rock.  Maybe after I hit
you in the head with it we can actually start..." She stopped talking
abruptly as she took the rock from Spike's hands and immediately
dropped it.  She stared at it in shock.  Swallowing, she bent down
and picked the rock up.  It was a struggle, but she finally held it
in her arms -- arms that were now trembling under the rock's weight.

Dropping it again, she brushed dirt off her jacket with shaking hands
and watched as Spike reached down and picked the rock up, casually
tossing it from hand to hand as if its weight were negligible.

"Someone's lost her strength," he singsonged.


Chapter 2

"No!" Buffy exclaimed.  "That's not... That's impossible."

Holding the heavy rock out in one hand, Spike smirked, "Yeah?  Want
the rock again, Slayer?"

Buffy stepped back.  Her heart was pounding and she felt droplets of
sweat trickle down her back.  Memories flooded her mind, memories of
a time when her strength had been taken from her.  Memories of an
insane vampire, a locked house, and her mother tied and helpless.
She'd forgiven Giles, eventually, but she'd never forgotten the
feeling of helplessness she'd had.  But she'd survived then, she
assured herself.  She'd survive now.

"How..."

"When you grabbed my arm.  Didn't hurt, and I know how much you like
to hurt me."  He waggled his eyebrows, his tongue peeked out from
between his teeth, and his eyes gleamed maliciously.  Spike casually
tossed the rock aside and swaggered up next to Buffy.  "You know,
Slayer," he said silkily, "with all these differences, I can't help
wondering what else has changed."

"What are you talking about, Spike?" Buffy asked, lifting her chin
with a bravado she really wasn't feeling.  She'd be damned before
she'd let on how much his proximity was unnerving her.

"Well," he said, looking up at the bright, hot sun.  "I'm not burning
up, and you've lost your Slayer strength, so it just makes a fellow
wonder." Slipping into game face with a shake of his head, he
finished, "What else has changed?"

Buffy hurriedly stepped back away from him and fumbled for her stake,
but her speed was gone with her strength, and Spike had her arms
trapped before she could free her weapon.

"Ah, ah, Slayer, none of that now."

Buffy struggled, but he held her easily in place as his head began
its slow descent to her neck.  His mouth opened, his fangs touched
her skin, and he doubled over with a loud cry of pain.

Spike writhed on the ground clutching his mangled manhood in his
hands.  Finally managing to pull her stake from her pocket, Buffy
leapt on him.  Straddling him, she raised the stake in the beginning
of a killing stroke.  Spike reached up in time to wrench the stake
from her hand and toss her off him.

Buffy rolled several times before she was able to stop and sit
upright on the ground.  Spike sat up as well, still rubbing his
smarting balls.

"Did you have to knee me so hard?" he whined, his face back to human.

"You were going to bite me, Spike, so yeah, I did."

"Wasn't going to bite you...hard," he muttered sullenly.  "I was just
conducting an experiment."

"An experiment in eating me?"

"An experiment to see if this sodding chip would go off.  Which," he
added with cool satisfaction, "it didn't."

Buffy swallowed and eyed the discarded stake.  Spike reached over and
claimed it, slipping it into his duster pocket.  "I think I'll just
hold onto this for the time being," he said.

Buffy cast a quick glance at the woods behind them, wondering if she
could outrun Spike in his current condition.  There would be plenty
of staking material there.  She heard him sigh.

"Look, Slayer, I wasn't going to bite you.  Really."

"Of course you weren't," she told him with a bright false smile.  "I
mean, I know you wouldn't really bite me.  We're best friends."

"No, we hate each other.  But we're all we've got right now, and we
might just need each other to get back home."

Buffy looked at him dubiously.  "Why would you want to get back
home?  I'd think you'd want to stay here.  No sun allergies.  No chip
zapping you.  This place is Spike heaven."

Spike stared at her for a second and then said, "Tell me, Slayer.
Have you noticed anything strange about this meadow?"

Buffy rolled her eyes.  "Did you get brain damage when I kneed you in
the nuts, Spike?  We've already had this conversation."

Spike gave her a disgusted look.  "No, this is a whole new
conversation.  Look around you, Slayer, and think about something
other than yourself.  What do you see?"

Buffy glared at him, but looked around the meadow.  She didn't see
anything she hadn't seen before.  Turning back to him she said, "I
see flowers, shrubs, grass, rocks, stones, and dirt."

"Yeah.  See any bees, Slayer?  Hear any birdsong?  See one sodding
butterfly fluttering around out there?  Has one insect crawled on
you?"

Buffy went perfectly still as his words struck her.  Listening
carefully, she noticed for the first time the complete absence of any
sound other than the wind blowing.  No buzzing, twittering,
chittering, or scrabbling noises reached her ears.  There were
absolutely no sounds of animal life.

Buffy swallowed as she immediately realized what that meant.

"So, if there are no animals here," Spike said as if reading her
mind, "I'm going to get real hungry real fast.  And you're so small
you wouldn't last more than three, four days tops."

Buffy glared at him.

He smirked back.

Getting up, she brushed the dirt from the back of her pants.  "Can
you walk yet?"

Spike jumped up, only a slight wince betraying the pain that still
throbbed through his groin.  "Yeah.  You have a plan, Slayer?

Buffy shrugged and glanced across the wide empty meadow to the forest
that surrounded it on all sides.  "We need to try to find
civilization and locate somebody that can help us get back home.  And
we need to find food.  Maybe there are animals in the woods.  If
nothing else, there may be water and some fruit or nuts."

Spike nodded.  "Yeah, let's try to keep you healthy just in case I do
need to eat you."

Buffy stomped forward muttering to herself about finding a nice
pointy stick and ridding herself of one annoying vampire.

She could hear Spike chuckle as he followed her.

As soon as she stepped into the woods, Buffy came to a sudden halt
and slapped her hand over her nose and mouth.

"Ewww," she said with a muffled voice.  "It stinks in here."

Spike drew in a deep breath and then made a gagging noise.  "God, it
smells like Xander's underwear!"

Buffy choked back surprised laughter and turned away from him so he
couldn't see her amusement at his gibe.

"I think we just found out why there aren't any animals around here,"
he continued, oblivious to her laughter.  "This is the Bog of Eternal
Stench.  They can't get past this sodding smell."

"Yeah," was all Buffy could muster in response.

"So, what do you want to do, Slayer?  You're the one that has to
breathe."

Buffy looked back the way they'd come.  She really didn't see much
choice.  There was open meadow and there was forest.  They could
leave this bit of forest and hike the five miles or so across the
meadow to the other side only to discover the same smell.  Buffy was
nervous at the thought of being stuck in this weird dimension without
her Slayer powers and with only Spike for company.  He was dangerous
and unpredictable and she was vulnerable, and it was going to take
all the strength she had left to hide her unease from him.  She
needed to find help and fast.  Buffy cautiously removed her hand from
her face.  If she breathed through her mouth, she thought she'd be
able to stand the smell.

She wasn't going to like it though.

***

The forest was thick with tall leprous-looking trees whose broad
foliage blocked out most of the sun and thick scrubby bushes.  Buffy
noted that none of the plants looked very healthy, probably owing to
the foul stench in the air.  Or perhaps they were the cause.

Despite the fact that the forest appeared to be as devoid of animal
life as the meadow had been, Buffy and Spike were able to spot
several trail-like openings leading in different directions.  They
picked one of the wider ones and headed deeper into the woods.  It'd
been fairly smooth and obstruction free, and at first Spike had moved
at a pace that had Buffy wheezing from the bad air.  It surprised her
when he seemed to notice and slowed up.

As they moved deeper into the woods, Buffy found that she was
becoming used to the fetid air that hung like a miasma throughout the
woods.  They'd been walking through the cool, dank woods for a couple
hours when she realized that she could breathe easier.

Spike was several feet ahead of her when he stopped suddenly and
tilted his head as if listening intently.

"What?"

"Come on," he said, moving off the path and pushing his way through
the bushes.

"Spike, why are we leaving the path?  Spike! Dammit!"

Buffy was furious as she fought her way through the undergrowth,
yanking her hair and jacket clear of clutching branches while trying
to protect her face from jutting tree limbs.

If I had the energy and breath, she fumed, I'd catch up with him and
slug him.

Well, if I had the energy and breath and my Slayer powers, she
thought miserably.

When she pushed through the last bit of brush she stopped in
disbelief, her anger at Spike immediately dissipating.

"Oh."

He had led her to a sparkling stream.  The clear water rushed past
them splashing forcefully over rocks. Droplets from the spray
glistened like rainbow-colored jewels in the bright sunlight.  The
sight made Buffy's throat ache with thirst, and she walked to the
stream's edge.

"Do you think it's safe to drink?"

Spike moved up beside her, hands casually stuffed into his coat
pockets, and looked down at the water.  He shrugged disinterestedly.

Buffy licked dry lips.  "Guess we won't know unless I take a drink,
huh?"

"Yeah, go ahead, Slayer.  I promise that if it poisons you, I won't
let you suffer.  I'll just eat you right quick-like."

Buffy gave him her millionth glare of the day, knelt down and scooped
a bit of the water into the palm of her hand.  Leaning forward she
took a small sip.

"Tastes okay," she said.  Her thirst was really raging now, so she
scooped up more water and took a deeper drink.  As the cool, fresh
water slid down her dry throat, she moaned softly.  Bending over once
more, she brought more and more of the refreshing liquid to her
mouth.  Her thirst finally satisfied, she took a double handful of
the water and splashed it on her face.  When she sat back, tiny
streamlets ran down her neck dampening the top of her blouse.  A few
glistening drops slid down her chest and into the vee of her
neckline, trickling down into the valley between her breasts.  When
the cool breeze hit her damp skin, her nipples hardened into peaks.

Buffy heard an inarticulate sound coming from Spike's direction and
looking up saw that he was staring at her.

"What?" she asked challengingly.

Spike turned away, bent down and rubbed some of the water over his
own face and across the back of his neck not answering her.  Standing
up again, he avoided looking at her and asked, "You ready to go?"

Buffy nodded and stood up.  "Yeah, I guess."  As she followed Spike,
she gazed anxiously around.  So far, they still hadn't seen any signs
of animal life, and Buffy was beginning to become concerned.  How
long would Spike wait until he decided he was hungry enough to attack?


Chapter 3

They walked for several more hours following a path that paralleled
the stream until the darkening of the woods gave evidence that the
sun was at last setting.  They'd not spoken to each other more than
was necessary, and Buffy knew their truce was tenuous at best.  She
still didn't understand why he didn't attack her.  It was possible,
she supposed, that he really did want to get home as much as she did
and didn't want to take the chance that killing her would jeopardize
that.

The forest had been much cooler than the meadow, and with the
lengthening shadows the temperature dropped considerably.  Buffy
shivered slightly and pulled her jacket closer to her body.  The
path they were now on was narrower than the first one, and tree
roots and rocks made the footing uneven.  Buffy was stumbling a bit,
tripping over the obstacles as her weariness increased with each
step she took.  She was loath to ask Spike to stop however.  The
last thing she needed was to remind him that she was weak now.  Not
that she believed for one second that he'd forgotten that little
fact.

It was when she tripped over yet another root that Spike said in
disgust, "You know, Slayer, if there were any animals around, you
crashing about like a herd of wild Braxall demons would've
scared 'em right off."

Buffy flashed him yet another glare.

"It's getting dark, you know," she snapped, hoping to disguise the
real reason she was stumbling.

Spike raised an eyebrow and said, "So, night vision's gone with the
rest of the slayer powers, eh, Summers?"

Buffy sighed and sat down on a large exposed tree root.  "Yes,
Spike.  And I'm tired too.  Can we just stop and rest for a bit?"

Spike looked around and pointed to a spot deeper in the
forest.  "There's a bit of a clearing ahead.  We can spend the night
there."

Not waiting for her, he headed in the direction he'd pointed out.
Buffy wearily got to her feet and followed.  The clearing boasted a
bit of grass and fewer tree roots and rocks for which she was
grateful. Spike was already sitting against a tree smoking a
cigarette when she entered the glade.  Buffy sat down as far from
him as she could get and leaned against her own tree.

The temperature seemed to be dropping rapidly now and Buffy shivered
again.  She had dressed appropriately enough for a mild Sunnydale
night.  The brown jacket she wore was lightweight, but it was long
enough that it gave her some protection as she sat on the hard
ground.  The jeans she wore were old and comfortable, and her socks
and half boots of dark-brown leather were keeping her feet warm.  As
it grew colder, she began to wish she'd worn something warmer than
the peasant blouse she had on. The natural colored blouse trimmed
with bright blue and red embroidery was one of her favorites, but
the thin cotton gauze material did nothing to help keep her warm.

"It's cold."

"Yeah.  So?"

"So, you have a lighter and we need a fire."

"You need a fire, Slayer.  I can do without it."

"Okay," Buffy said with increasing irritation.  "I need a fire.
Will you help me build one?"

Spike sighed as if he were being much put upon.  "Go get the
firewood and I'll light it," he said reaching into his pocket for
his lighter.

Buffy closed her eyes and groaned.  She was exhausted, but of course
Spike wouldn't do the chivalrous thing and gather the firewood for
her.  Angel would have.  Riley would have.  Xander would have.
Hell, even Parker would have before he'd shown himself to be a
complete jerk.  Pushing herself to her feet, she went back into the
forest and began to gather up dead wood.  She guessed she was lucky
he'd agree to light it for her.

When she'd gathered as much as she could carry, she returned to the
clearing and was surprised to see that Spike was setting down the
last stone in a circle surrounding an area he'd obviously cleared.
Buffy walked over to him and dumped the wood.

Spike eyed the pile and said, "Where's the kindling?"

"Where's the who?"

He gave her a disgusted look and said, "Christ, Summers, didn't your
Watcher teach you anything about survival?"

"Yeah, Spike," she snapped, her irritation and fatigue overcoming
her good sense.  "He taught me how to put the pointy end of stake A
into the dried-up heart of vampire B.  You want me to show you my
survival skills?"

He stood up shifting into game face.  Buffy involuntarily took a
step back.

Oh shit, she thought.

Before she could react he grabbed her, trapping her arms behind her
back and her legs between his thighs.  If he hadn't been holding her
so tightly, she would have fallen over.

"Show me your skills, Slayer," he growled in her ear.

"Stop it, Spike."

"Or you'll do what?  Seems you're pretty much helpless right now,
aren't you, pet?"

"Let me go."

He slid his fangs down her neck.  She stiffened but didn't struggle,
refusing to show fear.  The moment seemed to last for an eternity
and then she was free and he was back kneeling beside the wood she'd
brought, sorting through it.

"Kindling," he said calmly as if nothing had happened, "is dry twigs
and small sticks or anything that will catch fire easily and get the
larger pieces burning.  Go get some."

Buffy turned and reentered the forest, more to get away from him
than to obey his order.

***

Buffy would never admit it in a million years, but she was pretty
impressed by the competent ease with which Spike worked at building
the campfire.  She just couldn't imagine why a vampire would need to
know how to build a campfire.

And then she could imagine a hundred different ways a vampire might
make use of a campfire.

And then she wished she'd left her imagination parked at the curb.

To change the direction of her thoughts, she asked, "How long do you
think we've been here?"

Spike shrugged.  "About twelve hours, I suppose."

"I wonder if time moves the same here as back home."

Spike shrugged again and continued building a little teepee of
sticks in the center of the circle.

"If it does, everyone must be getting pretty worried by now," Buffy
said quietly.

Spike cast a quick glance at her and said, "Imagine they are.  Which
means that your Watcher has everyone working on finding you.  Maybe
Willow can cast a spell, find us, and bring us home.  Unless she
buggers it up."

"Hey!  Don't talk about Willow like that."

Spike just gave her a steady look. "We were *engaged*, Slayer."

"There were circumstances why she messed up that spell, and you know
it," Buffy defended her friend.  "She's getting better."

"I hope so," Spike said dryly.  "I don't want another horrible
experience like that again."

"The feeling's mutual," Buffy said huffily, dropping the
conversation.

She sat silently, her arms wrapped around her knees, doing her best
to keep warm until the fire was ready.  She frowned a bit when Spike
leaned down and blew gently on the tiny flames.

"What are you doing?"

"Feedin' the kindling a bit of oxygen to help it catch," he told her
as he carefully fed more sticks to the tiny flame.

"You can't do that."

He looked at her, his forehead creased in confusion.  "Can't do
what?"

"Breathe."

"'Course I can breathe.  Just 'cause I don't need to breathe doesn't
mean I can't."

"But Angel said..."

"Oh, *Angel* said," Spike mimicked.  "Well, if His Holiness the Poof
said it, it must be true then."  Bending down again, he angrily blew
a large breath of air into the fire causing burning twigs to fly up
and land on him.  He jumped back with a curse and beat at the small
fires on his coat.

Buffy barked out a laugh and Spike scowled at her.  Standing up he
snarled, "Build your own sodding fire, bitch," and returned to the
tree he'd been resting against when she'd first come into the
glade.

Buffy stared wide-eyed at the tiny fire that was now very much in
danger of dying.  Hurrying around to where Spike had been, she began
shoving more twigs and sticks into it.  She knocked over the little
pile of sticks he'd built, and the fire went completely out.

She sat back on her heels and looked at the wisps of smoke - all
that remained of the fire - with dismay.  She turned to the sullen
vampire and said, "Uh, Spike?"

He was smoking another cigarette and ignored her.  When she called
his name again he turned cold blue eyes on her.

"What?"

"The fire went out."

"Yeah?  Too bad for you."

"Spike, please.  I'm, uh, sorry?"

He rolled his eyes.  "Don't strain yourself with the apology,
Slayer."

"Well I don't know why you got so mad.  All I did was say that..."

"Don't!" Spike snapped, pointing his cigarette at her.  "Do not
mention his name again, Slayer, or I swear I'll bite you right now."

It was Buffy's turn to roll her eyes.  "Fine, Spike.  No mention of
he-who-must-not-be-named.  Now, will you come here and start the
fire again?"

He stared at her through narrowed eyes for a few seconds, then stood
up, walked over to the campfire and flicked his cigarette into it.
Bending down, he began the ritual of coaxing the fire to life all
over again.  Buffy moved out of the way and watched.  After what
seemed forever to the freezing Buffy, the larger pieces of wood were
at last burning brightly.

"There's your fire, Slayer," Spike said as he stood and walked away
from her.  He cleared a patch of ground with his foot and lay down
wrapping his coat around him.  A wave of total exhaustion crashed
over Buffy and she followed his example. The ground was hard, cold,
and uncomfortable, but she was so worn out that she fell asleep
almost immediately.

She wasn't sure if it was the chattering of her teeth or the shivers
racking her body that woke her up.  The fire had burned down to
embers.  Buffy stiffly got up and stumbled over to it.

"What are you doing, Slayer?"

"What's it look like, Spike?" Buffy said through chattering
teeth.  "I'm trying to get the fire started again.  I'm freezing."

Her hands were stiff and shaking from the cold, her breath came out
in little white puffs.  "Come here and help me."

"No, sorry.  Used up my full complement of good deeds for the day.
Do it yourself."  He closed his eyes again and went still.

Buffy looked at him in frustration and then said, "You could at
least give me your coat."

"No."

"Why not?  It's not like you need it."

"And what makes you think I don't need it?"

"Hello, Spike.  You're a vampire, remember?  You don't feel the
cold."

Spike opened his eyes again.  "Where'd you get a daft idea like
that?  No, wait, don't tell me.  Professor Bulging Forehead included
that in his lessons for not-too-bright Slayers.  Am I right?"

"And you're trying to tell me vampires do feel the cold?"

"'Course we do.  Not as much as humans do, but we feel it.  So I'm
keeping my coat, Slayer."

"But you said you didn't need a fire." Buffy hated the hint of
whining she heard in her voice.

"Don't.  Doesn't mean I'm giving up my coat."

Buffy turned back to the fire, but in the time her conversation with
Spike had taken, it had gone completely out.

"It's out," she said dispiritedly.

"What?"

"The fire's gone out."

"Oh for... Come here, Slayer."

She looked over at him to see him lying on his side holding open one
side of his coat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm offering to share my coat with you."

Buffy's eyes widened.  "You want me to sleep with you?"

"Not particularly," he answered.  "But I don't want to hear you
whine about the bloody fire for the rest of the night either.  I
need my beauty sleep.  So you come here, wrap yourself up in the
coat with me, and we can share body heat."

"You don't have body heat, Spike."

"Then we can share your body heat."

"Forget it," she said flatly.

Spike shrugged, wrapped his coat tightly around himself once more,
and shut his eyes.  "Your loss, Slayer.  Have a good rest."

Shivers racked Buffy's body as a breeze blew through the clearing.
Another glance at the lifeless fire helped Buffy make up her mind.
Standing up, she walked over to where Spike lay and knelt down.

Fingering the small, sharp piece of wood she had secreted in her
coat pocket, she asked, "You won't bite me?"

"Told you I wasn't going to, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I believe you."

Spike opened his eyes and just looked at her.

Another breeze, another shiver, and Buffy gave in.  "Okay."

He opened his coat again in invitation.  She lay down next to him
and he wrapped his coat and his arm around her drawing her body up
close to his.  She stiffened and tried to pull away.

"For god's sake, Slayer, would you relax?"

She tried, but as soon as she pressed up against him, it felt as if
his body was leeching what little warmth she had left away from
her.  She was just about to pull away again when a strange thing
happened.  His body began to reflect her heat back to her and she
began to warm up.

She was just on the edge of sleep when Spike said, "Slayer?"

"Hmmmm?"

"If Willow does manage to pull you out of here and she doesn't grab
me too..."

Buffy felt the tension in his body and finally believed that he
really was as worried as she was about being stuck here.

"If she misses you, I'll have her do another spell," she told him
softly.  She felt him relax.

"Yeah, okay," he said nonchalantly.  "Go to sleep, Slayer."

Within minutes, she was sound asleep again.


Chapter 4

Buffy pressed herself more tightly against Riley.  Wow, that was a
weird dream, she thought sleepily.  More a nightmare really.  She
wondered what it meant - her losing her Slayer powers and having to
depend on Spike like that. The weirdest part was Spike being free-
range again and not even trying to kill her.

She wiggled her body until she was lying on top of her boyfriend and
started to nibble at his neck.  Her legs slipped to either side of
his hips and she began to rock against the bulge that prodded at the
juncture between her thighs.  His hands grasped her hips, pressing
her down, increasing the friction.  Her breathing sped up, and she
reached up to run her hands through his hair while her mouth worked
its way toward his.  Her fingers encountered thick, tightly-curled
hair that felt nothing like Riley's.  Her eyes flew open and she
stared into bright blue eyes - eyes that were hooded with sexual
desire.

"Morning, Slayer," her nemesis said throatily.  "Interested in a
wake up shag, are you?"

Buffy gasped, rolled off Spike, and scrambled to her feet.  She
could feel the heat blazing her cheeks.

"I-I..." She tried to speak, but her embarrassment choked the words
out of her.  "I thought you were... I have to go..." She pointed
vaguely into the woods, turned, and ran off.  She could hear Spike's
chuckle as she smashed through the underbrush.  When she could no
longer hear him, she stopped and slumped against a tree.  God, that
was humiliating, she thought.  And Spike would never let her forget
it either.  Great, just great.  How could she have ever thought for
one single second, even sleep drugged, that Spike was Riley?  They
felt nothing alike.  Riley was big and strong and muscular.  And
Spike was not.  Okay, he was strong and, well, yeah, muscular.  Very
muscular.  And firm.  *Very* firm.   But he was so not Riley, she
thought fiercely.

She banged her head against the tree she was leaning against.  She
really, really wanted to go home.

***

When she made it back to the glade, Spike stood up and took a step
forward.  "Ready to finish what you started?" he asked, his eyes
raking her body.

Buffy held up a hand.  "Don't, Spike," she said firmly.  "You know I
was more than half asleep and thought you were Riley."

Spike snorted.  "Yeah, 'cause we're so much alike and all.  I can
see how you made the mistake."

Buffy flushed again, but refused to be baited.  "It was a mistake
and it'll never happen again.  The thought of touching you like that-
" Buffy shuddered.

Spike stiffened.  "Then keep off me in future, Slayer," he snarled.
Turning away from her, he walked out of the glade heading back
toward the stream they'd been following the day before.

They proceeded in silence, the quiet interrupted only by the growls
coming from Buffy's stomach.  At long last they came to the end of
the forest and stepped into another meadow.  To Buffy's great
relief, as soon as they stepped away from the trees, the foul smell
dissipated.  A range of mountains and rolling hills rose about
fifteen miles distant.  On the other side of the stream, the forest
began again.

"So, you want to go running through the meadow singing "you're out
of the woods" or go through more forest?" Spike asked.  They were
the first words he'd spoken to her since they'd left their glade.

Buffy stared at Spike.  "Just how many times have you seen The
Wizard of Oz?"

He glared at her and she sighed.  "What I really want is to find
something to eat," Buffy answered as her stomach gave another loud
growl.

"Yeah, me too.  I'm starting to feel right peckish."

Buffy braced herself to keep from reacting to the look he was giving
her.  She was opening her mouth to tell him to stop looking at her
like she was wearing a sign reading "eat me" when a plopping sound
drew their attention to the stream.

Spike walked over to the bank and stared into the water with
narrowed eyes.  Wading into the middle of the stream, he stood
perfectly still looking down with intense concentration, and then
with lightning fast speed he reached into the water and grabbed
something.  Standing upright again, he held a large, silver-scaled
fish in his hand.

"Congratulations, Slayer.  You get breakfast."   Wading out of the
water, he went over to a large rock and smashed the fish against it,
killing it.  Walking past Buffy, he handed her his catch and his
knife and said, "Here, clean this while I get a fire started."

"How..."

He waved a hand in the air as he walked back into the
forest.  "You're on your own there, Slayer."

Buffy looked down at the fish and sighed.  She was so hungry she
could tear into it right now, scales and all. Wrinkling her nose in
distaste, she raised the knife and prepared to clean the fish.

***

Buffy licked her fingers, capturing the last crumb.  The fish had
tasted terrible, burnt in some places and raw in others, but it felt
so good to have food in her stomach again that she didn't complain.
Spike had disappeared across the stream after getting the fire
started.  When she'd called after him, he simply told her to enjoy
her meal.  She'd worried a little when he disappeared from sight and
then lectured herself for acting so stupid.  She was the Slayer; she
didn't need Spike.  She could take care of herself.

Except here she wasn't the Slayer, she didn't seem to be doing a
very good job of taking care of herself, and she did need Spike.

She didn't really think he was abandoning her, not after what he'd
said last night.  But then they'd had that fight this morning.  But
then again, they'd had lots of fights.  It's what they did...fight.
And he did catch that fish for her.  And built her a fire so she
could cook it.  Buffy silently shook her head.  He was completely
confusing her with the way he was acting.  Maybe he was just keeping
her healthy in case he needed to eat her like he'd said yesterday.

Buffy's heart gave a little lurch at that thought, and she couldn't
help but worry what it'd mean if they didn't find anything but
fish.  She didn't dare let down her guard.  She may temporarily need
Spike, but she would never trust him.

Except she had let down her guard and she had trusted him last night
when she'd crawled into his arms and slept soundly.

Buffy's head began to pound.  Come on, Giles, she whispered
desperately.  Get me out of here.

Buffy made sure the fire was completely out - a lifetime of Smokey
Bear commercials and California wildfires having left their mark -
and then washed her face and hands in the stream.  The water was
cold and she found herself longing for a real bathroom complete with
toilet and shower and lots of hot water.  And soap.  Lovely, fish-
stink-removing soap.

When she finished washing, she decided she'd better try and track
down Spike.  After taking off her boots and socks and rolling up her
pant legs, she waded across the stream.

Buffy braced herself to enter the foul air of the forest.  To her
surprise, however, the air smelled fresh and clean.  As she looked
around for signs of Spike, she noticed that the trees were
different.  Where the trees on the other side of the stream were
gnarled and twisted as if sickened from the bad air, these trees
looked strong and healthy.  But it wasn't just the health of the
trees.  The entire forest just felt different.  Friendlier.   She
pulled her socks and boots back on and walked deeper into the woods.

"Spike?"

When he didn't answer her, she called again.

"Spike!"

"Miss me, Slayer?"

Buffy whirled around to see him leaning against a tree behind her, a
roguish smile on his face.  There was blood on his mouth.

"There's blood on your mouth."

He lifted his hand and wiped his mouth with his thumb.  "Yeah.
Guess what?  There're animals in these woods."

Buffy sighed in relief.

He reached into his duster pocket, pulled something out and tossed
it to her.  Buffy caught it and looked at it in surprise.  It was
reddish-brown in color, round, and about the size of an apple.

"There're fruit trees here too," Spike said unnecessarily.

Buffy wiped it on her jacket and brought it to her mouth.
Hesitating for just a second, she parted her lips and sank her
sharp, white teeth into it.  Juice dribbled down her chin as she bit
down and tore off a piece of the fruit's tangy-sweet pulp.  The
flavor burst over her tongue as she chewed and she closed her eyes
in pleasure.  She swallowed and the tip of her tongue darted out to
lick at the corner of her mouth.

"Good, is it?" Spike asked.  His voice held a deep, sensuous timber.

"Mmmmmmm," was all Buffy could answer, biting once again into the
juicy treat.  When she finished the last bite, she threw the core
down and smiled at Spike.  "Thanks."

He shrugged; his eyes dark and unreadable, his face
impassive.  "Didn't grow it, Slayer, just picked it."

She nodded, feeling unexpectedly shy under his gaze, and said, "Just
let me wash up and then we can go on.  I'm all sticky."

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed suddenly, and she felt his
eyes following her as she walked back to the stream.

***

"I don't get it," she said as they walked side-by-side down a wide
path cushioned with a thick coating of leaves.  "Why does the air
smell better here and why are there birds and animals and fruit and
stuff on this side of that stream and not on the other?"

"I'm assuming that's a rhetorical question, Slayer?" Spike asked
dryly.

"Well, yeah.  It's just so weird, that's all."

"Could be that the air kills the animals in this world even if it
didn't hurt you." Spike said.  "Don't know why the air stinks across
the stream and not here though.  I'm sure there's a logical
explanation."

"Yeah, thanks, Mr. Spock."

Spike looked at her and raised one eyebrow causing Buffy to laugh.

Feeling uncomfortable over the sense of connection she'd just felt,
she looked away.

The woods were full of bird song and the rustling of undergrowth as
the forest inhabitants went about their business.  Out of habit
Buffy kept an alert eye out for danger, and she was aware that Spike
was doing the same, but they traveled unmolested.  They continued
their journey for several more hours stopping occasionally so that
Buffy could rest or take care of personal business.  Surprisingly,
Spike never complained about the breaks, probably because he used
them to smoke his smelly cigarettes, Buffy mused.  She had warned
him once the day before about being careful with his cigarettes.  He
has rolled his eyes and said, "Combustible vampire here, Slayer.  I
think I know enough not to set the bloody woods on fire."

As the hours passed, Buffy began to feel fatigued and glanced up at
what bits of the sky could be seen through the thick foliage.

"It's getting dark."

"Yeah, that's why I've been watching out for another camping spot."

"Oh."

"You really do know chuff all about roughing it, don't you, Slayer?"

"I know...stuff," she said defensively.

"You may know how to kill vampires and demons, Slayer, but you'd be
dead before long if I weren't with you, and you know it."

"Would not," Buffy insisted.

"Would too."

"Geez, Spike, think much of yourself?"

He gave her a look that spoke volumes before heading off the animal
track they'd been following and right into another small glade.
They prepared camp much as they had the night before.  The
connection Buffy had felt with Spike on the trail returned, and they
talked easily together as they worked.  Spike taught her how to make
a proper campfire, although he made sure to pick at every mistake
she made.  They insulted each other, though without rancor, and
Spike made her laugh again.  And occasionally a niggling worry would
pop into her brain that she shouldn't be feeling this comfortable in
Spike's company.

After they got the campfire going, Spike left the glade without a
word to Buffy.  She wished he'd taken her with him on his hunt.  She
was feeling hungry again but didn't think it would be a good idea to
go searching for one of the fruit trees alone.  The woods were
completely dark outside the range of the firelight, and Buffy wasn't
sure she'd be able to find her way back to the campsite.  And even
though they hadn't seen any yet, there might be predators out there.

Besides Spike.

Her own personal predator.

Buffy sighed and huddled closer to the fire - the air may be sweeter
here, but it wasn't any warmer after the sun went down.  Spike had
only been gone about ten minutes when a rustling in the brush
brought Buffy to wary attention.  She visibly relaxed when Spike
entered the glade.

"That didn't take long."

Instead of answering her, he tossed a fruit at her.

"Bon appTtit, Slayer."

She caught it and looked at Spike in surprise. "You went to get me
food?"

"Figured you'd be hungry again," he said casually.  He sat down next
to her handing her two more fruits.  "I'll hunt in the morning."

"Uh, thanks."  Buffy ate her dinner casting occasional glances at
Spike as he smoked a cigarette and lounged by the fire next to her,
apparently content to remain silent for a change.  Once again, his
consideration of her had taken Buffy by surprise.  Since they'd come
into this world, their relationship had subtly begun to change.
Where before it had been defined by what they were, Slayer and
vampire, now they were...something else.  The casual way he went
about finding her food and water and making sure she could keep up
and that she rested when needed confused her.  She wished she could
figure him out, but Spike was the poster child for a riddle wrapped
in a mystery inside an enigma.  But it was the nagging thought that
she was beginning to trust him that worried her most.  He really
wasn't trustworthy, was he?

When it came time to sleep, Spike lay down and opened his coat again.

"Slayer?"

"I'm not sleeping with you, Spike," Buffy said warily.

"Afraid you can't keep your hands off me?" he mocked.

"As if."

"Then there's no reason why we can't get all cuddly and keep warm.
Going to be right cold again tonight."

Buffy hesitated.  The temperature was dropping dramatically again,
just as it had last night.

"Just don't try anything, Spike."

"I wasn't the one getting groiny this morning, pet.  You were."

Buffy glared at him.  "I told you..."

"Yeah, that you thought I was your soldier boy." Spike
snorted.  "You'd be wise to keep insults like that to yourself, too."

Buffy sighed, admitted to herself that she wasn't going to get much
sleep if she was freezing, and came over to Spike.  She lay down and
allowed him to draw her body up close to his.  She shifted around a
bit trying to find a comfortable position until Spike ground
out, "Keep wiggling like that, Slayer, and you're going to find
yourself on your back after all."

Buffy immediately went still.

"Oh, now that's disappointing," he said with wicked amusement in his
voice.

Buffy elbowed his ribs.  "Just shut up and go to sleep, Spike"

He grunted from the impact of her elbow, and then molded himself
around her, muttering in her ear, "Bossy bint."

They were quiet for the rest of the night.


Chapter 5

When she awoke the next morning there was no confusion as to whose
body she was pressed against.  She'd rolled over again in the night
and lay half on top of him; her head resting on his shoulder, her
bent leg snuggled between his thighs, her knee resting on his
crotch.

He was lying flat on his back and his right arm was wrapped around
her, holding her securely to him.  She opened her eyes and looked at
her hand resting on the black-clad expanse of his chest.  His hand
rested on top of hers with his fingers curled under her palm, his
thumb across the back of her hand.

Buffy's breath caught in her throat when his thumb began to slide
lightly across her skin.  She felt as if an electrical charge was
passing through her body and her heartbeat accelerated.  Tilting her
head slightly, she looked up at him.

He was awake and looking at her with a hesitant, watchful, slightly
vulnerable expression on his face.  It tugged at her mind that she'd
seen that expression on him before, but she couldn't quite grasp
when or where.  They stared at each other, the only movement the
sensuous motion of Spike's thumb brushing her over-sensitized flesh
and the rapid rise and fall of her chest.  And then she felt his arm
tighten around her.  Felt him pulling her to him.  Saw his head
moving toward her, his eyes darkening, felt his cock springing to
life beneath her leg.

Buffy gasped and pulled away from him, jumping to her feet.

"What do you think you're doing?" she exclaimed breathlessly.

The expression on his face changed immediately.  The sultry look was
gone, replaced by a mocking smirk.

"What, no snog this morning, Slayer?"

"God, you're such a pig, Spike," Buffy exclaimed as she turned away
from him and left the clearing.  She was trembling as she made her
way deep into the woods to relieve herself.  From anger, she told
herself.  He made her so angry.  That was why her hands were
trembling as she pushed her way through the brush.

***

He was gone when she returned to the campsite.  Not knowing whether
to stay put or attempt to follow him, Buffy dithered a bit, checking
to make sure the campfire was out and that they hadn't left anything
lying around forgotten.  Not that they actually had anything to
leave behind.  She was making one final sweep of the area when she
heard a thrashing in the underbrush and a horrible squeal.  Pushing
her way through the thick growth, she came upon Spike, fangs sunk
deep into the neck of a struggling animal about the size of a fawn.
She watched in fascinated revulsion as the animal's struggles slowed
and then stopped.

Spike lifted his head and gazed at her, his golden eyes feral
looking, his face stained with blood.  Buffy shuddered and turned
away, trying to push down the nausea that threatened.

"Not going all girly on me, are you, Slayer?" he asked mockingly
from behind her.  "Not going to faint?"

She turned to face him.  He wore his human face again and he'd
cleaned the blood from around his mouth.

She lifted her chin.  "No, Spike," she answered with forced
calm.  "Nothing you do could make me faint."

He raised one eyebrow, a speculative look coming over his
face.  "That a challenge?  Because I'm up for it if it is, and I can
think of at least one thing I could do that would make you faint."
His expression became darkly sensual and he leaned in
closer.  "Something you'd enjoy," he added his voice a deep husky
whisper.  Buffy felt her face flush and her heartbeat speed up.

She turned away from him.  "Where's the fruit tree?" she asked,
changing the subject.  She was quite proud of the fact that her
voice barely trembled.

She felt him come up and stand close behind her.  She was afraid he
was going to touch her and didn't understand the flash of
disappointment when all he did was point to an area to her left.

"Right over there about a hundred yards."

Buffy nodded and walked away from him, drawing deep gulps of air
into her lungs once she was out of his presence.  What was wrong
with her?  She hadn't wanted him touching her.  That was the last
thing she wanted.

Really.

It was.

***

The terrain began to rise sharply and the going became rougher.
Buffy was sweating from the exertion of the climb, and she'd tied
her jacket around her waist.  Her stamina was flagging again and she
kept losing her footing, slipping and falling to her knees.  Spike
led the way and seemed determined to ignore her, not even commenting
on all the noise she was making.  They were climbing up over a steep
rocky patch when Buffy lost her footing completely.  With a cry, she
started to slide back down the path, crashing into rocks and sharp
stones.  One of the rocks she hit ripped a gash into her upper arm
and Buffy cried out from the pain.  She finally came to rest against
a tree trunk.  Spike skidded to a halt beside her almost
immediately, a look of concern on his face.

"Slayer!  You all right?"

Buffy managed to push herself into a sitting position and pulled her
tattered sleeve aside revealing a long bloody gash.

"Let me see," Spike said, grabbing hold of her bleeding arm.  She
tried to tug away from him, but he wouldn't let go.

"Doesn't look deep," he said thickly.  Her eyes widened in shock
when he lowered his head and ran his tongue up the length of the
gash.  Buffy gasped at the touch of his tongue on her skin and she
felt heat flare through her body.  Her heart started racing and her
breathing sped up, but then she remembered what he was, how
dangerous what he was doing was, and she began to panic, pulling her
arm, struggling to get away from him as he licked again.

"Stop it, Spike!  Stop it!"

He raised his head and looked at her through eyes gone gold.
Buffy's hand located a rock and she brought it forward, intending to
smash it into his head.  He grabbed her arm before the rock made
contact.  Angry blue eyes stared at her.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?"

"Protecting myself," she snapped as she finally tugged her arm loose
from his grasp.

Spike rolled his eyes.  "How many times do I have to tell you, you
stupid bint?  I'm not going to eat you."

"Yeah?  Well, excuse me, but it sure looked to me like you were
about to go all bloodlusty," she exclaimed, scooting away from him
and holding her wounded arm.

"Christ, Summers, it was a tiny taste.  I didn't hurt you.  I didn't
even change faces."

"Your eyes changed."

"What?"

"Your eyes.  They went all demony."

He looked at her in surprise.  "Oh.  Well, I still wasn't going to
bite you.  Just don't see the sense in letting good blood go to
waste, is all."

"Well, keep your tongue to yourself, Spike.  My blood is off limits."

Spike sighed.  "Right.  We need to bandage that cut.  Don't want it
to get infected."

Buffy looked at her wound.  He was right that it wasn't deep, and if
she had her slayer powers, it would be almost healed already.  But
she didn't and it wasn't so a bandage was probably a good idea.
With a sigh of regret, she raised the hem of her top to reveal the
silk camisole she wore underneath.

"Cut a piece off of this to use," she instructed.

Spike grinned and reached into his coat for the knife.  "I was
wondering when we'd get to the part of this adventure where the lady
sacrifices an undergarment."

After he had her arm bandaged, he made her proceed in front of
him.  "Just do it, and don't argue with me for once.  If you fall
again, I can catch you, and if we both fall, I can cushion you.  I
don't want to have to carry you if you break a leg, Summers."

It was the last sentence that made her turn away from him and take
the lead.  She gritted her teeth every time they came to an
especially steep part of the path and Spike had to put his hand on
her butt to give her a boost.  She couldn't help but think that he
was enjoying that just a little too much.

When they finally reached the top of the hill they'd been climbing,
Buffy collapsed, sucking breath into her lungs as she wiped the
sweat from her brow.

"Here."

She looked up to see Spike holding out a flask.

Buffy wrinkled her nose.  "Ew.  I don't think so, thanks."

"It's not whiskey," Spike said in exasperation.  "It's water.  I
drank all the whiskey and filled the flask back at the stream."

Buffy's eyes widened.  "You've had this all the time and you didn't
tell me?  I've been dying of thirst!"

"You'd have drunk it all up by now if I'd told you.  Drink it now
and then we can start down.  I want to get off this hill before
sunset."

Buffy snatched the flask from him, twisted off the cap and drank
deeply.  When she lowered it again, he reached into his duster
pocket and pulled out another fruit.  He held it out to her
wordlessly.

Buffy flushed, realizing how ungracious she'd just been.

Taking the fruit from his hand, she lowered her eyes and said
softly, "Thanks, Spike."

"'s okay, Slayer."

She looked up at him again, their eyes met, and they smiled at each
other.  Lowering her eyes again, she brought the fruit to her mouth
and began to eat.


Chapter 6

The trip back down the hill was accomplished without further
incident.  Spike led the way glancing back occasionally to make sure
Buffy was following with no problem.  Buffy wasn't sure whether to
be touched, irritated, or squicked by his attentiveness.

There were still a couple hours of daylight left when they reached
the forest floor again, but Buffy's legs were shaking with fatigue.

"Spike, do you think we could make camp early tonight?"

"I thought I saw water a couple miles in.  You think you can walk
that far?"

"Sure," she said tiredly.

"Want a piggy-back ride?"

Buffy rolled her eyes.  "Uh, no."

He smirked at her, turned and led the way back into the forest.

They found the water and a place to camp.  When they came to the
stream, Spike had insisted that they bathe Buffy's wounded arm.  He
used gentle care as he washed the gash and patted it dry, stopping
if he saw her flinch and asking if he was hurting her.  She always
answered no, and their eyes would lock before one of them looked
away. When he was satisfied that it was clean, he carefully
rewrapped it.  When he had finished, he said, "Look, you just rest
and I'll get the firewood."

Buffy was surprised and touched at his offer and considered it û for
about two seconds û but then her stubborn Slayer pride kicked in. "I
can get the firewood, Spike.  You just get everything ready for it."

He shrugged and she went in search of wood.

***

By the time they had the fire going, the sun had set and the
temperature had dropped.  Buffy ate more fruit for her dinner and
warmed herself in front of the roaring fire while Spike went out to
hunt. She was getting tired of fruit, but the thought of eating the
meat from one of the animals that Spike had drained made her
slightly nauseous.  Maybe tomorrow, she thought as she stretched out
in front of the fire, she'd ask Spike to go fishing for her again.
She awakened when she felt a body wrapping around her.

"Spike?" she murmured sleepily.

"Yeah, Slayer, go back to sleep," he said softly.

Buffy twisted around until she was facing him.  She rested her head
on his shoulder, wrapped her arm around his waist and entwined her
legs with his.  His arms tightened around her enfolding her in his
coat, and as Buffy was drifting off to sleep again she felt the
briefest brush against top of her head.

She sighed contentedly, snuggled closer, and slept.

The next day when she awakened, she felt so tired and sluggish that
she had to struggle to open her eyes.  She wasn't surprised to find
that she'd once again wrapped herself around Spike.  In fact, she
was pretty sure that this was how she'd fallen asleep last night
after he'd joined her.

"You awake, Slayer?"

"No."

His chuckle rumbled in her ear.  "Want to sleep a bit more?"

She sighed and rolled over onto her back.  He rolled onto his side
and propped his head up on his hand, watching her.

"I hate not having my strength."

"Yeah, I understand."

She looked over at him.  "Is this what it's like for you?  Back
home, I mean.  Feeling all weak and helpless and useless?"

"Well, I'm not useless, but yeah, that's how I feel.  The Big Bad's
just a big neutered puppy.  'ts not fun."

She turned onto her side and propped her head on her hand, mirroring
him.

"I'm not sorry you can't kill, Spike."

He reached out his hand and brushed her hair back from her
face.  "Not surprising.  You being the Slayer and all."

The touch of his fingers as they skimmed over her cheek made her
shiver, and she felt a pulse between her thighs.  She was unnerved
by the intimacy of the gesture and her response to it.

"Why haven't you killed me yet?" she asked suddenly. "Or just taken
off and left me?"

He went still, his hand frozen in midair.  "Told you.  I may need
you to get back home," he said lowering his hand to his side.

"But you can live here, Spike.  There are animals here for you to
eat."

"A bloke could go insane with only himself for company, pet."

Buffy grinned wickedly.  "Yeah, I could see how having only you to
talk to would make ya crazy."

One eyebrow rose.  "I don't notice you being any dafter than usual,
Slayer."

"That's because half the time we aren't talking to each other," she
quipped.

"And that's because half the time you're a giant pain in the arse,
Slayer," he said with a smirk.

"Hey!" she said rising up on her elbow.  "I am not.  Take that back!"

"Make me."

"Oh, I'll make you all right," she said as she lunged at him
knocking him over onto his back.  She straddled him and although she
knew he could have easily overpowered her, she captured his wrists
and pinned them over his head.

"The mighty Slayer has beaten the evil vampire once more," she
crowed. "Now, take back what you said."

"Bugger off," he said, laughter sparkling in his eyes.  Breaking
free of her hold he twisted until she was trapped under him, her
wrists pinned above her head.   "Now what are you going to do,
Slayer?" he asked with a smirk.  She wiggled under him, laughing and
demanding release.  It was all fun and games and squeals and
laughter until their eyes met.

Buffy felt the now familiar current thrum through her body.  Spike
looked from her eyes to her lips and Buffy's breath caught in her
throat.  Slowly, so very slowly, he lowered his head.  A tiny voice
in the back of her mind was screaming, *No! Don't let him kiss you!*
but Buffy's heart was pounding so loudly that it was drowned out.

She wasn't sure what she expected, but it certainly wasn't what she
got.  The kiss he brushed across her mouth was feather light.  He
nibbled gently on her lower lip, tugging it into his mouth and
sucking it tenderly.  Releasing her lip, he circled her mouth with
his tongue, barely touching her.  She gasped as shivers coursed down
her body and she opened her mouth to him.

He resisted her silent plea and continued his gentle assault,
brushing his mouth lightly across hers, nipping at her bottom lip,
licking her lips with flicks of his tongue.  When she moaned, he
covered her mouth with his, slid the tip of his tongue over hers and
then withdrew.  He made his way from her mouth to her jaw with
light, teasing kisses, and when he reached her neck, she turned her
head to allow him access.

The tiny voice in her head screamed at her *Vampire!* but she
ignored it again as his mouth caressed her skin.  He nibbled at her
neck and his tongue darted out sending pulses of pleasure throughout
her nervous system.  Buffy moaned again and thrust her hips up.  Her
body was racked with chills and longing and desire.  She opened her
legs and allowed him to nestle between her thighs.

Spike raised his head and Buffy was mesmerized by the desire she saw
reflected in them.  He whispered her name and brought his mouth to
hers.  This kiss was deeper, more demanding.  She kissed him back
ravenously and began tugging frantically, trying desperately to free
her arms from captivity.  He released the hold he had on her wrists
and rolled over so that she was on top of him.  She grabbed handfuls
of his hair and eagerly opened her mouth to his questing tongue.
Buffy was beyond thinking now.  She only wanted, needed.  She pulled
back and now it was her turn to tease and taste his skin.  He moaned
when she kissed her way down his neck, sucking and nipping and
licking, learning each pleasure spot on the way.  Buffy could feel
the hardness of his arousal as he thrust up against her, and the
ache between her thighs was becoming painful.  She wanted him to
touch her.  His arms wrapped tightly around her, and he rolled them
over so that he was on top again, his mouth slipping to her neck.

Pain tore though Buffy's body and she began pushing at his
shoulders, trying to break away from him.  He raised his head,
looking at her with passion-glazed eyes.

"Buffy?"

"Get off, Spike.  Now!  Get off!"

He stiffened and rolled off her, springing to his feet.  She jumped
to her feet rubbing at her left buttock.  Kicking out, she knocked
away the sharp rock that had dug into her flesh.

"Stupid rock," she muttered still rubbing at the pain.

"That's why you stopped me?"  His voice was quiet behind her.

She glanced at him and then blushed red to the roots of her hair.

"Yeah."

Spike chuckled.  "Poor Buffy.  Come here, love.  I'll make the hurt
go away."  He reached out to her, but she stepped away.

"Don't, Spike.  This is so not a good idea."

The smile faded from his face.  "You thought it was a good idea a
minute ago."

"A minute ago I wasn't thinking at all."

"Buffy..."

But she held up a hand and stopped his words.

"Don't.  Let's just get going, okay?"

He was silent for a long while and Buffy thought he was going to
argue with her, press her.  Instead he simply nodded his head, his
face cold and remote, and walked away from her.

***

Buffy felt miserable as she followed Spike.  He maintained a
substantial distance between them, his anger and frustration
emanating from him in almost visible waves.  She didn't blame him
for his anger.  She'd allowed this whatever-it-was that was brewing
between them to get out of hand.  She didn't even blame him for
trying to get in her pants because a) he was a guy and b) he was
evil and soulless so he couldn't see why this was such a bad, bad
thing.  Oh, and c) he was a guy.

Buffy sighed.  And what was her excuse?  Because the teeny, tiny
voice in her head that she hated to listen to - the one that told
her only the truth û was telling her that she wanted in his pants
every bit as much as he wanted in hers.  And how had that happened?
They were mortal enemies.  He was a killer, a vampire, her natural
prey.  She wasn't supposed to find vampires hot.  She was supposed
to dust them.  And she was good at it.  But then Angel came along,
her tall, dark, and handsome mysterious stranger û who at least had
a soul, she comforted herself û and now, Spike û who did not have a
soul and was only held in check by a chip in his head.  And who had
not tried to kill her since they'd come to this dimension where she
wasn't the Slayer and his chip didn't work.  And who had caught her
a fish and picked fruit for her and gave her water and bandaged her
wounds, and made her laugh, and kept her warm at night and didn't
try to bite her even when she'd offered up her neck to his mouth.

Buffy shook her head. It was wrong.  She knew it. Really.  She did.

*And what about Riley?* the teeny tiny voice asked.

Buffy closed her eyes at that thought, tripped over a tree root, and
opened her eyes again.  Riley was a good man, strong and honest and
brave and all the other boy scouty things that every woman wanted in
a man.  He was a nice guy.  The kind of clean-cut, all-American guy
her friends wanted her to be with.  The kind of guy with whom she
could have a somewhat normal life.

The kind of guy who loved her.

*And what do you feel about him?*

I love him too, Buffy thought stubbornly.

*Do you?  You love him so much you mack on the first vampire that
comes along?*

Oh, that is so not true, Buffy thought defensively.  It was a-a
thing.  That was all.  A response to the stress I'm under here.

*I see.  And you always respond to stress by having make-out
sessions with your mortal enemies?*

Not enemies!  One.  One mortal enemy.

*Spike.*

Yeah, Spike, Buffy sighed.  The worst of her mortal enemies because
for some reason she never could seem to kill him.

*You don't seem to have any problem kissing him though.*

Well, the kissage thing isn't going to happen again, she thought
forcefully.

*You sure about that?*

Shut up!

The voice went silent, but Buffy was troubled.  What did it mean,
really, that she'd kissed Spike this morning?  And really, really
enjoyed kissing Spike this morning?  She did care about Riley, but
he hadn't crossed her mind when she'd been kissing Spike.  In fact
she hadn't thought about him since she'd sleepily mistaken Spike for
him.  Deep inside herself, Buffy knew that her feelings for Riley
were never going to be any deeper than they were now.  Riley was the
kind of guy she could care about but never really love.  Was it fair
to him to keep dating him now that she knew she was never going to
be able to give him what he wanted?  What he deserved?

She was going to have to break up with him.

Crap.


Chapter 7

Between Buffy's oversleeping and the snog-o-rama (tmBuffy), they'd
started out late that day, so when the sky began to get dark Buffy
assumed that it was later than she thought.  She was so absorbed in
working out a way to tell Riley she was breaking up with him -
*Riley, you're a really great guy, and the past few weeks have been
some of the best in my life.  But it turns out I'm really just a big
ole skanky vamp ho and you deserve someone better than that, so I
have to break up with you now.  Sorry.* - she didn't notice Spike
had stopped and was gazing up at the sky.

"For Christ's sake, Slayer, watch where you're going," he snapped
when she plowed right into his back, almost knocking him off his
feet.

"Sorry, I didn't realize you'd stopped."

"Well get your head out of your ass and pay attention."

"Don't talk to me like that!"

"I was trying not to talk to you at all."

"Yeah, I noticed you being all sulky and stuff."

"Sulky?  For your information, Slayer, I'm not being *sulky*.  I'm
trying to resist the temptation to bite you a good one."

"Oh, now your true colors are showing, aren't they?  I won't sleep
with you so you're going to bite me?"

"News flash, Blondie.  You've been sleeping with me.  It's the
cockteasing that's got me feeling a bit fangy."

Buffy flushed in both shame and anger.  "I wasn't... what you said.
I-I just remembered it was wrong."

Spike took an angry step toward her.  "Guess it's just lucky for you
that you *remembered* before I had the chance to get your knickers
off then, isn't it?  Wouldn't want to be the cause of you doing
something wrong and enjoying it."

Buffy's chin went up.  "You seem awful sure I'd enjoy it.  Well,
maybe I wouldn't have."

"Don't fool yourself, Slayer.  You'd have enjoyed it.  More times
than you could count."

Buffy swallowed and she felt her whole body flush.  She decided the
wisest thing to do was change the subject.

"Why'd you stop?"

"I didn't stop; you did.  Remember?"

"No!  I-I mean now.  Why'd you stop walking?"

He pointed up.  "It's getting overcast.  I think we're going to need
to find shelter pretty soon."

She looked up and saw that indeed it wasn't getting dark because it
was late. Peering up through the thick ceiling of leaves, she could
tell that dark clouds were gathering overhead.  She looked around
the forest and had a sinking feeling that they were going to spend a
very cold, wet night.

"There is no shelter, Spike."

"We're almost to the mountains.  With any kind of luck we'll find a
cave or something."

She nodded and he started off again.  Buffy followed noticing the
stiff set of his shoulders where before he'd moved with the grace of
a panther.  And why was she being so obsessive because he was
upset?  This was Spike.  She didn't care how Spike felt.  She'd done
the right thing in stopping before things got more out of hand, and
if that made Spike mad, well too bad.  Buffy didn't care how he felt.

Really, she didn't.

Really.

Buffy sighed.  Well, that was less than convincing.

Crap.

***

Thunder was rumbling in the distance when they exited the forest and
stood on the rocky terrain that surrounded the foot of the
mountain.  Spike stood scanning the area ahead.  The base of the
mountain seemed to consist mostly of rocks, hard-packed dirt, short,
stunted trees, and thick, thorny bushes.    Pointing up he
said, "There.  I think I see the opening of a cave about two hundred
feet up."

Saying nothing more, he proceeded on.  Buffy hoped that he really
had seen a cave.  The temperature was already dropping, and she
really didn't want to get caught in an icy downpour.

The going was hard and treacherous from the steep incline and the
loose rocks covering the ground.  The stubby trees stuck out at odd
angles from the hard packed ground and they had to go around them,
making the climb even longer.  Buffy almost called out to Spike to
help her over a few of the harder bits, but pride kept her mouth
shut.  She might not be super-strong right now, but she was still
the Slayer, dammit.  She'd get herself up this mountain.

The sound of the thunder was closer, the flashes of lightning were
more frequent, and the wind was making Buffy's hair whip around her
head like a Gorgon's snakes by the time Spike stepped onto a narrow
ledge.  Buffy could see the hole set back in the mountain's side,
and breathed out a silent thank you as she followed Spike inside.
The interior of the cave was so dark Buffy couldn't see very much.
Spike vamped out and looked around, then said, "I'm going to bring
in some wood for a fire.  Stay put."

"I can help get wood," she said following after him.

He glared at her.  "Just stay here, Slayer.  I can move faster
without you tagging along."

Buffy glared back.  "Fine.  Do it yourself then," she snapped.

"I will," he said, storming out of the cave.

"Good!"

"Fine!"

She walked out of the cave and stood on the small ledge.  A loud
crack of thunder reverberated over their heads.  "I hope you don't
get hit by lightning and go all dusty," she called after him
waspishly.

He glared back.  "And I hope you don't fall off of that ledge and
bash your brains out on a rock."

"Pig!"

"Bitch!"

She whirled around and reentered the cave, brushing tears from her
eyes.  It was the wind that had brought the tears to her eyes, she
insisted to herself.

Stupid wind.

He was soon back with an armload of dry wood, dumping it on the
floor of the cave without a word to Buffy.  Buffy had tried to clear
a spot for the fire just as he'd been doing, but it was even darker
now and the interior of the cave was far too dim for her to see
much.  She could just make out Spike, once more in game face,
clearing an area, arranging the wood and then flicking his lighter
to get the fire started.

When it was finally going and light filled the cave, Buffy noticed
what looked to be another opening.  Standing up, she walked over and
stuck her head through.  She wasn't sure, but she thought it felt
warmer on the other side.

"What's in there, Slayer?"  His voice was normal again as if their
last shouting match had burned his anger from him.

"Can't tell.  It's dark."

She pulled back from the opening and turned to see Spike carefully
pulling one of the pieces of firewood out of the fire.

"Let me look," he said coming to her with the torch.

She stepped out of his way and he thrust the brand through the
opening.  The flickering fire revealed a narrow passage.  Spike
entered it and Buffy followed him.  The passage curved after about
fifteen feet and Buffy lost sight of Spike as he rounded the corner.
The passage turned pitch black again with the loss of the torch's
light and she had to put out her hand to guide her the rest of the
way.  Turning the bend in the tunnel, she saw a glow up ahead.

The passage ended after a short distance, and Buffy exited into a
cavern that caused her to catch her breath.  The walls were glowing
in places with an eerie green phosphorescence.  The cavern was
large, much larger than the one they'd just come from.  And warm.
Buffy peered around in awe.  She'd never seen anything like it
before.  Huge stalactites hung like chandeliers from the ceiling and
gave off the same ghostly green light as the walls. The floor was
mostly flat with rocks of dark gray stone dispersed throughout the
cave.  Most of the rocks were ordinary looking, but a few were long
and flat and reminded Buffy of the benches that could be found in
Sunnydale's cemeteries.  She was still taking in her surroundings
when she heard Spike's voice.

"Well, lookie here, Slayer."

"What?" Buffy asked as she turned to walk toward him.  He stood next
to a large natural pool.  Steam drifted off the surface of the water.

"Looks like we got us a hot tub," Spike said.

Buffy gazed as if mesmerized.  Kneeling, she carefully reached down
and skimmed her hand over the water's surface.  It was hot, but no
more so than a freshly drawn bath.  Buffy sat back and twisted
around to tell Spike to leave the cave while she took a bath.  Her
eyes widened and her mouth dropped opened when she saw him.

"What do you think you're doing?" she practically shrieked.

Spike was sitting on one of the bench-like rocks tugging a boot from
his foot and placing it beside its mate.  Standing up, he shrugged
the duster from his shoulders and then his red button-down shirt.

"What's it look like?  I'm going to take a bath."

"You can't do that," Buffy cried out, jumping to her feet.

"Yeah?  Why not?" he asked.  Leaning over, he tugged his black T-
shirt over his head and then threw it on top of the rest of his
clothes.

Buffy stared at him.  Oh my, she thought.  She'd been aware of his
muscles.  She'd been curling herself around him for the past three
nights, after all.  A girl got to know if a man had muscles or not
in those circumstances.  She just hadn't been aware of the whole
package.  Oh my god, Buffy thought, look at that stomach.

"See something you like?"  His voice held a sultry note.

Buffy started at the sound of his voice and looked into mocking blue
eyes.  She flushed in embarrassment and irritation.  "Not really,"
she lied, lifting her chin proudly.

"So, you going to tell me why I can't take a bath?"

"Because I want to take a bath."

"Not stopping you, Slayer," he answered her as he began to unbuckle
his belt.

"I can't take a bath with you here, Spike, so you need to go back to
the other cave until I'm finished."

His belt was unbuckled and he began to pull it slowly though the
belt loops.  Buffy watched spellbound.

"No."

"Huh?"

"I said, no.  I'm not leaving the cave so you can have a nice soak.
I'm taking a bath now.  You can join me or you can leave.  Your
choice."  His hands went to the button of his jeans and popped it
open.

"Come on, Spike," Buffy said with just a hint of desperation in her
voice.  "I'm all stinky.  Just let me go first, okay?"

Spike grinned wickedly.  "I always let the lady go first," he said.
His fingers went to his zipper and he slowly pulled it down.  The
sound of his sliding zipper seemed to echo throughout the cave.

Gathering her wits about her one more time, she said, "But if you
always let the lady go... Oh."  Damn!  She could feel her face burn
again.  Why was she blushing and stuttering like someone's maiden
aunt?  If Spike wanted to be a pig about this and take off all his
clothes in front of her like a Chippendale's dancer, well just let
him.  Buffy didn't care.

And it wasn't making her in the least bit excited.

Spike's thumbs hooked into the open waistband of his jeans and he
slid them down over his hips.  Leaning over, he stepped out of
them.  He stood up holding the jeans casually in front of him.
Buffy could see strong, lean legs and the smooth white flesh of his
hips.  He hesitated, as if wondering just how far to take his little
striptease act.  And then as if making up his mind, he turned to his
discarded pile of clothing and tossed down his jeans.

Buffy stared.  He had an impressive chest and stomach; she couldn't
deny that.  But he had a truly beautiful ass.  The firm white globes
tempted her in ways she didn't even know she could be tempted.

She really wanted to bite that ass.

And then he turned around.

And Buffy was lost.

 

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