Chapter Summary: Willow tried to use magic to get Tara to come back to her. The warded house took it as an attack against Tara, and she passed out from the combating magical forces. Valerie, posing as a Social Services agent, removed Dawn from the Summers' house once she found out that Willow was responsible for the attack on Tara. Dawn is staying with Valerie. Tara recovered, and now Spike left to track down Buffy's murdering rapist. He wanted everything ready for when Buffy awakens.

**WARNING: The beginning of this chapter especially deals with darker words and emotions as Spike tracks down Buffy's murdering rapist. It isn't way crazy, but it is not a happy part. Feel free to skim down until those scenes are done if you don't want to read that type of thing. Buffy's awakening is in this chapter though, and you won't want to miss that. There is a little bit of revenge torture again towards the end from Buffy. There is a villain character death, namely the rapist's death after Buffy's awakening.**

Disclaimer: All characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them by all rights. I just sneak them out of the vaults to play with them whenever I can. I do not make any money off of this. I have only the satisfaction that others enjoy the creativity and storylines that I come up with for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

 

Spike sniffed the air to double check the trail of his prey. What he would do when he found the man, he wasn't sure. "Bloody military and their bloody chip." He muttered low. He hoped that if his intent were to restrain and not cause physical harm, the chip wouldn't fire.

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

Adam Masterson walked along Sunnydale's streets without a care in the world. He had a nice wad of cash in his pocket and a nest egg in his bank account from his latest job. The man may have been a geek, but Warren paid Adam well. Adam got a nice fuck out of the bargain too, but he hadn't shared that fact with the geek. The Slayer had a sweet little pussy. He'd keep that information to himself to bring up later in his mind for his self-pleasuring.

'Too bad I had to kill her,' Adam thought to himself. 'That is one hot one that I would have enjoyed "visiting" again.' He laughed with sinister glee at the thought of repeated visits to the crypt with Buffy at his mercy every time. It made him hard just thinking about it.

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

Spike turned up an alley. He followed the scent of the man he saw the morning he found Buffy. He recognized the scent again outside their house when Tara was unconscious. Once Tara was awake for a while, he had to leave to follow the trail. He wanted to make sure this guy never had a chance to hurt anyone else. He would make a perfect first meal for his Childe. That kind of revenge would help Buffy deal with the atrocity committed against her as well. He crinkled his nose that the scent was also now tainted with the man's arousal. 'Disgusting.'

So lost in his thoughts, Spike failed to see his prey step into the shadows of a doorway. The click of a gun hammer being cocked near his ear startled him. He froze. 'Pay attention, Spike. You let the bastard catch you,' He mentally berated himself. "You don't want to do that, mate."

"And why not?" Adam stepped out of the shadows with his weapon trained on Spike. "I don't take too kindly to being followed."

'Think Spike.' Spike knew a bullet wouldn't kill him, but it would hurt. It could also incapacitate him long enough to allow the guy to dust him if he realized he was a vampire. "You're a hard man to find. Word on the street says you can help me with a particular problem that's been pestering me."

The prospect of another job stilled Adam's initial concerns. He was on a roll. Why not add another notch to his reputation? "I'm listening, but it better be good."

Spike relaxed a little. The eyes of a hunter scanned the alley for anything to help him or a sign of any other dangers. "There's a woman who has been getting in my way time and time again. She's made my life miserable for years."

Adam leaned against the wall of one of the buildings. "Women are nothing but nuisances." He kept his gun pointed at Spike's chest while they talked.

"I'm glad you feel that way. She has some pretty powerful friends who would see me dead if I killed her directly. I've tried a few times without much luck." Spike pulled a cigarette from the pack in his duster. He lit the tip of it. "I heard you know just how to take care of the annoying bints."

Adam laughed. He ran a hand down his chest to his waist. He tucked his thumb into his waistband and tapped his covered hard cock. "I know exactly what the bitches are good for." He leered at Spike. "After that, they might as well be dead."

Spike forced himself to say every word that came from his mouth. He wanted to beat the man's head up against the wall and then slit his throat. What he wouldn't give to have the chip in his head removed to give this guy what he deserved. "Like a bit of rough and tumble, eh mate?"

"It's no fun if they don't struggle and scream." Adam clapped Spike on the shoulder and waved his gun in the air as he spoke.

"This one would struggle for sure." Spike knew by scent that this was the man, but he wanted to be sure. He'd need every damning word and reason to convince Buffy to eat the murderer as her first meal. "She doesn't like to give it up to blokes like us. She feels we're beneath her." He poured the story on thick to anger the man further.

"The bitch! I'd show her who is beneath whom." Adam snarled in disgust. His hatred of women in general fueled his anger. "Where can I find her, what does she look like, and how much ya offering?"

"Strawberry blonde bint about yeah high." Spike held his hand up to his shoulders. "Bossy little chit with green eyes and stupid hair who likes to hang out in cemeteries." He huffed in mock annoyance.

"She's really gotten under your skin, hasn't she?"

"You have no idea, mate." Spike rolled his eyes. That much was true. Buffy was under his skin, in his mind, and buried in his heart. "She is a bit of a handful. I'm willing to offer 20 grand because she also happens to be the Slayer."

"Slayer?" Adam started laughing.

"Why is that so funny?" Spike gritted his teeth. He had a feeling that he knew the answer to that, but he wanted to hear the wanker say it.

Adam laid a hand on Spike's shoulder. "I'll tell you what ... since I was already paid one hundred grand to kill the bitch, I'll let you keep your money. Normally I'd keep your money too, but I'm feeling charitable tonight."

"One hundred grand?" Spike gasped at the amount of money someone paid to have Buffy killed. "Who would have that kind of money lying around? No one in the demon world would want her dead bad enough to offer up that kind of dosh for the job."

"Who said it was a demon?" Adam sneered. "It doesn't matter anyways. The deed is already done, and I can tell you she doesn't scream too loudly. She only screamed in the beginning when I shoved my cock into her dry pussy." He laughed. "I couldn't drag a scream out of her after that no matter how hard I gave it to her. Bled real good for me though, and when I was done I shot her in the chest."

"You bastard!" Spike elbowed up into Adam's face. He tackled the goon to the ground with punches to the face."

Adam growled. "What is your problem?" He tried to aim his gun at Spike's head. He thought the guy wanted the girl dead. Why was he going postal on him now?

"You killed the woman I love." Spike pulled Adam up off the ground and shoved him against a nearby dumpster. He kicked him in the knees. "You aren't worthy to be in her presence, scum."

Adam was enraged that he was tricked into giving away his identity and last job. He fought back against Spike viciously. No one was taking him down to the slammer.

"Bloody hell." Spike fought the shocks of pain the chip emanated. He pressed on despite the pain. He choked on the blood that flowed from his nose and into his throat. 'I wish I could get this bloody chip ripped out of my head.' He was pushed back against the wall by a punch to his jaw from Adam. Both of their hands were wrapped around the gun trying to wrestle it away from each other.

Unseen by either man a strange looking female demon peeked out from another doorway. She smirked to herself. This was the perfect vengeance. Although Spike wasn't directly the injured party, his wish was a way for the injured party to find her revenge. D'Hoffryn would let her get by with it. As the men struggled for the gun, she spoke softly, "Wish granted."

The justice demon opened her hand to see the piece of computer technology that impaired the vampire Spike for the last couple years. She looked up in time to see Spike kick Adam solidly in the groin. 'Ouch,' She thought to herself. She smiled at the delight she saw in Spike's face when no pain registered in his brain.

Spike stared at the fairly immobilized man on the pavement. He felt no shock when he kicked the goon the last time. He howled, snatched the gun from the ground and practically danced around the human. "About damn time!" He called out into the air. He didn't care why the pain was gone. He'd try to figure it out later. Now, he had one human to incapacitate to get him back to his house. He chopped Adam at the back of his neck, effectively knocking him unconscious. When he was again pain free, he figured that it wasn't just a fluke. Somehow the chip was not working.

The demon smiled for two reasons at the sight before her. First, she had a feeling that the vengeance Spike and Buffy would enact on the human would be sweet and perfect. Even in her sleep the Slayer's desire for vengeance reached her ears. Secondly, she repaid a debt she felt she owed to the man Spike once was. She'd recognized him immediately when he appeared in the alley and the Slayer's visions. "Until we meet again, William." She vanished to another realm with a flash.

Spike's head snapped up at the sound of his human name. He saw the flash of light, but his supernatural vision failed to find anyone else in the alley. He shrugged his shoulders. 'Must be an after effect of the chip's pulses.' He hefted the unconscious man over his left shoulder. He hurried back home.

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

Shortly before dawn, Spike arrived back at the house with his hostage in tow. He punched in the necessary security codes for the door and unlocked each door with its different key. He was surprised to find Tara still sitting on the porch swing when he got there.

"Spike?" Tara awoke from her nap when the porch door banged open. She stood up. "What did you do? Who is that man?"

Spike kicked the front door the rest of the way open. He turned around to face Tara. "This is the bastard that raped Buffy. He was quite proud of the fact when he admitted it to me."

"What are you going to do with him?" Tara was in shock. The guy looked like he was pretty beat up. How had Spike managed that? Wasn't the chip supposed to keep him from hurting humans? "Is he a demon?"

"Sad to say luv, but he is human." Spike walked up the stairs. He dropped the guy onto the floor of his bedroom, and he rummaged through a bag in his closet.

"How did you ..."

"I don't know." Spike pulled a length of sturdy chain from the bag. "One moment I've got the headache from Hell, and the next hit the headache is gone." He tossed another length of chain into the middle of the room. "I don't care why it's not working, but I'm glad it's not."

"Oh my." Tara wasn't afraid of what Spike would do to her. She'd seen him protect the Scoobies for a long time against demons. She doubted he would just start hunting humans now. Besides if he really wanted them dead, he would have found a way for someone to do it for him. She was finding out that he certainly had the means at his disposal.

Hadn't Spike also said that Buffy would keep her soul? There was no way Buffy would accept him hunting humans. Tara knew that fact alone would keep Spike from going out on the prowl, even if he had no other reason.

"I won't hurt innocents, Glinda." Spike stood up and faced Tara. He smelled her nervous fear in the air. He rested his hands on her arms. "This one is no innocent. He was paid 100 grand to kill Buffy, and he added his little rape as his own bonus. He may have a soul, but he's as bad as Angelus ever was."

"I und ... understand, Spike." Tara stuttered because she was nervous. So much had happened in the last few days. It was all too much to take in at times. Her life had shifted its course, and her goals were changed.

"I am going to chain him up in my room until Buffy awakens." Spike located two metal pins that he knew would be located in the one wall. He pulled hard on each one to be sure they were still secure enough to hold a fighting human. Satisfied in their strength, he threaded a length of chain through each separate pin.

"But how will you get Buffy to eat a human? She won't do it." Tara knew that the Buffy she first met, and learned to know over the last couple years, held firm in the belief that all demons were bad and all humans were good. "She isn't going to wake up and go oh yummy treat."

"I know that, Glinda, but she needs a human meal to start with." Spike picked up Adam. He secured the two ends of one chain to Adam's wrists with cuffs. He repeated the motion with the second chain and cuffs around Adam's ankles. "I am hoping she recognizes the guy. If not, I am going to do my best to convince her that his worthless life should not be allowed to continue."

Spike stepped away from Adam. He walked closer to the door to face Tara again. "This isn't the first time he's done this, Tara. He was pleased with his line of work, and he would do it again if given the chance. He was willing to when I offered him a fake job."

Tara knew how serious Spike was about this decision. He never used her real name. He always called her by her pet name of Glinda. The fact that he used her real name told her that he was quite serious.

"I probably won't be able to convince her myself. Will you help me?" Spike's eyes begged her to understand his reasons. "She can live off animal blood, but she needs to be strong. My Sire's blood will help, but as much as this git deserves to die, she also needs this revenge to end things and bring her strength up."

Tara looked contemplative. Slowly she shook her head. "I can't encourage her to take a human life Spike; even if he does deserve it. But I won't say anything about it and I won't try to stop either of you. If the positions were reversed..." she sighed deeply. "It's up to Buffy and I will support her in whatever that decision may be."

"You're probably right that he would do it again, and the next time there would be no hope for his victim to survive in any way." She thought about what would have happened if Spike hadn't found Buffy when he did. Would they have even found her body? Buffy would be completely dead, and they would have lost her again. After finding out Buffy was in heaven, she knew that Willow would never be able to convince the Scoobies to resurrect Buffy again.

"I really need to rest, Glinda." Spike sagged with relief that at least Tara agreed to support him. He sat down on the edge of the bed. "My head is still throbbing from the beating it took from the chip to start with."

"I'll bring up some heated blood for you. There were instructions in the package Valerie gave me to let me know how long to heat it for," Tara offered.

"Thanks, Glinda. I need to conserve my strength for tonight." Spike laid back on the pillows. "I don't know how much Buffy is going to fight me. I have to keep her from dusting me until I've at least gotten her fed."

"She won't dust you, Spike." Tara reassured Spike, "Not if she really thinks about it at all. You saved her out of love."

"I just hope she sees it the same way as you do, luv." Spike closed his eyes to block out the pain he feared of Buffy's rejection. "When you get back from classes this evening, I'd appreciate it if you could help me bathe Buffy and get her into some new clothes. I don't want her to wake up in the filth she died in."

Tara nodded in understanding. "That is very thoughtful of you Spike. I'm sure she'll appreciate it." She walked to the bedroom door and into the hallway. "I'll be back soon."

"Thank you." Spike waited for the blood and planned out many things to take care of his Childe. He let his senses reach out to Buffy's sleeping form. He felt the absence of the pain she was in previously. He calmed to know that right now she was merely resting peacefully because of the sun's rising while her body rebuilt its strength. 'Sleep well, beloved.'

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

Valerie fluffed up the pillows on the bed in her guest room. She was a bit nervous to have the teenager staying with her. If she hadn't seen the darkness in Willow when they touched, she probably wouldn't be doing this. She hadn't asked for any payment to take care of the young woman either. She knew she had to get her out of that house and into somewhere safer.

Dawn watched Valerie flitter about the room. "Honestly, I can take care of myself." She said nervously. "Not that I don't appreciate everything." She hurried on, "Spike felt I would be safe here. I just don't want you to go out of your way too much for me. I feel bad coming into your home like this."

"It's all right, Dawn." Valerie smiled at Dawn. "I've been alone for a long time now. Company would be good." It had been a couple years since her last relationship failed. Her last girlfriend found out the type of clients she worked for and dumped her in fear. She dated both men and women, but she tended to be happier with the women than the men. With her job, she really didn't have many chances to date. She wasn't too fond of the demons she met, and "normal" people didn't usually understand her dealings with the supernatural. That left her alone in her home.

"Spike must really trust you to let me stay here." Dawn voiced wavered with concern. "He's pretty particular about who he lets me be around. He's more protective than even Buffy."

Valerie chuckled a little bit. She caught the undertones of warning in Dawn's statement. "I've never given him a reason not to trust me." She knew how protective Spike was of those he cared for. He'd given her strict instructions when it came to Drusilla during his first visit to Sunnydale. "I've protected his interests over the years, and I've kept his secrets."

"I'll be glad when I can live with Spike and Buffy." Dawn realized how what she said might have sounded. "I don't mean that I don't want to stay with you, but my sister is only recently back from her last death. We haven't had a chance to spend too much time together lately. I love her."

"Don't worry about it, Dawn. I wasn't offended." Valerie stepped into the hallway. She pointed down the hall, "That door on the left is the bathroom. I usually take my shower first thing in the morning. I get up early, but I promised to take you directly to school before going to work until I hear from Spike." She wondered how much Spike's "family" had gone through lately. 'Last death?'

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, I promised him I wouldn't be skipping school this week. He doesn't want to take a chance of Willow or the Scoobies cornering me. If I'm not at school, I might run into them more. Plus I doubt a foster home would let me miss school."

"Sounds wise. There are still a few hours before sun up. We should both get some sleep." Valerie yawned.

"I have 4 hours until I need to get up for school. I don't know if I'll be able to sleep, but I'll try." Dawn went into her room. Before she shut the door she said, "Thank you, Valerie."

"You're welcome, Dawn." Valerie checked the wards and security system one more time before she headed to bed. A million thoughts raced through her mind. One thought stuck out over all the others, her memory of a beautiful blonde Wicca who shined like an angel in her mind's eye.

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

Tara managed to avoid Willow all day on campus. Their majors weren't the same. So, they shared very few classes together. Today she was safe from a direct confrontation in class if she could avoid Willow outside of class. The task was made easier by an internal "Willow detector" the mages created for her. Along with complicated memory protection spells and protection wards, the mages crafted a bracelet of various crystals to boost and secure the magic when she was away from the house.

Tara felt Willow's presence getting closer from the East. She estimated how long it would take her to cross the campus to the Taurus. Spike agreed to buy the car from Valerie for her.

Tara turned in the opposite direction she felt Willow coming from. She ducked into buildings and crowds as much as she could to block Willow's view on her way to the car. She was in no mood or frame of mind to deal with Willow right now.

Once Tara shut the door of the Taurus she relaxed a little bit. Willow wasn't anywhere in sight. Her internal detection system gave only a faint indication that Willow was even in the area.

Tara inhaled deeply, turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the campus parking lot. "Time to go home." This was a huge night for all of them. Spike was positive Buffy would awaken sometime after the sun set.

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

Dawn walked into the Magic Box. She carefully looked through the window of the shop to see if Willow was there before she went in. Thankfully Willow was nowhere in sight. She twirled the crystalline bracelet around her wrist in nervousness.

"Hello, Anya. Is Giles around?" Dawn needed to speak to Giles alone. She had to tell him what Spike told her to say about Buffy. She also wanted to warn him about Willow. If Xander made an appearance she knew that she'd never get to tell Giles what she needed to.

"He's in the office going over the bookkeeping." Anya rolled her eyes. "He's been grumbling off and on all day." She pointed at a door to the right of the entrance into the training room. "I'm very meticulous about the inventory and money. I don't know why he's grumbling."

"Maybe I can find out." Dawn bounced in her mock teenage cheerfulness to Giles' office. She knocked on the door.

Giles jerked the door open, "Anya, I thought I told ..." He stopped when he realized that Dawn was at his door and not Anya. "Dawn? Please come in."

Dawn sidestepped past the Watcher. She noticed Giles was a lot more uptight since the night of Sweet's musical appearance. He hadn't smiled in days.

Giles closed the door behind Dawn. He removed his glasses and tossed them on the desktop. He rubbed his eyes. The figures had long since blurred on the page, but he had to keep himself occupied. Somehow he had to tell Buffy of his plans to return to England, but he couldn't get a hold of her. "Have you seen Buffy, Dawn?"

"Actually Buffy is one of the reasons why I'm here to see you." Dawn fidgeted in place. She continually shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "She needed to get away from all of us for a little bit." She nibbled on her lower lip. 'Doing good, no lies yet.'

"What?" Giles stared in shock and anger. "She left the Hellmouth unguarded?"

"She knows we can handle it for a couple days." Dawn stopped fidgeting as much. Giles anger was making her angry. "I can get a hold of her if we have an emergency, but she needs the time away. Now that we all know she was torn out of Heaven, she doesn't need to fake everything being good."

"You get on the phone and get her back here right this instant." Giles' nerves were frayed beyond measure. "This is irresponsible and immature for her to leave without a word to anyone."

"She told me!" Dawn knew the real reason why Buffy wasn't available. She wanted to spit it out to Giles to defend her sister, but that would only get Spike and maybe Buffy staked. "I will NOT call her. She is being mature to leave and regroup. She knows what she's doing. She's not a child, Giles." She thought, 'Except in the vampiric sense.'

Giles punched his hand hard onto the desktop. He winced at the pain that shot up his arm. "She has responsibilities here." This was exactly why Giles felt he needed to return to England. Buffy seemed to be thinking only of herself. She left her adult responsibilities for him to handle. He needed to remove himself as Buffy's crutch.

Dawn's look hardened on the man that Buffy considered more of a father to her than her biological father. "What is wrong with you, Giles? Buffy never got to rest when she was stolen from Heaven. She's been carrying this around for so long by herself. She deserves a break."

"She's the Slayer." Giles snapped, "I shouldn't be doing her job for her."

"Oh poor Scoobies. Something might interfere with your fun. Boo hoo." Dawn tightened her hands into fists. She forced herself not to punch the man she always used to respect. "We're lucky she's even here at all. Do you think you would have continued to live after being ripped out of Heaven? I'll bet that almost every single one of us would have slit our own wrists to get back to the peace she'd known."

Giles flinched and cringed. Dawn was being crude, but he deserved the young girl's anger. He was directing his anger at the wrong person. He should be lecturing Buffy, not Dawn. "Now you're being a bit melodramatic, aren't you Dawn?" He tried to even his tone out to calm the girl down.

"Don't," Dawn pointed her finger an inch from Giles' nose, "Patronize me." She turned around, grabbed Giles' door and opened it. "Don't try to locate her, Giles. It won't work. She's protected. Even if she wasn't, you would not want to deal with the consequences if you get in her way." She slammed the door behind her before Giles could speak again.

Giles fell into his chair. He was in shock. He'd never seen Dawn so upset and forceful. She looked like she wanted to rip his head off. He buried his face in his hands. What was life going to throw at them next?

Dawn stomped out of the Magic Box. She was too angry to tell Giles about Willow. Maybe she would try again tomorrow when she cooled down some. She headed off in the direction of the meeting point she and Valerie prearranged for pick up. She almost hoped something got in her way on the trip there. She was in the mood to rumble.

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

Tara set her purse and backpack down on the living room table. "Spike?" She heard a rustling along one of the walls. Muffled voices were barely heard above the shuffling.

Spike poked his head out of his bedroom door. "Yes, pet?"

"I just wanted to make sure everything was all right." Tara walked up the stairs. "I heard some noises."

Spike and Tara entered his room. He slapped Adam across the face. "Scum here thought he was going to escape." Spike pulled the chains tight before he patted Adam's cheek. Adam had duct tape across his mouth to keep him silent. "He was screaming like a girl when he saw my demon. Weren't you, boy?" He vamped out.

Adam would have wet himself if he had anything left in his system to let loose. The golden eyes of the vampire before him haunted him every time he closed his eyes. He cursed the day he ever accepted the job from Warren. He knew he was going to die. He wished they'd just get it over with.

Spike growled. "If you make a mess for me to clean up again, you will regret it." He looked over at Tara's confused expression. "Don't ask. It wasn't pleasant."

Tara had a good idea what Spike meant. She put her hands up in the air in a surrender motion. "Not going there."

"He isn't going anywhere now." Spike pointed at Adam. "Have you eaten yet, or are you ready to help me get Buffy clean?"

"I grabbed a sandwich in the commons before my last class." Tara stepped closer to the bathroom to get away from Adam. The darkness of his aura seemed to seep into anyone that was near enough to him. It chilled her to the bone. "I assumed you would want to start as soon as I got back."

"Thanks, Glinda." Spike nodded. He appreciated everything Tara was able to do. He wouldn't have made it through the last couple days without her help. "Go ahead and turn on the tap for her bath water." He stepped into the bathroom. "Temperature won't matter as much, but try to make it a little hotter than normal. It will help warm her up. I'll go get Buffy." He disappeared into Buffy's room.

Tara looked over all the bath salts and oils in the bathroom. She lived with Buffy long enough to know what kinds the Slayer usually liked to soak in. She tapped some of the vanilla bath salts into the running water. She adjusted the temperature a bit warmer before she added 3 drops of rose scented bath oil.

A gasp was heard from Spike's room. Tara looked up to see Spike with Buffy in his arms. She was still covered in blood and filth from head to toe. Adam gawked at Buffy from the other room.

Tara shivered, but Spike growled. He kicked the door to his room shut. "I'm not giving him a show."

Tara understood Spike's anger. She helped him sit Buffy up on the edge of the tub. Together one of them would hold Buffy up while the other removed a piece of clothing. When Buffy was down to her bra and underwear Tara asked, "Do you want me to take care of the rest?"

"Vampires aren't as concerned with nakedness as humans are, pet." Spike snapped the clasp of Buffy's bra open. "It is different because I love her, but I am also her Sire. It is my job to take care of her in every way." He lifted Buffy up into his arms again.

Tara removed Buffy's underwear. Spike seemed to avoid looking at Buffy's naked form except to clean her. He didn't look at her in a sexual way while he held her. She tossed the panties into the pile with the other pieces of clothing. She'd burn them later in the backyard per Spike's request. He didn't want anything in the house, save the hostage, to remind Buffy of her rape.

Spike lowered Buffy carefully into the full bathtub. The steaming water slipped up the sides of the tub to cover Buffy up to her shoulders when she leaned against the back of the tub.

Tara and Spike worked in tandem to make sure that all physical evidence of Buffy's rape and death were gone. All fluids from the rape were wiped out and cleaned from her body. The only marks that still remained on her were the twin prick marks where Spike bit Buffy to turn her. After a few awkward starts in dealing with Buffy's dead weight, Spike and Tara managed to get Buffy's hair washed with her favorite shampoo.

"I'll get her dressed," Spike said to Tara while they dried Buffy off. They wrapped her hair up in a towel. "I can lay her down on the bed to do it. Will you take that comforter off the bed for now please? I'll have to get it washed."

"I'll go toss it in the washer now." Tara hugged Spike. "Let me know if you need anything, Spike. I'm here for you both."

"Thanks, Glinda." Spike sighed. "The sun is setting. Now, we just wait until she rises."

Tara nodded. She exited through the door from Buffy's bedroom into the hallway. She had no desire to go back through Spike's room. She wanted to avoid that man at all costs.

"Looks like it is just you and me again, pet." Spike chose a light sundress from Buffy's wardrobe collection. He wanted something functional for her, feminine, but not overly revealing. He wasn't sure what she would do when she woke up. He didn't want her to feel further violated if he dressed her in something she would rather he not see.

Spike unwound the towel from Buffy's hair. He stroked Buffy's brush through her wet hair lovingly. Occasionally he would rest his forehead against the back or side of her hair and inhale her scent. He choked back threatening tears at the motionless body of the woman he loved. "Soon, my love ... Soon."

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

Tara pushed a button on the intercom system to side entry security door. "Yes?" She'd just finished burning Buffy's clothes in a pit outside and returned inside.

"It's Valerie, Tara. I have a package for you guys." Valerie tapped her fingers on her hips. Dawn was safely tucked into bed. Valerie promised to wake Dawn when she got home if she had any news on Buffy. Dawn was worried about her sister.

"Okay." Tara double checked the visual screen before she pushed the button to release the door's lock. She waited for Valerie to reach the porch, and she opened the porch door for her. "We should make sure you have a key to get in. It would be easier."

"I have a key, but I didn't want to use it today." Valerie followed Tara into the main house. "I wasn't sure if Buffy would be awake yet. I didn't want to walk into the middle of something."

"Oh." Tara blushed. "That makes sense." There was something about Valerie that made Tara feel warm from head to toe.

Valerie handed over a leather satchel with several phones in it. "There is a cell phone in there for each of you and one to spare in case you bring anyone into the circle." She explained. "Each phone has all of the other cell numbers programmed into it, including mine and Dawn's."

Tara pulled one of the phones out of the satchel. She grinned at the rainbow colored cover with a nice landscape scene on the back. "This one is mine, isn't it?"

Valerie nodded, pleased that Tara found hers. "I thought it suited you. Buffy and Spike's are hopefully to their tastes as well."

Tara pulled out an all black phone. She turned it over. In red dripping font style letters it said, "It's all about the blood." She chuckled at the appropriateness of that one. She dug around to find Buffy's. It was blood red on the front with a nice pointy stake covering half of the back. In black letters it said "Power in my hands," above the stake.

"Do you think they'll like them?"

"I think you have them pegged pretty well." Tara put the phones back in the satchel. She jumped in her chair when a loud growl echoed through the walls of the house. The answering growl of a more feminine nature had Tara moving for the stairs.

Valerie stopped Tara before she could get up one step. "Let them be. Trust me, you don't want to be up there right now. They'll be okay." She led Tara back over to the couch for both of them to sit down.

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

Spike felt his Childe moving closer to her awakening. He was never a patient man. In this he was even less patient. He needed to know that Buffy wasn't going to hate him. He had to know that she was safe. He sat down on the bed next to Buffy. He slit a line down the side of his throat. When the blood welled up sufficiently, he drew Buffy into his arms and placed her mouth over the cut.

Buffy floated in the daze of her dreams. She'd dreamt so many things over the last two days. It was overwhelming and confusing, but she found a peace in it all. She wanted to sleep and forget about the rest of the world. Her friends were never going to accept her life or choices now. She wanted to remain in this dreamland where their protests were more easily ignored.

At first nothing happened. Pale cold lips lay motionless against Spike's neck. Then he felt the slight movement of a tongue against the wound followed by a stronger suckling motion.

Buffy felt the draw of the outer world pulling harder on her. The alluring scent of something she wanted, desired, and craved filled her senses. Her dreams faded to black as the wonderful taste of security, love and Sire dribbled into her mouth. She drew more of the warm liquid into her mouth. She knew the one who fed her ... wait fed her? Her eyes snapped open.

Spike felt the moment Buffy came to full realization of what she was doing. Her body stiffened in his arms, and she stopped taking his blood. "Pet? Let me explain?"

Buffy buried her face in Spike's throat. Her fangs descended to bring more blood into her mouth. Talking was for later. Right now she needed blood, and his was sweet and powerful.

Spike was unsure whether to be horrified or cum in his pants at the feeling of Buffy feeding from him. The connection between them was different than when he was the Childe. This was stronger, more intense. He thought the Childe/Sire bond was wonderful, but the Sire/Childe bond was incredible.

Buffy continued to pull on the rich blood of her Sire. Her whole body was on fire. She felt the arousal from head to toe, and the connection she felt to Spike was amazing. She knew without a doubt that Spike was her Sire, and she was all right with that. There was a lot she needed to tell him.

Spike growled loud in warning to his Childe. She shouldn't have taken his blood without permission, but he could refuse Buffy nothing. She was, however, taking too much blood at once.

Buffy answered her Sire with a growl of her own. When Spike growled deeper with a grunt, she let go of his neck. She licked the wounds closed. Both of them panted needlessly. Buffy looked around the room. She didn't recognize it.

"Let me explain before you stake me." Spike inched a little bit away from Buffy on the bed. "You've kept your soul, so you can still go back to Haven."

Buffy listened to Spike babble. She hadn't given any thought to going back to Heaven right now. Her mother said that Spike loved her and would care for her. Buffy hadn't wanted to leave Dawn, Spike or her friends the way she would have if Spike hadn't turned her. She ran her hands down one of the long posts of her bed.

"I couldn't let you die, not like that. I'm a selfish bastard, but I love you so bloody much. I saved you for the Nibblet too." Spike feared Buffy was looking to break a piece of the post off to stake him. "I don't give a rot about the rest of them, except Glinda, but the Bit wouldn't have survived it if you died again either."

"Spike." Buffy pressed the fingertips of one hand against Spike's lips to silence him. "It's all right." She smiled warmly at her Sire. "I'm not going to stake you."

Spike relaxed a little. He stared at Buffy. His look conveyed his questioning why response.

"I did a lot of dreaming while I rested." Buffy removed her hand. She stayed sitting right in front of Spike. She wasn't going to move away from him. She needed him in more ways than one.

Spike thought about what he dreamed the first morning after he found Buffy. He tilted his head to the side while he listened to Buffy speak.

"Some of the dreams were pretty scary and not good. Some of them were very helpful and nice." Buffy grinned. There were a few things she dreamt about that she wouldn't mind finding out if they were true or not. "I wasn't meant to come back from Heaven."

"Buffy ..." Spike was stopped from commenting further by a look from Buffy that told him she had more to say.

"My mother basically told me that I had to die again to stop another evil from coming because of my resurrection." Buffy had several conversations with her mother while she slept. She'd learned a lot from her. "She told me that you were my salvation." She cupped Spike's cheek tenderly.

"I dreamt some of that too, luv." Spike smiled in joy, relief and love. "In the crypt, after I gave you my blood. She said she trusted me with you." He remembered the awe and pride he felt from Joyce saying she trusted him with her daughter. He always respected Joyce.

"She never liked Angel, but she ..." Buffy growled, vamped and burst through the adjoining bathroom doors and into Spike's bedroom. She snarled in anger at the sight before her. "SPIKE!!"

"Shit." Spike ran through the bathroom after Buffy. He wondered what took so long for her to smell the human. He figured that the bath's scents must have overpowered all the other scents until now. He stopped at the door from the bathroom to his bedroom.

Buffy pointed from Spike to the man chained to the wall. "What the Hell is he doing here?" Her anger and fury was palpable. "Do you know who this is?"

"He's dinner, pet." Spike halfheartedly chuckled in the hopes of lightening the mood.

A twinkle of deviant glee sparkled in Buffy's eyes. "Dinner?" The look on Spike's face told Buffy that he knew exactly who this was. He'd captured her rapist. "You do know I wanted to find him myself, don't you?"

Spike shrugged. "It's a Sire's duty to see to his Childe's needs. I felt he was something you needed to take care of when you woke up." He watched her every movement. He expected her to be appalled by his gift, but instead he noted a twitch of delight in her eyes. He sniffed the air, 'Yep, she still has a soul.'

Buffy walked over to the quivering man. "You and I are going to have a little bit of a chat." She drew her hand back and swiped in an x pattern from one shoulder down diagonally and then from the other shoulder down with her claws. The sharpness of her fingernail claws rivaled Drusilla's for their razor like edge while in game face.

Adam gurgled behind his duct tape covered mouth. If the chains hadn't held him up, he would have fallen to the ground in pain. Trails of blood welled and dribbled from the cuts.

Buffy's green-streaked silver eyes never left the gaze of the man she now considered her prey. Her rough little tongue curled out from her mouth. She rolled the tip over each slice of skin to lap up the blood there. "Mmmm ... interesting, Sire." She bit a flap of skin over Adam's heart with her fangs. She drew in two gulps of blood before she released him. "You really can taste the fear."

Spike gulped. He felt himself harden at the beautiful sight of his Childe on the hunt. Her actions were precise, and her moves were exquisite to behold from his viewpoint. "You'll regret knowing how good it tastes later when you have to drink the pig swill you and your bloody Scoobies have forced on me over the years."

"There's nothing to say that we can't drink bagged human blood." Buffy turned to look at Spike, but her claws shredded Adam's belt and pants to open his genitalia to her. She grasped Adam's balls firmly in one hand and squeezed. Her claws cut into the skin around his sack causing even more pain as she bled him. "Or even the blood of those as evil as this one."

Spike would have dropped over dead in shock if he weren't already dead. What was the Slayer saying? 'That had to be a helluva set of dreams if she's talking this way.' He watched Adam cringe and pale from the pain and blood loss.

"I know of at least one other person that deserves to die right now." Buffy twisted Adam's balls in her hand. With only a fraction of her combined Slayer/Vampire strength she crushed the tiny globes in the palm of her hand. "You won't be needing those anymore." She moved her grip to his cock. She scored it with her human fingernails, briefly devamping to complete the task before she revamped.

Spike covertly cupped his own balls and cock with the hands buried in his jeans pockets. It hurt just to watch Buffy exact her revenge. He wasn't going to stop her, but he hoped he never peeved her off enough for her to do that to him.

Buffy leaned in closer to Adam. "I hate to tell you, but even in my pitiful experience with men, you were a great disappointment." She huffed. "Pathetic really. Other than you shooting me, I probably would have just rolled over bored."

'Oh, that was low.' Spike thought to himself.

Adam struggled against his bonds. He was desperate to get away from this tiny slip of a woman who had him at her mercy.

"Doesn't feel so good to be on the other end of the situation, does it?" Buffy slapped him across the face. "No one will ever be your victim again." She lunged for Adam's throat. Her fangs unerringly located his jugular and bit down hard. She spared no pain for how deep she bit or how hard she pulled his blood into her mouth. She drained him in seconds.

Spike's eyes widened. 'That wasn't as hard to convince her as I thought it would be.' He was unsure about approaching Buffy. As her Sire he should be proud of what she'd done, but a part of him was scared for Buffy. He smelled her soul, but she was definitely not acting all that soulful right now. She was fueled completely by hate and revenge.

Buffy licked her lips clean with her tongue. "Strangely satisfying." She headed for Spike's bedroom door. She had another particular mission in mind before she was willing to let this hate within her go. It was the only way she could do what she knew was necessary to do.

"Where are we going?"

"To find his boss." Buffy stomped out of Spike's room, into the hall and down the stairs. "I know who it is. I just have to find him."

"Pet, I don't think you're ready for that yet." Spike followed behind Buffy. He ducked in front of her at the bottom of the stairs. "There are some things you need to think about and do before you go out around others."

Buffy sighed. One of the recurring dreams she had covered exactly how she wanted Warren to suffer for hiring that guy to kill her. He was beyond merely annoying now with his robots. This was war.

Tara and Valerie stopped talking when they heard Buffy and Spike running down the stairs. All of the muffled screams and sounds coming from upstairs unnerved Tara. Valerie kept her company to keep her calm. Valerie assured her that some noises were expected when a vampire first awakened. Valerie was the only thing to keep Tara from running upstairs to check on her friends. "Buffy?" Tara stood up in the living room.

"Tara?" Buffy took two steps forward and looked into the room off to the right of the stairs. She looked at the woman standing next to her friend. No smell of danger was in the air, but she didn't recognize her at all. She faintly smelled Dawn and a trace of Spike. "Who's that?" She pointed to Valerie, but she looked at Spike. She wasn't sure if Spike's scent was because the woman was in same place as Spike or if it was something more. "That had better not be your girlfriend, Spike." She snarled possessively.

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

(To Be Continued)
 

Disclaimer: All characters originally created by Joss Wheadon and Mutant Enemy belong to them by all rights. I just sneak them out of the vaults to play with them whenever I can. I do not make any money off of this. I have only the satisfaction that others enjoy the creativity and storylines that I come up with for our heroes, heroines, and villains.

'Single' quote marks surround thoughts in this story. "Regular" quotes are around spoken words.

Valerie met Buffy's challenging stare with a calm look. She dealt with demons day in and day out for the last five years of her life. Although the blonde in front of her practically radiated jealousy, vengeful fury and power, Valerie was confident that she could calm Buffy down.

Valerie took in the woman/demon before her. She was stunned by Buffy's beauty even in her vampiric guise. She never met a vampire with such a mixture of light and dark radiating from them. Usually nothing surprised her anymore. After all, Valerie knew demons. Buffy was different than any she'd met so far.

While working for Wolfram and Hart may not have been her first choice as a professional career, it had provided her with a vast amount of resources, which she studied throughout the years. After she mentally assessed a few scenarios, Valerie chose the one she felt would work the best. Slowly she tilted her neck into a submissive gesture to the demon within Buffy Summers. "May I approach, please?"

Buffy looked stunned. The strange woman in front of her showed not a trace of fear, and her actions appeared to be soothing the demon inside of her. She could feel her jealous rage subside, and her female curiosity was piqued. The minutes ticked by as Buffy stared at Valerie in an assessment of her own. She finally nodded for Valerie to move forward.

Spike stood still, nervous at the interaction. He was confident that Valerie could handle herself, but Buffy was newly turned. He wasn't sure how long it normally took for the soul to master the demon.

Normally a fledgling would be completely overcome with their bloodlust by now. The fledge would have killed any living thing in sight to get the blood it needed. Although Buffy was cruel to her tormentor, Spike never sensed Buffy edging towards Tara or Valerie to eat them. Buffy was acting protective and possessive of a Mate. She wasn't trying to feed.

Spike tensed, ready to rush in if it was needed. He would hate to begin his new relationship with Buffy by having to use a Sire command. Plus, the silly bint was strong enough that she might stake him for it after his hold wore off. He still couldn't reconcile himself with the fact that Buffy hadn't wanted to stake him as soon as she rose.

Valerie approached slowly. Her steps indicated that she was still being submissive to the demon. She only moved forward a little bit at a time. She kept her eyes lowered to the floor and her head tilted.

Valerie finally made it all the way to Buffy. She stayed to the side furthest from Spike. She knew that if she got too close to the woman's Sire, that Buffy's demon would probably take over, and she might attack.

While Valerie wasn't particularly worried about dying, her contract provided extra magical protection against demons; she could experience a great deal of pain. Her research indicated that not all vampire bites were painful. She doubted that Buffy's bite, in this instance, would be gentle if she spooked or provoked the demon into action.

Valerie bent down close to Buffy's ear. She quietly whispered something to Buffy that only they could hear. She hoped Buffy would understand what she was trying to say.

Both Spike and Tara strained to hear what Valerie said, but it was no use. Valerie's protection against demons had kicked in with her proximity to Buffy, and she practically crackled with a magical barrier around her. Unfortunately, it also muted all aspects of her whispered words. Seconds later, Buffy started to laugh so hard she fell down.

Valerie's words satisfied both the soul and the demon. They were both pleased to have this girl around for them. Buffy had a feeling that they would become closer friends over time. Valerie seemed to understand what was needed without being judgmental or fearful. Buffy promised herself to ask Spike more about Valerie later.

Spike moved to help Buffy up off the floor as Valerie slowly moved back to her former position next to Tara. Tara looked at Valerie and whispered, "What did you say to her?"

Valerie looked at Tara with a twinkle in her eyes and smiled, "Someday, I'll tell you."

Suddenly Buffy stopped laughing, sniffed and cocked her head as if she was listening to an internal voice. She looked at Valerie, Tara and the new house that was scented with a multitude of personal scents. The longer she was "awake" the more her senses kicked in. She felt the magical barriers crackling in energy around them, unseen. Something else lingered in the air. Processing this information Buffy turned to her sire, "What the hell happened here, and where is Willow?"

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

Buffy sat at the kitchen table with Spike, her hands wrapped around a cup of hot chocolate. She looked more sorrowful than angry at the moment, and Spike desperately wished he knew what she was thinking about. The multitude of unsettled emotions was easy for Spike to pick up on. Until other claims were finished or initiated, his senses were on the outskirts of the true depths of Buffy's thoughts.

Lost in her thoughts, Buffy didn't notice Spike's discomfort. She was still trying to absorb all the information that had been given to her. The euphoria of being turned, and the adrenaline from her first kill, was starting to wear off. Now too many thoughts crept into her mind. She remembered everything: the rape, the feeling of helplessness, the desire to live, and the need to repair her relationships with friends and family.

The rage of the demon was overwhelming, but Buffy felt her soul in there too. It worked to calm her demon, and it wept at the treachery done to her body. She tried to push her thoughts away from the rape. She thought instead about the actions of one of her oldest friends.

Focusing on Willow's magical attack and memory violations of Tara was a way for Buffy to avoid thinking about other factors. If she held on to her anger at Warren, Willow, or fate in general, then she didn't have to focus on her feelings about the rape, or her surprising joy at being turned.

Finally Spike's voice broke Buffy's concentration, "So luv, what did lawyer girl have to say to you?" Sitting in silence wasn't going to help either of them adjust to their new lives. He wasn't going to push too much too fast, but he wasn't going to allow Buffy to retreat into a shell either. She tried to do that after returning from Heaven. He wouldn't let it happen again.

A laughing smile broke across Buffy's face. What was said really wasn't extremely funny, but compared to everything else going on it was hilarious. "Something about guys in dusters being so two years ago, and she much preferred blondes in skirts." Her eyes twinkled in mirth. "It was a lot funnier the way she said it. Do you think Tara knows that Valerie wants in her skirt?"

Spike laughed at Buffy's question, "I doubt she meant it quite that way, pet. She probably phrased it that way to get the point across to your demon that she wasn't encroaching on your "territory"." He tilted his head to the side in contemplation. "Of course, it is interesting to think about those two together."

Buffy playfully swatted Spike in the shoulder. "Watch it, Mister. No mind wandering to those two and skirt upping."

Spike laughed. He hugged Buffy tenderly. "No one will ever compare to you, Buffy. You are the only one I love like that." He moved slowly out of the embrace. He hoped he hadn't made Buffy uncomfortable. He knew he only acted naturally to how he felt about her.

Buffy felt bereft after Spike let go. In that brief moment that he held her, Buffy knew safety and peace. Her demon quelled into contentment during the brief touch. It allowed her soul to rest from all the work it was doing to keep Buffy sane. "I hope so, Spike."

A troubled look crossed Buffy's face, and her eyes started to flicker with silver. "How could Willow do that to Tara? Controlling someone and taking away their choices are wrong." Her anger at finding out her friend abused her magic again infuriated her. "Doesn't she realize that she violated Tara as surely as that man did to me in the crypt. I think what Willow did was worse.

"Worse?" Spike was confused about why Buffy felt Tara's violation was worse than Buffy's. Both of the violations were equally as wrong in his book.

"Willow manipulated Tara's mind. Now Tara will always wonder what else Willow might have made her "forget" or made her "want to do" like Willow tried the other night." Buffy went on for a few minutes ranting on how wrong it was to violate a person like that.

Buffy rattled on about how wrong it was for others to make decisions like that for people, even if they love them, and take away their free will. She never forgave Angel for leaving her "for her own good". He made that decision for both of them without even asking her what she thought. "Willow can't keep using the excuse that she is hurt or she loves the other person so much that she had to do the magic. It's wrong for her to think that she has the right to make those choices for us."

Spike sat back and let Buffy rant. He occasionally refilled her cocoa mug. He added enough marshmallows to cover the top of the cup when he refilled it. His head snapped up. "Luv, are you really all right with me turning you?" He worried that Buffy was upset with him as well. "I know I gave you the choice, but you were dying. Your survival instinct probably just kicked in ..."

Buffy stopped ranting and looked at the face of the man who loved her, her Sire. "Spike, I didn't choose to come back from heaven, and I didn't choose to get raped and killed."

Spike lowered his head in shame. Buffy might not be staking him, but she might as well stake him if she regretted being connected to him as her Sire.

Buffy lifted Spike's chin with the tips of her fingers. "I chose to talk to you over everyone else when they brought me back." She smiled. "I could have gone to Angel to tell him about Heaven. Heck I could have had Willow erase all my memories of Heaven, but I didn't."

Spike thought about that for a little bit. He was the only one who knew about her being ripped out of Heaven instead of Hell. Did that show that she trusted him as a friend before? Right before the tower, Buffy showed that she looked at him as more than just a demon, but when she returned from Heaven she held so much animosity within her that their confrontations had been strained.

"I chose to take your blood, willingly. You did not take away my free will." Buffy cupped Spike's cheek. "You expected me to stake you when I woke up. If you wanted to control me, you would have secured me in such a way that I couldn't harm you."

Spike relaxed his shoulders in relief. Buffy continually amazed him with her clarity of thought. 'She must have had a hell of a set of dreams to be so accepting of this.' She was handling everything a lot better than he expected her to.

"I'm not going anywhere, Spike." Buffy rubbed her finger in a caress against his cheek. "I chose to be here with you, in this strange family you seem to be making. I didn't want to go back to Heaven."

"You'll go back one day, luv." Spike turned his face into the touch. He kissed the palm of Buffy's hand. "Your soul is still there. I'm sure you'll go back."

"That's fine, but not right now. It might take a while for me to get used to being a vampire," Buffy sighed, "and the other things that happened. I swear that I'll work hard to make life better." She chuckled at the term "life" being used in reference to a vampire. "I'm glad Tara is here. Heck I'm even glad Valerie is here, and I'm glad she is taking care of Dawnie. I wish I could do that."

"You will soon, pet. She knows about you, and she still loves you without question." Spike opened his arms for Buffy to slip into. "We have to be sure that you can control yourself around all the heartbeats. I won't let you hurt anyone you care about. I know you'd regret it later." He chuckled. "I won't even let you kill Red, even though I'd like to throttle her myself right now."

"Thank you, Spike." Buffy rested her head against Spike's chest. She closed her eyes and relaxed into his embrace.

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

Valerie checked on Dawn. She hated to wake her up this late at night, but she promised to tell Dawn about Buffy. Dawn wanted to know about any changes in Buffy's status. Walking softly across the room, she sat on the edge of the bed and reached over to gently shake Dawn. "Dawn? Dawn wake up. I have news."

Dawn answered her groggily, "What is it?"

"I just wanted to let you know that Buffy is awake."

Dawn bolted up. She almost fell off the bed in her haste to move. "She's awake? Did she ask about me? Did she stake Spike? Is she all right? What happened? Can I see her?" She fired off each question in rapid succession without giving Valerie a chance to answer in-between each new question.

Valerie laughed softly. "Yes Dawn. She is awake, and she asked about you." Valerie tried to answer each question in the order Dawn asked them. "No, she didn't stake Spike. In fact she was quite possessive about him. She seemed to be all right."

Dawn visibly relaxed. She loved Spike almost as much, if not as much, as Buffy. He protected her all summer, and he was her best friend. Spike never treated her just like a kid or a "key". He was always the same to her, and he treated her well.

"I need to make some arrangements at work tomorrow, but we think the mages can make a temporary protection spell for you to be able to see Buffy." The bright smile on Dawn's face was enough reward for Valerie to contact the mages first thing in the morning. "It would be kind of like the one I have. You won't be able to live at your new house yet, because the demon will still be too strong, but you should be able to visit for short amounts of time."

Dawn brightened up at the prospect of seeing her sister. "Can I visit tomorrow?"

"I'll pick you up from school and bring you to the office." Valerie mentally worked through the day's agenda of meetings. She rearranged things in such a way to make it all work out. "Hopefully the mages can work their mojo along with strengthening the protection spells against you. Now, you need to get back to sleep."

Dawn smiled and snuggled back down into her blankets. "Thank you, Valerie." She couldn't wait until tomorrow and the possible chance of seeing her sister again.

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

Tara sat on the porch swing. She enjoyed the sensation of being rocked back and forth. The swing was quickly becoming her favorite place to think and reflect.
She had a pleasant conversation with Valerie earlier. They traded Sunnydale stories, and Tara hadn't been able to stop herself from asking a truly cliché question. "What's a nice girl like you doing working for an evil law firm like that?"

Valerie's answer, like so many things lately, made Tara deeply reflect on what she believed about the world around her. She learned about Valerie's family, why Valerie started working for Wolfram and Hart, and why she pretty much hated what the Council stood for.

Valerie's parents had been part of an "underground railroad" that helped peaceful or reformed demons relocate and start productive new lives. There were many demons that had no desire to kill, maim, or even hurt humankind. Some came from alternate dimensions to escape war and others were fleeing from organizations such as the Initiative or the Council.

Val worked with her parents on the railroad her entire life. She was as comfortable around demons as she was a human. Over the years, she heard many horror stories of demons that wanted nothing more than to live peacefully and raise their children. Instead, they had their family members killed, chipped or dismembered by some happy-go-lucky agency who didn't care that they had no interest in malevolence. No one stopped to find out if the demon they were hunting, testing or slaughtering was really a threat to anyone.

The year Valerie left for college the Council found out her parents were part of the railroad after a particularly nasty relocation. They succeeded in rescuing 20 Baccharan from a Council "demon-hunt", and her parents helped them move to upstate New York where they would blend in better. The Baccharan in question had all converted to Quakerism about twenty years prior. Now they were pacifists by virtue of their faith. The Council, however, hadn't cared about their conversion, and they sent a special operations team to "take care" of the demons.

Valerie's parents found out about the planned raid before it happened. Since they worked with the demon community in a positive way, word reached them of what was going down. Thankfully Valerie's parents were able to save all of the demons from being killed. Unfortunately something was left behind that led the Council to her parent's doorstep.

Two weeks after the rescue, the Council managed to track down the identity of those responsible for the rescue. They surrounded the home to make sure no one was able to leave. Then they blew the house up with everyone inside. Valerie's parents, and six innocent demons who were visiting from out of town, lost their lives.

Valerie admitted to Tara that she was very angry and bitter during those first days, weeks and months after her parent's death. She wanted revenge in the worst way, but she found it was quite impossible to take on an organization as big as the Council and win. She decided it was best to carry on the work her parent's started.

It was during that time that Wolfram and Hart approached her. They seemed sympathetic enough, but Valerie wasn't fooled. She'd heard about the law firm through the various demons they assisted. The member who spoke to her was very nice though. Wolfram and Hart offered to pay for all funeral expenses, give her a full scholarship to USC Law School, give her a lucrative contract, and take care of her personal expenses during college in exchange for 5 years of service in one of their offices.

That was 5 years and a few months ago. Valerie explained that although she was approached to be "promoted" to the L.A. offices many times, she never took the opportunity. The Sunnydale branch was much more sedate than other branches. Most of their transactions with demons were as normal as any human law firm, real estate agent, or bank. She told Tara how happy she was with her job, and how she felt that she was helping the right kinds of demons.

Valerie renewed her contract last month, and she still sent support checks out to other houses in the underground network. She kept enough to take care of her own needs and bills, but the majority of her salary was sent to various causes to help out the types of demons her family protected for all of her life.

Valerie learned everything about demons, both good and bad. She never went into any decision uneducated or unsure of just who she was dealing with. Although Spike wasn't the kind of client she originally wanted, he never asked her to do anything for him that went against her personal code of ethics. Now, she was glad that she'd kept him as her client instead of passing him off to someone else.

There was no doubt in Tara's mind that Valerie hated the Council with a passion. Valerie's lips pursed and her eyes turned fiery when she said the name of the group.

The concept of the "underground railroad" for peaceful demons piqued Tara's interest. She wondered if there was a way she could help out, or at least a fund she could contribute to. She needed to do more research to validate Valerie's claims.

Her own family, who lied to her for years, persecuted Tara. She was told that she was a demon, and her family treated her as one. They wanted her as their "slave" after her mother died. She was glad the Scoobies stood up for her then. If they hadn't, who knew where she'd be now. She understood the feeling of being misunderstood or scared that your identity would be found out and held against you. Tara sighed, slipped off the swing, and walked back inside. She made sure all of the lights were off downstairs before she headed up to bed.

Tara locked her bedroom door, as Spike suggested. She laid down and stared at the ceiling. Tomorrow was another day, and she needed the sleep to face it. She hoped she would be able to rest.

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

Spike looked around his clean room. Adam's body no longer hung limp from the wall of his bedroom. A clean up crew came in and quickly took care of the mess. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he never would have known a man had been tortured there.

Spike listened to the sounds of the house. Even though it was only 3 am, Buffy was already back in her own bed sleeping. She expended a lot of energy between her emotional and mental states. She needed the rest. After listening for a couple hours longer, he allowed himself to drift off to sleep. He'd hear Buffy if she needed anything.

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

Buffy's eyes twitched in her sleep. She was lost in her dreams shortly after she fell asleep.

Buffy looked around the strange looking room. It seemed like it could be a law office, if the paintings and knick-knacks were any indication. Female screams penetrated the door. She ran out of the office in a hurry to find the source. She thought one voice sounded like Dawn.

"Get away from the lawyer, Dawn." A furious Angel growled at Dawn in the open area of the new room. "She's evil. I'm here to protect you from her."

"I don't need protection from her. Valerie saved me from the only person I needed protection from, Willow." Dawn firmly stood her ground in front of the bleeding woman. Angel would have to go through her to get to Valerie.

Buffy vamped and growled threateningly at the danger to her family and friends. She launched herself at Angel's back, kicking him to the floor with a blow to the middle of his back. She flipped Angel over while she punched and beat on him.

All at once the vampire surged off the floor. He bound Buffy's wrists in his hand. He growled dominantly, demanding her to submit.

Buffy snorted at the command. There was only one person she gave that control to, and that vampire was blonde, sexy, and her Sire. She counter-growled in refusal.

The dark haired vampire let go of one of Buffy's wrists long enough to open-handed slap Buffy across the face. The ring he wore on his hand cut into her cheek.

Pain radiated from the blow. She blinked at the stars swimming around her vision. Out of the corner of her eye, Buffy saw Dawn sneak Valerie down a hallway to another room. Happy that her sister was safe for the moment, she fought back again. Her boot connected with the vampire's groin, and he dropped her.

"Now Buff. Was that a nice thing to do?" Angelus cupped his aching family jewels. Seeing Buffy as a vampire called out to his demon. She was magnificent to behold. His demon forced its way to the surface in a lunge of desire, dominance, and a need to posses the woman, shoving the soul back into the background.

'Buff?' Buffy thought to herself. Her eyes widened in recognition. "Angelus?"

"Oh aren't we a smart little fledge." Angelus sneered. He straightened his back and walked closer to Buffy. He leaned down and sniffed at her neck. She felt like family, but how was that possible. "SPIKE!!" He snarled in disgust and anger. He recognized his Childe's mark on Buffy's neck. Spike's scent was all around the woman.

Buffy couldn't help the step back she took away from Angelus' rage. She doubted that she'd seen him this mad the last time he was free.

"How dare he?" Angelus grabbed Buffy's arms. He pushed her up against a wall. "You were mine."

Now Buffy was peeved. There was no way she'd let Angelus get away with a remark like that. "I was never yours, Angelus." Her eyes narrowed on the dark side of her first love. "And I never will be. I belong to Spike."

Angelus dropped Buffy to the floor, and he laughed. He laughed so hard that Buffy thought he was going insane. When Angelus stared at Buffy's eyes again, he glared at her in hatred. "If he touches you again, I will dust him. I brought him into this world, and I will take him from it."

Buffy twisted in the sheets on her bed. Her head tossed wildly back and forth. "No ... NO!" She yelled loud enough that Spike heard her even without his vampiric senses.

Spike rushed into the bedroom. He slept naked, and he hadn't stopped to pick up any clothes. All he cared about was getting to his Childe as soon as possible. He smelled the fear in the air from Buffy.

Buffy continued to growl, in full demon face, at whatever was causing her grief in her dreams. She scratched and kicked at Spike who tried to subdue her.

Spike shook Buffy's shoulders. "Buffy!" The scent of his blood and hers permeated the air. "Wake up, luv!" He was unable to stop Buffy from hurting him, and he had to dig his fingers down hard enough into Buffy's arms that his nails made her bleed to keep her flailing to a minimum.

Buffy heard a voice in the distance. It wasn't the voice of the vampire before her now. She turned her head to look back over her shoulder in her dream.

Angelus grinned at Buffy. "He can't save you. I will execute my rights, and you will be mine." His grin turned into a sneer. "If that doesn't work, I can dust him, and I still get what I want."

Spike sighed in resignation. He had no other choice but to use a Sire's voice to break Buffy from whatever was tormenting her. He slapped Buffy across the cheek and growled. "Wake up now, Childe! Return to me!"

Buffy screamed because in her dream Angelus bit her neck and started to pull the blood he needed to complete his claim. She was ripped from Angelus' arms at the sound of Sire's voice. It broke through the fog and horror that she was living in her dreams. She opened her eyes to stare into the troubled amber eyes of her Sire.

Spike heaved a breath of relief when Buffy finally opened her eyes. In the next moment his arms were full of a weeping Childe. He rocked her back and forth and rubbed his hand up and down her back to soothe her.

Tara opened the door to Buffy's room slowly. "Spike?" Her timid voice questioned. She wasn't asleep long before Buffy's screams woke her up. She knew Spike would take care of Buffy, but she was concerned. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Nightmare," Spike told Tara in explanation. "We should be okay. I'll stay with her a bit until she gets back to sleep."

Tara nodded and closed the door. Spike looked back down at Buffy, only to find himself staring into blood-tear stained eyes.

Buffy clutched Spike like a life preserver from a sinking ship. "Please don't leave me, Sire." She pleaded with Spike. "Please be with me tonight."

Spike noticed his nakedness for the first time since he bolted from his room. "I don't know if that would be a good idea, pet. I don't think you're ready for that."

Buffy would have blushed if she could have managed it as a vampire. She buried her face in Spike's chest for a few moments to collect her wits together again. She looked back up at Spike. "Just hold me, please?"

Spike understood the loneliness that came from many sleepless nights alone in his bed. He nodded slowly. "Let me go get some pants first, kay?"

Buffy shook her head back and forth. "I trust you to behave. I'm not taking a chance on something happening if you leave me."

Hearing Buffy say that she trusted him meant a great deal to him. "Okay." He pulled back the blankets next to Buffy. He straightened the mess of sheets that suffered from Buffy's nightmarish ordeal. "Will you tell me about your nightmare, luv?" He slipped in next to Buffy. He waited for Buffy to decide what position she wanted to be in.

Buffy snuggled up to Spike, burying her face in his chest. She wrapped one arm over his waist, and the other was tucked up underneath the pillows at the head of the bed. She slipped one of her legs in-between Spike's to allow her to get closer to him. What should she tell him? Angel was a sore point with Spike. What would he say about her dreaming of his Sire, especially Angelus' claims that he would take Buffy away from Spike? "It wasn't just a nightmare, Spike. It felt like a Slayer dream."

"Are you sure?" Spike questioned. Her heard about Slayer's having prophetic dreams, but he wasn't sure which part of the Slayer was responsible for them. Finding out what Buffy could still do or not do would be interesting. She was more than a normal vampire, definitely a lot more than the average fledgling.

Buffy nodded. "Unfortunately, yes. I've had them before." She frowned. Tears threatened to fall again. "They aren't one hundred percent accurate, a bit cryptic usually, and sometimes only little bits of the dreams are real. I'm sure that it was a Slayer dream though. I don't want any of it to be true, but I have a feeling that at least one part of it is right on the money."

"Which part, Childe?" Spike spoke lovingly and softly. He called her Childe in a caring respect to reinforce their connection, not as a reminder of his position over her.

"Angel," Buffy cringed when Spike's body tightened next to her. "He's coming soon." She tried to reassure Spike of his position in her life. "I don't want him here, Sire. I chose you, not him."

Spike held Buffy tighter to him. He had no desire to see his nancy boy Sire right now. Heck, he didn't want to ever see him, but right now he wasn't sure if he could handle the problem. He needed to focus on Buffy and her training. Angel would only muck up the progress that Spike made in his relationship with Buffy.

"He can challenge your rights as my Sire, can't he?" Buffy meekly asked the question on her mind.

"There are ways, yes." Spike frowned. "It was one reason I made sure to have some heavy magic around us." His demonic face melted away to the saddened and insecure face of the human he used to be. Angel had a way of making him feel like the weakling he used to be in his human days. "I wanted to keep your turning from Peaches."

Buffy raised her head to lock her gaze with Spike's. "I don't want him to challenge it, Spike." She caressed her fingers down his cheek. She traced the line of his jaw to his lips. "Don't let him take me away from you."

"Bloody hell," Spike muttered. "I'd have to be dust before I'd let you go. You are mine: my Slayer, my Childe, my Buffy, my love, and so much more. You're the one Buffy, from now until eternity."

Buffy sighed contentedly back into Spike's arms. She rubbed her cheek against his chest. "Eternity with you sounds pretty good, Sire. I don't know if I will be able to say the words I know you want to hear Spike, but I promise that I won't hide them from you if or when I feel them. I need a little time to work through all of my issues."

Spike nodded in understanding against the top of Buffy's head. "Take as long as you need. Just being close to you is enough to bring me joy." He hugged her tightly. "All I ask is that you don't shut me out. Even if I don't like what you have to say, I will not turn away from you. Trust me to be there for you. I won't leave you."

"I'll try, Spike." Buffy closed her eyes. Somehow she knew the dreams wouldn't return when Spike held her. She would deal with Angel or Angelus whenever she had to. She wanted to forget about him until then.

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

Willow woke up slowly to the sunshine streaming through the window. Her mind was fuzzy, and she tried to recall last night. Rolling over she snuggled up to the leggy woman in her bed. 'What the...?' Memories started to flood her mind.

Yesterday she woke up to an empty house again. Buffy took off for parts unknown, Dawn was taken by social services, and Tara disappeared into thin air despite Willow's best attempts to track her down and bring her back home. Everyone close to her left her in some way all at once. She couldn't even count on Xander due to Anya's wedding obsession. Giles spent the last few days in a drunken stupor, muttering something about run-away slayers and mystical keys yelling at him.

No one bothered to check on her needs. No one cared to see how SHE was doing after Tara abandoned her. No, they were all going on with their own precious lives. Didn't they realize she was hurting? Willow spared no thoughts for how Buffy was doing or how Dawn was adjusting.

Willow even thought about hiring a detective agency. Perhaps Angel would be willing to locate Tara for her. She was frustrated with her own private search. All of her spells indicated that Tara was not in Sunnydale. She really wanted to know what kept making people leave her. She wouldn't go through the loneliness again. She would find Tara, and Tara would be coming home with her.

Lonely for company, and not wanting to deal with fools or drunkards, Willow finally thought about a spell to de-rat Amy. She was pleased when her casting resulted in the reappearance of another witch in her life, hopefully one that would understand her better.

The girls talked about all the changes that occurred on the Hellmouth during the last few years. Later that night, when no one had bothered to come home again, Willow decided to go out and have a bit of fun. 'Would it have hurt them to call and see how I was doing?'

The girls went to the Bronze and had a magical blast rearranging reality on the poor unsuspecting crowd. It was the most fun that Willow had in ages, and she found herself wishing that Tara was more accepting like Amy. 'I wonder if there is a spell to make one enjoy using magic more?'

Silently Willow contemplated whether it would be possible to magically enforce a desire to do magic onto Tara. Her thoughts drifted to other possible uses of the magic on the Hellmouth. She would have to keep quiet about it though. Her experiences had shown her that people like Giles and Tara wouldn't appreciate her efforts to manipulate her surroundings, even if it was for their own good.

Finally, physically and magically drained, the girls had collapsed in Willow's room. They fell asleep before they could even get undressed. If no one bothered to return home, perhaps Amy would like to move in with her. It would be nice to have another magically inclined friend around. She figured that it was her home too, and she should have a say in the living arrangements. She thought she could do what she wanted to with the house. Besides, Dawn's room would be available now.

Willow felt a twinge of guilt at giving away Dawn's room without at least checking to see if the girl was all right in her new life. 'She's probably happier there anyways. Now I don't have to worry about her getting in my way and messing up my spells.'

Willow cringed at the thought. She liked Dawn. Why would she think of her in that way? She made a decision to stop by Dawn's school in the afternoon about the time school let out. The only information she got out of Giles was that Dawn knew where Buffy was. Perhaps she could convince the girl to tell her where Buffy was and find out if she'd seen or heard from Tara.

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

Buffy curled up on the couch reading one of the many books Tara purchased for her. She resisted staying home alone at first. She wanted to go hunt down Warren, or have a "talk" with Willow about what she'd done to Tara. Spike took the time to calm her down, before he took the sun-proofed car to go check on Dawn. He kissed her softly on the lips before he left. She found the endearment so touching.

Logically, Buffy knew she wasn't ready to face humans yet, but that didn't make it any easier for her to accept. She would rather be out patrolling or hunting for human or demon scum than sit here and read these books. She laughed softly at the irony of her thoughts. At least the book was right about one fact. She was trying to focus on everything else rather then deal with her own feelings. She wished the realization made it easier to deal with her feelings, but it didn't.

Twirling her new Willow-detector bracelet, Buffy let her thoughts wander far from the books in front of her again. She wondered if Spike would let her buy a new computer for the office. She could go back to school and take night courses or even online courses if she had a computer. She wanted to feel active in life again. She'd shut so much out since her return from Heaven.

Besides, Tara would be able to use it too. Pushing the books aside, Buffy began to wander around the house making a shopping list of everything she wanted to buy. This would take some time, and it gave her some time away from the tumultuous emotions going through her head.

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

Dawn squirmed in her seat. It would only be a few more minutes until the final bell rang, and it would be time for her to be on her way to Wolfram and Hart. She was a bit nervous because apparently it was an evil law firm. 'A demon law firm, not an evil one.' She reminded herself.

Dawn shook her head while she tried to reconcile the thought of Valerie, who was quickly becoming her friend and a mentor, with her conception of an evil lawyer. The ideas just didn't seem to go together. 'I wonder if I pulled my grades up, if I could go to law school too. Valerie seems so cool, plus a ton of money for arguing all day. I could so do that!'

Finally the bell rang and Dawn sprung from her seat. She grabbed her books, and she made a beeline for the door. As soon as she stepped into the warm sunshine she began to look around for Valerie's dark blue Mercedes. Spotting her, she sprinted to the car. She never noticed that her charmed bracelet was glowing, indicating that Willow was near. It was tucked under the long sleeves of the peasant blouse she picked out to wear to school.

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

Willow watched Dawn sprinting to the dark blue Mercedes. 'Her foster parents must have a lot of money.' She was surprised to see only a strangely professional looking blonde in the car. 'I wonder if that's her foster mom.'

Willow thought it would be best to follow the Mercedes. Something seemed a bit wrong with Dawn being so excited to go with her foster parents. She knew how much Dawn loved Buffy, and this didn't seem right. She spotted an unused vehicle in the parking lot. She quickly used a bit of magic to unlock the car and began to trail the Mercedes.

After about ten minutes the car pulled into the Sunnydale branch of Wolfram and Hart. Dawn got out of the car. She practically ran to the front doors. "Wolfram and Hart? That's the evil law firm that tried to kill Cordy. They have Dawn."

Willow feared that the law firm, as a means of reaching Buffy, kidnapped Dawn. "I just resurrected her. No one is going to kill her again." Quickly she pulled out of the parking lot and drove to the Magic Box. She ran in, grabbed the phone and started to dial.

"Hey!" Anya protested at Willow barging in and using the phone.

"It's an emergency." Willow waited for someone on the other end to pick up the phone. She was glad to hear the male voice on the other end. "Angel? This is Willow. We have to talk."

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

(To Be Continued)

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