1. Welcome to SunnyHell

**This is my second BtVS fanfic, I know I really should finish my last story before beginning a new one but I couldn't help myself. So here we have good old Sunnydale in a dark light. To be honest, I took the Sunnydale from 'The Wish' where Cordelia makes that small wish which ends up changing the whole world. I just thought it should be more than just a single episode, so here it is.**

**Just so you know, Spike is human in this story, and also please don't sue me because of some of the parts I have given the characters. With that said, read, review and enjoy.  
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She regretted leaving home; she wished she hadn't left so very many years ago. It had been almost 10 years since she had runaway; she had caught a bus to L.A. and had been living there ever since. But now something was drawing her back to her home town, the bright, chipper town of Sunnydale.

Buffy adjusted her sunglasses and flicked her long, blonde curls over her shoulder as she drove along the dirt road. She had grown a lot since she had left at the young age of 13, she now felt stupid for running away when she was hardly a teenager; and although she had had her adventures, living with by herself for the first few months before she met a cool streetwise chick called Faith who had taken care of her on the mean streets of down town Los Angeles.

She did regret saying good bye to the person who had been like a big sister to her, teaching her how to fight, teaching her all about the cruel world that she had been facing since she was 7. Buffy had wanted to take Faith away from all that, bring her to Sunnydale and show her what life should be, but Faith had too much going for her at the moment; guys, a rebellious spirit and no fear what so ever.

Buffy however missed her mother, her baby sister and all the people she had left behind. She wondered if they would even remember her now, she hadn't been very close to anyone.

Her thoughts were put aside as the small town came into sight up ahead, but something was off. The Sunnydale she remembered was full of happy people, the sun always shining and a pleasant feel to the place. But as she drove closer and closer to the small town, Buffy realised that things had changed very quickly in 10 years.

She waited until she was driving between the buildings before she actually began to think about what she was seeing. The buildings were dark and dirty, the streets weren't too bad, but they certainly hadn't been driven on in a while; there were a few people walking around but they were all tense and curled up, hiding their faces and they looked scared.

Buffy couldn't understand what had happened. Sure, Sunnydale had its fair share of evil, you know, gangs and tough people, vandals and occasionally the strange murder that was blamed on all sorts of different monsters.

Buffy knew that monsters existed, vampires and werewolves and all that crap. She had come across a few in L.A. when she was out walking with Faith, but she never thought that her peaceful home town would ever be such a liveable place for them.

Buffy looked around for a car park but they all seemed to be filled with boxes and crates. She parked on the edge of the road and slipped elegantly out of her green Volkswagen beetle and looked around at the dark town. She removed her sunglasses and looked up at the sky as night was quickly drowning the town into darkness.

She began walking through the streets just examining all the changes that had been made. The buildings and houses were all still perfectly fine for living in, it was just the darkened streets that made them spookier then they really were.

Walking through an alley she found something unusual by her feet. She kneeled down to get a better look at it. It was a button, a very shiny button.

She wondered why such a pretty, clean button was just lying around in this grungy alleyway, but the idea that she had walked into a trap was becoming more and more like the situation around her.

A tall, dark figure jumped down from a fire escape and immediately grabbed Buffy's arms. He held them behind her back, pulling them so tightly she screamed. But Buffy was a fighter and she wanted to make it clear that she was not to be messed with. She spun around on her feet, surprising the creature enough for her to pull her arms free of his grip. She leaned back slightly and kicked the creature into a wall.

It was only when he got back up did she realise he was a vampire. "Just what I needed to make my life complete, a battle with a big-fanged idiot" Buffy said, clearly irritated. The vampire however noticed the confidence and fearlessness in her voice and ran away, leaving a very confused Buffy alone in the alley.

"Ok…." Buffy mumbled with a raised eyebrow. She had never seen a demon or vampire run from a fight before. She was about to turn around and continue her walk when she came face-to-face with yet another black figure. She jumped back in fright and prepared to attack.

But the figure didn't jump into action like she had expected, instead he didn't move at all. He did speak though, "Who are you? I haven't seen you in this town before" he said. Buffy relaxed but only slightly, it seemed apparent that this person wasn't going to attack her, well at least not right now.

She stood up straight and brushed some loose hair out of her face. "Name's Buffy Summers, what's yours?" she titled her head to the side in a cute kind of way. She watched as the figure took a few steps forward out of the shadows and into a weak street light that was sitting above a most likely locked door.

Buffy tensed up again as this man's face was revealed. He was pale and tense; he had the most distinctive cheekbones and bleached blonde hair that was slicked back, making him look really cute and really dangerous at the same time. He was wearing all black; tight jeans, t-shirt and a long black duster that stopped just above his ankles.

Buffy was a little stunned at first; she had never seen anyone quite as impressive as this guy in L.A. If he was being taken on appearances this guy would take the cake, but people can be completely different then their first impression.

"Spike. What are you doing out here, pet? It's getting dark and these streets become extremely dangerous after dark. Hadn't you noticed the lack of people walking around?" he asked her, a small smirk creeping across his lips.

"I see people around, and I can take care of myself thank you" Buffy told him bitterly. She hated that just because she was blonde and pretty that every guy she met thought that she was a damsel in distress and in need a of rescuing. She was tough and didn't need some hot guy telling her otherwise.

"In case you hadn't noticed, those aren't people out there, love. They're vampires, most of them. There are one or two demons spilled into the mix. Hardly a place for a sweet thing like you to be walking through" Spike told her, taking a few steps closer to her.

Buffy wanted to move, she wanted to back away and get away from this guy, but she couldn't move. Spike was soon so close she could see his eyes in the shallow lighting. They were a striking blue, the bluest eyes she had ever seen. She was stuck in a trance just examining his eyes for a while.

Spike got just a little closer, she could feel his breath on her face now and it sent violent shivers down her spine; she was scared. But suddenly his eyes softened and his body relaxed. "Come with me, I'll take you somewhere safe" he told her quietly. Buffy was about to protest when another voice suddenly spoke up from behind Spike.

"Spike, you're supposed to be saving the innocent, not scaring them half to death" it was a female voice, young and sweet and yet rather demanding. Spike sighed and silently laughed as he rolled his eyes. He turned around and took a few steps towards the girl, who looked a little older then 15. He slouched against the wall next to her and smiled.

"I was just having a little fun, Niblet. Its not like I was gonna hurt her or anything" Spike explained with a chuckle. The girl just rolled her eyes and looked over at Buffy. She opened her mouth to say something but suddenly froze. She frowned and walked closer to Buffy, examining her face. "Do I know you?" Buffy asked, seeing the questioning look on the girl's face.

Suddenly, the girl flung her arms tightly around Buffy and hugged her. "Buffy! It's you! You came back!" she squealed. It was that high pitched sound that jogged Buffy's memory. She wrapped her arms around her and said, "My god, Dawn, I'm sorry for leaving. You've grown so much" she pulled back so she could get a good look at her baby sister.

Spike watched the two girls in fascination as they circled around each other. It was clear that this new girl would be sticking around for a while; he just hoped that she knew how to fight. "Keep your voices down. Come on, lets get out of this hellhole" he said, turning around and walking along the path Dawn had just come from. Buffy looked at Dawn and gave her a questioning look, to which she just smiled, and then followed after him.

They kept to the alleys for most of the way, Spike leading all the way. Buffy watched Spike closely; she couldn't get a good idea of his personality. He was either a very boring person (which couldn't be true) or he was an expert at hiding his emotions. He seemed dark and kinda scary, but the fact that Dawn seemed to not only know him well but trust him pushed the thought that he was evil out of her mind.

She followed him through the dimly lit streets, past heaps of houses; all dark and lifeless. They stopped outside the house that Buffy had grown up in. It was a wide, double-story house with a veranda at the front and the back.

Dawn grabbed Buffy's hand and dragged her inside, running. Spike on the other hand stood still. He stood alone in the early night, he wasn't going in right now; he had things to do. He spun on his heel and walked back into town.

Walking along the dirty sidewalk, Spike blended in well with the crowd of vampires in their black and blood red colours. He smirked as he watched vampire after vampire walk past him without a glance, they were just too stupid to realise he wasn't one of them. To them, he was like a Happy Meal on legs and they were as blind as bats.

He continued scouting the town, stepping in whenever he found a vampire who was feeling a bit peckish. He hardly fought; they really weren't worth the energy. Watching his latest rescue run off into the night, he sighed. He walked deeper into the cemetery he had found himself in. He did this most nights; walking alone in the darkness he wondered how it was possible that he was still human.

Walking anywhere in this town after dark was an extreme sport, you were lucky if you made it across the street without being attacked. Spike knew that someone like him would be a treasured addition to the 'family', so it was pretty impressive that he managed to last this long without a single bite. "7 years, bloody hell" Spike thought out loud. He had arrived 7 years ago, 7 years of his life had been wasted in this town.

'_I wouldn't be here if the stupid people of Sunnydale would just brighten up enough to get the hell out of this town' _he thought. He just couldn't understand why the population of the town hadn't decreased very much over the past decade due to people moving away. It had, however dropped massively due to vampire attacks, every night around 5 people died and by the next night another 3 vampires would rise.

The vampire population was getting too big, even with him and the gang killing countless vampires off every night their numbers just wouldn't sink.

Spike looked up at the black night sky, it was cloudy and not a single star could be seen. He wanted to see the stars again, see the moon on a not-full-moon night, but as long as the town was ruled by evil that would never happen here.

He snatched a cigarette from the left pocket of his duster, then retrieved a silver light from the right. He held the flame to the tip of the cigarette and watched the end ignite. He flicked the lid on the lighter back and slipped it back into his pocket. The night drew on silently with each gasp of smoke he took, it did him damage he knew, but it gave him a sense of comfort, an essence of home, a place he would never see again.

Dawn basically dragged Buffy into the house. Stopping once inside the front door, Dawn entered the lounge room and announced a new arrival. "Buffy, came here! Look, Uncle she's back!" Dawn squealed in excitement as she pulled Buffy out from behind the wall. She looked into the room and saw six people, only three of whom she knew.

The oldest one, an old British man named Rupert Giles, stood up and slowly approached Buffy. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a big hug. "Hi Uncle Rupert, I'm home again" she said. Giles hugged her tightly; he had never thought he would ever see his oldest niece again. "Buffy, I am so happy to see you. Where have you been all these years? And my god you've grown" he told her.

He broke away from her and held her hand, spinning her around to get a better look at the beautiful, mature woman she had grown into. But his eyes still lied to him, even now, when he saw that rebellious little girl.

Buffy looked over at two of her old friends, well, they were kinda friends. They went to the same school together and they weren't enemies or anything. "Hello Amy, hi Jonathan" she said, adding a small wave. They both smiled and waved back. At that time, Dawn decided to start with the introductions.

"Buffy, this is Oz" Dawn said, pointing to an orange-haired guy who was lying on the floor, upside-down, holding a large book above him. Then Dawn pointed to a shy looking fellow, sandy blonde and a little skittish, he was sitting on the couch next to Jonathan. "That's Andrew" Dawn told her, before pointing to a shy blonde girl with dark roots. She was sitting on the couch against the far wall and she kept fiddling with the edge of the page she was reading. "And that's Tara. She's new, only arrived in town a few months ago" Dawn explained.

Buffy greeted each of them with a handshake and a wave. She took a seat next to Tara and looked over at the book she was reading. It was then that he noticed that there were heaps of old books lying around all over the room. "What's with the homework club?" she asked, scanning over all the topics that were printed and painted on the hard covers; most of them said stuff like 'Vampires of Time' or something like 'Sunny Hellmouth' which seemed a particularly weird title as the book looked older then the town it's self.

Giles looked around at the mess and gave Buffy an apologetic smile as he began picking up the clutter and piling the books in stacks on the coffee table. "We were just doing some early night research. Fighting demons and such we need to know what we're up against every time we step out that door" Giles explained.

Buffy leaned forward and picked up a book labelled 'Teeth, Claws and Murderous Humans'. Buffy raised an eyebrow and looked back at Giles. He noticed the funny look she was giving him and looked over to see the title of the book she was holding. "Some light reading, huh? You have many human murderers in this town?" Buffy asked, still giving Giles that funny look. He chuckled, clearly embarrassed as he answered, "That book explains how to tell the difference between a demon or vampire murder and a human murder….. and no, we don't have any human murderers in this town; everyone is far too scared of the demons and vampires to really hate anyone enough to kill them. Fear has the town by their necks" Giles admitted.

Buffy looked back at the book and placed it on the coffee table, atop a pile of 5 very thick books. "So what's the point in having that book then?" she asked, looking around the room, inviting everyone else to join in when they felt like it. Oz suddenly decided to speak up. "There is no point; we just have every book that the town could offer…. I grabbed a copy of every book on demons and vampires I could find, I didn't have time to check all the titles and anyway, at the time that book was still useful" he explained.

Dawn jumped down on the couch closest to the door and stretched her legs out, it was incredible how long her legs had grown since the last time Buffy had seen her when she was 7. Now she was 17 and Buffy regretted leaving more then ever, she had missed so much of her baby sister's life.

Giles gave Dawn a scolding look as she made sure she was taking up the whole couch, to which he had been sitting on; but she just closed her eyes and grinned. Buffy chuckled at her sister's attitude, she was defiantly trouble.

Speaking of trouble, she had only just noticed that someone was missing. "Hey, where is Spike? Didn't he follow us in?" she asked, standing up to look at the door as if he would be just standing there. "Oh, he probably went off to patrol. Killing vampires is like a sport to him. He grew up in a town that was completely over run with them, and yet he is still human. He is so cool" Dawn had a silly grin on her face when she said that last part. This made Buffy giggle and ask, "You don't have a crush on him do you?"

Dawn suddenly shot up into a sitting position and glared at her big sister. "No, I don't! He's just super cool, and he's saved my life like a million times" she exclaimed, but the tone she had zoned into at the second sentence gave it all away. Buffy nearly laughed, the last guy she could remember Dawn having a crush on was a dorky redhead with lots of freckles. Why she ever like him was beyond her understanding.

Then a voice came through from the kitchen, saying, "Dinner is ready to all of you who are hungry" a tall, thin woman with black hair said as she poked her head through the doorway. Buffy spun around and ran up to her, giving her a big hug. "Aunty Jenny! I missed you so much!" Buffy told her. Jenny was at first completely stunned, but then wrapped her arms around her niece and kissed the top of her head, a few tears slipping down her cheeks. "My god, Buffy you're alive and well. I never thought I'd see you again. Why did you runaway? Your mother was devastated after you left" Jenny told her.

But the words were out before she knew what she had said. Buffy looked up at her aunty, beaming with delight as she asked, "Hey, where is Mum?" Suddenly everyone in the room looked at the floor, upset and feeling completely horrible at telling such a happy Buffy the truth; all except Oz of course who was as emotionless as Spike, maybe more.

Buffy looked around and frowned. "What's wrong? Why are you all looking so sad?" then it hit her. The smile fell from her lips and her eyes became glassy. Giles slowly approached Buffy and said, putting his hands comfortingly on her shoulders, "Buffy, I'm sorry but….. your mother is dead." Buffy fell into his arms in tears, she could hardly breathe. Her mother had always been there for her, except when she ran away of course, but the idea of her still being at home waiting for her had always kept the option of going home surfaced in her mind.

Giles rubbed his hand up and down her back, trying to comfort her and slow the tears, but he knew it was impossible. The thought of his dead sister caused him so much guilt e could hardly stand it. Buffy stopped crying and pulled back to look at Giles. "What happened? To Mum, to the town… what happened after I left?" she asked.

Giles took a deep breath and decided that it was story time. He took Buffy over to the couch Dawn had been lying on and sat her down. Dawn crawled up next to her big sister and laid her head on Buffy's shoulder. Oz put his book on the floor and pulled himself onto the couch, next to Tara. Amy threw her book away and sat on the edge of the coffee table. Jonathan and Andrew both sat on the floor and looked up expectedly at Giles and Jenny sat in a comfy chair, ready for the stories ahead.

**Next chapter we shall hear about the town's history. It didn't start as exciting as I had hoped but it will get better. Please tell me what you think, until next time, cheerio.**


	2. He's Dark, But He's Cute

**So, you're enjoying it so far? Yay, cos here's another chapter for you.**

Giles removed his glasses and used the time it took to clean them and place them back to prepare himself for the painful memories. "After you ran away, some things happened. You mother was extremely distressed and spent a lot of her time either in her room or drinking. Jenny and I moved in to take care of her and Dawn, who was too young to really understand what was going on. About 2 years later, a student at Sunnydale High was found dead in the library, with extreme trauma to the neck; a vampire bite. It wasn't long after that more and more people were being found dead with the same mark, every drop of blood drained from their bodies. No one knew what was going on, that was until a gang of very pale fellows began roaming the streets after dark."

"The group of vampires made it clear what they were and what they were capable of. There were seven of them; two males and 5 females. They killed the mayor of the town and destroyed his home, his office, all evidence of him. No one really knows what the mayor had to do with their rampage."

"Anyway, they made their home in an old mansion on the hill. The two Master vampires named themselves the King and Queen of vampires. And a few years later, the town was overrun with vampires. Everyone started dressing in very dark colours as bright colours attract vampires. People became paranoid and now no shop is open after sunset."

"Now, your mother was a very strong woman and she didn't take the dangers into proper account. She would take a spray bottle of holy water around in her purse and she thought that was enough. But she couldn't fight, she didn't know how to tell the difference between a vampire and another human being. She died 6 years ago… from… trauma to the neck and extreme blood loss" Giles finished with a sniff. He held back the desire to cry, he hadn't broken down 6 years ago and he would not let himself crash now. He needed to be strong, he was the man of the house and he had a huge family to take care of.

Dawn watched as quiet tears rolled down Buffy's face, she was still as stone and rather pale. Suddenly, the front door swung open and everyone snapped out of their sad emotions to look up at a blonde guy walk inside. Spike basically jumped inside and shoved the door closed. Turning to face everyone in the lounge room he asked, "Anyone got a spare stake?"

Spike didn't seem to notice the tears on Buffy's face or the sad looks that everyone was sharing. But he did get the drift of the silence that was being passed around. "What's wrong? Someone tell a bad joke? 'cause if not I need a stake pronto" he told them, pushing against the door. Buffy's head shot up and glared daggers as Spike. "What's the matter with you? Can't you see that we're not exactly in the best mood right now? Do you have any compassion at all? Do you even care?!" she snapped, walking towards him.

Spike looked both shocked and pissed off, but Dawn wasn't quick enough to save her sister from what he said next. "I care more about them then you do. You buggered off for 10 years and came back expecting everything to be the same. And for your information, I can see something is wrong but there are more important things happening right now then your silly emotions!" he yelled. Buffy whimpered quietly, she had never been yelled at like that before, and he was quickly becoming very scary.

She took a few steps back and tried to hold her tears back. Spike however only looked guilty for a second before looking back at the gang and yelling, "Where's that sodding stake?!" Giles grabbed one off the coffee table and quickly handed it to Spike. He grabbed it and opened the front door. On the other side were three vampires fighting against the barrier to get in. Spike plunged the stake into their hearts and closed the door with a slam.

Everyone was completely silent; Spike had his back turned to everyone, Buffy in particular. Then, with a move so fast it made Buffy jump, Spike walked into the dining room and on through the kitchen and down to the basement. The door could be heard from the other side of the house as it banged loudly against the doorframe.

Buffy didn't move, she was trying to understand what had just happened. _'Well, I learnt that my mother is dead and then I really pissed off Spike. Nice job, Buffy'_ she thought. She turned and ran up the stairs, up to where her room used to be. She didn't expect her room to still be there but it was still a place of sanctuary.

She expected to see a room full of exercise machines or books or something, but instead she found three single beds, lots of colourful sheets and blankets; and hundreds of brightly coloured pillows and cushions. Buffy walked over the cushions that were scattered amongst books and clothes, all belonging to females.

She sat down on the side of the middle bed and examined the theme to this section of the room. There were a few posters on the walls and ceiling, they were stuff to do with magic and beautiful places with waterfalls and trees. A large purple dream catcher with black feathers was nailed above the head of the bed.

To the left was an area that was covered in mostly light blue pillows and cushions. There was a poster dedicated to a band next to the bed and a collection of old wooden boxes with large crosses nailed to the lids. A pile of books served as a bedside table, which had a red table cloth draped over it. Two photos sat in gold frames by a small lamp on the table, the first picture was of Buffy and Dawn when they were younger and the second was of their mum.

'_This must be Dawn's bed' _Buffy thought. She then looked to her right. A bed a little bigger then the others was pushed right up against the wall. It had red blankets and orange pillows. A white box was pushed underneath the bed, it was open, revealing lots of strange looking ingredients such as sage, mother weed and mandrake root.

Up by the head of the bed was a large collection of stuffed toy animals. Teddy bears, dogs, cats, lions; every kind of animal.

She guessed that this must be where Tara and Amy also slept. She wandered into Dawn's old room to find two single beds with much plainer colours. Compared to the girl's room, which was like a painting, this one looked like the basement. There were books and figurines on every nerd topic imaginable.

Buffy looked over at what was meant to be a bookshelf, but was instead being used as a DVD cabinet. There was every volume of 'Doctor Who', which was something like 20 DVDs. "And yet not a single case of 'Red Dwarf'. I thought nerds loved that stuff" Buffy said to herself.

Then she began thinking about the basement, and Spike. _'He went down to the basement, didn't he? Why would he need to go down there?'_ she thought. From what she remembered, there was nothing down there except old pictures, china table settings and tools. But then again, so far every room she had seen in this house had changed drastically, why not the basement.

Buffy slowly began to make her way down the stairs, she looked in the lounge room and found that everyone had eaten their dinner and had left the house, most likely to patrol. She hoped Spike had gone with them; she wanted to know what was now in the basement that was interesting enough for Spike to have gone down there when he was angry, but she really didn't want to talk to him right now.

She didn't want him to think that she was a thief or that she was snooping around; which she was but only to see the changes in her house.

She entered the kitchen and walked up to the door that led to the basement, she leaned against the door and listened when no sound could be heard she wrapped her hand around the handle and twisted it. The door opened with a creak, but no one yelled at her to go away or even to come in. So she put on foot down on the first step and looked down.

With each step she took, more and more of the room the basement had been changed into, became clearer. The room was dimly lighted, a single dying light bulb hung on a long wire that allowed the bulb to swing back and forth. The light moved from one corner of the room to another as the bulb swayed slowly.

Once she stepped onto the floor she was able to get a proper look at the room. There was a tall bed pushed against the walls in the far right corner. The bed was made up of a large mattress on a pile of bricks, six bricks high, and seven bricks long. There was a grey sheet wrapped tightly around the mattress, a black doona lay messily on the bed; Spike apparently didn't care very much for tidiness.

There was a large wooden box at the end of the bed, a wooden cross nailed to the lid it looked just like the ones by Dawn's bed. There was a large red carpet on the floor, it looked old and had a few stains on it. Buffy recognized it as the carpet that used to be kept in the lounge room.

There was a set of drawers on the left side of the room, which had a few pieces of clothing sticking out, all black and red. Next to it was an old shelf and piles of boxes, which had to be the clutter that had once been scattered throughout the room.

Buffy hadn't heard or seen any sign of anyone in the room so she walked further into the room. She was about to turn around and go back upstairs when she felt a small hint of air breeze against the back of her neck, causing the hairs there to stand up.

A hushed voice whispered softly in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. "You really shouldn't be snooping around down here pet, someone might think you're up to no good" he told her. He then softly stroked his fingers up and down her arm, making her shudder with both fear and delight as she melted under his touch.

His fingers were cold and that only added to the moment of surrender. Buffy closed her eyes and relaxed. She tried to speak but all she could do was mutter, so Spike spoke again. "Buffy, what are you doing down here, love? What is it that you've come looking for?" he asked. His voice was so calm and seductive that Buffy forgot all about his temper and his attitude. "I…I was…I was looking for…some old photos. My room is all different and I couldn't find them, so I thought they might be down here. I just didn't expect to find a bedroom down here" Buffy told him.

Spike didn't know if he really believed her, but her story seemed true enough. He stopped stroking her arm and waited for her to regain control of herself and spin around to face him. Buffy did so and she looked up at him with a look of awe on her face.

No man had ever been able to make her feel like that before, never made her so powerless with a single touch, made her so scared and so in love at the same time. _'Wait, 'in love'? No, I'm not in love. I don't even know who he is, I don't know his past or his personality; except that he can be extremely frightening at times and sweet at others' _she thought. It was ridiculous to say that she was in love just because he had managed to make her feel like that.

Spike watched her face change from awe to angry to confused as Buffy ran through her thoughts. He could only guess what she was thinking. "What ya thinking of, love?" he asked her. Buffy quickly sifted through the things in her head trying to find one that she could tell him without making a fool of herself because at this moment, she couldn't come up with anything else to say.

"I was thinking about how you could be so…sweet to me now after you yelled at me before" she told him. A grin crawled across Spike's face as he said, "I've calmed down since then and I'm too tired to yell right now. But unless you don't get out of my room I might just give another crack at it" his voice was harsh and bitter underneath his calm tone.

Her lips had been sliding into a smile but once she heard that threat hidden in his voice it disappeared, not to return. Buffy took a few wary steps back and began heading towards the stairs. She backed up, keeping her eyes on Spike for a few more minutes before dashing up the stairs and running away.

Spike watched with an amused grin at first, but it quickly turned into a sad smile as she disappeared up the stairs. He hadn't really meant to scare her, he wasn't a very scary person, she just seemed to get on his nerves without meaning to and that caused him to feel guilty. He had no reason to be angry with her, yes she had made him yell earlier but that had been only partially her fault for not realising what was happening.

But this time he had messed up her idea of him by first seducing her and then threatening her. _'God, what am I doing? She seems like a nice bird, but I keep snapping at her like a snake. What is the matter with me?' _Spike asked himself. Maybe he should just be nicer from now on, stop threatening her for one. _'What if I took her for a tour around the town and explain why everyone here is so quiet…and why I'm so short tempered' _Spike thought.

That seemed like not only a good way to apologize to her and show her he wasn't a monster, but to also help her understand a few things.

Spike walked up into the kitchen and into the main hall. He looked up at the stairs in front of him, which was where he guessed she must have gone since he hadn't heard the front door open and the first floor was empty. He took a deep breath and walked up, step by step.

Spike found Buffy lying on the double bed in Rupert's and Jenny's room (which to Buffy must have meant her mother's room). She was curled up on the far side, digging her head into the pillow as if trying to hide it.

Spike walked around to the other side of the bed and stood in front of the silent girl. He waited until she was looking up at him before he said, "I'm sorry. I've really been on edge lately; I guess you just got the bulk of it. Come with me, I want to show you the town." He held out his hand and waited for her to take it; but she didn't. "I already know the town" she told him. Spike sighed and let his hand fall to his side. "Not this town, pet" he said sadly.

Buffy looked up with questioning eyes, most likely thinking about whether or not she could trust him; he probably wouldn't if he had treated himself the way he had been treating her. He expected her to look away and leave it at that, but instead she took his hand and let him lift her to her feet. He gave her a soft smile and led her out into the hallway, down to the front door and out into his regrettably familiar world.

**I decided to cut it off here cos other wise it would go for like 4 more pages, so click on that little arrow button to find out what Buffy is shown by the always handsome Spike.**


	3. A Trip to the Bronze

**Well, welcome back peeps. We shall now take a guided tour into the town of Sunnydale, plz keep all stakes and crosses inside the car at all times, thank you!**

The night was dark and cold, you could almost smell the death in the air. Spike saw Buffy shiver as she was only wearing a blue tank top and dark jeans; so he took off his duster and held it out to her. Buffy gave him a funny look at first, so he told her, "I'm gonna be taking you into the hornet's nest, you gotta look like a vampire if you want to make it through the town at night, which means dark colours."

Buffy gave an understanding nod and took his coat and put it on. It smelt of smoke and redwood. Spike suddenly reached towards her and put his hand in the right pocket of his duster. Buffy jumped back a little, not liking what his intentions seemed to be. Spike pulled his hand out and held up a stake made of redwood; it was smooth and sharp and had lines of liquid in the cracks. Buffy relaxed a little but was still rather tense.

Spike tucked the stake into the back pocket of his jeans and started walking down the street. Buffy looked from the left to the right at all the houses they were passing, each one had a wooden cross nailed to the door; some were painted and decorated to make the house look a little more lively.

There were strings of garlic hanging beside the windows on one or two houses, making Buffy wonder why they didn't all have garlic. She decided to point it out to Spike. "Um, Spike, why do some of the houses have garlic on the windows when others don't?" she asked. Spike chuckled and showed her a mocking smirk. "Because garlic doesn't repel vampires, in fact they can eat it without any effects. But some people have seen 'Dracula' too many times and put it up anyway. Although there are some vampires who can't stand garlic, it usually has something to do with their lives as humans" he explained.

Buffy couldn't believe what had happened to her happy little town. Everything here used to be so cheerful, lots of colours and people running all over the place at all hours of the day and night. Kids playing outside in the light of the stars, late night family events gathered around the fireplace. But now not a single light in the whole street was on.

They passed 6 more houses before they made it into town. Buffy could hardly believe what she was seeing. All the shops were closed and bolted. There was a single building where most of the vampires were headed; it was possibly the only place in the town that had lights on. Buffy couldn't quite see the building from where she was but it seemed that that was where Spike was taking her.

Buffy watched Spike walk confidently through the crowds of vampires, his head held high and his eyes narrow and cruel. It was hard to believe that he was human; he acted the part of a predator perfectly. Her attention slowly turned to the vampires who were paying next to no attention to them; except for the ones who were looking her up and down. Buffy relaxed a little, she could do this.

She started swaying her hips and smiling darkly, she had played the bad girl for10 years and she could be that girl now. She noticed that none of the vamps would actually approach her as the guys had done in L.A. That's when she saw the looks that Spike was throwing around at them; he was either telling them to back off or daring them to try.

The building with the lights was quickly coming into sight; the lights were different colours, giving the idea that it was a night club. Spike leaned near her and whispered something in her ear. Buffy put her hands in the pockets of his duster and dug through until she found a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. She handed them to Spike and he took them silently.

He put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it within a second, he then held the open box out to Buffy. She thought for a few seconds then took one herself; she hadn't smoked very much in L.A. that was more of Faith's thing, but she decided it made her image look badder and that was what they were going for tonight. Spike handed back the lighter and took a in a breath of smoke.

Buffy lit her cigarette and put the lighter back in the pocket.

The cigarette seemed to make her feel more relaxed, it caused her to become aware of the smoke in the air, she had smelt it before but only now that she was swallowing the familiar taste of cigarette smoke did she realise that half the vampires they walked past were doing the same thing. That's when she understood why even the good-two-shoes who were sired smoked, they didn't have to sercome to any of the effects.

She cursed vampires for having such good health for eternity; they never got sick and they could smoke 30 packets of cigarettes a day if they wanted; although it might have an effect on their appearances.

As they approached the entrance to the night club with the word 'Bronze' above the door, had a huge sliding door that suggested that the club had once been a factory. The number of vampires in the town was only just beginning to sink in when Buffy and Spike walked through the entrance.

The club was huge on the inside, big enough to be a car shop. There was a small stage to the left that had a band of vampires playing some heavy metal/techno music. In front of the stage was a wide open space for dancing where a group of vampiresses were dancing seductively around all the guys on the floor. Behind that were sets of black metal tables and chairs with red seat cushions and blood red vases with black roses. Some of the tables had multiple chairs were as others only had two. Some of the ones with lots of chairs had gangs of vampires sitting around, defiantly drunk.

Buffy thought that it all didn't seem so bad, the two seater tables even looked romantic; that was until a vampiress, who was sitting on her lover's lap, stroked her long sharp nails down his face, leaving a bleeding cut that she then licked at. That just made Buffy feel sick.

Spike led Buffy over to one of the two seater tables and sat quietly. Suddenly the song changed, it was sexy and dark, but was sung a little too fast to understand the words. "What's the name of this song?" Buffy asked, she was sure it was talking abut vampires. "'Transylvanian Concubine'. Why?" Spike asked. "No reason" she told him.

The song was almost hypnotic, the music was Celtic and so beautiful. The music was easy to fall in love with and was great for dancing. Buffy had to use all her willpower not to go out onto the floor and start dancing to the tune.

Spike could see that Buffy loved the song by the way she was watching the band. He himself wanted to move along to the music and dance with her, but he knew that there wouldn't be enough time for them to get lost in a dance.

The song slowly came to an end and the crowd cheered. Buffy smiled and looked at Spike, but his eyes were glued to a spot on the balcony that was built into the right side of the building. Buffy followed his gaze and noticed that the crowd up there had split, making a clear pathway down the middle of the floor.

Buffy was about to ask Spike what was going on, but the crowd around them began to shuffle around, distracting her. When everyone had stopped moving around, everyone was gathered around the dance floor with a small break in the middle. Everyone looked up at the balcony and went silent.

Buffy looked up in time to see a group of seven vampires walking down the path. In the front was a tall, dark-haired man with a strangely large forehead. On his right was a young woman, with long black hair. Her skin was pale but beautiful, and it went well with her floor-length dress with an ebony skirt and fur collar, and a blood red bodice. Her lips were red with either lipstick or blood and her arm was linked with the one of the man next to her.

Spike leaned over the table while still keeping his eyes on the couple, and said, "Those are the vampires that took over the town. Those two in front are the Master vamps, Angelus and Drusilla; the King and Queen."

Angelus and Drusilla walked down the stairs, allowing Buffy to see the next couple behind them. Her mouth dropped in shock when she saw the dark-haired man and the redhead woman. "Willow? Xander?" she said in disbelief. Spike looked sadly at the two lost friends. "Yes, I'm sorry you had to find out this way. They went looking for you after you left, but it seems someone found them instead" Spike explained.

Willow looked so different, older, more mature. Her hair was a darker shade of red and it went down to her waist even though it was pulled back into a pony tail on top of her head. She wore black leather pants and a red top underneath a black leather jacket.

Xander was dressed mostly the same as Willow, however he wore denim instead of leather. He had an eye patch covering his left eye. Buffy remembered how Xander had tried to show off to her and Willow when they were kids, he had attempted to do a 360 on a skateboard which had led to a fight between him and the kid that owned the skateboard. Xander had gotten pretty beat up, but only his eye had suffered permanent damage.

Buffy couldn't believe her best friends were dead, both of them. She, Willow and Xander had been like the Three Musketeers in primary school. They had done everything together and now she came back to discover they had been dead for years. But the thing that really made her feel sick was the thought of killing them, if they attacked her she would most likely end up staking one of them and she just couldn't handle that.

After Willow and Xander walked down the stairs, three vampiresses appeared behind them. "And that is Glory, Anya and Cordelia. The three beauty queens, they care more about their appearances then any other vampire" Spike told her, chuckling a little as he watched the girls continually straighten their clothes and fix their hair.

Cordelia walked between the other two; she had brunette hair and a medium tan. She had on a fancy black dinner top that sat loosely on her shoulders. She had blood red pants and black heels.

Anya was on Cordelia's left; she was wearing a dark blue floor-length dress with sparkles scattered over the fabric. Her short blonde hair was pulled up into a pony tail and fell down into tight curls.

Glory was the oldest looking one of them; she was to the right of the group. She also had short blonde hair but she let it fall to her shoulders. Her long red dress matched her lipstick and had all the guys staring at her.

Down on the dance floor, Angelus and Drusilla were waltzing to the music that had just started. They were perfectly in tune and moved beautifully together. Buffy noticed Spike looking sadly at the couple, pain clear in his eyes. Buffy was about to bring this to his attention but decided now wasn't the time.

So instead she turned her attention back to the floor, where Xander and Willow had begun to dance. Buffy watched with a small smile as they Xander spun Willow around, making her laugh with every move. At east she could be happy that they had finally gotten together, that had to be a plus.

Anya, Glory and Cordelia picked out a guy each from the crowd and pulled them onto the dance floor with them. The crowd watched them all dance for a while before, ever so slowly, people began to get back into the dance.

Spike had had enough by now, so he stood up and headed for the exit. Buffy only saw him leave just as he got out the door; so she quickly ran out after him. He found him leaning against the wall, breathing heavily.

Buffy slowly approached him and asked, "Are you ok, Spike?" he grinned when he heard her voice. "Yeah, I'm fine, love. Just need some air. Let's go home pet, I think we've seen enough to understand the state of the town" he told her. Then he pushed himself away from the wall and started walking through the mostly empty streets.

Buffy was a little worried about him, there was something about that Master vampire, Drusilla, that seemed to make him sad and hurt. But whatever the reason, he obviously needed some time to cool down, so she followed him home in silence.

Walking through the door, she and Spike were greeted with a cheerful 'hello' from they gang. "What's got all of you so cheerful?" Spike asked, obviously not liking the fact that they were happy while he was upset. "We killed 10 vampires tonight, got 'em all and saved a family who had survived a car crash. I didn't know we still had stuff like that happening in this town" Dawn told them, very pleased with herself.

"Nice work Niblet, and by the way, we will always have car crashes and everyday accidents while there are still people in Sunnydale" Spike said. Tara scowled at him for saying such a thing, but he just grinned playfully.

Jenny stood up from her seat next to Giles and said, "Well, I think we should all get some sleep. It's getting really late and I think we've all had enough fun for one night" and with that she went upstairs to bed. Giles watched his wife go upstairs, then looked around at all the sad faces. "She's right, we can't stay up so late every night if we want to continue to fight the demons of hell. Also we have that wedding next month, so let's get our sleeping patterns sorted out" he told them.

Dawn whined, but never the less got up and walked upstairs. Andrew and Jonathan wasted no time in doing the same. Tara stuck around for a little longer, talking to Amy, but the late hour got to them and they went upstairs as well.

Giles waited until the younger members of the gang were off to sleep before he followed them. But before he did, he gestured to the couch where he had set up a place for her to sleep until other arrangements were made.

Buffy looked up at Spike, who was holding back a yawn. "Well, be seeing you tomorrow…or is it today? What time is it anyway?" he asked her. Buffy looked over at the clock on the wall and said, "3:45." Spike nodded sleepily and said, "Well, later today then. Good night" then he walked into the kitchen to the basement. Buffy looked over at the pillow and blanket on the couch. "The good old torture device, 'the comfy chair'. I guess it'll just have to do" she told herself.

She took off her shoes and jacket and slipped under the blanket. But she didn't fall asleep as quickly as the rest of the house, she didn't think she could sleep at all. The idea of her two best friends being dead for so long sent violent shivers down her spine, it was just too hard to believe. She did manage to get some sleep around 5am, but she was up by 9:00.

**So....? Was it good? Please tell me if it is cos I haven't got any reviews yet and I don't know if people think it's good or not so....plz help me out. Thank you, hope ur still enjoying my stories.**


	4. Old Friends are Toothy Victims

**Sorry I haven't been updating for so long but it's just that time of year again. Merry Xmas everyone and a happy new year. Anyway, as a reward for everyone's waiting this chapter is longer then the others and a little rushed I think but it explains a lot of the back story. So enjoy, I promise the next chapter won't take so long.**

The day began when everyone came from all directions and flooded the kitchen, dinning room and lounge room. Buffy opened her eyes and peeked out from under the blanket that was wrapped tightly over her head. She looked around at all the people bustling everywhere.

She saw Spike stretch his arms high in the air, nearly banging his fists into the doorframe as he entered the lounge room and stopped briefly to glance over at her before continuing into the kitchen. Buffy wasn't sure if he thought she had been asleep when he looked at her or not, but she wasn't going to make a big deal over a tiny glance…even if it had made her heart beat a little faster.

She pushed the blanket to one side and stretched her arms before quickly wrapping around her shoulders. She hadn't realised how cold it was, no one else had seemed to notice the chill in the air. It was rather weird as Sunnydale had always had a rather hot climate, it had never snowed in this town but looking out the window at the sky right now, Buffy thought she wouldn't be surprised if the trees were covered in ice.

She wrapped the blanket tightly around her shoulders and got up off the couch. She walked into the kitchen and found a bizarre sight. Jenny was walking back and forth between the kitchen and the dinning room, delivering plates, bowls, glasses and cutlery. Andrew was sticking his head in the fridge, scanning through the breakfast options. Spike was collecting together all the ingredients for breakfast, not seeming to mind pushing Andrew out of the way every time he needed something from the fridge.

Buffy was surprised by Spike; she had never figured him for the cooking type.

"You know, you could make yourself useful by handing me the items I need instead of making my shove into you every time I need to get to the fridge" Spike stated as he once again pushed Andrew aside. "Yeah but that would include actually doing something other then eating, staking or sleeping" Amy said as she brushed past Buffy on her way to the island in the middle of the room.

Buffy was a little hurt that Amy had paid so little attention to her, not even noticing she was there. But she figured it was just because she was tired as she watched Amy grab the coffee machine and pull it down the counter so that she had full access to it out of the way of Spike.

Buffy decided to make herself seen, so walked in and sat down on one of the stools by the island counter. Still with the blanket around her she released one hand and reached out to take a bread roll from the basket in the centre of the counter; only to have Spike smack her hand away.

"Wait until breakfast is served, everyone's hungry" he told her without looking at her, he just continued his sort of whirl around the kitchen, grabbing pans and plates. Buffy rubbed her hand softly, he hadn't hurt her, it was only a small tap but she didn't like him snapping at her like that; it reminded her of how he had treated her last night when he burst in the door.

She frowned a little, just to make her point even though Spike had no idea what had been going through her mind, but she caught his eye anyway. He stared for only a second before returning to the bread that needed toasting.

Buffy looked down nervously, she was a little embarrassed that she had been caught. But it was fair, she could be a little shitty if she wanted to be, after all everyone else was.

So she stood up and walked into the dinning room and sat down next to Dawn to wait for breakfast. Jenny, Giles, Jonathan and Tara were already seated as well. Amy came in and sat next to Tara and slammed her head down onto the table. Tara looked down at Amy and asked, "What's wrong Amy?" Lifting her head only enough so she could be heard, Amy said, "We're out of coffee and I am too tired to go shopping."

"How could we possibly be out of coffee in this house? Everyone here is a coffee-craze" Andrew asked as he sat between Amy and Jonathan. "That's why we're out of coffee" Amy stated numbly. Andrew looked a little irritated at Amy, he didn't like the way she called him an idiot all the time without actually saying it, but he was smart enough to know when to and when not to pick a fight with Amy; she could be dangerous in the mornings, especially when she didn't have her coffee.

Giles rose from his seat and headed into the kitchen. "I'll go and get some; the shops should be open by now" he said, walking out the door with his car keys in hand. Once he had left, everyone's eyes seemed to trail to Buffy.

She looked around nervously, wondering what it was they were all looking at. "Um, why do you have a blanket wrapped around you?" Amy asked, surprising Buffy as she hadn't seen her lift her head off the table. "I cold" she explained simply. Amy raised an eyebrow and said, "Then put on a jumper."

Buffy really didn't like how rude Amy was being, she hadn't been this bad 10 years ago but then again, 10 years could change anyone, especially if they grew up in a town like this. "I don't have a jumper, and I don't see what's wrong with me wearing a blanket around my shoulders" Buffy told her.

Jenny smiled nervously and explained, "It's rude to do that at the table, it's like sitting around in pjs all day. It's a sleep-in-Saturday thing." Buffy stared blankly at her aunt, "It is Saturday, and I did sleep in" she told her. "But its not something we do in this house, at least not anymore" Jenny said.

"Yeah, I can't remember the last time we stayed in at night and sat around in blankets and stuff drinking hot chocolate" Dawn said. Buffy looked around at all the nodding faces, they didn't seem to mind that they hadn't had a day off in 10 years. "So, basically you're all telling me that you're all boring vampire slayers that never take a night off?" she asked, and everyone nodded.

"You guys have really gotta take a vacation" Buffy told them with a bewildered look on her face. She had never worked, never got up early, never been a serious person; well, at least not in the past decade.

That's when Spike came in carrying a large tray with three large plates that were each topped with bacon, toast and pancakes. Jenny stood up to help and disappeared into the kitchen only to return a few seconds later with the basket of bread rolls, a bowl of fruit and a large glass jug of orange juice.

All the dishes were placed on the table, Spike and Jenny sat down and joined into the flurry of hands as they stretched across the table collecting together the desired breakfast.

Buffy was neither pickish nor peckish this morning, but she did enjoy the range of options. A glass of orange juice, a bread roll and a piece of bacon was her breakfast. Dawn had several pancakes, some fruit and a bread roll to go with her juice, and Buffy laughed at her attempts at stuffing her mouth with as much pancake as she could.

People began to take smaller bites and conversation picked up quickly. Buffy wasn't really listening but she did pick up on something about a wedding. "What wedding?" she suddenly asked, interrupting the conversation between Amy and Jenny. "There is a wedding happening next month. But since the bride and groom are witches the wedding is happening at night on the full moon. Which means a lot of organisation, especially with the whole town going, there aren't a lot of people left in the town; something like 50 families" Amy explained.

Buffy nearly chocked on her bread roll, she regained control and swallowed her food before saying, "Hang on, full moon: werewolves, night: vampires. Is it just me or is this idea suicide?" Jenny looked offended by Buffy's choice of words, but Amy stopped a lecture from beginning. "We're not idiots, it being held at a perfectly safe location. There's a vineyard just outside of town that is surrounded by a large mote, well a river of holy water. Don't ask me how it got there just know that vampires can't go through it and it's too far for them to jump without falling into the water and that would be like torture, it's so not worth the trouble. And as for werewolves, we don't have any in the town, they are actually rather rare" she explained.

"Well if this place is so safe why don't people stay there all year round?" Buffy asked, she could sense that she was getting on people's nerves but she couldn't help it. "Well, there's this bridge that allows us to get across the river, and whenever people go to the vineyard one of the local witches casts a protection spell, like a force field that stops anything from passing through. Also there aren't any vampires who know where it is, which is probably why they never attack us on the way there" Amy finished.

"Hmm, well ok then. Where's the best place to buy dresses for a wedding in this town?" Buffy asked as her final question. Jenny smiled, "We're going there later this week" she explained. Buffy smiled back and then continued eating her breakfast.

Throughout the day Buffy was toured around the town (as it had changed drastically due to common destruction via everyday demon fights and apocalypses) safely in daylight. Tara, although strangely shy, had offered to take Buffy to UC Sunnydale, the local college where she spent most of her daytime when not sleeping.

Buffy had never even thought about college, but from what she had seen in movies and such, this school was looking pretty good, also considering how violent and deathly the town was, the school was almost peaceful.

Tara was on her way to art class and had invited Buffy to sit in to check it out, which seemed rather scary to her as she had never made it to 8 th grade, but the idea of going to anything but art sounded even scarier.

So Tara and Buffy now sat at the back of the class, allowing Buffy to talk freely without the teacher noticing; Buffy was quick to grab this opportunity. "Tara?" she said. Tara had been focusing on the lesson, so her head shot around at lightening speed and her voice came out in stutters. "Ye-yes Buffy?" she asked, "As interesting as this class may be, I wanted to know a little more about that guy Pike" she told her. "S-Spike" Tara corrected.

"Well there is-isn't a whole lot to t-t-tell, he keeps to himself most of the t-time. W-why?" Tara asked. Buffy was quick to hide a blush as she said, "Oh no reason, it's just that…well he sleeps in the basement, what's that about? Also I wanted to know a little about his past, you know? So I know what to expect from him."

Buffy was hearing herself hear this and hoped that Tara wasn't smarter then she looked, or she would have to admit something to Tara that she hadn't even admitted to herself. But Tara was only listening with one ear in this conversation and failed to see both the blush and the bad excuses.

"Well he st-started living in the house b-before m-me or Andrew or Jon-nathan or even Oz, so they didn't have all the extra beds yet. Amy was sleeping i-in your room and Spike really didn't have anywhere else to stay. Ac-actually it was him that offered to s-stay in the basement, have you seen it? He's fixed it up and it l-looks a lot nicer now" Tara explained with a silly smile and small giggle like she was embarrassed about having been down there. Buffy found this rather amusing, either Tara had a crush on Spike too or she had never been in a guy's room before.

But this wasn't what Buffy wanted to know. "I wanted to know about his love-life…sorta. You know, like his last girlfriend, was she in Sunnydale or whatever" she asked, one thing on her mind. Tara stopped and thought about that for a while, apparently Spike didn't get out there much_('pity, most guys who are as hot as him have a new girl every week')_ Buffy thought.

"Well, there was one girl before he came to Sunnydale b-but he doesn't like to t-talk about her, I think sh-she hurt him pretty bad. But there was this girl he really liked, they went out for months, which is kinda long for a lot of the relationships around here. Most couples end when someone gets killed or eaten, or sometimes both" there was that embarrassed sigh again.

It was this second girl that caught Buffy's attention. "So, what was she like? What did she look like?" she asked, eager to know if her suspicions were true. "Oh she was nice, but she was a little crazy, oh not mental but….well actually she kinda was. She was always singing and dancing and saying really weird things. She had really long dark hair and always liked to where long dark dresses. Spike treated her like a princess…but then…" Tara stopped. The very eager and talkative person had suddenly become very quiet.

"What?" Buffy asked. Tara looked around her as if checking to make sure no one was listening, then she turned back to Buffy and whispered, "She was killed b-b-by……Angelus!" Tara quickly shot back in place, shoulders high and face hidden behind her hair. Buffy was stunned by this very sudden movement, she then looked down at Tara's hands which were shaking over the grip of her text book and pencil.

Buffy had understood since last night that this Angelus guy was bad news, but the way Tara had acted upon simply saying his name made countless shivers shriek down her spine; Angelus was more than a vampire, he was the Devil!

But Buffy wasn't used to fear, she hadn't been scared very much as she had always been protected by the bad things in life, first by her mother and then by Faith; and by the time Faith had left Buffy had been immune to fear for years. But this feeling scared her more than the actual fear, so she decided to go out and get rid of it.

Late that night, well after 9:00, Buffy took a stake and her favourite blue denim jacket and walked out the door. She wasn't sure where the best place to find vampires was so she decided to give herself a full tour of the town after hours as Spike had only shown her the Bronze.

Sometime around 2am she found herself deep within one of the more tree-crowded cemeteries, she had somehow walked from one side of the town to the other in a matter of long boring hours. She was beginning to get a little shitty with the vampires of this town, until a familiar voice spoke up from behind her.

"Well, well, well, never thought I'd see you here again, well I never thought I'd see you at all ever again. So tell me, what could possibly have happened in your perfect little life that would cause a rebel like you to come running back to sweet town of Sunnydale where all your family and friends live, if you still have any friends?"

Buffy knew the voice but she couldn't put it to a name. she spun around and looked straight into the yellow eyes of a redheaded vampiress. "Willow?" she asked, Willow laughed quietly and grinned. "So, you remember me? I'm so flattered, I forgot all about you after my boyfriend gave me a hickey I'll never forget, you remember him, Xander" Willow told her, a strange twisted smile on her lips that looked a little like a snarl.

Willow seemed to relax as her face changed back into it's human style as she sat down on a tombstone. Buffy was shocked, she had seen vampire-Willow before at the Bronze but that had worn a lot of black leather, but tonight she was wearing a full body piece made of velvet or something that resembled velvet. The piece was so black that you could hardly see her on a night as dark as this one. If it wasn't for her white skin and flaming red hair Willow would have been almost invisible.

Even though her face was human those golden-green eyes and blood-stained teeth still burned in Buffy's vision. "Xander sired you? I thought you were sired by Angelus" she asked, unbelieving of how dark and cruel her voice alone sounded and yet she looked like she was simply dressing up for Halloween.

"Angelus was going to be my sire but Xander beat him to the bite. He said he wanted to be the one to drink my blood, to sink his teeth into me with an eternal kiss. Isn't he sweet?" Willow explained. She went into a dreamy daze thinking about her wicked lover. "Yeah, sure sweet, he killed you Willow! He murdered you and turned you into a blood-sucking fiend!" Buffy told her, unlike Willow she was disgusted by those words. "I know, how romantic… we're gonna be together forever, literally" Willow said dreamily as if Buffy had never spoken.

Buffy wanted to continue talking with Willow, catch up on the past until she realised why she couldn't do that. "Do you always chat up your victims before you suck them dry?" she asked, crossing her arms. Willow looked back at Buffy and grinned. "No, actually I don't, I torture them instead, much more fun. And in case you thought I was planning on drinking you I wasn't, no harm in catching up with old friends" she explained.

Buffy was confused at first but decided to make the most of it. Willow got up and started pacing around, looking at the stars and swinging her arms back and forth. "So, have you met Tara yet? She's my little sister believe it or not. You remember how my parents divorced when I was little, well turns out my dad left town with the sister I was too young to remember. So I'm out looking for you in L.A. with Xander all those years ago and I'm trying to look you up in the phone book but of course you were no where to be seen. But I did notice a name that matched my own; it was my dad of course. What a small world."

"I decided to go pay my father a visit, don't know why as he never paid much attention to me even when he was around. But when I turn up there's a little girl in the house, I feel hurt thinking my dad has remarried, but he then tells me that he's a sucker and can't get a girlfriend. I am then introduced to my little sister Tara. I give up on looking for you after Xander and I checked every hotel we could find, figured you left town and moved on. We come back to Sunnydale and guess what, Angelus and his girls are waiting for us. Next thing ya know we're all toothy and blood-loving" Willow told her.

Buffy was still getting over the fact that Tara was Willow's sister, she hadn't even guessed; they really didn't look very much like each other. "Wait, I thought you and Xander brought Angelus to Sunnydale so how could he be waiting for you?" Buffy asked. "Silly, you thought we went to L.A. right after you left? We checked outside the border of the town but it was far enough for him to find us. We begged for our lives and he said that if we could take him to a town where he could rule he would let us live, he was being sarcastic but turns out he sticks to his word; which is kinda lame for a vampire king."

"We got to live but only if we never tried to leave town, well we went looking for you in L.A. once we turned 21 and that's when I met Tara. We got along well and decided to stay in touch. After we got back Angelus turned us which resulted in me not calling Tara ever; a few months ago she came looking for me and wallah, she got stuck up in this life of constant death and bloodshed. Not really what I wanted for her but curiosity killed the cat, or her heart anyway" Willow smiled once she was finished, then suddenly disappeared into the night.

"See you tomorrow, Buffy" her voice could be heard but there was no sign of her anymore. Buffy was extremely nervous wondering why Willow had disappeared so suddenly without any warning, then she noticed the sky had begun to light up and figured morning was on it's way.

She thought over everything she had been told, she came to one sickening conclusion: 'It was all her fault'.

**So what do you think? Is the story picking up speed? Let me know, the next chapter is gonna have a lot more evil Willow and actually a little less of the real world, it's kinda boring. Oh, forgot, next chapter we have the wedding that was mentioned in an earlier chapter, that is a big part of the story just so you don't think it was blah blah. I talk too much, sorry. R&R**


	5. Into the Lion's Den

**I know I said this chapter wouldn't take so long but there were a few nicks that affected the next chapter that needed sorting out. In my defence it was writing up a while ago, just not posted.**

**Now that that's all cleared up on with the story.**

Buffy quietly snuck in the back door of the Summer's house as it was still called according to the letter box, after all why change it? But what ever the name, it was very quiet. Buffy closed the back door really slowly, she wasn't sure if Spike had already heard her on the veranda but she didn't want to take the chance of waking him up. But as the door clicked silently into place, she could hear his breathing mere inches from her ear. She shivered, alerting him that she knew he was there, also causing her to freeze. The warm morning had allowed Buffy to take off her denim jacket and tie it around her waist; she was now debating over whether that had been a good idea or not as she once again felt Spike's touch on her bare arms.

"Do tell a bloke what a sweet girl like you was doing out all night, alone?"

"Uh, um….nothing just hunting vampires"

"Well, since you know very little about vampires and had no back up or proper training, doesn't that seem a little silly? You could've gotten yourself killed, kitten."

He whispered into her ear. Buffy wanted so bad to tell him to leave her alone because it was none of his business, but hearing him speak that way and call her kitten was just so sweet, even when he was scolding her. She wondered how it was possible he was single if he could seduce women so easily.

She tried to get away from him long enough to regain control of herself but it was hopeless; she was under his spell which had no cure; not that she wanted to be cured.

"S-S-Spike…" She could almost see the grin that was undoubtedly crawling along his lips.

"Yeah pet?"

"I've been out all night….I kinda want to go to bed." It was like a flash, she could have sworn she had read his mind when the words 'mind if I join you' spilled into her head. She leapt around Spike and put her hands up in the air in defence.

"Not like that, I-I-I….um, to sleep. I meant to sleep… not…ha" Spike only chuckled.

"Relax Buffy, god you're tense" he told her with a sexy smirk before disappearing down into the basement.

She waited until he was gone before she started fanning herself with her hand, her cheeks were red hot from blushing to which she was sure Spike had seen. God, what was the matter with her? Why was she getting so worked up, he was just a guy…a really hot guy who knew how to make her totally defenceless. She decided it would be best to hurry up and get at least a little sleep now because breakfast was only hours away and she would need her sleep if she was going to keep having these encounters with Spike again. Although she couldn't deny that she thoroughly enjoyed them.

But her tired eyes couldn't hold for much longer, she more or less collapsed onto the couch and was asleep in seconds.

**About a month later**

She awoke to the still-not-familiar sound of pounding footsteps as the house jumped into action. Buffy grabbed the pillow and shoved it over her head but, just like every morning, it did no good. She tried to remember what time she had crawled onto the couch, how many hours of sleep she had gotten; something crazy like 6 hours. She had actually planned on ignoring everyone and sleeping in till 2…but that was obviously not going to happen.

Spike came down from upstairs with a very bored looking Dawn behind him. Dawn hardly noticed Buffy but Spike stopped, this time for much longer than a glance. Buffy's face was hidden under the pillow but she could see his feet as they slowly moved towards her. Her heartbeat began to quicken, she wasn't sure whether she should be excited or scared, she could never tell what kind of mood he was in. But he didn't snap, he didn't rip the blanket off her, he simply grabbed the pillow and pulled it gently out of her reach. He placed it by her feet and smiled when he saw her looking up at him, pouting.

"Come on Slayer, Breakfast will be ready soon and I don't think you can get away with the blanket thing again pet" Spike told her, dumping the pillow back.

"Slayer?" Buffy asked, sitting up and fixing her hair. "What kind of nickname is that?" she asked him. Spike grinned and said, "You were out slaying vampires last night, right? And you're already living here, that makes you one of the gang. We're all vampire slayers here, join the club" he told her, amused by the funny look on her face. Buffy thought about this for a while, and then said.

"Are there any perks?"

"Free coffee and pancakes."

"What's the catch?"

Spike rolled his eyes and grinned playfully. "You have to be up, washed and dressed by 9am. Also there's the whole 'risk of death' thing" he explained. Buffy smiled, she was once again surprised by how nice he was being, and he was even playing around where as last night he was seducing her and before that he was scaring her. She just couldn't figure him out.

Spike watched Buffy for a few more minutes before going into the kitchen where he started helping out with the plates and glasses as Jenny had the cooking under control. He couldn't stop thinking about Buffy, she was silly and a little immature but to be honest he didn't care. She was defiantly hot and either very brave or very stupid, he wasn't sure which. But he couldn't help but toy with her every now and again, she fell under his spell so much easier then any other girl; he sometimes suspected she wanted it.

He helped set the table and bring in the food, also being careful not to bump into Amy who was happily bringing in the steaming kettle of hot water, ready for lots of coffee. She was always perky when they had coffee, but when they ran out she was pretty crabby; sometimes a little too much.

He took a seat at the far end of the table between Oz and Amy. The two of them could not sit next to each other and be at peace. Oz was mostly quiet and emotionless; you could never tell what he was feeling, but when he did talk he would tell you want he wanted you to know, he never slipped up. He was a pretty cool guy and easy to live with, but most of the reason he was so quiet all the time was because he was in pain. Only a few people knew why, it concerned a particular redhead that they no longer talked to.

Amy on the other hand was like fire, dangerous when enraged and hard to control. She was also a witch, not very powerful but she could pack a mean punch if something pissed her off. So, these two being complete opposites that did not attract, they really didn't get along well.

Spike huffed as he thought about all the strange people that were gathered around him:

Next to Oz was Jonathan, he was a complete nerd, like comic books, Doctor Who, picked on in high school nerd. But while Jonathan hardly made any sense when he started talking, he knew how to fire a crossbow and was really into reading about magic and demons.

Next was Andrew, one word, idiot. Andrew was a wimp, he had never been in a real fight with a vampire, and he spent most of the time with his nose in the books like Jonathan. But unlike Jonathan who got along fine with people, Andrew just annoyed them to no end, in fact at one time Amy had proposed that they gag him and Dawn went to get some duct tape. It took him a while to trust those two again.

Around the corner of the table was Giles. There wasn't much to say about a guy named Rupert Giles, boring, British but reliable and alert. He played the role of a father in Dawn's life although he was more just an uncle then anything.

Then there was Jenny, she was sweet and caring; a perfect mother. But she really hated the world they lived in, so she never went on patrols, she couldn't fight anyway, she was too much of a pacifist. But she took good care of Dawn and the others.

Dawn was next, the smallest, the youngest and most rebellious member of the gang. If she didn't get what she wanted over and over again, she was scary. But it had only gotten out of hand a few times, mostly when she lost her patience with people but all that stopped when Spike moved in.

Tara was Willow's little sister and after Buffy the newest member to the gang. She doesn't talk about her own life much, she has never once mentioned either of her parents and she never went to visit her mother once she started living in the same town. But when Tara did speak up she could be very insightful, she was a very nice person and never insulted or said a bad word about anyone which was why she was easy to love. She and Dawn were very close, like best friends in primary school.

Then came Buffy, now from Spike's point of view she was smart and funny but a little too confident. She didn't like being told what to do and that could be respected had she not decided to live in a house with rules. But over all she was a loyal friend, she remembered Amy and Jonathan even though she had hardly even spoken to them.

The table curved around to Amy and lastly to Spike. While everyone had their secrets and dark pasts, his was the most secret. Not that he was ashamed to talk about it but he simply hadn't met anyone he felt talking heart-to-heart with. Not even Dawn, who was like his little sister, he knew she thought of him as her big brother.

So to put it simply, two nerds, an old smartass, a mother, a fiery-tempered witch, a wallflower, a silent musician, a teenager, a runaway and a dangerous guy with now past made up the team that spent their lives hunting and slaying vampires; really doesn't sound likely.

But regardless, that was the team.

Spike spent most of the morning staring at Buffy who was sitting opposite him at the table. He sort of wished that she was at the other end because then it wouldn't be so hard to look at her without her noticing. He didn't want to give her the wrong idea but that's what puzzled him, was it the wrong idea? Or was he really interested in her, or was it more than that.

Spike had a bad trail behind him when it came to girls, his first girlfriend had cheated on him and then left him for that guy without an ounce of guilt, then his next girlfriend gets killed and turned into the very thing he hates; and with a girl as stubborn as Buffy should he dare take the risk? But what if she was worth it? These thought travelled over and over in his head finding no end.

After breakfast, Buffy was about to head out and find something to do for the day but was stopped when Jenny grabbed her arm. "Where are you going Buffy? We're going shopping for dresses for the wedding today, the wedding is tomorrow" she told her. Buffy's eyes went wide, "The wedding is tomorrow and you're only going shopping _now_?" she asked, she had never figured her aunty for the unorganized type. "I know, but we have to go now so wait here while I get Dawn ready, she can be a little slow after breakfast, sometimes she even goes back to bed" Jenny explained with an irritated laugh.

So Buffy slouched on the couch waiting for her aunty and sister to come downstairs and while she was waiting who should pass by but Spike, wearing dark jeans and a tight black T-shirt. Buffy then decided she liked Spike without his duster more, she just couldn't stop staring. "So, will you be joining us today?" she asked him. Spike raised one eyebrow and laughed saying, "No way, I really don't go for all that tux stuff; I've never once worn a tie and don't plan to start now pet. I may not even show up at all, not much to do there unless you really like dancing, or getting drunk but that never ends well in this town."

He looked at her one last time before grabbing his duster off the armchair and heading towards the door. "Unless it's daytime outside" he told her, and then flew out the door before Giles tried to convince him to join the shopping trip.

Buffy didn't have to wait much longer before Dawn and Jenny came flying down the stairs and out the door, Amy and Tara appearing out of nowhere to follow. Tara grabbed Buffy's arm on the way and pulled her along.

The store they were going to was rather small for a formal dress store, and it was dully coloured on the outside, just like the rest of the town. But once inside it was like a bomb of paint had exploded, the place was full of every different kind of colour imaginable. Buffy was amazed, she had never seen so many different dresses and by the looks of the prices she could afford nearly any dress she wanted.

But this was so new to Buffy that she found herself sitting around watching as the others picked out their favourites.

Jenny had settled on a deep blue, floor-length dress with 3/4 sleeves.

Amy chose a short red dress that stopped above her knees and had a slit up the left side.

Tara picked out a light green dress that covered her entire figure, from shoulders to the floor with a V-neck and sleeves that went to her fingertips.

Dawn fell in love with a light blue dress that stopped at her knees and had very short sleeves.

Jewellery and make-up was discussed among them while Buffy walked through the clump of hangers, each with a singular unique dress; apparently this town wasn't big on mass-production. But it did mean that you would never have to worry about showing up wearing the exact same dress as someone else.

But regardless of all the colours and shades and styles, none of them really spoke to her. The others tried to help but the dresses they came out with didn't match her style. The red seemed the most likely to work but they were too deep, a good colour for a vampire maybe.

She was about to give up when the shop keeper went into the back room. Buffy wasn't expecting for a dress any better then the others but when she saw it she couldn't put it down.

**Later that night**

There was hardly a sound that night as a half moon enlightened the grave yard in a grey sway over the dying grass. Listening carefully for a single sound that might alert her to the presence of another being, dead or alive, but all that could be heard was the howl of the wind.

This had to be the most stupid thing she had ever done, going out at night to talk with a friend who no longer existed. But when they spoke it was like old times, hanging around somewhere alone in town while their parents thought they were tucked up in bed.

She stoped when she heard a low growl, holding her stake tightly she looked around for the source of the sound. "God, would you just relax Buffy, you're so goddamn tense all the time" Willow said from where she was perched, sitting up on the roof of a large mausoleum. When Buffy began walking towards her she slipped off the edge of the roof and landed gracefully as if she had simply walked down some stairs.

"Well you never know who or what you might meet out here, or so I've been told" Buffy explained with a nervous smile. Willow gave her a wicked grin and laughed. "You think I'm a thing? Is that what they call us? I'm offended" she said with a mocking voice and look. Then suddenly it changed into a dangerous smile.

"Hey, do you want to do something different tonight?" she asked from the place she had moved into crouching on a thick gravestone. Buffy wondered how she was possibly keeping her balance. "Why?" Buffy asked, she wasn't sure what Willow had in mind but she could just tell that it didn't involve a board and a game of Scrabble.

"Bored now" Willow told her very simply. Buffy was surprised by her quick notion and decided that she too was 'bored now' so what the heck. "Ok, what did you have in mind?" she asked. Willow raised her head and smiled (an actual smile this time) and said while rolling her head around slowly, "Let's go to a party."

So that's how Buffy found herself walking through the open streets with Willow right beside her. Buffy didn't have to ask where they were going; there was only one place in this town that threw parties anymore. It was also the only place in town where vampires were welcome, apart from demon bars.

There it was, the Bronze, the only club that had ever been worth going to in the entire town. Buffy remembered going in there once or twice, sneaking in round the back just to check out the life of the free, but as she wasn't old enough to drink and had no ID it wasn't much fun in the end. But now she was being taken there by someone who had full use of the place.

Willow paid next to no attention to Buffy as they walked up to the large building; she was eyeing every look that was thrown at her in the street, both good and bad. Buffy wondered how good an idea it was for her to be going into a vampire club without Spike there to keep her out of trouble. What he had said last night was true; she knew nothing about vampires except that they kill by biting your neck and they were super strong; they also had a very dark clothing line.

But as she nervously walked in the front door without a glance she began to relax. Willow turned her head around to give Buffy a quick grin as they walked towards the stairs that lead up to the balcony. Now this, Buffy was sure would only be allowed if she was with Willow or one of the other Master vamps.

The crowd that were up on the balcony were widely different from the ones down in the pit of the building. The bottom vampires were a group of creatures mixed up from anywhere in town, nothing special, basically normal. Where as the vampires up top were more graceful and thoughtful of their appearances.

Willow took Buffy over to the bar that had been recently installed. It was made of steel and it had a light on the front, a big fluoro red light that dusted over the polished wooden floor. At the front of the bar there were a few black stools; Willow sat down on one and indicated that Buffy should sit down too. Well, she had made it this far into the life of Sunnydale vampires, why try and turn back now.

Once she was seated, Willow snapped her fingers and the bartender came running. He didn't look like a vampire, or seem to be a demon of any kind; in fact he was completely human. "Hey there Willow, what can I get for you and your guest tonight?" the man asked rather quickly and very nervously. Buffy raised her eyebrows and gave Willow a funny look, which she laughed at.

"This here is Willy, he's completely human but is entirely in the loop of both sides" she explained. Willy looked at Buffy and waved, he was like a little boy jumping around playing games, but you could tell by the look on his face that he knew well the dangers of the game.

"In the loop?" Buffy asked, "Gossip, you know. Willy's the one you go to when you want information on anything that's happening in town. Like who's running the next apocalypse, where it's gonna be, who just died…that sort of stuff." Buffy smiled and looked at Willy; he was a little pathetic and rather dull.

"I'll have a pig's blood and Buffy here will have…do you drink?" Willow said to Willy then turned back to Buffy to ask. Her eyes widened and she said, "Not blood" however that was not what Willow had meant. Once she was done laughing she said, "I meant alcohol silly, do you drink?" Buffy just nodded.

"Get her a margarita" Willow told the bartender. Buffy looked around at the vampires who were dancing and talking just feet from her. Most of them were dressed rather classy for the dead; some had gold and gemmed jewellery while others went for more of the punk look with pierced eyebrows, lips and noses.

The clothes were mostly the same when it came to the dresses, all red, black and occasionally purple but there was one or two that stood out in gold and deep blue. Whatever the colouring the dresses were all elegant; long and slim yet not constricting at all.

There were a lot of vampiresses in the crowd, Buffy guessed that had something to do with the 'royal family' thing, these vampires were like the ladies and counts or something of that sort. _'Angelus must be really old, this kind of stuff is really old-fashioned' _she thought.

Once she was done examining the fashion sense she looked more closely at the activities that were held up here. The vampires that weren't standing around in groups chatting about death and blood were gathered in small crowds around a small cage that was hanging from the roof. When Buffy looked more closely she could see a person in the cage, banging into the back of the cage in an attempt to escape the slicing nails of the vampiresses that were watching him hungrily. Buffy wanted to help the poor man but she knew better then to out stay her welcome when there were this many blood-sucking fiends surrounding her. Mean while the poor man continued to suffer from bleeding and no doubt painful cuts all over her arms and face.

Suddenly Willow spoke up, "So Buff, what do you think of the 'upper-class' so to speak?" Buffy was speechless, how do you tell a vampire that you think their boring and gross without getting your neck ripped open. "Very fancy, kinda like a game of kings and queens" she said instead. Willow laughed and told her, "Buffy, this isn't a game, it's real, the whole lot of it. All the clothes and services and the power, it all belongs to the greatest vampire of our time; Angelus. Say, would you like to meet Drusilla? I'm sure she'd love you."

Buffy knew that she was taking this too far, it was like being offered an alcoholic drink at a party, with every sip she took she got a little more helpless and lost. "No thanks, actually I kinda want to get out of here, to much smoke and um…" Buffy looked over the railing that bordered the edge of the platform, down at the cages that held more helpless victims being treated like they were nothing more then toys to the vampires, "Blood, can't handle it right now" she told her old friend.

Willow pouted and whined like a puppy, "Go on then, I'm not gonna stop you" she said sulkily. Buffy quickly stood up and headed for the stairs when the vampiress that Spike had called Cordelia blocked her way. "Doesn't mean someone else won't" Willow said with an evil laugh.

Cordelia's faced changed into that of her vampire state and began taking slow steps towards Buffy who instinctively backed up. She didn't know what to do in a situation like this, she would have run but there were just too many vampires in the building; there was no chance she was gonna get out alive.

The sight was chilling, the dark-haired vampiress walking slowly closer and closer, her glittering green dress washing over the floor with every move she made. Buffy quickly found herself cowering in the corner, no one paying the tiniest bit of attention to her or the vampire closing in on her. Cordelia kneeled down and leaned in close to Buffy's neck, whispering, "Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a minute."

**I know it doesn't seem to pick up where we left it in the last chapter with the guilt thing, but that comes later, it's all leading up to a point. Oh, and the wedding was pushed into the next chapter, it is in there so no worries, but I have this plan where that part of the story is just perfect. Well, would you argue with Spuffy? It's very Spuffy and very cute so perfection is necessary.  
**

**So away I go to write the next chapter which should be up within the week now that I have fixed up all the crooks. R&R and thank you for reading.  
**


	6. FairyTales Can Be True

**Ok, I give up, I have a terrible sense of time. No more promises on when new chapters will be up. I said it would be up within the week, it didn't even get up within the month. My muse has been taking a blind eye to this story for a while, as I have two other Spuffy stories I am writing, hope you like them. My favourite one is coming along quite well and is already half done so it should definately be up by christmas. The other one is already written and is simply waiting for some time on the computer to be typed up but its pretty long.**

**Well, P!nk has been helping me get through this, her songs are inspiration in themselves. I hope you're all looking forward to this new story of mine, I think it's my best. It was inspired by the song 'I Hate Everything About You (Why Do I Love You)' by Three Days Grace, let's see how much you can guess from that little clue.  
**

_Cordelia kneeled down and leaned in close to Buffy's neck, whispering, "Don't worry, it'll only hurt for a minute."_

Buffy waited to feel the teeth cut into her skin, but they never did. She heard a yelp and a thud and quickly opened her eyes. Someone had saved her, grabbing Cordelia by the neck, pulled her away and thrown her on the other side of the balcony. Buffy looked for her rescuer but who ever they were was hidden in the crowd.

She stood up and looked over the tops of the crowd when suddenly someone grabbed her by the arm tightly and pulled her forcefully down the stairs, out the back door and into the back streets. Only once they were far away from the Bronze did they stop, and only then was Buffy able to see who it was.

"Spike!" she said breathlessly, he was very fast and she had been quite unprepared for that speed. Spike turned around and looked at Buffy with shock and anger.

"What the bloody hell were you doing in there? Huh? Do you have any idea how dangerous that place is? Does 'walking straight into the hornet's nest' mean anything to you?!" he asked sharply, she could tell that he had wanted to sound a lot harsher than that.

She was lost for words, how could she explain that she was just hanging out with an old friend. "I…I was with Willow" she told him quietly, ashamed of her stupidity. Spike just shook his head and sighed. "I'm sorry Spike…" she apologised, hoping he wouldn't think she was nothing more than a liability that needed saving all the time, this was the second time over the 3 nights already she had spent in this town. Spike looked down at her, trying to see her face; she hung it low, ashamed.

"Buffy" he tried to sound a lot calmer then he really was.

Buffy didn't answer; she didn't want to see the disappointment in his eyes when she looked up into those brilliant blues. But Spike didn't repeat himself, so she slowly looked up and saw anger on his face, and she knew she was in real trouble this time.

"You can't go out at night by yourself, you're not allowed and you never will be unless you stop making these stupid decisions of thinking its ok to hang out with sodding vampires! You are either gonna get yourself killed or somebody else, how will you be able to live with yourself if you knew it had been your fault that somebody was dead? Do you think you could possibly live with that?!"

Spike's voice changed as he spoke, becoming sad as each word escaped his mouth. Buffy wondered if what he was telling her was experience, had he gotten someone killed before.

It was a long while before either of them spoke.

"Spike?" she asked.

He looked into her emerald eyes and said, "I know I can't, it burns me every single day."

Buffy didn't know what to say. She had never thought for a moment that Spike's personality ran off his emotions, he had lost someone like this before and he was determined not to let it happen again. She could only respect that.

"It won't happen again Spike, I promise" she told him.

"It had better not, because I won't always be around to baby-sit you pet, you gotta learn how to protect yourself. Either that or start making your funeral plans" he warned.

When they walked in, it was the middle of the night and the house was empty. Buffy was quite surprised by this, she looked up at Spike with a questioning look and he told her, "They'll all be out patrolling, hunting and killing what ever nasties they come across. They go out every second night, sleep the rest."

Buffy suddenly felt very shy, being alone with Spike all night made her cheeks burst with colour to the thoughts in her head. She tried to ignore them, telling herself that he wasn't interested but from what she had learnt from various conversations over the past 3 days was that Spike had been going easy on her. He wasn't fond of strangers and his temper often scared them off. But he must like something about her because he hadn't sent her running for the hills. She hoped that it wasn't all in her head, but with his mood swings and seductions she couldn't tell if he was actually interested in her or if he was just teasing. Surely there must be something about her he likes.

Buffy was snapped back to reality when Spike walked off into the kitchen saying her name along with a few other words she hadn't caught. But she couldn't be sure if he had been talking to her or asking her something, so she waited for him to repeat himself...or better yet, just follow him into the kitchen. She walked into the smallish kitchen and found Spike by the fridge.

"Buffy, would you like something to drink?" he asked, slight irritation in his voice.

She nodded a little too enthusiastically, saying, "Hot chocolate would be nice."

Sitting down on one of the stools at the island counter, she watched Spike move around the kitchen collecting things. The silence surrounding them was uncomfortable, so Buffy tried to start a conversation, but had no idea what to talk about. She hardly thought that 'hey, those vampires have sharp teeth, don't they?' was worth much; so instead she started off on a quiet note.

"You know when you said I didn't know anything about vampires and demons? Well I do know some things, not much though but more than nothing. I had this friend back in L.A. who told me stories and stuff, she taught me how to identify one but she wouldn't actually let me fight" she explained.

Spike made a gesture with his head to indicate that he was listening, but kept his back turned. The words seemed to pass as though unheard, then he tensed up.

"What was her name?" he asked suddenly, catching Buffy a little off-guard.

"Faith" she stumbled to say.

He froze.

"Spike?"

He didn't answer.

"Do you know her?"

Spike lowered his shoulders and spun around to face her as he lifted himself up to sit on the counter. Buffy waited for words to form but he was taking his time.

"Faith was my girlfriend in high school, before she dropped out. She's the reason I'm here, shoved me down this road without any say after she left me for some guy. I think his name was Woods, Robin Woods. Never got to meet the slimy bastard, which is probably a good thing on his part, I'd have smashed his face in. I'm guessing she's the reason you're here too?" He asked.

"Yeah, she was leaving L.A. to go travelling around with…some guy, but she didn't give me much of a heads-up and I found myself alone in our cheap flat with all her enemies breaking down the door. Got myself out of there and went to the only place I could call home. Faith ended up being a bitch in the end."

Spike chuckled. He handed Buffy a mug of hot chocolate and they both drank in silence.

Neither spoke for a while until Buffy asked curiously," Are you going to the wedding tomorrow night?" She didn't make eye contact at all and even looked in a completely different direction. This was a question that, with the right answer, was definitely going to make her cheeks go red.

"I might, never know. But unless you like dancing and cake there really isn't that much to do there, other than getting drunk but that doesn't usually end up well in this town" he told her.

Buffy's heart sank, she had hoped that he would be there to keep her company, but she guessed it wasn't really his thing. The uncomfortable silence settled through out the house again and it made both Buffy and Spike feel uneasy. Buffy didn't stick around long though and was asleep on the couch within minutes. Spike however didn't snooze off so quickly, he instead wandered down into the basement and paced around for a while. He thought about the events of that night, not really sure how to approach the problem of expressing his fears but at the same time keeping his emotions and secrets to himself.

"How does one use experience to teach a lesson without explaining the story?" he questioned aloud. He tried not to think about the actual event as it caused him too much pain. Normally he wouldn't dwell on past events, what had happened was rock solid, nothing could change it; but in order to prevent Buffy from suffering the same fate, he needed to do something.

He liked her, he couldn't deny there was something there, but that's what the problem was. There was a reason that weddings in this town were so overly celebrated, a reason that children were so overly protected, a reason why the town screamed of heartbreak and regret. It was rare to find love in this town, so when it was found true it was cherished; but when it was lost…the survivor never fully recovered and while Buffy was one such discovery, the chances against them were deathly.

Spike had found love once before in this town, but it ended the same as the rest. There had been almost no chance of him finding someone else while he lived in Sunnydale, so Buffy was more than just some girl. But no matter how close he wanted to be to her, he knew he couldn't let that happen. Even though he had only known her for a month, he knew that she meant something to him. The chances of her dying within the year were just too great, and if he got too close to her, losing her would certainly drive him insane. But wasn't that what life is about? Not taking the time you have together for granted, for cherishing every second? Maybe, but as long as Angelus ruled the town Spike would never be able to hold onto her. Of all the time the two had fought, neither one had ever backed down; and making Spike's life hell was Angelus' favourite game.

By the time all this had gone through his head, Spike was nearly asleep. Lying on his bed with his shirt on the floor and his hands tucked underneath his head, he let sleep take him over.

___

The next day was spent completely on getting ready for the wedding. Once again Buffy was left feeling alone; she wasn't at all used to all this chaos. Everyone was everywhere doing everything; the bathroom was always full of people working on their hair and make-up, while the kitchen was bustling with the people who were making the food and delivering it to the car.

So Buffy sat quietly on the couch, moving only when asked to fetch something. Spike was nowhere to be seen, that was clear; however it was impossible to find a particular person in the house as the crowds continuously swapped and shifted. The entire day went like this, and it left everyone feeling a little worn out, so coffee was handed around. By the time the wedding was only hours away, everyone was dressed and ready to go; all except Buffy.

"Why aren't you dressed yet? You've had all day Buffy" Giles asked his niece as she sat by herself in the living room; everyone else was entertaining themselves with books and games.

"I haven't gotten the chance. Every room in the house was full" she explained.

"Well then you better get moving."

Buffy was a little reluctant at first, not sure if she even wanted to go to this wedding, involving two people she had never met. But she was really curious about how these sort of things went in this town, chances were she was never gonna get this sort of opportunity again. So she got up off the couch and made her way upstairs to Jenny and Giles' bedroom, where she had been keeping her dress as she was yet to have even a bed.

Opening the closet doors she shifted through the various pieces of clothing until she found her dress. It was in a coat of plastic to protect it from…everything. But even under the smoky wrap, she could see the outfit perfectly. She walked into the on-suite and closed the door. Dawn and Tara were waiting outside the door for her, ready to help with hair and make-up.

An hour, and much make-up and nail polish remover, later, everyone was huddled around the front door, waiting for Buffy to come down and join them. When she appeared at the top of the stairs, a lot of 'wow's and gasps were heard throughout the room. But they didn't hang around long, time was ticking away and Giles was allergic to late, or at least in the opinions of everyone who knew him. Outside in the driveway, two cars were waiting for them. Jenny's car wasn't old exactly but could do with a new paint-job. Jenny, Giles, Dawn, Amy and Buffy all went in her car, while Tara, Andrew and Jonathan got a ride with Oz in his van.

The two cars drove through the town, right to the other side. They stopped on the outskirts of a dark, thick forest. There was a large patch of stone and dirt that was used as a car park; and right now it was pretty full. Buffy stepped carefully out of the car and looked around at the crowd of people surrounding her. She had never seen this many people in the same place before, and yet the fact that this was practically everyone in the whole town was frightening to say the least.

Jenny opened the boot of her car and started handing out food platters to everyone; some of the passer-bys helped out too if they weren't carrying anything already. It was heart-warming to see how peacefully everyone got along with each other, but Buffy suspected it had more to do with protection in numbers than actual friendships.

Everyone started walking into the forest, following a naturally-made dirt path that went so deep into the woods that everyone had closed up into a long line. The old, the weak and the young were encased in the middle of the sea of people, to prevent them from wandering or from death if the crowd was attacked. The strongest were at the front and the back, with the fighters scattered along the outline of what could be considered a herd.

Buffy realised this from her place near the centre with the other women. The people were just like a herd of deer, that was what they had been reduced to. They were all tense, as if waiting to be attacked. Fear had driven the town to use animal instinct, they were nothing more than prey, food with legs; and that was most certainly what every vampire in town thought of them. Thoughts began to spring into her mind, comparing memories of what the people of Sunnydale used to be and what they had now become.

A decade ago the town was full of life; happy children were allowed to play outside after dark, every shop in Main Street was open until late and the town was considered to be a place of dreams. But now the streets were filthy and soaked with blood, houses remained locked at all hours and people feared the night when once it was celebrated. The souls of the glowing youth had grown into damaged, terrified shells. This town was now a hollow ghost of what it used to be, and yet there was still hope shining in tired eyes and help supporting those in need. The people of Sunnydale were determined not to give up on the town, not to lose faith in the future and to keep trying no matter what to restore the broken lives that had been left here.

There was little conversation among the group throughout the journey; but as the end of the path came into view, voices got louder and more excited. Buffy tried to see over the tops of all the people in front her, she didn't have a very good view but what she did manage to see was an old, wood and stone structure as tall as a two story building; it was shaped like a barn, but it felt a lot more mysterious than a pet house. The vineyard was on an island surrounded by some sort of white water. At the front of the crowd was a line of about 4 women with various gold and silver charms around their arms, necks, heads and wrists. Their hair was either light brown or red and their dresses went to the ground in navy with a white layer of clear silk over the skirt.

The women approached the vineyard and raised their arms into the air. All the townsfolk stepped back, giving the witches plenty of room to work their magic. Humming could be heard coming from the witches' rose-coloured lips as glowing sparks began to flow from their fingertips. Everyone watched with amazement when the sparks became combined into a focused beam of pure energy, washing over the land, the vineyard, and the trees. Pure white power surrounded the island, turning the river into a sparkling mist. This was drawn high into the air from all around the island, all being summoned to a single point at the centre above the building.

Buffy looked at the witches who were bringing about this incredible sight; they had become the power. Their dark clothes and hair was all blindingly white and pure; their hands were glowing and their hair waved around as if in water.

The humming soon became words in Latin. The power that was sourcing above the vineyard suddenly exploded, sending waves of watery magic washing over the island as if there were a force field around it like a snow globe. The mist splashed down freely until it reached the ground. As soon as the magic water made contact with the tall, green blades of grass, it began to crystallize. Icy-coloured glass snaked its way under the waterfall, pushing the magic up in waves, not stopping until it reached the top again. It then closed up like a snow-coloured flower bud. To finish the spell, the 4 witches stretched out their arms and took hold of each other's hands. They then swung their arms down, the crystal flashed and then disappeared; or became invisible as Buffy thought.

The witches released their grip and stood perfectly still until their glowing, white auras vanished and returned each one of them back to their natural colours. They stepped back into the crowd as a tall, middle-aged warlock took their place. The witches had done their part and now they were all magicked-out, so this warlock would have to do the last part. He slid his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a handful of lavender tied together with a purple ribbon. He held it out near the barrier and waved back and forth in the shape of an arch. Smoky, purple, glitter began to fall from the lavender and travelled down the wall, creating a drawing of a door. The outline shone like rippling water before also disappearing, but leaving an open door through the force field.

Like clockwork, everyone filed through the door and onto the island. The broke apart once inside the barrier; the children ran around, exploring the new world they had walked into. Buffy watched as one by one, everyone walked through the old doors of the vineyard; she followed.

It was like a high school corridor the way everyone eagerly hurried inside, all wanting to get started with the wedding. The friends and family of the bride and groom went in first, leaving only the bride and groom outside to make their entrance; although no one had noticed that Buffy was still outside, admiring the glorious beds of flowers that covered the ground.

Buffy took little notice of the beginning of the wedding, she didn't know anyone there and no one in there knew her so who was going to miss her? She decided to wander around outside for a while until the wedding had died down and the party started, then she might go inside and…_mingle_. Of course she didn't have track of time or any idea how long a wedding ceremony went for, she had never been to one before.

Maybe the real reason she was outside wandering around alone was because she still had hope that Spike would show up. _'Wait, why do I care if he shows up? So what if he saved my life twice…'_ she tried to think up a decent reason to explain why she cared, but she was caught in a pothole of truth. She loved him, or did she? Was it too soon to say 'love'? She didn't really know how love really felt.

Slowly she began to notice someone approaching her. She spun around knowing who she wanted it to be, but no, it was Jenny.

Buffy gave a bored smile. "Hi Aunty, what's happening?"

Jenny was wearing a fake smile as well, but her's was masking concern. "If you were trying to avoid the actual wedding part you've succeeded. The band is about to start playing any second. Would you like to come and join the rest of the town?"

"Ok, not much to do out here anyway."

"Not if you're alone." Jenny smiled.

Buffy watched Jenny go back inside, then she took a deep breathe and prepared herself for what she was going to find. She walked up to the doors and turned the handle. Pushing gently on the door it swung open with ease.

The second the light from the candles touched her, one could say she glowed. Buffy stood in the doorway, wearing a floor-length, pale pink dress made of the softest materiel. It was smooth and silk-like with a layer of clear veil over the top. At the chest there were four layers of the same materiel overlapping one another; with thin straps and a wide skirt, fit for dancing, it had to have been the most beautiful item she had ever worn. She had picked out a pair of pale purple heels with diamonds at the toes and matching earrings and necklace to finish her look. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, with the tail bit bouncing around in tight curls. With a touch of eye shadow and the right coloured gloss, she was catching the eyes of many.

The inside of the vineyard was huge, a big wide open space with a low roof. To the right was a staircase that bent round, leading underneath the floor, down into the wine cellar. There was a bar over on the left and the band was set up on the other side of the staircase. Tables with purple clothes and white candles were scattered around the room with lots of chairs filling every gap around the tables.

She felt nervous, standing there alone with all those single eyes staring at her, but she held her head high and walked confidently into the party. Nearly everyone was already dancing, so she tried to join in, but having not known anyone, she didn't have any girlfriends to dance with; she was the odd one out. Even after a month she still didn't know anyone, it was kinda silly. Buffy tried to fit in for as long as she could, but it just wasn't working for her.

She found herself sitting alone on the third step of the staircase, thinking about…not much really, just kinda zoning out. That was until she heard heavy footsteps on the floorboards, the smell of dust and smoke and the low voice she had been seeking out all night.

"Hey Pet, what are ya doing over here by yourself?" Spike sat down beside her and looked her up and down, being unable to stop thinking how beautiful she was in that dress.

"Spike! You came, thank god, this party is pretty boring."

"Boring? Everyone seems to be having the time of their lives, all 'cept you Love."

"Yeah well, I don't know anyone so who am I supposed to talk to? Everyone I do know is lost in the crowd."

"Looks like you could use a bit of cheering up."

She looked at his face and saw a smile; she wasn't sure if it was to be welcomed or feared. But when he stood up and held out his arm, she smiled too, slipping her hand into his grip and letting him lead her outside. She didn't know where he was taking her but she felt so excited inside she dared not say a word. They exited the building, leaving the party inside, and walked out into the night.

The moonlight shone brightly down upon the two as they made their way around the left of the island. Buffy was both very nervous and very calm; her arm having become linked with Spike's, she let him take her over to a small garden. There was a quaint bench chair with a Celtic design in the backing. Around the feet of the chair were hundreds of pure white roses. The petals were so smooth that they glowed in the white gaze of the moon.

Beside the flower beds, the river of holy water passed right by the spot. The water flowed freely by; washing silently over the black pebbles that coated the river bed.

Buffy was amazed by the sight, it was a garden based on paradise, something out of a fairytale. Spike smiled at her, walking her over to the river where she kneeled down, careful not to damage her dress. The water was so beautiful, reflecting the enchanting purple sky, showered with silver stars. She could just hear the whisper of the water, so inviting and safe. She leaned forwards slightly, allowing Spike to certain her balance by holding her hand, she slowly dipped her other hand into the water. Watching the pink trails that rippled from her fingertips, she closed her eyes and focused on the feeling of the cool water wisping around her hand.

She loved the way the river made her feel so relaxed, but she wanted to see more. So she lifted her hand from the water, but she unsteadied her balance as she did so and she quickly grabbed Spike's free hand. He pulled her back to her feet and a little away from the edge. He looked down at her wet fingers locked with his own, letting the holy water drip slowly down between their hands; and he couldn't help but smile. What she had done had a great meaning, the holy water clasped between their entwined fingers. She had promised him a love that would be true and binding; she had promised to never love another.

He knew that she was unaware of this superstition, but it still held the meaning.

Her smile matched his own, but for a different reason. She beamed, looking up into his gorgeous cerulean eyes, reflecting the dazzling stars that coated the sky. He couldn't stop looking at her, she was just so beautiful. He knew he had probably gone too far already, but right now he didn't care. Screw the consequences; damn the fear that was holding him back, there was only one thing he wanted anymore and he knew full well it was her; for tonight at least he would have that.

She had felt love before, she knew what it felt like; or at least she thought she had. What she felt now, it made her question everything she had ever known about love. He had completely disarmed her and she couldn't help but surrender. The look in his eyes made her feel so loved and so cherished she wondered how she had never noticed this before. He was in love with her, she didn't need him to tell her that, she could see it in his eyes, in his smile; she was his everything, and he was hers.

Soft, slow music drifted to their ears from the vineyard; they were playing love songs already. Spike smiled a little wider, and then he took Buffy's hand and led her over to a grassy patch circled by the white roses. She was smiling nervously, she didn't have a clue what he was thinking and it scared her a little. He stopped moving when she stepped into the centre, she was so close that she could hardly breathe. Spike smiled reassuringly and placed one hand on her waist and lifted the other one (still entwined with her hand) up to shoulder level. Ever so slowly, Buffy brought her other hand up to his shoulder and looked up at his face which was beaming with happiness.

The moon danced in her emerald eyes and he knew he was under her spell; there was nothing he could do to stop himself from loving her. All this time he had kept his distance and tried to tell himself it would never work, but seeing how happy she was to be with him made his heart soar. His only purpose was to make her laugh; his only wish was to see this smile every single day.

Slowly they began to sway, gently at first. Their bodies in complete sync with each other as they moved to the soft melody, everything else just washed away with the river's own song. They danced on and on, through many different songs, but by now they weren't dancing to music anymore but to a silent rhythm that only they could hear; the beating of their hearts. Sometime during their dance, Buffy rested her head on Spike's chest and breathed in his scent; one she would remember forever. Spike had his chin on Buffy's head, he could feel her golden hair on his cheek; so smooth and cool. He loved every sensation of this moment; her smell of vanilla, her beautiful hair on his face and her smooth, soft fingers entwined with his.

Hours passed by without notice, Spike and Buffy had stopped dancing and were now seated on the bench chair, just enjoying the night. Buffy was leaning back with her hands placed gracefully in her lap, one leg crossed over the other. She didn't want to stare, so instead she focused her eyes on the stars. Spike was leaning forward, his shoulders were hunched and his hands were clasped together. He could only just see Buffy when he twisted his head around.

He couldn't get over how beautiful she was; her hair, her dress, her lips. Without realising it, he had leaned back and shifted around slightly. Buffy had noticed his movement and she blushed when she saw the admiration in his eyes. They drew closer and closer together, neither really sure about what it was they wanted in that moment, but as their lips touched all the questions and doubts disappeared.

Spike's hand came up to the side of Buffy's neck, tucking his hand behind her head he threaded his fingers through her hair. The kiss was slow and gentle but full of desire. Buffy craved more when their lips parted. He didn't move back though, instead he hovered centimetres from her face. Their eyes locked, completely captivated by the detail of each other up close.

It hadn't been noticed before as no one had ever been out while a wedding was inside the vineyard, but as the two young blondes sat under the crimson sky, the spell protecting the island began to whither. It was expected at a slow pace but none had actually seen it happen.

Blazing white crystals began to fall from the sky. At the size of a grain of rice, the crystals sparkled with every colour surrounding them. Buffy was enchanted by such beautiful stones and stood up to dance in them. Spike wasn't so quick to twirl under the glitter in the air, so instead he watched Buffy laugh and spin. She really was a dream. He never wanted this night to end; he wanted it to be endless, forever. He didn't want to go back to the world of demons and vampires massacring the town to death. He didn't want to have to worry about the rest of the world, to fight endlessly for a victory that would never come.

Looking up at the fire-striking sky, it was painfully obvious that morning was nearly here. The night had come to an end.

**Please review, I need to know what you guys think of this chapter, it has taken me forever to write. I know it's a little sappy for my dark and twisted dimension but sometimes you just need the light. I spent a lot of time working on this one so....what did ya think of the spell?! Spike wants you to review my story as he is next to god, god being Joss. **

**Well, Happy Easter everyone, try not to eat too much chocolate if that is at all possible.  
**


	7. Passions' at its Best

**Howdey, hi, hello, G'day. Yes I know its been forever but life has a way of doing this sort of stuff. Its the most horrible thing life can throw at people like us, it is called a 'writer's block'. But in a way it wasn't so much of a block cos I've been writing a bunch of other stories for you guys too. I have one completed story in need of typing, one mostly finished and the one being rewritten...that's gonna take a while. But to make it up to you guys I've given you an extra long chapter, more than twice as long as usual so enjoy!**

He hadn't spoken to her all week, ever since that night at the vineyard he hadn't said a word. He didn't even look at her anymore. What had she done wrong? Had she done anything wrong? Or was it just something to do with him? She was beginning to hate him, she wanted to know what had gone wrong but unless he spoke to her she would never find out. Or maybe there were other ways to get to the truth.

Buffy walked gracefully up the stairs and into Dawn's room. Dawn and Spike were close; maybe she could ask him what was wrong. Knocking quietly on the door, she was quickly answered with an invite. So in she went.

"Um, Dawn?"

Dawn looked up from the magazine she was reading on her bed. "Hi Buffy, what's up?"

Buffy took a deep breathe. "Remember last Saturday, the wedding? How I spent the whole time outside with Spike?"

"Oh yeah, I heard you two were really enjoying yourselves."

Buffy paused, she wasn't quite sure what rumours Dawn had heard or how far they went. "Well, he hasn't spoken to me since. He won't even look at me. Whenever I walk into a room he leaves before I can get close enough to talk to him. Sometimes he leaves before I even get there. I was wondering if maybe you could talk to him for me. I know its pretty high school but I just can't get him to stand still."

Dawn thought about this, one conclusion coming to mind as to why Spike was behaving so strangely. "Sure, I can do that."

"Really? Thank you so much Dawn."

"Yeah, don't mention it."

Buffy then figured she would go back downstairs and read some of the vampire books that were always buried the lounge room, to make it at least look like she had something to do.

Dawn put her magazine away, stretched out the kinks in her legs and went downstairs and into the kitchen. Standing outside the basement door she stopped, she hadn't been down here for years. No one except Spike went down there anymore; if something was needed he would get it. After his girlfriend had been killed, everyone gave him as much space as they could. She was the first person he lost and to lose her in such a way it was torture. But she was gone and now there was Buffy and Dawn was not going to let Spike play her like this if it had something to do with that girl.

The stairs creaked loudly to each of Dawn's steps; dust fell like a waterfall from under each stair. The dry, musty smell of the basement kept most of their visitors away from here, but to Spike it was like a memory of some place he had once called home. Dawn stepped down onto the concrete floor and spun around. Spike was sitting at his desk, just like he always was. He had a pile of parchment-coloured papers on the table, each with their own individual sketch of a woman. Spike was sitting there drawing more.

Dawn looked sadly at the floor; maybe she should come back another time. No, if she let her own curiosity linger she would drive herself crazy. It was now or never.

She spoke quietly. "Spike?"

He didn't sound at all surprised that she was there. "What can I do for you Niblet?"

"I wanted to talk…about Buffy."

Snap! The tip of his pencil broke. "Right, Buffy, your sister."

"Yeah, that's the one."

Spike turned around to face Dawn properly. "What about her?"

"Well, that night of the wedding she had such a wonderful time with you and then afterwards you just started ignoring her for no reason. But if there is a reason, she hasn't got a clue what it is so she wants you to tell her but you keep doing the avoiding-thing. Since she can't get you to talk to her she asked me to talk to you instead. So start talking." She commanded.

Spike paused. Was it time to tell someone other than himself why it was not such a good idea for him and Buffy to be together?

"Drusilla."

"What?"

It had been so long since he had said her name. "Drusilla is the reason."

"I hate to tell you this but Drusilla is dead, has been for a long time, a few years at least. You really need to get over her."

"How can I possibly do that when I have to spend every bleeding second of my life thinking about how I am gonna kill her? She died once and for me to have to kill her again…"

"It's not her anymore. Drusilla is dead and gone, what you keep fretting about is a demon who only looks and sounds like Dru. But it's not her, Spike. But Buffy is real; she's alive and has a beating heart and everything. So stop ignoring her."

"Dawn …I got close to Drusilla. I loved her and Angelus took advantage of my feelings and killed her right in front of me. It was by pure luck that I got out of there alive but the fact that it killed me to watch that bastard snake all over her like she was a toy was enough. As long as he never knows how I feel for Buffy she will remain safe…at least until she stuffs up again. I can't be with her or she'll end up dead too and that is the last thing I want for her"

"Spike! It happened once, it doesn't mean that its gonna happen again. Look at it this way; Angelus treated Drusilla like a doll, he's done it once and now it's old. Is he really gonna do that same thing twice? That's really not like him."

"That only means that he will try something different Dawn! He may not sire her this time; maybe he will torture her until she dies of a heart attack! Or maybe he'll tie her up and do god knows what…" his voice became a cold whisper, "…playing with her until she's too weak to scream." He stopped for a few minutes. "I can't watch him do it again Dawn, I can't watch while he puts the woman I love through Hell, for kicks! I…I watched…I didn't, couldn't do anything for Dru, I just watched. I never want to have to go through that again and you can bet that Angelus is gonna do something much worse. The best thing to do is just leave it as it is."

Spike leapt out of his seat and threw it into the desk, making a loud bang and causing the pile of drawings to fly up into the air and float all over the floor. Disappearing into the shadowed corner, Spike didn't see Dawn kneel down and examine the pictures. There were ones of Drusilla, old pictures, dancing and laughing…singing. Mixed in were very new sketches.

A lot of them consisted of what looked like Buffy spinning in something rather alike to snow. She was spinning around and around with her arms in the air. Others showed her smiling, staring and even one or two of her blushing. All together, they told the story of Saturday night. Dawn looked over them with awe, she longed for someone who would take her on a date like the one she saw now. But of course this was far too fairytale to happen again.

"Spike…Drusilla is not coming back, and by the looks of things you've already fallen for my sister. You have every expression here."

"Dawn, Angelus drove Drusilla insane. That was the end result of his torture, her mind came undone and he decided that he liked insane people so he made her live forever. I watched her go insane. You remember how level-headed she was, so just imagine how much it took to drive her over the edge."

Dawn decided to shut up now. This really wasn't going anywhere; Spike would come around when he felt like it. There was no arguing with him once he got this far in the dark. Drusilla was better off dead in Dawn's opinion. She had been bad news from the beginning, always being so unpredictable and sometimes very weird, but she was sane enough for him. Then she got bit, Spike was close to losing _his _sanity and the only thing anyone could do was let him wallow in the darkness. He wouldn't let anyone get close to him after that. But now that Buffy was clearly a big part of his life Dawn began to fear the same thing Spike did: if Buffy died he would definitely lose it. Either go crazy himself, or die trying to get revenge.

She began to question herself how good an idea it was for her sister and Spike to be together. If Buffy was dating Spike, she would definitely get hurt one way or another. But then if she wasn't with him she would probably end up dead anyway without his training. It was really a tight problem. Dawn didn't know what to do. What was she going to tell Buffy? If she told her the truth and said that Spike was trying to protect her from Angelus she would most likely storm down here and start an argument that could go anywhere, but if she said something else…like what! Damn, this high school stuff was hard in the real world.

Dawn then remembered that it didn't have to matter _tonight_ as it was a patrolling night, so no personal talk, just hunting down filthy blood-sucking fiends. Now was probably the best time to tell her. Leaving Spike with his thoughts and drawings, Dawn walked steadily up the stairs and went searching for her older sister; but she was no where to be found.

_____

"What really happened?"

Those were Buffy's first and only words she intended to use tonight in order to get the information she wanted from this particular vampiress. Willow had previously been making out with her boyfriend when they had been rudely interrupted by Buffy and her off-centre questions.

Xander spotted Buffy first. "Well, well, well it's the Buffster! I heard you were in town but I didn't really believe it."

Buffy ignored him, her only interest right now being Willow. "Tell me the truth about what's happened since I left. There are pieces that just don't fit, I mean…my mum was never a big believer in the dark side of things but she was definitely not stupid enough to get herself killed so easily. She may have been killed by a vampire but there's more to it. No one wants to talk to me about anything, it's like I'm nothing but a waste of space."

Willow looked excitedly at Xander; this was topic she was _dying_ to share.

"Is that what they told you? That your mother was killed by a vampire? So, if the story has been told I'm guessing they remembered to tell you about Dawn, right? Or have they changed the story to their liking?"

Buffy frowned. "What about Dawn?"

A cruel grin grew across Willow's open lips, her blood-stained tongue seeping out like that of a snake.

"This is gonna be fun!"

The darkness in the graveyard loomed ever so close when Willow turned her body around to face Buffy sideways. She was sitting on Xander's lap while he sat upon the roof of a small crypt, just a little higher than Buffy's head. Twisting her arms around Xander like vines, her golden eyes glowed in the shadows; an image of a black cat with flaming hair could be seen from afar.

With a grimacing twist of her crimson lips, Willow proudly began the tale. "So I'm guessing there is plenty more that your _friends _have _forgotten_ to tell you. Let's start back with your mother. What a sad and poor little whelp of a human being. She wasn't killed by vampires; she never even met a creature of the supernatural. You see, it all started with your sudden departure of Sunnydale. Joyce needed to stop thinking about you, so she started this wonderful hobby of drinking. She only ever left the house to go and spend the night in a miserable human bar. She drank and drank and drank…until her body couldn't take anymore. So in actual fact, she killed herself!"

Willow had said the last few words with more pleasure than any mortal creature could have musted. She rolled her head around like it was some sort of wonderful fantasy.

Buffy drew a sharp breath. She had been completely unaware of what she would really be discovering tonight.

"But before that…she didn't shop, she didn't cook, she didn't give a damn about little Dawnie anymore; it was like she wasn't even there. Why else would your uncle and aunt have moved in so soon? Dawnie was starving, thin as a rake and hadn't been to school in months. And with so much lack of attention from her own mother, do you know what things she started to do?"

A mind-splitting shiver ran down Buffy's spine and she stopped believing the lies in her head telling her that this was still her friend. This wasn't Willow, this creature was so dark and sadistic and Buffy was amazed she still had the same name, nothing else was alike. Not her looks, the way she spoke, even her eyes had changed.

"Did they also forget to tell you about Dawnie? She became a big problem and was nearly sent off to a boarding school on the other side of the country! She turned into a total klepto and even started a fire! What a lovely memory. You should have seen it… so beautiful. The colour was so intense it drew vampires from all over town. Boy was your sister in big trouble after that."

Buffy stared shockingly at Willow; she couldn't believe she had caused so much pain, while she had been living happily in the darkness her family had been suffering for all those years.

"You know your uncle tried to contact your dad, you wanna know what he said?" she asked.

Buffy looked up and shook her head, but Willow was having too much fun to stop now. "He said he was disappointed in both of you and that he wanted nothing more to do with the family, what a bastard."

Buffy shook her head. "Stop it! You're lying! Dawn would never steal!"

Xander was taking just as much if not more pleasure in the sight of his old friend than Willow was. "Better start believing the fact Buff, you're really out of the loop and no one in this stinking town is the same because of you."

"What?"

Willow released a laugh so sinister it would be a miracle if the stars themselves hadn't shivered. "Your world is built up on lies, Sweetie. Your mother is dead due to her own mistakes, your sister is hated all over town for the trouble she has caused and your noble uncle and aunty can't even walk down the street without everyone looking down on them; and all because of you and your _feelings_."

Buffy couldn't even begin to wrap her mind around all of this. It was hard enough to understand the lies and now she wished she had never spoken to Willow again, she wanted to believe the lies again, they were much better.

"Here's the stiff Buff, you ran away because some lame ass dork dumped you and now the whole town has gone to the dogs, us being the canines."

"Wait, how could my running-away act cause all of this?"

"How indeed, because we went looking for you, we cared for some stupid mortal reason and so we went looking for you. It was us that led the vampires back to the town and do I really have to go through all this again? You were always the smartest on the block, figure the rest out yourself."

Willow moved her body in an inhuman way in order to face Xander again, using his tight grip around her lower back to lean against. She almost folded herself backwards in order to make an offer to Buffy. She was done with the torture, but she had a horrible plan that was sure to end in disaster, her favourite kind of story. "So Buffy, kind of betting you wanna kill yourself now, well why waste such a good opportunity?" she asked. It took Buffy a few minutes to get over her shock long enough to process what Willow had said.

"What?" she asked, she hadn't even thought about death yet, so what was she trying to say?

"I mean, being a vampire is _so _much fun. You can do anything you want to; you can steal, kill, torture and get away with _anything_. Sound like fun?"

To finish it off, Willow licked the spats of still fresh blood off the tips of her teeth and grinned.

Buffy was freaked out enough by the visual but the words were too much; she ran off into the night having no plan as to where she was going.

______

Hours later she found herself in an unfamiliar area of Sunnydale, she had no idea where she was or how to find her way again. So she sat against the cold trunk of a dying tree and tried to think about what she had learnt. But the more she thought about it the more she wished she had never known. Having your best friend (or former best friend) tell you that you were completely to blame for the death of half a town was the worst thing to add to the rest of her useless life. She had never finished high school, never gone to college; she never even made it past 8th grade. The remaining town's folk hated her so she could never get a job here, and she didn't seem to be any good at anything but ruining people's lives.

How could she make her way through this life? What was the point? She was invisible to everyone; the only time anyone spoke to her was when someone asked her to pass over the toast or orange juice at the breakfast table.

She sat in a chilling silence for longer than she cared to remember, she continued to think about all aspects of her life, trying to find something worth living for. She quickly found that wherever her mind would lead her it always came back to the same person; Spike. He was the only one who noticed her, he was the only one who cared, and he had been avoiding her for days. He was the one who was gonna help her through this new world, he was gonna guide her, and he wouldn't even look at her.

_____

Deep in the dusty basement, Spike thought of Buffy. It pained him to be so far away from her, to try and pretend that she wasn't even there when every part of him was aching to touch her. He couldn't even look at her anymore, every time he saw her beautiful green eyes and her delicate skin he saw the horror that could be done to it. Every time he saw her he saw a corpse with hollowed eyes and bleeding skin, the same corpse he had been forced to watch, the corpse his Drusilla had become. He wanted nothing more than to keep Buffy from becoming the same tortured form, so if that meant keeping his feelings locked away then so be it.

As he lay on his bed he tried to keep himself awake by examining the ceiling, staring intently at every speck of dust that fell from between the boards. But slumber overtook him against his will and he fell into the same dream he had every night.

'_Angelus was away, he was off feeding. It was the only time that Spike got any peace, or quiet at least. Peace was non but a distant dream, a fantasy. Peace and torture could not exist in the same house, and torture was very much here to stay._

_Opposite where Spike was chained by the wrists and shins to the wall was another chained up figure. The poor girl's long dark hair curtained her face, messy and damaged, her whole face was covered. Spike was thankful for this, it was bad enough when she was awake, he would surely die if he had to look upon her face again. But his mind had mapped it out and he was haunted by the image anyway. Her quartz-coloured skin tainted with crimson blood, her dark eyes were nothing but hollow glass and her thin arms and legs could hardly work._

_When Angelus returned he would be by her side once again, beating her even though she was already weaker than a ragdoll, spitting vile words at her face even though she was too tired to respond and always looking over at her lover, making sure he endured every single second of her merciless death. Watching as the feeling of helplessness slowly consumed him, eating him from the inside._

_Spike couldn't move an inch, he couldn't get free, all he could do was watch and beg for her life. He heard a tiny plea and was horrified to discover that she had awoken. She used what little strength she had left to lift her head and look him directly in the eyes, her bottom lip quivering violently. She was so desperate, so weak, so very ready to die. She had stopped begging to be freed and had started begging him to kill her, to finally end it._

_His heart was torn, he wasn't nearly as badly beaten as she was but he felt just as much pain. Every time he struck her down he felt it, every time he slashed at her with his sharp teeth he felt it. There was no hope for her anymore, even if she managed to escape she wouldn't survive; she would either die or be forever damaged. She would never be the fascinating, cheerful woman she had once been, she was dead, all that was left was her shell. Spike wished this was all a really bad dream, he wished and pleaded with the Powers That Be that this was nothing more than a nightmare…but he never woke up._

_Why had the Fates decided to torture him so? To watch his beautiful dark goddess be brutalised so violently, it was inhuman and that only made the torture worse. Without a soul Angelus cared for none and with evil running through his distilled veins he loved nothing more than the worst. Spike knew his black beauty was already dead and he mourned her name. He swore he would never love another woman; he would never let anyone ever be put in her place again, even if it killed him.'_

He woke with a start, he always did. Seeing her that way brought tears to his eyes. He had vowed he would never love again, but love couldn't be controlled, it had a mind of its own and it was pointing in the direction of Buffy. But she was so fragile, so much weaker than Drusilla. She wouldn't last a day under Angelus' hold, she would die much sooner and while he hardly knew her, Spike could tell that her death would hurt more than Dru's and that scared him. She was so beautiful, so young and sweet. It would destroy him if anything ever happened to her. He had to stay away from her.

Then he had a thought, was it the opposite? Was it better for him to be close by to protect her rather than to keep his distance? But if he did Angelus would notice how he felt for her sooner or later whether she knew or not. So why stay away? No matter what he did Angelus was gonna find out, he knew everything. So why not savour it while it lasted? Wouldn't it hurt more if she died and he never told her how he felt, never felt her soft lips on his or held her asleep in his arms?

Within seconds his mind was made up, he wanted her so much and he had treated her so badly. He needed to tell her, he needed her to forgive him, before it was too late. He shot off the bed and sped up the stairs. He went straight to the lounge room but she wasn't sleeping, he checked upstairs but she was nowhere to be seen. He found Dawn sitting on her bed reading an outdated magazine.

"Hey, Niblet, have you seen Buffy?"

"I thought you wanted to stay as far away from her as humanly possible while still living in the same house."

"Yeah, changed my mind; where is she?"

"Don't know, she disappeared right after you and I had our little chat. I'm guessing she doesn't wanna be found."

He understood what she meant, Buffy had overheard everything. _'Bugger'_.

He shot out the front door moments later, she could be anywhere and this late at night she was in a minefield.

______

Buffy walked silently through the dark streets, taking no notice of the eyes that followed her. She was extremely tense, holding everything inside her. She wouldn't let herself break, not just yet. She looked around for somewhere to hide, and to her relief she was just outside the Magic Shop. Using the spare key hidden behind the brick, she unlocked the door and went inside, closing it behind her. She locked the door before turning away from the world, and then sunk into the darkness that filled the shop.

Buffy walked behind the counter and sat down on the floor, pushing herself as far into the corner as she could. She didn't want to be seen, she didn't want to be found. Letting herself go, tears began to pour from her eyes that were shut tightly. She sobbed quietly as the silence around her broke under her voice. The darkness seemed to close in all around her and in a strange way she felt almost safe.

People walked back and forth past the window, creating shadows that only lasted a moment. Buffy covered her hands over her face to muffle her sobs, as if she feared someone passing by would hear her even though it was impossible for anyone to hear her from out in the street.

Buffy felt so alone, not just the by-your-self alone but the kind that you feel even when you're surrounded by people you know and love. Why didn't anyone seem to care that she was there? Why did no one show her how to live this life? Everyone acted as if she had never left and that she should know all the rules and all the dangers but she didn't have the first clue.

'_Should I have even bothered coming back? No one seems to care, everyone just passes me by. Was there any point in me returning?' _Buffy thought. She then asked herself what it was that she had been expecting when she had hopped in her car and driven all the way from L.A. What was she hoping to find?

What if they really didn't care? What if she meant nothing to her uncle, her aunt or her sister, then what was she doing in this goddamn town? Signing up to be someone's dinner? But she couldn't leave, she didn't have anywhere to go. Faith had left L.A., gone off with some guy. That was the real reason Buffy had come back at all, this was the only home in the world she had.

Now she was regretting her decision to return at all, but she couldn't have stayed in L.A. by herself. She could take care of herself ok but there were just too many stories that Faith had written, tying Buffy up in the middle. Buffy couldn't handle all the endings she would meet if she had stayed in L.A. by herself, Faith had a lot of enemies and they were too much for her. To tell the truth, it had been fear that had driven Buffy home, but now it seemed it would be that same fear that would drive her away; the fear of solitude, of being alone in the world, completely. With Faith gone there was no one left and Buffy couldn't have gone with her. But the fear of being the only one was pushing her further and further out of the town.

But why should they care? Why should they have to look after her? Why should they stay by her side and comfort her in the worst of hours? Why should they love her? She had done nothing for them; she had done none of this for the ones she loved. So maybe she should leave, go away somewhere. Maybe this was her true path, to be alone. Was she really destined for such a fate? To leave alone in a world so full of demons and vampires, she was not to love or be loved, she was to walk in the dark; a sad, lone hound with no howl left to cry.

Buffy continued to cry through night, not caring that no one knew where she was, that no one knew she had even left the house. It didn't matter, they didn't care about her anyway, and she didn't have anyone left to live for. That's when an idea crept into her mind, a life she had never thought she would live; she had hoped she would never live. But every lonely second made that life look brighter and brighter, even though it was drowned in darkness. Remembering Willow's offer, Buffy thought long and hard about life as a vampire.

Shooting out of the Magic Shop, Buffy dropped the key and left the door unlocked. She ran quickly past the creatures that crowded her, ignoring their looks and actions. She ran through the night, making her way to the park.

____

She was missing, at this very particular time she was missing.

He decided to go and look for her, so grabbing his duster, the stake and the cross on the table by the door, he walked out into the night and headed for the cemetery. If she was out looking for vampires that was the first place she would go.

Buffy strode past the dark trees, searching for a friendly face, or toothy friend. "Willow! Are you out here?" she called, hoping no other vampires were hanging around.

Suddenly, Buffy was pushed against a wide tree by a pair of strong hands that gripped tightly around her arms. White teeth grinned hungrily at her as her captor pressed his body close to her's and asked in a whisper.

"Now why would a pretty little human like you be looking for a vampire like Willow?"

His voice was seductive and harsh at the same time, but it was the metal on his finger that revealed his identity in the darkness of the surrounding shadows. She had seen it before, the sharp metal cone that sat on his index finger ready to slice through her soft flesh.

Buffy said slowly, "Angelus? You're Angelus…. I was looking for Willow because she…. I want to make a deal with her."

She didn't know a thing about Angelus except that he was really dangerous, brutal and unforgiving. He was also way out of her league in a fight and would kill her within a second. Buffy could feel her heart pounding in her chest as fear gripped tightly around it. She could almost swear she could feel the fear, like it was solid; silently choking her. Angelus smirked and leaned down so his lips were just brushing against her ear. Buffy was absolutely terrified; she closed her eyes and prepared to feel his teeth sink into her neck.

"What kind of deal? A bloody one I hope" Angelus whispered into her ear, making her shiver violently.

"A deal to make me a vampire! She offered to make me a vampire!" Buffy said quickly as she felt his sharp teeth slide down her neck to the base of her shoulder.

He paused for a few minutes, and then asked, "And why would you want to be a vampire? Not that I'm saying you wouldn't fit in, in fact I would take great pleasure in taking you as my new Queen."

His voice was less harsh then before, but a new kind of desire kicked in as he began nipping playfully at her neck.

"I wonder what Drusilla would say about that."

Buffy hoped she could talk her way out of this.

"Oh, she wouldn't mind, in fact I'm sure she would be pleased to have another sister. Glory, Cordelia and Anya would certainly love having a little sister." Angelus told her, no longer whispering.

Buffy couldn't speak, she couldn't talk her way out of this; he was too smart, she couldn't fight her way out of this; he was too strong and she hadn't come armed. She had no other option but to either let him kill her or sire her, it was death or death.

"So, what do you say?" Angelus asked, poking at her skin with his pointed teeth. Buffy's breathing quickened as death came closer and closer to breaking through the surface of her skin. She tried to think of a reason to live, a reason to fight, but none came. So, with one last breath she said, "Death."

Pain shot through her body as Angelus plunged his teeth through her skin; ruby beads slid down her shoulder. Buffy's arms shot out to grab onto something, they found two tree branches, to which she clung to tightly as the life was drained from her body. She felt her body growing cold as it was drained of blood. She could almost feel death upon her, when he stopped.

She was only just conscious and she had to wrap her arms around the tree behind her to keep her balance. Angelus licked his lips and grinned, "Do you have any idea how delicious your blood is? A vampire could get very used to this, but a deals a deal."

He held out his wrist and ran his finger nail over it, cutting through the skin and leaving a river of red blood dripping down the sides. Buffy looked first at his wrist then up at him. She had never seen anyone get sired, nor had she been told how one got sired.

Angelus could see the confusion on her face and laughed. "No one ever told you, did they? When someone is sired, a vampire has to drink the blood of a human, enough to bring them close to death. Then the human has to drink the blood of the vampire."

Buffy found all this kinda icky, but she took hold of his wrist regardless. She hesitated, not sure of how much she really wanted this. Slowly lifting his wrist closer to her face, she watched as his blood ran down the sides of his hand, falling to the ground in large red drops. The blood was enticing, seductive and it called her to a life with it. She didn't really have a choice anymore; if she didn't drink she would die.

The blood was mere centimetres from her lips when someone yelled to her, but she didn't hear them. Buffy closed her eyes and pursed her lips together, waiting for the taste of the blood to enter her mouth. Her lips touched his arm and his blood flowed through her lips. The blood had no taste, only desire. She had only just begun to drink Angelus's blood when something suddenly threw itself at Angelus, pushing him far away from Buffy and taking the intoxicating blood with him. Buffy stumbled back and fell against the tree, hanging on for dear life. She looked over to where Angelus had been thrown to see him circling a familiar figure.

Her vision was fuzzy and dim, but she could make out what she was seeing. She was stunned; Spike had found her, no one knew she had even left the house and yet he had found her, and stopped her from drinking the vampire's blood. Buffy was so weak she could hardly stand. She pulled herself around to a spot of the tree where she sat between two branches. The one holding her in place leaned diagonal very slightly, but it was enough to rest her body against.

She breathed heavily as she gasped for air, her body had taken a hard hit and it needed time to recover. Tears began to run down Buffy's face in fear; if she had managed to drink enough blood and become a vampire then she would have been just fine. But as Spike had taken it from her she was left with a lack of blood and the intense fear of death, the permanent kind.

Even though she almost wanted death to come and take her away from this loveless world, it still scared her to no end. Her eyes were wide with fear and her arms clung to the tree as if her life depended on it, to which it probably did. She tried to see what was happening between Spike and Angelus.

She looked in time to see Angelus disappear into the night, leaving Spike standing alone with a stake and cross in hand. He waited until he was sure Angelus was gone before he spun around and started running towards her.

Buffy's vision was blurred and she nearly screamed when she saw the figure coming towards her, but Spike's voice reassured her that she was safe now.

"Buffy, are you alright? What the hell was…." Suddenly he stopped and Buffy became very fearful of what he would say next.

"What the bloody hell were you doing?!" He yelled, now a few feet from her. "Please tell me I did not just see you willingly drink the blood of a vampire!" His voice was harsh and brutal but at the same time, full of fear.

Buffy curled herself around the branch, trying to hide her face and escape the emotions that now shot through her like arrows.

"Buffy, look at me! What were you thinking?" Spike asked, letting his voice lower a little, he could see he was scaring her.

Buffy didn't have a clue how to explain what she was doing, somehow she didn't think 'I was trying to kill myself and become a vampire' sounded too good.

So instead she asked, "Why did you do that?"

She tried to at him with hate burning in her eyes. She could see the pain in his blue ones, but she couldn't understand the meaning behind it.

"Why did I do _what_? Why did I just save your life? Why did I just risk my hide to save your bloody ungrateful one?! What the hell is the matter with you?!" he snapped, not believing what she was saying. "Have you not listened to a single sodding word I've said? Are you so stupid and…what, pathetic that you are willing to throw away the life you have to be possessed by a demon for all eternity? A life without a soul? Did you even think about how everyone would feel if you had managed to go through with this?

"Dawn would be mortified, she would be scarred for life; Jenny would be absolutely devastated and Giles….he already lost his sister, do you really want to push him so far as to lose his oldest niece as well? The rest of the gang, I don't know how they would feel, terrible I'm sure and you would be pushing everyone over the edge. None of them want you dead, so how do you think they would feel if they had to kill you? And…what the hell were you thinking?"

Spike's voice was a lot quieter now, but he was struggling to hold back tears.

"Back off Spike! You don't have a clue what's going on!" Buffy yelled, wrapping her arms around herself in a defensive position. She tried to look away from Spike but it was impossible to do with eyes as beautiful as his.

"Then why don't you tell me? Help me understand because right now I don't have a bleeding clue. What the hell was going through your mind when you let him drink you? Are you insane?"

He couldn't get a grip on what he had seen and if she were denying that it happened then he might have blamed his imagination, but as she wasn't even trying to hide it he couldn't make any sense of it.

Buffy finally managed to look away from him but she didn't answer.

"Buffy, please tell me what's wrong." He begged her; it was such a horrible feeling to know that she was that close to following in her mother's footsteps. He wanted to just hide away for a while and be by himself, but he couldn't trust her to be left alone anymore and she was clearly weak and incapable of getting herself home so he had to stick around.

"No one cares…" Buffy said quietly, letting the tears run free down her pale skin.

Spike was shocked, "Where the bloody hell did you get that idea from, pet? Your family loves you with all their bleeding hearts, your friends may not show it very often but they really care about you and I…" Spike tried to explain but suddenly stopped and went completely silent.

It was quiet for a few minutes when Buffy slowly looked into his eyes and asked cautiously, "You…what?" Spike didn't answer straight away; he looked furious, hurt and scared all at the same time. Finally, he looked her straight in the eye and said with a shaky voice, "I love you!"

Buffy was speechless. What had he just said? Did he mean it? She couldn't believe him, her heart was completely closed; she didn't feel love, she didn't feel anything.

She closed her eyes and shook her head saying, "No, no you don't, no one does…remember a few nights ago you guys took me on patrol? I nearly got bitten by a vampire and no one even noticed. I've never faced a vampire before, I can't fight, but they all left me alone in darkness. You know I've never been afraid of the dark, but that night I was terrified and no one cared. And ever since the wedding you've hardly even spoken to me, so how can you say anyone loves me when it's my fault everyone is dead!"

Spike was shocked. "Why do you think it's your fault?"

"I know…about my mum, how she really died, she killed herself because I ran away. Dawn went down a path of theft and pain because I wasn't around to take care of her, and if I hadn't run away, Willow never would have come looking for me which is how An-Angelus found this town. So how is it _not_ my fault?!" she yelled, tears streaming down her face.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing, who would have had a heart so cold as to tell Buffy those things, while they may have been true she should never have had to know.

Spike moved right up to Buffy and held her arms tightly, forcing her to look at him. He was breathing quickly, unable to control his emotions. Bringing her closer to him so that their bodies were barely touching, he tried to smile.

"Buffy, I don't care whose fault it is, what's past is past, there's nothing you can do about it, Pet. But you can change the future, and whether we're headed for sunshine or an early death, I don't care. I've learnt to live this life, to forget about what I want and to only think about what I can do to help. But I don't even care about that anymore; the only thing I care about is you. I love you, Buffy, and no matter what you've done or what you've caused that will _never _change."

His words were so beautiful that Buffy stopped crying completely, all she could do was look into his eyes and see all the truth that they showed. Then he kissed her with more passion and desire than any man had ever shown her before.

The tears that Spike had been holding back so furiously slipped through, but he wasn't concerned about being seen crying, he was just too happy being this close to Buffy. Their lips parted, then Buffy let go of the tree and crashed gently into Spike's arms. She clutched to his shirt and rested her head on his chest.

She could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness, so she wrapped her arms around Spike's neck and whispered into his ear, "Thank you, Spike." before she went limp. Spike managed to catch her before she slipped from his arms and held her against him, examining the spot were Angelus had bitten into her neck, he was an animal and he liked to tug at the skin but lucky for her he hadn't pulled her neck apart too badly.

Spike looked down at the tears on her face and felt such sorrow in his heart, but the way she looked as she slept made him want to kiss her; she was just so beautiful. He picked her up and started heading home whispering, "But do you love me to?"

____

They were half way home when Spike heard a twig snap, so he stopped and looked around him, searching for the creator of the noise. He began to think it was a trick of the mind when suddenly he was surrounded by 4 vampires; 3 male and 1 female. Spike looked around at what was available in the area they had trapped him in. They had him backed up against a big tree and he knew there was no way he could fight with Buffy in his arms.

"Check it out guys, look at the poor little lover with his lady, doesn't she look _yummy_." One of the vampires said in a cool voice. Spike could feel himself begin to burn with anger and he said warningly, "You had better mean 'yummy to eat'" he told him. The vampire grinned and said, "You know what I mean, but it doesn't matter since you'll be dead anyway." With that they started to close in.

Spike jumped backwards up into the tree. The branches grew out wide and to many different levels. Spike climbed as best he could while clutching Buffy with one arm until he found a secure place to put her, he found it at a high base where she could lie safely without falling. He knew it was probably more dangerous in the tree than down with the vamps, but he didn't have any other ideas. Once she was placed out of reach he leapt out of the tree and began throwing kicks and punches.

The vampires were surprised at first at how confident he was at fighting them as they had never had to fight for food before, but they didn't let a little thing like confidence get in their way. Two of the guys leapt at Spike and fought to bring him down while the girl made an attack from behind.

But the one no one was watching was the guy who was slowly (if not nervously) climbing up the tree to where Buffy lay silently. Her breathing was fast and her eyelashes were fluttering quickly, also her cheeks were slightly red. But to the vampire she was a meal served up on a silver platter with a cherry on top; she was just too easy.

He moved into a position where he was hanging above her, he grinned a toothy smile and leaned in for the kill. His teeth were brushing against her skin when she suddenly screamed, "Spike!" Her voice was desperate and fearful and the strange thing was she was still unconscious. That was what distracted the vampire long enough for Spike to come up behind him, grab the back of his shirt and throw him to the ground, where he landed on a thick branch that he had broken off in his climb. His ashes settled amongst the dust of the three Spike had already killed.

Spike leaned down next to Buffy and stroked the side of her face. Buffy's hand clasped his arm and she turned over so her body was facing him; her eyes still closed and her breathing still heavy. "Spike….what's going on…where are you?" she asked breathlessly. Spike laid his other hand on her head and whispered to her, "Shh, its ok, I'm here."

Buffy tugged on Spike's arm and pulled herself into his arms of which she buried herself in. She was holding on to him tightly, her whole body shaking. "Buffy, what's wrong? Its ok love" Spike tried to explain to her but she didn't stop shaking.

"I felt him…Spike, I felt his teeth…I felt Angelus…I know it's my fault but he still scares me."

Spike tightened his grip around her, trying to make her feel safe; to which it helped. "Buffy, its ok, it wasn't Angelus, he's long gone, it was just some vampire who is no more than a pile of dust. You're safe pet, I'm here" he told her. Buffy slowly calmed down and relaxed, but she was still snuggled up as close to Spike as possible.

He was glad he had managed to calm her down but he knew that they really should get out of the tree. "Buffy, I need you to hold on tight, Love" he told her and she quickly wrapped one arm around his neck and the other over his back, Spike held her by putting his hand under her back and over to her opposite shoulder. He then began to slowly make his way down. It seemed really stupid putting an unconscious person in a tree to begin with, but she was safe so he had no regrets.

It seemed a lot harder getting down then when they were going up. Buffy clung to Spike, at the same time trying to keep her legs out of the way as best she could, but it was challenging as she was weak, barely conscious and didn't have much strength.

Spike held on to her extra tight as they made it back to solid ground. Then slowly set Buffy down but it became obvious that she couldn't walk alone when she fell against him and knocked them both to the ground. Spike fell on his back and Buffy came down on top, her eyes wide open now.

"Sorry Spike" she told him quickly, checking to make sure she hadn't injured him, but he just started laughing.

"What's so funny?" she asked but the laughter was catching on.

"Look at where we just came from Buffy, you were hiding from vampires in a tree like a cat."

It did seem pretty weird but it had saved her life, "It seems very logical to me" she told him in a very perky way. Spike gave her a weird look like she was crazy, "Really?" he asked her. Buffy looked away with a slightly embarrassed smile and said, "No."

Buffy rolled off of Spike and allowed him to get back on his feet. Before he helped her up, she quickly added, "In my defence it was _you _who decided to put me in the tree in the first place. So that means that _I'm _not the crazy one." Spike chuckled.

With her arm around his shoulder and his arm around her waist, Buffy and Spike made it the rest of the way home. When the house was in sight, Spike made a sudden change of direction, going around the back.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked, unsure of what was wrong with the front door.

"You just tried to get yourself killed Pet, you're weak and tired and you can hardly stand up. No one knows that you left, so how do you wanna explain us walking through the front door while you're in this state?"

"I guess the back door is the best option."

"I'll take you down into the basement, and then go upstairs to the bathroom to get the first-aid kit. There is no way you're getting past Jenny or Dawn with a bite as fierce as that one on your neck."

Buffy nodded, Spike noticed that she seemed very awake and a little panicked. Spike quietly opened the back door, entered the house, closed the door and snuck Buffy down into the basement without a sound. It was no wonder he was always able to sneak up on her.

When they got down the stairs, Spike sat Buffy down on an old red couch that was pushed against the back wall. Buffy looked down at the couch, she was sure it hadn't been here before.

"Spike, where did this couch come from? I don't remember it being here the last time I came down?"

"It wasn't, I got it a few days ago. You wouldn't believe how much stuff is just thrown away in this town. A lot of the shops threw all their vampire-themed items in the trash when the town was taken over, while other shops only sell vampire-themed stuff."

"Uh, so you just take whatever you want without paying for it?"

"Pretty much."

"Cool."

Spike smiled, but left shortly after. Buffy didn't have to wait long before she saw him walking down the old stairs; his movements as silent as the night. He sat down on her left and opened the white tin box he had retrieved. Buffy pulled her hair over to her right shoulder and leaned her head a little so that he had a clear view of the bite.

Spike had seen a lot of injuries and more vampire bites then he wished he had seen, but the bite on her neck made him sick to his stomach. A normal vampire bite left two small but deep puncture wounds; most of Angelus' had larger holes with torn skin as he was more brutal then the others. The one on Buffy's neck had two small holes but no badly torn skin; he had been gentle with Buffy.

"Buffy, did Angelus say anything to you? Did you two talk before he bit you?" he asked, unsure of what sort of answer he was looking for.

"Um, yeah, he asked me why I was out there and he said some stuff about me being his new queen. Why?"

"It's just that he went really easy on you; your neck isn't torn up at all."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Well, it is but it just begs a few questions."

"Um Spike?"

"Yeah."

"I wanted to ask you something."

Spike was completely focused on what she was saying; her tone made him a little nervous but at the same time kinda excited. He wondered if she was going to ask him something about what had happened between them in the graveyard.

"Go ahead Pet."

"Why am I still alive?" He had not been expecting that.

"What do you mean? Didn't we discus the reason I saved you before?"

"No, I don't mean that part. Angelus was trying to sire me, which means I would have to be close to death. If I had managed to drink enough of his blood I would have become a vampire so no death there, but I didn't. I had a serious lack of blood and I should be dead, so why am I not?"

She had him there; all those points were very valid and confusing. Spike tried to recall some other time he had stopped someone from becoming a vampire, but the victims had only been a little low on blood. He never gave the vampires enough time to do much damage.

"I don't know Love, might have to do a little research on that one."

"Oh…ok…" Buffy's voice faded away as she fell on her side.

"Buffy? Buffy? Wake up Pet, Buffy!" Spike tried to wake her but she didn't move.

He didn't understand what was going on, she had already done the fainting thing, was it simply that she had done that twice or were the two unrelated? Why had she managed to stay awake that long? She had been talking and laughing only a few minutes ago. Maybe he should talk to Giles, but was telling him about what had happened to his niece really the best idea? Knowing old Rupert he would probably hit the fan but he was the best at keeping secrets.

There was something different about Buffy, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. But he was determined to find out.

**Whoopy! That's outta the way. Now for more fun stuff! We are reaching our goals people, this story is finally making sense...I think. Did it actually get more confusing? Ah well, its gotta be worth something right?**


	8. A Little Love Can Save Your Life

**Hello again, I know I'm running a little behind but cut me a little slack please cos this week I got hit in the head with a tennis ball. It was awesome! I got away with everything the whole day. I slept through math class and propt my feet on a chair in science and wore my favourite out-of-uniform shoes and it was so much fun! Also my computer had to be sent off with my dad to get rebuilt so if this chapter is longer or shorter than usual let me know please.**

_Alone, she was alone now…lost within herself. She didn't know what was happening or why; she didn't know where she was. Her best guess was in her own mind. She felt herself breathe; she wasn't dead but she wasn't in control of herself. Pictures of fire and fangs flashed through her mind, death and corpses. Most of all she saw blood, in all it's ruby redness. She saw armies of dead, mindless vampires bending to one's rule. They had no thoughts of their own, but they had power and the gift of death._

_She saw the metal blade slicing through the gentle skin of innocent women; she knew his name but dared not say it. She saw his grin and the flash of pure evil in his golden eyes and felt the cruellest fear. She trembled at the sight of her blood dripping from his teeth, down his neck; he wanted her…_

Spike brushed some of her golden hair out of her face and sighed. Buffy had been sleeping for hours, all night in fact he realised as soft strokes of the dawning brushed they're way through the dusty glass of the small window facing the road. She lay silently in his bed where he had placed her last night after she blacked out; anything was better than that bloody couch.

Upstairs, Giles was studying his books, searching for an answer to Buffy's symptoms. It was unheard of in the demon journals however and he soon grew frustrated. He decided not to return to Spike until he found something, there was no point in reporting back and forth when there wasn't anything to say.

____

More than an hour later Buffy finally awoke, very suddenly. She shot up and breathed heavily, drawing Spike to her side in an instant.

"Buffy, what's wrong, luv? Calm down."

"W-what was…how-what…"

She wasn't making any sense, so Spike covered her eyes. She pushed his hands away and stared strangely at him; the response he wanted.

"Why'd you do that?"

"To break you out of your little episode there, distracts you long enough to get your attention; it works like a charm."

Buffy shook her head slightly, unsure of what to make of him.

"What'd you dream about, pet?"

"Huh? Oh, lots of things. Vampires, crosses, stakes; that sort of thing. I also saw-"

She stopped suddenly and went completely silent.

"Pet? What did you see?"

She didn't respond, just made a move to get out of the bed, his bed, and she froze again. "Why am I in your bed? Why am I in the basement? And why do I have this on my neck? What is this?"

Buffy tried to remove the bandage from her neck. It was off before Spike could react. She tried to look at the wound but her neck wouldn't bend far enough, so she used her hand to feel out the shape. She felt two small bumps, rough, like scabs. She also felt a ring of soft skin around the cuts. It took her a second to realise what it was, then she remembered.

"I got bit, didn't I?"

"Buffy, you shouldn't touch your neck, the wound…"

Spike stopped when he realised that the bloody vampire bite he had seen last night had almost completely healed; like two months worth of healing.

"What is it?"

Buffy asked curiously, she wasn't sure whether to be afraid or happy; Spike was very hard to read.

"I…um, the bite has healed way too fast for a human."

"What does that mean exactly?"

Spike didn't answer. He instead grabbed Buffy's hand and pulled her violently off the bed and held her arm out into the beams of sunlight.

"Ow! Spike, what are you doing?!"

He didn't respond. He had his eyes glued to her sunlit skin, praying that he was wrong. But she pulled her hand away before he got the chance to tell and shrinked into the shadows.

"What are you playing at?"

"Buffy! Come back here."

"I'm not going anywhere near you, you freak!"

Suddenly, Giles came running down the stairs. "What's going on down here? I could hear you from the living room."

"Uncle Giles, get him away from me!"

Giles looked over at Spike who was looking suspiciously at his niece, and he didn't like it. "Spike, what are you doing?"

"Don't trust her Rupert, I think she might have turned."

"Dear Lord…"

Buffy looked unbelieving at Spike. "What are you talking about? I'm not a vampire!"

"Prove it! You shied away from the sun, you healed unnaturally quickly and you did drink the blood of a vampire."

"Yeah but…I'm not a vampire, look I'll show you."

She moved towards the sunlight and stood in its beam, not moving a muscle. Spike watched, searching for the tiniest sign of smoke; but none appeared.

"See? I told you!"

Spike felt stupid, like an absolute raving idiot. He had regretted everything he had just done as he was doing it but he had to know…and now that he did, he wished he hadn't been so bloody furious about it. He wanted to apologise, he wanted to beg for forgiveness, but he couldn't speak a word. Before he had a chance to think he had his arms wrapped tightly around Buffy, holding her protectively against him.

She hesitated at first, anger still fresh within her, but when she heard his almost silent sudden breath and shuddering release she couldn't be angry any longer. She could tell he was trying not to cry, and she felt her heart sink. She heard his hushed whisper, _"Thank God" _and knew that he was grateful. She put her arms around him too and felt him relax a little.

She whispered gently to him. "Its ok…I'm not dead…everything is ok."

He whispered back. "God Buffy, I don't know what I would've done if I'd lost you too. Especially after last night."

Her heart stung for a moment. "I am so sorry…I don't know what I'm doing anymore."

"Let me help you then."

"You already are."

The entire conversation went completely unheard by Giles who stood at the base of the stairs, cleaning his glasses.

____

The _Bronze _was as still and silent as death. Not a breath of life made itself known. There were a few people hanging around in cages…but they were long dead. Drained slowly of their blood, their essence, and their lives. Deep under the concrete floor, inside the basement-like area, slept seven master vampires. They were all tangled up in a mess of arms and legs, providing a sense of protection that came from the tiniest bit of humanity that still stirred within them.

One corpse stirred amongst the others. Angelus lay on the cold concrete, one arm around his queen who lay sleeping on his side. He thought bitterly to himself how boring she had become. Insane and confusing, she hardly ever made a lick of sense. She was very unpredictable but she was hardly exciting anymore. He thought of that stunning blonde he had found last night, wondering lonely the darkness of the park.

'_Buffy, that's what he called her. Her name is Buffy…not nearly as sinister as 'Drusilla' but who ever laid worship over a name.' _He wanted her, she would be perfect for his new queen. The collection of women around him now proved his intolerance of his mates once he grew tired of them. Willow of course had been a different story, but the others; Glory, Cordelia and Anya. They were the map of his life. He had claimed them all and pushed them each aside. Drusilla had been his greatest catch, he couldn't resist siring her after the hours of torture he had put her through just to play with her man.

Spike. That wretched little white hat. He saved Buffy last night, took her away from him and was probably hiding her away somewhere safe. But that tone in his voice, the look of rage on his face, he was in love. What a sad, sad little boy, falling for yet another of his queens…once again, before they were turned. Angelus had enjoyed that time so much, when he had made Drusilla's life hell and watched as pathetic emotions had swallowed that poor boy up. Well, it looked as if fun was to be had again. Buffy would be his, she would be the best vampiress queen the world has ever seen! Then he would get bored and find another.

Drusilla would not be happy about her 'daddy' simply whisking her away with the other lackeys, but he really couldn't care less.

____

Thick clouds covered the sky, breaking in a few places to bring sunlight to the few plants that had survived these many treacherous years. The streets were cold and filthy, yet were packed with the remaining people of the town. Amongst these many but few, was a dark figure. A young woman with chocolate skin pulled a black cloak around her form, trying to block the wind. Her ebony hair was tied in a ponytail but many free tressures of onyx thread spilled over her dark eyes. She hurried through the streets in search of the one she had seen. She had to find her before it was too late, just like before.

She had seen her in her prier home in the vision so that was where she would search first. When she arrived there was much going on inside the house. She stood and pondered whether or not to enter now. But time was short and she couldn't allow the Fates to bring some big event down on her young head without having warned the poor child first. So she walked swiftly up to the door and knocked three times. She heard someone approaching the door and all of a sudden she felt very, very shy.

_____

Oz stood in the way of the open door and looked over the pale, dark-skinned woman who was now standing on the porch. "Um, hey, can I help you?"

She was very beautiful but appeared rather shy as she couldn't seem to put together her sentences probably. "I-um, I am looking for a young girl wit hair of de sun."

She had a Jamaican accent and bowed her head when she looked up at Oz's face. He made a small movement of his mouth in 'hmm' kind of way. "Do you mean yellow? Like blonde hair? Could you give me something more that might narrow it down some?"

"She-uh-came from de 'city of angels' a-a-and I need to speak wit her."

"Oh, from Los Angeles right? That's Buffy, sure, come on in."

Oz moved aside and let the woman in, hiding a stake behind his back. Someone was looking for Buffy after Angelus' attack and she was completely hidden from the sunlight with that cloak on. He directed her into the lounge room and left to fetch Buffy.

Hiding behind the wall in the dining room was Amy, also with a stake and a cross. While Oz was getting Buffy she would watch the stranger closely to make sure she didn't try anything. She kept her eyes peeled for the slightest off action of her, but she just stood straight with her arms by her sides. When Oz returned with Buffy and Spike by her side, she suddenly looked a little panicky.

Buffy approached the stranger cautiously. She had never seen this woman before, yet she seemed familiar. "Um, hi, I'm Buffy."

The woman looked at her with awe. "Yes, you are she. My name is Kendra and I have much to tell you, so much you have to know. I was sent by Faith, she is sadly no longer wit us."

Both Buffy and Spike were shocked. "What? She's dead?"

"Yes, I regret to tell you but you needed to know. Did you know she was de Slayer?"

Everyone in the room spoke at the same time. "De what?"

"De Slayer, one girl in every generation, one girl in all de world chosen to fight against de forces of darkness and evil. Your friend Faith was she, and now dat she is dead dat responsibility has been passed to you; de next Slayer."

Everyone stood with open mouths, all except for Oz of course who simply said. "Hmm"

Buffy stood with a puzzled look on her face. "Wait, so Faith was a Slayer and she fought demons and vampires right? But now that she's dead I'm the new Slayer…could you explain how that's works one more time?"

Kendra rolled her dark eyes. "Faith was trained by 'er Watcher until she was killed by a vampire. Faith ran away to L.A. to avoid de Watcher's Council because she thought they were too controlling. She wandered the streets until one day she met me and I told 'er about a vision I had of a young, lost girl who was to be de next Slayer. She decided to find dis girl and train her herself to keep 'er from de Council. Dat girl being you, Buffy."

Buffy was stuck with a confused look on her face. "Hang on, explain that again."

_____

Kendra spent the next two hours explaining to everyone what a Slayer was and what it all meant for Buffy. Basically, she had superhuman strength, superhuman healing, dreams of the future and expert fighting skills without any training. Also, she had pinpoint accuracy when throwing objects like knives and stakes; so with all this over-night you can imagine how jealous the rest of the team was.

Amy was thoroughly pissed off having not liked Buffy from the beginning, Jonathan was whiny, Oz was pretty much saying 'hmm', Dawn was cranky, Giles was fascinated and scared, Andrew wanted to start filming everything Buffy did to study, Tara was quite unsure as to how to treat the new hero and Jenny didn't know what to do other than offer more tea every few minutes.

Buffy however was still having trouble understanding all this. Why her? Why now? Just simply...why?

Spike could see the fear and uncertainty on her face and decided to remove her from the presently difficult situation. "Hey, wanna come help me find something downstairs?"

She nodded her head and followed him up. Everyone else was too preoccupied with their thoughts to notice the pair had even left the room.

_____

Once down in the basement, Spike closed the door and stood silently by the foot of the steps while Buffy took herself into a darkened corner and let her emotions flow freely. Tears poured down her face, sprinkling the cold, hard floor with little dark spots. She was scared out of her mind, she was upset and she was alone. There was no one to guide her through this, no one who had gone through this and could tell her it would all be ok; no one who was still alive anyway. She was still recovering from Angelus and now this huge boulder had been dropped on her and she was struggling to breathe.

Spike looked away, giving her some sense of privacy as she released her anger and fear. It was painful to listen to though, she was still so very young and free with so much ahead of her and now she had been handed this purpose that resulted in her early demise. How could one possibly handle that without a few tears? It pained him to hear her sobbing like that and it only made him feel worse when he heard a sharp whimper and looked to see her slamming her fist against the wall.

It wasn't doing her or the wall any damage until she became so frustrated that she outright shoved her fist into the brick, creating a bloody hole. Spike thought that that would be it but when she pulled her fist back and went to do it again, he rushed over and grabbed her wrist tightly.

She looked at him with tearful eyes and silently asked him 'why?'

"Don't do that, luv, don't hurt yourself for this. You need to be strong now, there is no one to teach you and protect you now that you're the Slayer. We can't protect you; it's your job to protect us."

He wasn't trying to put pressure on her, but she needed to understand that the world wasn't going to be a safe, snug place anymore; now it was going to be violent and cruel and she needed to be prepared for it.

She pouted her bottom lip and sniffed. "I don't think I can do this Spike, I don't want to be a Slayer, I don't want to be a hero...I don't know what I want anymore."

Spike's face cringed a little. "I want to help you, God knows I got nothing better to do with my life, but I don't know what to do either. I don't have the answers, I don't have the know-how, and I don't have the clever advice to give you or a suggestion for what you should do now. I only one thing, and that's that you can do this. I don't know how I know that, but I do."

Buffy's eyes softened and her mouth slipped partly open, amazed at how truthful and comforting his words had been. "But even if I can do this, how do I know what to do?"

"We'll figure it out, we'll save the day, after all its what we do."

She smiled weakly and he brushed some hair out of her face. Her green eyes were so beautiful, twinkling with starry tears, they begged him for something he could not give. He sighed sadly and looked directly into those red, puffy eyes. "I don't have the answers, so we're gonna find someone who does."

Buffy looked down and breathed deeply and slowly. "Can we do that tomorrow?"

Spike cocked his head to the side, confused as to why she didn't want to get right onto this right away. "Why, pet?"

She didn't raise her gaze. "Because I don't wanna go anywhere today, I just wanna stay down here if that's alright? I don't wanna go back up there with everyone...they have a way crowding you."

"Well with a family as big as this one they tend to do that."

Buffy looked up and frowned. "Family?"

"Yeah luv, that's what we are, a family. You're part of it now, whether you like it or not."

"Not much difference there, half of them really are my family."

"Are they your family...or are they just your relatives?"

"Same thing."

"No. Relatives are people you look like, act like, share the same line of blood with. But your family are the ones you feel at home with, the ones who make you feel safe, the ones you love and care for and who love and care for you back."

Buffy stopped and thought carefully about what he had said. She had never been big on family, she hadn't had a very good experience with them to begin with, but now that she heard what Spike had said she realised that she wasn't as alone as she thought. Faith had been her family, but she was the only one who had managed to get close enough to her to make her feel that way. There wasn't anyone else that made Buffy feel safe and loved, not even her own sister. But looking at Spike now and remembering what he had recently told her made her think...

But she couldn't feel it. She couldn't feel his love, even as she looked into his eyes right now and saw the way he looked at her so adoringly, like there was nothing else in the world but her. She couldn't feel it, she was numb inside and that made her feel alone even as she walked through this house with so many people always around...she was alone.

Spike could see something behind her emerald eyes, something that made him feel cold. She was a beautiful being, but she couldn't see him the way he saw her. So he stopped looking at her so lovingly and said, "Sure, you can stay here today."

"Thank you."

"Well, what do you want to do, luv?"

"Talk, just talk about stuff, anything."

"Alright...I love you."

"What? What did you say?"

"I said 'I love you', I said it once before and I'll say it again, but only if you want me to."

"Oh, Spike."

"I don't want to try and hold onto something that doesn't exist, I've done it before and it led me nowhere but pain, I won't do it again. So tell me, do you want me to say it again?"

Buffy shook her head slightly as she moved away to the pillar that stood in the middle of the room. She held her hand over her forehead and shut her eyes. "I don't know Spike, I don't think I can think about this right now. Give me some time."

"How much time?"

"I don't know, why are you asking me this now?"

"Because last night I saved your life by telling you I love you and all you said was 'thanks'. What does that mean, pet? Telling someone how you really feel is a big thing, especially in a town like this. Most people here go their whole lives without saying 'I love you' to anyone."

"Yeah well, here no one lives past 30."

"That's not the point, the reason people don't say it is because they don't want to go through the pain of losing them, so they try to keep it simple. Sometimes someone will be brave enough, but that usually ends in death of one or both partners. Love is hard to find when there is so much death around."

"I-…I can't handle this right now ok? There is just too much going on in this very minute and you are not helping by asking me such a difficult question."

She started walking over to the stairs when she remembered why she was down here, so she went and sat against the wall opposite Spike and curled up into a ball. Spike stood very still and watched her closely, waiting for her to say something more. When she didn't even look up at him, he turned his head and walked upstairs, leaving her alone to work through her issues.

_____

She wasn't sure how much time had passed since Spike had left, without clocks or radios or anything electrical down here it was hard to keep track of the time. She didn't really care though. She just sat by herself, hugging her knees and wishing that things were different; wishing that her mother were still alive, that she wasn't the Slayer and that Spike would come back down and talk to her about something other than his feelings for her. She watched the scene over in her head, trying to figure out what had been said to make him jump to such a topic like that.

She remembered the look on his face just before he spoke those words again, he had looked very nervous if not slightly afraid. He was a demon fighter, risking his life everyday to battle the worst kinds of creatures that roamed the earth; and yet saying something as simple as 'I love you' scared him half to death. It was just about night time by now and she didn't seem to be able to think about anything other than Spike.

Her thoughts were pulled away when she heard light footsteps on the creaky stairs. She lifted her head to look up at Spike, but saw Dawn instead. "Hey, Buffy, you doing ok down here? Spike said you needed some time to yourself but from what I can remember that was never really your style."

"From what I can remember it's been ten years since you knew me, a lot has changed."

"Tell me about it, everyone's going nuts about you up there, you're the new big thing on the gossip chain."

"That's just fantastic, exactly what I need right now."

Dawn dropped down next to her older sister and pulled her knees up in the same way. "What happened between you and Spike before?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"I mean, last night you slept in his bed, then he was being really thoughtful and gave you an excuse to get away from everyone for a while and now he's walking around like a cranky vampire."

Buffy considered whether or not to tell Dawn the truth, but she wasn't a child anymore. "Last night I was attacked by Angelus and Spike kinda saved my life."

"What?! You were attacked by- why wasn't I told about this?"

"Probably because the only other person who knows is uncle Giles."

"Oh, alright then."

"And after that he told me…he told me he loved me."

She said the last part slowly and thoughtfully, Dawn wasn't so calm though. "What?! He said that? I mean, he actually told you out loud?"

"Yeah."

"Wow…"

"What?"

Dawn looked away for a moment, checking the staircase quickly before looking back at her sister with a serious look. "Spike never says that to anyone, not since Drusilla. I mean, I know he loves me, he's like the big brother I never had, but he never actually says it."

"Why not?"

"Because the last time he said it to anyone, she was driven insane right in front of him and then killed and turned into a vampire who now wants to kill him."

"Wow, yeah I guess that can make you a little cold-hearted."

"He's not cold-hearted, just really troubled. He doesn't say it because he doesn't want that to happen ever again, so if he said it to you to your face…you must be pretty damn important to him. Did you say it back?"

"No, that's kinda why he's all cranky."

"Why didn't you say it back?"

"Because I don't know whether I love him or not, I mean, I really like him in a watch-him-from-afar-and-smile-when-he-looks-at-me sort of way. But love is big, and I don't know if I'm ready for anything big and life changing right now when I've already got a big life-changing thing. Why does he like me anyway? I'm hardly loud and fun-loving-dancing-around-when-he-gives-me-flowers type girl like Drusilla was…or is, is she still like that?"

"No, now she's worse."

"Really? Worse than that? Angel really did a number on that poor girl, didn't he?"

"Oh, he's done worse."

Buffy's eyes widened, then closed tight. She had picked up things from certain conversations and she had pieced together a basic idea of what had happened over those three weeks. Angelus had beaten, ripped, raped and burnt Drusilla every night for three full weeks non-stop. She had no food or water and no medical attention what so ever, so her body was trying desperately to heal itself without the energy it normally required. By the end of it all, Drusilla had been weak, bloodied and begging for death.

If Angelus had done worse than that......

The basement door slammed open and slammed shut again very quickly, making both girls jump right out of their skin. They jumped up and looked to see Spike running about, moving things; not that there was much to move.

Buffy walked a little closer and asked quietly, "Spike? What's wrong?"

"You're in danger is what. Just been out, Angelus is after you. Can't let that filthy bugger get anywhere near you or I'll sure as hell stake myself."

He avoided eye-contact at all costs and tried to ignore the fact that Dawn was standing right next to her.

But Buffy wouldn't have any of it. "Spike, what do you plan to do? How can we keep Angelus away?"

"We can't, but we can keep you hidden."

"What? Keep me where? Down in this basement all day every day? For how long?"

"For as long as it takes for me to stake the bastard."

"You've been in this town for 7 years Spike, if you haven't staked him already what chance do you think you have of killing him now?"

"I'll get him, 'cos there is no way in hell he is getting to you. I'd rather run in front of a bus before he gets his hands on you."

"Would you stop please?"

"Stop what?"

"With everything! Stop with the running about pretending to move stuff that can't even be moved and the not looking at me thing and the whole 'I'll stand in front of a bus and kill myself before you get hurt' thing, as if your life isn't as important as mine. Your life is just if not more important than my life, so stop talking like that."

"But your life _is _more important, you're the Slayer."

"So? And what if I am...and if you did stand in front of a bus, what's to stop me from doing the same?"

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm simply saying, if you're so determined to sacrifice yourself for my safety, then who's gonna be around to stop me from doing something stupid if you're dead?"

Neither one had yet noticed that Dawn had left the room a while ago and now the guilty silence sat between them like a brick wall.

Spike couldn't understand how stupid he had probably just sounded, talking like his life meant nothing...well, to her anyway. If she didn't love him back, than his life wasn't really worth much anymore in his eyes. He had pushed everyone away, and now he had no one left. Buffy was the only person who hadn't told him whether she hated him or if she simply didn't care about him...so he was now living on waiting for her response to his love, should the outcome not be in his favour then he would probably leave town and go looking for something else in the world to live for.

He had been in this miserable town for 7 freaking years and he was sick of it, he had saved every single remaining person in this town by himself at least twice and all he got was a 'thankyou' and then a nice wave should they see him in the street. This town owed their lives to him and still no one really gave a damn about him. It was why he lived in the basement. All he wanted was to be loved and to love in return, but with Angelus running things that was much harder than it should be.

Buffy started down at the floor and twiddled her thumbs. She knew there was only one thing he wanted from her, and somehow she knew that if she didn't give that to him he wouldn't stick around; but she couldn't say it either. The last time she had told someone she loved them, they had gone off to Cleveland and gotten herself killed, before that, the son of a bitch had broken her heart. The words 'I love you' were very powerful, but in her experience they only brought misery and pain. She didn't want any more of that and here he was asking her to jump down off a tall cliff and into a very deep bloody pool of it. How was she supposed to react to that exactly?

If only they could understand each other better they would realise that they had more in common than they realised. They slowly became aware that they were looking at each other and before he could stop himself, Spike had walked straight across the room. He put his hand on the back of Buffy's neck and pulled her face closer before kissing her passionately. Her arms lay limp beside her as she let him kiss her, not wanting to stop this sudden burst of affection. But as he started to stop and pull away she jumped at him and wrapped her arms around his head. Her kisses were fiery and wanting and he couldn't resist her attention.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and arched her back over to kiss him freely. She ran her tongue down his neck and heard him moan. His hands found their way under the back of her shirt and now his cool hands were running over her skin, igniting a strong desire inside that she had never felt before. They travelled over to the bed and she laughed when he threw her down and jumped up on top. She pushed off his coat and unbuttoned his black shirt, showing off his gorgeous body. He ran his kisses down to the nape of her neck, where he nipped playfully before running his mouth along the top of her chest.

It was in this moment that she knew what it was she wanted; the only thing she wanted in this life was him. She didn't want to be the Slayer, she didn't want to fight, she didn't want to run, but she did want Spike and that was enough right now.

She writhed underneath him, only adding to his arousal. He slid his hands up underneath her shirt and lifted it up over her head. He looked down at her in her lacy black bra and growled, driving his face into her neck, stroking the soft, smooth, untainted skin with his lips. The two worked together at discarding the rest of their clothing and slipped under the soft red sheets.

They moved together in perfect unity as they reached breaking point, covering each other's mouths to muffle their cries of ecstasy. They fell together in the thin beams of moonlight that stretched through the tiny windows. No more did the outside world invade their minds, all their thoughts were of each other.

**So...this is the first sex scene I've ever written so let me know how I did. I'm working on the next chapter now and it should pick up since we're past the boring stuff.**


	9. Someone's Not Playing Fair

Her eyes opened gently to the light of day, she felt heat and ice and very, very tired. She brushed some hair away from her eyes and realised she was in the basement again. Why was she here a second time? Had Spike saved her life again? That's when the thought hit her; _'Spike saved my life_' and then she understood what love was really about. She stretched her legs a little and heard a moan; now she was completely awake.

She looked up and saw Spike's sleeping face lying to the side. He was still asleep, but he looked very close to waking up, like one movement of getting off his warm, naked body and she wouldn't be able to escape soon enough before a long uncomfortable conversation started up. But she had a tiny, little, nagging feeling that maybe she didn't want to. The basement was cold this morning, like really, really cold and she didn't want to leave the nice, warm, soft bed with the hot, naked guy sleeping peacefully and quietly underneath her. So she gently lay her head back down on his chest and tried to use the time she had between now and him waking up to think about what had just happened and what to do now.

She tried to plan what she was going to say, what she would do, even how she would stand. But the suddenness of it all was very...sudden. This was not in any way planned, this could not be predicted and she was at a loss for what to do now. Maybe she should just slide out of bed, snap her clothes on and make a run for it...but what about Spike? What would that make him think of her? How would that make him feel?

She suddenly ran out of time to think about this when she felt his hand run over the bare skin of her back and wrap around her waist. A smile appeared on his lips and he tucked his other hand under his head. She tensed when she felt his gaze burn through her soul. His voice was warm and loving.

"Morning luv."

She almost squeaked when she spoke, she was so nervous."Hi."

"How are you this morning?"

"Fine. I'm fine."

Spike raised an eyebrow. "What's on your mind, pet?"

"Uh..."

Buffy wasn't exactly sure how to answer that. The last thing she had said before they had...she had told him that she valued his life, that he meant something to her. And then they had sex. And he said he loved her. And she didn't say it back. And she was crowned the great protector or something...was it too much to say she had some issues? She did, she had a few commitment issues it was true, she had been with heaps of guys in L.A. and never had she stood by them. She was afraid to get hurt again like before with Riley, who had told her he loved her, slept with her and then screwed her over the very next day by making out with some other girl right in front of her at school in front of her locker. If that doesn't give her the right to be afraid of love then she didn't know what did.

But while she was contemplating whether or not to take the risk and give love another, final, scary chance...Spike could not read her mind and see what was going on and he was becoming nervous.

"Buffy? What are you thinking?"

"I-I don't know."

He gulped. "You're not planning on...running, are you? Because I'll understand if you do, I get it."

She had become so nervous now she was practically shaking, she was scared of what he might do if she made him angry. She remembered how he had yelled at her the second time they met, he had yelled at her and scared her half to death. She really didn't want that to happen again, or for him to hate her. But she was just a little more afraid of responsibility, the kind you get in a real relationship. She didn't know how to take care of herself, let alone anybody else, and that's what you do when you're with someone. But the point wasn't whether she could take care of him, it was whether or not she loved him. So she stopped thinking for once and just went on impulse.

Her eyes had been locked on him, hovering up a bit over his chest, then she suddenly leaned forward and kissed him. She stayed there, lips pursed against his determinedly, and she felt such relief having simply done what she wanted to do and not what she thought she should do. She kissed him again, much more slowly the second time. But after the third time they were running low on oxygen.

Spike stared into her green eyes and visibly relaxed. "God, you really had me there for a minute, Slayer."

Something in her suddenly tensed; that was not a name she wanted to hear from anyone just yet. "What? Um, I think I'd prefer you don't call me 'Slayer', at least for a little while."

"Sorry, Buffy."

She smiled gladly. "Thanks, it's a good nickname, a personal nickname but I don't think I'm ready for it. Try it on me in, say, a week or two."

"Ok, luv, but humour me right now and tell me something."

"What?"

"Does the fact that you kissed me just now mean that you don't plan on jumping out of bed and running up the stairs? Does it mean that you plan to see this little thing we might have through?"

"Yes, as much as it might scare me, I do plan to try to make whatever this little thing we have work."

"Very good to know."

He took the hand that wasn't around her, and tucked her beautiful, but messy, hair behind her ear and gave her a kiss. She responded enthusiastically, moving up his body and tying her arms around his neck when suddenly a loud smashing noise came from upstairs. The two flew apart like they were on fire and quickly dived for their clothes. It was one thing to have decided to want to be together, it was quite different to tell the whole house of already jealous people about it also. Knowing Buffy's aunt and uncle they probably would not approve.

With all their clothes back on and a quick fix up of their hair, they decided to go upstairs and find out what the smashing noise was. They found Amy leaning against the counter, a very broken plate underneath her feet. She was hanging her head down, not in shame but in stress.

Spike walked up to her and tried to get her to look at him. "Hey, what happened, Amy?"

"Nothing, just dropped a plate is all."

"Then why do you look like that?"

She seemed to be staring at the floor but her eyes were directed at the wall; the thousand-yard stare. Amy paused, then suddenly she blurted out, "We're out of coffee."

Spike stopped her from running out of the kitchen though and stared her down. "What is it?"

"Its...just go into the lounge room, see for yourselves."

Spike narrowed his eyes shortly before taking Buffy's hand and leading her into the lounge room as instructed.

They stopped when they saw the grim features plastered on everyone's faces. Dawn, Giles, Jenny, Jonathan, Tara, Andrew and Oz were all seated around the room looking guilty.

Spike frowned. "What's wrong?"

Oz looked up with one of his famously blank expressions. "You remember Kendra? The chick who told us about Buffy being the Slayer and all?"

"Yeah, what about her?"

"She's dead, she was killed by Drusilla last night."

Buffy felt sad that they had lost a life like that but was unsure of why everyone looked so very glum. "Why do you guys look so very sad? I get that Kendra is dead and all but in all honesty we hardly knew her, and you guys don't normally look this bad after a loss."

Giles looked up at his oldest niece and sighed. "It's not just that we couldn't protect her, she was the only person who knew anything about Slayers and the like, and now she is dead we don't have any more sources. I am yet to find anything in these good-for-nothing books. We don't know how much damage you can take, the limits of what you can do or even if the dreams you may have are of any danger to your mental health or even how accurate they are."

Buffy looked worried. "Can't we just go out and find out for ourselves? You know, with a little testing?"

Giles looked at her sternly. "I hardly think that we need to resort to that. I would much rather we learn through text and notes what your capabilities are rather then put you at risk in an uncontrolled environment."

"Geez, Giles, why do you use so many words? You could have just said that you want me to read instead of getting myself killed."

All eyes landed on Buffy and made her feel very stupid all of a sudden, especially the eyes belonging to her unimpressed uncle. "Sorry."

Spike however could only cover up a chuckle; that little outburst was absolutely adorable and raised a very good point.

"Look, who says it's gonna be an uncontrolled environment? We'll all be there and if it's only one vampire what real danger is there?"

Giles looked sceptically at Spike, considering his suggestion thoroughly. "Well, as long as we're not finding anything here I suppose that isn't such a silly idea. But we'll be taking this one step at a time."

"Agreed, good man old-Rupes."

Spike then took that opportunity to leave the room before he got himself into more trouble. Buffy followed close behind, muffling her laugh. No one had ever called her uncle something so silly before. She wasn't sure why she had followed him but it simply seemed the only thing to do right now as researching was definitely out of the question. He turned around unexpectedly and smiled.

"Hey, wanna get outta here and go for a walk or something, pet?"

"Um, yeah, sure."

* * *

About three hours later the two of them were walking through one of the very many town cemeteries, not for any particular reason though. Buffy hadn't actually noticed where they were, and yet it was Spike who was following her through the town. He had noticed where they were, he had realised it from the moment they walked through the main gate. It was a strange place to walk through during the day, all the damaged tombstones chipped and cracked, the tall mausoleums showering dust and dirt over the steps that led inside and most obviously of all; no vampires were sitting around a poor corpse.

The two were just talking about stuff, lots of unimportant non-Slayer or vampire related stuff; so it really didn't occur to them that they were being watched from the shadows. It may be the middle of the day but a vampire like him wasn't going to let a little thing like instant-combustion get in the way of his plans. He had already had his queen kill the fortune-teller the night before, in case she might see something and warn the Scooby gang of the impending danger that was him.

Angelus watched the gold-haired beauty and her solider walk together in the sunlight. He didn't miss the sun, he was quite happy the way he was and wouldn't give up being a vampire for anything; but it was the delicious young thing that made him wish he could still walk in the rays of the day. She was a prized treasure and would easily gain the respect of his kingdom, but getting her away from her brave knight would prove to be a challenge. After Angelus had taken Dru, Spike had made it a rule to always be prepared and be on guard whenever leaving the house, so he no doubt had a sharp, wooden stake concealed in his pocket somewhere and he was too good a shot to risk taking head on. He needed to weaken him somehow before he made his move on his beautiful swan, only then would he have a chance. The only problem was that Spike's only weakness _was _Buffy, and while that would appear as hitting two birds with one stone, it would seem that one bird was currently out of reach.

But he could take his time, after all he had all the time in the world and he could wait to claim his perfect princess. He could tell by the grace in her step and the height of her chin that she would make a fine vampire queen indeed, if only he didn't have to wait. But great plans required thinking and planning which took time, so while he waited for the best opportunity he would work on said plan.

* * *

Later in the night, Buffy and Spike finally arrived home, but they were far too busy kissing to think about how long they had been gone. They snuck in the back door as quietly as they could. They were kissing one another hungrily and wobbled about a little on their way down to the basement. Spike opened the basement door and trapped Buffy against the doorframe while pushing her hair back, claiming her lips once again. She was wrapping her arms around him tighter and tighter, the feeling of his hands running under her shirt made her blood boil and the distance down the stairs to the bed looked almost impossible. They did manage to make it through the door and close it behind them.

An hour later, Dawn came wandering down from upstairs and into the kitchen, her heavy eyes were barely open enough for her to see. The house was dark, but not entirely quiet. But that didn't stop Dawn from getting a slight fright when she realised that she wasn't the only one in the kitchen. Amy and Tara were standing near the kettle with two mugs in their hands. Everyone in the house had their own mug, it was set up to stop people like Andrew and Amy from fighting over their favourite ones; it really was stupid but people really could be picky about what cup to drink their tea out of.

Amy was holding her red china cup, it showed her fiery temper and how plain she really was. Tara's mug however was bright blue with darker blue flowers running around the sides. But neither of them was here at 2 o'clock in the morning looking for tea or coffee, even from the other side of the room Dawn could tell that it was hot chocolate they were drinking; the same thing she had come down here for.

She made eye contact with the two temporarily and then moved towards the cupboard to fetch her puppy-face cup. "Good morning."

Amy scoffed. "Huh, it is not. When was the last time you were up at 2am? I mean, on a night when we sleep in?"

"I don't think ever, I haven't wanted to be up at 2am on sleeping-in nights since forever."

Tara took a sip of her hot coco and tried to smile, but the fact that she was just as tired as the other two made that difficult. "I'm sure they don't mean to keep us awake."

Amy laughed quietly. "I don't think those two are even thinking about the rest of us down there, they've been going at it since they came in the door and I am sick of it."

Dawn smirked. "Nah, you're just jealous 'cos you haven't gotten with a guy in years."

"Damn right, it is so not fair. You know I've been trying to get with Spike for years, but I guess he simply isn't that kind of guy."

"You're not even interested, you only want him 'cos he's the only guy who lives in the house that you would even think of sleeping with."

Tara smiled. "I don't know, you and Oz seemed pretty close last I checked."

"We're friends Tara, that's all we'll ever be. I don't think he'll ever be able to move on from Willow, he was hit pretty damn hard by her death."

"Right, well what about Jonathan or Andrew? You could totally have them eating out of your hand and you know they would never cheat on you or anything."

"You know what? I'm surprised those two have made it this far, neither of them can handle a sword and they suck at staking."

The three girls quietly laughed and joked about while they finished their drinks, trying their best to ignore the muffled screams of passion that was coming up from the basement. Amy had half a mind to break down the door and yell at them, but Tara's level head and Dawn's politeness kept her back. They weren't even sure whether Spike and his new girlfriend were even together or not, honestly, what kind of girl sleeps with a guy at his house that she just met; especially in a town like this where most of the guys you meet after dark plan on murdering you half way through the sex.

Dawn finished her drink and decided to take it upon herself to clean the dishes, simply because now that she was up she wasn't really all that interested in going back to bed; it was a teenager thing. She waved to Amy and Tara as they went up to bed. Dawn scrubbed at the dishes weakly, being too tired to attack those tough stains. She leaned over the sink, watching the water run down the drain. She was tired, she was exhausted and she had _school_ in the morning. She cringed at the thought of those cursed hallways and boring classrooms. If truth be told she would much rather fight vampires than go to school, but it was important and stuff and she'd made it this far and there was no turning back now.

She wondered whether it was better or worse now that her sister had returned. Having her back made her jump with joy, of course, but having her back complicated things a little. For example, since Buffy had been back they had been catching fewer vamps 'cos she kept talking all the time when they went patrolling; Dawn's school-life was on the critical list once everyone started finding out about her runaway sister; their uncle had been more on edge, which, being so concerned for Buffy's safety all the time, had successfully pushed Dawn down to second place and Spike, well he was just a wreck. Thank god he was trying to move on sooner rather than later...he was wasn't he?

Dawn suddenly realised that she hadn't seen Buffy all day and she wasn't sleeping on the couch. Was she the one in the basement having sex with Spike? No way, she wasn't that easy...right? After Riley she couldn't be, unless she had embraced that side of her after she left. She had lived in L.A. for a long time, with a girl who had once been with Spike and used to sleep around a lot.

"Oh crap."

Dawn dropped the drying cloth on the side of the sink and ran for the basement door, only stopping a few inches from the handle. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to go down there right _now_, no, bad idea. She turned around to go back upstairs but found that all she could do was spin around in a circle. Her curiosity was very over-powering, it would surely be the death of her one day. So she stopped and tried to think about why it was a bad idea for Spike to be with her sister. Well, for starters he was a commitment kind of guy and she was a date-forever sort of girl, the kind that runs the other way when the idea of getting married or even moving in was brought up. That was problem enough, then there was the fact that Angelus and Spike had the same taste in girls and that was never a good thing, and then there was the whole thing where Giles and Jenny would never approve of their favourite little niece dating a guy with a soul as damaged as Spike's.

Then Dawn thought of another reason why having Buffy back was not the best thing; she had stolen Spike from her. Dawn and Spike had been close for years, he was the older brother she never had and she was the little sister he always wanted, but now that he was in love with Buffy he would be spending heaps more time with her and forget all about Dawn. Her older sister had taking the most important person in her life and that did not sit well with the eighteen year old.

With that thought in mind she decided she didn't care about being polite anymore, she leaned against the door and listened to make sure it was somewhat safe to go in. When she failed to hear anything she knocked on the door to give them a warning before waiting a few minutes and then entering; ok, she did care a little about being polite still, but only so she wouldn't see anything that would surely scare her for life.

As she walked down the stairs she could see through the gap between the roof and the stair rail that they had taken her warning seriously. Spike was half-dressed and sitting on the side of his bed, no doubt trying to cover up the person who was hiding under the covers.

Spike was breathing heavily and he looked curiously at Dawn. "What are you after this late at night, Niblet? You should be in bed."

"Yeah, and I know someone who shouldn't."

He could see that she was looking straight at Buffy and he cleared his throat to regain her attention. "Um, what do you want, Dawn?"

He sounded serious, defensive. But Dawn wasn't going to fall for his pathetic cover. "I want to know why you're sleeping with my sister."

Spike could plainly see that there was no point in trying to hide her, so he placed one hand on her hidden form and rocked her a little. Buffy slid her head and arms out from under the sheets and hid behind Spike's back while she tied them around her chest. She continued to hide behind him, only letting her head be seen. "Hi, Dawn."

"Whatever."

"Why are you up this late?"

"I think you know the answer to that."

Both Spike and Buffy looked confused.

"You woke Amy and Tara up too."

That did it, they looked shocked and very embarrassed, and then a little fearful.

"You can relax already, they don't know it's you Buffy, they think it's just some girl Spike brought home. Only I figured out that it was you."

"Right."

The two adults looked shamefully at the eighteen year old who stood with her arms crossed and face relatively blank. "So, Spike, mind telling me why you're sleeping with my big sister?"

"Uh, well..."

He wasn't at all sure how to say it, she was too old to use the 'I'll tell you when you're older' crap on, and she wasn't exactly absentminded. "Look Dawn, things happen."

Dawn rolled her eyes and Buffy muffled a giggle. "That's the best you can come up with? Come on Spike."

There really was no easy way to get out of this, the problem was that he and Buffy hadn't been together long enough for him to know how to explain it. "Look, last night we talked about stuff and one thing simply led to another. What more do you want?"

"Do you love her?"

"What? Of course I do, I told you that. I do love her."

Dawn then looked at Buffy and repeated the question; apparently she was a fan of complicated situations. Spike looked around at Buffy with a concerned more than expectant look; they had already been through this and he understood. But Buffy seemed to have forgotten about that and now she was freaking out about not saying she loved him back in front of him.

"Dawn, I...I'm going through a few things right now and I can't really say whether I love him or not yet, but I can say with complete certainty that I do care about Spike; I do."

Spike smiled, apparently that was enough for him; but Dawn still wasn't convinced. Another thing she was a fan of was being a nosy brat. "Are you two planning on getting married?"

Both Spike and Buffy practically choked.

Spike decided it was too late to talk about this and things were uncomfortable enough with Dawn just being there while her older sister was wrapped up in nothing but a bed sheet. "Look, why don't you go up to bed and go back to sleep? We won't make any more noise ok? Whatever you want to talk about can wait till morning, ok Niblet?"

"Fine, and you better not make any more noise or I'll telling uncle Rupert."

Buffy's eyes widened. "You wouldn't dare."

"I so would and you know it, good night."

Dawn strutted out of the room before they had a chance to say anything more.

Buffy felt the familiar flame of sister-rivalry and she knew that Dawn was no more mature than she had been ten years ago. Spike however didn't seemed at all fazed by the threat; in fact he found it very amusing. But he didn't dare say this when he saw the look on Buffy's face. He laid back down beside her and pulled her up into his gentle embrace. Whatever happened tomorrow could wait until the end of today.

* * *

But the world had other plans. Daylight struck and woke the late-sleepers rudely; it was not at all welcomed. But day had arrived and they had already skipped one morning, if they skipped another breakfast with the family then suspicions would be confirmed.

Buffy went up first, Spike followed ten minutes later. At the breakfast table everyone had taken their usual seats, and had started piling their usual food choices on their plates, but everything was not as usual as it seemed. It turned out that someone else had found out about Buffy and Spike and that person was not at all concerned with their feelings; and that person would be Amy.

That very person was staring angrily at Buffy from across the table. Amy had been listening in last night when Dawn had revealed Buffy downstairs and she was not at all impressed with what she heard. She wasn't afraid to tell Spike how she felt about him, she had made it quite clear actually; so had he. They had had this discussion years ago, but that didn't mean that she was going to sit well with the new kid in town getting in bed with him. She hadn't liked the look of Buffy the moment she had walked back in the door and she remembered what she had been like back in high school; a right down bitch. She had given away something she would never be able to get back, she had heard him say three words and she threw it all away like that. Amy knew this because she was the one Buffy had confided in all those years ago, right before she told her mother and well everyone knows what happened after that.

She was an idiot; she was easily fooled and took everything for granted. Amy was not going to let her take advantage of Spike and use him in that way, even if that meant pulling out every strand of her perfect yellow hair. To put it simply, Amy was competitive and she loved to win, when things didn't go her way she got snitchy; like first thing in the morning when she hadn't had her coffee.

She wasn't going to let that cheap, runaway bitch near him, but since she was already sleeping with him how was she going to get her away? Amy stuffed the rest of her pancake into her mouth and rose from the table, barely even asking to be excused. She walked out the front door and decided to go looking for some inspiration.

* * *

A loud snarl echoed through the quiet building, someone had woken up the king and he was not at all amused. He stood on the stage in the _Bronze _and watched as a small, frightened blonde girl entered through the big steel door. She was carrying a plastic bag that appeared to be filled with blood, judging by the amount of it on her hands. She walked up to him and bowed her head in fear.

"What is it you want with me human that has given you the right to wake me?"

"I want your help with something."

"A pretty little human like you wants help from a vampire like _me_? Do tell."

"I want you to...to take care of someone."

"Interesting, and who might this someone be?"

"She is the Slayer and I want her out of the way."

"A Slayer? And you want her dead?"

"No! Not dead, just not here. Take her prisoner or something."

"You want my help in removing the only one who can kill me? You must be very desperate."

"I want her gone, but I don't want her dead."

"Why would I want to keep my enemy alive? What do I get out of it?"

"Her blood, Slayer blood must be something special right? You could feed on her for months as long as you don't take it all. She could stay alive and you could have a never ending supply of pure, sparkling blood."

Angelus narrowed his eyes at the strange girl. "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"What's your name?"

"My name is Amy."

"I have two final questions for you; why do you have a bag of blood in your hand?"

"I was hoping I could use it to bribe you into letting me live."

"I'll accept that but only this once. My last question, the name of this mystery woman is?"

"Buffy Summers."

Angelus' eyes lit up like fire at the name, the maiden he desired so passionately was the Slayer and here was someone who wanted him to have her; someone who could help. He knew this girl, Amy, she walked with Spike and was most definitely part of his life living with the others. He knew where they lived of course, he had tried to kill them as they slept but they were much too prepared for an attack and only one of his minions made it back.

Everything was coming into play and all of a sudden he started coming up with a simply wonderful plan.

"You may go now, I will send for you when and if I need you."

"Please don't tell the others, it's bad enough that I'm even here without a stake or that I'm talking to you, but if they find out what I'm asking you to do then they'll drive a stake through _my_ chest whether I'm a vampire or not."

"Fair enough, you are of no use to me if you're dead."

"Right."

Amy knew that that wasn't quite what she had meant but if it got her out of here alive then so be it.

"You may leave, but um, do return whenever you get the chance. Maybe bring a picture of my target."

"Oh, wait, I have one, I thought of that. She's new in town so you probably wouldn't know who she is."

Amy pulled out a folded piece of paper and moved steadily towards the beast to hand it to him. He swiped it from her and opened it quickly.

He looked down at the photo and noticed the good quality. "Where did you get this?"

"Oh, I took it this morning when she came in the door. The photo of course is great but not the printer I used, sorry."

"And just how did you manage to take her picture without her knowledge?"

"I used my iPhone; no flash, I just got it, I've been saving for years for a new phone and then they released this and somehow Sunnydale got a hold of the product. It takes the best pictures, perfect focus and everything-"

"Shut up! Give it to me."

Amy gave him a confused glance but handed him her precious device out of fear for her life. He took it quickly and studied the touch screen with amusement.

"You may leave."

"But my, um-"

"LEAVE!"

Amy fled out of the building as fast as she could and out into the safety of sunlight.

* * *

For Spike and Buffy, the day had not been anywhere near as good as the previous day; in fact they hardly even got a chance to stand in the same room as each other the whole time. Someone had dobbed them into Giles and Jenny and now there was hell to pay. Giles had called away Spike to talk to and as soon as they returned Jenny took off with Buffy. The conversations were quite different and yet they were saying the exact same thing.

Jenny sat Buffy down on Dawn's bed and she sat on Tara's, Buffy knew what was coming but wasn't expecting the force in which her aunty used.

"Buffy, I want you to tell me something."

"Sure, what?"

"Are you dating Spike?"

"Uh, yeah, yes."

"I feared so."

Buffy frowned. "What do you mean when you say you 'feared so'?"

Jenny leaned forward on her elbows and tucked her hands together. "Buffy, I need you to listen to me, alright?"

* * *

Spike sat on one of the comfy chairs in Giles' shop while he leaned back against the counter with his arms crossed.

Giles lifted his head and breathed deeply. "Buffy is very important to me, she is my eldest niece and I love her very much. She is a beautiful person when she wants to be and can be a real beam of sunshine sometimes. But she has been hurt and she is emotionally scarred because of that. She is very defensive and it takes a lot to get her to open up and trust someone and when she finally does she needs to be taken care of. You understand what I'm trying to say here?"

* * *

"Spike can be a real gentleman at times and he fights very hard for what he wants and doesn't give up. But that same fire he fights with comes from a dark past, he may seem safe and protective out in the field but when it comes to relationships he can be dangerous. He has a lot of pent-up anger and he never dealt with the pain of losing Drusilla; it is all still there."

"What kind of 'dangerous' is he?"

"Well, all that anger and rage he keeps deep inside comes out when he gets really angry, usually when he fights vampires. But relationships can get messy, fights happen and people get really angry and I'm afraid that if he gets pushed enough he may do something by accident."

"You mean he might hit me? I don't buy it."

"Buffy, please try to understand what it is I am saying-"

* * *

"-You are not the most level-headed person, Spike, you know that, I know that; everyone knows that. Ever since Drusilla was killed you haven't opened up to anyone, now that might be because you haven't yet found anyone as dark as she was. She took you somewhere you shouldn't have gone, Spike, she showed you a world that almost got you killed and I will not have you taking my niece down that path with you."

"What are you going on about Rupes? Dru has nothing to do with Buffy, I love her and you can't take that away from me."

"I know I can't but I do wonder if it is really love you feel, how do you know what is love and what is lust anymore?"

* * *

"How can you even ask me that? I know what I feel and I do care about him, I love him, who are you to say otherwise?"

"Honey, he is not the one for you, it won't last."

"And just how do you know that?"

"Well, if it doesn't end on its own then Angelus will probably end it for you. Did Spike tell you that Angelus has a habit of torturing and murdering any girls that he shows interest in? Did he tell you what that monster did to the last girl? To Cecily? She was a beautiful woman and Spike saved her life one night and she called him the next day. They went on one date, only one and next we heard she was in the trash, in three different alleys. Do you think I want that to happen to you?"

Buffy didn't know what to say, she wasn't planning on giving Spike up but Angelus did send her blood ice-cold.

* * *

Spike jumped out of his seat and threw his arms in the air. "As if I would ever let that happen to her! Do you really think I would let that son of a bitch get that close to her?"

"You can't protect her all the time, this is what I'm trying to explain to you. She won't let you lock her up and keep her safe all the time, she is a free-spirit and needs to be able to run free without chains and locks. She'll die if you try to put her in anything resembling a safe-house."

Spike stopped and thought about this, the old man was right; he couldn't keep her safe forever. She was like a child, eventually they grow and take control of their own lives. But if he didn't protect her like that then how was he supposed to keep her away from Angelus; the bastard was surely licking his lips for the rest of her after the taste-test last week.

"Well, then what do you suggest I do?"

Giles looked him sternly in the eye and said, "Let her go."

* * *

"But I don't want to Aunty Jen, it's not fair! Why should we lose what we have found because some great big ass _might_ try to attack me? How is that fair?"

"It's not, honey, nothing is. Life is not fair."

"Well then why even bother with it? What is the bloody point if we can't have what we want, what we need?"

"I don't know."

"Well I've already tasted death and I know I'm not ready to go back, so I'm taking what I can get while I'm still around!"

Buffy was about to storm out of the room when Jenny suddenly snapped. "Did you just say you died? You came close to death? When, how?"

'_Shit!'

* * *

_

"I've found the thing that keeps me grounded again, the person who keeps me from going insane in this Hell on earth and I'm not letting her go. I nearly lost her once, I'm not going to let that happen again; I will not let her do that to herself again!"

Spike started towards the door when Giles suddenly grabbed his arm and looked furiously at him. "What did you just say? Are you telling me that when she was attacked by a vampire she was _trying_ to get herself killed?"

'_Fuck!'

* * *

_

The day had started out crap, but it ended even worse. Buffy was completely confined to the living room and was not allowed to go anywhere without Giles or Jenny there to supervise her. Giles thought Spike was responsible for Buffy's actions and so he wasn't even allowed to be on the same bloody floor as her; so he stayed in the basement and tried to listen to what was being said. But he was no vampire, and quickly gave up.

If only he hadn't gone and said that stupid line this wouldn't have happened; and of course Buffy felt the exact same way. Only she felt a little more physical guilt...or maybe it was something else.

Buffy had left the lounge room and was now sitting on the edge of the bathtub next to the toilet, almost waiting for her stomach to start up again. She'd thrown up three times that evening and was now using it as an excuse to be alone and out of the watchful eyes of her aunt and uncle; and damn if it wasn't a bloody good excuse. But she was wondering why she felt so horrible. She obviously guessed she was sick, all the death in the town was bound to get to her eventually, but the whole situation with Spike and Angelus and Giles and Jenny, did not in any way make her stomach any more settled.

There was the horrible thought that her relatives were going to do something to prevent her from seeing Spike anymore. She couldn't even really understand what the big problem was, sure Spike was emotionally damaged but so was she; of course not as much but she did have some scarring on her record. Whatever, it was a long time ago, Riley had been a long time ago, Drusilla had died a long time ago. These things don't really affect a lasting relationship in the long-run, sure it could make the emotional part of a relationship a bit of a strain but they could get over that and be happy. Whatever, if it didn't work out then it didn't work out and that was that...but she had the strong, lingering feeling that it would not only work but last for a long time.

Right now however, her stomach proved as a much bigger problem than anything going on between her and Spike. It wasn't too bad really, she was just being silly and weak and fragile; she could take a little tummy ache. She had one hand over her abdomen and her other hand on her forehead, checking for a fever. Maybe she just needed some sleep, she hadn't been getting enough of that lately; too many late nights with Spike.

She smiled to herself at the memory, but her stomach suddenly lurched and she only just made it over to the toilet in time to stop herself from throwing up all over the bathroom floor.

* * *

The coolest part about sitting in the bathroom alone was that she was in fact alone, and there was a nice little window that she could just fit through. Freedom had never felt so good, but of course she wasn't planning on going anywhere without Spike. She skipped around to the side of the house, ducking under the windows, and laid out on the grass. She peered through one of the tiny little windows that lead to the basement and she tapped gently on the glass.

She got Spike's attention immediately. He stood on his bed so that he could reach the window and he pulled out the glass. She kissed him quickly before she spoke. "Hey, wanna sneak out with me? We could go do something we're not supposed to."

Spike loved the way she was being so cheeky about it, like they were teenagers sneaking into each other's house in the middle of the night to do certain things parents wouldn't let them do if they were awake. "How am I gonna get out of here though? I'm stuck in the basement and there is no way in hell I can fit through this little window. Neither can you so don't try it."

She put on one of her winning pouts. "Aww, you're just gonna leave me out here by myself? Where I might get hurt?"

She was hitting on some very valid points as to why she should _not_ leave the house, but she was only meaning to play around. "Come on Spikey, you're always sneaking around, slipping past people, I'm sure you can get past my aunt and uncle this late at night."

So he did, and shortly after they were sneaking off into the night, not really thinking about certain undead things. They wandered out to the docks and Buffy practically forced Spike to go out on the edge while she danced around. The moonlight hit her in the most beautiful way and Spike completely forgot himself for about an hour or so. But when that got old, they tried to think of something else to do; and that's when Spike's senses came back to him.

"Buffy, we shouldn't be out this late, it's too dangerous."

But she would have none of that. "Oh come on, where's your sense of excitement and daring? A little risk never-well it did hurt some people, but they never said it wasn't fun!"

"Please, pet, come on, what if Angelus is around? If we're not going home then let's a least go somewhere safer, like the _Magic Box_."

Buffy laughed. "Alright, wanna go to the _Espresso Pump_? Or maybe we could have some fun and go to the _Bronze_, he won't find us there, there's too many people."

She laughed childishly, but Spike suddenly was not finding the humour in any of this. "Are you out of your mind? The _Bronze_? That's probably the only place he will find us, and did it just happen to slip your mind that that place is vampire-central?"

Buffy paused, the giddy smile faltering from her face. "Oh, right, I forgot."

Spike looked her up and down, only just realising how pale she looked. "Luv, are you feeling ok? You look a little pale."

Buffy's hand slowly rose to her stomach and she looked as if she might be sick. Spike directed her back to dry land and held her hair back while she vomited on the pavement behind a factory. He felt utterly sick himself hearing her groaning and puke up what food she had remembered to eat today. Once she was done, she tried to stand up straight, but she was exhausted from throwing-up for the fourth time and she found herself a little dizzy. Spike wrapped his arm around her waist but feared that that might not be enough. So he lifted her up into his arms and proceeded to carry her home.

She didn't say much on the way back, well nothing much of importance, just random ramblings and mumblings that didn't really seem to be connected. "I guess I was just sick from spinning so much, it does that to you, or maybe because I was on the docks. I get seasick sometimes, that's probably what it is, yeah."

"Buffy, slow down, you just puked up the only thing you had to eat today, so save your breath and energy alright? At least until I get you home and into bed, then I'll get you something to eat. You look far too pale, have you been eating much lately?"

Buffy giggled. "Stop being so paranoid Spike, I ate breakfast, I ate lunch... I think... what did we have for dinner?"

"We didn't. You and I skipped out before dinner was served. I'll make you something when we get back, Amy will have made sure there is not a single scrap of leftovers. She can be kinda weird sometimes."

"You know, I don't think she likes me very much. We used to get along well before I left but I got the feeling that as soon as I walked back in that door that she despises me."

"Well, she's probably not fond of you because you're going out with me. She's had a crush on me for years now, but I never returned her feelings. Poor girl, she finds someone she likes in this town who isn't dead and they don't like her the same way. Life just kinda sucks sometimes huh."

Buffy's tone changed to something slightly darker. "Amy has a crush on you?"

"Yeah, she's asked me out a few times over the years. She's probably the only one of the Scooby gang who hasn't been touched by death. Dawn, Giles and Jenny are already spoken for; Oz and Tara lost Willow; Andrew lost his brother Tucker, Jonathan lost his best friend Anya and I lost Dru. Amy hasn't lost anyone, even her crazy-ass mum is still alive."

Buffy hardly heard a work of what he was saying. "Do you think Amy might have been who told my relatives about us? She did seem angry yesterday when we came up from the basement together. Maybe she heard us or something."

"Hang on, now don't jump straight to blaming her. It could have been Dawn you know, she did say she was gonna tell them. Whether she was going to keep to her ultimatum or not may be completely irrelevant when it comes to her."

"Dawn wasn't going to tell, I could tell."

"Well then don't just assume it was Amy, I've known her for years, I don't think she'd do something like that."

"Did you know her in High School? I did, and she would so very much do that."

Spike didn't respond to this, he decided that arguing with her while she was tired and obviously snitchy was not the best idea right now. Fighting with a sick person also made him look really bad so he decided to just stop now before it got anywhere they regretted.


	10. A Wall Between Us

**Now the fun really begins, I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get here but time is a factor that needs to be filled.**

**Enjoy and please review!  
**

The night was young and it called all the vampires to it, most of them being in the _Bronze_, especially a particularly happy Drusilla. She had her arms above her head, eyes closed, and she was spinning around. She kept stroking her long, red nails over her mouth, as if the blood of her last kill was still there; lingering between the cracks of her soft lips. She was dancing alone in a sea of animals, all lusting for sex and blood.

Two strong arms closed around her waist and pulled her back to him. She rolled her head back and writhed against him, growling and purring to his touch. Angelus leaned his head over her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"Did you enjoy that Seer, my love?"

Drusilla hummed. "She tasted so sweet, like strawberries. She made my tongue dance."

"Good, I'm glad you liked her, because I certainly didn't like the idea of that bitch wandering around telling my enemies all my secrets. That power is only for you my sweetheart."

"Mmm... little secrets... fluttering around like butterflies! May I kill them?"

"Sure honey, the night is only just here, go and find yourself a snack."

Drusilla hummed and danced all the way out of the _Bronze_, out into the crowded street and all the way to the Summer's house. She snuck around the back and slowly peeked through the window. It had been a week since she had killed the Seer and she hadn't eaten a thing since, the psychic power inside the woman had filled her up for days. But now she was hungry again and she wanted something special. Angelus could not read her mind, he did not understand what she needed, what she wanted, heck, he couldn't even understand what she was saying half the time. But there was someone who could.

Her eyes could only see through the window to the wall of the kitchen, but her mind could see all through the house. In the lounge room sat Buffy and Jenny, speaking in hushed tones...but Drusilla could hear them, every single word.

"_Aunty, what is wrong with you? You won't listen to me!"_

"_Spike has been taken down some really bad paths and has almost gotten killed because of the people he used to hang out with, and now he has nearly gotten you killed as well."_

"_Spike didn't nearly get me killed, _I _nearly got me killed! It was _my_ fault, I was feeling all sad and depressed and Angelus offered to vamp me. Spike _saved_ me, if it wasn't for him I would be drinking your blood right now."_

_Silence._

Drusilla grinned childishly; the pale princess was in trouble because of her Angel. Since she was being grilled in the lounge room, she was leaving a certain dark prince all by himself. She knew he was there long before he walked around the corner of the house.

"And just what would a little thing like you be doing here, luv?"

Drusilla stepped away from the kitchen window and sauntered towards a quite relaxed Spike. "I was hungry, and you aren't around anymore."

"I don't feed you, pet, never have. That's what Angelus does; you must be confusing the two."

"You looked after me before... why don't you care about me anymore?"

"Can't care about you, ducks, you're dead; gotta move on."

He tried his best to make his voice even, as if the fact that she was standing here didn't bother him.

Drusilla whined like a wounded puppy and took a slow step away from him. "You won't hurt me, will you? You wouldn't hurt me?"

Spike raised an eye brow. "And why wouldn't I do that?"

"You love me, my dark, wicked Spoik."

He didn't know how it happened, but before he knew it she was right up against him and was stroking her long, bony fingers down his cheek. She gently sliced his skin and drew a line of blood down to his jaw. She smiled saucily and then she wiped the blood up with her tongue. Grinning childishly, she swayed her head from side to side, never once breaking eye contact.

Spike looked away quickly. "You won't be doing your little hypno-crap on me, luv, been tricked too many times to fall for that shit now."

"Ohh... but I thought you loved me."

"Can't love you anymore, you know why. You're dead, pet, have been for years. I don't love you anymore, I love-."

He stopped himself quickly, if he told Dru about Buffy she would no doubt tell Angelus; and that could lead nowhere good.

Her voice became low and venomous. "You love her, your little dove. You've forgotten all about your dark princess and now you walk in the sun with her. Blonde, pretty, a Slayer."

She said the last word with a strange fascination.

Spike's eyes opened wide. "How did you know she is a Slayer?"

She was suddenly perky. "The stars whispered it to me... they bent down on my shoulders and hummed it into my ears, pss, pss, pss."

She whispered in a sing-song sort of way.

"You're out of your bloody mind, pet, but of course, you know that all too well. Now..."

Spike slowly walked towards her, swaying from side to side in the same hypnotising way she did. "Why don't you tell me what else the lovely little stars have been telling you?"

Drusilla looked glum for a second, then she sparked into life. "They whisper sweet little things, blood and death and sweet things like. My pretty Angel, he plans, he loves blood."

Spike rolled his eyes, annoyed that this did not seem to be going where he wanted it to. "Yeah, I know. What does he plan, ducks? Come on, talk to daddy."

Dru completely fell for it. "He wants her, he doesn't tell me; he tells me nothing. He doesn't want to upset me, why... why would I be angry about being moved? He doesn't want me anymore... I am to be replaced. He yearns for another, a pretty pale creature. Why does my Angel want your pale princess? She is so ugly... and human!"

Drusilla's voice was seething, angry.

Spike suddenly realised what it was she was saying. "You mean that Angelus wants Buffy to be his new queen?!"

Drusilla swayed her head this way and that, making it clear that she was out of her lucid moment. "Pixies buzzing around my head, they say things now. I need to go, someone needs me to kill them."

She walked away, and Spike let her. He could stop her, restrain her or something, but he couldn't kill her; not yet. If he tried to tie her up and put her away, she would either get away or Angelus would come looking for her, and they really didn't need him hanging around when he was after Buffy. So he let her go, hoping that no one saw him doing so. Right now he had more pressing matters to think about, like getting Buffy somewhere safe. Besides, whatever poor soul would find Drusilla tonight had it coming, being stupid enough to be out after dark and all.

_____

Returning inside, everyone except Giles and Buffy was hanging around the 1st floor. Some watching TV, some snacking in the kitchen, others playing some card game or another in the dining room. But upstairs in the girl's room was Buffy in bed and Giles tending to his sick niece in any way he could think of.

"Uncle, I'm fine, really."

"We're just a little unprepared, it is quite clear that theories of Slayer's being immune to disease was a myth. You do have a much stronger immune system than normal people, but you can still get sick."

"I think I know that, what with me lying in Dawn's bed and all instead of the couch...or Spike's bed."

Giles sighed irritably. "Buffy, enough, we've discussed this."

"Yeah? And I don't like what you decided on, it's my life, I choose how I want to live it; I'm not 13 years old anymore. You can't welcome me back into my home and expect me to let you order me around just 'cos I pissed off for ten years."

"That maybe so, but you do have to follow our rules."

"And I do, I wake up every morning, I get dressed before breakfast, I don't leave half-full glasses on the dining table near the laptop, I put away the books... what else do you want from me?"

"A little common sense would be nice!"

_____

Spike stopped just outside the half-closed door, he was surprised by the anger in which Giles had just spoken to Buffy in. Giles never spoke like that to anyone. But instead of leaving Buffy to the mercy of her uncle, he crouched by the door and listened in to everything he could; which was everything.

_____

"I have common sense! So what if I made one little mistake, life is full of mistakes!"

"It wasn't just one mistake and you bloody well know it! You slept with a boy you had only known for, what? A month! You then argued with your mother over the same boy who had just cheated on you, and then you decided to skip down for ten years! When you finally came back, you deliberately tried to get yourself killed, failed at that, and then you went and slept with another man you have known for no more than a month and a half! Do you see any common sense in that? Because I really don't!"

_____

Spike's heart ached to go to her aid; he hated the way the old Watcher was talking to her. He never did anything but watch (thus the nickname) and now he thought he knew everything. He had half a mind to waltz in there and clock him in the nose, but Buffy wouldn't want that. So he stayed where he was and tried to breathe out the anger; which unfortunately had never been something that worked for him. Not even counting to ten helped.

_____

"You have no idea what I've been going through! You have Dawn and Jenny! I don't even have a best friend, and you have a whole family. Yet, you won't let me have a lover, you won't let me love who I want and be loved by who I want. Well that just isn't fair, this is why I tried to get myself killed. My two best friends are both dead! Is it too unbelievable that I considered the idea of joining them, spending eternity with my two and only best friends? Because it doesn't sound so stupid to me."

"Buffy, they are not your friends anymore; they are simply shells of your friends being controlled by demons. You can't get them back! No matter what you do."

_____

"Actually, y-you can."

Spike jumped at the small voice that came from behind him. It was Tara, and she was listening in too; which was quite odd for the girl who thought conversation was a crime.

"What did you say, pet?"

"You can b-bring them back, I read about this really r-rare occurrence that when you mix a d-demon's blood with a vampire's, it b-brings them back to life. C-completely human, good as new."

"Why were you looking this up, may I ask?"

Tara suddenly became very shy. "I-I want my big s-sister back."

"Right, sorry, should've guessed. That was kinda stupid of me. What kind of demon do we need for this to work?"

"It's called a M-Mohra demon and its b-blood is white. They live on salt, b-but I don't know where to find one."

"Well, this town is overrun with all sorts of nasties, there must be at least someone who knows where we can get some of this beast's blood. Probably order it through a demon bar if we're lucky."

Tara smiled, glad that someone approved of her plan.

Spike smiled back, happy to see that smile of her's. "I just gotta ask something, luv, why are you listening in on this conversation?"

"Oh, um-uh... I-I was just w-wanting to t-talk to Giles about M-Mohra demons."

"Right, well it sounds as if you might have to wait a while."

_____

Buffy stormed out of the girl's room an hour later, her argument with Giles having lasted forever. She had giving up on going around in circles with him and simply got out of bed and walked right past him, he hadn't even tried to stop her. She wasn't sure what she was going to do now, neither her aunt nor uncle were willing to let her be with Spike and it wasn't as if she could just pick up and move away again.

She was headed out the door, regardless of her not-feeling-so-goodness. She got half-way down the drive when she heard someone step out of the shadows.

"Spike, I know you're worried about me and all and don't get me wrong, I love spending time with you and I really enjoy your company... but I think that right now I need to be alone. I'm just going for a walk, I won't be too long."

"Sure, that's all fine and such, but it's the middle of the night, Buffy, I really don't think that this is the best time to be out and about."

"I'll be fine, I'm the Slayer remember?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean you're safe, it just means that you're a tougher meal than the average human; at least while you're only a beginner. You haven't even tried out your new powers yet, how can you be so damn confident?"

"I just need some time alone, ok?"

"No, Angelus is out for you, you're not going anywhere alone."

"Fine, then follow me, I won't mind."

Spike answered with a reluctant grunt, but settled for following her every step over letting her leave his sight. It turned out to be a fairly alright idea, as Spike hardly made a sound as he walked behind her, step by step, and Buffy was able to believe she was by herself. He followed her in the alleys, round the back ways and through the park and cemeteries. She wasn't really bothered by where she was going, but she made sure to keep away from vampire-central.

Spike tried to keep as quiet as possible, not wishing to interrupt Buffy's quiet time, but every time she followed another path away from home and deeper into the night, he grew more and more worried. The town was crawling with vampires and demons of all sorts and here she was just waltzing around as if it was perfectly safe. Eventually, his need for her safety got the better of him and he quickened his step to catch up with her.

"Buffy, luv, I really think we should be heading home now."

"What home? I don't belong anywhere, never have."

"What are you going on about now? You have a home, with an aunt, uncle and a sister that all love you."

"Bullshit, if they cared they would listen to me."

"Well, when does Dawn not do that?"

"Ok, so maybe Dawn cares, but my uncle definitely doesn't."

"He'd kill for you...I think."

"Right, you _think_?"

"Why don't you just give 'em a rest for once?"

"You are the only good thing that has ever happened to me and they can't accept that. My uncle keeps going on about how you're dark and twisty and dangerous."

"He said that?"

"Not word for word but yeah. Why would he say that about you? He's known you for 7 years, you've fought by his side, you live in his basement, he shares a breakfast table with you every morning. So what is it about you that he finds threatening enough to wanna keep me away but not the rest of the world?"

"Wish I knew, luv, I'm just as stumped as you are I'm afraid."

It seemed that the conversation would end there, but the lack of a sun in the sky kept Spike convinced of where they should be right now.

"Baby, look, I know you don't wanna go back but we really have to. Every second longer we're out here is a second longer of us taunting death, ok."

"Come on, Spike, it's only an hour and a half until sunrise anyway, why not just savour the rest of the night?"

"Because it only takes a single minute out of that hour and a half for a vampire to drain every drop of blood in your body and kill you, so can we please go home now?"

"You can, but I want to stay out here a little longer, I like the night air."

"I'm not leaving you, so forget it, Buffy. I don't want you out here, especially when you're unarmed."

"You're paranoid, Spike."

"With bloody good reason, pet, so mind me. What's so good about the night anyway? Why is it you always wanna come out here after the sun is gone?"

"Back in L.A. you couldn't see the stars, you could barely see the sky, so Faith and I used to walk just outside the city and look out at the desert sky sometimes. It made me feel safe, like I wasn't alone. You can see the stars everywhere you go in this town."

"Ok, yes the stars are lovely, just like you, and I would really like to keep you that way. So please, Buffy, just listen to me this once and come back with me."

Buffy thought it over and wondered why it was she really didn't wanna go back, sure she didn't want to face her uncle again but the real reason she was so intent on staying out here was because she was enjoying herself and back home she didn't enjoy herself. So, instead of explaining that to Spike, she jumped straight to the offensive.

"Stop trying to control me, Spike, you're like my uncle. I'm 23 years old, I get to make my own decisions now, and I decide to stay here."

"Stop being so stubborn! I'm gonna get you home safe and sound if I have to drag you there."

"Then start with the hair-pulling, 'cos I'm not going anywhere."

Spike could feel the anger growing inside him and wondered for just a moment whether he really should drag her home. All his senses were flaring, there was something out here and it was not friendly.

"Buffy, please, I'm begging you now." He took her hand and tried to lead her away, but she pulled her hand back.

"Get off me! Stop being such a jerk, Spike."

"For God's sake, there's something out here and you can sure as bet that it's after you."

"I don't care! There's always something out there, Spike, and that's never going away. You keep talking about all this death, well I want to enjoy a night under the stars before I die, ok?"

"No, not ok, stop being so bloody childish and think like a Slayer for one goddamn minute!" He was becoming frantic and that fear was turning into frustration.

"I _am_ the Slayer, I can take care of myself, so just piss off!"

He lost it, that was the last straw. He turned his back on her and began walking away.

"Nice one, just walk away, you're the best at that!" Buffy yelled after him.

He didn't answer back, he just threw the stake he was carrying at her and watched as she caught it without even looking at it. Maybe she could take care of herself, maybe, just maybe she would be alright by herself. It was this reluctant thinking that took him away.

Buffy watched with hateful eyes as yet another person just walked away from her. She was so angry that she couldn't stop herself from yelling, "I hate you!" after him before turning around and walking the other way. She didn't see Spike stop and look back at her, hurt and fearful about what had lead her to say that. For a few seconds he tried to run back to her to say something to save their relationship, but she was gone before he could even form words. He stood there, open-jawed, unbelieving of what had just happened.

_____

It had been no less than 10 minutes since Buffy had watched Spike walk away from her, and she wasn't getting any cooler. Her hand crunched on the stake he had thrown at her, and it only seemed to make her angrier. So when she heard footsteps coming up behind her, she didn't run, she didn't scream, she stood her ground and pitied whatever poor creature would have to feel her wrath because even though she had never fought with her powers before, she knew that violence was the answer to her rage; and there was a lot of it.

_____

The front door slammed shut with such violence that it made the whole house shudder. Jonathan and Andrew had practically hit the roof they had jumped so high, they tried to sort out all the papers they had thrown everywhere in their surprise, while staring at the one who had nearly battered the door right off its hinges. Spike didn't stop to say 'hi', he stormed down into his basement and threw his treasured coat at the wall where it slumped into a pile on the floor. The intense sound of cursing and things smashing against the walls kept everyone from going down to find out what was wrong, so instead they all gathered around the open door and watched as Spike tore everything apart. All his drawings were scattered around the floor, some torn, some shredded...some were so badly damaged the heavenly world they once showed were beyond recognition.

After an hour or two, he finally settled down and fell to his knees, his rage having drained all his energy. It was long after he eventually relaxed and crawled into bed that his audience began to thin. Jonathan and Andrew were the first to leave, Oz soon followed. Giles herded Jenny and Dawn off to bed and Tara didn't stick around long after that. Soon, Amy was the only one left standing.

She gathered up her courage and cautiously walked down the stairs, whispering Spike's name, as if speaking too loudly would bring the house down.

"Spike? Spike...?" She called.

He was lying on his bed, his shirt by his feet, facing the wall; or the window. "What do you want, Amy?" He asked softly, as if he was forcing himself to be quiet.

"I...uh-I just wanted to know if you were ok? Is there anything I can do? Can I get you something to drink?" She stayed at a safe distance.

"I suppose...a small glass of water would be nice, thank you Amy."

"Sure, of course, I'll be right back."

She shot up the stairs and Spike wondered if he really wanted her to come back. He didn't really want to talk, but felt that Amy wasn't going to leave him alone until he did. He kept his eyes on that tiny little window, waiting to see Buffy walk past, ready to come down to the basement with him and patch things up. He had already forgiven her for what she had said, but until she knew that he wouldn't be satisfied.

Amy didn't take long, or maybe she did, Spike had no interest in time at the moment. She walked up nervously and held out the glass to him, but when he didn't even turn around to face her, she placed it down on the floor.

"Do you wanna talk...about whatever?"

"Not really."

"Oh, ok, so I guess I should go."

"I must have really scared the hell out of all of you if _you're_ too scared to convince me to talk, you always did love a good story." While he sounded slightly amused, his voice was tired and low, as if he had lost hope in everything.

"So, does that mean that you're gonna talk even though you don't want to or that you're just making light conversation?"

"Light conversation, I'm not really feeling up to chatting about my problems."

"Ok, so I'll just go... good night, Spike."

He didn't say 'good night' back, so she slowly made her way upstairs. Spike didn't want to sleep, he wanted to stay awake and wait for Buffy, but there was still a whole hour before sunrise and he was just too tired to stay awake that long; she had made it clear that she wanted to stay out all night, so it was foolish to expect her return before then. He didn't want her to come home and find him asleep and think that he didn't care about what had happened between them, but chances were that she wasn't going to come down tonight anyway. She would sleep on the couch just so that she could avoid talking to him. So he let sleep over-take him and restore his strength to face the next day.

_____

The basement door opened gently, allowing a quiet Dawn to slip in and wake Spike.

"What is it, Niblet? What do you want?"

"Its 4pm Spike, you've slept through the whole day."

"So?"

There was a slight hesitation from Dawn. "Where's Buffy?"

"What do you mean? Isn't she asleep on the couch?"

"Why would she be there?"

"Because after last night I doubt she would've come down here."

"I don't know what happened between you two, but she's not here; anywhere."

Spike opened his eyes suddenly and rolled over to face Dawn. "Where is she?"

"I don't know..."

_____

Everyone was just settling down to breakfast when Spike and Dawn came charging in. Giles had started packing his plate with toast when the two burst in.

"What's got you two in such a hurry this morning? Breakfast has only just started, there's plenty to go around."

"Has anyone seen Buffy this morning?" Dawn asked.

Jenny shook her head. "Not yet, I think she went out last night, with any luck she forgot her key and is asleep on the back step."

"You really think that's where she is?" Spike asked in a cynical way.

"Have you checked? You know she slept all night on the back step once before...that was a very long time ago."

Spike thought it was the silliest thing she could have come up with, but if it had happened before then maybe she was right. He disappeared in a second to the back door, then the front door, then back to the dining room.

"She isn't there, I can't find her."

"Did you think that maybe she stayed somewhere else last night?" Jonathan suggested.

"Like where?"

"Well, considering how angry you were when you got home last night I would take a guess and say you guys had a fight, so maybe she went to a bar. The human ones are only open after sunrise."

"What are the chances of her going to a bar to get drunk after what happened to her mother? Would you please stop fucking around and help me find her?!"

"Spike, calm down, I'm sure she's alright." Amy said.

That was it, Spike was sick of this. "Last night when I was walking with her, there was something following us, I'm sure of it. I tried to get her to come home again but she refused again and again until finally I left. I watched her walk off into the night, by herself with something following us. And now its morning and she's still not back, I think that's very good grounds to start panicking."

Giles rose from his seat. "You mean to tell me that you left my eldest niece alone in the middle of the night while something was after her? Are you bloody mad?!" He actually yelled without losing his temper.

Spike took a step back in surprise, Giles had never yelled that loud before; not even to Andrew. "It wasn't like I just couldn't be bothered sticking around, I even tried to drag her home but she just wouldn't listen to me. She said some stupid stuff about the stars and Faith, even after I told her that something was following us she still wouldn't come. Put it this way: even if I had managed to get her home, she probably would've walked off again when no one was looking."

"You left Buffy out where?"

"Restfield Cemetery."

"You walked her into a cemetery? Are you out of your bleeding mind?"

"Hey, I was following _her_ Watcher, not the other way around."

Jenny stood up quickly. "Who cares why she was walking around a cemetery in the middle of the night, let's just find her!"

Everyone hurriedly left their seats and went to suit up for vampire hunting just in case. Amy was the last one to leave the room, she stayed in her seat for a minute or two. Had she done the right thing? Well, no, it wasn't in any way the 'right thing' but was it the best thing to do? There are other ways of getting rid of someone, maybe Angelus was way too over her head. What about when they would get Buffy back? Because she knew that that was going to happen sooner or later. They had been fighting Angelus for 10 years and he was still alive, so how were they going to get Buffy back from him when he had whole armies at his disposal?

"Oh, fuck..." She commented dryly to herself.

_____

Everyone left the house and gathered out on the lawn, waiting for instructions. Giles came out and split everyone into three groups: Jonathan, Andrew and Tara were going to search the neighbourhoods and ask questions; Jenny, Dawn and himself were going to search the mall, the park and the centre of town; Amy, Oz and Spike would take the bad part of town, the place where the criminals and twisted residents of Sunnydale dwelled.

No one wasted any time in getting a move on and within a second it was like they were never there.

_____

Tara tried her best to keep Andrew and Jonathan on track and had to do all the talking to their neighbours. It wasn't fun, especially when most of them told her to forget about her friend because she was probably dead already. It was a complete waste of time.

_____

Dawn was becoming more and more worried about her big sister by the second, to the point that the 18 year old was holding Jenny's hand for comfort. Giles lead the two women around through the shops, looking for anything that might draw Buffy to it. But even after questioning everyone he saw and getting the same damn answer from every one of them, they were left with nothing.

_____

Spike lead his group through the back alleys of the bad part of town, where the streets were lined with beaten hookers, cold-blooded murderers and psychopaths. If Oz was scared, he didn't show it but then again no one would be surprised. Amy on the other hand was practically shaking.

Spike looked back at the two following close behind him and sighed. "You know, if you guys really don't wanna be here then you can go back to the others."

"No, its ok, it's just..." Amy said sharply, "...that I've lived in this town all my life and I have _never _been in this part of town and now I know why."

Oz looked up at Spike. "We're here to look for Buffy, so that's what we're gonna do."

Both Spike and Amy were surprised by Oz's determination regardless of the place they were walking through.

Even after hours of walking through the trashy streets with strip-clubs and cockroach-infested hotels with one bathroom for all three floors, Spike still wouldn't give up. He doubted that Buffy was here, but he was determined to make 100% sure of it. If someone were to choose between vampires and the bad side of town, they would probably take the vampires.

Meanwhile, a horrible secret was eating away at Amy, she knew where Buffy was but she couldn't bring herself to tell Spike. She knew him well and she knew what he would do when he found out it was her that handed Buffy's drugged-up body into Angelus and right now he was probably feeding off her. She felt so very stupid only now that the deed was done.

"Spike!" She squeaked.

He turned around and gave her a funny look. "What is it Amy?"

"It's Buffy!"

His eyes widened and filled with hope. "What? Where is she?"

Amy started spinning in circles in a pacing-kind-of-way. "She's at the _Bronze_, I think she's at the _Bronze_."

"Why the hell would she be there?"

"Because Angelus has her."

All the colour suddenly drained from his face, his expression the very epitome of pure and utter shock. He charged at Amy with impossible speed, grabbed her upper-arms and lifted her off her feet.

"How do you know that?!" He snarled at her.

Amy was close to tears as she spoke like a frightened mouse. "Because I saw him take her...I gave her to him."

Spike's grip became so tight that Amy couldn't feel her arms anymore. "YOU DID WHAT?!!!"

From somewhere in the background, a bystander came up to try and stop what he thought was an attack. "Hey! Why don't you leave her alone?!"

The man went for Spike but Oz blocked his way. "Trust me, you really don't want to get involved in that."

"You're just gonna let him abuse that woman? Look at her, she's scared out of her mind."

Oz looked over at the display. "Believe me, she deserves it."

Tears were streaking down her face, Spike was bruising her arms and he wasn't getting any calmer. "WHY THE FUCK WOULD YOU DO THAT?!!"

"Because I wanted her out of the way...I didn't want her to hurt you like Riley hurt her."

He threw her down on the concrete. "How could you do that to her?! To me?! If you care about me so much you have a fucking terrible way of showing it...You took away the only thing that really matters to me anymore and you sent her to a fate worse than death. Angelus wants to sire her, he wants her to be his new queen, which means that he's gonna torture her to death first!"

Amy scrambled about on the ground, wincing as she tried to stand up. But Spike stalked over and hit her so hard across the face that she went flying into the side of the road. She looked up at him with fear-stricken eyes that poured with tears, running down her dirty face to the blood that leaked from the cut on her lip. She tried to crawl away but her arms would barely work with the lack of blood in them. Spike approached her once again and snatched her up by her scalp. Almost tearing at her hair, he looked into her terrified eyes and growled, low and deep.

"I don't ever want to see you again, now GET OUT OF MY TOWN!!"

He dropped her on the pavement and watched as she scampered off into an alley. His breathing was hoarse and his eyes were blazing with ferocious violence. Angelus had his girlfriend, his love, he had his precious Buffy and he was going to destroy her. Oz hurried over to Spike and tried to think of a way to calm him down enough to make him see that charging into the _Bronze _and killing everyone was a bad idea and wouldn't work without proper planning.

"Spike, we need to tell the others where she is so that we can devise a plan to rescue her before it's too late."

"There isn't enough time for that, I can't stand around making useless plans without knowing what he's doing to her. You go tell the others, I'm going to the _Bronze _to find her."

"Are you mad?"

"I won't go in, I promise, I just wanna find out where their keeping her."

He disappeared in a flash and was gone before Oz could speak another word. "Shit, this is not gonna end well."

_____

Spike crept around the back of the dark building, looking for a way in. All the master vampires would be sleeping in the basement, but where would Angelus want to keep Buffy? When he had taken Drusilla and himself, he had taken them to an abandoned mansion on the other side of town. Maybe she was there.

He left the _Bronze_ and headed as quickly as he could for that same mansion, where all his worst nightmares had been born.

When he got there he found that he couldn't move, he couldn't walk through the front door or even walk around the back, he simply couldn't move a muscle. He hadn't been anywhere near this building for so many years and now that he was standing on the front lawn he found himself weak in the knees. He couldn't go back in there, he couldn't walk over that blood-stained floor, stroll past those bloodied walls and look at those cold chains and not remember every detail of Drusilla. But Buffy might be in there, she might be hurt, she might really need his help. So with a deep breath and clenched fists, he forced himself to move.

Going around the back to where he had escaped, he found that back entrance. There was a balcony with a beautiful garden that had vines growing down the wall, but he didn't want to climb up, he wanted to get down. He found the door to the wine cellar and tried it, but it was securely locked and there was no way he was going to be able to get through there without alerting someone.

He searched around the base and discovered something very odd, there was a tiny window leading down into the cellar, like the ones in his basement, but a house of this age wouldn't have something like that; also there was no glass. But who cared, he could just see through the perfect rectangular hole in the wall. He looked down and felt his heart quicken at the sight of his beautiful girl sitting on the beyond-dusty floor.

He tried to poked his head through the hole as best he could. "Buffy! Buffy!" He whispered sharply.

She stood up and spun around in one move and stared up at Spike with a look that made his heart ache. "Spike...you found me? How did you find me?"

"A little birdie told me, are you hurt?"

"Not too badly, but he did bite my arm."

She pushed herself up the wall and stretched her uninjured arm up to Spike. He held his arm down and held her hand tightly. He knew she wasn't going to be able to get out from here, especially with the bars of her cage covering the gap like a barred jail-window, but holding her hand and knowing she was alive and sane was enough for him right now.

"Spike, I'm scared, I don't know what to do." She held onto his hand like a small child.

"It's alright, everything is gonna be ok, Oz is rounding up everyone and they're gonna get you out of here, ok, just hang on a little longer."

She nuzzled his hand and tried to get as physically close to him as possible. "I don't know what he's gonna do to me, he said some stuff but I didn't really understand what he meant."

"What did he tell you?"

"He said something about hot water and holy water I think and something about Slayer healing and that my blood would last a long time, but he was being all cryptic. It was really annoying."

"My God, Buffy, he's gonna use the fact that Slayers heal really fast to keep him in supply of it. I think he means he'll drink from you one day, let you heal and then come back and do it all over again."

"Help me Spike." She pleaded.

"Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out of here. I gotta go now, I can't stay, pet, but I promise I'll be back soon."

She gave his hand one last squeeze. "Please hurry, I don't like being so far away from you."

Spike kissed her knuckles and held her hand to his face before leaving reluctantly. He hated having to leave her, but he needed to tell the others where she was.

Buffy slipped down the wall and pulled her knees up to her chest, she was so scared, so alone, and she couldn't do anything. She had no idea if she could take Angelus on or if she could even get out of her cell, she had no idea about her powers. Even if she did it probably wouldn't matter, this place had just as many vampires as the _Bronze_. She wished Spike would hurry, every second longer she was down here her fear grew stronger and stronger to the point of controlling her.

"Please hurry, Spike." She whispered.

**Next chapter should be coming up in the next few weeks if not months, not making any promises though because as you know I really can't keep those. Do you think they make a patch for writer's block?:P**


	11. Never Leave Me

**This is the final chapter of Dark As Sunnydale, it wraps everything up all ready for the sequel, of which I hope you enjoy as much as you did this story. Hope you like it and please review.**

It had been a week, one whole bloody week since he had found Buffy down in that wine cellar, shaking with fear and begging for help...and she was still down there! How long does it take to put a bloody rescue mission together?

Spike slammed his fists down on the dining table, causing everyone to jump. "Why are we still here? Talking about this? Why is nothing happening?"

Giles sighed. "Because we can't just charge in there like crazy people, we need to think this out carefully. It isn't just going to be Angelus in that mansion, there is also going to be Drusilla, Glory, Anya, Cordelia, Willow, Xander and every other vampire that means anything in this town. It's the homeland of vampires, Spike, and we would really like to stay alive."

"Yeah, we would really like to not die." Andrew said at random.

Spike gave him an irritated look. "I would really like to 'not die' as well but can we please make the plan happen soon so that Buffy can 'not die' as well?"

Dawn walked up beside Spike and held his hand. "Look, we're trying our best here Spike, just give us a chance."

She seemed to get through to him and he sat back down in his seat with a sigh. Whenever he wasn't thinking about Buffy he was thinking about Amy, which led _nowhere_ good. He had told the rest of the gang what she had done and no one had seen her since she had crawled into the alleyway like a wounded dog with it's tail between it's legs. He prayed to God that he would never see her ever again; if he did he would rip her head off and feed it to Angelus himself.

But apart from his diabolical thoughts of death-to-Amy, he thought about that night when he and Buffy had argued and he had let her walk away from him. What she had said didn't make any sense. She had told him that she wanted to stay outside where she could see the stars and that she and Faith used to look at the stars back in L.A. But there was no way that could be true.

"She was lying to me..."

"What?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Huh? Oh, just something Buffy said to me that night when we had the fight. When I was trying to get her to come home she said she didn't want to because she wanted to stay outside and look at the stars because that's what she and Faith used to do back in L.A. But this town is covered in a dark cloud, has been ever since Angelus and his posse started running things here. You can't see the stars at all, no matter where you go in town. And in L.A. you would have to travel out to the middle of the desert before you could make out the sky let alone the stars. L.A. is too big to be making those kinds of trips every other night and anyway, Faith hated the stars, she hated anything to do with romance. So why would Buffy say that to me?"

"Dunno, but it's not really important is it?"`

"What? No, I-uh-guess not."

He tried to focus on the plans set out in paper and pencil on the table, but his mind simply would not stray from her words. What was it really that made her not want to be safe and sound at home? Why spend all night out in the middle of a death-trap? Maybe it wasn't important, but maybe it was. Had she wanted to meet a vampire? Had she been looking for one? Was she drawn to them and all they offered the same way she had been only days before she was taken? But she had already made it clear that she didn't want to die anymore, she wanted to live, live with him...and the real world wouldn't let her.

Then a strange thought occurred to him; what if she wanted to be with him no matter what, had she been trying to find a vampire to take them both? So that they would be vampires, free from human rules and all those that kept them apart? It was like a Romeo and Juliet story, how they are only able to be together in death. Well that wasn't going to happen to them, he was gonna get her back and set everything straight again.

_____

Stars twinkled in the sky like diamonds, peeking through the gap in the wall that closed her off to the rest of the world; or so she imagined if she could see the stars. Her hand placed softly over her arm, hiding the wound from herself. Underneath was Angelus' bite, her blood still fresh on her untainted skin. He hadn't taken much this time, but it still hurt. The rest of her was moderately ok though, one or two bruises remained but lightly due to her healing powers. He liked to take things slowly, and at the rate she was healing his marks were nothing but a graze on the knee over a month. But surely he would figure that out quickly and up his game. She wished so much that she had never gone out that night, why had she even been out there? She was looking for someone, Willow, she was gonna take Spike and leave town on a whim, but she had wanted to say goodbye first.

Why was she so stupid still? It wasn't Willow anymore, so why did she still feel so connected to her? Why was she still her best friend? Maybe because no one here even tried to get to know her. Spike was the only one close to her but even he didn't really understand her like Willow once had. When she had slept with Riley so many years ago, she hadn't told Willow...she had told Amy, she had just been there and she was too afraid to tell Willow what she had done; she didn't want her best friend to think badly of her. But if maybe if she had told Willow everything would be different, maybe she would have talked her down and she wouldn't have left town.

If she had just talked to Willow instead of Amy, everything could be different…but it didn't matter anymore, this was the scenario that came true. No point in wasting her time pondering what might have happened or what she could have done differently; as Spike had told her, _"What's past is past, nothing you can do about it now."_ The thing she needed to think about now was how she was going to get out of here. It had been a week since she had last seen Spike, and he was still away with the others, that meant that the plan to rescue her wasn't coming together as quickly as they had hoped.

What if she tried to bend the bars, did she have the strength to do something like that? Maybe not, especially with her lack of energy, it would take her a while to make them wide enough to slip through, and Angelus would surely notice. Even if she did get out of the cage, where could she go? The whole building was guarded 24/7 by patrols of vampires, and the hole in the wall wasn't nearly big enough for her. It seemed hopeless that she was ever going to make it out of here alive, but she couldn't let herself give up, she had to trust that Spike would figure how to get her out of here and soon. In the meantime, Angelus had come back for seconds.

_____

It was late but not too late to go for a stroll through the town, the crowd was staring to thin but a few stores were still open. Spike wandered alone down the dusty street, trying to calm himself down a little. He had left the Summer's house after another of his episodes, this time he had nearly tipped the table over. It was just so frustrating, sitting there discussing nothing, coming up with a whole lot of nothing, and doing another bunch of nothing while Buffy was sitting down in that cellar. The Scooby gang had executed rescue missions before, so why was it so hard now?

Sure, it was Angelus' holiday home away from the _Bronze_, but he had gone down there once before and he had survived. Unfortunately, Angelus had learnt from his mistakes and covered the areas that Spike had used to escape. But that plant was still there, it was still strong enough to climb. The only problem was getting from the balcony down to the wine cellar without getting caught. What they needed was a distraction, something big that would keep them all preoccupied for a good few hours. They needed more people, they couldn't pull something like this off with just eight people without having some _serious _casualties.

But who could they bring in to help out? Who could they ask?

Then Spike had a brilliant idea, it was perfect, it was final; it was big. He hurried back to the Summer's house to tell the others.

_____

"Do we really think we can pull this off?" Andrew asked warily.

"We have to, otherwise Buffy doesn't have a chance." Spike told them.

"I think this may work, it may actually work." Giles confirmed.

"If it does then we're free, this may be the final battle." Dawn said.

"Vampires will still be around, Dawn, but the town will finally rise out of the darkness." Jenny exclaimed.

"But what about the others? There's a lot to do before we put this into action, there is a lot to gather. We need to get the word out." Tara explained.

Spike stood at the head of the table and smiled. "We can do this, if we plan this right it's gonna free everyone from Angelus' rule and the town can finally get back on its feet."

"Well, then what are we waiting for?!" Jonathan cried.

Everyone split up to cover the different aspects of the plan and spread throughout the town. This was gonna blow their minds.

_____

The darkness of night had encased the cellar; everything was quiet, and cold. Buffy was curled up in a neat little ball, trying to keep herself warm. She was only wearing two layers and jeans, socks and runners, but even though it was Sunnydale and it was sometime in the middle of summer, she was very cold. If only she could have more to eat, she hadn't had a decent meal since she came here, Angelus insisted on feeding her to keep the blood coming, and Buffy simply could not protest. While she thought that not eating and slowing down her healing might make a dent, it wasn't worth it.

She needed to keep her strength up, she was being damaged everyday and her body needed the food to heal, but even with two big meals a day, she was still so hungry. She had been feeling sick before she came here and now it was only getting worse, she was hungry that she was becoming faint and the amount of blood being drained from her system every other day was not in any helping her to get back on her feet. Most days she preferred to just stay on the floor, let Angelus have his way with her, and then focus on healing.

Maybe she could ask for more food, but she doubted he would give in to that, it wasn't like Angelus to be so very giving to his victims. She had been fed, washed, taken for a walk and just look now as he comes down with a blanket in his hands.

Angelus thumped down the stairs and walked right up to the cage door, he pushed his hand through the gap between the bars and threw Buffy the thick blanket.

"Would've brought you a pillow too but Drusilla wouldn't give any of them up." He said with a strange air about him.

Buffy quickly wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and found it warm as if it had been sitting near a fire. "What the hell is going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? You're bringing me food, blankets, now quirks about pillows. Aren't I your prisoner?"

"Yes, but this is different?"

"Why?"

"There are certain circumstances now that have never occurred before."

"What kind of circumstances?" Buffy wasn't sure if she really wanted to know.

"What makes you think I'll tell you? Just be happy you're getting the special treatment, you'll know when I send you the bill."

Angelus turned and swiftly left the cellar. Buffy pulled the blanket close around her and relished in its warmth. She was very grateful that she was getting the special treatment, but she was very scared of what her final price would be. What was it that he wanted from her? It had to be more than just what Spike had said about her being his queen. Drusilla was his queen, and he had driven her mad as hell.

Buffy heard movement outside the wall and stood up to look out through the break. "Hello?"

"Buffy."

"Spike!" At last he was back.

Spike laid down and looked through the window. "Buffy, you're alright, I was getting really worried, I'm so sorry you've had to be here this long."

"It's alright, really I'm fine actually."

"You're living in Angelus' wine cellar as his personal punching bag and lunch lady."

"Well, when you put it like that."

Spike gave her a curious look.

"I'm kidding, of course it hasn't been all hugs and puppies here but it's not as bad as what I expected, it's not as bad as anyone expected I'm sure."

"What do you mean?" He wasn't sure if he liked the sound of this.

"Well, I don't know why, but he's been treating me very well for a hostage, he's feeding me, and keeping me warm, and sometimes he even lets me walk around the mansion."

"Why in hell would he be doing that?"

"You're guess is as good as mine, do you think it might have something to do with him wanting me to be his queen?"

"Na, he was never one for impressing the ladies with the goodness of his heart, he's up to something."

"Spike, when am I getting out of here?" She asked.

Spike's previous expression faded suddenly into one of sorrow. He held out his hand to her and held on to her arm as she did his. "I'm trying everything I can to get you out of here, we've got a plan, don't worry, its fool proof. The only thing is that it's gonna take a bit for us to get everything worked out, it's pretty big."

"What's happening?"

"Not here, luv, anywhere but here."

"Spike, he's feeding off me nearly every day, he doesn't take much. Sometimes I could swear it is like he's just tasting my blood rather than actually drinking it. But it still hurts when he bites me and he still scares me every time he enters the room. And it's not like these are ideal living conditions." As if to emphasise her point, she clutched her stomach.

"Buffy? What's wrong?"

"I'm still sick is the problem and I'm not getting any better. I need to get out of here, I really doubt that constantly being attacked by someone who gives me a heart-attack every time he looks at me is the best way to get better."

"Buffy, I-I..."

"What?" She asked gently.

"I just wish I could hold you...the basement feels so lonely without you there, it feels colder without you."

"Oh, Spike...I miss you too, as soon as I get out of here, the first thing I'm gonna do is crawl into bed with you and just sleep for days."

"Sounds like a plan to me, luv."

They stared into each others' eyes for the longest time, until they heard a bang come from somewhere in the mansion and knew that someone was awake and coming down to the cellar. Spike looked back at Buffy with a look of intense concern. "I should probably get out of here now."

"But Spike, promise me you'll come back really soon, tomorrow?"

"Alright, I'll be back tomorrow, I might even bring you something decent to eat. It could take up to another week to get this to work."

"I'll wait, just as long as I actually get out of here, I can wait."

"Goodbye, Buffy."

He kissed her hand and fled before the wine cellar door opened to reveal Angelus standing there with a look of amusement on his proud, vampiric face. "So, you've been getting visits from your lover have you? Does he visit often?"

Buffy looked fearfully into the cold, yellow eyes of her captive. "Leave him alone."

"Oh I'll leave him alone, when he's bleeding all over the floor."

She screamed at him, but he just laughed at her words and threats. "I won't need to lay a hand on him, 'cos I know something that's gonna kill him for me, when he finds out."

"What's that?" She asked shakily, she really didn't want to know.

Angelus entered the cage and trapped her in the corner. Holding her in place, he leaned in very close and whispered into her ear. "I have something very precious of his, do you want to know what it is?"

She lightly shook her head, but he told her anyway.

Getting even closer, his lips rested on her ear and his evil laugh haunted her mind. "I've got his baby."

"What?" She asked, bewildered.

Angelus moved one of his hands down to her stomach and pushed against her. "Did you think I wouldn't know? I could taste it in your blood, from the moment this baby was conceived any vampire could taste it. And it's going to die."

He laughed sinisterly as he left her to wallow in her shock, fears and her heartbreaking misery.

_____

The next day, Buffy was curled up in the corner of her cage, leaning against the wall. She couldn't speak, she could hardly make a sound. She was pregnant, she was pregnant with Spike's baby...and Angelus knew before she did, he was going to kill her baby. Her arms wrapped around her stomach as tears flowed down her face, her sobs breaking the unbearable silence that had always lived in the cellar. She didn't even know this baby, she wasn't even sure if she wanted to keep it, but the very thought that someone might want to harm it made her blood run cold. It tore her heart apart and made her feel so much more painful. She had to tell Spike, she had to let him know why Angelus was keeping her here, why he was treating her so well. He was probably only doing it for the baby.

Once the baby was born, he would most likely kill her and then do god knows what with the baby. He would either raise it as a dark warrior or feed from it. Everything seemed to tighten around her, she felt like she couldn't breathe, like breathing would hurt the baby more. If she didn't breathe, if she didn't live then the baby wouldn't ever be born and would never have to meet its fate. She couldn't let this happen. But wait a minute, she had 9 months, she had plenty of time for Spike to get her out of here. She would be free and she could protect her baby.

She then heard the now familiar sounds of Spike outside the wall and she jumped up to greet him. "Spike, I have to get out of here, Angelus has got this horrible plan to..."

She couldn't say it, she simply couldn't get the words out.

"Relax Buffy, everything is in motion, you're going to be walking in the sunlight with me by next week at the latest."

"I'm really scared, I have to get out of here right now." Her arms closed around her stomach once more, this did not go unnoticed by her lover.

"Look, baby, I'm getting you out of here, but we don't want to screw this up and end up getting you killed, you understand me. We have to run this probably or no one has a chance. You just focus on getting better, or it's going to be nothing but bed rest for you once you come home." He was trying to pick the mood up.

"Spike you don't understand, I'm-I-..." It wouldn't work, she couldn't even believe it herself, so how could she tell him something so life changing when she couldn't even admit it to herself?

Spike could see how distressed she was, and wanted to comfort her so badly, if only he could reach her. "Buffy, just give me one more day, if not to tomorrow then the day after, can you do that for me? I know he's hurting you, but he's just as dangerous to the outside world as he is to you and if we attack we want to make sure he can't turn around and kill you while we're distracted, so it requires planning."

"Wait, you're just gonna plunge into the attack? Gun a' blazing?"

"Pretty much."

"You're crazy, that will never work, there's too many vampires here Spike, they'll kill you."

"That's why we need to plan it out. Don't worry, it's going to work, pet."

Buffy wondered how well thought out this plan could possibly be, to run in there without back up was nuts. But she trusted Spike, and he had faced Angelus before, she just hoped that his plans turned out better than the last time.

_____

Spike stayed with Buffy for as long as he could, but staying after sunset was out of the question, even Buffy agreed with that when he left. As he walked down the street in the last rays of sun, he clenched his jaw and growled angrily. He had seen the cuts on her arms, the beatings on her face and legs. She was sick and she was scared…she was alone. No longer would this go on, he didn't care if they hadn't checked over everything a third time, tomorrow they were going to attack. At dawn, he would gather the troops and unleash hell on the unsuspecting vampires.

When he got home, he found everyone camped around the dining table. It was late and they should be asleep.

"Why is everyone still awake? We've got a battle tomorrow."

Andrew rolled a pair of dice along the floor. "We can't sleep, impending doom tends to keep you up all night."

Spike looked down at what the dice were for; Giles, Andrew, Jonathan and Dawn were all playing some sort of battle board game. "And so this is how you've decided to keep yourselves occupied?"

They all just looked down, clearly embarrassed.

Spike walked over into the corner of the room where Oz was sitting with a guitar, playing a friendly little tune while Jenny and Tara chatted about anything but the upcoming war. He had to admit, they were a strange bunch, but there was just something in all of them that brought them together. This group of nerds, high school drop-outs, musicians and old-fashioned grown-ups had to be the oddest group in history. Yet they were the ones that were going to put one of the greatest and most feared villains in the ground.

Since morning was hours away, Spike decided to sit down and give a chance at the board game until it was time to prepare.

_____

The sun came out early that morning, as if eagerly awaiting the coming day. Spike dug through the basement, looking for something no one had touched for years. He picked up the ruby-coloured Scythe with the sharp wooden end and spun it around a few times before gripping the handle tightly and heading back upstairs. The whole crew was there, with weapons of all kinds, there were no stakes and bottles of holy water, there were spears, axes and water-guns with a full supply of holy water. Oz was even holding a flamethrower, it being his job to keep it away from Andrew who was practically drooling over the coolest weapon in the world.

Spike looked around at his friends, his family, and prayed they would all make it through. He led his crew outside and everyone froze when they saw what was out there waiting for them. The entire town of Sunnydale were ready and waiting, each person supplied with a weapon or four. This had been Spike's idea, they needed to take Angelus down for good, no more games. The entire town had suffered from him, so why not get the entire town to fight back? There were kids as young as 13 in the crowd, eyes burning with vengeance, vowing to get revenge for their lost friends and families. A whole coven of witches standing ready, magic coming off them in waves, sparking with a fierce electricity that could only be described as rage. Not a single person there looked out of place when it came to the fire burning in their eyes.

Spike grinned, this was going to make history, and this time the weaker species would come out on top. He stepped over to a brick letter box and jumped on top. He stood tall and looked around at the frightened townsfolk turned warriors. "For 10 years, this town has suffered by the hand of one individual, we have been hunted like mice and sliced down without remorse. Why should we continue to suffer this way when we have the power to take the town back? This town doesn't belong to Angelus; it belongs to the people who founded the town, who built it from scratch. What did he do? He killed our mayor, he tortured our fathers, brothers and husbands; he raped and murdered our mothers, sisters and wives. We will not allow our sons and daughters to face this evil alone. Every parent wants nothing more than to protect their children from the evils of the world, well then what the hell are we doing standing here?!"

A huge roar came from the crowds, not a single one doubting their decision. They would face the evil, they would slay the evil, and then they would party like they'd never partied before. Spike raised his weapon into the air and cheered with the others, this would be their day.

_____

Angelus paced around the cellar of his mansion, something was coming today, but he had no idea what. Drusilla had been falling all over the place last night, going on and on about horrors and death and sunlight. But of course, he couldn't make any sense of it. Damn, he really had driven her insane, what good was a psychic vampire if he couldn't understand anything she was trying to tell him?

His gaze settled on the scared woman in the cage, hugging, crying herself to sleep. Whatever was coming, it was definitely coming for her. She was the Slayer, and she was pregnant. He couldn't think of another time he had ever heard of such a thing, a pregnant Slayer. What if she was also a vampire? How many things could you stuff into one person? A mother, a sister, a lover, a daughter, a niece and a Slayer...he wondered how it was that she was still sane.

Suddenly there was a loud bang from upstairs, _'the front door'_ thought Angelus. Then he heard loud screams and anguished cries echo through the halls, he could smell humans in his house...lots of them. He hurried up stairs to find half the town in his main hall, striking his vampires down like they were nothing. Most of the vampires that got staked, burnt or set on fire didn't even have the chance to attack before they were crippled on the marble floor of the foyer. Angelus looked around at the scene and couldn't even snarl he was so shocked.

He heard the frantic drumming of his family up on the second floor, he had to stop them from running into the rampage and falling like the rest. He charged up the stairs and saw them coming towards him. He put his hands in the air to halt them.

"Don't! There's half the town down there and they are very well armed, find another way to get into the fight and get control of the situation!" He commanded.

"We can't get around the back because the other half of the town is coming in from that side and the sun is out and bright, nowhere to run to." Xander explained.

"I don't care how you get down there, just do it!"

He swept away with graceful speed and leapt over balcony, landing in the middle of the fight. Everyone, both human and demon, stepped away from him in fear. He watched the fight continue around him, just not right next to him. He looked for the one who had no doubt started all this, and spied the bleach-blonde decapitating two vampires with one swing of his Scythe. Angelus was about to attack him when he felt a cold hand on the side of his face, Drusilla walked past him and went after Spike herself.

Spike swung the Scythe around with ease and admired the grace of the weapon. He sliced off heads with the blade and stabbed dead hearts with the staked end. He was actually having fun when he was swept off his feet and thrown into the stone wall, he jumped up in time to catch the second punch that was aimed at his jaw. He managed to dodge it in time and glared coldly at his attacker.

"Hey there Dru, nice to see you again."

Drusilla stood in a menacing stance, circling him like a hungry predator. "You traitor! You mean, warm-hearted leech!"

"Wow Dru, I didn't know you could actually construct an entire sentence."

She leapt at him with her nails pointed at his throat. He spun around and hit her on the back of the head with the side of the Scythe, pushing her to the floor. She rose with such speed and effortlessness it was creepy. She jumped at him, but he swiftly moved to the side, waiting for her to pass before spinning around and throwing a kick to her face. She dropped to the floor and didn't get up, instead she started to mope.

"Dark Prince, my little Spoik...I knew my prince would come and try to save the cat...pretty lion, all alone while stars fly like bees..." She muttered on.

Spike tilted his head to the side. "What are you going on about you old bat? Why is it that you can't ever pull out a coherent sentence?"

"Little lion hides from Daddy, she doesn't like him...little lion must die...black butterflies say things, they tell stories of things to come..."

"Wait, 'Daddy'? That's what you call Angel, what is the lion and what do the butterflies say?" He pressed on.

"Little lion is naughty, pretty golden lion hates the black butterflies, they say 'fly' but she won't."

"Why do you torture me this way? I'm not into puzzles, you know that."

"...gold...green eyes, evil eyes, and sunshine cat."

"What does that-...gold? Green eyes and golden hair...what is Angelus going to do to Buffy?"

Drusilla rolled onto her back and waved her hands in the air like a kitten playing with a toy. "Little black butterflies...little black butterflies." She repeated over again.

Spike thought hard about what the butterflies meant, he had heard her say something about black butterflies before; they meant death.

He jumped over Drusilla and dived in the direction of the cellar, Angelus was going to kill Buffy right now if he didn't make it there in time. He threw the Scythe around, both dusting vampires and shoving them out of the way. He flew into the wine cellar and stopped short as Angel lowered his fangs to Buffy's neck. Acting without thinking, he used the mystical Scythe to slice through the bars of the cage and chop a large gash across Angelus' back. He roared, turning his amber eyes to Spike and snarling loudly, he leapt at him. Spike wasn't fast enough to dodge Angel and landed hard back on the concrete floor, wincing at the pain of a cracked rib.

Angelus pinned him to the floor and readied himself to plunge his teeth into Spike's jugular, but Spike managed to pull his knees up to his chest and catapulted his foe over his head. He kicked his legs into the air and righted himself on his feet, he swept around and faced the vicious animal. Spike stood between Angelus and the cage with Buffy inside, he focused his thoughts and promised Buffy silently that he would protect her.

Angel came flying through the air, hands like claws ready for the kill, but his head wasn't ready for the metal blade to come swinging around and bash him into the wall where he fell to the ground. Spike waited for him to rise up again, but when he didn't, he stole that opportunity to run to Buffy.

He let his knees drop early and he skated over the floor and into Buffy's arms. She latched onto him and held on so fiercely that he began to choke.

"Hey, I couldn't be happier seeing you too, but I'm kinda suffocating here."

She released him quickly and smashed her lips onto his, snuggling into him when she broke off to let him breathe. "God, I'm so happy to see you, I was worried about that plan of yours. I can't believe I'm finally in your arms again."

Spike felt deep emotion begin to well up inside him and he held his girl tightly. "Me too, I can't begin to tell you how worried I've been. Waking up to the fear every morning that you were no longer alive, god pet, I've missed you so much."

"I love you, Spike, I really, really love you."

"Not more than I love you, Buffy."

She lingered in his hold for a moment longer before pulling away to look him in the eye. "Spike, there's something I need to tell you, I...I..."

He squeezed her hands encouragingly. "Go on, pet."

"I-uh... I'm pregnant, Spike, and I know this is probably the worst time to tell you but the truth is that I've been trying to tell you since I found out-which was the other night."

Spike was almost speechless. "What-huh-how do you know? Are you sure?"

"Yes...Angel told me, he could taste it in my blood or something...are you ok?"

"I think-yes, I am very ok. Buffy!" He kissed her lovingly, "I'm better than very ok."

"Really?"

"Of course, I'm bloody thrilled!"

He went to kiss her again, but before their lips could reach, he was picked up by the shoulders and thrown into the staircase opposite the cage. He opened his eyes quickly to see Angelus standing there with a sadistic grin. "So, you finally know about your unborn child, too bad you'll never get to meet it." He flipped around, fangs bared, and charged into the cage where Buffy still sat.

"NO!!" Spike yelled.

He tried to stop the Master vampire, but two long, cold arms curled around his waist and held him back. He tried to force Drusilla away from him, but she was too strong, and he was just a human. He listened to Drusilla's demented, blood-curdling laugh as Angelus drove into Buffy's neck and drank quickly. Spike turned himself around in Dru's hold and punched her jaw; she didn't let go. He brought up his knee and used it to propel Dru into the staircase where she tripped on the steps and let him go. Spike produced a thin stake from his pocket and prepared himself for possibly the hardest thing he might ever have to do. Dru saw the stake and attacked in a fit of rage, she achieved in pinning Spike to the ground but just before she was able to dig her teeth into his flesh...he hesitated briefly, saying a short goodbye before he plunged the stake into her back. Drusilla looked down sadly at him as she melted into ashes.

Spike bounced up the moment he was free and looked over at Buffy, then he felt his heart jump into his throat.

_____

The sight was devastating, the bodies of dead people lying around in the places they had been carelessly thrown. The piles of dust from vampire remains were whisked into the wind, making the air as thick as smoke. Yet even with the fire and destruction that surrounded the battle field, the air that stank of fear and death, the battle went on. It was war and everyone had known before it started that it wasn't going to have a happy ending; regardless of the victorious race, many were going to die.

Tara held the bottle in her hands close to her heart, searching for a particular vampire. In her other hand she carried a knife that was hardly a weapon. In the end it was her older sister that found her.

"Hey, Tara! What are you doing here? Getting ready to die?"

Willow lunged at Tara, but was stopped when her arms were constricted behind her back. She craned her head around to see her old flame, Oz, and high school drop-out, Larry. Tara wasted no time in driving the knife across Willow's hand and pouring the contents of the bottle onto the bleeding slash. The white liquid mixed with Willow's blood and she threw her head back and screamed. The Master vampire felt the strange substance work its way through her system, and she couldn't have been more surprised when she felt something move in her chest. Again, and again, and another time...her heart was beating. Her body seemed to wake up from a long, dreary slumber and Willow gasped as her body came back to life.

With her own blood bumping through her veins and the sound of her heart thumping away in her ears, Willow drew in a deep breath and nearly cried. She turned to her little sister and looked deep into those watery blue eyes with a whole new appreciation. She didn't say a word, she just tugged Tara into a big, teary hug. Both sisters relished in the moment, so happy to have found each other again. But the happiness wasn't to last.

Without warning, Xander, outraged by Willow's unsiring, snatched up Tara and was about to snap her neck when he felt a stake go through him. He looked over his shoulder and saw Willow looking sadly back at him, even though she was human now and he was still a vampire, she still loved him.

"Goodbye, Xander."

"...Willow..." Dust.

Willow looked around and was horrified to see Angelus standing on the balcony with blood on his lips. "Oz, Angelus is up there, how can we get to him?"

"I've got just the thing."He pulled out a match and a bottle of Jack Daniels of all things. "Cocktail party." He announced flatly before striking the match and dropping it into the bottle before throwing it at the balcony.

Within seconds the whole thing was nothing more than tiles and rubble, no sign of life beneath the rocks.

Willow's eyes widened. "Well, not exactly what I had in mind but that'll do, nice one."

_____

Angelus was long gone and in the cage was a body sprawled out in the shadows of the cellar, one arm stretched above its head and the other wrapped over its belly. Spike shot out of his trance and ran through the open door of the cage and dropped to his knees. He was horrified, jaw wide open and salty tears dripping from his sore and tired eyes. He reached out with a shaky hand and brushed her blonde curls out of her face. How could this have happened? He had fought, he had killed the villain, and he had led the army into war, so how could she die?

It wasn't fair, he had done it all right. He knew life was no fairy tale but what was the harm in believing that some things would turn out right? She was dead, there was no reason for him to go on, to go to the end of the story and live life as a hero. There was no point unless she was there at the end to live the happily ever after with him. The sight of her mangled body made the light disappear from his eyes, his soul became dark and hollow and his heart only beat when his body demanded it, for other than that his heart had no reason to beat. She was gone, his beautiful golden sunrise, his angel was gone. She had been sucked into the darkness where there was no return. He knew that from this moment on, his whole world would change.

It was only then that he noticed the blood on her cheek. He examined her left cheek, a Christian cross had been cut deep into the skin. He was filled with rage, but he had no one to aim it at so he let it go.

He snaked his arms around her cold lifeless body and held her head against his chest, as if hoping that the sound of his dying heart would awaken hers. But it was useless. He nuzzled his face into her hair, taking in her scent of lavender. He leaned towards her ear and whispered, "I love you, Buffy. Please don't go, I can't do this without you, I can't live through this life without you here with me….No one else will ever capture my heart as you have, no one will ever light up my world or make my life as worth living as you, love. Please come back to me."

His words echoed into the shadows that surrounded the town now. The sun had died alongside the most amazing woman ever to be seen by it. Spike allowed his tears to run down his face, he mourned her death, knowing she would never walk within the light of the sun again, never be touched by it's warmth.

He was dead inside, no light, no warmth, no life dwindled within his being. He could hardly stand the aching pain that had captured his heart in its horrible jaws. The guilt that grew inside his stomach was sickening; if he had only ignored Drusilla or if had just been a little faster and slipped out of her grasp, he may have been able to save her.

His hand slipped over the hand that was placed over her belly, she was pregnant he remembered. She had just told him, she had told him and then she died and had taken his unborn child with her. How was he supposed to deal with that? The simple answer came to him..._'you don't.'_

The tears came again, he began to rock her back and forth, one hand on her back and the other on her belly where a tiny child had lost its life. He cried into the neck of his lost love, mourning the life of his best friend, his lover and their unborn child. His whole world was crumbling to the ground and only her light could heal his broken heart. He could hardly stand the pain, it was just too much, it was worse than anything he had ever felt; and he had been through a lot.

Standing up, he carried his angel out into the early night. With her head against his chest and one last kiss on her lips, Spike exited the cage and walked up into the new world.

_The battle was over, the people had won and now, in the evening night, a dark knight walks through the battle field with tears on his face. But theses are not tears of joy he sheds as he carries the body of his beloved in his tired arms. Her friends and family gather round, pouring cries and gasps into the musty air. The sister approaches with fear and horror, before backing away into comforting arms._

_The hearts of her closest friends burn with sorrow and guilt for they spent so many years fighting on the side of her killer._

_Then in the shadows, a dark creature pushes through his rocky cage and grins evilly at the sight. Looking at the dead woman in her lover's arms, he raises a finger with a sharp metal point; the girl's blood still fresh on the steel._

_The dark knight neither smiles nor scowls as a wooden stake is plunged through the creature's heart, diminishing the creature to dust._

_The warrior turns and walks away, ignoring the cheers and cries around him, for he will join neither party. Walking alone through the closing darkness, he hears the screams of remaining vampires who meet their end with water and wood._

_The sun is gone and the air is cold, but nothing is more dead then his heart. It beats slowly, matching the speed of the tears that run down his face. He has nothing to live for anymore, he has lost the love of his life and his only child with her. Nothing seems to matter as he carries her body home. Laying her on their bed where they once would lie together in each other's arms, he does just that. Holding her tightly against him he knows it won't bring her back, but he is not ready to let her go. He wonders now if he ever will._

_Clutching tightly to a wooden stake, he is inches from breaking down as he stands with her friends and family, watching mindlessly the casket that now holds her body. She is no longer there he knows, but the sight of her is enough for him._

_Channelling his pain and grief into anger is the only way he knows how to cope, using the stake in his hand to drain that anger, he doesn't feel any better. Blood slips from his fingers as the sharp sides of the stake cut into his skin but he doesn't care. _

_He watches as the casket is lowered into the grave, taking half of him with her into the ground beneath the willow tree. She takes his heart, his soul and unborn child to which only he knows of._

_He stares at the grave long after the last shovel of dirt has been placed, after everyone has gone and left, after the sun has traded places with the moon. _

_He may have stayed in that spot for eternity had he not heard the scream and growl. Taking one last look at the words carved into her grave stone he clutches his stake and runs off to continue the everlasting fight._

'_**Buffy Anne Summers 1981-2004**_

_**BELOVED SISTER, NIECE,**_

_**FRIEND AND LOVER**_

_Somewhere in the town, long after dark, the dirt of a new grave begins to shift as a scratching noise can be heard from beneath. No animal roams this night but a raven perched on a branch awaiting the rising creature screeches loudly to announce the new arrival. The dirt parts, allowing a hand to rise and claw at the ground. A dark figure pulls itself out of their grave and grins, revealing sharp teeth._

_Its gold-green eyes and bumpy forehead complete the look, then, to the caw of the raven, she runs off into the darkness to bring havoc and death back to the town once again._

_**THE END**_

**Questions? Comments? I wanna here them all! Thank you to all of you who have put up with my continuous breaks and writer's block and still stayed with the story. Thank you all for your reviews, they really do help.**_**  
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