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Chapter Thirteen


Joyce left for work early that morning, a shipment of African artefacts had come in and they needed to be catalogued, so Joyce had volunteered. She had seen Spike on the couch again, hugging Buffys favourite cushion, she smiled and thought how adorable this vampire was and how he was actually good for Buffy , not like that other vampire, patronising bastard that he was.

Spike heard Joyce leave , even though it wasn't that long ago that he fallen asleep . He would miss her , she was a good person and worked hard and somehow accepted her daughters calling without too much of a problem.He drifted back off to sleep and started to dream.

Buffy was dreaming. She rarely dreamt now, part of the Slayer conditioning or some twaddle Giles had spouted when she hadn't been listening. Her childhood and adolescent dreams had virtually stopped making it easier to spot and remember the Slayer dreams. This dream seemed to be a mix of both.

Spike was sat in a shop, reading through a pile of books, his hair was no longer bleached and clung around his head in loose curls. His glasses sat on the end of his nose and his clothing looked similar to his Randy Giles persona after Willows tabula rasa spell. He looked up and stood , bowing to her as she walked past him. She was in a white dress and bathed in sunlight even though she was inside and nowhere near a window. Spike reached for her hand , he pulled his hand back and growled as if he had been burnt , his visage changed to that of the vampire. Not just his game face but his bleached mop and the duster were back, Buffy paused as he held out his hand palm up. Nestled in his palm was his chip, it fizzled and little electrical sparks flitted across it . Spike fell to his knee's and looked up at her. His face softened back to human and he started to cry, he crushed the chip and told her ' it would have killed me, like white fire from inside out'.
Buffy longed to reach down and soothe away his tears but she felt like her feet were made of iron and were too heavy to lift. He pointed over to Giles who held up a union jack flag and waved it proudly and sung the British national anthem. Anya held up a small urn and whispered ' you only have to ask once'.

Buffy woke up and frowned . She glanced at her alarm clock and sighed . She stumbled out of bed , rubbed at her eyes and then stretched. Buffy showered and then got dressed and sighed, it was time to face Spike.

Spike woke up and heard Buffy go into the bathroom. He rubbed his hands through his hair and went into the kitchen. Joyce had been to the butchers and had stocked up on blood for him.' Typical Joyce, always thinking ahead and goin' out of her way'. He pulled out a bag of blood and heated it through the microwave.He thought the dream he had was crazy, he shrugged and sipped at the warm blood.

Buffy came down and went straight to the fridge and pulled out an orange. She offered Spike a smile and then went into the lounge and sat on the couch, her feet on the coffee table. Spike stood just inside the lounge , leaning against the wall, mug still in hand. She looked deep in thought, hopefully it was a good sign.

"Come and sit down Spike" she said as she patted the spot next to her on the couch "I don't know where to start so bare with me, I'm crap as this talking thing"
"Had noticed " he sat beside her and waited.

"Weird things happen here cos of the hell mouth" she started , he sniggered as she pointed out the obvious ."I came here and had known I was the Slayer for a few weeks, I was so clumsy it was a wonder I hadn't died within a day.My first day at Sunnydale high couldn't have been worse, but that was just the beginning, I won't bore you too much" she rolled her eyes as he muttered thank god, but he smiled to reassure her he was joking." I met Angel and he had the whole mysterious thing going for him, he'd give me cryptic messages and the disappear. I died at the hands of the Master, but Xander saved my life. After the Master it was Angel that nearly killed me, it was you that saved me, then it was the Mayor , one apocalypse I didn't die or well almost,then it was that god and I nearly died , Giles saved me. See the pattern? I need people around me, they save me , that is the one thing I have though. No other Slayer had that and they all died early. What I'm tryng to say is.... I need my friends and my Mum..... I need you."She watch his reaction and for once couldn't tell, there was no emotion there. Buffy continued "I don't just need you to protect me as a member of the gang, or as a friend , Spike .. oh god this is hard. What I'm trying to say is that I have feelings for you, I have for a while now. "

Spike sat quietly contemplating what she had said. "Those feelings, they like you got for the whelp or they the warm and fuzzy type , cos I have to tell you Slayer , I can take being a mate , I can take just being there to help , it'll hurt not sayin' it won't but I'll know my place. I won't be able to take it if you say yes, if you make me fall for you hard, harder than I have already and then you decide I'm not good enough"

Buffy thought about what he had said, and she turned towards him, their knee's touched and she looked down into her lap.

" I know that I love you and it scares me, it scares me because I have never felt like this before.I loved Angel , but it wasn't completely. I was sixteen and naive, now I'm an adult and I understand what love is . Infatuation is what I felt for Angel , with you it's with everything, me , the person and me , the Slayer feel it. I'm scared I'll hurt you, that's what I do, I hurt people and they leave me and I don't want you to go again"

Her tears ran freely, soaking her lap.

"Buffy, pet , listen to me, M'not leaving you, ever and tha's a long time for me" he winked and wiped her tears with his thumb " I think you know how I feel, even my soddin demon loves you, craves you, an that wasn't something that happened with Dru.I feel more like a man when I'm with you.You got me Summers, all of me, wrapped round your bloody cute little finger an' I don't mind, stupid soft git tha' I am. " He paused and got up, turning his back on her and picked up the chip. "We got somethin' else to talk about before we go into whatever future we have luv, my chip, I had it removed"

"I know, Initiative and again on the table this morning , I guess I just need to know if you intend to start killing to feed ? Will you be a danger to anyone?"

"No, I swear it Buffy, I won' . The demon accepts that , it's like it knows that it would piss you off and it wouldn't do that to it's mate"

Buffy smiled then frowned "You said that before and I kind of get it, about the being it's mate, I know a little about vamp stuff, but I want you to tell me. They say that if a vamp bites you then you get put under their thrall or something but it was a while ago, will you be doing the whole bitey thing?"

"First of all, anything the Watchers have is bollocks luv, very few vamps use thrall these days, Dru does but hello" he used his hand to mime out crazy and rolled his eyes " The Master taugh' her tha' bloody trick." Spike sighed and turned to look at her "I wouldn't mark you or take you as my mate unless you really want me to.Buffy there are changes that take place when you take a human as a mate and I don' rightly know how tha' would effect a Slayer"

"Changes? What kind of changes? "

"They don' get turned if tha's what you think pet, but they do have a longer life expectancy, and they grow stronger, some have been known to have the eye colour in times of anger or stress, but no fangs or bumpies, as you call 'em"

"Will your demon be happy with that though?"

"Buffy, it would want to do a mating claim, I won' lie but for now, it will accept it so long as your with me pet" Spike knelt before her and took her hands in his, looking into her eyes he continued " I may be a vampire , a demon in a human body, I don' have a soul like the poof, but Buffy if you let me, I'll show you I can be a good man, I'll prove it to you every day, for as long as I live"

Buffy's tears fell again "Spike.... one thing I have learnt is that a soul doesn't mean that a person is good and that they never get to know the taste of true evil, far from it, in fact I think it makes them easier to corrupt.I trust you ."

Spike felt his eyes brim with tears and they sat there with their foreheads together , letting their tears flow for a while

" I want to do this right Buffy, so, hows 'bout tonight we go out , no patrol, jus' you 'n' me"
"I'd like that"
"Great.Now what 'bout your Mum and Giles 'n' th rest of your lot? You gonna tell 'em?"
"Tomorrow, I want today to be just us, is that okay?"
"Perfect luv"

Reluctantly Spike got up and walked to where his holdall was and lifted it to his shoulder

"Are you going, and um , daylight"
"I got a few things to sort pet, I can use the sewers to get to the car . I'll be back soon, promise"

Buffy stood up and looked worried .Seeing the look on her face he frowned

"You trust me don' you luv?"
"Course, you shouldn't need to ask, why did you ask?"
"Your face, you had a look that said you didn' trust me"
"I do, I'm just worried " she looked at the holdall and then back to him
"This is wha' I'm going to sort pet, I'll be gone as long as it takes to get the bank to coun' this little lot up and put it in my account"
"Oh" then another frown
"Look I'll be straigh' with you, I flogged the other jewels when I wen' after that poxy gem of amara trinket and got rich doin' it. I bought a place in Mexico, an' tha's where I was an' had the chipectomy. I kept this hidden there an' bought it back with me . We'll never wan' for nothin' now pet, an no more bloody crypt for me.An you can quit thinkin' bout takin' a job at tha' soddin fast food place"
"I cant accept that, it's not right, and, why have you been taking charity off everyone if your loaded?"
"Cos I had it hidden in Mexico an' not accessible , so I was skint , kind of"
"I won' have no bird of mine servin' crap to the likes of Xander n demons , s'not right pet"
"Is this a Victorian guy thing or Master vampire thing?" she raised a brow and smiled
"Bit of both k" then he smiled with lust in his eyes "Only bloke you service now'll be me"
" Not so Victorian now huh?"
He shook his head "Slayer?"
"What?"
"Your adorable .... " he dropped the hold all , stalked forward , and grabbed her , kissed her hard, all the want, need and lust poured into one kiss. He lifted her off the floor and she wrapped her legs around his hips.neither of them wanted to let go. Buffy pulled back breathing hard, she opened her eyes , looking deep into his crystal blue eyes she said the one thing he longed to hear
"I love you Spike"
"Love you too pet, so much"
He put her back on her feet and picked up his hold all "Best get this done , see ya soon " he kissed her gently on the cheek and left.


Buffy sat on the couch , missing him already. She smiled

After a shower and something to eat, she was bored,so and waiting for Spike to return kinda made her feel dependant , which she wasn't.
Buffy thought about the reactions she would get to her news. Willow would be the first to know, she picked the phone up, got comfy on the couch and dialled

"Will? Hey!"
"Buffy... how are you?"
"I'm good , really good, hows things with you?"
"So so, did you get them to go through the portal last night?"
"Yeah it was soooo funny, Giles and Spike turned Walsh into this demon, can't remember the name, you know how I am, anyway , it eats human and demon excrement,,, ewwwww"
"Ergh that's gross, I bet it was funny though, that was one intense night"
"Tell me about, been an intense week, month even" Buffy sighed "So over now I hope"
"You doing anything tonight? Xander Anya me and Tara were thinking of Bronzing it, unno, beat the bad guys and celebrate like we used to, possibly a pizza and sugar overload afterwards"
"Gonna bail on that, Spikes taking me out" 'Way to casually drop it in there'
"Ooo so you and Spike ......."
"Yeah , we ah kinda ... oh hell, we started and stopped before he went away but now he's back for good and he's so sweet, I know another vampire , but he's so different"
"He's not chipped though Buffy , what if he goes all Big Bad again, and wants his third Slayer?"
"He's got her , just not to eat, there's no eating of Buffy ... oh my god did I just say that?" she blushed
"Right , um... well... if we guys get back in time you could always join us at the Bronze, and Buff, I'm glad your okay and that your happy"
"Thanks Willow , love you and I'll see you at the debriefing tomorrow, Giles' at eight o clock, Bye"

Buffy hung up, one down two to go , tomorrow at the debriefing though, right now she had to start getting ready for her night out.
She ran up the stairs to hunt down something to wear.
Her entire wardrobe was on the floor... her bed .. hanging from her curtain rails and over her chair. Still nothing leapt out at her and begged to be worn. ' Face it Buffy, you have clothes for uni, clothes for slaying and comfy house bound clothes. Nothing here says date me I'm hot!'

Which is why Spike was shopping. God how he hated malls. Mums with screaming babies, toddlers running around tripping you over and mouthy teens giving you attitude just cos you look different. Spike rolled his eyes as some 'punks' were giving him shit, saying he was too old to pull it off and laughing , Spike thought about morphing just to shut them the hell up but then he thought of Buffy and he ignored the annoying pricks. He strolled into the exclusive boutique and thumbed over several of the dresses, none of which seemed perfect for his girl. He had a few decades of experience, Dru would love it if he came home with something pretty for her , more so if it had something pretty still wearing it. The deep purple caught his eye, the shop hand came over and held the dress out for closer inspection. The bodice was corseted in gathered silk and the waist had a wide sash of emerald green silk, the skirt flowed and pleated naturally, the shoulder straps came from the waist and then hung loose from the back, which was completely backless, the dip would come just above her ass. Spike visualised her in and felt the tightening in his jeans, yep this was the dress.
He hurried out of there and went to get shoes and a little something special for his girl.

In a desperate attempt to find something Buffy was now searching her Mums wardrobe. Unless she wanted to look like Martha Stewart ,she quit.
To make matters worse she had no idea where he was taking her.

"Buffy, I'm home , are you here honey?"

Joyce walked into the kitchen and saw the devastation , one of these days she would teach Buffy what a dishwasher was. She put her bag down and began picking things up and putting them in the sink. Buffy had yet to surface and she called her again, this time with a little more urgency.

"Buffy!"
"Coming Mum, did you have a good day?" she called as she ran down the stairs in just a bathrobe
"Wasn't my best , and then I came home to see that hurricane Buffy had tried to cook again"
"What's up, apart from the destruction of the kitchen, which I totally plan to clean up"
"The exhibit was going okay, I didn't think that African art and relics would be so popular, but our main piece was stolen last night. The police are doing all they can, but a piece like that can be smuggled out of the country easily" she sighed "I doubt we'll see it again, and the mask was priceless too"
"Sorry about that Mum, your boss won't be taking it out on you will she?"
"No, I think that you have scared her into keeping me on, I just have to mention the time she became a zombie through mystical means and nearly ate me and how lucky I was that you came and saved me, you know she's turned vegetarian now don't you?"
"Colour me stunned"

Spike heard the two of them talking in the kitchen and so, did the stealth thing and ran upstairs, placed the three boxes on Buffy's bed and then left to go to his crypt. He had to get tonight right and so, he left and would pick his girl up as planned.He just hoped she would like her gifts.

Buffy was loading the dishwasher and felt the tingle. She walked around the house and couldn't sense him any more, she shrugged and went back to her chore, as much as she hated to. Joyce was sat at the island drinking the tea that Buffy had made her to help calm her down.
"So this mask , what exactly did it look like?"
"Wood, with the eyes carved into it, a ruby inbedded in the forehead area and that's about it, not pretty but it was almost , it's silly but it seemed to draw you to it" Joyce shook her head and smiled. " The ruby was really beautiful though"

Buffy's senses went off as soon as Joyce mentioned that it seemed to draw you in, mystical forces at work, kinda think so she thought. After tonight's date , she would go looking for it with Spike, just in case, after the last mask her Mum had bought home, Buffy wasn't taking any chances.

The kitchen was tidied and Buffy looked at the time and shrieked.

"Buffy, what are you doing tonight, patrolling ?"
"Date night with Spike"
"Awww he is sweet on you isn't he, I like him, I know , he's a vampire and that wasn't what I wanted for you, especially after the Angel disaster , but he;s different, and even when you were both fighting, he never once threatened me, in fact I'd have him over for hot chocolate, he'd keep me company until you got home from patrolling"
"Oh my god Mum! Are you crazy! I know things are okay now, he's not about to try chowing down on me any time soon but gah... could you have invited an even more dangerous vampire in! You don't invite any more in do you, your not running a late night book club for the undead , are you?"

Joyce laughed "No , I can assure you the only vampires I have invited in are Spike and Angel"
"Keep it that way" Buffy huffed "Going to get ready now, I have no idea what to waer, my clothes all suck, although to a vampire I guess that would be good"
"I'm sure you have something, what time are you leaving?"
"He's picking me up at eight , so I best hurry" Buffy bounced out of the kitchen.


She didn't spot the boxes neatly piled on her bed at first, she stepped out of the robe and dug the dress out from the pile on the floor nearest the bed and then stopped.
Buffy picked up the note and read it, smiling broadly, she picked up the largest box and opened it.
The dress was beautiful, the silk slipped through her fingers , she held it up to herself and looked in the mirror, it took her breath away. She opened the show box and tears threatened to spill, If it was possible he had picked the perfect match for the dress.
She was falling in love with him a little more by now, if it was possible.
The last box made her pause.
She ran her fingers over the soft velvet and picked it up.
She opened the box and gasped. The most beautiful emerald necklace and earrings sat cushioned in purple velvet.
Buffy was in awe.

"Mum!" she yelled

Joyce ran upstairs and paused at the door to Buffy's room

"What is it Buffy?"
"Look what that stupid vamps gone and done for me" she gestured to the dress, shoes and lastly, held the jewellery out to her
"Buffy these are gorgeous, he certainly has good taste , they must have cost a fortune"
"You think! I can't accept these , it's too much"
"I know Spike sweety and I think you would hurt his feelings if you didn't" she stroked Buffys hair "Come on, lets get you looking amazing"

Joyce helped to get Buffy ready and within an hour Buffy was pacing the lounge waiting for her 'date' to arrive.