Two vamps, a girl, and a prophecy

Summary: What happens to Spike (and Angel) after ‘Not Fade Away.’
Rating: NC-17 explicit sexual descriptions (later on), some bad language.
Pairings: Dawn/Spike, Buffy/Xander (minor side story).
Feedback: Yes, please. This is my first time posting a fic, so be gentle!
Archive? : Ask me first.
Beta: Thanks to Sharonrodliffe for working on my first four chapters!
Disclaimer: I don’t own ‘em. I’m just borrowing them for a while since Joss isn’t using them anymore. If I was making any money off of this, I would own a much better laptop!!!


Chapter 2

Sixteen minutes later Dawn leaped from a still-moving cab, flung a wad of crumpled up bills at the amused looking driver, and raced up the eight flights of stairs to the apartment she shared with her sister and Xander. She ignored the shouts of “Signorina! C'è 100,000 lira! I drove you only 3 blocks! Voi pagare troppo!”

As she struggled to get her trembling fingers to put the key in the lock, the door slowly opened from the inside. “Where’s…” Dawn began, then looked up and gasped. “Spike!”

The blond vampire smiled almost shyly, but held his arms open invitingly, and Dawn threw herself into them without hesitation. “You went out in the streets of Rome at night in your socks and pjs?” He asked incredulously, holding her away from him for a moment and looking her over.

Dawn looked down at her white baby doll tee and pink flowered pajama pants, then shrugged sheepishly. “I couldn’t wait to see you.” After a moment he laughed and pulled her back into his arms. Dawn clung tightly to him as he kicked the door shut behind them and lowered his head to her shoulder, his face turned into her neck; which she knew should probably give her the wiggins, but she just didn’t care. Burrowing her face into his neck in return, she began sobbing shamelessly. For the first time since his death, nearly a year before, she finally released all the pent up grief it had caused her.

After a few minutes, she finally managed to bring her breathing somewhat under control, and slowly pulled back to look at him. Spike raised his head, and she realized for the first time that she hadn’t been crying alone. His eyes were red rimmed, almost raw-looking, and the usual cocky, swaggering persona he liked to put on was completely gone. Instead he looked frail…wasted. He looked dead for the first time she could remember. Had he even looked this broken when Buffy died?

“What did they do to you?” She growled, hugging him fiercely.

“I-I’ll be alright,” Spike whispered into her shoulder.

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Dawn asked, hugging him tighter for a minute before stepping back, grabbing his hand, and leading him into the living room. “Where are Buffy and Xander? He said his hand was bleeding…is he okay?” She asked, looking around the conspicuously empty room.

Spike slumped into Xander’s favorite chair and pointed vaguely in the direction of the girls’ bedrooms. “I don’t know what happened, exactly, but there’s a broken window and some blood in the kitchen. Nurse Buffy seems to be giving her patient some ‘extra special’ TLC. Soon’s we got Angel settled in Xan’s bedroom, she went back there to ‘check on him’. Actually, I’d really love to be able to say I haven’t heard from them since then.” He grimaced slightly, then smirked. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to see she’s over that bloody stupid business with the Immortal, but a bloke really, really doesn’t need to hear his friends going at it like that!” He finished, with just a trace of his old mischievous self showing in his expression.

Dawn stared at him, wide eyed, then tiptoed toward the hallway, where she didn’t have to listen for long to confirm that her sister and their roommate had finally come to their senses. “Geez, they’re going to get us thrown out of the building!” She muttered, rushing back to the living room with a mildly embarrassed expression on her face.

“Tell me about it,” Spike chuckled. “I hope you haven’t been trying to pass Harris off as your gay friend to get the landlord to let him stay here. ‘Cuz that story just ain’t going to fly anymore, unless the super’s deaf.”

“Huh?” Dawn frowned, missing the reference entirely.

“Never mind, Dawn,” Spike smiled kindly. “I think that show was a bit before your time.” Just then he cringed at a loud male groan that even Dawn could hear, and said, “Um, I’d better go check on Angel.”

“Can I come?” Dawn asked, eager to get further away from her sister’s bedroom. When he nodded she got up and followed him toward Xander’s bedroom, “So, what happened to you guys? You look like you’ve been through-” She left off abruptly.

“Hell? Not quite. But a little too close for comfort,” Spike shuddered, absently fingering the edges of a large tear across the stomach of his filthy black t-shirt.

As the two walked slowly toward Xander’s bedroom Dawn reluctantly asked, “Did you…did you really die? In Sunnydale I mean. Buffy said you did, and obviously you did something huge to close the Hellmouth and all, but…”

“But I’m here now, and it doesn’t make any sense?” Spike scoffed. “Right there with ya, Bit. Either someone up there likes me, or else they really like fucking me over.” He cringed. “Messing with me.” He amended quickly.

“Relax, Spikey,” Dawn grinned. “I’m 18 years old, not like I haven’t heard it all before. I’m old enough to vote, and drink, and everything.” She winked. “Here anyway.”

Spike nodded thoughtfully. “That’s right…I forgot…your birthday was a few weeks ago, wasn’t it?”

“Try a few months,” She giggled.

“You’re kidding! This is May, right?” Spike asked, looking confused.

“It’s the end of June, Spike!” Dawn frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She stopped outside Xander’s bedroom and looked worriedly at the blond vampire.

Spike sighed heavily and rubbed his eyes. “Okay as I ever was.” He muttered, pushing open the door and slipping quietly into the dimly lit room.

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Author's note: Forgive my crappy Italian...I don't speak it, but I figured the cabbie should. ;-)