The Witch, The Warrior, and the Vampire

Part One
Intervention

He spent the night tossing and turning about what to do, who to turn to, where to go, who would help. Willow and Tara still had their own problems, Giles was a continent away, Dawn was just a kid, and Anya, well as much as he loved her, she had no tact. That left only one option, so he picked up the phone the next morning and dialed the nu he he had never, ever intended to use.

"Angel Investigations, may I help you?" Cordelia's bored voice came over the line.

"I need to speak with Angel, now," came the quick, curt, reply.

"May I ask who's calling?" Cordelia recognized the voice deep in the recesses of her mind, but couldn't place the caller's name.

"It's Xander, Cordy, and I need to talk to Angel now!"

"Rude much? Not even a hello, or--"

"PUT ANGEL ON THE DAMN PHONE NOW. I don't have time to play around with you," Xander responded, exasperated. He had taken as much as he could. It was bad enough he had to talk to someone he truly hated and ask for his help. ‘It's for Buffy's sake’, he chanted to himself as he waited for Angel.

Without another word to her rude, loser ex-boyfriend, Cordelia put Xander on hold. She got up and walked into Angel's office. He was sitting at his desk drinking his morning mug of blood and reading the paper.

"Angel, Xander's on the phone for you and he sounds really pissed," she said as she looked at the darkly handsome, brooding vampire who had become her lover a few months ago.

"Problems on the Hellmouth?" he asked while reaching for the phone.

"I don't know. He asked for you, and then yelled at me when I asked who he was. If it was a problem with the Hellmouth, don't you think it would have been Giles or Willow who would’ve called?

Silently agreeing with Cordelia, he answered the phone, he said, "Good morning, Xander. What can I do for you?"

"Save me the pleasantries, Deadboy. We've got a serious problem down here. I've managed to get the day off from work. Can you see me in two hours? This is something I'd realatheather discuss with you face to face."

"Sure. You know how to get here?" Angel asked, and then gave Xander directions.

***

"Dawn!" Buffy yelled up the stairs to her sister. “If you don't hurry, you're going to be late again.“

Getting no response other than a crash from upstairs, Buffy returned to the kitchen to finish fixing her little sister‘s lunch, prepared a "to go" cup full of milk, and tossed the-hea-heated Pop Tarts onto a napkin for breakfast.

Dawn streaked down the stairs and was out the door and into the car before Buffy. She quickly followed her sister, and handed Dawn her lunch and breakfast as she began the short but necessary drive to Dawn's school. There was no conversation in the car at all between the two sisters. When they arrived at school, Buffy looked at her sister and began the daily ritual.

"Now Dawn, after school you go straight to the Magic Box. Do not loiter on school grounds, do not go to the mall. If you go to Spike's crypt, you're grounded for a month. I mean it, go straight to the Magic Box and I'll pick you up after work."

Dawn turned to face Buffy, and with anger in her eyes she retorted, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. Same story, different day. You don't need to remind me. Straight to the Magic Box. No life, no friends, and if I ever speak to that vampire again, I'm dead. What is it with you anyway? Didn't you tell him to take care of me before you died? He's not a bad person!! Mom liked him, I love him, he's sweet, and funny, and nice, and he would NEVER do anythi--"

"Dawn, how many times do we have to go through this? He is a soulless vampire. He is evil and I only asked him to look after you if I died. I did, but I'm back now, so you don't ever need to talk to him again. Now go to school, don't skip class, go straight to the Magic Box when you're done. And we are SO never having this conversation again."

Buffy then did something she had never done before. She threatened her sister for real, "If you don't want to leave with Social Services next time they come by, you will drop this…this thing you have for Spike and never bring him up to me again." Buffy breathed out in one long threat with pure venom on her tongue.

Dawn, hurt and confused by her sister's hatred for her friend, as well as stunned from Buffy's promise to send her away with Social Services, did what any 15 year-old girl would do. She stormed out of the car and planned to visit Spike that afternoon.

Buffy sighed as she watched her sister stalk off. ‘I'm really going to have to come up with better reasons for Dawn. There's nothing worse than having to follow orders that make no sense. I ought to know.’ Well, maybe being 15, having a dead mother, an absent father, a Slayer for a sister, and being a mystical entity called a Key could be worse than having to follow inane orders, but Buffy doubted it; she just didn't want her sister to get hurt in the crossfire between her and Spike. ‘Hmm, there really isn't a crossfire between us...it's just me firing at him all the time. I wonder how much longer he'll take it’, she wondered as she pulled into DoubleMeat Palace for another drudging eight hours of running the drive-through window.

***

Willow got up and carefully got ready for school without using magick. ‘Goddess, does it ever get easier?‘ The spell Amy had put on her made it harder than ever. It was like day one all over again, everyday.

She and Tara had scheduled free time to have lunch everyday, and Willow prayed to the Goddess and the Powers That Be, that she could find Tara today and talk to her. She needed to apologize for so many things, and she needed Tara's support to stay off of magick. Shakily, she walked to school and went to class, practicing what she would say to Tara in her head.

***

Anya let Xander drop her off at the Magic Box. She looked forward to counting out the cash register, since counting money was always a wonderful way to start every day. After a brief goodbye kiss, Xander headed for the interstate, and drove north to Los Angeles.

***

Spike got up from his favorite chair and heated a mug of blood. He always liked a warm cuppa before he went to sleep.

As he drank his blood and smoked a cigarette, he stripped. He ran his hand over the bite mark on his neck. ‘That bloody bitch. Who the hell does she think she is? She almost ripped my throat out last night.’

He quickly glanced over the other bruises littering his body. If he weren't a vampire, she would have killed him with her lovemaking already… lovemaking?

‘Who the bloody hell am I trying to kid? There's no lovemaking there. It’s…it’s…it’s, well it bloody hell wasn't lovemaking.’


‘What am I going to do?’ he thought. He couldn’t keep letting her use him; it was killing him. Nor could he leave Sunnydale. He’d made a promise to look after the nibblet 'til the end of the world. ‘Bollocks. I can’t refuse her anything.’ Maybe, just maybe, if he could get control of thtuattuation just one time, he could show Buffy how he felt, and then she’d have to believe him.

Spike knew she didn’t love him, and probably never would, but maybe if she could see him, she would leave him in peace. ”Peace?“ he laugruefruefully. He only felt at peace when he was by her side. It was the only time he felt whole.

But the bloody bint was never going to leave him be. She's got a taste for vampires, after all. His bleedin' sire had seen to that.

He had tried to explain to Riley about Buffy needing ‘some monster in her man.’ ‘The girl does need some monster in her man, and I have all the monster she needs, but I don’t need a monster in my woman”.

Spike went into the lower recesses of his crypt and crawled into his king sized, four-poster wrought iron bed. ‘If I could just get her down here to a bed and not an alley, or a crumbling building, or the cemetery, just one time I'd like to take her in love and not anger, fear, or whatever it is that keeps bringing her back to me. Just one time,’ Spike thought as he drifted into sleep, imagining making love to Buffy the way it should be done.

***

Xanders's anger, shock, and disgust had not faded one bit. He hadn't slept the night before; he hadn't even taken Anya up on all the not-so-subtle hints. Nothing about Anya was subtle, as shown by her statement that she would enjoy “a night of copulating.” Seeing Buffy and Spike in the alley had turned him off to sex. He hoped it wasn't a permanent situation.

Riding the elevator to Angel's office, he knew that when Buffy found out what he was doing, she would kill him. Okay, maybe not kill him. But she could hurt him a lot. Maybe he and Angel could work out a way for Buffy to never know.

As he walked into the office, Xander gave a curt good morning to Cordelia and told her to let Angel know he was there. Angel stepped out of his office at the first sound of Xander's voice.

"Xander," Angel nodded and offered his hand, "to what do we owe this pleasure?" Before Angel could continue, Xander interrupted.

"Angel.” Xander acknowledged, returning the vampire’s nod but ignoring his hand. “It's most definitely not a pleasure. And the circumstances couldn't be any worse, but I didn't know who els tur turn to. It's bad, Angel, Big Bad, and no offense to you, Cordy, but I'd rather not have anyone else within earshot until I finish what I have to say."

Angel looked at Cordy and said, " Why don't you go to the salon, or better yet, get your nails done. You know you’re happiest when you look your best, use the company credit card…and I saw a new Versace suit in your favorite store on Rodeo. Go ahead and pick it up. You'll need to wear it for our next meeting with Wolfram & Hart. Charge that too. I'll call you on your cell and let you know when it's safe to come back to the office."

Cordy gleefully took the credit card out of Angel's outstretched hand, reached up and placed a wet smacking kiss on his lips and rushed out the door without another word. If Angel could have blushed he would have when he noticed the lon Xon Xander's face. He started to say something, he didn't know what but Xander interrupted him.

"Look, I don't want to know what's going on with the two of you, and you may be a blood sucking vampire but Cordelia's a blood sucker, so be careful. Let's go in your office and get this over with. You're not going to be happy." The two men stepped into the next room and shut the door behind them.

"Alright Xander, you've got me curious and concerned, spill."

"First off, let me extract a promise…don't shoot the messenger."

If his heart could beat, it would have stopped. "It's Buffy isn't it…what's wrong? " He demanded.

"I said, promise me you DO NOT shoot, maim, kill, torture, or bite the messenger."

Impatiently Angel growled as his eyes flickered yellow, "Agreed. Spill your guts, and do it now."

Xander took a deep breath and began to tell Angel the events that had happened since Buffy's resurrection…ever since she came back, well, she's been different. I know you saw her. Did you notice?"

"Truthfully Xander, other than ‘hello,’ ‘I'm alive and I'm fine’, ‘stay out of Sunnydale,’ and ‘stay away from me,’ we didn’t really talk much at all."

"Like I said, she's different. It's like she's mad at us for bringing her back and she won't talk to anyone. She's mean to Dawn, she's mean to everyone. We've all tried to help her with her money problems and patrol with her, but she won't have it. Especially since Giles went back to England. Willow's had a real big problem with her magick lately -- she's addicted to it, Angel -- and she's trying to go cold turkey, but that's a whole different story, I'm here for Buffy. As bad off as Willow is right now, it's not as bad as Buffy...." Xander's mind wandered off as his worries for his frienverwverwhelmed him.

"I said spit it out NOW!" Angel growled.

"Right. We all went to the Bronze last night. When Buffy spotted three vampires dragging a girl outside, she went after them and told the rest of us to have a good time, and that she'd be back in a few minutes. Well, a few minutes turned into fifteen, and I decided to grab another stake and go out back and help her out.

“When I got outside Buffy staked the last vamp and then I noticed Spike was there, leaning against the wall. He started clapping and said some stuff I couldn't hear and the next thing I know Buffy's got him back against the wall with a stake to his heart...and then this is what I heard Buffy say to Spike, to SPIKE, "I said, you evil bloodsucking fiend, that I want to fuck and I want to fuck right here, right now. So unless you want this stake through some part of your anatomy that will maim you, but not kill you, I suggest you make this Slayer happy, and do what I say. Now." Sorry Angel, but well, that's verbatim."

Angel sat back, stunned, in his chair and allowed the words Xander had just said to wash over him. "Well, did my traitorous childe do what she said?"

"Oh yeah, but she had to hit him a few more times. It was a really ugly scene, Angel. Before they were finished, the things she said to him, I don't see how he stood it. I was sure he wanted to kill her when he put his game face on. And when they were finished, well before they were finished uh, right before, she uh, well, uh…"

"Spit it out" Angel said, his rage threatening to overtake him completely

"She bit him on the neck, then it was over with, and she said, and I quote, "You did better last time. Next time I tell you to fuck me and you hesitate, I will kill you. Stay away from my sister, stay away from my friends, and if I see you before I want to, you'll think you got off easy with Glory."

"What does that mean 'got off easy with Glory'? Angel growled, trying to fathom what he had just heard, Buffy was having sex with Spike. Buffy was having sex with his Childe. Rage coursed through him. ‘How dare he? He knows I have a claim on her. My scar is the one she wears on her neck. I'm going to kill you my stupid, insolent childe. You have just fucked your sire's claim and you will pay for it.’

"Wow, you really have been out of the loop haven't you? Let me backtrack a minute and get you updated." Xander preceded to tell Angel all about Spike's "crush" on Buffy, his chaining up of Buffy, the Buffy Bot, how Glory had tortured him for hours, Buffy's rescue of Spike, the fight with Glory, and Buffy's death. As he finished up the story with Spike's caring for Dawn, and helping the Scoobies patrol, he realized something he hadn't before. It sounded like Spike was the good guy in this sex thing and Buffy was the monster.

Xander’s words slowly swept through the fog of Angel's rage. Spike loved Buffy! He thought back to the funeral and realized it was true. He knew his childe better than anyone on the planet, and when Spike loved, he loved with all his being. He couldn't believe Spike had acted that much like a vampire and had actually chained up Buffy and then threatened to kill Dru, but then again...when Spike loved... He shivered as Xander graphically depicted Spike's injuries from Glory, and the way every bone in his body had broken when he was thrown from the tower. How he had begged Giles to just let him hold her until dawn came because he had failed her and wanted to die, the way he had helped everyone out while Buffy was gone and now.

Now his childe was having sex with Buffy. His Buffy, the Buffy he could never have, the one he had sacrificed everything for so she could have a normal life. His childe had taken his woman and Angel was torn between his soul and his demon. The soul had heard the undercurrent from Xander's story, that Buffy was the problem not Spike, but his demon howled in outrage and demanded Spike's blood. Blood that belonged to him, giving life that was his to extinguish. If Buffy belonged to him then Spike did ten-fold.

Seconds, turned into minutes as Xander watched the conflicting emotions pass over Angel's face. Ten minutes passed, and Angel had yet to speak, so Xander swallowed the lump of fear in his throat and hesitantly asked the enraged master vampire, "What do we do?"

As if he had been slapped, Angel regained his focus and very softly growled at Xander, in full game face, "WE don't do anything. You go back to Sunnydale and act as if this conversation never took place. I'm going to take care of Spike once and for all," he swallowed, "I should have done this years ago. I'm going to teach my errant childe a lesson, Xander. He knows Buffy is mine. I marked her, and broke both of our hearts so she could have a normal life. I will not allow this to continue." Xander agreed to what Angel had said and wondered if he had really done the right thing. It looked like Angelus had partially returned and he was going to do some really, really, bad things to Spike. ‘I wonder if he’ll let me watch’, Xander mused as he made his way back to his car.


****

The school bell rang, and as Dawn gathered her stuff, she was still wondering what to do about Spike. ‘I know he's not evil. Yes, he's a vampire, but he's not evil.’ If he had been, her mother would never have liked him the way she did. ‘Buffy's wrong and I don't care what she says. I'm going to visit my friend.’ After all, he did take good care of her. ‘And if she wants me gone so badly, maybe Dad will take me.’ Dawn nodded to herself in resolve and headed straight to Spike's crypter ter school.

****

Buffy didn't get to take a break until after two o'clock, but then she was allowed to leave for the day. She gathered her belongings and headed home. Once there, she parked the car and started into the house.

Halfway inside, she halted. ‘No, I'll just go to the Magic Box, get Dawn and we'll spend some quality time together tonight. I didn't mean it about Social Services!’ Inwardly Buffy cringed at her harsh words that morning. ‘I'll see Spikrst rst and get him to patrol, and then Dawn and I will make dinner together. I can help her with her homework, and maybe we can watch a movie.’ Buffy smiled to herself. Surely, that would help the relationship between them. She knew her words that morning had been harsh, but she didn't want Dawn hanging out with vampires. Especially Spike. Buffy turned around and decided to go to Spike’s first.

****

Willow's classes were over with for the day, and once again, she hadn't seen Tara. In fact, it had been weeks. ‘How has she completely avoided me for so long? Doesn't she love me anymore?’ Those thoughts were breaking Willow's heart as she headed to Tara's dorm room. Goddess, I love her so much. I know what I did was wrong, but please, help Tara forgive me....

***

"Spike! " Dawn yelled as she walked into the dark, musty, crypt.

"Down here, Nibblet!" Spike’s voice drifted up from below.

Dawn began the descent into the depths of Spike's crypt and didn't see or hear Buffy come in behind her.

***

Buffy had been just a few steps behind her sister and was preparing to throw a scene when she decided it might give her some ammunition to see what they were up to. She really didn't expect Spike's next words.

“You know better than to come here after school. Buffy's going to stake me and ground you if she finds you here. I don't want to be on the receiving end of her stake. She's been in a bad enough mood as it is for a while now pet, without you turning up here and making her any angrier."

"I don't care. She's just a mean, old, nasty bully. You're my friend, Spike. I don't care if she says you're nothing but an evil, soulless demon. I know different, mom knew different, and Buffy used to know different." Dawn said indignantly. Buffy flinched at Dawn’s words, but kept her concentration on Spike. It was never hard to read him when it came to his feelings, but she couldn’t see him from this angle. If only there was a way to get closer without getting caught.

Spike called on every one of his 120-something years of experience to keep his feelings on the matter hidden from Dawn. She didn’t need to know how much her casual repetition of Buffy’s words hurt him. In fact they hit Spike like an organ in the spine, and he should know; Buffy had dropped an organ on him once. Regardless of what went on between the two of them, he couldn't believe she had said that to Dawn. Buffy knew he loved the Nibblet more than anything in his unlife, more than anything in his unlife except for the Slayer herself, that was.

In a quieter tone she continued, "I miss you. You're the only person who treats me like I have a brain. You actually listen to me. You're my only friend, Spike." Changing the subject quickly so Spike wouldn't realize how hurt she really was, Dawn rushed on, "My history grades have dropped since you quit tutoring me and I was wondering if you could proofread the paper I finished last night. And I haven't gotten to see Passions lately because I have to stay after school at the Magic Box. You'd think being 15 years old I could stay home alone after school but noooo, Buffy thinks I'm too stupid and immature to be alone. So please Spike, can I stay? You can read my paper, catch me up on Timmy, and then I'll go to the Magic Box, please Spike, I really have missed you."

Buffy had very carefully and quietly tried to stay out of the range of Spike’s senses, while still being in range of her own. Hearing her sister repeat the awful things she had said about Spike made her wince. She really didn't believe he was evil…but what other excuse could she use to keep Dawn away from him? ‘How is Spike the Big Bad going to handle her little sister‘s puppy dog eyes?’ She mused as she observed the scene from a darkened corner. ‘Mmm…he looks so good without his shirt on.’

Spike's nostrils flared. The Slayer was here; he could smell her.

Dawn caught the look on his face and got worried. "What is it, Spike? What's wrong?"

"Well, Nibblet, it seems your sister‘s here. He said as he got up and headed towards the ladder to keep Buffy from finding Dawn.

Dawn grinned, "No she's not, you silly vampire. Quit trying to be a bloodhound! I'm wearing one of her shirts and her perfume. That's me you're trying to sniff out."

Spike came closer to Dawn and breathed in slowly. "You're right lil' bit, you do smell like her. Come to think of it your mum smelled like both of you too. I wonder if that's what it is after all."

"Huh, you wonder if what‘s it?"

"Hmmm, oh just thinking. I've never met a human family that smelled so much like one another before. Truthfully, your sis, your mum, and you all smell exactly alike. Buffy comes through a little stronger though, must be all that Slayer blood."

"Eww, gross much? I don't want to know what I smell like, Spike. I want you to help with this paper. It's on the French Revolution, and I don't think my transition sentences are going to be good enough to get an A, unless you help me. And if I don't get an A on this paper I'm going to get a D in history this semester, and Buffy will stake me instead of you."

Spike's eyes were darting everywhere in the crypt. Something was off, but he knew if Buffy were really there, she would have already barged in fists first. So he sighed and relented just a little bit for his Nibblet.

"Oi, lil' bit, I'll make you a deal."

Buffy's heart was pounding; she knew Spike was still searching for her with his eyes, and eewww, his nose could he really smell her from all the way down there?

"Leave the paper with me now. I'll read and drop it into your mail box by 8:00.” Spike glanced up in time to see Dawn’s biggest puppy-dog eyes. “Don't give me that look. I’ve been told to stay away from you, and you've been told to stay away from me. Gather your stuff up, I'll walk you to the Magic Box and fill you in on Passions on the way." Dawn started to protest but he cut her off, "Nibblet, it‘s for the best, you don't want her mad at both us now do you?"

She simply sighed, gathered her belongings, and put her hand in his. "Alright Big Bad, walk me to my babysitters." Buffy tried to scurry away, and then realized they weren't coming back up to the crypt. She looked around the corner and was surprised to see Spike pull back a tapestry. Behind the tapestry was access to the sewer lines, and she realized he really was going to walk Dawn to the Magic Box, and probably watch from the sewer hatch until she was safely inside and into Anya's and Willow's care.

She was exasperated with the vampire for showing so much concern for her sister, for her, and exasperated with him showing feelings in general. Something she didn't have anymore. She quickly left the crypt and went home to shower. She'd give Dawn enough time to get to the Magic Box, and pretend she didn't know about the little visit to Spike‘s. They would have family night tonight, and she'd stop back by the crypt after her shower to see if he'd take first patrol.

***

On the way back to Sunnydale, Xander kept replaying his conversation with Angel. He was terrified of the look Angel had had ever since he heard the words ‘Spike’, ‘Buffy’, and ‘sex’ in the same sentence. Xander worried anxiously if he had indeed done the right thing by telling Angel instead of Willow or Giles or Tara or Anya or hell, anybody. Why hadn’t he kept his big mouth shut? But at the thought of Angel beating Spike senseless, he decided that it wasn't such a bad idea at all.

He’d do it himself but no matter how big he was, Spike was still a vampire. It took another vampire, demon or a Slayer to teach a vampire a lesson. Staking the bleached menace would be much simpler in the long run, but Spike had proved to be useful in fights, babysitting, and demon identifying. It had to be Spike that was making Buffy different. It was his evil influence that made her unhappy and more violent than usual. It really didn’t have anything to do with them pulling her out of heaven. Nothing at all. Really.

******

Angel picked up the phone and called Cordy. He quickly told her he had to go to Sunnydale for at least a day or two. It wasn't the Hellmouth, he told her. It was Buffy. No, he didn't need help, and please don't tell anyoherehere he's going. Or why. After the call to Cordy, Angel settled into his favorite chair in the office. Pondering what he should do.

He knew he had no rights to Buffy as a man. He also knew that if it were pushed, he had no claim to Buffy as a vampire. After all, Dracula had bitten her since he had, and he didn't go all half-cocked and try to kill Dracula like he was contemplating doing to Spike. A deep sigh escaped from the, silent, tortured man.

If he had known what the Scoobies were planning when they resurrected Buffy, he would have stopped them at any cost. Just like Spike, Giles, and Wesley would have done. He also knew that if he were in Spike's position, madly in love with her--hell, I am in Spike's position--he would be able to refuse her desperate desire for sex. But then again, Spike didn't have a soul to lose. Angel did.

He sat in the darkness of his office and wondered what must be going through his childe's mind whenever Buffy beat him into having sex with her. It was obvious from what Xander had said that it wasn't the first time. It was also obvious from his conversation with Xander, that only after repeating the story out loud did Xander realize that Spike wasn't the problem, Buffy was.

He knew his childe. Although Spike had willingly played the torture games all vampires loved with their sex, Spike didn't crave it the way other vampires did. As Angelus again, and even after Angel regained his soul and came back from hell, Spike and Angel had been lovers. As Angelus the matings between the two vampires were wild, frenzied, and incorporated an intense amount of pain and serious blood play. Whenever the "games" between them got beyond the place of pain foike,ike, Angelus had always backed down, until he regained his soul, that is.

Angel grimaced at the memories that came flooding back to him unbidden. When he had walked into the factory, before Dru and Spike knew he had lost his soul, he could see hope flit across Spike’s face. Hope that he had come to offer Spike the magickal “cure” of the blood of his sire. watcwatched the wheels turn in his childe’s head, and knew immediately that, if he had offered his blood and healed his childe, Spike would have taken Dru and left, most likely to never return to Sunnydale again. ‘If I hadn’t lost my soul, I probably would have done just that,’ Angel mused. But none of that was to be.

It wasn’t Angel who walked in that factory; it was Angelus. An Angelus totally enraged, out of control, and as crazy as Dru because the demon had been caged for too long. Instead of helping his childe, or having a big family reunion, Angelus promptly sodomized his defenseless, paralyzed childe, and beat him brutally in the process. When he finished raping the helpless vampire, Angelus had used a cat of nine tails to lash Spike into complete submission. He had actually encouraged the minions to fuck his childe, a master vampire in his own right.

He had watched the pain and humiliation break Spike into a millionces,ces, and then he had taken Spike's lover of over one hundred years and claimed her as his own. An act that could have destroyed their relationship forever, or what was left of it.

Sighing again as he wondered what he was going to do about his errant childe and the love of his life, his thoughts flashed to the last time Spike had come to him for help. It was after he’d set Drusilla and Darla on fire. He had begged Angel for help in removing the chip, but Angel had gleefully refused. He cited Spike’s recent torture of him as a reason, but the truth was he saw not a soul in Spike, but the similarities in positions. Angel had offered Spike all the best advice he had in where to buy good blood, and some human sources who were always willing to let a vampire feed.

Spike had lost his temper when Angel suggested finding humans willing to let vampires feed from them, spilling out the story to Angel about Riley and vampire whores, and finally admitting he couldn't bite a live human anyway as it activated his chip. Feeding from dead humans was worse than bagging it according to Spike; he'd tried it.

The vampires had spent two days together in bed, enjoying a closeness that they hadn’t shared since Angel had gotten soulfull, before Spike reluctantly returned to Sunnydale, promising to look after his sire’s claim on Buffy. The purpose of the claim was to forbid other vampires from turning her, feeding from her, or fucking her. They could try to kill her if they dared. Angel was scared that after Dracula had fed from Buffy that other vampires would try to feed, or perhaps turn her thinking a Slayer would become the perfect vampire, and he needed his favorite childe to protect his love.

Thinking back on that day, he realized that even then he'd known Spike was in love with her, hell Drusilla knew it before either of the men had, and Drusilla was the real reason he had worried about Buffy. She hated the Nasty Slayer more than anything in in the world and turning Buffy into a vampire would be the perfect torture for both her sire and her former lover/childe. Drusilla had helped in creating Spike, she had drained the poor boy William, but before she could give her blood to him, Angelus had interrupted. He'd taken one look at the deep blue, innocent eyes and the sculpted cheekbones on the face of the man in front of him, and known he had to have him as own childe.

Angel noticed it was past sunset and prepared himself for the two-hour drive to Sunnydale, still unsure what do about the situation Xander had brought to his attention.

***

Buffy quickly showered, put on make-up, fixed her hair, and got dressed. She was amused with herself for trying to look more like a normal woman than the Slayer for her trip to see Spike.

When she arrived at his crypt, she slammed in like always, stormed right up to Spike and said, "I need you to do first patrol tonight, I'm going to try to have a family night with Dawn."

She absently noticed he was correcting Dawn's paper and quickly glanced away so he wouldn't know she'd noticed.

Spike looked surprised at her entrance and quickly shuffled the papers around so Buffy couldn't see Dawn's handwriting. Knowing what he was doing, she smiled wickedly and said, "Well?"

"Alright Slayer, I'll take your first patrol so you can have a night with the Nibblet. If you want, I'll do all the patrols tonight so you can have some rest too. I'll report to you at the Magic Box tomorrow. Now, if you don't mind, I'm a little busy here..."

Suddenly Buffy lunged at him. She grabbed him by the back of the head and drew him into a violent kiss. She urged him downstairs and together they stumbled onto the bed. Buffy gently pushed Spike away and carefully took off her clothes murmuring softly, "Why don't you undress, Spike?"

At the sight of her golden skineredered only with a couple of bruises from the night before, Spike complied and was soon standing naked right in front of her. oodyoody hell, she might actually let me make love to her,’ but as the thought entered his head, Buffy tackled him and he knew he wouldn't get what he wanted today. ‘At least we landed on the bed and she hasn't hit me yet....’

Her hands were everywhere at once running over his chest, his abs, stroking his cock as he drew a sharp unneeded breath. As she pumped his cock with her hand, she reached between her legs and fingered herself for just a moment. Withdrawing her fingers from herself and smearing the juices onto Spike’s cock, she quickly impaled herself on him.

‘Oh god, he's so cold and feels so good,’ was the only thought in her brain as she rode him like he was a bull, coming almost immediately.

While she began to flutter around him, Spike was searing from her heat. ‘Bloody hell, she's got to be the hottest human on the planet!’ The heat was torturing him. He flipped her over, trying desperately to slow the pace and have her the only way he wanted her.

She felt him change the rhythm, slowing down, drawing each stroke out into infinity and looked into his eyes. Love. ‘Oh God, he loves me so much I can't take it.’ Buffy immediately switched their positions and rode him hard until they both came together in one blinding flash of pleasure.

She lay on top of him, trying to catch her breath. She felt his arms sneaking their way around her shoulders. She immediately sat up and got ohe bhe bed, refusing to allow herself the luxury of snuggling. She quickly dressed and looked over at Spike, still naked on the bed, and taking deep drags off of a cigarette.

She glanced at his beautiful body and desperately wanted to lay down with him and forget who and what she was, and for just a minute, allow herself to forget that he was nothing but a soulless demon. She wanted to take comfort in his love, but instead she smirked at him and said, "Thanks, I needed that. I'll drop by late tonight for the report on your patrol.” She gave him a look over her shoulder as she was leaving, “I told you to stay away from my friends, and I mean it."

Spike simply closed his eyes at her cruel, callous words and nodded. "You know where to find me," he shrugged as he felt his heart breaking just a little more from her cruelty.

And then she was gone. Spike finished his cigarette, refusing to let the tears fall. When he had himself under control again, he went back to looking over Nibblet's paper. It wasn't a bad paper at all, but like she said, her transitions needed work. After his proofreading and suggestions were finished, he went to his CDs and found something that expressed his emotions. He quickly put in the CD, punched it to the appropriate number pressed repeat and listened to Nine Inch Nails.

As he listened to the lyrics and the pounding beat of the song, he lay back down on his bed and took a nap before he went out to kill his own kind. For the woman he loved. Who hated him. The song played over and in over is his crypt.

i'm drunk . and right now i'm so in love with you . and i don't want to think too much about what we should or shouldn't do . lay my hands on Heaven and the sun and the moon and the stars . while the devil wants to fuck me in the back of his car . nothing quite like the feel of something new maybe i'm all messed up . maybe i'm all messed up in you but this is the only time i really feel alive . this is the only time i really feel alive i swear . i just found everything i need . the sweat in your eyes the blood in your veins are listening to me . well i want to drink it up and swim in it until i drown . my moral standing is lying down . nothing quite like the feel of something new maybe i'm all messed up . maybe i'm all messed up in you but this is the only time i really feel alive . this is the only time i really feel alive i can't help thinking Christ never had it like this

*****

Buffy was almost in a good mood when she picked up her sister. Dawn had finished her homework and Buffy quickly apologized for that morning and suggested a sister night. Dawn hesitantly agreed and the two girls decided on delivery instead of cooking and went straight to the video store.

Willow heard them talking and knew she wouldn't be welcome to share the evening with her best friend and surrogate little sister. She tentatively picked up the phone and called Tara, silently willing her to answer.

"Hello" she heard Tara's voice and relief immediately flooded through her, until the fear started creeping its way in. "Tara, it‘s Willow."

"W-W-Willow, h-hello."

"Tara, please, I… I haven't used magick in weeks and I need to apologize to you for the awful things I've done. C-can I come over?"

The desperation was clear in Willow's voice and Tara knew she'd never be able to refuse her former lover anything. "Sure, I'm free for the rest of the evening. I'd l-like to see you, too." Tara shyly replied.

"As soon as we get the store closed, I'll come straight over. Tara, you don't know how much good you just did for me. I need to get some things out. I'll see you soon."

Willow's heart was lighter than it had been for weeks, lighter than it had been since before Buffy died for that matter, but she knew she still had a long road to go before Tara would ever be able to trust her again. With an iron resolve Willow vowed to the Goddess that she would earn that trust.

*****

The two sisters ate take-out Chinese, and watched a couple of movies. Dawn snuck out while Buffy was in the bathroom and retrieved her paper from the mailbox. Spike had looked over it like he said he would, and his suggestions, if correctly used, would definitely get her an A on the paper. She quickly snuck the paper in her book bag and returned to the couch before Buffy got back from the bathroom. The two girls had a final cup of hot chocolate before Buffy sent Dawn to bed.

As Buffy was starting to go out to patrol, Willow came in. She looked better than Buffy had seen her look in weeks. She quickly went to Willow, gave her a hug and said, "You look like you've had a good night."

Willow smiled her old, sweet smile and replied, "I did. I've been with Tara tonight. We had a long talk about the things I've done, and what I can do to get better. She forgave me, Buffy. Things still aren't the way they were, but at least I know there's a chance now. Tara's been doing research on my…my addiction, and together we're going to find a way. With everyone's help and support, of course." Willow broke down into the tears she'd been afraid of spilling for so long. "I'm so sorry Buffy, for everything I've done. I can't fix it, but I can keep it from happening again."

"Willow, we all love you and we're all going to help. I'm glad you worked things out with Tara. I don't mean to be cold, but I’ve got to go patrol now, slayer duty calls, you know?"

"I know Buffy, thank you for everything, I'm going to sleep now, I think I might actually make it through a whole night." The two girls hugged once more. Willow went to bed, and Buffy went to Spike's.