Second Chances

Series: Second Chances
Author: Princess Joyce
Rating: PG for this chapter

A/N: You need to have seen the episodes ‘The Dark Ages’ and ‘What’s My Line’ parts 1 and 2 for this to make sense.

Chapter 4: What’s My Line


“Ow, ow, ow!” Buffy cried out, trying to stay as still as possible.

“Relax, Slayer, he’s almost done,” Spike said trying not to laugh at her.

“This isn’t fair! I feel like I’m being punished for something I had no control over!” She groused and craned her neck to glare at the guy removing the Eyghon tattoo from her back.

“I can’t believe I am paying you to hurt me like this,” she snapped at him.

The guy stopped and held his hands up in surrender.

“Hey, man, I didn’t make you get that thing,” he said.

Spike snorted and turned away from her redirected glare.

“That’s true. It was that Ethan guy. If I ever get my hands on him…” her gaze turned thoughtful as she looked at Spike.

“Will I ever get my hands on him?” She asked sweetly and batted her eyelashes.

Of course the effect was ruined when she cursed as the guy started working on her back again.

Spike didn’t bother trying to hide his laugh this time.

“This may come as shock to you, but I don’t know. I never saw him, but that doesn’t mean that you didn’t. In fact you and I weren’t around each other much next year, so I’m sure we’ll have lots of fun surprises to deal with.”

“Goody,” she said frowning.

“Alright, I’m done. That’ll be 80 bucks,” the guy said.

Buffy handed the money over reluctantly.

She had been saving for a really awesome pair of shoes, but unfortunately she had to give them up in order to get the tattoo removed. Buffy had to admit that it was much easier to hand over the money than it would be to try and explain to her mother how she had gotten such an ugly tattoo. But still…

“I’ll never get those shoes now,” she said, forlornly and hopped down from the table.

Spike handed over her jacket and the two left the small shop to begin patrolling.

Buffy stretched and winced.

“You mind going solo tonight? I really need to rest up for next week,” she asked hopefully.

“What’s next week?”

“Career Week!” She said with false enthusiasm.

“But you already have a career,” he pointed out.

“Oh my gosh! That’s right. Well, I’ll just explain to Principal Snyder and all of my teachers that I have a calling and so should be excused from career week. Think it’ll go over well?”

Spike stuck his tongue out at her and she giggled.

“Seriously though, watching my friends and classmates plan for their futures is depressing. They have so many options, and I’m just… stuck.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better I have seen your future, and I think you turn out pretty amazing.”

Buffy sighed.

“You’re just saying that because you are in love with me,” she teased.

Spike gave her an odd look and shook his head.

“My judgement might be a bit clouded, but when everything is said and done you won’t regret being the slayer. I guarantee it.”

She gave him a suspicious look.

“We were really ‘close’ enough for me to tell you that?” she asked.

Spike raised an eyebrow.

“You didn’t have to say it. It showed in everything you did.”

Buffy always felt so young and stupid whenever Spike talked about ‘how wonderful she was, er, would be. He obviously had some pretty high standards for her. What if she couldn’t do it? What if she never quite lived up to the Buffy of the future that he was so enamoured with? And why did she care so much?

Spike mistook her quietness for tiredness.

“Go on home, Slayer. I’ll take care of things tonight,” he said.

Buffy nodded at him and they parted ways.

Maybe Spike was right and one day she would be satisfied with her calling. But, that really didn’t make her feel better now. Not while she watched everyone else get a choice.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

“‘Are you a people person, or do you prefer keeping your own company?' Well, what if I'm a people person who keeps his own company by default?” Xander quipped after reading the first question on the Career Assessment Test.

He, Buffy and Willow were seated at a table in the cafeteria at school the next day.

“So, mark 'none of the above'.” Buffy said as she began her own test.

“Well, there are no boxes for 'none of the above'. That would introduce too many variables into their mushroom head, number-crunching little world.” Xander muttered.

“I'm sensing bitterness,” Willow teased, as she finished her own test.

“No, it's just these people can't tell from one multiple-choice test what we're gonna be doing for the rest of our lives. It's ridiculous!” He ranted.

“I'm kinda curious to find out what sort of career I could have,” she admitted with a small smile.

“What, and suck all the spontaneity out of being young and stupid? I'd rather live in the dark.”

“You're not gonna be young forever,” Willow warned.

“Yes, but I'll always be stupid…Okay, let's not all rush to disagree!”

“You're not stupid.” Buffy said.

Xander opened his mouth to reply but stopped when he heard Cordelia’s voice coming from behind him.

“'I aspire to help my fellow man.' Check. As long as he's not smelly, dirty or something gross,” Cordelia clarified as she walked by their table.

“Cordelia Chase, always ready to give a helping hand to the rich and the pretty,” Xander mocked.

“Which, lucky me, excludes you. Twice,” she responded and sauntered away.

“Is murder always a crime?” Xander asked, glaring at Cordelia’s retreating back.

“Do I like shrubs?” Buffy asked suddenly.

“That's between you and your god.” Xander said, helpfully.

“What'd you put?” she asked Willow.

“I came down on the side of shrubs,” the redhead announced as she reviewed her test.

“Go with shrubs! Okay! Uhhh! I shouldn't even be bothering with this. It's all mootville for me. No matter what my aptitude test says, we already know my deal,” she complained.

“Yup, high risk, sub-minimum wage...” Xander offered.

“Pointy wooden things...” Buffy added.

“Then why are you even taking the test?” Willow asked.

“It's Principal Snyder's hoop of the week. He's not happy unless I'm jumping. Believe me, I would not be here otherwise,” Buffy said glaring at the test.

Willow shared a look with Xander.

“You're not even a teensy weensy bit curious about what kinda career you could've had? I mean, if you weren't already the Slayer and all,” Willow asked.

“Do the words 'sealed in fate' ring any bells for you, Will? Why go there?” She asked bitterly.

“Y'know, with that kind of attitude you could've had a bright future as an employee at the DMV,” Xander reprimanded shaking his pencil at her.

Buffy winced when she saw Willow’s hurt expression.

“I'm sorry, it's just... unless Hell freezes over and every vamp in Sunnydale puts in for early retirement, I'd say my future is pretty much a non-issue.”

Willow’s frown deepened, and Buffy gave her what she hope was a reassuring smile.

“When I told Spike about career week last night he said that in the end I’ll be happy with life as the slayer,” she said hopefully.

Xander and Willow both gave her stunned looks.

“Spike? You talk to Spike?” Xander demanded.

Buffy gave him a look.

“Of course. It’s kind of hard not to when we spend so much time together.”

The silence that followed that statement was very heavy.

“When we patrol…” Buffy said, slowly.

Xander nodded, and looked a bit relived, but Willow still seemed shocked.

“But Buffy, if you told him how you feel about career week that means you are actually confiding in him. Having meaningful conversations. It sounds like you’re treating him like a… friend,” Willow pointed out hesitantly.

Buffy shifted, suddenly uncomfortable in her chair.

“So what if I am? He’s really easy to talk to, and he’s proved that I can trust him,” she said, not sure if it was Willow she was trying to convince or herself.

Xander and Willow exchanged a look.

“Buff, you said just last week that he was a soul-less demon that couldn’t be trusted,” Xander pointed out.

“Yeah, and that’s why Xander and I have been steering clear of you when it’s ‘patrol time’,” Willow added.

“Well, things have changed a little. I don’t want to have to trust Spike with you guys, but so far he hasn’t let me down. He always shows up when I ask, answers my questions honestly, and helps me think through some of this tough crap I keep finding myself covered in. I guess, he has become my friend,” she said, thoughtfully.

“Are you in love with him?” Xander asked, suspiciously.

“NO! I love Angel! I think… Yes, Angel is the one for me,” she declared, finally and went back to her test.

Xander and Willow let the subject drop, but it was obvious that they were not convinced.


&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Buffy and Spike were making their nightly sweeps of Sunnydale’s cemetery later that night.

It had been uneventful so far, and Buffy was currently unloading her career week frustrations on her slaying partner.

“One question simply asked if I liked shrubs! I mean come on… shrubs?”

Spike rolled his eyes.

“I’m glad I never had to do anything like that,” he said, puffing on a cigarette.

Buffy stopped walking and looked at him curiously.

“What was school like for you?” she asked.

Spike thought back to that time long ago when he was her age and grimaced.

“It was awful. I was the big weakling nerd everyone picked on,” he admitted.

If Buffy didn’t know better, she would say the big bad vampire was blushing.

“You? Mr. Tough-vamp? You were a nerd?” She asked with a laugh.

“Hard to believe innit?” He asked, dropping his cigarette butt and grinding his heel on it.

“Just a little.”

They resumed walking at a leisurely pace while Spike talked.

“I was a sickly child, and underdeveloped compared to the other boys my age. I couldn’t even hope to compete with them at sports, so I spent most of my time working at academics. I found out fast that I was about as good at math and science as I was sports. I loved literature though. Even fancied myself a poet, though I wrote the most god-awful poems imaginable,” he said with a laugh.

“Spike the poet? Sorry, I just can’t see that,” she admitted, enjoying their conversation.

“Trust me, it was not a pretty a sight. Though, my mum seemed to enjoy them,” his eyes grew wistful.

“What became of her?” Buffy asked, but regretted it at the look of pain on Spike’s face.

“Oh, God, you killed her, didn’t you?”

He gave her a sharp look.

“I loved my mum. Even as a vampire I loved her so much I couldn’t imagine life without her. I turned her, so that she’d be with me always. But her turning wasn’t like mine. Her love for me did not crossover with her. She said some of the cruelest wickedest things to me. It took a very long time for me to realize that that thing I turned was not my mother, but some demon. I ended up staking her myself.”

“I’m sorry, Spike,” Buffy said, and meant it.

He stopped and turned to look her in the eye.

“Never take for granted the time you have with your mother,” he warned seriously.

Buffy felt a flash of fear and her heart started to pound.

“Why, what’s going to happen to her?” She demanded anxiously.

But Spike wasn’t looking at her anymore.

“What’s that?” He asked, pointing toward a flickering light at the back of the cemetery.

Before Buffy could say another word, he was off running.

On closer inspection, they saw that the light was coming from a flashlight that a vampire was holding as he searched for something in a mausoleum. When Spike saw the vampire, he stopped, stunned as he realized what was going on.

Buffy was oblivious to Spike’s reaction, and stood at the entrance to the mausoleum, poised to make her move when the vampire tried to leave.

A few moments later the vampire stepped out, clutching something protectively to his chest.

“Does 'rest in peace' have no sanctity to you people? Oh, I forgot. You're not a people,” she quipped.

Before she could make a move to attack him though, another vampire seized her from behind. It was a tough scuffle that ensued, but her attacker still had a dusty ending.

When she looked to see if Spike had taken care of the other vampire, she was surprised to see him just standing there watching the thief run away into the dark.

“What gives Spike? Why did you let him get away?” She demanded, a bit angry.

He blinked a few times and gave her an odd look.

“I have to leave town for a few days,” he said, suddenly.

“What?” Buffy asked, stumped at his behavior.

“Yeah, I got some stuff down in LA I have to take care of,” he said, not looking her in the eye.

“Um, how long?”

“Two, Three days at the most,” he promised, then turned on his heel and began walking off into the night.

“Wait! What if I need help?” She called, confused.

What business could Spike possibly have in LA?

“Try asking your ‘boyfriend’,” he snapped over his shoulder.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Buffy climbed up to her window and looked in. She was surprised to see Angel in her room looking into her bookcase. As she watched, he took her stuffed pig from the shelf. Without a word Buffy reached for her bag and tossed it loudly through the window and onto the floor. Angel turned around, startled.

“Buffy! You scared me,” he accused giving the stuffed pig a squeeze.

“Now you know what it feels like, Stealth Guy,” she teased him.

Buffy crouched down and started pulling items out of her bag to put away.

“So, are you just dropping by for some quality time with Mr. Gordo?” she asked mischievously.

“Excuse me?”

“The pig,” she explained with a grin.

“Oh. I, uh...”

“What's up?” she asked, walking toward him.

“Nothing,” he said, tossing the pig on the bed.

“Only you don't have a nothing face. You have a something face,” she teased again.

“I wanted to make sure you're okay. I had a bad feeling.”

Buffy couldn’t help her sigh of exasperation.

“There's a surprise. Angel comes with bad news,” she mocked.

He turned away, tired of the same old reaction from her.

Buffy noticed his reaction and felt guilty.

“Oh, God, I'm sorry. Look, I've been Cranky Miss all day. It's not you,” she apologized.

“Well, what is it then?”

“It's nothing,” she said, unwittingly mimicking him from earlier.

Angel nodded, but she could tell that he didn’t believe her. Why was Spike so much easier to talk to?

She sighed again.

“Uh, we're having this thing at school…” she began.

Career week?” He asked.

“How did you know?”

“I lurk.” He smirked.

“Right. Well, then you know it's a whole week of 'what's my line', only... I don't get to play. Sometimes I just want...” she trailed off as she sat down on the bed.

“You want what?” Angel pressed, sitting beside her.

She gave him a sheepish look.

“It's okay,” he encouraged.

Buffy sighed and looked away from him.

“The Cliff Notes version? I want a normal life. Like I had before…”

“Before me,” Angel finishes for her.

Buffy shook her head and grabbed his hand.

“No, Angel, it's not you. You're one of the few freaky things in my freaky world that still makes sense to me. I just get messed up sometimes. I wish we could be regular kids,” she admitted.

Angel stood up.

“Yeah. I'll never be a kid.”

Buffy smiled.

“Okay, then a regular kid and her cradle robbing, creature-of-the-night boyfriend.”

Angel was unable to hold back a laugh at that, and Buffy’s smile grew wider at the sound of it.

“Was this part of your normal life?” Angel asked a few minutes later, holding up a picture of Buffy ice skating.

“Oh, my God. My Dorothy Hamill phase. My room in L.A. was pretty much a shrine. Dorothy dolls, Dorothy posters, I even got the Dorothy haircut. Thereby securing a place for myself in the
geek hall of fame.”

“Hmm, you wanted to be like her?”

“I wanted to be her. My parents were fighting all the time, and skating was an escape. I felt safe,” she said remembering those almost carefree days of her childhood.

“When was the last time you put on your skates?” He asked, breaking her from her thoughts.

Buffy considered the question.

“About a couple of hundred demons ago,” she said finally.

“There's a rink out past Route 17, it's... closed on Tuesdays,” Angel suggested hopefully.

Buffy gave him a wide grin.

“Tomorrow is Tuesday.”

“I know.”

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

“You and Angel are going skating? Alone?” Willow asked as she and Buffy made their way to the student lounge.

Buffy nodded.

“Unless some unforeseen evil pops up. But I'm in full 'see no evil' mode.”

“Wow, Angel ice-skating,” Willow said, shaking her head.

“I know. Two worlds collide.”

They quickly ended their conversation when they saw Xander approaching. He looked a little upset.

“Wouldn't you two say you know me about as well as anyone else? Maybe even better than I know myself?” He asked.

Willow and Buffy exchanged a look.

“What's this about?” The redhead asked cautiously.

Xander sighed and tried a new tactic.

“When you look at me, do you think 'prison guard'?”

Willow and Buffy were unable to restrain their giggles.

“Um, crossing guard, maybe, but prison guard?” Buffy laughed, shaking her head.

“They just put up the assignments for the career fair, and according to my test results I can look forward to being gainfully employed in the growing field of corrections,” he said, with false enthusiasm.

“Well, at least you'll be on the right side of the bars,” Buffy commented, giggling.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha! Laugh now, missy, they assigned you to the booth for law enforcement professionals.”

Buffy was stunned.

“As in police?”

Xander nodded.

“As in polyester, doughnuts and brutality,” he said, gleefully.

Buffy whined.

“But, doughnuts!” Willow said with an optimistic smile.

Buffy just whined louder then sighed.

“Well, I'll just jump off that bridge when I come to it.”

Suddenly, Giles came barreling around the corner with a tall stack of old books in his arms.

“First I have to deal with Giles. He's on this Tony Robbins hyper-efficiency kick. Expects me to check in every day after homeroom,” she said and started following him to the library.

“Police?” she said aloud as she walked away, and answered herself with a groan.

Giles walked to the table, balancing his stack of books. He carefully set them down and leaned over a bit to straighten the stack, but over-leaned, and the books started to fall over. He reacted quickly to try to stop them.

“AH!”

Buffy put her hand on top of the stack just as he did, and they pushed it back up.

“Buffy, thank you. I've been, uh, indexing the Watcher diaries covering the last couple of centuries. You would be amazed at how numbingly pompous and long-winded some of these Watchers were,” he complained rubbing his lower back.

“Color me stunned.”

“So, uh, I trust last night's patrol was fruitful?” He asked, after a stern glare for her last comment.

Buffy frowned as she thought of the strange evening she’d had. She honestly didn’t know what was stranger. Spike opening up to her about his childhood or him letting that vampire get away.

“Semi. Mm, I caught one out of two vamps after they stole something from this jumbo mausoleum,” she said, deciding to leave Spike’s odd behavior out of it.

All that talk about his mother must have reminded him of something he needed to take care of. Obviously his mother’s death still affected him. Even after all of these years…

“They were stealing?” Giles’ voice brought her back to her senses.

“Yeah! They had tools, flashlights, the whole nine yards. What does that mean anyway? 'Whole nine yards'? Nine yards of what? Now it's gonna bug me all day!”

She looked up to see her watcher walking back and forth.

“Giles, you're in pace mode. What gives?”

He stopped pacing and gave her a curious look.

“Um, this vampire who escaped, did you see what he took?” he asked.

“No, but I could take a guess and say it was something old,” she quipped, earning another glare.

“You made no effort to find out what was taken? What about Spike? Why wasn’t he able to stop him?”

“Spike went home early,” She lied quickly.

“He had to go out of town for a couple of days, and I just figured it was your everyday vamp hijinks.”

“Well, what if it wasn't? This could be very serious! I mean, i-i-if you'd made an effort to, uh, to be more thorough in your observations...” He began, not seeing how angry his slayer was getting.

“Y'know, if you don't like the way I'm doing my job, why don't you find somebody else? Oh, that's right, there can only be one. As long as I'm alive, there is no one else. Well, there you go! I don't have to be the Slayer. I could be dead.”

“That wasn't terribly funny. You notice I don't laugh,” he said, haughtily.

“Wouldn't be much of a change. Either way I'm bored, constricted, I never get to shop, and my hair and fingernails still continue to grow. So really, when you think about it, what's the diff?”

“Do we have to be introspective now? Our only concern is to discover what was stolen from that mausoleum last night.

When Giles suggested leaving right away to revisit the cemetery, Buffy put up no fuss. Anything would be better than dealing with Career Week.

She was still a bit peeved at her watcher’s attitude and was sure to keep a pace fast enough to keep Giles panting.

“Buffy! Slow down! Please!” He called from a few yards back as she stepped in to the mausoleum.

“Giles, we have work to do, remember? Get with the program,” she snapped, trying to keep a smile off of her face.

“You're behaving remarkably im-immaturely,” he said when he could breath well enough to talk.

“You know why? I am immature. I'm a teen. I have yet to mature,” she informed him, annoyed.

“I was simply offering some constructive criticism,” he said, defensively.

“No! You were harsh! God, you act like I picked this gig. But remember, I'm the picked!”

He seemed to consider her words for a moment.

“What you have is more than a gig. It's a sacred duty. Which shouldn't prevent you from e-e-eventually procuring some more gainful f-f-form of employment. Uh-uh-uh, such as I did,” he said gently.

“Uh, Giles, its one thing to be a Watcher and a librarian. They go together like chicken and... another chicken, or... two chickens, or... something, you know what I'm saying! The point is, no one blinks an eye if you want to spend all your days with books. What am I supposed to do? Carve stakes for a nursery?

“Um, point taken. I must, however, admit, I-I've never really... Well, now there's a thought, have you ever considered law enforcement?”

She sent him a hostile look.

“Can we get this over with?” She asked, switching on her flashlight and shining it around the dark mausoleum.

The chamber was bare except for two large stone vases and a pile of rubble on the floor.
Giles took the flashlight and walked over to where the wall was broken into.

“It's a reliquary. Used to house items of religious significance. Most commonly a finger or some other body part from a saint,” he said stepping forward for a closer look.

“Note to self: religion: freaky.”

Buffy leaned against the wall. This was watcher territory, not slayer.

Giles made a triumphant noise when he finally found a name. His elation quickly turned to distress, however, when he read it.

“Du Lac. Oh dear, oh dear.”

“I hate when you say that.”

“Josephus du Lac was buried here. He belonged to a religious sect that was excommunicated by the Vatican at the turn of the century,” Giles explained anxiously.

“Excommunicated and sent to Sunnydale. There's a guy big with the sinning,” Buffy commented, starting to get a little freak-out herself.

“You remember the book that was stolen from the library by a vampire a few weeks ago? It was written by Du Lac. Damn it! I let it slip my mind with all the excitement.”

“I'm guessing it wasn't a 'Taste of the Vatican' cookbook,” Buffy said as they made their way back out into the sunny afternoon.

“No, the, uh, book was said to contain rituals and spells that reap unspeakable evil. However, it was written in archaic Latin so that nobody but the sect members could understand it,” Giles explained and Buffy felt a little better.

“So, everything's cool then,” she said hopefully.

“It's not. First the book was taken from the library, and now the vampires have stolen something from Du Lac's tomb,” Giles muttered, trying to put the pieces together.

“You think they figured out how to read the book?” Buffy asked, feeling an uncomfortable knot settle in her stomach.

Giles stopped watching and turned to face her.

“Something's coming, Buffy, and whatever it is, I can guarantee it's not good,” he said, grimly.

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Buffy arrived early at the skating rink, and put on her skates. It had been years since she was on the ice, and part of her was thrilled at the opportunity. The other part was terrified of what Angel’s reaction would be when she told him about Spike. Yes, that’s right. She had decided to tell him. If they were going to have a relationship, she needed to be honest with him.

Thoughts of both Spike and Angel were whipped from her mind by the wind passing by as she glided gracefully around the rink. The first time she kicked off, she nearly overbalanced. Becoming the Slayer had added a lot of strength in her legs. Skating was almost effortless now.

“I could probably have a fair shot at the Olympics now. I wonder if Giles could be a watcher and skating coach?” She wondered aloud as she turned and jumped, getting more height than should be possible.

She got cocky and overbalanced falling on her butt.

Glad that no one was there to see it, she tried to quickly get back up, but was stopped by a strong pair of arms that grabbed her from behind and began squeezing the life out of her.

Angel got there just in time, and soon the two were left in the empty skating rink with a dead body on the ice.

“The Hellmouth presents: Dead Guys On Ice. Not exactly the evening we were aiming for,” Buffy commented, hoping that a light mood would salvage the evening.

Angel looked closely at the ring on the dead guys hand.

“You're in danger. You know what the ring means?” He asked.

“ I just killed a Super Bowl champ?”

Angel gave her an annoyed look.

“I'm serious! You should go home and wait until you hear from me.”

Buffy skated over to him, confused.

“Are you okay?” he asked, trying to keep his head turned so she wouldn’t look at him in his ‘game’ face. The attempt on her life had made him so angry, he couldn’t calm himself enough to turn back.

She reached out and put her gloved hand on his cheek and saw a cut above his eye.

“ What about you? That cut!”

“Forget about me. This is bad, Buffy. We gotta get you outta here.”

Now Buffy was really confused.

“What, you mean hide?”

“Let's just get you someplace safe!” Angel insisted

“No! Your eye!” She persisted, reaching for his face.

He turned away again.

“Hey! Don't be a baby. I'm not gonna hurt you.”

“It's not that. I...” he trailed off, uncertain.

“What?” She pressed, gently.

“You shouldn't have to touch me when I'm like this,” he said, gesturing to his vampire face.

“Oh,” Buffy said, surprised.

Spike had no qualms with letting her see or touch him when he was like this. He seemed rather proud of his vampire visage. Especially when they were fighting demons.

She removed her glove and reached up to touch his brow and his wound, brushing gently across and down his cheek.

“I didn't even notice,” she said, honestly.

She moved closer to kiss him, very careful of his fangs.

The kiss turned more passionate as she reached her hand behind his neck to draw him closer. Angel put his arms around Buffy, and she rose up onto the tips of her skates to get even closer.

She pulled away after a few minutes and gave him a dazed smile.

His face melted back into his smooth human one while she watched.

“You know that happy mushy feeling that takes over when we kiss?” She asked.

He smiled and nodded, resting his hands on her hips.

“Well try to hold onto that, cause I gotta tell you about something you’re not gonna like,” she said, grimly.

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A few days later, Spike made his return to Sunnydale. Nothing had gone to plan, and he hoped that Buffy was able to handle this latest trial without him.

He had fled Sunnydale, not wanting to side with Buffy against Drusilla in this particular fight. Oh, he knew that things would be better off if his Ex got staked, but he didn’t want to do it. And he didn’t want to watch. Part of him hoped that Buffy would get her, but another part hoped that Dru would be able to complete the ritual and get her strength back. Then she could leave Sunnydale and find happiness somewhere else. It was a pretty thought, but very unlikely.

Spike loved Buffy, and was very content with the cards fate had dealt him. But a part of him would always love Drusilla. And though he was over her and moved on, that didn’t mean he meant her any ill will. So, when he saw Dalton in the cemetery stealing the Du Lac Cross, Spike had seen it as a great opportunity to come settle some business with Wolfram and Hart in LA and let Buffy work through some of these things herself. Unfortunately, the lawyer assigned to his case could not meet with him for another month. Apparently business in the supernatural legal world was booming.

So, after lurking around an Angel-free LA for a few days, Spike returned wondering what he’d find.

When he first saw Buffy she was helping a pretty black girl into a cab.

The cab drove off and Buffy turned to face him as he slowly approached, unsure of his welcome.

The quick hug she gave him was a shock.

“You’re back! How was LA?” She asked, motioning for him to walk with her.

“It was… Did you just hug me?”

She blushed.

“Yeah, should I not have?”

“No, it was nice… I just didn’t realize that you felt… comfortable enough with me to do that yet,” he admitted.

Buffy shrugged.

“Well, we’ve been working together for a while, and I guess not having you here these past few days…” she trailed off, blushing brighter.

“You had to work harder because I wasn’t there to take up the slack?” He asked with a smirk.

“Not really, it’s more like… I don’t know, I just missed you,” she said shoving her hands in her pockets and looking very hard at her feet as they walked.

“But a hug? Something must have happened,” he said, anxious to hear how events unfolded.

She narrowed her eyes at him

“Like you don’t know! Drusilla’s cure was Angel. You could have told me that before you left! Plus, another slayer? I’m not the only chosen anymore…” she trailed off with a sigh.

“Jealous?” He asked, trying to figure out the best way to determine Dru’s fate.

“No! Yes, maybe, I don’t know. I used to think being the slayer was such a burden. Then you came along and made it a little easier. Not so much the fighting, which does help, but more what you say. I guess I was really starting to accept this burden, and even enjoy it a little. Though I did enjoy bitching about it to everyone. Then Kendra showed up, and at first I was a little jealous, but the more I got to know her, the more I realized just how lucky I am. I don’t need to be the only slayer.”

She smiled, and Spike caught another glimpse of ‘his’ slayer.

“Well, that’s very mature of you. Now, stop being mean and tell me what happened to Dru.”

She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Serves you right for leaving,” she teased.

He stopped walking, and she turned around to face him.

“She lives, er unlives. Against my better judgement, I might add. She was able to complete enough of the ritual to get her strength back.”

Spike sighed in relief.

“Angel is doing okay, thanks so much for asking,” she said, sarcastically.

Spike just shrugged again. He didn’t like Angel, and she knew it so why should he pretend?

“I finally told him about you.”

“And?”

“He’s not happy about it. But, it’s not his choice. Still, I think the further apart you two stay, the better.”

They walked in silence for a moment.

“So, how did Career Week turn out?” He asked.

She groaned.

“Are you ready for this? Law Enforcement!”

He sniggered.

This time, the silence continued until they reached her house.

“So, the next time something big is going down, do ya think you could warn me about it before you split or should I just take the fact the you’re gone as a warning?” She asked, not looking him in the eye.

So she was upset.

“I’m sorry Buffy. I was… am conflicted where Dru is concerned. I don’t love her, not anymore, but there’s just so much history. We were together for almost two centuries.”

Buffy still wouldn’t look at him.

He grabbed her hand, and turned her to face him.

“I promise to give you more warning next time,” he said.

Her head shot up and she gave him a dismayed look.

“There’s gonna be a next time?” She asked in a small voice.

Spike nodded.

“You will understand where I’m coming from soon. And on that day if you don’t hate me, then maybe this will work,” he said, and kissed her.

She let him, opening her mouth for him and sighing her contentment. Kissing him felt right… until she remembered Angel.

She pulled back abruptly and gave him a panicked look.

He chuckled.

“It’s okay. I can wait,” he said, and turned to walk home.

“Goodnight Slayer,” he called over his shoulder.

“Night,” she whispered.

Buffy stood there watching him walk away until she heard her mother call her name from the porch.

She blinked and watched her mom walk toward her.

“That must have been some kiss,” Joyce said with a sly smile.

“We were just… I mean, I don’t know why…” she stammered, terrified that her mother had seen Spike kiss her.

Joyce just laughed.

“I was sixteen once too you know,” she teased, putting an arm around Buffy’s shoulders and leading her toward the house.

Buffy looked up at her sheepishly.

“You’re not mad?”

Her mom laughed again.

“Of course not. However, if your going to be kissing boys like that, I would like to meet them,” she needled, giving Buffy a playful squeeze.

Buffy giggled and hugged her back.

“Maybe it is time you met him,” Buffy said, slowly.

The damage was done. According to Spike, they would be spending a lot of time together and things would be much smoother if her mother was accepting.

Still as the walked into the house to have dinner, Buffy couldn’t help but remember Spike’s ominous words from a few days ago:

“Never take for granted the time you have with your mother.”

End Chapter 4

A/N: Next Chapter is ‘Ted’ and will probably be a bit shorter, but I should get it out pretty fast. After that is ‘Surprise’ and the rating will jump up, so stick with me.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I hope you are still enjoying this despite the slow updates.

-PJ