*** Authors Note**

Ahhhh, I haven't written fanfiction in quite some time, especially not Spawn. But here I am, I have received the itch and I just cannot stop until this storyline that is bubbling inside of my mind is finished! Hope you all enjoy this and please give it a little review if you want MORE! It's going to be my first seriously in depth, steamy, story. Yes, steammmmyyy…like full on sex. Lol. Upping the rating folks, challenging myself. Get ready for the darkness….and the hotness. ;-)

The Offer

Chapter One: The Darkness

Dawn trembled as she rushed to her bathroom door in a hurry. It's never been quite this bad, not like this. Every other time something bad happened to them it was apocalyptic and it felt so colossal that it almost wasn't scary. This was different, because it wasn't the end of the world, it was just the end of theirs.

She shut the door behind her, locking it quickly. Out of sheer terror Dawn crawled into the bathtub and pulled the curtain closed behind her. She curled her frail body into a ball and clutched her cell phone in her hands. How could this be happening? Buffy had left them completely unprotected, completely in peril. She had lost her slayer powers trying to save Angel from some ridiculous trouble he had gotten into with a band of twisted witches. So here they were, completely vulnerable. The world was a different place now, it was a place of terror and constant danger. They had lost control and the world no longer belonged to the good. The demons held the power now. A year ago this would be nothing, a gang of vampires come to slaughter the slayer and her friends. They would have been thwarted by Buffy the second they attempted the attack. But now, it was completely different. The slayer and her friends were all downstairs, either dead or tied up, Dawn hoped they were just restrained for now. Since that's what the demons did, they captured who they wanted and used them for whatever slave labor or sick games they pleased.

Dawn looked down at the cell phone in her hands. Who could she call? The cops couldn't do a thing to help her. And without the witch or the slayer active, she was completely hopeless. There was one person, actually he wasn't even a person per say. He was a demon just like the ones who had come to attack her. She knew how Spike felt about her, he had made his desires very clear. Recently Dawn had become the focal point of his fixation. She was his hopeless obsession. He had made her a million and one offers, offers that would keep her safe from this peril. She had denied him countless times, because those offers did not keep her loved ones safe. But recently Spike had come to her with a rather unique offer, one that meant her family would be safe as well. Buffy shoved him away as soon as he mentioned it, not that she didn't want to shoo him sooner. Spike hung out there occasionally and Buffy was too afraid to tell him to leave. He held the power now, and having him around wasn't the worst idea in their current state. But she had plans to get her powers back, one way or another, and the last thing Buffy wanted was for her sister to be protected by a demon.

But as Dawn sat in the bathroom, listening to the screams subsiding downstairs, she knew what she had to do. She had to make a deal. She drew a deep breath into her lungs and began dialing his number. The number to a cell phone that she was certain he only purchased for her to have access to him at all times. The phone only rang twice before she heard his thick accent buzzing through the line.

"Yes, love?" He answered calmly.

"Spike!" Her voice was shaky and hurried. She was so petrified that she didn't even remember how to speak.

"Relax, Nibblet…" Spike was clearly nervous too. "What's going on?"

"I need you." Dawn replied. "Someone is here, I'm-I'm locked in the upstairs bathroom…" She was sobbing now, even though she tried desperately not to, that only seemed to make it much worse. "They have Buffy and everyone downstairs but I ran up here, and it won't be long before they find me. Spike please…" She begged, her voice desperate.

"I'm already on my way…" She could hear him turn the engine to his new car.

"Thank you!" She squealed.

"But only for you Nibblet…" Spike made sure to be clear. "I'll let them keep the Scoobies. Unless…"

"Ok…" She yielded. "Yes…I'll accept your deal…or contract or whatever the hell it is. Just protect them too."

"Be there in five…" Spike hung up the phone.

Dawn shivered as she heard someone coming up the stairs, the sound of heavy boots clunking on the steps. She was so petrified that she stupidly clutched her eyes shut, even though that would not prevent them from coming into where she was. They were demons and vampires, they could smell her. They could smell the key and the slayer blood all mixed into one delicious cocktail. She heard someone smashing on the door, until it crashed down onto the floor, breaking from its hinges.

"Here little kitty…daddys got some milk for yah…" Dawn shivered at the devious sound of the man's voice. The beast tore the curtain away and Dawns eyes shot open as she looked up at her soon to be attacker.

He was tall, and had long brown hair and a biker jacket. He was a vampire, his face all wrinkled into its vampy state. That site could be so terrifying when it was charging towards you, even though Dawn had seen it a million times she still felt completely horrified. The vamp grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet, clutching both of her shoulders harshly. Dawn screamed and attempted to pull away from his grasp to no avail. She was entirely helpless for the time being, she was just a girl with the best smelling blood in town. Could it possibly be worse? Being as stunning as she was, was not helpful to Dawn. She had come into her womanhood at the worst possible time. She was 18 and fresh and beautiful. She was a thing to be desired.

Dawn continued to struggle as the monster dragged her to the nearest bedroom. She fought against him, as he grabbed at her body with greedy hands. Was this truly happening? Dawn had been through so much terror in the last year but she had escaped nearly unscathed. In the back of her mind she just kept reminding herself, Spike was coming. Spike was coming. If she could just hold this loser off for a little while, just a little while. Everything would be okay. She threw one quick jerk into his groin, and he coughed from the pain. Buckling over for only a mere second, God she was so tough that her fighting might actually help her with a normal man. But he wasn't a normal man, and it didn't do much damage at all. In fact, it only made this beast angrier. He slapped her across the face with such a great force, that it felt like she was being hit by a train. It was only a slap, but from him it might as well have been a punch. His hand grabbed at her throat and Dawn began to fight for breath. The monster growled as he squeezed her throat, his fangs clearly ready to puncture her flesh. She tried to cry but her face was losing blood as she struggled against him.

Just when she felt as though she couldn't fight any longer, it was all over. The man was being clutched from her and tossed against a nearby wall. Dawn had nearly lost consciousness and she couldn't quite see anything yet. She tried to pull herself together, but only ended up holding her throat, coughing violently. She was quite certain he hadn't felt anything worse than being choked by a man. It was agonizing and it was terrifying. Something instinctively told her that she could die at any moment, with just the right amount of applied pressure. When she started to regain her vision she looked around the nearly pitch black room. Before she could catch site of much, Spike was in front of her.

"Are you okay, Nibblet?" He knelt in front of her placing his hands on her shoulders gently.

"I'm…" She tried to talk but her throat was so sore. "Where is he…is he?"

"He's dead. You really don't want to try and look around this room to find his remains, love." Spike spoke with such a warning in his voice that Dawn instantly understood what he meant. Spike had made a mess of her attacker. Surely in a full on rage, the man had met a painful end. Dawn wasn't exactly saddened by that fact.

She just nodded, she wasn't eager to speak at that moment. Her throat would be sore for a while. After she regained her composure Spike helped her to her feet, and led her out of the door. Everything had happened so fast, but as soon as she realized she was safe, she felt a her stomach drop. She had agreed to a deal with Spike. She was certain she could welch, and no harm would come to her. He seemed adamant to protect her, professing that she would one day belong to him. But there were so many other factors at this point, Dawn didn't think turning back was her best option. She followed Spike down the stairs and into the Summers living room. She looked around at all of her family and friends, duct tape wrapped around their arms and legs.

"Dawn!" Buffy exclaimed, her eyes filled with tears. "Don't you dare hurt her!" She cursed at Spike.

"Pipe down Slayer," Spike narrowed his eyes at Buffy. "Ready to get this thing signed?" He looked down at Dawn.

It was in fact a contract that she had to sign. This wasn't just some willy nilly offer, it was concrete and binding. Spike had spent an incredible amount of energy to acquire this contract. No one would ever know truly, how much Spike had suffered to get it. The lovely law firm of Wolfram and Hart, had helped him secure the treaty. But it wasn't as simple as hiring a Lawyer to fill out some paperwork, it cost him. Sweat, tears and blood, buckets of blood.

Dawn nervously nodded, and followed Spike deeper into the living room. She sat down on the couch next to Anya, who seemed flustered. Spike remained standing, somewhat close to Buffy, who was on the floor next to Xander.

"Dawn, what the hell are you doing?" Buffy's face was painted with fear.

"Please don't Buffy…" Dawn felt completely defeated as she looked at her sister. She loved her. So very much. This woman, who was only a girl herself in so many, had saved Dawn so many times. She was her best friend. Her sister. Her everything. It was Dawns turn now….her turn to save everyone.

"You can't be serious? This is insane!" Buffy shouted, trying to struggle free from her restraints, but failing miserably.

"I just saved your life, Slayer." Spike scoffed. "Be a little bloody thankful."

Dawn had avoided looking around at the massacre of demons and vampires Spike had left in his wake. He had saved her family, she was so thankful it wasn't their blood she was seeing. Buffy, Willow, Xander, Anya and Giles all sat alive because of him.

"Let me read it…" Anya demanded. "Just let me read it, to make sure it's fair."

"You know very well that it is…" Spike replied.

"Just let me check…" Anya nodded nervously.

Anya knew what a contract of this nature meant. It was binding and completely unescapable once it was signed. She also knew how to read and understand the tricky parts of such a contract. It always meant something good for both parties, but there were loopholes. She wanted to protect Dawn, if she could. So Spike slapped the thick contract onto the table in front of Anya, after he sliced open her duct tape with a pocket knife. She sat for length of time, reading the pivotal points in the contract, attempting to get a full understanding of just what Dawn was signing away. Somewhere in the middle of this Spike had to duct tape the mouths of the other Scoobies, since they refused to remain silent. Dawn hated seeing them bound like this, but she knew it had to be done. She couldn't allow them to get inside her head. They would all attempt to sow the seeds of hope, make her believe they would find another way. She knew that was a lie, by the time they found another solution some of them would be dead. She could not have that.

"So…?" Dawn questioned, looking at the ex-demon whom she had grown to love dearly.

"It's fair…" Anya nodded slightly disappointed. "He is offering some mystical protection via Wolfram and Hart, protection for all of us. Protection for you, will be coming from Spike." Anya looked at Dawn, trying to explain the details as best she could. "But Dawn…you're his…"

"What…I mean…what does that..." she attempted to form the question, but she didn't really know what she was asking.

"Your choices, are no longer fully yours to make. You're bound to him."

"For how long?" Dawn raised one thin eyebrow.

Anya looked down at Dawn, so innocent, so sweet. She hated this, part of her wished she could do anything to stop it. Anya had changed so much, had become so…human.

"Forever…" Anya sighed.

"Okay…I mean…I knew that…I think I knew that…" She nodded. She could feel Spike staring at her, growing impatient.

"Luckily, you aren't giving away your soul." Anya felt pleased to deliver this good news.

"What do you mean?" Dawn looked up at her.

"If…actually when, he decides to make you into a vampire, he has to make sure you can have your soul instantly restored."

"Really?" Dawn felt herself twinge with happiness. It was short lived when she realized what it meant. Sure, she would have a soul. But she had no choice but to become a vampire, someday. She had no idea how long before that day would come.

"Don't worry, Nibblet." Spikes voice reassured her, as he leaned close. "You have a while before that happens." His tone was not comforting, it was taunting.

"Dawn, you know what the negatives are, and you know what you're gaining. It's fairly straightforward, and Spike clearly went through a lot to get this. It's legitimate." Anya patted Dawns shoulder awkwardly. Her comforting skills still left a lot to be desired.

"Okay…" Dawn's voice was quiet and meek. Suddenly she felt like a child again, nervous, scared, all her confidence diminished. She looked down at the paper in front of her. There was a line near the bottom, where Spike had signed and below was an open space for her signature. She uncapped the pen that Spike had handed her and went to begin signing. She felt petrified, she was essentially signing herself over to a demon. What was wrong with her? Sure, this was Spike. She had known him most of her life, or at-least what life she knew. But he was different. His edges had grown sharp, he wasn't souled, and he did not possess a chip. He was dangerous. She pushed aside her fears and began signing her name along the designated line. She could hear her sister screaming underneath the duct tape, yelling for her to stop. But she pressed on, because they were only muffled sounds.

It was done. It was binding.

"Best get a few things packed before we hit the road? I can get you clothes but you probably want some of your things?" Spike was so calm, so pleased. He had fought hard for this, harder than he had for anything in his un-life.

Dawn nodded and proceeded to do as he said. She felt like she had to. Not because she had made a promise, but because she actually had to. She could only refuse him so much now. Sure, she could put up a fight, but it would end would her complying, because there was some mystical powers around them all now. She had signed a contract devised by the evilest and most cunning creatures alive. Her life somehow, no longer really belonged to her. She felt sick to her stomach, but at ease. She had saved her family by doing this, and she was thankful that she had that option. Most everyone else that she knew was either dead, or a slave to the monsters. This world, was dim, it was dismal, and it belonged to the darkness.

After she had packed a bag with as many of her things as she could comfortably carry, Dawn made her way downstairs. Spike was leaning against the open door to the Summers home, with a cigarette in between his lips. He looked at her as she strode down the stairs, his eyes fixated on her presence. He was clearly pleased with himself, but also, he looked frustrated. Like he wanted out of there, and fast. Everyone was untied now, because they weren't a danger, they physically couldn't attack Spike, even if they tried. This reality was almost more frightening than the one she had grown used to. She had felt a shift since she signed the contract, a shift of everything she knew. Wolfram and Hart was far too powerful in this world, and their contracts, meant you had to play by their rules. Dawn had signed away her life, and part of her loved ones lives in some ways.

"Ready?" Spike asked flicking the cigarette to the ground.

Dawn just nodded and Spike grabbed her bag from her shoulder.

"Meet you in the car." He responded and began walking towards the sporty car parked in front of the Summers home.

"Dawnie…" Buffy cried and wrapped her arms around her little sister. "I'll find a way out of this, somehow."

"Buffy don't…" Dawn sighed holding onto Buffy tightly. "I'll be okay, I promise. You can't risk it."

"I can't just let you go…"
"You have no choice…" Tears began to pool in Dawns eyes as she stared at her beautiful savior. "I love you…" She turned and spun towards the door. She couldn't do this, couldn't share these goodbyes. She had to go before she fell apart.

Dawn crawled into the stylish, black sports car and shut the door behind her. Spike was already sitting comfortably in the driver's seat. She had no idea what kind of car this was, but she was certain he had stolen it.

"Ready?" The blond vampire asked looking at her from the corner of his eye.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Dawn sighed and stared down the front of the windshield.

Spike turned the key into the ignition, the engine purring in response. The demon spun the car out of the driveway, putting worlds between them and that home on Revello Drive. The girl was his now, and no force on this earth would change that. Because this world belonged to them, this world belonged to the darkness.

To Be Continued…