Chapter Fourteen

For long seconds, they remained still, joined not only by their still-linked bodies, but by the teeth holding on to each other's flesh. Spike was the first to move, gently removing his fangs from her neck and running his tongue over the small wounds he'd left. Buffy unclenched her jaw and let go of his shoulder, kissing the bloody bruise left there by her human teeth.

When Spike pushed himself up on his arms to look down at her and she could see the mark she'd made, she gasped and began, "Oh, Spike, I—"

The vampire shook his head, gazing down at her with wonder in his eyes.

"If you're going to apologize for biting me, pet, please don't. Don't want you to be sorry about it." He ducked his head a little and peered at her from under his thick lashes, "Anyway, I think you need to take a look at your own neck first."

"But... but... that had to hurt you! It looks awful."

"Biting and pain are part of love-making for a vampire, Slayer. You couldn't have done anything more erotic and... lo–affectionate... if you'd wanted to. I'm just sorry I couldn't control the demon enough to prevent him from biting you back."

"It didn't hurt," she said softly, not meeting his eyes. "It felt kind of..." She paused and looked up at him questioningly, "It felt good. Does that make me a bad slayer? Shouldn't I be more wigged out about it?"

"Wasn't meant to hurt you, pet. That bite had nothing to do with the kind of bites you're dodging while you're doin' your job, and everything to do with how I feel about you. On some level, the Slayer in you recognized that."

"Just like your chip did, I guess," she mused, missing the almost invisible flinch when she mentioned his chip. He didn't answer her, just rolled to his side bringing her with him. She shuddered briefly when he slipped out of her and couldn't suppress a whimper at the loss of his presence inside her body. He pulled the covers up and wrapped his arms back around her to enjoy the body heat trapped under there.

There was a long, comfortable silence as they basked in the afterglow of their love-making, and Buffy was just drifting off to sleep when Spike spoke softly.

"I don't think the chip is working, Buffy," he said without inflection. He felt her grow rigid in his arms and cursed himself for a fool. He waited, neither removing his arms from around her body, nor trying to pull her closer. He waited patiently for her to make a decision, his lack of breathing and heart beat enabling him to hide the fear that was making his stomach hurt.

Just as he was sure she was going to stake him, he felt her body relax against his and he gasped in relief when she placed a light kiss on his bare chest.

"So," she began conversationally, "what makes you think so?"

In a flat voice, Spike recited the recent incidents that caused him to wonder about the chip's functionality.

"Does this mean you could be out there eating people again?" she asked, her tone giving him no hint what she was thinking.

"I guess it does. Haven't tried it."

She nodded against his chest, tracing her finger lightly around one of his nipples and watching as it hardened immediately.

"Why not?" she asked in a deceptively mild tone of voice.

He sat up and gaped at her. "Why not? In case you hadn't noticed, luv, I'm living with the bloody Slayer. Thought you might have a little problem with it," he finished sarcastically, as he flopped back down beside her.

"So, if I wasn't here, you would be? Finding happy meals on legs, I mean."

She kept her voice carefully controlled so that he wouldn't know how badly she wanted to pretend he'd never said anything about it.

I've got to think like the Slayer, not like Buffy. If Spike is dangerous again, I have to do something about it. That's my job. It's who I am.

Buffy had forgotten that she was lying next to a master vampire and that just keeping her voice even and steady wasn't enough to prevent him from realizing she was upset. Her increased breathing, accelerated heart rate, and the faintest smell of tears told him his next words were going to be vitally important to both of them.

"I... I don't know if I can give you an honest answer to that, pet. You are here. Being with you... it colors everything I do. Has done for a long time. If you're asking do I still want to feed, to hunt, to kill, to feel fresh warm blood filled with fear slidin' down my throat – then, yeah, I don't think that will ever go away. It's what I am, luv. I'm sure, if you could get Peaches to give you an honest answer, he'd tell you that even the soul doesn't make that craving go away. It just allows him to be ashamed of it."

He felt Buffy stiffen again, and he knew she wanted to pull away from him. He tightened his arm around her almost imperceptibly, mentally willing her to let him explain.

"Hear me out, love… please. I'm trying to be as honest with you as I can and that means I have to own up to my nature. I can't pretend it doesn't exist."

Buffy struggled weakly, more as though she thought she should move away than because she really wanted to and Spike loosened his arm, trying to hide the fear her withdrawal was feeding.

"And I can't pretend I'm unhappy that the chip is out. That soddin' bugger the other night would have split your pretty little head open if I hadn't stopped him. So, I'm not sorry I can hurt humans again. Won't pretend I am." He touched her cheek lightly, turning her to look at his pleading eyes. "But, I can promise you, I won't do anything that would make you have to stake me. I can control myself – all the chip did was give me a reason to do it. It didn't stop me from trying to kill. I did that myself when I realized I was gonna fry my brain if I kept it up."

"But your reason's gone now," she responded, fighting the urge to soothe the worried look off his face.

Spike shook his head, never taking his eyes off hers.

"I've got a better one, now," he said softly, his eyes searching for some glimmer of understanding and acceptance. "A much better one," he added in a whisper, daring to lean in and brush his lips over hers.

Buffy didn't try to pretend she didn't understand what he was saying, just gave in to the relief his words inspired. She closed her eyes to keep the tears in and fell back against his chest, sighing when his arms went around her again. She didn't want to admit, even to herself, the fear that had gripped her when she thought she might be faced once again with slaying a vampire she cared about.

While Spike sprinkled soft kisses over her head and face, she wrapped herself around his comforting body and let herself fall into an exhausted sleep, knowing there would be no more dreams that night.

While the suspicious vampire watched carefully, Xander walked around the large area waving a stake in the air and asking plaintively, "But why can't I stake him? This isn't our Spike – and I sooo did not mean that the way it sounded!" he blurted when Giles raised a curious eyebrow at him. "This is evil, unchipped William the Bloody, before he has killed two Slayers. I'd be doing the world a favor."

"Or," Giles said mildly, continuing to go through the instruction manuals he'd found in a nearby desk, "you could change the world completely, including ensuring that our Buffy was never called."

"Oh," Xander said in a subdued voice. "I didn't think about that."

He turned to glare at the puzzled vampire and waved his stake for emphasis. "Don't think that means we're going to be best buds, Deadboy, Jr. One funny move..."

The vampire sneered in derision. "I don't make 'funny moves', you walking meal," he snarled back. "Which you will find out the instant I get out of these irons."

In the few days since Buffy and Spike had gone away, leaving the unchipped, nineteenth century version in their place, Xander and the vampire had fallen into the same sort of mutual insulting relationship that had existed between him and the "real" Spike, as he preferred to think of him.

While the younger man spent his time mocking the chained vampire for his accent and clothing, Giles had actually managed to have a few conversations with him and had reached some understanding of where and when Buffy and Spike had probably been sent. However, long days and nights of poring over the technical books he'd found had not given him the information he needed to go about bringing them back and his frustration was growing with every day they were missing.

"Hi, guys!" Willow's perky voice echoed in the large open space as she and Tara walked up.

"Got your blood here, Sp- uh, William. Sorry I can't warm it up, but..."

"That's quite alright, Ms. Rosenberg," the vamp's face relaxed into a smile. "I quite appreciate it. Especially since the cretin won't step close enough for me to have some of the real thing."

He sent a glare in Xander's direction; then turned his smile back on the two witches. One glimpse of what the two girls were capable of together, and he had quickly determined that it was in his best interests to be charming to them rather than threatening. He still shuddered slightly when he thought about the ball of fire they'd sent in his direction the first time he lunged at them. Since then, he'd gone out of his way to be polite and friendly – or as friendly as a fledgling vampire could be when surrounded by food sources he was unable to reach.

Willow smiled and poured the blood into a mug then walked closer to the vampire, halting just out of reach. Rolling his eyes in irritation, the younger version of Spike retreated to the other side of the pole he was chained to, following the protocol that had been worked out for feeding him. Giving him an apologetic smile, Willow quickly moved forward and deposited the mug on the floor where he could reach it. When she had scooted back out of arm's reach, Spike swaggered back and picked up the mug.

"I'm not stupid enough to eat the person who feeds me, you know," he grumbled as he sipped the pig blood and made his usual face at it.

At Xander's loud scoff, he grinned and admitted, "At least not while I remain chained up in this unpleasant place."

Willow walked back over to where Giles was thumbing through the many manuals he'd found to ask, "Have you found anything that will help us get Buffy and Spike back yet?"

The older man shook his head and took off his glasses to rub his eyes wearily.

"No, my knowledge of technology is sadly lacking when it comes to the sort of physics that seems to be involved here. I think I may have narrowed down the number of manuals that apply to that device, but they are not clear about how one is to use it. I'm afraid we're not going to be able to do anything until Riley gets back in town."

"Can I look at them?" Willow asked. Where a couple of years ago, she would have hesitated to question an adult, the confidence she'd gained through her relationship with Tara and their advancing skills with magic left her more than willing to show off her own knowledge of physics and technology and she reached eagerly for the books.

Giles started to frown at her, then remembered that the pretty redhead in front of him had almost perfect SATs and had been offered scholarships to several top universities as well as a post high school position with a major computer firm. He nodded his head and pushed the ones he'd identified as pertaining to the machine in her direction.

"By all means, Willow. Please see if you can decipher these and find some operating instructions. In the meantime, I will try to contact Riley and see if he can return sooner than expected."

Leaving the books to the witches, he stretched and walked around the large area, finding his way back to the empty room into which his slayer and her vampire slaying partner had vanished. He was turning away when something caught his eye and he looked intently into the dark room struggling to see the glinting object. When he located it, he grabbed a nearby push broom and extended it into the room, hooking the object on the bristles and pulling it up the slippery metal floor until he could safely reach it.

When he realized what he was holding in his hand, he blanched and turned back to the computer expert at the desk.

"Willow," he asked, holding out his hand, "what does this appear to be?"

"Um," she glanced casually at his hand and then away, "it's some kind of a chip, Giles. There are probably lots of them around here. What's so special about this one?"

"The fact that I found it on the floor of the room where we last saw Spike and Buffy," he said, closing his hand around it tightly.

"Oh, well, then, it's probably just Spi—oh my God!" Her wide eyes flew to meet the watcher's. "It's probably Spike's!"

Xander rushed to the desk to look at the innocuous looking piece of silicone and metal in Giles' hand.

"Spike is chipless? Buffy is trapped somewhere with Spike and he can kill again? This is soooo not of the good," he groaned.

"You don't think he'll... hurt... her, do you, Giles?" Willow asked anxiously. "I mean I know he's evil and all that, but... it's Buffy... and... Spike... and they..."

"They fight like cats and dogs, Will," Xander said.

"He isn't going to harm Buffy," Giles said firmly. "I don't believe that and neither do either of you."

Willow and Tara nodded their heads, unable to disagree with the watcher's assessment. They would have had to be blind not to recognize the tension between the two, tension that they channeled into their constant bickering and sarcasm.

"I don't see how you can say that," Xander began indignantly. "He's a vampire, she's the Slayer, they hate each other and they..." He gave in with a sigh. "Oh shit, who am I kidding? He won't hurt her. I just hope she doesn't stake him when she finds out."

"What?" he blustered when Willow and Tara looked at him, smiling. "For Buffy's sake! It's not like I care if the bleached wonder never makes it back. I just don't want Buffy to have to go through..."

His voice trailed off as he realized no one was listening to him anymore. He turned away muttering to himself about vampires and slayers and things that were never meant to be. When he saw the chained vamp looking at him with curiosity, he stopped muttering and really studied him.

"So, Deadboy, Jr.," he said, moving a little closer to the wary vamp, "You're still all about the evil insane one right now, huh?"

Spike snarled and glared at him. "If you are referring to my dark princess, she is everything to me. My salvation, the fount of my existence. I cannot imagine what could possibly have made me leave her side for this 'Buffy' person you seem to think the Spike you know would not kill if he could."

"Well, probably that Chaos demon she—"

"Xander!" Giles' voice thundered across the room and the boy jumped guiltily. Giles had made it very clear that they were not to tell this younger version of Spike any more than they absolutely had to about where and when he was – and nothing about his future beyond what he could surmise from their original unguarded conversations about Spike and Buffy.

Giles was clinging to a faint hope that they could get Buffy and Spike back from where they were with a minimum of disruption to their timeline, and sending Spike back ignorant of his future was an important part of that plan. They still had no idea if he had come from another dimension or from their own 19th century past and therefore no idea how or if his presence was going to change their own lives.

"What Chaos demon?" the vampire demanded, rising to his feet with his fists clenched. He always forgave Drusilla her infidelity with Angelus, knowing the sire/childe bond was one in which he should not interfere no matter how angry it made him. But to hear the irritating human imply that his ripe, wicked plum would be so cruel as to...

When Xander just shrugged and walked away, Spike sat back down telling himself the human was just looking for a way to provoke him. As much as he wanted to know more about his future, and the world he was in now, he was perfectly happy to leave that particular line of questioning completely alone.

Chapter Fifteen

Buffy awoke to the feel of Spike's cool fingers gently stroking the skin on her arm and she opened her eyes to see him staring at the ceiling, not even aware of what he was doing. That he would touch her in such a gentle, absent-minded way when he was obviously thinking about something else, and when he thought she was asleep and unaware of it, told her all she needed to know about her safety around him.

Although, the fact that I woke up all alive and breathing after sleeping in his arms, pretty much says he meant what he said about never hurting me. If he wanted to kill me, while I was sleeping on top of him would have been a good time for it.

"Good morning," she said softly, so as not to startle him out of his deep thoughts.

He immediately turned his head to smile at her and drop a kiss on her forehead.

"Good morning, love. No more dreams?"

"Nope, not a one. Not even one about Brad Pitt, damn it..."

Spike's growl made her giggle and poke him.

"Not much for humor in the morning, are you?" she teased.

"Didn't hear anything particularly funny, Slayer," he rumbled, but the faint smile on his face told her he knew she was kidding. "But I've got to say, if it's a choice between Angelus and that wimpy movie whelp, I guess I'd rather you were dreaming about a willing shag with him than a..." He stopped and glanced down at her again.

"That was what last night's dream was about again, wasn't it?" He frowned down at her. "I want to hear it, Buffy. We've got to suss this out. I need to know how much danger you might be in—"

"Hey! My dreams to the contrary, I am a fully functional slayer. I've kicked Angelus' ass before, and I'll do it again if I have to."

"Didn't mean to imply you couldn't or wouldn't, Slayer," he said in a placating manner. "Just want to have your back and to do that I need to know what I'm dealing with."

Buffy sat up, blushing at his smile of approval when she didn't try to pull the sheet up to cover herself. Starting at the beginning, when she couldn't sense him anywhere and admitting, shame-faced, how terrifying that was, she recited the whole nightmare. When she got to the part where Angelus flinched back from her neck and roared his displeasure about whatever prevented him from biting her, she was surprised to see Spike's eyes widen in shock. She stopped and looked at him questioningly, but he shook his head and gestured for her to continue.

She tried to remember Angelus' exact words as he faced his grandchilde, holding a naked Buffy by the arm. When she came to Darla's flinging her aside and her inability to come to his aid as they ripped into him, tears filled her eyes and she stopped to throw her arms around him again and whisper apologetically, "I couldn't move, Spike. I wanted to help you and I couldn't move again. I'm s-so sorry."

He wrapped his arms around her, murmuring soothingly, "Shh, pet. It's okay. It was just a dream. Know that's not you, don't I? Know you'd never leave a... friend... like that. Not my Slayer. It didn't happen, sweetheart, and I can't imagine it ever will. You're getting yourself all wound up about nothing."

When Buffy had stopped sniffling and sat up straight again, he looked at her sternly.

"That doesn't mean we don't need to suss out why you keep dreaming that you can't fight Angelus off, or even why the miserable bastard is around again. Did you say in the latest dream we were back in our time?"

Buffy nodded her head. "Yes, we were definitely us. They were wearing modern clothes, and Angelus knew who I was and he... he called me 'lover' like he did before when he lost his soul. But Darla was there, and she's been dust for almost four years!"

"Let's leave the tart out of it for a minute, and concentrate on the other two. You say Dru was there again? What did she do?"

"Just danced around babbling about how I didn't tell you something or other and you went away because you thought I didn't... oh, who knows? She was wrong, anyway, because you did come for me."

"Always will, love," he said almost absently as he mulled over her words. "And the big poof said as soon as he killed me, he could have you? Is that right?"

"Yeah – he was all 'you won't be protected anymore' or something like that. Do you know what it means?"

"Maybe," was the careful reply. "That's not the important thing right now. We need to concentrate on the things that have been the same in every dream."

He ticked them off on his fingers, "Peaches without his soul, Dru drifting around but not doing anything but talking to you about me, the whore somehow back in the mix, and you not able to move to defend yourself. That about it?"

"That and the fact that Angelus apparently plans to rape and turn me – although so far, that hasn't happened. You always seem to show up and get yourself trashed trying to save me."

She smiled at him with gratitude, then frowned and added, "Which, I would not like to have happen, by the way. I'm just beginning to appreciate this body; I really don't want it all torn up."

She grinned wickedly and ran a hand down his muscular chest to his flat abdomen, giggling at the tent that immediately rose in the sheet covering his hips and legs.

He grabbed her hand and put it on his covered erection, growling softly, "Neither do I, love. But just in case, feel free to start appreciating it right now..."

Buffy gave him a little squeeze, which brought a groan and caused the vampire's eyes to darken as he reached for her. Before they could take it any further, they heard Molly knocking on Buffy's door, then opening it and entering the room. With a sigh, Spike released her hand and kissed her quickly.

"Bloody servants, thinking they know when we should be getting out of bed," he grumbled, tossing Buffy's nightgown to her and pulling his own shirt over his head quickly.

By the time Molly left Buffy's empty bedroom and knocked timidly on the door to Spike's, they were both covered and Buffy was out of bed. With another quick kiss, Buffy walked to the door and opened it, joining the startled girl in the hallway.

"Good morning, Molly," she said cheerfully. "Did we oversleep again? I think we'll just leave William to nap a little longer while you and I plan our day."

As she spoke, she was leading a confused Molly back to her own room and pulling open the curtains to let in the late morning sunshine. She distracted the girl with a flurry of questions about what she was going to wear and where she might be going that afternoon until the servant almost forgot that the master of the house was sound asleep in a dark room at 10:30 in the morning.

Spike slept until the early afternoon, joining Buffy then for an early supper and wandering freely around the east side of the house where there were no rays of sunshine to worry about. He spent the rest of the afternoon setting the groundwork for any possible sudden disappearances by the newly married couple, knowing that Buffy's watcher would be doing whatever he could to bring them back to their own time.

He also made sure that Mrs. Barstow and the solicitor had met and that she understood that he would be handling the household finances in Spike's absence.

"So, I'm to understand that you and Mrs. Sinclair do not intend to remain in this house for long?" Cook inquired with a trace of disapproval.

"No, I'm afraid that won't be possible, Cook," William replied. "While I certainly appreciate your coming out of retirement to take care of us, I do not want to impose on you any longer than necessary. When we leave, it will be just as it was before. I would like you to check on the house occasionally, perhaps have George send a crew to keep the gardens tidy, and see that it is kept in good repair.

"Mr. Saint-John will see that there are always funds available for upkeep and to repay you for your time and efforts. The house will remain in our possession, but we may, at some future time, rent it out, in which case Mr. Saint- John will find a rental agent to handle things and you may retire completely."

"Very good, master William. We will be sorry to see you go – especially Molly. She has become quite fond of your bride."

"She's a good girl, Cook. Buffy is very fond of her also. If it were possible to take her with us when we leave, I am sure she would want to do so. However, our lives are somewhat... unconventional, and it would not be in Molly's best interest for us to take her. Please be sure she understands that, if we, for some reason, do not have a chance to say our farewells to her."

"And why would that be?" Cook took advantage of her position as someone who had known him since he was a child to tap her foot and demand an explanation for such a potential lack of courtesy.

William shook his head, wishing he'd thought a little further ahead before beginning the conversation.

"I don't know that it will. Certainly I would hope that we would have time before we have to leave to do it in a proper manner. But, the possibility exists that we may find ourselves leaving quite suddenly, with little time for packing or saying good-byes and if that happens, I want you to be prepared for the possibility. I have left letters with Mr. St. John for each of you, which he will distribute if it should happen that Mrs. Sinclair and I find ourselves unable to pay our respects before returning to her country."

He could tell the old family retainer wanted to ask more questions, but her respect for their respective social positions kept her from pursuing the strange conversation and she simply nodded her head and went back to work preparing their supper.

When Mrs. Barstow had left for the evening, taking Molly with her for a night off, Buffy and Spike quickly changed into their patrolling clothes and slipped out of the house. They strolled through several cemeteries, dusting one newly risen fledgling before he even had time to figure out what he was. They were starting toward home when Spike hissed and touched Buffy's arm.

"They're around somewhere, pet," he whispered.

"I feel him," she said shortly, casting her slayer senses around trying to find the location from which Angelus' signature was coming.

"Not close by," Spike said softly, "but somewhere around."

"That's not all I feel," Buffy growled. "You need to give me some room – I think I'm about to get some exercise."

"Got your back, Slayer. Have fun."

Spike faded into the shadows as Buffy waited for the vampires she could feel approaching. He smiled as she rolled her shoulders and stretched while waiting for the first vampire to step forward.

"So, dead and smelly, are we going to do this?"

The vampire stared at her in confusion. "Do what? I'm a vampire, you're food. Food doesn't talk, it screams."

"Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't introduce myself. I'm Buffy. The Vampire Slayer? And you are...dust!" she finished as the onrushing vampire impaled himself on her stake.

The other newly-made minions that were with him, paused and looked at each other in confusion. No one had told them about Slayers – the two older vamps who'd sired them simply told them to go find the two people they described, and to kill or capture the girl. Deciding their companion's dusting was an accident, they rushed the petite woman facing them, only to be met with a whirling dervish whose feet and fists caused damage all out of proportion to her size.

Spike watched in admiration as she whirled, punched, kicked, staked and spun her way through the small group of vampires. When the last one was dust floating away from the point of her stake, she finally stood still and looked in the direction from which the minions had come.

"Hey, Angelus," she shouted, "I hear Paris is very nice this time of year. You should think about it."

The trace of Angel's signature that she'd felt before was gone so quickly she wasn't sure she hadn't imagined it was there. She turned to Spike for confirmation and he was laughing so hard he couldn't talk to her at first.

"What?" Buffy asked innocently. "Was I too subtle?"

"You were amazing, pet," he gasped, picking her up and twirling her around. "Damn, I love you!"

The minute the words left his lips, he wanted to bite them back; the shocked expression on her face telling him more than he wanted to know about her reaction.

"You...you what me?" Her voice was barely a squeak as she stared down at his mortified face.

"Just a heat of the moment outburst, Slayer," he backpedaled quickly, setting her back down on the ground and moving away. "Doesn't really mean anything. Jus' got a little over-excited by the way you handled the situation."

"Oh," she said, smothering the disappointment she didn't want to acknowledge feeling. "Well, it's nice to know you enjoyed the show."

They began walking again, maintaining a physical distance that was as uncomfortable as was the silence between them.

Bollocks! Not that I'm not sure it's probably true, but it's too soon to let her know. Now I've scared her. I'll never learn to keep my big mouth shut.

Okay, he says he didn't mean it. Of course he didn't mean it! Vampire, evil, – okay, not so evil anymore, but still... Can't love without a soul, right? That's what Angel told me. But Spike loved Drusilla. Still does apparently. Enough not to let me slay her. So, if he loved Drusilla, he could love me. But he took it back. Said he didn't mean it. But he acts like he loves me. Most of the time, anyway. What if he does love me? Do I want him to love me? In my dreams he must love me or he wouldn't keep getting himself beat up for me. Is that what the dreams are telling me? That Spike loves me?

The longer Buffy trudged along in silence, the more Spike cursed himself for blurting out what he now had to admit was probably the truth. He did love her. He just hadn't realized how much until they'd fallen into his bed and become lost in each other.

The question is, mate, how does she feel about you? Poor little chit's never had a real man make love to her. Could be all she's feeling is normal, healthy lust. Just cause she's enjoying some new experiences doesn't mean she's gonna forget what I am or what happened to her the last time she loved a vampire.

They were still lost in their own thoughts when Spike realized they were approaching the spot where they'd been deposited so unceremoniously several nights before. He touched Buffy's arm briefly and when she turned to see what he wanted, he said, "This is the place we landed, pet. You know your watcher's doing what he can to get us back... well, to get you back, anyway." He grimaced. "We should probably check here every night, just in case we have to be standing in the same spot or something like that."

Buffy nodded her head in understanding. "You're probably right. If we came through a portal of some sort, it makes sense it would re-open in the same place. We should check for it as often as we can, just so we don't miss it."

"Alright, then. That's our new evening agenda. Go out, check portal, patrol, check portal, go home. Maybe we can find some layabout to pay to keep an eye on the spot for us in the daytime. Have to talk to George about that tomorrow."

By the time they reached the house, they were almost comfortable with each other again, and both were hoping the awkwardness between them was gone for good. Those hopeful thoughts lasted until they had made their way upstairs and found themselves standing irresolutely between the two bedrooms.

"Buffy—"

"Spike—"

They laughed nervously, and looked away from each other like shy teenagers.

"Bloody hell!" Spike's explosive epithet broke the impasse. "I don't want you to sleep alone tonight, Buffy. I can't take back what I said. It's out there and you heard it. But if it's going to keep you away from me..."

"I... I don't want to sleep alone," she said softly.

"Then why are we standing in the hall here like idiots? Grab that ridiculous nightie and get your delectable arse in my room. I'll give you five minutes."

"Or what?" she challenged.

"Or... or... or I'll have to wait longer for you, I guess," he admitted with a resigned shrug.

When Buffy appeared in his doorway several minutes later, hairbrush in hand and voluminous nightgown on, he shook his head at her and said casually, "When we get back, I'm taking you lingerie shopping. I don't ever want to see that tent again."

Silence fell between them again as each thought back to their lives in Sunnydale and wondered how they were going to reconcile their new relationship with the expectations waiting for them there. Buffy winced as she remembered that she actually already had a boyfriend. One who, she was sure, was not going to take very well the news that she'd been living with Spike. Spike remembered the same boyfriend, and her demon-hating friends and wondered what she was going to tell them about their stay in merry old England.

Shaking off his fears as something to worry about if and when it appeared that they were on their way back, he walked over to her and took the hairbrush. He gently pushed her down on the bed, got behind her, and began carefully brushing her silky hair. Buffy sighed and relaxed into the sensually soothing motions. When she leaned back against his chest, he dropped the brush and began to nuzzle her neck.

"Mmmmmmm" she murmured, turning her head around so he could kiss her more easily. He put his arms around her and pulled her onto his lap where she could feel his growing erection against her cheeks. Sliding his hand under the gown and into her warmth, he noticed that she was already wet. He groaned in wonder at her responsiveness.

"You are so hot, baby. So wonderfully warm and tight. Want you so much," he breathed into her ear as he teased her with his fingers. "Love the way you get wet for me. Need to feel you..." Without turning her around, he lifted her up and brought her down carefully onto his waiting cock.

"Is that alright, love?" he murmured in to her ear, running his hands up to cup her breasts. "Doesn't hurt you like this, does it?"

Lost in the multiple sensations of his fingers working her breasts and clit at the same time and his thick shaft filling her channel, Buffy could only shake her head and whimper. Spike pulled the nightgown over her head and rested his chin on her shoulder. He felt her muscles tighten around him as his attention to her clit brought her quickly to an edge. With nowhere to put her hands in that position, she reached behind and wrapped them around Spike's head, playing with the soft curls at the nape of his neck. She arched her body as he began to move his hips gently, nudging her toward her first orgasm of the night.

"Open your eyes, love," he whispered in her ear and she obeyed to find herself reflected in the mirror. Her eyes were glazed with lust and her body was arching backwards as she spread her legs to allow Spike greater access.

"Look how pretty you are, sweetheart. Like little rosy petals, all open for me. Look at yourself, Buffy. You're beautiful."

Buffy was torn between embarrassment and fascination as he urged her to watch herself having sex with an invisible man. She could see her rosy little nubbin flatten out, then spring up again as his fingers manipulated it. She tried to watch her face as she fell over the edge into a shuddering orgasm, but her eyes went shut of their own volition as though her body refused to be distracted from the sensations ripping through it.

Without withdrawing from her clenching walls, Spike managed to turn her around so that he could lay her down on the bed and cover her with his own body. She immediately wrapped her arms and legs around him, holding his emotion-filled eyes with hers as she let her body say the words she couldn't allow herself to think.

Before she had completely recovered from the first orgasm, Buffy found herself spiraling up again to join him as he pounded into her until his own release left him shaking and clinging to the girl beneath him. The hope inspired by the look in her eyes as she clung to him lent another level of intensity to the powerful feelings sweeping through him as he emptied himself into her welcoming depths.

When he had stopped shaking with the intensity of his orgasm, and Buffy was breathing almost normally again, he reluctantly rolled off of her and reached for the bedding. He covered them up and pulled her into his arms, curling himself around her warm body and purring as he let sleep take him.

Chapter Sixteen

"H—Hi, Riley," Tara stammered as the big ex-soldier stormed into the make-shift research area the Scoobies had set up near the mysterious little room.

"Where are they?" he demanded, glaring around to emphasize his displeasure with being left out of the loop for so many days. "Are they back yet?"

As soon as Giles had reached him in Iowa to say that Buffy was missing due to a mishap at the Initiative, he had promised to come back and offer whatever assistance he could. When, at the conclusion of the conversation, he'd overheard Willow in the background talking about Spike and Buffy's whereabouts, he demanded Giles tell him the whole story. In less than an hour, he was headed back to Sunnydale, having talked his way onto an army transport plane heading west.

Riley looked around the large, hanger-like area. He vaguely recognized it as one of the experimental rooms, but it had not been part of his operation so he wasn't really sure what he was seeing. He walked around the room/device into which Buffy had disappeared, trying to remember what he'd heard about its purpose and abilities.

Eventually, he spotted the chained vampire leaning against his pole and walked over to stare at him. In spite of the light brown curls and unusual clothes, recognition soon filled his eyes and he reached for a nearby stake.

"Whoa there, big guy!" Xander grabbed his arm. "What're you doing?"

"What's it look like I'm doing? I'm going to make this... thing... tell us where Buffy is."

Spike had risen to his feet, a gleam in his eye as he realized the newly arrived human might actually be stupid enough to step close to him. He bounced on his toes, completely unconcerned about the man's size or the wood in his hand.

"Uh, Riley, that's not Spike. I mean, it is Spike, but it's not our Spike. This one isn't chipped and he's already told us what we need to know about where Buffy is. We just don't know how to get her back."

"Then why is he still here? If he's served his purpose, there is no reason to keep him around... unless you are planning to bring Spike back with Buffy?" His tone expressed his opinion of that idea.

"That was the plan," Giles said dryly. "They were pulled into the portal together, I would assume it is important that they come back that way. Hence the presence of our less-than-pleasant friend over there."

"I beg your pardon!" Spike complained loudly, "I've been more than pleasant. For a vampire who's been chained up and fed pig slop by a secretive bunch of wankers who won't answer any of my questions, I think I've been a paragon of pleasantness!"

"What's with the accent?" Riley asked, glaring at the young vamp glowering back at him.

"It seems like old Spikie wasn't quite the bad boy he told us he was before he was turned. According to Giles, William here is a veddy upper crusty Englishman. What our Spike would call a 'nancy-boy'."

"Take these chains off and I'll show you a 'nancy-boy'," Spike muttered, not really expecting Xander to acknowledge the threat. To his surprise, the new arrival stepped closer, saying, "Bring it on, William the Bloody. I'd like nothing better than a good excuse to kick your ass."

Spike snarled and leaped to the end of his chain, narrowly missing Riley's face with his claws as he slipped into game face. In spite of himself, the larger man flinched back in the face of an enraged, fully functional vampire. The possibly bloody or dusty ending to the situation was averted by the Watcher's dry tones from the research area.

"As entertaining as baiting the vampire may be, it might be more useful if Riley were to help us wade through the manuals for the instructions to this device."

"Of course," Riley was immediately contrite. "The important thing is to get Buffy back, we can dispose of the vampires later."

Tara and Willow exchanged raised eyebrows at the ex-commando's terminology and his use of the plural, but they didn't say anything, just moved over to make room for him around the large table.

With Riley and Willow discussing the physics involved in transporting living things through time and space, and Giles filling him in on what they had determined about the probable date and time to which Buffy and Spike had been sent, Xander and Tara were left to their own devices. Xander went off to look for more discarded weapons. He was having a wonderful time using his army memories from an earlier Halloween to identify the guns he was accumulating.

Tara walked closer to the now-quiet vampire and smiled timidly at him.

"It's alright, pretty lady," he said calmly, "I'm not going to bite you. I don't fancy having your fiery-haired friend turn me into a toad or something equally disgusting."

Tara smiled again apologetically. "It's just... it's hard to remember sometimes that we have to stay away from you, you know? You are so much like our Spike in some ways, and so not like him in others."

"So, what does 'your Spike' think of that wanker?" he asked, nodding toward the large man leaning over the table of books. "Don't tell me they're friends too?"

"Uh, no. I'm pretty sure they don't like each other very much... I mean what with the whole Buffy and Spike being engaged thing, and—"

"Engaged? I get engaged to a Slayer!" The vampire's horror was palpable and Tara giggled before she answered.

"Well, not really, it was just a spell. Only lasted a day or so. But..."

"But?"

"But I think Spike is... very fond... of Buffy now. And she... she depends on him for... stuff. Stuff that Riley can't do anymore. So, it's kind of uncomfortable for everybody when they..."

The vampire smiled in genuine delight.

"So the overgrown constable is jealous of me? That's just delicious."

He sank back against his pole, smiling happily to himself as he watched the humans poring over the manuals.

"I-it probably wouldn't be a g-good idea to mention that in front of Riley," Tara stammered. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Spike blinked at her in amazement, tilting his head to study her blushing face.

"I'm not him, you know," he said quietly.

"I know, but you will be. And he's... he's my friend."

"I'm sure he is, pet. If I wasn't evil and hungry, I might be your friend too."

Tara smiled at him softly. "I can't do anything about your evilness, but I could get you a mug of blood if you're hungry."

"I'd appreciate that, luv."

The time passed quickly for Buffy and Spike, now that they had settled into a routine. Buffy passed lazy days reading in the garden when London's less than sunny climate permitted it; shopping for dresses she doubted she would have the time to wear before going back to Sunnydale, and taking Molly with her so that she could roam London during the day and visit some of the places Spike took her to at night.

In the evenings, after enjoying one of Mrs. Barstow's good meals, they waited for Molly to fall asleep, or to leave with her aunt if it was her night off, and then changed into patrolling clothes to go out on the dark streets and search for something to keep Buffy's skills sharp and Spike's need for violence satisfied. They finished each patrol with a walk to the spot they hoped to see a portal open and after waiting impatiently for a while, continued home to end the night with creative and passionate lovemaking.

Spike never bit her after his unintentional lapse the first time. Although Buffy secretly nurtured the hope that he would forget himself and do it again, he was carefully to remain in his human face and limit his biting to nibbles of her lower lip and neck. Neither of them mentioned his slip of the tongue when he said he loved her, tacitly agreeing to pretend it never happened.

Angelus made no more appearances, and Buffy hoped he'd taken her advice and gone to another country, taking his two consorts with him. A week or more of the routine nights and days, uninterrupted by Slayer dreams or actual visits from the older vampires allowed Buffy to become so comfortable with their new life that she began to wonder if she really wanted to go back to Sunnydale and her responsibilities there.

As she prepared to sleep after another night of prowling London's cemeteries, followed by a bout of mind-blowing sex with Spike, she mentally scolded herself for not being more concerned about her Watcher and friends and family back in Sunnydale. With a sigh, she resigned herself to the importance of getting back home and letting Giles figure out the meaning of the dreams. She snuggled in next to Spike, grateful for his comforting presence that seemed to be keeping them at bay and vowed to make more visits to the portal site.

Buffy woke up wondering what time it was and why Molly hadn't come to wake her up yet. Even with the heavy drapes pulled, she could tell it was well into the day. She turned her head and nuzzled the velvety skin on Spike chest, marveling at how soft it felt over the hard muscle beneath. She stuck out her tongue and ran it lightly around the flat nipple in front of her face, smiling when it hardened into a point.

Glancing down the bed, she could see the sheet tented over Spike's morning erection and, after sneaking a look at his face to see if he was still asleep, she slowly moved the sheet aside until she could see the cool pale column rising over his stomach. She wriggled down the bed until she was facing the object of her curiosity.

Taking another quick glance at the sleeping vampire's face, she ran her tongue up the length of him, then around the tip. She giggled softly when his hips arched up and he moaned under his breath. She teased him some more, running her tongue under his foreskin and dipping it into the tiny opening there, tasting him and planting open-mouthed kisses on it.

She felt the vampire shudder and suddenly his hand was on her head as he said, "Don't be startin' something you're not planning to finish there, pet."

Startled, she sat up quickly, blushing all over.

"I'm sorry," she gasped. "I thought you were asleep!"

"You expected me to sleep through that? What the hell do you think I am, woman? I'm dead – not buried. And what do you mean, you're sorry?"

"I don't... I mean, I know, I shouldn't... and I'm not very good at... I just wanted to... I thought I'd try..."

Buffy stopped, blushing so hard he was afraid she would burst a blood vessel.

"If you want to, love, do it. Not going to hear any objections from me. Do you want to, Buffy?" he asked curiously.

"Well, I don't really know how... I mean I tried once, but Riley told me I wasn't doing it right." At Spike's gobsmacked expression, she hastily went on, "But he said it was okay that I didn't know how to do it because only... only a whore would actually want to do that. And he didn't expect me to be very good at it and I—"

Spike's snarl split the morning air, and she flinched back from the flashing amber eyes. She watched in fascination as the vampire visibly forced himself to calm down. When his beautiful human face was back and William was looking at her with sad eyes, she finally let out the breath she'd been unconsciously holding.

"I'm sorry, love," he said gently, touching her face with his fingers. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just can't believe that bloody fool would say something like that to you."

"I'm sure he was just trying to make me feel better about it," she said in defense of her boyfriend.

"Stupid git," he muttered. "Is offered a gift and doesn't know what to do with it."

"That's why I thought I'd just... when you were asleep... so you wouldn't know I was... I mean, not that you'd care if I'm not a nice girl. I mean, evil vampire and all, but... am I babbling again?"

"Yes, you are, darlin'. But it's adorable. Now look at me and listen carefully." He took her chin in his hand and looked into her worried eyes.

"There is nothing two people do together, or do to or for each other, that is wrong or dirty or evil or any other adjective that arse might have used to try to smother the wonderful passion you have inside you. Not if they're both willing and nobody's bein' hurt by it.

"Don't ever be afraid to ask me if you want to try something new or different. And if you think for one minute that wakin' up to find your hot little mouth on me is something you need to apologize for..." He shook his head, completely lost for words to express the insanity of that idea.

"So," she said, recovering her usual cheekiness, "you don't mind if I practice on you?"

He laughed and dropped back onto the bed. "Practice away, pet. I'll let you know when you get to perfect."

He smothered a grin at the determined look on her face as she said, "I'm going to learn to do this right, if it kills me. You'll tell me if I'm doing it right, won't you?"

"I'm pretty sure you can count on that, love. I'm not known for being silent when—ahhh!" He stopped talking when her soft, heated lips closed over the head of his cock and she swirled her tongue around it. Encouraged by the involuntary movement of his hips, she moved her mouth down the shaft as far as she could without triggering her gag reflex.

Spike's gasps, hisses and moans were all the encouragement she needed to begin an inexpert, but enthusiastic bobbing up and down on him, sucking in her cheeks as she came up each time. By the time she had established a good rhythm, the vampire was babbling a stream of praise and encouragement for her efforts and she concluded that the only thing wrong with her performance with Riley had been the object of her attentions.

"Oh god, baby, like that, yessss, oh Jesus, don't stop, love, please baby, oh god, sweet Jesus, bloody buggering fuck!" When she opened her throat and took him all the way in, he surged off the bed chanting her name over and over. "Buffy, Buffy, Buffy..."

She was holding his balls in one hand as she supported his cock with the other and she felt them tighten under her hand. Correctly assuming he was about to explode, she shook her head when he frantically tried to pull her off, redoubling her efforts until she heard him roar her name and felt his milky spendings hit the back of her throat. She swallowed quickly, the flexing of her throat muscles pulling even more from the incoherent vampire as he continued to arch into her mouth until he collapsed on the bed.

Buffy felt a jolt of purely feminine pride when she took in the euphoric look on his slack face and she sat up with a smile.

Take that, Riley Finn! she thought with satisfaction as one sparkling blue eye came open and looked at her with adoration.

"Come here, you," he growled softly, pulling her into his arms and burying his face in her neck. Her long hair tickled his nose as he breathed in and out, inhaling her scent and enjoying the feel of her warm body on his.

"You know that was absolutely amazing, don't you?" he asked when he could talk again. "I don't know who that bleeding idiot was talking about, but it sure as hell wasn't you."

"So, it was ok?" she inquired teasingly. "I did it right?"

"Think you could say that, love. I don't want to call you a liar, but there's no way you—"

"I think I was inspired," she whispered into his neck, embarrassed to let him see her face as she admitted how much she enjoyed knowing she was giving him that much pleasure.

He couldn't speak. He wrapped both arms around her tightly and hoped some of what he was feeling would be understandable from the way he was clinging to her. He knew if he opened his mouth, "I love you" was going to fall out of it again and he didn't want to ruin the moment.

They lay together like that for a long time, the temporarily satiated vampire holding her tightly and lightly caressing her back; the vampire slayer draped over his body, her face buried in his neck. She wrinkled her nose as the smell of the shoe polish he'd been using to tone down his platinum hair competed with his own unique scent.

Eventually, nature called and Buffy reluctantly squirmed until he let go of her so that she could sit up.

"Where do you think you're going?" he growled.

"I'm going to pee," she said primly, standing up and grabbing her nightgown. "And then I'm going to go look for Molly. It's got to be late and I don't understand why she didn't come and wake me. She knows I've got a lot to do today to get ready for that party tonight."

Spike gave a groan at the reminder that they were expected at the Saint-John residence that evening for a social event.

"Should never have told that bloody wanker he could throw a party for us," he grumbled. "If I wanted to see any of those people again, I'd of turned 'em and let them be minions."

"Don't you want to show off your new wife?" she asked tossing her head? "Or are you ashamed of me?"

He was off the bed so fast she was very grateful he wasn't still planning to kill her.

"There isn't one of those overfed snobs that can hold a candle to you. And don't you forget it, missy."

"Okaaay. Hit a nerve there. Should be a fun evening. I can't wait."

Spike snorted, "Oh yeah, lot's of fun."

By the time Buffy had finished in the bathroom, Spike was already downstairs drinking his blood in the study and frowning in thought.

"What's up?" she asked, coming up behind him to run her tongue into his ear and to suck on his earlobe.

"What's usually up when you start doing things like that," he grinned at her, jarred out of his thoughts.

At Buffy's, "Have you seen Molly?" his frown came back and he shook his head.

"No, and neither has Mrs. Barstow. No one has seen her since she went out with her girlfriend last night. The other girl is missing too."

Buffy blanched. "You don't think...?"

"I don't think anything, pet," he tried to soothe her. "She's young and you've been letting her be more of a friend than a servant. She'll know her aunt will be furious, but she probably thinks you won't say anything. Maybe they met a couple of attractive blokes and are afraid to come home after staying out all night. Mrs. Barstow has someone else coming in to help you get dressed for tonight. After the party, we'll go looking for Molly if she hasn't turned up by then."

"Promise?"

"Yes, love, I promise. Now go do whatever it is women do to get ready for parties that don't start for hours."

"Yes sir, hubby, sir," she giggled at him as she saluted in mock obedience.

"Don't get smart with me, woman," he glowered back at her. "Don't forget in this era you're just another one of my possessions."

"Is that so?" she asked saucily. "So I'm yours, huh? Hah! You wish!"

She flounced out of the room, not seeing the look on his face as he whispered, "You have no idea how much I wish that were true, Buffy. No idea at all."

Between Willow's brains and Riley's knowledge of the Initiative and its projects, they were finally able to narrow down the manuals to the one with the instructions for the "matter transferring" device, as it was referred to. Hours and days of reading through and comparing possible ways of interpreting the technical jargon later, and they felt they were ready for a trial run.

It was Tara who suggested they try sending back something Spike or Buffy would recognize if they happened to be nearby when it came through. But it was the vampire chained away from the group who said calmly, "Why don't you send them a message? Tell them when you will be turning it on again so they can be ready."

All eyes turned to him in astonishment.

"What? You think I want to stay here in this underground hell-hole, chained up, fed cold, disgusting animal blood, and not knowing where or when my dark princess is? I'm just saying..."

"Actually, William, that is quite a good idea," Giles said quickly before anyone could tell the vampire to shut up.

He immediately tore a large sheet of paper off the flip chart they'd been tracking their ideas on and wrote in large letters, "24 hours. Be ready." Willow took the marker from his hand and added underneath, "We miss you." She blushed and said, "Well, it's true isn't it? They might be having a good time and not want to come home. I just thought I'd remind them they have friends here."

"Would you quit referring to Buffy and that vampire as 'they'!" Riley growled. "We're getting Buffy back – if the neutered monster has to come with her... well, there's always a down side. It doesn't mean anybody misses him."

The Scoobies exchanged looks, but no one bothered to contradict the already annoyed man. They just shrugged and made plans to send the message so it would arrive in London sometime during the night.

Chapter Seventeen

As Buffy descended the stairs, Spike stared at the woman he was escorting to the party that evening and marveled. The maid that Cook had managed to find on short notice was a former personal maid to a member of the peerage and she knew exactly how to get the most out of the few dressy items that Buffy had purchased.

Her golden hair was piled on top of her head, with just a few curly tendrils framing her face and drawing attention to her graceful neck. The dress was a soft moss green that went beautifully with the gold of her hair and her brilliant green eyes. Although Buffy still felt naked without her usual make-up, the maid had assured her that anything more than a touch of color on her cheeks would be "cheap" and she had to settle for biting her lips to make them pink and being grateful for her naturally dark eyelashes.

The only thing missing was any trace of jewelry. Since Buffy had been technically "working" when they'd been sucked back to this time, she had none of her own with her, and she was reluctant to dip into the few pieces belonging to Spike's mother without his permission. As soon as the maid mentioned jewels, definitely implying that he was falling down on his responsibilities to see that his wife was properly attired, Spike pressed some coins into her hand, thanked her for her efforts, and pushed her out the door.

While Buffy stared at him in confusion, he went into his study and opened the locking drawer where he kept his blood. He stared into the drawer for a minute, then pulled out a velvet box and held it out to Buffy.

"Here," he said gruffly, "see if you can find something you like."

Buffy frowned at him, taking the box and turning it around before releasing the clasp. When it popped open, she gasped and almost dropped it. Sparkling on the silken lining were small, delicate diamond earrings, a silver chain with a small diamond-encrusted locket, and a set of rings, one clearly an engagement ring and the other a simple band with small diamonds across the top.

"Wha-? Where? Who? Oh my god, they're beautiful, Spike. Where did you get them?"

"They were my mother's," he said quietly. "I think she would be happy to have you wear them. Even if it is only temporary," he concluded, looking away from her awed face.

Buffy put the earrings on, then held the locket out to Spike and asked softly, "Would you put this on for me, please, William?"

With trembling hands, he fastened the necklace around her neck, leaning down to kiss her bare shoulder when he was done.

"They look lovely on you, pet. Mother would be pleased."

Buffy stood there, awkwardly holding the box that still contained the two rings, not sure what she should do with them. The vampire noticed her confusion and took the rings out, reaching for her hand.

"Everyone is going to expect you to have a wedding ring, love. You don't mind, do you?" he asked as he slipped the rings on her finger. The fit was perfect and their eyes met briefly as he held on to her hand long enough to plant a light kiss on her knuckles.

"There you are, Mrs. Sinclair. All properly decked out to show everybody why you married me."

Buffy reached up and stroked his sharp cheekbones, then ran her finger over his soft lower lip. Even with his toned down hair and unneeded glasses, he cut a fine figure in his tailor-made suit that showed off his muscular legs and broad shoulders.

"I think it should be pretty obvious why I married you," she said softly, blushing slightly.

He cupped her hand in his, turning his head to plant a kiss in her palm, smiling when her heart rate went up.

"If we don't leave now, pet, you're not going to make it out the door in that dress," he growled.

Placing a light shawl on her shoulders, he put his hand in her back and guided her to the carriage waiting outside.

After an hour of smiling politely as she was introduced to men and women who were as insincere as they were boring, Buffy was ready to leave the party and go slay something. She could tell the women were eyeing her dress for any trace of cheapness, and she caught the looks at her rings when they thought she wasn't looking.

One dark-haired matron with a gigantic chest shoved up to almost spill out of her dress, insisted on following Buffy around and asking her pointed questions about where she met William, what she knew about him, how much money he had, and, finally, asking if he ever mentioned her.

"Cecily? Cecily? No, I don't believe he has," Buffy responded cheerfully. "Should he have?"

"Oh," she said with some disappointment. "Well I guess it's understandable. I did break his heart, after all. I presume it is still painful for him."

She beamed at Buffy, clearly expecting her to cringe at the thought that her husband might have loved someone else. She frowned when Buffy laughed merrily and said, "If I had a penny for every woman who thought my William was in love with her— But if it makes you happy to remember it that way..." She waved her hand airily and moved off to link her arms with Spike's and smile up at him adoringly.

"What are you up to, pet?" he whispered. "That bitch wasn't giving you a hard time, was she?"

Buffy tossed her head. "Puleeeese! " she sniffed. "I went to high school with Cordelia Chase. I can't be bothered trading barbs with amateurs."

His rich laugh and the possessive arm he wrapped around Buffy spoke more loudly than anything they could have said to convince most of those watching that William had made a love match. The only ones not convinced, were the few men left alive of those that had been particularly unkind to the younger, meeker William.

While it wasn't lost on any of the women present that William had matured while he was away and become a self-confident, attractive man, his former tormentors refused to see him as anything but the gentle poet they were accustomed to pushing around. As the evening went on and more alcohol was imbibed, old habits took over and they were soon badgering William for a poetry reading.

"You did know your husband was known as William, the Bloody Awful Poet, didn't you, Mrs. Sinclair?" one of them asked. Buffy's shocked look told them she didn't, although they had no idea the real reason she looked so flabbergasted.

One look at Spike's face told her the old insult – which it clearly was – still hurt and she found herself stepping in front of him to look up at the laughing man.

"I cannot imagine how someone with William's gift for writing lovely sonnets could have earned a title like that. Surely you have confused my husband with someone else – perhaps someone like yourself with no appreciation for beautiful things?" She looked pointedly at the man's jewel covered, but extremely plain wife.

"Feisty, isn't she?" snarked a recovered Spike as he put an arm around her waist. "In addition to being drop-dead gorgeous, of course."

While the other man's face darkened in anger, Spike steered Buffy toward their host and hostess, telling them that they had thoroughly enjoyed themselves, but, being newlyweds, they were more than ready to go home for the evening.

Mr. Saint-John looked wistfully at Buffy as he nodded his understanding and wished them a safe ride home. He had no idea why the vampire he knew as a member of the Scourge of Europe was spending his time with a human woman, but he had to admit the man had excellent taste. During the course of the evening, Spike had mentioned to the solicitor that he might be leaving soon and explained what he wanted done with the house and his retainers.

The man wisely didn't remind him that he'd given the house to the girl at his side, just nodded and promised to continue handling Spike's affairs as he had been before. He assumed the vampire was tiring of playing at being married to the woman and was planning to kill her or turn her and go back to his life as a vampire. He hadn't worked for Wolfram and Hart all these years not to know when to look the other way and keep his questions to himself.

Spike left Buffy standing on the large front porch while he went to fetch their carriage, not doubting that the Slayer could take care of herself if necessary. She cast her senses around for vampires or demons, never noticing the drunk men behind her until one of them wrapped an arm around her shoulders and breathing his whiskey-soaked breath in her face said, "Fess up now, Missy. Where did William pick you up? How much is he paying you to pretend you're married to him? I'll match it for a couple of hours of your time," he added, leering at her cleavage.

Buffy threw off his arm with an ease that the would-be accoster was too drunk to notice and shoved him back toward his friends.

"If I were you, I'd get lost before William gets back," she gritted out through clenched teeth. As much as she wanted to punch the man's face in, she knew that was completely beyond the pall for Victorian ladies and she really didn't want to embarrass Spike in front of these bullies.

The angry man, charged toward her, his weight carrying them both into the railing and sending Buffy's good intentions right out the window. Bringing her knee up, she sent him gasping to the floor. She was just reaching for him, preparing to throw him over the railing and into the street when a voice she hadn't heard in years said, "No, Slayer. This one's mine."

There was no sign of the gentle man she had learned lay beneath the vampire's hard exterior. Facing the gasping bully was the Spike she hadn't seen since he attacked her high school. With one hand he picked the whimpering man up and shook him. His acute hearing had picked up every word of the conversation, including Buffy's attempt to handle it without giving away how different she was from the other women at the party.

"You dare to touch my wife?" he said in a voice all the more frightening for its even, cold tone. The man he was holding forgot completely about his aching balls as he stared death in the face. Sudden realization hit him as he remembered the strange and violent deaths that had decimated their social set shortly after William's disappearance several years ago. Even as he contemplated his own demise, he understood why the frightening deaths had happened to the most egregious bullies in their set.

While his friends wondered if they dared challenge the monster holding their companion, and if his life was worth the risk, his wife stepped forward and put a slim hand on his arm.

"Spike, please?" was all she said, but the monster's features faded back to his human visage and he sighed regretfully, lowering the crying man to the floor.

"He insulted you," he grumbled, letting go and watching dispassionately as the man fell to the floor and curled into a frightened ball. The acrid smell of urine was in the air and Spike sniffed appreciatively.

"I can take care of myself, remember?" she said gently.

"Yes, pet." He sighed again, rolling his eyes. "I remember. Just had a Victorian moment there. I'm sorry," he added, sticking his lower lip out. "Forgive me?"

In front of the forgotten drunk's staring cronies, she stood on her tiptoes and grabbed his lower lip with her teeth and shook it gently.

"Are you going to make it worth my while, husband?" she purred.

"Count on it, you little minx," he answered, lifting her up and kissing her thoroughly.

"Okay, let's go then," she chirped, turning to wave at the still immobilized party-goers. "Bye, guys!"

They managed to get all the way into the carriage before collapsing in each other's arms laughing uncontrollably.

"Bloody hell, Slayer, I hope your watcher gets us home soon. We won't be able to show our faces around here anywhere for months!"

Spike had already given the driver instructions to swing by the street upon which their adventure had begun, and Buffy peered out the window looking for any sign of the green glow that had brought them there. She was just slumping back in disappointment when a fluttering caught her eye and she yelled for the driver to stop. Before the carriage had come to a complete halt, she was out the door and snatching at the large piece of paper drifting on the slight breeze.

Her face lit up when she saw the message and she whirled to show it to Spike, her smile fading when she saw his face.

"So, twenty-four hours," he said noncommittally.

"I thought you wanted to go back," she asked, confused at his lack of enthusiasm.

"I do, pet. Just caught me by surprise, that's all." He made an effort to look happy and gave her an encouraging hug. "Wasn't really expecting them to figure it out so fast."

"Oh, well," she said, turning away to look at the message again, "They probably called Riley to come back and help them figure it out. Hey, do you think we can find something to write with? Just in case we can send it back?"

Spike's stomach clenched at her casual mention of her boyfriend having participated in the retrieval. He'd hoped to have a week or two to sort out where they stood with each other before having to deal with another man in the picture.

Fortunately, he was spared having to say anything by a tiny green glow that began in the middle of the street and grew. Buffy grabbed some mud from the gutter and quickly wrote, "We'll be here" before throwing the paper into the rapidly expanding portal. They stood, side-by-side, watching the paper disappear into thin air and then the glow was gone and they were alone except for the impatient cab driver.

Spike was uncharacteristically quiet on the way home, silently paying the driver and following Buffy toward the house. His ears picked up the sobbing minutes before she did and he was already running toward the house right in front of the Slayer.

They reached the porch to find a sobbing Molly waiting for them. Buffy flew up the steps and put her arms around the hysterical girl, asking, "Molly? What's wrong? Did something happen to your aunt? Did someone hurt you?"

Before Spike could stop her, she opened the door and said, "Come on in, Molly. Tell us what happened to you. We've been so worried. Get in here where I can see you," she finished, pushing open the door and helping the sobbing girl through it.

When they got inside, she could see that Molly was covered in blood and she gasped as she began to examine the girl for wounds.

"What happened? Who hurt you? Tell us, we'll..."

Molly turned to look at Buffy and with a sly smile she said, "He said to tell you he was going to go, but he was leaving you a going-away present."

"Who was going away? And what present?"

"Me," said Molly as she shifted into her demon face and lunged for the stricken Slayer. She turned to dust before Buffy's eyes; dust through which Buffy could barely see Spike and the stake he'd used. Tears of rage and grief filled her eyes as she began cursing Angelus.

"That son of a bitch!" she ground out. "He couldn't come after me – he had to pick on a defenseless girl!"

"That's his way of coming after you, love. You should know that from before. He's a sick fuck and he gets his kicks from making women cry – not from an honest fight or a clean kill. I'm sorry, love," he added, wanting to comfort her, but wary of touching the angry Slayer. "I liked the girl too."

"She died because of me. Because I taunted him instead of doing my job," she said dully.

"She died because Angelus is a miserable bastard. Has nothing to do with you, Buffy. It could have and probably would have happened whether you were here or not. Maybe he wouldn't have bothered to turn her, but if he was hungry she'd be just as dead."

Without answering, Buffy turned away and headed for the stairs, her head down and tears still running down her cheeks. She quietly changed out of her now-blood stained dress and into the nightgown Molly had been so insistent that she wear even though they both knew it wasn't going to stay on very long. She gently stroked the nightgown, vowing to make Angelus pay somehow.

She was still wearing the diamond jewelry as she turned to go into Spike's room, turning silently so that he could undo the locket.

"You'll have to remember to lock them back up tomorrow," she said as he removed the locket and set it on the table. She reached up to undo the earrings, but he stopped her with a gentle hand.

"Leave them on for awhile, pet. They look beautiful on you."

She nodded, then looked at her hand and the two rings resting there.

"Those too," he said, gently turning her around to face him. "We've got one more night of being Mr. And Mrs. Sinclair. Might as well keep the perks while you've got them."

Buffy smiled slightly, closing her hand around the rings.

"One more day," she agreed. "Then it's back to homework and dirty laundry and crowded dorm rooms for Buffy. Bye-bye rich, pampered wife of William Sinclair and back to the boring life of a college girl."

"Who just happens to be the Slayer," he reminded her gently.

She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Who just happens to be the Slayer," she agreed. "A Slayer who needs to tell her watcher about all those dreams before I forget important details. Giles is very big on the details in Slayer dreams."

"Come on, love. Let's get some sleep. Who knows what time that paper was sent through tonight. We'll have to camp out near the portal all night tomorrow so we don't miss it."

Buffy allowed him to steer her to the bed and settle her under the covers. She was almost asleep when she realized he wasn't there with her. Her eyes flew open and she sat up, her heart thudding.

"Spike? Aren't you coming to bed?"

"I'll be there shortly, sweetheart," he replied absently. "I want to check the downstairs again, just in case."

"They can't get in," Buffy said. "If they could, Molly would have been able to get in before we got home. The only vampire that can get in here without an invitation is you." She frowned at him, suddenly remembering his pushing her in the door the week before. "Why didn't I need to invite you in?"

"I suspect it's because I was already in the house when I transferred it to you. Invitation by implication, I guess. I dunno." He shrugged, clearly not interested in why he remained able to come and go in his own house.

"I guess that makes sense," she yawned, snuggling down in the bed. "Hurry back up, 'k?"

"I'll be back before you can fall asleep, pet."

Leaving the room, he went silently back down to the foyer and stared at the small pile of dust that was all that was left of a girl he remembered chasing around her aunt's kitchen when she was a child. A girl whose sparkling eyes and saucy mouth had kept Buffy from feeling alone and alienated in this time so different from her own.

With a sigh, he went to the kitchen for a broom and dustpan, determined to remove the reminder before Buffy came down in the morning. He swept it up quickly and walked back into the kitchen. As he opened the door to toss the pan of dust into the garden, movement caught his eye and he looked up to see a white shadow swaying on the path.

"What do you want, Dru?" he asked through tightly clenched teeth. He knew she hadn't been the one responsible for Molly's death, but she was a part of Angelus' family.

"I want my Spike back," she surprised him by saying with perfect clarity. "You are not my sweet William anymore."

"No, I'm not. Don't know where your Spike is, but if he's gone because of me, he should be back tomorrow night. Not promising, mind you, but that'd be my guess."

"Daddy and Grandmother left tonight. They were angry that I didn't go with them, but I said I had to wait for William. He's been a bad boy and I will have to punish him for going away."

"You do that, pet. Punish him all you want – probably make you both happy. Now get off our property." He turned his back and went into the house, closing the door firmly behind him and taking the back stairs up to his room.

He smelled her tears as soon as he entered the room and knew instinctively that they weren't the angry, frustrated tears of the Slayer, but the grieving tears of a young girl who had just lost a new friend. With a sigh he shrugged off his clothes and slid into the bed behind her, pulling her into his arms and nuzzling her neck.

When she turned to face him, he licked the tears off and kissed her gently.

"I'm sorry, Buffy. I know she was a good friend to you. I liked her too."

Buffy sniffled and nodded, grateful that he wasn't trying to cheer her up with platitudes. It occurred to her that Spike never tried to convince her things were anything but what they really were. He'd always told her the truth, even when he knew she didn't want to hear it.

She was suddenly filled with fear that what they had between them, whatever it was – and she really didn't want to examine it too closely – wouldn't be able to stand up to the return to Sunnydale and the obvious problems waiting for them there. She buried her head in his neck, wrapped her arms around him and whispered, "Make love to me, William, please."

"It would be my pleasure, sweetheart," he whispered back as he began kissing his way from her ear to her mouth.

Teasing her lips open with his tongue, he gently ran it over her teeth, stroking them until her own came out to join his in a sensual dance that was all the more erotic for its lack of urgency. For long minutes they remained holding each other, allowing their lips and tongues to gradually build the need for more contact.

Slowly, his hands began to stroke her silky skin, reveling in the warmth of her body and the way her breathing quickened under his hands. When she sent her own hands moving around his torso with heated caresses, his response was immediate and impossible to miss.

With a sigh, Buffy ran one hand down to stroke his erection, lightly touching him just enough to cause him to push his hips toward her seeking more contact. He slid one hand down to cup her full ass and pull her closer to him, murmuring his approval when she threw one leg over his hip, allowing the head of his cock to rub along her already damp slit.

Buffy gasped as he used the tip of it to spread moisture along the length of her sex, unable to suppress a shudder when he touched her sensitive clit. For as long as he could stand it, he teased her with light touches and strokes that never left his hard length in one place long enough to do anything but make her crave more.

When her moans turned to whimpers and she pushed her hips against his seeking more, he gently rolled her onto her back, following over so that he was on top of her, his cool, smooth skin caressing her warm body everywhere they were touching. He positioned himself at her opening, nudging gently without actually penetrating her willing entrance.

"Invite me in, love," he pleaded softly. "Tell me you want me to come in."

Startled by his uncharacteristic reluctance to take what he wanted, but oddly moved by his willingness to wait for her permission, she nodded slightly and whispered, "Come in, Spike. Be inside me, please. I want you to be in me."

With a shuddering groan, he slowly slid into her, pausing when he was fully in to allow her to get used to him. As he felt her relax around him, he began to move his hips slowly, setting up a gentle rhythm that was as soothing as it was erotic. Buffy gave a contented sigh and began to move with him in gentle syncopation.

She marveled at how good it felt to have this vampire, this slayer of slayers, joined so intimately with her body and how right it seemed to have him there. She struggled to think of a word to describe how she felt about it and finally decided that it made her feel completed. With his thick cock inside her, she felt like together they were a complete person.

She didn't realize she'd said the word aloud until Spike paused and asked, "What's that, pet?"

She bit her lip, then blurted. "I said 'complete', you make me feel complete. When you're inside me. That's how it feels." She blushed and shut her eyes in case he was going to laugh at her. Instead, she felt him rest his forehead gently against hers as he choked out, "I love you so bloody much, Buffy. You have to know how much I love you."

Her heart rate sped up and she turned her head, terrified of what she would see if she allowed herself to meet the eyes she could feel burning a hole in her own.

"Look at me, love," he said softly. "Please, Buffy, just look at me."

She turned frightened eyes back to meet his unwavering gaze and remained caught there in his darkened eyes as he told her, "That was just a statement of fact, love. It had to be said again, and this seemed the right time and place. Wasn't a question, or a demand for a response; doesn't mean you need to say anything in return. I don't want anything from you – know I'm beneath you; that you can't love a soulless monster. Just needed you to know it for sure. Love you. Think I always have at some level, and know I always will. I'm yours for as long as you'll have me. Longer, probably."

"Mine," she said slowly, reaching up to touch his face gently.

"Yours," he agreed, dropping his head to kiss her sweetly. His hips maintained their easy movements, neither of them feeling any reason to rush the release gradually building in their joined bodies.

Spike felt he could remain like they were forever, just allowing the heat of her body to warm his own and letting himself drown in the sensation of being surrounded by everything Buffy. He poured everything he was feeling into his lips, hands and hips as he tried to physically demonstrate what she meant to him.

Buffy clutched him with her arms and legs, trying to use her body to say the words she wouldn't allow to leave her lips.

I can't love another vampire. No matter how much I want to, I'm the Slayer and it's wrong. This one doesn't even have a soul. I can't do it.

As the inevitable release neither one was really seeking approached, tears leaked from Buffy's eyes at the thought of losing the intimate contact that was all she would allow herself to feel from this vampire. Even as the tension built up until she was screaming Spike's name when she fell over the edge into shuddering ecstasy, the tears continued to slid down her cheeks, silent testimony to the emotion to which she refused to admit.

Spike felt her strong walls clenching as she shuddered underneath him, arching up and screaming his name and he allowed his demon out to add his heightened vampire senses to the spasms shaking his body as it emptied itself into her.

Buffy's slayer senses somehow knew when Spike changed and she threw her head back, offering her throat to the demon with complete fearlessness. The tiny pain of his fangs sliding into her throat was immediately banished when the strong pulls of her blood sent her shuddering into another, more powerful orgasm. The demon pulled on her blood while her supernaturally strong muscles squeezed his cock until there was nothing left but the satisfying pain/pleasure.

When their bodies had experienced as much sensation as they could without losing consciousness, they gradually subsided into trembling gasps for air. Spike carefully licked his bite until it was closed and healing, He began to reluctantly pull away from the Slayer, but she held tightly with her legs and said simply, "No".

He nodded his understanding, saying gently, "Just going to shift us, love, so you can breathe a little easier."

He carefully rolled onto his back, bringing her with him so that she was draped over his body, his limp cock still buried inside her. Reaching with one hand, he grabbed the covers and pulled them back up over her shoulders, smiling as she murmured her thanks.

"You're welcome, my love," he whispered, knowing from her even breathing that she was already asleep.

Throughout the night, they remained intimately joined, waking enough to make slow, sensual love again two more times, before they allowed their bodies to finally slide apart.

bChapter Eighteen/b

They woke up to make achingly sweet love one more time before getting up to prepare for the return to their lives in the future Sunnydale, California. No words were exchanged, but there was now another aspect to the sex that left them both feeling satisfied on more than a physical level. It was also tinged with a trace of sadness about their uncertain future.

When Buffy got downstairs, she was surprised not to find Mrs. Barstow there, but she went about getting herself breakfast in the kitchen she was now comfortable finding her way around. She took Spike's blood from the delivery boy, thanking him warmly and taking it right to the study where she found Spike scribbling notes, his glasses perched on his nose.

"Why do you wear those when you don't need them anymore?" she asked idly, handing him a mug full of blood.

"Goes with the look, pet."

She cocked her head to the side in an unconscious imitation of him.

"You know, maybe you should bring them back with you. I think they're kind of sexy – in an intellectual kind of way."

"If you think I'm gonna let the whelp see me like this..."

She giggled and climbed onto his lap, pushing the chair away from the desk as she did so.

"You could wear them when he's not around..." she murmured, running her fingers up to play with his shirt collar. "We could play Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair..."

"If it's games you want, pet, I can come up with lots more interesting ones than that," he leered at her suggestively.

"I like this one," she said softly, all teasing gone from her tone. "We've been happy here – mostly, anyway," she added, suddenly remembering Molly.

"That we have, love," he agreed, pulling her against his chest. "You don't think we can be happy back in Sunnyhell?" he asked carefully, trying to hide the fear that filled him.

"I think it's going to be a lot harder, don't you?" She looked up at him quickly enough to see the pain in his eyes.

Before he could answer her, they heard the kitchen door open and Buffy jumped up, closely followed by Spike. Instead of Mrs. Barstow, they saw George. The look on his face told them he knew something about Molly.

He gave a half-bow in their direction and then launched into his explanation for his grandmother's absence. He explained that while they had not found Molly, they had found the body of her friend with her throat torn out and covered with too much blood to be all hers. They feared the worst, and Mrs. Barstow was staying with Molly's mother until they knew something for sure.

Buffy and Spike exchanged looks, knowing there was nothing they could say to give the family answers without revealing too much. Buffy's obvious distress didn't register on George as anything other than the same fear his relatives were feeling. He was grateful for the tears in her eyes, as he knew Molly was very fond of her mistress and he felt somewhat comforted, knowing it was reciprocated.

Spike went back to the study and returned with several of the notes he'd been writing, telling George to assure Mrs. Barstow that she wasn't needed and was to stay as long as she needed to. He gave him a note to her, explaining that he expected to be leaving again that night and she was to follow up on his instructions from earlier in the week.

He ran through the same instructions for George, asking him to take the other notes to the bank and to Mr. Saint-John's office telling them the same thing. He assured Mr. Saint-John that it was his wish that the house remain in Buffy's name, although in the event of her death it was to revert to him. He asked Buffy to sign that section of the note, and she looked at him oddly before doing as he asked.

With many thanks for the way his family had made them comfortable during their visit, and false assurances that Molly would be found alive and well, they bade the young man good day and Buffy closed the door against the rays of the sun slanting into the room.

When she followed Spike back into the study, Buffy spotted the velvet box that the jewels had been in and flinched as she realized she was still wearing the rings and earrings. She said, "I forgot to take these off. Let me just go get the locket and you can put them away..." She turned to go up stairs.

"Buffy." His voice stopped her and he stepped up behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "I want you to keep them, love. They aren't doing anyone any good locked up in a drawer. Go get the locket and put it on."

She looked back over her shoulder at him, twisting the rings on her fingers.

"But, Spike, I can't... we aren't really..."

She winced at the pained look that crossed his face and turned all the way around to wrap her arms around his waist and press her face into his chest.

"Except for the nightmares and Molly, this has been like the perfect vacation. A nice house, good food, lots of pampering, unlimited shopping, a little slaying…." She raised her head and looked into his downcast eyes. "…and a wonderful man to share it with." She willed him to understand what she was trying to say. "But we both know it's coming to an end. We aren't really married, and when we get back to Sunnydale—"

"So, you're kicking me to the curb then?" His face shuttered as he hid what he was feeling behind the cold mask of a dead man.

"No!" She shook him hard, startling him out of his self-induced pain. "I'm not saying that at all! I'm just saying it's going to be different there. There are going to be complications – friends to explain things to, boyfriends to break up with, a watcher to calm down. We can't just show up and say, "Hi everybody! Guess what, we're back and we're in love."

"We're in what?"

Buffy's eyes took on the trapped look of a deer caught in a poacher's searchlight as she realized what she'd said. She started shaking her head rapidly, trying to back away from the suddenly predatory vampire stalking her around the desk.

"Nothing. I didn't say that. I didn't mean—mmmph!"

The vampire in question captured her mouth in a bone-melting kiss, effectively cutting off her denials. He continued the kiss until she gave in and responded, curling her arms around his neck and allowing him to support her body as it molded itself to his. When she was about to pass out from sheer lust as well as the lack of air, he raised his head and looked at her with awe and gratitude.

"You're not going to take that back now, are you?" he asked with some trepidation.

"Like you did, you mean?" she teased.

"Didn't want to scare you off," he muttered. "Was too soon – just barely knew it myself then."

"Hey, news flash, vampire. I'm the Slayer. I don't scare that easily."

"I guess not," he grinned happily, picking her up and squeezing hard enough to injury a normal girl. "Lucky me."

He tilted his head at her and asked seriously, "So what's the plan then, love? Tell me how you want to play it and I'll follow your lead."

"I don't know. We'll just have to see what the sitch is when we get home. Who's there, what's gone on while we were away. The most important thing is to give Giles our notes and try to figure out these dreams..."

"You already know what the common theme is, pet. Don't try to pretend you don't. You have to be ready to deal with Angelus if that's what we're coming home to."

She sighed and nodded her head. "I know. That's the obvious message – well, that and that you'll do anything to protect me." She flashed him a grateful smile and he responded, "Always," before she went on. "But then there's the whole Darla thing – why would a pile of dust be in it? And Dru with her cryptic little warnings and scoldings about telling you... oh my god! Do you think that's what she wants me to tell you?"

"What?" he asked with an innocent look.

"You know," she said looking uncomfortable. "What I said – almost said – whatever."

"I know," he grinned. "Just want to hear you say it again."

"Don't push your luck, vampire." She tried to look intimidating but only managed embarrassed and annoyed.

"Feeling pretty lucky today, pet," he said softly, moving closer again. "And newsflash for you, Slayer. In spite of what Dru said? I will always come for you. Wouldn't matter if you loved me or not – I'll dust ten times over if it will keep you alive and away from Angelus."

She studied him for a minute, then asked lightly, "You don't have to answer this, but... which is more important – alive or away from Angel?" She deliberately used her souled ex's name, noticing the slight flinch that Spike gave at hearing it. To her surprise he answered her with complete honesty.

"To the demon, keeping you away from the great poofter is the most important thing. He doesn't care if you're alive or undead, as long as you're his..." He looked at her with a certain amount of shame, but she nodded encouragingly and he went on, "But me, the part of me that's still a man, wants you alive and breathing, even if it means..." He couldn't finish the sentence, wanting to tell her he was fine with it even if she wasn't with him, but he couldn't choke out the lie.

"Well, I'm going to vote for alive iand/i yours, if that's ok with you and your demon," she said briskly. "Now let's get ourselves ready to catch that portal when it gets here."

Giles walked toward the waiting vampire, the key to the chains in one hand and the taser in the other. Behind him Willow and Tara looked at Spike sympathetically. He cocked his head at the watcher and then at the two witches.

"What's this, then? The tooth rattler isn't enough, you want to mojo me too? I told you I want to go back. What makes you think you need any of that?"

He managed to look disgruntled and innocent at the same time, causing the girls to smile.

"I do not think it is in anyone's best interest for you to have any memories of us or this place. Willow and Tara will make sure that doesn't happen."

"They're going to interfere with my mind?" The vampire rose to his feet, snarling and causing the witches to flinch away.

"W—we—we're really sorry, Spike," Tara stammered. "I hate this, I really do. But if we let you go back, knowing—"

"We can't take a chance on your knowledge of the future doing any—" Giles began pedantically.

"I could change it," he interrupted with a resigned sigh. "I get that, Watcher. I'm not stupid, you know."

"Yes, I know," the man answered. "If there were another way..."

"Alright, fine. Let's get it over with. Let me get back to my unlife and you'll have your precious slayer back."

He stood up and held out his hands. "If you hold off the mojo till I'm in the time machine there, you won't need that thing. I'll go willingly and I promise not to eat anybody on the way there."

Just then, Riley and Xander came into view, obviously arguing about something and the vampire stiffened. "Never mind," he growled, "I can't keep that promise."

"You could if you wanted to," Willow scolded.

"Don't want to," he muttered, glaring at the approaching ex-commando. "I don't know why I dislike that oafish git so much, but I would eat him in a second if I had a chance."

"Your honesty is commendable, William. Unfortunately, you realize it leaves me no choice?"

"Yeah, yeah, just get on with it, Watcher. I want out of this place. Need to get back to my ripe wicked plum and the rest of my bloody family."

He presented his muscular back to the other Englishman and waited to be zapped. Making a small face of discomfort, Giles quickly pressed the taser against the surface presented and held it until the convulsing vampire fell to the floor unconscious. He knelt quickly and unlocked the manacles, nodding to Xander and Riley to pick up the surprisingly small body.

The two young men grabbed the vampire's shoulders and feet, carrying him to the room and tossing him in the door. Riley watched dispassionately as the unconscious vampire slid down onto the center pad. He moved to one side as Tara and Willow stepped to the door, preparing to do their spell wiping all memories of his time with them. At a nod from Giles, they cast some powder toward the vampire, who was just beginning to stir, and began their chant.

Spike managed to wink at them just before the spell took hold and all trace of recognition left his now-demonic face. As soon as they finished the chant, they stepped back and Xander slammed the door, wincing when he heard the lock click shut.

"At least this time I did it on purpose," he muttered, stepping away so that Riley and Willow could set the controls the way they needed to.

Once again, a humming sound filled the space and the room began to glow green. They could hear the vampire snarling inside as he reacted to the feeling of his atoms being separated and put back together for the second time.

Outside the small room, a tense group waited anxiously for the humming to stop and the door to open. As the green glow faded and the door tumblers could be heard falling into place, there was a collective intake of breath from the small group of humans. Tara and Willow clutched each other's hands tightly as they waited to see what they would find behind the slowly opening door.

Chapter Nineteen

The sun was dropping down behind the nearby buildings when Spike and Buffy took a last look around the house, preparing to leave and spend the evening waiting for the portal to open again. While Spike went through his desk, making sure he hadn't left any future-altering information behind, Buffy went back upstairs to look around. She was dressed in her usual nighttime outfit of boy's trousers and a boy's shirt; her own clothes stuffed into a rucksack that Spike had found for her.

On a whim, she grabbed her nightgown and stuffed it into the sack with her skirt and blouse. She ran her hands over a few of her favorite dresses, sighing as she left them hanging in the closet. She also placed the box in which her diamonds would be stored into the pack, knowing she wouldn't be wearing them after she got home.

After one last, lingering kiss at the front door, the two predators slipped out into the night to find their way back to their own time and place. Spike pulled the door shut behind him, waiting until he heard the lock click into place before joining Buffy on the front lawn. With one last look at the house in which she'd been a spoiled and well-loved rich man's wife, if for such a short time, Buffy squared her shoulders and walked off in the direction of the portal, rucksack slung over her shoulder and cap pulled down to hide her blond locks and feminine features.

They quickly reached the general area in which they had been deposited the night they arrived and spent several minutes arguing about the exact location of the portal.

"It was right here," Buffy insisted, kicking at a pile of horse manure. "I'm sure this was it. There's the bush that the message was caught on last night. See?"

"Just because the bloody piece of paper was blown over to a bush, doesn't mean that's where it came in. When we sent it back, it was right over here." Spike stood in the middle of the street, pointing to the ground for emphasis.

Buffy opened her mouth to argue, then suddenly stiffened and reached for the stake in her back pocket. She crouched, extending her senses, trying to identify the direction from which the vampire presence was strongest. She turned slowly, straightening up, but continuing to hold her stake as Drusilla stepped out of the shadows.

"Where is he?" She ignored the Slayer and spoke directly to Spike. "Where is my William?"

"I told you Dru. If it's anything to do with us, he'll be back here when we're gone. Don't know exactly when that will be."

"I'll wait," she said quietly, moving back into the shadows.

"Oh great," Buffy grumbled. "Not only do I have to stand around in the middle of a street all night, I have to do it with Miss Looney Tunes watching me."

"She's just waiting for her Spike to come back, Slayer. Ease up."

"Ease up? Tell me something, William." Her voice dragged his name out in anger, "How many children is she going to eat between now and our time because I'm leaving her unstaked? How many, huh?"

"I don't know, pet, but they're already dead, so all you'd be doing here is mucking up the whole thing. Who knows what kind of world we'd go back to if you changed something that major."

"I know," she admitted with a sigh. "It's just really hard not to do what my Slayer side is screaming at me I should be doing."

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, Spike said quietly, "I'm going to go talk to her for a minute – are you alright with that?"

Buffy waved her hand airily. "Go ahead. No sense in both of us being bored. Just don't go too far away in case we have to jump."

"Don't worry, love. Not letting you out of my sight."

Buffy rolled her eyes as he walked toward the shadows in which his insane ex was hiding, wondering what he could possibly have to talk to her about. She tried to smother the pang of jealousy she felt when he didn't even look back, but strode eagerly toward the woman he'd loved for over a hundred years.

I guess that's a positive thing to know. That he can love somebody for over 100 years – and still care about them even after they dump him for a slimy demon. Of course the chance that I'll be around 100 years from now is somewhere between slim and none, so I guess that's not a worry for either one of us...

While Buffy stood impatiently tapping her foot on the curb, Spike made his way into the shadow where Dru was pacing anxiously.

"You might as well relax, Princess," he said soothingly. "We don't know what time it's going to happen. Could be a long wait."

She cocked her head at him, seemingly sane again for a few moments.

"What could have happened to my William to turn him into the Slayer's doggie? And what kind of a slayer wants a vampire in her bed?"

"I'm not your average vampire, pet. And that," he nodded in Buffy's direction, "is definitely not your average slayer. You'd do well to remember that," he added as she made a face.

"Daddy is going to be so angry with you." She changed the subject abruptly. "I will have to tell him I punished you severely for leaving us or he will discipline us both."

"Yeah, your precious 'daddy' always was big with the discipline," he snarled. "One of his more endearing traits."

Spike reached in the pocket of his duster and pulled out one of his few remaining cigarettes. He took his time lighting it with a match, rather than the Zippo in his pocket, and blowing the smoke into the air.

"What are you planning to tell him, Dru? About where William's been and what he's been doing?"

She waved her hand around vaguely. "I'll just tell him, and grandmother, that you wanted to take your time killing the little girl and that I've punished you for allowing her to take you away from us. It will be alright."

"He knows she's a slayer, pet. He watched her in action."

"He'll forget about all that," she said confidently. "He will think you were just using her to fool some more of those nasty people you used to care about. I'll tell him how you ripped and tore, and drank until you were sick and they were all gone. And he won't remember that the little girl was a slayer."

She spoke with such confidence that Spike was seized with a sudden suspicion.

"You're going to thrall him? You're going to take your precious 'daddy's" memories and twist them?"

The brunette vampire ignored his question, just humming and twirling to music only she could hear. After a few seconds of watching her spinning and humming, he shrugged and walked back toward the street.

"So," Buffy couldn't keep the jealous edge out of her voice as he approached, "how are things in la-la land?"

"They'll be better when we're out of here. I hope I'm right and that her Spike is back in Sunnyhell waiting to be switched for me, although I don't know why I wouldn't remember something like tha—"

"How is that something to hope for?" she asked, her voice rising. "You were a stone cold killer! No chip, no Buffy. What's going to keep you – him from killing everybody?"

"Dunno, love, but obviously something has or we wouldn't be standing here waitin' to catch the next bus that glows and hums. Speaking of which..."

Buffy whirled in the direction he was facing and saw the telltale green glow of the portal beginning to show. They watched closely as it gradually enlarged until the opening was big enough for them to step into.

"Alright then, Slayer, this is it. Vacation fun is over."

Buffy reached for his hand, only to find it already linking to hers just as when they had come through the first time. He gave her a wink and squeezed her hand, then stepped toward the open space pulling her with him. They stepped through together, moving into each other's arms for a final kiss before they felt themselves being pulled away.

The transition from the dark London street to an equally dark metal room was as sudden as before, but his time they both landed off balance and fell to the floor. Spike twisted so as to land on the bottom with Buffy sprawled over him.

"Thought you wanted to break the news gently, pet," he teased as the door flew open and all the Scoobies and Riley peered in at them lying on the floor. He felt Buffy's body stiffen when Riley shouted, "Buffy! Are you all right? What are you doing on top of Spike? Do you want me to throw you a stake?"

With a sigh and an apologetic smile, she pushed herself off the vampire and stood up.

"I don't need a stake, Riley. We just fell when we landed and Spike caught me. I'm fine. We're both fine," she added for emphasis.

Spike kipped to his feet, grabbed the rope Giles tossed down to them, and handed it to Buffy. She took it from him, taking the time to look into his eyes and begin, "Spike, I... it might..."

"Whenever you're ready, love," he said, reading her mind. "I'll wait. Not patiently, mind you, but I'll wait."

She gave him a grateful smile and pulled herself up the rope, quickly tossing it back down to him before Riley could get any ideas about shutting the door on Spike. Using the rope only for leverage, he was up and out the door, standing beside Buffy in one leap. He edged away from the door and stood off to the side while Buffy was engulfed in welcoming hugs from her watcher and friends. He smiled indulgently until Riley picked Buffy up in an extended hug, which he tried to accompany with a kiss that she was able to dodge smoothly. The sight of the big man holding the woman he'd finally admitted to loving brought yellow flashes to his eyes and he felt his gums itch as his fangs tried to let down.

"Now is not the time," came a quiet, but very firm voice beside him and he whirled to stare at Giles in surprise. Their eyes met for several seconds before Spike nodded abruptly and shook off his demon.

"Soon as all the welcome back hoopla is over, we need to talk," Spike said. "She was havin' slayer dreams the whole time we were gone."

Giles nodded and gestured toward the table they'd been using for research.

"We might as well do it now, while we're all here. If she's been having them this whole time, It must be urgent."

"Oh, it's urgent alright, Watcher. You can count on it."

Buffy was in the middle of an animated conversation with Willow and Tara about her experiences in nineteenth century London and theirs with fledgling Spike, when Giles interrupted to suggest they sit down so that she could fill them in on the whole experience. He emphasized "whole" and Buffy shot Spike a look before realizing he was talking about her dreams. She blushed when Spike leered at her, clearly guessing where her mind had gone at first.

"Let's start with the dreams, Buffy. What were they about?"

"Well, they were about... um... vampires," she started, looking at Riley and wondering how he would react to hearing than Angelus was planning to rape and turn her. She stalled for time, beginning by saying, "But Dru was in them and she's in South America, and Darla, but she's dust and—"

"Wolfram and Hart resurrected Darla somehow, and Dru is with her," Giles said quietly. "Wesley called last night to warn us."

Buffy and Spike exchanged a frightened look that was not lost on anyone in the room. "Then Peaches' soul has gone walkabout," the vampire said without inflection as he turned away from the table with his hands in his pockets.

No one questioned what he said, except Riley who sputtered and insisted there was no way for Spike to know that. Everyone ignored him, looking at Buffy and waiting for the explanation. She sighed and said, "Bring out your notes, Spike."

Giles took the sheaf of papers that Spike silently handed him, scanning them quickly. His "Dear Lord," and the look he shot at Spike told him the Watcher had come to the part where Angelus had abruptly stopped his assault on Buffy. Buffy may not have known the significance of those actions and words, but it was clear that her watcher did. Giles continued reading through the carefully written notes about each dream, glancing at Spike again when he came to another reference to the "protection" Buffy somehow had obtained from the vampire.

He stared hard at Spike and for just a second the Ripper was very visible as he asked, "Did you?"

Spike shook his head, adding, "I haven't even told her about it."

He somehow managed to imply that the watcher had failed in his duties to his slayer, if she didn't know what could have stopped a vampire attack that quickly.

Giles glared back at him, than said with a sigh, "I just never thought it would be important. It seemed better that she not know that..."

"That the creatures she slays every night could care about each other that much?" Spike challenged the man's glare with a cold stare of his own, until Giles dropped his eyes and nodded.

"It seemed best."

By this time, Buffy was staring back and forth between the two, her irritation obvious and growing.

"Anything you'd like to share with the class?" she huffed, turning her head to glare at Spike. When she turned her head, Giles could see the small, healed marks on her neck and frowned at the vampire again.

Again, Spike shook his head. "Didn't. Wouldn't without her permission."

"But...?" He gestured subtly toward Buffy's neck, making sure Riley didn't notice.

"Heat of the moment. Not the same thing at all," he growled, moving to stand behind Buffy.

"Okay, that's it with the cryptic! I want to know what you two are talking about and I want to know now!"

Rather than answer her, Giles spoke to an increasingly annoyed Riley. "Riley, I think it best if you move away from the table for a little while. Perhaps you and Xander could go look for more weapons? It appears we may need them soon."

The big man started to object, but at a pleading look from Buffy, Xander stepped up beside him and said, "Great idea, G-man. Come on, Riley, let's leave the strategizing to the... the strategizers and go find us some more cool things to blow stuff up with."

"Please, Riley," Buffy added. "Giles and I need to talk about my dreams and I would prefer to do it in private."

The ex-commando glared pointedly at the vampire lounging behind her chair and growled, "And he's here because...?"

"He's here because I want him to be here," Buffy said in a tone that brooked no argument. "He's a part of this. You're not." She winced when she saw the pain flash across her boyfriend's face, but gazed at him steadfastly until he nodded and turned away.

As soon as Xander and Riley were out of sight, Spike moved closer to Buffy's chair, resting his hands lightly on her shoulders and squeezing reassuringly. She reached up with one hand and touched him lightly, leaving her hand resting on his as she looked back at Giles and waited for his answer.

Giles watched them and heaved a large sigh.

"Shall I assume from your behavior, that while you were gone you two figured out that which has been obvious to the rest of us for some time?"

"Wha—?"

"Bloody hell!"

Buffy tilted her head up to look at Spike. "We were obvious? Why didn't we know?"

He shrugged and pulled out the chair next to her, sitting down and linking his hand with hers. "Guess we're a little slow, pet," he said with a smile.

"Speak for yourself," she grumbled. "I'm all with the quick knowing, and..."

"Could we get back to Angelus and leave the discussion of your mutual ability to live in denial until later?"

Her watcher's voice brought them back to the subject at hand and Buffy leaned forward urgently.

"Okay, so if Darla's back and Dru is with her, then Angel either has or is about to lose his soul. The question is, in my dreams why can't I move when he's around? Why am I so afraid of him? And," she shot a 'don't-think-I've-forgotten-about-this' look at Giles and Spike, "what is keeping him from killing me and what does it have to do with Spike?"

"You tell her, Spike," Giles said firmly. "You probably should have explained it as soon as she told you the dream. It may well be important." His tone made it obvious that he would prefer not to be having this conversation at all.

"Yes, tell me, Spike. What do you think you did in my dreams that kept Angelus from killing me?" She looked at him with suspicious eyes. She'd known he knew something about what was going on, but hadn't realized it might be important until she saw Giles' reaction.

Spike squirmed uncomfortably for a minute, releasing her hand to play with his lighter, before looking her in the eye to say quietly, "Apparently I claimed you. That would be the only thing that would make him back off like that when he started to bite you – and that dusting me would remove."

"Claimed? What do you mean, claimed? Like a piece of luggage?" Buffy's indignant tone made it clear what she thought of being anyone's possession, even his.

Giles took up the explanation while the vampire tried very hard to look as though he found the idea more shocking than desirable.

"If Spike were to say the necessary words while biting you, and if you were to give the appropriate acceptance, you would be marked as his... property. No vampire would be permitted to bite you as long as Spike was alive—er, undead. Even the attempt at rape would be out of the question. Angelus' responses in your dreams indicate that you belonged to Spike."

"Because he bit me? So Angel – Angelus won't be able to bite me now?"

"He could do it now, pet. Those little nips aren't claiming bites. If he even noticed them, they wouldn't stop him."

Giles looked as though he had a bad taste in his mouth as he spoke slowly. "As unhappy as I am that you have put your teeth on Buffy at all," he said with another glare at the unconcerned vampire, "I suppose we will have to take into consideration the fact that you could offer her an additional measure of protection if it appears she could need it."

"So, in my dreams, Angelus stopped because I was marked as yours? That's why he was so determined to kill you?"

"You're not as dumb as you look, Slayer," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Shut up, Spike," she answered automatically, thinking hard for a minute. "Maybe you should do it, then," she said finally. "I probably wouldn't freeze if I knew he couldn't touch me. That's what we should do then. Here!" she added, tilting her neck at him.

She frowned when Spike almost fell off his chair recoiling from her offered neck. Her watcher's red face, coughing, and vigorous polishing of his glasses told her she must still be missing important information about claiming.

"What's the matter with you?" she asked the still shocked vampire. "Don't you want to claim me?"

When he saw the pain in her eyes that she tried to hide with anger, he moved back to her side quickly and, forgetting about the other people at the table, cupped her cheek with his hand as he said, "Nothing I'd like more, sweetheart. But it's not something to be taken lightly. There's a little more to it than your watcher said, and it's definitely not something we would be doing in front of other people."

He rolled his eyes at the still blushing older man and the two curious wiccas sitting at the table with them. Buffy blushed herself as she figured out some of what he was not saying, and although she leaned into his palm briefly before sitting up straight again, she nodded her agreement before she turned back to Giles.

"All right. So dis-invites for Angel all around, and Willow will work on the re-ensouling spell in case she gets a chance to use it. Spike and I will patrol every night, looking for any sign of the evil threesome—"

Giles looked at his surrogate daughter with admiration and some concern.

"Buffy, perhaps it would be wise for you to remain indoors where it is safe until we come up with an explanation for the immobility Angelus seemed to inspire in your dreams."

She glared at the older man. "I am not going to hide from him!" she growled. "I've already proved to myself that I can scare him more than he scares me, so I know the dreams aren't a hundred percent prophetic. The best thing I could do is to take it to him, not cower in my room."

"Proved it how?" Willow asked curiously. "I thought these were just dreams."

Buffy exchanged a look with Spike, then ducked her head and mumbled, "Lots of things happened while we were gone. It'll take a while to tell you about all of them."

"I feel confident that there are some things about which we have no need to know more," Giles said dryly as Buffy blushed and Spike smirked at him. "Please spare us."

"I don't want to be spared!" Willow whined. "I want to know everything."

While Spike laughed and Tara whispered in Willow's ear, Buffy huffed, "I meant that Angelus was there, with us, and I acted all scaredy-rabbit like in my dreams."

"And yet, here you are, so clearly he did not attack you."

"No, Spike was always there to keep him away. So, you see, that's not like my dreams either. Cause in the dreams? Spike was always getting beaten, or ripped to shreds, or..."

"Hey!" The vampire's indignant interruption brought attention back to him and Buffy smiled up at him. She surprised both the vampire and her friends when she stood up and wrapped her arms around him.

"I'm just saying, in my dreams we're always losing, but in real life, we chased him away."

"Thought you wanted to take this slowly, pet?" he asked softly as he put his arms around her and whispered in her ear.

"They already know. So, they might as well start getting used to us now. Except Riley. I'm going to have to break up with him, and I don't think it's fair to do it in front of everybody, so..."

"Got it, pet. Better start now, then," he said, dropping his hands and stepping away from her.

Buffy blinked at him in surprise, then noticed what he'd already sensed; that Xander and Riley were striding back into the room, arms full of various implements of vampire control. She nodded gratefully and sat back down at the table.

"How did you gather the courage to chase him away then, Buffy?" Giles brought the attention back to the subject at hand. "It may be important that we understand the mechanism."

"IgotmadatSpike," she mumbled quickly.

"You what?"

Xander and Riley approached the table in time to hear the question and Xander added his comments.

"She said she got mad at Spike. So what else is new? What difference did that make, Buffy?" he asked, turning to her curiously. "And, by the way, what are we talking about?"

"We're talking about the fact that in my dreams, I couldn't move anytime Angelus was around. I was paralyzed with fear. And, the first few times we saw him while we were back in time, the same thing happened. I was all, 'eek, a vampire!' girl instead of a slayer."

"So, getting mad at Captain Peroxide was the cure? Let's hear it for irritating vampires." Xander gave Spike a thumbs-up, causing Riley to glare at him angrily.

Buffy rolled her eyes while Spike smirked again and deliberately sat down beside her. Riley stomped to the table and yanked out the chair across from them, dropping into it heavily and planting his elbows on the table. He stared hard at the vampire sitting so close to his girlfriend and asked coldly, "What did he do to make you mad? And why did it help you?"

Buffy got her "Gah! Headlights!" look again as she remembered what the fight was about. "I... I... don't... I mean, we..."

"Wasn't important, GI Joe. Jus' me shooting off my mouth when I shouldn't have. Important thing is, she was so mad at me she went right back into her room and knocked the big poof off the roof."

While Xander and Willow cheered, "Go, Buffy!" and "Way to go, Buffster!" Riley's eyes narrowed and he said quietly, "Back to her room? Where, exactly, were you two for the past several weeks?"

While the vampire cursed under his breath, and Buffy continued to look like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, Giles stepped in and answered calmly, "We have yet to get into a discussion of exactly where they were or how they managed. It is of much more importance that we evaluate the potential danger to her now and take steps to correct it."

Buffy sent him a grateful look, nodding her head and adding, "We need to figure out if the soul is gone yet. And we need to warn Wesley and Cordelia, and the rest of Angel's friends in LA. If they know about Darla and Dru..."

"I will call Wesley as soon as I get home," Giles said, standing up. "I suggest we all get some place safe and rest for what may well be a trying time."

Everyone who was around the last time Angelus made an appearance, shuddered and nodded, while Riley looked at them in confusion.

"What's the big deal?" he asked angrily. "He's just another vampire, Buffy."

"Not to me, he isn't," she responded quietly, gathering up her rucksack and preparing to leave with everyone else. She missed the black looks that went across the faces of both her current and soon-to-be ex boyfriends.

The group started toward the exit, everyone more than happy to see the last of the underground lab. Xander and Riley had large backpacks full of the weapons they'd collected and Willow and Tara were walking with Spike when he saw Riley reach for Buffy's hand.

Willow flinched at his snarl and her eyes widened in fear when his face changed briefly. He cocked his head at her and asked with a puzzled face, "What's the matter, Red? You know I'm not going to hurt you."

"Right," she said quickly, glancing at Riley who was holding on to Buffy but staring at them. "Cause you're all with the chip and stuff, and not about the hurting humans..." Willow babbled, caught between her worry that Riley would figure out the chip was gone and her fear of a chipless Spike.

"Wouldn't hurt you, or your bird, either way," he said quietly. "You know that."

Willow smile at him apologetically. "I know that, Spike. I'm sorry. It's just been a long time since I've seen you go all 'grrrr', you know?"

"Better get used to it, pet," he said, staring at the big man still clinging to Buffy's reluctant hand.

He forced himself to relax and trust her to handle the situation in her own way, in spite of his demon's demands that he tear the man's hand off for daring to touch her. Letting Willow and Tara go ahead of him, he waited for Giles and walked out with him, bringing up the rear of the little group.

Chapter Twenty

The walk out of the labyrinth that was the old Initiative complex was quiet and uncomfortable for both Buffy and Riley. She tried very hard to get him to release her hand without actually yanking it away and he tried very hard to ignore her lack of response when he laced his large fingers through her tiny ones. When he had to use both hands to open the door to the outside, she moved quickly away far enough that he couldn't pick her hand back up easily.

Before he could do or say anything, Buffy turned to face the rest of the group and went into complete Slayer mode.

"Okay, here's the sitch. We don't know if Anglelus is back yet or if it's still just a possibility. But we do know that Darla is back and that Dru is with her, so nobody goes anywhere unarmed or alone. Holy water, crosses, stakes, the whole enchilada. Spike and I will walk everybody in tonight and check the house before we leave you there. Willow will do a dis-invite anywhere Angel has been. Any questions?"

"Why Spike?" Riley asked quietly. His unspoken, "Why not me?" lingered in the air.

Still in Slayer mode, Buffy didn't concern herself with his feelings as she snapped, "Because they're his family. He'll feel them if they're anywhere around. Probably before I do. And because he's got a better shot at standing up to them than anyone else besides me. Or have you forgotten that he's almost as strong as I am? If my dreams are right, this is our fight – you aren't a part of it. None of you are," she added almost apologetically as she included her watcher and friends. "The most important thing to me is just to see that you are all safe somewhere before we go looking for Angel and his bloodthirsty harem."

"To which we sincerely hope he will not be adding you," Giles said dryly.

"Exactly!" Buffy said at the same time as Spike growled, "Not going to happen. I'll dust first."

"Whoa! Wait. Did I miss something while I was helping Riley collect new and awesomely manly toys? What's this about adding Buffy to a harem?"

She rolled her eyes at Giles before saying calmly, "In the dreams, Angelus is trying to... to rape, drain and turn me. Not a fun experience. Spike is trying to save me, but he's always chained or unconscious or something and I'm all pathetic, scared girl who doesn't fight back. Now you know as much about the situation as we do, can we go now?"

Angry at having revealed so much of her dreams in front of Riley, she turned and began stamping toward the parking lot where she could see Giles' car and Riley's SUV.

"So, Big Bad, you're more of a rescuee than a rescuer, huh?" Xander snarked. He flinched when Spike turned amber eyes at him. Eyes that managed to look dangerous and devastated at the same time. He said nothing, just glared at the young man for a second, then turned away, his shoulders hunched.

Buffy had already reached the cars and waited impatiently for everyone else to get there. It was obvious that they could not all fit into Giles' small car and she reluctantly asked Riley, "Do you think you could give us a ride to my house? I want Willow to do the dis-invite there first, and I need to warn my mom. Once we've done that and Giles has dropped Willow and Tara off at the dorm, we can ride with him and you can go home."

"Where are you going?" he asked suspiciously.

"Oh," she waved her hand airily, "I'll probably go back to my mom's after Giles calls Wesley and we find out what's going on in LA. But we… I can walk from there home, so you don't need to—"

Spike touched her arm lightly. "Tell you what, pet. Why don't I get to your house under my own power? Give you and Captain Cardboard here a chance to catch up?" His message was unmistakable – he was giving her an opportunity to tell Riley it was over between them before things could become really awkward.

"Sounds like a good idea," Riley agreed quickly, opening the door for Buffy. With a little luck, he figured they would be there and done before the vampire showed up.

Buffy met Spike's eyes and smiled softly. "Okay," she said as she got into the big vehicle, "I'll see you at my house."

Spike had vanished into the shadows before Riley even noticed he was leaving. "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be," he said in a puzzled tone. "I thought we'd have a hard time getting rid of him."

He pulled the car out after Giles; then passed the smaller vehicle to head for Revello Drive. Buffy put a tentative hand on his arm. "Riley, the idea is to stay with them so that I know they're okay."

"Oh," he said, slowing down and checking the rear view mirror. "But aren't you worried about your mother too?"

"Spike will take care of Mom," she said dismissively. "That's why he went on foot."

"Oh," the ex-commando said again. "I should have known he wasn't really giving me some time alone with you."

"Actually, he was doing that too..." She took a deep breath and with an apology inherent in her voice, she began, "There's something I have to tell you."

"Is this where you tell me you want to stay friends? Cause, I've got to tell you, I prefer my friends not sneak around behind my back."

She blinked, realizing that, just like everyone else, Riley had also seen the feelings building between the Slayer and the vampire. She sighed heavily.

"I really like you, Riley. And I'm very sorry if I've hurt you. I never intended to do that. And I did not sneak anywhere," she said indignantly. "We fell into one of your old bosses' secret weapons. We've been stuck in the past with nobody to depend on but each other. We just had the time and... opportunity... to realize what everybody – except us apparently – already knew."

"And that would be?" She was a little surprised by the nastiness in his voice, but attributed it to the pain she was causing him.

"That we love each other," she said simply. "I'm sorry, Riley. I truly am, but—"

"But all that stuff about not feeling any differently about me when I was a normal man was just a crock," he said bitterly. "As soon as I couldn't keep up with you, you ran off to fuck another vampire."

Buffy smothered the hurt and anger she was feeling, and replied sadly, "Riley, this has nothing to do with how strong you are. It has to do with how Spike and I feel about each other. I'm sorry that I'm hurting you, but—"

"Spare me," he snarled as he swung into the driveway. "And get the hell out of my car."

"I'm sorry," she repeated softly as she got down. "Be careful. Angelus knows who you are too."

"I'm touched by your concern, but I'll be fine."

She opened her mouth to apologize again, but shut it without saying anything as Giles pulled up beside the car. As soon as she was out the door and had closed it carefully behind her, Riley threw the big vehicle into reverse and backed into the street, leaving black streaks as he accelerated away from the home in which he'd never really felt welcomed.

Obviously Xander had been filled in on Spike and Buffy's new relationship, as his only comment on the abrupt departure was, "Good to know he's taking it so well."

Buffy sighed and walked toward the porch. "I hope he doesn't do anything stupid – like go looking for Angelus or something like that. The funny thing is, he wasn't surprised – just mad."

When she pushed the door open, Buffy wasn't surprised to find Spike in the kitchen already, watching her mother make hot chocolate for him. Joyce glanced up at the people crowding into her kitchen and went to the refrigerator for more milk. She also got out her teapot and put water on to boil for Giles, earning herself a grateful smile.

Willow and Tara went immediately to work on the dis-invite spell, while Buffy and Spike double checked the house to be sure Angelus wasn't already in there. Satisfied that he wasn't, and confident that he could no longer get in without an invitation, they relaxed for a few minutes over their hot chocolate.

The diamonds Buffy had forgotten to take off yet caught Joyce's eye and pointing to the rings she said playfully, "Is there something you want to tell me, Buffy?"

"Uh, I thought we already did. Angel lost his soul, don't let him in. Don't go out after dark without me, don't invite any blonde or brunette women you don't know in—" Then she realized what her mother was looking at, and blushed.

"Oh! I forgot to take these off. I... we were... I had to... Spike gave... his mother... they're not..." Taking pity on her babbling, Spike interrupted.

"We explained Buffy's presence by saying she was my American wife and I gave her those to wear to a party so she'd look like a proper Victorian matron."

"So, you were in the past, then," Giles said as he walked into the room. "We had assumed so, but..."

Buffy gave a shortened version of where they were, promising to fill in the details when the current crisis was over. Spike leaned over and whispered into her ear, "Gonna give them ALL the details, pet?" causing her to blush and smack him on the chest.

"No!" she hissed, "and if you try to, they're going to hear all about your poetry."

"You wouldn't!" he said out loud.

"Watch me," she replied smugly.

Drinks consumed and wards up, Buffy reluctantly hugged her mother, repeated her instructions to be careful, and followed Spike out the door to meet Giles and the witches at the dorm. A quick check of the room indicated no sign of Angel, and she left them to create their own protective barrier. With space in the car, they joined Giles and Xander as they dropped him off at his house.

In spite of his insistence that "Deadboy" had never been to his house, let alone allowed in, Buffy and Spike gave it a quick once over before saying good-night. As Buffy went to join Giles in the car, Xander stopped Spike with a hand on his arm.

"Is it safe to assume you aren't going to lose your soul and go all evil on her like her last undead boyfriend?" he asked, only half joking.

"Already evil," Spike folded down one finger. "Don't have a soul to lose." he folded down another finger, "And would never do anything to hurt her." He folded down the last finger, leaving only one sticking up in the boy's face.

"All right, all right, sheesh! No sense of humor at all," he grumbled, batting away the obscene gesture in front of him. "I was just saying..."

"You were saying you care about what happens to her. I get that, Harris." He turned to go, then said over his shoulder, "Your parents. They need to know not to—"

"My parents were born and raised in Sunnydale. They're drunks, but they aren't stupid. Nobody gets invited in here unless they're standing in full sun and basking."

Spike nodded and ran to get in the small car. The trip to Giles' apartment was very quick and in a few minutes they were walking toward the door, only to find it standing open. His skin crawled as Giles remembered coming home another time when Angelus was loose, finding the woman he loved laid out on his bed with a broken neck. He closed his eyes in pain as he flashed back to the horrifying scene.

Spike went into game face, snarling as he caught the scent of his grandsire. He ran toward the open door as Buffy pulled a stake from her waistband and, ordering Giles to stay close, followed Spike through the doorway.

A quick check showed that Angelus had been there and gone. Buffy felt no trace of the tell-tale tingle that indicated the presence of a powerful vampire, and Spike could only find a scent that was hours old. With much trepidation, the three crept up the stairs and hesitantly approached Giles bedroom.

"I'll look," Spike said abruptly, having smelled blood and wishing to spare Giles and Buffy a repeat of the horror of several years ago. He looked into the room and shook his head in disgust. Lying on the ex-watcher's bed was the body of a pretty, dark haired woman. She didn't really look a great deal like Jenny Calendar, but at a quick glance the scene was close enough to have provided Giles with an unpleasant shock.

Spike held up his hand to stop the two humans behind him, saying, "I'll get this. You go back downstairs and start the dis-invite."

Buffy turned Giles around, pushing his unwilling body until he shook himself and started down the stairs on his own. He quickly gathered his materials and began his own version of a vampire dis-invite spell.

Upstairs, Spike quickly rolled the body up in the bedspread and put it over his shoulder. He took a slow look around the room to be sure he wasn't missing some other nasty surprise left by his grandsire, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. He carried the body down the stairs and out the door, taking it far enough way that it wouldn't be connected to the apartment complex before setting it down gently in a parking lot.

He carefully unrolled the ruined bedspread and took it with him to the nearest dumpster, correctly assuming that Giles would not want it back on his bed. There were no worries that the Sunnydale police were going to be investigating the latest murder all that carefully that they would be checking dumpsters for evidence.

By the time he returned, the dis-invite had been done and Giles had to ask him in again; a necessary task that the older man did immediately. Spike wondered if the man would be as accommodating if he knew about the chip's malfunction.

"I presume that bundle you carried out the door was not my dirty linen," the ex-watcher said wryly. He walked to a cupboard and took out a bottle of scotch. While he waited for Spike to answer, he got out two glasses and poured a substantial amount of the amber liquid in each one.

He held one out, holding on to it and waiting for his answer.

Spike shrugged and said quietly, "No, wasn't your dirty laundry. It was, without a doubt, Angelus' work." He took the drink with a nod of thanks and sprawled in the big chair. Buffy walked over and sat on his lap, sniffing his glass curiously and making a face that brought a smile to the faces of both men.

"What did he leave me this time?" Giles' weary voice was evidence of how little he expected to hear anything encouraging.

"It's gone. Don't worry about it," Spike said gruffly. "Nothing any of us could have done."

Giles closed his eyes and tilted his head back, swallowing his drink and setting down the glass. "Let me guess," he said flatly. "You found a young, beautiful woman, possibly Hispanic or... or gypsy heritage, lying on my bed with her neck broken."

"I'm sorry, Rupert," the vampire said quietly, astonishing the other man with the sincerity of his reply.

Giles waved his hand dismissively.

"Thank you for sparing me that sight. Once in a lifetime is more than enough."

Giles fixed a distressed-looking Buffy with a hard eye as he said, "I expect you to rid the world of that scourge at the first opportunity. Is that clear?"

"But, Giles... if Willow can do the spe—"

He threw his glass across the room, shattering it against the wall. "Forget the bloody spell! Clearly the soul is unstable and you need to do your duty this time."

The implication brought tears to Buffy's eyes and she jumped off Spike's lap and ran out of the room. They heard the door to the bathroom slam shut with enough force to crack the wall nearby and both men flinched at the sound.

"That was uncalled for, Watcher," Spike said mildly, but Giles could see the amber flashes in his eyes and knew that his words to Buffy were both unfair and dangerous. He nodded his head in recognition of the truth of Spike's words and sighed heavily.

"You are quite right, Spike. It was wrong of me to speak to her like that, or to suggest that Jenny's death was in any way her fault. But the thought of that monster being back among us has—"

"Right there with you, mate," Spike growled. "If she doesn't dust the bloody wanker, I will. If it's the last thing I do."

"I suspect you will have your own problems to worry about for awhile. From the way her former boyfriend left tonight, I would assume she told him about the change in your relationship?"

"Dunno what she told him," he said with a glance toward the bathroom. "But with Angelus about, neither one of us needs to waste time worrying about him. I hope he just accepts it and leaves her alone."

"And if he doesn't?" The older man looked at him intently.

Spike shrugged and decided now was as good a time as any for the conversation he'd been avoiding.

"I'm not quite the pushover I was when we left," he said obliquely.

"Which would, I presume, have something to do with this?" As he spoke, Giles pulled his hand from his pocket and held it out toward the vampire. Lying in his palm was a small piece of plastic and metal.

Spike's hand went to his head automatically, feeling the scar left by the chip's insertion.

"You knew?"

Giles nodded. "I found it on the floor of the room when you were gone. Willow recognized it immediately as a computer chip and... well, let's just say we were all very grateful that you no longer seemed interested in Buffy's death."

"I love her, Rupert. Wouldn't hurt her, or anyone she cares about."

The ex-watcher stared at the quiet vampire for several minutes, then shook his head as he muttered to himself.

"Another vampire in love with a slayer. And this one with no soul. They just never covered anything like this in Watcher Training."

Spike's faced had darkened at the reminder of Angel's relationship with Buffy.

"I don't need a bloody soul to love her. And neither would Angelus if he wasn't such a sick, sadistic bastard. She deserves better than that. She's too good for either one of us."

"And don't you forget it," Giles said in his best Ripper voice. "I want you to understand completely that, while I am accepting this... relationship, I am in no way happy about it. Nor," he added, with a hard look, "am I happy about the new marks on my slayer's neck."

Meeting the other man's stare, hard eye to hard eye, he answered, "Not concerned with your happiness, Rupert. As long as Buffy's okay with it, that's all that matters to me."

"And is she? All right with it?"

The vampire tilted his head to one side, exposing the mouth-shaped bruise on the side of his own throat.

"Seems to be," he said mildly, waiting for a response.

Giles blanched slightly and reached for his scotch bottle. He shook his head and sat down again.

"I don't understand," he muttered. "I've not taught her anything about vampire mating habits. Why would she..."

"Some things you don't have to be taught, Watcher. Buffy didn't. She knew what she wanted to do and the demon responded. Not saying she expected it the first time, but she didn't stake me for it either. The next time was all her idea."

"You drank from my slayer."

"Get over it. This wasn't about feeding and you bloody well know it. And it was more than mutual. If it bothers you, I suggest you look into what the Council of Wankers' predecessors used to create these teen-age killers they're so fond of ordering around."

Leaving that unsettling thought for another day, the suddenly old-feeling man got up and walked to the bathroom. He knocked lightly on the door and when there was no response, he sighed and said sadly, "Buffy, please come out so that I can make my apology in person."

Very slowly, the door opened and Buffy edged out into the hall, keeping her distance from her surrogate father. She gave him a hurt, angry look and walked back to the living room and Spike's lap. Giles followed her and knelt down on one knee in front of her.

"I am truly sorry, Buffy. The evening has brought some very unpleasant memories to the surface, and in my sadness and frustration I said something I didn't mean. I regretted it as soon as the words left my mouth. Please believe me that I do not in any way hold you responsible for Jenny's death. And I am very aware that you did send Angelus – Angel to hell when you had to do so in order to save the world. Please accept my apology and forgive my thoughtless words."

The sincerity of his words was clear, in spite of their pompousness, and Buffy softened her look and nodded her forgiveness as she snuggled back into her new vampire's embrace. All three were silent for several minutes, each lost in his/her own thoughts about the return of Angelus and what it might mean for the future.

Riley sped away from Revello Drive, jealousy and anger churning his gut as he contemplated Buffy's words. He guided the large vehicle to the warehouse district, pulling up behind an apparently empty building with an unusual number of cars near it. A quick knock on the door, a muttered word, and he was admitted to the place that had become his refuge before he left for Iowa.

A thin brunette stood up from her place on the couch and moved toward him slowly, smiling warmly.

"You're back. I thought you might have decided you didn't like it as much as you seemed to."

"Let's go," he answered abruptly, pulling her by the hand toward the stairs.

To his surprise, she shook her head and said, "Why don't we go somewhere more private instead? I have my own place now. We could be alone there..."

Too angry at Buffy to exert his usual caution, he nodded and allowed her to lead him out the door and into the alley. When she started walking instead of getting in his car, he hurried to catch up. Without even the smallest hint of suspicion, asking, "How far is it? Shouldn't we drive?"

"It's not far," she said lightly. "I fixed myself a couple of rooms in a building right over there." She gestured down the darkened alley and kept walking. When he didn't immediately follow her, she paused and asked, "You're not afraid of me, are you? You know I won't hurt you. No more than you want me to," she added, licking her lips.

"I'm not afraid on any bloodsucker on earth," he blustered, hurrying to catch up with her. "Least of all a $10.00 whore."

He missed the angry pain on her face as he marched beside her, anxious to get some relief for his damaged self-esteem and aching cock. He followed her into a dilapidated building that was surprisingly well furnished on the inside. She guided him into a small apartment and led him straight into the bedroom where he immediately stripped off his shirt and unzipped his pants in preparation for the exchange of services about to take place.

The skinny vampire dropped her skirt and underwear on the floor, letting her demon out as she walked toward the waiting man with swaying hips. Just as he reached for her to pull her on to the bed with him, she exploded in his hands, her dust floating around his puzzled face.

When he had stopped coughing and could see again, he was surprised to find himself looking at not one, but two beautiful women – both looking at him as though he was something good to eat.

He grabbed his pants, attempting to pull them closed as he stared at the two giggling women. Before he could do anything, the blonde was beside him, her cool hand on his cock as she cooed, "Oh, don't put that away big boy. We can still have some fun with it."

The brunette was moving toward him, humming to herself as she got behind him on the bed and sniffed at his neck.

"Do you think Daddy will be angry if we take a little taste?" she asked in a childish voice, running her tongue up the suddenly frightened man's neck.

"Y... you... wouldn't want to make your daddy mad," Riley gasped out as the two vampires forced him down onto the bed.

"It's all right. I don't care what they do to you, as long as they leave you alive for awhile."

The deep, amused voice was vaguely familiar and sent a cold shiver through his body as Riley attempted to raise his head and look toward the door.

"Bad boy to try to look at Daddy," Drusilla purred, effortlessly holding his hands over his head while Darla pulled his pants and shoes off. "He says we can have you to play with so you need to look at us."

Obediently he looked at the two beautiful women holding him down without any apparent effort. He shuddered as their faces slipped from human to demon and they lay down beside him, one on each side. Darla ran a sharp nail down his torso, following the bloody trail left there with her tongue, while Dru sank her fangs into his wrist, pulling several deep draughts of his blood into her mouth.

Suddenly there was a large man standing over him and looking on with satisfaction. Recognition hit and Riley gasped, "I know you. You're Angel."

"You don't know me at all, boy," Angelus said with a toothy smile. "But you're going to before I'm done. You're going to know me very well." He began to unbuckle his pants and Riley's eyes got big as he began to struggle in earnest against the two powerful vampires holding him down.

He'd known about that strange connection between pleasure and pain from his increasingly frequent visits to vamp whores. But now he learned more. Not all vampires were the same. Not all of them offered more than pain.

Warning – this chapter contains some non-graphic but clear non-consensual sex, slash and torture. If that squicks you out, you might want to skip the last section.

Chapter Twenty-One

"Are you going home tonight, Buffy?"

Giles' sudden question brought them all out of their solitary thoughts and she shifted uncomfortably on Spike's lap.

"I… I don't know. I… we… I mean, for the past few weeks…."

She looked to Spike for help, but he just squeezed her reassuringly and waited to hear what she had to say. Biting her lip, Buffy took a deep breath and said quickly, "I don't want to sleep without Spike. He keeps the dreams away."

"If the dreams are truly prophetic, I don't know that keeping them away is a very good idea," Giles said apologetically. "It might be best if you left yourself… open to them."

With a growl, the vampire leaned forward to glare at the other man.

"You don't know what they were doing to her. Or how real they were for her. We know what we need to know. The poof has lost his soul again, the whore is back with him, and apparently so is Dru. And he wants to add Buffy to his unholy harem. The only thing left to figure out is why she goes all catatonic around him. Got to be magic. No way is this slayer afraid of that wanker."

He sat back, hoping sincerely that he'd spoken the truth when he said Buffy wasn't afraid of his grandsire. It bothered him to hear her admit that it was because he kept Angelus out of her dreams that she didn't want to sleep without him and he tried to smother the pang that went through him at the implication.

Is that all I am to her? A security blanket against bad dreams?

As though she had read his mind, Buffy tilted her head back to nuzzle the side of his neck reassuringly. She hadn't missed the way he stilled when she said he kept the dreams away and she correctly guessed what was wrong. She turned and fixed her surrogate father with a hard eye.

"Giles, I've been living as Mrs. William Sinclair for almost a month. In every way," she added, just in case he missed her meaning. "I'm not ready to give that up just yet."

The older man took off his glasses and polished them vigorously, clearing his throat and trying not to see the smile on Spike's face as he looked at him over Buffy's head.

"Yes, quite. More than I wanted to know, I am sure." He grimaced and put his glasses back on. "So, then. Where are you planning to spend the rest of the night? As understanding as your mother may be, I do not see Joyce welcoming Spike into your bedroom."

Buffy sighed and nodded her head. "Neither do I. I guess we'll just stay at Spike's cryp—"

"No!" Spike's outburst had them both staring at him in surprise. "It's not safe, love. Remember finding Dru in Molly's room?"

Ignoring Giles' strangled, "Dru? Molly?" Buffy nodded and said with a sigh, "I forgot. Don't suppose you'd like to give me your crypt too?" She smiled at him impishly and he laughed, kissing the tip of her nose as he answered, "I'm beginning to think you married me for my money, love."

"You know I didn't. Although got to say – I really like my diamonds," she teased, holding her hand out to let the light catch on her rings.

Still not getting any answers to his questions, Giles continued to mutter to himself, "Give me your crypt too? Married? Money? Diamonds?" While Spike and Buffy took advantage of his distraction to indulge in some noisy kissing.

"Oh dear lord," he finally interrupted them. "It's going to be just like Willow's spell again, isn't it? Could you two keep your lips… and other body parts off each other long enough to decide what you're going to do for the night. While you've been vacationing in the old country, I've been working around the clock to get you back here and I'd like to get to sleep at some point."

"I'm sorry, Giles," Buffy apologized with a rueful smile. "I know you have and I… we are very grateful. We'll just get out of here and let you get some sleep. We'll figure out where we're going to sleep later."

"Yeah, sorry, Watcher," Spike surprised him by saying with apparent sincerity. "We got used to not thinkin' about anybody but ourselves for awhile there. Guess we're still not back mentally."

Since their primary actions once they'd returned had been to see to the safety of everyone they thought might be in danger, Giles knew that wasn't true, but he nodded and graciously accepted the apology.

Clearing his throat carefully, he ventured, "I do have a guest room. If you promise not to keep me awake doing things I would rather not imagine," he shot a hard look at Spike before continuing, "you are more than welcome to stay here for the rest of the night. That will give you all day tomorrow to work out a more permanent arrangement."

Spike and Buffy exchanged looks of silent communication, then turned back to the waiting man.

"That's very… understanding of you Giles. We appreciate it. And I promise, we'll be out of your hair as soon as we find a place to live."

Giles nodded wearily and swayed to his feet. He started to leave, then stopped and turned back to look at his Slayer.

"You are planning to continue to live together then?" he asked as calmly as possible.

"Well… I didn't mean… I… we…." She floundered for an answer and looked up into Spike's curious eyes.

"Whatever you want, love," he said softly, determined not to push her into anything she would regret.

"I thought I understood you to say you were merely pretending to be married, Buffy. I do not believe the state of California considers diamond rings, however lovely they may be, as substitute for a wedding license."

Buffy blushed and got off Spike's lap to open her rucksack. She took out the box that the diamonds belonged in as she grumbled, "It was just force of habit, Giles. I'm used to thinking of myself as half of a married couple. It might take a while to stop saying 'we'."

She missed the wince from Spike when she referred to her use of "we" as a habit. Giles, however, didn't miss the pain that flashed across his face when she pulled the diamond studs out of her ears and the rings off her fingers. He watched with great curiosity as William the Bloody appeared to be struggling to hold back tears when Buffy presented him with her neck, lifting her hair so that he could unfasten the locket.

Surprising himself with his desire to give them some privacy, he turned away with a quiet, "You both know where the spare room is. I'll leave you to find it and say 'good-night' then."

Spike didn't look up from his concentration on the back of Buffy's neck as she gave Giles a wave of her hand. When she didn't feel the locket being lifted off her neck, she looked back over her shoulder and caught the unhappiness on his face.

"Hey," she said softly as she turned around so that his hands were encircling her shoulders and she was facing him. "I have to take them off, you know. I don't want anything to happen to them while I'm slaying. Anyway, they're a little dressy for jeans and sweats, don't you think?" She tried to get a smile out of him and he obliged with a half-hearted smirk.

"No worse than half the other stuff you wear, pet."

"Are you insulting my wardrobe, vampire?" she mock growled as she poked him in the chest.

"Nope, I'm insultin' your taste in clothes." He gave her a genuine smile, the familiar banter easing his fears that she might be putting him off with the rings.

"No worse than my taste in men," she laughed as he growled at her. She spun away from him and carried the bag into the bathroom, telling him she'd be out in a minute.

Shaking his head and growling at himself for being so insecure. Didn't take much to turn you back into poncy William, did it? Spike went into the spare room and shrugged off his duster. He removed his boots, pants and shirt and slid between the crisp sheets. When he heard Buffy open the bathroom door he glanced up expecting to see her in her tee shirt again. Instead, she came into the room hesitantly, her voluminous nightgown sweeping the floor.

Spike stared at her open-mouthed as she slowly approached the bed. She looked at him anxiously, wondering if he would understand what she was trying to get across. When his shocked look gave way to a happy smile and he held out his hand to her, she knew he had understood.

"This your way of telling me we're still Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair when we're in the bedroom, pet?" he asked, pulling her gently onto the bed and into his arms. "Cause I've got to tell you, that's the only reason I'm not ripping this tent to shreds."

"I… I don't want you to tear it up," she said shyly.

"Why not? I'll get you something from Victoria's Secret. Hell, I'll get you a closet full of nighties. Soon as we send the bloody poofter back where he belongs."

"I want to keep it. It reminds of a time when… when I was really happy."

She raised her eyes to see to see a mixture of fear and happiness in the depths of his blue stare.

"You still don't think we can be happy here, love?" He touched her face lightly with his free hand, stroking his knuckles down her soft cheek.

Her heart lurched at the pained acceptance in his voice, and she quickly turned her head to kiss his knuckles reassuringly.

"I…" She dropped her eyes, not sure how or even if she should say what she was thinking. "I think I could be happy almost anywhere, if you were there with me," she said softly. "But it isn't going to be the same here. I know it and you know it. Giles was right. We're not really married. To everybody here, we're just two friends who happened to get stuck in the past together for a while. We can't just start living together. This is real life, not make believe. I'm just afraid.…"

"You've got nothing to be afraid of, Buffy," he said with a tremor in his voice. "I'm here and I will always be here as long as you want me around. We may not be the happily married couple we were back in London, but that doesn't mean we can't be together in some way. Not leaving you, pet. Not for all the ex-watchers and axe-wielding mums in the world."

"Ugh! Mom. You had to remind me," she grimaced. "I can't wait for that conversation."

He laughed lightly and kissed the tip of her nose. "I think your mum might surprise you, love. She's a smart woman. I wouldn't be surprised if she didn't know exactly how I feel about you. Probably knew it before I did."

"Yeah, she's got that whole I'm-the-mom-and-I-see-right-through-you thing going for her," Buffy admitted with a rueful smile.

"So, let's not worry about right now, alright? Just get some sleep and tomorrow we'll suss out who and what we are now."

He fell back onto the bed, pulling her with him and spooning himself behind her warm body. Buffy sighed contentedly at the familiar feeling of his arms around her and began to drift off for a few hours of much-needed sleep. Spike lay awake for much longer, storing up the memory of her sleeping in his arms in case it was the last time for a while.

He awoke from the doze he'd finally fallen into to find Buffy muttering and tossing the nightgown wrapped tightly around her kicking legs. Remembering that she wanted to keep the gown and knowing that her powerful kicks were going to rip it sooner or later, he tried to untangle it without waking her and without catching a powerful slayer foot in his face.

He finally worked it loose from where it was caught and began easing it up her legs away from her still restless feet. When his hands brushed against her thighs as he pulled the gown up, her muttering turned to a breathy sigh and she stretched her body out completely.

Unable to resist, he lowered his head and kissed the now bare thigh, moving up until his mouth was just resting over the pulse in her femoral artery. He could feel saliva pooling in his mouth as his demon struggled to taste the rich blood flowing so tantalizingly close.

With a groan, he pulled back from her body only to be stopped by a strong hand on the back of his head.

"Do it," she said, her voice still rough with sleep. "You haven't had anything to eat since before we left London."

"Won't," he said firmly. "You're not a bloody meal to me. Just need a second to calm down the demon and I'll be fine."

Buffy sat up and pulled the gown the rest of the way off, leaving her as naked as he and just as wanting.

"It doesn't have to be about having a meal," she said, shocked at her own boldness. "That could just be a bonus effect."

When he just stared at her, she moved closer and pulled his head down to her neck gently.

"Or, you could do that claimy thing now."

"Buffy, my love, sweetheart, darlin', you really don't know what you're asking for."

"Do you love me?" she asked softly.

"You know I do."

"Do you want me?"

"Always."

"Do you want to keep me safe?"

"How can you—"

"Shhh. Will a claiming bite keep Angelus from turning me?"

"As long as I'm alive, it will." Spike could feel himself weakening as she continued to push.

"Do you want me to be yours?"

She held her breath, waiting for his answer. She actually knew a little more about claiming than she had let on to either Spike or Giles and she knew it could be forever.

"More than anything in the world," he breathed, giving in and taking her in his arms again.

"Then make it happen," she whispered back, pressing her body against his. "Make me yours, Spike. Keep me safe."

Instead of answering her, he captured her lips in a tender kiss that quickly deepened as his tongue traced around her mouth prodding for entrance. His groan as she sucked on his tongue and teased it with her own was evidence of his complete capitulation and he began to run his hands over her body.

Buffy shivered as she felt his fingers stroking her breasts, trailing down to her abdomen and caressing the silky skin on the inside of her thighs. Her breath came faster and she moaned as he lightly ran one finger from her already wet entrance up to her clit, spreading the moisture and teasing the swollen nubbin.

Her legs fell apart involuntarily, allowing the scent of her arousal to reach his nose and he groaned again. Tearing his mouth from hers, he followed the path his fingers had made with wet kisses, pausing again at her artery and licking it. He pulled the skin into his mouth and sucked lightly before lightly nicking it with his fang.

The sensation of Spike's mouth pulling lightly on her blood so close to his still-stroking fingers sent Buffy's hips arching off the bed and she began to whimper. When he released her skin and moved his mouth to where his fingers had been, her whimpers turned to panting cries as she threw her head back and forth. His strong and talented tongue alternately stabbed into her, touching everywhere it could reach, and emerged to run over her inner and outer lips.

He finally allowed it to caress the needy tissue inside those lips, stroking and sucking on it until he could tell from her panting that she was ready to come. With a final sucking motion, he let his fangs drop and just as she clenched around him, he slipped one razor sharp fang tip into her clit, sucking hard on the blood as he covered her screaming mouth with his free hand.

When she had collapsed bonelessly on the bed, he pulled the tip of his fang out and licked the tiny wound closed, causing another shudder to run through her sated body. He crawled up until his cock was resting at her soaked entrance and, as he had before, asked hoarsely, "May I come in, Buffy?"

As answer, she wrapped her arms and legs around him and pulled him to her, using her supernatural strength to hold him in place. He waited there for a minute, enjoying the feel of her heated walls, the way they held him tightly, squeezing almost to the point of pain.

When he felt she was recovered from her first orgasm, he began gently rocking his hips against her, each time delving a little deeper until she responded to him by pushing back and falling into his rhythm.

He maintained the steady, easy rhythm as long as he could, but soon his demon was taking control and he began pounding harder, his hips pistoning as he tested her slayer strength. A strength that let neither one of them down as she met him thrust for thrust, grinding her pelvis into his and beginning her own build-up to release.

When he could hold back no longer, he placed his mouth on her neck and growled, "Come for me, love. Come for me now. I can't wait any longer…"

"Do it," she gasped. "Oh god, Spike! Do it now!"

As he felt her begin to tremble around him, he sank his fangs into the buttery soft skin on her throat and allowed her blood to flow over his tongue. To smother the scream that threatened to burst from her own mouth, Buffy bit down on his shoulder and shook her head back and forth with the force of her orgasm.

The vampire took deep, slow draughts, pulling in blood with his mouth while filling her with his own release. Time seemed to stand still as the two supernatural beings exchanged simultaneous growls of "Mine". The mutual claim sent rapturous shivers through both vampire and slayer. Buffy felt both William and Spike joining her essence, even as the vampire felt the light and purity of a slayer's soul entering his body.

When their bodies had stopped shaking and trembling against each other, and Spike was able to raise his head enough to look into her awed eyes, he repeated softly, "Mine." Buffy met his tear-filled eyes and answered clearly, "Yours." Then she ran her tongue over the torn flesh on his shoulder, tasting the blood oozing there and repeated, "Mine." "Yours," he agreed immediately. "Forever yours."

While invisible magic swirled around the two exhausted lovers, they rolled on their sides and went back to sleep wrapped in each other's arms.

Riley lay on the dirty floor in the old warehouse, completely unrestrained. He knew was too weak to move fast enough to get away from the powerful vampires lying together on the mattress in the middle of the room. Blood oozed slowly from a dozen bites around his body. None were traumatic enough to cause him to bleed to death, and with chilling clarity he knew that they could keep him alive, but too weak to leave, for as long as they wanted.

He was on his side, his buttocks and rectum too painful from the attentions of Angelus for him to rest comfortably on his back. He gave a ragged cough in place of the laugh that trembled in the back of his throat at the thought. Comfortable. After a long night of being a combination toy and meal for the three vampires, he was more than willing to settle for lack of new agonizing pain as a substitute for actual comfort.

He felt his heart begin to pound in fear as Angelus rose from his place between the two naked female vampires and walked over to look down on the trembling man.

"Not so brave without your guns and tasers, are you, boy?" he asked, not really expecting an answer. "Not hard to see why the Slayer would leave you for Spike. Not that my errant grandchilde isn't going to pay for his arrogance, taking what's mine like that, but it was certainly a step up from your worthless body."

"Not pretty like my William," Drusilla put in from her place on the bed. She licked her lips and began to crawl across the mattress. "He should pay for that naughty chip in my Spike's head. Made him all soft, it did. Made him love the Slayer. All your fault," she finished, turning a look on Riley that made his blood run cold. "It's all your fault he wants the sunshine now."

"Back off, Dru," Angelus growled. "I've got plans for him and he needs to be able to walk."

With a shrug and a look that promised future retribution, she threw herself back on the mattress and began to run her fingernails up and down Darla's bare skin. The blonde vampire stretched like a cat, purring as Dru followed the bloody marks with her tongue. She took her own fingernail and drew a bloody trail from her navel to clit, moaning as the other vampire took the hint and followed that trail with her tongue.

Angelus watched his women on the bed playing with one another until he was hard enough to turn his attention back to the cringing soldier on the floor. He laughed at Riley's feeble attempts to get away as he threw himself down, pressing the bleeding body into the floor as he drove into him from behind. When he'd finished, he flipped the sobbing man over and put his mouth over his throat.

"Never done this before, but I need a minion who can go out in the daytime, so you're the lucky one," he growled before taking a large, painful bite out of the man's neck. "Mine" he growled, putting his mark and his claim on the bleeding human. He threw the still alive man back onto the floor, making sure first that he wasn't going to bleed to death, then returned to the two vampires writhing on the bed.

He laughed as they vied for his attention, idly wondering what it would be like when he had added Buffy to the mix.

Chapter Twenty-two

Giles tried not to comment the next morning when Buffy joined him in the kitchen with a new set of marks on her neck. He sighed heavily and said as kindly as he could, "I do hope you are not making a mistake."

"I trust Spike," Buffy said in a tone that brooked no argument.

"Oddly enough, Buffy, so do I. I don't doubt his feelings for you. Or yours for him. The possible long-term consequences of belonging to a vampire are what concern me."

"I'm a slayer, Giles. Long term consequences aren't real high on my list of things to worry about," she said wryly.

"Yes. Quite." He took off his glasses and polished them fiercely. "I am sincerely hoping that having a master vampire backing you up might go some small way toward extending your expected life span."

"I expect it to." Spike's quiet approach startled both of them, as he'd intended it do.

He spent so much time around humans that they sometimes forgot that he was a supernaturally strong and fast being with other many other qualities of a successful predator. Qualities such as an ability to move silently, stand preternaturally still, and sense the presence of his quarry without using his eyes. And to overhear conversations taking place in rooms far removed from his.

Buffy turned to him with a smile. "I thought you would want to sleep all day like you did—"

"Time for sleeping when we've seen to the soulless wonder and his happy hooker," he growled. "But I could use some very strong coffee," he said, turning to Giles.

Giles gestured to the pot on the counter and went back to his own cup of chemical energy. Spike poured himself a mug of strong coffee and sat down beside his newly mated partner. They shared a light good morning kiss before turning to face her surrogate father.

"All right," Buffy started, "here's the plan. I'll go out today while it's safe and start checking out the abandoned houses, warehouses, etc. to see if I can find them…" When Spike sat up abruptly and growled, she rolled her eyes and continued, "and then I'll come back here and tell you guys where they are. We'll go back for them just before the sun sets. I'll get Willow and have her bring the soul spell and—"

"Bloody hell!" The twin explosions of identical words shocked her into silence and she stared at her ex-watcher and her mate as they each glared down at her. Both men had bolted to their feet and were struggling to find words after the initial outburst.

Spike found his voice first and he paced the room, waving his arms as he shouted.

"The bloody spell isn't going to prevent this from happening again, Slayer. You cannot go into this thinking you're just stalling him until the fucking soul is back. I won't let you fight him unless you're totally committed to sending his bloody soul to hell where it belongs!"

He finished his rant, taking deep unnecessary breaths and glaring at her from across the room. Buffy's eyes narrowed and she stalked toward him, looking more like the Slayer that had ripped the Gem of Amara off his hand than he'd seen in a long time.

"You won't letme? Just what kind of rights do you think this claim gives you, vampire? I am the Slayer and I will decide when, how and if I go into this fight. And I'll decide who goes where when I'm done. Including your precious Drusilla if she gets in my way."

She finished her own loud response standing nose to nose with the angry vampire and daring him to contradict her. Behind her she heard Giles clearing his throat and shot him one look before turning back to Spike. The older man wisely swallowed his intended support for Spike's words and waited to see the upshot of the argument.

The two recently bonded super-beings glared at each other for several minutes, Spike's eyes flashing amber as his demon demanded to be let out. Buffy had no such issues, the Slayer was in full control as she stared up at him daring him to contradict her again. After a tense silence, he dropped his eyes and relaxed his shoulders.

"Wasn't tryin' to tell you how to do your job, Buffy," he said softly. "I just don't want you getting killed because you aren't taking Angelus seriously. He's a wanker, but he's a two hundred-plus-year-old wanker and he knows how you fight. You can't afford to cut him any slack if it comes down to it. Don't care how many witches you've got chanting on the outside trying to put that soul back."

Buffy relaxed her own belligerent posture at his soft words and worried look.

"I am taking him seriously, Spike. I promise you. Remember my dreams? I do. Angelus gets near me, he's dust. But I owe it to Angel to let Willow try. He's lived with that soul longer than he lived without it, and I think he'd want it back."

Instead of arguing with her, Spike exchanged looks with the watcher over her head and said obliquely, "You know I don't have a soul, pet, right?"

She frowned in confusion. "I know that. It doesn't matter. I trust you. You're who you are without it. What has that to do with—" She stopped, struck by what she'd just said.

"Giles? Is he saying that Angel…Angelus…?"

Spike answered before the other man could speak.

"They're the same person – vampire, Buffy. With the soul, his conscience – what he has of one – keeps him in line. Well, that and his wantin' to be the only vampire to gain redemption," Spike scoffed. "It's all about him being special and being the bloody champion of the Powers That Be. He's still the same sick bastard he's always been, just hides it better and takes out his bloodlust on evil people and demons."

Giles cleared his throat and responded to Spike's words carefully. Buffy was looking and back and forth between the two of them with a stricken look on her face and he sighed as he added to what the vampire had said. "I'm afraid Spike is probably right, Buffy. Angel's desire to do good and to redeem himself is a very recent development in his time as a vampire. It appears to be related to his being sent to help you and to the… feelings…he developed for you at that time. Up until that time, while he wasn't actively killing, he gave no sign that he had any interest in defeating evil."

"I didn't mean to yell at you, love – well, that's not totally true. I did mean to yell at you; but only because I'm afraid for you." Spike stepped back up to her and ran one hand gently down her face. "You know if anything happened to you, I'd lie on your grave and wait for the sun to rise, don't you?"

She leaned into his hand, nuzzling his palm as she nodded her head. "I know. I could feel you. But you can't tell me how to be the Slayer. I have to do that by myself. Alone."

"By yourself, maybe. But not alone. Never alone."

The warmth that flooded Buffy as she absorbed the truth of his words filled her with more confidence than she'd ever had and she stepped back and smiled at him with wet eyes.

"Ok. I'm going to go now. I'm just going to look for them. That's all. I promise. I won't go in anywhere and I'll be back in a couple of hours. If I haven't found them, we'll have Willow do a locator spell."

"Do be carefully, Buffy," Giles added his request to Spike's murmured, "Come back soon, love."

"Be back before you notice I'm gone," she said, waving cheerfully and walking out into the late morning sunshine.

A stop at the dorm to be sure Tara and Willow were all right and she had her work cut in half for her when Willow got on her laptop and checked the real estate records for a list of recent vacant homes as well as those condemned by the city. She printed out the list for Buffy and they narrowed down the possible lairs by eliminating any that were visited frequently by real estate agents.

Buffy thanking Willow and asked the girls to meet her back at Giles' apartment in the late afternoon to go over the evening's plans. In spite of Spike's words, Buffy asked Willow to bring the en-soulling spell with her as well as the necessary Orb of Thesela.

She could feel Spike's worry nibbling at the edge of her thoughts and remembered what he'd said about never being alone. She stroked the marks on her neck and tried to think calm, reassuring thoughts in case he was picking up on her emotions the way she was feeling his. She decided that as weird as it seemed, being able to feel his presence was something she could definitely get used to it.

A check of the houses that might have harbored vampires indicated no sign of them and Buffy grabbed a late lunch before heading for the warehouse district. She ignored the catcalls from the men working around the buildings that were still in use, just walking past them toward the obviously vacant ones behind. The late afternoon sun told her she needed to hurry if she was going to get them all checked out before she had to go back.

Spike's anxiety as the day went on and she still wasn't back was coming through loud and clear and she smiled at his impatience. She decided she would check just the first set of buildings and then return, leaving the others for another day.

She was looking carefully for any signs of entry to the boarded up buildings, as well as casting her slayer senses around any trace of vampire signatures when she suddenly spotted a body lying between two buildings and cautiously approached. She checked briefly to be sure the alley was empty, but with the sun's rays slanting all the way to the end it was obvious there were no vampires lurking there and she hastened toward the body. Just as she reached it, Riley raised his head and croaked, "B-Buffy?"

"Oh my god, Riley! What happened? How badly are you hurt?"

She cringed as she took in his ripped clothes, the bloody bites all over his chest and arms and his bruised face. She shuddered at the deep fang marks in his neck, wondering how he survived such blood loss. She carefully helped him to his feet, taking most of his weight on her slender shoulders as he staggered with her to the alley's entrance. They paused at the end of the alley, the big man swaying slightly as he tried to support himself.

"Weak, thirsty…" He tried to talk and she shushed him, insisting that he would be fine as soon as she got him to the hospital. "No… no… have to help them… still alive… inside…"

"Inside? Inside where? Help who? Who needs help, Riley?"

"Ch-children. In there," he gasped, gesturing toward a door that she hadn't noticed in her haste to get to him. "Vamps… two of them… dusted one and got away, but still children inside."

"Wait here," she ordered, "Stay in the sunlight. I'll be right back."

Without a thought, she burst through the door, scanning the large room for any sign of a vampire or potential victims. Her senses were tingling, telling her there was at least one vampire around but she couldn't yet see in the gloom, her eyes still used to the bright California sunlight outside. The tingles in the back of her neck ratcheted up several notches and she began to back slowly toward the door as the signatures of several powerful vampires began to make themselves felt.

Buffy felt the familiar fear begin to slow her down as she recognized Angelus' signature and realized she might have made a big mistake. She heard the door slam shut behind her, and whirled to find Riley advancing on her with large piece of nail-studded wood. She ducked away from him, taking a painful cut on her shoulder as she did so. She was preparing to knock him out of her way just as something very heavy came down on her head and she slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Chapter Twenty-three

Back in Giles's apartment, the vampire stopped the worried pacing he'd been doing almost since she left and froze in place. He had no sooner felt Buffy's anxiety levels go up when she suddenly vanished and his demon let out an anguished roar, startling the watcher out of his doze on the couch.

Giles opened his eyes to find a fully vamped out Spike ripping a blanket off the bed in preparation for going outside. As he yanked the door open, Willow stumbled in, her hand still on the knob she'd been about to turn.

"Spike!" she yelped. "What the—"

"Get out of the way, Red. I've got to leave."

"Spike." The watcher's quiet voice stopped his rush out the door into the sunshine and he paused to turn and look at him with devastated eyes.

"I can't feel her anymore, Rupert. She was scared…and then she was gone."

"G…gone?" Willow stammered. "You mean like…dead? Buffy's dead?"

"Not dead. I'd know if she was dead. But unconscious. And hurt. Could feel the pain before I lost her."

"Spike," the watcher spoke again, the sympathy and fear in his own voice stalling the vampire's dash into the still deadly sunlight. "Let Willow do a locating spell so we know where to go. By that time the sun will be down far enough for you to be safe out there. If you burn yourself to a crisp looking for her, Buffy won't be happy with any of us."

Calming down and realizing the logic in the man's words, he turned around and pulled the door shut behind him.

"Make it damn quick, witch," he growled, sliding back into his human features.

Hands shaking with fear and nerves, Willow and Tara quickly set up the things they needed for a locating spell and Spike gave them Buffy's nightgown to use as a conduit. His eyes dared any of them to say anything as he handed the voluminous, heavy gown to Tara. In spite of the seriousness of the situation, Giles smothered a smile at the sight of the Victorian nightwear.

Spike watched anxiously as the two witches muttered the appropriate words over the nightgown and studied the map in front of them. By the time the locator light had settled on the warehouse district, Spike was already at the door again. He threw the blanket over his head as protection from the waning sunlight and left the building, shouting over his shoulder, "She's waking up. I'm going on foot. You can bring the back up in the car."

The instant the sun dropped below the horizon, the vampire dropped the smoking blanket on the sidewalk and continued running. He was using every bit of the vampiric speed he usually saved for fights, passing people so fast they weren't sure they had actually seen anybody. He could feel Buffy's fear building and tried to send her reassurance as he struggled to get there before his vampire family could turn the fear into something more fatal.

Giles threw several crossbows, holy water guns, and stakes into the car before joining the girls and following the vampire as quickly as he could. Fear for the slayer he loved like a daughter gripped his bowels and he vowed to kill Angelus himself if Buffy was so much as scratched.

Buffy woke up to find herself living out one of her worst nightmares. She was lying on a filthy mattress, her arms and legs tied with ordinary rope to various poles or pieces of machinery about the room. As if to make her worst fears come true, the terror that filled her at being in the same situation as in her last Slayer dream froze her in place and she didn't even try to test the ropes that held her. She just moaned and shrank back as Angelus stood over her, smiling his pleasure at having her spread before him even if she did still have her clothes on. He planned to take care of that little problem very soon.

"Hello there, lover," he crooned. "You know your heart is going so fast I can't even count the beats. Is that because you're so excited to see me? Or, wait, is it because you know what I'm going to do to you?"

Even as Buffy's heart rate increased again for fear of the look in his eyes and the plan she knew he had for her, she sensed Spike's arrival and realized he was coming to save her. She had no sooner begun to relax when she recalled that in her dreams he was not able to help her – that in fact he needed her help and she was unable to give it. Immediately her heart sped up again and she quailed against the mattress when she saw Riley standing in the doorway, stake and cross in hand.

She wondered briefly what Angelus had done to Riley to cause the vampire-hating, ex-commando to become an apparently willing accomplice in her entrapment. Then she decided it didn't matter – the important thing is that he was currently standing between her and rescue, threatening her mate with dusting.

Telling herself that Spike would have no trouble with the obviously weakened and over-confident ex-commando, she looked around the room for Darla and Drusilla, trembling when she saw them go into vamp face as they felt Spike's arrival. She frantically tried to send him a message to go away, to leave her to her fate, knowing that he wouldn't listen but willing him to keep away.

Tears poured down her cheeks as she fought the paralyzing fear that she was going to see her mate torn to pieces and be unable to stop it. She didn't even notice the feral grin on Angelus as he misunderstood her tears to be about her own fate.

The car slid to a stop at the entrance to the alley just in time for them to see Spike's duster disappearing into the open doorway. Tucking the stakes into his pockets and leaving one crossbow and the holy water for the witches, Giles grabbed the other crossbow and prepared to follow Spike into the building. He ordered the girls to remain in the locked car and begin the soul restoration spell that he was sincerely hoping would not work in time to prevent the death of Buffy's first love.

Inside the building, Spike was striding toward the area where his senses all told him Buffy was waiting for him. He could feel the terror pouring through the claim, and the relief when she sensed him in the building. When he felt the fear turn to sheer terror, he increased his speed and flew toward the area in which he could sense his mate. He made no attempt to hide his approach, knowing his "family" would have already sensed him.

Spike reached the entrance to the room, only to find a bloodied Riley blocking his way with a large cross in one hand and a stake in the other. Behind him, Spike could see Buffy lying on a dirty mattress, her arms and legs outstretched. He frowned when he saw that she was not fighting against the less than substantial looking ropes holding her. Her eyes were fixed on him and he understood the increase in fear he'd felt. She was no longer afraid for herself, she was afraid for him.

Even as his heart was warmed by her fear for his safety – fear that he could feel radiating from her – he frowned at the way it was contributing to her inability to fight back. He looked back toward her, willing her to fight the fear and show them what kind of slayer she was.

"Ah, Will, you're just in time to watch me take the Slayer before I drain her and make her a member of our little family. Maybe, when I've punished you enough for joining forces with her little band of do-gooders, I'll let you play with her sometimes. After I tire of her myself, of course."

Angelus just smiled in response to Spike's outraged snarl and gestured for Darla and Dru to join Riley in seeing that the younger vampire could not get into the room. While they blocked Spike's way, Angelus stalked toward the Slayer, unbuckling his pants as he did so. Buffy's eyes widened as the former love of her life prepared to bring her nightmares to life by damaging her in the worst possible ways.

Ignoring the large man waving a cross in his face, and snarling at Darla so fiercely that she flinched back from her great grandchilde, Spike focused on Buffy and the obvious fear holding her to be mattress. Her eyes sought his and he could see her confusion when he didn't just break the ex-commando's neck and rush to her side.

As desperately as he wanted to tear Angelus' head off and feed it to his whore of a sire, he waited for Buffy to understand that she could and should be handling this herself. He had no intention of letting any actual harm come to her if he could prevent it, but the sight of his strong, resourceful mate paralyzed by fear made him ill.

The disappointment and confusion on her face when he didn't rush to her side made his stomach hurt, but he continued to pretend to be afraid of the foolish man in front of him. He waited to see what Buffy was going to do, startled when he heard her watcher behind him snarling, "What the hell are you waiting for?"

Without taking his eyes off the scene in front of him, Spike growled back, "I'm waiting for her to remember she's the Slayer. If I go in there now, she'll doubt herself from now on. And that will get her killed."

"As opposed to what's about to happen now?" came the sarcastic rejoinder, but Giles acknowledged the truth of Spike's remarks and waited, holding his cocked crossbow in front of him.

Spike sucked in a totally unnecessary breath as he watched his grandsire fall onto the body of his mate and reach for her neck with his fangs. The furious roar as he threw himself to the side and sprang to his feet was all Spike needed to know the claim had done its job.

"You dared!" he snarled. "That is the last time you will disrespect me, William." He turned yellow eyes to his waiting women and his human minion.

"Kill him," he ordered flatly and turned back to the now feebly struggling Slayer. "You might as well learn now how I deal with disobedience," he said to her, placing a foot on her chest to hold her still. "As soon as he's gone, you'll be mine. It will be a lesson well-learned."

At his words, Riley had rushed Spike with his upraised stake, confident that the vampire was helpless against him. He had no time to register his surprise as Spike backhanded him away into the advancing Drusilla who promptly bit him, holding his large body easily until she had drained him completely. She dropped his body to the floor and watched as her grandmother attacked her childe with teeth and nails.

"What the hell are you doing, Dru?" Angelus roar was even angrier. "I told you to kill him. You can make yourself another toy later."

The brunette vampire shook her head, whimpering as she looked from where Darla and Spike where tearing at each other to where Angelus glared at her from beside the Slayer. She held her head in her hands, pulling on her hair as she wailed and cried, "Not mine. Not mine to kill."

"I'll do it myself, you crazy bitch," he snarled, leaving Buffy to rush across the room. He grabbed Drusilla and shook her before flinging her away from him.

"You'll pay for this later," he promised, turning away and joining Darla in her attack on his errant grandchilde. He ignored the "Noooo!" from the now hysterical Slayer as he grimly went about helping his sire dust their most irritating family member.

Giles watched Dru helplessly as the insane vampire crept closer to his slayer. He cautiously stepped into the room, taking care not to turn his back on the battling vampires as he tried to get close enough to get a good shot at Drusilla's heart. He saw her lean over Buffy and groaned, picturing her fangs ripping out his slayer's throat.

However, to his amazement, she appeared to be whispering to Buffy rather than biting her, and then she astonished him by using her talons to slice through the ropes holding the slayer down.

Buffy rubbed her wrists gingerly, staring at the carnage in front of her and moaning. Suddenly the vampire slapped her across the face and she whirled to glare at her, pulling her fist back to punch her in the face.

"Ah, there's the Slayer," Dru crowed as she picked herself up. "There's the sunshine that my William loves. He needs you, sunshine. Save my William."

Buffy whirled to see Spike going down under Darla and Angelus and without a thought she crossed the room in three bounds, pulling the larger vampire off her mate and flinging him into the wall. Freed of the weight of both vamps, Spike staggered to his feet and kicked Darla away from him. Blood was pouring from numerous wounds and he swayed slightly as he waited for her to attack again.

Her angry leap back at the injured vampire never happened as Giles' crossbow bolt went through her back and into her unbeating heart. He watched in satisfaction as the dust drifted to the warehouse floor and Spike sank back down in relief, resting against the wall.

Buffy was kicking Angelus up and down the room, inhuman growls coming from her throat as she punctuated her kicks and hits with muttered oaths.

"You miserable, arrogant, bloodsucking son of a bitch," she hissed as she kicked him against the wall. She walked over and grabbed the dazed vampire by his shirt, throwing him back into the middle of the room. "What makes you think I would ever let you touch me? With your teeth or with any other part of your anatomy?" She held his shirtfront in one hand while she punched him with the other. "Did you think I would ever want you again, now that I've had a real man? Er, vampire?

"And, news flash, 'Peaches', never, never try to kill a Slayer's mate." With a final punch, she drove the unconscious vampire to the floor and looked around for her stake. She picked it up, pausing to acknowledge Spike's weary applause with a tight smile before turning to the body of her former lover. She was just raising the stake when Angelus shook all over, his body almost rising off the floor and a scream tearing from his throat as he clutched his chest.

When he slumped back down, he took two gasping breaths and Angel was looking up at Buffy with tears in his eyes.

"Oh my god, Buffy. I am so sorry. I never meant to…" He glanced at Riley's body and cringed before looking back into her still-cold eyes. "I don't know what to say. I am more sorry than you can imagine. Can you ever forgive me?"

"I'll let you know," she replied, already turning away to rush to Spike's side. She helped him to his feet, taking his weight on her small shoulders and helping him walk toward the door. Suddenly she was propelled forward as something heavy crashed into Spike, tearing him from her grip.

"You dared!" Angel roared, sounding very much like his soulless alter ego. "You claimed Buffy. Did you think I wouldn't remember it?" While Buffy watched helplessly, her furious ex boyfriend brought the stake he'd picked up over his head and prepared to drive it into Spike's heart.

"Angel!" Buffy's horrified scream did nothing to change his mind, but it did distract him long enough for her to throw her own body over Spike's.

"Get out of the way, Buffy," he said more calmly. "I'll take care of this. As soon as he's gone you'll be free and this urge to protect him will go away."

"I don't want to be 'free', Angel. I did this willingly, with my eyes open."

"But why?" Her heart softened at the bewilderment on his face, but she kept her voice firm as she replied.

"Because I love him Angel. And he loves me. We did this now to protect me from Angelus." She bit her lip as he grimaced in remembered pain at what Angelus had intended to do to her.

"He's gone now, Buffy. You don't need to be protected from me."

His pleading voice made it harder to speak calmly, but she struggled to get the words out.

"You didn't let me finish, Angel," she replied quietly. "We did it now to save me from you." He flinched at her use of the pronoun, but remained quiet. "But we would have done it eventually anyway. We belong to each other. And we always will. I'm sorry, Angel, but this is the man I intend to spend the rest of my life with. He completes me."

'He's not a man. He's a vampire." Angel's voice was anything but understanding, and Buffy was grateful for Spike's supportive hand on her back.

"He's my vampire, Angel. Please try to accept that."

She stared into his anguished brown eyes sorrowfully, then stood and bent to help Spike back to his feet. She never even felt the rush of air as the stake once again arced toward her mate's back, but she saw the dust drifting past and whirled to see Giles slowly lowering the cross bow.

"I'm sorry, Buffy," he said in a voice that held only a hint of sincerity, "It was Angel or Spike. I made a choice."

Buffy looked sadly at the dust on the floor and the stake lying nearby and shook her head tearfully.

"It's all right, Giles. At least it wasn't me who did it this time." She leaned lightly against Spike until she felt him tremble and remembered that she was supposed to be holding him up, not looking for sympathy because her ex was dead. "And hey, you killed Darla too, so bonus points all around." She did her best to look perky as she helped Spike out of the building and into the car.

As the humans left the building, a figure floated out of the shadows and knelt sadly beside the pile of dust on the floor. She slowly picked up the stake lying beside all that was left of her sire and turned it over and over in her hands. She looked further into the room and saw the dust that was her grandsire and thought about the words from her childe's chosen mate.

She closed her eyes and swayed, listening to voices no one else could have heard. Then she nodded her head and put the stake down gently.

"Even strong slayers don't live forever, my William. I can wait for you to come back to your dark princess. Someday you will need me again and I will find you. Your princess will find you. Someday."

She brushed the dust of her sire and grandsire into one small pile and placed it in an empty jar she found in one of the back rooms. Humming to herself, she carefully put the lid on the jar and slid out the door into the welcoming darkness.

Chapter Twenty-four

Once outside the warehouse, Buffy and Spike staggered to Giles' car, the vampire hanging onto the Slayer and allowing her to take most of his weight. The blood he'd lost and the beating he'd taken when Angelus joined Darla had taken a toll on his strength and it was all he could do to remain upright.

From inside the car, the two witches stared at Spike in dismay. At an impatient signal from Giles, Willow unlocked the doors and Buffy quickly lowered Spike into the front seat. As he slid in with a groan, he finally saw the bleeding cut on her arm where Riley had hit her with the board.

"Knew I smelled your blood," he growled. "Give it here."

While the four humans stared at him in various stages of shock and disgust he quickly ran his tongue over the wound, lapping at the blood trickling down her arm and then thoroughly laving the cut until it was no longer bleeding. He finally noticed the people staring at him and said defensively, "What? Stopped the bleeding, didn't I? And cleaned it out too. You wanted me to leave that dirt in there until we got back to the watcher's?"

While Willow and Tara shuddered at his vampire notion of first aid, Giles shook his head and gestured for them to get back into the car. Buffy just looked at her already healing cut and said quietly, "I hope you got enough to do you some good until we get back."

"I'll be alright, love," he said, leaning his head back on the seat and closing his eyes. "Got you to take care of me, don't I?"

"Speaking of taking care of you. About the whole not-saving-me-but-getting-yourself-almost-torn-apa rt thing…"

Spike opened one eye and looked at her apprehensively. The two witches looked on in confusion, turning to Giles for an explanation only to find him signaling for silence. Buffy stared at the very still vampire, the expression on her face unreadable, until the tension was palpable. Giles unconsciously readied himself to protect Spike if needed and waited to see what his slayer's reaction was going to be.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning into the car and kissing Spike's bruised lips softly.

He gave her a relieved smile and said, "You're welcome, love."

Buffy exchanged a look with her watcher, asking, "Did you know what he was doing?"

Giles cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Eventually," he mumbled as he got into the driver's seat. "I will admit to being very…disappointed in him at first, but he was quite right. It was important that you understand what we two already knew."

Willow's voice broke in, "Understand what? What did Spike do?"

"It's what he didn't do, Wills," Buffy said quietly as she slipped into the back seat with Willow and Tara.

"Which was?" Willow was clearly not planning to give up.

"He didn't come riding to the rescue. He made me have to rescue him."

"Uh, huh," her friend answered with a look at the bloody vampire in the front seat. "And that was good because…?"

"Because I was only in danger because of my fear. If I hadn't shaken it off and fought Angelus myself, my confidence in my slayer abilities would never have recovered. A slayer can't be afraid – not that afraid, anyway. It would have made me worthless in a fight and probably gotten me killed sooner or later. Spike made me fight Angelus and prove to myself that I could do it."

Buffy paused and looked at her mate with a twinkle in her eye. "Of course, it was Dru who pissed me off so much that I snapped out of it. If not for her, I might still be tied up in there."

"Told you you shouldn't dust her, love." Spike's weary voice was barely strong enough to return her teasing and Buffy lost her good humor as he visibly slumped in the seat.

"Drive faster, Giles," she begged, reaching over the seat to run her fingers through his hair. "We need to get some blood into him."

Minutes later they were back at the watcher's apartment and he was helping Buffy carry the now unconscious vampire into the building. They put him on the couch and Buffy sat with his head in her lap while Willow ran to heat up some blood. She gently stroked his bruised face, whispering to him how much she loved him and wanted him to be all right.

When Willow hesitantly handed her a cup of warmed blood with a straw, Buffy carefully raised his head and held the cup in front of his nose, hoping the scent of warm blood would wake him up.

"Come on, baby," she whispered in his ear. "Drink this for me and get better. I'll give you more of the good stuff later when you're strong enough to take it."

"Never not strong enough for that, pet," he managed to gasp as he struggled to sit up and drink.

Buffy breathed a sigh of relief as he gulped down the contents of the mug. She smiled at Willow when she saw that her friend was already holding another cup out to replace the now empty one. When Spike had polished off his fourth cup of pig's blood, he looked noticeable better and was able to sit up by himself, although he never moved away from his mate.

With it being obvious that Spike was going to be all right soon, everyone relaxed and the post-battle discussion began.

"So," Willow said with a disappointed look, "The spell didn't work?"

"It felt like it was working," Tara said with a frown. "I wonder what went wrong?"

"It worked, Wills," Buffy said tiredly. "It just turned out Angel was just as big a jerk as Angelus about some things."

"Uh, splainy, please?"

"The great poofter objected to m' mark on the Slayer's neck," Spike growled. "Was trying to dust me, even after he got his bloody soul back."

Willow's eyes grew big and she turned to Buffy anxiously. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Buffy! You had to kill Angel, not Angelus? Again?" Tears of sympathy stood in her eyes.

"Not me this time, Will," Buffy sighed tiredly. She looked at her former watcher with forgiveness in her sad eyes. "It was Giles. He saved Spike."

"Uh, yeah. Want to thank you for that little bit of straight shooting," Spike offered, looking at the ex-watcher who had saved the life of the vampire who claimed his slayer. " 'Preciate it."

"My pleasure," Giles replied flatly before looking at Buffy apologetically. "I am sorry, Buffy. That was insensitive of me. I apologize."

"It's all right, Giles. If he'd killed Spike, I'd have dusted him before you got the crossbow cocked. He brought it on himself."

"Yes, well, be that as it may, the fact is the Powers have lost their champion. I suspect they will not be pleased about it. Nor will Angel's… friends… in LA. I suppose I had best call and tell Wesley what happened here."

"You're assuming Peaches didn't kill them all before he came here," Spike growled.

"Well, I am hoping not, certainly," the other man said with a wince. "It's true I did not get a response when I called to warn them about—"

He was interrupted by the ringing of the phone and walked over to pick up the receiver. They watched as his "Hello?" was followed by "Yes, Wesley. We have seen him."

There was a pause and then he said, clearly interrupting the other ex-watcher in LA, "He is gone, Wesley. As is Darla – again. Yes, well, we're all—"

He listened for a short time and then said with some irritation, "Well, it would appear that you did not have the situation under control, wouldn't it? Are you seriously suggesting we should have let three quarters of the Scourge of Europe run around Sunnydale unimpeded while you worked on some way to get your boss back? He attacked my slayer, Wesley. He intended to rape, kill and turn her. You'll forgive me if I do not apologize for not permitting that to happen."

He listened again, then pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I understand that you all feel you have lost a friend, and for that I commiserate. But I will not apologize for sending Angelus to his just reward. He was attacking Sp– one of our people and there was really no choice. I suggest you count your blessings that he only managed to injure one of you before leaving to come after Buffy."

Without so much as a good night, he replaced the receiver and sighed heavily. Before he went back to his seat, he stopped at the cabinet and took out a glass and a bottle of scotch. He poured himself a full glass before slumping back in his chair.

"I take it Peaches' flunkies aren't too happy about the outcome," Spike drawled.

"It's… understandable, I guess. They have been together for some time now. Apparently they were also working a way of re-ensouling him, but he escaped before they could implement it. Wesley didn't return my call warning him about a possible reappearance of Angelus because it had already happened and he was busy trying to 'contain the damage' as he put it."

"Who got hurt there?" Buffy asked curiously. "Did he bite someone?"

"It appears he was trying to turn Cordelia, but was interrupted by Wesley and another gentleman whose name I didn't recognize – some sort of firearm – before he could drain her. They got her to the hospital for transfusions and she will be all right in a few days. She is quite shaken, of course."

"The cheerleader too, huh? Was building himself quite a little harem there wasn't he?"

"He was going to turn Cordelia? What was he thinking? A vampire Cordelia would be ruling the world in a week. I almost wish he'd done it just to be able to watch her teach him what evil really is."

Buffy's indignation made everyone smile, except for Tara who didn't know Cordelia and couldn't understand why everyone was laughing and nodding at Buffy's outburst.

"As amusing as that thought might be, I am sure we are all grateful that she survived the attack. The question now is what will they do with Angel's property and his business?"

"I'll give them a few days and then I'll call Fred," Willow offered. "Maybe she won't be mad at us by then."

Spike shifted uncomfortably on the couch, reminding Buffy that he was still injured as a result of her slowness to come out of her self-induced paralysis and she gave a guilty start. Turning to Giles she asked, "Do you mind if we stay here again tonight, Giles? Spike's not strong enough to get to my mom's house, and we haven't found—"

"Of course, Buffy. You are welcome to stay here as long as you need to."

With a grateful smile, she helped Spike to his feet and walked him to the room in which they had spent the previous night. He sat on the side of the bed, watching with some surprise as Buffy knelt to remove his boots and socks. She then stood him up and with a clinical detachment he wasn't sure he liked, unzpipped his jeans and pulled them down his legs.

She nudged him down again, then pulled them off, tossing them into a chair. Taking great care not to pull the scabs off his already healing wounds, she removed the tattered pieces of his shirt and threw them onto the pants. She got on to the bed with him and lowered his willing body onto the mattress, making sure to put a pillow under his head before pulling the sheet up over him.

She leaned over him and touched his lips lightly with her own before sitting up and saying, "You get some rest. I'll be back in a little while."

Spike reached toward her face with a shaking hand, gently cupping her cheek as he did so.

"I'm sorry about Angel, Buffy," he said sadly. "I won't miss the bloody bastard, but I know you will."

It was the first time she had ever heard Spike use Angel's name without sneering it, and she blinked her suddenly wet eyes before she answered.

"He was trying to take my mate away," she said calmly. "He should have known better."

"That he should, love." He smiled at her with admiration and awe that this amazing woman had chosen to love him. Chosen him over his grandsire – the vampire who had always been first with everything, even after he was cursed with a soul. "I love you, Buffy Summers."

"I love you too, William Sinclair," she whispered into his lips as she kissed him again. "Now rest and heal."

She turned off the light and went back out to the living room where her watcher and her friends waited for her. At Giles' prompting, she explained how Riley had tricked her into entering the building and then knocked her unconscious.

"So you really were helpless then, Buffy," Willow said loyally. "You needed Spike to save you."

Buffy shook her head and said with a sigh, "I'm not saying I wasn't glad to see the cavalry arrive, but he was right. My own fear is what was holding me down on that mattress. Those ropes would never have held me if I hadn't convinced myself that my dreams were true and I couldn't move." She frowned for a moment and looked at Giles with wide eyes.

"Dru helped me save him. She could have killed me and instead she made me snap out of it so I could save Spike."

"I guess she still loves him," Willow volunteered, then hastily added, "in her own demented way. Which is, of course, seriously insane, and so not to be admired, and…"

"It's all right, Will. I already got the memo. She loves him enough to let him be with me." Buffy shrugged and grimaced. "It's not like she didn't have him for over a hundred years – or like she doesn't know that she'll still be around when I'm long gone…"

"And on that cheerful note, I believe we might all say 'good-night' and get some much needed sleep," Giles said, interrupting that less than happy train of thought.

He offered to drive Willow and Tara back to the dorm. An offer they were glad to accept, knowing that Spike's insane ex was somewhere in the dark that enveloped the city. Buffy walked them to the door, hugging both girls and reassuring them that Angel's demise had nothing to do with their very successful re-ensouling skills. She told Giles she would see him in the morning and closed the door behind them.

She walked slowly toward the guest bedroom, promising herself that she would spend the following day finding a place close to the university where she could live with her mate. She felt a brief twinge of regret, remembering the lovely house and garden they owned in London and giggled as she tried to picture Giles' face if she told him she and Spike were moving to London to live.

"What's so funny, pet?" came his sleepy voice as she entered the room, still smiling.

"I was just picturing Giles' face if I told him I wanted to move to London so we could live in our house again."

As she talked, she was stripping off her outer clothes. When she was down to her panties, she pulled one of Spike's tee shirts out of his bag and slipped it over her head before slipping under the covers to join him in bed.

"It's still your house, you know. Or it should be, anyway."

"I'll have Willow look it up tomorrow and see if it still belongs to Buffy Summers Sinclair." She giggled again and nuzzled his neck. "That should give Giles something to polish his glasses about. His Slayer owns a home in the same city as the Council that wishes she would just go away."

"She's not going to 'go away'," he growled. "Not if I have anything to say about it."

He pulled her into his side, wincing slightly as he did so.

"I heard what you said about Dru. You were wrong, you know."

"Wrong about what? She will still be alive long after I'm gone."

"She might, but I won't."

Buffy sat up and stared at him in horror. "What are you saying? We're mated. You said it was forever. You said it meant you'd never leave me. That includes d… dying. You can't. I won't let you."

Tears were standing in her eyes as she approached a meltdown, and he quickly pulled her into his arms and began kissing her face and murmuring soothingly in her ear.

"Shh, pet. Didn't mean I was going to leave you. Not if I can help it. I just meant that when you're gone my unlife will be over. I'll have no reason to stay on this earth if my beautiful mate isn't here anymore. That's all I meant, Buffy. That when you're gone I'll be ready to see my first sunrise in a hundred and twenty-six years. Wouldn't go back to Dru. Couldn't. Not now."

"But, she saved you – us."

"You saved us, Buffy. She just let you loose. I'm grateful to her for it, yeah, but I don't love her anymore. Haven't since the first time I saw you, I expect. Jus' took me awhile to catch on. She knew it before I did. Told me you were floating all around me."

"Really?" Buffy's fingers twirled little circles on Spike's chest as she asked her question in a small, hopeful voice.

"Really. Not saying I didn't want to kill you, or that I knew I wanted you, but something kept me coming back here. Something made me come to you when I was starving. Willow's spell? She just said we should be married. Never said anything about us falling in love, did she? But that's what we did. We were in love. Do you remember, pet?"

"I remember," she whispered. "I wanted you so badly. I kept wishing everybody would leave so we could be alone. You know you could have had me then if we'd been given the opportunity…"

"Uh huh, and then when the spell broke it would've been a toss-up whose stake got to my heart first – yours, the watcher's or the whelp's!"

Buffy giggled and snuggled closer. "Slayer speed, Spike. I'd have got there first."

"And you'd have done it, wouldn't you? If I'd taken advantage like that."

"I suppose I probably would have," she sighed. "So I guess it's a good thing we waited until we knew each other better."

She sat up and looked down at him. "Hey, do you think this is some kind of master plan? That we keep getting put into situations where we think we're getting married, or have to pretend to be married, or—"

Her words were interrupted by Spike's lips seizing hers and sucking on them insistently until she was moaning and kissing him back.

"I think it was just bloody good luck, love. That's all it was. Bloody good luck."

Epilogue:

After dropping the two girls off at their dorm and watching them safely inside, the weary ex-watcher turned his car back toward his apartment and tried to understand how the souled vampire that the powers had marked as their champion had gone so bad, while an unsouled slayer of slayers had pledged himself to keeping this one safe. He found it interesting that both vampires had fallen in love with the same slayer. His years as her watcher and surrogate father had more than convinced him that she was unique and special, but he was amazed that two master vampires had come to the same conclusion.

He pulled into his parking space and reached tiredly for the door handle, only to find it being opened for him. He froze in his seat when Drusilla's hand reached in and gently took his. She pulled him from the car and in spite of his knowledge of what she could do if you looked into her eyes, he found himself unable to look away and was quickly lost in her.

Drusilla slowly explored his memories, smiling with delight when she met the Ripper and saw his lust for evil and violence. After planting the suggestion that he stand still and make no attempt to leave or stake her, she released Giles from her thrall and stepped back to smile at him.

"Your slayer has taken my pretty William," she said coyly. "And you have taken the rest of my family. I should be very cross with you."

Certain that his life was going to be ended within seconds, Giles drew himself up and answered tersely, "Your family tried to kill my slayer. It made me very cross with them." He met her strangely human-seeming eyes and said sincerely, "I am sorry for your losses, but I do not regret my actions. They were necessary and important."

"You saved my Spike," she murmured. "The Slayer was not in danger. It was my sweet poet that you saved from Grandmummy and Daddy. They were very angry with him."

"They were angry with him because he claimed Buffy. He had marked her to keep her safe."

"He marked her because he loves her," she disagreed with a trace of anger that quickly faded. "My William loves with all his heart. He would not have claimed the Slayer if he didn't love her. He might have helped her, but he would not have taken her for his mate."

Giles had no response, except to nod in reluctant agreement. He waited with resignation for the death he was sure was coming soon. He shivered when the vampire surprised him by running a hand lightly down his cheek and breathing into his ear, "I should take you with me. We could begin a new family. The Ripper would make a delicious vampire. I should think he could make me forget about losing my sweet William to the sunshine."

"Buffy would kill us both if you turn me," he said flatly, smothering the tiny surge of curiosity about life as a vampire that caught him by surprise. The sudden increase in his heart rate hadn't gone unnoticed by Dru, though, and she smiled with delight before answering him.

"Yes, I suppose she would," Dru sighed, moving away again. "She is such a spoil sport, your slayer. She doesn't play fair at all. She wants all the toys for herself." She swayed for a moment, lost in her mind before jumping to her new path.

"I'm going to take Grandmummy and Daddy someplace safe now."

For the first time he noticed the jar of dust that she clutched in her free hand and he flinched as he realized what it contained. The first glimmer of hope sparked in his chest as it began to seem that she was going to let him go. He struggled against the immobility left over from her thrall, but relaxed when he couldn't move and realized he was entertaining the vampire with his fruitless efforts.

"Naughty, naughty Watcher," she cooed. "Trying to leave the party while the princess is still talking. I shall be very cross with you if you leave before we are through visiting."

She moved closer to him and if he could have moved, he would have flinched as she leaned in to graze her lips over his throat and run her tongue along his pounding pulse. He shut his eyes, sure that she had finished toying with him and that the next sensation would be her fangs as they tore into his throat.

To his amazement, rather than the pain he was anticipating, he barely felt the bite as she slid her sharp teeth through the skin of his neck and delicately sipped the blood flowing from the wound. He felt the pull all the way down to his crotch and wondered briefly if it was common to die with a hard-on as he felt his life's blood being pulled from his body by the now feeding vampire. Just before he lost consciousness, he felt her teeth leave his throat and her tongue lave the wounds until they stopped bleeding.

"Now you are marked as mine, Ripper," she purred into his ear as she effortlessly supported his weakened body. "And someday I will return to claim what's mine."

She half-pulled, half-carried him to the door of his apartment, knocking heavily on it before pulling away to leave him propped against it.

"Someday, Watcher, but not today."

Buffy opened the door, catching him as he fell into the room; the vampire had vanished into the night leaving Giles weak and bewildered but very much alive.

"Giles! What happened? Are you al—" Buffy stopped in mid-sentence as she saw the marks on his neck.

"What happened?" she repeated, peering out the door but seeing nothing.

"Dru-Drusilla," he croaked out as she eased him down onto a chair.

"Dru? Dru did this? Why aren't you dead?"

"Because, clearly, she didn't want him dead," came a tired voice from the hallway as Spike limped into the room. He walked over to the watcher and studied the marks on his neck.

"Looks like she's thinking about starting a new family," he said, cocking his head and looking at the older man with undisguised glee. "Planning to be my brother, then, are you, Rupert?" he asked with a smirk.

"I'm planning nothing of the kind, " Giles blustered as best he could in his weakened condition. "She just… she marked me somehow," he admitted, hanging his head. He looked back up at the vampire he'd come to trust and asked anxiously, "Does this mean she has claimed me? Am I mated to Drusilla?"

"Nah, don't get your knickers in a twist," Spike answered quickly. "She didn't claim you. You are marked, though. Most vamps will respect that and leave you alone. I wonder what's going through that fuzzy mind of hers?"

"She bit my watcher," Buffy growled, heading for the weapons chest for her stakes.

"Easy, pet," Spike quickly moved to intercept her. "She didn't really harm him. Those marks might keep him alive someday. Least till she decides to come back for him and finish the job," he admitted in a quiet mutter to himself.

"Let it go, Buffy," Giles wearily agreed. "If you will bring me some liquids and help me to my bed, I am sure I will be much recovered tomorrow."

"Giles, she bit you! She drank your blood. I'm not going to let that go."

She gave Spike a challenging stare, remembering what he'd said about not being able to let her kill his sire and wondering if it was still true now that they were mated. He looked back at her with a plea in his eyes, but no trace of resistance.

While the two lovers stood frozen in a wordless argument, the weakened man slumped into the chair and struggled to speak. His waving hand finally caught the vampire's attention and Spike broke the stare to limp toward the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice and a hard boiled egg. As he turned to carry the food and drink back to the watcher, he found his mate standing right behind him.

She silently reached for the juice and egg and carried them back to her ex-watcher. She opened the juice carton for him and held it while he gulped down as much as he could at one time, then handed him the egg and watched as he chewed and swallowed it. When he raised a shaking hand to hold the juice container himself, Buffy gave it to him and went back into the kitchen where Spike was filling a glass and a large pitcher with water.

"You'll need to help him up the stairs," he said gruffly. "I'm not strong enough to carry him yet."

Buffy nodded silently and went back into the living room to help Giles to his feet. Placing the now-empty juice carton on the end table, he put his arm around her slender shoulders and allowed Buffy to help him up to his bed. Spike followed behind, carrying the water, which he placed on the nightstand within easy reach of the exhausted man.

"Are you going to be all right?" Buffy asked anxiously. "Maybe we should be taking you to the hospital for a transfusion."

"I'll be all right, Buffy," he said wearily. "Just leave the water and let me get some rest." He closed his eyes, then opened them again to say, "Don't bother looking for her. I'm quite certain she is well away from Sunnydale by now and I do not believe she will be back anytime soon."

Buffy nodded in reluctant agreement and turned the light off before leaving the room with her vampire. When Spike hesitated at the top of the stairs, she was reminded of how injured he was and she quickly wrapped her strong arms around his torso, encouraging him to lean on her as they descended.

She kept her arms around him when they reached the bottom, walking him back into their room and to the side of the bed. While he gingerly lowered himself to the mattress, she quickly went back out to lock the door and turn off the lights in the rest of the apartment.

When she got back to their room, she shed the jeans she'd thrown on when she ran to the door for Giles and slipped into the bed beside her mate. Spike's pants were lying on the floor and he was already lying under the sheet, propped up on one elbow as he waited for her to join him. As she slid next to his side and nuzzled his neck tiredly he stroked her back with his free hand and whispered softly, "It's going to be alright, love. It's Dru. She'll forget about it in a while and it could be forty years from now before she thinks about him again."

"And if it isn't?" The cold tone of her voice was belied by the way her body curled into the security of his embrace.

"Then we'll worry it about it then, yeah? Tonight is for resting and healing."

"I love you," she mumbled into his chest as her eyes drifted shut.

"I love you, too, Buffy," he whispered, laying his head down next to hers and allowing her hair to cover his face with the scent of herbal shampoo. "Love you forever."

Buffy was awakened several hours later by a gentle nudging against her hip and she smiled as she recognized the familiar feel of Spike's cock hardening against her.

I guess some parts recover faster than others, she mused as she squirmed around to face the still sleeping vampire and ran her hand lightly down the length of him. She felt him shudder in his sleep and smiled again as he moaned and pushed his hips into her hand. She began stroking his cock, enjoying the way his sleeping body reacted to her touch. When she heard him moan her name in his sleep she couldn't stop the answering gush of moisture she could feel between her legs.

She encouraged her panties down her legs and used her feet to push them completely off, freeing her hands to continue to caress his body. She was just reaching for the hem of her tee shirt when she heard his deep rumble.

"Let me do that, love. Gettin' you naked is half the fun."

"I'm sorry," she lied. "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Like hell you didn't, you minx," he growled. "As if I was going to sleep through that."

"Hey, you started it. Poking me in my sleep."

He rolled on top of her, pressing her body into the mattress and stretching her arms over her head. His slender hips slid between her welcoming thighs and she wrapped her legs around his, holding him in place.

"Was poking you, was I?" he mumbled into her neck. "Like this?" He nudged her clit with the head of his cock, smiling when she arched up into him seeking more contact.

"Something like that," she gasped, "only not quite as—gah!"

He slid into her already wet channel, burying himself as far as he could go and then waiting for her to adjust to the intrusion. She wriggled her hips, seating him more comfortably and rubbing against his pubic bone before stilling to enjoy the feeling of being filled completely by the man she loved.

She brought her legs up around his hips and wrapped her arms around his body, clinging to him and basking in the love she could feel flowing from him. She squeezed her eyes shut, the better to lose herself in the sensation of intimacy they were sharing.

When she continued to keep her eyes shut and clutch him with a strength that would have broken a human man, he finally nudged her with his nose and asked softly, "Buffy? Slayer? Love, are you still with me?"

She nodded her head dumbly, tears beginning to leak out of the corners of her eyes. As soon as he smelled her tears, he pushed himself up as far as he could without breaking her grip and stared at her fearfully.

"What's wrong, love? Is it the great poof?" He felt the ice filling his heart at the thought that she didn't think his life was worth the loss of her first love. "Tell me, Buffy. Tell me what's wrong."

"N…nothing's wrong," she hiccupped. "I just love you so much. I wish we could stay like this forever."

He pressed his forehead against hers and blinked back his own tears as he answered softly, "If I turned to dust right this second, I'd die a happy man. And it wouldn't stop my lovin' you. I'd find my way back to you somehow, no matter what. Never leave you, my love. 'M yours forever."

In spite of the emotions flowing between them, their lower bodies were having their own issues with the intimacy and before long Spike's hips began to rock slowly against her as he succumbed to the heat surrounding him. They quickly settled into an easy rhythm that allowed them maximum contact and enough space to be able to look into each other's eyes as they let the sensations build.

When their motions had become stronger and more frantic and Buffy could feel herself approaching release, she tipped her head to the side and offered him her throat. With a hoarse snarl, the vampire allowed his fangs to descend and he slid them carefully into his marks to begin the long, deep pulls that would send them both into orgasms that spiraled around and around, taking them close to unconsciousness before finally coming to a shuddering halt.

When he could move again, Spike carefully licked his marks to stop the bleeding. He could feel Buffy's blood racing through his body, healing cuts, mending bones and filling him with her essence. For the first time, he regretted that she was not a vampire and couldn't take the same pleasure from drinking him as he did from her.

A close look into her happily sated face, however, assured him that she felt the same pleasure in giving him her blood as he did in taking it. She raised a gentle hand to his cheek and stroked it slowly, too lost in her own enjoyment of their connection to speak.

Without saying a word, their eyes repeated the pledges their bodies had just made and their lips met to seal the promise before rolling to one side and falling back to sleep still intimately connected and wrapped in each other's arms.

It would be years before they began to realize that their occasional exchanges of blood during lovemaking – for Buffy was as likely to bite him as he was her – were having a gradual effect on the Slayer. And decades before the full effects were obvious. For tonight, all they knew was that they had renewed the claim that proclaimed to the world that this slayer belonged to this vampire. Forever and for always.

The end