Her recruiter had told her what to expect, but honestly... she didn’t think it was going to be like this. Fucking bastard lied. After arriving by bus at the welcome center of FT Lemonworth, nothing could have prepared her for the greeting she and the other recruits received. The second the charter bus door opened, Buffy and the rest of the young men and women who were going to go through boot camp together were welcomed by a group of about sixteen Drill Sergeants, shouting at the top of their lungs to ‘move their asses, fall in and form a line’.

After much scrambling around, they’d managed to form up in several long rows but the shouting and insults didn’t cease. They were told they were ‘too slow’, a ‘disgrace to the uniform they hadn’t even put on yet’, they ‘were weak, sniveling, undisciplined’... basically, they were nothing more than shit. For a full fifteen minutes, the verbal insults continued as each DS walked around putting their faces within millimeters of each and every recruit, spittle flying everywhere, personal attacks on their appearance being made...

She tried to remain still and keep to herself but it was of no use. Buffy already suffered her share of the insults when she came face to face with what would become her worst nightmare... Spike.

“Well, well, well,” he jibed sarcastically. “What do we have here?”

His British accent was the first thing that threw her off; the second was his stunning good looks. Razor sharp cheekbones, strong jaw, inhumanly perfect lips, the bottom one so full and kissable she momentarily forgot she had a boyfriend back home in California. And those eyes, possibly the most amazing shade of blue she’d ever seen. Their intensity was captivating, lending themselves to his incredibly strong presence, drawing her in to marvel at their beauty. They pierced hers, hypnotizing her with his icy cold stare. She was told earlier not to ‘eye-ball’ any DS by staring directly at them, so she quickly looked down. Like all the other Drills his uniform was heavily starched with a weird looking belt about his waist. It was green, wide with metal lined holes set at even intervals and bunched the material of his long camouflage top, accentuating the fact he had a slim waist. The sleeves to his uniform were rolled up, revealing lean arms covered with tightly corded muscles, strong bulging biceps and forearms that reminded her of a swimmer’s build; this man was fit. Good lord, it wasn’t like she was purposely checking him out, but when he placed his hands on his hips, she couldn’t help but think he had the most beautiful hands she’d ever seen. She was a big ‘hands’ person and his were just, well, perfect. Stop it, Buffy. For God sakes the man is your Drill Sergeant and you have a boyfriend.

She answered him with what she hoped was the correct response. “Private Summers, Sir.”

He went off on her, yelling the entire time. “`M not some spoilt, snivelin’ nancy-boy with a degree hidin’ behind some desk pushin’ paper all day. I work for a livin’ and wear stripes for rank,” he pointed to his collar where the insignia was sewn onto his uniform, “And that means you WILL address me as Sergeant. DO. YOU. UNDERSTAND?” He shouted so loud his face was red from the effort.

“Y-yes.” She stammered nervously. He had a formidable, dangerous air about him that spoke of nothing but harsh contempt, much stronger than that of the previous Drill Sergeants. He scared her to her shaky core. It was clear she had pissed him off on some personal level.

“Yes, SERGEANT, is the appropriate response after anythin’ you say to me or any of the other Drill Sergeants you see here in a brown hat.”

“Yes, Sergeant.”

“Why are you whisperin’? Are you flirtin’? Tryin’ to hit on me? Askin’ me out on a date or somethin’?”

“NO... Sergeant.” Her eyes flew open wide, what the hell was that all about? She quickly answered him again, this time a little louder. “No, Sergeant.”

“Oh. So what you’re sayin’ is `m not good enough for the likes of you?” He loved this part. Taking soft spoken women and getting them to find their voice, speak up loud and clear.

“Yes, Sergeant.” He arched a surprised eyebrow at her. “I mean no, Sergeant.”

“So you ARE askin’ me?” Tilting his head to the side he watched her eyes fill with confusion and fear before answering.

“No, Sergeant.”

“So `m not good enough then? Which is it?”

She felt trapped, like she was insulting him no matter which way she answered. “No, Sergeant?” Uh oh. He had her so rattled and confused that she went for the most insulting answering, putting it into question form, hoping he’d tell her what her answer should be.

“Right then.” He nodded once at her. “From now on, sound off like you mean it.” No, he probably wasn’t her type, with her good looks he imagined she went for the ‘pretty boy’ type. Like that actor guy, what’s his name, Freddie Ponce Jr. or something? Didn’t matter, the reason for the insults was to break the recruits down mentally so they could build them back up, shape and mold their minds to think like a soldier.

He narrowed his eyes on her, taking in the amount of makeup she wore, her shampoo commercial hair and girly pink outfit. This one would be fun to break, oh yes. Another silly little fluffy cheerleader type thinking she can make it as a soldier in his Army. Hmmph, not if I have anythin’ to do with it.

William David Speichart, aka ‘Spike’ to his friends, was the type of soldier that didn’t care for women joining the military. Though they had their uses in certain fields and he showed the proper respect at all times around them, to him, this was a man’s world, cut and dried. He felt they weren’t ‘mentally equipped’ to handle what it took to go to war which was, after all, the reason for and bulk of the initial training they received here at boot camp... to be prepared to go to war. They would be Drilled to stand, march, respond to orders in an unquestioning manner, to act unhesitatingly in the face of real combat situations as well as trained in basic marksmanship with weapons, hand to hand combat, physical fitness training, first aid, protective equipment usage, and basic survival techniques.

Throughout his career, government orders kept him traveling approximately every two years to a different state and duty station all across the continental U.S. Here, at this current location in the mid-west, his job was simple, be a Drill Sergeant. Day in and day out he turned civilians into soldiers, and he’d grown particularly fond of the ‘breaking’ process... especially when it came to girls like Buffy. The way she was dressed looked like she was ready to go to the mall. With her pink mini skirt and white tank top, jewelry everywhere and long golden hair that looked silky to the touc... enough.

He got right in her face, stared her down and made sure his tone of voice conveyed the seriousness behind his words.

“I’ll be watchin’ you. You so much as BLINK wrong and I’ll be there, breathin’ down your neck. `M gonna be on you like flies on shit for the next nine weeks of your miserable life, makin’ sure you know exactly what you are... nothin’.”

Standing perfectly still, the strong aroma of cigarettes mixed with his cologne permeated the air around her.

“Do we have an understandin’, Summers?”

“Yes, Sergeant.” She responded without hesitation, not wishing to anger him further than she apparently already had, though how she had was a mystery.

He stood to his full height and tugged the hem of his shirt, curtly nodding once. Good. A woman that knows her place.

He walked away to terrorize the next poor unfortunate that dare enter his Army, denying any instant attraction he felt when his nostrils filled with the delicate scent of her vanilla perfume.

He’d been married twice before. First to Dru, who’d gone insane while he was deployed to the middle east and wound up pregnant by one of the many men she’d run around with. Then Cecily, his second and quite sane wife, had chosen to tear his heart in two by openly cheating on him with their neighbor’s husband, thereby ruining not one marriage but two. Never, never again would he enter into marriage. Those vows were a joke and women couldn’t be trusted to keep their legs closed. His career, on the other hand, was the one constant in his life he could count on.

William had emigrated from London to New York with his widowed father at the age of fourteen. He instantly fell in love with America and what it stood for, earning his citizenship two years later and joining the U.S. Army on his seventeenth birthday. He was both teased and ridiculed for his British accent until, over the years, he’d gained both rank and respect. Twelve years, two ex-wives, five different duty stations and several ranks later found him a bitter, twenty nine year old man with a small paycheck yet proud of his service to this fine country. As far as he was concerned, he was married to Uncle Sam and would remain loyal `til the end.

He was the senior most ranking enlisted personnel in charge of the cadre designated to train incoming recruits. The only two people he had to report to were his immediate superiors, who rarely came around; his First Sergeant and the Company Commander. His best friend and former comrade in arms from his time spent in the desert was already part of the Drill Sergeant Team, Sergeant Charles Gunn. The rest of the cadre were a new set of new faces that over the last several months, he’d come to know and nicknamed. Sergeant Daniel Osbourne - the jokester, Sergeant Lilah Morgan - the slut, Sergeant Riley Finn - ‘white-bread’, Sergeant Jonathon Levinson - the nerd, and a host of about nine other people, enough to see at least eighty recruits through all the training they were to receive.

Their job was not an easy one and they counted on each other to get through the long twelve hour shifts they had to spend acting like the devil’s minions. All the insults and punishment they doled out wasn’t what the Army was really like once basic training and schooling for their individual military specialties was completed. Every week and a half, they rotated their schedule so they would have one full day off from the brutal schedule and every three weeks they had two days off in a row. Spike only had his job, his career and therefore always made sure everyone, especially those with family, got more than their allotted share of time off by volunteering to cover shifts. He rarely took a day off and still had yet to take more than one day off in a row.

There were a few of his co-worker’s, he learned right away, that hated acting like monsters towards the females coming through boot camp and he very quickly tightened the reins and made it clear that in his eyes as well as the government’s, they were soldiers first, both male and female alike and the treatment was to be the same for both.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first couple of days were spent getting the recruits outfitted into camouflaged Battle Dress Uniforms, otherwise known as BDU’s. The males were shaved bald, females instructed to keep their hair pinned up at all times, ugly looking glasses issued to anyone who needed prescription eyewear. They all had to go through vaccinations like a conveyor belt, receive dog tags and then lock all their personal ‘civilian’ belongings away. No CD players or electronic equipment, no makeup, cologne or perfume, civilian bras, socks or underwear were allowed. The only effects they could keep on their person were pictures of family and one necklace if the pendant were of a religious nature, such as a cross or catholic Saint. They were taken to a store that held military approved items in order to re-buy everything. The men could have cared less about any of the changes, but the women were horrified. Gone were the pretty lacy thongs they were used to and what now would covered their womanly parts were bras and underwear of such horrid design even their own grandmothers would refuse to wear, saying there was way too much material.

“So, Private Goldilocks, wha’s the matter? Not happy with your new knickers?” Spike overheard Buffy complaining to another female about the injustice of having to wear the medieval garments. She ducked her head and didn’t answer.

He walked over to her, seething with anger that she ignored him. “Pay for your stuff and meet me outside,” he commanded her gruffly through gritted teeth.

“Yes, Sergeant.” Great, just great. She did as she was told and headed out the door. Maybe... if she could slip deep into the back of formation, she could avoid being seen. Yeah, right!

“Summers!”

She stopped short and turned around to face him. Four feet, she was only four feet short from her goal when he caught her.

“I told you to come see me, NOT rejoin your fellow soldiers.” He waited until she turned around then extended one arm, snapped his fingers and pointed to the ground in front of him. “Front and center.” She ran up to him and stood with her hands tucked at the small of her back, her elbows out straight, a proper stance otherwise known as ‘parade rest’. “WHAT is your major malfunction, Private? Cuz unless you’re deaf, you jus’ defied a direct order.”

“Sorry, Sergeant.” He’s not going to let this go, I just know it. So far, she’d been dropped for pushups by this gorgeo... ahem, evil man every time they crossed paths.

“Oh, so `m a sorry Sergeant now?”

“NO! No, Sergeant, that’s not what I meant, Sergeant.” Damnit, how did he always manage to twist whatever she said around?

“So you’re not sorry?” She was definitely at the top of his shit list.

Before she could answer, his attention shifted over her shoulder. She didn’t dare do anything except stare straight ahead and though she couldn’t see what had distracted him, she clearly heard a male voice, slightly louder than everyone else’s. It sounded like he was whining about something.

“Run in place `til I tell you to stop, Summers.” He stormed off to deal with another problem child... Private Parker Abrams.

She couldn’t help herself. As her feet began to jog, she made a one eighty so she could see the commotion. Yup, there was Sergeant Satan, barking at Abrams and oh shit, is he actually talking back at him?

She, along with everyone else, had to keep from laughing. Apparently the whiner pushed Sergeant Speichart too far because his punishment was beyond humiliating. He was skipping in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ fashion around everyone else, holding his hat high in one hand while picking and throwing invisible posies from it, singing ‘nobody understands me’ to the children’s taunting tune of na na naaa na naaa naaaaa.

Oooops, Buffy didn’t turn back around fast enough.

“Summers, le’s go back to the barracks shall we? You smell too pretty. Time to introduce you to the mud pit.”

Huh?!?! Didn’t sound good whatever it was. And sure enough, once Spike had marched them all back to their new ‘home’, there was a nice big, brown, wet, gooey hole full of nothing but mud to which she rolled left and right in, end to end, over and over.

That’ll teach Miss Fluffy Vanilla Summers. She always smelt so good, too good and it unnerved him. He couldn’t figure it out. He along with all the other Drill Sergeants ransacked every recruit’s locker, searching for anything they might have been stupid enough to smuggle in and keep from their personal belongings. He half expected to find perfume in hers, but to his amazement, there was nothing there that didn’t belong. Even her shampoo and soap were of the basic ‘get yourself clean’ unscented variety. Hmmph. Well the mud pit would take care of the disturbing, natural smell of her... like vanilla sugar cookies. He shook his head, returning his attention back to her, telling her to get up, that her fifteen minutes were done and she had five minutes to shower and be back in uniform before chow. Her Army issued shorts and T-shirt were stuck to her body, outlining her scrawny figure. How the hell did she keep from blowing away during a strong wind? This wouldn’t do. She needed some meat on her bones if she ever expected to make it through Basic. Seemed he’d have to put her on a little diet, fatten her up a bit, make her exercise a little more to be sure it went into building some muscle.

Those first nights she went to bed, it was next to impossible to get any sleep. She could feel every spring and coil through the two inch thick mattress of her bunk and it creaked every time she moved. The blankets they were issued were made of pure wool, and she swore she was going to draw blood from scratching her skin so much. Her small room was sterile looking with only two beds and two standup closets. The only good thing about it was her roommate, Willow Rosenburg. Willow was timid but sweet. They got along well as they whispered away throughout the sleepless nights, talking about where they were from and why they’d joined. Both had signed up for the same job, to be a combat medic or as the Army termed it, Medical Specialist. They were happy to know they would be going to school together after ‘Basic’’ and could already smell the freedom after leaving this place. Willow’s best friend from high school joined the Army with her, Xander Harris and she introduced Buffy to him right away. The three tried their best to stick together, knowing these nine weeks were going to feel like nine years.

A simple two story building was where they were assigned to live and train while their Drill Sergeants filled them with fear, made them train, sweat, integrate them into the military lifestyle of a soldier. Their days were to be spent learning how to make and stand in a formation and, while marching or running, sing weird and sometimes disturbing cadences about blood and battle. They also needed to learn all the endless acronyms the government had for nearly every piece of equipment, clothing, supplies, weapons and training specific exercises. And if all this wasn’t enough to overload their brains with, they were being ‘dropped’ for pushups, sit ups, made to stand for an hour holding a heavy log over their heads or ‘take a roll in the mud pit’ every time they so much as dared to speak when not spoken to.

Naturally, there were those few who couldn’t keep it together mentally or hold their tongue and language to their superiors. These unfortunates were discharged from the Army for ‘failure to adapt’, but only after given ample opportunity to get their act together through ‘corrective training’, aka getting screamed at and tortured by being made to perform physical feats of strength even Hercules himself was incapable of. Out of the seventy eight men and women Buffy arrived with, there were only fifty eight left by the end of week one that were both ‘fit’ and ‘forced’ by having signed the dotted line, to see the rest of the way through to graduation.

Eleven of these remaining recruits were females, which were quickly grouped together and given one side of the hallway for their sleeping quarters on the second floor. The Drill Sergeant’s office lay directly between them and the other half of the hallway where both the lavatories and the male’s sleeping quarters lie. Everyone was informed that sexual harassment in any of its various forms would not be tolerated by either male or females towards the opposite sex. Whether it was a look, a touch, or a suggestion, that soldier would ‘regret the day their mother ever opened her legs for their conception’.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy was exhausted. She, along with everyone else was never allowed too much sleep, never more than four hours at a time it seemed. They were ritually woken up at random hours of the night to ‘get dressed into full battle gear and be outside in formation in exactly five minutes’. The incessant scrambling to make it happen while half asleep was hell. And as always, when a Drill Sergeant began counting backwards from sixty during the last remaining minute, they became frantic, terrified by the possible punishment they would receive if even one soldier were late while the rest stood ready.

The soldiers were informed they would be allowed to write letters home ‘if they could find the time’ and that mail call would be had every day right before going to chow. In addition, every Sunday after they were allowed to go to church services if they so chose, they could all line up behind to the one and only phone booth at the edge of the street their building was on to call home. They could spend no more than a huge, grand total of five minutes before they were to hand the phone off to the next person.

When her first Sunday arrived, Buffy chose to call her parents first instead of her boyfriend, Angel, because she knew her mother would kill her if she didn’t. After her five minutes were up, she used her bathroom time and other stolen moments to finish her first letter to Angel.


My dearest Angel,

I guess the only thing I can write to you about is everything I’ve been doing here so far, boring as you may find it.

First fun fact about life here in Hell is that every morning at 5:30 a Drill Sergeant walks the halls, yelling for us to get our asses outside. We wear the ugliest sweats and T-shirts and then make a formation to get ready for PT, which means physical training, though I prefer to call it physical torture.

We do push-ups, sit-ups, leg lifts, squats, and much more as the Drill Sergeants take turns screaming at us. After all the pain and insults are finished we get to "cool off" which means a two mile run. There’s a Drill in front to lead us, Drills on either side that yell and make fun of us, making sure we keep up with the formation and one Drill to the rear to pick-up the stragglers who couldn't keep up. Boot camp isn't all physical though, we have to think too which is a contradiction to what they tell us, "You’re not here to think, we do the thinking and you follow orders."

We have classes on different subjects, such as the workings and firing of an M-16, how to throw a hand grenade and safety classes that go along with them. I’d get into those but then you really would be bored.

There is this one Drill, Sergeant (Psycho) Speichart, who has it out for me and unfortunately he’s assigned directly to my platoon. He’s on my ass every chance he gets, making me do pushups for breathing wrong, run around the building ten times holding my rifle over my head and if I’m lucky, I get to go to the ‘house of pain’. He’s had me sit in an invisible chair with my back against the wall then tells me how much time I have to spend that way. It’s always something ridiculous like twenty minutes. I’m sure he does it on purpose because I can never make it before my thighs hurt and burn so much I fall to the floor. Then because I failed he makes me do something else equally impossible that wears out my arms, like balancing heavy objects on each palm while stretching my arms out with my elbows locked.

It was raining the other day and he decided the females needed to improve our running time so we got drenched for over an hour in this freezing rain while doing sprints. I’m still trying to get over the cold I caught the next day. I swear the man is out to kill me. He’s past being insane, he’s like mentally unstable or something. Nearly every day he makes me roll in the infamous mud pit and usually right after I shower so I’m forced to go to the chow hall filthy. I have to do twice as much laundry as anyone else. Oh and let me tell you, he follows me through the meal line and makes me pick food that will make me gain weight. Apparently I’m so sickly looking that I must have been a bulimic before coming here. And let’s not forget he makes sure I eat all of it, too. I almost did throw up during the first week.

Not all the Drills are like that though. Like the other day when we had locker inspections. Sergeant Gunn, my other platoon Sergeant, looked inside my locker and saw a cockroach running around inside. He’s got a pretty good sense of humor and told me to get rid of it because we aren't allowed pets. Most of the Drills are decent enough despite the insults and can be pretty funny at times. Sometimes they march us around in circles while they sit at the center and tell us funny jokes, trying to make us laugh. When we do, they make us do push-ups but some of their jokes, especially Sergeant Osbourne’s, are so worth it.

Well, this is as much as I can write if I want to get this letter out to you by tomorrow. It’s like a nightmare come true here and I miss you so much. I love you Angel. Please write me as much as you can, I could use something to look forward to. I’ll try to call you next Sunday.

Love,
Buffy

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Week 2

“Bradshaw,” fwoosh, “Soto,” fwoosh, “Withers,” fwoosh, “Nelson...” Spike continued holding up each piece of mail, read out who it was to, then flung it through the air to that soldier with a flick of his wrist. “Cardenas,” fwoosh, “Summers.” He cocked an eyebrow when he spotted hearts drawn all over the envelope. Your Angel, Liam. Huh. Looks like she has a boyfriend back home. What sort of nancy-boy draws hearts on an envelope? Smirking, he knew this was too good an opportunity to pass up.

Buffy anxiously waited for him to throw it her way, but when he got that evil grin on his face she knew she was in for some form of ridicule.

“Now who would want to be writin’ to you? Le’s see. Your Angel, Liam. Awwwww isn’ that cuuuuuuuute. Look everyone.” He turned it around and held it up. “I’d like to draw your attention to all the lovely artwork this Angel git drew for Summers.”

Oh my, God. Please say he didn’t do something like that. She sat cringing in the corner of the common room where they were herded in on a daily basis to do everything from mail call to role call. I am so screwed. Yup, there were hearts drawn on it alright. Everyone snickered around her. Everyone that is, except for the only two people she’d managed to make friends with, Xander and Willow. Buffy had gone from being popular all her life to being the class joke here at boot camp. Willow rubbed her shoulder for support. She too agreed that Spike, as they came to find out was his nickname, was particularly harsh and cruel with her, never sparing her a moment’s peace and took advantage of her every wrong move to embarrass and torture her. She looked up into Willow’s eyes and watched her shake her head and put on her ‘resolve face’, the one that said to ignore it and act like it didn’t bother her.

“Le’s count them shall we? One, two.” He looked up and ordered them. “I said le’s count them together.” The rest of the recruits instinctually chimed in. “Three, four, five...” And together everyone counted a grand total of ten between the front and the back. “Ahh, wha’s this?” As he lowered the envelope to his lap he heard something rattle. Holding it up to the light and turning it carefully, he spotted what looked like it might be a piece of jewelry. This jus’ keeps getting’ better and better. “Ten hearts `s gonna cost you ten full minutes of squats, ten full minutes of pushups and ten full minutes of sit-ups. And since there’s somethin’ rattlin’ around in here,” he shook it to make his point. “That’ll cost you thirty minutes in the mud pit tonight.”

Erghhhh, fuck you, you British... British-American prick.

“Come up here and open this in front of me. Gotta make sure your ANGEL,” he threw his hand over his heart and used a high pitched, swooning voice which earned more snickers from those in the room. “Didn’ send you any contraband.”

Angel had sent her something? At first her heart jumped for joy but quickly lodged itself in her throat to beat in terror. If he sent anything she wasn’t supposed to have, she was going to be in for a lot more than sixty extra minutes of exercise tonight. She stood up and made her way towards the front of the room.

He handed it to her and watched as she opened it. She tilted the envelope and tore at the corner which made a gold necklace fall out onto the floor. He watched her bend over to pick it up and his eyes immediately went to her backside.

Still too bony. He tried to convince himself that every time his attention was drawn to her, ahem, ‘assets’, it was for the sole purpose of seeing whether or not the diet he’d forced her on was working. Like the time he’d taken all the female soldiers out for a run in the rain and their PT uniforms became drenched, clinging like a second skin to their bottoms. After thirty minutes of sprints, he took them on a two mile jog... with Summers right in front of him. He couldn’t see in the rain unless he kept his head down where he had no other choice but to watch her lovely bum sway. He had to admit the diet was starting to help, but she still seemed too thin.

He averted his eyes when she stood, holding a necklace with a simple gold cross on the chain. Hmmph, why couldn’t it have been something else so he could punish her for her stupid boyfriend’s lack of judgment?

“Very good. You can keep it.” When she went to walk away, he stopped her short. “`M not through with you yet, Summers.”

Why am I not surprised. The temporary happiness she’d found from discovering her gift quickly fled.

“Why don’ you open your letter right now? Share what ANGEL has to say with the rest of your fellow soldiers?”

Gunn, who’d been sitting to the right of Spike, looked at him in surprise. “Spike, man,” he shook his head at him with disapproval then leaned in to whisper. “Don’t do that, that’s personal.” Spike raised his hand in a ‘stop right there’ fashion and gave him a warning glare to stay out of it.

He wanted her to do what?!?! Okay, I can get through this. He probably just wrote about work and family anyways. No big deal, he would get bored the minute she started reading about pouring cement and probably tell her to stop. Wrong!!! She read the first page out loud and as she suspected, aside from a few normal ‘I love and miss you’s’, most of it was about what new project he was currently working on with his father. She could only pray that he would make no mention about her reference to Spike or else she would be spending the rest of her time in the mud pit whenever they weren’t training. The thought terrified her as she read on.

Boring. The man was a construction worker? Surely someone as pretty as she was could do better than that. Of course he could care less who she was dating, nope, he didn’t care if she dated a convict. He yawned, acting bored on purpose, circling his finger in the air behind her back so that every one could see him more or less saying ‘big deal, whoop-d-doo’. She turned to the second page and he didn’t think he could take any more of it.

“Do you remember that time when your parents went away for the weekend and we...” She turned bright red and stopped reading altogether. Her eyes quickly scanned the next few lines and her hands began shaking.

“Keep readin’, Summers.” He hadn’t really been paying too much attention, but when she turned to face him, her face scarlet, shaking her head ‘no’, his curiosity peaked.

“I-I can’t, Sergeant.”

“You CAN and you WILL. Now read.”

“Please,” she looked to Gunn for help. She overheard his whispers and knew he didn’t agree with what Spike was doing to embarrass her. “Don’t make me, Sergeant. I can’t.”

Spike became furious at her refusal to follow his order and snatched the letter from her hands. When she squeaked in horror, he shot her a look to remain quite. He read the first few sentences and had to stop himself. This boyfriend of hers was going into detail about a very intimate moment they had in her bedroom. No wonder she refused to read any further. It wasn’t appropriate. Actually, it was inappropriate that he was reading a private correspondence of any one of his soldiers. It wasn’t forbidden, but he’d crossed a line he knew even he shouldn’t have. He’d been furious though, and now that he’d read some of the things she’d shared with this man, he was oddly furious about what this guy actually got to do to her lovely body. It was too erotic, and the written words created clear images in his mind of a naked Buffy writhing in pleasure. He handed the letter back and told her to go sit down.

Both he and Gunn handed out the rest of the mail then allowed the soldiers fifteen minutes of free time to read their letters while he went outside for a smoke. Gunn followed him out of the building.

“What’s up with that? Did someone in her family get sick? Get hurt or something?” He didn’t know what to make of either Spike or Private Summers’ reaction. He guessed it had to be some private family related issue of that nature. Even Spike wouldn’t make her read something like that out loud, his heart wasn’t that cold.

“Yeah, somethin’ like that.” Somebody was sick alright... him. Some man had done things to her that he wouldn’t mi... What the bloody hell?!?! Where did that come from? Sure, she was pretty, had a nice body, but that didn’t mean he lusted for her. The image the letter produced came rushing back in his mind’s eye, making his hands shake with a touch of anger towards himself for even thinking what he was thinking.

“Is it something she may have to go home for?”

“Nah. ’M sure her boyfriend has everythin’ well in hand.” Yeah, usin’ his hand to wank off to thoughts of her. He mentally kicked himself for getting irritated over that thought as well. Her boyfriend at home, jerking off to her image, knowing what her soft body felt like, knew how smooth her golden skin felt to the tou...stop! He couldn’t go there, had no right to go there. He blamed it on his self inflicted abstinence for any sexual thoughts at all. Didn’t matter if it was Buffy, it had just been far too long and he brought it upon himself by reading her letter in the first place.

“You know? What you did back there? That’s just not right, man. I mean what’s with you? Why do give her such a hard time? She’s a good kid... tries harder than anyone else here to do her best.”

“Are you questionin’ my trainin’ tactics?” He didn’t bother hiding the irritation in his voice.

Gunn threw his hands up. “Whoa, you know I wouldn’t do that. Just seems to me, and everyone else I might add, that you’re overdoing it where she’s concerned. Forcing her to read her letter out loud just wasn’t cool.” Gunn had a sneaking suspicion as to the reason why, but it was so absurd an idea that he would never bring it up. A tiny part of him thought Spike might be attracted to her.

“How long have we been friends now? Five, six years, is it?”

“About that, yeah.” He knew that look. The look his friend was giving him right now that clearly said he wasn’t going to see things that way.

“Then trust me when I say she needs every ounce of discipline I give her and let the subject go.” He threw his cigarette down and stepped on it.

“Alright, alright. No need to get testy, it’s me here you’re talking to. If you say she needs it then she needs it. I trust you.”

“Good. Le’s go back inside.”

As they walked into the barracks to deal with the rest of their shift, Spike tried to push aside the whole incident from his mind while Gunn still questioned Spike’s motives behind his antagonistic behavior.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I can’t believe he read that, did that to you.” Willow rubbed her friend’s sore back after Spike finished putting her through the ringer from her punishment. They were back in their room and it was ten minutes before lights out.

“It’s done now. I just want to forget about it, roll over and sleep for a week. At least he won’t ever do it again.” She hoped not. Seems the bastard knew no bounds when it came to humiliating her.

“I still agree with Xander. I think you should go to the First Sergeant and tell him. I don’t think they’re supposed to do things like that.”

“And risk pissing him off when he finds out? Noooooo, thanks. Besides, he probably wouldn’t even get in trouble for it and then I’d spend every waking second in the mud or the ‘house of pain’.” She groaned as Willow tried to work out the kinks in her neck. She didn’t think she would be able to get through this place if it weren’t for her and Xander.

“Let’s get some sleep. When it’s my turn with the washer, I’ll throw your clothes in with mine. That way you don’t have to get up.”

That’s when laundry time usually occurred, throughout the night. All the females took turns so they were sure to have clean clothes for the following day.

“You don’t mind?” Willow gave her the ‘duh’ look as she climbed into her bunk. “I owe ya one.”

“No, you don’t, now go to sleep; we’re going to need it. We’ll be out on the firing range all day tomorrow.”

“Yay us.” The only good thing about that was that half of her time would be taken up with lying down on a pile of sandbags and when Spike came in for his shift, he couldn’t mess with her too much.



A/N: Hope you enjoyed the intro into Buffy’s new world. The only thing I ask is that everyone reads chapter two before deciding whether it’s your cup of tea or not, thanks. Buffy’s first meeting with Spike is something that actually happened to me and DAMN my Drill Sergeant scared the bejesus outta me. Looking back, it was funny as hell, so I included it. The wizard of Oz part is something I saw happen at boot – not to me though, thank God. Hope you enjoyed and next chappy – we’ll dig right into the action. In the words of Jonathon, “Come. Let’s take a little journey...”

End of week 3

Spike hadn’t let up on Buffy one ounce. In fact, things only got worse.

During a locker inspection one afternoon, he got his first glimpse of ‘that git, Angel’ from a photo she had taped to the inside. He regretted making that little discovery because now he had a face to associate with what he’d read in her letter. Oh, he’d tried not to think about that, but whenever his mind had a chance to drift or he was looking at her, the image filled his head. It aggravated him to no end that he didn’t have a legitimate reason why it bothered him so much and the need to vent that spirit of vexation led him to misplace his anger by focusing it on the source... Buffy. And unfortunately for her, this was happening with increasing frequency.

If things weren’t bad enough from the stress he felt over his unmentionable thoughts about Buffy, Lilah had ‘approached’ him several times over the last two weeks in her own ‘unique’ way about getting together some night for drinks. It would have been all too easy to take her up on the offer, break the long bout of abstinence he’d imposed upon himself and get rid of some sexual frustration. But the last thing he needed was to catch something from her and have his dick rot off. She finally backed off two days ago much to his relief. It seemed when she couldn’t seduce him she’d moved on to Finn, who didn’t put up a fight.
And just as surely as bad luck comes in threes, he also had a new Drill Sergeant added to his cadre, Sergeant Lindsey McDonald. He came from a sister unit and under mysterious circumstances. No one knew exactly why he’d been pulled out in the middle of his own cycle to be placed here, and Spike felt uneasy about the whole ordeal. When he questioned his commanding officer, he was merely told that there were rumors that couldn’t be proved, and McDonald’s own commander had him transferred. Lindsey appeared to be a ‘regular guy’ who performed his duties flawlessly, but there was something about him that didn’t sit right with Spike from the moment they’d met. He hated that feeling just as much as not knowing why he’d been transferred so he decided to watch him, curious to see what, if any, odd behavior would clue him in.

In the meantime, he asked Gunn to see if there was anyone he could find that might be able to ‘dig up’ some dirt on Lindsey without being found out. After a couple days, Gunn came back with some disturbing news. A friend of a friend that used to work with him had this to say... ‘Watch him around the females’.

“The guy didn’t want to say anything more, but after I bought him three more beers he was singing like a lark. Check this, Spike, apparently Lindsey fancies himself a sly enough playboy that he ‘may’ have entered into a sexual relationship with one or more recruits under his care. Seems he has a knack for always having an alibi that CAN be confirmed, which was why he was transferred here.”

They found all this out only after they’d already heard him make a handful of casual comments about their own female soldiers. They hadn’t thought much of it at the time because they were so few and far from being blatantly lewd. Now that they knew, however, Spike and a few select of his most trusted staff watched him like a hawk, particularly because Buffy happened to be the main subject of those comments. He felt like he needed to watch her more often too, fearful she was the slime-ball’s target and that he might decide not to give up on his more than illegal behavior. If anyone caught anything that could be proved beyond a shadow of a doubt, Lindsey was gone; Spike would make sure of it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the chow hall, Buffy sat across from Willow, pushing her food around her plate.

“I swear if I have to swallow another bite of this rubbery substance they call cheese I’ll puke. I’ve gained so much weight I feel like a cow and he STILL won’t back off from making me eat all this fattening junk. I may as well tape it to my thighs.”

Willow giggled and took the cheese from Buffy’s hand, turned her friend’s palm down and balanced the dairy product on her skin. “Now chant with me.” She closed her eyes. “I wear the cheese, it does not wear me.”

Buffy burst out laughing. “You are such a dork.”

“Made ya laugh though.” They both continued their fit of giggles until they saw Spike round the corner with his own tray of food.

They immediately dropped their gaze and composed themselves. As luck would have it, when Buffy pulled her hand back too fast, her cheese fell to the floor. She bent to retrieve it and when she sat back up, he was right there to greet her.

Setting his tray on their table he stared at Buffy, who was conveniently shoving food in her mouth and averting his gaze. Not gonna get off that easy, luv. He picked up her cheese and looked at it. Sure enough there were a few specks of debris from the floor stuck to it.

He threw it on top of her lunch plate. “Eat it.” Buffy looked up, the horror in response to his direct order written all over her face, making the corners of his mouth curl up. “`M waitin’.”

He was serious, oh, God. Picking it up, she hastily folded it twice and shoved the entire thing in her mouth. She tried to swallow but her gag reflex kicked in.

“`F you don’ swallow that right now, Summers, I’ll make sure you eat five more slices before I leave this table.”

And she just knew he’d follow through on that threat, too. Praying she wouldn’t throw up, she swallowed hard, feeling the disgusting substance slide too slowly down her throat. Her eyes instantly watered as she fought back the funny tasting saliva that filled her mouth, signaling she was close to regurgitating. Grabbing her water, she chugged the entire glass, trying to wash out the taste as well as get the vile food to complete its journey to her stomach.

He picked up his tray, satisfied when it appeared she was going to keep it down. “I’ll be back to make sure you eat the other two slices on your plate as well before you leave.”

Willow waited until he was far enough away and offered Buffy an apologetic look. “I don’t know if this helps, but at least you got it within the ten second rule.” Buffy still looked ill when she glared at her.

“Not helping.”

“Uhm, a little dirt never hurt anyone?” she squeaked. When she got the same response, she picked up Buffy’s other two slices and grinned wide, trying to make a joke out of it by wiggling them.

Buffy put her hand up to her mouth. “Stop that before you end up wearing the one I just swallowed.”

“This is me, putting the cheese down now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Week 4

My dearest Angel,

I miss you, sweetheart. I hope work is going well for you and your dad. I got your second letter the other day, thank you so much. It’s nice to hear what’s going on at home. It feels like I’m a million miles away here in the third circle of hell. Oh, before I forget, thanks again for not drawing anything on the envelope. That evil Drill Sergeant I told you about gives me extra work to do if there’s anything on it except for a return address. God, he’s such an ass. Oh and Mom sent me our senior prom picture. I have it taped up in my locker.

What’s new with me? Hmm, well, things are definitely getting more intense around here now that we’re in phase 2 of our training. We got to put bayonets on the end of our rifles and run around like idiots, stabbing at the air screaming KILL at the top of our lungs or pretend to hit invisible enemies in the head with the other end of the rifle yelling BUTT STROKE TO THE HEAD. It sounds silly and you feel silly when you do it but I get why we have to learn it. If only they’d let us practice on the Drill Sergeants. I wouldn’t mind landing a butt stroke to the groin on Sergeant Wacko, make him sing soprano for a week.

Oh and the gas chamber? Totally gross. We went in with our chemical masks then had to remove them. My eyes watered up so bad I couldn’t see and snot was pouring through my nose. By the time they let us run out of there, everyone was coughing so bad some people threw up. I didn’t luckily, but it wasn’t until then that it became clear why they let us eat as much as we wanted during lunch right before we went in, so we would puke, sick bastards that they are.

The Drill Sergeants are starting to let up on harassing us individually. Now they harass us as a group or in pairs of ‘battle buddies’. My bunk mate Willow is my battle buddy, which basically means if either one of us screws up, we get punished as a pair. Of course Sergeant Psycho still hasn’t let up on me one bit. We have this thing called Fire Duty where everyone pulls a one hour shift through the night to be on look out for, well, I guess a fire. Anyway, seems I get stuck with it around 2AM. There’s nothing to do during that hour except shine my boots. So stupid because they only get dirty the next day.

We’ve gone to the range quite a bit lately to practice shooting our rifles at paper and pop-up targets as well as throw hand grenades. Can I just say that even with ear plugs they are way louder than how the movies portray them? I got to fire a bunch of other really cool weapons, like the grenade launcher, the AT4 rocket launcher but my favorite was the M60. It’s that machine gun that’s propped up on a bi-pod with a long string of large bullets that feed into the chamber. We had to lie down to fire it because the recoil against the shoulder is so powerful it would probably send me flying back home. I got such a rush from the power that weapon has that I so get it now. I mean guys and their whole fascination with shooting things. You pull the trigger once and it fires off about 100 rounds per minute.

We’re going through obstacle courses now, too. The course started off with three different types of rope bridges, three-rope bridge (one you walk on and two to hang on to), the two-rope bridge (one to walk on and one to hold on to), and the one-rope bridge (where you go hand-over-hand). After that we climbed the tower and swung over the pit and repelled down the 200ft. wall. And that’s only one of the many different stations of the course.

Well, church service is almost over and I really need to end this letter here so I can get it mailed out tomorrow. I love you so much, my Angel, I hope you can make it to my graduation so I can see you at least once before I head out for school.

Love,
Buffy


She made sure she’d hid her latest letter to Angel inside her uniform before heading back to the barracks. She was excited that she would be able to call him today and nothing was going to ruin her good mood. Not the mud pit, invisible chair or any of the new and improved punishments Spike had put her through lately. Well, the cheese thing really grossed her out, but she got over that like she had with everything else. In truth she’d become much stronger over the last few weeks like everyone else had from all the physical training. That didn’t make it any more fun to do, but at least she was learning to tolerate more as ‘pain became her friend’.

Spike watched the soldiers from the window in his office as they called home one after another. Even though both Gunn and Finn were out there keeping an eye on Lindsey, he felt the need to watch him as well. He caught sight of Lindsey looking briefly at Buffy when it was her turn in the booth, but it was only that, brief. He switched his attention back to Buffy and looked at his watch as she dialed the phone. For every second she went over five minutes, he’d have her doing something extra as punishment. He watched as she twirled her hair and smiled away. He’d only see her smile twice, probably because whenever he was present she had no reason to. He looked back in Lindsey’s direction to find him engaged in a conversation with both Riley and Gunn. He was about to look back at Buffy when he saw the trio all look in the same direction at the same time. He followed their gaze directly back to Buffy and it was obvious everyone in line was also focusing on her. He watched her waving her arm around, a distressed look on her face. She looked upset.

When she hung up the phone he glanced at his watch. Nope, she hadn’t gone over her time but... what the hell was she doing? He watched Lindsey walking towards her and Spike immediately tightened both fists at his side. Gunn sprinted past him, however, and waved him off. He relaxed and took in the curious scene before him as it played out. Gunn walked her away from everyone else and back towards the building, stopping twenty feet short from it.

Now that she was closer he saw tears streaming down her face. What the bloody hell? Whether he hated her or not, he didn’t like to see any girl cry. He opened the window a crack and tried to listen in but they weren’t close enough. Gunn was consoling her by talking while she just nodded her head in response, her tears still flowing as she batted them away but agreeing with whatever it was he was saying. After nearly ten whole minutes it looked like he’d sufficiently calmed her down. But something got her started up again and she was crying worse than before. She buried her face in her hands, sat down in the grass and sobbed so hard her shoulders shook. Gunn threw his hands up in the air towards McDonald and Finn as they watched too, as if telling them he tried and didn’t know what else to do. He saw Finn point a finger towards the building and Gunn nodded in response. Gunn crouched down and touched each of her shoulders lightly, getting her to stand up and walk towards the door.

Whatever it was, it must be bad. That didn’t mean he would ease up on her though. If it were a family emergency then that was fine but anything else wouldn’t warrant backing off from her.

He heard the sound of the front door open and sniffling as feet padded up the stairs towards him. He stood back, just inside the door to his office, arms crossed and waited for Gunn to bring her to him to discuss whatever had happened. When they came into view however, Gunn steered her to the right and down the female side of the sleeping quarters. Stepping into the hallway, he watched in confusion at their retreating forms, Buffy still had her hands up covering her face. Why wasn’t she coming to his office? Was it someth... hold up.

Right before she entered her room, her arms dropped to her sides along with something that made a tiny noise as it hit the floor. Gunn stood in her doorway and said something to her then slowly bent down to retrieve the item and headed straight for Spike.

“Wha’s goin’ on?” Irritation laced his voice as Gunn walked towards him, motioning for him to come inside the office.

“Let’s go in here then I’ll tell you.” He waited until Spike closed the door. “Guess that old saying blood is thicker than water doesn’t always ring true.” Spike eyed him questioningly so he held up what Buffy had dropped. “Seems her boyfriend back home has been getting it on with some cousin of hers named Cordelia.”

“Ya don’ say.” Spike took the necklace her boyfriend had given her and noticed she must have yanked it off her neck because the clasp was broken. Very interestin’ indeed. His lips curled into an evil grin. “Guess I better go chat with her a bit, give her a pep talk.” He shoved the necklace inside his pants’ pocket.

“Spike. Dude. Give her a few minutes. I told her she could stay in her room until phone time was through.” Spike must really have it out for her to want to give her a hard time right after she’d just had her heart torn out. Spike gave him a ‘so what’ sneer. “Look. You know what it feels like to get cheated on. All I’m saying is give her a few minutes.”

“Exactl’ why `m goin’ too. Be back in a mo’.” With a bounce in his step and a smile on his face he headed towards her room. He really shouldn’t be glad at this pleasa... ahem, sorry turn of events in her life... but he was.

He stood in her doorway; glaring at her while she sat with her knees curled up against her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them. Just when she managed to get her tears to cease, he’s here to rub it in. She knew Sergeant Gunn had told him, all the Drill Sergeants knew what was going on with any one of the recruits at all times. For several long seconds he didn’t speak and she kept her gaze anywhere but on him, refusing to shed any tears in front of the evil man.

Spike peered into her trash bin to find the picture of her boyfriend shredded and chuckled. Right where you belong. She was singl...free now. He knew immediately what he wanted to do to help her get over it, oh yes, keeping her best interest at heart of course. Tomorrow, li’l girl. As a plan formed itself in his head, he found his voice.

“Suck it up soldier and look at this for the blessin’ it is.” He expected her to look at him but she remained stone-still. “You don’ have anythin’ to distract you from your trainin’ now.” He didn’t like seeing her tear-stained face, but there wasn’t anything he could do about making it go away until tomorrow. Yup, he’d have her feeling much better about herself once he was through with her. He pulled out her necklace and held it over the wastebasket. “Say good bye to Peaches.” He dropped it in and turned on his heel, feeling quite smug with himself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Monday of week 5

They crowded around one of the four giant circles of sand at the training grounds next the obstacle course as Gunn shouted loud enough for everyone to hear.

“Listen up, privates. I’m going to give you a block of instruction on today’s hand to hand combat training. This,” he held up a five foot long pole with what looked liked cylindrical pillows on either end. “Is called a pugil stick. These,” he pointed at the ground towards a pile of helmets that resembled something a hockey player would wear. “Is the protective gear you need to wear. Sergeant Finn and I will demonstrate offensive and defensive maneuvers using the pugil. You will watch. You will learn. Everyone will then pair off and spar with a fellow soldier. Sergeant Finn?” He held the pugil out to Riley who already had his helmet on.

Buffy tried to pay attention as the pair moved through different stances in slow motion, simulating defensive blocks, offensive parries and thrusts to different parts of the body in order to debilitate an enemy. It was of no use though; her mind was preoccupied with thoughts of the betrayal she’d suffered through after phoning Angel. She cried through the night even though Willow did her best to console her. They’d been going together for nearly four years now. Four years and all it took was her being gone four weeks and her slut of a cousin sank her claws into him.

Willow leaned in to whisper in Buffy’s ear. “This is just like watching American Gladiator.” She heard Buffy snort. “With those giant Q-tip looking thingies?” She was trying to help get her friend’s mind off her break up.

“Ssshhh, I don’t want to get in trouble for talking.” She quickly glanced around for any sight of Spike. There he was, going about the other sand circles unloading equipment at each of them for today’s training exercise. She watched as he bent over to pick something up but the second her eyes traveled to his bottom, Willow elbowed her. “Huh?”

“They’re almost finished.” Willow saw where Buffy’s attention had drifted to. Oh, she didn’t know it was on Spike’s backside, but she didn’t want her friend to get caught staring off in the distance when she was supposed to be watching the other two Drill Sergeants.

“... all of it. Pair off and go to the circles. We’ll be watching and helping.” Sergeant Finn bellowed. “I want to see some real fighting here. You can’t hurt each other with the pugil so feel free to whack the snot out of your battle buddy.”

“Come one, let’s go first,” Willow smiled excitedly and dragged Buffy to the circle farthest away from Spike. He never picked on her too much, but his cruelty towards Buffy, especially the things he’d said to her last night had her hating him just as much as Buffy did.

As the minutes wore on, everyone rotated, taking turns, trying their best to get the better of their opponent. Buffy found it surprisingly fun, but Sergeant Finn had most definitely lied. It did hurt when you were hit hard enough with the funny looking sticks. There were Drill Sergeants at each circle, periodically stepping in to correct where the recruits were doing things wrong, some even went into the circle and sparred with them.

Buffy felt her mood lift somewhat, especially when Sergeant Levinson stepped in to spar with her. He said she ‘hit like a girl’ so when she was finally able to get in a decent shot to his torso, everyone laughed when he whined, ‘owwww’ at the top of his lungs.

Spike looked in Buffy’s direction every now and then, watching, waiting for just the right moment. When the crowd of soldiers laughed as she got the best of Levinson he knew it was time. He quickly strode over to where they stood, watching as Buffy handed off her equipment to the next soldier. He had almost reached her when she suddenly turned around and ran smack into his chest, sending her sprawling on her ass four feet in front of him.

“Oooomph.” It felt like she’d run into a brick wall. Looking up to see what she ran into, she was met with those all too familiar pair of icy blue eyes and a single, scarred eyebrow raised at her in amusement.

“Fallin’ for me, eh, Summers?”

You wish. Damn, his chest was like solid steel. She quickly stood up, shook her head ‘no’ with downcast eyes and went to walk away.

“Not so fast.” Holding his hand out to Jonathon, he snapped his fingers to give up the pugil the nerd still held. “Your attack is weak, Summers.”

“Yes, Sergeant.” She wasn’t sure where he was going with this, but it couldn’t be good. Oh, SHIT!!! The second he held the pugil out to her, she knew she’d be hurting worse than her ass was right now after he was through with her. He stood at the center of the circle with his legs spread in a wide stance, curling his index finger in a clear invitation for her to join him.

The recruits surrounding them ‘ooooo’d’ like she was in troooooubllllle. It was no secret to anyone Sergeant Speichart loved to torture her. She turned to take her helmet back but he stopped her. Even Gunn began looking a little nervous for Buffy’s sake but he remained silent.

“Eh, eh, eh. `M not wearin’ one and neither will you.” He glanced at Gunn who had a worried look on his face. He winked at him as if to say, ‘don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt her... much’.

If there’s a God out there somewhere, help? Please? She stepped into the circle as he took off his BDU top. His thin brown Army T-shirt was stretched tight on his upper body almost like it’d been shrunk in the wash. She didn’t need to know what was underneath his shirt in order to see how strong he was. The clearly defined muscles of his chest were evident through the thin cotton material. He tucked his dog tags in his shirt and barked at her to follow his example.

Her hands began trembling as she removed her top and stepped up to him, mimicking his stance. Again the crowd ‘ooooo’d’ as they faced off and she seriously wondered if he was using this as opportunity to actually beat on her.

“Shut your gobs and pay attention!” He began twirling the stick around like a baton, hand over hand to the left and right of his body. He knew she was intimidated and though it fed his ego, it wasn’t why he was doing this. He was employing his plan on her, he would see to helping her get over her boyfriend once and for all. After he was finished with her, she would never waste another precious second of her time thinking about the ‘great poof’. “We’re gonna keep doin’ this `til you get it right, Summers. I don’ bloody care if it takes five minutes or five hours. You’re not leaving this circle `til `m sure you can defend yourself properly.”

True to his word, they’d been going at it for nearly fifteen minutes and he wouldn’t let up on her. He gave her a few good jabs here and there, but every time she lunged, he easily avoided being hit. He wasn’t the least bit tired, but he was getting tired of her uncoordinated swings and staggering.

“Come on, Summers. Wha’s it gonna take for you to land me a good one, eh?” He swayed side to side, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Wha’s really stoppin’ you?” He curled his tongue behind his teeth and goaded her. “I know you wanna hit me, so why can’ you?”

“I’m trying, Sergeant.” What she wouldn’t give to be able to get that one clear shot!

He stopped swaying and stood up straight, looking bored. “No, you’re not tryin’. Tha’s the problem. You lack motivation. BUT...” He hesitated. “Since I am your Drill Sergeant, `s my job to get you motivated.”

Huh!?!? What the hell does that mean?

“Why not pretend that `m.............. Aaaaangel,” he sang.

Gunn stepped forward, determined to intervene but Finn held his hand up to stop him. “Just watch, he knows what he’s doing.” Gunn looked at him as if he were mad. “He’s channeling her anger, making her use it to get better. Trust me.”

“Alright, man.” Gunn shook his head and watched as his best friend continued taunting the poor girl.

“Come on now. Wouldn’t you jus’ love to take him out right now for pokin’ your cousin?”

“Hell, yeah!” She spoke without thinking and lunged for him. Even though he was standing perfectly still he moved to the side to effortlessly avoid her sudden thrust. “Oh, ah, I’m... I apologize, Ser...”

“Tha’s it. Don’ apologize. Let it out, Summers. Tell ya what.” He set one end of his pugil on the ground and leaned a forearm on it. “`M gonna make it easy on you. Here,” he waved his free hand about. “In this circle. Sod the rules.”

“Sergeant?” By all rights she should be doing pushups or something for having talked back. She wasn’t sure what she was more worried about, the fact he hadn’t dropped her or this new proposal he came up with.

“You heard me. No rules. You don’ have to call me Sergeant while we’re in this circle. Matter of fact... `m gonna allow you to say whatever you want to me and I won’ punish you for it.”

She relaxed from her defensive stance and looked him dead in the eye while raising one eyebrow. “Really?” This might actually be fun.

“Really.” She didn’t get another word out before his stick was back in both hands, giving her a sharp jab to the ribs.

“Arghhh.” She wanted to clutch her side but as she saw him readying to swing at her neck, her reflexes kicked in and blocked his attack.

“Good. Very good. Now attack me.” He flung his arms wide, leaving himself open to her.

“You asked for it.” She aimed low at his waist but he blocked her by swinging the pugil around from the opposite side to protect his left flank.

Five minutes into this ‘game with no rules’ and everyone, recruits and Drill Sergeants alike circled in close to watch as the blonde pair went at it. Buffy seemed to be fairing better now, able to block at least half of Spike’s offensive moves but she still had yet to land herself a hit.

“Come on, Goldilocks, let it out.” He ducked when she swung at his head and sneered at her. “`M your Angel right now and I jus’ fucked your cousin silly while you’re here... whoa.” She nearly did get his head that time. “Tha’s my girl, come on.”

“Fuck you.” She came in with a vengeance, trying two successive strikes to each side of his waist, but with no success.

“Now you’re talkin’. Curse, scream, whatever it takes. LET IT OUT.” He jabbed her ribs with a little more force this time, sending her staggering back to regain her balance.

She righted herself and glared at him. All the hate, all the pain, all the humiliation both this man and Angel had inflicted on her welled up inside her core, wound itself through her heaving chest and broken heart into her head where it grew, trying to break free. As sure as a lit fuse sends a rocket flaring, her rage made her focus on her target. She took a split second to assess Spike’s stance and unleashed her fury.

To the amazement of not only Spike but those around them, she faked him out. Thrusting the padded end towards his waist, she held back just enough of her forward momentum until he moved to block her... then struck. With all her strength, she swung at his face, landing a blow that made his head snap to the side. On gut instinct, when she saw he was stunned, she spun her body in a perfect three sixty and dropped down low to deliver a clean swipe behind his knees, sending his entire body up in the air to land with a loud thud to the ground.

“Fuck you.” She spat on the ground beside him. “BITCH!” She dropped her stick and walked out of the circle not bothering to look back. Everyone around her roared and cheered. Even the Drill Sergeants came up behind her and slapped her on the back hard.

“Way to get some, Summers. HOO-AH!” Gunn cheered. Hey, Spike had it coming. He asked for it... he got it.

As Spike stared at the sky from the flat of his back where he lay, he felt a trickle of blood leave his nose to roll down the side of his face. Mission accomplished, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to her about it either. He knew he got his ass served to him and though he was seething inside at being beat by the tiny blonde, he never went back on his word. She was free and clear of everything she’d done within that small circle of sand.

A/N: I decided Buffy deserved a little compensation, giggles. You may notice I’m taking this story at a fast pace but there’s a reason for it and I think you’ll like my plans, they’re oh so wicked like my muse can be. Hope you all enjoyed, lemme know your thoughts if you have a moment to spare, thanks. Have a very pleasant evening.

Wednesday week 6

Spike followed his soldiers up the stairs, having just come in from their morning run. At the front of the crowd, he caught sight of Buffy’s blonde hair as she reached the landing and had to suppress a small smile. Despite getting beat at his own game, his plan had worked perfectly. She became more determined, more focused, put all her energy into training and gave it everything she had. Hell, she even impressed him during a couple of their regular sessions in the ‘house of pain’ by succeeding in some of the more daunting physical tasks he’d set for her. Oh, he’d kept his word about not punishing her over what had happened inside the circle, but the daily torture sessions still continued. His mind wandered back to that day, when he lay defeated in the sand.

His co-workers teased him unmercifully over the incident... for about ten minutes until he snapped at them. He was more than a bit shocked she’d slugged him hard enough to cause a nose bleed, then, when he landed on his back from her second surprising strike, she reminded him just how much that could hurt, too. Later, as he sat in his office with a bag of ice pressed to his face, he had to admit... he was proud of her.

Buffy took her time getting her shower supplies together. She’d learned to give everyone else a chance to rush in first so by the time she got there, there was a shower head free for her. The number of females had now dwindled down to five. There were a good number of soldiers that over the weeks had dropped out of Basic one by one from various injuries and had to be recycled. There was no way that was going to happen to her. No way could she take coming back and doing everything all over again, especially if it meant winding back here and under Spike’s thumb. She shivered at the thought and walked out of her room, shower caddy in hand.

“I gotta run to my car and grab something. Be right back.”

Buffy heard Gunn’s voice coming from Spike’s office. As she neared it, Gunn came out and greeted her.

“Hey, hey,” he smiled brightly. “Wassup, ‘First Blood’?”

She giggled at his new nickname for her. Shortly after knocking Spike on his ass, several of the Drill Sergeants argued over what to call her... ‘Stands with a Pugil’, ‘Buffy the Drill Sergeant Slayer’ or ‘First Blood’. Gunn won after reasoning that since she was the first to draw blood in the battle of the blondes, she earned it.

He threw her a few pretend punches, making her giggle some more. “Not much, Sergeant.”

“Good run this morning. You’re gonna ace the final PT test, right?”

“Count on it, Sergeant.”

He was such a goof ball. He saluted her and did an ‘about face’ to head down the stairs. She was grateful he was nothing more than a big softie underneath that horrid DS hat he wore. How he and Spike were best friends she’d never figure out. Spike acted like the ‘big bad’ from day one, all with the ‘grhh, arghh’, while Gunn’s true personality came out during week four, playful and smiling all the time.

She stood there a moment longer and sighed, praying Spike wouldn’t stop her on her way to the shower when she passed his office. Maybe he’s closed the door already, she thought as her legs carried her forward.

Throwing his sweaty T-shirt onto the desk, Spike rifled through his duffle bag for a clean one. He overheard the friendly exchange between Gunn and Buffy but ignored it. Right now he wanted a shower more than anything so he could face the long day ahead of him. Besides, there would be plenty of time to mess with her during breaks between the drills he had planned for everyone. As he pulled out his shaving cream, his razor dropped to the floor. Bending over to retrieve it, he suddenly had the strange sensation that he wasn’t alone, the feeling that someone was watching him.

She shouldn’t be staring but her feet wouldn’t move; they were rooted to the spot. Just as Buffy went to pass by Spike’s office, she got an eyeful of pale flesh. He had his shirt off with his back to her and she watched transfixed as strongly defined muscles rippled beneath his skin every time he flexed or moved. WHOA! Her eyes had their own ideas of where they wanted to travel as she fought to turn away from the breathtaking view of the half naked man in front of her. His shoulders were perfectly sculpted with tightly corded muscles twisting down like fingers, stopping just above the bulging horseshoe shape of his triceps. Her gaze drifted slowly south, along the tapered ‘V’ of his torso to settle on his trim waist. She knew he was, well, fit, but there wasn’t an ounce of fat to be found anywhere on his body. He dropped something on the floor and bent over to pick it up, causing her to gasp. Her head tilted to side as if studying the work of art that was his ass beneath the thin material of his shorts. OH!!! Oh my! A noteworthy flaw in the fabric of Army shorts was that they always revealed underwear lines. Not this time... looks like he really was a ‘commando’ kind of soldier. Her body impulsively leaned to the side as if trying to peer around him, curious as to what she’d see in the front of his...Stop that! Bad Buffy! There will be no lusty thoughts about your evil, mean... cruel and, and despicable... loathsome... yet seriously sexy Drill Sergeant. Her head stayed right where it was, frozen with curiosity.

He stood up and slowly turned around, half expecting to find nothing at all behind him. What was there took him by surprise. Buffy was gaping at him, mouth wide open; eyes slightly glazed and unfocused as if unaware he now faced her. Sh-she was, no. She is... bloody hell, she’s checking me out!!! He could scarcely believe it. Here he thought he was a pervert for having thoughts about her naked while she stood there undressing him with her large green eyes, making him feel like he was naked.

God bless America, but those sit-ups sure do pay off. He looked like a Calvin Kline underwear model with those lean abs, each muscle protruding slightly to form a perfect six pack. And oh my, he had one of those really nice navels with a trail of soft hair leading beneath his shorts and sharp hips that stuck out above the garment that hung low on his waist. Sweet Jesus, muscled love handles that tapered in towards each other with skin that looked so smooth and soft to the touch. Her eyes rose to drink in his chest with its thin line of demarcation, accentuating his developed pectorals that broadened outward, leading back to those nice shoulders and, OH-MY-GOD!!! Yup, he was looking right at her while she stood mute, staring like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights.

He could see she was just as flabbergasted at being discovered as he was to find her ogling him. Instead of being embarrassed however, he felt a surge of male pride at her obvious appreciation for his body and smirked at her. “See somethin’ you like, Summers?” Her jaw shut with an audible click and she stood ramrod straight, turning a stunning shade of red.

She couldn’t speak but at least her feet were working again as she turned and ran for the bathroom. Before she could go through the door, Xander came out of his room.

“Buffster, how’s it... what’s wrong?” She looked like she’d just got through being ‘smoked’ by performing a million pushups.

“HUH? Oh, n-nothing. It’s nothing.”

He nodded in understanding.

“Lemme guess, Sergeant Speichart?” He must have caught her before she hit the showers again. Xander felt awful that the bastard just wouldn’t give her an inch. “Yeah, he’s really got a hard-on for ya.”

“WHAT!?!?” Her eyes went huge. “NO. NO hard-on’s here. There are NO hard-on’s to be had here... anywhere.” Her hand sliced through the air decisively.

“Whoa,” he took a step back. “Geez, Buff. What’s gotten into you?” What in the hell?

Certainly not Spike, aaaaaand I really just thought that, didn’t I? “Nothing. Not a thing. I-have-to-go-shower. Bye.” She turned her back on him and slipped through the bathroom door.

Little did she know Spike did have a hard on for her. Right now in his office. Naturally he blamed it on the situation he’d found himself in a few moments ago. It wasn’t his fault, nope. He hadn’t had a single, sexual related Buffy thought today until he caught her assessing everything but his naughty bits. Arghhh, he shouldn’t have said what he did but it was too late now and the bint caught me off guard. He reacted like any normal, red-blooded, instinctual, prideful male would. Somewhere in the back of his mind he swore he heard a tiny voice say, ‘Right. Keep telling yourself that’. Yeah, it was gonna be a long day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thursday, week 6, late afternoon

Spike hadn’t allowed himself more than one day off during these six weeks and most nights were spent several hours well past his shift. Gunn saw the stress from this starting to take its toll on his best friend and after a long talk, convinced Spike to take the entire upcoming weekend off that he was already scheduled for. Spike didn’t want to at first, but finally conceded as long as someone watched his female soldiers and Lindsey at all times. His one specific order to Gunn... that Buffy was never be left alone for any length of time with Lindsey or he would hold him personally responsible.

Tomorrow, however, he was pulling a double shift because McDonald was now on nights and none of the other Drills he had watching the scum-bag would be working. Lindsey hadn’t tried anything yet but that was because he saw to it that the weasel never had an opportunity. Once Monday rolled around, he could breathe easier because it was his turn to start working nights again where he could watch Lindsey’s every move.

The soldiers were herded outside with their rifles and bayonets for more practice on their invisible enemies in single, hand to hand combat. In an empty parking lot, the soldiers formed in long rows, well away from each other while Spike stood at the front, barking out which moves he wanted them to perform. Lindsey had arrived about ten minutes ago and relieved Jonathon, who stood to one side of the large formation in order to assist those individuals who were still not performing the moves correctly. Spike noted, with great irritation, that Buffy just happened to be on the outermost end of a row nearest Lindsey.

Gunn pulled his car alongside the road next to the parking lot and honked his horn. “Spike!” He waved a hand to him to deliver a message. “You have a phone call back at the barracks, your Branch Manager is on the phone. Something about your new assignment.”

“Right then. I know you need to leave early today, but could you take over for me `til I get back?” He nodded his head in Lindsey’s direction.

“No problem.” Truthfully, Gunn was getting tired of this babysitting business. He understood the reason and need, but they were in the middle of a training exercise. It wasn’t like Lindsey could pull a fast one out in the open for everyone to see. He was seriously starting to wonder if his earlier suspicions might be correct; that Spike just might have a secret ‘thing’ for Private Summers. Nah, couldn’t be. He took his job too seriously and would never entertain such a notion, even though said soldier was a cutie.

Lilah continued barking commands in Spike’s absence and Gunn took the rear position she’d previously occupied. A recruit to his left started fiddling with her bayonet, trying to get it reattached so he went over to assist her.

“Summers.” Lindsey walked up to her. “When you thrust forward for a stab, your stance is leaving you vulnerable. You’re leaving yourself open if you don’t spread your legs wide enough and bend at the knees to ground yourself from being knocked off balance. Do it again for me.”

“Yes, Sergeant.” She held her rifle at the ready and lunged one foot forward at the same time she stabbed the air directly in front of her.

“Okay, hold it right there, don’t move.” He walked up behind her. Placing his hands at her waist, he mimicked her stance, placing his body close to hers. “Follow my right foot.” His foot inched forward.

She did as instructed and held still. His left hand moved to the front of her thigh and pushed it back.

“Now bend your knees a bit more.” He moved his hand back to her waist. “That’s it, good. Do you feel the difference? Your left leg needs to be firmly planted so if the enemy tries to knock your rifle left or right, your body won’t fall to the side, leaving you vulnerable. Okay, let’s try this again and this time, I’ll lunge with you.” He pulled her waist to stand up straight. Over and over he cued her, lunging with her then drawing her body up against his every time to try again.

Yes, that did make sense, and she tried to concentrate on her moves, but she felt a bit funny about being this close to a DS, almost like he shouldn’t really have his hands on her. She quickly dismissed the thought, Sergeant McDonald was one of the nicer Drills and he was merely helping her.

Spike was in a seriously good mood after taking his call. His Branch Manager upped his date to move to the East coast by nearly three weeks. He wanted nothing more than to get out of this place and get back to doing the real job he’d been trained for. As he rounded the corner of the barracks however, his mood was instantly shattered.

Taking in the sight of Lindsey with his hands on Buffy, his body flush with hers made him see red. He couldn’t cause a show in front of the other soldiers, but he was certainly going to break the two apart then break Gunn’s neck for not having intervened.

“Sergeant McDonald!” He kept his tone even but his cheeks were flush with anger. “Take up Gunn’s position and tell him to see me.”

Lindsey let go of her slowly and nodded his head in compliance, but not before turning to Buffy to let her know. “Keep practicing, your moves are looking nice.”

Spike balled his fists up and struggled against the urge to tear his head off his shoulders. If they were anywhere else he’d be a dead man. No one laid a hand on his females like that, especially Buffy. He watched Lindsey walk away then searched for Gunn. There he was, helping a female with her weapon with his back turned as he worked her rifle.

“Summers!” Spike turned his attention on her, finding her in the middle of executing another move.

“Yes, Sergeant?” She stood and turned towards him.

“Beat your face.” He knew he shouldn’t be punishing her over this incident but he was angry.

“Yes, Sergeant.” What the hell did I do now? Did it matter? He never seemed to need a reason to make her miserable; all she had to do was be in his presence. She tried to push the memory of being caught staring at him from her mind. Maybe that was it; he was punishing her for yesterday. Assuming the position, she began performing pushups, knowing she couldn’t stop until he said so.

It was entirely his fault; he should have had the door closed in the first place, jerk. And then his question, if she saw anything she liked. No way had she expected that. So what if his body was nice, okay fine, smoking hot? That question told her right away just how conceited he really was. Acting like he was God’s gift. Yeah, like she would ever want to have sex with him. An image suddenly popped into her head of their bodies intertwined on a soft bed... she shook the thought away, horrified her brain even went there. That’s never going to happen, never.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday, week 6

The mail had been handed out and everyone busied themselves in the common room with reading their letters. Spike and Gunn sat in their chairs near the doorway, chatting away until it was time to go to chow.

“Hi, guys.”

“Hey, honey. Is it time already?” Gunn asked his wife, Winifred, as she peeked her head through the doorway.

“Yes, dear.”

“How are you, luv?” Spike smiled brightly at her.

“Hi, Spike. Just picking Charles up for the twins’ birthday party tonight. You’re still coming over tomorrow for dinner right?”

“Of course, pet. Where are the little nibblets?”

Buffy finished reading a letter from her mother when she heard the sound of children laughing. Looking up, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing... Spike was smiling, as in, for the first time ever.

“Uncle Spike.” Gunn’s twins bound past their mother and ran to him.

“There you are, come here.” He held his arms out wide and they scrambled up onto his lap, one on each knee while he held them around the waist. He placed a kiss to each of their foreheads and squeezed them tight. “Where’s MY kiss?”

Buffy watched, dumbfounded. This man didn’t show emotions, he wasn’t supposed to have any feelings at all. He was mean, cruel, evil personified and he damn sure never smiled. Yet there he was, showering the little boy and girl perched on his lap with affection.

The children kissed each side of his cheek simultaneously.

“Why can’t you come to our party, Uncle Spike?” The little girl whined.

“Uncle Sam says I have to work, Lilly.” He gave her a sad look and pouted his bottom lip out at her.

“Not fair.” The boy crossed his arms together. “I don’t like Uncle Sam, he’s – he’s a buddy pants.”

Lilly corrected her brother. “Tha’s not how you say it, Logan. It’s bloody ponce.” She stuck her jaw out and mimicked a British accent.

“William David Speichart, WHAT have you been teaching my children?” Fred swatted at Spike’s head and he ducked, giggling.

“That means you’re in trouble when she says your name like that.” Logan piped up.

“Sorry. Must have slipped out.” He looked at her guiltily.

Fred crossed her arms, shaking her head while Gunn and a few of the soldiers began laughing. It seemed everyone was now watching the little exchange.

“It smiles?” Willow asked Buffy in a hushed tone. Buffy just shrugged her shoulders, rolling her eyes like she could care less.

Honestly, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. She could admit he was handsome, but when he smiled, he was absolutely gorgeous. His eyes shined brightly and it was obvious he cared deeply for Sergeant Gunn’s kids. They were beautiful as they sat there, talking away with their ‘Uncle Spike’. He removed his dog tags and placed it around the little girl’s neck for her to play with. It was obvious how good he was with these children, like a natural and she couldn’t help but wonder why he didn’t have any of his own. He didn’t wear a wedding band so it was obvious he wasn’t married and she didn’t think he had a girlfriend. He was always here, well, except for one day and why would I care anyways if he has a girlfriend or not?

“Will you watch Pooh with us tomorrow? Pleeease, Uncle Spike.” Logan asked with hopeful brown eyes.

“You bet, soldier. Now run along and save me a piece of cake.” He gave them each a kiss and slid them gently to the ground.

The moment Gunn and his family left, his face resumed the cold demeanor Buffy was more accustomed to. It was really too bad. During that rare moment, when he was smiling, she swore she caught a glimpse of a different man; one much different, much softer than the cruel, unrelenting bastard that she’d dealt with since week one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Week 6, Saturday morning, 2:30 AM

Oh God, why does it have to be him? She must have done something really awful in a previous life to have to go through the humiliation of asking for what she needed from Sergeant Speichart.

His feet were propped on the desk, his chair leaning dangerously back on two legs as he flipped through the ‘ARMY Times’, whistling ‘America the Beautiful’.

“What the bloody hell do you want, Summers?”

She jumped out of her skin the moment he spoke. The man’s hearing had to be exceptional, like a vampire’s, because she swore she hadn’t made a sound.

“I know ’s you. Heard your socks on the floor and I can SMELL you.” The delicate aroma of freshly clean skin mixed with a hint of vanilla marked her scent as uniquely hers.

Okaaaaaaaaay, apparently the nose of vampire as well.

“Sergeant, I...”

“Walk your arse around my desk and stand at parade rest then explain to me WHY you chose to ruin my good mood by comin’ here.” Hearing her footsteps follow his command, he dropped his paper on his lap.

“I have a problem, sergeant.” Where to begin explaining what she needed was going to prove very embarrassing.

“I’ll say,” he chided, “Come on now... enlighten me.”

“I need some protection. Of-of the... feminine type.”

Upon hearing this he raised a scarred eyebrow at her in surprise.

“And this problem can’ wait till mornin’?” The look of shock on her face told him how stupid the question actually was. “Did you even THINK to ask any of the other females if they had anythin’?”

“Yes, Sergeant I did and no, they don’t.” She held her breath as he looked about ready to explode.

Figures. He found it unbelievable that out of four other females, none had anything to offer her. He really began wondering if she wasn’t here just to annoy him with her presence. Fuming from that thought he sat there staring her down for a few seconds, gathering what little patience he had left before addressing her. Right before he was going to give her a verbal lashing, he noticed her eyes gloss over. Oh fuck!!! The bint was about to cry which told him she wasn’t lying about anything. She really was standing here before him because she needed help and he felt like a git. He may not like her, but seeing her on the brink of tears like this made him feel guilty.

Unable to handle any of the crude statements she was sure were coming her way, she blinked back the tears that threatened to spill. How much more could she take? How much more could this cruel bastard dish out? It wasn’t her fault her period came when it did, it was merely a cruel twist of fate that it happened at this hour and while he was on duty. She really wished it had been Sergeant Gunn or Osbourne or anyone else but him.

He ran his hand over his face and sighed heavily. There were no stores on post open at this time. If she needed something, then that meant he would have to go to the nearest gas station and buy it himself. Since there was no way he’d be caught dead buying tampons, even at this un-godly hour when there wasn’t anyone else likely to be about shopping, that meant he would have to take her himself... in his car.

“Go get your sneakers on then come back.” Why couldn’t Lilah have been on duty tonight so she could take care of this female issue? My bloody awful luck.

Huh?!?! She couldn’t question him so she left to do as she was told, completely confused not only by his order, but the fact this was the first thing he’d ever said to her in a tone that wasn’t dripping with malice.

He picked up the phone and reached Lindsey downstairs, asking that he keep an ear out for the next fifteen or twenty minutes. When he questioned Spike, Lindsey laughed into the receiver then asked if Spike wanted to stay and he could take ‘Private Summers’.

Jealousy flared in Spike at the suggestion and he quickly told Lindsey ‘no’, that she was his soldier and therefore his responsibility. He’d barely hung up the phone when she came walking back into the office.

“Le’s go.” He stood, grabbed his keys, hat and walked past her into the hallway. He didn’t bother looking at her as she followed him down the stairs and out the building to his car, feeling a bit of anger towards the guilt he felt in the first place. Without a thought as to what he was doing, he unlocked the passenger door to his beloved black Desoto and opened it for her like a gentleman. The shocked look on her face said she didn’t understand exactly what was going on.

“Get in. I’m takin’ you to the ‘Stop-n-Go’ so you can buy some tamp... ahem, feminine products.”

She nodded and got into his car, still shocked from his more than gentle tone of voice but even more so that he opened the door for her and didn’t slam it shut the second she was inside.

The ride was made in silence which Spike was grateful for. He fought the urge to say he was sorry for nearly making her cry and instead, decided being civil to her would suffice as an apology. He looked at her several times during the ten minute ride. Her hands were folded in her lap and her head turned away from him to stare out the window. The natural male instinct to look at her body had his eyes roaming over her breasts and legs. She’d gained some weight, not much, but her curves had filled out and it looked good on her small frame, damn good, too good as his manhood responded to the instinctive thought of her naked. Shaking his head, he scolded himself. Keep your eyes on the road, mate.

Despite plenty of opportunities, he hadn’t slept with another woman since his divorce ten months ago from Cecily. Internet porn and his hand was a better alternative than to risk having a woman think he may have slept with her for any other reason than to just shag. He glanced at Buffy again, she was beautiful, drop dead gorgeous in his opinion, but she was also his soldier and to entertain the idea of sleeping with her was a forbidden zone that could cost him his career... and no woman was worth that. She shifted suddenly, crossing the leg closest to him over the other, making her shorts ride up to expose more of her smooth skin.

He groaned internally and squirmed in his seat, trying to readjust his growing erection without touching it in front of her. `M a man for Chris’ sake. `S only natural, he tried to convince himself. `M not attracted to her, `s jus’ a hormonal response to bein’ near a good lookin’ woman. Yeah, right! Who was he kidding? It dawned on him that he hadn’t even had a woman in his car since Cecily. And the close proximity to the Californian beauty two feet from him made the front seat suddenly seem a whole lot smaller. Pulling into the parking lot of the brightly lit convenient store, he handed her a twenty dollar bill.

“Make it quick.”

She nodded, took his money then stepped out of the car. When his attention impulsively went to her ass as she walked towards the door, he knew his erection was not going to go away, Damnit!!! Yup, she had definitely gained some weight, and right where it counted. Gone was the pathetically starved bony ass he’d first seen upon her arrival. In its place were soft curvy hips and two very healthy looking, perfect sized cheeks... just right for holding in each of his hands while she bounced up and down on his cock.

Slap. On purpose, he used the open palm of his right hand and struck his cheek hard, trying to get that image out of his head. Slap, slap... SLAP! Apparently it was going to take more than one. He couldn’t be angry with her for being born that beautiful, but he could be angry with himself for entertaining thoughts that were never going to happen. How the hell was he expected to get through the rest of his shift tonight? The sudden thought of taking Lilah up on her offer would have indeed been tempting right now if it weren’t for the fact she’d slept with more than half the cadre. `M so fucked!

She came back out, holding her sack of purchased goods in one hand and his change in the other. This was the first time he noticed she wasn’t wearing a bra. The chilly autumn wind blew against her, forcing her T-shirt to mold to her chest like a second skin. The outline of where her bra should have been visible was non-existent and her nipples were clearly pebbled. Yeah, more than fucked. And again without thinking, he reached across the seat and opened the passenger door for her to get back in.

Shutting the door, she turned towards him and held out his change. The moment their hands brushed together for the exchange he froze. She was looking directly at him, had captured him by the luminous green beauty of her eyes. Any other time she would have dared to do that, he would have her rolling in the mud. Not this time however, what he saw was gratitude when she nodded nervously.

“You’re welcome.” She nodded again then quickly turned away, busying herself with the seatbelt.

She had no idea what brought about this brief change in his behavior towards her, but she kept her mouth shut in hopes it would last. She wasn’t going to question it, she was just grateful he’d been decent about it. He was probably just as embarrassed about having to take her here as she was in having to approach him with her dilemma.

When they were back inside the barracks, he told her to ‘go take care’ of herself then return directly back to her bunk.

“Summers.” He barked, catching her before she could walk away.

“Yes, Sergeant?” Oh no, here we go. She knew this was too good to last, that she wouldn’t be able to escape some sarcastic cheap shot before going to bed. What she saw when she turned to face him though took her by surprise. He had an uneasy look on his face while glancing side to side, as if checking that no one else was around to hear what he was about to say. She waited patiently while he hooked both thumbs through his belt, clearing his throat while rocking back on his heels

“Don’, uhmm,” he swallowed hard. “Don’ tell anyone about this little... mission. For your, uhmm,” he pointed a finger at her bag. “THINGS. Got it?”

“Understood, Sergeant.” Realizing she was correct in her earlier musings, she wanted to burst out laughing. He was embarrassed about the nature of their trip and apparently the thought of anyone finding out about it was more than mortifying to his male ego.

“Right then.” He waved her off. “Run away.”

Once he knew she was back in her room, he closed the door to his office and locked it. Placing a box of tissue within reach, he proceeded to fuck the shit out of the beautiful young recruit behind closed eyes while abusing his aching cock with both hands.

Getting into his car to drive home, his nose instantly picked up on the faint aroma of vanilla... Buffy. Her scent had lingered in his car. He closed his eyes and gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles were white. The image of her sitting next to him, in his very own car came back clearly as well as the vivid memory of his fantasy. How many more weeks until his transfer were left? How much longer did he have to put up with her image floating around inside his head like a beautiful pixie, all naked and effulgent? Too many. He thanked God he had the next two days off from work. Two whole blissful days that he wouldn’t have to look at her. With an ample supply of whiskey and some hardcore porn, he should be able to get her out of his mind. Yup, that was the plan.


A/N: I realize I slowed it down a bit and focused on this week, but the pace will pick back up during the next two chapters. Hopefully I’ll have chapter 4 posted towards the end of this week. My muse needs to get back to work on Tailored Encounters and Living for Love right now. I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter and have a great and relaxing Sunday.

Monday of week 7

Spike had been quite successful over the weekend in ridding himself of any Buffy related thoughts... so long as he stuck strictly to watching ‘Asian’ porn. In truth he loved all porn, but this was one of the few he could count on that wouldn’t be starring any blondes to remind him of his inappropriate desire for Buffy. By the time Monday rolled around, he found himself rejuvenated and raring to go back to work, especially after scheming new ways in which to torture his favorite victim with.

He walked straight past the outdoor training that was taking place and into the quiet of his office. Settling behind the desk with a cup of coffee, he waited for everyone to come back inside. As soon as Gunn showed up and they relieved both Oz and Finn, the soldiers would be hitting the showers before heading to chow. There’s nothing he liked better than to interrupt Buffy in the middle of shower time, make her get dressed in under two minutes, then take her outside and roll her in the mud.

The second he thought about that, her body all naked, covered in bubbles as she lathered her breasts had his feet unconsciously carrying him towards the window to find her. Sipping his java, the steam curled around his nose as he narrowed his eyes to find his platoon. There they were. Oz had them in a circle doing sand bag drills. Six out of the twenty soldiers had extremely heavy burlap bags filled with sand they were to hand off to the soldier on their right. Starting with three individuals on each side of the circle, they would hand the sacks off as fast as they could until one person ended up with two, thereby forcing progressively more and more weight to make their arms stronger. It was the only purpose it served, to build muscle.

“What is he doin’?” he asked himself out loud. Riley walked away to go chat with Lilah, leaving Oz to run the drill by himself. No sooner had he done that and Oz was happily blowing away at his whistle, making them reverse direction rapidly while talking and smiling away, telling them something that had everyone laughing like they were having a good time. They weren’t suppose to have fun, they were suppose to be grunting, sweating from the effort, getting so tired that one of the females would inevitably be the first to drop a sandbag, forcing them to start all over again. Usually that female was Summ... wait a minute, where was Buffy?

Taking a visual head count, he found there were only nineteen people present. His eyes quickly scanned the other two groups but she was nowhere to be seen. Hmmm, maybe she got in trouble, earned herself a little corrective trainin’. There was another pleasant thought; that he would be adding to whatever punishment one of the other drills had already given her.

He turned around and walked back to his desk in time to see Gunn walk into the office.

“What’s the word, my brother from another mother? Did you relax this weekend, unloaded the tension from this place with a little fishing? Golf? Skeet shooting perhaps?”

Spike shook his head before taking another sip from his mug. Oh, he unloaded more than a little something this weekend, but the tension he felt was still present... sexual tension that is. Once he’d gotten his fill of making Buffy suffer however, he’d be feeling much better.

“Didn’ do much of anythin’ really. Sat in front of the telly most of the time.” He lied.

“Aside from watching Pooh twice in a row with Lilly, did you catch any good flicks?”

Yup, let’s see, there was ‘Land of the Rising cum’, ‘Crouching Twat Hide my Dragon’, ‘Shanghaied at Noon’ and of course, his personal favorite ‘69, How Two Can Chew’.

“Jus’ catchin’ up on ‘Passions’.” He watched Gunn shake his head and smile. “What?”

“You and soap operas. Who woulda guessed?” He chuckled.

“Oi, `s a good show. Bloody brilliant.”

“If you say so, man. Now a good show you should try watching is...”

The sudden sound of the doors swinging open and feet pounding up the stairs cut Gunn off.

“Put on your game face.”

Gunn hadn’t taken his hat off yet, but since it was resting on the back on his head, he used one finger to tip the brim level with his eyes, speaking in a low serious voice.

“You got it, boss.”

They walked out into the hall to watch everyone file into the common room with Oz and Finn right on their heels.

“Sergeant Osbourne!”

Oz stopped abruptly and did an about-face. Strolling up to his superior he smiled brightly.

“Sergeant?”

“Would you care to tell me WHY I saw you out there makin’ my soldiers laugh when they should be trainin’?”

“We were training. I just thought it would be fun to change it up a bit, make it harder on them by switching directions every few seconds.”

“I see.” Making them work harder was fine, “But why were they laughin’?”

“Oh, I was doing impressions. You know, of famous people?”

“Hmmph. We’re not here to entertain. See that you stick to business from now on.”

Spike walked away, leaving both Oz and Gunn confused by his curt behavior. Sure, he was consistently terse with the soldiers, but the cadre? His friends? Never!

“What’s eating him?” Oz questioned Gunn, who shrugged in response.

“It’s anyone’s guess. He’s probably just itching because he’s gone two days without putting a hurting on Summers.”

“Speaking of, something happened today...”

Spike walked slowly past the common room, peering inside... no Buffy. He stopped by the female lavatory and banged against the door but received no response. At the end of the hall, he fully expected to find her in the ‘house of pain’, but when he got there, the room lay empty. It wasn’t like he was anxious to see her or anything, oh no, if she was still carrying out her punishment somewhere else, maybe with 2nd platoon downstairs that was just fine with him. He convinced himself he merely wanted all his soldiers accounted for before the other drills left for the day. What he overheard Oz telling Gunn as he came back towards them hit him like a ton of bricks.

“How long has Summers been in the ER?”

“About forty minutes now. Lindsey just called about ohhhhh,” Oz glanced at his watch, “Five minutes ago. Apparently the doc wants to keep her there for a while to monitor her, just to make sure.”

They both looked up to see one very pissed off Spike storming in their direction.

“Did I just hear you say Summers is in the emergency room?” Oz nodded. “FINN,” he screamed and turned in his direction when he heard footsteps from behind him. “You,” he pointed at Riley, “And you,” turning back to point at Oz, “In my office... NOW!” He didn’t need the recruits listening in when he opened the verbal can of whoop ass he was about to unleash on both NCO’s. They may be his friends, but knowing they hadn’t told him straight away that Buffy was at the hospital had him fuming.

Gunn muttered under his breath. “Uh-oh,” then went to where the soldiers were and closed that door as well. He knew Spike’s temper and judging from the look on his face, it was going to take two doors between him and everyone else to shut out the screaming. All four men went into the office, jumping when Spike slammed the door shut.

He tried to remain calm, he really did. “Explain.”

“She was goi...” Finn started.

“Wait,” he held up a hand. “First. Answer me this. Why in the BLOODY hell aren’t one of YOU two with her right now?”

Oz stepped in to answer. “McDonald came to work early so Levinson could leave and was there when it happened. He felt responsible since it was his station where she had her accident so he took her himself... said he would stay with her.”

The second Gunn heard the name ‘McDonald’ spoken and saw Spike’s jaw twitch, it didn’t surprise him in the least when Spike picked up a couple of random items off the desk to throw against the door in a fit of rage. He sat down and looked over at a shocked Finn and pitied him. Spike was surely going to rip him a new hole to breathe out of. The only ‘innocent’ here in the room was poor Oz, he was clueless about Lindsey.

“I don’ care if he FEELS responsible. She isn’ his responsibility, she’s yours and yours,” he pointed a finger at each of them in turn. “She’s OUR soldier, NOT his. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED OUT THERE?”

Oz opened his mouth to speak but Spike cut him off again.

“NOT you... you. Explain.” He pointed a finger at Finn. “You had specific orders NEVER to leave him alone with a female soldier so unless you have a good reason, you’re arse is mine.”

“Spike,” Finn started. “I don’t know what the big deal is; he just took her to the hospital. What happened was...”

“Don’t bother.” He stood and grabbed his car keys. “`M goin’ there m`self to have McDonald explain what happened then send him back here. I’ll stay with her.” His first concern was getting Lindsey away from Buffy, then seeing if she was alright. He knew exactly why Finn hadn’t taken her to the hospital himself... he was too busy chatting away with Lilah, thinking with his dick.

“Spike... look man.” Gunn felt the need to intervene for Buffy’s sake. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea. I mean... you? Barking at her when she first wakes up? Let me go, I’ll stay with her.”

“`S that what you think `m gonna do?” His face filled with surprise. “Bark at her?” He shook his head in disbelief. “I want you to brief Oz here on exactly WHY when I get back, ‘White-bread’ here is going to be castrated.” Opening the door, he walked out before another word was said to piss him off any further. McDonald, of all people, was the one there with her when it should have been Oz or Finn. He could just see Lindsey acting all concerned and use the opportunity to get on Buffy’s good side... then later seduce her. He stepped on the accelerator at the thought of that wanker laying one finger on her, of the possibility that he might choose to scare her later on by using his authority over her to get in her pants or worse, that maybe Buffy would willingly let him. No, she wouldn’t do that, he refused to believe she was that kind of girl. She’d been crushed when she found out that her ‘Angel’ hadn’t been faithful. He knew what that felt like, how it left a person, whether man or woman, feeling.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lindsey flashed her his best smile, still holding her hand as he sat at her bedside.

“I told him, no. I’ll take her myself. So I carried you to my car, brought you here and haven’t left your side yet. I was so worried about your conditi...”

“Sergeant McDonald?!?!” The scene he’d walked in on had his blood boiling. Lindsey had no business holding her hand and the way he was talking to Buffy confirmed his suspicions.

Lindsey dropped her hand and stood up. “Spike. Buddy, I was just...”

“Le’s take a walk shall we?”

“Sure thing.” He looked to Buffy and said he’d be right back.

Like hell you will. He took one look at her and cringed at the blood stained bandage on her forehead. There wasn’t much that bothered him, but blood, needles and just plain hospitals in general made him queasy. She looked alright other than that.

Spike listened patiently as Lindsey told him how Buffy had gone through his station on the obstacle course. She fell before reaching the second platform of the four tier tower climb and he made her try again. When she fell a second time, it was from much higher up and she didn’t have time to tuck and roll her body. She’d fallen on her side and hit the ground hard where she went unconscious almost immediately. Apparently there was good size rock beneath a patch of grass and her head had found it, causing a good size gash near her hairline that required five stitches. The neurologist came in to conduct some simple preliminary tests, checking her coordination, sense of feeling, memory, orientation, and concentration, all of which she passed with flying colors. But because she’d been unconscious for a few minutes, the Doc wanted to run a CAT scan and keep her here to continue his observation, testing her at one hour intervals to be absolutely sure before releasing her.

Since they were in a hospital, Spike didn’t dare raise his voice, instead he simply told Lindsey to go back to work, that since she was his soldier he would be the one to stay there with her.

After watching him leave the building he sighed heavily and ran a hand over his face. He was going to be here for awhile but that’s not what concerned him. She was hurt, needed to be watched over the course of several hours, hell, maybe even overnight. He walked back to the nurse’s station and asked if he could speak to the attending physician about his soldier’s condition.

The doctor told him exactly what he’d predicted, that he would rather keep her overnight even though her CAT scan came out normal. After that, she was free to go back and finish her training so long as they were careful not to put her into a position where she could receive another blow to the head. They would also need to watch her behavior daily. So long as her vision and mental faculties remained normal, she should be fine.

He was ready to go in and see her but before he did, he walked outside for a quick smoke and to call Gunn on his cell phone to inform him he wouldn’t be back with her until the morning and to have someone bring over a clean PT uniform and some personal effects to make her more comfortable. Snapping the phone shut, he threw his cigarette to the ground and crushed it under his boot.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy’s evening seemed to be going pretty well. Okay, setting aside the concussion and some stitches to her head, but she was getting a rare opportunity to rest and Sergeant McDonald had been pleasant company... that is, until, he showed up. By the time Spike came back, she’d been moved into a regular room and told she would most likely stay until the morning.

He walked into her room holding his hat in one hand with his usual cold, expressionless face, beautiful yet deadly blue eyes boring into her like icicles. He looked pissed, great. Like it’s my fault I’m here.

“Summers.” He nodded once in her direction then took a seat at the opposite end of the room.

“Good evening, Sergeant.” God, the man was so annoying. She knew he couldn’t make her do anything while she was here but he still tortured her with his presence. He sat there with his legs spread wide and hooked a thumb through his belt so that his hand rested lightly over his crotch. Her mind flashed back to when he caught her staring at him and she blushed slightly. The nurse had thankfully turned on the television before she left, so she focused her attention on the news and tried to pretend he didn’t exist.

The silence was killing him but he wasn’t ready to talk to her yet. He was still fuming over Lindsey. How could they let him take her here? Was she still unconscious when Lindsey put her in his car? He could have done anything he wanted to her during that time. And then to see her smiling away while he held her hand, ARGHH!

“Summers? When did you wake up?”

“Sergeant?”

“After you hit your head. Where did you wake up?” He had to know. If she didn’t wake up until she got here he was going to interrogate McDonald Nazi style.

“Uhmm, the first thing I remember was Sergeant McDonald carrying me to his car, Sergeant.” He better not even act like he cares about what happened to me.

“And you remained conscious?” She nodded her head. “Good.” His chest visibly relaxed upon exhaling.

The nurse came back in and immediately went to work on changing the bandage to Buffy’s head. Spike tried not to watch but when Buffy hissed from the pain, his eyes instinctively went to her forehead and he grimaced from the sight of her dried blood. He’d had stitches plenty of times too but had a hard time staying calm for the needle of lidocaine to numb the area. The thought of a needle coming anywhere near him had his hand impulsively running over his face.

“Are you okay, Sergeant?” He looked pale, well, more pale than usual.

“`M fine.” He was glad he hadn’t eaten yet as the memory of the stitches to his eyebrow came back to him. Shaking his head, he got up and left for the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face. By the time he got back to Buffy’s room, Gunn had arrived and was talking away animatedly to Buffy.

“... your first war scar.”

“It wasn’t exactly war, Sergeant.” She giggled.

Spike felt jealous. Not over Gunn talking to her but that she smiled for him, talked and laughed so easily around him. Her smile was pretty; it lit up her face and made her eyes stand out. Why couldn’t she smile like that around him? Maybe because you live to make her miserable?

“Spike.” Gunn noticed him standing in the doorway. He turned to place Buffy’s bag of personal things on the night table and couldn’t help but notice that her smile instantly fade. “Did you want me to stay for awhile so you can go back to the barracks?” He expected it when Spike said ‘no’ but thought he’d at least try for Buffy’s benefit so she could have a break from dealing with him. “How about dinner? Do you want me to pick something up for you?”

Spike was about to say no when the nurse, who was still there, took hold of Buffy’s arm, prepping her for an IV.

“Can you stay here for a mo’ while I run out and get it m’self?”

“Sure thing.” He turned to Buffy, “Do you want something to eat?” The nurse answered for her saying she wasn’t allowed anything until the doctor said so. “I’ll be here, man, go on.”

Buffy waited until both Spike and the nurse left the room then asked, “Why does he hate me so much, Sergeant?” If anyone knew, it would be Sergeant Gunn.

“What? Spike doesn’t...” He trailed off when he saw the look of frustration on her face. “Buffy is your first name right? Can I call you Buffy?”

“Yes, Sergeant.”

“You can drop the Sergeant crap for now.” He pulled a chair up to her bedside and sat back, pulling his left ankle up to rest over his right knee. “He doesn’t hate you, Buffy. He treats everyone the same.”

“Sure could have fooled me.” She rolled her eyes.

“Look, I know he’s been hard on you at times but he really is a good guy underneath as hard as it is to believe.” She nodded at him and pursed her lips.

“I’m sure he is. I saw how he was with your children, which by the way are very beautiful.”

“Well, thank you.” He beamed. “Spike wasn’t always like this you know. I probably shouldn’t be telling you this, but because I don’t agree with a lot of the things he’s done to you, I will and maybe it’ll help you to understand.”

Gunn didn’t go into any great detail other than to tell her his past two wives had both been unfaithful and it tainted his overall opinion of women. He also explained that when it came to girls who looked like her, “No offense to your appearance, but you look like a valley girl cheerleader on first impression,” Spike didn’t think they were the kind of soldiers the Army needed and was determined to break them, send them home crying to their mommies.

“I am from the valley and I was a cheerleader but he’s not going to break me.” She set her jaw firmly in place when Gunn began laughing.

“Yeah, I see that and you have my respect, especially after you flattened him with the pugil. You’re one hell of a woman and the first girl he hasn’t been able to break. I think that’s the reason right there why he’s so tough on you. Don’t let it get to you. It’s all just a psychological game here at boot camp. Once you’re through with all your training, the real Army life isn’t like that. It’s like any other job but with a few more demands placed on your time.”

“If you say so. I mean, what if I ever saw him after this? Like two years down the road? Would he still be able to make me do pushups or humiliate me?” She hoped not.

“Technically yes because he’s higher ranking than you but no, he wouldn’t try it. Once you get assigned to your first duty station, you belong to a unit, a company and it’s their duty to watch over you, discipline you if necessary. You answer directly to them and if someone harasses you unnecessarily then you go through your chain of command. I wouldn’t worry about it, Buffy. It’s a small Army but the likelihood of you two ever being assigned to the same place or even bumping into each other is remote. You’re going to be a medic while Spike and I are both Infantry soldiers. We go to places like FT Nag, North Carolina or FT Pukert, Georgia. You’ll probably be assigned to MEDDAC which is the medical side of the Army and could wind up anywhere, even overseas like Germany. We’re on the FORSCOM side, the grunts that spend most of our time in the field. That’s not to say you couldn’t wind up being assigned to a FORSCOM unit, but you’ll almost never have to interact with us. Women aren’t allowed to be infantry.”

“Thank God for miracles.”

They were both chuckling when Spike walked into the room.

“Well, I best be off.” He stood and faced Spike. “Call me if you need a break tonight and oh,” he reached into his pocket to pull out a deck of cards. “I almost forgot. In case you get bored, maybe you and Summers can play some cards.” Spike cocked an eyebrow at him. “You play cards, Summers?”

“I’ve played a few times, yes, Sergeant.”

Spike took the deck after setting his sandwich aside and frowned when she smiled at Gunn.

“Great. Try not to have too much fun, I’m off.”

“Goodbye, Sergeant.” Great, now she was stuck with Sergeant Paleface all night. Hopefully he’d get sick of being here and call Sergeant Gunn to come back.

“I’ll be back in the mornin’, mate.” He waited until Gunn left then turned his attention to Buffy who went back to staring at the television.

For whatever reason he didn’t care to examine, it irritated him that she wouldn’t even look in his direction. Well, he’d make her look at him. He walked up to the TV, shut it off then sat down in the chair next to her. Wheeling the small portable table between them he slammed the cards on top, making her jump.

“What do you play?”

“I, uhmm...”

“Either you know how to play somethin’ or you don’, Summers. There’s no ‘uhmm’ `bout it.”

“Poker?” She offered. She watched him take off his BDU top and had to look away. It was disturbing how handsome he was. Too bad such good looks were wasted on a jerk, a very bitter jerk that should have understood her pain over Angel, not thrown it in her face like he had.

“Right. You know how to play poker?” He asked accusingly while eyeing her as if she were lying. At least she was looking at him now, well, not directly in the eyes. “`S fine, I’ll teach you. Here,” he grabbed the remote to the bed and pressed it until she was sitting upright. Good, now they were eye to eye. “Don’t worry, `m not gonna make you do anythin’ in here. Relax.” He watched her shoulders sag slightly... from relief he guessed.

Picking the deck up, he shuffled it several times while explaining the basic rules of ‘five card stud’. The first two rounds they played, he helped her by looking at her hand, explaining why she would want to get rid of this card or that, telling her the order of what type of hand beats what and so on.

“Le’s play one more but this time I won’ look. Here, you shuffle.” He handed her the deck and reached for his sandwich. As he unwrapped it, he thought about her not being able to eat anything until the doctor said it was alright. He didn’t like the thought of her starving so he broke the sandwich in half and threw it on the table in front of her. “You should eat.”

“But the doctor said...”

“I don’ care what the doc said. You missed chow so you must be hungry, yeah?” She nodded. “So eat it, `m not gonna say anythin’.” When she hesitated, he sighed as if exasperated. “Jus’ eat the bloody thing before I change my mind `bout being nice.”

“Not that I’m not grateful, Sergeant, but... why?” This shocked her. Him. Sergeant Sourpuss. Being nice. On purpose?

“You said you were hungry.”

She shook her head. “No, I mean being nice.”

“As hard as it is for you to believe, `m quite capable of bein’ nice.”

“I never said you...”

“Take it or leave it, `s your choice.”

“Geez, I’ll take it.” She scowled and snatched the sandwich up, taking a huge bite out of it.

“Thought you might.” He couldn’t help himself, wasn’t even aware of it when it happened... he tilted his head to one side and smiled at her. Even if she was purposefully taking advantage of the fact he couldn’t punish her, he was pleased she was eating and the defiant frown she wore was incredibly cute.

Yup, way more handsome when he smiles. She returned his smile with one of her own, glad he hadn’t gotten mad over her impulsive statement. Maybe the evening wouldn’t be so bad after all. She could care less if he actually came to like her, oh no. But if they could come to some kind of middle ground, a truce, something so he’d ease up on her then it would be worth being nice back to him. Hey, she could hope, right?

Spike took care of cleaning up after they finished eating then pointed to the cards she’d dealt and picked up his own. “Le’s see what you’ve learned so far, shall we?” He tried to shake the fact that when she sassed him he’d enjoyed it. She caught him off guard with that beautiful smile, that’s all.

Lord knows she tried to concentrate but it was becoming increasingly difficult. The faint scent of smoke mixed with his cologne and something else filled the air around her. It was strong, heady, uniquely male, intoxicating, distracting, too distracting. She couldn’t remember Angel ever smelling that good and why was she letting his scent get to her anyway? She felt the sudden need for some fresh air so she interrupted him.

“I need to get changed, Sergeant.”

“Oh. Right.” He forgot all about the sack of clothes he had Gunn bring for her. Picking it up, he handed it over.

She looked through the bag to find one item in particular when an evil thought crossed her mind.

“Oh no. No, no, no, no!” She rummaged through the bag some more.

“What?” He sat up to see what she was stressing over.

“There’s no tampons in here,” she cried.

“”What?!?! Oh, oh, BLOODY HELL!!!” He stood up and began pacing the room, running his hand through his hair over and over while babbling. “`M not goin’ to a store for you. No, no. No way, no. This is a hospital, they must have somethin’.” A couple of ‘bloody hells’ later and the sound of her snickering caught his attention.

She held up her box of tampons and shook it back and forth, a huge grin gracing her lips. The expression on his face was priceless. Frustration, shock, relief and irritation all flashed over his features within seconds of each other. Score number two for me.

“Not funny, Summers.” He put his hands on his hips; fully prepared to chastise her some more but couldn’t do it. Her eyes were shining while she giggled over having fooled him... she looked adorable.

“You’re right it wasn’t, it was downright hysterical. You should have seen the look on your face.” She snickered some more while swinging her legs over the side of the bed and stood. “I couldn’t resist... hey!” He scared her when he suddenly rushed toward her.

He ran over and placed his hands against her shoulders. “You don’ wanna pull that out.” He looked down at the IV leading into her arm.

“Oh.” She looked into his eyes, noting how he stared with worry and... that he had yet to remove those amazingly beautiful, strong hands of his from her. It sent an involuntary shiver through her body. “Thanks.” She looked down, telling herself it was just a chill in the air.

She trembled slightly and he retracted his hands as if burnt, realizing he’d never physically touched her until now. He shouldn’t have, he could have just yelled to her not to move. It was the concern over her pulling the IV out that made him react like that. Yes, that was it.

She took the IV stand and wheeled it to the bathroom inside her room and closed the door. Opening her sack, she pulled out her clothes, hairbrush and toothbrush, everything she assumed Willow had packed for her and set to work getting herself cleaned up and changed.

Spike was sitting down again when he heard her call out to him.

“Sergeant Speichart? I need some help.” She had her shirt half on when she realized just what a task it was going to be getting her arm through her sleeve with a bag of fluid connected to her. God this was embarrassing.

“Yeah?” He walked to the bathroom door and waited for her to answer. Instead, she opened it half way to face him with pleading eyes.

“I can’t get my arm through my shirt with the IV bag.”

“I, ahh. Ahem. Right then.” He raised his hands then hesitated. Tilting his head from side to side he nervously reached for her in a different position only to pull back again, trying to decide the best angle in which to help her. “Can you... turn around?” This was an innocent situation, an innocent request. He wouldn’t need to touch her, no big deal... for God sakes, jus’ help the bird.

She opened the door completely and turned her back to him. From the mirror on the far wall, she watched him while wiggling her arm into place beneath the shirt, trying desperately with her free hand to hold it modestly in place so as not to expose herself.

As carefully as possible, he lifted the bag of saline off its hook and told her to take it while he held her top down and away from her body, leaving enough room for her to maneuver it through the arm hole.

“I can’t pull it through with my hand, the sleeve... it’s too small.” She tried but it was proving too much of a struggle and she was fearful of pulling the catheter out in the process. It looked like it was going to take both his hands as well as hers. “Can you maybe... uhmm, hold my shirt with one hand and the bag with the other until I get my hand through, then help shove it through so I can take it?”

He barely choked out a ‘yes’ as she let go of the opposite side of her shirt. He looked up at her in the mirror then quickly back down, taking a shaky breath as his hand went under the thin cotton material. Her nipples were visibly pebbled, she wasn’t wearing a bra... again. That fact gave more than a rise to just his awareness as his pants tented.

It was unavoidable. His knuckles brushed against her skin, making him groan internally at how soft she felt. Keeping his eyes downcast, her shirt inevitably rose up and from her side and he caught a glimpse of the swell of her breast. The more she moved the more contact they made and what he wouldn’t give to shut the bathroom door behind them, bend her over the sink and take her right there. He was grateful when she finally took the bag from him with her free hand because he felt the need to slap himself sober from his lusty thoughts.

She swore she saw him blushing in the mirror while he helped her... which couldn’t be right. He was pale, always pale. But then again, the fact his hand kept touching her side hadn’t escaped her attention either. He must have been embarrassed, because there was no way he was remotely attracted to her. It was too obvious he hated her.

He waited until she came out and got back in bed before sitting down. “Where were we?” He grabbed his cards, trying to will away his erection through focusing on the game. Three hands later and he had a sneaking suspicion she knew more about poker than she let on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later

“I guess that means I win?” She smiled innocently and threw down a royal flush, snickering when he ‘hmphh’ed’ at her. “My deal.” She shuffled and dealt, picking up her hand and immediately decided not to trade any cards out. “How many?”

“You’re gonna keep wha’s in your hand?” She nodded. Silly bint. “You sure?” She nodded again. “You’re goin’ down this time. Gimme three.” He waited until he had his replacement cards in hand. He only had a pair of threes but kept his poker face and bid ten points, hoping she’d fold. He’d only won perhaps three games total since they began playing and when she beat him this time as they both laid their cards down he openly accused her. “Did you jus’ hustle me?”

She smiled coquettishly at him. “Little bit, mm-hmm.” He sat back and glared at her.

“Don’ know how to play poker, my arse.” Oh, ho-ho, she was goooood, real good. “How long you been playin?”

“I don’t know, three, four years maybe. My dad let me watch when his friends started coming to our house every Wednesday to play. After about a year, they let me join in.” She shrugged her shoulders. Big deal, it was an easy game. He shook his head back and forth. “What?”

“I can’ believe I went easy on you, that you let me go through teachin’ you and you knew the whole time.” He narrowed his eyes on her. “`M gonna smoke you for this when you get outta here.” Even so, he had to hand it to her... she worked him over good.

An idea came to mind. “Well, now that you DO know, how about we play for real this time? Up the ante, the stakes?”

“No,” shaking his head back and forth. “No gambling. As soldiers we’re not allowed to gamble for money.”

“Not for money. Let’s play for something... a little more interesting.”

He didn’t know what she had in mind, but he was most definitely curious. “`M listenin’.”

“If I win, you have to stop riding me so hard.” And I can’t believe I just said that. He quirked an eyebrow at her. “I-I. What I meant was... you have to let up on me entirely. No more harassing me.”

He almost choked when she mentioned ‘riding’ but hid any sign of being aware of what she’d said and just raised an eyebrow at her. “Alright. And if I win?” He held his breath.

She thought for a moment. Well, if she was going to ask him to leave her alone completely, then it was only fair to offer him whatever he wanted. “If you win... you can do anything you want to me.”

He swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbed slowly in his suddenly more than dry throat. All his sexual fantasies involving her came flooding back despite knowing that’s not what she meant. “Really?” She looked him dead in the eye and spoke with serious conviction.

“Anything... Sergeant.” She saw a hint of hesitation in his eyes. “Unless you’re scared?” That got his attention.

“Oi! `M not scared of a l’il girl. You’re on.” He gathered the cards back up and stared her down as menacingly as possible while shuffling. “You’re gonna regret makin’ that bet, Summers. `M gonna own you after this hand.” She had the nerve to roll her eyes at him.

“I mean no disrespect when I say if you can dish it out, I can take it. Question is... if I win, will you keep your word?” He growled at her as he began dealing the cards out.

A few minutes later, Buffy won. Her triumphant look faded however as he began pouting and complaining like a child.

“Fine. If you’re going to be a sore loser, we can play again.” She laughed when he glared at her. “Best two out of three. Take it or leave it.”

He shoved the deck in her direction. “Deal!” He didn’t like losing, especially not to a girl, even if said girl was starting to slowly earn more and more respect from him.

He won the second hand and openly gloated. “Pressure’s on, Summers. If I win, `s anythin’ I want, right?”

“Anything.” There’s no way he’d win. He was good, but she was better, no two ways about it.

Two minutes later, he proved her wrong.

“HAH!” Even though he’d won, what he really wanted to do to her was completely out of the question. That’s okay, her physical torture would suffice.

Shit! Shit, shit, shit!!! “Okay. You win, fair and square.”

The doctor came back in to check on her and Spike excused himself for a smoke.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was sooooo screwed but it was a fair game. Besides, she’d spoke the truth... there wasn’t anything he could dish out that she couldn’t handle. She watched him walk back into the room and remove the table from in front of her.

“Better get some sleep. We’re leavin’ first thing in the mornin’.” He watched her nod and handed her the remote to the bed so she could recline.

“Yes, Sergeant.” Apparently he’d had enough. He’d won, was gloating, plotting her torture and that was that.

During the hourly checkups throughout the night, Spike found himself waking up right alongside Buffy. When the doctor made her sit up, he found himself sitting up too, watching, waiting, praying her answers to his questions were correct, indicating she was indeed alright. He tried telling himself it was just so he could take her back to the barracks and collect his winnings, making her wish she’d never been born, but deep down... he knew better. The tiny blonde was no longer the weak and frightened cheerleader she was when she’d first arrived. His hate and his lust for her already had him doing everything possible to break her spirit yet here she was, telling him ‘if you can dish it out, I can take it’. She could, he knew she would because he’d turned her into that kind of soldier. The kind he could be proud of having in his Army.

3 AM rolled around and he couldn’t get back to sleep. Leaving her room for another smoke, he began to question whether or not it was fair... that he’d won. It wasn’t their original bet. She’d been the bigger person, the one who suggested best two out of three after he whined like a nancy-boy.

On his way back in, the doctor informed him she seemed to be perfectly fine, but he would check on her a couple more times then release her around five. Spike breathed a sigh of relief then tensed as he thought about going back to the barracks. He still had yet to deal with Finn... and deal with him he would. He wanted to physically throttle the stupid farm-boy but decided a change to his work schedule so that it didn’t coincide with Lilah’s and a verbal warning would have to do. He couldn’t afford to get himself in trouble by beating the living daylights out of Riley, not so close to the time he would be leaving this place. He thought about that for a moment... he was finally leaving this place, going back to being just a regular soldier. It filled him with relief. The long hours, the funny brown hat, all of it would be a distant memory soon and in a few short months Gunn would be joining him. They both came down on orders at the same time and were pleased to learn they were to be stationed at the same place and unit. Yes, his life would soon regain some sense of normalcy and he could hardly wait.

He took up his seat again by her side and stared at her sleeping form. She’d removed the elastic band from her hair, letting it down to flow freely around her face like a golden halo. She was beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful and he found himself taking in everything about her. The tantalizing swell of her womanly curves outlined beneath the white blanket, the delicate, fine features of her face, her long lashes, smooth skin... He drank all of her in with his eyes, appreciating everything that made her a woman, committing it to memory. Her pouty lips parted when she suddenly sighed and his pants instantly tightened as he focused on those two luscious lips, imagining them wrapped around his cock. He caught himself before he groaned aloud. He could just picture her on her knees, pleasuring him right before he pulled her onto his lap to lower her lovely bum onto his aching shaft, feeling her heat, her snug walls strangling his manhood tightly as he made her cum hard around him.

She moaned in her sleep and turned on her side to face him, a few strands of hair falling in front of her nose. With a mind of its own, his fingers reached out and took hold of the silky strands to push them gently away. He wasn’t quite aware of the fact he still held her hair between his fingers, rubbing it gently between them to confirm its softness until she moaned again.

That’s when it dawned on him. He’d allowed himself to just look at her. As a man. He was just a man who wanted a woman. This woman. For all her strong will, her sass, her ability to beat him at more than just one kind of game... a very strong willed, tough and perfectly sensual woman. Here it was he’d tried to break her, when in fact it was she that had broken him. Broke him down into acting like nothing more than a lusting schoolboy who went home every night and fucked his hand pretending it was her, coming back the next day to pick on her as if it were her fault. It was in this moment he knew he could no longer be in her presence without wanting her and he didn’t trust himself, couldn’t trust himself not to act on his desires. Oh God! He was no better than Lindsey! There was only one thing he could do. He’d have to leave her alone. She was the rightful winner of their game and he would honor his word and leave her alone, not for his sake, but for hers.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed. I’ll pick up the pace during next chapter as Buffy nears graduation and becomes irritated over being ignored by Spike. Have a great weekend and drop me a line/review if you have the time. Hugs and kisses.

Saturday week 7

What the hell was his problem? It’d been nearly a week since Buffy was in the hospital, since he’d won their little game of poker and not once, not once did he so much as even look her way. The first couple days she was relieved and thought nothing of it. After all, they were in phase three of their training and the Drill Sergeants had everyone super busy, getting them qualified with their weapons, taking their final physical fitness test, in essence, all their ‘End Of Cycle Tests’ before Warrior Week began.

They were on the obstacle course this morning, one last chance for a practice run through each station before being tested in pairs and where was he... standing near a picnic table almost three hundred yards behind the recruits, casually smoking a cigarette while talking with Sergeant McDonald.

He’d had plenty of opportunities to mess with her, make her do whatever he wanted and what had he done? Nothing. Abso-fuckin-lutely nothing. She should have been doing the snoopy dance, but instead she was furious. He’d been nothing shy of evil to her since day one and now... what? She suddenly wasn’t good enough anymore? He was treating her as if she didn’t exist. He didn’t look at her, didn’t come near her, it was as if his every move was purposefully calculated to avoid her at all costs. She was ready, had been ready for him. Bring it on, anything and everything he wished to unleash on her, she would show him, make it look like a walk in the park.

“What’s wrong?” Willow was concerned. She’d spent enough time being Buffy’s friend to know her moods and when Sergeant Speichart finally backed away from torturing her, Buffy became agitated instead of happy about it.

“That!” She pointed in Spike’s direction. “The man lived to torment me daily and now that I’m strong enough to take his shit... nothing. He won’t even look at me sideways, Willow. What gives with that?”

“Uhmm, not to sound all with the cliché’s here but, don’tcha kinda think that maybe you’re, uhmm, kicking a gift horse in the mouth?” Buffy looked at her as if she were insane. “I mean all the Drill Sergeants have backed off from harassing anyone unless they deserve it. He’s probably just doing the same.”

“No. There’s something wrong with him.” There had to be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Graduation was approaching fast, but not fast enough for Spike. Buffy still haunted his every waking fantasy whether he was here at work or home. After she was released from the hospital and he finished his shift, his first stop before going to his apartment had been to a drugstore to purchase his first pack of condoms in what felt like years. He put two in his wallet and two in the glove compartment of his car, determined to shag the next willing women that came his way, except Lilah of course. He was sure when he did, it would flush his mind of her image, help him to get over his infatuation and move on... though it had yet to happen.

That wasn’t the only thing stressing him lately, however. After next week, he would only be working two more days and then he was finished being a Drill Sergeant. He needed at least three days off to out-process his company, the post and take care of some personal business before making one last walk-about his office then head out of state for good. Although he was looking forward to leaving, if he didn’t find some time soon to make up a proper schedule, Buffy might not have the protection she needed from Gunn, Finn and Oz against Lindsey. He wouldn’t put it past the worm to try something so close to the time the recruits were to leaving. In fact, it seemed like the perfect time, thus, the stress.

They were under the pavilion, having a smoke together. Lindsey sat on top of a picnic table while Spike stood, one foot planted on the bench, leaning his elbow on his raised knee, tilting his head down to take long drags off his cigarette. He was doing his best to act interested in whatever Lindsey was currently talking about but underneath he loathed being near him, having to watch him. He looked up to see Gunn walking in their direction to join them.

“You know those things will kill you, right?” He stood behind Lindsey so the east wind carried the smoke away from him and chuckled when Spike looked over Lindsey’s shoulder to flip him the bird. “Well men, we’ve done it again. Took a bunch of kids and turned them into soldiers.” He pointed off towards their own platoon as they took turns scaling the high wooden wall. “They’re doing an outstanding job.”

“That they are.” Lindsey took a drag off his cigarette and kept his eyes fixed on the recruits.

Spike was paying no attention to the idle chatter when he noticed Buffy was next in line. Everything was as it should be, just like it was right now at this very moment. Her, following orders and doing what she had to. Him, as far away from her as humanly possible.

“I gotta hand it to ya, Spike. You did a real nice job on her.”

“`Scuse me?” He looked over at Lindsey, back to Buffy and back to Lindsey again. He was watching Buffy like a predator as she began her ascent of the wall.

“Summers.” He took one last drag and crushed the cigarette out on the table top, exhaling the smoke through his nose before speaking again. “That diet you put her on? She filled out reeeeal nice.” He smiled as he watched her bottom wiggle while she maneuvered herself into position.

Gunn’s gaze snapped to Spike’s. He could smell something was about to happen and a huge part of him wanted it too. Lindsey had been nothing but a thorn in their side, having to baby-sit him over these last few weeks. Keeping his eyes on Spike, he asked, “Filled out?”

“Just look at her. Oh yeah... gonna tear that ass up.”

Lindsey never saw it coming. One moment he was talking and the next he heard a growl right before he was knocked to the ground, getting the shit beat out of him.

There was no thinking involved on Spike’s part. The object of his infatuation was being threatened and his gut instinct was to eliminate that threat. Launching himself at the other man, he tackled him to the ground and with lightening speed, set about pounding into him. In full protective mode, he held nothing back as he dealt blow after blow in rapid succession along with a string of curses from between gritted teeth.

Gunn knew, Gunn saw, Gunn didn’t give a shit. With a satisfied smirk on his face, he remained cool and casual about the whole thing. Backing up against a wooden beam, he leaned against it, crossed his arms and preferred to watch rather than interfere. Lindsey would lose and Spike wouldn’t have a scratch on him, he’d bet his paycheck on it. What he couldn’t bet on was what, or rather who exactly brought this on. Was it the mention of Buffy herself or could Lindsey have said any of the other female’s names and Spike would have reacted the same? The fact Spike was ignoring her altogether these days raised his suspicions again over how he felt about her. He’d never question his friend about it though, he knew Spike well enough to know that even if it were the case, that he had some secret crush, he’d never do anything even mildly inappropriate to a female, especially one directly under his care.

It wasn’t until Lindsey’s blood began to spill that Gunn worried Spike was taking it too far. He’d seen him in a fit of rage plenty of times. Hell, they’d been in more than one bar fight together, pre-Fred years of course, but this attack seemed particularly vicious, like it was personal. He looked over at his platoon and noticed everyone’s attention was now drawn in the direction of the warring Drill Sergeants.

“Spike! Spike, man, stop. He’s had enough and people are watching! SPIKE!” Apparently he’d have to interfere, Spike looked like he was enjoying himself too much, still punching away, shouting obscenities, insults and threats at the top of his lungs.

All he saw was red, both in his mind and on Lindsey’s face. He felt Gunn dragging him off the bloodied Drill Sergeant’s body and shouted one last warning before storming off. “Buffy is mine... stay the bloody hell away from her.”

Those closest to the pavilion saw what happened, heard every word... including Buffy. Willow and Xander stared at her in shock, their faces full of questions and confusion. Like she had the answer? She was just as bewildered as to what she’d witnessed as they were. With wide eyes, all she could do was shrug her shoulders and watch as Spike walked past them towards the parking lot to his car, she guessed, nostrils flaring.

“What are you lookin’ at?” He barked. “Get back to trainin’.” He watched everyone scramble away to do as they were told, all except Buffy. “Did I stutter, Summers?” She jumped a mile then turned away from him. His hands shook, heart beating furiously, mind still so preoccupied with jealousy that he never even realized just what it was that he’d said, that he’d used her first name or that he’d referenced her like a personal possession.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday week 8

This week they’d been ‘camping’ and oh, what fun it was... not! Buffy’s pitiful excuse for a bed back at the barracks suddenly looked like a ‘Posturepedic’ compared to sleeping on the cold ground under a lean-to tent, when she actually had a chance to sleep. Baby wipes replaced showers, porta-potties instead of toilets and she now thought highly of the chow hall food after being substituted for MREs, meals ready to eat. Either a person liked them or hated them. It didn’t matter what kind it was, everything was vacuum packed, needed water to take shape, look like food and be edible, contained two thousand calories total, leaving one constipated as hell. With three of these bad boys a day, she certainly wasn’t going to lose any weight. At least they were allowed to wear make-up now. Look out Maybelline, the Army’s own personal line of foundation comes in a trio of stunning shades... olive drab, muted soot and shit brown, apply all three and blend for that NATO-camo look every girl wants.

Their days were filled with tactical field exercises, being tested on their performance of all kinds of ‘war-like’ activities. They ‘ambushed’ each other in their respective platoons, used strictly hand signals to maneuver through the forest, threw colored smoke bombs to move ‘under cover’ or went for complete concealment by adding twigs and brush to their helmets, laying prone in wait, silent and unmoving for any unsuspecting enemies. Certain scenarios had them using hand-held radios to communicate with headquarters, a compass with a set of coordinates and a topographical map to rendezvous at specific locations. Other times they were ordered to find the ‘wounded’, soldiers who were selected at random with tags attached to their uniforms indicating their battle injuries, patch them up properly for transport to a field hospital all under the watchful eye of a Drill Sergeant. And let’s not forget the fun of hearing that single word of warning, ‘incoming’. The Drill Sergeants found it most amusing to periodically throw a tear gas canister in their midst, forcing them to swiftly don their chemical gear or suffer the snotty, puking consequences.

If they weren’t worn out from the daytime activities, there were exercises all through the night as well. They had a schedule for night patrol to secure the perimeters of their encampment, using code words or phrases if another soldier was caught trying to cross their border. If they didn’t speak the correct password, they were to capture and subdue through, simulated, force then detain them for interrogation. Then there was the fun from having a night infiltration mission of an enemy camp, pitting platoon against platoon with the reward of an extra MRE, which stimulated everyone’s motivation yet no one’s bowels.

On that Friday’s evening, they were faced with the most intense exercise of them all; one that scared the shit out of everyone despite the MREs acting as a butt plug. Dressed in full battle gear with their rifles slung over their backs, everyone began low crawling under barbed concertina wire while bullets flew over their heads in this simulated ‘live-fire’ exercise. Explosions from smoke grenades going off to their sides, flashes of red light whizzing overhead from the tracer rounds fired, telling Buffy just how low to the ground these weapons were actually being fired. Basically, if she stood up, she’d be dead. If anything made her understood how all her cumulative training impacted her performance on how to cope and stay alive during a real war situation, it was right here and now.

The exhilarating finish to this exciting week was a brisk, scenic stroll back to the barracks, if you consider a forced-paced, non-stop 15k road march with thirty extra pounds to everyone’s back and some blisters for good measure on one’s feet to be every vacationer here at Ft Lemonworth’s dream.

Spike had been there every day, every step of the way, looking as sexy as he could be and still ignoring her. She fantasized about walking up to him to demand an explanation for the rudest behavior he’d subjected her to yet. Just who did he think he was? It was his job to make her life hell and his performance had been stellar up until roughly two weeks ago. Was he slipping? Going soft on her? Something wasn’t right and if she had the time and opportunity, she’d chase him down, no, fuck that, she’d pin him down, force him to fess-up while she held his wrists over his head, straddled his lean torso, rub herself over his hard... huh?

“Summers!” Gunn spoke louder this time.

“Yes, Sergeant.”

He’d called her name five times. The fact that she’d been staring at Spike now raised questions in his mind about her attitude towards his friend. Was she attracted to him? Was he attracted to her? It just couldn’t be. Okay maybe, perhaps, it wasn’t entirely impossible that under completely different circumstances sure, they’d make a great couple, that is, if they could keep from killing one another during the courting process. Matter of fact, the more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became, particularly after what Spike had told Lindsey... ‘Buffy is mine...’ He supposed it didn’t matter even if they did fancy each other, Spike was leaving soon and they’d never see one another again.

He snickered as he thought back to Lindsey standing up, ready to report Spike and cause him all kinds of trouble. That was never going to happen, not after he dropped the name of the informant who would testify to his past ‘special relationships’ that had him transferred here in the first place. It was gratifying to finally tell the sleaze ball just what a piece of shit he really was and how the rest of the cadre was tired of having him under constant surveillance. Yup, that shut him up... permanently.

“Summers, I want you to take the rear of formation and help the slackers catch up.”

“Yes, Sergeant.” Erghh. It seemed her body was so well conditioned that she was constantly singled out to help those that were slower. Oh well, at least she wouldn’t have to look at him anymore.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tuesday week 9

Everyone could breathe; relax a little now that training was over. Graduation week was filled with tedious tasks such as getting those gorgeous green polyester uniforms and shiny black shoes together for the final ceremony on Sunday. It wasn’t that Buffy hated the uniform, she just felt it was more like a Monet... looks good from a distance but once you get close, it’s all messed up and incredibly scratchy. She sat there in the common room; thinking about what school would be like when she got there next week, twiddling her thumbs while various names were called out for mail. Then he showed up and took over for Sergeant Gunn, annoying her with that-that... accent a-and that deep, soothing rumble to his voice that felt like velvet every time it flowed into her ears.

Spike took the stack of letters from Gunn, telling the soldiers he hoped they’d informed their mommies and daddies to stop writing soon because they weren’t going to be here to get it past this week. He walked around and handed the soldiers their correspondence rather than flinging it at them since it was his last day.

“Baldwin. Rosenburg...”

He still wouldn’t acknowledge her and she felt like a ghost. She sat right next to Willow when he handed her letter over and his eyes never even left the bundle in his hand. She was fuming. She just didn’t get it. He was supposed to thrash her, drag her through the mud, whatever he wanted and-and, arghh!!! He wouldn’t look at her, made her feel as if she was so far beneath him he didn’t have a single word to say to her, bad or good.

Summers. He froze. She had a letter, and not from her mum or li’l sis. Larger than life on the front of the envelope was Angel’s name. He couldn’t believe it. The wanker was trying to get back with her. With one microscopic heart drawn over the ‘i’ in Liam, he knew without a doubt this jackass, that didn’t deserve a woman as good as Buffy, was going to undo all his efforts at getting her over that hill of heartbreak in her life. He looked up and noticed everyone staring at him; he’d been silent for several long seconds while deep in thought. He couldn’t throw it away; he had to give it to her.

“Summers.”

From her favorite corner roost, she waited for him to walk over but he just stood there and held it out, obviously waiting for her to come to him. Great, he hates me so much that he doesn’t even want to hand me my mail. She hid her irritation, stood up and walked towards him. As she held out her hand, he placed one end of the envelope in hers but held on when she tried to take it. She looked up and his gaze instantly locked with hers, catching her off guard. Not only was he looking directly into her eyes, but he was definitely trying to communicate something to her. For the first time, his baby blues were soft and full of some message she was unable to read.

He let go of the letter but held her eyes with his until she broke contact by glancing down at the envelope. She read the front then looked up at him once more. Hopefully she understood now what he was trying to say that he couldn’t out loud.

He got his answer two seconds later when she held it up in front of her, tore the entire thing in two and handed it back to him, a defiant, stubborn pout forming on her lips as if saying, ‘screw him’. He watched her prance away and didn’t bother to hide his smile this time when she sat down and eyed him again. ‘Tha’s my girl’. True, he couldn’t have her, but Angel definitely didn’t deserve her. Hopefully she would find someone someday who would be good to her, treat her better than Angel had, better than Cecily or Dru had treated him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday, week 9, graduation day

Graduation was over and everyone was busy with family and friends. Not Buffy. Her parents couldn’t make it but she didn’t let it bother her, she was glad to just have these nine weeks over with. She hadn’t seen Spike since Tuesday and wondered every day where he was. Not because she cared or anything, just that she would have loved to finally ask him what his major malfunction was. Whatever! Good riddance, she was free. Free of this place and free of him forever.

“Sergeant Gunn?” She tapped him on the shoulder.

“Summers, how are you? Where’s your family?” She looked sad.

“They weren’t able to come, but that’s why I wanted to ask you something.”

“Sure. Fire away.”

“Since everyone is busy visiting here, I was wondering if it would be okay if I went back to the barracks and just lay down to rest?” He frowned at her and she prepared herself for him to say no.

“I really shouldn’t because there’s no one there right now, BUT...” He smiled. “I trust you won’t go AWOL on me and I think you’ve more than earned yourself a nap. Go on, get out of here.”

“Thank you, thank you sooooo much, Serg...” he cut her off.

“Don’t thank me, thank your recruiter. Now get.”

She chuckled and left the parade field to walk the three blocks back to the barracks alone. Just the thought of being alone for the first time since she arrived was going to be heaven.

She got to her room and had to unpack her PT shorts and shirt so she could change into something more comfortable before lying down. Everyone had their civilian and Army things packed up and ready to leave today for their next destination... school. The charter bus that was taking Willow, her and everyone else that was going to become a medical specialist to school wouldn’t be here until evening. She’d at least have a couple hours rest before needing to get up and get moving, and she planned on sleeping hard. Her bunk was devoid of any sheets and blankets because they had to turn them in to the quarter master that morning. She was so tired it made no difference as she sat down, listening to the familiar creak she’d grown accustomed to for the last time. Stretching out on her back, her eyes closed, preparing for sleep when a noise caught her attention.

Spike came in when he knew everyone would be at graduation. He wasn’t one for goodbyes, hated them even though it was the Army way of life, people always coming and going in between duty stations like a revolving door. Sighing, he took off his BDU top and settled it on the back of the chair and laid the black duffle bag he’d brought with him on top of the desk. He set about collecting his personal belongings that still remained; a few plaques, a coffee mug, odds and ends mostly.

Clang. He accidentally knocked his car keys off the desk.

When he bent over to retrieve them, he felt a strong sense of déjà vu; he wasn’t alone. Someone was watching him. Closing his eyes and inhaling as he stood, he didn’t need to turn around; the smell of vanilla in the air told him exactly who was standing behind him... Buffy! He continued packing, keeping his back to her.

Tbc............


A/N: This chapter was originally longer but I had to break it up due to overall size limitations, sorry - and for the cliffie as well - being kinda evil here, giggles. Next chapter... you guessed it, things heat up as Buffy gets her opportunity to give Spike a piece of her mind.

Con’t from chapter 4...

...the smell of vanilla in the air told him exactly who was standing behind him... Buffy! He continued packing, keeping his back to her.

“Go away, Summers,” he spoke gruffly.

It no longer surprised her that he seemed to know whenever she was around without looking.

“No.” He looked over his shoulder at her.

“`Scuse me?” She had some nerve!

“Did I stutter?” The opportunity to confront him fell in her lap and she wasn’t about to let it go.

He faced forward again, ignoring her completely, unwilling to let her bait him.

Prick! “Don’t turn away from me, I have questions.” Her anger began to rise when he spoke but refused to face her.

“Then why don’ you go ask someone who gives a bloody damn.”

Undeterred, she began her interrogation. “What happened the other day?”

“I don’ know what you’re talkin’ `bout.” What is she gettin’ on ‘bout?

“The fight. With Sergeant McDonald. You said my name.”

Bugger. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist, it was jus’ a slip of the tongue.” Not a subject he wanted to discuss at all.

She raised her voice. “You beat the crap out of him, call me yours and expect me not to wonder what it was all about?”

He wheeled on her, anger welling up in his chest. Time to turn the tables on Miss High-and-Mighty. “Oh, you wanna ask questions huh? Well here’s one for ya. Who was checkin’ who out a few weeks ago?” She may not want him, but she damn sure liked what she saw.

Her jaw dropped, cheeks instantly aflame from embarrassment that he would bring that up. She tried to respond but her mouth wouldn’t work.

“Yeah, `s what I thought.” He sneered at her.

ARGHH! You conceited piece of... “Oh, like your God’s gift.” She was mad before they even began their conversation, but now she was pissed. No way was he going to get the better of her. Time to take the gloves off, Mister.

Ooooh, she wanted to play huh? Okay, play he would. He crossed his arms and one ankle over the other as he leaned his backside against the desk. “Hardly, wouldn’t nearly be as interestin’.” He let his cocky side out full force and curled his tongue behind his teeth. “Bet I could make you scream though.”

His whole attitude, this arrogant air he attacked her with had her fuming, itching in the worst way with the need to lash out. Ignoring whatever it was he’d said she abruptly changed the subject.

“What are you doing here?” She interrupted him the second his mouth opened to answer. “Five words or less.”

He stood up straight and squared his jaw at her, holding his fingers up one at a time as he gave her his answer. “Packin. My. Personal. Effects.... BITCH,” ending with his thumb and a disgusted look. He watched her look around in confusion. “`M no longer your Drill Sergeant, Summers. So why don’ you leave?”

“Really?” Now things were getting interesting.

“Yeah. But jus’ cuz `m not doesn’ mean I won’ have you written up for bein’ disrespectful to me as an NCO and your superior.”

“It’ll be worth it.” Her tone went cold as she narrowed her eyes on him. So what! Let him. There was no way she was leaving him alone until she got some satisfaction. “What is your deal? You had your chance to do whatever you wanted to me and you didn’t, you went soft on me.”

“Oi!” Tensions were heating the room up and much to his dismay, his reaction to seeing her defiance, her aggression, her pretty face flush from anger was beginning to turn him on. “`M far from soft, pet.” The innuendo was lost on her, he could tell from her face. I can’ believe she’s this dense. Shaking his head in disbelief he put his back to her again, trying to will away the erection that was threatening to tear through his pants. She needed to get out of here before he did something he’d regret.

“I must have been the most horrible recruit ever to have earned your undivided attention and now you-you... it’s like you don’t notice I’m even in the same room.” Oblivious to all but her anger, she was going to unload everything on her mind before she left.

“I notice a lot of things.” He closed his eyes in an effort to regain a sense of control over his hormones, speaking as calmly as he could.

“Like what?” she asked exasperated.

“I noticed you don’ like wearin’ a bra.” If he could embarrass her enough maybe she’d leave, since ignoring her wasn’t working.

“Oh, don’t EVEN. You’re one to talk, Sergeant COMMANDO!” Try to embarrass me? Bastard!

His cheeks turned beet red as he whipped around to face her. He definitely didn’t see that one coming from her sharp tongue.

“How did you... wait. When did you...” He tried to talk but she rendered him speechless. Her hands were on her hips, head cocked to the side, looking at him as if he were the dumbest bloke on earth.

“Rain. Thin cotton Army shorts. You do the math,” she said matter-of-factly.

“Wh-why are you still here?” That’s all he could come up with to say he was so taken aback by her brazenness.

Time to address another issue. “And what gives with turning me into ‘Private Porker’ here with the million calorie meal plan?”

“WHAT?!?!” She was switching gears on him so fast he almost couldn’t keep up. “You needed it.” She was a twig for Chris’ sakes.

She stuttered from the fury he ignited in her. “Look-look. Just LOOK at me!” She turned around and pushed her ass out to draw his attention to it, fisting her shorts at her sides to hike the material up and taut against her bottom. “I’M FUCKING FAT!!!”

Flaunting that luscious arse in my face? Is she INSANE? The pain of his erection doubled at the sight she presented him with. “You’re bloody perfect,” he all but whispered. She really had no idea just how beautiful she was.

She spun around to continue her rant, not even hearing him. “That’s only one of the ways in which you ruined me, tortured me. Why DID you stop torturing me anyways? Did you run out of ideas? Is that it?” He looked stunned by her words and it pleased her, maybe she was getting somewhere now. “Why not punish me now, hmm? How about the invisible chair, which, by-the-way will be holding up my FAT ASS!”

He couldn’t speak, couldn’t get a word in edgewise she was flinging questions at him so fast.

“Or how about we go at it with the pugils again? Oh. That’s right,” she pointed a finger at herself, then him. “That was me... kicking YOUR ass.”

“Are you quite finished?” That definitely struck a nerve. Not only was he horny now, but she’d gone and made him furious on top of it.

“Not by a mile, Sergeant.” She pulled the rubber band from her ponytail and pranced up to him.

What `s she doin’? He panicked. What the bloody hell `s she doin’? He tried melting into the desk in an effort to get away from her as she invaded his personal space.

“Do I smell too PRETTY, Sergeant Speichart?” she whipped her hair over her shoulder, commercial style.

God does she ever. His cock twitched in response as her scent permeated the air around him.

“Well? Do I? Do I need a mud bath? Better yet, why don’t you take me outside RIGHT now, get in the pit with me and give me a good rough and tumble?”

“You sure tha’s what you want me to do, pet?” Oh GOD! If she said yes he’d be more than happy to throw her over his shoulder and carry her there right now.

She ignored his question but remained where she stood. “Suddenly my humiliation isn’t worth your time anymore?”

“What are you talkin’ `bout?”

“Don’t act stupid with me,” she all but spat at him. “You know EXACTLY what I’m referring to.”

“No, I really don’.” He moved sideways along the edge of the desk, desperate to put some distance between them, thanking God when she stayed put and merely turned to face him.

“Remember the time you took it upon yourself to read my letter; the one where Angel wrote about fucking me?” That was soooo very personal to violate her privacy like that and the need to exact revenge on him made her decide to taunt him in the cruelest of ways.

She waited until he nodded then gave him a sexy smile.

“So tell me, Sergeant,” she dropped her voice to a husky, suggestive whisper. “Did you like what you read?”

A series of possible ways to respond to that flashed through his mind. He definitely hadn’t liked reading about another man fucking her but he’d be damned if he’d give her the satisfaction of knowing it, so he put on the air of indifference.

“Felt sorry for you, really. But,” he sighed. “Tha‘s what you deserve for lettin’ a boy attempt to take care of a man’s job.” He had to keep from chuckling over his victory at her look of outrage and felt sure this was the end of this particular battle. Wrong!

“A man’s job?” Arghhh. “And I suppose you think you’re a man?” She was beyond mad but well over being embarrassed by him anymore, especially when she noticed he had a hard-on after her little question. “If you COULD find a woman that would LET you do your job,” she nodded at his crotch, “Maybe you wouldn’t be standing at ‘attention’.”

He opened his mouth but nothing came out. She did it again, stunned him stupid and mute.

“That’s right you heard me.” Sure, it was a cheap shot, but she wasn’t ashamed to take it. Still, she wouldn’t let up on him.

“You think you’re sooooo bad, you’re such a man... the ‘big bad’ Drill Sergeant. HAH! You can’t even take a girl to the store to buy tampons without wanting to keep it a secret. Such a man that...”

He stood there and stared, unable to tear his eyes away from the vision she created. Her words stung, every last one of them as she waved her hands about and flung insult after insult at him. His eyes went to her mouth, watching those two sweet lips moving but soon blocked out what she had to say. She was pushing him closer and closer and she had no idea. He felt millimeters away from his breaking point when he focused his attention on those sultry green eyes of hers burning with anger for him, long gorgeous hair in radiant disarray about her shoulders with a softness he knew first hand was there. His lust was mounting and he was afraid he was getting past the point of being able to control it if she didn’t leave... now!

“... the problem lies with you, Sergeant Speichart?”

“Leave it alone, Summers.” He growled at her in warning even though he hadn’t heard what she’d said.

“If it’s not you then it must be me.” He had a deadly gleam in his eye, trying to intimidate her. Well, she was no longer afraid of him.

“Erghhhh,” his voice rumbled deeply. “It’s you alright.”

“What do you want from me?” Her voice was steadily getting louder.

“You wanna know what I want?” Better be careful, li’l girl.

“Yeah, I really do.”

“You’re sure? You really wanna know what I want?” he asked in a daring voice. The ground she was treading on was more dangerous than she could ever imagine as he slowly stepped towards her, closing the distance between them.

“I asked didn’t I?” She continued to antagonize him even as she backed up against his slow, yet steady advance. “What the FUCK. DO. YOU. WANT?” she screamed at the top of her lungs as her back hit the wall.

His hand slammed the door shut loudly right next to her head, the rush of air it created making her hair fly into her face. “WHAT I WANT,” he paused to look in her eyes after screaming.

“WHAT?!?! TELL ME!!!”

He’d had enough.

“You,” he whispered.

Her mouth was suddenly crushed beneath his, shocking her eyes wide open. She couldn’t react, didn’t know how to react. He bruised her lips as he fought his way inside her mouth, his warm tongue sweeping across hers while he pressed her body into the wall. Feeling the evidence of his arousal as he ground it against her belly sent a flare of unsuspecting need to wash through her along with understanding. Oh, God. It all made sense now. Her mind spun with every memory she had of him over the last nine weeks then to everything he’d said during their heated argument. It was so clear, so obvious, how in the world had she missed it? There was definitely no thinking left to be done on the issue. Between the feel of his lean, muscular body and the intoxicating taste of his lips devouring hers, she couldn’t deny her own attraction to him. She’d come here for answers, but the delicious sensation that pooled in her underwear was proof enough what she wanted from him now.

Her lips were ripe, sweet, felt so good moving against his... he had to have more. Invading her mouth, tasting her tongue for the first time instantly had him seeking any friction he could get from her body to ease the ache between his legs. He felt her hands suddenly grab his head, her tongue play against his demanding more, making him groan as he realized she wanted him, too. His hand slid down the door and clicked both locks into place. Nothing was going to interrupt him from having her. His hands found her hips, pulling her harshly into a sudden thrust, making her whimper in need. Fuck yeah, she wants this.

They broke for air just when she thought she’d pass out. He leaned his forehead against hers, his hips still pumping against her slowly as his hands wandered down to grip her bottom.

“’M not gonna stop, Summers, I can’. You’ve pushed me too far, luv.” She nodded to acknowledge him and wound her slender arms around his neck, trying to draw him in for another kiss but he pulled away, denying her.

“Please,” she begged.

“Please what?” He knew what she wanted but he needed to hear it. Cupping her bottom, he lifted her off the ground, pleased when she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist and rubbed her heated center against him, her head falling back as she gasped. “Tell me,” he snarled.

“Ohhh. I-I need...” Why was he doing this to her? Wasn’t it obvious? Could she be any clearer on the issue now that he had her writhing against him like a cat in heat?

“Say it... please?”

His voice held the slightest hint of desperation to it though he phrased it more like a command than a question. First he’d driven her insane with his cruelty and now he was driving her insane with the need to feel him inside her. She very gently placed her right hand to the back of his head and rested the left on his shoulder. Long seconds passed as she studied him and this moment; the feel of his steely chest as it heaved against hers, making her nipples long to be sucked between those incredible lips, those intense blue eyes no longer pinning her with malice but cradling hers with unfulfilled need, the feel of his length against her sensitive clit, all of it making her want to whisper the words that would take them there.

“Fuck me, Spike.”

There was no sweeter song to be heard than that which fell from her lips with those three simple words. He kissed her passionately, growling deep from within his throat. She’s mine.

She clung to him as he pulled her away from the wall, circling the room to find something else to press her up against, bumping into the far wall sent pictures smashing to the floor with the sound of broken glass. He stumbled back as she hitched her body higher on his, seeking to lock her ankles together, holding him hostage with her long, shapely legs. He maneuvered his grip firmly around her waist, holding her still so he could run his palm along the smooth expanse of her thigh, higher and higher.

BANG!!!

The clatter of aluminum and plastic filled the room along with lust filled moans. Her back hit the window, ripping the flimsy blinds off its hinges to go crashing by their feet.

“AHHHH,” she cried out before her head slumped to rest against his shoulder. His hand found its way up her shorts and inside her panties. His fingers swirled around her opening, teasing, probing, drawing her moisture out to coat her swollen lips.

“Chris’, luv,” he panted as he stared out the window, fully aware that if anyone were to walk by they would know without a shadow of a doubt what he was doing to her. It turned him on, made him press her even harder against the glass. The entire world could find out and he still wouldn’t care, all he could concentrate on was the silky feel of her slick heat on his fingers as he curled two inside her. “YES!!!” She was more than ready for him.

She yelped in surprise when he unexpectedly pulled his fingers away from her needy center. Gripping her tightly about the waist with both hands, he spun them around and crossed the room in three swift strides towards the desk. His fingers dug painfully into her skin as he let go of her with one hand, using it to clear the desk in one broad sweep, sending everything to scatter across the floor, the sound of ceramic mugs shattering into a thousand pieces the moment they met with the hard tile.

Laying her down, he reached behind his back to break the hold her legs had on his waist and spread her thighs wide. God, she was a sight. Her hair fanned out underneath her, her body heaving with need, her lips swollen with his kisses. He placed a palm to her stomach and slid her shirt up, exposing her breasts to his hungry gaze.

“Beautiful,” he whispered. He bent over and pulled one rosy peak into his mouth while caressing the neglected breast, measuring its weight in his hand. “Mmmmm, mmph.” He swirled his tongue around the delicate bud, over and over as she clasped her hands to his head, holding him to her, encouraging him to suckle her pert mound. “You’re perfect,” he murmured. “Every inch of you.” Her hips began wiggling underneath him; her tiny hands moving down his sides to yank and pull the shirt from his pants. He heard his belt coming unclasped and knew her desperation matched his own. He couldn’t deny himself any longer.

My GOD, he was doing such amazing, blissful things with his tongue. She writhed beneath him, straining for more contact; her fingers worked his shirt, his belt buckle, any barrier that stood between them. She was rapidly losing herself in his scent, his strength, the dizzying sensations he produced as he lapped at her tits... until it was gone, replaced by a cold rush of air, making her cry in outrage at the loss of his warm mouth. She opened her eyes and shuddered when he ordered her in a deep, raspy voice.

“Take your clothes off.” He watched her obey without hesitation as he reached for the wallet in his back pocket.

She hurriedly drew her knees up to shed her shorts and underwear, throwing them heedlessly to the ground alongside her shirt.

With the condom in place, he kept himself busy while waiting for her. He could scarcely believe this was happening. This strong, feisty spitfire of a blonde who’d occupied his fantasies for weeks now was taking her clothes off, preparing herself to let him have her. Even if it were only this once, it was a dream come true.

The erotic sight of the man she was about to allow inside her body made her gasp in awe. With his eyes closed and head rolled back, he stood proudly between her thighs, unashamedly stroking himself with one hand while the other sought purchase on the corner of the desk, waiting for her. He’s huge! The realization of what was about to take place hit her right before it happened.

Opening his eyes, seeing her naked and spread wide before him ready, waiting, wanting, willing to sate his lust had him reaching under her waist to grasp her firmly around the hips.

She felt him jerk her violently forward until her ass hung dangerously off the desk. Still holding his cock in one hand she held her breath as he placed the head against her opening and gripped the desk’s edge tightly under her fingers. She knew their coupling wasn’t going to be gentle, still, she hadn’t braced herself nearly enough for just how rough this ride would be.

“AHHHH!” She screamed as he pulled her sharply onto his cock, burying himself completely. He was so hard and thick, filling her up, stretching her in every direction imaginable. All she could do was lay there as he held onto her hips and set a brutal pace, pounding into her while his dog tags swung forward then back to rattle against his chest with each thrust.

“Buffy!” he snarled. She felt like heaven. What he wouldn’t have given to start things off slow but it wasn’t meant to be. Feeling her scorching heat surround him, he reveled in her tightness as he pumped in and out of her slick channel.

She was torn between watching his razor sharp hips flexing into her or just shut her eyes and enjoy the glorious feel of him. Choosing to watch, she mapped out his every feature as it moved. His shoulders, biceps, forearms, every corded muscle in his body from his square jaw clenching around gritted teeth to the rippling six pack of his perfect abs twisting beneath flawless alabaster skin sent her spiraling in search of release.

The erotic sight of his cock being swallowed by her body far exceeded any fantasy he could have possibly envisioned. Suddenly, he felt her walls flutter around him and knew he couldn’t let her cum without following right behind her... and he most definitely didn’t want this to end yet. He ceased all movement to haul her up from underneath her shoulders.

“Hang onto me, luv.” Holding her close, he stood up straight, bringing her with him. Unwilling to pull out of her snug passage for even a moment, he swiftly moved to the chair and sat down, growling as her weight bore down on his length, drawing him deeper inside her welcoming heat. “So hot and tight. Such a wet li’l kitten.” He was beside himself with pleasure when she automatically began riding him, her walls massaging his shaft within her exquisite depths as he gripped her luscious bottom firmly in each hand, aiding her by raising and lowering her over the entire length of his manhood. Again and again, he lifted her tiny figure up until the head of his shaft threatened to pop out then brought her slamming back down, filling her, hearing her wet pussy make the sweetest sucking noises as it met with the base of his cock.

“Been bloody fantasizin’ `bout this forever.” She made a stunning sight with her hands gripping his shoulders, her gorgeous form leaning away from him at an angle, pretty little tits bouncing. “You feel even better than, mmmm, I thought you would.” Unable to resist the tantalizing sway of her breasts, he leaned forward to capture one diamond hard peak between his lips. Gliding his hands up her slender waist he pulled her down, held her flush to rock her hips back and forth over his cock in a sawing motion, trying to drive her need higher.

“OHHHH.” It was a mind numbing sensation of which she’d never experienced before as he suckled her nipple, striking the sensitive bundle of nerves with precision deep inside her... over and over. Angel had never done anything to her quite like this. As if reading her mind, he released her breast and spoke of her ex.

“Did your precious Angel ever make you feel this good?” He was determined to show her what it was like to have a real man. “Tell me!” He snarled.

“N-no.”

“No what, Buffy?”

He unexpectedly lifted her up then brought her down swift and hard, causing her to cry out. Clasping one arm about her waist, the other gripped her back, his fingertips dug into the top of her shoulder to draw her flush against his chest, encouraging her to start riding him again.

“No. No, he’s, ohhhhh, never made me, unghh... feel like this.”

“Good girl.” He latched onto her mouth, pleased when her hand flew up to grab the back of his head. She opened up for him, allowing his tongue inside to duel with hers.

He moaned into her mouth and she could taste every tremor in his voice as the rich vibration dripped down her throat and straight to her core to ache and pulse with need. His lips, hands, hips, every part of his body molded so perfectly to hers... it had to be fate and not chance they were having this dance.

“Do you like feelin’ my cock thrustin’ inside that hot li’l quim of yours?”

God, he was so downright dirty in his talk. She never took herself to be the kind of girl to go for that, but he made it sound so right and GOD he felt so good... everything about him was turning her on.

He really hated having to wear a condom right now. She was twitching madly around his manhood, driving him insane with the desire to coat her trembling passage with his ecstasy. Somehow he managed to regain control of himself and slowed his movements considerably in order to stave off her impending release as well as his own.

“DON’T. Don’t, stop. Please.”

“Then start talkin’.” He pinned her eyes with his, demanding she do as he told her. “Tell me... do you like it when I do this?” He reached a hand between them and pressed a thumb to her clit, rubbing it hard in slow circles.

“YES! Oh God, yes.”

“Such a good girl.” He kissed her lips, chin, cheek and down the long column of her throat.

He picked up the pace again, but not nearly as fast as she wished he would. How, why, what was he doing to her? She came here a determined woman with a sole purpose, a mission, had even succeeded in getting the upper hand on him, and now? He’d reduced her to a quivering mass of need, willing to do or say whatever he wanted just so he’d keep moving. He’d placed her under his command again, barking out orders fueled by lust and she was executing them without question. She hated herself for it, hated him for it, but damned if she wasn’t enjoying every erotic second of it... of him.

“Are you close, pet? Can you feel your body wantin’ to cum all over me?” She nodded between the most delightful, pleasure-filled whimpers.

“Y-yes.”

“Tell me, pigeon. Tell Spike how bad you want him to make you cum.”

She felt him throbbing inside her, every rapid beat of his heart that filtered from his chest to hers shot straight down to resonate itself through his shaft and against her walls.

Her need for release became unbearable, like torture and had her begging him with her eyes.

This magnificent woman who’d tormented his every waking thought was now shuddering around him, her greedy little pussy gripping him tighter and tighter with every passing moment. Only he could give her what she needed right now and knowing that filled him with pride. Only one thing could possibly be more gratifying than knowing this and it was to make sure she understood that; understood that he, and only he, was responsible for her pleasure.

“Tell me, Buffy, or I’ll stop,” he threatened. There was no way on earth he could actually stop, but she didn’t have to know that. A few seconds passed before he chastised her silence. “Thought I taught you how to follow an order, luv.”

She could barely form a coherent thought much less talk but when he slowed down again and scolded her for her lack of discipline, she quickly found her voice. “I want you to make me cum.”

“Tha’s my girl.” He rewarded her by increasing the speed of his thrusts and moved in for a heated kiss.

My girl? Did he really think she belonged to him? She certainly did right now... and she knew it. His kiss was amazing, drawing her deeper under his spell. The passion he poured into her mouth, into every stabbing thrust between her thighs set off the stirrings of an orgasm to wind swiftly through her womb and coil around his cock.

“Look at me, baby.” He was desperate to see the pleasure she was experiencing. Threading his fingers into the golden silk of her hair, he rubbed her cheek gently with his thumb, coaxing her eyes to look at him. Beautiful. As they fluttered open he was filled with a deep sense of awe and wonder when he beheld the heavenly vision she created with those twin green pools glazed over with such passion that she stared sightlessly back at him, lost in her release... in him. Her hips took on a beat of their own; set to the music of the sweet kittenish mewls that escaped her throat.

He had to shake himself sober from the drunkenness of both their passions.

“Tha’s it, fuck yourself on my cock, cum for me, baby,” he persuaded her and she let it all go with a sharp cry as he held her tight in his arms, head buried in her neck, pumping his hips to keep her cumming. “Beautiful girl, perfect girl.” He murmured nonsense against her skin over and over about how good she felt, how pleased he was with her.

The intensity of her orgasm shocked her as he carried her body to indescribable heights. He surrounded her in every way imaginable, his scent, his warm embrace, the steady rhythm he rocked her body with, inside and out he made her feel like a woman, sending her head-long into a realm of pleasure she never imagined possible.

She hated being told what to do, but this was decidedly the finest position she could ever hope to find herself in... completely under his authority. He used that authority over her body to dominate her senses, draw out her pleasure as she continued to spasm around him, lost to all but the bliss coursing through her body. She held his head against her neck and took in the pretty words of praise he lavished her with. Had he cum yet? She didn’t think so and was about to ask when he drew back to stare her down with raw, primal need emanating from his eyes to let her know.

“My turn.”

He barely survived not spilling his load she looked and felt so bloody good when she came. Grabbing her waist, he pulled her off his body then stood. Spinning her around, he pushed her over the desk with a single hand to her back, presenting her ass to his hungry gaze. She looked gorgeous in this submissive position and he knew he wasn’t going to last long. Guiding his cock back to her opening, he growled as he sheathed himself inside her wet, warm depths again.

“Ahhh. W-what are you... you, OH!”

She felt like a rag doll the way he was manhandling her. She hadn’t even finished riding out the wave of ecstasy he’d created for her before she came face to face with the grainy wood of his desk, his cock piercing her from behind.

“Don’ ever think you’re fat, pet. You have the most beautiful arse I’ve ever seen, just right for...” Slap! Maybe he shouldn’t have done that but he couldn’t resist. A part of him wondered if he couldn’t convince her to enjoy this sort of rough treatment. Then he realized he’d never have a chance to find that out and it made him take her harder than before, fucking her with everything he had.

“AHH!” she gasped from the surprising sting of his palm. Then his words registered in her head... he didn’t think she was fat? He liked her like this? She’d have to think about that later, she mused, as his assault to her overheated sex took on a fierce, animalistic quality. There were three noises echoing off the walls, exciting her beyond belief; him... grunting like a wild beast as he drove into her, dog tags... jingling against his chest and the sound of his flesh slapping against hers.

He was by no means a selfish lover, in fact, if only he could have her again... if only... he’d show her just how very giving he could be. He grabbed her hair and yanked on it, ignoring her little cry of pain in order to raise her body away from the desk then soothed her by reaching around to cup her mound with his right hand and stimulate the tiny button of her womanhood, causing her to moan in pleasure.

“`M sorry, baby. Don’ wanna hurt, unghh... you. Jus’ make you feel good,”

His hot breath floated across her ear, causing goose bumps to form everywhere on her body.

“So very... very good.”

He was going to talk her into another orgasm, she was sure of it. He purred sexily against her skin, sending a shockwave of pleasure straight to her womb.

Reaching his left hand around to her chest, he grasped her right breast, using it to pull her into his thrusts.

“Cum for me one more time, luv, cuz `m not gonna last. You feel too good and I’ve been waitin’ so... so bloody long.” He pulled out completely to pump his length along her slick folds, teasing her a bit then with a feral growl he curved his hips upwards and penetrated her, asking her this time, “Please, Buffy?”

He pressed his finger to her clit and renewed the force of his thrusts. It was his verbal plea, however, that overwhelmed her so much that she couldn’t speak. She knew he wanted an answer when he pinched her nipple and she gasped for the breath needed in which to tell him, “Yes.”

She unexpectedly clamped down on him, strangling his cock so hard his balls tightened right before...

“Scream for me, Buffy.”

“AHHHHHH!” She broke under his expert touch.

Together they came and his hips jerked as she milked the long weeks of pent up frustration from his shaft. He felt sated yet sad. She would still haunt his dreams with a craving for which he was sure no other woman could possibly satisfy.

When at last all movement ceased, he gently eased himself out of her, rolled the condom off his cock and threw it in the trash can to his left.

It was truly an awkward moment that couldn’t help but be felt by both as he reached down and grabbed the camouflaged pants he never had a chance to fully divest himself of. He stood, fastening the buttons back into place as she turned to face him, her beautiful naked body still heaving from what they’d shared. He took steps towards her clothes that lay in a crumpled heap on the floor and retrieved them, standing back up to offer them to her in a silent order to redress herself, which she quickly did.

He couldn’t bring himself to watch her cover herself up as he pulled himself together both emotionally and physically; his keys, duffle bag, the BDU top that lay over the back of the chair he’d just fucked her sweet body in.

She dressed as quickly as she could, unsure of what to say or expect from him. What he did next stunned her.

He readied himself, sparing one last glimpse at her as he flung his duffle bag over his shoulder. She looked like pure glass, so fragile and breakable in that moment that he couldn’t stop himself from approaching her, grabbing her face to kiss her with a tenderness he hadn’t felt in ages for a woman.

Brushing his mouth against hers in the sweetest of kisses, he whispered against her lips, “Goodbye, Buffy,” and walked out the door.

tbc...

A/N: Penny for your thoughts?

Sergeant Gunn had been right. She was assigned to a MEDDAC unit and spent her first month getting settled into the real Army lifestyle. Just as he’d said, it was like any other job and she found herself enjoying it immensely and the post, well, aside from the arctic temperatures here at FT Crumb, New York, home of the light infantry division. Willow had been assigned to the same place and unit as herself and though they weren’t roommates, they lived in the same barracks just down the hall from one another. They both worked in the same medical clinic, but were to be rotating every few weeks or so to each department. For now, Willow was working alongside the doctors during the normal duty day while Buffy worked the graveyard shift in the emergency room.

Overall, life was good, life was perfect... right up until she heard that voice. Only one person in the world possessed that voice, that accent, and only one person she ever knew with that voice used the phrase...

“Bloody hell!”

Spike came into her world, or rather she into his, and for weeks on end tormented her, humiliated her and even ignored her. He spent countless hours making her life a living hell and then, then, it only took him roughly twenty minutes to turn her world completely upside down and sideways along with the contents of his office. That was one hell of a mess he left her with that to this day she wasn’t quite sure how she managed to get everything cleaned up before anyone came back. One large garbage bag and a broom took care of all that was smashed and thank God she noticed the condom in the trash can as well. All of it went into the dumpster outside the barracks and she simply hung the pictures back on the wall and reattached the blinds as best as she could.

She shrank back around the corner to stay out of sight and used the convex mirror mounted near the ceiling to confirm her suspicions.

There was Spike, being helped by another soldier as he limped his way down the hallway towards the check-in window.

The four long months spent at FT Sham in Texas going to school gave Buffy time to think about Spike, a little too much time. She was angry that he’d treated her like crap all because he ‘had a thing’ for her and couldn’t handle it, angry that he left her behind with the room in shambles to clean up, angry that he left her with nothing but a kiss, angry that he just plain left. The only thing she blamed herself for was her own attraction to him and giving into that attraction. Like she could help it? After a while, she knew it was useless to dwell on any of it. He had an itch... an itch she was more than willing to scratch and what happened was done and over with. They both got what they wanted and were never supposed to see each other again.

Yet here he was, about ready to enter her world again and there wasn’t much she could do to avoid it. This was her job, to be the first to see incoming patients, make sure their medical notes were written up before the doctor even came in to see them. There was only one other medic on duty with her tonight, her roommate Faith Lehane. They got along well enough and so maybe she could talk Faith into covering for her until he was released? Well, she supposed that depended on exactly why he was here. He was limping, so that would mean X-rays were needed and if the bone was broken...

“Eeeep!” She was pulled from her thoughts by a tapping on her shoulder. She turned to see Major Maclay, the doctor on duty that night. She’d become fast friends with the shy brainy woman even though the stupid fraternization regulations were supposed to squash any friendliness beyond the workplace. Like very many people followed those rules anyway as long as no sexual boundaries were crossed among the officers and enlisted folks?

“I’m s-sorry, Buffy. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“It’s okay, I’m okay,” she panted from her fright then peeked back around the corner to watch as Faith checked Spike in.

“Do you know him?” It was easy to see Buffy was hiding from one of the two men that had just arrived for a reason.

She turned her attention to Tara and motioned for her to walk further away before saying anything. “He was my Drill Sergeant.” She watched Tara’s eyes go wide.

“The one you said made your life a living hell?” Buffy nodded. “But, he doesn’t have that kind of authority over you anymore. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”

“I’m not afraid of him,” she quickly defended herself. She most definitely wasn’t afraid of him. “It’s just... I-I. There’s a teensy bit more to the story than what I told you, but... Well...” Oh God, she didn’t want to have to say she got ‘drilled’ by the Sergeant either.

“Look, its okay if-if you don’t want to tell me. If he does try to give you any problems, I’ll step in, okay?”

“Okay.” She stood tall and thought about how ridiculous she was acting. She was a grown woman and he was a grown man. She’d gotten over what happened a while back and more than likely he had too. There was no reason for him to be discourteous towards her. It was just sex after all... of the mind-blowing, earth-shattering variety, but just sex nonetheless. Sure it would be awkward seeing him again, but if she just stuck to the business of her job then everything should be fine. He would see her professionalism and act accordingly and civil... she hoped.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

His toe hurt so bad he was certain he would be told it was broken once they took an X-ray. He was supposed to be in the field right now, finishing out the last day of a three week field training exercise. Instead, some bloody idiot decided to drop the hitch of a tactical vehicle on his foot before checking to see he had a proper hold on it.

He sat on top of one of the examination tables in the empty open bay of the examination room after getting checked in and was waiting for the doctor when his nose picked up a particular scent. A scent so familiar that at other times when he thought he’d smelled it, he would stop whatever it was he was doing and search for the source only to be met with disappointment. He learned to ignore it eventually because his nose had tricked him several times over the past few months, always filling him with hope... the hope that it was her.

He swore he was being tortured by a higher power for having behaved badly towards Buffy. To finally ‘have’ the object of his desire and then, through the fate of government orders, never see her again? They never should have done what they did because what he feared would be the result was exactly what happened... that she still haunted his every fantasy, so much so that he hadn’t slept with a another woman since her.

The scent was getting stronger but he continued to ignore it. The pain from his foot kept him focused on trying to unlace his boot as he listened to a set of footsteps approach and knew whoever was coming would want to look at his injury.

“Here, let me help with that, Sergeant.” She could do this, no big deal plus she didn’t want him to move anything about in the wrong way if his foot was badly broken.

Her voice startled him and when he looked up, he thought perhaps his eyes were now betraying him. But there she was, just as, no, even more beautiful than he remembered. His little sex kitten dragged a stool in front of him and sat down, waiting to take his boot off for him.

“I have somethin’ else you could help me with,” he replied, sneering as he raked his eyes over her body suggestively. “When you’re finished with that, of course.”

Oh no, he didn’t! Yes, he did. He went there. The very last place she would have guessed. His arrogance really knew no bounds. He was practically undressing her with his eyes. Forget the fact he was still hot as hell and her attraction for him hadn’t gone away, the fact he hadn’t changed one bit irked her to no end. Well, she wasn’t going to play. This was her job and she would be civil and that would be the end of it once he understood it.

“Your foot, please?” She opened her hands and waited for him.

“If tha’s really where you wanna start, pet.” He wasn’t put off in the least she didn’t take the bait. This was his girl after all, tough, strong, defiant... God, he couldn’t wait to bed her again and he knew it wouldn’t take him very long to get her there.

She refused to look up at him or even say a word. Instead, she simply took his calf in her hands, instructed him to scoot back so his foot hung off the bed and finished working the laces from his boot.

“Ahhh, oww, oww,” he hissed as she slid his boot off then watched her carefully peel his sock off to look at his swollen big toe. “Wha’s the prognosis?” He was a bit curious why she chose to remain so quiet but also how well she’d actually learned her job.

“I don’t think it’s broken but you’ll need an X-ray to confirm that. I’m going to ask you some questions so I can fill out your chart then the doctor will come in and have a look.” She took her clipboard and jotted down a few notes on her observation, asked him some standard questions then began a more thorough physical examination.

“Can you feel this?” She placed her finger on his toe and tapped on it lightly, noting he instantly winced.

“Oh yeah, I can feel it baby,” he hid his pain and decided to keep goading her. There was no question in his mind that she would jump at the chance to sleep with him again and since he figured she was just being shy about it, he’d make it easy on her.

“Can you wiggle it for me?” When he didn’t move it, she looked from his foot to his face to find him crudely waggling his tongue at her. She rolled her eyes at him then crossed her arms, waiting for him to take her seriously. It was obvious now he was trying to get a reaction out of her and she could deal with that by not responding. What bothered her was her sneaking suspicion that he might still have a thing for her and somehow, he thought she was easy pickings, that she would just jump right back in the sack with him. Well, he was wrong. Sure, they could and it would probably be amazing but she still hated him. There wasn’t one thing she found attractive about his ‘person’ other than his looks. What they had was a one time deal and the sooner he understood that the better.

Wha’s her problem? I know she wants it. “I can give you a better demonstration if you’d like, Summers. But we’ll need a bit more privacy.”

She gave him a bored look. “I think I’ll pass.” He just doesn’t know when to quit.

He chuckled at her. “You don’ know what you’d be missin’.”

“If it was anything similar to your last performance, I’m thinking not.” It seemed being equally crude and blunt was the only way she was going to get through to him. And the urge to take him down a couple of notches was getting harder to resist because he was acting too smug right now.

“What?!?!” You lying bloody bint. He sat up and scooted down towards her then leaned in dangerously close to her face and dropped his voice to a seductive purr, “ You can’ deny `m the best you ever...”

“Is there a problem here?”

The blonde couple whipped their heads around in the direction of the voice to see Tara standing there with her hands on her hips. She hadn’t been eavesdropping but she heard enough of the conversation as she neared the examination room to understand the exact nature of that ‘teensy bit’ of information Buffy left out about her former Drill Sergeant. This had her upset, thinking that this creep had somehow abused his authority and made her friend sleep with him.

“There’s no problem, ma’am.” And there wasn’t as far as she was concerned. She could handle Spike just fine on her own.

“Private Summers, I need to see you for a moment.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Buffy got up and left a nervous looking Spike behind. She herself was now getting nervous, wondering just how much Tara had overheard. Once they were down the hall and out of earshot, she launched a series of questions at her. Ten minutes later and Buffy spilled the entire story, assuring her what happened between her and Spike was not only consensual but he wasn’t even part of cadre anymore when they did finally, ahem, ‘get together’.

“He’s just being an ass right now. I think he thinks I want to sleep with him again.” Tara gave her a half smile as if she didn’t believe her. “Which I so... am... not.”

“Uh-huh.” Her friend hadn’t given her any of the ‘details’, but the blush on her face when she admitted they ‘tore the office up’, as she put it, suggested it was an experience she wouldn’t mind repeating. “There’s nothing wrong or illegal about whether you do or don’t. I just thought he was harassing you.”

“He is but it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Great, Tara didn’t believe her. It didn’t matter though, she knew it wasn’t going to happen again and she could definitely handle him. “He just makes me so angry with his... cocky attitude. I just want to slap it right off his face.” She was fuming now but started giggling the instant Tara openly laughed.

“I can tell. Wellllllll, just shy of being disrespectful towards his rank, I got your back if y-you maybe want to... verbally slap him up a bit?”

“Really?” She brightened at this when Tara nodded. “If he keeps this up, I just might have to.”

Spike was a tad worried what Buffy might be discussing with the doctor, but when she came back in with nothing but a wheelchair and a bored look on her face he relaxed.

“Get in.” He just stared blankly at her, and she couldn’t hide the irritation in her voice. “The doctor ordered an X-ray so, get. In.”

“I can bloody well walk on my own. No thanks.” No way was he going to spend any time in a wheel chair. He hopped off the bed and tried to walk but the pain from trying to place even a small amount of pressure on his injured foot had him hopping and reaching out for support.

She caught him under his arm and sighed exasperatedly at him like a child. Turning him towards the chair, she none too gently pushed him into it and smiled triumphantly at him. “Sure you can,” patting him on the head, she added, “Now be a good boy.” Adjusting one side of the wheelchair, she lifted his leg up until it was resting straight out in front of him.

He grumbled under his breath as she wheeled him towards the X-ray department, thinking not only was she being difficult when she bloody well knew what he could do for her, but now, she’s treating me like a child. He wasn’t about to give up on her though, oh no. Now that he knew she was assigned to the same post he was, he had even more reason to get her out of his fantasies and into his bed.

“Wanna see if this chair holds up as well as the last one we broke in?”

So much for civility. “Sorry, but I think it’s illegal to take advantage of the disabled.”

“Errgh, ’m not bloody disabled.” Bitch!

“Would you prefer the term impotent?”

“Oi. Have a seat in my lap and I’ll show you impotent.”

Looking around to make sure no one saw, she gave him a shove and let him go wheeling down hall, “Ooops. Sorry.”

He grabbed the wheels right before the chair hit a wall after it veered left and swung it around to glare at her. “`S not funny, Summers. I could’ve been hurt.”

“Nice save, Sergeant Special Olympics.” She pointed towards the technician who came out the door behind him. “Have fun.” With a satisfied smirk on her face, she waved then turned her back on him and exaggerated the sway in her hips a bit more as if to say, ‘you won’t be seeing any of this’.

He had to chuckle at her fire. It was, after all, one of the things he loved most about her and seeing her purposely flaunt the gorgeous ass of hers at him like that only reaffirmed she wanted him. Huh, she lost some weight. Damn, looks like he’d have to find a way to pack a few more pounds back on her lovely figure.

After they finished taking pictures of his foot, the X-ray tech wheeled him back to the examination room where he laid waiting for nearly thirty minutes by himself. He tried not to stew over what was keeping Buffy from coming back to see him, but instead made use of the time to figure out what he needed to do or say in order to break through her tough little façade. He didn’t mind the chase, not at all actually. If she wanted to give chase to him he would enjoy it, but it was the kill he was after, especially because it was her.

He watched as Buffy, the doctor and the female soldier that checked him in all came walking towards him together.

“I have some good news and some bad news, Sergeant Speichart,” Tara spoke. “The good news is that you haven’t broken any bones. The bad news,” she hung up his X-ray and turned on the light, and pointed to the deformed image of his big toe. “Your first distal phalanx is dislocated from the metatarsal phalangeal joint and I’m going to have to put it back into place.”

“My who did what, ma’am?”

“The bone of your big toe is out of joint and I’m going to have to pop it back in.” She looked to Buffy and Faith and nodded her head. “I want you to take a side and hold him down for me.”

“Wh-why do they have to hold me down?”

Buffy giggled internally at his nervous expression. He had no idea.

“Trust me, Sergeant Speichart. I’m not going to lie to you and say this won’t hurt, but it needs to be done and then you should be fine.”

The two girls took a strong hold to his forearms with one hand then leaned their weight onto his chest with their free arm. This would be a bloody wet dream come true, having three pretty girls pin him down to a bed if it weren’t for the fact he was about to have pain inflicted... and not of the kinky variety.

“On my count of one...” Tara began slowly and watched the girls press into her patient harder. “Two...” she took hold of his toe and ankle respectfully to get ready for the jerking motion that would reset his bone.

Buffy leaned her mouth towards his ear and whispered, “Scream for me, Spike.”

“Three.”

“ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHH. AHHHHH, BLOODY HELL!!!” He broke out into a cold sweat and felt as if he might pass out. The pain was beyond anything he’d ever experienced as it made his heart race and his head light.

“That should do the trick,” Tara spoke confidently. “I’ll need another X-ray to confirm the bone is back in place. In the meantime, Private Summers will you wait here until he’s ready then wheel him back down?” She threw Buffy a quick wink then left the room with Faith in tow.

Turning to Spike, she actually felt bad for him. He was deathly pale, eyes closed, panting heavily and sweating from the pain. She opened one of the steel drawers that held some medical supplies, pulled out a white cloth and proceeded to drench it under the run of cold water in the nearby sink.

Spike’s eyes flew open the second he felt something cold and wet against his forehead. He looked up to see Buffy dabbing the sweat from his face and head carefully with a look of genuine concern on her face. Was that all it took to get her attention? My being in pain? He smiled at her and spoke in a ragged breath still filled with pain. “Care to kiss me and make it better?”

Oh, that was it! “You know what? I really WAS feeling sorry for you until you opened your big mouth.” She chucked the rag at his chest and started walking away.

“Come on, Summers,” he pleaded. “Come back, ’m sorry.” He enjoyed seeing her all fired up and mad but when she meant to actually leave him alone, he had to apologize. “Please? Stay with me?” He called her again and smiled cockily when she came walking back towards him.

She turned and glared at him. He still wore that damn smirk, but her legs carried her back regardless.

Good, got you right where I want you. He picked the cloth up and held it out. “Care to pick up where you left off?” She didn’t take it right away. “Please?” He jutted his bottom lip out and put on his best pout.

God he was so infuriating, especially because she found his pout impossibly gorgeous. It was that stupid pout that had her snatching the rag back from him. She smacked it against his forehead to show her disapproval of his childish behavior.

“Oi, pet! Go easy, ’m in pain here.” He was most definitely getting turned on over her look of irritation. He couldn’t help it; she was absolutely gorgeous when she was angry, especially when it was with him.

She dabbed at his forehead and relaxed her expression, trading it out for a false one of concern. “I’m sorry. You really are in a lot of pain, aren’t you?” She tried to keep the sarcasm out of her voice after an idea sprang to mind. One in which she hoped she’d get the help she needed in order to implement it.

He turned puppy eyes on her but hammed it up, “Yeah, but it feels good to have you takin’ care of me.” He winked at her as he turned on the charm and smiled when he saw it working.

She took her time and tried to soothe him with the cloth before exclaiming, “I’m sorry, I almost forgot something.” She set the rag down and looked back at him, patting his hand as she smiled. “I’ll be right back.”

She strolled out of the room and headed straight for Tara who looked up in time to see her approach.

“Our patient is still in... let’s say a TREMENDOUS amount of pain. In my professional opinion, I think he should have something that would provide some... immediate relief?”

Tara understood perfectly well what direction her friend was heading in over this one. They both smiled wide at one another and spoke in unison.

“Demerol!”

“Allow me to get that order squared away for you right now.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy walked back in with a white lab coat on, coming towards him with a genuine smile on her pretty face. Thinking it was almost too good to be true, he regarded her with a bit of apprehension but smiled at her all the same. She reached into a nearby box and pulled out a pair of latex gloves and quickly donned them.

“Uhm, what are you doing?”

“I brought you something for the pain, Sergeant.” She tried hard to keep any hint of her deception out of her voice.

“Since when does it involve latex?” Now he was nervous. She was definitely up to something, especially when she turned her back to him and started fiddling with something of which he couldn’t see no matter how far he craned his neck to the side in order to catch a glimpse. When he saw a sliver size stream of liquid shoot up in the air in front of her, he panicked.

She turned around holding the syringe and watched him go pale again.

“No, uh-uh, you’re not coming anywhere near me with that.” He practically screamed at her in response to the size of the needle she held and crawled away from her up the bed, trying to put as much distance between them as possible. “Get away from me, you-you crazy bint!”

Tara heard the commotion, was waiting for it actually and poked her head around the corner. “Are you giving my medic a hard time, Sergeant?”

He looked up at the doctor in full panic mode. “No way is she coming anywhere near me w-with THAT!” He was scared out of his mind.

“Excuse me?” She looked at him in irritation. “She’s following MY orders and you WILL hold still and do whatever she says, because believe me when I say... you don’t want me to come in there and give it to you.” She smiled at his increased look of panic. “Do we understand each other, Sergeant?”

“Y-yes... ma’am.” Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!!!

He watched the doctor disappear as Buffy set the needle down. He closed his eyes and rolled his t-shirt over his shoulder in preparation, praying he wouldn’t pass out for real this time.

Oh my God! It suddenly clicked into place. He had the same look, the same pale look on his face when the nurse was readying her for an IV those many months ago when she was in the ER during Boot Camp. He was afraid of needles. She had to stop herself from laughing. Here he was, the ‘Big Bad’ strong, hoo-ah type soldier and afraid of a little needle. Okay, granted it was a slightly larger gauge needle than necessary, thanks to Tara, but still. She waited until he opened his eyes again and shook her head, “Uh-uh, on your feet, pretty boy.”

“Oh, fuck me.” He all but mumbled. This was a nightmare come true.

“What was that?” He replied with a grumbly ‘nothing’ as he stood up and faced her. “Turn around and drop ‘em.”

He was still panicking inside but tried his best not to let it show as he did as instructed then leaned his forearms on the bed, assuming the position.

“What’s the matter, Sergeant? No witty banter?” She smiled when he growled then looked down after hearing him fiddling with his belt. Oh my. She forgot just how nice an ass he had. Actually, this was the first time she’d ever had a proper view of it without any clothes on. The memory of their hot encounter came back to mind and she tried to shake it off but it was difficult. He really did have the most perfect ass she’d ever had the pleasure of seeing.

He expected her to just stick him with no warning but when he felt nothing, he opened his eyes even as he clenched his muscles in preparation. There was a small mirror on the wall in front of him and he could see her face, her expression clearly... she was ogling him again, just like he’d caught her that one day back at Basic Training. Even the knowledge of the impending pain he was about to receive couldn’t help him from feeling a sense of satisfaction over discovering he was right to assume she still wanted him as much as he wanted her.

She was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed him tightening his butt cheeks as well as the sheets and looked up. Arghh, she immediately noticed her own reflection in the mirror as well as his own. He gave her a knowing sneer, telling her he’d caught her admiring his, ahem, ‘assets’.

“Enjoying the view back there, Summers?”

She returned his smirk with one of her own. “Don’t tense or it’ll hurt worse.” She looked down briefly in order to pinch the fleshy portion of his right buttock between her thumb and first finger, readying the needle before looking back to his reflection. “On the count of three.” He closed his eyes again. “One... two...”

“ARGHH!!! Where the BLOODY hell did three go?” The needle sank into his flesh and he could feel the medicine fill his arse like peanut butter, slow, thick and full of pain. He felt her pull the needle out and spared a glance back to the mirror in time to see her giving him that familiar saccharin smile.

She held a cotton ball to the spot and pulled out the band aid she had prepared and secured it, giving his bottom a playful smack before telling him, “You need to go back to X-ray now.” She was beside herself trying to hold back her laughter at his shocked expression over her little spank. It pleased her that he didn’t give her anymore hassles as he pulled up his pants and gingerly sat back down in the wheelchair, allowing her to take him back down for X-rays without a single snide remark escaping his lips.

Fifteen minutes more passed once he was back in the examination room before Buffy came back in with a set of crutches and handed him some paperwork and two bottles.

“You’re being assigned quarters. This is a doctor’s note confining you to your home for twenty four hours, some anti-inflammatory and pain meds. You’re to return to sick call on Monday at zero-seven-hundred hours for re-evaluation. Don’t wear a shoe in the meantime until the swelling goes down.” She held the crutches out to him once he’d pocketed the paper and medication.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “As if ’m going to use those?” He nodded towards the crutches.

“It’s that or the chair, your choice,” she said matter-of-factly, then smiled when he snarled and snatched them away from her... at least until that sexy smirk of his returned.

Quarters, huh? “Hmmmm,” he purred, turning on the charm. “Since `m bein’ ordered to stay at home, I was wonderin’. What time do you get off work, Summers?”

She wasn’t shocked at his suggestion since he’d proved she’d been right all along. Not only did he still have a ‘thing’ for her, but he thought she’d have no reservations about sleeping with him. Silly Sergeant. She checked her watch, noting it was 3:30 AM. “My shift doesn’t end for another three and a half hours. Sorry.”

“I got nothing but time, luv... if you want my address?” Oh yeah, she was definitely going to be showing up the second she got off work and soon... she’d be getting off all over his cock.

“Oh, really?” She walked towards him, a seductive smile gracing her lips. He backed, or rather hopped away from her nervously as she slinked forward, hips swaying completely on purpose. Taking his hand, she held it up and ran her fingers across his palm with a light tickle. She was very pleased she was getting to him as she watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat while swallowing hard.

“Mmmm, you have nice hands. Strong,” she leaned in close, forcing his head back to hit the wall as her lips neared his. “Warm.”

Licking her lips as if readying to kiss him, he parted his own instinctively, hoping she was indeed going to do just that.

“Capable.” She punctuated the ‘p’ and lowered his hand between their bodies, twisting it, placing it over his groin. Oh yes, he was hard. Even though she wasn’t touching it, was holding his own hand over it, it was very obvious. She applied pressure, forcing him to rub his palm up and down the entire length then squeezed.

“Mmmm, just as big and hard as I remember. Bet he could use some relief right now, don’t you think?”

“Uh-huh.” He managed to choke out. It... he could definitely use something right now... her.

Glancing side to side to make sure there was still no one around, she whispered. “There’s a bathroom in the hallway, two doors down on the left.”

He banged his head against the wall twice and closed his eyes. He could scarcely believe his deepest fantasy was about to come true... to be back inside her. Groaning at the mere thought, he couldn’t wait to get to that bathroom, lock the door so he could shag her good and proper.

“Sneak in there when no one is looking. I think he deserves what I’m about to propose and I really,” her tongue darted out to swipe his bottom lip, “REALLY,” doing it again, “Want to put these capable hands of yours to good use.” Giving his cock a quick squeeze so he fully understood, as she herself almost wanted to do what he was thinking... almost. “Would you like that?”

He was panting now, nostrils flaring and jaw twitching. He hoped she would ask him to put his hands all over her gorgeous body. She leaned in close to his ear, drew his lobe inside her warm mouth to swirl her tongue over it before pulling away to answer his question for him.

“I want you to take hold of him and give yourself a dishonorable discharge.” Quick as lightening, she kissed his cheek and stepped away from him, reveling at the look of shock on his face. “Have a nice day, Sergeant.” She smiled brightly, turned on her heels and bounced out of the room, grinning widely. Hey, he said he enjoyed a good battle. What he failed to realize in this little war of theirs, where his gross underestimation of her abilities lay, was that her tactical strategy was to include ‘herself’ as part of the battle plan.

He stared after her retreating form; slack jawed from shock, hand still covering his throbbing manhood. You bloody minx. Oh ho-ho. Jus’ you wait li’l girl. Sure he was pissed and more than just a little horny. What really burned him the most was not that she’d left him hanging, but that he was horny for her and only her. The man deep down inside was disappointed with himself, too. He’d made her personal opinion of him so low that she actually took it upon herself to put him in his place... and good. He’d been nothing shy of disrespectful to her as a woman from the day they’d met, using his authority over her, using it as a weapon to drag her through the mud, using it like a club to beat her down verbally every chance he got over the weeks she’d spent in Basic Training.

Pushing his anger down in lieu of his male pride, he righted himself. “This isn’ over, Summers, not by a long shot.” He wasn’t sure how or even when, but now that he knew she was here on this post, knew where she worked, he would make her pay for humiliating him. So what if he’d mistreated her? There was no mistaking she enjoyed it when he fucked her... they’d both enjoyed it. Their little love-hate relationship was something he was counting on to exact his revenge.

A/N: More UST anyone? *Giggles*, Spike has so much to learn but I promise the road to spuffy will be thrillingly funny... and hot, *winks*. I hope you all have a wonderful week, hugs.

Eight o’clock Saturday evening found Willow in Buffy and Faith’s room; waiting for Buffy to finish readying herself so they could go out for the evening.

Faith had been asking too many questions already, but when she kept asking them after Willow arrived, Buffy decided to hell with it. She’d already told Tara what happened with Spike and now that he was stationed here, well, she figured the truth needed to come out in case he decided to harass her at some point in the future when her friends were around. It only took a few minutes to fill them in on what happened several months ago and exactly what an ass he was to her in the ER.

“Oh-my-God, Buffy. I-I mean... oh-my-God!” Willow stared at her friend in shock while Faith applauded her.

“So you and Sergeant Hottie from last night, huh?” Faith nodded in approval. “Way to go, B.”

“I can’t believe... but I have to because, I... oh WOW. This is THE Sergeant Speichart we’re talking about?” Willow was dumbfounded, although it did explain a lot.

“I’m not saying I’m proud of it, Willow. It just, well... sorta happened.”

“I just can’t get over it. All that time spent being mean to you only to find out he has a crush on you.”

“Oh no. There is no crush. No crushes to be had on either end. It was a heat of the moment, purely physical thing and it’s NEVER going to happen again. Last night, he basically acted like it would be a privilege for me to jump back into bed with him.”

“I say go for it.” Faith encouraged her.

“Uh-uh,” she shook her head. “He’s arrogant, conceited, has no respect for women, antagonistic, crude and-and...”

“And you got it bad. Admit it, B. He wouldn’t be able to get under your skin and make you react like this if you didn’t want him.”

“What?!?!” She looked from one friend to the other, both had very different expressions on their faces, but Willow’s suggested she agreed with Faith’s opinion. “Whatever. Can we go now?” Willow nodded. “You sure you don’t want to come, Faith?”

“Sorry, B. The NCO club?” She quirked an eyebrow. “Not my kind of place.”

Indeed it wasn’t. The NCO club was the government’s idea of a bar which was located directly on post. The bulk of its patrons were comprised of soldiers, whether officer or enlisted and Faith was a wild child, a bad girl of sorts that preferred the darker, more questionable kind of bars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy and Willow had just made their way inside and up to the bar when a familiar face approached them.

“Hey-hey, ladies. Don’t tell me you two are stationed here?”

“Sergeant Gunn? Oh wow, how are you?” Buffy was the first to greet him and he immediately gave both girls a quick hug, insisting that they call him Charles or just plain Gunn, that Boot Camp was over with so they could leave the formalities behind. “You were right, both Willow and I got assigned to the MEDDAC here.”

“Ah see? I wouldn’t steer you wrong. So how do you like the Army life so far?”

“Honestly? I love it.” Buffy gushed. “It’s sooooo different than anything I expected.”

“We’ve only been here for about a month but the post seems really nice.” Willow turned to pay the bartender for their sodas.

“Speaking of post, there’s someone else stationed here that you two might remember.” He was curious as to Buffy’s reaction once he told her because he was sure Spike was going to pass a brick once he found out she was here.

“Really? Who’s that?” She tried to act curious even though she was pretty sure what his answer was going to be.

“Sergeant Speichart.”

“Hmm, that’s nice.” And he thinks I care because?!?! Taking a sip of her drink she didn’t bother hiding her complete disinterest.

Exactly the kind of reaction he expected out of Buffy. Willow, however, just shrugged her shoulders like ‘big deal’. “Hey listen, my unit just finished a three week field exercise today and some of the guys are here to unwind. You two should come and hang out with us.”

“You sure we wouldn’t be interrupting any time honored, infantry beer ritual or something?” she teased. As long as Spike was on quarters he wouldn’t be showing up and it might be fun to hang out with their former, loveable Drill Sergeant.

“Nah, are you kidding me?” He pointed over to his table where two other gentlemen sat. “Those are my boys’ right there. I’m sure they won’t mind a couple of pretty females joining us but don’t worry, they wouldn’t dream of getting disrespectful towards you with me around. Come on.” What Gunn failed to tell the girls was that Spike would be joining them soon. He still thought Spike had a thing for Buffy and now that he would have to be civil to her in this new environment, well, it would make for an interesting show if nothing else.

Following him over, he quickly introduced everybody and the group of five made small talk over the next few minutes. Gunn picked on the girls for drinking Diet Coke but only managed to get Willow to cave in and have a glass of beer from the pitcher he’d ordered.

Spike walked, okay limped up to the bar and ordered himself a beer. Placing his money on the counter, he picked up his glass and looked left and right in search of Gunn before turning around to an unexpected sight. Oh, ho-ho, this is too bloody perfect. Don’ even need to chase her. He automatically assumed Buffy ran into Gunn and when she found out he would be showing up tonight, decided to sit with his buddies just so she could see him again. After her little show last night... he should be upset but he wasn’t. He deserved what she’d dished out and accepted it as par for the course because she probably didn’t want to seem too easy.

Buffy was laughing over a joke when her peripheral vision picked up a dark figure approaching the table. “Oh no, not again,” she sighed with dread.

Gunn looked over at her then in the direction of Spike and back again. “Again?”

“Uhmm, yeah, you know,” she quickly covered her tracks since it was apparent he had no idea she’d seen Spike last night. “Basic Training plus Sergeant Psycho equals Buffy’s life a living hell, remember?” She ignored the laughter around her and watched her worst enemy approach. Wearing black from head to swollen toe, the ‘bad boy’ image matched his attitude perfectly... all cock and swagger, or hobble as the case may be. The black leather duster and smirk he sported completed the overall look and figures, his crutches were nowhere in sight and he’d donned a matching slipper to go with the whole ‘dark’ ensemble. It suddenly occurred to her this was the first time she’d ever seen him in civilian clothes and though she never considered herself one to go for the ‘dangerous’ type, he made it look incredibly handsome. It really was too bad to have such good looks wasted on his type.

Oh yeah, the way her eyes were fastened to him spoke volumes about how much she wanted him. “Summers. Good to see you.”

“Thrilling.” She didn’t bother disguising the sarcasm that laced her voice and looked away from him, hoping if she ignored him long enough he might disappear in a puff of smoke. “I think I will have a beer.” She looked to Gunn who chuckled then leaned in to speak low.

“Spike really is a good guy once you get to know him.”

She whispered back, “I’ll just take your word for it, cuz really? I don’t associate with jerks.”

Too bad she was already sandwiched in between Rosenburg and Gunn or he would have sat down right next to her. The only seat left available, however, was opposite her. She had the sexiest little red halter top on that accentuated her breasts and oh yeah, once again it was clear from the tic-tac effect that she wasn’t wearing a bra.

“Gentlemen,” he nodded to his comrades and took a swig from his bottle. Seems she still preferred the chase. More than likely it was her stubborn pride and that was fine with him. A girl with her spirit was worth it, she was worth it.

“How’s the foot man?” Gunn inquired.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next hour, the club filled with people and the sound of music and laughter. Spike wasn’t laughing however, he was stewing over the fact Buffy was ignoring him. He engaged in the friendly banter going on around him but kept glancing at her, waiting impatiently for her to either look his way or direct even the smallest of comments to him. Nothing. He received nothing from her. She treated him like he wasn’t even sitting at the table.

“How about a round of shots?” Gunn suggested to which everyone shouted ‘here, here’. “Buffy, Willow, you two game?”

“Why not.” Buffy beamed then looked to Willow who shook her head. “You so have to do one with me.”

“I’ve already had a beer, Buffy. I don’t think...”

“If I’m doing one, you’re doing one.” Poor Willow looked so nervous. “Just one, pleeeeease?” The guys at the table chanted ‘shot, shot, shot’ until she finally caved in. Buffy had a slight buzz off the two beers she herself had already drunk, but it was working wonders at relaxing her. She was here to have a good time and even Spike’s presence wasn’t going to ruin it for her. So far her plan of paying him no attention seemed successful. The fact she could feel his eyes on her every now and then along with the invisible weight of contempt at her ploy was simply an added bonus.

Gunn left the table and returned with six shots of whiskey, handing them out to everyone before declaring, “Bottoms up.” Everyone downed the liquor at the same time and he focused his attention on Spike. He seemed to be sulking and there was no question in his mind the reason was because Buffy was openly ignoring him. This seemed to support the notion that not only was he attracted to her, but that she just might be attracted to him as well. He hadn’t known Buffy on a personal level for very long, but he was a good judge of character and the tiny blonde definitely had ‘character’. Personally, he thought they were perfect for each other. But the reasons for it were also the very reasons why they’d never see it. Both were strong-willed, fearless in the face of any obstacle, obstinate, equally dogmatic in their view of one another... the list could go on and on but overall, they were a lot alike and just what the other needed. Being Spike’s best friend he wanted to see him happy, particularly after two failed marriages and Buffy seemed to be his match, the right kind of woman to both challenge and complement him.

Buffy made a face as the strong liquid burned its way down her throat. “Blahhh.” She picked up a napkin, stuck her tongue out and wiped at it to get the taste off much to everyone’s amusement while Gunn asked who wanted another.

“Wha’s the matter, Summers? Too much for ya?”

She looked up at Spike, who smirked while stroking the long neck of his bottled beer suggestively. He figured any attention from her, even if negative, was better than none. She scowled at him briefly then turned to answer Gunn.

“I could definitely use another.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another thirty minutes later and Willow got asked if she’d like to dance by one of Gunn and Spike’s friends. The normally shy, red-headed girl happily went out on the dance floor more than likely due to the two beers and shot of whiskey she’d consumed. Buffy herself was feeling pretty good but knew it was time to stop or she’d wind up praying to the porcelain God before morning.

While watching her friend have a good time, she never noticed that Gunn and his other buddy got up to go to the bar for another round of drinks until Spike spoke to her.

“Well, this is a happy coincidence... seein’ you here tonight.”

“I’d like to think of it more as ill-fated chance.” Sighing as if bored, she spared him a sideways glance before looking away again.

“Oh,” he clutched his hand over his heart. “You wound me with your words, pet.” Such a sharp li’l tongue. Speaking of her tongue, an image filled his head just then, making him wonder if she liked to suc...

“You.” She pointed at him. “Talking.” She moved her hand in ‘chatting’ fashion. “Ruining my buzz. Shoosh.” She ran her fingers in a zipping motion across her lips then turned her whole body away from him.

God he loved her fire, it looked absolutely gorgeous the way it danced in her pretty green eyes. Neither of his ex-wives ever gave him a hard time quite like she was now. They were easily charmed with no need for crudity or even wooing for that matter on his part. The fact Buffy was making it difficult on him, presenting a challenge, testing his patience among other things he wasn’t used to with her spiteful comments was a huge turn on rather than if she’d just fallen into his lap with little resistance. His cock was getting hard just watching her ignore him again, thinking about how satisfying it was going to be when he finally got to shag her.

“Look. I can appreciate it when you were playin’ hard to get last night, but you really don’ have to. Not with me.” She was either going to give in or get angry, either way was fine with him. The sooner she was in his bed the better. “Admit it, you sat with Gunn jus’ waitin’ for me to show up and we both know what you want... so you can drop the act.”

You cocky bastard. Just how vain and arrogant can one man be? Her voice belied how irritated she actually was, knowing it would do no good to let him see he was ruffling her feathers. “Number one, you’re NOT supposed to be here, you’re on quarters. Number two, maybe we should have sewn your lips shut in addition to giving you crutches which I see you aren’t using. And number three, who’s acting?” He snickered at her, further infuriating her that he found any of this amusing.

“Tsk, tsk,” he shook his head, scolding her. “You’re a terrible liar pet, and an even worse actress.”

“You’re deluded, you know that?” She might have considered, considered sleeping with him again if it weren’t for the fact he was a complete ass. This attitude, like he was the ‘it’ of all that was male? So not helping his cause.

“Admit it, kitten, wha’s really botherin’ you? That I made you cum so hard I know you saw stars or that I left afterward?” Sure, even he had to admit it was a rude thing to say, but if she could dish it out she’d better be able to take it as well.

She didn’t think it was possible to hate him even more than she already did, but he most definitely proved her wrong. “Do you not understand? The way I treated you last night was no act. I wouldn’t sleep with you if you were the last man on earth.”

“You jus’ keep tellin’ yourself that. I saw right through your little performance.”

She turned back to face him and leaned on the table, beckoning him with her finger to come closer. He fell right into her trap as she launched her counter-attack. “An act was what I gave you back at FT Lemonworth.”

“If it helps you sleep at night to believe that, pet,” he gestured one hand in a wide sweep. “Then by all means.” In that instant, he watched her pretty face flush red with anger... beautiful. “Wanna dance?”

She looked at him as if he’d sprouted a second head. “Would a vampire walk in the sun?” He acted bored as he sighed heavily.

“Come on now.” He leaned closer towards her and lowered his voice. “You know you wanna dance.”

“Don’t think so.” She shook her head and sat back to stare at nothing in particular so long as it wasn’t him.

“`F you’re scared, say you’re scared.” Leaning back in his chair with his legs spread wide, he hooked a thumb through his belt loop and picked up his beer. “Promise I won’ bite... unless you ask nicely.” That got the attention of her lovely green eyes back in his direction. He made a show of rubbing his crotch while darting his tongue around the rim of his bottle seductively, chuckling when she gasped with disgust at his actions.

She remembered a well used idiom from Boot Camp and decided he might better understand her answer if it were phrased to him in military terms. She spelled the two main words in the air with her finger and emphasized them. “That would be a GO... preceded by a NO.”

“Buff...” His friends were approaching the table so he clammed up. So bloody difficult. Though the chase was proving fun, he wondered how much longer she planned on running from him.

“Did you want to dance, Buffy?”

Buffy looked over at Gunn’s friend and then to Spike who had the nerve to narrow his eyes as if daring her to take the offer.

“I’d love too.” She waited until the young man came around the table, took his outstretched hand to stand and threw a mischievous grin over her shoulder at Spike while being led to the dance floor.

This should be interesting, Gunn thought. Even if he didn’t know Spike as well as he did, one thing was certain when it came to the male species... if Spike felt the least bit possessive about something or someone, jealousy would surely rear its ugly head.

All Spike could do was watch her walk away as he gripped the edge of his chair with one hand and squeeze his beer in the other. Getting his first eyeful of exactly what she was wearing had his knuckles turning white as pure jealousy ripped through him. Between her tiny mini skirt and a sexy pair of tall black leather boots showing off her delectable legs, she couldn’t have looked more beautiful if she’d tried.

`M not pissed, will not get pissed. His buddy had no clue who and what she was to him, so how could he get upset? Not pissed, not pissed... bloody hell I need to get pissed. At that exact moment, Buffy turned her back to grind against his friend while said friend looked over and gave him a thumbs up, as if trying to say he would be getting lucky tonight. Spike’s grip inadvertently tightened with such force that the bottle in his hand suddenly shattered and the contents drenched the front of his jeans.

“Bloody hell!!!”

“You okay, man?” Yup, he definitely had a thing for Buffy. He wouldn’t call him on it though. Spike was a private person that picked and chose when to share his carefully guarded feelings. When and if he ever decided to talk about it, he’d be there for him, one hundred percent.

The unbidden image of Buffy in bed with his comrade proved too much to handle. “`M fine. Be right back.” Mindful of his foot, he stood and carefully meandered his way through the crowded club towards the bathroom to get cleaned up. It was probably a blessing he’d made a mess of himself and had to leave, because he needed to cool down and not so much for himself as for his friend’s sake. Even though said friend was a good buddy, when it came to Buffy... all bets were off.

Buffy came back to the table after finishing the dance and excused herself to the bathroom. When she got there, however, it was already occupied. She stood there shifting from one foot to the other she had to go so bad before finally saying to hell with it. Looking left and right, she dove quickly through the door to the men’s room, locking it behind her.

“Oi!” Spike was standing inside the stall, just about to unzip his pants to relieve himself when she burst through the door. He glanced over his shoulder. “What the bloody hell are you doin’ in here, Summers?” In his anger, he must have forgotten to lock the door.

“Oh-my-God. Look, I’m sorry, but I gotta pee, so please leave.” Indeed she was desperate at this point.

“Me leave?” He turned sideways and pointed a finger at his chest. “Don’ think so. Number one, this `s the MEN’S room. Number two, I was here first and number three... no. So if you don’t mind?” He raised one brow in irritation.

“Erghhhh, just... hurry up then. It’s not like I haven’t seen-seen... IT before.” She continued dancing around but nodded her head towards his crotch.

He rolled his eyes, stepped out of the stall and waved to it. “Be my guest, I’ll use the urinal.” Why he chose to be nice to her he had no idea, he was furious that she wouldn’t dance with him but made a show of it with his friend instead. Sure, it might have been difficult for him with his foot, but it was a slow dance and would have been the perfect chance for him to hold her, to get to her, break down her defensive barrier.

“Oh thank God.” If she didn’t have to pee as bad as she did, she never would have even stayed in the bathroom with him, but nature wasn’t just calling, it was banging on the door of her bladder. The stall didn’t have a door on it unfortunately and as luck would have it, the urinal was on the adjacent wall. Spike sneered at her as he unzipped his jeans.

“Want me to wait till you’re finished?” She looked at him confused. “So you can hold it for me?”

“I hate you.”

“Feelin’s mutual, pet.” He sneered at her before turning back to take care of his ‘business’.

She did the best she could to keep herself concealed even though he wasn’t looking and to ‘go’ as quietly as possible. Reaching for the toilet paper she groaned aloud... there was none.

“Is there a roll of toilet paper out there?”

“Yeah.” He smiled to himself after spying a roll near the sink. Looks like she was stuck.

“Can you hand it to me, please?” she asked irritated.

“Wha’s it worth to you?”

“Don’t play around, Spike,” she punctuated his name with venom in her voice. “Just give it to me.”

“That’s what I’ve been tryin’ to do,” he muttered under his breath. He grabbed the roll off the top of the paper towel dispenser and walked over to the stall. “Here.” He held the roll out to her, chuckling when she snatched it from him then stepped away to wash his hands.

She came out of the stall just as he was drying his hands off and leaned against the wall, watching her while she washed hers.

“Why are you still here?” She could see his reflection in the mirror staring back at her.

“Think you could give a bloke a hand?” If he ever wanted to get on her good side, then he needed to let go of his anger and keep playing this little game of hers.

“What?”

“Walkin’ back to the table. My foot’s botherin’ me.”

“You’re the one who chose not to bring your crutches plus you made it here on your own, didn’t you?”

“Come on, Summers, have you no heart?” He gave her a pout.

“What’s it worth to ya?” She teased, using his own phrase against him.

“Touché.” He made a show of looking all sad and dejected, turned to open the door and exaggerating his limp for good measure. When she called after him he couldn’t contain the smile that his little plan worked to get close to her.

“Spike... wait.” She quickly dried her hands off and went over to hold the door for him. “I don’t want to have to pick you up if you fall on your ass so... I’ll help.”

Out in the hallway, he raised his left arm so she could get underneath his duster and drag it across her shoulders in order to support him. Whether it was that stupid, sexy pout of his or the fact he could potentially fall without his crutches, she felt like she’d just been conned. He leaned his hard, muscular body into her side with every step they took, causing an involuntary shudder to run through her at the unbidden memory of what his naked body against hers had felt like when he took her over the desk and.... Can’t go there, do not go there, she sing-songed in her head, just get to the table and get away from him.

They arrived at the table to find everyone laughing hysterically over something. Much to Spike’s delight, there were only two available seats for them to sit in... right next to one another. Buffy pulled out a chair for him then suddenly stood ramrod straight, her eyes wide with shock.

“You alright, Buffy?” Willow asked.

“Huh? Y-yes, I thought I’d forgotten my purse in the bathroom but I see I left it here.” She was caught off guard when Spike dropped his arm from around her shoulders and gave her bottom a playful squeeze. Her first instinct was to turn around and slap him, but she didn’t want to cause a scene.

“Oh.” The group quickly fell back into telling funny stories about experiences they’d had while at work or in the field.

She shot daggers at him with her eyes then turned her attention to the group with her nose in the air. Well, she couldn’t ignore him, not anymore. He was going to take full advantage of the fact she sat next to him to get her riled up, especially since there was nothing she could do about it.

“Whatcha got, ladies?” Gunn looked from Willow to Buffy. “Come on, you two work in a medical clinic so you must have a good story or two to tell.”

Buffy looked at Spike with an evil grin then back to Gunn. “Well, there WAS this guy who came into the ER recently and IIIII,” she squealed in a high pitched voice. “Don’t think that story is really worth telling.” Spike grabbed her knee under the table and squeezed, forcing her to look at him. He had a stern expression about him that clearly stated ‘don’t you dare’. Once she clammed up, he traded out that look for a seductive smile as his hand slowly began sliding up her thigh. Gunn asked Willow if she too worked in the ER, bringing everyone’s attention to the red-head who shook her head ‘no’. Using the temporary distraction to lower her hand to his wandering one, she grabbed hold of his middle finger and bent it backwards until he removed his hand from her leg. “We really haven’t been working there long enough to have anything funny happen yet.”

Spike hadn’t expected her to let him cop a feel but smirked all the same as he pulled his hand away. Leaning back in his chair, he spread his legs wide, pressed his thigh flush to hers and flung his arm over the back of her chair. Naturally she inched away from the contact and sat forward to lean on the table, but every time she moved her leg, he spread his a bit wider in order to touch her again.

Feeling quite tipsy, Willow interjected, “Oh-oh, I’ve got one. Buffy, remember the time Spike took you to the store in the middle of the night to buy tampons?”

There was a long, palpable pause until everyone at the table, except for Spike, burst into laughter. His eyes bulged from their sockets as he looked at Willow who visibly cringed from him, saying she was sorry.

“You CAN’T leave it there.” Gunn chuckled at Willow then turned to Buffy. “Well? Go on, tell us.”

Buffy sat back in her chair, accidentally leaning against Spike’s arm. She continued to giggle even as he growled low at her in warning and wound his fingers around her shoulder to squeeze. He didn’t care who saw it, all he could think about was his own embarrassment.

“It’s just like Willow said. He had to drive me to the store in the middle of the night.”

“I can’t believe you went in and bought her tampons,” one of the guys exclaimed.

“I soddin’ well did not!” he cried. “I handed her the money, she went in and got them herself.” This was not happening to him. He told Buffy not to tell anyone, oh, she would pay for this... somehow.

“Awwww, poor Spikey. Acting all grumbly and embarrassed are we? It was a long time ago.” Buffy taunted him.

Gunn checked his watch, “Shit. Speaking of time, if I don’t get home soon, Fred’s gonna be pissed.”

“We better head out, too.” If Gunn was leaving then she and Willow needed to leave. No way was she going to keep hanging out here with two guys she’d just met and most definitely not with Spike. When Gunn stood, she reached for her keys on the table only to have Spike place his hand over hers.

“Summers, neither you nor Red is in any condition to drive.”

“He’s right, Buffy. The barracks are close by, but we can’t take a chance. Let’s call a cab.”

Buffy rolled her eyes at her friend and grabbed her keys out from under Spike’s grip. “Okay.”

“I can give you a lift.” The gentleman she’d danced with earlier offered but before Buffy could answer, Spike cut her off.

“Don’ worry mate, I got it.”

“Uhmm, okay. Well in that case I’m out. It was nice to meet you Buffy, Willow. I hope to see you again, maybe next weekend? Same time, same place?”

“It’s possible, but I’ll have to check my schedule first.” Knowing Spike was watching her, she flashed the man a flirtatious smile. After her experience with Angel, she preferred her freedom over being in a relationship, but Spike didn’t need to know that. The chance to tease him was hard to resist and maybe, just maybe, if he thought she was interested in someone else he might leave her alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy wasn’t sure how it happened, but somehow she wound up sitting right next to Spike in the front seat with Willow on the other side. As soon as he pulled into the parking lot where they lived, he announced he would see them to their rooms. After Willow stepped out of the car, she turned to inform him.

“That’s not necessary. Besides, I am so not helping you walk anymore.”

“No worries, luv.” He reached an arm behind her into the backseat. “Got my crutches right here.” He smiled as she ducked out of his way and got out of the car.

Halfway to the door, Willow announced she had to take off ahead of them. “I’m sorry, you guys, but I really need to get to the bathroom. I had a good time tonight, Spike. Thanks for the ride.”

“But, w-wait, what.... SHIT!” She stopped and turned on Spike with all her anger. “Yes, thanks EVER so much for the ride but you can drop the chivalry crap now and go back to your car.” He feigned innocence.

“I jus’ wanna see you safely to your room.”

“Are you kidding me? There is no way you’re coming anywhere NEAR my room. You’re not a gentleman so stop pretending to be one. It’s not going to get you anywhere with me.”

“I bloody well am if you’d get off your high-horse long `nough to let me.” He was going to give her a chance to come home with him. He knew she wanted to, so why was she being such a bitch?

“You know what... goodbye, Spike.” She walked away. She’d had enough and now that they were alone, she could say and do whatever she wanted and what she wanted was to put as much distance between them as possible.

“Summers,” he yelled out to her. “Damnit, ’m talkin’ to you, come back!”

“Go home, Spike.” She replied without ever turning around.

“Summers!!!” He tried one more time and started moving forward, but with crutches and a bum toe, there was no way he’d catch up to her. She walked off, left him, dismissed him as if she outranked him and all he could do was watch. Watch and fume over the fact he had nothing but his hand to keep him company tonight.

~~~~~~~~

Two and a half weeks later...

Spike found it incredibly hard to stay away from either the MEDDAC’s barracks or the clinic itself now that he knew where Buffy lived and worked, but what choice did he have? He certainly wasn’t going to stalk her, but with each passing day he was becoming increasingly anxious to see her again. She’d become his obsession, plaguing his waking thoughts and fantasies in a way that no amount of porn and self-abuse to his manhood could alleviate. He knew she wanted him and no amount of barbed comments or lame attempts at lying about their one time together, that it wasn’t as good for her as it was for him was going to convince him otherwise. She was there... with him, he’d made sure of that so what was her problem? Just shy of tying her down, which was also a delicious thought, if he could just get her into his bed... just one more time, he would make sure she’d never want to leave.

It was a late Saturday afternoon as he sat on the couch in his tiny apartment, staring blankly at the TV while these thoughts ran through his head. Was there a way he could conveniently place himself in her path without making it obvious? Should he try some other method of verbal persuasion with her when they next spoke? ERGHH!!! What did she want from him? If he knew, if only she’d tell him then it was as good as done. Anything to end the sexual frustration he faced everyday. Maybe he should set something up, some kind of ambush. Was that what she wanted? To be cornered and kissed breathless? God knows he wouldn’t mind. He definitely preferred playing the dominant role when it came to sex and knew she hadn’t minded one bit being made submissive to his talents. ARGHH!!! Whatever she wanted, whatever it took, she would be his again, and again, and again, and...

Ring... ring...

Picking the phone up, he never would have guessed that the person on the other end would be Oz, who called about getting together for a drink in about a week after he arrived at FT Crumb. He was being assigned to none other than Buffy’s unit and would be working at the clinic. With Oz working at the clinic, he just might be afforded more opportunities to ‘accidentally’ run into Buffy every now and then. Yes, it seemed things were looking up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Three weeks later

Now back to working days, Buffy left the ER around noon to go to lunch. Willow and Faith were still busy at the moment and couldn’t leave until later, so she drove herself down the food court inside the mini-like mall right on post. Grabbing some food, she settled down at a small table, pulled out the current novel she was into and read in between bites... until a sudden noise made her jump.

“Didn’ mean to scare you, Summers.” Spike smiled at the pretty scowl she immediately threw him after he slammed his tray down on her table.

Ever since Oz told him that Buffy sometimes liked to come here for lunch, he’d shown up every day, just watching and waiting for her. Yes, he’d gone to have drinks with Oz, and felt a tad guilty for not being completely honest with him about the reasons behind wanting to know more about Buffy. All he said was that he felt bad about how he’d treated her and hoped that one day he might apologize to her if he ‘just happened’ to run into her. Oz suggested he just show up at the clinic but he shot down the idea and said it wasn’t appropriate to disturb her while she was working.

“Why are sitting with me when there are plenty of other tables available?” she asked exasperatedly. This man certainly had a way of ruining a perfectly good day.

“Wanted to sit with the prettiest girl here.” Kill her with kindness. It was certainly worth a shot, right? Something had to bring her around to his way of thinking so they could move past, well, ‘the past’ and back into bed.

“Whatever. Just don’t talk to me.” Instinct told her he wasn’t going to go away and if she tried to sit somewhere else, he’d probably follow her.

“Is that all you’re goin’ to eat?” He watched her take a small bite of the chicken salad in front of her.

She looked up at him and spoke sternly. “I SAID... don’t talk to me.” She brought her book level with her face, effectively blocking him from seeing her. Take a hint.

“You need more than rabbit food before you lose any more weight.”

“What part of don’t talk to me do you not understand?” She still held her book in place. He was trying to engage her in conversation and she wasn’t going to let him con her into it.

He took half of the foot long sub from his plate and placed it on her tray. “Here.”

She peered around her book and became enraged when she saw what he’d done. Slamming her book down on the table, she picked the sub off her plate and all but threw it back on his tray. “We are NOT in Basic Training anymore so keep your fucking food on your own plate.”

He questioned how wrong it was that as soon as she got angry, his cock began to swell within his pants. Instead of coming back at her with the usual snide remark, he did his best to remain calm and catered to the feminine side of her that might swoon over his concern for her well being.

She stabbed at her salad, crunching down on the bite while fixing him with an icy stare.

“Jus’ thought you looked better, healthier when you had more, uhmm... junk in your trunk as Gunn would put it.”

She rolled her eyes. “First of all, I haven’t lost that much weight since Basic. I used to weigh ninety five pounds until you packed thirty on me and I currently weigh a hundred and eight. I don’ need you to worry about my weight, what I need you to do is to go away and leave me alone.”

His jaw twitched in response to her snobbery. This was not supposed to happen. She was supposed to take his comment at face value and be nice back to him, not act like he was beneath her.

For the next ten minutes there was nothing but silence as he kept his eyes trained on her. She wouldn’t talk to him, look at him or even acknowledge he was there. As the minutes wore on he became more desperate.

“What’s it gonna take with you?” Maybe she wouldn’t tell him unless he asked and at this point, he’d had enough.

“Excuse me? What are you talking about?” She set her book down and waited for his answer while tapping her fingers on the table-top impatiently.

“What do I have to do?” He made sure he phrased it like an honest question, keeping any sign of his own irritation out of it while shrugging his shoulders.

“And again with the what are you talking about, because if you’re implying what I THINK you are... it’s never going to happen... again.”

“How `bout a kiss?” He loved the taste of her kisses and knew if he could have but one, that one would surely turn into two then three and from there escalate into more until she inevitable fell freely into his bed.

“Are you MAD?!?! So NOT going to happen.” The nerve, as if.

“Jus’ a kiss. An innocent kiss.”

“There is nothing remotely innocent about you,” she accused.

“One kiss. Tha’s all I ask.”

“No.”

“Please?” He pouted. “Tell me. What’ll it cost to let me kiss you?”

“No.”

“Come on,” he deepened his pout.

“No.” Stupid sexy pout. She couldn’t allow herself to fall for it, nope.

“Are you scared?”

“NO!!!” Give up already!

“I think you’re scared of me.”

“I so am not,” she cried indignantly. How dare he. He knew she wasn’t scared of him or those amazing kisses and oh-GOD, don’t go there, Buffy.

“Yes, you are. You’re afraid if I kiss you, you’re gonna want me again.” He quirked an eyebrow at her.

“I stopped being scared of you a long time ago AND... you’re wrong.”

“So, if you’re not scared, then tell me.” He lips curled into a sly smile. “Wha’s it gonna take?” Perhaps using her anger against her would get him what he wanted. She was the type of girl that wouldn’t back down and he loved her for it.

The man was not only impossible but insane as well. Her mind quickly searched for an answer, anything at all, something she was sure he would never do.

“You want to give me a kiss?” He nodded. “Hmmmm, and I can name... any price I want?”

“Any price.” He spoke seductively. Finally. He was finally being given the break he needed.

“Let’s see.” She reached across the table as an idea sprang to mind. She opened the second half of his sub and pulled the mayonnaise covered slice of cheese from it and held it up.

Oh bloody hell, she’s not really going to... Yup, she smiled brightly and allowed it to drop on the floor.

“Eat it.” He’ll never do it, not in a million... oh no!

As far as he was concerned, the promise of a kiss was worth licking the bottom of her size six combat boot. He smiled at her, bent over to pick the slimy yellow substance up and promptly stuffed it in his mouth, chewing away while trying to smile at the same time.

Ewwwwwwwwww, he actually did it. I am so screwed!

“I believe you owe me a kiss now, Summers. Not goin’ to hold out on me are you?”

“Ahhhh, ah-ah...” She sighed in defeat. “Fine. One kiss and then you go your way and I’ll go mine.” He leaned across the table, making as if to kiss her now until she effectively stopped him by holding up her hand.

“We’re in uniform. No PDA, remember?” He looked at her confused. “Public Display of Affection? Government regulation clearly states no PDA while in uniform?” Good, she thought as he sat back in his chair. At least he hadn’t lost his mind completely.

“Come with me right now and sit in my car then. Once we’re inside, there’s nothin’ stoppin’ us.” There was more than one way to skin a cat, and he loved the sharp claws his kitten had.

“I’m thinking not because you just ate cheese off the floor and your lips aren’t coming anywhere near mine until you’ve brushed your teeth.” Even if he was an amazing kisser, that was too much to ask.

“A deal’s a deal, Summers.” His tone dropped in a threatening manner. If she didn’t hold up her end of this little bargain, she would find herself up against a wall with no choice but to kiss him back.

“You’re right.” She nodded. “But you’ll have to catch me some other time, preferably after you’ve cleaned up that dirty mouth of yours.” Much to her surprise, he hadn’t made any of his usual crude statements. She wasn’t sure whether she was relieved or unnerved by it. Something wasn’t right, that much she could tell and it put her self-defense on high alert.

“You’re a bloody tease. You know that, Summers?” He shook his head, disappointment overcoming his short lived victory.

“What?” she asked innocently. “I’ll keep my end of the bargain, just not today.”

“When can I expect to collect then?” She bloody well better give him a time.

“We work on the same post, I’m sure we’ll bump into each other just like we did today.” Hey, it was true.

“No,” he shook his head. “If not today then I want some kind of guarantee.”

“My word isn’t good enough?” Figures. She couldn’t blame him since she did have every intention of getting out of this entirely.

“Nope. I want collateral.” He simply couldn’t let her walk away without something. If he had to follow her to her car in order to obtain it then that’s what he’d do. “Give me your Government ID.” She’d have to get that back from him. There was no way she could do anything on post without it.

“Don’t be ridiculous. You know I can’t do that.” Looks like she was wrong after all... he was insane. A soldier’s military issued ID was never to be anywhere but on their person at all times. She could easily be written up for it.

“Better think of somethin’, pet.”

“Fine!” If that’s what it took to make him go away then fine. Reaching for her neck, she pulled her dog tags over her head and held them out. “Take them.” She crossed her arms over her chest after he took them. “Happy now?”

Victory at last. “When and where?” She looked confused. “So we can make the trade?” His erection turned painful as he awaited her answer. Picking her tray up after she stood, she curiously gave him a triumphant smile of her own.

“Unlike my ID...” she winked at him. “I can get those replaced with little more than a verbal reprimand.” God it took everything she had to walk away and not laugh at the utter shock on his face.

She was right and he was stunned... truly stunned. He watched her retreating form and with all his will, bit back his frustration. He wanted to follow her out into the parking lot but restrained himself in lieu of a new goal that sprang to mind. He wasn’t sure how... but someday, somewhere, somehow... she would let him give her that kiss and it didn’t matter how long he had to wait for that moment. She would pay up and when she did, when it finally led to them to his bedroom where he wanted her... he’d never allow her out of his bed without his express permission.


A/N: Not to worry, Spike will not go all stalkerish on Buffy. I hope everyone enjoyed and that you all have a great week. Hugs and kisses.

The following Saturday

Spike had been wandering around the mall for about an hour, making small purchases here and there when, as most men do, he glanced into the storefront window of Victoria’s Secret only to see a vision that instantly had him hard. Lo and behold there she was. Towards the far right hand wall stood Buffy, holding a bra in each hand, looking from one to the other as if trying to decide which color to buy. Of course this was too good an opportunity to pass up so he headed in and snuck up behind her.

“Why waste money on either when you don’ bother to wear a bra anyway?”

She whipped around to face the infuriating smirk that went along with the familiar British accent.

“For your information I do wear bras most of the time, so you can wipe that stupid smile off your face and go away.” She turned back around, trying to ignore how good he smelled and how hot he looked. Unlike the night at the NCO club, he wore faded blue denim, a dark blue sweater with his trademark black leather duster and a more civilian style of combat boots. She instantly became nervous at his nearness when he stepped up beside her and pointed to one of the brasseries she held.

“Definitely the green one. It goes with your eyes.” He chuckled when she put it back just because he’d said that and threw the pink instead into her little basket before stomping off. So defiant. He followed her, but stopped at a rack of sexy nightwear to pull out a lacy see-through baby-doll nightgown. “I rather fancy this.” He held it on front of her. “What do you think, pet?”

“I think it’s a good thing I don’t care what you like. And stop calling me pet.” She snatched it out of his hand, held it up to inspect along with the tag then shoved it into his chest. “Besides... eighty five dollars? I don’t think so.” She shook her head.

“`F the price is all you’re worried `bout, I’ll buy it.” She looked so adorable the way she turned to prop one hand on her hip and smiled sweetly during her retort.

“I’m sure you’ll look lovely in it though I admit I never took you for a cross-dresser.” He opened his mouth but she held up her hand. “Look, go back to whatever hell dimension you were spawned from and leave me be, okay?”

“And miss the chance to watch you shop for lacey bits? Uh-uh. I think I’ll stay. See what kind of knickers you like to wear.” He reached into her basket and was able to grab something out before she pulled it away. “Well, well, well.” He held a pink silk thong high in the air while she jumped up to try and take it back. “`S nice, pet. Much nicer than those granny panties from Basic,” he purred.

“Damnit, Spike! Give it back.” She tried jumping higher but he continued to tease her, dangling them low then high every time while smirking at her attempts.

“How `bout you model that li’l red number for me in the dressin’ room first, then I’ll give ‘em back?” That made her stop.

“You can add that to your list of things that’s never going to happen. I’m outta here.” She stormed off towards the check out, ignoring him when he called her name. Setting her things on the counter she did her best to put on a smile for the cashier’s sake as she rang up her merchandise when Spike came to stand beside her.

“You forgot these, sweetheart.” He placed the underwear on top of the small pile along with the red nightgown he’d been teasing her about then placed an arm around her shoulders like they were a couple and kissed her cheek.

“NO!” The young girl behind the counter jumped after picking it up to scan. “I mean, no, DEAR!” She pushed his arm off her, picked up the scrap of material and shoved it into his hands. “I told you. It’s the wrong size.” She ground the words out and turned back to address the girl. “That will be all, thank you.”

“I think I know your size by now. Go ahead.” He nodded at the cashier who picked it up hesitantly.

“And I SAID,” she snatched it right out of the girl’s hand and set it further down the counter. “It’s the wrong... size... DEAR!”

“I-I’ll just set this aside.” The poor girl didn’t know what to do at this point but it was obvious these two were having a squabble about something unrelated to lingerie.

Buffy paid for her things, spun around and left the store as fast as she could, hoping to lose herself in the crowd of shoppers before Spike could catch up to her. And for a few blissful minutes, she really thought she’d lost him... until he sat down next to her on the bench near the entrance of the mall.

“Why do you insist on following me?”

“I thought it was obvious.”

“I hate you.”

“I hate you too, Summers, but why let that li’l emotion come between us now?”

“I’m leaving.” She went to get up but sat right back down as soon he stated the obvious.

“I’ll jus’ follow you, pet, so why run?”

“Did your military training include Special Ops in Stalking? Because you’re seriously bordering on harassment here.”

“Even if you hid from me,” he tapped his nose twice. “I could track your scent from a mile away.”

“God! Why don't you just club me over the head and drag me by my hair to your cave and get it over with?”

“`S that an invitation, luv?”

She sighed, crossed her arms and turned away from him.

“Awwww, you goin’ to ignore me now?”

“I’m waiting for someone to show up so would you PLEASE... go away.” It wasn’t true but if it worked then it was worth lying about.

“Really?” It surprised him a moment before he became suspicious. “Who?” Better not be a guy, he thought.

“None of your business.”

“Anyone I know?”

She ignored him.

“`S not like I care, so you might as well say.” It was killing him that she wouldn’t speak and he became more jealous by the second wondering if it might just be another man.

She still wouldn’t respond.

“Why can’ you at least talk to me?” He pouted.

“Hmmm, let’s examine the long list of reasons shall we?” She looked him dead in the eyes, ignored how handsome he looked and used the opportunity to remind herself of all the reasons why she wasn’t kissing the gorgeous bottom lip that was sticking out at her right now, teasing her, taunting her. “Maybe because nothing nice ever seems to come out of your mouth? And-I-hate-you. Because you’ve been nothing but an ass to me since the day we met and it hasn’t changed? And-I-hate-you. Because you act like it would be some sort of honor for me to sleep with you again. And-I-hate-you. You’re self-centered, egotistical, cocky, arrogant and oh, did I mention because I hate you?”

“Four times now, pet. `S not like I’m draggin’ you through the mud anymore. Tha’s in the past so wha’s your problem?”

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t if you had the chance because you would in a heartbeat. And MY problem? My problem is that I’m not the type to repeat mistakes. And sleeping with you was a mistake. YOU’RE the one who has a problem with it, not me.”

“Why do you have to be such a bitch?” She had a point... not that it was a mistake, but if they’d never done it he wouldn’t be chasing after her right now and all but begging to be with her again.

“You seem to bring it out in me. That’s the power of your charms. Let me ask you something. If all it’s going to take for you to leave me alone is to let you use me again, then would you? Can we go somewhere right now and just get it over with? Because apparently all I am to you is a piece of ass.”

“Buffy...” That wasn’t true and how was it this conversation was going in such an ugly direction all of a sudden? It was making him uncomfortable to think that’s what she believed... that she was nothing but a piece of ass to him. “I never said...” she interrupted him.

“Let me give you some advice. As hard as it is for you to believe, being nice to a girl will get you farther than acting like-like... well, YOU!”

“Oi! `M nice.”

“The only time I ever saw you act nice was towards Gunn’s children. If you carried that kind of behavior over into how you treat women you just might get laid one of these days.”

“`F you wanted to sit on my lap and call me Uncle, Summers, then why didn’ you just say so? Of course I’d much prefer you call me Daddy.” He waggled both eyebrows at her; trying to get the conversation steered back towards their typical banter and away from the seriousness she was now treating the situation with.

“Erghhh! See? This is what I mean. I’m sure there are plenty of other women around who might fall for your style of courting, but not me. If all you’re looking for is to get laid then why don’t you try her,” she pointed at a pretty girl who was leaving the mall. “Or her,” she pointed at another who was coming in.

“Don’ want anyone else. I want you.”

“Lucky me,” she muttered under her breath.

“What was that?”

“You’ve already had me,” she cried, throwing her hands in the air. “So why?!?!” She waited but he didn’t answer. He just sat there with a bewildered look on his face.

That really was a good question. One to which he didn’t have an answer, didn’t want to find an answer, wasn’t sure he could find an answer if he tried. As far as he was concerned, he didn’t need an answer, all he knew is that he wanted her... and only her.

“You can’t answer can you? Well, I’ll tell you why. For whatever twisted reason, you JUST... DO! And once you’ve had me, you’ll toss me aside like trash and I’m not trash.”

She got up and went to sit on a bench on the opposite side of the entranceway.

“Come on Buffy, don’ be like this.” He was right on her heels, sitting down next to her even closer than before. From the way she moved to the way she looked and smelled, everything she did, every dirty look she gave him, every razor-sharp comment she made turned him on. He never once thought of her as trash and it hurt just a little bit to think that’s how she thought he felt about her.

“Don’t be like what?”

“You want it jus’ as bad as I do.”

“You seriously need to get over yourself. You’re not the only good looking guy on the planet.” His persistence was unnerving and his close proximity had her body humming, reminding her it would be so much nicer if she just gave in to its desire so he could make it feel as good as he had months ago. Damnit! “Unlike you, I can suppress my hormones. If I get horny I take care of myself, I don’t need a man.”

“Ah-ha, so you admit you want to sleep with me again? Now we’re gettin’ somewhere.” He leaned close to her ear and whispered. “Tha’s quite a tantalizin’ image you’ve given me, pet. Can I watch you masturbate?” He purred seductively. “Maybe... lend an extra hand or two?”

“Sorry.” She inched away from him and pointed both index fingers at herself. “This is an Army of one.”

He chuckled. She was a spitfire alright. He’d never get enough of her, he knew that now.

“If I wanted to get laid it wouldn’t be you plus I’m not looking for a relationship. So what EXACTLY is it that you want?”

“`M not lookin’ for a relationship either.”

“Ohhh, I get it now.” She leaned back and smiled confidently. “You wanna be fuck-buddies.”

“All I’ve asked you for recently is a kiss, tha’s all.” Actually, that wasn’t a bad idea at all, but he knew that would piss her off if he said yes, so he steered her in yet a different direction and focused on getting the one thing she owed him first. If he could get that, the rest would inevitably fall into place.

“Is that what all this is about? A stupid kiss? What are you... twelve?”

“Oi! I ate dirty cheese to get that kiss. I deserve it, hell, I earned it. I think you should honor your end of the deal.”

“No wonder your ex-wives left you.” Oh, shit!!! She’d forgotten what Gunn had told her about his ex’s and instantly regretted it as the expression that crossed his features could only be described as wounded. Those gorgeous blue eyes filled with hurt and sadness, making her realize she’d crossed a line, punched through his tough exterior to a very vulnerable spot in his heart.

He stood and shook her words off as best he could. “Fuck you. I was the faithful one.”

In her anger, she’d opened her big mouth before recalling that Gunn already told her why Spike had divorced in the first place. She knew all too well how he’d felt because she’d felt the same way after Angel had cheated on her... devastated. No matter how Spike had treated her, he didn’t deserve the heartless statement she’d thrown him. Well, she finally got what she wanted... he left her alone. What kept her from chasing after him right now to apologize was that he may not be willing to listen, let alone forgive her... and he shouldn’t.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Six o’clock that same evening

After hearing the words ‘come in’, Oz entered Spike’s apartment with a twelve pack in hand, wearing a smile that quickly faded when he took in the sight of his friend. Spike sat on his couch in jeans and a white tank top, dog tags hanging out, hair disheveled, socked feet propped on the coffee table which had ten empty beer bottles all lined up in a neat row.

“Starting a bit early, aren’t we?” He opened the cardboard container, pulled out a beer and handed it over to his waiting hand. He studied his appearance a bit closer then watched in mild amusement as Spike cracked the top, tipped the bottle to his lips, chugged half its contents before pulling back to wipe the dribble off his chin and burp loudly. “I’ll take that as a yes.” Walking into the kitchen, he pulled a beer out for himself and placed the rest in the fridge before returning to sit across from his drunken buddy.

“Soooo. What, or rather WHO has you drinking so hard?”

“You’re single right, mate?”

“As far as everyone knows.”

“Good on you. Stay away from women, they’re,” he waved a hand in the air. “Nothin’ but trouble.”

“She got a name?” He stifled the urge to call him out on who he knew it had to be and waited to see how much he’d open up on his own.

Spike paid no attention to anything Oz said and went on a drunken rant. “Been married twice m’self. Bloody faithful to both of `em. Gave those bitches everythin’ they ever wanted and the minute I go to work, or the field or,” he hiccupped. “War... they spread their legs for the next bloke that comes along.”

“Not every woman is like that, Spike. Two bad marriages is enough to put a bad taste in anyone’s mouth but there are plenty of women out there just like yourself.”

“Well, `f you meet any, send `em my way.” He knew Buffy was probably the faithful type, but apparently she’d found out from someone he’d been married before and had the impression it was somehow his fault for divorcing. Stupid bint. Who needs her anyway with her stupid hair and funny lookin’ nose and soft skin, perfect breasts and...

“Stick to dating soldiers. Nobody understands a soldier’s life better than another soldier.”

“Have anyone in mind?” He had someone in mind if she didn’t hate him so much that, however unknowingly, had hurt him worse than either Dru or Cecily had.

“Matter of fact I think you already do.” He pointed at Spike’s chest.

“Say again?”

Again, Oz pointed at his chest.

“Out with it.” He watched Oz get up and walk over to him.

He picked up both sets of dog tags Spike wore and held them in front of his face.

“Bloody hell!” He snatched them back, completely irritated with himself for being so stupid.

Gunn knocked on Spike’s door but didn’t bother waiting for an answer before walking right in. “Hey men, wha...” he saw Spike scowling while Oz stood there laughing his ass off. “What’s going on here?”

Oz addressed Spike in between breaths. “If you don’t tell him I will.”

“Tell me what?” Spike didn’t say a word, he just sat there, scowl deepening.

“Seems our good friend Spike is sporting Private Summers’ dog tags close to his heart and apparently had a lover’s spat recently.”

At this, Gunn raised his eyebrows in surprise then smiled. “Did you kick it with Summers?”

“Kick it?” Spike asked confused.

“Yeah, you know... hittin’ skins, knockin’ boots...tappin’ that ass?”

“Jus’ once.” What the hell, the cat was already out of the bag now anyway.

Gunn’s eyes went wide as he realized something. “I’ll be damned. THAT’S where all the glass in my pictures went.”

“What?” It was Oz’s turn to look confused.

“You and she...” he paused. “On graduation day in our old office. Didn’t you?” It was an accusation rather than a question. “You dirty dog you.”

Spike went back to scowling. “Don’ touch it, mate.”

“Oh man,” now he was laughing just as hard as Oz was. “You do realize you got it bad, right?”

“I bloody well do not. She’s a bitch and we’re not... together.”

“Then why are you wearing her dog tags?” Gunn asked, prompting Oz to turn serious.

“Yeah, why ARE you wearing her dog tags?”

“We had a deal and I’m holdin’ `em as collateral.”

“AND?” both asked in unison.

“She’s s’pose to ... to-let-me-kiss-her.” Good God he felt like a git as it flew quickly out of his mouth, hoping they didn’t actually hear it. It sounded just as childish as it probably was.

“You’re holding her dog tags hostage for a KISS? Brother... you are so damn tired.” Gunn chuckled and shook his head.

“Hey! Wha’s that s’pose to mean?”

“What he means is that you’ve fallen for her,” Oz explained.

Spike took another swig off his beer. “You know the last thing `m lookin’ for is a relationship. Don’ ever want to be love’s bitch again.”

Gunn sat down and took the beer Oz handed him and turned serious. “Look man, you know you two are my peeps and we’ve always,” he gestured between himself and Spike. “Been real with each other, we’re amigos, no, more than that hermanos del alma here, so let me set you straight on something. Buffy is a good girl. One HELLAVU woman if not THE perfect woman for you. If anyone has EVER been able to put your ass in check it’s her. But if you’re not already involved with her AND you’re looking to her for the occasional booty call,” he shook his head in disapproval. “She ain’t your girl. You’re better off looking somewhere else.”

“Man’s got a point. Now that I’ve been working with her for awhile, I can vouch for that. She’s not that kind of girl.”

“Ahhhh,” Gunn held up a finger and turned to Oz to share his revelation from weeks ago. “It’s also the very reason why our friend wants her. Because she IS exactly like him.”

“`M not in love and stop talkin’ as if `m not sittin’ here.” Now he was irritated. “I jus’ got... got physical needs `s all and-and... we were good together... that way.” Why the hell was he defending himself? No way was he in love. Infatuated, yes, but in love? No. Even if it were true, she hated him... had made that fact repeatedly clear.

Oz piped up. “Whatever happened between you two, whatever it is she said or did must have been pretty bad.”

“Mmm-hmm. And the Spike I know hasn’t been this drunk over a woman since his last divorce.”

“`F you two don’ drop the subject,” he waggled an angry intoxicated finger at them both. Enough was enough.

“Okay, okay.” Gunn looked to Oz who nodded and confirmed.

“Dropped.”

As the evening progressed, one thing became clear as Gunn and Oz picked up discussing their shared opinion on the ‘Buffy issue’ Spike was having... long after their friend had passed out, naturally. That if he was ever going to be happy, and it was agreed that Buffy could potentially make him happy, they would simply have to work together to somehow make them both see past their inborn stubbornness. How, was the mystery.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two and a half weeks later... on a Monday.

Oz was taking care of some paperwork when he came across a formal memorandum of request. Apparently Gunn and Spike’s unit was going on a very specialized, one week training mission and they were short on medics. The request was that MEDDAC assign two of their soldiers from any department where they were able to release them to accompany the unit into the field for that week. Noticing Gunn’s name was the point of contact at the bottom of the paper made it clear why he’d received the memorandum in the first place... because he was in charge of all the medics working in the department he now ran... the one Buffy was presently on rotation in. He picked up his phone and immediately dialed Gunn’s work number.

“I hear you’re in need of two medics?” he asked as soon as Gunn picked up. “It just so happens I have at least one soldier in particular who could be released from her current scheduled duties to accompany your unit this upcoming Friday... if you’re interested?” He chuckled as he listened to Gunn go on about how he’d been expecting him to call. “No problem. Got it covered BUT, it’s up to you from there to get them talking again.... if you say so... okay then, I’ll type up the paperwork and talk to you later.” Hitting the receiver, he quickly dialed another number and asked to have Private Summers paged to come to his office so he could inform her where she’d be reporting to after he gave her a couple, unexpected days off to prepare for her new mission.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Early Friday morning.

Buffy had absolutely no idea that this was Spike’s unit until Gunn approached her right before she stepped into the M-997 military version ambulance, readying to drive the huge metal beast in a convoy out to no-man’s land for this latest mission.

“Charl... I mean, Sergeant Gunn. I didn’t know this was your unit.” He shook her hand and leaned forward to embrace her for a more manly style slap on the back rather than his usual hug.

“Yup. It’s gonna be fun, too. There’ll be plenty of injuries for you to mend on this one. We’re playing some heavy duty war games this week.”

“If it’s blood and guts, I’m your gal.” She smiled while in the back of her mind she worried over whether or not she’d run into Spike. She hadn’t seen him since that day in the mall and truthfully? She should be thankful he was finally leaving her alone but deep down, she still felt awful over what she’d said.

“Yup. This week is in preparation for the next field exercise we’re scheduled for in two weeks. Gonna be gone a month and a half for that one. Well, anyway, you should say hi to Spike.” He pointed a thumb over his shoulder. “He’s over there.” Take the bait, girl... come on.

“I’m sure I’ll see him out there. Right now we’re ready to roll.” She pointed towards their company commander who was using the ‘round-up’ signal to anyone who wasn’t already inside their tactical vehicles.

“Right. Well, catchya later then.”

She giggled as he saluted her and trotted off before turning to Faith who sat in the passenger side.

“You ready, B?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She was glad Faith hadn’t said anything more. After returning from the mall the day Spike stormed off, she’d told her and Willow what she’d said to him and they both agreed she needed to make things right, that no matter how he’d acted towards her he didn’t deserve what she’d said to him. Yeah, gotta make things right, she thought. First chance she could.

Meanwhile...

Gunn informed Spike that Buffy was one of their ‘borrowed’ medics along for the exercise. His first thought was to go find her but he very quickly nixed the idea. Though he couldn’t rightfully harbor any malice towards her over what she’d said because, after all, she knew nothing about his two failed marriages other than the fact they failed, he couldn’t bring himself to chase her anymore either. He still wanted her... more than anything, but felt sure she truly did hate him. He still had yet to get her out of his head and his fantasies and finding out she was spending the week out here with his unit definitely wasn’t going to help.

As the convoy started off, he recalled the conversation he’d held with Gunn and Oz on the day she’d hurt him and then how he’d struggled with what they’d said the next day over one of the worst hangovers he’d experienced since his discovery that Cecily was having an affair.

“... Buffy.”

“What?” Spike was so distracted he didn’t hear anything Gunn said other than mentioning her name. “That cold bitch?”

“Come on, man. That’s just wrong.” he reached over and pulled the double set of dog tags from under his shirt. “You two need to make up and this week is the perfect opportunity to do just that.”

Spike angrily snatched them back and dropped them under his shirt. “`M not bloody well goin’ anywhere near her.” He watched Gunn smile as if he was up to something.

“I bet,” he smiled mischievously. “That by the end of the week, you two will have made up.”

“Not gonna happen, mate.”

“Alright, alright, it’s all good.”

“What are you gettin’ at?”

“I’m just saying all’s fair in love and war.” He turned as if no longer interested in continuing the conversation.

“Out with it.” He knew when his friend wanted to gamble.

“A bet.”

“A bet?”

“Yup. I bet that by the end of the week you two will have made up and will at least be on talking terms.”

“Wha’s the wager?” He sighed. This’ll be an easy win.

“If I win, you have to bleach your hair. Well, the top of it anyway.”

“And if I win?”

“I’ll bleach mine.” Spike threw him a look. “Err, I’ll grow mine. I’ll take two week’s leave and grow a fro as big as Buckwheat.” He made the little rascal’s symbol with his hand and winked. “Otay?”

“Fred better not get mad at me over your new look,” he smirked. It wouldn’t be hard avoiding Buffy. This week was jam-packed with hours upon hours of serious training. Even if he did run into her, there wouldn’t be time past a simple ‘hello’ let alone make up with the chit. What he didn’t know was that Gunn purposefully assigned Buffy’s medical team to their platoon, ensuring they would at least be within close proximity of each other.


A/N: For those that aren’t aware, just a tasty tidbit of information on the Army slogan. The ‘One’ in ‘An Army of One’ is an acronym for Officers, NCO’s and Enlisted. Don’t be too mad with Buffy, she got upset and said something out of anger, realized her mistake as soon as she’d made it and Spike has no idea that Gunn discussed his marriages with her when she landed in the ER during basic. Also, because of the rules and regulations governing haircuts and length of hair on males in the military, Spike has, for now *winks*, his normal sandy blonde hair and the maximum allowed length on the top of his head so that it appears naturally wavy but close to his head. Bleaching his hair would actually be in violation of AR 670-1, yes, you military guys/gals out there remember that reg. all too well *giggles*, BUT, he may or may not necessarily get in trouble. Lots of folks in the military do weird things to their hair and as long as it’s not distracting, like dying it pink or blue, then most superiors don’t bother making an issue out of it – it depends on how anal one’s chain of command is. I painted my nails once in complete nato pattern colors to match my BDU’s perfectly. Everyone loved it but unfortunately, my platoon Sergeant didn’t find it amusing when he questioned me as to what I was thinking and I replied I was going for complete coverage for our next FTX – tee hee. Have a fabulous weekend.

The following Thursday.

Second platoon’s medics needed assistance in preparing two soldiers whose wounds were serious enough to warrant being transported back to post so Buffy was stuck helping out until everything was settled. She radioed Faith to let her know because she was now over forty minutes late in getting back to their location and the night exercise that was planned for tonight would be starting soon. Dusk had settled when she entered the darkened woods, trying desperately to remember her way back to the ambulance before she lost too much light. Trudging through the eerie silence of the forest, she tried to ignore the lack of noise and let her thoughts drift to Spike.

In a way she was relieved she hadn’t run into him all week but, every time she happened to catch a brief glimpse of him, she wished she had. The image of those baby blues filled with such hurt haunted her and she really wanted a chance to say she was sorry. Now that they were nearing the end of the training exercise, however, she’d long since given up thinking it was ever going to happen. The fact he hadn’t approached her once told her he was over whatever infatuation he’d once had for her and would never forgive her even if she were to go out of her way to talk to him. He would more than likely say something equally mean back to her and she wasn’t sure she could hold her tongue; actually, she knew she couldn’t hold her tongue around him. He really did seem to bring her inner bitch out, so it was probably for the best they hadn’t had a chance to speak.

Faith was of the opinion that his behavior towards women was nothing more than a self-defense mechanism... and that really got her thinking. If she herself had been married to Angel when he’d cheated on her, she imagined the process of a formal divorce from someone who was suppose to love you, had taken vows to do so, would be much worse than the devastation she’d felt back in Basic. Add to that a second marriage that turned out the same way and it painted a much different, clearer picture of why Spike was the way he was. Still, it wasn’t an excuse to treat her the way he had. Why should she take the brunt of his ugly past? She wasn’t the one to blame for his wives’ indiscretions. If she were married to him she wouldn’t dream of being unfaithful and why the hell did I just have the insane thought of being married to the man anyway?

“Damnit,” she cursed, tripping over an unseen branch as she neared a huge oak tree. In the split second before she had the chance to right herself, she was yanked to the ground with lightening speed by an unseen force that stifled her, “Eeeep,” of surprise.

Her eyes went wide with terror and her second panicked cry was suppressed by a warm strong hand.

“Shhhhh.” Spike saw her coming from forty yards away and knew she’d blow this operation if he hadn’t leapt up to pull her down into his hand-dug trench. He spoke in a hushed but deadly serious tone. “`M gonna let go, but don’ scream. Got it?” She nodded and he slowly released the pressure of his hand from her mouth. He was suddenly very aware of how he’d grabbed her body and the fact they were now face to face on their sides, the front of their bodies flush to one another’s inside the narrow trench.

Even before he spoke, she’d recognized those piercing blue eyes that contrasted starkly against the face that was patterned in camo paint to blend into the surroundings. “Spike,” she whispered. The nearness of him took her by surprise and she instinctively tried to get away, pushing against his chest only to be pulled tighter against him by the arm he had encircling her waist. “Let go of me. What do you think you’re doi...”

He covered her mouth again. Stupid bint. “Shut your gob, Summers, `m serious,” he hissed at her. “Take a look over there.” He nodded near where he’d taken her down. “See that line? Tha’s trip-wire and you were `bout to run into it and blow our entire operation wide open before the enemy came through. I had to stop you.” She looked back and forth from him to where he’d indicated then nodded in acknowledgment so he removed his hand from her mouth.

“I’ll step over it, I promise. Now let me go.” This was entirely too uncomfortable a situation to be in with any man, especially when said man looked damn hot in camo paint, of all things. It made for quite the awkward position when she realized he was probably still angry with her. He shook his head and used both arms to still her movements when she tried to push against him again.

“Can’ do that. That wire `s crisscrossed everywhere in this area and you won’ be able to see now that `s dark. `M sorry, but I can’ have you settin’ off somethin’ that took us over two hours to set up.” There was no reason to hold onto her as tightly as he was but damn, he couldn’t get over how good she felt and the fact she was really in his arms, however odd the circumstances were.

“Can’t you walk me through it? Please? Faith is waiting for me.”

“No. Now lower your voice and listen, you stupid chit. This operation has been underway now for almost an hour.” It was the truth, but also a great excuse to keep her right here with him.

“It’s just an exercise for God sakes. It isn’t like this is for real.” The suspicion he wasn’t being entirely honest with her and was suddenly resorting to his old ways had her on edge. He didn’t need to hold her hostage here, she was sure of it.

“Yes, `s jus’ an exercise, but,” now he was irritated. This might be a game to her, but this was his job, what he was trained to do, to go to war and everything was treated as if it were a real combat situation. “`F it were a real, you’d be dead. `M not gonna get my platoon in trouble cuz some lazy female CLINIC soldier was late gettin’ to her post.”

“Excuse me?” Her voice went loud and he immediately clamped his hand back over her mouth and gave her a deadly warning stare to remain silent.

“`M warnin’ you, Summers. Shut that cake hole of yours now.” He waited until he was sure she understood just how serious he was before releasing her again.

“How long do we have to stay here?” she whispered.

“As long as it takes. Could be an hour, could be four. You’ll jus’ have to deal with it. Now BE SILENT.” He went back to scanning the area for any movement, determined to ignore her intoxicating scent and the warmth her body gave his as they lay on the cold ground.

Long minutes passed before she began wiggling, causing an immediate response to his manhood.

“What the bloody hell are you doin’?”

“I need some circulation back to my legs. I’m getting stiff.”

“`F you don’ stop movin’ around, you’re not the only one who’s gonna be stiff.” He wasn’t trying to be crude, not really. What he’d said was true and at least it made her go stone still.

“I can’t believe you just said that.” He gave her a disbelieving look which luckily wasn’t missed since their eyes were adjusted to the darkness. “I take it back. That IS something you would totally say.”

“Shhhh!” Maybe he should just gag her.

“Fine, you won’t hear another word out of me.”

Finally.

A few more minutes passed and he still kept his arm around her waist even when sweeping the area every now and then with his night vision goggles using his free hand. She couldn’t help becoming overly suspicious and went into self-defense mode, desperate to at least put some distance between them.

“I bet you’re loving this.”

“What?!?!” He turned to look into her accusing green eyes. Of course. She thought he was going to try something with her. “Don’ flatter yourself pet, tha’s the furthest thing from my mind.” She looked doubtfully at him, and rightfully so.

“What are we suppose to do while we’re here?” She couldn’t take much more of this-this... being still crap.

He smirked at her. “I’ve got a few things in mind what we could do.” He really shouldn’t have said that but she brought out the instinctual dirty-minded male side to his personality.

“Oh, GOD. I knew it. Get your mind out of the gutter.” He clamped his hand back over her mouth.

“`S not exactly a gutter but...” his eyes ran the length of the trench so she caught his meaning. She thankfully went silent again, but of course it didn’t last. The second he let go of her mouth she just had to have the last word.

“Trench mouth.” Great, I’ve let him reduce me to name calling. Lame much, Buffy?”

“Tha’s a bacterial infection of the gums, pet. I think you meant somethin’ else.”

“I know what the hell it is,” she whispered while still managing to fill her tone with venom. “I hate you.”

“Whatever. Now shut it.”

“Hey! You’re one here with rapid peristalsis of the mouth.”

“What in the bloody hell `s that?” God, she was annoying.

“Means nothing but shit flows out of your mouth... diarrhea style.”

“Very witty. Now will you PLEASE... shut the fuck up?” She was driving him nuts even when she hmmph’ed in response but said nothing else. He could see her pout forming and did his best not to let it affect him. She looked like a little girl instead of the woman he knew her to be and it made him want to kiss that pout away. Erghhhh, get it outta your head, mate.

A few more minutes passed before she couldn’t take it anymore. She had to do the whole carpe diem thingy because more than likely she’d never get the opportunity after this. If he was going to go back to being an ass, she at least wanted to do the right thing before he made her change her mind.

“I’m sorry.”

“`Scuse me?” What the bleedin’ hell is she on `bout now?

“For what I said to you about your ex wives, a-at the mall. I’m... I’m really sorry.” There, it was done.

“Summers, `f you don’ shut your bloody gob I’ll shut it for you.” He instantly regretted not accepting her apology but the bloody bint just wouldn’t stay quiet and it was important to have complete silence during this exercise.

“I’m trying to apologize.” Could he be any ruder?

“Don’ test me, cuz... jus’ be quiet. Can you do that, please?” He was trying to temper the situation though inside he was touched she actually apologized for hurting him. If they were anywhere else but here, well, he wasn’t sure how he’d react.

“I’m trying to be nice here and you’re telling me to shut up?” He just couldn’t accept it. Like she expected him too? Hell, she wouldn’t forgive herself either. She was about to give up and ignore him completely when he just had to open his big mouth again and really piss her off.

“`M warnin’ you. `F you don’ shut that pretty mouth `f yours right now, I promise you won’ like the results.”

“Are you threatening me? HA! Let me up so I can find the right size branch and kick your,” she feigned his accent. “Bloody arse.”

“I warned you.” That was it. He couldn’t have her yammering but he damn sure didn’t want her thinking her apology wasn’t appreciated either. So he made his move, hoping she wouldn’t slap him for his effort in trying to achieve both objectives.

His warm mouth unexpectedly covered hers, swallowing her yelp of surprise. She pushed against him with all her might but he trapped her firmly in his steely embrace, drawing her closer, one hand to the back of her head, the other wrapping ever tighter about her waist.

“You’re forgiven,” he spoke out of the corner of his mouth so he didn’t have to pull away from her.

He forgave her? He forgives me, she internally sighed with relief, feeling the weight of her guilt lift even as he pressed his lips harder against hers.

He frantically sought her surrender to the kiss, fought with his mouth for mutual participation. No woman went out of her way to apologize to a man she supposedly hated... especially not his Buffy. She felt something for him; he was sure of it and wanted desperately to confirm this before letting her go.

No, no. Shouldn’t be... can’t, “Ah-mmph,” doing this. Her lips parted to gasp for air and he quickly seized the opportunity to invade her mouth with his tongue.

Her struggles slowly tapered, whimpers of protest weakening to give way to moans. Her mind, however, remained locked in battle, knowing she shouldn’t be doing this, trying to get her arms to cooperate and resume the fight to push him away from her. The taste of his tongue against hers quickly brought back her conflicting thoughts from earlier. They marched right into her brain to clash then overrun all logic. If that wasn’t enough, her body betrayed her as well, began to respond on its own, humming under his touch, coming in to act as reinforcement to provide a ready justification she could accept later as her will unraveled.

Tiny sighs of bliss escaped her throat in unison with his moaning. His grip to her waist loosened the moment he felt her hand on his back, holding him to her while she turned her mouth sideways to give him more access, kissing him back with equal fervor. This was heaven and he never felt better in his lonely life than he did right now with her in his arms. He became lost in that moment, forgetting where they were and what he was supposed to be doing, all he knew is he wanted more and moved his hand to cup her face before rolling her onto her back.

Everything he was doing felt so incredible, every delicious swipe of his tongue, every gentle stroke of his thumb to her cheek and, “Mmmmm,” suddenly she was on her back, her knees being nudged apart so he could plant his strong thighs between her legs and press his erection against her center. Her hips instinctively bucked against his bold move, causing him to growl into her mouth, setting her nerves on fire.

His conscience tugged at him, telling him this was going too far and not to ruin whatever truce they’d just achieved by trying to rut with her in the dirt. Oh, Chris’, gotta stop, help me to stop. As if God himself heard his prayer, the very next moment someone tripped the alarm and the smoke bombs went off with a hiss, signaling his need to spring into action. Bloody hell. It had to be, no matter how much he wished he could stay right here with her, things were getting too heated and it wasn’t the place or time. He pulled away from her to place a few light, reassuring kisses to her lips.

“Thank you, kitten... thank you.” He placed another short kiss to her lips then leapt up and took off.

Before she knew it, he was gone, leaving her in a daze of need. She heard what he said but her mind and body needed a moment to recover then process what the hell just happened. She rolled over and watched as a flurry of action took place all around her accompanied by the ‘rat-a-tat-tat’ of blanks being fired in this simulated war. It took quite a few minutes for things to calm down and when she saw an opportunity to get up and move about without interfering, she quickly headed off to find the ambulance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy walked past a small group of soldiers, heading for the ambulance where Faith sat in the driver’s seat, looking bored while reading a magazine.

“Hey, B. Where were you?”

“I got held up a bit longer helping second platoon with their causalities.”

“Huh.” She smiled curiously at her. “If you say so.”

She shrugged her shoulders at Faith’s odd response and kept walking towards the back of the vehicle. She was still feeling flushed from Spike’s kisses and needed something to drink. Opening the double doors, she climbed in, flicked on the overhead lights and retrieved her canteen.

The sound of someone knocking against the side brought her attention to the door after swallowing a mouthful of water. “Just a second.” Hopping out, she was briefly greeted by Gunn’s bright smile before that smile was traded out for an expression that could only be described as weird.

“Hey there. Uhmm... you got a little,” he raised his hand and brushed his mouth.

“What?” She put her fingers to her mouth and wiped at it. “Is it water?”

“No. More like,” he pointed above his own lip and waited while she wiped the area casually. “And... there,” he indicated the sides of her mouth.

“God, what is it?” She started freaking out, thinking she was covered in dirt or worse, a smooshed bug. She wiped furiously at her mouth with the back of her hand then brought it up to the light for inspection.

Gunn watched her eyes go huge as she groaned, “Oh God!” When she looked back at him, she felt her face go hot with embarrassment as he gave her a toothy grin, shook his head in amusement then walked away, chuckling as he went. What the light revealed was camo paint... Spike’s camo paint. It must have rubbed off all over her when they were kissing. Mortified, she quickly went for a pack of baby wipes, the most indispensable item a soldier can bring to the field and scrubbed her face clean while Faith looked over her shoulder to ask.

“Take it he accepted your apology?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gunn walked towards the Tactical Operations Center, or TOC tent and nearly ran right into Spike as he was exiting.

“Whoa, mate.”

“Hey there,” his voice held enthusiasm but with just a hint of mild sarcasm for good measure as he took in his friend’s appearance. “Looks like someone’s gonna be knee deep in peroxide before we go out tomorrow night.”

“Huh?”

Gunn held up a finger to say ‘wait a second’, pulled his camo-paint pack out and opened it before handing it over. “Have a look.”

Spike held the mirror side up to his face and emitted a string of curses as he took in the sight of his smudged war paint.

“Seems Summers is wearing the other half.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The very next day.

Everyone finished taking inventory back on post at the Infantry unit’s motor pool and were about to be released for some much needed R&R when Gunn came trotting up to Buffy and Faith as they headed for Faith’s car.

“Ladies,” he called out until they stopped to face him. “NCO club tonight at eight, it’s the ritual.”

“But we’re not part of your company.” She knew what he meant but turned to inform Faith. “Every time they come back from the field, they have drinks at the NCO club.”

“True, but you participated so you have to come... both of you.” He looked from one to the other.

“Not my usual hang out but count me in. I’m not one to break tradition and there ARE a couple of hotties I wouldn’t mind seeing again.”

“You can’t be serious?” The question was directed at Gunn but both answered ‘yes’ at the same time.

“Come on, B. You know you want to go.” She laughed when Buffy rolled her eyes at her.

“Fine. Eight o’clock. But I’m only staying long enough for one beer.”

“Great. See ya there.” Now that he was sure she’d be showing tonight, all he had left to do was make sure his best friend kept up his end of the bet and showed his new ‘do’ off tonight. Faith approached him during the week and had a little talk with him about her thoughts on the blonde couple. Seemed Buffy’s friend was well aware of what had been going on all along and was totally willing to help in any way she could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I am NOT going to wear this.” No way, it was too, too... brazen for her taste.

“You look totally hot. Besides, I agreed to stay for one drink and run interference from Sergeant Sweet Cheeks in that pathetic place they dare call a club and for that... you ARE coming out with me for once to a real bar.”

“Fine, but can I at least switch tops? I’d feel more comfortable in something of my own.” She stared at her own reflection and whirled around, taking in the clothes Faith insisted she wear from her own wardrobe.

“Nope. Now come on, we’re already late and it’s time to get our drink on. I arranged for a cab to pick us up at eight thirty so we can get trashed tonight and not worry about driving.” If everything went as planned, her friend and this Spike guy would be between the sheets by night’s end.

“Okay, okay.” She had to admit she did look good in the little black outfit, and it wasn’t overly revealing but she still felt uncomfortable, more so over Spike’s reaction to it since he would more than likely be there.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the NCO club

Their group was a bit larger than usual after Gunn informed everyone that the two MEDDAC females would be joining them for drinks. Spike was a mess of conflicting emotions as he stood there when Gunn made the little announcement earlier that day at the motor pool. Yes, he’d bleached the top of his hair and yes he showed up, but not to prove to Gunn that he’d kept their bet so much as to be there when Buffy showed. He wasn’t sure what he would say to her or how she would act towards him after what took place between them, but he wouldn’t have any of his comrades thinking she was up for grabs... no matter what he had to do to fend them off.

Just as he finished that thought, there she was, standing with her back to him at the bar with her friend and bloody hell! She looked, looked... he swallowed hard, hotter than he’d ever seen her. The civilian clothes he’d seen on her were cute, very cute, but tonight she looked like a goddess, decked out in leather except for the black cotton top that was held together by a long line of silky, feminine strings that braided down her entire back to tie neatly in a bow. When she turned around, he noticed it showed her mid-riff off where she sported a silver belly ring. The short black leather mini-skirt barely came to mid thigh and her knee-high boots he’d seen her wear before completed the outfit. Every male in the place had to be as hard as he was right now. She looked like the little sex kitten he knew her to be and he couldn’t help but wink at her when she caught him staring. He was sure she’d dressed that way just for him, and he was definitely going to show her just how much he appreciated the gesture. Seems she’d finally come around and accepted the inevitable... they belonged together.

“Okay, I got my beer. Now let’s go find Gunn and his motley crew of foot soldiers.”

“Oh my God!” Faith had already turned around and the sight she saw took her by complete surprise right before she burst out laughing.

“Wha...” Turning around, she quickly caught sight of the reason for her roomdawg’s, as they called themselves, laughter. There was Spike, standing next to Gunn, looking as fine as ever in his more typical, all black ensemble, but with the top of his wavy locks bleached out like a Californian surfer, winking at her. “What the hell?” The wink was the second shock to the shade he’d chosen to dye his hair with and he had that all too familiar smug look about him. She quickly turned back around and picked up her beer, taking a huge swig from it. “Oh-my-God!” This was so not happening. He looked good, surprisingly sexy in a ‘punk’ kind of way with the dye job, but the look on his face had her fuming. The cocky gesture meant he must have misinterpreted their kiss for something more than what it was... a heat of the moment thing that her lack of better judgment had lured her to participate in.

“Your boy looks good, B. Come on, time to join them for this drink before we high-tail it outta here.”

“Yeah.” It only took a moment to recall the way he’d treated her all along and his expression suggested he was going back to being the jerk she knew him to be. Erghhhh, how dare he after she’d went and apologized. She thought that meant something to him. Obviously not. Fine, okay, if he was going to go back to being his usual arrogant self, well, she would just have to remind him where he stood with her. “Excuse me,” she smiled sweetly at the bartender. “Do you have a pen I can borrow?” The young man handed her what she needed in order to put Spike back in his place and she threw him a large tip before asking Faith to bring her beer for her as they walked towards the crew of men that now stared in open appreciation of the sight of them dressed so provocatively until, Buffy rushed Spike with a huge smile on her face.

She jumped up and down like an excited teenager in front of him, waving a napkin and a pen in his face, completely throwing him off his game.

“Oh my, God, it’s Billy Idol. Please oh please, can I get your autograph, Mr. Idol?”

The crowd erupted in hysterics around her and Gunn wrapped his arm around her shoulders to squeeze her in a half hug. “Well done, well done.”

Bloody bint. He didn’t think he looked half bad until she openly embarrassed him in front of his mates.

For the next twenty minutes, Buffy put as much distance between them as possible, smiling away at his friends, making small talk while drinking her beer, ignoring his presence entirely. He thought for sure, no, he knew they’d come to an understanding with the way she kissed him back and even encouraged his advances in the woods. Now... now she was back to acting as if he were beneath her, unworthy of acknowledgement in any form.

“We need a woman’s perspective,” Gunn turned to both the girls. “Men have the same typical reasons for joining the Army, but what’s the story on why you two joined?” Faith answered him first.

“This is the only place where I’m treated as an equal and can make as much money as a man.”

Buffy chimed in to back her friend up. “I agree. I mean let’s face it, in the civilian sector men make two thirds of the world’s income. But here,” she spread her hands wide, “We’re equals. It doesn’t matter the age or gender, it’s time in service that determines income.”

“Sounds like rubbish to me,” Spike quickly interjected, trying to gain some measure of her attention.

Faith nodded in agreement with Buffy. “Take a man and a woman who are both at the same executive level in corporate America. The typical paycheck for that female executive is at least twenty thousand less than the guy who has the same amount of experience in terms of years with the company.”

“Shoot,” Gunn went ghetto. "I’d give twenty percent of my paycheck to have multiple orgasms.” Everyone around them burst out laughing while a few of the men shouted, ‘here, here’.

“Speaking of... time to hustle,” Faith nudged Buffy’s side while pointing to her watch. She needed to keep ‘operation orgasm’ on schedule if she and Gunn were going to succeed.

“Gotcha.” She walked over to Gunn and ignored Spike completely as she embraced him for a hug. “Gotta go, sorry. It’s been fun, thank you.”

“Awww,” several of the guys chimed at the same time. “Leaving us so soon?”

“`Fraid so.”

“Hot date, huh?” Gunn asked.

“Something like that.” She winked at him, all the while feeling Spike’s eyes bore a very welcome, jealous hole through her clothes. Good. He should have known better. If he’d been nice to her, they might have had a pleasant conversation for once. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. He’d chosen to resort back to being the natural born ass he was and ruin everything. His loss... totally. She felt a smug sense of satisfaction when she caught him staring after her retreating form and she purposefully exaggerated the sway of her hips to drive home the unspoken point.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the cab dropped them off twenty minutes later outside of the main city, Buffy wondered exactly what she’d gotten herself into. They walked into a club filled with loud alternative rock, strobe lights, both men and women dancing inside suspended cages dressed in next to nothing.

“Welcome to my world, B. Come on.” She grabbed her arm and dragged her to the bar. “Two starters,” she ordered the bartender who looked like the guy from ‘OCC Choppers’. He nodded at her, set two short glasses on the bar and proceeded to fill it with two different kinds of alcohol before setting it on fire. “Drink up, roomdawg.” She handed Buffy her fiery drink, blew the flame out to her own and downed it in one gulp.

“Uhmm... fuck it.” After seeing the bartender give her a preemptive look, she followed Faith’s example and licked her lips over the sweet taste it left in her mouth. “Wow. That was... wow! Can I have another?”

“Trust me, one of those is enough. Two of the usual, please.” She waited until he made two whiskey sours and added the cherries, then handed him a fifty before adding, “Keep `em coming.”

Buffy sipped hesitantly at the mixed drink, but soon found herself comfortably numb midway through the second.

It was twenty past ten when Faith saw Gunn walking towards the bar... Spike in tow as planned. “Let’s dance,” she grabbed Buffy’s drink right out of her hand and set it down on the counter.

“Huh?”

“Your boy just showed up and I’m trying to save you. Trust me,” she nodded towards the other end of the bar and watched as Buffy looked over, recognition along with dread crawling across her features when she caught sight of him. “Don’t worry, we can keep ourselves busy. Besides, don’t you wanna make him regret what he lost out on?” She winked and took her friend’s hand to lead her out on the dance floor, watching Buffy’s expression change from one of confusion to complete understanding.

She wasn’t drunk, not completely and she knew Faith well enough by now to understand where she was going with this. “Sooooo, make him jealous?”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Av1QjAfJ1ak

“Yeah... something like that.” She reached the center of the dance floor and brought Buffy’s hands to wrap around her waist before raising her own above her head to engage in the beat of the tune that began, swaying her hips seductively close to her friend’s.

Mother of God, Gunn thought as he spotted Buffy and her roommate out on the dance floor less than thirty seconds after Spike and he reached the bar. He nudged an elbow in his buddy’s side and cocked his head in the girls’ direction. “Get a load of that.”

“What?” Looking across the sea of people, he instantly honed in on what had his friend totally transfixed. Taking in the lyrics of ‘One Inch Punch’, he went impossibly hard, caught like a fly in a spider’s web at the vision the two women created as they danced together erotically to the seductive words.

I strike, quickly being bold

You're all, you're all dogs
You're just dogs of the house
You're weak, weak, weak, weak slaves
The weak slave goes to the wall, oooh

'Cause I am
I am that pretty piece of flesh
I am a pretty piece of flesh

“I think this falls under the don’t ask, don’t tell policy,” Gunn mused aloud.

“Indeed.” Spike wished he’d worn a slightly looser pair of jeans as he had to adjust his erection when Buffy ran her hands down the front of Faith’s body, barely avoiding the other woman’s breasts.

Go, go, foes can never measure to the crew as we roll on
Blast the amplifiers in the back with their soul on
A pretty piece of flesh and yes, you better show your crest
Shoulder holster strapped, I'm pulling from the chest

Guess who's gonna be the first to pull it from you?
But if the steel seal representing Montague
Lovelorn torn from two sides, singin' at dark skies
To the heavens, I'll be seeing worlds collide

Faith wrapped an arm around Buffy’s waist the second she knew the two blondes made eye contact. Whatever happened from here was no longer within her control. All she could do was steer them in the right direction with Gunn’s help if they could group together after this dance.

I'm dodgin' bullets and bang, it's hard to hang
Doing a hundred miles an hour like a video game
Rollin' brick thick and diesel thinking nothin' can faze me
With nickel plated sword slingin', livin' is crazy

Stars collide, worlds divide with a pretty piece of flesh
Your little pretty piece of flesh
Stars collide, worlds divide with a pretty piece of flesh
Your little pretty piece of flesh

Suddenly, another man came up to slide himself in between the two beautiful women.

Watching his Buffy so intimately wrapped between her roommate and another guy, writhing and gyrating to the erotic beat had his blood boiling with jealousy.

I am a pretty piece of flesh
I am a pretty piece of flesh

I will split you in two
Shake shake shake boom
I strike, quickly being bold
You're all, you're all dogs

“Be right back, mate.” His legs carried him forward, pushing through the crowd of dancers in order to reach the object of his affection, determined to put a stop to all of the attention she was receiving and paying to her dance partners.

Gunn signaled Faith with his head as Spike neared the trio and watched her lead the guy away from Buffy who had her back to them. He was glad she understood what he meant because he didn’t want this to turn into a bar room brawl. His second sigh of relief came when Spike headed straight for Buffy instead of the idiot boy.

Stars collide, worlds divide with a pretty piece of flesh
(you're just dogs of the house)
Pretty piece of flesh (you're weak, weak, weak, weak slaves)
Stars collide, worlds divide with a pretty piece of flesh
(the weak slave goes to the wall, oooh)
Pretty piece of flesh

With her hands above her head, eyes closed, body swaying slowly, she felt a distinctly male pair of hands touch her wrists and ghost their way down her arms, sides and waist to settle low on her hips, fingers splayed across her abdomen. At first she thought it was the man that came to dance with her and Faith, but the familiar scent and feel of leather against her back when he pressed himself against her set off the warning alarm.

'Cause I am, I am, I'm that pretty piece of flesh
I am a pretty piece of flesh
I am a pretty piece of flesh
I am a pretty piece of flesh, I am

Spike leaned in close to her ear. “`Lo, luv.” He felt her tense against him but he pulled her body closer against his.

Whatever buzz she had fled as the deep British voice purred in her ear. She stood her ground even though she wanted to flee the second she knew who it was, but no way was Spike going to chase her away from having a good time.

“What are you’re doing, Spike?” She kept dancing against him, determined to show him he couldn’t scare her.

Stars collide, worlds divide with a pretty piece of flesh
Your little pretty piece of flesh
Stars collide, worlds divide with a pretty piece of flesh
Your little pretty piece of flesh

“Dancin’ with my girl.” She turned around with that familiar fire in her eyes then surprised him by wrapping her arms around his neck and grinding up against him. He wasn’t sure what to make of her brazen behavior but he was more than willing to go along with it. She raised a hand to the back of his head and drew him down within millimeters of her parted lips. He was so sure she was going to kiss him until she spoke.

“I’m not your girl.” The song faded out. Dropping her arms, she grabbed his and removed them from around her waist. “Thanks for the dance.”

Minx! He wasn’t going to let her off that easy. If she thought she could escape him, she had another thing coming. He watched her walk over to Gunn who was already talking with Faith and headed straight for them.

Buffy figured it out, or at least she thought she did. Faith must have told Gunn where they were going and when he told Spike, it was obvious Spike had dragged Gunn with him, because none of the other guys from the NCO club were with them. She played it cool, though. That was fine with her. She could handle him, she’d just ignore him like she had earlier tonight, although she would definitely refrain from dancing anymore. She’d felt his erection when he pressed it into her bottom and no matter how her body reacted; she wasn’t going to give him that opportunity again tonight.

Turning around, she saw a very determined looking Spike walking towards her with a dangerous look on his face. She shook her head and laughed, what did he think he was going to do? “I’m going to the bathroom, be right back,” she told Faith then walked away. Let him come after her, there was no way he could follow her into the ladies room. Wrong!

No sooner had she walked into the bathroom and was fluffing her hair in front of the mirror than Spike came barging right in, locking the door behind him.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You can’t be in here.”

“The hell I can’. I’ve got no qualms `bout bein’ in here jus’ like you were in the men’s room a few weeks ago with me. Now tell me, pet. What the hell were you tryin’ to prove out there?”

She turned back towards the mirror and continued primping. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I have nothing to prove. Especially not to you.”

“Fair `nough. But what I wanna know `s wha’s with the cold shoulder after that hot kiss yesterday?”

She whipped around and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare go there. Don’t you dare cheapen my apology by throwing that in my face.”

“Chris’, Buffy. Tha’s not what `m doin’. I thought we were past that?” God, she was frustrating him to no end.

“We are. We’re past everything and now you can leave.”

“Stop kiddin’ yourself. Tha’s not what you want and we both know it.” She laughed at him, really laughed at him and it pissed him off. “You want me to leave?” he asked angrily.

“Gee, I don’t know,” she laid the sarcasm on thick. “It’s only what I just said, but maybe I don’t. MAYBE... I want you to stay because I’m really in love you and just can’t admit it.” Okay, that sounded weird coming out of her mouth, even though it was only meant as a jibe.

“Okay, Summers. `F you want me to leave, then tha’s what I’ll do.”

“Finally!” She threw her hands up in the air. “Thank y...” he cut her off.

“BUT. We have some business that needs takin’ care of first before I walk out that door.”

“And what’s that?” She watched him tilt his head to the side and give her a sexy smirk, making her extremely nervous.

“There’s the matter of that kiss you owe me. Time to pay up, pet.” He curled his tongue behind his teeth. Fine, he’d leave her be, but not before collecting that kiss. He planned on using it against her, make her so weak in the knees she couldn’t deny her feelings. Leave her breathless and thinking hard, maybe it’ll make her come to him for once after he left her like that.

“Uh-uh,” she crossed her arms and leaned against the sink. “No way. You got your kiss back in the trench.”

“Noooo, noooo,” he shook his head at her. “I did that to shut you up cuz you couldn’ keep from runnin’ that mouth of yours.”

“I hate you,” she seethed. “If you think I’m...”

“`M not gonna leave till I get it, right here,” he pointed to the floor. “Right now.” He watched the anger flash across her face and smiled. Soon. Soon you won’ be able to deny what we could have.

“Do you have my dog tags?” He nodded and pulled them out from under his shirt, dangling them so they rattled against his own.

“Ready to make the trade?” She held her hand out but he shook his head. “Tsk, tsk, pet. You should know me better than that. `M not givin’ them back till after.”

“You wear them?” Obsessed much? That was... disturbing. Good God, when this man had a goal in mind, he really pursued it. He’d had her in his cross-hairs for weeks on end, was dead set on getting her in bed and she got just a little bit more nervous as he neared her, hoping the adage wasn’t true that persistence pays.

“Bloke’s gotta be prepared,” he shrugged indifferently. That’s the excuse he came up with every morning he looked in the mirror and saw them. Of course now he’d grown attached to them, would miss them in a way after wearing them for so long. But if it got him the girl, the rightful owner, it was worth it.

“Fine.” She leaned her palms on the sides of the sink and cleared her throat while shaking her hair to the side. “Let’s just get this over with, shall we?” Oh God, oh God, oh god. He was already swaggering towards her with an evil glint in his eye, sneering in that dead sexy way that had her heart hammering in her chest. If my body reacts, it reacts. No big deal, it’s just a physical reaction to a really hot man who knows how to kiss... among other things. Sure, that was one way to look at it, but was it the whole truth? No. And she knew it. “Just ONE kiss.”

“Tha’s all I want.” Tha’s all it’ll take.

Oh yeah, he was going to drag this out for all it was worth, take his time, work her up, make her want it. Standing within inches of her, he raised a hand to run it over her hair then tilted his head and pulled a few strands up to press against his nose, inhaling its fragrance.

“What are you doing?” Her question came out weak, her voice a bit shaky. She watched his eyes close and a smile grace his lips as he sniffed her hair deeply. “I thought you were going to kiss me.”

He let go of her silky locks and tucked them behind her ear. “Jus’ takin’ my time. Why?” He gave her a curious look. “Am I makin’ you nervous?” He could see it in her eyes, hear it in her voice but knew she’d deny it. If she only knew that every time she did that, it was an open invitation for him to prove her wrong. Silly bint. She invited trouble with her defiant attitude. Her stubborn pride would be her undoing but of course he’d be right there making sure she enjoyed every second of it with no regrets.

“No.”

“`Course not.” So predictable.

“Can you please just get it over with?” He was up to something, she could tell from the mischief that danced in his eyes.

“Eh-eh-eh. This `s MY kiss and I get to take however much bloody time I want.” She rolled her eyes at him and went to say something but he placed a single finger to her lips. “`F you want this over with, then I suggest you keep quiet.”

Ooooooo, that smug bastard. No problem, no problem at all, I’ll stay quiet if that’s what it takes.

“Now where was I?” Removing his finger from her mouth, he reached for her face and threaded his fingers into her hair with both hands, bringing his lips within millimeters of hers. She closed her eyes on instinct, expecting him to kiss her but he held back. He turned his face and placed his cheek against hers, nuzzling it up and down gently before coming back to lean his forehead against hers. Her chest began heaving against his and the feel of her nipples tightening into pebbles through the thin cotton of both their shirts made him impossibly hard. He drew his fingers slowly through the full length of her hair then gently dragged his fingertips down the satiny ties of her shirt until his hands settled on her hips.

She opened her eyes to stare into his and watched in fascination as they turned a different shade of blue, the intensely sapphire hue becoming steadily clouded over with lust while his hands opened and closed, squeezing her hips in a pulsing rhythm. She knew she was in trouble when his thumbs began rubbing in teasing circles against the bare skin between where her top ended and skirt began. It was a tantalizing type of tickle meant to get her excited and damn... it was working. She tried to remain still but she could feel his heartbeat accelerating right along with hers they were pressed so intimately together with every ragged breath they took in unison.

What he really wanted was to hike up her skirt, lift her tiny body to sit on the counter and shag her senseless, but he couldn’t. If she was ever going to want him half as bad as he wanted her then he needed to give her just a sample, a taste of what she could have all the time if only she’d give herself over to him completely. The ultimate fantasy? For her to be the one to ask him to take her to his bed.

She sighed and closed her eyes when she felt the bulge between his legs dig into her belly as he buried his head into her neck, brushing his lips across her skin. His touch was light, lips soft as silk as he dragged them torturously slow up then down, over and over until he brought them close to her ear.

“Love your scent, pet. Drives me insane.” Bending his knees, his hands traveled downward along with his lips as he feathered them over her throat, across her chest where her blouse met the top of her heaving breasts and up towards the opposite ear. His palms met with the smooth expanse of her bare thighs and he was grateful for her choice in wearing the ultra short mini skirt. He moaned in appreciation then flicked his tongue out to trace the shell of her ear, enjoying the tiny gasp that escaped her when he did this.

Her knuckles turned red then white from gripping the counter tighter and tighter as the seconds wore on, trying desperately to fight his assault to her senses. Goosebumps on her skin, butterflies in her stomach, tingles of ecstasy racing through her veins to pulse deep in her womb... in a way she didn’t want it to end but he had to kiss her sometime. Right? Why hadn’t he kissed her yet? Oh my, GOD! Her eyes flew open wide and looked down. “What are you doing?” While her eyes had been closed, she didn’t notice he’d managed to sink to his knees and had her skirt up around her waist.

“Givin’ you a kiss,” he replied simply. She could say stop anytime she wanted to and he would, but he prayed she wouldn’t as he reached her underwear and began pulling them ever so slowly downward.

“B-but... there?” She should have been horrified, should have pushed him away, tried to get herself to do just that but she was frozen right where she was.

“Never said I wanted to kiss the lips on that pretty face `f yours.” He watched her eyes go even wider. “Don’ worry. Jus’ one kiss... I promise.”

The sight of him on his knees wanting to-do, to-do that to her was so arousing she felt a sharp pulse of need shoot straight through her exposed womanhood as he pulled her panties all the way down to her ankles. He gently lifted one foot and then the other to pull her underwear completely free from her body and oh God he had her so turned on, the way his eyes remained fixed on hers the entire time, like he was deliberately hypnotizing her to remain still. He did say it would be just one kiss... right?

He tucked her knickers into the pocket of his duster and brought his gaze level with the curls of her sex. Sliding a hand behind her knee, he raised it over his shoulder, opening her up to his hungry, waiting mouth. Her musky scent was potent and she was glistening in her own juices. He breathed in the perfume of her arousal one more time then darted his tongue out to take small, tentative licks.

Like a kitten lapping cream, he kept his touch light, taking short swipes, pausing between each to savor the tang of her honey, purring deep from within his throat the way she infused his taste buds with her unique flavor. He was definitely going to clean her of every last precious drop before finally giving her that kiss. Working his way around her entire opening, he paused to pay special attention to her clit, licking it over and over then circling it with the very tip of his stiffened tongue. He spared a glance up at her face and was surprised she was actually still watching him. Seeing her glazed over expression, hearing her tiny, pleasure filled pants excited him beyond belief and he liked the fact she was watching him, hoped she’d continue too so she would remember this later. Bringing his attention back to the task at hand, he started just below her precious, dewy bud and licked one delectable, swollen fold slowly, caressing it tenderly with his tongue, running it around the entire perimeter of her heaven. Completing the circle where he began, he boldly pulled her clit between his lips to suck and pull on it, carefully gauging her reaction, hoping she would allow this to continue.

“Spike!” Her hands left the counter and grabbed his head. She closed her eyes tight against the suckling sensation to her needy button, her own head falling back as she gasped from the wash of ecstasy that swept through her belly. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take, but one thing was sure, he’d made her desperate for release and she was sure if he kept that up, it wouldn’t be long. “Ahhhh.”

Just a bit more, luv. Without warning, he plunged his tongue deep inside her opening, wrapping his mouth firmly around her pouty lips, purring as he turned rough in response to having her tiny hands pulling him harder against her. Both hands had remained on her hips during this time, but now he reached around to cup each side of her bottom firmly, pulling her into his mouth even deeper. To hell with breathing for now, her kittenish mewls filled his ears and drove him crazy wanting to devour her whole. He felt her quiver around his face and knew it was time.

Her legs began to shake uncontrollably, knees trembling, threatening to buckle any second under his attentions. She let go of him to reach back for the counter, feeling sure she’d have to hold herself up as her orgasm began winding its twisted path through her entire body.

Releasing his hold to her sweet ass and pulling back from her needy, twitching body, he very carefully removed her leg from his shoulder and set it down. She looked down at him, utter shock marking her every questioning feature. He placed a gentle yet sound kiss to her mound, pulled her skirt back in place and stood.

“Mmmmm,” he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and smiled. “You taste as sweet as I thought you would, luv.”

She was so stunned; all she could do was to watch as he lifted her dog tags from his neck and placed it over her head. Did he mean to leave her like this? It certainly looked that way as he straightened his jacket and placed a hand to his crotch to adjust himself. No, he wouldn’t do that, he’s not capable, she knew he was just as horny as she was.

“All paid up now, pet.” He hooked a thumb through his belt, gave her a devious smirk then turned to unlock the door. When he opened it, there stood three women obviously waiting to get in and use the bathroom. “`Scuse me ladies,” he said politely then sauntered proudly down the hallway. That was definitely the hardest thing he’d ever had to do, leave his girl like that and himself in such a desperate state of need, but jus’ let her think about that for a few days. He didn’t do it to be cruel, far from it actually. He did it to prove a point, that there was no denying they belonged together and sooner or later, she would have to accept it.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed. Have a great week and drop me line if you have some time. Huge cyber hug from me and a big fat kiss from my naughty muse, *giggles*.

Spike rejoined Gunn and Faith who, for whatever reason, stopped talking as soon as they saw him approach. Gunn cleared his throat.

“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Wanna order some grub?”

“Nah thanks... I already ate.” He picked up his beer and took a swig to conceal the guilty smirk from his face. A few seconds later and a blur of blonde hair went past him to grab Faith’s arm.

“It’s time to leave.”

“It is?” Confused, Faith looked to Gunn who merely shrugged his shoulders and turned to Spike for an answer but he still had his beer up to his lips.

“Yes,” she said as politely as possible while giving Gunn a quick smile and a half laugh. “It really is.”

Faith barely had time to set her drink down before she was dragged off while attempting to say ‘goodbye’.

“Huh. Wonder what’s eating her.” Gunn addressed Spike. He knew something was up.

Spike shook his head in response but couldn’t keep from chuckling at his friend’s unintended pun.

“Did you say something to upset her?” he asked accusingly. “Cuz I know you followed her.” Somehow, he knew it had to be Spike’s doing. He’d have to get to the bottom of things before night’s end, seeing that his and Faith’s plan went haywire.

“She’ll get over it.” Gunn gave him a pointed look. “Look. I didn’ say anythin’ to the stubborn bint she doesn’ already know. Plus,” he took out his dog tags and waved them proudly at Gunn to show he was no longer wearing Buffy’s.

“Way to go, my brother.” He slapped him on the back. “Must have left her pretty flustered to run off like that, eh?”

He smirked. “Le’s just say...I got my licks in.”

They stayed about an hour longer and as expected, Gunn began asking questions concerning Buffy. When he didn’t offer any details on the exchange for the dog tags, Gunn, of course, offered up his own philosophical point of view on things. It was a pleasant conversation to be sure, but one that unfortunately had its own set of enlightenments to certain facts that would leave him with many, many things to think seriously on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike tossed and turned in bed for half the night, heavily contemplating his conversation with Gunn.

Naturally his friend had asked if his intentions were indeed to pursue a relationship with Buffy to which his answer was a solid yes. Though scared shitless, he felt ready to try his hand at love again and it was all because of and only with her. However, when asked exactly how he planned on winning the tiny blonde’s affection, Spike was at a complete loss because, “whatever it is you’re doing now sure ain’t working.”

She practically ran out of the club after coming back from the bathroom and he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d possibly made a huge mistake by employing his latest plan?

“She’s a completely different creature from anyone you’ve ever been with.”

He didn’t have any one particular ‘type’ of woman he went for, but she most certainly was different. Tenacious, bold, clever, independent, passionate... If her good looks weren’t enough to make the average man nervous about approaching her, her character qualities were definitely intimidating. Not to him though. They were the very reasons why he admired her, wanted her. She was a magnificent blend of sensuality and smarts wrapped up in this gorgeous package of golden skin and blonde hair. She was one in a million.

“She’s not looking for a boyfriend.”

She said as much at the mall, said she wasn’t looking for a relationship, just like him, didn’t need a man in her life the same as he didn’t feel it necessary to have a woman in his. This was one more reason why he was sure they were perfectly suited for each other... if he could only get her to see it. For months on end his heart lay cold as stone in his chest, had long since stopped beating until she came along, awakened it, filled it with emotions he didn’t understand at the time, had denied, fought then misinterpreted... until now. And now that he understood, he couldn’t bare to be alone with his restless heart anymore.

What was it going to take to convince her to at least give him a chance? Since he obviously wasn’t going to get the answer from her, perhaps it was time to ask someone who better knew her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday morning, 9 AM.

He knocked three more times on the door. Oz was the only person Spike could think of that knew Buffy and would be willing to tell him anything that might be of some help in his pursuit of the Californian beauty.

“What’s up?” Oz stood there in nothing but a pair of flannel night pants.

“`M sorry, mate. Did I wake you?”

“No, just haven’t bothered to get dressed yet. Come on in.” He ushered his friend inside and followed him into the living room. He could tell something was on Spike’s mind from the way he sat leaned forward, elbows propped on his knees while jiggling one foot impatiently. “What’s this about?”

“Was hopin’ you could... er, maybe,” he paused to sigh heavily and run a hand over his face. “`S `bout Buffy.”

“What about Buffy?”

Spike’s eyes nearly popped out of his head when he whipped around to face the source of the female voice. There stood Willow in an oversized T-shirt and a pair of boxer shorts, arms crossed, looking none too pleased.

“Uhhhh... Are you two?” his finger went from her to Oz and back again before rapidly shaking his head back and forth as if clearing it. “Stupid question.” He stood. “Didn’ realize you had company, mate. I’ll leave.” Willow stepped into the living room from the hallway and sat next to Oz who wrapped an arm around her affectionately.

“No, stay. If this is about Buffy then I’m interested in hearing what you have to say.”

Uh-oh. He didn’t like the curious look on her face as it blended with a hint of annoyance. Judging from her attire and disheveled hair, he assumed he’d interrupted a morning shag-a-thon.

“`S nothin’ really.” Boy, was this awkward. “Jus’ thought Oz here might be able to tell me somethin’.” He looked over at his buddy who quirked an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Not to be all with the negative here, but what exactly do you want? Because if you’re just trying to sleep with her again then I’m leaving. I can’t be part of this conversation,” she looked to her boyfriend with big round eyes. “I’m sorry, honey,” then turned back to Spike. “We don’t see eye to eye on the issue of you and Buffy a-and uhmm, well, let me just say for the record... I don’t like you.”

Spike was stunned. Not that she didn’t like him, but that she apparently knew so much. Course she would. Then again, it might be a blessing that she was here.

“`S not like that.” She raised an accusing eyebrow at him. “Anymore,” he added for good measure.

“If you want something more with her, then you’re going to have to go through me. No one knows Buffy better than I do.” She put on her best serious face and pursed her lips.

Good, that’s what he was hoping for. “I do. Honest, I... oh bloody hell! Can you back me up here a bit, mate?” He needed some support and hoped Oz would give it to him.

“She’s just being protective.”

“Hey,” she slapped his arm. “SHE is sitting right here and yes, of course I’m going to protect her.” Her voice went soft but she remained stern when she told Spike. “All you’ve ever done is try to get in her pants and now suddenly you’re interested in being her boyfriend?” At least when he nodded he had the decency to look guilty as charged. She sighed. She knew he was telling the truth from everything Oz had already told her and since she didn’t want Buffy getting hurt, she’d have to help in any way she could. “If I tell you what you want to know you have to promise not to hurt her.” Shaking a finger at him. “Because if you do, I’ll-I’ll...” She stuck her chin out and knitted her brow together. “You don’t want to know.”

Spike chuckled at her scrunched up, child-like ‘mean face’ until she glared even harder at him. “Ahem, right. `S not gonna happen. I promise I’ll treat her right. Jus’ need some help in figurin’ her out.” She visibly relaxed as Oz kissed her cheek and began toying with her fingers as they rested in his lap.

“What exactly do you want to know?”

“`S she the flowers and candy type of bird?”

“Not really.” As soon as she answered, his leg started jiggling again and a troubled look crossed his features. “Why would you want to know something like that?”

“I think, not sure... I may have buggered things up with her last night.”

“As in, like, how?” She had a feeling she wasn’t going to like what she was about to hear.

“We had this deal, see, and I sort of took it... a bit farther.”

“Go on.” Nope, she definitely didn’t like the sound of this. “I know about the kiss.”

“Right.” How the hell was he supposed to say what he did without it sounding crude? “I gave her the kiss, but it wasn’t until I went... went... south of the border.” Oz’s face widened with instant recognition but Willow looked completely lost.

“South of the border?”

Oz leaned in to whisper in her ear and her face suddenly matched the red in her hair.

“But tha’s not all.” She was still blushing but he had to finish the story. “Got her worked up but didn’... you know. Didn’ finish the job.”

“WHAT?!?!” They both cried in unison.

“Was hopin’ it’d make her see how good we can be together.” Pathetic, mate. He could tell from their reactions his plan had indeed backfired.

“If I did that to Will...” she clamped a hand over her boyfriend’s mouth, sending a clear signal not to finish that sentence.

“That was your genius plan?” She shook her head. He was absolutely clueless. “You say you want to be with her but all you’ve managed to show her is that you want nothing BUT sex from her. Women don’t work that way, Spike. Sex does not equal love.”

He thought better than to ask her if that were really true or not. “I know.” I know that now.

“Do you?” she asked skeptically.

“What can I do to make it right? Get her to give me a chance?” He had to keep his focus on fixing things.

“You could start by apologizing but I doubt she’ll listen.” She actually began to feel bad for him when he looked even more distraught. “I’m not saying that to be mean but ever since Angel, she hasn’t wanted to be with anyone. He was her first everything and she has a hard time trusting guys.”

This got his attention right away. “You mean to say she’s never had sex with any other bloke but the great poof?” Christ, he could hardly believe it. He felt both lucky and proud but also guilty at the same time after what happened between them at Ft Lemonworth. No wonder she had such a dismal view of men.

“Just you and Angel.” He looked shocked. “She told me what happened back at... well, you were there. Obviously.” She fidgeted nervously. Talking to her former Drill Sergeant about having sex with her best friend was really creeping her out.

“There must be somethin’.” He began to feel desperate. “I really do care about her.”

Willow went to say something but Oz asked her to ‘let me handle it’.

“I suggest becoming her friend first. Earning a woman’s trust is the way to her heart and she has to trust you before she can feel anything for you.” He smiled when Willow kissed his cheek in approval.

“How do I start?”

“This may sound like a crazy idea, but you could start by just talking to her.”

He snorted. “Easier said than done, mate. `S Buffy we’re talkin’ `bout here.”

“But it’s where you’ll have to begin.”

Willow interjected.

“Think of the relationship process like a meal.” They both looked at her like she was crazy but she kept going. “You get your appetizer first. A preview of what’s to come as with the first time you see each other. Then your soup or salad, a comfort food that prepares you for the meal, like a nice conversation on a leisurely Sunday afternoon that holds no expectations or demands while you get to know each other. Next you’re served the main course. This part is meant to be eaten slowly so you can taste it, savor it. It’s smiles or a small touch here and there. Maybe add some butter, like holding hands or a hug. You can even throw a little salt on it, spice it up just a bit with your first kiss. THEN... and only then do you get your dessert. Just remember, any two people can have sex, but its better when you’ve prepared yourself for it.” They both sat there for a moment and stared at her until Oz broke the silence.

“I’m gonna go cook some breakfast.” He pointed a thumb behind him towards the kitchen. “That made me hungry. You want something to eat, Spike?”

“No thanks.” He had even more thinking to do it seemed, but at least hearing her little analogy gave him an excellent idea once he’d sorted things out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday

Now that she had time to think about it, Buffy not only regretted leaving the club early, but she was even more pissed with herself than she was at Spike for having left her sans underwear and orgasm. How dare she let him scare her off like that! Granted she was too flustered at the time and couldn’t see straight, let alone think, but what was she supposed to do? Pull him back into the bathroom and make him finish what he started? No way. No way was she going to let him win. She should have stayed, should have come right back out, held her head high and been social, stood her ground, show him she could take a licking and keep on ticking... literally.

Since it was too late now for any of that, her thoughts went to what she would say the next time she ran into him. She had many a random conversation play out in her head as to what she could say and how he would most likely respond. After a couple hours of that, she was mentally exhausted and more than frustrated. Where was the man who’d acted so differently while around Gunn’s children? Where was the man who’d accepted her apology? Who was the man buried beneath the bitter façade of two failed marriages that Gunn said was really a good guy? Tired. She realized she was genuinely tired of the whole Spike thing. All the questions, all the comments, the kisses, the teasing... Some fresh air and a little retail therapy was what she needed this morning, just to get her mind off things.

Faith was still asleep at ten o’clock and Willow was nowhere to be found so she quickly showered and headed out to her car to hit the mini-mall right on post. A few hours of just walking around and spending money she didn’t have would put her back in a good mood and keep her mind off...

Screeeeeeeeech!!!

Turning the steering wheel sharply to the right, she pulled her car onto the side of the road. Just as she drove by the post gymnasium, she spared a glance towards the outdoor track. And who just happened to be running on that track in nothing but Army PT shorts and sneakers? Spike! It only took her a few seconds to decide she was going to confront him. Confront him and put a permanent end to all this shit.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning found Spike still frustrated over certain matters where Buffy was concerned. With nothing but pent up energy and time on his hands, he needed to do something physical to release some of the tension and running seemed like the best option since it always helped to clear his mind. Getting into his car, he drove towards post in hopes that after an hour or two, he could refocus and sort out his individual thoughts.

The sweat now poured from his body in the mid-morning sun as he racked up the miles, thinking and thinking then thinking some more. Lap after lap, he dug deep within himself, too deep, recognizing where he went wrong in the things he’d both said and done to her from the very first day they met.

It wasn’t until he realized just how important she was to him that he was able to examine what he’d done to her in the bathroom of that club and just what a wanker he’d acted like. All he wanted was to show her how good they could be together and naturally went about it in typical male fashion by getting physical with her. Seemed Willow was right, sex does not equal love.

He stopped off the side of the track and groaned. How could he have been so bloody stupid? Now that he was able to put himself in her shoes, it was truly a wonder she hadn’t killed him by now, he’d acted like such a...

“Bastard!”

He had his back to her, bent over with his hands on his knees, body covered in a fine sheen of sweat, muscles rippling across his back as he attempted to regulate his breathing from his workout. If she wasn’t so damn mad at him right now, she might have taken the time to appreciate the gorgeous masculine vision he created. Not this time. He stood up and turned around to face her.

“Buffy?” There she stood, arms crossed in front of her chest, looking as pissed as ever.

“You’re a bastard.” It wasn’t the best way to begin a conversation but it had to start somewhere.

“Yeah,” he paused to pick up his bottle of water and take a huge gulp before continuing. “I know.” He wasn’t happy with himself at all over how he’d treated her.

“You stole my underwear.”

“In the Army we don’ steal, pet, we requisition.”

“You know what? I am so fucking tired of this.” She was determined not to get distracted when he held the bottle up and poured its contents onto his head, the small rivulets of water streaming down his perfect body to gather then trickle down the indents of his chest and lean stomach muscles.

“`M not surprised.” If he were her, he would have been tired too.

“I’m sick and tired of playing these-these GAMES with you. Of you chewing me up and spitting me out.” And-oh-my-God, I really just said that? She needed to focus and thank God he was pulling his T-shirt back over his head.

The way she was fuming, he wasn’t about to touch that statement with a ten foot pole and further incite her anger.

“What was that the other night? In the bathroom?”

“Was tryin’ to prove a point.” Like the git I am.

“Well, you know what? Mission accomplished. You want me to admit I’m attracted to you, fine. Yes, I’m physically attracted to you, there’s no denying that, but that’s as far as it will ever go. I will not and repeat will not sleep with you ever again.”

“I get that now.” Who could blame her?

“I’m sorry that you had to go through two bad marriages, I really am. But this thing with you taking all your personal frustration and revenge over what happened to you out on ME? It has to stop. I’m not one of your ex-wives, I’ve been cheated on too but you know what? I got over it.”

“How did you... Gunn told you, didn’t he?”

“What difference does it make? Nothing justifies you treating me like some whore, nothing.”

“I’ve never thought of you that way.” His tone came out harsher than he intended. “Ever.” Yeah, he understood where she was coming from, but it still hurt him to think he’d made her feel that way.

“Oh, really? You sure have a funny way of showing it. Do you know how humiliated I am with myself over the fact I let you do what you did to me the other night... and enjoyed it? God, Spike. I have feelings, and you completely disregarded if not STOMPED all over them.

“Buffy...”

“No, I’m not finished.” She held up her hand and glared harshly at him.

“`M listenin’.”

“And not JUST listen, you need to hear me. So you will keep your mouth shut.”

“Okay.” He could only hope that the damage he’d done wasn’t irreparable because it was apparent now that he’d pushed her too far.

“Ever since we’ve met, you’ve done nothing but degrade me, torture me, yell at me and if that wasn’t enough, you went and defiled me. Months later, you pop back into my life and think you can just pick right back up where you left off. I don’t need this, Spike, and I damn sure don’t deserve it. You may outrank me, but I am in no way beneath you. I will not be manipulated by you anymore.

“`M not proud of what I’ve done.”

“Is that supposed to be your way of apologizing?” Wow, this man was unbelievably stupid if he thought she’d fall for that.

“No, `s not.” He hung his head, feeling even more ashamed at hearing her say the words than he’d already made himself. “I know that sayin’ `m sorry isn’ goin’ to make things right.”

He had the nerve to look sheepish right now, and it pissed her off even more to think he was trying to get on her good side by acting like this.

“You’re damn right it’s not. I’ve been nothing but a stupid conquest to you ever since you walked back into my life.”

“You were never a bloody conquest to me, Buffy.”

“Ohhhhh, don’t you dare lie to me, Spike. All you’ve EVER done is tried to get in my pants.”

“Tha’s not what I want anymore, I realize that now.” She wasn’t hearing him, it was obvious she was too angry and he only had himself to blame.

“Well, good for you but it doesn’t change a thing in my mind. You’ve obviously picked the wrong girl so go find someone else.

“I’ve already told you, I only want you.”

“And I told you that you’ve already HAD me. So move on.”

“Maybe I need to make m’self a bit clearer. I want you... in every sense of the word.” If he didn’t lay it on the line right now, he might never have another opportunity to tell her.

“What?!?!” Her eyes went wide with shock. He couldn’t be suggesting what she thought he was. “Hold on. Are you saying that... that you want to be my, my... BOYFRIEND?”

“Ahh, uhmm... for lack of a better term... yeah.” Oh Christ, now she was laughing at him, really laughing at him.

“You can NOT be serious?” She couldn’t stop herself from laughing. Was he insane?

“I’ve never been more serious.”

“Why?” Oh my God, he really is serious. His expression said it more clearly than his words had.

“Why the hell not?”

Okay, if he’s serious then she’d give him a serious answer. “Maybe because you’ve never given me a reason to believe it’s been anything more than physical attraction you have for me?”

“Can I at least have a chance?”

“No.”

He had nothing to lose but her, so he swallowed his pride and begged. “Please?”

“Why should I?”

“Because I need you.” He did. It was that simple. She was the only one who could keep him from becoming a bitter, lonely old man.

“That’s not a reason. Unless you can give me one good reason, I don’t see why I should.” He looked deep into her eyes, and with certainty in his voice answered her softly.

“Because you’re the only one who can save me.”

She suddenly found herself at a loss for words. The look on his face, the way he’d said it with such utter sincerity, his beautiful blue eyes shining out at her as they bore the depth of his emotions. For a few moments longer she stared at him before having to turn away from the intense, almost pleading expression. She wasn’t sure what to think or how to respond, all she knew is she had to get away from him.

He watched her walk away and his heart ached. There would be no chasing after her this time; it was the wrong thing to do. He could only hope he hadn’t messed things up so bad it couldn’t be repaired. Persistence, mate... time and persistence.

~~~~~~~

Monday evening

Gunn headed from the lockers to the free weight area of the gym when he passed by an amusing sight. Wearing a determined frown and boxing wraps on her hands, Buffy was kicking the crap out of a punching bag like it was fighting back. Delivering blow after blow using jabs alternated with high kicks.

“Hey, girl.”

She turned and smiled when she saw who was talking to her. “Hi, Charles.”

“Wow. You ahhh... picturing anybody in particular?” She gave him a look that said ‘take a wild guess’. “Spike.” She nodded. “Wanna talk about it? Cuz I don’t think that bag is going to survive much more abuse.”

“Just wish I knew what his deal was, I guess. I ran into him yesterday and up until then I thought I had him figured out but,” she paused, not sure she should say anything about their argument. “Never mind. I-it’s nothing.” He didn’t look convinced. “Really.”

“Hey, you can talk to the G-man. What did he do now? Do I need to whoop his ass for you?” His gut instinct told him something happened between them at the club that Spike hadn’t came forward about and judging from Buffy’s behavior, he assumed his friend had now said or done something else equally as damaging to his cause.

She hesitated. This was Spike’s best friend and she didn’t want to say the wrong thing in front of him but he was also the one person who might be able to help her better understand what was going on in the bleached wonder’s head.

“I just wanna know why me? Why every time I see him, he goes out of his way to be a complete and total ass to me.” Gunn openly chuckled, forcing a smile out of her. He followed her over to sit on a work-out bench where they could keep their conversation away from those around them working out.

“He just wants your attention whether it’s positive or negative. Sorta like a little boy on a playground that pulls on a girl’s ponytail then runs away as soon as she turns around, because he likes her.”

“I get that, but... now all of a sudden he’s changed his tune and-and...” she trailed off trying to find the right words. “He more or less just told me he wants to get into a relationship with me.”

“Are you really so surprised, Buffy?”

“Uhmmm...” she didn’t know quite how to answer that.

“Look, you know Spike, but you don’t know William. They’re like night and day.”

“So where’s that guy whenever I’m around?”

He knew it was time to shed a little more light on his friend’s past or else he may never stand a chance with this girl.

“Lemme break it down for ya so you understand where my boy’s coming from before you pass judgment, alright?” She nodded. “After his last divorce, Spike swore he’d never put himself in a situation where he could fall in love again and he’s done a bang up job of it, of shutting down and cutting himself off from his emotions. Then one day you come along and basically turned his world upside down while he wasn’t even looking.”

“And that’s supposed to justify his behavior?” she asked, frustrated.

“I’m just telling the story, I never said I agreed with how he’s treated you.”

“So again with the why me?”

“He’s never encountered anyone like you before. You challenged him from day one, never backed down, gave as good as you got and refused to take his shit. He respects that, respects you.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Girl... you hold so much power over him, you just don’t know.”

“Sounds more like a case of he wants what he can’t have.” She crossed her arms protectively, suddenly unsure she could trust what she was hearing.

“Uh-uh. That’s not it at all. Let me put it this way. All Spike has ever needed was the love of a good woman.” He pointed a finger at her. “That woman is you, Buffy. You’re not just what he wants, you’re what he needs... and he knows it.”

That’s exactly what Spike had said, “Because I need you”. This was beginning to freak her out. Her... being what he needed, hearing it from someone else who knew him better than anyone. “Because you’re the only one who can save me.”

“Let’s say you’re right. Let’s say I’m his ideal woman or whatever. What’s to say he’s the right man for me?”

“Look, this isn’t a situation of bro’s before ho’s. If I didn’t think he could make you happy, I wouldn’t be having this conversation with you. Honest.” She nodded but still looked unconvinced.

“That still doesn’t answer my question.”

“I can’t answer that for you, that’s something you’ll have to decide for yourself. The one thing I know for sure is that when Spike is in love, that’s it for him. He puts his whole heart into it.”

“I hate to ask this but if that’s true then why did both of his wives cheat on him?”

“Dru went mad, as in the clinical type of insane. And Cecily? That was just one triflin’ bitch.”

“Trifling?”

“She sucked him dry, emotionally and financially. No matter what he did or how much he gave her it was never enough. If she wanted the moon, he would have given it to her but then she’d have asked for the stars to go along with it.”

She went silent on him.

“I’m not saying it to make you feel bad for him. I just know Spike’s ready to love again and it’s you he wants. It’s a huge leap of faith for him so if you don’t think you can jump right in there with both feet and love him back just as much, then its best you walk away now because one thing is for sure. If it doesn’t work out, he won’t be able to come back from this one.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready for... I-I...”

“You don’t have to make any kind of decision right now, but at least think about what I said. Personally, I think if you gave him a chance, there’d be wedding bells in less than a year, but that’s just my opinion.” He chuckled when her eyes went huge.

When he stood to go about his business, she touched his arm and smiled. “Thanks.”

“Shoot, ain’t no thing but a chicken wing, girl.”

He left her with a lot to contemplate but what bothered her most was the thought that she was responsible for anyone’s happiness.

~~~~~~

Two weeks later on a Friday afternoon.

Buffy was busy marking up paperwork while working the front desk of the clinic, checking patients in for routine doctor’s appointments when Spike came strolling up. She hadn’t noticed until Faith nudged her and cocked her head in his direction.

“Do you have an appointment?” She didn’t think he did but kept it professional just in case.

“No.”

She sighed, throwing her pen down on the desk and leaning back in her chair. “And now my day is complete.”

“`S nice to see you too, luv.” He wasn’t going to be deterred from his goal no matter what she said.

“Whatever it is, no.”

“No? What kind of answer is that? You haven’ even heard the bloody question yet.”

“I don’t need to.”

“Right,” he nodded once. “I thought we’d have dinner tonight.” Persistence and patience, persistence and patience, he chanted to keep his nerve up.

“Why would I want to do that?” It irritated her that he dismissed her and kept talking.

“`M headin’ out to the field tomorrow. Won’ be back for six weeks.”

“Sooooooo?”

“So I wanted to see you before I left.”

“You’re looking at me right now.”

Damned if she didn’t look cute as she put on a fake smile and act all chipper. “Right then. I’ll pick you up at seven.” He turned around to leave.

“No, you won’t.” Is he deaf?

“See ya then, pet.” He tossed her a smile over his shoulder and took off, unwilling to take no for an answer.

“But-but,” Faith looked at her with a half smile. “I-I said no,” she said weakly.

“You’re on your own with this one, B.”




A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed the turning point on the road to Spuffy luvin. For those following TE, I’ll be picking back up on it as time allows, I promise. Have an awesome weekend, *hugs and kisses*.

Faith disagreed with the way Buffy had treated Spike, calling her a hypocrite. After screaming at him two weeks ago at the track for having disregarded her feelings in the past, she should have thought to take his into consideration when “all the man wants is to spend some time with you before he goes away.”

Fine, point noted and yes, she felt a bit guilty but he’d taken her by surprise showing up at her work the way he did. She assumed he’d given up and gone away when she hadn’t seen him in two weeks so when he popped up out of the blue, it was a case of her mouth going on auto-pilot; it was the only way she knew how to deal with him.

Oh, she’d certainly done some thinking over the last couple weeks, it couldn’t be helped. She could tell Gunn wasn’t trying to push her into giving Spike a chance, all he’d done was provide some missing information to help her better understand the experiences that shaped the man she knew today. And though Spike’s past didn’t excuse his behavior, at least now she understood, really understood where he was coming from. Inevitably her mind kept going back over the argument she’d had with him at the track as well. Actually, it wasn’t even an argument. He hadn’t disagreed with her once, except to say that he never thought of her as a whore or a conquest. Come to think of it, he’d always denied it, or at least tried to at the mall when she accused him but then kept cutting him off.

As for giving him a chance, was she ready for that? Was he truly ready for that? Could she see herself ‘with’ him? It was difficult to imagine him playing the role of the caring boyfriend but it wasn’t like he was incapable, right? Could they get along, could they get past, well, ‘the past’? And if they did, this wasn’t just his heart on the line, she’d be putting herself out there too, taking just as much of a chance as he was. Was it possible to start over with him, on the right foot this time? Was that what he was trying to do when he came by, talking about going to dinner? Did she want to try and start over?

Knowing what she knew now and remembering the way he looked that day at the track had her irritated with herself. It would be too easy to give into the stray puppy syndrome, the one where she wanted to take him home and make him better. Would it really be so bad to at least try? And if he did wind up being the love of her life and she hadn’t given him that chance, could she live with always wondering ‘what if’?

There were more questions than answers and truthfully she didn’t feel it was fair to make any decisions without hearing him out. To do that would not only require spending time with him but also to give him the benefit of the doubt. But damn he’d made her so nervous this afternoon, showing up like that and acting the way he had. The only typical Spike-like rude thing he’d done was to ignore her when she said no to dinner. It was unnerving. Him. Acting so, so unlike himself that at the time she’d brushed it off, thinking he couldn’t be serious in suggesting they go to dinner... until now.

“`Lo, luv. Care to tell a bloke why you’re not dressed?” She was stretched out on her bed in baggy sweats, watching TV with a bowl of popcorn by her side.

“What the hell are doing in my room? FAITH?!?!” She sat up straight and looked over at her smiling roommate. She should have known Spike would be resourceful enough to figure out which room was hers and that Faith would let him in.

“Catchya later, B.” She winked at Spike, grabbed her jacket and left.

She watched him walk over and sit on Faith’s bed across from hers. Damn he looked good. Underneath the familiar black duster she could see he wore jet black dress pants and shoes with a blood red, button up dress shirt. Turning back to the television, she tried to get a grip on her nerves. She didn’t know how to deal with him and-and... damn he looks good.

“Said I’d pick you up at seven,” he said matter-of-factly.

“And I told you no. So please leave.” Okay, if he’s really serious about this whole relationship thingy, then let him prove it to her. If he was? Maybe. It all depended.

He smirked and shook his head at her. “Don’ rightly care what your answer was, pet. `M not leavin’ `til you get dressed and come with me.” That got her to look his way.

“Oh my God! Are you for real?” He reclined on the bed and crossed his hands behind his head, fixing her with his trademark smirk and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt he would stay right where he was. It was sort of sweet that he was serious about going to dinner and since there’s no way I want to be alone with him in my room for any length of time... fine. She’d go, but that didn’t mean she’d make this easy on him. Rolling her eyes before getting up, she refrained from the urge to smack the irritating smile off his face and went to her closet. “We go, we eat, we’re done. Got it?”

He watched her pull out a cute little yellow and purple print sundress and sweater then head off to the bathroom to change. “Yes, ma’am.” he saluted her even though she couldn’t see him. As long as she let him take her out, that was a start. A few minutes later she re-emerged, her hair pinned up in a twist with a few strands draping down to frame her face. He sprang up and went to open the door for her and smiled when she scowled at his gentleman-like gesture.

She walked ahead of rather than beside him as they went down the hall and she just knew he was all smug at having succeeded in getting her to go out with him. HA! She did whatever the hell she wanted to do and she wanted to see if he was truly serious about being with her. It was her decision to come with him since the only way to find that out was by spending time with him... or so she rationalized. She wasn’t ‘going out’ with him; she was waiting to hear what he had to say, how he acted, nothing more.

He sauntered behind her slowly, thumbs hooked in his belt when she glanced back to inform him.

“This is so NOT a date.”

“Whatever you say, pet,” he purred, thinking this was exactly what it was. He felt almost giddy that she was letting him take her out because if she really didn’t want to go, she most definitely would have kicked his arse out the door, physically if she had to. She’d given him that small spark of hope that he just might win her affection yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once they were seated, Spike became a bit nervous and decided to go for small talk.

“So, how was your day?” Buffy dropped her menu on the table, an incredulous look on her face.

“You can’t be serious?” What the hell was he trying to pull? “Less than two weeks ago you had your face between my legs and now you’re asking how my day went?”

“`M jus’ tryin’ to be polite.” He should have expected that, this was Buffy after all. Still, he wasn’t going to give up.

“Polite?”

“Yeah. Jus’ thought we’d have a nice quiet dinner with some polite conversation.”

“Just-just don’t. It’s disturbing. You and polite don’t even belong in the same sentence. Give me the irritating Spike, the smart ass, the Spike that’s rude. At least I know how to handle him.” His jaw twitched as he settled himself more comfortably in the chair, looking more like the man she was used to dealing with.

Oh, now she wanted him to be rude? Hmmmm. This was going to be an interesting night, walking a fine line between treating her right and being the git she’d only ever known him as.

“Okay. Le’s start over then shall we? How was your day... bitch?” Her laughter came snorting through her nose right before she gave him a genuine smile, surprising the hell out of him.

“That’s more like it. It was fine, thank you.” Taking in his obvious delight over her reaction, she went back to looking at her menu, thinking maybe the evening wouldn’t be so bad after all. She invited him to be rude so it would be interesting to see how he’d handle it.

Their waitress came over and asked for their order but before Buffy could open her mouth, Spike warned her.

“`F you order a bloody salad, Summers, I swear...” She narrowed her eyes on him while answering the stunned waitress.

“I’ll have the chicken and rice, please.” She knew he was joking just by the way he’d said it, but of course she’d wait for just the right moment before handing his ass back to him.

“Glad you’re finally seein’ things my way, woman.”

Erghhh! She flipped him the perfectly manicured nail of her middle finger then told the waitress.

“Don’t mind him, he wasn’t breast fed.”

Sassy bint!

The waitress finished with their order and walked away, leaving the blonde couple to eyeball each other, waiting for the other to start some type of conversation. Buffy was the first to take the initiative as she leaned her chin on the palm of her hand.

“You said you were going to the field for six weeks?”

“Yeah.” He leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table and tilted his head to one side. “Why? Gonna miss me, pet?” He certainly hoped so.

“Like a crutch,” she purposefully muttered under her breath while covering her mouth with two fingers.

“What was that?” She rolled her eyes then teased him, batting her eyelashes.

“I said very much.”

So bloody sassy. And he loved it. “`F you’re good, I’ll bring you back somethin’.”

“Like what? Chiggers?”

“Ha, ha, very bloody funny.” Sitting back in his chair he winked at her. “You’ll see.”

Huh. She truly wasn’t sure what he was up to, if anything. As far as she knew, when they went to the field, they stayed put in the woods. She shrugged her shoulders and took a sip from her soda. “Can’t make any promises, but I’ll be waiting.”

There it was. That small crumb of hope he’d been waiting for and he couldn’t help but feel his heart rate pick up with excitement. She was warming up to him, finally and he swore he wouldn’t do a thing to ruin it.

“So, Summers, tell me. Why did you join the Army?”

“I’m a sucker for men in uniform.”

“Just any uniform?”

“There is one in particular I’m rather fond of.” She gave him a sly smile as he waited for her to say.

“And which would that be?” He tilted his head to the side in anticipation, wondering if she was going to say what he was thinking.

“I’d tell you,” she acted bored. “But then I’d have to kill you.”

“Bloody tease.” He smiled even as he said it.

“Yeah, but you love it,” she accused.

“Damn right I do.” Boy did he ever. She could tease him all she wanted; he was glutton for her punishment at this point. “Any way I could persuade you to tell me?” Back off mate, you haven’t been served the ‘meal’ portion Red spoke about.

“Hmmm, maybe. Guess it all depends.” She instantly scolded herself. Her mind was drifting down a very wicked path that involved him and I shouldn’t be acting like this. It’s just... just the physical attraction thingy. And-and I need to see if he can behave, test him a bit.

“When you care to share, pet, `m all ears.” He could swear she was thinking along dirty lines, but he couldn’t risk being rude. All he could hope for was is if he won the girl, she was up for a little role playing. Bloody hell! He was starting to get hard at all the little outfits he could see her dressed up in and thank God the waitress was coming with their dinner right now.

“Where the hell do you put it all?” His order was so huge it had to be brought out on two plates. Everything from a steak and baked potato to seafood and two separate sides filled each dish. He shook out his napkin and chuckled.

“Have a high metabolism.” He pointed to her meal. “I’d bloody starve to death if tha’s all I ate.”

“Do you... cook this way for yourself at home?” He looked at her like she went mad.

“Course. Why?”

“N-nothing.” For whatever reason, she had a brief flash of a domestic scene where she cooked for him, but she couldn’t make toast let alone something like what he had on his plate. She shook her head from the disturbing but somewhat pleasant thought.

She’d never seen him eat and she tried not to stare over the next few minutes between small bites of her own meal as he ate with a speed twice that of the average person. They were taught in Basic to eat fast like that due to time limitations but of course she went right back to her normal pace afterwards. Not him.

“Damn! Slow down. It’s not like it’s going anywhere.”

He halted midway between bites to look at her. “`S habit,” he shrugged and went back to eating.

“Fine. Don’t expect me to save your ass though if you start choking.”

“`F you don’, you’ll be stuck payin’ for dinner.” He winked.

“It takes the human stomach twenty minutes to realize it’s been fed, so slowing down might be in your best interest.”

“Are you concerned for me, pet?”

“What?” She snorted. “No. Just don’t want to end up having to give you mouth to mouth.” And what is wrong with me and this fascination with the man’s mouth? He had that luscious bottom lip sticking out ever so slightly at her and it was distracting.

“Duly noted.” What he wanted to say was he couldn’t imagine anyone prettier than her if he did need mouth to mouth, but she definitely wouldn’t appreciate that.

He watched her set down her fork as if finished though her plate was still half-full.

“Bloody hell, that’s not `nough to fill a bird’s stomach. Here.” He shuffled his chair from across the table closer to hers. “Try some of mine. You’ll love it.” He cut into his crab cake and held his fork out in front of her.

“You are so not feeding me.”

“Open up.” He cooed as if she were a child.

“What is it with you and trying to fatten me up?”

“`M not tryin’ to fatten you up, I promise. Jus’ want you to try some. Now open up.”

“No.” He tried getting closer but she backed up. He inched his chair over until he was sitting right next to her.

“Jus’ one bite.”

“Uh-uh.”

“Please?” He stuck his bottom lip out at her.

“Please, no,” she groaned and shielded her eyes. “Not the pout. Please not the pout.” She was getting distracted again, it was that irresistible. The man could melt an iceberg with the way that beautiful bottom lip stuck out just begging to be kissed and do not go there, do not, cannot, will not go there... Not yet anyway.

“Pleeeeease? For me, pet?” He exaggerated the expression, adding sad eyes to it. She just admitted she liked it and it pleased him to no end she openly shared that information with him. Besides, who was he not to use it to his advantage as long it was over something innocent enough as food? She sighed in defeat.

“Hmmph.” Opening her mouth, they went back and forth a few times, not quite establishing if she was supposed to hold still or he was. She reached up and held his wrist then lowered her mouth around the fork slowly. “Mmmmm. That’s possibly the best thing I’ve ever had in my mouth.”

Bloody hell! His pants grew uncomfortably tight. He could have sworn the way she wrapped her lips around the fork was intentionally suggestive and when she said that, he couldn’t help his natural male instinct when it came to envisioning putting something else in her mouth.

“Can I have another?” She saw the way his Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat and his eyes turn dark in response to what she’d done. Sure, she felt a bit guilty for teasing him like this, but she wanted to see if he’d keep his comments in check and there was only one way to tell... do it again. If he remained silent then maybe they did stand a chance together.

“Yeah.” Clearing his throat after his answer came squeaking out like a teenager on the verge of puberty, he quickly scooped up another forkful and held it up, waiting for a repeat performance. Instead, she parted her lips and allowed him to bring it to her. You li’l minx. She was most definitely doing this on purpose. Oh no, he wasn’t going to fall for it. He was pretty sure he knew what she was trying to do and no way was he going to mess up his chances by saying what was on his mind. But God love her, she made him lose his mind with all the erotic imagery she filled his head with.

“Your plate will be cleaned by night’s end since you still seem hungry.” Changing the subject would hopefully ease the tension in his pants.

“Wanna bet?”

“Eh-eh-eh. Never make a bet with me unless you plan on keepin’ your word should you lose, pet.”

“Really?” she asked, intrigue lacing her tone. “I know you’re not calling me out.” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Yeah. Maybe I am. You up for it?” he dared her and she nodded. Bloody perfect opportunity. “Alright, if I win you have to lemme take you out again.”

It was exactly what she wanted to hear. “And if I win... I might actually think about it.” She threw him a wink, letting him know it was a win-win situation no matter who lost. He chuckled and for whatever reason, she couldn’t take her eyes off him. That’s when she realized she was seeing him in a new light now that he was starting to share a different side of himself. And God help her but she found that she liked it... very much.

And he thanked God above for her answer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next twenty minutes, they fell into a light, banter filled discussion about their individual jobs while Spike covertly kept digging his fork into her plate, alternating between feeding her and taking bites of it himself. The waitress came by, offering dessert to which Spike said no for the both of them after remembering Willow’s little analogy.

There was no reason to remain at the restaurant any longer but he didn’t want the night to end, so he tried to engage her in conversation about her childhood and was thrilled she talked instead of asking to be taken home right away. As time wore on, the mockery lessened while small smiles were exchanged more frequently. She hadn’t asked him to move his chair away from her and even leaned into his shoulder a few times when he’d managed to make her laugh.

They hadn’t run out of things to talk about, but when the restaurant began closing up for the night, Spike announced he would take her home since he didn’t want her to turn into a pumpkin and he had to be up by zero four hundred the next morning. Had that much time actually passed? They’d stayed until closing time? She couldn’t remember what she’d expected to happen while out with him, all she knew now was she definitely wanted to see him again. Sure, they had some serious talking to do, but tonight had been fun and apparently just what they needed. Her ‘maybe’ to giving him a chance had just tilted heavily towards a yes.

The ride back to her barracks was made in silence, but when they reached the parking lot, he shut off the engine and looked over at her.

“I’ll jus’ walk you to the front door.”

“Afraid I can’t handle myself if I get jumped?” She quirked an eyebrow at him.

“I know YOU can, `s the other bloke `m worried `bout. Unless you don’ want me to?” he quickly added. Had he said the wrong thing?

He was impossibly cute as she knew he was back-pedaling from what he thought was a mistake. Huh! Gunn was right, she did seem to hold power over him, but no way was she going to use it against him. At least not in a manner he wouldn’t enjoy... eventually.

“I’d like that,” she offered with a smile. He was out the door in a flash and on the other side of the car to open hers. “But you can drop the gentleman crap. It doesn’t suit you and frankly? Wigging me out here.” He laughed heartily at this.

“`F you don’ like it I’ll be glad to walk ahead of you from now on.” He leaned in closer to her. “`Sides. Isn’t that a woman’s place? Behind her man?” He quickly moved away from her as he knew she’d be outraged.

“Ahh!!! You-you, arghh!” she cried indignantly and punched his shoulder then giggled, shaking her head as he bowled over laughing from having teased her.

When he came back to walk beside her, he was rubbing his shoulder and she slipped her arm around his elbow while her other hand came up to pat the area she slugged. “I can see I’m going to have to kick your ass more often to keep you in line, Mister.”

Bloody hell! She was, she was... holding onto his arm, being affectionate towards him. A huge grin came over his face at this small but significant development. “Was kinda hopin’ you would.”

Upon reaching the door, he felt like he was back in high school, at that awkward part of the evening when one wasn’t sure if they should go for that goodnight kiss or not. When she let go of his arm, he knew there was no sense in ruining a perfectly good evening by hoping for too much too early.

“Thanks for havin’ dinner with me tonight.” He shoved his hands inside his duster. “Can I see you again when I get back?” She answered him with a simple ‘yes’ and smiled prettily at him. He nodded once, deciding it was best to leave it on this note. “Goodnight then, Buffy.” Just as he turned to leave, he felt her hand touch his arm gently, turning him back towards her.

Standing on her tip toes, she planted a lingering kiss to his cheek. “I had a nice time tonight. Thank you.” Yes, he would definitely be seeing her when he got back.

“You’re welcome.” He turned to head back to his car feeling ten feet tall when she suddenly called out to him.

“Oh and Spike?” She waited until he looked at her.

“Yeah, pet?”

“It’s the Drill Sergeant uniform. The brown hat and green belt,” she winked. “Does it for me every time.” She left him with that parting thought, feeling more than naughty for having done so, but knowing he’d appreciate it.

Stunned, he watched her enter the building and his heart skipped a beat from her surprising admission. Good thing I decided to keep `em... saucy minx!

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Five weeks later

Gunn noticed Spike staring off as if day-dreaming while sharpening his utility knife over and over, a small smile on his face.

“Hey man. Why don’t you just call her?”

Disrupted from his thoughts, he answered his friend. “Who?”

“Don’t even play. It’s written all over your face. For God sakes, I know you have your cell phone on you so just call the woman.”

“Can’. Don’ have her number and wouldn’ know what to say,” he shook his head. Tempting thought, but what the hell would he say, ‘hi, I miss you so much I can’t bloody think straight’?

“Send her some flowers then.” He about died laughing when Spike looked horrified at the mere suggestion.

“No! No bloody way. Bird’s not into that stuff.”

“I don’t care what you’ve ever heard or what Willow said, EVERY girl likes getting flowers. Trust me, man. I haven’t steered you wrong yet, have I?” He could see him seriously contemplating it. “Look, from everything you’ve told me, there’s no doubt in my mind she’s thinking about you too, so just do it. She’ll love it.”

“What? Have `em sent to her room?” Gunn shook his head at him.

“Uh-uh. Her work.” Spike shook his head no.

“Don’ know her schedule or if she’s been moved to a different department and...” He was interrupted.

“Quit with the excuses, brother. All you gotta do is call Oz and find out then call the florist shop.”

“`M not so sure `f this is a good idea. What `f you’re wrong and...”

“I’ll tell her it was my idea.” He brought out his own cell phone and proceeded to call Oz so Spike couldn’t back out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Willow and Buffy walked side by side after restocking the medical supply room, heading towards the front desk of the Pediatrics unit when they saw Oz standing there with a huge bouquet of wild flowers.

“Looks like somebody got flowers.” He watched as Buffy nudged Willow’s arm.

“Oh you shouldn’t have.” Willow said as she came rushing forward to smell them, dancing on her toes and smiling away at her boyfriend.

“Actually, I didn’t.” He hoped he wasn’t in trouble now.

“You didn’t?” Her eyes went sad.

Buffy watched the exchange and it suddenly clicked. “What? Oh my God, you two are involved?” They both turned to ‘shhh’ her at the same time. “I’m sorry, I just... oh wow. Hey, wait a minute. Why didn’t you tell me?” Willow gave her a guilty frown.

“I’m sorry, it’s just... We had to keep it secret because of the-the whole same unit thing. At least for now. Forgive me?”

“Of course, I just never thought... so that’s where you’ve been lately during your time off.” She laughed accusingly. “Who would have thought you and the former brown hat?” She turned to Oz who had an amused look on his face.

“She’s not the only one with a thing for Drill Sergeants.”

“Huh?” That put a halt to her laughter. “That is so not...” She looked to Willow who crossed her arms in a gesture daring her to deny it. She knew the details of when she and Spike had gone out to dinner. Oz took the card out and handed it over to her.

“The flowers are for you.”

Now her eyes went truly wide as she took the small envelope from him. Her fingers worked quickly to open it. ‘Thinking of you. Spike’.

Oz winked at his girlfriend when they both watched Buffy get a dreamy smile on her face as she read it to herself. Of course when she looked up at them, she cleared her throat and said with a straight face.

“I’m going back to work.” She grabbed her flowers, whirled on her heel and left the two redheads standing there to smirk knowingly at her. She wanted to be upset at Spike for having embarrassed her like this, but there was no way she could. The flowers themselves weren’t what had her in a good mood right now... it’s what was written on the card.

She laughed over the irony of the situation. Here she used to do and say whatever she could to drive Spike away. And now? Now she hadn’t been able to get him off her mind. What was wrong with her? Sure the date, ahem, dinner was one of the best times she’d ever had, but, but... I am so screwed, she thought as she realized what she was feeling. She was now missing her former enemy.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

One week later on a Friday night.

“Got a date with Sergeant Peroxide tonight?” Faith asked.

“What?!?! No. Of course not.” She went back to playing with her hair in front of the mirror, undecided as to whether she wanted it up or down. “We’re not... dating.” God that sounded so, so high school-ish to say.

“Whatever you say, B. I’ve just never seen you worry so much over what outfit you’re wearing or your hair.”

“I’m just going out to the NCO club tonight with Willow.” Hey, it was true.

“Let me.” Faith walked up behind Buffy and pushed her hands down so she could help her try a slightly different up-do. Arching an eyebrow at her roommate in the mirror, she asked, “And the fact Spike just got back from the field and tonight would be their ritual get together is just a coincidence?” Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Is it that obvious?”

“Pretty much.” She used a few hair pins on the inverted French twist, leaving the hair free at the top before taking a curling iron to it. “You don’t have to be nervous.”

“I’m not nervous.” Her tone betrayed her though she tried to act all innocent. “He may not even be there.”

“You know he’ll be there. They’re grunts for God sakes. They live for their little camping trips and beer.” Buffy nodded her head.

“True, but I’m worried he may get irritated seeing me there. You know, he may not want me around while he’s with his buddies.”

“You haven’t seen him in six weeks, you CAN’T stop talking about him AND he sends you flowers. I think it’s safe to say he’ll be very happy to see you. There. Done.” She used some hairspray over the area she curled and gave her a smile when she turned around.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. Now go get your man so I can have the mirror. Unlike you, I do have a date tonight.” Buffy grabbed her coat and was about to head out when she decided to make her privy to something as well as give her some advice. “FYI, B. He’s clean. And if I were you, I’d talk to Tara about getting on the pill soon.”

Her jaw dropped in shock. “Clean? Tell me you didn’t.” Of course she did. She worked in patient records and pulled Spike’s medical folder to see if he ever had any STD’s.

“Just looking out for you. Besides, bareback is best. Until then.” She pulled something out of her purse and threw it to her. “Safety first.”

“Oh-my-God! I am NOT taking a condom with me.” She tossed it back but Faith walked right up to her and shoved it in her purse while talking.

“You’ve already put the cart before the horse with this guy and you can’t tell me you haven’t been thinking about it.”

“I so have not. I’m not, we’re not... not ready for that yet... again. ”

“Need I remind you that you talk in your sleep?” She opened the door so Buffy could make her sudden yet expected exit.

At this, Buffy turned five shades of red, went silent and walked out the door. Damned if she hadn’t been having erotic dreams about Spike lately.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

NCO Club

“So? Did she like `em?” Spike asked Oz casually before taking a sip of his beer. His friend had arrived a few short minutes ago, so Spike hailed him over to his table. Oz nodded, giving him the thumbs up.

“She tried to hide it, but you’re in.” He chuckled as tiny signs of relief flooded Spike’s features. He still couldn’t get over seeing this side of him, all nervous over a woman. He did a good job of trying to hide that nervousness behind his usual bravado but to the ones who knew him, like himself, it was easy to read.

Unlike most of their ceremonial, after FTX get-togethers, Spike really didn’t want to be here. What he wanted more than anything was to see Buffy but he couldn’t. Yes, she’d said he could see her when he got back, but he wasn’t about to drive over and show up at her barracks unannounced. He could kick his own arse for not having thought to ask for her phone number when he’d walked her to her door after dinner six weeks ago. So now here he sat, wondering if he should ask Oz to ask Willow if he could have her... hold the phone.

There she was! He and his comrades had chosen a table off to the side up against a wall and she’d walked right past him with Red. In a simple outfit of jeans and a long sleeve cream colored shirt stood his Buffy, one would think from Spike’s expression she was a glass of ice water to a dying man in the desert.

After ordering a soda, she nonchalantly scanned the area. No Spike. Her heart sank. Maybe he hadn’t arrived yet. Maybe he wasn’t going to show up at all and even if he did, she wasn’t sure what she would say. She didn’t want to interrupt his guys’ night out and-and, I shouldn’t have come.

“This is a bad idea,” Buffy said as she turned towards Willow. Not Willow!

“Wha’s a bad idea, pet?” He had to walk around the large crowd on the dance floor just to get to her and could tell she never saw him coming.

Say something, say something. She pointed a finger at her drink. “The lemon. Yeah,” she tried composing her face. “In my... my soda. Makes it taste funny.” She screwed up her face and tried to play off her nervousness. He was in his usual all black attire but it was the half smile he wore on his face as he studied her, his head tilted to one side that made her weak in the knees. He reached for her glass and took it from her, setting it down on the bar.

“I’ll get you another, but it can wait.”

“Wait?” she asked meekly. “Why?” Feeling him gently take her hand in his warm, strong one, he didn’t answer but cocked his head towards the dance floor while lightly tugging on her to follow him. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Willow standing with Oz, the both of them smiling away as if encouraging her.

“Dance with me?” he asked, though he wasn’t really giving her a choice when they reached a small opening and he wrapped his arms loosely around her waist.

Inside she was thrilled but it was time to shake off this nervousness, it was ridiculous. This was Spike after all. Just because she hadn’t seen him in six weeks was so not a reason to get all flustered. She cleared her throat and placed her hands lightly on the tops of his shoulder, noting that he’d left some distance between their bodies and didn’t try to pull her close.

“Now why would I want to dance with you?”

Ever the sassy bint with her typical teasing, he retaliated with a bit of his own. “Cuz `m the best lookin’ bloke here?” She rolled her eyes at him and he chuckled. “How `bout cuz I asked you all nice like?” He purposely pouted.

“Evil man!” She playfully swatted his chest. He knew damn well what he was doing, using that pout against me.

“What can I tell you, baby?”

His voice went impossibly deep, threatening to melt her heart like ice-cream in the hot, open sun.

“I’ve always been bad.”

And what was it about his ‘bad boy’ persona that made her just want to give herself over and into it?

She needed to distract herself from those kinds of thoughts; this wasn’t what they were about anymore, the time for that could wait. “How was your trip?” He gave her a meaningful look, eyes scanning but never leaving her face, intense blue eyes threatening to see right through her words to read her very thoughts.

“Le’s jus’ say... `m glad to be back.” Tilting his head to study her, he tried to reach her on a deeper level, hoping to convey what he was feeling and to possibly find some measure of the same reflecting in her eyes.

His unwavering, powerful gaze drew a smile of mutual understanding from her. Funny how certain she was they were sharing the same thought, that she’d missed him just as much. Sliding her right hand down his arm, her elbow settling into the crook of his, she laid her cheek on his chest and smiled against the leather lapel of his duster.

Really glad to be back. Closing his eyes, he rested his chin on her head, losing himself in the sweet, delicate scent of her hair.

The couples around them vanished as the gentle sway of their bodies lulled any lingering tension away, replacing it with that stillness of quiet that comes only from contentment. All her mind knew was the comfort of his strong yet gentle embrace in the here and now.

The song was coming to an end and he suddenly felt selfish. He didn’t want to return to his friends, didn’t want to share her with her friends, to be distracted from her or have one ounce of her attention taken off him. “How `bout we get outta here? Go someplace where we can be alone?” She pulled back, her face full of apprehension and suspicion.

Searching his eyes, she saw his immediate need to clarify his thoughts for fear of frightening her and she instantly relaxed.

“Jus’ to hang out, pet. I promise. Someplace a li’l quieter.”

“But it’s your night out, what will your friends think?”

“Don’ soddin’ care what they think.” The choice was pretty clear in his mind whether to spend his time with the men he saw everyday or to be with her.

“But...”

“Shhhh. I know what you think they’ll be thinkin’ when we leave together and I won’ have you worryin’ `bout that. Anyone so much as looks sideways at you, says one bleedin’ disrespectful word, they’ll wish they’d never been born.” That got a chuckle out of her.

“Are you going to beat them up like you did Sergeant McDonald?” She was just teasing but his expression went deadly serious.

“Exactly!” Her smile fled so he felt the need to enlighten her because it was no laughing matter to him. “Lindsey... Sergeant McDonald was transferred to our group cuz he used his Drill Sergeant status to sleep with recruits. I had others watchin’ his every move alongside `f m’self. What you saw that day...” he paused to take her hands in his and spoke firmly so she understood he was telling the truth. “What I did to him was cuz he made it clear he had designs on you.” His hands trembled from the emotions he’d felt as he remembered that day. “It scared the hell outta me, pet. I was protectin’ you and, and... I was so angry that things got outta hand. `M sorry you had to see that but even more sorry to have to explain it.” His voice went soft. “Do you understand?” She gave him a tiny nod and he could see that she did though her face registered shock.

It made sense, especially when thinking back on why he’d grilled her about where she’d woken up after her little concussion or the time he appeared angry for no reason when Sergeant McDonald was helping her with her drills. Her body gave an involuntary shudder as she remembered thinking Sergeant McDonald was getting too physically close to her. Though she hated violence, Spike had been very right as she thought about how frightened she would have been if the other Drill Sergeant had cornered her, threatened her if she didn’t, if she didn’t... Her body shuddered again but she quickly shook it off. All that seemed to matter was that Spike had kept her safe from that. She smiled up at him.

“Can we go now?”


A/N: Funny little FYI. Being a medic myself, when I worked at FT Drum, and the job description I had at the time, I dealt with patient records on a daily basis. After spending months on end not dating (b/c at that point in my life - & in my mind - all men were pigs and nothing but a distraction), friends of mine were suddenly ‘putting a good word in’ for my husband, (who I had only ever seen around at that point) b/c he wanted to approach me. Before I even considered going out with him, I totally delved into his medical records like Faith did for Buffy, lol. (I told him as much but of course he understood and laughed). One can never be too safe. Hope everyone enjoyed the chappy and if you find some time, please let me know your thoughts - because - we are very, very close to the end now.

She rode with Spike since Willow had driven her to the club but didn’t think to ask where he was taking her until they’d gone off post.

“Uhmm, where exactly are we going?”

“Figured we’d go back to my place.” He shrugged then looked over to see one very wide-eyed Buffy. “Jus’ to hang out, nothin’ more. You have my word,” he reassured her.

“Good, because I’m not in the mood to get brought up on charges for assault and battery.”

He laughed then suddenly remembered something. “Tell me, pet. Were you a good girl while I was away?” She arched an eyebrow in response to his question, crossed one leg over the other and both arms over her chest. “Got somethin’ for you.” He reached in front of her and told her to relax when she jumped. Taking a small sack out of the glove compartment, he handed it to her. “Here.”

“What is it?” She pulled out a pink T-shirt and held it up to read what it said aloud. “Army of One. Not that I’m not grateful but, uhmm, I don’t get it.” He chuckled then composed himself before explaining.

“Don’ you remember?”

“Can’t say that I do.”

“Remember that day at the mall when you told me you were an Army of One when it came to takin’ care of your, how shall I say,” he exaggerated his cough for emphasis. “Needs?”

“Yeeeeeah,” she answered cautiously, wondering where he was going with this.

“Now don’ take this the wrong way, but tha’s the reason why I bought it for you.”

“I still don’t get it.”

“If and when you ever feel ready to have a battle buddy for that... particular exercise, you can wear it to let me know. Because `m not goin’ to bring the subject up to you ever again... I learned my lesson.” He held his breath, hoping she wouldn’t get mad over what he thought was a perfect solution or think he was being too presumptuous in assuming they would one day be in a relationship together.

She doubled over with laughter, clutching her stomach and trying to catch her breath long enough to tell him, “Only you, a-HA-HA-HA, would think of, A-HA, something like that.” It took her a few more breaths to calm herself so she could voice her approval in her own way. “I’ll do that. And thank you.” She folded it up and was grateful her purse was big enough to accommodate it with no problem.

Thankfully she missed the huge grin on his face. He was immensely pleased with himself that it went over so well, but even more so over what she’d said. He hadn’t wanted to get his hopes up too high, but it sounded as if she just might give him the chance he’d asked for. Pulling into the driveway of a two story house he informed her they were at his place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike led her up a set of stairs on the side of the house and opened the door so she could walk in first.

“`S only four rooms but `s home.”

“It’s bigger than my room at the barracks.” He took her coat and purse from her to hang up.

He pointed in each direction. “Kitchen, bathroom, livin’ room, bedroom around the corner. Why don’ you make yourself comfortable and I’ll get you somethin’ to drink?”

“Sounds good, thanks.” She walked into the tiny living room that housed only a few pieces of furniture, a small love seat, coffee table, a short entertainment center with TV and a book case. Only two walls held any picture frames housing mostly military plaque awards, certificates or Infantry related photographs.

“Nice I-love-me walls you’ve got.” Ego much? Of course looking at some of them a little closer, she had to admit his accomplishments were pretty impressive.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” She cheerily answered back, hearing him rummaging around in the refrigerator, calling out to let her know what he had.

“Got water, soda, beer...”

“Can I have a beer, please?” Hopefully it would help to relax her a bit. She knew she had no real reason to be anxious, but this was the first time she was seeing where he lived, seeing him in his own environment and as such, felt a bit awkward. Nearing his bookcase, she took in a long row of military coins, a wrapped up American flag in a shadow box and various war related books and other typical Army paraphernalia.

“Here.” She jumped a mile. “Sorry. Didn’ mean to frighten you.”

“I didn’t hear you come up behind me.” Jumpy much, Buffy? “Thank you.” She walked over and sat down on one end of the sofa and took a huge gulp from her beer as quietly as possible when he sat down on the opposite end. There wasn’t much space to be had between them by doing this and it felt weird to see him keep his distance from her at this point. To dance with him had been one thing, now it looked like he was trying his hardest for her sake not to even touch her.

Bloody hell, this is awkward. For several long moments he watched her fingers play nervously with her bottle, her eyes darting about like a trapped animal taking in its surroundings, looking for an exit so she could bolt the second the opportunity presented itself. He hated that she seemed so edgy and wondered what he couldn’t do or say to help her relax. She looked more like the scared little girl he’d first met in Basic than the bold spitfire he knew her to be now.

“So, I...” They both spoke at the same time, trying to break the awkward silence then laughed when they did it again to say ‘you first’.

That’s when he thought he might better offer her a way out rather than have an evening on his hands so disastrous that she wouldn’t want to come back.

“Listen, `f you’re not comfortable bein’ here... I can take you back.” She nodded while averting his eyes and his good mood instantly collapsed as the chance to spend time with her slipped away.

“I think that would be best.” She spoke softly, keeping her face expressionless while placing her bottle on the table.

“Right then.” Setting his beer down, he was more than disappointed. He held no illicit intentions in bringing her here but he should have known better and taken her somewhere public instead. Way to go, mate. Scare the poor girl.

She watched him sigh, a forlorn look gracing his features as he stood.

“Spike,” she tugged on his arm, waiting until he looked down at her. “Sit down, I’m just kidding.” The expression on his face was priceless but the look of relief on his face quickly melted into one of annoyed amusement. She fell into a fit of hysterics. “You are too easy.”

“Bloody minx,” he muttered and fell back in his seat. Shaking his head over being ‘had’ by her little joke, he waited until she was sufficiently calmed down. “So what’ll it be, Summers? The radio or some telly?”

“Telly?”

“Television,” he pointed.

“Depends on what movies you’ve got. Can I see?”

“Be my guest.” Watching her walk over to look at his DVD collection, he still couldn’t believe she was actually okay with being here at his place. “`F you’re lookin’ for a chick flick, you’re outta...”

“Got one.”

Luck. That was fast. He got up and went over to see what she’d chosen.

His eyebrows shot up in surprise as she handed it over then looked questioningly at her. “Have you seen this?” It was the classic movie ‘Platoon’.

“At least ten times. It’s one of my favorites.” She bounced away to sit back on the couch.

“Never thought you’ be into war flicks.”

“Let me guess. You thought I was into girlie kinds of pictures?”

He finished setting the movie up and turned around to find she’d taken her shoes off and was sitting cross legged on the couch, a cute scowl on her face. “`S jus’ there’s a lot of blood in it.”

“Uhm, hello? Medic here.”

“Right.” Of course she could handle the gory stuff.

“Thought you were afraid of needles and blood?” She watched him sit back down and start unlacing his boots to follow her example, relieved they could settle more comfortably around each other.

“Oi!. `M not afraid.” His jaw twitched as he slumped back and propped his feet on the coffee table in front of him.

Oh, you are so lying. “So it won’t bother you to know I always carry a syringe in my purse as a weapon?” His head snapped in her direction.

“Don’ even bloody joke `bout that.” She looked dead serious. “Chris’! You really do.”

“Gotcha!” He growled at her, causing her to giggle even more. She watched him spread both arms out across the back of the couch after hitting play on the remote. It looked like a move, but she could tell it wasn’t plus with her short stature, she was sitting down far enough that he wasn’t even close enough to touch her with his fingertips.

“`F I hadn’ deserved it for actin’ like a right wanker to you, I’d be bloody well pissed when you stuck my arse those months ago.” She patted his knee.

“Awww,” she pouted and spoke sweetly. “You were being such a pain in the ass I was only returning the favor.”

He raised an eyebrow as the opening credits appeared on the screen. “Shut your gob and watch the movie, woman.” The smile she gave him even while swatting his shoulder made him happy he’d brought her here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Halfway through the movie, Buffy heard Spike’s stomach grumble.

“When’s the last time you ate?” As he rubbed his stomach, his shirt lifted, revealing a delicious peek at those amazing abs. She quickly looked back at the TV, praying he hadn’t caught her looking.

“Couple hours ago.”

“Really? Wow! You must spend a lot of money on groceries.” A sudden visual popped into her head of the both of them shopping, but before she had a chance to shake the thought away, that imaginary scene was replaced by a very real and tantalizing vision. As he stood to stretch his arms over his head, the shirt that came loose from his jeans rose up high, giving her a two second look that felt like one of those slow-motion, ‘movie moments’ that lasts forever. She watched transfixed as those tone muscles rippled beneath his taut, ivory skin. Soft, sandy blonde hair trailing down from that oh so lick-able navel and... oh shit! DAMNIT! She glanced down, hoping he didn’t catch her staring because boy was this a déjà vu moment coming back to haunt her from Basic.

“M’ gonna go grab some snacks.”

“Mmm-hmm, yup, sure. Do-you-want-me-to-pause-the-movie?” She fumbled for the remote, dropping it on the floor. And could I act even more like a spaz?

“Nah. Be right back.” I will not get hard, I will NOT get hard. You bet he caught her, but no way was he going to call her on it. Bloody hell, `m hard. He’d just spent six weeks away from her. Add that to the fact she was the last person he’d been with and naturally his blood was going to run south. He took his time in preparing some food and getting his hormones in check before heading back to where she sat.

“Want some?”

He sat back down to her right and slung his arm behind her while holding a plate of crackers and cheese on his lap.

“I think I’ll pass.”

He laughed at her scrunched up nose. “Why? You think I dropped it on the floor?”

“Wouldn’t put it past you.” He got that mischievous little smirk on his face that suggested he was up to something.

“Wanna bet?”

Bugger. Her expression clearly said no.

Luckily he said nothing more and went back to watching the movie. She was pretty sure he was going to name a kiss as the price if she’d said yes. Little did he know that if he played his cards right, he wouldn’t need a silly bet to get one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twenty minutes more into the movie and Buffy couldn’t stand it any longer. To hell with it. She just hoped he wouldn’t say anything smart.

One minute he was engrossed in the movie and the next he felt soft hair tickling his upper arm as Buffy leaned her head into the crook of his neck and tilted her body towards him from his left. His heart rate doubled and he felt like a Nancy-boy for getting so excited over this small move of hers. I don’ deserve her, he thought as he brought his arm down to wrap around her shoulders, pulling her just a bit closer so he could smell her hair when he lowered his cheek to the top of her head. Interestingly enough, now that he was sure he’d been served his ‘meal’, he was no longer concerned about getting his ‘dessert’. When she was ready, it would only be that much sweeter.

She kept her hands in her lap and nuzzled against him when he pulled her closer. It felt so nice when he’d held her earlier as they danced and that’s what she wanted right now more than ever... to be held, to inhale his unique scent and feel the movement of his breathing beneath her face. It had been so long since she’d had human contact like this, not since Angel, though Angel couldn’t begin to compare to this man. It was hard to imagine what her life would be like right now had Angel remained faithful and followed her here. She smiled to herself, grateful for how differently things had played out. It felt like years rather than months ago when she’d headed for Basic to become a soldier, thinking it was a huge mistake once she’d gotten there. Now, however, she saw it as the best decision she’d ever made. She had a job she loved, great friends and she was... here. Sitting next to the person who used to be her worst nightmare, her former enemy, curled into his side with all these unexpected feelings for him racing through her mind and as crazy as the situation was, it just felt right. Yes, things were turning out rather nicely.

The next few minutes were spent trying to work up his nerve. He wasn’t sure if it was too soon or if she would want to hear him out, but he wanted to be able to move forward with her if she’d allow it and he didn’t feel they could unless the air were completely cleared of their past. It was something he’d thought long and hard on while away in the field and when Gunn agreed they needed a clean slate to start with, he knew the sooner it happened, the better chance they stood.

“Buffy.” He started carefully, hoping his courage would last long enough for him to say what he had to say.

“Yeah?” She felt his arm twitch and thought something was wrong but remained where she was.

“Uhmm, I... ahh....” Bloody hell, this was harder than he thought but he couldn’t back out now.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, nothin’s wrong I jus’, jus’ wanted to say... to tell you...” Chris’ mate. Quit yammerin’ and get on with it. He felt foolish for being brave enough to go to war but when it came to talking to a woman all he could do was stutter. But this wasn’t just any woman. This was Buffy... and he needed to get this right.

She could tell he wanted to say something important and it was difficult for him to get it out. So she reached over with her hand and threaded her fingers through his as they rested in on his leg, rubbing her thumb against his to give him the confidence he needed, let him know it was okay to say whatever he needed to.

“I don’ expect you to forgive me for everythin’ I’ve done to you, but I do want you to know that `m truly... very sorry.” Staring down at her tiny hand holding his, he smiled at her kind gesture of encouragement and wondered if she really knew just what an amazing woman she was.

“From the moment I first saw you, I was havin’... thoughts `bout you I had no right to and... I took it out on you, hopin’ they’d go away if I did.” He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the couch, shaking it back and forth. “So bloody stupid `f me. And I won’ lie to you and say it wasn’ lust at first, but over the weeks... after I tried harder to break you, hopin’ to send you home, you got stronger and it jus’ made me want you even more. By the time I figured it out, I didn’ trust m’self around you anymore so I kept my distance.”

So that was it, why he’d ignored her. She could respect that, especially after hearing his explanation behind the whole Sergeant McDonald incident.

`M especially sorry over what Angel did to you and for actin’ like a git `bout it. `M not proud to say this and I know `s not an excuse but... I was jealous. When I saw he’d written you after that, I was `fraid you might go back to him and I wanted you to see you didn’ need him, that you deserved better.” He sighed heavily. “When you tore that letter up... I don’ think I’d ever felt more relieved in my life and it wasn’ out of jealousy. I jus’ hoped you’d find somebody worthy of you someday and wished you well cuz... that was my last day at work and I never thought I’d see you again.” He paused, feeling out of breath like he was running a marathon, trying to get enough air in his lungs to go on.

“Spike...”

“Please,” he squeezed her hand gently. “I need to say this.” She nodded against his shoulder in understanding.

She couldn’t get over all this information he was flooding her with. Yes, it all made sense and yes, it helped her to understand even better, but he didn’t have to explain himself. She hadn’t demanded it of him or even asked. The six weeks they’d spent apart had given her plenty of time to think over Gunn’s explanation of things and she could tell Spike regretted everything he’d done to her. It was apparent in the way he’d treated her that Friday evening they’d had dinner with every look and kind smile he’d given her. But if it was important enough to him to say what he felt he had to, then she’d let him.

“That day... in my office...”

She felt him suddenly tense; his fingers tightening in hers as if holding onto her would make it easier and it made her appreciate what he was trying to do that much more. This was hard for him and knowing he needed to explain, she remained silent and brought her other hand to hold the one already clasped in his, cradling it gently.

“When I was packin’ my things to come here, you-you...” His voice took on a desperate quality to it, hoping she’d understand if nothing else. “I TRIED to get rid of you, to get you to go away but you wouldn’ back down and...” He pulled back to look in her eyes. “Buffy, I’ve NEVER wanted anyone as much as I do you. I couldn’ break you, couldn’ get you outta my head, couldn’ have you to keep for m’self and worst `f all, I had no right to want any of those things. Watchin’ you cut me down... I saw a passion in your eyes like I’ve never known and I was desperate to possess it, possess you, even if it was jus’ once and I snapped. I thought I’d never see you again and would be able to get over you but when I saw you in the ER, it all came rushin’ back.” Seeing her soft green eyes so full of understanding instead of hate, he relaxed a bit. “Bein’ the bloody wanker that I am, I had to go and bugger it all up.”

His eyes closed as he rested his head against the couch again. He genuinely felt tired, emotionally drained and completely stripped of his defenses to lay helpless before her. Should she decide to have him take her home and have nothing more to do with him he would understand and accept it.

Raising a hand to his cheek, his eyes instantly snapped open and she held her gaze steady to speak firmly. “Listen to me. The blame for that day doesn’t rest with you alone.” He tried to interrupt but she shook her head and kept talking. “I think you know I wanted you too. I made that pretty obvious. We’re both to blame but it happened and there’s nothing we can do to change that now. All I care about is that we can put it behind us.” He let go of the hand she held in hers to cup the one against his cheek. “Can we do that? Can we just put it behind us? Please?”

He almost couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Jus’ havin’ you here... I don’ deserve, but...” He had to say one more thing, had to know if she wanted what he did. Only then could he breathe his final sigh of relief and let all his guilt go.

She melted when he moved to place a tender kiss in her palm then lower her hand back to his leg.

“If you decide to give me a chance, I promise you won’ regret it. `S goin’ to take time to build some trust between us and `s a long and important process `m willin’ to go through.” He chuckled nervously. “`M not gonna screw it up, not gonna....”

She quickly placed a finger over his lips. “Shhhh. I believe you. You don’t need to explain or prove that, Spike. Honest.” He nodded and she lowered her hand, this time to rest loosely across his waist. “Before I came here tonight, before I even saw you at the club, I already had my mind made up. I want to be with you.” She wanted to giggle at his expression it was so adorable, but thought better of it.

Shaking his head back and forth, he could scarcely believe she was giving him the chance he was sure he didn’t deserve then confessed to her, “Been goin’ bloody crazy these last six weeks.” His breath came out shaky and a bit nervous. “I’ve missed you so much, pet.”

She smiled sweetly at his admission. I am sooooo screwed, she thought as she realized there was no way to avoid falling in love with him.

“Then why haven’t you kissed me yet?” His expression went from shock to hesitation, his eyes darting from her lips to her eyes and back again but he remained immobile, almost as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. She tilted her head up to kiss his chin lightly. “I missed you too.” Placing a hand to the back of his head, she drew him down to place another chaste kiss to his bottom lip, gently coaxing him into joining her but he pulled away to ask her.

“Does this mean you’ll be my girl? Cuz I have to know.”

“Only if we can skip the whole awkward dating process because let’s face it,” she raised a sarcastic eyebrow at him. “That would seem kinda silly after everything we’ve been through.” She smiled at his nod. “Now shut up and kiss meeeeEEE...” She squealed when he suddenly decided to yank her sideways across his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist. Oh GOD! He was giving her that sexy half smile, half smirk of his before answering.

“Yes, ma’am.” Dipping his head down, he couldn’t wait any longer and brushed his lips across hers, rubbing their noses together over and over. He felt her hot breath wisp across his mouth when she parted her lips and he dove in to kiss her soundly, deeply, pouring all he felt for this tiny woman who’d brought him to his knees into each sweep of his tongue across hers, moaning when she pulled him closer by the back of his head.

“Ohhh,” she gasped when he finally pulled back, allowing her to breathe. She never knew a man could put so much into one kiss and all she could do was let him, let him and be swept away by the blissful myriad of emotions he made her feel.

Seconds passed before they slipped down the couch to lie beside one another, arms holding the other tight, mouths breaking apart every now and then to inhale just enough air before coming together again to revel in the taste of the other and the shared feelings of their new beginning.

Coming to his senses he knew he had to stop. His hormones were steadily spiraling out of control and he promised he wouldn’t bring the issue of sex up with her ever again. He took his time in slowing the kisses down before gently breaking it off all together to let her know.

“I could do this all night with you, luv, but we need to stop.” Her look of confusion was irresistibly cute and he lightly kissed her pouty lips one more time.

“Why?” she asked hesitantly. “I thought... I thought you were enjoying this.”

“I am.” Now she looked even more confused so he bucked his hips against her so she clearly understood. “A little too much. Sorry.” He lowered his head, realizing he shouldn’t have done that. “But I don’ want this gettin’ outta control before we’re ready.”

Oh God, her eyes went wide. How could she have been so stupid? Of course it would make him horny. She nodded and moved away from him to sit up. She’d been more wrapped up in her emotions than she was in her body’s response and never thought about the effect their kissing would have on him. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’ apologize, pet.” He quickly sat up and positioned her so that her legs were the only thing draped across his legs and fumbled with the remote so they were back to watching regular TV. Placing an arm around the back of the couch, he gently placed two fingers to her chin and turned her to look at him.
“There’s no pressure and `m not in a rush. We can take this however fast or slow you want to. Doesn’ matter to me. `S `nough jus’ to have you here tonight. Okay?”

She nodded and the subject was dropped as late night television took over. Around midnight, he asked her.

“What are you doin’ tomorrow?”

“Nothing. Why? Did you have something in mind?” She hoped so; she hadn’t even left yet and was already anxious to see him again.

“Jus’ wonderin’ `f we could spend the day together?” She nodded and he smiled. “What would like to do?” He saw her look around as if searching for an answer before turning to smile brightly at him.

“Paintball.”

“Paintball?” What the...? She pointed to his paintball gun on the very bottom of his book shelf. “Do you play?” This was a surprise.

“Nope. But I’ve always wanted to.” She gave him a devious smile. “Care to teach me?”

His cock actually hardened at the thought of playing this sort of war game with her. “You serious?” She rolled her eyes at him.

“As a heart attack.” He looked doubtful. “If you’re scared, say you’re scared,” she challenged him.

“Oi. What time?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next hour was spent explaining the details of what playing paintball entailed in order to dissuade her but the more he explained, the more excited she became. He was pleasantly surprised over her enthusiasm and of course more than thrilled to take her, he just never guessed she’d want to do something like this over maybe going to a movie or a having a picnic in the park instead. This was more of a man’s sport, a physically demanding type of game and oh yeah, he was definitely hard at the thought of being pitted against her in such a manner, though he felt a bit unfair about doing so until she suggested they ask Willow and Oz to come with them to play teams.

And so it was agreed. She would drive over to his place early tomorrow afternoon with enough of her personal clothes and toiletries to take a shower at his place after their game of paintball. He was more than pleased when she readily said yes to stay for dinner afterwards and spend the evening together watching movies. It seemed as if all his unfulfilled prayers were slowly being answered by this Californian beauty with whom he’d been so sure would never even survive Basic Training.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday afternoon.

“Is all this really necessary?” Both Spike and Oz insisted the girls wear every available piece of protective gear while all they chose to wear were masks.

“When you get hit, `s gonna hurt and if you low crawl or fall, the pads will keep you from bruisin’ further.” She scowled at him. “You’ll thank me later, luv.” He kissed her forehead and her scowl disappeared.

Walking away from her to go talk to Oz, her eyes were drawn to his back side. She should send God a bottle of wine or a quiche for having given him such a fine ass. Sans underwear in his Army green cargo pants with matching long-sleeved military sweater, she couldn’t help the dirty little thoughts that crossed her mind.

“...Buffy?” Willow said her name again.

“Huh?” Her friend gave her a knowing smile.

“You ready?”

“Oh yeah,” she nodded her head. “We’re gonna kick some serious ass.”

“We?”

Both men came walking back towards the girls, Spike being the first to speak.

“Le’s head out. Oz and Red will follow in two minutes then we can start.” Placing her hands on her hips, she shook her stubborn head at him.

“Uh-uh. Girls against the guys.” His chuckle infuriated her.

“No offense, pet, but `m Infantry. It’ll be over before it even begins.” He looked to Oz who nodded in agreement right before his smile dropped. Looking back to see what the cause was it seemed they faced not just one pissed off woman, but two with their hands on the hips.

“By the time I get through with you,” Buffy started. “You’re going to need a medic. Come on Willow.”

Willow pointed a finger at Oz. “Yeah. What she said.” She ‘hmmph’ed’ and stalked off to catch up with her friend.

They watched their girlfriends walk into the wooded playing field, Spike smiling after Oz expressed his opinion.

“Dude, I wouldn’t underestimate them too much. We WERE the ones who trained them to do this sort of thing, remember?”

“No worries, mate.” He slapped him on the back. “We’ve got experience on our side. First, we let `em think they’re doin’ well, then... ambush, capture, conquer.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I hope you have a-a plan, Buffy, because this is my first time, too.”

“Yup.” She smiled while reaching into her pack of supplies. “Here.” Handing one of the two items over to a nervous looking Willow, she reassured her.

“Is this what I think it is?”

“Smoke grenades. I found them in Spike’s bag when I went to grab my helmet.”

“I thought they were illegal in tournament play.” She frowned.

“They are. Seems Spike was planning on using them anyway, so I requisitioned them.” She winked. “If you get into trouble, use it to pull back, find cover and if you have a clear shot, take it.”

They picked one of the bunkers to hide in then waited, listening in for any movement that would alert them. It rained heavily the night before, making the forest floor soft and quiet while traversing it, so long as one was careful enough to avoid stepping on any twigs. She counted on Spike being stealthy enough to do just that and as for Oz, well, he was no stranger to this sort of thing either.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Too bloody easy, Spike thought as he picked up the scent of vanilla while moving quickly from tree to tree. Still, she could be anywhere, behind a tree, in a ditch or any one of the bunkers. The sudden sound of a sneeze quickly brought his attention to the left.

“Shhh,” Buffy scolded Willow who mouthed her apology.

Raising her head, she thought she heard rustling in the underbrush twenty yards to her right. There he was. She saw Spike move from one tree to the next, no doubt having heard her friend sneeze and was trying to outflank her. Taking careful aim at the next logical place he’d dart to in order to remain concealed she whispered to Willow. “Get ready to run and gun when I shoot, then we’ll leapfrog towards the right.” The cover fire would hopefully provide her the chance to move swiftly out of range without being shot because it was either girl’s guess as to where Oz was. Their main objective was to separate the men so that offensively, they stood a better chance. All four agreed that rather than play the standard way and eliminate players through kill shots, they would simply play until their time was up. Whichever team had less paint on their clothes in the end would be the winners.

Pap! Spike was taken by surprise when he heard the first shot then saw the paintball splatter against the tree he was heading for. Several more rounds were fired and he spared a glance to see Willow running for an embankment. Huh, his girl was doing good, covering her buddy like that.

Oz was further up the trail near to where his girlfriend was heading and took a shot right before she dove. These types of guns weren’t that incredibly accurate and it was probably a good thing since it would make for an interesting game.

“Sucker!” Willow called out then started firing at Oz, hoping Buffy was going to run soon.

She bolted from her spot and wound around to Spike’s right, trying to use his position against him to, “Eeeep!” He’d fired directly at her and the ball barely missed her side. Taking temporary cover behind some brush, she called out. “Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me,” then darted off to another bunker.

Bloody minx! He couldn’t help but laugh out loud at her antics. Turning to Oz, he gave him hand signals to indicate he’d push Buffy further back so they could separately stalk down each woman.

What the hell is he doing? He was running straight for her as if he had a death wish. She shrugged, figuring it was his ass for trying to be Rambo. She fired away and thought for sure she had the perfect shot, but he tucked and rolled to the side, firing at her the second he lay prone.

“OUCH!” He’d shot her arm before she could move out of the way. “Damnit Spike, that hurt!” He called back after scuttling behind a mound of hay bales.

“Told you it would, pet. Don’ worry. I’ll kiss it later, make it better.” He heard her moving about but couldn’t see her. Uh-oh! That couldn’t be good. The noise was getting closer but still no visual on Buffy. He crouched down low and inched his way to the other side of the tree, figuring she was trying to creep up on the place she’d seen him last. Everything fell suddenly quiet and he used the next several seconds to scan the entire area, holding his gun at the ready.

She took her time to low crawl until she spied a body part to shoot at. That gorgeous ass of his was sticking out perfectly from where he crouched, the rest of his body obscured by the tall oak tree. Taking careful aim she placed her finger around the trigger, and inhaled.

The split second between hearing her whistle in a manner to get his attention and the blinding pain to his ass scared the shit out of him. “BLOODY HELL!” It hurt like a bitch but didn’t stop him from dropping down to roll as fast as he could towards an embankment. “FUCK!” She got him again, this time on the left side of his back as he was falling over the edge in search of protection.

“That’s two to one.” She smiled when he hollered out.

“Then it’ll be you kissin’ me and makin’ it better, pet.”

“Sorry. But I’ve never been the ass-kissing type.” She ran to the other side of some hay bales, barely dodging his fire. That’s when he made a bold move and came out to walk straight towards her, using repetitive fire with his own weapon so she had to remain low while he swiftly approached.

Oh shit, oh shit! Reaching into her pack, she pulled out the grenade and quickly pulled the pin. The moment before it went off, she popped her head up and stuck her tongue out at him. The smoke rapidly clouded the air and she retreated directly behind it then followed the westward path of cover it provided as the wind blew.

You li’l... She stole my grenades. He searched his own pack and sure enough they were missing. He had no idea where Oz was anymore so he couldn’t warn him, but knew he’d figure it out if he was within range to see where Buffy had used it. On gut instinct, he followed in front of the path of smoke, figuring she’d pull as far back as possible and look for the best cover. As soon as he had a sign of where she’d be, he’d take his time and low crawl a steady path towards her as silently as possible.

Several long minutes had passed and she hadn’t heard a single noise. Damnit! Where is he? She stayed on the move at first, waiting only seconds between objects to take advantage of the smoke but now she stayed put. Nervousness crept upon her as well as the feeling she was being watched. Her view of the forest floor was limited from the rim of the ditch she’d found but she was determined to stay put a bit longer, hoping he’d make a noise to give away his position.

He wanted to laugh at the sight of her head on a slow swivel, searching for him. Watching her movement to get his attack timed right, the second her head was turned away, he pounced.

She never had time to scream while being knocked on the flat of her back from her crouched position. Her weapon was quickly torn from her hand as well as the mask she wore. “Sp...” He covered her mouth and took off his own mask.

“Shhh.” He spoke in a hushed tone.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Capturin’ the enemy.” He was practically on top of her so he rolled on his side but brought her with him by her waist so they faced each other. She chuckled at him.

“That’s not how we agreed to play the game.” She tried to be serious but he was getting to her with that devilish smirk of his. “You’re cheating.” Oh Lord, he was doing that head tilt thing. The man should be illegal he was so gorgeous.

“Told you I was a bad man.”

“Now that you have me.” She shifted closer to him, wrapping her own arm around his waist. “What are going to with me? Torture me?” He shook his head. “Interrogate me?” Again he shook his head. She brought her mouth close to his. “Pump me for information, perhaps?”

He growled when she said that and was going to scold her but she pulled him in for a tender kiss, her hand sliding up to hold his face. She felt so good in his arms and he was thrilled that she felt comfortable enough to initiate kissing him. He caressed her tongue gently and marveled at the feel of her tiny hand now wandering down his chest and along his side, maneuvering it to his back to hold him.

“Someone’s a right naughty girl underneath,” he chided when she broke the kiss, causing her to blush. She was definitely going to be the death of him but what a way to go.

“Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”

“Don’ be, luv. I rather like a naughty girl. However...” he ran a finger slowly down her nose and over her lips. “Down the road, in the future,” he kissed her quickly. “`F you tease,” another kiss. “And don’ please,” and another. “You’ll be in for a spankin’.” He kissed her again but this time smacked her bottom playfully, causing her to ‘eeep’.

“Okay, I may have deserved that, but you are so dead.”

He rolled onto his back, taking her with him and noticed she was careful not to straddle his hips, but instead had only one leg in between his knees. He was grateful that at least she was cognitive of what might happen and tried to prevent it, but of course it happened anyway. He couldn’t keep from getting hard but he could keep himself in check.

“Close your eyes,” she whispered, waiting until he did so, then started kissing him slowly; lulling him into a false sense she was going to continue when she raised his hands over his head.

Once minute she was kissing him and the next... she upped and ran away, screaming with laughter. Bloody minx! She was quick but he was faster. He quickly caught up to her and grabbed the giggling girl around the waist, reprimanding her for having left her weapon behind on the ground.

“You know, pet. Tha’s not what I taught you in Basic.” He pulled her behind a tree in case their friends were about. “May have to enforce some, ahem... corrective trainin’ for being so careless.” He pressed her into the tree and kissed her, hoping she was alright with his teasing of the past.

And dear Lord but the vision of him in his Drill Sergeant uniform, playing a little game with him like that was turning her on before she had a chance to think about it. When the time was right though, she’d make sure she was an especially disobedient little soldier.

Pushing him away, she teased some more, enjoying the playful banter and wanting to goad him. “Please forgive my insubordination, Sergeant. Would you like me to drop and give you... twenty?” He groaned when she darted her tongue out to caress his bottom lip. Oh yeah, she knew he understood her meaning when she felt him take one hand from her waist and lowering it to adjust himself. Taking advantage of his position, she hooked her ankle behind his and quickly jerked him off balance so he fell on his back before taking off on the run again.

She was heading straight for the edge of the woods where they’d entered when he had an idea to get back at his naughty girl. After all, teasing him with the image of her on her knees doing that was very evil of her.

She ran as fast as she could, sparing a backward glance when he called out to her.

“You can run, but when I catch up...” Several more strides and he knew all he had to do was reach out to get her. However, when he spied something in particular just ahead of them, he held back and waited for just the right moment.

Sure she was outrunning him, she was about to slow down and cry mercy when she felt a firm hand to her waist, yanking her sideways to land in a muddy area. “SPIKE!!!” Sploosh! Ewww, gross!” She laughed when he rolled her over and pinned her body military style. She could feel the mud oozing through her clothes and struggled temporarily until his lips met hers for a quick kiss.

“Sorry, luv. Jus’ indulging in one of my fantasies `bout joinin’ you in... ARGHHH!” She brought a handful of mud up to rub in his face and pretty soon they were rolling and giggling, trying to get the other as dirty as possible... until they were interrupted.

“Hey, there will be no fraternizing with the enemy.” A paint covered Willow stood tapping her foot in front of the mud covered couple, Oz standing behind her with an amused look on his face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now back at Spike’s place, he told Buffy she could shower while he started dinner.

It felt odd at first, showering at his place, especially when he was just on the other side of the door, but soon her curiosity took over and she was rifling through his medicine cabinet. Just as suspected, all of the contents were evenly spaced apart, labels facing forward, everything dress right dress in military fashion. She shook her head and laughed, if they ever lived together, that was another thing aside from cooking he wouldn’t get out of her. Scolding herself for even entertaining that thought, she hopped in the shower and set about trying to get the mud out of her hair.

Fifteen minutes later when she’d finished and walked into the kitchen, she was hit with the smell of food cooking away on the stove while staring at a half naked Spike. He’d swapped out his muddied clothes for nothing but a pair of sweatpants. Do NOT stare this time. Easier said than done! The man was practically built for sin. He may have apologized over what happened between them at FT Lemonworth, but there was no denying just how hot that experience had been when remembering how those sinewy muscles danced beneath his skin as he pounded... Bad Buffy. Good God, she was just as bad as Spike was before he stopped making lewd comments. Good thing he wasn’t a mind reader, he’d probably have a field day with it.

“Whatcha cooking?” She stepped up beside him to see it was spaghetti sauce he was slowly heating up while another pot of water was steadily coming to a boil.

“Somethin’ quick. Can you watch this while I take a shower?” She gave him a skeptical look.

“I will but there’s no guarantee I won’t mess it up. Cooking and Buffy are un-mixy things.”

He smiled at her scrunched up nose. “`S only spaghetti, luv. Jus’ stir the sauce and when the water boils, throw the noodles in and stir that, too.”

“Okay,” she said doubtfully. “But I warned you.”

“You’ll be fine.” He kissed the side of her head. “`M gonna go have a smoke first.”

She watched him walk over to his duster that was hung on the wall and retrieve his cigarettes. “If you don’t brush your teeth after that, it’s a negative on any kissage from me.” He smirked at her while opening the door to go outside.

“I’ll jus’ pull rank on you,” he curled his tongue behind his teeth then laughed as he dodged the hand towel she threw at him.

Wicked man.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She’d just turned the burner off since the noodles were done when Spike came out from his shower. The moment she turned to look to him, her breath caught in her throat and plop, the wooden spoon she was using to stir the sauce with slipped from her fingers to sink completely into the pot.

“Shit!” Yup, definitely built for sin. The man wore nothing but a white towel draped low on his waist, exposing those sharp hip bones of his, chest covered in water droplets while rubbing his head vigorously with another towel. This is so his fault, she thought as she grabbed another spoon to try and scoop out the one she’d lost.

“Want some help?” He saw what had happened and headed towards her when she stopped him.

“No-no,” she held a hand up behind her to prevent him from getting any closer. “Just... go get dressed.” PLEASE get dressed before I jump your bones. Thank heavens he was behind her because she knew he wouldn’t miss the fact her face nearly matched the color of the sauce.

“Right then, be back in a mo.” He smiled and kept his thoughts to himself.

While he was changing she thought seriously on the subject of sex. How long should they wait, were they supposed to wait? She’d only ever been with Angel and that was a different situation entirely. Spike said whenever she was ready. She chuckled out loud. Of course he’d say that. Just because he wasn’t talking about it anymore didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking about it. Hell, she knew she was.

Turning the second burner off now that the sauce finally came to a boil, she stepped away to lean against the wall, crossed her arms and stared at nothing in particular. She was already falling in love with him, was sure he felt the same way, so was it silly to bother waiting? Maybe Faith, in her own twisted way, had been right. They’d already put the cart before the horse in that department, so what were they waiting for? Correction, what was she waiting for? It certainly wasn’t a matter of trust. She already trusted him, which was, in her mind, the biggest hurdle of them all. Was there a standard waiting period between couples? Or was it an individual thing, based on the level of mutual trust. And I’m thinking waaaaaaaaaaay too much on this.

“What are you thinkin’ so hard `bout, pet?” Oops, she must have really been deep in thought the way she jumped when he spoke. She stood straight, shook her head and smiled, saying ‘nothing, just stuff’. She looked cute in her little white tank top, jean shorts and pony tail. She almost looked like a little girl if it weren’t for her curves and oh boy. What was it with this girl and her dislike for bras? Oh well, it would make life in the future more interesting for him. “Ready to eat?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Buffy insisted on doing the dishes once they were through eating despite using his pout on her. The angle at which the couch was in relation to the kitchen, allowed him a clear line of sight to observe her. He sat there and watched her with a dreamy smile on his face. His girl, in his kitchen doing something as simple as the dishes had his thoughts running along domesticated lines of what it would be like having her around everyday. Yes, it was too soon, but when she was ready to be intimate, he still had his mind made up... she wasn’t going anywhere, wouldn’t want to. He was cocky, he knew it... she knew it. But Gunn had been right on the money when he’d said she was the only woman who could keep his ass in check.

She finished drying her hands then came over to sit on the couch next to him.

“What are we watching?”

“How `bout a horror flick so I can have an excuse to hold you when you get scared.”

Giving him a bored look, she swung her legs over his lap and settled into the arm he had resting over the couch. “I hate to steal your thunder, Tanto, but I don’t scare easy.”

That was the truth, if she could survive not being scared of him during Boot Camp, she damn sure stood a good chance this wouldn’t bother her in the least. “We’ll see. `S Wes Craven’s movie called ‘They’. Seen it?”

“I’ve never seen it but I’ve heard of it. Hey, doesn’t it have that hot actor in it, Marc Blucas?” She giggled when he gave her a warning growl and tightened his arms around her waist.

“Tryin’ to make me jealous over some white-bread actor that looks like he was corn fed in Iowa?”

“Who me?” she asked innocently. He raised an accusing eyebrow at her.

Minx! “Anyway, `s `bout childhood nightmares comin’ back to claim people as adults.”

“I think I can handle it. After all, YOU were MY worst nightmare.”

“Oi, pet.” Leaning into her neck, he nipped at the flesh above her pulse point. “Guess I need to claim you then, huh?” She giggled at first. “Mark you as mine?” he purred deeply.

Her mouth formed an ‘O’ when he went from being playful to erotic. His tongue darted out to lick along her neck causing her entire body to shiver. He’d hit an erogenous zone of hers and she knew if she didn’t stop him... “Spike,” his name came out hushed, a desperate quality behind it.

“Mmmm-hmmmm?” He was looking directly down her shirt, watching the effect his ministrations were having on her nipples as they pebbled before his eyes. He could hardly wait for the day when he wouldn’t have to restrain himself from the urge to rip her shirt away so he could pay homage to the rosy peaks.

He placed one hot, open mouthed kiss directly over the area where her neck met her shoulder and she just about went through the roof. Bringing her hand up to the top of his head, she knew he thought she was going to encourage him but instead, she pulled him off her then twisted his head towards the television.

“Down, boy. Time to watch the TV and don’t even think about pouting.” He chuckled.

“`M far from bein’ a boy, luv.” He pressed play on the remote, grinning when she kissed his cheek.

That’s the only thing that scares me. She knew all too well what he was capable of, that’s why she stopped him before her body had a chance to act on its own. “Can we lie down, please? My body is hurting all over from rolling around on the ground today.”

He waited until she stood then moved a throw pillow into position, scooted down and back to make room for her then held his arm open. “Come here, luv.” He felt bad over seeing the bruise on her arm and knew no matter what shape she was in physically, her first time playing this sport was bound to make her body sore. She leaned against the front of his body and he used one hand to knead the muscles in her neck, back and shoulder as best he could given their respective positions.

“Mmmmm, ahhhh,” she sighed. “That feels so-oooo wonderful.” Her voice skipped when he hit a particularly sore area on her back. She loved the fact he had such strong hands yet could be so gentle with her when she needed it. Before she even thought about what she was saying, a comment she’d often used around her girlfriends flew out of her mouth. “I swear a good back rub is better than sex.”

Both sets of eyes went wide and Spike paused for a brief second before resuming his work to her shoulder. No way on earth was he going to touch that one.

Once the movie was underway and Buffy began tensing over certain parts, he casually draped his arm over her waist. Her little tank top was cut mid-riff and his thumb instantly brushed against the smooth skin of her stomach.

The light tickle of his thumb to her belly was another erogenous zone. He very slowly stroked it over and over in a manner that mimicked a musician strumming a guitar. This, she was sure, was completely innocent on his part. There was no way he could know what it was doing to her. Still, after a minute of trying to ignore the effect it was having on her, she lowered her hand to his and pushed his palm flat to the front of her abdomen, allowing his hand under her shirt completely. It wasn’t too high or too low and definitely wasn’t ‘a move’ but it was the only thing she could think of to get him to stop from getting her overly aroused.

Bloody hell! She wasn’t playing a game with him or even teasing, but just feeling her warm hand on top of his, holding him to her stomach made his cock twitch. He could only pray she wouldn’t make him wait long for his ‘dessert’ because now he had the urge to slide his hand down the front of her shorts, delve his fingers inside her moist heat and see if he could make her cum all over his hand. Jesus he felt like such a prick now for not having finished ‘the job’ he’d started with her in the bathroom of that club weeks ago.

Oh no. It wasn’t long before his thumb started in again despite the position of his hand. She couldn’t handle this and certainly had no intention to embarrass herself by coming out and telling him. That’s it!

Buffy abruptly sat up and announced she needed to use the bathroom and would be right back.

“I’ll pause the movie, luv.” He watched her walk away and was grateful for the opportunity to adjust himself. A minute or so later, when she came back, he sat up in such a hurry one would swear he’d just been struck by lightening.

Standing there, pretty as could be, twirling her hair while toeing the ground like a little girl was his Buffy, wearing the pink ‘Army of One’ T-shirt, most definitely sans shorts and a coy smile on her face. He grabbed the pillow and quickly pulled it over his lap, not even sure why he was trying to hide the full hard on he now sported. What came out of her mouth, however, nearly made him cum in his pants.

“Wanna be my battle buddy?”





A/N: Most of you that are familiar with my work know that this type of evil cliffie means one thing... Now that Spike is getting his dessert, the muse is going to need a whole chapter so he can provide readers with a full-out buffet of sweet treats, *winks*. So don’t hate the player, hate the game, *giggles*. Till next update, have a great week, *smooches*.

Con’t from chapter 13...

“Wanna be my battle buddy?”

At first she was nervous, but seeing Spike’s reaction lent her the courage needed. Sitting up with his legs spread wide, covering his mid section with a pillow, jaw dropped open in cartoon fashion suggested that although it was a shock, it wasn’t unwelcome.

He watched her walk slowly towards him but he still couldn’t speak. As she stood smiling before him, she reached a finger out to place under his chin and pushed his mouth shut.

“I’ll take that as a yes?” He nodded dumbly. “What are you hiding?” She took the pillow away from him. Wow, he looked massive beneath the polyester material of his track pants. She’d noted earlier they were the kind that had snaps lining both sides that ran the entire length, making it possible to undress him without ever having to pull them down. “Is that for me?” she asked suggestively.

She pointed at his erection, a teasing smile on her face and again he nodded dumbly. He hadn’t expected this to happen until, well, he didn’t know when he’d expected her to wear the pink shirt, but it certainly wasn’t tonight.

“Aren’t you going to talk to me?” She watched his Adam’s apple bob in his throat as he swallowed hard.

“Buffy... you sure `bout this cuz...” God he hoped so but he didn’t want her to do this if she was feeling any type of pressure from him. That might lead to resentment and he wouldn’t allow that.

“Would I be standing here like this if I wasn’t?” Now she began to second guess her decision. “Do you... did you not want to?” The way he smiled told her he did, flooding her system with relief.

“You bloody well know I do, but if you’re doin’ this cuz you feel you have to then I’d rather wait.” She smiled sweetly at him.

“Can’t it just be because I want you?”

“`Course,” his voice squeaked and he cleared his throat. “I jus’... bloody hell, woman! I hope this isn’ another one `f your jokes, cuz I don’ think I could handle it.” He had to be sure because it was unbelievable to him that she... wha’s she doin’? What the bleedin’ hell`is she doin’? He tried backing away from her with little success.

She giggled and straddled his lap, taking his hands and placing them on her hips where the T-shirt had ridden up. “I may tease you a lot but I can assure you... this isn’t one of those times.” She leaned in to kiss him lightly on the lips then whispered when she pulled back, “Take me to bed.”

His hands instantly tightened on her hips, pulling her forward so that her center rubbed up against his aching cock.

Gasping at his actions, she felt her need for him resurface to pool in her underwear. He gazed deep into her eyes, his own passion staring back at her through hooded lids, blue depths turning a darker shade of azure as his arms twined around her back, pulling her in for a heated kiss that threatened to make her cum right there.

Abruptly he pulled away and leaned his head against the couch, shaking it back and forth with his eyes closed, saying ‘no’ over and over.

“What’s wrong?” Had he changed his mind?

He sighed then looked at her. “Don’ have any condoms. Last box I had I threw out cuz they were too old and I wasn’ plannin’ to be with anyone.”

She didn’t have any right to be pleased at this tidbit of information, but she was. Jealousy over even thinking about him being with another woman was something she couldn’t help but feel... he was hers now. Suddenly, she remembered the condom Faith put in her purse. This was going to be embarrassing for her to tell him, but damned if she planned on stopping now.

“Uhmm... I have one. I-it’s in my purse. Faith-put-it-there-Friday-night,” she blurted out.

Her blush was adorable. “Tha’s great, pet, but we’re goin’ to need more than one.” He chuckled when she looked surprised. “`Sides,” he purred. “Once I get you in my bed, you’re not goin’ anywhere for quite a while.” She swatted his chest.

“You’re a pig, Spike!” She tried to scold him but knew he was right plus she probably wouldn’t be able to get out of bed once he was through with her. He’d left her sore for days after what he’d done to her in his office and since he was clearly planning on doing this more than once, well, she’d probably need a wheelchair after that.

“Oink, oink, baby.” He kissed her nose. “We’ll go to the corner store and... bloody hell!”

“What now?”

He pointed at his crotch.

“Can’ go lookin’ like this and `s not gonna go away. You could go,” he suggested.

“Ohhh no, no way! Just like you and tampons, I am NOT going to buy those. Besides, I have no idea what the right kind is for you. Can’t you... throw on some jeans or something?” He shook his head.

“Negative. Too painful and still obvious.”

Looks like it was up to her. God she didn’t want to have to do this but what choice did they have? She understood his, ahem, point and now that they’d arrived at ‘the moment’, there was no turning back. Wait a minute! An idea sprang to mind. One in which there was no doubt he’d be, or rather remain up for. She smiled slyly at him. “I think I may have a solution.”

Raising an inquisitive eyebrow, he asked, “And what would that be cuz `m not `bout to use hundred-mile-an-hour tape.” Shaking her head, she ran a hand seductively down his chest and over his erection, causing him to hiss when she dragged her nails across it.

“And ruin my sex life before it begins?” He chuckled. She grabbed the hem of his black tank top and wrested it over his head. “Let’s lose this.” Mine, her inner voice said possessively as she let her gaze rake over his amazing physique.

“Oh, baby,” he purred. “Can I undress you, too?” He tugged on her shirt and pouted when she shook her head ‘no’ and took hold of his wrists to prevent him.

Placing her lips against his ear, she whispered. “Why don’t you relax... let me take care of things.”

He had no clue exactly what she had in mind until she unsnapped the first few buttons on his pants, peeled them away from his groin then reached a hand between their bodies to start stroking him. Never in his life had he been more thankful that he hated wearing underwear.

“Chris’, pet, that feels good.” Just the thought of his girl giving him a hand job was enough to make him cum. But now that her tiny fingers were massaging his cock, the realism combined with her firm grip would surely have him spilling his load in no time.

Bringing a hand to his chest, she realized this was her first chance to explore his body like this so she took her time while keeping the pace to his shaft steady. She never took notice that he was watching her, all she cared about was running her palm over the smooth expanse of each pectoral muscle, noting how soft his skin felt, how warm, how his heart beat wildly beneath her hand. Trailing a finger down the center line that separated his muscles, he felt like silk draped over iron. How can one man be so smooth and so hard at the same time? Then of course she spared a downward glance over his rock hard abs to the steely member within her grasp.

His was only the second she’d ever seen, and with nothing to compare him to but Angel, she not only felt but could see many differences, many wonderful differences. Where she’d thought Angel was sizeable, it was now visually confirmed he was average at best. Spike was at least an inch longer and most definitely wider in girth as her fingers barely touched when wrapped around it. No wonder he’d made her feel so good those many months ago... but that wasn’t the only ‘big’ difference between the two men. Spike had been right; Angel was a boy trying to take care of a man’s job, and she most definitely had herself a man.

Watching in fascination as her strokes encouraged drops of pre-cum to form on the engorged head, she rubbed her thumb over the weeping tip in curiosity. Spreading the white substance around, it felt sticky yet silky, silky enough to serve as a lubricant to the movements she applied to him.

“Like what you see, kitten?” he asked her in a breathy tone, still in awe that she would help him out in this way.

Surprised, she tore her gaze from between them to look up, having forgotten how he’d talked dirty to her their first time together. She’d liked it well enough, but wasn’t entirely prepared for him to do it right now or how to respond.

“Cuz it looks fuckin’ fabulous from where `m sittin’.”

He knew her to be shy in the verbal arena when it came to intimate matters, that was evident back at FT Lemonworth. Well, that wouldn’t do anymore. He wouldn’t have his girl ashamed to say anything to him... whatsoever. Leaving one of his hands on her hip, he slid the other up her back, fingers freeing her hair from the ponytail so he could tangle them in the soft locks at the back of her head, drawing her against his lips.

The closeness of their bodies left just enough room for her to continue what she was doing while still enjoying his soft kiss. Slowly, he worked those kisses across her jaw, her cheek then towards her ear where he whispered dirty, pretty words into it.

“Don’ ever be `fraid to talk to me, tell me what you want, what makes you feel good. Wanna make sure I keep my girl... hmmmm, nice and,” his voice went husky. “Satisfied.” Noting how her body shuddered at this, he continued, “Can’ wait to fuck you so good and hard, hear you screamin’ my name as `m poundin’ into you... mmm. You’re such a beautiful sight when you cum like that, all passion, all woman,” he lowered his voice to a feral growl. “My woman!”

“Spike,” she whispered. He was turning her on, too much and she desperately needed to concentrate on him. The sooner she took care of him, the sooner he could get to the store; it was the whole point after all. Using her free hand to lift her shirt, she pressed his cock against her stomach, rocking her hips as if they were already joined, using her palm to massage it.

“FUCK!!!” His eyes crossed at this new sensation, making him want to pull her knickers aside and bury himself deep within her. “Wanna be inside you so bloody bad. Slide m`self in slow and easy like. Bet you’re all nice and wet. Aren’t you, kitten?” He felt her nod against his cheek. His hand drifted over her backside, teasing a finger just beneath the material of her thong in search of that wetness, wanting to bring her off with him.

Reaching around, she slid her hand along his arm until her fingers met with his. Guiding them to her center, she encouraged him to rub and tease, throwing her head back to gasp in pleasure. As soon as he tried to slip a finger inside, however, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him away.

Wondering why she hadn’t let him continue, he soon got his answer when she led his hand between them, making him take hold of himself so her juices coated his shaft. He groaned aloud, thinking his kitten was very naughty and apparently a lot more knowledgeable than he gave her credit for. She fascinated him when she interlaced their fingers together and coaxed him into joining her as she pumped him slowly.

Bringing her mouth towards his neck, she bit down lightly, forcing a snarl from his throat and his manhood to twitch in their hands. Such a minx! He wondered if she had any real idea just how much that turned him on. Feeling her teeth continue to nip their way down the side of his neck excited him beyond belief. He most definitely had a thing for rough play and hoped if she wasn’t into it, that she’d at least be willing to let him teach her how nice it could be if done properly. Oh yes, he could imagine many, many long nights consisting of oil, sweat and satisfaction in their future.

Sliding her hand from his shoulder to the back of his head, she moved in to cover his mouth with hers, drawing him into a duel with her tongue, each fighting for dominance while he used both hands to reach around and grip her ass, leaving her to tend to his swollen shaft so he could squeeze and play with her bottom.

Breaking for air, he desperately needed to cum and encouraged her. “Squeeze harder, luv... oh yeah, tha’s it. Bit faster now.”

She could see he was rapidly losing himself to his lust, getting closer and closer every second. With his head thrown back, eyes closed, lips slightly parted, panting, brow furrowed in concentration, hips jerking every few strokes... He suddenly released her backside to grip the edge of the couch in preparation, never taking notice of her subtle movements. Very slowly, one knee at a time, she slid herself off the couch and down to the floor between his legs.

The moment he felt something warm and wet on his cock, his eyes flew open, looking down to discover his girl was fulfilling another one of his deepest fantasies about her, sending his brain into overload.

“CHRIS’!!! Bloody hell, luv! Ahhhh.” He was in absolute heaven with her hot little mouth devouring him, her tongue swirling around the head on the upstroke. “Oh fuck, th-that feels... unghh... incredible!” Her hair fell in the way and he quickly gathered it in his fingers to sweep it to one side, his palm resting on the top of her head.

Laying a hand to his trembling thigh, she admired the hard muscles in his leg while gliding her palm up and over the sharp angle of his hip, letting her fingers play in the downy trail of hair leading to his navel. She hummed around his cock as she took more of it in; pleased with herself when another string of curses and praise erupted from above her.

She looked too bloody sexy like this; on her knees, hair draped over his hip, pleasuring him with that pouty, sassy mouth of hers. The image of her pink lips stretched around him, sucking him off, fingers working the base of his cock made his balls tighten.

Letting go of his shaft, her hands held his hips while she took him steadily deeper with each descent of her mouth. She felt him tug on her hair and his body beginning to shudder. Taking him in as far as she could, she paused to swallow around him making sure he felt the back of her throat before bringing her hand to work him again so she could purse her lips tightly, applying swift strokes to help bring him the rest of the way.

Bloody fuckin’ hell! The things she was doing were driving him insane. He considered himself a very lucky bloke that not only was she doing this for him, but that she did it so God damn well, too. He was seconds away and had to warn her.

“Buffy, luv... `m gonna cum.” Having no will or want to resist his body’s need for release, he roared as his orgasm ripped through him.

She quickly pulled her mouth off and stroked him to completion, seeing his body stretch taut from the effort. Watching his essence shoot forth to land in a random pattern across his belly, she gauged her hand to slow as the last of the pearly white substance spilled forth to run over her fingers. He’d never looked sexier than when he slumped back to the couch and purred, a look of pure contentment washing over his face. That’s when she wondered if maybe he’d expected more from her.

“I’m sorry.”

He looked down at her upturned face to frown questioningly, wondering what on earth she could possibly be sorry about. “What for?”

“I’ve done this before but I’ve never...” she waived a hand towards his spendings.

“What... swallowed?” Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink. “Whatever’s good for you, pet, cuz definitely not complainin’ here.”

She looked down curiously at the mess on his stomach and dipped a finger in it, swirling it around before lifting it up to take a tentative lick. “But that’s not to say I haven’t thought about it.”

Watching her tongue dart out to clean her finger made his softening cock jump involuntarily. She wasn’t trying to tease or be sexy. He could tell from the look on her face she was seriously contemplating it. Grabbing his shirt, he quickly cleaned himself off with it and reached down to haul her up onto his lap by her wrists.

“Ewww, Spike, my hand.” He saw her dilemma and handed her his shirt so she could wipe her fingers. As soon as she finished he told her to drop it to the floor, then gathered her close in his arms.

“That was the best blow-job I ever had, kitten. Thank you.” He nuzzled his face in the curve of her neck to kiss her tenderly. “Doesn’ matter whether you swallow or not. `F you ever do, `s jus’ a bonus.” He turned her face with his finger and kissed her soundly on the mouth. He was truly grateful for her being here tonight, for choosing to be with him, for everything. The way she gave him just what he needed, what he craved, the way she touched him, surrounded him... Whether sexual or otherwise, she was perfect in every way and he had no doubt she was the one meant for him. He swore to himself in that moment he would do anything and everything within his power to keep her happy, treat her the way she deserved so she’d stay with him always.

“Mmmmm, Spike, mmph. Spike, stop.” She pushed against his chest. “Store. Remember?” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

“Wha’s the rush, luv?” He ran a hand up her thigh until he reached her hip to tug at her knickers. “Does my girl need somethin’?” He licked at the side of her neck.

“Yes,” she removed his hand and scolded him. “I do. So go.” Again he tried going for her underwear but she scrambled off his lap and pointed towards his room. “Get a shirt on and go, Mister, before I change my mind and drive back to the barracks.”

He watched her cross her arms and tip her nose haughtily in the air, purposefully teasing him. Snapping his pants back together and getting up to do as she wanted, he slapped her ass as he passed her on the way to the bedroom. “Sure you will.” Chuckling as she cried out indignantly while rubbing her bottom.

Seconds later, he reemerged to find her sitting on the couch with her legs tucked under her, watching TV. She thought she was going to stay here? Silly bint. He went to the couch and squatted down.

“What the hell are you doing? HEY!!! Put me down!” He wrapped an arm around her knees, grabbed her wrist and hauled her over his shoulder effortlessly then headed for the door.

“Goin’ to the store.” he answered nonchalantly.

“NO! I don’t have any shorts on. Now put me DOWN!” She began beating on his back until he gave her bottom a sharp slap. “Erghh!” she screamed.

“Don’ bloody well care, you’re comin’ with me. Now be a good girl.”

“If you don’t put me down RIGHT now, I swear...” It didn’t look as if he was going to listen as he carried her down the stairs, out the door and straight to his car. At least he had the good sense to hold her T-shirt over her backside so she wasn’t giving the whole neighborhood a show.

Opening the passenger door, he dumped her unceremoniously into the car then scrambled around to the other side.

“You are so going to pay for this.”

Taking in her pissed expression, he laughed at her efforts to keep her shirt pulled as far down as possible. “`M sure I will, pet. But I’ll more than make it up to you.” He curled his tongue behind his teeth at her, pleased she giggled in response though she tried to remain stern.

“You better.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

He shut off the engine and told her to ‘stay put’ when she crossed her arms and looked at him as if he were stupid.

“Like I’m going anywhere?” He leaned over to give her a peck on the cheek. “I’m still mad at you.” Not really, but he at least should have grabbed her shorts for her.

He got out of the car before responding. “It won’ last.” Shutting the door on her verbal comeback, he cracked up at the expression on her face.

Less than five minutes later she saw him reemerge from the store carrying a rather large bag. Opening his door as he approached the car, she waited until he was inside before commenting.

“Uhmm, Spike? I don’t think we need quite that many.” At least I hope we don’t. He winked and handed the bag over to her, started up the car and took off.

Oh. My. GOD!!! Looking inside, her eyes went wide as she began pulling out box after box of tampons, stopping after the fourth and still seeing more within. “What IS this?” Looking over, he shrugged at her.

“Didn’ know your brand... so I bought `em all.” She still looked confused. “Wanted to show you that I plan on keepin’ you `round for awhile.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Just for a little while?” She couldn’t believe the man who’d been horrified at the mere mention of feminine products actually bought her several boxes.

“No, pet... indefinitely.” He reached over and grabbed her hand to hold it. Little did she know there was one other item in the bag she hadn’t seen that they’d need from now on as well.

It warmed her heart to hear him say that even as she broke down laughing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now back in his driveway, he took the grocery sack from her and paused after opening the door, noticing her eyes darting about.

“You comin’, pet?” She glared at him before going back to looking around her, probably making sure there was no one around. He walked around and opened her door. “No one’s gonna see you’re lovely arse.” No way would he ever risk anyone so much as getting even a sneak peek at his girl.

Stepping out, she taunted him. “And neither will you. Hmmph.” Holding her shirt down, she ‘squeed’ while evading his grasp and rushed for the house, bounding up the stairs thinking he was hot on her heels.

“Aren’ we forgettin’ somethin’?”

She turned around at the top of the landing to find him dangling the keys in the air at her while ascending the steps slowly.

“Looks like you’ll have to wait.”

Shit! She tried the door anyways and surprisingly, it opened. “But you forgot to lock up.” She stuck her tongue out at him, ran inside, slammed the door shut and locked it. Leaning her weight against it, she snickered upon hearing him grumble on the other side while fumbling with the keys.

Every time he either tried or managed to turn the lock, she quickly clicked it back into place. He could hear her voice full of playfulness as she made fun of his efforts saying ‘EHHH, you lose’.

“You’re gonna get it, li’l girl,” he warned, but she just came right back at him.

“And YOU think you’re going to give it to me? Don’t you, Sergeant?”

“Summers, don’ make me break down this bloody door cuz you know I will.” As if a slab of wood could possibly keep him from getting to her.

“Ooooooo, I’m sooooo scared.”

Such a bloody minx! His life would, thankfully, never be dull again. Smiling he faked her out by wiggling the key and waiting for just the right moment to turn it.

Hearing her squeal as he opened the door, he caught a flash of pink heading for the bathroom. His reflexes kicked in to dash after her, shooting an arm out to grab her waist before she got there.

“Eeeep!” Damnit! “Okay, alright,” she giggled. “I was just playing.” She wiggled her way easily out of his grasp since he was still holding the sack and backed herself towards the wall, holding her hands up. “It was just a joke... truce, truce.” He had a predatory look in his eyes as he retrieved the condoms out of the bag before dropping it to the floor and slowly stalked towards her. Her insides heated up at this, it was the same look he had on his face when he’d backed her up in his office right before he kissed her.

He pounced, trapping her body in place and leaned in dangerously close to her face.

“Thought I told you to be a good girl.” She met his stare with the fire of defiance in her eyes that he loved so much, her hands gripping his upper arms trying ineffectually to prevent him from getting any closer.

“I don’t like being told what to do.” Shaking his head, he tsk’d at her.

“Tha’s not true... and we both know it,” he breathed hotly into her ear. Shoving the prophylactics into his pants’ pocket, he ran a firm hand up her thigh and under her shirt. He smirked when her eyelids fluttered shut and mouth formed a pretty ‘O’ in response to him palming her breast. “I don’ mind chasin’ you, pet. Makes me hard as hell to watch you run. But know this,” he ghosted his lips around the shell of her ear and lowered his voice. “When I catch you,” he rolled her nipple between two fingers while the other hand snaked its way between their bodies to cup her mound, pleased when she bucked into it and moaned prettily.

It wasn’t the menacing tone of his threat or even his touch that made her shiver all over. It was the realization that she enjoyed this sexually dominant, dangerous side to his personality. It brought out the desire to provoke him in order to get what her body craved most from him... to be ‘taken’... hard.

“My habit isn’ to take prisoners.” He snuck a finger barely inside the delicate material of her panties, groaning to find her so wet already then quickly pulled it away and brought it to his mouth, waiting for her eyes to open and focus.

Her heart pounded madly against her ribcage and the intense tingles of raw need formed deep in the pit of her stomach at what she witnessed. Parting those beautiful lips of his, he made a seductive show of sucking the digit laced with her excitement, humming blissfully around her taste with approval, cheeks hallowing to accentuate the sharp bone structure of his handsome face as he drew it slowly from his mouth.

“I eat them.”

Oh God. I think I’ve just cum. “But I said truce,” she whispered in defense. Her knees were about to give out when he lowered his hand to the small of her back and jerked her body flush to his, the other holding the back of her head so he could smash his mouth against hers. She could no longer think straight; think at all as her body raged with the need to feel him moving inside her. Winding her arms around his neck, she raised one leg to wrap over his hip, rubbing her body unabashedly against his.

“Sod the truce. Your ass `s mine.” Both hands reached for her bottom, fingers gripping her harshly when she raised the other leg, attempting to climb her way up his body. He pressed her into the wall none too gently but she didn’t seem to mind. In fact, it pleased him to no end that she seemed to get off on a bit of roughness. He was sure her poofter of an ex-boyfriend Angel had never bothered to discover this sexual side to her and it turned him on immensely that this little vixen wasn’t afraid to allow him to bring it out in her.

“Ahhh! Need you now, Spike. Please.” Turning her head to grant him better access, she clung to him as he licked and nipped his way up and down her neck passionately.

“Got no qualms `bout takin’ you up against this wall, luv, if tha’s what you want.” His breathing became ragged when she voiced how badly she wanted him, her lovely green eyes glazed over with desire. “Though I’d much rather fuck you senseless in my bed. Your choice, pet. Either way... I’ll have you cummin’ so hard you’ll see stars.”

“You’re full of yourself.” Even if she knew he was more than capable of that last statement, she couldn’t help the automatic comeback.

“And you’re fixin’ to be,” he sneered as he set her down on the floor. “March, Summers.” He took in her flush appearance and saw she was a bit wobbly on her feet when she stumbled in the wrong direction at first before he turned her shoulders towards the door. `F she thinks she’s walkin’ funny now... He chuckled inwardly and reached down to grab the second item he’d bought for them tonight, sliding it into the other pocket before coming up behind her. “Need a compass, luv?” He swept her up into his arms.

“And a set of coordinates apparently,” she dazedly replied, her lust addled brain couldn’t seem to get her feet moving correctly.

“Good thing I kept those crutches since you’ll be needin’ `em by mornin’.” She giggled and swatted his chest as he carried her into the bedroom, waggling his eyebrows at her.



A/N: Time to turn the page, but if you’re inclined to leave a review for this half, I promise it will be answered this weekend.

Cont’d from chapter 14...

Spike lived a sparse existence when it came to what, or rather what little he owned, but she gawked when she saw his bedroom for the first time. Granted there was only one piece of furniture, but it took up more than three quarters of the average size room. This has to be the largest bed I’ve ever seen. He walked onto it with his knees and very gently laid her down in the center of it, pushing her hair back out of her face.

“You ARE Infantry, right?” She felt herself sinking in the soft white down-comforter, thinking it was the most comfortable thing in the world.

“`Course. Why?”

“Then why such a large bed?” He shrugged as he moved towards the door and turned the dial control for the light down to a setting where the room barely glowed but they could still see one another.

“I spend half my time in the field either sleepin’ in cramped quarters alongside dozens `f men or in a tiny sleepin’ bag on the ground.” He crawled back on the bed, unloaded his pockets then straddled her knees and held out his hand. “When I come home... I like to sprawl out.”

“Makes sense.” She sat up with his help and looked confused until he grabbed the hem of her shirt to help her remove it then gently pushed her back down with one hand to her shoulder. When he moved to take his dog tags off, she placed a hand over his. “No. Leave them on.”

He quirked an eyebrow at her lusty tone. Hmmmm, seems my girl’s got a thing `bout them, he mused then quickly filed it away for later.

He stared hungrily at her while sitting back on his haunches to peel his own shirt away from his body, reigniting the fire between her thighs as his muscles flexed with every move he made.

Better get used to it, li’l girl, since it’s the last bed you’ll ever sleep in. His finger wrapped around the elastic sides of her knickers and she raised her hips, allowing him to slide them off her body.

“It’s really comfortable.” Rising up on his knees he made quick work of the snaps to his pants to shed them as well then crawled on his fists up her body, placing small kisses to her abdomen, breasts and neck till he was face to face with her.

“Glad you think so, pet.” Placing a knee between her legs, he smiled before placing a tender, languid kiss to her lips when she automatically opened herself up to accommodate him. “Since you’ll be spendin’ a lot `f time in it.”

That was something she didn’t have any argument over so she remained silent.

He spent the next few moments placing kiss after gentle kiss all over her face and throat, one hand stroking her hair back in a soothing manner while propped up by the forearm of the other. Whenever she tried to touch him he very lightly pushed her away, leaving her confused. Yes, she was enjoying herself, but the heat between her legs was rapidly turning into a raging inferno beneath his touch, driving her crazy with the need for him to quench it. His kisses steadily went lower and lower down her body, the cool feel of his dog tags dragging across her overheated skin made her hiss. That’s when she grabbed both sides of his head to ask.

“What are you doing?”

“Takin’ things a bit slower this time.” She surprised him by swiftly locking her legs around him.

“No. Need you now.” He moved so he could pry her legs off his body, frustrating her even further. “Don’t make me beg.” He raised an amused eyebrow at her.

There’s a right tasty thought. “Jus’ relax, pet. Got some unfinished business to take care of and,” he nodded down towards his groin. “`M buyin’ us a little more time.”

“Huh?” She looked down and saw he was sporting a semi. “Oh.” Of course. He’d already had an orgasm not twenty five minutes ago and needed to fully recuperate. But she was still confused over his statement. “Unfinished business?”

“Yeah. Wanna make it up to my girl for bein’ such a wanker a few weeks ago.” He winked then slid down her body to perch himself between her legs, his mouth watering at the sight of her dewy cleft so close to his face. The scent of her desire surrounded his senses, creating a primal instinct driven out of need to reacquaint himself with the flavor of her arousal. His tongue reached out to both stimulate and sample her womanly pleasures, the thrilling result of which was her voice crying out his name.

“SPIKE! O-ohhhhh, AHHH!” He licked the entire length of her sex with the flat of his tongue and her nerves instantly unraveled, anticipation as to his next move fraying the ends as every muscle in her body stiffened.

“Mmmmmm. Tastes so good, kitten.” He took another long, hard swipe at her. “So ripe... so delicious.” Tilting his head, he gathered her pouty lips between his to briefly suckle and tease, his ears filling with the sound of her delightful whimpering. “Want you to cum in my mouth.”

Glancing down between her legs, she found two piercing blue eyes staring back at her with such intensity she wanted to look away but couldn’t, their sapphire gleam drew her in, trapping her as if under a thrall. He studied her face, gauging her reaction to every sweep of his tongue, every nibble he took of her sensitive flesh making her powerless to everything save the bliss coursing through her body.

Placing each hand to the inside of her thighs, he used his thumbs to unfold the soft, swollen petals of her womanhood and turned his head sideways to engage her in an open-mouthed kiss, plunging his tongue deep within her walls. She screamed and writhed above him but he wouldn’t relent. Oh yes, he planned on staying right where he was, between her legs paying reverence to her sweetness for as long as it took until he’d drank of her heavenly juices.

Throwing her head back, her fingers gripped the blanket tightly as her back arched off the bed, unsure whether she wanted more or needed escape from the onslaught of his talents. He finally pulled away, but it was only to flick his tongue rapidly over her nubbin, causing her hips to jerk as she cried out his name again.

Wrapping one arm around her leg, he used the other hand to slide two fingers inside her, pumping them in and out as he latched onto her clit to suck hard. Her reaction caused him to moan, knowing he was giving her so much pleasure. The fleeting memory of their first time together resurfaced, the exact moment when he wished so bad he could have her one more time to show her just how giving he could be. Now here he was, settled between the long gorgeous legs owned by the woman who was the reason for that wish, the object of his every waking thought and many an erotic dream since first laying eyes on her, presently receiving all he had to pour into pleasing her... and she was clearly enjoying it. He moaned again, thinking this was only the beginning of a lifetime of hearing her utter his name so beautifully in ecstasy as long as he played his cards right.

This had to be a sin. Everything he did felt so good it forced all thought from her mind, leaving her only with the basal need for completion of the physical journey this man was taking her on. Shuddering when his movements unexpectedly slowed, he withdrew his fingers and let go of her leg. She felt the bed shift even as he worried her arousal between his teeth but thought nothing of it when his fingers came back to slide teasingly around her opening.

Lust stirred deep within his loins, making him feverish as the blood between his legs began to boil, filling his manhood until it stood painfully erect. As quickly as he could without breaking all contact, he opened a condom, rolled to one side and sheathed his cock before returning the attentions of one hand to his girl. He wanted this experience to be as perfect and pleasurable as he could make it for her and so, his free reached for the bottle that lay within his grasp.

Her hands flew to his head when he unexpectedly curled two fingers inside her to rub that sensitive bundle of nerves in small, rapid circles. “Oh God, Spike... that feels so good.” His innate ability to know precisely where to touch her and with how much pressure was overwhelming. Feeling a tickle to her thigh as his other hand touched her lightly, the tremors of passion took hold in her womb, preparing her body for the impending bliss she was sure would swiftly follow.

With one finger coated in the slick substance, he was careful to avoid touching her with it as his thumb found her hooded button. Baring down on the precious bud, he circled it in time with the pleasuring of her passage, his mouth at the ready to receive the first drop of her release. At the signal of her walls fluttering around his fingers, he gave her three more strokes then replaced them with his mouth, tonguing her deeply. Applying the liquid covered finger just below her opening, he slid it over her second hole, pressing it to massage the tight rim firmly back and forth. Hearing the litany of biblical praise fall from her lips told him he’d achieved his objective.

Rising quickly to the height of her orgasm, she felt the heat of her passion quickly turn into a very real burning sensation over a place she hadn’t expected. “Oh God, OHH!!! JESUS... Spike, oh GOOOOD!” Her body took off on its own, shuddering almost violently from the combined sensation of his tongue and the fire to her bottom, catapulting her into a state of euphoria unimagined.

His mouth and chin were drenched from his efforts to capture all of the divine essence that spilled from her feminine cup. The tang of her spirit infused his tongue to run a drunken path straight to his manhood, making him harder than he imagined possible. And although she had yet to come down, he could no longer wait.

Placing a kiss to her mound, he crawled his way up to hover over her, poising his cock at her entrance with one hand. As soon as her eyes opened he pushed his way inside, burying himself to the hilt within her satiny heat. Watching her mouth open wide to gasp, she clawed at his back and arched into him. He only gave her a moment to adjust from his sudden invasion before leisurely rolling his hips, driving his cock in an ever deepening circle inside her pliant body.

“Tha’s it, baby. Cum for Spike,” he encouraged her, lost in her strangling hold to his shaft.

His voice spoke out but she couldn’t hear, his face was there but she couldn’t see. All she heard was the pounding of blood racing through her veins and all she saw were the bright colors that replaced the pinnacle of her orgasm for another so intense she thought she might pass out. The only thing that brought her back was her own taste as his mouth covered hers for a kiss so passionate it threatened to steal her very life’s breath.

Reaching both hands underneath to cup her bottom, he tilted her up at an angle to keep their bodies flush, delighted when her knees bent and legs opened wide, offering herself up to him. He curled his hips to thrust sharply, keeping the full length of his cock enshrined within the snug grip of her heaven.

The pace he set was deliberate, carefully timed to draw out her orgasm with each forceful thrust he delivered. The strength he put into each stroke had her fingers digging deeper and deeper into his back, holding on for dear life as he struck her clit and the sensitive nerves within. Every muscle soon quivered from the prolonged bliss that racked her body as if knowing it couldn’t sustain its reaction to the level of stimulation it was receiving. As the energy slowly drained from her body on its own, she twitched around him, thankful he picked up on this and altered his movements by drawing his cock out little by little, spacing his strokes further apart each time to ease the friction from her pleasure points.

“Chris’, luv, you’re amazin’... so bloody beautiful.” He could feel her heart hammering through her chest to his and knew she wanted to reply. Her struggled attempts to catch her breath, however, had him quickly hushing her efforts. “Don’ talk, jus’ relax, baby... let me take care `f you.” He felt he owed her more for having brought him release earlier because without it, the length of his performance would have matched that of a schoolboy. He smiled, nuzzling his cheek into her neck. She really was amazing to him, the way she clung to him with her tiny hands, how her slender form quaked in ecstasy beneath him, how she clenched his muscle so tightly he didn’t dare pull back... he knew he could do this a hundred thousand times and still never get enough of her.

The only response she could give was to nod before her body went listless. Yet in still, he rocked her gently, taking long, deep strokes that brought the head of his manhood to emerge from her entrance, lightly stimulating her when the ridge of his helmet brush her folds before easing his length slowly back inside. His movements were so cautious that he made her feel as if she were the most precious thing in the world to him. Letting her eyes slide shut, she sighed against the tenderness he was treating her with.

“Stay with me, Buffy,” he whispered, kissing her softly behind her ear, fearing she was going to sleep. Bringing his hand up to gently wipe away the light sheen of perspiration from her forehead, he continued making love to her while smoothing her hair back. Feeling her hands move up his back towards his neck, he lifted his head to see her eyes open slowly. “There’s my girl.”

“Hi.” She exhaled contentedly, her body now calm enough that she mimicked him, running one hand over his hair repeatedly. Leaning down to kiss her briefly, she cradled the back of his head and neck before asking. “What was that... warm feeling earlier?”

He reached for the bottle to show her. “Warmin’ oil, pet. Haven’ you ever used it?” She shook her head and all he could think was ‘Peaches’ wasn’t a very creative bloke. “Bloody brilliant invention. Comes in right handy... wouldn’ you say?” She didn’t seem to mind when he had her cumming but he figured he’d ask anyway. He hoped in time she’d be game for many of its other useful applications on the more adventurous side of sex because clearly her past experience lacked.

“Mmmm, it was... nice,” she smiled dreamily. He was still loving her at a languorous pace and her body picked up his movements, her hips rising up to meet his. “And why do I have the feeling you’re going to use this to corrupt me?” she asked accusingly.

Cuz you’d be right. He groaned as she began undulating beneath him. “Are you consentin’?” Please say yes!

He raised an eyebrow and smiled devilishly, making her chuckle. She ran her hands down his spine to settle on his backside, attempting to pull him further inside while arching her back to meet him. “If what you have in mind feels as good as what you did earlier,” she raised her head to kiss him on the lips. “The answer is yes, please, Sergeant.”

YES!!! And oh boy did he find the way she called him ‘Sergeant’ incredibly erotic, though he still secretly longed to hear her call him ‘Daddy’. The wheels in his head were already spinning out of control with many sinful ideas concerning the authority he could impose to get her to say it after donning his Drill Sergeant belt and hat for a night of fun.

“Oh, baby. I have lots ‘f wicked, delicious things in mind for my naughty kitten that I promise will feel ten times better... whenever you’re ready.” She gave him several short, tender kisses before sweetly whispering the last thing he ever expected.

“Surprise me. I trust you, William.”

“Chris’, Buffy! Do you have any bloody idea how much you turn me on?” Holding her tight, he rolled onto his back so she was on top and caught her grinning. “`Course you do. Minx!” Grabbing her hips, he held her down and bucked inside of her sharply, thinking she looked stunning when she threw her head back and gasped. “Why don’ you drive for awhile, pet.” He did it twice more, making her cry out. “Bounce that pretty li’l pussy `f yours up and down on my cock... get yourself off.”

“My, my. What a filthy mouth you have, Sergeant.”

“Get used to it.” She rolled her eyes teasingly as she sat upright, confirming his suspicion that she did indeed like it.

I give up. Whenever he talked like that it set her nerves on fire, exciting her like she never imagined so she wasn’t about to tell him to stop.

Holding on to her hips, he groaned at the feel this new position brought as she set an unhurried pace. He watched her head roll to the side, her gorgeous eyes closing to sigh as she rose and fell above him, thinking she was the most magnificent creature he’d ever seen. Sliding his palms up her body, he cupped both breasts and was pleasantly surprised when she placed her hands over his to help him fondle the two luscious mounds.

She opened her eyes to find him watching her, finding it unnerving as if she were on display. But after a few seconds, she realized that’s exactly what she was. Men were visual beings and her man was no exception so it seemed rather silly to feel shy about it. Returning his stare, she moved a little faster and smiled when his hands flew back to her hips and helped her along, his own hips bucking up against hers. She ran her fingernails lightly over his stomach, causing those amazing abs to twitch and getting a groan out of him.

Looking down between their bodies, he enjoyed the view of his cock disappearing inside her body over and over, taking all of him deep within her luxurious heat. It looked so God damn sexy he had all he could do to resist flipping her over and take her from behind. Not yet, mate. He wanted her to be in charge first, to see how she moved, what got her hot, learn more about her body and her needs as a woman. There was nothing better than watching his girl cum hard around him and he wanted to discover everything she liked in order to best please her.

“Do you like this, pet?” Lowering his hand, he sought her slick nubbin with his thumb to rub and tease with a light, gentle pressure meant to make her seek more. She didn’t disappoint. Her body responded by grinding down on him instantly, nearly trapping his thumb in place.

“Ahhh. That...” She’d closed her eyes initially but opened them just as quickly to focus on his face. “More.”

“How much... more?” Her request was spoken more like a command as she stared directly at him. Seemed her being on top was a good decision. It was bringing out a very lovely, bold side to her. She looked gorgeous when the fire of passion burned in her eyes just as brightly as when she was mad with him. Still, he wanted an answer.

He stopped all stimulation to her clit and it was then she understood. He didn’t want to know how much more, what he really wanted was to get her to talk, maybe even as dirty as he did to her. Not wanting to be completely played, however, she changed not only the rhythm, but the whole tune on him. We’ll do this on my terms, buddy.

“More,” she rolled her hips and bore down on him, moving in the pattern of a figure eight. “Means MORE.” She reached down to place her fingers under his thumb, making him resume what he’d been doing but faster and harder this time. “Copy that, soldier? Or do you need a block of instruction?”

Bloody fuckin’ MINX! Oh, he most certainly picked up what he was doing, but she was trying to take control by using that smart mouth of hers to order him around. In truth, he knew he had a dominant streak to him and so what? Big bloody deal. He liked to be on top, liked being in control no matter what the situation, whether in life or the bedroom. Her challenging him like this, however, was a serious turn on; she created an intense desire to not only please her but to also remind her who in fact commanded her body, her pleasure.

“Mmmmm, Roger that.” Nodding once, he gave her exactly what she wanted, rubbing her glistening pearl furiously. “`S this `nough for you, kitten?” She groaned, moving her hips faster and faster. “Mmmm, tha’s it, luv... ride my cock.”

“I... I’m... ohhhhh.” She lost the ability for coherent speech and focused instead on the swelling ball of need pitted deep in the core of her womb.

“So fuckin’ beautiful... tha’s what you are, pet.” She was a golden vision of perfection, such pure and unbridled passion woven into her every move, twisting across her pretty features creating a bewitching sight that held him captive. He abandoned his ministrations and seized her hips. Holding their sexes level, he rocked her back and forth over his cock, relishing in the feel of being fully housed within her lush depths. She cried out sharply, begging him for more.

“AHH! YES!!! More, Spike. Please... please.” Sitting on the cusp of release, he had her desperate for that tiny bit more of his attentions that would push her over the edge.

Her impassioned plea excited him and with a low growl, he began to buck wildly inside of her, feeling the walls of her passage pulse around him in response.

She was suddenly pitched forward, her hands forced to find purchase on the bed above his shoulders. Her knees, her entire body rose off the mattress as his hips pumped into her fiercely, threatening to unseat her. His arm flew to her back, pulling her to his chest to hold her close, his hot breath tickling her ear.

“Cum for me, Buffy,” he gruffly commanded her.

Her body obeyed immediately, reaching out to embrace the peak of her orgasm.

“Tha’s my girl,” he purred as she climaxed around him, pride overtaking him when her breath came in broken, shuddering pants of ecstasy. Her grip to his cock was the most exquisite from of torture, making him ache for his own release.

She loved the sound of that, ‘my girl’. Just the way he said it as he held her sent her mind reeling. It was rough, possessive, like he owned her and oddly enough, it made her feel safe and secure, as if he would always be there to protect her, treasuring her above all else in his world. Riding out the crest of her passion, she could tell he was struggling not to follow her.

“Spike! What are you...” He suddenly pulled out, flipped her onto her back and rose to his knees. Between lean, strong hips, his erection strained towards her with desire, need, demanding satisfaction. With a carnal gleam in his eyes, he reached for her. “AHHHH!!!” He lifted her bottom off the bed and pulled her onto his cock, snarling as he slid his hands to grip her hips with bruising force, pulling her harshly into every thrust.

His nostrils flared from the intoxicating scent of their coupling. All he knew in this moment was his need as he worked his thick shaft inside of her body, searching for fulfillment. Mine! She belongs to me... to me! He slammed into her, over and over, growling his approval when he looked down to watch her body accept his cock.

His passion for her was raw, untamed as he claimed her body with his and the sound of his dog tags rattling against his chest filled her ears, sending sparks of lust rippling through her entire being. The crazed, bestial look of need in his eyes would have frightened any other woman but not her; she was entranced by the way he consumed her. The punishing pace with which he took her would surely leave her sore but this was also what she craved. The recent feelings that had developed between them were real and she knew she would never have a single need or want that he couldn’t give her, wouldn’t give her. Her decision to be ‘with’ him tonight wasn’t based on just physical gratification, but out of the need to connect with him on all levels to include the emotional. When he raised his eyes back to hers, she tried to convey that to him, hoping he wasn’t so lost that he couldn’t see it.

He ploughed into her roughly and before long his movements turned erratic, becoming frantic as his balls tightened, preparing for his body’s release. Glancing up at her beautiful face, he felt a sense of wonder when she looked at him with soft green eyes. She locked her gaze with his and he immediately sensed something different about her, felt something deeper happening between them. Seconds passed like hours as he searched her face before he realized what he saw and his own feelings for her rose to the surface. He loved this tiny woman, it didn’t matter when he’d fallen in love, only that he had and she was here with him now because she wanted to... to be with him, making his heart swell for her. “Buffy,” he whispered her name and the look on her face as she answered him by speaking his given name triggered his hot seed to spill forth.

The weight of his entire body fell on her chest as he wound his arms around her. With one last powerful thrust, he pressed her body into the mattress, holding her there while the muscles in his backside clenched tightly, fighting to burrow even deeper inside her. His pelvis jerked with every thick stream of his essence that left his throbbing cock and when he felt her suddenly clamp down on him, he was in heaven as he realized he’d made her cum one more time.

It was the look in his eyes right before he came that sent her over the edge once more to join him. No warning, no build-up. Her body simply exploded as he repeatedly pushed into her, the intensity of her response to his passion caught in her throat for a silent scream of pleasure that could only be heard in her mind.

Long moments passed as the couple’s chests heaved from the exertion of their lovemaking, fighting to get their breath under control. When at last they did, Spike was the first to move. Rolling away from her body carefully, he slowly removed the condom and tossed it towards a small trashcan, uncaring whether it made it there or not.

She felt him tug on her shoulder and instinctively turned into his embrace, laying her head upon his chest to nuzzle him. She smiled the lazy smile of a woman completely satisfied.

“And you thought we’d need more than one condom,” she sighed out.

“What was that, pet?” He thought he’d heard her right but had to ask.

She lifted her head and propped her hand under her chin to look at him. “After THAT... I don’t have the energy to even THINK about doing this again tonight.” Uh-oh! He gave her that sexy smirk of his.

“You’re outta line, Summers. Don’ you remember what I told you months ago... durin’ Basic?” He smiled when she sassed him back.

“Oh, please DO refresh my memory... SERGEANT.” Her voice dripped with mock sarcasm at his little game. She knew she was in trouble when he placed a hand to the back of her head, drawing her towards him so he could brush his silky lips across hers, causing her to moan.

“You’re not here to think.” He slipped his tongue out to sweep between her parted lips. “I’ll do the thinking, you follow orders."

“Erghhhh!!! You... you...” She swatted his chest as he erupted into laughter then caught her hand to kiss it over and over.

“Oh, baby.”

God he melted her whenever his voice went deep like that, running through his body to hers, making her nerves hum with anticipation.

“Trust me when I say you’ll be thankin’ me we made that li’l trip to the store... `specially by the break `f dawn.”



A/N: Any thoughts? Ready for it to end, or would you prefer one more chapter before the epilogue?

“Tell me you didn’t buy this that day at the mall?” Buffy asked; a tinge of annoyance lacing her voice as she inspected the familiar see-through piece of lingerie. Spike looked up guiltily at her from under long dark lashes. She laid the lacy red gown on the bed and shook her head, amazed that she found it impossible to be mad with him over this. At least he did get my size right.

“`M a bastard, I know.” Bowing his head and offering a weak chuckle, he hoped she wouldn’t be too upset with him for his ‘presumptuous’ purchase. He was wrong, he knew it but he desperately wanted to see her in it and hadn’t been joking that day when he said he’d buy it for her.

“Was hopin’ maybe I’d get lucky `nough that you might wear it for me?” He pouted for good measure in order to avert any true anger on her part and watched as the corners of her mouth started to curl in a smile despite her initial reaction. “Knew I could get a grin.”

“You really ARE a bad, rude man.” She went back to playing with his dog tags while sitting on his lap. “I’ll wear it. BUT,” she raised a finger the second his eyes lit up. “Don’t count on it being any time soon.”

He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and gave her his best smile. “I’ll wait a bloody eternity then.”

“You just might have to, Mister. And from now on... don’t go buying anything without my approval.” His smile turned wicked.

“You sayin’ I can take you shoppin’?” She swung her legs back and forth like a child, taunting him with the idea of her lovely body in all sorts of things even Victoria couldn’t keep secret while calling him ‘Daddy’. She crossed her arms in a ‘don’t push your luck’ manner, indicating that although she wasn’t opposed to the idea, it wasn’t going to happen right away. “Right then.” Clearing his throat he changed the subject. “Wanna shower?”

“Sure.” She hopped off his lap. “I’ll leave the water running after I’m through.” Hiding any traces of jest from her tone, she wasn’t surprised when he grabbed her arm as she went to exit the bedroom.

“Oi!” He yanked the now giggling girl back to his lap to nip and growl at her neck. “Who said you were goin’ alone?”

Spike carried her into the shower and despite her protests, sweet talked her into letting him pamper her, saying it was something he’d fantasized about. He treated her body to mind blowing tenderness by slowly lathering and washing every part of her so gently she thought she might go to sleep... until the rich vibration of his voice hummed through her body with naughty confessions. She blushed when she learned he used to think about her showering back at FT Lemonworth while sitting in his office, picturing her naked, wet body covered in bubbles, wishing he could join her. She leaned her head back against his shoulder and swayed on her feet when he captured her soap covered breasts to fondle.

“Made me feel like a bloody schoolboy.”

“A schoolboy, huh? What did that make me? Your teacher, a student... or maybe the librarian?” she teased.

He groaned and squeezed her mounds. Though he had yet to recover from their earlier lovemaking, he pumped his hips against her bottom, letting his shaft slide up and down the sudsy crease of her buttocks.

“Sooooo.” She practically opened the door for him to ask what he’d been dying to know. “How do you feel about role playin’, luv?”

“Uhmmm... depends?” His shoulders shook as he chuckled.

He read the nervousness in her voice but she hadn’t said ‘no’. “Got all kinds `f scenarios runnin’ through my head though I rather fancy you as a librarian... hadn’ thought `f that.” Oh yeah, he could see her wearing a smart pair of glasses, hair pinned up, actin’ all proper. He whispered in her ear. “Course... I’d wanna be the unruly student tha’s forced to stay after school... hand you books to put away while you’re standin’ on a ladder wearin’ a skirt?” That got her giggling. “Makin’ my hands itch to run slowly up those buttery smooth thighs `f yours so I can dip my finger in your cream.” She pushed her bottom against him and moaned. “You could even help... tutor me?”

“How’s your grasp of American history?” Her eyes closed, imagining the scene unfold in her mind as he described it.

“Could use some improvement, Miss Summers.” He turned her in his arms so she was facing him, his arms loosely holding her waist. “What period are we talkin’ `bout?”

Oh yeah, she definitely liked the way he called her ‘Miss Summers. “Maybe you could re-enact a scene with me from the American Revolution?” She walked the fingers of one hand up his chest. “Mr. Speichart.” The other hand went in search of something else, drifting slowly down over his hip.

Fuck! “`M all ears, luv-erhmm... Miss Summers.” She was turning him on immensely just by engaging in this kind of talk.

“I’ll be Paul Revere.”

What the bloo... “Unghh!” He couldn’t complete that thought when she took his soft cock in her hand to stroke and squeeze.

“I’ll ride you and you can let me know when the British are cumming.” She giggled when his eyes darkened.

“You are so bloody perfect for me.”

“I know,” she sighed as if bored. He reached behind her and shut the water off.

“Shower time `s over, my li’l minx. Time to finish that movie, gimme some recovery time so I can shag you again.”

They lay on the couch wrapped in their towels, snuggling while watching the rest of the movie forgotten earlier in the evening. Once that was over, Spike carried her back to bed where they remained locked in each other’s arms for the better half of the night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning...

The first few seconds of consciousness found Buffy groaning, her sore body in protest of any movement. Her eyelids fluttered and the unfamiliar surroundings instantly had her believing she was still asleep. Then came a warm, arousing sensation between her thighs. Spike, she thought blissfully and closed her eyes; convinced he was somewhere in her dreams, waiting for her. The sudden sound of purring filled her ears then she felt a very real tongue lapping at her sex.

He felt her body stiffen and looked up.

“Mornin’, kitten,” Spike greeted her in a deep, honeyed tone.

“Spike? What are you doing?” Craning her head forward, she found his amazing blue eyes twinkling back at her with mischief, his mouth and chin glistening with her nectar.

“Thought it was obvious.”

He wriggled his eyebrows and her head slumped back on the pillow. “Oh God,” she sighed, looking to the clock on the wall to confirm her suspicions it was way too early for this. “It’s only seven thirty, are you insane? I need more sleep.” Her voice was groggy and rough.

“You’ll have plenty `f time to sleep later, pet. Got all day matter `f fact.”

She smacked her lips together, trying to put some moisture back in her mouth. “Dare I ask what you mean by that?”

“Thought we’d spend the day in bed and...” She surprised him by grabbing the sides of his head.

“Uh-uh. Too sore. Didn’t you get enough last night?”

“Mmmmm,” he swooped in to capture her clit, sucking it between his lips then released it with an audible ‘pop’. “Never get `nough `f, OW!” She yanked the hair on the top of his head.

“Read my lips. I’m-”

“Thought I was,” he interrupted her. “OW!” She yanked his hair again. “Cut that out.”

“Spike, I’m tired,” she whined, watching as he disentangled his arms from her legs, his lean, toned form crawling its way up her body to hover between her legs.

“But I want you,” he cooed before kissing the tip of her nose.

“Too sore.”

“I’ll be careful. Pleeeeease?” He planted kiss after chaste kiss to her lips, whispering ‘please’ between each one until she finally opened up so he could kiss her properly.

She tasted her arousal on his tongue and moaned softly into his mouth. Sweet Jesus, this man knew how to melt her resistance to get whatever he wanted. He took that kiss as all the permission he needed when his hand drifted south to employ the use of his clever fingers to her drenched core. It was no use trying to put up a fight, her body simply yielded, wanting to be swept away by his expert touch.

“Be gentle with me, William,” she pleaded softly.

Nodding, he kissed his way down her throat and back up again to capture her mouth in a searing kiss. He loved the sound of his name as it fell from her lips and abandoned her moist center to line himself up at her entrance. Her hands suddenly flew to his shoulders.

“Wait! Condom,” her breathy, panicked voice told him.

“Way ahead `f you, luv.” He was hard for her upon waking and didn’t want to waste a second after he’d finished worshipping her with his mouth and tongue.

“I can’t believe... You are so... so,” the half hearted insult died on her lips as he eased himself inside with a twist of his hips. “So... good.” She shuddered from the initial sting to her tender flesh caused from his entry.

“All for you, Buffy,” he whispered sweetly. “All for you.”

Mindful of her sore state he stilled, giving her time to adjust while basking in the feel of being joined with her. He realized with frightening clarity that whatever this woman wanted, no matter the circumstance or subject, he’d give it to her freely and without question. And yet he was grateful. Grateful that they’d gone through everything they had because it had ultimately led them to this perfect point in time. If things had gone differently, if she hadn’t resisted his advances, he wouldn’t be here with her right now. He had to admit... it never felt better being love’s bitch again than it did right now... with her.

Not a single word was spoken this time, the comfortable silence between them broken only by the sound of impassioned sighs. He took her with an achingly slow rhythm for what felt like eternity. Every movement was cautious, attentive, his lips and hands caressing her so tenderly that she wanted to weep. The muscles in her body lacked the ability to go rigid with passion but it didn’t stop him from bringing her to the apex of paradise. Each ascent to heaven felt like she was floating on a cloud, steadily rising until the warmth of fulfillment seeped slowly through her entire being. Her passage clung to him, offering, coating him with sweet liquid release, her mouth open in silent cry of completion, his eyes holding hers hostage to see her through it. He delivered her... body, soul and mind, over and over to that place where in the end, all that remained was him.

This was love. This was making love. She had a basis for comparison and there was none. He may not have said the words yet, but he was telling her. The message was loud and clear, every fiber in her being told her so. With every small sigh, every tender meeting of their lips she was sure she’d never been as completely loved as she was right now.

This was it for her, where she wanted to stay. Forever wrapped in his warm embrace, giving him whatever he needed, everything he wanted and then more. With her face buried in his neck, she held his shoulders, allowing him to unknowingly consume her until there was nothing left of herself that didn’t belong to him. His back arched convexly, arm under her waist to hold her torso flush with his as she wrung his cock tightly, forcing him to spill his seed. Love. Such a simple word and yet summed up exactly what she felt for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Buffy came back from the bathroom, Spike held the covers open for her, smiling when she kissed his cheek and told him she was going back to sleep. She nestled into his side, resting her head on his chest and sighed sleepily against the constant running of his fingers through her hair.

“Move in with me, Buffy.”

She was two seconds away from dreamland but what he said had the effect of an entire pot of coffee being dumped into her system all at once, prying her eyes wide open. She raised her head and scooted back slightly to look at him.

“Did you just ask me to move in with you?” He turned on his side, his head still resting on the pillow.

“Move in with me.”

His voice was barely above a whisper and his ice blue eyes were warm with emotion. My God! He’s serious.

“Spike,” she began carefully. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.” Every part of her wanted to say yes, wanted to say screw the logic that supported the notion it was too soon for that to happen. “We just... we just got together.” He didn’t bat an eyelash, the look on his face fixed and resolute.

“And I never want to go to bed without you again so please. Move in with me.” He raised a hand to run the back of his knuckles down her cheek. “Haven’ we been through `nough?”

“Yes, but-”

“`M not askin’ you to give up your room at the barracks, luv. Keep it if tha’s what you’re comfortable with. Jus’ bring your clothes and wha’s important to you and I’ll make room for it here.” He knew what he was suggesting seemed rushed to her. Not to him, though. He’d already spent far too many weeks, months without her. “I wanna come home to you every day, hold you in my arms every night and wake up to you every morning so please... move in with me.”

“You’re not going to give up until I say yes, are you?” She smiled when he shook his head.

“I know `m far from perfect, pet, and a right arse to put up with sometimes. I can be possessive, jealous... but `s only to protect what’s mine. I’ll probably bugger things up every now and then but...”

“Spike, what are you trying to say?”

“`M tellin’ you what to expect but I swear... I’ll do everythin’ in my power to make you happy, keep you happy.” He took her hand in his. “And all I’ll ever ask from you in return is your love.”

“Is it too early?” she asked, trepidation lacing her voice. “Is it too early to say I love you? Because if it is... I’ll take it back.” His smile lit up the room, the answer to her question dancing in his eyes. “Then yes. Not because you want me to, but because I love you.”

The next few moments found her smothered in kisses, the words ‘I love you’ spilling from his lips over and over until they were both giggling like teenagers. Once she was tucked back into his embrace, he promised to let her sleep as long as she wanted but when she woke up, they were going straight to her room to move her things in that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eight months later on a Thursday evening...

“I’d love to engage in this battle of wills but I don’t feel it’s fair when my opponent doesn’t possess the proper equipment in order to fight back.”

“Summers, I swear. I’ll take you over my knee right now and paddle that luscious arse of yours until `s red.” She crossed her arms in front of him, looking bored as the day was long.

True to what he’d told her on the day she moved in, they inevitably fought just like any other couple over something stupid. Though in the end, they always joked that the make up sex had yet to be any different from what they normally experienced.

“You and what Army?”

“Erghhhh,” he growled at her. So bloody difficult!

“Look,” her voice was tired. “I don’t want to fight with you, Spike. Not with you leaving tomorrow for over a month. Can’t you understand that I don’t want to stay here alone? I’d be more comfortable back home visiting with my folks. When you get back, you can fly out and join me.” He ran a hand over his crew cut repeatedly and she breathed a sigh of relief. This is what he always did right before he gave in and saw reason.

“Okay.” God, he hated fighting with her. It never failed that their personalities clashed one way or another. He had no problem over her taking leave to spend time with her family; he just hated the thought of her being on the other side of the bloody country and not waiting for him when he got back from the field. He knew it was dumb, selfish, hell... all of the above but he couldn’t help it.

She smiled and walked over to where he stood and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Now if you don’t mind, it’s time we both hit the sack. You’ve got a long day ahead of you tomorrow and I have to be at work by zero seven hundred.”

“`M sorry, pet.” Once he was back from this training exercise and had her safely ensconced in his arms again, he’d feel better. “`S your fault, you know. Used to love goin’ to the field before you moved in. Now,” he sighed. “Now all I can think `bout is gettin’ back to you and havin’ to be on a bloody plane for hours.”

“I have that effect on men,” she jibbed.

He growled into her neck and nipped at her ear until she giggled and rubbed her body up against his, awakening his manhood instantly.

“Sounds like somebody needs a sound fuckin’.”

“Ahh,” she gasped in shock but then remembered... this was Spike.

“Needs to be put in her place.” He hoisted her body up and whirled around to set her on the kitchen counter.

“And where would that be?” She was already working the fastenings of his jeans.

“Right where she belongs `f course.” He began undoing the buttons to her blouse. “Underneath me.” His lips found her neck, licking it seductively. “Cummin’ on my cock... screamin’ my name.”

“Yes,” she sighed as his hands teased her nipples.

“Yes, what?”

“Huh?”

She looked perplexed. “Yeeees?” Even more puzzled now. Guess I need to make m`self clear. He slapped her thigh playfully, ignoring her gasp of surprise and raised a very stern brow at her now that her eyes were wide with surprise. “Yes, WHAT, Summers?” he ground out.

“Yes... Sergeant?” She giggled before throwing him a saucy smile.

“Very good, Private.” He laughed when she saluted him then grabbed her waist to haul her into the bedroom, intent on shagging her for as long as possible. When he woke, it would be the last time he’d see her until he set foot on Californian soil five weeks later.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

During the middle of the night, Oz called for Buffy. An emergency came up that required he bring at least three more medics into the ER to help with the mass casualties they were receiving from a freak accident that happened during an Infantry unit’s FTX. He apologized for it and assured her she could take the rest of the day off once everything was under control. She mumbled her apologies to a half sleeping Spike, saying that she loved him and would see him in California.

After arriving at work and seeing the chaos, she was glad it wasn’t Spike’s unit that had been out on this training mission. That was her worst fear... that something bad would happen to Spike while in the field and she would be there when he came into the emergency room. She always thanked her lucky stars whenever he came back in one piece and constantly made him promise to be extra careful.

When she arrived back home to their empty apartment and began searching for a change of clothes, her eyes landed on the little red nightgown hanging up, long forgotten towards the back of the closet. She pulled it out and smiled at it. She knew how badly he wanted her to wear it but they hardly ever got the chance for her to do so. Between her odd schedule and his being in and out of the field constantly, he was always more concerned with just heading straight for the bedroom.

She glanced at her watch. One more hour before he was scheduled to take lunch. She hadn’t known when she was going to be released from duty and so hadn’t made any promises to call him so they could at least talk one last time.

Suddenly, a naughty thought formed in her mind. A very naughty, wicked and evil thought. One that would leave both of them hanging but hey... after all the sexual tension they’d experienced before finally getting together, they could handle it. Besides, he always managed to talk her into having sex even if she didn’t have the time or energy. Perhaps a little payback was in order. He is so going to give it to me when he gets to California.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike was just coming out of the bathroom when he saw Buffy talking to Gunn on the other side of the garage to the motor pool.

“Whoa! Who’s that?”

A guy who was newly arrived to their unit asked upon exiting the bathroom and saw what had Spike smiling from ear to ear.

“That would be his girlfriend,” a comrade of Spike’s answered for him.

“You and that gorgeous blonde?” The other guy shook his head at the young kid in warning.

“Watch it, mate. Tha’s my girl you’re talkin’ `bout,” he growled.

“Sorry. I was just-”

“Leaving.” Spike finished his sentence for him with a deadly glare as Buffy approached the small group.

“Hey there, soldier,” Buffy beamed at him. “You hungry?”

“Yeah! You not finished at the ER?” She was still in uniform and he figured she was just taking lunch.

“Actually I’m done with work but I figured since it was near lunch I’d stop by so I could see you.”

“I only have thirty minutes to spare before I have to get back, but yeah. I’d love to.” Damnit! If he only had the normally scheduled hour and a half, he’d take her home and shag her brains out one last time. There would be no going home tonight, however. His unit was rolling out for their training exercise shortly after fifteen hundred hours. He sighed. At least he got to see her today after she’d left for work this morning at zero four thirty.

The only thing they had time for was to grab a quick bite at the food court on post. They chatted over things they could do once he arrived in California and before they knew it, he had five minutes left to get back to work.

He drove her back to where her car sat in the parking lot of his unit and shut the engine off, watching as Buffy crooked her finger in a come hither motion so he could kiss her goodbye.

He scuffled over and pulled her onto his lap, ready to kiss her breathless before she stopped him. “You’re not going to forget about me while you’re off having fun with the boys, are you?”

“Not bloody likely. Now lemme kiss you. I’ve only got two more minutes.” He pouted when she placed her fingers to his lips when he dove in to kiss her.

“Wellllllllllll. Just so I’m SURE you won’t forget about me. There’s something I’d like you to see. Something I think you’ll appreciate. Something... for you to think about while you’re away.”

“And wha’s that, luv?” She slowly undid the buttons to her BDU top and pulled her T-shirt from her pants. Such a minx! Any chance to see her precious tits was a welcome one, even if she was being purposefully naughty, teasing him when he couldn’t do anything about it.

He reached under her shirt, intent on fondling her breasts when his hand came into contact with more material. With a confused look on his face, he leaned back and lifted her shirt. She held her top to conceal herself from any onlookers and helped him raise it to her neck.

“NOW?!?! You choose NOW to wear that for me? Oh-ho-ho.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. His cock was straining against her bottom when she wiggled it on top of him. “You know you’re goin’ to pay for this, don’ you li’l girl?” He fingered her nipples through the sexy material, longing to put his mouth over the lace covered peaks.

Like a child being berated, she gave him a guilty look before whispering, “Yes... Daddy.” She stifled her laughter when his eyes went wide with surprised lust. Oh, she knew he longed to hear her call him that but the moment was never right... until now. “Please don’t spank me too hard, Daddy,” she continued with the whisper of a little girl’s voice. “It makes me oh so sore, too sore when it’s time for you to put your cock in my naughty place.” She parted her legs slightly and reached a hand down the front of her pants to brazenly rub her clit in front of him. “I know you want to... and so do I. I want my Daddy to shove that huge, hard, juicy cock of his all the way inside me. Punish me good.” She removed her hand and offered her fingers to him, smiling when he immediately grabbed her hand to suck the digits clean and moaned.

He was stunned. Not in a million years would he have guessed his girl would do this... say that... bring a couple of fantasies to him during work, out in near public for him and when he couldn’t do a thing except watch, his cock laying like a brick in his pants. Fuck that!!!

“Eeeep!” He grabbed her thighs and made her straddle him.

“Such a naughty li’l girl you are. SO naughty that `m gonna fuck her right here in my car.” He was desperately trying to undo the buttons on her pants, whether oblivious or uncaring to the fact anyone could see them.

“NO!!! No, Spike, you can’t. Not here.” She had to use all her strength to pry his hands away from her. “You have to go inside before you’re late and they come looking for you.”

“Don’ care. Maybe they’ll learn a bloody thing or two from watchin’.” He tried again to reach for her pants but she unexpectedly scuttled off his lap in order to evade him.

“Uh-uh.” She refastened everything and tucked her shirt back in her pants while giving him a warning glare not to even try it. The poor man was panting heavily, his hand on his cock trying to adjust his erection so it wouldn’t hurt.

He knew she was right. He couldn’t risk getting caught doing her in the parking lot when he was supposed to be back at work. “The next time I see you, pet, `m gonna shag you so hard your parents will wonder why you’re walkin’ funny.”

“You know,” she scooted over to put her arms around his neck. “I almost feel bad for doing this. Almost. When you get back,” she breathed hotly in his ear. “I want you to give it to me good and hard... from behind.” She pulled on his earlobe with her teeth. Good thing she liked it as rough as he did.

“Count on it, luv.” Much sooner than you think.

With one last kiss, Buffy said she was off to the salon for a haircut and would see him in a few weeks. Spike smiled as he watched her drive away then went back inside the building to hopefully put his own plans for her into action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

She was just hanging up her BDU top and beret when someone cleared their throat behind her, causing her to spin around and scream with surprise.

“Oh my GOD!!!” He stood there in full Drill Sergeant uniform, hands on his hips and a menacing look on his face. “Spike, why aren’t you at-”

“SUMMERS,” he barked loudly, effectively cutting her off. “Since when did you think we were buddies? You are to address me as Sergeant. Is that understood?” He raised a threatening eyebrow at her look of shock. Oh yeah, he found an excuse to come home before she did. ‘A li’l somethin’ I forgot to take care of and I’ll be back in an hour’ was his excuse to his superiors.

“Yes, Sergeant.” Wow, did he look sexy. She suddenly didn’t care how he’d gotten away from work to come home; all she cared about was that he was here. She’d gotten herself worked up in his car when she pulled her little stunt and now here he was, ready to play a game she’d been wanting to ever since they became a couple.

He snapped his fingers and pointed towards the ground, biting back the smile when she came running up to him and put herself at parade rest, awaiting his instruction.

“You know,” he placed his own hands behind his back and began slowly circling her as she stood stone still. “I have it on good authority to punish you any way I see fit.”

“Punish me, Sergeant?” In a flash, his mouth was at her ear, his voice gruff.

“Yeah... punish.” He pulled away and resumed his stalk. “You’re in clear violation of AR 670-1. Aren’t you, Summers?”

Time to be a bad soldier. “N-no, Sergeant. I would never do that, Sergeant.”

Bloody hell! She was playing along like a pro. Christ, he hoped she continued to so he could punish her good and hard. “Don’ lie to me, Summers. The consequences for lyin’ to your superior could cause me to strip you...” He was face to face with her, the rim of his hat nearly touching her forehead as he stared her down. “`F your ahem... rank.”

Her underwear grew damp with anticipation the minute he said strip.

“Are you lyin’ to me, Summers?” She cast her eyes downward, looking guilty as charged.

“Yes, Sergeant.”

“And what are you wearin’ that isn’ authorized to go with your uniform?”

“I can’t say, Sergeant.” Let’s get to the stripping already. She was desperate to have his hands all over her.

“Can’t say or won’t say? Never mind. Take your shirt off and le’s have a see, shall we?” He smirked when she feigned shock. “Every second you choose not to execute that order will cost you,” he said severely, pleased when she whipped the T-shirt over head immediately to reveal the sexy red teddy.

He looked as if drool were about to run out the side of his mouth before barking at her to take off the rest of her clothes.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What were you thinkin’, Private? Were you thinkin’ of seducin’ somebody in that?” She nodded in affirmation. “Who?” She stood mute, her eyes staring at her toes. “ANSWER ME!”

He startled her when he screamed making her realize just how into this he wanted to get. So she borrowed trouble to help him along.

“A-a... Another Drill Sergeant... Sergeant.” She looked up in time to see his eyes narrow on her with what she swore was true jealousy.

Seemed his kitten knew just how to press his buttons. Just the thought of her with another man was enough to make him lose his mind and she knew it. He gave her credit where credit was due, though. If she wanted to piss him off, make him take her hard, she’d said the right thing in order to make it happen.

“What the FUCK... over?” He asked, speaking as if on tactical radio.

“I was going to... to-to seduce-”

“I heard what you said, Private Summers.”

The malicious tone his voice took on made her anxious for her punishment. He knew she belonged to him, that she’d never want or even think to stray, but she loved seeing his possessive streak show through, it always made for hot sex. Like the time a guy tried to hit on her at...

“Since you’re so intent on gettin’ fucked by a Drill Sergeant...”

He put his face within millimeters of hers and the air between them grew thick with lust, laying heavy on her skin. His jealousy hit her in waves and her need for him soaked itself through her panties.

“I might be inclined to help you out but only after you’ve been punished good and proper. Would you like that?” She answered with a meek ‘yes, Sergeant’ as he undid the front of his pants. “Very good, Soldier.”

He took two steps back and pulled his erection out, stroking it slowly and smiled evilly when he caught her licking her lips.

“Get on your knees,” he commanded angrily, pleased when she didn’t hesitate.

She gazed longingly as he stroked himself, her eyes tracing the thick veins of his manhood, his essence forming a pearly drop her tongue longed to clean him of.

“Now kiss my cock.”

His voice was rough with need and the second she placed her lips to the head of his weeping tip, her tongue darted out to savor the taste of his pre-cum, earning a hiss from him.

“Now suck it. And make it good, Summers.” He let go of himself and allowed her hands to push his pants over his hips. “Show me that esprit de corp I taught you to display.” She looked up at him with large green eyes and answered ‘yes, Sergeant’ before sliding her pouty lips over the head of his shaft. He groaned as he watched her mouth slowly descend, taking him all the way in until her lips met with the base of his cock. God, he wanted to cum on the spot but fought to hold off so he could punish her good. When the time came for release he wanted to be buried as far up her cunny as possible.

She’d long since mastered her technique. It never took her long to read his body’s signals in order to give him just what he needed and she used her skills to please him while he quickly stripped his Drill Sergeant belt and BDU top. She thought he was going to stop there but instead, to her surprise, he took his T-shirt off too then put the brown hat back on.

She hummed around his manhood in approval, thinking he never looked sexier. With his pants now sliding down his slender hips mid thigh, dog tags and hat the only thing adorning his upper body, she couldn’t help herself, allowing one hand to drift down to tease her own slit as she watched him pant in pleasure.

“Mmmm, you’re very good at this, Private Summers.” He noticed she resorted to pleasuring herself at the same time; it always drove him insane when she did that. His girl had blossomed into a true vixen after their first night together, always eager to do or try whatever he asked of her with a willingness he’d never imagined she’d have. He fisted his hand in the hair at the back of her head while the other found purchase on the kitchen countertop, pulling her willing mouth over his aching member while thrusting his hips, seeking the back of her throat.

“Tha’s it... suck that cock,” he said silkily. “Suck it hard and finger that pretty pussy `f yours.”

Gladly, Sergeant. She sucked him hard, using her free hand to roll his balls in her palm and the other to pull her thong aside, carrying out his heated order.

He repeatedly thrust himself inside her sweet mouth, torn between watching her suck him off or her fingers disappearing inside her dripping quim. Making a decision, he pulled away and hauled her to her feet, lifting her up to sit on the counter.

Her backside suddenly met the cold surface of the counter and then his fingers were filling her, probing her hard and fast. He brought her hand to his cock in silent demand she stroke him while fumbling with the straps of her lingerie.

RiiiiiiiiiiIIIP!!! RIP!

“AHHH!”

He got sick of trying to get Vicky’s secret off his girl’s body and opted to just tear the thing, along with her knickers, clean off her body. He wanted in and he wanted it now and no amount of silk or lace was going to prevent him.

“I’ll buy you more,” was all he said as he lifted her body and did his best to carry her to the bedroom with his pants still around his ankles.

She squealed when he threw her haphazardly on the bed and stripped the rest of his garments and hat from his body to join her.

He hauled her to her knees, facing her and grabbed her calf, wrapping it around his waist.

“Now take my cock and put it inside that tight li’l body of yours, Summers.”

“Yes, Sergeant,” she replied breathily, taking his member in her hand and placing the bulbous head against her slick folds. He helped her push herself onto it then fell backwards and stretched his legs out. She didn’t need to be told what he wanted her to do. She began riding him hard, leaning her body backwards, her palms gripping his thighs behind her ass so he could watch his cock sliding in and out of her.

“Chris’, pet. Love the way you fuck my cock.”

“Touch me,” she begged. “Need you to touch me, Spike, please.”

They were both falling out of character but he didn’t care. She looked divine, her slender body riding him into oblivion, needing his fingers to push her past the brink into orgasm. He acquiesced her request and she cried out, sitting up straight to bounce her bottom off him with loud, slapping noises, nearly letting his cock slip free before slamming herself back down on him.

She felt her muscles clamp down and with a keening wail went still, her body spasming around him as he took over and grabbed her waist, driving his hips up to brush her womb sharply with the tip of his cock, the pain and pleasure mixing as he continued fucking her through the crest of her orgasm.

He felt her walls constrict and sat up, causing her to fall to her back and his cock to slip free.

“Now for that fuckin’ I promised you, Private.”

She thought they were through playing this little game until she realized he hadn’t cum and his husky promise was about to be filled as he flipped her onto her stomach. He never bothered raising her bottom up, he just slammed into her from behind, pressing his body flush to her back and began pushing her into the mattress harshly, grunting beside her ear.

“This’ll, unghh, teach you to think `bout fuckin’ anyone... unghh, but me.” He pounded into her a few more times, his balls growing tight, aching to purge his body’s spendings all over her gorgeous arse. “Fuck, yeah. Feels so good.” He finally pulled out of her and hauled her waist up so she was on all fours. Taking hold of his cock, he readied it at her entrance and commanded she push herself onto it, which she did with a cry of pleasure.

She felt his hands grab her shoulders, pulling her into each, delicious thrust, filling her completely, twisting his hips every now and then. With the sound of his metal ID tags ringing in her ears she was going to cum again, there was no way she couldn’t, not when it was mixed with the brutal way he was taking her.

“I’m gonna, AHHH,” a scream tore through her throat when he gave her a particularly harsh thrust. “Gonna cum again.”

He didn’t respond; he simply grabbed her wrist and forced her hand towards the headboard, letting her know under no uncertain terms she better hang onto it. She instinctively raised her other hand to do the same while he grabbed her hips and dug every fingertip into her soft flesh with bruising force, knowing it would only be seconds before he unloaded himself.

She felt his chest cover her back and his voice giving her one last command. “Watch me now. I want you to watch me fuck you hard. Then `m gonna pull out and cover you in my cum... so you always remember that this beautiful arse belongs to me.”

“Oh GOOOOOOOD!!!” He kept his word. She glanced to her right where they’d placed a large mirror on the wall not three weeks ago for such a purpose as this. He grabbed the headboard, his hands on either side of hers and she watched his tight muscles flex, angling himself so he could hit her sweet spot, the sight of his glistening length grinding in and out of her triggering her passion. His head was thrown back and his eyes were screwed shut and through the haze of her own release, she watched his hips begin to jerk and twist, the muscles of his backside clenching and rippling with effort, the feel of his balls slapping her ass as he slammed into her three more times before a snarl pierced the air. He quickly pulled out, grabbed his cock and began pumping it furiously. The first, hot splash of his essence hit her and she moved with lightening speed to indulge herself.

He was too far gone, too caught up to stop her from moving away, but when he saw what she intended to do, he swore he began cumming even harder. His little minx had turned herself around to receive his liquid desire for her as it continued shooting forth in erratic streams. She pushed her breasts together when some landed on her rosy tits before moving to lower her mouth around him to drink the rest of him down, never stopping even when his hips thrust forward, pushing her head into the headboard with an dull ‘thud’. She swallowed everything he gave her as he pumped himself with his hand until he was dry and ready to collapse. She’d never done that before and his mind was driven beyond a state of mad desire for the woman who’d claimed his heart so many months ago.

She felt his body go limp, sliding down hers and lowering them both to the bed so he lay on top of her, still panting. She hadn’t known what drove her to do this. Maybe it was the game they’d played, maybe it was because she wouldn’t see him for five whole weeks. Whatever the reason didn’t matter, she held him against her chest, not even caring that his spendings were being smeared between their bodies.

“Love you, baby,” he said with what breath he had left in his lungs.

“Love you, too.” She captured his lips for a tender kiss. The last one they would share for five long weeks yet to come.


A/N: For anyone who thought they moved in together too quickly, let me share a little something personal with you. My husband didn’t lay one inappropriate finger on me for weeks while we were dating. When we finally ‘consummated’ our relationship, he more or less did the same thing – wouldn’t take no for an answer to me moving in with him the very next day. LOL, guess I got a little ‘Spike’ in my man. As for TE, I may have to wait until I'm moved and settled (roughly 2nd week of May) before resuming - it's simply too much for me at this point to write more than one fic at a time, though I am writing a little bit of it every now and then, sorry. Hope you enjoyed and remember, I can’t make any promises as to the next update but will, of course, do my best. Have a great weekend, *hugs*.

PLEASE BE AWARE THIS CHAPTER IS PART 1 OF 2. I promised I’d never abandon a fic and so here’s another smutty, laugh-filled chapter of IAN. This is for 2 people. For Beasleysmom who pcs’d and moved away from me recently *cries* - thank God I have unlimited long distance, *giggles*. And also for Lostboy. I promised I’d read your fic sweety and I intend to keep that promise – just uber busy right now. Happy B-day to Clawofcat, vampgirly and luxferi, *kisses*. Also, the pic I used in this chappy is by the amazingly talented bloodylovepoetry (a million thanks sweety). Check out her website – www.dark-desire.org/blp/ - but have a box of tissue handy to wipe up the drool, *winks*. Thank you Dusty273 for all your help. As always, I couldn’t post without you. WARNINGS: Some parts, sexually speaking, could be considered a tad raunchy, but that’s the nature of my characters and my muse (they have no shame). So be warned if you have delicate sensibilities and missionary sex is all you can tolerate.


PART 1: Extended Leave

Five weeks later on a late Monday evening.........

Buffy stood there in the dark, peering out the kitchen window waiting for Spike to return from the field. She’d shut all the lights off in the apartment on purpose just to make him think she’d left for California two weeks ago as originally planned. After changing her departing flight to match his, she’d called to inform her mother when they’d be arriving, assuring her it was just an unforeseen work related issue that made her have to alter her vacation. It was the truth... to an extent... somewhat... partially... stupid man! She missed him like crazy, couldn’t keep herself from wanting to be here when he got back and knew he’d be both surprised and pleased that she was especially after the argument they’d had over the whole affair. Plus, there really was something she needed to discuss with him concerning her job, but she was determined to wait and see what kind of mood he was in before bringing the subject up.

She was nervous over whether or not he’d like her surprise of altering the apartment for a more romantic type setting even though ‘romantic’ wasn’t something they normally did. Hey, it was... different and no easy task trying to make dinner in the dark either, so he better appreciate it! Oz had given her Fred’s number earlier in the week and she called to find out what exact time the guys were due back and then took the southern girl’s advice of cooking something that only required using the oven and a timer.

She quickly darted into the bathroom; having almost forgotten to shut the water off then ran back to the window and began fidgeting. Spike would, naturally, have his ritualistic plan of getting together with the guys at the NCO club, but hopefully he wouldn’t mind forgoing those plans once he found her at home waiting for him and if not? Operation seduction was already underway and failure wasn’t an option.

~~~*~~~

“Bloody hell!” All his field gear was caked with mud and heavier than normal, about a hundred and seventy five pounds worth that needed to be carried up the stairs. He could have left it in the trunk of his car, but he was leaving at the butt-ass crack of tomorrow’s dawn for California and didn’t want to have to mess with it then in addition to packing for vacation. Readying his key to unlock the door once he reached the top of the stairs, he hauled every last bit of equipment on his shoulders and stumbled towards the house, feeling exhausted and for once, not in any rush to get in the shower and go meet Gunn for drinks.

She felt guilty when she saw him struggling with both arms full. Any other time she would’ve rushed outside to help him, but it would defeat the purpose behind all her planning for tonight and she was anxious to see his reaction. Moving away from the window to position herself, she listened to him climb the stairs, crossing her fingers as her heart rate picked up.

He unlocked the door and stepped over the threshold, straining under the weight of his belongings while flicking the light on. The moment the room lit up, his breath caught in his throat. The last thing he expected to see was Buffy. But there was his girl, leaning against the wall, one foot perched underneath her bottom and wearing his red button up dress shirt.

“Surprise!” she said in a soft voice, smiling at his shocked expression and watched in amusement when he dropped all his equipment right where he stood with a loud thud.

Bloody fuckin’ HELL! He had to physically shake his head back and forth to be sure she wasn’t a mirage. She was supposed to be in California! They’d argued over her waiting for him to get back from this exercise for Christ’s sake. Yet here she was, looking as sexy as only she could be while dressed in something as simple as one of his shirts.

“I hope you don’t mind that-that...” The way he just stood there and stared without saying a thing made her nervousness return full force. “See, I thought... I-I made dinner and drew you a bath so you cou-” She found herself pinned to the wall before she ever finished that sentence. “Spi-mmph.”

He didn’t care to hear anything she had to say. All he cared about was rubbing his body against hers like a caveman while plundering her mouth with his tongue. His girl was amazing. Not only was she here, but he could see the effort she’d gone to, to make his homecoming something special. The smell of a home-cooked meal filled the apartment, the table was set with candles and she’d drawn him a bath? He was a lucky bloke indeed, a very lucky and very horny bloke.

Smelling of earth and pine from being in the woods for so long, she found the scent along with the animalistic way he was pawing at her overwhelmingly erotic. He was acting as if he hadn’t seen her in a year rather than a few weeks, as if she were going to disappear at any moment.

“Buffy,” he whispered, trying to gather his senses, knowing she’d orchestrated this surprise for his benefit, but all he wanted right now was her. “I missed...” he trailed off, caught up in her candied scent and the feel of her pert breasts heaving against him. He’d been kept from her luscious body for five long weeks and as far as he was concerned, anything she had planned could wait.

“I wanted to-to... ohhhhh.” She moaned under the assault of his mouth as he lowered it to her chest, his teeth tugging on the first button of the shirt she wore while his fingers made quick work of the rest. “Wanted to spoil you tonight.”

“Later,” he growled against her sweet smelling skin as he freed the last button. Pushing the shirt over her shoulders, he spared a glance down her body. She wasn’t wearing any knickers. “Chris’, pet,” he declared at this discovery. Leaning his forehead against hers, he whispered, “Need you... right now.”

The sound of his belt buckle coming unclasped while she fought the buttons of his uniform sent all her previous plans to hell in a hand basket. But she loved him like this... lustful and desperate in his need for her. Clothes went flying left and right, barely having landed by the time he was nudging her thighs apart with his knee. She stood utterly transfixed by the masculine beauty of his sculpted chest, rough possessive hands palming her breasts and buttocks, the look of raw need in his eyes... There wasn’t a single thing about him that didn’t drip with desire right now and - GOD! The things he did to her were so downright dirty sometimes, she swore he had the ability to make her cum with just a look... like the one he was currently giving her. He stuck his first two digits in his mouth, drew them out slowly and smirked at her while lowering it between their bodies.

Sliding his fingers along the folds of her sex, he used her moisture and his to quickly prepare her then grasping his cock, sought out her center.

“Spike!” she gasped, clinging to him as he slipped the swollen head between her ready lips, then in one swift stroke, filled her completely.

“Bloody hell I missed you, missed this... us.” She was panting so hard she could only nod in response. He tucked his head under her chin, pressing his cheek to her chest and frantically began pumping away inside of her.

His relentless pounding to her pussy was making her cross-eyed with pleasure. She freely gave into the feel of being reunited with him and withstood the pain of his sharp hip bones as they repeatedly dug into her, no doubt bruising the tender flesh of her inner thighs.

Fuck, he thought when he realized he wasn’t going to last but a few seconds more at most. She was hot and tight, felt so bloody good that he suddenly decided he didn’t care. He needed release and needed it now! There were all sorts of wicked, pleasurable ways he could make it up to his girl later. On second thought, why wait? He would make it up to her immediately after he got what he wanted.

“Oh... OH, oh my.” She knew when her man was about to explode but it surprised her, even more so than how quickly he’d attacked her after walking through the door. There were no worries in her mind though; Spike was far from selfish, so she encouraged him, “Cum for me, Daddy.”

“ARGHH, Buffy... unghh.” Her words triggered his orgasm. God, how he loved hearing her talk like that. And when she called him ‘Daddy’? Oh yeah, she was spoiling him alright and he hadn’t even been home five minutes yet.

He slowly let her body slide down the wall, withdrawing himself before her feet touched the ground then promptly dropped to his knees, whispering an apology right before, “OH!” Without any warning, he threw one of her legs over his shoulder. “AHHH!” He plunged his tongue deep within her walls, fucking her with it until her legs threatened to buckle and give out.

He smiled into her mound when she gripped his shoulders tightly, her little nails on the verge of breaking his skin.

“SPIKE!” Shaking him to get his attention, he turned his blue eyes on her but moved to begin suckling her clit.

“Mmm-hmm?” He was listening, but he was also busy enjoying himself by pleasuring her.

She couldn’t believe he was going down on her right after having, well, to be quite frank about it, dumped his load there. “What are you... o-o-ohhhhh, doing? You... mmmmm, realize you just c-came inside of me?” She bit her lip when he tugged on her swollen pearl with his teeth, wiggling it back and forth. “Spike?”

“Mmmmmm.” He moaned, dipping his tongue back inside her channel one more time, then pulled away long enough to look her in the eyes and lustfully confess, “You’ve never tasted better.”

She clamped her hand over her mouth and bit back a scream. She thought she should have been disgusted but the intensity behind his eyes, those words and how honest and sexy they sounded when he said them... All it took was a few more swipes of his tongue and she came undone, jerking and twitching from the way he covered her with his mouth, lapping at her walls until she was finished.

He chuckled at the way she slid down to join him in a boneless heap on the floor while wiping at his chin. She was good and satisfied, just the way he liked her.

“Wha’s the matter, luv? Did I wear you out?”

She opened her eyes to see him in the process of pulling his pants back up. The man hadn’t even bothered kicking them off... like she should be surprised at that? She smiled up at him lazily and nodded.

“Awww,” he pouted. “Poor, kitten. C’mere.” He lifted her up and helped her back into his shirt.

She let him button it up for her then nuzzled her head against his bare chest, enjoying the feel of his strong arms wrapping around her. “I hope you know you ruined my plans of seducing you in order to keep you from going out tonight.” The sound of his laughter thrummed through her body and she hugged him tighter.

“Oh, pet. You can’ seduce the willin’. But by all means, don’ let me stop you from tryin’.” He pulled back and waggled his brows at her. As if he were going anywhere tonight...silly bint. “You mentioned somethin’ `bout a bath?” Bubble covered Buffy thoughts danced in his head.

“Yeeeeeah.” She trailed her fingertips down his well-muscled chest, knowing exactly where his line of thinking was headed. “I thought you might like to relax, unwind a little.” Backing up, she led him by the hand into the bathroom under the false pretense that she would be joining him and maneuvered him next the tub. “You know, get washed up before I serve dinner?”

“I’d rather you join me... seein’s how I jus’ ate.” He flicked his tongue back and forth crudely at her.

“Nope.”

He gave her ‘the pout’ but she shook her head.

“You’re not going to get your way this time, eh-eh.”

“Buffy,” he growled at her. She should give him whatever he wanted after being separated this long.

“Hmphh,” she said like a stuck up little snot. “Sorrrreeee.” Giving him a firm push, she stood there with her hands on her hips and a triumphant smile when he went ass over tea kettle to land in the water with a loud SPLASH!



“Gotta keep an eye on the roast.” Squealing, she darted out the bathroom.

He splashed water at her retreating form then chuckled. She never ceased to find new ways of putting him in his place.

~~~*~~~

Given Spike’s tremendously good mood, Buffy tried several times to tell him what happened to her at work while he was away, but he’d effectively kept her, ahem, ‘occupied’ for more than half the night making love until she was too exhausted for any amount of talking. So her next plan was to tell him while they were on the plane, but he promptly fell asleep on her right after take off and didn’t wake back up until forty minutes before landing. She would have told him then, but being the horn dog that he is, was only interested in trying to get her riled up enough beneath one of those small, complimentary blankets they hand out so that she would follow him to the bathroom for a quick rough and tumble... to which she so did not. And now that they were in California, she gave up on the idea altogether. It just wasn’t the right place or time to discuss anything when they were supposed to be on vacation and having fun. Having resigned herself to wait until they were back home, they separated at the gate, leaving him to go to baggage claim while she searched for her mother.

“My baby girl.” Joyce wrapped her daughter up into a hug for several long seconds before holding her at arms-length. “So where is this William of yours? I’m anxious to meet him.”

Buffy pointed a thumb over her shoulder. “He’s the one with the platinum hair.”

Bloody women! Spike picked up the only suitcase he’d packed and then Buffy’s three. How much does one bird need to bring? He sighed under their weight. If he wasn’t head over heels for her, he’d bloody well make her carry them herself.

“Oh my! He’s a handsome one.” Though Joyce didn’t fully approve of her daughter ‘living in sin’, she wasn’t one to throw stones either since Buffy was conceived two months before her own marriage to Hank.

Both women walked over to where he was struggling.

“Spike.”

He turned around to see Buffy standing there with an older woman whom she resembled.

“Mrs. Summers, ma-am?” He reached a hand out and smiled politely.

“Call me Joyce.” She shook his hand then yanked him into a bear hug.

Buffy snorted as the look he gave her from over her mother’s shoulder suggested he wasn’t prepared for such a warm reception. He wasn’t concerned over impressing her parents but he was concerned over how they would receive the man with whom their daughter decided to ‘shack up’ with. This was the first time he’d ever lived with a woman outside of matrimony himself, so he’d never had to deal with parental disapproval.

“Yes, ma’am, er, Joyce.” She let him go, took a suitcase from him and handed it to Buffy then took another to carry herself. “Thanks, luv.” She blushed at his use of a pet name on her. So tha’s where my girl gets it from.

“Honestly, Buffy. Is this how I raised you? Making someone else carry your luggage for you? You’re in the Army now. Surely you can do things for yourself and not leave it up to your boyfriend.” She turned to Spike with a sweet smile. “You’re such a gentleman and so polite, it’s my daughter I blame.”

“Moooom,” she whined. “Could you be any more embarrassing?”

Spike was smirking at the two women as they went back and forth. Yup, he liked her Mum already.

All three exited the terminal with Joyce in the lead. As she neared her car, she glanced back to tell Spike.

“I hope you’re keeping her in line, William. Ever since she was a little girl, Buffy has required a firm hand.”

“No worries there. I have everythin’... well in hand.” He grabbed Buffy’s arse and squeezed firmly, causing her to yelp.

“You are soooo dead when we’re finally alone,” she whispered to him.

“Promises, promises.” He slapped her rear since her mom turned her back to continue walking.

“Hank can hardly wait to meet you, William,” Joyce said as she popped the trunk then helped him wrestle to load all four suitcases. “He even left work early to come home and start dinner. He’s cooking something special.” She slammed it shut then unlocked her doors.

A nervous Spike leaned over to ask Buffy quietly. “Your Da doesn’ own any guns or have access to... poison... does he?”

~~~*~~~

As expected, Buffy was to stay in her old room while Spike stayed in Dawn’s since she was currently still at school cramming for exams. Naturally he wasn’t happy with this arrangement but understood perfectly where her parents were coming from and respected it. Still, he couldn’t keep from complaining to Buffy once they were alone, sitting on the front porch swing.

“I think you’re just upset that I wouldn’t join the mile-high club on the way here,” Buffy teased. Ughh! Airplanes made her stomach queasy.

“Bloody right I am. `Course... you can make it up to me on the way back?” He winked at her.

“Depends if you can behave yourself or not.”

“Speakin’ `f behavin’. `M not goin’ three bloody weeks without sex.”

“Sshhh! The window is open!” He gave her a pointed look.

“`S not like your Mum thinks we don’-” she clamped a hand over his mouth.

“That doesn’t mean you need to announce it. Besides, I have a plan.” The second she lowered her hand, he smirked.

“Do tell, pet.”

“You’ll just have to wait and see.”

“Grrrrr. How LONG will I have to wait?”

“Uh! I swear you’re worse than a chi-”

“Dinner is ready, you two.” Joyce poked her head out the door.

“Okay, mom. Be right there.”

He waited until her mom disappeared back inside. “I still say your Da didn’ act all that thrilled to meet me, so if I start havin’ convulsions after dinner, better be ready to pump my stomach.”

“Oh-please! It’s not that he doesn’t like you. He’s just being a father. Think about it. If you had a daughter and she was living with a guy for months that you still had yet to meet, how would you act towards him?”

“I’d bloody well kill the bastard! When we have a daughter, she won’ be allowed near boys `til she’s thirty.” Buffy crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at him. “Er... twenty five?” Shaking her head while snickering, she got up and held out a hand.

“Let’s go. Grub is on the table, mister. And please try and eat slower in front of my mom because she’ll just keep shoving more food on your plate.” She liked his instinctual, ‘protective father’ answer and she also liked how he phrased a certain sentence without even knowing it.

“Did I mention how much I like your Mum already?”

~~~*~~~

“So tell me, William.” Hank began his round of questions half way through dinner.

“Yes, sir?” Buffy gripped his knee under the table, reminding him he didn’t need to be so ultra-polite with the ‘sir’ and ‘ma’am’ crap around her parents.

“How did you get the nickname Spike?”

“You never told me either,” Buffy chimed in. “How did you get your nickname?”

“Well, a few years ago when I first met a good friend, he kept cuttin’ my last name short. People around us picked up on it and after a while, it jus’ stuck.”

“That’s it?” Buffy asked.

“Tha’s it, pet.”

“Huh. I always thought it had something to do with the infantry.”

“And how did you two meet?” Hank noted both blondes halted their forks from entering their mouths and glanced at each other.

“Work,” they answered simultaneously, then went back to eating. They’d done some preparation in case this line of questioning came up... but not nearly enough.

“Exactly?” Hank added.

“Oh, I would love to hear your story.” Joyce set her fork down and got up to serve a third helping of everything onto Spike’s plate and seconds for Buffy. She was the only one to have missed the audible gulp of nervousness coming from the young man. “I remember meeting Hank,” she sighed wistfully. “Falling in love with him was the best time of my life.”

“Thank you, Joyce.” Spike loved that Buffy’s mother was catering to his large appetite and that she patted him on the shoulder as if he were one of her own before sitting back down.

Buffy leaned her head towards Spike ear but didn’t bother whispering. “Mom’s an incurable romantic.”

His response was to chuckle with genuine amusement. “`M not so sure `s a story worth tellin’ then, `cause it definitely wasn’ a Harlequin moment.”

“Really?” It was Joyce and Hank’s turn to speak at the same time... with surprise. From the way their daughter talked over the phone to them about the man sitting at their table, she was clearly in love and he was deeply devoted on her.

Spike nodded and shoveled some food onto his fork, but answered before taking the bite. “Mm-hmm. Buffy hated me when we first met.”

And again with the harmonious parental question of, “Really?”

“She thought I was a fascist pig.”

“Thought?” Buffy arched an eyebrow at him and sat back in her chair.

“I wasn’ that bad, pet. Admit it.” He winked at her. “`Sides,” he turned to address Hank. “Buffy has a natural inclination to be somewhat of an insurrectionist.” Her father busrt out laughing and nodded.

“That she does.”

“Uhh,” Buffy gasped in outrage. “Don’t try to get on my parents’ good side by-by... using big fancy words.”

Hank leaned forward, cupped a hand around his mouth and lowered his voice to tell Spike. “Gets it from her mother.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to sit there and take that, mom?”

“Hank!” she scolded her husband. “That’s not true.”

“You were a hippie when I met you, Joyce. Protests and flower power, remember?” Stick that in your bong and smoke it is what he would have added to the look of indignation on his wife’s face... if his daughter wasn’t present that is.

Spike watched the older woman flip her shoulder length hair back and stick her nose in the air. And tha’s where my girl gets her sass from, too. Yup, looks like his Buffy was a carbon copy of her mother... except for the hippie part. And since Hank fell in love with her, maybe he and her father had a lot more in common than he originally thought. He snickered to himself as Joyce loosed her tongue on her husband. It was just like watching Buffy and he silently wondered if Hank found it as arousing as he did whenever his daughter did to the same to him.

“And YOU were an anal yuppie that should be grateful I came along to pull that giant stick out of your-”

“MOM!”

“What?” Shrugging at her daughter, she stated, “It’s true.”

Hank cleared his throat. “Yes, well, in any event, I thought we were supposed to be listening to the kids’ story here, honey.”

“See?” Keeping her eyes on Buffy, she waved a hand towards her husband as if he just proved her correct by trying to divert from the truth of the subject. “Anal!”

Buffy snorted, totally siding with her. “It must be true.” Patting Spike on the shoulder, she told her, “Women tend to seek out a mate that resembles their father.”

Hank retorted and Spike followed a split second after.

“Buffy!”

“Oi!”

Joyce wrapped a protective arm around her and looked to Hank. “If the stick fits...” she smiled sarcastically.

“Speaking of sticks... You should have seen me with a pugil when I sparred with Spike. I knocked him on his ass... literally.”

“Elizabeth Anne Summers! Language, please,” her father scolded.

Joyce giggled at first, coughing when her husband turned his expression on her. “Boy, do I want to hear ALL about... wait.” Her look turned pensive. “Didn’t you use those in Basic?”

Uh-oh! “Uhmm, yeah, that’s right.” Going for a nonchalant, ‘no big deal’ answer was the best route. She never told her parents exactly when she met Spike or that he was her Drill Sergeant. The likelihood of her parents getting the wrong impression about her and Spike’s respective status to one another and their professional relationship at that time prompted her not to want to share that information. She didn’t want them thinking he was some sort of Sergeant McDonald.

“But... you two... how?” She and Hank knew Spike’s rank and how many years he’d been in the service, so it wasn’t possible they ‘went’ to Basic together.

Bugger! Time to swoop in and save his girl by telling the truth. He knew from Buffy that her father was in the Air Force for a short stint and therefore couldn’t be fooled if she tried to cover it up.

“Tha’s where we first met and `s also the reason why she hated me... up until nine months ago, anyways.”

Hank pointed a stern finger at him but focused his eyes on his daughter while raising the question, “THIS is the Drill Sergeant you wrote to us about? All that extra... training? The very one that drilled you above and beyond what was necessary? TORTURED you?” She nodded meekly.

“Yes. But we... he really hated me, Daddy,” she whined for sympathy. “REALLY hated me. We didn’t meet back up until after I’d been assigned to FT Crumb.” It was the truth, and naturally she left out the part of just how ‘above and beyond’ he really drilled her... if only on graduation day.

The atmosphere was crackling with tension. Joyce’s eyes were wide, wondering how her husband was going to respond. Her daughter had never lied to them, but the fact she didn’t tell them about this? Like she had something to hide? It didn’t bode well for William and she fidgeted along with the young couple, waiting to see what Hank would say, ready to defend William if necessary for Buffy’s sake.

Hank suddenly stood, his hard expression turning so slowly into a sly grin that it creeped Buffy out to no end.

“I’d like to shake the hand of the man that turned my daughter into a woman.” His smile turned genuine as he offered his hand. The nervous trio were stuck on ‘pause’, sharing the same stunned expression before Spike finally placed his hand into Hank’s.

The collective breath being held in the room was released when the two men firmly shook. That is... until Buffy ‘huffed’.

“Daddy! You’re supposed to be on MY side.”

“Come on... Spike.” He used his nickname as a show of total acceptance while ignoring his daughter’s pouty tirade. “Let’s you and I go have a drink, shall we? Leave the women to do their job and take care of cleaning up.”

“A bloody brilliant idea. I like the way you think, Mr. Summers.”

“Call me Hank.” He slapped him on the back as they exited the room, leaving mother and daughter equally outraged.

You are SOOO not getting any nookie from me tonight! Buffy turned to Joyce.

“Please tell me you’re not going to stand for this, are you, Mom?”

“Two peas in a pod. That’s okay, that’s just A-okay.” She shook her head, laughing sardonically. “Let the men have their bonding moment, Buffy. Meanwhile, you can help me plot while we’re doing the dishes.”

Turn the page for part 2 of Extended Leave. But of course feel free to leave a review for part 1 *bats eyelashes*, the muse always needs feeding – hungry little bastard that he is - giggles. Thanks.

READ ME! Be aware that you are reading part two of ‘Extended Leave’. Do not skip part one or you’ll be completely lost, thanks.

Later that same evening...

The couple went on a walk around Buffy’s neighborhood. She originally wanted to go jogging and Spike would have been on board with that had it not been for the two glasses of scotch he’d shared with her father. He felt a bit tipsy but readily agreed to go so he could walk it off.

Hand in hand they took a leisurely stroll, covering several blocks before heading towards Main Street, discussing their plans for the upcoming weekend, or rather Sunday. After Joyce told friends and family members that Buffy was home for a visit, she planned an informal picnic so everyone would have an opportunity to see her. Everything had been arranged for this Saturday so all Buffy had to do was be there.

“I’m feeling kind of hungry.” He looked at her curiously.

“You are?” Huh! Okay, granted dinner was three hours ago but Buffy rarely ate much beyond breakfast, lunch and dinner. But hey, who was he to question her on it? If his girl was hungry, then he’d feed her.

“Oh-oh-oh! She jumped up and down excitedly while pointing at a delicatessen. “That place makes the most amazing wraps.”

“`S that what you want, kitten?” She nodded excitedly as he led her to sit on a nearby bench. “Right then. Jus’ tell me what you want and I’ll get it.”

“You sure? I can go with you.”

“Nah, you jus’ do what you do best.”

“And what exactly is that?”

Giving her a quick peck on the cheek after she folded her arms defensively, he told her, “Sit here and look pretty `til I come back.” She ‘hmmph’ed’ but it was accompanied by an adorable blush. “What kind of wrap do you want, pet?”

“Hmmm, not sure, maybe... oh, I know what I want. Roast beef and Swiss with horseradish sauce. Aaand,” she thought hard while looking off into space. “Have them put some of those banana peppers on it and onions too.”

Double huh! Not only did it sound bloody disgusting but it seemed an awful lot for her to digest. Oh well, if it went straight to her luscious arse, she wouldn’t hear him complain. A stomach full of ‘junk’ for her would turn into a handful of ‘trunk’ for him.

“What?” she asked when he just stared at her.

“Nothin’, jus’... never mind.” He shook his head, thinking maybe she was just joking but apparently not. “Be right back, pet.” Giving her another quick kiss, he headed inside the eatery.

Spike waited patiently in line and suffered a few looks from people next to him while the boy behind the counter fixed his order. He just shrugged and explained it wasn’t for him. Whatever made his girl happy is exactly what she’d get.

He paid for the food, turned to walk away and placed a hand on the door but froze when he saw Buffy wasn’t sitting by herself anymore. What the FUCK?!?! It wasn’t just any random bloke that decided to sit there, it was that git with his artsy-fartsy penciled hearts... Angel!

“Excuse me,” came a small voice from out of nowhere.

“Huh? Oh. Sorry.” Spike backed away and let a woman and her daughter leave. He stepped aside and just stood there, staring out the window at his girl talking with her former poofter of a boyfriend, jealousy seeping from every pore in his body.

He trusted Buffy with his whole heart, hell, his life. But it didn’t prevent him from wanting to rip the wanker’s head off for daring to speak to her. Especially after what the cheating bastard did to her. No, he would put a tight rein on his temper and just watch. His girl could take care of matters all on her own and if not? Then he most assuredly would.

“I wish I could say it’s nice to see you, Angel,” she spat his name. “But I’d be lying.” Judging from his clothes, he must have been working with his dad somewhere nearby and saw her sitting here. Just my luck. She was so over him, so long ago she forgot he even existed.

“Buffy.” He hung his head for a minute then stated his case. “Look, I’m sorry for what happened. Really sorry. I wasn’t thinking straight when Cordelia approached me and... well, I explained all that in my letter.”

“Hmm, that was another waste of time on your part... because I never read it.”

“You didn’t read it?”

“Nope.”

“Why?” He sat down beside her.

“Because THAT would’ve been a waste of MY time.” She shuffled herself down to the end of the bench, as far away from him as possible.

“Guess I deserved that.”

“Yeah, you really did.”

“Buffy, I... I still love you. I swear I haven’t even dated anyone else and I was hoping maybe we could at least... I don’t know, go out for dinner... since you’re home?”

Spike watched the poofter slide down the bench within inches of Buffy and growled, his grip to her food tightening. Still, he refrained from going out there and interfering. Buffy would do well to have the opportunity to vent. He knew she hadn’t seen or spoken to him since their break up and it would give her a sense of closure over the issue. Not to mention it would be interesting to watch his girl in action when she ripped into him verbally. Christ, he wished he could hear what they were saying... so he could laugh in the boy’s face when it was all over. Maybe... He slipped outside of the shop and chose a spot to lean against the brick wall and light up a smoke. They had their backs to him, so unless Buffy turned around, she wouldn’t see him.

“Not gonna happen, Angel. And I’m only on vacation.”

Much better, Spike thought. Now he could relax a little, enjoy the show and be close enough to handle things if the git so much as laid a single finger on his girl.

“Look, you can’t deny the fact we were the perfect couple. I mean, do you really want to throw four years away just like that? Just because I had one weak moment?”

“Number one, the perfect couple wouldn’t have one of us cheating on the other. Number two, weak moment? Puleez! And number three, you don’t even know me anymore. I’m not the same person, I’ve changed.”

“I think you are. The only change I see,” he looked her over twice. “Is that you’ve filled out. Rather nicely, by the way.” He reached over to touch her hand but she snatched it away before he had the chance.

Spike started, but then settled back down when he heard Buffy’s prompt reply.

“I could break your arm in six different places long before you had the chance to even blink,” she ground out. “So if you like it the way it is, I suggest you keep your hands to yourself.”

“Yeah, right.” He laughed at her. “I suppose being in the Army makes you think you’re tough. You couldn’t break a flea’s arm if you tried.” He laughed some more. “I’m ten times stronger than any girl, Buffy so if I wanted to touch you, there’s nothing you could do but leave a few scratches with those cat claws of yours.”

Civilians, she huffed to herself. “It has little to do with strength but hey, you know what? I’m willing to level the playing field if it’ll make you feel better.” She smiled sweetly. “Scratching can be fun, too particularly when fighting a pussy like you.”

Spike had a hard time keeping his laughter contained. Bloody hell, he loved her fire and honestly? She could probably break every bone in Angel’s body if he pissed her off just right. However... seemed Angel didn’t believe a word his girl said, because once again, he was reaching for her and Spike was there in a flash before Buffy ever finished getting up from the bench.

Holy shit, Spike scared her to death. One minute she was standing in an attempt to get away from Angel and the next, ‘POOF’, he materialized from out of nowhere. She saw him drop her food on the bench then ball his fists at his sides. Whoa! Okay, she should feel just a teensy bit guilty for getting so immensely turned on that Spike was currently making all with the ‘grhh’... but honestly, she just couldn’t. He was the epitome of hot when he was in full ‘protective’ mode.

“Whatever bones she doesn’ manage to break... you can bet I will, mate.” He sized up the overgrown oaf. One, maybe two particular maneuvers and he’d have him immobilized with his face pressed into the pavement for good measure. It wouldn’t be polite to get himself arrested while visiting Buffy’s parents’ just so he could have the satisfaction of hearing bones shatter. But, then again, maybe he’d leave that option open if say, ohhhhh... the ponce were stupid enough and he were ‘forced’ to defend himself?

GAH! The deep, menacing tone of his thick accent, the way his eyes flashed a beautiful yet frightening shade of blue, muscles clenching in his jaw, strong hands now twitching at the ready to carry out his threat.... He was ‘bad boy’ personified, from head to toe and straight to the bone, baby. She went through a mental checklist of all the things she found ‘gah-worthy’ about her man. Platinum hair, heavy silver jewelry adorning his fingers, neck and wrists, dressed all in black with that duster he made look sexier than it had any right to, lending him that extra ‘edge’ of danger to his already intimidating aura. Mmmm, she shuddered as she felt her panties suddenly get a whole lot wetter. Oh yeah, there was going to be some serious sex in his immediate future.

“Look, man. I don’t know who you are or what you saw, but there’s no trouble here. I’m just having a private conversation with the lady. She’s not in any danger.” He had no clue who this guy was and assumed it just some passerby wanting to play Buffy’s knight in shining armor.

Errrrrrgh! She so wanted to kick some Angel ass but the chance to watch Spike handle things would be much more gratifying than her fist connecting with her ex’s nose right now.

“Got one thing right... she’s not in any danger.” He chuckled sarcastically then settled into a smirk. “In fact...” He hooked the thumb of his right hand through his belt. “Trained her m’self in hand to hand combat, so `m positive the only one here in any real danger `s you.”

“Huh?” He looked back and forth between Buffy and the stranger, not quite understanding. The guy looked like nothing more than a skinny punk rocker.

“`Course, can’ let my girl go without havin’ any back up either.” Looping his left arm around her waist, he pulled her tight against his side, smirk deepening when recognition sunk into the other man’s expression.

“You’re shitting me? Right, Buffy?” Uh-uh, he didn’t believe it, no way. “You don’t know this guy! Do you?” he asked nervously. “Tell me you’re not... not WITH him... please?” He couldn’t believe his eyes when Buffy ran a hand over the Englishman’s chest all the way down and cupped his crotch lovingly.

“Not only do I know him, but he’s been showing me every night just how lame a shag you really were.... for about ohhhhh, I’d say nine months now? Does that sound right, baby?”

Spike was positively chuffed with his girl, chest all puffed up, male ego ten feet tall while brood-boy looked absolutely crestfallen. “`Bout that long, kitten, yeah.” He grabbed her hand and brought it to his mouth for a tender kiss, letting her know how much he appreciated her bold move, and of course her use of the term ‘shag’ was bloody brilliant.

“Sh-shag?”

“Fuck, screw, boink... bumpin’ uglies. Take yer pick. But please do forgive me. `M bein’ rude and forgettin’ my manners here. I forgot to thank you.”

“For what?”

“For fuckin’ her cousin or else Buffy wouldn’ be with me right now.... livin’ in my apartment, makin’ my meals... sharin’ my bed.” He dropped her hand to extend his own towards Angel. “No hard feelin’s. Right, mate?”

The blonde couple watched Angel’s face contort in a mixture of hurt and anger. But rather than say anything, he simply started backing away, conceding defeat.

Buffy, of course, had to have the very last say even as she noted Spike flipping him off British style with his first two fingers. She waved, smiling brightly like a flight attendant, bouncing her head from side to side, voice all bubbly and enthusiastic. “Goodbye. Bye bye, now. O-kaaaay, goodbye then. Mm-hmm, that’s right, BUH-bye.

Spike pulled her into his embrace and nuzzled her nose affectionately. “Have I told you today how much I love you?”

“Matter of fact you haven’t. But I think I’d prefer it if you showed me instead.” She grabbed his bottom playfully from inside his coat.

“Mmmmm, be glad to.” Speakin’ of shaggin’, that got him wondering. “Tell me, pet. Where’s this sudden need to get your hands on my hot, tight little body comin’ from?”

“Seeing you go all possessive and growly?” She blushingly offered, still managing an ear to ear grin. “Kinda hot.” He threw his head back and laughed. “Now let me eat so we can start walking back. When we get to the house, I’ll show you that plan I was telling you about earlier.”

To hell with that! He was going to call a cab. His cock was good and hard now just thinking about having his wicked way with her. He turned her around and pointed towards the bench, but she was already ahead of him.

Her nose scrunched up after tearing the wax paper away from her food. “Ewww! What happened to my wrap?” More than half its contents were pushed out one end and Spike was ducking with a guilty look on his face.

“Sorry. Guess my temper had me pretendin’ it was ‘Peaches’ neck. Want me to get you another?”

She shrugged. “Nah, it all eats the same.”

~~~*~~~

“Behind the shed is a tree house my Dad built for Dawnie and me when we were little.” Buffy led Spike into her parents’ backyard from the far side of the house.

“Tree house, huh?”

“Yup. Figured we could use the excuse of taking a jog or a walk in the evenings. Once the sun sets, they won’t know when we’re back and can’t see us if we use the fence line to come here.”

“Such a naughty girl,” he chided, loving the very idea of having to sneak around for stolen moments. “Creepin’ around in the dark all secretive like, shaggin’ your boyfriend right under your parents’ nose.”

“You better feel lucky I’m even bringing you here tonight.”

“Oi! Wha’s that s’pose to mean?” Judging from the tone of her voice, she sounded serious. He stood still and pulled her back to face him, curious as to what exactly crawled up her ass.

“I’m still upset with you over dinner tonight.”

What the fuck? He couldn’t understand. He’d already apologized for that... several times. It wasn’t that big a deal, at least not to him. “Buffy? You know I didn’ mean any real harm, right? I would think you’d be happy `m gettin’ along with your Da. Aren’ you?” The moon afforded enough light for him to see the irritation in her expression. “Baby?” He studied her face for a few seconds more. “Wha’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I-it’s nothing. You’re right. I’m glad you and my dad are getting along. I just... forget it. It’s been a really long day with the flight and all.”

“You sure?” He hoped so because he couldn’t tell where this sudden change of attitude in her was coming from.

He stroked her cheek tenderly with his thumb and she instantly relaxed, allowing him to tug at her waist and bring them closer. “I’m sure. A-and I’m sorry. I’m just feeling tired.”

“Okay,” he whispered, drawing her head to his chest. Hell, he still felt tired despite having slept on the plane. Between going to bed late last night, getting up early this morning, a long flight, the time change from East to West Coast... there were several factors to consider why she was being so irritable. And since they’d made a pact never to go to bed angry, he’d rather beg forgiveness than argue with her right now. He changed the subject to help lighten her mood. “Sooooo, did it really turn you on today? What I said to Peaches?” It was good to hear her giggling response.

“Not so much with the saying and more with the way you looked while doing it.”

“Do tell.”

She lifted her head to joke with him. “And inflate your already enlarged ego?”

He brought her tiny hand to his manly bits and encouraged her. “Go on, luv... inflate me.”

“Let’s just say I’m in serious need of a change of underwear... and leave it at that.” He purred beneath her touch as she opened the buckle to his belt.

“Mmmm!” Play time!

“EEEEP!” He unexpectedly snagged her waist and yanked her behind the shed.

“Ssshhhhhh, wouldn’t want your Mum and Da to hear us, now would you, pet?” She leaned her back against the siding, licking her lips when he brought her hands back to his pants and released them to do whatever she liked. “Stick that pretty pink tongue `f yours out there again like that might make a bloke think you’re still hungry.”

“Reading my mind now, are we?” And with that... she slid down the wall to balance her butt on her heels.

She’d worked his pants open and took his cock inside her hot little mouth so fast he didn’t have time to properly check that no one could see them from the neighboring houses. He was about to stop her, but she must have been reading his mind when she fisted her hands into his duster and used it to not only to conceal herself, but to pull him over and over into her mouth.

Sparing an upward glance, she watched him place both hands on the wall for leverage while looking down into her eyes, causing her to shudder under the intensity of his stare. The light of the full moon bathed his features, casting shadows to accentuate the deep hollows created by his razor-like cheekbones, full lips parted while panting with desire, hair so white it appeared silver and eyes... black with lust. She gave him a saucy wink, knowing how much he loved watching her do this. Did she feel guilty for sneaking around and doing this under her parent’s nose? Uh-uh, especially not when he took over for her and started pumping his hips. She moaned around him and let her head rest against the wall, allowing him to fuck her mouth however he saw fit.

Chris’, he wanted to cum the moment she gave him silent permission to do as he pleased. She looked so pretty with her mouth full of him that he couldn’t hold back from giving her a few experimental thrusts, pushing himself in a little further each time. Once she’d taken the full length of his muscle down her throat, he stopped just so he could watch, take in the beautiful sight and sensual feel of her swallowing around him. “Buffy,” he whispered. “Jus’ like that, baby. Unghh... JUS’ like that.”

He wasn’t going to last, but he wasn’t ready to cum yet either. Not until he’d given his girl her fair share of satisfaction. He pulled away and reached under her shoulders to help her stand then steered her towards a parked car.

“I love this duster. Don’t ever get rid of it, okay?” She held it to keep him covered while he walked backwards.

“And why’s that, pet?” He watched her smile wickedly and was curious as to her answer, particularly because he was very much attached to his coat. His father, now a librarian, had worn it in his early years when he was known as ‘Ripper’ and had given it to him when he was fourteen. They hadn’t been living for very long in the States when a bully made a derogatory statement about the British and he’d managed to knock the kid out cold. His Da said that although he didn’t approve of fighting, he saw a lot of himself in Spike and simply handed it down to him.

“I have my reasons,” she answered cryptically then giggled when he cocked a questioning eyebrow. “I’m not sure whether it’s because it looks amazing ON you... or if it’s just you that makes IT look amazing.” Figures! A huge, cocky grin spread across his face now that she was feeding his ego. “I like the way it smells, the leather, but even more so how it smells of you.” Feeling extra naughty, she decided to share a secret. “I never told you this before, but-”

The backs of his legs met the front of the car with a dull thump. He’d forgotten all about it while listening to her. What she whispered in his ear next while lowering her hand to stroke his shaft shocked the hell out of him.

“At night, when you’re in the field, I bring it to bed so I can cover myself in your scent... and then get myself off.”

“Chris’, pet!” He was astounded. And the visual she created? “You really do that?” he choked out the question. She reassured him while playfully nipping the skin at his neck.

Ego stroked? Thoroughly! The swell of his pride now rivaled the swell of his cock and he couldn’t tell which was bigger. But bugger-all if he cared; he was far more absorbed with the buttons of her blouse right now so he could get his hands on her lovely breasts.

“It has other uses, as you’re already aware. Like a minute ago when it kept us hidden so I could suck your cock... and in a few more seconds... it’ll be on the floor of my tree house where I plan on riding you to a gallop. To sum up all the many reasons why I love this coat so much... form AND function.”

“Not gonna make it to the tree house, luv.”

Huh?!?!

He twisted her body towards the car so fast she had to place her hands on the hood to prevent from falling. He tore her shirt open to fondle one breast while his other hand slid down the front of her jean skirt.

“Mmmmm, you weren’ kiddin’, pet.” Bloody hell! He could hardly believe just how wet she was. “Your knickers are soaked.” He curled two fingers inside to massage her sweet spot while grinding his erection against her bottom. She had his cock so bloody hard it was almost painful. And wasn’t she the one who mentioned his coat provided all the cover they needed? They could save the tree house experience for another night, or, maybe during the middle of the tonight if he could coax her outside while her parents’ were sleeping.

She gasped at the loss of his fingers and attempted to turn around to face him, but it was quite clear he had other plans. He pushed her down flush against the hood of the car and hurriedly raised her skirt. “OHHH!”

He clamped a hand over her mouth as he buried himself to the hilt inside her tight little hole. “Ssshhhh. Love makin’ you scream, kitten. So `m gonna keep my hand right here...” He leaned down, breathing hotly in her ear. “-jus’ so you can keep screamin’ for me while I fuck you raw.”

He kept his promise. With his other hand holding her shoulder for leverage, he fucked her senseless then sideways. The countless number of times he had her cumming made her grateful his hand was there to muffle the sounds she made before he finally found his own release and slumped across her back exhausted.

~~~*~~~

They remained outside until Buffy was sure the color in her cheeks faded before leading Spike along the fence and down the front walkway to her parents’ porch. Stepping inside she called out.

“Mom? Dad?”

“We’re in the kitchen, honey,” Joyce answered, waiting for the young pair to enter before asking, “Since you were just outside, did either of you see anything out there? Your father and I heard the strangest noise.”

“Strange... noise?” No. There was no way they heard what she was thinking... had they?

“Yes.” She nodded, a look of worry on her face. “It sounded like a... like a wounded animal.”

Buffy instantly turned scarlet, but before she could even stutter her way through some form of explanation, Spike diverted her parents’ attention.

His sudden coughing fit had everyone staring at him. He was trying to cover up his laughter as best he could. His girl had turned a lovely shade of red and all he could think was oh, it was an animal alright, but far from wounded!

“Are you alright, William?” Joyce immediately went to get him a glass of water.

“`M, AHEM, fine. AHHHHEM.” He pounded his fist against his chest a couple of times. Thanks, luv.” He took the glass of water she offered and gulped down a mouthful.

Buffy turned away to get her blushing under control and asked as nonchalantly as she could manage, “A wounded animal?”

“Sort of. It was more of a... howling. Like the sound a cat makes when it goes into heat.”

Spike came up behind Buffy to help her out of her jacket and leaned in to whisper, “Mee-oooow.” His kitten was certainly in heat these days, not that he was complaining.

She gave his ribs a sharp jab with her elbow as a means of telling him to ‘shut it’. “Nope. We didn’t see or hear a thing. Maybe it was a neighbor’s cat?”

“You’re probably right. I forgot about that elderly lady down the street. She’s always leaving food on her porch for the strays around here.”

Buffy walked over to where her father was sitting at the kitchen island while Spike went to lean against the sink next to her mother.

“Dad?” She needed a favor from him plus it was the perfect time to change the subject. “Any chance I could borrow your car tomorrow?” He cast a wary eye on her. “Please?”

Spike watched Buffy put on her ‘innocent’ face and charm her father with large pleading eyes and a pouty lip. He chuckled, causing Joyce to glance sideways at him though he never noticed. Buffy did that with him whenever she wanted something and it always worked. He could refuse her nothing when she looked at him like that, it was too bloody adorable.

“Where do you plan on going?” Joyce asked, glancing back and forth between the platinum blonde and her daughter.

“Spike and I want to go hiking at the state park while you’re both at work. I promise we’ll be back for dinner.” She looked back at her father. “Or we could pick you up from work? Pleeeeeeeease, daddy?”

Hank sighed heavily with a look on his face that made it clear to Spike ‘daddy’s little girl’ still had him wrapped around her little finger.

“Alright, alright. You can stop batting your eyelashes, sweetheart. You win.”

“Thank you, daddy.” She kissed his cheek and smiled brightly with her hand held out as he stood and reached inside his pocket for his keys. But instead of him handing them over, he quickly tossed them towards Spike, who shot out his hand to catch them in time. “I’d feel safer knowing Spike was behind the wheel. You forget I know your driving skills.”

“Uhh! This is so unfair,” she muttered to herself. “My driving has so improved sinc-”

Spike interrupted her. “No worries, Hank. I’ll get us there and back in one piece.”

He nodded then announced, “Well, I’m heading for the den. I have some paperwork to catch up on for work. And don’t worry, I’ll have Joyce pick me up from work. You two go have fun.”

Joyce waited until he left the kitchen before retrieving her purse, setting it on the island between herself and Buffy and rummaged through it. “Here’s a hundred dollars.” She placed the money in front of her.

“Did you need us to pick something up for you, mom?”

“No. It’s for you two.” She winked.

“Okaaaay, not trying to sound ungrateful here, but Spike and I do make our own money. You don’t have to do that.” Her mother shook her head, picked up the wad of folded bills and turned around to shove it into a reluctant Spike’s hands.

“It’s for a hotel.” She rolled her eyes. “Hiking indeed!”

“Mom,” she cried in a hushed tone. “We wouldn’t... that’s not why I asked-”

“Buffy. I’m your mother... not ignorant. I was young once too you know and remember EXACTLY what was on my mind. Besides.” She shrugged. “What I’m giving you is less than what your father would wind up spending on getting any accidental... spills out of the cushions of his seats.”

“Oh my GOD!!!” She covered her face with both hands. “I so did NOT hear my own mother just say that.”

“Before I married your father, we used to borrow his mother’s car on the weekends and-”

“Blocking it out now, la-la-la-la-la.” The unbidden image her mind was conjuring was of the seriously disturbing variety... her parents, getting it on... ewwwww!

“-probably when you were conceived.”

Buffy had her fingers in her ears with her eyes screwed shut while Spike just stood there and smirked. He would have managed a blush, but it didn’t bother him in the least like it did his girl. Joyce was cool in his book.

It may seem like certain parts of the chapter are just pointless ramble, but, I can assure everyone that there is a purpose behind what I’ve written. So, for anyone who doesn’t guess the ‘secret’ ... go back and look for the clues. Some are obvious and upfront (at least I think so) while others are very subtle. Next chapter is the grand finale. I can’t say when I’ll be posting, but since the kiddies will be back in school soon, hopefully it won’t be long. Hope everyone enjoyed the laughs and have an awesome week. *Smooches.*

I intended for this to be the last chapter - I truly did - but with things being as busy as they have been for me lately and the fact the muse, yet again, went over the word limit, I decided to go ahead and post what I have up to a certain cut off point, because it has been so long since I’ve updated. So I apologize if it seems like I’m dragging it out. The next chapter is completed but I need a few days to polish it up properly and the chapter after that should be the final one... it has to end somewhere, I know.

I currently have guests from out of town this weekend (another Army wife I’ve been friends with for years that I turned into a spuffy reader, YAY), but will stay atop of answering reviews. For anyone following TE, I’m terribly sorry I haven’t updated that either – the muse has been uber fickle lately with it and I’ve scrapped three separate drafts already – it’s an important chapter in my mind and I’m just not happy with what I have at the moment. Thanks to Dusty273 for all her help with this one and especially for putting up with my muse’s mood lately (the little bastard hasn’t been very cooperative), smooches to you my friend.

Wednesday morning...

“Rise and shine, Summers.”

Buffy groaned upon hearing Spike’s Drill Sergeant tone of voice while wiggling her shoulder.

“Gotta two mile run this morning. Le’s go,” he barked.

“Oh God! Stop shaking me.” He only shook her harder. “I mean it, Spike, STOP!” She turned over to face him and he let go of her immediately.

“Christ, pet, are you okay?” His smile instantly turned to a frown over seeing her so deathly pale.

“I really don’t feel so good right now.”

“`M sorry, kitten.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “C`mere, sit up for a minute.” She shook her head but he insisted and helped her upright. “Do you think it was that wrap you ate last night?” He felt sick just seeing the guy make it, never mind the fact he couldn’t watch her eat it either.

“It’s gotta be.” She huffed. “God, that was stupid of me... but it sounded so good at the time.” He started rubbing her back in circles, his beautiful blue eyes so full of concern it drew a smile from her.

“How `bout some breakfast? Some toast to soak up the acid in your stomach, yeah?”

“Okay, Dr. Speichart.” She rolled her eyes teasingly at him.

“`M serious, Buffy. It should help.”

“I know-I know just... give me a minute. I don’t want to move right now.”

“Okay.” Inching his body closer to hers, he gently held her waist and checked her head to be sure she wasn’t running a fever. “How `bout you lay back down? I’ll go look `round your mum’s kitchen, rustle something up for you, yeah?” She leaned into his touch and nodded.

He helped her back under the covers then went downstairs.

“Mornin’, Joyce... Hank.” He nodded to each of her parents.

“Good morning, dear.” She went over and ruffled the hair on the top of his head before he could duck out of the way.

He shot her a smile as he went for the coffee maker then asked, “Could you tell me where the bread is, luv? I need to make some toast for Buffy.”

“Why? Isn’t she coming down for breakfast?” He shook his head at her.

“She’s not feelin’ too good. Lookin’ right pale matter of fact though she doesn’ seem to have a fever. I told her to lie back down and I’d bring her somethin’ to neutralize the acidity.”

“Oh, I hope she’s alright.”

“`M sure she’s fine.” He waved it off like it was no big deal. “It was probably what she ate last night after dinner.”

“Oh? And what was that?”

She noted the expression on his face while telling her the contents of the ‘bloody disgustin’ wrap’ Buffy had eaten when they were in town. Cocking a skeptical eyebrow at him, she stated rather than asked, “Really?” When he offered her a clueless shrug of his shoulders, she smiled sweetly and patted his shoulder. “Why don’t you sit down and drink your coffee. I’ll fix her something then you can take it to her. Oh, and before I forget, I’ll be taking Hank to work every morning so you kids can have the car whenever you’d like.”

“Tha’s very thoughtful, but we wouldn’ wanna inconvenience either of you.”

“It’s no problem, Spike. No need to be stuck here at the house everyday,” Hank added for good measure.

“Thank you both, we really appreciate it.”

“And Spike? I want to invite you to come out tonight and play cards with me and the guys. I could use a good partner.”

“Sounds like fun, jus’ hope Buffy don’ mind too much.”

“Bah! If she’s still sick, she has her mother to take care of her. She’ll be in good hands, right Joyce?” He looked to his wife who nodded.

“Go on, William.” She reassured. “I’ll be here in the event she’s still feeling ill.”

A few minutes later and Joyce prepared a tray, covering the food with aluminum wrap to keep it warm. “There’s enough here for both of you dear. Eggs sunny-side up, toast and corned-beef hash. Be sure Buffy eats at least a bite of each, alright?”

Spike found the way she was smiling at him odd, but dismissed it just as quickly and agreed before the three said their goodbyes and the older couple left the house for work.

“You awake, kitten?” He rapped his knuckles against the door while balancing the tray on one hand.

“Yeah,” she moaned before rolling over to sit upright.

He sat down on the bed, placing the tray beside her hip. “Here. Your mum insisted you eat somethin’ besides jus’ toast.”

The smell hit her before the sight of it had the chance to do a number on her intestinal fortitude.

After removing the tinfoil from the plate, he watched Buffy slap a hand over her mouth whilst turning a putrid shade of green. She all but pushed him off the bed in her attempt to bolt from the room, apparently heading towards the bathroom to be sick.

Looks like they weren’t going on that morning run after all or for any hike in the park. Poor thing! Well, far be it from him to let a good meal go to waste. Picking the fork up, he tucked in just as Buffy was re-entering her room.

“Oh God!” She came back just in time to see Spike stuff his face with a huge bite of egg, the runny yellow-orange of the yolk dribbling down his chin by accident. Her cheeks puffed and lips pursed in reflex. “I think I’m gonna be sick again.”

~~~*~~~

Later that same day...

Though Spike didn’t think it was a good idea for Buffy to go anywhere, she insisted she felt much better and conned him into going to the mall with her.

“I just need a couple of new brassieres. You don’t have to come in with me if you don’t want to,” she explained, but of course he gave her the devious eyebrow waggle.

“Think I’ll follow you anyway, pet. If memory serves me correct, you also need some new nighties. `M thinkin’ somethin’ in a nice shade of blue?”

Propping one hand on her hip, she reminded him, “I wouldn’t need anything new if you’d stop ripping my lingerie to shreds like a kid on Christmas.”

“Oi!” He grabbed her hand and led her into Victoria’s Secret. “`S always a gift seein’ you walk `round in somethin’ frilly. `Sides. Tha’s the fun part with any present... tearin’ away the pretty wrappin’ paper.”

“Uhh! You’re impossible.” He chuckled at her.

“You’re jus’ realizin’ that now?”

“Good point.” Letting go of his hand, she thought it best to get rid of him for awhile. “Why don’t you go... pick something out while I get what I need? It’ll just take me a few minutes.” As it was, his eyes were already focusing in on a display of the new spring line.

“Okay, pet.” She kissed his cheek and bounded off, leaving him to drool over all the sexy new choices he had in front of him to make.

Spike took his time, knowing her better than she did herself and that she’d be more than a few minutes. Pushing the hangers aside, he started picking his new ‘prezzies’ out with enthusiasm. White? Negative. Pink? Got some already. Black? Always a good choice. Ah! Here we are... pale blue. Mmmmm, goes with my eyes. After selecting half a dozen outfits he was hard just thinking about seeing her in, his eyes went in search of his girl.

There she is. As suspected, she was still busy shopping. He leaned against the wall and just observed her for a few moments while she chatted away with a sales lady. Nostalgia took over; bringing back the memory of when he’d first followed her around at the Victoria’s in NY. Bloody hell, he’d been a right bastard towards her back then.

Even though they’d been living together for months now, there were days - like today - he still couldn’t get over the fact she loved him. Lord knows he wasn’t the easiest person to get along with but she managed it, and him, with ease and a sassy brand of grace that was hers alone. As he watched her giggling away with the other bird, her hands held out in front of her breasts apparently discussing whatever size and type of bra she wanted, he couldn’t help but think how radiant she looked. Of course she always did, but for whatever reason, she looked especially radiant today. She turned her head in his direction, catching his eye and gave him a warm, sort of shy smile with a hint of blush staining her cheeks before returning her attention back to the conversation she was having. In the span of those three seconds she’d spared him, he swore she practically glowed.

“Find a teddy you like?” she asked as soon as she walked up to him.

“Several.” He gave her a wink as he held them up but noted the frown marring her face. “Wha’s the matter, pet? You don’ like `em?”

“No. They’re fine. Just noticing that...” she trailed off, pondering exactly how to say it without embarrassing herself.

Now she was blushing profusely, piquing his naughty curiosity. “Noticin’ what?” He leaned in to whisper. “Come on now... tell Spike what dirty thoughts my kitten is havin’.” She lightly punched his shoulder.

“It’s not dirty; it’s just... awkward for me to say.”

“Go on.” Awkward?!?! Okay, now he wasn’t sure what she was thinking. Ever since he’d come back from the field, her temperament had been somewhat... different.

“I think... I-I think-” she lowered her voice even though there was no one else around them. “-I need a slightly larger size than what you’re used to buying me.”

“Really? Like what? A ‘small’ rather than ‘extra small?” he joked. Oh, he’d notice her lovely curves seemed slightly more rounded these days but hadn’t breathed a word knowing how sensitive she was about her weight. Personally, he loved how it looked on her, so of course he wasn’t going to say anything that would prompt her to start dieting or exercising more to get rid of it. Her frame was so petite that in his opinion, she could stand to gain twenty more pounds and it would look amazing on her. “Hmmmm,” he purred, leaning his forehead against hers. “I think you should take these in the dressin’ room... try them on and let me be the judge.”

He had that wicked gleam in his eyes while sneaking a finger inside the gap between the buttons of her shirt to lightly tease the underside of her breast. She couldn’t help the tiny groan that escaped her lips from both the contact and the covert meaning behind his suggestion. He got off, quite literally, on the thrill of having sex in places where the prospect of getting caught was high. More often than not he had a hard time convincing her, but perhaps... why not? She found herself suddenly ‘in the mood’ and knew without a doubt he was willing.

He was flabbergasted when she tilted her head up, placed her lips next to his ear and rubbed her palm over his crotch.

“Come with me.” His eyes blinked in a double take of surprise when she stepped away, crooking her finger in an invitation to follow her. Like a dutiful dog, he obeyed, following her with a comical, mesmerized look on his face like a robot that had no choice as his feet mechanically carried him forward.

Oh, I will, luv. I will. He didn’t expect this type of reaction from her. Usually, he had to pull every seductive trick he knew out of his hat in order to persuade her, so the sexy wink she gave him had him suspicious because this seemed almost too easy. Sod it! He was always ‘up’ for some public hanky panky, so if she was, he was going to shag her rotten before she changed her mind.

Spike waited just outside the door, listening with anticipation to the sounds of her getting out of her clothes and then into the blue number he’d chosen as his favorite. Seconds later, she poked her head out the door and looked around before grabbing his wrist and yanking him inside the five by five room.

Sold was the first thought that ran through his mind as she pirouetted on her toes for him. She looked like a goddess, stole his breath away and made him impossibly hard. Her breasts were practically spilling out of the lacy material, and the stretchy nylon and spandex blend was a perfect fit on his kitten.

“Pretty,” he whispered huskily then stepped up to fold his arms about her waist and fondle her lovely bum, enjoying the fact he could watch himself do it in the mirror that was mounted on the wall behind her. Hmmm... Mirror! “I have an idea, kitten.”

“You always do,” she giggled.

“Can you blame me?” He stepped back and smirked, watching her expression turn lustful when he unzipped his pants, allowing his erection to spring forth before settling down in the armless sitting chair. “Why don’ you bring yourself over here and sit on daddy’s...” he wrapped his fingers around his shaft and began stroking it. “Lap?”

She stuck her finger in the corner of her mouth, looking scolded. “Have I been a naughty girl?” He shook his head, chuckling evilly as he corrected the misunderstanding.

“Not naughty enough!” The second she was within reach, he abandoned his cock, grabbed her waist and dragged her forward to straddle his thighs. “Mmmm, nice.” He ran his hands lovingly all over her bottom, appreciating the reflection of what he was doing before fisting his hand in the material of the crotch and pulled it aside. “Very nice,” he purred, sliding a finger inside her slick channel up to the first knuckle, pumping it in and out a few times before adding a second finger to scissor them back and forth, earning him those sweet kittenish mewls of hers he loved so much.

She placed a hand on his shoulder for support when her legs began to tremble. “That’s enough teasing, Mister.” She bent her knees, poising herself over his manhood while her other hand grasped the base to steady it.

He let out a low growl when she fixed him with those sultry green eyes of hers and the steamiest look he’d ever seen before sinking her hot little body down on his. His jaw went slack and he watched in awe as she kept her eyes glued to his, rising and falling over his thick length, sucking him inside her luxurious heat, over and over in a slow torturous rhythm. She looked absolutely drunk from the feminine power she wielded over him and bloody hell if she didn’t have every right to... she knew she owned him, body and soul.

She pulled his head to one side so his line of sight to the mirror wasn’t blocked and whispered, “Tell me what you see, baby.”

“Arghh!” She bit down on the delicate skin covering his pulse point then quickly covered his mouth to ‘hush’ him. God help her but she was going to earn herself a harsh fucking if she kept up this rough play.

“Sshhh. If you’re too loud, we’ll have to stop.” Removing her hand, she leaned back and rotated her hips in lazy circles, quietly sighing out her pleasure.

His eyes rolled up in his head at the sensation and he grabbed her hips. “Too late for that, pet.” From over her shoulder, he watched her start bouncing up and down on his lap. He enjoyed the view immensely but thought it unfair he was the only one able to watch the performance.

“Hey! What-”

“Turnin’ you around, pet,” he answered before she completed the question. Lifting her off his lap, he rotated her body and situated her back against his chest while simultaneously pushing himself back inside her lush depths.

“Oh God,” she whispered, shivering as goose bumps spread everywhere in response to seeing him slide smoothly between the petals of her sex. His length glistened brightly with her juices under the fluorescent lighting and she watched in fascination as he moved his first two fingers to form a ‘V’ where they were joined, opening her up even more while tweaking one of her nipples with his other hand. He settled his chin in the hollow of her neck, bringing them cheek to cheek so he could watch alongside of her in the mirror, his lips mouthing a gratifying declaration of ‘oh shit’ before shifting his gaze to her face and smirking.

“Such a greedy li’l pussy.”

“Can you blame me?” she used his own words against him.

“Uh-uh.”

“Cuz if-”

“Jus’ shut up and fuck me, kitten.” Encircling her waist tightly, he raised her up and pulled her none-to-gently back onto his erection, being mindful to cover her mouth, anticipating the scream that left her lips from this harsh action. He did this a few more times, grunting his own satisfaction then abruptly shoved her off his lap. “Place your hands on the mirror,” he ordered gruffly, pushing her towards the looking glass.

“Unghh... Spike.” He hurriedly situated her in a submissive position, pulling her hips back to bend her waist at forty five degree angle in perfect line for his waiting cock. His eyes turned stormy as he trained them on the reflection of hers and she had to bite her lip when he thrust himself sharply back inside. If this was the result of having spontaneous sex in a public place, maybe they should do it more often. To see him like this, watch him get lost in the moment, in her was such a huge turn on she knew it wouldn’t be long before she came. Her eyes were darting everywhere at once, trying to take it all in, catching a glimpse of the powerful muscles in his thighs as he roughly drove himself in and out of her then glancing up in time to see the pure and undiluted expression of ecstasy written all over his face.

Snaking a possessive hand down her belly, he used two fingers to stimulate her clit. He placed the palm of the other hand over her mouth as before and whispered his warning. “Brace yourself.” He bared his teeth a split second before biting the corded muscle of her neck, pistoning his cock in and out of her at a brutal and unrelenting pace.

The mixed sensations of pain and pleasure triggered the fluttering of her passage. The ache of her need balled itself deep within her womb and her muffled moans grew louder along with the wet sucking noise of their flesh coming together as he mercilessly pounded her from behind. He released her neck, but only to fill her ear with dirty commands of what he wanted from her.

“Tha’s it, pet... cum for Spike.” Her walls were swiftly clamping down on his member in a strangling hold, causing his balls to constrict. “You love gettin’ fucked by me, don’t you?” She nodded into his hand, her eyes struggling to remain open and fixed on his. He pulled her head to rest against his shoulder and told her, “Don’ hold back, pigeon... I know you can take it harder than this.” He gave her a particularly harsh thrust. “Come on, Buffy, fuck me back... squeeze my cock, baby, make me yours... and make me cum.” Christ she was fucking beautiful at the peak of her passion as she exploded around him in a rush of warm juices. “Tha’s my girl.” With one final thrust, he shoved her body flush to the cold surface of the mirror and ground his hips into the soft flesh of her bottom as he unloaded his lust deep inside her.

“Oh-God, Oh-God, Oh-God,” she panted as quietly as possible now that he’d removed his hand from her mouth. He chuckled against her back then kissed the side of her head.

“We’re definitely buying this nightie.”

“Ewww, I’d say so after... after THAT!” Whether or not it fit was beside the point since they basically just defiled the expensive, yet tiny scrap of material.

He helped her redress since she was weak in the knees but before they left the dressing room, he pulled her in for a quick kiss. “Mmmm, don’ know what got into you, luv.” Cocking his head thoughtfully, he continued, “Well, actually I do.” He bucked his hips against her. “But I love when you’re so hot for me you’ll do it anywhere.” She surprised him by attacking his mouth and wrapping her leg around his hip, rubbing herself against his already sated cock. He kissed her back, encouraged her, loving this new yet bewildering behavior of hers though he couldn’t get hard again right now if his life depended on it.

“We’ve got some time before mom and dad get home,” she sighed after breaking the kiss. “Let’s say we finally use mom’s hundred dollars and get a hotel room for a few hours.”

He pulled back to see a drugged look of lust in her eyes and shook his head in confusion. “You aren’ serious... are you?” She nodded, still moving against his body as if she hadn’t just got herself shagged good and proper. “Chris’, luv! I think there needs to be two of me.”

“Mmmmm, there’s a thought. Twins! I wonder what sort of wicked pleasure I could have being sandwiched between two of you.”

“Ya know,” he started while trying to pry her off him. “I WOULD be jealous of you talkin’ that way if it weren’ for the fact I know how hard you came a minute ago.” She pouted adorably as he held her at bay from attacking him further. “But, I’ve another idea. If...”

“If?” She raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

“If you’re open to somethin’ new?”

“Always. You know I trust you.”

Okay, so she seriously had his wheels spinning in a new and decidedly twisted direction. One he wasn’t so sure she’d be into but this sudden... ‘zest’ for sex of hers had him wanting to push the boundaries a bit, go beyond anything even he’d ever tried. Shoot, if she agreed, hopefully it would wear her out before she made the skin on his dick so raw he wouldn’t be able to hold it while taking a leak.

“Le’s go find ourselves an adult store. I’ve a toy in mind that might... help in simulatin’ there bein’ two of me.”

“Really?” Confusion city here, but of course she was intrigued. “How is that possible, or rather, what type of toy?”

Now he was getting excited again. He just prayed she wouldn’t shut down at the mere suggestion since he hadn’t gone anywhere near the, uhmm... intended zip code of one of his darker fantasies involving her luscious body. Right then, time to pour on the charm to convince her and buy himself some much needed recovery time. “Come here, pet.” She did so willingly. “Ever heard `f the acronym ‘DP’?”

“Uhmm, Defense Program?” she offered.

He chuckled at this and shook his head, bloody adorable. “Le’s jus’ say if there WERE two of me, I know EXACTLY what it is we’d want to do to you.” Or rather how, he wanted to ‘do’ her. Raising her skirt, he cupped her mound while his other hand wandered back to fondle her bum. “Think you can handle hearin’ what I’d... what we’d love to do to you, Summers?”

“You, ohhhhh... both... have my undivided attention.” Wow! She was so ready to go at it again and more than curious to hear what this ‘DP’ meant. And the mention of toys? Not that she was opposed, not at all; she just wondered why he’d never suggested it before. God she loved this man.

“The other me would loooooooove to stuff that pretty li’l pussy of yours with a dildo, while ‘I’...” He slid the index finger of the hand on her bottom over her puckered rose, pressing it firmly through her knickers. “Get to fuck this precious hole. The acronym means... double penetration.” He watched her eyes go wide and he desperately didn’t want to lose her to the idea so he quickly added, “Nothin’ to worry `bout. We’ll take our time... use some oil.” She looked doubtful but she hadn’t said ‘no’. “Promise I’ll make it so good for you, baby. Please? Been wantin’ to take you here for so long.” He started rubbing the area he desired to de-virginize while slipping a finger beneath her panties to tease along the cleft of her womanhood.

“Y-you have?” He responded with a sultry ‘oh yeah’. Sure, she knew about...about that kind of sex, but she never guessed he wanted to try it since he hadn’t brought the subject up... until now. “Have you done this before?”

“No.” She gave him a skeptical look. `Course she would. Buffy was a very willing and adventurous partner and probably thought that was the norm for every other woman.

“Really?” With his strong sex drive? “What about your ex-wives?”

“`S not like I never asked,” he shrugged. “They jus’ never said yes.” She still looked doubtful.

Huh!!! It was a hard concept to grasp but he certainly had no reason nor did she believe he’d lie to her about anything. Granted it was a situation that needed all the trust in the world between partners, but Spike was an incredibly thoughtful lover and his track record of performance? She hated arrogance in every form, but even she had to admit that he had every right to boast and brag. And wow, to think they would be experiencing a ‘first’ anything... together? No way could she say no to that. And her trust in him thus far had always produced amazing results in the sexual arena. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, well, unless she asked him to.

He stood there watching her think it over before concluding even his girl had her limits. “`S alright if you don’ want to, kitten. Forget I asked. I don’ expec-”

“Yes.” She interrupted him, forgetting he was even waiting for an answer she was so engrossed in her own musings. His eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head, forcing her to giggle.

“Really?” He gave her a chance to back out.

“Yes. Really.”

“Le’s go... right now.” Hotel bound indeed after finding what they needed.

~~~*~~~

Saturday afternoon... the picnic

“Did you have to invite her?” Buffy complained, directing a finger at Cordelia.

“She’s your cousin,” Joyce stated flatly. “I couldn’t very well invite your Aunt and Uncle without inviting her too, now could I?” Her daughter huffed in response.

“I guess.” Of course Joyce came back with the predictable ‘mom’ comment.

“You choose your friends, Buffy, not your family.”

“Unfortunately,” she muttered under her breath.

“Who’re you talkin’ `bout?” Spike asked, staring at the anorexic brunette Buffy had pointed towards. His girl leaned in to whisper.

“That would be Cordelia ‘come-fuck-me-I’m-a-slut’ Chase.” He nodded in total understanding.

“Language, young lady,” Joyce scolded sternly, having heard every word.

“It’s the truth.”

“You should thank her like I thanked Angel, pet.” That got her giggling but of course earned him a curious stare from her mother.

“I don’t agree with what she did, but you have to admit things worked out for the better as a result. You discovered Angel for what he really is and landed yourself a MUCH better boyfriend.”

Spike actually blushed. “Thanks, luv.” Joyce pinched his cheek while Buffy wrapped her arms around his waist, chiming in her agreement.

Hank came walking up to them, breaking into their conversation to ask Spike, “Would you mind watching the grill for a few minutes? I need to go inside and make more hamburger patties. It shouldn’t take long.”

“No problem. Be happy to.”

He took the spatula from Hank and kissed both Summers women on the cheek before heading across the yard to tend the food currently cooking over an open flame.

Buffy was busy picking away at her plate of potato salad after her mother followed Hank into the house to help when another relative came up to say hi.

The two embraced and proceeded to get caught up on their separate lives as well as the latest family gossip. Meanwhile, Spike had an interesting dilemma on his hands to deal with... one involving a very flirtatious cousin who obviously needed a lesson in manners.

“So you must be a friend of Hank and Joyce’s?” Cordelia asked, wearing her best smile for the drool-worthy stranger.

“Tha’s right.” Inside, he secretly wished the stupid bint would go away, but the vibes she was sending not only made it plain she wasn’t going to, but also just exactly what it was she was up to. Had she even seen his interaction with Buffy? Did she not know he was her boyfriend? He rolled his eyes internally at her senseless prattle, trying his hardest to be polite but curt in his replies to discourage her efforts. She was rambling on about none other than herself, trying to impress him with her ‘near status’ of becoming a model while taking tiny bites of the celery on her plate.

“God, would you look at Buffy? I mean, ewww!”

That got his attention in a hurry. “What do you mean?” he asked defensively, but the trollop missed his tone of voice completely in lieu of her assessment of his girl.

“She used to be so thin and now look at her. Pigging out like that? Ewww! She’s gotten so-so... fat.”

The bulimic bint’s audacity instantly made his blood boil. His Buffy was not only twice as beautiful as this chit thought herself to be, but was ten times healthier in physical appearance and mentally capacity as well. He eyed Buffy who was happily eating away while contemplating putting her cousin in her place. But no, he would play nice. It was a family picnic after all. Buuuut, maybe he could, if the right door of opportunity suddenly swung itself open?

“I dunno `bout that. She looks fit to me.” Cordelia looked at him like he was crazy, confirming his decision to stick with his gut instinct and not mention Buffy was his girlfriend, just to see what and exactly how much the daft bird would say.

“Are you kidding?” She rolled her eyes. “It’s joining the Army that ruined her, you know. Tha’s why she lost her boyfriend.”

Really!!! If she only knew! “So you’re sayin’ that because she chose to serve her country, her boyfriend couldn’ respect that and dumped her?”

“Yes and no.” She laughed, thinking herself clever. “She left... he got bored. But what does it matter? Apparently she found herself some,” she waved her hand about. “Infantry guy or... whatever she’s dating these days.”

“And where’s your boyfriend?” The way she said ‘Infantryman’ with such disdain made him want to slap the unpatriotic bony-assed bitch. And he’d never, ever even contemplated hitting a woman under any circumstances.

“Me? Oh,” she moved a little closer and let her arm brush up against his. “I don’t have one... at least not yet.”

“`M sure you’ll find someone.” He dismissed her with a nod and turned away to busy himself with the grill, looking as disinterested as he felt while trying like hell to contain his anger.

“Maybe... I already have.” She moved right into his personal space, batting her eyelashes once she regained his attention, making it perfectly clear she found him worthy of her time.

Buffy’s voice echoed in his head to describe Cordelia’s ‘act’ for what it was... ho much? Guess his girl was right. Cordelia ‘come-fuck-me-I’m-a-slut’ Chase accurately summed it up. She smiled ‘the smile’ that suggested she had no doubt he would be accepting her invitation.

Silly bint! He was in a rather unique position, a perfect position to make her privy to the fact he wouldn’t touch her if she were slathered in ranch dressing while holding a platter of spicy Buffalo wings in one hand and a pitcher of beer in the other. His eyes immediately drifted back to the beautiful image of his Buffy, but this time, the image he saw was one of a jealous Buffy, burning a hole through her scrawny cousin with the fire he loved so much dancing in her gorgeous green eyes. He waited until she looked in his direction then gave her two very distinct signals of reassurance.

Erghhhh! Testosterone, estrogen, adrenaline, whatever it was surging through Buffy’s veins right now, she had the single mindedness of a bull focused on the matador’s muleta.

“Buffy? Something wrong?” Hank asked after coming out of the house and seeing the angry expression on her face. When looking in the direction of his daughter’s stare, however, it became all too clear as to the cause. “Looks like cousin Cordelia is trying to move in on your territory.”

The sound of her father’s voice never registered. Buffy was too busy weighing her options as to what she’d like to do to versus dealing with the aftermath of the scene she knew it would cause in front of her family. When she took a second to look at Spike, she caught the meaningful wink he sent her way and read his lips perfectly as he mouthed ‘I love you’. And though it took all her will power, she forced herself to relax. Her trust in him was unshakeable but she decided to make her way over there to keep careful watch over Cordelia’s anyway. Spike would handle her ho-bag of a cousin, of this she was sure, but if Cordy touched him just one more time, even with her elbow like she had earlier... the bitch was going down.

“Care for somethin’ fresh? And... hot?” Spike asked Cordelia, punctuating the question so she wouldn’t miss the sexual connotation even while indicating the food he was currently pulling off the grill as it finished cooking.

“Hmmm.” Yummy! “Normally I stick with vegetables at these family functions, but a girl could always-” She licked her lips while casting a glance at his crotch. “Use more protein in her diet.”

Bloody perfect! He promptly plucked up about five, extra greasy pork links with a pair of tongs and plopped them unceremoniously onto her plate. “I do believe you’re right. You could use more protein. A lot more in fact.” The outraged look on her snobby face was priceless. “Do yourself a favor...” He spied Buffy coming up behind Cordelia and grinned like the devil himself. “And clean your plate cuz the way your spine is showin’ through your ribcage?” He shook his head as if saddened and held out an arm for Buffy - who came out of nowhere in her cousin’s mind - to nestle against his side, further horrifying Cordelia’s embarrassment. “Bloody unattractive.”

“May I have one, honey?” Buffy pointed towards the sausage and ignored her cousin as if she weren’t even standing there. Spike served her what she asked for then kissed her lips tenderly. “Thank you,” she whispered.

“My pleasure, kitten.”

Cordelia was still stunned from the rejection, couldn’t even speak. It was apparent she’d purposely been played for a fool by this guy, and-and since when did any man turn her down? Ever? Even if they had a girlfriend?

All three watched Hank and Joyce approach slowly with their arms full of raw meat. “`M gonna go help, pet.” He left the two women by themselves, wondering what Buffy was going to say. There was no way his girl could keep her pretty lips sealed from making some form of sassy remark. He chuckled, making a mental note to ask her later.

Waiting until he was out of earshot, she turned to Cordelia with a bright smile. “You should see him naked.” She made a show of taking a huge bite of food, purposefully chewing with her mouth open when adding, “I mean really.”


Yes, *blushes*, I do have a thing for mirrors. But can you blame me when it’s Spike? I didn’t write the hotel scene because although back door sex doesn’t bother me in the least, I realize some people just don’t care for reading it. As for the big reveal of what probably isn’t so secret anymore – well, you’ll get it in the next chapter along with another little surprise I’ve held up my sleeve, *winks*. As far as Cordy goes – I simply felt the evil need to write her come-uppance. I really hope everyone enjoyed the read. I’ll be updating again sometime this next week, that’s a promise. Have a super-fabulous weekend, *hugs*.

I would have posted sooner in the week, but... So I wasn’t going to write the hotel scene and then I suddenly got swamped with several reviews from readers saying they wanted it. So if you can deal with a flashback, I’ve written it as the very last scene in the chapter – that’s a warning for those with more delicate sensibilities if you wish to avoid reading it. It was mag-rose’s review, however, that changed my mind (thank you sweety). She’s absolutely right, since when have I bothered holding back from writing a sex scene? Hopefully I’ve made up for it though in the kink ahead. The picture contained in the chapter is just a random public photo provided to me by my friend vampsgirly - my twisted sense of humor simply couldn't resist using it. Enjoy the chapter, *winks*. Thanks goes to Dusty273 and Beasleysmom for their help - hugs.

Hank and Joyce both thanked Spike for his assistance, but refused to let him help any further, saying to just relax and enjoy the picnic. He was grateful, because the moment the Cordelia incident was over, he knew the time was right and immediately went back to see Buffy.

“Care to take a walk with me, pet? Not far, jus’ somewhere a li’l more private for a mo’.”

“Uhmm, sure.” It was an odd request, but whatever.

Taking her plate and setting it aside, he wrapped an arm about her waist, intending to take her to the tree house, away from the hustle and bustle of the guests where they could talk. Once they passed the shed however, Buffy let out a high pitched squeak then sprinted away from him.

Oh-my-God! “SPIKE!!!”

“Yeah, luv?” Curious as to the source of her sudden outburst, he approached her from behind while she answered him with a unique question.

“Didn’t the Army teach you how to cover your tracks?” He came back with a clueless ‘huh’, but began chuckling after seeing for himself what she was stressing over. “Well?” Looking at him, he had a rather proud sort of look on his face.

He surveyed his handiwork from a few nights ago and gave his cocky opinion. “Those aren’ tracks, luv. Tha’s art in motion.” Her immediate response was to gasp and slap his shoulder before giggling herself.


































































“There you are,” Hank said, currently making his way towards the young couple.

“Eeeep!” Buffy made a one eighty and hopped up to sit on the hood of her father’s junker, hoping to hide the evidence of her dusty endeavors. “Hi, daddy.” Spike had a shit eating grin on his face, both thumbs hooked through his belt loop. Jerk! He was getting a kick out of this rather than help her conceal proof positive he’d shagged her.

“Your Aunt Bernice just arrived and asked where you were.”

The closer he got the further Buffy leaned back, her hands on either side of her, directly over her original prints.

“What are you doing back here?” he asked curiously. His daughter had that ‘guilty’ sort of look, the same one she always wore in high school when she’d been up to no good.

“N-nothing. We just came back here to talk for a minute... right, Spike?” The closer he came she knew he’d see, so as nonchalantly as possible, she scooted further back and moved both hands in a snow angel pattern like she was bored, praying to the God she’d smeared the ‘stamp’ of her breasts.

“Tha’s right.” When Hank looked his way, Spike patted his front pocket with his fingers, earning him a wink from the older man.

“No rush then. I’ll tell her you’ll come see her in a few minutes.”

“Oh? I-I-I mean, okay, daddy.” Well he’s acting... strange! At least he walked away so she could release the nervous breath she’d been holding and to give her boyfriend a good swatting. “You could have sat on the hood with me, you know.”

“I could’ve... but it was far more bloody amusin’ to watch you squirm.” Now she looked annoyed so he dropped his wicked smile.

“Anyway... what DID you bring me back here for besides a near heart attack from the ultimate humiliation?”

Like something out of a movie, he spun around on one heel to stand directly in front of her. Pulling his hands away from his crotch, he penned her body in and curled his tongue behind his teeth, his lips inching closer and closer until he was a hair’s breath away from kissing her. She would have laughed, but he looked so damn sexy doing it. Just as she leaned in to get that kiss, he dropped a bomb on her.

“Be my wife.”

Rearing back as if slapped, she had to be sure she didn’t just have an auditory hallucination. “Did you... are-”

“You heard me, Summers.................. be my wife.” He grinned at her. It was in the bag.

He did the head tilt thing, making her weak in the knees and-and, he wants to get married? To me?!?! “Spike... I-I...” can’t form a sentence to save my sorry ass apparently.

“Come on now... you know you want to.” The shock on her face and loss for words were so bloody adorable. No way was he ever going to let this woman go, he’d known that long before she’d ever set foot in his apartment. He brought his hand to the back of her head, pulled her face close to his and whispered. “Be my wife, Buffy.”

“I-mmph.” WOW! His kiss was electric, and they’d shared many, many kisses. But this one tasted of determination, of a self assured man who wasn’t going to take no for an answer. She melted right into that kiss, too, savored his resolve, got lost in it, so much so that when he pulled away; neither of them was prepared for what came out of her mouth. “Spike? I’m not so sure that’s a good idea, we haven’t even been... been together-together a year yet.” But it didn’t faze him in the least. His cocky grin came back full force.

“Doesn’ have to happen tomorrow. `Course if tha’s what my girl wants, I won’ deny her.”

“But-but... why?” Why?!?! She asked herself ‘why’ she was asking why when she should be happy, overjoyed, singing in the rain for God sakes.

“You’re the one,” he answered matter-of-factly.

The dreamy look in his eyes was mesmerizing. He really wanted this, really wanted her to be... Mrs. Buffy Speichart, her mind drifted down that path as it rolled so perfectly off the tongue of her inner voice... before she came back to reality. “But you’ve... I just never thought you’d want to, you know, get married again. You’ve done this before... twice! Spike, I don’t EXPECT you to ask me. I never have. I wouldn’t put that sort of pressure on you.” Her voice softened as she touched her fingertips to his cheek. “I’m happy. Just being with you. You don’t need to do this.” And his expression still hadn’t changed, he didn’t even bat an eyelash he was so sure of himself.

“I know. `S all the more reason why I love you,” he kissed her nose. “Want you,” he kissed her cheek. “Need you,” he kissed her lips. “So please... be my wife.”

“What makes you so sure I’d want to marry you?” Okay fine, she did, couldn’t help the smile that was twitching madly at the corners of her mouth and Damnit! He caught it and gave her a knowing grin.

“Call it intuition,” he smirked. “`Sides. Don’ really want to return this...” He pulled the box he had tucked away deep in his pocket and opened it for her. “Do you?”

“William! Oh God, it’s beautiful.” The platinum band held a solitaire, emerald cut diamond that looked well above a full carat in weight.

“Bloody expensive, too. Nothin’ but the best for my girl.” Pulling it from the box, he held her left hand and brought the ring to her finger then paused. “Say yes...... and be my wife.” She nodded, happy tears forming in her eyes as he slipped it over her finger then hauled her into his arms. “Thank you, kitten.” For giving me the chance I didn’t deserve, he thought. Yes, she was definitely ‘the one’.

Hank and he had a great time playing poker the other night, but, as Spike suspected, Buffy’s father had an ulterior motive behind asking him to come. Once they were in the car and alone, they had ‘the talk’ that every father has with the man he assumed would one day become his son-in-law. And Spike was fine with discussing it, elated as a matter of fact because he’d purchased the engagement ring shortly before going to the field and was only waiting until they were here so he could ask for Hank’s blessing. His future father-in-law was only too happy to give it, saying he was glad his daughter had rid herself of ‘that bloody git Angel’ - having adopted some of Spike’s British words - and had chosen someone more upstanding and loyal to be with. Any word of this to Joyce, however, would be kept between the two men until he’d given Hank the signal he was going to propose... with a pat to his pocket.

“Hold on a minute. Is that why my dad was acting so strange a minute ago? Didn’t wait for us to follow him? Did he KNOW you were going to ask? Does my mom know?” It would make sense out of her father’s behavior. Spike nodded and started chuckling again.

“Your Mum doesn’ know a thing but your Da had a li’l... CHAT with me the other night when we went out.”

“Oh God,” she groaned, just imagining what her dad might have said. “Please tell me he didn’t influence you to do this.” That wouldn’t make her very happy at all.

“Nah. I’d already bought the ring and was waitin’ to ask for his blessin’ when he started in on some... some story `bout a cow... and free milk?” His girl burst out laughing. Must be she knew the story. He’d followed the analogy alright; it just wasn’t the situation in their case.

“That sounds like my daddy.” Spike swooped in unexpectedly, kissing her thoroughly until her lips were swollen and red before finally pulling away to tell her in a low, husky voice.

“You know, pet? I kinda can’ wait to get back home.”

“O-oh?” She was still breathless and swooning from the passion he poured into her mouth. “Why is that? I thought you liked my parents.” God knows her parents were crazy about him. They’d taken to him right away and treated him as part of the family. It shouldn’t have surprised her though; her man certainly had ‘charm’.

“I do, very much so. But I gotta admit I get a bit jealous every time you talk to your da.”

“I don’t understand.”

Waggling his brows at her, he explained. “Call me selfish, but I like bein’ the only one with the title of... daddy.”

She froze... for a moment... then decided to hell with it. “Well that statement isn’t too far off the mark.” The opportune time to tell him had basically just presented itself. She almost giggled at his look of confusion, but held it in.

“Not sure I followed you `round that bend, luv.” And he really hadn’t.

“Seems you’ve recently earned yourself the official right to wear that title...” Grabbing his hand from around her waist, she maneuvered his palm over her stomach and whispered with emphasis on the word, “Daddy.” Now she held her breath. She’d been elated that he’d asked her to marry him, and all before he even knew she was pregnant, but would he be ready for this? For a child?

Daddy, daddy, daddy, his brain did a tap dance for all of three seconds before everything clicked into place as he stared at where his hand lay. Her moodiness, getting sick the other morning, her luscious curves filling out, the angelic glow to her beautiful face, her increased appetite lately for food and sex... “Bloody hell! `M gonna be a FATHER?!?!” He should have seen the signs when remembering Gunn’s wife being pregnant with the twins. The way Buffy nodded so shyly told him she was extremely nervous about his reaction. Well, he’d just have to show her what he thought of that.

She was lifted off the ground and spun around in circles till she thought she would puke while he laughed so hard he practically wept. Setting her down, he crushed her to his body in a fierce hug for a nano-second before releasing her as if burnt, checking her over like she was suddenly made of glass.

“Oh-God-are-you-alright? I didn’ hurt you, did I, pet?” She giggled at him as if amused.

“I’m not going to break, Spike. I’m fine... WE’RE fine.” He gasped and shook his head, eyes darting from her face to her belly and back several times before bringing her gently back into his embrace.

He stroked her hair and lower back, closed his eyes against the feel of her cheek nuzzling his. “We’re havin’ a baby,” he whispered and after she repeated the words, he pulled back to begin the game of twenty questions. “When did you know? How far along are you? Have you told your parents? I thought you were on the pill?” Now he was a nervous wreck, the thought of gaining a wife and becoming a father... all in less than five minutes? The feelings that were running through him were overwhelming and indescribable.

“Spike, honey, slow down.” He was literally trembling in her arms and as she gazed at him, she wondered why she hadn’t just told him right when he’d gotten home from the field. A broad range of emotions played across his face... wonderment, happiness, awe... love. But there was something that ran even deeper, something that didn’t have a name because it went beyond all of them that no language in the world could have hoped to capture in just one word. “How about I start from the beginning?”

Scooping her up from under her knees, he carried her towards the tree house so he could sit with her on his lap. “Out with it, Summers. All of it.”

“Okay,” she sighed, then proceeded to tell him everything. “Right after you left for the field, I was circling the calendar dates of our vacation and THAT’S when it dawned on me I was late... for my period. So I went to see Tara the next day and she had me take a pregnancy test to rule that out. Once it was confirmed I was pregnant, I made her promise to keep it to herself because I wanted you to be the first to know before anyone else.”

“So your Mum and Da DON’ know!”

“No. Tara is the only other person besides us and of course I immediately stopped taking the pill. She estimated the conception date, so as of right now, I’m probably about eight weeks along. When we get back, though, I’ll have to go through the proper medical channels and procedure of having a blood test so I can start receiving regular prenatal check ups and vitamins and... There’s something else, too. Something I... we need to make a decision on. Together I mean.”

“Oh? Wha’s that.” His fingers were busy making small circles over her abdomen. He was listening, but his mind was also on his child and busy imagining his girl getting bigger and whether he’d have a son or a daughter.

“Well, this will affect my job, in a manner of speaking, but more importantly us... as a family. So I need you to help me make an important decision. Do you think it would be better for us if I stayed in the Army? Or should I utilize chapter eight and, well... ‘chapter out’?” That got his attention off her stomach.

“Chapter eight?” He knew it had to do with pregnant female soldiers getting out of the service, but he wasn’t familiar with the specifics of the regulation.

“You mean to tell me there’s actually a government regulation you DON’T know about?” she teased while he defended himself by saying there were no woman in the Infantry, therefore he didn’t know much about it. “I’ll explain. Once it goes on my official medical record that I’m pregnant, I’m supposed to be counseled by my commander. At that time, I have to declare whether I want to remain on active duty or if I want to separate from the military using Chapter Eight. If I choose to chapter out, it’s considered an honorable discharge. If I don’t... I’ll be forced to serve the rest of my term agreement of six years.” He gave her a thoughtful look, but made his feelings clear.

“I won’ force you to get out if you wanna make this a career, but... I don’ like the idea that either of us could be deployed overseas or even both of us at the same time and our son not havin’ one of us around to care for him.” She jerked away from him with a questioning look.

“What makes you think we’re having a boy?”

“Cuz tha’s what I want... a son. Don’ worry, kitten. We can have a girl later.” He wrapped his arms around her a little tighter while she rolled her eyes at him.

“Don’t really see you having a choice as to what you get, Mister. Anyway, I’m glad you think that way because I’d prefer to get out. For the very reason you just stated.”

“Good.” The word came out like in a sigh of relief before he went back to grinning madly.

“Hey!” He grabbed her breasts with that mischievous look on his face. “What are y-”

“Can’ blame a bloke for wantin’ to play. It explains why they’re bigger. Oh yeeeeeah... the titty fairy has arrived. Plus, who am I to deny my kitten all the sex she seems to want these days?”

“Not right now!”

“Soon though,” he growled in her ear then pulled them both to stand. “Time to make an announcement to your parents... two of them.”

She watched him bounce up and down excitedly from all the good news he wanted to share then, amusingly enough, suddenly began beating on his chest Tarzan style.

“Yes! I. Am. The MAN. No, `m a BLOODY ANIMAL,” he screamed at the sky, proud of having knocked her up.

“Sshhh. You’re going to wind up drawing attention.” But he was too busy being happy and rambling as they walked.

“We’re goin’ to have to move now, pet. Four rooms won’ be `nough.” A huge nursery done in shades of blue is what he was picturing along with a crib, rocking chair, changing table...

“But, I love your place.” The apartment was cozy and special to her because it’s where they built their relationship.

“I will not have my wife and child living in cramped quarters. We’re movin’ and tha’s final.” No way could he let her have her way on this one. It wasn’t in the best interest of their family. Family... he was actually going to have his own family! Elated couldn’t begin to describe his happiness. As soon as they told her folks, he was going to ring up his father in NY to let him know he was going to be a grand-da. Tha’s somethin’ Ripper won’ be expectin’. They lived close enough to visit on the weekends and from day one, Rupert simply adored Buffy and her ability to keep his son in line, not to mention Spike had found someone again after declaring eternal bachelorhood. Still, Spike knew this would come as a shock... both his willingness to marry again and with a baby on the way? He could practically hear the old chap cleaning his glasses over the phone right now.

“But love grows big in small spaces,” she argued with a pout, but could tell he was putting his foot down on the issue.

“Then we’ll just have to make more babies and fill it up,” he reasoned and kissed the tip of her nose. “Yeah, kitten?” Lots and lots of babies!

~~~*~~~

They herded her parents into the house so they could tell them in private and naturally Joyce was ecstatic at the mere mention of Spike becoming her son-in-law while Hank was busy slapping his back and congratulating him, never having doubted that Buffy would say yes. Upon making their second announcement of yet a third addition to the family, Joyce was the first to speak up in a matter-of-fact fashion.

“I knew you were pregnant, Buffy.”

“You... you did?”

Her father shook his head, directing a light-hearted joke towards his daughter. “Just like your mother.”

“Hank Summers! I did not get pregnant by myself before we were married, thank you very much,” she scolded him.

He threw his hands up defensively but when Spike chuckled at his jest, Hank started another round of congratulatory pats to his back and engaged him in private conversation.

“Oh yes, I knew,” Joyce continued. “After Spike came down saying you were sick and then described your after dinner binge, well, let’s just say I tested my theory by making you a breakfast that had ME throwing up when I found out I was pregnant with you.”

“Mo-om, that’s just... cruel. If you suspected it then why didn’t you just ask me?”

“I could ask you why you didn’t just come and tell me, but seeing that even your fiancé didn’t know...” Then she hugged her daughter tight. “Oh, but it doesn’t matter. I’m so happy for you two. I’m not only getting the best son-in-law a mother could ask for but a grand-baby as well? We’re going to have fun planning two separate showers. Well, whenever you decide to set a wedding date that is.”

The two men were having some fun, teasing about the baby’s mother wearing combat boots when the glares of both women interrupted them. Spike cleared his throat and apologized.

“Sorry, kitten.”

“No you’re not. But you will be,” Buffy replied with a confident nod.

“Right then, ahem. SOOOO,” he clapped his hands together loudly and addressed Hank. “Shall we make a formal engagement announcement... to everyone here?”

“That’s a fine idea... son.”

“A-AHEM?” Both women stared down their respective partners. Looking clueless as men usually do, Joyce asked the obvious. “How about setting a date first?”

Spike turned to Buffy. “`S up to you, luv.”

Buffy didn’t seem to care when they tied the knot... until Spike insisted on marrying before the baby was born. No way was she going to wait so long that her walk down the aisle would be made as the Stay Puft Marshmallow Bride. So it didn’t take long to make the decision of coming back to California in two months time with Spike’s dad in tow while Joyce handled most of the arrangements.

~~~*~~~

It was late evening before the four of them had everything cleaned up after the picnic. Before heading up the stairs to go to bed, Joyce informed the young couple there was no point in having them sleep in separate rooms for the remainder of their vacation.

Feeling a little frisky, Buffy looked at Spike and gave him a suggestive wink, but the comment of their new sleeping arrangement she expected out of him never came. Instead he was staring off into space, a pensive expression creasing his brow.

“Spike?”

“Huh?” She broke into his thoughts over something that hadn’t occurred to him until now and that gave him cause for concern.

“Are you okay?”

“S’pose so, I jus’...”

“What’s wrong?”

“Jus’... a li’l scared.”

“Scared?” she asked, confused. “About what?”

“I wasn’ exactly gentle with you the last few times we had sex. Buffy!” he spoke her name sternly, realizing the far reaching consequences of what could have happened. “Why didn’ you tell me sooner? I bloody well could have, MAY have hurt the baby.”

“I’m fine... honest. Having sex won’t hurt the baby.” The deep frown of a man unconvinced stared back at her. “Tara said so.”

“The last thing I want `s to jeopardize your health or the baby’s development. No more rough sex until after the birth. `S that clear?” She conceded, but not without a pout of disappointment.

“Does this mean no, uhmm, s-sex... like we had recently? You know... a-at the hotel?”

Chuckling that she would stutter and blush over the subject, he answered, “Not until the doc gives us the go ahead, pet. Why?” Pulling her into his embrace, he rubbed his rapidly hardening member against her at the memory of that day. “You tellin’ me you’d like to try that again?”

Her blush deepened, her next words spoken hesitantly. “Only if you want to.”

“Damn right I do.” He pumped his hips against her and whispered, “You felt so good, looked so sexy... takin’ it like that.”

Her skin immediately began tingling all over, remembering what they’d done and the intense sensations it produced in her body. She closed her eyes against the feel of his hot breath in her ear whispering dirty things while the experience replayed itself in her minds eye.

At the hotel...

She came out of the shower wrapped in a white towel to find one very naked Spike, stretching his body lazily like a napping feline atop the bed covers, his sleek and powerful muscles rippling beneath pale, smooth skin. Upon seeing her, he propped himself on an elbow and bent one knee, giving her a sexy, devilish smirk Satan himself would be proud of while crooking a finger at her to join him.

That evil grin of his turned wicked as she came closer, making her leery. Could he at least have the decency to appear even a wee bit nervous over the act they were about to engage in? Lord knows her own anxiety stemmed from the fact that despite the basic mechanics, she had no clue how to even begin this-this... what it is they were going to try. She hoped he did because if... duh, Buffy, forget much? He’d told her long ago that from the first moment he knew he ‘wanted’ her back in Boot Camp up until the first time she’d graced his bed, he tried like hell to get his mind off her through the diversionary use of internet skin flicks and self abuse which, as he admitted, was ohhhhh, only every day! In a nutshell, the man had watched enough porn to make himself go legally blind, so it was likely he had more than just a concept of what to do.

“C`mere, luv.” He patted a spot next to him. “Daddy isn’ gonna hurt his girl.” Oh but her cheeks turned a vicious shade of red as she sat down all ladylike, crossing one knee over the other. Sidling up close to her, he ran a single finger down her chest, hooked it inside the towel and gently tugged until it fell away.

Swinging his legs over to plant his feet on the floor, he pulled her onto his lap so that she faced him, straddling his thighs with her knees bent and grounded on the bed for leverage. She tensed when eyeing the brown paper sack behind him of their recently purchased ‘goodies’, but when she brought her attention to the smoldering look in his eyes, she remembered the very reason why she’d agreed to this in the first place... because he wanted it. And there wasn’t anything she wouldn’t give him... in or out of the bedroom.

“Don’ be nervous, baby. Le’s start this off all nice and normal, yeah?”

“Alrig-ahh... Spike!” His hand snaked its way between their bodies to rub tantalizing circles around her clit. She moaned under his expert touch and let it wash away any remaining apprehension she may have had.

“Get my kitten worked up proper, all nice and wet... ready and achin’ to have me.”

Already there, she mused. As if what he said didn’t have the same effect on her body as what his fingers were currently doing?

He teased her nubbin while his mouth took turns suckling each of her nipples until she was positively writhing against him in desperate search of more and he could no longer deny either of them. “Raise up, pet.” As she did so, he grabbed his erection, gliding the throbbing head through her slippery folds, groaning through his next set of instructions. “Tell me you want me. Want my hard cock inside, fillin’ you.”

“Yesss. Need you.” More than she ever had before, if that were possible. Her head lolled to one side and she clutched his shoulders, waiting.

When she didn’t do exactly as told, he yanked on her hair and growled in her ear when she yelped. “Not good `nough. Tell me what I want to hear, Summers, or I stop now and we leave.” Yeah right! Like that was going to happen with the promise of a pleasure he’d longed for yet to come... literally?

“Spike,” she whispered as he locked her within his dangerous blue gaze. “I need your cock filling me. Please... please?”

“Much better. Tha’s my girl.” Ask and ye shall receive. But before he could manage to give her what she wanted, she slammed herself down on him. “FUCK!” he swore as she held him tight and rode him hard. “Chris’, luv... what you do to me.” Was beyond mind blowing. She’d taken control, took what she wanted and bloody hell, her desire for him radiated so strong it was palpable. It permeated the air, his senses, surrounded him, drowning him in the blissful knowledge that this woman wanted him that much. If he were granted one wish, it would be that he never needed a single ounce of recovery time just so he could stay buried inside his girl forever, pleasing her... until her heat turned them both to ash.

She swayed her hips side to side, squeezing her muscles around his shaft. “Make me cum, Spike. I want to cum all over your cock... so bad.”

He nodded dumbly, still in awe, finding himself even more aroused at how she chose to word her request. Whatever reason or cause for the sexual autonomy the blonde vixen was exercising over him as of late really didn’t matter anymore. She had him mesmerized, captivated anew, her willing slave so long as she didn’t stop. He nearly forgot what she asked of him until she took it upon her self to rock her tightening pussy over him, holding his cock prisoner as she ground her sex flush to his in order to obtain the friction he wasn’t providing her. He needed to snap out of it and take advantage of what she was doing... and to keep from spending himself like his balls were aching to do.

“Oh-shit!” Don’ cum, can’ cum...not yet, he thought as he wrestled with the paper bag to retrieve the first item he needed. He’d shoot himself if he lost control now and wound up sabotaging the ultimate voyage to the space of her final frontier.

“Spike.” She barely squeaked out his name when he cupped her bottom and brought the pressure of a well oiled fingertip to bear down on her puckered rose.

He concentrated for all he was worth, focused on her, calculating each and every one of his moves with a definitive purpose in mind. As it was, he barely had to touch her these days before she came undone, so it was important he time things perfectly. She may want him, but he needed her at the end of her tether, at his mercy... and to remain that way.

The very last thing she ever expected was for Spike to prevent her from achieving orgasm. But that’s exactly what he did when he unexpectedly banded an arm around her waist and held her body down with such strength as to immobilize her. Confused and crazed with need, her eyes flew open to the sight of him smirking at her predicament. And to ruthlessly taunt her with his words and clever fingers? He truly had in her in a position she couldn’t get out of without his help.

“How bad?” Her eyes were ablaze, a beautiful mixture of anger and desperation... the scent of it mingled with their coupling... intoxicating his ego. “Didn’t quite catch what you said, luv.” The minx had the audacity to growl at him? Test his authority? Oh-ho-ho... he almost pitied her over the world of hurt she was already in for at his capable hands, but for that little display of insolence? She had no bloody idea what limits he would push her body to now! “Don’ think I like this attitude `f yours, Summers.”

“I’m sorry, honey. Forgive me? I’m really, really sorry.” She knew this game, quite well. Too bad for her he invented it!

“And you think `m stupid, DON’ YOU?” he barked. “Tsk-tsk, pet.” Leaning his face within millimeters of hers, his tone went deadly. “Big mistake in takin’ me for a fool.” He abandoned her waist for as long as it took to bring his palm cracking down loudly across her left ass-cheek. And don’t think he didn’t miss the subtle shudder of anticipation her body released to quiver around his cock.

“Erghhh, you-you...” God damn that stung every time he did that! “Fuck you, asshole!” She squirmed, hoping it would arouse him enough to want to let her go, but she wound up wide eyed when his finger slipped past the rim of her second entrance as a result.

Quirking an eyebrow at the irony, he informed her, “`M pretty sure `s the other way `round, pet.” He didn’t take what she said personally, it wasn’t unusual for harsh language to accompany the harsh sex they both enjoyed having. And so, his smirk only deepened as the more she fought, the further his digit entered her bottom, proving to him she liked it.

When her head slumped on his shoulder in defeat, he slowly began pumping into her. She hadn’t known what sort of reaction her body would have to this invasion, but when he finally allowed her hips to start moving again, she was surprised when the normal waves of passion she felt nearly doubled.

“Like that, do you?” Her babble was incoherent and in his opinion, pointless. He had no intentions of stopping now. “Gonna be nice? Do as your told?” She nodded weakly into the hollow of his neck, still moaning from his attentions. “Good girl!”

“AHH!” Faster than she had time to think, he left her empty. He hurriedly rearranged her on her side and aligned his body behind her.

“Sshhh, I’ll take care of you. Give you what you deserve.”

She could almost see the sneer that was sure to be curling his lips as she closed her eyes against the feel of his possessive hand inching down her stomach and between her thighs. But she didn’t care, not even when he placed one of her hands to her breast and the other to her clit in silent command to occupy herself.

The plastic sound of a bottle snapping shut sliced through the haze of lust surrounding her, the liquid heat he poured on his palm to spread and warm her from hole to hole had her whimpering pitifully. “I... I-”

“Keep rubbin’ yourself down there, luv. Show me you meant what you said and behave for Spike.” He created a pattern, ran his fingers between her nether lips, stopping over the area he desired most right now to lightly circle the perimeter with his fingertip, tickling, teasing her, pleased when she began pushing back... wanting him there. Grabbing the vibrator, he turned it on before bringing it to her feminine opening. “Easy, kitten.” The whirring noise made her jump, but he was quick to reassure by treating her to his touch, encouraging her to open her legs a bit more and to hand her trust over to him completely.

She panted heavily as he spread her swollen folds and her womb began pulsing to the beat of her heart.

Christ, she was perfect, welcoming every sinful thing he chose to do to her beautiful body.

“GOD! Ah, oh... More.”

“Want you to think `bout there bein’ two of me. Can you do that?”

Could she ever! William and Spi- No! The tender sweet side of her William and the wicked, naughty deliciousness she knew as Spike! She kept her eyes closed; envisioning it with all the power of imagination her mind could muster. Her blood began to boil, racing through her veins as he leisurely eased the rubber phallus in and out of her passage and returned his finger to her bottom.

Stretching her was important, had to be done carefully, cautiously and it didn’t take a genius to know that. His girl was in a vulnerable position and he’d sooner die before causing her any real harm, especially like this. So he took his time and drew out her pleasure, gauged her reactions during each step in preparing her for something as large as his manhood.

Ecstasy was hers when he added a second finger. Her hips acted on their own, seeking more, moving to the pace he’d set at first but trying to make him go faster. He picked up on this, giving her what she wanted and she swiftly found herself so close to cumming again that she prayed he’d let her finish this time.

The more she responded, the faster he worked the vibrator and massaged her inner walls with his fingers, thrilled she was enjoying herself. He scraped his teeth along her delicate throat and the involuntary twitch of excitement in her muscles clenching around his fingers made him accidentally whisper his private thoughts. “To think you’d let me... where no one has,” or ever will... but me! When she began begging for release he was grateful, because there was nothing more he could do to ready her... and he desperately wanted ‘in’.

Removing his fingers, he pressed the head of his cock firmly against her rosebud. Needing both hands for the next task, he ordered her to take the vibrator and keep herself ‘busy’. “Do you want it, Buffy? Are you ready for me to have you here? Take wha’s mine?” Her hand flew to his thigh and she pushed her lovely arse against him.

“I... yes!” Not in a million years did she ever think she would want something like this. But it was Spike and he could make her sing the national anthem and cum at the same time if that’s what he set out to do.

Bloody hell... thank heavens! He wanted nothing more than to be buried balls deep in her exquisite ass... to finally find his pleasure. “Say it again, pet.” He wrested her iron grip from his thigh and placed both their hands on her hip, steadying her over anxious body from impaling herself on him too quickly. “Better yet... I want you to beg.” That would indeed be sweet.

“Wh-what?” Her mind was too far gone to register what he’d said.

“Beg for it, pet... for me to take you here.”

The reality of the situation made her pause, but only to remove the dildo so she could focus on what was about to happen and to tell him with certainty, “I want you... inside of me. Please, William... just do it. Take me.”

Her plea was beautiful, like music to his ears. “This might hurt a bit, pet.” His knuckles grazed her cheeks on the upstroke that finally pierced the tight ring of muscles, causing them both to shudder.

She froze from the sting of something larger than his fingers being introduced while he whispered sweeter, kinder words in her ear, telling her how much he loved her, what a good girl and how perfect she was until she relaxed enough that he could begin moving.

It was hell to remain still until she adjusted but well worth the wait when he pushed forward and she sighed, arching into his slow yet steady advance. “You okay?”

“Mm-hmm,” she purred. More thank okay! The burn that initially seared her insides dissipated as her walls gradually yielded and her body accepted his full length. It felt... different... having him ‘there’, but once he established a comfortable rhythm, she gave over to it.

When he slid the toy back inside her, he discovered a new sensation more pleasurable than he could have imagined. The thrum of the dildo’s vibrations through the thin membrane that separated it from his cock was proving too much when combined with the fist-like grip around him.

“Spike... I think, I think I’m going to cum.” The places he reached, the nerves he struck with every thrust as he gained momentum heightened her sensitivity and she found herself drunk from the newfound pleasure he was bringing her.

Me too! “Roll over, luv.” Without breaking any intimate contact, he rocked her onto her stomach where she instinctively pushed her hands on the bed until she was up on all fours.

“AHH! Oh-oh, don’t stop.” He wasted no time in slamming into her from behind, his chest draped across her back.

He was afraid he couldn’t even if she’d asked him to; his level of arousal was so out of control. “Christ, you feel so fuckin’ good... squeezin’ my cock. Cum for me baby, UNGHH... and I’ll follow you.”

Her womb tightened from the sound of him grunting beside her ear, his skin slapping against her bottom and the feel of being penetrated so deeply. Ripples of ecstasy spread warmly throughout her belly; coiled around the places he filled her. Her entire being began quaking uncontrollably and every muscle clenched tighter and tighter until she exploded with a keening wail, feeling as if she were about to black out.

He could barely move she was cumming so hard all around him. His pelvis jerked erratically, hips fighting to manage his rhythm but he was done for as she milked the first long, hot stream of his lust, cursing and growling until he was spent.

It took several minutes for them both to recover once Spike carefully lowered them to the bed after gently extracting both himself and the slippery toy. Hopefully this experience had satisfied his girl and would take care of her sexual appetite for a bit.

“Doin’ okay, luv?”

“Hmmmm,” she sighed, feeling a nap coming on. “I will be after a shower and... could you order some food? I feel hungry enough to eat a horse.” The vibrations of his chuckle against her back made her smile.

“Sure thing, kitten.” He kissed her temple and purred as she burrowed deeper into his embrace, musing how funny it was that all it took to make her happy these days was either food or a good rough and tumble.

Have a fanfic-tabulous weekend everyone, and for those readers who’ve followed along but perhaps haven’t left a review yet, the muse would very much like some food with only one chapter left to go, *bats eyelashes*. Show me some love, lol.

Eight months later on a Friday evening...

Buffy stood over a bubbling crock-pot of chili, stirring it with one hand while the other lay on her aching back from the extra forty pounds she’d gained when she felt her husband’s arms slip around her waist to stroke her swollen belly.

Somebody’s been busy. She hadn’t made dinner, she’d created a banquet. A huge salad, homemade cornbread, baked potatoes, several tiny bowls full of condiments for the chili and freshly baked apple pie? Not just one, but three? Okay, sure, he’d taught her how to cook and even bake over the last year until she was fine on her own, but it seemed like an awful lot of food. And for him to think it... that was saying a lot.

“I rather like this look on you, luv.”

“And what look would that be?”

“Barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen, cookin’ my dinn-OW!” He received an elbow in the stomach for his jibe.

“Stand down, soldier, or you’ll be wearing your chow instead of eating it.

“Oi, pet. You know I don’ mean it.” He kissed the top of her head.

“Yes, you do. You enjoy issuing insults.”

“Tha’s not all I enjoy issuin’,” he whispered seductively, bucking his hips against her bottom.

She jabbed his stomach again. “Don’t go confusing your rank with my authority and I’ll let you live.”

“Yes, ma’am,” he chuckled. “You know you’re the Commander in Chief of this house, baby.” Feeling her tense as she placed a hand to her stomach, he asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah, mmph. Fine.” A sigh of relief rushed between her lips when the pain subsided. “Just the baby kicking.”

“He wants to get out... meet his father so we can start trainin’, get him ready for West Point.”

“And what if we have a girl?” But of course that didn’t deter his military frame of mind; his answer came with a shrug of indifference.

“West Point takes females.” He wanted to know what they were having after the ultrasound, but Buffy insisted on being surprised and even threatened the obstetrician into silence over the subject. He kissed her head again while rubbing her lower back with one hand to ease the pain his growing child was causing her.

“Mmmmm, that feels wonderful.” Setting her spoon down, she placed both hands on the counter and arched into his strong touch while closing her eyes.

“I’ll finish up here, pet. You go sit down and relax. After dinner I’ll give you a back massage, yeah?” The fact the entire house looked like she’d turned it upside down with her rearranging of things hadn’t escaped his attention. Which was fine with him, but the multitude of changes seemed like an awful lot to have achieved for one in her condition and the fact she’d done it during the eight days while he was gone?

“Really?” She turned into his arms and laid her head against his chest, enjoying the freshly showered smell of his skin. He’d come home not an hour ago from the field and this time he smelled a little too rank for her taste and had shoved a much grumbling Spike in the direction of the bathroom after only a short hug and a kiss.

“Anythin’ for you, pet.” He held her, gently stroking her long hair as his heart swelled with pride. She was giving him a child, and it was the second greatest gift he’d ever received next to her love and their marriage. “I want to have at least two more children.” He could picture a tiny house full of love and laughter, several blond children running around his beautiful wife, begging for her attention.

“Let’s get through having this one then we’ll negotiate that proposal.” Her pregnancy was as healthy as could be, but of course brought with it all the normal, physical annoyances. “I’m going to go take a quick shower then start another wash-load of your clothes.”

“You do that. I’ll have the table set by the time you’re done.” Giving her rear a playful pat, he was glad to be through with his latest FTX. His incessant worry over her being past her due date had him calling her several times a day even though cell phones weren’t allowed in the field, making her promise to text him the moment she thought she might be going into labor.

~~~*~~~

“Buffy! Would you PLEASE sit down? You’re makin’ me dizzy, pet.” She was running around the place doing chores with so much enthusiasm it was ridiculous. The house looked spotless, immaculate rather, so what was she trying to do, bloody sterilize it?

“But I need to get your uniforms pressed once they come out of the dryer, the dishes need to be put away and the bathtub still needs... what?” Did I sprout a third eye? That was the sort of look he was giving her.

He had to grab her in order to make her stop moving and face him. “Take a break.” He spoke slowly so she understood he was serious.” I jus’ got home, I wanna spend some time with my wife, not watch her run around.”

“But-”

“Whatever it is can wait. It’ll still be there waitin’ for you tomorrow. There’s no need to do anythin’ other than pay me a li’l attention.”

“But-”

“At LEAST for a bloody hour or two and then I’ll HELP you do whatever it is you feel needs to be done tonight.” So bloody difficult. Dragging her towards the couch as he spoke, he couldn’t believe how hard it was for her to relax. She wasn’t even looking at him; her eyes were still darting about like there were a million things left undone. “Sit before you burn yourself out.”

“Okay... you win.” Sighing in defeat, she knew he was right. But the last couple of days she felt great, really great. Had tons of energy and spent it spring cleaning and found it tough to remain still for any length of time. “Just... I’ll be right back.” He raised a warning brow at her. “I promise.” Kissing his cheek, she pulled his hands from her waist, er, where her waist used to be and headed for their bedroom.

“You’d better,” he called after her. “Jus’ because I can’ take you over my knee doesn’ mean you won’ get spanked.” Chuckling after her biting retort of ‘yeah, yeah, whatever’, he went and grabbed himself a cup of tea before sitting in front of the telly.

“Ughh. I so can’t wait to have this baby... to be able to see my feet again will be bliss.”

Waddling into the living room, Buffy carried a small pink tote, busy fumbling around inside it looking for something. “What are doin’ now?” he asked, exasperated. She sat next to him on the couch and propped a foot on the edge of the coffee table.

“I just need to paint my toenails.” Hey, if she had to sit, she may as well do something productive, right?

She opened the bottle and then struggled to get into a position that allowed her belly proper clearance so she could lean forward, but he could see it was difficult for her to breathe when she stretched to reach her toes. “You’re stressin’ yourself and crampin’ my son. Here.” Snatching the bottle out of her hand, he gestured toward the couch. “Lie back and get comfortable. I’ll do it.”

“You’re going to paint my toes?” she asked, her tone suggesting he wasn’t capable.

“Pfft! `S not rocket science, luv.” He pushed another pillow behind her head and moved so her feet were in his lap. “Have you been takin’ your vitamins like you should while I was gone?” Removing the brush of her strawberry pink polish, he grabbed a foot and started with her big toe.

“Of course, er, well, I did forget the other day.” Pausing from his work, he fixed her with a scolding pair of eyes.

He shook his head disapprovingly but let it drop. She’d become increasingly forgetful about a lot of things, an apparent hormonal by-product of pregnancy. “How did your appointment go the other day?” He tried to attend all of her appointments whenever he wasn’t in the field, but unfortunately that wasn’t very many. So with the help of Oz and Willow playing informant, he strictly enforced any orders or limitations the doc gave her.

“It was fine. I’m another half centimeter dilated,” she chirped happily, but it quickly turned to a frown. “I just wish there was something more I could do to speed this up. I hate getting poked, prodded and probed. So not fun.” Pouting, she went on to complain. “I mean, I’ve been eating spicy foods, taking super hot showers even took castor oil once... tried all the old-wives tales but nothing works.” Wow, he was a doing an awesome job on her toenails. Fast, too, she thought as he started in on her other foot.

Thinking it was pure rubbish for her to be doing any of it; he kept his opinion to himself when remembering something both Gunn and the doctor told them. “There’s one thing you haven’ been able to try that I’ll be glad to help you with tonight, baby.” His suggestive smirk had her pouting even harder. “Orgasms might trigger contractions plus-” he lowered his voice. “-you wouldn’ want to deny your husband after bein’ gone for several days... now would you, sweetheart?”

“I’m as big as a house!” she cried. “How can you even WANT to sleep with me? I’m fat for Christ sakes.” But that never stopped him... thank God. He was all too happy to feed her incessant desire for sex with no qualms whatsoever despite the positions she was limited to. Matter of fact, he was quite creative on occasion.

“You’re not fat, you’re pregnant. Look absolutely gorgeous bein’ pregnant.” Despite the moody factor, she was beautiful to him, stunning even. She wore her pregnancy well; constantly glowing, looking all sorts of cute in maternity clothes... he even admired the funny way she walked. Finishing the last of her tiny toes, he set the bottle down just as she winced and held her breath. “Are-you-alright?” he asked, rushing to place a hand over hers as she clutched her stomach.

She had to wait for the pain to pass before answering but managed a smile over his worried look. She adored his constant concern for her well being and even his over-protectiveness. From the time she’d told him he was going to be a daddy, he went from treating her like a princess to treating her like a queen, hardly letting her lift a finger or anything over ten pounds, making sure she napped whenever she needed, went to the store for any cravings she had and was always cooking a ton of food, insisting she eat “jus’ a few more bites... for the baby.” “I’m fine.”

“Kickin’ you again?” Lifting her shirt, he laid his hand and cheek on her belly, caressing it with his fingertips, listening as her stomach gurgled from dinner.

“My ribs. Really strong, too.” She placed a hand on his head, smiling as she listened to him coo and talk to his child.

“Better stop kickin’ your mum or you’ll be givin’ me fifty pushups the sec... bloody hell! Would you look at that? Guess he knows my voice, wants to talk.” A tiny limb rolled beneath her skin, a visible bump on the otherwise perfectly round mound of flesh. The sight never ceased to amaze him. He kissed the last place the baby appeared then sat up to shift on his side at the back of the couch so he could hold her. “Now, back to our original conversation...” Grabbing a handful of her breast, he fondled it while his lips sought out the patch of skin on her neck that always drove her crazy.

“Later. I wanna watch Passions.” Which, surprisingly, he’d actually managed to get her addicted to. But he was already getting to her, purposefully attacking ‘that spot’ with those soft lips and wicked tongue of his.

“Tha’s what the DVR `s for.” Pumping his hips into her backside, he was hard as nails. Anything past two days without sex was too long for him. “Record it.” He nipped at her skin. “Watch it later.” He reached beneath her shorts. “Want you now.” He launched every weapon within his sexual arsenal on her. She’d give in. Her libido would demand it.

Damnit! He was right and she was screwed, well, would be any second here. Hitting record on the remote, she closed her eyes, thoroughly distracted when she heard him slowly unzip his pants and let his touch ignite her needy body.

Minutes later and Spike was completely absorbed in the moment, focused on nothing else but making love to his wife when he mistook a sound she made for a moan of passion. What came out of her mouth when she suddenly whispered threw him off... waaaaaaaaaaay off in the left field of misunderstanding.

“Oooooo... Braxton Hicks.” Her hands gripped her stomach and much to her relief, Spike ceased all movement. What she didn’t expect was for him to pull out then tug on her shoulder so he could face her... with very jealous eyes and an accusatory tone in his voice.

“Who the BLOODY hell is Braxton Hicks?!?!”

“Oh my God, Spike.” She started laughing, but very quickly stopped when his expression hadn’t changed. Seems he seriously didn’t know so she clarified things for him. “It’s not a WHO, it’s a WHAT.”

“Huh?”

“Braxton Hicks. They’re contractions. FAKE contractions. You don’t remember what the doctor said? It’s the body’s way of practicing for the real thing... to contract in order to push the baby out.”

Bloody hell. Did he ever feel like a git! Wait a minute... “The doctor never told me that... and neither did you.” A guilty look spread across her features.

“Ooops?” she offered meekly. Thank God the jealousy melted from his face, because he’d seriously looked pissed. “Guess I forgot. It was probably the appointment I had while you were gone for seven weeks. Sorry?”

“No worries, luv. `M sorry, too... for over reactin’.” She nodded before he kissed her lips then teased him.

“I can’t believe you thought what you thought or think anyone would find a pregnant woman attractive.”

“Oi! `S not unreasonable some other bloke would want you. Pregnant or not, you’re bloody gorgeous, pet.”

Okay, so this was one of those rare moments he turned her to complete and utter mush. She may not believe that, but he did, every word of what he said, she could tell and it melted her heart. “Now that THAT’S cleared up, I believe you’re shirking your responsibility, soldier.”

“And what would that be, luv?” Such a bloody minx! Rubbing her bare and delectable arse against him like that while berating him military style.

“Whenever you’re not busy at work for Uncle Sam... your only duty is to please this booty.”

He was chuckling so hard the couch shook. “`M gonna have to keep Gunn away from you. He’s a bad influence.” He cracked a joke of his own in a unique way so he could get back to the ‘business’ of pleasing his wife and himself. “Mmmmmm, you can take the girl outta the Army... but-” He slid back inside her warmth to drive home the point of his jest. “-you can’ take the Army outta the girl.”

~~~*~~~

Zero four hundred hours.........

Stupid false contractions. “Oomph.” Why bother, she addressed her body while holding her stomach, I’m probably going to have to be induced anyway. Since it woke her up, she may as well use the bathroom. Oh the joy of having a baby sit on one’s bladder, making a woman have to pee nearly every twenty minutes. Night was the only time she got a break from the frequent trips, but even then it woke her an average of four times before the sun ever rose. At least she hadn’t disturbed Spike. He was exhausted from his training exercise and really needed the sleep.

Zero five thirty......

Go away, leave me alone, she groaned internally, I just wanna sleep. Looking at the digital clock on the nightstand, she was highly annoyed. Uh-uh, no way. She could hold it; ignore both the stupid tightening sensation to her belly and the need to use the toilet. The darkened form of her husband shifted to face her, his arm instinctively coming to rest across her abdomen. Ughh! She had to adjust where his hand had landed, no way could she get back to sleep with the weight of his embrace laying in such a manner as to add pressure to her bladder.

Zero six ten.........

Damn! That particular Braxton Hicks came with a hint of pain. But it was brief and passed like all the others so she dismissed it. Trip number five thousand four hundred and twenty five to the bathroom, coming up, or so it felt. They should have bought stock in Charmin because at this point, she’d gone through so much of the stuff the value had to have skyrocketed, the dividends alone were probably enough to send this baby to college.

Her body’s center of gravity had shifted drastically due to the extra weight she’d gained during these last two months, rendering her movements clumsy and difficult. She panted and groaned while rolling to one side, having to use her arms just to push herself upright so she could get out of bed. And there Spike lay... on his back, mouth hanging wide open, still snoring away peacefully. Envy wasn’t a word strong enough to describe how she felt that he got to slumber through the night undisturbed.

Zero six thirty.........

Okay, this was really starting to get on her nerves and there was definite pain involved this time as her stomach balled up so tight she could have dropped a pant size. Still convinced it was nothing, she made her roley-poley way to the bathroom but when she got back, Spike was awake.

“You alright, luv?” In the early morning’s light, he could see the annoyance on her face.

“No,” she huffed. “I mean yes. It’s just these stupid contractions are disturbing my sleep.” Crawling back under the covers, he startled her when he all but shouted.

“Contractions?!?!” He was half asleep, but that statement sure as hell put his brain on high alert.

“Calm down.” Jeez, jumpy much? “It’s just Braxton Hicks.”

“You sure?” He tucked her in tight then helped adjust the body pillow between her legs.

“Yeah. They’ve woken me up four times already.” His voice went suspicious on her.

“Four times?” She nodded. “How far apart?”

“Uhmm... the first one was around four... I think. Then the next was... maybeeeee five thirty. The one after that was definitely ten after six and then just now. Spike? What are you doing?” He was playing away with the controls on his watch.

“`M gonna start timin’ them.” From the sounds of things, these ‘fake’ contractions were steadily getting closer together. Turning a pointed finger at her, he ordered, “And you’re to let me know every time you have one.” She rolled her eyes at him.

“Whatever. I’m going back to sleep.”

“Buffy! `M serious!!!”

“Alright, just... go back to sleep so I can, too... please?”

Right! Like he was going to get any sleep now? He kissed her forehead then pulled her tight against him, choosing not to say anything more. If labor had begun, she was going to need the rest.

And sure as shit, every fifteen minutes for the next forty five, she had another before they steadily got closer and closer together.

Hmm, maybe I should change. She frowned in the mirror at the deep blue sweat suit she chose to wear. I look like Violet Beauregard right before the oompa-loompas started singing. “Would you stop that? There’s no need to panic.” Back and forth, back and forth Spike paced past the bathroom while she fixed her hair and makeup.

No need to panic, no need to panic she says. He was a bloody wreck. But did his wife help matters any? Nope. The bird was taking her sweet time, primping like she had all day. Until her contractions were five minutes apart, she absolutely refused to leave. According to the doctor, until they were five minutes apart she wasn’t in any danger and boy if she didn’t wait `til the last bloody contraction started at minute number four and had her doubled over.

“Tha’s it. Put the bloody curlin’ iron down. We’re leavin. Now!!!”

“Yeah... whew, okay... I’m good now.” The pain was steadily getting worse. She could barely breathe whenever the contractions came. And he was standing there looking nervous enough for the both of them, keys jingling in one hand, the bag of her ‘baby’ things he’d packed himself over two months ago dangling from the other.

He shuttled her as quickly as he could towards the car and fired up the engine, intent on breaking every motor vehicle law during the ten minute ride to the hospital. She swore he was punishing her by hitting every bump in the road on purpose, jolting her womb and intensifying the pain. And did he think she was going to drop this puppy in the parking lot when he made her perform the mad dash from the car to the doors of the hospital?

Once in the maternity ward and after being given a flimsy gown to change into, the nurse performed her initial exam and announced Buffy as six and a half centimeters dilated. “Looks like its baby today.” Then off she ran to find the anesthesiologist so Buffy could receive an epidural, leaving the couple alone.

Buffy turned to Spike, bursting into tears. “I’m scared,” she sobbed. “I don’t think I can do this.” Her Lamaze instructor said it could be hours of these contractions before her cervix reached the full ten centimeters required before she could start pushing... and that’s when the real pain began. It already hurt so bad she’d much rather go through Basic all over again, even with Spike as her Drill Sergeant.

“Yes, you can, luv.” Bloody hell he hated seeing her cry. He stroked her hair, covered her up with a blanket, did whatever he could to comfort her. “You’re my girl, you’re tough, you’re-”

“But the pain.” As if her body wanted to prove her point, another contraction hit, so hard it made her throw up.

Thirty minutes later and the nurse came back with the anesthesiologist in tow. Spike held Buffy’s hand after they turned her on her side and began swabbing her spine with iodine. At the first sight of what had to be the largest needle in history however, he began to sweat.

“Be right back, pet.”

“Wait!” she cried hysterically, gripping his hand as tight as she could. “Where are you going?”

“Needle.” He began panting. “Big. Long.” He turned white. “Bloody huge.”

Coward! But she couldn’t really be mad with him. It was better to have him leave than to throw up on her. She’d been doing enough of that for the both of them. “Go and call everyone then come back.” He nodded gratefully, leaving the room without another word from his pale lips.

‘The plan’ had been in place now for months. Once her parents received a phone call from Spike to tell them she was in labor, they would be on the next available flight to New York. Willow was coming as soon as she got word to film the birth while her father-in-law promised to drive the seventy two miles from his home in Syracuse to be here as well. To Buffy, Giles Speichart and his son couldn’t have been more different, personality-wise, if they tried. The older Brit, who’d quickly become like a second father to her, was so proper and reserved that it genuinely surprised her when she learned of his youthful, ahem, ‘adventures’ as ‘Ripper’. She supposed it explained where Spike got his attitude from, but when joking as to whether or not he’d act more ‘Giles-like’ as he got older, she received a unanimous 'not bloody likely' from both men.

~~~*~~~

The hours seemed to drag on, and on, and on. But with miracle of modern medicine, Buffy was good to go. Numb from the waist down and smiling, she chatted away with everyone until the nurse came by to check on her for what felt like the zillionth time. Giles cleared his throat, about to excuse himself for the sake of Buffy’s privacy but the nurse had already flipped the sheet over Buffy’s knees, forcing him to shuffle and stand by her head.

She still had a couple of centimeters left to dilate before she was ready to push and after Willow mentioned feeling hungry, the nurse told them they had plenty of time to grab something to eat.

“I’m feeling rather peckish myself. Perhaps I-I could join you?” Giles asked Willow.

“Sure. There’s a restaurant just around the corner.” Looking to Buffy she added, “It shouldn’t take us long. We’ll be back before you know it. Did you want anything while we’re out, Spike?”

“`M fine. Think `m gonna head outside for a smoke, though. Will you be alright without me, pigeon?”

“I’ll be fine. You go ahead.”

While everyone left her room, there’d been a shift change of hospital personnel. Major Lorne Krevswath, the obstetrician now on duty, made his rounds visiting each woman still in labor before finally coming to talk with Buffy for a few minutes. She was thrilled to know he’d be the one delivering her baby as he was the doctor she’d seen most often for her appointments. Good old funny Lorne was always at the ready with a quip and a smile. Their conversation was interrupted, however, when another medic stopped by to let him know one of his patients was ready to begin pushing.

Lorne excused himself and as the minutes passed, Buffy wondered what was taking Spike so long to get back, especially because she was starting to feel when her contractions came. She wasn’t supposed to feel anything, hadn’t felt anything since getting the epidural. What pain came with the next two contractions though, was relatively mild so she ignored it, especially when she saw a familiar face pass by her door. She called out, “Xander?” It was him, the only other friend she’d had in Basic. He’d been assigned to a different company when they all went to AIT and therefore lost contact with her and Willow.

At the sound of his name, he turned around, a bright smile lighting his face up when seeing who it was. “Summers?” Walking into her room, he was truly surprised to see her. “Wow! How are you?” He felt all sorts of stupid when she rubbed her swollen belly.

“At the moment... pregnant.” She was so stunned to see him, it never registered he’d used her maiden name. They embraced for a quick hug before he pulled up a chair. “You’re assigned to the MEDDAC? When did you get here?”

“I finished in-processing on Thursday. Today is my first day. I’m working the front desk.”

“Did you... ohhh!” Her hands flew to her stomach.

“Do you need me to call someone?” Ecstatic as he was to see her, the circumstances under which he’d run into her wigged him out.

“No, I’m fine. The nurse said it would be awhile.” Letting go of her belly, she grabbed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.

“So how’ve you been? Other than, well...” he trailed off, waving a hand at her stomach.

Oh boy, did they ever have a lot to catch up on... a ton in fact! He’s never going to believe who I married. She was about to speak when another contraction hit, distracted from her thoughts by the intense pain it brought with it.

Seeing her face screwed up in genuine agony, he stuttered through his next sentence. “I-I’m just going to... to go g-get someone.” She was shaking her head no but he snatched his hand back and dashed out of the room regardless.

“I’m okay,” she huffed though he was already gone. A few seconds later, he returned with a nurse then came back to hold her hand while she was being examined. She directed her next statement to the nurse. “I thought I wasn’t supposed to feel anything.”

“Well, you’ll feel some pain the closer you-OH-MY-GOD!” Her eyes met Buffy’s. “Whatever you do... DON’T push.”

“What?!?!” came a unified cry from the two friends.

“The baby’s head is halfway down the birth canal.”

Buffy gasped and immediately snapped her legs shut. “Oh no,” she groaned, clutching Xander’s hand even tighter. “Don’t leave me.”

“Uh, uh, uh...” This was so not how he envisioned his first day on the job. But how he could say no with the way she was begging him?

“Please?”

“O-okay.” He tried to remain calm but was soon panting alongside of her, mimicking her pursed lips as she practiced her Lamaze breathing. “Everything’s - ah-phoo, ah-phoo - gonna be alright. The Xan-man - ah-phoo, ah-phoo - is here,” he reassured more for his own sake than hers. Where the hell was her family? Her husband?

“Harris!” Spike bellowed upon reaching the doorway, fuming to see his old recruit holding his wife’s hand.

Xander whipped his head in the direction of the voice and immediately blanched. “I-I... I’m seeing things.” Looking back at Buffy, he asked, “Right? Tell me I’m seeing things please because it took me weeks to stop having nightmares about that man.” But Buffy’s focus was on their former Drill Sergeant when she spoke.

“Where have you been, I’m-”

“Excuse me,” the nurse interrupted, Lorne in tow, all but pushing Spike aside to drag a metal roller tray full of instruments behind her so fast it bumped into the wall with a loud clang.

Spike stood next to Willow, eyes still fixed on the boy while his father trailed past him to go and hold Buffy’s other hand. He was about to explain his extended absence, that he’d called Gunn, Faith and Tara as well as her mother to report on Buffy’s progress but Willow spoke first.

“Xander?!?!” Willow asked, caught off guard by the sight of her old high school pal.

“Willow?!?!”

Buffy cried out as another contraction hit. “SPIKE!”

“Buffy?!?!” he panicked while Harris just sat there stunned, still staring at him with a horrified expression as he spoke.

“Sergeant Speichart?!?!”

“Giles here,” the older Brit held up a finger and smiled as he introduced himself.

“Great!” Lorne slapped his hands together, grinning. “Now that we’re all acquainted, shall we get started?”

Every head swiveled in his direction as he closed the door for privacy.

“Bloody hell! This is really happenin’.” Spike said more to himself while his wife answered him sarcastically.

“Ya think?!?!” Glancing at Xander, she thought she might better inform him who Spike was, because he was clearly confused and looking more than a bit tense. “Spike’s my husband.” And if it weren’t for the pain, she would have laughed at his reaction.

Xander’s eyes instantly bulged from their sockets while simultaneously snatching his hand from her grip. “Y-you married... IT?!?!”

“Oi!” Spike responded, thoroughly irritated with the boy’s question. He stalked towards them, an evil smirk curling his lips when the lad jumped back five feet to plaster himself against a wall.

“But... you... a-and he...” His finger alternated pointing between the two blonds who were reputed for having hated one another, slinking his way towards the door.

“Long story,” Willow added to the conversation. “For another time.” Obviously, she added to herself judging from the fact Lorne had removed the sheet from Buffy’s lower half and was now holding the medical hook needed to break her water with. She grabbed up her video camera and sat down in the corner of the room, letting everyone know, “We’re rolling!”

“Harris, if you’re going to stay, why don’t you make yourself useful and hold one of our patient’s legs?” Lorne instructed Buffy next. “Whenever you feel the next contraction, you can start pushing.”

“Ahhh, uhmm, okay.” Nope! This was definitely not the way he imagined spending his first day on the job.

As Xander moved towards Buffy, Spike’s temper flared at the thought of him seeing her so exposed. “Like bloody hell you will!”

“Spike, don’t!” Buffy rushed to diffuse the situation. “Let him stay. I’m okay with it and this is no time for jealousy.”

Looking at his wife’s pleading expression, he felt guilty, knowing she was right. “Fine!” Nodding his consent towards the shaking boy, he couldn’t help the low growl of disapproval that came from his throat.

“Thank yooOOOUU-OW-OW-OW!”

“Well, my dear,” Giles interjected, pausing to kiss Buffy’s hand. “I’m sure you’ll do splendid.” Reaching over to tap Spike on the shoulder, he told him. “I think it’s time for us to step outside. Shall we, son?”

“Right then.” They both went to stand but Buffy prevented them.

“NO!” she screamed and tightened her hold to their hands. “You can’t leave me, Giles, please?!?!” Her father-in-law’s face contorted in pain while bending at the waist under her crushing grip.

“G-good Lord. Your wife is quite... c-convincing. A-and terribly strong, I might add.” Much to his relief, she released him but only to turn a stormy expression on his son, her voice angry and accusing.

“You did this to me you sonuvabitch! You’re not going anywhere.” Try and leave me to do this by myself and I swear, she grumbled internally even as he audibly gulped, anxiety painting his face.

“Don’t mind me, folks,” Lorne sighed as if bored. Comical as the situation was, this baby was going to come with or without anyone in the room. “Are you the grandfather?” he asked Giles who quickly nodded while shaking his injured hand and using his good one to tug nervously at his bow tie. “I’d like for you to hold her other leg because the nurse has to be available to hand me things as I need them.”

“Ermm, y-yes. Yes, of course.” He muttered a nervous ‘bloody hell’ under his breath but did as asked, trying for propriety’s sake not to look at his daughter-in-law’s private region.

“Oh noooo,” Buffy whined. “I haven’t shaved my legs in like three days.” It horrified her to have everyone see the stubble adorning her calves.

“Oh, that’s it!” Lorne threw his hands in the air disgusted. “I-I simply can’t work under these conditions.” When he had everyone’s attention, he winked and chuckled. “Relax, Buffy. I’ve seen it all.” He laughed some more as she rolled her eyes, allowing her head to fall back against the pillow in recognition he’d made a joke at her expense.

“I can’t belie-OWWW-ERRRRRGH!”

“That’s your cue to push, sweety.”

Giles rushed to take up residence near her foot, grasping an ankle.

“Now take a nice deep breath and let it go. Push, Buffy, push!”

She did, or so she thought, she pushed, and pushed, and pushed, grunting during the contraction, a sheen of perspiration breaking out across her forehead in the process.

Spike ignored the death grip she had to his hand and watched her face turn red; thinking the single blue vein beneath her temple was going to burst any second from the effort she exerted.

“Push for me, Buffy-sweety,” Lorne repeated.

“I AM!!!” she snapped back. What the hell did he think she was doing, filing her nails?

From behind the camera, Willow jumped to Lorne’s defense but was careful to keep her voice calm. “He-he’s just trying to help, Buffy.”

“Then hand him a pair of forceps or stay out of it!”

Everyone in the room went tense except for the nurse and Lorne. “Don’t worry, cupcake.” He threw the shocked red-head a wink. “I get cursed at daily. It comes with the job.”

“Breathe, luv.” Spike whispered when Buffy finished pushing, hating to see her in so much pain. Uh-oh! The look on her face could have struck everyone dead in the room.

“I... AM, you imbecile!” she ground out. “Like I’d STOP?” Funny how pain made for instant-bitchy-Buffy, but at this stage in the game, she simply didn’t care. “Oh, oh, oh, ow-OW-ERRRRRRGH!”

“You’re doing wonderful. Keep going.” Not long now, Lorne thought as the head traveled further down the birth canal. “That’s it... beautiful! Take another deep breath and give me a good push when you’re ready.” From the corner of his eye, he noticed the Englishman holding her ankle turn suddenly pale. “Put your head down,” he addressed him. “Rest your chin on your chest and put your head down.” He didn’t want the gentleman to pass out.

“O-okay,” Buffy replied. It was an odd request but she did the best she could, thinking Lorne was talking to her and unable to see over the mound of her stomach what was really happening.

“Not you, lemon-drop.” Lorne chuckled. “Seems gramps here isn’t feeling so well.”

“Indeed,” came Gile’s croaking reply. He did his best not to look, but the glance he’d spared by accident and the sight of fluids that suddenly gushed from his son’s wife made his head dizzy.

Lorne, seeing the old man begin to hyperventilate, turned to tell Spike, “If you would, please move your father to another chair and kindly take up his place holding Buffy’s leg.”

“Huh? Oh, uhmm, right.” Buffy was about to protest but he gave her hand a quick squeeze and kissed her cheek. “`S alright, luv. `M still here.” She nodded, letting him go so he could help his dad.

Another contraction hit her and after gathering what strength she had, she began pushing again through gritted teeth. “Aaaa-ARRRRGH!” The pain was so blinding, she simply couldn’t stifle the scream.

The sound had Spike scrambling to get his father seated so he could occupy his spot.

“That’s perfect,” Lorne told her then turned to the nurse, holding his hand out. “Local, please.”

Xander had been stoic up to this point, was quite proud of himself actually, but when he watched Lorne stick Buffy’s perineum with the needle he turned piqued. “Can I throw up now?” he asked Spike as the Brit sat down.

Lorne asked for the next instrument he needed so he could make room for the baby’s head to crown, ignoring the men on either side of him.

“Wha’s the matter with you?” Spike looked at the whelp to find his eyes screwed shut, a single finger pointing straight ahead. Turning to see the reason for Nancy boy’s distress, he was greeted by the sight of the doctor finishing the last snip to the flesh of her bottom, his child’s tiny, mucous-membrane covered head slightly visible and blood; so much blood that his vision began to blur.

“I know it’s painful, sweety, but you have to push for me again.” Lorne handed the scissors off to the nurse and brought his hands back in preparation to receive the slippery baby should he come rushing out.

“You’re a man, how could you POSSIBLY know what this feels-”

THUD!!!

“Uh,” Willow gasped from her corner while Buffy’s eyes darted left and right, confused, her question directed at no one in particular.

“What the hell was that?” All thoughts of pushing and pain fled as she sat up straight to find the source of the loud noise.

“Oh-good-heavens!” Giles pulled his glasses off to begin cleaning them furiously. “I do believe William has passed out.” His daughter-in-law’s enraged reaction came as no surprise.

“WHAT?!?!”

“Huh,” Lorne looked down at the floor. “Would you look at that?” Shrugging, he turned back to Buffy and waved it off. “Don’t worry about him... happens all the time with men. Now I need you to concentrate on pushing.”

“Oh, HELLLLLL no. I’m not doing anything. Not until someone wakes him the fuck up.” Lorne gave her an incredulous look but she didn’t care. No way was Spike going to get out of this-this... birth by going unconscious on her!

“Can I slap him?” Xander asked, an all too eager look on his face.

“There isn’t time. This baby is coming whether Daddy here is out cold or not. I need for you to push, Buffy. Please?” Lorne pleaded with his patient, but she shook her head, refusing to budge on the issue.

“Slap him, pour cold water on his face, break out the smelling salts, whatever it takes. I’m not doing a damn thing until he’s awake!”

Xander gratefully left his ‘post’ to go to the drawer the nurse indicated, grabbed the white, cotton ampoule then gave it a twist to break free the pungent preparation of ammonium carbonate and perfume, waving it under Spike’s nose.

“Arghh! What the... bloody hell?” He felt arms lifting him up from the floor as he shook his head, trying to make sense of where he was until he was plopped into a chair by Buffy’s head. Rubbing the goose egg that was forming on the back of his head, he asked, “What happened?”

“You blacked out on me, that’s wha-ow-OW-AAAHHHHHH!”

“That’s it, that’s it, that’s it,” Lorne cried, encouraging her. “Don’t stop, keep pushing.”

That brought Spike back in a hurry and he reached to clasp Buffy’s hand, the knock to his noggin forgotten and the sweat from his nerves resuming.

“Give me one more good one, Buffy, just ooooone more-YES!”

“Ohhhh... God!” She let out a sigh of relief and slumped back on the bed.

The nurse held a blanket ready while Lorne suctioned the amniotic fluid from the child’s mouth and nasal cavity. “It’s a boy,” he announced happily over the sounds of the child’s first fragile cry. He took care of cutting the umbilical cord after Spike declined while the nurse took the infant so he could deliver the afterbirth then suture Buffy’s episiotomy.

Spike soothed his wife’s hair back, alternating between kissing her head and telling her what a great job she did, how proud he was of her. “Thank you, kitten, for giving me my son.”

The admiration, the twinkle of happiness in his eye had her shedding a tear of joy. She reached up to cup his cheek, truly happy to have given him what he wanted. The nurse was busy cleaning their son and checking him over, affording Xander, Willow and Giles to relay their congratulations.

“Well, my work here is done.” Lorne peeled off his gloves and covered Buffy with a fresh blanket. “You two enjoy that cute new baby of yours.” He shook Spike’s hand firmly with a smile and then left, leaving the door open on his way out.

The nurse looked up from her clip board while everyone but the new parents huddled and cooed over the tiny infant as he lay in the warming bed. “The baby’s name?”

“Charles Oswald Speichart,” Buffy beamed proudly. They’d chosen a combination of Oz and Gunn’s names since they had so much to do with getting them together as a couple.

“I still prefer Randy... it’s a strong, sturdy name, a family name,” Giles said, though he didn’t rightly care what they chose to name his perfect little grandson, he was currently too busy making with the coochie-coochie-coos.

“Yeah, why not just call him horny Randy or desperate for a shag Randy,” Spike whispered in Buffy’s ear, making her giggle. He stood to remove his sweat soaked T-shirt just as the nurse brought their blue bundle of joy to them.

Buffy nodded to Spike, wanting him to be the first to hold their child. “Go ahead.” He looked so cute, acting all nervous as he took their son from the nurse like he was made of glass, fumbling awkwardly until he had a good grasp. His face was awash in awe as he opened the blanket so Charles could wave his tiny fists about and meet his father’s kiss to his cheek.

“Hey-hey, Pops,” Gunn appeared, rapping on the open door before walking inside, his wife following behind him. “Where’s the little tax break at?”

“Awwww,” Fred sighed. “Doesn’t that just make you want to have another one?”


















THE END

Have a great week and please take the time to drop me a line even if you’ve never left a review, I’d really love to hear from you and always appreciate as well as answer every single one of them. I’m shedding a tear as I let go of this story because I put so much of myself and direct experience into it... yes, even a lot of the labor and birth scenes is all me, folks - complete with the primping and taking my time, giggles. Hope you enjoyed the ride as much I loved writing it. Hugs.