Buffy Summers looked down at her wristwatch and groaned.

“Thirty-fucking-three minutes late! I’m so stupid, I should have known that Riley was going to blow it off. He always does. ‘I have important things to do for my job, Buffy’ ‘You know how it is at the college, Buffy, I have stuff to grade’. Well fuck you and your stupid ass job.” Buffy shyly looked around the restaurant and realized that she had not only said that aloud, but she yelled it at the top of her lungs. She gazed at all the people staring wide-eyed at her and then spotted an angry looking man striding towards her. When he stopped at her lonely table she couldn’t help but see his name tag that boldly read ‘MANAGER’. She dropped a dollar onto the table and then got out of the restaurant as quickly as she could.

And to make her night more embarrassing she walked right into someone. Instead of doing what she felt was right, she continued walking with only a mumble of sorry. She fumbled with her keys and her fingers rested on a pink key and she used it to unlock her mustang - one of the many pricey gifts from Riley. Buffy started the engine and pulled out of parking lot.

Soon she parked the car in her garage and then went into her home. Buffy set her purse and coat on the coat rack and then walked to the phone. She pushed the answering machine button and listened to the message:

“Buffy? Hey, It’s Riley. I uh… tried to reach you on your cell but you didn’t answer it…”

“Duh, I left it at the house so we couldn’t get interrupted on our date!” She argued to the message. She grabbed a bottle of French wine from a wine rack and poured herself a glass.

“I know it’s kind of awkward to ask, but I need you to stay at home and don’t answer the door till I get there, okay? I have something really important I need to say to you. Yeah… I love you.”

Buffy dipped the wine glass to her lips and relaxed in the black leather couch. Today was suppose to be a quiet, fun night for the both of them without any interruptions. Once again, Riley was choosing his job over her. Typical.

The phone interrupted her from her thoughts and she decided to let the answering machine get it.

The answering machine blared through the silent house, “Hi, it’s Buffy and Riley. Either we cant get to the phone right now, or were totally ignoring your call. So, yeah… leave a message - beep!”

“I’m so ignoring your call.” Buffy mumbled as she took a sip. She stiffened up when she heard Riley’s voice.

“Hey, It’s Riley. You must be asleep already. I’m almost home and … I have some bad news. See you in a few. Love you.”

“Love you too, Ditcher.” She said as her eyes closed. Within minutes the front door opened and Riley stepped through with two other men Buffy had met at the New Years party she’d thrown a few months ago. One’s name was Forrest and the other was a woman named Maggie Walsh that Riley introduced as the teacher that he TA’s for. Riley motioned to the two and then sat across from Buffy on the coffee table.

“Buffy, I need to ask you to do something else for me, okay?” He said seriously.

“Can you do something for me, Riley? Next time don’t choose your work over me.” Buffy said. Riley looked away and started to contemplate about how much of his actual job he should tell her.

“Tell her, Finn.” Maggie Walsh told him. Buffy looked from Maggie back to Riley.

“Tell me what?” Buffy asked. She sat up on the couch and put the empty glass onto the coffee table next to Riley.

“Buffy… I’m not a TA.” Riley admitted. Buffy’s face grew red and she bit her tongue holding back a rude comment, “I work for this group called The Initiative which means I hunt vampires.”

Buffy broke out in a laugh, “Yeah and I work for a group called The Purple Bunny and I hunt for pots of gold at the end of rainbows. Jeez, Riley, I though you would at least think of a plausible excuse for forgetting our night together.” Buffy got off the couch and pushed past his open arms.

“It’s true Buffy.” Riley said. Buffy grabbed her glass and walked over to the kitchen sink. She rinsed off the glass as Riley continued, “We captured a vampire yesterday, Hostile 16, unfortunately we couldn’t capture her companion. We have reason to believe he’s going to come after me because I was the one that caught his ‘Wicked Ripe Plum’. Buffy I don’t want you out during dark and I don’t want you to ever open the door to strangers - “

“Lets say I did believe you, Riley. You still have no right to tell me what to do. I can do what I want. Surely this - whatever he is - surely he wouldn’t come after me. I’m fine, Riley, I know how to fight.” Buffy said. Riley sighed and dug into his pocket then pulled out a small silver bracelet.

“I bought something for you.” Riley said shyly, stealing a glance at Maggie. Buffy looked at the beautiful bracelet and then back at Riley.

“So, vampires huh?” Buffy asked. She nodded and then grabbed the bracelet. She slid it onto her wrist and then bounced back to the couch, “Thanks Riley, your forgiven.”

Riley smiled and then started to speak, “I have to go out and search for him, Buffy. Remember what I said and be safe. Love you.”

“Love you.” Buffy said. She collapsed onto the couch and soon heard the front door close. She looked out the front window from her position on the couch and then decided to go out to see a movie. She pulled a sticky note off the desk and wrote ‘went out to see a movie, be back in a few hours’ on it, “I’ll be safe.” She told herself, “There’s no such thing as vampires. There about as real as demons.”

Buffy stepped out of her front door into the risky darkness.

He watched her take the step into his world, now she wasn’t safe. Now she gave him a chance to get even. Captain Cardboard - as Spike dubbed him, wouldn’t be getting away with taking away his Drusilla. The blonde chit would make great collateral for his Dark Princess. He knew was going to have some fun with this one.

She locked the door and opted to walk to the theater that was only a few blocks away. She pulled the coat tighter around her think waist and stepped onto the sidewalk in her casual heeled sandals.

Oh yeah, a lot of fun with this one.


(So? ...)

Chapter two:

At the rate she was moving she would be lucky to get into the movie before they closed the doors.

“I should have taken the car.” She grumbled. She slowed her pace when she heard a constant beeping noise. She slowed to a stop and then looked down at her wrist. The bracelet that Riley had given her was beeping. She pulled it off and stared at it in awe, “Is Riley tracking me?”

Buffy shook her head in disgust and threw the noisy invasion of privacy behind her. She continued on the road, intent on getting to her movie on time then have a long talk with Riley. She was getting sick of this relationship.

Spike moved to the side to prevent getting hit with the small, loud contraption that the short blond threw behind her. Spike pushed the noise out of his thoughts and continued on. When he was about fifteen feet away from it the infuriating noise stopped. Spike went back to his place inches behind the unknowing girl.

Meanwhile:

“Agent Finn, It’s beeping.” Agent Maurus called from the office. Riley ran over to Maurus and looked at the computer. On the screen was a diagram of Revello and a red light was flashing two houses down from his. Riley ran out of the office in seconds then through the underground place. Maurus looked back at the screen just as the beeping stopped.

A few seconds earlier:

Buffy hissed angrily when she remembered that she’d left her ID at home. It was one of those moments - everyone has them - where you forget something for the first time ever and that’s when you need it the most. She turned on her heels and collided against someone that had been following right behind her. She backed up and almost tripped in a crack in the sidewalk.

“’Ello, Pet. Lovely night, innit?” He said behind two sharp fangs.

“Who - Who are you?” She asked. She could barely make out his facial features in the darkness but what she could see didn’t seem to register as human features.

“Names Spike. And seeing how I’m one up on you, what’s your name.”

“Elizabeth… Summers.” She said giving him her real name - not her name that everyone knew her by. He started to walk in circles around her, and Buffy‘s breaths started to come out shaky and scared, “What do you want, Sir, I only have a few dollars on me. And nothing more than a dingy necklace.”

“Don’t want your jewels, Princess.” He said as he stopped back in front of her.

“Then I’ll be on my way, and you’ll be on yours.” She turned to go but Spike held her back with one hand on her stomach and the other over her mouth and nose.

She struggled to get out of his grasp but he only held onto her harder, “Let me go, please, I’ll do anything.” She mumbled hopelessly into his hand.

“Don’t fight me, Elizabeth, or it’ll be much worse.” He whispered in a mock sincere voice. When the lack of breath was strong, Buffy went limp in the black clad mans arms. Spike hoisted her up over his shoulder and turned back towards her house. The bracelet started beeping again when Spike was near and stopped when his boot slammed down on it.

When he got to her house he removed her body from his shoulder and shifted her around. Spike held her unconscious body in front of his then bit the tip of her finger so that blood was coming out.

On white door of her home, using her bloody finger, Spike wrote: “If you want her back, you know what I want in return.”

Spike lifted her back up and then walked to the street. He whistled loudly and a few seconds later a black car stopped in front of him. Spike opened the back door and tossed the woman in. He opened the passenger door and got in.

“We better hurry. The Muscle-and-gun blokes are prolly on their way.” Spike said. The driver didn’t say anything, he only pushed his foot on the gas and the car sped away.

Meanwhile:

“Remember, he’s strong.” Forrest told all of them. Riley and four others ran out of a car that looked like it was from the future and immediacy ran off in different directions. Riley didn’t run off, though. He walked right up to his front door and gasped.

He had been standing there for a few minutes when someone stepped behind him. The person put their hand on Riley’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Man, we’ll get her back safely.”

Riley didn’t reply, he only nodded.

Meanwhile:

Spike pulled the woman out of his car and then slammed the back door shut. He motioned the driver to hide the car in the back and the car drove off. Spike shifted the light-weight girl over his shoulder and walked through the front door. He was greeted by the stares of a dozen vampires.

“What’re you looking at?” Spike growled, they all rushed off in different directions and Spike walked down one of the two halls. This hall, unlike the other one, split into two separate halls. Spike chose the one that went underground. This one had several cells on either side and most of the cells had something in it. Most were vampire’s but there were a couple demons in some. All of them stared at Buffy hungrily. Just as Buffy was starting to wake up Spike stopped in front of the only empty cell and opened it. He threw Buffy into it and then slammed it shut. He turned and left without saying a single word.

When Buffy was completely conscious she backed up against the wall. There were creatures all around her and they wouldn’t take their eyes off of her. The one in a cage next to her had slobber dripping from his face and his uni-eye was bright red. There seemed to be a few humans in there too. There was a nice man next to her, though he kept telling her to get closer to him and she’d be safer. She attempted to get closer but then he grabbed onto her arm and tried to bite her. She now stayed in the middle of the cage against the wall.

She kept thinking about how she got here. This day had sucked from the beginning.

“Riley’s going to kill me,” she said bitterly, “Riley… Vampires… Damn, Riley wasn’t kidding when he said someone was out to get him… er, someone was out to get me, literally. Their vampires, all of them. The brit was too…. Oh my god…” She looked to her left at the guy who had grabbed her and then at the others: Vampires. She just thought that they had a serious facial problem.

“Excuse me.” She said to a woman in a cage across from her. The woman looked over and coughed, “Where am I?”

“In hell.” Was all she whispered as she curled into the corner of her cage. Buffy itched her head innocently then looked at the beast in the cage next to her.

“Honey” He said nicely, “I don’t exactly know where we are.” He smiled softly, trying to make the distressed woman feel better.

“Oh… Who was that guy? The one with the British accent?” She asked him. Despite their differences, she felt this… person…. Thing…. Whatever… was nice.

“That’s Spike. You don’t ever want to get on his bad side. He’s -.” The beast was saying when he was interrupted.

“The worst of the worst, Little Girl.” A female vampire from a few cells down said.

“Not as bad as his darling Drusilla.” The beast added in.

“Yeah, she was a peach, wasn’t she?” One from all the way down the row mumbled.

“It’s a miracle she’s gone.” The hungry vampire next to her said.

“What happened to Drusilla?” Buffy asked, interested.

“She was taken by The Inerrant… something… I don’t know what they’re called.” A little green guy said.

“Initiative?” Buffy asked.

“Yep, that’s the one.” He corrected.

“Spike’s out for them. And he wants blood.” The beast next to her said.

“He wants his chick…”

“Drusilla… man she was a goddess.”

“An evil, untouchable goddess.”

“Not too untouchable.” One with long black hair said, earlier he’d introduced himself as Isaac. He hadn’t taken his eyes off of Buffy and it looked like he was undressing her with his eyes.

“You were lucky to get your hands on her, Isaac.”

“I would have gotten more if she didn’t love Spike.”

“Love?” The little green guy mocked.

“That’s not love. She likes to make her puppy beg.” The female vamp said.

“And he likes to follow her around.” The beast explained.

“Following his princess like a lost puppy.”

“It’s a win-win situation.” The hungry vampire next to her said.

“He’d loved her for over a hundred years.” The female vampire said.

“Love’s bitch, ain’t he?”

“I’m sure he’s also in it for the sex.”

“She was a nice fuck. Though, my back has eternal scars all over…” Isaac said.

“She left you with more than back scars.” the green guy snorted.

“Yeah, bout ripped my dick off.” He added.

“What dick?” The demon next to Buffy joked.

“Shut up, Harold.” He spat at the beast.

Buffy took in the new information and wished that she’d believed Riley when he’d told her. She’d be safe in bed, spooning her Giant Human Teddy Bear right now if she hadn’t been so stupid.

Spike paced the length of his room over and over until the constant friction started to leave marks. He didn’t know what to do now. He had been sure that the Oaf would immediately give Drusilla up to get his girl. But, a day later, the small woman was still in the cellar with the rebellious creatures. Spike had been mistaken.

Maybe Wonder Bread figured that Spike wouldn’t harm the ransomee in hopes that he would get his Dark Princess back in tact. So Flounder didn’t see any reason to hurry. That would give the Military Prats more than enough time to perform tests on their new patient Hostile 16. Hostile 16... They were treating her like another creature. Drusilla wasn’t a creature. She was a Master Vampire. And she certainly wasn’t just another Master Vampire. She was his.

Despite the situation, Spikes lips curved.

He wouldn’t wait around while they hurt his Dru, he would have some fun too!

Spike changed route, turning to the door.

Lot’s of fun…

Buffy had found herself scooting closer to the one-eyed demon who introduced himself as Otis. The others had given up on getting her so they all went on with their own business. She’d learned from Otis that he’d been trapped here since August: six months ago. Spike had called Otis on treason for trying to get away from the mansion to join the circus where he wanted to walk the tightrope for a living. That had completely pissed Spike off and Spike sent him to the cellar where He got one meal every other day. Buffy had found herself almost to tears.

“What about you?” He asked her.

“Well… I always wanted to be an Ice Skater. I had the skill! But, then my dad left so I lost my will to skate.”

“Poor Baby.” Otis said sincerely.

“Oh, boo hoo.” Isaac said from his cell, Buffy looked up and caught his look.

“Don’t mind him.” Otis said, immediately calming Buffy down with a large green hand on her back.

“I’m not.” Buffy assured, “Although I would love to suddenly get super strength, rip through the cells, and give him a thorough butt whopping. Then, I’d go kill that Asshole, S-”

“Me?” echoed through the walls.

“Speak of the Devil.” Otis grumbled. Spike walked along the long corridor, tapping his hand on every bar of each cell, until he got to Buffy’s. Spike tapped a single bar, over and over to the beat of her racing heart. Despite her avenging words earlier, she was now emitting so much fear that Spike couldn’t help but chuckle. He pulled out a key and slid into the lock. A satisfying click confirmed that the gate was unlocked.

“C’mere.” He ordered. Spike growled when she stayed put, ignoring his instruction completely.

“Don’t make me go in there, or I’ll ruin your dignity in front of every scum in here.” As a threat, Spike pushed the door open a foot.

Buffy faltered when he said this. What exactly did he mean by dignity? Buffy slid her small hand through the bar to her new friend. Otis saw this and held her hand for support.

“Elizabeth…” Spike said, expression going dark. After a second of watching a million expressions appear and fade on her face Spike opened the door the rest of the way.

‘Dignity…’ Buffy said in her mind, she scanned the cells around her and her eyes stopped on Isaacs. He was staring at her with an eager gleam in his eyes. A smirk played on his lips. Buffy slid her hand out of the bars and stood up. At Spike’s expression lightening she decided to speak.

“Asshole.” She said, showing off exactly how much dignity she had when she spat on Spike’s face. Laughter echoed through the basement as Spike stood in front of her in amazement. No one had ever stood up to the Master Vampire like this before. This woman had spunk. And Spike liked her fire. Yeah, he was going to enjoy spending time with her. It was going to be fun breaking her. Spike grabbed onto Buffy’s sleeve and pulled her out of the cell.

The laughter didn’t stop so Spike pushed her up against the large uni-eyed demons cage and slipped his hand under her shirt. His cool hand met with her warm breast and Spike growled into her neck. With the seemingly professional pinches and soft brushes Spike had her moaning.

Spike knew how to ruin her, “Do you like that? Do you like my hand on your breast? I could order the death of all these filth and you wouldn’t you would even care, huh? No. Just as long as I coddle you tit.”

Buffy stopped, his words echoing in her mind. She’d forgotten about the situation until Spike had said that. Stupid evil hands. Spike pulled his hand from her breast and yanked her out of the basement. The last thing she saw of the captives and her friend was a look of sympathy.

The female vampire, who once was her cell neighbor, was right.

‘I am in Hell.’

She was pulled through a maze of hallways, and fought the whole time. When Spike wanted her to go one way, she simply pulled the other. She went backwards, when Spike tugged foreword. When Spike couldn’t take it anymore, he stopped and slammed her in the wall.

“Your being a pain in the arse.” He breathed into her neck, fangs elongated and ready to pierce.

“My bad…” Buffy smiled innocently, Spike could practically see a halo appear above her head, “… Fucker!”

With a grunt, Buffy brought up her knee to hit Spike in groin. Yes, it had been a cheap shot, but there was nothing else to do and she wasn’t completely hopeless. Though in pain, Spike smiled. This was just what he needed: a reason.

Buffy felt something sharp brush against her neck and she knew that it was his fangs: the fangs of a Vampire.

“Please don’t.” Buffy whimpered, finally giving up, “Please…”

Authors Note: I'll magically send you nummy-chocolate-Spike-induced-dreams tonight if you give me reviews. And trust me, they will be nummy! ... and chocolatly... MMM