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**Definition taken from the Random House Dictionary.

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**acceptance: the act of approving and receiving or state of being worthy of.

Ahh, spring was in the air. Xander and Anya were dating again and Spike and Buffy were growing closer everyday. Everyone seemed to have a potential other half, including Willow, who had a new girlfriend, Megan and Dawn, who had started dating a boy who had just recently moved to Sunnydale.

At first, Buffy thought he was an odd duck. She felt a weird vibe flowing from him; a very intense, deep and sensitive boy. When he witnessed the gang slaying vampires, he was cool about it all. In fact he got in a staking himself after having to struggle with a vampire that had decided to attack him. Buffy noticed RJ was stronger than any normal human, and felt a wave of panic. He didn't seem like an ordinary human to her.

Buffy wanted to talk to Dawn about the situation, but how to bring it up delicately without Dawn flying off the handle. He seemed to be a nice kid, but she did not want to see her sister getting hurt again. She knew he wasn't a vampire, possibly not even a demon. She decided she was going to confront him. Now to figure out how to do it.

She walked briskly upon seeing RJ standing in the court yard. The bell rang summoning the return to classrooms for last period. Buffy gently grasped his arm before he walked away.

"Miss Summers, I didn't see you there. Man you're quick. Cool." he smiled sincerely at her.

"Yes, I am. Not only physically but sometimes mentally as well especially when it comes to picking out the bad guys. You're not a bad guy, are you RJ?"

"Bad? Only at math. And occasionally some team related sports. I hate playing for competition…" Buffy gave him a strange look. "Oh you mean bad, as in evil, right? Do you think I'm a bad person, Miss Summers? Cause I'm not. I know you're concerned about Dawn, that's why you’re asking, right?"

"I know, RJ, that you’re a good kid. But I know there is something different about you and that is why I'm talking to you right now. I want you to tell me what you are or I will have to find out in my own way."

The silence was deafening. They stared at each other for what seemed like and eternity before his gaze faltered and he looked at his feet.

"Very well. I will tell you. I am not an evil person, Miss Summers. I will never do anything to hurt Dawn, ever. I like her…alot. I know what you are, the slayer, and where I'm from we hold you in high reverence. We are only here to help you in your crusade."

"We? And where exactly are you from, RJ?"

He sighed. "I'm an avatar, uh…a sonic if you will. Mind you the lowest level. I come from a higher plane.

"Oh…so you’re not human?"

"No, I am, just more than merely human. Sort of like you with the supernatural. I have to be to live on this realm. We are sent here to bring balance between the dimensions. I am honored to be able to help in your fight. I hope you will still allow me to do so."

"What are your intentions towards Dawnie, RJ?"

"Miss Summers, Dawn is a great girl. She befriended me when no one else would. I really, really like her, I may even…"

"Ok, I think I've heard enough. And yes, you may still help. But just a warning, I don't fully trust you yet, nothing against you but…"

""I understand, no problem. I will do my best to help you trust me. Honest I will. One question. Do you trust the vampire?"

"I'm getting there more and more each day. But he doesn't know that I don't fully trust him yet. Some wounds are still healing between us."

"I understand. I sense in him a strong need to be good, but he still fears the demon within him. The soul he has is a restraint that holds it in place. He's afraid of disappointing those he loves and holds dear."

"I feel that, too. Do you mind if I look up more information on your people?"

"No, not at all. I think you would understand me better by reading than by me telling." He laughed at this remark.

"Do me a favor," Buffy continued. "You really need to tell Dawn, somehow and someway. Not this instant, but sometime soon. She doesn't need secrets kept from her when it deals with someone she cares about. Believe me, been in that position before. She doesn't deal well when you keep things from her."

"I will, I promise."

"Here, let me write you a pass to get into class. Thank you for your honesty, RJ. See you later."

"Later, Miss Summers."

**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**

Megan O'Rielly was not unlike Tara MaClay. She was a sweet and endearing girl who shied away from everybody introduced to her. Once you got to know her though, she let the bashful guard down. Not surprising that Willow and she hit it off quickly.

Meg was a practicing druidess, and she loved helping others. She knew about the demons and vampires stalking Sunnydale and was overly excited to meet the Slayer. Buffy, Dawn and Xander liked her instantly and it wasn't long before she officially became a Scooby.

At first she was afraid of Spike knowing what he was, but the fear melted away when they began a discussion on Ireland, her home land, in which Spike, or actually William, as a boy had visited quite a few times. Surprisingly, they shared a love for poetry and classical music among other things, something he would never discuss with any of the Scooby gang. Deep down, she felt sorry for him. She sensed his fears and frustrations and wanted to help him in any way she could. She talked to Willow about him and Willow gained a new respect for the vampire for allowing himself to open up and become a friend to Meg.

RJ, too, was deemed a member officially one evening after a busy patrol. The gang decided to celebrate that night with pizza and movies. Spike, though he never showed it, took the news of the new members quite hard. He thought it childish of himself, but he felt very left out and very unloved. Undeniably, both Megan and RJ felt his pain that night. They very much wanted to fix the broken vampire.

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Word was out that an infamous vampiress was back in town. Buffy was worried that Spike was not going to deal with her arrival very well. The last time Drusilla came back, she used her womanly wiles to win him over, even if it was momentarily til he turned on Dru and promised Buffy he would stake his ex-lover if Buffy would admit having feelings for him.

What would Dru do now, especially if she knew about his soul? She had her ways of knowing such things, the cherubs burning, the flowers speaking to the moon. Would she suck him back into her evil world, promising to show him the beauty of the darkness, or was she there to stake him good and proper? Buffy fumed, that was her job, and no one or nothing was going to take that from her. Actually that was Buffy's way of saying that she would protect him from certain unnecessary dusting. The pull back into the dark she wasn't sure she could accomplish saving him from. Drusilla was his first love. He may not feel the same about her now, but that first love always stays with you.

Spike eventually discovered Dru was back, too. He vowed to himself that he would get to her before Buffy did; he didn't want the slayer to feel obligated to dust Drusilla. Spike planned on giving Dru a choice; either leave Sunnydale for good, without him and never to return or he would have to say goodbye with a stake.

Unfortunately, Drusilla had her own motives. She wanted the slayer dead, and her cronies were there to back her up on the plan. Once Buffy was out of the picture, her William would fall back into her open arms, pleading to be accepted back.

Spike left no rock unturned, searched near and far and could not find Dru anywhere. The nightly patrol, in which Spike had casually backed out of, was pretty much uneventful until…

She flowed through the graveyard, her six "bodyguards" sticking to her like glue. They looked like rejected bouncers by their hulking forms. This might be tough, but doable.

"Drusilla, what brings you back into town? There's nothing for you here in beautiful Sunnydale. Didn't you get that through your insane head when you were here the last time?"

"You naughty, naughty slayer. You took my beautiful, glistening star, snatched him right out of the sky, turned him into a disobedient vampire. He thinks you glow for him now. He is blinded by what he thinks is love. Ha, a vampire in love with a vampire slayer? You have made him weak and foolish."

"No, Dru," Spike growled as he walked out of the shadows. "She didn't make me into anything. I did it all on my own. Decisions I made on my own. Yes, some may have been mistakes, but I wouldn't do anything different, except just the one thing, if I had the chance to do it all over again. This is my home now, my…friends." Spike turned and looked at the group staring back at him.

Drusilla giggled her insane laugh. "Home, friends. These people are not your friends. They will not accept you, ever. You’re dirt to them, something they can walk all over, to use when the need arises."

"If that's the case, so be it. I'm ready to accept my destiny of a redeemed, uh, unlife. I've been in the dark, with you, Dru. You never accepted me either, did you? You saw something in me that you didn't want to have to deal with. All you wanted was someone devoted to you, to share your bed, to hunt with you and kill with you, but it still wasn't enough for you, was it?"

Dru stepped towards him, gently running her finger down the side of his face. "Poor, sweet William. Doesn't know where to go." She angrily dragged her nail down his cheek, causing him to hiss from the pain. She leaned near his ear.

"I can take you where you want to go." She ran her tongue up the length of the cut on his face, cleaning the blood away. Spike angrily pushed her away and glared at her.

"You have a choice now, Dru. Either leave and never turn back, or else."

"Is that a threat, my dearest?"

"No, Dru, it's plain and simple facts."

"Well, then my fallen star…" She motioned for one of her henchmen to grab Spike as the others faced down the slayer and her entourage.

He struggled to get out of the tight hold the vampire had on him as he watched the others engage in battle, hoping upon hope none of the Scoobies would get hurt. He noticed Dru had moved away from him and headed towards Meg who had her back to the vampiress. He also caught the glint of a knife in her hand. Dru was planning on taking out one of the scoobs.

He wouldn't allow her to do it. Anger surged from within him and he quickly disengaged from the hold and staked the bugger in one motion. He ran swiftly towards the two, and just as she raised the knife, he raised the stake and plunged it through her cold, unbeating heart, showering him with her dusty remains. Meg turned in time to see the pain in his eyes. As he fell to his knees, she grabbed him and held him steady.

Buffy made sure the other bodyguards were finished off, and then ran to Spike. She pulled him up and latched onto him, holding him tight and stroking the back of his head with her hand.

"I'm sorry, so sorry. You should have let me do it. It was too hard for you, I know. I've been in those shoes before."

"No, Buffy, it had to be me. I gave her the choice." He broke down in front of everybody.

Megan piped up, "Wow, he saved my life." She rubbed his back gently. "He's truly a hero in my book. A valiant and brave Scooby."

Spike looked up at Meg. "I'm not a Scooby, little one. Never have been." Her mouth dropped open.

Buffy grabbed his face with both hands and turned him to look at her.

"Yes, you have been. For a long time now. I'm sorry we never made it official. So tonight, you have now been officially accepted into the Scooby gang. And I dare anyone to say otherwise."

She placed her cheek next to his and whispered lovingly into his ear, "You're a hero in my book, too."

TBC





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