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Day 15.

Spike sat up in his bed gasping. The last thing he remembered was Riley staking him the morning before and that had been a totally unsettling feeling. As much as he hated his grandsire, he was glad the old fart didn't remember the dustings the next day. Spike was startled when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around him and hugged him fiercely.

"Don't you ever dust on me again, Spike!" Buffy sobbed. She buried her face in the vampire's chest.

Automatically bringing his arms up to hold the weeping girl, Spike tried to come to terms with his temporary demise while he comforted his distraught mate…er, friend.

"There, there, luv, we knew this was a possibility," he gently reminded her as he mentally checked that everything was still with him; wouldn't do to come back with only half his bits.

"We knew it was a possibility with Adam," she responded sharply as she scooted away from him, miffed that he wasn't acting like he was affected by his dusting at all. Here she had been forced to take a couple of sleeping pills because shed been all hysterical girl and he was acting as if it was no big deal. He could at least be acting a little wigged. "I didn't expect you to let Riley, of all people, take you out."

"Hey!" Spike glared at her indignantly, moving swiftly to snatch up his jeans and cover himself. "I didn't bloody well let him do anything. Do you think I wanted to be staked by the wanker? He's your bloody boyfriend," he snapped.

"He so is not. You know I'm not with him anymore, I'm with you!" Buffy yelled at him.

"It’s a soddin' spell. The minute its over, you know bleedin' well that you're gonna run straight back into the arms of Mr. Oh-So-Joe-Normal and forget all about me, just like you did last time," Spike angrily accused, his unspoken fears and insecurities unexpectedly coming to the fore.

Buffy froze as his accusation washed over her. "I thought you knew me better than that, Spike," she said quietly before turning and leaving the shocked vampire to stare at the empty place she left behind.

"Great work, William; you bloody insecure bastard. Now how do I fix this one?" Spike shook his head in despair and sighed heavily.

~~~~~~~

"Bloody hell, man, the least you could have done was let me know you were alright," Giles snapped in relief as the peroxide blond entered his apartment, his normal British reserve sorely tested. He hadn't realized how much his friendship with the vampire had meant to him until he'd learned of the Spikes dusting the day before. He had been waiting impatiently for someone to let him know that everything had reset itself all morning and was more than a little grumpy.

Spike looked at the man, startled. "Sorry, mate," he offered sincerely, his shock that the watcher was so clearly concerned about him, momentarily overtaking the blondes surprise that Buffy hadn't informed her watcher that he was back among the un-living. "Didn't Buffy tell you?"

"She hasn't been here yet," Giles replied slightly mollified by the candor of the vampire’s apology.

Spike froze. Letting his link to the volatile blond open he found it firmly closed to him. "Damned irritating little chit, how the hell is a bloke supposed to apologize if she wont bloody speak to him?" he growled in frustration.

Giles lifted an eyebrow in amusement. "What is it you feel in need of apologizing for, Spike?"

"Long story, Watcher," Spike sighed deeply as he sat on the living room couch.

"We have time," Giles offered his friend gently as he joined him in the living room.

Spikes head jerked up at that and he gave the watcher a cheeky little grin as he dove a hand into the deep pockets of his duster, bringing out a couple of computer discs. "Not so much time as you thought, Rupes. We need Red."

Giles smiled in pleasure, procuring the discs would move them a great deal closer to breaking the looping day. Glancing over to the morose blond on his sofa as he waited for Willow to answer her phone, the Brit suspected the solution to his friend’s problems might take a little more than that.

~~~~~~~

"Okay, I'm still wigging about the whole you and Spike thing, but what is it you're really angry about, Buffy? It sounds to me like, well, if he was a normal guy, he's just scared and insecure. Which when you think about it, the idea of being Spike scared and insecure is a bit of a freak factor," Willow babbled. She was having a little trouble taking in all that she had learned since the blond whirlwind had come storming into Tara's dorm room. She so didn't want to be around when Xander found out about the possible relationship between Buffy and the bleached blond vampire. That was not gonna be pretty. "Umm, what about Riley?" Willow turned wide eyes to her friend.

"I told you, Riley is so history," Buffy growled dangerously as she felt the flash of rage that rose at the sound of the commando’s name.

"But, Buffy, he doesn't know that," Tara gently injected.

"He dusted Spike," Buffy replied, her memories making her voice harsh. Despite the fact that Spike was all back with the non-dusty, she wasn't planning on cutting Riley any slack at all. "And as pissed as I am at the bleached menace, it doesn't make what Riley did any less contemptible."

Willow reached to gently touch the arm of her angry friend. "But, Buffy, even you said he did it because he said he was protecting you. He was proud of his actions. He's not going to stop trying to impress you. Unless you talk to him, he might do it again."

"Impress me?!" Buffy exclaimed, outraged. "By attacking someone who can’t fight back? Oh, that's leaving a big old impression of the bad kind."

"If you don't have the break-up conversation with him every day until the day stops looping, you'll be cheating on him," Willow pointed out firmly.

The slayer blanched at the thought of having to perform a daily break-up conversation. Much as she hated agreeing that Willow had a point, she was forced to acknowledge that her friend was right. She so preferred her plan. Avoidance was a much more appealing idea.

A knock at the door coincided with the ringing of Willows cell phone. As Tara moved to answer one and the red head answered the other, Buffy sat dejectedly on the bed. Why couldn't she have a repeating day at Disneyland? Ooh! Or Mall of America?

Buffy vaguely noticed that whoever was at the door was apparently after Willow. The red head moved closer to the door as she spoke on the phone, indicating that she wouldn't be long.

"Yeah, Buffy explained it all. Do you need us to come over? He did? Oh that's great!" Willow exclaimed excitedly before announcing her news to the room. "Spike got the discs."

"SPIKE!" Riley yelled from the doorway, glaring at Willow. "What is it with you people? You. Can’t. Trust. Him."

Before Buffy had a chance to react, Willow turned furious eyes on the AWOL solider standing there in his ridiculous pants and showed that the old saying about redheads and tempers was true, for her at least. "Now you listen to me, Riley Finn," she snarled at him. "You trusted Professor Walsh and she turned into a Frankenstein's monster-making Nazi running a concentration camp for demons. Not a good image for a Jew to deal with, gotta tell ya. Your credibility in knowing who to trust is so not with the big. We know exactly what and who Spike is. We've known him for a long time, and have seen more in the last three years than you can dream of. There is not one Scooby that doesn't have more experience with the supernatural in one little finger than you have in your whole overly large body. Don't you dare act all superior with us. Compared to us; you're the amateur. The fact that you're also a demon bigot doesn't do much for your credibility either, buster." Willow breathed heavily as she continued to glare at the shocked commando.

Buffy froze momentarily in the wake of the normally sweet tempered redhead’s tirade, seriously impressed with her friend’s lack of babbling. Didn't see that coming, she mused absentmindedly.

"Well said, Willow," Giles voice drifted up from the phone Willow held in her hand.

"If that's your uneducated way of thinking, then its better that you stay away from Buffy. She doesn't need misguided civilians getting in her way," Riley replied pompously, pulling himself up to his full height and looking down at the still fuming redhead.

Willow turned stunned eyes away from the commando at her door and faced her best friend. "I am so sorry I encouraged you to date this boob."

"Not your fault, Wills." Buffy smiled at her friend as she stepped forward and opened the door wide, her gaze hard as she met Riley's.

"Buffy," the ex-commando spoke her name as he reached for her, his hand faltering as he noticed her expression. "Buffy?"

"Stay away from me, Riley. Stay away from my family, my friends, my watcher, and my vampire. You want to take on a vampire so badly, try Angel on for size, but so help me; if you so much as look at Spike the wrong way, you'll be finding out just exactly how much I've been holding back on you."

Her voice was even, her tone calm. There was no way he could doubt her sincerity. He shivered slightly. For the first time he was truly afraid of this tiny girl. Backing away slowly, Riley moved away from the furious and lethal blond in the doorway. He seriously needed some time to think.

~~~~~~~

"He told me it would be impossible to break on our own; was he telling the truth, Red?" Spike asked as Willow looked over the encrypted file.

"It’s really complicated," Willow answered, worrying her bottom lip as she stared at the screen of her laptop. She hated not being able to solve a problem. If only they had more time. "What else did he say?"

"That there's only two ways to read the bloody thing. One; we wait for it to decrypt on its own, something about a time delay, or two; we enter the access code." Spike repeated what little information he had managed to gain from Adam.

"Don't suppose he gave you the code," Willow commented sadly, not really expecting an answer.

"Apparently, it’s Cardboards nine digit serial number," Spike replied automatically.

Willow looked up in excitement. "Really? That's it? We just need Riley to…oh...oh." Her face fell as the memory of her earlier encounter struck her with full force.

Spike tilted his head to side in question. He wondered what was causing the little redhead to look both concerned and a little pleased with herself at the same time.

"Okay, might want to put that on Buffy's to do list for tomorrow." Willow offered sheepishly. "I don't think Riley is gonna be in a giving mood today."

"What do you mean, Red?"

"Willow took exception to Riley telling her she couldn't trust you, Spike," Giles informed the vampire while he smiled at Willow proudly.

"You stood up for me?" Spike asked in amazement, his expression one of complete awe.

Willow couldn't help but smile at him; his expression was just so sweet. She was suddenly struck with the obvious differences between this Spike and the vampire she had first met. It wasn’t like he hadn't always been emotional; it was just that she’d never taken the time to notice it before. She remembered when he'd kidnapped her and Xander. She’d been terrified out of her mind, but his broken heart had been so obvious that even though she was scared, she’d still felt sorry for him. But her terror of him was gone now. Oh, she was sure that he could still be scary, but she was pretty close to being convinced that it wouldn't be directed at them anymore. More likely it would be directed at someone threatening them. Who’da thunk the Big Bad would turn into the Big Bad Protector? she thought, amused.

"But don't think that means I completely trust you, Mister. You and I still have some bottle-in-the-face issues to deal with. But that's between you and me and so beside the point. Riley Finn doesn't get to tell me what to do. Sheesh, I don't even let Xander get away with that!" she smiled as she spoke, trying to soften that fact that she wasn't quite there with the full trust-age yet. She didn't want to hurt him, but she wanted him to understand her concerns.

Spike nodded eagerly, he knew that by the next day she wouldn't remember any of this conversation, but it gave him hope that the hope of friendship wasn't as far out of the realm of possibility as he had believed.

"Willow, where is Buffy? We need to let her know to get Finns serial number. And we still have to locate the prophecy." Giles was glad that the young redhead appeared to be accepting of the vampire, but the number of useful hours they had left in the day was beginning to concern him. He had no desire to continue to relive the same day over any longer than they had to, regardless of the perks. Something did have to be said for not having to endure well-deserved hangovers.

Willow considered for a moment. She wanted to make sure she didn't ruffle any feathers. Turning to the watcher, she made a suggestion rather than directly answer him. "Giles, why don't you start with the research and Tara and I will have a little chat with the sunlight challenged to see if we can get to the real reason why Buffy has decided to be all avoid-y girl."

The deep gulp and the look of guilt warring with stubbornness on the face of the vampire piqued Giles’ interest. He refrained from arguing with the girl that was now facing Spike, her resolve face firmly in place.

~~~~~~~

"Let me get this straight. You’re refusing to fall in love with Buffy because Drusilla has been saying for ages that you're already in love with Buffy, and you refuse to be manipulated any more by the women in your life?" Willow questioned, skeptically.

"Unlife, and yes," Spike stated firmly.

"Um, Spike?" Tara spoke with hesitation. "You do realize that you're already in love with Buffy, right?"

"No, I'm not." His wide eyed stare and the childishly stubborn tone were not at odds with the pout of displeasure that he gave to the two girls.

Both girls giggled.

"Ya-huh," Willow happily informed him.

"You really are, sweetie," Tara agreed with the grinning redhead.

Giles left his seat at the dining table and walked towards the small kitchenette, sharply smacking the blond across the back of the head as he went. "Pillock. Of course you're bloody well in love with her. I doubt even Xander could deny that with a straight face."

"But, I can’t be," Spike whispered with an uncharacteristic show of fear.

Tara reached for his hands. Her manner gentle, coaxing. "Why, Spike?"

"Buffy doesn't think demons can love. She's never gonna believe it." He told them all in voice filled with quiet resignation. "And even if by some miracle she did believe it, she's never gonna let herself love me. Not after what happened with Peaches. I'm bloody well tired of always coming out second best to that bastard, but the fact is I'm just not lovable."

"Um, Spike? Buffy already thinks you love her and I’m pretty sure she's lost the whole Angel-is-my-soul-mate train of thought and moved onto the Spike-may-be-a-stubborn-jackass-but-he's-my-stubborn-jackass way of thinking. And second place? Blue ribbon and gold cup is more like it," Willow asserted calmly. "As to the whole unlovable bit; personally I think Buffy would agree with me when I say I’d take you over Angel any old day, cause that whole broody thing he's got going on is sooo of the not appealing."

Spike lifted an eyebrow and chuckled at the witch. "You'd take me, Red? What does our Glinda think of that?"

"Oh, um, well…you know...if I wasn't gay. Tara? Sweetie, what is it?" Willow asked as she noticed how pale her girlfriend had become.

"Um, demons c-can love. They c-can."

"Sure they can. Can't they Spike?" Willow rushed to reassure, not sure what had upset her girlfriend.

"Bloody right they can," the vampire readily agreed. Sharp tingling erupted from his bite mark and Spike pursued the subject that he knew they had to fix. "My tinglies are telling me there's something wrong here, pet. Best let us in on the problem, Glinda," Spike gently urged.

Tara took a deep breath and turned to her lover. "W-willow, there's something you should know." She paused, taking in the redhead’s concerned look. Willows support of Spike and Buffy's newly developing relationship, along with the fact that her previous boyfriend was a werewolf, made Tara feel this was the perfect time to reveal her deepest, darkest secret...and her worst fear. It was now or never.

Focusing firmly on her hands, Tara was unable to watch the faces of the ones she had come to care so much about in such a short time, afraid to see their looks of disappointment, horror, or disgust, and so very afraid that the truth would cost her Willow. She once again heard her father’s voice telling her over and over that no one but family would love a demon.

"M-my dad, he a-always said if anyone found out, well, that they wouldn't understand w-what I am, w-what I will be," she said slowly. Miserably. "That o-only family could deal with someone like m-me."

Spike growled softly already seeing where this was headed, "Deal with what, pet?"

"The women in my f-family. They all b-become d-demons when they turn twenty," she all but whispered her admission.

"Bollocks," Spike snorted in response and wasn't really surprised when his bite marks started to tingle pleasantly.

"No, it’s true," Tara sadly replied.

"That's not what my tinglies are tellin' me. I don't know why your dad said what he said but you are all human, and I can prove it, Glinda."

"How, Spike?" Giles asked out of curiosity. He didn't believe for a moment that dishwater blond was correct and seriously hoped to one day meet the bugger that had so mistreated the gentle Wiccan.

The vampire reached a hand out to the miserable girl, grabbed a lock of hair and gave it a sharp tug. The reaction was instantaneous. Blinding pain stabbed in his head. His cry of pain echoed by Tara's.

"You know we could have just done a simple spell, no need to go all headachy, you big doofus!"

Holding his head, he mumbled, “Yeah, well, spells take time. Time’s something that’s not really my friend right now.”

“See, baby. You’re not a demon. It wouldn’t hurt him if you were.” The redhead assured her, rubbing her girlfriend’s hands with her own.

Tara smiled softly. The tears in her eyes blurred her vision of the blonde. She wasn’t a demon. “Thank you, Spike. What do you mean time’s not your friend? It seems p-pretty friendly to me. All that time looping gives you time to fix things…maybe soothe hurt feelings a-and clear up m-misunderstandings,” she added pointedly.

“Would be a lot easier if the bloody bint would just talk to me. She's been blocking the link all day.”

Willow replied with a conspiratorial wink to her girlfriend. "Well, she said something about having to save Forrest and then she was going to go by and see Jonathan."

"What did she want the nerd for?" Spike demanded, wondering if he had missed something vital.

"She remembered something this morning while we were talking. Remember the spell Jonathon did to make himself the cool guy? Well, he discovered some things about Adam, and Buffy wanted to see if he remembered any of it," the redheaded witch explained.

"I wish I could forget that little episode," the vampire grumbled, remembering the humiliating way the little twerp had treated him.

"Maybe she would still be there. Y-you know, if someone wanted to talk to her," Tara added with a sly grin.

"Right. Up to me then, is it?" He bit his lip nervously before jumping from his seat and bolted towards the door. "Okay. Here goes nothing."

Giles quickly closed and locked the door behind the vamp before the blond could change his mind.

~~~~~~~

Spike slammed the heavy door of the Bronze behind him, ignoring the glares and curious stares aimed his way. He made his way through the crowd, careful to put just enough force to move the masses but not set off his chip.

He had searched the town over looking for the slayer. At the Magic Box, Jonathan had told him he had just missed her, to which he let out a growl that sent the boy scurrying away like a frightened mouse. He had called back to Giles’ but they hadn't seen her. Her mothers house, the dorm, his crypt…all the same. Either he only found traces of her scent long faded or the trail was completely cold.

Giving up he had decided to stop for a drink- hell, maybe a bottle- before returning to his crypt alone. He had buggered it up royally this time.

He felt her before he saw her. Whipping around, he scanned the building. Tables...bar...balcony...there, on the dance floor. He could see her blond hair as she gyrated to the pulsing beat. He moved automatically, relieved to finally catch up with her. He stilled suddenly when he realized she wasn't alone.

He saw red as he watched the college boy dancing seductively with his mate. The need to rip the little buggers head off was overwhelming. He felt his game face trying to surface. Fighting it back as the rage consumed him was difficult. And Buffy. She was just letting the little bastard grope her right there on the dance floor, not pushing him away.

"Bloody son of a bitch!" his outburst causing the small groups around him to back away quickly. The red haze still hadn't cleared from his eyes and he clinched his fists repeatedly, trying to decide what to do.

She was clearly still pissed at him, if the show in front of him was any indication. So what were his choices? He could bust up her little dance number, possibly pissing her off further, or he could ignore it and pretend it wasn't happening. If he butted in and demanded an explanation, he would appear like the jealous boyfriend. Was he ready to admit to feeling more than friendship? Was he ready to take that leap of faith? Or was it just asking for more heartache in the long run and the ruination of a friendship he didn't think he could bear to lose?

He knew she could sense him, had seen her falter, and begin to scan the room nonchalantly, but he moved with the crowd, unwilling to let her see him in his fit of anger.

~~~~~

Buffy's eyes moved around the building, trying to appear uninterested in the scenes around her, her eyes searching for a flash of bleached hair. She had felt him as soon as he entered the building, knowing that he had yet to sense her. His mood through the bond was worried and tense. She had known the second that he realized she was here, and yet she danced on, floundering only for a moment when he didn't immediately break in to 'stake his claim', so to speak. Normally, she wasn't one for public displays, but desperate times called for desperate measures and it wasn't like any of the crowd at the Bronze would remember it the next day, anyway.

She only wanted to shock him into admitting the feelings she knew he felt, needing him to acknowledge them to himself as much as to her. Stupid stubborn vampire.

Finally she spotted him, the gleam from his hair shining in the lights of the club, her jaw dropping as she watched the door close behind him as he exited the building. Shoving the way too grabby college boy aside, she hurried through the crowd, almost tearing the door off its hinges as she pushed it open.

The parking lot was dark and quiet, no signs of life in sight as she looked for her mate in vain, the throbbing bass from the music echoing loudly behind her. She fought back the tears as she stood alone and wondered if she had misjudged and pushed him too far this time.

~~~~~

He stormed through the streets of Sunnydale, searching for a demon to take his frustrations out on. Anything to keep him from tearing the frat boy's head off; chip or no chip.

"Spike!"

The growl from behind him was a blessing and he turned around, grinning manically. "Peaches!"

Angel couldn't suppress the shiver down his back, nor the ominous feeling that trailed him since entering the town. He refused to admit to the growing sense of fear as he wandered the streets. "Why do I get the feeling you're not out helping little old ladies across the street."

"Cause you're a suspicious git?" the blond smirked before casually lighting a cigarette and inhaling deeply.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot; you got neutered."

Scowling, the blond threw down the half burned cigarette, "In case you haven't heard, the 'neutering' doesn't apply to demons. Care to have a go?"

"Give me your best shot, boy."

~~~~~

Willow opened the door to the dorm, surprised to find a tearful Buffy the other side. "Oh no! What happened?" she asked ushering the sniffling blond inside.

"Oh, Will, it's a-all screwed up," she sobbed as she allowed the redhead to lead her to sit on the bed.

Willow's brow crinkled as she tried to comfort her friend, "But I don't understand. Spike went out looking for you. You guys were supposed to talk and work it all out."

"H-he was looking for me? He wanted to talk?" the blond asked, feeling more miserable than ever.

"Yeah, Tara and I convinced him he was being silly and that you two just needed to talk things out. Did you guys not talk at all?"

"No, and it's all my fault!" the slayer cried as she blew her nose on the wad of tissues that had gathered in her hand, causing her friend to cringe.

"There, there. We'll find a way to fix it, Buffy. You'll see."

~~~~~~

Spike stood swaying over the dark figure on the ground. Both vamps were bruised and bleeding in more than a few places, but the blond had landed the final blow- knocking the older vamp out cold.

He smirked as he reached for his stake, watching his grandsire through his eye that wasn't almost swollen shut. He had been more than a little reckless, allowing the ponce to land more than one blow that could have been avoided, but in the end he was still standing.

He moved to dispatch the brooding vamp for the day, knowing he would only turn up again the next night, but before his stake could make contact he hesitated, the memory of his own dusting fresh in his mind. He shook away the unwanted feelings of guilt, rearing back to deliver the killing blow only to stop short once again.

Upset with his own train of thought, he began to pace, arguing with himself as he went. "Dammit! I can't do it. Bloody hell, why can't I? What's wrong with me? It's the poof; this is like second nature to me! I've wanted to kill the bastard for a century, now I've got a freebie for all the staking I want and I suddenly grow a conscience."

He turned around swiftly, dropping to one knee as he tried one last time to drive the stake home, screaming in frustration as he halted just short of his target. Jumping to his feet, he threw away the stake and stalked off, cursing and stomping he went.

~~~~~

Willow pulled the blanket over her friend. Buffy had finally fallen asleep and the witch was sure that she had a fair idea of what had taken place. Sighing softly she crossed the room and picked up the phone. Dialing the number, she only had to wait for two rings before the call was answered.

"Hi, Giles. It seems like we might have a problem."

~~~~~

He arrived back at his crypt. The lonely echo of the door slamming behind him was all that greeted him. Dropping down to the lower level, he could still smell her scent from the morning when she had leapt into his arms, sobbing in relief that he wasn't gone.

Picking up the nearest object, he flung it across the room. Roaring out his rage and frustration, he went around the chamber smashing and flinging as he went. Picking up the next object to be destroyed, he moved to add it to the pile along the far wall when he realized what he was holding. His mug. The one Buffy had given him.

Plopping dejectedly on the bed, he held the cup in both hands, staring down at it as if it held the answer to his problems. God I miss Buffy. Her laughter. Her snarky mouth. Everything about her.

Grabbing the bottle beside the bed, he ripped off the cap and tipped the bottle up, wishing he didn't already know that the amount of alcohol left wouldn't be enough to dull his senses or the ache in his heart.

~~~~~

A soft swish of dust on the floor upstairs alerted the vampire to the presence of an intruder. A quick glace to the left confirmed that he had indeed woke up alone. Not even a trace of heat was present in the sheets as he reached for his jeans, tugging them on before making his way up the stairs to investigate. No way was the light movements Adam; the giant didn't have a subtle bone in his body.

Poking his head from the opening, he could see Willow moving around the crypt cautiously, looking as if she could jump out of her skin at any moment.

"Hey, Red. You need something?"

She gave a high pitched squeal as she jumped, clutching her chest and trying to slow her heartbeat. "Oh, my goddess, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, Red. Figured you would know I was about, since it is my crypt."

"Well, yeah, but I expected to find you in the crypt, not under it. Giles called this morning and asked me to come over and tell you he needed you at his apartment as soon as possible. He wouldn't tell me what for, just said it was urgent," the redhead pouted.

"Right, I'm on my way."





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